The ODMP Blog: Deadliest Januaries in Law Enforcement History
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Blotter | Killer of celebrity dog trainer to be sentenced Tuesday | Seattle Times Newspaper
Michiel Oakes, who was convicted of murdering Mark Stover, will be sentenced on Tuesday. He had claimed self defense, once enough evidence was presented to show that he was at Stover's home and was seen subsequently in several suspicious circumstances, concluding with comments to his former wife that if police found out what he'd just done he'd go away for life. The jury apparently did not believe his story of self-defense - which would probably have been more believable if he'd called police and an ambulance, filed a report with officers responding, and claimed self-defense from the beginning. Instead, he tried to bleach away the signs of blood, then disposed of the body in an estuary that he knew would likely carry the body out into deeper water, where it may not be found. Though the body was in fact, never found, prosecutors built a strong case building upon witness testimony, some physical evidence and Oakes own comments.
The Blotter | Killer of celebrity dog trainer to be sentenced Tuesday | Seattle Times Newspaper
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tidbits in the Murder of Mark Stover (the Anacortes “Dog-Whisperer”)
Despite the hopes of many of the victim’s friends and family, the court appearance by suspect Oakes did not produce any new information about where Stover’s remains might be located.
I noted a couple of interesting items in court proceedings in the case.
1) The ex-wife of the victim, and her father, have been ordered to undergo depositions in the case. The judge has made remarks suggesting that they may be unwilling to answer some questions under their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. There have been rumors locally that the ex-wife’s father ( Seattle entrepreneur) may have hired the suspect – Michiel Oakes – in some way that relates to the crime. No idea whether that means Oakes was hired to murder Stover, or to intimidate, deliver a message, etc.
2) Police found a .22 bullet lodged in a bullet-proof vest among Oakes possessions. It is unclear whether the vest belongs to Oakes, and how it relates, if at all, to the defense strategy his attorney’s are suggesting will be used at trial: self-defense.
Interesting tidbits, anyway, and with the trial scheduled for just over a month from now, we may learn more soon.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Local News | Clemmons' sister sentenced to five years in prison | Seattle Times Newspaper
This is a follow-up on the sister of Maurice Clemmons, the man who murdered four Lakewood Police Officers.
Local News | Clemmons' sister sentenced to five years in prison | Seattle Times Newspaper
Monday, December 28, 2009
Pierce Co. deputy wounded in shooting dies - KING 5 TV
Pierce County Deputy Kent Mundell was removed from life support this evening just after 5:00 PM. His wife was at his side and his passing was said to be quick and quiet. The family members of the man who murdered Deputy Mundell and wounded Deputy Housner responded admirably according to this report, saving a wounded Hausner by pulling him into another room and barricading the door, while the murderer's daughter struggled with him trying to get his gun away from him. Deputy Mundell is the sixth Peace Officer shot and killed in the line of duty in the past two months in King County and Pierce County. Were I a more forgiving sort I might say something else, but I cannot do other than wish that they find themselves in the deepest, most Dantesque level of hell.
The memorial service will be Tuesday, January 5 at the Tacoma Dome, at a time which is as of yet TBA.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
'I'm sick like grandpa,' Beacon Hill killer of mother and child wrote (Updated)
This sad, terrible story is a reminder of how the violence and abuse of one generation is often visited on the next. Most abusers and rapists have a history as sexual abuse victims. Many times violent criminals have experienced physical assault in their lifetime.
This sad situation in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood seems to have repeated a terrible family tragedy. Earlier this week, Daniel Hicks shot and killed Jennifer Morgan and the couple’s three-month old daughter, Ema Lyn Hicks. Police recovered more than twenty shell casings at the scene. Morgan and her child were shot and left to die on Monday – the day Ms. Morgan had told her mother that she was going to ask Hicks to leave the house. Morgan’s mother discovered the brutal, bloody scene on Tuesday morning. Hicks left a note to his brother, serving currently in Iraq, saying that he had the same sickness his grandfather had. In 1983, Hicks' grandfather, Dean Hicks, killed his wife, Lona Hicks, and then himself. Thought he couldn’t have memories of the event, Daniel Hicks was an infant at the time.
Hicks has been on the run since the crime was discovered, and there are reports that he called family members collect from the San Jose, CA area. The family member reported the call.
Hicks made the decisions, threatened and then killed Jennifer Morgan. He will bear the cost if apprehended, as the county prosecutor’s office has indicated that they will pursue aggravated first-degree murder charges.
UPDATE 1 (December 29, 2009)
Hicks was arrested without incident yesterday by police in Santa Cruz, CA. Investigators traced a telephone call he made to a relative to his location in Santa Cruz.
The Seattle Times is also reporting that Hicks’ Grandfather murdered an adult son as well as his wife before killing himself in 1983.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Officer Richards' wife knew he would do his duty, no matter what
There are times when the written or spoken word offer us a glimpse of the experience of the writer or speaker. Often we simply write and speak in declarations, we make a point or state an opinion. Only now and then do we choose and dare to open the private shutters to our unique experience and point of view. In a beautiful, touching and overwhelmingly sad interview with Lynda Mapes of the Seattle Times, Kelly Richards has offered such a glimpse of her experience right now, days after her husband, Officer Greg Richards was killed when Maurice Clemmons ambushed him and three colleagues as they prepared for their shift at a coffee shop.
Officer Greg Richards
Ms. Mapes did a brilliant piece, allowing Kelly Richards experience speak to us from without being overpowered by a narrative. There are some very powerful insights, things I might not have realized otherwise. When Ms. Richards heard on the news that four officers had been killed at Cafe Forza, her heart sank and she began to frantically search for information. She hoped against hope that her husband was not one of the dead, but then she was struck by a realization. "…what are you hoping, for someone else's wife or husband to be dead?”
Ms. Richards even recounts discussing a situation where her husband might find himself in a life or death encounter:
"I had always told him, come home to us, get out, find a way out, if you can't shoot and kill him," Richards said. But she said she knew, like his colleagues, he would do his duty, no matter what.”
And,it was Officer Greg Richards who was able to wound Clemmons, before succumbing to his own injuries. The owner of Cafe Forza says that Officer Richards shielded customers and baristas by charging Clemmons and forcing him out the door, wounding Clemmons before falling himself. I can only imagine how proud Ms. Richards must be, and how desperately she might simultaneously wish her husband had somehow found a way out – a way home. I’ve linked to Ms. Mapes article below. It is well worth reading:
By the way, on December 8th and 9th, the very generous 40+ Papa Johns Pizza stores in Western Washington will be donating all profits to the families of these men. Don’t you think that you will have a special craving for Papa Johns Pizza on Tuesday or Wednesday? Some additional links to stories which might be of interest:
Details on Tuesday memorial for four slain officers
Sergeant Mark Renninger and his son, about two years ago.
Obituary for Sergeant Mark Renninger
Officer Tina Griswold a stickler for safety
Seattle Times Obituary for Officer Griswold
Officer Tina Griswold Memorial
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Cop killer's suspected get-away driver could face murder charges
Police have taken the man who is believed to have driven Maurice Clemmons away from the murder of four Lakewood police officers into custody and asked that he be held without bail on warrants from Arkansas. He may be charged with murder for his role in the escape. The man, Darcus D. Allen, is wanted in Arkansas for robbery, theft, and parole violations. He was convicted in Arkansas also of participating as driver in a robbery where two people were murdered. It is an eerily similar situation to the one that unfolded on Sunday in Lakeland.
