Suicide by Cop - The Police News

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VOLUME VII, NUMBER 7
Suicide by Cop
A Phrase Seldom Heard
By Breck Porter
Suicide by cop is a suicide method in
which a suicidal person deliberately
acts in a threatening way, with the goal
of provoking a lethal response from
a police officer such as being shot to
death. While the phrase is seldom used,
it has become the most popular name
for the phenomenon.
Other names include death by cop,
suicide-by-police, and blue suicide.
Two more technical terms often used
in research are: officer or police assisted suicide and Victim-Precipitated
Homicide, though these are much
broader terms and encompass other
situations.
The idea of committing suicide in this
manner is based on trained procedures
of law enforcement officers, specifically the policy on the use of deadly force.
There are often circumstances where
police will predictably use deadly force,
against a threat to themselves or others.
This form of suicide exploits this trained
reaction. The most common scenario is
pointing a firearm at a police officer or
an innocent person, which reasonably
provokes an officer to fire on them in
defense. However, there are many variants for example; attacking with a knife
or other hand weapon, trying to run an
officer or other person over with a car,
or trying to trigger an explosive device
or presumed explosive device.
This entire concept hinges on the
person's state of mind, and the person’s
desire to end their own life, which
can be difficult to determine once the
person is dead and no suicide note is
found. Some cases are obvious, such as
pointing an unloaded or non-functioning weapon, like a toy gun or starter's
pistol at officers. Some will brazenly
announce their intention to die before
they act, "You'll never take me alive!"
However, many cases can be more difficult to determine. Some with the desire
to die will actually fire live ammunition
and even kill people before being killed
themselves. Many law enforcement
training programs have added sections
to specifically address handling such
scenarios if officers suspect the person
is attempting to goad them into using
deadly force.
The 1976 death of Mal Evans, road
manager, assistant, and a friend of The
Beatles, who aimed an air gun at police
and refused to put it down, was theorized as a possible example of this
phenomenon. Some historians believe
that Giuseppe Zangara, the man who
killed Chicago mayor Anton Cermak in
a possible attempt to assassinate then
President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt,
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might have been attempting suicide by
police.
Some of the first research into suicide
by cop indicated that of 843 police
shootings about 50% were victim precipitated homicide. Police defined victim precipitated homicide as "an incident in which an individual bent on selfdestruction, engages in life threatening
and criminal behavior to force law
enforcement officers to kill them.”
It happens dozens of times each
year during jittery hostage dramas and
routine traffic stops; desperate people
lure police officers into shooting them.
Experts say it is every police officer's
nightmare; a person with a death wish
provoking police to pull the trigger.
Police-assisted suicide or suicideby-cop is occurring with increasing
frequency. It happened on at least one
occasion when a man used a toy pistol
to trick an officer into shooting him. A
woman once told a police negotiator she
didn't have the nerve to shoot herself.
Later, she'd tell a psychiatrist she was
hoping to commit what the police call
"copicide," in which a suicidal person
gets the police to shoot him or her.
Some students have opted for "suicide by copicide," a term describing
people who can't bring themselves to
kill themselves, so they have others,
such as law enforcement officials, do
the job for them. One student taped a
couple of bullets to his chest so he could
ensure his death.
Recently in Galveston, Texas a 39year old man called his girlfriend at
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work saying he was going to slit his
throat and end it all. It wasn't his first
suicide threat. On at least one previous
occasion he cut his wrists, on others he
would overdose on prescription drugs
and alcohol. According to the girlfriend
he had suicidal tendencies since age 8.
The girlfriend called 911 which sent
police to the upstairs of an old 2-story
home on Galveston's east end . Several
officers climbed the rear stairs outside the back of the house lead by Lt.
Joel Caldwell, a 9-year veteran of the
Galveston Police Department and a former K-9 officer.
When Caldwell reached the top landing he noticed a small window pane broken out of the backdoor which led into
the kitchen. There was a curtain pulled
over the glass panes at the top half of
the door. Caldwell reached through the
broken window with his baton and gently moved the curtain aside for a vision
of what or who was on the other side
of the door. He saw a man pacing back
and forth across the kitchen holding a
large butcher knife.
The man inside the apartment must
Suicide...Cont. on pg 3
Hannah and The Police Dog
The Real Meaning
of Puppy Love
trained to detect drugs, explosives, and
firearms. Although German Shepherds
were first used, law enforcement the
By Breck Porter
world over now use Belgian Malinois
“And the lion shall lie down with the dogs from Holland. Known for their
lamb…”
adaptability to new climates and enviAlthough the phrase “the lion shall ronments and their work drive, these
lie down with the lamb” is one of the dogs are exceptional members of law
more popular quotes
enforcement. They
from the Bible, in the
generally work 7-11
King James Version
years and grow to an
it’s the wolf that dwells
average 75 pounds.
with the lamb, and it’s
At night, after a busy
a leopard that lies down
day's work, they go
with a kid, and “the calf
home with their hanand the young lion and
dlers, where they are
the fatling together.”
a part of the family.
(Isaiah 11:6)
In August 2007 the
But in Galveston,
Powers family welHannah and Qui, inseparable
there is a Belgian
comed a new addition
Malanois named Qui,
to their home, a baby
a retired police dog, that has gone paw girl, Hannah. From the first time he
to toe with some of the most violent heard a cry or whimper from Hannah,
crooks but now lies down with the 2- Qui became her partner, her protector
year old daughter of his former police and constant companion, to the point
officer partner.
that Chad Powers came to wonder if
It’s a remarkable story of the love of Qui’s allegiance had transferred from
an animal that was trained for the most him to Hannah. They developed a bond
violent confrontations, for a darling that is unbreakable to this day.
little girl who sometimes thinks the dog
'Qui' was born in the Netherlands
actually speaks to her.
and immigrated to Louisiana where as
These dogs have been especially a pup he was trained for a life of sniff-
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Page - The Police News
ing out crooks, creeping around inside streets of Galveston during one of the
dark buildings in search of burglars, worse times in its history, after it had
riding hour upon hour in the backseat been ravaged by Ike and police officers
of a police patrol car, or confronting an were working under the most adverse
armed attacker threatening his master conditions imaginable.
and police partner.
