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  • 7
    May
    2013
    10:36pm, EDT

    Three parties to split $1 million reward in hunt for rogue ex-LA cop Christopher Dorner

    Karen and Jim Reynolds, the couple who accidentally stumbled upon fugitive Christopher Dorner, describe finding him, being tied-up, what he said to them, and their eventual escape.

     

    By Sofia Perpetua, NBC News

    The couple tied up by Christopher Dorner, the man who found his burning truck and a tow-truck driver who spotted the rogue ex-cop will split a $1 million reward offered during February’s epic manhunt, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

    Dorner was a former LAPD officer and a U.S. Navy reservist who targeted police officers and their families. He killed four people, including two law enforcement officers, and wounded three others in a nearly one-week manhunt.

    From the 12 claims filed, a panel of three judges selected three claimants to receive the reward.

    On Tuesday, authorities announced that 80 percent of the reward is going to James and Karen Reynolds who Dorner tied up at their Big Bear cabin before escaping in their SUV. Karen Reynolds managed to break loose of her bindings and call 911.

    Dorner later crashed the SUV and carjacked a white pickup.

    Daniel McGowan, who found the truck in the Big Bear area, will receive 15 percent.

    The remaining 5 percent will go to tow-truck driver R.L. McDaniel, who spotted the rogue ex-cop Dorner at a Corona gas station early in the manhunt.

    The first installment of the reward will be paid on Friday, May 10, the LAPD said.

    Dorner shot himself in the head Feb. 12 during a shootout with authorities who had surrounded the cabin where he took cover in the San Bernardino Mountains.

    96 comments

    I do not care about the reward. I want to know what the two women the police attacked are getting. Remember the pick up shot up by police, those ladies.

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  • 23
    Apr
    2013
    7:29pm, EDT

    Women mistakenly wounded in California manhunt to get $4.2M in settlement

    View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

    By Olsen Ebright, NBCLosAngeles.com

    The city of Los Angeles will pay $4.2 million to the two women injured when police mistakenly opened fire on their truck during the February manhunt for a disgruntled ex-LAPD police officer who killed four people in a rampage that paralyzed Southern California.

    LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich confirmed Tuesday to NBC4 that a deal has been reached with Margie Carranza and her mother, Emma Hernandez.

    "The deal is relatively a very simple, very clean deal. It's a win-win for both parties," Trutanich said. "It closes this chapter in Los Angeles and LAPD history on all issues."

    The $4.2 million will be split between the two women "any way they want," Trutanich said.

    The shooting occurred Feb. 7 during a manhunt for Christopher Dorner. Earlier in the day, two Riverside, Calif., officers were ambushed in their police car, and authorities were on the hunt for Dorner and his Nissan Titan pickup truck.

    At about 5 a.m., as the women were delivering newspapers in their Toyota Tacoma pickup in city of Torrance, police encountered them and opened fire.

    Hernandez, 71, was shot twice in the back, and Carranza, 47, was injured by broken glass.

    The search for Dorner ended Feb. 12 with a shootout and standoff in the Big Bear area.

    Dorner was holed up in a cabin surrounded by authorities when a police tear gas canister shot into the residence started a fire. Dorner then shot and killed himself, according to deputies.

    282 comments

    Wait a second Cops are now allowed to open fire on unarmed citizens and there are no charges. The cops were not in fear of their lives. To try and make an argument they were, then since there are criminals and murders out there and I don't know where they are, so I also should be allowed to shoot at …

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    Explore related topics: manhunt, nbclosangeles, christopher-dorner
  • 12
    Apr
    2013
    10:31pm, EDT

    Dealer to auction gun once owned by rogue ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner

    By Samantha Tata, NBCLosAngeles.com

    A gun once owned by a rogue former LAPD officer who killed four people before fatally shooting himself after a frenzied manhunt is being auctioned by a southern Nevada pawn gun dealer.

    Julie Jacobson / AP

    George Bramlett, owner of the Bargain Pawn shop in Las Vegas, shows a gun once owned by former LAPD police officer Christopher Dorner on Friday.

    George Bramlett, at Bargain Pawn in North Las Vegas, thinks the .38 Special that Christopher Dorner sold him in January – one month before Dorner's revenge-fueled killing spree began – might fetch a couple of thousand dollars.

    Proceed from the auction, posted on GunBroker.com, likely will be donated to the families of the two law enforcement agents Dorner killed, Bramlett told the Associated Press.


    But administrators handling funds for San Bernardino County Sheriff Deputy Jeremiah MacKay and Riverside police Officer Michael Crain said the officers’ families don't want the money.

    Read more on NBCLosAngeles.com


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    President of the Riverside Police Officers’ Association Sgt. Brian Smith called the offer "morbid."

    For six days in February, Dorner was the subject of a massive manhunt after being named the prime suspect in the slaying of a newly engaged couple, one of whom was the daughter of a former LAPD captain.

    In an angry manifesto, Dorner vowed to target law enforcement agents and their families as revenge for being fired from the force.

    He then killed two police officers and injured two others before the search turned to the community around Big Bear Lake, where Dorner’s burned-out truck was found.

