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Thread: Michael Lee Crane Sentenced in 2012 AZ Slayings of Lawrence Shapiro, Glenna Shapiro & Bruce Gaudet

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    Michael Lee Crane Sentenced in 2012 AZ Slayings of Lawrence Shapiro, Glenna Shapiro & Bruce Gaudet


    Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro


    Bruce Gaudet


    Michael Crane


    Prosecutors to seek death penalty in Arizona murders

    Prosecutors will seek the death penalty if the main suspect is convicted in the murders of a Paradise Valley couple and a Phoenix cigar salesman.

    Michael Lee Crane has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Bruce Gaudet on Jan. 26 and of Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro on Jan. 30 in separate robberies.

    The 32-year-old Crane remains held on $3 million bond.

    On Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Crane if he's convicted for Gaudet's murder or either of the Shapiro killings.

    The notice identifies aggravating factors of the especially cruel manner in which the murders were committed.

    Authorities say all three homicide victims were robbed and their homes were set on fire.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/P...#ixzz251Zllqr7
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    Murder suspect requests to represent self in trial

    The man suspected in the murders of a Paradise Valley couple and a Phoenix cigar shop owner headed back to court Tuesday.

    Michael Lee Crane, the man accused of brutally murdering three people, told the judge he will waive his right to an attorney and wants to represent himself in trial.

    Judge: "Are you asking that you are able to represent yourself?"

    Crane: "I am not asking I am representing myself."

    Judge: "Ok well then I need to go through those hoops to do that."

    Crane: "Ok."

    Michael Crane has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first degree murder.

    If convicted he could face the death penalty.

    http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/19...-self-in-trial
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    Judge denies Paradise Valley murder suspect's request to represent self in trial

    A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Tuesday denied Michael Crane's request to act as his own attorney in his murder trial.

    Crane, 32, is charged with three counts of first degree murder. On Monday he appeared before Judge Warren Granville to argue that he intended to represent himself, whether Granville allowed him to or not. And he told Granville that he was not subject to Arizona state law and did not intend to follow Granville's orders.

    Instead, as espoused by some anti-government groups, Crane insisted that he would follow the Uniform Commercial Code, a late-19th-Century document adopted by many states to help coordinate trade. Despite the anti-government theory that it trumps all other law, it has nothing to do with criminal proceedings. Similar untenable arguments have been made in Arizona courts and elsewhere regarding Maritime Law.

    Crane is charged with first-degree murder in the January deaths of a Paradise Valley couple and a Phoenix man who were killed in two separate home invasions. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Police and prosecutors believe that on Jan. 26, Crane broke into the Phoenix home of Bruce Gaudet, shot and killed him and set fire to his condominium before stealing his car. On Jan. 30, investigators allege, Crane broke into the Paradise Valley home of Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro, robbed them, shot them and then set the house on fire. Both died.

    Crane also faces other numerous criminal charges, including attempted second-degree murder, burglary, theft, misconduct with weapons, armed robbery and aggravated assault, stemming from those and other incidents.

    On Monday, Crane told Granville that he did not agree with the limitations that he would have to face if he defended himself in court. Among those limitations, as a homicide suspect, he would not be able to leave jail to visit the crime scenes, interview witnesses outside of the jail, or view certain pieces of evidence. Nor would he be able to claim ineffective assistance of counsel in subsequent appeals if he is convicted.

    Crane repeatedly responded, "I understand it, but I don't agree with that."

    Then Crane read a list of disparate documents he intended to file in his case, including trademarks and copyrights on his name to keep the media from making money from it.

    Granville listened patiently and took the matter under advisement,

    On Tuesday, Granville issued his ruling, citing case law that allowed him to deny the request if a defendant "deliberately engages in serious and obstructionist misconduct."

