SWAT officers from Henderson, Nevada, along with investigators from the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and detectives from the Santa Ana Police Department, arrest Louis Wiechecki in 2005. (Photo by Jebb Harris, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jerry’s Dogs in Tustin
14 November 2005
For me, it’s mustard and onions; the full package for Assistant District Attorney Larry Yellin. Add salted peanuts in a Styrofoam cup and a Diet Pepsi, and that’s fine dining for a newspaper reporter.
More than a year had passed since the tragic exhumation, but Yellen had promises to keep.
He handed me a copy of a six-page document, some sort of formal legal document, prepared by investigator Ed Berakovich.
I tried not to get annoyed while reading it. The syntax was clunky.
“I interviewed hundreds… victims, witnesses and suspects… suspicious death of LINDA CUMMINGS… suicide determined… reopened due to modern forensic technology… investigators had doubts… hand and restraint strangulation expert… reviewed photos… professional opinion… cause of death was hand strangulation… strangulation marks found post mortem…”
So there it was, black and white, in legalese: Linda Cummings’ death was officially treated as a murder. She was already dead before she was thrown through the gallows.
My hot dog was getting cold. He motioned for me to keep reading. He kept eating.
“Based on the above information … I am of the opinion that there is sufficient suspicion to issue an arrest warrant.”
“When?”
“Next week on Thursday.”
“I want to be there.”
“It’s not me… (but) if you stay at the Green Valley Casino in Henderson on Wednesday, you might meet some people you know.”
•••
The Henderson (Nevada) Police SWAT team took up position minutes after dawn in a quiet senior citizen neighborhood surrounding an upscale golf course.
A dozen police officers in full riot gear, bulletproof vests, and with tear gas canisters on their belts stood ready to jump onto the running board of the SWAT vehicle when the order was given.
Detectives from the Santa Ana Police Department arrived in unmarked vehicles and parked in strategic locations near Peoria Street.
Several Orange County District Attorney’s Office employees waited in unmarked vehicles further up the street with binoculars.
The arrest of Louie Wiechecki, which had taken more than 31 years, was now a mission in progress. And I was just around the corner in a white SUV, waiting to witness the moment. I tried not to get nervous.
Berakovich went in first with SAPD Detective Dean Fulcher. They questioned the suspect – Louis Wiechecki, the former janitor who was the last person to see Linda alive and who also reported the discovery of her body. Berakovich and Fulcher hoped for a confession, but settled for Wiechecki’s admission that he had had sexual contact with Linda shortly before her death.
Berakovich and Fulcher left the house after 45 minutes. But before Wiechecki could take a deep breath, Henderson’s SWAT team burst through the unlocked front door of his home. He was arrested on an Orange County warrant charging him with the murder of Linda Cummings.
We arrived in time to see Louie being led out of the house with his hands tied behind his back. I didn’t recognize him for a moment and my heart sank. Had they arrested the wrong guy?
But then he looked right at me. Those were the eyes I’d seen in the courtroom, the eyes of the man convicted of manslaughter in the death of Marion Camilla Morgan, 78, another resident of the Santa Ana complex who was killed five weeks after Cummings’ body was found. Oh yes, I knew those eyes. That was Louie Wiechecki.
Two hours later, the Orange County team processed the arrest. The SWAT team was gone. The only strangers left in the neighborhood were Register photographer Jebb Harris and me.
Sue Stanley, the suspect’s second wife, told me, “I couldn’t be married to a more wonderful person.”
She said Lou spoke about Linda only once in the three decades they were together, describing her as a woman who committed suicide in the apartment where he worked. He told her that authorities had tried to link him to her death as early as 1974.
But she wondered: Why now? Why was he arrested now after 31 years? Why after her husband had stayed out of trouble since being released on parole? … She seemed really confused. I told her the police believed her husband murdered Linda Cummings.
“Me too,” I added, choosing full disclosure even though it meant the end of our conversation.
After a pause, she said, “I just think that whatever evidence they’ve dug up – whatever this is about – I just hope that the person he’s become matters.”
For me, it was time to ask the question that routinely ends all my interviews: “Is there anything else you would like to tell me?”
Sue shook her head. But there was something she really wanted to ask me. “Who is the best lawyer in Orange County?” She said she wanted to hire him, “no matter how much it costs.”
Her question surprised me. I had to admit that she had asked an expert in the field, but I didn’t feel comfortable telling her a name. First, it might be awkward if I declared a favorite among the top lawyers I cover every day.
On the other hand, I wanted Louie to have an excellent defense. It would undermine the legitimacy of a conviction if Louie could later argue that he did not receive adequate legal assistance.
So I gave her the names of six attorneys who are generally considered to be among the best criminal defense attorneys in Orange County.
Sue interviewed them all.
And she hired John Barnett.
Next Thursday, part four: How will a judge decide when charges are brought 31 years after Linda Cummings’ death?
