Los Angeles Times - 02.08.2019

L ATIMES.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2019B

CITY & STATE

A 3 3-year-old Fresno

County man was charged

Wednesday with three

counts of murder in connec-

tion with crimes that au-

thorities say warrant calling

him a serial killer.

Buford King was arrested

after a three-year investiga-

tion into the deaths of one

man who went missing in

2011 and two others who

went missing in 2016, accord-

ing to the Fresno County

Sheriff ’s Office.

At a news conference

Wednesday, Fresno County

Undersheriff Steve Wilkins

said it’s a “definite possibil-

ity” that there may be other

victims, but said he could

not elaborate on why or how

detectives think that be-

cause it is an ongoing inves-

tigation.

“King meets the criteria

of a serial killer, which the

FBI defines as someone who

murders two or more people

in separate events,” Wilkins

said.

Each of the three men

that King is alleged to have

killed were acquaintances.

Wilkins said investigators

know how the men were

killed but were not releasing

that information.

The first victim, Visalia

resident Alberto Contreras,

51, was last seen in January

2011 and reported missing to

the Visalia Police Depart-

ment that July. His remains

were found in April on land

in Visalia where King previ-

ously lived, according to the

sheriff ’s office.

Fresno County man Alek-

sey Shelest, 35, was last

heard from May 18, 2016, and

was reported missing 11 days

later. This March, after a

search warrant was served,

detectives uncovered She-

lest’s bones after six straight

days of digging on King’s

property about 40 miles east

of Fresno.

Donnie Lee, 62, also of

Fresno County and who

lived in a trailer on King’s

property, was last seen Nov.

1, 2016, on the property. He

was reported missing about

three weeks later. His re-

mains were found in April on

the property by the same

crews who found Contreras’

remains.

Lee’s daughter Jessica

Brumley said at the news

conference that she found

out Wednesday that author-

ities had found her father’s

remains. “My dad was a good

man ... and it’s sad he had to

meet such circumstances.

But we’ve prayed for a long

time for closure and for jus-

tice to be served,” she said.

King’s bail was set at

$3 million.

Man

may be

serial

killer

Fresno County

resident, 33, is charged

with murder in the

deaths of three men.

By Jaclyn Cosgrove

‘ My dad was a

good man....

We’ve prayed for

a long time for

closure and for

justice to be

served.’

—Jessica Brumley,

daughter of slaying victim

Donnie Lee

BUFORD KINGknew

the men he is charged

with killing.

Fresno County Sheriff

The Navy has confirmed

that the pilot of the F/A-18E

Super Hornet that crashed

Wednesday at Death Valley

National Park has died. The

jet, assigned to the “Vigilan-

tes” of Strike Fighter Squad-

ron (VFA) 151, was based

at Naval Air Station

Lemoore.

The identity of the pilot

will be withheld for 24 hours

pending notification of next

of kin.

“The Navy mourns the

loss of one of our own and

our hearts go out to the fam-

ily and friends affected by

this tragedy,” Navy Lt.

Cmdr. Lydia Bock said in a

statement.

The cause of the crash is

under investigation.

The plane went down

about 10 a.m. near an area

often referred to as Star

Wars Canyon, not far from

the Naval Air Weapons Sta-

tion China Lake.

Seven visitors suffered

minor injuries.

Search-and-rescue

teams that had been dis-

patched out of China Lake

and Naval Station Lemoore

continued to look for the pi-

lot throughout the night.

Though it is not common

for military jets to fly low

over national parks, it is a

standard practice in Death

Valley.

“It’s one of the main at-

tractions,” said Patrick Tay-

lor, public information offi-

cer at Death Valley National

Park.

The Air Force and Navy

have used the area for mili-

tary training since the early

1930s.

Most of the aircraft that

pass through come from

Naval Air Weapons Station

China Lake, Naval Air Sta-

tion Lemoore, Edwards Air

Force Base, Fresno Air Na-

tional Guard Base and Nellis

Air Force Base in Nevada.

International jets are also

known to make flybys.

Times staff writer Ruben

Vives contributed to this

report.

Navy confirms pilot died in crash

The F/A-18E went

down near a Death

Valley site popular

with aviation buffs.

THE AIR FORCE and Navy have used Death Valley for training since the 1930s.

The low-level flights have been a popular tourist attraction at the national park.

KGrif Photography

By Colleen Shalby

and Hannah Fry

A WAVE OF THE FUTURE

Allen J. SchabenLos Angeles Times

Sol Aguirre of Peru turns at the top of a wave during competition in the Pro Women’s Juniors division of the U.S. Open of Surfing

on Wednesday in Huntington Beach. Aguirre is among the final eight competitors who will battle for an Open title on Saturday.

SAN DIEGO — Two ani-

mal welfare groups filed a

lawsuit Wednesday against

the Poway Rodeo, accusing

workers at the annual event

of illegally shocking tame

horses for entertainment

purposes.

An Illinois nonprofit

called Showing Animals Re-

spect and Kindness, or

SHARK, and the Animal

Protection and Rescue

League, a California non-

profit, filed the complaint in

San Diego County Superior

Court.

It accuses workers at the

three-day event of violating

municipal and state laws by

electrically shocking tame

horses while they are in

chutes, or cages, just before

they’re released into the

rodeo arena with a rider on

top.