    "This court finds that defendant's refusal to accept this court's ruling and authority to preside, however politely stated, would disrupt and delay the orderly progress of this case," he wrote.

    http://www.azcentral.com/community/p...#ixzz28qtJJ7G1
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    September 11, 2013

    Arrest made in Paradise Valley Shapiro murder case

    By Laurie Merrill and Kirsten Kraklio
    The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team

    A man suspected of being the driver of another man accused of murdering a prominent Paradise Valley couple in 2012 was booked Wednesday into Fourth Avenue Jail.

    Barry Michael Hassell II was arrested on suspicion of homicide, burglary and conspiracy in the Jan. 30, 2012, murders of Lawrence Shapiro, 79, and Glenna Shapiro, 77.

    The philanthropists had been bound and shot, their home set ablaze and their luxury vehicle stolen. Hassell, 29, was the driver for Michael Crane when the Shapiros were killed, Paradise Valley police allege. Crane is facing the death penalty and a litany of charges of murder and other crimes associated with the killing of the Shapiros and the slaying of Phoenix cigar salesman Bruce Gaudet on Jan. 26, 2012.

    Hassell is one of eight people implicated in either crime.

    He was originally arrested in May 2012 and released on bond pending burglary charges, said Lt. Michael Cole, a Paradise Valley police spokesman.

    Court records show that Hassell is no stranger to law enforcement. In 2006, he pleaded guilty after being indicted on charges of methamphetamine possession/use and drug paraphernalia. Two years later, he was convicted of burglary and weapons violations.

    Hassell was sent to the Arizona State Prison Complex-Douglas in 2008 and was released near the end of 2010.

    During the past year, detectives developed sufficient probable cause to request murder charges against Hassell, Cole said. They presented their case on Tuesday to a Maricopa County Superior Court grand jury, and a $1million arrest warrant for Hassell was issued.

    Paradise Valley police coordinated with Phoenix police to locate and arrest Hassell.

    Hassell had not been formally charged by the County Attorney’s Office by the end of business on Wednesday, office spokesman Jerry Cobb said.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Crane, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of the Shapiros and Gaudet, according to court records.

    Crane also faces three counts of kidnapping, two counts each of burglary and armed robbery, four counts of arson, and one count of theft of means of transportation, according to records.

    Five suspects — Brittany Beinhauer, Katherine Austin, Kelly Ann Steward, Shawn Eric Nicloy and Danielle Elaine Rossman — have pleaded guilty or been convicted of charges in the case, according to court records.

    The status of the case of Maricela Sanchez, charged with murdering Gaudet and leading police on a high-speed chase in Gaudet’s stolen car, was unclear Wednesday.

    http://www.azcentral.com/community/n...nclick_check=1

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    Accused murderer's outbursts again mar pre-trial hearing

    A pretrial hearing for Michael Crane, the man accused of killing a Phoenix man and an elderly Paradise Valley couple during a 2012 crime spree, was delayed again after an outburst from Crane in a downtown Phoenix courtroom on Friday.

    Crane, 34, is charged with first-degree murder in the January 2012 deaths of Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro of Paradise Valley and Bruce Gaudet of Phoenix, who were killed in two separate home invasions. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Crane said during the hearing that he would not talk with his lawyers because he believed the trial was unlawful.

    "These are your rules, not my rules," Crane said to Maricopa Couny Superior Court Judge Warren Granville.

    The case has been delayed numerous times due to Crane's outbursts, shifting legal theories and difficulty in completing the process where a court can determine whether a defendant is sane enough to stand trial.

    Crane said he believes he is being unlawfully tried.

    "This is not my court," Crane said. He later said, "You're forcing me to be here."

    Crane has previously sparred with Granville in hearings over matters including whether the accused murderer would be allowed to represent himself in the trial. He also has told Granville that he is a "sovereign being" and not subject to Arizona laws.

    Granville excused Crane during the Friday hearing because he refused to stop interrupting the proceedings. As Crane left, he launched into a profanity-laced tirade at Granville.

    Prosecutor Patricia Stevens said she wanted the planned Feb. 15 trial date to remain despite the delays.

