☛TS Hoopa man shot on New Year's Eve
Authorities are searching for a man who is believed to have shot a 33-year-old man in Hoopa on New Year's Eve.
The suspect, 29-year-old Thomas “T-Bear” Kinder, is wanted by law enforcement for allegedly shooting the 33-year-old. The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office has so far declined to name the victim.
He's a Teddy Bear?
UPDATE: ☛TS Hoopa shooting suspect surrenders himself
Flanked by a family member and his girlfriend, Thomas “T-Bear” Kinder peacefully surrendered himself to authorities Wednesday afternoon for his role in a New Year's Eve shooting in Hoopa that left a man hospitalized.
”Is there a reward for bringing me in? If so, she brought me,” Kinder joked after turning himself in to the Eureka Police Department main station. “She brought me in at finger point.”
Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Lt. George Cavinta told the Times-Standard earlier this week that investigators believe Kinder shot a 33-year-old man with a handgun shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.
In a phone interview with the Times-Standard just hours before surrendering to authorities, Kinder admitted to shooting the man, but said it was in self-defense.,,,
...Investigators and Kinder agree the New Year's Eve shooting was the result of an altercation that occurred several days earlier.
Cavinta said authorities had been searching for Kinder since the Dec. 28 altercation, when Kinder allegedly struck the man in the head with a flashlight. Kinder said that incident, too, was self-defense.
Kinder said he was walking home on Dec. 28 when he came across a large mud puddle on the side of the road. To avoid the puddle, Kinder said he crossed the lawn of a roadside home. The alleged victim then came out of the residence and he and Kinder exchanged words, Kinder said.
At that point, Kinder said the alleged victim and his brother, who was carrying a large knife, attacked him.
”I would have knuckled up if it had just been me and (the alleged victim), but his brother came out with a big knife,” Kinder said, adding that he used the flashlight he was carrying as a weapon, striking both men in the head, leaving them unconscious. “I did what I had to do to defend myself.”
Kinder was wanted by Hoopa Tribal Police after the incident, but didn't turn himself in, saying he hoped if he laid low the situation would blow over.
”Things just disappear out here,” he said. “I didn't want to go turning myself in to the tribal police because I didn't trust them.”
Kinder said his girlfriend, Erin Chenault, and a friend were then driving in his car on the afternoon of Dec. 31, when they were stopped by the alleged victim. Kinder said the man kicked his girlfriend in the stomach and tried to kick in the car window before saying he had a gun and was looking to kill Kinder.
When word of the incident got back to Kinder, he said he was worried for his safety and immediately looked to get out of the area.
”When he told my girl that he had a gun and was looking to kill me, that's when I went and dusted off my piece and put it on my hip,” Kinder said. “That's why I had the gun that night.”
Kinder said he asked a friend to give him a ride out of town, but the friend instead dropped him off not far from the alleged victim's house, refusing to take him any farther. Immediately feeling uneasy, Kinder said he then called his girlfriend to come pick him up.
A short time later, while walking along the road, Kinder said he heard a car pull up and thought it was his girlfriend before recognizing the car as the alleged victim's.
”He stopped at Marshall Road on the way to his house,” Kinder said. “He just slammed his car to a halt in the street and said, 'This is it, we're going to settle this right here and now -- it's over, Kinder.'”
Kinder said he started taking off his jacket, preparing for a fist fight, but claimed he noticed the alleged victim raising a revolver at him as he exited his car.
”The only reason I pulled a gun is because I saw him coming at me with his,” Kinder said. “I was ready to knuckle up. I don't go waving guns around. The only time I pull it is if the trigger is going to be pulled right behind it.”
Kinder said he fired a single shot into the man's abdomen before fleeing the scene. Law enforcement and media reports, Kinder said, have the story all wrong.
”Because (he) is not right in the head, I got stuck with making a decision I didn't want to make,” Kinder said, adding that he felt the situation was certain to have ended with either him or the other man shot. “I didn't want to get shot in the back running away. Now, I'm made out to be some kind of animal, but it didn't have to be that way. ...It was either him or me, what was I supposed to do?”...
