NOTE: ROYCE JAVAN ROBERTSON WILL BE REFERRED TO AS RR AT TIMES, FOR SIMPLICITY.
Many names are redacted in the investigative report documents, so if you see the word "redacted" in brackets like this: [redacted], that generally means I don't know who they are referring to, so I just type it out exactly as it is in the report. However, if I do know who the person is, or have a guess - I will replace the word "redacted" with the name of that person, or a name with a question mark - indicating that I am taking a guess at who the person is.
[Screenshot taken from Riverside County Sheriff Department's Public Record's Request pages]
For those who have been following my blogs on this topic, you can see above that files were just released 9.7.22, and this is what I was waiting for in order to provide an update here. It includes interviews, still images, and some video footage. Unfortunately, some of the video files do not work, which we will discuss later.
WHAT WAS RR DOING 50 MILES FROM HOME ON A MONDAY/HOLIDAY AT 7 IN THE MORNING?
This incident occured on 02.15.21, which was a Monday - between 7:20-7:35am. It was the day after Valentine's Day and it was President's Day/Washington's Birthday observed.
"[RR's roomate] informed Deputy Holt that Robertson is his roommate and business partner…[RR's roomate] last saw Robertson the night before about midnight and he had not seen or spoke to him since…About 0500 hours, [RR's roomate] heard Robertson leave the residence in his Mercedes Benz and he had not returned home. [RR's roomate] attempted to call Robertson throughout the morning several times, but Robertson never called [RR's roomate] back."
"Last night he remembers smoking some weed with Royce. He described him as being argumentative and a little worse last night than he has seen him before. During the interview, [redacted] showed us some text messages he received from Royce at 0224 hours on the morning of 2.15.21. [RR's roomate] also told us last night Royce was walking around in the yard waving a BB gun around…said the BB gun looks real and could really scare people. This was the BB gun he was carrying when he was stopped [killed]." - Statement from Deputy Holt, regarding interview with RR's roommate
"He sent me a text at, like, 5AM, but it was all making plans for the art gallery like next week — which I found a — a little weird, because we had made plans to put the sign up today…So he kind of stood me up in a way...[regarding the text message] And most of it’s straightforward until you get down to the bottom…oh, well I thought it said 5:00. Yeah, it was 2:00 — 2:24…I have no idea [why he was in Indian Wells] I honestly thought he went up to [redacted] to hang out with that girl…We watched the Wrecking Lord and I went to bed…And the last time I laid eyes on him…was right around 1:00." - RR's roommate/business partner
According to the investigative report, RR's roomate was the last person known to have seen him before the initial encounter with the 911 caller at about 7:25 the next morning in La Quinta. The roomate clearly has no idea what RR was doing there, but is responding in detail to questions from the investigator regarding RR's behavior lately. We'll get more into that later, but for now the only clue we have is a text message RR allegedly sent to his roomate around 2AM [which the roomate initially mistakes for being sent at 5AM].
[Note: If you are on a Smartphone, you must click/tap on images before attempting to enlarge them, in order to view them at the correct resolution]
[Daniel Moody is the investigator the roomate presumably forwarded RR's text messages to]
The above is one of several screenshots allegedly depicting text messages RR had sent to [RR's roomate]. This is the only one that seems to make reference to "the gallery" - but it does not seem to speak of any "plans next week." Therefore, none of the texts in this report appear to be the one referred to by RR's roomate in the quote above. Nor do any of these texts shed light on why RR was in La Quinta that morning. All they really do is demonstrate a sort of manic euphoria in the mind of their author.
"The family had no explanation as to why Royce was in the City of La Quinta." - Investigator Dusek
"I mean the coffee company has accounts down there, but I don’t think that he’s actively…he’s kind of like the spokesperson for the company at this point, he doesn’t really...I texted…her this - we were texting this morning. She didn’t say anything about Royce being there...What could he have been doing in LaQuinta? I have no idea. Absolutely none." - RR's parents
"On 2.15.21 about 0330 hours and 0547 hours, Royce sent [his sister] poetry via text message. Royce was a night person and it was not uncommon for him to text early in the morning. [His sister] had no idea why Royce was in Coachella Valley. He might have been coming to see her, but he did not call, and she was not expecting him." - Statement by Investigator Sean Dusek
"...she received a text message that morning from her brother advising he was heading to her home in Rancho Mirage after running an errand at the bank." - Palm Springs Desert Sun
As you can see, RR's sister allegedly told investigators she got a text message of poetry from him that morning, but added that she "had no idea why Royce was in Coachella Valley." She stated he MIGHT have been coming to see her, but was not expecting him. Somehow, the Palm Springs Desert Sun turned that into: RR "was heading to her home in Rancho Mirage after running an errand at the bank." The quote from RR's parents seems to allude to his sister also, and they reiterate that "she didn't say anything about Royce being there" that morning. So why would she then tell the Desert Sun that she was expecting him and that he had an errand to run at the bank beforeheand? Did the Desert Sun make this up for some reason, or was this disinformation intentionally fed to them in order to confuse the facts early on in the investigation? And what about this "errand at the bank," where did that come from?
Since nobody seems to know what RR was doing in La Quinta that morning, let's consider the questionable Desert Sun assertion for a moment, since it is the only lead we have to go on...
NOTE: The individual who RR initially threatened the day he was killed will be referred to as the 911 Caller.
"As he passed the Ulta store he saw a black Mercedes S160 AMG convertible 2 door with dealer plates driving southbound towards him from the area of Chase bank…." - Investigator D. Butvidas
"And there’s only 1 last parking lot thing which is generally people coming out of Chase bank drive through" - 911 caller
The image above is a screenshot taken directly from the Riverside Sheriff Department's video. The red car represents RR, the blue car is the 911 caller's. [Yellow and green markings are my notations] RR clearly appears to be coming from the Chase bank ATM drive through. The 911 caller states that the direction RR is coming from is "generally people coming out of Chase bank drive through." The Desert Sun printed, albeit questionably, that RR told his sister via text that he was going to the bank before coming to her house.
An alleged friend of RR's, who we will call "JT," reached out to me online and confirmed that RR did have a Chase bank account - further supporting the notion that he may have used the Chase ATM that morning.
There are Chase bank locations closer to RR's home than this one. And even if he WAS going to his sister's house in Rancho Mirage, he'd be back tracking if he went to LA Quinta first from his home in Joshua Tree. But if RR did use the Chase bank ATM, there should be surveillance video proving it one way or the other - not to mention a paper trail, which does not appear to have been explored by investigators.
