Jennifer Walstrand

From our sister site The Waterland Blog comes this report by Ralph Nichols about how Daniel Alexander Threadgill will face a minimum of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced for the brutal murder of Jennifer Walstrand in her Des Moines apartment Aug. 31, 2010.

Threadgill, 24, was convicted by a King County Superior Court jury Feb. 7 of first-degree murder for the stabbing death of Walstrand, who was 28.

Prosecutors told jurors that Walstrand, who had an extensive record of prostitution working as a “high-end” call girl, was stabbed at least 63 times even as she pleaded for her life.

They said she also suffered severe blunt-force trauma when Threadgill then stomped on her head because she was still breathing, inflicting additional brutal injuries.

Read the full story here.

Christopher A. Roman, 26, who admitted to being intoxicated when he crashed into the baby’s parents’ car near Vancouver, WA, made the plea in Clark County Superior Court. He’ll be sentenced Dec. 9, and faces between four and a half to five and a half years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Roman was previously convicted of a DUI in California in 2005.

“I’m about to Vent BIG time… I just found out that the Man who killed 3 mo old Gabriel Pena, while drinking and driving got 3-4 yrs on a Plea Bargain,” reads a comment on the Memorial Fund for Baby Gabriel Facebook page, which continues, “Please tell me how a 2nd DUI Offender can get off with such an easy sentence, This person was also reported to 911 by 3 other people, as he drove like an insane maniac down I-5 before he hit Terra Piña’s car???!!! I am totally outraged…He killed a 3 month old baby, his family will never recover from their loss and that BASTARD gets off that easy…???? TELL ME WHERE THE JUSTICE IS FOR GABRIEL….For The Pina Family…??? I am Sickened by this…”

As we previously reported:

The Washington State Patrol says the accident happened on northbound I-5 as two adults, one from Burien and the other from Kent, were trying to change a flat tire along the side of the freeway. The drunk driver apparently lost control of his Acura, hit a barrier, then crashed into the disabled, parked car, injuring the adults and killing the baby inside.

Police say that the parents, Terra Pina, 21, of Burien, and Angel Pena, 23, of Kent, were on the shoulder attempting to fix a flat tire. The infant, inside the car at the time of the crash, died at the scene.

Donations are still being accepted for the Pena family – click here for more info on how you can help them.

Read the full story in The Columbian here.

Makeshift memorial to Mikarah Nasabreo Sanders on Jan. 7, 2010. Photo by Scott Schaefer.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office reports that Matthew Dubois has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Mikarah Nasabreo Sanders, which happened on Dec. 31, 2009 in an apartment complex in the 12400 block of Ambaum Blvd. SW in Burien.

As we reported then, Dubois shot Sanders, then shot himself. Initially police believed that there was a shooter on the loose, and they scoured the area searching for a gunman. It wasn’t until later that they realized that Dubois actually shot himself.

Police say that Dubois was upset with something he read on Sanders’ MySpace Page (which is still online) before getting into a fight and shooting her in the head.

Dubois, who was 16 at the time, was charged as an adult, and he pleaded guilty Aug. 26.

The sentence range is 165 to 265 months in prison, and his sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 17 before Judge Cheryl Carey at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday afternoon that Shavelle M. Lewis pleaded guilty as charged to Vehicular Homicide and Felony Hit and Run for the hit and run death of tow truck driver William A. “Tony” Padilla, of Burien, on I-5 in Seattle on September 24, 2010.

As we previously reported, Padilla was struck and killed by Lewis, who was impaired at the time, while hooking a vehicle up to his tow truck on I-5 near Spokane Street. Padilla, 51, was working for GT Towing in Seattle when he was killed.

Lewis, 21, will face a sentence range of 41 to 54 months in prison when she is sentenced May 20 before Judge Bruce Hilyer at the King County Courthouse.

The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for one and a half days, before Judge Susan Craighead at the King County Courthouse.

Wynn’s first trial ended in a hung jury last December. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

As we’ve previously reported, Wynn is accused of murdering Bob Wykel in February, 1996. Wykel’s body has never been found, and his abandoned 1989 Mercedes Benz was discovered in a Burien Park and Ride in March, of 1996.

Robert J. Wykel

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Wykel was a dealer of vintage and exotic cars at the time of his disappearance. Foul play is suspected in his disappearance.

Here’s more info on the case from the prosecutor’s office:

• Mr. Wykel was reported missing by a friend on March 13, 1996 because he had not been seen or heard from since February 21, 1996.
• Mr. Wykel was known to travel via public transit to inspect or purchase vehicles and was known to carry large quantities of cash on him.
• Anyone who may have seen Robert Wykel may remember him by the immense jewelry he wore, but specifically by the abnormally large diamond ring he wore.
• Wynn’s ex-girlfriend received a necklace from him as a gift in 1996, the same year Wykel disappeared. The necklace has an unusual diamond. Wynn told her he found the gem at a bus stop in Burien, the same place where Wykel’s car was found abandoned, court documents said. When the two broke up, Wynn took back the diamond and sold it to his aunt. Investigators recovered the stone from Wynn’s aunt and had it appraised at $5,000. Records say that it had several chips and abrasions, similar to Wykel’s diamond.
• Mr. Wykel’s 1989 Mercedes Benz was discovered in a Burien Park N’ Ride on March 11, 1996.