This article in the Tacoma News Tribune also has a chronology of Clemmons movements.
Technorati Tags: Maurice CLemmons,Parkland Police Murdered,Crime,True Crime,Seattle Crime,Tacoma News Tribune
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Cop Killer Maurice Clemmons Shot to Death
Early this morning, despite a series of SWAT activities at locations police believed that Clemmons might attempt to hide himself, it appears that he was seen and identified by an officer on regular patrol. When the officer of Seattle Police located the man who killed in cold blood four Lakewood Police officers, he was armed with the sidearm of one of the officers he’d killed.
Assistant Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel, speaking to reporters this morning, indicated that a single officer noticed a stolen Acura left running along South Kenyan Street. He approached the car, looked it over and returned to his patrol car to do the paperwork and arrange for the car to be transported. As he sat in his patrol unit, the officer noticed in his side view mirror that a man was approaching him from behind. The veteran patrol officer jumped from the car, ordered Clemmons to halt and put his hands up. Chief Pugel said that Clemmons began to ran. Unwilling to allow the four-time killer to escape, the patrol officer fired three or four rounds, killing Clemmons.
This photo, taken by Joshua Trujillo/seattlepi.com, shows several Seattle Police Officers looking at Clemmons body as it is loaded into an ambulance for transport to the medical examiner. Trujillo and several of his colleagues probably worked almost without a break since Sunday morning, and have used Twitter to keep each other and some of us who follow them on that service up to speed on what each is seeing.
Troyer has said that Clemmons had told several relatives and friends to watch the news on Sunday because he was “going to kill a bunch of cops.” Apparently none of them reported the threat, and the next morning Clemmons acted on it. As suspected all day, Clemmons had been wounded in the torso, severely enough that Ed Troyer was somewhat surprised that he could get away.
A relative treated the wound on Sunday night, before it was joined by three or four additional gunshot wounds when Clemmons approached the Seattle patrol officer from the rear, then ran when the officer spun around and saw him.
Ed Troyer of the Peirce County Sherriff’s Department met with reporters early Tuesday morning. According to Troyer, three arrests have been made for "rendering criminal assistance" to Clemmons in his flight. Additionally, a fourth person is being detained for assisting Clemmons in escaping from the Parkland area after Sunday's shooting. Troyer also said he expects that an additional six or seven arrests will be made: "Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives," Troyer said. "Now they're all partners in crime."
Troyer said that family members were supplying Clemmons with cell phones, money and were working on getting him transported out of state. Troyer has also said that Clemmons had attempted to draw his pistol when the SPD officer ordered him to stop and show his hands.
CLIFF DESPEAUX / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Cliff Despeaux of the Seattle Times, who also must have been working since Sunday morning on this story (Despeaux tweeted that he began his day covering the Seattle Marathon on Sunday before the awful call came in and he headed to Parkland. He worked most of the next 48 hours shadowing SWAT teams as they fanned out to cut Clemmons off from additional aid from family and friends. The above photo is of the location where Clemmons was killed. His twitter account was ‘tweeting’ steadily for both days.
Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar came to the site of where Clemmons was killed early this morning. Farar said "I just want to thank all my brothers and sisters in law enforcement," he said. "I just can't say enough about what they've done in the last few days."
Update 1 (December 1, 2009)
Seattle Police Officer Benjamin L. Kelly has been identified as the officer who ended the criminal activities and life of the man responsible for killing in cold blood four police officers on Sunday, as well as a long string of assaults, armed robberies and most recently, charges that he raped a child. "It was incredible police work. He's an incredible officer. He is nothing short of a hero, although he would bristle at being called that," according to Seattle Police Officers Guild president Rich O'Neill. He added that Officer Kelly values his privacy and doesn’t seek the limelight.
"I told him, 'You caught the suspect responsible for the worst police massacre in Washington state history. You need to take a deep breath and soak that in.' ", O’Neill added. “He was alone, and was confronted by this guy, and knew it was him. "He wouldn't put his hands out, and to later find that he had the dead officer's gun on his person, one can only assume what he was approaching (Kelly) for".
Seattle police have said today that it is believed that the scene, beginning with a stolen car parked with the hood up and motor running, certainly suggested an attempt by Clemmons to ambush another officer. Assistant Seattle Police Chief Jim Pugel has said Clemmons approached Kelly from behind, when Kelly noticed him approaching, he jumped from the squad car to disarm and arrest Clemmons.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Seattle Police Do Not Have Suspected Lakewood Shooter Cornered in Leschi Neighborhood or Cowan Park, Relative Arrested After Renton House Surrounded and Cleared (Updated)
Seattle police, following a lead that a relative of Maurice Clemmons – the man Pierce County Sherriff spokesman Ed Troyer has called a person of interest in the shooting deaths of four officers
in Lakewood – lives in a home in the Leschi neighborhood in Seattle, have apparently cornered Clemmons in a trailer at the rear of the home. This is the same neighborhood where officers Brenton and Sweeny of Seattle PD were ambushed last month. Scanner traffic appears to be saying that SWAT is deployed at the property and a police negotiator is in contact with Clemmons. The woman who owns the property has told police that Clemmons came to her home wounded, and went to the trailer shortly after that. No word on how serious his injuries may be.
Update 1 (November 29,2009 2:30 AM)
As I write this, Seattle Swat has moved very close to the trailer and has fired over a dozen canisters of tear gas. Tweets of a Seattle PI photographer indicate that they have been approaching the trailer while waiting for the tear gas to take effect. It is 2:30 in Seattle and the scanner indicates that units from all over Seattle are involved in this situation – blocking the suspect’s egress, sealing off the area streets, organizing evacuation of nearby residents to a safe location – they’ve brought in a bus to give the displaced people a place to wait out the events.
At about 2:34 AM the AP reported shots have been fired, but there is no confirmation of this on the scanner, or by the photojournalist whose Tweets I am following. His name is Cliff DesPeaux, and he is a Seattle Times staffer. The Seattle Times has learned that Clemmons was released on bail on the child rape charge in Pierce County just one week ago. At 2:38 AM police were heard by several reporters to have issued a twenty minute ultimatum to Clemmons – if he does not surrender they will enter the trailer and take him into custody.
Update 2 (November 30, 2009 3:05 AM)
Follow developments live if you wish via scanner at KOMO emergency scanner . A very interesting article about the suspect’s history and recent erratic behavior is found here. The Twitter page for the Seattle Times Cliff Despeaux, who has been tweeting from the scene is at Despeaux Twitter. PI reporter Casey McNerthy (McNerthy Twitter) is saying that Pierce County Spokesman Ed Troyer has said the suspect may be deceased, but no other sources on scene are saying this. Still no confirmation on scene of any shots fired. The reports that the suspect has been shot, and may be seriously wounded or deceased are coming from Pierce County and NOT the scene in Seattle. Pierce County Sherriff spokesman Ed Troyer has indicated that the suspect was wounded, probably seriously, at the scene of this mornings shootings. There is no indication that he has been wounded again where he is holed up in the trailer. Still no confirmation on shots fired. It appears that police negotiator has been speaking to Clemmons through a bullhorn. No indication from here that he has been responding. The woman at the home told Seattle Police that he is in the trailer and had been wounded.
