DASTARDLY DADS FROM THE ARCHIVES (Euless, Texas - 2009)

Not a terribly old story, but not brand new either. After dad SHANE PINGLE was convicted in 2008 of killing his 12-week-old infant daughter, he made a run for it. One year later, he was captured in Texas. Note that he was also convicted of assaulting the murdered baby's twin sister. Yet his "family" insists he's really a nice guy...Denial. It's an amazing thing.

But once again, we have a case with no specific mention of the mother. Interesting.

INVISIBLE MOTHER ALERT.

http://tdn.com/business/local/article_e6f61f16-fed6-524f-b696-de687f2975fd.html

Convicted baby killer Benjamin Pingle captured in Texas
By Leslie Slape The Daily News Online Posted: Thursday, July 30, 2009 12:00 am

Fugitive Benjamin Shane Pingle, convicted last year of killing his infant daughter, was arrested early Thursday afternoon in Texas by U.S. Marshals, said Holly Bishop, the Longview bondsman who posted his $250,000 appeal bond.

“We picked up Pingle,” Bishop said with obvious pleasure shortly after receiving word from the Marshals Service. “He did not resist arrest.”

Pingle, 26, was convicted of manslaughter in the 2006 death of his 12-week-old daughter Justice, had been free on the appeal bond when he vanished in May.

A spokesman in the city jail in Euless, Texas, said Pingle was booked at 3:57 p.m. Central time (1:57 p.m. Pacific time) and is being held without bail. Euless is west of Dallas.

Cowlitz County Prosecutor Sue Baur said Pingle is scheduled to appear in court in Texas Friday and is expected to be transferred Sunday to the Tarrant County Jail in Forth Worth.

Pingle, she said, could be back in Cowlitz County within two weeks if he waives extradition. The process could take at least two months if the prosecutor’s office has to force his extradition with a governor’s warrant, Baur said.

“The sheriff’s office and the prosecutor’s office will work out the details,” said Sgt. Mike Hallowell of the Longview Police, which investigated Pingle’s disappearance. “LPD detectives may go down there and do extradition.”

Hallowell said police received tips that Pingle was in Euless with a woman.

“We had believed that’s where he was last headed and we asked officials to attempt contact,” he said. He said the Marshals found Pingle while having the woman’s apartment under surveillance. Baur said authorities approached Pingle at the apartment and took him into custody.

She said it’s up to local Texas authorities to decide whether the woman will be charged with harboring a fugitive.

Baur said a Euless jail official told her Pingle didn’t say much when he was booked, but he reportedly told a jailer that he knew why he was in custody.

“I don’t know anything about whether the Marshals talked to him about being on the run,” Baur said.

Pingle’s capture means his grandparents, Cordell and Marlene Stone, won’t lose their home, which they put up as collateral to make his bail.

Cowlitz Superior Court Judge James Warme revoked the bail July 16 and gave Pingle’s family 60 days to find him or pay the full amount.

“The Stones are crying, they’re so happy,” Bishop said. “They’re extraordinary people. Their assets and stuff are being protected.”

The Stones could not be reached at their home Thursday afternoon.

Bishop said he’s covering all expenses related to Pingle’s transportation back to Cowlitz County as part of the job.

“That’s the purpose of this bonding business,” he said. “The taxpayers aren’t paying for this kid jumping bail. It’s a very small amount, but well worth it to get him back in.”

Pingle was sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison in June 2008 after a highly emotional three-week trial. The prosecutor’s office said the Castle Rock man killed his daughter by shaking and abusing her. Pingle also was convicted of third-degree assault of a child for causing injuries to Justice’s twin sister, Liberty. Pingle’s family continues to insist he is innocent.

Baur said the prosecutor’s office, which objected to Pingle’s release after his sentencing last year, is considering additional charges against Pingle related to his disappearance.

Pingle was more likely to flee because he faced significant prison time and didn’t know what to expect in prison, Baur said. “I hope in the future any judge considers the amount of time the person is looking at as a motivation to run, especially if they’ve never done time before,” she said.

Asked if she thought those factors were taken into consideration when Pingle’s appeal bond was granted last year, Baur said, “I don’t think it was.”

Judge Warme, who granted the appeal bond during a contentious June 2008 hearing, has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

“I think it is unlikely that the defendant will re-offend, particularly if he is not in contact with minor children,” Warme said during the hearing. “And I think it is unlikely that he will flee.”

Following Pingle’s disappearance, prosecutors said they would ask the state Court of Appeals to dismiss his appeal, which had not yet begun. The prosecutor’s office wanted to ensure Pingle wouldn’t wait out the result his appeal in absentia and decide whether to return based on the outcome, Baur said. Now that Pingle is back in custody, she said, the prosecutor’s office will not stand in the way of his appeal.

“We really want to just see him get what he was sentenced to,” Baur said. “He needs to start serving his sentence.”