Sunday, November 30, 2008

Mumbai Terrorist's Confession

◼ Little Green Footballs - Mumbai Terrorist's Confession
The confession of Azam Amir Kasav, the only terrorist captured alive in Mumbai, has apparently been leaked to the press. The Malaysian Insider has a detailed report on the story told by Azam, and it’s chilling:

◼ The Malaysian Insider - Terrorists posed as Malaysian students
MUMBAI, Nov 30 - A sensational revelation has emerged from a terrorist caught alive by Indian troops: The attack on Mumbai's top hotels was meant to be India's Sept 11.

Azam Amir Kasav - some reports have his name as Ajmal Amir Kasab - confessed that part of the plot called for him and his fellow terrorists to carry out a replay of the destruction of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel, in targeting Mumbai's Taj Mahal Hotel.

The Marriott was blown up by militants in September, an attack that killed more than 50 people.

According to a report in The Times of India, Azam said the attacks on the Taj and The Oberoi Trident were aimed to create a "Sept 11 in India", a reference to the coordinated attacks by Al-Qaeda on the United States in 2001. They involved the crashing of hijacked planes into the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon that left nearly 3,000 people dead.

The confessions of the clean-shaven, fluent English-speaking 21-year-old Pakistani have given investigators a clearer picture of what had happened last Wednesday.

Azam said he was member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, but the Kashmir- based Pakistani militant group has denied any role in the attacks.

Founded as a guerilla group to fight the Indian army in Kashmir, the group was banned by the Pakistani government after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, but reportedly continues to enjoy the backing of some Pakistani politicians and security officials.

A native of Faridkot in Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, Azam revealed the names of his fellow terrorists, all Pakistani citizens: Abu Ali, Fahad, Omar, Shoaib, Umer, Abu Akasha, Ismail, Abdul Rahman (Bara) and Abdul Rahman (Chhota).

But the 10 men were apparently not the only ones directly involved: Another group, he claimed, had checked themselves into hotels four days before, waiting with weapons and ammunition they had stockpiled in the rooms.

The 10 men in Azam's group were chosen well: All were trained in marine warfare and had undergone a special course conducted by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Preparations were also detailed, and started early.

Azam and eight others in the team made a reconnaissance trip to Mumbai several months before the attacks, pretending to be Malaysian students. They rented an apartment at Colaba market, near one of their targets, the Nariman House.

The chief planner of the attacks also visited Mumbai a month before to take photographs and film strategic locations, including the hotel layouts.

Returning to Pakistan, the chief plotter trained the group, telling them to 'kill till the last breath'.

Surprisingly, the men did not expect themselves to be suicide terrorists. Azam said they had originally planned to sail back on Thursday - the recruiters had even charted out a return route, stored on a GPS device.

On the evening of Nov 21, Azam's group set off from an isolated creek in Karachi in a boat. The next day, a large Pakistani vessel with four Pakistanis and crew picked them up, whereupon the group was issued arms and ammunition.

Each man in the assault team was handed six to seven magazines of 50 bullets each, eight hand grenades, one AK-47 assault rifle, an automatic loading revolver, credit cards and a supply of dried fruit. They were, as some media put it, in for the long haul.

A day later, the team came across an Indian-owned trawler, Kuber, which they boarded. They killed four of the fishermen onboard, dumped their bodies into the sea, and forced its skipper Amarjit Singh to sail for India.

The next day, they beheaded the skipper, and one of the gunmen, a trained sailor, took the wheel and headed for the shores of Gujarat, India.

Near Gujarat, the terrorists raised a white flag as two officers of the coast guard approached.

While the officers questioned them, one of the terrorists grappled with one of them, slit his throat and threw his body into the boat. The group then ordered the other officer to help them get to Mumbai.

On Nov 26, the team reached the Mumbai coast.

Four nautical miles out, they were met by three inflatable speedboats. They killed the other coast guard officer, transferred into the speedboats and proceeded to Colaba jetty as dusk settled.

The Kuber was found later with the body of the 30-year-old captain onboard.

At Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade - just three blocks away from Nariman House - the 10 men got off, stripped off the orange windbreakers they had been wearing and made sure to take out their large, heavy backpacks.

It was there that they were spotted by fisherman Prasan Dhanur, who was preparing his boat, and harbour official Kashinath Patil, 72, who was on duty nearby.

"Where are you going?" Patil asked them. "What's in your bags?"

The men replied: "We don't want any attention. Don't bother us."

Thinking little of it, Dhanur and Patil, who said they did not see the guns hidden in the backpacks, did not call the police, and watched the 10 young men walk away.

Then the carnage started.

On hitting the ground, the 10 men broke up.

Four men headed for the Taj Mahal Hotel, two for The Oberoi Trident, two for Nariman House and two - Azam and Ismail - for the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus by taxi.

At the railway station, Azam and his colleague opened fire, targeting Caucasian tourists while trying to spare Muslims.

The two gunmen also destroyed the CCTV control room, throwing grenades into it.

It was here that Azam was photographed, dressed in light-grey combat trousers and sneakers, a rucksack on his back, toting his AK-47.

According to one security expert, the way he carried the assault rifle revealed months of training.

The two men left the main hall of the railway station littered with bodies and pools of blood, then moved on to Metro Cinema and then to the Girgaum Chowpatty area in a stolen Skoda.

It was there that their plans started to unravel.

At the Girgaum Chowpatty area, Azam and Ismail were intercepted by anti-terror troops from the Gamdevi police station, and they ended up trading shots.

Azam managed to shoot dead assistant police inspector Tukaram Umbale, while one of them also gunned down anti-terror squad chief Hemant Karkare.

Ismail, however, was eventually killed, while Azam himself was shot in the hand. Pretending to be dead, he fell, and the two men were taken to Nair Hospital.

But police soon spotted him breathing and quickly evacuated the hospital's casualty ward, and brought in the anti-terror squad to interrogate him.

At first, Azam remained tight-lipped, but the sight of Ismail's mutilated body broke his resolve.

Pleading with medical staff to save his life, he said: "I do not want to die. Please put me on saline."

The bullet in his hand was removed, and after his condition had stabilised, Azam was moved to another location on Thursday for more interrogation.

Reports, however, say that the grilling at the hospital had been so intense that at one point, he pleaded with the police and medical staff to kill him.

He said: "Now, I don't want to live." - The Straits Times


◼ The Times of India - Foreign SIM cards, fake IDs from Bangladesh
NEW DELHI: In the fresh leads from the Mumbai terror attack investigation, Intelligence sources say they intercepted conversation between Muzammil, Muzaffarabad chief of LeT operations, and a certain Yahya in Bangladesh.

Yahya arranged SIM cards, fake ID-cards primarily from western countries like Mauritius, UK, US, Australia. A Mauritian identity card was found on one of the terrorists shot down.

The satellite phone found on the MV Kuber also has shown that calls were made to Jalalabad. These calls were traced to Zakir Ur Rehman, a chief of training of the LeT.

Intelligence sources have also revealed that in the second week of July, intelligence officials knew about 25 terrorists training in the Pakistan village of Durbari Mitho, and that an ISI agent was also involved in the training.


◼; Mumbai photographer: I wish I'd had a gun, not a camera. Armed police would not fire back

Old news by now

but important nonetheless... "Caregiver" is not another name for "Dope Dealer."
☛ TS CA Supreme Court: Caregiver must do more than provide marijuana
A recent California Supreme Court ... unanimous ruling ... determined that, in order to qualify as a primary caregiver, one must do more for a patient than provide them with marijuana.... the Supreme Court ruled that in order to qualify as a primary caregiver under California's Compassionate Use Act, Proposition 215, Mentch would have had to assume the responsibility for a patient's housing, health, or safety, or some combination of the three, in addition to providing them with marijuana.

”There has to be something more to be a caregiver than simply providing marijuana,” the Supreme Court ruling quotes the trial judge as saying. “Otherwise, there would be no reason to have the definition of a caregiver, because anybody who would be providing marijuana and related services would qualify as a caregiver, therefor giving them a defense to the very activity that's otherwise illegal, and I don't think that makes any sense in terms of the statutory construction, nor do I think it was intended by the people or the Legislature.”

