Feb. 20-25: Carmichael Park Killer Given Life Sentence

Homeless man stabbed during robbery

The man convicted of stabbing a Carmichael homeless man to death in 2009 was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

James Ray Alden, 37, was convicted in January of the robbery and first-degree murder of Richard Seeger, a 57-year-old homeless man living out of his car.

On April 9, 2009, Seeger was walking in Carmichael Park when Alden stabbed him in the arm and back with a kitchen knife. He then stole Seeger’s personal items as well as his car, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.

While searching for witnesses during a neighborhood canvass, Sacramento sheriff’s detectives discovered Seeger’s car keys, checkbook and other belongings in the apartment where Alden was temporarily staying with a friend. The items were linked to Seeger and Alden through fingerprint and DNA testing performed by the District Attorney’s Crime Lab, the office said.

Authorities originally charged both Alden and Bobby Brady for the murder. Both men were recently released from prison and staying at the apartment belonging to Brady’s brother. The murder charges were dropped against Brady in January, and he pled no contest to a felony count of receiving stolen property, for which he received a six-year prison sentence.

Traffic stop leads to bedroom discovery

A routine traffic stop returned a Carmichael man to jail Thursday afternoon.

John Reyes, 47, of Carmichael was a passenger in the vehicle sheriff’s officers stopped for expired registration. The vehicle had pulled over near Reyes’ Parks Lane address, so officers conducted a probation search of his residence.

Officers found two live 16-gauge shotgun shells in Reyes’ bedroom and arrested him for the illegal possession of ammunition.

Babysitter accused of groping great-niece

A Sacramento man was accused of forcing himself upon his 16-year-old great niece last Wednesday night.

Eddie Wandick, 45, was babysitting the victim and his niece at their apartment in the 4900 block of Little Oak Lane, four miles north of Carmichael, according to a sheriff’s report. Around 11 p.m., the victim went to her bedroom to sleep.

According to the victim, Wandick entered the bedroom and pushed her down onto the bed, where he pinned her arms down and fondled her. The suspect left the room and Wandick’s niece came in to check on the victim. The victim told Wandick’s niece what happened and both girls fled the apartment, according to the sheriff’s report.

Wandick was arrested at the apartment and booked on a variety of charges. He was arraigned Thursday on a felony count of false imprisonment and misdemeanor counts of sexual battery and child molestation. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 11 at the downtown superior courthouse.

No CSI for discarded cigarette

There’s a lesson in here somewhere.

A Carmichael woman’s car was broken into last week after she left it unlocked. The vehicle was parked in front of the 33-year-old victim’s Madison Avenue residence the afternoon of Feb. 20. Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos said the victim believed whoever broke into her car left a cigarette in the ashtray. Because there was no forced entry into the vehicle, investigators didn’t request crime scene analysis.

No stolen property report was available as of Thursday.