A 33-year-old street gang member from Tacoma with a lengthy criminal history has been sentenced in U.S. District to seven years and two months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
TACOMA, Wash. —
A 33-year-old street gang member from Tacoma with a lengthy criminal history has been sentenced in U.S. District to seven years and two months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Jermaine Laron Gore was sentenced Friday by Judge Ronald B. Leighton, who told him that he would get "no more second chances."
Gore was on probation from a state conviction at the time of his arrest with a weapon July 4, 2006, after reports of a man waving a gun outside a home in Tacoma. Police found a loaded Rossi .357 caliber revolver in Gore's car.
Gore was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his previous felony convictions that included assault in the third degree in 1993, drug possession in 1994, three counts of conspiracy to delivery a controlled substance in 2000, conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance in 2002 and unlawful possession of cocaine in 2003. All those convictions were in Pierce County.
Gore was prosecuted by the U.S. government as part of its Project Safe Neighborhoods program.
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Saturday, November 15, 2008
Criminal Case Law Update
The following cases of note were decided recently in Washington's high courts:
Supreme Court:
State v. Cayenne: The Court upheld a sentencing condition prohibiting a Native American tribal member convicted of off-reservation illegal fisihing using a gillnet from owning a gillnet for the next eight months. The Court disagreed with the Court of Appeals, which had partially reversed the sentence, holding that the sentencing court had no authority to restrict a tribal members rights while on the reservation. The Court pointed out that the defendant had appeared before the trial court and subject to its full sentencing authority, including crime-related prohibitions, and the trial court had authority to impose appropriate sentencing conditions that would follow the individual defendant. Limiting that authority to off-reservations activities, the Court reasoned, "would create the unwanted result of permitting tribal lands to be havens for criminals avoiding justice after violating state laws." A copy of the decision may be viewed online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/804991.opn.pdf
State v. Gossage: The Court held that Mr. Gossage was entitled to a certificate of discharge from his sentence, despite the fact that he had not paid the full amount of restitution ordered, because all legal financial obligations (LFOs) expired ten years from the date of release from confinement under the plain language of RCW 9.94A.760(4). A copy of the decision may be viewed online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/803102.opn.pdf
Division One Court of Appeals:
State v. Webb: The Court held that the State failed to prove that Mr. Webb was physically proximate to the passenger compartment of his vheicle at the time he was arrested for DUI, and therefore the items seized in the search incident to arrest of that area must be suppressed. In this case, Mr. Webb stopped his vehicle in the right hand lane of traffic, was been removed from his car and directed to the sidewalk by the officer who stopped him, and then placed under arrest by a second officer after an interview and field tests. After Mr. Webb was secured in the second officer's patrol car, he gave the officers permission to move his vehicle off the street, which they did, parking it in a bank parking lot some 40-50 feet away. The officers then searched the car, including the use of a canine search, without a warrant and "incident to arrest" and located cocaine and drug paraphernalia. After a lengthy examination of the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement, the court overturned the search, holding that "Washington law requires more than temporal and physical proximity between the arrest and the search. It also requires physical proximity between the suspect and the vehicle at the time of arrest." A copy of the decision may be viewed online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/60732-4.cor.doc.pdf
Division Three Court of Appeals:
State v. Williams: The Court found improper the imposition of a firearm enhancement rather than a deadly weapons enhancement to the defendant's sentence where the jury found that the defendant was armed with a deadly weapon rather than a firearm. The Court noted that the Supreme Court has held that sentencing to a firearm enhancement as opposed to a deadly weapons enhancement can never be harmless error. The Court held that the trial court was without authority to impose a firearm enhancement and remanded for resentencing. A copy of the decision may be found online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/231241.opn.doc.pdf
Supreme Court:
State v. Cayenne: The Court upheld a sentencing condition prohibiting a Native American tribal member convicted of off-reservation illegal fisihing using a gillnet from owning a gillnet for the next eight months. The Court disagreed with the Court of Appeals, which had partially reversed the sentence, holding that the sentencing court had no authority to restrict a tribal members rights while on the reservation. The Court pointed out that the defendant had appeared before the trial court and subject to its full sentencing authority, including crime-related prohibitions, and the trial court had authority to impose appropriate sentencing conditions that would follow the individual defendant. Limiting that authority to off-reservations activities, the Court reasoned, "would create the unwanted result of permitting tribal lands to be havens for criminals avoiding justice after violating state laws." A copy of the decision may be viewed online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/804991.opn.pdf
State v. Gossage: The Court held that Mr. Gossage was entitled to a certificate of discharge from his sentence, despite the fact that he had not paid the full amount of restitution ordered, because all legal financial obligations (LFOs) expired ten years from the date of release from confinement under the plain language of RCW 9.94A.760(4). A copy of the decision may be viewed online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/803102.opn.pdf
Division One Court of Appeals:
State v. Webb: The Court held that the State failed to prove that Mr. Webb was physically proximate to the passenger compartment of his vheicle at the time he was arrested for DUI, and therefore the items seized in the search incident to arrest of that area must be suppressed. In this case, Mr. Webb stopped his vehicle in the right hand lane of traffic, was been removed from his car and directed to the sidewalk by the officer who stopped him, and then placed under arrest by a second officer after an interview and field tests. After Mr. Webb was secured in the second officer's patrol car, he gave the officers permission to move his vehicle off the street, which they did, parking it in a bank parking lot some 40-50 feet away. The officers then searched the car, including the use of a canine search, without a warrant and "incident to arrest" and located cocaine and drug paraphernalia. After a lengthy examination of the search incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement, the court overturned the search, holding that "Washington law requires more than temporal and physical proximity between the arrest and the search. It also requires physical proximity between the suspect and the vehicle at the time of arrest." A copy of the decision may be viewed online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/60732-4.cor.doc.pdf
Division Three Court of Appeals:
State v. Williams: The Court found improper the imposition of a firearm enhancement rather than a deadly weapons enhancement to the defendant's sentence where the jury found that the defendant was armed with a deadly weapon rather than a firearm. The Court noted that the Supreme Court has held that sentencing to a firearm enhancement as opposed to a deadly weapons enhancement can never be harmless error. The Court held that the trial court was without authority to impose a firearm enhancement and remanded for resentencing. A copy of the decision may be found online at: http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/231241.opn.doc.pdf
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Man sentenced to 25 years for cold case murder
P-I STAFF
A man who admitted to a 1980 murder in Des Moines was sentenced in King County Superior Court Thursday to nearly 25 years in prison.
James Maynard Blair, 54, pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder in the slaying of Kirk Parker. Investigators used DNA evidence to link Blair to the crime, charging him in August.
Blair is already in prison serving time for a 2006 assault conviction.
In 1980, Des Moines police officers discovered Parker beaten and strangled to death in his mobile home after going there on a welfare check. But the initial investigation stalled when police could not locate any suspects in the killing.
Then, in January 2006, Des Moines Police Sgt. David Mohr reopened the case and sent items believed to have DNA evidence from the killer to the state crime lab. According to investigators, lab technicians found Blair's genetic signature on several items from Parker's home.
According to court records, Blair told investigators that he had been hitchhiking in the area during the February night that Parker was killed. He said Parker picked him up and took him to his mobile home, where Blair killed him in a drunken altercation.
A man who admitted to a 1980 murder in Des Moines was sentenced in King County Superior Court Thursday to nearly 25 years in prison.
James Maynard Blair, 54, pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder in the slaying of Kirk Parker. Investigators used DNA evidence to link Blair to the crime, charging him in August.
Blair is already in prison serving time for a 2006 assault conviction.
In 1980, Des Moines police officers discovered Parker beaten and strangled to death in his mobile home after going there on a welfare check. But the initial investigation stalled when police could not locate any suspects in the killing.
Then, in January 2006, Des Moines Police Sgt. David Mohr reopened the case and sent items believed to have DNA evidence from the killer to the state crime lab. According to investigators, lab technicians found Blair's genetic signature on several items from Parker's home.
