Homeless Sex Offender Dies; Van Amasses Tickets

This post documents the death of Faamamalu Casey mentioned at the end of this story.

While the article is about the death Thomas Craig who died in the van he has his own post elsewhere in the Murders blog, as does Nicolas Chaykovsky also mentioned at end of story.

12-11-2010 California:

While passing the Caltrain station earlier this week, one of the men we'd interviewed for our story on homeless sex offenders last year flagged us down. He'd said no one had seen Thomas Craig, another one of our sources in the story, for several weeks. Now the Ford Windstar that Craig slept in parked on Bluxome Street had been gathering parking tickets, and our informant speculated the worst: "I think he died in there. I told the fire department, but they just laughed it off."

The consequences of Jessica's Law have been sinister to Craig and others to say the least: Since the law mandates that sex offenders must live 2,000 feet away from a park or school, in San Francisco, their only option is to not have a residence at all. The parole department currently mandates that they remain homeless.

While the city mulls a change to how the law is enforced locally, the paroled offenders continue to sleep in vans parked in lots and alleys, in homeless drop-in centers, or in doorways. Law enforcement experts say the instability makes it more likely the sex offenders will re-offend. In Craig's case, he had been convicted of forced oral copulation with a minor, though he always insisted he'd been framed. He did tell us about how the sex offenders were no longer allowed to enter a program for parolees at Walden House since it was too close to a school.

The complications from Jessica's Law abound. Yet a man dying inside his van and lying undiscovered for weeks seemed to be taking the macabre circumstances up a notch.

We checked on the minivan various times this week and, yep, it had been pegged with three different tickets for parking during street cleaning since mid-November. On Wednesday, a pink notice that the city was going to tow the van appeared. The sheets that Craig usually hung inside for a modicum of privacy were still up. We knocked and there was no answer. The county jail said he wasn't in custody, and the medical examiner said they had no record of him.

Finally today, we met our informant at the Caltrain station again. "He died." But not in the van.

A call to the medical examiner cleared things up: Craig had checked into St. Francis Hospital.

on Nov. 14, saying he had lung cancer. His condition declined at the hospital until he died at 2 p.m. on Nov. 18, likely due to multiple organ failure from cancer.

This will be the third person made homeless by Jessica's Law to die that SF Weekly has learned of this year. First, Nicolas Chaykovsky died in February from a heart attack, with his case manager speculating it was living on the streets that did him in. Faamamalu Casey died of a heart attack on May 27, according to the medical examiner.

Craig's van, meanwhile, is still slated to be towed. Apparently a handful of the homeless guys stored their stuff in there. Since no one has a key, they're all going to lose their possessions now. "Can't inherit the car," our informant, who sleeps under a nearby highway, said with a wry chuckle. "He's gone. I hate to say it." ..Source.. by Lauren Smiley

Court documents: homicide victims found lying in bed, shot in head

Posted in Related Deaths

11-8-2012 North Carolina:

Clyde and Ida Valentine were found lying in the bed of a back bedroom of her northern Charlotte home last week, dead from gunshot wounds to the head, according to a search warrant obtained by the Observer on Thursday.

Still, police have not said who they believe is responsible for the deaths. Clyde Valentine had tape over his mouth. Police say the case is classified as a death investigation and spokeswoman Officer Jessica Lawrence said investigators were not looking for a suspect.

Authorities said a man called police on Nov. 1 and said he’d found his parents’ bodies in the home on Swift Arrow Lane. The search warrant identified that man as Malcolm Valentine, who came to his the house after his girlfriend said she couldn’t get anyone to come to the door.

Records show the Valentines had divorced in 2004, and Clyde Valentine had remarried three years ago.

Officers at the scene told reporters they believe the deaths were domestic-related. But they would not comment about whether the deaths were related to child sex charges filed against Clyde Valentine earlier this year.

Clyde Valentine was arrested in June on three felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. In September, he was charged with one count of statutory rape. He was expected to appear in court Nov. 13 on the charges.

Detectives said during the summer that the charges against Clyde Valentine involved a relative, and not a student at Phillip O. Berry Academy where he once taught electronics. ..Source.. by Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

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Man found dead with wife had protection order against family member

A day after Clyde Valentine and his wife Ida were found in their home neighbors are still wondering what happened.

"It gave me goose bumps just to hear about it," said neighbor Darcy Farman.

The bodies were found Thursday inside the home on Swift Arrow Lane by the couple's son.

Details of trouble inside that home are starting to unravel.

A source confirmed to Eyewitness News that Clyde Valentine had a domestic violence protection order against a family member who was not his wife Ida.

Channel 9 also learned the protection order is probably related to an ongoing criminal case against Clyde Valentine.

Clyde Valentine was facing charges and accused of sex acts against a child.

Eyewitness News discovered the list of accusations against him dated back to 2003. He was fired, just Tuesday from his teaching job with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

A source told Eyewitness News the domestic violence protection order was issued after a family member was accused of assaulting Clyde Valentine. Channel 9 learned the fight may have been linked to the child sex allegations against him.

