Sacto 9-1-1

The California Victim Compensation Program on Wednesday will be collecting donations of denim clothing to benefit victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

The "Denim Day" campaign aims to raise awareness about rape and sexual assault, according to a news release from CalVCP.

The denim theme came from female legislators in Italy who began wearing denim to protest a Supreme Court decision there in 1998 that overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans, the release states. The court argued the victim "must have necessarily helped her attacker remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual."

"Wearing jeans on Denim Day has become an international symbol of protest against destructive attitudes about sexual assault," the release states.

CalVCP staff members will be collecting donations of denim clothing from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at 400 R Street. Donations will go to the Women Escaping A Violent Environment (WEAVE) thrift store on Arden Way.

A man fatally shot himself apparently after killing his estranged wife and wounding the man she was dating early today, Sacramento police said.

Police believe the woman, in her late 20s, was shot to death in a home in the 1600 block of Meadowview Road in south Sacramento shortly after midnight this morning. A man also in the home, in his early 20s, was shot in the lower body with non-life threatening injuries.

When police arrived, the male victim identified the woman's estranged husband as the shooter, and he provided police with a description of the husband and his vehicle. Some minutes later, police found him driving near the Elk Grove City limits.

One of two inmates who escaped from honor farm custody in San Joaquin County has already assaulted a person, according to sheriff's officials.

A head count at 5 a.m. Sunday revealed that inmates Adam Michael Marchand and Joshua John Anderson had walked away from a county honor camp.

About three hours later in French Camp, Marchand is said to have assaulted a farmer watering his crops. Marchand then drove off in the farmer's 1992 blue Ford 350 pickup with the California license plate number 6N64960.

Justin Graham, 30, of Lincoln pleaded guilty today in federal court in Sacramento to sharing child pornography over the Internet.

Graham was arrested Jan. 20, 2011, by the FBI after an undercover investigation into online distribution of child pornography over a file sharing network, according to a federal Department of Justice news release.

Graham is to be sentenced March 25 by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice.

A fund has been set up for the children of a woman found dead in her Cameron Park home last month and the man accused of killing her.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies arrested Todd Winkler, 45, after he allegedly killed his wife, 37-year-old Rachel Winkler, after an argument in the couple's home Feb. 27. They had been having marital problems, according to sheriff's officials.

Authorities have not released Rachel Winkler's cause of death.

The couple's children - ages 4, 2, and 9 months - were home at the time of the attack. They are now in the custody of Rachel Winkler's father, Don Hatfield. Family and friends say Hatfield recently lost his wife to cancer and lost his home in the mortgage crisis a year ago.

The fund has been set up to help Hatfield, an artist, find a larger home where he can raise his three young grandchildren with the help of a nanny, according to friends and family.

Donations can be made to Wells Fargo bank account number 6990388875. The routing number is 121042882. For information about how to donate via PayPal, or about fundraising efforts, go here.

A 42-year-old Rancho Cordova man was arrested Friday evening after he led authorities on a pursuit while chasing a social worker who had taken his children into protective custody, according to authorities.

The pursuit came two days after Joseph Angel Rodriguez's first arrest this week. On Wednesday afternoon, Sacramento County sheriff's deputies arrested Rodriguez, pictured at left, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly hit his 19-year-old son with a baseball bat during an argument, said sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.

On Friday, a Child Protective Services case worker went to Rodriguez's home on Mills Acres Circle in Rancho Cordova to take his other children into protective custody, based on Wednesday's incident, Ramos said. Deputies accompanied the CPS worker, as is standard for such calls.

Nobody was inside the home, but while deputies and the case worker were there, four of Rodriguez's children walked up, Ramos said. As the case worker was putting the kids in a car, Rodriguez drove up, left his car running in the street and began arguing with authorities, Ramos said.

As the case worker left, Rodriguez ran to his car and sped after the case worker's car. Deputies followed suit, Ramos said.

Authorities have identified the woman found dead in her Cameron Park home Monday as 37-year-old Rachel Winkler.

El Dorado County sheriff's deputies found Winkler after responding to a request for a welfare check. At the home on the 3100 block of Aeronca Way they also found the victim's husband, 45-year-old Todd Winkler.

Detectives learned that the couple had been experiencing marital problems and had a dispute earlier in the day, according to a news release from the Sheriff's Department.

