Sacto 9-1-1

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Two teenage boys were arrested for allegedly shining laser beams at a Sacramento Police Department's helicopter Friday night, police said.

Sgt. Norm Leong said the boys, ages 15 and 16, were on the rooftop of John H. Still Middle School on John Still Drive in the Meadowview area.

The helicopter was helping out on a report of a robbery in the south Sacramento area when witnesses reported seeing people on the school's rooftop with high-powered lasers. The helicopter flew over the school to check on the report about 9:10 p.m. and was hit by the laser beam.

More police units arrived at the school and the teenagers tried to hide, but officers found them under some trees.

"The use of lasers at any aircraft is not only dangerous it's also illegal. It not only threatens the air crew but people on the ground. We encourage parents to know what your children are doing and to teach them that these lasers when pointed at aircrafts can result in serious injuries" said Sgt. Mike Hutchins in charge of the Police Department Air Unit.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is seeking help locating a 13-year-old Wilton girl who was last seen early today.

Veronika Sue Hutter (left photo) was last seen by her family shortly after midnight at her home in the 10900 block of Darr Lane in Wilton. According to a Sheriff's Department news release, Hunter left home sometime after that.

She is described as 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 90 pounds. She has brown eyes and brown hair, which she wears in two ponytails.

Hutter is considered an "at risk" missing person because of her age and because she has never been missing before, according to the news release.

Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is asked to call the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Jurors went home today without reaching a decision in the penalty phase of the Aaron Norman Dunn murder trial.

The six-man, six-woman panel began deliberations Thursday on whether Dunn should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole for the March 25, 2006, shotgun spree-shooting deaths of Michael John Daly, 45, and Jon Johnson, in Elk Grove.

Dunn, 33, was convicted April 13 on two counts of first-degree murder. He also was convicted of trying to kill four other people, including two Elk Grove police officers, in his drug-fueled rampage on a Saturday night on Laguna Boulevard.

The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations Monday in Sacramento Superior Court.

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

Previous coverage:

Family describes killer's grim life - April 27, 2010

Victims' relatives tell of pain, loss at killer's sentencing hearing - April 23, 2010

Jury convicts man of gunning down 2 in Elk Grove - April 14, 2010

Jury deliberating fate of double-murder defendant Aaron Norman Dunn - April 13, 2010

Prosecutor, doctor spar over Elk Grove murder defendant's actions - April 8, 2010

Prosecutor eager to attack psychiatrist in Elk Grove shooting spree trial - April 7, 2010

Meth psychosis cited in killings; defendant's words cast doubt - April 6, 2010

Elk Grove cop testifies how she and partner stopped deadly rampage - March 17, 2010

Witnesses tell of lives shattered in deadly Elk Grove shooting spree - March 12, 2010

Prosecutor, defense attorneys agree suspect killed two people in Elk Grove - March 10, 2010

Elk Grove residents eligible for murder case jury - Dec. 11, 2009

Prosecutor's bid for Placer DA could stall trial for double killing - Dec. 2, 2009

Homicide suspect's lawyers don't want any Elk Grove jurors - Aug. 11, 2009

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is asking for help locating a 41-year-old Fair Oaks woman who was reported missing Thursday.

Nonie Davis (left photo) was last seen by her husband at 9 a.m. Wednesday as she was driving away from her home in the 8500 block of Le Parc Court in Fair Oaks, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

Davis is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 175 pounds. She has shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen wearing a black jacket, white long-sleeve V-neck shirt, light-blue jeans and white tennis shoes.

Davis left home in her 2006 silver Nissan Maxima, which has a California license plate number NONIE6.

Davis' family believes she may be suicidal due to a recently diagnosed medical condition, and the Sheriff's Department has listed her as an "at risk" missing person, the release said.

Anyone who has seen Davis or knows where she is is asked to call the Sheriff's Department at (916) 874-5115.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A West Sacramento man who used ill-gotten gains to purchase expensive cars and a vacation time share has been sentenced to prison for defrauding the state of California of more than $680,000 while serving as a manager with the California Power Authority.

U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. today sentenced Benjamin Bustamante, 32, to two and a half years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release for wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud the former California Power Authority Demand Reserves Partnership Program.

Bustamante was also ordered to pay $684,216.53 in restitution to the state of California, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

The California Power Authority was established in 2000 in part to assure reliable power at reasonable rates and encourage energy conservation.

It established the Demand Reserves Partnership Program in which commercial and industrial customers, known as "end users", contracted to conserve energy during periods of peak energy use in exchange for payment.

"Aggregators" contracted with the Demand Reserves Partnership to coordinate the conservation contracts with end users, according to the news release.

The aggregators entered into subcontracts with end users, received payment from the Demand Reserves Partnership Program administrator for the end users and remitted payment to the end users.

According to Bustamante's plea agreement, he became the aggregator billing and settlements coordinator for the Demand Reserves Partnership in 2004.

He admitted that in 2006 he created a fictional company, Advanced Energy Response, listing himself as the sole owner. He obtained an IRS Employment Identification Number and opened a bank account for the company.

He then created a fictional state of California contract for the California Power Authority and Advanced Energy Response to serve as an aggregator with the Demand Reserves Partnership.

The news release says Bustamante admitted that he then submitted four fictional invoices, between August and December 2006, to the California Power Authority, requesting a total of $684,216.53 as payment for "energy capacity" supposedly reserved for conservation or actually conserved by end users. Bustamante, however, had not contracted with any end users to provide such capacity, and no end user had provided the capacity.

Bustamante received payment from the state for the fictional service and used approximately $173,000 to purchase two 2006 Porches, a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a Hilton Grand Vacations time share, according to the news release.

The case against Bustamante resulted from an investigation by Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation agents. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. Robert Tice-Raskin prosecuted the case.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Ed Fletcher
eflectcher@sacbee.com

An Auburn man was sentenced to 90 days in jail and will have to register as a sex offender after a jury took just 30 minutes on Thursday to convict him of exposing himself to a woman at an area park last year.

Dirk Foehr (photo left), 45, argued though his attorney that the woman spotted him naked is has car just as he was changing his clothes after a jog.

The jury apparently didn't buy it.

The incident occurred March 24, 2009 at Auburn Regional Park. The misdemeanor indecent exposure sentencing also requires that Foehr be placed on formal probation for four years.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man was shot shortly after noon today during an attempted robbery outside a North Highlands market, and a nearby elementary school was locked down while sheriff's deputies searched for suspects.

Sacramento Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said two men tried to rob a man outside a market in the 5700 block of Hillsdale Boulevard, near Walerga Road, at 12:07 p.m.

The victim was shot in the leg during the incident, but the would-be robbers fled empty-handed.

Curran said the victim was taken to an area hospital, and the wound is not believed to be life threatening.

Curran said Woodridge Elementary School, at 5761 Brett Drive, initially was locked down as a precautionary measure while deputies searched the neighborhood for the suspects. The lockdown has been lifted.

As of mid-afternoon, the suspects had not found.

Curran said the two men were described as black males, 18 to 20 years old. One was wearing a white shirt and the other a dark shirt, and both were wearing blue jeans.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bee Staff

A killer who has been in prison since he was convicted of killing an 8-year-old Del Paso Heights girl in 1967 and a man who killed his 15-year-old fiancee and her fetus are among 12 Sacramento area inmates who have parole hearings scheduled in early May, according to the State Board of Parole Hearings.

The convicts are:

-Willie Curtis Miller, in his 70s, California Men's Colony.

A Sacramento County jury convicted Miller of killing 8-year-old Jeannine Abron of Del Paso Heights in 1967, The Bee reported.

Her nude body was found floating in Dry Creek near Rio Linda High School.

Miller had been out of prison six months when he killed Abron.

-Low Lin Saepharn, 45, California Men's Colony.

In 1985, Saepharn of Sacramento pleaded guilty to killing his pregnant 15-year-old fiancee and her 27-week- old fetus. He received a 16-years-to life sentence, The Bee reported.

According to court documents, Saepharn admitted stabbing to death Mai Fong Saeyang on Jan. 31 after an argument over his treatment of her 14-month-old child.

The district attorney said Saepharn was offered a plea bargain in the case partly because his Miranda rights were given by police improperly due to language difficulties.

-Michael Lynn Love, 47, California Men's Colony.

Michael Lynn Love pleaded guilty in 1984 to the 1979 deaths of a Rio Linda couple. His plea came in Sacramento Superior Court at the start of what would have been his third sanity trial.

Love killed Faye Alexander, 61, and Charles Alexander, 63. He had claimed that the devil took control of him and caused him to kill the couple, who lived near his home and for whom he used to do lawn work.

-Emmet Lambert Faught, 47, Avenal State Prison.

Faught was convicted of murdering a Sacramento prostitute in 1988 and shooting at three other people, injuring one of them.

The body of the 36-year-old woman was found in the west drainage canal near Del Paso and Power Line roads south of Metro Airport.

-Carlos Thomas Garcia, 58, Avenal State Prison.

Garcia was convicted of killing a 31-year-old Roseville man in 1983.

Kelvin Lee Boney, 31, was found shot to death in his apartment.

-Siverin Kenneth Whitney Jr., 57, California Medical Facility.

Whitney of Antioch was convicted of stabbing to death a male traveling companion in Tahoe City.

-David Ronald Pack, 34, California State Prison, Solano.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted Pack of shooting to death a 33-year-old man as the man rode a bicycle near Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane on April 11, 1996.

The prosecution said Pack was among a carload of youths who taunted Ronald Kasper. When Kasper, who was unarmed, confronted the youths, Pack shot him.

-David Lemke, 49, California State Prison, Solano

Lemke pleaded guilty in Sacramento Superior Court to aggravated sexual assault on a child in 1999. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. No other details of Lemke's crime were available.

-Vang Lao, 32, California State Prison, Solano

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Lao to 16 years to life in prison in 1995 for second-degree murder.

Lao was one of four members of a street gang who shot to death a rival gang member - Khao Heu, 18 - in a drive-by shooting in north Sacramento, police said.

-John Anthony Gresham, 57, Chuckawalla Valley State Prison.

On June, 6, 1985, a Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Gresham to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of a 64-year-old retired schoolteacher.

Gresham and another man, who also was convicted of the murder, beat to death Howard Maddux in a street robbery.

-Dale Leroy Hutton, 38, Salinas Valley State Prison.

Hutton was convicted of the March 7, 1993 fatal stabbing of Douglas Leeper, 31, at Leeper's apartment on C Street in midtown Sacramento.

-Melvin C. Moore Jr., 62, Salinas Valley State Prison.

Moore was convicted in 1971 of the murder of 68-year-old woman and her 74-year-old invalid husband.

Moore killed Mary and William Alexander in a robbery attempt at the couple's home in the 3000 block of 5th Avenue in Sacramento.

-Rebecca Gomez, 71, Valley State Prison for Women.

On Oct. 31, 1997, a Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Gomez to 19 years to life for killing a 20-year-old woman in a drunk-driver crash.

Gomez, who was on probation for a previous DUI conviction, was driving up to 90 mph on Highway 99 as she tried to elude a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy.

Gomez struck a car in which Sarah Rodarmel was a passenger. Rodarmel, who was returning from Disneyland, was killed.

If you want to give your opinion of an inmate's suitability for parole, you may mail a letter to:

Martin Hoshino, executive director

Board of Parole Hearings

1515 K Street

Sacramento, CA 95811

For more information on the Board of Parole Hearings, go to:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Divisions_Boards/BOPH/

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Two correctional officers from California State Prison-Sacramento in Folsom were honored today with medals for bravery.

Ernest F. Johnson and Jeremy J. Viles were each awarded a Silver Star medal by Mathew Cate, secretary of the State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Viles was nearly killed last December when his throat was slashed twice by an inmate.

He fended off the initial attack but the inmate continued to slash at him.

The inmate then ran up a set of stairs, still brandishing his prison-made weapon. Johnson ran up the stairs and ordered the inmate to drop the weapon.

Viles, despite his wounds, worked with Johnson to handcuff the inmate.

Johnson, noticing his colleague's profuse bleeding, called for help and told Viles to put pressure against the wound by pressing his neck against his shoulder.

"Officer Johnson's advice saved Officer Viles' life," states a news release from the department.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster has affirmed his tentative ruling to throw out a lawsuit filed by the deputy sheriff's union to block the county from increasing good-behavior credits it gives to county jail inmates.

McMaster's decision on Thursday followed the tentative ruling he issued April 16. It effectively ends the union's effort to stop the Sheriff's Department from releasing inmates after they've served 50 percent of their terms, if they follow the rules and behave themselves.

It used to be that county inmates had to serve two-thirds of their time, until the Legislature's budget trailer bill went into effect Jan. 25 and bumped the credits up to 50 percent.

Deputy Sheriffs Association President Kevin Mickelson said today that union officials are reviewing McMaster's ruling but have not yet decided whether to appeal.

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

Previous coverage:

Judge refuses to block inmates' good-time credit - April 17, 2010

Q: Is mass murderer Juan Corona still alive? - Anonymous, Yuba City

A: Corona (left in a 1998 photo), 76, is alive and in prison. Corona is serving 25 concurrent prison terms of 25 years to life for the murders in 1971 of 25 transient farm workers.

Their bodies were found buried in shallow graves on two farms in the Marysville-Yuba City area, where Corona worked as a labor contractor.

Corona was convicted in 1973, and again in a 1982 retrial.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

UC Davis officials say a fire that destroyed a coffee kiosk today on campus is of suspicious origin.

No injuries were reported in the fire, reported about 6 a.m. in the small building near the university's law school.

Coffee huts are located at various spots around campus.

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

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has determined that a Main Jail inmate who died in an area hospital Tuesday succumbed to natural causes.

The inmate, identified as 55-year-old Michael L. Pratt, was taken to Sutter General Hospital on Tuesday morning after he complained of severe stomach pain, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, which runs the jail.

Pratt died in the afternoon.

The coroner's office said Pratt did not have a permanent address of record. Some family members notified of his death lived out of state.

Pratt had been booked into the Main Jail on Sunday after he allegedly violated the terms of his parole.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Woodland Police Department has released an artist's sketch of the suspect in three suspicious encounters involving a man in a vehicle following girls home from school.

The first incident, which wasn't initially reported, occurred about two weeks ago when a 12-year-old girl was walking home from Freeman Elementary School, according to a Woodland Police Department news release.

The girl told police that and older, gray four-door sedan, possibly a late 1980s or '90s model, followed her for some time. The vehicle left when a parent saw what was going on and intervened.

The driver was described as Hispanic, about 30 years old, with a black mustache. His passenger was described as a Hispanic man about 20 years old.

The second incident, also initially unreported, occurred about 3:45 p.m. Friday as an 11-year-old girl was walking home from Freeman Elementary School.

The girl told police that while walking through Christensen Park, she noticed a Hispanic man watching her as he stood near his vehicle. The vehicle was parked on Walnut Street and was described and an older, light gold or silver four-door sedan, also possibly a 1980s or '90s model.

The girl was so frightened by the stranger's stare that she began to run to a friend's home, police reported. As she ran, the man got into his car and followed her. When the girl reached her friend's house, the man drove off.

The driver was described as 20 to 25 years old, weighing about 130 pounds with a thin build, and black shoulder-length hair that was described as moist and wavy in a mullet-style cut.

The third encounter occurred about 5 p.m. Tuesday. A concerned citizen called Woodland Police Dispatch when he saw a girl who appeared to be about 15 years old being followed and harassed by a Hispanic man driving a silver four-door sedan.

The driver was described as about 25 years old, with a thin build, short black "spiked" hair and wearing dark sunglasses.

The Woodland Police Department urges parents to remind their children, including teenagers, to beware of strangers.

If approached by a stranger in an inappropriate manner, children are advised to run to a safe place and to tell a trusted adult what happened or call 911.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating whether there is a connection among a cluster of burglaries in the Pocket and Valley Hi/North Laguna Creek neighborhoods Wednesday, according to authorities.

Detectives only have been able to collect a suspect description in the first burglary, which was reported at 6:30 a.m. on Windbridge Drive in the Pocket, said police Sgt. Norm Leong.

That description could match that of a known burglar, Leong said, and detectives are looking into whether any of Wednesday's six burglaries can be attributed to that known suspect and his accomplices.

The other five burglaries occurred between 11:30 a.m. and about 1:30 p.m. in the Valley Hi/North Laguna Creek area, according to police. The last two incidents occurred 45 minutes and just one-fifth of a mile apart, police reports show.

The five other affected streets were Sunnyfield Way, McNamara Way, Grandstaff Drive, Deer Creek Drive and White Tail Way.

Leong said detectives had trouble compiling suspect descriptions in those five burglaries because several of the homes had alarms, which scared off the suspect or suspects.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A former youth pastor at a Rocklin church is headed to prison for three years after he pleaded no contest to a charge that he had a sexual relationship with a teenage girl he met through his work at the church, according to authorities.

Placer County Superior Court Judge Robert P. McElhany handed down the sentence for 33-year-old Jeffery Allen Waisner (photo left) of Lincoln during a Wednesday hearing, according to a news release from the Placer County District Attorney's Office.

McElhany also ordered that Waisner be placed on parole for three years after he is released from prison, the release states. He also will have to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.

In February, Waisner, who is married and has three children, pleaded no contest to a charge of engaging in lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, according to the release.

Waisner met his victim, who is now 15, in one of the youth programs he ran as youth pastor at the Crossroads Community Church, the DA's release states. They began a sexual relationship in the summer of 2009, which involved thousands of text messages - some sexually explicit in nature - between the two, according to the release.

The girl also once accompanied Waisner to San Francisco after midnight without her parents' knowledge, the release states.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Jurors began deliberations today on whether to execute Aaron Norman Dunn or sentence him to life in prison with no chance of parole for his murder spree that killed two men in Elk Grove four years ago.

The panel went out about 2 p.m. after prosecution and defense attorneys gave their closing arguments on the issue of whether Dunn lives or dies.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett told the Sacramento Superior Court panel that Dunn's rampage that killed Jon Johnson and Michael John Daly on March 25, 2006, while they were out with their families was so horrific that the circumstances of the crime alone should be enough to qualify the 33-year-old Dunn for the death penalty.

"Now you're being asked to speak the conscience of the community," Triplett said. The prosecutor called Dunn "the community's worst nightmare" who "achieved a level of depravity only the smallest fraction of people do."

Triplett said "capital punishment would be meaningless if it does not apply to this man."

Dunn drove to Elk Grove from Olivehurst and killed Daly, 45, and Johnson, 46, in a rage prompted by the breakup of Dunn's marriage and the impending loss of his daughter and amplified by his heavy use of methamphetamine.

Besides killing Johnson and Daly, he also shot one other man and was convicted of trying to kill four other people, including two Elk Grove police officers.

The same jury that is now contemplating his sentence convicted him last week of the murders and attempted murders.

Assistant Public Defender Amy Rogers told the jury its decision in the penalty phase of the trial will be the "most awesome responsibility" they will ever undertake.

Rogers said Dunn was a loving father, husband and uncle until the he went off the edge when his wife took up with other men and took their daughter with her.

When they left him, Dunn went on to lose his electrician's job and his house.

"He lost everything that a person values, that a man values," Rogers said.

She said that the methamphetamine use did not justify the murders in the jurors' minds, but that it might explain them.

Rogers also noted that Dunn was raised by a father who used drugs and consorted with prostitutes in front of him and a mother who essentially abandoned him.

She told the jury that no family members appeared in court to support Dunn unless they were subpoenaed to testify.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm asking you to be compassionate, strong and noble," Rogers told the jury. "Reject death. Come back with a verdict of life without possibility of parole."

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

Previous coverage:

Family describes killer's grim life - April 27, 2010

Victims' relatives tell of pain, loss at killer's sentencing hearing - April 23, 2010

Jury convicts man of gunning down 2 in Elk Grove - April 14, 2010

Jury deliberating fate of double-murder defendant Aaron Norman Dunn - April 13, 2010

Prosecutor, doctor spar over Elk Grove murder defendant's actions - April 8, 2010

Prosecutor eager to attack psychiatrist in Elk Grove shooting spree trial - April 7, 2010

Meth psychosis cited in killings; defendant's words cast doubt - April 6, 2010

Elk Grove cop testifies how she and partner stopped deadly rampage - March 17, 2010

Witnesses tell of lives shattered in deadly Elk Grove shooting spree - March 12, 2010

Prosecutor, defense attorneys agree suspect killed two people in Elk Grove - March 10, 2010

Elk Grove residents eligible for murder case jury - Dec. 11, 2009

Prosecutor's bid for Placer DA could stall trial for double killing - Dec. 2, 2009

Homicide suspect's lawyers don't want any Elk Grove jurors - Aug. 11, 2009

Q: Was Jill Richardson killed by Morris Solomon Jr.? - Tina, Sacramento

A: Jill Idell Richardson, also known as Magelia Cooper, of Sacramento was not one of the serial killer's official victims, according to Bee reports.

Richardson was 14 years old when she was reported missing in the early 1980s. Her disappearance was investigated as possibly linked to Solomon's killing spree, but no link was established and she was never found.

Solomon (at left in 1992 photo from his trial), now 54, was found guilty in 1992 of four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and five sexual assaults, all committed during a span of about 12 months in 1986 and 1987.

Five of the murder victims were found buried in the yards of houses where Solomon had lived or worked as a handyman. The sixth was "discovered" by Solomon stuffed into the closet of a home he was refurbishing.

Solomon's officially recognized victims were Linda Vitela, 24; Sheila Jacox, 16; Yolanda Johnson, 22; Maria Apodaca, 18; Sharon Massey, 29; and Cherie Washington, 26.

Solomon is on death row at San Quentin Prison.

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

By Bee Staff

The California Board of Parole Hearings has told a man convicted of stabbing to death a Citrus Heights man to steal his antiques in 1993 that he must wait 10 years for another parole consideration, a board spokeswoman said.

The board also denied paroles for three years for two other area lifers and agreed with another inmate that he shouldn't apply for a parole for at least three years, said Margot Bach, spokeswoman for the Board of Parole Hearings.

The hearings were held earlier this month.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury convicted Darryl Wayne Schilling, now 44, of killing Charles Baumia, 58, by stabbing and slashing the victim 27 times in Baumia's Citrus Heights home on Oct. 17, 1990.

The prosecution argued Schilling stole antique clocks and pricey rugs from Baumia and then cleansed the home of physical evidence.

Schilling can apply for another hearing in three years if he can show there has been a change in circumstances in his case or that new information is available.

Denied paroles for three years were Richard Andrew Garcia, 41, and Timothy Demetrius Johnson, 41.

Garcia and Robert Lawrence Vincent, then 24, received life sentences for the drive-by fatal shooting of a Marine in front of a Citrus Heights convenience story on Christmas Day 1988, The Bee reported.

Anthony Alvarado, a 23-year-old vacationing Marine, died of a single gunshot wound to the head in the parking lot of a Food and Liquor Mart on Auburn Boulevard.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Johnson to life in prison for the March 5, 1991 attempted murder of his girlfriend, who was left to die in a roadside ditch, The Bee reported.

Reginald Antonio Chavis, then 19, was the triggerman and also received a life sentence.

The 21-year-old victim's right arm was later amputated as a result of the shotgun attack.

Daniel Dell Calvin, 61, told the board that he didn't want another parole hearing for three years and the board agreed.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Calvin to life in prison on March 28, 1995 after Calvin pleaded guilty to one count of child molestation, court records show.

Details on the crime to which Calvin pleaded guilty were not available to The Bee.

The Bee's archives show Calvin was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 1983 for molesting two girls, ages 8 and 12.

He also was convicted of two Sacramento area rapes in 1970 and released from prison in 1977.

In 1969, Calvin was arrested for indecent exposure and annoying children. Court records available to The Bee don't go back that far.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Woodland Police Department is investigating three suspicious encounters involving a man in a vehicle following girls home from school.

The first incident, which wasn't initially reported, occurred about two weeks ago when a 12-year-old girl was walking home from Freeman Elementary School, according to a Woodland Police Department news release.

The girl told police that and older, gray four-door sedan, possibly a late 1980s or '90s model, followed her for some time. The vehicle left when a parent saw what was going on and intervened.

The driver was described as Hispanic, about 30 years old, with a black mustache. His passenger was described as a Hispanic man about 20 years old.

The second incident, also initially unreported, occurred about 3:45 p.m. Friday as an 11-year-old girl was walking home from Freeman Elementary School.

The girl told police that while walking through Christensen Park, she noticed a Hispanic man watching her as he stood near his vehicle. The vehicle was parked on Walnut Street and was described and an older, light gold or silver four-door sedan, also possibly a 1980s or '90s model.

The girl was so frightened by the stranger's stare that she began to run to a friend's home, police reported. As she ran, the man got into his car and followed her. When the girl reached her friend's house, the man drove off.

The driver was described as 20 to 25 years old, weighing about 130 pounds with a thin build, and black shoulder-length hair that was described as moist and wavy in a mullet-style cut.

The third encounter occurred about 5 p.m. Tuesday. A concerned citizen called Woodland Police Dispatch when he saw a girl who appeared to be about 15 years old being followed and harassed by a Hispanic man driving a silver four-door sedan.

The driver was described as about 25 years old, with a thin build, short black "spiked" hair and wearing dark sunglasses.

The Woodland Police Department urges parents to remind their children, including teenagers, to beware of strangers.

If approached by a stranger in an inappropriate manner, children are advised to run to a safe place and to tell a trusted adult what happened or call 911.

Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today convicted Jimmy Siackasorn of first-degree murder in the shooting death of sheriff's deputy Vu Nguyen during a Dec. 19, 2007, foot pursuit.

The panel deliberated a little more than three and a half days before returning its verdict against the 19-year-old defendant in front of Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan.

Nguyen, 37, was shot and killed on top of a chicken coop in a south area back yard after giving chase to Siackasorn after the defendant took off running when he saw the undercover gang task force deputy and his partner approach him in an unmarked car.

Prosecutors filed a special-circumstance allegation in the case that Siackasorn murdered Nguyen in the course of the deputy's duties.

An admitted member of a south Sacramento street gang, Siackasorn did not dispute during his Sacramento Superior Court trial that he shot and killed the deputy during a foot chase on the cold and rainy afternoon.

His lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Sue Karlton, argued that Siackasorn did not know Nguyen was a law enforcement officer and that the defendant shot and killed the deputy in the mistaken belief that he was a rival gang member.

Deputy District Attorney Rod Norgaard told jurors that Siackasorn had a long-standing hatred for law enforcement personnel that spanned his 26 arrests and several extended-stay incarcerations, dating back to when he was 12 years old. The prosecutor said in his closing argument that Siackasorn "ambushed" Nguyen.

Norgaard called the self-defense argument "ludicrous."

Siackasorn had threatened several probation officers and members of other agencies over the years, according to testimony at the trial in which 78 witnesses took the stand over 13 court days.

He continued to threaten officers even after his arrest in the Nguyen killing, telling one of them that the slain detective "deserved it."

Sixteen years old at the time he killed Nguyen, Siackasorn was standing on the corner in front of a house that police considered a gang hangout at 37th Street and 42nd Avenue waiting to buy some marijuana when Nguyen and his partner drove up on him, witnesses said.

Nguyen's partner, Ed Yee, said Siackasorn at first began to walk away when he saw the deputies, assigned to the sheriff's gang task force, approach in their silver Nissan Maxima. When they swerved across the street to have a conversation with him, Siackasorn took off in a full sprint, Yee testified.

At the time of the chase, Siackasorn had a warrant pending for his arrest for running away from a group home. He also was carrying a .22-caliber handgun he was holding for a fellow member of his "TRG" set. The other gang member had asked Siackasorn to hold the gun because he was about to take a ride in a stolen car.