Police are not calling that family member a suspect in the deaths of Clyde and Ida Valentine.

Police are not saying how the Valentines died and they aren’t naming any suspects.

Neighbors said they want answers for the sake of the family and to make sure they are safe as well. ..Source.. by Tina Terry

Kidnapping suspect dies after chase

11-6-2012 Michigan:

A suspect in a kidnapping and sexual assault died after crashing during a police chase Tuesday, according to Michigan State Police at the Mt. Pleasant Post.

The dead man is identified as Robert Lee Mongar of Cadillac.

According to a statement from troopers, Mongar reportedly physically and sexually assaulted a female acquaintance in Wexford County, then tied her up, put her in her vehicle and drove south.

She managed to escape and run into a gas station near Stanwood when Mongar stopped for fuel. The victim was still restrained, but store employees helped her.

Mongar sped off, but a state trooper spotted the vehicle, which did not stop. Instead, he fled into deeply forested Newaygo County.

The chase led down a dirt road, and troopers said Mongar drove the car off the road where the road curved, and hit a large stand of mature trees. There was no indication the driver tried to brake or make the turn, troopers said.

Mongar was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no immediate word on the condition of the victim. ..Source.. by Morning Sun

Man was beaten before his throat was cut, Paso Robles police say

5-1-2012 California:

Search warrant from slaying is revealed in court papers; victim’s death reportedly was revenge for alleged sexual assaults

Inside a hotel room in Paso Robles last summer, police found a dead man, lying face down on a bed, in a pool of blood. His throat was slashed, his chest and stomach were cut, and the left side of his face was crushed.

A conspiracy to beat the man and take his drugs apparently turned deadly when two members of a group returned after an assault on him and one of them allegedly sliced the man’s throat.

Four people suspected of the crime allegedly talked on the night of the attack about how the victim — 55-year-old Robert Kenichi Uyeno — had reportedly locked women up in his bedroom and raped them.

The Paso Robles Police Department cited the allegations in a search warrant filed in April in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. Police sought permission from a judge to obtain “buccal swabs” of the inner cheeks of each suspect to determine if the DNA samples match physical evidence and clothing they believe was used in the crime.

Three people — 33-year-old Alfonso “Pancho” Fierros, 30-year-old Tabatha Brown, 29-year-old Jennifer Velten — have pleaded not guilty to murder.

John Wesley Barrett, 42, was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and his case has been suspended, according to his attorney, Gael Mueller.

The warrant cites statements from female and male witnesses (who weren’t part of the criminal case) and two defendants, saying the four accused gathered at the Wine Country Inn in Paso Robles on the night of Aug. 21, where they consumed alcohol, heroin and methamphetamines.

They talked about how Uyeno had raped children and how wrong that was, the warrant states, though no specifics were noted about those claims. Uyeno doesn’t have a local criminal record of any sex crime.

A female witness told police that the suspects talked about how Uyeno had locked women in his bedroom, including Velten and Brown, and raped them, the warrant states.

A male witness also spoke with Brown, who said that Velten had complained that Uyeno hadn’t paid Velten for sex she performed, which led to their discussion about the claims of Uyeno’s history of sexual abuse.

The female witness told police the group became increasingly angry and she started to worry about what they’d do to Uyeno, urging them not to do anything because he was her friend.

The female witness eventually went back to her motel room because the group continued to speak badly of Uyeno, she told police.

Police described a conspiracy among the group that night to set up Uyeno and attack him.

The initial alleged plan was to beat up Uyeno and steal his drugs. Velten sent a text message to Uyeno saying she wanted to party with him in his room at the Farmhouse Motel in Paso Robles. Police later found a meth pipe and syringes at the scene.

The others then waited for a text by Velten from the room before Fierros and Barrett went to the motel while Brown waited in a truck. Inside the room, Barrett held Uyeno while Fierros pummeled him in the face and stomach with his fists for about two minutes, according to Barrett.

After the assault, Velten stole lotto tickets and methamphetamines, but Barrett told police he “did not steal anything because he did not like thieves,” according to the report, which paraphrases Barrett’s statements.

Barrett told police Uyeno’s pulse was strong and he was breathing when the group left to return to their motel. But Velten and Fierros returned to Uyeno’s motel room after Velten said she forgot her purse, Barrett told police.

When Velten and Fierros returned, Barrett told police he heard one of them say Fierros sliced the man’s throat.

Brown told police that Fierros later told her, after the incident, “now you know what kind of man I am.”

Defense attorneys representing the accused declined to comment about the case.

Velten’s attorney, Patrick Fisher, referred to it as an “ugly and unfortunate” case.

Fierros, Brown and Velten are scheduled to return to court May 17 for further proceedings. ..Source.. by Nick Wilson

Coloorado Sex Assault Suspect Killed

6-3-2009 Colorado:

Sometimes all we have is a News Video which is the case here. So we post it and hopefully someday find further information on the person mentioned. This one has been very elusive, so if anyone can find anything please let us know where.



