Burglary Allegations Called 'Premature'
Wednesday, July 10, 2002
BY MICHAEL VIGH and KEVIN CANTERA
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Discussion of burglary and theft charges against Richard Albert Ricci -- who has repeatedly been questioned in connection with the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart -- may be "premature," Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said Tuesday.
On Monday, deputy Salt Lake County District Attorney Kent Morgan estimated a charge could be filed against Ricci as early as Thursday, but Dinse downplayed that possibility a day later.
"To my knowledge, there is no imminent filing of burglary charges against Mr. Ricci," Dinse told The Salt Lake Tribune.
Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom agreed Tuesday, saying, "I haven't been told one way or another. I don't know when any filing will take place."
Ricci, who worked as a handyman in the Smart's home last year, is one of a handful of ex-cons being scrutinized by police in connection with Elizabeth's apparent abduction.
The girl disappeared early in the morning of June 5 when an intruder in her Federal Heights home abducted her at gunpoint, police say. The girl's 9-year-old sister -- who shared a bed with Elizabeth that night -- is the only witness to the kidnapping, and has provided investigators with only scant details of the suspect.
"We are continuing to look at Mr. Ricci and his associates, as well as associates of the Smart family," Dinse said. "We are also looking at others who had access to the Smart's neighborhood. No one has been eliminated" as a suspect.
At the Smart family's daily news briefing, one of Elizabeth's aunts expressed frustration that Ricci has not been more cooperative with detectives, who say they are not convinced by the alibi Ricci has given for the night Elizabeth disappeared.
"We would love to have [Ricci] be more open," said Cynthia Smart Owens.
But Ricci, who is being held on an alleged parole violation, maintains he is innocent. In a recent statement he said he has "fully cooperated" with investigators, consented to 26 hours of questioning, given blood, DNA and surrendered his Jeep Cherokee, given to him by the Smart family in exchange for work at their home.
The warrant that returned Ricci to prison for alleged parole violations claimed he had committed a burglary of a dwelling, but did not specify when or where.
Dinse warned against focusing on any one individual. "We are not putting all our eggs in one basket," he said. "We may need to go in another direction. We are going to go where the evidence takes us."
Meanwhile, in the month since Elizabeth's June 5 disappearance, thousands of fliers and posters featuring her smiling visage -- ubiquitous on lamp posts and store fronts throughout Utah -- have become faded and torn.
Family members of the missing 14-year-old asked Tuesday for volunteers to replace the old fliers with a crisp, new version that can be downloaded from the Internet. "We've got groups going through to renew the tattered fliers," said Angela Smart Dumke.
She urged volunteers to visit www.elizabethsmart.com to download fliers and find information about searches planned to hunt for clues for Elizabeth's whereabouts.
mvigh@sltrib.com
kcantera@sltrib.com
Dinse warned against focusing on any one individual. "We are not putting all our eggs in one basket," he said. "We may need to go in another direction. We are going to go where the evidence takes us."
Can they hold him indefinitely on parole violations, is he automatically sent back to prison?
Bella, what do you think of this letter...to me it must be different from other letters Ed has received...something must stand out for him to come forward with it......or he is using it to keep media attention.