Between storms, when the two were
After training, Qui was acquired working what would be considered
by the Galveston Police Department under 'normal' conditions, there were
and assigned to Officer Lucio Valdez. those enjoyable hours at home with
When Valdez was called to active mili- Chad, wife Amanda and three little
tary duty, Qui partnered with Sgt. Joel 'weenie' dogs who claimed the Powers
Caldwell, a devoted animal lover who is home as theirs and were not about to
generally recognized
give up an inch of it to
in the police profesa big, 75 pound police
sion as the 'go to
dog from Europe. But
guy' in cases involvthey eventually learned
ing animals.
to cohabit peacefully,
Qui and Caldwell
unless Qui tried to steal
worked
together
a bite from one of their
for two years until
dinner bowls. One of
Caldwell was prothem, Maddie, would
moted to Lieutenant.
look at Qui if he got to
Then his assignment
close to her bowl, snarl
became a supervisoand flash her fangs, and
ry one which meant
Qui would quickly make
Qui working
Qui would get a
a distance between himnew partner. In 2005
self and Maddie's bowl.
Qui met his new partner, Officer Chad
In early 2010 Qui was forced into
Powers. They would work together on retirement with the other K-9's in the
the graveyard shift for the next five Galveston Police Department. The
years, until Qui's retirement in early city's economy began taking a toll on
2009.
many city services including some in
During this partnership the two the police department. The K-9 Unit
worked together through two hurri- was cut and Qui retired to civilian life
canes, Rita and Ike. They patrolled the
Hannah...Cont. on pg 3
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officers found their recollection of the
events of the shooting to be imperfect.
have heard the officers coming up the In extreme cases, officers could not
outside stairs. There were police cars recall firing their guns. In the days,
parked outside with red lights flashing. weeks, and months that follow a shootEven the neighbors heard and saw the ing, officers may suffer adverse reaccommotion.
tions such as sleep interruption, anxiety,
Caldwell spoke through the door and depression.
identifying himself as a police officer.
Although some officers did not feel
Hearing no response he reached through fear during a shooting, they still sensed
the broken glass pane, turned the inside imminent danger to themselves or othdoorknob and slowly pushed the door ers that met the standard for using
open.
deadly force. One incident involved
Suddenly, the man who had been pac- a 21-year veteran police officer who
ing the kitchen floor raised the butcher shot a man as he stepped toward the
knife and charged at Caldwell who had manager of the a child day care center
already unholstered his sidearm and with a meat cleaver raised above his
was holding it in his hand. As the man head and another at his side, as other
got within three feet of him, Caldwell adults shielded 12 frightened and crying
fired two shots. The man fell at his feet, children.
the two rounds having hit him in his
He remembered the two rounds going
left chest. 39-year old Jeffrey Kilton right in the upper chest area, he said.
Joyce was pronounced dead-on-arrival He and another officer, continued to
at the University of Texas Medical fire until the man fell to the ground. "I
Branch Hospital.
opened his jacket a little — you could
What goes through police officers’ just see all the holes in him." Then,
minds when they are involved in shoot- though he knew it was futile, the officer
ings? How does facing deadly force tried to stanch the flow of blood with a
affect what they see, hear, and feel? blanket he found nearby.
Studies have found that many officers
He called his wife from a police car
involved in shootings suffer from “post- after a supervisor and family friend led
shooting trauma”—a form of posttrau- him out of the dimly lit day care center
matic stress disorder that may include and into the bright light outdoors. "I
guilt, depression and suicidal thoughts. killed someone. I don't know how I'm
However, it may be that officers are going to handle this," she remembers
more resilient than previously thought. him saying. Then, she said, her husband
One study has found that most suffer started to cry.
few long-term negative emotional or
In the two years that followed, the
physical effects after shooting a sus- officer and his daughter, who was 5
pect.
at the time, both struggled with postMost officers reported that just before traumatic stress disorder. But it was six
and as they pulled the trigger on the months before he agreed to go to counsuspect, they experienced a range of seling — and more than a year before
psychological, emotional, and physi- he took a six-week leave of absence to
ological reactions that distorted time, deal with his symptoms — a time his
distance, sight, and sound. Many
wife describes as "the lowest point of
our marriage."
Today, that officer and his wife share
their family's experience with other
officers to encourage those involved in
traumatic incidents to seek help when
needed. Too often, he said, officers
view needing help as "a sign of weakness." "There's still that stigma in this
job," he said.
Police administrators say that over the
past 20 years there has been a "culture
shift" within police departments, which
now makes it a priority to educate officers about the emotional toll that can
come with the job and to reach out to
those who may need help dealing with
it. There are certain calls that have a
lasting impact on even the most seasoned, prepared officer because of the
given nature of the call says a counselor
who coordinates a support program
for police, firefighters, paramedics and
other employees involved in traumatic
incidents.
Such calls — including those involving severe injury or death, serious physical or psychological threats to officers,
or loss of life after extraordinary rescue attempts — trigger an immediate
response from the counselors, who go
to the scene to offer assistance to officers and reach out to their families. A
specially trained officer may also be
sent to a scene as part of a peer support
program.