    Law enforcement agents combed the mountain community and stepped up security around Los Angeles police officers named in Dorner’s manifesto, until Feb. 12 when the ex-officer shot himself while cornered in a burning cabin.

    By Friday evening, the bidding for a gun Dorner sold before the revenge plot began was close to $500 for a weapon Bramlett said is probably worth $250 to $300.

    A description on the auction page describes Dorner a "coward and murderer," and notes that the shop to which he sold the revolver turned over surveillance video of the exchange to investigators.

    The auction began on April 9 and is scheduled to end April 23.

     

    22 comments

    I would not say a Colt stainless 38 special is a junk gun. I would not want to own it but it is not junk.

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  • 22
    Feb
    2013
    1:33pm, EST

    8 LAPD officers involved in shooting after Dorner 'case of mistaken identity'

    LAPD Capt. Phil Tingirides and LAPD Sgt. Emada Tingirides recalled fearful and anxious days under police protection, after their eight-member family was targeted by former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner. 

    By Hetty Chang and Samantha Tata, NBCLosAngeles.com

    Bullet holes in front doors, trees and a kitchen serve as reminders of the chaos brought to their Torrance, Calif. neighborhood during a frantic manhunt for an ex-police officer bent on revenge killings.

    Nine bullets pierced a tree on Redbeam Avenue where two newspaper delivery women were shot by police officers who had mistaken them for fugitive Christopher Dorner.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Margie Carranza and her 71-year-old mother, Emma Hernandez, were delivering the Los Angeles Times before dawn near the home of a police officer named in Dorner’s angry manifesto.

    The shooting occurred Feb. 7 after officers were notified of a truck that matched the description of Dorner’s gray 2005 Nissan Titan. Hernandez suffered two bullet wounds to the back. She was released from the intensive care unit and was recovering. Carranza, 47, had minor injuries related to shattered glass and a wounded finger.

    The women’s lawyer counted 102 bullet holes in their blue Toyota Tacoma and several more in Hernandez’s hoodie.

    Weeks later, memories of the shooting were still evident, with five bullet holes piercing a home’s front door and more in walls and garages that lined the street.

    "My guess is that they threw policy out the window and got in trouble," said resident Steve McDonald, whose solar panels sustained bullet damage. "They're lucky they didn't hit each other because there were bullets flying every which way."

    More news from NBCLosAngeles.com

    NBC4 has learned that eight LAPD officers were involved in the shootout. All of them have been assigned to non-field assignments until "the [police] chief decides otherwise."

    So far, their names have not been released and there has been no comment from the Los Angeles District Attorney about pressing charges.

    An attorney for the women, Glen Jonas said he’ll let the investigation run its course.

    "If the city wants to do it the easy way and get it resolved; if they want to do it for hard way, then we’ll file a lawsuit," he said.

    Police said they cannot comment on on-going internal investigations.

    But some residents, despite being so close to the gunfire, said they understand the officers’ actions.

    "I think they have to be supported through this," said Joanne Arnn. "Yes, it's unfortunate, thank goodness no one here was fatally injured, but it's not a very safe world."

    Arnn said that Torrance Police Department contacted each household on the block to learn if anyone was injuries and offered to pay for any damage to their homes.

    About two blocks away and thirty minutes after the women were shot, a Redondo Beach man was fired upon by officers who also mistook him for the wanted Dorner.

    Related links:

    • Officials hope to ID charred remains as those of ex-LAPD suspect Dorner
    • Dorner died of self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, authorities say
    • Police search mountains for LAPD murder suspect Christopher Dorner, release new image

    914 comments

    This whole case is going to be good for a book and a movie....... As far as the $$ for the reward....spread it around among the victims and those who suffered damages. And find out the truth and tell the public, regardless of what it is.

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    Explore related topics: lapd, manhunt, nbclosangeles-com, christopher-dorner
  • 18
    Feb
    2013
    3:59am, EST

    Sources: Ex-cop Dorner tried to charm fishermen into taking him to Mexico

    View more videos at: http://nbcsandiego.com.

    By Chris Chan and Wendy Fry, NBCSanDiego.com

    Ex-LAPD officer-turned-fugitive Christopher Dorner, who went on a deadly shooting rampage and then died after a shootout and fire last week, first tried to charm fishermen in San Diego’s Driscoll Wharf into giving him a ride to Mexico, sources said.

    Dorner, 33, led authorities on a massive manhunt after allegedly killing an Irvine couple and a Riverside police officer in a crime spree across Southern California that began on Feb. 3.

    Dorner's deadly crimes were allegedly part of a revenge-filled plot he outlined in an online manifesto targeting law enforcement officers and their families.

    Authorities searched for Dorner all over Southern California -- from Irvine to National City -- and led extensive checkpoints at the San Ysidro border, believing Dorner was trying to flee into Mexico.

    Fishermen at Driscoll Wharf told NBC 7 exclusively that Dorner was on the pier near Nimitz and Harbor Island Drive on Feb. 5 trying to charm his way into a boat ride to Mexico.

