LAPD on the hunt for Elusive SK-Grim Sleeper

[rumaj]

: July 10. 2010 2:48PM
'Grim Sleeper' suspect had 4 decade long arrest record
Gillian Flaccus / Associated Press

Los Angeles -- The 57-year-old man charged with 10 murders in the Los Angeles "Grim Sleeper" case was arrested at least 15 times over four decades but was never sent to state prison despite the recommendation of probation officers, court and jail records show.

Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested for burglary, car theft, firearms possession and assaults. But his crimes never were considered serious enough to send him to state prison or to warrant his entry in the state's DNA database, authorities said.

"He's danced to the raindrops for a long time without getting wet," Detective Dennis Kilcoyne, head of the task force investigating the killings, told the Los Angeles Times.


Franklin was arrested Wednesday on 10 counts of murder and other charges in the deaths of young black women that started in the 1980s, then suddenly stopped, only to resume again 14 years later -- sparking the nickname Grim Sleeper.

Franklin's public defender, Regina Laughney, said she's still reviewing materials in the case and it was too early for her to comment.

One of the victims was killed in July 2003, when records show Franklin should have been in county jail but was released early because of overcrowding.

Franklin pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property in that case, in which he was arrested at a Glendale mall driving a stolen luxury sport utility vehicle.

A probation officer said it was unusual and disturbing that Franklin was still involved in such crimes at age 50, when most criminals have slowed down.

"If at this age the defendant is still engaging in criminal activities," the officer wrote, "the community can best be served by imposing the maximum time possible in state prison."

But Franklin received just a fraction of the maximum sentence -- 270 days in jail -- and was still released four months early, according to jail data obtained by the Times.

He also narrowly dodged the state DNA database. The following year, all felony convicts were put in the database after California voters passed a measure requiring it.

Despite the long and varied record, Kilcoyne said Franklin did not commit the kind of violent crimes against women that might have drawn the attention of detectives in the Grim Sleeper case.

Investigators now plan to use DNA to tie Franklin to dozens more murders, looking at more than 30 cold case files dating to 1984, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Friday.

"Now that we know who he is, where he lives, the cars he drove, have people to interview, we will go over all those old cases and look for connections," Beck said.

Investigators will upload Franklin's DNA profile into a national database to see if it matches other samples where the DNA had degraded and scientists only were able to get a partial sample, Beck said.

A technique called "familial DNA" led detectives to Franklin. In early June, the state Department of Justice ran DNA from the case through a database of 1.5 million samples.

The database found no identical matches, but did find a "familial" match to a convicted felon whose DNA indicated he was either a brother or the son of the killer. An earlier search in 2008 had found no familial matches, but Franklin's son was added to the database in recent months for a felony weapons conviction.

An undercover officer pretending to be a waiter in Los Angeles collected tableware, napkins, glasses and pizza crust at a restaurant where Franklin ate, allowing detectives to obtain a DNA match.

Franklin made a first court appearance Thursday on the murder counts as well as one count of attempted murder and special-circumstance allegations of multiple murder that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

His arraignment was postponed until Aug. 9 at the request of his attorney.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100710/NATION/7100386/1361/-Grim-Sleeper--suspect-had-long-arrest-record#ixzz0tMMXyMxx
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Authorities missed chance to identify Grim Sleeper suspect two years before final known slaying

July 14, 2010 | 4:03 pm

Authorities missed an opportunity years ago to catch the suspected Grim Sleeper serial killer and end his alleged rampage before the final known victim was slain because his DNA was never collected as required under a 2004 law, according to interviews and records reviewed by The Times.

Lonnie David Franklin Jr.’s genetic profile was supposed to be added to the state’s DNA data bank of offenders because he was on probation for a felony when voters approved Proposition 69, a sweeping expansion of the state’s DNA collection authority.

The Los Angeles County Probation Department was tasked with obtaining DNA samples from tens of thousands of local offenders who were on probation when the law went into effect in November 2004. But by the time the agency began collecting DNA, Franklin was no longer under its supervision.

