Arrogance + Stupidity = Life in the Pen

by Connie Park

One of the true advantages of being a homicide detective is seeing people at their best, and at their worst. When I think of people at their worst, Vellar Clark comes to mind.

Houston Police Department Homicide Sgt. Gonzales and I were working Evening Shift on a cold Sunday afternoon in March of 2006. We received a call that a woman had been found shot to death behind a warehouse near Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas.

My partner and I arrived at the scene and found a woman who had been shot in the back of the head. She was sitting on a motorcycle, and was slumped over. Next to the body, we found a white powder substance that resembled cocaine. Whoever committed this horrible killing wanted to make it look like a "dope deal gone bad." Our intuition, however, told us it was not.

We had the onerous task of calling this young woman's mother, and found out that she had been in a relationship with a man named Vellar Clark. We also put a name on the face of the woman we found dead at this lonely and isolated scene. Her name was Gwen Sneed. We resolved to find the person who did this, and we worked tirelessly to bring the perpetrator to justice.

We did not have to look very hard. Gwen's mother informed us that Gwen was happy about finding out she was pregnant. Gwen's mother also told us that Gwen had already lost a child at a young age, so she was thrilled about the prospect of being a mother. Gwen didn't have any enemies, and we knew that there was only one person who didn't want her to have that child. That one horrible person was none other than Vellar Clark.

Clark had gotten Gwen pregnant. He was also the father of Gwen's first child, who had been found dead in his crib under very suspicious circumstances.

We brought Clark in to find out where he was on the afternoon that Gwen was shot. He told us that he had seen her earlier in the day, but they left on good terms and he went home. He denied ever calling Gwen on the day that she had been killed. However, he did not realize that he had left a trail. We cut him loose and obtained his cell phone records. What we found out was telling—he had called her no fewer than six times on the day she was shot in the back of the head. He had initially denied being at the scene, but due to the activity on his phone, we knew that he was less than one-quarter of a mile from the scene when Gwen made a call on her cell phone. He lied to us, and we knew it. He was guilty, and we had to go about proving it.

After working tirelessly on shoring up this case, we developed enough evidence to get an arrest warrant for Vellar Clark. We had discovered that he owned a .45 semi automatic Smith & Wesson, which was consistent with the spent round that was found in Gwen's head.

Months after this killing had taken place, Vellar Clark was arrested. We interviewed him again, and again, he vehemently denied being at the murder scene. He told us that he had dated Gwen Sneed in the past, but denied being told that she was pregnant. We confronted him with his own cell phone records, and he was boxed into a corner.

Clark then admitted to being at the scene, but told us that Gwen had shot herself with his gun because he told her "she couldn't be with him." He had convinced himself that he was so important, Gwen would take her life and that of her unborn child simply because she was depressed about getting dumped. We caught him in so many lies that we lost count. We asked him to reenact exactly how Gwen "shot herself." His explanation was laughable.

Nearly two years later, we went to trial. We worked hard with the prosecuting attorney on the case to find justice for Gwen Sneed. We did. After a five-day trial, it took a jury less than three hours to convict Vellar Clark of Capital Murder. It was a capital murder because Clark shot Gwen in the head, knowing that she was pregnant.

We found out that he did it, basically because he viewed the victim as a nuisance and didn't want to pay child support for her baby. He was already paying child support for two other kids he had fathered out of wedlock. While Gwen was a daughter, a sister, and a very loving person to those who knew her, she was nothing but a financial burden to Vellar Clark.

And guess what, Clark's stupidity and his arrogance caught up with him. He will have the rest of his life in a Texas prison to think about it.

Tweet

Blood In, Blood Out

by Connie Park

On June 8, 2006, 49-year-old Robert McCartney arrived at a Walmart in Baytown, Texas, to buy fishing tackle in anticipation of an upcoming fishing trip with an old friend. Three other thugs, Randall Wayne Carter (age 32), Larry Ray Welch (age 20), and Michael Brandon Faught (age 22), unbeknownst to McCartney, were there in the parking lot, waiting for him. To Carter and Faught, McCartney was an unsuspecting victim they could rob and terrorize. All three were there to execute an order they received from the “Captain” of the local Texas Aryan Brotherhood. They were ordered to steal a truck in order to sell the parts.

