Franc Cano & Steven Gordon, Suspected SK's - *GUILTY*

[0101ABA]

One of two Anaheim men accused of kidnapping, raping and killing four women can serve as his own attorney during his upcoming trial, a judge has decided.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick H. Donahue agreed last week to allow Steven Dean Gordon to defend himself against special-circumstances murder and forcible rape charges.

Gordon, 46, along with Franc Cano, 29, is suspected of killing four Orange County women who had ties to prostitution. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office this year announced it is seeking the death penalty for both men (...)

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gordon-727342-women-killing.html

 

[byo]

GPS-tracked sex offender to stand trial in serial killings
Updated 8 hours ago

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Opening statements are expected Wednesday in the trial of a sex offender accused of raping and killing four women during a murderous spree in Orange County while wearing a GPS tracking device.

Steven Dean Gordon, 47, of Anaheim is due in an Orange County courtroom on four counts of murder and four counts of rape.

Gordon is representing himself at trial. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Gordon and registered sex offender Franc Cano, 30, were both wearing GPS devices for prior offenses when they raped and killed four women in 2013 and 2014, authorities said.

 

[byo]

1 of 2 sex offenders accused of raping, killing 4 women begins murder trial
Nov. 16, 2016 Updated 8:05 a.m.

Trial begins Wednesday for the first of two Anaheim men accused of kidnapping, raping and killing four women.

Steven Dean Gordon, along with Franc Cano, is facing special-circumstances murder and forcible rape charges connected to the slaying of at least four Orange County women with ties to prostitution.

Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin, who is prosecuting Gordon, has described the pair as a “cold, calculated killing machine.”

Cano, who also faces the death penalty if convicted, wlll be tried separately. A date has not been set for his jury trial.

 

[0101ABA]

A sex offender accused of killing four prostitutes blamed federal parole agents during his trial on Monday for the death of one of the women, saying the officials didn’t do a good enough job tracking his movements.

Steven Gordon, who is representing himself in his murder trial, told a U.S. probation and parole officer that if the agent and his colleagues had been paying closer attention to GPS data from Gordon’s ankle monitor, 21-year-old Jarrae Estepp would still be alive.

“Because of your negligence, she is not,” Gordon said in finishing his cross examination.

http://m.ocregister.com/articles/cano-736146-gordon-body.html

 

[watergirl62]

It's your fault she's dead because you didn't do your job? I'm not even sure where to start with that one. :thud:

Committing murder while wearing an ankle monitor is either a)extreme narcissism/ psychopathy or b)extreme stupidity or c)all of the above.

Tracking down the dumpster location via fingerprints on a caulk tube found in the trash near the body is brilliant detective work!!!

 

[0101ABA]

An accused serial killer and rapist, who is representing himself at trial, told jurors that his “hunt for the truth” began Wednesday as he called witnesses in his defense.

Steven Dean Gordon spent some of his time trying to shift blame to his co-defendant, Franc Cano, scheduled for his own trial at a later date.

http://mynewsla.com/orange-county/2...used-rapist-hooker-killer-hes-his-own-lawyer/

 

[katydid23]

http://mynewsla.com/orange-county/2...used-rapist-hooker-killer-hes-his-own-lawyer/

These 2 monsters are truly frightening. Thank Goodness this narcissist is doing a horrible job trying to defend himself in court. :jail:

 

[yllek]

One down, one to go...

Snip - BBM:
Accused as a serial killer and facing the possibility of the death penalty, Steven Dean Gordon fired his public defender and insisted on representing himself.

He made little effort to defend himself at trial in Orange County Superior Court, however. Instead, he raged against his codefendant and railed against the parole and probation departments once charged with monitoring him as a sex offender, scolding agents for not watching him more closely.

Gordon admitted to participating in the abduction of all four women and of either abetting or committing the murders in league with codefendant Franc Cano, who is expected to go on trial next year.

It took jurors about an hour Thursday to find him guilty of murdering four women who were working the prostitution corridors of Anaheim and Santa Ana in late 2013 and early 2014.

