Category Crime
Prison Lingo — Revisited (reposted w/o the pesky paywall)
Prison is a strange world unto itself. It comes with its own set of rules–the convict code– and a unique language. So, if you ever find yourself behind bars, listen up. Your survival may depend on it. There are a few common expressions used in the big house that might sound a little foreign to […]
Where the Story Ideas Come From…
Authors are always asked where they get their story ideas and the answer isn’t always what you’d expect. When people hear my background–working in some of the most brutal prisons in California, they expect me to write dark, noir prison stories. Tales of the worst humanity has to offer. Stories where redemption is rare as […]
Sacramento Serial Killer–What it Took to Bring Down the Golden State Killer
The Visalia Ransacker, The Original Nightstalker, The East Area Rapist–these were all names for the man later known as the infamous Golden State Killer. Now in 2023, we’ve discovered Joseph DeAngelo, Jr., was the man responsible for thirteen murders and more than fifty rapes during his decades long crime spree. What took so long to […]
Arrest in the Stockton Serial Killer Case
Stockton Police made a dramatic arrest in the case that plagued the city in recent weeks. On October 15th, Wesley Brownlee was taken into custody while authorities believe he was out hunting for another victim in the central California city. The city of Stockton is not unfamiliar with gun crime and homicide. The city of […]
Serial Killer Pair–Bittaker and Norris
On December 16, 2019, an inmate housed on condemned row at San Quentin State Prison died while awaiting execution. Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, known as one of the “Tool Box Killers” was sentenced to death in March of 1981 the kidnapping, murder and sexual assault of five young women. Bittaker and his crime partner, Roy Norris […]
Killer Mom
Sacramento has experienced more than its share of notorious murders and serial killers. This one often slips under the radar, but is one of the most brutal cases I’ve come across. I’m always amazed by the media interviews after a murderer is discovered living next door. It’s always some form of, “He was such a […]
Sacramento Unsolved
Another year gone and another silent anniversary without answers. Twenty-eight years have passed since the 1991 slaying of an entire family in the upscale Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento. On January 15, 1991, Marcy Jacobs didn’t show up to work as a data processing technician at the Department of Justice. A concerned co-worker called the […]
SHU Basics for the Crime Writer
Recently, I attended ThrillerFest in New York and the Public Safety Writers Association Conference in Las Vegas. Both great venues for talking the craft of writing and picking up a few tips on making your crime fiction true to life. During conversations at both of these very different gatherings, the topic of solitary confinement and […]
To Pee or Not To Pee…
Family squabbles can be downright testy affairs. When family members pretend not to know one another, the outcome is a long blessed silence. When they take too much interest in the goings-on of a sibling, or an adult child, the results can take a nastier turn. From the “Things Criminals Do” files, we have the […]
Local Police Use of Spit Mask Comes Under Fire
Sacramento is once again in the spotlight for an incident with a citizen. Fresh off the unrest from the officer-involved shooting deaths of Joseph Mann, and Stephon Clark, the media and the ever-circling attorneys feeding on the seeds of racial unrest, were quick to condemn the officers for excessive force. This time the citizen in […]
James L'Etoile 