After a traumatic incident, officers
may attend a "defusing" — an initial
forum to talk about what happened with
a counselor and peer support officer
— or a "debriefing" — a group crisis
intervention. In recent years, the number of officers attending such sessions
has nearly quadrupled and that includes
some officers involved in multiple inci-
dents who have participated in more
than one session.
Of all the questions that surround
these deaths, the most puzzling is why
anyone would choose this way to die.
Perhaps feelings of guilt or shame; alcohol or drugs lead some people to seek
punishment from an authority figure.
The police are perfect for this. They
sometimes play the role of surrogate
parents in our society.
Perhaps police-assisted suicide indicates anger at authority. The person may
be saying, "I'm so angry at you that I'll
have you kill me, and you'll have to live
with it,"
In some cases, a skewed interpretation of the religious prohibition against
suicide may be on the persons mind.
Suicide for most people is forbidden
religiously, but if it's done confronting
the police, somehow it's OK, say some
psychiatrist. For others, being gunned
down by police may seem a glamorous
end, something people will talk about
years after their life is over.
Perhaps, it may be simpler than all
that. Maybe they are just looking for a
foolproof way to die. Police have the
guns and the training to react to potentially life-threatening situations with
accurate and deadly force and are as
close as the telephone.
but came under attack by the man with
a two-by-four board. Officers outside
could hear Qui screaming and yelping and they knew he was being hurt.
When they got to him Qui had the
burglar pinned down and he did it without suffering broken bones or serious
injuries.
On another occasion Powers found a
local crook hiding under a car and when
he refused to come out, Qui went in. A
police dog and a crook are not a good
mix in tight quarters. As Qui clamped
down on the man to drag him from
under the car, the bad guy jabbed Qui
in the eye with his finger cutting his
cornea.
Police departments with K9's are often
called on by neighboring departments
for assistance tracking or apprehending criminals and Qui responded to
those calls many times. On at least two
occasions he brought felons to justice
in nearby Santa Fe, Texas. "I think Qui
may have been what encouraged the
Santa Fe Police Department to acquire
it's own police dog," Powers says.
Amanda Powers told us, "I was scared
of him at first because he had a real bad
reputation so when he came to live with
us I'd give him doggie treats one after
another just so he'd like me.
"At home he's very lovey with me but
if I go to the police station to see Chad
and there's a bunch of officers around
he completely ignores me and buddies
up with them." Back among his peers
it seems he's ready and anxious to get
back to work, back in that police car,
back on the streets.
"He's petrified of thunder, scared to
death of thunder. In one thunder storm
he tore the blinds down from the windows.
"In the last thunder storm we had,
Hannah had just started sleeping in her
own room, and this came straight from
this 2 year olds mouth. She said she
was sleeping in her bed and the thunder
started and Qui came to her, put his face
in her face and asked her if she was
okay then lay down beside her.” Child
imagination we all understand.
"Normally he paces the hallway, drooling when he hears thunder, but this time
when I looked in on Hannah there he
was in bed with her. He laid in bed right
next to her throughout the entire storm,
not pacing or drooling."
There is no way to tell the life story
of the many years of devoted service of
Qui, or any other canine police officer
for that matter. To describe his recovery
of hundreds of thousands of dollars
worth of illicit drugs, the hundreds of
criminals he has actually sought out
and brought down or held at bay for his
human partner would be impossible on
Suicide..Cont. from page 1
Hannah...Cont. from pg 2
in the Power's household.
It was time for Qui to retire anyway.
He had a long and distinguished career
in the Galveston Police Department
and the years were beginning to take a
toll on him. He had been attacked and
beaten by a burglar he rooted from a
dark building at 325 25th Street one
night. The building, now known as the
Galveston Lofts, was under construction and police had come upon two
men burglarizing it to steal construction
equipment and supplies. The officers
captured one of the men outside the
building and learned from him there
was another man inside and he was supposedly armed.
This is where Qui went to work. He
was sent into the darkened building to
sniff out the crook rather than endangering the lives of police officers. Within
minutes Qui had the crook cornered
References in this story about the
Galveston, Texas shooting were based on
an investigation by The Police News and
were not taken from an official police report
or from official police statements.
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Hannah...Cont. on pg 9
The Police News - Page Is time running out for Michael James Perry?
the back of the truck. When they plex; the shotgun used to kill Sandra
The defense presented testimony from
Problem child has into
couldn't find the keys to the Camaro, Stotler was also found there.
Perry’s biological mother who testified
a date with the
they left in Willis’s truck.
Forensic evidence found near Crater that she used drugs and alcohol until a
They
drove
to
nearby
Crater
Lake.
Lake, in the woods, and at the Stotler month or two before Perry was born.
executioner.
By Breck Porter
Michael James
Perry was 19 when
he was convicted
and sentenced to
death in state court
for the murder of
50-year old Sandra
Michael James Perry
Stotler, a nurse at
Conroe Regional Medical Center, while
burglarizing her house in a gated community in Montgomery County.
According to Perry’s confession,
he and his friend Jason Burkett, 19,
decided to steal two cars. They decided
on two cars, a Camaro and Isuzu Rodeo
that belonged to the parents of another
friend, Adam Stotler. Perry and Burkett
made plans to spend the night at the
Stotler house and steal one of the cars
in the middle of the night. On October
24, 2001, Perry and Burkett drove to
the Stotler house with a 12-gauge shotgun in a blue Chevy truck belonging to
Burkett’s girlfriend, Kristin Willis.
Sandra Stotler, 50, Adam’s mother,
told Perry and Burkett that Adam would
not be home until about 9 o'clock that
night. They left in their truck and drove
several blocks before deciding that it
would be easier to steal the car when
only one person was home.
