Weird colorado case: Murder! Arabs! Pizza!

[Razgovory]

Has anyone heard about this murder in Colorado?  Some state director of corrections was murder the other day.  I heard about this because my mom used to work for him (said he was a decent guy, but standoffish), so she was kinda shocked.  Early reports is that he heard the door bell, came to the door and the killer shot him and sped off.  Story has since gotten weirder.  The suspected killer was found down in Texas and died after a big shootout with law enforcement.  In his car they found the uniform and paraphernalia of a pizza delivery guy, who they suspect belonged to a pizza delivery man that was found murdered in Colorado recently.  The identity of the killer has still not be discovered.  Word on the street is that it's connected to a Saudi big wig who had been convicted of several charges and was imprisoned in Colorado.  The Saudis tried to get him back, but the state has refused due to offender's refusal to attend sexual offender rehabilitation training required by law.  The Colorado director of corrections seems to have written the letters nixing the transfer of the Saudi national form the US to Saudi Arabia.

Decatur, Texas (CNN) -- Colorado authorities are working to determine whether a high-speed chase Thursday involving a man who shot repeatedly at law enforcement officers in Texas is related to this week's shooting death of Tom Clements, Colorado's prison chief.

The chase and crash occurred in north Texas, about 700 miles from where Clements was killed Tuesday night. It began around 11 a.m. CT (noon ET) in Montague County, where the driver of a black Cadillac shot at a law enforcement officer who had pulled him over in a traffic stop, said Wise County, Texas, Sheriff David Walker.

Two bullets struck the Montague County deputy, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, in the chest and another grazed his head before he managed to call in help, said the sheriff. He is in serious condition at a Dallas-Fort Worth area hospital.

This incident was followed by a high-speed chase that ended around 30 miles away in Decatur, Texas. That's where city police tried to pull him over, and the Cadillac's driver fled and started shooting at officers. The suspect shot one patrol vehicle and that of Decatur police Chief Rex Hoskins, whose car was parked in the median.

"I would say he was running about 100 mph, and he had his left arm out the window and he was just shooting," Hoskins said.

Soon after that, the man turned his Cadillac onto another road and slammed into an 18-wheel truck, according to Walker. Even with the front of his car crushed, the suspect -- who has not been publicly identified -- got out and resumed shooting.

He did not shoot any responding officers in the Wise County exchange, but was shot himself.

After being kept alive on machines for some time, the suspect died Thursday evening, according to Walker.

The Cadillac had two different Colorado license plates -- one on the front and the other on the back -- said Hoskins. A law enforcement official said Thursday that authorities are "are taking a strong look" at whether Thursday's incident and Clements' shooting are linked.

"Colorado is sending ... investigators that are working on that case and other homicide cases in the Colorado area," Walker said.

Denver police, noting that they've been working closely with colleagues in nearby Golden, tweeted Thursday evening there is "a strong connection with the Texas case" and another Colorado homicide and that its investigators are heading to Texas.

Golden police report the two police departments are together investigating the March 17 shooting death of a 27-year-old pizza delivery man. Nathan Collin Leon disappeared from work in Denver and was found dead in Golden.

The Texas incident comes the same day that Colorado investigators said they were looking closely at one criminal of the thousands that Clements' oversaw in the state's prison system -- a Saudi national named Homaidan al-Turki.

El Paso County, Colorado, Undersheriff Paula Presley on Thursday acknowledged the media speculation over al-Turki, who was convicted of sexually assaulting his housemaid at his Aurora, Colorado, home seven years ago. Earlier this month, Clements denied al-Turki's request to serve the remainder of his Colorado prison sentence in Saudi Arabia, records show.

Investigators, she said, are still trying to determine whether "there may have been some motivation or legitimate threat" related to al-Turki's case, adding that "we have not identified that specifically as a threat."

Al-Turki, now at the Limon Correctional Facility, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after being convicted on a dozen counts of sexual contact, theft, extortion and false imprisonment in 2006, a state document shows. Prosecutors said he enslaved his Indonesian maid for several years.

At the request of the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers traveled to Riyadh in 2006 to meet with King Abdullah, other Saudi officials and the al-Turki family to discuss the case.
Manhunt on for gunman in Colorado

Clements explained in a March 11 letter to al-Turki that he was turning down his transfer request because al-Turki had refused to go through sex offender treatment, as required by law.

o date you have reportedly declined due to religious reasons/conflicts with your Islamic faith," Clements wrote.

The letter also notes that on February 25, 2011, al-Turki's sentence was reduced to six years to life.

Read the full letter

CNN has not received a response to its requests for comment from al-Turki's lawyers.

In light of the renewed attention on his case, al-Turki was removed this week from the rest of his prison's population, according to the state's department of corrections.

