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Law enforcement agencies make a distinction between homicides and murders: December 2008
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This entry was written on Nov. 26, before the holiday weekend. If there were any more November homicides, they will be updated upon my return to the office on Tuesday. With homicides slowing down in November, there's not much for the monthly recap. Only one was reported (as of Nov. 26) -- a fatal stabbing in the normally quiet north end of San Bernardino. That leaves the year-to-date tally (with the year almost over) at 34. Of those homicides, 31 have been classified by police as murders. At the close of last November, there had been 53 homicides, 42 reported as murders by police. Barring a barrage of killings unseen even in these parts, it appears San Bernardino will record its lowest annual total since 2001, when 34 homicides and 30 murders were reported. Without further delay, the brief monthly recap: 
Scott Anthony Smith 1. On Nov. 24 at 12:58 a.m., a passerby spotted a man lying inside Lionel Hudson Park off of Park Drive in the city's residential north end. Police arrived to find he had been fatally stabbed in the chest. Scott Anthony Smith, 35, of San Bernardino, was likely attacked just before his body was discovered but there were no witnesses located, detectives said. No motive or suspects were immediately uncovered. Smith's family detailed the victim's long struggle with drugs, and assumed it led to his untimely end. Anyone with information on the homicide may call San Bernardino police Detective Brett Baumgartner at 909-384-5621 or the department's anonymous tip line at 909-384-5656. The all-points bulletin that San Bernardino police put out on July 16, 2007 identified a 16-year-old murder suspect nicknamed "Scooter." 
Tywon "Scooter" Ransom Tywon Rene Ransom had been identified as the boy who fatally shot Cecil Scott, 15, on West 19th Street at the culmination of an ongoing dispute over a girl they both knew, detectives reported. When Ransom saw Cecil on his way to drill team practice, he demanded he remove his blue house shoes, San Bernardino police Detective Bill Flesher wrote in the bulletin. (They apparently were the wrong color for the area, which is claimed by a gang that wears red.) When Cecil refused, Ransom pulled a handgun and shot him once in the chest, Flesher wrote. Ransom, described at the time as being 5-foot-2-inches tall and 105-pounds, ran into the nearby Little Zion Manor apartments, Flesher wrote. The suspected Little Zion Manor-area gang member was identified by a witness in the area, and charged with murder the next day. We come back to this case now as the second in our occasional series of looks at the case files of the FBI's Inland Regional Apprehension Team -- or IRAT -- which tracks fugitive murder suspects. In April, I wrote about an estranged husband from Fontana accused of killing his wife on her way to work in Riverside County. Leonel Garcia remains at large nearly 12 years after the killing. That story described how Garcia's fugitive status still haunted an FBI agent and his estranged wife's family. 
Cecil Scott On Monday, we'll look at the impact that Ransom's at-large status has had not only on Cecil's family and San Bernardino police, but also his loved ones. Ransom was an Arroyo Valley High School student living with his grandmother, after the death of his mother. Charity Fowler said she worries often about what has happened to her grandson, and whether he's even still alive. Of course, Cecil's family is focused on getting closure for the sudden death of someone they said was an outgoing, dance-loving teen, the only boy among four sisters. His mother, Kim Mahan, told me of her continuing agony. "My life has totally changed," she said. "I don't take family pictures or nothing. The holidays don't mean anything to me anymore. There's just something missing." Read more in Monday's Press-Enterprise. If anyone has information on Ransom's whereabouts, they may call Flesher at 909-384-5655, the San Bernardino police tip line at 909-384-5656 or the FBI at 951-248-6533. My colleague John Berry was at San Bernardino County Superior Court Tuesday, and heard a judge rule that a suspect in a double homicide just outside city limits two years ago will face trial. John's story follows: 
Silvia Flores / The Press-Enterprise