When they arrived back at the house,
Burkett knocked on the front door and
asked Stotler to use her phone. Perry
went through the back door in the garage
with the shotgun and hid in the laundry
room. He knocked on the back door and
when Sandra Stotler went to the back
door he came out of the laundry room
and shot her in her side. Stotler fell
then tried to get up, and Perry shot her
again. Perry and Burkett wrapped her in
bed sheets and blankets and loaded her
At first, Burkett and Perry opened the
tailgate and tried backing up to the
lake, hoping that Sandra Stotler’s body
would slide out. When that didn't work,
they grabbed her body and rolled her
into the water and covered it with the
sheets, sticks, and brush.
The pair then drove to pick up Kristin
from work and went back to the Stotler
house. When 16-year old Adam Stotler
arrived back at his house with his friend
18-year old Jeremy Richardson, the
killers convinced them that a friend
had been shot in the woods and needed their help. Adam and Jeremy followed Willis’s truck in Adam’s Isuzu.
When they arrived in the woods, Perry
and Burkett led Adam and Jeremy into
the woods where according to Perry,
Burkett shot Jeremy and then Adam
then Perry removed the car keys and
wallet from Adam’s pocket.
Burkett and Perry returned to the truck
and when Willis asked what had happened, she became upset and left in her
truck, so Burkett and Perry took off in
the Camaro and Isuzu. Perry said they
returned home, cleaned up, and went
to a bar.
Two days later, Perry tried to evade
police trying to stop him for traffic
violations. The high speed chase ended
when Perry wrecked bailed from the
Camaro and took off on foot. He was
eventually apprehended with Adam
Stotler’s wallet. He was booked and
released on bond as Adam Stotler.
The next day, Sandra Stotler’s body
was discovered in Crater Lake. Several
days later, while in the stolen Isuzu,
Perry and Burkett ran into a deputy
sheriff’s vehicle while trying to escape
arrest. The vehicle crashed into a nearby
store. Burkett and Perry were arrested
hiding in a neighboring apartment com-
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Page - The Police News
residence matched Perry’s confession.
Perry was tried for Sandra Stotler’s
murder. During his trial, Perry took the
stand in his own defense and claimed
that his confession was a lie. However
he made several subsequent statements
that implicated him in the murder.
At the sentencing phase, Perry's lawyer presented extensive evidence about
Perry’s family history and upbringing.
An adopted child, Perry had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder
at 8 years old. He was later diagnosed
with oppositional defiant disorder. A
year after that, he was diagnosed with
conduct disorder. Perry twice tested
negative for bipolar disorder after being
admitted to a mental hospital. He never
qualified for special education classes
in elementary school, had an IQ of 97,
and was by all accounts an average
student.
Perry often ran away from home. He
stopped going to school in junior high.
He stole his mother’s jewelry and the
family car. He broke into a neighbor’s
home and destroyed the moldings. His
parents filed charges and had him committed to a long-term facility for mental
health care and he was sent to Boys
Town in Nebraska, but after threatening his house parents, he was moved
to a locked facility within the program.
Perry’s problems did not qualify him
for any mental health care provided by
the facility.
When he was expelled from Boys
Town, his parents moved him to a
secured high school campus in Mexico
called Casa by the Sea.
After high school, Perry was essentially homeless and jobless. He had a
brief stint in the Job Corps, laying tile,
and working at Wal-Mart. He also stole
and sold prescription pills to support his
indulgence in alcohol and pills.
Despite this, Perry was full weight and
healthy when born. Although no biological relatives had committed murder,
Perry’s mother testified to a family
history of depression, alcoholism, drug
use, and thievery.
Dr. Gilda Kessner, a clinical psychologist with a forensics background,
interviewed Perry and testified that his
youthfulness was his greatest risk factor for recidivism. After serving time in
prison, Dr. Kessner said, the likelihood
of him becoming violent would drop to
zero.
The jury found Perry guilty of capital
murder. During the sentencing phase,
the jury found that Perry posed a continuing threat to society and that there
were not sufficient mitigating circumstances to warrant a life sentence.
The trial court sentenced Perry to
death. The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals affirmed, and the United States
Supreme Court refused Perry’s petition for a writ of certiorari. Perry then
filed a writ of habeas corpus. The Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals denied all
nineteen grounds for relief. Perry filed
a federal petition for a writ of habeas
corpus. The district court granted the
director’s motion for summary judgment and denied Perry a certificate of
appealability.
Barring any last minute appeal Michael
James Perry, Texas prison inmate number 999444, is scheduled to die on July
1, 2010. He will be 28-year old.
Jason Aaron Burkett was convicted
of capital murder and sentenced to life
imprisonment.
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Is this the final curtain for opera singer's killer?
Bloody fingerprint
sends killer to
death row
were common there.
a mall, in which the car crashed and
The rowdiness subsided after caught on fire. The driver got away, and
Wrotenberry moved in, he said.
the police recovered no evidence conWrotenberry was a music teacher at nected to the murders from the car.
Deer Park Elementary School, and on
A forensic pathologist testified that
By Breck Porter
Monday, September 12, 1988, he failed Henderson received a shallow nonfatal
Forrest Henderson and Richard to show up for work. At 9 o'clock that cut on his neck, defensive wounds on
Wrotenberry, both 31, were singers in morning the school principal
both arms, a six-inch fracthe Houston Grand Opera in 1988. called Henderson’s apartture of his skull from blunt
Wrotenberry moved into Henderson’s ment manager and asked him
force, and multiple stab
Houston apartment to housesit while to check on Wrotenberry.
wounds over his body.
