No Bond for Ryan Frederick

The accused Chesapeake cop killer was denied bond today.

The official account of the raid seems to be changing. Special prosecutor Paul Ebert now says that Det. Jarrod Shivers was in Ferderick's front yard when he was shot. And he said he may elevate the charge to capital murder, the knowing and intentional killing of a police officer.

Those two items raise all sorts of questions. We first heard Shivers was merely outside the door when he was shot. We then heard he was crawling through a door panel. Now we're told he was in Frederick's front yard. If that's the case, where was he in relation to other officers? At what point in the raid was Shivers shot?

The suggestion of elevating the charge smacks to me of a PR move. Is Ebert really planning to argue that Frederick knowingly and intentionally took on a team of raiding cops so he wouldn't get caught with a misdemeanor amount of marijuana? There's not a hint of violence in this guy's past.

Prior posts on Frederick here.

CORRECTION: My assertion that "we then heard [Shivers] was crawling through a door panel" is incorrect. Explanation here.

Comments

[Tonio]

Radley,

More good reporting on bad news. Thanks.

BTW, I think you meant for the first sentence to read "The accused Chesapeake cop killer was denied bond today."

[Jennifer]

Son of a BITCH.

[Lost_In_Translation]

you got to love how they keep changing the story until they sound justified.

[J sub D]

Let the perjury begin!

[JW]

I heard Shivers was at home, quietly eating dinner at his kitchen table when the crazed and murderous thug Fredrick, who has a long and checkered past, burst in and shot him over the pudding.

If not yet, I predict this will eventually become the official account.

[Warren]

BARKEEP!

[bill]

I'm confused. I thought the only officers present were Shivers and his partner?

[Kool]

Between Hayne, et al... and this debacle in Chesapeake... I think I need a bigger bottle of bourbon. Now, if you all will excuse the next part of my stream of consciousness: Fucking fucks.

[Ska]

mmmm....bourbon.....

Please tell me that RB's stories are getting more play than just at reason. Or at least people are linking to them. This prosecutor vigilanteism shit has to be brought to the attention of your average "police never lie" citizens.

[Bingo]

Fucking fucks.

What Kool said.

[Gen]

I was in the court room this morning and they are so trying to railroad Ryan, before the cameras were even roling the retired judge and the prosecuters (there were two present) were basically kissing each others butt. I couldn't believe what Mr Ebert was saying but broceletti held up well and stated it was all to be disputed during the trial. I say let them talk now, forenics will have to paint the whole picture, but it made me realize something and how there gonna work this, it's ryan against the police force, So for Ryans sake neighbors need to come forth to mr.broceletti and say exactly what they did or did not see. They seem to be ryans main since of hope on the he said she said battle. In the court room today mr.ebert said there were 14 cop cars present at the raid and everyone knows that not to be the case, other officers arrived after the inital incident, so they can't say they actually saw ryan do anything but all were present today, as well as he said the officer was in the yard and even police have said he was at least on the porch. If you know a neighbor or are one please call mr broceletti and tell him what you saw, it's so vitial and just contact ryans lawyer if you don't want people to publicly know who you are...

[TrickyVic]

"""Det. Jarrod Shivers was in Ferderick's front yard when he was shot.""

Was it initally said that Ferderick fired his gun inside his house? If so, who held the door open? If he fired it outside his house that would have woke his neighbors up.

Sounds to me like they are trying to poison the jury pool.

[Warty]

I wonder how he's getting treated in jail.

[Mad Max]

These guys make Mike Nifong look like Atticus Finch.

[J sub D]

I used to respect cops.
I once bought the line that most cops are good cops and there are only a few bad apples.
I used to have faith in the justice system.

Tell me, LEO apologists, why you think my opinion has changed so drastically. I, who have never been charged or even investigated for a crime? I, who has usually been treated with respect and courtesy by cops? I, who has received a less than average number of moving violations?

C'mon boys in blue backers, why has my opinion changed so much in the course of my life? Take a wild guess.

[Bingo]

I'm trying to imagine this scenario occurring in the Wild West and having a bitch of a time doing so.

