Search for San Diego County girl ends in grief

A body found in a shallow grave is believed to be that of Chelsea King, 17.

By Richard Marosi

March 3, 2010

Reporting from Poway, Calif.

The intense search for Chelsea King ended Tuesday when authorities unearthed a body in a shallow grave near the lakeside park where the teenager had gone running last week.

There is a "strong likelihood" that the body is that of the 17-year-old Poway High School senior, though a positive identification had yet to be made, said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore.

The teenager's family was devastated, he said at a news conference, adding: "They were holding out hope, as we all were, that we would find Chelsea alive."

A dive team found the body on a tributary of Lake Hodges, in a wooded area that had been the focus of an extensive search since Saturday, after a shoe was found there. A diver working his way up the tributary saw debris about 10 feet from the water, which led to the grave, Gore said.

The site is about half a mile from the parking lot at Rancho Bernardo Community Park, where King had left her car before heading out on the trail.

News of the discovery quickly spread in the upscale San Diego suburb, where thousands of volunteers -- students, senior citizens, friends and family -- had joined hundreds of law enforcement officials hiking for miles in rough terrain to help find the missing girl.

"Everybody is asking the same question: Why?" said Paula Bunn, a bereavement counselor at the Chelsea King Search Center, who consoled several of King's distraught friends. They were still wearing "Bring Chelsea Home" sweatshirts.

The suspect in the case, John Albert Gardner III, a 30-year-old registered sex offender, is expected to be charged at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, according to the San Diego County district attorney's office.

Authorities have expanded the investigation in recent days after linking Gardner to an attack in December on another young, female jogger in the same park.

They are also looking into whether he had anything to do with the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl last year in Escondido.

In the December incident, a 22-year-old woman was approached by a man who tackled her and demanded money. She escaped after hitting him in the face, bloodying her elbow. San Diego police did not disclose how they linked Gardner to the attack.

Some residents and people posting comments on the Chelsea King Facebook page have criticized law enforcement authorities for not posting warning signs in the park after the December attack. Gore declined to comment at the news conference.

The search began Thursday night after the teenager, a straight-A student and member of the San Diego Youth Symphony, failed to return home after going for a run.

Brent King, Chelsea's father, found his daughter's locked car in the parking lot.

"Fear gripped me and I took off running, searching for my daughter, calling her name at the top of my lungs," he said in an interview with KUSI-TV Channel 9 in San Diego.

Gardner was arrested Sunday afternoon outside a restaurant near the lake after unspecified evidence linked him to the crime, authorities said. The 230-pound Gardner, who is registered as living in Lake Elsinore, had been visiting his mother in Rancho Bernardo last week.

In 2000, Gardner pleaded guilty to molestation charges involving a 13-year-old girl.

He served five years of a six-year prison term and wore a global-positioning system tracking device until 2008, when his parole term ended.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-missing-girl3-2010mar03,0,861444,print.story

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L.A. County probation workers elude punishment for misdeeds

Lack of staff to administer discipline is blamed in 170 cases, half of which involve youths. Most of the employees remain on the job; it's unclear if they will ever be punished.

By Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Richard Winton

March 3, 2010

At least 170 Los Angeles County Probation Department employees have committed misconduct -- including cases of excessive force and abuse -- but have so far escaped punishment because there is not enough staff to mete out discipline, officials said Tuesday.

"We have too many cases and not enough staff," interim chief Cal Remington said in an interview with The Times. "I'm not happy with the time it takes to complete an investigation and determine the discipline."

Department investigations have concluded that the employees committed misconduct and should face discipline ranging from written reprimands to terminations, Remington said. Of the 170 employees, most are sworn officers and about half the cases involved allegations of abuse of juvenile probationers. Most of the employees remain on the job, and it was unclear if they ultimately would be punished.

Remington said he was also concerned about 112 pending misconduct investigations, some of which have been languishing unresolved for months. Of those cases, 51 involve employees who have been accused of abusing youths who are on probation, department officials said. Many of those investigations involved complaints of excessive force.

The disclosures come after a Times story revealed that juvenile probation officers in recent years have been convicted of crimes or disciplined for inappropriate conduct involving current or former probationers, including several cases of officers molesting or beating youths in their care.

"There was a failure to implement discipline across the board," county Supervisor Mike Antonovich said Tuesday as the Board of Supervisors ordered an independent review of the agency's discipline and internal affairs operations. "It was a breakdown in the process of investigations."