    “He kept saying he wanted to go fishing off Mexico. I said ‘Mexico? That’s kinda weird. You could go fishing on the bay,’” said Jeremy Smith, a local commercial fisherman.

    Smith spoke exclusively with NBC 7 on Saturday night.

    Smith and others at the dock said Dorner was willing to pay $200 to $400 for someone to take him out to sea. He told the fishermen he was going to be deployed to Afghanistan and just wanted to go fishing in Mexico first.

    Read more from NBCSanDiego.com

    But at this pier, far away from popular fishing charters, most people were making repairs on their boats, not ready to go to sea.

    Smith offered to show him around a luxury yacht that was for sale docked at the pier. But he asked him to remove the military style boots Dorner was wearing to keep the white carpeting clean. Dorner declined.

    "Maybe he had a gun," Smith guessed. "Usually people want to see inside."

    Dorner's request for a ride surprised some local fishermen, including Roy Sherman.

    “I’ve been down here for 40 years and he’s the first guy that came down here and asked for a ride,” said Sherman.

    San Diego Police Lt. Andra Brown said she was not aware of this particular Dorner sighting in San Diego.

    “We’re not going to discuss details of an ongoing investigation,” Brown said, and referred questions about the incident to the Irvine Police Department.

    Several other law enforcement sources -- not in the San Diego Police Department -- confirmed the man described by local fishermen was likely Dorner.

    Dorner did spend time in San Diego between Feb. 4 and Feb. 6.

    Gift of fish tacos
    A surveillance video taken behind an auto parts store in National City on Feb. 4 shows Dorner tossing bullets, a uniform and other items that linked him to the Irvine double-homicide into a dumpster.

    After spending an hour at the pier the next day, the fishermen said Dorner left, but returned with fish tacos for Smith, hoping that would convince the fisherman to help him find a charter.

    The witnesses reported Dorner was very friendly, always with a smile on his face, calling himself "Mike."

    The man who called himself "Mike" told Smith a story about a friend who was having problems with the police and said his friend had been fired.

    "I think he was talking about himself, now that I think about it," added Smith.

    Dorner eventually left peacefully without his ride to Mexico, the group of fisherman said.

    Driscoll Wharf is adjacent to Naval Base San Diego on North Harbor drive.

    Smith said Dorner returned to the wharf on Feb. 6 but still couldn't find anyone to take him to Mexican waters.

    That same day, a man fitting Dorner’s description tried to steal a boat from a San Diego marina, according to officials. An 81-year-old man on the boat was tied up but uninjured. The would-be boat thief was unable to steal the boat and fled.

    Karen and Jim Reynolds came face to face with Christopher Dorner when they arrived at their Big Bear cabin to clean it out for renters. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    Later that night, police issued Dorner's description, and the fishermen said they notified authorities of their encounter.

    On Sunday, fishermen on Pier 6 at Driscoll Wharf are amazed the kind man who brought them fish tacos on Feb. 5 was the dangerous fugitive accused of fatally shooting four people, including a police officer and a sheriff’s deputy.

    The 10-day manhunt for Dorner ended on Feb. 12.

    After barricading himself in a Big Bear-area cabin, he died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said. That cabin went up in flames during a shootout between Dorner and officers, and the fugitive's charred remains were later found inside.

    Related:

    Dorner's luck ran out, but these five accused killers continue to elude cops

    Dorner died of self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, authorities say

    Police chief named in manifesto recalls 'the Chris Dorner that I knew'


    105 comments

    This guy wasn't very smart for a cop. Getting to Mexico should have been easy. Unless he was trying to put the authorities off his trail, by making it look like he was going to Mexico. But that's not very smart either, because they weren't about to stop looking for him, or stop guarding his intended …

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  • 17
    Feb
    2013
    1:15am, EST

    Protesters call for clearing fired LAPD officer Christopher Dorner's name

    View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

    By Melissa Pamer and Jane Yamamoto, NBCLosAngeles.com

    A protest in response to the death of fired LAPD officer Christopher Dorner – the subject of an extensive manhunt who is accused of killing four people – brought out about two dozen protesters in front of police headquarters in downtown Los Angeles Saturday.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Organizers said the demonstration would be peaceful and had expected about 200 participants to show up by noon.

    The demonstrators called themselves "We Stand With Christopher Dorner." Some wore Guy Fawkes masks -- the ones known as a symbol of hacktivist group Anonymous -- to represent victims of police brutality.

    They carried signs that read "end police brutality" and "clear his name."


    Dorner, who was killed Tuesday after a fiery shootout at a mountain cabin near Big Bear, elicited sympathy from some who read his 11,400-word manifesto. In the document, Dorner described his firing from the LAPD after a review panel found he falsely reported another officer for excessive use of force against a suspect.

    Timeline: Revenge-Plot Slayings | Read: Full Manifesto | Map: Dorner Manhunt

    In the document, which he posted on Facebook, Dorner vowed to reclaim his name, and included a list of targets that he planned to eliminate. He also said the LAPD was a racist organization that had failed to reform after a series of scandals in the 1990s.