The surveillance camera shows that the three abduct McCartney, push him into the truck, and drive off from the parking lot. They drove out to the country, and crossed the county line into Liberty County to a desolate soybean field.

On the way to the scene, Carter ordered the victim at gunpoint to take off his clothes. McCartney begged for his life. He was crying and very, very scared.

McCartney was taken away from the Walmart in his own truck, to a place he hadn’t ever seen before. When Carter drove McCartney into this field, he ordered him to get out of his own truck. McCartney stared at Carter, Welch, and Faught (who had followed Carter to the field) in disbelief. He begged them for his life. But to Randall Wayne Carter, that didn’t matter a bit.

Carter first stabbed McCartney in the neck and left him in the dirt field. Carter was not finished. He then got behind the defenseless McCartney, and sliced his neck with a force so great that it severed the man’s jugular veins.

He and the others then left McCartney’s nude body in the field, where it was found by a farm worker the following morning. Carter had followed orders all right, he got the victim’s truck.

And it cost that victim, a guy minding his own business and getting ready for a fishing trip, his life. The graphic details are important, not to sensationalize the story, but rather to show how heartless and brutal the murder was and how they terrorized and killed this man simply because they wanted his truck. Simply because they could.

The following day, Baytown police were notified of a missing persons report made by the victim’s sister. It matched information that had been broadcast by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office about a man that an unsuspecting farm worker found in a soybean field.

Ironically, Baytown police were also investigating an unrelated burglary of a local department store where thousands of dollars worth of merchandise was stolen. Acting on a tip on the burglary, the police found themselves at a residence on Morrell Street in Baytown, where they saw several suspects attempting to leave with the stolen merchandise.

The police quickly learned the suspects were also involved in McCartney’s murder when they saw Michael Faught burning McCartney’s wallet in the backyard. McCartney’s truck was also recovered at a nearby street.

Carter, Welch, and Faught were arrested and charged with capital murder. They had been awaiting trial in Houston in the Harris County Jail. Welch and Faught confessed to the crime and implicated Carter as the one who stabbed and killed McCartney.

The capital murder trial was set originally for early part of 2009. However, Carter pled guilty and agreed to life in prison without parole, thus avoiding the death penalty. He was a known member of the Aryan Brotherhood. He had been to prison before. He threatened to kill anyone who mentioned a word. And he is—and will remain—alive.

The Aryan Brotherhood, known as AB, was formed in the 1960s by a group of bikers in San Quentin State Prison in California when desegregation took place in prisons. Racial violence broke out and gangs were formed along racial lines. AB members identified themselves with symbols and tattoos of swastikas and Nazi SS lightning bolts.

During the 1980s, the AB divided into two factions: gang members in federal custody and gang members in state prison. AB became the most feared and violent prison gang involved in organized crime, drug trafficking, extortion, inmate prostitution, and murder-for-hire.

AB members have a lifetime allegiance to the gang and take the same blood oath:

“An Aryan brother is without a care. He walks where the weak and the heartless don’t dare. For an Aryan brother, death holds no fear. Vengeance will be his, though his brother’s still here”

AB members live by these words:

“We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. Any true soldier not only lives by these words, but they would be embedded in his heart and soul. Rahowa!” (Racial Holy War)

Tweet

College School Violence

by Connie Park

Xin Yang, a 22 year old from Beijing, China, arrived in the United States on January 8, 2009, to pursue the American dream. She wanted to further her education and hoped for the opportunities that are available here to have a better life. Xin Yang began her studies as an accounting major at the prestigious business school at Virginia Tech less than a month ago. On January 21, 2009, her hopes and dreams came to an abrupt halt.

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on January 21st, Xin Yang and Haiyan Zhu, a 25 year old Chinese national student, and several of their friends were having coffee at the Au Bon Pain Café located at the Graduate Life Center on the Virginia Tech’s campus. Haiyan Zhu apparently was a friend who Xin Yang listed as her emergency contact. Shortly after 7:00 p.m., the Virginia Tech campus police received two 911 calls from the Graduate Life Center. Shortly after the calls, police arrived and discovered Xin Yang’s decapitated body at the location. There were seven witnesses who observed the horrific incident.

According to the Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech’s newspaper, the police affidavit stated that the first arriving officer found Zhu holding Yang’s head and blood on his clothing. The murder weapon was a kitchen knife was recovered at the scene.