Update 3 (November 30, 2009 3:25 AM)
Seattle Police are also looking for a twenty year old man driving a white Buick, older model type. The man has multiple convictions for assault and drug crimes.
Scanner traffic has dropped WAY off. Police units on the scene have been told that they will be held over for the duration of the situation. Some senior officers believe the standoff will end soon, others think it will last until morning. There is no sign that police are moving into the trailer and no shots have been fired. Speculation that the suspect may be deceased due to the wounds he received earlier in the shootout in Lakewood, if accurate, could account for the non-responsiveness on scene.
As of 3:40 AM, the scene is brightly lit, sealed off by SWAT (including a KCS armored vehicle) and no activity – apparently just waiting.
Pierce County Sherriff spokesman Ed Troyer has confirmed that police are holding several people who are believed to have helped Clemmons today after the shooting. No word on whether they will be charged. Clemmons has been in jail for a couple of months on the child rape charge. He made bail, and has been acting very strangely recently according to reports. The shootings this morning may have been simply because he was enraged over being incarcerated. Which itself may be an indication of state of mind, since he was in jail recently for a total of eight or nine felonies recently, and has been in jail or prison frequently since he was eighteen. His sentence in Arkansas was commuted due to his young age at sentencing (eighteen) and the recommendation of the parole board. I wonder if the presiding judge in the pending cases in Pierce County knew of his extensive record in Arkansas when he set bail at $150,000. That seems low for so many pending felonies.
There are now two reports that the trailer Clemmons had been hiding in at the rear of a relative’s home has been found empty. This is not confirmed yet. As the activity has dropped off, and I got up at 2 for a glass of water, I think I’ll get the water and then I am off to bed. Will update further in the AM, or you may check the Seattle Times or PI websites for any breaking updates. I hope they can pick this guy up soon.
House in Leschi, scene of last night’s SWAT action.
Update 4 (November 30, 2009 4:06)
Seattle Police entered the trailer where multiple murder suspect Maurice Clemmons had reportedly been hiding. Following tear gas and flash bang charges, used to disorient the person inside the trailer, Seattle Swat entered and found the trailer empty. The house and trailer belong to an aunt of Clemmons, who had informed police that he was hiding there. No word whether he had been in the trailer and left prior to police arriving, or the information from the relative was faulty. Police have virtually sealed of the Leschi neighborhood – an unfortunately familiar action since this is also the neighborhood where Timothy Brenton was ambushed last month. Pierce County police and possibly other jurisdictions have taken several people into custody who helped Clemmons today. They have learned from these people that Clemmons was wounded, perhaps seriously, and possibly fatally.
Update 5 (November 30, 2009)
Between blood found at the coffee shop and blood found outside the aunt's house yesterday, police are relatively sure that Clemmons was the shooter, and was present at the house police sealed off last night. He left in the approximately one hour between the time he was dropped off and police reached the home. Two witnesses reported seeing him exiting a bus in the University District (near the University of Washington campus). He is reputed to have had four rifles and a shotgun available to him.
The guy is clearly seriously nuts, having forced members of his immediate and extended family to strip naked and spend at least five minutes every Sunday naked. He also is convinced he can fly, and is Jesus.
With the dearth of sightings today, I am left to wonder if he is indeed laying in a hedge or overgrown ravine today, having lost a great deal of blood. About 1 PM this afternoon, Police near Cowen Place and Ravenna Blvd. have found a blood trail that begins at a King County Metro bus stop and leads off into Cowen Park. It has been searched by K9 and police units. Officers are patrolling the area heavily this evening.
A Tweeter (http://twitter.com/generalgentry) produced this map to illustrate the areas police have been searching and focusing on today:
Map of Renton Location Currently being surrounded.
There are reports of flash bangs being detonated five minutes ago at this address in Renton. KOMO News is on the scene and reporting: http://www.komonews.com/news/78184447.html.
More as warranted.
Update 6 (November 30, 2009)
The Brenton family has issued the following statement through the Seattle Police Department. What a classy family! The statement:
Brenton family statement
The Brenton family has asked the Seattle Police Department to release the below statement in light of the four Lakewood police officers killed in the line of duty.
Our hearts ache for the families of Sergeant Mark Renninger, Officer Tina Griswold, Officer Ronald Owens and Officer Gregory Richards. We pray that they will be granted strength during this time of unbearable grief. Our thoughts are also with the officers of the Lakewood Police Department who continue to provide public safety services to the citizens of Lakewood. Their families are painfully aware of the risks that are inherent in their loved ones’ chosen profession.
We remain hopeful for the swift capture of the monster who robbed them of their husband, wife, father, mother, son and daughter.
Our family has been comforted by the citizens of Seattle, the Pacific Northwest and beyond who have offered their prayers and support over the past weeks. For this, we are thankful.
We will ask for one thing more. Please support the families of the Lakewood officers in the same way you helped us in the days and weeks after Tim’s murder. We have asked that the Brenton Family Assistance Fund be closed. Anyone wishing to provide any financial support should devote it to the Lakewood Police Independent Guild. They will ensure that this will be provided to the families of these fallen heroes.
Donations can be mailed to:
Lakewood Police Independent Guild
PO Box 99579
Lakewood, WA 98499
Donations can also be made on their Web site, http://www.lpig.us
We know that Tim has been joined by Mark, Tina, Ronald and Greg. We will forever hold their memory dear, honoring their love and sacrifice in service to us all.
Update 7 (November 30,2009)
Finally have received confirmation from multiple sources of the report this morning from ABC that police have definitely recovered the murder weapon, matched by ballistics.
SWAT has taken a relative of Clemmons into custody, arrested on charges aiding the suspected multiple murderer in his flight from police. Pierce County Sherriff is on site at the Renton SWAT action. Police have released information that indicates Clemmons was still bleeding when he arrived at the Leschi house police surrounded last night. Police are also indicating that family members and friends of Clemmons may be calling in false tips to throw police investigators off the trail. He had access to several shotgun bean bags
Pierce County Sherriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer has said that the office is considering filing obstruction charges against KING TV and the station’s chopper after the helicopter repeatedly (up to four times) interfered with police activity, and police helicopter flight. The Sherriff’s office indicated that numerous calls to KING were ignored and suggested that if it happens again then all the media present would be removed, and all helicopters held outside the immediate area. He also suggested that media outlets call KING and let them know that such additional violations would be very much unwelcomed by their fellow news teams.
Multiple murder suspect Maurice Clemmons was not found in the Renton house which police and Swat Units responded this afternoon, though a member of Clemmons family was taken into custody for making false statements and impeding the investigation. There are now several possibilities for a wounded Clemmons ranging from on the run in Renton (photo shows SWAT entering a home Clemmons had been reported at CLIFF DESPEAUX / THE SEATTLE TIMES),
dead in an area of underbrush or other cover, or possibly being harbored and receiving limited treatment for his leg wound, possibly by a family member or friend of a family member. The most recent statement from the Pierce County investigators indicates that evidence indicates that Clemmons had been wounded in the abdomen at the coffee shop, and is almost certainly being aided in both remaining alive and in remaining at large. In addition to the Leschi and Renton reports, witnesses have reported sightings of a man resembling Clemmons getting off a bus in the U District, along Phinney Ridge in Greenwood, and even at a former address on Queen Anne Hill.
