Crime Blotter July 15-20: Charges Dropped Against Combative Ex

Punched in the heart

A woman attempting to get her belongings back in Carmichael after a relationship went south ended up in thick nylon restraints in the back of a cop car instead, a Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department report showed.

On Friday, charges of possession of a controlled substance and domestic battery were dismissed against Jessica Marie Mecredy, 34, of Sacramento. Mecredy was arrested earlier this month after matters escalated between her and an ex-boyfriend when she attempted to retrieve some property from the Carmichael apartment they previously shared.

Mecredy visited her former residence the morning of July 18, according to a report from the sheriff’s department.

Department spokesman Dep. Jason Ramos said Mecredy attempted to enter the apartment without her ex-boyfriend’s consent. When she was rebuffed, Mecredy allegedly grabbed the 60-year-old victim by the arm and punched him once in the chest.

Mecredy then entered the apartment while the victim called his daughter, who contacted authorities. 

“There was no further combat between” Mecredy and the victim, Ramos said.

When deputies arrived and tried to detain Mecredy, they say she became resistant. Placed in the back of a patrol cruiser, she reportedly began hitting her head and kicking against the rear side mirror.

Mecredy was then placed in “maximum restraints,” which Ramos described as thick nylon straps with metal hooks that bind the suspect’s legs together so that their knees are close to their chest to prevent flailing and kicking.

During a search of Mecredy at the jail, deputies say they found a small clear bag containing heroin.

On Friday, all charges against Mecredy were dropped.

Breaking even

Law enforcement officers lost one arrest but lucked into another involving a Carmichael man during a frantic foot race through the suburban streets of outer Sacramento earlier this month.

Cornell Richmond, 28, of Carmichael was the one to end up in handcuffs on July 15, when officers chased an escaping male subject to a Howe Avenue apartment complex where Richmond and an unregistered assault weapon were found.

Deputies were originally dispatched to a suspicious vehicle complaint in the 2100 block of Dawn Way, a cul-de-sac just south of El Camino Avenue that runs west off of Howe Avenue, said Ramos.

Inside the vehicle was a 19-year-old male later identified as Dwayne Burgess, whom officers said was uncooperative and evasive during questioning. According to a department report, Burgess became “violently resistive” when deputies attempted to detain him after failing to provide identification.

During the ensuing struggle, Burgess and a 43-year-old deputy trying to corral him both fell to the ground. The deputy then tried to tase Burgess, but missed his target as Burgess fell down, Ramos said.

Burgess ran in the direction of the Howe Avenue apartment complex three blocks away and a witness told pursuing officers that a man had run into one of the apartments just before they arrived, Ramos said. Believing that it was Burgess, the deputies ran to that apartment.

“Burgess was not there, but Cornell Richmond and another male were,” Ramos said. “They were hiding in a back bedroom, where officers also found the assault rifle and ammunition.”

Both men were detained, but only Richmond, who was on parole, was arrested, Ramos explained. Burgess was never located.

As of Monday, Richmond had yet to be arraigned on any charges.

Good bait

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department placed a bait car in an area of Fair Oaks that proved just too tempting for two individuals, including one Carmichael man, on July 13.

The two male subjects smashed out a window and grabbed a $600 Les Paul guitar that was outfitted with a tracking device, said Ramos.

The department received an alert that the car had been tampered with and followed the tracking signal to a two-door Honda Civic officers stopped at Fair Oaks Boulevard and New York Avenue, Ramos said.

Occupying the car were Elias Gabriel Inojus, 31, of Sacramento and Daniel James Sowles, 25, of Carmichael. The Les Paul was in the backseat.

During their search of the suspects, deputies found a set of black brass knuckles in Hinojus’ pants pocket and broken automobile glass in the cuff of his pants, according to the incident report.

In the car, which Hirojus was reportedly driving, deputies also located a glass smoking pipe and two small plastic bindles containing a white crystalline substance determined to be methamphetamine, the report stated.

Sowles was arraigned July 15 in Sacramento Superior Court on three felony counts, including second-degree burglary, possession of known stolen property, and possession of methamphetamine, as well as one misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Hirojus was arraigned Thursday on the same charges, as well as an additional felony count of unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon.

As for the bait car, Ramos said the department would likely use it again, which is why he didn’t describe its make or model and asked that the location the car was placed not be revealed.

“We’ll probably want to use it again,” he said. “I think that’s a pretty good location.”