Late prisons chief described as 'amazing man'

Clements had been chief of Colorado's prison system for a little over two years. He took the job in January 2011 after working for 31 years as part of Missouri's Department of Corrections.

In his time in Colorado, he'd made a big impression.

"He was an amazing man, an amazing man," Alison Morgan, spokeswoman for Colorado's Department of Corrections, said Thursday. "An inspirational leader."

He was killed around 8:45 p.m. MT (10:45 p.m. ET) Tuesday, as he answered the door of his Monument, Colorado, home.

Since then, investigators had said they knew very little about who might have pulled the trigger.

Some witnesses, though, said they saw a man driving a vehicle -- possibly a Lincoln Continental or a two-door Cadillac -- away from the neighborhood a short time after the shooting. Others reported seeing a black, boxy vehicle with its engine running but no one inside on Clements' street.

Asked Thursday whether the prison chief's killing may have been a professional hit, Presley from the El Paso County, Colorado, Sheriff's Office said, "We don't have any specific information that would lead us to that."

The central Colorado county sheriff office's major crimes unit has received more than 100 solid tips about the incident, including a growing number of witnesses describing a black car then in the area.

Meanwhile, the mourning continues for Clements. His funeral will be held Sunday, Gov. John Hickenlooper's office said, and he'll be remembered at a public memorial service in Colorado Springs the next day.

[jimmy olsen]

That would be one of the more sensational murders the U.S. has had in some time if that all pans out.

[11B4V]

http://www.newser.com/story/164877/colorado-suspect-was-in-white-supremacist-gang.html

(Newser) – The suspect in the shooting of Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements was a paroled member of a white supremacist prison gang, the Denver Post reports. "What's not known is whether this was ordered or a crime of opportunity," says a corrections official. Evan Ebel, a paroled member of a gang called the 211s, was involved in a chase and shootout in Texas yesterday; police are also investigating his possible involvement in the shooting of a pizza-delivery driver.

The driver, Nathan Collin Leon, 27, was shot several times after taking a call on Sunday in Denver. The Post profiles Ebel, who received his first adult conviction at age 19 for involvement in a robbery. The next year, he was convicted in another robbery and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was in solitary confinement for the majority of at least five years, his mother said in a web post. But "he was a young man who had real promise as a human being," said his former defense attorney.

[The Minsky Moment]

http://www.newser.com/story/164877/colorado-suspect-was-in-white-supremacist-gang.html

(Newser) – The suspect in the shooting of Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements was a paroled member of a white supremacist prison gang, the Denver Post reports. "What's not known is whether this was ordered or a crime of opportunity," says a corrections official. Evan Ebel, a paroled member of a gang called the 211s, was involved in a chase and shootout in Texas yesterday; police are also investigating his possible involvement in the shooting of a pizza-delivery driver.

The driver, Nathan Collin Leon, 27, was shot several times after taking a call on Sunday in Denver. The Post profiles Ebel, who received his first adult conviction at age 19 for involvement in a robbery. The next year, he was convicted in another robbery and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was in solitary confinement for the majority of at least five years, his mother said in a web post. But "he was a young man who had real promise as a human being," said his former defense attorney.

Clearly he did not. It is difficult to conceive of someone with less promise as a human being.

[11B4V]

http://www.newser.com/story/164877/colorado-suspect-was-in-white-supremacist-gang.html

(Newser) – The suspect in the shooting of Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements was a paroled member of a white supremacist prison gang, the Denver Post reports. "What's not known is whether this was ordered or a crime of opportunity," says a corrections official. Evan Ebel, a paroled member of a gang called the 211s, was involved in a chase and shootout in Texas yesterday; police are also investigating his possible involvement in the shooting of a pizza-delivery driver.

The driver, Nathan Collin Leon, 27, was shot several times after taking a call on Sunday in Denver. The Post profiles Ebel, who received his first adult conviction at age 19 for involvement in a robbery. The next year, he was convicted in another robbery and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was in solitary confinement for the majority of at least five years, his mother said in a web post. But "he was a young man who had real promise as a human being," said his former defense attorney.

Clearly he did not. It is difficult to conceive of someone with less promise as a human being.

I know, huh.

[jimmy olsen]

Solitary for five years? Probably drove the bastard crazy.

[11B4V]

Solitary for five years? Probably drove the bastard crazy.

Probably what put him in the cooler for 5 years in the first place.

[dps]

Solitary for five years? Probably drove the bastard crazy.

And probably gave him lung cancer, too.