Henderson was out of the country and The manager unlocked
Wrotenberry
suffered
continued to live in the apartment after Henderson’s apartment door
a severed carotid artery,
Henderson returned.
and found a body covered
cuts to his vertebrae and
David Trujillo lived next door to in blood in one of the bedat least three blows to the
Henderson and Wrotenberry. At about rooms. He left and called
back of his head with a
10:30 Saturday night, September the police.
narrow blunt instrument,
10, 1988, Trujillo heard music and
Police arrived at the apartsuch as a pipe.
Derrick Jackson
Henderson’s voice through their com- ment soon afterwards but
Post-mortem Lividity
mon wall.
found no sign of forced entry. They did in both bodies indicated the men were
Trujillo went to sleep around 2:00 find Henderson’s and Wrotenberry’s bod- dead for more than eight hours before
a.m. and was awakened about three ies in their separate bedrooms at oppo- their bodies were discovered. Tests perhours later by the sound of Wrotenberry site ends of the apartment. Henderson’s formed on both bodies revealed no
screaming several times, “Oh my God. nude body was laying face-down in his signs of drugs, alcohol, or semen. Blood
No. No.”
bed, and Wrotenberry’s body, clad only samples and twenty identifiable fingerTrujillo also heard what sounded like in a pair of swimming trunks, was lying prints were collected from the crime
someone being hit and beaten with on the floor of his bedroom.
scene, but homicide detectives were
a pipe or a baseball bat. After thirty
The absence of a significant amount unable to identify a suspect.
minutes of silence, he heard the water of blood in the hallway connecting the
In 1995, nearly seven years after
running for about forty-five minutes. two bedrooms indicated neither man the murders, the Houston Police
He said he never heard Henderson’s left his room during or after the attacks. Department upgraded to a new fingerfront door open or anyone leave, but a Police found a bloody metal bar in the print system with an expanded dataperson could enter or leave Henderson’s hallway in front of the bathroom door base. The new system matched those of
apartment by another stairwell without and a bloody knife in the kitchen sink. Derrick Leon Jackson, of Missouri City,
passing by his door.
Blood was on the bedroom walls, doors, with prints lifted from a beer can and a
Trujillo said he often saw “street trash” and curtains.
glass tumbler in Henderson’s bedroom.
coming and going from Henderson’s
Both victims’ wallets were missing, Blood spattered during the attack covapartment before Wrotenberry moved and Henderson’s car was gone. Two or ered Jackson’s fingerprints on the front
in, that the apartment was a rowdy three days later, the car was recovered of the tumbler. A bloody fingerprint
place, and that screaming and fighting following a chase after a burglary at found on Henderson’s bedroom door
also matched Jackson’s. An expert in
blood-spatter interpretation testified that
the bloody fingerprint could have been
formed only by touching a blood drop
Eddie R. Johnson
while the blood was still wet, and could
Owner/Funeral Director
not have been the result of a blood drop
3828 Avenue O/PO Box 5 Ph: 409-762-8470
landing on an old fingerprint.
Galveston, TX 77550-6626 Fax: 409-762-8480
Cremation, Monuments,
Jackson was black, Wrotenberry was
Pre-Arrangements, Insurance
white,
and Henderson was black.
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[email protected]
and Notary Services
Police found only one blood sample
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in the apartment capable of yielding
blood type information. That sample
was taken from blood on one of the
bedroom doors which an police serologist testified was type-B blood. Jackson
had type-B blood, and both victims had
type-A blood.
A state DNA expert, Mary Henry,
reported that Jackson’s DNA type
matched DNA isolated from blood
stains on a red towel and a beige towel
in Henderson’s bathroom. She also testified that Jackson’s DNA type for that
specific test conducted on the samples
from the two towels would occur once
in every 224 people in the black population.
A second DNA expert, Joseph Chu,
testified he conducted a different kind
of DNA test on the DNA extracted from
the beige towel. He concluded that the
DNA from the beige towel came from
a single source and matched Jackson’s
DNA type for that test.
By comparing Jackson’s DNA type to
databases of the black population and
using calculation methods approved at
the time of the DNA testing in March
1997, Chu calculated that the odds that
another black person would possess the
DNA profile found on the beige towel
were one in 7.2 million.
By the time of Jackson’s trial in March
1998, the DNA forensic community had
endorsed making a calculation based on
combining the probabilities from the
two different types of DNA tests that
Chu and Henry had conducted. Using
that calculation method, Chu testified
that the probability of Jackson’s DNA
type appearing in the black population
would be one in 1.6 billion. He testified that he had compared Jackson’s
DNA type to the databases for the black
population because his race was already
known. On cross examination, Chu testified that had he compared Jackson’s
DNA type to databases of other races,
he would have found similar results.
Final Curtain...Cont. on pg 11
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Page - The Police News
Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Detective
Vanessa Brady and her family were vacationing in New Braunfels for the Memorial Day weekend.
The mother of a 12 year old girl was
in a panic because her daughter was nowhere to be found. A diver found the 12
year old girl thirty feet under water in
the Guadalupe River. When he brought
her out of the water, she was blue and
not breathing.
An off-duty nurse began mouth-tomouth resuscitation. Brady jumped in
and
began
chest
compressions.
The girl was
transported
by EMS to the
local hospital
then airlifted
to University
Health System Hospital
Vanessa Brady
in San Antonio where she later recovered.
Flashback: Jailer beaten to death
GALVESTON COUNTY - 119years ago this month on July 14,
1891 Galveston County Sheriff’s
jailer Patrick Kelly was attacked
by an inmate, who beat and
kicked him then pulled him into a
cell where he beat him mercilessly, stomping on his chest and stomach.
The inmate had to be forcibly restrained
in order for Kelly to be rescued
and receive medical attention. He
died six days later from injuries
sustained in the attack.
