brainsmile
01-10-2005, 01:37 PM
Majorly bummed
Arden Park man fatally shot in home
By Elizabeth Hume -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 8, 2005
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/11966425p-12847426c.html
A woman and her baby boy returned to their Arden Park home and found her husband bleeding from fatal bullet wounds inflicted during what may have been a home invasion robbery, authorities said. Minutes later, officers arrested a suspect after he tried to swim across the American River several miles away.
The brazen daylight crime brought unfamiliar terror to the upscale Sacramento neighborhood. Officers set up a perimeter. Nearby schools placed students on lockdown. Traffic backed up on eastbound Fair Oaks Boulevard, west of Eastern Avenue.
"We've been in this area for 15 years, and something like this has never ever happened," neighbor Michael Dariotis said. "This is unbelievable."
Officers found the woman hovering over her husband, trying to resuscitate him after she called 911 at 1:54 p.m. He was dead when officers arrived, Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. R.L. Davis said.
"It was a horrible scene," Davis said. "This is an innocent family victimized by a very dangerous criminal."
The husband, Dennis Conrad, a 38-year-old stockbroker whose name was confirmed by family members, was lying near the door. Bloodstains indicated he was "fighting for his life" throughout the residence, Davis said.
The home in the 4200 block of Fair Oaks Boulevard had been ransacked and the couple's Saturn sport-utililty vehicle was missing.
Officers broadcast the SUV's description and established a perimeter around McClaren and American River drives. Rio Americano High School and Del Dayo Elementary were placed on lockdown while the area was searched.
Within 15 minutes, a park ranger at William Pond Recreation Area at the end of Arden Way in Carmichael spotted the SUV on adjacent McClaren Drive. Soon after, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled to the American River, where a California Highway Patrol officer caught up and ordered him to stop.
"He got a few feet across (the river) and then changed his mind," Davis said.
As the man returned to land, he dropped a bag, which detectives believe could contain items taken from the house, Davis said.
Officers found an empty gun holster floating on the river. A diving team will search the river's bottom for a weapon, Davis said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was arrested on suspicion of homicide. He could face multiple charges, including home invasion robbery, possession of stolen property and vehicle theft.
"The man has given investigators multiple names, none of which we could confirm," Davis said. Officers are hoping to identify the suspect through fingerprints, he said.
As homicide detectives studied the scene and pieced together the bloody events, neighbors stood nearby, trying to comprehend a crime that seemed a world apart from the broad green lawns and expertly appointed homes.
"He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet, just quality," Dariotis said of Conrad.
Conrad bought the three-bedroom house from Dariotis two years ago and was excited about the expansive tropical back garden, complete with waterfall and swimming pool, neighbors said.
Conrad married after moving in, and about six months ago the couple had a baby boy, neighbors said. The wife's name was not released Friday.
Conrad expressed concern for his neighbors a couple of weeks ago, after he came home to find his garage open and a bicycle stolen.
Davis said detectives had not determined how Conrad's home was entered Friday.
It was unclear whether Conrad arrived to find someone in his house or was home when his attacker entered. Neighbors said Conrad may have come home for lunch, a frequent habit of his.
Dariotis said he heard five "pops" at about 1 p.m. With a winter storm brewing, he thought a transformer had blown. About ten minutes later, he heard two more pops. He didn't realize anything was wrong until he heard sirens.
Many shots killed owner
More than one burglar was likely involved in the Arden Park slaying, authorities say.
By Elizabeth Hume -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 9, 2005
http://www.sacbee.com/content/community_news/arden_carmichael/story/11984605p-12859801c.html
Dennis James Conrad came home for lunch Friday to find a burglary in progress in his Arden Park home and probably was shot in the back with his own handgun as he tried to flee, according to the crime scenario Sacramento County sheriff's officials pieced together Saturday.
The 38-year-old stockbroker apparently walked in on a burglar or burglars as they ransacked his bedroom, then was shot repeatedly as he stumbled down the hallway. Detectives believe the assailant followed Conrad, holding one of several guns Conrad kept stored under his bed, then shot him again as he lay bleeding in the den.
Deputies spent Saturday examining what they described as a horrific scene of "blood spatter and bullet defects" at Conrad's home in the 4200 block of Fair Oaks Boulevard.
James Shanrock, 23, has been arrested in the afternoon slaying in one of the area's most upscale neighborhoods. Sacramento County Sheriff's homicide Sgt. Craig Hill said that, based on the large number of items pilfered from the home in a short time, detectives believe Shanrock may have had an accomplice.
Shanrock, of south Sacramento, was arrested within hours of the killing. He was wading across the American River when confronted by deputies and surrendered.
He has been uncooperative, Hill said, providing false names and little information.