First Boo Boo, now Teddy. You People need to get control of your Bears.
ReplyDeleteWhat would Mr. Ranger think?
Rose, Do you have any information on the cyclist who was killed on 299 near Blue Lake a few months ago? Gallegos spoke to our bike safety group in Arcata a few weeks ago and was vague about what, if anything, he had planned for the murderer. I use the word "murder" because the cyclist was doing everything by the book and was riding all the way over on the extreme right, well off the freeway. Nevertheless, he was hit by the LEFT fender of the car! I have trouble believing that could have been accidental.
ReplyDeleteBTW G arrived late to our meeting, in a sweatshirt and jeans, and took a cell phone call during his speech to a roomful (200+) of concerned cyclists. It was hard to pin him down, but he seemed to be telling us that "my hands are tied--don't expect much."
Cyclist
I don't. And there hasn't been much written about it. But I will keep my ears open.
ReplyDeleteYour description of how Paul conducts himself is one I have heard from many people. They're always surprised because they have this great picture of him in their minds. He's always late, if he shows.
Well, I don't share your politically motivated hatred of G but we all felt a bit patronized that night. A cyclist had been run down--maybe intentionally--and we were hoping our DA would at least show some spine.
ReplyDeleteSo it's on to the trial, if there is one...
cyclist
Well, I guess 'politically motivated hatred' is what it looks like. Fair enough.
ReplyDeleteWhen he was elected, I had as high a hope for him as you, most likely. He and Jill were coming into office at the same time. I'd never heard anything bad about him. When Salzman basically forced him to endorse Jill, I thought it was a bit odd, but I put it down to just being shy.
Their "victory" party was at the Avalon, a curious mix of suits/lawyers, and McKinleyville types.
I didn't know any of them then. Harry Kasakian came up to me and gleefully gave me his card, it was obvious he was thrilled to have one.
It wasn't until March (2003) that it suddenly became apparent that something wasn't what it had seemed to be. Paul had announced that he would be filing his lawsuit against PL, and Salzman came to my house to see if I had heard anything.
He had the oddest notions - like he would say things like, call Bonnie Neely and tell her that Mr. Neely better this that or the other thing... as if I could call Bonnie, as if because she and I were Republicans that meant we communed through some strange antenna, and it frustrated him that I would not do it.
But he came that day to see if I had heard anything - because what he was hearing was that Rob Arkley Sr. was threatening a Recall. I told him to relax, that Mr. Arkley had a habit of saying things like that. I hadn't heard anything, but i asked around. At that point no one else had either.
But Richard was in full battle mode, he was forming the AEB, he was opening a bank account, and he was printing Gallegos bumoer stickers.
I've written about this before, when i started this blog.
All of a sudden, by a quirk of fate, I was seeing something that was going on that wasn't right. That wasn't known, and, a few conversations later, he said "This is bigger than you can possibly imagine!"
In the months and years that followed, as the Recall first failed to take hold and then finally managed to get on the ballot, I watched the media take up the popular cause and refuse to look at Richard.
I saw the spin, and I saw the lies, and pieces of the machine that was at work.
I don't have all answers even yet.
But for all the talk and posturing and concern for election reform in this county, all the passion that goes into Measure T, NO ONE has yet looked at what happened here. No one ever will.
But I decided that when the time came for the spin machine to go into gear to destroy the next opponent of that tool, Paul Gallegos, there would be a record of what he had done. A resource for the media so that they did not have to rely on Richard Salzman's PR machine for the truth.
Politically motivated? I guess you can say that.
It's not how I look at it. I see it as stopping an injustice. Stopping the lies. Stopping a rogue DA from filing politically motivated cases for someone like Salzman. And Miller.
I don't expect you to understand it. I never intended for this blog to even be one where it was interactive, and where we had conversations like this. I saw it as a listing of pros and cons.
"Soft on crime" - that was the primary charge against Gallegos during the Recall. That was laughed off.
But it is as true today as it was then - only now, you have case after case after case to prove it. Plea deal after plea deal after plea deal with really bad guys. And full-fledged prosecutions of innocents like Sean Marsh.
