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After Daisy Smith's surgery, Joshua Smith and his father argued frequently over whether to put her in a convalescent home. Sheriff's detectives at the home could not say whether the disagreement led to the killing.
Sheriff's dispatchers received reports that a father had shot his son shortly before 2 p.m. in the 13400 block of Mountain Drive, department spokeswoman Robin Haynal said. Haynal could not officially identify either the suspect or the victim, but friends were mourning the death of Joshua Smith.
His father, James Smith, who, according to property records, owns the home where the shooting occurred, had been a deputy for the Sheriff's Department in Fontana, neighbors and family friends said.
A deputy by that name worked for the department 10 to 15 years ago, Haynal said, though she could not confirm that it was the same man.
"They're looking at that now," she said Friday afternoon. "The details are still sketchy."
She could not confirm whether Joshua Smith's father had been formally arrested. Neighbors said he was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. Daisy Smith was taken for questioning to the nearby Victor Valley sheriff's station, detectives said.
Even before evening in the remote but close-knit neighborhood, dozens of the dead man's friends, ranging from young children to adults, arrived at the home. Some cried as they passed around photos of Joshua Smith, whom they remembered for his character and sense of humor.
"There was never a time when he didn't make you laugh," said Colleen Trusk, 17, who said she has lived around the corner from the Smiths for the past five years.
Children as young as 8 who knew Joshua Smith from the local community center, where he refereed youth basketball games, arrived on their bicycles after hearing the news. Men and women in their 40s remembered watching him play football. His teenage friends brought candles to erect a shrine outside the home.
"He was such a good kid. He was like a son to me," said Gary Mooney, who said he was the father of one of Joshua Smith's closest friends.
Mooney and several others who gathered Friday said Joshua Smith's father had been shot on the job and left the Sheriff's Department years ago. They recalled exchanging pleasant banter with the father at high school football games, but said he also was a disciplinarian.
Shawn Clayton, 26, another friend of Joshua Smith, said the two had been planning to go to a rock concert together next month in Corona.
"Just yesterday I called him about it," Clayton said. "Josh was excited. He said, 'I gotta go. No excuses. I'll be there.' "
When asked the name of the band they were going to see, Clayton shook his head and paused.
"Six Feet Under," he said, visibly shaken.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
By CECILIA POTTS and JAMES CRISWELL/Staff Writer
HESPERIA — Neighbors said they heard shots, but didn't think anything of
it because it just isn't that kind of neighborhood.
Joshua Smith, 20, was shot in the chest in the living room of his parents'
13462 Mountain Drive home on Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. He was dead by
the time emergency personnel arrived, said officials from the San
Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
"He was such a good kid," said Marie Degnan, a neighbor. "He didn't
deserve this."
Joshua had just turned 20 years old on Tuesday.
Initial reports by Sheriff's Department officials said Joshua and his
father, Jim Smith, were involved in a domestic dispute. The dispute
escalated and shots were fired. The incident is under investigation by the
sheriff's homicide division.
Neighbors Degnan and Letti Wildey said that Joshua and Jim Smith had
disagreements in the past. Those arguments were over Joshua's mother, who
was ill. Neighbors also reported that Jim was a retired sheriff's deputy
who had worked in Fontana.
Witnesses said that when Jim Smith left the crime scene he was not in
handcuffs, but he did leave in a squad car.
"He didn't really talk about his father. You could tell they fought. They
fought a lot," said Brittany Mooney, 17, a friend of Joshua. Joshua was
best friends with 15-year-old Ryan Mooney's, Brittany's brother. She also
said that Joshua and his father fought about his Joshua's mother.
"I hate him," Brittany said of Joshua's father.
Neighbors said Joshua had postponed a college scholarship in order to take
care of his mother.
The entire neighborhood was in shock. Joshua was said to be a friend to
almost everyone and to have a soft-spot for the younger children.
"He (Josh) was like a big brother to all the kids around here," said
Jennifer Mooney, Brittany and Ryan's mother. "He was an example to all the
kids. He was so well loved. He will be missed."
People in the neighborhood held a vigil on Friday night.
Officials with the Sheriff's Department and the San Bernardino County
Coroner's office have released no further information about Joshua Smith's
death.
San
Bernardino Leaders Want to Boost Police Force
08:56 AM PDT on Monday, August 23, 2004
By KAREN GAUDETTE / The Press-Enterprise
SAN BERNARDINO - City leaders want more police on the streets, where eight
people have been shot to death this month in apparently unrelated crimes.
And with the ink on the city's $120.8 million budget barely dry, they're
already looking for ways to afford the 25 additional officers Chief
Garrett Zimmon says he needs to fully staff a beat-patrol system the
department launched in January.
The council last week adopted a spending plan that preserves department
jobs the city had considered cutting to balance its budget. It also agreed
to discuss long-term funding and to have an ad hoc committee look into it.
Zimmon told the council that the extra officers would enable the
department to patrol its assigned beats 24 hours a day. He hopes to add
the officers over the next five years.
Councilwoman Wendy McCammack told her colleagues that the expansion likely
would cost $3 million per year for the officers and equipment.
To fund it, the city will look to a variety of sources, including federal
grants from the justice and Homeland Security departments, court fees and
potential state legislation to recoup the costs of writing criminal
citations and court time. Another idea is to create a parcel tax dedicated
to funding officers for the beat plan.
The city probably would conduct a public opinion poll of likely voters to
gauge support. Such a change would require approval by a two-thirds
majority.
In a city survey taken last December, 146 residents from throughout San
Bernardino ranked gang prevention and neighborhood police substations as
top priorities on a list of 31 city services.
Police continue to consume the lion's share of the city's budget. In
2004-05, the department is to receive about 40 percent of the general
fund, the pot of money that also pays for parks, street maintenance and
the Fire Department.
