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

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.

Technorati Tags: Crime,Criminals,Murder,Police Officers shot,true crime,Tacoma

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.

Cafe Forza Lakewood, WA

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Police-officers-shot-78089882.html 

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattle911/archives/186610.asp

Local News | Four police officers shot to death in Lakewood in apparent ambush | Seattle Times Newspaper

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/78088192.html

Technorati Tags: Police officers shot,police ambushed,crime,criminals,murder,true crime,Seattle crime,Tacoma

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

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.

Technorati Tags: true crime,seattle true Crime,crime,Seattle,attempted murder,murder,manslaughter

Did you ever…

“Did you ever walk in a room and forget why you walked in? I think that's how dogs spend their lives.”    ----Sue Murphy

I think I might be a dog. 

Often.

Technorati Tags: Sue Murphy,quotes,quotations,forgetting

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. 

The Guardian

Reuters

Technorati Tags: Pishtacos,Body Fat Killings,Peru,Anti-wrinkle treatment,blood diamonds,consumerism

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.

Technorati Tags: Officer Brit Sweeny,Officer Tim Brenton,Christopher John Monfort,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,Crime,Criminals,Seattle Policeman Murdered

Local News | Rookie ready to 'fight the fight,' return to duty after officer's fatal shooting | Seattle Times Newspaper

Stagnating Temperatures: Irony puts a Silly Hat on Yet Another Global Climate Change Summit

Okay, so if I haven’t bored you with my lame metaphysical theory before, lucky you.  But not that lucky, as I will do it now.  After observing the world, the way it works, the way we interact; in fact the sum total of my education and experience from birth to the moment of epiphany went into this theory:  At the root, at the smallest possible level, we will someday learn that the universe and all of its’ components are built of this basic material.  What is it?  Irony.  Yes, irony.  Look closely enough at almost any situation and one finds irony of varying degrees.  For example, let’s say you were going to have a global summit to face the crisis of global warming.  You were going to invite Prince Charles to repeat his prediction of immanent disaster if we don’t reduce greenhouse gases dramatically this year.  Let’s say you are planning to press national governments to enact and enforce emissions standards projected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars at a time when the global economy is teetering on the brink of a huge depression.  What would be ironic, in this situation?  I think the subject of the following article does the trick nicely in showing us the irony of which we are all assembled.  According to this Spiegel article (and many other reports in news sources, journals and science magazines as well), the earth has stopped warming.  Just in time to make the people who have been predicting catastrophe look a bit silly and alarmist.  Whether you attribute this phenomena of stagnated temperatures to ocean current patterns, or the historic low levels of sunspot activity since 2000, you must admit that I may be right.  Irony might be the cause of the whole thing.

Stagnating Temperatures: Climatologists Baffled by Global Warming Time-Out - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Technorati Tags: Climate change reporting,global warming Controversy,Irony,Global temperature stagnates,Global Climate Summit

Daily Express | World News :: Million hit by 'plague worse than swine flu'

This is a spooky development which has begun in the Ukraine.  The mortality rate of the illness which begins with three virus types mutating and working together to cause serious illness – seemingly much more deadly than swine flu.

Daily Express | World News :: Million hit by 'plague worse than swine flu'

Technorati Tags: Ukraine mystery disease,World Health Organization

Deer: You Should See the Other Guy

Strange things happen during the rut (mating season) to be sure.  You may have seen the photo of an elk trying to mount a buffalo statue just outside of West Yellowstone, Montana.  I can’t say what the result was in that case, but whether the bull elk was satisfied with his ‘hard body’ or not, he came away much luckier than the buck that chose to fight with a 640 pound ornamental statue of a big buck.  Antler marks indicate that the challenger locked antlers with the stoic buck, before finally choosing to  ram the concrete statue head first.  The buck staggered off about twenty yards from the statue (which finally tipped over) and died.  Don’t worry, the man who owns the property is a hunter with a deer tag.  I imagine it was the easier ‘hunt’ anybody’s heard of:

1. Rise from bed.
2. Scratch.
3. Pee. 
4. Walk from bedroom to front room.
5. Notice statue on its side, and dead buck about twenty-five yards from the front door.
6. Call butcher to pick up and butcher the deer. 
7. Pick up venison at butcher, tell the story of the ‘hunt’ to everyone you encounter.
8. Put the meat in the freezer. 
9. Scratch.

