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Nick Ut / AP file
Rick Heltebrake, with his dog Suni, on Feb. 15 looks over the burned-out cabin where Christopher Dorner's remains were found near Big Bear, Calif. Dorner stole his pickup during his escape attempt. Heltebrake, a ranger who takes care of a Boy Scout camp, said he was checking the perimeter of the camp when he saw Dorner emerge from behind some trees.
LOS ANGELES -- A Scout ranger who was carjacked by an ex-LAPD officer wanted in a series of revenge killings is seeking some of the more than $1 million reward money offered for information leading to the ex-officer’s arrest.
Rick Heltebrake filed a claim against the city of Los Angeles on Feb. 19, according to the LA City Clerk’s Office.
Complete coverage at NBCLosAngeles.com: Manifesto for Murder
He’s seeking reward money that the city announced it was offering for information leading to the capture of Christopher Dorner.
Dorner was accused of killing four people -- including two police officers -- in a rampage over his 2008 firing from the Los Angeles Police Department.
In an online manifesto, Dorner vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blamed for ending his career. He was fired after he allegedly falsified a report about an officer involved in a use of force incident.
Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images
Christopher Dorner
Dorner took his own life while he was hiding out in a cabin on Feb. 15.
Heltebrake was carjacked by Dorner on Feb. 12 as Dorner tried to elude police in the San Bernardino Mountain ski resort area of Big Bear. The 61-year-old ranger at Camp Tahquitz, a Boy Scout camp, said that a man resembling Dorner approached him with a rifle and demanded his pickup truck.
Heltebrake complied and called 911.
Heltebrake claims he is owed at least part of the $1.2 million because his call led authorities to Dorner.
Neither he nor his attorney were available for comment.
Numerous local, state and federal entities are involved in determining the distribution of the reward, said Peter Sanders, a spokesman for LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
"As you can imagine, this is a complex process and one that is often lengthy," he said.
Leave a Comment:
Of course he does.
I'll be surprised if anybody gets any money. We'll see.
Well it sounds fair to me. He was carjacked at gunpoint and his 911 call DID tip off the cops.
He's more than entitled to some or all of the money. If the city breaks the deal, well...
BREAK A DEAL, FACE THE WHEEL!
This is why some "victims" should be casualties.
I saw it all on TV...Can I have some money???...=)
They promised a reward for information leading to his arrest and this gentlemen provided it. There's no question about it, he deserves the reward.
Nope, he got his butt ejected from his vehicle and did nothing to help. And his little dog too.
The reward was for his capture and he wasn't captured because they were to afraid to try. Look at the vehicles the cowards shot up. That shows that. Sorry no blood money for him.
If the LAPD does not pay off, who would call in a tip next time.
You can oppose the greed of this, but the people will oppose dishonesty by remaining silent next time.
Pay him half, use the other half to rebuild the burned down cabin.
I don't think the people were afraid to call and assist the cops. I think most people thought that Dorner was a maligned victim himself. The LAPD has had a history of treating the populace like crap.
I would've given him the keys to my car and a plane ticket to Brazil. No one is going to get the money. This guy who sees an opportunity to cash in on this bounty money shouldn't get a dime. I love the way he (this victim) is shown with his dog too. My empathy button was almost pushed! If the "victims" are getting the money, then give it to Dorner's family. He was the biggest victim of the LAPD!
What ever happened with "reopening" the case anyway???? Funny, how I haven't heard @!$%# about that since they executed Dorner. PR is all it was so that the public wouldn't think the LAPD had anything to hide.
Dorner wouldn't of hurt anyone that wasn't involved with the cops anyway. I think it was obvious. If anyone deserves the money, it's the women the cops shot at when they mistook them for Dorner! *snort*
Shame on the Cops. Shame on this guy trying to cash in on something so tragic and RIP Victims on both sides.
