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On January 2, 2003, Steven Wayne Todd
and Donald Glenn Pearce were arrested at 1406 Tenaya Drive in
Modesto, California.
Through an
informant named Mark, the Modesto Police Department learned that
some of the items taken from the home of Rudy and Susan Medina, 516
Covena Avenue, were in the possession of Steven Wayne Todd. When
the Modesto Police arrived at Tenaya Street address, they recovered
some of the jewelry and the large safe ( 2 ½ ‘x 2 ½’ x 3’) which had
been taken from the Medina property.
Steven Todd,
interviewed by Officer Michael Hicks on January 2, said he had
nothing to do with the woman and the baby. He then told the officer
the burglary at Medina’s had taken place on December 27. When this
proved to be untrue (Medinas were home by that time), he said that
the burglary had taken place on December 26 between 3:00 and 7 a.m.
The Modesto Police took his word for this and did not investigate
further.
Sergeant Ron Cloward,
MPD, put out word that anyone who had the remaining possessions from
the Medina burglary could return them to MPD and no questions would
be asked. On one occasion, a woman ran into the police headquarters
and threw jewelry on the counter and then ran out. This incident
was not recorded on the security camera at the headquarters.
When Steven Todd pled
guilty during his court appearance in February 2003, he was given a
sentence of 8 years and 8 months even though he was a 3 strike
offender. Donald Glenn Pearce received a sentence of 180 days.
In the summer of 2003,
Mark Geragos asked Detective Craig Grogan to turn over the Medina
safe, still in police custody, so it could be tested. Grogan later
told him that sometime after Geragos made the request, the safe was
destroyed.
| Evidence the
burglary is linked to Laci's disappearance |
There is
credible information to suggest that this burglary occurred on
December 24, 2002, shortly after the Medinas left home at 10:32 a.m.
and may have been directly connected to Laci's disappearance.
Media and
police presence in the Covena neighborhood was extreme after the
word of Laci’s disappearance became known on the evening of
December 24, making a December 26 burglary highly impractical.
There were
numerous sightings of Laci Peterson walking her dog in the Covena
neighborhood on the morning of December 24 that were not
thoroughly investigated by the MPD, which chose instead to rely on
the unverified timeline constructed by Karen Servas who lived at
517 Covena Avenue and who found the Peterson’s dog McKenzie in the
street in front of the Medina’s house on the morning of December
24. Her estimate of the time she found the dog was used to
exclude a connection between Laci’s disappearance and the Medina
burglary.
Diane Jackson,
who lived a short distance away, reported seeing 3 men with a van
and a safe in front of the Medina’s house at 11:40 a.m. on
December 24, 2002. Her information was considered credible enough
to be used in the flyer asking for the information about the
burglary and offering a $1,000 reward. However, the Modesto
Police arranged for her to by hypnotized by an unqualified
hypnotist, and for that reason her testimony was not allowed at
trial. Some of the information she provided, however, came in
through the testimony of Detective Craig Grogan.
Earlier, on
December 31, 2002, a gold Croton watch, identical to Laci’s watch
which disappeared the same day she did, was pawned by Deanna
Renfro. The Modesto Police did not investigate this woman or her
connection to the Medina burglars. A background check would have
shown links between the families of Deanna Renfro and those of
Steven Todd and the Tenbrink family.
Two weeks
before the end of the trial, shortly before Mark Geragos was to
begin his CIC, the prosecution turned over information about a
prisoner in Stanislaus County jail, who confirmed the information
given in a tip which had been received from Lt. Xavier Aponte,
Norco Correctional Institute, during the last part of January
2003. Lt. Aponte said that a phone call between an inmate and his
brother (Shawn and Adam Tenbrink) discussed Steven Todd’s
confrontation with Laci Peterson during the burglary at Medina’s.
The only information provided to the defense about his tip was a
simple notation on a CD which included 10,000 other tips about the
case. Modesto Police did not provide reports or information about
any investigation of this tip. Lt. Aponte gave a signed statement
to defense investigators which said the prisoner had been
interviewed by MPD, and that MPD had received a copy of the taped
phone conversation.
Judge Delucchi refused to consider this information which connected
the Medina burglary to Laci’s disappearance and denied the Defense
Motion for a New Trial.
Exhibits:
Testimony:
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Trial
Testimony, Sergeant Craig Wend, MPD
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Trial Testimony, Sergeant Tim
Helton, MPD
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Trial Testimony, Susan Medina
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Trial Testimony, Detective
Craig Grogan, MPD
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Trial Testimony, Officer
Michael Hicks, MPD
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Trial Testimony, Sergeant
Ronald Cloward, MPD
Motions:
KPIX Report,
December 30, 2003
Modesto Police
Department, January 3, 2003
- Burglary
Suspects Didn’t Take Woman
Modesto Bee,
January 4, 2003
- Search Goes on
For Their Teacher
Modesto Bee,
January 7, 2003
KTVU.com
Posted: May 12, 2003
Updated: May 25, 2003
Modesto Bee,
September 12, 2003
Modesto Bee,
January 6, 2004
Updated October 16, 2004
Court TV Article
with photos of Deanna Renfro, the Croton Watch, and the Pawn Shop
(*Deanna Renfro is probably not related to the Renfrows in the
brown van)
Updated July 7, 2004
Karen Servas Timeline
An analysis of the unverified
timeline that led LE to exclude the connection between the Medina
burglary and Laci’s disappearance.
False Statements made by Rick
Distaso
Reliance on Karen Servas’ unverified timeline, and an attempt to
discredit Diane Jackson’s sighting of the van (and safe) in front of
Medina’s at 11:40 a.m. on December 24.
Some Things to Ponder: The
Sound of Silence
Newsletter article about Shawn
Tenbrink whose conversation with his brother connects Steven Todd to
the Medina Burglary.
Laci Peterson, the Medina
Burglary and Occam's Razor
Analysis of the relationship of the
Medina Burglary to Laci's disappearance.
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