Sacto 9-1-1

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened in court to Michael Gomes, who was one of the men accused of the Mariposa County gem heist?
Submitted by: Elizabeth, Auburn

ANSWER: Michael Anthony Gomes, 43, was arrested in January at his Citrus Heights home in connection with the September robbery of the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to Robert Vela? He was accused of killing his infant son at his parents' home in the Pocket area. I think it was in the late '90s.
Submitted by: Grammy G., Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury convicted Robert Ramirez Vela Jr. of second-degree murder in the 1996 death of his 1-year-old son, Daniel Vergos.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Was Daniel Chartraw sentenced May 2, and if so what was the sentence?
Submitted by: Chris, Los Angeles

ANSWER: According to U.S. District Court online records, Daniel Chartraw's sentencing has been continued to July 18.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened in the trial of my murdered friend Jill Alamo?
Submitted by: Colleen, Sacramento

ANSWER: Augustine Espino Munoz pleaded no contest in 2011 to second-degree murder in the 2007 strangulation of his ex-wife, Jill Alamo.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Last year, Kaiser psychiatrist Stephen Melcher was sentenced for for child molestation. Was he released already? I cannot find him in the correctional system in California.
Submitted by: Akbar, Sacramento

ANSWER: Stephen Francis Melcher pleaded no contest in April 2012 to a charge of child molestation and was sentenced to 365 days in Sacramento County jail.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: There was a large police presence in River Park on Thursday afternoon/evening. A helicopter and many patrol cars, including park rangers, were on scene. What was the cause?
Submitted by: Greg, Sacramento

ANSWER: According to the Sacramento Police Department's daily activity log, officers were called to the 5400 block of Sandburg Drive in the River Park area about 7:30 p.m. Thursday regarding teenagers involved in a fight.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I was wondering if you had any information about the Ponzi scheme case against Chris Jackson?
Submitted by: Conrad, Sacramento

ANSWER:The case of Christopher Jackson, one of five Sacramento-area residents charged in September 2011 in a $26 million real estate fraud scheme, remains in federal court in Sacramento.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Several years ago, a man and a woman picked up a prostitute for the purpose of having the woman experience killing someone. Whatever happened to them?
Submitted by: Harry Banan, Sacramento

ANSWER: You may be thinking of the case of James Daveggio and Michelle Michaud of Sacramento who were sentenced to death in 2002 for the 1997 abduction, rape and murder of a Pleasanton woman.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: A couple who owned the Farmer's Daughter restaurant was arrested last year for selling marijuana in the back room. What happened to them?
Submitted by: Rose, Sacramento

ANSWER: Robert Sand and Shelby Lucero, proprietors of the Farmer's Daughter restaurant, were arrested in July 2012 after Sacramento County sheriff's narcotics detectives raided the restaurant and the owners' Rio Linda home.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Why don't you do a story about Brian Mays? He killed somebody in 2007, only received a two-year sentence. Now he is back in Sacramento, was arrested again for DUI, then released on bail and is a no show.
Submitted by: Dennis H., Sacramento

ANSWER: Brian James Mays pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the January 2007 death of 48-year-old Janusz Porembski of Sacramento.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Can you shed some light on the investigation of the death of Auxiliary Bishop Gallegos on Highway 99?
Submitted by: Gabriele, Carmichael

ANSWER: Auxiliary Bishop Alphonse Gallegos died the night of Oct. 6, 1991, in a traffic collision on a dark stretch of Highway 99 north of Yuba City.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What's the latest information regarding the home invasion/shootout in the Greenhaven area last year?
Submitted by: ict1, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three men have been charged in the Dec. 22 home invasion robbery in which one of the intruders was killed and three other people were wounded.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Is there any info on Garry Bradford's sentencing on April 12?
Submitted by: Bill, Sacramento

ANSWER: Garry Bradford's sentencing in U.S. District Court in Sacramento for his role in a real estate Ponzi scheme has been postponed.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened in the case of the two teens that were racing on Iron Point Road in Folsom one morning many years ago when they crashed into a woman pulling out of the Factory Outlets, killing her? I do remember that one teen was driving a brand-new sporty car his parents bought for him, and when police arrived the boys were trying to remove an expensive radio from his crashed car, rather than trying to help the injured woman.
Submitted by: Steve, Folsom

ANSWER: Two teenage drivers were ordered to spend six months in juvenile hall for gross vehicular manslaughter in the January 2007 death of 53-year-old Susan McNew of Shingle Springs.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What can you tell me about any lasting legacy of a public defender, Tommy Clinkenbeard, who founded a legal clinic at Loaves & Fishes and was very involved with the Death Penalty Focus?
Submitted by: Uncle Bud, Ozawkie, Kan.

ANSWER: Tommy Clinkenbeard, a Sacramento County public defender, started a legal clinic in 2000 to aid homeless people.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to Nina Butler, who embezzled from her employer, Normac, in the late '80s or '90s?
Submitted by: Boston, Sacramento

ANSWER: Nina Rae Butler was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1991 for stealing more than $6 million from her employer.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the person in the Folsom Lake Bowl car accident a year or two ago?
Submitted by: Dave, Folsom

ANSWER: Tera Lee Nicholson of Folsom was arrested Jan. 10, 2012 after her car barreled through the bar patio at Folsom Lake Bowl on East Bidwell Street, injuring five people.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to David Harrell, who was accused of killing young Brady West?
Submitted by: Jolene, Sacramento

ANSWER: John David Harrell was convicted of second-degree murder in the February 1997 beating death of 15-month old Brady West.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I was wondering whatever happened to the men that were arrested in connection with the death of William Kempton's daughter?
Submitted by: Bill McCormick, Sacramento

ANSWER: Andres Arturo Tostado and Jacob Edwards were arrested in connection with the 2007 death of 21-year-old Summer Kempton, daughter of then state Department of Transportation Director Will Kempton.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I am trying to find an article about an old friend that died on Aug. 29, 1996. His name was Florentino Mayorga Jr., "Tino". I wanted to know if they ever found how he died and if anyone was ever convicted.
Submitted by: Nicole, Sacramento

ANSWER:Trevor James Heard and Fernando George Loya were found guilty of second-degree murder in the August 1996 slaying of 20-year-old Florentino Mayorga.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I am wondering what happened to Adam Gordon. He was charged with murder and now his online status says state prison hold but not how long he was sentenced for.
Submitted by: Darren, Sacramento

ANSWER: Adam Charles Gordon, 30, pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the December 2011 slaying of 53-year-old David Pare, according to Sacramento Superior Court online records.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of Michael Bolden, who was charged in a real estate fraud case?
Submitted by: Rocketman916, Sacramento