This guy should take his polka- dot dog and his outstretched hand and take a hike! Easy to do, since he's in the mountains! haha
He should get some of the money......he had his truck stolen and destroyed by that piss poor excuse for a human. He also called 911 and reported it to police. He is a victim and deserves a portion....as do ALL the victims.
At least give the guy a new truck...
Just another black eye for the LAPD. They owe him the money as promised. It was in the news with no caveat as to how or when it would be repaid. They are using stall tactics to figure a way to weasel out or pay much less. There is no need to have a long involved review. A reward was offered for information leading to the capture of Dorner. He provided information, they captured him...PAY HIM!
If he was an illegal alien they would pay up right away!!
In other words, "we are going to stall as long as we can while the lawyers figure out a way to weasel out of paying any money."
So was the money for his arrest or capture. They never intended to arrest him. He had already killed some of the "brothers in blue" and he was continuously outwitting them. However they did capture him - just didn't take him alive - which they never intended.
LOL...... It will probably be cheaper for LAPD to conspire with another department, plant some drugs on this dude, come up with some child abuse charges, and either kill him, or lock him up forever. Villaraigosa (a complex process, yea, right) is as useless as LAPD!!
If you're not in LAPD's corrupt family of cops/sheriff deputy's, they couldn't care less about you.
I don't believe they gave the Hispanic lady they tried to kill, her new ROYAL BLUE TOYOTA TACOMA they said looked like a GREY NISSAN TITAN!!
Oooh, you sound like a bad dude, AK.....LOL!!!!
It's a contract that was announced and legally has to be honored....of course it was offered by LA, so good luck!
but then again, he is still alive! Guess he is UNgrateful for that.Neither he nor his attorney were available for comment, guess he didn't want the reward money afterall.
Also if anybody bothers to read the story, it said"One million dollar reward leading to the ARREST of the suspect. The way I read the story back when it all went down, suspect killed hisself. No arrest was made!!!!!!!!!!
then again in another sentence it states".......reward offered for CAPTURE of suspect!"
The ONLY person(s) who should get the reward money are people who provided critical information that resulted in the capture.
You will destroy the information reward system if you give it to anyone else.
.
Got to love it. First, he has insurance, and his truck was stolen, so it goes as no fault of his own.
The Reward moeny is for information leading to the Arrest and ultimate conviction. Here is the problem, at the time of the carjacking, they were already in pursuit. He was calling 911 because someone stole his truck, not because he was trying to report the whereabouts of a fugutive.
It's called intent. The Los Angeles City Attorney's office will likely keep these people on the hook for as long as it takes. Keep in mind, not aa dime can be paid out until Dorner is found guilty in a court of law. If he is found innocent or never goes to trial, they don't have to pay a dime.
And I seriously doubt Dorner is going to object to not getting a speedy trial at this time.
His claim sounds... a bit questionable. He reported his truck stolen, which is standard practice for most people, and the description matched Dorner.
Did his information notably move the investigation forward, and bring Dorner to justice where he might not otherwise have been caught?
I don't know. Maybe. Maybe I'd put in a claim too in his place. Why not? No one person could be termed solely responsible for Dorner being brought to bay.
Give the money to the women who the Nazi pig cops shot. Greedy lying cheating pigs held me at gunpoint and beat me while I was handcuffed in cali'f'n'fornia. Where is my f'in reward? Oh yeah I got it. Everything I worked for was stolen and I was jailed for over a year. ZIONAZI ZIONAZI ZIONAZI Nation ruled by Greedy lying pigs. Give the reward to Dorner's family and freinds would make just as much sense and justice. If there were a real god he would screw 3/4th of the LAPD up the bum hole and take the US congress and the Federal Reserve by the arse and torture them for eternity.
His information gave them an exact vehicle, a tag number, and the direction he was heading, the fact that he was also a victim is irrelevant. He could have called an hour later after he was over the shock and his nerves had settled and would not have done anything wrong.
The woman will get their well deserved money, and lots of it, in the lawsuit.