[11B4V]

Solitary Confinement 'Ruined' Colorado Gunman
http://www.newser.com/story/164960/solitary-confinement-ruined-colorado-gunman.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_3_2

(Newser) – The suspected killer of Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements had a decent, middle-class upbringing that went downhill after his sister died in a car accident, USA Today reports. Evan Ebel—who died after a gunfight with police—then started getting into trouble in his Denver suburb, committing robberies, pistol-whipping a man for his car, shooting himself twice, and spending several years in solitary confinement in prison. "In my 38 years of being a lawyer, I've never had anyone go so wrong," said his attorney. "So completely, deadly wrong."

Ebel's father testified to the Colorado Legislature in 2011 that solitary confinement was ruining his son's mind. His father's old friend, Gov. John Hickenlooper, mentioned Ebel's case in seeking prison reform, and hired Clements, who curbed the use of solitary confinement. Now investigators are probing Ebel's connection to the 211 Crew, a white supremacist prison group that requires members to perpetrate a bloody attack. If Ebel killed Clements for the 211 Crew, "we will see what will amount to a war," said one analyst. "Law enforcement will come down on this gang like a ton of bricks." (See how hard solitary confinement can be on teenagers.)

211 Crew was founded in 1995 by Benjamin Davis at Colorado's Denver County Jail. 211 Crew operates under a loose or semi-organized structure, common of newer prison gangs with younger members. The prison gang focuses on generating illegal funds and committing crimes such as robbery, theft and drug dealing. The 211 Crew gang has grown rapidly and spread through out Colorado's streets, county jails and state prisons.

GANG PROFILE
Symbols: 211, Byzantine and Nazi symbols, White Power.
Ranking structure: Paramilitary
Territory: Colorado
Alliances: None
Members: 1,000
Racial make up: White
Threat: Moderate

211 CREW'S ORGANIZED CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES
Just like of most prison gangs, the 211 Crew prey on weaker prison inmates of all races including their own. The gang requires that all prospects rob and extort other inmates before becoming a member. The gang also operates in cities and towns throughout Colorado and is involved in drug and weapons trafficking. The money made through these serious crimes is then funneled back to incarcerated leaders.

211 CREW CHAIN OF COMMAND
The 211 Crew operates under a loose or semi organized structure of presidents, vice Presidents, Majors, Captains and lieutenants. The prison gang use Byzantine codes when relaying secretive messages to each other. Each member is required to learn the codes.

211 CREW CHRONOLOGIES OF EVENTS

In 1995, The 211 Crew prison gang is founded by habitual criminal Benjamin Davis at Colorado's Denver County Jail. (Gang Intelligence 101)

On November 1997, several 211 Crew members Nathan Thill and Jeremiah "Hooligan" Barnum murder African immigrant Oumar Dia, 38, at a downtown Denver bus stop. The offenders also shoot and paralyze Jennie VanVelkinburgh who tried to help Dia. (Associated Press)

On December 12, 2001, several 211 Crew members brutally murder inmate Donald Mayfield at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility. (The Denver Post)

On Jan. 13, 2004, 211 Crew prison gang member Joel Rader, 34, and Eric Barnard, 27, stab an beat a black inmate at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility. The offenders stab the victim several times with a shank and then beat him over the head with a padlock. (Gang Intelligence 101)

In December 2004, seventeen 211 Crew members are indicted on racketeering, bribery, tampering, and manufacturing and distributing drugs. (Associated Press)

On December 11, 2007, 211 Crew prison gang leader Benjamin Davis, 32, is convicted was sentenced to 108 years in prison under Colorado's Organized Crime Control Act. (Associated Press)

On January 2010, Scott Howard, a prison rape victim and former Colorado prisoner is awarded $165,000 in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice. Howard was extorted and repeatedly raped by several 211 Crew gang members while Correctional Officers did nothing to help the victim. (Associated Press)

On February 23, 2012, 211 Crew prison gangmember Jeremiah "Hooligan" Barnum, 38, is shot and killed Englewood Police after Barnum attacks and officer and tries to reach for the officers gun. Barnum spent 12 years in prison for his role in the murder of an African Immigrant in 1997.(Associated Press)

http://www.prisonoffenders.com/211_crew_gang.html

[Tonitrus]

You don't need to further convince me that we should hang more people Old-West style.

[CountDeMoney]

It always struck me as counterintuitive what gangs will do to land themselves in prison.  It's like they want to be there.

[DontSayBanana]

You know, it amazes me that the "solitary == loony" thing hasn't even been researched.  It's not like it'd be difficult to research it, since inmates don't have the right to refuse a psychological evaluation; just make it SOP to order a psych eval whenever an inmate is transferred into and out of solitary.

Personally, my gut says solitary should be used only as a defensive measure, not a punitive one.  There's enough research out there about the effects of sensory deprivation that I'm confident there's a correlation there between solitary and insanity.