ANSWER: The trial for Michael Bolden and four other people indicted by a federal grand jury is set for May 14, according to federal court online records.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In 1987, Kevin Duncan, a paraplegic, was murdered. Gregory R. Jackson, a transient who the victim had taken in, was accused. Jackson denied it but later claimed he had acted under the overwhelming influence of a femme fatale gang leader. His trial was delayed many times. Where is he now?
Submitted by: Tim, Folsom

ANSWER: Gregory Robert Jackson pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the December 1987 death of 30-year-old Kevin Thomas Duncan.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of the case against Tresa Bales-Sterba of Orangevale, who is accused of hitting two brothers in a crosswalk with her car last October in Citrus Heights?
Submitted by: Tim, Folsom

ANSWER: Tresa Bales-Sterba is free on bail as her case makes its way through the court process.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of Vera Kuzmenko, who was indicted in a mortgage fraud case?
Submitted by: Edward, Sacramento

ANSWER: Vera Kuzmenko, a tax preparer, is one of more than 80 people who have been indicted in 30 cases of alleged mortgage fraud filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento and involving members of the area's Slavic community, according to stories in The Bee.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Around the late 1990s, I was on a jury that convicted several people for robbery and murder of a truck driver in a parking lot of a Stop-and-Go near 46th Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard in south Sacramento. The victim's brother, also a truck driver, saw his brother's truck in the parking lot before and after making deliveries himself to the Campbell Soup plant. Upon investigating, he found his brother partially clothed and dead in the truck from a gunshot wound. The judge determined the sentencing after we were released. What punishment did the judge impose, and what are the defendants' status?
Submitted by: Dave, Folsom

ANSWER: James "J.T." Bertram and Nikita Suzanne Powell, both of south Sacramento, were tried for the shooting death of Woodland trucker Darrel Gaskill.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: On March 21, my wife was attacked in our front yard in the 500 block of 44th Street in Sacramento. We subdued the man till the police arrived to take him into custody. We found out that he had reportedly cut two people that morning at 7:45 a.m. on 11th Avenue in Oak Park. Other than this, we have no other information and would love any information you could give us.
Submitted by: Jeff, Sacramento

ANSWER: According to the Sacramento Police Department's daily activity log, officers responded about 7:45 a.m. March 21 to the 4500 block of 11th Avenue regarding an assault.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome and reason behind the man fatally shot outside the Monte Carlo a few months back? I believe the victim's name was Jesse James Nunez. Has the suspect been charged in court yet?
Submitted by: Manero, West Sacramento

ANSWER: Elpidio Tellez was arrested following the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Jesse James Nunez.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In mid-March of this year, a woman who was coming home from her job at a local casino in the morning crashed and died in West Sacramento from her brakes failing, the CHP was investigating. Do you know what became of that investigation? Did the brakes indeed fail, or was it driver error?
Submitted by: Rick, Sacramento

ANSWER: The cause of the March 13 crash is still under investigation.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I believe it was 1994 when a man in North Highlands accidentally shot his niece or daughter, then fled to Mexico. I don't remember many details, but was he ever found, or did he finally turn himself in?
Submitted by: Bebe, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Three-year-old Jamie Vongvilay was fatally shot Sept. 6, 1997, when a gun her uncle had purchased that day at a Reno gun show discharged, striking her in the chest.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Back in the late 1980s or early '90s a gold miner named Pete Sanger was killed in Old Sacramento. Was anyone ever convicted of the crime?
Submitted by: Leslie, Sacramento

ANSWER: One man pleaded no contest to being an accessory in the shooting death of gold miner Pete Sanger, a resident of Forbestown in Butte County, but the primary suspect was not charged in the case.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Several years ago, a Sacramento sheriff's deputy was killed on a routine traffic stop of a white van. A white van was later found submerged near the murder scene. Has the killer ever been located, and what is the status of that investigation if not?
Submitted by: Steph, Sacramento

ANSWER: Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Jeffrey Mitchell was shot and killed about 3:30 a.m. Oct. 27, 2006, while checking on a white van without a license plate on a rural road near Sloughhouse.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the mid-1990s, Lance Evans, owner of Pool, Patio and Things, was killed in his place of business. Was this ever solved?
Submitted by: David Hunt, Sacramento

ANSWER: This case remains unsolved.

Lance Evans, 41, was killed July 12, 1995, during a robbery at the Arden Way patio store that he had owned for five years with two partners.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the son of Lisa Barber, who was allegedly stabbed and killed by him just before Thanksgiving in 2011?
Submitted by: Jacquelyn Williams, Sacramento

ANSWER: Angelo Dunya Wright, 21, is in Sacramento County Jail charged with murder in the death of his mother, Lisa Marie Barber.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the people who killed Curtis James Anderson Jr. in 2009?
Submitted by: GodsOwn, Sacramento

ANSWER: Two men pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 20-year-old Curtis James Anderson Jr. at a Florin-area apartment complex.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Several years back, two CHP officers were accused of letting a kid die, from his fall from a bridge, by never calling for medical help for him. They did, however, call for a tow truck to tow his car away. Last I heard, this was still in the court system. Can you tell me what eventually happened?
Submitted by: Tom, Folsom

ANSWER: Although unable find information on the case described, there are similar cases in which the courts have ruled that public safety officers have no legal obligation to render assistance to citizens in distress.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is happening with Matthew Riley's appeal? He was convicted of murdering both his parents.
Submitted by: Mark, Sacramento

ANSWER: According to online court records, Matthew David Riley filed a notice of appeal Jan. 9, 2012, three days after he was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for the stabbing deaths of his parents.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of the October 2012 shooting in Natomas in which a boyfriend shot his girlfriend?
Submitted by: Vickieg5, Antioch

ANSWER: Sacramento Police Department spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said the case was presented to the district attorney and the death was determined to be accidental.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What results on the fatal shooting of a victim in late 2012 at 65th Avenue and 21st Street? Was anyone arrested?
Submitted by: LAthony, Sacramento

ANSWER: A 17-year-old suspect was arrested in the shooting death of a man Nov. 7 off 65th Avenue near Florin Road and 21st Street.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to the case of the pastor in south Sacramento -- his name was Frederick Dew -- who was accused of molesting a boy at the MLK library back in 2006?
Submitted by: Slim, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury found Frederick Deshawn Dew guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage boy at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in the Meadowview area in March 2007.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the current status of the criminal case against Ronald Buchanan Jr., the volleyball coach and photographer accused of videotaping teenage girls?
Submitted by: Concerned, Sacramento

ANSWER: Ronald Roy Buchanan Jr. is awaiting trial in Placer Superior Court.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: On June 24, 2006, by a park in Antelope, a young man named Serge Zubenko was shot and killed in his own car. What happened to those who were involved?
Submitted by: Gemini21, Sacramento

ANSWER: Two men were sentenced to prison for the shooting death of 24-year-old Serge Zubenko.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: A while back, an employee for the California Department of Social Services was being investigated by the CHP for potentially funneling printing contracts to her sister. The employee's name was Christie Kaiser. There were several write-ups in The Bee, then nothing after that. What was the outcome?
Submitted by: AppleH, Sacramento

ANSWER: According to the California Fair Political Practices Commission's online records, Christie Kaiser was fined $400 in April 2010 for failing to disclose her husband's employer as a source of income on annual statements of economic interest.

