The man accused of shooting and killing Fresno County sheriff's deputy Erik Telen in a rural home Tuesday could face the death penalty if the case goes to trial.
Charges filed Thursday against Ramadan Abdur-Rauf Abdullah, 20, by the District Attorney's Office open the possibility of the death penalty being sought, said James Oppliger, chief deputy district attorney in the homicide unit.
The crime meets state penal code requirements because it was committed during a burglary and while a peace officer was carrying out his duty.
Abdullah is in Fresno County Jail on a charge of murder of a peace officer and three charges of attempted murder. Because of the nature of the crime, Abdullah is not eligible for bail, Oppliger said.
"I may very well add other charges," he said.
Those charges may include an enhancement of lying in wait for his victim and one or two more charges of attempted murder on peace officers while they were on duty.
Abdullah is scheduled to be arraigned today.
A source close to the investigation confirmed Abdullah lived in the Tulare County community of Badger, about 10 miles southeast of the shooting site near Dunlap, in an 1,800-acre village operated by a Muslim organization.
A teen-age boy serving as a sentry at the front gate (freepers keep in mind this is pre 911) of the village's entry Thursday said Abdullah had been staying there. The teen-ager wouldn't say when Abdullah left. Abdullah has family living in or near Binghamton, N.Y., the FBI confirmed Thursday.
"I'm not here to answer questions," said the boy, dressed in camouflage fatigue-style pants and a beige button-down shirt. "He was here, but he left."
An adult came to the gate later and also said he would not answer questions about the shooting or the compound, which he described as the "Muslim village of Baladullah."
"The people here are living peacefully," the man said. "We're being cooperative with the Sheriff's Office and they have all information."
Just inside the compound's front gate are about eight trailer homes. There is also an office serving as headquarters for a U-Haul truck rental business run by the Muslim villagers.(anyone want to follow that trail??)
The teen-ager wouldn't allow reporters to enter the office.
Another sign in front advertised the village's International Quranic Open University. "We have many things inside," the man said.
Just beyond the gates and a waist-high barbed wire fence, a group of children could be seen tending to goats. Dozens of junked cars and other mechanical equipment were strewn nearby.
One neighbor of the compound said she often hears automatic and other types of gunfire and has made "four or five reports to the sheriff's office."
Tulare County sheriff's Capt. Gary Harris, however, said the Muslim village has not been a burden to his department.(..if you ignore concerned citizens reports,and keep sleeping...no burden here)
"We have not had any crimes or calls for service that are uncommon for foothill areas of Tulare County," said Harris, the department's operations commander. "We have no investigations going on up there."(Note: it was a Fresno County Deputy Sheriff that was killed)
Miramonte Postmaster Ken Williams said members of the organization often receive packages and "have always been polite."
"It's a little bit secretive, not in a bad sense, but they are kind of private," he said.
Earlier this year, James Hobson, who was staying at the Badger encampment under the name Umar Abdussalam, was arrested by the U.S. Marshal's Service in downtown Fresno. He was wanted for allegedly smuggling guns between New York and South Carolina Link to another Fuqra member arrested for gun smuggling
Baladullah is not the only Muslim community in the area. (Surprise, Surprise) Authorities say Abdullah may have been visiting a similar, smaller community in Dunlap on the day Telen, a 26-year-old father of two, was shot inside a resident's home into which the suspect had fled.
Other Muslims in Fresno County's foothills were surprised to learn the suspect was from the Badger compound.
"I was in shock," said Shadya Morgan, a Squaw Valley resident. "If you believe in God, you don't kill nobody. People will claim they are this or they are that, but only God knows."
Thousands of officers from across the state are expected at Telen's memorial service at 10 a.m. Monday in Peoples Church, 7172 N. Cedar Ave. in Fresno.
Nah. Nothing here. Push the snooze button....again. ZZZZZzzzzzz........
Hey, the Bee got the name right at least. It's in Badger.
Do we have a street address for this Village somewhere?