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Gerald Stanley, 64, has been on death row for 25 years, sent there for the August 1980 murder of his wife, Cynthia Rogers, who he shot to death at her father's resort in Nice. He was tried in Butte County due to pre-trial publicity in Lake County.
Stanley, who worked as a hunting guide, had a violent history with women before the Rogers murder.
He served four and a half years in prison for murdering Kathleen Rhiley, his first wife, in 1975, and was believed to be involved in the murder of Sheryl Ranee Wright, 19, of Redding, last seen the day before Cynthia Rogers was shot.
But there is another woman linked to Stanley whose ultimate whereabouts have been a mystery for decades: Diana Lynn Ramel.
In a phone conversation with Lake County News late last month, Stanley stated that he intended to turn over to law enforcement officials and the Tehama County Grand Jury the location of Ramel's body. Ramel went missing on Feb. 14, 1980.
“It's time to resolve this,” he said of Ramel's case.
For years, Stanley has promised to reveal Ramel's location, saying he only wanted to be granted an execution date in return.
Previously, he hasn't given up the information. But he appears to have followed through this time.
On Monday, Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen confirmed to Lake County News that he had received a letter from Stanley the same day, outlining the location of Ramel's body.
Ramel and Stanley lived together in Manton, a small community in northeastern Tehama County, on the border with Shasta County.
Stanley maintains that he did not kill Ramel, but he says he did help dispose of her body.
Cohen said he's had a chance to review the handwritten letter, and he intends to meet with the local Department of Justice (DOJ) Crime Lab on Tuesday to discuss the feasibility of conducting a search.
There was a prior search for Ramel's body, said Cohen, although he doesn't know exactly when it took place, or where it was conducted.
Jack Leavitt, a Hayward attorney who has previously been sanctioned by the courts for attempting to help Stanley stop the appeals process in his death penalty case, said he found references in court records to a previous search, but he also didn't know the time frame. He believes it took place close to the area Stanley has identified in the recent letter.
That original search, Leavitt said, failed because it didn't go far enough, and the information Stanley offered didn't appear to pinpoint the location properly.
In the letter outlining the location, a copy of which Leavitt provided to Lake County News, Stanley writes that Ramel put chloral hydrate – a sedative used to induce sleep – in her wine, which killed her, “and I panicked the next morning.”
That led he and another man to bury her body in a creekbed, the letter states.
“I ask that Mr. Leavitt and I be allowed to explain federal attorneys are a fraud and delaying my case deliberately,” he said.
Stanley told Lake County News that he realizes he's not going to get an execution date, and that he's likely to die of a heart attack instead. Natural causes is reported to be the most common cause of death for death row inmates in California due to the lengthy appeals process.
Complaints over handling of death row case
Cohen said he believes Stanley offered the information because he wants to discuss with the world his anger with the Federal Defender's Office because of the repeated attempts to delay an execution.
“In the past it's always been that he would just like to end his life,” said Cohen.
That's been a consistent refrain with Stanley over the years, although some officials have doubted Stanley's sincerity.
Then, last March, came another wrinkle – a federal court judge ruled that juror misconduct and a breach of due process during the competency phase of Stanley's trial, which took place in late 1983 and early 1984 in Oroville, meant that the court needed to reexamine whether or not Stanley had been mentally competent to stand trial.
While Stanley's guilt was upheld in previous rulings, the March 2008 ruling by Judge Frank C. Damrell Jr. could mean that Stanley's sentence is changed from death to life imprisonment.
The retroactive competency hearing is back in the Butte County Superior Court, where the original trial took place.
Stanley has complained that his court-appointed attorney, Dennis Hoptowit, represents the wishes of the Federal Defender's Office, not his own. However, Stanley turned down an opportunity for Leavitt to represent him last year, instead choosing to stay with Hoptowit.
Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins said he'll return to Butte County Superior Court on May 21 to set a date for a hearing on whether or not it's feasible, a quarter century later, to attempt to determine if Stanley was competent at the time of trial.
The proceedings have been put over as Hopkins attempts to locate the original trial transcripts, which he said weren't with the Butte County Superior Court. He said he has people looking through the court's storage, and also has transcript copies of his own and from the California Supreme Court to submit in case the original can't be found.
Leavitt said Stanley has indicated he intends to request that the court allow him to represent himself, an action which Leavitt said Stanley hasn't taken formally before.
