CA - Malibu Creek State Park Shooting, Tristan Beaudette, 35, 22 June 2018 *Arrest* #2

[margarita25]

Delete/consolidate

 

[emmet]

So what percentage chance do you think exists that the shooting was personal and that Mr. Beaudette was the target? Over or under 10%? Over or under 25? More?

Explain if possible. I'm over 10 but under 25. The head shot might not be coincidental.

Who knows, right?

I'll try mine again as I was very interested in the diversity of opinion by obviously very bright posters, ranging last time from 95% "it was personal and Tristan Beaudette was targeted" down to my range, 10-25% and therefore very probably a random act.

Feel free to chime in, try it again, change your opinion, etc.! I still say RANDOM.

 

[margarita25]

Anxiously awaiting LE's next PC.

 

[Tortoise]

At the beginning there was a report that specially trained personnel would be speaking to the girls. I didn't get the impression it was for trauma counseling but for information gathering. I wonder if we can take anything from that, like would they do that if the shot came from afar and they wouldn't have seen anything, like a person entering the tent?

Apologies if there has been some major update in the last 8-9 hours and this is no longer relevant, I've a few pages of reading to catch up on.

 

[Tortoise]

Not definitive, but the statement that the children were also in the tent seems to indicate that the Lieutenant was only referring to TB's location when he was shot -- and that he was not referring to the shooter's location: "The theory we are working with is he was shot inside the tent," Lieutenant Moore said. "The children were inside the tent, too. " BBC Report -- Dad shot dead while camping with daughters

I think it's pretty strange to say it's a theory he was shot inside the tent if they don't mean shot from within the tent. IMO his location when he was shot isn't a theory so much as an absolute based on the blood spatter evidence, with absence of blood spatter evidence outside the tent.

 

[Spellbound]

I think it's pretty strange to say it's a theory he was shot inside the tent if they don't mean shot from within the tent. IMO his location when he was shot isn't a theory so much as an absolute based on the blood spatter evidence, with absence of blood spatter evidence outside the tent.

Tent openings (entryway) are rarely large enough to stand up straight when entering, Anyone sneaking into a tent to shoot someone would have to bend down to enter and exit, carrying a shotgun. Taking a risk of getting the shotgun tangled in the door panels that are left askew if not tied back.

I think it is all in the poor wording of some. Yes, he was shot while he was inside the tent, but the shooter may not have been.

 

[Tortoise]

Tent openings (entryway) are rarely large enough to stand up straight when entering, Anyone sneaking into a tent to shoot someone would have to bend down to enter and exit, carrying a shotgun. Taking a risk of getting the shotgun tangled in the door panels that are left askew if not tied back.

I think it is all in the poor wording of some. Yes, he was shot while he was inside the tent, but the shooter may not have been.

I think my point is that the whole statement is irrelevant assuming it means he died in the tent. That isn't a working theory subject to change.

The only explanation I can come up with is that they don't want to release any information and so they are just padding out what they can say (he died in the tent) for the media.

 

[passepartout]

Re: Lt. Moore's statement

You can watch it here. Or at least part of it. The wording is somewhat different but I believe this is the first statement - posted at 11.26a - made about the shooting.

Sound quality is not good but it doesn't seem like Lt Moore is armed with many actual facts/details and is making a very general statement about the event.

 

[flute4peace]

"Shots Fired": The first link calls it a shot fired, not plural shots. The second link refers to shots.

The park being unusually empty: Maybe I'm reading it incorrectly, but when I follow the links to the CNN report, I only see CNN talking about the park being desolate on Wednesday, June 27, which was 5 days after the campground was closed because of the shooting: "On Wednesday, the park -- typically buzzing with vacationers enjoying the summer weather -- was eerily desolate. Silence enveloped its 63 campsites, including Campsite 51, where Beaudette was shot." Father killed while camping with 2 young daughters was shot in head, coroner says - CNN

"Shots fired" or "check shots" - that's just standard LE call terminology. It being dispatched/reported as a "shots fired/check shots" call when there was really only one shot, doesn't raise my eyebrows at all.