Colorado authorities say a man found shot to death in a park earlier this week was facing child sexual assault charges. Investigators say they haven't ruled out his accuser or her family as suspects in the case. (June 3)

Sex assault suspect killed by police

12-19-2010 California:

LONG BEACH, Calif., Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A California man suspected of sexually assaulting a minor family member was fatally shot Sunday by an officer who went to a home to question him, police said.

The Long Beach Police Department said in a statement officers were flagged down about 5 a.m. by a female who made the sex assault allegation.

Police said when the officers contacted the unnamed suspect, he produced a handgun and was shot by an officer, the Long Beach Post reported online. He was pronounced dead at the scene by city paramedics, the news Web site said.

No officers were hurt.

The minor who was allegedly assaulted was treated at a hospital.

City homicide detectives and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office were investigating the officer-involved shooting. ..Source.. by UPI

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UPDATE: Long Beach Police Officers Fatally Shoot Sexual Assault Suspect

12-20-2010 California:

UPDATE 9:34am Monday | Chief of Police Jim McDonnell issued a statement and took questions from the media Sunday afternoon after the early morning officer-involved shooting that killed a sexual assault suspect in Long Beach. He reiterated the story released by the department yesterday (which you can read below) and also added new details.

After last weekend's controversial shooting of Doug Zerby, in which it appears officers did not notify Zerby that they were present nor asked him to drop his weapon (it would turn out to be a water nozzle), McDonnell on Sunday made it very clear that officers confronted the suspect and announced themselves in both English and Spanish.

The suspect had fled to a nearby home and officers told him to exit in both languages. When he did not, they entered the home in an attempt to arrest him.

They found the suspect in a second-story bedroom and again told him to surrender in both English and Spanish. The suspect was sitting on a bed and rolled to the other side, where he grabbed a handgun and three officers opened fire, killing him. ..Source.. by Ryan ZumMallen

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Competing Claims And Motives In The Zerby Case

12-27-2010:

11:31am | I've never liked the adversarial system as it plays out in American jurisprudence.

Even if you're unfamiliar with the term 'adversarial system,' you know what it is: the prosecution and the defense each put on its best case, and a judge or jury decides the winner.

Especially in the context of criminal justice, where people are accused of the worst sorts of inhumane behavior, the term 'winner' is crass; nevertheless, it fittingly reflects the reality: within the parameters of what is legally allowable1, each side tries to win, period. Thus do you often hear variations on a theme: "If you're looking for truth in a court of law,

you're looking in the wrong place." The adversarial system is not about finding truth, it's about beating your adversary. It's about winning.

While I am completely on board with the state trying to prove its case and the accused getting a competent, vigorous defense against prosecution, I have always imagined it would be possible to have a system wherein both sides' first priority is to serve truth. That, it seems to me, would always make for the best chance to find "justice."

This oppositional frame shapes events far outside the courthouse walls. Historically we have found it alive and ill-but-thriving in police going to criminal lengths to justify their criminal behavior, and attorneys materially obfuscating fact and truth in the pursuit of victory.

I'm on this a priori tangent about the Zerby case because I've just been comparing the contrasting versions of the December 12 shooting of Doug Zerby offered to us by Long Beach Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell and by Brian E. Claypool, the attorney hired by Doug Zerby's family. And while I still count myself in that nearly all-inclusive group of people who are in no position to know what happened on December 12, what I do know is that already we are seeing both sides positioning themselves for combat, and it does not seem certain either is primarily driven by a search for truth.

Let us start by considering Claypool's version of events, which he animatedly offered on December 17, five days after the shooting. Piecing together everything he said, "Here's what really happened":

A very drunken Zerby did not wish to drive, and so he stumbled to his friend Doug's house and knocked on the door. Since Doug was not home, Zerby sat on the porch to wait, killing time by playing with a water nozzle he found there, apparently sometimes handling it as if it were a gun2. Police received a 911 call from an individual claiming he saw Zerby with a gun, though admitting that he didn't know much about guns3. "[A]t least five to six […] possibly more; could've been upwards of seven or so" officers arrived on the scene, and during a period of 10–15 minutes they took up positions around Zerby, one officer as close as 12 feet away behind a brick post that would have protected him from harm even if Zerby had a gun and opened fire. They observed Zerby with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. "We know they [i.e., the officers] […] didn't fear for their lives." Eventually one of the officers made a noise, and Zerby turned in that direction, though with his arms still down, and one officer began firing, which triggered at least two and maybe three others to do the same4, "blast[ing] 20 rounds" at Zerby, 10 to 12 of which hit him, some after he was slumping forward from being shot5. "It was target practice for the Long Beach Police Department […] a flat-out ambush." Zerby's body ended up leaning against a banister, which suggests Zerby never made an aggressive maneuver.

