Jail doesn't suit accused murderer of Earl Scott

[AEE]

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/628329.html

Columbus Allen Jr. II, the Stockton man suspected of killing a California Highway Patrol officer during an early-morning traffic stop on Highway 99 more than three years ago, doesn't like his new home.
The high-profile defendant has filed three claims against Stanislaus County jailers in recent months, including one that went to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday and was forwarded to the county's risk management division.
Such claims are the first step toward a lawsuit, are routinely denied, and don't prompt too much concern from the Sheriff's Department, which runs the downtown jail where Allen is detained.
"He gets access to the law library," said deputy Royjindar Singh, the sheriff's spokesman. "He's been there quite a while, so he probably has a lot of time to sit there and read the books."
In his latest claim, Allen seeks $2,000, alleging that a sergeant in charge of discipline suspended his privileges without hearing from fellow inmates who could have backed his side of the story.

Nature of incident unknown
What kind of incident prompted discipline is unclear, but Allen noted that he missed a visit with his children, who live out of town, as a result.
Details about an inmate's detention are confidential, but sometimes go public at trial, particularly in death penalty cases like Allen's, where the defendant's character is an issue.
In prior claims, Allen alleged that jailers violated his rights because they wouldn't take his leg irons off at exercise time and refused comprehensive care for a toothache. He estimated the value of each claim as less than $25,000, but has not yet filed any lawsuits.
Attorney John R. Grele of San Francisco transmitted the claims to the county but made it clear that he represents Allen in criminal matters only.
He previously obtained eyeglasses for Allen by petitioning the county and argued in court when Allen felt he was not getting enough showers. He declined to comment on any of Allen's other grievances.
"It's not part of the case," Grele said.
Allen, 33, is suspected of killing CHP officer Earl Scott about 4:40 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2006. The slain officer was found on the edge of northbound Highway 99, just south of Hammett Road near Salida, gripping registration papers for a Nissan Maxima registered to Allen's wife, Bertera.
Allen and his wife showed up at the Stockton Police Department hours later, reporting that their car had been stolen. Investigators found gunshot residue on Allen's clothing and contend that calls from Allen's cell phone place him in the vicinity of the shooting, according to court records.
The high-profile case has generated news coverage at nearly every stage of the proceedings, and Grele is expected to argue in favor of a change of venue March 24. A two-month trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 1.

[Motor City Cop]

Cry me a river Allen....you A** Hole!
Rest in Peace Ofc Scott.

[AyatollahGondola]

He doesn't appear to think far ahead, so I doubt his claims will succeed.

[Motor City Cop]

He doesn't appear to think far ahead, so I doubt his claims will succeed.
I would have to agree with you. Especially when his legal "education" comes from the books of a jail house law library.

[Mac]

The headline of that article is 100% correct - jail doesn't suit him at all, IMO.
I can think of three much more suitable places for him:

1) A chair with straps and high-amperage electrodes.

2) An airtight chamber full of cyanide gas.

3) A gurney with arm/leg straps and a hypodermic syringe containing a lethal cocktail.

[LadyVol@330]

Here we go again with these scumbags! I just hate the fact that these "purveyors" of the law have the right to bring frivolous lawsuits from inside a prison. The food is too dry and cold, prison shoes are bad, too cold in the cell, blah, blah, blah. I wonder what these cases cost the taxpayer, not to mention valuable time expended by the courts. As far as I am concerned, these ludicrous lawsuits are second only to murder suspects having the right to interrogate witnesses at trial when they are acting as their own counsel. Why should anyone ever have to answer questions posed by a person who tried to kill them and killed other people during a mass murder? Colin Ferguson comes to mind (Long Island commute train, 1993, killed six and wounded 19) --he got 200 years for his crimes, but what the witnesses had to endure was very cruel and unusual punishment of the innocent who were intended victims.

On the day of Earl Scott's funeral, it was difficult knowing that his killer sat in his cell just down the street a few blocks.

