Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.
QUESTION: What are the details of the crime that happened Jan. 29, 1996 that involved Richard Emmett Ward and John Wiley.
Submitted by: Ryleigh, Citrus Heights
ANSWER: Richard Emmett Ward of Fair Oaks was arrested on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon on Jan. 29, 1996.
According to an account in The Bee, Ward, then 18 years old, was arrested after he and two other men forced their way into a residence in Ward's apartment complex at 4934 San Juan Ave., assaulted a 37-year-old woman with a bottle and demanded cash.
In November of that year, a Crime Alert Secret Witness notice in The Bee listed Ward as a suspect sought in a murder. He was reported to be a known member of the "East Side Pirus" gang.
According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, he was convicted in September 1999 of attempted robbery and burglary, and sentenced to six years in state prison.
In January 2002, a Sacramento County jury found him guilty of robbery, receiving stolen property and assault with a deadly weapon, resulting in a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Ward, now 35, is in Folsom State Prison.
No mention is made of John Wiley in the news items. But according to Sacramento Superior Court online records, a John Lavelle Wiley Jr. pleaded guilty in October 1998 to voluntary manslaughter and second degree burglary, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.









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