Sacto 9-1-1

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

The operator of a Rio Linda tow truck company was sentenced today in Sacramento federal court to three years and one month in prison for attempting to mislead authorities pursuing him on allegations of interstate vehicle theft.

Gabriel Dean Watters, who lives in Elverta, was found guilty in November by a jury of giving the government a bogus receipt for the purchase of four vehicles. The jury could not agree, however, on whether he stole nine lost or abandoned vehicles in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and a mistrial was declared in 19 of the 21 counts in the indictment.

Defense attorney Mark Reichel argued strongly for a sentence of a year and three months, contending the disputed receipt is not worthy of a longer term.

Assistant U. S. Attorney R. Steven Lapham countered that Watters, 34, has spent his adult life "taking advantage of people," and asked for three years and 10 months.

In the end, U. S. District Judge John A. Mendez went with a probation officer's recommendation in the pre-sentence report.

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About Sacto 9-1-1

Sacto 9-1-1 is a blog on crime and emergency services news in the Sacramento region.

Send feedback on Sacto 9-1-1 to Assistant Metro Editor Anthony Sorci at asorci@sacbee.com

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Sacto 9-1-1 Q&A

Q: What happened with the case regarding Marc McCormick? He was accused of videotaping a woman in her home and was arrested. He lives in my neighborhood and I see him all the time. Were charges dropped?


A: According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, misdemeanor charges have been filed against Mark William McCormick, alleging that he used a camcorder or other instrument to view an individual in a place where there was an expectation of privacy, trespassing and peeping.

His next court date is June 4.

According to Sacramento police logs, McCormick, 40, was arrested March 8 after the victim reported that a friend had entered her home without her knowledge to secretly videotape her.


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