RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           CC: RAD Information Net

Day/date: Wednesday, January 10, 1990

INCIDENTS

90-4 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Follow-up on Assault on Ranger

Further information has been received regarding the assault on ranger Ralph
Cline on January 7th.  Cline was on patrol on Chain-Of-Craters Road, now a dead
end because of lava flows, when he saw a four-wheel-drive vehicle being driven
erratically off road in an area where ORV travel is not permitted. When the
vehicle returned to the road, it almost hit several visitors. Cline then pursued
and stopped the vehicle.  As he was talking to the driver, Cline smelled an
alcoholic beverage on his breath and saw a cooler beside him.  Cline retrieved
the cooler and turned toward his car.  As Cline was walking, the man grabbed him
from behind, turned him around, struck him in the chin and knocked him down.
Cline temporarily lost consciousness during the ensuing struggle; it is still
uncertain what specific act caused him to blackout.  When Cline came to, the man
was gone. Cline called for assistance and several rangers established a road
block and stopped his assailant.  The man, who has no known criminal record, was
arrested and registered a .11 in the test for blood alcohol administered two
hours after the incident.  He has been arraigned on charges of assaulting a
federal officer.  The park has arranged critical incident debriefing for Cline. 
(Telephone report from Jim Martin, CR, HAVO, 1 p.m. EST, 1/9/90).

90-5 - Crater Lake (Oregon) - Arrest of Homicide Suspect

On the afternoon of November 5th, a park ranger observed two men and a woman
walking towards their parked vehicle in the Rim Village area.  It appeared from
a distance that at least one of the three had an open container of alcohol, but
the trio entered their vehicle and departed before the ranger could contact
them.  The ranger followed, observed the vehicle being operated in an erratic
manner and stopped it.  The driver subsequently failed a field sobriety test. 
During the course of the stop, rangers found a loaded .22 pistol under the front
passenger seat, as well as drugs and ammunition.   A consent search of the trunk
revealed two shotguns and assorted ammunition.  One of the shotguns was a
sawed-off twelve-gauge that was reportedly used by the subjects for "target
practice and hunting."  The two male subjects were arrested and placed in the
Jackson County jail for a variety of charges, including DUI, possession of
controlled substances and drug paraphernalia, possession of a concealed weapon
and possession of an illegal firearm (sawed-off shotgun).  In U.S. Magistrate's
Court, the pair were found guilty of a number of the lesser charges, but the
illegal weapon was not acted upon by the U.S. attorney because of other caseload
priorities.  Despite the lack of official action, rangers pursued their
investigation into the case, primarily due to the circumstances surrounding the
three individuals and the "feel" that they developed after reviewing the
circumstances of the case. On November 19th, rangers were contacted by
detectives from the Sacramento, California, Sheriff's Department, who provided
them with information pertaining to an unsolved homicide that had occurred in
their jurisdiction in late October. According to information the detectives had
received from an unidentified street source, a person that may have owned a
weapon such as the one involved in the Sacramento shooting was reportedly
arrested at Crater Lake by park rangers.  The victim in that crime had been
executed with a sawed-off shotgun, but no other leads had been developed. Since
one of the subjects arrested had lived in the Sacramento area and also possessed
a sawed-off shotgun at the time of his arrest at Crater Lake, it was decided to
transfer the weapon to Sacramento to perform ballistics tests to see if it could
possibly be the same weapon that had been used in the homicide.  Ballistics
tests confirmed that it was indeed the same weapon. The man is now in custody in
California, and has admitted his role as the "triggerman" in the drug-related
slaying.  He has been charged with first-degree murder and will stand trial at a
later date. According to Detective Darryl Edwards of the Sacramento County
Sheriff's Department, this case would not have been solved had it not been for
the outstanding investigative work and continued diligence in pursuing the facts
of the case exhibited by the rangers.  (CompuServe message from Mark Forbes,
RAD/PNRO, 6 p.m. EST, 1/9/90).

STAFF STATUS

Halainen at NCR training session.

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone:	FTS 343-4874/6039 or 202-343-4874/6039
Telefax:	FTS 343-5977 or 202-343-5977
CompuServe:	WASO-RANGER
SEAdog:     1/650 (Phone: 343-6014; BAUD:2400)