GUILTY CA - Gavin Smith, 57, Oak Park, 1 May 2012

The 57-year-old former UCLA basketball player left a female friend's home off Kanan Road in eastern Ventura County

Click to expand...

link

This article has some of the errors we've discussed before, ie "reputed" "rehab" etc, but I hadn't seen Kanan Rd mentioned in relation to Gavin (except on the findgavinsmith website) before. Given the other errors, I pulled up a map to verify, and Kellwood Ct, where Gavin was staying, is right off of Kanan. On the family website mentioned above, people were discussing turn offs and back roads off Kanan.

We don't know why Gavin left the house that night, late, in only sweatpants. If he received a text or call, it could've been to draw him out of the house. Some articles say he was spotted driving away. Long shot probably, but he could've been sent a msg to get him out of the house, into his car, with someone lying in wait along his potential route out of that community or to wherever they knew he was headed, harmed him, and left him and/or the car in one of the areas others indicate are accessible along Kanan, then driven around with the phone until it died to throw off the trail to him.

Just a thought. I hope they find him soon.

Not quoting related post, as I think it might go poof. In case it stands:

The bumped post had relevant, additional info that added to the discussion of the reservoir (Van Norman) at the time, ie that the LAPD training facility was near the reservoir :what:, as were retaining ponds, grassy, treed areas, construction and/or industrial areas. Those who've been at WS awhile and have followed multiple missing cases recognize these types of areas as potentially important areas to search during a missing person investigation, moreso if foul play may be involved, particularly if the tower that received the last ping of the missing person's phone is nearby.

WS is not a competition, it is a discussion and sleuthing board for those who care about the missing. WS has actually played a role in helping several cases. Nothing better than helping a family have answers and caring about the lost, IMO.

Seek&Find said:

He did say a couple things:

When asked Thursday [June 21] why his home was searched earlier this month, John Creech said: "I would love to tell you but I can't. I am told I cannot make any comments."

Click to expand...

He added that he has "never met" Smith.

John Creech made the statements to Times reporters at Los Angeles County Superior Court, where he was scheduled to be sentenced on a single count of selling and transporting drugs. Instead, Judge Clifford Klein ordered that Creech remain in custody without bail pending a new sentencing date of July 26.

Click to expand...

BBM. Curious...wonder who told him that? If it was his attorney, I'd think he'd say "I've been advised not too make any comments." Could be his attorney. Could LE or the judge have said something/issued a gag order?? The search warrant is sealed...? I'd think he said this prior to seeing the judge, but IDK. Wonder what he'd "love to tell".

The cover pages of a sealed search warrant affidavit that referenced the address of the home, signed by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on May 21, said detectives had probable cause that an unspecified felony had been committed at the residence.

Click to expand...

link

Click to expand...

I was thinking about this again yesterday IRT LE not releasing much info, including regarding Sylmar, even in light of the recent canvass. That, in addition to Creech's statement above, and the sealed warrant, make me wonder even more if there's potentially a gag order re: Gavin's case. It wouldn't extend to Gavin's family...

A "Gag Order" is usually a Judge's order directed at the attorneys, witnesses, and parties before the court not to publicly discuss the facts of a case. This is typically done in criminal cases of particular notoriety in order to assure the defendant receives a fair trial. A gag order may also bind and gag or restrain an unruly defendant in order to preserve the decorum of court proceedings.

Click to expand...

link

Just a possibility. LE may just be protecting their investigation, and Creech's attorney could've advised him not to speak. Creech's "I would love to tell' quote above is just intriguing, in light of everything else, IMO.

I'm sorry ahead of time if this has already been discussed, but why is John Creech just now being sentenced for a crime he was convicted of back in 2010? Or did he just now plead to this crime FROM 2010? Even then, why has he been allowed to go so long between arrest and pleading?

Again I am sorry, I just never was real clear on what the story was with him.


BTW, IMO...IF John Creech had anything to do with Gavin's disappearance or death, there is NO WAY he is going to give that up. That is a far more serious crime than drug dealing. 10 years for drugs but maybe life for death. Nope.

JodyMT said:

I'm sorry ahead of time if this has already been discussed, but why is John Creech just now being sentenced for a crime he was convicted of back in 2010? Or did he just now plead to this crime FROM 2010? Even then, why has he been allowed to go so long between arrest and pleading?

