Peninsula Buried Car Property's Ex-Owner Had Criminal Past: Report

ATHERTON, CA — New details have emerged about the since-deceased former owner of a Peninsula property where on Thursday a buried vehicle was found, triggering a search for human remains, Atherton police said in a news release.

Johnny Bocktune Lew, who owned the 351 Stockbridge Ave. property in the 1990s, had a lengthy criminal history that included a 1977 conviction on two counts of attempted murder and a murder conviction in the 1960s that was later overturned, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

In 1999 he was accused of paying undercover officers $30,000 in cash and gold watches valued at $20,000 to sink a $1.2 million yacht in part of an alleged insurance fraud scheme, the report said.

Officers at around 8:50 a.m. Thursday responded to the 300 block of Stockbridge Avenue on the report that landscapers found a buried vehicle during a project, police said.

The vehicle was filled with bags of concrete and buried 4 to 5 feet deep, possibly in the 1990s, according to police.

No human remains had been detected as of Thursday night.

Excavation is ongoing, according to police.

“Due to the unknown nature of why the vehicle was buried, cadaver dogs were called to the scene,” police said.

“The cadaver dogs made a slight notification of possible human remains. The San Mateo Crime Lab was contacted and sent technicians to assist with excavating the vehicle.”

The vehicle was buried before the current homeowner moved in, police said

“The motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation,” police said.

The property was built in 1990 and sold for $15 million in 2020 according to Zillow, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. It sold for $7.3 million in 2014.

Atherton, located about 30 miles south of San Francisco, is one of the nation's most wealthy towns and is home to some 7,000 residents, according to The Associated Press.

No additional information was immediately available.

Read more in The San Francisco Chronicle