    Dina Escoto, one of several people carrying signs at the protest, said she wished "in a way" that Dorner had survived so that the public could "hear his side of the story."

    Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images

    Christopher Dorner was fired from the LAPD in 2009.

    She said she hopes the protest "sheds some light and police change policies so we won't have another Chris Dorner."

    Escoto and others said they were focused on police brutality and on the shooting of innocent civilians -- in an incident in Torrance in which two women were shot up in their truck -- in the pursuit of Dorner.

    "We're protesting some of the police brutality -- not just LAPD, but all over the nation," said protester and Lomita resident Vincent Namm, a former Marine. "With Chris Dorner, habeas corpus just got thrown out the window.''

    Namm added: "They didn't seem like they were even interested in apprehending him."

    Authorities said Friday that Dorner had likely died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a firefight at the cabin, which burned down during the confrontation. San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said authorities did not intend to start the conflagration. He defended his deputies' actions when asked about audiotape recorded at the scene that seemed to indicate a desire on the part of officials to intentionally burn the cabin down.

    Protesters were skeptical of the official version of events. Namm compared the Dorner gun battle and fire to the 1993 federal siege of a Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.

    Saturday's demonstrators began to gather a little before 10 a.m. near the corner of First and Main streets before making their way to 100 W. First St., where they were met by yellow police tape bordering LAPD headquarters.

    There were at least three officers at different positions in front of the building, along with three parked television vans.

    1109 comments

    He MIGHT have gotten some sympathy -- and credibility -- if he hadn't KILLED people! No matter WHY he was fired from the LAPD .... no excuse for murder.

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  • 15
    Feb
    2013
    5:53am, EST

    Police chief named in manifesto recalls 'the Chris Dorner that I knew'

    View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

    By Lolita Lopez, NBCLosAngeles.com

    The last few weeks for La Palma Police Chief Eric Nunez have been tense. He and his family endured 24-hour protection after being mentioned in Christopher Dorner's manifesto.

    Though Dorner praised Nunez, the possibility that the fugitive ex-police officer would reach out to him amid the massive manhunt was ominous.

    "My wife was obviously very worried,” Nunez said. “I tried to convince her that it is very unlikely that we would have any contact, but we did make a plan."

    In an 11,400-word document published online, Dorner wrote this about Nunez: "You're just an awesome person and my first exposure to what law enforcement was really about."

    Karen and Jim Reynolds recall their terrifying ordeal after walking through the front door of their southern California vacation home on Tuesday to find accused murderer Christopher Dorner inside.

    Nunez said he was “reeling” trying to make sense of Dorner’s alleged rampage that left four dead, including two law enforcement officials and a newly engaged couple.

    Nunez said Dorner was part of the department's police explorer volunteer program while at Kennedy High School and that he would visit once a year.

    "The Chris Dorner that I knew back when he was an explorer here and going through college then going through the Navy wouldn't have done the horrendous acts that he did, would not have been the cold-blooded calculated murderer," Nunez said.

    More news from NBCLosAngeles.com

    Nunez explained that he had not heard from Dorner for two years until a package was dropped off at his office on Jan. 23. It contained a note explaining that Dorner did not lie during the investigation that led to his dismissal from the LAPD and a video of one of the interrogations.

    "I barely had some inclination that he had been terminated or that he was no longer with LAPD but I had no context of the nature of that investigation was or anything," Nunez said.

    "I really didn't even know what this was actually about until I read the manifesto," he added.

    'Unfathomable'
    He said he first read the manifesto when members of the Irvine Police Department arrived to his offices asking him about Dorner. Detectives were investigating the deaths of newly engaged couple Keith Lawrence and Monica Quan, the daughter of a former LAPD captain targeted in Dorner’s manifesto.

    After a long manhunt culminating in gunfire and a cabin set ablaze, the search for accused murderer and ex-cop Christopher Dorner seems to have ended. Police say the charred body found inside the cabin was unrecognizable, but they claim there is no doubt their suspect is dead. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    "It’s unfathomable. Even the first call that I got telling me that I was named in this manifesto and they wanted to talk to me about it and they told me who their suspect is, the Irvine Police Department, and my head is reeling because I am thinking how is that even possible?" Nunez said.

    He turned over the package and its contents to the investigators.

    Days after Nunez received the package, Dorner allegedly went on a shooting spree that killed Riverside police Officer Michael Crain. Nunez went to Crain’s funeral and, like the entire Southland law enforcement community, is now mourning the loss of two brothers.

    San Bernandino Sheriff Detective Jeremiah MacKay was killed this week in a final gunbattle with Dorner before the 33-year old ex-LAPD officer died in a burning cabin in which he barricaded himself.

    Two other members of law enforcement were wounded.

    But what sets Nunez apart is his connection to Dorner.

    "Whatever relief you might feel was [mixed] with deep sadness that came at the cost of another officer’s life," he said. "Everybody that has been touched by this is trying to figure out what went wrong."

    Related: 

    Body of ex-LAPD gunman identified in charred cabin

    Full coverage of this story from NBCLosAngeles.com

    251 comments

    Very sad all the way around. No matter how much Dorner might have felt that he was betrayed, it does not excuse his actions.

