Opinion ID: 2639471
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Defendant's August 12, 1984 Encounter with Police

Text: On August 12, 1984, Officer Dannaker located defendant asleep in his car. He observed a gun handle protruding from under the driver's seat and recovered from the vehicle a fully loaded .357-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, a small, fully loaded Ruger 10/22 rifle, and a .380-caliber Armi Tanfoglio semiautomatic pistol and matching ammunition. Handcuffs were also located in the rear floorboard area. A knife and scabbard were found in the trunk. That same day, Placerville Police Sergeant William Scholtz took a tape-recorded statement from defendant. The tape was transcribed and most parts were read verbatim to the jury. Sergeant Scholtz told defendant he wanted to talk about the disappearance of Darlene's roommate. Defendant stated: I knew her. She used to live with Darlene. Her name was Debbie. I don't know her last name. Defendant was asked when he last saw Debbie. He replied: Well, when I went to pick up Darlene the other dayI don't remember what day it was. If you ask Darlene, she will tell you. When asked if this was the day she disappeared, defendant stated: I didn't even know she was missing until a couple of days ago when she saidwhen Darlene said that the girl didn't come home. I don't have anything to do with the girls there period. Later in the interview, defendant again was asked about his activities on Wednesday, August 8. He stated, Yeah, Darlene told me the girl was missing that day. We went to my mother's. He claimed not to have seen Debbie at Benham Park. Other than visiting his mother, defendant had no specific recollection of Wednesday night, August 8, four days earlier. When asked if he stayed at the park for a while, defendant stated: We usually stay [at my mother's] until dark or just before dark. Then we go down just by Stancil's Toyota for maybe an hour unless I'm tired and take her home. After finding out that defendant usually slept in his car in one of two places, the officer asked: Do you recall what you did on Wednesday night? Defendant replied, I just told you. The officer said, No, I mean after you dropped off Darlene. Defendant said, Yes, I went to the church parking lot and went to sleep. I don't remember that night specificallybefore I was sleeping more at the gym. I Defendant also admitted that he was familiar with Sly Park and North South Roads. He stated that he went camping there with Darlene as often as we can. When asked if he knew the Sly Park area very well, defendant stated, Well, I know the lake and I know the campground I've camped at. The officer asked, What about other than Sly Park? Defendant replied, North South Road.... There's a place called Camp Creek which I don't know is how many miles out but it was full so we came back and parked at the bridge where Darlene said that they found the girl's clothes.