GUILTY CA - Two killed, 5 injured in gang shootout at Sacramento barber shop, 14 Dec 2010

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=12397121

Mother Killed, 5 Hurt in Gunbattle at Calif. Mall


"A mother loading her 2-year-old son into an SUV was killed Tuesday and five others were wounded in a gunbattle at a strip mall in south Sacramento, authorities said.

Two men were inside Fly Cuts & Styles barber shop just before 1 p.m. when two other men came in and started shooting, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran.

The men in the barber shop were armed and returned fire, Curran said.

The gunbattle apparently moved into the parking lot...."

and

"....A bullet struck the 30-year-old woman in the chest just after she put her son into the child seat of her Chevy Tahoe, Curran said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene; the child was unhurt and has been placed under child protective services.

"We believe she's a totally innocent victim..."

more at link

From above: The men in the barber shop were armed and returned fire, Curran said.
What? Ordinary Joe's just happened to be packing heat or was there more going on that haircuts?

So unfair that an innocent life was taken, a young mother, gone forever.

This is what I fear. That unforseeable, random act of violence.

I can be savy. I can be wary. I can take every action imaginable to secure our home and our lives from danger and predators.

But how do you avoid this? How do you ward off being collateral damage in someone else's drama?

That poor woman's family. That poor motherless child. So very scary. So very sad.

It's very tragic. I looked at the map and it's at the edge of a sketchy area. The Laguna/Elk Grove area is known for its prostitution and this isn't far. Time was, things like this didn't happen in Sacramento but no more.

Prayers far that baby and his family.

You can't protect yourself against things like this...it makes me wonder about destiny, was this woman really meant to die this way, on this day, and nothing she could have done differently would have changed the outcome? Scary thought.

And a terrible tragedy for her baby and family.

Missizzy said:

It's very tragic. I looked at the map and it's at the edge of a sketchy area. The Laguna/Elk Grove area is known for its prostitution and this isn't far. Time was, things like this didn't happen in Sacramento but no more.

Prayers far that baby and his family.

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Laguna/Elk Grove is known for prostitution?? Huh? Laguna is mostly yuppie residential housing. Wayyy different than South Sac.

I agree that Florin Rd and Stockton blvd, where this took place, is not the greatest area. Parts of South Sacramento are pretty bad, so yeah it doesn't surprise me that people in the barber shop were packing weapons.

An update. Bless that young mother. She gave her life so that her baby boy could live. We all say we would do it but she actually did:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_strip...DeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDbW9tc2hvdGF0c3Ry

A mother loading her 2-year-old son into an SUV used her body to protect the toddler before she was shot and killed in an ensuing midday gunbattle at a Sacramento strip mall, sheriff's officials said Wednesday.

Monique Nelson, 30, had just strapped her son into his car seat when she was struck in the chest Tuesday, and detectives believe she positioned herself to protect her son, Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran said.

"She was found with her body over the young child," he said. "So we believe she did hear the gunfire....."

more at link

Benny08--I hate to be the one to tell you this but the Elk Grove/Laguna has been known for its prostitution and trafficking for at least the last 6-7 years. Our daughter is trafficked there and I've spent many an hour on the phone with the Sacramento Sheriff's Office and FBI.

I'm not sure it's available now but before Craigslist was forced to clean up its act (or at least pretend they are, IMO), on any given day you could find at least 75 ads for erotic services (INW, sex for cash) with Elk Grove/Laguna listed as the location. I know this as I religiously checked those ads several times each day since our special needs young lady went missing in May 2008.

Our thread heading does not fully relate the updated story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_strip...DeW5faGVhZGxpbmVfbGlzdARzbGsDbW9tc2hvdGF0c3Ry

"A second victim, 20-year-old Marvion Barksdale, also died from injuries suffered in the shootout after being taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery for a chest wound, Curran said Wednesday. Five other men were injured in the gunfight. All are expected to survive...."

and

"....[Monique] Nelson had visited a one-hour photo shop in the shopping center before briefly stopping into the barber shop to say hello to people she knew there. Curran described the barbershop as a "social gathering place" for many people and said Nelson would bring her son there to get his hair cut...."

more at link

I'm all over those streets in Elk Grove and especially Laguna on a daily basis, only day time though, so maybe it's different at night. But I don't see prostitution at all. Never. There are man made lakes with gates, a golf country club and two story houses nearing millions of dollars in value. Maybe there is prostitution but it's not the seedy kind you see in South Sac or the kind most imagine when they hear the word prostitution. I guarantee no one is packing weapons at the haircut place down the street on Laguna.