The department, with an annual budget of about $700 million, has been the subject of federal investigations in recent years for failing to prevent, report and document child abuse in its juvenile facilities. The department is responsible for protecting 3,000 youths in 21 halls and camps, one of the nation's largest juvenile justice systems.

The agency currently has 14 investigators to review hundreds of complaints leveled against 6,200 employees each year, including about 4,400 sworn officers, two-thirds of whom work with youths.

Several of the investigators were assigned to those positions in recent weeks, officials said. (By contrast, the Los Angeles Police Department has 271 internal affairs investigators for 9,900 sworn officers.)

When an allegation of misconduct is made against a probation employee, the case is assigned to an investigator. If the probe finds wrongdoing, the case is sent to a special unit to determine the level of discipline and carry it out.

Remington said the special unit is struggling to administer discipline in new cases while also defending dozens of older cases that accused employees have appealed to the Civil Service Commission. All of the 170 misconduct investigations occurred within the last year, officials said.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said the department needs to make eliminating the backlog a top priority. He said he is concerned about the possibility that probation officials who mistreated juvenile offenders are still working at county facilities simply because officials cannot administer punishment.

"We need to get very, very busy disposing of these cases," he said.

In an article two weeks ago, The Times identified 11 cases of serious misconduct by probation officers working with juveniles.

In one case, a detention officer was convicted of having sex with three youths in the juvenile hall where she worked. She was sentenced last year to four years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of felony sexual abuse.

In another case, a detention officer was sentenced to a year in jail last year for directing five teenagers under her care to beat another youngster who she mistakenly believed had stolen her cellphone.

The Times identified the cases through court documents, law enforcement records and department sources. Probation officials said they were prohibited by law from discussing the details of officers' misconduct.

The newspaper examined records from the last four years -- a period during which county officials hired Robert Taylor to head the agency with the mandate of reforming the department, including providing better oversight of officers.

At the time Taylor took over, the department was struggling with violence in its halls and camps and persistent criticism that it was doing little to help the juvenile offenders in its care.

Taylor retired last month. He defended his tenure, saying he tried to be proactive in rooting out employees who misbehaved. Remington, who was appointed interim chief, said he was in the midst of assessing the department's discipline system before newly appointed director Donald Blevins takes over April 19.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-probation3-2010mar03,0,416458,print.story

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Child reportedly directed jets at JFK airport

The Associated Press

5:36 AM PST, March 3, 2010

NEW YORK

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating whether a child directed planes from Kennedy Airport's air traffic control tower.

A child's voice can be heard on a tape making five transmissions to pilots preparing for takeoff on Feb. 17. The recording was obtained by WFXT-TV in Boston.

In one exchange, the child can be heard saying, "JetBlue 171 contact departure."

A male voice in the tower says: "That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school."

The child later clears another plane for takeoff, and says, "Adios, amigo."

The FAA said in a statement: "Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic."

It added: "This behavior is not acceptable."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-naw-faa-child4-2010mar04,0,1763940,print.story

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Senate ends impasse, approves jobless aid extension

Republican Sen. Jim Bunning had held up the 30-day continuation of unemployment aid, citing concern about the deficit. The Senate votes for the bill, which also replenishes the Highway Trust Fund.

By James Oliphant

March 3, 2010

Reporting from Washington

Senate leaders Tuesday night resolved an impasse over emergency aid to the jobless that had driven a wedge into Republican ranks and given Democrats a political weapon.

The deal overcame the continued objections of a single senator, Republican Jim Bunning of Kentucky, who for days had held up short-term extensions of unemployment and COBRA benefits over concerns that the bill would increase the federal deficit.

To pacify Bunning, Senate Democrats agreed to allow a floor vote on an amendment to offset the cost of the bill. The amendment did not survive a procedural objection.

The 30-day extension then passed on a 78-19 vote. For at least the next month, hundreds of thousands of people can continue to receive jobless benefits and the federal government can continue to assume a greater share of their COBRA health insurance costs.

The bill also delays a threatened 20% cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients. And it temporarily replenishes the depleted Highway Trust Fund, which will allow suspended construction projects to resume and 2,000 furloughed federal employees to return to work.

Bunning began his one-man blockade Thursday, when he refused to accede to a plan endorsed by both Democratic and Republican Senate leaders that, by unanimous consent, would have approved a short-term extension of several federal programs set to expire Monday. He argued that because the Senate had adopted pay-as-you-go rules, the bill had to identify how its cost would be offset.