Citrus Heights officers working on a domestic violence call this morning say they were greeted by a shotgun blast that shattered a sliding glass door.

Police said that about 12:45 a.m. today they responded to meet a woman who was the victim of assault. She told them that her husband, Loren Fullmer, 43, assaulted her while they were inside their vehicle.

Police obtained an emergency protective order on behalf of the victim. At about 2:11 a.m. officers tried to contact Fullmer at his home in the 5800 block of Sunrise Vista Drive.

Officers knocked on the front door. At about the same time they allege Fullmer fired one shotgun round through the frame of a sliding glass door several feet away from the front door.

Officers ordered Fullmer to surrender, which he did several minutes later, according to a department press release.

Officers later confiscated a 12-guage shotgun and a spent casing from the home. Fullmer who police said was on probation for burglary, was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence and weapons violations.

PHOTO CAPTION: Loren Fullmer/Citrus Heights police

The Citrus Heights Police Department has won an award for community policing.

The department will be presented the 2012 James Q. Wilson Award for Excellence in Community Policing at a March 12 symposium in Sacramento.

The "Citrus Heights Model - Community Based Domestic Violence Intervention" took the top award from the Regional Community Policing Institute -- California, according to a press release.

The Wilson award judging is based on several factors: problem solving, partnership with the community, partnership with public and private organizations, the extent of community policing and results.

By Kim Minugh and Bill Lindelof
kminugh@sacbee.com

In a dramatic turn of events, Sacramento police have arrested the wife of murdered Afghan war veteran Ghulam Ayobi ,who was found shot last month in his minivan on Interstate 80.

Shajia Ayobi, 45, was booked into Sacramento County Jail at 10:50 p.m. Thursday after questioning by detectives.

Police said her statements just didn't add up. They now suspect she played a role in the shooting; however, they are not sure whether she fabricated her previous story about a carjacking or whether there were other suspects involved, said police Sgt. Andrew Pettit.

The couple's nephew, Munir Safi, issued this statement today: "Our family is incredibly distraught by this awful turn of events. We are withholding judgment until all facts are known and the police complete their investigation."

Police were called at 12:04 a.m. Dec. 18 to a report of a man shot on eastbound I-80 at Norwood Avenue. When they arrived, police found Ghulam Ayobi suffering from a gunshot to his upper body.

He later died at the hospital. Without a motive, police said only that they believed that Ayobi and his wife, who was with him but not injured, were targeted at random.

The information at the time indicated that the couple had left the home of a family friend in the area of Torland Street and San Juan Road in Natomas' Gateway West neighborhood.

Safi previously told The Bee that his uncle sat down in the passenger seat in the couple's minivan, parked in the friends' driveway, and apparently became aware of two people hiding in the back seat.

Under duress, the nephew said, Ayobi ordered his wife to drive, not look back and not to ask questions.

Shajia Ayobi was said to have followed directions and never got a good look at any assailants. The nephew said that Shajia told relatives and police the unknown suspects wanted money.

An altercation broke out as the minivan traveled eastbound on I-80. A shot broke out, according to the nephew, killing his uncle.

The suspects ordered Shajia to pull over on eastbound Interstate 80, east of Northgate Boulevard, the nephew said. After they fled, she pulled out her cell phone and called police, who told her to meet them at the Norwood Avenue offramp.

On Thursday, detectives re-interviewed Shajia Ayobi. Police spokesman Sgt. Andrew Pettit said that detectives had wanted to speak with her for some time.

"She was one of the people we wanted to re-interview," said Pettit. "We were finally able to get a hold of her. "

Detectives brought her into the station Thursday afternoon, speaking with her into the evening. This morning a press release announced her arrest.

"Based on her interview and inconsistent statements, things just didn't match up," said Pettit. "In these types of investigations, our detectives are very keen on details. Some of those details were not lining up with the evidence we found."

Pettit said Shajia Ayobi made incriminating statements, but he was not able to elaborate.

No motive has been established for the killing of Ghulam Ayobi, a former Afghan soldier who had also served as a cultural adviser to U.S. troops headed for war in Afghanistan.

Call The Bee's Kim Minugh, (916) 321-1038. Follow her on Twitter @Kim_Minugh.

A man whose temper got the best of him kicked out a police car window when he couldn't find his shoe.