Are you saying they walk up and down streets like typical prostitutes or the craigslist thing where they come to your residence and "hook up"? Not really sure how that works.

I live in Oregon, Benny, but used to live in the Bay Area. I'm not that familiar with the different areas of Sacramento. All I know is that my daughter has been picked up twice by the Sheriff's office for prostituting in Elk Grove. We've been looking for her for three years as she was trafficked and is a very special needs young woman. She has the mental capacity of a 7-8 year old.

For months at a time, I checked the Sacramento Craigslist under Erotic Services and the MOST common location listed was Elk Grove. Laguna probably come up as about the 4th most common. The location is listed in the girl's ad. These are young women who are trafficked (and a handful of independents) who do "in-calls", "out-calls" and 15 minute "car dates".

The FBI agent, who worked on our case, explained the program to me. The girls have pimps and drivers and move up and down the I-5 corridor from motel to motel to casino. For some reason Elk Grove must be a hub of some sort as it came up so often. I always made the assumption that there must be a large number of motels there.

I just checked and Craigslist is keeping it reasonably under control, as they were asked to the Attorneys General of several states due to the level of child trafficking. My guess is that they've moved on to the other sites like redbook, etc.

If I find some more info, I'll post. And please, please, I do NOT want anyone thinking that I am speaking disrespectfully of this mother. She saved her child!! I was merely stating that this area was not far from the Elk Grove/Laguna area of which I've heard so much. If there are pimps and prostitution in an area, it makes sense to me that there would also be guns.

This girl was lured from Montana to Elk Grove. My daughter was picked up in Ashland, OR and transported south:

http://www.elkgrovenews.net/2010/06/sacramento-man-convicted-of-interstate.html

We have a very interesting thread on human trafficking, if you are interested. No city or town is exempt. Also check the motels/hotels in Elk Grove. I found quite a list.

There are only a few tonight under casual encounters but I'm not exaggerating when I say that there used to be literally hundreds each day--almost all with photos. Just snipped and edited this:

Looking for DAYTIME Fun!!!! - w4m - 28 (South Sac/ Elk Grove)

Date: 2010-12-14, 10:15PM PST


"Looking for someone to play with during the day! Tomorrow is as good of a day as any to start! I am real! So if you're serious and you wanna hook up.... I look forward to meeting you as long as you can meet my needs cuz I know I can meet yours...."

and

"Please attach a face pic with the intial email & change the subject line to Holiday. Failure to do so and I will delete your message. I hope to hear from you soon! Until next time...."

Location: South Sac/ Elk Grove


Trust me, there will be more as it gets later:

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/search/cas/?query=w4m


Also, do a google search for~Sacramento myredbook elk grove. Just want the locals to be aware. Amazing what can be going on right under everyone's nose.

Dear Missizzy, and from what I read I do think of you as a dear person.

We read about the pimps, trafficking, the young women , girls and even boys. If I could just ask this question.... Who, in general are the "customers"?I know they are not all the same, but do they generally fit a certain profile? Do they come from all walks of life?

Are many of them people no one would expect, and then they go home to the family and the suburbs ?This is what I suspect. I could be way off because I just don't know.

I wonder why they get away with this, at the expense of these poor girls. I wonder why there does not seem to be much focus on them. Why don't they get exposed and punished for the pain and devastation they are causing.

Sorry for being so off topic ,but this thread kind of just led here. Thank you, montana

I've got to head off to work.. Elk Grove, lol so I can't really add much but wanted to say Elk Grove is a pretty large area. Population is something like 150,000. Laguna area is not bad. There are some shadier areas, especially the more north you go towards Sacramento. Go onto google maps and look around Laguna Blvd, Elk Grove blvd and in between there. It's a nice area. I'm a FedEx Courier btw. Have a nice day.