Now you can see the political nature of the PL case - and you can see that it had no merit - literally LAUGHED out of court.
You can hear it now.
And you are starting to see the price that has been, and is being paid.
He'll come and tell you what you want to hear, and he will look pretty for the camera, but there's no there there.
It was indeed "bigger than you can possibly imagine" and it still is. Salzman is still working to control the public offices around here.
It's just not ok with me. It's really that simple.
Politically motivated hatred. there ya have it.
Whew! I Talk about opening the flood gates...
ReplyDeleteRose, I'm afraid your outrage is selective and partisan. You may have a point about G, but where is your outrage at Arkley's equally heavy handed attempts to manipulate the electorate?
cyclist
Politics aside, I do appreciate your "feet to the fire" approach to an important public figure. We've certainly had more than our share of corruption up here; it's past time for some scrutiny of our government officials.
ReplyDeleteYou're a good investigative journalist but you tend to shoot yourself in the foot with specious right wing tirades. For example, the rant about global warming has nothing to do with G and simply detracts from your credibility. That's a shame, because this blog is otherwise a very useful community resource.
You want Arkley outrage, you can
ReplyDeleteput up watcharkley. Focus, man, focus.
I'm not a journalist, much less an investigative journalist. Just a person. But thanks for the compliment.
ReplyDeleteYeah - you're right - I have allowed the blog to branch out into general interest stuff. Maybe that's a mistake.
But the Global Warming stuff is related to the manipulators here. The ones who want to institute fees and regulations and restrictions on you. They're way worse for you than any 'right-winger' much as it is nice to play with those cute little boxes with labels on 'em.
Global Warming is a tool, a means to an end.
But like I said, if you believe in it, start figuring out how to prosper in the Global Warming future. Design a line of bikinis or fans or something.
Local bicyclist's death further spurs a call for change
ReplyDelete...the death of avid bicycle commuter Gregory Jennings.
Jennings died Monday after his bicycle was hit by a car when it drifted onto the shoulder off State Route 299. Authorities said Jennings, a respected biologist well-known in local botany circles, was wearing colorful clothing and was riding on the side of the shoulder farthest from vehicle lanes....
Man killed in 299 crash identified
The Humboldt County Coroner's Office Tuesday released the name of the bicyclist who was killed after a car struck him on State Route 299 near Blue Lake.
Gregory Jennings, 42, of Blue Lake, died from blunt force trauma to his head Monday afternoon. The California Highway Patrol reported that the driver, Alan Bear, 27, of Hoopa, was driving his 2002 Nissan pickup truck eastbound on 299 when he allowed his car to drift to the right side of the road onto the paved shoulder, hitting Jennings.
Jennings was ejected from his bicycle and landed on the grass. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Coroner Frank Jager said a witness who was driving down the road behind Bear saw the accident and said Jennings was wearing colorful clothing and was far off to the side of the road.
”This was a guy that was doing everything right,” Jager said of Jennings. Jager said Bear's car also had a female passenger who fled the scene after the accident for unknown reasons.
Bear was arrested and investigators are still determining whether drugs or alcohol were a contributing factor, the CHP report said.
I haven't seen any reports about the guy getting struck by the LEFT side of the car - do you have a link? Maybe the Eye?
"start figuring out how to prosper in the Global Warming future. Design a line of bikinis or fans or something."
ReplyDeleteIrresponsible and flip. You need to start figuring out what you can do to stop it from happening. Kindly spare us the quick cash scenarios. Rose, Global Warming is not a big conspiracy by the evil Left, it's a well-established scientific fact of life at this point.
Look, I don't mind your right wing politics, even if I don't agree with you. But please do try to skip the crackpot science. You're simply out of your depth and it undermines all the good work you're doing.
cyclist
You're entitled to your opinion. But you can't stop the planet from warming any more than you can stop it from cooling, anymore than you can stop earthquakes and hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you want to return to sanity and talk about preventing pollution - we can talk. That is something we can do, should do, and were all willing TO do without the "Global warming" guilt trip.
Maybe if we could get back to that place, we would find some of the polarization would go away.
Actually, we CAN stop the planet from warming further; this is the whole point.