Police struggled with the man who was involved in a domestic violence incident shortly after midnight today in a neighborhood near El Camino Avenue and the Capital City freeway.

Finally able to get him into a police squad car, the man became irate because he only had one shoe, he told officers.

According to a police activity log he proceeded to kick out a patrol car window. He then apologized when he realized his missing shoe was on the floorboard of the car all the time, according to police.

The man was charged with vandalism to a police car.

Christmas Day was not peaceful in all parts of Sacramento as police responded to violent calls at several locations.

Police handled two calls of suspected domestic violence:

Police suspect that a man placed his girlfriend's small child in scalding water after the 3-year-old boy urinated in his pants.

Sacramento police arrested Kirk A. Douglas, 22, on Monday on suspicion of mayhem, torture with the intent to cause cruel or extreme pain and endangering the life of a child.

Police were summoned at 10:55 a.m. Monday after firefighters were first called to a home in the 4900 block of Mack Road. Police were told that a small boy was severely burned from the waist down.

Authorities suspect that Douglas placed the child in hot bath water as discipline for wetting his pants.

The child suffered third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body, police said. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said.

PHOTO CAPTION: Kirk A. Douglas

The Redding Record-Searchlight

RED BLUFF -- A 40-year-old Red Bluff mother was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of attempted murder and felony child abuse after she admitted to slashing her 13-year-old son's neck with a knife, police said.

Theresa Marie Lewis was booked into Tehama County jail, Red Bluff police said.

Officers said they went to a South Jackson Street apartment around 1 p.m., after receiving a report of a teenage boy who had possibly overdosed on pills and had a cut on his neck.

When officers arrived at the apartment, they found the teenager with a severe cut across his throat and neck, police said. Lewis admitted to having inflicted the cut, they said.

The boy, whose name was not immediately released, was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff before being flown by helicopter to Enloe Medical Center in Chico.

Read more at Redding.com

The FBI today awarded its Director's Community Leadership award to Sacramento's Women Escaping a Violent Environment, Inc.

The annual award recognizes the achievement of an individual or organization for commitment to violence education and prevention in the community, according to a press release from the Bureau's office in Sacramento.

Herb Brown, Special Agent in Charge of Sacramento's field office, presented the award to WEAVE executive director Beth Hassett this morning. She will receive an engraved award during a public ceremony in March from Director Robert Mueller at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to the release.

WEAVE believes that all women, men and children deserve to feel safe in their homes and community," Hassett said in a statement. "In these difficult times we have to be more innovative, more enthusiastic and more committed to making sure that the most vulnerable among us are taken care of."

The Sacramento non-profit provides crisis intervention and prevention services to victims of domestic abuse, human trafficking and sexual assault.

-- Bee Staff

A man was arrested last night on suspicion of domestic violence after police said a citizen fired a shot to stop him from beating a woman.

Police said that the incident began around 10 p.m. in Sacramento when they received numerous calls about a man beating a woman at 24th and R streets. A citizen who could not find his cellphone instead armed himself with a gun and went outside of his home.

He yelled at Michael Ryan Hans, 39, to leave the woman alone.

By Whitney Mountain
wmountain@sacbee.com

A Placerville man died in the hospital Sunday after his stepson allegedly shot him in the head.

El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies received a report of a shooting in the 3000 block of Deer Canyon Road in Placerville just after 8 a.m. Sunday.

When they arrived at the house, they found John Gale Malia Jr., 69, of Placerville on the floor with a gunshot wound to his head. He was still alive, but later died at a local hospital.

Officials have identified the suspect and the victim in Thursday's homicide in North Highlands.

Daniel Weddle, 48 and at left, is accused of fatally shooting his wife, 46-year-old Margaret Weddle, at a home in North Highlands on Thursday afternoon.

A caller alerted Sacramento County sheriff's deputies to the shooting, and identified the suspect as Daniel Weddle. Then, a relative of Weddle's called to say the suspect was en route to a home in Rio Linda, according to sheriff's officials.

Deputies caught up with Daniel Weddle there. They arrested him and booked him into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of murder, assault with a deadly weapon and making threats, according to booking records.

Daniel Weddle does not appear to have a criminal record in Sacramento County, according to online Superior Court records.

PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Weddle

By Cathy Locke

Sacramento County sheriff's deputies have arrested the husband of a woman who was shot to death in a North Highlands apartment this afternoon.