Kaiser was a supervisor for the Department of Social Services records and forms management unit during a period when two companies owned by her sister -- and which also employed Kaiser's husband -- received 49 contracts worth more than $200,000 from the department, according to stories in The Bee. The contracts involved printing business cards, posters, pamphlets and other items. All but six of the deals, which began in 2004 and continued until January 2008 were approved without public calls for competitive bidding.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Has anyone been arrested in connection with the shooting death of Jorden Benedict last April in Rancho Cordova?
Submitted by: Just Curious, Rancho Cordova

ANSWER: Investigation of the case remains open, but no arrests have been made, according to Sgt. Jason Ramos, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to David Louie Weiss? He was wanted by Sacramento most wanted for stealing from an elderly person. He had a $250,000 felony bail. I read he was arrested, but was he sentenced?
Submitted by: Shell, Roseville

ANSWER: According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, a complaint was filed in November 2008 charging David Louie Weiss with two felony counts of theft from an elderly dependent adult.

The records show, however, that the charges were dismissed in June 2010.

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Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to Ronald F. Schmidt, who was arrested for copper theft? The last story I read about him being arrested in January 2012. Was he convicted for any of the crimes in which he was originally arrested?
Submitted by: Productive Citizen, Sacramento

ANSWER: Ronald F. Schmidt and a co-defendant, Kenneth Thomas, pleaded no contest to grand theft charges.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the guy that was arrested for the killing of the leader of the white supremacist group?
Submitted by: Janice, Sacramento

ANSWER:No one has been charged in the March 2011 shooting death of white supremacist David Austin Lynch at his Citrus Heights home.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Was anyone ever arrested or convicted of the killing of Lori Savala in 1993?
Submitted by: Nmresident, Clovis, N.M.

ANSWER: Luther Dion Foster was arrested in the May 1993 shooting death of 20-year-old Lori Savala, but there is no indication in Sacramento Superior Court online records that he was formally charged with the homicide.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to the guy who allegedly caused the death of Satender Singh by punching him, causing him to fall backward, hitting his head fatally on a rock and then fled the country to Ukraine? Has he ever been brought to justice?
Submitted by: Pattysboi, Carmichael

ANSWER: Sacramento Superior Court online records show that there is still an active complaint charging Andrey Vusik with involuntary manslaughter and a hate crime in the death of Satender Singh in July 2007.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Was there a homicide shooting on Dec. 30, 2006 on Hillsdale and Walerga that killed Anthony Fuller?
Submitted by: Kitten, Sacramento

ANSWER: Anthony Fuller, 26, of Sacramento was fatally shot during a fight that began inside a Foothill Farms liquor store on Dec. 30, 2006.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the two men who were arrested in connection with the killing the homeless man in the American River Parkway, Michael J. Tinius, in spring 2008?
Submitted by: DHL, Sacramento

ANSWER: J. Douglas Halford and Mark Ray Hernandez were found guilty of second-degree murder in the slaying of 47-year-old Michael Tinius.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Was anyone arrested in the shooting death of a toddler riding in the back seat of his father's car on July 4, 2012?
Submitted by: Momma of 4, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three suspects, two of them teenagers, turned themselves in within days of the shooting, after the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department publicized their names and photos.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I dated a female from Woodland who, while on her way to visit me, was shot and killed by someone in another car. Two others in the car with her were injured but survived. Was anyone ever arrested? This happened in the early '90s.
Submitted by: Robert, Stockton

ANSWER: Three men were arrested in the 1990 gang-related shooting in which 24-year-old Norma Hernandez of Woodland was killed and two other people were seriously wounded.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: A couple of years ago there was a story about a mom named January that was allegedly killed by her boyfriend. What happened to that case?
Submitted by: Christina, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Issiah Willie Jackson was convicted of murder in the 2007 death of January Keene, a 30-year-old mother and aspiring model.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In mid-2000s, there was a nurse who was abducted from Mercy San Juan Hospital. She was forced to withdraw funds from the ATM, driven around for several hours, assaulted, beaten and set afire. She survived her ordeal. What happened to her assailant?
Submitted by: Laurie, Copalis Beach, Wash.

ANSWER: Daniel James Harper was twice tried and convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the woman, and then trying to kill her when he stabbed her in the neck, set her on fire and left her for dead on a rural road near Thornton.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the winter of 2005-06, an 11-month-old boy named Alan was beaten to death at Vince's Motel on Folsom Boulevard. Both parents were arrested. Were either one of them convicted?
Submitted by: L. Darragh, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury convicted Robbie Woodson of murder in the April 2005 death of his 11-month-old son, Allan Woodson.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I had a friend, Carole Sturgis, who lived in Fair Oaks and was killed on July 15, 2012. What ever happened to the man involved?
Submitted by: Jeanne, Fair Oaks

ANSWER: Moses Stanley Trotter, 32, remains in Sacramento County Jail charged with murder in the death 79-year-old Carole Jane Sturgis.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I worked with a guy who won some money at a casino and had his friend claim it for lack of ID. The friend kept the money and my co-worker went on a rampage, attacking and killing him with a bat before going into the house and attacking two young girls sleeping and then going next door and trying to attack an elderly couple. What was the outcome after his arrest. This happened around 2001-2003 I believe.
Submitted by: Robert, Stockton

ANSWER: Luis Orosco was found guilty of murder and five counts of attempted murder after going on a rampage at a house in North Highlands in August 2004.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to Jack Sackrider for the murder of his girlfriend sometime in the early '90s?
Submitted by: Terry A. Fulton, Sacramento

ANSWER: Jack Sackrider pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 1999 death of his girlfriend, Tina Ray Foligno.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the legal standing of the Citrus Heights private school principal? It's been quite a while since he was charged, and I haven't seen any information lately.
Submitted by: J. Smith, Sacramento

ANSWER: A preliminary hearing for Robert Benson Adams, former principal of Creative Frontiers school in Citrus Heights, has been continued several times.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to Avelina Luna and the killing of her children?
Submitted by: John, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury found Avelina Luna guilty of first-degree murder in the asphyxiation deaths of her two elementary school-age daughters at their Natomas home in March 1993.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was Dion Dametrice Tolliver sentenced to for sexual assault on multiple children?
Submitted by: Misty, Sacramento

