Was Kathy Russell's mugger Elliott Ott?
On Thursday, May 10th at 7:30 PM, Kathy Russell decided to go to the California Mutual Bank to withdraw some cash. The bank is located at the corner of Main Street and Manila Road in a commercial area near the popular CK’s Sports Bar. CK’s Sports Bar is east of the bank, right across the street. The streets were busier than usual for a Thursday night due to the basketball playoff game. Russell withdrew $250 from the ATM machine, put it in her wallet, and received a call on her cell phone as she started walking to her car in the parking lot located north of the bank. Upon reaching her car, she started rummaging through her purse to find her car keys. A man in jeans, black pullover sweater, and ski mask rushed by her side, and grabbed her purse away from her by the strap. Immediately, Kathy started yelling for help. Fortunately, there was another witness--Gloria Mendoza--who was walking toward the bank and responded to Russell's yelling. Mendoza started running after the masked man but could not keep up. Russell immediately called 911 as Mendoza chased the thief. Russell told the police that an athletically-built man about six feet tall had stolen her purse and went on to explain his attire to the best of her memory.
Officer Waverly responded to the call. On his way to meet Russell and Mendoza, he spotted Elliott Ott walking out of an alley. Ott was found over two blocks away from the scene of the crime, wearing a Boston Celtics jacket over a navy blue pullover. With probable suspicion under the in-plain-sight clause, Officer Waverly was able to stop Ott and ask him to hand over the purse, which turned out to belong to Kathy Russell. Ott had neither and answer to what he was doing with someone else's purse nor answers to any other questions. Officer Waverly decided to arrest Ott and take him down to the precinct.
When they arrived at the station, Ott was able to come up with an answer for having Russell's purse in his possession. He stated that he found the purse when he was walking back to his apartment and that he had started to look through it for an ID when Officer Waverly found him. Ott said that when he first encountered Waverly, he was scared because he had never been in trouble with the law before. Ott insisted that he was not the one who mugged Kathy Russell. It was later discovered that he had recently been laid off and had actually been at CK's Sports Bar after watching the Final Playoff game between the Lakers and the Celtics. He was taking a shortcut home through the alley. No one at the bar remembers seeing him that night. Ott says that he was sitting in the back of the bar and did not bother to keep his receipt because he never does.
Both Russell and Mendoza say that Elliott Ott could be the thief. The thief was the same build and height, though they could not pick out his face due to the ski mask. Only Ott's fingerprints were identified on the purse. All $250 were still in the purse, with nothing missing. Upon further investigation, the police learned that Elliott Ott used to be the fastest runner on his track team in college. Lastly, after questioning some friends of the suspect, police learned that Elliott Ott had confided to his old college roommate that he wished to land some quick cash for the time being, though Ott has never been in trouble with the law before.
*Case provided by Summer Youth Conference 2012--Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Officer Waverly responded to the call. On his way to meet Russell and Mendoza, he spotted Elliott Ott walking out of an alley. Ott was found over two blocks away from the scene of the crime, wearing a Boston Celtics jacket over a navy blue pullover. With probable suspicion under the in-plain-sight clause, Officer Waverly was able to stop Ott and ask him to hand over the purse, which turned out to belong to Kathy Russell. Ott had neither and answer to what he was doing with someone else's purse nor answers to any other questions. Officer Waverly decided to arrest Ott and take him down to the precinct.
When they arrived at the station, Ott was able to come up with an answer for having Russell's purse in his possession. He stated that he found the purse when he was walking back to his apartment and that he had started to look through it for an ID when Officer Waverly found him. Ott said that when he first encountered Waverly, he was scared because he had never been in trouble with the law before. Ott insisted that he was not the one who mugged Kathy Russell. It was later discovered that he had recently been laid off and had actually been at CK's Sports Bar after watching the Final Playoff game between the Lakers and the Celtics. He was taking a shortcut home through the alley. No one at the bar remembers seeing him that night. Ott says that he was sitting in the back of the bar and did not bother to keep his receipt because he never does.
Both Russell and Mendoza say that Elliott Ott could be the thief. The thief was the same build and height, though they could not pick out his face due to the ski mask. Only Ott's fingerprints were identified on the purse. All $250 were still in the purse, with nothing missing. Upon further investigation, the police learned that Elliott Ott used to be the fastest runner on his track team in college. Lastly, after questioning some friends of the suspect, police learned that Elliott Ott had confided to his old college roommate that he wished to land some quick cash for the time being, though Ott has never been in trouble with the law before.
*Case provided by Summer Youth Conference 2012--Orange County District Attorney's Office.