Early versions of the budget called for eliminating several police
positions that had been funded by federal grants. The same day last month
the police union held a rally decrying the proposed cuts, Mayor Judith
Valles announced those positions would be restored using
larger-than-expected revenue from taxes and the motor vehicle license fee.
19 charged in bail scheme
12:26 AM PST on Friday, January
30, 2004 By
JOHN F. BERRY / The Press-Enterprise
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, after a two-year
investigation into a bail-bond kickback scheme, filed charges Thursday
against 19 people, including three bail-bond company owners, a former
sheriff's deputy and an attorney.
The scheme involved bail agents paying inmates for referrals while they
were in jail, Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Kersey said by phone.
The ongoing investigation so far has focused on two companies: Tidwell
Bail Bonds in San Bernardino and Boone's Bail Bonds, which has offices in
San Bernardino and Fontana.
Daniel and Shirley Tidwell, who are husband and wife, co-own Boone's Bail
Bonds. Daniel Tidwell, 59, was charged with embezzlement. Shirley Tidwell,
43, was charged with a notary violation and filing a forged document. They
were both charged with unlawfully soliciting bail.
Steve Tidwell, owner of Tidwell Bail Bonds, was charged with unlawfully
soliciting bail.
Brothers Daniel and Steve Tidwell are the sons of former San Bernardino
County Sheriff Floyd Tidwell, Kersey said.
The Tidwells could not be reached for comment Thursday.
The other 16 people face a variety of charges, ranging from conspiracy to
solicit bail to possession of an assault weapon.
Most of the 19 charged were inmates or worked for bail-bond companies,
officials said. Also among them were Attorney Geoffrey Newman, of Rancho
Cucamonga, and Mike Steele, of Hesperia, a former sheriff's deputy. They
could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Notices were sent to the 19 to appear in court on Feb. 18 or had warrants
issued for their arrests.
Honest bail firms lost business because of the kickback scheme, Kersey
said. The investigation is continuing, she said.
Six San Bernardino County sheriff's officials and two investigators from
the California Department of Insurance have been working on the case for
about a year, she said.
Sheriff Penrod loses ethics
code challenge
Superior Court judge rules Board of
Supervisors actions were constitutional
Administration/Courts/Police
Friday, August 29, 2003 By
CHRISTINA L. ESPARZA/Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO — A judge has rejected Sheriff Gary Penrod's legal
challenge to a law that gives the Board of Supervisors power to oust an
elected official for misconduct, officials said Thursday.
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Tara Reilly ruled Wednesday
that the board's actions were constitutional, according to Deputy County
Counsel Andrew Hartzell.
Penrod filed suit against the board last year after it attempted to pass a
code of conduct for elected officials.
Under the code, the Board of Supervisors could remove an elected official
from office with a four-fifths vote. An elected county official could be
removed for flagrantly and repeatedly neglecting duties, breaking the law
related to his or her duties, misappropriating public property or
falsifying official documents.
Penrod argued in his lawsuit that this type of ordinance
unconstitutionally keeps elected officials under the thumb of the board,
when they should be accountable only to the voters.
"The judge's ruling supports the charter provision," Hartzell said. "Her
decision was that the ordinance was, on its face, constitutional."
The charter, established in the early 1900s, states the board has power to
remove an elected official with cause, Hartzell said. The ordinance in
dispute outlines specific misconduct as cause, he added.
Penrod said Thursday many ordinances in the charter are outdated and full
of "bizarre rules" — and this is one of them.
"The sheriff, the (district attorney) and the assessor are all state
constitutional officials," he said. "I'm elected by the people of the
county. ... I do not work for the Board of Supervisors."
He argues that the judge basically ruled that the county charter holds
more weight than the state constitution and said he is probably going to
appeal Reilly's decision — not because he doesn't get along with the
board, but to protect future sheriffs from future supervisors.
The taxpayers have already shelled out $66,000 for Penrod's suit. That
includes $25,000 paid to his lawyers, an expenditure approved by the board
last month.
Local Drug Plan
Scored: SB County Gets "F"
Drugs/Courts/Police
URL:
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1148/a03.html
Be a Newshawk -
http://www.mapinc.org/hawk.htm
Pubdate: Thu, 28 Jun 2001
Source: San Bernardino
Sun (CA)
In a blistering report on the county's plan to implement Proposition 36, a
national drug policy foundation on Wednesday said the county is bolstering
the criminal justice system instead of emphasizing drug treatment.
The Lindesmith Center, which backed the measure that mandates treatment
over incarceration as an alternative to the nation's war on drugs, gave
San Bernardino County its lowest grade: F.
The New York-based center criticized the county's budget for drug
treatment, its lack of treatment services and its failure to have meetings
to garner public reaction.
"San Bernardino County has ignored the will of the voters," the report
said. "It has an implementation plan that is likely to fail."
Founded by billionaire financier George Soros, a major sponsor of
theProposition 36 initiative, the Lindesmith Center evaluated plans
submitted byCalifornia's 11 largest counties to the state Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs.
County officials on Wednesday defended their preparation to implement
Proposition 36, which takes effect Sunday.
The center's findings angered Bob Hillis, deputy director of the county
Office of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
"I really think it's done our county a disservice," he said. "I don't
think Lindesmith has a clue what's happened here in this county."
The county proposal calls for a probation officer to be the first to
evaluate drug offenders after they are sentenced by a judge. That goes
against the goal of Proposition 36, said Whitney Taylor, the Lindesmith
Center's statewide implementation director.
"That's like going to a lawyer if your kidney hurts," she said.
Probation is part of drug treatment, said Dave Oberhelman, director of
adult services for the county Probation Department.
"We are not something outside of that treatment circle," he said. "It's
unfair to give us an F. We're one of the pioneers of drug court programs."
Taylor said the county could have quality programs but the plan she
reviewed was vague, confusing and poorly written. She said it didn't
mention detoxification services, although it "kind of alluded to it."
"They mentioned intervention," Taylor said, "but it was too vague."