 

[RickshawFan]

“The theory we are working with is he was shot inside the tent,” Lieutenant Rodney Moore of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told the Los Angeles Times. “We are gathering evidence… It will take some time.”

Mystery over why father was shot dead while camping with two young daughters

Hmmm... plenty of space for ambiguity there. (A) the victim was shot by someone in the tent or (b) the victim was in the tent when he was shot We need more info so we don’t get hung up on wording IMO.

 

[clearskies1]

"Shots fired" or "check shots" - that's just standard LE call terminology. It being dispatched/reported as a "shots fired/check shots" call when there was really only one shot, doesn't raise my eyebrows at all.

Agree. I was just addressing the "shots fired" terminology that was pointed out by someone else.

 

[gitana1]

Tent openings (entryway) are rarely large enough to stand up straight when entering, Anyone sneaking into a tent to shoot someone would have to bend down to enter and exit, carrying a shotgun. Taking a risk of getting the shotgun tangled in the door panels that are left askew if not tied back.

I think it is all in the poor wording of some. Yes, he was shot while he was inside the tent, but the shooter may not have been.

If it was a shotgun

 

[gitana1]

I think it's pretty strange to say it's a theory he was shot inside the tent if they don't mean shot from within the tent. IMO his location when he was shot isn't a theory so much as an absolute based on the blood spatter evidence, with absence of blood spatter evidence outside the tent.

Those are some good points. Of course they are often cagey about what they actually know. So even if it was obvious where he was when shot,

But, it is odd. Why not just say he was shot at his campsite and you don't want to divulge more?

 

[clearskies1]

I think it's pretty strange to say it's a theory he was shot inside the tent if they don't mean shot from within the tent. IMO his location when he was shot isn't a theory so much as an absolute based on the blood spatter evidence, with absence of blood spatter evidence outside the tent.

Agree, but this statement was made very soon after the killing. I don't think they were expressing anything definitive at that point. Apparently, they also said he was shot in the "upper torso." I just don't think they were ready to say much at that time.

 

[ScorpioRising]

I looked in the marijuana growing activity around Malibu Creek State Park and here are just a couple of tidbits that I found about it:

Planting season usually begins in April and runs until November, according to local officials.

Agencies Prepare for Pot Growing Season This would fit into the timeframes we discussed with the exemption of the January incident.

While the farmers typically live on locations while the plants are growing, the remote locales of the sites make it easy for them to tell when law enforcement is coming, and they are usually long gone by the time a tactical team actually reaches the site.

I picture they would have night-vision equipment at a minimum and from other sources I have found they are definitely armed and have shot at hikers that discovered their illegal growing fields.

“They know where all the Las Virgenes Water District lines are, and have even run lines from [housing] subdivisions.”

“These are armed growers. The potential for violence is there,” Rose warned.
“You have hikers out there on our forest trails who are hiking with families and children and they unintentionally come across these sites. We want to ensure that our visitors and employees are safe out there,” Rose said.

The War On Drugs In Our Backyards? Rangers Warn Marijuana Cultivation A Growing Problem In SoCal

Another notable incident occurred in April (2010), when authorities arrested two men after locating nearly 1,000 pot plants and 3,000 seeds in a remote part of the park. Deputies and rangers found the operation near Malibu Canyon Road and Piuma Road while conducting a routine search for possible cultivation sites. The men fled but were tracked down.

Region's rugged terrain draws pot farms

Some interesting comments about Topanga State Park. It's not Malibu Creek State Park but still around Malibu:

hikers had discovered the patch of plants and been fired at by a man with a high-powered pellet rifle, the kind used for hunting small animals....” The team found 2,000 plants valued at $3 million or more, two pellet guns, plus ammunition for a 9mm handgun and a .22-caliber rifle.

Grass Roots - Los Angeles Magazine

Pro's of this idea being related: Big money at stake for the growers, so they have an interest in keeping people away from their growing operations. Growing does happen in state parks and has happened in Malibu Creek before. They are armed and probably mostly active at night, a high powered pellet rifle has been used to shoot at people before and ammunition has been found. They could be trying to scare people away at night from the park surroundings so they can move around undetected. With the warning to stay away from midnight to morning that would have been kind of achieved. Maybe the idea is to scare away hikers in general so they don't go looking deeper in the canyons.