...What this all means for the hordes of Humboldt County grow houses with 215 recommendations on the walls remains to be seen.

...Deputy District Attorney Maggie Fleming, who handles the bulk of the district attorney's drug cases, and a spokesperson for the Humboldt County Drug Task Force were not available to discuss the court ruling by the Times-Standard's deadline....


⦁ Eric's post Primary Care Giver needs to give more than marijuana
⦁ SF Chron Court ruling will limit solo pot providers 11-24
The decision pdf

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Will the job-killer lawyers stop the harbor?

It's good to see this topic FINALLY get some press. The predatory litigious orgs, the phony groups with Orwellian names, spawning new attack "projects," operating under the pretense of being a "grassroots" citizen effort when they are really extortion machines made up of teams of lawyers (Ecological Rights Foundation bragged that it has 17 lawyers on staff.) First reported here, and finally being recognized for what they are.

Will the job-killer lawyers stop the harbor? (not online)

Last week the board of harbor commissioners voted to proceed with the Humboldt Bay harbor plan developed by its consultants. This would begin with a modest break-bulk and short sea-haul terminal that also could accommodate occasional cruise ship stops. Later, if and when railroad service is available, the facility would expand to a container port. All of this would represent a boon of varying proportions to Humboldt County's economy.

We say "would" because there exists the possibility that one of a group of litigious no-growth lawyers may try to sue to stop harbor development. The Ecological Rights Foundation, its Baykeepers subsidiary, the Mateel Environmental Justice Center and the California Alternatives to Toxics make up a sort of federation. All have been plaintiffs in suits whose ostensible purpose has been to abate environmental pollution. On examining the cases, however, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that all of them have two objectives: 1.) getting settlements for large sums of money (which can fund additional legal attacks) and 2.) thwarting economic development. It adds up to killing jobs in Humboldt County's fragile economy.

The most recent example is the suit brought by Baykeepers/Ecological Rights Foundation against the past and present owners of Eureka's Balloon Track-- Union Pacific Railroad and CUE VI, respectively, and the North Coast Railroad Authority (NCRA)-- on the grounds that polluted water is emanating from the property into the bay. The property is already under a clean-up and abatement order, with which the owners are complying. One wonders, therefore, whether the real purpose of the suit is to discourage the owners from completing efforts to build the Marina Center.

The Ecological Rights Foundation and its confederates have a record of going after companies with deep pockets, and have charged them with having contaminated various sites. Among these have been Simpson, Sierra Pacific and Evergreen Pulp. Baykeepers, for its part, has consistently opposed any activity on the bay that would create new jobs and stimulate economic activity. They have opposed potential rail development, dredging of shipping lanes and the hiring by the harbor district of an experienced port expert to help it find users for a new port.

A modern harbor facility, developed with care in two stages as conditions warrant, is the one sure way Humboldt county can create a source of meaningful new jobs. This, is turn, can lead to increased family formations by yong people, home purchases, a reversal of the declining school population, improved retail sales and thsu the revenues that sustain our cities. Why, then, don't the lawsuit-happy lawyers of these supposed "environmental" groups stop attempting to prevent port development? The only answer we can think of is they desire a shrinking economy.

The Eureka Reporter Opinion page of the Times-Standard - Sunday, November 23, 2008
Peter Hannaford Editorial Page Editor

Related:
"Baykeeper" - LawsuitsRus
Incestous Activist groups
The "projects"
How much do they want?
In case you missed it...
Do as I say, not as I do
ERF donated more than $5,000 to the "Center for Ethics and Toxics"
ECOLOGICAL RIGHTS FOUNDATION (ERF)'S HUMBOLDT BAYKEEPER PROJECT...

Why you don't really need rules against trucks on the beach



Sorta related: ☛ TS High surf to hit North Coast today

Friday, November 28, 2008

A little good news

Hugo Chavez's XXI century socialist revolution on the wane

Inside India: Graver than the news


⦁ aljazeera Timeline: Mumbai assault (photo source)
⦁ Irshad Manji - Inside India: Graver than the news
⦁ Little Green Footballs - Breaking: Battle at the Taj Hotel
⦁ Reuters - Staff emerge as heroes in Mumbai hotel sieges
⦁ RBO - ISI Goes Rogue
⦁ Roger L. Simon - CNN wins, FOX loses, Deepak Chopra and other Mumbai thoughts
⦁ Reuters - UPDATE 1-Operation at Mumbai Taj hotel is over - TV
⦁ www.hindustantimes.com - The longest day
⦁ NEWS Coverage

Closer to home

The Great Arcata Grow House Saga/Resolution
Arcata Eye -
Council adopts cannabis standards – November 25, 2008
ARCATA – When the new medical marijuana land use standards go into effect Dec. 19, Arcata’s many cannabis patients will have simple, legal options for meeting their medicine needs. And neighborhoods blighted by grow houses will have options, too.

With a doctor’s recommendation, patients with a green thumb – or a caregiver with the knack – will be able to set up a home grow in up to 50 square feet. This might yield an ounce of cannabis per week – more than enough for most patients. Those with special needs may request more grow space.

Or, the patient can go downtown, where four non-profit cannabis centers – consituted as collectives or cooperatives per state guidelines – will sell them what they need. Terminal patients will likely be able to obtain cannabis at no cost.

And, in theory, the cannabis will flow in medically appropriate amounts to those in genuine need without surrendering whole houses, neighborhoods and prime downtown retail space to the marijuana industry.

The new standards apply only to areas of Arcata outside the Coastal Zone, which rings Humboldt Bay. A separate but identical ordinance covers those areas, but will not go into effect until approved by the Coastal Commission, which will take at least a year and probably longer.

Home grows

Home cannabis growers may use up to 50 square and 10 vertical feet to grow, with a maximum of 1,200 watts of lighting. No gases such as carbon dioxide or butane may be used.

The resulting cannabis can’t be sold, the growing can’t be detectable from outside the home and the home must be occupied as a residence. ...
Read the rest.

And more...
Ruinous cannabis grow takes out another rental – November 11, 2008
First, he said, “the smell hit you.” Then, as he walked the house, he found that it had been minimally occupied but fully ravaged by the tenants in service of a multi-room cannabis cultivation and processing operation (see photos, page A7).

The source of the water leakage was an overflowing irrigation reservoir in the laundry room, the floor of which glistened with standing water interspersed with soaked pellets of growing medium and pot leaves. An adjacent carpeted room was also soaked, with dark footprints where the waterlogged carpet had been mooshed down by people walking through.

Two upstairs rooms were converted for growing, with large frames containing the plastic-enclosed grows. Lights hung from hooks punched into the ceiling and large holes had been cut into the ceiling through which large ducts had been snaked. A carbon dioxide infusion system fed the growth-stimulating gas from tanks through ducts to the plants. Other ducts carried away exhaust through the house’s attic.

The priority appeared to have been cannabis, with honoring the rental agreement and respect for their landlord’s house a negligible consideration.

“There was total disregard for the property,” Fisher said. “They didn’t have to be as destructive as they were.”

Other than the elaborate cannabis cultivation apparatus, furnishings in the home were minimal, but similar to those found in other grow houses, right down to the Prop 215 recommendations posted on the wall, signed by the infamous Dr. Hany Assad.

(Illegal grow houses often sport posted cannabis recommendations signed by Assad and Dr. Ken Miller, who has said he bases his diagnoses on “sound science.” At last week’s City Council meeting, Miller told the council it should outlaw residental growing entirely.)

Yeah, you should grow it on Ken's Plantation on the Palco land he covets, that'd be my guess. I'm sure he'll have a more creative name than Ken's Plantation, it'll be something Orwellian. Pfffft.
Even though the grow has been removed, the house won’t be available to help relieve Arcata’s housing shortage, because, like other landlords, Fisher has decided not to risk the likelihood that new tenants will turn the house into another indoor farm.