ANSWER: Dion Dametrice Tolliver was sentenced Jan. 11 to 25 years to life in state prison, according to Sacramento Superior Court online records.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In or around 1969 or 1970, a nurse by the name of Judith Ann Hakari was kidnapped in the late evening from the parking lot of Sutter Memorial Hospital. Her body was found in a shallow grave in Weimar. Were there any arrests made in connection with this crime?
Submitted by: Nancy, Carmichael

ANSWER: The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department website lists the death of Judith Ann Hakari as one of the homicide cases being re-evaluated by its Cold Case Investigations Unit.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Did Daniel Chartraw get convicted?
Submitted by: Butch, El Dorado Hills

ANSWER: A trial date has not been set for former El Dorado Hills resident Daniel Chartraw.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Is there any update on the triple homicide that happened in Rancho Cordova a couple of months back? Last I heard, Denis Bukhantsov's brother was in custody. What has happened since he was arrested?
Submitted by: Sunshine, Sacramento

ANSWER: Grigoriy Bukhantsov, 20, remains in Sacramento County Jail awaiting trial for the October slaying of his sister-in-law and two of her children.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Several years ago there was a homicide at the pool hall then located at Arden and Ethan. Three young Vietnamese men were charged with murder relating to gang activity. In a trial, two were found guilty. There was a hung jury on the third defendant. What happened to the three of them?
Submitted by: ET, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three people, including a 17-year-old, were arrested in the shooting death of 18-year-old Southalay Vongsedone outside the Hot Shots Billiard Parlor on Arden Way on April 10, 1998.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I was wondering if you have more information on Garry Bradford. He was arrested on approximately April 19, 2011.
Submitted by: Bill, Sacramento

ANSWER:Garry Bradford pleaded guilty in August 2011 to four counts of federal wire fraud in connection with a real estate Ponzi scheme.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the man who followed and beat up the old man in Rocklin because of road rage?
Submitted by: MM gramma, Rocklin

ANSWER: Zubin Dimitri Bogdanoff, 33, remains in Placer County Jail accused of beating an 83-year-old Rocklin man in an alleged road rage incident in November.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome of the hit-and-run on Winding Way last year?
Submitted by: Les, Sacramento

ANSWER: Steve Hernandez, 38, was arrested in July in the March 22 hit-and-run that killed Paul Pellandini and injured his friend William Collins on Winding Way in the Arden Arcade area.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome in the 1991 killing of Rickey Campbell at Warner's nightclub in Oak Park?
Submitted by: Robert, Sacramento

ANSWER: Richard Campbell, 22, of Sacramento died after suffering a gunshot wound in a fight at Warner's Rendezvous club on Stockton Boulevard in February 1992.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome of the juvenile that killed a sheriff's deputy a couple years ago around Christmas time? It was in Sacramento County during the daytime, and I believe the deputies were at a drug house.
Submitted by: Andrea,Sacramento

ANSWER: Jimmy Siackasorn was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Sacramento County Sheriff's Detective Vu Nguyen.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of Jerry Caldwell, arrested Feb. 28, 2012, by the Sacramento County Sheriff on suspicion of indecent exposure?
Submitted by: Twice Retired, Ventura

ANSWER: Jerry Wayne Caldwell remains in Sacramento County Jail in lieu of $150,000 bail.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to the Mather day care provider who was accused of having an infant in her care die? Last that was reported, she was going to trial.
Submitted by: Jill, Mather

ANSWER: Former day care operator Sheila Caceres was ordered in July to stand trial in the death of an infant boy in her care.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the story on Jasmine Street in Del Paso Heights a few years ago when Donald T. Wright shot and killed his neighbor next door. How much time did he receive and what prison is he in?
Submitted by: Tina, Sacramento

ANSWER: Donald Thomas Wright was convicted of second-degree murder in the November 1999 shooting death of Edward Castro Sanchez.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Was anyone caught in the killing of Emanuel Dennis Adams on March 30, 1989?
Submitted by: Albert White, Sacramento

ANSWER: Anthony Mial was arrested in the fatal stabbing of Emanuel Dennis Adams, 34, of Del Paso Heights.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the suspects in the 2005 killing of Donald Willis in the Arden area?
Submitted by: James, Sacramento

ANSWER: Four men were arrested for the execution-style killing of 21-year-old Donald Larnell Willis at his Arden-area duplex in May 2005.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to Eric Knapp, arrested many years ago for rape in Sacramento?
Submitted by: Emily, Sacramento

ANSWER: Eric Charles Rodney Knapp was sentenced in February 1994 to 98 years in state prison after a Sacramento County jury convicted him in connection with two sexual attacks, including one against a woman who reported she was raped in her bed as her family slept in their Citrus Heights home.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome of the trial of the other four defendants in the killing of the gentleman at the motel on Auburn Boulevard in 2009 or 2010? Did anyone else get convictions?
Submitted by: Motown, Sacramento

ANSWER: The trial date for four defendants in the May 2010 shooting death of 29-year-old Marcel Hatch has been postponed several times.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the suspects in a 1997 murder-robbery in Oak Park on 42nd Street and 11th Avenue?
Submitted by: James, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three people were arrested and tried in the October 1997 shooting death of 16-year-old Andrew McKissack and wounding of two other men in what police described as a dispute over drugs and money.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I would like to know the names and how much time the three men got for the killing of Ricky Collier on Dec. 10, 2000, in G Parkway.
Submitted by: Teia, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three men were arrested and sentenced to prison in the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Ricky Collier.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Sometime in the early '90s, a young man named DeVarr Williams was killed in Lincoln Village. What were the details?
Submitted by: Rich, Citrus Heights

ANSWER: DeVarr Williams died in February 1994, a week after he was shot as he stood outside a liquor store in the Lincoln Village area.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the late '90s, a coworker broke into a home in south Sacramento, assaulted a young woman and attacked her grandmother with a machete. What was the outcome of his trial?
Submitted by: P.S., Sacramento

ANSWER: Tamecus Reed was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for the machete murder of 81-year-old Soledad Abogado and rape of her 23-year-old granddaughter.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the murder of Pablo Martin? He was shot by Oscar Ceballos, his brother-in-law at the time.
Submitted by: Araceli Diaz, Sacramento

ANSWER: Oscar Ceballos was sentenced to 21 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter in the April 27, 2009 shooting death of Pablo Martin.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Sometime in the late 1990s, a father killed his wife and left his young children in the home. Whatever happened to the kids and the father?
Submitted by: Tim Thayer, North Highlands