"On 03/03/21, approximately 1000 hours, I received the Chase Bank requested surveillance footage…the only usable footage where the suspect and victim vehicle may have been captured was the footage from the exterior ATM camera partially facing Simon Dr st area…I did not see any of the vehicles matching the description provided. I was informed by a Chase Bank representative that they had sent me all available camera footage at the bank within the time frame I requested." - Reporting Officer Sanchez
"I watched the Chase Bank video surveillance…The camera angle showing the drive through ATM is the only camera that captured anything. At 51:41 minutes into the video you see the suspect and victim come to a stop off in the distance. The suspect is seen walking back to the victim vehicle and then shortly after back to his vehicle….the top is down on the suspect vehicle. The video is very grainy especially for things off in the distance. The main focus of this video is to capture the drive-up exterior ATM." - Rep. Officer Moody 3.17.21
Investigators contacted several businesses in that parking area and obtained all surveillance footage where available. The Chase bank footage was reviewed by an Officer Sanchez on 3.3.21, who stated "I did not see any of the vehicles matching the description provided." Obviously, he also did not observe RR conducting an ATM transaction either - or he would have said so, right?
2 weeks after Officer Sanchez said he didn't see anything on the Chase bank footage, Officer Moody reviews what seems to be the SAME video, and states he sees the suspect [RR] walking from his vehicle back to the 911 caller's.
How did Officer Sanchez miss what Officer Moody saw, and why was the Chase video the only one which seems to have been reviewed by 2 different officers? Did the Sheriff's Department just decide that they needed to come up with "something" in order to help verify the 911 caller's claims since there were no eye witnesses other than him?
The yellow arrow above shows the direction the camera point of view is facing, where Officer Moody allegedly saw RR walk back to the 911 caller's car. The red marker shows where RR stood next to the 911 caller's car when he allegedly threatened him with the BB gun. As you can see, there is really no way the Chase bank ATM camera could have captured RR's encounter with the 911 caller once he was actually standing next to his car. It's too far away and it's out of view from the camera. This is why Officer Moody only states that "The suspect is seen walking back to the victim vehicle," but he doesn't describe what the suspect actually does when he gets there - because he'd be lying! Therefore, even if we accept Officer Moody's report as factual, it doesn't prove RR actually did or said any of what the 911 caller stated. All it does is put RR at the scene during the time of the encounter. But how do we know the 911 caller didn't threaten RR and/or provoke the encounter?
Keep in mind, if RR used the ATM machine just moments prior to this incident with the 911 caller, that particular footage has been completely ignored or redacted by both officers who allegedly viewed the surveillance footage. Is this evidence that someone needs to hide RR's final banking transaction? Why would investigators need to cover this up?
The above image still shows a black convertable matching RR's vehicle description, after having LEFT the parking lot.
According to the 911 caller, his vehicle was a beige Hyundai SUV. The vehicle in the above image is supposed to be his. Looks more gray to me than beige. His vehicle is described as gray in other areas of this report as well. One officer even mentioned a second vehicle matching the 911 caller's description at the scene. I'm not suggesting that means anything in particular, I just thought it was worth noting.
I'm guessing the above still image was taken from the video Officer Moody claims RR can be seen in, walking back to the 911 caller's car. But the vehicle is so far away and blurry, I don't see how any signifficant detail can be made out. The car appears to be white for starters - which doesn't match the description of either vehicle! Also, according to the Sheriff Department's presentation, the 911 caller's car appeared to be parked out of range from the Chase ATM camera view during his interaction with RR. Officer Moody even remarks on the low quality of the video and how the camera is specifically designed to capture ATM transactions at very close range.
These cars also would have been blocking traffic from leaving the parking lot during the altercation. Nobody witnessed it or was honking to get out? Nothing in this report suggests as much.
"the original encounter was near the intersection of Simon and 111 [edit] in La Quinta. [edit]The victim of that exchange ended up pulling into a parking lot to get away from that other driver, but he followed him into the parking lot and then that was where the exchange happened…" - Sheriff Bianco
"The man said he had pulled into a parking lot off Highway 111 in La Quinta to get away from a driver in a black Mercedes-Benz with temporary Arizona plates. The Mercedes driver followed him, then got out of the car displaying a handgun and asked if he wanted to die, the caller said." - Mercurynews.com
You may recall that both Sheriff Bianco and various news media initially reported that RR and the 911 caller had some sort of encounter PREVIOUS to the incident in the Chase bank lot - and that the 911 caller was trying to get away from RR at that point. That entire aspect of the story was completely dropped on April 1st, 2021 when the body cam video was released. There is also nothing about an earlier encounter previous to the Chase bank incident in the investigative report or in the public statement the Sheriff's Department posted the day of the incident. In fact, the 911 caller clearly stated to investigators the DAY OF the incident, that he had left Lowe's and had his 1st and ONLY encounter with RR upon entering the Chase parking lot area. So why was the public fed information initially which was known to be untrue, only to have that information vanish without explanation?
"[The 911 caller] told me that he was on the phone with his electrician [redacted] while this encounter occurred..." - Incident Report
"he spat on me, and he attacked my car. I had a witness. I was on the phone with my electrician." - 911 caller
"I’m on speakerphone with my electrician. So he’s a witness to this whole thing. He can corroborate everything I say" - 911 caller interview
"[The Electrician] appeared confused as to what he heard and what [the 911 caller?] told him...[the Electrician] told me he thought a “drunk was trying to harass him. It was comical more than anything else.” " - Interview summary with 911 caller's Electrician friend
The 911 caller claimed he was on speakerphone with his Electrician when the incident occured by Chase bank. A call transcript in the report shows that he told dispatch that he had a "witness," referring to the same individual. What is this person's definition of "witness?" Because there were no EYE WITNESSES to this incident that we know of! Hearing sounds over the phone does not make one a "witness" in the sense of the word we would typically assume.
When interviewed, the Electrician "witness" seemed confused, which doesn't make his account seem very reliable - but he does acknowledge hearing a "drunk" trying to "harass" the 911 caller. He also claimed he HEARD RR state that his gun was a BB. While this supports the 911 caller's statements, the fact remains the Electrician wasn't there and didn't actually see anything. Does that make him a "witness?" Sounds like a stretch to me...
Nobody seems to have witnessed RR pulling a gun on the 911 caller in broad daylight while blocking a parking lot exit except the 911 caller himself, and no publicly available camera footage captured it. A couple of RR's fingerprints were found on the 911 caller's window, but that doesn't automatically mean everything he claimed happened actually did, when and where he said it did.
