By Motecuzoma Sanchez
October 13, 2017
San Joaquin County, CA
San Joaquin Sheriff Steve Moore found “Careless and Harmful” by District Court for using heavy equipment to dig up remains of 16 yr old Jo Ann Hobson. After a four year legal battle the family has been awarded the right to move forward with litigation.
“San Joaquin Sheriff Steve Moore testified that he made no decisions and did not have information about the recovery, yet his assistant sheriff, Ruben Orosco, testified that he briefed Moore frequently on a daily basis about all events related to the recovery.” It is believed the San Joaquin Sheriff made the foundational decisions that led to the callous, indifferent, and utter destruction of the Linden Well Site.”
While it appears the Sheriff’s motives to destroy evidence were to save money, it now appears the sheriff’s actions and subsequent cover up will potentially bring the county to its fiscal knees costing tax payers.
Not only that but, it appears someone was lying under oath:
“San Joaquin Sheriff Steve Moore testified that he made no decisions and did not have information about the recovery, yet his assistant sheriff, Ruben Orosco, testified that he briefed Moore frequently on a daily basis about all events related to the recovery.” It is believed the San Joaquin Sheriff made the foundational decisions that led to the callous, indifferent, and utter destruction of the Linden Well Site.”
What it means:
1. The San Joaquin County Sheriff developed information in 2004 which could have lead to the recovery of victims from the Detective’s interview, but did not follow up.
2. The SJC Sheriff was provided information from Wesley Shermantine himself in 2010, including maps that detailed out the location at the Linden well. They disregarded the information and cancelled missing persons’ records, including JoAnn Hobson’s on September 10, 2010.
3. The SJC Sheriff was again provided information in 2012 and initially stopped any efforts to locate victims but due to public pressure followed up in February, 2012.
4. The SJC Sheriff claimed to have no prior information on the Linden well but knew exactly which victim family to bring to the site. The fact that they knew which family to bring to a specific indicates they had detailed information, contrary to what they state,
5. In all the time they had the information about the Linden well site, the SJC Sheriff sought no information, researched no information, and ignored all assets available in the state and nation, including the FBI, and ignored and excluded their own expert forensic pathologist.
6. When faced with conducting the recovery, the San Joaquin Department of Public Works superintendent advised the soil was “extremely stable” which would have enabled skilled forensic workers to recover the victims. Jill Spriggs and a coworker actually entered the site.
7. The SJC Sheriff used a heavy excavator to dig through the filled in well, and when faced with the fact that victims were in the well, they made the shocking and callous choice to dig through the victims with the excavator, causing shock and emotional harm to the victims and witnesses.
8. While reporting victim items located beyond thirty-five feet preventing forensic processing, it is apparent from pictures taken by Cal DOJ personnel that victim items were encountered at a shallow depth and therefore demonstrating the availability of forensic processing to the Linden well site.
9. SJC Sheriff Steve Moore testified that he made no decisions and did not have information about the recovery, yet his assistant staff, Ruben Orosco testified that he briefed Moore frequently on a daily basis about all events related to the recovery. It is believed that the SJC Sheriff made the foundational decisions that led to the callous, indifferent, and utter destruction of the Linden well site.
10. The SJC Sheriff used an anthropologist that was not a forensic pathologist. The anthropologist based her findings on DNA and dental indentifications and caused rampant comingling of the victims’ remains.
11. Chanda Bassett eventually made three “piles” of bones to reflect the suspected number of victims recovered from the well, and considered the cremation as indigent, the third unidentified victim and her fetus.
12. The SJC Sheriff tried to influence victim’s families to cremate returned remains thereby destroying evidence of the comingling.
13. On September 10, 2010, the SJC Sheriff cancelled several missing person people’s records in the National Crime Information Center and the California Law Enforcement Teletype System including the record of JoAnn Hobson.
14. It is possible the third unidentified victim from the Linden well cannot be identified because her missing persons record was cancelled.
15. The cancellations occurred three days after the San Joaquin Sheriff received information from Wesley Shermantine providing details as to unrecovered victim locations.
16. Chanda Basset is unable to locate many missing people’s records after receiving inquiries from families.
Full document here:
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