Hillis said the plan was intentionally written that way, in a general
nature so the county would have more control of and flexibility in dealing
with cases, and not be "pinned down by the state."
San Bernardino County received the lowest rating among the 11 counties
evaluated by Lindesmith. Riverside County received an overall grade of C,
while San Francisco earned an A, the highest.
Lindesmith's criticism isn't the first directed at the San Bernardino
County program.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Patrick Morris, who declined to
comment on the center's report Wednesday, complained at a May 22 meeting
of the county Board of Supervisors that the plan wouldn't be effective in
treating drug offenders.
He cited reasons such as a lack of both training for judges and an
emphasis on treatment.
"I'm concerned about what our plan does not say," Morris told the board
last month. "It fails to specify how we're going to treat this
population."
Assistant District Attorney Jim Hackleman said the county will be
successful, despite the center's findings.
"With no disrespect to the Lindesmith Center, I would far rather be judged
on what we do and what we accomplish locally," he said. "If this was
simply a sham and we weren't providing treatment, this would be a great
waste of time for everyone."
Hackleman said the District Attorney's Office isn't going to change its
guidelines on how drug offenders will be charged, an area of which
Lindesmith was particularly critical.
San Bernardino County Assistant Presiding Judge J. Michael Welch said the
Lindesmith Center's report card is unfair in comparing San Bernardino and
San Francisco counties because the two are so different.
San Francisco is "a city and county where the infrastructure is already
there to provide treatment," he said. "Everything is in a central
location, and they have probation officers. They got an A because they can
afford to take 90 percent of their money and put it into treatment. San
Bernardino ( County ) can't do that."
Interim County Administrator John Michaelson said the center's report
incorrectly lists a $5.4million budget for Proposition 36 implementation
here. He said the county's budget for all services is $11.4 million.
Michaelson, however, said the county should have started to prepare for
Proposition 36 earlier but was sidetracked by other matters, including
corruption scandals.
Unarmed Man Dies in Modesto Police High-Speed Chase
Police
August 20, 2004
MODESTO -- A wanted parolee fleeing from police died last night, after
officers said he ran a red light at a high rate of speed.
The fugitive crashed into another vehicle with four occupants. Those
occupants were transported to local hospitals with non-serious injuries.
The parolee was pronounced dead at the scene.
26-year old Isaias G. Diaz of Modesto was wanted by Parole officials.
Members of the Modesto Police Street Crimes Unit were conducting
surveillance at a suspected hideout of Diaz. They said they spotted a
subject matching his description get into a Honda Civic registered to
Diaz. The officers attempted to make a traffic stop when Diaz fled
westbound on Hatch Road west of Highway 99 at a high rate of speed.
The officers activated their red lights and sirens in pursuit of Diaz.
Diaz was driving at an estimated speed of 80 miles per hour west on Hatch
Road approaching a red light intersection of W. Hatch Road and
Crowslanding Road. Diaz made no attempt to slow down or stop, according to
the Highway Patrol collision report.
34-year old Jessie Ortiz of Modesto was northbound in his 1973 Oldsmobile,
with two other adult passengers and a four-year-old child when he entered
the intersection on a green light.
Ortiz attempted to stop his car when he saw Diaz was not slowing down.
Police say Diaz collided with Ortiz's car, spinning into the southbound
lanes of Crowslanding Road. Diaz's vehicle struck the light signal pole on
the northwest corner of the intersection. Paramedics pronounced Diaz dead
at the scene. Ortiz's family was transported by ambulance to local
hospitals for non-serious injuries. Since the collision occurred in the
county intersection, the Highway Patrol conducted the fatal traffic
investigation.
Diaz, a second striker from prison and violent offender, was a wanted
parolee at large with documented gang affiliation and prior assault with a
deadly weapon charges.
"The Modesto Police Department is committed to stemming the tide of rising
gang violence. The newly formed Street Crimes Unit will come into contact
with violent gang offenders who have led a lifetime of violence. These
criminals do not want to be incarcerated and we are committed to locking
them up to make our streets safer for everyone," said Asst. Chief Harden.
Copyright © 2004, KTXL
Another Chase - 80 mph in Residential Area
Police
Jannise Johnson, (909) 483-9318
MONTCLAIR - A 27-year-old man was arrested late Friday night after he led
police on a high-speed chase through a residential area. The chase
began after Edward Fabian Osorio of San Bernardino failed to pull over for
a Montclair officer at 11:15 p.m., police said.
The three-minute pursuit reached speeds up to 80 mph and took place in a
residential area between Monte Vista and Ramona Avenues south of Howard
Street and north of Grand Avenue.
The chase ended when Osorio ran his 1984 Chevrolet Impala onto a curb and
flattened one of his front tires.
Osorio was booked into West Valley Detention Center on suspicion of felony
evading as well as an outstanding robbery warrant. He's being held in lieu
of $50,000 for evading and $205,000 for the warrants.
Cop Teaches Lesson for Disobeying - 1 Death, 6 Injuries Just Collateral
Damage
[He was in control, "driving on the
sidewalk," so Brownie thought it best to spook him with the blinky-honky
and start a Bonnie & Clyde through masses of innocents?]
Police
POSTED: 11:10 a.m. PDT August 11, 2004 UPDATED: 12:08 p.m. PDT August 11,
2004
Story by nbcsandiego.com
EL CAJON, Calif. -- El Cajon police identified an East County woman who
was killed Tuesday when a suspected car thief ran a stoplight while
running from the police.
Officials also revealed the suspect's identity.
"All of a sudden, you hear screeching you, see this car come flying out of
nowhere," a witness said, describing the afternoon crash in the 300 block
of Main Street.
Authorities said that a patrol car was chasing Paul John Taitague, who
ignored the officer's flashing lights and siren. According to police,
Taitague sped west for a few blocks until he reached the Johnson Avenue,
where he ran a red light and T-boned Linda Soper's car.
Soper's car then slammed into several other vehicles in the intersection.