According to Yee's testimony, Nguyen got out of the car and gave chase as Siackasorn circled the house and jumped a fence into the back yard. Yee said he saw Nguyen follow over the fence and that he then saw his partner standing on what turned out to be a chicken coop, looking for Siackasorn.

Yee said he drove to the next block over to try and block Siackasorn's escape. He said he heard a couple of "faint noises," then back-tracked to 42nd Street after he saw Siackasorn double back. Yee then hopped the fence and found Nguyen bleeding profusely on top of the chicken coop.

Siackasorn was arrested shortly after midnight in a house in the Meadowview area.

Photo credit: Jimmy Siackasorn listens as the guilty verdict is read in Sacramento Superior Court on Wednesday. Photo by Bryan Patrick / bpatrick@sacbee.com

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

Previous coverage:

Prosecutor: Detective's alleged killer knew he was shooting cop - April 20, 2010

Dead officer's partner in Sacramento sheriff's gang unit testifies in Jimmy Siackasorn's murder trial - March 16, 2010

Judge quotes shooting suspect as saying deputy deserved to die - Feb. 25, 2010

By Bill Lindelof

blindelof@sacbee.com

With what police said was a blood alcohol content of nearly four times the legal limit to drive, authorities say that Stephen Paladino (photo left) was in no condition to drive or deliver groceries.

Paladino, 53, was arrested Tuesday for driving under the influence. Police said his blood alcohol content was .30 percent, far over the legal driving limit of .08.

The arrest was Paladino's fourth for driving under the influence, police said. It was his sixth arrest for alcohol-related offenses in the past three years, according to a Folsom Police Department news release.

Paladino's arrest was prompted by a woman who said a man who appeared to be drunk tried to deliver groceries to her home.

Paladino, police said, intended to deliver groceries to his ex-wife. However, he went to a stranger's door carrying groceries, including a watermelon.

The woman called police to report the incident, telling dispatchers the man who showed up at her door appeared to be extremely tipsy.

She provided a license plate for a gold sports utility vehicle and officers began searching.

Police said they tried to pull Paladino over about two blocks from his Briggs Ranch home. Police said he ignored the squad car's emergency lights and siren for several hundred yards.

They also allege he gunned his SUV up the driveway and into his open garage. An officer ran to Paladino's driver's side door and he was taken into custody.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies said that a man shot at a light rail station on Tuesday has been arrested for having a cell phone stolen from another rider earlier in the day.

Christian Cornelius, 18, suffered a gunshot wound to his leg about 9:30 a.m. after an argument at the Zinfandel light-rail station in Rancho Cordova.

The theft of the iPhone took place at about 6 a.m. Tuesday at the Royal Oaks station, investigators said. Light-rail officers took the theft report.

A sergeant with the Sheriff's Department investigating the shooting knew of the earlier theft report. When the sergeant was at the hospital with shooting victim, Cornelius kept asking for his iPhone, Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said.

The sergeant thought his request was a little unusual and did a little more investigation, eventually determining the iPhone was the stolen, Curran said.

Cornelius was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, Curran said. An investigation into the robbery is on-going.

The shooting is also under investigation. Curran said the shooting happened at the station, not on the train.

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

Q: How long did the man convicted of killing Bill Withrow spend in prison? - Fritz, Fair Oaks

A: The Bee was unable to determine the number of years Bobby Gene Henry spent in prison over the 1988 slaying because the court proceedings involve two trials and a finally a plea agreement, according to court records and Bee reports.

On May 26, 1999, a federal appellate court threw out the 1990 conviction of Henry for killing 40-year-old Bill Withrow, a prominent real estate broker in Fair Oaks.

The court said the conviction of Henry, now 63, was illegal because of what it called the "slippery and illegal tactics" of the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department in getting Henry to confess, The Bee reported.

The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals freed Henry from prison, where he had been held since his conviction.

Henry was convicted of second-degree in July 1990 at his second trial and sentenced to 17 years to life in prison.

A jury in February 1990 ended in a deadlock with an 11-1 vote to acquit Henry on a charge of first-degree murder, The Bee reported.

On Jan. 16, 2001, court records show Henry pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Elk Grove Police Department seeks the community's help in identifying the suspect in the burglary of a California Family Fitness center last month.

At 3:30 p.m. March 24, the man (left photo) entered the fitness facility and presented himself as a guest with a free pass, according to a Police Department news release. Once inside, he went to the men's locker room and broke into a locker, stealing a wallet that contained cash and credit cards. He then went to a nearby Best Buy electronics store, where he used the stolen credit card to purchase a computer.

Surveillance photos from California Family Fitness revealed that the suspect was about 30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall, and heavy set, weighing 250 to 300 pounds.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Elk Grove Police Department Detective Bureau at (916) 478-8060, or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

People calling Crime Alert can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Tips also can be sent via SMS text message by entering 274637 on a cell phone, followed by Tip732 (the agency identification number) and the message.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A bank robber dubbed the "fedora bandit" by law enforcement agencies has struck two more Bank of the West branches in the last two weeks, bringing the total number of robberies to six since the spree began Dec. 22.

All of the robberies have been at Bank of the West locations. The most recent ones occurred April 14 at 2976 North Carson Street in Carson City and April 26 at 34 E. Gridley Road in Gridley (top right photo), according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation news release.

The suspect is described as a white man, between 40 and 50 years old, with gray or salt-and-pepper gray hair. He is 5 feet, nine inches to 6 feet tall with a slim build.

As part of his disguise, he wears a fedora-style hat and a fake goatee leading law enforcement authorities to nickname him the "fake-bearded fedora bandit." In each of the robberies he has displayed a handgun and he typically uses a black, eco-friendly-type bag commonly found a many supermarkets to carry the money. The bag has straps and unidentified green writing on it.

The spree began Dec. 22 with the robbery of the Bank of the West at 736 Taylorville Road in Grass Valley and continued with robberies of Bank of the West branches in South Lake Tahoe Feb. 18 and Kings Beach March 8. He struck the Grass Valley branch again March 31.

In all of the robberies, the man approached the teller counter and demanded money. In at least one robbery, he attempted to disguise his voice by speaking through clenched teeth, the news release said.

Surveillance photos from the last two robberies indicate he wore a bright green jacket, a light-colored mock turtle-neck shirt, black pants, black shoes and sunglasses. In previous robberies he also wore black gloves.

The Bank of the West has offered a reward of up to $4,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the robberies. Anonymous tips may be made by calling the Placer County Crime Stoppers hot line at (800) 923-8191. Any tip leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the robberies is eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.

Anyone with information regarding the robbery is asked to call the FBI in Sacramento at (916) 481-9110, Grass Valley Police Department at (530) 477-4600, South Lake Tahoe Police Department at (530) 542-6100, the Gridley-Biggs Police Department at (530) 846-5670, the Reno FBI at (775) 825-6600 or the Placer County Sheriff's Department at (530) 581-6330.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Previous coverage:

FBI: 'Fake-bearded fedora bandit' strikes for fourth time - April 12, 2010

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

A Sacramento County Main Jail inmate died Tuesday afternoon at Sutter General Hospital after he was taken there in the morning when he complained of stomach pain, sheriff's officials said.

According to a news release, the 55-year-old inmate, whose name is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin, told deputies about 9 a.m. that he was experiencing severe stomach pain and was taken the hospital at 9:15 a.m. The inmate had been held at the Main Jail since April 25 for allegedly violating his parole, authorities said.

Shortly after 1 p.m., jail staff learned that the inmate had died.

The sheriff's department will complete an investigation into the death according with its department's procedures and state laws, officials said.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Cathy Locke and Bill Lindelof
clocke@sacbee.com

An Elk Grove man died this morning after losing control of his vehicle on Highway 160 and striking a power pole.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Michael Bradley said the 36-year-old man, identified as Joshua B. McDonald, was driving a GMC pickup south on Highway 160, between Highway 12 and Isleton near the Vieira Resort, when he drifted to the right side of the road. The driver swerved back to the left and overcorrected.

The truck traveled across the northbound traffic lane, over an embankment and into a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. power pole before coming to rest on its top.

Bradley said McDonald, the only occupant, was partially ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

The accident caused a power outage affecting about 2,900 PG&E customers. Brian Swanson, a PG&E spokesman, said power was restored to all but about 100 customers by 7:20 a.m. Service was fully restored about 4:45 p.m.

That section of Highway 160 was closed in both directions for about 3 1/2 hours, Bradley said.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A teenager arrested today by the California Highway Patrol is suspected of causing a traffic collision two months ago in Rio Linda that killed a woman and injured four others.

Travis Moore (photo left), 19, of Elverta, was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and four counts of felony reckless driving.

The California Highway Patrol said he was behind the wheel of a car on Feb. 16 that failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with a sports utility vehicle being driven by Christine Ingle, 45, of Rio Linda. Ingle died at the scene of the crash.

The CHP alleges that Moore was driving at a high rate of speed when he ran the stop sign on eastbound C Street. Ingle was driving on northbound 16th Street.

The front of Moore's car struck the left front of Ingle's SUV. The SUV spun out of control and Ingle, who was wearing her seatbelt, was partially ejected.

Moore's car rolled and three teen girls in the back seat, who were not wearing seatbelts, were ejected.

A right front passenger, another teen girl, became trapped in the car and had to be removed by firefighters.

Moore suffered cuts to his head and face and was released from the hospital.

The CHP reported that one girl who was in the back seat is still in a coma at UC Davis Medical Center, another was in a coma after suffering major injuries and the third girl had injuries that allowed her to be released shortly after the crash. The girl in the front pasenger seat of Moore's car suffered a broken arm and leg.

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

By Bee Staff

Recovery of a stolen vehicle and a suspect's arrest within an hour of the theft being reported is unusual, based on area crime reports. But Sacramento Police Department officers and Sacramento County sheriff's deputies recently each accomplished the feat.

On Monday at 5:26 a.m., Sacramento police officers found a stolen vehicle shortly after a radio broadcast reported the theft, according to a crime report.

Officers stopped the vehicle near Norwood and South avenues and arrested Xao Thao, 31, the report states.

The time from theft report to arrest was less than an hour.

A week earlier, Sacramento County deputies stopped a stolen vehicle and arrested a suspect in less than an hour after the theft was reported, according to a crime summary released this week.

The stop and arrest happened at about 10:40 a.m. April 20 in the 7700 block of La Riviera Drive.

Jessica Barajas, 25, was arrested, the summary states.

Thao was being held in jail as of this morning on suspicion of felony vehicle theft, misdemeanor possession of burglary tools and parole violation.

Barajas was being held in jail of this morning on suspicion of felony vehicle theft, felony receiving a stolen vehicle and parole violation.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

Judge Joseph O'Flaherty took the witness stand this morning as the commission charged with monitoring judges opened its disciplinary hearing into the Placer County Superior Court jurist's actions.

O'Flaherty was admonished by the commission in 2004 for inviting potential jurors who might be racially prejudiced to misrepresent why they couldn't serve.

Formal disciplinary hearings against a judge are rare. It's even rarer that a judge is facing his second disciplinary action. Over the last decade, the State Commission on Judicial Performance has started 34 formal proceeding against California judges.

The hearing today focused on whether O'Flaherty abused his authority in a Dec. 8, 2008 small-claims case.

O'Flaherty ruled in favor of Golden 1 Credit Union in the matter between the bank and car dealer Scott Herold. After the hearing, O'Flaherty issued an informal restraining order against Herold without any due process.

The disciplinary hearing is expected to last at least through Wednesday. The entire process could take several more weeks. The issue is being heard at the Third District Court of Appeal, 621 Capitol Mall.

Tuesday's hearing opened with the three-judge panel that will determine O'Flaherty's punishment viewing the small-claims case.

During the December hearing, O'Flaherty instructed Herold to not use his prepared remarks and often interrupted him.

Herold claimed the bank soured a deal he had with a car buyer. Herold asked the court to find that the bank libeled him and that the buyer breached her contract.

"Why should I believe you over them?" O'Flaherty asks at one point.

"That is not libel in any sense, even in Europe where liable is much broader," the judge said at another point.

On Tuesday, O'Flaherty described the December case as being both "fairly acrimonious" and a "normal small claims case."

After O'Flaherty dismissed the matter and Herold left the courtroom, the judge heard fears that Herold might retaliate against some of the bank's employees.

"He's going to come after us," one of the female bank employees said, according to a record of the hearing. Another female voice talks about being scared.

O'Flaherty then asked the bailiff to bring Herold back into the court and told Herold that he is to have not contact with the employees or that Golden 1 branch for at least 90 days.

Attorney James Murphy, who is representing O'Flaherty, said the judge didn't issue a retraining order, but took the necessary steps to protect court participants.

"They were scared and Judge O'Flaherty had a responsibility to protect the peace," Murphy said. "Judge O'Flaherty did what the thought was right."

O'Flaherty was admonished by the commission in 2004 for inviting potential jurors who might be racially prejudiced to misrepresent why they couldn't serve.

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

By Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Indicted tomato executive Frederick Scott Salyer can expect to remain in jail at least for a while longer, despite a federal judge signaling today that he is sympathetic to the hardships Salyer's defense faces in preparing for trial in his racketeering, bribery and conspiracy case.

"Mr. Salyer is in jail and doing hard time, really, before he's been convicted, but there's nothing I can do about that," U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton said in a hearing today to schedule further proceedings in the case.

Salyer appeared once again in court in an orange jumpsuit from the Sacramento County Jail as Karlton discussed the difficulty the former head of SK Foods LP is having in arranging for $6 million worth of property to be put up before he can be released.

Salyer already has put up $300,000 in cash, $500,000 equity in property owned by friends and has surrendered his passport and pilot's licenses, but federal prosecutors contend Salyer will flee the country if he is released from jail.

Malcolm Segal, Salyer's attorney, has said the case is far too complex to be able to mount a defense while his client is in jail, and he has complained that Salyer's diabetes has flared in jail and that his health is declining.

Karlton is clearly troubled by the dilemma he faces over the bail issue, but he said today that he will not reconsider the strict measures and financial requirements he has ordered before Salyer may be released.

"That's not to say that I don't recognize this is impeding an effective defense, but that's life," Karlton said.

The judge added that he would look more favorably on releasing Salyer if his daughters' interest in his $7 million Pebble Beach home is put up, something that has been delayed because of a legal dispute working its way through Superior Court in Monterey County.

"I don't believe he would sacrifice them (by fleeing)," Karlton said. "I may be wrong, but that's what I believe."

Segal has suggested Salyer could be placed under house arrest in Pebble Beach to help coordinate his defense, and has filed an appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to win his release.

Meanwhile, Salyer's lawyers have been meeting with their client inside a special room in the jail, and Segal said he already is hearing complaints from deputies who have had to remain on duty until the early morning hours and who have been called in on weekends while legal strategy is hashed out.

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

Previous coverage:

Jailed tomato mogul's recorded phone calls full of venom for ex-wife - April 14, 2010

Judge in Sacramento rescinds tomato magnate's bail order - March 31, 2010

Defense says diabetes should get tomato exec out of Sacramento jail - March 25, 2010

Lawyer for tomato exec Salyer cites fraud case's complexity in urging bail - March 19, 2010

Indicted tomato businessman again seeks release on bail - March 17, 2010

Tomato king sees his empire crumble - March 14, 2010

Key players in the Salyer case - March 14, 2010

Food executive Salyer denied bail in Sacramento federal court - March 4, 2010

SK Foods magnate Salyer hears charges in racketeering case - Feb. 27, 2010

Arrested tomato magnate to appear in Sacramento court - Feb. 26, 2010

SK Foods magnate Salyer indicted on racketeering charges - Feb. 19, 2010

Judge orders SK Foods magnate sent to capital - Feb. 6, 2010

FBI arrests SK Foods owner on fraud charges - Feb. 5, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Rancho Cordova police say a man was shot in the leg at a light-rail station.

The man, who was not cooperating with police, was shot about 9:30 a.m. as he was getting off the light rail trail at the Zinfandel stop, investigators said.

Circumstances surrounding the shooting are still being investigated.

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

By Chelsea Phua and Bill Lindelof
cphua@sacbee.com

A vehicle chase from Rancho Cordova to the Oak Park area of Sacramento ended Monday night with two suspects involved in the chase arrested and a deputy injured, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department officials report.

Sgt. Tim Curran, department spokesman, said that shortly after 8:50 p.m., the Rancho Cordova Crime Suppression Unit was on routine patrol when officers spotted three men on Moraine Circle conducting an alleged drug deal.

Officers arrested Jeffrey Wadleigh, 46, while the other two men fled in a silver pickup truck. Wadleigh was later booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of possession of controlled substances.

The alleged drug deal triggered a pursuit that reached 80 mph on residential streets. The chase into Sacramento ended about 20 minutes later at San Jose Way and Second Avenue in Oak Park, where a Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy assigned to the Rancho Cordova Police Department rear-ended the pickup.

The suspect who was driving the pickup had turned southbound on San Jose Way from Second Avenue when he realized he had turned down a dead-end street and stopped.

The deputy was pursuing close behind and was not able to stop in time. The deputy, a 38-year-old man who is an 11-year veteran of the force, was taken to an area hospital. He was knocked unconscious and suffered minor head, neck and back injuries.

The pickup's passenger, Vance Hernandez, 34, was taken into custody while the driver fled.

Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of possession for sale of controlled substances and the sale or transport of controlled substances.

Iron, a 3-year-old Sheriff's dog, found the pickup driver in the back seat of a Ford Explorer in the back yard of a home in the 2700 block Santa Cruz Way, said Iron's handler, Deputy Mark Limbird.

That suspect was identified as 30-year-old Alfredo Lopez. Deputies said he faces felony charges of evading police.

An Oak Park resident, Debi Licciardo, said she came out to see what was happening when she heard the police sirens. She said she saw the suspects head toward a dead end on San Jose Way.

"They probably didn't know it was a dead end," she said, adding that after the crash, "The cop car was smoking."

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

Previous story:

Vehicle chase ends in Sacramento with arrests, deputy injured - April 26, 2010

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Three people were injured in an accident this afternoon on westbound Highway 50 just west of Sunrise Boulevard.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Mike Sullivan said an older couple was in a vehicle traveling slow in the slow lane when a vehicle driven by a 19-year-old man and traveling at a higher speed came up behind them.

Sullivan said that when the 19-year-old suddenly realized that he was coming up fast on the vehicle in front of him, he lost control, swerved back and forth and hit the left front of the other vehicle, causing both to roll over.

Sullivan said all three people were taken to UC Davis Medical Center with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening.

The accident was reported at 2:18 p.m. The two right lanes of westbound Highway 50 were closed for about 90 minutes.

Photograph by Randy Pench rpench@sacbee.com

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Two men have been convicted in a marijuana growing case that involved a gun battle last year between suspects and law enforcement officers in which one suspect was killed and two Lassen County sheriff's officers were wounded.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced Friday that a federal jury convicted Jose Alfredo Zepeda, 20, of East Palo Alto, and Clemente Ferrias Arroyo, 63, of Morgan Hill, of conspiring to manufacture at least 1,000 marijuana plants, manufacturing at least 1,000 marijuana plants and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

The charges stem from an investigation of a large outdoor marijuana garden on federal land in northern Lassen County by two Bureau of Land Management rangers, two Lassen County sheriff's officers and a Susanville police officer.

On June 16, 2009, the officers encountered three suspected marijuana growers. Suspect Juan Carlos Herrera-Chavez engaged the officers in a gun battle using an AK-47 rifle, a Department of Justice news release states. The two sheriff's deputies were wounded, and Herrera-Chavez was killed when officers returned fire, officials said. Both Lassen County sheriff's officers survived.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Herrera-Chavez, his brother-in-law, Zepeda, and Arroyo started the marijuana garden in May 2009, the release says. Herrera-Chavez carried an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle, Zepeda was armed with an SKS semiautomatic rifle, and Arroyo carried a Smith & Wesson 9 mm semiautomatic pistol to protect the growing operation.

Zepeda and Arroyo are scheduled for sentencing July 20 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Each man faces a sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $4 million fine and five years to life of supervised release on the marijuana charges, the news release states. The charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes carries an additional mandatory consecutive five-years-to-life sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The penalty phase of Aaron Norman Dunn's murder trial resumed today with defense attorneys telling the life story of a man abandoned by his father then by his wife and whose life then unraveled before he took off on a murder spree four years ago in Elk Grove.

Defense attorney Hayes Gable III said Dunn, 33, turned to drugs and drinking after his father left the family when the defendant was about 12 years old.

Dunn, convicted last week in the murder of two men in the March 25, 2006, spree killings in Elk Grove, lived a relatively normal life when he reached adulthood, but it fell apart when his wife left him for Internet romance, Gable said in his opening statement to the jury for the penalty phase.

Dunn's lawyers said he was in the midst of a methamphetamine-induced psychosis when he shot and killed Jon Johnson, 46, and Michael John Daly, 45, while the two men were each having nights out with their families.

Gable called two witnesses before the jury broke for lunch. One of them, a childhood friend named Christoph Hangartner, testified that Dunn was left with a "pretty lenient" mother when the defendant's father told the family he was gay and left their Marysville residence.

"We could get away with a lot of stuff there," at Dunn's house, once his father left, Hangartner testified. "Drinking, smoking weed, things of that nature."

Hangartner testified that he, Dunn and the defendant's younger brother had all begun using methamphetamine by the time they were in their early teens.

The defense case is expected to take up the afternoon session in front of Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet and probably will run into tomorrow.

At the outset of today's session. Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett told Sweet outside the presence of the jury that Dunn got in a fight in the downtown jail last week with a man who is facing murder charges. Triplett said he intends to present evidence of the fight as rebuttal evidence once the defense is finished with its case.

Jurors will then be asked to decide whether Dunn should be punished by the death penalty or life in prison with no chance of parole.

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

Previous coverage:

Victims' relatives tell of pain, loss at killer's sentencing hearing - April 23, 2010

Jury convicts man of gunning down 2 in Elk Grove - April 14, 2010

Jury deliberating fate of double-murder defendant Aaron Norman Dunn - April 13, 2010

Prosecutor, doctor spar over Elk Grove murder defendant's actions - April 8, 2010

Prosecutor eager to attack psychiatrist in Elk Grove shooting spree trial - April 7, 2010

Meth psychosis cited in killings; defendant's words cast doubt - April 6, 2010

Elk Grove cop testifies how she and partner stopped deadly rampage - March 17, 2010

Witnesses tell of lives shattered in deadly Elk Grove shooting spree - March 12, 2010

Prosecutor, defense attorneys agree suspect killed two people in Elk Grove - March 10, 2010

Elk Grove residents eligible for murder case jury - Dec. 11, 2009

Prosecutor's bid for Placer DA could stall trial for double killing - Dec. 2, 2009

Homicide suspect's lawyers don't want any Elk Grove jurors - Aug. 11, 2009

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police Chief Rick Braziel has been named one of 11 semifinalists for the chief of police gig in Seattle, according to a news release from city officials there.

Braziel, who has been Sacramento's chief since the start of 2008, and 10 others will be interviewed May 8 by a search committee, according to the news release. Committee members will meet the following week to whittle the list down to three finalists.

In a message to his department staff members, Braziel said he is in no way "looking to get out of" his current position. However, he said he decided he wanted to pursue the opportunity after being approached by an executive search firm.

"This has been a very difficult decision for my wife and me," he wrote. "... After 30 years of service, I continue to love and cherish each day here. I firmly believe that this is one of the most professional law enforcement organizations in the country."

He added, though, that the Seattle position was "an opportunity that I needed to explore."

The 10 other semifinalists are:

• Judy Bradshaw, chief of police at the Des Moines Police Department

• Adam Burden II, former assistant chief of police at the Miami Police Department

• Ronald Davis, chief of police at the East Palo Alto Police Department

• John Diaz, interim chief of police at the Seattle Police Department

• Rick Gregory, chief administrative officer and acting public safety director for New Castle (Del.) County

• Clark Kimerer, assistant chief of police at the Seattle Police Department

• Anne Kirkpatrick, chief of police at the Spokane (Wash.) Police Department

• Jim Pugel, assistant chief of police at the Seattle Police Department

• John Romero, chief of police at the Lawrence (Mass.) Police Department

• Lisa Womack, former chief of police at the Elgin (Ill.) Police Department

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Cathy Locke and Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

An 18-year-old Citrus Heights man was reported in serious but stable condition late Monday afternoon after being struck by a Regional Transit light-rail train while he was walking on the tracks talking on a cell phone.

The incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Folsom Police said the train operator told officers that the train was headed toward Sacramento after leaving the Iron Point Road Station in Folsom. The train was coming out of its first southbound turn, just north of Highway 50 when the pedestrian was spotted on the tracks.

The operator, a 13-year Regional Transit employee with 1-1/2 years operating experience, told police the man was walking toward the oncoming train. The operator said the man had his head down, a hat covering his eyes and was talking on his cell phone.

The operator tried to avoid the collision, but the pedestrian never looked up and was struck by the train. The operator stopped the train and ran to the pedestrian. The man told the operator he had been walking on the tracks so he could talk on his phone away from the road, where he could have been hit by a car, according to a Folsom Police Department news release.

The 20 passengers spread among two train cars were not injured and continued to their destination after an hour delay, police said. The track to Folsom was closed for several hours while investigators collected evidence.

The man suffered a 6-inch to 8-inch cut to his calf, an open wound fracture to his thigh bone and an evisceration to his abdomen, police reported.

Sacramento Regional Transit and Folsom Police remind people that it is a violation of the California Penal Code to walk on or within 20 feet of train tracks.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Marc McMain Keyser, the Sacramento man who perpetrated a nationwide anthrax hoax in 2008, was sentenced today to four years and three months in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. said Keyser "may be dangerous to himself and others," and ordered him taken into custody immediately.

Basing his remarks on the content of Keyser's Internet blog since his conviction last year, the judge said, "He thinks he's a martyr and a messenger of God and a person above the law."

Keyser was found guilty in September by a jury on five counts involving packages with packets of sugar accompanied by ominous messages that he mailed to the Modesto office of Congressman George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, and to a Starbucks coffee house and McDonald's fast food restaurant, both in Sacramento.

Keyser admitted at his trial that he sprayed the country with more than 100 packages containing fake anthrax packets directed to media organizations, politicians and retail businesses.

He insisted, however, that he acted only to demonstrate how vulnerable and ill-prepared the United States is for such an attack, and that he did not intend to terrorize.

The government sought five years in prison for Keyser, a 67-year-old retired elementary school teacher and Army veteran with no prior criminal record.

His defense attorney asked that he be placed on probation for five years and ordered to do 2,000 hours of community service.

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

Previous coverage:

Sacramentan convicted for sending anthrax hoax messages - Sept. 18, 2009

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Folsom police have collared two people suspected of trying to extort money from a woman in exchange for the return of her Chihuahua.

Police said that Britney Parkerton's dog, Roo (left), escaped from her car Saturday night when she stopped for fuel at a Union 76 station on Iron Point Road.

Roo, who had a micro chip and identification collar, fell into the hands of a stranger, according to police. A man later called Parkerton and said he would be happy to return her dog.

However, police said, the man said he wanted $200 or Parkerton would never see Roo again.

That demand prompted Parkerton to call Folsom police. Police devised a plan in which they offered the stranger $600 if he returned Roo to Folsom.

An agreement was reached, and nearly four hours after Roo disappeared, a black Chevrolet Camaro drove into the same gas station where Parkerton last saw her dog. One suspect put Roo into Parkerton's car and removed an envelope with the requested ransom.

A block away from the gas station, police stopped the Camaro and arrested Adonison Gunther(far left), 31, of Oakland and Marisa Jackson (left), 21, of Elk Grove.

The suspects said they were simply helpful citizens, but police said text and telephone messages tell a different story. Gunther and Jackson were booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of extortion, possession of stolen property and conspiracy.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are searching for two suspects whose car hit a tree in Arden Arcade.

