11-26-2006 Idaho:Police have arrested an 18-year-old suspect in the alleged stabbing death of a 77-year-old Garden City man.
After a telephone tip, police located and took 18-year-old Buck Pickens into custody on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Arthur Clarkson, whose body was found by a family member about 1 p.m. Friday inside his trailer on the 3900 Block of Adams Street.
Garden City Police Capt. Cory Stambaugh said Saturday that Clarkson died of stab wounds to the neck. Investigators have recovered a knife that may be the murder weapon and have sent it to the Idaho State Police crime lab for fingerprint and DNA analysis.
Pickens was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Saturday at an apartment complex on the 5800 block of Grissom Street, north of State Street and Ellen’s Ferry in Boise, after a tip to police dispatchers led them to his location.
The suspect gave up without incident and was taken into custody, with no bond set, Stambaugh said during a press conference at Garden City Police headquarters.
Officers also arrested 23-year-old David Gloria of Garden City at another location later Saturday. Gloria, who authorities said claims to be Pickens’ brother, was charged with harboring a wanted felon in the case. He was also served an agent’s warrant for felony probation violations.
Both Pickens and Gloria were held in the Ada County jail, awaiting arraignment at 1:30 p.m. Monday. At that time, a judge will read the indictments against the two men and schedule preliminary hearings for them.
Clarkson’s body has been sent to the Ada County Coroner to determine an exact cause and time of death.
After the preliminary hearings have been set, the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office will gauge whether the suspected homicide meets the standards for a first-degree murder charge, punishable by death or life imprisonment.
According to police investigators, the two younger men were family friends of the victim and considered the elderly man a “grandfather figure.”
“Right now, just in a nutshell, the motive has something to do with an argument, some kind of disagreement, that Buck and Mr. Clarkson had,” Stambaugh said.
Although investigators are aware of the reasons for the argument, which happened a few days before the murder, they have not yet released those details.
Clarkson’s body was discovered midday Friday by a relative and a member of Gloria’s family who stopped by to check on him. Garden City Police arrived on the scene after an assist call from emergency medical responders.
“Upon their arrival, they found a deceased male in the front room of the trailer,” Stambaugh said.
In a cooperative effort, Garden City Police, Boise Police, Ada County sheriff’s deputies and the Idaho State Police crime lab searched Clarkson’s manufactured home, interviewed friends and neighbors, and determined that Pickens was a “person of interest” in the case.
Pickens, who turned 18 in October, has a sealed juvenile record, and Gloria may have a criminal record, Stambaugh said, adding that it is too early in the investigation to determine if Pickens is involved in any other Treasure Valley crimes.
Investigators believe Pickens acted alone in Clarkson’s murder, and no other arrests appear likely at this time, Stambaugh said.
“It’s always possible,” he said. “We don’t see that, but you never know what may come up.”
Investigators continue to check into the criminal histories and backgrounds of the two arrested men and their relationship with Clarkson, who lived alone. ..more.. by
Possible motive in stabbing death emerges
Friend says Buck Pickens thought 77-year-old victim was molesting a child
1-19-2007 Idaho:
A friend of murder suspect Buck Pickens said Thursday Pickens told her the night before Arthur Clarkson was found stabbed to death in his trailer home that he was going to kill the 77-year-old because he suspected Clarkson molested a 6-year-old girl.
Leslie Burton, who was with Pickens at Clarkson's Garden City home for Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 23, said Pickens was upset that night and was hiding a knife under his leg.
Pickens, 18, "said he was getting a bad feeling ... Art was messing around with (the little girl) and he had to take care of it," Burton testified Thursday during Pickens' preliminary hearing. "He was angry ... I had never seen him angry before that day."
Thursday was the first time a suspected motive in Clarkson's murder was publicly released.
The 6-year-old's mother testified Thursday that there was never any evidence Clarkson molested her daughter, and she didn't suspect anything happened — an opinion shared by Burton during her testimony.
Clarkson was found dead and covered in blood Nov. 24 in the doorway of his trailer in the 3900 block of Adams Street.
Pickens is charged with first-degree murder. His older brother, David Gloria, is charged with accessory to murder. Police say Gloria helped Pickens hide from police until Pickens was arrested a day later at a home on Grisson Lane.
Police and prosecutors accuse Pickens of stabbing Clarkson several times in his neck Nov. 24 and leaving him to die. Police say Gloria got to the trailer a short time later, saw what happened, and helped Pickens leave. He told detectives he did not want to "rat on his brother," according to court documents.
Both Pickens and Gloria were in court Thursday for their preliminary hearing. Fourth District Magistrate Richard Schmidt heard about six hours of testimony before determining there was enough evidence to bind the cases over to District Court.
Pickens and Gloria are both scheduled for arraignment hearings Jan. 29, where they will be able to enter pleas in their cases.
Burton testified Thursday that she, Pickens, Gloria, Clarkson, his adult granddaughter, and three small children were all at the trailer for Thanksgiving dinner when she saw Pickens hide the knife under his leg.
Burton said after talking to Pickens, she thought it was a good idea to get him out of the trailer to avoid a confrontation with Clarkson, so she got everybody to leave. Burton said she was with Pickens for several more hours that night, and he kept asking to borrow her car because he needed to take care of something for "people he cared about."
She also testified that she knew Clarkson and the 6-year-old girl's mother well and had never seen any evidence of molestation.
"I didn't see what he saw," she said.
Burton said Pickens slept at her apartment that night and drove her to an appointment the next morning, keeping her red car.
Clarkson's next door neighbor, Connie Schofner, testified Tuesday she saw a red car parked in her driveway around noon Nov. 24 and saw Pickens get in the car and pull away in a hurry a short time later. She said she briefly saw Gloria at the trailer around the same time. ..more.. by Patrick Orr
Possibly Motive Emerges in Stabbing Death of 77-year-old
1-17-2007 Idaho:
The man suspected of stabbing 77-year-old Arthur Clarkson to death in his Garden City trailer in November told a friend he was going to kill Clarkson because he believed the man was molesting a 6-year-old girl.
That's according to murder suspect Buck Pickens' friend Leslie Burton, who testified at Pickens preliminary hearing in Fourth District Court Thursday. Burton said the 18-year-old Pickens told her - quote - "he was getting a bad feeling...Art was messing around."
It's the first time a motive has come out in the case since Clarkson was found dead and covered in blood in the doorway of his trailer in late November, after being stabbed several times in the neck.
Pickens, of Garden City, has been charged with first-degree murder. His brother, David Gloria, who also appeared in court Thursday, is being charged as an accessory to murder.
Police say Gloria helped Pickens hide from police before he was arrested a day after the stabbing.
Both Pickens and Gloria are scheduled to appear in court again January 29, when they will enter pleas in their cases. ..more.. by Local News 8
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