By Harry Harris and Sean Maher Oakland Tribune Article Last Updated:
11/05/2008 11:06:38 PM PST
OAKLAND ? When police knocked on the door of
an East Oakland home Wednesday morning, answering reports of a domestic dispute,
they heard three gunshots investigators believe came from the homicide-suicide
that claimed a married couple.
The homicide victim was Lara Sweat, 39.
Police found her at the front door in an apparent attempt to escape. Her
husband, Eric Basuino, 41, was found in the rear bedroom of the house. Both were
dead from gunshot wounds, and a gun was found near Basuino's body, along with a
note indicating his intentions to kill her and himself, Homicide Sgt. Todd
Crutchfield said.
Police got a call from a friend of Sweat's and arrived
at the couple's home in the 6100 block of Mauritania Avenue, just off Seminary
Avenue, about 9:15 a.m. When the officers knocked on the door and heard the
shots, they secured the perimeter, nearby homes were evacuated and a SWAT team
was called to the scene.
Sweat was an attorney for the California State
Department of Insurance, officials said, and Basuino was a chemical engineer
working from home for a Pennsylvania company. The couple met in Pennsylvania and
had been married for nine years, police said.
They leave behind two
children, a 4-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son, who were staying overnight
with a nanny and weren't in the home at the time of the deaths. They will go to
live with their maternal grandmother, police said.
Officials would not
say whether the children's absence from the home was part of Basuino's plan as
stated in the note.
A Welsh terrier recovered from the house is in the
care of animal services, police said.
Sweat's death was Oakland's 111th
homicide for the year. At this time last year there had been 110.
click here for audio
This was a great chase that started in Richmond and went into San Rafael and then BACK
over the Richmond San Rafael bridge back into the Richmond area.I started the recording
after they had already come over the bridge.
Through Oakland Reopened wednesday Night After Being
Shut Down For More Than 13 Hours Following A Massive fire Caused By An
Exploded Gasoline Tanker During The Morning Rush Hour. The inferno Damaged
Just The Surface Of The Roadway But Did Not Cause Structural damage,
According To California Department Of Transportation Director Will kempton.
He Said That Stretch Of The Nimitz Freeway Carries Roughly 220,000 commuters A
Day. After Removing The Blackened Shell Of The Tanker That Sat upside-down
And Smoldering On 880 Near Fifth Avenue Until The Afternoon, caltrans Crews
Worked To Grind Down The Concrete And Put In Temporary Asphalt To get The
Highway Reopened. A Sedan Driver Lost Control And The Car Hit The Center
divider Of The Freeway Before Colliding With The Tanker About 6:15 A.M.,
according To The California Highway Patrol. The Impact From The Crash
Ignited 8,600 Gallons Of Gas Being Hauled By The Truck — Sending Flames High
Into The air. At Times, The Flames Were So Large That Several Buildings
Alongside The freeway Were Threatened. Oakland Firefighters Using Foam Were
Finally Able To put The Fire Out After Battling It For A Little Over An
Hour. The Truck Driver and Three Car Passengers Were Able To Escape The Crash
Unhurt And No Other injuries Were Reported, Chp Officer Trent Cross Said.
The Truck Driver Works For kenan Advantage Group, Which Federal
Transportation Regulators Told Cbs 5 Has A better-than-average Safety Record.
Although Absorbant Was Placed On The Roadway to Soak Up The Leaking Fuel And
Storm Drains Were Sealed Off, The U.S. Coast guard Said The Incident
Resulted In A Thin Oily Sheen In The Oakland-alameda estuary Between Coast Guard
Island And The Oakland Area . "By Everybody's account, The (overall) Impact
Is Minimal," Oakland Fire Battalion Chief William towner Said. The Crash And
Ensuing Flames Brought The Morning Commute In The east Bay To A Grinding
Halt, With Hundreds Of Motorists Stuck On I-880, Waiting to Be Rerouted Off
The Highway - Which Was Initially Closed In Both Directions. the Chp Turned
Around Vehicles And Advised Them To Take An Alternate Route Such as
Interstate 580, Which Was Opened To Big Rigs During The Closure. By 9:30 a.M.,
The Chp Had Reopened Northbound Lanes And Traffic Was Crawling Through The
area. Traffic Headed In The Southbound Direction Was Taken Off At 16th
Avenue. bay Area Rapid Transit, Unaffected By The Fire, Ran Their Trains At
Full capacity During The Morning Commute And Saw An Eight Percent Increase
In ridership For The Day. "We Tried To Make The Trains As Long As Possible To
accommodate The Extra Riders," Bart Spokesman Linton Johnson Said. "Every
Train car That We Had That Was Available Was Out On The System."
click here for audio file.
Man leads cops on wild chase in motorhome
Gary Klien
Article Launched: 04/22/2008 11:28:29 PM PDT
San Rafael police and California Highway Patrol officers take Jared
Jackson of San Rafael into custody.. (IJ photo/Jeff Vendsel)
A man who threatened to commit "suicide by cop" was arrested Tuesday
after leading police on a chase from San Rafael to Richmond and back in
a ramshackle 1978 motorhome, authorities said.
Jared Jackson, 36, of San Rafael gave up the half-hour pursuit at 5:05
p.m., when he stopped the motorhome near Highway 101 after winding his
way through downtown San Rafael, including a swing past police headquarters.
Jackson sideswiped two vehicles in San Rafael during the chase, but
no injuries were reported, police said.
"We're very fortunate," said San Rafael police Capt. Mike Keller. "This
guy was driving recklessly and disregarding everyone else."
Police had been looking for Jackson since April 14, when a family member
reported him missing and possibly suicidal. The relative said Jackson threatened
to commit "blue suicide" - meaning he would provoke a confrontation that
would force police to shoot him, Keller said.
Police also learned that Jackson had two warrants out for his arrest:
one on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and evading police; the
other for possession of an assault weapon and false imprisonment. The warrants
were issued in March, and each was for $10,000.
Police were still researching the circumstances behind the warrants
Tuesday, but Jackson was arrested in San Rafael last June on suspicion
of punching a man in the face and threatening him with an air pistol. He
received probation in the case.
In addition, Jackson was arrested in 2004 after beating and choking
a Fairfax man in a dispute over auto parts, police said. He led police
on an 80-mph chase in a pickup truck before crashing through two fences
near the playground at St. Rita's School, police said.
On Tuesday morning, a truck belonging to Jackson was found parked on
Kerner Boulevard, and police asked workers in the area to keep an eye out
for the suspect.
"We considered him to be possibly armed and dangerous," said San Rafael
police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher.
At 4:39 p.m., a witness called police after seeing
Jackson drive off in an 18-foot 1978 Dodge Sportsman motorhome on Kerner
Boulevard. Police arrived and tried to stop the vehicle, but Jackson would not
yield and the chase was on, Rohrbacher said.
The motorhome looped around streets in the Andersen
Drive area before getting on southbound Highway 101. At the Greenbrae
interchange, the vehicle took eastbound Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to
Interstate 580 and went over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge at speeds up to 70
mph. The California Highway Patrol joined the chase.
The motorhome exited Interstate 580 at Cutting Boulevard
in Richmond and got back on 580 heading west at 80 mph.
"It wasn't in the best repair," Rohrbacher said. "Pieces
were sort of falling off it as the pursuit continued."
