Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Sonoma Valley Inn Murals
I LOVE these murals! They were painted by Sonoma students a few years ago and are located along the walkway at the Sonoma Valley Inn.
Monday, May 26, 2008
IVAW Winter Soilders
The NewsHour covers Winter Soldier on the Hill, IVAW's testimony before Congress.
source
Click here to read why these Vets are against the Iraq war.
Website: Iraq Veteran Against the War
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A short tribute for Memorial Day and for all year to remember those who have given their lives in life and death to protect our way of life.
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Music "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan and Poem by William Wordsworth - 'Ode: Intimations of immortality'.
"Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action."
"In 1972 Dylan signed onto Sam Peckinpah's film 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid', providing the songs and taking a role as "Alias", a minor member of Billy's gang. ... the song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" has proven its durability, having been covered by over 150 recording artists."
"Dylan recorded the final version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" at a session in February, this time on Warner Bros. Records' soundstage in Burbank, California. "It was very early in the morning," recalls drummer Jim Keltner. "I think the session was 10 a.m. and again it all fell into place...There weren't any overdubs on that, the singers were singing live, little pump organ, Roger McGuinn I think played [guitar]. This was for a particular scene in the movie when Slim Pickens is dying and that's the first time I ever cried while I played. It was the combination of the words, Bob's voice, the actual music itself, the changes, and seeing the screen...In those days you were on a big soundstage, and you had this massive screen that you can see on the wall, [with] the scene...running when you're playing. I cried through that whole take." -wikipedia
source
Click here to read why these Vets are against the Iraq war.
Website: Iraq Veteran Against the War
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A short tribute for Memorial Day and for all year to remember those who have given their lives in life and death to protect our way of life.
source
Music "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan and Poem by William Wordsworth - 'Ode: Intimations of immortality'.
"Memorial Day is a United States Federal Holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it was expanded to include those who died in any war or military action."
"In 1972 Dylan signed onto Sam Peckinpah's film 'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid', providing the songs and taking a role as "Alias", a minor member of Billy's gang. ... the song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" has proven its durability, having been covered by over 150 recording artists."
"Dylan recorded the final version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" at a session in February, this time on Warner Bros. Records' soundstage in Burbank, California. "It was very early in the morning," recalls drummer Jim Keltner. "I think the session was 10 a.m. and again it all fell into place...There weren't any overdubs on that, the singers were singing live, little pump organ, Roger McGuinn I think played [guitar]. This was for a particular scene in the movie when Slim Pickens is dying and that's the first time I ever cried while I played. It was the combination of the words, Bob's voice, the actual music itself, the changes, and seeing the screen...In those days you were on a big soundstage, and you had this massive screen that you can see on the wall, [with] the scene...running when you're playing. I cried through that whole take." -wikipedia
Friday, May 23, 2008
Gas $4.01/gal for Unleaded
Now sure how it is for you, but where I buy gas is now over $4 a gallon... sigh...
Sonoma Jazz Plus
5/24/08 UPDATE
Roy Rogers gives a sample of his guitar that he plays with Bonnie Raitt
source
Bonnie sings 'Something to Talk About'
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CLICK HERE to see highlights from 2007 Sonoma Jazz Plus
Roy Rogers gives a sample of his guitar that he plays with Bonnie Raitt
source
Bonnie sings 'Something to Talk About'
source
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source
CLICK HERE to see highlights from 2007 Sonoma Jazz Plus
Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty... OH! Never Mind...
This mountain lion was found just blocks from where I live... isn't that nice. Like I tell all unwanted critters - spiders, snakes, bugs and now, mountain lions... Go Home! What's that you say? This IS your home?? Oh dear...
Stacy Martinelli examines a tranquilized mountain lion that climbed a tree in a back yard in Agua Caliente Thursday afternoon.
Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune
Mountain lion invades Aqua Caliente backyard
Sonoma Index Tribune
source
A female mountain lion estimated to weigh 60 pounds found its way into the branches of a tree in the backyard of a home on Calle de Luna in Aqua Caliente Thursday afternoon. John Fall, the son of the homeowner, was gardening in his backyard and was alerted to the cat's presence by the barking of Zoe and Otis, a dachshund and German shepherd belonging to his backyard neighbor Katie Garcia.
Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies were called and kept watch on the treed cat until biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game arrived. They shot the lion with a tranquilizer dart and then extracted it from the tree. Exactly what will become of it was undisclosed.
DFG biologist Stacy Martinelli said it was a "typical teen ager problem." The 2-year-old cat, a teen in mountain lion years, was forced out of its parent's range to fend for itself, but made the wrong choice of a quiet residential neighborhood in which to roam.
It is not known for sure how the lion got into the tree, but the dynamic duo of Zoe and Otis will probably be given some of the credit.
--- end ---
From the Press Democrat:
A mountain lion that was discovered Thursday in the backyard of a Sonoma Valley home was shot with a tranquilizer gun and restrained by biologists from the California Fish and Game.
Mountain lion caught in Agua Caliente
60-pound female tranquilized while perched in redwood tree
By Laura Norton
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, May 23, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 23, 2008 at 5:54 a.m.
source
Sonoma County Sheriff's Department A mountain lion that was discovered Thursday in the backyard of a Sonoma Valley home was shot with a tranquilizer gun and restrained by biologists from the California Fish and Game.
A 60-pound female mountain lion was captured in the back yard of a Sonoma Valley home Thursday afternoon.
"It definitely surprised me. She had to go through several neighborhoods to get to where she was," neighbor Jim Haver said. "I'm just glad they got her out safe."
A resident of the 16000 block of Calle de la Luna in Agua Caliente called the sheriff's department just before 1 p.m. to report the mountain lion was lounging in the branches of a redwood tree, authorities said.
"She was very impressive," Sgt. Dave Pederson said. "She was beautiful. She put her head up and was looking at us, and I thought, 'I'm not sure what she's thinking, but I hope I can handle it.' "
Deputies formed a perimeter around the back yard, and asked neighbors to stay inside with their doors and windows closed.
They also diverted Sonoma Valley Unified school buses from the area.
Biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game got to the house just before 2 p.m. and shot the cat with a tranquilizer, Pedersen said.
"She came out of the tree gingerly," he said. "She was woozy, moving her feet and looking at us as she inched down."
Once the cat was on the ground, biologists put a leather blindfold and muzzle over her face, restrained her paws, and gathered her up in a hammock, Pedersen said.
The cat was safely placed in a wooden crate and taken out of the area, he said.