The shooting death was one of the more violent and brazen homicides involving strangers in the past five years in Sacramento County, Hill said. The detective said he is confident there would have been more victims had Shanrock not been caught so quickly.
"The number of shots fired was truly excessive," Hill said. "Very seldom have I seen where a burglar has taken the extra step to hunt down the owner of a house and execute him."
The motives for the attack are still unclear, but based on their preliminary investigation, detectives pieced together a theory of what took place in the quiet suburban neighborhood Friday.
The episode may have begun hours earlier, at 8:30 a.m. on Gordon Lane, about a mile from Conrad's home, they said. A resident reported two people in a car doing "doughnuts" in her neighborhood.
The car spun out of control and crashed into an oleander bush, where it became stuck, Hill said.
Two people were seen leaving the car on foot. The vehicle, Hill said, is registered to Shanrock.
"They may have been looking for another means of transportation," Hill said.
Five hours later, someone entered the back yard of Conrad's home and used a large stone to smash the double-pane French door in the den. The burglar went to a back bedroom, where Conrad, an avid hunter, kept several guns.
Conrad came home early from work and may have tried to stop the burglary, Hill said.
Based on the crime scene, detectives believe Conrad confronted the burglar, then fled down the hallway as the burglar repeatedly fired, hitting him several times. He made it as far as the den and collapsed. Hill said the attacker followed, delivering the final fatal shots.
Several of Conrad's guns are missing, including a powerful weapon with an uncommon caliber that matches casings and bullets found at the scene, Hill said. The burglar left the home with several other personal items and Conrad's sport-utility vehicle.
Before being taken into custody, detectives allege, Shanrock broke into another house near the American River and changed clothes. The 80-year-old homeowner had been admitted to a hospital a few days earlier and wasn't home.
Officers said they tracked Shanrock to the American River near William Pond Recreation Area. He took off his shoes and started to cross the river, carrying a bag over his head. When he saw officers, he dumped the bag, authorities said.
The Drowning Accident Rescue Team searched the river for hours Saturday. Around 3 p.m., they found a pair of pants near where the bag was dropped. Inside a pocket, they found a handgun. Hill said he did not know whether the gun was the same one used in the shooting.
Shanrock has been booked into the county jail on suspicion of murder.
Conrad's wife and baby boy found his body Friday afternoon.
Arden Park man fatally shot in home
By Elizabeth Hume -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, January 8, 2005
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/11966425p-12847426c.html
A woman and her baby boy returned to their Arden Park home and found her husband bleeding from fatal bullet wounds inflicted during what may have been a home invasion robbery, authorities said. Minutes later, officers arrested a suspect after he tried to swim across the American River several miles away.
The brazen daylight crime brought unfamiliar terror to the upscale Sacramento neighborhood. Officers set up a perimeter. Nearby schools placed students on lockdown. Traffic backed up on eastbound Fair Oaks Boulevard, west of Eastern Avenue.
"We've been in this area for 15 years, and something like this has never ever happened," neighbor Michael Dariotis said. "This is unbelievable."
Officers found the woman hovering over her husband, trying to resuscitate him after she called 911 at 1:54 p.m. He was dead when officers arrived, Sacramento County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. R.L. Davis said.
"It was a horrible scene," Davis said. "This is an innocent family victimized by a very dangerous criminal."
The husband, Dennis Conrad, a 38-year-old stockbroker whose name was confirmed by family members, was lying near the door. Bloodstains indicated he was "fighting for his life" throughout the residence, Davis said.
The home in the 4200 block of Fair Oaks Boulevard had been ransacked and the couple's Saturn sport-utililty vehicle was missing.
Officers broadcast the SUV's description and established a perimeter around McClaren and American River drives. Rio Americano High School and Del Dayo Elementary were placed on lockdown while the area was searched.
Within 15 minutes, a park ranger at William Pond Recreation Area at the end of Arden Way in Carmichael spotted the SUV on adjacent McClaren Drive. Soon after, the driver abandoned the vehicle and fled to the American River, where a California Highway Patrol officer caught up and ordered him to stop.
"He got a few feet across (the river) and then changed his mind," Davis said.
As the man returned to land, he dropped a bag, which detectives believe could contain items taken from the house, Davis said.
Officers found an empty gun holster floating on the river. A diving team will search the river's bottom for a weapon, Davis said.
The man, whose name has not been released, was arrested on suspicion of homicide. He could face multiple charges, including home invasion robbery, possession of stolen property and vehicle theft.
"The man has given investigators multiple names, none of which we could confirm," Davis said. Officers are hoping to identify the suspect through fingerprints, he said.