Needless to say, Version Claypool differs from the LBPD version of events, which, as outlined by Chief McDonnell at his December 13 press conference, goes like this:

At approximately 4:40 p.m. police were dispatched to the scene based on the 911 call, which involved two witnesses who believed Zerby was brandishing a gun identified as a "six-shooter." Officers arrived and "took positions where they could watch the suspect until more officers arrived,"6 from where they observed an apparently intoxicated Zerby brandishing what appeared to them to be a handgun. They did not establish contact with Zerby because they first wanted to set up "containment" in case Zerby tried to exit the scene; and because they first wanted "a helicopter […], K9 units, and […] our mental-evaluation team." Over the course of 10–15 minutes as they waited for these resources to arrive, the officers observed Zerby pointing the presumed gun at the apartment building, then continued to play with the object, "which made noises that were similar to that [of] a handgun." As soon as Zerby became aware of the officers' presence, he pointed the supposed gun at the officers, using a two-handed grip typical of an individual about to discharge a handgun, at which point two officers shot him, including with two shotgun rounds. The officers did not speak with Zerby before shooting him "due to the actions of Mr. Zerby […]." "The message is: you're responsible for your actions."7

There's plenty in both accounts to wonder about. In Version Claypool, it strains credulity8 to think three to four officers who didn't fear for their lives fired 20 times on someone sitting cross-legged with his hands in his lap, including at least some shots after he was leaning forward, incapacitated. In Version McDonnell, there are frighteningly obvious questions, such as why officers had to wait for dogs and a helicopter before saying, "Long Beach Police Department. Drop your weapon."

Then there's also the matter of the factual discrepancies. From the little I know about forensics and ballistics, the number of shooters and their distance from Zerby when they fired is absolutely determinable—which means either Claypool or McDonnell can (and eventually will) be shown to have, for whatever reason(s), put forward inaccurate information.

Lastly, we have both Claypool and McDonnell inserting themselves into the mix by offering conclusions. To begin with, aside from spinning the incident as an "ambush," Claypool's account includes information he cannot possibly know, such as assertions about the intentions of the officers involved and Zerby's state of mind. And so whatever else is the case regarding his various assertions of fact, Version Claypool is at least somewhat embellished, in that it is not confined to the facts involved.9

For his part, McDonnell's stated conclusion that Zerby's own actions caused the officers not to speak with Zerby and then to shoot him can be nothing but spin, an attempt to exonerate the officers' actions in the forum of public opinion in advance of the investigation being conducted to determine whether that conclusion is valid, or whether what is truer is that the officers killed a man due to a deadly ineptitude (isolated or systemic). I'm open to the possibility that the officers and the LBPD may be blameless, but I cannot see how on December 13 anybody—especially those of us who weren't there—was in a good enough position to have determined it to be so.

That a mere one day after an officer-involved shooting of an unarmed man the chief of that police department seems already to have determined the shooting to be justified might reasonably cause one to be concerned about whether any departmental investigation of the incident isn't compromised from the start.10

In a tragedy such as the death of Doug Zerby, there are inevitable questions, especially in the immediate aftermath. Unfortunately, Claypool and McDonnell, by focusing on more than simply finding and acting upon truth, have made the process more questionable than it needs to be. In going forward, we should urge both sides not to be focused primarily on coming out of their corners fighting. Because this is not a boxing match; this is not a debate. An unarmed man was killed, and we should have a common goal, a goal that none of our behaviors should compromise: to find out why it happened, and to take whatever steps we might to minimize the chance that such a calamity will again befall us.

Beyond that, there may be a time when we can definitely assign blame, and there may be appropriate actions to take in that regard. But that time was not within a week of the shooting. Those who would play the blame game in that time frame might fairly be said to be posturing, digging trenches and hunkering down for an upcoming battle. That is not about justice; it's just another way of burying one's—and others'—head(s) in the sand.

Let's not go there.

Footnotes
1And, on occasion, outside of those parameters.
2Claypool skips over the question of what Zerby was doing with it, but he doesn't dispute that Zerby must have been doing something with it that made it appear to at least one person—namely, the 911 caller—that it was a gun.
3While this is true, Claypool takes the statement out of context: the caller was committed to his belief that Zerby had a gun; his statement about knowing little about guns was made in relation to the 911 operator's asking what kind of gun it was, to which the caller stated his belief that Zerby was brandishing a "a little tiny six-shooter or something like that" and not a 9 mm or a .45 caliber handgun. "Do you actually see a gun?" the 911 operator asks. "Yes, I do," the caller replies immediately.
4Regarding two of the officers, Claypool says, "All they did was barge in the apartment […] go to the side deck, and start shooting a shotgun at Doug Zerby."
5"Doug had already been incapacitated, and these police officers continued to shoot."
6Later McDonnell indicates that they tried to take positions of cover, and implies they were "30 to 40 feet" away—well beyond the effective range of the tazers they possessed, he says.
7This may sound harsher than it was meant, as McDonnell never (otherwise) implies that Zerby "deserved" to be shot; but this was McDonnell's statement in response to a reporter's question about what message this shooting sends to members of the community.
8Unless we were talking about, for example, a racially-motivated killing—as once were common enough in this country and which, unfortunately, are not extinct—but no one is suggesting this kind of factor is in play.
9This includes one assertion by Claypool that already we know to be false: "There was no indication from that 911 call that Doug Zerby had committed a crime," he says, even though brandishing a handgun in public—which is what the caller stated Zerby was doing—is a crime in California. (See California Penal Code Section 417.) That it turned out Zerby was not committing a crime does not lessen the fact the 911 call was indeed an "indication that Doug Zerby had committed a crime."
10Something I like about American jurisprudence is built into it is the possibility of outside investigations.

