Crime & Safety
LASD Detectives Honored for Work in Cliff Jumper Case
Detectives Richard Garcia and Ronald Duval are honored for their work leading to the conviction of David Viens.
Two detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau received the California Attorney General Award of Commendation for their work in a missing persons case that ended with a murder conviction of the victim's husband, who tried to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes when he realized he was a suspect.
Homicide detectives Richard Garcia and Ronald Duval were assigned to investigate the disappearance of Dawn Viens of Lomita in October 2009. David Viens was later sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after being convicted of second-degree murder.
Garcia and Duval received the award from Attorney General Kamala Harris on July 25.
The Sheriff's Department described Garcia and Duval's investigation in a news release:
On August 17, 2010, Homicide Detectives Garcia and Duval were assigned to investigate the case of a woman missing from Lomita. They interviewed the victim’s husband and witnesses. After all traditional investigative tools were exhausted, the detectives obtained judicial approval for a “wire tap” warrant.
As the warrant was being prepared, the detectives prepared a strategy to stimulate conversation for the wire tap. They interviewed the husband’s daughter, who provided information as to her father’s involvement in the murder of the victim.
A subsequent phone call between the daughter and father (victim’s husband) was picked up on the wire. The following day the suspect was tracked to a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Ranch Palos Verdes. Deputies were sent to the area to check on the suspect and prior to contacting him, the suspect fled and a short pursuit ensued. At the termination of the pursuit, the suspect exited his car and jumped from the cliff in an attempt to commit suicide.
The detectives later interviewed the suspect, and he admitted to killing his wife and disposing of her body by slowing cooking her at his café over a four-day period. The suspect was tried and convicted on September 27, 2012, and sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.
Related:
- Man Jumps From Cliffs Near Point Vicente
- Missing Lomita Woman's Husband Jumps from Cliff, is Suspect in Her Murder
- Murder Suspect Out of Coma After Jumping off Cliff
- Lomita Man Arrested on Suspicion of Wife's Murder
- Detectives Search Restaurant for Missing Lomita Woman's Remains
- Lomita Man Admits to Killing Wife, Investigators Continue Search for Body
- Missing Lomita Woman's Body Not Found at Restaurant
- Lomita Man Charged with Murder
- Lomita Man Pleads Not Guilty to Wife's Murder
- Updated: Hearing Date to be Set for Lomita Man Charged With Killing Wife
- Hearing Date to be Set for Lomita Man Charged With Killing Wife
- Jury Selection Starts in Cliff Jumper's Trial
- Prosecutor: Cliff Jumper Admitted to Killing Wife
- Witness: Cliff Jumper Threatened to Kill Wife
- Prosecutor: Cliff Jumper Said He Boiled Wife's Remains
- Cliff Jumper Will Not Testify in His Defense
- Viens Loses Bid to Represent Himself in Murder Case
- Closing Arguments Start in Cliff Jumper's Trial
- Jury Continues Deliberations in Cliff Jumper Trial
- Jury Mulls Cliff Jumper's Fate
- Cliff Jumper Who 'Cooked' Wife Guilty of Murder
- Cliff Jumper to Represent Himself at Sentencing
- RPV Cliff Jumper David Viens Sentenced
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