Media links **NO DISCUSSION**

[daisy7]

An earlier tale of cars, contract killing attempts and Mexico
Posted 8/20/2009 7:22 AM EDT on pnj.com Prod

Some Pensacolians roll their eyes at these tales of the Mexican Mafia and claims that accused killer Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. "whacked" people on behalf of car dealers.
But there is a bit of a precedent for drugs, Mexico and "whacking" people, in a weird, long-distance way.

(snipped)

http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/se...3-4405-bcfa-e05d32ea9d04&sid=sitelife.pnj.com

 

[Solomisskitty]

http://blog.al.com/live/2009/08/billings_case_update_new_evide.html

Decision on media release delayed

 

[Solomisskitty]

http://www.sunherald.com/412/story/1552235.html

 

[Solomisskitty]

http://www.wkrg.com/crime/article/billings-murder-crime-spree-connection/277882/Aug-20-2009_9-51-pm/

 

[daisy7]

Guys like Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. always remind me of a line from "The Maltese Falcon," an old Sam Spade detective story: "The cheaper the crook, the gaudier the patter."

Guys like Gonzalez strut around, full of talk, gestures and grandeur, only to tumble eventually.

Gonzalez has a right to plead not guilty and claim that he's being "railroaded," as he told officers who arrested him for the slayings of Melanie and Byrd Billings in their Beulah home.

(snipped)
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090821/NEWS01/908210334/1006/NEWS01

 

[fran]

The Pensacola Adoptive Couple's Murder: Was It Robbery or a Hit?

By most accounts, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr. — the failed karate instructor who allegedly murdered a wealthy Pensacola, Fla., couple last month in front of their young adopted children — is a blowhard.

"He's always got a big game," one friend told police, "he's always got some bullsh-t to talk about." Said another, "He's always blowing smoke up everybody's tail about, you know, 'I got this going on, we're gonna make some money,' da-da-da." As a result, "it would be easy to dismiss Gonzalez as a lying con man, which he is for the most part," notes David Morgan, sheriff of Escambia County in Florida's northwestern panhandle, who says he has heard some tall tales from Gonzalez since he was arrested. "But sadly there are instances in his life when his boasting had elements of truth."

.........................snip...................


Which makes the sheriff more inclined to believe that Gonzalez — who is charged with shooting Byrd "Bud" Billings and his wife Melanie in their spacious home as he and six others allegedly robbed it the night of July 9 — was hired to commit the murder by resentful local business rivals. In police documents released this week, Gonzalez says one used-car dealer, Henry "Cab" Tice, told him that he and other dealers wanted the 66-year-old Billings "whacked" and asked him to do the job. (Gonzalez claims he refused — although he boasted to police, without offering details, that he's taken part in other murders for hire.) Morgan tells TIME he expects to make more arrests soon in a homicide case that's become shocking and sordid enough to recall Truman Capote's In Cold Blood — and one that has orphaned the Billings' 17 children, 13 of them adopted and most with disabilities like Down Syndrome. "We'd all prefer it if this were a group of losers visiting a random act of violence on this family," Morgan says, "but with each passing day and each new witness, we're finding that's probably not the case."

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>






http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1917773,00.html

 

[fran]

Surveillance video can
be viewed

Media, pulic can view, no
reproduction allowed


PENSACOLA, Fla. - A Florida judge has ruled that surveillance video from the home of Byrd and Melanie Billings from the night they were killed can be viewed by the media.

...................snip....................

Therefore, the judge ruled that it is okay for the images to be viewed inside the state attorney's office, but no one can leave with video or still photographs.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<full article at link>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/crime/Surveillance_Video_Can_Be_Viewed

 

[RiverPirate]

From PNJ

Billings suspects: Criminal masterminds?
Evidence in Billings slayings paints suspects as band of fools

Travis Griggs &#8226; tgriggs@pnj.com &#8226; August 23, 2009

STORY


PDF File From PNJ below

Anatomy OF a Conspiracy

 

[daisy7]

Four Okaloosa men connected to Billings murder
Robbyn Brooks
Daily News

The ties between the four Okaloosa County men implicated in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings in Escambia County on July 9 can be traced back much earlier, according to records released by the state attorney&#8217;s office.

The records contain discovery exhibits and investigative requests and reports linking the men through evidence and witness statements.

Witnesses have told lawmen that two of the suspects, Gary Sumner and Donnie Ray Stallworth, might have been involved in a string of robberies in 2005 and may have taken part in an unsolved homicide Sept. 12, 2005.

(snipped)

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/county-19940-billings-okaloosa.html

 

[Lindadanette]

Surveillance video
catches murder

Video to be viewed first by media on
Thursday


http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/crime/Surveillance_Video_Catches_Murder

 

[megamami]

http://www.northescambia.com/?p=10409

Another source for the same info, but they do a timeline from the documents.