Virginia Tech’s Campus Police Chief Wendell Flinchum stated that, “It was a horrific crime scene and the victim had been decapitated. There was no motive for the slaying.”

The alleged suspect, Haiyan Zhu, was charged with first degree murder and is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Jail. There have been no police reports or any kind of problems with Zhu in the past. Zhu is an international graduate at Virginia Tech from Ningho, China.

This incident comes shortly after the Virginia Tech Massacre that occurred on April 16, 2007. The massacre was the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Seung-Hui Cho, a 23 year old Virginia Tech student, killed 32 people and injured 21 people in two hours. The first shooting occurred at approximately 7:15 a.m. at a residence hall where he the two victims. Cho then proceeded to the opposite side of the campus to another residence hall and continued his rampage and shot additional victims. He eventually turned the gun and shot himself in the head.

Cho had a history of mental illness beginning in middle school where he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression. In 2005, a judge deemed Cho mentally ill and that he was “an imminent danger to himself and others”. One professor asked Cho to seek professional counseling. Additionally, Cho was accused of stalking two female students in 2005.
It appeared that Cho was planning the shooting massacre for months. Police officials traced the handguns that were found by Cho’s body and found he had purchased the handguns back in February and March of 2007.

This brought on the debate of gun control laws again in the United States. As a result of this incident, there were rapid changes that were made to the Virginia gun laws. In addition, a major federal gun control law was signed that created tighter measures and standards with NICS-National Institute Criminal Background Check System signed by President George W. Bush on January 5, 2008.

This Wednesday incident only brought back the horrible memories to the Virginia Tech students and faculty members.

In light of recent school campus violence, Congress and the Senate passed the School Safety Law Enforcement Improvement Act on February 26, 2008. Senate bill S.2084 was sponsored by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Act provides the following:

-assistance programs to improve safety and security of school institution of higher education

-firm pilot programs to develop cutting edge programs for schools

-funding for school campus police

-improvement to the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act of 2003

-focuses on prevention

-incorporates the Terror’s Hoax Improvement Act of 2007

The question still remains of why there has been an increase in school violence over the years and what solutions and programs will improve the safety and security issues.

Tweet

The Christmas Killer

by Connie Park

On Christmas Eve, when families gathered together to enjoy the holidays and to celebrate the season, the small suburb of Covina, 25 miles from Los Angeles, received news of a devastating tragedy right in their neighborhood: a "Santa Gunman" had killed nine family members and torched their house to the ground. This year's Christmas celebration turned into a tragedy that the Ortega family will never forget.

At approximately 11:30 p.m., 45-year-old Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa Claus suit, showed up at the doorstep of his former in-laws' home, where his ex-wife, Slyvia Pardo, and her three children by a prior marriage, had been living for the past year.

This Santa Gunman wasn't there to deliver presents or to spread joy. Bruce Pardo (pictured above) was armed with 4 pistols and a flame thrower containing racing fuel. This man came to seek revenge on his ex-wife. It was apparent Pardo didn't care who got in his way or who he was going to hurt or kill. He was a cowardly man who shot an 8-year-old girl in the face when she opened the door to Santa. Pardo also fired a gun into the back of a 16-year-old girl. He continued shooting towards the 25 family members and friends who were at the house and then sprayed racing fuel all around the house, setting the home on fire.

Next, Pardo drove to his brother's house in San Fernando Valley and killed himself. At three in the morning on Christmas Day, the mass murderer's brother, Brad Pardo, found Jeffrey dead with a gunshot wound to the head. Police discovered $17,000 strapped to Pardo's body and a plane ticket to Canada. Unfortunately enough, this Christmas present of Pardo killing himself didn't come soon enough for the Ortega family.

Police stated the vehicle found outside Pardo brother's house was tripwired to set off 500 rounds of ammunition. A second vehicle was recovered in Glendale, California on December 28, but no explosives were found. By early Christmas morning, the house was engulfed in flames and 9 family members were killed. According to the authorities, the bodies were so charred that they were not able to make any identifications at the scene.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Bruce and Sylvia married in 2006. However, Sylvia filed for divorce after discovering that for the past several years, Bruce Pardo had been claiming his brain-damaged son from a previous relationship as a tax exemption. Also, in July 2008, Pardo lost his job in with ITT. He had accumulated extensive debt. The final divorce settlement ordered Pardo to pay $10,000 to Sylvia and to give back the diamond ring and custody of the dog.