THE BB GUN CONUNDRUM
"After a briefing, I conducted a walkthrough of the scene at 1130 hours…I noted item GC119…The black pistol was loaded with a compressed air canister that ejected out of the magazine that RESEMBLED an actual firearm…I rendered the weapon safe by removing the magazine and locking the slide to the rear. The gun was then photographed and collected by Forensic Tech Mercado." - Investigator G Castaneda #3519
As documented by Investigator G Castaneda at the crime scene shortly after RR was shot to death, the evidence in this report clearly indicates that police investigators knew the DAY OF the incident, that RR did not "brandish" a deadly firearm at anyone, but was in possession of a NON LETHAL BB Gun/Air pistol. And yet, news media and police investigators did not reveal that fact until "April Fool's Day" 2021 - a good 2 months after the incident occured. They told the public that RR brandished a "firearm" or a "gun." They knew exactly how the public would translate that, which one could argue was lying to the public in order to cover their own asses, in a sense. The body cam footage was key in exonerating the officers who killed RR, so they needed to at least make sure that was available at the same time news of the BB gun was, for minimal impact to their reputation. At least, that's how it appears to me.
"[The 911 caller] called 911, reported the incident, but did not state the weapon was possibly a BB gun" - Coroner's Report
”[911 caller] told me that during this encounter the suspect [RR] told him the gun was “just a fuckin BB gun.” [911 caller] said the suspect removed the magazine to show him but he could not tell whether it was real or not, said he has poor vision up close and was trying to look down" - Officer Report
"[The Electrician] said he heard the suspect pull out what he said was a BB gun." - Officer Report
Why didn't the 911 caller tell dispatch that RR may have been carrying a non-lethal BB gun? Had he done so, officers may have responded differently, and the same result may not have occured. And if the 911 caller KNEW the gun was only a BB, and gave 911 dispatch knowingly false information, doesn't that make him partially responsible for RR's death?
The non lethal "air pistol" RR carried that day can be purchased on Amazon for just $191.99. The 911 caller said it looked all "tactiled out," and other parts of the report seem to exaggerate it's "seriousness" of appearance and emphesize the "laser sight" hookup, as if it's some high tech custom modification. The laser hookup is on the gun pictured above, does that look super duper high tech to you? Sure, it could easily be mistaken for a deadly firearm. Especially if nobody told you that it's owner claimed it was a BB! But I don't see what is so remarkably "serious" about it.
[Tap on image first, before attempting to enlarge - in order to view at the proper resolution]
The above image was taken directly from the official investigative report publicly released by Riverside County Sheriff's Department. The name you see underlined in green seems to be the 911 caller. I am not going to type his name out here, because I think it was supposed to be completely redacted in this report - and it is for the majority of it. But this interview way at the end of the 615 page PDF document must have evaded the scrutiny of whoever was crossing names out. So it is now public information, whether they intended it or not.
Interestingly, there is a public divorce record from 2009 online at unicourt.com which shows a man going by this name vs a Christina Perri. Is this the same singer/songwriter Christina Perri, before she was famous?
Notice how bad the format is here and how difficult the transcript is to read. This is a small sample of what must be tediously sifted through, transcribed, and disseminated in order to get to the raw facts. When you start doing this type of work, it becomes very easy to see how facts and evidence can be easily obscured, twisted, hidden, or ommitted under the guise of "oh, oops - sorry our systems are a bit antiquated!" I'm not suggesting that this means every single antiquated report incorporates "foul play" into it. On the contrary - sometimes this can inadvertantly reveal information not intended for release, so it can go both ways. Point being - it is important that SOMEONE who is impartial go through and double check to make sure crucial facts are not witheld or obscured by the media, in order to deliver a false narrative to the public - as we saw in my blog concerning the death of Chris Cornell.
WHY DIDN'T RR HAVE ANY ID ON HIM?
"I attempted to gain information regarding the identity of the subject by means of the vehicle registration...I asked A.D.O.T. to check the VIN to determine if they had any information on file…I was given the name of Royce Robertson" - Investigating officer
RR's wallet does not appear to have been recovered from the scene. He had just about everything else though - including several knives, pepper spray, handcuffs, stun gun, iphone, and iwatch. If he needed to go to the bank, he wouldn't have gotten anything done without an ATM card - which of course would have had his name on it. But as demonstrated by the above quote - investigators needed to discover RR's identity by running his vehicle's VIN#. That means he had NO identification on him. No driver's licence, debt card, or anything else. What happened to his wallet? It's not mentioned anywhere in this report. Did it just vanish into thin air, or are investigators trying to keep attention away from this possible final banking transaction of his?
RR's alleged friend JT also agrees that it would be strange for RR to have not been carrying his wallet.
Following are some quotes from an interview with RR's parents, who were NOT informed beforehand that RR had brandished a BB gun on the cops. They, like the rest of the public at that time, were allowed to assume something that was NOT factual: that RR pulled a deadly handgun on the cops.
"and he’s been into — an avid knife collector lately…No. He doesn’t practice so much. It’s more, like — he just likes them. Puts them up. He had hung a few up…he was stabbing, like, the size into the walls like…clownish about it. It wasn’t like…yelling and screaming. He was…acting the fool more or less" - RR's roomate
"He also owned 2 BB guns. He and [his father?] used to shoot BB guns at the garage door, wood, and cans, but Royce did not shoot people. [His sister] knew Royce to collect knives and swords." - Officer Report
"his big thing was helping the community…I just…don’t understand what he was doing carrying a gun. That’s not him…Yeah, had these fancy engraved knives. That’s part of his, like, appearance thing that he got into. But he never said anything about guns. He’s never even been in a physical fight in his life" - RR's Parents
RR was in the process of starting his own clothing company, so appearance was something he was concerned with. Those who knew him were aware he owned "ceremonial" and "ornamental" knives, and wore them as part of his attire. According to his parents, he was aware of what length of knife was legal to carry - and followed the laws. [he had no criminal record, outside the odd speeding ticket] It is also true that it's somewhat common for people out in that area to openly carry knives at their side in a leather holster of some kind, strange as that may sound to some - it is not considered a big deal. JT also confirmed that this would not have been so out of the ordinary for RR to carry the knives - though I admit it seems excessive to me.
Peerless Handcuffs, pepper spray, and a mini stun gun (tazer), were also listed as items found on RR's body at the time of death. None of these items were discussed in any of the interviews with those who knew him, and did not seem to be items he would normally carry. They ARE items a cop would likely be carrying though. For these reasons, I suspect they may have been planted on his body, in order to support the "crazy man commits suicide by cop" narrative. But there is of course the possibility that he simply WAS that man during the last 24 hours or so of his life.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE 911 CALLER AND HIS TESTIMONY
As I said earlier, the 911 caller's name was probably not intended to be released publicly, but pictured above are 2 spots where it was not redacted. Therefore, it is in the public domain now. I am not encouraging anyone to track him down and hassle him by providing this information, my only objective here is to relay facts and provide opinions and interpretations.