Patrick Kelly had served with
the Galveston County Sheriff’s
Department for five years and
was survived by his wife and three children.
Flashback: Officer killed in gun battle
GALVESTON - On July 21, 1942
Galveston police officer Frank Marchesi
was shot and killed
when he responded
with other officers to
a home on Avenue P
where shots were being fired, at 8:15 in the Frank Marchesi
morning.
When the officers arrived, they encoun-
tered a man holding a shotgun. Without
warning, the man opened fire, hitting
Marchesi in the neck from about 18-feet
away. Marchesi’s partner returned fire
as the gunman retreated into the house.
Other officers engaged the man in a
lengthy gun battle. The chief ordered his
officers to storm the residence and the
man was shot and killed.
Officer Marchesi was survived by his
wife and two children.
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Flashback: Detective working drug deals murdered
GALVESTON - 96-years ago, on July
23, 1914, Detective Charles Burrell, 33,
was in a restaurant at the corner of 28th
and Church Street when two men approached from behind him. One of them
shot Burrell in the neck, the bullet ranging upward through his jaw and lodging
in his head. Both men were quickly captured and the weapon recovered.
Detective Burrell was taken to a local
hospital where he was able to identify
one of his assailants before he died of
his wounds a week later, on July 30th.
The investigation revealed that Burrell, an African-American, had been
working to wipe out cocaine dealing in the segregated areas of Galveston.
He had arrested his two assailants, both
white men, several times in the recent
past for drug dealing.
Detective Burrell was survived by his
wife Landonia, a sister and two brothers.
Sheriff promotes veteran deputy
GALVESTON - Kevin Walker, a 13
year veteran of the Galveston County
Sheriff’s Office, has been promoted to
Sergeant in a ceremony in the lobby of
the Joe Max Taylor Criminal Justice
Center.
Walker replaced retired Sergeant Carl
Robacher in the Sheriff’s Mental Health
Division.
Sergeant Walker has a distinguished
career with the sheriff’s office having served in the Corrections Division,
School Liaison Officers Program and
the Mental Health Division prior to his
appointment as supervisor.
He was pinned (presented badge) by
his father-in-law, retired Captain B.
T. Joseph, former commander of the
Mental Health Division. Walker‘s wife,
Lyza, and son Kaleb also attended the
ceremony. Kevin stated he is looking
forward to his new assignment and the
many challenges it offers.
When The Chips Are Down, Call This Cop
GALVESTON - One evening in June
Galveston Police Officer Chris Sanderson was patrolling the beaches on the
westernmost end of Galveston Island
near the San Luis Pass Bridge which
connects Galveston and Brazoria Counties . The water off these beaches is notorious having claimed many lives over
the years.
While patrolling on a dune buggy a
young man approached the officer,
wet and gasping for breath, yelling
that someone was in the water drowning, then he collapsed from exhaustion.
Without hesitation, Officer Sanderson
removed his uniform shirt, shoes and
gun belt, grabbed his life guard swim
buoy which he always carries with him
and dashed into the water.
A former Galveston lifeguard, Sanderson quickly located the distressed swimmer about 100 yards offshore. Despite
the strong currents he was able to bring
the young man back to shore. Medical
personnel arrived and rushed the boy to
John Sealy Hospital due to his intake of
sea water which nearly claimed his life.
The young man who summoned Sanderson was a relative of the distressed
swimmer and had already tried to rescue him but was unable to overcome the
current and was pushed back to shore.
A statement issued by the police department credited Sanderson’s prior
training as a life guard with the Galveston Beach Patrol, his physical stamina,
(L to R) Galveston County Sheriff Freddie Poor, Lyca Walker, Kevin Walker standing behind his
son Caleb and next to his father-in-law retired Captain Booker T. Joseph, and Mental Health
Division Commander Lt. Jamie Castro.
Galveston Police Officer, Chris Sanderson
determination, and preparedness with
saving another young life that may have
been needlessly wasted.
Chris Sanderson’s brother Robert is
also a Galveston Police Officer. They
are the grandsons of legendary Galveston County lawman Oscar Ekelund.
Chris had only recently finished a long
bout with cancer and has regained his
physical condition through sheer force
of will and positive attitude. He will
soon be awarded the Galveston Police
Department’s Live Saving Award by
Police Chief Charles Wiley.
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DAWSEY, JARRET VAUGHN
AKA TWIN
B/M DOB: 08111981
511/172 BRO/BRO
TAT UPPER LEFT ARM
LKA GALVESTON
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
GRAVES , DAVID LYNN
W/M DOB: 05221956
508/180 BRO/BRO
SCAR CHIN SC LEFT HAND
LKA DICKINSON
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
MORALES, DAVID MICHAEL
W/M DOB: 06171980
510/195 BLK/BRO
LKA HITCHCOCK
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
OUZENNE, ANTHONY WYKIMA
B/M DOB: 11111974
510/165 BLK/BRO
TAT RIGHT SHOULDER “ REGINA
OUZENE”, CHEST “LEONA”
LKA GALVESTON
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
PAYTON, DELAWRENCE RAMON
B/M DOB: 01201975
509/275 BLK/BRO
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LKA GALVESTON
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
PETE, XAVIER JAMES
AKA PETE, JIMMIE
B/M DOB: 02171966
506/196 BLK/BRO
BURN MARKS BOTH HANDS
TAT UPPER LEFT ARM
LKA TEXAS CITY
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
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B/M DOB: 02101955
600/185 BRO/BLK
LKA GALVESTON
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
RAY, CHRISTOPHER XAVON
B/M DOB: 07151979
507/160 BRO/BLK
TAT UPPER RT ARM–PANTHER
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LKA TEXAS CITY
CONTEMPT CHILD SUPPORT
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AKA MULL , DANNY
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www
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SEX OFFENDERS-Galveston Co.