The Sportsman went back over the bridge and took the
Bellam Boulevard exit, clipping a woman in another car before taking Woodland
Avenue and Andersen Drive into downtown. Another vehicle was sideswiped around
Woodland Avenue.
The vehicle weaved through downtown San Rafael, passing
the police department and City Hall on Fifth Avenue, before heading back toward
Francisco Boulevard West. Police followed at low speeds, and a CHP officer
rammed the motorhome with his patrol car in an unsuccessful attempt to end the
pursuit.
Finally, the motorhome stopped at the Francisco
Boulevard West onramp to southbound Highway 101. Jackson was arrested and taken
to the police station for questioning.
"He was docile. He seemed reconciled," said San Rafael
resident Steve Tulsky, 54, who stopped to observe the arrest. "He seemed busted.
He just seemed like he was good and busted."
Police were still searching the motorhome, which was
packed with debris, for weapons and evidence Tuesday night.
"There's a lot to go through," Rohrbacher said.
Nice chase in Tiburon by CHP,
Marin Sheriff did some spike strip deployment. The best part was he ended up in
front of the Tiburon Police Station :)
Frantic 911 Tiger Attack Calls
Released
The dispatch records include the original call that was
made at 5:04 p.m., three full minutes before fire and police logs show anyone
was sent to the emergency. The call lasts more than 19 minutes. It was made by a
zoo security guard and includes radio transmissions (broadcast over zoo radio
and picked up over the 911 dispatch recording of the call) from zoo official Deb
Howe who asks for police and fire while downplaying the incident. But after
realizing a tiger is loose, Howe says at one point: "Alan, I've got a tiger out.
Code One." Alan Feinberg, another zoo official, responds in shock over the
radio: "What?"
The call captures zoo officials scrambling to deal with
the crisis and the realization that Sousa is dead at the scene. Here is the 911 audio from that call
Here is the
audio for the initial fire dispatch to the scene.
This is the
first 911 call from the Zoo, you can hear all the radio traffic from their
radios in the background. It is followed by the call from one of the two injured
people.
In another recording, police officers
broadcasting over radio to the emergency dispatcher encounter the tiger
attacking one of the victims (beginning at 16:06 in the recording). They soon
report that they have shot the tiger.
Another call is made by Kulbir
Dhaliwal, at 5:16 p.m., and is routed through a CHP dispatcher since the call
was made from a cell phone. Dhaliwal is anxious that his brother, Paul, is not
getting medical help. At 5:23 p.m., the call is cut off as Kulbir, who has been
helping his brother control the bleeding under directions from a 911 dispatcher,
gets attacked himself. Here's the audio from that call:
DEARBORN, Mich. -- A police officer who admitted taking
marijuana from criminal suspects and baked it into brownies with his wife will
avoid criminal charges.
The police department's decision not to pursue a case
against former policeman Edward Sanchez left a bad taste in the mouth of at
least one city official, who vowed to investigate.
"If you're a cop and you're arresting people and you're
confiscating the marijuana and keeping it yourself, that's bad. That's real
bad," said City Councilman Doug Thomas.
Sanchez, who resigned last year from the department in
this Detroit suburb, declined comment Wednesday. Police Commander Jeff Geisinger
did not return calls seeking comment.
The department's investigation began with an emergency
call from Sanchez's home on April 21, 2006. On a 5-minute tape of the call,
obtained by the Detroit Free Press, Sanchez told an emergency dispatcher he
thought he and his wife were overdosing on marijuana.
"I think we're dying," he said. "We made brownies and I
think we're dead, I really do."
Sanchez later told police investigators that his wife
took the marijuana out of his police vehicle while he was sleeping. In a
subsequent interview, he admitted he got the marijuana out of the car himself
and put it in the brownie mix, police said.
CONCORD: Monday night pursuit ended in wreck that sent
four men to hospital By Robert Salonga STAFF WRITER
Article Launched: 12/05/2007 02:59:01 AM PST
An Antioch man suspected of leading the California
Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase Monday night that ended when he violently
smashed into a van in Concord may have been driving under the influence, an
officer said Tuesday. Richard Terrell, 38, of Antioch
will be arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving and felony evasion after
he is treated at a local hospital for injuries suffered in the crash, CHP
Officer Scott Yox said.
According to CHP reports, about 9:30 p.m. an officer saw
a Dodge Avenger speeding erratically on westbound Highway 4 near Bay Point. The
officer began to pursue the car but lost sight of it, partly because it was
traveling at more than 95 mph, Yox said.
Witnesses said that the Avenger initially traveled past
the southbound Highway 242 split but swerved sharply right and down a dirt
embankment.
Yox said the pursuing officer discovered the dirt tracks
and went down the same path, regaining sight of the Avenger on southbound
Highway 242. CHP reports indicate that the car, now with a flat tire,
accelerated and exited on the Solano Way/Grant Street offramp.
The Avenger ran a red light and broadsided the passenger
side of a Ford Econoline van at a speed described by the CHP, Concord police and
witnesses as 85 to 100 mph. The impact knocked the van 25 feet and overturned
it.
All three Antioch men in the van had head cuts.
Terrell had a compound ankle fracture. All four men were
taken to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
Three people were treated at a San Francisco hospital
for minor to moderate injuries early Monday morning after a police chase from
Southern Marin ended in a rollover accident near Lombard Street, authorities
said. The driver, who refused to give his name to
police and was not carrying identification, was arrested on suspicion of drunken
driving under the name "John Doe," California Highway Patrol Officer Mary
Ziegenbein said. Officers found an open, empty fifth of Hennessey cognac on the
floor boards of the driver's seat, CHP Sgt. Steve Dutra said.
Ziegenbein said she did not know the driver's age and
hometown, or the identity of the two passengers, but said one was on parole. All
three men appeared to be in their early 20s, she said.
The chase began about 3:30 a.m. near Marin City after a
sheriff's deputy attempted to pull over the two-door Toyota, which had a
dangling headlight, the CHP said.
When the officer activated the overhead lights on his
cruiser, the driver took off, taking Highway 101 south to the Golden Gate
Bridge. Ziegenbein said authorities estimate the car went through the toll plaza
at 80 to 90 mph. The driver exited Doyle Drive but lost control on Richardson
Avenue, which turns into Lombard Street, the CHP said.
The car hit the outside wall of the curve and flipped,
rolling onto its top and sliding for about 100 yards before coming to rest,
Dutra said.
All three were taken to San Francisco General Hospital
with non-life-threatening injuries, the CHP said.
The Toyota had current registration stickers, but the
plates did not match the car, indicating it may be an unreported stolen vehicle,
Dutra said.
A 33-year-old Mill Valley man took police on a wild
two-hour ride early Friday after a van driven by an Independent Journal delivery
woman was hijacked in San Rafael, police reported.
Maria Tivurcio of Novato was on her route delivering
news rack copies of the IJ and stopped her 1995 Ford Windstar on Fourth Street
and Tamalpais Avenue near Hilary's Kitchen and House of Bagels at 4:20 a.m.
Tivurcio told police a man standing on the sidewalk
approached her window and told her she had a flat tire. She got out of the car
to check what he indicated was the passenger-side tire - and the man jumped in
the car and drove away.
Tivurcio quickly called 911 and police across the county
were put on alert, said Margo Rohrbacher, spokeswoman for the San Rafael Police
Department.
The van was westbound, heading toward San Anselmo, when
police spotted it. The driver saw the patrol car and turned around, taking
Second Street back toward San Rafael.