Fish and Game Lt. Steve Riske said the mountain lion was being monitored and evaluated by biologists out of the area and would likely be released in a wildlife preserve out of the county.
Neighbor Shelia Harmon was baby-sitting her two young grandchildren when the mountain lion was spotted and captured. She said it was the first time she had seen one and was surprised it came into a residential area.
"I hope she's OK," Harmon said. "It's too bad she was in the neighborhood."
You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220 or laura.norton@pressdemocrat.com.
Stacy Martinelli examines a tranquilized mountain lion that climbed a tree in a back yard in Agua Caliente Thursday afternoon.
Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune
Mountain lion invades Aqua Caliente backyard
Sonoma Index Tribune
source
A female mountain lion estimated to weigh 60 pounds found its way into the branches of a tree in the backyard of a home on Calle de Luna in Aqua Caliente Thursday afternoon. John Fall, the son of the homeowner, was gardening in his backyard and was alerted to the cat's presence by the barking of Zoe and Otis, a dachshund and German shepherd belonging to his backyard neighbor Katie Garcia.
Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies were called and kept watch on the treed cat until biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game arrived. They shot the lion with a tranquilizer dart and then extracted it from the tree. Exactly what will become of it was undisclosed.
DFG biologist Stacy Martinelli said it was a "typical teen ager problem." The 2-year-old cat, a teen in mountain lion years, was forced out of its parent's range to fend for itself, but made the wrong choice of a quiet residential neighborhood in which to roam.
It is not known for sure how the lion got into the tree, but the dynamic duo of Zoe and Otis will probably be given some of the credit.
--- end ---
From the Press Democrat:
A mountain lion that was discovered Thursday in the backyard of a Sonoma Valley home was shot with a tranquilizer gun and restrained by biologists from the California Fish and Game.
Mountain lion caught in Agua Caliente
60-pound female tranquilized while perched in redwood tree
By Laura Norton
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, May 23, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, May 23, 2008 at 5:54 a.m.
source
Sonoma County Sheriff's Department A mountain lion that was discovered Thursday in the backyard of a Sonoma Valley home was shot with a tranquilizer gun and restrained by biologists from the California Fish and Game.
A 60-pound female mountain lion was captured in the back yard of a Sonoma Valley home Thursday afternoon.
"It definitely surprised me. She had to go through several neighborhoods to get to where she was," neighbor Jim Haver said. "I'm just glad they got her out safe."
A resident of the 16000 block of Calle de la Luna in Agua Caliente called the sheriff's department just before 1 p.m. to report the mountain lion was lounging in the branches of a redwood tree, authorities said.
"She was very impressive," Sgt. Dave Pederson said. "She was beautiful. She put her head up and was looking at us, and I thought, 'I'm not sure what she's thinking, but I hope I can handle it.' "
Deputies formed a perimeter around the back yard, and asked neighbors to stay inside with their doors and windows closed.
They also diverted Sonoma Valley Unified school buses from the area.
Biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game got to the house just before 2 p.m. and shot the cat with a tranquilizer, Pedersen said.
"She came out of the tree gingerly," he said. "She was woozy, moving her feet and looking at us as she inched down."
Once the cat was on the ground, biologists put a leather blindfold and muzzle over her face, restrained her paws, and gathered her up in a hammock, Pedersen said.
The cat was safely placed in a wooden crate and taken out of the area, he said.
Fish and Game Lt. Steve Riske said the mountain lion was being monitored and evaluated by biologists out of the area and would likely be released in a wildlife preserve out of the county.
Neighbor Shelia Harmon was baby-sitting her two young grandchildren when the mountain lion was spotted and captured. She said it was the first time she had seen one and was surprised it came into a residential area.
"I hope she's OK," Harmon said. "It's too bad she was in the neighborhood."
You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220 or laura.norton@pressdemocrat.com.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Murder in Sonoma
This morning, I drove to Bonneau's to meet a co-worker who needed a ride to work after dropping her car off for repairs. Arriving early, around 7:30 am, I walked down Bonneau Street to take pictures of the hills as photography is a hobby and I always keep my camera with me. While standing alongside the road, a car pulled up behind me and the driver said, "Excuse me. I'm from the Press Democrat. Are those those binoculars? Do you see the police?"
Confused by his questions, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "No this is a camera. There is one police car in the parking lot there", as I pointed to Bonneau's gas station where a sheriff deputy was sitting in his car. But the driver, drove on down Bonneau Road away from the gas station.
I walked back to my truck to wait and while sitting there, another sheriff deputy arrived (photo below). The first deputy took what looked like a gun case out of his trunk and gave it to the other deputy who put it in his truck. After a brief chat, they went their separate ways.
Then tonight, as I read tragic and sad article below and looked on mapquest for the address (photo below), I realized, this was what the driver/reporter was referring to!
May the Lord bring comfort and healing to this hurting family I pray.
Here are my photos and then the article:
Grandson arrested in the murder of his grandfather
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
source
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 5:16 p.m.
Crime scene
MARK ARONOFF/The Press Democrat
Crime scene investigators go over a Bonneau Road home in Schellville where an elderly man was killed Tuesday night.
A 20-year-old Chico man was arrested Wednesday for the alleged murder of his grandfather, a longtime Sonoma-area man who died just hours shy of his 78th birthday.
Robert Ferris Deming was shot and killed at his Bonneau Road home near Schellville on Tuesday night in what may have been a bid for money, though investigators were still trying to pin down a motive Wednesday afternoon, sheriff’s Lt. Rob Giordano said.
Deming’s grandson, Sean Patrick Mooney, was arrested Wednesday morning, suspected of shooting his grandfather in the back of the head with a shotgun at close range in what Giordano called a pre-planned slaying.
He was booked and held without bail in Sonoma County Jail.
“It’s a terrible case, terrible case,” Giordano said. “Just sad.”
It was Mooney, whose parents have been living on the property, who first reported the shooting on the small family ranch near Arnold Drive and Highway 121 at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department said.
He told authorities he was in a camper shell in the driveway, where he was staying the night, and that two armed men pulled up in a car, ran inside and shot Deming, then drove off, Giordano said.
But parts of his story were not consistent with the evidence, and as investigators looked more closely at Mooney it appeared he was their suspect, Giordano said.
Detectives later recovered a shotgun from the residence, Giordano said.
Deming’s son, Dave Deming, said his father had lived on the property for 34 years. He lost his wife, Turley Deming, to cancer five years ago.
A neighbor, Nadya Clark, said Deming had recently been in ill health.