"I’m like, uh used to have a production company in LA…shut that down, moved out here rehabbing a house. I’m re-entering real estate, but I do more like, uh day trading...they [RR's eyes] were just bugged out like he was tracked out on something…Cotton mouth…Strings of cotton all deep like tons of em like he’s…Not foaming at the mouth but within his mouth. And it was spitting onto me…I felt like he was - like he’d been out at night...He was on something man. He was on some drugs. I want to make that clear. "
"And then he goes it’s just a fucking BB gun and he disengages the clip…I need bifocals…and so I don’t know if it’s really a BB gun, but it was all tactiled out and it looked like a real gun..."
"I just remember saying like wow this is a serious gun. And when he took the magazine out even if I had looked - I had the vision thing where it would’ve just been a blur you know…What does a BB magazine look like versus a regular? But uh he even kept saying it’s only a BB gun" - 911 caller
"It was very tactical looking. It was all tricked out. Maybe there was extra ammo clip on it. Maybe there was like a sco - a laser or something on it." - 911 caller
The above images are from the Crossman website - and feature the same model BB gun that RR allegedly shoved into the face of the 911 caller. As you can see, it appears to be identical to the one recovered at the death scene. There's nothing "tricked out" about it, the one RR had looked exactly like the one you can buy on Amazon for under $200, and the laser scope is not some "beefed up" attachement - it comes with it. I have good eyesight, and can't say for sure that I would have been able to identify that laser scope on the gun. The 911 caller's eyesight was good enough to spot it and his knowledge of weapons was such that he correctly identified it even as he believed his life was being threatened.
Note that the air cartridge can clearly be seen sitting inside the clip from BOTH SIDES of the magazine - and the little metal BBs may also have been visible sitting inside the top of the magazine, as they are in the image above. If the magazine clip was exposed that close to the 911 caller, the air cartridge was quite visible and could easily be distinguished from the straight black housing typically "hiding" the bullet rounds in a deadly handgun.
The 911 caller states TWICE that RR disengaged the clip, in order to prove that it was only a BB gun, and not a "real" one with bullets. He first says he has poor vision and needs bifocals, therefore he couldn't tell if the clip was a BB or otherwise. He identified the little black laser scope, but couldn't identify an air cartridge that is about the same size, or larger, than the laser scope?
Later in the interview, the 911 caller again states that RR "took the magazine out," but this time he says he didn't look at it and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a BB magazine and one containing bullets anyhow. How does he know RR took it out if he didn't look? Perhaps he heard enough to confirm as much in his mind, but it just seems like the wording here is dancing around the truth a bit.
"The main thing was just these rings, you know. That’s what was in my face. He had like big, bedazzled emeralds. No, like here and here. Here and here. [pointing at spots on hand to demonstrate ring locations]" - 911 caller
Here is another example of the 911 caller's ability to see small objects - in this case the rings on RR's hand. If he could make out the "bedazzled emeralds" on RR's hand, he could make out a much larger air cartridge sitting exposed in a magazine RR is SHOWING HIM as he also TELLS HIM what it is...so yes, I am sure he said he didn't look at it, because if he admits he did, there is no way he can claim it was anything but a BB gun - and then he has no excuse as to why he did not relay that info to 911 dispatch! In fact, would someone even call 911 on a person threatening someone with a BB gun? Maybe, maybe not. But let's not forget - the cops showed up because this person called them.
It seems to me that there is an effort here to avoid acknowledging the 911 caller's awareness that RR at least STATED that he carried a non lethal BB gun, and the fact he omitted that detail when calling 911 dispatch. This has VERY serious implications that I believe the Sheriff's Department has deliberately tried to downplay. And they had very obvious motives for doing so. Their reputation is on the line, and they need to make sure they appear justified in killing a man with a BB gun, beyond reasonable doubt.
"So, then he gets in his car and goes. And he’s driving his car like a race car. ..And I decide I’m gonna get his plate...And don’t follow him, They’re telling me not to follow him." - 911 caller
"I’m not following him. But I’m on the 111, and he is approaching the resort - the Esmeralda Resort. I’m hoping that you guys don’t let this guy get away. I’m going to do my citizen’s right to keep observing him in support of your being able to pull him over. I did not deserve to have a gun stuck in my face to start my day…He punched my window, banged on my car." - 911 call transcript
"...He’s pulling over on the side of the road and putting on his emergency lights now…He’s exactly at the stop sign of turning into the resort. He just went through that red light, Club Drive…Now he’s driving normally…He’s at Indian Wells lane now at the stoplight…he’s put up his top to try to hide the fact it was convertible…I’m in a Hyundai Santa Fe. Beige — So there’s no cops in Indian Wells right now? Or palm Desert? He just past El Dorado. There — they’re in front of me. Go ahead go ahead. That’s him…They have him, if they would pull him over. They’re in the SUV — your cop. They have him directly in front of him...The cop needs to turn right. I’m not going to go in there. I’m just going to pull over...Desert Horizons Country Club. There he is. That’s the guy with the gun..." - 911 call transcript
There are many strange things about the actual 911 call, which can be partially heard on the youtube video mentioned earlier. According to the call transcript, the caller says "I'm not following him," as he proceeds to do JUST THAT, and basically gives a play-by-play till RR gets to the country club! He's not afraid of being shot? The 911 caller's ACTIONS say "I'm not afraid of getting killed because the gun is just a BB."
He states in an interview with the officer that "they're telling me not to follow him." And yet the agent in the 911 transcript not only DOESN'T advise him not to follow RR [which seems crazy when you think about it], the dispatch agent is constantly checking in asking things like "What's he doing now? Where's the vehicle now?" That doesn't sound like a dispatch agent concerned that a man weilding a deadly pistol could start shooting the guy they have on the phone following him at any second! So the dispatch agent's demeanor, as it appears in the 911 call transcript, also tends to lean towards "I'm not concerned with anyone getting shot because the suspect's gun isn't a lethal weapon."
Perhaps the 911 transcript in this report has been chopped up and edited, before release. The transcript is evidence, and chopping it up and/or leaving things out can constitute an intentional misrepresentation of events to the public. But what the hell can an everyday citizen do about it?
