◼ Hit-and-Run/Hoopa Homicide “Person of Interest” in Custody - Andrew Goff/The Journal
Jason Anthony Warren was arrested late afternoon on the day of the accident on earlier assault charges and is being held without the possibility of bail. Downey said no other suspects are currently being sought in the case.◼ Murder, hit and run 'person of interest' Jason Warren is in custody on warrant - Times-Standard
Warren failed to show up for a Sept. 7 court date after entering into a plea deal to serve six years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon after he was arrested in April for robbery.◼ Suspect Identified In Hit-And-Run & Hoopa Crimes - Humboldt Sentinel
He was released on a Cruz waiver under the condition that he obeyed all laws, returned to court for sentencing and stayed away from the complaining witness in the assault.
”He was released prior to sentencing on the Cruz waiver, pursuant to the plea agreement,” said Deputy District Attorney Zachary Curtis in an email. “It is fairly common to release a defendant with something over his head to try to encourage good behavior, usually with probation cases.”
Warren had a previous felony that counted as a strike on his record. He also has a juvenile criminal record.
After nearly a week of speculation as to a pair of investigations into the untimely deaths of local residents, Sheriff Mike Downey called a press conference this afternoon to clear the air and identify a “person of interest” in the cases.
“I know there’s been a lot of speculation…you got to understand why we’ve been holding back information,” he said.
Downey proceeded to explain that on the same afternoon as the fatal hit-and-run slaying of 40-year-old Bayside resident Suzanne Seemann on Old Arcata Road in Freshwater and the discovery of the body of 47-year-old Dorothy Ulrich of Hoopa in a residence there, law enforcement had taken 28-year-old Jason Anthony Warren into custody.
Warren was inside a home in Eureka at the time of his arrest; the Kia used in the hit-and-run which killed Seemann and injured 50-year-old Terri Vroman-Little and 41-year-old Jessica Hunt was found in Eureka earlier in the day.
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◼ Woman Found Dead In Hoopa - Andrew Goff/The Journal 9/27
◼ Car plows into 3 joggers, kills Bayside woman - Carrie Peyton Dahlberg.The Journal
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◼ A morning jog turns tragic; one woman killed, two others hospitalized in hit and run - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard 09/28/2012
A 40-year-old mother was killed, and two other women suffered major injuries in a hit and run collision while jogging along Myrtle Avenue shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday.◼ More questions than answers in hit-and-run crash; Source: Person of interest in Hoopa homicide in custody - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard 09/29/2012
Eureka residents Jessica Hunt, 41, and Terri Vroman-Little, 50, suffered major injuries and were taken to St. Joseph Hospital. Hospital spokeswoman Leslie Broomall said both women were in stable condition Thursday afternoon.
The Humboldt County Coroner's Office has not released the name of the Bayside resident and mother of two young children who died at the scene....
Officials of the multiple agencies involved in the investigation are releasing few details on the search for the driver of the 2005 Kia Spectra who hit the women. They are also declining to comment on whether the hit-and-run is related to the homicide of Dorothy Ulrich, whose body was discovered in a Hoopa residence Thursday morning.◼ Seemann, Hunt and Vroman-Little: Three women shared a love for running - The Times-Standard 09/29/2012
A source close to the investigations said that a person of interest in the Hoopa homicide is in custody, but it's too early to release the individual's name or further details due to the complexity of the case and to the multiple agencies involved....
◼ CHP: Person of interest ID'd in hit-and-run death; memorial service for Suzanne Seemann set for Saturday - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard 10/02/2012
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◼ Three Joggers Down/Coroner Called/Accident in North Eureka - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ CHP Investigation Turns Up Dead Body in Hoopa. Connection to This Morning’s Fatal Bayside Hit-and-Run? - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
Three Joggers Down/Coroner Called/Accident in North Eureka
◼ Arrest Made in Hoopa Suspicious Death — No Word on Connection to Yesterday’s Bayside Tragedy - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ Sheriff Dept. Releases Name of Suspicious Death in Hoopa—Calls It Homicide - Kym Kemp/Lost Coast Outpost 9/28
◼ Businesses To Support Bayside Hit & Run Victims and Families - Mike Dronkers/Lost Coast Outpost
◼ Sheriff’s Office Names ‘Person of Interest’ in Hoopa/Bayside Cases - Hank Sims/Lost Coast Outpost
Sheriff Mike Downey said the HCSO is leading the investigation and that the CHP, DA’s Office and Eureka Police Dept. are collaborating. Downey said he expects to file charges by the end of the week.
In a hastily called press conference this afternoon, Downey said that he was disclosing preliminary information in order to tamp down rumors and speculation on various online fora, much of it wildly inaccurate.
“Our sole purpose in holding back information, and coming forward, was to solidify our case and making a strong nexus between the two cases,” Downey said today. “We wanted to ensure that we could bring a strong case before the District Attorney’s Office.”
He made clear that no suspect is in custody, but that Warren is being investigated in connection with the Myrtle Avenue incident as well as the homicide of Dorothy Ulrich in Hoopa that same day. Downey said he knew of no personal relationship between Warren and Ulrich.
◼ Person of Interest Named in Hoopa Homicide and Fatal Hit and Run - Two Rivers Tribune
◼ Woman Found Dead in Hoopa Home - Two Rivers Tribune
ABSOLUTELY PREDICTABLE. How many more?
UPDATES:
◼ Humboldt County public defender to represent man accused of killing jogger, Hoopa woman; Warren could face the death penalty - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ Letter regarding Gag Order/Protective Order, from Public Defender's Office - Arcata Eye
◼ Warren pleads not guilty to deaths of Humboldt State University instructor, Hoopa woman; judge grants gag order prohibiting attorneys, law enforcement from discussing case - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ The man accused of killing a Hoopa woman and then later purposely running down three joggers on Old Arcata Road -- killing a Humboldt State University instructor and severely injuring two others -- has been charged with two counts of murder - Grant Scott-Goforth and Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ In the face of death: Special allegations change how a defendant should be represented - Kaci Poor/The Times-Standard
◼ CHP to DA: Jogger’s Death Was Murder - Heidi Walters/The Journal
◼ CHP requesting murder, attempted murder, animal cruelty charges in hit-and-run deaths - From the CHP via Times Standard
◼ CHP Recommends Murder Charge In Seeman Death - Arcata Eye
◼ District attorney's office opposing Cruz waivers following hit-and-run, homicide case; Experts: Move could harm ability to get pleas - Grant Scott-Goforth/The Times-Standard
◼ Who is Jason Anthony Warren? - Two Rivers Tribune