“We’ll remove that house from potential rental,” Fisher said. “It’s a shame, because the HSU students need somewhere to live.”

Council passes around pot, passes cannabis standards – November 11, 2008
The new standards limit home cultivation for Prop 215 patients to 50 square feet with 1,200 watts of lighting and a 10-foot height limit. Use of growth-stimulating gases is prohibited. Homegrown medical marijuana may not be sold, and a patient may only maintain one grow. Homes with grows must retain functional kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms and can’t stink up the neighborhood.

Those who require more than 50 square feet of cultivation for their medical needs may be granted a variance to grow in up to 100 square feet with extra fire safety measures in the form of greenboard firewalls.

No more than four medical marijuana cooperatives/collectives may operate in Arcata, and if one closes, the limit drops and stays at three. A cannabis center may not use more than 1,500 square feet or 25 percent of its floor space for growing.

The centers can’t buy from grow houses. They must develop detailed Operations Manuals documenting patients screening procedures and tracking data for cannabis acquisition and dispensation. They must develop energy conservation and waste recycling procedures. Annual performance reviews are required. A proposed limit of four dispensed ounces of cannabis per patient per month came under fire, with heavy criticism from patients, caregivers and clinicians.

...Some citizens wondered how the fancy new standards regarding grow houses will be enforced. Under the standards, citizens may complain to Community Development about suspected illegal grows, which will trigger code enforcement by the City via property inspections and, if a grow house is discovered, possible electrical power disconnection and nuisance abatement proceedings. Complaints will be kept confidential unless subpoenaed by a court in an ensuing criminal case....

Cannabis dispensary takes Arcata to court over cultivation ban – July 1, 2008
MMJ clinic halt renewed as DEA rumor clears grows – June 24, 2008
Jason Browne: The down-low on the get-high from an old hand on medical cannabis (Part 1) – June 17, 2008
Grow houses: the cost and the carbon – June 17, 2008
Kevin Hoover: One more time – neighborhood wrecking bad, compassionate use good. Got it? – June 17, 2008
Tagged "grow house" turns out to be just that – June 10, 2008
Multi-grow house bust nets 30-day sentences – June 10, 2008
HUMBOLDT – On June 4, 2008, Judge Marilyn Miles sentenced John Devoe and Clare Holmes to felony probation and 30 days in jail for cultivating marijuana.

On August 20, 2007, agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force served search warrants on six properties that belonged to Devoe and Holmes. The investigation began based upon an anonymous tip. Agents then obtained PG&E records for the properties prior to seeking search warrants for any of the homes.

At 2929 Greenbriar Lane, the agents found 216 marijuana plants in four grow rooms and 21 pounds of processed marijuana bud (17 pounds were packaged in one-pound bags). PG&E records showed the power usage ranged from 2,420 to 8,065 killowatt hours per month over the past 16 months.

At 1271 Anina Way, the agents found the house empty except for 18 marijuana plants with six grow lights in one room and in another room potting soil and cultivation equipment. The house had a damp, moldy smell. PG&E records showed 6,380 killowatt hours were used in June, 2007.

At 200 California Ave., agents again found a house with no furniture and the walls and floors covered in mold. The house was being used at that point for storage of soil, grow lights and other materials. PG&E records showed monthly usage ranging from 1,251 to 4,415 killowatt hours for the prior 16 months. A calendar there described the grow and water cycles.

At 1685 Hyland St., the agents located Ms. Holmes. In a brown bag agents located $20,000 in cash. An additional $1,429 was found separately. About three pounds of marijuana trim was located at the residence. The defendants’ two remaining properties, at 536 Nature Lane in Arcata and 117 Berry Road in Trinidad, did not contain any contraband.

In addition to the money found in the residence with Holmes, bank and stock accounts were seized and the monies from all sources totalling in excess of $66,000 were seized by law enforcement and the defendants agreed to forfeit those monies as part of the plea.

Holmes was represented by Ann Moorman; Devoe by Mark Harris; and the case was prosecuted by Maggie Fleming.

Dear grow house owner... May 21, 2008
Overlay zones eyed to curb cannabis dispensary problems – April 29, 2009(8?)
Eye Editorial: 'Stuck in legalism' – April 8, 2008
More grow houses go down – March 25, 2008
Clash of the cannabis clinicians – December 11, 2007
Council forms cannabis working group – October 23, 2007
Jeff (yougofree.com) Schwartz: How to solve Arcata's grow house crisis – October 23, 2007
Building codes key to grow house crackdown – Novermber 6, 2007
Legalize it, say Supes – August 28, 2007
Three fewer grow houses, thanks to DTF – June 19, 2007
Fresh pressures compound Arcata's housing shortage – March 28, 2007
Grow grabbed at gunpoint – June 13, 2006

Nobody covers this like Kevin at the Arcata Eye. I suspect he has enough material for another book.

◼ The Journal Arcata Council passes new pot guidelines

Gundersen's arraignment continued UPDATED 2X

Wednesday's arraignment was continued because the District Attorney's Office left the word “feloniously” off the criminal complaint it filed against Gundersen, which caused some confusion as to whether the theft was being charged as a felony or a misdemeanor.

Assistant District Attorney Wes Keat said that because the charge involves the theft of firearms, it can only be charged as a felony. The criminal complaint will be amended, Keat said, and the word “feloniously” will be included.
☛ TS ...read the rest.

UPDATE:
Grand theft charge dismissed against former Blue Lake police chief

UPDATED:

Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

Fritzsche heads to London

☛ TS Humboldt's Fritzsche heads to London for world fish conference
Humboldt State University fisheries professor and former harbor commissioner Ron Fritzsche will go to London in January as part of an elite panel that will investigate the status of the world's endangered marine fishes.

Fritzsche is the only West Coast representative on the 18-member panel invited to the conference, and has specific expertise to offer. The conference is the Sampled Red List Index Marine Fish Workshop, organized by the Zoological Society of London and the Global Marine Species Assessment.

A world authority on pipefish, seahorses, cornet fish and trumpet fish, Fritzsche has worked for more than 30 years with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization to develop fish identification guides for fishery workers around the world.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

◼ TS 'I'm thankful for ...'
The 4th and 5th graders in Phyllis Nolan's and Elizabeth Rivera's classes at Morris Elementary School in McKinleyville each took the time to write about what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving. Their words are a poignant reminder that it's the simple things in life that are most important....

Brie in Puff Pastry with Cranberry Sauce
★★★★★ (Easy)
Oven at 400°

Ingredients:
Brie Round
Fresh Cranberries
Brown Sugar
Orange Juice,
Orange peel
Sliced Almonds
Puff Pastry
Egg

1. Cook Cranberry Sauce
1 C Fresh Cranberries
6 T Brown Sugar
1 T Orange Juice
1/2 t Grated Orange Peel
until Cranberries are tender (15-20 min)
(Let it COOL)

2. Brown 1/3 C Sliced Almonds in 1 (one) T butter

3. Heat Oven to 400°, grease cookie sheet, roll pastry into 16x9 rectangle, cut one 8.5" circle and one 7" circle...

4. Place Brie in center of large circle, Spoon (Cooled!) Cranberry Sauce over top, pour Almonds over that, top with smaller round of Pastry, brush sides with beaten Egg, use egg mixture to bond top Pastry to bottom, brush top with Egg.

5. Bake 20-25 min until golden brown.

And stuffing/dressing Grand Marnier Apricot Stuffing

100 plant limit

685 marijuana plants and about $1,900 in cash...
☛ TS Trinidad police bust suspected pot grow
...James Cook, 28, of Trinidad was arrested Tuesday morning at his residence on the 800 block of Edwards Street on suspicion of cultivating marijuana and possessing marijuana for sale...

Just a few weeks ago ☛ TS Pot bust in Trinidad rental property
on the 500 block of East Street in Trinidad. Inside, police reportedly found 525 growing marijuana plants, 10 pounds of drying marijuana and $500 cash.

