Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/486484
Banks's daughter and other children were re- leased by their captors as negotiations continued through the day, accord- ing to a Sacramento Bee report. But Banks was left inside. Before officers entered the store, Banks said a gunman started shooting at a line of hostages, start- ing at one end and con- tinuing on. "When it happened, I didn't feel it. I didn't know I'd been shot," Banks said, adding that after she was freed she thought, "OK, I'm hungry, it's time to go home and make dinner ... Where's my daughter?" Three of the four gun- men were fatally shot by a SWAT team, accord- ing to the Bee. The sur- vivor, Loi Khac Nguyen, was later sentenced to 41 consecutive life sen- tences without the pos- sibility of parole. Two store employ- ees, Kris Sohn and John Fritz, were killed by the gunmen. A customer, Fer- nando Gutierrez, was also killed. Eleven hostages were wounded. Long after Banks healed from the bullet that entered through her right shoulder and exited her right arm, she still suffers from scars that are harder to see. "I was afraid to go into stores without knowing if I could escape really quickly or if I could hide somewhere," she said. "I look at people differently ... Banks terrify me." As each anniversary of the event nears, she said she becomes anxious, adding that she still re- ceives counseling and has been diagnosed with post- traumatic stress disorder. After she "escaped" to Red Bluff, Banks said she earned a degree in com- munications at Shasta College and focused on raising her family. Will she be watching Saturday night when the TV show airs? "Yeah, I'm going to watch it," Banks said. "I wonder how they're going to portray this. I've never seen it re-enacted." Hostage FROMPAGE1 The removal was halted following a protest by res- idents. Tehama County officials presented a plan to the city that would have phased out 10 existing trees near the courthouse in favor of eight trees considered more ap- propriate to be street trees. However the city chose instead to rewrite its tree removal ordinance, grant- ing rights to residents to appeal decisions regarding the removal of trees from public rights-of-way. Lawsuit FROM PAGE 1 PLEASERECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! By Gillian Flaccus and Tami Abdollah The Associated Press LONG BEACH A woman who is accused of master- minding a scheme to kid- nap two babies and pass them off as her own after she told her married boy- friend she'd given birth to his twins has worked as a self-styled business mogul with hundreds of podcasts, websites and a book to her name, records searches re- vealed Thursday. Giseleangelique Rene D'Milian, 47, and three oth- ers were arrested Wednes- day in what police called an 'evil' scheme to abduct infants and kill their moth- ers. The sordid plot led to the abduction and murder of a 3-week-old baby girl in January after her par- ents and uncle were shot in a home invasion and a sec- ond woman was attacked in February with a base- ball bat in an attempt to steal her 4-month-old son, police said. There was no hint of D'Milian's alleged scheme on her multiple websites and fan sites, where she went by Rene Reyes and styled herself as the founder of an Indie label and a pro- fessional speaker who has helped multinational corpo- rations improve their opera- tions. She had 271 podcasts on iTunes under the title "Speak Into Existence With Rene Reyes," where she re- fers to herself as an award- winning ghost songwriter, poet laureate and empow- erment speaker. Police instead painted D'Milian as a twisted schemer who was only out to convince her illicit boy- friend that she had borne his twins last December while she was out of the country. There is no indi- cation he knew of the plans. "She fabricated a story and wanted him to be- lieve these children were his. Why? We don't know. We're not sure what the motivation was," Long Beach Police Lt. Lloyd Cox said, adding that D'Milian was searching for children with a dark complexion that matched her own. A photo on D'Milian's Twitter account back- ground appears to sup- port the scenario: "Twins with the man I absolutely love!!!" it read, with happy faces blowing heart-shaped kisses. D'Milian and one of her accomplices, 29-year-old Anthony McCall, allegedly tailed the 3-week-old baby, Eliza, and her mother on Jan. 3 as they rode a pub- lic bus in Long Beach. D'Milian briefly spoke with the mother as she exited the bus and, police say, two hours later McCall burst into the home, shot the ba- by's parents and uncle and kidnapped Eliza. The tiny girl was found dead in a trash bin the fol- lowing day in Imperial Beach, a Mexican border city 100 miles away. On Feb. 6, police said, McCall attacked a 23-year- old mother with a baseball bat in an El Segundo hotel room with the goal of steal- ing her 4-month-old son. McCall was scared away when hotel guests alerted workers, who intervened. He escaped and the baby was unharmed. Investigators would not say how baby Eliza died and declined to discuss what may have motivated the woman's accomplices beyond saying that the man they believe carried out the attacks was a friend. Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna called the plot "evil." "I can't summarize it any other way," he said. "In my 29 years, I've never seen anything like this." D'Milian, of Thousand Oaks, was arrested on sus- picion of murder, kidnap- ping, attempted murder and conspiracy. McCall, of Oceanside, was arrested on the same charges. D'Milian's daughter, Cha- risse Shelton, 30, and Todd Boudreaux, 44, were ar- rested on suspicion of help- ing cover up the crimes, au- thorities said. All were being held with- out bail except Shelton, whose bail was set at $1 million. It wasn't clear if they have attorneys or would re- quest public defenders at a hearing set for Friday. D'Milian also started a fake charity focusing on 1- to 2-month-old babies in an attempt to find children to kidnap, authorities said. She may have identified Eliza's mother through that network, police said, but the mother told police she had never seen D'Milian before. Police don't believe there were other victims. O n l i ne , howe ver, D'Milian portrayed herself as a "masterful genius be- hind so many ventures." She used the name René Reyes for her music and speaking career, author- ing the book "Speak Into Existence: Affirmations For Success." In 2013, she helped spon- sor "Leadership Success Summit" and spoke for 30 minutes on the subject of success, going over time and receiving praise from the crowd, said Lisa Marie Platske, who plans the an- nual event. Though D'Milian, whom Platske knew as Reyes, claimed to receive the "Most Excellent Speaker Award" in 2013, Platske said that award doesn't ex- ist. She said all sponsors re- ceive a general award. D'Milian's website de- scribes her as "one of the most sincere and kind- est women you will ever meet. Her biggest down- fall would be trying to help others, even those who later may show not to deserve it." She claims to have attended law school "to help fight for justice in the murder of her daughter." "After successfully gain- ing the closure she needed on that issue, René spent many years accepting why she was put in this terrible position in life and imme- diately started to share this horrific loss with women's groups around the world. Through pain, tears and agony, and from a place she calls "strict obedience," René would touch the souls of so many in over 46 coun- tries!" the site states. SHOOTING DEATH Woman accused of kidnap plot claimed to be business coach SCOTTVARLE—THEDAILYBREEZE Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, le , and Mayor Robert Garcia stand during a news conference in Long Beach on Wednesday. Southern California authorities have arrested four people in a plot to kidnap two newborn babies. The Associated Press LOS ANGELES A jury awarded $28.2 million to a woman who said treat- ment delays by Kaiser Per- manente doctors forced the amputation of her leg. A Los Angeles County Superior Court jury on Wednesday found that Southern California Per- manente Medical Group was negligent in its treat- ment of Anna Rahm. Rahm, 23, of Chatsworth, was 16 when she began hav- ing worsening back pain. Her lawsuit contended that two Kaiser physicians re- fused to order an MRI re- quested by her mother, Lynette, for four months. When the test finally was performed in July 2009, it showed that Rahm had an aggressive cancer of the pel- vis that had spread to her spine. A portion of Rahm's spine, half her pelvis and her right leg were removed. Kaiser "stubbornly re- fused" to perform an MRI that would have diagnosed the cancer four months ear- lier "and would more likely than not salvaged her right leg," said a statement from Danica Dougherty, one of Rahm's attorneys. "While we are extremely grateful for the jury's ver- dict, it's a tragic shame that such a bright and wonder- ful young woman has had to endure, and will continue to endure for the rest of her life, such a dreadful hard- ship," said another attorney, Mike Bidart. City News Service re- ported that during the four-week trial, defense attorney N. Denise Taylor said that neither doctor recalled Rahm's mother requesting MRIs for her daughter. Taylor also ar- gued that the doctors were not at fault and that the cancer already had reached Rahm's spine when the physicians treated her in March 2009. "Once her spine is in- volved, her leg has to come off," she argued. "It was not anyone at Kaiser's fault." Taylor also said that thanks to the surgery, Rahm is now cancer-free. The jury awarded Rahm medical expenses and com- pensation for pain and suf- fering and loss of future earnings. "The health and safety of our patients is para- mount at all times," Kai- ser Permanente said in a statement on Thursday. "Although we understand the jury's findings and wish only the best for Ms. Rahm, highly respected medical experts testified that the medical care pro- vided was appropriate. We will be evaluating in the days ahead how best to respond to this verdict." COURT Woman who sued Kaiser over lost leg awarded $28.2M By Fenit Nirappil The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Democratic members of the California Assembly announced Thurs- day that they're heading to Cuba for a five-day agricul- tural trade mission next week as the U.S. considers easing economic restrictions against the island nation. Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and Assemblyman Henry Perea, a Fresno Dem- ocrat who chairs the ag- riculture committee, will lead seven other lawmak- ers while the Legislature is in spring recess. They will be joined by ranchers, farm- ers and Darius Anderson, a Sacramento lobbyist who also leads trade missions to Cuba. The lobbyist's group, Cal- ifornians Building Bridges, is helping organize this trip. President Barack Obama is seeking to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba after a 50-year U.S. ban on trade and travel. Officials in California, the nation's top food producer, see an op- portunity to do more busi- ness and trade, including for other sectors such as tele- communications, construc- tion and banking. "This trade delegation is one way to help California companies gain a competi- tive edge," Atkins said in a prepared statement. The 27-person delega- tion will meet with Cuban officials, including farmers and business leaders, and learn about the nation's economy. Lawmakers must pay for the trip themselves, said John Casey, a spokesman for Atkins. The trip is between March 30 and April 3. BUSINESS Lawmakers heading to Cuba on trade trip INGABAISNERUNDERWOOD July 25, 1933 ~ March 19, 2015 Inga Baisner Underwood was born in Aarhus, Denmark on July 25, 1933. As a child, she lived through the German occupation of Denmark during WWII. She was on her own from the age of 15. Although she didn't speak a word of English and didn't know a single person in America, she believed life would be better here. So at the age of 18, she came to America. She lived in Idaho and Utah, but spent most of her life in California, from Temple City, to Azusa, to Ap- ple Valley and finally her last 10 years of life in Red Bluff. She was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and can- cerous tumors throughout her body. She put up a fierce fight but gently passed on Thursday, March 19th. She is survived by her 2 daughters, LeeAnn Mason of Alta Loma, CA and Elizabeth Whalen of Red Bluff, CA., as well as 4 grandchildren, Christina Whalen, Jennifer Pickard, Janelle Southard, and Justin Mason. She was an amazing woman, a wonderful mother and an extraordinary grandmother. She will be greatly missed. Graveside services will be held on Friday, April 3rd at Oakdale cemetery in Glendora, CA. JOYCE LUNING MATHIS PERRINE August 6, 1920 ~ March 23, 2015 Lifelong resident of Red Bluff and member of pioneer family passes away. Joyce Luning Mathis Perrine passed away March 23, 2015. Born August 6, 1920 to Joseph F and Dale Wheeler Luning in Sister's Hospital in Red Bluff, her pioneer roots stem from her Great Grandfather Joseph Luning who originally came to Red Bluff in 1852. Her Grandfather, William F Luning, was one of the first chil- dren born in Red Bluff and was the long time surveyor, Tehama County Engineer and Red Bluff City Engineer. Her mother passed away when she was ten and her fa- ther spent most of his years in Veterans' Hospitals recov- ering from injuries received during World War I. She was raised by her maternal grandmother, Josie Wheeler. She was graduated from Red Bluff Union High School in 1937 with high scholastic honors and immediately went to work at Hersey insurance in the old Tremont Hotel on Main Street. She worked 50 years in Red Bluff businesses including, Elsie Juhay Insurance and Minch's Wholesale Meats. In 1988 she retired from California State Automo- bile Association as one of their top sales representatives in Northern California. Joyce enjoyed sports and was a member of the first women's softball team in Red Bluff. She taught badmin- ton for the Red Bluff Recreation Department for 20 years to everyone that showed up at the high school gym. She loved to play tennis for an intercity league and was a charter member of the Valley Oaks Racquet Club. She volunteered to keep the books for the Wilcox Oaks Golf Club when they first set up their office. In her spare time she enjoyed various craft projects that she gave to her friends. She was a member of Soroptimist International of Red Bluff, a former Business and Professional Woman, a lifelong member of the Red Bluff First Methodist Church and was one of the founders of the Mount Lassen Church Camp near Mineral. Joyce was preceded in death by her first husband, Har- ris Mathis, originally from Arkansas, in 1975. Her grand- son Martin was killed in a car accident in Madrid, Spain while on active duty with the Air Force. Her second hus- band, Jack Perrine died in 1999. Her only sister, Arlys Luning McDowell of Grass Valley died in 2011. She is survived by her daughter Dawn Mathis Wichael of Redd- ing, sons Gary Mathis of Rogue River, Oregon, Jon Mathis and wife Janyce Dittner Mathis of Red Bluff. She leaves a behind a legacy of 9 grandchildren and 12 great grand- children. Graveside services are to be held at Oak Hill Cemetery in Red Bluff on March 30, 2014 at 11:00 am, with a recep- tion following at the home of Jon Mathis, 1545 Carl Court in Red Bluff. Obituaries Pleasejoinusaswegatherto share memories of DONANDIDAWEBSTER DropbytheGardensideRoominthe Red Bluff Community Center, 1500 South Jackson on Saturday, March 28, 2015 any time between 1:00 and 3:30 pm FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2015 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A