"If we can't find $10 billion to pay for something that all 100 senators support, we're in deep trouble," he said Tuesday night. "We are on an unsustainable path, as far as the budget."

The standoff mushroomed into a significant distraction for Senate Republicans, many of whom were torn between supporting Bunning on principle and being viewed as denying aid to the jobless.

Democrats, for their part, gleefully cast Bunning as the poster child for gridlock. "It's wrong for one senator to prevent people from getting the help they deserve," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said Tuesday.

The agreement to pass the bill may have been driven in part by a Republican moderate, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Early Tuesday, she called on Bunning to stand down. He refused.

"The present stalemate is unacceptable," Collins said in an interview. "This has real-life consequences for people in this country."

But Bunning drew support from fiscal conservatives nationwide, and some colleagues cheered him on from the sidelines.

"I respect him for the courage he showed," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said Monday.

Bunning, 78, had little to lose. The Hall of Fame pitcher had already decided to retire when his term expired early next year, after it became clear that the GOP establishment would not back him for reelection.

Late Tuesday, as the vote approached, Bunning conceded like an athlete, saying he had, in a sense, left it all on the field.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-senate-bunning3-2010mar03,0,5548884,print.story

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Justices signal they're ready to make gun ownership a national right

A high court majority reviewing a handgun ban in Chicago indicates that it sees the right to bear arms as national in scope, and can be used to strike down some state and local gun regulations.

By David G. Savage

March 3, 2010

Reporting from Washington

The Supreme Court justices, hearing a 2nd Amendment challenge to Chicago's ban on handguns, signaled Tuesday that they were ready to extend gun rights nationwide, clearing the way for legal attacks on state and local gun restrictions.

The court's majority appears almost certain to strike down a Chicago ordinance and rule that residents have a right to a handgun at home. Of U.S. cities, only Chicago and its Oak Park suburb have total bans on handguns. But many cities and states have laws regulating who can have a gun and where they can take it.

Gun rights advocates have said they've been waiting for the court's ruling in this case to begin challenging gun regulations nationwide.

At one point in Tuesday's argument, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. noted the city's lawyers doubted that people had a right to carry concealed weapons in public.

"Well, maybe that's right," Roberts said. But he quickly added that the question could be left for a future case, indicating that the court was not likely to sweep away additional gun regulations in this ruling.

But the clear message from the argument is that a five-member majority on the court thinks the right "to bear arms" is a fundamental right, like the freedom of speech, that cannot be unduly restricted by federal regulations, state laws or city ordinances.

Two years ago, the justices in a 5-4 decision struck down a similar handgun ban in the District of Columbia -- a federal enclave -- saying for the first time that the federal government is restrained by the 2nd Amendment from preventing an individual from having a gun for self-defense. In the Chicago case, the court is weighing whether to extend that protection to state and local jurisdictions.

In the ruling two years ago, the court also said reasonable regulations of guns were permitted in the District of Columbia. The tenor of Tuesday's argument suggested it may take years of lawsuits to draw a line between an individual's right to have a gun for self-defense and the government's authority to set reasonable regulations.

Since 1982, Chicago has enforced a strict ban on handguns, even for law-abiding residents who want to keep one at home. The city's lawyer argued Tuesday that throughout American history, cities and states have enforced restrictions on weapons without much interference from federal judges.

"Firearms are designed to injure and kill," and cities need to regulate them to protect the public's safety, James A. Feldman said.

But he ran into skeptical questions from the court's leading conservatives, who referred to their decision in the Washington, D.C., case.

Shortly after that decision, gun rights advocates sued to challenge Chicago's ban on behalf of Otis McDonald and several other city residents. The case forced the high court to confront a simple question it had never answered: Does the 2nd Amendment limit only the federal government's authority over guns and state militias, or does it also give citizens nationwide a right to challenge their local and state gun laws?

Since the District of Columbia is a not a state, the court's ruling in D.C. vs. Heller left that issue unresolved. But during Tuesday's arguments, the justices who formed the majority in the D.C. case said they had already decided that gun rights deserved national protection.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said the individual right to bear arms is a "fundamental" right, like the other protections in the Bill of Rights. "If it's not fundamental, then Heller is wrong," he said, referring to the D.C. ruling, which he joined. Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito Jr. echoed the same theme.