Thousands of other offenders may also have avoided providing a sample during the same period, officials said. More than a year later, the Grim Sleeper struck again. A homeless man found the body of Janecia Peters on Western Avenue in South Los Angeles on New Year’s Day 2007.

The 25-year-old had been shot and covered with a garbage bag. DNA tests helped link her killer to other slayings by the Grim Sleeper dating to the 1980s. Her mother, Laverne Peters, said the failure to collect Franklin’s DNA reinforced her belief that authorities could have done more to catch the serial killer sooner and prevent her daughter’s death.

“Her life could have been possibly saved,” Peters said. “That’s the part I’m going to think about a lot — if only.” Franklin, 57, was charged last week with 10 murders committed during two separate periods. The first, from 1985 to 1988, claimed the lives of seven women.

The next period began in 2002 with the slaying of 15-year-old Princess Berthomieux. A year later, the body of Valerie McCorvey, 35, was discovered in the Westmont area of the city. DNA collected from the crime scenes linked those two slayings to one of the earlier killings.

The California Department of Justice compares DNA from unsolved cases against its database of offenders once a week, resulting in an average of 300 to 400 cold hit matches each month. But the comparisons never produced a match for the Grim Sleeper killings.

In 2007, the LAPD created a task force of detectives to work exclusively on the crimes. The team painstakingly followed lead after lead, sometimes using unconventional tactics in an effort to solve the killings. At one point, police collected DNA samples from men arrested for soliciting prostitutes in the hopes of finding a genetic match to the assailant.

In the end, Franklin was arrested after a “familial search" of state DNA records indicated that a convicted felon was probably related to the killer. Franklin is the felon’s father. LAPD Det. Dennis Kilcoyne, who heads the department’s task force, said police could have linked Franklin to the crimes sooner had his genetic sample been in the state’s DNA data bank.

But he said detectives need to focus on the facts, not dwell on what might have been. “It’s tragic all the way around,” Kilcoyne said, “but we can’t change it now.”

The opportunity to obtain Franklin’s DNA was missed in the months it took law enforcement agencies to prepare to collect a huge volume of genetic samples under the 2004 law. Proposition 69 applied to an array of offenders, including those convicted of any felony after the law passed and those who were on probation for a felony conviction.

When the law was approved, Franklin was still serving three years of formal probation after his 2003 conviction for receiving stolen property, a felony. Guidelines published by the California attorney general’s office in March 2005 said probation departments were to collect samples from offenders then under their supervision.

MORE AT:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/authorities-missed-chance-to-identify-grim-sleeper-suspect-two-years-before-final-slaying.html
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Grim Sleeper serial killer suspect attacked in County Jail

July 14, 2010 | 10:44 pm
The man charged in the Grim Sleeper serial killings was assaulted at County Jail by another inmate while they were in an attorney waiting room, officials said Wednesday night.

Lonnie Franklin Jr. was apparently recognized Friday by Antonio Rodriguez, who had been convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a 5-year-old girl. Rodriguez, who was being handcuffed, broke free from a deputy and attacked Franklin.

"The guy recognized him and punched him a couple times in the head," said Steve Whitmore, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Franklin was arrested last week and charged with 10 counts of murder involving women killed over more than two decades.

Whitmore said both men are classified as "K-10" inmates, meaning they are segregated from the general jail population to avoid being assaulted by other inmates because of their notoriety.

"This is one of the reasons why notoriety in our jails can be a very challenging aspect," he said. "That's why we keep inmates away from each other."


