Elizabeth Smart--New Suspect, New Thread

Larry King Live; KUTV; Salt Lake Tribune; etc. ^ | December 23, 24, 25, 2002 | Various

[lakey]

Welcome!

Thanks for the refresher on Remington and the bank robbery.

[lakey]

What other boards are you reading?

With Ricci dead, it seems Ed needs to concoct another suspect in order to get media attention and/or to keep hard questions from being put to him.

A comment from my better half tonight regarding SLCPD, and law enforcement in general. "They are all skittish since the JonBenet Ramsey fiasco, afraid of criticism of their investigative skills."

[Sherlock]

To date, there is no factual evidence but you are still willing to convict possibly the wrong person, thus allowing the real demon to escape punishment. Worse, you are willing to make a farce of our constitutional rights and justice system.

No one's trying to convict anyone. The point is Moul knew Ricci and gave a detailed story of him returned the Jeep on Jun 30, trying to joke with him face to face like he always did because he knew him, etc. The odds are 99.99999% this is reality and all you can see is the .00001% because at all costs, you must protect Ricci. What is your issue that you can't deal with this reality, lakey?

[lakey]

Show me evidence - show me Moul's records.

Ricci would have been indicted quicker than the blink of an eye if there was evidence implicating him in any way to Elizabeth's disappearance.

[Sherlock]

The story last summer was in the 26 hour interrogation of Ricci he gave police the names of Remington and Young, presumably in answer to questions about other acquaintances he had worked with in the Federal Heights area. Police first talked to Young and then later to Remington. Remington returned the favor of Ricci sending police to him by pointing to Ricci as the gunman in his bank robbery.

After Remington's trial it was written that Remington came to authorities on his own just to be a good citizen and donated information on Ricci to help the authorities out, thus he was let off with about 10% of the jailtime he merited. Don't ask me what the truth is but I would certainly like to know the truth on why the police rewarded Remington the way they did.

[lakey]

Question not put to me but I'll give you a reason Remington got a short sentence. He pulled the fire off of SLCPD's butt - gave them something on Ricci - whether it was true or not.

[lakey]

While you're at it, tell us who those other Jeeps belonged to. Inquiring minds want to know.

See you tomorrow.

[Sherlock]

What did Remington give LE on Ricci?

[Sherlock]

The police have all of Moul's records.

What is it about Ricci that you so tenaciously defend him when there is statistically no doubt he lied to the police about the Jeep. What is it that makes you in 'complete' denial, unable to even entertain the possibility of what to the serious posters on this thread and the authorities is blindingly obvious.

Why do you keep saying there were witnesses to Ricci's breakin of the Smart neighbors, no one saw him. The person he aroused in the bedroom he stole from thought he was a member of the family. Why do you make things like this up?

[Lissa2002]

Thanks for the reply Sherlock! Sorry, I think I misinterpreted the wording of your original post. I went back and re-read it, and now see what you meant when you said police wouldn't know about Remington and the robbery if Ricci had answered their questions.

I had not read any news accounts of how police had actually found out about Ricci's involvement in the robbery. Apparently I must have missed one!

[Lissa2002]

Thanks for the welcome! I'm going to try and get the hang of this!

[Devil_Anse]

Remington has been tried for the bank robbery? What was the sentence he got, I wonder? Do you happen to have a cite I can read?

This may have been mentioned and cited on one of the Smart threads; forgive me if I'm just not remembering it.

If he did get an especially lenient sentence, I'd be willing to bet that it was exactly for that reason: that he'd given information to police about the other bank robbers, and perhaps had been willing and able to testify about them at their trials. (Obviously, it later turned out he didn't have to testify at Ricci's bank robbery trial, because Ricci died.)

If Remington has really been in the slammer on the bank robbery case since Nov. of 2001--and I know you have your doubts about that--then he's already built up a year or so of credit against whatever sentence he got, or will get, for the bank robbery.

[Lissa2002]

"If Remington has really been in the slammer on the bank robbery case since Nov. of 2001--and I know you have your doubts about that--then he's already built up a year or so of credit against whatever sentence he got, or will get, for the bank robbery."

Remington was in jail since the November 2001 Sandy bank robbery.

