Police ID victim in fatal West Salem shooting

9-9-2016 Washington:

Police identified the man killed in Wednesday's fatal shooting near Wallace Marine Park as a 30-year-old Salem resident.

Manuel Zavala was allegedly shot and killed in the early morning hours by Christopher Gerberding, 32, of Salem, said Lt. Dave Okada, a Salem police spokesman.

Police responding to calls of shots fired near Calico Street NW and Taybin Road NW around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday received a second call from a man claiming to have just shot someone.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Gerberding next to Zavala's lifeless body. Gerberding was on his hands and knees, screaming, police said. A semi-automatic handgun lay on the ground nearby.

Gerberding walked to Wallace Marine Park with his girlfriend after seeing a movie at a downtown theater. He and his girlfriend parted ways, and he continued along the trails near the park's softball fields. After stumbling on a transient camp, he told police was confronted, punched and escorted out of the park by a group of transients.

Doniphan men accused of killing sex offender, burning his body

9-2-2016 Missouri:

DONIPHAN, Mo. — Two Doniphan men were charged Tuesday night after authorities say they admitted they shot a sex offender to death and burned his body in April.

Matthew Brandon Bruce, 29, and Michael G. “Mick” Harris, 59, were charged Tuesday with the first-degree murder, armed criminal action, tampering with physical evidence and abandonment of a corpse.

The men are accused of acting together to cause the April 26 death of Jonathan Tarvin.

The 34-year-old was reported missing April 26 by an associate, according to a probable-cause statement filed by Ripley County chief deputy Richie Phillips.

Deputies: Man was shot 'because he's a sex offender'

9-22-2015 California:

CITY OF SHASTA LAKE, Calif. - The Shasta County Jail has released the mugshot of a suspect who deputies said shot another man after learning he was a registered sex offender.

Timothy Gould, 28, was arrested Monday around 5:30 p.m. after officers had identified him as a suspect in an earlier shooting in the City of Shasta Lake.

According to a news release from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, the motive behind the shooting was due to the victim Roy Matagora, 62, being disliked because he is a registered sex offender.

The Megan's Law website for registered sex offenders showed Matagora was previously convicted of several charges including rape, and several charges relating to the sexual abuse of a person under the age of 18.

The shooting investigation revealed Matagora had been spending time with a woman in Shasta County, Tanna Curran, 25, during the week prior to the shooting. Investigators said Curran had been an acquaintance of Matagora's and she would borrow his vehicle and associate with him at his home.

Deputies said sometime Friday, Curran discovered that Matagora was a registered sex offender from other people who knew of Matagora's past. Curran and Gould looked at the Megan's Law website and saw Matagora was in fact listed as a registered sex offender.

Homicide victim once indicted for failure to register as sex offender

11-13-2014 Georgia:

The same day patrol officers found him fatally shot in the head, the Muscogee County Superior Court indicted Chad Aaron Herring of failure to register as a sex offender, according to court documents.

Wednesday's indictment came more than two years after 32-year-old Herring was arrested and charged with the offense. He was booked into the Muscogee County Jail on April 5, 2012, after he falsely reported that he lived on the 1500 block of 15th Avenue.

Herring's body was discovered around 11:47 p.m. Wednesday when officers investigated a Chevrolet Impala parked on Roosevelt Street near Brewer Elementary School, Columbus Police Lt. Consuelo Askew said Thursday morning. Askew said there was no evidence of other shots fired in the area and reported no damage to the vehicle.

Muscogee County Chief Deputy Coroner Freeman Worley said Herring was pronounced dead at 12:26 a.m. He will be transported Friday for autopsy, Worley said.

Coroner identifies man killed in Loris shooting Wednesday night

11-6-2014 South Carolina:

LORIS — The body of a man found shot in Loris was identified Thursday as Dashadre Jacorey Sampson, according to Horry County Deputy Coroner Tony Hendrick.

Horry County Police found the body of the 21-year-old Myrtle Beach man Wednesday night at an abandoned area off Bennett Loop in Loris.

