Sacto 9-1-1

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Elk Grove Police are investigating two stabbings Saturday night linked to an argument inside Coach's Classic Bar & Grill on Laguna Boulevard near Interstate 5.

The department's dispatchers received a call shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday from two area hospitals reporting that two men had sought medical treatment for non-life threatening injuries from abdominal stab wounds. The men, who had been brought in by private vehicles, told hospital officials they were stabbed while inside Coach's.

The victims were identified by police as 30-year-old Ernie Moreno and 27-year-old Gilbert Montejano. The verbal argument inside Coach's apparently escalated to a physical fight involving several other individuals, police said.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call the department at (916) 714-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Callers to Crime Alert can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

A man in his 60s found early Saturday night with head trauma at 9th and K streets in Sacramento may have died following a fall, police said today.

The victim, a resident of downtown, was taken to Sutter General Hospital where he died of his injuries, police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said Saturday night. Initially, police called the death supicious.

Subsequent investigation indicated the victim may have fallen and injured himself, according to a police report.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office withheld the victim's identity pending his family's notification.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento County Sheriff's officials are investigating the discovery of a man's body in the Sacramento River near Sherman Island as a suspicious death.

According to a department news release, a man walking along the river near Sherman Island Road and Lelia Drive called 911 about 11 a.m. Friday after he spotted the body floating in the river by the bank.

Deputies said they were unable to determine the man's age and race because the body was badly decomposed.

Investigators are waiting for the Sacramento County Coroner's office to determine the cause and manner of death. It's not clear how long the body had been in the water.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's homicide detectives at 916-874-5057 or Crime Alert as 916-443-HELP. Or send a text message tip to 274637 (CRIMES) by entering SACTIP, followed by the information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A 65-year-old Dublin man ended up in jail on drug charges after trying to recover his lost bag at Yolo County's Cache Creek Casino, not realizing that the casino's security guards had already looked inside and found what they suspected to be methamphetamine, authorities said.

Yolo County Sheriff's Sgt. Lance Faille said someone found the bag on the casino floor and turned it over to the facility's lost and found unit shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday. About 15 minutes later, George Bowers contacted the casino's security staff to report his bag missing.

Bowers told authorities he had left it at a slot machine, Faille said.

By then, security guards had looked inside the bag to try to find information that would help them identify and find its owner. Instead, they found a bundle of white crystalline substance and suspected it to be narcotics. A preliminary test determined the substance to be methamphetamine, but investigators are awaiting the final analysis from the California Department of Justice, Faille said.

When Bowers contacted the casino's security staff, he described the bag that had been turned over to sheriff's deputies.

Officials said Bowers told them that he bought the suspected narcotics earlier in the week and gave some to his friend, 51-year-old Jinny Dixon of San Jose, who had accompanied Bowers to the casino. Deputies found five bags of crystalline substance inside Dixon's bag.

The suspected methamphetamine that Dixon and Bowers were allegedly carrying weighed 13 grams and had a value of about $600, authorities said.

Dixon and Bowers were arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance. They were both booked in the Yolo County Main Jail, officials said.

By Bee Staff

A U.S. District judge in Sacramento has sentenced a pot grower/processer to three years and five months in prison, the U.S. Attorney said.

David Dean Davidson, 59, also was sentenced by Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said.

Davidson pleaded guilty on Dec. 10 to growing more than 100 marijuana plants. He was arrested by U.S. marshals in June 2007.

He had been a fugitive since he failed to appear in court in September 2005, Wagner said.

The case was the product of an investigation by the Tehama County District Attorney's Bureau of Investigations, the Tehama County Sheriff's Department, the Alameda County Narcotics Task Force, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office Investigative Division, and the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Wagner said.

According to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Stegman, who prosecuted the case, in July 2003 Tehama County law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant for Davidson's residence in Red Bluff, where he was living with girlfriend and co-defendant Cynthia Barcelo Blake.

Officers found marijuana plants in three greenhouses in the backyard, as well as an indoor grow in the attached garage, Stegman said. There were 34 mature marijuana plants growing in the greenhouses and 1,100 cuttings in the garage, which had florescent lighting and an air purifier.

The discovery of the drug led officers to obtain another search warrant for a house owned by Davidson in Oakland.

There, officers found 35 mature marijuana plants growing in the backyard, and 634 cuttings planted in the basement with grow lights, carbon dioxide tanks, oscillating fans, air vents and a hood that vented to the outside, Stegman said.

Officers also found 54 packages of processed marijuana totaling six kilograms, Stegman said.

Blake pleaded guilty in January 2006 to maintaining drug involved premises and was sentenced to a year in prison and six months of home detention, Wagner said.

By Andy Furillo
Afurillo@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County District Attorney's Office is now taking signups for its next Citizens Academy that is scheduled to begin April 13.

The 10-week free instructional will feature sit-downs with District Attorney Jan Scully, Sheriff John McGinness, Police Chief Rick Braziel, criminal defense lawyers and other criminal justice leaders.

The academy includes briefings on gang issues, the "three-strikes law," racial profiling, internal affairs operations and more.

It will include a jail tour and a live-action Taser stun-gun demonstration.

The deadline to apply is March 19. To apply, contact Tish Donahue in the DA's office at (916) 874-4576 or e-mail donahuet@sacda.org.

By Matt Weiser
mweiser@sacbee.com

California game wardens arrested two Sacramento-area men late Thursday for allegedly poaching 14 sturgeon from the Sacramento River and processing their eggs to produce caviar for the black market.

Seized in the arrests were three large adult sturgeon, 25 pounds of sturgeon roe in a bucket, caviar processing materials, sturgeon meat and caviar packaged for sale. In addition, the suspects were seen using nets to poach juvenile salmon from the river to use as bait for the sturgeon, said Fish and Game Warden Patrick Foy.

"We have very strong evidence to prove they were seining (netting) juvenile salmon . . . night after night," Foy said.

Salmon and sturgeon both are prized native fish that are in severe decline in the Sacramento River.

Arrested were Nikolay Krasnodemskiy, 38, of North Highlands, and Petr Dyachishin, 50, of Citrus Heights. They face charges including felony conspiracy and numerous violations of the Fish and Game Code. Krasnodemskiy was arrested and sentenced for similar crimes in 2005.

Call The Bee's Matt Weiser, (916) 321-1264.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A continuance was granted Friday in court proceedings against Quran Mahammed Jones (photo left), the man suspected of beating his Sacramento State roommate to death with a baseball bat.

The continuance was granted until April 16 so that Jones' attorney could review discovery documents related to the case.

Jones appeared in the courtroom in a wheelchair for the brief proceedings.

Jones, 20, was shot and seriously wounded Oct. 21 by campus police who said he came after them with a knife when they confronted him in his dorm suite at the university. His dying roommate, Scott Gregory Hawkins, 23, lay bleeding on the floor.

The defendant spent nearly three months in the hospital before he made his first court appearance Jan. 14.

He has been charged with murder in the case as well as three additional counts of assaulting police officers.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento State student accused of killing roommate switches lawyers - Jan. 27, 2010

Murder, assault charges filed in CSUS student's killing - Nov. 7, 2009

CSUS vigil remembers slaying victim - Oct. 29, 2009

CSUS rampage may have started before victim arrived - Oct. 24, 2009

No sign of conflict before CSUS killing - Oct. 23, 2009

Editorial: CSUS ponders an inexplicable tragedy - Oct. 23, 2009

Accused killer talked of LSD, other drugs, roommate says - Oct. 23, 2009

Father of accused Sac State killer says, 'That's not his way' - Oct. 23, 2009

Marcos Breton: University's anguished president seeks answers - Oct. 23, 2009

Slain student was 'gentle, sometimes a target,' dad says - Oct. 22, 2009

Portrait of alleged Sac State assailant begins to emerge - Oct. 22, 2009

Sac State beating victim is identified - Oct. 22, 2009

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The state prison agency today released Robert Winston Precobb from Mule Creek State Prison after a judge earlier this week ordered the convicted child molester freed.

Oscar Hidalgo, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, that the 55-year-old Precobb was released at about 10:30 a.m. to his attorney, W. Bradley Wishek.

Precobb was convicted in Sacramento in 1988 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison on one count of molesting a victim under the age of 14.

On Wednesday, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras ordered that Precobb be released.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento County judge orders molester freed from prison - Feb. 26, 2010

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The woman convicted of child endangerment whose boyfriend was acquitted of murdering her 3-year-old son now is trying to regain custody of her two surviving older boys, it was disclosed in Sacramento Superior Court today.

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet said it was "my understanding" that defendant Rosalie Uribe (photo left), 25, whose sentencing was postponed today, "has changed positions" and will try to regain custody of her sons who are now 7 and 5 in upcoming family court hearings.

The two older boys are now living with relatives of their biological father in Madera County. Neither Uribe nor her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Alice Michel, would comment on Bladet's remarks in front of Judge Timothy M. Frawley.

Uribe's live-in boyfriend, Joseph Skates, 25, was accused of second-degree murder in the Nov. 9, 2008, death of her youngest son, Manuel "Manny" Maciel. A jury acquitted Skates on Feb. 11. Members of the panel refused after the verdict to comment on how they reached it.

The boy died due to blunt-force trauma to the head and also sustained injuries that an autopsy surgeon said had "crushed" his internal organs.

Bladet charged in her closing argument at trial that Skates injured the boy as a result of a potty-training accident. Skates never called 911 when the boy suffered the injuries two days before his death.

Skates testified in his own defense that he found the boy non-responsive on the living room floor of the apartment he shared with Uribe when he came home from walking one of the older brothers to school.

Defense attorney Jesse Ortiz argued to the jury that the victim either suffered his injuries in a fall, sustained them due to the other older brother who was in the house or at the hands of Uribe's adult male cousin who also lived in the apartment.

Today's sentencing hearing was postponed until March 12 because the probation report had not been completed on Uribe.

Judge Frawley said from the bench that Uribe's attorney sought the delay because she is "investigating the basis for possibly making a motion that somehow relates to Mr. Skates' acquittal."

Sources said Michel is trying to have her client's conviction thrown out.

Uribe pleaded no contest on the eve of trial to three counts of endangering her children by placing them in a situation likely to cause them great bodily harm or death.

Under the terms of her plea agreement, Uribe today was supposed to be sentenced to three years probation and 90 days on the sheriff's work program.

She also agreed to testify for the prosecution at trial. In her testimony, she said "I think the honest feeling is that (Skates) had something to do with" inflicting previous injuries that the victim had suffered while in her boyfriend's care.

Uribe said she confronted Skates about the injuries, including a concussion, but that he denied it and that she gave him "the benefit of the doubt."

It was disclosed during the trial that Uribe had been sending love letters to Skates while he was in jail awaiting trial and that she also sent him a picture of a new tattoo she had just below her navel.

Asked by Bladet during the trial if it was true that her feelings for Skates came first over those she had for her children, Uribe replied, "Yes."

Here's previous stories in this case:

Jury acquits Natomas man in death of boy, 3 - Feb. 11

Dead child's mom admits sending accused killer intimate photos after arrest - Feb. 1

By Bee Staff

SWAT units of the Sacramento Police Department found themselves in a melee when they arrested a 17-year-old juvenile on warrants. The fight triggered two more arrests, police said.

A 20-year-old man tried to physically stop the arrest and then assaulted officers, including grabbing a baton from one, according to a crime summary released today.

Here's how events unfolded, according to the summary:

Shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday, officers knocked on the door of a residence in the 3300 block of Jola Circle where they believed the suspect, who was wanted on unspecified warrants, was staying.

An officer saw the suspect trying to crawl out of a bathroom window.

Officers attempted to grab the suspect, who resisted. Jeremy Basped then tried to tug the suspect away from officers, police said.

When an officer tried to detain Basped, he allegedly punched the officer several times. He also wrestled a baton from an officer, but the officer got it back, police said.

Basped was subdued and arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer, trying to free a prisoner and lying about his name.

A 15-year girl also was arrested on suspicion of interfering with officers.

Basped remained in jail this morning on $110,000 bail, according to online jail records.

Q: In 1990 or '91, a state worker named Johnny Franco was murdered and left in a field around the Cattleman's restaurant outside of Sacramento. Was the killer found? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: The slaying of John Francorcw remains unsolved, police said.

The 43 -year- old employee of the California Energy Commission was found bludgeoned to death Dec. 26, 1990 in a field near Cattlemen's Restaurant in Roseville, The Bee reported.

He lived in Rocklin.

The body was found without a wallet or identification, and while some pieces of gold jewelry, like a ring and necklace, remained on the body, several diamond rings Francorcw regularly wore were missing, investigators said.

Police said it appeared that Francorcw was killed elsewhere and the body dumped in the field.

Searches of the victim's Westwood Drive home and his car, which was found parked and locked in the restaurant parking lot, produced few leads.

One of Francorcw's neighbors described him as worldly, a man who spoke five languages and had lived in Europe and other countries.

Police and neighbors said the dead man's name was originally Franco when he came into this country as an immigrant at age 16.

Three families apparently helped him get started, and as a tribute to those families he changed his name by adding the first letter of their names onto the end of his.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By John Parker
jparker@sacbee.com

Former Christian Brothers High School history teacher and volleyball coach Minh Nguyen today pleaded not guilty to a charge of misdemeanor child annoyance.

Nguyen's next court date, a pretrial hearing, is scheduled March 23. Susan Regeimbal, a Costa Mesa-based attorney, is representing Nguyen.

The charge, filed on Feb. 1, stems from an alleged incident at the Embassy Suites in Santa Ana, where the Christian Brothers varsity girls volleyball team spent the night of Dec. 4 before competing in the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship the next day at UC Irvine. The Falcons were swept in that match by La Jolla Country Day.

Nguyen, 36, is accused of having inappropriate contact with a 17-year-old varsity player after going to her room to give her an athletic massage.

"Our position is that (Nguyen) is completely innocent of any wrongdoing in this case," Regeimbal said. "If we have to do so at trial we will show that he is innocent. (Nguyen) has a sterling reputation in the community."

Orange County District Attorney spokeswoman Susan Schroeder said its office is confident in the evidence it has and is prepared for a trial, should the proceedings advance to that stage.

Nguyen, who coached freshman volleyball and was a varsity assistant at the time of the incident, faces a maximum sentence of one year in Orange County jail if convicted.

During his five years at Christian Brothers, Nguyen coached track and volleyball and taught world history. Christian Brothers terminated his employment Dec. 8.

By Bee Staff

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced today a Natomas man to almost 18 years in prison for distributing crack cocaine throughout the Sacramento area, according to the U.S. Attorney in Sacramento.

Anthony Washington, 60, received a sentence of 17 years and 6 months for running the drug operation in the early months of 2006, said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

Washington was found guilty by a jury on April 16 with co-defendant Douglas Frost, Wagner said.

The case was the product of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Sacramento Police Department.

According to Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Ferrari and Jean M. Hobler, who prosecuted the case, the evidence at trial showed that Washington was Frost's primary supplier of cocaine and cocaine base (also called crack cocaine), providing a fresh supply equivalent to one to two ounces of cocaine base on a daily or near daily basis, Wagner said.

Wagner said the two men operated like this:

Washington provided the cocaine or cocaine base to Frost without payment, known as "fronting." Frost converted the powder cocaine to cocaine base and then sold it to a variety of customers.

When Frost sold all of his supply, he would return to Washington, pay for the drugs he'd just sold and obtain a new supply.

The jury convicted Washington of conspiring with Frost to sell at least 50 grams of cocaine base, all of which was sold to an undercover DEA agent. Frost pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in 2006, Wagner said.

Judge Morrison C. England Jr., in sentencing the defendant, applied sentencing guidelines applicable to powder cocaine rather than cocaine base, and found that Washington was a career offender, with an extensive criminal history dating back to 1968, Wagner said.

Judge England said that the amount of criminal activity Washington engaged in was "one of the highest levels" that he had seen, Wagner said.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Rocklin police have confirmed that at least 57 people were scammed when their debit card information was stolen by sophisticated devices hidden in two gas pumps.

Victims have come forward since the devices were discovered Dec. 21 in the pumps at the AM/PM gas station at Sunset Boulevard and Park Drive, said Rocklin police Lt. Lon Milka.

In the past, thieves used devices on the outside of gas pumps to extract PINs and other information from cards. They installed tiny cameras and card skimmers to steal the information and then dip into a victim's account.

This time, devices were installed in gas pumps. Police say they believe the devices intercept information and send the PIN and other debit card information to someone with a laptop.

The criminals then create a card that allows them to withdraw money from the victim's account at ATMs.

Similar scams have been reported in Southern California, San Mateo, Martinez, Vacaville, Citrus Heights and Sacramento, Milka said.

Rocklin police determined that $43,000 was taken from ATM accounts by cards created by the scam. That amount could climb because only two of 16 financial institutions that provided the debit cards to customers who were scammed have reported losses to police.

Rocklin police have obtained photographs of eight people using ATMs with the stolen PINs and homemade cards.

The Orange County District Attorney's office is leading an investigation of thefts similar to the Rocklin incidents. Some of the people captured on camera using the stolen PINs from the Rocklin station appear to match suspects in Southern California, Milka said.

The Rocklin devices came to light after a customer noticed unauthorized withdrawals with his debit card. He went back to the AM/PM and the proprietor of the station found devices inside two pumps.

The proprietor then called Rocklin police. It is unclear how long the devices had been inside the pumps.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bee Staff

Sacramento police officers broke up a scam to get money for the return of a missing dog, according to a crime summary released today.

Here's how the attempted scam unfolded, according to police:

A woman's French bulldog escaped from her residence in the 2100 block of Bidwell Way around midnight on Tuesday. The dog wore a collar with ID tag and contact information.

On Wednesday, the victim received a phone call from a female who said she had purchased the dog via a Craigslist ad.

The victim then received a call from a male who claimed to be the original caller's husband. He said he would not return the dog unless the victim refunded the purchase money to him.

The victim arranged to meet with the female at a fast-food restaurant on Freeport Boulevard, but the victim also contacted the police.

A woman arrived at the restaurant with her two children and the dog only to be greeted by officers.

The woman told officers that her boyfriend had fabricated the story about buying the dog through a Craigslist ad so he could get money from the victim.

The woman was not arrested. Officers are looking for the boyfriend.

By Bee Staff:

A motorcyclist died early Thursday after fleeing from a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy, authorities said.

A California Highway Patrol news release provides these details: About 11 p.m. Wednesday, a 28-year-old Sacramento man was on a blue 1993 Honda CBR 900 motorcycle southbound on Walnut at Marconi avenues, where a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department deputy was exiting a parking lot in a patrol car.

The cyclist looked at the deputy and accelerated rapidly onto eastbound Marconi. A chase ensued in which the motorcyclist reached speeds between 50 and 100 mph.

The suspect failed to slow or stop for a red traffic signal at Fair Oaks Boulevard and slid his motorcycle on its side into the rear passenger door of a car traveling on the boulevard. It was later determined that the motorcycle was reported stolen and the cyclist had a suspended driver's license.

The motorcyclist was transported to Mercy San Juan Medical Center where he died at 1:19 a.m., the CHP said. Sacramento County Coroner's office identified the motorcyclist as Christopher A. McDonald of Sacramento.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A man has been arrested after his sports utility vehicle ran into a gas pump Wednesday night in Carmichael.

Jason Wesley Metune, 26, of Sacramento, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence and felony hit and run.

The California Highway Patrol said Metune was driving on Fair Oaks Boulevard and was turning north onto Walnut Avenue about 10:35 p.m. when he lost control of his SUV, which continued over a median and into the gas station, striking the gas pump and starting a fire.

A CHP spokeswoman said Metune and his passenger fled on foot but returned about 45 minutes later. Firefighters were able to extinguished the blaze.

The passenger suffered minor injuries. The driver was examined at a hospital before going to jail.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

Q: What is the current status of serial killer Herbert Mullin? My cousin was one of his victims. - Reyna, Sacramento

A: Mullin is incarcerated at the Mule Creek State Prison at Ione, State Corrections Department officials told The Bee.

Mullin, now 62, was turned down for parole in March, 2006, the San Jose Mercury News reported. He is not eligible to ask for a parole hearing again until 2011.

It was the 10th time that Mullin had been turned down for parole.

Mullin said at his last parole hearing that he wanted to return to Santa Cruz County and find a wife, the Mercury News reported.

Mullin was convicted in 1973 of 10 slayings in Santa Cruz County and one in Santa Clara County during a five-month killing spree in late 1972 and early 1973, the newspaper reported.

He killed a woman and her two sons, ages 4 and 9, shooting them all in the head and stabbing the 4-year-old in the back. He stabbed to death a 64-year-old Catholic priest in a confessional booth in a Los Gatos church, the newspaper reported.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By Bee Staff

Roseville police pretty much got it their way after they nabbed two burglary suspects this morning in the drive-through lane of a fast-food restaurant, a police spokeswoman said.

Here's how Dee Dee Gunter said the arrest went down:

At 2:34 a.m., Roseville officers responded to a theft that had just occurred of construction equipment from the back of a parked pickup.

While searching for suspects, officers checked on a red Dodge pickup, which was waiting at a fast-food restaurant's drive-through window on Auburn Boulevard near Whyte Avenue.

The officers spotted the stolen construction equipment in the bed of the Dodge pickup. Officers confronted the driver and his passenger, recovered the stolen property and placed the two men under arrest.

Arrested were Milan Richard Havlik Jr., 32, and Michael Angelo Ortiz, 28, both of Carmichael, on suspicion of burglary, grand theft and conspiracy, Gunther said. Havlik is being held in the Placer County Jail on $60,000 bail, and Ortiz on $10,000 bail, she said.

The report did not say whether the suspects ever got food, Gunther said.

By Bee Staff

A man was arrested on suspicion of pimping and drug possession after a Roseville police officer followed up on a Craigslist ad of someone offering prostitution services in the Roseville area, according to a police spokeswoman.

Efrain Augustine Aguilar, 27, of Sacramento was booked into Placer County jail on Tuesday, jail records. He was being held on $25,000 bail.

The officer answered the ad and arranged to meet the suspect at a hotel, said Dee Dee Gunther, police spokeswoman.

When officers arrived, they also contacted Aguilar in an adjacent room, and suspected him of pimping (being financially supported by the prostitute's work), she said.

Aguilar also possessed methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, she said.