Police sought to stop a car that was speeding northbound on Howe Avenue at Highway 50. During the pursuit, the suspect's car hit a tree at Carro Drive and Northrop Avenue.

Two people ran from the scene and police could not locate them, police said.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

One person died and another faces serious charges after a police chase that ended in the Sacramento River.

At 11:47 p.m. Sacramento police tried to pull over a car at San Juan Road and Binghampton Drive in the Northgate area. The officer sought to stop the car because the driver was speeding and it matched a similar stolen car police had chased several weeks ago.

A pursuit began and the chase reached speeds of up to 90 mph, police said. The car sped southbound on Powerline Road to where the road intersects with the Garden Highway.

At that point the car went over the bank into the river. By the time officers could get to the shore, the driver, Jose Gonzales, 20, was out of the car and in the water.

Gonzales said there was a second person in the car, which was submerged. A rescue dive team was called to the scene.

Divers succeeded in getting a tow line onto the car and the vehicle was pulled out of the water about 6 a.m. A man, identified as Elias Esparza Sicher, 39, of Sacramento, was found dead in front passenger seat.

Gonzales, who had been booked earlier for evading police officers, faces vehicular manslaughter charges, said police spokesman Norm Leong.

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

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Two male teenagers were hit by gunfire in south Sacramento on Saturday night after two uninvited groups arrived at a party and fighting broke out, city police said.

Sacramento Police said a 15-year-old boy was taken to Kaiser South with gunshot wounds to his upper body and his leg. A 16-year-old boy was taken to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento after being shot in his upper body.

Police said parents at the 4000 block of Evalita Way home held a party for their teenage daughter, and about 60 to 70 teens were in attendance. Fighting broke out around 10:30 p.m., after the uninvited groups arrived.

Police said one of the groups left, returned with a pistol and began firing at people in the front yard.

Police described a suspect in the shooting as African American, with a black hoodie and dreadlocks. He was accompanied by three or four others. The group left in a late 1980s or early 1990s grayish green Buick.

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

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Coroner's officials have identified the Sacramento man who died in a single-car accident today as Travis Moses, 63.

Moses was killed when the car he was driving left the roadway on Sunnybrae Drive and crashed into a tree. Sacramento police reported that there were apparently no witnesses to the accident.

A passerby on the street, near Cosumnes River College, notified police about 7 a.m., said Sgt. Norm Leong. It was not known how much earlier the accident happened.

Moses was the only occupant of the car. It is unknown why his car veered off the road into the tree. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1987.

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By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

A motorcyclist who evaded Oroville police died after crashing into a school bus loaded with children, California Highway Patrol officials reported. A dog riding with the motorcyclist also was killed.

An Oroville Police Department officer attempted to make a traffic stop on the motorcyclist, whose identity has not yet been released, about 3:30 p.m. Friday on northbound State Route 70 near Montgomery Street.

Rather than stopping, the black Harley-Davidson motorcycle exited the highway, sped through a gas station and turned onto Grand Avenue, accelerating to more than 60 mph, the officer reported.

The officer stopped pursuit, but the motorcyclist reportedly continued speeding onto Table Mountain Boulevard, where he drifted across a double yellow line and hit the school bus, loaded with about 30 kids.

Neither the bus driver nor the children reported injuries, but the motorcyclist was killed instantly, as was a chihuaha riding with him. "He might've had it stuffed in his jacket," said CHP Sgt. Steve Dubravetz.

Officials believe alcohol or drugs were a factor. The collision is still under investigation.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1987.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

An Auburn man has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Sacramento for stealing federal worker's compensation benefits.

Mark Anthony Correnti, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. to 21 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for compensation benefits fraud. Correnti was also ordered to pay the Department of Labor $237,676.20 in restitution, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

Correnti pleaded guilty on Nov. 13, 2009 to seven counts of making false statements to obtain federal employees' compensation benefits.

The news release cites court documents stating that Correnti received disability payments under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act from 1989 for a back injury that he suffered as a civilian employee for the Navy.

The payments were approximately $2,000 every month in 2000 and increased to $2,214.72 in September 2008.

To remain eligible for benefits, disabled employees must provide medical and factual evidence to establish the essential elements of the disability claim.

After being accepted for disability, employees must file an annual report of earnings with the Office of Worker's Compensation Programs. The report is made on a Department of Labor form under penalty of perjury and is key to determining a participant's eligibility for benefits, according to the news release.

On seven occasions between Dec. 18, 2002 and June 4, 2008, Correnti falsely certified on the federal forms that he was not involved in or earning any income from any business, officials said.

Since at least 2000, Correnti has been the owner of Safe N Sound Storage, a boat and recreational vehicle storage business in Auburn, the release states.

This made him ineligible for some or all of the disability payments that he received, the release states.

Between Jan. 1, 2000 and Sept. 16, 2008, officials said, Correnti received more than $250,000 in disability payments to which he knew he was not entitled, the release states.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

California State University, Chico officials report that approximately 900 students, faculty, staff and community members rallied today in support of Associated Students President Joseph Igbineweka, who was assaulted Sunday in what Chico police are calling a hate crime.

The unity rally in the Student Services Center plaza was organized by the CSU, Chico student organization Black Leaders on Campus. The purpose of the rally was to unite the campus community and show support for Igbineweka in a time of need, according to a university news release.

Igbineweka was stabbed just north of the campus, in a neighborhood where many students live, about 2:15 a.m. Sunday as he was walking home from a party. The assailants fled, but Chico police later arrested Barry Sayavong, a Butte College student, on suspicion of attempted murder and a hate crime.

According to the Chico Enterprise Record, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said he ordered Sayavong to be released from the county jail without charges based on "insufficient evidence" after meeting with two Chico police detectives Thursday morning.

Speakers at today's rally included CSU Chico President Paul Zingg, Chico Mayor Ann Schwab, Chico Police Chief Mike Maloney, Black Leaders on Campus representatives Malcom Dixon and Walter Torrence, and CSU, Chico staff member Mai Hou Lo.

Other speakers were Butte College student Tony Gamboa and Les Jauron, Butte College's vice president for planning and information.

The rally was in keeping with the Black Leaders on Campus' goal to be a bridge for communication among students and others in the community, and to allow any student to feel comfortable with other people, according to Christensen "Swang" Sanders, the organization's vice president.

"The idea of the rally is that the situation with Joseph does not escalate into more confusion or be misinterpreted by people," Sanders said in the news release. "This is an opportunity for people to unite and say that this type of behavior and violence should not be tolerated, whether it be a hate crime or a crime for any reason."

Many people at the rally wore yellow armbands as a sign of unity and support for Igbineweka, who was unable to attend because of continuing medical treatment for stab wounds he suffered in the assault, university officials said.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Previous coverage:

Chico hate crime victim calls it an isolated incident; suspect's sister calls it mistaken identity - April 20, 2010

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Sacramento woman was critically injured this afternoon when her vehicle traveled into oncoming traffic and was struck by Sacramento County Works truck.

Joshlynn Pendarvis, 23, was driving a red 1996 Ford Thunderbird on southbound Watt Avenue at 12:54 p.m., approaching the intersection of the eastbound Interstate 80 off-ramp. As Pendarvis approached the intersection, the light turned red and she proceeded through the intersection. When she realized traffic ahead of her was stopped, she turned her vehicle to the left traveling across the left lane and striking the center median where her vehicle became airborne, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

The Thunderbird traveled directly into the path of a white 2004 Chevy 3500 County Works truck that was traveling in the left lane of northbound Watt Avenue. The front of the truck struck the passenger side of the Thunderbird.

Pendarvis was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center with major head injuries and is listed in critical condition, the CHP reported. Her passenger, a 4-year-old girl, was taken to UC Davis Medical Center for precautionary reasons, according to the news release.

The driver of the county vehicle, Michael Caldwell, 28, of Rancho Cordova, was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical center with moderate injuries.

The left lane of northbound Watt Avenue was closed for approximately an hour.

The collision remains under investigation.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bee Staff

A Sacramento hospital will vent liquid oxygen this afternoon in an operation that may produce loud noises and a harmless white cloud, the Sacramento City Fire Department said.

Workers at Sutter General Hospital, 2801 L Street, will be venting the oxygen from 4 to 6 p.m., said Capt. Jim Doucette, Sacramento FD spokesman.

"This is a normal operation and there is no cause for alarm," Doucette said.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating the shooting of a man at the Countrywood Village Apartments on Mack Road.

The 21-year-old victim suffered a gunshot wound to the leg that is not life-threatening, said Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong. He has been transported to a local hospital.

The shooting occurred just before 11:50 a.m. at the apartment complex at Mack Road and Center Parkway, according to police.

The suspect, who was last seen in the apartment complex, was described to police as a black man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, with shoulder-length dreadlocks. He has a dark complexion, a goatee and was wearing a white t-shirt and black pants, according to the description given to police. He was seen carrying a black revolver.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at 443-HELP.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Bee Staff

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested at least six people in a prostitution sting, another of the department's attempts to shut down the Watt Avenue hooker stroll.

According to a crime summary released this week, deputies arrested at least six people on suspicion of prostitution and drug activity, including a 16-year-old girl, on April 13 near Watt and Orange Grove avenues.

Undercover officers were used as decoys to target street-level prostitution, the summary states. Some of the suspects were arrested at a motel along Watt.

Prostitution on Watt Avenue is a chronic problem, according to Bee reports and law enforcement activity.

Bee reporters have reported on prostitution busts on the street going as far back as 1988.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Seven Sacramento-area residents were arrested this week as a result of two indoor marijuana growing investigations by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Elk Grove Police Department.

The two-day enforcement operation resulted in seizure of six indoor operations, more than 4,300 plants, approximately $82,600 in U.S. currency and one vehicle, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration news release.

In November 2009, the Elk Grove Police Department and the DEA's Sacramento District Office identified a suspected marijuana cultivator, Tac Che, 50, of Sacramento. According to the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint, law enforcement officers learned of several residences with suspected indoor marijuana grows that were linked to Che. Based on the investigation, officers believed power theft was occurring at many of the grow sites.

Agents identified five other Sacramento residents as being involved in the growing operations: Bob An, 52, Cuong Hoang, 54; Lien Truong, 49; Kenny Lu, 22; and Julia Saechao, 22.

On Tuesday, federal search warrants were served at six Sacramento locations associated with the individuals: two in the 8200 block of Cliffe Way, one of which was occupied by Bob An; 1700 block of Highbridge Way; 100 block of Stone Valley Circle, residence of Kenny Lu and Julia Saechao; 8600 block of Prairiewoods Drive, residence of Tac Che; and 7900 block of Scottsdale Drive, residence of Cuong Hoang and Lien Truong.

Marijuana plants were seized at the Highbridge Way, Stone Valley Circle and Scottsdale Drive addresses, and one of the houses on Cliffe Way. Officials also confirmed that electricity was being bypassed at the Stone Valley Circle, Highbridge Way and one of the Cliffe Way sites.

All six individuals were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to manufacture at least 1,000 marijuana plants, manufacturing marijuana and knowingly maintaining a place for manufacturing. They appeared in Sacramento Federal Court on Wednesday.

The other investigation began in December 2009, when Elk Grove police and the DEA were conducting surveillance on a suspicious residence in Sacramento, the news release said. Officials identified Vinh Hoang, 44, of Sacramento as a suspected marijuana cultivator as well as multiple residences with which they believed he was associated.

On Wednesday, law enforcement officers served federal search warrants at homes in the 9200 block of Earl Fife Drive in Elk Grove, and the 5400 block of Elderdown Way and 7800 block of 51st Ave in Sacramento. The 51st Avenue address is believed to be Hoang's residence, according to the news release.

Marijuana plants were seized at the Elderdown Way and Earl Fife Drive addresses, and agents confirmed that electricity was bypassed at both sites.

Vinh Hoang was arrested without incident at the Elderdown Way residence, officials reported.

Hoang appeared in Sacramento Federal Court on Thursday. He was charged with manufacturing at least 1,000 marijuana plants and maintaining a place to manufacture marijuana.

Law enforcement officials said they believe these indoor marijuana growing operations had the capacity to produce nearly 2 tons of marijuana annually, with an estimated street value of more than $17.9 million.

"The indoor cultivation of marijuana continues to pose a serious problem in the Sacramento region," Gordon Taylor, the DEA's assistant special agent in charge, said in the news release. "These people moved into our residential areas, set up illegal marijuana factories and endangered the lives of everyone in the neighborhood."

If convicted of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and manufacturing marijuana, the defendants face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years, a maximum prison term of life, and a fine of up to $4 million, according to the news release.

They could face a maximum prison term of 20 years and a fine of up to $500,000 if convicted of maintaining a place to grow marijuana.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Police on Thursday morning arrested a University of California, Davis, student for allegedly trying to rape a fellow student.

Officer Ken Garcia of the UC Davis campus police department said Pierce Hunter, 19, was arrested on suspicion of attempted rape and forcible oral copulation. The bail is set at $150,000. It was not clear if Hunter posted bail by Thursday evening, Garcia said.

Garcia said Hunter and the victim know each other and the alleged incident took place at a campus dormitory.

Andy Fell, a UC Davis spokesman, said the victim filed her complaint earlier this week and an arrest warrant was issued Thursday morning. Fell said Hunter's major was "undeclared."

Garcia said police believe other victims might be involved. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at (530) 752-1230.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Federal and local authorities on Thursday arrested two people for allegedly operating a string of massage parlors in Washington and California that included two in Lodi and one in Sacramento County that were fronts for prostitution.

According to a news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department, Tham Nguyen, 48, and Suong Tran, 51, both of Burien, Wash., face charges of conspiracy to transport individuals in furtherance of prostitution and conspiracy to engage in money laundering. They were indicted on Wednesday.

Investigators say they learned that since 2007, Nguyen and Tran recruited women from out-of-state to work as prostitutes and arranged for them to be moved among their businesses, which included three massage parlors in Washington and three in California. They also owned and operated a legal brothel in Nevada.

Authorities said financial records show that Nguyen and Tran also conspired to hide the source and substantial proceeds of the illegal activities.

The names and location of the businesses in California are:

Healthy Living Nails and Spa, 3715 47th Ave., Sacramento.

AAH Spa, 20 N. Cherokee Lane, Lodi.

Valley Spa, 321 N. California St., Lodi

The case is being prosecuted in the Western District of Washington.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Bee Staff

The Sacramento Police Department will conduct a DUI/driver's license checkpoint on Friday in an undisclosed south area of the city, according to a news release.

Uniformed officers will check for alcohol or drug-impaired drivers, the release states. Drivers also will be checked to see if they have a valid license.

Funding for the checkpoint is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the release states.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The penalty phase of Aaron Norman Dunn's murder trial got under way today with the jury set to decide whether the Elk Grove spree killer will be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet told the panel that among the factors it must consider is whether Dunn's ability to consider the impact of the March 25, 2006, rampage that killed two men was impaired by "mental defect" or intoxication.

Defense lawyers Amy Rogers and Hayes Gable III put on evidence during the guilt phase of the trial that Dunn shot and killed Jon Johnson, 46, and Michael John Daly, 45, while he was in a methamphetamine-induced psychotic state.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett put on four witnesses this morning in his case that he said could wrap up by the end of the day.

The prosecution witnesses included a bouncer in a Yuba City bar who testified about getting assaulted while breaking up a fight in 2005. The bouncer, Sandee Bassi, did not specifically identify Dunn as one of the men who assaulted him.

Another witness, William Alejandro Garza, said that Dunn was in a group of four youths that assaulted him while he was walking home from Marysville High School in 1993.

Garza said that Dunn said "What"s up? C'mon, punk," moments before he was attacked. Garza said Dunn kicked him in the face and chipped a tooth during the attack.

A former Sacramento jail deputy said he found an object during a November 2008 search of Dunn's cell that the officer believed to be a weapon.

The item was a plastic bag stuffed with wet, wadded up newspaper tied to a string. Defense lawyers contended the object was a jail communication device used to pass notes.

Another deputy testified that he saw Dunn get into a fight with another inmate at the jail.

Relatives of the victims are expected to testify later today about the impact of the killings on their lives.

The defense is scheduled to put on its evidence next week.

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

Previous coverage:

Jury convicts man of gunning down 2 in Elk Grove - April 14, 2010

Jury deliberating fate of double-murder defendant Aaron Norman Dunn - April 13, 2010

Prosecutor, doctor spar over Elk Grove murder defendant's actions - April 8, 2010

Prosecutor eager to attack psychiatrist in Elk Grove shooting spree trial - April 7, 2010

Meth psychosis cited in killings; defendant's words cast doubt - April 6, 2010

Elk Grove cop testifies how she and partner stopped deadly rampage - March 17, 2010

Witnesses tell of lives shattered in deadly Elk Grove shooting spree - March 12, 2010

Prosecutor, defense attorneys agree suspect killed two people in Elk Grove - March 10, 2010

Elk Grove residents eligible for murder case jury - Dec. 11, 2009

Prosecutor's bid for Placer DA could stall trial for double killing - Dec. 2, 2009

Homicide suspect's lawyers don't want any Elk Grove jurors - Aug. 11, 2009

By Chelsea Phua, Cathy Locke and Bill Lindelof
cphua@sacbee.com

A 55-year-old man who jumped to his death from an overcrossing on Interstate 5 did so after running his vehicle into the back of a disabled big rig, authorities said.

Sacramento County Coroner's officials identified the man as Eric C. Johnson. Public records showed he lived in Elk Grove.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Michael Bradley said the Sacramento Police Department is investigating the death as a suicide, and the CHP is investigating the crash that preceded it.

Bradley said Johnson was driving a 2009 Honda when it struck the back of big rig on the Stonecrest Avenue overpass, south of Meadowview Road, about 12:30 p.m.

He said Johnson got out of the car and began running in traffic on Stonecrest. When witnesses tried to stop him, Johnson climbed up the fence on the overpass.

As a medium-size truck towing a bus approached northbound on I-5, he jumped in front of it.

Bradley said Johnson was struck by the truck and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Bee Staff

Two suspects helped in their arrests by carrying photos in their cell phones of guns they allegedly fired at a party, according to a Sacramento County sheriff's crime report released this week.

In another gun case, a suspect allegedly tried to hide a stolen gun from deputies under a pile of wood chips in a public park.

Here is the sequence of events in these cases, according to the reports:

Just after 1 a.m. on April 17, deputies responded to a call of shots fired at a residence in the 5100 block of El Camino Avenue.

Deputies arrived to find a party of more than 30 people dispersing, including the two suspected gunmen.

Deputies said they spotted the pair ditching two firearms before they were arrested.

Additional evidence of the suspects' gun possession was supplied when deputies examined the two men's cell phones and found photos of the two recovered pistols, the report states.

Online jail and court records show the two suspects - Jerry Crosby and Murray Harper, both 19 - have been charged with carrying a concealed, unregistered weapons; resisting arrest and discharging firearms in a reckless manner.

Records show Murray is still in jail as of today on $1 million bail.

In the second case, deputies were called about 6 p.m. on April 16 to check a report of two men smoking marijuana in a public park at Brittany Park Drive and Glen Cove Way.

As deputies were checking out the men, they noticed a nearby suspicious pile of wood chips.

The deputies said they found a stolen automatic pistol beneath the chips.

Albert King, 20, was arrested and subsequently charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm in public, according to the report and online court records.

King is in jail as of today on these charges with a $120,000 bail, according to online jail records.

By Bee Staff

Sacramento sheriff's deputies recently staked out a Folsom Boulevard store and busted a crew of shoplifters, according to a crime report released this week.

The stakeout was in response to a rash of thefts at a grocery store in the 10600 block of Folsom Boulevard, the report states.

Here is the sequence of events, according to the report:

At about 11 p.m. on April 13, deputies spotted two suspects remove items from store and flee without paying.

The pair ignored deputies' commands to stop and jumped into a waiting vehicle, occupied by two other suspects.

Deputies later rounded up the four suspects in the car and a fifth suspect.

One of the suspects fought deputies and a K9 unit before he was subdued and arrested.

Jailed on suspicion of shoplifting were Kerry Long, 19, and Marshall Wallace, 19, the report states.

Three 16-year-old suspects were booked into juvenile hall.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have identified a man they believe along with a teen is responsible for the fatal shooting of a Natomas High School football coach.

Maurice Reed Jr. was booked into jail on suspicion of murder and robbery.

A 17-year-old male also was arrested on suspicion of murder in the case but was not identified because he is a juvenile.

The 17-year-old was arrested in Sacramento County and Reed was arrested in the Bay Area, police said.

Both have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The two are accused of shooting and killing Salvador Heredia-Arriaga, 26, when he walked into the middle of a home-invasion robbery that they were conducting on March 26 in a South Natomas apartment.

Heredia-Arriaga was visiting friends at an apartment complex in the 2600 block of River Plaza Drive.

Police said detectives believe two armed suspects entered the residence to rob the occupants.

The suspects are believed to have targeted the residence for a home invasion robbery because of on-going marijuana sales at the location, police said

The teen and Reed are suspected of shooting Heredia-Arriaga and fleeing, police said.

Union City police and Sacramento detectives found Reed in Union City, Alameda County on Wednesday where he was taken into custody after a chase on foot.

Detectives later found and took into custody the 17-year-old suspect near Watt and Whitney avenues in Arden Arcade.

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

Previous coverage:

Slain teacher-coach to be awarded posthumous law degree he sought - April 2, 2010

Slain coach's funeral to be held in cathedral - March 31, 2010

Natomas High coach, teacher killed by robbers, Sacramento police say - March 28, 2010

By Bee Staff
Bee researcher Linda Beymer contributed to this report

Two Sacramento area convicts serving life sentences recently told The California Board of Parole Hearings that they didn't want to be considered for paroles.

Kenneth Roy Stark, 55, requested and was granted his request for a one-year waiver of his right to a parole hearing.

James Elmer Harmon, 69, offered to stipulate that he was unsuitable for parole for a five-year period, an offer that the board accepted.

A Yolo County Superior Court judge sentenced Stark to life in prison for the June 13, 1985 beating death of a homeless man, The Bee reported.

The body of Ronald Eugene Meyers, 42, was dumped in a Yolo Bypass field.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Harmon to life plus 17 years in April 1987 for a kidnap-robbery with a couple of accomplices that netted them $3,000, The Bee reported.

Harmon hit the victim with a pipe in the September 1986 crime.

Harmon had an extensive criminal history going back to 1959. The deputy district attorney who prosecuted him for the kidnap-robbery was the son of the deputy district attorney who won a conviction of Harmon in 1960.

The two were originally scheduled parole hearings last month.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 29-year-old man is in jail accused of robbing a Walgreens pharmacy Saturday.

Citrus Heights police reported that they arrested Aaron Moore (left photo) about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

According to police, Moore allegedly entered the Walgreens store at 6199 Sunrise Blvd. about 2 p.m. Saturday. Police say he approached the pharmacy, told the pharmacist he had a weapon and demanded narcotics. The employee, fearing for her life, complied with the demand and the man left with the narcotics.

The incident was caught on videotape, and police sought the public's assistance in identifying the suspect, who was considered armed and dangerous. After video of the robbery was made public and broadcast by the news media, the California Highway Patrol received a call with information that led to Moore's arrest, police reported.

Moore is being held in Sacramento County Jail on $60,000 bail.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a man and a teen they believe are connected with the fatal shooting of a Natomas High School football coach.

Police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said as of Wednesday night the pair, ages 17 and 20, had yet to be booked into Sacramento County Main Jail. The 17-year-old was arrested in Sacramento County and the 20-year-old was arrested in the Bay Area, Leong said.

Authorities say they expect to release more details Thursday morning.

The men are accused of shooting and killing Salvador Heredia-Arriaga, 26, when he walked into the middle of a home-invasion robbery that they were conducting on March 26 in a South Natomas apartment.

Heredia-Arriaga was visiting friends at an apartment complex in the 2600 block of River Plaza Drive.

The men shot him and ran away, police said.

A Natomas High graduate, Heredia-Arriaga returned to coach football at his alma mater after graduating from UC Santa Cruz, where he majored in history. He also started substitute teaching for the school district and was preparing for law school.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

Previous coverage:

Slain teacher-coach to be awarded posthumous law degree he sought - April 2, 2010

Slain coach's funeral to be held in cathedral - March 31, 2010

Natomas High coach, teacher killed by robbers, Sacramento police say - March 28, 2010

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Three people have been sentenced in U.S. District Court for their part in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton sentenced Wayne J. Majors, 56, of Phoenix to six months in a halfway house, and six months of home confinement as part of his five years of probation, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Also sentenced were Majors' two co-defendants. Leah Anderson, 37, of Phoenix, was sentenced to five years probation with 30 days intermittent confinement in jail and five months of home confinement. Sandra Villegas, 58, also of Phoenix, was sentenced to 30 days in jail followed by five months of home confinement.

The defendants pleaded guilty Aug. 28, 2009.

According to plea agreements, from 1999 through 2002, Majors and his wife, Leah Anderson, and his sister, Sandra Villegas, set up and managed a Sacramento law firm, the American Law Center, specializing in bankruptcy. The three operated the business side and hired lawyers for the legal work.

Majors hired Michael O'Neal to head the firm and paid him a set salary with an occasional bonus, according to the news release. O'Neal, who pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns in 2006, was listed as the owner and 100 percent stockholder of the firm on all required business filings.

Majors, however, was in actual control of the firm, including determining the attorneys' compensation and allocating the firm's profits, the news release says.

According to court documents, the American Law Center was profitable in 1999, 2000 and 2001. But Majors drained the profits out of the firm by making payments to shell companies that were owned and controlled by his wife and sister, American Law Inc., AMCI and Anderson Management Co. Much of the funds transferred into these companies between 1999 and 2001 went into Anderson's and Villegas' personal bank accounts and were used to pay the three defendants' personal expenses.

To maximize American Law Center's after-tax profits and to avoid paying individual income taxes on monies they received from the firm, Majors and Anderson falsified American Law Center's 1999 and 2000 corporate tax returns, resulting in no corporate income tax owing for either year, the news release said. The three defendants then avoided paying individual federal taxes by either filing no tax returns or filing false returns.

In 2001, the gross income of the American Law Center was accurately reported, but the defendants continued to list the substantial amounts paid to the shell companies as American Law Center's business expenses.

In imposing the sentence, the court took into consideration Majors' medical issues, concluding that a longer period of incarceration would be potentially dangerous to him and expensive to the U.S Bureau of Prisons, the news release said.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Hudson Sangree
hsangree@sacbee.com

An investigation by the Yolo County Sheriff's Department has concluded that no deputy ever held a gun to the head of a 9-year-old Dunnigan girl, as she and her parents alleged, authorities announced today.

In February, the girl and her parents, Santiago Ochoa and Griselda Rodriguez, told a citizens panel and reporters that officers executing a search warrant on their home in June 2009 had grabbed the girl by the neck and stuck a gun to the girl's temple.

Sheriff Ed Prieto launched an investigation, though the family had filed no written complaint with his office, saying he was skeptical of the girl's claim but intended to take it seriously.

By Laurel Rosenhall
lrosen@sacbee.com

Two UC Davis students were arrested today on suspicion of animal cruelty after posting a video on Facebook that showed them torturing hamsters with a cigarette lighter.

The video prompted campus police to investigate. They arrested Henry Nguyen, 18, of Oakland and Josue Melendez, 19, of Los Angeles county, who live in UC Davis dorms. The students face two charges each of animal cruelty and conspiracy.

One of the tortured hamsters has died, according to a university press release, and the other recovered after being treated in the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

Call The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall, (916) 321-1083.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

An insurance inspector at a home in rural El Dorado County north of Placerville was shot today by an unknown assailant.