Montana--You voiced a question I've always wondered about. I honestly do not know. My guess is that the men come from all walks of life. The prices I've seen (which I hear suddenly rise when a guy arrives) for the girls/women on Craigslist are by the 15 minute interval. Most I've seen range from $100-300 for 30 minutes and then there are "add-ons". The women either use professional photos which their pimp pays for and for which they are taken to guys who specialize in these kind of photos or they simply take a photo of themselves in a hotel/motel bathroom mirror. Every shape and size of woman is available--even pregnant women advertising through the last week of pregnancy. Certain things sitting on the bathroom counter signal willingness to agree to "special" things. Here's an excellent site which puts it in perspective:

http://www.vfjnw.org/sexindustrymatrix/pimpsrules.html

You'll note that there is a list of "Johns' Rules" and "Pimps' Rules". There's also a discussion of "How Prostitution Works". Excellent.

I should not have to know these things. I wish I could scrub it out of my brain but it's forever imprinted as my daughter lives this life. FWIW, her procurer is sitting in a Redding jail for attempted murder. She stabbed another woman in the chest last month. It's a deadly field.

And Benny, as a FedEx Courier, you'll learn how to spot them. The girls/women are typically driven around in a Mercedes, Lexus, or BMWs (often a bit older), with three women sitting in the back. Often the passenger seat is empty. The driver sits outside the motel and waits and then knocks on the door when the time is up. He also makes certain that the money exchanges hands--to him.

I happen to know a women who prostituted some time back. We've never talked about the customers but I will ask her. How frightening is it to know that you have to walk in a door and have sex with a man you don't know and who you don't trust? This is what drives me.

We probably need to get back to the issue at hand, a gunbattle in the middle of Sacramento and a courageous mother. But there's always the trafficking thread. And my favorite resource if you'd like a little education:

http://www.polarisproject.org/ (an excellent site, dedicate 45 minutes to reading it and you will have your eyes opened)

I think when most people think of prostitution, they think of a woman standing outside looking for a John. Craigslist listings are all over Sacramento, not just Elk Grove.

I live in Elk Grove and have lived in the Sacramento area for about 5 years (before that I lived about 40 minutes away). I've never seen a prostitute on the streets and I believe that Elk Grove is much safer than South Sacramento or other areas in Sacramento.

I agree, Benny, there is mostly Yuppie residential housing. I live in such a neighborhood between Elk Grove and Laguna (by highway 5) and feel totally safe. In fact, I try not to travel outside of my area if I don't have to.

Benny08 said:

I've got to head off to work.. Elk Grove, lol so I can't really add much but wanted to say Elk Grove is a pretty large area. Population is something like 150,000. Laguna area is not bad. There are some shadier areas, especially the more north you go towards Sacramento. Go onto google maps and look around Laguna Blvd, Elk Grove blvd and in between there. It's a nice area. I'm a FedEx Courier btw. Have a nice day.

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Benny, you are probably at my house on a daily basis! My husband gets a package every single day! =)

I honestly must not go to seedy areas. I can't imagine people packing "heat" and shooting other people in a parking lot of Elk Grove. Ugh, it makes me very frightened. I have two toddlers and it makes me feel so awful for this young woman and her child.

cluciano63 said:

You can't protect yourself against things like this...it makes me wonder about destiny, was this woman really meant to die this way, on this day, and nothing she could have done differently would have changed the outcome? Scary thought.

And a terrible tragedy for her baby and family.

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(Emphasis added.)

It makes me wonder about gun control and why people can't see that it's necessary in urban areas. We are simply packed too closely to start firing away at one another without hitting innocent bystanders.

Missizzy said:

And Benny, as a FedEx Courier, you'll learn how to spot them. The girls/women are typically driven around in a Mercedes, Lexus, or BMWs (often a bit older), with three women sitting in the back. Often the passenger seat is empty. The driver sits outside the motel and waits and then knocks on the door when the time is up. He also makes certain that the money exchanges hands--to him.

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There aren't a lot of hotels in the area you have been mentioning. There is a Hilton and a Holiday in right off the freeway but other than that it's pretty much nice strip malls and nice residential. So maybe there is some undercover craigslist prostitution at the Hilton or whatever but it's not obvious. Basically, I would feel safe walking around with my family in Elk Grove/Laguna. Not where these murders took place in Sacramento. Also, I think people on craigslist might mention Laguna to make it sound better if that makes sense.

SmilingSweetly said:

I think when most people think of prostitution, they think of a woman standing outside looking for a John. Craigslist listings are all over Sacramento, not just Elk Grove.

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Exactly. That's why I piped up in the first place. I've been approached or hollered at many times almost everywhere in Sacramento County EXCEPT Laguna.