The suspected prostitute, a 46-year-old Sacramento woman, was issued a citation to appear on suspicion of prostitution and released at the scene, Gunther said.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The suspected street gang member accused of murder in the Dec. 19, 2007, shooting death of Sacramento sheriff's Detective Vu Nguyen told a police photographer during his interrogation the day after the killing that "the cop deserved it," it was disclosed today.

Defendant Jimmy Siackasorn's lawyer, Sue Karlton, tried to get the statement excluded from her client's upcoming trial but was rebuffed in a ruling made today by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan.

The judge also will allow Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard to present evidence that Siackasorn (2007 booking photo left) also told the photographer that he had some gunshot residue "on this hand."

Meegan, however, excluded additional statements Siackasorn made during his interrogation that started at 1:21 a.m. and ran for at least three hours the day after Nguyen was shot and killed.

The judge said Siackasorn made the additional comments -- undisclosed in court today and contained in an interview transcript that is not yet a part of the court record -- after he invoked his Miranda rights by telling detectives, "I don't want to talk about it no more."

Even though he told detectives he was finished with the interview, Meegan said that Siackasorn made "outbursts" when a police photographer showed up toward the end of the interview to take pictures of him. She said those statements were voluntary and could be admitted as evidence at trial.

It was during the photography session that Meegan said that the defendant, who is now 19 years old, blurted out, "The cop deserved it, though."

According to Meegan's comments in her ruling from the bench, the photographer in the same session also began collecting swabs from Siackasorn for the purpose of performing gunshot residue tests. It was then that Siackasorn told him, "It's on this hand," a potentially critical admission.

Nguyen, 37, was killed in a south area backyard after trying to contact a man authorities identified as Siackasorn who was standing outside a house near 37th Street and 42nd Avenue.

Investigators said they believe Siackasorn was standing outside a known gang hangout waiting to buy marijuana when Nguyen and his partner drove up. Investigators say Siackasorn took off and Nguyen followed in the fence-hopping foot chase during which he was killed.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

By Bee Staff

A Sacramento County man has been charged with attempting to kill his 73-year-old bedridden mother after he allegedly attacked her so severely that her shin bone was visible in one wound, according to the Sacramento Sheriff's Department and court records.

Stanley Mumby, 52, is in jail on multiple felony charges in addition to attempted murder, according to online jail and court records.

Here is how the attack was described in a crime summary filed by deputies:

At about 8:30 p.m. on Saturday at a residence in the 6200 block of Stagecoach Drive, the 5-foot 10-inch, 210-pound Mumby punched his mother numerous times in the face, causing "massive bruising and fractures."

He broke both his mother's arms. He also cause such a severe injury to her shin that the bone was visible.

Mumby also chocked the victim. He pinched her nose shut and covered her mouth in an attempt to suffocate her, deputies said. Mumby only stopped the attack after the victim begged for her life.

Mumby attacked deputies responding to the call, injuring one deputy's hand.

Mumby's mother was hospitalized with numerous injuries and bleeding on her brain, deputies said. Her condition was not available on Wednesday.

Mumby is being held without bail, records show.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating a woman's alleged sexual assault by two unknown men in the North Laguna Creek area, according to authorities.

An 18-year-old woman told police that she was walking home in the area of Franklin Boulevard and Calvine Road about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday when a man grabbed her and dragged her to a nearby bike trail, where he sexually assaulted her in some bushes, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

The woman noticed a second man, who was going through her personal belongings while she was being assaulted, Leong said. The men then fled on foot.

The teen was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center, where she reported the assault. Hospital staff members called Sacramento police.

Leong said the investigation is ongoing. The alleged assailants were described only as two black men in their 20s, one of whom was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Leong reminded residents to avoid walking alone when possible and to be alert at all times.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A Washoe County deputy shot and killed a 600-pound bear that a wildlife official had forced from a building crawl space.

The deputy was helping the Nevada Department of Wildlife remove a bear from a condominium crawl space in Incline Village on Tuesday afternoon when he was forced to shoot.

Two dogs trained to help remove the bear at first couldn't get the 10-year-old male black bear to budge.

Subsequently, wildlife department employee Carl Lackey tried to tranquilize the bear under the building, but the animal charged. Lackey then used a spray to rout the bear and deployed the dogs again, a sheriff's department news release states.

This time the bear surfaced from the crawlspace and Lackey shot the animal in the shoulder with a tranquilizer dart. Seconds later, the bear charged at a deputy stationed nearby.

The deputy fell and then fired one round from a shotgun, killing the bear.

The animal was known as a "problem bear," the release states. Several attempts had been made to capture the animal over several years because of his habit of breaking into residences.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A 55-year-old motorist has been charged in a fatal accident involving a bicyclist in Placer County.

A misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter was filed today against Patricia Louise Hernandez, 55, of Chicago Park in Nevada County.

She was charged in connection with the death of bicyclist James Rogers, 53, of Grass Valley. Rogers was struck and killed by a vehicle on Highway 174 near Colfax on Jan. 31.

Deputy District Attorney Clark Gehlbach alleges that Hernandez appeared to be distracted just before Rogers was struck as he rode on the side of the road at about 12:15 p.m.

An arraignment for Hernandez has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 23.

Q: What was the sentence given to the killer of Dustin Hays in 1993? - Matt, Austin, Texas

A: Amil Paul McGrath, now 39 was sentenced on March 29, 1995, to 12 years in state prison for killing Hays, The Bee reported.

McGrath, whose own attorney described him as a second-generation drug user, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the Dec. 21, 1993, stabbing death of Hays in a Roseville apartment.

Placer County Superior Court Judge James D. Garbolino imposed the maximum sentence available to him under the jury's verdict - 11 years for manslaughter and an additional year for the use of a deadly weapon.

According to McGrath's confession to authorities, Hays had pleaded with McGrath not to let him die after being stabbed repeatedly at the apartment McGrath shared with a roommate.

McGrath's attorney said the killing was the tragic result of a "blind panic," brought about by a combination of factors and triggered by a fear that Hays was there to do him harm.

McGrath had just received a $70,000 cash settlement for an injury suffered in an automobile accident and had been warned by friends that someone may try to take the money from him.

A seven-day methamphetamine "high" brought paranoia, delusions and hallucinations to McGrath, his attorney said. When Hays said and did things that McGrath misinterpreted as threats, the assault began, the attorney said.

Hays' body eventually was wrapped in a carpet and dumped in a remote area off Olive Ranch Road in Granite Bay, where it was found on Christmas Day 1993.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A Yolo County jury has convicted a 20-year-old man on multiple charges in a brutal beating last year in West Sacramento.

Antonio Mason Delgado was convicted Monday of attempted murder, mayhem, robbery, assault, infliction of bodily injury and criminal street gang activity.

Delgado was convicted of joining another man in the beating of a West Sacramento man Jan. 21, 2009. The victim suffered permanent brain damage, a Yolo County District Attorney's Office press release states.

The man was targeted at random as he walked home along West Capitol Avenue, the release states. A good Samaritan stopped the assault in which the victim was kicked in the head and groin.

The press release states that prosecution witnesses testified Delgado was an admitted Norteno gang member and that he attacked the man to impress the Broderick Boys street gang.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 23.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A fire at a Rancho Cordova duplex appears to have been caused by clothing left on a lighted lamp.

Firefighters responded to the fire on De Soto Way near Routier Road about 6 a.m. today. They quickly extinguished the flames in the side of the duplex where a woman, her husband and their son and daughter reside.

The son did not spend the night at the home, but the fire occurred in his room. Clothing he left on a lamp in his room heated up and ignited, fire officials said.

The fire caused about $50,000 in damage, said Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Christian Pebbles.

"Good housekeeping is a major part of fire prevention," said Pebbles.

The father and his daughter were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. The neighbor next door was treated at UC Davis Medical Center for smoke inhalation.

The woman who lives in the burned home initially could not be found. Fire officials say she might have information that could reveal what caused the blaze.

When she was located, the woman was able to tell investigators that the fire was accidental and caused by the clothing on the lamp.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

For a second day in a row, a car has been used as a battering ram to enter a sporting goods store, allowing the vehicle's occupants to steal pellet guns, police say.

Early this morning, a Honda Civic was driven through the glass front doors of the Big 5 store at 7833 Greenback Lane, just west of Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights.

The thieves took Airsoft guns that shoot plastic, non-lethal pellets. The break-in this morning follows a similar ramming and theft of pellet guns in Rancho Cordova on Tuesday morning.

This morning, workers at a nearby business taking out the trash heard the crash then saw that the car had hit the store. The witnesses then saw the car back up and accelerate rapidly into the sporting goods store in an attempt to make a bigger entry, said Citrus Heights police Sgt. Jeremy Garrison.

Three accomplices were outside the store during the ramming, police said. Witnesses told police the driver of the car was joined by one accomplice to loot the store while the other two stood watch.

"One of the three entered the business with the driver of the vehicle and with a backpack started to collect Airsoft guns from a display rack," Garrison said.

The thieves were in the store for only a few minutes before fleeing on foot, leaving the vehicle at the scene.

The car used in the break-in was not reported stolen, Garrison said. However, police will contact the owner today.

Sheriff's officials confirmed that a third similar incident occurred shortly before 2 a.m. this morning in Rancho Cordova. Someone unsuccessfully tried to drive a vehicle through the front door of R.C. Guns and Ammo on Zinfandel Drive, officials said.

Thieves used a stolen car Tuesday morning to ram into another Big 5 store on Folsom Boulevard at Zinfandel Drive in Rancho Cordova before stealing air pistols.

Airsoft guns, either powered by gas or spring-loaded, are designed to look like models of lethal handguns or rifles. A Baretta look-a-like gas-powered Airsoft pistol costs $160 online.

They are used recreationally in games where participants bundle up in thick clothing and shoot at each other. A direct hit on skin would leave a welt and sting, said Garrison.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are looking for a man they suspect of kissing and inappropriately touching a woman while apparently going door-to-door in the Elmhurst neighborhood.

On the afternoon of Feb. 16, the man knocked on the door of a home on Discovery Way and spoke with a female resident, said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong.

He told the woman he worked with a local mortgage loan company, and she stepped onto the front porch to talk to him, closing the door behind her, Leong said.

As they talked, the man kissed the woman and inappropriately touched her, Leong said. The woman got away and called police.

She told officers that the man had paperwork in his hands that included other addresses, so police believe he might have knocked on other doors, or had the intention of doing so, Leong said. However, the woman is the only known victim, he said.

The man was described to police as a white man with a dark olive complexion, 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 190 pounds with a large belly. He had short black hair with some gray starting to show, a scruffy beard and silver teeth on the upper right side of his mouth.

He had a thick accent, possibly, Serbian, and wore a black zip-up jacket with a red logo on the back, according to police. He was driving an off-white, four-door 1987 Nissan Sentra.

Sacramento police are using the incident to warn residents to be wary of strangers approaching them in or near their homes. Residents are encouraged to call police if there is a question about the person's identity, and should not provide any personal information to the person, Leong said.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637. Enter "SACTIP" followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

A Sacramento man with a long criminal record must serve 25 years to life in prison after his 2009 meth-laced run in with the Roseville Police Department.

Anthony Joseph DiBernardo, 50, of Sacramento, was convicted in Placer Superior Court this week for driving under the influence and resisting an officer.

In May, DiBernardo was pulled over for driving with expired registration. During the stop, the responding officer suspected DiBernardo was under the influence of a substance. The Placer County District Attorney's Office said DiBernardo attempted to swallow a plastic bag of methamphetamine and wrestled with the officer.

The DUI and resisting counts triggered a mandatory 25-to-life sentence.

His record includes an 1988 crime spree that included a three-home burglary binge and an attempted rape of a 14-year-old girl, offenses committed before the state's three-strikes mandatory sentencing law took effect.

During this week's sentencing, DiBernardo sought to have his old convictions disregarded -- an argument Judge Joseph O'Flaherty rejected.

Prosecutor Benjamin Eggert argued that DiBernardo continued to break the law in the 1990s. His more recent crimes included a misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon and twice failing to register as a sex offender.

"This guy had his chances," Eggert said. "He's exactly the kind of person the three-strikes law was written for."

Call The Bee's Ed Fletcher, (916) 321-1269.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A man was arrested on multiple charges in Yolo County after drugs and a stolen dismantled motorcycle were allegedly found in his pickup.

Gene Miller, 49, of the Tehama County town of Corning was arrested Monday on suspicion of possessing stolen property, possessing methamphetamine and marijuana and possessing drug paraphernalia.

A Yolo County sheriff's deputy noticed Miller's truck exit Interstate 5 at County Road 5 near Dunnigan and then return to the freeway in the same direction. The deputy followed Miller onto the freeway and stopped him after observing erratic driving, a sheriff's department press release states.

Miller exited his truck and walked to the deputy. He did not have any identification and appeared nervous, the deputy said.

Miller agreed to be searched, which resulted in the deputy recovering a plastic bag containing drugs, the press release stated.

A search of the truck turned up more drugs and a hypodermic syringe, deputies said. A dismantled Harley-Davidson motorcycle in the bed of the pickup was reported stolen last year in Sacramento County, deputies said.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Two Sacramento-area men were charged today by securities regulators with running a massive Ponzi scheme that might be the largest mortgage fraud case in the history of the region.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it charged Lawrence Leland "Lee" Loomis and his father-in-law, John Hagener, in a civil complaint, "with misappropriating approximately $10 million from more than 100 investors who were falsely promised that their money would be loaned to homebuyers and secured by real estate deeds of trust."

Investors were promised 12 percent rates of return, the SEC said, but federal officials say Loomis actually used the money to prop up other failing businesses.

The SEC says Loomis paid himself hundreds of thousands of dollars with investor funds and that Hagener received more than $190,000 for managing the funds.

The SEC complaint charges Loomis and Hagener with violating antifraud provisions of federal securities laws and seeks "injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and monetary penalties."

Loomis' attorney has said he is not guilty.

The probe began in 2009 after officials received tips from investors and former Loomis workers, and in August FBI agents raided Loomis Wealth Solutions offices in Roseville.

Three men charged in the case earlier fled the country. One was captured in Barcelona, Spain. Another was arrested as he entered the United States from Canada with $70,000 stuffed in his shoe. A third remains at large.

Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A robber pistol-whipped a woman Monday night at a Carmichael bank ATM.

The 42-year-old woman was hit in the head about 7:30 p.m. when she was at the cash machine outside a bank at Fair Oaks Boulevard and Sutter Avenue.

The woman was treated for her injury at the scene. The suspect did not get any of the woman's money, a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

The El Dorado County sheriff is objecting to a request that Phillip (far left) and Nancy Garrido (left) be allowed to visit each other in jail, saying it "is breathtaking in its audacity."

Lawyers for the pair say the two accused kidnappers of Jaycee Lee Dugard need to meet to make family decisions and that they must be allowed to discuss their pending court case.

But the sheriff's office ridicules the request, which will be heard in a court hearing Friday.

"The only justification offered by the Garrido co-defendants for their extraordinary request to visit each other is that they need to make 'family decisions,' " a court filing from Chief Assistant County Counsel Edward L. Knapp states.

"The pseudo-family the Garridos want to discuss was created by the kidnap, false imprisonment and multiple rapes of a young girl, producing two children. While it may be argued that a restoration of family values would improve the quality of American life in general, the assertion of family rights in a case where the 'family' was the product of 29 alleged felonies is astonishing."

The filing argues that there is no constitutional guarantee for inmates to visit each other and that arranging such visits could pose a security threat and overburden deputies at the El Dorado County Jail.

"Longstanding and uniformly applied County Jail policy and practice does not allow personal visitation between inmates, particularly by those who are co-defendants in a pending criminal case," the filing states, adding that the Garridos are seeking "special privileges that no one else gets."

"The Garridos do not have any right to make personal visits with each other because the essence of being in jail is that you don't get to visit whoever you please, under the conditions you might prefer," the filing states.

The county counsel's filing, made under the name of Sheriff Manfred Kollar, also points out that the trial court can order the jailing or release of an inmate but that it has no say over how the jail is managed.

The Garridos have pleaded not guilty in the kidnapping of Dugard in 1991 when she was 11. She allegedly was held captive by them for 18 years in their Antioch-area home, where she was forced to have two daughters with Phillip Garrido, a convicted rapist and kidnapper.

Attorneys for the pair did not respond to requests for comment this morning.

They also are seeking information on the whereabouts of Dugard or the identity of her lawyer.

The El Dorado County District Attorney already has filed objections to defense requests to allow the Garridos to see each other, and the sheriff's filing echoes those objections by noting Phillip Garrido is a "master manipulator" and that he "knows how to use concealed messages to threaten and coerce his victims."

"In 1972 he successfully coerced his minor rape victim into not testifying by threatening her," filing states. That refers to a case in Antioch where Garrido was charged with abducting a girl and raping her at a local motel; the charges were dropped just before trial when the victim declined to testify, authorities have said.

The filing also recounts the 1976 abduction and rape of Katie Callaway, who was taken to a Reno storage shed where she spent a night of terror at Garrido's hands.

"In 1977 he was convicted of raping another woman, and was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison, but in 1988 talked his way into being released from federal prison after serving only 11 years. He then tracked down his rape victim from 12 years before and used the cryptic phrase 'I haven't had a drink in 11 years,' interpreted by that victim to mean he hadn't raped in 11 years."

Three years later, Dugard was snatched from in front of her home near South Lake Tahoe as a fifth-grader walking to a nearby school bus stop.

She remained missing for 18 years until she was discovered alive in August.

Judge Douglas Phimister is scheduled to hear arguments on the visitation motion Friday afternoon in his Placerville courtroom.

Meanwhile, a separate court filing Phimister sealed from view indicates he received a declaration on Friday from Pam Lane involving the case, but he ordered lawyers not to reveal any information about it.

Phimister has previously sealed other documents related to his removal of attorney Gilbert Maines as Nancy Garrido's court-appointed attorney. Maines' appeal of his removal is pending.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Elk Grove police have partnered with a company that provides mini online crime reports.

Police Chief Robert Lehner said that www.CrimeReports.com gives Elk Grove citizens a way to keep current with any crime occurring in the city at any time. The reports give date, time, location and type of crime.

Elk Grove is one of 700 law enforcement agencies in North America to have signed up with the online crime reporting company. Other cities in partnership with CrimeReports are San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore and San Jose.

"We hope that giving the community this information will help them prevent crime in their neighborhoods," Lehner said.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Sacramento prosecutors have obtained their first conviction in the October 2008 shooting death of a California correctional officer in the garage of his south area home.

Allyssa Vue, 37, the sister of former sheriff's deputy Chu Vue, who is the principal defendant in the slaying of Steve Lo, pleaded no contest Friday to acting as an accessory in the case.

She was sentenced to 90 days on the sheriff's work project and five years of probation, according to Sacramento County Superior Court records.

Allyssa Vue waived her appellate rights and also agreed that she would not assert her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination if she is called as a witness in her 45-year-old brother's trial that is set for March 30, according to the terms of the plea that were approved by Judge Marjorie Koller.

The judge ordered her to appear in court on the first day of the trial.

According to police and prosecutors, Allyssa Vue rented a motel room for two other brothers who are charged in the case with actually carrying out the Oct. 15, 2008, shooting of Lo.

One of those brothers, Chong Vue, in another recent development in the case, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while committing a July 10, 2001, drive-by shooting in Minneapolis, Minn., according to Hennepin County court records.

Chong Vue, 30, entered his plea Jan. 29. The court records did not say what sentence he received.

His brother, Gary Vue, 28, the shooter in the 2001 case, was convicted Dec. 10 of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with a chance of parole after 31 years.

Gary Vue has since been extradited to Sacramento to face trial along with Chu Vue, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. Chong Vue is expected to be transported to Sacramento within the next month.

Both Chong Vue and Gary Vue were fugitives in the Minnesota case at the time of Steve Lo's shooting.

Police and prosecutors say that Chu Vue arranged the shooting death of Lo because the correctional officer was having an affair with the former deputy's wife.

A friend of the family, Lang Vue, 27, also is charged with murder in the case on grounds that he aided and abetted the correctional officer's death. Two other defendants, Lee Vue and Mason Vue, were accused along with Allyssa Vue as acting as accessories. Their trial is scheduled for April 14.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A couple of big murder trials are about to take off in Sacramento Superior Court.

Jury selection is underway in the Aaron Norman Dunn case. The 32-year-old defendant is accused in the shooting deaths of television cameraman Johnie Ray Johnson, 46, and Xerox salesman Michael John Daly, 45, in a March 25, 2006, shotgun spree in Elk Grove.

Both victims had been eating dinner with their families at popular restaurants on Laguna Boulevard. Police and prosecutors say Dunn drove down from Yuba City and cut loose with his shotgun in a revenge attack that was aimed at police officers because his estranged wife purportedly had taken up with a cop.

Dunn also is charged with attempted murder on two police officers in the case. He faces the death penalty if he is convicted. The trial will take place in front of Judge Michael W. Sweet.

In the other case, pretrial motions are scheduled to resume Wednesday in front of Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan in the case of defendant Jimmy Siackasorn. He is accused in the Dec. 19, 2007, shooting death of Sacramento sheriff's Det. Vu Nguyen.

According to testimony at Siackasorn's October 2008 preliminary hearing the defendant was standing outside a house in south Sacramento waiting to buy marijuana when Vu, an anti-gang detective, drove up on him with a partner. When Nguyen got out of the car to make contact with Siackasorn, a suspected member of the Tiny Rascals Gangster, the defendant ran. The detective was shot and killed in the ensuing foot pursuit that took him into neighboring back yards.

Testimony also started today in the murder trial of Daniel James Norman, 43. Norman is accused of aiding and abetting David Kenneth Hamilton in the April 20, 2008, robbery murder of Wilbur Reynolds, 76, in the Foothill Farms area.

Hamilton, 39, was shot and killed by a Sacramento sheriff's detective who was looking for him after the Reynolds slaying. Authorities said Hamilton had refused the detective's order to stop and then made a move for what the officer thought was a weapon. It turned out that Hamilton was unarmed.

Judge Steve White is presiding over the Norman trial.

Pretrial motions also are scheduled to continue Thursday in the murder trial of Carolyn Marie Simmons, 53. She is accused in the June 17, 1991, stabbing death of Richard Jackson, 66, in an apartment near Stockton Boulevard and Fruitridge Road. Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard will preside.

By Loretta Kalb and Bill Lindelof
lkalb@sacbee.com

Sacramento police said today that an elderly man missing since Friday has not been found.