According to court records, Blair told investigators that he had been hitchhiking in the area during the February night that Parker was killed. He said Parker picked him up and took him to his mobile home, where Blair killed him in a drunken altercation.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Police arming Newcastle residents with radar guns
KING5.com Staff
NEWCASTLE, Wash. – Residents in Newcastle who complain that drivers are speeding through their neighborhoods will now have proof.
Newcastle police are arming residents with radar guns. The guns will record the speed and license plate numbers of drivers.
Officers will send out warning letters to speeding drivers. While those warnings will not carry a fine, police say the program will help them determine whether they need additional patrols in those neighborhoods.
Newcastle police say their first volunteer caught over 70 speeders in three days.
NEWCASTLE, Wash. – Residents in Newcastle who complain that drivers are speeding through their neighborhoods will now have proof.
Newcastle police are arming residents with radar guns. The guns will record the speed and license plate numbers of drivers.
Officers will send out warning letters to speeding drivers. While those warnings will not carry a fine, police say the program will help them determine whether they need additional patrols in those neighborhoods.
Newcastle police say their first volunteer caught over 70 speeders in three days.
McNeil Island prison searched for phones
By IAN DEMSKY
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
MCNEILL ISLAND -- The attempted suicide of a McNeil Island inmate in September highlighted a new high-tech threat for the state Department of Corrections: contraband cell phones.
Over the weekend, the entire prison was on lockdown while officers searched it stem to stern for illicit phones and other contraband. Such prisonwide searches are rare and expensive because of the manpower involved.
Information developed in the suicide case led to the Oct. 31 arrest of a McNeil corrections officer on suspicion of smuggling-in at least one cell phone, a Washington State Patrol spokesman said. The News Tribune is not naming her because prosecutors have not filed any charges in the case.
Cell phones are dangerous behind bars because they allow inmates to have unmonitored contact with the outside world, including with drug and gang ties, prison officials say. Unlike calls made through prison phones, they can't be recorded or screened.
The morning of his Sept. 18 suicide attempt, Leon Toney and another inmate were linked to a cell phone that had been smuggled into the prison, records show. It's also clear from the department's review of the incident that family members found out Toney was hurt not from prison officials, but from someone on the inside. They said the call came from another inmate using a cell phone and that they knew of several others inside.
The phone in the Toney case was the third found at McNeil in the past two years, officials said. No statewide figures were available, but DOC spokesman Chad Lewis said a survey of state prison administrators found they had seized only a couple phones each.
"The number we've seen aren't that high," Lewis said. "But this is different than most other types of contraband. You can only pass a cigarette around so many times. You can pass a cell phone around countless times."
A special team of 44 officers from three other prisons was brought to McNeil on Saturday to conduct the two-day search, which went cell-to-cell and inmate-to-inmate through the 1,280-inmate prison.
The inmates were strip-searched and officers crawled beneath beds and desks, peered into light fixtures, and made sure TVs and radios hadn't been pried open so that contraband could be hidden inside. The two-man teams spent roughly 20 minutes per cell.
"It's a serious thing to inconvenience a whole facility like this," said Jocelyn "J" Hofe, who heads up the Department of Corrections' emergency operations statewide. "It's a disruption for the staff, visitors and inmates."
Most facilities see such large-scale searches only every few years. But, officials noted, they only augment the daily cell searches the facilities already do.
Bringing in the specialized team from outside prisons adds fresh eyes, said DOC administrator Earl Wright, who supervises several prisons, including McNeil. It also provides training opportunities for the specialized officers and McNeil staff.
Hofe said some contraband may have been flushed or destroyed when it became clear that a sweep was happening. "But it still gets it out of the prison," she noted.
As of Sunday afternoon, officers turned up several homemade tattoo guns and a small amount of drugs. A syringe was found inside a jigsaw puzzle box in a common area. Also seized was a fist-sized pouch of tobacco that had been hidden inside an inmate's radio. Investigators estimated it was worth $200 to $300 on the prison black market.
No cell phones were found, however.
"This is a whole new game for us," McNeil Superintendent Ron Van Boening said in a recent interview. "They (cell phones) are getting smaller and smaller."
The inmates know officials are looking for the phones and are going to great lengths to hide them, he said. It's tough, officials admit, because some of the phones are small enough to be, in prison parlance, "keistered."
The state Department of Corrections is weighing administrative and legislative approaches to increasing the penalties for being caught with a cell phone, said Lewis, the DOC spokesman. The department is also training its drug-sniffing dogs to find them, though budget cuts have reduced the number of dogs across the state from eight to two.
Cell phones aren't just a problem in Washington. Last month, a state senator in Texas received a cell phone call from a death row inmate. The caller told the senator he knew that he had two daughters and gave their ages, address and other personal details he had gleaned from the Internet, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Officials found the phone had been used to make more than 2,800 calls in the previous month alone.
While prison officials stress the dangers cell phones pose behind bars, prisoner rights advocates say there's another reason they're coveted -- they allow inmates to keep in touch with family.
Maintaining community and family ties is important for an inmate's success upon release, corrections officials say. But at the same time, inmates and their families pay far more to talk to each other than the general public does.
Despite a rate cut in 2006, Washington's rates remain among the highest in the country, according to the advocacy group Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, or CURE. In surveying rates nationwide, the group ranked Washington ninth-highest out of 46 states where data were available.
The rates, which can be as much as 22 times higher than the five cents per minute many South Sound residents pay for long distance, amount to a tax on some of the poorest members of society, said Kay Perry, coordinator for CURE's Campaign to Promote Equitable Telephone Charges.
"A lot of states spend millions of dollars trying to help inmates transition out of prison and build a social network when they get out," she said. "But the current telephone systems tear families apart. The family members pay for it -- you're punishing them only because they love somebody."
While most types of inmate calls in Washington are now billed at a flat rate -- either $3.15 or $3.50, depending on how it's paid for -- out-of-state calls cost $4.95 plus 89 cents per minute, or $22.75 for a 20-minute call. The average wage for state inmates is about $1.15 per hour.
About 60 percent of what state inmates and their families spend on phone calls goes to programs that have nothing to do with phone service.
From September 2007 to September 2008, inmates at Washington's 17 prisons and their families paid for $8.7 million in phone calls, according to records obtained by The News Tribune. Under a contract with Chicago-based FSH Communications, $5.1 million of that is given right back to the DOC.
Most of that money goes into an Offender Betterment Fund, which pays for items like school supplies for inmates' children, books and staff for prison law libraries, and cable TV service. A quarter of it goes toward a state fund for crime victims and witnesses.
Perry says she understands the argument that the $5 million commission that returns to the DOC is $5 million that taxpayers don't have to spend. But to her, it's unfair to shift that burden to inmates and their families.
"It's all of our responsibility," she said. "When society makes the decision to incarcerate somebody, we have the responsibility to rehabilitate them. All citizens should have to pay for rehabilitation programs that help these people turn their lives around. Otherwise you're taxing some very poor folk."
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
MCNEILL ISLAND -- The attempted suicide of a McNeil Island inmate in September highlighted a new high-tech threat for the state Department of Corrections: contraband cell phones.
Over the weekend, the entire prison was on lockdown while officers searched it stem to stern for illicit phones and other contraband. Such prisonwide searches are rare and expensive because of the manpower involved.
Information developed in the suicide case led to the Oct. 31 arrest of a McNeil corrections officer on suspicion of smuggling-in at least one cell phone, a Washington State Patrol spokesman said. The News Tribune is not naming her because prosecutors have not filed any charges in the case.
Cell phones are dangerous behind bars because they allow inmates to have unmonitored contact with the outside world, including with drug and gang ties, prison officials say. Unlike calls made through prison phones, they can't be recorded or screened.
