1980-1989: Crime

Irma Lemus

The fall of a police chief, the trial of the Hillside Strangler and

the murder of a pizza delivery man were among the more sensational crime

headlines in Glendale in the 1980s.

The decade began with the trial of accused Hillside Strangler and

Glendale resident Angelo Buono, who was charged with murdering and

sexually assaulting 10 young women. His cousin, Kenneth Bianchi, who

pleaded guilty to the murders, was the key witness against Buono.

In January 1980, Buono’s defense lawyers took out advertisements in

the News--Press looking for people who knew his client at the time of the

killings and would speak on his behalf.

In all, 13 women were strangled in a killing spree that terrorized

Glendale and Los Angeles residents in 1977 and 1978. Bianchi confessed to

his role in the murders after he was arrested in Washington. It was

believed that nine out of the 10 victims Buono was charged with killing

were slain in his Glendale home. Both Bianchi and Buono were sentenced to

life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1983.

In 1982, Police Chief Dwayne Baker left the force in what Capt. Michael

Post called “clouded circumstances” in his book “Glendale Police

Department: Pictorial History.” Baker, “fell out of favor with the City

Council,” Post said.

After leaving the department in 1982, baker took a job as assistant

director of security for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. A new Glendale

chief, David John Thompson, was appointed on Dec. 14, 1982.

A third serial killer also terrorized Glendale in the 1980s. Richard

Ramirez, the so-called Night Stalker, killed 16 people and committed two

dozen other brutal assaults in the months before his capture in 1985. Two

of the victims were Glendale residents Max and Lela Kneiling. The couple,

who were in their 60s, were shot to death in their home.

Ramirez was was sentenced to death in 1986.

Another disturbing case made news in late 1985 when Ruby Padgett and

her boyfriend, Mitchell Sims, were tried and convicted of the torture

killing of a Domino’s Pizza deliveryman in a Glendale motel.

John Steven Harrigan, 21, was found dead in a bathtub at the Regal

Lodge. The South Carolina couple, who were in their 20s, lured Harrigan

into the motel room and then strangled and drowned him. They were also

charged with attempted murder and robbery after they robbed a Glendale

Domino’s, tied nooses around the necks of two employees and left them in

a refrigerator. They were arrested when an employee of the store tipped

police after seeing Sims, whom he didn’t recognize, standing behind the

counter wearing the shirt of Harrigan, who was missing.

“We pretended to be customers and ordered,” Wagner said. “He took our

order and was wearing John’s uniform.”

As crime rates went up in the late 1980s, the Police Department

increased both its personnel and office space. The second floor of the

department was refurbished and expanded in 1988 at a cost of $1.6

million.

TIMELINE:

1980 -- Hillside Strangler trial begins. Department adds 14 new

officers, including five dogs, and returns to black-and-white patrol

cars.

1983 -- Glendale resident Angelo Buono is convicted of 10 Hillside

Strangler murders and sentenced to life in prison. His cousin, Michael

Bianchi, confesses and also receives life in prison.

1985 -- A 21-year-old Glendale pizza deliveryman is murdered in a

motel room. Mitchell Sims is sentenced to death for the crime, and

girlfriend Ruby Padgett gets life without parole. A formal program is

adopted for the awarding of the Medal Of Honor by the Glendale Police

Department.

1986 -- Night Stalker Richard Ramirez is sentenced to death by a Los

Angeles jury. Two of his 16 murder victims were Glendale residents.

1987 -- Police Department creates five-year plan to combat increasing

crime in the city.

1989 -- The Police Department seizes a record of more than 3,000

pounds of cocaine.