Let's say Wyatt Earp had a deputy that was convinced a homeowner had lets say stolen jewels. So the deputy goes to the homeowners house in the middle of the night, kicks down the door, and gets shot. Further investigation reveals no stolen jewels. I have a really hard time thinking that Wyatt Earp would then make sure that capital murder charges were filed against the homeowner. My bet is that the entire thing would have ended with a sincere apology by the Sheriff.

The Chesapeake incident is so far removed from historical American law enforcement its hard to fathom. Especially all this over a plant, its ridiculous.

[GILMORE]

The suggestion of elevating the charge smacks to me of a PR move. Is Ebert really planning to argue that Frederick knowingly and intentionally took on a team of raiding cops so he wouldn't get caught with a misdemeanor amount of marijuana?

I think this might be something defence lawyers would hope for - because it could be beaten decisively. But then wont they just recharge him on lesser count? I am suddenly ignorant of the procedures they can use to persist in a prosecution... i've seen too many examples (many from Radley) where prosecutors manage to railroad people, motive be damned

[just one word]

WMD.

[Salvius]

I, who has received a less than average number of moving violations?

How about I, who have never even been pulled over, never been given so much as a parking ticket? Why do I also feel the same way?

[NoStar]

Wait! You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Forensic Odentologist Dr. Michael West has confirmed that previously undetected bite-marks have been found on Officer Shiver's body that match the bite pattern of defendant Ryan Frederick.

Medical Examiner Steven Hayne reports that the evidence shows that Ryan Frederick had sex with Shiver's dead body while it lay in the front yard in view of the neighborhood children.

-----

C'mon. Give it up. Admit it. I won this thread.

[Idiot]

This tragedy could have been prevented by good strong gun control laws.

[cgee]

That's right, NoStar, you won the thread...and owe me a new keyboard.

[lol]

"Idiot | February 21, 2008, 6:42pm | #
This tragedy could have been prevented by good strong gun control laws."

Well at least u chose an appropriate screen name. (yes i know your post was sarc) lol

[idiot]

Well at least u chose an appropriate screen name.

I didn't finish...not only would there have been no death but another drug offender would have been off the streets. Perfect.

[joe]

The DA is trying to threaten the man's life to get him to confess to a crime he didn't commit.

Scumbag.

[Dave W.]

I once bought the line that most cops are good cops and there are only a few bad apples.

Semi-related video:

http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=220814

[juris imprudent]

joe sums it up.

Damn it hurts to type that.

[Taktix?]

Please tell me that RB's stories are getting more play than just at reason. Or at least people are linking to them. This prosecutor vigilanteism shit has to be brought to the attention of your average "police never lie" citizens.

Sadly, the average "police never lie" citizen doesn't give a rat's ass.

I got in a "discussion" with my brother over the holidays about how this stuff happens all the time, and he demanded I show him. So I created and email with links to all the things Radley has reported over the last three months.

Upon receiving this list, my brother simply said, "That's it? Only 16?" I was surprised, because he's not an idiot. Or, at least I thought he wasn't an idiot...

[Taktix?]

I wonder how he's getting treated in jail.

I'm going to guess that the denied him bail in order to let heal the cuts and bruises he received from good, honest public servants.

[R C Dean]

joe sums it up.

Damn it hurts to type that.

I find that joe Gets It Right on average about once a week. 😉

Not sure what works out to as a batting average, though. He comes to the plate a lot.

[Loren]

We first heard Shivers was merely outside the door when he was shot. We then heard he was crawling through a door panel.

Wait...when did we hear the latter claim, and from whom? I may have missed it, but I don't recall any statements that Shivers was crawling through a door panel when he was shot. Especially not from the police. Online searches aren't immediately turning up any such statements in news articles; just several posts at Reason and The Agitator mentioning door-crawling without citation.

The only news reference I can immediately find that even *refers* to door panels was in a statement by Frederick, not by the police. From the article:

"[Frederick] said intruders were pushing through the bottom panels of the four-panel door, he said."

But even that article does NOT say that Frederick shot anyone crawling through the panels. Technically, it doesn't even say that anyone was crawling through at all; just "pushing" through.

So what news report was it that had the police saying that Frederick was shot while crawling through the door?

[Nick]

Taktix, everyone thinks they are smart and the people they know are mostly smart. Everyone is wrong.

[Dave W.]

The DA is trying to threaten the man's life to get him to confess to a crime he didn't commit.