The morning of his Sept. 18 suicide attempt, Leon Toney and another inmate were linked to a cell phone that had been smuggled into the prison, records show. It's also clear from the department's review of the incident that family members found out Toney was hurt not from prison officials, but from someone on the inside. They said the call came from another inmate using a cell phone and that they knew of several others inside.
The phone in the Toney case was the third found at McNeil in the past two years, officials said. No statewide figures were available, but DOC spokesman Chad Lewis said a survey of state prison administrators found they had seized only a couple phones each.
"The number we've seen aren't that high," Lewis said. "But this is different than most other types of contraband. You can only pass a cigarette around so many times. You can pass a cell phone around countless times."
A special team of 44 officers from three other prisons was brought to McNeil on Saturday to conduct the two-day search, which went cell-to-cell and inmate-to-inmate through the 1,280-inmate prison.
The inmates were strip-searched and officers crawled beneath beds and desks, peered into light fixtures, and made sure TVs and radios hadn't been pried open so that contraband could be hidden inside. The two-man teams spent roughly 20 minutes per cell.
"It's a serious thing to inconvenience a whole facility like this," said Jocelyn "J" Hofe, who heads up the Department of Corrections' emergency operations statewide. "It's a disruption for the staff, visitors and inmates."
Most facilities see such large-scale searches only every few years. But, officials noted, they only augment the daily cell searches the facilities already do.
Bringing in the specialized team from outside prisons adds fresh eyes, said DOC administrator Earl Wright, who supervises several prisons, including McNeil. It also provides training opportunities for the specialized officers and McNeil staff.
Hofe said some contraband may have been flushed or destroyed when it became clear that a sweep was happening. "But it still gets it out of the prison," she noted.
As of Sunday afternoon, officers turned up several homemade tattoo guns and a small amount of drugs. A syringe was found inside a jigsaw puzzle box in a common area. Also seized was a fist-sized pouch of tobacco that had been hidden inside an inmate's radio. Investigators estimated it was worth $200 to $300 on the prison black market.
No cell phones were found, however.
"This is a whole new game for us," McNeil Superintendent Ron Van Boening said in a recent interview. "They (cell phones) are getting smaller and smaller."
The inmates know officials are looking for the phones and are going to great lengths to hide them, he said. It's tough, officials admit, because some of the phones are small enough to be, in prison parlance, "keistered."
The state Department of Corrections is weighing administrative and legislative approaches to increasing the penalties for being caught with a cell phone, said Lewis, the DOC spokesman. The department is also training its drug-sniffing dogs to find them, though budget cuts have reduced the number of dogs across the state from eight to two.
Cell phones aren't just a problem in Washington. Last month, a state senator in Texas received a cell phone call from a death row inmate. The caller told the senator he knew that he had two daughters and gave their ages, address and other personal details he had gleaned from the Internet, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Officials found the phone had been used to make more than 2,800 calls in the previous month alone.
While prison officials stress the dangers cell phones pose behind bars, prisoner rights advocates say there's another reason they're coveted -- they allow inmates to keep in touch with family.
Maintaining community and family ties is important for an inmate's success upon release, corrections officials say. But at the same time, inmates and their families pay far more to talk to each other than the general public does.
Despite a rate cut in 2006, Washington's rates remain among the highest in the country, according to the advocacy group Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants, or CURE. In surveying rates nationwide, the group ranked Washington ninth-highest out of 46 states where data were available.
The rates, which can be as much as 22 times higher than the five cents per minute many South Sound residents pay for long distance, amount to a tax on some of the poorest members of society, said Kay Perry, coordinator for CURE's Campaign to Promote Equitable Telephone Charges.
"A lot of states spend millions of dollars trying to help inmates transition out of prison and build a social network when they get out," she said. "But the current telephone systems tear families apart. The family members pay for it -- you're punishing them only because they love somebody."
While most types of inmate calls in Washington are now billed at a flat rate -- either $3.15 or $3.50, depending on how it's paid for -- out-of-state calls cost $4.95 plus 89 cents per minute, or $22.75 for a 20-minute call. The average wage for state inmates is about $1.15 per hour.
About 60 percent of what state inmates and their families spend on phone calls goes to programs that have nothing to do with phone service.
From September 2007 to September 2008, inmates at Washington's 17 prisons and their families paid for $8.7 million in phone calls, according to records obtained by The News Tribune. Under a contract with Chicago-based FSH Communications, $5.1 million of that is given right back to the DOC.
Most of that money goes into an Offender Betterment Fund, which pays for items like school supplies for inmates' children, books and staff for prison law libraries, and cable TV service. A quarter of it goes toward a state fund for crime victims and witnesses.
Perry says she understands the argument that the $5 million commission that returns to the DOC is $5 million that taxpayers don't have to spend. But to her, it's unfair to shift that burden to inmates and their families.
"It's all of our responsibility," she said. "When society makes the decision to incarcerate somebody, we have the responsibility to rehabilitate them. All citizens should have to pay for rehabilitation programs that help these people turn their lives around. Otherwise you're taxing some very poor folk."
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Police shot co-owner of home, not burglar
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
EVERETT -- The owner of an Everett house where a 31-year-old man was shot and killed by police early Saturday says the man was a co-owner of the house and lived there.
"It's devastating. He didn't deserve to die," Bear Whalen told The Everett Herald.
Whalen described the slain man as his friend who was a good person who cared about his community and was a volunteer.
"He never even got a ticket. He respected the law," Whalen told the newspaper.
Three Everett police officers responding to a report of a burglary shot and killed Whalen's roommate at the home. Investigators found a shotgun next to the man's body, officials reported Sunday.
Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said someone in the neighborhood called police just before 2 a.m. Saturday to report that someone was breaking windows and kicking in the door of a nearby house.
Hover said three officers arrived and said they were confronted by a man with a gun, standing in the doorway of the home.
Officers said they repeatedly ordered the man to drop his weapon but he refused. The three officers fired multiple shots at the man. Hover said he died at the scene.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office had not released the slain man's name.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, while a team of detectives from throughout the county investigates.
The officers were a 24-year-old woman who has been with the Everett Police Department for 2 1/2 years, a 33-year-old man who has been with the department for 2 years and a 29-year-old man who has been with the department for 1 1/2 years, Hover said.
Whalen, 28, said he went with the man who was slain with some friends to a bar Friday night.
Whalen said his roommate went home about 1 a.m., while he said he spent the night at a friend's house.
Gunnar Nelson, 26, a neighbor, told The Herald: "I just wish my friend was back. I don't know how long it's going to take to get over this."
EVERETT -- The owner of an Everett house where a 31-year-old man was shot and killed by police early Saturday says the man was a co-owner of the house and lived there.
"It's devastating. He didn't deserve to die," Bear Whalen told The Everett Herald.
Whalen described the slain man as his friend who was a good person who cared about his community and was a volunteer.
"He never even got a ticket. He respected the law," Whalen told the newspaper.
Three Everett police officers responding to a report of a burglary shot and killed Whalen's roommate at the home. Investigators found a shotgun next to the man's body, officials reported Sunday.
Snohomish County sheriff's spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said someone in the neighborhood called police just before 2 a.m. Saturday to report that someone was breaking windows and kicking in the door of a nearby house.
Hover said three officers arrived and said they were confronted by a man with a gun, standing in the doorway of the home.
Officers said they repeatedly ordered the man to drop his weapon but he refused. The three officers fired multiple shots at the man. Hover said he died at the scene.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office had not released the slain man's name.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, while a team of detectives from throughout the county investigates.
The officers were a 24-year-old woman who has been with the Everett Police Department for 2 1/2 years, a 33-year-old man who has been with the department for 2 years and a 29-year-old man who has been with the department for 1 1/2 years, Hover said.
Whalen, 28, said he went with the man who was slain with some friends to a bar Friday night.
Whalen said his roommate went home about 1 a.m., while he said he spent the night at a friend's house.