His daughter, a Chico resident, and her husband had been living with him to help care for him, she said. It apparently was their son, Mooney, who was arrested Wednesday, Giordano said.
Mooney’s parents had come to the scene shortly after the shooting was reported and cooperated with investigators, Giordano said.
Dave Deming said in the hours before the arrest that family members were completely bewildered and horrified.
“It’s a bad one,” Dave Deming said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Why would anyone want to kill Robert?” Clark asked Wednesday. “He was getting frail. It just seems so wanton.”
Another neighbor who lived in one of two rental homes neighboring Deming’s own yellow house said he was just “a nice old man.”
“He was a wonderful man,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “He was like a father to us.”
She and her husband said someone from the sheriff’s office knocked on their door late Tuesday, asking if they’d seen or heard anything, “and we hadn’t,” the woman said.
Clark described the small, rural lane through grassy fields and vineyards south of Sonoma as quiet and safe.
Only a handful of houses line Bonneau Road, all but a couple located on the south side facing a wide-open landscape to the north that includes the Schug Carneros Estate vineyards.
Departing from the junction of highways 121 and 116, the road heads toward grass-covered mountains and Merten’s Dairy.
The road was closed for much of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning while detectives collected evidence.
--- end ---
5/24/08 UPDATE
Sean Patrick Mooney and defense attorney Chris Andrian made their first court appearance Friday in the shooting death of Robert Ferris Deming, Mooney's grandfather
JEFF KAN LEE
Grandson enters no plea in shooting
Charged in shotgun slaying of grandfather in Schellville
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 9:51 a.m.
source
Sean Patrick Mooney, accused in the fatal shooting of his grandfather Tuesday night, signaled a thumbs-up to his parents and managed a hint of a sad smile as he made his first court appearance in the case Friday.
Shackled at the waist and clad in a navy blue jail suit, Mooney, 20, was charged Friday with suspicion of murder with four special allegations, including personal use of a shotgun, elder abuse and two enhancements, as well as receipt of a stolen shotgun.
He was being held without bail in the death of his grandfather, 77-year-old Robert Ferris Deming, who was shot at the Schellville house Deming had called home for the past 34 years.
"The family doesn't wish to make a statement at this time," his mother, identified by neighbors as Susan Mooney, said outside the courtroom.
"We're in a lot of pain. You can say that," she said.
Mooney's family is not unaccustomed to the trauma of violence.
His cousin, Christopher Ferris Deming, 28, was shot and killed during a botched robbery at a friend's home outside Novato eight years ago.
Chris Deming, a 1989 Sonoma Valley High School graduate, was the son of Dave Deming, who runs a demolition company out of his home across the highway from where his father was shot dead Tuesday.
Mooney's family was attempting Friday to hire defense lawyer Chris Andrian to represent Mooney, who was charged in the case but delayed entering a plea until Thursday.
Andrian appeared with him Friday but said he had not decided whether to take the case.
He said he hadn't talked to Mooney at any length and didn't know much about the case, having just been called by family members the night before.
Neighbors of Robert Deming along Bonneau Road in Schellville, south of Sonoma, said his daughter and her husband, Patrick Mooney, live in Chico but had been staying with Deming when he was ill recently.
Sean Mooney, also of Chico, was the only one home Tuesday night, when Deming, hours away from his 78th birthday, was shot in the back of the head at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun as he sat in a chair watching TV, authorities said.
Mooney called for help at 9:21 p.m., saying his grandfather had just been shot, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department said.
He told investigators he was in a camper in the driveway when two armed men drove up to the yellow house, ran into the house, shot Deming, then drove away.
But portions of his story didn't jibe with the evidence, and investigators were soon eyeing Mooney as a suspect, authorities said.
Detectives also recovered the shotgun from the scene, one official said.
Sheriff's Lt. Rob Giordano, who oversees investigations for the department, later said Mooney had planned out the shooting and had recently acquired a stolen shotgun for the job.
Giordano said Mooney acquired the gun in the Chico area, though precisely when was not immediately clear.
He also said Friday the motive appeared to have something to do with money.
You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com.
August 4, 2009 UPDATE
Thu 7/30/09 6 PM
Jury: Mooney guilty of killing his grandfather
By Bill Hoban
INDEX-TRIBUNE MANAGING EDITOR
source
A Sonoma County jury deliberated between five and six hours Friday before finding Sean Patrick Mooney guilty of first degree murder in the Sonoma shooting of his grandfather, Robert Deming, in May 2008.
The jury found Mooney, 21, guilty of first degree murder with enhancements for the use of a gun and murder for financial gain, which means, by statute, Mooney will receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Mooney will be sentenced on Aug. 21. He was also convicted on charges of abuse of an elder and receiving stolen property. Traci Carrillo, lead prosecutor, in the case for the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, said that after the killing, Mooney told two different stories, one to the police and another to his mother.
The night of the killing, Mooney told sheriff's deputies that he was outside the house in a camper when he heard a car drive up, two men get out and go into the house. He told the deputies that he heard a gun blast and then saw the two men running out of the house, get back into their car and leave the Bonneau Road residence.
Later, he told his mother that the shooting was an accident. Carrillo said that Mooney told his mother that his grandfather handed him the gun and told him there was a lot of life insurance money. Mooney said he was walking out of the room when he saw his grandfather reach for something so, with the shotgun in hand and his finger on the trigger, Mooney jumped over a bed and said the gun went off accidentally when he was two-to-four-feet behind his grandfather.
"The evidence didn't bear this out," Carrillo said. She said the shotgun was two-to-four-inches from Deming's head when he was shot. "He (Deming) was sitting upright in the chair with his hands resting in his lap," Carrillo said.
Carrillo said that Mooney was broke, had no job, was living rent-free in a home in Chico that his parents owned and, three days before the shooting, he found out his girlfriend was pregnant.
"About a month before (the shooting) he (Mooney) had a garage sale at his house in Chico," Carrillo said. She said he was selling fixtures from off the wall and even sold a piano.
"But he went through the money quickly," she added. "He told his parents he was going to go away to make a new start, but he spent all the money."
Carrillo said that before driving to Sonoma the morning of the shooting, Mooney sent his girlfriend into the store to buy shotgun shells while he sat in the car.
Carrillo said a witness who had been helping Deming do some sandblasting on the farm, left the farm at about 8:45 that evening.
The prosecutor said that Deming died sometime between 8:45 and 9:16 p.m. when Mooney called 9-1-1.
Mooney told deputies that night that he was in a camper when he heard a car drive up and later heard a shot.
