FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2012
Volume 11 Issue 173
Santa Monica Daily Press
BYE, BYE BAGS SEE PAGE 3
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THE COLD LEMONADE ISSUE
Cops crack cold case murder Suspect arrested in Penn. 32 years after incident BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
PUBLIC FACILITY
SAFETY
Santa Monica detectives arrested a man in Pennsylvania in connection with a murder committed over 30 years ago, officials announced Thursday. Patrick David Salmon, 53, was SALMON arrested at 7:50 p.m. on May 17 in Shaler Township, Penn., by members of the SMPD’s Cold Case Homicide Investigation Unit and the Shaler Township Police Department. Police believe that Salmon is the gunman who killed Joaquin Mansion, 16, during a robbery at Mansion’s home on the 700 block of Marine Street on May 21, 1980. Mansion was shot in the head with a 22-caliber handgun. Two 16-year-old accomplices were caught days after the murder, but according to witness statements, Salmon left the area not long after, said Det. Larry Nicols of the Cold Case Homicide Investigation Unit. The pair could not identify Salmon because they only knew him by a nickname, which officials will not disclose. The teens agreed to a plea deal and served time in a juvenile camp, Nicols said. The trail went cold until Nicols reopened the case two years ago. The story may sound commonplace in an age when old cases get a new look using advances in genetics and DNA testing, but this one was different, Nicols said. It was actually modern databases and communications systems that made it possible to pick up the scent, even after 30 years. “Other cold case stuff is DNA work,” Nicols said. “That’s what made this one unique.” The search got going when Nicols and his team found a booking photo of Salmon taken by officers in Santa Barbara who had SEE ARREST PAGE 9
Daniel Archuleta daniela@smdp.com
CRIME SCENE? Justice Aviation is among a number of businesses at Santa Monica Airport that has reported nails in their parking lots.
Nails found in flight schools’ driveways BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Daily Press Staff Writer
SMO Police are investigating a series of incidents where an unknown number of suspects laid hundreds of roofing nails across driveways leading to two flight schools and an aviation business at Santa Monica Airport. Justice Aviation, American Flyers and Krueger Aviation Inc., three neighboring businesses with driveways off of Airport Avenue, were each targeted in the six occurrences that took place between late March and mid-May. Three of the cases involved between 40 and 150 1.5-inch nails let loose in the driveways. One had only 10, but in the last, which was reported on May 18, almost 400 nails were placed across the driveway and behind several parked cars.
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A client of Krueger Aviation complained of a flat tire, but no other damage has been reported. “The cases are with our investigators,” said Sgt. Richard Lewis, spokesperson for the Santa Monica Police Department. “They are working to identify a suspect or suspects involved.” In the meantime, extra patrols are working in the area, Lewis said. Business owners suspect that whoever was spreading the nails may have been targeting flight schools. The schools have become the center of attention lately because residents who live in nearby neighborhoods blame them for much of the noise and activity that comes out of SMO. Environmental activists also object to the fact that flight schools use leaded fuel. Elevated levels of lead have been linked to developmental problems in children.
Many have called for the flight schools to be shut down or moved to another airport where they won’t impact residents as much. Justice Aviation and American Flyers are the largest of the six flight schools stationed at SMO. Krueger actually doesn’t have a flight school at its facility, but does have a sign that indicates that flying lessons are taught there. The nails have been more of an inconvenience than anything else, but the consequences could have been far worse if an unsuspecting driver took their punctured tire out for a spin on the freeway, said Joe Justice, owner of Justice Aviation. “There is the potential that this could become very serious if an accident occurs as a result of it,” Justice said. Resident groups that have long advocated for the closure of the flight schools or SEE SMO PAGE 10
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TAXES? ALL FORMS • ALL TYPES • ALL STATES SAMUEL B. MOSES, CPA
(310) 395-9922
100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1800Santa Monica 90401