    Police and prosecutors believe that on Jan. 26, 2012, Crane broke into the Phoenix home of Bruce Gaudet, shot and killed him and set fire to his condominium before stealing his car. On Jan. 30, investigators allege, Crane broke into the Paradise Valley home of Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro, robbed them, shot them and then set the house on fire. Both died.

    In addition to the capital cases, Crane faces other criminal charges from a 2011 burglary and a February 2012 incident in which officials say he was interrupted while burglarizing a Phoenix home.

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...abrk/16272699/

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    Barry Michael Hassell


    Man sought in connection with killings of PV couple arrested

    By Karen Fernau
    The Republic

    The man police suspect of driving the getaway car in the 2012 murders of a prominent Paradise Valley couple - and who fled prosecution in February - has been found and booked into a Maricopa County jail.

    Barry Michael Hassell, 31, was booked on Friday, March 6, on suspicion of first-degree murder, unlawful flight, second- degree burglary and theft, according to Fourth Avenue Jail booking records.

    He allegedly was the driver for Michael Crane, who is accused in the Jan. 30, 2012,murders of Lawrence Shapiro, 79, and Glenna Shapiro, 77, investigators say. The philanthropists were bound and shot, their home set on fire and their luxury cars stolen.

    Crane is facing the death penalty in the killing of Shapiros and the slaying of Phoenix cigar salesman Bruce Gaudet on Jan. 26, 2012.

    Hassell is one of eight people implicated in the crime spree.

    Following his indictment in November 2013, Hassell paid a $25,000 bond and was released with orders to wear an electronic ankle monitor and observe a curfew.

    On Feb. 10, a judge issued a bench warrant for Hassell after he failed to appear for a court hearing. Police found the monitor inside his home, apparently having been cut off.

    Authorities have yet released details on how Hassell was found and booked.

    Court records show that Hassell is no stranger to law enforcement. In 2006, he pleaded guilty after being indicted on charges of methamphetamine possession/use and drug paraphernalia. Two years later, he was convicted of burglary and weapons violations.

    Hassell was sent to the Arizona State Prison Complex-Douglas in 2008 and was released near the end of 2010.

    http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/...-brk/24557687/

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    Accused Paradise Valley killer removed from courtroom again

    PHOENIX (AP) - A suspect accused of killing a Phoenix businessman and a Paradise Valley couple in 2012 has been removed from a courtroom again.

    Michael Crane was led out of Wednesday's evidentiary hearing within five minutes of entering the Maricopa County Superior Court courtroom for yelling slurs toward a judge.

    The 34-year-old Crane is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Bruce Gaudet in Phoenix on Jan. 26, 2012, and philanthropists Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro four days later.

    Crane has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    A psychiatrist testified Wednesday that Crane's mental health has declined in the three years he's been in custody in connection with the three killings.

    The psychiatrist also says there are no official records of Crane being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

    http://www.kvoa.com/story/28935213/a...ourtroom-again

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    September 30, 2017

    Seriously mentally ill or depraved? Triple-murder suspect's competency in legal limbo

    By Michael Kiefer
    azcentral.com

    Michael Crane is charged with murdering three people in two separate attacks in January 2012.

    Prosecutors would like to have him sentenced to death.

    But even after nearly six years, the judge in the case has been unable to rule whether Crane, 37, is mentally competent to stand trial. Prosecutors say he is. His attorneys say he is not.

    On Friday, Crane stood before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville. He wore jailhouse stripes, shackles and belly chains. His head was shaved. His black Van Dyke beard appeared sharpened to a point. His eyes blazed wildly.

    Granville had barely completed three sentences to start the hearing before Crane exploded, accusing Granville and the prosecutors of being "inside my brain all the time" and screaming profanities.

    What that meant is anyone's guess. He ranted for several more minutes before Granville had him removed from the courtroom.

    It was a typical hearing for Michael Crane.