Soper, 47, died at the scene, according to Keith Loftis, who saw the crash
and its aftermath, but not before sending a message to her husband.
"She said to tell her husband she loves him and she was complaining
breathing problems and that was it," said Loftis.
Soper was just a block from home when she died. Her family said that she
had been in a good time in her life -- she had just became a grandmother
and had recently found the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life
with.
"This is a tragedy for our whole family," said Soper's daughter-in-law
Deanne Collins.
"Through pretty much anything, she was always still smiling, she always
saw the silver lining," said Soper's son Joshua Collins. "Stupid little
stuff that didn't need to happen kills people that really matter."
The El Cajon Police Department would not comment about its pursuit policy,
but they did tell NBC 7/39 that suspect was driving on the sidewalk and
putting people in danger when officers made the decision to pursue him.
Seven other people were injured in the crash.
LAPD Captain Pleads No Contest to Selling Bootleg DVDs from Friend's Salon
August 21, 2004
The 28-year LAPD veteran makes decision after judge reduces charges of DVD
piracy to misdemeanors.
A decorated LAPD captain pleaded no contest Friday to charges she sold
bootleg DVDs of recently released movies out of a friend's nail salon in
Seal Beach.
Before Capt. Julie D. Nelson entered her plea, the judge reduced the
piracy charges to misdemeanors, which could save the 28-year veteran's job
and pension.
Sheriff, lawyer looking for
Tidwell guns
01:48 AM PDT on Tuesday, August 17,
2004 By SHARON McNARY / The
Press-Enterprise
Got guns?
To report possession of a weapon issued by ex-Sheriff Floyd Tidwell, call
the Sheriff's Property Division at (909) 387-8838.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod has a request of anybody who
ever got a weapon from former Sheriff Floyd Tidwell: Tell the sheriff's
department about the gun. You might even get to keep it.
Tidwell pleaded guilty in May to four felony charges of possessing stolen
property. Prosecutors believe he took 523 department weapons while sheriff
from 1983 to 1991.
Tidwell's defense attorney David Call made a different offer Monday: Give
him your Tidwell-issued weapons, and he will transfer them to the
sheriff's department while keeping your name secret.
"I've had people call me up and say, 'I've got a Tidwell gun,'" and want
to turn it in, but they don't want to be identified or involved in a
criminal case, Call said.
"People said, 'I don't want to be drug (sic) through a knot hole.'" Call
said. "If you believe you got a gun through the Tidwell administration, I
won't turn in your name."
In a letter to be sent today to a few thousand current and former
sheriff's personnel, reservists, volunteers and county residents, Penrod
said Tidwell broke state and departmental rules when he gave out the
weapons and Penrod appealed for their return.
The missing weapons will be declared stolen 60 days from today, and
anybody caught possessing them could face criminal charges, the letter
says.
However, anybody notifying the department by mid-October that they have
weapons from Tidwell can explain how and when they got them, and why they
kept them, thereby avoiding prosecution, the letter said.
"For some individuals this will require surrender of the weapon to the
sheriff's department and for others an update of our records will be
sufficient," Penrod's letter said.
In some instances, the current possessor of the gun will be able to keep
it, the letter said.
Tidwell is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 4 on the felony charges.
However, in a plea deal with prosecutors, he agreed to help locate the
weapons and submit to interviews in exchange for reducing the charges to
misdemeanors with no jail time and a $10,000 fine. The plea deal also gave
immunity to anybody who cooperated with the guns inquiry.
District Attorney Michael Ramos and Penrod now disagree over whether
Tidwell is cooperating enough to get his charges reduced.
The district attorney's office sent Tidwell a letter last month requiring
him to cooperate in the recovery of the guns as well as an investigation
into his two sons' bail bond business in order to receive consideration
for the reduced sentence.
Penrod has said that Tidwell's return of guns signifies cooperation.
Tidwell has turned in some guns through Call, but he has not submitted to
an interview with prosecutors.
"I'm disappointed in that," Call said, referring to Ramos' position. "I
don't feel like I've been non-cooperating."
Tidwell should not have to be interviewed about the criminal case
involving two of his sons, Call said. Sons Steven and Danial Tidwell are
accused of paying jail inmates to solicit bail bond business from other
inmates. Steven Tidwell pleaded guilty. Danial Tidwell pleaded not guilty
and is awaiting trial.
Sheriff seeks pilfered guns
By JOE NELSON, STAFF WRITER
San Bernardino County Sheriff Gary Penrod issued a letter Tuesday to his
personnel, reserve deputies and some county residents requesting that
anyone who received a gun from former Sheriff Floyd Tidwell notify the
department's property division.
Some rank-and-file deputies and department volunteers, current and former,
may be able to keep their guns once they notify the Sheriff's Department
for record-keeping purposes, Penrod's letter said.
"This will be judged on a case-by-case basis and will consider the reason
the individual retained the weapon, their status as a peace officer, the
type of weapon issued, etc.," Penrod's letter said. "For some individuals,
this will require the surrender of the weapon to the Sheriff's Department
and for others an update of our records will be sufficient."
Tidwell, who served as sheriff from 1983 to 1991, pleaded guilty in May to
four felony counts of concealing stolen property in connection with the
pilfering of 523 guns from the Sheriff's Department property room during
his tenure. The guns were given mainly to department staff and reserve
deputies.
Under a plea agreement with county prosecutors, Tidwell, 74, could have
his felony counts reduced to misdemeanors if he continues cooperating with
prosecutors in their investigation and retrieval of the guns.
"I can tell you that Floyd Tidwell has been asked several times to be
interviewed by the (district attorney's) task force, and he has not agreed
to an interview," said Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Kersey, who is
prosecuting Tidwell.
Tidwell is scheduled to be sentenced in San Bernardino Superior Court on
Nov. 4. He likely faces no prison or jail time if convicted under
misdemeanor charges.