These are NOT wanted fugitives, but Registered Sex Offenders. If observed
residing at any address other than the one listed below the photo, please
notify the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office 409-766-2320
Perry, Randall Jay Jr
W/M DOB: 03-01-87
614 23rd St.
San Leon 77539
Victim: Female/8
Aggravated Sexual Assault
Risk Level: Moderate
Simmons, Danny Tyrone
B/M DOB: 08-15-85
4805 10th St.
Bacliff 77539
Victims: Females/14 & 16
Sexual Assault of a Child x 2
Risk Level: Moderate
Hannah...Cont. from pg 3
these limited pages.
To describe the love and devotion for
each other between Qui and Hannah
Powers would be impossible on any
number of pages. But it's there, and
it's real, and it's strikingly apparent to
anyone who sees them.
ESCO PEST CONTROL
Chad Powers still patrols the streets of
Galveston, Texas on the graveyard shift.
Amanda Powers manages Patriot Arms, a
Galveston gun shop and handgun licensing
business. Hannah goes to school and Qui
stays home with Maddie, Millo and Reese,
the three Dachshunds where they spend the
Dog Days of Summer in the air conditioning
and wait for Hannah to come home.
WDI Inspections
Termites - Rodents
Roaches - Ants - Fleas
Birds - Trapping
409-737-3200
Steve Spicer – Owner
9355 Jamaica Beach
Galveston, TX 77554
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Orozco, Robert J
W/M DOB:11-25-91
8620 Michael
Santa Fe 77519
Victim: Female/12
Sexual Assault of a Child
Risk Level: None Assigned
Gaskill, Jason Aaron
W/M DOB: 12-06-74
4800 2nd St.
Bacliff 77518
Victim: Female/7
Sexual Assault of a Child
Risk Level: Low
Car Care
409-763-1515
BACK IN
Since 1994
BUSINESS
1328 Postoffice,
Serving Galveston County
Welcome all old and
Galveston
new
customers!
Serving
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Open
Mon-Fri.
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Since 1994
Carbajal, Jonathan
W/M 07-12-89
2414 Hill Avenue
Dickinson 77539
Victim: Female
Indecency with a Child by Exposure
Risk Level: High
Carlson, Craig
W/M 09-15-47
306 Sutton
San Leon 77539
Vicitm: Female/14
Sexual Assault
Risk Level: None Assigned
Campbell, James Cooper
W/M 04-16-67
1906 Curbow
Crystal Beach 77560
Victim: Female/12
Sexual Assault
Risk Level: Moderate
Cawthorn, Michael Ray
W/M 11-20-75
4430 4th Street
Bacliff 77518
Victim: Female/15
Sexual Assault of a Child
Risk Level: Moderate
Arrest warrant issued 01/15/2010
Chapman, Phillip Ray
W/M 06-24-47
19102 Forrest Road
Alvin 77511
Victim: Female/15
Indecency with a Child by Exposure
Risk Level: Low
Chatman, Robert Dewayne
B/M 07-03-79
3156 Richards Drive
Dickinson 77539
Victim: Female/15
Sexual Assault of a Child
Risk Level: Low
1328 Post Office St.
Galveston TX
409-599-3463
1328 Postoffice, Galveston
409-763-1515
The Police News - Page Flashback: Officer shot in back, killed
GALVESTON - 105-years ago on July
28, 1905, Galveston police officer Martin Mayo, 46, was shot and killed while
responding to a domestic disturbance
between a man and woman fighting over
a jewelry box.
When Mayo tried to break up the fight
he was shot in the back by the man and
BUSTED & CUFFED
GALVESTON
Police
BUSTED
& CUFFED Alex
Palomo of Houston
and charged him
with 2 counts of Assault with a Deadly
Ale Palomo
Weapon, one count
of Assault Causing
Bodily Injury and
one count of Criminal Mischief after
he attacked a man
in the Wal-Mart
parking lot late at
Arial Navor Ham
night.
Palomo’s 20year old nephew was also BUSTED &
CUFFED when he interfered with the
arrest of Palomo.
died en route to the
hospital.
Martin Mayo had
been with the department for two
years and was survived by his wife
and five children.
Killer executed for
1993 slaying
HUNTSVILLE - Convicted inmate
George Jones was executed in June for
the slaying of a Dallas area man in 1993,
making his the 12th death by lethal injection to take
place in Texas
this year.
Jones, 36, exhausted his court
appeals and his
lawyer
made
no last-day attempts to block
the execution.
He was arrested
George Jones
several months
after the body of Forest Hall, 22, was
found along a rural road near Lancaster,
Texas in April 1993.
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Final Curtain...Cont. from pg 5
Chu also testified that he conducted DNA tests on blood on the metal
bar found in the apartment. The tests
revealed a mixture of DNA from different people.
He compared Henderson’s and
Jackson’s DNA, and Wrotenberry’s parent’s DNA—a DNA type could not be
determined from Allen Wrotenberry’s
sample to the mixture of DNA on the
bar and could not eliminate any of
their DNA from the mixture. The tests
concluded that the mixture was consistent with all three individuals’ DNA.
However, Chu could not determine an
exact match of the DNA because of
the mixture, nor could he provide a
mathematical calculation as to the probability of each individual’s DNA being
in the mixture.
After considering this evidence, the
jury found Jackson guilty of capital
murder.
During the penalty phase, the prosecutors presented evidence that Jackson
snatched a woman’s purse in 1990. The
state also presented evidence that, in
1992, Jackson robbed two other women
of their purses at gunpoint and attempted to steal a car. For those robberies, he
received a sentence of ten years which
was imposed on May 13, 1992.
