According to Paul Tappan, a professor of Law and Criminology at the University of California, crime is merely an action or omission done intentionally without defense or justification that violates the law (Tappan, 1947). Overall crime levels have dropped in the recent past with petty crimes falling while sexual crimes have increased globally. In 2017, the crime clearance rate of violent crimes in America stood at 46% (Gramlich, 2019). This rate is meager considering that not all crimes are reported. This paper shall illustrate how the presence of digital evidence in the case helped to apprehend the perpetrators of the violent crime involving the death of Clifford Lambert, a retired art dealer based in Palm Springs, California. Clifford Lambert was murdered in December 2008 after a crew comprising of two men with the assistance of others attempted to fraud him his possessions and money. The two people identified as Daniel Carlos Garcia and Kaushal Niroula plotted to kill Lambert and defraud the old man off his belongings.
Lisa Di Maria, Deputy District Attorney, stated that the crew killed the man, used his credit cards, transferred money from his account to another account, took away his car before transferring Lambert`s possessions to their name. The crew also tried to erase him by burying him in the desert. Online chats revealed that Garcia met with Lambert online and since Lambert had an affinity for young men, he invited him over to Palm Springs. However, the meeting did not go as planned, and Garcia left a day earlier after an altercation with Lambert. Lambert declared that their relationship ended when Garcia upgraded his flight to business class using Lambert’s credit card.
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Dz Maria illustrated the relationship between Garcia, Niroula, David Replogle, a San Francisco attorney, and Bustamante. Craig McCarthy was introduced to the crew by Bustamante. Bustamante and McCarthy shared an apartment in the Bay Area. Over 25, 000 text messages found in Garcia`s phone connected the whole crew to the conspiracy. The text messages revealed that the entire plot was titled "Operation Craigslist." The messages showed that the operation began in late November. Garcia forwarded Lambert's address to Niroula. Soon afterward, Niroula and Replogle traveled to Palm Springs via Burbank.
On December 1 st , Niroula impersonated an attorney representing the Mays family, based in New York and informed Lambert that the family left him some inheritance comprising of money and valuable artworks. This story excited Lambert so much that he started informing his friends about his renaissance on the wealth pedestal. Four days later, Lambert met his death when Niroula let in Bustamante and McCarthy into Lambert's residence. An altercation occurred between Lambert and McCarthy resulting in his death by stabbing. Bustamante and McCarthy took the victim's car and buried him in the desert. On December 10 th , Niroula began to empty Lambert`s bank account by transferring money to a newly opened Fargo’s account under the name Lambert studios opened using Replogle. The duo transferred $185,000, $30,000 and $15,000 respectively in a span of three days. The crew dragged Manning into the conspiracy by forging four documents to grant him a power of attorney over the estate of the deceased (Sandoval, 2012).
Digital evidence proved significant in clearing this case because social media showed the link between Garcia and Lambert. Text messages revealed the connection between Garcia and the whole crew. Bank statements revealed the transactions and individuals behind the entire operation to steal Lambert's possessions and Money.
References
Gramlich, J. (2019, January 03). Five facts about crime in the U.S. Retrieved February 23, 2019, from Pew Research Center: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/03/5-facts-about-crime-in-the-u-s/
Sandoval, E. (2012, June 25). Plot to kill Palm Springs retiree read like a Hollywood script . doi:https://www.kesq.com/news/news-headlines/plot-to-kill-palm-springs-retiree-read-like-a-hollywood-script/59803057
Tappan, P. W. (1947). Who is the Criminal? American Sociological Review, 12 (1), 96-102.
