GUILTY CA - Gianni, 24, & Sal Belvedere, 22, Ilona Flint, 22, San Diego, 24 Dec 2013 - #3

[bessie]

Jash, you're amazing. Thank you so much!

 

[SurfieTX]

ISSUE
If officers discover a computer while executing a warrant to search for stolen property
or other contraband, may they seize it on grounds that it probably contained indicia?

FACTS
Anaheim police officers obtained a warrant to search Balint’s home for certain items
of stolen property. The warrant included a standard indicia clause; i.e., authorization to
seize documents and other items “tending to show dominion and control of the location.”
The clause also contained a listing of the types of items that might qualify as indicia, such
as utility bills and rent receipts—but not computers.1

While conducting the search, the officers seized a Compaq laptop computer that was
“opened up and sitting on the sofa in the family room.” Later, they obtained a warrant to
search the hard drive and, as the result, were able to locate the owner who confirmed it
had been stolen.

As a result, Balint was charged with possession of stolen property. She was convicted
after her motion to suppress the computer was denied.

DISCUSSION
Because a computer was not listed among the stolen items on the warrant, Balint
contended the laptop was seized unlawfully and should have been suppressed. The
People countered that the seizure was lawful because the information stored on the
computer’s hard drive qualified as indicia. The court agreed.

http://le.alcoda.org/publications/files/Balint.pdf

 

[tvscum]

Thanks so much for the list Jash, any idea what 'dominion and control' is?

D & C means items the cops seize -- not necessarily related to the crime -- to establish that the target of the investigation actually lives at that residence.

 

[SDHELPS]

WOW! Thank you everyone for the insightful posts and a special thanks to jash for transcribing the search warrant!!! For the life of me I could wrap my brain around what the word Dominion was. Just think jash there are 35 more to be translated hopefully today :facepalm:

Does anyone know what the "further proceedings" court date 9/17/2014 be? Is that just to set the case for a trial date? TIA

There's more I would like to say about Carlo and his family but I will keep my lips zipped unless something comes out in the additional search warrants that goes in that direction.

Sometimes having a job becomes such an inconvenience...with that I'm off for awhile. But look forward to joining you all later!

 

[SDNV]

In the previous thread tvscum posted:

The alleged drug dealer told the cops she was selling Gianni heroin at $60 per gram and she sold him about $250 per day.

That equates to approximately 4 grams per day. How much herion does the typical heavy user use on a daily basis? Assuming that he was buying for both his and Ilona’s consumption, is 4 grams more that the two of them would be consuming each day? Could Gianni have been buying “extra” to further distribute in an effort to offset his own expenses as others have suggested? Or, could it be possible that Gianni and Ilona were using four grams per day between them?

 

[nikb]

In the previous thread tvscum posted:

That equates to approximately 4 grams per day. How much herion does the typical heavy user use on a daily basis? Assuming that he was buying for both his and Ilona’s consumption, is 4 grams more that the two of them would be consuming each day? Could Gianni have been buying “extra” to further distribute in an effort to offset his own expenses as others have suggested? Or, could it be possible that Gianni and Ilona were using four grams per day between them?

A quick Google search showed that even long term users are 'typically' (whatever that means) using 'up to' around 1 gram/day. I'm not sure if the sites I found are linkable here but it was just a general internet search for "heroin addict amount." Once again I hope my computer is never seized to look for what I've searched! I don't know how reliable this info is, but four grams does seem like an awful lot. Wouldn't they be falling asleep constantly?

 

[SDHELPS]

Bringing this post forward from thread #2. Was it ever established or mentioned in the prelim hearing which Target location CM worked at? We all speculated early on it was at MV but then unconfirmed reports stated Mira Mesa (which makes sense as he lived very close to that one).

Just trying to wrap my head around the connection between CM and GB,SB and Ilona. Even if CM typically worked at the MM location he could have been asked to help out at MV since it is a susperstore and it was the holiday season. I'm still not convinced he wasn't stalking her at Mission Valley over a period of time. TIA and back to work :tantrum:

BBM

From: tvscum: The cops apparently looked all over for criminal history -- both state and federal -- but could not find any, according to one of the agents who testified at the prelim.

IMO, the missing car key from Sal's vehicle is important. You would not take the car key if you just wanted to ambush and kill both of them. So, I lean towards CM stalking Ilona. Could it be CM knew her work routine at the mall but never knew her name? And never knew the names of Sal or Gianni either? I speculate this because if he knew any of the three names, certainly he would have searched those names on his computer.

There certainly seems to be an element of psycho wanna-be assassin in his mind, IMOO.

 

[SDNV]

I'm still not convinced he wasn't stalking her at Mission Valley over a period of time.

