Sex offender is ‘person of interest’ in Utah homicide

4-25-2013 Utah:

Victim, whose body was found Sunday in Uintah County, was shot to death

Authorities expect to extradite an alleged fugitive sex offender found in Arizona behind the wheel of a car believed stolen from an eastern Utah homicide victim, who also was a registered sex offender.

Uintah County Sheriff Jeff Merrell made the announcement on Wednesday from Phoenix, where he went to question Jesse Anthony Saenz. Saenz was wanted after he allegedly skipped bail in Vernal, where he was awaiting trial for rape.

Saenz, 24, of Uintah County, had posted a $64,000 bond on April 17, four days before Elvis Zachary Olsen, 22, of Roosevelt, was found shot to death Sunday near Fort Duchesne on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.

On Tuesday, Saenz allegedly was found in Glendale, Ariz., driving the 2011 Mazda 3S sedan belonging to Olsen. Investigators had followed Saenz south, based on information that he had relatives in the area, said Undersheriff John Laursen.

Murdered man Hopewell’s first homicide of the year

4-26-2013 Virginia:

Hopewell Police are investigating the first homicide of 2013 inside a home on Buren Street.

A man confronted an intruder and shots are fired, but police don’t think this is a random crime.

Buren Street in Hopewell. A place with tidy homes flying American flags and where neighbors watch out for each other.

But the quiet calm was shattered early Friday morning. An armed intruder breaks into 915 Buren just before 6 in the morning.

Richard Hawthorne, who lives in the home, confronts the person. Moments later gunshots ring out. The 41-year-old dies inside with his mother just feet away.

Neighbor Justin Parke says he heard gunfire just a few houses away.

Lealman man accused of killing mobile home park neighbor

4-14-2013 Florida:

A 60-year-old ex-convict is accused of fatally stabbing his 75-year-old neighbor, a registered sex offender, in a Lealman mobile home park.

Sylvester Johnson was arrested Saturday night on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of William David Casey.

Casey's body was found in his home Thursday morning by a neighbor who had come to bring him food.

Johnson and Casey knew each other because both lived in the Palace Mobile Home Park, 2500 54th Ave. N. Investigators say Johnson went into Casey's mobile home sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday and stabbed him several times in the upper body.

Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives say they linked Johnson to the crime through fingerprints found at the scene. They say the motive may have been robbery, as Casey's wallet was stolen. No weapon has been found, and the investigation continues.

Florida's sex offender database shows that more than 100 men registered as sex offenders and sexual predators live in the mobile home park. It's on the western side of Interstate 275 at the 54th Avenue N exit, along Haines Road.

Johnson is not a sex offender, but the state considers him a career criminal. According to Florida Department of Corrections records, he has been in prison five times since 1984 for burglary, drugs, sexual battery and dealing in stolen property convictions.

He got out of prison in December after serving time on a cocaine charge, and was due to be on probation until 2020. ... ... ...

Court records show Casey pleaded guilty to the charges March 19. He was sentenced to two years of community control, followed by three years of probation.

On April 11, he registered as a sex offender at the Palace Mobile Home Park. ...Source... by Mike Brassfield