Below is another photo of Maurice Clemmons, released by KIRO News via a tweet:
Technorati Tags: Breaking News,Crime,Criminals,Seattle true crime,true crime,Lakewood Police Officers Ambushed
Sunday, November 29, 2009
A Sad Hesitation
I took the kids to the movies and as we were leaving the parking garage I saw an officer stocking up his belt with equipment from the trunk of his car. Knowing what a terrible thing had happened earlier, and how hard it must be to pull on a police uniform and go to work, I wanted to say something. I stopped and said “thank you, officer, we are behind you”. He turned and looked, then gave me and my vehicle a careful once over before making eye contact with me and nodding in acknowledgement. I realized at that instant that the first thing that he thought when I spoke was ‘is this guy a threat?’ He checked me out, and noted the kids in the back seat before he nodded. I think he was glad to hear me express support, but I also think I gave him an adrenaline rush while he looked to see if I was going to turn out to be a bad guy.
I wish I had a better vessel to express my appreciation, respect and support for the men and women who serve in our communities. I wish I could somehow bake enough pies, and like Santa I could magically reach each police station during each shift of every law enforcement agency in Western Washington. I’d hand over a warm pie, express my gratitude and support for the thin blue line and the heroes who man it.
The worst thing is, that I bet no one would eat the pies, and rightly so. I’m sure I’d be looked at, and rightly so. It is impossible for me to express my regard and hope that no further attacks occur. I also know that nothing anyone says can make this better. Nine children lost their mother or father today. Two women lost their husbands, one man lost his wife. So many lives forever changed, so much pain. I wish I could do more to support our law enforcement community, to somehow be of service. Still, I understand full well that now and for a while, should I slow or stop my car to quickly express solidarity with officers, I will be scrutinized. Someday, they won’t feel this strong need to check everyone they come in contact with. Someday, I hope, police officers will once again scrutinize lightly company he reaps.
Four Police Officers Killed in Lakewood (Updated)
It is too early to say what the suspect’s motivation was for this ambush of four police officers south of Seattle in Lakewood. This morning about 8:30 as the officers were preparing to go on duty, a man walked into the coffee shop and opened fire. Killed were three men and one woman, from the Lakewood Police Department. The officers identities have not been released pending notification of families. The officers were in uniform, doing pre-shift paperwork on their laptops when the ambush began. All were wearing their bulletproof vests. Spokesman Ed Troyer of the Pierce County Sherriff has said that it is not yet known if any of the officers were able to return fire.
Investigators have tagged and towed a light-colored pickup truck they believe to be the getaway vehicle, and are pursuing multiple search warrants. Troyer has said that police do not suspect gang involvement at this time, saying that it would be very unusual for gang members to call attention to themselves in this way. Police were involved in a standoff in a residence a few blocks from the location at which the pickup was discovered about two hours after the shootings. The suspect is described as a black male between 5’8 and 5’9, in his late twenties or thirties. His facial hair is ‘scruffy’ and he was wearing a black coat and blue jeans. Another man may have been with him and fled with the suspect in the white pickup later recovered.
A $10,000 reward has been offered for information in the case.
Update 1 (November 29,2009)
Police have indicated that the suspect walked into the cafe, past the officers, who were all working on their laptops preparing for their upcoming shift. The suspect walked to the counter and pretended to order. He then opened his coat. The barista saw his handgun and ran out the back door. The man then turned and shot two officers at close range in the head. As a third officer stood to bring a weapon to bear the suspect shot again, fatally wounding that officer. Finally, the fourth officer was shot as that officer brought a weapon to bear. Though officer was fatally wounded, the officer grasped the suspect and struggled with him to the doorway of the cafe. It is uncertain if the officer died there of wounds inflicted as he or she rose from their chair, or if he or she was shot again in the doorway. Investigators believe that the officer got off at least one, and perhaps several shots. It is unknown if the suspect was hit.
Pierce County Sherriff spokesman Ed Troyer indicated that police are looking at an Arkansas man as a person of interest. He is
Maurice Clemmons, and he has a long criminal record for armed robberies, assaults, child rape, assault on a police office. He apparently has been seen in the area and fits the description. Clemmons had been pardoned in 2000 after serving a fraction of his sentence of 95 years. I am looking into the history of the pardon to see what convinced Governor Mike Huckabee to grant the pardon. Clemmons was arrested and charged in Pierce County for third-degree assault on a police officer, and second-degree rape of a child. He has not, to my knowledge, been identified as the shooter, but fits the description and his recent arrest for assaulting an officer makes him a person of interest.
The officers, an entire patrol squad of three officers and their sergeant, have been identified as Tina Griswold, Greg Richards, Ronald Owens, and Sergeant Mark Renninger. More than a hundred officers responded to the radio call from dispatch, and many of them from surrounding jurisdictions were on their own time. A motorcade of dozens of police cars and motorcycles with lights flashing escorted the officers remains to the medical examiner’s office. They passed beneath a large American flag suspended from two ladder trucks – something I had hoped not to see again in the Seattle Area in my lifetime. It has become necessary far too soon after the loss of Timothy Brenton.
The founder of Cafe Forza, a man named Brad Carpenter, is himself a retired policeman. He indicates that several of his staff that witnessed the attack are still meeting with police trying to recreate a timeline and diagram the events as they happened. Needless to say, they are pretty upset and it has been painful for them to go through it in detail.
Police are identifying video surveillance locations and analyzing surveillance videos for any leads they may hold.
http://www.king5.com/news/local/Police-officers-shot-78089882.html
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/186610.asp
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78088192.html
Technorati Tags: Police officers shot,police ambushed,crime,criminals,murder,true crime,Seattle crime,Tacoma
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Whacker Crimes on the Rise
I remember just after learning to drive there was a string of assaults committed against women driving at night near our suburban home. Not only were the crimes brazen – the perpetrator selected his intended victims as they drove by. He would then would follow them to a less populated or traveled area before assaulting them. All of that was bad enough, but the most chilling thing to me was the method the assailant used to gain access to these women. He posed as a cop.
Over the course of a summer the rumors flew, and police spokespersons confirmed that several such attacks were reported. At first I thought they were just rumors, but after two or three attacks, police realized they had to warn the public and provide some guidance. Police advised motorists who were uncertain about whether the man attempting to pull them over was indeed a sworn officer to drive to a public place such as a grocery store, police station, etc., before pulling over. It was frightening to all of the girls in my drivers ed. class, and regardless of the guidance police offered they wouldn’t really begin to feel safe until the assailant was captured.
Eventually the assailant was captured – in a decommissioned police patrol car which he had outfitted with lights in the front grill and siren. We all breathed a sigh of relief, but I think it was some years before most of us stopped thinking about it when we saw a traffic stop. When I went to college the next year, I was studying in the library one night when I remembered the series of crimes and got curious how often it happened. Looking at microfilm and microfiche of newspaper articles around the country allowed me to get an idea, though it was much more time-consuming than Googling. I found stories in Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Tulsa and Sacramento in addition to the series in the Seattle area. In fact, I found articles from all of those cities detailing crimes which had occurred just in the decade of the seventies. It was the first time I gave thought to the phenomenon that would eventually come to be known as “Wackers” – people posing as cops.