According to the lawsuit,

this causes the horses to

buck wildly, “giving these

tame, domesticated horses

the appearance of being

wild, ‘bucking broncos.’ ”

The next Poway Rodeo is

scheduled for Sept. 27-28.

The lawsuit seeks a tempo-

rary restraining order and

an injunction to prevent the

rodeo from shocking horses.

In an email Wednesday,

Poway Rodeo Chairman

Murray Bankhead said the

organization does not com-

ment on pending litigation.

Bankhead said Poway

Rodeo is sanctioned by the

Professional Rodeo Cow-

boys Assn., or PRCA, the

largest and oldest rodeo-

sanctioning body in the

world. He said the rodeo

fully complies with state and

city laws.

The Poway Valley Riders

Assn.,the Salt River Rodeo

Co.and the PRCA are also

named in the suit. Officials

at all three organizations did

not respond to messages

and calls seeking comment.

According to the com-

plaint, the California Penal

Code requires a rodeo to “en-

sure that no electric prod or

similar device is used on any

animal once the animal is in

the holding chute.” Poway

Municipal Code also prohib-

its the use of electric prods

or shocking devices at ro-

deos and specifically forbids

their use on animals being

contained in chutes.

As evidence, the lawsuit

provided screenshots from a

video taken at the rodeo

event last year.

The video, which was up-

loaded to YouTube in Janu-

ary, shows a rodeo worker

holding a pronged device

near horses in chutes, sec-

onds before they were re-

leased into the arena.

The lawsuit said this de-

vice is called a “hot-shot.” It

emits 5,000 volts of electric-

ity across two metal prongs.

“The manufacturer of the

hot-shot, Miller Manufac-

turing, specifically states on

the label that it is never to be

used on horses, and has

stated in writing that it

should never be used in a

rodeo setting,” the lawsuit

said. “The device is intended

for specific situations involv-

ing large cows and pigs.”

Bryan Pease, an attorney

representing SHARK and

APRL, said the incident

caught on video was not an

isolated event but rather a

standard operating pro-

cedure for the rodeo.

“It’s common practice,”

Pease said. The organiza-

tions named in the lawsuit

“are known to use that de-

vice in other states and juris-

dictions where it’s not il-

legal.”

The professional cow-

boys association allows the

use of prods and similar de-

vices when an animal is in a

chute, according to its web-

site, but these devices may

be used only when necessary

and may touch the animal

only on the hip or shoulder

area. The sanctioning or-

ganization has more than 60

rules to ensure the proper

care and treatment of rodeo

animals.

According to the lawsuit,

SHARK and APRL con-

tacted the San Diego Hu-

mane Society about the al-

leged illegal activity. The or-

ganization, which has the ju-

risdiction to enforce animal

cruelty laws, declined to take

action, the complaint said.

In a statement Wednes-

day, Dariel Walker, commu-

nications specialist for the

Humane Society, said the or-

ganization received a video

and a complaint about ani-

mal cruelty at the rodeo in

January. The video was re-

viewed by humane officers,

including a certified equine

investigator with three dec-

ades of horse handling expe-

rience, who concluded that

there was no conclusive evi-

dence of abuse.

A second enhanced vi-

deo, uploaded to YouTube in

February, provided addi-

tional information that was

not available at the time of

the first complaint.

“We explained that in any

animal cruelty investiga-

tion, a complaint has to be

timely in order to determine

possible violations,” Walker

said. “Unfortunately, in this

case, we were advised of the

alleged incident four

months after the occur-

rence. This hampered our

ability to identify the sub-

jects or circumstances of al-

leged violations.”

The Humane Society

regularly attends events

where animals are used for

entertainment to ensure

compliance with local and

state laws. Walker said this

was the first time the organi-

zation has received a com-

plaint about the Poway

Rodeo, and staffers are mak-

ing plans to attend the next

event.

Schroeder writes for the

San Diego Union-Tribune.

Animal welfare groups sue rodeo

Lawsuit alleges the San Diego County event illegally uses electric prods on tame horses

By Lauryn Schroeder

The body of missing Mc-

Farland City Manager John

Wooner was found this week

inside a vehicle submerged

in the Kern River, author-

ities confirmed Wednesday.

Wooner, 57, was last seen

alive May 14 at Hillcrest Me-

morial Park, a cemetery in

Bakersfield.

Sgt. James Naborsof the

California Highway Patrol’s

Bakersfield office said

Wooner was traveling in a sil-

ver Dodge Durango on High-

way 178, a winding two-lane

canyon road, in an area full of

rocks and boulders when, for

unknown reasons, the vehi-

cle exited the roadway in an

area without guardrails.

“We don’t know if it was a

deliberate act, if it was acci-

dental, if it was mechanical

or if it was DUI-related,”

Nabors said. “None of those

are known at this time.”

The vehicle had moss on

it and had been in the river

for “quite some time,” al-

though the exact time frame

is unknown, Nabors said.

Bakersfield police had

previously offered a $5,

reward for information on

Wooner’s location.

AKern County Sheriff ’s

Office spokeswoman said

the coroner had not yet de-

termined a cause of death.

Body of

missing

official

is found

By Jaclyn Cosgrove