Man identified in hit & run that killed a lady

A 67-year-old woman who was fatally struck by a hit-and-run motorcyclist while walking in San Francisco’s Sunset District on Thursday evening has been identified, according to the medical examiner’s office. A motorcyclist struck San Francisco resident Bonnie Lien near 24th Avenue and Noriega Street at about 6:50 p.m. Thursday.
The suspect, identified by San Francisco police as Wayne Valairs, a 59-year-old San Francisco resident, surrendered to officers Saturday after police identified him as the suspected driver of the motorcycle.
San Francisco police said it appears that Lien was crossing the street in the middle of the block when Valairs drove by a double-parked vehicle and struck her.
Lien fell to the ground and Valairs apparently fled from the scene of the collision. Lien was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where she died, according to police.
Officers arrested Valairs on suspicion of felony hit-and-run, vehicular manslaughter and speeding, police said.

Man seeking housing killed by police

The 27-year-old San Francisco man who was fatally shot by officers in San Francisco’s Mid-Market neighborhood last week was, along with his mother, struggling to find a place to live the day that he was killed. Herbert Benitez was fatally shot by a police sergeant on Oct. 15 shortly after noon on Eighth Street between Market and Mission streets after he allegedly took another sergeant’s firearm, according to San Francisco police Chief Greg Suhr.
Benitez’s mother, Sylvia Benitez, 62, said in a phone interview today that she and her son were having trouble finding work and a place to live.
Sylvia Benitez said she came to the United States from El Salvador in 1982.
She said her son, who was born in San Francisco and went to high school in Daly City, had an internship and then a job as a bank teller at Washington Mutual Bank after his high school graduation. He also worked as a tutor to children in need of homework help.
The bank ceased operations in 2008. More recently, Herbert Benitez had been working as a dishwasher at a restaurant, but then lost that job and failed to find another, his mother said.
Rosa Seagraves, a family friend to the Benitez family, spoke about the family’s struggle today at a vigil for Benitez held on the street where he died.
Seagraves, a Daly City resident, is allowing Benitez’ mother to stay in her home.
Seagraves said she met the pair about seven years when they moved into a home in Daly City. She said their rent rose so high so fast that after a couple years they were forced to move. Since then they have struggled to keep permanent housing.
The pair has been moving from hotel to hotel. The day Benitez died, the pair wasn’t sure they’d be able to scrape enough money together to get a hotel room, Seagraves said.
Julio Escobar, with the San Francisco Archdiocese’s Restorative Justice Ministry, stood near Benitez’ place of death today and explained that the family cannot, at this point, afford to have a burial or funeral ceremony.
Police said Benitez had been with his mother at the San Francisco Public Library’s main branch just prior to being killed.
Suhr said that on the day of his death, at 12:06 p.m., a construction worker saw Benitez throwing glass bottles into the street and asked him to stop, fearing that the broken glass would puncture truck tires as they entered and exited the construction site.
Apparently, Benitez did not verbally respond, Suhr said, but instead mumbled in an inaudible manner.
Suhr said Benitez continued to throw bottles, at which point a construction worker told Benitez he would call police. Benitez apparently told the construction worker to go ahead and make the call.
A group of construction workers then flagged down a marked SFPD patrol car heading south on Eighth Street, Suhr said.
The driver of the patrol car is a 29-year veteran of the police department who’s been a sergeant for 14 years. The passenger is a 17-year veteran of the department who’s been a sergeant for seven years.
According to police, the first sergeant got out of the driver’s side and made initial contact with Benitez while the other sergeant acted as cover.
Benitez apparently told the sergeants, “Don’t talk to me, people are watching me,” and then said, “Don’t f-cking touch me.” The first sergeant attempted to gain control of Benitez by his arms “at which point he became combative,” Suhr said. That sergeant then attempted to give Benitez distance so that he might calm down.
However, Benitez apparently came closer to the first sergeant and then reached his hand toward the sergeant, locking onto the sergeant’s vest, Suhr said:

“Benitez then took the sergeant to the ground, slamming him into the curb and landing on top of him.”

