TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Crime

  • Dyleski to stand trial

    Dyleski to stand trial

    Judge orders Dyleski to stand trial in Vitale murder:

    A judge has ruled that there is a sufficient amount of evidence to reasonably try Scott Dyleski for the murder of Pam Vitale, and he will be tried as an adult…

    During the first three days of testimony Contra Costa County prosecutor Harold Jewett presented evidence painting Dyleski as a disturbed young man.

    He showed Dyleski’s drawings, that included a figure holding a bloody knife who was wearing a ski mask and a trench coat. Jewett pointed out that some of the clothes found by detectives during their investigation included a bloody ski mask and a trench coat that he believes Dyleski wore during the killing.

    Jewett also presented drawings and printed examples of symbols found in Dyleski’s bedroom that were similar, but not identical, to the mark found on Vitale’s back. Defense attorney Ellen Leonida of the public defender’s office argued against allowing Dyleski’s artwork in, saying a lot of artwork is disturbing and is not evidence of murder. But the judge disagreed, and will allow certain of Dyleski’s drawings to be used by prosecutors in a trial.

    Witnesses who lived with Dyleski at his home about a mile down Hunsaker Canyon Road from Vitale and Horowitz testified that on the morning of Oct. 15, Dyleski came home with scratches or “gouge-like” marks on his face.

    Witnesses also testified that Dyleski became paranoid on the day before his arrest on Oct. 19, and began talking about his fear that his DNA might be found on Vitale’s body. He told a story of a woman who pulled over in a car and grabbed his arm while he was on a walk in the neighborhood as the reason for his concern.

    All that even after Dyleski’s mom destroyed evidence…

    After Dyleski’s Oct. 19 arrest, authorities arrested Fielding as an accessory to murder after the fact for destroying a red writing journal of her son’s, a box of disposable gloves and a written list of the names and credit card information for a number of her and her son’s neighbors. The charges were dropped after Fielding agreed to testify for prosecutors against Dyleski.

    Not only that but Pam Vitale’s DNA was found on Scott Dyleski’s belongings…

    Prosecutors concluded the hearings Friday with testimony from David Stockwell, a DNA expert who said Vitale’s DNA was found on the boy’s duffel bag, with a statistical probability that 1 in 13 quadrillion other Caucasians would share the same profile.

    Detectives discovered the duffel, which was affixed with Dyleski’s nametag, during a search of the property where the teen lived with 11 other individuals.

    The bag contained bloody clothes that prosecutors believe Dyleski wore when he allegedly killed Vitale, and a mixture of both their DNA was found on a ski mask, shoes, and the bag itself.

    Dyleski is ineligible for the death penalty because he was under 18 at the time of the murder.

  • Scott Dyleski’s Checklist

    Scott Dyleski’s Checklist

    Dyleskis ex-roommate finds disturbing checklist:

    I get a lot of comments from people who say that Scott Dyleski is a great kid and couldn’t possibly be capable of killing Pam Vitale. Oh yeah? Well, what do you have to say about this?

    It was in late January that David Curiel — who lived with Dyleski and two other families in a Hunsaker Canyon home about a mile down the road from Vitales — found a number of index cards that included detailed personal and financial information about other Hunsaker Canyon residents who were victims of credit card fraud. The handwritten cards included the dates of birth, frequent flier numbers and passwords to eBay and Amazon.com accounts.

    And prosecutors say one of the cards included this checklist:

    – Knock out/kidnap

    – Question

    – Keep captive to confirm PINS (personal identification numbers)

    – Dirty work

    – Dispose of evidence

    – Cut up and bury

    Things that make you go hmmm?

  • Sierra Vista High Hazing Incident

    Sierra Vista High Hazing Incident

    School attack alleged:

    Another high school athletic hazing incident has been reported. This time it’s from Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas, Nevada…

    The incident, which took place about 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 3 in the school’s gymnasium, involved members of Sierra Vista’s boys varsity basketball team. Six or more players jumped a newcomer to the squad and took him to the floor. One or more of the attackers inserted fingers into the victim’s rectum, sources said.

    And once again there are allegations of a cover-up…

    Sources familiar with the incident also are raising questions about the conduct of a Sierra Vista administrator. Educators are required by law to report abuse involving minors. In this incident, sources said that the victim was reluctant to step forward. His mother first called police.

    “This administrator tried to dissuade the (victim’s) mother from reporting it,” one source said. “He also asked Metro (police) to postpone the investigation until after the game.”

    A school administrator trying to cover up a crime by an athletic team. Go figure.

    I will give the school this much credit, the athletes involved have been suspended and face expulsion. Police are also saying that those involved may be looking at felony charges.

    I wonder how long it will be before someone defends this instance of sexual sadism as “boys being boys”.

    Link via Bad Jocks.