Again I am sorry, I just never was real clear on what the story was with him.


BTW, IMO...IF John Creech had anything to do with Gavin's disappearance or death, there is NO WAY he is going to give that up. That is a far more serious crime than drug dealing. 10 years for drugs but maybe life for death. Nope.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I lean towards him not telling a soul, if he's involved. But, if he did it, and he knows they have a ton of evidence, but not Gavin's body, he might say, I'll tell you where to find him if there's no DP, or other sentencing agreements. A very small few have done that. We can only hope, if Creech did this and LE cannot find Gavin, that he will tell, for the family's closure. Does CA have the DP? I'll have to look...


Per the records we've found:

Seek&Find said:

Per LA Superior Court Records https://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/onlineservices/criminalindex/


Name:* CREECH , JOHN * LANZIE *
Case Number* LACBA367995-01
Filed At*Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center
Filing Date*02/18/2010
Limited Jurisdiction
Count ChargeSection Charge Statute Disposition DispositionDate
01 11351 Health & Safety Code Held to Answer 11/09/2010
02 11352(A) Health & Safety Code Held to Answer 11/09/2010
03 11359 Health & Safety Code Held to Answer 11/09/2010
04 11378 Health & Safety Code Held to Answer 11/09/2010
05 11370.9(A) Health & Safety Code Held to Answer 11/09/2010
06 11377(A) Health & Safety Code Held to Answer 11/09/2010




Name:* CREECH , JOHN * LANZIE *
Case Number* XCNBA367995-01
Filed At*Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center
Filing Date*11/09/2010
General Jurisdiction
Count Charge Section Charge Statute Disposition Disposition Date
01 11351 Health & Safety Code Online data not available. Online data not available.
02 11352(A) Health & Safety Code Guilty/Convicted 02/27/2012
03 11359 Health & Safety Code Online data not available. Online data not available.
04 11378 Health & Safety Code Online data not available. Online data not available.
05 11370.9(A) Health & Safety Code Online data not available. Online data not available.
06 11377(A) Health & Safety Code Online data not available. Online data not available.


BBM & red by me.

Per California statutes here: All are drug related charges. Possession of controlled substances, possession with intent to sell, transport/import, sale of controlled, sale of MJ, receive/concealment of proceeds.

Conviction on:

11352. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this division, every
person who transports, imports into this state, sells, furnishes,
administers, or gives away, or offers to transport, import into this
state, sell, furnish, administer, or give away, or attempts to import
into this state or transport (1) any controlled substance specified
in subdivision (b), (c), or (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f)
of Section 11054, specified in paragraph (14), (15), or (20) of
subdivision (d) of Section 11054, or specified in subdivision (b) or
(c) of Section 11055, or specified in subdivision (h) of Section
11056, or (2) any controlled substance classified in Schedule III,
IV, or V which is a narcotic drug, unless upon the written
prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian
licensed to practice in this state, shall be punished by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for
three, four, or five years

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Seek&Find said:

case in 2nd Appellate Court. All I found via free search. Not familiar w court/criminal records search. Hope more experienced posters will search.

Click to expand...

It looks as if the trial took awhile, as he wasn't convicted until 2/27/12 on the charge from Feb 2010. Odd, since he ended up pleading no contest. Unless he rolled on those he worked with and his trial wasn't held until after theirs? Just wild speculation there. The Appellate case was filed against LA Superior Court et al on 2/14/11 (Valentine's Day, odd fact) and "Petition summarily denied by order" on 4/1/11 (April Fool's Day, odd fact). If it's related to his drug charges, maybe this slowed the trial??

Not sure why there was such a big gap between conviction date and sentencing either. Sad thing is, he was out pending sentencing when his alleged involvement with Gavin's disappearance occured. I'm still not sure if his sentencing hearing was postponed due to his plea deal potentially being voided due to involvement in Gavin's case.

There's a lot we don't know!

:cow:

Per this article, CA does currently have the DP.

November ballot measure that would replace capital punishment with a life term without possibility of parole

Click to expand...

So, if LE has strong evidence re: who did it, they can use the DP as leverage to plea and provide info.

