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View Full Version : Freeman/Blecher killing, Dec 1978


Chippysgt
12-10-2008, 05:23 PM
I clicked a link to read a story about the the Placer deputies arresting a crook and I saw this. I was deeply saddened since it was on Dec 22, 1978 when Roy and Mike were murdered and they were both friends. Just days before Mike and I had been duck hunting in the Yolo Bypass and he killed a dandy goose. There is lots more I could say but remembering this is a painful memory for me and lesson for all of us..........


Sacto 9-1-1 Q&A

Q: What are the statuses of Luis Rodriquez and Margaret Klaess who killed two highway patrol officers in 1978?

A: Rodriguez Jr., now 53, is serving a life sentence with no parole after being convicted in 1981 for the 1978 murders. His companion, Klaess, served two years in prison for aiding and abetting Rodriguez and later testified against him.

Here's a summary of what happened from Bee reports:

CHP Officer William "Mike" Freeman, 35 at the time of his death, and Officer Roy P. Blecher, 50, were found face-down on the side of Interstate 80 in West Sacramento.

Rodriguez shot them during a traffic stop. A bulletproof vest failed to protect Freeman from a fatal shot to the side of his head. He also took three shots to the back and one to the elbow. Blecher, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, was shot once, execution-style.

Investigators believed Freeman and Blecher had struggled fiercely before their deaths. Blecher's pants were torn and his knees bloodied, and Freeman's hat was found in the mud about 25 feet from the bodies.

AyatollahGondola
12-10-2008, 06:15 PM
I remember that happening fairly well. Plus all the controversy about the trial.
I sure wish they could have gotten a sign as big as congressman Fazio did alongside that freeway. They seem a little more deserving.

bcjack
12-11-2008, 05:03 PM
May they both Rest In Peace.

Mac
12-11-2008, 09:01 PM
Never forgotten.

Andy O'Hara
12-14-2008, 09:10 AM
That shooting was one that reverberated through the patrol as strongly as the Newhall shooting. I still say a little prayer each time I pass the scene.

AyatollahGondola
12-14-2008, 03:24 PM
I thought this happened on the Davis side of the Causeway? This article states it was West Sac

x MAIT
12-16-2008, 07:14 AM
My classmate and I were working graves in ELA, our first year on the job, when this happened. Because of the circumstances of their deaths we decided to change how we would approach vehicles after making a stop. Two weeks after this incident we were involved in a combat shooting after making a stop on what we thought was a simple DUI (actually armed robbery suspects in a stolen car). We both went home that day. We felt that as tragic as their deaths were, it led to us being better prepared and possibly kept us from being killed.

x MAIT
12-16-2008, 07:17 AM
I thought this happened on the Davis side of the Causeway? This article states it was West Sac

E/B just west of Harbor is where I believe it happened. Someone else might know for sure.

bcjack
12-16-2008, 12:55 PM
My classmate and I were working graves in ELA, our first year on the job, when this happened. Because of the circumstances of their deaths we decided to change how we would approach vehicles after making a stop. Two weeks after this incident we were involved in a combat shooting after making a stop on what we thought was a simple DUI (actually armed robbery suspects in a stolen car). We both went home that day. We felt that as tragic as their deaths were, it led to us being better prepared and possibly kept us from being killed.

Their passing was sad, but their passing helped save lives. May they RIP.