Officials said both the suspect and the victim were in their 40s. Their names have not been released pending booking of the suspect.

Sheriff's spokesman Jason Ramos said deputies were called to the residence in the 3600 block of Bellinger Court shortly before 4 p.m. The caller, an acquaintance of the victim who witnessed the shooting, said the suspect had left the scene.

Ramos said the woman had been shot multiple times in the upper body.

Deputies received another call, this one from the suspect's father, who said the suspect was en route to his residence in the 6000 block of Mio Court in Rio Linda. Deputies went to the residence and the suspect was taken into custody without incident. Ramos said deputies also found in the residence a firearm that they believe was used in the shooting.

Although investigators have not determined the motive for the shooting, Ramos said it appears that the husband and wife were not living together.

Sacramento police are searching for two men who assisted a woman in the alleged kidnapping of her estranged husband Saturday morning.

The husband and wife were separated, and the husband was living with his stepdaughter in the 7300 block of 21st Street.

At 7:27 a.m. Saturday, the estranged wife, identified as Carmen Basulto (pictured), 43, showed up at her daughter's residence with two armed men, who forced the victim from the home at gunpoint, said Police Department spokeswoman Officer Laura Peck. The daughter witnessed the incident and called police.

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

Duewa Lee, the 35-year-old woman suspected of torturing her boyfriend's 12-year-old daughter after he went off to prison over the summer, made another brief court appearance today as the girl's family members said the victim is recovering with a foster family and is back in school.

"She's doing better than everybody expected," the girl's uncle, Melvin Smith, said after the court hearing. "You don't see scars on her hand or her face."

Smith and other family members were allowed to see the girl two weeks ago for an hour during a visit supervised by Child Protective Services, which took custody of the girl after she escaped her alleged abuser. The girl's grandmother, who is seeking custody, has another meeting scheduled with her today, family members said.

A Sacramento police "hot spot" study has revealed that highly visible focusing on an area by officers reduces crime.

The 90-day study was conducted in East Sacramento and downtown beginning Feb. 8. Police identified 42 hot spots where high amounts of calls for service -- often involving violent crime -- were reported.

A Sacramento man was arrested north of downtown late Sunday morning after his girlfriend called to report domestic violence.

Alonzo Smith, 42, surrendered after police called in hostage negotiators and a SWAT to talk him out of the residence on the 1000 block of Alamos Ave.

The victim reportedly left the house and went to her friend's house down the street to call the police at around 11:20 a.m., saying that her three children, ages 6, 3, and 6 months, were still in the house with the suspect, who was holding what appeared to be handgun.

A Sacramento County jury has found Luis Hurtado guilty of attempting to murder his estranged wife.

The jury convicted Hurtado, 34, of first-degree attempted murder, inflicting corporal injury on his spouse resulting in a traumatic condition, and aggravated mayhem, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release. The jury also found true allegations of inflicting great bodily injury involving domestic violence and use of a deadly weapon.

Hurtado and his wife had been separated for four years when, in December 2010, Hurtado was visiting his 6-year-old daughter at his estranged wife's apartments. He began to accuse his wife of having a sexual relationship with another man. Hurtado's wife told him to leave her apartment, but he refused, officials said.

The wife of a North Highlands man had to crawl to safety after she was hit by shotgun blast allegedly fired by her husband, Sacramento County sheriff's officials said.

The 71-year-old woman, shot in the head and upper body, was transported to a local hospital. Her husband, Christopher Miears, 54, was taken into custody after a deputy returned fire at the couple's home.

Miears was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic violence and battery.

A man was convicted last Tuesday by a Sacramento jury of domestic violence and child endangerment.

A press release from the office of District Attorney Jan Scully said that Hari Prasad argued with his wife in August 2008 when she refused to eat dinner with him and his brother. An angry Prasad then tossed a shelf, television and a computer around their apartment.

The couple's two-year-old daughter suffered a fractured femur as a result of the outburst, according to the press release. Prasad is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6.

A Yuba City man has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for murdering his wife.

A Yolo County jury in August convicted Ignacio Favela Mendoza, 41, of first-degree murder and he was sentenced today by Yolo County Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg.

On May 26, 2007, Mendoza went to an orchard outside Zamora, approached his wife with a shotgun and demanded that she get in the car with him, according to a Yolo County District Attorney's Office news release. A fellow worker tried but was unable to calm Mendoza. When Mendoza's wife refused his demand, he fired one shot from four feet away, killing her.