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IN PRINT: Zerby Shooting

11-20-2011

GA Child Sex Assault Suspect Killed In TX

7-13-2011 Texas:

Atlanta, GA — A man wanted in Georgia on charges of sexually assaulting a child and enticing a child is dead, shot down by police in Texas.

Fort Worth police were assisting the U.S. Marshals Task Force in hunting the suspect. They tracked him to a house in the 2000 block of Williams Place, near Northeast 28th Street in Fort Worth.

The man barricaded himself inside the home and a standoff began. The SWAT team arrived and tried negotiating with the man, but to no avail.

Then, after several hours holed up inside, the suspect emerged from a back door, holding a handgun. Officers say the man shouted to them, "I'm not going back to prison," then leveled the gun at them and fired twice.

He missed. They did not.

Officers returned fire, hitting the suspect several times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The matter is still being investigated by police in Fort Worth. The suspect's name has not been released. ..Source.. by Jon Lewis

Police: Woman Shot Intruder 9 Times In Self Defense

5-13-2011 Georgia:

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — An intruder who was shot and killed after a confrontation with a Duluth woman in her shower was likely stalking her for days and may have other victims, Gwinnett police said.

Police: Woman Shot Intruder 9 Times In Self Defense School Counselor Shoots, Kills Home Intruder

The 53-year-old woman, who is also a veteran private school counselor, was alone at the time of the Wednesday morning attack. She lives on East Mount Tabor Circle in Duluth.

The woman was getting out of the shower when she was met by a strange man with a kitchen knife, police said. They said there was a struggle in the bathroom, and she fell in the tub. Police later identified the man as Israel Perez Puentes, a Cuban national who lived in Alpharetta.

"The male was armed with a kitchen knife, a struggle ensued between the two of them. She fell in the bathtub injuring herself," Gwinnett police spokesman Edwin Ritter said.

The woman tried to fight the man off with a shower a rod, and he forced her into her bedroom, police said. They said she told her attacker she had money in the room. But she grabbed a .22-caliber handgun and shot the man nine times, police said.

Police said the man ran out of a back door and collapsed in the yard. He later died at the Gwinnett Medical Center. The victim, who was injured in the scuffle, was also taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not released her name.

Police told Channel 2's Kerry Kavanaugh they don't know why the woman was targeted.

"He may have seen her somewhere and he identified her as being a potential victim and he basically stalked her until he found the right moment to act on it," said Ritter.

"Our department is looking into any other cases around metro Atlanta area as well as our jurisdiction to see if he may be involved with any other sexual assaults that may have occurred."

Dan Tucker, a friend and neighbor, said he was amazed at how the victim defended herself against the armed intruder.

"She's smart, she's witty and obviously well prepared," Tucker said.

Ritter said the shooting investigation was ongoing but defended the victim, saying the shooting appeared to be justified, and that she acted in self-defense. He said there are no plans to charge her.

Police said Thursday that neighbors had spotted Puentes' car in the neighborhood several days before the attack but did not report it. Puentes' estranged wife told Kavanaugh he had been arrested for burglary in Johns Creek in December. ..Source.. by WSBTV.com

AWOL Fort Riley soldier killed in standoff

9-3-2011 Kansas:

A Fort Riley soldier who had been convicted Wednesday of raping a child was killed Thursday after a standoff with law enforcement officers in Abilene, a Fort Riley official said late Thursday.

U.S. marshals and local authorities located Sgt. Kirk Evenson at a hotel in Abilene. He had been reported absent without leave by military authorities Tuesday when he failed to appear for the second day of his court-martial for rape of a child — a violation of Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“The man killed by law enforcement officials in Abilene, Kan., this evening was a Fort Riley soldier who was fleeing from military justice,” Lt. Col. Sophie Gainey, 1st Infantry Division public affairs officer, said in a news release.

Evenson was tried in absentia and was convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

His vehicle was spotted outside a hotel in Abilene on Thursday.

Gainey says Evenson was shot after a lengthy standoff when officers decided to enter the room and he “offered resistance.” Further details weren’t available.

“We are confident law enforcement officials made every effort possible in their attempts to apprehend Evenson peacefully,” Gainey said. “We are saddened for everyone affected by this tragic case.”