Police said the driver pulled over to the side of the
road at Hetherton Street near Highway 101. When officers approached the van, the
driver refused to get out. Within moments, the van was off again. It entered the
freeway and exited on Interstate 580 eastbound.
The California Highway Patrol got into the chase and
followed the van across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and through Richmond,
where the driver began throwing bundles of newspapers out of the car in what
apparently was an attempt to hit the patrol vehicles.
Officers continued their pursuit as the van crossed the
San Francisco Bay Bridge, meandered down city streets, entered Highway 101 and
traveled south toward the San Francisco International Airport.
The van finally came to a halt when the engine
apparently gave out, and the driver jumped out and ran. He was located by
airport police and taken into custody.
The suspect, Ahmed Bayoumi, was booked in Marin County
Jail on suspicion of stealing a car, evading police and resisting arrest,
Rohrbacher said.
ANTIOCH CARJACKING LEADS TO PURSUIT, CRASH AND
ARRESTS
12/04/06 12:50 PST
ANTIOCH (BCN)
Authorities have arrested two people suspected of
carjacking a van at gunpoint in Antioch Sunday and then leading police on a
lengthy pursuit that began in Martinez and ended in a non-injury crash in
Livermore, Antioch police reported today.
Antioch police responded to a report of a carjacking at
9:15 p.m. The victim told police that two people had confronted him as he was
getting out of his van.
One of the people brandished what appeared to be a
handgun and demanded his vehicle, police reported.
Police put out a countywide alert asking law enforcement
agencies to be on the lookout for the stolen vehicle.
A short time later, Martinez police spotted the vehicle
and gave chase.
The California Highway Patrol joined the pursuit when
the suspects entered Interstate Highway 80 and then Interstate Highway 580.
Several other local agencies aided in the pursuit as well, Antioch police
reported.
The suspects later exited the highway and headed into
Livermore, where the vehicle crashed. The suspects were
taken into custody and booked into the Contra Costa County Detention Facility in
Martinez, police reported
Hayward officer wounded, man killed in I-880 shooting
- Bay City News Saturday,
December 2, 2006
(12-02) 21:35 PDT HAYWARD -- A 7-year veteran of the
Hayward Police Department remains in stable but fair
condition after being shot in the torso by a man during
the course of a car stop on northbound Interstate
Highway 880 between Tennyson Road and Industrial Parkway in Hayward this afternoon.
According to Hayward police Lt. Reid Lindblom, Officer
Carlos Martinez was shot around 3:15 p.m. as he and
three other officers attempted to stop a man believed
to have an outstanding felony warrant for a weapons
violation.
Lindblom reported that after the officers turned on
their lights and directed the man to the right side of
I-880, the man jumped out of his car and fired on the
two or three police vehicles present.
In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Martinez struck the
man, who was alone in his car, and the man has died,
Lindblom said.
Northbound lanes on I-880 will be closed until 10 p.m.
tonight, as the area is being treated as a crime scene,
with investigators taking pictures and collecting
evidence.
The three other officers present were not injured during
the gunfire, but cars passing by were struck by stray
bullets, Lindblom said.
Lindblom is not aware of any injuries to any other
drivers on I-880 due to the shooting.
Prior to attempting to pull the man over, the officers
recognized the man's car and had knowledge of his
outstanding warrant, Lindblom said.
The man's identity cannot be released at this time
because the man's family has not been notified of his
death, according to Lindblom.
All of the officers involved in the incident will be
placed on paid leave until the investigation is
complete, Lindblom said.
Man shot dead in
Marin City Gary Klien Marin
Independent Journal
A 35-year-old Richmond man was shot to death in Marin
City early Saturday in what police are investigating as a possible drug turf
battle. Darryl Lamont Harris was found dead of numerous
gunshot wounds shortly after 2:19 a.m., when residents called 911 to report the
sound of gunfire in the area of Drake Avenue and Cole Drive, an area known for
drug dealing.
Harris' body was found in the parking lot of 30 Cole
Drive. The killer or killers fled before police arrived.
Police are investigating whether Harris was a drug
dealer who was killed by rival dealers, but they are also examining other
possible motives, said sheriff's Sgt. Jerry Niess. He declined to elaborate.
"We have leads," he said. "We have things we're
following up on."
An autopsy is pending.
Sheriff's detectives have encountered some difficulty in
the past in getting witnesses to cooperate with investigations into violent
drug-related crimes in Marin City, most notably the 1997 shooting death of
Ronnie Small Jr.
Niess declined to comment on whether residents were
cooperating in the Harris investigation, but in interviews with the Independent
Journal, even some who spoke favorably of the victim were unwilling to talk
about him unless they remained unidentified.
"He was a nice guy," said one man who knew Harris. "If
he could help his friends, he'd help his friends. I'm just mad about it.
"I heard the gunshots. I walked out to see what's going
on. I'm still shocked. He didn't mess with nobody."
Another man who knew Harris also described him as very
friendly - and as a "high-class drug dealer."
"He always had the best crack," the man said. "It's an
inside job, trust me. It's an inside job."
Police did not dispute reports that Harris was suspected
of selling drugs in the area, but they still had not confirmed late Saturday
that the shooting was drug-related, and they were exploring several alternative
explanations for the attack.
The shooting was the talk of the neighborhood and the
shopping center well into the night, with residents trading information and
speculation. Residents and police said Harris, a Richmond resident whose family
lives in the East Bay, stayed at various addresses in Marin City from time to
time.
"I used to see him maybe twice a week," said one Marin
City woman who was friends with Harris' former girlfriend. "He was kind of
quiet, unless you knew him. He was well-spoken."
Some residents grieved for the neighborhood itself.
"It's really sad. There's so much loss in our
community," said Antoine Austin, a community volunteer who knew Harris. "It
didn't just hurt him ... it hurts the whole community."
Austin said Harris had served time in prison and was
recently "trying to turn his life around."
"But sometimes life comes back to get you," Austin said.
Bruce Lewis, 26, a Marin City resident who was raised
there, said the neighborhood in recent years has seen an influx of people from
places like Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans, creating new dynamics and
tensions.
"I wouldn't be surprised if the guy was killed just
because it's a bad mix down here," Lewis said. "Half the people I talked to
didn't know who he was."
The murder was the second in Marin County in less than
six weeks. On Sept. 11, Adolfo Romeo De Leon Lopez, a 34-year-old San Rafael
resident, was shot to death in an encounter with a gunman outside a Canal
neighborhood apartment building. The suspect, 48-year-old Robert Thomas Middagh
of San Rafael, was arrested hours later after police found him clinging to a
dock in the canal.
Middagh was charged and has pleaded not guilty.
Investigators have not released a motive for the shooting.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Police have taken two people into
custody in connection with a double shooting incident that occurred in the
city's southeast section Friday night, according to San Francisco police Officer
George Swartz.
The first shooting victim was hit in the head and neck
with what appeared to be pellets from a shotgun, Swartz said. The shooting
occurred in the area of Quint Street and Maddux Avenue at around 10 p.m.
According to police, a suspect in that shooting then ran
to the 100 block of Topeka Avenue and shot a second victim in the hand with what
police believe was a semi-automatic gun.
Both victims were transported to San Francisco General
Hospital. Swartz did not have any information on the severity of the victims'
injuries.
