Police Drain Lake, Search for Evidence
RIVERSIDE: Officials hoped to find a weapon that may have been used in a man's stabbing.
06/24/2002
RIVERSIDE - Police searched the bed of Fairmount Park's Lake
Evans on Sunday looking for evidence in the stabbing death behind The Menagerie
earlier this month. Police said they hoped to find a weapon that may have been used
in the killing of Jeffery Owens, 40, of Moreno Valley. The search was unobtrusive except for the lack of water in much
of the lake -- the downtown park's centerpiece. The portion of the lake near the
boat house was almost completely dry with just a few large puddles left for
ducks to float on. Another portion of the lake was beginning to pull away from the
shore but contained enough water for people to fish. Some searched for
fresh-water clams in the mud. Many park visitors wanted to know why a Riverside Police
Department van was parked along the shore, bordered by a yellow crime scene tape
tied to pepper trees. Some people stopped to ask detectives what they were
doing. Officers politely said they couldn't discuss details of the
investigation. Owens, who had worked for the Inland AIDS Project, was fatally
stabbed just before midnight June 5. He was attacked in the parking lot of The
Menagerie, a gay bar on University Avenue in downtown Riverside. Five Riverside men were charged last week with murder. All five
are in custody. Other allegations include that the killing was a hate crime and
done as part of gang activity. The water in Lake Evans was pumped out and funneled across a
road into the Santa Ana River, police said. The lake will be refilled, but they
were uncertain when. Fisherman Harlan Otero of Perris said the lower water level did
not wreck fishing on Sunday, although he had yet to catch the catfish he was
after. Otero hoped the water soon would be returned to normal levels, though.
"I wish they would hurry up and find whatever it is they're
looking for," he said. Otero also hoped officials might take advantage of the drained
lake to clean up debris on the bottom, such as trash and weeds. "They need to clean it up," Otero said. Staff writer David Seaton contributed to this report http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_NEWS_nrhate25.ef4b.html Knife
Found in Stabbing Probe RIVERSIDE: It
matches the characteristics of the one used in the fatal attack on Jeffery
Owens, police say.
06/25/2002
RIVERSIDE - Police in Riverside said Monday they
had found a knife that fits the characteristics of the one used in the stabbing
death of Jeffery Owens in the parking lot of The Menagerie bar on June 5. After receiving information about the possible whereabouts of the knife,
authorities began draining Lake Evans in Fairmount Park late last week and found
a knife consistent with the one used in the attacks on Owens, a gay activist
from Moreno Valley, and friend Michael Bussee. Riverside police Lt. Meredyth Meredith, who supervises homicide and other
investigations, declined to elaborate on the find. Owens and Bussee were stabbed in the parking lot of The Menagerie on
University Avenue in downtown Riverside following a confrontation with several
men. Owens died and Bussee survived. Dorian Lee Gutierrez, 18, Viviano Cruz Marin, 25, Miguel Angel Ramos, 28, and
Ramon Meza Rabago, 18, were charged last week with murder and allegations the
killing was a hate crime and done as part of gang activity. A fifth suspect, David Leal Martinez, 28, of Riverside was also charged with
murder and gang enhancement. The enhancement means that he can receive a longer
sentence if convicted. A sixth person, Wendy Christina Plasier, 26, has been
charged as an accessory. An arraignment proceeding was postponed on Monday after attorneys for both
sides asked the judge to have all six defendants in the Owens case present in
one courtroom. In addition, some of the defendants still did not have attorneys
to represent them. The arraignment for the six defendants is expected to continue this morning.
Reach Michael Coronado at (909) 368-9645 or mcoronado@pe.com
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