  • Friend dropped the dime on Dyleski

    Friend dropped the dime on Dyleski

    Friend casts suspicion on Dyleski:

    It turns out that it was Scott Dyleski’s close friend and partner in the alleged credit card fraud/marijuana growing scheme that tipped off investigators to Dyleski in the brutal slaying of Pam Vitale…

    According to sources close to the case, a teenage friend of Dyleski saw him hours after the killing with scratches on his face. Dyleski told his friend he got scratched while walking in the woods.

    A few days later, as the case attracted media attention, Dyleski told his friend he was worried investigators might find his own DNA on Vitale. He told his friend that Vitale saw him in the woods and grabbed him.

    The story made the friend suspicious about Dyleski. He also was worried because he and Dyleski were involved in a scheme to use fraudulent credit cards to purchase marijuana-growing lights and have them sent to the homes of neighbors.

    Originally, it was thought that Dyleski killed Pam Vitale because he was caught having the marijuana growing equipment sent to Vitale’s house, but that has since been abandoned since no evidence has been found substantiating that.

    The friend will testify against Dyleski in exchange for credit card fraud charges being dropped.

  • Eric Smith: What a prosecutor should be

    Eric Smith: What a prosecutor should be

    Macomb Co. crackdown on young suspects raises issues:

    Macomb County, Michigan is like the Bermuda triangle of school violence. Just on my site alone, I’ve discussed the cases of Andrew Osantowski and Eric Schorling.

    Both were or are being prosecuted by Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith. He’s also prosecuting the case of Courtney Hood…

    Courtney Hood, 14, of Warren was charged as an adult with attempted murder for allegedly holding a classmate underwater. She faces up to life in prison, if convicted, and is due in circuit court Monday for a pretrial conference.

    …among others. In the cases of Osantowski, Schorling, and Hood, they were all teens that were tried or going to be tried as adults. The article asks if Prosecutor Smith is going overboard by trying these kids as adults and in some cases using Michigan’s terrorism law to charge these teens…

    Juvenile advocates counter that get-tough prosecution is short-sighted and deprives youthful offenders of counseling, education, and other rehabilitative services. And while some residents applaud his actions, others say they think his office has been too aggressive in charging juveniles.

    Glenn Stutzky, a clinical instructor at Michigan State University’s School of Social Work, said children need guidance — not punishment — to become productive and law-abiding adults.

    “We need to get around to asking children why they are in such a state that they committed an act of violence against themselves or someone else,” Stutzky said. “Charging students with felonies isn’t rehabilitation.”

    Youthful offenders are often victims of harassment at school or abuse at home, said Robert Shepherd, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Richmond in Virginia who focuses on juvenile crime.

    Shepherd said studies show therapy is more effective than punishment at reducing subsequent offenses.

    “A lot of the risky behaviors of kids are very legitimate and natural, and we need to develop programs that deal with what we know about the characteristics of adolescents,” Shepherd said. “The part of the brain that controls impulse and judgment is the last to mature in adolescents.”

    In Oakland County, where 11-year-old Nathaniel Abraham was charged in 1997 as an adult with first-degree murder, prosecutors now tend to opt for therapy and education over punishment, said Deborah Carley, chief deputy prosecutor.

    “We don’t look at our juvenile system as a punishment system,” Carley said.

    What does Eric Smith himself have to say about this?…

    Smith said pursuing rehabilitation “is not our job.” He said his job is to prove the elements of a crime, and it is up to a judge to decide if therapy should be part of the punishment for young offenders.

    Three months before Smith took office, violence crept into local schools. Sixteen-year-old Eric Schorling stabbed his ex-girlfriend in the back in a hallway at Romeo High School.

    Two weeks before that, police found a cache of weapons and Nazi paraphernalia at the home of Clinton Township teen Andrew Osantowski, who threatened to carry out a Columbine-style attack at Chippewa Valley High School.

    Smith acknowledges that the 12-year-old accused of threatening to bomb her middle school was likely “joking” and was a good student, but added, “I have to let other kids know that we take that seriously.”

    Eric Schooling failed to kill his victim, fortunately. Andrew Osantowski was apprehended before he had the chance to kill anyone. But what if Schorling and Osantowski had been successful? Would we still be having this conversation? Would people still say they only need counseling? Light sentencing for juveniles charged with serious crimes sends out the wrong message. If all they receive is counseling, then any kid who is a would-be school shooter could think that they could just walk into their school, pop off a few rounds, kill a few people, and just have to go to a counselor once a week, and it doesn’t take much to fool a counselor.

    Eric Smith should be lauded as a hero for prosecuting criminals. Not vilified for not being sensitive enough.

  • Poker in the rear

    Poker in the rear

    Poker Game Leads to Butt Stabbing:

    Bob The Sports Writer (who is a righteous blogger in his own right at Digital Heartburn and The Fat Kid dot org) challenged my title of crime blogger by ignoring what he called “real crime” and sent me this story…

    A poker game took an unusual turn last week when one Navarre man turned a steak knife on another.