I agree. And, as others have stated I believe that someone wanted them all dead. If CM just wanted to fulfill his fantasy of being an "assassin" he could have stopped after Gianni. Or, he could have just walked up behind Ilona while following her out of the mall and shot her in the back of the head and ran. In my opinion, this murder of three people at two different times on the same night took some elaborate planning. And it was most likely more planning than CM could have pulled off alone given how apparently clumsy he was.

 

[jggordo]

Back in the day when someone wanted a killing, someone would get an experienced killer. In this day and age I believe all that has changed with DNA technology. Even in Mexico killers are chosen at an early age because they have no criminal history with DNA logged into the system. So it has gone quite the opposite direction IMO. We must remember had Mercado NOT been stopped at the checkpoint, therefor no DNA swab we would not be having these conversations. Frankly I don't believe this is the first time he has done this. I believe something has happened with success before to make him feel validated as an "assassin". A killer is not going to take the proceeds and put them in their bank account. All in all Mercado was a DNA virgin until now.

JMO's

 

[Curious Me]

I agree. And, as others have stated I believe that someone wanted them all dead. If CM just wanted to fulfill his fantasy of being an "assassin" he could have stopped after Gianni. Or, he could have just walked up behind Ilona while following her out of the mall and shot her in the back of the head and ran. In my opinion, this murder of three people at two different times on the same night took some elaborate planning. And it was most likely more planning than CM could have pulled off alone given how apparently clumsy he was.

Back in the day when someone wanted a killing, someone would get an experienced killer. In this day and age I believe all that has changed with DNA technology. Even in Mexico killers are chosen at an early age because they have no criminal history with DNA logged into the system. So it has gone quite the opposite direction IMO. We must remember had Mercado NOT been stopped at the checkpoint, therefor no DNA swab we would not be having these conversations. Frankly I don't believe this is the first time he has done this. I believe something has happened with success before to make him feel validated as an "assassin". A killer is not going to take the proceeds and put them in their bank account. All in all Mercado was a DNA virgin until now.

JMO's

I tend to agree with you, jggordo, about prior successes. As SDNV says, these crimes took elaborate planning. My take on it is that he had to have some experiences before. There was expense, time, and hassle to commit these crimes. For what? Seems like he did it to be paid.

He made some mistakes, but IMO, he wasn't that clumsy because he almost got away with it.
Yes, if he wasn't stopped at that checkpoint, then he could've gotten away with killing three people in a populated mall during the holiday season. Brazen!

Figure, if he had gotten rid of more evidence especially the guns, or he had moved away,
there's a actual likelihood he may not have been caught. Sure, he made big mistakes leaving behind DNA and finger prints with the duct tape and gas cap, but they didn't have him in the system.

He thinks of himself as an assassin, and owns a bunch of suspicious types of guns and a silencer, and is thought to have pulled off a triple murder while juggling his Target job. So after much thought, I tend to agree he might have done this before for money. He identifies with hit men and assassins because he had some real "success" before. It seems getting paid for it would really satisfy his image of himself and justify trying to pull off such an ambitious plan.

Just my own opinion at this moment in time.

 

[nikb]

With the new info we have I'm just curious where thoughts are going. Mine are all over the map now! Randomly throwing things out there:

- Was Ilona the main target? She was shot so many times, it makes me think she might have been... but...
- Was Gianni the main target? With his clothes found the way they were it seems pretty personal.
- Was Sal a target, or was he just caught in the horrible cross-fire?
- Was the whole thing meant to punish/hurt JUST these three, or was it the whole family? (because damn, this incident sure devastated at least one family, if not several)
- Why Christmas Eve? Was it to make the whole thing extra hurtful, or was it a convenience thing?
- Is there really any chance this was random?
- How involved were drugs? (I can see anything from barely at all, to pissed off dealer, to debt... or even just that the killer was either high or coming down)
- Was the killer (presumably CM) hired? The killings seem SO personal to me, I feel like I hired person who didn't know the victims really well would've just done the job and left, but maybe not.

I have about a thousand more questions but those are the ones on my mind at the moment.

 

[Curious Me]

nikb, all your questions are good. Hope your head does not explode. :hug:

Was holding onto Gianni's body and car for so long an intentional act? That made it especially agonizing. Even for the killer the wait for LE to discover the body must have caused added stress.

 

[mrsobrien]

To me, a hit man is a "pro", working for money. Has a contract kind of deal. An assassin would be a premeditated killing, whose motivation could be anything, political, personal, etc.

I'm not convinced the definitions matter here, I'm getting the feeling that CM adopted these phrases out of fascination with the subject. I don't believe he was hired, and I don't think there's much, if any personal connection. My gut says he wanted to be a killer and was getting his feet wet, so to speak. I think he did what was "easy".