Javier Joaquin Luque SAN BERNARDINO--A suspected gang member will stand trial for his role in a drive-by double-shooting that killed two people near San Bernardino two years ago, a judge ruled Tuesday. Javier Joaquin Luque, 34, is charged in the killings of Ronald Jaramillo, 35, and Elizabeth Amaya, 30, both of San Bernardino, on Sept. 6, 2006. San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Arthur Harrison made his decision Tuesday, the third day of the Luque's preliminary hearing. Deputy Public Defender Steve Willms questioned the reliability of preliminary hearing witnesses who testified against Luque. "(There is) no physical evidence whatsoever connecting him to the crime," Willms said. The charges make Luque eligible for the death penalty, although no decision has been made. Luque also is charged with allegations that the shootings occurred while he was an active member of a criminal street gang. Jaramillo and Amaya, both inside a white Chevy Tahoe, were shot at 4 p.m. at 40th Street and First Avenue in an unincorporated area of north San Bernardino. A San Bernardino County Sheriff's report said Jaramillo, the driver, died at the scene and Amaya died the following day at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Luque, while in jail on an unrelated matter, was charged with their murders on Jan. 29, 2007, a San Bernardino County Sheriff's report said. On Oct. 3, 2008, Luque, who has an extensive criminal record, was sentenced to 32 years in prison for a 2006 carjacking in San Bernardino. He has a third case pending involving incest and identity theft charges, Superior Court records show. Luque returns to court Jan. 6 for hearings involving the murder and incest cases. Reach John F. Berry at 909-806-3058 or jberry@PE.com With yesterday's homicide, I didn't have a chance to quickly update readers about a resolution in a recent murder trial we've noted on the blog. It's already several days old, but since I posted an entry about opening statements in the trial, I wanted to follow up with news of the verdict. Kevin Harville -- charged with murder in a 2006 incident where he tried to ram his ex-girlfriend's SUV on Interstate 215, losing control and causing his truck battery to fly out and kill an unsuspecting driver -- was found guilty last Friday. My colleague Imran Ghori was in the court room and filed this report. The case was somewhat unusual, but jurors told Imran that they agreed with the prosecutor's argument that Harville's attempts to harm someone else led to the unintentional loss of his vehicle battery, killing Shawn Kettlewell and constituting murder under legal definition. Harville, 37, is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 9.
This is a dispatch from the scene of the city's 34th homicide of 2008. Scott Anthony Smith was stabbed to death Monday at a park directly across the street from his father's home. As with many of this year's slayings, the victim had a spotted criminal history. But what made my trip to his family's home unique was the frankness in which Smith's past was discussed. The prevailing feeling was that no matter what had happened, it didn't warrant a violent end. This story will run in Tuesday's edition of The Press-Enterprise.
Scott Anthony Smith SAN BERNARDINO -- From a swinging bench in his front yard, Scott Don Smith could see the spot where his son was fatally stabbed hours earlier. It was a sad but not shocking end for Scott Anthony Smith, his father said Monday, looking across the street at Lionel Hudson Park in San Bernardino's residential north end. "He got mixed up in drugs and it probably led to him being murdered," he said resignedly. "Nobody deserves that." Scott Anthony Smith, 35, was found minutes before 1 a.m. Monday at the northwest end of the park, at Park Drive and Windsor Street. A passerby saw his body on the ground as sprinklers sprayed. The father of two had been stabbed in the chest, police said. There were no known witnesses, and no arrests have yet been announced in the city's 34th slaying of the year. Although San Bernardino police detectives didn't release a motive, Scott Don Smith said his son had used drugs for many years. The victim was on probation for an April conviction of possessing a controlled substance for sale, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records. He had spent two years in a New York prison, his father said. While he was there, his mother died. He had moved east to be with her, his father said. After returning to San Bernardino, where he spent most of his adult life, Smith lived with his father for several months and worked at a moving company. Prior jobs included driving a long-haul tractor-trailer. "I thought he really was going to do well," said Scott Don Smith, a 62-year-old Vietnam veteran. "But then he started hanging out with all his old cronies." The elder Smith said he still has positive memories of his son -- his hardworking nature, his kindness and his love of fishing. He'd cast a line anywhere, including the pond at the 18th hole of San Bernardino's Arrowhead County Club, where they stocked catfish and bass. Recently, Scott Anthony Smith was living with a girlfriend just around the block from his father. He frequently visited his 11-year-old son, Anthony, and his 16-year-old daughter, Tiana, who stood outside the family home Monday along with their mother. One by one, they hugged and said goodbye to the victim's father, as he continued to sit on the bench facing the park. "Without drugs," the father said, "he was a good guy." Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call San Bernardino police Detective Brett Baumgartner at 909-384-5621 or the department's anonymous tip line at 909-384-5656. Reach Paul LaRocco at 909-806-3064 or plarocco@PE.com Detectives say there were no witnesses to the fatal stabbing of a man found at a north end park early this morning. Scott Anthony Smith, 35, of San Bernardino, was found stabbed in the chest just before 1 a.m. at Lionel E. Hudson Park on Park Drive, police said. "There were no witnesses, no nothing," said San Bernardino police Lt. Scott Paterson. The homicide -- San Bernardino's 34th of the year -- is only the second to occur in the city's north end. No motive has been released. Although Smith had a felony conviction for drug possession, narcotics weren't immediately linked to the killing, said homicide Sgt. Dave Dillon. Anyone with information may call Detective Brett Baumgartner at 909-384-5621. A 35-year-old man was found dead in a park in San Bernardino's north end early this morning, and homicide detectives are investigating. We don't have many details yet, but the victim has been identified as Scott Anthony Smith, a city resident. A passerby found the man at 12:58 a.m. lying on the ground at Lionel E. Hudson park on Park Drive, off of Kendall Drive. Police noted that Smith had upper body trauma, according to a San Bernardino County coroner's news release. I'll post more details when I get them. The homicide would be San Bernardino's 34th of 2008. Just a quick note on an item I saw about The Los Angeles Times' homicide blog. The Los Angeles-based media blog, LA Observed, posted an item earlier this week about the Times' The Homicide Report taking a hiatus. I don't know the reason behind this, and the actual posting on the blog doesn't indicate one. But LA Observed speculates that shrinking staff at the Times (a problem at many papers) and a lack of one reporter owning the blog contributed. Either way, I should note that in 2007, when the blog was launched, I enjoyed reporter Jill Leovy's evident passion for it, and the frequent entries that expanded on the short blurbs on each victim. Apparently, a book is in the works from her experiences. Her work, certainly, was an influence in the launch of the San Bernardino Homicide Watch. I'll be one of the people checking to see if the blog returns.
In a city where crime is such a political issue, there is little chance of any statistic released by the mayor's office not raising debate. Despite efforts to tie the latest one -- a reduction in juvenile fatal shooting victims -- to the start of the controversial Operation Phoenix program, the actual statistic is something even the mayor's critics agree is positive. First, a little background. 
Sherman Jones, 15, was the last juvenile murder victim by gunfire, on June 7. In September, after learning that San Bernardino had California's fourth-highest murder rate in 2007, Mayor Pat Morris and his staff chose to point out long-term progress. Opponents countered that the ranking showed that city leaders were painting an overly rosy picture for residents, seeing that violent crime had actually gone up from 2006 to 2007. Meanwhile, we've continued to track each of the city's homicides, also noting the ones that police do not classify as murders. As blog readers know, there have been 33 homicides in 2008, 30 of which will be reported to the FBI's annual Uniform Crime Report as murders. Simply making this distinction has evoked passionate comments to this blog. Some readers feel that the department is trying to minimize incidents to lower their year-end tally. No matter your opinion, it is hard to debate that -- for whatever reason -- San Bernardino has seen a reduction in deadly violence this year. Last year at this time there were more than 50 homicides, and in 2005, there were 58 reported murders by December's end. Along those lines, Morris' office sent out a news release Tuesday that announced that juvenile murder victims due to gunfire had been cut by two-thirds from the 28 months before the launch of the mayor's Operation Phoenix crime fighting plan in July 2006 to the time span immediately following. Eighteen juveniles were slain by firearms, in incidents police classify as murders, from March 1, 2004 to June 30, 2006, the release said. Six juveniles met the same demise from July 1, 2006 through Oct. 31, 2008, the release said. (This wouldn't include the two fatal shootings of young boys over the past two years that were classified accidents: Emmanuel Hernandez in 2007 and Hugho Espinoza last month.) The mayor's office release credited a number of factors for this decline, including Operation Phoenix and the work of federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents who have been part of a task force in the city since July 2007. 