   And, as you contemplate the poor dead buck who took on the badass big buck in your front yard; the very buck that wanted to be a big shot with the lay-ay-ay-dees, it occurs to me that this episode is an example of natural selection, and this buck has been spotted by the great lifeguard in the sky, who says sternly: “Hey! You!  Yes you, the guy with the cracked skull!  You are OUTTA the Gene Pool!

Deer loses head-butt with Wisconsin lawn ornament - TwinCities.com

Technorati Tags: humor,funny photos,funny pictures

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.

Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,Murder,Seattle Crime,Seattle True Crime,True Crime,Criminals,Death Penalty

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

 

 

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

PHOTOS- COLD CASE TIMELINE

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.

Technorati Tags: Christopher John Monfort,crime,true crime,Seattle Crime,Police Officer murdered,Criminal Profile

Are M's interested in trade for Overbay?/ $200 million for King Felix?

The Seattle PI Mariners Blog is carrying a report from the baseball meetings this week in Chicago.  Several sources have indicated that the Mariners are talking about a trade to bring Overbay to Seattle to play first base.  The timing of the rumors and reports are interesting as the Mariners first baseman Russell Branyan, who had a breakout year this season before a herniated disc shut him down, turned down a one year contract offer by the Mariners, saying he’d like to get a two year deal.  The Mariners may be wary of a 34 year old first baseman with a herniated disc – probably with good reason – and Overbay has similar numbers to Branyan (though he had roughly half the homers in an almost equal number of at-bats).  Are the M’s letting slip a bit about the negotiations with Toronto to let Branyan know they have options?  I think they want him back – they’d not have made a one-year offer otherwise – but perhaps due to his back they want to minimize the downside if it is serious and lingering.  That’s smart.  Personally, I’d love to see Branyan back and healthy all year.  He got his first chance to play every day with the Mariners, and before the back injury he responded very well to the chance to hit against both left and right handed pitching. 

Are M's interested in trade for Overbay?

I was listening to the morning show on KJR Sportsradio 950 this morning and Mitch Levy mentioned a report from the meetings in Chicago that the Yankees could conceivably offer Felix Hernandez a contract worth as much as $200 million, guaranteed.  The discussion was over whether the Mariners were going to try and sign him to an extension, despite two years remaining on his current contract.  Could the M’s get him for $125 now, by allowing him to start making the bigger bucks sooner?  Who knows?  One thing is certain: If King Felix continues to pitch anywhere near what he did this year over the next two seasons, he’ll be a brilliant, dominant number one starter with more than six seasons of major league experience, and possibly another 12-14 years to pitch in the major leagues.  But $200 million guaranteed?  Holy Cow!

Technorati Tags: Felix Hernandez,Seattle Mariners,baseball,free agents,Mariners trades,Mariners players,Russell Branyan

Anacortes “Dog Whisperer” Suspected Dead (Updated December 8)

In a strange case that will likely be unfolding for quite some time, a well-known dog trainer has disappeared and police believe he has been murdered. 

Mark Stover has been missing for about two weeks now, and the various pieces of information that have trickled out thus far suggest that Stover is likely to have been murdered.  Sometime on October 28, a neighbor of Stover’s noticed one of Stover’s cars and a car owned by the boyfriend of Stover’s ex-wife.  The neighbor filed a trespassing report saying he’d seen only Oakes standing next to the cars, and he also witnessed Oakes holding a tarp or large sheet of plastic between the vehicles.  They were parked back-to-back which certainly suggests that he was transferring something between the two vehicles.  The man, named Michiel Oakes, was stopped by police later that night and the officer noticed that Oakes had stacks of blankets in his car, as well as a lot of dog hair on his shirtsleeve.  The officer warned Oakes against trespassing, and sent him on his way.

The next morning Stover’s fiancée reported him missing.  Police entered Stover’s home and found his dog bleeding profusely from a gunshot to the face.  There were few signs of Stover – just a few blood smears on the front porch, a hallway and bedroom.  Police reported that there was a very heavy smell of bleach in a bathroom, and it does seem ominous that a bathroom was thoroughly cleaned with bleach, and that the boyfriend of the victim’s ex-wife was seen with a large amount of plastic on the night before the man was reported missing.