A father was arrested in Nevada County after he allegedly made threats to kill his child and hurt the child's mother.

Jacob Michael Siegfried, 33, was booked into Wayne Brown Correctional Facility on suspicion of making criminal threats and violation of a court order on Monday, deputies said.

Nevada County deputies were aware of a Sunday alert that said Siegfried was wanted for suspicion of armed robbery in neighboring Placer County. Not long after learning of the BOLO -- be on the lookout in police jargon -- Nevada County authorities received a report from the mother of a three year old that stated Siegfried had failed to return their child to her after court-ordered visitation ended.

An Elk Grove woman was arrested Thursday afternoon for elder and child abuse as well as animal cruelty after police found three people living in filthy conditions on the 4600 block of Stuben Court.

At about 4 p.m., police found two children, a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old girl, as well as a 53-year-old woman living in Charlotte Permenter's home, which was covered in garbage and debris as well as dog, mouse, and rat feces.

Permenter, 32, was arrested and taken to the main jail. The elder woman was taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, and the children were taken into custody by Child Protective Services.

Pets found in the home were taken to the SPCA.

By Denny Walsh
dwalsh@sacbee.com

An Elk Grove man sued that city this morning over being shot by one of its police officers after he had been searched and while he was lying handcuffed on the back seat of a police cruiser.

It is undisputed that John Hesselbein was shot by Officer Paul Beckham in the early hours of Jan. 30. The round from Beckham's assault rifle ripped through Hesselbein's left cheek.

Beckham and other officers later said in police interviews that Hesselbein was yelling he had a gun and appeared to be attempting to reach into the back of his waistband.

A second search following the shooting failed to turn up a weapon.

The bodies of a 2-year-old girl and her 49-year-old father, Mourad "Moni" Samaan, will be taken the Sacramento County Coroner's Office for autopsies following the discovery of their remains in a wooded area a few miles from Grizzly Flat, a spokesman for the El Dorado County Sheriff's Department said today.

An Amber Alert for the little girl, Madeline Samaan-Fay, was issued Friday after she was abducted by her father. Samaan received notification Aug. 6 that the girl's mother was awarded full custody of their daughter, ending a joint custody arrangement.

FBI agent John Cauthen said the father and daughter were last seen in Sacramento on Aug. 7, when the father uncharacteristically ceased all contact with other family members.

By Andy Furillo
afurillo@sacbee.com

A mentally disturbed woman who drowned her 3-year-old daughter two years ago was sentenced today to a possible life-time placement in Napa State Hospital.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Marjorie Koller said that if doctors at the psychiatric facility ever find that Anul Malik Ram regains her sanity, the 34-year-old defendant will then be transferred to the state prison system to complete a 15-to-life term.

The dual sentences resulted from Ram's April 29 guilty plea to second-degree murder in the Nov. 15, 2009, drowning death of her daughter, Divya Ram, in the defendant's bathtub. Along with the guilty plea to the second-degree murder charge, Ram also claimed that she was not guilty by reason of insanity in the attempted murder of her then-7-year-old son.

At the time of the killing, Ram had been taking a variety of medications for schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and seizures.

Two Grass Valley residents have been arrested after Nevada County sheriff's deputies responded early this morning to a report of a seriously injured man.

Deputies, who were called to the 13000 block of Ballantree Lane in the Grass Valley area at 3:36 a.m., suspected foul play and began an investigation involving the major crimes unit, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

The victim was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center via air ambulance and is listed in critical condition, sheriff's officials said. The man's identity has not been released.

The murder trial of Jennifer Dalton - accused of killing her ex-husband in 2009 - is underway after attorneys gave their opening statements this morning.

Dalton faces a murder charge in the July 2009 shooting death of Craig Dalton, 39, at Jennifer Dalton's Elk Grove home.

Before Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley, Deputy District Attorney Chris Ore argued in his opening statements that Jennifer Dalton, angry over a failed marriage and financial woes, had been planning the shooting for months.

By Sam Stanton and Bill Lindelof
sstanton@sacbee.com

Sacramento police have arrested a man for a probation violation unrelated to comments he made to Mayor Kevin Johnson at a downtown restaurant that his security officer deemed as a possible threat.