Benitez then attempted to take the first sergeant’s gun, at which point the first sergeant told the second sergeant, “He’s getting my gun.” Suhr said Benitez was able to get the gun from the sergeant’s holster and point it into the face of the first sergeant.
Suhr said a struggle ensued “with the sergeant looking down the barrel of his own gun, yelling now to his partner, ‘He’s got my gun. Shoot him.'”
Fearing for his life and the life of his partner, Suhr said, the second sergeant stopped trying to pull Benitez off his partner and fired two shots, striking Benitez.
Police said the officers called for an ambulance and began first aid before paramedics arrived, but Benitez was pronounced dead at the scene.
Suhr said the sergeants were transported to a hospital in stable condition. The first sergeant suffered a bruised rib with injuries to his face and knee, while the second sergeant suffered a bloody nose from being hit in the face.
On Monday, as with all fatal officer-involved shootings in the city, Suhr held a town hall meeting to discuss the incident.
Many of the Tenderloin residents who spoke at the meeting said they weren’t too surprised to hear about violence at that intersection.
They said the intersection by the library, which is also home to a Burger King and the Orpheum Theatre, is commonly the site of fights, public intoxication and illegal activities such as drug dealing and selling of stolen items.
Community member Angela D. said she was concerned that the police sergeants hadn’t received critical intervention training. She said she didn’t understand why the officers were unable to use de-escalation methods instead of violence against Benitez.
Suhr insisted that, although neither sergeant was certified in critical intervention training, their actions were consistent with the training.
Benitez’ death is being investigated as a homicide caused by gunshot wounds to the torso, deputy medical examiner administrator Chris Wirowek said, adding that a final autopsy report is underway.
Benitez’ death is being investigated by the San Francisco medical examiner’s office as well as police internal affairs and homicide investigators, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and if a complaint is lodged, the Office of Citizen Complaints, police said.

CHP officers stolen gun recovered

Police conducting a traffic stop in San Francisco’s Mission district Friday evening allegedly found a firearm that had been reported stolen from a law enforcement officer’s parked car.
Officers initiated the traffic stop at 5:36 p.m. in the vicinity of South Van Ness Avenue and 26th Street after noticing a damaged brake light.
Sergio Manriquez, a 29-year-old San Francisco resident, was found to be driving without a license. He was also on probation, according to police.
During a search of his vehicle, officers allegedly found a gun that had been reported stolen from an off-duty law enforcement officer Oct. 17.
The weapon was apparently stolen from a locked vehicle in the 1200 block of Howard Street, police said.
Manriquez was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, weapons and traffic violations, as well as violating the terms of his probation.

Man leaves 5 year old granddaughter with a loaded handgun

The bizarre case of an Arizona grandfather who left his 5-year-old granddaughter alone in the desert with just a gun came to a close this week after Paul Rater was sentenced to jail for felony child abuse.
Rater made national headlines in November after his granddaughter was reported missing only to later be found in the desert armed with a loaded handgun while Rater was later found eating and drinking at a restaurant.
On Monday, Rater reportedly pleaded guilty to child abuse and sentenced to six months in prison, according to Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.
According to Maricopa County authorities, the trouble began when Rater took the girl for a ride in his new truck. They reportedly got lost in the desert and then the truck somehow became stuck.
After the two were forced to set out on foot, prosecutors say Rater left the girl behind after she was unable to walk any further.
Authorities became aware of the missing girl when her mother reported she was gone.

According to the incident report, the victim told her grandmother, "I don't know why papa left me. I was calling out for him. He took me by some bushes, gave me a gun and left," it was reported.

Cops ended up using a helicopter to track her down, but it was a firefighter on an ATV who ended up hearing her cries. When they finally caught up with her, she was holding the 45-caliber handgun, which was loaded and cocked, authorities said,

Rater was quickly tracked down at a local store, and he admitted to abandoning his grandchild in the desert, KPHO reported. He reportedly said he went for a few drinks and a cheeseburger after leaving her there.

Man kills his own brother over a cheeseburger!?!