Wrotenberry’s father testified that his
son was a vivacious young man who
played tennis and ping pong and was a
fan of the Houston Astros and Rockets.
He was divorced and had a one yearold daughter at the time of his death.
Wrotenberry had a close relationship
with his father, mother, and sister. His
father testified that he and his family had difficulty coming to grips with
Wrotenberry’s death and had undergone
counseling. Wrotenberry’s sister was
admitted to a psychiatric hospital following the murder.
Leroy Smith testified for Jackson.
Smith was a barber instructor in the
Texas prison system. Jackson was
Smith’s student and had completed over
1400 of the 1500 hours required for
a barber training course at the time
he was brought back to Houston for
his capital murder trial. Smith testified
that Jackson was a good student who
caused no problems and was respectful
of prison personnel and other inmates.
Smith never saw Jackson act violently
or misuse any of the barber equipment.
Dr. Ann Carolyn Wheeler, a clinical
psychologist, also testified for Jackson.
She performed a psychological evaluation of Jackson and testified that
Jackson did well in a structured setting,
such as prison. He was unlikely to affiliate with a gang or engage in violence
in prison. On cross-examination, Dr.
Wheeler conceded that Jackson’s history of criminal conduct suggested that
he was dangerous.
Jackson’s mother, Rita Everline, testified that Jackson never knew his father
because his father committed suicide
when he was a baby. She remarried
when Jackson was nine months old.
Jackson has two younger half brothers.
He was a normal child and got along
well with his brothers. Jackson’s stepfather had a drinking problem. Sometimes,
he and his mother fought, and she
would leave the house. Jackson did not
have any unusual discipline problems
at school.
Jackson’s stepfather’s testimony
agreed with Everline’s testimony.
The jury found that Jackson deliberately committed acts that caused
Wrotenberry’s death with the reasonable expectation that the death of
Wrotenberry or another would result,
that there was a probability that Jackson
would commit criminal acts of violence
that would constitute a continuing threat
to society, and that there was not sufficient mitigating evidence to warrant
a sentence of life imprisonment rather
than death. Accordingly, the jury determined that Jackson be sentenced to
death.
The state habeas court found that
Jackson’s trial counsel interviewed witnesses, talked to his family, and spoke
to Jackson about his life and background. The defense counsel contacted
everyone that Jackson had requested
him to contact for the punishment phase
of the trial. In an affidavit, Jackson’s
trial counsel explained his actions as
follows:
"During punishment, the jury knew
that the defendant had been in prison for
10 years and our main strategy was to
establish that he was a good candidate
for a life sentence and that he did well
in prison. We did not call employees
who worked with the defendant at the
Luxford Hotel because the defendant
was working there at the time of the
offense.
"Witnesses who knew the defendant
during the ten-year period from the
offense to the trial would have been in a
Catch-22 type of position. If they testified about the defendant’s good character, they would be confronted with cross
examination that they didn’t know the
defendant very well because they did
not know that he committed the offense
ten years before trial.
"We presented evidence of the defendant’s family background, his good
behavior in prison and his psychological profile."
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
affirmed Jackson’s conviction and sentence
Barring any appeals, Derrick Leon
Jackson, Texas prison inmate number
99263 will be 42-years old when he is
executed July 20, 2010.
Flashback: Detective killed by officer’s son-in-law
TEXAS CITY - On October 1, 1967
Texas City police
detective W.C. Simmons, 42, was visiting at a fellow officer’s home when the
other officer’s sonin-law showed up
looking for his wife,
WC Simmons
Simmons daughter.
The man was an-
gry and disorderly and armed with a
knife. Simmons took the large Bowie
knife away from him but then the man
pulled out a .45 caliber pistol and shot
Simmons. The man then went inside the
house and shot his mother-in-law before
his father-in-law shot and killed him.
Simmons remained paralyzed until his
death 7-years later. He is survived by his
wife a son.
CORRECTIONS
My Dad The Cop
In our June
edition we
incorrectly
identified
Galveston
Police Lt.
D.J. Alvarez as Steven Scott
Gaines. Lt.
Alvarez is
a
veteran
Galveston police officer, President of
the local Blue Knights, law enforcement motorcycle organization and
International Representative to the
Rio Grande Conference of The Blue
Knights.
We apologize for the error.
The information published in our
June edition under sex offender
Shane Steven Gordon was incorrect.
The correct information appears below
this photo. We regret
this error.
Gordon, Shane Steven
W/M 06-10-88
611 24th St.
San Leon 77539
Victim: Female/19
Sexual Assault
Risk Level: Moderate
“To Pay Respect”
In today’s world it is only right to respect and acknowledge our men and
women of the police force all over the
world. They keep our homes safe and
give us a safer and better place for us
and our children to live. Today however
I would like to pay respect to one man in
particular, Lieutenant Rick Park of the
Lake Jackson Police Department.
Lieutenant Park has worked in multiple
departments in his 20 years on the force,
and has worked his way from a patrolman on motorcycles and in squad cars,
to 2nd in command at his home station
in Lake Jackson , TX . Rick Park originally graduated from the police academy in 1987, and since then has obtained
multiple degrees and advancements in
his career.
This officer has always done a highly
efficient job, and paid great attention to
detail in any job he performed. He has
worked in Surfside, Clute, Angleton,
and Lake Jackson police departments.
He has obtained multiple degrees in
criminal justice in 2003, graduated from
(LEMIT) for leadership command in
2009 and very recently graduated from
(FBI) National Academy on June 18th,
2010.
So I would just like to add a congratulations and a thank you for your fine service to this nation Lieutenant Park. Or
should I just say, Dad….
Rick Park Jr.
The Police News - Page 11
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