ReplyDeleteObviously G has different politics than you. So what? However If he's truly incompetent--or even dishonest, we definitely need to know about it. I'm new here but I plan to review your posts and see if I can learn more about our DA.
If you could just skip the junk science, your arguments would come off much more effectively. Of course, it's your Blog and you can steer the ship onto the nearest reef if you like.
cyclist
Actually, we CAN stop the planet from warming further; this is the whole point.
ReplyDeleteBalderdash. the point is to line the pockets of that sorry sad sack, Al Gore. And others like him.
Again, if you believe you can stop the planet from warming by turning down your thermostat, have at. But, realize, your growhouse neighbor is burning the watts with abandon, and you aren't saying Boo about that. (The figurative 'you.')
It's all a buncha BS.
Cleaner emissions to stop smog, that we can agree on, pretending there's a great big boogeyman out there to try'n make us feel guilty and pay up, that's bunk.
Recycling because it a good thing - we can agree on that. Consuming less because it is a good thing, we can agree on that. Less materialism, we can agree on that. we were all there already, way back in the 60s and 70s, on board with that.
In fact, people I know were willing an thrilled to work to live better - grow better food, eat better, recycle, because they were proud to make a difference. They didn't need to be beaten over the head and told they were sinners who must repent.
If I wanna do that, I'll go to church.
Cyclist: Seems that G wasn't too open or honest with your group. His hands are tied? Really? Well they haven't been tied in other vehicle v person accidents. He filed manslaughter charges against the woman who lost control of her car and killed Roger Rodoni. He also filed manslaughter charges against a poor elementary school teacher who lost control of her car in a hail storm and tragically killed a student.
ReplyDeleteI am not getting why he can't go after the guy who deliberately ran down your friend.
BTW I don't understand when you wrote: "where is your outrage at Arkley's equally heavy handed attempts to manipulate the electorate?" What the hek does that have to do with anything about your friends death? And if I remember correctly, Arkley spent a ton of money to put G into office and spent a ton of money to defeat the recall, so...you've got me lost on that comment.
Good points 1:03.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me "progressives" were more than happy to take Arkley's money, and he wasn't portrayed as the devil until he split with Salzman, then the demonization began.
I don't know what happened, but I assume that Arkley, like me, found out that there was more going on with Richard than he thought, and I suspect he didn't like it any more than i did.
Rose, The entire scientific community at Stanford, Oxford, Harvard, and Columbia, to name just a few agrees that Global Warming is due to vast quantities of human generated wastes that have polluted our atmosphere over the past century. Al Gore happens to be right to support this conclusion. Give it up, Rose--you're attempting a flat earth argument.
ReplyDelete"Convert! Now, dammit!"
ReplyDelete"Accept AlGore as your savior!"
"Heretic!"
Is that what you are saying?
The cyclist who was hit out on 299 wasn't a friend of mine but I'm interested finding out what happened for obvious reasons. I don't know whether or not the driver "deliberately hit him," but the circumstances of his death are certainly suspicious. We'd find out what really happened in a trial. However, after G's disappointing presentation to the cycling group in Arcata, I'm wondering if there will even be one.
ReplyDeleteAt Rose's request, I'll try to find more links on the accident. But even the one she posted poses some troubling questions.
cyclist
"Is that what you are saying?"
ReplyDeleteNice try, Rose. Listen, you and I both know what I am saying: there is overwhelming scientific evidence of man-induced global warming.
Al Gore is one relatively unimportant voice. He's simply following the lead supplied by the whole scientific community. You should too. Gore's star has set at this point. Ignore him if he bothers you, but pay attention to the science of Global Warming.
Frankly, your irrational hatred of Gore seems to have caused you to embrace crackpot science. Is your opposition to Gallegos similarly irrational?
I missed this update on the 299 cycling fatality which appeared a couple of weeks ago. Apparently it's going to trial. Now the question is: are the charges appropriate.
ReplyDeleteRose: Do you happen to know if this proceeding will include some kind of discovery during which we'll learn what actually took place?
http://www.green-wheels.org/node/525
cyclist
There is simply not the unanimity you claim regarding "global warming." In fact, most are not calling it global warming but are calling it climate change. Period.