Recently, this came back to mind as a result of the murder for which Christopher Monfort has been arrested. He had sought to become an officer in Los Angeles, and had studied criminal justice back in Seattle before becoming somehow violently disillusioned with police – so disillusioned that he apparently tried to kill random officers in two separate planned attacks – the murder of officer Tim Brenton and wounding of Officer Britt Sweeny – as well as the attempt to kill or injure officers responding to a decoy arson at the city maintenance lot. Monfort drove a decommissioned former police black Crown Victoria, a car commonly used in police service nationwide. Monfort was angry and frustrated, he said, with police brutality. He cited the deputy since dismissed and charged with assault on a teenage girl in a holding cell in the letter he left at the scene of the arson.
Christopher Monfort’s Datsun, which was used in the murder of officer Brenton, and his black Crown Vic with spotlight (penned in by an SPD unmarked)
This behavior made me think of a coworker some years ago who was a real hardcore wacker. He drove an ex-police car, had a ‘replica’ badge, handcuffs, black tactical clothing, gloves and boots consistent with tactical police teams, and spoke frequently about his firearm prowess and the times he had felt compelled to take some action to promote orderly society. At the time I thought his behavior was kind of sad, in the way we all can be kind of pathetic when we insist on being something we aren’t. Some of us have rather harmless ways to manifest this – like telling people what a ladies man we are, or how much we can bench, or how big the fish we catch were. In his case, it was both sad and creepy. Especially since Ted Bundy was in the news a lot then, while on trial in Florida. Handcuffs in the trunk didn’t seem harmless after that. As far as I know, the wacker I worked with really was harmless. The case of Christopher Monfort reminded me of this, and again today the news of criminals posing as police officers to commit crimes made the news in Seattle.
Recently, a series of crimes in Seattle and Tacoma have involved perpetrators posing as cops. Most have been property crimes, small and not-so-small. One included robbery and rape. Seattle television station KING’s Chris Ingalls reported today on this topic, and outlined a group of crimes that certainly seem to indicate that there are multiple criminals using this ploy right now in the Seattle area. The report can be read here: KING 5 News: Police Posers. The story also links to a website which discusses wacker events – crimes by police imposters committed around the country: http://policeposers.com/.
In addition to recommendations made when I was young (drive to a well-lit, public place before stopping), police today recommend calling 911 on a cell phone to verify that the officer stopping you is indeed an officer. If you’re being stopped by an unmarked car, you can request a marked police unit to respond and make the stop – Pierce County Police have suggested this in response to some serious robberies and a rape committed using an unmarked vehicle recently.
Technorati Tags: Cop Wannabe,Police Imposter,Crime,True Crime,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,Christopher Monfort
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Jealous Murderess Attempts to Kill Again
Twelve years ago, Patricia Crowl murdered a woman named Shawn Wallace. Wallace had made the mistake of dating a man Crowl considered to be her exclusive boyfriend. Wallace, who was pregnant when she was killed in the spring of 1997, was bludgeoned and strangled, and her body was dumped beneath Crowl’s house. When it became apparent that leaving remains under her house would be problematic, Crowl enlisted the help of her ex-husband in moving Wallace’s remains to a little-traveled backstreet in Tukwila. Crowl was convicted of second-degree murder and served twelve years in state prison. She was released following a Washington State Supreme Court ruling which declared that an assault which leads to an unintended death cannot be called a murder. If the death is a result of an assault but there is no definite proof of intent to kill, the court ruled that it must be considered manslaughter. This decision in State Supreme Court, caused approximately three hundred cases to be sent back to the trial court for resentencing under the manslaughter guidelines. For Crowl, this ruling meant that she would be released far earlier than her original sentence. Crowl was released from the state prison in 2006.
Last week, Crowl again found herself enraged at another woman. This time, the woman was the ex-girlfriend of a man Crowl began dating this month. According to the man, he had last spoken with his ex-girlfriend early in November when he had called her from Cowl’s cell phone. That seemingly insignificant detail – the man used Cowl’s cell phone to call the ex – proved to be an almost deadly detail for the woman he’d dated for three years before breaking up last month. Crowl used the phone to send a text message to the ex-girlfriend asking her to meet in a parking garage in Kirkland. Because her ex-boyfriend had last called her from the same number she believed she would be meeting him. Instead, when the woman stepped out of her car Crowl ambushed her with a knife, stabbing the victim eighteen or nineteen times.
Crowl fled, and the victim had managed to hang on to her cell phone, and it is likely to have saved her life. She dialed 911 and was able to tell emergency medical and the police where to find her. She is reported to have told the dispatcher that she had been “stabbed everywhere”. The victim was transferred to Seattle and Harborview Medical Center, the region’s trauma center, where doctors treated her for a punctured lung, in addition to her other stab wounds. Fortunately, the victim’s major organs and blood vessels did not suffer major damage and despite the eighteen knife penetration wounds, she was sufficiently recovered to be released from Harborview this week.
The victim’s ex-boyfriend, who had begun dating Crowl only recently, called police to report that Crowl had told him she had to go and turn herself in to police. She did not turn herself in, but was arrested later that night when she sought treatment at Valley Medical Center in Kent for cuts on her hands. Crowl did not speak with police and immediately invoked her right to counsel. In addition to the wounds on Crowl’s hands, the text message sent to the victim specifying the location in which the attack was perpetrated and the statement from the man who was dating her, the woman pointed out Crowl from a photo array. Crowl is being held, with bail set at $3 million, on a charge of attempted first-degree murder. This time, having sent the text message and hidden in ambush, there is no real chance that she will be able to say the attack was merely an assault that went too far.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Gang 'killed victims to extract their fat'
In Peru police arrested three men, and are looking for at least seven more in connection with a scheme to ‘harvest’ body fat from humans to turn into a wrinkle reducer. The black market in these fats has to this point been largely though of as an urban legend, since there is a plentiful supply of liquid fat available from donors. The arrests let us know that not only is the black market real, but at about $50,000 for two bottles of human body fat, it is lucrative anywhere, but particularly in locations where incomes are far less than in the US and Europe.
Many of us heard stories of the Boogieman as children. He seems to take on different characteristics depending on where one lives. In Peru, the Boogieman is the Pishtaco – a sort of demonic creature, said to resemble a human with white skin. The Pishtaco were said to murder Indians on the roads and trails, and mutilate their remains. When the Caucasian missionaries came they initially terrified many Incas because they resembled the white-skinned Pishtaco of legend. The missionaries were thought to kill peasants for their body fat, which they used to keep their oil lamps lighted and their church bells oiled.
I just cannot think of a single thing to say in commenting on this. It is hard to imagine that dozens of people could be murdered simply to harvest body fat for high-end wrinkle treatment. I wonder if this development will cause a decline in sales for the treatment, or if the pattern we saw with ‘blood diamonds’ – sales were not affected overall – and it will be something people express concern about but go right on with their purchases.
