Sacto 9-1-1

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

QUESTION: Did that chiropractor Todd Baldini ever answer for his embezzlement and fraud charges? Did he do any prison time? Was his partner, who disappeared, ever found and brought to justice?
Submitted by: Rosie, Rio Linda

ANSWER: According to a story in The Bee, chiropractor Todd Daniel Baldini of El Dorado Hills was arrested by state investigators in August 2004, accused of bilking automobile and workers' compensation insurers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of at least three years.

His partner, Reginald Martin "Marty" DePaoli of Carlsbad faced similar charges.

According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, Baldini and DePaoli pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of unlawful referrals under the state Insurance Code.

Felony counts of conspiracy and presenting false or fraudulent claims were dismissed.

Daniel Chartraw, accused of multiple financial schemes that duped people of millions of dollars, entered a plea of not guilty in federal court today.

Chartraw, who had been a resident of El Dorado Hills, was indicted last week on 18 counts involving $2.4 million dollars in investments involving gold, dairies, movies and other allegedly bogus businesses.

Chartraw had been a fugitive until his arrest in Mexico in April.

He was scheduled to appear next before U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb.

The California Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation into a Saturday night roll-over crash in El Dorado Hills in which the driver suffered major injuries after being ejected from the vehicle.

The crash occurred shortly after 8 p.m. on Francisco Drive near Marina Park Drive. Liza Lombardi, 20, of El Dorado Hills was driving a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder. As she approached a slightly curved portion of the roadway, she failed to negotiate the curve. Her vehicle ran off the roadway and struck a roadway sign, a large boulder and two property fences before overturning several times and coming to rest on its side in the backyard of a residence, according to a CHP news release.

Authorities said Lombardi was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle. She suffered major injuries and was taken by air ambulance to Sutter Roseville Medical Center in Roseville.

Although hospitalized, Lombardi has been arrested on suspicion of driving while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, according to the CHP.

A Yolo County jury has convicted a Dunnigan man of kidnapping and engaging in sex with a 13-year-old El Dorado Hills girl.

Jason Stephen Sigur, 36, was convicted of 41 counts of kidnapping, sex with a child younger than 14, communicating with a minor for the purpose of committing a sex act, and burglary, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release.

Sigur met the 13-year-old girl on an Internet chat room in August 2010. He immediately began visiting the girl in person at her El Dorado Hills home, sneaking in through a bedroom window while the victim's mother slept in another room, officials said.

By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com

A Sacramento couple who were trapped for days in a snowed-in car in remote Placer County were happy and relieved today, a day after they were rescued.

Mark Schroeder and Janette DeGrace met with members of the media at Schroeder's home to talk about their ordeal, which went from a fun Sunday outing to a terrifying situation that had them fearing for their lives.

The two had gone to a remote mountain bar called Uncle Tom's Cabin on Sunday. On the way home, Schroeder's Porsche 911 got stuck in the snow and the couple spent three nights in the car near the Hellhole and French Meadows reservoirs.

A man who was apparently suffering delusions fired a handgun into the home of his sister in Galt, wounding his brother-in-law, police said.

The man then fled before being captured on Highway 50 about 8:30 a.m. near Bass Lake Road in El Dorado County.

Galt police said the incident began about 6:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Whitford Court in Galt when Lonnie Ray Orman, 41, went to his sister's home under the erroneous impression that his niece was being harmed.

One man is in custody and warrants have been issued for two other suspects in connection with recent burglaries in El Dorado Hills and neighboring communities.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies stopped a suspicious black Mercedes sedan about 10:45 p.m. Jan. 27 because it was being slowly driven through neighborhoods in the area of Mormon Island and Lake Ridge Oaks in El Dorado Hills, according to an El Dorado County Sheriff's Department news release.

Deputies determined that three men inside the vehicle were either on parole or probation. They were identified as Jacob Scott Mack and Mark Jon Williams, both 21, and Jason Earl Rogers, 30.

Volunteers with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Team of Active Retirees -- STAR -- will offer fingerprint service for children in keeping with the National Child Safety Council's Young People Prints.

The services will be provided free of charge for children and teenagers younger than 18 at the Sheriff's Town Center substation, 4354 Town Center Blvd., Suite 112, El Dorado Hills. A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child.