The renter, Catherine Wise, was not at the residence, Thrailkill said. On Friday afternoon Trinidad police reportedly requested a warrant for her arrest.

Thrailkill said there were “major modifications” done to the inside of the rental home to support the growing operation, which filled about three rooms in the house.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Details emerge... BooBoo still at large... (UPDATED)

☛ TS Suspect in grow house robbery shot in the back


Authorities have arrested two men and are continuing the search for a third after the robbery of a suspected pot growing operation at a McKinleyville rental house Friday ended with one suspect shot in the back.

John Paul Alcutt, 25, and his brother Willis James “Trey” Alcutt, 31, have been arrested for alleged robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported Monday.

Dauari “Boo Boo” Murry, a third suspect in the robbery, remains at large.

Willis Alcutt -- who was reportedly shot in the back during the incident by the alleged robbery victim -- was listed in stable condition at St. Joseph Hospital Monday afternoon, where he checked himself in after he prematurely left treatment at Mad River Community Hospital Sunday.

Investigators have been slow to release details of the incident, and continue to withhold the name of the alleged robbery victim.

But Sheriff's Lt. Dave Morey said on Nov. 21, at 11:12 a.m., deputies responded to reports from a McKinleyville resident who said a suspicious-looking person was trespassing in their backyard.

The caller reportedly told police they had confronted a nervous-looking man, who apologized for trespassing before jumping the backyard fence and running away.

Morey said while deputies were en route to that location, another call was made by a McKinleyville resident who told dispatchers a man armed with a handgun who matched the same description was “cornered” at their residence on McKinleyville Avenue.

Authorities responded to the residence and reportedly found John Alcutt hiding in the garage.

After a search of the area, deputies found a handgun in the garage, and arrested the suspect, Morey said.

Rental car keys were found in John Alcutt's pocket, and after a brief investigation, authorities located a rental car parked in the driveway of a nearby duplex on Coach Way. When authorities contacted the resident inside that property, they learned the duplex had just been robbed at gunpoint.

According to Morey, the focus of the robbery appeared to have been marijuana growing in the residence. However, investigators could not release how much was stolen, whether the marijuana was being grown for commercial or medical purposes, or if the alleged victim would be charged for growing marijuana.

Morey said investigators interviewed the alleged robbery victim, who explained that three men -- all of whom he knew -- had entered his home and restrained him before searching through his property for valuables.

The man told police that during the robbery he was able to free himself from his restraints, at which point he retrieved a firearm and fired at the suspects, who all fled from the property.

After firing his weapon, the alleged robbery victim did not know whether the shot had struck anyone, Morey said.

However, shortly after the interview, police found Willis Alcutt -- bleeding from a single gunshot wound in his back -- in the nearby intersection of Letz Avenue and Airport Road.

Willis Alcutt was transported to Mad River Community Hospital for treatment, Morey said, but he was not arrested at that time.

The next day, Willis Alcutt left the hospital before he was discharged by medical staff, Morey said.

”He wasn't in custody,” Morey said, “But I'm guessing he figured it was coming so he thought he'd leave.”

Because his wounds had not been completely treated, Willis Alcutt readmitted himself at St. Joseph Hospital on Sunday, where deputies arrested him for allegedly committing robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

He remains at the hospital under guard, the Sheriff's Office reported Monday afternoon.
According to court documents, Willis Alcutt has a history of robbery in Humboldt County.

Court records show Willis Alcutt pleaded guilty after being charged as one of five suspects who broke into a home in Loleta in 2005 and stole three pounds of marijuana from a woman at gunpoint.

According to court records in July 2006, Willis Alcutt was sentenced to 109 days in jail, and given three years probation.


Law enforcement continues the search for a third man implicated in the Friday robbery.

Murry has been described as a 32-year-old black man, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 220 pounds. A resident of both Eureka and Richmond, Murry reportedly has gold teeth and a mustache.

The Sheriff's Office requests anyone with information about Murry's whereabouts or knowledge of the robbery to contact Detective Rich Schlesiger at 268-3642.
Sean Garmire can be reached at 441-0514 or sgarmire@times-standard.com.


You definitely don't want to miss the comments section of this Times-Standard article...

UPDATE:
Boo Boo has been captured - ☛ TS EPD arrests McKinleyville home invasion suspect
Eureka Police Department officers arrested a third suspect in the recent McKinleyville home invasion at a suspected indoor pot growing operation that left one man shot.

Davari Lamont Murry, 32, was arrested in a Eureka motel on Sunday without incident for allegedly taking part in the robbery, which occurred Nov. 21 on Coach Way....

...Murry, also known as “Boo Boo,” was also wanted for allegedly violating parole. He was booked on suspicion of robbery, false imprisonment, felony assault and conspiracy.

Although Murry was arrested, authorities are again seeking John Paul Alcutt, who has jumped bail and is currently wanted.
John Alcutt is described as a 6-foot, 1-inch tall black adult male, weighing 239 pounds with brown eyes.,,,

You can't TALK on your cellphone while driving

BUT you can hold it and LOOK at it, nothing illegal about that, to get information about traffic in front of you. Pilot program in the cities in the news today. This just makes so much sense.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Triple the vehicle license fees! Why not CUT COSTS?

Budget deal would include steeper car fees
Reporting from Sacramento -- State lawmakers began moving toward a deal this week to close California's deficit with the help of steeper car fees that would cost many drivers hundreds of dollars annually, according to people involved in budget talks.

Under the plan, GOP lawmakers -- most of whom have signed anti-tax pledges -- would vote to triple the vehicle license fee that owners pay when they register their cars every year in exchange for a ballot measure that would impose rigid limits on future state spending. Motorists' annual license fees would rise from 0.65% of the value of their vehicles to 2%. For a car or truck valued at $25,000, the increase would be $336.

The higher fees would generate $6 billion annually, helping to fill a budget gap that is projected to reach nearly $28 billion over the next year and a half.

The proposal is being championed by incoming state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento). Democrats and advocates for the poor have opposed strict state spending limits, saying they would cripple government services...

Some analysts say that in the current economic climate, the plan could be an unwise gamble for Democrats. Voters, they say, may be inclined to approve the kind of spending restraints that GOP lawmakers have long sought. The Republicans' proposed cap would limit growth in government to a modest percentage each year, regardless of how well the economy does and how much revenue flows into the state....

The plan could deal another blow to the automobile industry. It would add hundreds of dollars to the price of most new cars sold in California at a time when sales are plummeting, dealerships are closing and major American automakers are on the verge of bankruptcy.

But a fee increase has long been supported by Democrats in the Legislature; they say the current rate of 0.65% was never meant to be permanent....

⦁ Patterico Is Arnold Risking a Recall?
⦁ Malkin Obama backs off tax increases; Schwarzenegger mulls tripling car taxes, raising pet taxes, and more

Work together to solve equestrian riding restrictions problem

☛ TS Work together to solve equestrian riding restrictions problem by Uri Driscoll

Related Post: ⦁ Horses on the beach

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Random thought for the day

In the pseudosciences, a challenge to accepted dogma is often considered a hostile act if not heresy, and leads to bitter disputes or even schisms.
more...

No wonder Gallegos is on vacation w/Update 2X

And Keat is left to answer questions. Gundersen, probation, the 11 Battery convictions dropped, pending rape charges dropped.

☛ TS Gundersen given probation for firearms convictions
A Humboldt County Superior Court judge sentenced former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen to four years probation Friday, for a pair of September convictions of illegally possessing a submachine gun and a pistol with a silencer.

Gundersen faced a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in prison for the convictions, but Judge Bruce Watson found that unusual circumstances surrounded the convictions which would normally carry a presumption of ineligibility for probation.

Watson also ruled in favor of a defense motion seeking to set aside 11 misdemeanor battery convictions, ruling that the convictions were time-barred by statutes of limitations.

Prior to Friday's sentencing hearing, Gundersen was arraigned on a felony charge of grand theft by a public official and pleaded not guilty. He is due back in court next week.