Con's of this idea being related: These are older reports, no articles about recently discovered growing activity in the area. Now that it's legalized maybe this is less of an issue? TB and the couple sleeping in the car weren't actively roaming around in the hiking areas and the camping area specifically doesn't seem like it would pose a threat to the growers with the exemption that they want to keep people out in general?

As always just thinking out loud.

 

[Oregonmama]

Personally I think crucial mistakes were made in the beginning stages of this investigation. I understand all humans make mistakes and perhaps LE was not prepared for the high public interest in this case. One mistake was allowing or perhaps LE didnt have the chance to tell family members not to talk to the media. T's brother talked a lot and so many statements from articles are misleading or inaccurate in my opinion. Words do matter in an investigation and once they are in print all hell can break out with varied statements. JMO

 

[Oregonmama]

Agree, but this statement was made very soon after the killing. I don't think they were expressing anything definitive at that point. Apparently, they also said he was shot in the "upper torso." I just don't think they were ready to say much at that time.

Which makes me believe why LE then pulled the preliminary autopsy report offline quick because the only wound that was stated in the report was a shot to the head.

 

[gitana1]

I looked in the marijuana growing activity around Malibu Creek State Park and here are just a couple of tidbits that I found about it:

Agencies Prepare for Pot Growing Season This would fit into the timeframes we discussed with the exemption of the January incident.


I picture they would have night-vision equipment at a minimum and from other sources I have found they are definitely armed and have shot at hikers that discovered their illegal growing fields.



The War On Drugs In Our Backyards? Rangers Warn Marijuana Cultivation A Growing Problem In SoCal

Region's rugged terrain draws pot farms

Some interesting comments about Topanga State Park. It's not Malibu Creek State Park but still around Malibu:

Grass Roots - Los Angeles Magazine

Pro's of this idea being related: Big money at stake for the growers, so they have an interest in keeping people away from their growing operations. Growing does happen in state parks and has happened in Malibu Creek before. They are armed and probably mostly active at night, a high powered pellet rifle has been used to shoot at people before and ammunition has been found. They could be trying to scare people away at night from the park surroundings so they can move around undetected. With the warning to stay away from midnight to morning that would have been kind of achieved. Maybe the idea is to scare away hikers in general so they don't go looking deeper in the canyons.

Con's of this idea being related: These are older reports, no articles about recently discovered growing activity in the area. Now that it's legalized maybe this is less of an issue? TB and the couple sleeping in the car weren't actively roaming around in the hiking areas and the camping area specifically doesn't seem like it would pose a threat to the growers with the exemption that they want to keep people out in general?

As always just thinking out loud.

I looked an apparently it is still an issue in California.

However, these were two men with four toddlers. I doubt they were trudging deep into back country and I'm quite certain they wouldn't be going off well marked trails.

 

[emmet]

I still say RANDOM.

I still say RANDOM but I'm up top 30% that it wasn't.

Stay tuned!

 

[passepartout]

I looked in the marijuana growing activity around Malibu Creek State Park...

This is interesting thinking and it's certainly true that grow-ops have been found in the area.

(There was also this notorious incident in which LASD and other LE raided a ranch and killed the owner. The story - this from living there at the time - was that the county had been trying to seize the property and the grow-op allegations were trumped up. My point here is that LASD are capable of some unlawful behavior, as if we didn't know that from the Mitrice Richardson case.)

However, the campsite is not at all in an area that could be called 'remote'. You're right off the road, it's a big paved parking lot with easy access campsites. It's not where you'd be planting anything and it's not how you'd access the park territory if you were moving illicit goods.

Malibu Creek State Park is sprawling and porous in terms of access. Because the parking fee is quite expensive, many people park outside and hike/ride/bike in. I used to park my horse trailer at a facility that had trail access to avoid paying fees. It's these routes, which are via private property and shielded from main roads, that you'd be probably be using if you were a cultivator.