Police said Fred Roger Nelson, Jr., 43, approached the mayor at The Grange restaurant in the 900 block of J Street this morning and told him "he would not be in office within a couple of hours," police Sgt. Norm Leong said.

Police said he was not armed when he made the comment. The mayor's security detail took immediate action, police said, because of what was considered a threat to Johnson's safety.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

A Sacramento police officer was rendered unconscious Friday afternoon after a suspect punched him in the face, according to authorities.

A second officer was able to take the suspect into custody after the knockout punch. That officer suffered an injury to his foot, which might have been broken, said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong.

The incident began when officers, responding to a 911 hang-up call, went to a home on the 2200 block of Florin Road shortly after 4:30 p.m., according to a police summary.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A jury has convicted a Sacramento man with a history of domestic violence of sexually assaulting and beating the mother of his children.

District Attorney Jan Scully announced today that Alan McCoy, 43, was convicted of rape, forcible oral copulation, burglary, corporal injury on the mother of his children, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and violation of a restraining order.

McCoy and the victim had four children together, but were never married, according to a District Attorney's Office news release. Officials said McCoy abused the victim over many years. He was convicted of felony domestic violence for punching the victim in the face in front of two of his daughters, and in 2008, he was convicted again for violating a protective order.

By Chelsea Phua and Bill Lindelof
cphua@sacbee.com

The name of a 48-year-old man who died Wednesday night after scuffling with officers has been released by the Sacramento County Coroners Department.

He was identified as Freddie Lewis Allen, 48, of Sacramento. The coroner's website lists his death as undetermined.

About 6 p.m., a woman reported that her boyfriend had assaulted her, said Sgt. Norm Leong, police spokesman. The telephone call to police indicated that the woman had been punched by her boyfriend.

Officers responded to an apartment in the 400 block of Harding Avenue in the Gardenland neighborhood. When they arrived, the woman was outside the apartment. She had been able to flee the apartment with her 6-year-old son and call police.

Officers were told that the woman and the boyfriend had recently separated. The woman had previously obtained a restraining order.

The woman told police that her boyfriend kicked in the door of her residence and repeatedly punched her.

The woman told police that she believed he was under the influence of drugs. Eventually, after striking the woman several times, the man passed out.

That's how officers found him when they entered the dwelling. When they attempted to handcuff him, he suddenly awakened and began fighting with officers, Leong said.

During the scuffle, he stopped breathing, prompting officers to begin administering CPR.

Sacramento Fire Department personnel responded and transported him to the hospital where he died. Officers did not use a Taser, Leong said.

On Wednesday night, about a dozen of the dead man's friends gathered across from the apartment. They held a brief prayer vigil for Allen, nicknamed "Freddie the Fader" for the way he trimmed the hair of young men in the neighborhood.

"He would do the boys' hair just right outside his apartment," said Michelle Magana, 26, pointing towards the row of apartments on Harding Avenue near American Avenue.

Magana's brother, Marc Manuel, 33, said he had known the dead man for 15 years. Manuel said that Freddie had been staying with him for a few days because Allen's girlfriend didn't allow him back to the apartment they once shared.

Allen returned Wednesday to try to patch things up with her, Manuel said.

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

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

An Auburn man described by a Placer County judge as a "danger to women" has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for domestic violence.

Thomas K. Bennett, 61, was sentenced Friday by Placer County Superior Court Judge Mark S. Curry. The judge noted that Bennett's record showed a history of criminal convictions for domestic violence, according to a Placer County District Attorney's Office news release.

Bennett's latest conviction came in October when a jury found him guilty of inflicting corporal injury upon a cohabitant and of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, both of which are felonies.

Evidence during the trial showed that Bennett beat and choked a cohabitant during an argument at an Auburn apartment March 24 and that he put his hand over the woman's mouth as if to suffocate her.

Judge Curry noted that Bennett had admitted to special allegations that he previously had been convicted and served prison terms for domestic violence, meaning the judge could add extra years in prison for Bennett's latest conviction.

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

By Cynthia Hubert
chubert@sacbee.com

A Sacramento Superior Court jury has found Joe McCoy guilty of charges that could send him to state prison for the rest of his life for inflicting injuries that left his former girlfriend a quadriplegic.