"If he hasn't been interviewed by the time of his sentencing, I would
advise the court ... that basically he is not cooperating with law
enforcement," Kersey said. "Our position would be that his felony should
stand."
District Attorney Michael A. Ramos said that while the pending plea
agreement may strike some as lenient, his office took into consideration
Tidwell's long-standing, untarnished 30-year career with the San
Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, the fact he has no prior criminal
offenses and that Tidwell cooperated with authorities from the beginning.
"There was never any political pressure put on me. We to this day feel we
made the right decision," Ramos said. "(Tidwell) pleaded guilty at
arraignment. We were ready to go all the way through trial. There has been
no conduct on the part of the District Attorney's Office or the Sheriff's
Department regarding anything people want to speculate."
The case went to Kersey instead of the office's public integrity unit
solely because the investigation into the former sheriff was triggered by
Kersey's in-progress investigation into suspected unscrupulous bail bond
practices by Tidwell's two sons, he said.
"It ended up with Kersey because it was an offshoot of the bail bonds
case," Ramos said. "This probably would have been assigned to the public
integrity unit. I consider this a public integrity case. The only reason
why it wasn't is because it just made sense. Cheryl Kersey had all the
facts through her bail bond investigation."
Sheriff's detectives served search warrants at the homes of Danial Tidwell
and Steven Tidwell in June, looking for evidence of illegal bail bond
practices, when 24 guns reportedly were found that were said to have been
given to them by their father.
The former sheriff subsequently returned about 90 guns to sheriff's
investigators in the fall, and sheriff's deputies recovered about 35 more
after the case went public, sheriff's Sgt. Chris Elvert said.
"Some were shotguns, some were rifles, and some were handguns," Elvert
said.
He said most of the guns Tidwell is believed to have distributed were in
the process of being destroyed or auctioned off.
Tidwell's attorney, David Call, said he and Tidwell have been cooperating
fully with law enforcement. He said retrieving the guns has been a
complicated process made more complex with the passage of time.
"We suspect people who did receive firearms and we're talking 30 years ago
passed on and left firearms with their families," Call said. "I'm going to
have to go through some probate records, and that takes some time and
delicacy. Some people are worried about grandpa's name being in the
paper."
The case's high publicity, Call said, is a problem for many of the gun
holders, who are reluctant to come forward and get involved in the
criminal investigation. Some longtime reserve deputies are afraid they may
lose their reserve-deputy status.
"We're talking about people, some of whom are responsible and high-profile
people, and it's through that that there's an agreement they won't be
prosecuted," Call said. "They may very well be embarrassed or could be
financially hurt. I think it's more important to collect firearms than the
names of the people who give them."
The sheriff's letter to spur department personnel and volunteers into
action, Call believes, is a good idea.
"We're hoping this letter will produce more firearms," Call said, adding
that he has collected between 25 and 40 guns for the Sheriff's Department
and District Attorney's Office since the criminal investigation began.
Penrod's letter Tuesday said many of the weapons Tidwell gave to his staff
and residents were not issued in accordance with state law and department
policy.
Any gun not returned to or cleared by the Sheriff's Department within 60
days as of Tuesday will be declared stolen, and possessors of the guns may
face prosecution, Penrod's letter said.
To report a gun possibly given by Tidwell, contact Deputy Kasey Decoud at
the sheriff's property division at (909) 387-8838.
Jail
worker suspected of sex acts with minor
By MELISSA PINION-WHITT, Staff Writer
A civilian jail employee has been arrested on suspicion of committing ex
acts with a 15-year-old Yucaipa girl, authorities said Thursday. aniel
Leonard Aul, 22, of Ontario was arrested without incident ednesday at the
Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles here he was employed as a
custody assistant, sheriff's officials aid.
Ontario police Cpl. David McBride said his office began investigating ul
on Tuesday when someone contacted police.
"The investigation centered around incidents that occurred between ay and
June of this year,' McBride said.
Aul was arrested on suspicion of unlawful sex with a minor, oral opulation
and penetration with a foreign object. He was booked into est Valley
Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga where he was held in ieu of $100,000.
Police said there was more than one encounter between Aul and the een, but
only one of the incidents occurred in the 3000 block of ast Fox Glen Loop
in the Creekside area of Ontario, McBride said.
Detectives were expected to present their case to the San Bernardino ounty
District Attorney's Office on Thursday.
Aul began working for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at win
Towers on Dec.2, 1999, sheriff's Deputy Bill Spear said. Aul's uties at
the jail did not involve contact with prisoners, such as he booking of
inmates, Spear said.
New child-sex charges face former Inland officer
INTERNET: The Riverside resident pleads not guilty to four federal
counts in the Wisconsin case.
12:01 AM PDT on Saturday, June 26, 2004
By LISA O'NEILL HILL and DOUGLAS QUAN / The Press-Enterprise
Former Riverside police Officer Adam Brown, indicted in connection with a
widespread child-sex and Internet pornography ring, pleaded not guilty
Friday to four federal charges in Green Bay, Wis., court officials said.
The 31-year-old Riverside man initially was charged with one count of
crossing state lines with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a
child. Earlier this month, a grand jury indicted Brown on a second count
of the crossing state lines charge, plus two counts of producing child
pornography.
If convicted of the federal charges, Brown could spend the rest of his
life in prison and be fined a maximum of $250,000 on each count. His trial
is set for Nov. 15.
Former Riverside police Officer Adam Brown's trial is set for Nov. 15.
Three other men, Kurt D. Sandvig of Kansas City and William N. Martin and
Joel W. Kline, both of Beaver Dam, Wis., also have been charged with
similar crimes. Martin is accused of organizing the encounters between
boys from his neighborhood and the other men in Beaver Dam.
Kline has pleaded guilty to all of the charges and could spend the rest of
his life in prison. He is due for sentencing in September.
Brown's arrest in February stemmed from an investigation that started in
Michigan. The investigation, which is ongoing, has resulted in at least 21
arrests in 10 states.
