The man suspected of killing a university professor and then, 10 hours later, gunning down Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy Ricky Del Fiorentino, had been arrested in Eugene, Ore., just two weeks earlier on drug and weapons charges but quickly released without charges.
Oregon authorities have said the do not have the staffing resources to prosecute cases such as that against Ricardo Chaney, who had been picked up while in possession of pistols, an assault-style rifle, the drug Ecstasy and body armor.
The arrest is one of many details about Chaney's past that have emerged since Del Fiorentino died in a spray of gunfire March 19 near Fort Bragg. But motivations for Chaney's crime spree, which began with a killing and armed carjacking in Eugene and ended with his own death shortly after Del Fiorentino's, remain a mystery.
Chaney, 32, the son of a respected University of Oregon anthropology professor, was pursuing a degree in computer science at Portland State University as recently as this winter. In December, he registered a company, Zero Dark Films, with the Oregon secretary of state. The company's website and Twitter account indicate that it produced pornography, information first reported by the Register-Guard in Eugene.
Chaney had a minor criminal record in Lane County, Ore., including misdemeanor convictions for escaping police custody and disorderly conduct, said Alex Gardner, Lane County district attorney.
However, Gardner said, "There was nothing in the record which would predict anything like what he's alleged to have done recently."
On March 6, Chaney was arrested in Eugene after police encountered him while searching for a stolen cellphone, according to a police report.
Chaney refused to give police permission to search the vehicle he was driving but, shortly after, police pulled him over for making an illegal left-hand turn, according to the report. The officer found that the vehicle, which Chaney said he was borrowing, was not insured. It was impounded and while officers were searching it they found a loaded handgun concealed in the glove compartment; another handgun; a loaded, modified AR-15 rifle; body armor and a ziplock bag containing Ecstacy pills.
Chaney told police he had put the handgun in the glove compartment after "shooting in the woods," according to the report. He did not give a reason for having the body armor.
None of the those weapons appear to have been used in the deadly shootout near Fort Bragg. Mendocino County sheriff's officials say their deputies found Chaney wearing a camouflage, "military style" vest and in possession of two assault rifles. They found a double-barreled shotgun in the BMW he apparently had stolen and driven from Eugene.
The AR-15 that Eugene police found in Chaney's car two weeks earlier has been sent to the Oregon State Police lab, Gardner said. Eugene police booked the handguns and body armor into evidence and destroyed the ammunition, a police spokesperson said.
Although Chaney was booked into Lane County jail on suspicion of a felony, possession of a controlled substance, and a misdemeanor, unlawful possession of a concealed weapon, he was released less than 24 hours later.
Gardner, the district attorney, said the release of suspects like Chaney is the result of a "broken" system in Lane County, where severe funding shortages have gutted staffing at the Sheriff's Office, jail and District Attorney's Office. The district attorney has just two investigator-detectives in its criminal division when it once had 11, he said. The jail's capacity is stretched so thin that it only violent felony offenders are kept in custody.
A tax levy passed last year restored jail capacity somewhat, but not enough to hold nonviolent felony suspects, Gardner said. "Most low-level, nonviolent felons are bounced in less than 24 hours."
Investigators say that 12 days after his release, Chaney embarked on a 450-mile crime spree that began at the Eugene home of a family acquaintance. Eugene police suspect he shot to death George Wasson, 79, before setting fire to Wasson's home. While it's not yet clear where in the home or how the fire started, Gardner said the front of the house sustained extensive damage.
Eugene police have not offered a motive for the killing. However, Wasson knew Chaney's father, Richard Chaney. Both men taught anthropology at the University of Oregon, though at different times. Wasson thanked Richard Chaney in his doctoral dissertation for being willing to "readily share esoteric cultural perspectives with me."
Richard Chaney died suddenly of heart failure in 1998, according to a memorial written by colleague William Ayres. He wrote that Chaney was a successful teacher, an exceptional mentor and a "father greatly committed to his children and family."
Ayres did not return a call and email seeking comment.
The younger Chaney listed his most recent address at a Eugene home on Floral Hill Drive located less than a quarter-mile from Wasson's, based on a public records search. Chaney family members also were listed as living at this address in recent years but none of them could be reached for comment.
While the motivations for Chaney's actions remain elusive, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said during a eulogy for Del Fiorentino that he believed the deputy had "saved the life of many innocent people from a monster who was determined to do damage on March19."
Del Fiorentino encountered Chaney at the end of a chase that began on Highway 101 in northern Mendoino County when an employee at the roadside attraction Confusion Hill reported that someone had fired a shotgun at him. The man, believed to be Chaney, fled south in the stolen BMW.
Sheriff's deputies pursued the car but lost sight of it a few miles north of Fort Bragg and began searching side roads. While doing so, Del Fiorentino encountered Chaney. Sheriff's officials believe Chaney fired at Del Fiorentino in what Allman called "a simple ambush."
Hearing gunfire, Fort Bragg police arrived and engaged in a brief shootout with Chaney, who retreated but was later found dead from what appeared to be two gunshot wounds, sheriff's officials said. He was wearing body armor.
Initial autopsies have been completed on Del Fiorentino and Chaney, Sheriff's Capt. Greg Van Patten said. However, officials are withholding results pending toxicology tests, which could take four to six weeks to complete.
Mike Geniella, a spokesman with the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office, which is investigating the matter, said his office will not release additional details about the case until the investigation is complete.
You can reach Staff Writer Jamie Hansen at 521-5205 or jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com.
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