No CWPs Leads to Crime Witnesses Being Murdered in SF [Archive]

Paladin

05-05-2006, 12:48 PM

Needing a concealed carry weapon (CCW) immediately due to witnessing a violent/serious crime was the first reason I listed under my post, "4 reasons for getting a CWP even if you don't plan to carry everyday" (reprinted at the very bottom below).

As you read the article below about this case and about other recent cases of witnesses being executed in SF, and you will see why something like only 1 out of 10 murder cases in SF get prosecuted -- witnesses refuse to come forward. I read that Oakland has similar problems. Non-issuance of CWPs (concealed weapons permit), along w/lack of sure & swift death penalty for simple murder (no "special circumstances"), put ALL our lives at risk by reducing both the risk and the cost to the perpetrator for murder.

Read (and weep) along w/this young 22 y.o.'s family and relatives. Having witnessed a murder, he stepped forward to do his civic duty and testify. He may have qualified for a CWP since he had NO criminal record or gang affiliations. His murder is the type of thing that gets me TOTALLY ticked at the People's Republik of Kalifornia for not being "Shall Issue" (cf "Right-to-Carry Laws 2006" http://www.nraila.org/images/rtcmaplg.jpg ).

Pro-2nd A/CCW people in SF need to contact the relatives of witnesses who were executed. Start w/the relatives of the victim in this case, Michelle Daniels-Kyer, the woman in the top photo (in linked original article) who is the mother of the victim's half-sister, and Shalice McKinney, the woman in the lower photo, the victim's half-sister. Then contact a good, pro-2nd A attorney (e.g., Chuck Michel http://www.tmllp.com/ , or he might be able to refer you to one), and see if a case can be brought against the city or SF county.

At the least, family members of the five victims should contact the NRA (www.NRA.org ) to say they'd be willing to fight for Shall Issue in CA by being in commercials, print ads, or speaking engagements (esp before state or local govt). Patrick McCullough, the man in Oakland who used a handgun to defend himself against an attack in his own driveway, would also be a possibility ("A Neighborhood Reborn," http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/02/18/MNG0EHB6VK1.DTL ).

The anti-gun wackos exploit tragedies against us (Stockton school massacre, 101 California Street law office shooting, Columbine), it is high time some pro-2nd Amendment state legislators use them to protect and expand our rights. Email this to Assemblyman Ray Haynes ( Assemblymember.Haynes@assembly.ca.gov), State Senator Ashburn ( senator.ashburn@sen.ca.gov), and any other pro-2nd A/CCW state legislators you know.

Other thoughts: There is an exception to the normal rules for rapidly issuing a CWP to a victim of domestic violence/restraining order. The legislature also needs to make an exception for witnesses to certain crimes (murders, rapes, gang violence, drug deals, etc.). But even that will not help if the issuing authority refuses to issue to "mere civilians," as is the case in SF. They and several other large, urban counties believe in a new aristocracy, of LEOs, judges, politicians, and rich/famous cronies ( "How Sean Penn Got Gun Permit," http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/30/BA268108.DTL and "CA County Map" http://www.packing.org/state/california/image.php?stateimage=118 ).

(Continued in Part 2 due to 10,000 character limit on posts.)

Paladin

05-05-2006, 12:49 PM

(Continued from Part 1)

From: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/05/MNGUEILHDG1.DTL&type=printable

WITNESS TO GANG SLAYING SHOT DEAD IN S.F. SHOP
The victim, who was in a protection program, had been warned against returning to the city -- his slaying is the latest in a string of attacks on witnesses who have cooperated with authorities
Jaxon Van Derbeken, Chronicle Staff Writers
Friday, May 5, 2006

The main witness in a San Francisco gang murder case was shot to death by masked men Thursday in what authorities and family members fear was an execution prompted by his cooperation with prosecutors.

The victim, identified by relatives as Terrell Rollins, 22, was shot in the head at 10:15 a.m. in the City Auto Tech repair shop at 269 Bayshore Blvd. in the Bayview district.

The district attorney's office put Rollins in a witness protection program and moved him outside San Francisco after he testified before a grand jury that indicted two men on murder charges in March, authorities said. Prosecutors and police told him not to come into the city.

On Thursday, however, he apparently took his Chevrolet van to the shop in San Francisco for repairs, police said. Investigators believe someone spotted him on the busy thoroughfare and had him killed.

"That is why people don't come forward," said Michelle Daniels-Kyer, the mother of Rollins' half-sister. "Why would you come forward if you are going to die?"

District Attorney Kamala Harris called the slaying "just horrific" but declined to speculate on a motive.

However, Harris said, "I can't understand why (Rollins) would want to come back to a place were we all knew -- that he knew -- was a place where he would expect this type of outcome.

"The first and last rule in witness protection is, don't go back to your danger zone," Harris said.

Rollins had just dropped off his van when three men wearing ski masks and hooded jackets confronted him and another man outside the shop, said Capt. Al Pardini of the Bayview Police Station.

The two ran inside. Witnesses reported hearing as many as 10 shots in quick succession, possibly fired from two weapons.

Rollins was shot in the head and died at the scene. The second man, whose name was not released, was wounded in the leg and was being treated at San Francisco General Hospital.

The assailants fled in a white Cadillac with no rear license plate. The car was last seen heading north on Bayshore Boulevard.

Community leaders expressed frustration at the level of violence and the possible targeting of someone who was willing to testify in a murder case.