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  • Updated
    13
    Feb
    2013
    12:35pm, EST

    Officials hope to ID charred remains as those of ex-LAPD suspect Dorner

    While LAPD awaits confirmation from the San Bernardino Sheriff's department as to whether the charred remains found at Big Bear Mountain are those of ex-cop Christopher Dorner, spokesman Andy Neiman says protective details will remain in place for officers close to the investigation who still feel threatened.

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    With a chase, a raging gun battle, and a blazing cabin fire, the hunt for suspect Christopher Dorner that has kept Southern California in terror for the past week appears to be over.

    Charred human remains were discovered in the Big Bear cabin where police sources say the burly ex-LAPD officer barricaded himself in what might have been the deadly end to the biggest manhunt Los Angeles has ever seen.

    The LAPD, which has been under a series of tactical alerts as Dorner allegedly hunted policemen on a hit list, has returned to normal operations, Lt. Andy Neiman said at a Wednesday morning briefing.

    But as the sun rose over Big Bear, with one deputy dead and another recovering from surgery after being shot in a gun battle at the cabin, much remained unclear.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    Police have not officially said whether the body found in the burned-out cabin was Dorner. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on Tuesday that identification would be attempted “through forensic means.”

    "Thanks to the brave men and women of the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department, it looks like we have our man," Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" early Wednesday.

    Yet, the targets named in the rambling 11,000-word manifesto police say was posted online by Dorner will remain under special protection until a positive identification has been made, officials said.

    Investigators had been combing the ski resort area since Thursday, when Dorner’s burned out Nissan truck was found there hours after he allegedly ambushed police officers in two cities, killing one of them.

    Days earlier, police believe, Dorner executed the daughter of a retired police captain and her fiancé in Irvine to kick off a killing spree that sowed terror across the region and in the ranks of law-enforcement.

    The first real evidence that Dorner was still in the mountains came Tuesday about 12:22 p.m. local time when a man fitting his description had stolen a car in the area.

    Rick Heltebrake, 61, told TODAY on Wednesday that he was driving near the Boy Scout camp he operates when a heavily armed man he recognized as Dorner, 33, crawled out of the woods, pointing a rifle at him.

    He said the hulking former Navy reservist was wearing camouflage and a ballistics vest and told Heltebrake, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

    “He was dressed for action,” Heltebrake said.

    Dorner commandeered his car, but let the man and his dog to go, according to Heltebrake. Shortly after Dorner sped off, Heltebrake heard gunshots.

    Wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game had spotted Dorner and one of them exchanged gunfire with the suspects, a spokesman said. The warden was not hurt, though his truck was riddled with bullets.

    Dorner then “fled into the forest and barricaded himself inside a cabin,” the San Bernardino Sheriff’s office said. “A short time later there was an exchange of gunfire between law enforcement and the suspect.”

    Two deputies were shot and taken to Loma Linda University Hospital, where officials later confirmed one had died and another had surgery but was expected to survive. Neither has been identified.

    Rage-filled and an expert marksman, Dorner fumed at firing from LAPD

    No further shots were fired from the Angelus Oaks cabin before police began to storm the building, according to a sheriff’s spokesman.

    Deputies smashed the cabin’s windows, fired in tear gas, and tore through the structure’s walls using an armored personnel carrier, a source close to the probe told NBCLosAngeles.com. A single gunshot then rang out, according to the source, and flames and smoke began to emerge from the remains of the building.

    It was hours before police were able to enter the cabin and find the body.

    “There is a lot of apprehension today in any kind of celebration because this is not a celebration,” Neiman said of the apparent end to the rampage. “This has been a very trying time.”

    He said the LAPD was mourning the death of two comrades – the Riverside police officer shot dead Thursday and the deputy killed in the standoff.

    “To hear those words ‘officer down’ is the most gut-wrenching experience you can have as a police officer,” Neiman said.

    NBC News’ Tracy Connor contributed to this report.

     

    This story was originally published on Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:03 AM EST

    304 comments

    Dorner commandeered his car, but allowed the man and his dog to go, according to Heltebrake. Shortly after Dorner sped off, the sound of gunshots rang out, Heltebrake said. The pickup was located by authorities on Highway 38 after an ensuing ground search. A California Department of Fish and Game s …

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  • Updated
    13
    Feb
    2013
    2:59am, EST

    Profile of ex-LAPD cop Dorner, sought in killing rampage, emerges

    Gunfire erupted during the hunt for former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner, who was charged with murder on Monday. The unfolding drama brought officers to a cabin in the mountains where the suspect was barricaded inside. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Apart from a rambling manifesto, court filings and the word of former bosses, clues remain scarce as to what was going on in the mind of Christopher Dorner, the former LAPD cop accused of killing four people and engaging cops in a deadly standoff at a mountain cabin.

    What does emerge is the profile of an ex-LAPD officer and former Navy reservist who may have allowed years of grievances to fester before erupting into violence.

    Southern Utah University confirmed that Dorner was a 2001 graduate of the school, where he majored in political science, minored in psychology and played football. He was a lieutenant in the Navy Reserves from 2002 until the week he went on his alleged killing spree, earning awards for his rifle and pistol marksmanship.


