DeAngelo Was a Police Officer, Who at One Point Was in Charge of Investigating Burglaries, Until He Was Accused of Shoplifting Dog Repellent & a Hammer at a Drug Store in 1979
Joseph DeAngelo was a police officer in California, from 1973 until 1979, when he was fired after being accused of shoplifting a can of dog repellent and a hammer at a Sacramento drug store, according to an article from a newspaper archive posted by Billy Jensen. He was a police officer in Auburn at the time.
A 1973 newspaper article from The Exeter Sun reveals that DeAngelo, then 27, was hired as a police officer in Exeter in August of that year. The newspaper article says he is a Bath, New York, native and is the son is the son of Joseph James DeAngelo Sr. and Kathleen Bosanko, who died in 2010. It is not clear if his father is still alive. DeAngelo served in the Vietnam War after graduating from Folsom Senior High School in June 1964.
In his late teens, DeAngelo moved to rural Auburn with his mother and stepfather, according to Doug Burgarel, a neighbor at that time. DeAngelos stepfather worked for Burgarels father at Sierra Crane and Hoist as a welder making indoor overhead cranes. The stepfather bought a piece of land from the Burgarals and built a home.
He lived with his mother and stepfather in Auburn, according to the Sacramento Bee. In 1970, he worked for Sierra Crane and Hoist with his stepfather. He went on to study at Sierra College, completing an associates degree with honors in police science. He then attended California State University at Sacramento and graduated with a degree in criminal justice, specializing in criminal law. Before being hired in Exeter, he interned with the Roseville Police Department, working in the patrol, identification and investigation divisions.
In 1976, while working in Exeter, DeAngelo was promoted to sergeant and put in charge of an anti-burglary team with another sergeant from a nearby department, according to a newspaper article from the time. DeAngelo will investigate burglaries and attempt to prevent them by informing the public about burglary prevention methods, according to the article. The team was called Joint Attack on Burglary.
After three years in Exeter, DeAngelo then started working for the Auburn Police Department in late 1976. The 1979 newspaper report by the Auburn Journal shows that DeAngelo was fired a month after his arrest.
Auburn City Manager Jack Sausser said DeAngelo failed to answer any of the citys investigations and did not request an administrative hearing so was dismissed Monday, the newspaper wrote. Sausser told the newspaper, There was justifiable grounds to remove him from the public sector. DeAngelo did not comment about his arrest and firing at the time. Auburn Police Chief Nick Willick told the newspaper, It is very important that the community have the utmost trust and faith in its officers integrity; when this trust and faith has been compromised, officers can no longer effectively function in the community.
DeAngelo was arrested July 21, 1979, at the Pay NSave Store off Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights, according to the newspaper. He was caught trying to steal the items by store employees and was then cited by Sacramento County Sheriffs Deputies. Two months later, in September 1979, the East Area Rapist stabbed a dog while prowling in a neighborhood, according to The Daily Beast.
Dog repellant. Hammer. And refuses a hearing after shoplifting charge. Just took his punishment and left the force so no one would look deeper, Jensen wrote on Twitter.
But the resignation did not end the case against DeAngelo, Auburn Journal archives show. The newspaper wrote several articles chronicling the shoplifting saga between August and October 1979. DeAngelo took the case to trial in October 1979. A clerk at the store testified that he found a hammer in DeAngelos pants while they struggled in a back room of the store. He then tried to escape. Another clerk testified that he saw DeAngelo take a can of dog repellant out of the waistband of his trousers. According to the news report, deputies arrived to find that the clerks had tied DeAngelo to a chair and said he was in an emotional state. The jury found DeAngelo guilty on October 31, 1979, and a judge sentenced him to six months of probation and a $100 fine.
DeAngelo, who testified during his trial and denied trying to steal the items, appealed his firing, but later dropped his appeal after being found guilty in criminal court.
It is very possible that he was committing the crimes while he was a police officer, but were unsure if he did those while on the job, Sheriff Scott Jones said at a press conference.
Exeter Police Chief John Hall told CNN, It is absolutely shocking that someone can commit such heinous crimes, and finding out someone in a position of trust could betray that is absolutely unbelievable.
In a statement, the Auburn Police Department said it will do everything within its power to support this investigation and any prosecution that follows. We will pull out all the stops for our Sacramento-area law enforcement partners in this horrific and historic case.
https://heavy.com/news/2018/04/joseph-james-deangelo/