The inspector was at the home off Andy Wolfe Road near the small community of Garden Valley at the request of homeowners who does not live at the residence.

She approached the home and then went back to her car to retrieve some items she would need for the inspection.

"Then as she got out of the car she heard this gunshot, this pop sound," said El Dorado County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Kevin House. "Then she feels this sharp burning in her left buttock. She is bleeding so she got in her car and drove to where she could get cell coverage."

The inspector called 911 and then was transported to the hospital.

"Exactly where the gunfire came from, we are still trying to investigate," said House. "I don't think her injury was life-threatening."

The home was a quarter of a mile down Andy Wolfe Road off Greenwood Road.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

One person has been taken into custody after a search in Elk Grove for car burglary suspects.

A van eventually stopped had inside items police believe are linked to car burglaries.

Elk Grove police officer Chris Trim said that at 4:42 a.m., the department received a call reporting a vehicle break-in at an apartment complex in the 6800 block of Di Lusso Drive.

An officer responding to the area spotted a green Dodge Caravan and tried to pull it over. When the officer activated lights and sirens on the police cruiser, the van sped away.

After a short pursuit, the van stopped in the 6700 block of Alamar Way. The suspects in the van - either two or three men - fled on foot.

Officers gave chase and surrounded the area. About 6:50 a.m., a police dog picked up a scent of a suspect.

The dog tracked the suspect to the north side of Big Horn Boulevard, not far from where the van was abandoned. Officers found a man hiding there in the bushes.

Moises Edgardo Duran (photo left), 22, was taken into custody. He was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of burglary, possession of burglar's tools, resisting arrest and evading a peace officer.

Trim said that officers will attempt to identify others possibly involved in the car burglary.

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

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

Placer County sheriff's Deputy Ken Skogen has been placed on bereavement leave following the accidental shooting of his 3-year-old daughter Tuesday, according to his department.

Roseville police are continuing their investigation into the tragic incident, in which 3-year-old Kalli Skogen accidentally shot herself with a .40-calliber handgun in the garage of the Skogen family's Roseville home.

The handgun was not her father's service weapon, police said today.

They have not yet described the circumstances surrounding the shooting, only that Ken Skogen was in the garage with the toddler when the incident occurred.

Kalli Skogen was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center and then to the UC Davis Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly before 8:30 p.m.

Police officers were called to the home in the 300 block of Sawtell Road at 5:50 p.m.

When officers arrived, the child was in her mother's arms inside the house.

"The (deputy) had taken steps to keep firearms away from children. Obviously, we're looking into what happened to the safeguards that he's put into place," said Sgt. Darin DeFreece of the Roseville Police Department.

"It's a policeman's worst nightmare," Toupin said.

Neighbors said they have seen the little girl playing in the yard with her parents and described her as happy, energetic and curious.

Karen Erling, 48, who lives across the street, said last Christmas she saw father and daughter outside putting up the lights. The little girl kept asking her father, "What's that, Daddy," about the decorations, Erling said.

"She's cute, sweet and full of energy," said Erling, who added that she heard the little girl talk to the next-door neighbors on Monday.

Bee archives showed a Placer County Deputy Sheriff by the name of Ken Skogen being called a hero by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for rescuing an elderly woman from a burning Auburn home during the 49 fire last summer.

The Roseville Police Department is investigating the shooting and will submit the results to the Placer County District Attorney's Office, which will review the case to determine if charges will be filed.

The shooting death recalls two other recent heartbreaking gunshot fatalities where the deceased's father was in law enforcement.

Both occurred in 2008 in Northern California.

In the first incident, the 3-year-old son of a Sutter County Sheriff's deputy died April 6, 2008 in his Yuba City home when he accidentally shot himself with his father's service pistol.

A few months later, on Nov. 6, 2008, the 4-year-old son of a Redding police officer died as a result of an apparently accidental shooting in his Shasta Lake home.

Bee researcher Pete Basofin contributed to this report.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A parolee-at-large led Sacramento County sheriff's deputies on an 11-minute chase through Antelope this morning that ended with what authorities described as a "violent fight" between the suspect and two deputies.

The deputies and the suspect, 23-year-old Orin Colbourn of Rancho Cordova, were all treated at area hospitals for injuries sustained in the brawl, according to authorities.

The pursuit began shortly after 12:45 p.m., when a team of deputies went to a mobile home park near Watt Avenue and Antelope Road looking for a parolee-at-large they learned might be staying there, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

While speaking with deputies, residents pointed to a green Ford Mustang pulling into the park and said the man they were looking for was in that car, Curran said.

Deputies got in their patrol cars and tried to pull over the Mustang, but the driver did not yield, Curran said. A pursuit through residential neighborhoods in Antelope ensued, with speeds reaching close to 90 miles per hour, Curran said.

A patrol supervisor called off the pursuit, but deputies continued to follow the Mustang "at a safe distance" and without lights and sirens, Curran said. Near Marysville Boulevard and Bell Avenue, the driver lost control of the Mustang, and deputies intervened when the driver tried to drive away again, Curran said.

The driver ran from the Mustang but was stopped by deputies close by. The driver resisted, Curran said, resulting in injuries to the driver's face, one deputy's hand and the other deputy's leg.

Colbourn, identified as the driver, was arrested on suspicion of evading police, resisting arrest by force, reckless driving, possessing methamphetamines, assault with a deadly weapon and violating parole, Curran said. He was then treated for his injuries.

Curran said Colbourn turned out not to be the parolee-at-large that deputies had been searching for, but that he also was a parolee-at-large.

Two other occupants of the Mustang do not face charges, Curran said.

During the pursuit, a K9 deputy clipped another car's sideview mirror with his patrol car's sideview mirror, Curran said, but nobody was injured.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Folsom family that lost approximately $2,200 worth of property in an April 15 burglary has tracked down some of the stolen items via Craigslist, Folsom Police report.

On Friday, Folsom Police investigators helped recover a laptop stolen from the family's home on Big Valley Road, according to a Police Department news release. Investigators met with a suspect in Carmichael Park after the man posted the property for sale on Craigslist.

As officers prepared to take Carmichael resident Walter Diaz, 21, and a 17-year-old boy into custody, the two fled. Following a pursuit through the park, both were arrested on suspicion of possessing stolen property after a laptop computer was found to have been stolen from Folsom the day before. A second laptop in Diaz's possession proved to have been stolen from Rancho Cordova March 13, the news release said.

Diaz was arrested, and the 17-year-old was cited and released to his father.

The Folsom family continued to consult Craigslist and on Sunday they found their $500 cell phone advertised for $350. Today, Folsom investigators arranged to meet the Craigslist seller, and the 17-year-old youth cited Friday showed up with the stolen cell phone. He was arrested along with Christopher Ross, 20, of Carmichael, who is accused of being an accomplice.

The Folsom Police Department reminds buyers to beware. Although many reputable people use Craigslist and other Web-based marketplaces to sell new and used property, officials note that it is also is a convenient way for thieves to unload stolen property on unsuspecting bargain hunters.

People who believe they have located their own stolen property online are advised to contact local authorities and not to attempt to meet potential suspects without the assistance of law enforcement officers.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The woman who died in a head-on collision on Foresthill Road on Monday has been identified as Pamela Hawkins, 52, of Foresthill, according to Lt. Jeff Ausnow of the Placer County Sheriff's Department.

The accident occurred about 7 a.m. near Happy Pines Drive. According to the California Highway Patrol, Graciela Mata, 56, of Foresthill was driving a GMC Acadia sport utility vehicle westbound when it was struck head-on by a Chrysler Sebring driven by Hawkins.

Hawkins was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, according to a CHP news release. Mata was wearing a seatbelt and was transported by air ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center with severe injuries.

The CHP said speed did not appear to be a factor, but the cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Officer David Montijo, a CHP spokesman, said it probably would take two to three weeks to complete the investigation and toxicology reports.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bee Staff

A hitman who botched his getaway, the killer of the son-in-law of a prominent politician and a murderous ranch hand are Sacramento area convicts serving life sentences who are due parole hearings on Monday, according to the state Board of Parole Hearings.

The convicts are:

- Pete Jon Goodridge, 59, Mule Creek State Prison.

Goodridge pleaded guilty to the Dec. 17, 1970, slaying of Kenneth J. Federer, an Elk Grove area rancher and the son-in-law of former California Lt. Gov. Harold J. "Butch" Powers.

A judge sentenced Goodridge to life in prison.

Goodridge and Michael R. Logsdon, then 21, both escapees from the Sacramento County jail, were surprised by Federer and his wife inside the couple's ranch home.

Federer was shot with a pistol and a deer rifle. He died Jan. 3, 1971.

A jury found Logsdon guilty of first-degree murder. He also was sentenced to life in prison.

- Steven Michael Castillo, 49, Mule Creek State Prison.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Castillo to 35 years to life in prison for the March 16, 1987, north Sacramento barroom slaying of Eric C. Reimer, The Bee reported.

Trial testimony indicated the slaying was a contract killing, but whoever ordered the hit was never identified, according to trial testimony and Bee reports.

Castillo was not the triggerman in the shooting death of Reimer, but was found to be "the crime force" behind the slaying, DeCristoforo said.

Reimer, 26, was shot three times in the head and neck as he sat near the front door of a Del Paso Boulevard tavern.

At trial, the gunman was identified as Ramon M. Arreaga, 27, the driver of a car that sped away from the Bob-Les Club immediately after the shooting of Reimer.

Both men had been found guilty of first-degree murder. Arreaga was sentenced to 32 years to life in prison.

According to testimony at the trial, Arreaga gunned down Reimer as he sat talking to a young woman at a table near the club entrance.

When two witnesses left the club in pursuit of the killer, Castillo opened fire from the parking lot with a .22-caliber rifle, but he didn't hit anyone.

Both assailants jumped into a car and left the scene, but the car became disabled when Arreaga tried to drive across some rail tracks nearby.

A police canine unit eventually found Castillo and Arreaga hiding behind a garbage can next to a house.

One witness at the trial said Castillo called the bar about 20 minutes after the shooting and, when asked why they had done it, explained that they had to because it was a contract.

- Jerry Dean Stipe, 54, California State Prison, Solano.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Stipe, a ranch hand, to 27 years to life in state prison for the Sept. 8, 1983 shooting death of the caretaker of the Silver Creek Ranch in Galt, The Bee reported.

A jury convicted Stipe January 1984 for the first- degree murder of 68-year-old Frank Emmett Coffin.

In addition to shooting Coffin, who had worked at the ranch for about a year, Stipe also killed two dogs, two ducks and a chicken, police reports said.

Earlier that evening, Stipe and Coffin had been in a bar and had gotten into an argument that escalated into the shooting, a probation report said.

Coffin died after being shot three times with a .44-caliber revolver and a .22-caliber rifle.

Stipe ransacked Coffin's house, stole several items and then stole Coffin's truck, court documents said.

Stipe was arrested by a Rio Vista police officer on suspicion of drunken driving. Coffin's body was discovered in his garage a few hours later by investigators who went to his home to determine if the truck Stipe was driving had been stolen.

In a statement to officers, Stipe said he had been told to leave the ranch, where he had worked for about two weeks.

He also said that there was a voice inside his head telling him what to do.

If you want to give your opinion of an inmate's suitability for parole, you may mail a letter to:

Martin Hoshino, executive director

Board of Parole Hearings

1515 K Street

Sacramento, CA 95811

For more information on the Board of Parole Hearings, go to:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Divisions_Boards/BOPH/

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Two clerks at a Citrus Heights check cashing store were robbed at gunpoint this morning. The two robbers were caught by a surveillance camera.

The robbers, wearing masks, entered the business in the 7700 block of Greenback Lane about 10:45 a.m., pointed guns at the clerks and forced them to the floor, according to a Citrus Heights Police Department news release.

The two assailants then took cash from the till and safe and fled.

One of the robbers began to remove his mask as he left the business.

He was described as a black adult, about 6 feet tall, wearing a black sweater, white under shirt, dark pants and white shoes.

His companion was described as a dark-skinned man about 5 feet 10 inches tall, and wearing a black ball cap with a peace symbol on the top and front. He also was wearing a dark blue coat, dark pants and black shoes.

Both men left in a car driven by a third individual, police reported. No description of the driver was available.

The getaway vehicle was described as a green Ford Escort with a red right front fender and possibly a red hood.

Police said all three suspects are considered armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Police Department's Anonymous Tip Line, (916) 727-5524 or Crime Alert, (800) 222-7463. The Citrus Heights Police Department case number is 1004699.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Q: Was their an arrest made in the death of LaKishia Montue in 1996? - Tina, Sacramento

A: Stephen Stowers was sentenced on Feb. 3, 2000, to 35 years to life in prison for murdering Montue, his girlfriend, after she received a $1.4 million insurance settlement from a car accident, The Bee reported.

"This was cold-blooded," Sacramento Superior Court Judge James L. Long said of the execution-style slaying of 19-year-old Montue, whose body was discovered by a Meadowview motorist on April 14, 1996.

At Stowers' trial, witnesses said a car crash that killed Montue's 17-month-old daughter led to the million-dollar insurance settlement.

Testimony showed the insurance pact, worked out three months before Montue's murder, provided about $3,000 per month over 30 years.

Weeks after she started receiving the money, Montue left her home and family in Sacramento. She took her then-3-year-old son and moved to Las Vegas to live with Stowers' mother.

Shortly before her murder, evidence showed, Montue completed a divorce from her husband - who was serving time in state prison - and signed a will making Stowers' mother her sole life insurance beneficiary.

Three days later, Montue was dead, her body spotted by a passing motorist along a stretch of Freeport Boulevard north of Meadowview Road.

Montue was killed within 50 minutes after arriving in Sacramento on a red-eye flight from Las Vegas that touched down about 3 a.m.

The judge said there was "overwhelming evidence" to convict the 30-year-old Stowers, including testimony from a jailhouse informant and a man Stowers was accused of attempting to solicit to murder Montue.

Charles Montue, the victim's grandfather, also spoke in court. He told the judge that Stowers made a life out of using women.

"He used and manipulated young women instead of getting a job," Charles Montue said.

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

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

The Rocklin Police Department and the Rocklin Chamber of Commerce are inviting business operators to a free two-hour seminar on recognizing counterfeit currency.

A member of the U.S. Secret Service will be the presenter for the April 27 seminar.

A free continental breakfast will be served at the 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. event.

Guests are asked to RSVP by April 23 to Michael Nottoli by e-mail at michael.nottoli@rocklin.ca.us or by phone at (916) 625-5416.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The friends of an auto theft victim did a little detective work to find parts believed stolen and advertised on Craigslist.

Sacramento police said a man whose Nissan 240 SX was stolen a couple of weeks ago saw some parts on Craigslist that he suspected were from his car.

His friends met near the suspect's residence in the Natomas area and confirmed to their satisfaction that wheel rims and other parts were from the stolen vehicle.

The amateur sleuths called the Sacramento Police Department and officers then contacted the alleged seller, 22-year-old Vincente Sanchez.

Sanchez was arrested Monday on suspicion of receiving stolen property and outstanding warrants from the Sacramento Police Department, the Citrus Heights Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, investigators said.

Sanchez was still in jail as of this morning, online records show.

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

Editor's note: Based on information provided by Davis police, an earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the site of a fight where a police officer was injured. The fight happened in front of a Starbucks coffee shop, not at the Graduate Bar.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Reinforcements had to be called in as violence soared on Picnic Day Saturday in Davis, police said.

Usually, arrests totals 15 and calls to respond to service total about 100 on Picnic Day. But this year, Davis police said, 33 arrests were made and police went to 516 calls.

Police responded to such incidents as sexual battery on women, chair throwing brawls and an assault on an officer.

Picnic Day, first held in 1909, is purported to be the largest student-run event in the United States.

This year's homespun festival featured cockroach races, sporting events, music and dance. The on-campus activities were tranquil and enjoyable.

But what happened off-campus on Saturday was anything but fun.

Police said huge crowds packed the downtown area and local bars. Davis police needed help to handle crowd control and break up dozens of fights and other disturbances.

They called in assistance from Woodland Police Department, West Sacramento Police Department, the Yolo County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol.

Most arrests were for being drunk in public, drunk driving and fighting.

There were also reports of sexual battery to women who ventured into drunken crowds.

One bar was temporarily closed after a fight erupted and chairs and other furniture was tossed into the street, police said.

Police were aided by bar bouncers who broke up fights without ever summoning authorities.

Parties at residences close to campus were also tough to control, police said. When drunken revelers took to the top of an apartment complex, the party was shut down, fire officials fearing the roof would collapse.

Other crime listed by police in an after-party press release: A woman had her purse snatched, a victim reported being fired upon by a passing car downtown and other crimes in which victims were treated at hospitals.

One person was attacked without provocation at Bistro 33 in downtown Davis. The victim was seriously injured, police said.

The assault on an officer occurred about 6 p.m. Saturday when officers were responding to a large fight in the parking lot of a Starbucks. While en route, an officer saw another fight at the intersection of University Avenue and Russell Boulevard.

The officer tried to break up the fight but was attacked. With the help of citizens and other arriving Davis police, two men were taken into custody.

Arrested were Augustine Valerian, 26, and Dominic Valerian, 29, both of El Cerrito, Contra Costa County. They were arrested on suspicion of assault on a police officer.

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

Previous coverage:

Instant ice cream, cockroach races thrill guests at UC Davis' spring rite - April 18, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A 40-year-old man is being held in Sacramento County jail for hitting a child in the head with a thrown dinner plate, police records show.

Ronald Henderson (left), booked on suspicion of child endangerment, is being held in lieu of $210,000 bail.

Police said the incident began with an argument between Henderson and his girlfriend on Friday in the bedroom of their home in the 6800 block of Calvine Road.

During the argument, police said Henderson tossed a dinner plate across the room at his girlfriend. At the same time, the girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter walked into the bedroom and was hit by the plate.

The child's head was cut, requiring stitches.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A father with his 11-year-old daughter on the back of his motorcycle drove the bike to speeds reaching 120 to 125 mph before crashing and seriously hurting the child, the California Highway Patrol said.

No charges have been filed against Tarlochan Heir Jr., 32, of the Yuba County town of Olivehurst, a CHP news release states.

The CHP said Heir was speeding with his daughter on the back of his motorcycle on Feather River Boulevard in Olivehurst about 7 p.m. Saturday. A friend accompanied Heir and his daughter on a separate motorcycle.

A Yuba County sheriff's deputy saw the speeding motorcycles and began following them at about 115 mph. The deputy activated emergency lights on his squad car.

Heir's companion eventually pulled over just before Heir's motorcycle, a 2006 Kawasaki 1400, left the road and crashed, creating a cloud of dust observed by the sheriff's deputy.

Heir and his daughter, both wearing helmets, were thrown from the motorcycle. The father was scraped up, but his daughter suffered a compound fracture of her leg. Both were taken to the hospital.

The CHP said Heir had consumed alcohol before the crash and was on probation for a previous DUI conviction.

The accident is under investigation. Authorities ask anyone who witnessed the crash to call the CHP's Yuba-Sutter office at (530) 674-5141.

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

By Diana Lambert
dlmbert@sacbee.com

Roseville police are investigating a suspicious death in the 500 block of Farridge Drive.

Lt. Mark Toupin said investigators are treating the death as a homicide.

Police received a call at 5:20 p.m. asking them to conduct a welfare check.

They discovered a dead man inside the home, Toupin said.

Toupin would not provide any information about the man or why officers suspect the death was a homicide.

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

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

The Citrus Heights Police Department is seeking public help in identifying a man captured on video robbing a pharmacy on Sunrise Boulevard on Saturday afternoon.

Police said the suspect walked into a Walgreens store in the 6100 block of Sunrise Boulevard around 2 p.m., warned that he had a weapon, and demanded narcotics from the store pharmacy. Then he fled.

Authorities described the suspect as white, between the ages of 25 to 35 years old and 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall. He has brown hair, a receding hairline, facial hair and a pockmarked face. He was wearing a green "Members Only" style jacket, white shirt and burgundy shorts with cargo pockets.

Anyone with information about the crime or the suspect is asked to call the department's anonymous tip line at (916) 727-5524. Police said the man is deemed to be armed and dangerous.

The Citrus Heights Police Department is seeking assistance in identifying the subject who should be considered armed and dangerous. Video of this incident is available upon request.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The boyfriend of a Sutter County girl who was the subject of an Amber Alert and a widespread search earlier this week has been arrested.

Hugo Anzures (left), 18, of Orland was arrested Thursday and booked into Glenn County Jail, said Lt. James Casner of the Sutter County Sheriff's Department. Anzures is accused of concealing a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile.

Casner said 14-year-old Elvia Flores and a girlfriend walked away from Live Oak High School on Monday with the intention of meeting Anzures in Chico. He said the girls had called and sent text messages to Anzures.

Casner said they walked from the high school into Butte County and got a ride to Chico, where they met Anzures. He drove them to Orland, where he lives.

The girlfriend, however, decided she wanted to go home, and she and Flores were talking at a gas station in Orland when a California Highway Patrol officer drove in and saw the girlfriend crying.

While the officer was talking to the girlfriend, Flores left in a car with Anzures and friends.

The girlfriend told the officer and sheriff's deputies that she and Flores had been abducted outside the high school by four or five men.

She denied that Flores was with her at the gas station, saying it was just a woman she was talking to, Casner said.

When Anzures learned that Flores had been reported kidnapped and was sought by law enforcement, he took her to Gridley and abandoned her, Casner said.

A Gridley police officer received a report Wednesday afternoon of a girl who appeared to be disoriented and found Flores walking down an alley.

Casner said Anzures told officers he had received phone calls and messages from Flores but denied being with her.

The Glenn County Sheriff's Department is now handling the case.

Casner said it has not been determined whether either of the girls will be cited or charged in the case.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Previous coverage:

Sutter County teen wasn't abducted; she's back home now - April 15, 2010

Sutter County authorities searching for missing teen - April 14, 2010

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

A fire that broke out in a trailer just before midnight today sent a Sacramento man to the hospital with critical injuries, fire department officials reported.

Sacramento Fire Department and Sacramento Metro Fire crews arrived and rescued the man, who has not been identified, from a 28-foot travel trailer in a trailer park in the 8500 block of Folsom Boulevard.

A neighbor tried to control the blaze with a garden hose before firefighters arrived, said Sacramento Fire Department Capt. Jim Doucette. Nevertheless, there was heavy fire at the front of the trailer.

The victim was found unconscious in the back of the trailer, suffering from burns and smoke inhalation.

Cause and origin of the fire are under investigation, but it is believed to have been accidental.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1987.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

A single-car accident early this morning killed Jeremy Bryson, 25, of Oroville, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The accident occurred about 2 a.m. along the Oroville-Quincy Highway, just west of State Route 162.

Investigators say a 1999 Honda Accord driven by Zachary Johnson, 24, of Oroville, was eastbound on the highway when it veered sharply and went into a high-speed skid.

The car's wheels hit a curb, causing it to launch into the air, flip and shear off a power pole. Bryson, who was a passenger in the car, suffered fatal injuries.

Johnson was treated for moderate injuries and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and gross vehicular manslaughter involving a DUI. He was booked at Butte County Jail.

The road was closed temporarily to replace the power pole.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1987.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 23-year-old man was arrested Friday afternoon at a small market after a female employee he reportedly assaulted locked him in the store, Sacramento Police Department officials reported.

The suspect, later identified as Travis Bryant (left photo), 23, entered the store in the 6200 block of Fruitridge Road about 2 p.m. and demanded money, said Sgt. Norm Leong. The clerk told police that Bryant began assaulting her, but she escaped and locked the store's door.

Leong said Bryant is a suspect in a robbery of the same store on Sunday in which another employee, the female employee's husband, was assaulted.

Bryant was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of two counts of robbery, Leong said. He is being held on $120,000 bail.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Citrus Heights man has been arrested on suspicion of possessing child pornography.

Citrus Heights police reported that William Mitchell, 45, was arrested Thursday following an investigation into alleged activities involving a minor.

Mitchell in being held in Sacramento County Jail on $50,000 bail. In addition to possessing child pornography, he is accused of displaying harmful/obscene matter to a child and annoying or molesting a child.

Anyone with information related to the arrest is asked to call the Citrus Heights Police Department's patrol watch commander at (916) 727-5500, or the anonymous tip line at (916) 727-5524.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A distracted driver who struck and killed a bicyclist in Roseville in 2008 will serve 480 hours of community service at a hospital or health-care facility.

Placer Superior Court Judge John L. Cosgrove took the suggestion of the deceased man's best friend in imposing the sentence of community service instead of a jail term.

Juan Carlos Gomez, 23, of Yuba City struck and killed 48-year-old bicyclist Cory Peck in the early morning hours of Oct. 2, 2008, after becoming distracted while driving his pickup on Blue Oaks Boulevard.

Peck's friend Jeff Bayer urged the judge to order the community service work, arguing that a jail term would serve no purpose, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office news release.

Bayer suggested requiring Gomez to perform community service in a veterans' hospital or convalescent hospital, where he might be able to assist accident victims.

Prosecutor Kate Scarborough of District Attorney's Office said the accident occurred between 4 and 4:30 a.m. She said Gomez became distracted as he drove, looked down for a moment and drifted off the road, striking Peck. Gomez immediately stopped the truck and called 911.

On Feb. 26, Gomez pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of up to one year in county jail.

Judge Cosgrove, who had been prepared to impose a 60-day jail sentence recommended by the county Probation Department, said he liked Bayer's suggestion and ordered the community service instead.

Following the sentencing, the news release says, a tearful Gomez and Peck's friends exchanged hugs and wished each other well.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Anna Tong
atong@sacbee.com

Police have arrested a man for robbing an Elk Grove Wendy's fast food restaurant Friday morning.

At around 9:30 a.m., an armed male suspect entered the Wendy's on the 9100 block of Harbour Point Drive, and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. He was last seen leaving the restaurant, wearing a black mask, blue sweatshirt and black pants. He was carrying a handgun.

Officers searching the area found George Henderson, 25, who appeared to match the suspect description and was carrying a loaded gun. Witnesses from Wendy's confirmed that Henderson was the robbery suspect. Police arrested Henderson on robbery and weapons charges and transported him to Sacramento County Main Jail.

Call The Bee's Anna Tong, (916) 321-1045.

By Anna Tong
atong@sacbee.com

A man suspected of killing a male prostitute in 2004 near Broadway has been arrested.

Today's arrest of Ignacio Bulahan (left), 34, of Sacramento follows a witness coming forward in 2009. Sacramento police arrested Bulahan at his home on the 3500 block of First Avenue.

Police found the body of Thyotis Jackson, 22, in May 2004. The man, dressed as a woman, had been working as a prostitute when he fought with an unidentified person before being stabbed, having his throat cut and being left face down near First Avenue and Broadway, police said.

After reopening the case, police used forensic evidence to identify Bulahan as their suspect. Though police say they believe he murdered Jackson, they don't have a motive for the killing.

Call The Bee's Anna Tong, (916) 321-1045.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A man who helped steal, torture and kill in a violent Foothill Farms incident two years ago has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Daniel James Norman, 44, was sent away by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Steve White for the April 20, 2008, killing of Wilbur Reynolds, 76, in the victim's Foothill Farms home.

A jury convicted Norman on March 13.

The man Norman helped, David Kenneth Hamilton, 39, was shot and killed while running from police the day Reynolds was killed. Police and prosecutors say Hamilton beat Reynolds for six hours and then set his home on fire while the victim was tied to a chair.

Authorities said Hamilton was mad because Reynolds reported him to police for abusing a woman.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A 23-year-old woman was seriously injured early this morning during a gathering on a south Sacramento street, but police still don't know what happened to land her in the hospital.

The woman was part of a large crowd socializing in a parking lot about 1:30 a.m. across from a bar at Stockton Boulevard and Fowler Avenue.