    Charred human remains found in cabin

    Dorner served in the LAPD from 2005 to 2009 before being fired -- allegedly for making false statements after accusing an officer of beating up a man in training.

    It was Dorner’s four-year-old spat with the LAPD that appears to have been foremost in the suspect’s mind as he took off on his rage-fueled flight.

    His first two victims, police say, were 28-year-old Monica Quan and her fiancé Keith Lawrence, 27, killed Feb. 3 in Irvine, Calif., as they parked their car on their way to a Super Bowl party.

    Quan’s father, retired police chief Randal Quan, represented Dorner during an internal police department review of the case that got him fired.

    “I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I’m terminating yours,” Dorner wrote in an 11,400-word manifesto that he allegedly posted on Facebook.

    In the Feb. 4 manifesto, supplied by the Los Angeles Police Department to the media, the 6-foot, 270-pound Dorner wrote that killing was “a necessary evil.” Dorner also allegedly threatened other law enforcement officers and their families.

    “Self Preservation is no longer important to me,” wrote Dorner, 33. “I do not fear death as I died long ago on 1/2/09.” 

    On Thursday, police said, Dorner killed an officer and wounded two more in shootings.

    “Four years ago he received his discharge papers, if you will, his dismissal papers on Feb. 9, 2009,”  former L.A. police chief William Bratton, who was Dorner’s boss from 2002 until he was dismissed, said on Saturday. “A day of significance in his mind that inasmuch as his grievances all seem to center on his dismissal.”

    “He collects injustices and never lets them go, and evidently they finally reached a tipping point that led to the series of violent acts the last several days,” Bratton said. “The last thing that he would want would be to be arrested by the LAPD and do a perp walk. That would be the last injustice, the most significant one.”

    "The attacks will stop when the department states the truth about my innocence, PUBLICLY!!!" Dorner wrote in his manifesto.

    On Saturday, LAPD officials said that the department would take another look at how Dorner's case was handled.

    The details that emerged about Dorner only became stranger as the hunt intensified. The LAPD said Tuesday that they were going through as many as a thousand tips on where the suspect may have been.

    Police search mountains for Christopher Dorner, release new image

    The Associated Press reported that 2006 court papers showed that, after dating a woman for six weeks, he had requested a restraining order against her. Dorner said the girlfriend had posted his LAPD badge number on a website called dontdatehimgirl.com, according to the AP.

    A video posted on the celebrity gossip website TMZ appeared to show Dorner purchasing scuba gear on Feb. 1 at Sport Chalet in Torrance, Calif. Police said Tuesday that they were not certain whether or not that man was Dorner.

    The possibility that Dorner might have fled to Mexico arose in a criminal complaint filed in Feb. 7 in California’s Central District Court. Early that morning, a San Diego boat captain said, Dorner had tried to steal his boat to flee south across the border, according to the complaint.

    Dorner’s wallet and identification cards were found near the border with Mexico, according to the complaint.

    Then came the dramatic scene in the mountains near Big Bear Lake on Tuesday afternoon. 

    Sheriff’s deputies responding to a report that someone matching Dorner’s description had stolen a car exchanged gunfire with the man, according to police. Two deputies were shot, and one later died. 

    The suspect then was trapped in a cabin, which later erupted in flames and burned to the ground. Officials on Tuesday night were waiting to enter the charred cabin to search for any signs of a body.

    NBC News' Tracy Connor, Daniel Arkin, Kari Huus and Andrew Mach, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    This story was originally published on Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:40 PM EST

    174 comments

    Dorner, You disgraced everyone who wore the Navy uniform. I won't even address you as Lt..You were a piece of garbage! We had a name for Lt's like you, "Cement Head".

    Show more
    Explore related topics: police, los-angeles, featured, manhunt, updated, christopher-dorner
  • Updated
    13
    Feb
    2013
    3:07am, EST

    Hunt for fugitive ex-cop: Charred human remains found in burned cabin

    Handout / Reuters

    A frame grab from KNBC4 TV aerial footage shows smoke and fire from a cabin where fugitive former Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner is believed to be barricaded in Big Bear, California February 12, 2013. Dorner exchanged gunfire on Tuesday with San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles after he broke into a home, tied up a couple and stole their pickup truck, authorities said.

    By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Investigators discovered charred human remains late Tuesday within a torched California mountain cabin where police sources say ex-cop Christopher Dorner barricaded himself after a deadly shootout with sheriff’s deputies.

    In a statement, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said that identification would be attempted "through forensic means."

    Earlier, San Bernardino Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said authorities believed the suspect was still inside the cabin when the inferno began.

    Gunfire erupted during the hunt for former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner, who was charged with murder on Monday. The unfolding drama brought officers to a cabin in the mountains where the suspect was barricaded inside. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    The hulking former lawman declared war on the LAPD in an online manifesto because he was fired four years ago. Accused of killing three people between Feb. 3 and Feb. 7, he was the target of the biggest manhunt in Los Angeles history.