Police need help locating 76-year-old Mikhail Shambra. He was last seen at his home in the 4000 block of Taylor Street near Interstate 80 and Rio Linda Boulevard.

Shambra, who only speaks Russian, is considered at-risk and takes medication to treat memory loss, police reported.

He was last seen about 11 a.m. Friday when he left his home to take his daily walk. He left without medication.

Shambra is 5-foot-6, 200 pounds and has gray hair and green eyes. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black pants and reading glasses. He also is known by the nickname "Petrovich."

Anyone with information is asked to contact either non-emergency dispatch (916) 264-5471 or the missing-persons unit at (916) 808-0560.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni pleaded no contest today and was sentenced to three years of informal probation for his Nov. 5 downtown drunken driving arrest.

Superior Court Judge Emily E. Vasquez also ordered Nocioni, who was not present in the courtroom, to perform two days of community services, complete a three-month class and pay fines totaling about $2,500 dollars.

Nocioni's lawyer, Bill Portanova, said that the professional basketball player "has been embarrassed by this situation, and he hopes that something good can come from it."

Nocioni was pulled over at L and 9th streets after visiting a downtown club. His blood-alcohol level registered at .12. The legal limit in California is .08.

Portanova called his client "a good, solid family man" who hopes to use the incident to step up his game.

"He has just been working that much harder to make up," Portanova said.

Portanova said that Nocioni still faces possible discipline from the National Basketball Association.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

A Fair Oaks man accused of taking part in a bizarre scheme to recover money from an alleged $40 million Ponzi ring in Folsom has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impersonate an officer, federal authorities reported.

Michael David Sanders, 42, was the fourth and final person to plead guilty in the case in which defendants admitted they tried unsuccessfully to recover funds for people who lost investments to the Ponzi ring, according to officials for the U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI and the IRS.

The Ponzi scheme allegedly was carried out by Anthony Vassallo, indicted last April on mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Vassallo has pleaded not guilty.

According to prosecutors, a month before Vassallo was indicted, the foursome walked into a Folsom office and confronted three men associated with the alleged scheme.

They were wearing bulletproof vests, handcuffs, badges and earpieces. Sanders, according to one report, was carrying a stun gun.

Pacing around the room, they announced they worked for the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission and demanded that the three men wire $378,300.16 to an account at an area credit union, authorities said.

No money was wired. Prosecutors have said the four appeared to be genuinely working on behalf of people who had lost money investing with Equity Investment Management and Trading Inc. of Folsom.

Co-conspirator Craig Anderson, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty on Feb. 1 to impersonating an officer. Cassandra Moore, 26, of Beverly Hills, and Sean Smartt, 41, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of illegally possessing false documents.

Sanders and Anderson are to be sentenced in May and April, respectively, and face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy charge. Moore and Smartt face up to a year in prison. Their sentencings are scheduled for next month.

By Bee Staff

Sacramento State University police officers have caught a burglary suspect who Sacramento Police Department investigators believe may be connected to other break-ins.

Gary Moreno, 29, is in the Sacramento jail on suspicion of six felony counts of burglary and a remand arrest for a related charge. The latter is causing him to be held without bail, according to jail records.

Sacramento State police said Moreno had stolen property in his possession when he was arrested.

One burglary Moreno is being investigated in connection with is the theft of office equipment from an east Sacramento medical building.

The suspect's image was captured on security cameras (see photo left).

Police said the burglar broke into a medical office complex in the 5000 block of J Street about 9 p.m. on Feb. 8. It's unclear how he got into the building, police said.

The burglar entered several offices in the building and took office equipment before fleeing.

By Bee Staff

An ex-guard at Folsom Prison has been ordered to repay $170,000 more over a bogus disability claim.

June Ann Lucena, who was convicted of disability fraud, has been ordered to pay more another $170,000 in restitution on top of a previous $244,000 restitution payment, according to Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully.

This follows a court order in December to repay $244,400 to CalPERS in December 2009, Scully's office said.

Lucena's problems began in 1999, when she suffered a work-related injury after a fall. She had surgery in the summer of 2000 and began receiving workers' compensation benefits.

Lucena also filed for disability retirement with CalPERS, claiming she was "severely restricted in her physical activities," according to previous Bee reports.

Despite those claims, private investigators filmed her in the summer of 2002 "repeatedly going down the water slides" at the Oakwood Lake Water Park in Manteca, Scully's office said in December.

"The very next day she was seen at Folsom Lake riding a Jet Ski at various times throughout the day, in choppy waters, and at high rates of speed," Scully's office said.

She later denied under oath that she had been on the watercraft, saying, "I don't know what that would do to my back," according to the District Attorney's Office.

Lucena went to trial and Deputy District Attorney Debbie Glynn won convictions on 14 counts against her in December 2007, Scully said. Lucena also received a 7-year prison sentence (an earlier version of this story omitted this detail).

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man on probation was arrested Friday night after Sacramento police say he was found in possession of items taken in a burglary that had just occurred.

Officers were dispatched to a report of a burglary in progress in the 6500 block of Fordham Way in the South Land Park area shortly before 7:30 p.m.. The first officer to arrive confirmed that someone had broken into the residence through a door leading from the back yard into the garage, according to the Police Department's daily activity log.

A perimeter was established in the area of the residence. During their search, officers stopped a maroon Chevrolet truck that was leaving the area on South Land Park Drive. The truck had pulled to the curb and turned off its lights, the report says.

Officers found that the driver was on probation. A search of the truck, they said, turned up items taken from the Fordham Way residence.

Police said they were not releasing the name of the 51-year-old truck driver due to the ongoing investigation.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 19-year-old man was shot in the face near 24th Street and Nedra Court in Sacramento early Friday afternoon.

Sacramento police received a report of shots fired on Nedra Court about 1 p.m. and found the victim standing on the sidewalk in front of a residence, according to the department's daily activity log.

Police said he had a gunshot wound to his mouth, but was expected to survive. He was taken to Kaiser South Sacramento Medical Center.

Police said the suspects were described only as African American men driving a tan or gold vehicle.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Folsom police say a robbery on Friday at a local pharmacy shared many similarities with one that happened a month ago at the same business.

No one was injured in both incidents, police said.

About 6:30 p.m., employees at Folsom Medical Pharmacy reported the robbery at the store in the 1300 block of East Bidwell Street.

They told police that a masked man entered the store, displayed a handgun and demanded pain medication. He then fled the store with an undisclosed amount of a controlled substance, police said.

The man is described white, about 6 feet tall weighing about 200 pounds. He was wearing a ski mask and a red sweatshirt. No vehicle was seen, police said.

Police said the way the crime was committed was similar to what happened during a robbery at the store Jan. 25. Suspects' descriptions in both cases also matched. In both cases, the men were masked and asked for pain prescription before fleeing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME or www.wetip.com. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

By Bee Staff

The California Highway Patrol said today that it is investigating the hit-and-run death of a bicycle rider in unincorporated south Sacramento.

The 39-year-old bicyclist was struck 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, attempting to cross from the east edge of Stockton Boulevard to the westbound side, near Walter Avenue, according to a CHP news release.

The ride was struck by a red, unknown type vehicle. Due to the initial collision the cyclist was propelled from his bicycle and dragged underneath the suspect vehicle, the CHP said.

The unknown driver failed to stop at the collision scene and fled northbound on Stockton Boulevard.

The downed cyclist was struck a second time by a white, Hyundai, being driven by a Sacramento resident. The Hyundai came to rest on top of the injured party and emergency personnel had to lift the vehicle off his body, before he could be transported to Kaiser South Sacramento for treatment, the CHP said.

The cyclist died about 8:25 p.m. Thursday, the CHP said. The cyclist name is being withheld until next of kin can be notified.

Anyone with information is asked to call (916) 681-2300 or the Sacramento Communications Center at (916) 861-1300.

Witnesses can also contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637 (CRIMES). Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.

Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento judge today denied a request by the Sacramento County deputies union to bar the Sheriff's Department from awarding increased good-behavior time credits to jail inmates.

The decision by Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster means that inmates will be getting out of jail months earlier than under the old system in which the offenders only got a third of the time off their sentences. An inmate sentenced to a year in county jail who had been serving eight months, for example, will now serve only six months if he or she earns maximum credits for good behavior.

Nearly 300 inmates already have been released under the 50-percent time-credit system that was put into place by a state law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year. The law went into effect Jan. 25.

The Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association filed suit to stop the Sheriff's Department from giving the inmates half-time credits. The union said the "one-for-one" credit system amounted to an early release for the inmates who benefited.

Although McMaster refused to grant the temporary restraining order sought by the union, he did issue an order to show cause on why he shouldn't enjoin the sheriff from granting the enhanced time credits.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction has tentatively been scheduled for March 3.

Today's decision was McMaster's fourth ruling in case. He had earlier issued a temporary restraining order to stop granting any time credits to county jail inmates. Then he modified the order to allow for time credits that inmates earned prior to the new law going into effect on Jan. 25.

Earlier this week, McMaster lifted his previous order entirely.

A lengthy hearing on the case today featured strident exchanges between David Mastagni, the attorney who is representing the deputies' union, and Sacramento County Assistant District Attorney Albert Locher over whether the provisions of Marsy's Law, the so-called "victims' bill of rights" California voters passed in November 2008, apply to the case.

The DA's office filed a friend-of-the-court brief Thursday opposing the union's effort to get the temporary restraining order reinstated.

Mastagni argued that extending the time credits on the jail inmates violates Marsy's Law, and he chided the DA's Office for taking the same side in the case as the Public Defender's Office. Both, Mastagni said, are acting "contrary to the will of the people."

Marsy's Law, Mastagini argued, mandates that victims be notified before inmates are released from custody earlier than proscribed by their sentences. He said Marsy's Law bars early releases brought on by budget considerations or as efforts to relieve prison overcrowding.

"Victims have rights, they deserve to be heard, and they deserve to be involved in the process of early release," Mastagni told the court.

Locher fired back that his office strongly supports Marsy's Law. "I couldn't disagree more strongly" with Mastagni, Locher said, about the plaintiff lawyer's characterization of the DA's position on the voter-approved initiative. Locher's boss, District Attorney Jan Scully, campaigned for the measure in 2008.

Locher said that Marsy's Law "has nothing to do with this case" and that its provisions make specific exceptions for statutorily-authorized time credits that inmates can earn as a result of their in-custody behavior.

He said in his court papers that victims have a right to be heard at any point in a criminal proceeding "upon request," but that "conduct credits are considered in law to be part of the term the prisoner served."

In his brief, Locher said that county jails have applied time credits to inmates since 1976 and that last year's Senate Bill 3X18 increased them to one-half from one-third of their sentences. He said that an assortment of code sections give county jail inmates the same time-credit privileges as state prisoners.

Chief Assistant Public Defender Karen Flynn argued that "it's not a mystery" and that "there's no hidden agenda" that inmates get out of jail before they serve the full sentence spelled out in their terms. Time credits, she said, are taken into consideration as part of the plea-bargain process that covers a huge percentage of court dispositions.

Flynn said she found herself "shaking in my boots" today because she was arguing in court on the same side of the table as the district attorney and the state attorney general, and "that has never happened."

She said "the reality is" that taking away good behavior credits from inmates would make it "much more dangerous" in the jails for the sheriff's deputies who work amid the 4,200 inmates locked up in the county's two mail detention facilities.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

Sacramento police said Friday that they arrested a man on suspicion of carrying concealed weapons after a victim in another crime alerted them to a vehicle possibly involved in that incident.

Police said they are investigating the man in connection with a week-old shooting near a Highway 50 off ramp.

On Feb. 13, a man reported shots fired at his vehicle around 8 p.m. at the Howe Avenue off ramp of Highway 50. No one was injured.

On Thursday evening, the original reporting party called the police after he spotted a vehicle that looked like the one the shooter was driving, police said.

Later than evening, the police found a vehicle fitting the description of the shooter's vehicle, a blue Dodge Magnum, in the 6700 block of 4th Avenue and talked to the driver.

Officers said they found two handguns in the vehicle and arrested the Forest Conner, 20, on suspicion of procession of concealed weapons.

Officer Laura Peck said they're still investigating into whether Conner was involved in the original incident.

"We haven't charged him with that crime, yet. We may never, but we are investigating it," Peck said.

Conner could also be found in violation of his parole agreement, Peck said.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

The Sacramento District Attorney's office has decided to try as an adult Tyler Espinoza, 17, who has been charged in last week's murder of Citrus Heights teen Rebecca Layson.

Espinoza, who family said was Layson's boyfriend, and Anton "Tony" Adolf Johnson, 18, were arraigned Thursday, each on a charge of murder and a special allegation of acting in concert with another person.

Layson's body was found in Van Maren Park last Friday morning.

Layson's family called police to report her missing early that morning when she didn't return home after hanging out with friends.

Officers found her body later that day in a heavily wooded area of the park.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A judge today took under submission the case on whether the Sacramento County Sheriffs' Department can continue to release its jail inmates under a new statewide good behavior time credit policy that went into effect this year.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster said he would issue his decision by 3:30 p.m. today.

McMaster's ruling will come in a case that challenges the new state law that extended good behavior credits for county jail inmates to one day for every day served. Under the old provisions of the state's sentencing structure, inmates earned one day off their terms for every two days they served, if they behaved.

Today's decision will be McMaster's fourth ruling in case. He had earlier issued a temporary restraining order to stop granting any time credits to county jail inmates. Then he modified the order to allow for time credits that inmates earned prior to the new law going into effect on Jan. 25.

Earlier this week, McMaster lifted his previous order entirely.

McMaster's decision will come in the wake of a refusal Thursday by a judge in Orange County to issue a tempoary restraining order to stop the Sheriff's Department there from enacting the policies that changed the time-credit formula.

Q: What happened to Jimmy Cooc? He supposedly was involved in a murder - Anonymous, Elk Grove

A: Jimmy Chi Cooc (photo at left from 2003) was convicted with four other people in the men in the killing of 19-year-old Matthew Seivert in Tahoe Park on Christmas Eve 2003.

Cooc, then 19, joined Nicole Melissa Carroll, Jon Lam and John Dich, all 19; and Hung Ly, 21.

Cooc, Carroll and Dich were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Ly was sentenced to life without the chance of parole. Court records available to The Bee did not indicate what sentence Lam received.

Deputy District Attorney Donell Slivka said at the trial that the defendants believed Seivert made a slur against Asians, and lured him to Tahoe Park where they planned to beat him up.

According to Slivka, about a dozen teens blocked Seivert's car and approached with golf clubs and martial arts weapons called nunchucks, but things did not go as planned; Ly shot Seivert in the torso and head.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A public hearing is scheduled for next month to vet the placement of a seventh "sexually violent predator" in Sacramento County.

The state's Department of Mental Health, which oversees the treatment program for such sex offenders, is proposing to release 61-year-old Steven Joseph Jones into his home county of Sacramento, according to local authorities. If his placement is approved by the Sacramento Superior Court, he will live at a home in the 5000 block of Tyler Street, which was recently vacated by another sexually violent predator, authorities said.

The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on March 15 before Judge Jack Sapunor in the downtown courthouse. The department has not been determined.

Jones was first convicted of a sexual offense in 1987, when he was sentenced to six years in prison for lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14, said Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Mike Jones, who oversees the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement team and sits on the sexually violent predator housing committee.

Steven Jones was out of prison in three years, however, and in 1991 again was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14 - this time four counts, Sgt. Jones said. While in prison, he was determined to have a mental disorder and entered the sexually violent predator treatment program. He has since been treated at state hospitals in Atascadero and Coalinga, Sgt. Jones said.

Sex offenders released after completing the treatment program are typically subject to an extensive amount of conditions, such as GPS monitoring, therapy and prohibited access to the Internet.

The Department of Mental Health provides on-site security at the predator's new home for 24 hours, and then begins scaling back the security, Sgt. Jones said.

After that, Steven Jones would be on the list of people monitored by Sgt. Jones' team.

According to the District Attorney's office, two of the six sexually violent predators living in Sacramento County are under out-patient supervision by the Department of Mental Health. The other four are not under any formal supervision by the department.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

Citing personal reasons, the city of Lincoln has decided to part ways with Police Chief Brian Vizzusi. He had earlier taken a leave of absence.

Vizzusi joined the Lincoln Police Department as a lieutenant in 2004 and was promoted to police chief in 2006.

"The personnel decisions leading up to this agreement are required to remain strictly confidential," said City Attorney Tim Hayes in a news release. "We appreciate Chief Vizzusi's service to the community and wish him well."

Lt. Paul Shelgren will continue as acting chief while the city finds a full-time replacement, said City Manager Jim Estep.

"There will be no interruption whatsoever in the consistency, quality, or responsiveness of our public safety or 9-1-1 services to the community," Estep said.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are trying to sort out the details of a loud and emotional confrontation between members of the media and the family of a 17-year-old girl killed in Citrus Heights last week.

Initial reports indicated that during the minutes-long altercation, Robbin Layson, whose daughter Rebecca Layson was found dead in a Citrus Heights park Friday, was assaulted, possibly by somebody associated with 18-year-old Anton Adolf Johnson, one of two suspects arrested in the Layson case.

In later interviews with police, Robbin Layson said she was assaulted by an unknown man, said Sgt. Norm Leong. He said it is unknown whether her alleged assailant is affiliated with Johnson.

According to police and media footage of the incident, the confrontation began outside the Main Jail when members of the Layson family began to argue with television cameraman videotaping them.

At some point, there was some pushing and shoving between the two groups, but no charges are being pressed in connection with that, Leong said.

The Bee was not involved.

Initial reports also indicated that somebody was arrested in the skirmish, but Leong said that is not the case.

The families were at the Main Jail this afternoon for the arraignment of Johnson, who was charged with murder and acting in concert with another person in connection with Rebecca Layson's death.

A 17-year-old boy - Rebecca Layson's boyfriend, according to her family - also has been arrested in the case. The Bee is not identifying him because he is a juvenile.

Q: Whatever happened to Marshall Loren Staats, the man who was accused of vehicular manslaughter in the death of a female passenger in a traffic wreck in Fair Oaks last June? - Anonymous, Davis

A: According to Sacramento Superior Court records, Staats on Oct. 9 pleaded no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and on Nov. 13 was sentenced to four years in state prison.

Staats was the driver of a car on June 4, 2009, that was involved in a collision that left a 23-year-old female passenger dead, The California Highway Patrol told The Bee following the crash.

Staats was suspected of having been under the influence of marijuana, according to a CHP spokeswoman.

About 4:30 p.m. that day, Staats, 30, made a left turn from San Juan Avenue onto Winding Way in front of a Ford F-250 truck, and his Honda was broadsided, the CHP said.

Right after the crash, Staats grabbed a backpack from his car and ran to put it in a nearby garbage can, the CHP said. Bags of marijuana were in the backpack, the CHP said.

Staats' girlfriend was pronounced dead after she was transferred to Mercy San Juan Medical Center. She was identified by Sacramento County coroner's officials as Ebony Lorraine Wash of Sacramento.

Staats was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the Ford complained of pain.

Staats was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, vehicular manslaughter, possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license, the CHP said.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are seeking the public's help in identifying three suspects wanted in connection with a brazen afternoon burglary at a local Walmart last month.

The suspects (see photos below) are accused of walking into the Walmart on Truxel Road about 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 23 and trying to break into a cash register, said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong.

Unsuccessful, they tried another check stand's register, and were able to access the cash in that drawer, Leong said.

They then fled the store and drove away in a car described as a blue, 2000s Buick or Oldsmobile-type car.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637. Enter "SACTIP" followed by the tip information.

Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Three puppies advertised on www.sacbee.com were scooped up from Eileen Mackin's property and she wants them back.

Mackin, a Citrus Heights resident, said three young men came to her home Wednesday about 7:30 p.m. after one of them first telephoned about the puppies listed on The Bee's site (an earlier version of this story said the puppies were advertised for sale on Craigslist. However, Mackin called The Bee in the afternoon to say she had misunderstood a relative who had placed the ad for her).

Mackin had four eight-week-old Shitzu puppies left from a litter of six. The purebred puppies, Mackin said, were worth about $600 each.

Two puppies from the litter had already been sold. Four were left when the theft of the three tri-colored Shitzus - two boys, one girl - occurred. (In photo below, the stolen puppies and the black puppy and two of the brown and white puppies).

The three dog thieves each grabbed one puppy when her daughter-in-law showed the puppies on the front porch of the home in the 700 block of Highland Avenue.

The dognappers then got into their car, which they had backed into the Mackin driveway, and sped away.

"They swooped up the puppies," she said. "Then they sped out the driveway. The tracks are still there."

Mackin, who was not present at the time of the theft, said she has reported the theft to the Citrus Heights police department.

She requested that anyone who can help return the puppies to call police at (916) 727-5500.

Police are investigating the theft of the puppies.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives are asking for the public's help in identifying two men suspected of annoying a 14-year-old girl.

The girl told authorities that on Jan. 5 she was walking on Morse Avenue near Hurley Way when a car pulled up alongside her, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. The occupants of the car, a driver and a passenger, asked for the girl's name, but she ignored them, the release states.

The suspects continued following the girl in their car, and then the passenger got out and approached the girl. She crossed the street and was able to get away from the men, according to the release.

The driver (sketche bottow left) was described to detectives as a dark-skinned black man in his early 20s with a "Mohawk" hairstyle, the release states. The passenger (sketch bottom right) was described as a black man in his 30s, 5 foot 8 inches tall and with a stocky build. He was wearing a red shirt and black shorts. The car they were in was described as gold, two-door Lexus.

Anyone with information about these suspects is asked to call detectives at (916) 874-5070 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

From Bill Lindelof:

Auburn police have cited a teen for brandishing a realistic-looking replica handgun.

Police responded to a report of a person wielding a gun about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on Kenmass Avenue. The caller said three male teens were trespassing behind the Kenmass Avenue residence.

One teen brandished what the caller thought was a black semi-automatic handgun. He retreated for safety when he thought one teen started loading ammunition into the weapon.

Police later caught up with three teens behind a business on the 900 block of Lincoln Way. One of the teens had a replica firearm.

He was cited by police for brandishing a replica firearm and modifying a replica firearm to look realistic.

Auburn police stated in a press release that toy or replica guns may be perceived as genuine firearms, presenting a danger to people who own them if officers or others feel they are at risk.