Evenson was assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. ..Source.. by The Capital-Journal

Police shoot, kill suspect in child sex assault case

Do they have tasers in Arizona?

6-16-2011 Arizona:

A suspect wanted on child sexual assault and abuse charges was shot and killed by Tucson Police on Wednesday after he refused to surrender.

After a months-long investigation police went to the suspect's house on South Stone Avenue near Downtown at about 5 p.m. to serve an arrest warrant. He was accused of assaulting an 8-year-old girl who was not a relative.

When they got to the suspect's door, he was uncooperative, said Diana Lopez, of the Tucson Police Department.

"He would not open the door for police and made several statements of suicide by cop," she said.

When he did emerge a few minutes later he was "armed with a weapon and posed a deadly threat to officers," Lopez said.

She said that officers gave numerous commands for the man to drop his weapon, but he would not. Officers opened fire, killing him.

She said he was pronounced dead at a local hospital. There is no word on what the weapon was or the man's identity.

Stone, between 14th and 17th streets, remains blocked off as homicide and internal affairs officers continue their investigation. ..Source.. KOLD.com

U.S. Marshals: Alabama fugitive fatally shot in St. Pete

5-27-2011 Florida:

ST. PETERSBURG -- A fugitive from Alabama was shot dead today after pulling a gun on law enforcement officers in St. Petersburg, authorities said.

A deputy U.S. marshal suffered minor injuries in the incident, which happened about 5:45 p.m. at 3428 Queen St. N.

The fugitive's name has not been released. He was wanted for violating his supervised release in a sex-offense case out of Birmingham, Ala., said Pete Cajigal, assistant chief with the U.S. Marshals Service in Tampa.

Members of a regional fugitive task force, including deputy marshals and Tampa police officers, went to the address to serve an arrest warrant. Authorities said they made contact with the fugitive at an apartment behind the house.

"He did present a firearm to officers and officers ended up shooting him," Cajigal said.

"We do know that two deputy U.S. marshals and one task force officer from the Tampa Police Department discharged their weapons," he said.

Neighbor Marie Osborne was in her back yard when she heard gunshots.

"And I ran out and looked on my driveway and I saw the U.S. marshals all running, taking cover," she said.

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor arrived on scene soon after to check on the welfare of her officers.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate the shooting.

The shooting comes four months after two St. Petersburg police officers were killed and a deputy U.S. marshal was wounded after a fugitive opened fire as task force members tried to serve an arrest warrant at a St. Petersburg home. ..Source.. by TBO.com

Homeless Sex Offender Dies; Van Amasses Tickets

This post documents the death of Thomas Craig who died in the van.

Now, note what the reporter says near end of article. Third death due to Jessica's Residency Law and mentions TWO other sex offender deaths; each of which has its own post in the murders blog.

12-11-2010 California:

While passing the Caltrain station earlier this week, one of the men we'd interviewed for our story on homeless sex offenders last year flagged us down. He'd said no one had seen Thomas Craig, another one of our sources in the story, for several weeks. Now the Ford Windstar that Craig slept in parked on Bluxome Street had been gathering parking tickets, and our informant speculated the worst: "I think he died in there. I told the fire department, but they just laughed it off."

The consequences of Jessica's Law have been sinister to Craig and others to say the least: Since the law mandates that sex offenders must live 2,000 feet away from a park or school, in San Francisco, their only option is to not have a residence at all. The parole department currently mandates that they remain homeless.

While the city mulls a change to how the law is enforced locally, the paroled offenders continue to sleep in vans parked in lots and alleys, in homeless drop-in centers, or in doorways. Law enforcement experts say the instability makes it more likely the sex offenders will re-offend. In Craig's case, he had been convicted of forced oral copulation with a minor, though he always insisted he'd been framed. He did tell us about how the sex offenders were no longer allowed to enter a program for parolees at Walden House since it was too close to a school.

The complications from Jessica's Law abound. Yet a man dying inside his van and lying undiscovered for weeks seemed to be taking the macabre circumstances up a notch.

We checked on the minivan various times this week and, yep, it had been pegged with three different tickets for parking during street cleaning since mid-November. On Wednesday, a pink notice that the city was going to tow the van appeared. The sheets that Craig usually hung inside for a modicum of privacy were still up. We knocked and there was no answer. The county jail said he wasn't in custody, and the medical examiner said they had no record of him.

Finally today, we met our informant at the Caltrain station again. "He died." But not in the van.

A call to the medical examiner cleared things up: Craig had checked into St. Francis Hospital.

on Nov. 14, saying he had lung cancer. His condition declined at the hospital until he died at 2 p.m. on Nov. 18, likely due to multiple organ failure from cancer.

This will be the third person made homeless by Jessica's Law to die that SF Weekly has learned of this year. First, Nicolas Chaykovsky died in February from a heart attack, with his case manager speculating it was living on the streets that did him in. Faamamalu Casey died of a heart attack on May 27, according to the medical examiner.