ReplyDeleteThere is however a consensus of the scientific community that agrees that there is climate change and that what people are doing is contributing to it. (see how that is different that the sole cause of it?) Unfortunately, there are many in the university setting that have been told to duck step with the global warming group or face the loss of grants and/or jobs. This unfortunate fact only makes exploring the issue more difficult.
With that aside... there is a significant consensus of Humboldtians who haven't killed their brain cells from the idiotic consumption of pot that agree that Gallegos is dishonest, incompetent and is a waste of perfectly good space on the planet and that his job ought to be filled by an honest, careing and hardworking replacement who can talk to the public honestly and for once make sure that justice is accomplished.
Facts please instead of name calling on your Gallegos claims.
ReplyDeletecyclist
The BL tribe leaned on PG on the pipe attack, they got results. Gave him a talking to.
ReplyDeleteThe cyclist killer is from another tribe PG does not buck. Good luck. Same goes for the driver that killed the little girl. Tribe. PG won't touch it.
Huh? Tribes that are above the law? Which tribes are those supposed to be?
ReplyDeleteAs you can see, the driver is being prosecuted. I'm just wondering what will turn up and how it will end.
cyclist
Cyclist: You wrote: "Facts please instead of name calling on your Gallegos claims."
ReplyDeleteShucks man, don't you read this blog there are about 5 years of facts on it. Get back to me after you spend the time to read those facts. Dumped cases, threatened victims, plea bargains, plagiarism, lies to the public, late or no show to meetings, false information and deception in grants, abolishing specialty programs, inability to keep staff from fleeing to different counties. I could go on but the archives speak for themselves.
Enjoy your reading material.
Cyclist: You wrote: "Facts please instead of name calling on your Gallegos claims."
ReplyDeleteShucks man, don't you read this blog there are about 5 years of facts on it. Get back to me after you spend the time to read those facts. Dumped cases, threatened victims, plea bargains, plagiarism, lies to the public, late or no show to meetings, false information and deception in grants, abolishing specialty programs, inability to keep staff from fleeing to different counties. I could go on but the archives speak for themselves.
Enjoy your reading material.
"There is simply not the unanimity you claim regarding "global warming." In fact, most are not calling it global warming but are calling it climate change. Period."
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1011
cyclist
Holy crap, we are in deep shit if folks like cyclist are using Wikipedia for authority!
ReplyDeleteBut - if you look at wiki, it does CONFIRM WHAT I SAID CYCLIST. There is not unanimity, the only consensus out there is that the climate is changing, people contribute to that, and no one is for sure what exactly is causing it.
Thank you for acknowledging that.
Global Warming:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/
http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/
http://www.climatehotmap.org/
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html
cyclist
There is ZERO doubt the globe is warming. ZERO.
ReplyDeleteIf you can ignore the findings of virtually all the world's scientists, you are worse than stupid.
See above for SOME of the evidence.
Tell ya what - if you wanna leave links, include a brief teaser, you know, the relevant paragraph, the lead in, something to entice me to WANT to click on it.
ReplyDeleteHere's a question for ya - since you were defending Gore - he was the second most powerful man in the world for eight years. he had plans to be THE most powerful man in the world for another eight, and he fought really hard to try to force a recount of all those heavily democratic counties to ensure that win (but I digress) - he was the second most powerful man IN THE WORLD for EIGHT years.
WHAT did he do, during that eight years, to do a single goddam thing about global warming?
Let me rephrase that. WHAT did he do, during that eight years, about global warming?
Answer, NOTHING. NO-TH-ING. NO-THING.
Imagine what he could have done if he had taken it on as a cause, even as much as a first lady takes on literacy, for example, as a cause.
NOTHING.
Zip. Zero. Nada. Nada thing.
Tells you all you need to know.
Off subject, Rose. This is about a global emergency, not a washed up politician. You've got a hair up your ass about this guy because he's a Democrat. It's so irrational and blind that I have to wonder about the way you are leading the charge against Gallegos here.