Also making the possibility of an execution for Stanley unlikely is a current moratorium on executions in California, established following a February 2006 ruling in which a judge ordered the state to review its death penalty procedures over concerns about suffering of inmates and cruel and unusual punishment. The last execution in the state took place late in 2005.
Cohen said the Ramel matter is “an entirely separate matter” from Stanley's death row case, which doesn't necessitate the involvement of the Federal Defender's Office.
Stanley has stated in previous interviews that he had told the attorneys involved with his federal defense of Ramel's burial site, and they had visited and videotaped it.
Cohen said he didn't yet know how he was going to proceed in the matter, and that the weather conditions and the location – specifically, if it appears to be different from the original search area – would be factors.
“It's going to be dependent, too, on what DOJ's suggestion is going to be. I don't want to speculate what they're going to say,” he said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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KELSEYVILLE – This Friday, Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa hosts the rock legend Eddie Money with Jesse Money of MTV's “Rock The Cradle” and special guests Lake County rising stars, The Lost Boys.
Eddie Money’s career spans more than four decades. He was a fixture in the San Francisco rock scene for several years.
Much like the members of The Lost Boys, Money began singing in rock bands while still in high school.
Edward Joseph Mahoney was born in 1949. He was going to be a New York City cop. That was before he had two tickets to paradise. He took on a new name, a new persona and became Eddie Money.
After leaving the police academy in New York, Money relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to pursue a music career. It was there that he joined Big Brother and the Holding Company, Janis Joplin's backup band, after her death in 1970.
Money became involved with Bay Area concert promoter Bill Graham's management company. Graham became a mentor to Money, helping him negotiate a recording contract with Columbia Records.
Money's raspy, raw sound captured audiences immediately. The first two singles from Money's first record, “Baby, Hold On” and “Two Tickets to Paradise,” reached No. 11 and No. 22, respectively, on the 1978 charts.
A notable duet with Ronnie Spector in 1986, “Take Me Home Tonight,” combined Money’s trademark sound complemented by Spector’s incredible range and bad girl spirit. The song reached the top 10 on the Billboard Music Charts.
He became the first artist to sign with Graham's surviving namesake management company, Wolfgang Records, in 1995.
Money’s music remains a solid staple as seemingly timeless lyrics and tunes fill the libraries of generations of fans. He’s had many comebacks, but he never really went away.
Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa is located at 8727 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville.
For information call toll free: 800-660-LAKE or visit www.konoctiharbor.com.
E-mail Mandy Feder at
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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH A COMMENT FROM THE STATE BAR OF CALIFORNIA.
LAKEPORT – An attorney who formerly represented juveniles in criminal and civil cases in the Lake County court system has been sentenced to a year on home detention and three years of formal probation for felony possession of child pornography.
Robert Wayne Wiley, 75, was sentenced on Friday before retired Fresno County Superior Court Judge Harry N. Papadakis, who heard Wiley's case because the rest of the county's judges had recused themselves.
Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg said Wiley received 120 days in county jail and three years of formal, supervised probation.
Wiley's defense attorney, J. David Markham, declined comment on the case.
Borg said Papadakis directed that Wiley be allowed to serve his jail sentence in home detention. Wiley also must register as a sex offender, will not be allowed Internet access and will be subject to search and seizure under the terms of his probation.
For many years Wiley acted as a defense attorney for juveniles offenders, holding a contract with Lake Legal Defense Services, as well as holding a contract with Lake County Superior Court to represent juveniles in civil cases, as Lake County News has reported. Both of those contracts were terminated when Wiley was arrested in September of 2007.
Because of his previous contact with the juvenile justice system, which was managed by Lake County Probation, that agency recused itself from doing a probation report for Wiley's case. Borg said the Mendocino County Probation Department stepped in and completed the report, which suggested the 120 days in jail.
Borg said Papadakis was concerned that Wiley's age and his previous work as a public defender would make Wiley a challenge to house safely in the Lake County Jail, thus the order that he serve his sentence at home.
Wiley previously had been charged with four felony counts of possessing child pornography, but the judge reduced that to two after a preliminary hearing last fall.
In January, Wiley reached an agreement with the District Attorney's Office and pleaded guilty to one felony count of possessing child pornography.
His case came to the attention of investigators in February of 2007, when he left a thumb drive – a small portable device that stores data – in the Department A courtroom, where juvenile matter are heard.
That thumb drive allegedly contained pornographic images, which were discovered when a bailiff opened the drive in an attempt to identify its owner.
In all, investigators would find pornographic materials on several other devices as well, including a thumb drive Wiley was wearing when he was arrested, the computer from his Lakeport office and his home, where they also located several hard drives.