[AyatollahGondola]

I'm as indifferent to the wants and desires of criminals as the majority here,...but, he's not a convict yet. Access to counsel, even if it is only you, is pretty much a gauranteed right. Filing motions lawsuits and such is part of the process. It looks like it's not even connected to the original case, but once again, jail is not just for criminals. It's also for accused.

Let's wait for his judgement and then hang him twice for good measure

[LadyVol@330]

I'm as indifferent to the wants and desires of criminals as the majority here,...but, he's not a convict yet. Access to counsel, even if it is only you, is pretty much a gauranteed right. Filing motions lawsuits and such is part of the process. It looks like it's not even connected to the original case, but once again, jail is not just for criminals. It's also for accused.

Let's wait for his judgement and then hang him twice for good measure

Right you are. Excuse my ranting. We all know that there are people serving time for crimes they did not commit and without their constantly seeking of ways to get to the truth, they would rot in prison. I'm addressing frivolous lawsuits --all should be given the proper medical and dental care they need, and even sometimes that doesn't occur. In this case, looks like this "man" will eventually end up where he belongs.

[David]

The headline of that article is 100% correct - jail doesn't suit him at all, IMO.
I can think of three much more suitable places for him:

1) A chair with straps and high-amperage electrodes.

2) An airtight chamber full of cyanide gas.

3) A gurney with arm/leg straps and a hypodermic syringe containing a lethal cocktail. Or how about a gallows?

[HIPCHIP]

The headline of that article is 100% correct - jail doesn't suit him at all, IMO.
I can think of three much more suitable places for him:

1) A chair with straps and high-amperage electrodes.

2) An airtight chamber full of cyanide gas.

3) A gurney with arm/leg straps and a hypodermic syringe containing a lethal cocktail.


Best place, in a 6' deep hole being compost, which would be the first worthwhile thing he'd ever done!:cool:

[CTR man]

The headline of that article is 100% correct - jail doesn't suit him at all, IMO.
I can think of three much more suitable places for him:

1) A chair with straps and high-amperage electrodes.

2) An airtight chamber full of cyanide gas.

3) A gurney with arm/leg straps and a hypodermic syringe containing a lethal cocktail.

Or how about a gallows?

I would settle for having him drawn and quartered.

Best place, in a 6' deep hole being compost, which would be the first worthwhile thing he'd ever done!:cool:

Not me, if he was used as compost, nothing would grow. But I get your point.

I just hope he doesn't get released on a "technicality".

http://www.modbee.com/reports/earl_scott/story/302896.html
http://www.modbee.com/reports/earl_scott/story/302896-p2.html

Special Reports (http://www.modbee.com/1665/index.html) - CHP Officer: Earl Scott (http://www.modbee.com/1683/index.html) Tuesday, May. 20, 2008

Did grand jury get full story in Allen case?

Trucker paints different picture of events in CHP officer's death

When prosecutors convinced a grand jury to indict a Stockton man in the early-morning shooting death of a California Highway Patrol officer, crucial testimony came from a passing motorist who noticed a traffic stop, heard a popping sound and saw the officer drop.

But the grand jury did not hear from a Modesto trucker who told investigators she saw two cars pulling away from a white CHP Camaro, a dark-colored compact car like the maroon Nissan Maxima murder defendant Columbus Allen Jr. II is believed to have driven and a small silver car.

Truck driver Kelly Harding's version of events puts a Latino man with a mustache behind the wheel of the darker car, with a female passenger at his side, and a black man in the driver's seat of the silver car

The grand jury that said Allen must stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the death of officer Earl Scott, in a case in which a conviction could bring the death penalty, only heard about Harding in passing.

"She gave varying descriptions of the people associated with those cars," Chief Deputy District Attorney Alan Cassidy told the grand jury, according to a transcript of a three-day hearing that was held behind closed doors. "When she was asked to give subsequent interviews, she failed to appear."

Allen's attorneys want a judge to throw out their client's indictment. They cite 18 reasons, including that grand jurors heard little about Harding and nothing about two other motorists who seemed to corroborate her view.