ReplyDeleteI voted for Clinton/Gore. It has nothing to do with him being a democrat. It has to do with him being a charlatan. I'm saying, open your eyes. Think.
ReplyDelete:) And, you didn't address the point.
ReplyDeleteThe point is global warming, not Al Gore, although he happened to be right about this issue. You're obviously stuck right there--how to support a worthwhile cause that happens to be endorsed by Gore?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the entire scientific establishment is on its knees BEGGING you to deal with the emergency that is upon us. But while the temperatures is rising...you have your head firmly in the sand.
What I get from this is that your hatred of Democrats trumps reason.
Yeah. I see what you are trying to make it out as. Keep painting.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you so insistent at changing this thread to be about global warming. Go somewhere else to rant on that.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a slam on democrats. I am a goddamn democrat. This is a slam on a really shitty man who is an incompetent DA and an embarassment to other democrats, ok?
I think it is obscene that we have this guy as a DA who professes to be a dem, but shits on dem principles. Lying, cheating, abolishing programs for kids, the elderly, victims of domestic violence and the environment. Gutting all that is a good thing cyclist? If so, I am disgusted with my party if those ideals are no longer considered important.
So vote Republican next time.
ReplyDeletecyclist
Fuck you cyclist for that shitty response. Are you telling me you don't give a crap about elder abuse, or domestic violence, or the environment, or about a kid that gets beaten to death, starved or raped? Your only response is to " so vote Republican next time." Well, that stupid, shallow and callous response truly shows me what a close minded ass you are.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it cyclist, is your mantra, "give me trails and fuck everything else including little kids and grandmothers!" How progressive of you.
How does caring about a competent DA, caring about Victim's Rights (remember the Victim Witness program?) suddenly become a REPUBLICAN thing?
ReplyDeletehave we disintegrated so far that you can even imagine such a thing?
Must mean that if you think that guy who killed the cyclist ought to be prosecuted, then you must be a Republican, too, cyclist.
Or do you think the only people who care about that are, what? Democrats? Green? What?
Please.
Caring about competence and integrity in the District Attorney better not be a Republican thing only, or it sure says a whole lotta bad about Dems, Greens and Progressives.
Are you HUMAN? Or are you a party, a box on a form?
I guess I'm not human. Thanks for the clarification. You certainly know how to win people over.
ReplyDeletecyclist
Please - Rose, please let me answer Cyclist.
ReplyDeleteNo Cyclist, if you don't give a crap about women and children and grandmothers who get raped or beaten or abused, if you don't give a flying fart in space that we have people dumping diesel into our earth and our water supply because they care more about making money and sitting on their asses trimming dope hen they do working an honest job, if you could give a shit about a little old man eating dog food, because some asshole bilked him out of his retirement, if these things that have and should matter to any decent human being don't matter to you because you have other priorities (like blindly following some party line INSTEAD OF FIGHTING TO CHANGE IT BACK TO WHAT TRULY IS IMPORTANT,) then yes cyclist you are NOT human...
and I hope we never meet in that sorry event.
I sincerely hope that you aren't like this and that what you have been advancing were just knee jerk remarks that you really didn't think about. I so hope that is true.
No, cyclist. You ARE Human. You are not defined by a box checked on a form to enable you to vote.
ReplyDeleteYou care about the cyclist that got hit and killed. You care about justice. You do care about competence.
It's often said that public meetings go largely unattended, until somebody's ox gets gored, then the halls fill with people who want to right a wrong.
When things are running smoothly, it's 'boring' - you don't have to worry about it, you are able to turn your attention to other things.
Your ox has been gored. You see the need for some reform. Others have had their ox gored, too. Different oxes(oxen?), but the same source. They also see the need for reform.
That is what matters. Not partisan registration. If we could, we should abolish all political party affiliation. It wouldn't work, but it might stop this polarizing dynamic. and work together to make things better. In this case, it means demanding a certain level of competence and dedication from your elected official.
Now, bear in mind, despite the egregious situation, it MAY be that he has no case. And he cannot, should not file charges unless he is reasonably certain that he has a case. I don't know the particulars of the cyclist case. But I don know that his record on other matters, is schizophrenic, and does not follow that basic rule.