From the scene, it was apparent that Pardo had been planning the massacre for several months. He rented the Santa Claus suit earlier in September asking for a extra large suit to hide "big presents."

The 9 family members who were killed were Sylvia Pardo; her parents, Alicia and Joseph Ortega (70 and 80 years old); Teresa and James Ortega (51 and 52); Cheri and Charles Ortega (45 and 50); and Alicia Ortiz and her 17-year-old son, Michael. As a result of this tragedy, 16 children were left without one or both parents. The 8- and 16-year-old girls miraculously survived the shooting and are recovering from the injuries.

The facts and evidence of this multiple homicide-suicide will be documented. But the question of why Pardo resorted to that level of violence—rather than, say, simply taking his own life instead of embarking on a complicated killing spree—will remain incomprehensible.

Tweet

Hermano de Pistoleros

by Connie Park

In December of 2003, a missing person’s case was reported by family members of Ranferi Arizaga. Arizaga was last seen at his home located in the east side of Houston, Texas. Family members became worried when they didn’t hear from Arizaga for two days. On December 8, 2003, the family received a call from the police that Arizaga was found, but it wasn’t the news they expected. They learned that he was murdered and that his body was recovered in Galveston Bay approximately 50 miles from Houston. Further into the investigation, we learned the story had several twists, which gave insight into the lifestyle of prison gangs.

On December 8, 2003, two fishermen were fishing in Galveston Bay where they were expecting a good day of fishing, but they soon discovered something else more than fish. They observed a big plastic bag floating in the bay and they reeled in the bag and put it in the back of their boat. After a couple of hours of fishing and without realizing there was something gruesome and an unexpecting surprise waiting for them. Once they reached the shore, the fisherman opened the plastic bag and shockingly discovered a decapitated head. Shortly after, a suitcase was found floating near their boat and inside the suitcase was a headless torso. Galveston police were called and they were able to identify the victim as Ranferi Arizaga. The next day the legs and arms were discovered in another section of the bay. At this time in the investigation, it was assumed that the murder and dismemberment of the body occurred in Galveston. However, witnesses came forward about witnessing a murder near the location where Arizaga was reported missing.

My partner, Sgt. Larry Hoffmaster, and I worked with Galveston police to follow up on the investigation and determine who were responsible for the murder and dismemberment of Arizaga. We learned that Arizaga was initially shot and taken to a different location where the suspects dismembered the body. Arizaga’s body was then placed in the plastic bag and the suitcase and dumped into Galveston Bay. According to the pathologist, the incisions and dismemberment of the body were done precisely and the person(s) knew exactly what they were doing.

Three possible suspects were taken in for questioning. Unfortunately, because of lack of evidence they were not charged with murder, but that of a lesser charge. The suspects identified the actual shooter as Raul Flores, but informed us that he fled to Mexico shortly after the murder. Five years later, we have information that Flores is still hiding out in Mexico and periodically crossing the border back into Texas. Flores is currently wanted for another murder that occurred in 2004 in Hildago County, which is located in south Texas near the Mexican border. Efforts have not slowed in locating Flores from the law enforcement agencies in Houston to the agencies along the border and South Texas.

The suspects were identified as proud members of a notorious and ruthless prison and street gang called the Los Hermanos de Pistoleros. The HPL gang was mainly involved in drug trafficking and money laundering millions of dollars through the sale of contraband and cocaine.

Arizaga was the “Captain” of the Houston chapter but the higher level members of the HPL gang ordered a hit on Arizaga’s life. Needless to say, the prison gang didn’t care who they killed, regardless of whether or not they were affliated in their own gang. Another member was already appointed and ready to take Arizaga’s position. Throughout the investigation, we got a glimpse and insight to the culture of this prison and street gang and the loyalty of the members. The HPL gang was highly organized and efficient but they were not immune to criminal charges. After years of investigation and the efforts of several multi agencies , twenty-four high ranking members of the Houston and Laredo chapters were arrested and charged federally for drug trafficking and money laundering.

Alarmingly, the HPL gang is one of many organized prison and street gangs that exist in the Texas prison systems and the rest of the country. It is imperative that we come up with solutions for controlling and limiting the activities of these violent gangs.