Craig's van, meanwhile, is still slated to be towed. Apparently a handful of the homeless guys stored their stuff in there. Since no one has a key, they're all going to lose their possessions now. "Can't inherit the car," our informant, who sleeps under a nearby highway, said with a wry chuckle. "He's gone. I hate to say it." ..Source.. by Lauren Smiley

MO- Woman from Nemo loses appeal for killing ex-boyfriend

1-13-2009 Missouri:

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a woman from Hickory County who killed an ex-boyfriend at her home eight years ago. This is the second time that the state's highest court considered Jamie Avery's conviction.

Avery shot Bruce Paris at her home at Nemo, near Pomme de Terre Lake, in December 2000. Investigators said she gave more than one version of what happened but ultimately claimed she shot Paris in self-defense after he threatened to beat her. She said she didn't mean to kill him.

Avery argued she was afraid Paris might sexually assault her. She said Paris had made several harassing telephone calls to her before she finally agreed to meet with him. Several hours later, she ended up shooting him after she said he tried to come in her home after she tried to keep him out.

A jury convicted Avery in 2001 for second-degree murder and armed criminal action. She received two consecutive 30-year prison sentences in December 2000. Avery appealed.

In November 2003, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial. It said the jury should have been able to consider alternate verdicts of self-defense and voluntary manslaughter. The trial judge declined to read jury instructions that would have allowed either verdict.

At a second trial in Webster County, a jury convicted Avery of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. A judge sentenced her to concurrent prison terms of 15 and 35 years. Avery appealed again.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld the second set of convictions. In a unanimous opinion, it said there was a great deal of evidence that Avery drank alcohol the day of the shooting. That evidence, the court said, supports the trial judge's decision to submit a voluntary intoxication instruction to the jury. That instruction was read to make sure the jury knew intoxication is not a reason to acquit someone of a criminal act.

"Avery argues that Instruction No. 6 was likely to confuse or mislead the jury into believing that she had admitted some wrongdoing and was attempting to escape liability based on voluntary intoxication. If an instruction is an accurate statement of law and supported by the evidence, however, there is no prejudice," the Supreme Court decision says.

"In this case, there was abundant evidence of Avery's alcohol consumption to support the trial court's determination that without being instructed as to the legal effect of that evidence, the jury might well have been left to guess as to what legal effect to give that evidence."

Also, the Supreme Court judges ruled, the trial judge didn't abuse his discretion by not letting the jury hear testimony that Paris was a registered sex offender.

"Avery argues such evidence was admissible to demonstrate whether the victim was the initial aggressor. There was no evidence offered at trial that Avery knew anything about the conviction," the opinion says.

The court said having that information wouldn't have helped the jury decide what happened that day in 2000. ..News Source.. by Gene Hartley, KY3 News


====================================

SC89390
State of Missouri v. Jamie Avery
Hickory and Webster counties
Instructions and evidence
Listen to the oral argument:

Avery was represented during argument by Craig Johnston of the public defender's office in Columbia; and the state was represented by Shawn J. Mackelprang of the attorney general's office in Jefferson City.

Jamie Avery moved in with her boyfriend John Hamilton in September 2000 in Hickory County. Soon after moving in with Hamilton, Avery and Bruce Paris had a sexual encounter. Avery, Paris and a mutual friend subsequently made plans to go to Chicago, but Paris cancelled the plans after rekindling his relationship with an ex-girlfriend. In December 2000 – while Hamilton was out of town – Paris met up with Avery and their mutual friend, driving around in an automobile while consuming alcohol and marijuana. Eventually Paris and Avery went into Avery and Hamilton's home. Paris left the house at some point but returned after making a call on a pay telephone. Avery then shot Paris, called the sheriff's department and reported that she "shot an intruder." When the police arrived, Paris was dead in Avery's house. In June 2005, Avery was charged with first-degree murder. At trial, Avery wanted to admit evidence Paris was a registered sex offender to demonstrate that he was an initial aggressor. The trial court ruled the evidence was not admissible under State v. Gonzales, 153 S.W.3d 311 (Mo. banc 2005). She was convicted of the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter and armed criminal action and was sentenced to concurrent prison sentences of 15 years and 35 years, respectively. Avery appeals.

Avery argues the trial court violated her rights to due process and a properly instructed jury because it gave the state's voluntary intoxication instruction over her objection. She contends that the instruction lacked evidentiary support she was intoxicated, that giving the instruction prejudiced her because it likely misled the jury to believe she admitted to some wrongdoing and was attempting to escape liability based on intoxication, and that the instruction negatively would affect her credibility – the key issue at trial. Avery asserts the trial court denied her rights to due process, to a fair trial and to present a defense. She argues the trial court abused its discretion in excluding evidence Paris was a registered sex offender because her theory of defense, presented through instructions for self-defense and defense of premises, was that she was defending herself from an attack by Paris. The fact that Paris was a registered sex offender, she contends, was relevant evidence to establish whether Paris was the aggressor and whether he was attempting to assault Avery sexually when he attacked her. Avery asserts the state "opened the door" to such evidence when one of its witnesses testified that Paris was a "good guy."