    A day of dramatic and tragic developments began after police received a report around 12:22 p.m. Tuesday that someone fitting Dorner’s description had stolen a car from a home near the ski resort area of Big Bear, police said.

    The car owner told NBCLosAngeles.com that a man who looked like Dorner came up to him with a rifle and demanded his pickup, and let him take his dogs out of the back before he fled.

    A ground and air search ensued, and authorities located the pickup on Highway 38.

    A spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game said one of its wardens was the “very first person to spot Mr. Dorner … They both got out of the vehicles and exchanged gunfire.”

    Check out more coverage on NBCLosAngeles.com

    The warden’s truck was riddled with bullets but he was not hurt, agency spokesman Andrew Hughan told NBCLosAngeles.com.

    Dorner, who was already wanted for three slayings linked to a revenge-fueled rampage, “fled into the forest and barricaded himself inside a cabin,” the San Bernardino Sheriff’s office said in a statement.  “A short time later there was an exchange of gunfire between law enforcement and the suspect.”

    Two deputies were shot and taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where Sheriff John McMahon later confirmed one had died and one was in surgery. Their names were not released.

    No more shots were fired from inside the cabin in Angelus Oaks before police demanded Dorner surrender and began preparing to storm the structure, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said.

    A source close to the probe told NBCLosAngeles.com that deputies broke the cabin windows, fired tear gas inside and began breaking down walls with an armored personnel carrier.

    The deputies then heard a single gunshot, and soon after flames and smoke could be seen, the source said.

    Shortly before 7 p.m. local time, Villaraigosa told Telemundo "it's over," but declined to elaborate.

    Hundreds of investigators had spent a week searching for Dorner, who is accused of killing a retired captain’s daughter and her fiancé on Feb. 3 and a police officer on Feb. 7.

    His burned-out truck, a Nissan Titan, was found in Big Bear last week and scores of officers have been combing the mountain, going door-to-door to see if they could find signs of forced entry.

    At an afternoon press conference, LAPD commander Smith had a message for Dorner: “Enough is enough. It’s time to turn yourself in.”

    “Everyone is very hopeful that this thing ends without any further bloodshed,” Smith said. “The best thing for him now would be to surrender … and he can face the criminal justice system.”

    Dorner, an ex-cop and Navy reservist detailed his plans and hit list in an online manifesto — a 11,000-word declaration of war against the LAPD in which he makes it clear he would not be taken alive.

    “Self Preservation is no longer important to me,” he wrote. “I do not fear death as I died long ago on 1/2/09.”


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    That’s the date that Dorner got his walking papers from the LAPD after being fired for making a false statement about an officer he accused of brutalizing a suspect.

    Police say Dorner exacted revenge on the lawyer who represented him at the internal review, retired captain Randy Quan, by gunning down his daughter, Monica Quan, 28, and her boyfriend, Keith Lawrence, 27, in their car as they returned home to Irvine, Calif., after the Super Bowl.

    Four days later, authorities said, Dorner ambushed police officers who were guarding other potential targets in Riverside and Corona, Calif., killing one of them.

    LAPD officials said earlier Tuesday they were sifting through 1,000 clues and, including a video that may show the suspect stocking up on scuba gear before the killing spree.

    Police confirmed they were even looking into the possibility Dorner had fled to Mexico — the destination he mentioned when he tried to steal a boat in San Diego last Wednesday.

    Among the newest leads, a video that was posted on TMZ that appears to show Dorner purchasing scuba equipment at Sport Chalet in Torrance, Calif., on Feb. 1. Neiman said police had not nailed down if it was Dorner and could not say why he would be buying underwater gear.

    A criminal complaint filed in federal court last week also revealed that investigators have been tracking an associate of Dorner — someone with the initials J.Y. — whose family has property not far from where Dorner's vehicle was abandoned and torched.

    “We will leave no stone unturned to find out if someone was assisting this man in his terrible crimes and eluding capture,” Smith said.

    This story was originally published on Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:37 PM EST

    1986 comments

    I am trying to view this situation from both sides of the coin.

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    Explore related topics: shootings, california, featured, lapd, manifesto, updated, christopher-dorner
  • 12
    Feb
    2013
    4:23am, EST

    Ex-LAPD officer accused of killings thought to have fled to Mexico

    View more videos at: http://nbclosangeles.com.

    By Lauren Steussy, Jonathan Lloyd and Melissa Pamer, NBCLosAngeles.com

    Former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner -- the suspect in three killings that have targeted law enforcement and the subject of a continuing manhunt -- was suspected last week of fleeing to Mexico, according to a federal court document.

    The criminal complaint filed in federal court on Feb. 7 charges Dorner with fleeing to avoid prosecution. It states that there was reason to believe he had crossed the border into Mexico.

    An affidavit included in the complaint (pdf) was written by U.S. Marshals Service Inspector Craig McClusky the same day that the search for Dorner led to his burned out truck in the mountain resort of Big Bear.

    On day five of the manhunt for Christopher Dorner, who is suspected of killing three people, the Riverside District Attorney filed charges against Dorner including one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. The LAPD has assigned officers to protect 50 families the accused cop killer has threatened, and a $1 million reward is now being offered for information leading to Dorner's arrest.  NBC's Miguel Almager reports.