Oakes has been arrested for murder, despite the fact that the body has not yet been found.  No word yet on whether Stover’s ex-wife was aware of or a participant in the murder or disposal of remains.  I’m not including her name because she has not been charged in connection with the case.

There are mixed reports about the circumstances of Stover’s divorce.  Some reports indicate that it was a bitter split, while others give the impression that it was in the past.  Stover’s ex-wife was granted a protection order in 2008, and there may have been some friction recently over sale of a private island on which Stover and his then-wife had operated a dog training business.  Clients included many high profile people from the Northwest.  Stover bought his wife out of the business at the time of the divorce.  Her family owned the island and he was apparently seeking some share of the sale price based on work he had done there.

Police traveled to the ex-wife’s home, and interviewed her along with Oakes.  At one point Oakes excused himself to retrieve some medicine from his car.  He withdrew a bag and tossed it down a slope, where police later found it.  The bag contained a .22 pistol and smelled strongly of bleach.  Oakes was carrying a 9mm handgun on his person as well.  Presumably, the combination of Oakes effort to hide the gun, the bleach smell suggesting a possible connection to the bleached bathroom at the victim’s home, the witness who saw Oakes with a large amount of plastic, his own car and Stover’s car added up to probable cause and he was arrested.  No doubt there is additional evidence which has not been made public, and  the size of the bond – Oakes is being held on a $5 million bond – is a reflection of flight risk and the judge’s assessment of danger to the community.

Update 1:  Police found Stover’s car, abandoned at a tribal casino.  It had blood smears on inspection, as well as a typed letter to police and the car keys were on the driver’s seat.  Police have not released any information about the letter’s contents.

Update 2:  Some new information came out this week when charges were filed.  The court documents indicate that in addition to the above fiasco whereby Oakes kept the weapon and bleach throughout a two hour drive over a mountain pass.  He only discarded it down a ravine next to Stover’s ex-wife’s house when police were there.  Worse, he made a couple of statements to his ex-wife that are pretty damning.  Oakes is quoted as telling his ex that if the police ‘find what’s in my car I’ll be in jail for the rest of my life’.  He is also said to have told her that he had a big and dangerous mission that went bad.  Apparently he met her in Everett after the killing but before driving to see his girlfriend (Oakes’ ex-wife).

Now from the court documents, we learn that not only did he have the .22 and bleach-smelling bag, but police also found a receipt for three ankle weights, anchor line, a backpack, shin guards and camouflage clothes.  In the car, the police found a backpack matching the receipt (which indicated the items were purchased on the day Stover disappeared), a set of instructions for a silencer and a bulletproof vest.  Just everything a guy needs for a big, dangerous mission involving a guard dog and his master.  Had Oakes not purchased the items that very day when Stover went missing, he might have had an argument to make that those things weren't unusual to find in his car at all.  Oakes had initially met Stover’s ex-wife when he was hired as her bodyguard (presumably to protect her from Stover, whom she had taken out a protection order against, claiming she had hidden on her property and pointed a gun at her), and it might be an argument that he had the vest, and the rest (all but the bleach), all because they were tools of his body guarding gig.  Of course, the bleach, the receipt showing it was all bought the very day Stover went missing, and his little ploy to sneak out and throw the incriminating evidence into a ravine next to the girlfriend’s house, are very much indicative of consciousness of guilt.  He kept the items as he drove through forests, but decided to throw them out while a deputy watched.  That is almost too dumb to believe – maybe too dumb to live. 