Ricci admitted to the Adams burglary and Smart theft on June 15th and consented to a search of his property which took place on June 19th -- which is when they found some of the items stolen in these thefts. Young was questioned by authorities on July 2nd and Remington on July 3rd. The burglary charges against Ricci were then announced around July 17th. Remington entered a guilty plea to the Sandy bank robbery in October and was sentenced December 18th to a 5 year term. The judge said he provided "substantial assistance" in the Smart case, though the prosecutor said none of it was related to Ricci or the kidnapping.

My assumption was the same as yours -- that Remington and his lawyer saw an opportunity to strike a deal when questioned by officials, and did. Sherlock's scenario makes sense as well -- although, since Remington was already being held in jail for the bank robbery, and obviously had not ratted on Young or Ricci in the 9 months he'd been in there -- I'm not sure why he would be offended by police approaching him with questions about working in the Federal Heights neighborhood. Remington's alibi for Elizabeth's kidnapping was airtight.

[Devil_Anse]

Yes, I remember seeing those SLC jail booking sheets (on some other forum, later posted on ours) and it said Remington was picked up the same day, or shortly after, the bank robbery. (I assume the feds pay for the county jail to hold federal prisoners as well as their usual prisoners.)

Sherlock has some doubts, thinking that Remington may have somehow been out of jail around the time of Elizabeth's kidnapping. I haven't heard of anything to point to that, but truth is stranger than fiction, so anything is possible. But the booking sheets don't support this idea.

Now, when you say Remington provided substantial assistance, but none of it related to Ricci or the kidnapping, do you mean none of it related to ANY (non-kidnapping) criminal activities of Ricci's? I am thinking you meant to say, none of Remington's info related to Ricci's suspected involvement in the kidnapping, but some of it related to Ricci's involvement in the Sandy bank robbery. ? If I'm thinking wrong, let me know!

As for Ricci mentioning Remington's and Young's work with him in Federal Hts., maybe Remington was angry that anyone would even place him in the neighborhood of this sensational disappearance, even though the informant was talking about a time much earlier than the time Elizabeth went missing.

[Sherlock]

Remington's alibi for Elizabeth's kidnapping was airtight.

According to Remington's lawyer. Police have never commented whether Remington was or was not in jail the night Elizabeth was kidnapped.

[Sherlock]

From July 17, 2002:

Two other men, Douglas Rex Young and John Russell Remington, also were named in the robbery indictment. The three are accused of using a 9mm semiautomatic pistol to rob Far West Bank in Sandy of $1,713 on Nov. 2, 2001.

Robbery charges carry a penalty of up to 25 years in prison; brandishing a weapon in commission of the crime carries a mandatory sentence of seven years that would be tacked onto any other sentence.

All three men have been convicted of previous felonies and are therefore prohibited from possessing firearms. Violating that prohibition carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Devil - Welcome back!! Let me ask you a question. Based on the above charges and associated sentences, what information did Remington, a repeat offender, give police on Ricci to possibly merit getting off with 5 years?!?!? I think there was some serious friggin' in the riggin' in this deal, puhleeze!

[lakey]

You're welcome, Lissa!

There's a lot in this case to try to remember - many perplexing discrepancies to wade through. Most of the older posts have been deleted, and you wouldn't really want to go back through thousands of pages, anyway. The harsh replies turned a lot of people off.

But, as the saying goes, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Sometimes, though, it's when you're closest to the truth that people tend to turn up the fire.

As you said, hang in. You'll do fine and perhaps see something that we older posters have missed.

[lakey]

Am looking but can't find the brief article printout on Remington's bank robbery sentence. Off the top of my head, I think it was 8 years.

[Lissa2002]

All of the news reports I've read said that Remington was picked up shortly after the bank robbery and was awaiting his trial for the federal bank robbery charges in the Salt Lake county jail. The feds might pay for the county jail to house those awaiting trial in federal crimes -- but I don't really know for sure who pays. It's not uncommon for those charged with federal crimes to be held in a county jail though is it? I'm really interested in reading Sherlock's ideas about Remington possibly being out of jail during the time Elizabeth was kidnapped!

You are correct! I meant to write that the prosecutor said none of the information Remington provided connected Ricci to the kidnapping.

One news report said Remington contacted authorities from jail when he heard Ricci was a top potential suspect. (Because he wanted to "help in any way he could") It made me think that Remington protested just a little too much in the July newspaper articles when it was reported he was going to be questioned along with Young, and, that he had actually already contacted authorities early on looking for a deal. I have not read any news reports that state exactly how Ricci's involvement in the bank robbery became known to the police. If something has been printed about it and anyone has a link, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!