Seek&Find said:

We don't know why Gavin left the house that night, late, in only sweatpants. If he received a text or call, it could've been to draw him out of the house

Click to expand...

That is all a rehash of what has previously been said here.

However there was a lot made of those purple sweatpants ... and I did read about the significance of them. I didn't think it was an important detail that needed linking, so I will just explain.

Both Gavin and his eldest son were somewhat famous locally as basketball players.The pants were not a pale purple colour, but instead a deep purple colour in reference to the Los Angeles basket ball team "LA Lakers". Perhaps at some time there was a matching gold/yellow shirt as an ensemble.

By the way, I find it hard to believe Gavin left the house shirtless ... even if he were just going to the store. I think the shirt was not mentioned because nobody saw what shirt he was wearing. He may have been shirtless in the house watching TV and then someone just noticed his car pulling out of the driveway with a blonde head at the wheel.

I also don't attach any significance to Gavin wearing his eldest son's sweatpants. Kids are known for changing their fashion taste quickly and Gavin just adopted an unused item. And he probably grabbed a limited number of apparel items when he left the family home 2 weeks prior.

Less likely is that the eldest son outgrew the sweatpants - the younger one is one inch taller than his father. I noticed that in the family photo and read in a media article about how much (but again not something link worthy in regards to finding Gavin).

Seek&Find said:

Per this article, CA does currently have the DP.



So, if LE has strong evidence re: who did it, they can use the DP as leverage to plea and provide info.

Click to expand...

California has a death penalty, but most people die of old age instead of being put to death. I don't want to start a death penalty argument, but I have never understood why a state implements the death penalty and then just lets the convicts stay on death row for dozens of years. :waitasec:

I live in Texas. We use ours.

Seek&Find said:

but I hadn't seen Kanan Rd mentioned in relation to Gavin (except on the findgavinsmith website) before

Click to expand...

Yes I HAVE seen it mentioned before. Here is an article of 1 June 2012 which included Kanan Road and probably where I first read about Simi Hills ...
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlla/gavin-smith-oak-park-simi-hills-kanan-road-may-1_b63609

2rose said:

That is all a rehash of what has previously been said here.

However there was a lot made of those purple sweatpants ... and I did read about the significance of them. I didn't think it was an important detail that needed linking, so I will just explain.

Both Gavin and his eldest son were somewhat famous locally as basketball players.The pants were not a pale purple colour, but instead a deep purple colour in reference to the Los Angeles basket ball team "LA Lakers". Perhaps at some time there was a matching gold/yellow shirt as an ensemble.

By the way, I find it hard to believe Gavin left the house shirtless ... even if he were just going to the store. I think the shirt was not mentioned because nobody saw what shirt he was wearing. He may have been shirtless in the house watching TV and then someone just noticed his car pulling out of the driveway with a blonde head at the wheel.

I also don't attach any significance to Gavin wearing his eldest son's sweatpants. Kids are known for changing their fashion taste quickly and Gavin just adopted an unused item. And he probably grabbed a limited number of apparel items when he left the family home 2 weeks prior.

Less likely is that the eldest son outgrew the sweatpants - the younger one is one inch taller than his father. I noticed that in the family photo and read in a media article about how much (but again not something link worthy in regards to finding Gavin).

Click to expand...

I am guessing they know that Gavin was wearing these pants when he left the house because they didn't find them in the friend's house.

I think him wearing the pants could be significant in that it doesn't sound like he was worried about being dressed up for whatever he was going to do or whoever he was going to meet.

I hope we get to hear the details of his last moments someday. I strongly think he received a phone call and was called out of that house to meet someone.

I say that because in my own experience, once I am ready for bed and in my pjs, it has to be something pretty important to get me to leave the house.

JodyMT said:

I think him wearing the pants could be significant in that it doesn't sound like he was worried about being dressed up for whatever he was going to do or whoever he was going to meet

Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I totally agree with that! But we have had numerous links that mention the purple sweatpants themselves ... so I didn't keep a record of the link about the significance of the colour of the pants being linked to a basketball team.

My high school had the same colours ... only they called it maroon and gold ... the purple is a very deep colour such that in the dark of night (like when Gavin went missing), any witnesses would most likely perceive the pant colour as black or dark.