I guess I can think of one thing to say: It seems to me that this case cries out for the death penalty, and certainly it should be followed by extraction of body fat from the perpetrators of all these murders. It is amazing what our consumerism and vanity becomes as it ripples across the globe to lower income societies. Something we think little about because we can afford it, can be so extremely valuable in the second and third world as to cause murder – as in this case where the murdered number in the dozens. Does that make the men who killed and removed body fat modern-day Pishtacos? Are the people buying human body fat as anti-wrinkle treatments responsible in some way also? I have to say that I will be quite surprised if we begin to learn that similar rings are going on around the world, but instead of body fat their target is harvesting organs.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
First-Year Police Officer Britt Sweeny Ready to Return to Duty, Honor Fallen Comrade
I think most of us have idly thought at some point about how we would react if we were involved in a shooting incident. Maybe not as the shooter, but perhaps because of a news story or television show or movie, the thought came unbidden. We can’t really know until we know, as the saying goes, and may I add that I don’t want to know. When Officer Britt Sweeny – on her second night with training officer Tim Brenton (#6699) – was faced with just that situation she learned, as the rest of the police force and the city learned how she would react. Her partner was killed instantly, and without hesitation Officer Sweeny radioed the call for help “shots fired”, and she jumped from the patrol car and returned fire. When detectives found the car used in the attack they also found that one of Officer Sweeny’s slugs had hit the fleeing vehicle. How terrible it is that Officer Sweeny had to learn firsthand and unequivocally of her mettle, created by an internal strength that cannot be taught. She will say that her training is responsible for her actions, and to an extent that is true. It is also no doubt true that she reacted in a split second to a threat, called instantly for aid, and still managed to step out of the patrol car and return fire. I’m sure there were many veterans, fine officers all, who privately wondered if they’d have responded so brilliantly in the same circumstances. How sad that Officer Sweeny, in her first year as an officer, has had to learn what she has learned about herself. I am certain she’d have loved to be one of those officers who have never fired their gun on duty. But that wasn’t Officer Sweeny’s lot. She drew a very short stick – only Officer Brenton’s was shorter – in a very high stakes situation, and she mastered it. I believe that training is excellent. It is exceeded in excellence by this officer and her sense of duty, and her courage.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Monfort Paralyzed by Shooting, Prepared to Kill as Many Police Officers as Possible
Accused murderer Christopher John Monfort is paralyzed below the waist, according to a statement from his family released by his designated counsel, Julie Lawry. "Chris Monfort's family, like any other family in the same position, is heartbroken for all parties and is struggling to understand this tragedy. At the same time they love and stand by Chris and look forward to coming to a fuller understanding of recent events."
Monfort’s condition has been upgraded to satisfactory. He remains at Harborview Medical Center under guard by King County Sherriff’s Deputies. Monfort was wounded when he was approached by Seattle Police Department homicide detectives. The detectives were present to follow up on a tip (now attributed to the apartment complex manager) that a rare early eighties Datsun B210 was parked in Monfort’s apartment building lot, and that it had been covered for the first time just after the murder of Seattle Police Officer Tim Brenton.
When Monfort left his apartment (just as the memorial service for Officer Brenton was concluding) he approached the Datsun and his main car which was parked next to it. Monfort’s usual car is a black Crown Victoria, probably a former police unmarked car. Detective identified themselves and said they had a few questions. At that, Monfort drew a Glock nine millimeter pistol, pointed the muzzle directly into the face of Detective Sergeant Gary Nelson and pulled the trigger. Monfort had sixteen rounds in the clip for the Glock – the magazine was full - but he had not drawn back, or ‘racked’ the slide mechanism on the weapon. Thus, there was not round in the chamber and the firing pin simply made a small but emotionally deafening clicking sound. When the gun did not discharge, Monfort ran to a stairwell and tried to reach his apartment. He was blocked before he could reach it and when he turned and brought the pistol up again three detectives fired. One shot hit Monfort in the cheek, another in the torso.
Monfort was pulled into the parking lot by detectives and an ambulance arrived very quickly to take the man to Harborview, the city’s trauma hospital. Reporters who had arrived at the Emergency entrance to Harborview reported that there was a very large volume of blood – an unusual quantity according to several. That observation concerning heavy blood loss, as well as the news helicopter live feed that I watched and commented on in an earlier post was the only information available until Acting Chief Diaz reached Harborview. He also indicated at that time that the car found under a cover was indeed “the car” used in the attack. We now know that the car carried a bullet fired by the courageous and composed beyond her years on the force Britt Sweeny. Monfort was immediately rushed into surgery, where he underwent a very long surgery to repair damage caused by the two bullets that had hit him. He was listed in critical condition and was not upgraded to serious condition until the following evening. Monfort was upgraded today to satisfactory today.
Police have read him his Miranda rights, and say he has not requested an attorney. Assistant Chief Pugel, responsible for the Investigations bureau of the Seattle Police Department has stated that Monfort is not being interrogated at this time – in response to speculation by defense attorneys that SPD might be sequestering Monfort for the purpose of getting him to confess. The Assistant Chief’s manner suggested to me that there was so much physical evidence already that a confession is not of great importance to securing a conviction in the case. A recap of the evidence, as it is known now:
- Datsun B210 matching the descriptions of witnesses as well as the video of the car obtained from the dashboard camera in Officers Brenton and Sweeny’s unit and others responding to the shots fired radio call. The Datsun was covered with a car tarp for the first time shortly after the Halloween shooting, and remained so in the space next to Monfort’s other car – a Crown Victoria which looks to be a retired unmarked police unit.
- A bullet recovered from the Datsun B210, matched to Officer Britt Sweeny’s service weapon.
- .223 rifle matched in ballistic testing with the rifle used to wound Officer Sweeny and kill Officer Brenton, found in Monfort’s apartment.
- Improvised explosive devices and the materials to make fire bombs, found in Monfort’s apartment. Included was a notebook listing the time it took various fuse lengths to burn down. Monfort’s apartment was booby trapped to detonate fire bombs on entry, and SPD used a robot to make entry. Police also found several other incendiary materials including a fine powder accelerant used to create explosive force when confined to a small area (like, say, a pipe) and ignited.
- A long document expressing rage at police in general. A copy has not been made available and police have offered no ‘on the record’ details'. Some reports indicate the manifesto also threatened to attack officers, but I haven’t seen any confirmation of that.
- DNA from:
- a US flag left at the maintenance yard arson site;
- a threatening letter left at the maintenance yard;
- a Us flag bandana at the location of the shooting;
- water bottle and cap left at the maintenance yard;
- A copy of the letter left at the maintenance yard arson, decrying police brutality and threatening to kill officers, was found on Montfort’s printer, in his apartment when police entered.
- Materials were found in Monfort’s apartment matching the improvised explosives used at the maintenance yard firebombing that damaged a mobile command unit and three squad cars, and only narrowly missed injuring or killing police and firefighters responding to the arson call.
- Propane bottles matching the ones used in the fire bombing at the maintenance yard were found in Monfort’s apartment – some already assembled into an explosive device.
- Witness testimony indicating that a Datsun matching the description of the car provided by police dash camera videos and Officer Sweeny had been seen following a police patrol car several times in the half hour prior to the shooting.
- Witness testimony that this car – Monfort’s, as we have come to know because he hid the car, it contained a bullet from Officer Sweeny’s gun, etc. – had tailed Sweeny’s patrol car, stopped and reversed into a dark parking lot just behind the police vehicle. He waited until the traffic stop was concluded, and then pulled alongside the police car and opened fire. Witness also saw Monfort execute a 3point turn to avoid the dash cam (avoidance FAIL). The appearance of the Datsun on Sweeny’s dash cam just fifteen minutes prior to the shooting corroborates the witness statement as well.