Related stories
From the L.A. Times

* Grim Sleeper suspect was out of jail on early release when one victim died, Times finds....
* Grim Sleeper: ’This terror has finally come to an end,’ mayor Villaraigosa says

From KTLA

* Family Of Grim Sleeper Suspect Moves Out Of South L.A.|ktla.com
* Arrest Made in "Grim Sleeper" Serial Killer Case|ktla.com
* Local Campground Closed after Plague Found in Squirrel|ktla.com

Around the Web

* Man charged in L.A. ’Grim Sleeper’ slayings has long list of arrests|washingtonpost.com
* "Grim Sleeper" Suspect Appears in Court|chicagotribune.com
* ’Grim Sleeper’ Suspect Arrested For 11 Murders|huffingtonpost.com

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/07/grim-sleeper-attacked-in-jail.html
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[toothpick]

Hi Rhonda..

You had posted; "Lonnie Franklin Jr. was apparently recognized Friday by Antonio Rodriguez, who had been convicted of sexually assaulting and killing a 5-year-old girl. Rodriguez, who was being handcuffed, broke free from a deputy and attacked Franklin."

Now that's an oddball scenario considering that child sexual killers are thought of as the lowest garbage on the planet next to rapist-killers like Franklin.

It should have actually been the other way around..Franklin assaulting Rodriguez.
If I were in the same situation?

I'd severely assault the child rapist-killer before assaulting the adult rapist-killer..

It's about priorities.


Chris

[WOLFPACK]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/15/friends-say-accused-serial-killer-dropped-hints/



MoreFriends say accused serial killer dropped hints
By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 12:21 p.m.


/ AP
FILE - In this July 8, 2010 photo, Lonnie David Franklin Jr. appears for arraignment on multiple charges as the alleged "Grim Sleeper" killer, in Los Angeles Superior Court. A sheriff's spokesman says the man charged in the "Grim Sleeper" killings was attacked by another inmate at the Los Angeles County jail. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Wednesday night that the attack on Lonnie Franklin Jr. occurred Friday in an attorney waiting room. Whitmore says inmate Antonio Rodriguez apparently recognized Franklin, broke free as he was being handcuffed by a deputy and punched Franklin a couple of times in the head. Whitmore says Franklin is OK. (AP Photo/Al Seib, Pool)

- AP

Enietra Washington, right, who survived an attack by the alleged "grim sleeper" murderer, Lonnie David Franklin, Jr., 57, gets a hug by friend Romy Lampkins, left, before a press conference held to discuss Franklin's arrest in Los Angeles on Thursday July 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

- AP

Los Angeles Police investigators collect evidence in bags during a search at the home of suspect Lonnie David Franklin Jr., on Friday, July 9, 2010, in Los Angeles. Franklin who is accused of being the "Grim Sleeper" serial killer, was arrested July 7 on 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

- AP

Los Angeles Police assistants take away a refrigerator, as investigators gather evidence at the home of suspect Lonnie David Franklin Jr. on Friday, July 9, 2010, in Los Angeles. Franklin was arrested July 7 on 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

- AP

FILE - This file image released July 8, 2010 and provided by the Los Angeles Police Department shows police composites of suspect Lonnie Franklin Jr., in, between 1985, right, and 2007, left, accused of being the "Grim†Sleeper" serial killer. Franklin was arrested July 7 on 10 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Police Department)
LOS ANGELES — In hindsight, the investigation into the Grim Sleeper serial killings could have led to Lonnie Franklin Jr.'s doorstep much sooner.

He lived in the same neighborhood where the serial killer stalked prostitutes and drug addicts over 22 years. He spoke openly about his contempt for prostitutes and said they deserved to die. He displayed photographs he'd taken of women in sexually explicit poses. He had a lengthy criminal record that included 15 arrests.

Now that police have identified Franklin as the man suspected of killing 10 young black women in the case, residents in this working-class Los Angeles neighborhood worry they missed warning signs and wonder if they should have alerted authorities.

"I'm a little shook up by the experience," said Franklin's longtime friend, Lydia Kam, as she stood in disbelief outside Franklin's shuttered house. "I'm wondering if we are too lenient. ... I should have made a better choice."

Franklin would often regale Kam with stories of his sexual exploits and was even more graphic with her husband, Mark Tribble.