I counted 4 times that the 911 caller says the word "gun" in the transcript - and not once does he mention the fact that RR told him and attempted to SHOW HIM, it was only a BB. That's fishy, no way around it. You mention GUN and people assume DEADLY. You don't mention BB, nobody will suspect it is.
When the 911 caller was interviewed by officers, they did not bother to ask him why he neglected to mention this to 911 dispatch. They didn't seem to care or think it mattered. Probably because if word got out that cops shot and killed a man brandishing a BB gun, that would make for damaging headlines that could make the department look really bad, even if it does appear to have been justified in the body cam footage released a couple months later.
DESERT HORIZONS
"He told me prior to the shooting, the black Mercedes entered the main gate and the driver contacted him. The driver requested [the guard] open the gate so he could turn around because the police were following him. The subject showed [the guard] a gun, told him it was a BB gun, then mentioned he was fearful the police would shoot him." - Deputy Brown
"[The guard] said a man pulled up to the gate and asked if he could open the gate so he could complete a u-turn. [The guard] said this occurred a lot because most people do no realize the left light is a no u-turn light." - Country Club Gate Guard Interview
"The man [RR] advised [the guard] to tell the cop behind him to stop following him. The man picked up a handgun…and held it in his hands. He did not point the gun at [the guard]. The man stated the gun was just a BB gun and he was afraid that the cops were going to think it was a real weapon and “shoot him.”…nothing with his demeanor and/or body language seemed out of the ordinary…He told the man to just put down the gun, pull over, and put his hands up and tell the police it was not a real weapon. [The guard] opened the gate and the man drove through.
According to the guard at the country club, RR was NOT looking to die "suicide by cop" style. He was FLEEING them, in fear of his life! The guard also didn't think anything "with his demeanor and/or body language seemed out of the ordinary," which directly contradicts the 911 caller's description of RR just minutes previous. RR seems to know already, according to the guard's testimony, that the cops will shoot him because they will think his BB gun is a deadly weapon. But this doesn't make any sense because if he doesn't want them to shoot him, all he has to do is NOT point the gun at them! So either RR believes he is not in control of his own actions here, or something isn't right about the guard's story.
A look at the surveillance footage showing the guard's interaction with RR might help clear things up here, but the files which may contain that footage do not load. I don't think that's an accident.
In a previous blog I noted that there was a car which appears at the gate in the police body cam footage, which I suspected might be the 911 caller. This report confirms that I was correct.
Above is a video entitled Surveillance_Entry_Guest_Lane__Redacted, which shows the Gray/Beige Hyundai presumably belonging to the 911 caller, at the gate where RR just moments ago allegedly begged to be let in in order to flee the cops. There are several videos included in this report which show different angles of this entry-way. They are clearly labeled camera 3, camera 4, and camera 6. But none of these show RR driving up to the guard station. And where is the footage from cameras 1, 2, and 5?
There are 21 video files in this report that are not viewable. Most of them are labeled "21_Highway_111_Entry_Guest_Lane_LP__6__Highway_111" or something similar. Obviously these videos contain more footage of the "entry guest lane" where RR entered, and would likely show his interaction with the guard, possibly even with sound! This is a Country Club, people with money LIVE and play here! There are plenty of videos in this report that work just fine, so why should these files in particular be any different? Yet, these are the only files in the entire report that will not load properly. I tried changing the file type, I tried opening them with different apps, and I tried both a Mac and a PC. If they didn't want them released, they could have just not included them here. But by including files that won't load, they can say "we released all the footage! Not our fault if you can't get em to load!"
"…the fact of the matter is it was a 417 and the guy brandished a weapon. They put that over the air…but I saw the black vehicle pointing at me, as I’m going in. So I kind of shit myself a little bit because poor positions…And I realize it now, that I’m sitting here looking straight at a 417 suspect vehicle that, you know, I know for one armed with a handgun…This guy’s literally has the ability to point right at me as I’m coming in" - Deputy Garrett Judge
"I stayed where I was at…for a minute. I was next in line to the security guy. And then I pulled up to the security guy and say hey, this guy has a gun…you should shelter…And I backed my car up and around and off to the side. So, I’m facing directly at the guy he’s looking right at me. With his eyes. [The suspect?] Yeah. He knows I’m there and then I called 911 and stuff. So, then I’m thinking wait a minute. What if that gun’s real? He could shoot right at me." -911 caller
In a previous blog, I noted the absurdity of the [then unconfirmed] 911 caller pulling up to just outside the gate with his car in park, like a sitting duck. The quotes above re-enforce, and illustrate my point. While his words express uncertainty whether the gun is real or not, his repeated actions are consistent with someone not so concerned for his life. Does he know something the cops don't? Woulda been helpful if he told them!
Deputy Garrett drives in, clearly under the assumption that RR has a deadly handgun. No question about it, he doesn't think for a moment that RR might actually have a non deadly BB gun, which he did. He notes the fact that since RR is facing the entry gate, he could pretty much just open fire on anyone entering. But since RR only had a BB gun, Deputy Garrett's fears were based upon false assumptions relayed to him by dispatch, which ultimately lead back to the 911 caller apparently holding that info back.
"Dep. Doyle watched the suspect [RR] grab an unknown item from the passenger seat, show it to the security guard, and put the item back on the passenger seat. Dep. Doyle initially thought the item might be a gun, but the security guard did not appear to be alarmed and opened the access gate…"
"And the RP [911 caller], I remember seeing them [him?] parked outside the gate. They tried to follow me in, but then they backed up so possibly the RP…It was a holiday so traffic was kind of light…" - Deputy Doyle
Recall earlier when the 911 caller initially told investigators that RR showed the security guard the gun and told him it was just a BB. How did he see this from so far away, since he was supposedly BEHIND the police car that was BEHIND RR? Not to mention he supposedly has poor eyesight! He corrects himself later and says the guard TOLD him this, and so it was just "hearsay." That's the second time he made a statement about seeing something, but then later in the same interview, changed/updated his story.
"Hearsay" is a legal term. He also stated he wanted to "press charges" twice during the 911 call. Maybe it's this person's lucid, calm demeanor on the 911 call - maybe it's his choice of wording - but this just doesn't sound like a "victim" to me, but someone oddly on the offense, or perhaps more in control of the situation than he lets on.
WHAT PUSHED RR OVER THE EDGE?
Although I believe there is evidence that this may have been some sort of entrapment operation, I am not denying for a second that RR could have had some serious mental issues. He clearly had tremendous financial stresses that could have pushed anyone over the edge mentally. But 2 things can be true at the same time, they don't necesarilly cancel each other out. Maybe he did have a mental breakdown, and maybe someone was there taking advantage? Simultaneously, the Sheriff's department had to make sure they appeared absolutely justified in killing a man who brandished a BB gun on them.
