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Slain fed was tortured -Federal Prosecutor Stabbed 36 times before drowning
New York Daily News ^ | 12/06/03 | PAUL H.B. SHIN

Posted on 12/06/2003 4:01:28 AM PST by kattracks

A murdered Bronx-born federal prosecutor was tortured with dozens of stabbings before drowning in an icy creek, the coroner said yesterday.

The body of Jonathan Luna was discovered Thursday in a Pennsylvania creek near his 1999 Honda Accord. The door and fender of the car were smeared with blood, and there was a large pool of blood on the passenger-side floor, according to an affidavit filed by a Pennsylvania State Police investigator.

Lancaster County coroner Dr. Barry Walp said Luna, a Baltimore federal prosecutor who had just completed a deal to send a pair of heroin dealers to prison, was stabbed numerous times. A law enforcement source told The Associated Press he had 36 knife wounds.

Though most wounds were shallow, "several stabs were deep enough to cause internal hemorrhaging," Walp told the Daily News, noting the injuries could have been caused by a penknife.

"We see these so-called knife-prick wounds when a person is being teased or questioned," Walp said. "It's a form of torture."

There also was a "traumatic wound" to the side of Luna's head, according to the affidavit.

Walp said there was no evidence that Luna's hands had been bound, and it was unclear whether Luna had been held underwater.

"He was probably unconscious when he went in the water," the coroner said.

Luna, who grew up in the Bronx and once worked as a Brooklyn prosecutor, still had his wallet with identification and cash, Walp said.

Luna, 38, disappeared Wednesday night, hours after he finalized a plea deal for rapper Deon [Papi Jenkinz] Smith, 32, and his one-time associate Walter Poindexter, 28. They were charged with running a heroin ring and faced up to 13 years in prison.

Investigators were interviewing people connected with cases Luna prosecuted, a law enforcement official said, but had no immediate leads.

Erin Murphy, an attorney who worked on Smith's case, said, "Mr. Smith is willing to speak with [the FBI] at any time," but the FBI has not scheduled an interview with him.

Luna also recently prosecuted three men involved in a crack dealing ring in Baltimore and a man who plotted to force six Mexican men out of a neighborhood by burning down their house.

Luna's parents, Rosezella and Paul, were too distraught to speak yesterday when reached at their home in Howard County, Md. They moved there from Mott Haven when Luna left the city in 1999 for the federal prosecutor's job.

Anna Ruby, 31, who attends the same church as Luna's family - his wife Angela and two sons, 5 and 1 - said friends and neighbors were heartbroken.

"Every time I see them or meet them they're just such friendly people. That's what kills me," she said.

With Rachel Green and Brooke Weese in Howard County, Md.

Originally published on December 5, 2003



TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: jonathanluna

1 posted on 12/06/2003 4:01:28 AM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks
Somebody's ass needs to fry for this.

(martin_fierro, M.A. in The Obvious)

2 posted on 12/06/2003 4:07:29 AM PST by martin_fierro (Ohhh... ehhh... ¿Peeka Panish?)
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To: martin_fierro
Exactly
3 posted on 12/06/2003 4:11:59 AM PST by PGalt
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To: kattracks
I wonder what kind of call he got that sent him out so late at night?

How did the murderers get him to meet them?

Something is missing IMO to the story.
4 posted on 12/06/2003 4:15:20 AM PST by oceanperch
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To: kattracks
They are sending a warning to any other Federal Prosecuter.

Sounds a great deal like a Mexican or S.American example. This ain't SA and it ain't Mexico and somebody is going to fry.
5 posted on 12/06/2003 4:19:19 AM PST by OpusatFR (If you don't like our laws, live in accordance with our laws, and believe in oun way of life: leave)
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To: OpusatFR
This case reminded me of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang. It is active in DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia and many other states. One of its goals is to kill police officers.

I hope the DA in Michael Jackson's case is getting protection since he has aleady received large numbers of death threat.

6 posted on 12/06/2003 4:36:01 AM PST by Dante3
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To: kattracks
It brings to mind the murder of Alex Rackley by his fellow Black Panthers -( Hillary covered the trial for ACLU )-not because this prosecutor was a Panther, but because he was tortured.

(Please,please don't respond by posting that whole Hillary and the Black Panthers material again !!!!)

(Just to show you how an old fart's demented brain works,the name Alex Rackley reminded me of Otis Rackley,who has been charged with selling "welcome to the US" stamps to illegal aliens...)
7 posted on 12/06/2003 4:42:25 AM PST by genefromjersey (So little time - so many FLAMES to light !!)
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To: martin_fierro
I heard on TV that Luna's wife is a doctor. So sad...
8 posted on 12/06/2003 5:20:27 AM PST by arichtaxpayer
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To: kattracks
Walp said there was no evidence that Luna's hands had been bound, and it was unclear whether Luna had been held underwater.