Carrillo said that after shooting his grandfather, Mooney ran across the property some distance from the house before ejecting the spent shell casing. She said Mooney, after wiping down the shotgun, hid it and the shells on a trailer on the property. The shotgun had been stolen in Chico in 2007, and Mooney said he bought it from "some guy."
Mooney didn't testify during the trial.
Carrillo said that because of the enhancements, Mooney faces a mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole - and she said the sentence is by statute.
"We could have asked for the death penalty," she said.
COMMENTS
eratono@gmail.com wrote on Jul 28, 2009 2:22 AM:
" This is all rather unfortunate...I don;t agree with the sentence. This young man may be flawed. There must be a better answer as to how he should spend the rest of his life... "
commonsense1987@gmail.com wrote on Jul 28, 2009 9:23 AM:
" "eratono" - What do you suggest then? I have an idea; why not bring back chain gangs? Put this guy on it and have him work off his debt to society for the rest of his life. This punk killed someone, his grandfather no less. Regardless of where you are brought up or what kind of homelife you have, it's always taught that killing someone is not okay. He wanted somewhere to live, and now he's got it, at our expense of course. "
tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Jul 28, 2009 9:10 PM:
" eratono. Obviously there is someting wrong with the young man, what's wrong is that he is so callous about other people's lives he can't be allowed out into society. And on a personal note, I knew Bob Deming quite well and he was a decent ,hard working , honest man. Sean planned a murder, his grandfather, who had been nothing but kind to him. So make a suggestion about a "better answer". "
worth@vom.com wrote on Jul 29, 2009 5:54 AM:
" He is not a child. He is a man. A man who made a criminal choice. And he must have a consequence that brings justice to his grandfather's murder.
I can only imagine the pain of being Sean's parent. And the unearned guilt I would surely have as a parent who raised a child to be a man to make such a horrible, criminal choice.
I too have seen the suffering that murder brings to a family. Personally, I'm an eye for an eye kind of guy. "
tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Jul 29, 2009 12:57 PM:
" Pretty much with you here Worth, you old wingnut. "
ddecker57@yahoo.com wrote on Jul 30, 2009 4:21 PM:
" This man killed his grandfather in COLD BLOOD he should get life without parole. "
Confused by his questions, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "No this is a camera. There is one police car in the parking lot there", as I pointed to Bonneau's gas station where a sheriff deputy was sitting in his car. But the driver, drove on down Bonneau Road away from the gas station.
I walked back to my truck to wait and while sitting there, another sheriff deputy arrived (photo below). The first deputy took what looked like a gun case out of his trunk and gave it to the other deputy who put it in his truck. After a brief chat, they went their separate ways.
Then tonight, as I read tragic and sad article below and looked on mapquest for the address (photo below), I realized, this was what the driver/reporter was referring to!
May the Lord bring comfort and healing to this hurting family I pray.
Here are my photos and then the article:
Grandson arrested in the murder of his grandfather
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
source
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 5:16 p.m.
Crime scene
MARK ARONOFF/The Press Democrat
Crime scene investigators go over a Bonneau Road home in Schellville where an elderly man was killed Tuesday night.
A 20-year-old Chico man was arrested Wednesday for the alleged murder of his grandfather, a longtime Sonoma-area man who died just hours shy of his 78th birthday.
Robert Ferris Deming was shot and killed at his Bonneau Road home near Schellville on Tuesday night in what may have been a bid for money, though investigators were still trying to pin down a motive Wednesday afternoon, sheriff’s Lt. Rob Giordano said.
Deming’s grandson, Sean Patrick Mooney, was arrested Wednesday morning, suspected of shooting his grandfather in the back of the head with a shotgun at close range in what Giordano called a pre-planned slaying.
He was booked and held without bail in Sonoma County Jail.
“It’s a terrible case, terrible case,” Giordano said. “Just sad.”
It was Mooney, whose parents have been living on the property, who first reported the shooting on the small family ranch near Arnold Drive and Highway 121 at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Department said.
He told authorities he was in a camper shell in the driveway, where he was staying the night, and that two armed men pulled up in a car, ran inside and shot Deming, then drove off, Giordano said.
But parts of his story were not consistent with the evidence, and as investigators looked more closely at Mooney it appeared he was their suspect, Giordano said.
Detectives later recovered a shotgun from the residence, Giordano said.
Deming’s son, Dave Deming, said his father had lived on the property for 34 years. He lost his wife, Turley Deming, to cancer five years ago.
A neighbor, Nadya Clark, said Deming had recently been in ill health.
His daughter, a Chico resident, and her husband had been living with him to help care for him, she said. It apparently was their son, Mooney, who was arrested Wednesday, Giordano said.
Mooney’s parents had come to the scene shortly after the shooting was reported and cooperated with investigators, Giordano said.
Dave Deming said in the hours before the arrest that family members were completely bewildered and horrified.
“It’s a bad one,” Dave Deming said. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Why would anyone want to kill Robert?” Clark asked Wednesday. “He was getting frail. It just seems so wanton.”
Another neighbor who lived in one of two rental homes neighboring Deming’s own yellow house said he was just “a nice old man.”
“He was a wonderful man,” said the woman, who declined to give her name. “He was like a father to us.”
She and her husband said someone from the sheriff’s office knocked on their door late Tuesday, asking if they’d seen or heard anything, “and we hadn’t,” the woman said.
Clark described the small, rural lane through grassy fields and vineyards south of Sonoma as quiet and safe.
Only a handful of houses line Bonneau Road, all but a couple located on the south side facing a wide-open landscape to the north that includes the Schug Carneros Estate vineyards.
Departing from the junction of highways 121 and 116, the road heads toward grass-covered mountains and Merten’s Dairy.
The road was closed for much of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning while detectives collected evidence.
--- end ---
5/24/08 UPDATE
Sean Patrick Mooney and defense attorney Chris Andrian made their first court appearance Friday in the shooting death of Robert Ferris Deming, Mooney's grandfather
JEFF KAN LEE
Charged in shotgun slaying of grandfather in Schellville
By MARY CALLAHAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, May 24, 2008 at 9:51 a.m.
source
Sean Patrick Mooney, accused in the fatal shooting of his grandfather Tuesday night, signaled a thumbs-up to his parents and managed a hint of a sad smile as he made his first court appearance in the case Friday.
Shackled at the waist and clad in a navy blue jail suit, Mooney, 20, was charged Friday with suspicion of murder with four special allegations, including personal use of a shotgun, elder abuse and two enhancements, as well as receipt of a stolen shotgun.
