Eldon Strong tells us that the kids who are recognized as Super Citizens are done so to recognize being a good person and not dependent on grades they receive

Santa – the best job at the Tree Lot! No lifting, no being cold, no standing around! Take a 2-hour shift and sit in the Santa House, meeting kids, parents and pets. Monaco South staffs the Tree Lot Santa House every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. starting November 26. We provide the beard, the wig, the suit, the boots and even tummy stuffing for those few who need it. Plus, the Santa House has its own electric fireplace for those blustery days. No experience is necessary. If you want to take a shift or two or three, send an email to Santa Wrangler Craig Eley at craigceley@gmail.com and he will send you the link to the online sign-up. Or just click https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080e4ea4a6283-monaco to get there.

Our speaker this morning, introduced by his good friend, Steve Kady, was William Buckley who was the chief investigator for the Denver District Attorney’s office.
 
William Buckley investigated over 66 homicide cases for the city.  He worked as a prosecutor and investigator.  He decided at a young age to become a lawyer after his brother, who was a state corrections officer, was stabbed to death in the Arizona state prison.
 
William wants to tell us about a murder that took place October 27 of 1986.  Larry Johnson was making a bank deposit for Putting on the Ritz to bank at Southwest Plaza. Tom McGrath and Erick Davis were the 2 suspects of the murder.  William notes that a blind man could have followed the trail these two lefts.  The crime took place on Cross Drive which happened to be Denver property and were under Denver jurisdiction.  They shot at Larry Johnson 5 times, hitting him with 4 bullets.  The suspects left the scene and drove west on 470, stopping to dispose of the weapon they threw the pistol off the bridge, which happened to have a man and woman who were fishing and who noticed a shiny object splash into the water. The man who was a corrections office, mentioned this to his boss, who suggested he call Denver Police after he had read about the crime in the paper.  The dive team was able to find the weapon in about 15 minutes.  The suspects were driving a stolen Corvette during the crime, and their plan was to fly out of Denver with the money from the robbery.  As they entered the parking garage at Stapleton, the gate recorded the time and place as they entered.  The suspects were able to talk with ticket agents and one of the suspects spoke with a Continental Airlines worker who had gone to high school with him.
Eric Davis, one of the suspects, wanted to go to Miami, and actually showed other witnesses the large amount of cash they had stolen.  The other ticket agent knew Tom McGrath because he was married to his cousin.  McGrath called his girlfriend in Lakewood, who advised him to come back to Denver.  He was upset and said he had to get out of town and wanted to go to Arizona.  He took a flight from Co Springs that stopped in Denver, where he was arrested.  Eric calls a girlfriend in Denver, who tells him she wants to make some cookies for him, where is he staying, and he was speaking with was a Denver cop.  Witnesses were able to identify the suspects as the shooter and both of them implicated them in the murder.  Eric Davis claimed he had nothing to do with the murder, but evidence was able to convict both of them.    They both deserved to be there the rest of their lives, but it was a cold-blooded killing over money.  William shows us a picture of both as young men at the time of their crime. William is one of 6 volunteers who was covering homicide scenes and has memories of another double homicide in Aurora.  Another murderer Michael Tennyson, who had killed 2 people in their apartment as they slept.  This criminal was also convicted of killing 3 people in Minnesota prior to his crimes in Colorado. A fascinating story from Mr. Buckley, who is an excellent storyteller. Thanks to Steve for getting Bill as a speaker.

 

Do we have a drawing?  $20 in the pot, 5 of clubs is the lucky card, Chris Dunphy has the first lucky ticket and draws a card. Don Thomson takes a cup; Joe Marci takes a cup. Tom Kramis wins a cup, Don Thomson takes another cup. Vaughn Kendall takes a card. President Larry draws Robert Finkelmeier’s name out of the plastic container.  Dr. Bob does not pick the lucky card, and the pot grows.  Randy Condit leads us in the creed. Go forth and promote Optimism!