"This is really crazy," said Joe Marshall, a city police commissioner and co-founder of the Omega Boys and Girls Club in the Bayview. "Of course this makes it more difficult for people thinking about coming forward. The question is, why will people come forward if this is going to happen to them?"

He said the Police Commission would look at the city's efforts to protect witnesses at all levels. "We're going to see if the program is as tight as it can be, as tight as it needs to be," he said.

Rollins grew up in the Bayview and had lived there for much of his life, and authorities said he had no gang connections or criminal record. He had, however, survived one shooting, which started a string of events that authorities fear led to his death.

Rollins was standing on the corner of Third Street and Kirkwood Avenue on Sept. 19 when two men drove up and sprayed 20-year-old gang member Arkelylius Collins with gunfire. One of the 30 bullets the two men fired hit Rollins, who authorities said had simply been a bystander.

Collins died, and two suspected rival gang members, Daniel Dennard and Deonte Bennett, both 21, were indicted in March on murder charges. Both men are being held on $1 million bail.

Rollins testified before the grand jury in the case, identifying Dennard and Bennett as the attackers. He said he had just come out of a convenience store when he saw a car roll up and the two men get out and open fire with rifles.

Authorities said Rollins was the only witness to come forward. Police say witnesses are commonly afraid to help them solve gang-related killings, and authorities looked upon the indictments as a victory that could help them battle the rising homicide rate in the southeast part of the city.

Harris called a press conference to announce the charges, and Police Chief Heather Fong called it "a great day."

Harris would not speculate Thursday on whether the case would survive Rollins' killing. His grand jury testimony cannot be used against either defendant because the accused would be denied the right of cross-examination.

A law enforcement source close to the case called the attack "a coordinated effort to kill this guy." The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said authorities feared that Rollins had been killed to keep him from testifying and as "retribution for his cooperating with authorities."

Bennett's attorney, Joe O'Sullivan, said the shooting had nothing to do with his client.

"Mr. Bennett is entirely innocent," O'Sullivan said. "We would have loved to go to trial because he would have been acquitted."

Dennard's attorney, Floyd Andrews, could not be reached for comment.

Rollins was an avid basketball player. The injuries he suffered in the September shooting left him barely able to walk, though he had shown improvement recently, family members said.

Prosecutors put him up in a residence in an undisclosed Bay Area city and provided him an armed escort so he could return to San Francisco once a week for medical treatment, authorities said. Otherwise, he was told not to come back to town.

Harris said the location was "far, far away."

"We have been taking him to doctor's appointments. We have been taking him everywhere he needed to go," she said. "The investigator involved is personally grieving -- he spent so much time with him."

Rollins had a young son, relatives said, and he was having difficulty caring for the boy while living outside the Bayview.

Members of his family came to the crime scene Thursday, many of them in tears. They recalled Rollins as quiet, loving man. His brother, they said, was slain the month after the shooting that left Rollins wounded and Collins dead.

"There should be more protection for people," said Daniels-Kyer, his half-sister's mother. "It shouldn't be like this."

Police said authorities had done what they could to protect Rollins.

"He was just a good kid who unfortunately was a witness to a horrible crime," said Sgt. Mikail Ali of the gang task force. "He was taken care of. He was relocated. He was advised not to come back.

"We did our part to protect witnesses," Ali said.

Fong expressed dismay upon learning that Rollins had been killed and acknowledged that protecting witnesses with strong ties to the city can be difficult. "That's the challenge," she said.

Rollins' death was one of several attacks on witnesses in San Francisco cases who have cooperated with local and federal authorities since 2000.

In 2002, a witness who had just made a sealed plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Ray Jimmerson Jr., 25, was killed on the street in the Western Addition in apparent retaliation for his testimony against gang members. A suspect in that case now faces federal charges of killing a witness.

The same year, Gerald White, 37, was shot to death three days after San Francisco prosecutors summoned him to appear before a grand jury looking into the Jan. 18, 2002, killing of 37-year-old Perry Michael Bradstreet. Authorities fear that someone saw him going to testify before the grand jury.

Dustin Thomas was shot to death in San Francisco on Jan. 4, 2001, six days after he testified in the slaying of his best friend. Thomas had refused offers to enter the witness protection program.

In November 2000, Amir Anderson, 48, was shot to death in San Francisco after he encouraged his stepdaughter to testify against Montrell Vines, a gang member accused of attempted murder. The woman took the stand, and Vines was convicted.

The slayings prompted San Francisco police to work with prosecutors to strengthen witness protection efforts.

*****

Here are four reasons I use to tell friends in "Shall Issue" states that they should apply for a CWP immediately, even if they don't plan to carry everyday. Use these when talking to gun shops and others that may be pro-gun but think getting CWPs are paranoid:

1. In case you are ever a witness to a violent crime and the suspect gets out on bail (or has his "friends" come after you) -- you may need a CCW immediately to protect yourself from him. Better to have a CWP and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

2. In case of disasters (post-Katrina, earthquakes, fires, riots), you may have to flee your home w/all your valuables. A legal CCW will help protect you while you flee in state and while you live in a new, unfamiliar location.

3. In case some nut case decides to follow you home, stalk you or if you are a victim of domestic abuse and your abuser decides to come after you. Again, you might suddenly need to carry concealed immediately.

4. For those times you have to go to a bad part of town, or to an unfamiliar city or stay out later than usual. You'll have the option to carry whereas otherwise you legally wouldn't.