Gunnar Nelson, 26, a neighbor, told The Herald: "I just wish my friend was back. I don't know how long it's going to take to get over this."
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Everett police shoot, kill alleged armed burglar
By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER
Everett police officers shot and killed a suspected burglar early Saturday who was allegedly armed with a gun at the time.
The fatal shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. in the 2400 block of 23rd Street in north Everett, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office reported.
The investigation into the shooting is being handled by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, a coalition of several county law enforcement agencies that handles large criminal investigations and sensitive cases such as officer involved shootings.
According to police, officers were called to a home on 23rd Street after neighbors reported a man breaking windows at the house and breaking down the front door.
Six officers responded to the call. Three officers approached the house where they were confronted by a man who was allegedly armed with a firearm. Investigators have not determined what kind of firearm the man had.
According to the sheriff's office, the three officers ordered the man to put down his weapon, but he did not follow their directions.
The three officers then fired several shots at the man, killing him.
None of the officers were hurt, the sheriff's office reported.
Investigators have not identified the slain man, saying only that he appeared to be in his 30s. There was no one in the house at the time of the shooting and police do not know who owns it or who lives there.
All three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid leave, common practice among most law enforcement agencies when an officer is involved in a shooting.
The officers include a 24-year-old woman with the department for just over two years, a 33-year-old male officer with the department for two years, and a 29-year-old male officer with 18 months on the job.
Investigators plan to search the residence where the shooting happened. They have not determined how many shots were fired nor whether the alleged burglar fired any shots.
P-I REPORTER
Everett police officers shot and killed a suspected burglar early Saturday who was allegedly armed with a gun at the time.
The fatal shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. in the 2400 block of 23rd Street in north Everett, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office reported.
The investigation into the shooting is being handled by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, a coalition of several county law enforcement agencies that handles large criminal investigations and sensitive cases such as officer involved shootings.
According to police, officers were called to a home on 23rd Street after neighbors reported a man breaking windows at the house and breaking down the front door.
Six officers responded to the call. Three officers approached the house where they were confronted by a man who was allegedly armed with a firearm. Investigators have not determined what kind of firearm the man had.
According to the sheriff's office, the three officers ordered the man to put down his weapon, but he did not follow their directions.
The three officers then fired several shots at the man, killing him.
None of the officers were hurt, the sheriff's office reported.
Investigators have not identified the slain man, saying only that he appeared to be in his 30s. There was no one in the house at the time of the shooting and police do not know who owns it or who lives there.
All three officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid leave, common practice among most law enforcement agencies when an officer is involved in a shooting.
The officers include a 24-year-old woman with the department for just over two years, a 33-year-old male officer with the department for two years, and a 29-year-old male officer with 18 months on the job.
Investigators plan to search the residence where the shooting happened. They have not determined how many shots were fired nor whether the alleged burglar fired any shots.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Jurors acquit Seattle man of 2nd-degree murder
A Snohomish County jury has ruled that a former college student who fatally shot an 18-year-old Kirkland, Wash., man at a Halloween party in 2007 did not commit a crime.
EVERETT, Wash. —
A Snohomish County jury has ruled that a former college student who fatally shot an 18-year-old Kirkland, Wash., man at a Halloween party in 2007 did not commit a crime.
But the jurors Monday also made clear they didn't believe the death of Chris Chandler was justified as an act of self defense.
The jury acquitted 23-year-old Bryce Dawson Fortier of Seattle of second-degree murder. It also rejected prosecutors' arguments that Chandler's killing may be manslaughter.
Chandler was shot once in the chest during an apparent struggle with Fortier at a Halloween party in 2007 in the Mill Creek, Wash., area. Fortier testified he shot Chandler out of fear for his life.
Fortier is a former a student at Central Washington University.
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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com
EVERETT, Wash. —
A Snohomish County jury has ruled that a former college student who fatally shot an 18-year-old Kirkland, Wash., man at a Halloween party in 2007 did not commit a crime.
But the jurors Monday also made clear they didn't believe the death of Chris Chandler was justified as an act of self defense.
The jury acquitted 23-year-old Bryce Dawson Fortier of Seattle of second-degree murder. It also rejected prosecutors' arguments that Chandler's killing may be manslaughter.
Chandler was shot once in the chest during an apparent struggle with Fortier at a Halloween party in 2007 in the Mill Creek, Wash., area. Fortier testified he shot Chandler out of fear for his life.
Fortier is a former a student at Central Washington University.
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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com
Friday, October 24, 2008
Spokane officer facing assault charge
A prosecutor says he'll file a fourth-degree assault charge against a Spokane police officer accused of kicking a handcuffed man in the face.
SPOKANE, Wash. —
A prosecutor says he'll file a fourth-degree assault charge against a Spokane police officer accused of kicking a handcuffed man in the face.
The Pend Oreille (PAHN'-doh-RAY') County deputy prosecutor appointed to the case, Michael Carbone, told the Spokesman-Review on Thursday he would file the charge in Spokane Municipal Court.
Officer Rob Boothe is accused of kicking 22-year-old John P. Luna on Sept. 5 after a stolen car and foot chase.
Boothe is on paid leave. Luna is jailed for investigation of car theft, hit-and-run, eluding police and assault.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.co
SPOKANE, Wash. —
A prosecutor says he'll file a fourth-degree assault charge against a Spokane police officer accused of kicking a handcuffed man in the face.
The Pend Oreille (PAHN'-doh-RAY') County deputy prosecutor appointed to the case, Michael Carbone, told the Spokesman-Review on Thursday he would file the charge in Spokane Municipal Court.
Officer Rob Boothe is accused of kicking 22-year-old John P. Luna on Sept. 5 after a stolen car and foot chase.
Boothe is on paid leave. Luna is jailed for investigation of car theft, hit-and-run, eluding police and assault.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.co
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Man pleads guilty in Tacoma in drug case
A man who hid in Mexico for 15 years to dodge drug charges has pleaded guilty in federal court in Tacoma.
TACOMA, Wash. —
A man who hid in Mexico for 15 years to dodge drug charges has pleaded guilty in federal court in Tacoma.
Fifty-eight-year-old Frank Falco pleaded guilty Thursday to money laundering in a drug-smuggling conspiracy that imported 50,000 kilos of hashish into the United States in 1992.
The conspiracy involved having a boat meet another boat carrying the drugs off the Washington coast, and then ferrying the drugs back to shore. The drugs were then distributed to Oregon, California, and New York by rental trucks.
Falco fled to Mexico and hid until he turned himself in at the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico, last March.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine when he is sentenced next Jan. 9.
TACOMA, Wash. —
A man who hid in Mexico for 15 years to dodge drug charges has pleaded guilty in federal court in Tacoma.
Fifty-eight-year-old Frank Falco pleaded guilty Thursday to money laundering in a drug-smuggling conspiracy that imported 50,000 kilos of hashish into the United States in 1992.
The conspiracy involved having a boat meet another boat carrying the drugs off the Washington coast, and then ferrying the drugs back to shore. The drugs were then distributed to Oregon, California, and New York by rental trucks.
Falco fled to Mexico and hid until he turned himself in at the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico, last March.
He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine when he is sentenced next Jan. 9.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Pot farm causes heavy damage in national parks
By TAHLIA GANSER SKAGIT VALLEY HERALD
MOUNT VERNON -- In mid-August, more than 50 law enforcement officers raided the first marijuana grow site ever discovered on national park land in the state of Washington.
Officers uprooted more than 16,000 marijuana plants in the course of a day -- then shipped them off in dump trucks to be destroyed.
Left behind were the scars of cultivation and tampering with nature, along with months of trash and chemicals used to grow the drug. Cleaning it all up will take a lot of time and money.
The growers escaped and ran free, but without the fruits of their estimated $48 million drug operation. Investigators believe a high-powered Mexican drug organization -- using low-end growers -- is responsible for the grow site in the North Cascades National Park Complex, east of Skagit County near Ross Lake, as well as similar sites in other national parks around the country.