Tweet

Not Just a Career—A Calling

by Connie Park

This past August, I celebrated my 13th anniversary with the Houston Police Department. I was only 25 years old when I started the police academy and not really knowing what to expect. The only expectation I had was to meet the goals and challenges of pursuing a career I was so passionate about. After thirteen years in law enforcement, the opportunities and experiences I’ve had have exceeded all my expectations.

My first assignment was nightshift patrol at the Westside station with Mondays and Tuesdays off. Days off were determined by department seniority. Needless to say, I was one of the rookies that just got off the probationary program. Wow, I was an official police officer! The first years of being an officer were the most exciting times. Everything was new and I was learning so many different things. The adrenaline stemming from catching the “bad guys” is an experience that all young officers lived for. You were actually making an impact on the community. I lived and breathed police work and was amazed that I was actually getting paid for doing something I loved.

When I first hit the streets, I felt like I had something to prove and that I had to show my fellow officers that I could handle the job. I wanted to demonstrate that I was capable and could do the job as well as any other male officer. I soon realized all the pressure I had placed on myself was from my own expectations and from no one else. I quickly got to know my fellow beat officers and we all worked well together and took care of one another. Don’t get me wrong, just like any other family, we all had our differences and opinions and our share of disagreements. But by the end of the day, we knew we could rely on each other and we made sure we all went home safely at the end of the shift to our families. The special camaraderie we shared was one of the reasons I became an officer, a unique bond and understanding.

Through the years, I came to the realization that I didn’t have to prove my abilities as a police officer to others. I didn’t have to work or try twice as hard because I was a female officer. I learned that I needed to develop my own policing style and that it wasn’t about seeking approval or recognition from others. I learned that police work was about self gratification and that the gratification came from me knowing that I had a positive impact in people’s lives. We are ALL police officers regardless of our gender and we all share a common goal.

I have been fortunate to work in Homicide for the past eight years and it has been such an invaluable experience. I’ve learned from the best homicide investigators and have had great mentors who have guided my career. There were numerous times that we worked throughout the night, nonstop, in order to solve heinous crimes where innocent lives were taken and families were changed forever. All of the hard work, energy, and long hours placed upon the investigations have been well worth it and made my journey within the police department an amazing experience that I would never change. One can never take away the pride we as officers experience together.

Tweet

Mystery Man - Clue Box

Time for our next Mystery Man. We hope you enjoyed the four-part series we featured over the Fourth of July holiday. Our next guest contributor is a big-city homicide detective from the Death Penalty capital of the nation: Houston, Texas. This investigator was one of two detectives selected to form the department's Cold Case Unit. Since his unit's expansion, he has been able to add detectives like WCI's Connie Park.

Twenty-seven years ago this summer, our Mystery Man joined the Houston Police Department. He was promoted to sergeant in the late 1980s, and has spent most of his career since then in the Homicide Division. When he joined HPD in 1981, the Murder Squad was dealing with the surge of violence of the late '70s, when the team of homicide investigators had more business than they could handle. On the two manual typewriters detectives used to take statements, the rollers only stopped moving for as long as it took for the next in line to sit and load a clean sheet of paper.

Investigators were typing statements on computers by the time this Mystery Man arrived. The most notorious statement he took was on videotape: the confession of Andrea Yates, who drowned her five children in 2001. Though it's difficult to imagine, one desperate parent murdering multiple children would not be the only quintuple homicide he investigated.

Ten years earlier, he stood over the bodies of four children and their father, a distraught man who murdered everyone because his wife had sued for divorce and asked the court to grant him sole custody of the children. What the detective remembered most was this: After purchasing a .45 semiautomatic, the father had driven the kids to K-Mart for new clothes and a Polaroid. At home, he took a photo of the children, wrote a note to his wife that the picture would be the last time she saw them, and fired a bullet into each child's head before ending his own life the same way.

Those mass murders are but two of the several hundred cases he's investigated. Somewhere in there, he met a Harris County prosecutor he wanted to share his life with, and together they had a beautiful daughter. Over the years, his cases have taken him all over the nation, though he's not one to boast. "My killers seldom run to the garden spots of the US," he said. "I've awakened in such places as Hackensack, New Jersey; Pascagoula, Mississippi; Bakersfield, California; and Monroe, Lousiana." Tomorrow, he'll share some of his memorable Houston cases. You shouldn't need any other clues to convince you that this Mystery Man is not to be missed. Check him out here tomorrow.

Tweet