In addition: After an April preliminary hearing, Gundersen was also held to stand trial on allegations that he raped his then live-in girlfriend in 1999 and acted unlawfully with department records, but a judge ruled those charges would be tried separately.

In court Friday, the District Attorney's Office also announced it will not proceed with those charges.

”My instructions are that the people don't intend to proceed with those counts, so I request that they be dismissed in the interest of justice,” Assistant District Attorney Wes Keat told the court.


☛ TS Gundersen's arraignment continued
Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen's arraignment on a charge of felony grand theft was continued Wednesday to Dec. 10.

Gundersen, who stands accused of taking firearms out of Trinidad Police Department evidence and trading them, along with other guns, for a submachine gun and a silencer, pleaded not guilty to the charge at a court hearing last week.

Wednesday's arraignment was continued because the District Attorney's Office left the word “feloniously” off the criminal complaint it filed against Gundersen, which caused some confusion as to whether the theft was being charged as a felony or a misdemeanor.

Assistant District Attorney Wes Keat said that because the charge involves the theft of firearms, it can only be charged as a felony. The criminal complaint will be amended, Keat said, and the word “feloniously” will be included.

When Gundersen returns to court for his Dec. 10 arraignment, he will also tie up some loose ends from his previous case, which saw him convicted of illegally possessing both a submachine gun and a pistol with a silencer.

Last week, Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson sentenced Gundersen to four years probation for the charges, the terms and conditions of which will be set Dec. 10.

As to the new charges, Gundersen's attorney Russell Clanton said he has some concerns as to why the charges are only now surfacing more than six months after Gundersen's initial arrest -- concerns he said will be the subject of a motion in the near future.


UPDATE:
Grand theft charge dismissed against former Blue Lake police chief

UPDATED:

Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

Anyone with information about “Boo Boo,” call the Detective!

☛ TS Man shot in robbery at suspected pot house

An alleged robbery at a suspected indoor pot growing operation in McKinleyville on Friday ended with one man shot, and another man in jail.

At around 11:12 a.m., authorities responded to reports of a trespasser in the backyard of a residence near Coach Way in McKinleyville, Humboldt County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Morey said. When deputies arrived at the residence, they found 25-year-old John Paul Alcutt of Richmond.
('K, that must be the homeowner)

At the time Alcutt was contacted, authorities learned an adult male was suffering a single gunshot wound at the Coach Way residence. The shooting victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was treated. (That must be the alleged pot burglar - or is HE the homeowner?)

According to Sheriff's Office information, authorities soon learned Alcutt was a suspect in the robbery that had just occurred at an alleged indoor marijuana growing operation located nearby on Coach Way. (which is where this is all taking place, and that makes him a robber not the homeowner)

According to Morey, detectives believe the man was shot with a handgun, but could not say whether that weapon had been found.

The Sheriff's Office declined to give the victim's name or his condition.
(Is he a juvenile? One of the robbers? Or is he the homeowner?)

Alcutt was arrested and booked into the Humboldt County jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.

Authorities are now searching for an additional suspect in the robbery. According to the
(__blank__, he must be in his) 20s, weighing around 175 pounds and standing 6 feet tall, with black hair and brown eyes. (And he must go by the name, Boo Boo, because...)

The investigation into the robbery continues, the Sheriff's Office said. The Sheriff's Office urges anyone with information about “Boo Boo” or the robbery to call Detective Rich Schlesiger at 707-268-3642.

'K, I am looking at the online version, so I don't know if the hard copy has it, but a PHOTO, or artist's sketch, and the guy's REAL NAME could be helpful...

I can't tell, who is the homeowner, and who is the robber/accomplice?

Nothing on the sheriff/pressreleases

UPDATE: details emerge...
☛ TS Suspect in grow house robbery shot in the back
John Paul Alcutt, 25, and his brother Willis James “Trey” Alcutt, 31, have been arrested for alleged robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported Monday.

Dauari “Boo Boo” Murry, a third suspect in the robbery, remains at large.

Willis Alcutt -- who was reportedly shot in the back during the incident by the alleged robbery victim -- was listed in stable condition at St. Joseph Hospital Monday afternoon, where he checked himself in after he prematurely left treatment at Mad River Community Hospital Sunday.
Investigators have been slow to release details of the incident, and continue to withhold the name of the alleged robbery victim...

...the focus of the robbery appeared to have been marijuana growing in the residence. However, investigators could not release how much was stolen, whether the marijuana was being grown for commercial or medical purposes, or if the alleged victim would be charged for growing marijuana.

Morey said investigators interviewed the alleged robbery victim, who explained that three men -- all of whom he knew -- had entered his home and restrained him before searching through his property for valuables.

The man told police that during the robbery he was able to free himself from his restraints, at which point he retrieved a firearm and fired at the suspects, who all fled from the property.
After firing his weapon, the alleged robbery victim did not know whether the shot had struck anyone, Morey said....

According to court documents, Willis Alcutt has a history of robbery in Humboldt County.
Court records show Willis Alcutt pleaded guilty after being charged as one of five suspects who broke into a home in Loleta in 2005 and stole three pounds of marijuana from a woman at gunpoint.

According to court records in July 2006, Willis Alcutt was sentenced to 109 days in jail, and given three years probation.


Law enforcement continues the search for a third man implicated in the Friday robbery.

Murry has been described as a 32-year-old black man, standing 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 220 pounds. A resident of both Eureka and Richmond, Murry reportedly has gold teeth and a mustache.

The Sheriff's Office requests anyone with information about Murry's whereabouts or knowledge of the robbery to contact Detective Rich Schlesiger at 268-3642.


UPDATE:
Boo Boo has been captured - ☛ TS EPD arrests McKinleyville home invasion suspect
Eureka Police Department officers arrested a third suspect in the recent McKinleyville home invasion at a suspected indoor pot growing operation that left one man shot.

Davari Lamont Murry, 32, was arrested in a Eureka motel on Sunday without incident for allegedly taking part in the robbery, which occurred Nov. 21 on Coach Way....

...Murry, also known as “Boo Boo,” was also wanted for allegedly violating parole. He was booked on suspicion of robbery, false imprisonment, felony assault and conspiracy.

Although Murry was arrested, authorities are again seeking John Paul Alcutt, who has jumped bail and is currently wanted.
John Alcutt is described as a 6-foot, 1-inch tall black adult male, weighing 239 pounds with brown eyes.,,,

Friday, November 21, 2008

Gundersen faces new charge - UPDATED 2X

☛ TS Gundersen faces new charge
The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office filed a new criminal complaint against former Blue Lake Police Chief David Ray Gundersen on Thursday, alleging one felony count of theft by a public official.

”The new charge arises from alleged misconduct, also involving firearms, uncovered in an investigation by the Trinidad Police Department,” Assistant District Attorney Wes Keat wrote in an e-mail to the Times-Standard.

Gundersen was acquitted of two dozen spousal rape charges in September, but convicted on 11 lesser counts of battery, a count of violating a court order and two felony charges of illegally possessing a submachine gun and a pistol with a silencer.

He is due to be sentenced on those convictions at a hearing today, when a judge is also expected to hear oral arguments over a defense motion seeking a retrial and the dismissal of some of the convictions. Keat said Gundersen will also be arraigned on the new charge during today's court appearance.

Rather than follow Trinidad's charging recommendations, the DA's Office opted to instead charge a sole felony grand theft count for all the Trinidad firearms involved in the alleged Cinema Weaponry trade. The evidence tampering charges weren't pursued, likely due to the statute of limitations for misdemeanor charges.

If convicted on the felony grand theft charge, Gundersen would face a maximum of three years in prison.

On the issue of his prior case, his attorney Clanton filed a motion on Nov. 12 alleging that jury errors, insufficient evidence, issues with statutes of limitations and improper argument and questioning by District Attorney Paul Gallegos resulted in prejudiced jury verdicts that should be thrown out or, at least, retried.

In a four-page response, Keat argues that the verdicts are supported by evidence and that Clanton's statute of limitations argument is ill timed, and should have come during jury instructions.

