Results tagged “murder” from Crime & Courts

Ex-Manhattan Beach Sgt. Shawn Shelton appeared in Natchitoches Parish Court in Louisiana on Monday and pleaded not guilty to drugging and killing a 19-year-old man there.

Judge Eric Harrington set the trial for March 16 and appointed an attorney to represent Shelton. (Shelton can get a new one if he wants.)

Shelton, left, is charged with killing Justin James, below, in October 2005. Prosecutors contend Shelton drugged James with a combination of Xanax, morphine and cocaine in an effort to sexually assault him. The drug combination killed him.

Shelton already is serving a sentence of 35 years to life for kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old boy in Las Vegas.

From what I've been told, they won't waste much time down there in Louisiana getting this trial underway. They don't have too many cases like this. The courthouse has two courtrooms.

From what I gathered while trying to get information over the phone, the judge has imposed a gag order on the officials involved to avoid swaying jurors.

James' mother, Lisa, was in the courtroom, along with her husband Lynn, and children Destiny and Zach. Here's one of her observations:

"Shelton has gained yet more weight than in Nevada. He was very big! He was in his orange striped coveralls with handcuff and chains on his feet.

 When he was through he looked out in the audience and gave my husband Lynn a very, very hard look. He looked at us and walked on."

She closed with this: "This is what we had been waiting for. My husband and I have waited to see him back in Natchitoches, La. where the crime was committed."

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Just got off the phone with the head of the parish jail in Natchitoches, La. 

Here's a report from Denise, who has spent the morning in the courtroom:

The long-anticipated murder trial of Erwin Howard got underway in Los Angeles with Deputy District Attorney John Lewin presenting about half of his opening statement over the first nearly two hours. Howard is accused of killing his former wife, El Segundo resident Julia "Deede" Keller in July 2004.

Dozens of Keller's friends and family members are in the courtroom. Before the jurors entered, many of them were wearing buttons with the South Bay Realtor's photograph on them. This raised the ire of defense attorney Andrew Flier. Flier and Lewin could be heard outside the courtroom in a heated discussion. Flier accused Lewin of orchestrating a ploy for sympathy.

Lewin came back into the courtroom and talked with the group and lightly suggested that tactically the buttons were not a good idea. People wearing them removed them.

During the opening statement, Lewin detailed in a chronological fashion all of the physical and circumstantial evidence he believes shows Howard killed Keller. Most of the evidence comes from those in the close-knit El Segundo community, who noticed Howard's comings and goings around Keller's residence in the weeks preceding her death, as well as computerized records from Howard's job at the American Airlines maintenance hangar at LAX.

In addition, it appears a lot of evidence will be by way of the former couple's friends and family who will relate to the six-man, six-woman jury conversations they had with Howard and Keller about their relationship before her disappearance and death.

Keller was missing for several days before her body was found in the trunk of her car in San Diego.

Information from City News Service:

A man driving a sport utility vehicle that belonged to a woman found shot to death in her Gardena business died Saturday at the end of a chase from Los Angeles to Rosemead.

The man, whose name was not released, fired several shots after he crashed. The truck burst into flames.

Police were watching the man about 1:45 p.m. Saturday when the suspect got into the 2002 Toyota 4Runner taken from Connie Chang, 64, of Los Angeles. Her body was found Aug. 6 inside her business, the J. J. Cafe at 14325 S. Western Ave. in Gardena.

She was shot in the chest.

Police followed the SUV from Whittier Boulevard and Witman Avenue. A helicopter crew watched as it moved through Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles and Alhambra.

At Walnut Grove and Garvey Avenues in Rosemead, the SUV crashed and overturned. The driver started shooting.

The 4Runner caught fire. The man was killed inside, but it was unclear if he shot himself or died from the fire.

 

I don't have much on this, but former Manhattan Beach police Sgt. Shawn Shelton will soon be relocated from his Nevada prison cell to a jail in Louisiana to face murder charges.

Shelton, 41, left, waived extradition last Friday and will soon be flown to Natchitoches, where he is accused of killing 19-year-old Justin James, right.

Shelton could have fought being extradited to another state to face trial, but he apparently chose not to. He'll likely be housed in a county jail instead of a prison while awaiting his case.