“He was wearing the stuff to court and he had it at his office and he had it at his home,” said Borg.
Borg said he didn't have a total when it came to counting up all the pornographic images and materials, but he said he himself reviewed several hundred of them.
Not all of the materials they found in the investigation were contraband, he said. Some were nudist films; there also were videos of young boys taking part in wrestling tournaments, which were themselves innocent but were strange in the context of being found with the other materials.
Then there were the “very disturbing” materials that investigators found, showing very young children in pornographic situations, said Borg.
None of the images were of children that Wiley knew or represented, according to a previous statement by Borg.
Borg was required to notify the State Bar of California about Wiley's case. He wasn't sure of what action the association will take.
Donald Steedman, State Bar of California supervising trial council, said when they get a complaint about an attorney convicted of a felony they take action.
“The State Bar Court will automatically suspend the attorney from practice,” Steedman said.
Steedman said the State Bar Court must then hold a hearing to decide what discipline is to be imposed.
He said he believed they have already requested certified copies of Wiley's records from the Lake County Superior Court for the purposes of the State Bar Court proceedings.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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MIDDLETOWN – An Elk Creek man died Saturday as the result of a motorcycle collision.
Tracy Griffin, 35, was the victim of the fatal crash, which occurred at 3 p.m. Saturday on Butts Canyon Road, according to CHP Officer Steve Tanguay.
Griffin was riding his 2003 Suzuki GSXR1000 motorcycle behind a small group of motorcycle riders on Butts Canyon Road heading toward Middletown from the Napa-Lake County line when he failed to negotiate a left curve and went off of the roadway, Tanguay reported.
Tanguay said Griffin's motorcycle struck the guard rail, which caused Griffin to be thrown from the motorcycle.
Griffin sustained fatal injuries as a result of this collision and was pronounced deceased at the scene, Tanguay said.
When Griffin didn't show up at the meeting point with the group of motorcyclists, they went back to look for him. Tanguay said they found Griffin where the collision occurred.
Tanguay said that CHP Officer Rob Hearn is investigating the collision.
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Before I return to my discussion of the Alternative Minimum Tax, a couple of important notes.
There is a scam email being sent to individuals targeting those who either did not receive a stimulus payment or felt they deserved a larger payment. This email, which looks official, urges taxpayers to respond by downloading information that will allow them to receive additional money. The IRS simply does not send out emails. So if you receive such an email, it is bogus.
The stimulus rebate received last year, which were based on 2007 income was actually advance refunds of amounts from one's 2008 return. If you didn’t get the full rebate of $600 or $300 for those with lower income or dependents, the IRS will calculate the rebate again based on 2008 data. If the recalculated rebate is larger than what was received last year, you will receive the difference. If the recalculated rebate is the same as last year's, or less, you do not have to pay it back. On most tax software there is a place to report what you actually received as a stimulus rebate.
In addition, while many people were getting ready for the holidays last December, there was a bill passed that effects the tax return preparation for the 2009 tax year.
The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 was approved on Dec. 11, 2008. This act deals primarily with pensions, however under this act there is an important section that deals with retired individuals receiving Required Minimum Distributions (RMD). These are amounts which, in general, must be withdrawn from certain qualified pension plans once a taxpayer reaches the age of 70 ½ years of age.
In general, the penalty or excise tax applied when the RMD has not been taken has been eliminated for the tax year 2009, thus the RMD need not be withdrawn in 2009. This may benefit those who are taking withdrawals from their retirement account by not forcing withdrawals of retirement accounts that are dropping in value. By allowing the principal to remain in the account longer, it is hoped that a recovery will increase the value to the account.
In the last article I mentioned how new legislation could make one's 2009 tax return potentially painful; well I was speaking of what was happening at the time. Both the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees have since announced that they are working on new tax legislation. These new potential laws will most likely add a layer of complexity to the existing law. The Senate promises $275 billion and the house promises $30 billion worth of change. These implied promises sound very good, but what will the reality bring?
When judging tax legislation, one must remember that there will be a heck of a lot of speeches and posturing until we really see the reality. So far, none of the analysis of the proposals seems exciting or likely to bring large tax refunds. There will most likely be a continuation of promises and a lot of politics before we actually see workable proposals.
Many of the proposals made will never see the light of day; one such proposal is the “Rangel Rule,” named after the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. This powerful congressional committee is where all income tax bills get their start, as well as most governmental spending begins. Other committees may propose changes, but all the changes come from this committee. Lake County should be proud that our congressional representative Mike Thompson is a member of this committee.
