The 2002 murder of Barbara LaForge was a topic of a Lakeport Police Department town hall on Wednesday, February 2, 2011. Detectives featured this picture of LaForge during their presentation. Lake County News file photo.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeport Police detectives shared their approaches to investigations and gave a general update on the city's only cold case homicide at a special Wednesday night town hall meeting.
It was the third such town hall the agency has held in an effort to share with residents its approach to community policing – which is an essential collaboration between the police and community members, according to Sgt. Jason Ferguson, who led the meeting.
The Wednesday meeting also was an opportunity for the more than 30 people in attendance – including retired police chief and new Councilman Tom Engstrom and former District Attorney Jon Hopkins – to hear about the department's approach to solving the 2002 murder of Barbara LaForge.
Ferguson introduced Det. Lou Riccardi and Det. Destry Henderson, the two men who are assigned to work the LaForge case.
Henderson, who has been with Lakeport Police for six and a half years, was assigned to work the LaForge case about 18 months ago.
He explained how that, when a crime is reported, officers will come and take a report and usually handle it through arrest. Detectives are called in on cases involving more significant crimes, such as assaults and financial-related incidents.
Riccardi said cases are then forwarded to the District Attorney's Office, which makes the charging decisions, and which will ask police for additional followup investigation if necessary.
As he moved into the main part of his presentation, Riccardi said he wanted to make clear that they wouldn't discuss witnesses, potential suspects or any evidence regarding the LaForge case because they didn't want to compromise it. He said they would discuss the case in generalities and look at the tactics used.
Riccardi, who moved to Lake County in 2001, has more than 31 years in law enforcement, including patrol, corrections, narcotics and special investigations in San Mateo County. During the last 12 years of his career he worked in homicide both for the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and the county's district attorney. He also teaches law enforcement courses at San Jose State.
He recounted how that LaForge was murdered on the morning of Tuesday, October 8, 2002.
An outline of Riccardi's presentation was included in a PowerPoint projected onto a screen.
As he spoke there appeared on the screen a picture of a smiling LaForge, holding in one hand a wine glass.
Riccardi said that the morning she died LaForge walked into her frame shop and was shot four times – once in the right arm, twice in the chest and once in the back.
He then shared county statistics drawn from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.
In Lake County there have been 114 homicides since 1980. Of those, 90 have been solved, for a 78-percent rate, which Riccardi said is a good percentage.
The statistics showed that 80 percent of the homicides between 1980 and 1989 were solved, 78 percent were solved from 1990 to 1999 and 76 percent were solved from 2000-08.
The reductions in the rates of solved murders in Lake County “is running parallel with the national average,” Riccardi explained.
Over the last 10 years there have been more driveby shootings and home invasions, which are more challenging to solve and often don't have resolutions. Riccardi said those homicides are contributing to the overall reduction in cases being solved.
The law enforcement definition of a cold case is one that hasn't been solved for a year. However, Riccardi said cases that are just a few months old can go cold.
“I personally would say that a case can go cold in 72 hours,” he said, explaining that in some cases there is no evidence and no one – including witnesses – wants to cooperate, which is common in driveby shootings.
He said cases go cold for a number of reasons – lack of resources, an influx of new cases that causes cold cases to be put aside, funding or lack thereof, and lack of evidence.
“The homicide case is a very, very costly investigation” both for the investigation agency and the district attorney that handles it, Riccardi said, explaining the intensive use of manpower, time and money. He said death penalty cases are even more expensive.
He shared a quote that explained his dedication to his work: “No greater honor will ever be bestowed on an officer or a more profound duty imposed on him than when he is entrusted with the investigation of the death of a human being.”
He said he tries to be a voice for the victim.
Digging into the case
In June of 2009 the Lakeport City Council and the Lakeport Police Department established the detective position to pursue the LaForge case, he said.
“The question is, why did they do this?” Riccardi asked.
Riccardi explained that the city council and police department believes the LaForge case can be solved, and that they owe it to Lakeport's citizens to move forward.
When Riccardi and Henderson began work on the case, they had three, three-ring binders filled with information. “And that was the case in chief.”
Today, the case has expanded to 10 three-ring binders, Riccardi said.
“We have reviewed each and every page of that case,” a process that Riccardi said took three months but was important because the two detectives had not been at the scene of the crime.
“A homicide scene is a story book,” with many things to see and read, explained Riccardi. “You start to build your story there, you start to put your case together there.”
Henderson added that as they reviewed the case, they realized that some portions of it needed to be reinvestigated.
“People change names, people move, don't want to be found. That process in itself is huge, to track these people down,” said Riccardi, adding that many people they deal with in such cases aren't upstanding citizens and therefore don't have easy to find paper trails.
The LaForge case has 234 items of evidence, of which between 110 and 115 were interviews that had to be transferred from cassette tapes to digital media, he said.
“We listened to every one of those interviews and made our notes,” said Riccardi. They paid careful attention to all of it, since some things that may not have meant much in 2002 could have new meaning as the case progresses.