Brown also faces charges in Riverside County and in Dodge County, Wis.
In April, the Riverside County district attorney's office filed 65 felony
charges against Brown. He is charged with sexually abusing four boys in
Riverside from 1998 through at least 2002. Brown has not entered a plea in
the Riverside case.
The Dodge County district attorney's office has filed four first- degree
sexual assault charges against Brown. He has pleaded not guilty.
A police detective in Lake Delton, Wis. - about an hour's drive from
Beaver Dam - said Friday that he has sent the Sauk County district
attorney's office a case that advocates charges against Brown and Martin.
Lake Delton police Detective Kurt Goodreau said he would like nine counts
of sexual assault against a child under 13 filed against Brown for trips
he took with children to a Lake Delton water park in October and November
of 2002 and 2003. Goodreau also said he advocated that two felonies be
charged against Martin.
Goodreau said Brown is believed to have victimized six or seven boys.
Inappropriate photographs of boys at the water park, in a hotel room and
in a spa were found in Martin's home when he was arrested. The detective
has said he did not know whether Brown had any photographs.
The Sauk County district attorney's office said no charges have been filed
in the case.
Fontana man executed in struggle for flashlight
By
JANNISE JOHNSON,
STAFF WRITER
FONTANA - The Fontana Police officer who shot and killed a 22-year- old
Fontana man in a struggle for the officer's flashlight is not criminally
liable for the shooting, according to the San Bernardino County District
Attorney's office. Randy Jon Perchez, who lived on the 14000 block of
Chaparral Avenue, was shot once in the left side of his chest and once in
the abdomen as an officer attempted to detain two men who were seen
running during a gang investigation around 5:27 p.m. Feb. 21.
A struggle began between the officer and Perchez over the officer's
flashlight, and Perchez was fatally shot, according to the San Bernardino
County Coroner's report.
The police department is withholding the officer's name, citing a concern
for his safety because of a gang element.
"It's an officer safety issue and we have identified gangs involved in
this incident," Fontana Police Chief Frank Scialdone said.
The incident occurred after a Fontana officer suspected several men of
loitering in the 14100 block of Chaparral Avenue, the original Fontana
Police Department report stated.
During the investigation, an officer spotted two men running out the back
door of a house near where the group had been standing, police said.
Benjamin Y. Gonzales, supervising district attorney of the Fontana office,
said there was no clear-cut finding either against the officers' actions
or in favor of them, largely because there were two witness accounts of
the same incident, he said.
"There are several legal arenas where the conduct of an officer can
be looked at," Gonzales said. "We are strictly concerned with the criminal
aspect of it."
For instance, the district attorney's report states that the officer told
investigators he kicked Perchez after he tried to get up after being
ordered to stay on the ground.
Osbleider Pineda, 17, a friend of Perchez who was with him at the time,
told investigators that the officer kicked Perchez on his side several
times and stomped on him before he tried to get up.
Pineda said Perchez struggled with the flashlight because the officer was
choking him with it and he was unable to breathe. Marie Catherine Olivas,
Perchez's mother, said her son had asthma. The coroner's report stated
also that Perchez suffered from mild emphysema.
The officer told investigators he grabbed Perchez and wrapped his left arm
around his neck. Perchez struggled with him and attempted to take his
flashlight away.
Pineda said the officer was choking the breath out of Perchez while
holding both hands around either end of the flashlight.
Perchez's family and friends dispute that shooting was the only way to
subdue the young man at the time of the incident.
Perchez's family and friends knew he had his faults. But they never
expected him to die by a policeman's bullet less than a block away from
his home.
"I'm not trying to say (Perchez) was an angel, but he didn't deserve
that," Olivas said during a February interview.
The coroner's report stated Perchez had both Marijuana and Methamphetamine
in his system at the time of the struggle.
The department plans to conclude its administrative investigation in the
next week now that it has received the District Attorney's report,
Scialdone said.
Olivas filed a civil claim against the city and the Fontana Police
Department. Scialdone said he could not discuss specifics of the incident
because of the claim.
Staff Writer Melissa Pinion-Whitt contributed to this report.
DA won't charge Fontana officer in fatal shooting
INVESTIGATION: A man was killed during a struggle. Police say he was
resisting arrest.
12:45 AM PDT on Friday,
June 25, 2004 By ELENA ARNOLD / The Press-Enterprise
The San Bernardino County district attorney will not file criminal charges
against a Fontana police officer who shot and killed a 22- year-old
Fontana man in February, officials said Thursday.
An attorney for the dead man's family called the decision "wretched."
"There is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
Officer No. 1's fatal shooting of Randy Perchez constituted a criminal
homicide," wrote Supervising Deputy District Attorney Ben Gonzales in a
report released Thursday.
Fontana police officials requested that, for safety reasons, the officer's
name not be used in the report, said Fontana Police Chief Frank Scialdone.
He said the officer is a seven-year veteran of the force.
/The report said that officer fired out of fear for his life during a
struggle with Perchez over a flashlight.
Perchez's family and Pasadena-based civil rights attorney John Barton said
they find the recorded accounts of that night hard to believe.
They wonder how the 5-foot 3-inch tall, 120-pound Perchez could pose a
threat to the officer, they said.
"I'm in law enforcement," said Perchez's mom, Cathy Olivas. "I always
taught him not to run from officers. For the life of me, I cannot see him
fighting a cop."
About 5:30 p.m. Feb. 21, Fontana gang and patrol officers approached
several men they believed to be gang members who were standing outside a
home in the 14100 block of Chaparral Avenue, the report said.
One of the men ran into the front yard of a nearby home, dropping a 9 mm
handgun as he fled, the report said.
The officer who would later be involved in the shooting drove one block
south of the Chaparral Avenue address in case the man police were looking
for fled out the back of the home he had entered.
The officer left his patrol car and was searching for the man who had
dropped the gun when he heard someone jumping over a fence and saw two
people running from the area, the report said.