Jurors will gather again next week for the penalty phase of the trial, to decide whether Gordon, 47, should be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-orange-county-serial-killings-20161215-story.html

 

[watergirl62]

Scolded the probation officers? Wow. NPD much?

Took an hour to convict! I see he admitted his guilt in closing and took all the blame (credit).

Who is the fifth woman???


“I am ultimately the one responsible for these five young women’s death,” Gordon told jurors during his closing argument Thursday, referring to four named victims and to a fifth who has never been identified.*

 

[yllek]

Scolded the probation officers? Wow. NPD much?

Took an hour to convict! I see he admitted his guilt in closing and took all the blame (credit).

Who is the fifth woman???


“I am ultimately the one responsible for these five young women’s death,” Gordon told jurors during his closing argument Thursday, referring to four named victims and to a fifth who has never been identified.*

I'm confused about the potential fifth victim. She was described by LE (no name given). Was that description (below) given to police by Gordon, or did police have a missing woman who they figured might be the fifth victim?

The bodies of three of the four women have not been recovered, Anaheim police Lt. Bob Dunn said, and police this week scoured county streets for tips that might lead to a fifth victim, described as an African-American woman, in her early 20s, petite with numerous tattoos. Police said she may have ties to the city of Compton. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cano-609875-gordon-estepp.html

 

[watergirl62]

I'm confused about the potential fifth victim. She was described by LE (no name given). Was that description (below) given to police by Gordon, or did police have a missing woman who they figured might be the fifth victim?

The bodies of three of the four women have not been recovered, Anaheim police Lt. Bob Dunn said, and police this week scoured county streets for tips that might lead to a fifth victim, described as an African-American woman, in her early 20s, petite with numerous tattoos. Police said she may have ties to the city of Compton. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/cano-609875-gordon-estepp.html

Thank you! That is number 5. Linked article goes on to say:


This fifth victim was last seen between Feb. 14 and Feb.16, near Katella and Orangewood avenues, or Beach Boulevard north of Katella Avenue, police said. She may have checked into a hotel and has not checked out.

 

[yllek]

It's a little surprising to me that this case isn't getting more traction with the media.

Gordon and Cano are an effin' nightmare. Literally hunting, raping, and killing people's daughters and sisters...........all while under court-mandated monitoring even. Scary and very sad for the families of their victims.


RIP Martha Anaya (top l.), Josephine Vargas (top right), Kianna Jackson (bottom l.) and Jerrae Nykkole Estepp (bottom r.) -- photo credit: Santa Ana Police Department

I suspect that Gordon will be sentenced to death after his penalty phase trial next week, and that Cano will also be found guilty and sentenced to death next year.

I don't really care whether these two POSs live or die as long as they never step foot out of a cage again. But, since the state has spent the money pursuing the death penalty and these two soulless predators are so very deserving of the worst possible punishment, I hope prosecutors succeed in putting them both on death row.

 

[yllek]

Victim's Family Reacts to Gordon Conviction

Snip:
Before the verdict, Orange County Superior Court Judge Patrick H. Donahue warned family members of the victims watching from the audience to avoid any outbursts of emotion because jurors must return to court next week for the penalty phase of Gordon’s trial.

Gordon seemed at ease as he waited for the jury to come into the courtroom, laughing at one point as he glanced over at the prosecutor and lead detective.

As the verdict was read, family members clutched hands and dabbed at eyes with tissues, waiting until they were outside the courtroom to cry and embrace one another.

“Jarrae’s death was not in vain,” said Jodi Estepp, Jarrae Estepp’s mother. “We got closure today and that helps. I can’t say its justice, but it is a little bit of peace.”

The mother said that at first she was initially appalled at Gordon’s decision to represent himself in the capital murder trial.

“But now I’m glad, because I got to see the ugliness, and so did everyone else,” Jodi Estepp said.

Yolanda Linder, Jarrae Estepp’s aunt, said her family was confident that they would get justice for her niece.

“She was a fighter, and she got them in the end,” Linder said. “They are off the streets and those monsters can’t hurt other families like they hurt us.”