ANSWER: Former McClatchy High School teacher Robert Castorena pleaded no-contest to second-degree murder in the 1996 stabbing death of his wife, Janice Baker-Castorena.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the single-car accident at 4 a.m. Nov. 24? I know the passenger died. The driver was taken to the hospital. Did he or she live, and what was the cause of the accident?
Submitted by: Tammy Cowan, Sacramento

ANSWER: Samuel Bagdikyan, 33, of North Highlands died Nov. 24 when the 2007 Toyota Scion in which he was riding crashed into a brick soundwall.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to the case of two brothers who were killed the day after Thanksgiving in 2002 in Del Paso Heights? Did they ever find the person?
Submitted by: Mr. Augustus, Sacramento

ANSWER: Jovon Latrell Jordan was convicted of murder in the shooting deaths of Gregory Augustus, 18, and Hudson Augustus, 20, in November 2002.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Twenty years ago or more Rich Turner was shot six times with his own revolver and killed by a woman that came with him here from Oklahoma. He was in his trailer house on 10 acres in Placer County a few miles from Sierra College Boulevard and 193 north of Lincoln Newcastle Highway. Was she ever caught and what happened to her?
Submitted by: Goldwyn, Orangevale

ANSWER: Susan Michelle Greenberg pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the May 1987 shooting of 40-year-old Richard Turner.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the late 1980s or early '90s, a teenager was found killed outside of Mather Air Force Base by the canal off of Douglas Road. What were the details of this crime and what was the outcome of the person responsible for it? I know the suspect robbed the victim's parents house on base to make it look like the victim did it.
Submitted by: Rich, Citrus Heights

ANSWER: Jeffery Michael Creagan pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the execution-style slaying of a friend, 17-year-old Clarence Dixon, on July 2, 1990.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Has there ever been an arrest made in the killing of Jonah Lamar Simms? He was shot and killed on Nov. 21, 2008. He was a respectful young man who was trying to find his way in the world. He had just started working for the CCC in Sacramento and was shot and killed walking home from work after completing his first full week at his first job. I was his supervisor and not a day goes by that I don't think about him.
Submitted by: Steve Holderness, Roseville

ANSWER: Arthur Alexander McCall was convicted in December 2011 of the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Jonah Lamar Simms.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: A kid I met in 1985 or '86 was charged with double homicide. He was only 15 or 16. Did the killer ever get convicted?
Submitted by: Joe, Sacramento

ANSWER: Randall Ray Houseman and Gary Dale Hines were convicted of the September 1986 gunshot slayings of Kathryn and Donna Roberts and the theft of the Roberts family's pink roadster.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to Thom V. Randle who pleaded guilty to embezzlement of money from a retirement home? We heard he got sent to federal prison. Was he forced to pay restitution etc., too?
Submitted by: Glenn Loughlin, Chico

ANSWER: Thom V. Randle pleaded guilty in May 2010 to computer fraud and money laundering in connection with his theft of $693,000 from the Columbian Retirement Home in Marysville.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is going on with the man/case who was arrested in Carmichael this year for a killing that took place 30 years ago in South Lake Tahoe?
Submitted by: George, Fair Oaks

ANSWER: Andrew Evan Sanford is in El Dorado County Jail awaiting trial in the death of 16-year-old Richard E. Swanson.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: There was an incident back in the early '90s -- I believe one of the perpetrators was named Mario Lawson. What was the outcome of this case?
Submitted by: Natasha, Sacramento

ANSWER: Mario Lawson was one of three men convicted of murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Richard D. Harper in September 1993.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to the teenagers that shot and killed a homeless man under the freeway by Miller Park? I think it happened in 1986. Are they still locked away? It was said it happened on Christmas Eve.
Submitted by: Just Wondering, Sacramento

ANSWER: Two boys, ages 17 and 15, were arrested in the unprovoked killing of a transient on Dec. 24, 1984.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome of the case where a Sacramento teacher slapped a student on the buttock at Hiram W. Johnson High School? The teacher's name was Timothy Carter, a math teacher.
Submitted by: Hailey, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury found Hiram Johnson High School math teacher Tim Carter not guilty of misdemeanor battery against a student.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: On high school grad night in June 2010, a celebrating senior grad/athlete was shot and killed while celebrating at the Holiday Inn Express in Elk Grove. Was that crime ever solved and the culprits brought to justice?
Submitted by: CTrapp, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Nine people were arrested in connection with the shooting death of 18-year-old D'andre Blackwell, a popular former Valley High School basketball player, on June 5, 2010.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is going on with the trial of the man arrested last June for alleged child sex abuse over a period of 10 years, Michael Nodine? I heard of his arrest and a trial date set in August, but it's well past August and I have yet to hear anything?
Submitted by: Testify, Sacramento

ANSWER: Michael Scott Nodine, 45, remains in Placer County Jail awaiting trial, with bail set at $1 million.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In 1994 or 1995, Paula Scott killed her child. She was sent to a mental hospital before she could stand trial. What has happened to her since?
Submitted by: Shirley, Sacramento

ANSWER: Paula Lynn Scott pleaded no contest to strangling her 5-year-old daughter, Jesusita, in 1998 to spite her husband.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Has Christopher Jackson gone to trial? If not, what is causing the delay?
Submitted by: William423, Sacramento

ANSWER: Christopher Jackson was one of five Sacramentans charged in September 2011 in a $26 million real estate fraud scheme.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Has there been an identification on the driver of the SUV involved in the double fatality collision on Folsom Crossing on Oct. 13?
Submitted by: Karen, Folsom

ANSWER: The two drivers killed in a head-on crash on Folsom Lake Crossing on Oct. 13 have been identified as Steven Schwartz, 28, of Orangevale and Steven Ray Rothenberg, 49, of Fair Oaks, according to the Sacramento County Coroner's website.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to William Todd? He shot, or stabbed, and killed a man off Azevedo Avenue in Natomas a few years back.
Submitted by: Curious the Cat, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury convicted William Todd of first-degree murder for the 2010 stabbing death of 44-year-old David Paul Endres.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In fall 1985, two women went to work at an office along east Highway 50. It was a Saturday, so, I surmise, they were intending to catch up on some uncompleted tasks. They were killed by the custodian, I believe. I have been haunted by the fact that they were doing extra but were killed doing their job. Was the killer caught and what happened to him?
Submitted by: Robert, Sacramento

ANSWER: Timothy Pride, a janitor, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for fatally stabbing two female co-workers at Progressive Casualty Insurance in Rancho Cordova on the Labor Day holiday in 1984.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: There was a special education teacher who worked at Will C. Wood by the name of Mark Cline. He was taken to jail for pornography. Can you tell me what happened?
Submitted by: Tami, Sacramento