"He would have violent fantasies," Tribble said. "He was putting the girls down ... saying someone is going to kill these girls, saying they were going to end up dead."

Despite a lack of community help, police used DNA evidence to arrest Franklin on July 7 at his home in the Manchester Square neighborhood nine miles south of downtown, an area dotted with Spanish-style and stucco homes.

To most neighbors here, the place is still known as South Central, the name that was changed to South Los Angeles in 2003 by a council trying to re-brand an area notorious for gang crime, killings and urban strife.

The serial slayings occurred here between 1985 and 2007, with the killer apparently taking a pause between 1988 and 2002, prompting the Grim Sleeper nickname.

Cold case detectives announced in September 2008 that a serial killer was on the loose and, partly in response to pressure from victims' families and activists, launched a publicity blitz to generate leads.

No one suspected Franklin, despite billboards being put up across the area where the killer struck, advertising a $500,000 reward.

In a neighborhood where helping police is often frowned upon, it was easy for people to dismiss his stories as the fantasies of an unhappily married man who could get them cheap used car parts.

"This man was an A-1 mechanic," said Kam, who has known Franklin for about a decade. "He didn't make mistakes on how he fixed cars. He was a good man to know."

Franklin, 57, was arrested after investigators identified him through a DNA sample. The break came after Franklin's son was arrested and swabbed for DNA. Using a controversial technique known as a familial DNA search, the sample came back as similar to evidence in the serial killings, ultimately leading police to Franklin.

Aside from the 10 murder charges, police believe Franklin also killed a man who may have discovered he was a killer. They are also reviewing whether Franklin was involved in about 30 other homicide cases. He has not been charged in those cases.

Franklin was arrested at least 15 times for burglary, assaults and other crimes, but avoided state prison. He is alleged to have killed one of his victims in July 2003, a time when he should have been in county jail but was released early because of overcrowding.

His attorney, Regina Laughney, said she expected him to enter a not guilty plea at his Aug. 9 arraignment but declined to comment further. His wife and sons have not spoken publicly about his arrest.

The family's mint-green house on 81st Street has become a tourist attraction of sorts, with a steady flow of traffic moving slowly past the single-story home, where a Doberman and German Shepherd circle the front yard.

Some drivers stop to talk to each other and share recollections on the man they knew as Lonnie; others just snap a cell phone picture and drive on.

Tribble is reconstructing conversations they had. Looking back, he sees plenty to be alarmed about.

"You would have a normal conversation but he'd end up saying something gruesome," Tribble said.

When asked why they weren't more concerned with Franklin's stories, Tribble and other residents said it never occurred to them he could be the killer because he looked nothing like a series of composite sketches, drawn from descriptions provided after a woman survived an attack.

The sketches show a slender man with gray hair. Franklin has a more spherical head and a thin mustache.

"It didn't look like him," said resident Carmella Coleman.

After hitting a wall in their investigation, detectives released the sketches in hopes of generating publicity. Another move was to release a recording of a 1987 call to police in which a man describes seeing a body in an alley.

Though it jogged no one's memory when it was released in February, several residents are now convinced the voice is Franklin's. Cold case Detective Dennis Kilcoyne isn't so sure, but is looking into it.

Family members of some of the victims faulted police for their initial investigations, saying the cases didn't carry the same importance they would have if the victims had been from a wealthier part of town.

Alice Brown, an aunt of Henrietta Wright, who was found shot to death in an alleyway in 1986, said police at the time could have been trying harder.

"I don't think the police did too much investigating," Brown said. "I wasn't questioned until recently."

Kilcoyne said detectives did thorough investigations but lacked the technology available today.

"I have always known that sooner or later, we would catch the guy and it would be someone we have had multiple contacts with," Kilcoyne said.

The Associated Press



fantasies..rotfl...

Of course some people have those kinds of fantasies.I wonder how many act on them..or were the fantasies more like recollection of things he had already done.