The Sacramento Police Department is seeking two burglary suspects, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Daniel Elisha Blackman (left photo) is wanted on a felony warrant charging him with residential burglary. Blackman also has five other outstanding warrants for his arrest, authorities said. He is described as age 20, 6 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He also has tattoos on his left arm and neck.

He is also known as Daniel Alisha Blackmon, Daniel Eisha Blackmon, Sean Pipebury and Pacman.

Blackman, who authorities said is affiliated with a gang, was last known to live in the 5700 block of Marconi Avenue in Carmichael.

Samantha Raenee Freeman (right photo) is wanted on a felony warrant charging her with residential burglary.

Freeman is described as age 43, 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds with red hair and blue eyes. She is also known as Symantha Gamez, Symantha Raenee Freeman, Symantha Raenne Freeman, Symantha Raenee Davenport, Samantha Raenee Davenport and Sam.

She was last known to live in the 2200 block of Hickory Way in West Sacramento, officials said.

Anyone with information about Blackman or Freeman is urged to contact Crime Alert at (800) 222-7463 or (916) 443-4357. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Auburn police on Wednesday cited a teenage boy for brandishing a replica firearm and modifying it to look realistic.

According to a news release, the teen was one of three who were allegedly trespassing behind a residence in the 100 block of Kenmass Avenue at about 4:30 p.m. A 911 caller reported seeing one of the teenage boys brandish a black semi-automatic handgun when the caller encountered the teens.

Detectives found the boys in a parking lot behind businesses in the 900 block of Lincoln Way and determined that the firearm was a replica air spring-style firearm.

Police warn that toy or replica firearms can be mistaken for real firearms, placing the user and a responding law enforcement officer in danger.

From Kim Minugh:

A 43-year-old woman and her four children escaped injury this morning when an unknown shooter or shooters riddled their Oak Park home with bullets, police say.

Officers arrived at the home on the 3100 block of San Diego Way about 4:15 a.m. today after callers reported gunshots being fired at the home, Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong said.

Bullet holes were found in the front bedroom and the front of the house, Leong said. Leong said several rounds were fired into the home, though it is unclear how many.

A woman was inside the home at the time of the shooting, along with four children, ranging in age from 9 months to 15 years, Leong said. Nobody was injured.

Leong said police do not know why the home was targeted, whether there were multiple shooters or if they came on foot or by car.

From Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof:

Police arrested a burglary suspect in Curtis Park this morning after an ex-cop confronted the suspect and slowed his getaway.

About 7 a.m., police received a report that a resident in the 3600 block of West Curtis Drive was struggling with a burglary suspect who was in his garage.

The resident is a veteran retired sergeant from the Sacramento Police Department, who left the department about eight years ago, said police Sgt. Norm Leong. The former cop confronted the suspect and was able to hold on to him while his wife called police.

Upon hearing sirens, the burglar struggled and got away, Leong said. Police flooded the area and set up a one-block perimeter. A police dog sniffing in a yard a couple of houses from the original burglary call caused the suspect to come out of hiding and surrender, Leong said.

Aaron Suggs (top photo), 26, of Sacramento, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and parole violation, Sacramento County jail records show.

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From Bill Lindelof:

Authorities are investigating a high-speed crash that killed one person and injured five others Tuesday night in Rio Linda.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office today identified the woman killed as Christine Ann Ingle, 45, of Rio Linda.

The California Highway Patrol at 10:12 p.m. responded to the violent collision of a Mercedes and Ford Explorer at the intersection of 16th and C streets. Ingle died at the scene.

Ingle, the driver of the Ford Explorer, was traveling north on 16th Street. The driver of the Mercedes was traveling east on C Street at about 70 to 100 mph at the time of the collision.

The CHP said that the driver of the Mercedes failed to stop at the stop sign and broadsided the Ford Explorer.

The injured, who all suffered major injuries, were taken to UC Davis Medical Center and Mercy San Juan Medical Center.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Woodland school resource officers on Tuesday arrested eight Pioneer High School students accused of being involved in "a large physical disturbance" earlier this month.

According to a news release from the police department, the incident occurred Feb. 4.

Two of the eight students were cited on suspicion of disturbing the peace at a school and released on a promise to appear in court.

The other six were booked into the Yolo County Juvenile detention center on suspicion of disturbing the peace at a school, battery and participating in a criminal street gang.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man selling roses Saturday night along Cameron Park Drive landed in jail after he attracted the attention of El Dorado County sheriff's deputies.

Deputies contacted John Lea, 51, about 8:40 p.m. regarding the roadside sales and found that he was on searchable probation for offenses involving weapons and narcotics, according to the Sheriff's Department's daily activity log.

Lea was found to be in possession of a switchblade knife, and during a search of his residence, deputies found narcotics paraphernalia, ammunition and an explosive device, according to the report.

From Bill Lindelof:

A Citrus Heights man has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for forcing a girl into prostitution.

Stephen McKesson, 24, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 235 months -- about 19 1/2 years -- in prison and ordered to make $20,000 restitution for sex trafficking of children.

McKesson had pleaded guilty May 19 to transporting a 16-year-old girl from Sacramento to Redwood City for prostitution.

Prosecutors said in a news release that McKesson met the girl when she was 13 and he was about 16. He soon convinced the girl that if she loved him she would work as a prostitute.

She sporadically worked as a prostitute for McKesson for the next five years, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said McKesson used increasing violence to make the girl work as a prostitute, eventually beating and kicking her in the head. By 2008, McKesson was sexually assaulting the victim, prosecutors said.

The victim said she continued to work for him because he threatened to take away her two children if she did not comply.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A missing Lincoln woman was found safe in a park Monday night - along with her alleged kidnapper - after she texted her husband to say she was being held against her will by a man armed with a knife, according to authorities.

The woman was not injured. Lincoln police arrested 39-year-old Max Risinger, also a Lincoln resident, on suspicion of kidnapping and of possessing a concealed weapon, according to authorities.

How the two came into contact, and what happened in the roughly 24 hours that passed between the time the woman left her home to pick up pizza and the time she was discovered, is still being investigated, said Lincoln police Lt. Paul Shelgren.

The woman's husband called police about 8 a.m. Monday to say his wife hadn't returned home after leaving to pick up a pizza about 7 p.m. the night before, Shelgren said. The lieutenant said it was not clear why the husband waited nearly 12 hours to report his wife missing.

Police began investigating the woman's disappearance. Sometime after her husband called police, he called again to say he had received a text message from his wife saying she was being held at knifepoint, Shelgren said.

About 7 p.m. Monday, police found the woman's car parked at Joiner Park, Shelgren said. The hood was still warm, and after searching the park, officers found the woman and Risinger, he said.

Shelgren said the victim and the suspect did not know each other before the alleged kidnapping and police were still trying to determine how they met and what the motive might have been.

"This is one of (those cases) that's going to take a little digging to figure out what happened," he said.

A female relative of Risinger's declined to comment, saying she is not in contact with him. Other potential relatives did not return phone calls from The Bee.

From Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof:

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies seized nearly $875,000 in marijuana this morning after locating a large indoor marijuana growing operation in a gated residential community in El Dorado Hills, according to authorities.

Culminating a three-month investigation that started with complaints from neighbors, deputies and agents from the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement served a search warrant on a residence on Calabria Court, off Sophia Parkway, said Lt. Bryan Golmitz, sheriff's spokesman.

Inside, authorities found about 1,000 marijuana plants, most of them 2- to 2 1/2-feet tall, Golmitz said. Authorities estimate the plants are worth about $875,000, based on estimates of how much marijuana each plant would yield and current market value.

They also found what Golmitz described as an "elaborate growing environment" that included ventilation systems and a light system. Electricity in the home had been wired to bypass the meter, and officials from Pacific Gas & Electric shut off power to the home, Golmitz said. County officials responded and condemned the structure because of the conditions, he said.

Most of the plants found in the home were in the growing stage, and authorities did not find much processed marijuana, the lieutenant said.

Authorities are confident the grow was intended for illegal sales, rather than for medicinal marijuana use, Golmitz said.

"This is totally different. This has nothing to do with Prop. 215 sales or (co-op sales)," he said. "This is a marijuana grow operating for profit."

Arrested in connection with the grow was 47-year-old Lien Tu On (top left photo), who was at the home at the time authorities served the search warrant, according to Golmitz.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a 20-year-old man suspected in the weekend stabbing death of another man at a home near Tahoe Park.

Jesus Gallegos was arrested on suspicion of homicide for the fatal stabbing of Triston Ashley Salladay-English, 23, who was killed Sunday afternoon at a residence in the 3500 block of 53rd Street.

Gallegos was booked into jail early this morning after detectives found him on Monday in the 5400 block of 9th Avenue in Tahoe Park.

A coroner's spokeswoman said the stabbing occurred at 3:24 p.m. and Salladay-English died at 5:10 p.m. at UC Davis Medical Center.

Police said the two men knew each other and that they got into a confrontation, which escalated into a fight and stabbing.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@ascbee.com

A woman driving in Folsom with her two young daughters drifted onto light rail tracks after falling asleep at the wheel earlier tonight, but the family was saved by passersby who pulled them from the vehicle minutes before a a train smashed into the car, police said.

No one was injured in the incident, which occurred just after 7 p.m. near the Iron Point light rail station, Folsom police Lt. Perry Albers said.

The woman was driving a 2007 Honda Civic northbound on Folsom Boulevard with her daughters, ages 10 and 7, when she fell asleep and the car drove through a ditch and onto the railroad tracks, where it came to a stop, Albers said.

Witnesses stopped and rushed to the car, helping the family of three get out of the vehicle. Two minutes later, a Regional Transit light-rail train with one operator and four passengers smashed into the car and demolished the passenger side, Albers said.

The wreck slightly damaged the train, but it was able to continue after the tracks were cleared of debris.

Albers said no one in the car or on the train was hurt.

"Not a scratch," he said. "It could have been a whole different outcome."

Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

A 23-year-old Sacramento man who was fatally stabbed Sunday afternoon in his front yard in the 3500 block of 53rd Street was identified Monday by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as Triston Ashley Salladay-English.

A coroner's spokeswoman said that the stabbing occurred at 3:24 p.m. and that Salladay-English died at 5:10 p.m. at UC Davis Medical Center.

The alleged attacker was described Sunday by a police spokesman as a Latino, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 130 pounds. He had spiked hair and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, the police spokesman said.

To report information about this crime, call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

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By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com

A Sacramento woman was arrested today on suspicion of felony child neglect after allegedly leaving her 1-year-old baby boy with a stranger on the street.

Police spokesman Norm Leong said officers arrested Silvia Marcial, 23, after she left the infant with a stranger for anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes this afternoon on Northgate Boulevard, near West El Camino Avenue.

Leong said the mother called police at 5 p.m. to report the child had been kidnapped. When police arrived at the scene, however, they were waved down by a homeless woman with the child. Leong said police are investigating why the mother left the child with the woman, and where the mother went in the interim.

Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.

By Diana Lambert
dlambert@sacbee.com

A Sacramento man died at UC Davis Medical Center Sunday evening after being stabbed during an argument.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has not released the identity of the victim, who is in his 20s.

The victim was stabbed in his front yard in the 3500 block of 53rd Street at 3:24 p.m., said spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The suspect is described as a Latino male, 5 feet 4 inches tall and 130 pounds, and between 18 and 20 years old. He had spiked hair and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, Leong said.

To report information about this crime, call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Call The Bee's Diana Lambert, (916) 321-1090.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

One man is dead and another hospitalized after an apparent fight and hit-and-run collision outside a sports bar in historic Folsom early today.

Folsom Police identified the dead man as John Sandler, 44, of Sacramento.

Police said they received a 911 call at 1:40 a.m. reporting that a pedestrian had been hit by a truck in the parking lot of City Slickers Sports Bar and Grill, 97 Natoma St.

The driver of the truck reportedly drove away from the area, and police found the pedestrian critically injured at the restaurant.

Sandler was declared dead minutes later by Folsom Fire Department personnel.

About 15 minutes after the 911 report, a woman called Folsom Police and said her father-in-law had been assaulted outside the same restaurant

Police responding to her home found a truck parked outside that matched the description of the the hit-and-run vehicle. The woman's father-in-law was injured and required medical help, police said.

Folsom Fire personnel took the driver of the truck to a local hospital for treatment. His identity was not immediately available.

The case is under investigation by the Folsom Police Major Accident Response Team, which is looking into whether an argument between the truck driver and pedestrian may have been related to the fatal encounter.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the department at (916) 351-3553.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.

By Laurel Rosenhall and Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Citrus Heights Police have added a charge of rape to the allegations against an 18-year-old man who is being held on suspicion of killing a 17-year-old girl found dead in a park on Friday, according to jail booking records.

Police declined to comment on the additional allegation and did not release any more information on Saturday about the slaying of Rebecca Layson.

However, Anton Adolf "Tony" Johnson (photo left) is now being held without bail on suspicion of three felonies: murder, rape and conspiracy.

A 17-year-old juvenile also is being held on suspicion of murder. Police have not identified him because of his age.

Members of Layson's family, who have talked with police investigators, said Saturday that the 17-year-old suspect was the victim's boyfriend and a fellow student at New San Juan High School.

The couple had been dating on and off for a couple months, said Layson's cousin, Samantha Hutchinson.

"She was very much infatuated with him," said Layson's aunt, Paula Cromwell.

Layson had met Johnson a couple of times but was scared of him, Cromwell said. Police say he was wanted for burglary and possession of burglar's tools and had carried a gun in the past.

"She didn't know Tony was going to be at the park. I firmly believe she wouldn't have gone," Cromwell said.

Family members believe Layson was among a group of six people hanging out at Van Maren Park Thursday night, some of whom were drinking.

"You never know what can happen," said Rebecca's mother Robbin Layson, her face twisted in anguish.

"I just want my baby back and I can't have her back because some fool took her."

Layson had last been seen hanging out with friends at the park late Thursday evening, police said Friday. One of her parents called police at 1:30 a.m. Friday and reported her missing.

She was immediately deemed "at risk" by police because of her age.

Police began searching the park about 6 a.m. and discovered the girl's body about 7:15 a.m. in a heavily wooded area of the park.

The victim had suffered what appears to be blunt force trauma, police said Friday.

From Cathy Locke:

Sacramento police arrested a man on suspicion of vandalism and receiving stolen property after officers say he was found in possession of mail taken from a business.

Officers contacted Thomas Melger, 34, who was walking in the 7500 block of Folsom Boulevard about 3:45 a.m. Friday and learned he was on probation.

When Melger tried to flee, stolen mail fell from his waistband, the police department's daily activity log shows.

Melger struggled with officers but was detained, and an investigation determined that the mail in his possession had just been stolen from a business about 100 yards away. The report says Melger had a screwdriver and the mail box appeared to have been pried open.

From Cathy Locke:

Sacramento police are investigating a carjacking that occurred early Friday morning in the 200 block of Jibboom Street, north of downtown.

Two people were sitting in a 2000 Cadillac El Dorado in front of Coyote Junction restaurant about 1:30 a.m. when they were approached by two men, the police department's daily activity log shows. One of the men asked for a light for his cigarette while the other approached the driver of the car.

One of the men, who was armed with a gun, ordered the occupants out of the vehicle and the two men left in the Cadillac.

From Cathy Locke:

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department seeks help locating a 15-year-old boy.

Christopher Harris (left) was last seen about 3 p.m. Friday getting out of his school van at Fair Oaks Boulevard and Watt Avenue, a sheriff's department news release states.

Sheriff's officials said Harris is considered at risk because he is an emotionally disturbed special-needs student who requires prescription medication that he does not have with him.

He is described as Hispanic, 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing about 110 pounds. Harris has short brown hair, brown eyes and a slight mustache. He was last seen wearing a long-sleeve collared shirt with white, beige and blue horizontal stripes; black jeans; and gray-and-white tennis shoes.

Anyone with information regarding Harris' whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff's department at (916) 874-5115.

By Kim Minugh, Chelsea Phua and Bill Lindelof
cphua@sacbee.com

Citrus Heights police officers arrested the second suspect this evening in the killing of a 17-year-old girl found dead at Van Maren Park this morning, a police spokesman said.

Anton Adolf "Tony" Johnson (photo left), 18, was arrested on suspicion of murder without incident at a house in Carmichael, said police Lt. Jeff Mackanin.

He said detectives were tipped that Johnson had been seen at the house. The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department helped in the arrest, he said.

Earlier today, Citrus Heights police arrested a 17-year old suspect on suspicion of murder.

Meanwhile, San Juan Unified School District officials recorded a telephone message for parents this evening identifying the 17-year-old girl found dead at Van Maren Park this morning as Rebecca Layson, a junior at New San Juan High School.

Neither the Sacramento County Coroner's Office nor Citrus Heights police have released the victim's name, citing an ongoing homicide investigation.

The message, recorded by Principal Tony Oddo, was in the process of being sent out to New San Juan High families this evening.

"It is with deep sadness that I must share the passing of one of our students," he said, identifying the girl found at the park as Layson. "Losing a student for any reason is always tragic but these circumstances can cause even greater anxiety and concern for your student. Please be sure to offer your student a chance to talk about any anxiety they may be feeling."

School is not in session next week, although families that would like counseling can contact the district's counseling center free of charge at (916) 971-7640. Families also can contact the Citrus Heights police chaplaincy at (916) 857-1802.

The 17-year-old had last been seen hanging out with friends at the park late Thursday evening, said Lt. Mackanin. One of her parents called police at 1:30 a.m. and reported her missing.

She was immediately deemed "at risk" by police because of her age, Mackanin said.

Police began searching the park about 6 a.m. and discovered the girl's body about 7:15 a.m. in a heavily wooded area of the park, Mackanin said. The coroner's office later was able to positively identify her as the 17-year-old missing girl.

The victim had suffered what appears to be blunt force trauma, Mackanin said. It does not appear any "traditional weapons," such as a gun or knife, were used in the attack, he said.

There were no signs of sexual assault, Mackanin said.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Responding to an influx of reports from residents concerned about suspicious solicitors, law enforcement officials are warning people to be skeptical of just about anyone at the door.

Except when it comes to U.S. Census workers and maybe cookie-peddling Girl Scouts, legitimate neighborhood salesmen are pretty much a thing of the past, said Sherrie Carhart, a crime prevention specialist for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

"It's past the time. People shouldn't be going door-to-door soliciting," she said. "It's not something that's accepted these days."

Instead, Carhart said, many of the modern-day "solicitors" likely are prospective burglars, looking for empty homes.

Carhart's warning comes after she's received a number of calls from residents asking about aggressive solicitors pushing everything from cleaning supplies to electronics to assistance for veterans.

Some have been so aggressive that the solicitors have walked into homes uninvited, residents report.

Roger Berkenpas, a community activist in Fair Oaks, said some of his neighbors have talked about a "very smooth, pushy" vacuum salesman who promises Wal-Mart gift cards to anyone who will listen to his sales pitch.

The couple of takers have been disappointed to find the gift cards were worthless, Berkanpas said.

Carhart said sales people are required to carry a copy of the county permit they must obtain for door-to-door solicitation, as well as a copy of their business license.

(A small group of folks are exempt from the required county permit, Carhart said, including non-profits, churches and federal government workers, including those carrying out the U.S. Census.)

But before asking for that paperwork, residents should be wary of even opening the door, Carhart said. She suggests making your presence known by talking through the door or a window.

If you notice the person skipping homes on your street, trying doorknobs, looking through windows or going to back fences, call your local law enforcement agency's non-emergency line, Carhart said.

If it looks like someone is in the act of breaking into a home, call 911, she said.

Authorities have tried in recent months to alert residents about tactics sometimes used by prospective burglars, such as knocking on the door and asking for someone who doesn't live there.

An elderly woman in Meadowview opened her front door Monday night to a young man saying his dog was in her backyard - and then was ordered to the ground at gunpoint. Her house was ransacked and three men fled with cash and jewelry.

Carhart said Sacramento's communities are full of people of "good-natured, helpful people" - and, unfortunately, many that want to take advantage of those good Samaritans.

"People are interested in scamming other people," she said. "There are a lot of bad people out there."

By Bee Staff

A former contract employee at the California Power Authority pleaded guilty today to bilking the agency out of $684,000 while working there, according to a news release.

Benjamin Bustamante, 32, West Sacramento, is scheduled to be sentenced April 30 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, according to the release from U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. The maximum sentence is 20 years in prison and a $1.36 million fine, the release states.

The case is the product of an extensive investigation by the IRS-Criminal Investigation, Wagner said.

Bustamante used false invoices in 2006 to siphon $684,216.53 out of a now-defunct CPA energy conservation program, according to court records.

Had the payments been legitimate, the money would have been passed on by Bustamante to commercial and industrial customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. enrolled in the conservation program. Instead, the money went into his pocket, according to a court affidavit.

Bustamante paid $165,967.52 for two new Porsche automobiles and a new Harley Davidson motorcycle, and he transferred $20,000 to his personal checking account, the affidavit states.

He even used some of his money to pay back taxes for 2002 and 2003 to the IRS, the affidavit says.

In addition, it says, withdrawals by Bustamante from the business account into which the stolen funds were funneled were structured so as to defeat currency transaction reporting requirements imposed by the IRS on financial institutions.

Bustamante already was a convicted felon when he went to work for the CPA, having pleaded guilty in Sacramento Superior Court in 1998 to grand theft and burglary, the affidavit states.

Q: Has the murder of a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy several years ago been solved? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: The case has not been solved and remains an open homicide investigation.

On Oct. 27, 2006, Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell, 38, was shot to death after making a pre-dawn traffic stop on a rural Sacramento County road.

Mitchell was patrolling solo when he sent a computer message to dispatchers that he was checking on a white Chevrolet van with no license plates at Meiss and Dillard roads, The Bee reported.

He also said he was "OK."

Minutes later, a concerned dispatcher sent other deputies to check on Mitchell. They found him on the ground, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. Later, investigators found that Mitchell had been killed with his own county-issued handgun.

Firearms experts and forensic pathologists have determined conclusively that the death was a homicide.

Along with a partial DNA sample, investigators said a set of fingerprints was collected from a key item at the scene of the shooting. Those prints were compared with millions of others in national crime databases, and no matches were found.

The lack of a fingerprint match suggests a high probability that the owner of the prints is not in the criminal justice system, investigators said.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento police want help identifying a burglar who stole office equipment from an east Sacramento medical building.

