The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • B4

OUTPUT: 21:47 USER: CMCKOON MASTER 10-12-10 PAGE: 4 MODESTO FINAL 4 BLACK YELLOWCYAN MAGENTA BY SCOTT SMITH The Record (Stockton) STOCKTON Cold case binders clutter Cliff desk in a cubicle at the Stockton Police De- partment. binder This is an unsolved one spine reads. Each is filled with old po- lice reports and crime scene photos. Some lay open as if Johnson, poring over a page, spotted a clue that sent him deep into another binder. trying to con- dots.

The 53-year-old retired last year. But upon seeing news that the victims of Wesley a i a Loren Herzog, the freak were being unearthed in February, something tugged at the former detective. He want- ed back in. Johnson is not alone. The maps and letters that Shermantine, 46, sends from death row have caught the attention of investiga- tors in Nevada, Oregon, Utah and other parts of Cali- fornia.

They wonder if the information can solve cases cluttering their desks. will work closely with any agency that has an said deputy Les Garcia, spokesman for the San Joaquin County Sher- Office. tips have led authorities to recover skeletal remains of five vic- tims. They have identified all but one. In 2001, Shermantine was sentenced to death for four murders.

Herzog was found guilty of three, but his case was overturned on appeal, and he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Herzog was released on pa- role in 2010. On Jan. 16 this year, he hanged himself af- ter learning Shermantine was revealing burial loca- tions. Shermantine has repeat- edly said in letters that the remains of the unidentified victim retrieved from a Flood Road well near Lin- den are those of a pregnant black woman.

He has given no name. A Reno woman may be an- other victim. Terri Ann Fourcher, who vanished in 1996 at 28, lies buried in Linden, according to letters and maps. He and Herzog of- ten traveled to the Tahoe area for gambling trips. In Oregon, officials be- lieve the duo shot cowboy Philip Brooks, 23, in Wheel- er County in 1996.

A Utah hunter also killed that year long has been tied to the Linden pair, but no charges were filed. In his let- ters, Shermantine claims Herzog killed the man. letters to The Record claim Herzog also killed a woman found in 1984 in an orchard east of Stockton. News clips match his sto- ry. They identify the victim as Deanna Lynn Monts De Oca, a 27-year-old mother of two from Stockton.

Officials have yet to close that case, saying they need more than word. Sacramento bounty hunt- er Leonard Padilla, who agreed to pay Shermantine for information leading to the discovery of bodies, said he believes the killer is being truthful and that recent finds prove it. He predicts that in four months, more remains will be unearthed. It could take two years to exhaust the case, including those in oth- er states, he said. still hot and Padilla said.

Shermantine writes and calls Padilla two or three times a week, he said. FBI agents follow up on the in- formation. Shermantine recently sent Padilla a hand-drawn map of the Linden area, where he and Herzog grew up as neighbors. Sherman- tine notes the burial places and more wells that need to be explored. said theirs (sic) a well out in this field across from well (sic) with Shermantine scribbled on one corner of the map.

On another area of the map, Shermantine indicat- ed is (sic) the location Herzog claims him and Jason buried some- The map encompasses farmland and pasture with- in a few miles of the boyhood homes. think the map is going to yield at least a dozen bod- Padilla said. Padilla and associate Rob Dick spent a day in Linden recently with a dog trained to sniff out remains and came away with several promising hits, Padilla said. He believes the FBI and deputies soon will obtain search warrants to begin digging again. 6 7 2 9 9 6 Whitmore Charter High School is WASC accredited, offering A-G ed courses, curriculum, and educational opportunities without charge.

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He said his ambition to concentrate more develop- ment downtown would translate into jobs and oth- er benefits for west Modes- to. In another effort to create jobs, Marsh said he wants to get started with the process of Modesto annexing Salida, with its approved acreage for business parks and in- dustrial plants. Marsh added that the city needs to work with schools to improve high school grad- uation rates and prepare the work force of tomorrow. He has asked community groups to adopt schools and help second- to fourth-grade pupils who have fallen be- hind on reading skills. The mayor seem to win over residents on the subject of parks in west Modesto.

He acknowledged the city had put limited money into the Tuolumne River Region- al Park system. He wanted to see a Sutter Avenue soc- cer and baseball complex moved higher on the sched- ule, but said the project is not to happen real because of the lack of state and federal grants. Manuel Valdez told the mayor answer was not real need parks for the kids to help them stay out of gangs and keep them Valdez said. Marsh explained that fees collected from the Village I development were funding construction of the $11 mil- lion Mary Grogan Park com- plex in northeast Modesto. One option for residents is to form an assessment dis- trict to pay for parks, offi- cials said.

The King-Kennedy Neigh- borhood Collaborative is one-fourth of the way to rais- ing $1 million for a walking trail named after late com- munity leader Helen White. Residents aired concerns about rampant graffiti and metal theft. Marsh said he hopes that judges will start taking away the licenses of people convicted of tag- ging. Under a state law, those convicted of graffiti vandalism can lose their li- censes for one year. Marsh said he has asked the dis- trict attorney to recom- mend the penalty.

A minister asked whether police were investigating the buyers of stolen metal. Several churches in west Modesto recently were hit by metal thieves. Police Chief Mike Harden said his department does compliance checks with re- cyclers and has arrested vio- lators. He said the metal theft epidemic has prompt- ed some property owners to cage their air conditioning units. Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at or (209) 578-2321.

MAYOR CONTINUED FROM B-1 6 7 4 4 9 3 Sean Slamon, division chief of the Modesto Regional Fire Authority, talks with Christopher Mayfield, 5, of Riverbank, who was there with his mother, during the town hall meeting at the King-Kennedy Memorial Center on Saturday. DARRYL Cops in 4 states eye info Chronic Back Pain Treatment Always Come in a Bottle Call Now To Meet With Dr. Graham D.C. DACBN The Area Leader In Spinal Decompression Call Today For A Free Consultation www.ModestoBacktoNeck.com 545-8727 APPROVED FOR: Herniated Disc Bulging Disc Sciatica Chronic Low Back Pain Get off the medications with a NON-INVASIVE TREATMENT for back and neck pain! A Pain-Free Back Is a Beautiful 6 7 4 5 6 4 LOCAL NEWS Presented At: Modesto Junior College 435 College Ave, Modesto, CA 95350 Wednesday-May 16, 2012 at And Thursday- May 17, 2012 at and SEATING IS LIMITED Please call 888-565-6926 to reserve your space. www.robertsretirement.com for more information! 11992 HWY 88 Ste.

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