LAPD's credibility is now even worse than before, if that is possible, but remember many people saying LAPD would try weasel out of paying when the rewards were announced.
if they don't give him the money he can always go Dorner on them...make them wish they treated him fairly...then like a sceen from the three little pigs...they will huff and puff...burn his house down...
show me the money!!!!
Yeah, right. Tell me another fairy tale. Just write a check. Dorner's not still around, is he? He deserves the money.
I do not see what justification the LAPD would have to deny him at least part of the reward money. He did call in to report that Dorner had stolen his truck and gave them specific information that led to the police locating Dorner. The ones with the more ridiculous claim are the women who are trying to collect because Dorner tied them up and held them hostage in the cabin they were cleaning. Yest they called in and reported it when they finally got free, but their information is not what led the police to find Dorner. All they could do was confirm he was in the area, which the police already knew. The only person who gave specific information that led to locating Dorner was this guy who had his truck stolen.
As for the women who got shot and had their vehicle shot to pieces by the LAPD in the "mistaken identity" incident, they will collect their millions from their lawsuit against the LAPD. They have no claim against any reward money, although they definitely deserve to be compensated by the LAPD.
What really disgusts me is that we have to offer rewards at all to get citizens to do the right thing and help bring a murderer to justice.
I hope that one thing that comes out of this is an independent investigation of the circumstance surrounding the firing of Dorner. From what I have read, it does sound like he may have been fired for telling the truth about an inappropriate use of force by another office instead of taking the usual stance of keeping silent and protecting a cop who stepped over the line. The feds need to step in and investigate the use of force incident in question and the subsequent firing of Dorner. I do not in any way defend what Dorner did, but I also think he may have had good cause to be angry with certain members of the LAPD.
Sounds like greed to me!
Sounds very fair that he and the couple tied up in their cabin be given the money. Their lives were totally disrupted by this rogue cop and their calls led the officers to the area where he was holed up and died. Let's see how fairly this is handled.
The LAPD will weasel out of paying anybody any part of that reward! If you ever had any contact with the LAPD, or L.A. city government, you'd know that!
the way i read it is that the reward was for information leading to dorners capture, he wasnt captured because he killed himself. Also he got carjacked, that sux, he called 911 to report that he was carjacked not to say hey this is where dorner is come get him but hey this is where i am and i got carjacked... Why should this guy get a payday, put the money into something useful like education!
The whole idea of reward money is ridiculous to start with.
People shouldn't need a reward to get them to offer tips that will apprehend criminals. This guy should be grateful that he's still alive--because Dorner let him live, and because the police are the people whose job it is to arrest freakshows and put them in jail.
Of course, if they are actually going to give out the stupid worthless money, then he might as well get a bit of it.
A million pesos is equivalent to $80,000. The reward money was for one million dollars not pesos.
This guy is pushing his luck.
He's lucky to be alive forget about a reward!
Calling 911 and saying his vehicle was stolen by the killer isn't a part of the capture or even leading to his capture.
Those two who were tied up and pointed out the cabin are the ones to get the reward.
Dead or alive if it wasn't for the tied up people..they would of never got him.
There's always some money-grubbing jack wagon seeking 'entitlements' undeservedly. Nobody in a public service capacity (park rangers included) should be able to share in the reward money as it is.
greed will imprison us all.
gotta agree with you there. Look at how many times people in positions of authority have made promises and they just turned their backs when it was time to "pay". The Native Americans could write volumes on broken promises. Hell, look at the promises politicians make and "forget about" as soon as the votes are tallied.
Break the promises to retain the wealth - greed.
So, true, greed will imprisoned us all, especially in this society. And how do anyone knows that his truck was taken, he could've easily hid it and filed a false claim inorder to get the money. It's a shame! My prayers go out to all of the victims, including Donner. I think it's a cover up in the LAPD.