Wonder if there was any bruising or defensive wounds? How do you get someone to submit to torture if you don't restrain him?

9 posted on 12/06/2003 5:20:40 AM PST by mewzilla
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To: kattracks
It's bad enough to lose a husband...But to know his last moments were filled with terror and agony! His poor widow must be going through hell. I hope they get the scum who did this and make an example of them.
10 posted on 12/06/2003 5:37:57 AM PST by kaylar
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To: arichtaxpayer
I believe Luna's wife is an OBGYN. And he has two young children, 1 and 5.

Very, very sad....but when the catch the person who did this, there should be no mercy.

11 posted on 12/06/2003 5:50:41 AM PST by Catspaw
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To: Dante3
This case reminded me of the Salvadoran MS-13 gang. It is active in DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia and many other states. One of its goals is to kill police officers.

I wonder why Luna wasn't packing a gun? Someone in his position would likely be the target of all sorts of crooks, thugs, and maybe even terrorists.

12 posted on 12/06/2003 6:01:58 AM PST by Wilhelm Tell (Lurking since 1997!)
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To: oceanperch
i agree, these rappers had nothing to gain by his death and how he was murdered doesn't fit their MO.
there is something missing.
13 posted on 12/06/2003 6:10:21 AM PST by contessa machiaveli
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To: mewzilla
Wonder if there was any bruising or defensive wounds?

People discussing the case on Fox last night (forgot who or on what show) said there were.

14 posted on 12/06/2003 6:18:27 AM PST by barker (The Democratic Party has become the leading enemy of the American Republic.....headsonpikes)
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To: OpusatFR
Yes --- I don't think we can automatically assume it was a black rap kind of crime.
15 posted on 12/06/2003 6:24:11 AM PST by FITZ
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To: mewzilla
How do you get someone to submit to torture if you don't restrain him?

There also was a "traumatic wound" to the side of Luna's head, according to the affidavit.

I'll guess that the traumatic wound was administered first, followed by the repeated stabbings.

As othwers have wondered, why wasn't the atty packing a gun? I'm a average joe and I carry one. He's putting all sorts of thugs in prison, so naturally, he's bound to make a few enemies.

16 posted on 12/06/2003 6:31:28 AM PST by csvset
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To: Wilhelm Tell
Good question. If it involved the Russian Mafia, Jamaicans, or certain other gangs of illegals, they might also go after the family. I just hope protection is provided for his family.
17 posted on 12/06/2003 6:34:52 AM PST by Dante3
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To: martin_fierro
THE primary responsibility for this lies at the Mayor desk. He is a white boy afraid of being called rascist so he allows that fear to stop his hand and not put an end to the grip of terror on whole sections of his city. Of course if he keeps the brothers in terror it helps keep them in line and not give him any trouble. He sent a loud and clear message when he let that family die in their house that was lit by drug dealers who had tired of being reported.

If anybody disagrees with me just take a drive through Baltimore. You can tell which neighborhoods these kinds of crimes are run of the mill.


Baltimore Family Killed in Drug-War Battle
10/28/2002

The gutted shell of a home in Baltimore, Md., where five members of a family burned to death for tipping off police to drug crimes in the neighborhood, is a vivid reminder of a lost battle in the U.S. drug war, the New York Times reported Oct. 17.

Angela Dawson, along with her five young children, died from a fire set in their home on East Preston Street. The fire was set by a drug pusher who was threatened by Mrs. Dawson's stand against drugs. Carnell Dawson, the children's father, was hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns after escaping the inferno.

Mrs. Dawson, a neighborhood crusader, decided to work with police in ridding her neighborhood of drug dealers. As a result, the family immediately started receiving threats. For instance, just two weeks before the fire, a firebomb was tossed through their window.

"It got to the point where Angela didn't want to go outside," said her brother, John Robert Herrington Jr. "She'd say to me, 'John, I'm scared, I'm scared, John. They're going to get me.'"

According to Police Commissioner Edward Norris, his office recommended that the family move. He said the Dawsons replied by saying they "wouldn't be driven out of the neighborhood by drug dealers."

Police arrested Darrell Brooks, 21, for setting the fire. According to neighbors, he lived just a few houses down from the Dawsons.

Brooks was charged with six counts each of first-degree murder and arson.



BALTIMORE - A man was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after admitting he set a fire that killed a family of seven, a blaze investigators said was in retaliation against a mother who crusaded against drug dealers.

Darrell Brooks, 22, could have faced the death penalty, but reached a deal with prosecutors



Baltimore is becoming a haven for this kind of activity.



I could fill pages with this stuff. No one is gonna fry.... Except for that prosecutor. :(
18 posted on 12/06/2003 6:57:30 AM PST by Shanty Shaker (I)
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