The following quotes are from an interview with, I believe, RR's parents. The names are redacted, so I can't tell when it is the father or mother answering, so no distinction will be made here:
"Well, financially, with the C0V1D, yes. The, uh, his business at the coffee company, [Joshua Tree Coffee] uh, probably was down quite a bit, because the cafes were shut and…yeah, financial problems…and he said at one point, it [C0V1D] affected 80% of his business at the coffee company..."
That is a HUGE financial loss! And RR, being the kind of guy that took pride in "contributing to the community," probably felt terrible for all his employees that he likely couldn't employ during that time. So it's not just the financial loss, but the self-imposed emotional stress which likely accompanied that.
"And he was gonna do clothing, uh, but…He got machinery…equipment is at Juniper…Unbelievable machinery from the south that - dyes. I mean, you’d have to see it to believe it…he put thousands and thousands of dollars in this equipment, to make the material, the hemp, uh…he was getting thread from China…tens of thousands. We’re talking, like, 200,000…but he bought the building…It’s on Juniper. He owned that building up until last week…and he’s technically renting it…to pay taxes and other things...We have a crop of rats up here. All the equipment at…wires got chewed up by rats…They were chewing through all the wiring on the…weaving machine and…thousands of dollars on their car, their washing machine, anything electrical…catastrophic this year…"
I'm not sure how recent this was, but as Joshua Tree Coffee is recovering from the rediculous L0ckd0wns, his entire clothing business is ended before it even begins, as rats chew through and destroy all of the equipment he intended to create clothes from sctratch with. Was this sabotage? Either that or some serious bad energy brought in the vermin...
"and he took a loan out on his house, which was free and clear…A loan against his home…it’s probably not healthy, but he doesn’t talk about his finances."
"He [roomate] was a customer and a artist, and he works with glass…and he [RR] said, do you know of enough artists that could bring their art in, because Royce was under contract. He was under a lease, there…And if he didn’t get someone in there, he had to pay the…whatever it was on 2 spaces…He has, I think, 5 or 6 artists, and they take turns coming in…he was only gonna ask, what, 20% of their artwork for profit…"
Another example of RR trying to help his community and support the arts. He also rented that same space originally to feature the art of his former girlfriend.
"He has [Joshua Tree Coffee] and next to it he has the colloidal silver, which helps with viruses, like C0V1D...his big thing was helping the community he has all this equipment that - he has a lab at Juniper…For healing…that he was making to help people. People who didn’t have money, he would give it to em. If they only had $5, he would take that…"
This was where I met RR when I visited the area, and he gave me a free bottle. He went into great detail about the laser process to create the silver nano-particles for his true colloidal silver. If the equipment he described to me was among that "destroyed by rats" in his warehouse, that was a VERY expensive loss. Again, was this sabotage? Let's be honest, alternative treatment methods to C0V1D weren't exactly "accepted" during 2020-2021. And he seemed to be trying to develope one, in a form.
"it’s like a $200,000 car, and he’s got debt at this point…He owes…He owes on that car…I think he bought it in Arizona…"
This is the vehicle RR was last driving. According to the report, his only criminal record had to do with speeding tickets.
THE FINAL ACT
[The security guard] said a man pulled up to the gate and asked if he could open the gate so he could complete a u-turn. [The security guard] said this occurred a lot because most people do not realize the left light is a no u-turn light…the man advised [the security guard] to tell the cop behind him to stop following him. The man picked up a handgun…and held it in his hands. He did not point the gun at [the security guard]. The man stated the gun was just a BB gun and he was afraid that the cops were going to think it was a real weapon and “shoot him.”…nothing with his demeanor and/or body language seemed out of the ordinary…He [guard] told the man [RR] to just put down the gun, pull over, and put his hands up and tell the police it was not a real weapon. [The security guard] opened the gate and the man drove through. The deputy then drove through the gate after the man…[The security guard] did not speak with the deputy…said he was in and out of the security guard gate office (talking on the radio) and did not have visual of the incident the entire time…during the incident, another man drove up in a green SUV to the gate and had a conversation with him…the man stated he was the person who had initially called the police because that man pointed a gun at him; he then backed up his car and parked in front of the country club." - Security guard Interview summary
I've noticed in these types of reports, there will typically be an officer's interpretation of an interview, and then there is the raw interview itself. In this case, we only have the officer's interpretation, which bugs me a bit because the surveillance footage capturing this interaction seems to have been withheld. Now we see that the raw interview with the guard and his responses transcribed verbatum is also being withheld.
Even though we don't have video, the guard's overall demeanor can be partially inferred by several of his actions, and from comments made by Deputy Doyle.
He states that RR initially asked him to open the gate so he could "complete a U-Turn." He then goes on to say this is fairly common because people don't realize the left turn light at that intersection does now allow U-Turns. Sure, that might be common when the person isn't also showing you a gun and telling you the cops are FOLLOWING, and trying to kill him for having a BB gun!
The guard apparently goes on to explain that RR "picked up a handgun…and held it in his hands. He did not point the gun at [the guard]"...is it just me or is that the most polite and non-threatening way to describe a man pulling a gun on someone? If a complete stranger pulls out a gun and shows it to me, I don't care if it's pointed at me or not, I'm going to feel threatened! It only takes a split second at that point to turn it and shoot!
The guard then indicates that "…nothing with his demeanor and/or body language seemed out of the ordinary." Compare that description with the one the 911 caller gave regarding his interaction with RR just minutes before. Did RR just come back to his senses while he was speeding down the 111, splitting lanes while flooring it, and nervously putting on his convertable top in the middle of the street? If grabbing a gun and showing it to the guard doesn't qualify as "body language" that seemed "out of the ordinary," I think Desert Horizons needs to get a new guard!
Isn't it the guard's specific job to make sure people like this DON'T enter into an area where people LIVE? And why couldn't RR just do exactly what the guard suggested right then and there? The cop was right behind him already! It seems the guard wanted to "usher" everyone into the area inside...
When the 911 caller pulls up, the guard says his SUV was green. It's also called beige and gray in various parts of this report. It looks gray to me in the Chase ATM video. The best video of the car is in the guard gate surveillance, but the one we see is black and white only.
"The driver of the suspect vehicle abruptly made a right turn onto Desert Horizons Drive and stopped at the manned security gate..Dep Doyle watched the suspect grab an unknown item from the passenger seat, show it to the security guard, and put the item back on the passenger seat. Dep Doyle initially thought the item might be a gun, but the security guard did not appear to be alarmed and opened the access gate."