Seek&Find said:

CA does currently have the DP.
So, if LE has strong evidence re: who did it, they can use the DP as leverage to plea and provide info.

Click to expand...

I think talk about the death penalty is premature because LE enforcement still stands by their statement of there being "no evidence of any foul play" in this "missing case" ... nothing about a murder case.

JodyMT said:

California has a death penalty, but most people die of old age instead of being put to death. I don't want to start a death penalty argument, but I have never understood why a state implements the death penalty and then just lets the convicts stay on death row for dozens of years. :waitasec:

I live in Texas. We use ours.

Click to expand...

:seeya: I grew up in TX and I agree. Although, in this case, I'm glad they have it, so if Gavin was harmed and charges are brought, either ultimate justice could be the sentence, or the prosecution and LE can use it as a tool.

Regarding whether Gavin was wearing a shirt, since only his pants were mentioned in news reports and on flyers:

In most missing cases, LE works to release as much info re: all items of clothing the missing person is thought to be wearing at the time they disappeared. Even if it's vague, ie white t-shirt. Sometimes the description is enhanced with more info later, if they get more detail. Gavin's clothing descrip could've come from the last time the friend saw him in the house, or when he was seen driving away by whom/whatever.

It appears Gavin's things were gone through to determine what, if anything was missing (ie the statement that his charger, shaving kit, etc were still at the friend's house) which would be common as well, to see if the case leans toward voluntarily missing, clues to his whereabouts, etc. I agree that he probably didn't take a lot of things from the family home yet. So, if someone noticed a blue shirt was missing from the friend's house, for example, that'd be added to the description, IMO.

As Gavin & fam are active athletes and surfers, it doesn't seem far-fetched that he'd head out at 10 PM, either for a quick errand, or if it was urgent without a shirt, IMO. I agree that the significance of him being in sweatpants is the implication that he didn't plan to be gone long or have big plans.

Yeah, I didn't think it was odd it was his son's pants for the same reasons, ie they're the same size and he probably just threw a few things in a duffle when he left. Purple sweats would also stand out more if he'd been spotted out, say at a convenience store, or for SAR doing ground searches and coming across a person, discarded clothing, torn scraps of clothing, etc.

True, no charges brought yet, but an eight hour house search with crime scene techs, after a sealed search warrant was delivered with a SWAT team, and the postponed sentencing of Creech, all add up to the potential of charges coming.

2rose said:

Yes I HAVE seen it mentioned before. Here is an article of 1 June 2012 which included Kanan Road and probably where I first read about Simi Hills ...
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlla/gavin-smith-oak-park-simi-hills-kanan-road-may-1_b63609

Click to expand...

:waitasec: I don't see Kanan Rd mentioned in that piece, but that post was just referencing when I saw/noticed it and why it stood out to me.

Seek&Find said:

CA does currently have the DP.
So, if LE has strong evidence re: who did it, they can use the DP as leverage to plea and provide info.

Click to expand...

I think talk about the death penalty is premature because LE enforcement still stands by their statement of there being "no evidence of any foul play" in this "missing case" ... nothing about a murder case.

<modsnip>

Seek&Find said:

True, no charges brought yet, but an eight hour house search with crime scene techs, after a sealed search warrant was delivered with a SWAT team, and the postponed sentencing of Creech, all add up to the potential of charges coming.

Click to expand...

I find it really interesting that Johnny Creech has said that he has "never met" Smith...but they took his car, searched his house...IMO it was really stupid on his part to say anything at all. That quote might make it hard to come up with a defense.

I'll admit that I don't understand a lot about the legal system but is it normal that all those 2010 charges (but the one) were dropped? Or does he have a great lawyer?

crazy directions here...yes oak park is technically part of the simi hills but more normally considered part of the santa monica mountains. from oak park the simi valley and the city of simi is DUE NORTH. driving west is the wrong way to go to the sfv. the sfv is EAST of oak park. the ventura fwy EASTbound takes you from oak park to the valley in 15 min or less. i grew up in the west valley and the whole area was my stomping grounds. why is simi a part of the dialog anyway? did i miss something?

oh, forgot to add this link...click out a couple steps and get the bigger picture. Google Maps as always in map reading north is at the top and east is to your right.