    Since his arrest, Crane's behavior has been consistently bizarre and disruptive. He initially wanted to defend himself, offering imaginary legal theories as to why the courts have no jurisdiction over him, but Granville would not allow it.

    His mother, Nancy Christie, who attended Friday's hearing, says he has been mentally troubled since he was a child, suffering from night terrors, frantic sleepwalking and episodes in which he seemed possessed, even unable to move.

    She says he suffers from schizoaffective disorder, which combines aspects of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. And she says he has gotten sicker as he has been in custody.

    The crimes he has been charged with are horrible: He is accused of murdering Paradise Valley philanthropists Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro in their home during a robbery in January 2012. They were bound and then shot in the head before their house was set afire.

    Four days earlier, a Phoenix cigar maker named Bruce Gaudet was found murdered in his Phoenix condo. Crane was charged in that murder as well.

    He was already under suspicion in several burglaries and other crimes when he was arrested in the two murder cases.

    He is now charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of kidnapping, three of arson, four of armed robbery, six of burglary and one count each of car theft, misconduct with weapons, attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, theft and attempted burglary.

    Several of his accomplices already have been convicted for their parts in the crimes.

    But Crane has made it impossible for the state to take him to trial.

    He has been evaluated for mental competency, often refusing to cooperate with doctors retained for evaluations.

    In the last round of psychological evaluations, according to his attorney, Jamie Sparks, three different mental-health practitioners have pronounced him incompetent.

    Sparks and her co-counsel, Herman Alcantar, came to court Friday hoping to have him judged incompetent, and if not sent to civil proceedings for commitment, then sent to Desert Vista Behavioral Health Center or the Arizona State Hospital for restoration to competency.

    Prosecutors thought otherwise.

    Referring to the prosecution, Sparks said, "Just because you don't like the answer is not a reason to continue this process."

    "You think he's incompetent and not restorable?" Granville asked.

    "Correct," Sparks answered.

    But Deputy County Attorney Juli Warzynski told Granville, "We think he's competent."

    Warzynski told the court that Crane needed medications. Sparks told The Arizona Republic that he refuses to take them.

    Warzynski also asked that she be allowed to send another doctor to evaluate Crane.

    Granville set another hearing for late November.

    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ncy/718451001/

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    Mesa man, charged in three deaths, deemed mentally fit

    A man charged with killing three people in burglaries in metro Phoenix nearly six years ago that ended with the victims' homes set on fire has been deemed by a judge to be mentally fit to move forward with his criminal case.

    Michael Lee Crane, of Mesa, faces murder, kidnapping and other charges in the January 2012 killings of Bruce Gaudet at his Phoenix townhome and of Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro at the couple's home in upscale suburb of Paradise Valley. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Superior Court Judge Warren Granville said in a ruling last week that Crane wanted to plead guilty in the murder case in February 2017, but the judge held off on resolving the case and instead ordered a mental health evaluation to determine Crane's mental competency.

    Crane had claimed he was Lucifer at a 2015 hearing over his mental competency and was removed from the courtroom at several hearings after making obscene statements to people inside the courtroom, according to court records.

    It's unclear whether Crane intends to follow through on his earlier plans to plead guilty in the killings. His attorney, Herman Alcantar, did not return telephone messages seeking comment.

    Granville wrote that there's no dispute that Crane, who earlier in the case had refused to cooperate with his attorneys and tried unsuccessfully to represent himself, is aware of the circumstances and nature of the court proceedings.

    The judge said the only issue over Crane's mental fitness is whether his failure to consult with his lawyers was the result of a mental disease or a choice he made.

    The latest ruling by Granville found Crane to be mentally fit to move forward and repeatedly noted that Crane cooperated with court proceedings when he was working toward a goal, such as making sure he could be excused from attending a court hearing.

    "This court's experience, over a long period of time and on many occasions, reflects a calculating decision-making process rather than an impelled compulsive behavior," Granville wrote.

    Most of the litigation in the murder case over the past 21 months has focused on Crane's mental fitness.