”The defendant's motion is without merit,” Keat concludes in the filed response....

...Gallegos is currently out of the office for the week, but Keat said the DA's Office will be prepared to have Gundersen arraigned today, and will argue that his convictions should stand....


UPDATE:
Grand theft charge dismissed against former Blue Lake police chief

UPDATED:

Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

Alleged HSU rapist's rap sheet revealed

☛ TS
Alleged HSU rapist's rap sheet revealed

A 24-year-old McKinleyville man accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated 19-year-old Humboldt State University student multiple times Saturday night pleaded not guilty at his Thursday arraignment.

Court records show that Craig Martin Merz, who has been charged by the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office for using an intoxicant to commit rape, has a history of statutory rape and drug abuse in Humboldt County...

According to court documents, on Dec. 16, 2004, Fortuna Police arrested then 19-year-old Merz on suspicion of statutory rape, after he was accused by a 14-year-old Fortuna girl. Merz maintained that the sex was consensual, but in 2005, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor statutory rape and was sentenced to probation.

At the time of his 2004 arrest, he was found in possession of a glass methamphetamine pipe and psychedelic mushrooms, court records show.

In 2005, Merz was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and giving false identification to an officer, which resulted in a suspended sentence with 26 months of probation.

Merz was arrested twice in 2006 for drinking in public and loitering. And in February of this year, Merz was arrested on suspicion of petty theft.

According to court documents, after his arrest Merz admitted to probation officers that he had been using drugs and alcohol -- both violations of his parole.

A report from his probation officer found in his court file reads Merz's “performance has been dismal. Defendant continues to use drugs and alcohol.”

That probation officer recommended the court revoke Merz's probation and sentence him to 365 days in jail without early release. Merz was sentenced on April 2 to 365 days in jail, where he stayed until Oct. 13, when he was released with credit for time served.

Following the Thursday hearing, Merz was returned to the Humboldt County jail where he has been since his most recent arrest Sunday. His bail was set for $50,000....


☛ TS McKinleyville man arrested for alleged HSU rape 11/18/08

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sorry to hear this.


Michael was a nice man. And some of his political observations were dead on. Didn't know he had died.
R.I.P.

Arcata pot growers accept a plea agreement

☛ TS Arcata pot growers sentenced
Two Arcata men arrested in March on felony marijuana cultivation charges accepted a plea agreement from the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office and were sentenced in court Tuesday.
Robert Rivello, 34, and Christopher Yates, 33, were sentenced to 270 days in jail and three years felony probation after they were found with hundreds of marijuana plants growing in their Arcata residence. The men were also ordered to pay fines totaling around $20,380.


In other pot news:
☛ TS Arcata approves medical marijuana guidelines
☛ TS Medical marijuana: What will the guidelines be?
☛ TS Arcata to consider medical marijuana guidelines, new police position

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Les Kinsolving on People's Temple

Tuesday, November 18, tune into the online WCBM (Baltimore) radio broadcast of "The Les Kinsolving Show", 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) (6:00-8:00 our time). Les will be joined by son Tom and daughter Kathleen, to get the WHOLE story told about Jim Jones and The People's Temple.

Remember, 9 p.m. EST, at URL: WWW.WCBM.COM WWW.WCBM.COM

Tom Kinsolving gets a mention on Malkin Remembering Jonestown

Revelations! County DID work with Pro-Bono Bonifaz

All DUHC/Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap's protestations... all this noise - talk about lying by omission.

One of the big myths of the DUHC/Measure T has been outrage that the County had an offer of pro-bono assistance from 'an expert' named John Bonifaz, and refused it.

Well, turns out that is not true.

Testimony following today's 1:30 public comment time slot... County Counsel Wendy Chaitin, talking about the legal process surrounding Measure T: (I didn't catch it all , but this is the gist of what she said...)

When the Measure was challenged, the County was approched by DUHC, who offered the name of an attorney, and expert on Measure t and election law, offering pro-bono, or FREE legal advice (John Bonifaz). He was, however, not able to act as lead counsel, but could be a resource.

The County needed lead counsel, someone who was familiar with the workings of the (SF) District Court, who specialized in election law...

The Attorney the County hired had conversations with Bonifaz. Both acknowledged that it was going to be difficult for the county to prevail (in defending Measure T).

Bonifaz acknowledged that the attorney the Board hired presented a strong argument... Bonifaz reviewed everything, thought it was excellent work...

Judge Illston's decision showed that she had looked carefully at the Measure and fond it wanting on Constitutional grounds was very troubling... regarding PAC/action committees and Unions, gerneal First Amendment issues...

Illston's decision was based on many distinct grounds that it was likely Measure T would not be found to be Constitutional...

There was a 'severability' clause built into the Measure, so that if any portios of the Measure could survive those could stand. the Judge ruled she couldn't find anything in it that would survive....

***

The speakers who responded to Kaitlin/DUHC/Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights (can we just quit pretending that these are separate, and acknowledge that they are one and the same? You should've heard Cobb on the radio pretending he didn't know who people were as they called in - if you really want campaign reform around here you have to put a stop to all these phony 'groups.') - anyway, those who showed up in response to her call for help were interesting, too. And I do mean interesting.

***
Update:
TS coverage today Dozens voice support for Measure T fails to mention County Counsel Chaitin's comments. "There were 35 people expressing disappointment at the settlement of Measure T,” said David Cobb, a member of Democracy Unlimited and vocal proponent of the measure. “In my time here, that's the largest group of people I've seen speak during public comment on any issue that wasn't actually agendized.”

Fails to point out that at least 4 of the speakers work for/ARE 'Democracy Unlimited" (DUHC)/"Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights"/Humboldt County Independent Business Alliance (HumIBA)/Liberty Tree/who knows how many others.

Let's get this straight - DAVID COBB IS Democracy Unlimited. He is not a "member." He is it. He and Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap. He is not just a 'vocal proponent' - he is THE driving force. He and Kaitlin. Humboldt Coalition for Community Rights IS Democracy Unlimited, is Cobb, is Kaitlin.

And... "The Humboldt County Independent Business Alliance (HumIBA) is a project of Democracy Unlimited that serves as a coalition of ______" fill in the blank…) Pay no attention to the little man behind the curtain…

Funny how Cobb and Co. are so against corporations while they are trying to create their own alternative corporate reality. He has his own currency... trying to rewrite laws to suit his grand vision of the way things ought to be... A nice little reality where David Cobb is the Mayor, the Police Chief, the Judge, the Senator, the Newspaper Editor, the streetsweeper, the cafe owner... It's a WONDERFUL life, if you all would just pass his damn Measures and pay the bills.

But stop calling them "members" and stop pretending along with them that they have only a passing acquaintance with the related groups.

(If you really want a laugh, listen to Cobb's radio show, where the guests from Liberty Tree pretend not to know Kaitlin and Cobb...

Jasnosz pleads not guilty

☛ TS Jasnosz pleads not guilty
Paul Alan Jasnosz, a 42-year-old Samoa man facing charges stemming from the alleged continual rape and physical abuse of his family over several years, pleaded not guilty on all counts in a Humboldt County courtroom Monday.

Jasnosz stands accused of 63 charges, which include counts of forcible rape, sexual abuse of children, false imprisonment, assault with a firearm and threatening his family with harm....

...A jury trial for Jasnosz is scheduled to take place Jan 5. He is expected to return to court Dec. 8 for pretrial.
Jasnosz remains in the Humboldt County jail on $300,000 bail.

Plea deal in foiled murder-for-hire plot

☛ TS Dennis Larsen free on probation

Dennis Larsen, a Fortuna man charged for allegedly, and perhaps unwittingly, aiding his son in a foiled murder-for-hire plot, accepted a plea agreement and pleaded no contest before a Humboldt County Superior Court judge on Monday.

In addition to pleading no contest to the charge of soliciting murder, 63-year-old Larsen pleaded no contest to charges he acted as an accessory to a felony.