The suspect's (left) image was captured on security cameras. Police describe him as white, 20 to 30 years old, thin and clad in a blue hooded sweatshirt, tan pants and beige cap.

Police said the burglar broke into a medical office complex in the 5000 block of J street about 9 p.m. Monday. It's unclear how he got into the building, police said.

He entered several offices in the building and took office equipment before fleeing.

Police ask anyone with information to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357 or text in a tip to 274637. Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Q: What happened to the so-called Doorbell Rapists from the early 1980s? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: The three men were paroled from prison sentences received in 1984 for raping a woman, according to police and prison records.

One of the men, Waco Williams (photo left), now 50, was arrested last year by the Sacramento Police Department for a 1980 murder, following a cold-case investigation.

The other two men - Marc Williams, now 48, and Craig Lamont Hinton, now 50, are free, records indicate.

Waco Williams is accused of the murder of Norman Crawford, 19, on the night of Oct. 21, 1980 in the area of Eighth Avenue and 45th Street.

In the sexual-assault case, Williams and Marc Williams, who is identified as his cousin, along with Hinton went to a woman's 43rd Avenue apartment at about 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 31, 1983, according to Bee reports.

The men tried to convince her to let them in, but when she refused, they broke in. The woman, who was in the apartment with her 17-month-old child, was sexually assaulted by each of the men, The Bee reported.

A neighbor who saw the men force their way inside the apartment called Sacramento County sheriff's deputies.

When deputies arrived, they knocked on the door. After waiting for a response, the deputies kicked in the door and discovered Marc Williams and Hinton robbing the woman, deputies said.

The men were suspected but not prosecuted in several other sexual assaults. The men would ring the doorbell and when a woman answered, they would force their way in and assault her, according to media coverage from that time.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

From Bill Lindelof:

A young girl whose backpack was taken from her on the way to school didn't let the culprit get away with the brazen theft.

Sacramento police said the 12-year-old girl was in the Southside Park neighborhood on her way to class Thursday when a teen approached from behind at 8th and V streets and took her backpack.

The girl chased the culprit, who removed the girl's belongings then discarded the pack.

The chase continued, and a citizen noticed the girl's effort to catch the thief.

The good Samaritan gave chase in his vehicle, following the suspect to the 2600 block of Kit Carson Street near the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery about a half mile from where the theft occurred.

Police officers responded and arrested a 14-year-old suspect.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

When inmate Fabian Mariscal earned his GED diploma on Jan. 27 it was a milestone for Yolo County jails.

The granting of a GED to Mariscal marked the 100th General Education Development diploma granted to a person incarcerated in the county's Monroe or Leinberger detention facilities. The jail GED program has been in existence for the past 16 years.

The effort is a partnership between the sheriff's department and the Woodland Public Library Literacy Service. Inmates are provided one-on-one tutoring and study time with GED test preparation materials.

GED materials cover high school subjects such as language arts, social studies, science and math.

"In many ways, we are giving them hope and determination and a desire to succeed in the outside world," said Inmate Literacy Coordinator Charlotte Beal.

The program, aimed at giving inmates a better chance of not returning to jail, costs $30,000 a year and is funded with money from the inmate commissary and telephone services.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a 29-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting woman in her 70s.

According to an online police log on Thursday, Jesus Gutierrez (photo left) is an acquaintance of the woman.

He allegedly assaulted her in her home on Alan Shepard Street, the report stated.

Gutierrez is in jail on $400,000 bond, according to online jail records.

No other information was available.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A 28-year-old Diamond Springs man died in a traffic collision Wednesday on Highway 49 south of Placerville in El Dorado County. El Dorado County Coroner's officials identified the man who died in the Highway 49 crash Wednesday night as Frank Wilson Thompson III.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the accident occurred about 7 p.m. near Post Road when a Chevrolet pickup traveling south on Highway 49 collided with a Ford Escape sports utility vehicle that was traveling north.

The pickup driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, died at the scene, the CHP said. The driver and a passenger in the SUV were taken to Marshall Hospital with minor injuries.

The CHP reported that the pickup drifted to the shoulder of the road and the driver lost control. He then over-corrected and veered into the northbound lane, where his vehicle collided with the SUV.

The front end of the SUV hit the side of the pickup.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A 60-year-old Rio Vista woman died Wednesday afternoon in a head-on collision in the Delta region of Sacramento County, California Highway Patrol officials said today.

According to a CHP report, Janice R. Micheli was northbound on Highway 160, south of Brannan Island Road, when the crash happened at about 1:45 p.m.

A witness said Micheli's 2010 Honda Civic "suddenly and for no reason" swerved across the southbound lane and onto the shoulder. The car made a "hard" correction, back onto the northbound lane and into the path of a tractor-flatbed trailer, CHP officials said.

The impact blew apart the car and Micheli was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. The big-rig driver was taken to Sutter Delta Hospital with moderate injuries.

CHP Officer Michael Bradley said the reasons that the car drifted is still under investigation.

By Ed Fletcher
eflectcher@sacbee.com

A 2008 drive-by shooting is expected to keep a 19-year-old Granite Bay man behind bars well into his adulthood after he was convicted Wednesday in the attempted murder of 16-year-old boy.

Justin Mathew Wittkop (photo left) is expected to be sentenced on April 9.

On Wednesday, a Placer County jury found Wittkop guilty of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a firearm, and one count of shooting from a motor vehicle and one count of shooting at in inhabited building.

Prosecutors say the Nov. 5, 2008 shooting stemmed from a verbal exchange between Wittkop's then girlfriend Kelsey Mariah Brace and a group of teenage boys at an area fast-food restaurant.

Later, Brace was in the car as Wittkop fired three shots at the boys, hitting the 16-year-old twice.

A 17-year-old boy escaped uninjured. The 16-year-old has since recovered, according to the Placer County District Attorney's office.

Brace pleaded no contest to two counts of assault with a firearm and agreed to testify against Wittkop. She will serve three years in prison.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Garen Horst, who prosecuted Wittkop, said the attempted murder conviction carries a sentence of seven years to life in prison while a special finding by the jury that the defendant discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury carries a term of 25 years to life.

Additional years could be tacked on for the other four charges and for 11 other special findings that were deemed true by the jury. The special findings involved the use or discharge of a firearm and the causing of great bodily injury to the victim.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Tempting as it might sometimes seem, posing as attorney to get your way is not a good idea. Bruce Roberson (photo left) was arrested and accused of doing just that.

Roberson, 49, is sitting in the Sacramento County Main Jail today, held in lieu of $25,000 bail and facing two charges for falsely misrepresenting himself as a lawyer in a friend's credit dispute, according to Sacramento police.

The charades began when a friend of Roberson's identified a problem with her credit, said police Officer Laura Peck. Roberson sent correspondence to a collection agency - using letterheads from the State Department of Fair Employment and Housing, where he works - claiming to be a lawyer to make the problem disappear, Peck said.

But the agency's attorney didn't buy it. Somebody later contacted police.

Roberson was arrested this morning at his place of employment.

He faces a possible misdemeanor charge of claiming to be an attorney without actually being an active member of the State Bar of California, according to jail booking records. But he also faces a possible charge - this one a felony - for using someone else's identification because he posed as an attorney who actually exists, Peck said.

Peck said police suspect that Roberson's friend didn't initially know what he was doing, but that she later found out. She does not face any charges, Peck said.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today acquitted Joseph Skates in the November 2008 beating death of his girlfriend's 3-year-old son, Manuel "Manny" Maciel.

Skates, 25, embraced his attorney, Jesse Ortiz, after Judge Timothy M. Frawley read the jury's not-guilty verdict of all charges in the two-count case in which the defendant was accused of second-degree murder and child abuse.

"Thank God that the truth finally came out, that's all I can say - thank God," Skates' mother, Rosemary Skates, said in a brief interview on her way out of the courthouse today, surrounded by more than two-dozen supporters who attended most every day of the two-week trial. "The truth has been there all along, but they never looked for it. If they had looked, they would have seen it."

The defense argued that Manny died either from an accident or at the hands of the cousin of Skates' girlfriend, a man who also lived in the three-bedroom North Natomas apartment that the couple shared with the victim and his two older brothers.

A coroner's autopsy concluded that Manny was killed by blunt-force injuries to the head. The death was classified as a homicide. The boy also sustained serious abdominal injuries.

Ortiz said Skates was "relieved" by the verdict.

"There was just nothing there from our perspective," Ortiz said, in reacting to the verdict and the evidence in the case. "It's hard to talk about a negative, but we don't think there was ever anything there."

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet said she was "stunned" by the verdict.

Sacramento police Detective Jimmy Vigon, who investigated the beating death of the boy said, "We thought it was a good case and we thought we had the right suspect."

"The jury made their decision and that's a decision we're going to respect," Vigon said.

Jurors declined to discuss their verdict when they left the courtroom today.

Olga Maciel, the aunt of the boy who sustained his injuries Nov. 7, 2008 and died two days later at UC Davis Medical Center, said she thought the case turned on the testimony of Manny's mother, Rosalie Uribe.

It was revealed during trial that Uribe had been sending love letters to Skates during the trial, and she testified that she had suspected him of hitting the children during their relationship but that she didn't know for sure if he had been abusive.

"If you can't convince the mom that he did it, how are you going to convince 12 people?" Maciel asked.

Olga Maciel has since taken custody of Manny's two older brothers. She said she believes that Skates is guilty.

"He did it," she said. "There's no other explanation."

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

Yolo County prosecutors are dropping their bid for a life sentence for a man who put cheese down his pants at a Woodland market.

A new psychological evaluation convinced prosecutors that Robert Preston Ferguson's most recent convictions for petty theft did not warrant a life sentence under the state's three-strikes law, said Jonathan Raven, Yolo County's assistant chief deputy district attorney.

Raven said the district attorney's office had recently received a psychological report, requested by the public defender's office, that "shed some light on Ferguson."

"The district attorney's office is no longer looking at this as a life case," Raven said.

Jurors convicted Ferguson of two counts of petty theft on Jan. 6.

In one incident in December 2008, Ferguson snatched a woman's wallet from the counter of a 7-11 store in Woodland while the woman's son was vomiting on the floor.

Ten days later he put a package of shredded cheese, worth $3.99, down his trousers and walked out of Woodland's Nugget Market. He was apprehended in the parking lot.

Because of Ferguson's 35-year criminal history -- including six convictions for first-degree burglary -- the Yolo County District Attorney's Office charged the theft counts as felonies and sought a life sentence.

Ferguson, even after serving more than 22 years in prison, had failed to learn to obey the law and needed to be taken off the streets, Deputy District Attorney Clinton Parish argued in a motion filed in October in Yolo Superior Court.

Defense lawyer Monica Brushia argued in court papers that Ferguson suffered from mental illness and was a substance abuser. His prior felonies, which counted as strikes, occurred in the 1980s, when Ferguson, now in his 50s, was a young man. They were non-violent offenses, she wrote.

Ferguson is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1 before Judge Thomas Warriner.

Raven said prosecutors would seek to resolve the sentencing dispute before then, and that Ferguson would likely face about 11 years in state prison.

Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.

Previous coverage:

Cheese in pants may draw life term for Yolo man - Feb. 10, 2010

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento judge issued a clarifying order today that will allow county jail inmates to receive good behavior credits for time served before Jan. 25 but none after that date.

Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster's two-sentence clarification said that the temporary restraining order he issued Wednesday to block the early release of inmates from the two main county jail facilities applies to "only the most recent amendments" to the state Penal Code section that governs the time credits.

The amendments were part of a new state law passed last year that was designed to reduce the state's prison population by 6,300 inmates by the end of the year. Most of the reduction will result from parole policy changes and also through new time-credit opportunities the legislation bestowed on some inmates.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and other local law enforcement agencies interepreted the new law to also apply to county jail inmates' good-time credits. McMaster ruled that it did not, and the Sheriff's Department later Wednesday announced that it was withdrawing all time credits for all the inmates in its custody.

Under the old law that governed time credits, inmates were granted one-third time off. The new law upped the credit to 50 percent of a prisoner's term.

McMaster issued the temporary restraining order in a lawsuit filed by the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association to block the early releases. In his clarification issued today, he said that his order "did not affect credits that jail inmates earned before the enactment" of the new law that went into effect Jan. 25.

Sacramento County Counsel Robert A. Ryan Jr. said today that his office is interpreting the clarification to mean that inmates who were doing their time before Jan. 25 will continue to receive time credits, meaning they'll get a third of the time off their terms if they behave themselves.

Ryan said it is his opinion that inmates won't get any behavior credits for the time they've served since Jan. 25.

His office has scheduled an ex parte session with McMaster on Feb. 18 on his order.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento County sheriff halts early jail releases - Feb. 11, 2010

Sacramento County deputies union sues to halt early jail releases - Feb. 6, 2010

Early jail releases in California worry former violent offender - Feb. 6, 2010

Inmate arrested for alleged rape attempt hours after early release - Feb. 4, 2010

Bill forces early inmate release from Sacramento jail - Feb. 3, 2010

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Prominent Sacramento certified public accountant William Murray was charged today in federal court with lying to clients of his tax preparation business to facilitate his theft of more than $13.2 million from them.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Segal filed information accusing Murray of telling more than 50 clients he would pay taxes or make investments on their behalf and directing them to write checks to entities he controlled. But, the information alleges, Murray used the money to finance an extravagant lifestyle.

In addition, Murray, 55, used more than $3.5 million of the stolen funds to pay other clients' tax obligations or return other clients' investments.

Before his arrest, he had frequently provided tax tips on local radio and television stations.

Murray posted a $300,000 bond and is on electronically monitored partial home confinement.

Call The Bee's Denny Walsh, (916) 321-1189.

Previous coverage:

Accountant's license suspended in case - Jan. 14, 2010

One of Sacramento accountant's alleged victims speaks out - Dec. 20, 2009

Affidavit: Sacramento accountant admits to stealing millions - Dec. 17, 2009

From Bill Lindelof:

The California Highway Patrol is looking for a red pickup truck with front-end damage that might have hit an elderly pedestrian in south Sacramento this morning.

Xong Her Vang, 91, was killed after being struck by a 1990s Ford pickup near 46th Avenue and Franklin Boulevard about 5:30 a.m., accordign to the CHP and Sacramento County Coroner officials. While her body was in the darkened street, the woman was struck again by a van.

CHP officers said the pickup was northbound on Franklin Boulevard approaching 46th Avenue in the slow lane. The woman was at 46th Avenue and Franklin Boulevard.

Her 92-year-old husband had already crossed Franklin Boulevard on the couple's way to the light rail station, the CHP said. But when his wife began crossing, she was hit by the pickup, the CHP said.

The pickup driver did not pull over after hitting the woman. Meanwhile, the husband went to the nearby home of relatives for help.

When family members arrived on the scene, a Dodge van hit the woman a second time while her body was in the slow lane of Franklin Boulevard.

The driver of the van stopped at the scene.

The victim has a family member who is a Sacramento police officer.

The CHP asks anyone who has information about a red pickup with damage to call (916) 681-2300 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police say they arrested a 22-year-old Sacramento man Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting an underage girl over a three-year period.

Meckie Cha (photo left) was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of eight counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, two counts of sexual intercourse with a minor under 16, two counts of oral copulation with a person under 16 and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a victim more than three years younger, online jail records show.

Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said the 16-year-old victim is related to Cha. She reported the alleged assaults, which began three years ago, to an adult in early January. Police are not identifying the adult, who informed authorities of the allegations.

Cha was arrested at about 10 a.m. at a house on Albion Way, Leong said. He is being held on $1,000,000 bail and scheduled to appear in court on Feb.16.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

A Roseville woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars after being sentenced Wednesday in the 2008 first-degree murder of a longtime friend.

A Placer County Superior Court jury found in December that Stephanie Nicole Erends (photo left), 26, was "lying in wait" before slashing the throat of her longtime friend Alicia Ernst, of Citrus Heights.

Because the jury found that the lying in wait special circumstances applied, Erends will spend the rest of her life in prison, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office press release.

The DA's office described Wednesday's hearing as highly emotional and filled with outbursts and admonishments.

In the days after the attack, Erends confessed to slashing Ernst's throat from behind with a razor-sharp cutting tool while her friend sat in the front seat of a parked car.

After the attack Erends tried to cut off the victim's fingers to prevent fingerprint identification, poured ammonia on the body and covered the body with garbage.

But Erends told a different story during the trial, denying that she planned the attack.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Department is looking for a man who robbed a Cameron Park check-cashing business Tuesday.

Deputies responded to a silent alarm at the Check Into Cash store at 3490 Palmer Drive about noon. They arrived to find an employee unhurt but very distraught, according to a news release.

The employee told deputies a man entered the store and asked if the manager was there. The manager was not, and the man left but returned carrying a newspaper.

He walked around the counter, drew a handgun and demanded all the money, the news release says.

The clerk complied, handing over more than $1,000, and the man left.

The robber was described as black, approximately 20 years old, 5 feet tall and weighing about 115 pounds.

He was wearing dark jeans, shiny black tennis shoes, a black or gray zip-up jacket and a dark gray beanie-style cap with ear flaps.

Anyone with information is asked to call the El Dorado County Sheriff's office at (530) 621-6600.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

An investigator with the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is recovering at a local hospital after suffering what appears to be an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound during a training exercise in West Sacramento today, according to authorities.

The veteran investigator was participating in routine firearms training this afternoon when his department-issued pistol discharged accidentally, striking him in the lower body, said Chris Albrecht, deputy division chief for the ABC.

The training took place at the firing range that's part of the California Highway Patrol's academy in West Sacramento. A CHP spokeswoman said agencies other than the CHP sometimes use the firing range for training.

Albrecht said the investigator, who was not identified but is from the Sacramento area, was taken to a local hospital with injuries that appear "relatively minor." He is "doing very well at the hospital," Albrecht said.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A man was shot this afternoon when an ongoing neighborhood dispute boiled over, according to Sacramento police.

The shooting occurred on Conifer Way in East Del Paso Heights, where some neighbors have been feuding for some time, said police Sgt. Norm Leong. Two neighbors confronted a third neighbor, and that neighbor's brother joined the argument, Leong said.

One man pulled out a gun and shot another, Leong said. The victim's condition is not known.

The shooter is a 39-year-old man and the victim is 28, Leong said.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Police have arrested a woman suspected of vandalizing a Sacramento mosque on Tuesday.

Cynthia Ann Sunshine, 53, was arrested on suspicion of burglary and vandalism. She was booked into Sacramento County Jail and her bail was set at $25,000.

Police said that she went to the Muslim Mosque Association in the 400 block of V Street about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday. Once inside the Southside Park neighborhood house of worship, the woman is suspected of tearing several items off the wall and breaking them, a police activity log reported. She also threw some books, police said.

When confronted by congregation members, she took prayer items and fled, according to the log. Mosque members followed her and police officers arrested her shortly after 1 p.m. in Southside Park.

The mosque, which opened in 1947, is said to be the oldest mosque west of the Rocky Mountains.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Elk Grove police still have no motive today in the shooting of a teen who was confronted by three people near a local park.

Officers were called to a home in the 6900 block of Frankfort Court about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday where a young man was suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest.

Police said Anthony Arroyo, 19, was walking in the area of Laguna Community Park when he was approached by three people - identified only as male strangers. At that point, one of them pulled out a handgun and shot Arroyo.

He was able to walk to the residence on Frankfort Court, and police were summoned.

The victim was taken to a hospital for what police described as a non-life threatening wound.

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By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Twin Rivers Unified School District police are investigating a burglary early this morning at a Rio Linda school.

The break-in occurred at Dry Creek Elementary School, 1230 G St., where somebody broke a window to enter the principal's office about 12:30 a.m.. The intruder ransacked the office but it is not known at this time if anything was stolen.

Only the window was damaged. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A Placer County Superior Court Judge sentenced a 52-year-old Sacramento man to four years in state prison after he admitted to robbing a bank in Roseville late last year.

According to a news release by the Placer County District Attorney's office, Steven Kenneth Holmes pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery on Jan. 26. He was also ordered to pay $1,000 in fines and restitution.

Prosecutor Rick Opich said Holmes entered First Bank on Douglas Boulevard on Dec. 2 and handed the teller a note demanding cash. He then fled in a taxi cab that he had leased.

Roseville police and Sacramento County sheriff's deputies later tracked Holmes to a motel on Auburn Boulevard, where he barricaded himself inside a room for about three hours. He surrendered after a SWAT unit fired tear gas into the room. He did not have a weapon with him.

By Kim Minugh and Chelsea Phua
kminugh@sacbee.com

An 11-year-old boy home alone this evening in southern Sacramento County called 911 after hearing someone in his house, according to authorities.

On the phone with a dispatcher, the boy saw two men fleeing his home on Stocker Way, said Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. Authorities detained a suspect, but it's not clear on Tuesday night if he has been arrested.

They are still searching for another suspect.

The boy was not harmed.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Jurors began deliberations today in the second-degree murder trial of a man accused in the death of a 3-year-old boy in a North Natomas apartment.

The eight-woman, four-man Sacramento Superior Court panel took the case after hearing the prosecutor suggest that Joseph Skates lost his temper when Manuel "Manny" Maciel had a potty-training accident, and that's why he hit, kicked or slammed the boy so hard that he killed him.

In closing arguments in Skates' trial, the defendant's lawyer countered that his client didn't do anything to hurt the boy that he considered his own and that the district attorney was speculating about what went on inside the Zurlo Way apartment the day Manny was fatally injured on Nov. 7, 2008.

Manny was taken to UC Davis Medical Center where he died two days later.

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet told jurors that a coroner's autopsy determined that Manny died of blunt-force injuries to the head and that his internal organs were "crushed" against his spine from an additional injuries he sustained to his abdomen.

Bladet said it took "an adult man, using his hands, fist, and foot, who is frustrated, angry, and out of control" to "create that force."

There was another adult male in the house at the time the boy is believed to have been injured, but Bladet said that Skates, testifying in his own defense last week, said that the other man was asleep.

Holding up the blue one-piece pajamas Manny wore the day he was hurt, Bladet said that the clothing was seeped in urine when authorities found it in a bedroom in the apartment where the defendant was staying with his girlfriend and her three sons.

The prosecutor said that potty-training accidents are "the kind of thing that make people lose it."

Bladet also hammered on the 30 minutes it took for the 25-year-old defendant to call anybody from the time he discovered that the boy was hurt. Skates never did call 911.