He was being held without bail in the death of his grandfather, 77-year-old Robert Ferris Deming, who was shot at the Schellville house Deming had called home for the past 34 years.
"The family doesn't wish to make a statement at this time," his mother, identified by neighbors as Susan Mooney, said outside the courtroom.
"We're in a lot of pain. You can say that," she said.
Mooney's family is not unaccustomed to the trauma of violence.
His cousin, Christopher Ferris Deming, 28, was shot and killed during a botched robbery at a friend's home outside Novato eight years ago.
Chris Deming, a 1989 Sonoma Valley High School graduate, was the son of Dave Deming, who runs a demolition company out of his home across the highway from where his father was shot dead Tuesday.
Mooney's family was attempting Friday to hire defense lawyer Chris Andrian to represent Mooney, who was charged in the case but delayed entering a plea until Thursday.
Andrian appeared with him Friday but said he had not decided whether to take the case.
He said he hadn't talked to Mooney at any length and didn't know much about the case, having just been called by family members the night before.
Neighbors of Robert Deming along Bonneau Road in Schellville, south of Sonoma, said his daughter and her husband, Patrick Mooney, live in Chico but had been staying with Deming when he was ill recently.
Sean Mooney, also of Chico, was the only one home Tuesday night, when Deming, hours away from his 78th birthday, was shot in the back of the head at close range with a 12-gauge shotgun as he sat in a chair watching TV, authorities said.
Mooney called for help at 9:21 p.m., saying his grandfather had just been shot, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department said.
He told investigators he was in a camper in the driveway when two armed men drove up to the yellow house, ran into the house, shot Deming, then drove away.
But portions of his story didn't jibe with the evidence, and investigators were soon eyeing Mooney as a suspect, authorities said.
Detectives also recovered the shotgun from the scene, one official said.
Sheriff's Lt. Rob Giordano, who oversees investigations for the department, later said Mooney had planned out the shooting and had recently acquired a stolen shotgun for the job.
Giordano said Mooney acquired the gun in the Chico area, though precisely when was not immediately clear.
He also said Friday the motive appeared to have something to do with money.
You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com.
August 4, 2009 UPDATE
Thu 7/30/09 6 PM
Jury: Mooney guilty of killing his grandfather
By Bill Hoban
INDEX-TRIBUNE MANAGING EDITOR
source
A Sonoma County jury deliberated between five and six hours Friday before finding Sean Patrick Mooney guilty of first degree murder in the Sonoma shooting of his grandfather, Robert Deming, in May 2008.
The jury found Mooney, 21, guilty of first degree murder with enhancements for the use of a gun and murder for financial gain, which means, by statute, Mooney will receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Mooney will be sentenced on Aug. 21. He was also convicted on charges of abuse of an elder and receiving stolen property. Traci Carrillo, lead prosecutor, in the case for the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office, said that after the killing, Mooney told two different stories, one to the police and another to his mother.
The night of the killing, Mooney told sheriff's deputies that he was outside the house in a camper when he heard a car drive up, two men get out and go into the house. He told the deputies that he heard a gun blast and then saw the two men running out of the house, get back into their car and leave the Bonneau Road residence.
Later, he told his mother that the shooting was an accident. Carrillo said that Mooney told his mother that his grandfather handed him the gun and told him there was a lot of life insurance money. Mooney said he was walking out of the room when he saw his grandfather reach for something so, with the shotgun in hand and his finger on the trigger, Mooney jumped over a bed and said the gun went off accidentally when he was two-to-four-feet behind his grandfather.
"The evidence didn't bear this out," Carrillo said. She said the shotgun was two-to-four-inches from Deming's head when he was shot. "He (Deming) was sitting upright in the chair with his hands resting in his lap," Carrillo said.
Carrillo said that Mooney was broke, had no job, was living rent-free in a home in Chico that his parents owned and, three days before the shooting, he found out his girlfriend was pregnant.
"About a month before (the shooting) he (Mooney) had a garage sale at his house in Chico," Carrillo said. She said he was selling fixtures from off the wall and even sold a piano.
"But he went through the money quickly," she added. "He told his parents he was going to go away to make a new start, but he spent all the money."
Carrillo said that before driving to Sonoma the morning of the shooting, Mooney sent his girlfriend into the store to buy shotgun shells while he sat in the car.
Carrillo said a witness who had been helping Deming do some sandblasting on the farm, left the farm at about 8:45 that evening.
The prosecutor said that Deming died sometime between 8:45 and 9:16 p.m. when Mooney called 9-1-1.
Mooney told deputies that night that he was in a camper when he heard a car drive up and later heard a shot.
Carrillo said that after shooting his grandfather, Mooney ran across the property some distance from the house before ejecting the spent shell casing. She said Mooney, after wiping down the shotgun, hid it and the shells on a trailer on the property. The shotgun had been stolen in Chico in 2007, and Mooney said he bought it from "some guy."
Mooney didn't testify during the trial.
Carrillo said that because of the enhancements, Mooney faces a mandatory life in prison without the possibility of parole - and she said the sentence is by statute.
"We could have asked for the death penalty," she said.
COMMENTS
eratono@gmail.com wrote on Jul 28, 2009 2:22 AM:
" This is all rather unfortunate...I don;t agree with the sentence. This young man may be flawed. There must be a better answer as to how he should spend the rest of his life... "
commonsense1987@gmail.com wrote on Jul 28, 2009 9:23 AM:
" "eratono" - What do you suggest then? I have an idea; why not bring back chain gangs? Put this guy on it and have him work off his debt to society for the rest of his life. This punk killed someone, his grandfather no less. Regardless of where you are brought up or what kind of homelife you have, it's always taught that killing someone is not okay. He wanted somewhere to live, and now he's got it, at our expense of course. "
tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Jul 28, 2009 9:10 PM:
" eratono. Obviously there is someting wrong with the young man, what's wrong is that he is so callous about other people's lives he can't be allowed out into society. And on a personal note, I knew Bob Deming quite well and he was a decent ,hard working , honest man. Sean planned a murder, his grandfather, who had been nothing but kind to him. So make a suggestion about a "better answer". "
worth@vom.com wrote on Jul 29, 2009 5:54 AM:
" He is not a child. He is a man. A man who made a criminal choice. And he must have a consequence that brings justice to his grandfather's murder.
I can only imagine the pain of being Sean's parent. And the unearned guilt I would surely have as a parent who raised a child to be a man to make such a horrible, criminal choice.