This rule states that the IRS cannot charge interest or penalties on the collection of past income tax owed. It turns out that the honorable Mr. Rangel paid $5,000 in past taxes he owed but refused to pay any interest or penalties on those taxes. While this is one of my favorite proposals, I seriously doubt that it will see the light of day.
This process makes it crucial that we all be aware of the upcoming changes and determine what, if any, these changes will have on our tax or financial position. This does not mean shifting through all the politics and reports, just that when the final bill is signed that you know the important elements and that you decide if you need to adjust your strategy.
It appears that the Alternative Minimum Tax will not be ignored and will be patched as usual instead of being permanently corrected. The patch, in this case, is a temporarily increase in the exemption level. This tact was probably taken because had it not been proposed, then 20-30 million taxpayers hit with an increase in their tax bill would create a protest too big to ignore.
This of course means that one should have a strategy. As I mentioned in my last article, the days when one could just ignore their tax and financial position has ended. We must be aware how changes in law and finances affect our position.
Of course, a detailed strategy in regard to the AMT must be individualized, but in general, it means, to review your tax return after it has been filed and projecting or estimating what will happen this year and over the next few years.
If you are expecting major changes such as retirement or having children or if there is a potential for higher taxes due to the AMT or less deductions or just more income, then measures should be taken to reverse these effects. This can mean a variety of strategies that in general involve the timing of receiving or paying income and expenses. There may be other tactics that can be taken. The time to act is now, while there is time to plan.
Of course, it’s hard to know what’s going to happen in the future and at this time, it may not be possible. However, once we get into the habit of planning and doing periodic reviews, then when you spot a change, action can be taken before a huge tax bill comes your way.
Jon Meyer is a local tax accountant and enrolled agent with more than 25 years experience in tax preparation. The office of Jon the “Tax Man Meyer “also offers retirement planning and insurance options. Questions regarding this article can be made by calling 928-5200.
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KELSEYVILLE – A Kelseyville man is in custody for allegedly murdering his roommate.
John Robert Gray, 43, was arrested at 4:30 p.m. Saturday by sheriff's officials, who had begun looking for him earlier in the day.
The murder victim is 37-year-old Eric Joaquin, who was reportedly beaten to death, according to one neighbor who spoke with sheriff's deputies.
Lake County Sheriff's officials did not respond to weekend calls or e-mail regarding the incident.
Several neighbors spoke with Lake County News, but asked not to be identified for reasons that included fear of retaliation from some of the subjects who had frequented the home.
On Saturday morning at 9:42 a.m. sheriff's dispatch put out a call to sheriff's deputies about an incident at Gray's home at 10163 Del Monte Way in the Clear Lake Riviera, based on a 911 call that appeared to have been made from the address. The original report indicated the victim may have been shot, according to radio reports.
There, law enforcement reportedly found Joaquin's body inside the house. The street was then cordoned off as deputies began interviewing neighbors.
One of the neighbors, who called the situation “a nightmare,” added, “Whoever did this is a scary person.”
All of the neighbors said sheriff's officials confirmed to them that a homicide had taken place. One man said he was told Gray was the suspect and Joaquin the victim, and that they believed Joaquin had died sometime late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
Joaquin had moved into the house with Gray within the last three to four months, according to one neighbor. That man also reported seeing Gray and Joaquin working together on a project car at the house.
The neighbors reported not hearing anything on Friday night, and one man said he had not seen Gray in several days, a circumstance he called “kind of weird.”
“In the last few days it's been kind of quiet over there,” the man said.
Gray was not arrested at his home, the man added.
One of the neighbors reported sharing hellos and occasional friendly waves with Gray and Joaquin, but he had been concerned about constant comings and goings of others who had been visiting the house at all hours, raising concerns about possible drug activity.
Over the last month and a half the house had been visited by the sheriff's office four times, said a neighbor, including once on Feb. 22, according to a sheriff's log entry. One of the neighbors said he guessed they must have had a scanner in the house; shortly before sheriff's deputies arrived on the Feb. 22 visit, several people came running outside and appeared to be hiding things.
Sheriff's deputies were called back to the Del Monte Way address on Sunday on the report of people taking property out of the home.
Gray, whose booking sheet lists him as being self-employed, is being held in the Lake County Jail on $500,000 bail. Jail records indicate that he's due to appear in court on Tuesday in Department 2.
Harold LaBonte contributed to this report.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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