In the past decade, illegal marijuana sites have been discovered and destroyed in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Santa Monica National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore.
For some, the most tragic part of the crime is the scars left behind on the recreational park land after the plants were yanked.
"It's just wild," said Mignonne Bivin on a recent trip to the North Cascades grow site. Bivin is the plant ecologist for the park complex and is responsible for the plan to help restore the land.
"Where did it all go?" she said, looking at bare areas clear cut of Douglas fir to make way for thousands of marijuana plants.
The plants grew in terraced rows in five plots. Three of the plots were about 100 feet by 100 feet. The other two were about half that size.
When the plants were pulled, the mountain was left pocked with foot-wide craters on terraces built by the growers. On five different sites on the mountainside, tall trees still stood, their lower branches stripped away to allow sunlight to reach the crop, and their upper branches kept intact for cover.
The trees that were cut down lay around the perimeters of the sites, stacked up in heaps to keep wildlife out.
"It has disturbed the ecosystem, and I think that's our primary concern," said Kevork Arackellian, a park ranger who helped with the initial raid.
Other tree trunks were cut to build shelters, which were suspended in other trees. A red pepper hung from one of the shelters, and remnants of eggs, onions and limes sat uneaten.
Empty cans of tomato sauce, tortilla wrappers and water bottles were scattered among the different sites.
Investigators believe six growers lived there and tended to the sites for months.
Arackellian said new garbage has appeared since the raid, making him believe that the growers returned.
Bob Mierendorf, who visited the site with Bivin recently, said a flattened patch of ground, used as a sleeping area, hinted to him that people had lived in the area for at least two growing seasons if not more.
"I'm most amazed at the amount of effort and the sheer labor it took to do this," Mierendorf said.
Near one shelter was a clear bathroom area. A nook in the dirt held a white bar of soap, and below it, a 3-foot-wide hole in the ground. A red Folgers coffee can collected water nearby.
Black piping, which collected stream water to irrigate the plants with sprinklers, was strewn along the mountainside along with rat traps and poison.
Full restoration of the five sites will take hundreds of hours of labor. The trash strewn throughout the wilderness area needs to be removed, the shelters dismantled and the fences taken down.
Not much can be done for the damage caused by the unknown amount of chemicals used by the growers, Bivin said, especially without funding.
She's hoping to find volunteers to help with the many hours of work needed. Getting to the area is one problem. The well-hidden site is located near Ross Lake and a steep hike off of the East Bank hiking trail.
"We're hoping that next spring or early summer, we'll be able to get enough people in there to bring back the area to its natural state," Arackellian said.
Park employees will also monitor for invasive species.
"National parks are special places for all Americans places were we bring our family and children to enjoy nature's wonders and learn about their heritage," said National Park Service Director Mary Bomar in an August news release. "Marijuana farms like the one recently destroyed in North Cascades National Park are a blight on our national parks."
In early September, investigators pulled another 6,752 marijuana plants from public land in eastern Skagit County in a similar grow operation. This time, it was on Department of Natural Resources land. The large-scale marijuana grow was the second big operation busted in the area within a month, and the second-biggest operation in the county in the past 25 years, said Skagit County sheriff's office Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt.
"It's one more piece of evidence that the Hispanic drug-trafficking organizations that are so prevalent in Eastern Washington are coming over to this side," Reichardt said. "We're hoping that it's not a trend, but it looks like it's turning into one."
------
Information from: Skagit Valley Herald, http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com
MOUNT VERNON -- In mid-August, more than 50 law enforcement officers raided the first marijuana grow site ever discovered on national park land in the state of Washington.
Officers uprooted more than 16,000 marijuana plants in the course of a day -- then shipped them off in dump trucks to be destroyed.
Left behind were the scars of cultivation and tampering with nature, along with months of trash and chemicals used to grow the drug. Cleaning it all up will take a lot of time and money.
The growers escaped and ran free, but without the fruits of their estimated $48 million drug operation. Investigators believe a high-powered Mexican drug organization -- using low-end growers -- is responsible for the grow site in the North Cascades National Park Complex, east of Skagit County near Ross Lake, as well as similar sites in other national parks around the country.
In the past decade, illegal marijuana sites have been discovered and destroyed in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Santa Monica National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore.
For some, the most tragic part of the crime is the scars left behind on the recreational park land after the plants were yanked.
"It's just wild," said Mignonne Bivin on a recent trip to the North Cascades grow site. Bivin is the plant ecologist for the park complex and is responsible for the plan to help restore the land.
"Where did it all go?" she said, looking at bare areas clear cut of Douglas fir to make way for thousands of marijuana plants.
The plants grew in terraced rows in five plots. Three of the plots were about 100 feet by 100 feet. The other two were about half that size.
When the plants were pulled, the mountain was left pocked with foot-wide craters on terraces built by the growers. On five different sites on the mountainside, tall trees still stood, their lower branches stripped away to allow sunlight to reach the crop, and their upper branches kept intact for cover.
The trees that were cut down lay around the perimeters of the sites, stacked up in heaps to keep wildlife out.
"It has disturbed the ecosystem, and I think that's our primary concern," said Kevork Arackellian, a park ranger who helped with the initial raid.
Other tree trunks were cut to build shelters, which were suspended in other trees. A red pepper hung from one of the shelters, and remnants of eggs, onions and limes sat uneaten.
Empty cans of tomato sauce, tortilla wrappers and water bottles were scattered among the different sites.
Investigators believe six growers lived there and tended to the sites for months.
Arackellian said new garbage has appeared since the raid, making him believe that the growers returned.
Bob Mierendorf, who visited the site with Bivin recently, said a flattened patch of ground, used as a sleeping area, hinted to him that people had lived in the area for at least two growing seasons if not more.
"I'm most amazed at the amount of effort and the sheer labor it took to do this," Mierendorf said.
Near one shelter was a clear bathroom area. A nook in the dirt held a white bar of soap, and below it, a 3-foot-wide hole in the ground. A red Folgers coffee can collected water nearby.
Black piping, which collected stream water to irrigate the plants with sprinklers, was strewn along the mountainside along with rat traps and poison.
Full restoration of the five sites will take hundreds of hours of labor. The trash strewn throughout the wilderness area needs to be removed, the shelters dismantled and the fences taken down.
Not much can be done for the damage caused by the unknown amount of chemicals used by the growers, Bivin said, especially without funding.
She's hoping to find volunteers to help with the many hours of work needed. Getting to the area is one problem. The well-hidden site is located near Ross Lake and a steep hike off of the East Bank hiking trail.
"We're hoping that next spring or early summer, we'll be able to get enough people in there to bring back the area to its natural state," Arackellian said.
Park employees will also monitor for invasive species.
"National parks are special places for all Americans places were we bring our family and children to enjoy nature's wonders and learn about their heritage," said National Park Service Director Mary Bomar in an August news release. "Marijuana farms like the one recently destroyed in North Cascades National Park are a blight on our national parks."
In early September, investigators pulled another 6,752 marijuana plants from public land in eastern Skagit County in a similar grow operation. This time, it was on Department of Natural Resources land. The large-scale marijuana grow was the second big operation busted in the area within a month, and the second-biggest operation in the county in the past 25 years, said Skagit County sheriff's office Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt.
"It's one more piece of evidence that the Hispanic drug-trafficking organizations that are so prevalent in Eastern Washington are coming over to this side," Reichardt said. "We're hoping that it's not a trend, but it looks like it's turning into one."
------
Information from: Skagit Valley Herald, http://www.skagitvalleyherald.com
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Armored truck robber uses Craigslist to make getaway
KING5.com Staff
MONROE, Wash. – In a move that could be right out of a Hollywood movie, a brazen crook apparently used a Craigslist ad to hire a dozen unsuspecting decoys to help him make his getaway following a robbery outside a bank on Tuesday. He then made his escape in an inner tube on the Skykomish River.