- Video of a traffic stop just two blocks from the site of the shooting nine days prior to Halloween. The video documents that Monfort had come to the attention of an SPD unit on routine patrol because he had been driving around the area slowly, looking back and forth. The officers thought he many be lost, and when he failed to signal a turn he was stopped. From the first sentence, where and officer asked Monfort if he knew where he was trying to go was met with a snappish remark in return. The video tends to document Monfort’s state of anger at police, as well as indicating that he may have been cruising the neighborhood. Perhaps he was planning his escape route to Tukwila or perhaps looking for areas where he noticed police cars present. In the light of the events which followed, this video tends to augment the other evidence above.
- A military style knife identical to one found at the maintenance yard was found in Monfort’s apartment.
- Though it is not evidence, the profile police of the unknown suspect in the shooting, and published along with the dash videos of the suspect’s Datsun, matched the suspect identified the next day as a result of the manager’s tip so closely it is hard to believe that the profile author(s) did not already have a suspect and reverse-engineered a profile. I’ve never seen one this accurate in such detail.
- Monfort’s reaction when detectives approached him in the parking lot of his apartment building. His response when the officers identified themselves and said they wanted to talk with him, was to draw a Glock, aim at a detective at close range and pull the trigger. Had Monfort remembered to charge the firing chamber when he loaded the magazine another officer would be injured or worse. The reaction was immediate and showed no hesitation, and to me that says that Monfort was willing and ready to shoot an officer if he was approached. He tried to run, and when hemmed in he reacted without hesitation and attempted to bring his pistol to bear again. Flight has been treated as a consciousness of guilt in our justice system, and in this case it seems quite clear to me that Monfort’s first decision when police asked to speak with him was to attempt to kill a policeman – or God knows how many with sixteen rounds in one magazine before he’d need to reload. His second reaction was to run, and when he was blocked from reaching his cache of weapons and explosive materials in his apartment, Monfort raised the Glock again. Attempted murder, flight, attempt to shoot officer again adds up to a strong indicator of consciousness of guilt.
- Monfort made a presentation while studying criminal justice at the University of Washington (the presentation is posted in several places, just Google ‘Christopher Monfort jury nullification”). The presentation supported the work of a professor at another university who has advocated jury nullification (a jury which disregards the judge’s instructions), and in fact Monfort wished to augment the professor’s work by advocating that juries acquit accused minority defendants regardless of the evidence or instructions of the judge. He argues that the justice system is unfair to people of color, and because of this juries had a duty to level the playing field. Monfort apparently was not picky about crimes in advocating jury nullification. He included all crimes in his concept that juries should acquit.
- I expect that the state crime lab will be adding additional forensic evidence in the coming weeks, such as demonstrating that the composition (chemical constituents, manufacturing process, impurities or contaminations information, brands, etc.), of the materials used at the fire bombing site and in Monfort’s apartment. I don’t believe I’ve listed all the evidence in these bullet points, but I do think that I’ve explained why the Assistant Chief may have hinted that the family and Ms, Lawry need not worry that police were isolating Monfort to intimidate him into confessing. I’m sure the Chief need not have hinted that not only were officers NOT talking with Monfort in an effort to get a confession, but of course the Seattle Police Department does not ever coerce confessions. And in this case, I read the Chief’s non-verbal cues as conveying the impression that there was so much evidence that police didn’t need a confession to get a conviction.
Monfort’s mother answered some questions through Ms. Lawry, counsel appointed to his case. Monfort is an only child (though a person claiming to be his half-brother with a shared father has been posting in forums about the case). Lawry also made available some questions she had asked and answers given by Monfort’s mother:
“As a little boy it was Scouts, baseball, football, playing outside with friends at any chance. He loved putting model cars and airplanes together. He developed a major interest in ariplanes and collected books on them and later learned to sky dive and as an adult learned to love scuba diving, motorcycling and he loved to travel. While in Community College he began to paint and loved to paint to music and won a prize for one of his paintings at the school. He also is a lover of music - all genres and taught himself guitar and would often give gifts of music to friends and family.”
Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s statement at the press conference announcing that he would file aggravated first degree murder charges among others brought an unwelcome image to my mind of Waco, Texas and the Branch Davidian compound conflagration. According to Satterberg:
“This case is unique in that Monfort deliberately planned to confront police and kill as many officers as he could. He was planning to make a final armed stand should he be discovered."
Monfort had booby trapped his apartment, had fire bombs waiting for use, as well as his .223 rifle. In retrospect, the consequences of approaching Monfort to ask questions could have resulted in other deaths win the ranks of both the targeted group - police officers and a likely unintended group – other residents in the apartment building. Had Monfort made it to his apartment, the scene I watched live as news helicopters hovered above the building might have been of a firefight followed by explosions and a very big fire in the apartment building rather than a brief view of the accused being stabilized for transport and then of the covered B210, and the dozens of police cars stacked up for several blocks on the road leading to the building. The street was so jammed with vehicles that when the SWAT and crime scene vehicles arrived, officers had to move some patrol cars just to get the larger vehicles to the scene.
That Monfort carefully planned these crimes is clear, and his letter to police, left at the scene of the arsons and on his printer, Monfort told police to:
“Start policing each other or get ready to attend a lot of police funerals."
Thankfully, an alert citizen and quick and careful police work by Seattle Police Department investigators brought down the curtain on Monfort’s play before anyone else could be harmed.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Seattle Prosecutor Enumerates Five Charges Against Accused Cop-killer
In a press conference held just blocks from where Christopher John Monfort remains hospitalized in serious but stable condition at Harborview Medical Center, the trauma center for the Seattle area, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg enumerated five charges he expects to bring against Monfort. “The death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst. Killing a police officer falls within my definition of the worst of the worst crimes.” Satterberg said. The charges are aggravated first degree murder, three counts of attempted murder – for the attempt on the life of Officer Britt Sweeny, the try at killing officers responding to the first fire bomb by detonating a second bomb, and for the incident when detectives approached him to question him and he responded by drawing a pistol and pulling the trigger. He had forgotten to charge the chamber in his sixteen shot Glock, and only that prevented Homicide Detective Sergeant Gary Nelson from being shot in the face. The final charge will be for arson at the maintenance yard.
At this point the prosecutor will be delayed in making a determination if Monfort is eligible for the death penalty. An evaluation of mental state will need to be completed and Monfort’s recuperation will need to progress before an arraignment can take place. It may well be next spring before the death penalty determination is made.
According to SeattleCrime.com’s Brian Slodysko, Satterberg also mentioned another item found in Monfort’s apartment, in addition to the bombs, fire bombs, bobby traps, rifles and handguns: child pornography. I missed that tidbit. I didn't think I could like the accused less, but of course I could and can. I wonder if his mother will say that the police planted it? Like they fire bombed their own command vehicle and squad cars, nearly killing officers and then planted in Monfort’s apartment bomb-making materials linked to the maintenance yard arson?
Documents included in the filing of charges contained the full text of the letter left at the maintenance yard fire bombing:
“October 22nd is the 14th National day of protest to stop police brutality. These Deaths are dedicated to Deputy Travis Bruner, he stood by and did nothing, as Deputy Paul Schene Brutally beat and Unarmed 14 year old Girl in their care. You Swear a Solemn Oath to Protect US from All Harm, That includes You ! Start policing each other or get ready to attend a lot of police funerals.
We Pay your bills.
You Work for us.”