At one point, Justice John Paul Stevens proposed a narrow ruling in favor of gun rights. Two years ago, he dissented and said the 2nd Amendment was designed to protect a state's power to have a "well regulated militia."

Now, however, Stevens said the court could rule that residents had a right to a gun at home, but not a right "to parade around the street with a gun."

A lawyer representing the National Rifle Assn. scoffed at the idea and opposed a "watered-down version" of the 2nd Amendment.

Scalia also questioned the idea. In his opinion two years ago, he described the right to bear arms as a right to "carry" a weapon in cases of "confrontation." Such a right would not be easily limited to having a gun at home.

The justices will meet behind closed doors to vote this week on the case of McDonald vs. Chicago. It may be late June before they issue a written ruling.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-court-guns3-2010mar03,0,5973238,print.story

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From the White House

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Transparent Cybersecurity

Ed. Note: Learn more about the Administration's Cybersecurity efforts on our Cybersecurity page.

Today in my keynote speech at the RSA Conference in San Francisco I discussed two themes that are vital to our nation's cybersecurity efforts:  partnerships and transparency.  These two themes go hand-in-hand.  You cannot have one without the other, and they form the foundation of nearly all of the action items outlined in the President's Cyberspace Policy Review .

Earlier this year in a memorandum on open government to all Federal departments and agencies, President Obama said, “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.”  Building on this statement, I am personally dedicated to ensuring that the Federal Government's cybersecurity efforts are as transparent as possible.

For this reason, I was pleased to announce today that the Obama Administration has revised the classification guidance for the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (or CNCI), which began in 2008 and forms an important component of cybersecurity efforts within the federal government.  Anyone can now view or download an unclassified description of the CNCI and each of the 12 initiatives under the CNCI .

Transparency is particularly vital in areas, such as the CNCI, where there have been legitimate questions about sensitive topics like the role of the intelligence community in cybersecurity.  Transparency provides the American people with the ability to partner with government and participate meaningfully in the discussion about how we can use the extraordinary resources and expertise of the intelligence community with proper oversight for the protection of privacy and civil liberties.

In order to be successful against today's cybersecurity threats, we must continue to seek out innovative new partnerships—not only within government, but also among industry, government, and the American public.  Transparency improves our collective knowledge and helps bind our partnerships together to form the most powerful cyber tools that we have.  We will not defeat our cyber adversaries because they are weakening, we will defeat them by becoming collectively stronger, through stronger technology, a stronger cadre of security professionals, and stronger partnerships. 

Howard A. Schmidt is Special Assistant to the President and the Cybersecurity Coordinator

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/02/transparent-cybersecurity

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From the FBI

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Group of people watching a cross burn. Photo courtesy of the National Archives.		CIVIL RIGHTS ERA MURDERS Joint Initiative Yields Results 03/02/10 Hate crimes—especially murder—are one of our top investigative priorities, even if they occurred half a century ago. That's why we established our Civil Rights Cold Case Initiative, focusing on racially-motivated killings from the civil rights era. In addition to seeking justice for victims, we were also seeking closure for victims' families, many of whom had no idea what had really happened to their loved ones. Our initiative began in February 2006 , when we reached out to local and state authorities, civic organizations, and community leaders around the country, looking for information on civil rights era racially-motivated murders that had never been solved or were not adequately investigated and prosecuted. Over time, we were able to identify 108 possible cases.
In February 2007, the FBI and the Department of Justice announced a partnership with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Urban League to help investigate these aging unsolved murders. At the time, Director Robert Mueller said, “We will do everything we can to close those cases and to close this dark chapter in our nation's history.” And in November of 2009, we made one last push —publicly announcing that we were looking for the next of kin in 34 cases to let families know what happened to their loved ones and to possibly obtain additional investigative information.  All told, during the past four years, FBI agents from more than a dozen field offices—with the assistance of our law enforcement partners, communities, and the media—expended thousands of investigative hours doggedly tracking down witnesses, pursuing leads, pouring over old police records and court transcripts, and perhaps most importantly, locating family members who may have never known what happened to their loved one.  The victims' families contacted by our agents were very helpful —some even provided useful investigative information. One of our case agents in the Jackson Field Office recalled meeting this past January with the elderly mother of a murder victim and interviewing the siblings: “As we sat and talked, and after they gave us names of other individuals who might have some knowledge of the incident, they told us they understood the limitations of investigating such an old case and thanked us for pursuing it.” Since the initiative began: Approximately half of the 108 cases involved deceased subjects, while 30 percent involved subjects who had already been prosecuted at the state level and 20 percent uncovered deaths that weren't racially-motivated. Three cold case investigations were referred for state prosecution, and the FBI is currently assisting in the prosecution of former state trooper. The next of kin in 11 additional cases were located following the November 2009 public announcement seeking family members in the 34 remaining cases. The Department of Justice has closed eight cases, and will be closing an additional 18 as soon as the families of the victims have been notified. (Other closures and family notifications will follow.) And while our initial effort is wrapping up, the FBI will always be looking for information on other possible racially-motivated murders from the civil rights era. Contact your local field office if you believe you have knowledge of such a crime. http://www.fbi.gov/page2/mar10/coldcase_030210.html