Anthony Ramirez, 11, was shot in June 2006. There was a time -- following the fatal shooting of 11-year-old Anthony Ramirez as he shot hoops at a Westside middle school in June 2006 -- when the issue was major news. The Press-Enterprise devoted an entire project to juvenile murders. Morris' office said the reason for the news release was the third anniversary of another high-profile child slaying: that of 11-year-old Mynisha Crenshaw. The last of more than a dozen defendants in that case were convicted last month. After seeing the numbers, I reviewed each reported murder in the city since 2004 and to see how many juvenile victims there have been. This includes those who died in beatings and stabbings -- including infants -- which Morris' study did not. 2004: 4 of 50 victims (8 percent, including a 5-year-old boy fatally beaten, and three teens fatally shot) 2005: 8 of 58 victims (14 percent, including a 1-year-old girl fatally beaten, six teens fatally shot, and 11-year-old Mynisha) 2006: 9 of 46 victims (nearly 20 percent, including a 4-year-old boy fatally beaten, seven teens fatally shot, and 11-year-old Anthony) 2007: 5 of 45 victims (11 percent, including two 1-year-old girls fatally beaten, and three teens fatally shot) 
Mynisha Crenshaw, 11, was shot in November 2005. 2008 (year-to-date): 4 of 30 victims (13 percent, including a 1-year-old girl fatally beaten, one teen fatally stabbed, and two fatally shot.) Taken on a more complete level, including infants and those stabbed or beaten, the number of juvenile murder victims has still gone down over the past few years. But other than the spike in 2006, the percentage of total victims has remained somewhat consistent. Even a frequent critic of Morris said this trend can only be seen as a good thing. San Bernardino City Councilwoman Wendy McCammack wrote the following in an e-mail: "When as many as 30 members of law enforcement (from several different public safety agencies) are on the streets at any given night over the past 12 months, I would have predicted crime to drop at least 50 percent and thanks to the hard working men and women in law enforcement, it has. "It didn't come soon enough for many families like the parents of Anthony Ramirez. My hope is that parents and guardians of young people pay very close attention to keeping their kids close. There is no substitute for close family supervision, not even Operation Phoenix." A man charged with murder in two different baby deaths -- including one in San Bernardino -- pleaded not guilty this morning in a Fontana courtroom after being moved from state prison. 
Ivan Hancock Ivan Benjamin Hancock, 46, was transferred from the California Institute for Men in Chino (where he was serving sentence for an unrelated drug conviction) and booked Tuesday into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He is being held without bail. A $2 million arrest warrant for Hancock was issued earlier this month charging him with two counts of murder, two counts of assault on a child causing death and one count of child abuse. He is accused in the fatal beating of 15-month-old Amber Russell in Colton in August 2004, and the fatal beating of Talonia Kaye Johnson-Boutee, also 15 months old, in San Bernardino on New Year's Eve 2006. In each case, Hancock was dating the child's mother. Those women also are charged in the deaths of their daughters. Iyesha Lightcsy, 27, of Inglewood, was arrested last week and has pleaded not guilty to charges, including murder. She will next appear in court tomorrow. 
Talonia Johnson-Boutee Talonia Henderson, 37, remains in state custody on an unrelated conviction and has yet to be arraigned in the death of her daughter. She has been charged with murder, assault on a child causing death and child abuse. This case generated some attention when charges were announced a few weeks ago -- years after many family members of the children assumed the cases had been long forgotten. Click here for an in-depth story about how the charges came about. Since then, I also spoke with members of Amber and Talonia's family, and expect to hear from more. 
Amber Russell None of them could believe that Hancock, despite being a "person of interest" in Amber's death, was allowed to be put in the same situation again two years later. "No one knew what he was capable of," said Carmela Johnson, Henderson's sister-in-law who has cared for some of her children after Talonia's death. Elaine Jackson Russell, Amber's aunt on her father's side, posted this comment on my first story about the charges:
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