Sacramento police said the gathering was a "sideshow," a street party where participants typically play loud music and drive wildly in their cars, sometimes in circles.

A police officer driving by was hailed by a woman who who said another woman was injured and trapped under a vehicle.

The woman could have been hurt in one of three ways, police say: when she fell after riding on the outside of a car; leaned out of a car and fell; or was struck by a reckless driver.

Witnesses gave conflicting statements, police said, and an investigation continues.

No arrests have been made.

"We get sideshows occasionally when bars close," said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. "We don't get them to the extent other jurisdictions do."

Leong said that exits to the parking lot were blocked and people were partying inside the lot's perimeter, Leong said.

"Cars were doing circles, and people were hanging out of their cars," he said. "It was that kind of environment."

Sideshows are isolated incidents in Sacramento, but they are more common in Oakland -- and have been deadly. The city has been called the United States' sideshow capital.

Three people died in a sideshow car crash there on Oct. 17. News reports indicated that a car loaded with five people hit two parked cars, flipped and struck a pedestrian.

Three occupants of the car, including the driver, were killed.

Oakland police have attempted to crack down on the urban street-driving exhibitions where crowds gather to see cars doing "donuts" as smoke rises from tires.

Oakland police did not return a call for comment.

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

By Bee staff

An Auburn man was arrested today after Placer High School officials reported that he was in the campus parking lot with two firearms, Auburn Police Department officials report.

Brett Stephen Miller, 18, not a student at the school, was arrested without incident in the 9000 block of Indian Hill road -- just outside the city limits -- shortly after the incident was reported about 11:50 a.m, according to a department news release.

Miller was booked at the Placer County Jail on suspicion of possession of a firearm on school grounds. Miller's bail is set at $50,000, officials said.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Rancho Cordova couple have been arrested after reportedly leaving an infant in a car for 2 1/2 hours while they gambled at Thunder Valley Casino.

A casino security guard was credited with saving the 7-week-old child from potential harm Tuesday night. The temperature in the parking garage was recorded at 54 degrees, and the baby was dressed in a one-piece, sleeveless cotton garment, according to a Placer County Sheriff's Department news release.

Thuan Nguyen (top left photo) and Panfila Pho Phan (right photo), both 27, were arrested on suspicion of willful child endangerment as they returned to the car about 8 p.m.

The security guard was on a bicycle patrol on the parking garage's third floor when he noticed a car parked off to the side, about 100 yards from other vehicles. Inside, he saw a baby's car seat covered with a blanket. When the security guard pushed on the car to make it move, he saw what he believed to be a baby's hand moving and immediately called the Sheriff's Department.

Concerned about the infant's welfare, the guard pried open the front door enough to reach inside and unlock the door, the news release said.

The child was checked by casino medical personnel and taken to the security office before being turned over to the Placer County Children's System of Care.

As deputies were attempting to locate the car's driver, Nguyen and Phan returned to the vehicle and were arrested. Phan first told deputies that they had been in the casino for only a few minutes to use the restroom, but she changed her story when told that they were seen earlier on surveillance systems inside the casino.

Both Nguyen and Phan remain in jail on $50,000 bail each. They are to be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson said today he has overwhelming evidence to convict accused kidnapper and rapist Phillip Garrido, and that he believes there is evidence to show Nancy Garrido might have been under her husband's control.

"We believe it does exist," Pierson said during a 50-minute hearing in Placerville.

Pierson said the mere existence of the two daughters that kidnap victim Jaycee Lee Dugard had while in Garrido's captivity for 18 years "is incriminating."

"This is a case that we can prove without any difficulty as to Mr. Garrido," Pierson said.

Phillip Garrido's attorney, Susan Gellman, brushed off Pierson's assertions, saying outside of court "he was voicing his own assessments."

Nancy Garrido's attorney, Stephen Tapson, said he hopes to use the idea that she was under her husband's control as part of his defense.

"True love is a defense, and I'm trying to fit it into the penal code," Tapson said outside of court.

Much of today's court appearance centered on the district attorney's efforts to win an order that would prevent the defense from contacting Dugard or her children.

Gellman argued that such an order is unnecessary because Dugard already has made it plain that she doesn't want to talk to the defense.

El Dorado Superior Court Judge Douglas J. Phimister agreed that the defense attorneys can contact the attorney for Dugard and her two children but that the Garridos can have no personal or written contact with them at all.

Phimister set a preliminary hearing for Oct. 7.

He also agreed in an earlier closed session this morning to allow the Garridos to speak with each other by phone in the jail twice in the next two months. Each of the calls is limited to five minutes, and the Garridos already have spoken during two previously authorized five-minute calls.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

The murder trial of former Sacramento County sheriff's deputy Chu Vue has been delayed until May 7, because the prosecutor has another murder trial scheduled ahead of it.

Superior Court Judge Steve White today agreed to the delay to accommodate Deputy District Attorney Eric Kindall who is slated to work a three-defendant trial scheduled to begin Monday.

Vue's trial had been scheduled for March 30. He is accused of arranging the killing of state correctional officer Steve Lo. Police and prosecutors say Vue had Lo killed because the correctional officer was having an affair with the former deputy's wife.

Vue will stand trial in the case with co-defendant Lang Vue, who is no relation. Lang Vue is accused of aiding and abetting the Lo killing by renting motel rooms and buying a car for Chu Vue's two younger brothers, who are accused of actually carrying out the slaying.

White today officially severed the murder trial of the younger brothers, Gary Vue and Chong Vue. Their court proceedings in Sacramento had been delayed because of charges they faced in a separate murder in Minnesota. Both have since been convicted and transported to Sacramento.

Gary Vue and Chong Vue are scheduled to return to court Friday for a readiness conference for their separate trial.

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

Previous coverage:

Sacramento judge reschedules ex-cop's murder trial - Jan. 7, 2010

Suspect in California prison guard's killing is convicted of Minnesota murder - Dec. 12, 2009

Death penalty ruled out in ex-Sacramento deputy's murder trial - Nov. 21, 2009

Fired Sacramento County sheriff's deputy to face murder trial - Sept. 24, 2009

Elaborate scheme to kill correctional officer, judge told - Sept. 23, 2009

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Two men were arrested this morning in Woodland after several people reported gunshots at an apartment house.

Angel Morales, 21, and Oscar Loza, 21, were both arrested on suspicion of grossly negligent discharge of a firearm, a felony.

Woodland police were called to the Monterrey Apartments, 280 West Court St., when residents reported the gunfire at about 2:30 a.m. Police determined that the gunfire was coming from the southwest end of the complex.

Police surrounded the apartment house, and the occupants of one apartment were ordered to come out with their hands up.

Morales and Loza were taken into custody and a search turned up a handgun, police said.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The roadway is now open where the spill of a gallon jug of swimming pool acid that possibly fell out of a truck earlier caused traffic to detour in Sacramento County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The spill closed a portion of Vineyard Road just north of Calvine Road near the community of Sheldon for about an hour.

A fire department hazardous material team was called to the scene to clean up the spill that was reported at 6:30 a.m.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Roseville man who had been operating an ice-cream vendor truck near a middle school has been arrested on suspicion of violating a law related to his status as a registered sex offender.

John Carl Alderson, 62, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon by Roseville police detectives and Placer County sheriff's deputies. State law prohibits registered sex offenders from working or volunteering in a job that involves significant contact with children under the age of 16 in an unaccompanied setting, according to a Roseville Police Department news release.

On Wednesday, investigators received a tip that Alderson had been driving an ice-cream truck near Olympus Junior High School. They also learned that he had been operating the truck for about three weeks.

Police arrested Alderson on suspicion of violating registered sex offender requirements, a misdemeanor. He was booked into the Roseville City Jail, but because the offense is classified as a misdemeanor, he was released on a citation to appear in court, the news release says.

Alderson had not applied to the Roseville Police Department for a permit to operate the ice-cream vendor truck, police said. The city requires such permits so that the Police Department can investigate the criminal history and driving record of applicants, according to the news release. Anyone convicted of a sex offense involving children would be ineligible for a permit.

Investigators have not received any information that Alderson touched or spoke inappropriately with children, or that he violated any law other than operating the ice-cream truck. Anyone with additional information may call the Roseville Investigations Unit at (916) 774-5070.

Alderson was originally required to register as a sex offender because of his conviction for a misdemeanor offense of annoying or molesting children. Although his sex registrant status was known to law enforcement, he was not required to be listed on the state's public Megan's Law Web site. Police noted that sex offenders can petition the court to be excluded from the Web site under certain circumstances, such as a misdemeanor conviction.

Police said they are disclosing Alderson's status now because of his attempt to operate an ice-cream vendor business, and to allow members of the public to protect themselves and their children.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Kim Minugh and Chelsea Phua
kiminugh@sacbee.com

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified the male victim in Monday's drive-by shooting as 27-year-old Stefon Mayers.

Earlier, family members and friends had publicly confirmed the victim to be Stefon Mayers, Jr., but the coroner's office had not made an official identification until Wednesday.

The other victim in the shooting, which took place on Howe Avenue south of Marconi Avenue, was 18-year-old Jazzmyne Bruner.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Bruner's family has set up a memorial account at: Jazzmyne Sharnae Bruner Memorial Account, Wells Fargo Bank, 121 Park Ave. Center Plaza, San Jose, CA, 95113. The account no. is 8379238887 and the phone number is (408) 277-6535.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Previous coverage:

Motive unclear in Sacramento County drive-by killings - April 14, 2010

Two dead in midday drive-by shooting on Howe Avenue - April 13, 2010

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Florida man has been arrested on suspicion of three federal crimes related to the disappearance of a 14-year-old Bakersfield girl who was found Tuesday in Sacramento.

David Charles Zastrow, 51, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., is accused of traveling across state lines with the intent to engage in elicit sexual conduct, enticing a minor and kidnapping, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. Zastrow's son, Christopher Zastrow, 21, also was arrested and booked into Sacramento County Jail accused of child concealment.

The complaint affidavit alleges that David Zastrow befriended the victim's family and shared an apartment with the girl and her mother in Florida. The alleged victim and her mother moved to Bakersfield in February. Shortly thereafter, David and Christopher Zastrow put their belongings in storage and arranged to take the girl from her mother in Bakersfield, according to the news release. Officials said the plan included smuggling a cell phone to the girl so she could have unlimited communication with David Zastrow.

On March 17, the girl disappeared from her Bakersfield home and was found at a hotel in the Sacramento area late Tuesday, the news release says. She is now in the care of Child Protective Services, and is being interviewed and evaluated.

Tuesday's arrests followed an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the FBI's Violent Crime Squad and Task, Force, with assistance from the Kern County Sheriff's Office, Sacramento Police Department and the Lee County Sheriff's Office in Florida.

If convicted, David Zastrow faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for crossing state lines with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, according to the news release. Enticing a minor carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and maximum of life with a fine of up to $250,00, and kidnapping has a potential life sentence and fine of up to $250,000.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A man was shot in his buttocks today during a dispute in a home in Rio Linda.

A sheriff's spokesman said two men argued at a home in the 700 block of Dabney Avenue around 11 a.m.

A 20-year-old man shot another young man, age 22, in the buttocks. The victim, who was not cooperative with deputies, suffered a non life-threatening wound and was taken to the hospital.

The suspect fled and deputies were searching for him.

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

By Barbara Barte Osborne
Bee correspondent

NEVADA CITY -- A Grass Valley man, Louis Riley James, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of homicide in connection with the death of Kenneth William Painter of Nevada City.

James, 35, had been under surveillance as a "person of interest" in the case and was arrested in a traffic stop shortly after he was seen leaving his home, according to a news release from Sheriff Keith Royal.

A search of the home resulted in evidence, including a large quantity of marijuana and a handgun, implicating James' involvement in the homicide, as did statements obtained during the investigation, the release said.

"Based upon information developed, it appears Mr. Painter's death was the result of a marijuana transaction gone bad," Royal said in the release.

Painter, 53, was reported missing April 7. His vehicle, with evidence officers said indicated foul play, was discovered April 8 and a search team found his body in a remote area of Nevada City April 9.

James is being held without bail at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility in Nevada City pending arraignment.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

A football jersey signed by Tedy Bruschi was stolen from Roseville High School's weight room over the weekend, according to the Roseville Police Department.

The New England Patriots jersey, signed by the Roseville High School graduate, was the only item stolen, according to the police. The theft took place between 11 p.m. Friday, April 9 and 5:30 a.m. Monday, April 12. Bruschi played at Roseville in 1989-90 before eventually playing 13 years for the Patriots, earning three Super Bowl rings.

Authorities are looking for help recovering the jersey and arresting those involved. Anyone with any information about this burglary is asked to call Roseville Crime Stoppers at 916-783-STOP (783-7867). Callers may be eligible for a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.

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

By Bill Lindelof and Kim Minugh

blindelof@sacbee.com　

Sacramento police have identified the officer stabbed in the leg during a struggle with a suspect this morning as 31-year-old Thomas "T.J." Price.

Price suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries after he was stabbed in the leg with a large kitchen knife, said police spokesman Officer Konrad von Schoech. Price is expected to be released from the hospital this afternoon.

Police have identified the 61-year-old suspect as Ervin Berkley Brown. He was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail this afternoon on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and a misdemeanor charge of evading police, according to booking records.

Brown is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The incident began about 9 a.m., when a motorcycle officer pulled over a man in a sports utility vehicle for driving without wearing a seatbelt.

Von Schoech said the man got out of the SUV and was "very confrontational and angry" with the officer. He then got back into his vehicle and drove away.

The motorcycle officer followed and called for backup. He and another officer followed the man to a home in the 3500 block of 44th Street, von Schoech said. The man ran inside and slammed the door.

The officers knocked on the door and, when a woman answered, saw the man inside. They attempted to take the man into custody, but the man began fighting violently with them, von Schoech said.

The man pulled out a large kitchen knife and stabbed one of the officers in the thigh, von Schoech said. One officer deployed a Taser on the man, but it was not effective, the spokesman said.

A third officer arrived and joined in the struggle. Another officer deployed a Taser, again without effect, von Schoech said.

Eventually the officers were able to subdue and arrest the suspect. Officer Price, who has been with the department five years, was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center for treatment.

Von Schoech said police have recovered the knife used in the attack.

Outside the police tape that surrounded the scene this morning, Brown's stepdaughter, Latasha Windham-Orebaugh, said she was shocked by the events.

She said her stepfather is a deacon at a local church and is not a violent man.

"I'm sorry this has happened," said Windham-Orebaugh, 39.

She did say that her stepfather harbored a grudge against the Police Department after he was arrested in 2000 for public intoxication. He alleged that he was beaten at the Sacramento County Main Jail, but the police chief at the time, Arturo Venegas Jr., and then-Sheriff Lou Blanas released videos of the booking progress that show Brown was injured after he fell and hit his face, according to Bee reports at the time.

Officer TJ Price

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

Photographs by Randy Pench / rpench@sacbee.com

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

California state Sen. Roy Ashburn entered a no-contest plea to drunken driving charges today in Sacramento Superior Court and was immediately sentenced to two days in jail and three years probation.

Ashburn, who was not present for the brief plea and sentencing hearing in front of Judge Russell L. Hom, received credit for one day in custody and will serve the remaining day on the sheriff's work project.

The Republican from Bakersfield also was fined $480 and received additional fee assessments amounting to $2,000.

Deputy District Attorney Robert Clancey said that Ashburn "received no less than anybody else" for a first-time drunken driving conviction.

Prosecutors said Ashburn's blood alcohol content tested at .14, nearly double the legal limit of .08.

Under the terms of his probation, Hom ordered Ashburn not to drive a vehicle with any measurable amounts of alcohol in his system, to obey all laws, to not refuse a chemical test, to not drive unless validly licensed and to attend a first-time DUI program. Clancey said the program will likely be for 30 days.

Ashburn also faces a 30-day suspension of his driver's license, pending a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing. His license also will be restricted for six months after that, allowing him only to drive to and from work.

"It's a tough hit to take, but given the public safety considerations, it's appropriate," Clancey said.

Ashburn, 55, was pulled over March 4 in downtown Sacramento when a police officer noticed his car weaving on L Street near 13th street around 2 o'clock in the morning.

The senator later admitted that he had been at Faces, the popular midtown gay bar. Ashburn later acknowledged that he was gay, despite opposing gay rights measures over the course of his 14-year career in the Legislature.

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

Previous coverage:

Sen. Roy Ashburn in firestorm over DUI arrest, sexual orientation - March 6, 2010

State senator arrested on DUI charge in Sacramento - March 4, 2010

By Cathy Locke and Bill Lindelof

clocke@sacbee.com

A 14-year-old Sutter County girl was back home with her mother Wednesday night after she was found in Gridley earlier in the day.

Elvia Flores was the subject of an Amber Alert and a widespread search in Sutter County after it was reported that she had been kidnapped Monday at Live Oak High School.

But based on interviews with Flores on Wednesday afternoon, "we don't feel there was any type of abduction," said Sutter County sheriff's Sgt. Glen Mercer.

Sheriff's officials reported that they received a call from the Gridley Police Department about 2 p.m. Wednesday advising them that a Gridley police officer had spotted Flores walking down an alley in the area of Oak Street and taken her into custody.

Mercer said Flores and a girl who reported that she and Flores were kidnapped from Live Oak High School on Monday apparently left the area of their own accord. He said it appears Flores left with the intention of visiting someone.

Flores was dropped off at the high school Monday by her mother. The other girl said that she and Flores had been abducted outside the high school by four or five men.

The girlfriend told deputies about the alleged abduction after the California Highway Patrol found her at a gas station in Orland.

Mercer said sheriff's investigators are still interviewing people and have several loose ends to tie up before deciding whether anyone will be charged with a crime.

Previous story:

Sutter County authorities searching for missing teen - April 14, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol was kept busy this morning in the Sacramento region, responding to two major accidents along Interstate 5.

In one accident, a motorist died when exiting the freeway, and in the other, two lanes of the interstate were shut down because of an overturned truck.

The fatal accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. when a car traveling northbound on Interstate 5 exited the freeway at West El Camino Avenue in the Natomas area. The car failed to handle a curve in the roadway and drifted off the exit ramp, hitting a tree.

One person died at the scene of the crash, according to the CHP. The exit was re-opened at 4:09 a.m.

Officers were also called to northbound I-5 near Sutterville Road in the Land Park area where a large truck carrying meat landed on its side after the driver lost control. The accident occurred about 3:45 a.m., closing the two fast lanes for about two hours.

The driver complained of pain and was taken to the hospital to be examined.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Aaron Norman Dunn was convicted today in Sacramento Superior Court of first-degree murder with special circumstances in a shooting spree that killed two people and wounded another man in Elk Grove four years ago.

Read the full story.

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

Previous coverage:

Jury deliberating fate of double-murder defendant Aaron Norman Dunn - April 13, 2010

Prosecutor, doctor spar over Elk Grove murder defendant's actions - April 8, 2010

Prosecutor eager to attack psychiatrist in Elk Grove shooting spree trial - April 7, 2010

Meth psychosis cited in killings; defendant's words cast doubt - April 6, 2010

Elk Grove cop testifies how she and partner stopped deadly rampage - March 17, 2010

Witnesses tell of lives shattered in deadly Elk Grove shooting spree - March 12, 2010

Prosecutor, defense attorneys agree suspect killed two people in Elk Grove - March 10, 2010

Elk Grove residents eligible for murder case jury - Dec. 11, 2009

Prosecutor's bid for Placer DA could stall trial for double killing - Dec. 2, 2009

Homicide suspect's lawyers don't want any Elk Grove jurors - Aug. 11, 2009

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Sacramento woman has pleaded guilty in federal district court to mail fraud and identity theft in a scheme to defraud Wells Fargo Bank customers.

Ronita Prasad, 28, entered the plea this morning before United States District Judge John A. Mendez, according to a federal Department of Justice news release. She was charged with eight counts of mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in the case which resulted from an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Wells Fargo Bank's internal security personnel.

From Dec. 15, 2008, to July 1, 2009, Prasad used her position as a telephone banker at Wells Fargo Bank to access customers' accounts without authorization, according to Michelle Rodriguez, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case. Prasad targeted accounts with high balances, and stole and misappropriated the funds for her own benefit, the news release said. She used customer records to open credit card accounts, obtained ATM cards, then obtained cash advances and made purchases. Through the scheme, she stole more than $76,103.

Officials say Prasad tried to conceal her theft by altering accounts and balances, making false entries on computer records and changing customer addresses.

Prasad faces a minimum sentence of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft and up to 30 years in prison for each mail fraud conviction. She is scheduled to be sentenced at 9:30 a.m. June 29.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

Previous coverage:

Hearing scheduled for Wells theft suspect - Aug. 18, 2009

Wells Fargo employee accused of fraud, theft - Aug. 15, 2009

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A gunman who shot and killed a man walking along a Rancho Cordova street nearly two years ago has been convicted of first-degree murder in Sacramento Superior Court.

The jury's verdict was returned Thursday against Victor Anthony Ortega, 20, for the May 28, 2008, shooting death of Marcus Mayes, 18.

Police and prosecutors said Ortega confronted Mayes on Viking Drive, then shot him dead after the two scuffled.

Ortega also was convicted of trying to kill a friend of Mayes.

The defendant's sentencing is scheduled for May 6 in front of Judge James L. Long.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Auburn police are searching for a man who robbed the U.S. Bank at 730 High St. about 11:55 a.m. today.

The robber was described as white, 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 155 to 160 pounds, according an Auburn Police Department news release. The man was said to be unshaven with graying hair, and wearing a black "beanie" hat, dark shirt and wire-rim glasses. He may have left the area in a newer model green Honda.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Auburn Police Department at (530) 823-4234.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

The state commission that deals with judicial discipline has scheduled its formal inquiry into Placer County Superior Court Judge Joseph O'Flaherty for April 27.

The State Commission of Judicial Performance inquiry will look into whether O'Flaherty - who was previously disciplined in 2004 -- abused his authority in a December 2008 small claims proceeding.

On Dec. 8, 2008, O'Flaherty ruled in favor of Golden One Credit Union in a small claims matter between the bank and Scott Herold.

After the ruling against Herold, according to a commission record of the events, the credit union staff members said they were afraid Herold might come after them. In response, O'Flaherty called Herold back into the courtroom and instructed him to not go near the bank employees or their branch.

In 2004, O'Flaherty was publicly admonished for giving prospective jurors permission to lie to get out of jury duty if they didn't want to publicly admit they had racial biases.

The April 27 public hearing is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the Third District Court of Appeal at 621 Capitol Mall, Sacramento.

The trial-like hearing will be heard by a group of special masters appointed by the state Supreme Court. The special masters are: Hon. Stephen J. Kane, Court of Appeal, Fifth Appellate District; Hon. Larry W. Allen, Superior Court of San Bernardino County; and Hon. Allan D. Hardcastle, Superior Court of Sonoma County.

Commission Trial Counsel Andrew Blum has been designated as the examiner and will present evidence against O'Flaherty. The judge is represented by attorney James A. Murphy, of Murphy, Pearson, Bradley and Feeney in San Francisco, California.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Solano County coroner's officials have released the identity of the man killed in a fiery crash on April 2.

The man was identified as Charles Edward Shelburn, 21, of Fairfield.

His car swerved off a road south of Winters near the Yolo-Solano county line, hit a tree and caught on fire.

By the time authorities arrived about 7 a.m., the car had completely burned and the driver inside was charred beyond recognition, the California Highway Patrol said.

There were no witnesses, so it was unclear what time the car skidded off the road and into a walnut orchard along Winters Road south of Putah Creek Road.

The car skidded 60 feet into the grove before hitting the tree.

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

By Denny Walsh and Sam Stanton
dwalsh@sacbee.com

Despite claims that indicted tomato executive Frederick Scott Salyer is wasting away in jail and should be released to prepare a proper defense, a federal judge today again refused to release him without bail backed by a currently encumbered Pebble Reach residence.

A short-tempered U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton refused to hear new arguments on the matter and set the next hearing for two weeks from now.

Salyer's attorney, Malcolm Segal, told the judge he cannot mount an adequate defense in the complex racketeering, bribery and conspiracy case as long as Salyer jailed, and indicated he would press to go to trial as soon as possible and defend the case "ineffectively," a signal that Segal may be building in an appeal if Salyer is convicted.

Salyer, 54, is in the Sacramento County Jail and has been trying to raise the bail amounts Karlton ordered to ensure he would not flee the country.

He has surrendered his passport and pilot's license, put up $300,000 in cash, offered property owned by friends with $500,000 equity, and has offered to put up the $7 million Pebble Beach home his daughters own.

However, his release was snagged on the fact that Salyer's ex-wife has a legal claim against that property -- called a lis pendens -- and proceedings to lift it are stalled in Superior Court in Monterey.

Segal has claimed that Salyer is suffering medical problems from diabetes that has flared since he was jailed.

"The defendant, a man of modest size, has lost approximately 15-17 pounds in jail in just a couple of months," Segal wrote in court papers, adding that Salyer had to be examined by a doctor because of one episode where his heart rate and blood pressure shot up.

But federal prosecutors say Salyer will flee if released and filed papers reflecting angry telephone conversations Salyer had from the jail that were recorded by authorities.

"The defendant made a number of panicked, despondent calls on a jail telephone that he knew was monitored," the papers said.

In one call to a female friend, Salyer talked of wanting to have his daughter Stephanie convince his ex-wife, Lynne H. Salyer, to lift the lis pendens so he could get out of jail.

"Stephanie has a weapon, she's got that grandkid," Salyer said, according to the transcripts. That is an apparent reference to a grandson born just after his arrest in February.

Later, he called his other daughter, Caroline, and "indicated that he had no reason to live and was 'done,' " the court documents state.

He then told her that Caroline could pressure his ex-wife to help get him released.

"She can go to your mother and say turn over the (expletive) house," he said.

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

Previous coverage:

Judge in Sacramento rescinds tomato magnate's bail order - March 31, 2010

Defense says diabetes should get tomato exec out of Sacramento jail - March 25, 2010

Lawyer for tomato exec Salyer cites fraud case's complexity in urging bail - March 19, 2010

Indicted tomato businessman again seeks release on bail - March 17, 2010

Tomato king sees his empire crumble - March 14, 2010

Key players in the Salyer case - March 14, 2010

Food executive Salyer denied bail in Sacramento federal court - March 4, 2010

SK Foods magnate Salyer hears charges in racketeering case - Feb. 27, 2010

Arrested tomato magnate to appear in Sacramento court - Feb. 26, 2010

SK Foods magnate Salyer indicted on racketeering charges - Feb. 19, 2010

Judge orders SK Foods magnate sent to capital - Feb. 6, 2010

FBI arrests SK Foods owner on fraud charges - Feb. 5, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police Monday arrested a man they suspect tried to take a cell phone photo of woman using a downtown mall's restroom.

Police reports indicate that Calvin Paul Harjo (left), 26, is suspected of taking photos over the top of a Downtown Plaza restroom stall.

At least one woman noticed a man taking the pictures about 6:30 p.m. Three women then tried to pin the man outside the restroom and called for help, police said.

Nearby mall security officers responded and detained him until Sacramento police could arrive. Police said it is unclear how many women had their picture taken.

Harjo was booked on suspicion of resisting arrest, battery and photographing or videotaping an undressed person in a private room.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a man for breaking windows in a relative's home in the Fruitridge area and then facing off against officers.

The brother-in-law of Issac Monroe, 27, called police Tuesday night, reporting that Monroe was breaking out the windows on his vehicles and his home in the 5600 block of 59th St.

Officers responded to the home but Monroe was not there by the time they arrived. Monroe did return during the investigation and proceeded to break more windows.

The officers then confronted Monroe, who squared off against them and appeared to be under the influence of drugs. He was eventually taken into custody.