    McClusky recounted the Irvine Police Department's request for assistance from the U.S. Marshal Service in finding Dorner after he became a suspect in the Feb. 3 killing of Keith Lawrence and Monica Quan, who is the daughter of an LAPD official mentioned by Dorner is a manifesto that details his alleged revenge plot.

    Read more from NBCLosAngeles.com

    McClusky described "the recent observations of a suspect matching Dorner's description attempting to flee to Mexico," and stated "there is probable cause to believe that Dorner has moved and traveled in interstate and foreign commerce from California to Mexico" to avoid prosecution.

    The document also states that U.S. Marshals were tracking a Dorner associate identified only as "J.Y.," who had been spotted in Costa Mesa, Calif., near Irvine.

    The search for Dorner continued in Big Bear on Monday, even as police followed multiple reports of sightings of the former officer that turned out to be false.

    Jorge Duenes / Reuters

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers check vehicles approaching the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro on Saturday.

    Also on Monday, the Riverside County District Attorney's office filed a charge of murder against Dorner in the shooting death of Officer Michael Crain, who was killed in what authorities have described as an ambush.

    Crain was shot Thursday while he and his 27-year-old trainee partner were sitting at a traffic light near the Riverside Freeway.

    "We felt the state of the evidence dictated there was no reason to withhold filing charges," Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said. "He's a felon at large."

    The LAPD on Sunday announced a $1 million reward in the case. More than 600 tips have been received, according to the department.

    Related:

    Ex-cop fugitive Christopher Dorner charged with murder

    Read Dorner's manifesto at NBCLosAngeles.com

    471 comments

    They are searching for him like crazy because he shot and killed 2 or 3 cops. But if he would have shot 2 or 3 members of your family or mine the attention would not be the same. Are cops lives worth more then yours or mine? NO. This is bullsh*t.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: mexico, california, featured, lapd, nbclosangeles, christopher-dorner
  • 11
    Feb
    2013
    6:00pm, EST

    Ex-cop fugitive Christopher Dorner charged with murder

    On day five of the manhunt for Christopher Dorner, who is suspected of killing three people, the Riverside District Attorney filed charges against Dorner including one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. The LAPD has assigned officers to protect 50 families the accused cop killer has threatened and a $1 million reward is now being offered for information leading to Dorner's arrest.  NBC's Miguel Almager reports.

    By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

    Fugitive ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner was officially charged Monday afternoon with murdering a Riverside, Calif., police officer — and special circumstances that could result in the death penalty.

    Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said Dorner has also been charged with the attempted murder of another Riverside police officer and two LAPD officers.

    By filing the charges, police now have the right to arrest Dorner on sight, Zellerbach said.


    Follow @NBCNewsUS

    "By both his words and conduct, [Dorner] has made very clear to us that every law enforcement officer in Southern California is in danger of being shot and killed," Zellerbach said at a press conference.

    The Riverside officers and LAPD officers were targeted in two different shootings early Thursday after Dorner became the target of a state-wide manhunt.

    Police say Dorner, 33, is on a mission to murder former LAPD colleagues and superiors — and their families — as payback for his 2008 firing. They believe he killed a retired captain's daughter and her fiance in Irvine, Calif., last Sunday, before setting his sights on the four cops he shot.

    Police have identified the murdered Riverside police officer as Michael Crain, 34, a former U.S. Marine and an 11-year veteran of the Riverside police department. Crain is survived by his wife, his 10-year-old son, and his 4-year-old daughter. Officials have not disclosed the names of the three wounded police officers.

    Fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner is charged with the murder of a police officer under special circumstances that could bring the death penalty.

    Meanwhile, investigators combed through hundreds of tips Monday after offering a $1 million reward on Sunday for information leading to the apprehension, arrest and conviction of Dorner.

    "We need the help of the public," Zellerbach said at the press conference, adding that anyone who has relevant information is encouraged to contact police tip lines. "We need all of the public's eyes and ears in assisting law enforcement in apprehending this very dangerous individual."

    The LAPD believes Dorner is extremely dangerous and has an arsenal of weapons, including assault rifles.

    Dorner served in the LAPD from 2005 to 2008 and was fired for making false statements after he accused a training officer of beating up a man.

    During an internal review, Dorner was represented by Randal Quan, a retired police captain. Quan's 28-year-old daughter, Monica, and her fiancé, 27-year-old Keith Lawrence, were shot and killed last week while parking their car at their apartment complex after a Super Bowl party.

    Dorner outlined his revenge plot in an 11,400-word manifesto posted online, according to investigators.

    Read Dorner's manifesto at NBCLosAngeles.com

    "I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I’m terminating yours," Dorner writes in the unnerving document.

     

    102 comments

    How many people fired unjustly use killing people as justification for their innocence? We have to stop our bloodlust people. Guilty of the issues that caused his firing or not, it was not an excuse to kill.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: lapd, los-angeles-police-department, christopher-dorner, lapd-fugitive
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