The robbery happened about 11 a.m. on an armored truck guard at a Bank of America branch.
"He was wearing a dust mask, a particle mask. At first I thought it might be a surgical mask. I still didn't think anything was wrong, just unusual. Then I noticed he had a pump sprayer," said Mitch Ruth, who had looked out his office window and noticed the man walking into the bank.
The robber sprayed the guard with pepper spray, grabbed a bag of money the guard was carrying and ran about 100 yards to the creek that runs into the Skykomish River, shedding clothes as he ran.
But apparently, the robber had planned ahead. In case anyone was hot on his trail, he had at least a dozen unsuspecting decoys waiting nearby, which he recruited on Craigslist.
"I came across the ad that was for a prevailing wage job for $28.50 an hour," said Mike, who saw a Craigslist ad last week looking for workers for a road maintenance project in Monroe.
He said he inquired and was e-mailed back with instructions to meet near the Bank of America in Monroe at 11 a.m. Tuesday. He also was told to wear certain work clothing.
"Yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask… and, if possible, a blue shirt," he said.
Mike showed up along with about a dozen other men dressed like him, but there was no contractor and no road work to be done. He thought they had been stood up until he heard about the bank robbery and the suspect who wore the same attire.
From there, the cook made his watery escape in a creek that dumps out into the Skykomish River. One witness said the robber swam away, but another said he used an inner tube to get away.
"We did get an inner tube that was about 200 yards from the place where he entered the water and took that for evidence," said Debbie Willis, Monroe Police.
Investigators believe accomplices could have picked the robber up at a nearby boat launch or park.
Police say they now have the Craigslist information and they are trying to piece it all together to find the suspect.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10, wearing a dark blue shirt, jean shorts and a mask.
MONROE, Wash. – In a move that could be right out of a Hollywood movie, a brazen crook apparently used a Craigslist ad to hire a dozen unsuspecting decoys to help him make his getaway following a robbery outside a bank on Tuesday. He then made his escape in an inner tube on the Skykomish River.
The robbery happened about 11 a.m. on an armored truck guard at a Bank of America branch.
"He was wearing a dust mask, a particle mask. At first I thought it might be a surgical mask. I still didn't think anything was wrong, just unusual. Then I noticed he had a pump sprayer," said Mitch Ruth, who had looked out his office window and noticed the man walking into the bank.
The robber sprayed the guard with pepper spray, grabbed a bag of money the guard was carrying and ran about 100 yards to the creek that runs into the Skykomish River, shedding clothes as he ran.
But apparently, the robber had planned ahead. In case anyone was hot on his trail, he had at least a dozen unsuspecting decoys waiting nearby, which he recruited on Craigslist.
"I came across the ad that was for a prevailing wage job for $28.50 an hour," said Mike, who saw a Craigslist ad last week looking for workers for a road maintenance project in Monroe.
He said he inquired and was e-mailed back with instructions to meet near the Bank of America in Monroe at 11 a.m. Tuesday. He also was told to wear certain work clothing.
"Yellow vest, safety goggles, a respirator mask… and, if possible, a blue shirt," he said.
Mike showed up along with about a dozen other men dressed like him, but there was no contractor and no road work to be done. He thought they had been stood up until he heard about the bank robbery and the suspect who wore the same attire.
From there, the cook made his watery escape in a creek that dumps out into the Skykomish River. One witness said the robber swam away, but another said he used an inner tube to get away.
"We did get an inner tube that was about 200 yards from the place where he entered the water and took that for evidence," said Debbie Willis, Monroe Police.
Investigators believe accomplices could have picked the robber up at a nearby boat launch or park.
Police say they now have the Craigslist information and they are trying to piece it all together to find the suspect.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 20s, between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10, wearing a dark blue shirt, jean shorts and a mask.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Drug smuggling suspect pleads guilty to lesser charges
P-I STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES
TACOMA -- One of three brothers accused of running a southwest Washington methamphetamine ring has pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Ulises "Mono" Barragan-Mendoza of Lacey pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and to being an alien in possession of a firearm. Charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and to engage in money laundering were dropped.
Investigators believe Barragan and his two brothers from Arteaga, Mexico, led a group that brought large amounts of meth into the country from Mexico.
In raids in April from the Olympic Peninsula to the Longview-Kelso area, 22 people were arrested and authorities seized cars, $100,000 in cash, 41 guns and 20 pounds of meth.
One brother of Barragan also was arrested. The other is believed to be in Mexico.
TACOMA -- One of three brothers accused of running a southwest Washington methamphetamine ring has pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Ulises "Mono" Barragan-Mendoza of Lacey pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to conspiracy to distribute marijuana and to being an alien in possession of a firearm. Charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and to engage in money laundering were dropped.
Investigators believe Barragan and his two brothers from Arteaga, Mexico, led a group that brought large amounts of meth into the country from Mexico.
In raids in April from the Olympic Peninsula to the Longview-Kelso area, 22 people were arrested and authorities seized cars, $100,000 in cash, 41 guns and 20 pounds of meth.
One brother of Barragan also was arrested. The other is believed to be in Mexico.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Blog post about shooting rampage leads to charges
By ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News
BLAINE, Wash. – Jeffrey Gargaro says he was just expressing his opinion when he posted a blog on a newspaper Web site following this month’s Skagit County shooting rampage that left six people dead including a sheriff’s deputy.
Now, prosecutors have charged him with felony harassment because they say he threatened to shoot up a mall.
The day after the rampage, Gargaro logged onto the Bellingham Herald Web site and went to the community blog section where readers started sounding off on what caused it all.
"Blame single parents, drugs, schooling, maybe mental illness without looking at the facts. I thought that was wrong,” said Gargaro.
Frustrated, he decided to write this post:
"Also to all of you who blame drugs ... shut up as well. You know what, I am going to go shoot up Sunset Square today ... just for the hell of it. No drugs, no mental illness ... you can blame today’s episode on video games and George Bush's example of 'pay back' to society.”
"Maybe I could have worded it differently,” said Gargaro. “but I'm not sorry for what I wrote because my intent wasn't harm. It wasn't a threat. It was to get people to think outside of the box and have an open and public debate.”
The question is did anyone think he was coming to Sunset Square to do the shooting? Prosecutors say the police did and called it malicious harassment.
Gargaro’s attorney says it was taken out of context and now it’s an issue of free speech.
"This was a computer news media blog. There's no rules, and if you read these blogs, you'll see people make derogatory comments. These blogs are obviously notoriously bombastic,” said attorney Jeffrey Lustick.
Now, the married father of two young girls faces a felony charge. The irony is that now readers are sounding off about Gargaro’s arrest and many of them are voicing support.
"There are a lot of nice things that people said. My family and I read their messages and we appreciate it,” said Gargaro.
The Whatcom County prosecutor says it doesn’t matter if Gargaro meant to harm anyone and that what he wrote was perceived an imminent threat.
Trial is set for November.
BLAINE, Wash. – Jeffrey Gargaro says he was just expressing his opinion when he posted a blog on a newspaper Web site following this month’s Skagit County shooting rampage that left six people dead including a sheriff’s deputy.
Now, prosecutors have charged him with felony harassment because they say he threatened to shoot up a mall.
The day after the rampage, Gargaro logged onto the Bellingham Herald Web site and went to the community blog section where readers started sounding off on what caused it all.
"Blame single parents, drugs, schooling, maybe mental illness without looking at the facts. I thought that was wrong,” said Gargaro.
Frustrated, he decided to write this post:
"Also to all of you who blame drugs ... shut up as well. You know what, I am going to go shoot up Sunset Square today ... just for the hell of it. No drugs, no mental illness ... you can blame today’s episode on video games and George Bush's example of 'pay back' to society.”
