After day-long search, suspected rapist Charlie Christopher 'Chris' Bates shot to death in shootout

9-7-2013 Florida:

TAMPA - Suspected rapist Charlie Christopher 'Chris' Bates was shot and killed in a shootout with law enforcement officers Friday afternoon, after several agencies went door-to-door in a day-long search for him.

The hunt for Bates, 24, ended dramatically, shortly after he was spotted driving near Greco High School in Temple Terrace. Officers attempted to stop him near U.S. 301 at Harney Road and Temple Terrace Hwy., but he fired a gun through the back window at the officers.

They continued pursuit south on U.S. 301 and an officer sped up to perform what they called a PIT maneuver, or bump him from behind. Bates lost control of the car on the second collision, and ended up in a ditch just south of Interstate 4.

Officers closed in, including Tampa Police, Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies, and the U.S. Marshals task force. The suspect began shooting through the windshield at no less than seven officers, who protected themselves with ballistic shields.

Officers returned fire, wounding the suspect, and they were able to remove the suspect from the vehicle.

The suspect died at 1:21 after receiving medical care.

Registered sex offender beaten to death in Reservoir Hill

9-3-2013 Maryland:

Man beaten with traffic cone, witness says

BALTIMORE —The Labor Day weekend in Baltimore's Reservoir Hill ended with the beating of a 52-year-old man on the street in full daylight. The man -- who the 11 News I-Team has learned is a registered sex offender -- later died.

A witness said an orange traffic cone was used as a weapon. The attackers seemed to be carrying out instant street justice with the target claiming he'd done nothing wrong, I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said..

Police responded quickly to the scene around 7:30 p.m. Monday in the 800 block of Lennox Street. Witnesses said they watched a group of people who were 16-24 years old chase down the man as he walked down the street.

Another witness, who chose not to give his name, had just returned to the neighborhood from a Labor Day cookout. He said the man was being accused of something by his attackers.

"A couple of guys was (sic) walking beside him, and they were asking him questions. I couldn't hear what they were asking him at first, and he was saying, 'I didn't do it, I didn't do it.' And the guy said, 'Yeah you did,'" the witness told 11 News.

Oregon prison killing suspect killed Minnesota inmate

8-21-2013 Oregon:

The man suspected of killing his cellmate at the Oregon State Penitentiary murdered a fellow inmate in a Minnesota prison in 1997.

Craig Dennis Bjork, 53, was identified as the inmate suspected of strangling 45-year-old Joseph Akins, who was found dead in his cell Saturday, according to Marion County Deputy District Attorney Paige Clarkson.

Bjork entered the Oregon Department of Corrections of Jan. 16, 2013 on an interstate compact from Minnesota where he was serving three consecutive life sentences for the 1982 murders of his 1- and 3-year-old boys, his girlfriend and another woman, according to a 1997 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune

In 1997, Bjork beat fellow inmate Edwin Curry, 41, to death with a pipe in a basement kitchen area in the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Stillwater. He told guards he planned to kill several more inmates if he had time, the Star Tribune reported.

Bjork and Akins shared a cell together in the C-Block of the Oregon State Penitentiary. On Sunday, the Oregon State Medical Examiner determined Akins died of “inflicted trauma.”

Bjork was held in segregation as the investigation continued.

Once the investigation is complete, the DA’s office will determine the criminal charges against Bjork and prepare the case for the grand jury.

Salinas sex offender succumbs to multiple gunshot wounds

8-13-2013 California:

A convicted sex offender shot multiple times on Monday succumbed to his injuries early Tuesday morning, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

Donald Wayne Crisp, 58, died at a San Jose hospital at 2 a.m., less than 24 hours after he was flown from Natividad Medical Center where he was first transported from the Higuera Lane shooting scene.

The death is the third reported in as many days in unincorporated portions of Monterey County. Crisp, who was shot in the Boronda neighborhood at 10:35 a.m. on Monday, was preceeded in death by two unnamed men whose bodies were found late Sunday just off Highway 101 and Dunbarton Road near Aromas.

On the scene Monday, Monterey County deputies, Salinas police officers and Cal Fire representatives took witness statements and canvassed the area, blocking off a significant portion of Hyland Drive and Higuera Lane. Crisp was flown from 10 Higuera Lane, where his body was found, shortly after officers received initial calls of shots fired.

Río Arriba Sheriff's Office files murder charge in death of Taos man

1-18-2013 New Mexico:

Río Arriba County Sheriff Tomas Rodella has announced the arrest of Kaiwee Martínez, 35, in the shooting death of Lawrence Sandoval, 33, of Taos.

According to information from the Sheriff's Office, Sandoval was killed Nov. 3, 2012 at Martínez' home in Alcalde.

"The defendant had told (Río Arriba Sheriff's Office) investigators that she shot Sandoval in self defense," a release from the office states.

According to the release, items entered into evidence underwent forensic analysis, and results of that analysis were received this week. Martínez was arrested without incident Thursday (Jan. 17) and booked into the Río Arriba County Detention Center in Tierra Amarilla, the release states, where she is being held on a $100,000, cash-only bond.

"We conducted a comprehensive, detailed investigation into Mr. Sandoval's homicide over the course of the (last) 10 weeks," Rodella is quoted as saying. "Early on, our investigation determined that the defendant's account of events preceding the shooting was not credible." ..Source.. by The TAOS News

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Investigators doubting claim in fatal NM shooting

12-7-2012 New Mexico:

Investigators appear to doubt the self-defense claim of an Alcalde woman who fatally shot a man inside her home last month.

The 35-year-old woman hasn't been charged in the case and the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Office still is investigating.

The woman claims a man barged into her home Nov. 3 and tried to undress her at knife point.

She says she reached under a pillow, grabbed a loaded gun and shot 33-year-old Lawrence Sandoval of Taos and then fled from her home and called 911.

The Albuquerque Journal (http://bit.ly/XzzaiJ) reported Friday that police statements filed in the case indicate the woman gave differing versions of the events that led to the shooting.

But the woman's lawyer says his client "has nothing to hide" and "this is a self-defense situation." ..Source.. by The Daily Times