OK, Rose if we can focus on Gallegos' performance and skip the far right agenda, I'm with you for now. We'll see how G performs on this one. Do you happen to know if we'll get some kind of disclosure regarding the circumstances that led to the cyclist's death?
ReplyDeletePeace for now,
cyclist
And for 3:55, the back of my hand.
Your guess is as good as mine. But I'll be, you know, watching.
ReplyDeleteI do think that the cyclist community has more clout than it may realize, and a meeting, or more meetings like the one you mentioned, may be effective.
If 4:25 is right, pressure may help. That shouldn't be the case, justice is supposed to be blind, but, well, it may be worth a try.
Have the newspaper accounts so far been accurate, in your opinion?
Can you give a brief review of what happened? What is known, I mean?
And don't be too hard on 3:55, his ox has been gored, too. You have more in common than you think, I would bet on that.
ReplyDelete"Can you give a brief review of what happened? What is known, I mean?"
ReplyDeleteWe asked that very question of G at our meeting and he said "I can't discuss the details of the case with you because some of you could become jurors."
That's really all I have so far. However, the cyclist was struck by he left fender of the truck, while cycling as far to the right as possible. Which means the truck that killed him had driven completely off the freeway, onto the grass. Some people at our meeting called that murder, however, I'd like to see what turns up at the trial. So it's back to your friend Gallego at this point.
We also heard that a woman carrying some kind of "package" left the truck after the accident and hitched a ride out of there. She may have been apprehended further up the road. Not sure of the exact details. Here again, I'm hoping the trial will yield all of this and more.
After G left our meeting Caltrans said they had installed a noisy strip at the edge of rte 299, to warm motorists who had drifted off the road. This is certainly a step in the right direction.
We also learned that in a great many accidents the police will come down in favor of the motorist. This is a complicated issue: some motorists assume they own the road and will sadistically aim for cyclists to "scare" them. On the other hand, several of the police officials who attended out meeting pointed out the need for more safety awareness on the part of cyclists. This I thought was a courageous thing to say to a roomful of angry cyclists. However, too many ride on sidewalks, over curbs, through stop signs and even red lights. But the poor guy out of 299 was doing everything right. And he still got run down.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, motorists who aren't really paying attention, see the bicyclist and as they notice him, their vehicle swerves towards what they are looking at - it isn't intentional - the same reflex action makes women good shots in an emergency, just as an example.
ReplyDeleteFor the moment, I have to believe it was an accident, like the one that killed Rodoni. Is there any reason to believe it was intentional?
The California Highway Patrol reported that the driver, Alan Bear, 27, of Hoopa, was driving his 2002 Nissan pickup truck eastbound on 299 when he allowed his car to drift to the right side of the road onto the paved shoulder, hitting Jennings.
Jennings was ejected from his bicycle and landed on the grass. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Coroner Frank Jager said a witness who was driving down the road behind Bear saw the accident and said Jennings was wearing colorful clothing and was far off to the side of the road.
”This was a guy that was doing everything right,” Jager said of Jennings. Jager said Bear's car also had a female passenger who fled the scene after the accident for unknown reasons.
Bear was arrested and investigators are still determining whether drugs or alcohol were a contributing factor, the CHP report said.
So they caught Alan Bear - at the scene? But not the passenger? Or they did catch the passenger down the road?
(kinda off topic, Gallegos has used the 'you might be part of the jury pool' thing before - at a meeting in trinidad, where he gave out a lot of info, and then told people there that he shouldn't have been talking, and that they would have to recuse themselves if they got called for jury duty. Maybe he has learned something after all.)
But people are entitled to some information. He, though, has to avoid Nifonging himself.
It is odd that I'm not having any luck searching the Arcata Eye site for this story.
This was back in August. Is the investigation complete and has it been turned over to the DA's Office?
ReplyDeleteIf it hasn't, that might be another reason for him not being forthcoming, he may not have any info to speak of.
Anyway - I just put up a post dedicated to this one - maybe some good information will come in. And it won't be buried in an unrelated thread.
ReplyDeleteI hope it helps, cyclist.
Sorry - here's the link
ReplyDelete