Monroe was booked into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of burglary, vandalism, resisting police and violation of probation.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

An Amber Alert has been issued by the California Highway Patrol for a missing 14-year-old Sutter County girl.

Elvia Flores (photo left) was last seen when she was dropped off at school Monday in Live Oak, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

She was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and white shoes.

Authorities believe that four or five male suspects may have something to do with her disappearance.

One suspect was seen wearing a black T-shirt and a black hat with orange or red letters spelling "Nor-Cal." No other descriptions were released.

The suspects could be traveling in a large brown four-door car. No license plate number was available.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of the girl, they are asked to call the Sutter County Sheriff's Department at (530) 822-7307.

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

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Police used videos from surveillance cameras in downtown Sacramento to identify a 25-year-old man suspected of killing a 68-year-old woman over the weekend.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong said police arrested Casey Brown (top left photo) in West Sacramento on Monday in connection with the murder of Bernice Nickson, whose family members said was a transient for several years.

Nickson appeared to have been stabbed in the neck when California Highway Patrol officers found her at about 4:15 a.m. Saturday lying on Eighth Street between Capitol Mall and N Street.

She was taken to UC Davis Medical Center where she later died from her injuries, police said.

Police detectives first studied Regional Transit surveillance cameras, which helped them determine a general description and initial direction of travel of the suspect. A witness had also told officers at the crime scene that he had found a knife a few blocks away.

K9 dogs from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team tracked the suspect's direction of travel to the Westfield Downtown Plaza, where surveillance cameras there showed a witness observing the suspect.

Police found the witness, who helped provide information for a composite sketch (at right).

A Sacramento police community service officer recognized the suspect from the sketch, having met the suspect a few months ago when the suspect's North Sacramento apartment was reportedly burglarized, Leong said.

Police said they have yet to determine a motive for the killing.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Marvin Chavelle Epps, 23, of Sacramento has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

The plea was entered today before Senior United States District Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr.

The case resulted from an extensive investigation by the FBI's Innocence Lost Task Force, composed of Sacramento Police Department detectives and FBI special agents targeting child prostitution in the greater Sacramento area, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

For approximately three weeks in October 2008, Epps acted as the pimp for a 16-year-old Solano County girl, using the Internet to solicit sex dates in a North Sacramento motel, according to assistant United States Attorney Laurel D. White, who is prosecuting the case.

The girl said in court documents that she originally met Epps in September 2008 on the social networking site MySpace. During the MySpace communications, Epps promoted himself as a pimp and encouraged the girl to come to Sacramento, where she could work for him, the news release said. He told her that he would pay for a bus or train ticket for her and claimed he had been involved in the prostitution business for almost six years.

Once the girl came to Sacramento, Epps began to post prostitution-related advertisements for her on a Web site that offers escort, massage, strip club and other sex-related services, according to the news release. The girl reported that Epps took sexually provocative photos of her and used them in the Internet ads. She told law enforcement officers that she gave Epps all the money she earned from her prostitution activity.

Epps is to be sentenced at 10 a.m. July 26. For sex trafficking of a minor, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to a maximum of life in prison, a potential fine of up to $250,000, a life term of supervised release and a order of restitution to his victim. Epps has agreed to forfeit the camera and computer he used in the sex trafficking activity, the news release said.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man wearing a fedora and a fake beard has robbed a Grass Valley bank for a second time in a spree that began four months ago.

The latest robbery occurred at 4:10 p.m. March 31 at the Bank of the West, 736 Taylorsville Road, in Grass Valley, according to an FBI news release.

The man is described as white, approximately 40 to 50 years old, with gray or salt-and-pepper gray hair. He is between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall and has a slim build.

As part of his disguise, the man wears a fedora-type hat and a fake goatee, leading law enforcement officials to nickname him the "fake-bearded fedora bandit." In each of the four robberies, he has displayed a handgun and typically used a black, eco-friendly type bag commonly found at supermarkets to carry away the loot. The bag has straps and unidentified green writing on it, according to the news release.

The spree, which has targeted Bank of the West branches, began that began Dec. 22 at the same Grass Valley bank that was robbed March 31. It continued with the Feb. 18 robbery (top right photo) of the Bank of the West at 2160 Lake Tahoe Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe and the March 8 robbery of the Bank of the West, 200 Bear St. in Kings Beach.

In each robbery, the man approached the teller counter and demanded money. In at least one instance, he attempted to disguise his voice by speaking with clenched teeth. As he approached the teller counter during the March 31 robbery, he told the teller, "Here we go again," the news release said.

According to witness descriptions and surveillance photos, the man wore a light-colored parka or rain jacket that has hood with dark-colored trim, and a light-colored mock turtle-neck shirt, black pants, black shoes and black sunglasses. In two of the robberies he wore black gloves.

The robberies are being investigated by the Grass Valley and South Lake Tahoe police departments, the Placer County Sheriff's Department and the FBI.

Anyone with information regarding the latest robbery is asked to contact the FBI in Sacramento at (916) 481-9110, the Grass Valley Police Department at (530) 477-4600, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department at (530) 542-6100, or the Placer County Sheriff's Department at (530) 581-6330.

A reward of up to $2,500 has been offered by Bank of the West for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the robberies.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Sacramento County sheriff's officials described as "brazen" a midday shooting Monday that killed a man and a woman, whose car then crashed into the yard of a house along a well-traveled thoroughfare.

Curious onlookers stood in the rain at the edges of yellow crime scene tapes surrounding Howe Avenue near Bluebird Lane, as sheriff's investigators worked to determine what prompted the drive-by shooting.

Witnesses reported the gunfire and crash at about 2:40 p.m., less than two hours before the end of a school day for a daycare center across the street from the crime scene.

"We heard a little pop, pop, and at first I thought it was a flat tire," said Celia Ramos, a teacher at Only Love Children's Center. The daycare facility on Howe Avenue at Tallac Street caters to infants, toddlers, pre-school and school-age children, according to its Web site.

Ramos said about two dozen 4- to 5-year-olds were inside the facility when they heard the gunshots. Teachers moved the children to the back rooms, but no one was in a panic, Ramos said. The children were excited when they heard the sirens and wanted to see the fire engines, Ramos said.

Staff also informed parents to pick up their children early.

Solomon Welsh, who came to pick up his 4-year-old son, said parents were asked to enter the school from its rear, away from the crime scene.

He described feeling alarmed and bothered when he learned about the shooting.

Witnesses told authorities that two cars - one a green BMW coupe - were southbound on Howe Avenue, with one car behind the other, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said.

Somewhere near Red Robin Lane, the car behind pulled alongside the coupe, which was traveling in the right lane. Someone from inside the car on the left lane then fired multiple shots into the coupe, striking its male driver several times in the chest and the woman passenger at least once in her head.

The coupe careened off the road and into the yard of a house on the northwest corner of Howe Avenue and Bluebird Lane, tearing off its wrought iron and brick fence and coming to a stop in front of a tree.

Owners of the house were not at home at that time, sheriff's officials said.

Curran said the driver stepped out of the coupe, but collapsed next to car where paramedics found him on the ground. The woman remained inside the car, and was slumped over in the front passenger seat, Curran said.

Paramedics pronounced both of them dead at the scene.

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

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

A woman stabbed to death in downtown Sacramento has been identified as Bernice Nickson, a 64-year-old who lived as a transient for several years, family members said Sunday.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office had not completed an autopsy and was not releasing her identity Sunday, but family members said they had been told by authorities that Nickson was the victim of the attack.

Jeannette Plowden said her sister had three grown children.

She was discovered at 4:29 a.m. Saturday lying on Eighth Street between Capitol Mall and N Street. Police said she appeared to have been stabbed in the neck.

Police have no suspects or motive.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol is asking for help in investigating a fatal accident last week in El Dorado County.

Bruce Michael Bone, 41, of Orangevale, died April 7 in a head-on collision with a wrong-way driver on Highway 50. Bone died at the scene of the 11 p.m. collision on westbound Highway 50 west of Red Hawk Parkway.

The CHP said that Theresa Ghersanich, 55, of Placerville, was driving her sport-utility vehicle eastbound in the westbound lanes when she collided with a car driven by Bone.

Ghersanich suffered major injuries and was taken by helicopter to a hospital.

She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, the CHP said.

The CHP is looking for witnesses to the accident. Anyone with information is asked to call the Placerville CHP office at (530) 622-1110.

Investigators are putting together a complete picture of what happened before the collision, including where Ghersanich entered the freeway.

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

Previous coverage:

Sacto 9-1-1: Victim named in wrong-way collision on Highway 50 - April 8, 2010

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Woodland police are on the lookout for a foot-stomping purse snatcher.

Police said that a 17-year-old girl was walking on the sidewalk in the 100 block of California Street on Sunday afternoon when a man walking toward her stepped hard on her foot.

The man then grabbed the teen's purse, which included cash, and ran off. The girl was treated for a possible injury at Woodland Memorial Hospital, police said.

The suspect was described as a white man in his mid-20s, 5 feet, 10 inches tall, 200 pounds. He was wearing a black rain jacket with a hood and blue jeans.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Woodland Police Department at (530) 666-2411 or (530) 661-7800.

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

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Authorities say they have booked into jail two Sacramento gang members suspected of a drive-by shooting, firing a semi-automatic rifle at a CHP officer and injuring a 4-year-old child in a nearby vehicle.

They face multiple felony charges, including attempted murder, according to sheriff's spokesman, Sgt. Tim Curran.

The suspects fired at the California Highway Patrol officers on Highway 99 during a pursuit early today, Curran said. The child, a passenger in a minivan on the highway near Florin Road, had a minor injury from flying debris caused by a bullet, the Sheriff's Department said.

Paramedics treated the child at the scene after the 1:30 a.m. episode. The child was not hospitalized.

The case began a short time earlier when Sacramento County deputies responded to a report of a drive-by shooting at an apartment complex in the 6600 block of Sunnyslope Drive in south Sacramento.

No one at the complex was hit by gunfire.

A CHP officer also responded to the call and saw a vehicle matching the description of the car involved in the drive-by shooting. When the officer tried to stop the vehicle, the driver pulled into a mobile home park in the 7400 block of Stockton Boulevard, police said.

Sheriff's officials said the driver of the car refused to stop and the passenger fired what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle at the CHP officer.

The suspects then left the mobile home park and drove onto Highway 99, with the CHP officer in pursuit.

During the chase, the officer was fired at again, missing the pursuer but hitting the minivan carrying the child.

A short time later, officers from the Sacramento Police Department saw the vehicle in the parking lot of a motel on Massie Court. They also found 23-year-old Pedro Pantoja of Sacramento, who was armed with a handgun, authorities said. A semi-automatic rifle was found inside the vehicle.

Several other people were detained from a room at the motel. One suspect, Jesus Montano, 26, of Elk Grove, was identified as the driver, according to the sheriff's department.

Both men were arrested.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran described the men as validated gang members. They were being booked today in the Sacramento County main jail on multiple felony charges, including attempted murder.

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

By Niesha Lofing
nlofing@sacbee.com

A Twin Rivers police officer is being recommended for an award after performing CPR on a 72-year-old man at a fire scene.

Officer Dan Birch was on patrol at 5 p.m. Friday when he noticed a plume of smoke near Marconi Avenue and Connie Drive, according to a news release by the Twin Rivers Police Department.

Birch was the first unit on scene and called the fire department, then got out of his car and went towards the fire that was coming form the back of a tire shop and adjacent home.

The tire shop's owner, Manuel Mendoza, was trying to put out the fire with a garden hose and Birch began helping him. When Birch went to move his patrol car for the incoming fire trucks, the homeowner told him that someone was on the ground.

Birch came back and found Mendoza on the ground and unresponsive. He immediately started CPR and kept at it for three to four minutes until Sacramento City and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews arrived and began advanced life support treatment, the release states.

Mendoza's pulse was restored before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

Fire and medical crews said Mendoza likely would not have lived had Birch not been there.

Police Chief Christopher Breck said Birch's service went exceeded the department's expectations.

"I am honored and humbled to be associated with a hero," Breck said in a written statement.

Birch is being recommended for the department's Life Saving Medal Award.

Call The Bee's Niesha Lofing, (916) 321-1270.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are seeking the public's help locating a missing 97-year-old man.

Neng Vang is 5-feet, 2-inches tall and about 140 pounds. He speaks only Hmong and suffers from dementia. He left his home on Carnation Avenue in the Woodbine area Friday morning and did not return.

He was last seen wearing a blue jacket, black slacks and red shoes. He may be riding a black bicycle.

Vang has been reported missing before and subsequently was found in the area of El Dorado Hills, Folsom and Madison Avenue.

Anyone with knowledge of Vang's whereabouts or his movements is asked to contact Sacramento Police Department at (916) 264-5471.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1079.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Woodland police quickly ended a bizarre hostage situation today after a man broke into an apartment and held a 6-year-old boy captive while making apparently paranoid claims.

Anthony William Delong, 43, is accused of breaking a glass door and entering the apartment of Sarah Brett and her two sons at 6:30 a.m.

Brett awoke to find Delong in the apartment, bleeding from a cut on his hand. Delong was a stranger to Brett and does not live in that apartment building, police said.

Woodland police said Delong claimed people were trying to kill him and asked Brett to call the police, but he then went into the children's bedroom and held Brett's 6-year-old on the boy's bed.

Brett and her 9-year-old son fled and called police from a neighbor's home.

Police negotiated for about 10 minutes with Delong, who was not armed but was refusing to release the child. Negotiations ended with the release of the boy, who was unhurt.

Delong was treated at Woodland Memorial Hospital for his injuries and held at Yolo County Jail on suspicion of burglary, false imprisonment, felony child endangerment and additional misdemeanor charges. He is suspected of having been under the influence of drugs.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1079.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Coroner's officials have confirmed the identity of the woman who was killed Friday when her car collided with a light rail train in south Sacramento.

Mary Eva King, 44, of Sacramento died of her injuries after driving her Honda Accord around light-rail warning arms on 47th Avenue at about 10 a.m., according to security video and witness statements, police reported.

The force of the impact split the car in two. There were no other occupants of the vehicle.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1079.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Sacramento police are investigating a fatal stabbing in downtown Sacramento.

A woman, believed to be a transient in her 60s, was discovered by California Highway Patrol officers at 4:29 a.m. Saturday.

She was lying on Eighth Street between Capitol Mall and N Street and "appears to have been stabbed in the neck area," said Sgt. Norm Leong.

She was taken to a hospital and died. There are no suspect descriptions or known motive, Leong said.

Because she appears to have been a transient, it may be difficult to get a positive identification of the victim, a coroner's official said.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1079.

By Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

Kenneth Painter, a Nevada City resident reported missing Wednesday, was found dead with gunshot wounds, the Nevada County sheriff reported.

The search for Painter, 53, included the county's Major Crimes Unit. His car, bearing indications of foul play, was found Thursday outside Nevada City.

A Nevada County Search and Rescue dog located Painter's body at about 11 a.m. Friday in a remote area off Harmony Ridge Road near Cooper Road in Nevada City. The Department of Justice will process the scene for evidence.

Sheriff's officials have not indicated possible motives for the killing, who was last seen Monday.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1079.

By Chelsea Phua and Carlos Alcala
calcala@sacbee.com

A man who died after being pulled from his burning Watt Avenue home has been identified as Antonio M. Brunozzi.

Good Samaritans attempted to pull Brunozzi, 60, from his burning home on the 1400 block of Watt Avenue. He was taken to an area hospital with severe burns and succumbed.

The one-alarm fire was reported before 8 p.m., and neighbors tried to slow flames with a garden hose before firefighters arrived.

The neighbor used the hose to keep the fire at bay and tried to drag the victim out, yelling for help at the same time. Another man heard his cries and helped the neighbor pull the victim outside.

When firefighters arrived, they found the victim lying on the front porch and began treating him, officials said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and did not find anyone else inside the home.

Assistant Chief Brian Rice of the Metropolitan Fire District praised the men's actions as heroic, saying that they put their lives at risk to save the victim.

"Had these people not try to get him out, then that person would have perished absolutely," Rice said.

The neighbor was transported to hospital for moderate smoke inhalation, Rice said.

Fire officials said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Rice said the interior of the house was destroyed.

The cause has not been determined, Rice said. The fire, believed to have started accidentally, began in a bedroom, he said.

Call The Bee's Carlos Alcala, (916) 321-1079.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A 20-year-old Granite Bay man has been sentenced to nearly 40 years to life in state prison for a 2008 drive-by shooting in which a 16-year-old boy was wounded.

Justin Mathew Wittkop maintained that he did not fire the shots. But Placer Superior Court Judge Mark S. Curry agreed with a trial jury's Feb. 10 finding that Wittkop was guilty of attempted murder and other felony charges as well as enhancements involving the use of a handgun, according to a news release from the Placer County District Attorney's office.

In pronouncing the sentence, Curry noted that one teenager was wounded by two shots and another was forced to dive out of the way to avoid being hit by bullets.

Prosecutor Garen Horst of the District Attorney's Office said that Wittkop placed numerous people in danger Nov. 5, 2008, when he fired shots at the 16-year-old boy following a verbal confrontation between the boy and Wittkop's girlfriend earlier in the afternoon. In court, Horst said that although the victim recovered from wounds to the back and upper leg, he was traumatized by the shooting and was taken out of school by his family, as was the boy who dove out of the way.

Wittkop and his attorney, John Lyman of the Placer County Public Defender's office, told the court that the jury came to the wrong decision as to who fired the shots, implying that Kelsey Mariah Brace, Wittkop's girlfriend at the time, was the shooter, the news release says.

Brace, 18, who was in the car with Wittkop, was a co-defendant in the case. She pleaded no contest to two charges of assault with a firearm and was sentenced in October to three years in prison. She testified in Wittkop's trial.

Wittkop said he knew he risked a longer sentence by going to trial and not pleading to charges that might have resulted in a lesser sentence.

According to testimony during the trial, the boy was among a group of youths who walked in front of Brace's car as she was driving in a parking lot on Sierra College Boulevard near Douglas Boulevard. Brace got out of her car and argued with the boy before leaving.

After the youths dined at a fast-food restaurant, they were walking on a sidewalk along Sierra College Boulevard when a car drove up alongside and three shots were fired. The victim identified Brace as a passenger but said a male driver fired the shots.

Two shots struck the 16-year-old boy and a third went through an occupied dwelling, but did not strike anyone.

Judge Curry imposed a consecutive sentence of life in prison with possibility of parole for the attempted murder conviction, 25 years to life for an enhancement of discharging a firearm to cause great bodily injury and seven years for assault with a deadly weapon on the boy who dove out of the way.

Horst said Wittkop must serve at lease 37 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced a 32-year-old man to 50-years-to-life imprisonment today for killing his girlfriend's unborn baby by stabbing her in the stomach.

That's after Danny Ray Poplin Jr. serves 12 years for corporal injury and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with his Dec. 31, 2006 attack, Judge Greta Curtis Fall ruled.

In November, a jury found Poplin guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend's baby, which he suspected to have been that of another man. It wasn't until DNA tests returned before trial that he knew it was, in fact, his own. His girlfriend was about six months pregnant.

His girlfriend, 28-year-old Vanessa Roberts, survived the stabbing and was in court today to watch the sentencing.

The first-degree murder charge carried a sentence of 25 years to life, a term then doubled because of a prior "strike" conviction: In 1996, Poplin was pleaded guilty to a felony count of first-degree burglary.

At the request of Poplin's defense attorney - and with no objection from the prosecution - Fall also agreed to recommend that Poplin, who is deaf, be housed at a special needs facility run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Auburn police this afternoon arrested a man suspected of conducting a version of an after-school bake sale featuring marijuana-laced brownies.

Police went to School Park Reserve at 55 College Lane about 1 p.m. after being advised by Placer High School officials of students possibly smoking marijuana, according to a department news release.

During the investigation, Officer Ian Ackard contacted John William Brazel, 18, of Auburn, and subsequently arrested him for suspicion of possessing marijuana for sale. Police said Brazel was selling marijuana in leaf form and mixed in brownies. They said Brazel also appeared to be under the influence of marijuana.

He was booked into Placer County Jail.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Michael Patrick Leary, a former Elk Grove city councilman, has been dismissed from his job as a lieutenant with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Leary had been on administrative leave from the department since October, when he was arrested on suspicion of trying to defraud a former girlfriend through an elaborate real estate transaction.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran confirmed that Leary was dismissed Wednesday morning. Curran said he could not comment on the reasons for Leary's dismissal from the department.

Leary was a member of Elk Grove's first City Council and served eight years. He was defeated in a re-election bid in 2008.

Leary's trial is scheduled to begin May 4, according to online court records.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento deputy arrested on suspicion of real estate fraud - Oct. 3, 2009

By Barbara Barte Osborn
Bee Correspondent

The Nevada County Sheriff's Major Crime Unit has joined the investigation into the disappearance of a Nevada City man whose vehicle was located outside Nevada City April 8.

Kenneth William Painter, 53, was last seen at about 2 p.m. April 5, and he was reported missing to the Nevada City Police Department April 7.

Evidence found with the vehicle, which will be processed by criminalists from the U.S. Department of Justice, indicates foul play may be involved, Sheriff Keith Royal said in a news release.

Painter is white, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 205 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to call the Major Crimes Unit at (530) 265-1263, Royal said.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A 44-year-old woman died from injuries suffered this morning when a light rail train collided with her car in South Sacramento.

The vehicle was struck as it drove around the light rail warning arms, Sacramento police said.

The light rail train hit the Honda Accord at 47th Avenue at about 10 a.m., the force of the collision splitting the car in half.

Police said a review of security video and witness statements revealed that the woman was traveling eastbound on 47th Avenue and light rail crossing arms were down.

To get across the tracks, she crossed into the westbound lanes and went between the safety crossing arms. At that moment the light rail train struck her car.

There were not other occupants in her vehicle.

Light rail service was interrupted for south Sacramento trains.

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

By Bee Staff
Bee researcher Linda Beymer contributed to this report

The Christmas Day 1988 killer of a U.S. Marine on leave and a serial sex offender are among Sacramento area convicts who are scheduled for parole hearings next week.

Here are some of the Sacramento area inmates serving life sentences who are due hearings within the next week:

-April 15, Richard Andrew Garcia, 41, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison.

Garcia and Robert Lawrence Vincent, then 24, received life sentences for the drive-by fatal shooting of a Marine in front of a Citrus Heights convenience story on Christmas Day 1988, The Bee reported.

Anthony Alvarado, a 23-year-old vacationing Marine, died of a single gunshot wound to the head in the parking lot of a Food and Liquor Mart on Auburn Boulevard.

The shooting followed by about five minutes an altercation between one of Alvarado's Marine friends and the occupants of Vincent's car.

The car left but returned a few minutes later with Vincent at the wheel and Garcia in the passenger seat armed with a rifle.

Garcia admitted firing the fatal round, but he insisted he had meant only to fire over the victim's head.

-April 15, Daniel Dell Calvin, 61, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Calvin to life in prison on March 28, 1995 after Calvin pleaded guilty to one count of child molestation, court records show.

Details on the crime to which Calvin pleaded guilty were not available to The Bee.

The Bee's archives show Calvin was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 1983 for molesting two girls, ages 8 and 12.

He also was convicted of two Sacramento area rapes in 1970 and released from prison in 1977.

In 1969, Calvin was arrested for indecent exposure and annoying children. Court records available to The Bee don't go back that far.

-April 13, Darryl Wayne Schilling, 44, Pelican Bay State Prison.

Schilling received a life sentence in November 1993 for stabbing to death a Sacramento man to steal his antiques, The Bee reported.

A Sacramento County Superior Court jury, however, in a conflicting verdict, refused to return a finding that the murder was committed during the robbery. The so-called special circumstance would have meant an automatic life term without the possibility of parole.

Schilling told jurors the killing was done by his former roommates. The same two men, testifying as key prosecution witnesses, fingered Schilling as the killer.

The victim, Charles Baumia, 58, was stabbed and slashed 27 times in his Citrus Heights home on Oct. 17, 1990.

The prosecution argued Schilling stole antique clocks and pricey rugs from Baumia then cleansed the home of physical evidence.

-April 14, Timothy Demetrius Johnson, 41, Avenal State Prison.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Johnson to life in prison for the March 5, 1991 attempted murder of his girlfriend, who was left to die in a roadside ditch, The Bee reported.

Reginald Antonio Chavis, then 19, was the triggerman and also received a life sentence.

The 21-year-old victim's right arm was later amputated as a result of the shotgun attack.

The victim testified that she was on her way to Stockton with Johnson, and his friend, Chavis, after a botched effort to cash stolen money orders.

She testified that when she asked about the origin of the money orders, the men thought she was a police informant and forced her to undress as they searched for a recording device. After shooting Haines, the men kicked her into the ditch along a rural road near Franklin Boulevard and the Sacramento-San Joaquin county line.

If you want to give your opinion of an inmate's suitability for parole, you may mail a letter to:

Martin Hoshino, executive director

Board of Parole Hearings

1515 K Street

Sacramento, CA 95811

For more information on the Board of Parole Hearings, go to:

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Divisions_Boards/BOPH/

Q: What happened in the 1991 murder of a family in Land Park? - pd, Sacramento

A: The slayings remain unsolved of 33-year-old Mick Jacobs, his 31-year-old wife, Marcy, and their 9-year-old daughter, Jennifer, in their Land Park home on Jan. 15, 1990, court records and Bee reports indicate.

Each died of multiple gunshot wounds, The Bee reported.

Police speculated that the Jacobs may have known their attackers because there was no sign of forced entry. An empty safe found in the garage may have been what the assailants were looking for.

Q: Was the shooting death of Chateamer Hornes of Sacramento ever solved? - Concerned Sacramento

A: The slaying of Hornes, 27, is unsolved, court records and Bee reports indicate. He was fatally shot in front of a Meadowview area home on Sept. 3, 2003.

Hornes was shot several times just before 11 p.m., in the 7500 block of Eddylee Way, police said. He was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

An investigation indicated the shooting occurred during a confrontation between Hornes and another individual, police said.

Q: Was anyone arrested in the killing of Valentin Carrillo around 1996? - Jessie, Sacramento

A: The slaying of Valentin Cardenas Carrillo, 17, is unsolved, court records and Bee reports indicate.

His body was found Feb. 22, 1996 in the Snodgrass Slough along the Sacramento River, The Bee reported.

Sacramento County coroner's officials used fingerprints to identify the body. The victim, who was 17 at the time of his disappearance Feb. 2, died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head, officials said.

Officials said the body may have been in the water one to three weeks.

The teenager was last seen leaving a friend's home in the Valley Hi area.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A man was arrested at Sacramento International Airport after he was questioned about surreptitiously taking pictures of another man in a restroom stall.

Robert Alan Whirry (photo left), 49, was released from Sacramento County Jail on Thursday after being booked on charges of disorderly conduct.

A Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman said that a passenger in a men's restroom at the airport noticed the person in the adjacent stall reached underneath the wall between the stalls, and in his hand was a cell phone.

The passenger said he believed that the person in the adjacent stall was taking pictures of him. He left the restroom and spoke to Transportation Security Administration personnel, who notified sheriff's deputies.

The victim could only describe the cell phone photographer's footwear. While he was describing the incident to deputies, he noticed someone nearby with similar shoes.

A deputy approached Whirry, and he allowed the deputy to look at his cell phone. On the phone was enough photographic evidence to arrest Whirry for disorderly conduct, specifically, taking pictures of someone without permission.

Whirry was not arrested on suspicion of sexual offenses because the images on his cell phone were not of genitalia, a sheriff's department spokesman said.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Two Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies were sent to the hospital when their patrol car was rammed this morning by the driver of a stolen vehicle.

One of the deputies fired at the stolen vehicle but it does not appear the suspect was hit. He eluded arrest after an extensive search.