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From the  DEA

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DEA and the Louisiana State Museum Open Powerful New Exhibit

Exhibit from the Drug Enforcement Administration explores the many costs and consequences of illegal drugs

MAR 02 -- The Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA's) traveling museum exhibit, Target America: Opening Eyes to the Damage Drugs Cause , is coming to the Big Easy at the request of Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. Installed at the Louisiana State Museum's Old U.S. Mint Building, the 10,000-square-foot exhibit opens on March 3 and runs through November 24. Target America explores the science behind illegal drug addiction and the myriad costs of illegal drugs—to individuals, American society, and the world.

“It is a privilege to bring DEA's premier exhibit to one of America's greatest cities, and to have it displayed in such an historic venue at the heart of New Orleans,” said Michele M. Leonhart, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “More than 15 million people of all ages have already visited Target America in other cities. Now, the people of the Crescent City will see for themselves how illicit drugs affect all Americans. It will open their eyes to the real story of how drugs are produced; the role of terrorists, traffickers, and gangs in the drug trade; the heartbreak drug addiction causes addicts and their families; and how the brave men and women of DEA are working with our law enforcement partners in every community to stem this cycle of violence and pain.”

Lieutenant Governor Landrieu sought the opportunity to display Target America in New Orleans. “ The national exhibit presented an opportunity to dramatize the impact of drugs in our own neighborhoods,” he said. “The Louisiana State Museum drew on its extensive collection of artifacts and curatorial expertise to produce the locally-themed exhibits. Meanwhile, the museum's education staff has designed quality programs to reach children and families with a strong prevention message. It's a great example of how our cultural institutions can address serious social issues and help build healthier communities.”

Despite the fact that the vast majority of Americans are not drug users, the costs to society – estimated at more than $180 billion a year – are paid by the public in many ways, including the cost of lost productivity of users at work, their health care, criminal justice costs, and child welfare costs.

The exhibit provides an important look at how each visitor can work to break the cycle of drug abuse and drug-related violence. It also gives a look at the shadowy world of narco-terrorism and the connections between terrorists and drug traffickers.

“Looking through the eyes of Target America , Louisianans will see the genesis of illegal drugs and how they affect the body, the economy, the environment, and the connection between terrorist organizations that use illegal drug profits to aid and further their evil acts against America and other parts of the world,” said DEA New Orleans Field Division Special Agent-in-Charge Jimmy Fox.

Target America began its national tour in 2002 and comes to New Orleans with a section specific to Louisiana. The “Louisiana Story” looks at prevention, treatment, and law enforcement issues related to drugs in the state, as well as current neuroscience research aimed at understanding and breaking the cycle of drug abuse and addiction.

A coalition of corporate, foundation, and individual sponsors brings Target America to New Orleans. The exhibit was developed in partnership with The DEA Educational Foundation, The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and The Partnership for a Drug Free America. It premiered September 11, 2002 at the DEA Museum in Arlington, Virginia and has since inspired many millions of visitors in Dallas, Omaha, New York City, Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The Old U.S. Mint is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. There is no charge to visit the Target America exhibit in the building's West Pavilion. Parking is available in the Farmer's Market lot on Esplanade Avenue, across from the Old U.S. Mint.

A formal ribbon cutting ceremony will be followed by a press conference held by DEA Acting Administrator Leonhart and Lieutenant Governor Landrieu. Also speaking and taking questions will be Fran Harding, Director of CSAP; Dr. Wilson M. Compton, Deputy Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse; Bill Alden, President, DEA Museum Foundation; and Sam Rykels, Louisiana State Museum Director.

http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/states/newsrel/2010/neworleans030210.html

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