Scumbag.

I would quibble with this. I would say it is more that the judge is threatening Ryan Frederick with death. DA is supposed to ask for more than he is entitled to. It is the judge who is supposed to be the voice of reason, the one exercising good judgement.

[robc]

DA is supposed to ask for more than he is entitled to.

Bullshit.

[Dave W.]

DA is supposed to ask for more than he is entitled to.

Bullshit.

Let me put it a different way:

if the DA had been more reasonable, but the judge denied bail, then I would think that it was an outrage.

otoh, if the DA did and sed the same things he is saying and doing, but the judge granted bail, then I would thing things were going about as well as could be expected in a situation like this.

I am not trying to get people to luv the appointed DA here, but I think there is a bigger problem with the picture right now.

[claude]

There is a myspace page set up for donations for Ryan.

http://www.myspace.com/ryan_frederick

[TrickyVic]

"""Taktix, everyone thinks they are smart and the people they know are mostly smart. Everyone is wrong."""

Your own statement claims you are wrong.

[TrickyVic]

"""Upon receiving this list, my brother simply said, "That's it? Only 16?" I was surprised, because he's not an idiot. Or, at least I thought he wasn't an idiot...""

You should ask him at what number does it become a problem and why.

[joe]

Dave W.,

I was talking about the DA's decision to file a capital murder charge.

He wants the thread of death hanging over the guy's head as he considers the prosecutors' offer.

[jimmydageek]

Taktix,

Give him a link to the botched raids map as well. That might open his eyes a little.

RE: Ryan Frederick - Wasn't the door taken as evidence as well? Why would that be the case if Mr. Shivers was shot in the yard? What significance could the door have then?

There's so many things that aren't making sense here.

Any VA / Chesapeake residents reading this? Find all the stories and conflicting statements from the police and make posters / fliers containing the info and post all over the city.

This shit boils my blood.

[Dave W.]

Dave W.,

I was talking about the DA's decision to file a capital murder charge.

He wants the thread of death hanging over the guy's head as he considers the prosecutors' offer.

I know. My perspective is that the judge is tacitly agreeing to this tactic by denying bail. My perspective is that this tactic would not work nearly so well if the judge granted bail. There are probably other things that this judge could be doing at this juncture to this unfair game off. Of the top of my head, mandating immediate delivery into escrow of that door and any and all dash cam footage would be a way to let the DA know that he is not going to be strongarming Frederick here.

It might be nice if the DA was not trying to strongarm Ferderick, but really, in an adversarial system, he has a duty to strongarm Frederick as much as the judge will let him get away with. And the judge tacitly let the DA know at the bail hearing that threatening Frederick with death in order to get him to confess would be acceptable behavior here.

The judge is the real problem here. the DA is just th outward symptom of the hidden cancer.

[gen]

jimmydageek

The residends here are following the case, well as many as we can get to pay attention. Tommrow from 10am-4pm there is a rally for Ryan in front of the chesapeake city jail. All are welcome to attend and bring your signs with questions and statements we want them to know people are watching them and it would be nice if we got some answers. I didn't think of posters showing conflicting statements and plastering them all over, i'm gonna have to look into doing that, unfortunatly i think there is a law here about doing that kind of thing as littering or if you put them on telephone poles it's defacing public property or something, but definatly thanks for the idea, and i'll find out. maybe a few more will read it.

http://www.myspace.com/Ryan_frederick
leave your thoughts and thank you all for your support

[TrickyVic]

""I know. My perspective is that the judge is tacitly agreeing to this tactic by denying bail."""

How many people accused of killing a cop actually make bail? Besides even if he did get bail I doubt he could raise the money to cover it. Maybe he could raise money, but it would be a lot.

I agree that the death penalty probably is being used by the DA in an attempt to get Frederick to plead out. DA's have been using the trumped up charge scare tactic for decades. The DA, not the judge, gets to pick what charges will be filed. Proving those charges is a different story.

"""It is the judge who is supposed to be the voice of reason, the one exercising good judgement."""

True, and before the judge is a person that killed a cop, so far that is undisputed and I'd bet that's how the judge is looking at it. If the DA says it's capitol murder, I think the judge is not in the position to disagree, at the bail hearing anyway. A cop was killed, the reason is in dispute, but I haven't heard anything about Frederick saying he didn't do it. So it is at least possible it was capitol murder so it seems reasonable to allow the charges to go to trial and let the jury decide and the denial of bail doesn't seem far from par.