At around 11:25 p.m. Friday police took two people into
custody in connection with the double shooting. Police also recovered a gun
believed to be connected with the incident, Swartz said.
7/14/06-This chase started off in Novato and then
entered highway 101 shortly thereafter. They terminated just past Petaluma and
Novato PD took the chase the whole way, the CHP never took over. Its funny to
hear the PD hit the spike strips and get taken out of the chase... :) Sorry
about the audio being a little over modulated I had it set too high on the
recording level. Audio from
chase
A man is taken into custody on
Lincoln Avenue near Third Street in San Rafael after the tires on his vehicle
were deflated by spike strips. IJ photo/Alan Dep52-mile chase ends in Marin
Gary Klien Marin Independent JournalA
parolee-at-large was arrested late Wednesday night after leading officers on a
52-mile pursuit through five counties before police blew out his tires in
downtown San Rafael, police said. Richard Paul, a San Rafael resident, was taken into custody
on Lincoln Avenue between Second and Third streets as crowds gathered on the
street corners to watch.
San Rafael Sgt. Chris Coale said the successful use of
spike strips to deflate the suspect's tires allowed the chase to end with no
injuries and damage only to the vehicle itself.
"If he wanted to, he could've come down here at 60 to 65
mph an hour," Coale said. "The spike strips stopped him."
The chase began in North Richmond when police tried to
stop Paul's truck for expired registration tags. The driver didn't stop, and a
check of the license plate number told police he was a wanted parolee.
"He's got numerous warrants," Coale said.
Police followed the truck at speeds of 60 to 65 mph up
Richmond Parkway and around to Highway 37, taking the chase from Contra Costa
County into Solano, Napa and Sonoma counties and finally into Marin, said Contra
Costa County sheriff's Cpl. Tim Allen.
"He didn't yield," Allen said.
As the pickup truck, followed by a procession of police
cars and a police helicopter, headed down Highway 101, San Rafael police posted
officers at the city offramps.
The truck took the Lincoln Avenue offramp, where San
Rafael police Cpl. Mike Mathis lay a spike strip in the street. It blew out the
truck's right front tire.
"We were parked on the side of the road," Mathis said.
"He didn't have a chance."
The truck kept going, but another spike strip placed in
the road by San Rafael police Officer Chuck Tirre popped two more tires. This
cut the truck's speed to about 30 to 35 mph as it thumped down Lincoln Avenue.
"The front was bumping up and down," said Cole Sutton, a
San Rafael resident who observed the end of the pursuit. "I could see the
helicopter chasing it. The front was bumping up and down as it drove."
The truck veered into the curb and came to a stop, and
police arrested Paul without further incident.
"I think it went well," Coale said. "All the units
worked together."
Paul's age and the nature of his warrants were not
immediately available.
Audio from
Chase recorded by Todd BerryBank Robbers Dump Cash
During South Bay Chase
MILPITAS, Calif. - Three bank robbers led police on a
short lived chase that ended along Interstate 680 in Milpitas. The robbers threw
cash out of their vehicle during the chase. A San Jose police spokesman said
that some drivers pulled over and picked up some of the cash. The police
department is asking anyone who picked up money from the road to turn it in.
Southbound lanes were closed at Landess for more than an
hour. Traffic along 680 backed up quickly. Chopper 11
was above the scene and showed a black truck pulled over along the side of the
highway with two white duffel bags in the bed of the vehicle. The Wells Fargo Bank at Meridian and Hillsdale avenues was
robbed at gunpoint at 2:45 p.m. according to the San Jose police department. The suspects drove away in a gray pick up that was then
spotted by police officer who started a pursuit along the freeway. The pursuit ended on 680 and the suspects were arrested.
The California Highway Patrol said there are no
reported injuries. Police fanned out and walked along
the highway to scour the sides of the road for cash.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) -- Police say that the annual Halloween
block party in the Castro District went much better than last year, with many
fewer incidents of violence.
Last year's party was marred by arrests, fights and
stabbings. Police this year enforced a strict code of no drinking on the
streets. Police reported only one major incident during the party, 22 arrests
for being drunk in public, and two other unrelated criminal arrests during the
party.
One man was shot just before midnight at the corner of
Market Street and 17th Street, said police spokesman. Neville Gittens. He said
that the crowd was pretty thick in that are and the man was shot in his leg,
with the bullet passing through the victim's leg. The man's injuries were not
severe, Gittens said, and the man was able to walk himself to a paramedic aid
station for help.
The man was unable to give a detailed description of the
incident of the shooter. As of 1:15 a.m. police were still working on shutting
down the block party and directing foot traffic out of the area in an orderly
manner. Some reports of a group of men brandishing handguns in the area of
Church and Market streets earlier in the night proved unfounded, he
said.
I ran Scanner Recoder on 124.300 all day today and got
some very interesting communications between the various choppers in the air
space around the Bay area.
124.300 communicationsThis is a very cool chase from
the Sacramento Sheriff's dept sent to me by a friend there. Im going to be
posting more chases recorded there.
Nice little chase last night that stated with a failure
to yeild on the Hayward CHP frequency and then moves to the San Jose CHP
frequency where they eventually PITTED the perp.. Nice job..
Here is some communications from BART on 2/2/03 when
there was a body on the tracks and one of the trains ran over the body. You can
hear how upset the BART operator was and how the dispatcher tried to keep her
calm.
January 26, 2003 at 5:31 p.m. Updated: January 27, 2003
at 11:09 a.m.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Rowdy crowds set cars on fire,
pelted passing vehicles with rocks and bottles and vandalized a fast-food
restaurant in the wake of the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl loss Sunday.
Police say arrests approached a hundred last night
during the melee as officers tried to control the mob of vandals and looters
with tear gas and rubber bullets. Police in riot gear responded with rubber
bullets and tear gas, and briefly closed some stretches of city streets.
At least two cars were set on fire, and the windows were
broken on at least one television news van. One group of young men set debris on
fire in the middle of a street and then posed for news photographers. Rioters
broke nearly every window at a McDonalds restaurant.
Tear gas wafted through the area, and some witnesses
picked up rubber bullets fired by police.
After the Raiders advanced to the Super Bowl last week,
crowds set fires, broke windows and threw rocks and bottles. Oakland officials
had vowed to prevent a repetition of the violence following the Super Bowl, and
hundreds of extra officers were assigned to work Sunday.
Some shop owners in the area of last week's violence
closed at kickoff time in hopes of avoiding trouble.
Santa Rosa officer lays strips,
fails to warn sheriff's officers pursuing suspect
January 23, 2003
By RANDI ROSSMANN THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Whoops.
A Santa Rosa police officer put spike strips down
Wednesday to help catch a speeding driver and instead popped the tires on the
cars of two sheriff's deputies who hadn't been warned to watch out.
The suspect swerved to avoid getting skewered.
The first deputy to follow him also missed the spikes.
The chase continued on to Petaluma, where the fleeing driver ran over a spike
strip laid out by another deputy.
Dan Minto, 33, of San Mateo was arrested and taken to
Sonoma County jail.
As he led the chase, deputies saw items being thrown
from the car window, including a 12-gauge shotgun. The items, apparently stolen,
were later collected and detectives are now working to clear up some recent
burglaries, Sheriff's Capt. Dave Sederholm said.
Santa Rosa police hadn't been asked to join the pursuit.
"They intercepted our radio traffic on the scanner and an officer from Santa
Rosa deployed a spike strip and two of our cars ran over it," he said.