"Maybe I could have worded it differently,” said Gargaro. “but I'm not sorry for what I wrote because my intent wasn't harm. It wasn't a threat. It was to get people to think outside of the box and have an open and public debate.”
The question is did anyone think he was coming to Sunset Square to do the shooting? Prosecutors say the police did and called it malicious harassment.
Gargaro’s attorney says it was taken out of context and now it’s an issue of free speech.
"This was a computer news media blog. There's no rules, and if you read these blogs, you'll see people make derogatory comments. These blogs are obviously notoriously bombastic,” said attorney Jeffrey Lustick.
Now, the married father of two young girls faces a felony charge. The irony is that now readers are sounding off about Gargaro’s arrest and many of them are voicing support.
"There are a lot of nice things that people said. My family and I read their messages and we appreciate it,” said Gargaro.
The Whatcom County prosecutor says it doesn’t matter if Gargaro meant to harm anyone and that what he wrote was perceived an imminent threat.
Trial is set for November.
Child actor setup costs Whidbey woman
P-I STAFF
Enamored with such shows as "Gossip Girl, 16-year-old Alexa wanted to be an actress, so her mother, Maria Best, sent her to a group home for budding child actors in Los Angeles last year.
Best, of Whidbey Island, paid more than $2,000 a month for rent, child care, acting lessons and audition scheduling.
But instead of breaking into the industry, Alexa became one of nine victims allegedly bilked by the home's manager, Bernadette Carter.
This week, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office announced it had charged Carter, 42, with 13 misdemeanor counts, which included scamming children and their families and running an unlicensed group home.
Prosecutors said Carter's clients ranged from 7 to 17 years old. Investigators believe five to 15 children lived in her San Fernando Valley home at any given time, with three adults supervising. "Bernadette really destroyed these kids, as far as their confidence level," Best said Friday. She said she borrowed money to pay Carter and lost $10,000.
In the four months that her daughter lived there, she went on only two auditions, but spent a lot of time cleaning Carter's cat box and hearing threats of being evicted, Best said.
Many parents met Carter at child-acting conventions, according to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News.
"(Parents) are thinking, 'Gosh, I got some big entertainment mogul that's gonna bring me to L.A. and make my kid a star,' " Anne Henry, co-founder of the nonprofit BizParentz Foundation, told the newspaper. The foundation warns against agencies that want money upfront.
Prosecutors say Carter violated a California law that bars agencies from collecting a commission before an artist gets work and from selling classes and other products to clients. The law is intended to protect artists, especially children, from predatory service providers.
P-I reporter Vanessa Ho contributed to this report.
Enamored with such shows as "Gossip Girl, 16-year-old Alexa wanted to be an actress, so her mother, Maria Best, sent her to a group home for budding child actors in Los Angeles last year.
Best, of Whidbey Island, paid more than $2,000 a month for rent, child care, acting lessons and audition scheduling.
But instead of breaking into the industry, Alexa became one of nine victims allegedly bilked by the home's manager, Bernadette Carter.
This week, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office announced it had charged Carter, 42, with 13 misdemeanor counts, which included scamming children and their families and running an unlicensed group home.
Prosecutors said Carter's clients ranged from 7 to 17 years old. Investigators believe five to 15 children lived in her San Fernando Valley home at any given time, with three adults supervising. "Bernadette really destroyed these kids, as far as their confidence level," Best said Friday. She said she borrowed money to pay Carter and lost $10,000.
In the four months that her daughter lived there, she went on only two auditions, but spent a lot of time cleaning Carter's cat box and hearing threats of being evicted, Best said.
Many parents met Carter at child-acting conventions, according to a report in the Los Angeles Daily News.
"(Parents) are thinking, 'Gosh, I got some big entertainment mogul that's gonna bring me to L.A. and make my kid a star,' " Anne Henry, co-founder of the nonprofit BizParentz Foundation, told the newspaper. The foundation warns against agencies that want money upfront.
Prosecutors say Carter violated a California law that bars agencies from collecting a commission before an artist gets work and from selling classes and other products to clients. The law is intended to protect artists, especially children, from predatory service providers.
P-I reporter Vanessa Ho contributed to this report.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Budget cuts turn some felonies into misdemeanors
By LINDA BYRON / KING 5 News
SEATTLE – The impact of King County’s budget cuts is already being felt by the people who put criminals behind bars as the county prosecutor is being forced to cut dozens of jobs, which means handing off more cases to lower courts.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of criminal cases are now winding up in Seattle Municipal Court because of the cutbacks. Some cases that the legislature defines as felonies will now be prosecuted as misdemeanors.
Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr is concerned about the change.
"My concern is that my constituents are going to be put at risk because the budget problems the county has and that's scary to me,”
said Carr.
But King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg says he has no choice. His budget is being cut $5 million in 2009, which means 41 deputy prosecutors must go. As a result property crimes under $1,000 and identity thefts will go to municipal courts for prosecution, where sentences carry time in county jail but no prison time.
"If someone stole a thousand dollars from me, I think I'd want more than a couple days in the county jail from them,” said Carr.
Ironically, Seattle’s been making big headway on property crimes which reached their lowest level in ten years in 2007. Prosecuting these cases as misdemeanors will put offenders back on the street much faster.
That’s not good news in neighborhoods where property crimes are already high.
"If they're gonna take something of mine, they should be punished for it. I mean you work hard for your money,” said Laura, a concerned citizen.
"I think they should be prosecuted just like if they were robbing a store, major business or whatever,” said Melinda Anderson, another concerned resident.
SEATTLE – The impact of King County’s budget cuts is already being felt by the people who put criminals behind bars as the county prosecutor is being forced to cut dozens of jobs, which means handing off more cases to lower courts.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of criminal cases are now winding up in Seattle Municipal Court because of the cutbacks. Some cases that the legislature defines as felonies will now be prosecuted as misdemeanors.
Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr is concerned about the change.
"My concern is that my constituents are going to be put at risk because the budget problems the county has and that's scary to me,”
said Carr.
But King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg says he has no choice. His budget is being cut $5 million in 2009, which means 41 deputy prosecutors must go. As a result property crimes under $1,000 and identity thefts will go to municipal courts for prosecution, where sentences carry time in county jail but no prison time.
"If someone stole a thousand dollars from me, I think I'd want more than a couple days in the county jail from them,” said Carr.
Ironically, Seattle’s been making big headway on property crimes which reached their lowest level in ten years in 2007. Prosecuting these cases as misdemeanors will put offenders back on the street much faster.
That’s not good news in neighborhoods where property crimes are already high.
"If they're gonna take something of mine, they should be punished for it. I mean you work hard for your money,” said Laura, a concerned citizen.
"I think they should be prosecuted just like if they were robbing a store, major business or whatever,” said Melinda Anderson, another concerned resident.
Police search for clues in deadly Seattle shooting
LINDA BRILL / KING 5 News
SEATTLE – Police broughts in a search dog Thursday to search for clues after a man was shot and killed in north Seattle on Wednesday night.
Seattle Police say officers responded to a shots fired call in the 9700 block of 5th Avenue NE at about 7:30 p.m. They arrived to find a man in his 20s dead in the apartment building garage.
A 19-year-old resident of the apartments was arrested and his rifle recovered.
Neighbors say there have been several car prowls and thefts in the area, although police won't confirm what led to the shooting.
The apartment manager wouldn't comment, but a resident said car prowls are common.
"Maybe a week ago the manager called me about 10 o'clock at night and said don't leave anything in your car, make sure it's locked up, we've had problems," said Art Christensen.
Christensen said he was surprised that his neighbor was arrested for murder.
"He's a good young kid," he said.
The suspect is to appear in court on Friday.
The name of the victim has not been released.
SEATTLE – Police broughts in a search dog Thursday to search for clues after a man was shot and killed in north Seattle on Wednesday night.
Seattle Police say officers responded to a shots fired call in the 9700 block of 5th Avenue NE at about 7:30 p.m. They arrived to find a man in his 20s dead in the apartment building garage.