I too have seen the suffering that murder brings to a family. Personally, I'm an eye for an eye kind of guy. "
tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Jul 29, 2009 12:57 PM:
" Pretty much with you here Worth, you old wingnut. "
ddecker57@yahoo.com wrote on Jul 30, 2009 4:21 PM:
" This man killed his grandfather in COLD BLOOD he should get life without parole. "
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Rip City Riders Made a Quick Stop in Sonoma Today
Dawn takes her pup, Peanut, whenever she rides her motorcycle!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
NO SPRAY SONOMA
Sonoma council puts up 'no-spray' sign
Resolution asks state to focus on least-toxic control methods for moth
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
May 08, 2008
source
Video Fighting the apple moth
Sonoma City Council members voted 4-1 Wednesday to pass a resolution opposing aerial spraying to eradicate the light brown apple moth.
But as sole opponent Councilman August Sebastiani noted, the measure was largely symbolic because state officials have postponed any aerial spraying until at least Aug. 17, when further testing of human health effects is completed.
The resolution introduced by Councilman Ken Brown supports a moratorium on spray programs until independent studies of potential heath effects are done.
The measure also asks the state to focus on the least toxic control methods available and to further investigate the moth's impact.
Wednesday's discussion hinged largely on the issue of spraying a synthetic pheromone that doesn't kill the insects but confuses the males so they can't find females to mate with.
However, that's not the method state agriculture officials propose for treating Sonoma Valley's 15-square-mile quarantine zone.
State Department of Food and Agriculture officials have suggested applying pheromone-infused twist ties to trees and fences in a 200-meter area around the two sites where single moths were discovered over the past four months.
Still, all 13 speakers urged the council to pass the resolution against spraying.
"I'm absolutely convinced the chemical is toxic and dangerous," said Petaluma resident Helen Grieco of the National Organization for Women's local environmental justice committee. "We're not convinced the moth is this big a threat."
Bill Willers of Sonoma said it was "absurd to consider allowing ourselves to be put under the siege of aerial spraying."
Others, including Mayor Joanne Sanders, compared the pheromone spray to the use of malathion or DDT.
"It marked me for my whole life," she said, remembering malathion spraying from her youth near San Jose.
After the quarantine zone was declared Monday, officials said a public meeting would be scheduled before the twist ties would be applied.
In other counties, officials have sprayed infested areas with the pheromone after declaring the situation urgent.
California officials insist the chemical is safe. But spraying opponents say the state has not adequately investigated health complaints from Central Coast communities where the spray was applied last fall.
Opponents also say the potential risk to crops and other vegetation is overblown and the moth can be controlled by natural predators or traps.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Sonoma Quarantined
To see the quarantine boundaries, click map to enlarge
Sonoma hit with apple moth quarantine
By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
5/5/08
source
A 15-square mile area, including hundreds of Sonoma Valley homes and 2,500 surrounding acres of wine grapes, has come under state quarantine in an effort to eradicate the light brown apple moth from Sonoma County.
State agricultural officials Monday announced the boundaries of the quarantine area, which takes in parts of western Sonoma, El Verano, Boyes Hot Springs and Agua Caliente. The action follows the finding of a second apple moth last month in an area between Verano Avenue and Agua Caliente Road.
The quarantine means that grape growers, nurseries and other plant-related businesses in the quarantine area are subject to what state officials call “extensive inspection” and, in some cases, treatment if their properties are found to be infested.
Also, the state forbids residents from taking home-grown fruit, vegetables, plants, flowers outside of the quarantine area.
“We recognize it’s a challenge and a sacrifice,” said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
But he said the apple moth can feed on 2,000 different types of plants, including “most if not everything people have in their yards.”
The moth, a native of Australia, was first detected in California in February 2007 and since has been detected in most of the Bay Area. The state and federal governments have undertaken a $75 million eradication plan that relies largely on aerial spraying of a synthetic pheromone designed to disrupt the moth’s mating cycle.
However, in Sonoma County the state likely will first place pheromone-scented twist ties in the quarantine area. Before that happens, Lyle said affected residents will receive a written notification and invitation to a public meeting to learn more about the eradication efforts.
A map of the quarantine boundaries can be seen at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/lbam/pdfs/maps/quarantine/LBAM_QUAR_SONOMA_CO_2008.pdf.
--- end ---
Plans for pesticides halted
Golden Gate Press
by Saira Masood, staff producer
May 5, 2008 12:45 PM
source
The State of California decided to halt the LBAM pesticide spraying in Santa Cruz and delay the spraying scheduled for this summer.
Officials are postponing the spraying until they have gathered more evidence about the affects of the chemicals.
Residents were able to express to the California Department of Food and Agriculture their stance on the pesticides at a meeting held last February in Oakland.
Maxine Ventura said she has been battling with pesticides since her children were born. She raised her family in Sonoma Valley, a place heavily polluted with pesticide spraying. At the age of three, her youngest daughter was covered in lesions and her eyes filled with puss from the fumes.
“Conventional agriculture has ruined our state,” said Ventura, a member of the East Bay Pesticide Alert.
“My children and I now have multiple chemical sensitivity from living on the vineyards, and we can’t let this happen to other people,” she said.
Multiple chemical sensitivity is a severe allergy to unnatural pollutants.
“The State Department should have no free pass to go on with this spray that will affect thousands of people,” said Eleanor Loined, a resident of Richmond.
The council was listening to the public to put an environmental impact report together.
The CDFA believed that if action was not taken immediately the moths could ruin crops in Northern California. If the LBAM overpopulates, then it could endanger over 250 plants.
LBAM is native to Hawaii and Australia, was found in March of 2007 by a retired entomologist from Berkeley, according to the CDFA. Since the discovery of the LBAM the state has already sprayed pesticides in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties in June through September of 2007.
The CDFA wants to use checkmate, a pesticide that has been tested on plants and animals, but not humans. It does not kill the moth, but instead disrupts the mating cycle. The male becomes confused and cannot locate the female moth.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said that LBAM is considered a bio-control agent for serious invasive species. A bio-control agent is a plant or animal that naturally prevents another species from overpopulating through competition for food or shelter, or by feeding on them.
“I would rather live with the apple moth than have pesticides sprayed on me,” said Amy Coulter, a resident living in the Bay Area.
“What I see in a perfect fruit is that a pesticide hasn’t been sprayed on it,” she added.
Scientist studying LBAM think that the moth was introduced to California by commercial flights to and from Australia and Hawaii. To help reduce the population of moths, the USDA is proposing stringent regulation of imports from these two countries.
The panel revealed to the audience that although the environmental impact report is going to reflect the public’s opinions on the spray, the report is due to come out after the spraying resumes.