According to his attorney William Bragg, as part of the agreement, Larsen will receive three years probation, and no additional jail time. Each count carries a sentence of three years felony probation, which will run concurrently for a three-year total probation sentence.

Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna accepted the plea and ordered Larsen's release from the Humboldt County jail, where he has been held since June.

His sentencing is scheduled to take place in early January.

The agreement stipulates none of the statements Larsen made during the agreement may be used by the prosecution against his son, Chad Larsen. It also stipulates Dennis Larsen is not to contact his son until the completion of his trial....


Though the son drew his father into the plot... it seems the Dad was not going along with the plot...

...Following the third recorded conversation, (DA Chief Investigator Mike) Hislop testified that Dennis Larsen and Ray Potvin, a close friend of Chad Larsen's, drove to the Ferndale police station and reported their situation to authorities.

While Dennis Larsen and Potvin sat at the police station, a fourth call was made by (Parole officer Gregory) Allen (posing as a man named Carl Wallace) to the men. In the recording, Potvin answers the phone and tells Allen the deal is off.

The District Attorney's Office is not offering a plea bargain to Chad Larsen at this time. Chad Larsen is being held without bail, and has pleaded not guilty to his charges.

His trial is expected to begin Dec. 1.


☛ TS Chad Larsen jury trial reset 11/25/08
A jury trial for Chad Larsen, scheduled to take place Dec. 1, will be postponed again, a Humboldt County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Some stains never fade

An excellent piece by James Faulk in today's ☛ TS Some stains never fade
It was easily the most uncomfortable elevator ride of my life.

It was just after Assistant District Attorney Tim Stoen had announced his intention to leave the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office for his old stomping ground of Mendocino. He was leaving the position, and the building, possibly for good -- he had a box of desk trinkets under his arm and a relieved look on his face.

He had received some rough treatment in the local press, for making waves with high-profile cases that over time didn't seem to hold water.

But more than that, Stoen was incensed that every time I mentioned him in a news story, I felt it relevant to mention that he was a former high-ranking lieutenant for Jim Jones, the reverend and cult leader now on heavy rotation on MSNBC. Why? We are nearing the 30th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre, where, on Nov. 18, 1978, roughly 900 people died in a mass suicide.

One of the primary reasons for Jones' power and success was the undying loyalty, and sometimes brilliant complicity, of his henchmen. Near the top of the list of loyal Jones compatriots was Stoen, who had often successfully put his legal mind to work for the Peoples Temple....
Read the rest.


The thing about Stoen, in my observation, is that he hasn't changed. He proved that with his actions in Humboldt County, where he appeared to have found his new Jim Jones, and a new cause.

30 years



Related: misc articles, feel free to send links...
JONESTOWN MASSACRE: The Unrevealed Story Jan, 1999 by Jeff A. Schnepper USA Today

Monday, November 17, 2008

Glenn Beck: Big bad Wal-Mart

...why is Wal-Mart succeeding? Why is Wal-Mart succeeding while others fail? It's easy. ... Wal-Mart is one of the only businesses that runs themselves like a business today. Everybody else is running their business like a government. ...

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Historical Accuracy

So, as the Anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre approaches, there are specials on the various networks, and stories in the paper. It's that time of year when Tim Stoen has to endure yet another few days of exquisite torture; interviews, attention and notoriety. This year is a big one, the 30 Year Anniversary.

Everyone 'knows' what happened, or thinks they do. This article in the Chronicle 10 days that shook S.F. gives a pretty good accounting with one major, repetitive flaw.

The Chronicle always leave out the early exposés written by Les Kinsolving. He was the Religion Writer for the San Francisco Examiner back then, and he had been approached by people who were very concerned about what was happening in People's Temple. They were begging the paper to 'do SOMETHING!'

His series was killed because of pressure from the Temple, including pressure from the Temple's Attorney, Jim Jones' second-in-command-right-hand-man, Tim Stoen.

Kinsolving's pieces can be viewed here, including the pieces that did not run.
1. THE PROPHET WHO RAISES THE DEAD Examiner [September 17, 1972 Page 1]
2. 'HEALING' PROPHET HAILED AS GOD AT S.F. REVIVAL Examiner [Monday, Sept. 18, 1972]
3. D.A. AIDE (Stoen) OFFICIATES FOR MINOR BRIDE Wednesday, September 20, 1972
4. PROBE ASKED OF PEOPLE'S TEMPLE Wednesday, September 20, 1972
5. THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE AND MAXINE HARPE (never ran)
6. THE REINCARNATION OF JESUS CHRIST -- IN UKIAH (never ran)
7. JIM JONES DEFAMES A BLACK PASTOR (never ran)
8. SEX, SOCIALISM, AND CHILD TORTURE WITH REV. JIM JONES (never ran)
They can also be viewed here: jonestownapologistsalert.blogspot.com/

Stoen apologized to Kinsolving a few years ago. (Press Democrat) presumably that apology is meant to cover not only getting the stories killed but the plot to kill Kinsolving himself.

The Chronicle would do well to get over whatever its reason for ignoring Kinsolving's work. Leaving out this important part of the story does a disservicve to their readers.

The story of the people who tried to do something, who tried to stop the madness long before the massacre is one that really ought to be told. No one took them seriously, no one listened, and they risked their lives to get the truth out. IF anyone had paid attention, 900 people might be alive today.

His weren't the only pieces that were squashed by pressure from the Temple (Indianapolis Star reporter Carolyn Pickering had the goods on Jones years before that....), there's alot to be told. And the newspapers have alot to atone for.

(And CNN isn't makin' it any better: CNN's 'Escape From Jonestown' Downplays Democratic Connections)

30 Years Later, The Tragedy Which Could Have Been Prevented

Tom Kinsolving gets a mention on Malkin Remembering Jonestown

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Recommended Gundersen charges stem back to old investigations - UPDATED TWICE

UPDATED:

Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

☛ TS http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_10992456

Current Trinidad Police Chief Ken Thrailkill said Wednesday that his department is recommending Gundersen face charges of embezzlement, violating a court order, four counts of felony grand theft by a public official and four counts of evidence tampering.

Thrailkill said he started investigating the case when the District Attorney's Office turned up Trinidad Police Department evidence while searching the Blue Lake Police Department's evidence storage facility after Gundersen's Feb. 8 arrest on suspicion of spousal rape.

The investigation has spanned months, Thrailkill said, and the recommended charges stem from a pair of cases Gundersen investigated almost a decade ago in Trinidad.

In August of 1999, Gundersen arrested John Glenn Benson, who was later charged with selling marijuana and brandishing a firearm in a rude, angry or threatening manner, according to court records.

After Benson's sentencing, Superior Court Judge Dale Reinholtsen ordered that all the firearms in the case, except for two, be labeled a nuisance and confiscated for proper disposal.

According to court records, the two remaining guns, a MK4 303 rifle and a JC Higgins .22 caliber rifle, were ordered to be returned to the Trinidad Police Department.

According to Thrailkill, that never happened.

Even after Gundersen left the Trinidad Police Department to take the same position in Blue Lake in late 1999, he was still tasked with providing law enforcement for the sea-side town, as the two cities entered into a contract under which the Blue Lake Police Department covered Trinidad.

That contract was in place in April of 2000, when Gundersen investigated and arrested Floyd “Jim” Sharum, a former Trinidad city councilman and mayor.

”When we showed up to arrest (Sharum), he had a bag of marijuana and meth and a loaded .45 caliber handgun in a shoulder harness,” Gundersen told the North Coast Journal at the time.

Sharum was later charged with passing false checks, grand theft and possessing methamphetamine, firearms, hashish and a destructive device, according to court records. In January 2001, Sharum pleaded guilty to grand theft and possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to spend more than two years in prison.

At the sentencing hearing, a Humboldt County Superior Court judge ordered that, because the terms of Sharum's plea prohibited him from owning guns, the firearms in the case be turned over to the Blue Lake Police Department -- save a pair of .22 caliber rifles that were ordered to be turned over to a third party.

According to Thrailkill, that too never happened.