On Friday (Nov. 13th) Toan Le, 51, and Hang Ho, 41, of the Crystal Nails salon in Burien plead guilty in US District Court to charges of attempting to illegally import an unapproved skin treatment device as well as two counts of attempting to bribe a federal official.

Le pleaded guilty to bribing a public official, and could face up to two years in prison. Ho pleaded guilty to importing an unapproved medical device into the country, which could result in one year in the slammer.

According to court documents, Ho attempted to import a laser-type device called a”skin light machine,” which emits radiation and has not been approved by the FDA for use in the US.

Le and Ho also plead guilty to offering bribes of $500, then $800 to a federal FDA official to overlook the unapproved machinery.

Crystal Nails is located at 15728 First Ave South in Burien.

According to the FDA, some consumers have suffered severe burns and infection, and others have actually died after being treated by the unapproved laser devices.

Crystal Nails is located at 15728 First Ave South in Burien, in the strip mall behind McDonald’s and Roundtable Pizza, and across the parking lot from Page2 Books.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Burien Nail Salon Owners Accused Of Importing Illegal, Radioactive Skin Device, Bribery

Ogden was just 16 at the time of the murder, which took place on March 18, 2005 at the intersection of SW 188th and 8th Ave SW near SeaTac Airport (map below).

Prosecutors claim that Odgen and his mother, Velma Ogden-Whitehead, hired one of his friends to kill his stepfather for inheritance and insurance.

One interesting aspect of this trial was that the car in which Whitehead was driving when he was shot and killed was actually re-constructed last Thursday inside the courtroom (story here).

Velma Ogden-Whitehead was sentenced June to 22 years in prison.

Ogden’s accomplice, Wilson Sayachack, accused of hiding in Whitehead’s trunk and pulling the trigger, is still awaiting trial.

Ogden faces more than 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.

SOURCE:

• KOMO News

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The three family members were accused of paying drug addicts to shoplift glass art, Armani suits and other high-end goods from local stores in Seattle.

They fenced the stolen merchandise at the well-known Liberty Jewelry and Loan pawnshop at 116 Pike Street, according to prosecutors.

Leslie Calvo, 39, who ran the shop owned by her father, pleaded guilty to six counts of first-degree trafficking in stolen property, two counts of possession of stolen property and two other theft-related crimes.

She faces between 4 1/2 and nearly six years in prison at the sentencing for all three defendants June 13.

Her 71-year-old father, Martin D. Levy, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree trafficking in stolen property, two counts of possession of stolen property and one count of second-degree solicitation to commit theft. He faces two to 2 1/2 years in prison.

Calvo’s husband, Richard, 38, who has a Burien dental practice and pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree trafficking and one count of first-degree possession of stolen property, faces up to a year in jail.

Leslie Calvo and her father originally faced charges such as leading organized crime and money laundering, which would have carried stiffer penalties, said her attorney, Allen Ressler.

Prosecutors from the state Attorney General’s Office would only accept the deal if all three pleaded guilty, and Leslie Calvo didn’t want to expose herself or her elderly father to additional prison time, Ressler said.

“She accepted the most responsibility and to some extent what motivates her is the desire to see this whole thing resolved, and the concern about going to trial and losing on the more serious offense,” he said.

The three are accused of selling glass pieces stolen from art galleries, shoplifted Coach purses, a $500 bananawood soap dish and other luxuries from Levy’s pawnshop. They also unloaded more than $300,000 worth of goods on eBay and kept some merchandise for themselves.

Investigators said the three used a group of street drug addicts who were willing to walk into a store or gallery, shoplift the goods and deliver them to the pawnshop — often with the price tags still intact.

The thieves were often given 10 percent of the retail value for each item and used it to support their drug habits, police said.

Police began investigating in March 2004 when they were tipped about a major fencing operation involving the pawnshop. One informant later told police he had been delivering stolen items to the store since 1988.

In July 2005, police searched Levy’s Mercer Island home, his pawnshop, and the Calvos’ West Seattle home and found hundreds of stolen items, including more than 300 glass-art pieces, golf clubs and electronic devices.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: You know in the Google Map below where it says "1 Review"? We happened to follow that link, where we found the following "review":

DANGEROUS DENTIST!!  

By Anonymous

Dr. Calvo is in practice w/ his father and sister. Although the rest of the family might be on the up-and-up, he is NOT! I think he is on drugs, one time in his chair was way too many. Face it you are placing your life in his hands and there are enough honest dentists out there. Dr. Calvo is currently facing 32 Felony charges, do your homework and get a reliable dentist! I personally FIRED Dr Calvo and now go to a dentist miles away!]

SOURCE:

• The Seattle P-I

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