"The guard shack. Or the guard…And the RP [Reporting Party], I remember seeing them parked outside the gate. They tried to follow me in, but then they backed up so possibly the RP…It was a holiday so traffic was kind of light…" - Deputy Doyle
Deputy Doyle beleived RR was in possession of a deadly handgun, so when he saw RR reach for something that he admits he thought might be a gun, why didn't he react in some manner? He says he couldn't tell what it was, but shouldn't he have assumed the worst in case it WAS a real gun and RR tried to blow away the guard? Doyle's ACTIONS here say, "it's not a deadly gun."
Dep Doyle says "the security guard did not appear to be alarmed and opened the access gate." He's judging the possibility of whether the suspect brandished a gun, who he knows just got done doing that minutes ago to someone else, by the guard's demeanor. He's helping to NORMALIZE, and make less absurd, the guard's decision to let an armed man into the parking lot, without any apparent concern for the lives of people living in there!
Let's remember that RR told the 911 caller that his gun was only a BB. 911 caller DOESN'T tell 911 dispatch, and so they don't tell the cops responding to the scene. Now RR has just told the guard at the gate. Guard doesn't attempt to inform Dep Doyle, and Doyle makes no effort to communicate with the guard as he blows by him and immediately enters the Country Club gate, without quickly asking what the interaction with RR was all about.
Dep Doyle remarks that traffic was "kinda light," which make sense because it was a holiday and early in the morning. But was this also said in order to explain why no cars attempted to enter while the shooting scene occured?
"[911 caller] told the security guard they should take some sort of cover as he was afraid there was going to be potential gunfire because the suspect had a gun. [911 caller] said he took cover by some bricks near the guard shack" - Officer's Interview Narrative
"The cop needs to turn right. I’m not going to go in there. I’m just going to pull over. [and where are you pulling over?] Desert Horizons Country Club. There he is. That’s the guy with the gun. [Ok, just go ahead and stay right there, and they’ll make contact with you.] - 911 call transcript
"I got out and told the security guy, dude there might be gunfire get - let’s shelter. Let’s get behind some bricks you know. So I was hiding behind some bricks, but watching..."
"And he convinces the security guy - He pulls in. The cop follows him. He turns around so that he can come out of the - if you have your lanyard lane. And he [Royce] could be running away basically. I stayed where I was at…for a minute. I was next in line to the security guy. And then I pulled up to the security guy and say hey, this guy has a gun…you should shelter…And I backed my car up and around and off to the side. So, I’m facing directly at the guy he’s looking right at me. With his eyes...He [RR] knows I’m there and then I called 911 and stuff. So, then I’m thinking wait a minute. What if that gun’s real? He could shoot right at me. And I should be sheltering with the old man. So, I got my coffee and ran over into the thing [guard shack]" - 911 caller.
The 911 caller says to dispatch "I’m not going to go in there," and then proceeds to drive right up to the guard gate! Deputy Doyle also remarked that the 911 caller tried to follow him in. What was his plan? To just park there off to the side and drink his coffee, in full view of the armed guy who just threatened to kill him? That's not too far from the truth of what happened here!
When describing the moment he realized RR was looking straight at him, the 911 caller states "He knows I’m there and then I called 911 and stuff." But apparently he was also on the phone with his Electrician at the same time, because the electrician said he heard the shots that killed RR! Here's the quote from the report:
[The Electrician] then said he heard approximately 4 shots and [911 caller] said, “they got him, he’s down.”
Let's recap the 911 caller's phone activity, as detailed in this report...911 caller is on the phone with his Electrician when RR first threatens him. He hangs up with the electrician to call 911 as he follows RR to the country club. He hangs up with 911 when he gets to the country club. He pulls up to the gate and sees RR staring at him. He calls 911 again. A minute or less goes by and he is on the phone with the electrician again, who can hear RR get shot through the phone. Try and picture all that in your mind.
"but I saw the black vehicle pointing at me, as I’m going in. So I kind of shit myself a little bit because poor positions…And I realize it now, that I’m sitting here looking straight at a 417 suspect vehicle that, you know, I know for one armed with a handgun…This guy’s literally has the ability to point right at me as I’m coming in...I think I went through the—guest one, which is the right or the…I believe it was already open…because those gate cards sometimes even if you go in there through the routine stuff, they always want to stop and hey, what’s going on. And so I think in my head this motherfucker better have the gate open…It was a bitching car. I could see it. I’m like wow. Cause I almost thought okay does this guy live in here? Is that why he was let in by the guard gate?Did he have a key fob that just allowed him to pass through unimpeded? Because a lot of times they’re very pushy in there, and it’s like they disregard cops. It’s a weird thing with Indian Wells…" - Deputy Garrett Judge
Deputy Judge arrived on the scene just after Dep Doyle and the 911 caller, and found himself in the exact same situation the 911 caller did - face to face with RR sitting in his car facing the gate. He makes it clear, he believes RR has a deadly handgun - because the 911 caller didn't bother to tell dispatch that it might be just a BB.
I mentioned in a previous blog how the security guard gate was in the "open" position just before the 2nd Deputy arrived. Since Dep Doyle drove straight in without speaking to the guard, that tells me it was left open after RR entered. But as soon as Dep Judge arrives, it immediately closes. Why did the guard decide to close the gate at that particular moment? Was this to keep anyone from driving in and potentially interrupting the scene? How did he know more cops weren't on the way that would have to blast through the gate he just closed? How did he know NOT to close it after Dep Doyle went in? Neither cop said a word to him upon entering!
"So I got my coffee and ran over into the thing [guard shack] - and kept trying to tell the guy [guard] to quit going out there, but he was trying to deal with traffic...And they asked me to leave so the paramedics could get in." - 911 caller
Deputy Doyle said traffic was light that morning, but nonetheless, the 911 caller says the gate guard was dealing with traffic. What traffic? We're talking probably less than 5 minutes here, from when RR showed up, till the cops shot him dead. The only "traffic" I can see the guard needing to direct, would be AWAY from the Country Club entrance.
After RR was shot, the 911 caller said he was asked to leave so paramedics could get in. Meaning, his car was blocking traffic coming into the country club. Picture this for a second...he's blocking traffic from coming in, and the guard is "dealing with traffic." It seems these guys are working together to prevent cars from coming in. They seem to have created a blockade, yet there is no dialogue acknowledging that they are doing this. Aren't they in fear of their lives? How do they know RR won't come barrelling through the gates, shooting at them in an attempt to escape, cops screaching after him?