The deputies were sent to the hospital mostly as a precautionary measure after the air bags deployed when their car was rammed.

Sheriff's department spokesman Tim Curran said the incident began about 2:15 a.m. Two deputies in a squad car were checking license plates of cars during the normal course of their duties when a vehicle in North Highlands came back as stolen.

There was a brief pursuit of the car and then the suspect made an abrupt U-turn. The suspect drove directly at the patrol car, striking it head-on at Brock Drive and Thomas Drive, near the intersection of Watt Avenue and Elkhorn Boulevard.

The deputy driving the squad car got out of his police unit and fired a shot or two at the suspect's vehicle. The squad car was disabled, but the suspect's vehicle drove off.

The stolen vehicle was found abandoned a short distance away at Medora Drive and Superior Drive. Police from several agencies then surrounded the area and the California Highway Patrol helicopter assisted in the search for the suspect.

At one point a man was found within the search area that deputies initially suspected might be involved. The deputies, who were examined for injury at the hospital and brought back to the scene, could not identify the man as the suspect who rammed their squad car.

The man was not charged for anything to do with the stolen vehicle, but was booked on a charge of being drunk in public.

Eventually, the search was ended. The deputies were described as a 36-year-old, 12-year veteran and a 37-year-old, eight-year veteran.

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

By Bill Lindelof and Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Orangevale man killed Wednesday night in a head-on collision with a wrong-way driver on Highway 50 has been identified as Bruce Michael Bone, 41, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department.

Bone died at the scene of the 11 p.m. collision on westbound Highway 50 west of Red Hawk Parkway.

The California Highway Patrol said that Theresa Ghersanich, 55, of Placerville, was driving her sport-utility vehicle eastbound in the westbound lanes when she collided with a car driven by Bone.

Ghersanich suffered major injuries and was taken by helicopter to a hospital.

She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, the CHP said.

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

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a 24-year-old woman after she led officers on a 15-minute pursuit that reached speeds of 80 miles an hour, a police spokesman said.

The chase began this afternoon in Oak Park, when an officer ran the license plates of the car she was driving and realized it was stolen, said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The woman - later identified as Gina Miranda, a parolee at large - did not yield when the officer tried to pull her over, and instead fled, Leong said. She took officers on a chase into Land Park, up Land Park Drive and into midtown, he said.

Police laid down a tack strip to stop the car, but only one tire was damaged, Leong said. It slowed the car down, but the driver continued on.

Officers were preparing to use a "patrol intervention technique" when the driver stopped in the middle of the road in the area of V and 15th streets, Leong said. She ran into an apartment where she had friends and family, he said.

Police K9 "Buck" apprehended her. The K9 bit a man in the apartment, Leong said.

The man will not be arrested, Leong said.

Miranda was arrested and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of evading police, car theft, receiving stolen property, possession of a controlled substance and resisting police, according to booking records. She also is being held on a parole violation charge, which makes her ineligible for bail.

At one point during the pursuit, a patrol car received minor damage when it went up on a small embankment, but nobody was injured, Leong said.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

As a would-be bank robber waited for his loot in the vault of a U.S. Bank on Florin Road this morning, the sheriff came a-knockin', according to authorities.

Four minutes after an employee called 911 to report a robbery in progress, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrived to find the suspect still there, waiting in the vault as another employee gathered money, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

The suspect, later identified as 44-year-old Raytheon Louis Vanhook, was taken into custody without incident, Curran said.

The employee who called 911 told dispatchers the suspect had his hand in his pocket and claimed to have a gun, Curran said. Deputies, however, did not recover a weapon from the suspect.

No customers were inside the bank at the time of the 11:30 a.m. robbery, Curran said. No employees were hurt.

Vanhook was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail this afternoon on suspicion of attempted robbery. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Three men forced their way into a South Land Park apartment late Wednesday night and ransacked the place, apparently searching for marijuana, according to Sacramento police.

Three people were inside the Riverside Boulevard apartment about 10:30 p.m. when one woman answered a knock at the front door, said Officer Konrad von Schoech.

Three masked men pushed her aside, entered the apartment and ordered the three victims to the ground, von Schoech said. One of the suspects asked if the occupants had marijuana, and when they said no, the suspects began searching the apartment.

They left with computer equipment and cell phones, von Schoech said.

Nobody was injured.

Victims were not able to give detailed descriptions of two suspects, but said one was 6 feet tall, weighed about 150 pounds and wore dark clothing, von Schoech said.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Q: What happened in the murder case of Frank Champion Jr. of Elk Grove? - RC, Elk Grove

A: The Oct. 21, 2003, shooting of Champion, 26, is unsolved, according to court records and Bee reports.

Champion was killed in front of a food market on Stockton Boulevard after Frank Champion, 26, and another man exchanged words with two other men and a woman, said sheriff's Sgt. R.L. Davis. (Artist's sketch at left is of the suspect. The sketch was released shortly after Champion was killed.)

One of the men fired shots, killing Champion and severely wounding Champion's companion.

A suspect was arrested in the shooting but was released because the shooting survivor could not identify him, investigators said.

Sacramento sheriff's officials described the shooter as in his early 20s, 6 feet tall, thin, dark-skinned and wearing a red nylon jacket. He and a shorter man, also in his early 20s, fled with the woman driving an old two-door car with faded green or red paint with a white strip in the center of the hood.

Champion was an Elk Grove High School graduate who was a focused on boxing, with dreams of going professional, The Bee reported.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A police detective will explain how to avoid identity theft at a free workshop open to the public this month at Folsom Lake College.

Folsom police detective Andrew Bates will speak at the workshop April 19 from noon to 12:50 p.m. The event will be held in the college's large lecture hall, Buckeye Hall, room FL3-173.

Bates, a lawyer and forensics computer examiner, will provide an overview of identity theft and prevention strategy.

A daily parking pass can be purchased for $1.

For more information and directions visit www.flc.losrios.edu or call (916) 608-6664.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

The state DNA data bank has reached 12,000 crime scene matches to violent offenders and other suspects, according to the California Attorney General's office.

Those matches have led to the convictions of thousands of convictions of rapists, murderers and kidnappers, a news release states.

On average, the data bank gets 300 matches a month. In March, the data bank had 405, a record.

The data bank, in existence since 1994, has more than 1.5 million DNA samples.

Voter-approved Proposition 69 in 2004 required all defendants convicted of a felony to submit a DNA sample. On Jan. 1, 2009 that requirement was extended to all adults arrested on felony charges.

Each day, law enforcement officers submit DNA evidence to a state Department of Justice crime lab or local labs to identify suspects.

The release gave this list of notable recent cases where DNA evidence has played a part in leading to a suspect:

- In February, John Gardner III, a convicted sex offender, was arrested on suspicion of rape and homicide in the disappearance of 17-year-old Chelsea King. The high school student was found in a shallow grave in a San Diego park.

- In January, David Joseph Carpenter, a Death Row inmate known as the Trailside Killer, was tied by DNA evidence to the 1979 killing of Mary Bennet. Bennet was stabbed to death in San Francisco.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of robbing a bank in Roseville.

Edward Sciosciole (photo left) is suspected of robbing the Wells Fargo bank, in the 100 block of Harding Boulevard at about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.

No weapon was observed during the robbery, police said.

Uniformed officers and detectives responded to the robbery and after a day-long investigation arrested Sciosciole on suspicion of robbery and parole violation at 7 p.m. at a residence on Taylor Street in Roseville, police said.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Authorities are searching today for an inmate who walked away from a state correctional fire camp in Tehama County.

Phillip Joseph Guthmiller, 29, was last seen about midnight at the minimum-security Ishi Conservation Camp outside Paynes Creek, which is between Red Bluff and Lassen Volcanic National Park.

Guthmiller was incarcerated in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (C.D.C.R) system on May 12, 2008 from San Joaquin County for second-degree burglary. He was scheduled to be paroled November 2011.

He was last seen wearing orange jeans and shirt with the initials C.D.C.R. printed on the back.

Guthmiller is described as white, 120 pounds, 5 feet, 4 inches tall, with a thin build. He has brown eyes, brown hair and a light complexion.

The California Highway Patrol, sheriff departments and police agencies have been alerted to Guthmiller's escape, state authorities said.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Guthmiller is asked to call the California Correctional Center watch commander at (530) 257-2181, ext. 4173.

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

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department is seeking Donald Odis Wright (left photo) on suspicion of burglary, Sacramento Crime Alert officials report.

Wright, who has a tattoo of "Mr. Wright" on his right shoulder, is also known as Donald Otis Wright.

He is described as age 25, 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

He was last known to live in the 8900 block of Montoya Street in the Rosemont area of Sacramento, authorities report.

Anyone with information about the suspect is urged to 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 Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A father was arrested and three children were placed in protective custody Tuesday, after Sacramento police received a report shortly before 3 p.m. of a young child playing unsupervised near a busy intersection.

Officers went to the 1500 block of 23rd Street in the midtown.

Officers said they found the father was possibly under the influence of drugs, and arrested him on suspicion of child neglect, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to the Police Department's daily activity log.

Three children were placed in the custody of Child Protective Services,

No other details were available.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man who asked Sacramento police officers to stand by while he removed items from his home ended up under arrest as a registered sex offender who had failed to update his address, police said.

Kevin Watts, 41, requested the officers' presence so he could avoid a conflict with his estranged girlfriend while he retrieved personal items from a home in the 6500 block of Harmon Drive in the Pocket area on Tuesday, according to the Police Department's daily activity log.

During the process, officers discovered that Watts was a registered sex offender who is required to keep his address registration current.

Police said Watts had moved out of the residence several months ago but had not updated his official address record.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Sacramento Police are investigating a shooting that left two people wounded Tuesday night.

Police received a report about 8:45 p.m. that occupants of a white Ford station wagon had opened fire on a brown Honda Civic at the intersection of Broadway and 65th Street, according to a police spokesman. Officers checked the area but found no sign of either vehicle.

About 15 minutes later, however, a Honda showed up at UC Davis Medical Center with two shooting victims, said Sgt. Norm Leong. The injuries were not life threatening, he said.

Police said the initial investigation indicated that occupants of the two vehicles were involved in a verbal exchange before the shooting. As of this evening, no arrests have been made.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

Roseville police are searching for a man who robbed a Wells Fargo Bank this morning.

The robbery occurred at 9:46 a.m. at the bank in the 100 block of Harding Boulevard.

The robber (photo left) approached a clerk and demanded money, then left on foot after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash, according to a Police Department news release.

He was last seen running toward a McDonald's restaurant parking lot north of the bank.

The robber was described as white, 35 to 40 years old, 5 feet, 10 inches tall and approximately 150 pounds. He was wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt, blue jeans and a gray cap.

No weapon was seen, and no injuries were reported, according to the news release.

Anyone with information is asked to call Roseville Crime Stoppers at (916) 783-7867.

Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward for information leading to an arrest.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

One of El Dorado County's major criminal cases has come to a close.

El Dorado Superior Court Judge James R. Wagoner sentenced Jaime Ramos, left, to 25 years to life in prison last month for his role in the 2008 murder of Garden Valley resident Ron Presba.

Ramos, 22, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in July 2009, but sentencing was delayed pending his testimony in the trial of his co-defendant, Presba's wife.

However, Patricia Ann Presba, 49, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in January.

She was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison earlier in March for the murder of her husband and the attempted murder of Ramos. She also received a 10-year enhancement for use of a firearm.

Carol Sanders, clerk for Judge Wagoner, said that under a plea agreement, Ramos was to receive a prison sentence of between 15 and 25 years in exchange for his testimony had Presba gone to trial.

The judge decided on the 25-year sentence based on a review of briefs and evidence in the case, Sanders said.

According to prosecutors, Presba and Ramos were lovers.

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 Patricia Presba's disappearance.

Investigators found her and Ramos inside the motel.

When the two were arrested, Ramos had three gunshot wounds and Patricia Presba had stab wounds to her arms.

Both were later extradited to El Dorado County.

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

A Foothill Farms man who shot and killed a teenager during what was supposed to be a marijuana transaction last year has pleaded no contest to a gun charge and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Terrell Davon Craig, 40, entered the plea Monday in Sacramento Superior Court to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, records show.

He had initially been booked for murder in the Oct. 10 shooting death of Joshua Scott Trahan-Mays, 17, in Foothill Farms. However, Craig was never charged with murder by the District Attorney's Office.

Sacramento court records show that Craig has a 1998 felon-with-a-gun conviction and was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

He told The Bee in an interview that he has an additional conviction for shooting and killing a drug dealer when he was 17.

He entered his no-contest plea Monday in Judge Joseph Orr's courtroom just before the case was scheduled to be assigned for a preliminary hearing.

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

Previous coverage:

Murder charge dropped in shooting of Carmichael teen in Foothill Farms - Oct. 15, 2009

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Scott Dodd Anderson, the Sacramento County physician accused of sexually assaulting three of his patients, is now scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

On Tuesday, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested the 60-year-old Anderson (photo left) on suspicion of various charges, including sexual exploitation by a physician, rape and attempted sodomy.

He faces a total of 30 counts, according to the District Attorney's complaint against him.

Jail booking records initially indicated he would be arraigned today. However, a DA spokeswoman confirmed the proceeding had been moved to 1:30 p.m. Friday in Department 62, which is located inside the Sacramento County Main Jail.

Anderson, who declined an interview with The Bee, was released from jail Tuesday night on $750,000 bail.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Previous coverage:

Sacramento-area doctor accused of sexually assaulting 3 patients - April 7, 2010

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A fire that destroyed most of the Iceland Ice-Skating Rink in Sacramento last month was intentionally set, according to the Sacramento Fire Department.

Why the fire was set is still under investigation, said department spokesman Capt. Jim Doucette.

On March 28, fire collapsed the historic rink's roof and left an estimated $1 million in damage. In the days following, rink officials speculated that the fire might have been caused by a car that caught on fire at the rear of the building.

Doucette said that car fire also was deliberately set, although it's still unclear whether the two fires are connected. That remains under investigation, Doucette said.

Iceland opened on Del Paso Boulevard in 1940. In its heyday, it was the setting for ice competitions, youth hockey, weddings and other programs.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Previous coverage:

Fire destroys Iceland rink, a North Sacramento landmark for seven decades - March 29, 2010

By Bee Staff

The Folsom Police Department said that officers will conduct a DUI checkpoint on Friday at an undisclosed site.

(An earlier version of this story had the wrong day for the checkpoint.)

The checkpoint will go into operation at 7 p.m. and run until 3 a.m., according to a Police Department news release.

Thirteen Folsom Police Officers and six volunteers from Citizens Assisting Public Safety along with a community service officer will conduct the checkpoint, the release states.

Members from Mothers Against Drunk Driving may be at the checkpoint, the release states.

Funding for the checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A Lincoln teacher is being investigated for inappropriate conduct with a student, a school district official said.

Lincoln police Lt. Paul Shelgren said the employee worked for the Western Placer Unified School District. However, he declined to say if the employee worked at a particular school.

"We believe this was an isolated incident and we are going to be forwarding reports to the district attorney's office to determine if charges will be filed," said Shelgren.

School district officials confirmed that the employee under investigation is a male teacher at Lincoln High School. The teacher was placed on administrative leave within days of the district being informed of the ongoing investigation, said Scott Leaman, district superintendent.

"Student safety is very important to us. That is why we took the action," Leaman said.

The alleged inappropriate contact is believed to be an isolated incident and did not occur on the 1,400-student campus, Leaman said.

The alleged conduct came to light when a parent reported the incident, police said.

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

Q: What leads have been found in the October 1997 murder of a Natomas woman on Norbert Way? I was a neighbor on the street and was shocked when I heard the news. - Jay, Carmichael

A: The murder of Edna Gonzalez, 52, on Oct. 2, 1997 is unsolved, court records and Bee reports indicate.

Gonzalez's husband found her beaten to death in the hallway of her Norbert Way home. Her husband was never considered a suspect, investigators said.

Detectives said they believe Gonzalez knew or at least recognized the person who bound and gagged her, sliced off a finger apparently to steal her wedding band and beat her to death before making off with a VCR, some tools, clothing and a pickup.

The pickup truck was recovered in a field off Rio Linda Boulevard near Elkhorn Boulevard but yielded no case-breaking clues.

Gonzalez was a property manager of low-income apartments and duplexes on Traction Avenue. Her daughter said she "warred against prostitutes, drug fiends, addicts."

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

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

The couple in the sex-club/worker's compensation fraud case appeared in court again this morning, but the case was pushed back to May 5 with no action taken.

John Alfonzo Smiley, 44, and his 36-year-old wife, Cynthia Ann Biasi-Smiley, did not enter pleas or speak during their brief appearance before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gary E. Ransom.

Unlike their initial court appearance two weeks ago, when a parade of television cameras and reporters trailed the couple through the halls of the Gordon D. Schaber courthouse downtown, today's appearance was relatively muted. Only one camera was present for the brief appearance, and the couple made it through the courthouse without attracting attention.

The Smileys face felony fraud charges related to his filing of a workers' compensation claim that could have paid John Smiley up to $2.5 million, court documents state.

Smiley, a correctional officer, filed a claim March 27, 2009, and indicated he had been shot 11 months earlier and paralyzed after a parolee recognized him as he and his wife were leaving a San Francisco restaurant.

Court records indicate that the Smileys actually had gone to a swingers club named Twist in San Francisco on April 26, 2008, and that he was shot after an altercation there.

Records indicate the Smileys had sex with a couple they met at the club and that Smiley was shot after his condom broke while having sex with the shooter's wife.

Smiley's tale of being shot by a parolee sparked an outpouring of support for the 6-foot-8-inch former college basketball star. Co-workers donated vacation and sick time to help him and also gave him $30,000 and raised money through annual golf tournaments.

A web site set up to help raise funds and track his progress, www.jsmiley.org, remains active, although since news of the charges broke in March several sections that included contact information and updates on his condition have been removed.

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

Previous coverage:

Corrections workers donated vacation, money to fraud suspect in sex scandal - March 25, 2010

California correctional officer accused of lying about being shot at S.F. sex club - March 23, 2010

By Bill Lindelof and Chelsea Phua
blindelof@sacbee.com

A North Highlands apartment fire that displaced 11 people and killed a dog was an accident, though its cause has not been determined, fire officials said.

Damage from the two-alarm blaze Tuesday night on the 3800 block of Madison Avenue was estimated at $450,000 by Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials.

Firefighters arriving at 9:38 p.m. found a second-story apartment burning, and the blaze spread to adjacent units.

Eventually, 38 firefighters responded within 13 minutes to battle the blaze.

Three apartments in the building were deemed uninhabitable after the fire was extinguished.

No firefighters or civilians were injured, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District spokesman Capt. Christian Pebbles said.

The dog was found dead inside one of the burnt apartments.

The American Red Cross was called to help find accommodations for displaced residents.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Vallejo man has pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent investment scheme, according to news release from the U.S. Department of Justice's Sacramento office.

Robert Cephas Brown Jr., 56, entered the plea before United States District Judge John A. Mendez, the release states.

The case was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

On Feb. 26, 2009, Brown and co-defendant Duane Allen Eddings, 49, also of Vallejo, were indicted on charges that beginning in 2001, they devised a scheme to defraud investors throughout the United States.

Brown touted himself as a stock market expert who could make huge profits in both good and bad times, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Stegman, who is prosecuting the case.

The indictment alleged that one of the high return investments claimed by Brown and Eddings was a "24-Month/High Yield Loan Agreement" promising 21 percent to 30 percent every four to four and a half months with three annual payouts for a total of 63 percent to 90 percent, Stegman said.

Another investment scheme offered a "24-Month Gifted Agreement" that promised that the money invested, called the "gift", would be invested for 24 months, with the investor receiving "the original gift amount plus 100 percent accrued interest, Stegman said.

They also offered investors a "Double Diamond Plan" that promised to double the invested principal in three months, the release states.

The indictment alleged that Brown spent investor funds on personal expenses, including expensive clothes, hotels, restaurants and a Ferrari Testarossa, and made cash withdrawals of more than $3.5 million of investor money.

In addition to the criminal case being prosecuted by the Department of Justice, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit July 23, 2008, alleging securities fraud, and obtained an emergency court order prohibiting Brown from engaging in such fraud, the release states.

The lawsuit also seeks to require him to give up monies gained through the activities and to pay monetary penalties.

Eddings pleaded not guilty May 3, 2009 and is scheduled to appear in court April 13 to set a trial date.

Brown is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Mendez at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 5.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 776-6866.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A Canadian truck driver has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for possessing Ecstasy with the intention to distribute the drug and for smuggling cash.

U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton also ordered Robert James Fox, 38, of British Columbia to forfeit approximately $435,000. The prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Fox pleaded guilty Jan, 26 in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

The case resulted from an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement and the California Highway Patrol, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

A CHP officer stopped Fox on May 16, 2009 for a traffic violation as he was traveling through Woodland on Interstate 5, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Thomas, who prosecuted the case.

The officer observed several discrepancies under the bed of the truck that indicated a hidden compartment.

The officer ran his police dog around the truck and the dog alerted him to the presence of controlled substances. The officer then searched the truck and found a hidden compartment with more than 225 pounds of Ecstasy and $435,000 in U.S. currency.

"This sentence serves as a stern warning about the consequences awaiting those who smuggle dangerous drugs," Daniel Lane, assistant special agent in charge for the ICE Office of Investigations in Sacramento, said in the news release. "Ecstasy trafficking is hugely lucrative and young people are typically the biggest market for this drug."

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 776-6866.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Aaron Norman Dunn is a possible sociopath who had a copy of the Satanic Bible in his car when he went on a killing spree in Elk Grove four years ago, a prosecutor said today.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Triplett made the remarks in a heated exchange with the judge in Dunn's death-penalty murder trial about the prosecutor's impending cross-examination of a defense psychiatrist.

Dr. Douglas Tucker of UC San Francisco testified Monday that Dunn, 33, suffered from "methamphetamine psychosis" when he shot and killed two people during his March 25, 2006, rampage.

Defense attorney Amy Rogers told jurors in her opening statement that the drugs prevented Dunn from forming the intent to kill and that he shouldn't be convicted of anything more than second-degree murder.

Triplett said today he wants to ask Tucker, whom the prosecutor characterized as "a joke," if he explored other possible mental conditions that might have affected Dunn. Among the ones mentioned by the prosecutor: anti-social personality disorder and intermittent explosive disorder.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael W. Sweet said he was all in favor of a "full-throttled" cross-examination on the prosecutor's part. But Sweet told Triplett he risked a possible mistrial if he delves too far into some areas such as Dunn's criminal background that the judge excluded in pretrial motions from the jury's consideration.

Besides the different psychiatric maladies, Triplett said he also wants to ask Tucker if he knew that Dunn had the Satanic Bible in the trunk of his car the night he shot and killed Michael John Daly, 45, and Jon Johnson, 46, and whether it might have affected his diagnosis.

Sweet said it "might be a stretch" to connect the Satanic Bible to the Elk Grove killings, but the judge did not specifically bar it.

The book was written in 1969 by an author named Anton Levay. According to gotquestions.org, the Satanic Bible is a collection of essays on satanic "rituals and ideology" that reflect Satan as "a symbol of struggle against a tyrannical God."

The prosecutor argued that the defense introduction of Tucker's psychiatric testimony opens the door to cross-examining him with evidence of Dunn's criminal record that included a lengthy stint in the old California Youth Authority as a youth and that he also abused animals.

Triplett's cross-examination of Tucker is expected to take place at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Call The Bee's Andy Furillo, (916) 321-1079.

Previous coverage:

Meth psychosis cited in killings; defendant's words cast doubt - April 6, 2010

Elk Grove cop testifies how she and partner stopped deadly rampage - March 17, 2010

Witnesses tell of lives shattered in deadly Elk Grove shooting spree - March 12, 2010

Prosecutor, defense attorneys agree suspect killed two people in Elk Grove - March 10, 2010

Elk Grove residents eligible for murder case jury - Dec. 11, 2009

Prosecutor's bid for Placer DA could stall trial for double killing - Dec. 2, 2009

Homicide suspect's lawyers don't want any Elk Grove jurors - Aug. 11, 2009

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A Sacramento County physician has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting three female patients who saw him for exams related to workers compensation claims in 2009, authorities said today.

Scott Dodd Anderson (photo left), 60, was arrested this morning and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including felony sexual exploitation by a physician, rape and attempted sodomy, booking records show.

In all, Anderson faces 30 counts of abuse, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney's complaint against him.

He is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday. From the Main Jail, he declined to talk to a Bee reporter.

Sacramento County sheriff's detectives began investigating Anderson in December, after one of his three victims told her family of the alleged abuse, said sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran. The woman's family encouraged her to contact authorities.

Detectives identified two more alleged victims during the course of their investigation, Curran said. The women range in age from their early 30s to their early 60s.

The women suffered the alleged abuse while visiting Anderson at the U.S. HealthWorks clinic on Folsom Boulevard, near La Riviera Drive, between May 2009 and September 2009, Curran said. (An earlier version of this story had an incorrect location for the clinic at which Anderson worked.)

The women were being examined in connection with workers compensation claims.

Curran said Anderson left that clinic in September 2009, and investigators could not find any record of him practicing medicine since then.

Detectives suspect there are more victims who have not come forward, Curran said.

Anderson graduated from the Tufts University School of Medicine in 1975 and received his California license to practice medicine two years later, according to the Medical Board of California's online records.

His license, which is renewed and current, is scheduled to expire in May 2011, the records show.

According to Sacramento Superior Court records, Anderson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace in 1999. Records show he was not given probation for the conviction.

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call sexual assault detectives at (916) 874-5070 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. (An earlier version of this story had a wrong phone number for the detectives.)

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Jaycee Lee Dugard's attorney says Dugard will not allow the children she had with accused kidnapper Phillip Garrido to meet with attorneys a court has appointed to represent them, and is asking that no information about them or their whereabouts be released.

The development comes as an El Dorado County Superior Court judge is preparing for hearings next week over whether attorneys for Phillip and Nancy Garrido can have any contact with Dugard, who was forced to have children with Garrido after her 1991 kidnapping when she was 11.

Attorney Shawn Chapman Holley said in court documents filed today that Dugard is asserting her rights under the California Victims' Bill of Rights, passed as Proposition 9, or Marsy's Law, in 2008.

Judge Douglas Phimister appointed two attorneys on Feb. 26 to represent the interests of the children and had asked that they be allowed to meet with the girls, but Holley said in the papers filed in Placerville today that she would not allow the meeting.

Hearings in the case - one closed to the public and a later one open - are set for April 15 in Placerville.

Dugard, who allegedly was held by the Garridos for 18 years before she was found safe in August, has told authorities she wants no contact with them.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Galt street gang member who accidentally shot and killed one of his friends last year was sentenced today to four years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Hector Quintero, 19, pleaded no contest March 5 to the shotgun killing of his friend, Gerardo Briseno, 19.

Quintero's probation report, filed today in Sacramento Superior Court, showed that Briseno bought the shotgun just three days before his Sept. 10 death in a friend's residence on Alice Rae Circle.

Briseno and Quintero were joking around with the shotgun, cocking it and pretending to shoot each other, when Quintero -- thinking the weapon was unloaded -- pulled the trigger and blew a hole through the right side of Briseno's nose, the report said.

"It was an accident," Quintero told another friend right after the shooting, the probation report shows. "I just shot the fool."

The probation report identified Quintero, a Galt resident, as an admitted Sureno street gang member since 2006. The report said he had been on probation for possession of a deadly weapon and graffiti vandalism. It said he violated of his probation with street gang activity, possession of vandalism tools, smoking marijuana, failure to participate in drug and alcohol counseling, being intoxicated in a public place, fighting, curfew violations and associating with street gang members.