Red-faced Santa Rosa police officials are investigating
why the spike strip was deployed and why the deputies weren't informed about it.
It was unclear if the officer made the decision or was
directed to do so by a supervisor, said Santa Rosa Police Cmdr. Steve Thomas,
who declined to release the officer's name.
The pursuit began just after 1 a.m. in west Santa Rosa.
A man told deputies that two men in a white Buick drove
him to the Willowside Road area, assaulted him and fired guns at him, Sederholm
said. The man said he escaped by swimming across a flood control channel.
A deputy tried to pull over a similar car spotted
nearby, Sederholm said, but the driver sped away.
On Stony Point Road near West College Avenue, the Santa
Rosa officer heard the chase was coming his way and put out the strip.
Authorities said Minto and a deputy directly behind him
apparently saw the officer and the strip and both avoided it.
Two more deputies trailing them hit the spikes and were
forced out of the chase, which then continued south toward Petaluma.
It ended at Stony Point and Pepper roads when Minto
crossed over the second spike strip, Sheriff's Lt. Steve Satterwhite said.
The chase lasted about 20 minutes and covered almost 20
miles, Satterwhite said.
Minto was in Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of
possessing stolen property, evading arrest and violating probation.
Authorities are trying to determine if he was involved
in the assault reported in the Willowside Road area.
Posted: November 21, 2002 at
1:34 p.m. Updated: November 21, 2002 at 5:27 p.m.
BERKELEY (KRON) -- A female Brinks guard shot dead
during a robbery at a Wells Fargo bank in Berkeley today never drew her weapon,
police said.
The woman and another male guard were shot at about 1
p.m. during the robbery that occurred on a side entrance of the bank located at
2929 Seventh St. Capt. Bobby Miller said it is unclear whether the robbers were
targeting the bank or the Brink's truck, but he described the robbery as fast
and well organized.
"The female's weapon was still in it's holster. I saw
that," he said.
The second guard is in surgery at Highland Hospital,
Miller said. He did not know if the male guard was able to draw his weapon or
fire any shots at the robbers.
A third guard reportedly jumped in the truck during the
robbery and drove it back to the Brink's headquarters in Oakland, Miller said. A
spokeswoman for Brink's refused to comment.
Miller said they have recovered a bank bag inside a late
model white Ford Explorer that is believed to have been the getaway vehicle. It
was found abandoned about a half a block from the bank in the parking lot of
Orchard Supply Hardware store on Ashby Avenue. He said the bag's contents have
not been examined.
At this point, Miller said they know that at least one
AK-47 assault rifle was used during the robbery and that shell casings were
found both inside and outside the bank. He said firefighters are cutting holes
in the bank's walls to recover bullets.
Miller said they are slow to release information about
the robbery because the murder is the first priority of the investigators.
Miller said they are looking for two black men who are
about 5 foot 10 inches tall, about 200 pounds and dressed in dark clothing.
Berkeley Standoff Suspect Found
Dead
Posted: November 21, 2002 at 1:34 p.m. Updated: November
21, 2002 at 5:23 p.m.
BERKELEY (BCN) -- A male suspect has been found dead in
an apparent failed standoff in Berkeley. Police are now investigating the
possibility of an explosive device brought in by the suspect.
Police Sgt. Kay Lantow said that officers were sent to
1780 Second St. at 11:19 a.m. on a report of a man with a gun inside the
building. Lantow could not confirm what type of weapon the suspect had, however
it was reported he had a handgun.
As officers arrived on the scene, employees were exiting
the building, which Lantow said was occupied by Kaiser Construction Services.
For a time, seven to eight employees remained
unaccounted for. Police say the people were apparently in a staff meeting in
conference room when the incident began and weren't rescued until several hours
later.
Police received a phone call from someone inside the
building, which apparently led to the people's rescue.
In describing the people held inside the building,
Lantow said they were "very frightened and concerned for one another."
It is unclear if the suspect knew the people were in the
building, and Lantow stopped short of calling the incident a hostage situation.
Police believe the building has been evacuated,
according to Lantow.
Police have set up a perimeter around several blocks and
are interviewing some of the people who were stuck inside.
A command post is located at Second and Cedar streets.
Many roads are closed around I-80 and traffic is backing
up for miles in both directions. On-ramps and off-ramps to I-80 are reportedly
closed.
EAST PALO ALTO -- Three SWAT teams swarmed an East Palo
Alto neighborhood early Saturday morning hunting for two of three men wanted
after a Mountain View police officer was shot in the face Friday night.
The officer was shot as he pursued the three men on a
wild car chase up Central Avenue after they robbed a Carl's Jr. and the Bay Food
Mart at 209 and 235 East Middlefield Road in Mountain View. Despite his wound,
the officer continued to pursue the robbers.
The officer's gunshot wound was not thought to be
life-threatening and he was being treated at Stanford Medical Center, police
said.
The name of the wounded officer was not released Friday.
The three men, identified as white by police, continued
firing at police as they drove through Mountain View and caused an accident at
San Antonio and Middlefield roads.
The officer's car died during the chase on Central
Avenue after bullets hit it.
The gunmen fled onto Highway 101 and exited at
University Avenue in East Palo Alto. They crashed the Isuzu Rodeo they were
driving at University Avenue and Donahoe Street.
The man in custody Friday night called police on a cell
phone and said he wanted to surrender.
Authorities said it was unclear whether the armed men
were wanted in connection with a spree of bank robberies over the past month and
a Brinks heist in San Mateo Friday morning.
One of the gunmen was wearing a ski mask, police said.
Mountain View police called the California Highway
Patrol for help at 9:56 p.m. Friday after the shooting.
Man Arrested as Search Continues
for Man Overboard Sunday, 27-Oct-2002 10:40AM
The San Francisco Police has arrested a man on suspicion
of murder this morning after he fought, and then threw, a man over the railing
of a "booze cruise'' ship and into the dark waters off Hunter's Point.
The chances of the swimmer's survival are getting
slimmer as a U.S. Coast Guard ship continues to search nearly eight hours after
responding to the initial report of a man overboard at 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Coast Guard has said the man can survive for nearly
nine hours in the 57-degree-Fahrenheit waters, an estimate that takes into
account the fact that the 30-year-old victim had a few drinks, was not wearing a
life jacket, but does know how to swim.
It does not, however, take into account that the man may
have been injured during the fight, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Carl
Hausner.
A Coast Guard helicopter, which arrived on the scene at
midnight, stopped searching at 4 a.m. but will return at first light, said
Hausner. The original boat on the scene, a 41-foot utility boat, has meanwhile
been replaced by the Tern, an 87-foot Coast Guard cutter.
"Hopefully this guy made it,'' said police Inspector
Sergio Chin, who is leading the investigation. He also had the difficult job of
escorting the victim's sobbing girlfriend off the boat and into a waiting patrol
car.
Chin is releasing little information but has already
interviewed the suspect, a 27-year-old man who eyewitnesses say is bald, around
six feet tall and wearing a gray jacket and blue jeans. "He looked very agro,''
meaning aggressive, said one observer.
The police found several witnesses to the fight after
meticulously interviewing and writing down contact information for all 270
people aboard the Royal Princess, a cruise ship that departed from Pier 43-1/2
at the Fisherman's Wharf earlier that night.
"Witnesses say the suspect threw the victim overboard,''
confirmed Chin, who would not say how the fight started or whether the victim
was already injured when he hit the water.