Horry County Police spokesman Lt. Robert Kegler confirmed the death is being investigated as a homicide. Horry County has had 25 homicides this year, according to the Coroner’s Office. Homicides in 2013 totaled 17.

Police were called to the 1000 block of Bennett Loop, where the body was found, around 5 p.m. Wednesday. Bennett Loop is off Airport Road in Loris.

Police investigate possible Providence homicide; man dies weeks after beating

6-15-2014 Rhode Island:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The recent death of a 69-year-old Providence man is being investigated as a possible homicide.

Milton Lyles, who died Thursday, had been found severely beaten on the ground in 300-block of Broad Street on May 19, said Providence Police Maj. David Lapatin. Lyles was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, but never recovered.

The police are searching for several suspects, but Lapatin did not discuss any descriptions of the men. It’s unclear what led to the attack on Lyles, but Lapatin said the older man appeared to be an “innocent party.”

Lyles, who lived nearby on Pine Street, was a registered sex offender with a criminal record in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, according to police and court records.

Registered sex offender found murdered in Groveland neighborhood

2-1-2014 Florida:

GROVELAND -- Deputies are working to find the person they say shot and killed a man in Lake County.

Officers said they found 31-year-old Justin Russell shot on the 15000 block of Stuckey Loop around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

He was taken to South Lake Hospital where he later died.

Russell was released Nov. 4, 2013 from the Everglades Correctional Institution in Miami on cocaine possession and simple battery.

He was previously arrested for attempted sexual battery and failing to comply as a sex offender.

Demple Avenue homicide victim identified

1-23-2014 Ohio:

Dayton Police detectives are working today to sift through conflicting stories about what happened inside 1028 Demple Avenue Wednesday night where a man was shot and killed.

The victim has been identified as 21-year-old Jonathan Scott Rogers. He reportedly lived at that address with numerous other individuals.

Taylor Bailey, who lives two doors down and identified herself as a family friend, said she's known the Rogers most of her life and considers him her brother.

She said from what she's heard, the shooter was someone known the residents of the home who may have been trying to rob them.

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.

Sheriff: Man killed couple because husband was sex offender

Posted in Related Deaths

Vigilantes were members of Crew 41: Note article: "Killing Sex Offenders: The Apparent Hypocrisy of Crew 41"

7-24-2013 South Carolina:

JONESVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) - Union County Sheriff David Taylor said two arrests were made in a double-homicide case after two people were found dead inside a Jonesville home Monday.

Taylor said a neighbor called 911 at about 8:40 p.m. and wanted deputies to check on the residents in a home on Furman L. Fendley Highway.

He identified the victims as Gretchen Parker, 51, and Charles Parker, 59, and said they lived in the home where they were found dead.

Sex offender found slain in Marysville

1-25-2013 Washington:

An 82-year-old man was found dead in his Marysville home by a family member.

MARYSVILLE -- Police in Marysville are investigating the death of an 82-year-old man who was found early Friday morning in his ransacked travel trailer.

"What we have is a homicide investigation," Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

A family member discovered the man when he went to check on him early Friday. By early afternoon, police were asking for the public's help in locating the slain man's 2006 Chevrolet Colorado. The champagne-colored pickup truck, license B03681A, is believed to have been stolen.

"We are considering the occupants as being armed and dangerous and ask that the public do not try to intervene. We simply want them to call 911 to report the location of the vehicle," Lamoureux said.

Detectives were called to a home in the 9800 block of State Avenue about 3 a.m. Friday.

The first officers to the scene quickly determined the death was a likely homicide and called for detectives, Lamoureux said.

Police were not releasing the man's name pending notification of family and confirmation of identity by the Snohomish County medical examiner.

Late in the day they confirmed that the victim was a registered sex offender.

An 82-year-old man with convictions for statutory rape and indecent liberties was registered as living in the neighborhood where the homicide occurred.

According to the sex offender registry maintained by the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, the man had convictions in the early 1980s for offenses against girls ages 8 to 14. While in prison, he was determined not to be a good candidate for sex offender treatment.