The officer ordered them to the ground and, as he walked between two cars
in a driveway, he saw Randy Perchez and another man lying on their
stomachs with their hands out, the report said.
The officer told investigators he kicked Perchez, who was trying to get
up, the report said.
Perchez got up and ran, the report said. The officer caught Perchez,
wrapped his arm around Perchez's neck and pulled him back, the report
said. The officer was holding a flashlight with his left hand, the report
said.
The officer told investigators that Perchez grabbed the flashlight and
would not obey repeated commands to let it go, the report said.
"Believing he was about to be disarmed and possibly injured or killed,
Officer No. 1 decided he needed to end this struggle immediately," the
report said.
The officer fired, hitting Perchez in the abdomen. Perchez tried to grab
the flashlight and the officer fired a second time, hitting Perchez in the
chest, the report said. Perchez died at the scene.
For Barton, the report contains more questions than answers.
"Where is the call for backup?" he asked. "Why did the officer stop Randy
in the first place? What crime was he committing?"
Gonzales said the two primary witnesses to the shooting, the officer and
the man with Perchez, gave slightly different interpretations of what
happened.
The other witness told investigators that Perchez was out of breath and
was only trying to get the flashlight and the officer's arm away from his
neck.
"It's reasonable for him to think that," Gonzales said by phone.
The officer, however, also was reasonable in thinking that his life was in
danger if Perchez gained control of his flashlight, he said.
"The issue revolves around what's going through people's minds," Gonzales
said.
Gonzales explained in the report that because people's perceptions of
events varied, investigators relied mostly on circumstantial evidence and
inferences and deductions made from the evidence.
"In that situation, the law mandates that if there are two reasonable
interpretations that can be arrived at, one pointing to innocence and one
pointing to guilt, the one pointing to innocence must be adopted."
Scialdone said the report is the last item needed to complete an
administrative review of the shooting. Such reviews are standard procedure
for the department.
"We have an internal review to see if there was any policy violated," he
said
Reach Elena Arnold at (909) 806-3064
LA Police Chief to Review Policy Allowing Flashlights as Weapons
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LA police Chief William Bratton says he will eview the
policy allowing officers to use flashlights as weapons. hat's after an
officer used his flashlight to pummel a suspected car hief who appeared to
have already been subdued.
The Wednesday beating of 36 year-old Stanley Miller, who is black,
inflamed tensions in Los Angeles, and drew comparisons to the 1991 eating
of Rodney King.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the officer seen in televised ootage
striking Miller with the flashlight has told investigators he hought
Miller had a gun.
Miller's attorney says that's preposterous, since his client was narmed.
Copyright © 2004 KABC-TV and the Associated Press.
LA Police Chief to Review Policy Allowing
Flashlights as Weapons
Indio Jail Sex Probe: 3 Deputies on Leave
Investigation may end in criminal charges. Acts with inmates were
likely consensual, sheriff says.
By Lance Pugmire, Times Staff Writer
Three male Riverside County Sheriff's deputies have been placed on
administrative leave for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with
female inmates at the county jail in Indio, authorities said Tuesday.
Sheriff Bob Doyle said the inappropriate sexual contact was discovered in
May when jail authorities reviewed "monitored communications" among
inmates, although he declined to say whether those included telephone
conversations or inmate letters.
Doyle said the investigation has shown that the sexual activity began as
early as April.
"We don't think it had gone on too long, and we think the pool [of
deputies and inmates involved] was limited," Doyle said. "We've been
investigating this for a while, and we've come up with three deputies, and
we think that could be it."
Doyle and a sheriff's spokesman declined to discuss the specifics of the
allegations.
Sheriff's spokesman Earl Quinata described the alleged misconduct as
"criminal," and said that the findings from the sheriff's internal
investigation unit would be forwarded to prosecutors for a review and
could result in charges being filed as soon as next week.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney said sexual contact between
inmates and guards is a felony, because state law forbids law enforcement
officers from abusing the power of their position to engage in sex with
inmates, whether consensual or forced.
Doyle declined to say whether other deputies were aware of the alleged
misconduct and failed to report the crimes. He said the investigation
showed that the sexual contact between the guards and the inmates appeared
to be consensual.
"Again, this [investigation] started because of monitored inmate
conversations; no [inmate] came to us complaining about it," Doyle said.
"So far, it would appear to be [consensual]."
The investigation has included "a significant amount" of interviews with
Indio jail inmates, including those who have been subsequently released or
transferred to state prison, Doyle said.
Plan to bar law enforcement officers from oversight board will go to a
committee
Riverside Will Study Change in Police Panel
By Seema Mehta, Times Staff Writer
A proposal to bar law enforcement officers from serving on Riverside's
Community Police Review Commission needs further study, the City Council
decided Tuesday night.
Two councilmen have said they proposed the ban to ensure the independence
of the commission, which was formed after a controversial shooting to
investigate complaints against city police.
However, one commissioner said it was an attempt to remove her by the
city's police union.
The Riverside Police Officers' Assn. had urged city officials to remove
Commissioner Sheri Corral from her post in May after she accused officers
of treating her unfairly once they learned she was on the review
commission.
Corral, an officer for Riverside Community College and the only full-time
officer on the commission, said she was labeled a turncoat, had difficulty
obtaining warrants and saw increased police patrols near her house.
But Councilman Frank Schiavone, who wrote the measure, insisted that the
efforts were not aimed at any commissioner, but rather making sure that
the commission was independent and free of bias.
He proposed sending the proposal to a council committee that he chairs
after saying that the Corral issue clouded the matter.
The council unanimously agreed.
"It overshadows the substance of the issue," he said.
"The issue is whether or not law enforcement should be on a civilian
oversight panel."
However, several community residents and a police review commissioner who
spoke at the meeting said they are convinced that the proposal was an
attempt by the police union to weaken the commission.