[rumaj]

ACLU wants to halt key part of California DNA crime program
July 18, 2010 | 11:41 a.m.


As state forensic scientists savor their success in using DNA to nab a suspect in the Grim Sleeper case, a federal court is considering shutting down a DNA collection program the state says has helped solve several violent crimes.
During a court hearing last week, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals showed extraordinary interest in an ACLU lawsuit challenging the state's collection of DNA from people arrested, but not necessarily convicted, in felony cases. One judge said the court was struggling.

"All of us on this panel have wrestled with this," said Judge Milan Smith, a George W. Bush appointee. "It is a very hard case." The hearing had been scheduled for 15 minutes. It lasted more than an hour.

Nearly half the states and the federal government now take DNA samples during arrests. Rulings nationwide on the constitutionality of the practice have been divided, and the issue is expected eventually to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Among those named as victims in the ACLU's class-action lawsuit was a woman arrested during an antiwar protest but never charged. The state continues to hold her DNA, and her genetic profile is in a criminal database.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown strongly defends DNA collection during felony arrests, which the state began in January. He contends that nearly 1,000 DNA samples from unsolved crimes have been matched to DNA taken during arrests, many of them for nonviolent crimes.

Read the full story here: "Federal court struggles with California DNA collection case."

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/17/local/la-me-dna-arrests-20100718
-- Maura Dolan in San Francisco
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

"Grim Sleeper" Suspect Due in Court
Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested July 7 after DNA evidence linked him to the killings, which spanned 25 years.

KTLA News

4:29 AM PDT, July 27, 2010

LOS ANGELES -- The man charged with 10 murders in the "Grim Sleeper" case is due in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday.

Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, is set to be arraigned on the murder charges and one other charge of attempted murder in the killings, which spanned 25 years. He is expected to enter a not guilty plea, according to his attorney.

Franklin was arrested at his South Los Angeles home July 7 after DNA evidence linked him to the 10 murders. Investigators say they're trying to tie him to dozens more.

Detectives are taking a fresh look at more than 30 cold case files dating back to 1984 in the wake of Franklin's arrest, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck.

"Now that we know who he is, where he lives, the cars he drove, have people to interview... we will go over all those cold cases and look for connections," Beck said.

Investigators planned to upload Franklin's DNA profile into a national database to see if it matched other samples where the DNA had degraded and scientists were only able to get a partial sample.

MORE AT: ( 2 page article )
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-grim-sleeper-arraignment,0,7993599.story
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets

[rumaj]

Suspect in 'Grim Sleeper' killings to enter plea
By THOMAS WATKINS Associated Press Writer
Posted: 08/23/2010 01:33:59 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES—The man suspected in the "Grim Sleeper" slayings of 10 women was expected to plead not guilty Monday at his scheduled arraignment in front of a Los Angeles judge.

An attorney for Lonnie Franklin Jr. has said he will plead not guilty to 10 charges of murder and one charge of attempted murder.

Prosecutors have not decided if they will seek the death penalty.

Private attorney Louisa Pensanti, who is working for free and said she has experience handling multiple murder cases, took over two weeks ago for the public defenders assigned to Franklin's case.

Franklin's arraignment had been scheduled for July 27, but an undisclosed conflict of interest for his public defender and the later switch to Pensanti led Superior Court Judge Hilleri G. Merrit to delay it until Monday.

Merritt has said the trial process could last three years.

Franklin is accused of killing a total of 10 women during two periods: 1985 to 1988 and 2002 to 2007. The 14-year pause led to the killer's nickname of "Grim Sleeper." Police are looking at more than 30 other cold case files to see if they can tie him to other unsolved slayings.

Franklin was captured on July 7 after police linked his DNA to evidence left with the slain women, all of whom were killed within a few miles of his South Los Angeles home.
_________________
"Sell Crazy Someplace Else. We're all stocked up here."

Line from the movie As Good As It Gets