To ensure prompt service, call (530) 642-4728 or (916) 933-2578 to find out when a volunteer will be available. The substation's normal office hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walk-ins are welcome.

A Sacramento man and two juveniles have been arrested in connection with an El Dorado Hills burglary.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies were called to the Bridlewood subdivision at 4:40 p.m. Jan. 11 regarding a report of several individuals jumping over the fences of residences.

Residents in the area told deputies that three males wearing dark clothing and gloves were roaming the area. When residents approached the suspicious-looking individuals and told them they were going to call the Sheriff's Office, the three ran from the area, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.

Convicted wife beater Richard Hamlin will spend at least another 10 years behind bars after his request for parole was rejected today, California prison officials said.

Officials said he won't be eligible for another parole hearing for 10 years.

His case was one of the most brutal domestic violence cases to hit El Dorado County. Hamlin, a former Sacramento prosecutor, was sent to prison in 2006 after he was convicted of torturing his wife over a nine-month period by punching her, stabbing her with writing pens, cutting her with a sword and pistol-whipping her. He was sentenced to seven years to life in prison.

His ex-wife and three of his children were opposed to his release from Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. They said they remain terrified by him.

The gun that fired accidentally, killing a 10-year-old Keegan Swinney Tuesday, was a Remington Airmaster .177, El Dorado County Sheriff's officials reported Thursday.

Swinney and some friends were shooting the gun in a backyard before he was accidentally shot by one of the boys who was cradling the weapon in a non-shooting position.

The Remington Airmaster is shown as available for $79.96 on Walmart.com to buyers over 18 years old.

By Bill Lindelof and Carlos Alcalá
blindelof@sacbee.com

The name of an El Dorado Hills boy who died after being shot with a pellet gun has been released by officials.

He was identified Wednesday as 10-year-old Keegan Swinney.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies responded about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a shooting on Waterman Court in El Dorado Hills.

By Peter Hecht
phecht@sacbee.com

Tylar Marie Witt, who as a 14-year-old girl summoned her 19-year-old boyfriend to kill her mother, says she is heartbroken Stephen Paul Colver later claimed that she was the one who fatally stabbed Joanne Witt in their El Dorado Hills home.

PHOTO GALLERY: The Colver-Witt murder trial

"When I found out that he was going to point the finger at me, the only thing I could question was ...that he told me that he was gonna love me no matter what -- forever," Witt says in an interview with the ABC's 20/20 to be broadcast Friday night. "For all eternity -- ever. And I guess that's not true anymore."

On Aug. 12, Colver, 21, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder for brutally stabbing Joanne Witt at least 20 times in June 2009 after the mother reported him to authorities for statutory rape over his relationship with her daughter.

Tylar Witt, now 16, testified against Colver at the trial and was sentenced to 15 years to life under a plea deal that could make her eligible for parole at 29.

By Peter Hecht
phecht@sacbee.com

The tragic saga of two teens' forbidden love and the murder of El Dorado Hills mother Joanne M. Witt reaches its conclusion tomorrow.

Steven Paul Colver, 21, and Witt's daughter, Tylar Marie Witt, 16, are due to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. in a Placerville courtroom.

Colver faces life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted June 15 of first degree murder for brutally stabbing Joanne Witt to death June 12, 2009. Tylar Witt is expected to receive a sentence of 15 years to life under a plea bargain struck in exchange for her testifying against her boyfriend.

Thanks to the public's cooperation, juveniles responsible for a wildland fire Sunday in El Dorado Hills have been identified, authorities say.

Investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit, in conjunction with the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office, were able to identify the two youths, according to a Cal Fire news release. Investigators will work with the El Dorado County Probation Department, the youths and their families to complete the Juvenile Fire Setter Assessment Program, officials said.

The youths were not named because of their age.

Arson investigators with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection seek the public's help in locating two youths who were observed leaving the scene of a wildland fire in El Dorado Hills on Sunday afternoon.

The fire occurred about 4 p.m. in the area of Borders Drive and Trieste Way.

The boys were described as white, 13 to 14 years old, with average-length brown or black hair. They were wearing shorts but no shirts, and were carrying skateboards, according to a Cal Fire news release.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the fire is asked to call Capt. Doug Ferro with Cal Fire's Amador-El Dorado Unit at (530) 647-5234.