ANSWER: Mark Allen Cline, a former special education teacher at Will C. Wood Middle School in Sacramento, was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2011 for receipt and possession of child pornography.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In 1999, a man named Albert Valli in south Sacramento shot and killed another man. He received 10 years in Solano Prison. What were the circumstances and who was the victim?
Submitted by: Curious1, Sacramento

ANSWER: Albert Patrick Valli was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the May 1999 death of 39-year-old Doug Zimmerman.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: A classmate of mine by the name of Greg Knecht was murdered in 1991. Was his killer ever brought to justice?
Submitted by: Just Wondering, Sacramento

ANSWER: Two men were arrested for the 1991 slaying of 19-year-old Gregory Justin Knecht of Elverta. One admitted to the killing and the other was acquitted.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I live in Oak Park and last night I got a phone call at 11:30 p.m., when I was in bed, half asleep, and it was a recorded message from the police department about a missing boy. Earlier in the evening, a cop helicopter flew above my neighborhood for 20 minutes with loud-speaker alerts about the boy. I've gotten used to helicopters flying above my neighborhood, but the robo-phone call from the police was a first. Do you know if such calls are now standard police procedure?
Submitted by: Sleepless in Oak Park, Sacramento

ANSWER: Sacramento police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said the department uses its Reverse911 program to notify residents of situations involving health and safety concerns.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In 1993, Brian Hintz, a Sacramento prosecutor, was shot an killed in Elk Grove. Was anyone convicted, and what was the outcome of the trial?
Submitted by: D. Pinto, Elk Grove

ANSWER:Brian Hintz, a deputy district attorney in Sacramento, was fatally shot Sept. 29, 1993, by his 17-year-old nephew on property Hintz owned in Elk Grove.

The youth, who was not identified by The Bee because of his age, was convicted in Juvenile Court of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to the California Youth Authority in 1994. He was to be eligible for release in four years.

The prosecutor said the youth shot Hintz, 32, in the chest with a hunting rifle after the two argued over an engine hoist the boy did not have permission to use.

Hintz's family said the shooting was especially tragic because the teen, who had been shuttled among family members' homes, had been closer to Hintz than to any other adult.

The youth had been living with a friend in a camper shell on Hintz's property in the Laguna area for about a month before the shooting.

A visiting judge heard the case and the state Attorney General's Office prosecuted it because of potential conflicts stemming from Hintz's job as a deputy district attorney.

Have a Sacto 911 question? Submit it here.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: A friend of mine was murdered in Sacramento in 1985, named Gary Wells. Was his murderer ever caught and what happened to him? I believe his name was Dwayne Richardson. What actually happened that night?
Submitted by: sin dawg, Sacramento

ANSWER: Dwayne Michael Richardson pleaded guilty in the 1984 shooting death of 19-year-old Gary Wells.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the mid-1980s, Stephen Rogers was killed in Sacramento. Police found some of his body parts in the trunk of his car while another man was installing a stereo in the car in a Sacramento city alley. Who was convicted and what was the outcome of the trial?
Submitted by: Elizabeth Lady, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Timothy Robert Sugars admitted to the first-degree mutilation-murder of his friend, Stephen M. Rogers, and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the guys that killed Kobena Anaman in April 1996?
Submitted by: Gerri, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury convicted Jacky Jay Brown of second-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Kobena Anaman.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Was anybody convicted in the murder of Fritz Bieth? I believe it happened in the mid 1980s, and what was the reason of his murder? I believe he was found shot to death in the back of his van in Yuba City.
Submitted by: Stuts, Elk Grove

ANSWER: According to court documents, Fritz Bieth, the owner of a Sacramento company, Floratech, who had developed and patented a method of raising orchids, was killed May 17, 1991 by a business partner.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened about the case of the man who was reportedly shot and killed by two men who were hiding in his car, but it was later found out that it was his wife allegedly shot and killed him?
Submitted by: TJ, Sacramento

ANSWER: Shajia Ayobi is in Sacramento County Jail accused of murder in the shooting death of her husband last December.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the guy that was attacked outside of In Cahoots bar on Arden Way in 1998? Did he survive the attack? Was anyone arrested?
Submitted by: Danielle, Antelope

ANSWER: Jaime Stubblefield of Dixon was arrested and charged with attempted murder in the brutal beating of 22-year-old William Gutenberger outside the In Cahoots bar and dance club on April 20, 2000.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: I was wondering if there was ever an outcome in the killing of Steven Carmassi? I cannot find anything recent online.
Submitted by: Curious, Sacramento

ANSWER: Three people remain in Sacramento County Jail awaiting trial in the 2010 shooting death of 35-year-old Steven Carmassi.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In 1992, a young woman I was somewhat associated with was arrested for attempting to hire someone to kill her romantic rival. The young man they were both interested in was a member of a popular Sacramento rock band. Someone had tipped off the police about her intentions, and a law enforcement person posing as a hit man met with her. Whatever became of this case?

Submitted by: Anonymous, Sacramento

ANSWER: Alaina Michelle Rowe pleaded guilty in December 1992 to solicitation for murder after being accused of attempting to hire a hit man to kill her teenage rival.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Can you please tell me who was convicted for the murder of David Dale Fry? The victim in his 30s was stabbed multiple times with a knife after being pulled into an apartment in his complex. What happened with this case?
Submitted by: TFry, West Sacramento

ANSWER: A mother and son were arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing 35-year-old David Dale Fry in October 2009, but the district attorney declined to charge them with murder.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the boy who was stabbed at Luther Burbank High School a couple of years ago?
Submitted by: Jessica, Sacramento

ANSWER: In May 2005, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the chest in what police at the time described as a fight between associates of two rival street gangs on the steps of Luther Burbank High School.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Several years ago, an employee of Home Depot in Placerville finished his work shift and was driving home on Highway 50 westbound when his vehicle was hit head on by a vehicle traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes. The driver of the westbound vehicle was killed in the accident and the driver of the wrong-way vehicle was seriously injured. The Home Depot employee had recently been married. Was the wrong-way driver ever convicted?
Submitted by: Pokopete, Garden Valley

ANSWER: Theresa Ghersanich pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter while driving intoxicated in the crash that killed Bruce Michael Bone of Orangevale.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What were the circumstances surrounding the drug-related shooting of Michael Savage in Land Park in the mid to late 1990s?
Submitted by: Mike, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Michael Savage was shot in the back of the head and his 18-year-old companion, Andre Carter, was killed in February 1995 as they attemtped to buy drugs at William Land Park.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the current status of the Richard S. Johnson trial?
Submitted by: VXSGUY, Antelope

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury in June convicted Richard S. Johnson of sexually assaulting a child younger than 14 and also found an allegation of kidnapping to be true.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Were there any convictions in the December 2003 killing of Thanh Khaleck around Traction Avenue in North Sacramento?
Submitted by: Sam, Sacramento