I am not drinking, but I may not make sense in my late night thoughts.

Is there a difference between an assassin and a hit man? This guy worked for target for eight years, and yet, CM supposedly thinks of himself as an assassin. I'm trying to grasp what it means to have an assassin mentality.

I guess a hit man is an individual contractor that works for money, and may be connected to an organization or a gang. A hit man is usually a hired killer, or a professional killer.

An assassin is often seen as one who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person. Some say an assassin kills more for a cause and may follow some creed or ideology.

Was the motive just some random way of CM becoming the killer he dreamed of becoming?

...............fftobed:........................................:countsheep:

 

[thebestinthewest]

I cant believe she was drinking without me...SDHelps is always drunk so that is irrelevant haha jk MrsObrien I am considering getting a helper money monkey off the internet i just need one who is potty trained to do my drunk posting for me when I get him you can borrow him just dont let him get drunk I picked out the best name already Gordo..

MrsObrien, I would have expected that from the SDHELPS and TheBestInTheWest but not YOU! LOL

I just can't get past the money angle of this case. The money for that extensive arsenal of guns, computers, laptop, the new vehicle purchase and travel etc. All on pay from Target.

From what the witnesses who locked up the shoe store that night stated, Mercado asked Ilona for directions to the wing place but apparently Ilona did not recognize him. So apparently he was not "stalking" her or she had not seen him before. Also according to the same witnesses he followed her to the car. Then he went to the driver's side to shoot so I don't believe Ilona alone was the target. Three killings, two separate vehicles. Someone wanted them dead, IMO. Why was Gianni on the phone with a relative that late at night, and it would be his last phone call?

SAN DIEGO — "A Utah man whose nephew is being sought as a missing person by San Diego police homicide detectives told a television station that the 24-year-old had planned to go out for last-minute Christmas shopping the night of Dec. 23 at Westfield Mission Valley mall."

"Otto Belvedere of Provo, Utah, told KUTV-2 of Salt Lake City that all three had planned to meet to shop. He said police believe all three were at the mall, a statement that investigators have not confirmed."“He was there. They know he was there,” Belvedere said of his missing nephew. “They have an idea that he saw everything and he was there.”

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/01/gianni-belvedere-missing-mission-valley-utah/

JMO

 

[thebestinthewest]

Remember they said there was a text message sent from Sal's missing phone from Gianni? Maybe he killed Gianni stole his phone and decided to indulge in blood spatter

With the new info we have I'm just curious where thoughts are going. Mine are all over the map now! Randomly throwing things out there:

- Was Ilona the main target? She was shot so many times, it makes me think she might have been... but...
- Was Gianni the main target? With his clothes found the way they were it seems pretty personal.
- Was Sal a target, or was he just caught in the horrible cross-fire?
- Was the whole thing meant to punish/hurt JUST these three, or was it the whole family? (because damn, this incident sure devastated at least one family, if not several)
- Why Christmas Eve? Was it to make the whole thing extra hurtful, or was it a convenience thing?
- Is there really any chance this was random?
- How involved were drugs? (I can see anything from barely at all, to pissed off dealer, to debt... or even just that the killer was either high or coming down)
- Was the killer (presumably CM) hired? The killings seem SO personal to me, I feel like I hired person who didn't know the victims really well would've just done the job and left, but maybe not.

I have about a thousand more questions but those are the ones on my mind at the moment.

 

[thebestinthewest]

Does anyone have the unsealed documents with a link yet?

 

[Curious Me]

Remember they said there was a text message sent from Sal's missing phone from Gianni? Maybe he killed Gianni stole his phone and decided to indulge in blood spatter

Or Sal's missing phone must've had a call or message or some connection that could be traced to either the killer or some one? Why was Sal's phone taken?

 

[mrsobrien]

I think this is plausible. Do we have a current and comprehensive timeline for this case?

Remember they said there was a text message sent from Sal's missing phone from Gianni? Maybe he killed Gianni stole his phone and decided to indulge in blood spatter

 

[nikb]

nikb, all your questions are good. Hope your head does not explode. :hug:

Was holding onto Gianni's body and car for so long an intentional act? That made it especially agonizing. Even for the killer the wait for LE to discover the body must have caused added stress.

Ha.. thank you. Sometimes I feel like it might!

Good additional question. The air freshener thing is pretty disturbing.

 

[nikb]

Remember they said there was a text message sent from Sal's missing phone from Gianni? Maybe he killed Gianni stole his phone and decided to indulge in blood spatter

I would love to know what that text message said. I'm not even sure I want to ask this question but... what's "blood spatter" that someone might want to indulge in?