As new information has come out, it throws Oakes in a bit different light,  Was Stover really stalking his ex-wife?  Was she afraid that he’d shoot her next time?  Is that why she hired Oakes to protect her?  I think the answer to all of those questions is yes, and the motive likely comes clearer in knowing this.  As he ‘guarded’ Stover’s ex-wife’s body, the two became romantically involved and were planning a trip to Portland.  Perhaps the motive was that he wanted an end to Stover’s nuisance, and he intended to threaten Stover to  teach him a lesson.  Maybe he went to Stover’s house thinking he was a movie tough-guy body guard who would scare the stalker off.  Perhaps, when Oakes confronted Stover, Stover ordered his guard dog to attack Oakes,  This is consistent with the fact that Oakes had a lot of dog hair on his shirt sleeves when the officer stopped him and warned him not to trespass (the lot where the two vehicles were spotted with plastic between them is private property).  That could mean that the dog – Dingo – had attacked.  Guard dogs are trained to clamp down and hold onto the arm of the person they’re charging.  Also, since the dog received a glancing blow, and from the initial comments it appears that the wound was from above (shooting at a downward angle), Oakes might even have shot the dog when Dingo was already chomping on his arm.  Then, with things out of hand, perhaps Stover says he is calling the police, or maybe makes a dash for his own gun.  Did Oakes then, with the situation out of hand, and likely having visions of a long prison sentence for numerous felonies, pull the trigger?  Perhaps he stopped Stover by threat, warning shot, whatever, and made Stover get in the bathtub, where he shot and killed him to keep him from being the witness that could put Oakes away for a very long time.  Though there was reportedly trace blood found in the bathroom, the room had been doused with bleach, which is sometimes used by people who intend to destroy DNA evidence – and sometimes it does. Is this scenario plausible with what we know of the evidence?  Did Oakes just go to Stover’s house thinking he’d intimidate Stover and thereby keep him from stalking the woman Oakes was hired to protect, and then when things suddenly got out of hand (Did Stover send the dog at him when Oakes entered his house?  When Oakes pulled his 9mm?), Oakes felt he had to kill Stover to try and keep out of jail.  Is that the moment when the big, dangerous mission turned into a job gone bad? 

I think his original plan was to kill Stover for several reasons: first,  the typed ‘suicide’ letter found in Stover’s car is likely to have been typed beforehand.  Second, Oakes bought anchor rope and ankle weights that day, which would make any reasonable person think he planned to sink the body to hide it.  Third, he bought children’s shin guards, something I failed to notice in my first review of the purchases.  Shin guards for an older child would make pretty good forearm protection if one was concerned about a guard dog attacking, it seems to me.  

If this scenario is the really the way it happened then Oakes was damned unlucky that the witness called police about his trespassing.  And then there is the trespassing itself.  The witness reports that the vehicles of both men, just Oakes visible, parked back-to-back with plastic stretched between them and blocking observation of what, if anything, was being transferred between vehicles, the piles of blankets and tarps (which were apparently not in the vehicle when it was searched after arriving at the girlfriend's home in Winthrop); these were all important in putting Oakes in the area at the time.  They go a long way toward showing that Oakes had the opportunity to murder Stover. 

It is likely that police would have looked at Oakes anyway, eventually, just based on his relationship with Stover’s ex-wife.  They might have canvassed all the area stores to see if Oakes had bought anything that tended to incriminate him, but without the receipt they found in his car this would be a manpower intensive effort for a smallish police force.  

When police working the case received a call from the Snohomish County Sherriff putting them in contact with Oakes’ ex-wife,they began looking at Oakes in earnest, since they now had him with opportunity and incriminating statements.   Once the deputy who had spoken with Oakes’ ex-wife alerted the case detectives they immediately left for Winthrop, and found Oakes, the bag and other items including the receipt.  I have this impression of Oakes coming seeing the ex, amped up after the event and saying man, ‘my big dangerous mission went bad!  If the police find what’s in my car I am going to prison for the rest of my life’.  Perhaps his girlfriend had known that he was going to go put the fear of Oakes into Stover, but didn’t expect this.  Or maybe she didn’t know about it at all, and was surprised when Oakes was arrested.  Whatever the scenario with Stover’s ex, we know that Oakes’ ex did the moral thing when she heard Stover was missing.  She called the Sherriff.  She told the investigators what he’d said to her. 

Sadly for Stover’s ex, she isn't such a good judge of men.  At least twice burned, with a possible stalker and a murderer in her last two relationships.  One wonders if she will be gun-shy, as the saying goes, to get involved with a man again?

Update 3:  Additional tidbits emerging from review of court documents:  Added to her allegation that Stover had been on her property and pointed a gun at her, the protection order Stover’s ex sought also indicated that Stover was seen by a neighbor going through her trash.  The ex-wife’s name is now being made public (I’m reluctantly going to use her name also since it is already ‘out there’ now).  Ms. Opdycke has become a licensed private investigator since the couple’s divorce.  By the way, the dog Dingo, a Belgian Malinois, is recovering and expected to make a complete recovery. 