The union, which has opposed the commission since its inception, endorsed
and donated thousands of dollars to Schiavone and supporting Councilman
Steve Adams in their respective elections.
"We were all aware of the financial influence the [union] has had on
individual council members, so it is no surprise the [union] is calling in
their markers," said Commissioner Gloria Huerta.
Task Force on Jail Slayings Appointed
June 16, 2004 By Anna Gorman, Times
Staff Writer
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley on Tuesday named the members
of a citizen task force to review recent slayings in the County Jail
system and to make recommendations on improving witness protection.
The task force will submit its suggestions to the Board of Supervisors and
Sheriff Lee Baca by mid-August, Cooley said.
Members plan to analyze jailhouse killings and attacks and review several
recent civil grand jury reports on the jails. They also will address
witness protection outside the jail.
Named to the task force were Clayton Anderson, Oreal Cotton, Elizabeth A.
Dickinson, Alex Jacinto, Rosario Marin, George Nicholaw and eight members
of Cooley's staff, who will have an advisory role.
Anderson is former chief of the district attorney's Bureau of
Investigation, where he spent 30 years. He also directed the investigative
office of the State Bar of California and served as a civil grand jury
foreman.
Cotton served as the assistant chief of the district attorney's Bureau of
Investigation and worked for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Dickinson is a former Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy and chief of the
department's detective division. She worked at the department for 36
years.
Jacinto is a defense attorney and member of the Mexican American Bar Assn.
Marin served as U.S. treasurer and as Huntington Park mayor and
councilwoman. She recently lost a primary race to oppose U.S. Sen. Barbara
Boxer, a Democrat
Nicholaw worked at KNX-AM (1070) for 36 years, serving as vice president
and general manager. Best-known for his on-air editorials, he left the
station in October
L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Mike Arruda Deputy hurt in shooting dies
Sheriff's Department mourns loss of 'role model'
By
RUBY GONZALES, STAFF
WRITER
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy from Rancho Cucamonga who was
accidentally shot in the neck by another deputy during a motel shootout
died Tuesday. Mike Arruda, 35, was pronounced dead at Harbor-UCLA Medical
Center in Torrance, deputies said.
"The Sheriff's Department is mourning right now, as is the public, for the
death of a young man who lived his dream. He had a positive attitude and
strong work ethic," said Sheriff Lee Baca. "We will never forget him."
He called Arruda, a 13-year veteran of the department, a role model to his
colleagues.
Arruda was working overtime June 9 on a traffic detail when the station
received 911 calls of someone shooting at people at the Motel 6 on Seventh
Avenue in Hacienda Heights.
"He came to the scene to help," Baca said.
When deputies arrived, a man charged, firing what looked like a
semiautomatic pistol. The suspect, Paul Kenneth Smith, 51, of Whittier,
was killed during the incident. He used a pellet gun that looked like a
pistol, deputies said.
Arruda was accidentally caught in the line of fire and hit by a bullet
from a fellow deputy's gun, according to sheriff's Homicide Capt. Ray
Peavy said.
The mood was somber at the sheriff's Industry station where Arruda had
worked since January 2000.
His photo hung above a table where a plant and four bouquets stood.
At about 3 p.m. , Capt. Mike Smith updated station personnel on Arruda's
condition. A chaplain led them in prayer, according to Lt. Kenneth
McBride.
But less than three hours later, they gathered again at the patio area to
be told of his death.
"As you can imagine, it was quite traumatic," McBride said. "He was a
very, very nice guy. ... He was compassionate, firm, fair and was
knowledgeable about his job."
Sgt. Dean Scoville, who knew Arruda for 12 years, said the deputy had an
excellent reputation for being a people person and an aggressive street
cop.
Deputies who were off duty were calling the station Tuesday night offering
to come to work. Deputies from the Community Oriented Policing Services
unit have been handling calls, helping the station, Scoville said.
People had been telling deputies that they were praying for Arruda, he
said,
"There's a lot of goodwill for Mike. He always had a smile, was upbeat. He
loved arresting the bad guys," Scoville said.
Arruda is survived by his fiancee, sheriff's Sgt. Lidia Silva, who is
pregnant with daughter Savanna Violet Arruda; his 11-year-old son, Michael
Arruda Jr; his mother, Joyce Ann Arruda his father, Ricardo Edward Arruda;
his sister, Lisa Marie Dumont, and his brother-in-law, Brian Queripal.
Ruby Gonzales can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2718, or by e-mail at
Glen Avon Shooting Probed - 3 Deputies on Paid Leave Pending Investigation
10:33 PM PDT May 29, 2004 By JOHN WELSHAND MARLOWE CHURCHILL The
Press-Enterprise
GLEN AVON - A Glen Avon man shot several times Friday night by sheriff's
deputies remained in critical condition Saturday.
Jerry Hughes, 25, was expected to be transferred to Riverside County
Regional Medical Center, a Riverside Community Hospital nursing supervisor
said.
Hughes was shot about 7:30 p.m. on 44th Street just east of Royal Pine
Circle after he ran away from Riverside County sheriff's deputies, said
department spokesman Deputy Dennis Gutierrez. Three deputies were placed
on paid administrative leave pending further investigation.
Gutierrez said four deputies from the Jurupa Valley Sheriff's Station were
conducting an undisclosed investigation Friday in the unincorporated
northwest Riverside County neighborhood south of Mission Boulevard. They
had been talking with area residents when they approached Hughes,
Gutierrez said. During that discussion, the deputies felt an object in the
man's waistband "resembling a weapon," Gutierrez said.
"The suspect began to run away from the deputies and three deputies gave
chase," Gutierrez said. "When he was running, he removed the weapon from
his waistband."
The deputies pulled their weapons and fired multiple shots at the man,
Gutierrez said. Information on exactly how many shots were fired by
deputies, or the location of Hughes' injury or injuries, was not
disclosed.
The deputies gave Hughes first aid until a Riverside County Fire
Department crew arrived, Gutierrez said.
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