Chin did say, however, that no one saw the victim after
he was thrown overboard, even though the captain of the Royal Princess circled
the area several times.
The fight happened during an alleged "booze cruise,'' a
nighttime boat tour that attracts young partygoers with easy-access bars and
multiple dance floors. No one was available for comment at the Red and White
Fleet, the family-owned business that owns the Royal Princess and has been
running ferries and tourist boats in the Bay since 1892.
The Coast Guard says it will search until at least noon
today and that its search area is expanding with time and moving south along
with the currents.
The man may be difficult to spot in the water because he
was wearing jeans and a gray shirt, according to the Coast Guard's Hausner.
"It's very difficult to spot a person at night with dark clothes.''
The California
Highway Patrol reports that a man was sent to the hospital this morning after
leading police in a 100-mph-plus pursuit that ended in a drainage ditch near the
Antioch Bridge. Police first attempted to pull over the four-door Honda at 1:07
a.m. today after it sped through a stop sign in Pittsburg, police say. Police
chased the car as it roared down state Highway 4 at speeds over 100 mph and
eventually headed across the San Joaquin River on the Antioch Bridge. Shortly
after reaching the other side of the bridge, however, the car crashed through a
fence and overturned in a drainage ditch near the Sherman Island Road exit,
police say. The driver apparently tried to flee but ended up flailing around in
the murky waters of a drainage ditch until police pulled him out, dried him off
and sent him to the hospital for unspecified injuries. Police were unable to
confirm reports that the vehicle was stolen. RossWehner0421a09/23/02
Officer Jon Cook died in a car accident last week.
Police have just released the haunting sounds on tape of
the panic following last week's fatal crash between two San Francisco police
cruisers.
"We've got officers down! We've got officers down! 17th
and Dolores," an officer says frantically. "We've just been in a major 7-19."
Two squad cars were chasing after a domestic assault
suspect when they collided at the intersection of 17th St. and Dolores in San
Francisco. Officer Jon Cook, 38, died in the accident. Three other officers were
injured.
Prosecutors have not ruled out charging the assault
suspect, Monte Haney, with Cook's death.
I will try and post anyCHP or other pursuit's that I happen
to tape on this site in a WAV format.I am using Scanner Recorder as the program
since it has VOX and will also record in format that will allow for smaller
files.
04.22.02 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A
man avoiding a traffic stop led CHP officers on a chase around the Bay Area at
speeds as high as 110 miles per hour this morning.
The chase started around 12:40
am in Sunnyvale, went up to San Francisco, then back through Daly City and San
Jose, and finally over to San Ramon.
CHP officers bumped the fleeing
car and stopped it around 2:15 this morning.
The unidentified man was then
arrested. No word yet on why he fled the traffic stop for speeding.
9th Reconnaissance Wing professionals providing America
the world's finest high-altitude reconnaissance. . . ANYTIME, ANYWHERE The 9th
Reconnaissance Wing is responsible for providing national and theater command
authorities with timely, reliable, high-quality, high-altitude reconnaissance
products. To accomplish this mission, the wing is equipped with the nation?s
fleet of U-2 reconnaissance aircraft and associated support equipment. The wing
also maintains a high state of readiness in its combat support and combat
service support forces for potential deployment in response to theater
contingencies. Organized along the lines of the Air Force?s objective wing
structure, the 9th Reconnaissance Wing is composed of more than 3,300 personnel
in four groups at Beale and at four overseas operating locations
Good chase in Solano County last
night. Nice speeds of 110 MPH and some assistance by CHP helicopter.
Excerpts of 911 Log on Sept. 11 Reveal Unfolding Terror The
Associated Press Published: Oct 1, 2001
NEW YORK (AP) - The 911 entries started at 8:47 a.m. with
the words "BLDG EXPLOSION." Incident No. 0727 quickly unfolded as a diary of
terror, as call after desperate call rolled in from the World Trade Center.
Excerpts from the log of the dispatcher for the Fire Department's Emergency
Management Service were published Sunday in the Daily News.
The entries were published much as they appeared when they
flashed on the computer screen Sept. 11. The time of each call is noted, and
messages are abbreviated. MC stands for male caller, FC for female caller, STS
for "states."
08:50:12 MC STS PLANE JUST FLEW INTO WORL TRADE
CENTER--POSS COMMERCIAL AIRPLANE.
Then the calls began pouring in from One World Trade
Center.
08:56:44 MC STS HE IS ON THE 87 FLR-STS 4 PERSON THERE W
HIM-STS THERE IS FIRE.
08:57:26 PEOPLE SCREAMING IN BACKGROUND-STS CANNOT
BREATHE--POSS SMOKE COMING THRU DOOR-FLR 103...TRAPPED.
09:04:50 MC-STS 103 FLR-CAN'T GET OUT-FIRE ON FLR...PEOPLE
GETTING SICK
A report from the police aviation unit came in, saying
people were falling from the building.
The dimensions of the disaster suddenly grew.
09:07:51 SECOND PLANE HIT THE SECOND BUILDING ... UNK
EXTENT OF INJ.
09:09:14 MC STATES 2WTC--PEOPLE ARE JUMPING OUT OF THE SIDE
OF A LRG HOLE--POSS NO ONE CATCHING THEM.
09:02:18 MC STS ON 106 FLR ABOUT 100 PEOPLE IN ROOM-NEED
DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO STAY ALIVE.
09:17:39 MC STS ON 105 FLR...STAIRS COLLAPSE
09:36:33 FC STS THEY ARE STUCK THEY ARE STUCK IN THE
ELEVATOR...STS THEY ARE DYING.
09:47:15 FC STS 2 WORLD TRADE CENTER--FLR105--STS FLOOR
UNDERNEATH HER--COLLAPSE.
09:49:21 1 WORLD TRADE CTR...20 PEOPLE ON THE TOP
WAVING...THEY ARE ALIVE PLEASE SEND HELP.
10:00:34 WORLD TRADE CENTER HAS COLLAPSED.
Suddenly all calls from that building ended. Calls from the
north tower continued.
10:12:35 MC STS HE CAN BARELY BREATHE...105TH
FLR
The calls ended at 10:33 a.m. as abruptly as they had
begun, with a horrifying final note: "ENTIRE TOWER DOWN."
The Windsor Police Department said a 71-year-old man
allegedly shot and killed his teenage grandson today before apparently turning
the gun on himself following a four-hour standoff at a mobile home park. Carl
Donahoe of Windsor killed himself just before 4 p.m., said Windsor Police Chief
David Sederholm.
Sonoma County Sheriff's Department Lt. Matt McCaffrey
said Donahoe called a county dispatcher at about 11:57 a.m. to report that he
had shot and killed his grandson and that he was planning on taking his own
life.
Neighbors said Donahoe lived in the double-wide mobile
home with his wife, Pat, and their 18-year-old grandson, Jesse. Pat Donahoe was
reportedly playing bingo in Hopland in Mendocino County when the shooting
occurred, McCaffrey said.
Law enforcement officers responded to the scene at the
Royal Mobile Manor mobile home park at 6555 Old Redwood Highway, and took up
positions around the mobile home while making intermittent contact with Donahoe.
Meanwhile, residents of the neighborhood were forced to evacuate.