The state responds the trial court did not err in submitting the voluntary intoxication instruction because there was substantial evidence to support an inference that Avery was voluntarily intoxicated. It argues the trial court did not plainly err in refusing to admit evidence Paris was a registered sex offender because Avery’s offer of proof was insufficient and she made no argument to rebut the state's good character evidence about Paris at trial and, therefore, did not preserve the error for appeal. ..Source..

AR- Action News 5 Investigates: Sex Offender Street

3-5-2009 Arkansas:

CRITTENDEN COUNTY, AR (WMC-TV) - Each afternoon the school bus drops kids off at the Lakeshore Trailer Park in Crittenden County.

"I do have six children," neighbor Elgie Sanders said. "They want to come out and play, but I don't let them come outside."

"They just want to lock their doors and forget about sex offenders," neighbor Pamela Hollingsworth said.

Sex offenders have clustered in the trailer park because of the success of law enforcement in West Memphis and Marion in making sure they don't live in areas they are not allowed in.

"There is a law that says you cannot reside within 2,000 feet of a property public or private or elementary school," said Mike Allen, assistant chief of the West Memphis Police Department.

That Arkansas law also includes day care centers, both public and licensed in-home day cares.

"It's pretty much ran anyone from being in the corporate city limits of West Memphis," Allen said.

It is much the same for the city of Marion.

"They've done a wonderful job of ridding their cities of sex offenders," said Tommy Martin of the Crittenden County Sheriff's Department. "Unfortunately, most of them have moved out in the county."

Which takes us back to Lakeshore Trailer Park, where Martin says many sex offenders have clustered. An Action News 5 investigation discovered several registered sex offenders sharing homes at several different locations - 15 in all.

Elgie Sanders and her six children moved into Lakeshore a few months ago. She says nobody told her about the sex offenders.

"They don't need to be here either, because there's a lot of kids stay up around here, and I see a bunch of them playing, but not mine," she said. "I don't let them outside."

It's the only place for sex offenders to go if they want to stay in Crittenden County, and law enforcement tells me the sex offenders are checking in like they are supposed to.

One of those sex offenders, Charles Yarbrough - a convicted rapist - was murdered in his Lakeshore trailer last month. The sheriff's department says the murder does not appear to have anything to do with the fact that Yarbrough was a sex offender. ..Source.. by Janice Broach

Soldier. USF student. Now, an inmate. Man who accidentally killed friend gets 15 years

11-6-2007 Florida

BRADENTON -- Never in her life did Maria Ruiz think that her brother would be here, shackled in a courtroom, a killer facing a possible 30-year prison sentence.

Not Jesus Ledezma, the student who made A's and B's at the University of South Florida. Not the former soldier moved by young children he met during a peacekeeping mission to Bosnia. Not the loving son who bought extra presents for neighbors on Christmas.

"We called him the miracle child," Ruiz said.

Yet here Ledezma was on Monday morning, handcuffed and crying before a judge who sentenced him to 15 years in state prison for shooting a friend in the head, killing him.

Ledezma, 31, argued with his sister's boyfriend in a car outside their home on Seventh Avenue East last November. Prosecutors say Ledezma wanted to kill himself, but pulled a .45-caliber pistol and accidentally shot Jose Delval. Ledezma called 911 that night and told a dispatcher the shooting was an accident, his attorney said.

Ledezma and Jose Delval were friends, and spent the evening drinking together. Authorities say they argued about Ledezma's sister, who began dating Delval -- a sex offender who spent seven years in prison -- after he was released in 2003.

Prosecutors initially sought a second-degree murder conviction and a 20-year sentence; a jury convicted him last month of manslaughter.

Circuit Judge Diana Moreland may have been swayed by family members who talked about Ledezma's work on a finance degree at the USF campus in Sarasota, and his sparkling record of military service.

A psychologist who examined Ledezma in jail also said he suffered from a thyroid condition, and a prescription medication likely caused him to struggle with bouts of depression.

A former Army soldier, Ledezma bounced between jobs in Manatee County and seemed to worry about his future, according to his mother.

A former employer said Ledezma was a conscientious worker. "He was always very respectful, very considerate," said Mike Stewart, of Douglas-Knight and Associates, a collections agency where Ledezma once worked.

Moreland cut the sentence down to 15 years and included an additional 15 years of probation.

Once he is released, Ledezma must also complete 100 hours of community service by giving talks about the dangers of gun violence.

While his family was relieved that the sentence was not 30 years, Ledezma understood that his fall -- from top student to state inmate -- was remarkably fast.

"I wish I could go back in time," Ledezma said, "and take it back. I don't know what to say for myself." ..more.. by ANTHONY CORMIER