Unless LAPD wants to face accusations that they killed Dorner to avoid a conviction and void the reward, they better pay up! The purpose of a reward is to get folks to report information even if they perceive some personal danger in doing so. Offering a reward contingent on conviction is a stupid thing for law enforcement to do in any event. It gives the defense the chance to argue at trial that witnesses are biased because they have a financial stake in the outcome.
The stipulations get legalistic...but yet, there was a quick trial and convictiction, judgement executed on that day. May have not been in the right courts, but, judgement/ conviction was handed out against Dorner. Fear, emotions reigned heavily amongst the LAPD, What judgement($) will the two ladies that were gunned down in their truck trying to deliver newspapers receive? Heard there was another innocent victim of quick conviction, shooting at him, mistaken for Dorner by LAPD.Wonder what the real truth is, will true justice be served. How this Spree was handled is crazy madness on both sides of the Thin Blue Line. Just a Wild, Wild West. No excuse for executing innocent people by Dorner. But, maybe, another group/level of law enforcement should have gone after Dorner, to eliminate personal conflict. Just looks like the guy was never going to stand in a front of a real judge in a real court. Now, this is a Big Mess that leaves a trail of ruined careers and ruined lives. Unforgiveness, bitterness ruined Dorner. His decision to be an executioner ruined more lives than he anticipated, out of control. His actions caused others to behave badly, out of fear for their own lives, and their families.His cruel decision to kill so many caused his own rush to self execution. We don't have all of the facts, so, how can we make the right judgement against the LAPD? It's not a pretty business. How would we have had handled this bloody conflict? It is so sad.
I would have done it anyway...but you made the contract -city--now cough it up dirtballs! These are two separate isuses and events.
They owe it all to him. Complex? There"s nothing complex about it.
they owe the Innocent citizens they shot and the Innocent citizen who's cabin the burnt down that's who they owe. the ones that got shot don't say anything but the guy that made a call wants money.
I'm sure the ones the LAPD shot already have lawyers and will be seeking money.
Actually, I would actually read the terms of the Reward. The rewards are not valid unless the information leads to the Arrest/Capture. Dorner wa neither arrested, nor captured. And then it comes down to intent, did the guy call 911 because his truck was stolen or because he was trying to alert police? They also do not pay out, unless the person has actually been convicted in a court of law. Conviction in the media is not legally binding.
Then tack on further, the Police were already in hot pursuit, and in fact, Dorner was spotted leaving the scene, in that truck, long before they ever got that call.
lj,your an idiot. Stop trying to act like judge Judy,you know nothing about the law except what you have heard on a few tv shows. This guys information did help find Dorner and yes he was captured,dead!
Good luck getting a penny.
There are a lot of different entities involved in the distribution of this reward money. No one is just going to cut him a check. What a simpleton.
The police chief has the nerve to ask for a tax hike after failing to publicly apologize for shooting three innocent people and two neighborhoods, promising to re-open the original complaint, and now is reneging on the reward promised when they had no help but the public. Yet they wonder why they are the most despised and untrusted PD in the country. PAY THE PEOPLE who called you!
You seem like you're speaking from having inside information about this case, or situation, so, are you a cop, a cop's lover, or someone high up in LA's corrupt administration?
The cops executed Dorner, just so they wouldn't have to pay off on the bounty, and so he couldn't talk.
Dirty cops.
They executed him because they were constantly embarrassed by him. He made them look like fools to the world. You can't have that.
Only the president is allowed to pretend killing of its citizens is inconsequential. (Hint: Benghazi)
Delete this one mods.....
^ And the IGNORANCE begins!! It's the President's fault!! LOL!
Pay up, L.A. I hope he gets it.
What! You actually believed that BS of award money? Right... now pay attention. I have this GREAT OPPORTUNITY - it's a Bridge in Brooklyn, and it will soon be dismantled and sold for scrap. All you have to do is bid on the demolition rights, of which my company (ahem) has the contract for.