ANSWER: Two men pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the December 2003 slaying of Thanh Khaleck, 43, who was shot and killed as he collected cans on a North Sacramento bike trail to support his family.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What became of the two people arrested in Lincoln for possession of multiple firearms and hand grenades. One of them was a woman, the other a man. Have they gone to court yet? What was the outcome?
Submitted by: Jim, Boston

ANSWER: Eric William Smith and Jennifer Mulhern, both of Lincoln, were arrested in January 2011 following a drug and gang investigation by the Roseville Police Department's Crime Suppression Unit.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Somewhere around 1994, Harry Ambler was murdered in a bizarre love triangle. Whatever happened to the convicted parties?
Submitted by: Brandon, Sacramento

ANSWER: Two men eventually were convicted of the 1993 shooting death of 26-year-old Harry Shahan Ambler Jr.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: How much prison time did Santino Deanda get in prison at his June 1, 2012, sentencing for multiple counts of child porn crimes?
Submitted by: linkin34, Sacramento

ANSWER: Santino Deanda, 34, was sentenced June 1 to 25 years to life in prison, according to Sacramento Superior Court online records.

A Sacramento County jury in April convicted Deanda of multiple child porn and sexual assault charges.

Prosecutors said Deanda abused the 10-year-old victim over several months.

Deanda is in Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad.

Have a Sacto 911 question? Submit it here.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the man and his girlfriend who stuffed a sock in his baby's mouth, covered him with a blanket, strapped him in his car seat and put it in the hall closet? The baby was discovered dead by the woman's pre-teen daughter when she came home from a sleepover.

Submitted by: Mary, Sacramento

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury convicted Tye Malecha and his girlfriend, Cheri Hall, of second-degree murder, child homicide and child endangerment in the 2001 death of Malecha's 19-month old son, Randy.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Has there been any outcome for the shooting death of Dawayne Douglas? He was shot and killed July 4, 2010.
Submitted by: Jessica, Sacramento

ANSWER: Imari Malik Powell pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of 21-year-old Dawayne Edward Douglas.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Somewhere between 1982 and 1986 a man named Adrian Ybarra was renting a room from an elderly woman, whom he killed. Whatever happened to him?
Submitted by: Wondering, Sacramento

ANSWER: Adrian Ybarra was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for the 1985 hammer-beating death of his 62-year-old landlady, Adelaide Miller.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to Joseph Simlick of Loomis, who was charged with killing his ex-girlfriend's parents, Jack and Susan Martin, in Sutter County in July 2010?
Submitted by: Bob, El Dorado Hills

ANSWER: Joseph Hayden Simlick, 23, remains in Sutter County Jail, where he is being held without bail, charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Jack and Susan Martin.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What were the circumstances surrounding the incident north of Sacramento two years ago where a man was shot and killed outside a motel room with an assault rifle?
Submitted by: Curious, Sacramento

ANSWER: Charles Antonio Williams was convicted by a Sacramento County jury of murdering 29-year-old Marcel Hatch in May 2010 at the Econo Lodge on Auburn Boulevard.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: During the rains and storms about six to eight months ago, a car going down Truxel Road at a high rate of speed made a left turn onto Garden Highway and accidentally went off the road and crashed into high standing water and drowned. Who was in that car and exactly what happened?
Submitted by: Darlene, Sacramento

ANSWER: According to a story in The Bee, Sacramento police received a call about 5:30 a.m. March 25 reporting a vehicle speeding southbound on Truxel Road in the Natomas area.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the engineer from Rancho Seco who was accused of sending threatening letters to President Bush? It seems like there wasn't actually anthrax but an inert powder used. Was the guy convicted and sentenced to prison or a medical facility?
Submitted by: Emmi, Sacramento

ANSWER: Michael Lee Braun, who worked as a nuclear engineer at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's now-decommissioned Rancho Seco nuclear generating plant, was arrested in 2006 for sending threatening letters and white powder to the Serrano Country Club in El Dorado Hills, where President Bush was appearing at a fundraising event for then-Rep. John Doolittle.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome of the home invasion and murder in south Sacramento in the mid-'90s involving, I believe, three or four suspects?
Submitted by: Mike, Elk Grove

ANSWER: David Reynoso, Cruz Avila and Pablo Cobb were convicted of first-degree murder, burglary and attempted robbery in the March 6, 1996, slaying of 21-year-old Nicholas Godinez.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Do you have any more details regarding the April 9, 1986, crash which took place on Power Inn Road and resulted in four fatalities?
Submitted by: J.T., Sacramento

ANSWER: Four men died in the single-vehicle crash, which occurred in south Sacramento about 11 p.m. April 9, 1986.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened to the rapper from Vallejo who was picked out of the line at Sac International Airport by TSA agents and found to have ecstasy pills taped to his inner leg?
Submitted by: Elan, Sacramento

ANSWER: Vallejo rapper Steven Noel Davison -- also known as "PSD," "PSD the Drivah" and "Stevie Dee" -- was arrested on federal drug charges July 14, 2008, after he was selected for a security screening as he tried to board a flight to Oklahoma at Sacramento International Airport.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Wondering what happened to the guy who struck and killed the mother of I believe six children in Orangevale/Fair Oaks. She was pulling out of the apartment driveway on Madison when he hit her in his truck.
Submitted by: Dawn, Orangevale

ANSWER: Christopher Sandbach was arrested following the Feb. 16, 2009, crash that claimed the life of 38-year-old Angelique Mayo.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to the man arrested for the hit-and-run death of my friend Yuriy Kokhanyy on Greenback Lane near Garfield Avenue a couple of years ago? As I recall, he left Yuriy to die in the street, proceeded home where his mother attempted to help him conceal his brutal crime. I believe his mother's name was Donna Fraser. Wasn't she arrested as well for conspiracy? What was her punishment?
Submitted by: Marie, Carmichael

ANSWER: Glen Henderson and his mother, Donna Fraser, of Carmichael were arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of 42-year-old Yuriy Kokhanyy in December 2010.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Whatever happened with the case against Elton John Cross, accused of shooting his girlfriend more than 10 years ago?
Submitted by: Adriha, Sacramento

ANSWER: In October 2002, Elton John Cross walked into the Sacramento County Jail and admitted shooting his girlfriend, according to a story in The Bee.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the people who were involved in the shooting death of Deantwan Thomas in 2005 in the Meadowview area?
Submitted by: Jessica M., Sacramento

ANSWER: Deantwon Torreal Thomas, a 17-year-old Burbank High School student, was shot and killed March 11, 2005 as he and a friend were walking home.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: How is the trial going for the suspects of the Michael Sanderson shooting at an apartment complex in Carmichael? Has it started? What are the charges for the five suspects?
Submitted by: Kandace, Carmichael

ANSWER: The five defendants in the case remain in Sacramento County Jail. According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, all are scheduled for a preliminary hearing Aug. 17.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to the couple Nicky and Ruby Marks from Sacramento who were suspected of scamming an elderly man in what police dubbed a "sweetheart scam"?
Submitted by: Mike, Sacramento

ANSWER: Ruby Miller, aka Ruby Marks, and her husband, bounty hunter Nicky Marks, were arrested in Reno in February 2008 in a case that Sacramento police described as the third in a series "sweetheart scams" perpetrated by a group that included Nicky Marks' sister and a niece.