In his argument, defense attorney Jesse Ortiz told the jury, "You're being asked to speculate. You're being asked to guess about what might have happened because (prosecutors) say it happened."

Ortiz said that Skates loved Manny and his brothers and that he became attached to them.

He showed the jury pictures that Skates and his girlfriend, Rosalie Uribe, took of the three smiling boys in a pumpkin patch less than two weeks before Manny died and another one of the boys dressed in Halloween costumes a week before the death.

"Those were Joseph's boys," Ortiz said. "He got them ready. He got them their costumes."

The defense lawyer said Skates "panicked" after he found the injured Manny on the floor of the apartment and that he "had no idea what to do."

"He wishes he could tell you why he didn't do more, but that's what happened," Ortiz said.

Ortiz has previously suggested that Manny sustained his head injuries by falling off a couch or that they were inflicted by somebody else.

He argued today that it was a California Highway Patrol officer in his efforts to administer aid to Manny the morning he was hurt who inflicted the crushing abdominal injuries.

The officer "didn't know what he was doing," Ortiz argued.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

A Yolo County man who put cheese down his trousers is facing a life sentence when he goes before a judge next month.

Jurors convicted Robert Preston Ferguson of two counts of petty theft on Jan. 6.

One conviction was for swiping a woman's wallet from a convenience store counter and putting it down his pants.

The other was for stealing $3.99 worth of shredded cheese from the Nugget Market in Woodland.

Officers testified that Ferguson put the cheese in his pants and was apprehended in the parking lot.

Because of a lengthy criminal history that dates back 35 years, including six first-degree burglary convictions, Yolo County prosecutors sought enhancements that elevated the petty theft counts to felonies.

They say 22 years in prison failed to teach Ferguson to obey the law.

Now they're asking a judge to give Ferguson a life sentence under the state's three-strikes law when he comes back to court on March 1.

"Holding the defendant fully accountable will protect society from a repeat criminal offender," prosecutor Clinton Parish wrote in a motion in October.

Defense lawyers have asked the judge to exclude Ferguson's prior offenses in sentencing, saying that the man is mentally ill and has substance abuse problems.

"At bottom, the prosecution's position is simply that because Mr. Ferguson has a criminal record he should be incarcerated for the term of his natural life for allegedly taking $3.99 worth of Tillamook cheese and allegedly taking a wallet the value of which has not been ascertained," public defender Monica Brushia wrote in her brief.

A Yolo Superior Court judge will decide the issue at the March 1 hearing.

Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police say they have found the man who they suspect lurked in the aisles of a local bookstore until closing time and then robbed the joint at gunpoint.

Police are not releasing the man's name, but said a tip helped them identify him the man who allegedly hid inside the Barnes & Noble on Arden Way until after closing time on Feb. 3.

He then emerged with a gun and ordered employees into the manager's office while demanding money, according to police.

He made off with cash, police said.

Police released a surveillance photo of the robber (see photo left).

After identifying the man, police found he already was in custody for an unrelated crime.

They have not yet added the robbery charge for the Barnes & Noble caper, but plan to do so after further investigation, said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Add this to the list of seemingly innocent things criminals might say to you at your front door: My dog got loose and is in your backyard.

That's what one man told two Meadowview women to get them to open their unlocked front door in one of three home-invasions that occurred in the city overnight, according to Sacramento police.

When the Armadale Way residents obliged and opened the door shortly after 8 p.m., the man, backed by two accomplices, burst into the home and ordered the victims to the ground at gunpoint, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

The robbers demanded money and ransacked the home, Leong said. They got way with money and jewelry.

The victims described two of the suspects as black men in their 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and with medium complexions, Leong said. The third suspect was described as a black man in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, light-skinned and wearing a light jacket, Leong said.

Leong said residents should always be wary of what strangers on their doorstep say, including those looking for a lost dog or asking for someone who doesn't live there.

"Keep your doors locked, indicate you're home but never open the door for a stranger," he said. "Call the police if you feel the circumstances are suspicious."

The second home invasion occurred almost three hours later, when a Greenhaven Drive resident answered a knock at the door and was confronted by three black male adults, two of whom were armed with handguns, Leong said.

The robbers forced their way inside and stole small electronics and other personal property before fleeing.

The victim, who was alone at the time, was not able to provide any further suspect descriptions, Leong said.

The third home invasion occurred about 12:30 a.m. on 35th Avenue, when three robbers, one armed with a gun, forced their way into a home, Leong said.

The robbers ransacked the home, taking electronics and cash before they fled in what was described to police as a gray Mitsubishi Montero, Leong said.

The man with the gun was described to police as a white male in his late teens or early 20s, weighing 140 to 150 pounds and wearing dark clothing. No descriptions were available for the other two suspects, Leong said.

Police are continuing their investigation into all three incidents.

They are looking at whether the crimes are related; however, there is no evidence at this point to suggest they are, Leong said.

Detectives also are looking at why those homes might have been targeted, he said.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The prosecutor suggested today that Joseph Skates lost his temper when 3-year-old Manuel "Manny" Maciel had a potty training accident and that's why the man hit, kicked or slammed the boy so hard that he killed him.

In closing arguments in Skates' second-degree murder, trial, the defendant's lawyer countered that his client didn't do anything to hurt the boy, whom he considered his own, and that the district attorney was speculating about what happened inside a North Natomas apartment the day Manny was fatally injured on Nov. 7, 2008. Manny was taken to UC Davis Medical Center where he died two days later.

Arguments were scheduled to continue this afternoon before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley sends the jury away to deliberate.

Deputy District Attorney Dawn Bladet told jurors that a coroner's autopsy determined that Manny died of blunt-force injuries to the head and that his internal organs were "crushed" against his spine from an additional abdominal injury he suffered.

Bladet said it took "an adult man, using his hands, fist, and foot, who is frustrated, angry, and out of control" to "create that force." There was another adult male in the house at the time the boy is believed to have been injured, but Bladet said that Skates, testifying in his own defense last week, said that the other man was asleep.

Holding up the blue one-piece pajamas Manny wore the day he was hurt, Bladet said that the clothing was soaked in urine when authorities found it in a bedroom in the Zurlo Way apartment where the defendant was staying with his girlfriend and her three sons.

The prosecutor said that potty-training accidents are "the kind of thing that make people lose it."

Bladet also hammered on the 30 minutes it took for the 25-year-old defendant to call anybody from the time he discovered that the boy was hurt. Skates never called 911.

In his argument, defense attorney Jesse Ortiz told the jury, "You're being asked to speculate. You're being asked to guess about what might have happened because (prosecutors) say it happened."

Ortiz said that Skates loved Manny and his brothers and that he became attached to them. He showed the jury pictures that Skates and his girlfriend, Rosalie Uribe, took of the three smiling boys in a pumpkin patch less than two weeks before Manny died and another one of the boys dressed in Halloween costumes a week before the death.

"Those were Joseph's boys," Ortiz said. "He got them ready. He got them their costumes."

The defense lawyer said Skates "panicked" after he found the injured Manny on the floor of the apartment and that he "had no idea what to do."

"He wishes he could tell you why he didn't do more, but that's what happened," Ortiz said.

Ortiz has previously suggested that Manny sustained his head injuries by falling off a couch or that they were inflicted by somebody else. He argued today that it was a California Highway Patrol officer in his efforts to administer aid to Manny the morning he was hurt who inflicted the crushing abdominal injuries.

The officer "didn't know what he was doing," Ortiz argued.

Previous coverage:

Failure to call 911 cited at trial in death - Feb. 5, 2010

Mom of slain boy testifies at boyfriend's murder trial - Feb. 2, 2010

Sacramento man goes on trial in death of boy, 3 - Jan. 29, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento City fire investigators have determined the explosion and fire that heavily damaged a vacant home in Oak Park over the weekend was caused by an arsonist.

The arson at the home in the 3900 block of 17th Avenue occurred shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday.

It was the fifth empty house hit by fire in the area in a week.

But authorities said there is no indication that the latest incident was linked to other vacant homes that burned in recent days.

On Wednesday, two abandoned homes were hit by fire: a small abandoned home in the 7400 block of Persimmon Avenue, near Mack Road and Franklin Boulevard and an abandoned house in the 4700 block of 36th Street.

Two days earlier, across the street from the 36th Street property another vacant house was burned.

The first in the series of fires occurred Jan. 31 in a vacant house in the Fruitridge neighborhood in the 5900 block of Clover Manor Way.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office on Monday released the identity of a 24-year-old man stabbed to death last week after an argument with his roommates.

Authorities say Keenan Jon Slotty was found dead early Thursday morning inside a home in the 2700 block of Muir Way, where he lived with Christopher Koppe, 53, and Nicholas Koppe, 24.

Officers said they believe a fight erupted between the victim and the father and son, who have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

After more than four years behind bars while facing three jury trials for the 2005 stabbing death of his friend, Caleb John Madsen (left photo) became a free man Monday afternoon.

Standing outside the Auburn Jail, from which Madsen was soon to be released, the victim's mother and Madsen's attorney felt shorted.

"The justice system failed in this case," said Linda Worth, mother of slain teen Christopher Worth.

Authorities alleged that Madsen stabbed Christopher after the two were hanging out and drinking the night of July 9, 2005. Christopher's body and truck was found a day later in a field off Cavitt Stallman Road.

In the most recent trial, Madsen was acquitted of the first-degree charge, while the jury unable to break a 6-6 deadlock on whether to convict Madsen on a charge of second-degree murder.

In the first trial in 2008, jurors voted 7-5 to convict on the first-degree charge. In 2009, jurors were split 10-2 to convict, leading to another mistrial being declared and setting up the most recent trial.

The Placer County District Attorney's office could have refiled against Madsen on the second-degree murder charge, but said Monday they're declining to purse it further.

Mary Beth Acton, Madsen's attorney, said Monday's release of her client was a long time coming. She said she was sympathetic to the Worth family but the police "got the wrong guy."

"I'm just so ecstatic to see him get out of there," Acton said.

Previous coverage:

Placer DA to seek third trial for Granite Bay man in friend's killing - March 27, 2009

Another jury deadlocks in Placer County murder case - March 13, 2009

By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com

Three people have pleaded guilty to a bizarre strong-arm scheme to recover money for victims of an alleged $40 million Ponzi ring in Folsom.

But the alleged leader of the strong-arm operation, Michael David Sanders, continues to maintain his innocence and is set to go to trial March 1 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

Prosecutors said the foursome walked into a Folsom office last March, equipped with badges, handcuffs and bulletproof vests, and began intimidating three men who were associated with the alleged Ponzi scheme. Saying they represented the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the four demanded the return of exactly $378,300.16 belonging to investors, according to prosecutors. At least two of the four were carrying guns.

Prosecutors have said they believe the four were sincere in their efforts to recover money on investors' behalf. Their demands were unmet

Craig Anderson, 39, of Chicago, pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to impersonate an officer. Cassandra Moore, 26, of Beverly Hills, and Sean Smartt, 41, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing false documents.

The three are to be sentenced in April. Anderson could get up to five years in prison; Smartt and Moore could get up to one year.

A couple of days after their visit, federal officials obtained a court order shutting down a Folsom company called Equity Investment Management and Training Inc. The firm's principal, Anthony Vassallo, has pleaded innocent to multiple fraud charges in connection with the alleged Ponzi operation.

Call The Bee's Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066.

Previous coverage:

Alleged anti-Ponzi vigilante is enigmatic - Jun. 7, 2009

Charges say 4 tried to intimidate Ponzi suspect - May. 23, 2009

Alleged leader in Folsom Ponzi scheme freed on bail - April 3, 2009

$40 million Ponzi swindle in Sacramento area alleged; two arrested - March 21, 2009

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento police have arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of enticing young girls to pose nude.

A surveillance officer had been searching for a missing 13-year-old girl when he spotted her walking with a man Saturday night in North Sacramento. The man was stopped and the missing girl taken into protective custody.

When officers went to the man's house, they found two 14-year-olds who also had been reported missing. Authorities also found more than 200 Ecstasy pills in the house.

Police said the man appeared to have had young girls pose for nude photographs.

Police declined to immediately release the name of the suspect, citing an ongoing investigation.

From Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof:

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the man shot and killed at his Fair Oaks home this morning as 31-year-old Cristian Anton.

Authorities are searching for two men suspected of fatally shooting Anton and injuring his brother during what was described as an attempted robbery this morning at the victims' home.

The first suspect is described as a white male adult, 5 feet 10 inches tall and heavyset, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. The second suspect is described as a male adult, possibly Asian or Latino.

The suspects fled the scene on the 7800 block of Winding Way, near Sunrise Avenue, in a dark green or black late-1990s or early-2000s Ford Ranger pickup truck with an extended cab.

Shortly after 1 a.m., Anton's 25-year-old brother was returning home when he was accosted by two armed men near his front door, said Sgt. Tim Curran, a sheriff's department spokesman. The brother suffered a head injury, although it was not clear how it occurred.

The suspects demanded cash, then forced the younger brother into the home, Curran said. They had attacked the man when Cristian Anton emerged from a back room and joined in the struggle. He was shot in the stomach and died at a local hospital about 5 a.m.

Curran said it's unclear if anything was taken from the home before the suspects drove away. Detectives did not find anything illegal in the home and are unsure of the motive for the attack, Curran said. The surviving brother told detectives he did not know why he, his brother or their home was targeted, Curran said.

Deputies have not been called to the residence before, Curran said.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call homicide detectives at (916) 874-5057 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Tips also can be texted to 274637 by entering "SACTIP" followed by the information. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

A vacant home in south Sacramento was ripped by explosion and fire shortly after 2 a.m. today - the fifth empty house hit by fire in the area in a week.

But authorities said there is no indication that the latest incident was linked to other vacant homes that burned in recent days.

"This was either a natural gas explosion or some type of explosion inside the house," Captain Jim Doucette said. The house at 3944 17th Ave. in Oak Park was destroyed.

No one was inside.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews found no signs of a natural gas leak but, Doucette said, investigators would return to the scene on Monday to do further work.

On Wednesday, two abandoned home were hit by fire and two others burned earlier in the week in the south Sacramento area.

Wednesday, a 6:15 a.m. fire destroyed a small abandoned home in the 7400 block of Persimmon Avenue, near Mack Road and Franklin Boulevard.

Earlier that day, Sacramento firefighters extinguished, what authorities called a suspicious fire, in an abandoned house in Oak Park. That fire was reported in the 4700 block of 36th Street, across the street from another vacant Oak Park house that burned on Monday.

Doucette said the 36th Street fire appeared to be deliberate. Investigators were unable to determine the cause of the other Oak Park fire, he said. The fires "were probably related in terms of transients trying to stay warm or whatever inside the home," Doucette said.

The first in the series of fires occurred Sunday night in a vacant house in the Fruitridge neighborhood in the 5900 block of Clover Manor Way.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.

By M.S. Enkoji
menkoji@sacbee.com

The son of a suspect in the murder of a 24-year-old Land Park man who was stabbed during a fight on Thursday was arrested Saturday in connection with the same murder.

Nicholas Koppe (photo left), 24, was arrested after an investigation into the death of a 24-year-old man, who was found stabbed to death by a roommate inside their home in the 2700 block of Muir Way at about 1 a.m. Thursday.

Christoper Koppe, 53, who also lived at the home, was Thursday on suspicion of murder charges.

Officers believe a fight ensued between the victim and the father and son.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office had not released the victim's name as of Saturday night.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 28-year-old Davis man has been sentenced to prison after a jury found him guilty of two felony counts of resisting an officer. The officer was severely injured and it is uncertain whether she will fully recover.

Yolo Superior Court Judge Kathleen White sentenced Tracy Justin Cooke to two years and eight months in prison, according to the Yolo County District Attorney's office announced Friday.

On April 13, 2009, Davis police were called to a residence on Olive Drive where Cooke was kicking in his neighbor's door, according to a District Attorney's Office news release. Officers arrived to find the neighbor's door broken and Cooke still banging on it.

Cooke, who was intoxicated, became aggressive with officers and violently resisted when they attempted to arrest him for drunk and disorderly conduct. During the struggle, Cooke severely injured one of the officers, and it is not known whether she will ever fully recover from her injuries, according to the news release.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Fair Oaks man was treated for minor burns and smoke inhalation Friday night following a fire that caused major damage to his home in the 5100 block of Oak Point Way.

Firefighters with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District arrived at 7:19 p.m. to find flames shooting 50 feet into the air and threatening neighboring homes. The 911 call was delayed, which gave time for the fire to intensify, according to a department news release. It took 34 firefighters 19 minutes to bring the fire under control.

Damage to the structure was estimated at $400,000. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

If a home is on fire, residents should leave immediately and call 911 from a cell phone or a neighbor's house, fire officials said.

By Jane Braxton Little
Bee Correspondent

QUINCY - A correctional officer at High Desert State Prison is under investigation for two incidents of making false reports of crimes to the Plumas County Sheriff's Department.

Todd Posch, a sergeant at the California prison in Susanville, told Plumas deputies he had been struck by a vehicle in front of his Greenville residence early Wednesday morning.

The vehicle fled from the scene, he told the officers who questioned him at Plumas District Hospital where he was being treated for injuries.

The investigation determined that Posch fabricated the hit-and-run incident and that his injuries were self-inflicted, said Steve Peay, a Plumas sheriff's investigations sergeant.

Under questioning, Posch also confessed to fabricating a report he made March 27 describing an attack by up to three men at a highway rest stop near Canyon Dam, Peay said.

That incident triggered a manhunt for up to three suspects in a brown sport utility vehicle who officials said may have been former prisoners seeking retaliation on a guard.

The cuts, stab wounds and broken ribs Posch allegedly sustained in March were also self-inflicted, Peay said.

Posch was cited and released pending review of the case by the Plumas County District Attorney's office.

Although Posch was not at work at High Desert Prison on Friday, a prison spokesman said no administrative action would normally be taken on an employee until completion of a full investigation.

Editor's note: This is another report in an occasional series on unusual events or people found by The Bee's police reporters and editors.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

As a firefighter, you never know what the next emergency call will be.

For Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District's Capt. Barbara "Barbie" Law, the call came on a business trip in Alabama on Jan. 12.

The emergency: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake that just struck Haiti.

Pagers went off for firefighters who serve in urban search and rescue teams to inform them of their deployment. Law was in a room with them and wanted to help.

She sent a text message to Dr. Hernando Garzon, Sacramento County's Emergency Medical Services Medical Director and a member of Relief International, a humanitarian agency that provides emergency aid to victims of natural disasters worldwide.

Garzon welcomed Law, making her the first paramedic to join Garzon's team of doctors and nurses.

Law returned home to prepare for her two-week trip to Haiti. On Jan. 19, she left Sacramento, first stopping in Miami, then the Dominican Republic and finally arriving in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city, in a helicopter.

She works in a clinic in the town of Carrefour, southwest of Port-au-Prince. The clinic sees 150 to 200 patients a day.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento jury today convicted an Oak Park man of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 20-year-old woman who lived across the street from him.

Jurors also found Ronald Duran Mitchell (left in 2008 booking photo) guilty of trying to kill the homicide victim's mother in a planned, July 16, 2008 attack.

Mitchell, 58, faces the likelihood of a life prison term with no chance of parole, thanks to the jury's finding on the special-circumstance allegation that he was lying in wait when he killed Laprea Tyson.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Sharon A. Lueras scheduled Mitchell's sentencing for March 5.

According to Deputy District Attorney Chris Ore's trial brief, Mitchell lured Tyson and her mother, Blanche Brisco, over to his house in the 3600 block of 43rd Street for the purpose of killing them.

The brief said Mitchell had dated Brisco and became angry when she stopped the relationship. Mitchell once tried to strangle Brisco and on another occasion slugged her in the face and knocked a tooth out, according to the brief.

During one of their fights, Tyson to hit Mitchell in the face with a bicycle wheel and cut his mouth open, the brief said.

The night before the shooting, Mitchell stole a skateboard belonging to Tyson's younger brother. When she and her mother went over to his house to retrieve it, he shot Tyson in the head and killed her and seriously injured Brisco by shooting her in the chest, according to the brief.

Testifying in his own defense at trial, Mitchell claimed that he shot the women when they broke into his house.

Bee Staff

Woodland police are looking for a bandit who may have been armed with a stun gun when he robbed a beauty supply store.

At about 7:48 p.m. on Thursday, a man wearing a ski mask demanded money from employees of a beauty supply store in the 1300 block of East Main Street, according to a Police Department news release.

The robber did not display a weapon but the employees of the store thought they heard the sound of a hand-held stun gun being activated as the suspect demanded the cash, the release states.

The bandit fled out the back door with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The robber is described as a white male adult in his late 30s, approx 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall with a medium build. The suspect was wearing a dark brown hooded sweatshirt pulled up over the ski mask.

At one point, the suspect raised the mask enough for the victims to see short, brown facial hair with some gray included. The facial hair may have been a short beard or goatee.

No one was injured.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 661-7800 or (530) 666-2411.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have released a photographs of a suspect in a bookstore robbery at the Market Square shopping center Wednesday night.

Police said the suspect (see photos left and below) held up Barnes & Noble bookstore employees at gunpoint after the store closed.

He apparently had hidden in the store at 1725 Arden Way until after the 10 p.m. closing.

Police said that he ordered employees into the bookstore manager's office and demanded money.

The suspect then fled from the store with cash to a parked vehicle.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic man, perhaps in his 40s, 5 foot 7 inches tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He has an athletic build, light complexion and short, black hair.

His getaway car (see photo below) was a silver Toyota, possibly a four-door Camry.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.

Q: What happened to the man who kidnapped and killed Connie Lee Decker in 1984? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: David Breaux, now 53, is on death row at San Quentin Prison for Decker's murder, according to prison records.

Breaux was a released felon when he kidnapped Decker, 37, in front of a Sacramento liquor store June 17, 1984, The Bee reported. Decker was a stranger to Breaux.

He forced her to climb into a trash bin behind a Rancho Cordova business and shot her twice in the back of the head. He later moved her body to a remote field, where she was found the next day.

An investigation led to Breaux, who fled when he saw police outside his mother's home on June 19. He ran to nearby McKinley Park, where he hid in the clubhouse. He was shot in the forearm by a police officer before being subdued.

Breaux had two prior convictions - robbery in 1978 and battery on a police officer in 1975.