Story: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/gordon-738536-cano-women.html

 

[yllek]

Death Penalty for Gordon

Snip:
An Orange County jury on Wednesday decided a serial killer should be executed for the abduction and murder of four women.

Representing himself at his trial in Santa Ana, Steven Dean Gordon did not dispute his responsibility for the deaths of the women, who had been working as prostitutes in Anaheim and Santa Ana in late 2013 and early 2014.

Nor in his closing argument to jurors Tuesday did Gordon, 47, disagree with a prosecutor's argument that he ought to be executed for his crimes.

"If you kill four people like this in cold blood, you deserve to die — I believe that," Gordon told jurors. "My actions were evil and horrible, and you're gonna get your justice very shortly."

He said he was sorry to have caused pain to the families of Kianna Jackson, 20; Josephine Vargas, 34; Martha Anaya, 27; and Jarrae Estepp, 21 — the women he was convicted last week of killing.

Gordon told jurors he had to fire his public defender because she would not let him plead guilty and he wanted to speed the case along. He also said he had to take the case to trial because defendants representing themselves cannot plead guilty in capital cases under the law.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-gordon-sentencing-20161221-story.html

 

[Seajay]

With the voters recently opting to get rid of the death penalty, he won't be put to death, however, maybe he is will spend the rest of his miserable life in prison and off the streets so he will not be able to murder another woman.

 

[yllek]

With the voters recently opting to get rid of the death penalty, he won't be put to death, however, maybe he is will spend the rest of his miserable life in prison and off the streets so he will not be able to murder another woman.

Californians voted to keep the death penalty in November 2016.

--Proposition 66, which speeds up the appeals process, won with 50.9 percent of the vote.
--The competing Proposition 62, which would have abolished California’s death penalty, drew 46.1 percent.

That doesn't mean that Californians won't vote to abolish it sometime in the future.

But, for now, CA is a death penalty state and the time from conviction to execution should be shorter with the passage of Prop 66.

 

[Hatfield]

What really bothers me about this case is how quick they were originally paroled or somehow got out of prison after their original crimes.

Look at how fast they were on the streets from when they were convicted.

WTH and why are they even being paroled or let out after committing kidnapping and other terrrible crimes and one of them even with underage girl.

They should not have been given any parole after so few years. One was out in 5 years and the other 10.

Gordon was also convicted of kidnapping in 2002, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Similarly, Cano had been convicted in an Orange County court in 2007 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, the court records state. He also was required to register as a sex offender for life.

The two men were on parole when they cut off their ankle bracelets in April 2012 and took a Greyhound bus to Las Vegas.



https://theintercept.com/2016/01/17...tion-californias-death-row-continues-to-grow/

 

[cvaldez1975]

I hate to say this but he might get a new trial... he did not adequately represent himself. that is why I hate when they try to do so, like that puke mesiti in Stanislaus county. I hope he doesn't, but they cross all t's and dot all i's in DP cases.

 

[yllek]

Victim's Family Files Wrongful Death Suit against Federal Probation

-Jarrae Estepp's mom, Jodi Pier-Estepp, just filed a wrongful-death suit against federal probation, along with five unnamed agents for failing to properly train and monitor their officers

-Jarrae Estepp's naked body was found on a moving conveyor belt inside an Anaheim, California recycling facility in March 2014

-Steven Dean Gordon was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Estepp, along with three other prostitutes who disappeared over the course of 2013

-Franc Cano, who has also been charged with murder, is still awaiting trial

-Gordon and Cano, registered sex offenders, violated parole by meeting up, wore their court-ordered tracking devices during three of the murders, and even cut them off to go to Nevada

-Officials said they did monitor their GPS tracking devices, but did not compare the data of the two men

Story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...alifornia-woman-sues-probation-officials.html

 

[Splenda]

I observed like conduct by defendants many times before I retired. It seldom failed that just as soon as they were tucked away in prison, they'd begin filing Rule 32s attempting to get sentences set aside, &/or a new trial. The inmate has law library privileges, form files, & access to eager-beaver law students &/or groups who just find it game to take on the system or undo sentences, etc. Time will tell.