Guy... you ain't never gonna see a dime. (And if you do, you'd better have eyes in the back of your head to continually watch your back.)
And BTW:
Who ever said Dorner killed himself? He was burned alive - before he could testify in his own defense. There was no way he was going to be taken into custody. His murder was planned from the get-go.
I'm sure you're right. He shot himself in the head AFTER he burned to death.
Yes - my original post was a bit incomplete. They set fire to the cabin first. So the choice was to go the whole nine yards and suffer, or take yourself out quickly. He WAS burning alive. He chose to end his agony. If he was already dead, then why would the executioners burn down the cabin at all?
Another thing, the article mentions him killing himself - but NOT the fact the police were turning him into a crispy critter beforehand.
Then again, one must consider if Dorner did indeed shoot himself, or if it was a sniper's bullet. To be honest, I wouldn't trust a single word coming out of any "authorities" mouth.
who cares if he shot himself or was shot by a cop?? He was a killer deserved everything he got. The only remorse should be for the poor people that lost their cabin, Sure it will be rebuilt though.
Foolish me... I thought we had arrest, trials, and due process... not summary executions.
By your standards it's "Kill 'em all - let God sort out his own" - right?
arrest and conviction. Neither happened. He isn't due a dime.
No prob. have them make out a check for any amount and Omama will sign it.
I KNEW IT HAD TO DO WITH OBAMA! Good way to mis-direct the conversation, Warren! *claps* Obama is behind it all, esp. since he is also a black man...oh wait, isn't Obama Hussein an illegal alien with no birth certificate?
I KNEW IT WAS THE ALIENS!!! Warren, where would I be w/o your insightful misdirection?
If you ask obama about it I'm sure he will tell you it is the republicans' fault.
Damn warrren, is everything in the world Obama's fault.
tydub123
No everything in the World is Not Obama's fault. " hundreds of lines of text deleted here .. "
The current president is the best black president the US has ever had.
Black President? I say he's White. His mother was White you know.
(11.3)
Well his hair is compromising by going GRAY.
@Tydub,
You know the answer to your question. Yes, for people like Warren, everything IS Obama's (wait insert insulting moniker instead of his name) fault!!!
It's predictable.
Nothing is obama's fault. He has never owned up to ANYTHING. He is the President of Blame with the republicans being responsible for all the negative effects in the country. He is good at chest thumping when he thinks there is something to be gained.
The reward should definitely be paid, otherwise LA will have no credibility the next time around. The reward should be split between Dorner's victims and their families.
hted
by the time the parasitic legal system gets through sucking there share of the loot out it's doubtful the ones called victims will receive anything more than a smile and hand shake from these same people ..
Has anyone rebuilt the compound in Waco Texas after the government was finished leveling it to the ground..
Don't hold your breath. The woman who lost her cabin to the idiots that burned it down will probably be denied coverage by her insurance jews as well as the state.. soo sorry ..
he is entitled to some portion of the reward IMO.
They wont pay, and thus validate was Mr. Dorner was saying all along. Granted he could have posted on the internet, made signs, stood on the street with a megaphone and shouted. But would that have gotten our attention? Would we truly have listened?
Some attorney will likely parse the words and he gets nothing. "leading to" ...something like monica lewinsk.
Edward Joiner
NO
It has become passe and unexceptionable behavior to demonstrate in public places by the State. You are now branded a criminal subversive if you voice any opinions against the government. The ones in POWER have created armies of people to SQUELCH DECENT.
Simply doing NOTHING in a public place can get you arrested and charged with a laundry list of violations of various codes, policies, statutes .. etc.
Freedom is now dead. you must obey or you will be processed into a re-education facility.