UPDATE:
Grand theft charge dismissed against former Blue Lake police chief

UPDATED:

Former Blue Lake Police Chief David Gundersen has been cleared of all major charges first filed against him in 2008. - Arcata Eye MARCH 2012

****

Friday, November 14, 2008

Pled? Plead? Pleaded?

Which is it?

Hell's Angels and Mongols?

☛ TS Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime
Four men accused of gunning down a Hells Angels member outside an Old Town bar last week were arraigned in court Thursday afternoon on charges of attempted murder, assault with a firearm and participating in a criminal street gang.

At their Thursday arraignment, the suspects -- Eric Gunner Lundin, 28, Dustin Christopher Liebes, 36, Brad Lee Miller, 26, and Redding resident Eric Dean Garcia, 28 -- all pleaded not guilty to the charges, and were appointed public defenders.

Investigators in the case have speculated the shooting may have resulted from a rivalry between two biker gangs: The Hells Angels and the Mongols.

Eureka Police Detective Patrick O'Neill could neither confirm nor deny the four suspects are members of the Mongols, but Thursday's charges indicate authorities do believe the shooting was gang-related.


What is Fort Humboldt Krew? (in TS comments)

Related:
☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
11/09/2008 - A Merced man was seriously wounded after he was shot outside The Shanty in Eureka late Friday night, and four men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder shortly afterward....
☛ TS Alleged Mongols shooters charged for gang crime
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar
☛ Modesto Bee Detectives kept an eye on Thompson because of his Hells Angels membership
☛ The AgingRebel.com Biker Motive Alleged In Shooting
☛ TS Hells Angel shot Friday was cleared of murdering girls in Merced
11/11/2008 - A man who was gunned down in the street outside an Old Town bar Friday night had recently been acquitted of a 1986 murder of two young girls in Atwater.

☛ TS Four arrests follow shooting outside bar
☛ Merced Sun Star Robert Thompson shot outside Eureka bar

One arrested, two hospitalized after fight outside Eureka bar
11/16/2008 - A brutal fight outside a Eureka bar, The Shanty, early Saturday morning left one man in jail and two others recovering from serious injuries in the hospital.

☛ TS Prelim begins for alleged Mongols shooters

☛ TS Expert links shooting suspects to Mongols motorcycle gang

☛ TS Suspected Mongols accept plea agreement
12/18/2008 - Members of the Mongols biker gang implicated in the shooting of a suspected Hells Angel in early November have all accepted plea agreements offered by the Humboldt County district attorney.

Mongols members sentenced for shooting 1.21.09

Worth noting

Not something I've been following but worth noting - ☛ TS (California) Supreme Court declines to review Tooby Ranch decision

Judge says Larsens may be tried separately

☛ TS Judge says Larsens may be tried separately 11/13/08
A Humboldt County Superior Court judge continued a motion to separate the cases of Dennis Eugene Larsen and his son Chad Larsen -- a father and son implicated in a failed murder-for-hire plot.

In October, Chad Larsen's attorney, M.C. Bruce, requested the codefendants be severed and tried by separate juries.

A judge allowed several weeks for Bruce and Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos to make their cases.

However, when the attorneys returned to court Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Timothy Cissna told them he found the “pleadings on both sides woefully inadequate to address the serious issue in this serious case.”

Cissna gave the attorneys until Nov. 17 to return to court with more detailed arguments.

Cissna said his tentative plan is to order the codefendants severed, but that judgment is pending the Nov. 17 hearing.


Prev:
☛ TS Preliminary hearing for murder-for-hire plot delayed
Judge to rule on privacy issues in alleged murder conspiracy 11/06/08
Motion to dismiss upcoming in murder-for-hire case 9/11/08
Recordings show murder-for-hire suspects' confusion 8/28/08
Recordings of phone conversations made between an undercover agent posing as a hit man and two of the three Fortuna men accused of participating in a failed murder-for-hire plot were played at the men's preliminary hearing Wednesday.

The calls of Dennis Larsen, 63, and Ray Lone-Wolf Potvin, 29, were introduced on the third day of the hearing. The men, along with Dennis Larsen's 28-year-old son Chad Larsen, are accused of plotting to murder a 16-year-old girl, who planned to testify against Chad Larsen in his statutory rape case.

Chad Larsen allegedly solicited four fellow inmates to kill the girl while he was in the Humboldt County jail, offering to pay at least $1,500. According to investigators, when Potvin and Dennis Larsen paid a visit to the jail June 12, Chad Larsen held up a note to the glass instructing his father to accept a call from a man named Carl Wallace, pay him $500 and help him as needed.

☛ TS Hearing continues for alleged murder-for-hire trio 8/27/08
Men arrested in alleged murder-for-hire plot 6/18/08

Then there was this one: (another murder plot)
☛ TS Alleged murder plot against a prominent local family thwarted Robert Primeau
☛ TS Man accused of plotting murder of prominent couple takes plea bargain
☛ TS Primeau sentenced to four years, four months

His trial is expected to begin Dec. 1.

☛ TS Chad Larsen jury trial reset 11/25/08
A jury trial for Chad Larsen, scheduled to take place Dec. 1, will be postponed again, a Humboldt County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Vehicular manslaughter suspect has extensive criminal history

☛ TS Vehicular manslaughter suspect has extensive criminal history
Court records show that before his latest arrest on Oct. 6, Jason Bradley Whitmill was routinely cycling between the Humboldt County Superior Court, the county jail and the streets of Humboldt County.

Since 1997, Whitmill had appeared in the Humboldt County Superior Court around 17 times for various violations.
Court records show that ◼ in January 2005 Whitmill was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer for driving a stolen car. Whitmill, who was on active parole, pleaded guilty to the charge of auto theft, and was sentenced to 68 days in jail.

◼ In February of 2006, Whitmill was found in a Eureka alley with a small plastic bag containing methamphetamine, a police report indicates.

He was on active parole at the time. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay $1,310, and was sentenced to 31 days in the Humboldt County jail. He was given conditional release upon the completion of the sentence.

Traffic records show that ◼ in October of 2006, Whitmill was stopped by a traffic patrol officer and ticketed for driving on a suspended license without a seat belt, vehicle registration or insurance.

◼ Less than a week later, Whitmill was stopped again for failing to stop at a stop sign, as well as driving without registration or insurance on a suspended license.

During ◼ late April, 2007, Whitmill was arrested by Eureka police officers for possession of methamphetamine. He was taken into custody, and court records show that during a subsequent hearing, Whitmill flipped off an officer inside the court, leading a judge to charge him with disorderly behavior. He pleaded guilty to both charges.

For those charges, Whitmill would later be sentenced to a total of 306 days in jail and a $300 fine.

◼ On Oct. 2, 2007, Whitmill was arrested after trespassing on private property, but those charges were dropped.

Then, ◼ in December of 2007, Whitmill was spotted driving again. According to a Eureka police officer's written account, Whitmill attempted to evade the officer, speeding “with wanton disregard for safety.”

During the chase, Whitmill stopped his car and fled on foot into a nearby greenbelt to hide. He was located and arrested shortly afterward.

After searching his car, officers reported finding numerous bags of marijuana and a hypodermic needle. Whitmill pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 135 days in jail, and ordered to pay a $300 fine.

Less than a year later, ◼ on Oct. 6, 2008, Whitmill was arrested again -- this time he was charged for murder.



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Murder charges - Mustang found
☛ TS Whitmill faces murder charge for alleged role in crash
☛ ER Driver charged with murder in connection to fatal street race collision
Driver of the silver mustang found - the car is missing, and painted black.
☛ ER Second driver arrested in suspected street race crash
☛ TS Authorities arrest driver of Mustang
Find that silver mustang/UPdate(s)
☛ TS Driver sought: Suspected drag race on 299 results in fatal crash
TS Update: ☛ TS Police still looking for driver
☛ TS Search continues for other driver in fatal crash
☛ TS New driver identified in fatal crash
☛ TS New driver named in fatal collision
☛ ER Parolee named as driver in fatal collision