A 19-year-old resident of the apartments was arrested and his rifle recovered.
Neighbors say there have been several car prowls and thefts in the area, although police won't confirm what led to the shooting.
The apartment manager wouldn't comment, but a resident said car prowls are common.
"Maybe a week ago the manager called me about 10 o'clock at night and said don't leave anything in your car, make sure it's locked up, we've had problems," said Art Christensen.
Christensen said he was surprised that his neighbor was arrested for murder.
"He's a good young kid," he said.
The suspect is to appear in court on Friday.
The name of the victim has not been released.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Forest Service officer, suspect dead after shootings
KOMO/4 STAFF
SEQUIM -- A U.S. Forest Service officer was shot and killed on the Olympic Peninsula Saturday afternoon while on duty after reporting a suspicious van, and the suspected gunman was killed hours later.
Troopers say Kristine Fairbanks, a 15-year veteran of the Forest Service, was working on Forest Road 2880, off Palo Alto Road, near Sequim when she radioed the State Patrol at about 2:40 p.m. to report a suspicious van and to ask for information.
When the State Patrol radioed back, they received no response. Troopers were immediately dispatched to the scene, located about five miles inside the Olympic National Forest.
When troopers arrived, they found Fairbanks dead from a gunshot wound. The van was nowhere in sight. Sheriff's deputies say Fairbanks had a police dog with her at the time of the shooting, and the dog was found unharmed in Fairbanks' vehicle.
Investigators found the van empty later in the evening, and the suspected gunman was shot to death about 9:30 p.m., State Patrol spokeswoman Krista D. Hedstrom said.
The suspect was identified as 36-year-old Shawn Matthew Roe.
SEQUIM -- A U.S. Forest Service officer was shot and killed on the Olympic Peninsula Saturday afternoon while on duty after reporting a suspicious van, and the suspected gunman was killed hours later.
Troopers say Kristine Fairbanks, a 15-year veteran of the Forest Service, was working on Forest Road 2880, off Palo Alto Road, near Sequim when she radioed the State Patrol at about 2:40 p.m. to report a suspicious van and to ask for information.
When the State Patrol radioed back, they received no response. Troopers were immediately dispatched to the scene, located about five miles inside the Olympic National Forest.
When troopers arrived, they found Fairbanks dead from a gunshot wound. The van was nowhere in sight. Sheriff's deputies say Fairbanks had a police dog with her at the time of the shooting, and the dog was found unharmed in Fairbanks' vehicle.
Investigators found the van empty later in the evening, and the suspected gunman was shot to death about 9:30 p.m., State Patrol spokeswoman Krista D. Hedstrom said.
The suspect was identified as 36-year-old Shawn Matthew Roe.
Medical pot patient convicted of growing marijuana
Despite having a doctor's authorization for medical marijuana under state law, a Kitsap County man has been convicted of growing pot.
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. —
Despite having a doctor's authorization for medical marijuana under state law, a Kitsap County man has been convicted of growing pot.
Superior Court Judge Anna M. Laurie ruled Friday that Robert Dalton's use of marijuana for chronic lower back pain didn't meet the conditions of the state law legalizing the medical use of the drug because he failed to show his pain was "unrelieved by standard medical treatments and medications," such as opiate-based painkillers.
Dalton's lawyers were angered by the ruling and said the judge had no business second-guessing the doctor who recommended Dalton try marijuana.
"If Judge Laurie wants to be a doctor, she should go to medical school," Hiatt told the Kitsap Sun. "No patient in this state is safe if she's right."
Detectives with the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant on Dalton's property in August 2007. In court documents, they said they found 88 plants, which they said was well beyond the 60-day supply allowed by law - even though the state Health Department has not defined what constitutes a 60-day supply.
Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Cami Lewis called the decision "the correct result." During closing arguments, deputy prosecutor Coreen Schnepf had argued that opiate medications were relieving Dalton's pain, and that he needed to have pain unrelieved by other medicines to use cannabis.
Hiatt argued that the opiates made Dalton sick and were not effective at quelling his pain.
Dalton faces zero to six months in jail for the felony conviction. His lawyers will ask the judge at an Oct. 17 hearing to suspend any sentence pending their appeal.
With the conviction, Robert Dalton's medical marijuana card is nullified, he said following the verdict. He said he doesn't want to use opiates for pain control because they're addictive.
"I don't want to be a drug addict," he said. "That's why I chose medical marijuana."
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Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. —
Despite having a doctor's authorization for medical marijuana under state law, a Kitsap County man has been convicted of growing pot.
Superior Court Judge Anna M. Laurie ruled Friday that Robert Dalton's use of marijuana for chronic lower back pain didn't meet the conditions of the state law legalizing the medical use of the drug because he failed to show his pain was "unrelieved by standard medical treatments and medications," such as opiate-based painkillers.
Dalton's lawyers were angered by the ruling and said the judge had no business second-guessing the doctor who recommended Dalton try marijuana.
"If Judge Laurie wants to be a doctor, she should go to medical school," Hiatt told the Kitsap Sun. "No patient in this state is safe if she's right."
Detectives with the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team served a search warrant on Dalton's property in August 2007. In court documents, they said they found 88 plants, which they said was well beyond the 60-day supply allowed by law - even though the state Health Department has not defined what constitutes a 60-day supply.
Kitsap County Deputy Prosecutor Cami Lewis called the decision "the correct result." During closing arguments, deputy prosecutor Coreen Schnepf had argued that opiate medications were relieving Dalton's pain, and that he needed to have pain unrelieved by other medicines to use cannabis.
Hiatt argued that the opiates made Dalton sick and were not effective at quelling his pain.
Dalton faces zero to six months in jail for the felony conviction. His lawyers will ask the judge at an Oct. 17 hearing to suspend any sentence pending their appeal.
With the conviction, Robert Dalton's medical marijuana card is nullified, he said following the verdict. He said he doesn't want to use opiates for pain control because they're addictive.
"I don't want to be a drug addict," he said. "That's why I chose medical marijuana."
---
Information from: Kitsap Sun, http://www.kitsapsun.com/
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Serial armed robber roaming south King County
By MIMI JUNG / KING 5 News
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – A one man crime spree has hit more than a dozen convenience stores in south King County and has gotten away with thousands of dollars in cash.
The armed robber usually strikes between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. He’s hit 13 stores in three weeks in Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent and Renton.
He’s been caught at least twice on surveillance video.
"He said 'I have gun, give me the money,'" said Kevin Nam. He was working behind the counter at a smoke shop when the robber struck.
"I said 'I have camera inside and outside. I know you. You are my customer.'"
Witnesses describe the robber as a white man, about 20-to-30-years-old, about 6 feet tall with short blond hair. In some cases the robber wears sunglasses but he also disguises himself with a mask and actually shows a weapon. He has a large tattoo on his left arm and drives an older, light blue sedan. He also appears to wear the same white sneakers with blue stripes.
No one has been hurt yet, but police fear his brazen robberies could get violent. If you know him, police want to hear from you.
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. – A one man crime spree has hit more than a dozen convenience stores in south King County and has gotten away with thousands of dollars in cash.
The armed robber usually strikes between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. He’s hit 13 stores in three weeks in Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent and Renton.
He’s been caught at least twice on surveillance video.
"He said 'I have gun, give me the money,'" said Kevin Nam. He was working behind the counter at a smoke shop when the robber struck.
"I said 'I have camera inside and outside. I know you. You are my customer.'"
Witnesses describe the robber as a white man, about 20-to-30-years-old, about 6 feet tall with short blond hair. In some cases the robber wears sunglasses but he also disguises himself with a mask and actually shows a weapon. He has a large tattoo on his left arm and drives an older, light blue sedan. He also appears to wear the same white sneakers with blue stripes.
No one has been hurt yet, but police fear his brazen robberies could get violent. If you know him, police want to hear from you.
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