According to a story in The Bee, the women lied to befriend and defraud elderly men. Three men suffered losses of $500,000 as a result of the scam.

According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, Miller and Marks each pleaded no contest to embezzlement by a caretaker, perjury and grand theft. Miller was sentenced to seven years in state prison and Marks to 5 years and 4 months in prison. Neither appears in an online roster of current state prison inmates.

Nicky Marks' sister, Linda Navarro, and Navarro's niece Monique Marks each pleaded no contest to embezzlement by a caretaker. Navarro was sentenced to two years in state prison and Monique Marks to five years probation.

Have a Sacto911 question? Submit it here.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Back in 2004 or 2005 when I lived in Sacramento, there was a young man in his 20s who went missing after a party. He was last seen on a gas station's security cameras around 1 or 2 a.m. About a week later, a body and a car were found alongside I-80 near Roseville, crashed in some trees. Were these two incidents related?
Submitted by: SuperVan, Norfolk, VA

ANSWER: The young man who was reported missing in September 2004 after attending a party in Davis was 21-year-old Sean Patrick Sullivan of Roseville.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened to the Sacramento correctional officer who was at a San Francisco swinger club with his wife and got assaulted by the husband of another woman? He then tried to say he was assaulted by a parolee who had recognized him. He was trying to collect disability payments based on the claim of it being job related.
Submitted by: Gary Hall, San Francisco

ANSWER: A Sacramento County jury in March convicted John Smiley and his wife, Cynthia Ann Biasi-Smiley, of attempted perjury in a workers' comp case in which he said that injuries he suffered in a shooting outside a San Francisco sex club were job-related.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Sometime between 1995 and 1999, I believe, there was an older man in Folsom that shot his wife multiple times. This man was in his 50s and she in her 20s. I remember reading that they had a 2-year-old son and when the father tried to flee to France, he could not get his 2-year-old son on the plane due to the son not having a passport. What ever came of this man after they extradited him back to Sacramento from France to stand trial?
Submitted by: Katrina, Orangevale

ANSWER: James Dewayne Nivette pleaded guilty in August 2003 to the second-degree murder of his former girlfriend and was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the Valley High teacher who was charged with having sex with a minor?
Submitted by: Monb, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Sean Darnell Davis, 42, a campus supervisor at Valley High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, was arrested in May on suspicion of engaging in sex with a minor.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Back in the late 1990s, I was a student at Center High School in Antelope. Around that time a male student that was in the high school band was arrested at his home for the killing of his female neighbor in the Antelope area. Whatever happened to him and that case? Was he ever charged? Did he go to prison or a mental institution?
Submitted by: Delia, Carmichael

ANSWER: You likely are referring to Michael Andre Rogers, who was arrested in the Aug. 10, 1999, slaying of his neighbor Kimberly Ann Ochoa.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of the Richard Johnson sentencing that was scheduled for July 26 for rape of a child under 14?
Submitted by: Vince, Sacramento

ANSWER: The probation hearing and sentencing for Richard S. Johnson that was scheduled for July 26 has been continued to Aug. 31, according to Sacramento Superior Court online records.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento has indicted three people, including two Elk Grove residents, for trafficking in counterfeit DVDs.

The 23-count indictment charges Kristin Caldwell, 30, and William Brown, 28, both of Elk Grove, and Xavier Johnson, 31, formerly of Elk Grove, with wire fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

According to the indictment, from 2008 to 2011, the defendants imported DVDs containing counterfeit copies of children's movies and marketed them over the Internet. The three are alleged to have falsely advertised that they had located a limited supply of scarce Disney DVDs that were otherwise unavailable for purchase. They are accused of importing thousands of bootleg copies of the movies directly from factories in China and selling them as if they were legitimate DVD's.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What became of Dennis Mains, convicted for murdering his wife, Pamela Wales?
Submitted by: Brian, Carmichael

ANSWER: Dennis Robert Mains was sentenced in March 2011 to 50 years to life in prison for killing his wife.

According to stories in The Bee, Mains shot Pamela Wales, 61, twice in the head April 25, 2008, as she slept in the guest house the couple shared behind her daughter's home on Jana Maria Court in Citrus Heights.

Prosecutors said Mains killed his wife because she wanted to divorce him.

Mains pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but a Sacramento County jury determined that he was sane when he shot his wife and convicted him of first-degree murder.

Mains, 62, is in Mule Creek State Prison in Ione.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Dennis Martinez, 32, of Woodland was arrested for theft from an 88-year-old woman. He was supposed to be sentenced May 23 by Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg. Can you tell me what his sentence was?
Submitted by: Laura, Sacramento

ANSWER: Dennis Lee Martinez was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months in state prison after pleading no contest to felony charges involving theft from an 88-year-old disabled woman, according to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office.

The victim and her daughter hired Martinez to do yard work over a three-day period, officials said. On the third day, the elderly woman, who is legally blind, let Martinez in the house to use the bathroom while her daughter was away. The woman later discovered that Martinez had stolen her late husband's wallet and had begun using his credit cards at different locations.

Martinez is incarcerated at Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In the '90s there was a killing committed by Douglas Randall Carlyle. The victim was David Dukes. Were these two friends and what were the details of the crime?
Submitted by: Michael, Roseville

ANSWER: Douglas Randall Carlyle was arrested in November 1999 at his home in the Arden Arcade area.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Did Darrel Miller and Torrey Adams ever get sentenced for the murder they committed on Mack Road?
Submitted by: Papajoe, Sacramento

ANSWER: Separate juries in June convicted Darrell Miller and Torrey Levarr Adams of second-degree murder in the Dec. 20, 2010 drive-by shooting death of 20-year-old Antonne Nelms.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: There was a person charged last year for running a Ponzi scheme and a real estate scam. His name is Michael Bolden. Can you give us an update on that case?
Submitted by: Tony, Rancho Cordova

ANSWER: The case involving Michael Bolden and others indicted by a federal grand jury last September has yet to go to trial and federal court online records do not list a trial date.