    Crane, 38, is still awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in 2017 to separate but related crimes that were carried out in the days after the three killings.

    In that case, Crane pleaded guilty to burglary, attempted burglary, aggravated assault and robbery charges in a February 2012 spree at several homes in metro Phoenix.

    Authorities say shoes recovered at an attempted burglary scene during the spree had been stolen days earlier from Gaudet's home. They said Crane's DNA was found on the shoes. Prosecutors say Crane was known for removing his shoes before entering homes during burglaries.

    Authorities say a gun used in the three killings was found in Crane's possession when he was arrested in the separate crime spree.

    In the killings, prosecutors say Crane bound and fatally shot the three victims at their homes, stole their jewelry and other valuables, and torched their homes. The Shapiros were killed four days after Gaudet.

    Authorities have said Maricela Otilia Sanchez, 32, of Phoenix was found driving Gaudet's SUV near Yuma on the same day he was killed. She has since pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and kidnapping in Gaudet's death.

    Sanchez was sentenced to nearly nine years in prison for the car theft, but is awaiting sentencing on her murder and kidnapping convictions.

    Three other people accused of possessing items stolen in both fatal burglaries have since pleaded guilty to charges.

    Two additional people also pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution for suppressing evidence that authorities believed would have led to Crane.

    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...it/2212980002/
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    Michael Crane pleads guilty to multiple charges in 2012 crime spree; 3 murder counts remain

    After an hour-long hearing in which he spouted conspiracy theories and repeatedly challenged the judge, Michael Crane pleaded guilty Wednesday in Maricopa County Superior Court to three counts of burglary and one count each of theft and misconduct with weapons related to a 2012 crime and killing spree that left three people dead.

    He did so without the benefit of a plea agreement from prosecutors.

    According to his attorneys, Crane has offered to plead guilty to the murders, as well, in exchange for a life sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Still at issue, however, is Crane's mental competence.

    During Wednesday's hearing, he admitted that he has refused to take medication prescribed for him (he has been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, a cross between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). He also repeatedly invoked his imagined status as a "sovereign citizen" and insisted that state laws do not apply to him.

    Crane specifically cited the Uniform Commercial Code, often referred to as the UCC, a code enacted to coordinate laws of commerce among states and nations. But certain jailhouse lawyers construe it as a kind of super law that trumps all others. Maritime law and admiralty law are often cited in the same manner and frequently used to muddy legal proceedings; their proponents file legal documents with language that often reads like the King James Bible.

    Crane read his own manifesto late in the hearing, asking Judge Warren Granville to acknowledge his interpretation of law. Granville remained silent, which Crane said was an "assent."

    Crane's attorney, Jamie Sparks, asked that Granville not accept the plea as "willing and voluntary" based on his utterances during the hearing and her interactions with him on Tuesday and Wednesday.

    The prosecutor, Deputy County Attorney Patricia Stevens, quickly noted that Crane had been judged to be competent by Granville, based on an October hearing in which a court-appointed mental health professional stated that Crane was putting on an act.

    "Competent," in legal terms, does not mean that a person does not have mental illness — it only means that the defendant understands the proceedings against him or her and is capable of assisting attorneys in his defense.

    Crane has been in an out of what is called Restoration to Competency since he was arrested. His attorneys have consistently claimed he is too mentally ill to stand trial and prosecutors have consistently insisted that he is pretending.

    According to the charges against him, on Jan. 26, 2012, Crane and an accomplice broke into the Phoenix home of Bruce Gaudet, shot him and set fire to his condominium before stealing his car. Four days later, prosecutors believe, Crane broke into the Paradise Valley home of Glenna and Lawrence Shapiro, robbed them, shot them and then set the house on fire; both died. Crane was charged with 15 counts, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, arson and auto theft.

    He pleaded guilty to many of the other counts in 2017.

    As of this writing, the County Attorney's Office had not yet responded as to whether it would consider offering a plea agreement on the murder accounts.

    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...ro/2290471002/
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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