"Dep Doyle…stopped his patrol vehicle…behind the suspect vehicle. The suspect backed up to within feet of the front of his patrol vehicle and stopped…The suspect yelled for Dep Doyle to kill him, shoot him and “In my existence.” …Dep Doyle believed the suspect was going to shoot and kill him or Dep Judge…"
"Initially I’d say about 5 feet, but then he began to back [up], so I thought he was gonna crash into my vehicle, but then he stopped, so it was a lot closer, probably 2 feet…Um, kill him, in, in my existence, shoot him…."
RR appears to have positioned himself initially to leave the Resort, but instead parks facing the gate he came in through - clear of traffic so anyone entering will not be impeded, which is rather convenient for the Deputies who are about to arrive, isn't it?
RR watches Deputy Doyle arrive, then backs up for no apparent reason, to within feet of the Deputy's car. Only reasons I can think he may have done this was to either position himself to flee if needed, or to position himself in a specific way for the surveillance cameras.
"I can see the two of them communicating, I could see mouths moving but I couldn’t hear shit. I didn’t hear anything. It was - it was the weirdest sensation. The second I got out of my car was like my focus was a scarecrow looking dude and those two guys but I didn’t hear them. I could see Doyle’s mouth moving. I could see this guy gesturing, and I could see almost like a frustration with this guy in his mannerism...And then I see the movement, I just see a gun pointed at Doyle…So at that point, I drew my gun and fired several rounds…I didn’t hear my shots, I didn’t hear Doyle’s shots, but I was so focused on the firearm...He just — he had intent. He — he has something in his head, and he was going to fulfill it. He was going to go through with it…I knew that there was some sort of firearm experience that this guy had…it was like the scarecrow in Wizard of Oz…but yet it was still, you know, kind of puppetry but just — just he had the build of a scarecrow" - Deputy Judge
Dep Judge's choice of the words "scarecrow" and "puppetry," in reference to RR's movements, indicates to me that he was picking up on RR's dissociated state of mind via his odd movements. A puppet is controlled by someone else. Whether that influence was RR's own demons or something else is impossible to determine with the information we have here.
Deputy Judge must have been in shock when he arrived, because he said he couldn't hear anything, not even the shots. So he wouldn't have heard if RR said "shoot me" or anything else.
"[The Guard] said he was in and out of the security guard gate office (talking on the radio) and did not have visual of the incident the entire time"
The 911 caller said the guard was busy dealing with traffic. The above quote says he was in and out and talking to radio. He apparently closed the gate when the 2nd cop arrived, after opening it and leaving it open for all 3 participants in this final scene. Doesn't sound like he was "taking cover," sounds like a guy calmly involved in directing things.
[The 911 caller] said he took cover by some bricks near the guard shack. [911 caller] did see the suspect waving the gun in the air. [911 caller] said he believed the suspect was telling the deputies that the gun was a BB gun. I asked why he thought that and he said it was because he was pointing at the gun with his left hand but he couldn’t hear what was being said. I asked if he had it pointed at the deputies…He said the suspect “must have done something because they all responded at once.
In a previous video I pointed out that RR did not say "end MY existence" in the video. And neither is Deputy Doyle quoted as hearing those exact words. I hear "END EXISTENCE," which demonstrates his state of dissociation, as I pointed out before. This is not an insignifficant detail, because it indicates that the person who edited the footage subtitles was trying to bias the narrative towards a "suicide by cop" perception. "End existence" = Destroy Everything. "End MY existence" = Destroy ME. The latter is much more specific and less open to interpretation. Why would the video need to be edited towards a bias if it was so conclusive on its own? Of course, they can always say "oh...oops!"
The 911 caller saw RR point at the gun, but we didn't see that in the body cam video. How did he see something we can't see in the video? Is there other footage that was cut out of it? 3 of the 4 individuals at the scene did not hear anything RR said. Dep Doyle's recollection was extremely brief in this report. Are we relying too much on this video? What if it was selectively edited in order to favor the suicide narrative?
Ever been in a film/music production studio? I'm sure the 911 caller has, since he did state he once had a production company in LA. Recorded sounds/video can easily be cut, pasted, altered, or deleted without most people being able to tell the difference. Doesn't mean that happened here, but it's certainly possible and we've seen the motive for doing so.
The full body cam video shows what occured in the minutes after RR was shot and killed. As deputies attempted to administer CPR, BLEEPS and visual blurring is placed to obscure sounds and visuals as RR lay bleeding. I can understand, to a degree, not wanting to release clear footage of RR's bloody final moments. But was this also done to obscure the planting of evidence upon his body? There is a long bleep while Deputies are struggling with RR, who was still alive for a few moments after he fell. Did they "bleep out" his final words for some reason?
IN CONCLUSION
My most conservative opinion regarding what happened here is that RR was indeed under much stress, and might even have inadvertantly succumbed to negative influences which drove him to this tragic place and time. The toxicology report showed he had THC in his system. Rumor has it, he was open to the use of mushrooms and possibly even stronger hallucinogenics in the recent months before he died. It is conceavable that all of these factors lead to his tragic shift into a desperate state of dissociation, where he did and said things not consistent with the person most knew as RR.
To take another position on what happened here, I would start by noting some pretty strong evidence that the Riverside Country Sheriff's Department was covering things up. Possibly even altering the evidence, in order to control public perception around an incident that could make them look very bad, during a heated period where "defund the police" was trending. So I'm not necesarily disputing the idea that Deputies were justified in shooting RR here, but it must be acknowledged that they did have a very strong motive to make sure public perception leaned that way, regardless of how conclusive the body cam footage may have been.
To take a more extreme position: were there individuals looking to sabotage RR for various reasons? Did his work on "silver nanoparticles," his international correspondences, and thousands of dollars worth of investments land him on a "blacklist" of sorts? Were people sent out there to sort of "ruin him" and bring him to his knees? Was this "suicide by cop" incident some sort of sophisticated entrapment operation, where a mentally unstable RR was to end up dead one way or the other, and that members of law enforcement and other bad actors may have been consciously involved with at varying degrees?
Burning questions:
What happened to RR's wallet and what banking transaction did he potentially conduct just before the initial "brandishing" incident? Who would have wanted that covered up and why?
Why did the 911 caller tell dispatch that a man threatened him with a gun, without informing them RR told and attempted to show him it was just a BB?
Did a freak invasion of rats really ruin all of RR's equipment at his warehouse on Juniper street, or was sabotage involved?
This blog was researched, written, and continues to be maintained by 1 person. If you enjoyed it and would like to encourage more of them, donations can be made by clicking the button below.
