Reward Offers Aid Hopes for Justice

William Goble, 71, was in his San Joaquin Valley home in 1996 when four assailants savagely murdered him and brutalized his wife. Fresno County Sheriff Richard Pierce had no suspects.

Hoping that money would induce a witness to speak up, Pierce persuaded Gov. Gray Davis to offer a $50,000 reward.

Candelario Madueno’s body was found in a Modesto alley last September. Again, there were no clues. At the request of Police Chief Floyd Sanderson, Davis offered a $50,000 reward.

Most recently, 7-year-old Xiana Fairchild was reported missing in the Bay Area city of Vallejo. Police Chief Robert W. Nichelini, under enormous local pressure to solve the case quickly, asked for and received an offer of a $50,000 reward from Davis.

So far, none of these offers has resulted in resolution of a case. But since at least 1872, the California governor’s reward program has been a popular way for stymied police officials to try to elicit information leading to arrest and conviction.

However, the high-profile offers administered by the Office of Criminal Justice Planning and disseminated through the governor’s press office, often are long shots and are seldom collected.

About $2.3 million in outstanding state rewards is posted in scores of unsolved cases stretching back to at least 1967, the agency’s records indicate.

During the same period, about $310,000 has been paid out in a relative handful of cases. Among the rewards was $10,000 issued in 1990 to a group of East Los Angeles citizens who helped capture Richard Ramirez, convicted as the “Night Stalker” serial murderer.

No one has suggested that the reward program be abandoned for lack of productivity. In fact, over the years the sizes of rewards and the number of crimes for which they are offered have been increased by the Legislature in hopes of attracting more informants.

Under the law, the governor is authorized to offer rewards of as much as $50,000 for the arrest and conviction of people who commit a variety of capital crimes and major felonies, including murder, kidnapping, hijacking, arson and prison escape.

Additionally, rewards of as much as $100,000 are authorized to catch criminals who kill peace officers or firefighters and for arsonists who attack places of worship.

Often, state rewards are augmented by similar offers from local authorities and private funds.

“Maybe in 25% of the time, when rewards are offered, we get some information that helps with the case,” said Lt. JoAnn West of the Vallejo Police Department.

“It’s not necessarily a last resort. It’s another tool we utilize in cases where we feel [witnesses] have information but are reluctant to discuss it for a variety of reasons, including fear of retaliation,” she said.

“It’s unfortunate, but it takes a substantial amount of money to get people to feel it is worth their while,” West said.

In the case of Xiana, a bubbly second-grader who vanished en route to school, police feared she had been kidnapped and murdered, and they sought the reward quickly, in January, while the case was still fresh.

“We have followed up on more than 800 leads with no significant results,” Chief Nichelini told Davis.

Xiana’s family members supported the offer, but have given “conflicting statements” and become uncooperative, police said. “It is frustrating when the family, who has a vested interest in Xiana’s safe return, gives you fraudulent information,” West said.

In his first full year as governor, Democrat Davis, a hard-liner on crime, offered a record $485,000 in 12 cases. This surpassed the previous high of $420,000 posted in 1998 for the same number of cases by Republican Pete Wilson.

“Each is decided on a case-by-case basis,” said Hilary McLean, a Davis spokeswoman. “It’s a deliberative process [but] the governor makes the final decision.”

Besides police chiefs and sheriffs, the program has strong supporters. Among them is Jane Alexander of San Anselmo, co-founder of Citizens Against Homicide, a privately financed, volunteer organization that publicizes rewards on billboards throughout the state.

“We are very grateful for it; $50,000 is a lot of money. It’s a tremendous incentive,” Alexander said. “Somebody out there knows something. They need an incentive to come forward.”

She characterized the billboards, about a dozen of which have been erected throughout the state in the last six years, as a contemporary version of traditional police “wanted” posters, which are distributed by hand.

“We came along and made the reward information available for millions of people to see,” she said.

In one case several years ago, Alexander said, someone with knowledge of a 9-year-old murder in the San Joaquin Valley suddenly broke his silence and provided authorities with important information.

“He got so tired of looking at that billboard that he finally came forward,” Alexander said.

On Davis’ watch, a $50,000 reward was paid last year to three people in the murder of Manhattan Beach Police Officer Martin Ganz, who was shot during a 1993 traffic stop. His nephew, Don Ganz, then 13, witnessed the crime, but the killer fled.

A citizen’s action led to the arrest in Oregon in 1994 of Roger Hoan Brady, a convicted bank robber and former Los Angeles-area resident. Brady was convicted in 1998 in Los Angeles of Ganz’s murder and has been sentenced to death.

Officials said the key was provided by Andrew H. Dickson, who saw Brady shoot and kill a woman after robbing a supermarket near Portland, Ore. Dickson followed Brady and Brady fired at him.

Law enforcement authorities in California subsequently connected Brady to the killing of Ganz. Oregon police found a handgun in Brady’s apartment, which ballistics tests showed was the same gun used to kill the police officer.

After Brady’s conviction, the Manhattan Beach City Council paid the reward, apportioning $25,000 to Dickson; $12,500 to Don Ganz, the nephew; and $12,500 to another witness, Jennifer LaFond-Crosby.

But Davis’ involvement in the rewards program has not been without controversy.

As acting governor in 1997 when Wilson was out of state, Lt. Gov. Davis, offered a $50,000 reward in the murder of Ennis Crosby, who was shot while changing a tire near the San Diego Freeway at the top of Sepulveda Pass.

But the victim’s parents, Bill and Camille Cosby, who were not consulted in advance, demanded that the sum be withdrawn. They did not want taxpayers’ money to be spent on a reward. A few days later, Wilson withdrew the offer.

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Incentives for Information

Rewards have been offered by Gov. Gray Davis for information leading to the arrest and conviction of perpetrators in these crimes:

$50,000

* Xiana Fairchild, 7, disappeared Dec. 9, 1999, en route to school.

* Candelario Madueno Jr., 27, body found in alley on Sept. 20, 1999.

* Joe Camara, a dairy employee shot to death Feb. 14, 1996, when he arrived at work.

* William Goble, 71, killed during robbery July 15, 1996.

* Donald Duvardo, 77, and Mary Ann Duvardo, 70, husband and wife stabbed to death in robbery March 31, 1999.

* Katherine Velthoen, 22, shot to death on a highway June 25, 1999.

* Lisa Norrell, 15, found dead Nov. 6, 1998, in a parking lot.

* Andrea Born, 21, found shot and set afire July 4, 1997.

* Brian Carlock and Michael Teixeira, shot to death Sept. 7, 1993, during apparent robbery.

$25,000

* Arson at three Sacramento-area synagogues on June 18, 1999.

$20,000

* Joshua Rexford, 17, fatally shot Nov. 27, 1994, at an apartment complex (one defendant convicted; accomplices at large).

* Brothers Anthony and Michael Juarez, killed Oct. 27, 1998, during clothing store holdup.

* Richard DeVecchi, 37, victim of hit-and-run homicide.