One trivial coincidence was that when the story appeared in the Seattle Times, the two advertisements which were linked to the story were for the Wal-Mart store where Oakes made his purchases and the casino where Stover’s car was found.  Not such a big co-incidence given Google’s ad to content software is so good, but kind of eerie anyway.  The final tidbit for this update is that when police searched Oakes’ laptop they found a receipt for a tactical training school where he had paid to attend a course.  I am working on getting the name of the school to see what tactics they teach in the course.

Update 4 (November 27, 2009):

Attorneys for Michiel Oakes petitioned the court for a reduction in bail from the $5 million initially set when Oakes was arrested.  His counsel pointed to Oakes strong ties to Washington, having raised four children and no criminal history as factors to be considered in setting reasonable bail.  The Superior Court Judge in Skagit County  agreed that Oakes bail should be lowered, and he placed it at $2.5 million.

Divers searched an area of the Swinomish Channel near a highway bridge after cadaver dos alerted in the area.  The search was called off without results, and a police spokesman indicated that although divers may return to the area, the current is so quick at that site that the remains, if they had been placed in the channel, they quite likely would have floated or drifted a great distance.

A weird development in the case is a report from the police investigating the murder that in August a tip was called in saying Stover was carrying drugs.  He was stopped and officers found a small quantity of marijuana in his car.  “There was some odd circumstances about this anonymous tip,” according to Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt.   “There were some (indications) that maybe there was a setup.”  Friends of Stover have told reporters and commented in online forums that Stover was never known to use drugs.  Reichardt would not elaborate as to why he suspected the marijuana found in Stover’s car is likely to have been a setup.

Detectives have said that they were able to locate Stover’s car on surveillance video being parked in the casino parking lot.  No word on whether they were able to identify the driver who parked the car that evening.

Update 5 (December 4, 2009)

Michiel Oakes, the man accused of murdering Mark Stover, will likely be released on bail sometime today.  His original bail was $5,000,000, but the judge reduced it to $2,500,000.  His family may have raised the $250,000 it takes to post the $2.5 million bond.  The judge, in response to prosecution requests, has imposed some extra conditions:  Oakes will be required to wear an ankle locating and tracking bracelet, remain in his home in Renton, and is barred from speaking with about half the witnesses in the case.  The judge granted protection orders for the woman who reported Oakes vehicle next to Stover's at the Grange, and for the accused's ex-wife.  That means that should he contact them he would face an additional felony charge (I wonder how much deterrent that is when facing murder 1?).  Local comments online are virtually unanimously opposed and/or outraged that Oakes may make bail.

Update 6 (December 8, 2009)

Oakes was sent home to a residence south of Seattle today. He posted the $250,000 required to secure the $2.5 million bond. He had actually posted the bond by Sunday, but it took an extra couple of days to get the monitoring ankle bracelet into the Skagit County jail.

Oh, a couple other items: I have been able to track down information from the court filings when the dog trainer, Mark Stover, was indeed arrested for stalking his ex-wife. The allegations were that he repeatedly drove the several hours to her home uninvited, would hide on the property and watch through the windows, exposed himself, made lewd comments on voicemail and made 82 calls after being instructed not to contact his ex-wife anymore. It sounds to me that he was indeed kind of coming unwound a bit.

A lot of people are speculating that the ex-wife put Oakes up to this, but I sort of lean toward a theory of the case that he (Oakes) had been hired as a bodyguard for the ex, and had then become the boyfriend. I think he just wanted the guy out of the way so he could pursue his relationship and his girlfriend could stop being afraid. I don't even know that he would have let her know what he planned to do.

Of course, these are just theories of the case; attempting to anticipate what the prosecution will attempt to prove.  It is mere speculation and we really won’t know much more about what the prosecution thinks happened until the case is brought before a jury.
One rather chilling part of the record from the court documents when his ex had him prosecuted: Stover, a collector of sorts, had owned fifteen or more firearms. As a result of the case, he was ordered not to own any firearms until 2010. Friends said this visibly shook him up. And at least two people would have known that if they came through his door unannounced, he would no longer be able to shoot back. The ex, and her boyfriend, and bodyguard, Michiel Oakes.

 

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