Chief Sederholm said authorities last spoke with Donahoe
at about 3:40 p.m. and that he was clearly distraught. Donahoe asked for more
time so that he could calm down, Sederholm said, and told authorities to call
him back in about 10 minutes.
Just minutes before 4 p.m., however, authorities heard a
single gunshot, Sederholm said. A Special Weapons and Tactics team that had
taken up positions around the home lobbed two flash-bang diversionary devices
inside the mobile home and rushed in through the main entrance.
The home then caught fire and firefighters responded to
the scene to douse the blaze.
Sederholm said that Donahoe killed himself. Both his
body and the corpse of his grandson remain in the burned mobile home.
The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
Neighbor Charlotte Duffy described the older man as
"really friendly, friendly as he could be."
"He's just as nice as pie," she said.
Duffy said that when she heard a single gunshot around
noon, she thought it was a firecracker.
Neighbor Sean Barry, 19, said that both grandfather and
grandson worked at Wal-Mart until Jesse quit a couple of months ago. He said
Donahoe worked as a door greeter at the store and that Jesse used to work as a
stockperson and cart collector.
McCaffrey said the Sheriff's Department has never been
called to the suspect's home in past.
100-Mile Chase To Catch Stolen Car Email story to a
friend (Livermore-AP) -- Highway patrol officers got a scenic tour of the San
Francisco Bay area last night before finally arresting a man suspected in the
theft of an SUV. San Jose police say the 100-mile chase began when a stakeout
team watching two stolen cars parked at a motel moved in. One man was captured
immediately. A second man jumped into a new Ford Explorer and took off.
Police officers began chasing the vehicle -- then turned
the chase over to the CHP when the car headed north on Highway 101. The driver
crossed the Bay Bridge and headed east on Interstate 580. He finally was stopped
just past Livermore.
Jesse Watson of Morgan Hill was booked early today for
investigation of evading arrest and possession of a stolen vehicle.
The part of the communications which is hard to
understand is the highjacker when he thought he was speaking on the aircrafts
intercom system but was stating "This is the captain speaking, we would like you
to all remain seated, there is a bomb onboard and we are returning to the
airport" but he was transmitting over the frequency
There was a lot of attention drawn to the Golden Gate
Bridge after Govenor Davis released information that a threat was made against
it. There are National Guard in addition to the CHP are now stationed at the
bridge 24/7.
Today, for the first time, jurors heard the 911 tapes
from the Branch Davidian compound the day of the government's initial raid on
the religious sect. The government was trying to serve an arrest warrant for
David Koresh on firearms charges. The raid ended in the deaths of four federal
agents and six members of Koresh's group. NPR's Wade Goodwyn has the story.
(4:15)
.
I thought I would post a picture
of my set up here, click in it for a larger version.
There is a good amount of activity being received on
282.600 AM due to the recent events in New York City. During this recording you
will also heard them give out some other good frequencies to monitor.
Major accident
that occured on 08/20/01. The press does not have anything posted about it yet
but they had to bring in 4 choppers for transport and had at least one fatality.
Ill post some images when I get them. The communications starts off with the
Vallejo PD then I switch to the fire frequency. I also put the radio on CALCORD
when one of the choppers was having trouble landing through the low
clouds.
Unmanned Boat Found Drifting
Near Alameda, No Passengers Found In Search BCN6 -SEARCH
The U.S. Coast Guard reports that a search for missing
persons near an 18-foot boat, which was found drifting south of the former
Alameda U.S. Naval Air Station on Saturday, will restart this morning. According
to a spokesman, the Coast Guard has not yet received any reports of anyone
missing in connection to the boat found at around 8:50 p.m. Saturday, but crews
plan to scour the area again today.
Vallejo Officer Reportedly Shot
in High Speed Pursuit 2001-04-11
(KCBS) An officer and suspect have apparently been
shot duringa high speed pursuit in Vallejo.
KCBS listener Robert Patel saw it happen. He told KCBS
anchor RebeccaCorral that the chase started somewhere south of Vallejo. Patel
said thesuspect may have been going more than 80 miles per hour along
eastboundInterstate 80, when he exited onto Admiral Callaghan Lane in
Vallejo.Patelsaid, once the suspect exited, he hit a parked car. Both cars
flipped over.Thesuspect then reportedly got out of his vehicle and shot an
officer. Patelsaid another officer fired at the suspect, hitting him in the
head. Patelsaid the suspect was transported to Sutter Medical Center. The
officeris being treated on the scene.No word yet on the condition of the
suspect.The officer?s wounds are not believed to be life threatening.Admiral
CallaghanLane is currently closed between Redwood and Tennessee Streets.
The dramatic tapes show the speeding truck as it crashed
into the southsteps of the capitol building and burst into flames.The highway
patrolalso released 911 tapes of frantic calls made to and from dispatchers
thatnight.CHP personnel inside the Capitol can be heard calling for
assistanceand ordering evacuations.The driver of the big rig has been
positivelyidentified as a mentally ill former prison inmate.
Watch The Video, Hear The Tapes The Sacramento County
coroner's officehas notified the wife of 37-year-old Michael Bowers that he was
the driverwhose charred remains were pulled from the wreckage.Police have
determinedthat Bowers was acting alone.He was not killed instantly, as had been
assumed.Thecoroner's office says that he did not die of a massive head injury or
othertrauma.Medical examiners still are trying to determine whether he was
killedin the inferno that followed Tuesday's crash.
Here is a very interesting recording I came across of
the NationalWarning System's system during the 1989 quake.
NATIONAL WARNING SYSTEM
TRANSCRIPT FROM 5:04 P.M.: October 17, 1989
The National Warning System (NAWAS) connects the
emergency servicesheadquarters of the 50 states to FEMA's Mt. Weather, and
various othermilitary and government facilities. It was designed and maintained
to alertthe states to a nuclear attack. It is also used during major
disasters,as heard in this five-minute clip of the NAWAS recording. (Requires
RealAudio)
Here is an audio file of the communications from Alaska
flight 261 justbefore it crashed into the Pacifc ocean, its amazing to me how
the pilotstill maintained his composure during this event.
Listen to the Police Radio Broadcasts from the incident
Here is a time-compressed recording of the North
Hollywood radio frequencythat morning...quiet air time has been eliminated. It
runs about 8 minutes.It begins when patrol officers in unit 15A83, who had been
flagged downby a citizen, called in a "possible 211 (robbery) in
progress."Detective unit 15W73 goes "Code 6" (arrives) at the front ofthe bank
almost immediately, and 15L40, a patrol sergeant, also arrivesand broadcasts
that the suspects are armed with AK-47 assault rifles. (Thisrecording differs
somewhat from the "9-1-1 magazine" transcript,which was taken from tapes of
several frequencies during the incident)
Pair Wanted for Murder Caught
After S.F. Chase Gunfire-filled pursuitduring evening rush
A stripper and her boyfriend suspected in killings in
two states werecaptured in San Francisco yesterday after trading gunfire with
police ina rush-hour chase across the city.
`'They were all over the place. It was a Wild West
shootout with thecops,'' said police Inspector Sherman Ackerson.
The 15-minute chase ended on the Embarcadero just north
of Pacific BellPark, with 22-year-old Joshua Maxwell and 21-year-old Tessie
McFarland,both of Indianapolis, surrounded by more than 20 officers. McFarland
wasshot in the neck during the chase and was reported to be in stable
conditionlast night at San Francisco General Hospital.
