There was excellent news last week from police regarding the apprehension of the man suspected of murdering Jeremy Lane and Tiata Johnson inside Lane’s downtown Riverside apartment on Nov. 13.
A combined effort involving detectives from Riverside, the WESTAF task force and the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force was able to trace the suspected gunman, Carl Curry, to a relative’s home in the Boston area.
Along with Barnstable County Sheriff’s Police, the U.S. Marshal was able to take Curry into custody at a residence in Hyannis, on Cape Cod. Curry remains in custody there, pending his expected extradition to Cook County, where Riverside police obtained a warrant for his arrest on murder charges last month.
The relatively swift arrest is a testament to the excellent detective work performed by Riverside police and those assisting in the investigation.
It looks like it may take some time for that process to wind its way through the court system, with Curry not expected back in court in Barnstable County until mid-January. However, it’s simply a matter of time before Curry will be back here to face charges.
According to Riverside Police Chief Matthew Buckley, the Nov. 13 double homicide appears to be related to an earlier incident, on Nov. 8, in Danville, where Johnson lived and from which she fled fearing for her life after Curry was arrested for disorderly conduct at her residence.
We’re not clear on all of the details surrounding that event, and Danville police have so far ignored requests from the Landmark to provide more information. We’ll continue to seek that information.
At the time of both the Danville and Riverside incidents, Curry was on parole for a gun possession conviction in 2019. He was sentenced to six years for that offense and had been out of prison since August.
Lane’s mother told the Landmark that on at least one occasion prior to Nov. 13, Curry had displayed a weapon to Johnson. That’s some chilling information for sure and speaks to the absolute ease with which firearms are obtained. Lane’s and Johnson’s families will live with that heartbreak for the rest of their lives.
That’s an American tragedy, and one that citizens are literally paying for with their lives. If we’re going to get at the root of gun-related crime, making guns harder to get would seem to be the obvious place to start.
As for Curry, if he’s convicted, let’s hope he never gets the chance to obtain another.
Justice delayed
Speaking of convictions, how is it possible that Dr. Paul Madison, a former Riverside pill-mill physician who was convicted in 2018 of massive health insurance fraud, has avoided jail time?
The federal fraud indictment came down in December 2012 – nine years ago – and a jury convicted him on 11 counts. His appeal was denied but he’s remained free on bond the whole time as sentencing date after sentencing date gets set, stricken and reset.
Madison’s newest sentencing date will now come in mid-January, according to court records, but we’ll believe it when we see it.