Natchitoches prosecutors believe Shelton drugged James with morphine, cocaine and Xanax and attempted to sexually assault him. James died from the combination.

Shelton already is serving a sentence of 35 years to life for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Las Vegas about five months later. He kidnapped the boy at a bus bench, drove him out into the desert and assaulted him.

The Daily Breeze has been a leader in covering this story. James' mom keeps me informed of what's going on periodically by email and phone calls. She has sought justice for nearly three years.

The fact that Shelton soon will be on his way to a Louisiana courtroom is very important to her and her husband.

She told me:

"This has been a long drawn out process. Lynn and I have fought this every step of the way! You don't raise a child 19 years for someone like this to come in and kill him."

The Shelton story still amazes me. How did someone go from a fast-rising cop whose hand I shook to a child predator to an accused murderer?

In case you missed it in Sunday's Daily Breeze, we had a story about a capital murder case that just got underway at the Torrance Courthouse for Barry Mosley, who is charged with killing three women, two of whom he allegedly raped, and trying to kill a little girl, who he also is accused of raping. Following our story online, there are some user comments and questions I'd like to address here.

Bon Scott from the Palos Verdes Peninsula wrote:

I was on this jury and got kicked off. It will be a horrible experience for the remaining jurors. Several questions: why is being tried in Torrance? Why was there so little coverage of the crimes when they happened? I am glad the Breeze is covering it since no one else seems to care.

Ouch. 

A Russian woman was so mad at her drunk husband's refusal to get up from the sofa bed, she kicked a handle that activated a mechanism that folds the couch up against a wall.

She then marched away angry, not realizing he fell between the mattress and the back of the couch. When she returned three hours later, she thought he was asleep. He was. For good.

Reuters reported that rescue workers had to saw the side panels of the couch to free the body. He was in his underwear and lying headfirst between the cushions.

Workers figured he died instantly.

More from City News Service:

SANTA MONICA (CNS) - Santa Monica police today sought two suspects in
connection with the killing of a 28-year-old Gardena resident, authorities
said.
   Officers were sent at 9:53 p.m. Saturday to the 2000 block of Court 19
to investigate reports of shots fired, said Sgt. Renaldi Thruston of the Santa
Monica Police Department. Court 19 is an alley between 19th and 20th streets,
according to the watch commander's office.
   Police were not immediately able to locate any victims or witnesses, but
a few minutes later, a hospital spokesperson reported that a gunshot victim
had been admitted there.
   The victim, identified as Byron Lopez, -- taken to the hospital by
friends -- died of his wounds, Thruston said.
   Detailed descriptions of the suspects were not available.
   Anyone with information about the crime was asked to call detectives at
(310) 458-8451, or the watch commander at (310) 458-8427. Those who want to
remain anonymous may call (800) 782-7463.

Alejandro Alvarado produced the gun, loaded it and handed it to his cousin with directions to shoot the Mongol King dishwasher. Today, following a preliminary hearing, Alvarado was ordered to stand trial for killing 21-year-old Erasmo Antonio Artero-Santos.

Artero-Santos and the cousin, Victor Hernandez, had an ongoing feud, possibly over Hernandez's girlfriend, who worked at the restaurant. Hernandez was arrested the day after the Feb. 18, 2007, shooting, but Alvarado evaded capture by fleeing to Mexico. He was arrested in south of the border in December and extradited to Los Angeles in April to face murder charges.

The full story on the preliminary hearing will be in tomorrow's Daily Breeze.

Gardena police have offered a $10,000 reward for help solving the murder of a woman inside a shop Monday night. We have a story on the Web site with descriptions of the crime and the suspects. We also have a link to a dramatic video of the shooting and robbery, via KTLA.

The gunman was described as being in his 20s and wearing a cloth bandana over his face, a black jacket with a white t-shirt underneath, and shorts. The other man is also about 20 and was last seen wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans, sheriff's Deputy Ed Hernandez said.

Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

After about a week of deliberating whether or not 17-year-old Eric Sanford is guilty of murder and the special circumstances of killing during an attempted robbery, the jury told Compton Superior Court Judge William Chidsey late Monday they are stuck. Chidsey told them to keep deliberating, and they return today to do so.