In addition to the death sentence, Breaux also was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 10 years.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By Bill Lindelof and Chelsea Phua
blindelof@sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol is investigating whether a driver's attention to a compact disc player may have led to an accident Thursday afternoon in Yolo County in which two men - a car driver and passenger - were killed.

Yolo County Chief Deputy Coroner Robert LaBrash identified the car driver as Luis Sarabia Trujillo, 23, of Woodland. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sacramento County Coroner officials identified the passenger as Omar Gaytan Sarabia, 20, also of Woodland. Gaytan Sarabia was taken to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he died.

A news release from the CHP said that a pickup driven by David Pearl, 53, of Davis was northbound on County Road 89 in Yolo County at about 60 mph just after noon. Approaching from the southbound direction was a car with three passengers driven by Sarabia Trujillo.

The released stated that Pearl was "inattentive by looking at his CD player." That lack of attention to driving allowed his truck to drift onto the right shoulder, the CHP said.

Realizing his truck was off the roadway, he corrected to the left, crossing over into the southbound lane, the CHP said. The truck then struck the car with the three passengers, the CHP said.

The car went out of control and onto the dirt shoulder of the road where the left rear portion of the vehicle struck a telephone pole.

Francisco Gonzalez, 24, of Woodland suffered minor injuries and Edgar Blanco, 30, of Fairfield suffered major injuries.

Pearl was reported to have suffered minor injuries.

No information was immediately available on whether charges would be filed against Pearl.

Bee Staff

A Southwest Airlines employee alerted Sacramento Sheriff's deputies who caught a fugitive from Washington state, according to a crime summary released this week.

The summary gave this chain of events:

At about 11:55 p.m. on Jan. 26, the employee told deputies that a man was acting suspicious.

When deputies confronted the 28-year-old man, he gave a false name and date of birth. When a deputy attempted to handcuff the man, identified as James Scott Cloud, he fled through the airport terminal.

Cloud tried to hide in some bushes outside the terminal where deputies spotted him. He was arrested without further incident.

Cloud is wanted on a fugitive warrant from Olympia, Wash.

Washington correctional officials told The Bee that Cloud was convicted of false imprisonment. They said they plan to seek his extradition.

Cloud is being held in the Sacramento County jail on a no-bail warrant.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A man has been arrested in the death of a pedestrian whose body was found on an Interstate-80 onramp in Roseville.

Jeremy Sam Sarguis (photo left), 20, was arrested on suspicion of vehicle manslaughter and hit and run in the death of Vickie Janell Scott, 46, of Grass Valley.

Scott's body was found on the Atlantic Street onramp to westbound I-80 about 4:30 a.m. Thursday.

The CHP said today that Scott was at the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln Thursday night and hitchiked a ride to the Roseville area. At some point, the vehicle in which she was riding was pulled over by officers for defective tailight.

Scott was then cited for not wearing a seatbelt, said CHP officer David Martinez.

Later that night, a Placer County sheriff's deputy saw her near a Roseville fast-food restaurant and offered to make a telephone call for her or give her a ride. She declined the offers, said Martinez.

Scott was seen about 2:30 a.m. walking along a city street. She eventually made her way to the onramp where she died after being struck by a vehicle.

"She was struck on the Atlantic onramp about 4:25 a.m.," Martinez said. "There was no shoulder on the road and there's a lot of construction there. She was actually in the traffic lanes."

Sarguis and two people in his vehicle when Scott was hit, came to a CHP office Thursday afternoon.

All three were questioned before Sarguis was booked into Placer County Jail.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police on Thursday arrested a second suspect in connection with the fatal shooting 22-year-old David Blanks, who authorities said was killed in October in a gang-related dispute.

Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said Sean Joyner, 21, has been in jail since Jan. 20, when he was arrested for a warrant on a DUI charge and violating his probation.

After gathering enough evidence that determined Joyner's involvement in the killing, detectives on Thursday charged Joyner with homicide.

Blanks was gunned down shortly before 2 a.m. Oct. 24 in a parking lot in the 3600 block of North Freeway Boulevard, police said.

Detectives say they've determined that Blanks was leaving a nightclub and walking to his car when a group approached him and the parties exchanged "gang-related" words. One person from the group fired the shot that killed Blanks, police said.

The next day, detectives arrested Nicholas Newsome, 20, who they say is still being held on a murder charge in the Sacramento County Main Jail.

Joyner is being held at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, according to online jail records. Both men are ineligible for bail.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Rocklin police have arrested Anton Derevyanchuk, 21, of Roseville, for allegedly stealing books and other items from vehicles of Sierra College students while they were in class.

Police said a rash of vehicle burglaries in the last week - nine were reported - prompted undercover officers to stake out one of the college's parking lots Thursday afternoon.

Minutes after officers arrived, they spotted a man - later identified as Derevyanchuk - looking into vehicle windows and watched him get into a black Scion. Officers pulled over the man and found stolen items inside his vehicle from recent reported burglaries, they said.

As officers make their discovery, one of the victims walked over and pointed out that his books were among the stolen items.

Police said most of the burglaries occurred while students were in class, and books were a very common item to be stolen.

Authorities advise that books, purses and other property be hidden in the vehicle.

Bee Staff

Sacramento police detectives arrested a man today who claimed to have gotten into a fight with a burglar and the suspect later died, according to a police spokesman.

Sgt. Norm Leong said detectives determined that the Jan. 27 fight that led to the death Steve Lee, 60, of Sacramento, was not a case of a resident battling an unknown burglar.

Instead, Leong said detectives determined that Silvio Perea (photo left), 51, knew Lee and that a dispute escalated into a fatal fight. He was booked into jail on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.

Leong gave this account of events:

At 1:03 a.m. on Jan. 27, the officers responded to a burglary call in the 900 block of Eleanor Avenue. The resident claimed to have gotten into a physical confrontation with an unknown burglar.

The suspected burglar was located and transported to an area hospital with severe head trauma.

On Feb.3, Lee died as a result of his injuries.

Detectives reviewed the evidence initially gathered and identified inconsistencies in Perea's statement. Based on that, detectives determined that Perea and the victim knew each other and Perea subsequently was arrested.

By Ed Fletcher
eflectcher@sacbee.com

Peter Joseph Farrell's California stay will likely last much longer than he expected after the Oregon man earned a six-year sentence in state prison as a result of his sixth DUI conviction.

The Placer County District Attorney gave this account in a news release:

Farrell's latest arrest came July 11 in Lincoln.

Farrell (photo left) testified that he escaped a mugging at Thunder Valley Casino only to be chased by a male attacker driving a truck. He was pulled over while driving erratically on Highway 65.

"The jury just didn't buy his story," said prosecutor Daniel Wesp.

Farrell's blood alcohol level was measured at .22 percent, well in excess of the .08 percent considered a DUI in California.

Judge Mark S. Curry said Farrell, 43, has not learned his lesson.

His first DUI conviction came in 1988 when Ferrell ran a red light in Sacramento County and stuck and killed a motorcyclist. He fled the scene and was sentenced to nearly three years for vehicular manslaughter.

He then collected DUI convictions Oregon in 1998, 1999, 2003 and 2005 before his latest offense.

"He (has) not been a law-abiding citizen," Curry said. "He's a recidivist. His prospects for rehabilitation, in the court's opinion, are dim. He continues to commit crimes that jeopardize the public's safety."

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Joseph Skates testified today that he was "distraught," "never in my right state of mind" and "panicking" the morning he found his girlfriend's son unresponsive on the living room floor. He said that's why he never called 911 the day 3-year-old Manny Maciel suffered fatal injuries that killed him two days later.

Prosecutors have charged him with murder. Deputy District Dawn Bladet, in her cross-examination of the 25-year-old defendant, verbally blasted him about the 53-minute time span from when Skates said he first found Manny to when help finally arrived - after he called his mother instead of emergency assistance.

"Nobody could say what they would have done, who they would have called...unless they would have been in that situation," Skates told a Sacramento Superior Court jury.

Under questioning from Bladet, Skates said it took him 30 minutes to find his cell phone and call his mother after he found Manny non-responsive at 9:20 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 7, 2008.

Skates said he held Manny's limp body in his hands and was yelling "What happened, what happened to Manny?" But he said he never went outside to ask anybody else for help in the North Natomas apartment complex on Zurlo Way or to borrow a telephone so he could call 911.

A coroner's autopsy determined that the boy died of blunt-force injuries in a death they classified as a homicide.

Skates' lawyer, Jesse Ortiz, says that Manny either fell off a couch or suffered his injuries at the hands of somebody else.

There was another adult staying in the North Natomas apartment when Manny got hurt, but Skates testified today that the man, his girlfriend's cousin, was asleep when he came home after walking the victim's older brother to school. It was on his return to the apartment that he found the boy on the floor.

Skates testified that he did not know how to resuscitate the boy, but that he attempted to revive him by blowing air into his mouth.

He also testified that he changed the boy out of his pajamas into a tee shirt and a pair of shorts, from the time he found him to when his mother, her boyfriend and a California Highway Patrol officer who pulled them over on the way to the apartment all arrived at 10:13 a.m. to provide help.

In her cross-examination, Bladet asked Skates, "What were you hiding in 53 minutes" from the time he found the boy until the help arrived?

"I wasn't hiding nothing," Skates said. "You're trying to blow this all out of proportion."

He told the jury, "I wish I would have called (911), but I didn't."

The defendant was arrested in Oregon about a month after Manny's Nov. 9, 2008, death, which took place two days after Skates said he found the injured boy.

He said he fled north because of threats he had received from the relatives of Manny's biological father.

Skates testified that he loved Manny and his two older brothers, and that he was closest to Manny.

"I kind of spoiled him," Skates testified.

Ortiz, in his questioning of Skates, showed him a picture of Manny lying in the hospital.

"Did you do that?" the defense lawyer asked.

"No," Skates replied.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

Previous coverage:

Mom of slain boy testifies at boyfriend's murder trial - Feb. 2, 2010

Sacramento man goes on trial in death of boy, 3 - Jan. 29, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Police arrested a man suspected of stabbing his roommate to death early this morning in a Sacramento neighborhood.

Sacramento police took Christopher Koppe (photo left), 53, was arrested custody after the killing in a residence on the 2700 block of Muir Way, in a neighborhood west of Land Park. Koppe was booked into jail on suspcicion of murder, police said..

Police responded to a call just after 1 a.m. this morning from a woman who said one of her roommates might be dead. They found a 24-year-old man who appeared to have died from being stabbed.

Police said it appears that an argument between the older and the younger man escalated into a stabbing.

Up to six roommates may have been living in the residence.

From Loretta Kalb:

Fire Chief Steven Foster, who has headed a 157-square-mile fire district in southern Sacramento County since mid-2006, announced today that he will retire June 1.

Foster, 51, cited the profession's demands as motivation for leaving the Cosumnes Community Services District Fire Department, where he oversees more than 180 sworn fire personnel.

"It's time," he said in an interview. "It's public safety. This is a young man's game."

Foster executed consolidation of the former Elk Grove Community Services District and Galt Fire Protection District after a merger of the two entities was approved in late 2006.

The resulting Cosumnes CSD fire department provides fire protection to 169,000 residents throughout the Elk Grove area and the Galt.

Foster also oversaw planning and construction of the department's new fleet maintenance center and fire administration building, which is scheduled to open on East Stockton Boulevard in April. He was instrumental in passing a planning and fee funding program to build more fire stations and hire additional firefighters for the district.

Foster joined the department in 1985 as a consultant to build fire prevention programs in the fast-growing community. In 1990 he became a full-time battalion chief/assistant fire marshal. As assistant fire marshal, he sought to modernize the department,

He used technology to further the department's mission by promoting electronic fire response maps in fire engines. He oversaw creation of the Special Operations Division, which is responsible for the Urban Search and Rescue Program. He also guided expansion of the Community Emergency Response Team program, which includes more than 140 private citizens in the district.

He previously was president of the Sacramento County Fire Marshals and Fire Chiefs associations.

The community services district provides both fire and park services. District General Manager Jeff Ramos and the agency's board of directors is expected to hire a successor from within existing fire department ranks.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Authorities are asking the public's help in identifying a man suspected of robbing a SAFE Credit Union on Dudley Boulevard on Wednesday.

The man (see photo left) - dubbed the "toothless bandit" for his gummy smile - walked into the credit union shortly after 9:30 a.m. and handed a teller a note demanding money, according to Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of money, and the suspect fled in a car driven by a second suspect, Curran said.

The first suspect is described as a black man in his 30s, 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall and missing his top four front teeth, Curran said.

He was wearing a black beanie, a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and tennis shoes, Curran said.

Witnesses told investigators that the getaway car (see photo below) was a dark four-door sedan with a rear spoiler, possibly a Pontiac or a Mazda.

They could not provide a description of the driver, Curran said.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's robbery detectives at (916) 874-5115 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

The robbery is being investigated by the Sacramento Violent Crimes Task Force, a partnership between sheriff's robbery detectives and special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

From Anna Tong and Bill Lindelof:

A garbage truck and a satellite television installation van collided this morning on Folsom Boulevard, killing the van driver.

After the collision, the green garbage truck then crashed into a metal drive-through awning outside a children's daycare center. Nobody in the childcare facility, which was set back from the road, was hurt.

The accident occurred about 9:30 a.m. in the 8500 block of Folsom Boulevard, east of Florin Perkins Road.

Witnesses nearby said they heard a long scrape and then a dramatic boom.

It took nearly half an hour to remove the victims from their vehicles, said Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette.

The Dish Network van was heading east on Folsom and turned in front of the Sacramento County garbage truck, which was traveling west.

The white van was overturned and its front was completely crushed.

The garbage truck driver was taken to UC Davis Medical Center with major injuries.

Police did not identify the van driver, who was a Dish Network technician.

"He was always at work on time and was friends with all the customers and technicians," said Michael Back, manager at the Dish Network service center where the driver worked.

Here is a video by Bee videographer Andy Alfaro of a demonstration put on by K9 units from several area law enforcement agencies. The demonstration by the dogs and a very well padded "bad guy" was at the recent Pig Bowl.

From Bill Lindelof:

Sacramento police are investigating a bookstore robbery at the Market Square shopping center Wednesday night.

Police said the suspect held up Barnes & Noble bookstore employees at gunpoint after the store closed. He apparently had hidden in the store at 1725 Arden Way until after the 10 p.m. closing, police said.

He took cash and fled, police said. The suspect was described as a man in his late 30s.

From Bill Lindelof:

The California Highway Patrol has re-opened an Interstate 80 freeway lane and onramp that was closed this morning for two hours after a body was found in the roadway.

Authorities say the unidentified body was that of a woman.

The Atlantic Street onramp to westbound I-80 and the slow lane of the freeway in Roseville had been closed after the body was reported about 4:30 a.m.

Authorities say they don't know how the victim died. The coroner responded to the scene to recover the body.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A 91-year-old Roseville man was sentenced Wednesday to six months for assaulting his wife, Placer County authorities said.

However, Claude Montgomery (left photo) only has 22 days left to serve on his sentence because he has been in jail on a $100,000 bail since his arrest in late October and earned another 56 days of credit for good behavior, prosecutors said.

Placer County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Penney also placed Montgomery on four years of probation, ordered him to attend classes for batterers and granted a restraining order that forbids him have any contact with the victim.

Authorities said Montgomery was arrested Oct. 25 after his wife made a 911 call, having suffered minor injuries in a scuffle with her husband. Authorities said Montgomery threatened her with a knife as she tried to make the emergency phone call.

He was arrested on charges of attempted murder, but the District Attorney's Office later dismissed those charges as part of a deal where Montgomery pleaded guilty on Dec. 18 to assaulting his wife with a deadly weapon, inflicting corporal injury to a spouse and making criminal threats.

Authorities said Montgomery is expected to move to the Bay Area with his children after his release.

By Robert Lewis and Sam Stanton
rlewis@sacbee.com

One of the inmates the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department released early as part of an effort to reduce the state's prison population was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted rape, less than 24 hours after getting out of jail, The Bee has learned.

Kevin Eugene Peterson got out of jail Monday night after serving about two months on a four-month sentence for violating probation on a prior conviction. Peterson was arrested 12 hours later, around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, on suspicion of an attempted rape involving a female counselor at the 1300 block of North C Street, a Sacramento Police Department spokesman said. He was booked into the Sacramento County jail at 3:21 p.m. Tuesday on suspicion of attempted rape, sexual battery, false imprisonment and violating the terms of his probation.

"Our greatest fear has occurred almost immediately after the early release of these inmates," said Christine Ward of the Crime Victims Action Alliance. "We are certain that we will see more of this as more inmates are released from jails and prisons."

Peterson has a criminal history including a 2008 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon. He pled guilty to a misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation. On Dec. 2, he was sentenced to four months for violating the terms of his probation, according to court documents.

Traditionally inmates who exhibit good behavior while in custody are eligible to be released after serving two-thirds of their sentence. A law the Legislature passed late last year requires county jails to release inmates on good behavior after serving half the sentence, a change of about two months for most sentenced to a year.

Sheriff John McGinness on Tuesday said only nonviolent inmates jailed on misdemeanors would be eligible for early release. Peterson was convicted for assault with a deadly weapon in 2008. His most recent stint in jail, however, was for a probation violation.

"The probation violation was nonviolent," McGinness said.

Peterson got out 16 days early as a result of the new law. McGinness said he won't defend the policy but that 16 days likely did not make a difference in Peterson's behavior.

"What he is alleged to have done yesterday, he conceivably would have done 16 days later," McGinness said.

But Kevin Mickelson, president of the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff's Association, said the episode calls into question the notion that violent prisoners won't be getting out early,

"The state Legislature has duped the citizens of California into believing they've released only nonviolent offenders back into the communities," Mickelson said. "That is simply not true."

Call The Bee's Robert Lewis, (916) 321-1061.

From Bill Lindelof:

The California Highway Patrol today honored a couple who helped with the arrest of a driver who allegedly hit a bicyclist and dragged him a quarter-mile.

Jonathan D. Hobson, 24, and his wife, Lupe Zavala, 24, received a special commendation at the Rancho Cordova Area CHP office from CHP Commander Lt. Greg Ferrero.

The incident for which the couple was honored occurred about 7:30 p.m. Sunday when a bicyclist riding west in the bike lane on Folsom Boulevard near Norcade Circle was struck by a Ford Explorer.

The cyclist, Sanjay Patel, 26, was dragged about a quarter-mile under the SUV, the CHP said. He was taken to UC Davis Medical Center with major injuries. The CHP today said he is in stable condition. (An earlier version of this story had the victim's name wrong.)

Hobson, who witnessed the collision, followed the SUV until it stopped at the intersection of Watt Avenue and Folsom Boulevard. He then walked toward the SUV and removed the keys from the vehicle, the CHP said.

While her husband went after the driver, Zavala helped the injured bicyclist. She then went to a nearby house and knocked on doors to get somebody to call 911.

She and a neighbor talked with Patel to calm him before paramedics arrived.

Hobson detained the SUV driver, Amira Farouk Fakira, 23, of Elk Grove, until officers arrived. Fakira was taken to Sacramento County Jail and booked on suspicion of hit and run and driving under the influence.

From Bill Lindelof:

Joseph Timothy Musselwhite, who was on San Quentin's death row for his 1990 convictions of murder and attempted murder in Sacramento County, has died.

Musselwhite, 47, was unresponsive when found in his San Quentin cell, which occupied alone, at 7:21 p.m. Tuesday. He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later.

The cause of his death has not been determined.

He was sent to death row on Oct. 10, 1990, for the Dec. 7, 1987, murder of apartment complex manager Norma Iris Painter and the Nov. 30, 1987, attempted murder of video store clerk Shawn May.

When he was sentenced, he boosted California's death row population to 290, Bee archives show. Today, 698 inmates are on the state's death row.

Painter was slain in a Madison Avenue model apartment she showed to prospective renters. She had been beaten, strangled and viciously slashed with a knife, the Sacramento Superior Court judge said at sentencing.

For the attack on Painter, Musselwhite was convicted of first-degree murder under two different special circumstances, as well as two counts of burglary and one count of robbery.

He also was found guilty of attempted murder, burglary and robbery for an attack one week earlier on May, an 18-year-old clerk at a Manzanita Avenue video store. In that crime, Musselwhite hit May in the head with a hammer, causing great bodily injury, after she had been bound to a chair in the store's back room.

Two earlier video store robberies were attributed to Musselwhite by the jury considering his penalty. He was not not charged in Sacramento with those offenses because they occurred outside the jurisdiction of local authorities.

One happened Nov. 24, 1987, in Fairfield and included the rape of the 21-year-old victim. Another was committed on Nov. 27, 1987, in Stockton and involved a 22-year-old clerk. She was robbed and bound, with paper towels stuffed in her mouth.

In a statement to probation investigators, Musselwhite said the events of 1987 were hazy in his memory because he was smoking rock cocaine daily for several months. He remembered some details of the events that led up to the homicide but insisted he did not know he had killed Painter.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today found Dominick Theado West guilty of second-degree murder in the midtown Sacramento shooting death of Mary Ourk nearly three years ago while she was driving home from a club after spending the night out with friends.

West, 28, faces a term of at least 45 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard. The judge scheduled his sentencing date for March 26.

"We were relieved to find out he was guilty," Jennifer Phonn, a cousin of Ourk's, told reporters after the verdict.

Trial testimony revealed West had been flashing a handgun while at two other night clubs in the downtown and midtown areas before he followed Ourk's car just after 1:30 a.m. on June 2, 2007.

Thinking it was somebody she might know, Ourk, a 21-year-old American River College student who hoped to become a fashion designer, pulled her car toward the curb as she approached the intersection at 12th and W streets.

West then pulled up alongside Ourk's car and shot her in the neck. He told his girlfriend at the time in a telephone conversation afterward that he thought he saw hands coming out of the driver's side window just before he fired his gun, her trial testimony showed.

The 10-man, two-woman jury came back with its verdict after about a day of deliberations.

Juror Mike Mostafanejad said the panel arrived at its decision after piecing together events that led to Ourk's shooting, starting with West brandishing a gun at a nightclub patron at another spot a couple hours before the homicide.

He said jurors were not impressed with West's testimony in his own defense.

"Not credible at all, evasive, and that was unanimous, almost," Mostafanejad said in interview. "We thought he was out to prove he was somebody, that he was a 'player,' and that was one reason we thought he fired the gun, to prove a point, but not necessarily to actually kill somebody."