In the case file today there are 120 interviews, with Riccardi and Henderson having reinterviewed more than 50 people.
Patience, creativity and persistence are important tools for homicide detectives, Riccardi said.
“We have to play by the rules. We have guidelines. We have laws we have to adhere to. The criminals don't,” which Riccardi said makes it important to think out of the box and not give up, even when hitting walls, which often happens.
With the LaForge case, police have gone away from the norm – speaking to community groups, establishing a hotline, using the media for outreach, getting a $50,000 reward enacted through the governor's office and passing out fliers to downtown merchants, he said.
Riccardi also has spoken with former coworkers to ask for their input on the case. Lakeport Police has worked with other agencies including the District Attorney's Office, the FBI and Department of Justice. “We don't care who it is that solves it. We just want it solved.”
He said eliminating suspects is an important part of their work. “Some people talk their way into being a suspect, because they just can't keep their mouth shut.” Such people gum up the works because it takes time to follow up on their stories to eliminate them.
“Our ultimate goal is to close this case,” said Riccardi, who stated they hope to make an arrest.
While there is a time to give up on some cases, Riccardi said they're not giving up on the LaForge case.
He said detectives also advocate for resources for victims' families. “Families and friends are victims of homicides,” he said.
Cold cases are among the most difficult, frustrating, challenging and labor intensive cases for detectives. While Riccardi said forensic analysis and investigative techniques have improved, the primary way to solve a case comes through a detective's ability to develop leads and get informants.
“I have yet to work on a case that didn't involve a good witness or informant,” with witness statements a key to corroborating facts in a case, he said.
Riccardi said technology is an ally in solving a cold case, but explained that laboratories and testing are more limited and slower than how they're shown in TV dramas like “CSI.” They're also impacted by huge caseloads and state budget issues.
In the LaForge case, there is evidence that had been with the state Department of Justice for three years before it was tested. Riccardi said some other evidence has been with the agency for a year.
Riccardi said Lakeport Police has been calling the Department of Justice to ask for testing results, only to be told, “You're on the board.”
“Well my response is, 'How big is that damn board?'” Riccardi asked.
With state crime labs facing budget cuts and furloughs, “They can only do so much. It's frustrating but it is what it is,” he said.
Some issues that can change the course of a case include a witness who is willing to come forward because they no longer share a bond with the perpetrator or have had a value system change; new leads; witnesses no longer are afraid to testify; deep remorse by a suspect (although Riccardi said he doubts suspects ever become remorseful until they're caught); when friends and lovers of a perpetrator become enemies; or people become religious.
Riccardi said over the last 10 years he's started working more closely with the media. While 20 years ago he wouldn't speak to members of the press, “I think the media has become an asset and can be used to help solve a crime.”
The media's reach allows them to touch a lot of people. In a more mobile society, people who commit a crime in a community might only be passing through, Riccardi said. “When you concentrate your efforts in one area you’re losing out.”
Riccardi said the “three Ts” of a cold case are time, technology and tenacity.
He said he hangs a picture of every victim on his wall. “That's how we want to remember them and that's how we want to work for them.”
Toward the end of his presentation he shared a quote from the French philosopher Voltaire, who said, “To the living we owe respect, to the dead we owe the truth.”
Riccardi followed that with a quote from the fifth century BC Athenian statesman Solon: “There can be no justice until those uninjured by crime become as indignant as those who are.”
Riccardi and Henderson fielded a short round of questions from community members,
Community member Greg Scott asked if the department worked with the local coroner's office in the case. Riccardi said they did in the early days of the case and that those interactions went smoothly.
He explained that in homicides, the autopsy is done the next day, and the detectives are with the pathologist. In cases where there are bullets in a body, the detectives take them into evidence once the pathologist removes them. Henderson added that all autopsies of Lake County homicide victims are conducted at the Napa County Sheriff's Office.
One woman said acting Police Chief Brad Rasmussen had spoken to a community group and stated that he thought a case would be ready to file in the homicide in January.
Riccardi acknowledged that that had been their belief, but recently they have had “new things come in and some developments in the case,” which has pushed that time estimate back.
Mayor Suzanne Lyons – a member of the council that voted unanimously to fund Riccardi's position – asked if they were surprised by what they are finding in the case, which both Riccardi and Henderson acknowledged was a very good question.
“I don't care how long you do this or how long you're involved, you’re always surprised,” Riccardi said.
He added, “I think it's going the way we think it should go,” but added that doesn't mean it can't all change tomorrow.
City Clerk Janel Chapman asked if there is a difference between a person of interest and a suspect.
“To me there is,” said Riccardi, explaining that a person of interest is someone who hasn't given a statement to police but may have information, while a suspect is someone the police believe may have been directly involved in the crime.
At the end of the 70-minute meeting, Rasmussen thanked community members for their interest and support.
The next town hall, scheduled for April, will feature Officer Norm Taylor, who will cover gang awareness, Ferguson said.
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