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News Briefs
Retired Officer Accused of
Tracking Daughter’s Boyfriend
A retired Redwood City police officer illegally
used the state criminal computer system last year
to track his estranged daughter’s boyfriend as a
way to keep track of her whereabouts, according
to prosecutors who charged him with two dozen
misdemeanors and infractions.
Barry Finch, 55, is charged with 18 misdemeanor
counts of unlawfully receiving records to which
he is not authorized and six infraction counts of
knowingly and without permission accessing a
computer network.
The infractions are alternative ways of charging
the misdemeanors, said Chief Deputy District
Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
If convicted, Finch faces up to six months per
charge.
Finch appeared in court for his initial arraignment
on the charges but did not enter a plea, according
to court records clerks. He returned to court May
23 for further arraignment.
On multiple occasions beginning April 14,
2006, Finch used the state criminal history
tracking computer system to pinpoint where his
daughter’s boyfriend was living, according to the
District Attorney’s Office.
The system includes Department of Motor
Vehicles and criminal records.
Finch reportedly used the boyfriend’s location
as a means to track his estranged daughter. Prosecutors
filed charges against Finch April 12 and
ordered him to appear yesterday with attorney
William Rapoport. Redwood City hired Finch in
February 2001 but he retired after the department
began investigating the claims.
The department became aware of the allegations
after the boyfriend discovered Finch knew their
address, Wagstaffe said.
Finch remains free from custody on his own
recognizance.
“Gilligan” Bandit Strikes Again
The “Gilligan” bandit struck again at a Redwood
City grocery store, bringing the total number of
banks he has robbed to five in three weeks.
Wearing a fisherman-style hat, the man strolled
into the Wells Fargo Bank within the Sequoia Station
Safeway at 1071 El Camino Real. He handed
a demand note to the teller and left the bank with
an undisclosed amount of money. He was last
seen walking north through the parking lot.
This is the latest in a string of robberies the man
committed in the last three weeks. He is also believed
to be the criminal who robbed some of the same
banks four to five years ago. Police are hoping
people might recognize one of the photos captured
by bank security cameras and help identify “Gilligan.”
The man is between 45 and 50 years old with a
tan complexion and weighs between 200 and 210
pounds. He has a pot belly, is between 6 feet and
6 feet 2 inches tall and wears a fisherman-style
hat that looks similar to the one worn by Gilligan,
a character from the television show “Gilligan’s
Island.” Police believe he is the same man who
robbed the same banks in 2002 and 2003, said
Redwood City police Detective Jeff Price.
In 2002 and 2003, wearing the same type of
hat, the man robbed banks in Redwood City, San
Carlos, Mountain View, Fremont and Union City.
In the last month, the man has allegedly robbed
two banks in Redwood City and the rest in San
Carlos, Mountain View and Union City, Price said.
On Saturday, April 21, at approximately 11:27
a.m., police said the man robbed the Washington
Mutual Bank, located at 845 Laurel St. in San
Carlos. The man demanded money from multiple
tellers. No weapons were displayed and no one
was hurt during the incident, according to a statement
released by San Carlos police.
On April 28, the same man allegedly robbed
a bank in a Mountain View Albertson’s grocery
store, Price said.
On May 4, just after 2 p.m., the man allegedly
robbed the Fremont Bank inside a Newark Safeway,
Price said.
Just 45 minutes later, the same man robbed
the First National Bank at 700 El Camino Real
in Redwood City. He walked into the bank, approached
a teller, handed over a dark blue canvas
bag and demanded money. He left with an undisclosed
amount of money, police said.
All those banks, except for the San Carlos
Washington Mutual and the Sequoia Station Wells
Fargo, were robbed by a man matching the same
description in 2002 and 2003.
He has a tan complexion, dark brown eyes, a
gray bushy mustache and large cheeks. He was
wearing brown-rimmed prescription glasses.
Anyone with information about these cases
should contact detectives Jeff Price or Ed Feeney
at the Redwood City Police Department at 780-7100.
Competency Questioned
for Accused Baby Beater
The 22-year-old Redwood City man accused
of approaching a mother exiting Safeway and
bashing her 18-month-old baby in the head with
a softball-sized rock for no apparent reason is
unable to aid in his own defense, according to his
defense attorney, who raised questions about his
client’s competency.
Criminal proceedings were suspended against
Jose Rivera Salvador at his preliminary hearing and
he was instead ordered back to court to appoint
two doctors to evaluate his mental state, according
to court records clerks.
If Salvador is deemed competent, he will move
forward with the charges of felony child abuse.
If the doctors believe he cannot help his attorney,
Salvador will be sent to a state hospital for treatment
until he regains his competency.
Competency refers to a defendant’s mental state
at the time of prosecution, while sanity refers
to his or her condition at the time of an alleged
crime.
The Sheriff’s Office Transit Unit officers who
responded to the April 20 incident indicated he
appeared to have mental problems, said Chief
Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. that day, a woman
left the Safeway grocery store at Sequoia Station
in Redwood City and was headed to the SamTrans
bus stop with child in hand when Salvador reportedly
approached and hit the child in the back of
the head with a rock. As the toddler bled and the
mother screamed, Salvador allegedly dropped the
rock and silently walked away. He was later discovered
in the Sequoia Station parking lot and arrested.
The child was treated at Stanford Medical Center
and received extensive sutures.
Salvador was charged with assault with a deadly
weapon causing great bodily injury, felony battery
causing great bodily injury and felony cruelty
to a child with great bodily injury. If convicted, he
faces up to nine years in prison.
He has a 1999 conviction for misdemeanor battery.
Salvador, who pleaded not guilty during his
initial arraignment, remains in custody in lieu of
$100,000 bail.
Woodside Student
Escapes Charges
Prosecutors declined to file any charges against a
15-year-old Woodside High School student who
told a school counselor he was considering harming
fellow students, saying there is no proof any
crime was committed.
“It appears he was only thinking about things
and never acted on it,” said Chief Deputy District
Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. “If that was a crime, it
really would be the thought police.”
Police searched the student’s Redwood City
home and three computers after he told the counselor
the previous day he had begun putting a plan
together and had downloaded a map of Woodside
High School.
The boy was placed on psychiatric hold and
taken to San Mateo Medical Center for evaluation.
The student, who is in the ninth grade, reportedly
told his counselor he was thinking about hurting
“disruptive” and “bad” students at the school and
mentioned being able to get information about
explosives from the Internet, according to the
Sheriff’s Office.
(continued on page 24)
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