The two were trapped after running red lights, driving
the wrong wayup streets and shooting at police, who shot back. In all, dozens of
roundswere were fired as the pair weaved through crowded streets in a
stolenpickup truck.
``I saw a bullet hit the cop's windshield,'' said
witness Lovick Bouphaphah,19, adding that the fleeing driver narrowly missed
bystanders as he fledthe police cruisers. ``They were running red lights, and
they almost hitabout five cars.''
FLEEING DRIVER `SMILING'
The driver of the truck, he said, appeared to be
enjoying himself. ``Hewas smiling. He looked like he wasn't concerned at all
that the cops were chasing him.''
No bystanders were hurt. Officer Jesus Pena was hit in
the eyes by flyingglass when a bullet shattered his car window. He was treated
at St. FrancisMemorial Hospital and released.
The pursuit began at 4:39 p.m. when police on patrol
near the Hall ofJustice at Eighth and Bryant streets saw a Chevrolet Silverado
pickup truckrun a red light.
The new gold-colored pickup turned out to have been
stolen from a sheriff'ssergeant who was found bound and shot in the back of the
head last weekin San Antonio, Texas.
The driver of the truck sped away, starting a chase that
zigzagged throughthe South of Market area and the Mission District, with the
fleeing suspectsat one point zooming the wrong way on Seventh Street.
The truck made its way back to the Hall of Justice,
where it clippedthe building as it went by.
``He obviously didn't know where he was going,'' said
Lt. Judie Pursellof the homicide unit.
Mark Brecke, 34, said he was coming out of a bank at
Fourth and Brannanstreets when he saw the pickup go by with two dozen police
cars behind,the truck's female occupant reloading a gun.
``This is obviously not a red-light runner at lunch
time,'` he said.
The pair eventually were cornered on the Embarcadero
near Second Street.Police blocked off streets until just before 8 p.m. while
they picked upshell casings that littered the South of Market area.
SOUGHT FOR QUESTIONING
The chase came the same day that authorities in San
Antonio said Maxwelland McFarland were being sought for questioning in the
slaying of BexarCounty Sheriff's Sgt. Rudy Lopes.
Lopes was 42 and had worked in the county jail for 15
years. His wifereported him missing last week. His body was found in a drainage
ditchbehind a mall in San Antonio. His truck and two of his guns were missing.
McFarland and Maxwell had already been charged in
Indiana with murder,criminal confinement, arson and theft in the death of
45-year- old RobbyBott, a Federal Express employee who lived in Brooklyn, Ind.,
south ofIndianapolis. The car in which the two were believed to be traveling
wasfound abandoned in San Antonio.
MET ON CHAT LINE
Police Capt. Joel Rush of Speedway, a suburb of
Indianapolis, said Bottmay have met his killers through a telephone chat line
advertised in publicationssent to local strip clubs.
McFarland danced at Brad's Brass Flamingo, an
Indianapolis club. Policesaid Maxwell had been released from prison in January
after serving timefor burglary.
``He has never had a job as far as we can tell,'' Rush
said. ``He'swhat you call a sponge -- he found women that would just support
him.''
McFarland had worked at the club for about three months,
said the generalmanager, Don Noe.
``I think they just went crazy,'' Noe said. ``She was
never really aproblem when she worked for me. She was like a wild child -- she
likedto go out and party, but she always obeyed my rules.
``I think she was led on by him,'' Noe said. ``He just
looked like thetype that would do something, but not that bad.''
Rush said Maxwell and McFarland met Bott on Sept. 11,
the night beforehe was killed.
The couple came to Bott's home, then went with him to a
house in Speedwaywhere Maxwell and McFarland had been staying, police said.
Rush said Bott's home was ransacked and he was forced to
accompany thepair on a spending spree, buying jewelry, clothes, lamps and even
wastebaskets.
The next morning, authorities found his body stuffed in
the trunk ofhis burning car. He had been shot and strangled.
``It was a robbery that went bad,'' Rush said. ``They
were trying totake this guy for something, and something must have gone bad.
``They basically set him up,'' Rush said.
Police said they had no idea what led McFarland and
Maxwell to headfor San Francisco.
`'They are not world travelers,'' Rush said.
Before fleeing the state, McFarland left her 2-year-old
son with hermother in Indianapolis, even signing over legal custody of the boy
to herthe day Bott's body was found.
Rush welcomed the capture of the couple. ``I think it's
great,'' hesaid. ``I wish we could have gotten to them sooner.''
Chronicle staff writer Tom Zoellner contributed to this
report.
Pirate Hits Albany, Richmond
Police Radios Man taunts dispatchers,calls in phony crime reports
A radio pirate has broadened his invasion of police
airwaves, expandingfrom the Berkeley police channel to include Albany, Richmond
and CaliforniaHighway Patrol frequencies and using profanity to berate and taunt
dispatchers.
So far, authorities have been stymied in their attempts
to stop theillegal transmissions, which began earlier this month with false
reportsof crimes and are now increasing in vitriol with obscenity-laced
tiradesat dispatchers.
``Before, he was just putting out these calls, but now
he's really usingthe radio to go off,'' said Berkeley Police Lt. Russell Lopes.
At 9 p.m. Tuesday, a man on the main Berkeley police
channel reporteda 10-71, the police code for a shooting, providing a location
using streetsthat do not intersect, Lopes said.
A dispatcher recognized the voice from previous
incidents and beganreading off a prepared script demanding that he stop using
the channelimmediately. The rebuke, first read by dispatchers after a series of
breachesby the same man on December 14, only provoked an angry retort by the
man.
``B-- can't even read it right,'' he said when the
dispatcher falteredat one point.
When the dispatcher warned him that his transmissions
were being recordedand passed on to the Federal Communications Commission for
possible prosecutionby the U.S. attorney's office, he retorted defiantly: ``Let
them recordit.''
When the dispatcher finished, the man waited a few
seconds and thensaid, ``What do all that mean? How many years am I facing, I
want to know.''
The dispatcher directed officers to go to a secondary
police channel.The man said, ``Well, I'll go to channel 2, too.'' He did not,
however.There were no further interruptions that night.
The man similarly used obscenities to taunt CHP
dispatchers earlierTuesday when he invaded frequencies used by officers in San
Francisco andOakland, said Caryl Wilson, a supervisor at the CHP's
communications centerin Vallejo.
Wilson said the incidents were mostly nuisances. But
officers usinglights and sirens to get to a perceived emergency ``run a risk of
endangeringother traffic,'' she said.
``We all take our jobs very seriously,'' Wilson said.
``We want to beproviding the best public service we can. We hate to see risks
taken unnecessarilyfor the public, for officers and for ourselves.''
Wilson said, however, that the more the man gets on the
air, the greaterthe chance he will be identified with the help of the FCC.
``If he gives them enough, they'll track him,'' Wilson
said.
On December 20, the man got on the Berkeley channel and
reported an11-99, the police code for an officer needs help. When a dispatcher
readthe warning, he said, ``Screw you, b--'' and ``If I get stopped, I'll
smokehim,'' apparently threatening harm to police.
The man has also come on the air in Berkeley on at least
six other occasionsbeginning on December 12.
Authorities have also reported similar intrusions by the
man in Albanyand Richmond.
Police say the occurrences are rare but that anyone with
a fair knowledgeof how radios operate could easily penetrate the ultrahigh
frequenciesused by many police agencies and the very high frequencies used by
theCHP.
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