A Florida man was behind bars after police say he shot and killed his brother in a beef over a cheeseburger.
Benjamin Angus Middendorf, 25, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his older brother Thursday.
Nicholas Middendorf, 28, was killed after being shot once in the chest, it was reported.
“We were in a fight and I grabbed a gun and I shot him. Oh my God!” Benjamin Middendorf says in a 911 call released by the St. Cloud Police Department.
“My son shot my son,” his mother says to the dispatcher during the 911 call.
“Where is your son who shot your other son?” the dispatcher asks the woman.
She replies, “Right here holding my son,” and then is overheard saying, “I hope you go to jail.”
Police responded to the 911 call around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Fox 35 reported.
“I can tell you that there was some sort of argument -- sadly over a cheeseburger, whether he wanted one or not," police spokesperson Sgt. Denise Roberts told Fox 35.
“He admits that he does own a 9-mm. gun and he obviously puts himself on scene," Roberts said. "He picked up the phone. They called 911, cooperated fully. But as far as a full confession, no. At this point he said he didn't recall."
An arrest affidavit says Benjamin Middendorf, his brother and their mother had been drinking with friends, celebrating Cinco de Mayo, it was reported.
Benjamin Middendorf told detectives he was not drinking, the station reported.
He was denied bail during a court appearance Saturday.

College students face trial in murder of 13 year old girl

Prosecutors may reveal more details Friday in the case against two former Virginia Tech students accused of plotting to kidnap and murder a socially awkward 13-year-old girl who authorities say climbed out a window to rendezvous with them after midnight last January.
David Eisenhauer, 18, is charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Blacksburg seventh-grader & major surgery survivor Nicole Lovell. Natalie Keepers, 19, is charged with being an accessory to kidnapping and murder and with helping hide the body.
Their hearing Friday will be in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.
Commonwealth's Attorney Mary Pettitt said at a February bond hearing that the college students from Maryland met at a fast-food restaurant on Jan. 26 to plan Nicole's death, and bought a shovel and cleaning supplies at separate Wal-Mart stores. She said they decided together that Eisenhauer would cut Nicole's throat.
She said Eisenhauer initially denied involvement when police found his messages on Nicole's phone, but eventually said he drove to the girl's home and watched her climb out of her window before they drove off to pick up Keepers. The prosecutor said Eisenhauer and Nicole last made contact by phone at 12:39 a.m. Jan. 27.
Pettitt said Keepers is adamant that she was not present at the killing. But once Nicole was dead, the prosecutor said, Keepers helped load her body into Eisenhauer's Lexus. Nicole's remains were eventually found in a remote spot in North Carolina, about two hours south of the campus.
The biggest unanswered question surrounding Nicole's death remains: Why?
A friend of Eisenhauer whose cellphone was recently seized by police provided the first possible answer. Bryce Dustin of Pulaski told The Roanoke Times earlier this month that Eisenhauer texted him about meeting a teenage girl at a party and later learning that she was underage. Eisenhauer feared the girl would "expose" him and asked if Dustin knew where he could hide a body, Dustin told the newspaper.
Pettitt declined to comment on the possible motive and the search warrant for Dustin's phone. She also would not say who will testify at Friday's hearing or describe what new information they will reveal.
Defense attorneys could waive the preliminary hearing, conceding that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. But the prosecutor said she is preparing for the hearing. Defense attorneys, who have consistently declined media interviews, did not return telephone messages.

Woman drives car into lake!?

A woman following her car's sat nav on a foggy night took a wrong turn and ended up driving into a lake.
The 23-year-old driver from Ontario in Canada was following a GPS route at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula - in the south of the province - an area she did not know well. At a certain point after midnight, she lost her way and drove down a steep boat launch into Lake Huron.
The woman was able to roll down a window, grab her handbag and swim 30 metres to safety, as her car filled with water.
Local police said the way the harbour’s boat launch is built means a wrong turn taken on a rainy night would come as a shock.
“She would have been driving on the road, and then all of a sudden just dropped and hit water,” Constable Katrina Rubinstein-Gilbert told the Canadian Press.
The driver sought help at a nearby hotel as her red Toyota Yaris sunk completely.
Ms Rubinstein-Gilbert said the driver was well, if “a little embarrassed”, and would not be charged.
The incident, which took place last Thursday, did not involve alcohol. The vehicle was retrieved from the lake on Friday morning.
The driver has denied all media requests.
One in seven drivers in the UK admit to making risky manoeuvres to correct sat nav mistakes, according to a survey by road safety charity Brake.
And one in 14 say they have narrowly avoided an accident after being distracted by their GPS system while driving.