We've heard very little facts, which is odd at this point. I sincerely hope Frederick has a good lawyer and gets a good jury.

[robc]

but really, in an adversarial system, he has a duty to strongarm Frederick

This is what I was calling bullshit on. Je, in fact, is violating his duty if he attempts to strongarm Frederick. His duty is charge exactly what the case calls for. If he then chooses to plead it down, that may actually be violating his duty too, if the person truly deserves to be convicted of more. But, that isnt as big a violation as asking for more than is deserved to have a negotiating point. This isnt haggling over fruit in a market. The DA is an employee of the state. He has a duty to the law, which includes not asking for too much.

[Dave W.]

His duty is charge exactly what the case calls for.

And the people involved in his side of the case are saying that Officer Shivers was shot after an announcenment of police and before Officer Shivers broke the door (maybe before he even touched the door).

If those are the true facts, then the charges the DA is threatening are reasonable. Maybe not optimal, but reasonable. If those are the true facts, I wouldn't want to see Frederaick walk the way Christopher Long (GOOGLE it) did.

Of course, we suspect that the police version is not the true facts. Of course, we suspect the police are lying. But these suspicions are not something the DA should have in the front of his mind. That is not his job. His job is to believe the police until they either admit to him that they are lying, or until there is some kind of definitive proof they are lying.

OTOH, these suspicions ARE something that the judge should be taking some cognizance of, but apparently is not.

[burningsky]

This is crazy. The guy has to spend another 90 days in jail before they have a hearing to decide if there is enough evidence to send the case to the grand jury. Why the delay? How much more evidence could be gathered between now and May?
They have all the physical evidence.
The autopsy has been done.
There's been plenty of time to get depositions from everyone involved.
They should even know who fired the .223 round and what role the man's television played in this tragedy.

[gen]

burningsky
All the investigations are not complete nor has all the information been released to the attorney (ryan attorney), and in the court room it was the soonest date all partys could agree on, that they could attend.

[joan]

I think he was not in the wrong that he was just protecting his house and that he will never prove that he was innocent, because the police always switch the story up to make them look right I feel sorry for him, and his family, and also the police officers family that died. It truly is a sad story for both parties.

[mike]

http://hamptonroads.com/2008/02/20-rally-support-man-accused-chesapeake-officers-death

[Ann]

Google "home invasions" and you will see all the gory incidents of this form of "terrorism" and why we live in fear in our own homes. We are Tidewater VA natives. My 80 year old friend was nearly beaten to death when three thugs invaded her home. Most people are raped and/or killed. Also research how many times police raid the wrong houses or arrest the wrong people. The informant is responsible for this fiasco. He has ruined the lives of untold people. Ryan Frederick is a victim. He should not be in jail. We are praying for him.

[Karen Lindquist]

As a resident of the city of Norfolk, VA., I have been watching with interest the story of Ryan Frederick. The whole situation is a really sad story, the loss of a father, husband,and son, as well, as a dedicated police officer. But, on the other end is the sad loss of a young man's future. Ryan Frederick's 1st interview in jail the following day, he was told that Officer Shiver's was the father of 3 children. All he could do was hang his head low, and cry. Ryan will always lhave to live with the fact that he took away the father of three. I don't think that pales in comparison to all the other shit he's dealing with. There are people in this area who are watching this story with great intent. Hopefully, justice will prevail, but in this country, its all about how much money you have, and then you can go free. Just look at OJ!

[RIP SHIVERS]

I don't know how anybody can say Ryan is innocent. The point is he fired a gun inside his home, through a door and killed someone. Police Officer or not he shot and killed someone. When you pull the trigger you are responsible for where that bullett goes. If that bullett would have missed Shivers and went into a neighbors house and killed someone, would he be innocent then? Nobody nows all the evidence except for those who were there. They know the truth, so set back and try to come up with all these BS stories to justify in your mind why Ryan is innocent. I hope he spends the rest of his sorry life in prison.

[el nasty]

One rancid POS is dead and a good-hearted American is rotting in jail. Way to go justice!