“Why are you asking for comments if the decision's already been made?” said Lorraine Smith, a teacher living in the Bay Area.
Although the impact report did not come out in time to directly affect the state's decision, the government still decided to delay the spraying.
E-mail Saira Masood at smasood@sfsu.edu
Sonoma hit with apple moth quarantine
By ROBERT DIGITALE
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
5/5/08
source
A 15-square mile area, including hundreds of Sonoma Valley homes and 2,500 surrounding acres of wine grapes, has come under state quarantine in an effort to eradicate the light brown apple moth from Sonoma County.
State agricultural officials Monday announced the boundaries of the quarantine area, which takes in parts of western Sonoma, El Verano, Boyes Hot Springs and Agua Caliente. The action follows the finding of a second apple moth last month in an area between Verano Avenue and Agua Caliente Road.
The quarantine means that grape growers, nurseries and other plant-related businesses in the quarantine area are subject to what state officials call “extensive inspection” and, in some cases, treatment if their properties are found to be infested.
Also, the state forbids residents from taking home-grown fruit, vegetables, plants, flowers outside of the quarantine area.
“We recognize it’s a challenge and a sacrifice,” said Steve Lyle, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
But he said the apple moth can feed on 2,000 different types of plants, including “most if not everything people have in their yards.”
The moth, a native of Australia, was first detected in California in February 2007 and since has been detected in most of the Bay Area. The state and federal governments have undertaken a $75 million eradication plan that relies largely on aerial spraying of a synthetic pheromone designed to disrupt the moth’s mating cycle.
However, in Sonoma County the state likely will first place pheromone-scented twist ties in the quarantine area. Before that happens, Lyle said affected residents will receive a written notification and invitation to a public meeting to learn more about the eradication efforts.
A map of the quarantine boundaries can be seen at: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pdep/lbam/pdfs/maps/quarantine/LBAM_QUAR_SONOMA_CO_2008.pdf.
--- end ---
Plans for pesticides halted
Golden Gate Press
by Saira Masood, staff producer
May 5, 2008 12:45 PM
source
The State of California decided to halt the LBAM pesticide spraying in Santa Cruz and delay the spraying scheduled for this summer.
Officials are postponing the spraying until they have gathered more evidence about the affects of the chemicals.
Residents were able to express to the California Department of Food and Agriculture their stance on the pesticides at a meeting held last February in Oakland.
Maxine Ventura said she has been battling with pesticides since her children were born. She raised her family in Sonoma Valley, a place heavily polluted with pesticide spraying. At the age of three, her youngest daughter was covered in lesions and her eyes filled with puss from the fumes.
“Conventional agriculture has ruined our state,” said Ventura, a member of the East Bay Pesticide Alert.
“My children and I now have multiple chemical sensitivity from living on the vineyards, and we can’t let this happen to other people,” she said.
Multiple chemical sensitivity is a severe allergy to unnatural pollutants.
“The State Department should have no free pass to go on with this spray that will affect thousands of people,” said Eleanor Loined, a resident of Richmond.
The council was listening to the public to put an environmental impact report together.
The CDFA believed that if action was not taken immediately the moths could ruin crops in Northern California. If the LBAM overpopulates, then it could endanger over 250 plants.
LBAM is native to Hawaii and Australia, was found in March of 2007 by a retired entomologist from Berkeley, according to the CDFA. Since the discovery of the LBAM the state has already sprayed pesticides in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties in June through September of 2007.
The CDFA wants to use checkmate, a pesticide that has been tested on plants and animals, but not humans. It does not kill the moth, but instead disrupts the mating cycle. The male becomes confused and cannot locate the female moth.
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture said that LBAM is considered a bio-control agent for serious invasive species. A bio-control agent is a plant or animal that naturally prevents another species from overpopulating through competition for food or shelter, or by feeding on them.
“I would rather live with the apple moth than have pesticides sprayed on me,” said Amy Coulter, a resident living in the Bay Area.
“What I see in a perfect fruit is that a pesticide hasn’t been sprayed on it,” she added.
Scientist studying LBAM think that the moth was introduced to California by commercial flights to and from Australia and Hawaii. To help reduce the population of moths, the USDA is proposing stringent regulation of imports from these two countries.
The panel revealed to the audience that although the environmental impact report is going to reflect the public’s opinions on the spray, the report is due to come out after the spraying resumes.
“Why are you asking for comments if the decision's already been made?” said Lorraine Smith, a teacher living in the Bay Area.
Although the impact report did not come out in time to directly affect the state's decision, the government still decided to delay the spraying.
E-mail Saira Masood at smasood@sfsu.edu
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Aerial Spray of Apple Moth to be Discussed
The Sonoma City Council will meet this Wednesday, May 7th at 177 1st St.West at 6:00 pm, to discuss and consider a "Resolution Opposing the California Department of Food and Agriculture Aerial Spray Program to Eradicate the Light Brown Apple Moth." (mtg agenda)
Concerned citizens can attend and/or write a letter to the City Council and either drop it off at the meeting or send it to the City Clerk, Gay Rainbarger at: gayr@sonomacity.org who will pass it along to the Council members.
For more info on the aerial spraying planned to occur in August in the Bay Area (Sonoma is not yet on the list, but moths have been found here), recent spraying in Santa Cruz and Monterey, as well the alternative solutions to the spray, please go to: http://www.stopthespraymarin.org/lbam.html
Sonoma mothers, teachers as well as some children will be speaking along with a retired Mayor from Marin who will speak on behalf of the spraying issue.
"My child nearly died from the first round of spraying. He now has asthma from exposure to this chemical cocktail. As a proud member of our Armed Forces, I can honestly say that this is not what I fight for." Tim Wilcox, Major in the US Air Force, Monterey, Ca. He has evacuated his wife and 11 month baby from Monterey. They now live in Napa. Listen to Tim:
source
Dentist Shoots Wife In Self Defense, So We Are Told
How 'convenient for us' that the police and news media have decided the dentist is innocent and the wife is guilty.
Dentist shoots wife in self-defense, police say
A Lake County dentist acted in self-defense this weekend when he shot and critically wounded his estranged wife, who was coming at him with a pickax, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA
5-4-08
source
Chief Deputy Sheriff James Bauman said Dr. Don Johnson, who operates Willow Tree Dental in Lakeport, does not face charges following the shooting of his wife, Margaret Johnson, during an incident at his Kelseyville home late Friday. He said Margaret Johnson was wounded by a single gunshot to her neck and was in stable, but critical, condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Bauman said Margaret Johnson was served with a restraining order Friday afternoon, a court order he said Don Johnson had sought "as a result of ongoing troubles with their relationship." He said Johnson's wife had left their Kelseyville home as a result of that order.