The jury deciding co-defendant Adam Loza's case is on a one-week hiatus, and will resume deliberations Monday.

Sanford, Loza, 24, and another man who will go on trial later this month are charged with killing two clerks at a Carson Mobil Mart on Nov. 4, 2006.

The jury deciding 17-year-old Eric Sanford's fate is starting it's fourth day of deliberations this morning. Several times, they've heard his testimony read back from the court reporter. Prosecutors believe Sanford was the trigger man who killed clerks Eduardo Roco, 74, and Esther Arteaga, 32, during a robbery gone-wrong at a gas station mini mart on Nov. 4, 2006.

A second Compton jury deciding co-defendant 24-year-old Adam Loza's case began deliberations yesterday. Prosecutors believe Loza was in on the robbery and knew Sanford had a gun.

Both men blame the other. A third man, a friend who drove the car and allegedly handed the gun to Sanford before the murder, will go on trial when this on is over.

We're checking on the juries and will let you know when, and if, there are verdicts.

The jury deciding whether Eric Sanford, 17, is guilty or not of killing two Carson gas station employees during a pre-dawn hold-up on Nov. 4, 2006, is still out deliberating. They've been in the jury room about a day.

A second jury that will decide the case against Adam Loza, 24, heard closing arguments today. The arguments should conclude tomorrow, then they will have the case.

There are only two people who know what happened inside the Mobil Mart around 4 a.m. Nov. 4, 2006. Eric Sanford, 17, and Adam Loza, 24, admit they were there, but they're each pointing fingers at the other for the fatal shooting of clerks Eduardo Roco, 74, and Esther Arteaga, a 32-year-old mother.

Roco and Arteaga's family members sat together in court Wednesday while the defendants took turns testifying. A young woman related to Arteaga sobbed when the prosecutor showed photographs of the mininmart. It appears the woman doesn't understand English, but she came looking for answers anyway. She didn't need to understand the words to feel the pain at seeing the place where a loved-one lost her life.

As Sanford described how Loza leaned over the counter to shoot Arteaga after gunning down Roco, nearly all the family members cried. Someone whispered, "Oh my God." They comforted Roco's widow, who should have spent the day celebrating her new U.S. citizenship, but instead sat in court listening to stories of her husband's death. 

It's been about a year and a half since a nearly retired Carson gas station attendant and his trainee were gunned-down during a robbery attempt. Trial was expected to begin today with opening statements before two juries who will decide the capital murder cases against Eric Sanford, 17, and Adam Loza, 24. (A third defendant, Julio Perez, 24, will have his trial with his own jury after this one finishes). But a medical emergency for the Compton Superior Court judge forced a postponement until tomorrow.

While all three Los Angeles men are charged with the special circumstances of murder during a robbery, none are facing the death penalty. If found guilty of the charge, though, they each face a mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Eduardo Rocco, 74, of Carson and Esther Arteaga, 32, of Wilmington, were killed in the predawn hours of Nov. 4, 2006, at the service station at Avalon Boulevard and 223rd Street. Rocco, a retired ship captain who immigrated from the Philippines, was shot as he tried to stop the crime. Arteaga's slaying left a then 7-year-old girl without her mother.

 

A peace vigil is being planned for May 15 in San Pedro to honor and remember the 189 residents, including 24 children, who were murdered in the harbor town in the last 20 years or so. The organizers are looking for people to share stories about their fallen loved ones that can be read at the event. They're also looking for volunteers. The entire release, including who to contact if you want to participate, is after the jump.

Peace out.

The State Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today in a rare Los Angeles session. Among the cases on calendar is Rodney Alcala v. Orange County Superior Court. Alcala was a death row inmate who is now facing his third trial for the murder of a Huntington Beach girl in 1979. In 2005, he was indicted for four more murders - including one in El Segundo and one in Santa Monica, where a Centinela Hospital nurse was the victim.

His attorneys are arguing against lower court decisions that allow prosecutors from Orange and Los Angeles counties to try Alcala for all the crimes together. An opinion will be issued within 90 days.

The Orange County Register has followed the case for decades, and has a story today about the arguments.