Jurors found McCoy, 51, guilty of felony torture, spousal abuse and penetration with a foreign object, plus "enhancements" to those crimes that will lengthen his sentence. The charges carry a potential penalty of 25 years to life in prison.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on a charge of attempted murder.

The victim, who The Bee is identifying as Jane Doe, testified during trial that McCoy threw her to the ground in a fit of rage in the apartment they shared in September 2009, then bent her legs over her back, snapping her neck and leaving her permanently paralyzed from the chest down. She said he continued to beat her and sexually abuse her throughout the night, refusing to call an ambulance until she agreed to make up a story the next day about how she got hurt.

The woman, 50, said McCoy had abused her "four or five" times prior to the injury that caused her paralysis. The mother of two and longtime employee of Rite Aid Pharmacies now lives in a care home.

Deputy District Attorney Ruanne Dozier said she was pleased with the jury's work.

"This was one of the most horrific cases I have ever come across," the veteran domestic abuse prosecutor said. "They did the right thing."

Call The Bee's Cynthia Hubert, (916) 321-1082.

By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com

A man accused of putting a knife to his girlfriend's neck and raping her in front of her 2-year-old child has been convicted by a Sacramento Superior Court jury.

Vernon Medler, 20, today was found guilty of two counts of rape, domestic violence, criminal threats, false imprisonment and child endangerment.

Medler and the victim were boyfriend and girlfriend, and got into and argument after Medler found a Valentine's day card that was sent to the victim by an ex-boyfriend, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

Believing that the relationship was going to end, Medler raped the victim while her family was in the home, telling her that if she screamed he would kill her and her family, officials said. The victim did not immediately tell her family about the rape because she feared for her safety and theirs.

Less than 24 hours after the first rape, Medler raped the victim a second time, putting a knife to her neck and saying he would kill her. These acts were committed in front of her child.

After the second incident, the victim told her mother about the rapes and law enforcement officials were notified.

"Rape is an illegal under any circumstance, even if a victim is in a relationship with the attacker at the time of the crime," Deputy District Attorney Carlton Davis said in a written statement. "I commend this victim for not remaining silent and thank the district attorney victim advocates for their hard work in these cases."

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

By Bee Staff

A Sacramento man already facing domestic violence charges added to his courthouse resume after he allegedly almost hit a Sacramento County sheriff deputy's car and then fled., according to a crime summary released this week.

Andreas Diaz, 30, is in the Sacramento jail as of this morning on a variety of charges including obstructing a peace officer, DUI, hit-and-run causing property damage, and driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license, jail records show.

Diaz already was facing charges of battery against a person he had a previous dating relationship with, corporal injury to a spouse or co-habitant and violating a restraining order, jail and court records show.

Between 2006 and 2008, Diaz pleaded no contest to battery on a spouse or co-habitant, DUI and assault with a deadly weapon, court records show.

The crime summary described the latest incident to land Diaz in jail as follows:

Just after midnight on Aug. 19 at Lang and 47th avenues, a deputy was helping a civilian look for his vehicle, when a vehicle almost hit the deputy's patrol car.

The vehicle sped away at a high speed with the deputy in pursuit.

After a short chase, the driver jumped from his moving vehicle and ran off on foot. The car continued rolling and hit a tree.

Deputies found the suspect hiding in a garbage can, according to the summary.

Diaz suffered a foot injury and was treated at a hospital before being booked into jail, the summary states.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

The District Attorney's office has asked for more time to decide whether to file domestic violence charges against former Sacramento Kings player Matt Barnes.

Barnes, a Del Campo High graduate who now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, appeared for his scheduled arraignment Monday, but no charges had been filed, according to authorities.

Instead, prosecutors asked for more time to investigate the Sept. 8 incident, in which Sacramento County sheriff's deputies responded to a Fair Oaks home after a 911 hang up. They found Barnes and his fiancée, Gloria Govan, with visible injuries, according to sheriff's officials.

Deputies determined Barnes to be the primary aggressor and arrested him on suspicion of domestic violence and destructing a telephone line.

After the incident, both Barnes and Govan denied any abuse took place.

Barnes is scheduled to return to court Oct. 18, at which point the DA's office will announce whether charges will be filed.

His attorney, Tom Johnson, applauded the DA's office for not moving forward with charges this week. "We are confident the decision they will ultimately reach is that while there was an argument and some discord, nothing criminal occurred," he said.

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