Quintero had been placed in the Sacramento County Boys Ranch in 2009, the report states.

The victim's mother was "not satisfied" with the terms of Quintero's plea deal, the probation report shows, stating that Briseno's mother "will never forgive the defendant for leaving her son on the floor dying and not calling for help."

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A couple who found out they couldn't get any cash from their account also were the victims of robbery this morning.

Police responded at 3:30 a.m. today to a bank in the 1300 block of Exposition Boulevard where a man and woman said they were robbed at gunpoint by a masked man.

They told police that they had attempted to use an automatic teller machine but were unable to receive any cash. They were then approached by a man with a gun who demanded their money.

When they told the gunman they had no cash, he took their wallets and other personal property, police said.

The suspect was described as a white man with a tattoo of a tear drop next to his left eye. He was wearing a dark blue bandana over his face, a dark-colored baseball cap, tan shirt and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A woman who helped plan a robbery that turned into murder and then assisted in cleaning up the mess afterwards was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller imposed the term on Tammy Renee Turney, 49, for the Nov. 26, 2006, shooting death of Vallejo tattoo artist David Barreda Jr.,33, at a residence on Mendocino Boulevard, east of Highway 99 near Fruitridge Boulevard.

Turney pleaded no contest to the murder charge Feb. 26.

Her son, Richard Antonio Hundley, and triggerman Curtis Level Chapman both have already been convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A woman who helped plan a robbery that turned into murder and then assisted in cleaning up the mess afterwards was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller imposed the term on Tammy Renee Turney, 49, for the Nov. 26, 2006, shooting death of Vallejo tattoo artist David Barreda Jr.,33, at a residence on Mendocino Boulevard, east of Highway 99 near Fruitridge Boulevard.

Turney pleaded no contest to the murder charge Feb. 26.

Her son, Richard Antonio Hundley, and triggerman Curtis Level Chapman both have already been convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A woman who helped plan a robbery that turned into murder and then assisted in cleaning up the mess afterwards was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller imposed the term on Tammy Renee Turney, 49, for the Nov. 26, 2006, shooting death of Vallejo tattoo artist David Barreda Jr.,33, at a residence on Mendocino Boulevard, east of Highway 99 near Fruitridge Boulevard.

Turney pleaded no contest to the murder charge Feb. 26.

Her son, Richard Antonio Hundley, and triggerman Curtis Level Chapman both have already been convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury today found Carolyn Marie Simmons guilty of second-degree murder in the June 16, 1991, bludgeon murder of Richard Jackson in his south area apartment.

Simmons, 54, is scheduled to be sentenced May 7 by Judge Maryanne G. Gilliard.

Police and prosecutors said Simmons killed the 66-year-old Jackson when he didn't promptly pay her after she performed an act of prostitution.

Investigators did not break the case until January 2009, when Simmons' son came forward to police and told them he had information about the bludgeon killing of Jackson.

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

Previous coverage:

Sacramento County jury gets '91 murder case - March 30, 2010

By Ed Fletcher
efletcher@sacbee.com

Two women pulled a pray and dash at a local church, showing up as guests, then making off with the collection totaling thousands of dollars in Easter offerings, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department.

Like most churches, the Church of the Nazarene on Arden Way was enjoying a packed house for Easter. Longtime parishioner and former state Assemblyman Larry Bowler said there were many extra guests and occasional churchgoers.

According to sheriff's deputies, two guests were spotted in the church office about 11:20 a.m. But before staff could verify whether they had permission to be there, the women were gone - along with between $10,000 and $20,000 in cash and checks.

Such crimes against churches are "quite unusual," said Capt. Scott Jones.

Over the last two years, eight churches have been robbed, according to a Bee analysis of law enforcement and business records of houses of worship in Sacramento, Rancho Cordova, Roseville, Elk Grove and unincorporated Sacramento County.

"They are usually not huge targets," Jones said, noting that theft by church members is more common.

The women - described as African Americans in their 20s - left in a faded black '80s sedan, Jones said. One was wearing a purple shirt, the other a black shirt, Jones said. No arrests have been made.

Church members who made an offering with a check during the early service have been advised to stop payment.

Church treasurer Albert Seltzer said he didn't think it was the women's first visit to the church.

"To me it had to have been planned," Seltzer said. "They have probably been here before and know the layout of the church."

Bowler was most struck by the timing of the theft.

"To steal from anyone is an outrage. To steal from a church is a double outrage and to steal from a church on Easter Sunday - that is beyond outrage," Bowler said.

He said if the women needed food, it was available. The church operates a food closet, feeding hundreds of people weekly.

"These gals didn't want food," Bowler said. "They wanted cash."

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

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

Two men, one of whom gallantly opened a car door for a woman in the Pocket area at 3 a.m. today, apparently used the gesture as a ruse so he could get close to snatch her purse, Sacramento Police Officer Konrad Von Schoech said.

The two African American men, one reported to be wearing a blue baseball cap and a plaid button-down shirt, approached the unidentified woman as she returned to her car at a gas station in the 8900 block of Pocket Road, immediately east of Interstate 5.

Von Schoech said one of the men held open the driver's door as the woman got into the seat.

The other man pushed her and grabbed for her purse, which was on the passenger seat. The woman tried to grab the purse back, but the man holding the handbag pulled up his shirt to display a gun in his waistband.Both men fled, Van Schoech said.

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

By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com

A Sacramento woman was being held on suspicion of felony robbery today after she allegedly took jewelry from a 9-year-old girl playing in her fenced backyard.

Gloria McKaufman, 42, persuaded the girl to come to the fence of a home in the 2200 block of Grove Avenue in the North Sacramento area shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday.

The two began talking about jewelry, Sacramento Police Officer Konrad Von Schoech said.

The girl had been playing there with her 14-year-old brother. When the girl took off her ring during the discussion and dropped it, the woman was able to pick it up.

The girl alerted her guardian, who reportedly asked McKaufman to return the ring, Von Schoech said.

Instead, the woman began fighting, police said. During the fight, the woman apparently grabbed the guardian's necklace and ran away.

McKaufman was arrested a short time later at nearby Arden Way and Del Paso Boulevard, the police spokesman said.

Sacramento County Sheriff's records show McKaufman was held in lieu of $66,500 bail and had been sought in connection with previous failures to appear in court on other alleged offenses.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

The Roseville Police Department is offering residents access to a number of services on the Internet via a new information kiosk in the department's public lobby.

People who don't have a computer and Internet access at home can use the kiosk to file a non-emergency, uncomplicated police report; look up recent crimes in their neighborhood at www.crimemapping.com; pay a parking citation; or look up other information on the city of Roseville's Web site.

Roseville Police headquarters are at 1051 Junction Blvd.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Cathy Locke and Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Two suspects were arrested early Saturday morning after an exchange of gunfire with Sacramento County sheriff's deputies in the North Highlands area.

Deputies were called to the Days Inn on Watt Avenue, near Interstate 80, about 12:30 a.m. after a report of gunshots. While they were investigating, deputies heard several more shots, according to Sheriff's Department officials.

After being informed about two vehicles that might have been involved, deputies located and stopped two vehicles nearby.

As deputies pulled over the first vehicle, a man jumped from the car with a gun in his waistband and ran. That man was later identified as 20-year-old Anthony Zeigler (photo left), said sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones.

When another patrol car stopped the second car, a second suspect jumped from that vehicle and fired several rounds at officers, according to the release. The two deputies in that patrol car returned fire, and the suspect fled in the same general area as the first man, Jones said.

That suspect later was identified as a teenage boy, whose name is not released because he is a juvenile, Jones said.

Deputies and law enforcement officers from neighboring jurisdictions established a perimeter, and police canines and members of the department's SWAT team joined in the search for the suspects.

Zeigler, the first suspect, was quickly taken into custody without incident. The second was located about 2 1/2 hours later and also was arrested without incident, Jones said.

The juvenile appeared to have suffered a minor gunshot wound to the shoulder and was taken to a hospital for treatment, Jones said. No law enforcement officers were injured.

Zeigler was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of one count each of possessing and carrying a concealed firearm as a convicted felon; receiving stolen property and resisting arrest, according to booking records. He also is being held for violating parole, and therefore is ineligible for bail.

Jones said it's unclear whether the two suspects knew each other or whether they were responsible for the reported gunshots at the Days Inn. The investigation continues.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 773-6866.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

The stepmother of a 3-year-old boy accused of inflicting fatal injuries on the child told authorities that the boy had tripped over loads of laundry in the hallway - a statement health authorities said was inconsistent with his wounds, according to a Sacramento County Child Protective Services report.

The "emergency response referral information" document redacted the names of the boy, his father and stepmother, but was dated March 23, the day Jeremiah McRath was taken unconscious from an Oak Park apartment to the UC Davis Medical Center.

Jeremiah's stepmother, Dayshawna Nichole Lawrence, 22, and the boy's father, Adrian Ramon McRath, 19, have been charged with the boy's murder. Each also was charged with assaulting a child under age 8 with force producing great bodily harm and resulting in death.

Both did not enter pleas at their March 26 arraignment. Their case was continued to April 8.

The report said the boy suffered severe bruising on his face, shoulder and hips and a CAT scan revealed that his "brain bleed" was consistent with "non-accidental injury."

The report also said the boy had been staying with his father and stepmother for a few days before was found unconscious in the bathroom in the evening of March 23.

Only the stepmother and the boy's 5-month-old half-brother were at home at that time. She told authorities that the boy was potty trained but had "an accident" that day. The usual punishment was for the boy to stand in a corner for half hour, according to the report.

The child complained of being tired, the stepmother said, so she sent him to the bathroom to urinate. When he did not come out, she went in to check on him and found him unconscious. She said she tried to revive him in the shower, and then took him to her grandmother's home, where the 911 call was made.

The report said the child did not have a heartbeat by the time paramedics responded.

A reporting party asked the stepmother if the child was a "rough and tumble kid," and she said she had two loads of laundry in the hallway and he tripped over them and fell.

"It is (the reporting party's) professional opinion that step mom's explanation is inconsistent (with) the injuries as (emergency room doctor) determined child's bruises were old injuries," the report said.

The report also mentioned fistfights but because of the redacted names, it's not clear who was involved.

CPS officials said the child does not have any history with the agency. The 5-month-old boy was taken into protective custody the night of March 23.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A 40-year-old woman allegedly tried to buy crack on credit Thursday night and it ended badly for her and two other women, all of whom ended up at the Sacramento County Main Jail.

The trouble began when Melissa Mays, 40, went to Florinda Drive in south Sacramento to buy some crack cocaine, said Sacramento County sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones. Without the $55 she needed for the transaction, Mays instead gave the seller her ATM card as collateral and left with the goods, Jones said.

Mays apparently thought better of deal, and returned for her ATM card, Jones said. The seller, however, wasn't interested in returning the card without the $55, Jones said.

Mays allegedly assaulted the seller with a toaster, stoking the anger of two women also in the home.

The women allegedly beat Mays with a baseball bat and a crutch, Jones said. After Mays left the home, a passer-by on Della Circle saw her injuries and asked if she needed help, Jones said.

Mays declined help, but the passer-by called the Sheriff's Department anyway. Deputies identified Mays' attackers as 48-year-old Orelia Ann Simmons and 23-year-old Antoinette Winzer, Jones said. The women, and Mays, were arrested.

All three women were booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on charges of robbery, torture, false imprisonment and assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail booking records.

Winzer is ineligible for bail; Mays and Simmons are being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Rancho Cordova police arrested a 22-year-old man late Thursday night after he allegedly showed up for what he apparently thought was a sex date with a 12-year-old girl, according to authorities.

Andrew William Kimsey (photo left) was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of the following charges: communicating with a minor to commit a sex offense, arranging to meet with a minor for the purpose of engaging in lewd and lascivious behavior, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, felony possession of marijuana and soliciting for prostitution, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, which provides police services to Rancho Cordova through a contract.

Kimsey is expected to be released on $100,000 bail today, according to booking records.

Detectives began investigating Kimsey after an acquaintance of his began receiving "disturbing messages" from Kimsey about procuring a 12-year-old girl for sex, according to sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones. Thinking it was a joke, the acquaintance gave Kimsey a phone number to call, Jones said.

The acquaintance called police after Kimsey allegedly called the number and began negotiating for sex.

Rancho Cordova police detectives arranged a meeting with Kimsey under the guise that a 12-year-old girl would be there, Jones said. Police arrested Kimsey when he arrived at the designated location.

Kimsey is scheduled to be arraigned next Friday.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A 30-year-old wanted parolee is in custody after he crashed into a south Sacramento County home while trying to flee authorities.

About 10 p.m. Thursday night, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic violence call at the Motel 6 at Stockton Boulevard and Elsie Avenue, said sheriff's Capt. Scott Jones.

As they headed to the motel, deputies saw a car and a driver matching the descriptions given by the caller to dispatchers, Jones said. They pursued the car as it headed north on Stockton Boulevard.

The driver turned east onto Walter Avenue with deputies close behind. He came upon a traffic "roundabout" and failed to negotiate the turn, crashing onto a lawn, through a fence and into the corner of a home, Jones said. Nobody was injured, and deputies arrested Randy Lavern Bernstine.

The domestic violence accusation could not be substantiated, Jones said, but Bernstine was arrested on suspicion of evading police, driving under the influence and driving without a license. He also is being held for violating parole.

Bernstine is ineligible for bail, according to Sacramento County Main Jail booking records.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

Q: What happened to Sarah Dutra, the young woman accused of helping her friend kill her husband with horse tranquilizers? - Anonymous, Sacramento

A: Dutra (seen in photo right from a 2002 court hearing) is still in prison, media reports and court records indicate.

A bid for freedom for the former college student implicated in the 2001 murder of a flamboyant Sacramento attorney was denied Dec. 3, 2007, when a judge refused to reduce Dutra's prison term because she acted with "unparalleled callousness," The Bee reported.

"Larry McNabney knew he was being murdered," San Joaquin Superior Court Judge F. Clark Sueyres said of the 52-year-old lawyer who was poisoned by his wife and took at least a day to succumb.

Dutra, now 29, helped the wife after McNabney was poisoned, including taping shut a refrigerator when McNabney's body nudged open the door, and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in 2003.

Investigators said the two were after McNabney's money.

Dutra will remain in prison until at least 2011, The Bee reported.

Dutra was an art student at California State University, Sacramento, when she came to work part time in McNabney's office on Howe Avenue. There, she met McNabney's wife of six years, a 36-year-old con artist who had drummed up a rap sheet of theft and scam crimes in her home state of Florida that stretched to 113 pages, according to Dutra's attorney.

The two women became friends, forging a high-living relationship revolving around horse shows, sports cars and nonstop shopping -- financed by McNabney -- and executing a bizarre murder that generated books and a made-for-TV movie.

The wife, Laren Sims Jordan, used the alias "Elisa" while she was married to McNabney, but used at least several dozen during her lifetime. After several months on the lam, she hanged herself in a Florida jail cell in 2002 before she could be returned to California to face murder charges.

On the evening of Sept. 10, 2001, Sims Jordan and McNabney joined other friends for dinner while they were attending a quarterhorse show in the Los Angeles area. That was the last time anyone spoke to him.

During the trial, prosecutors and investigators said Sims Jordan spiked McNabney's drink with horse tranquilizer. She summoned Dutra from Sacramento to help her and, against the backdrop of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the two women rented a wheelchair to get McNabney through the hotel lobby and into his truck.

They drove the dying man through the Sierra Nevada, taking Highway 395 north, and tried once to use newly purchased shovels to bury the unconscious McNabney.

Arriving back at the couple's Lodi home, the two left him to die on the floor. Sims Jordan kept his body in a refrigerator in the garage until the two women drove to Las Vegas in Sims Jordan's newly leased Jaguar with the body in the trunk.

They tried unsuccessfully again to bury it in the desert, and after a stay at a luxury resort on the Vegas Strip returned home with it. Sims Jordan later said she buried her husband in a San Joaquin County vineyard, where a farmworker found it in February 2002.

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

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Two men face charges of committing mail and wire fraud for the alleged defrauding of investors in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Charleston, W. Va.

William A. Stehl, 65, and Richard M. Rossignol, 59, were arrested in Oxnard in connection with an indictment filed in New York federal court.

The pair entered not-guilty pleas Monday in Los Angeles federal court, a U.S.Attorney's Office news release states.

Prosecutors allege that the men persuaded people to invest money in companies purportedly developing an "alternative energy source."

The men are said to have obtained money from investors by making false representations about contracts and licensing agreements, which would have reaped financial reward for investors.

The men, prosecutors said, obtained more than $7 million from more than 300 people. No investors received returns promised by the men, and the money went for personal uses by Stehl and Rossignol, prosecutors say.

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

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

Prosecutors dismissed a murder charge today against an Oak Park man who shot another man to death in a confrontation that was captured on his home surveillance video system.

Eugene Edward Walls, 36, shot and killed Shedrick Letronn Cotton, 35, in self defense, Deputy District Attorney Rick Miller said.

"He was coming out of his home and was attacked by a couple of guys, at which point he shot (Cotton)," Miller said. "The investigation proved out it was self defense."

Walls, however, has a felony conviction on his record, and his possession of the gun and ammunition in the Nov. 14 shooting became "problematic for him," Miller said.

In a brief hearing today in Sacramento Superior Court, Walls pleaded guilty to possession of the ammunition. Judge Marjorie Koller sentenced him to 16 months in state prison.

Defense attorney Jeff Tochterman said Walls had the gun at the time of the 11:15 p.m. killing because "word on the street was that there were guys he knew from the Bay Area who were coming for him."

"He had reason to believe it was a credible threat, so luckily, he had the gun with him," Tochterman said.

Tochterman said the entire shooting was captured on a home surveillance video system that Walls had set up. The defense attorney said he was able to enhance the videotape. When he presented it to Miller, the prosecutor agreed to drop the murder charge, Tochterman said.

The defense lawyer said it was "unknown" why Cotton, a Union City resident, had come to get Walls.

"I think they might have believed my client had money or some valuable goods," Tochterman said.

Asked about the goods, Tochterman said, "No comment."

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

By Bee Staff

The California Board of Parole Hearings has told a man convicted of a 1996 Sacramento road-rage killing that he must wait 10 years for another parole consideration, a board spokeswoman said.

The board also denied paroles for from three to five years for a couple of Sacramento area wife killers and a man who shot a stranger to death, said Margot Bach, spokeswoman for the Board of Parole Hearings.

The hearings were held last month.

Thongsanh Phongsavat, 34, was denied a parole consideration for 10 years, Bach said.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Phongsavat to 18-year-to-life in prison on April 26, 1996 for shooting and killing a motorist in a driving dispute on Interstate 80, The Bee reported.

Killed during the rush hour as he exited Interstate 80 at Northgate Boulevard on Oct. 10, 1995, was Brit C. Bahn, 24. Bahn and his brother, Chad, 25, were driving from Woodland to a store to return a television.

Bahn was hit in the temple with a single rifle shot fired from a Honda in which Phongsavat was riding as a passenger.

The incident began on Interstate 5 when the Honda was tailgating the truck, and the occupants became embroiled in an exchange of gestures and racial slurs.

Ronald LeRoy Koehler, 66, was denied a parole consideration for three years.

A Placer County Superior Court judge sentenced Koehler to life in prison in June 1982 for murdering his wife, whose body was found in September 1978, a few weeks after the couple separated, according to records and Bee reports.

Koehler, a Placer High School teacher, had a passport and an airline reservation to New Zealand when he was arrested.

Ralph Kendall Blasingame IV, 34, was denied a parole consideration for three years.

A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentenced Blasingame to 19 years to life in prison for fatally shooting an 18-year-old stranger in a drunken act of bravado, The Bee reported.

Blasingame killed Sean Michael Renfro with a single bullet fired from 100 feet at a car leaving a river party late at night on Oct. 16, 1993.

According to testimony, someone had shouted an obscenity. Blasingame, who was standing on the road, mistakenly thought the passing Honda was filled with people he and his friends had tangled with earlier that night. He claimed to have fired wildly into the night, never knowing he hit anything.

Alfred Lawrence Brooks, 40, was denied a parole consideration for five years.

An El Dorado County Superior Court judge sentenced Brooks to life in prison for killing his estranged wife on April 23, 1988, according to records and Bee reports.

Brooks shot Roberta Woody, 21, twice in the head while she held their child. The child was not injured.

Inmates denied paroles can request a rehearing every three years if they can show there has been a change in circumstances in his case or that new information is available.

By Chelsea Phua
cphua@sacbee.com

Early Friday, a vehicle swerved off a rural road just south of Winters near the Yolo-Solano county line, ripped off a tree and caught on fire, authorities said.

By the time authorities arrived about 7 a.m., the car had completely burned and the driver inside was charred beyond recognition, said Marvin Williford, Solano California Highway Patrol officer.

"It was obvious the car went up in flames and burned up for a while," Williford said.

Only four digits - three numbers and a letter - on the license plate did not melt, he said. If authorities had more letters to work with, investigators might have an easier time tracking the identity of the driver, believed to be the only occupant, Williford said.

There were no witnesses, so it was unclear what time the car skidded off the road and into a walnut grove along Winters Road south of Putah Creek Road.

Williford said a farm worker had reported to work at 4:15 a.m. and did not see the wreckage, so authorities are estimating the time of the accident about 6 a.m.

Someone who reported the wreckage initially thought it was a smoking brush pile, Williford said.

Investigators are looking into whether speed was a factor in the crash.

Williford said the road in the area had a gentle curve. The car skidded 60 feet into the grove before hitting the tree. The impact was so great it tore the walnut tree out of the ground, Williford said.

It's unclear if the car immediately burst into flames on impact or started to burn afterward, Williford said.

Call The Bee's Chelsea Phua, (916) 321-1132.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

A burglary was reported at a middle school in southern Sacramento County early this morning.

It was the sixth time since June that James Rutter Middle School has been burglarized.

It was unknown if any property was taken in the latest burglary at the school at 7350 Palmer House Drive, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department states. Windows were broken during the burglary reported to the department about 3:15 a.m.

The Elk Grove Unified School District school is on spring break.

The principal's newsletter on the school's web site notes that over winter break James Rutter was burglarized twice. Those incidents resulted in broken windows and theft, including the loss of a computer and video equipment.

Total cost to replace equipment and repair property was placed at more than $15,000.

The newsletter asked for help in reporting anything suspicious on campus by calling the sheriff's department at (916) 874-5115 or the district police at (916) 686-7786.

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

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

Placer County authorities are investigating an explosion at an Auburn apartment complex earlier this week that they said appears to have been caused by a clandestine hashish laboratory set up in a bathroom.

The four occupants of the apartment unit where the explosion occured received non-life-threatening burns and have been treated, Lt. Jeff Ausnow, spokesman for the Placer County Sheriff's Department, said today. Residents in surrounding units were evacuated but not injured.

Authorities responded to the complex on Gateway Court about 9 p.m. Tuesday after hearing reports of an explosion. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which was contained to the unit where the lab was located.

Sheriff's detectives and officials from the state Department of Justice are investigating the lab, where hashish was being extracted from marijuana plants, Ausnow said.

The explosion appears to have been fueled by flammable fumes - including butane - used in the process, Ausnow said.

No arrests have been made as detectives continue their investigation, he said.

However, Ausnow said the four occupants could face felony charges of manufacturing a controlled substance.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038.

By Bee Staff

A Walnut Grove mail carrier who stole prescription medication parcels has pleaded guilty to drug possession and obstruction charges, the U.S. attorney in Sacramento said.

U. S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner said in a news release that Michael J. Levario, 34, of Elk Grove entered the plea Wednesday to misdemeanor drug possession and mail obstruction charges.

Levario stole the parcels while working as a mail carrier at the Walnut Grove Post Office in Sacramento County from Feb. 1, 2008 through May 24, 2008, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez.

Among the medication he stole was a pain reliever that had been sent to a disabled military veteran, Rodriguez said.

On at least one occasion, Levario intercepted a package, replaced the prescription medication with aspirin and returned the package into for delivery, Rodriguez said.

Levario also stole gift cards and other valuable items, Rodriguez said.

On May 24, 2008, law enforcement caught Levario when he opened and stole 11 items of "test" mail, according to the release.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Office of the U.S. Postal Service Inspector General and the U.S. Office of Veteran Affairs, Wagner said.

Levario is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16.

By Bee Staff

Citrus Heights police officers called early today to a house where a resident reported scaring off an intruder with two gunshots ended up arresting the man on suspicion of drug use and reckless discharge of a firearm, a police spokesman said.

Lt. Jeff Mackanin said officers responded to a call about 1 a.m. of an intruder at a house in the 7100 block of La Salida del Sol Lane. The caller said he had scared the intruder off by firing two rounds.

An investigation revealed that two rounds had indeed been fired in the house but no evidence of an intruder, MacKanin said. Officers also found evidence that the caller was under the influence of a controlled substance, MacKanin said.

Thomas Parks, 38, was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and reckless discharge of a firearm, MacKanin said.

Officers canvassed the neighborhood but found no evidence that the fired rounds left the house, MacKanin said.

By Bee Staff

The Elk Grove Police Department will conduct a DUI/driver's license checkpoint on Saturday, starting at 8 p.m. at an undisclosed location in the city, according to a news release.

The operation will run until 3 a.m. Sunday, the release states.

Funding for the sobriety checkpoint is provided through a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program grant by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

By Bee Staff

Truckee police have arrested a suspect in burglaries of a store separated by two years, according to a news release.

The suspect, Adam McGregor, also has been linked to dozens of other burglaries in Northern Nevada and Northern California, states the release from the Truckee Police Department.

McGregor is in the Butte County jail awaiting trial. The Butte County District Attorney's Office did not return a call about McGregor's case.

The release gives this account:

On Aug. 7, 2008, the Glenshire General Store was burglarized overnight by a suspect who used a distinct method of operation to gain access to the property.

Evidence was sent to the state Justice Department for analysis.

On Jan. 2 of this year, the Glenshire Store was burglarized again and the crime methods were identical to the 2008 burglary.

With the evidence analysis from the state Justice Department, Truckee police said they had enough cause to arrest McGregor in both store burglaries.

McGregor has served time for other burglaries in Northern California, the release states.

Q: What happened in the case of the fatal shooting of Sacramento State University student Kebret Tekle who was shot as she was leaving a nightclub? - Ms. Polar, San Francisco

A: David Allen Falls, 26, faces an April 15 trial in Sacramento Superior Court on murder in Tekle's death, according to court records.

The 20-year-old student (photo left) was out with friends May 2, 2007, near the Sacramento State University campus at the now-defunct Library Eat & Drinks nightclub on Folsom Boulevard when a fight on the dance floor moved outside, The Bee reported. The fight resulted in gunfire while Tekle was getting in her car to leave.

A bullet struck Tekle in the head. She slumped sideways in her vehicle and died later that day.

Tekle was an innocent bystander, investigators said.

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

Q: Do you have information regarding an Alfred Martinez and a series of rapes in Sacramento? - just me, Sacramento

A: Alfred G. Martinez, now 39, was sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison on April 17, 2006 for attacking and repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman at her home in 1995, according to court records and Bee reports.

A cold case DNA hit led to his arrest by Sacramento police on Dec. 21, 2004 at his midtown apartment.

The Aug. 31, 1995, case involved a woman asleep in her Tahoe Park home. Just after midnight an unfamiliar noise woke her. She opened her eyes to find a man standing in her bedroom doorway watching her, she told police.

She threw a pillow at him. He attacked, wrestling her to the ground where he sexually assaulted her several times, police said.

After the attack, he sat on her bed apologizing. Then he left. Later, the woman realized she had left the front door unlocked when she went to bed, police said.

Police and court reconds don't implicate Martinez in any other rapes.

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