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Two articles in Thursday's Chronicle
And
Score TWO for the good guys.
Ex-casino owner cleared in slaying
The Sonoma County district attorney's office cleared a former casino executive of any wrongdoing Wednesday in the fatal shooting in February of an intruder in his Healdsburg home.
District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced that his office has reviewed the investigative findings of the Healdsburg Police Department and concluded that Louis Phillips, 68, was justified under the law when he shot and killed intruder David E. Ferguson, 48, of San Diego.
Ferguson attacked Phillips' wife, Sandra, outside their home during the morning of Feb. 27. The assailant was dressed in black clothing, wore a mask and held what appeared to be a firearm. The weapon was later discovered to be a Gamo P-23 CO{-2} pistol that shoots pellets.
Sandra Phillips broke from Ferguson's grasp and ran into her home while he pursued her, authorities said. Her cries awoke her husband, who grabbed his .357 Magnum revolver from a bedside table. Louis Phillips sneaked up on the intruder, who had one arm around his wife's neck and a gun in his hand. Louis Phillips fired three times at Ferguson, causing him to collapse and die.
Ferguson had previously worked for Phillips as chief financial officer at the Viejas Casino, east of San Diego. Phillips, the casino's chief executive officer, had fired Ferguson about six years ago.
The district attorney concluded that Phillips acted reasonably under the circumstances.
"This was an extremely frightening, dangerous and traumatic experience for any homeowner, and a tragedy for all concerned," Passalacqua said.
The Sonoma County district attorney's office cleared a former casino executive of any wrongdoing Wednesday in the fatal shooting in February of an intruder in his Healdsburg home.
District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced that his office has reviewed the investigative findings of the Healdsburg Police Department and concluded that Louis Phillips, 68, was justified under the law when he shot and killed intruder David E. Ferguson, 48, of San Diego.
Ferguson attacked Phillips' wife, Sandra, outside their home during the morning of Feb. 27. The assailant was dressed in black clothing, wore a mask and held what appeared to be a firearm. The weapon was later discovered to be a Gamo P-23 CO{-2} pistol that shoots pellets.
Sandra Phillips broke from Ferguson's grasp and ran into her home while he pursued her, authorities said. Her cries awoke her husband, who grabbed his .357 Magnum revolver from a bedside table. Louis Phillips sneaked up on the intruder, who had one arm around his wife's neck and a gun in his hand. Louis Phillips fired three times at Ferguson, causing him to collapse and die.
Ferguson had previously worked for Phillips as chief financial officer at the Viejas Casino, east of San Diego. Phillips, the casino's chief executive officer, had fired Ferguson about six years ago.
The district attorney concluded that Phillips acted reasonably under the circumstances.
"This was an extremely frightening, dangerous and traumatic experience for any homeowner, and a tragedy for all concerned," Passalacqua said.
No-contest pleas in Millbrae assault
A man and woman who attacked a Millbrae couple after they refused to buy alcohol for them have pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon for their roles in the incident during which a third accomplice was stabbed to death, authorities said Wednesday.
Marco Bolanos, 20, and Michelle Cardarelli, 19, were with 20-year-old Dwayne Beverly when they pulled up to a Safeway supermarket along El Camino Real last May. They asked an unidentified Millbrae couple waiting for a bus to buy them alcohol, but the couple refused, authorities said.
The three then attacked the couple. The male victim stabbed Beverly in the chest with a pocketknife after being hit with a metal club, authorities said. Bolanos was accused of striking the female victim while Cardarelli punched her and held her down.
The three then got into their Toyota Camry and fled with Beverly at the wheel, authorities said. Police found them a short time later on the Millbrae Avenue overpass at Highway 101 after Beverly collapsed. He was pronounced dead at San Francisco General Hospital.
San Mateo County prosecutors said Bolanos faces two years in state prison after his no-contest plea Tuesday in Superior Court in Redwood City. Cardarelli faces 60 days in county jail and three years' probation.
Authorities said the stabbing was self-defense and never charged the male victim.
A man and woman who attacked a Millbrae couple after they refused to buy alcohol for them have pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon for their roles in the incident during which a third accomplice was stabbed to death, authorities said Wednesday.
Marco Bolanos, 20, and Michelle Cardarelli, 19, were with 20-year-old Dwayne Beverly when they pulled up to a Safeway supermarket along El Camino Real last May. They asked an unidentified Millbrae couple waiting for a bus to buy them alcohol, but the couple refused, authorities said.
The three then attacked the couple. The male victim stabbed Beverly in the chest with a pocketknife after being hit with a metal club, authorities said. Bolanos was accused of striking the female victim while Cardarelli punched her and held her down.
The three then got into their Toyota Camry and fled with Beverly at the wheel, authorities said. Police found them a short time later on the Millbrae Avenue overpass at Highway 101 after Beverly collapsed. He was pronounced dead at San Francisco General Hospital.
San Mateo County prosecutors said Bolanos faces two years in state prison after his no-contest plea Tuesday in Superior Court in Redwood City. Cardarelli faces 60 days in county jail and three years' probation.
Authorities said the stabbing was self-defense and never charged the male victim.
