No Parole for 'Onion Field' Cop Killer

For the 11th time, a California parole board has denied parole to Gregory Ulas Powell, the infamous 'Onion Field' cop killer whose 1963 crime was chronicled in former LAPD Detective Sergeant Joseph Wambaugh's best-selling book The Onion Field.

The parole board's decision announced Wednesday was praised by the Los Angeles Police Protective League.

Gregory Powell is 76 and among the longest-serving inmates in California's prison system.

Powell and co-defendant, Jimmy Lee Smith, were convicted of killing LAPD officer Ian Campbell in an onion field near Bakersfield in March 1963. Their death sentences were commuted to life in prison after the death penalty was briefly outlawed in the 1970's. Smith died in prison in 2007.

On the night of March 9, 1963, officer Ian Campbell and his partner officer Karl Hettinger pulled over a car containing two suspicious-looking men on a Hollywood street. The pieces of crap, Gregory Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith, were driving around Hollywood looking for a liquor store to rob. Powell and Smith had recently committed a string of robberies.

Powell, the driver, who was ordered out of the car by officer Campbell, pointed a gun at Campbell's head and ordered officer Hettinger to surrender his gun to Smith. Powell and Smith forced both officers into Powell's car and drove them to a remote onion field near Bakersfield.

The officers were forced out of the car and ordered to stand with their hands above their heads. Powell said to them, ""We told you we were going to let you go, but have you ever heard of the little Lindbergh Law?"

"Yes," Campbell replied. Powell then shot him to death. Hettinger escaped, running to a farmhouse. Hettinger was haunted the rest of his life by his partner's murder.

Powell and Smith were sentenced to death in November 1963, but their sentences were commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole in the early 1970's when the death penalty was declared unconstitutional. Powell and Smith were allowed several appeals. Smith died in prison in 2007.

A statement from the slain officer's daughter, Valerie Campbell Moniz, who was 3 when her father was murdered, was read at Wednesday's parole hearing.

"There has not been one day that has passed that I have not thought about and dreamed about my dad. Growing up without him has been devastating, but what torments me is the manner in which my father died," Moniz wrote.

Speaking of Powell, she said, "He willfully shot my father with a cold and callous heart. He had no regard for human life. His act was even more despicable because he showed no compassion or mercy. To this day he has shown no regret for murdering my dad.

"Gregory Powell must spend the rest of his life in prison. To release him dishonors the memory of my father, law enforcement, and the Los Angeles Police Department. To release him only sends the message to criminals that the taking of a human life, especially that of a law enforcement officer, is acceptable."

Powell is housed at California Men's Colony, a minimum and medium security detention facility. According to records, Powell has had several rules violations. He can seek parole again in three years.

The Little Lindbergh Law makes a kidnapping with California a capital offense even if the victim is unharmed. It followed a federal law, nicknamed the Lindbergh Law, that made taking a kidnapped person across state lines a federal crime. That law was passed after the kidnapping and murder of the baby son of Charles Lindbergh in 1932.

Movie: The Onion Field (1979) Starring James Woods and John Savage
-
Brian Blackwell QI Investigations BrianBlackwell.com Denver Colorado Blackwell investigations
-
onion field killing onion field murder ian campbell la police officer murdered onion field cop killer

TSA worker planted bag of white powder in traveler's carryon luggage

A TSA worker has been fired for planting a bag of white powder inside a traveler's carryon luggage
TSA Worker Fired After Pulling Prank on Student at Airport - Local News News Articles National News US News - FOXNews.com

Florida murder spree suspect has ties to Colo.

9NEWS.com Denver Colorado's Online News Leader Florida murder spree suspect has ties to Colorado

Edwards admits he fathered videographer's child

Senator John Edwards finally admits the baby is his

Edwards admits he fathered videographer's child

Some Colo. Violent Inmates in Medium Security

Funding crisis keeps some violent inmates in medium security - The Denver Post

Ohio Unlikely Suspect, 65, in Series of Car Shootings

Ohio Police Arrest Unlikely Suspect, 65, in Series of Car Shootings - Local News News Articles National News US News - FOXNews.com

Colo. police arrest three men in an interstate heroin ring

Longmont police arrest three men in suspected interstate heroin ring - Boulder Daily Camera

Colorado Rescue Dogs Get National Attention

Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado setting the standard across the country
9NEWS.com Denver Colorado's Online News Leader Rescue dog trainers spend time, save lives

Known or Suspected Terrorists Not On ‘No Fly’ List

As of a month ago, less than one percent of the people the U.S. government has designated as "known or suspected terrorists" had been put on the "No Fly List" that the Department of (so-called) Homeland Security uses to screen air travelers, according to data from the U.S. Senate.

CNSNews.com - Less Than One Percent of ‘Known or Suspected Terrorists’ Were Put on ‘No Fly’ List

United pilot admits he was drunk

United pilot admits he was drunk :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State