As homicide detectives studied the scene and pieced together the bloody events, neighbors stood nearby, trying to comprehend a crime that seemed a world apart from the broad green lawns and expertly appointed homes.
"He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet, just quality," Dariotis said of Conrad.
Conrad bought the three-bedroom house from Dariotis two years ago and was excited about the expansive tropical back garden, complete with waterfall and swimming pool, neighbors said.
Conrad married after moving in, and about six months ago the couple had a baby boy, neighbors said. The wife's name was not released Friday.
Conrad expressed concern for his neighbors a couple of weeks ago, after he came home to find his garage open and a bicycle stolen.
Davis said detectives had not determined how Conrad's home was entered Friday.
It was unclear whether Conrad arrived to find someone in his house or was home when his attacker entered. Neighbors said Conrad may have come home for lunch, a frequent habit of his.
Dariotis said he heard five "pops" at about 1 p.m. With a winter storm brewing, he thought a transformer had blown. About ten minutes later, he heard two more pops. He didn't realize anything was wrong until he heard sirens.
Many shots killed owner
More than one burglar was likely involved in the Arden Park slaying, authorities say.
By Elizabeth Hume -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, January 9, 2005
http://www.sacbee.com/content/community_news/arden_carmichael/story/11984605p-12859801c.html
Dennis James Conrad came home for lunch Friday to find a burglary in progress in his Arden Park home and probably was shot in the back with his own handgun as he tried to flee, according to the crime scenario Sacramento County sheriff's officials pieced together Saturday.
The 38-year-old stockbroker apparently walked in on a burglar or burglars as they ransacked his bedroom, then was shot repeatedly as he stumbled down the hallway. Detectives believe the assailant followed Conrad, holding one of several guns Conrad kept stored under his bed, then shot him again as he lay bleeding in the den.
Deputies spent Saturday examining what they described as a horrific scene of "blood spatter and bullet defects" at Conrad's home in the 4200 block of Fair Oaks Boulevard.
James Shanrock, 23, has been arrested in the afternoon slaying in one of the area's most upscale neighborhoods. Sacramento County Sheriff's homicide Sgt. Craig Hill said that, based on the large number of items pilfered from the home in a short time, detectives believe Shanrock may have had an accomplice.
Shanrock, of south Sacramento, was arrested within hours of the killing. He was wading across the American River when confronted by deputies and surrendered.
He has been uncooperative, Hill said, providing false names and little information.
The shooting death was one of the more violent and brazen homicides involving strangers in the past five years in Sacramento County, Hill said. The detective said he is confident there would have been more victims had Shanrock not been caught so quickly.
"The number of shots fired was truly excessive," Hill said. "Very seldom have I seen where a burglar has taken the extra step to hunt down the owner of a house and execute him."
The motives for the attack are still unclear, but based on their preliminary investigation, detectives pieced together a theory of what took place in the quiet suburban neighborhood Friday.
The episode may have begun hours earlier, at 8:30 a.m. on Gordon Lane, about a mile from Conrad's home, they said. A resident reported two people in a car doing "doughnuts" in her neighborhood.
The car spun out of control and crashed into an oleander bush, where it became stuck, Hill said.
Two people were seen leaving the car on foot. The vehicle, Hill said, is registered to Shanrock.
"They may have been looking for another means of transportation," Hill said.
Five hours later, someone entered the back yard of Conrad's home and used a large stone to smash the double-pane French door in the den. The burglar went to a back bedroom, where Conrad, an avid hunter, kept several guns.
Conrad came home early from work and may have tried to stop the burglary, Hill said.
Based on the crime scene, detectives believe Conrad confronted the burglar, then fled down the hallway as the burglar repeatedly fired, hitting him several times. He made it as far as the den and collapsed. Hill said the attacker followed, delivering the final fatal shots.
Several of Conrad's guns are missing, including a powerful weapon with an uncommon caliber that matches casings and bullets found at the scene, Hill said. The burglar left the home with several other personal items and Conrad's sport-utility vehicle.
Before being taken into custody, detectives allege, Shanrock broke into another house near the American River and changed clothes. The 80-year-old homeowner had been admitted to a hospital a few days earlier and wasn't home.
Officers said they tracked Shanrock to the American River near William Pond Recreation Area. He took off his shoes and started to cross the river, carrying a bag over his head. When he saw officers, he dumped the bag, authorities said.
The Drowning Accident Rescue Team searched the river for hours Saturday. Around 3 p.m., they found a pair of pants near where the bag was dropped. Inside a pocket, they found a handgun. Hill said he did not know whether the gun was the same one used in the shooting.
Shanrock has been booked into the county jail on suspicion of murder.
Conrad's wife and baby boy found his body Friday afternoon.