According to Satterberg, and clearly shown by the photographs of Monfort’s apartment, the accused murderer had made his home into a bunker from which he could make a stand should police identify him. Satterberg referred to Monfort as a “one man war” in the making, had he not been apprehended.
Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,Murder,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,True Crime,Criminals
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Cold Case Gets a Boost from Local Television News Station
KIRO 7 reporter Chris Halsne has done a brilliant job of developing a story that could very well put a serial killer in prison. Over thirty-five years ago, three seemingly unrelated disappearances went from baffling to cold cases, leaving families and investigators frustrated. Now, with the unlikely help of a news reporter, cold case detectives may have another chance to close these long cold cases after all.
In 1973, a woman and her young son disappeared from the small town of Port Townsend, across Puget Sound from Seattle. A roommate told people the woman and son had left, and no missing persons report was ever filed. Three years later, in 1976, a mother of five living in Kent, a suburb just south and east of Seattle. As with the disappearance of the woman and her son from Port Townsend, the woman left home for a routine activity (studying for a college exam) and never returned. Both families have wondered for more than thirty years just what might have been the fate of their loved ones.
Halsne has spoken with investigators in both Kent and Port Townsend about the cases, and about the man police are calling a suspect: Glenn Bagley. Bagley is a retired civil engineer who worked for the Jefferson County managing roads projects at the time of the two cases. He left “suddenly” shortly after the disappearance of the second woman, moving to the Philippines and earning a living as a freelance engineer.
How did the original detectives link Bagley to the cases? In the case of Althea Blankenship and her son Jeffrey, Bagley was sharing a home with Blankenship as his roommate. They developed a romantic relationship. Bagley was separated from his soon-to-be ex wife – the woman who would go missing three years later – at the time. She was last heard from at the home and Bagley is believed to have been the last person known to have seen the woman and son. Bagley has claimed that he drove the two to Seattle Tacoma International Airport, where they planned to take a flight to Greece. No records document the pair leaving Sea Tac on any flight, and customs doesn’t have a record of them leaving the country. The Kent woman who disappeared three years after Blankenship and her son was called Esther Mae Gesler. She had left home saying she was going to study for a college exam over the weekend. Her ex-husband was Glenn Bagley. Shortly after Gesler’s disappearance, Bagley left the country “abruptly”, according to the Jefferson County Sherriff’s investigator. When contacted about the disappearance, Bagley said he didn’t see Gesler and that he had an alibi for that weekend. His girlfriend was willing to give a statement saying that Bagley had been with her in Port Townsend building a cat house in his garage. It was enough at the time.
Years later, though, the woman came forward and told investigators that she had lied. She claimed in 2004 that Bagley had threatened to kill her if she ever revealed the false alibi, and that she’d “end up in the same culvert in Quilcene as Esther”, according to Halsne. The accusation rang true to investigators, who knew that Bagley’s job as a roads project engineer would have given him local information and cover for disposing of remains in hard-to-find places throughout the county.
At some point after Bagley’s former girlfriend had recanted her alibi, cold case investigators discovered that Bagley’s name came up in both cases. Bagley claimed that he’d not had any contact with his ex-wife in the months prior to her disappearance, but after determining through phone records that Bagley had called her, police connected the two cases and Bagley became the prime suspect. As Kent Homicide Detective Wayne Himple told Halsne, “What are the chances? What are the odds of one person being associated with the disappearance of three people? And not just three people, but of people he was closely related to or in proximity of. They lived with him. The odds have to be astronomical, in my view…”
The Port Townsend paper interviewed a number of people who knew Bagley, including another ex-wife. He was described as a good engineer, organized and neat professionally, but with a more exotic personal life. One person said he was ‘weird’ and that no one who knew him would be too surprised if he is guilty of three murders.
When interviewed in Port Townsend regarding his ex-wife’s murder, Bagley appeared nervous to detectives. His girlfriend provided an alibi, and not long thereafter Bagley was on his way to the Philippines. Detectives have not been able to speak with Bagley in person since 1976. When they began looking for Bagley in 2004 following the recanted alibi, he was nowhere to be found. and Kent did not have the cold case budget to send detectives to Manila to interview Bagley now. Fortunately, as KIRO News investigative reporter Chris Halsne contacted investigators about the cases, as well as surviving family members and the ex-girlfriend who recanted the alibi she’d given Bagley, Halsne was able to track down Bagley in the Philippines. Moreover, Halsne was able to arrange a trip to do what police couldn’t afford. Interview Bagley. It is worth a look at the video of the report to watch the suspect’s demeanor and answers to questions.
After several days of street surveillance and some encounters Halsne describes as ‘unpleasant’ with armed men guarding Bagley’s residence, he was able to speak with Bagley in person. Some excerpts are available in the link below, as well as photos, a timeline and transcript of the interview. His answers, at least to me, are consistent with a man who could kidnap and murder two women and a small child. He chuckles when discussing the disappearances, and is rather blase about them, but shows discomfort and perhaps a stronger emotion when told what his ex-girlfriend had said in recanting her alibi of him. Word is that investigators are surveying culverts in Jefferson County to see if they can locate any remains. At 69, Bagley may have thought he’d gotten away clean (if he is guilty of these crimes), but for the first time in thirty plus years he must look over his shoulder to find close pursuit. Halsne has put together a top-notch report, and KIRO has not only pursued a fascinating story, but may end up helping to solve three very old, but no longer cold cases.
http://www.kirotv.com/news/21442051/detail.html
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=25531&TM=23660.71
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2009/10/is_port_townsends_glenn_allan.php
http://www.kirotv.com/video/21474222/index.html
http://www.kirotv.com/station/21457924/detail.html
Technorati Tags: cold case,Glenn Allan Bagley,KIRO,Murder,Port Townsend,crime,true crime,criminals,murder,missing persons
Monfort Motivations Continue to be Unclear
It is plain as can be that Christopher Monfort developed a deep rage against police officers. It is just as plain that he wanted to participate in a career within the justice system and even as a police officer himself, during his student years. There was a militant aspect to Monfort’s writings, and his beliefs about the justice system seem to have evolved (or devolved as it were) into something angry and enraged. In the last two or three days several sources have mentioned what police have called a “manifesto”. This document, left amid the handguns, rifles, booby-traps and improvised bombs which police found when they entered Monfort’s apartment, is said to be lengthy and to rail against the police, and Monfort’s views that the police are brutal and unfair in treatment of minorities. Monfort’s motivation clearly included the rage that built for whatever reason against police, but what remains unclear is what drove him to such a drastic escalation in the past few weeks.
One neighbor said that he’d spoken with Monfort about a month before the shooting and Monfort had asked the man about what it took to be an electrician, as his job as a security guard was not going well. About two weeks later the same man found two uniform shirts for a security company wadded up and in the trash of the apartment complex laundry. The man took them, not putting them together with Monfort. This was shortly after he had received a $550 citation for driving without insurance. Speculation around Monfort’s motivations is a stew of longer-standing beliefs about the basic fairness of police and the judicial system, a recent incidence of police brutality by a King County Sherriff’s Deputy (now being prosecuted), Monfort’s personal demons (those that kept him from forming close relationships, perhaps made him feel he wasn’t given the proper standing in the community), difficulties at work, and who knows what else. As I mentioned on Friday night, it is amazing how closely Monfort fits the profile police developed – days before there was a suspect.
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