Judge Nancy Ashley has received hundreds of pages of legal motions from both sides and is expected to hear arguments Tuesday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Allen would remain behind bars even if his indictment were tossed because the district attorney's office, which plans to take Allen to trial Oct. 14, would file a new criminal complaint against him.

Suspect, wife came to police

Allen and his wife, Bertera, showed up at the Stockton Police Department less than five hours after Scott was killed about 4:40 a.m. on the side of Highway 99 just south of Hammett Road on Feb. 17, 2006, near Salida.

Authorities had been looking for their Nissan Maxima because Scott was clasping its registration papers in his left hand when he was found. The Allens said the car, which was registered to Bertera Allen, had been stolen.

A detective told the grand jury that Allen claimed to have been making drug-selling runs around town the day before, admitted firing a gun three days earlier and insisted that he spent the night at the Stockton home of a rap music producer.

The authorities said cell phone records place Allen in the vicinity of the shooting. They also point to gunshot residue on his sweatshirt and right hand. A prosecutor told the grand jury that gunshot residue found on the passenger-side door frame of the Maxima suggests that Allen fired a gun while seated in the car.

The grand jury said Allen, 32, should stand trial on charges of first-degree murder, using a firearm in the commission of a crime and three special circumstances that could lead to the death penalty. He was arrested shortly after he showed up at the Stockton Police Department and is being held without bail.

Defense attorneys Ramon Magaña of Modesto and John R. Grele of San Francisco point to a host of procedural issues as they argue that Allen's indictment should be dismissed.
Chief among their concerns is the prosecution's duty to share exculpatory evidence with the panel. Prosecutors must tell grand jurors about evidence that points to a suspect's innocence.

That's why Cassidy told the grand jury about Harding, the truck driver who said she was cut off by two cars that seemed to be fleeing the scene.

Magaña contends that the prosecution put Harding's statements in a negative light because her testimony does not help their case. Cassidy responded in legal papers, saying Harding's statements are not unfairly characterized and do not suggest that Allen is innocent.

The prosecutor said the most direct evidence came from Jose Miranda of Ceres, who was driving northbound when he heard a popping sound, got off the highway and traveled south on a frontage road, jumped a fence to find out what happened and found Scott lying in front of his patrol car.

Cassidy said Miranda, who called 911, had the best vantage point, adding that it was not clear whether other motorists observed any portion of the fatal shooting. He said suspicions about Allen are corroborated by physical evidence, such as the gunshot residue and cell phone transmissions.

Magaña said Harding's story is backed by statements from two motorists the grand jury never heard about and was minimized during the hearing because the possibility that two cars might have been involved in the traffic stop casts doubt on the official narrative.

According to court records:

Maria DeJesus Martinez of Stockton told authorities she was driving south on Highway 99 when she noticed a small red car and a small gray or white car parked near a police cruiser on the other side of the road. She assumed there had been an accident, but didn't see any people.

James Regaldo of Salida said he was driving north and saw a traffic stop before Hammett Road involving a Latino man in a boxy green car and a highway patrolman who approached from the right side of the vehicle.

Trucker talked to investigators

Harding said she called the Sheriff's Department after she returned home from work on the night of Scott's shooting, because she found her husband watching the news and realized that she might have seen something important on the highway hours earlier.

She saw Allen had been arrested but said she thought authorities should keep looking for more suspects because two cars cut off her truck as they sped away from the parked CHP car.

Harding -- who talked to several sheriff's detectives, later consented to an interview with a defense investigator and has received a subpoena to testify at the upcoming hearing in Allen's case -- said she is not taking sides and does not want to free a defendant who might be guilty.

She recalled her irritation as the cars shot out into traffic, saying she wondered why anyone would drive so recklessly with a CHP car nearby.

She regretted not getting their license plate numbers.

And she said she believes some suspects might have gotten away.

"There was more than one person," Harding said. "I'll go to my grave believing that."

Bee staff writer Susan Herendeen can be reached at sherendeen@modbee.com or 578-2338.