"According to the information from the State Attorney’s Office, here is what happened the night of July 9:

&#9632;7:05:42 –Red van is visible entering driveway
&#9632;7:05:58 — Offenders exit van
&#9632;7:06:13 — Two offenders exit wooded area on north side of residence and approach house
&#9632;7:06:16 — Byrd Billings looks toward front door and raises his hands
&#9632;7:06:22 — Byrd Billings is shot in leg, escorted to bedroom; Melanie Billings remains in living room with child and offender
&#9632;7:07:34 — Byrd Billings visible back in living room
&#9632;7:07:42 — Both victims exit living room toward master bedroom area
&#9632;7:07:55 — Offender carrying a bag visible going from back of van toward house
&#9632;7:09:52 — Offenders return to van
&#9632;7:10:16 — Van departs yard
&#9632;7:10:27 — Last view leaving driveway
&#9632;7:26:36 — First deputies arrive on scene"

 

[daisy7]

Wiggins' husband plans
on divorce

PENSACOLA, Fla. - One of Pamela Long's two husbands plans to move forward with a divorce on Wednesday.

Law enforcement officials call her bigamist, because she's married to two men at the same time.

There's a marriage license for Pamela Long, showing she's married to James Malden. There's also a marriage license, showing she's married to Hugh Wiggins.

(snipped)

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/florida/Wiggins_Husband_Plans_On_Divorce

 

[megamami]

http://ricksblog.biz/?p=7277

Toned down PNJ article in USA Today

"The table talk around town yesterday was the daily newspaper&#8217;s Sunday cover story on the Billings&#8217; case in which the paper called those arrested a gang of fools and mocked Sheriff David Morgan for calling the case a &#8220;humdinger.&#8221; "

"Then today, the USA Today edits the article and seems to leave room for other motives. "

BBM

 

[megamami]

Rick's version of the timeline for those that haven't read the document yet.

http://ricksblog.biz/?p=7274

Billings’ camera system

7:06:11 pm Camera 2 – which covers kitchen and living room – Bud Billings exit kitchen and looks toward front door.

7:06:16 Bud Billings raises his hands.

7:06:22 Two offenders enter hallway from southeast entry door.

7:06:32 Offender approaches front door area and walks toward Melanie Billings.

7:06:40 Offender leaves Melanie Billings and approaches Bud Billings.

7:06:51 Bud Billings appears to be shot in the leg, offender escorts him to the bedroom.

7:07:10 One offender in the living room can be seen wearing a “K-9&#8243; shirt.

7:07:34 Bud Billings appears back in the living room.

7:07:42 Both victims are escorted back into the bedroom.

7:08:06 “K-9&#8243; on back of offender’s shirt is visible a second time.

7:08:51 Last time offenders are visible from this camera.

7:08:58 Offenders are visible from Camera #1 that looks down on the kitchen area.

7:09:01 A child is visible in hallway from Camera #1.

7:09:52 Outside camera captures offender entering driver side of the red van.

7:10:13 Red Van leaves

 

[daisy7]

One of Long Wiggins husbands pursues divorce

The estranged husband of Pamela Long Wiggins is continuing divorce proceedings against his wife, who is charged as an accessory after the fact in the slayings of Byrd and Melanie Billings.

James Malden Jr., of Bay Minette, Ala., said he has been separated from Long Wiggins for more than a year and has spent months trying to divorce her.

Wednesday morning, Malden&#8217;s attorney and a Pensacola judge met to discuss scheduling a divorce hearing for Malden and Long Wiggins.

(snipped)

http://pnj.com/article/20090826/NEWS01/90826004

 

[RiverPirate]

48 minutes with 48 Hours

From RicksBlog

I spoke with a producer from 48 Hours yesterday about the Billings case. We talked about the dozens of twists and weird angles in this story: the 17 children, the brutality of the murders, the histories of the suspects, Mexican mafia and overall seediness of the used car business in Pensacola. I&#8217;ve had similar conversations with reporters from CNN, Newsweek, NY Times and NBC News.

None of them can figure out why the PNJ is so quickly trying to label this crime a simple robbery. It was four weeks ago the PNJ declared on its front page that the investigation was over, while the rest of the media was seeing plenty to still examine.

The people I talk with in the national news are also surprised by the daily newspaper&#8217;s petulant attitude toward Sheriff David Morgan. Most of the media admires the job that he has done with the case.

 

[daisy7]

This morning, the State Attorney&#8217;s Office allowed journalists to view crime scene photographs and security camera footage from the home of Byrd and Melanie Billings, who were shot to death during a home invasion July 9.
Advertisement

The previously unreleased video footage shows several attackers, some armed with rifles and shotguns, entering the house and confronting Byrd, Melanie and one of their adopted children in their living room.

The quality of the security footage is poor, and many details, including the identities of the attackers, are difficult to distinguish from the video.

(snipped)

http://pnj.com/article/20090827/NEWS01/90827008

 

[daisy7]

911 calls are released

Call #1 (April)
http://pnj.com/assets/wma/DP141395827.WMA

Call #2 (Ashley)
http://pnj.com/assets/wma/DP141396827.WMA

 

[Gene]

The 911 calls are also available at the same PNJ Link. Remember that PNJ links are only avaiable for a few weeks, so if the 911 calls may be important later, consider downloading them to your computer:

http://pnj.com/article/20090827/NEWS01/90827008

Rick gives an excellent overview of "What He Saw" on the videos. Much better than the PNJ article.
http://ricksblog.biz/?p=7299

 

[Solomisskitty]

Morgan statements on CNN

[ame]http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/crime/2009/08/27/morgan.billings.folo.cnn[/ame]