    Jace Moore, 22, confronted Dustin Danner, 23, about money he was owed from a recent poker match. When Danner did not pay up, the situation got ugly.

    Moore grabbed a steak knife and attempted to stab Danner in the chest. When his attempts failed, Moore took the knife below the belt. He proceeded to stab Danner four times in the buttocks.

    I guess that’s what happens when you get behind in poker. He really should have paid his arrears. Now he’ll be the butt of jokes from his friends. I’m really sorry for all these lame cracks.

    I’ll be here all week. Try your waitresses and tip the veal. Good night.

    (P.S. if you use the word “poker” in the comments, it will trip the spam filter)

  • Zarate returns to jail

    Zarate returns to jail

    Teen’s accused killer returns to Morris jail:

    This is an update on the story of Jonathan Zarate, the 18-year-old from New Jersey arrested for stabbing, bludgeoning, and dismembering 16-year-old Jennifer Parks.

    Yesterday, he was transferred back to the Morris County jail after spending two months at Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton for psychiatric observation. He was sent there after punching a few corrections officers and frequently urinating and defecating on his cell floor. If you’re going for an insanity defense, this is not the way to go about it, Sunshine.

    Morris County prosecutors still haven’t decided whether or not to pursue the death penalty. What’s to decide? Then again, this is New Jersey, and they haven’t executed anyone in 40 years.

  • Jonathan Zarate’s brother to undergo psych test

    Jonathan Zarate’s brother to undergo psych test

    New psychiatric test set for boy, 15, in slaying:

    This is an update on the murder of Jennifer Parks. She was bludgeoned, stabbed, and dismembered by her 18-year-old neighbor Jonathan Zarate. His younger brother, known only as “J.Z.” has also been charged with her murder. Prosecutors are looking to have the younger brother tried as an adult, but first, he must undergo a psychiatric evaluation…

    J.Z.’s attorney, Joseph Ferrante, submitted a psychiatric evaluation to Dangler on Friday that said the boy was a good candidate for rehabilitation. But Morris County Prosecutor Ralph Amirata asked the judge to allow him to seek a second opinion. Dangler granted the request, and gave the Prosecutor’s Office a month to have J.Z. evaluated by its psychiatrist.

    A good candidate for rehabilitation? You have got to be kidding me. He assisted in stabbing, bludgeoning and dismembering Jennifer Parks’ body and helped try to dispose of the body in the Passaic River. No, he is not a good candidate for rehabilitation. The only thing he’s a candidate for is a date with the needle.

  • NJ Death Penalty Moratorium

    NJ Death Penalty Moratorium

    N.J. lawmakers vote to suspend executions:

    New Jersey lawmakers voted Monday to suspend executions while a task force studies the fairness and costs of imposing the death penalty.

    The measure now heads to Gov. Richard J. Codey, who has indicated he will sign it before leaving office on January 17.

    So, basically, New Jersey is putting a moratorium on the death penalty for now. Well, that’s all well and good, but you have to actually execute someone before you can have a moratorium. No one has been executed in New Jersey in over 40 years.

    “By its action today, the Assembly joins the Senate in signaling deep concern that the state’s death penalty system isn’t working,” said Celeste Fitzgerald, director of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.

    How do you know it’s not working when you don’t use it?

    Do you know who is on New Jersey’s Death Row? Jesse Timmendequas. For those of you who don’t know who Jesse Timmendequas is, he’s the scumbag that raped and killed 7-year-old Megan Kanka, the girl who Megan’s Law was named after. Here’s what the scumbag did to her…

    After raping her, Timmendequas killed her by slamming her head onto a dresser and putting a plastic bag on her head. He then strangled her with a belt. He later raped her body in his car. He discarded the body in a toybox and dumped it into a park.

    Does that sound like someone who the death penalty was applied to, unfairly?

    Anyway, don’t act like you’re doing some great humanitarian thing by calling for a moratorium when you haven’t used the damn thing in over 40 years. Use it or don’t use it but don’t act like that New Jersey has been this unstoppable killing machine of the wrongly accused when it hasn’t.

  • Henderson pleads not guilty

    Man pleads not guilty to 4 deaths:

    Say what now?

    Yesterday, a grand jury handed down a four-count indictment on Richard Henderson Jr. for first-degree murder. Henderson previously confessed to the crimes.

    Then Assistant Public Defender Carolyn DaSilva entered a plea of not guilty. Again, I say, “huh?”

    I realize that they are probably going to try an insanity defense with Henderson, but I think it’s an extreme long shot.

    If he had pleaded guilty, it probably would have spared him the death penalty. Now, it’s possible that prosecutors will seek the death penalty. But hey, it’s his funeral.