However, about 9:40 p.m. Friday, deputies responded to the home, where they found Margaret Johnson lying wounded on the floor.
Don Johnson told investigators that after he had gone to bed, he heard a woman screaming outside the home. He said he reached for a handgun and was calling the Sheriff's Department when he heard the sound of glass breaking at the rear of the house. He said that when investigating the sounds, he saw his wife entering the house armed with a pickax.
He told investigators he fired one shot, she fell to the floor and he returned to the telephone to complete his call to deputies.
"Based on evidence that Dr. Johnson acted in defense of his own life, he was not taken into custody," Bauman said. "Criminal charges against Margaret Johnson are pending further investigation of this
incident."
-- Bleys W. Rose
--- end ---
Man shoots estranged wife in self-defense
Lake County News
Written by Elizabeth Larson
Saturday, 03 May 2008
source
KELSEYVILLE – A woman was hospitalized Friday night after authorities say her estranged husband shot her in self-defense as she was breaking into their home carrying a pick ax.
Margaret Johnson, 56, is reported to be in stable but critical condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Saturday.
Bauman said sheriff's deputies and the Kelseyville Fire District responded to the report of a shooting at the home of 75-year-old Dr. Don Johnson on Highway 29 at about 9:40 p.m. Friday night.
Arriving on scene, the deputies and emergency personnel found Margaret Johnson had been wounded by a single gunshot to the neck, according to Bauman. She was transported from the scene by ambulance and later flown to Santa Rosa for medical treatment.
On Friday afternoon, Margaret Johnson had reportedly been served with a restraining order by her husband, which he told deputies was the result of their ongoing marital troubles, Bauman reported.
The restraining order, Bauman added, had required that Margaret Johnson vacate the residence Friday.
Don Johnson – a dentist with a Lakeport practice – told deputies that he had already gone to bed for the night when, at some point after 9 p.m., a woman screaming outside of the house awakened him, said Bauman.
Bauman said Johnson told officials he took his handgun – which he kept near the bed – and began placing a call to the sheriff's office when he heard the sound of glass breaking near the back door.
Johnson then dropped the phone, according to Bauman's report, and went to the back of the house, where he saw his wife allegedly entering the house carrying a pick ax.
He then fired one shot, striking Margaret Johnson in the neck. Bauman said she fell to the floor into the broken glass from forced entry, and Don Johnson ran back to call 911.
Bauman said sheriff's detectives were called to the scene to assist in conducting a preliminary investigation.
Based on the evidence at the scene, which pointed to Don Johnson acting in defense of his life, deputies did not take him into custody, said Bauman.
Margaret Johnson, however, could face criminal charges, which are pending based on the investigation's outcome, Bauman reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Dentist shoots wife in self-defense, police say
A Lake County dentist acted in self-defense this weekend when he shot and critically wounded his estranged wife, who was coming at him with a pickax, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA
5-4-08
source
Chief Deputy Sheriff James Bauman said Dr. Don Johnson, who operates Willow Tree Dental in Lakeport, does not face charges following the shooting of his wife, Margaret Johnson, during an incident at his Kelseyville home late Friday. He said Margaret Johnson was wounded by a single gunshot to her neck and was in stable, but critical, condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Bauman said Margaret Johnson was served with a restraining order Friday afternoon, a court order he said Don Johnson had sought "as a result of ongoing troubles with their relationship." He said Johnson's wife had left their Kelseyville home as a result of that order.
However, about 9:40 p.m. Friday, deputies responded to the home, where they found Margaret Johnson lying wounded on the floor.
Don Johnson told investigators that after he had gone to bed, he heard a woman screaming outside the home. He said he reached for a handgun and was calling the Sheriff's Department when he heard the sound of glass breaking at the rear of the house. He said that when investigating the sounds, he saw his wife entering the house armed with a pickax.
He told investigators he fired one shot, she fell to the floor and he returned to the telephone to complete his call to deputies.
"Based on evidence that Dr. Johnson acted in defense of his own life, he was not taken into custody," Bauman said. "Criminal charges against Margaret Johnson are pending further investigation of this
incident."
-- Bleys W. Rose
--- end ---
Man shoots estranged wife in self-defense
Lake County News
Written by Elizabeth Larson
Saturday, 03 May 2008
source
KELSEYVILLE – A woman was hospitalized Friday night after authorities say her estranged husband shot her in self-defense as she was breaking into their home carrying a pick ax.
Margaret Johnson, 56, is reported to be in stable but critical condition at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported Saturday.
Bauman said sheriff's deputies and the Kelseyville Fire District responded to the report of a shooting at the home of 75-year-old Dr. Don Johnson on Highway 29 at about 9:40 p.m. Friday night.
Arriving on scene, the deputies and emergency personnel found Margaret Johnson had been wounded by a single gunshot to the neck, according to Bauman. She was transported from the scene by ambulance and later flown to Santa Rosa for medical treatment.
On Friday afternoon, Margaret Johnson had reportedly been served with a restraining order by her husband, which he told deputies was the result of their ongoing marital troubles, Bauman reported.
The restraining order, Bauman added, had required that Margaret Johnson vacate the residence Friday.
Don Johnson – a dentist with a Lakeport practice – told deputies that he had already gone to bed for the night when, at some point after 9 p.m., a woman screaming outside of the house awakened him, said Bauman.
Bauman said Johnson told officials he took his handgun – which he kept near the bed – and began placing a call to the sheriff's office when he heard the sound of glass breaking near the back door.
Johnson then dropped the phone, according to Bauman's report, and went to the back of the house, where he saw his wife allegedly entering the house carrying a pick ax.
He then fired one shot, striking Margaret Johnson in the neck. Bauman said she fell to the floor into the broken glass from forced entry, and Don Johnson ran back to call 911.
Bauman said sheriff's detectives were called to the scene to assist in conducting a preliminary investigation.
Based on the evidence at the scene, which pointed to Don Johnson acting in defense of his life, deputies did not take him into custody, said Bauman.
Margaret Johnson, however, could face criminal charges, which are pending based on the investigation's outcome, Bauman reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at elarson@lakeconews.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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About Me
- Cathy Palmer
- Over the years my opinions have changed but this will never change: Jesus Christ, Lord, God and Savior, died on the cross and rose from the dead to pay for my sin.