The finding of West's lack of willful deliberation before the shooting of Ourk resulted in the finding of guilt for second-degree murder rather than first-degree, Mostafanejad said.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Ritschard said he thought "the jury worked very hard and came up with a fair resolution."

Defense attorney Michael Long said he believes West is innocent and that his client was convicted based on faulty eyewitness testimony from the victim of the earlier incident at the other nightclub. In addition, Long said he felt that West's two former girlfriends who testified that the defendant told them about the shooting both lied.

Laura Gilmore, a friend of West's family, said, "I think you've got an innocent man that you're sending to prison."

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

Previous coverage:

Defendant tells murder trial he didn't do it and ex-girlfriends lied - Jan. 28, 2010

Ex-girlfriend testifies defendant talked about killing woman - Jan. 22, 2010

Victim's friend recalls gunshot - Jan. 12, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol today will honor a man who helped with the arrest of a driver who allegedly hit a bicyclist and dragged him a quarter-mile.

Jonathan D. Hobson will receive a special commendation award at the Rancho Cordova Area CHP office from CHP Commander Lt. Greg Ferrero.

The incident for which Hobson is being honored occurred Sunday about 7:30 p.m. when a bicyclist riding westbound on Folsom Boulevard near Norcade Circle in the bike lane was truck by a Ford Explorer.

The bike rider was dragged about a quarter of a mile under the SUV, the CHP said.

The bike rider Patar Sanjay, 26, was taken to UC Davis Medical Center with major injuries. The CHP said today he is in stable condition.

Hobson, who witnessed the collision, followed the SUV until it stopped at the intersection of Watt Avenue and Folsom Boulevard. He then walked toward the SUV and removed the keys from the vehicle, the CHP said.

Hobson was also able to detain the SUV driver, Amira Farouk Fakira, 23, of Elk Grove, until officers arrived. Fakira was taken to Sacramento County Jail and booked on suspicion of hit and run and driving under the influence.

From Bill Lindelof:

Two more abandoned houses were hit by fire this morning, driving to four the total of vacant homes to burn this week in the greater south Sacramento area.

The most recent blaze burned down a small home in the 7400 block of Persimmon Avenue near Mack Road and Franklin Boulevard.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District personnel are still looking into the cause of the blaze that was reported about 6:15 a.m.

Fire district spokesman Capt. Christian Pebbles said that the house was abandoned.

Earlier today, Sacramento firefighters put out what authorities called a suspicious fire in an abandoned house in Oak Park.

The fire, which was reported about 3 a.m., was on the 4700 block of 36th Street directly across from another vacant house that burned early Monday morning.

The fire this morning on 36th Street started outside the garage and then entered the attic, causing heavy roof damage.

A fire engine company was on the scene in less than four minutes.

Sacramento Fire Department spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette said the boarded-up house that burned this morning was well-involved in flames when crews arrived.

The cause of both Oak Park fires is being investigated. Fire officials are calling this morning's fire on 36th Street an "incendiary act."

"It is obviously suspicious," said Doucette. "A lot of times transients living in these homes set fire, and sometimes people just get tired of looking at a boarded-up houses."

Another fire in a vacant house occurred Sunday night several miles away in the Fruitridge neighborhood on the 5900 block of Clover Manor Way.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating a collision between a Roseville police officer and a 19-year-old woman Tuesday night.

No one suffered life-threatening injuries, Roseville police Sgt. Jason Bosworth said.

The collision happened shortly after 9 p.m. at Pleasant Grove and Washington boulevards, police said.

The officer was westbound on Pleasant Grove Boulevard and making a left turn when the accident happened. The woman, who was driving a 2-door sports car, was eastbound.

Bosworth said the officer was responding to a routine call, which does not require lights and sirens to be on. It's not clear who had the green light.

The CHP is investigating to ensure impartiality, Bosworth said.

- By Chelsea Phua

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A Woodland man admitted Monday to breaking into a safe at a church and into an ATM kiosk, and his wife admitted to possessing stolen property from a different burglary, Yolo County authorities said.

Prosecutors said the couple, Jose and Eleanor Rangel, pleaded guilty to felony theft charges and will be sentenced March 3 in Yolo Superior Court.

Authorities said Jose Rangel was a handyman at Holy Rosary Church in Woodland who was fired in 2003 for allegedly stealing donations and other items.

Church officials said after he was fired, Jose Rangel was caught "lurking" in secured areas of the church, claiming that he still worked there.

On Nov. 26, 2007, church officials reported that the safe in the sacristy area had been cut open and thousands of dollars in checks and cash were missing.

During the investigation, Woodland Police Detective Dallas Hyde discovered Jose Rangel had tried to copy a master key for the church, claiming that it was for his house.

Investigators said they also discovered that Jose Rangel used a homemade ladder to enter a small, high window. Witnesses said only someone familiar with the church could have used that window to enter the building.

Video surveillance obtained from nearby businesses showed a truck carrying a ladder at the time of the burglary, and Eleanor Rangel apparently told witnesses that she knew the truck belonged to her husband.

However, when questioned by authorities, she claimed she did not recognize the truck.

Jose Rangel claimed he had a condition that caused him to forget large blocks of time.

Hyde later found illegal firearms and an acetylene torch "rig" that Rangel had borrowed a week before the burglary. Hyde also found that the Rangels had recently bought an expensive amphibious vehicle for cash and had financial troubles.

Besides the church heist, Jose Rangel also admitted to cutting into an ATM kiosk in Woodland in October 2008. Authorities said that in 2009, Jose Rangel also cut into an ATM in Roseville.

He is also being accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of tools from his neighbor and setting fire to two cars that belonged to his former co-workers.

Jose Rangel's wife admitted to possessing a laptop allegedly stolen by her husband from a local business. She also admitted to trying to bribe the store owner to cover up the crime.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Lincoln police have arrested two 16-year-old boys on suspicion of burglarizing a home Monday and stealing more than $5,300 worth of items from it.

Police said shortly before 1:30 p.m., a woman who lives in the 300 block of Edgefield Court arrived home to find the two teenage boys in the middle of burglarizing it. She grabbed on of the boys and tried to detain him, but he broke free. During the struggle, the victim was injured. A department news release on Tuesday did not elaborate on the extent of the injuries.

Police said evidence from the crime scene helped identify one of the suspects. He was found the same day and arrested on charges of robbery, burglary and conspiracy.

On Tuesday morning, officers found and arrested the second suspect.

Authorities recovered $3,800 worth of the stolen items.

By Robert Lewis
Rlewis@sacbee.com

Starting Monday night, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department began releasing hundreds of inmates held in the county jails.

As many as 500 inmates could be released by the end of the week as a result of a new state law increasing the amount of time offenders can get off for good behavior, part of a legislative effort to reduce costs and balance the state budget.

"It's a glimpse of the shape of things to come," Sheriff John McGinness said, adding that this "is not a local cost-saving effort."

In the past, nonviolent inmates who showed good behavior while in custody would serve two-thirds of their sentence.

The new law, which went into effect Jan. 25, reduced the time they had to serve to half of the sentence, McGinness said. He said that officials and attorneys interpreted the law to be retroactive.

That has meant hundreds of nonviolent offenders needed to be released for the county to be in compliance with the state law, McGinness said.

The county usually releases 100 to 150 inmates a day.

The Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association blasted the move.

Kevin Mickelson, the association president, said local officers had no idea the state law would impact local jails.

While there has been extensive coverage of the potential early release of state prisoners, many did not realize inmates from local jails would also be eligible to get out.

"I'm perplexed by the fact we're talking about it almost after the fact," Mickelson said.

By Ed Fletcher

efletcher@sacbee.com

A Placer County man convicted on randomly shooting pets and animal in Lincoln may be facing serious time after he admitted a second probation violation, according to the Placer County District Attorney's office.

In 2008, Collin James Lovejoy (photo left), 20, of Lincoln, pleaded no contrast to six charges of cruelty to animals.

He received a one year in county jail and a suspended prison sentence of six years and eight months.

Over the summer, Lovejoy was arrested for procession of drug paraphernalia and admitted violating his probation, according to a news release from the DA's Office.

While awaiting sentencing, he was popped again on Nov. 15 for another drug offence, the DA's office said.

Lovejoy is now being held without bail at the Placer County jail in Auburn pending a March 4 sentencing hearing.

From Bill Lindelof:

Chandra Lau was heading to her Antelope home Monday the same way she does every weekday after leaving work downtown in the evening.

She travels north on 16th Street, then picks up the Capitol City Freeway, just like swarms of other commuters heading to Sacramento's northern suburbs.

But her routine got an abrupt jolt about 6:30 p.m. Monday as she passed under the railroad overpass near A Street and a large rock smashed into her vehicle.

Lau, a 26-year-old para-legal, said the evening's darkness prevented her from seeing who threw the rock, and there was nothing she could do to avoid being hit.

"It hit the hood of my car," she said. "And I was like: 'Oh, my god that is a huge freakin' rock.' "

A back passenger window on her SUV was shattered, apparently when the rock bounced off the hood of her vehicle.

She called Sacramento police, who found in the street a brick and several rocks, one of which was determined to be have hit Lau's Toyota.

Lau was shaken but unhurt. Since then, the "what ifs" have played on her mind.

"Had I been going faster or they threw it two seconds later it could have come through the windshield," she said. "It could have been so much worse. I am definitely truly blessed in a crummy situation."

She said police are considering the incident a felony assault attempt.

"In the daylight I always look up there because I have seen people standing up there before," she said. "But in the dark you can't see anybody up there."

A police spokesman said he was unaware of other incidents of rocks being thrown at cars in the area.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Citrus Heights police report that a body found just after noon today in San Juan Park was that of a suicide victim.

The circumstances surrounding the person's death initially seemed suspicious, according to a police spokeswoman. The park is near the intersection of San Juan and Madison avenues.

No further details were immediately available.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

Law enforcement and religious leaders announced Monday that they are offering rewards for information leading to the arrests of suspects in two recent hate-crime incidents.

The first (video above and right photo) was Nov. 10 at Congregation Beth Shalom, 4746 El Camino Ave., Carmichael. A vandal spray-painted a hate message and swastikas, and tried to burn a sign at the synagogue, federal authorities said.

The second incident occurred Jan. 1 at Kenesset Israel Torah Center, 1165 Morse Ave., Sacramento. Satanic messages, racial epithets, and swastikas were spray-painted at the center. Beth Shalom and Kenesset Israel were targeted by arsonists in 1999.

Benjamin Matthew Williams, a self-proclaimed white supremacist, and his brother, James Tyler Williams, pleaded guilty in September 2001 to setting fires at three area synagogues, causing $3 million in damage.

Monday at Kenesset Israel, Drew Parenti, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Sacramento, announced the bureau is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the two latest incidents.

Skip Rosenbloom, president of the of the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region, said the group has established a $1,500 reward to arrest and convict those who commit criminal acts against area religious institutions.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at (916) 481-9110.

Previous coverage:

Area churches grapple with crime - Jan. 25, 2010

Kenesset Israel synagogue in Sacramento struck by vandals - Jan. 2, 2010

Carmichael synagogue defaced by Nazi symbols - Nov. 11, 2009

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Jurors began deliberations today in the murder trial of the man accused in the midtown shooting death of a woman who was driving home with her girlfriend after a night on the town.

Dominick Theado West is the defendant in the case involving the June 2, 2007, killing of Mary Ourk on 12th and W streets. Ourk, 21, was acting as the designated driver after her group of friends left the Empire night club.

Authorities say that West, 28, pulled up next to Ourk's car and shot her in the neck. They said that earlier in the evening, he brandished a weapon at a man outside another club.

Two ex-girlfriends testified against West in the Sacramento Superior Court trial. Both said he admitted to them that he did the shooting.

West testified in the trial that the two women lied and that he didn't do it.

Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard gave the jury its instructions today after Deputy District Attorney Jeff Ritschard and defense lawyer Michael Long completed their closing arguments Monday.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

Previous coverage:

Defendant tells murder trial he didn't do it and ex-girlfriends lied - Jan. 28, 2010

Ex-girlfriend testifies defendant talked about killing woman - Jan. 22, 2010

Victim's friend recalls gunshot - Jan. 12, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Roseville police have released a sketch (see left) and security camera photographs (see below) of a suspect in the shooting of a weight-loss clinic worker last month.

Police said that on Jan. 20 they responded to the report of a shooting outside a strip mall in the 1000 block of Sunrise Avenue.

The victim was standing on the sidewalk near the clinic when a man approached him. After a brief conversation, the suspect fired two shots, striking the victim in the abdomen.

The victim is expected to survive.

Detectives do not believe the shooting was random. The victim was targeted for an unknown reason, according to a Police Department news release.

The suspect did not take any of the victim's belongings.

Investigators said the suspect appears to be a black or Hispanic man with a light complexion.

He is described as being in his 20s and about 5-feet, 6-inches tall. At the time of the shooting he was wearing a dark-colored down coat with a hood or a jacket over a hooded sweatshirt. He also wore baggy blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Roseville Police Investigations Unit at (916) 774-5070 or Roseville Crime Stoppers at (916) 783-7867.

Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.

Q: Was anyone ever arrested in the robbery of millions of dollars from a truck by a hole cut in the roof while it was going down I-80 years ago? - Anonymous, Citrus Heights

A: The theft of $2.3 million from a truck-trailer rig as it traveled down Interstate 80 in 1999 is unsolved.

On the night of March 24, 1999 in a rain, a thief apparently climbed unseen onto the roof of an unarmored trailer after it left Sacramento, cut a hole in the roof and somehow removed the money without being detected, The Bee reported.

When the truck arrived in San Francisco, workers discovered the money was missing, a strange bag and a pool of water on the floor from rain and the hole in the roof.

The thief or thieves reportedly got away with about 270 pounds of $20 $50 and $100 bills.

An FBI spokesman told The Bee that the theft was one of the most unusual that he could remember.

Loomis, Fargo and Co. discontinued the cash shuttles shortly after the theft, FBI officials said.

For a complete list of questions answered by Sacto911, click here.

By Bill Lindelof:
blindelof@sacbee.com

A Placer County jury has acquitted a 28-year-old Granite Bay man of first-degree murder in the death of his childhood friend.

It was the third time that Caleb John Madsen has been tried for the 2005 stabbing death of his friend, 23-year-old Christopher Worth of Granite Bay.

In addition to the acquittal on the first-degree charge, the jury unable to break a 6-6 deadlock on whether to convict Madsen on a charge of second-degree murder. The Placer County District Attorney's office could re-file against Madsen on the second-degree murder charge.

In the first trial in 2008, jurors voted 7-5 to convict on the first-degree charge. In 2009, jurors were split 10-2 to convict, leading to another mistrial being declared and setting up the most recent trial.

Authorities have said Madsen and Worth were drinking the night of July 9, 2005, in the Madsen home on Bella Vista Drive when Madsen's sister, Amber Howes, showed up with family and friends to swim and ride ATVs.

Howes said she arrived at her parents' house about 9:15 p.m. and saw Worth's truck and her brother's vehicle on the property. When the party ended about 12:15 a.m., the vehicles were still there, but no one saw Caleb Madsen or Worth.

Worth's body and truck were found a day later in a field off Cavitt Stallman Road.

Madsen's attorney at the first trial said Madsen denied killing Worth and submitted that there is no evidence he committed the crime.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Wilson, co-prosecutor in the latest trial, said his office will review the case. A decision will be made Monday on whether to pursue it further, a district attorney press release states.

Placer County Superior Court Judge Robert P. McElhany set a hearing for Monday. McElhany presided over the two-month trial.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

Previous coverage:

Placer DA to seek third trial for Granite Bay man in friend's killing - March 27, 2009

Another jury deadlocks in Placer County murder case - March 13, 2009

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Citrus Heights police have arrested a man on suspicion of killing a dog with an air rifle.

Cataldo J. Cristiani, 69, of Citrus Heights was arrested about 9:30 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of felony cruelty to an animal and was booked into Sacramento County Jail.

Police said they responded to the 5400 block of Sagitarius Way to a report of a dog being wounded by gunshot and man with a rifle.

Police said they learned that Cristiani shot and killed the small dog with an air rifle when the animal wandered onto his front yard. Police said Cristiani was cooperative with officers and told them it "was not his intention to kill the dog," a police news release states.

Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

An El Dorado County woman has pleaded guilty to murdering her husband and attempting to kill her co-defendant, the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office says.

Patricia Presba, 48, entered the guilty pleas in El Dorado Superior Court last week. She is scheduled for sentencing March 5.

According to prosecutors, Presba and her lover, Jaime Ramos, 22, killed her husband, Ron Presba, 54.

Firefighters battling a wildland fire along Highway 193 near Kelsey found Ron Presba's body June 25, 2008, inside a charred sport-utility vehicle in a ravine. A month later, Patricia Presba vanished from the couple's Garden Valley home. A friend found the front door of the home open and covered in blood. More blood later was discovered inside the house, authorities said.

A day after Patricia Presba was reported missing, a Utah Motor Vehicle Enforcement officer was looking for stolen vehicles at a Salt Lake City motel and found a vehicle sought in connection with Presba's disappearance.

Investigators found Presba and Ramos inside the motel. When the two were arrested, Ramos had three gunshot wounds and Presba had stab wounds to her arms. Both later were extradited to El Dorado County.

In July 2009, Ramos pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, but his sentencing was delayed pending his testimony in Presba's trial, which was to have begun last week. Ramos is scheduled for sentencing on March 15.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

Previous coverage:

Man pleads guilty in killing, will testify against victim's wife - Aug. 1, 2009

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Rosalie Uribe admitted in court testimony today that even after her live-in boyfriend Joseph Skates was arrested and charged with the murder of her son, she sent him pictures of her new belly-button tattoo and wrote him letters in which she referred to herself as the defendant's "Wifey."

Dawn Bladet, Sacramento County deputy district attorney, then asked Uribe, "And that's how you felt from the beginning, that he comes first and the kids come second?"

"Yes," a tearful Uribe replied.

Skates, 25, is on trial in Sacramento Superior Court for the death of Uribe's 3-year-old son, Manuel "Manny" Maciel. Skates was living with Uribe and her three sons from another relationship when paramedics were summonsed to her North Natomas apartment Nov. 7, 2008. Manny was rushed to UC Davis Medical Center, where he died two days later. A coroner's autopsy determined that he died of blunt-force head injuries.

Uribe has since pleaded no contest to child endangerment charges for leaving her children in Skates' care. She is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 26. She said she was promised a 90-day work furlough term in exchange for her truthful testimony against Skates.

In front of a nearly packed courtroom, Uribe testified that she confronted Skates about a month before her son's death and asked him about some bruising that the boy had suffered on his back.

"I asked him if he did that, and he said he'd never do that," Uribe testified. She said she gave Skates the benefit of the doubt.

"I didn't believe he had done it," she said, but, "I was still suspicious of the bruise."

Uribe said that Manny "adored" Skates when she started dating the defendant in the summer of 2008. But she said the boy became "stand-offish" and "distant" from Skates about the time the bruises were discovered.

At work at her job at Sam's Club, Uribe said she spoke on the phone with Skates about an hour after the boy was discovered unconscious in their apartment on Zurlo Way and that "all I remember is screaming."

It was during cross examination that Bladet showed the courtroom the pictures that Uribe sent to Skates last year after he'd been arrested. Some of the pictures were of her two other sons who have since been taken from her, and another was of the winged, flowery tattoo just below her navel and above her pink underwear.

She said she also sent Skates "a song" while he was in jail, along with more recent correspondence where she signed off as "Wifey Skates."

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1141.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento man goes on trial in death of boy, 3 - Jan. 29, 2010

From Kim Minugh:

A third suspect is in custody in connection with last week's homicide at a south Sacramento Jack in the Box parking lot, authorities say.

On Friday, Sacramento County sheriff's detectives arrested 21-year-old Andre Powe of Sacramento on suspicion of murder and robbery, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. He is accused in Tuesday night's fatal shooting of Shawn West, 26, off the intersection of Elsie Avenue and Stockton Boulevard in southern Sacramento County, Curran said.

The previous day, detectives arrested Cort Milgrim, 21, and Joel Satchell, 19, both of Elk Grove, in connection with the shooting. Milgrim and Satchell are scheduled to be arraigned today on one charge each of murder and attempted robbery, jail booking records show. Milgrim also faces a charge of endangering the life of a child because he allegedly had his girlfriend's 14-month-old child with him at the time of the shooting, Curran said.

Powe is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Steven Paul Colver and Tylar Marie Witt pleaded not guilty today in the murder of Witt's mother.

Colver, 19, pleaded not guilty to killing Joanne Witt in her El Dorado Hills home in June. Tylar Witt, 15, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

El Dorado Superior Court Judge Kenneth J. Melikian set a hearing on attorneys' motions for March 26.

Following the arraignment, Witt's attorney Mark Ralphs declined to elaborate on the reasons for his client's insanity plea.

Colver's attorney Dain Weiner also had no comment on the effect Witt's insanity plea might have on Colver's case. Weiner said he will seek to have the teens tried separately.

Weiner said of his client, "He is in good spirits and wants very much to participate in his defense."

Prosecutors contend that Colver and Witt conspired to murder Witt's mother after she discovered they were having sex and filed a statutory rape report against Colver. Joanne Witt was found stabbed to death June 15 in the master bedroom of her El Dorado Hills home. Authorities say she was murdered in her sleep.

During Monday's court appearance, Colver and Witt sat in separate rows at opposite ends of the jury box. Colver, clad in orange jail attire, looked down or gazed straight ahead. Witt, wearing a purple sweater, looked out a courtroom window while waiting for proceedings to begin.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

Previous coverage:

El Dorado prosecutor won't seek death penalty for murder plot suspect, 19 - Jan. 23, 2010

El Dorado County murder trial ordered for teens - Jan. 8, 2010

Teenager charged with killing mom in El Dorado Hills to be tried as adult - Nov. 25, 2009

El Dorado judge to decide how girl will be tried in homicide case - Nov. 20, 2009

Prosecution outlines lurid murder plot in El Dorado Hills mom's stabbing - Nov. 18, 2009

El Dorado judge to decide whether to try girl as adult in mom's killing - Aug. 25, 2009

Teen fugitives planned suicide, search warrant states - June 24, 2009

Girl, 14, boyfriend charged in slaying of her mother in El Dorado Hills - June 23, 2009

Teen charged with murder in killing of girlfriend's mom - June 20, 2009

Did teen love lead to mom's stabbing death? - June 18, 2009