Aren't rewards for "the arrest and conviction" clearly that's not the case in this matter. Why does it take reward money for people to do the right thing anyway?? That guy could have easily been killed, what are you going to do with your "reward" money then?
well this is one of the LAPDs boys losing his sh@t and going rouge.........and the cover your ass situation is one of biblical proportions . dorner should not have killed to get his point across, that left him with no creditably, and no real right to do so. with that being said there is more here than the LAPD is willing to admit......so yeah they will pay out the money , because that reward is a hell of a lot cheaper to pay than answering all those (questions) that do not seem to be on the front burner . hence the reward. business as usual . mere formalities this man and the homeowners will get reward.....even the LAPD bureaucracy is not that dense.........
The city is going to weasel out of it. I'm sure.
Absolutely.
What happened to just doing the right thing? This guys true colors just came out. If he stopped a rape, should he get paid for it? If he prevents a murder, should he get paid for it? If he reports child abuse, should he get paid for it? Disgusting
Tonya C,
It's not the same thing!
This guy's life was in danger.
Do you think no one should ever accept a reward that's offered?
Why then should rewards be offered in the first place?
I would be happy with the fact I am alive and helped keep anyone else from getting hurt. Guess I am in the minority sense it is apparent that greed is the majority. Disgusting
@Tonya,
"Doing the right thing" isn't what LA cops are known for. That is what started this bloodbath.
Hope this guy and his mutt don't hold their breath. I wouldn't want a dime of that money.
TONYA,you ignorant slut! LA offered the reward ,it's not like he went to them asking to be paid. He's asking that they uphold their end of the bargain. LAPD didn't have a clue where Dorhner was,they thought he was headed to Mexico. His info helped find him. YA know, "captured dead or alive".
"As you can imagine, this is a complex process and one that is often lengthy," he said.
Yeah, but if it was the other way around, the cops and the city would be all over you.
If his call was truly responsible for leading the police to his location then I agree that he deserves the money, However, it also needs to be determined whether any other person or persons also helped lead to his location and if so they also need a cut of the money. However, simply being a victim does not entitle them to the money. The reward was offered for his arrest and capture not for the victims.
The reward did not say anything about a conviction. It was for the arrest and capture of Dorner. Bottom line it did assist information where Dorner was hiding. Yes the guy is entitled to the reward.
a part of the reward or "the reward" ??
Of course this was going to happen
In America it's never about the money but it's only about the money
How many others are gonna make a claim??
No reward could be given
Why??
There never was an arrest as stipulated in the offer
Any time anyone claims "it's not about the money", rest assured, it's about the money. It's always about the money.
The rewards are meant to bring forth people who have information.
All he did was call 911 when he was a victim of a crime.
Law Enforcement is their own dirty little secret society! I for one, think his Superiors did set Dormer up with his own paperwork to get him off the force, because he was the odd man out & wouldn't conform to their dirty way of doing things & refused to be a "Dirty Cop". If your not in the click, you will be out, one way or another & he was fairly new to Law Enforcement. His Superiors or Training Partner probably handed Dorner a bunch of paperwork to sign & they slipped in a "Dirty Document" & rushed him to get them signed not fully reading them. They stuck to his signature on the document, he had no recourse to fight it. They were saying after his death, they would re-investigate that, but no further word on that, of course not! My view only, but that's what I got out of it all! They threw that previous Military Man in the trash & kicked him to the curb after all that training. Ex-Military, Ex-Cop, pissed off!
@Thumbalina,
Exactly! Notice how we haven't heard a peep about "reopening the case"? They wanted to shut him up and that is exactly what they did in the end. How many times does justice really prevail anymore? The world is becoming greedier and more primitive everyday.
Everyone knows that you have to look after yourself and you will be screwed if you don't! This guy got sick of it. Not everyone bends over and takes what is shoved up their ass! Jobs and lives are ruined by people who don't give a crap about you or your family.
Demon,take your meds!
He murdered innocent people.
tak., #24,
Innocent people are the only people you can murder.
Killing guilty people is termed as executions.
@takenaka,
He was a cop. Cops are used to doing what they want and not paying the consequences. Ironic that the Cops got a taste of their own medicine.
Let god sort them out.