Joe Gallegos' playground attack leaves 2 boys near death

[Dakota Valkyrie]

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Two Valley mothers are facing an unimaginable horror as they spend Christmas Eve in the hospital with their sons.

Both boys are critically injured and police say they are not expected to survive after a brutal playground attack.

The boys were beaten in the head with a baseball bat and police say their attacker is Joe Sauceda Gallegos.

The little boys are cousins, just 10 and 7 years old, and were viciously beaten while playing in a park just a few doors down from where they live. Their injuries were so severe paramedics could not tell what happened to them.

Police arrested the victims' neighbor, 36-year-old Gallegos.

A neighbor’s surveillance camera captured Gallegos following the boys to the park carrying a baseball bat. Minutes later he walked back to his house. Tuesday night investigators found the bat inside his house.

The little boys involved in the brutal attack live with their mothers. Family friends say both are single parents. One of the mothers spoke on Wednesday and just ask that everyone keep them in their prayers. The little boys are in extremely critical condition.http://www.azfamily.com/yahoo_rss/stories/phoenix-local-news-122308-kid-head-trauma.20e51a3.html

A call for help was made when they were found by a neighbor a few minutes later, lying in the sand near the playground.

"We don't know the motive. He followed these two boys to the park and bludgeoned them," said Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Family friends said the boys never knew or had any contact with Gallegos before the attack.

Police said their injuries were so bad that they were unable to determine whether a gunshot was involved and paramedics rushed them to a nearby hospital.

Police believe the suspect acted alone.

Police said Gallegos, who lives in the neighborhood with his uncle, appeared nervous when police showed up at his doorway looking for clues. He has two children who live in Colorado with their mother, also both 7- and 10-years-old.

Gallegos' uncle told police he believed his nephew had been diagnosed as a schizophrenic.

About six months ago, Gallegos allegedly called police to report he killed his two sons in the attic of his home. Officers arrived to find that no such crime had occurred.

Records show a petition for a court ordered mental evaluation was filed in July. It was not clear whether the request was prompted by Gallegos' call to police. Subsequent case entries indicate Gallegos was released from an inpatient treatment facility on Aug. 20.

In early October, Gallegos and another man were cited for misdemeanor assault after getting in a fight at a fast food restaurant. He didn't show up for court and a warrant was issued.

Police had at least two other contacts with Gallegos where he was referred for mental health treatment.http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2008/12/24/20081224abrk-childrenattacked.html

This just cuts to my heart.

[Silvahalo]

I say kill him. I know there is a possibility he is mentally ill, well hell then throw him in a dark deep hole and give a bat so he can beat himself dead when he figures there is no escape....

Sweet little ones, I'll pray for your bodies to heal and your spirits to follow in equal strength...this was a terrible thing done to you...
may an angel's tears heal you completely.
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[Lynntoast]

I don't know silva. It's a horrific thing that he did to these boys, but I don't know if I could kill him. He definitely needs to be locked up somewhere for life, but I, myself could not kill him. The man is obviously very very sick. Did he even know what he was doing? Did he show no signs of violence when he was locked up before? How scary for those kids. I hope they pull through.

[Becca]

The two children he allegedly attacked remain in critical condition. They have been identified as 10-year-old Edwin Pellecier and his
7-year-old cousin Jesse Ramirez.

Court paperwork reveals some disturbing details about this suspect. According to police, when they showed up to question Gallegos at his home they smelled a strong odor of chlorine similar to bleach on his hands. Police also say they noticed dried stains that appeared to be blood on his shoes.


http://www.azfamily.com/news/local/stories/Phoenix-local-news-122408-suspect-beating-schizoph.2d06303.html

[Dakota Valkyrie]

According to police, when they showed up to question Gallegos at his home they smelled a strong odor of chlorine similar to bleach on his hands.
Well I guess he's not all that cuckoo. Had enough sense to try and destroy evidence.

[RaVen Blackehart]

PHOENIX (AP) - Phoenix police say two young boys bludgeoned on a playground earlier this week have died.

Police arrested 36-year-old Joe Gallegos within hours of Tuesday's attack. He is now facing first-degree murder charges in addition to counts of child abuse and dangerous crimes against children. Bail has been set at $1 million.

Doctors believe the boys were beaten with a baseball bat or something similar. Police say they found a bat and clothing that appeared to be bloodstained in Gallegos' home.

Surveillance video from a camera on a nearby house showed the boys being followed into the park by a man carrying something that looked like a bat.

Gallegos' uncle has told police he believes Gallegos has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic and told police six months ago that he had killed his sons.

Gallegos' two sons are the same ages as the boys who were attacked. They live with their mother in Colorado.

http://www.nebraska.tv/Global/story.asp?S=9582589&nav=menu605_2

[Dakota Valkyrie]

I am so sad. Even though I knew this was coming. It's all beyond senseless.

[Silvahalo]

I don't know silva. It's a horrific thing that he did to these boys, but I don't know if I could kill him. He definitely needs to be locked up somewhere for life, but I, myself could not kill him. The man is obviously very very sick. Did he even know what he was doing? Did he show no signs of violence when he was locked up before? How scary for those kids. I hope they pull through.

Well, the children are dead and it does appear he was released recently from a psych ward. I still think he should be dumped in a hole with a bat. They can fish him out weeks later then lock him up for life. I know how terrible mental illness can be. I have 2 uncles that are in such a state and I know their lives have not been easy, but then mine as a child was hell around one of them and those nightmare never go away...

2 young, innocent boys are dead...my heart breaks for them and the families they left behind. Kisses and hugs little ones....I pray you are at peace.
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[DogMom]

Phoenix police say two young boys bludgeoned on a playground earlier this week have died.

Oh God. :sad2: There are no words.

[RaVen Blackehart]

Suspect in Baseball-Bat Killing of Two Boys Found Incompetent to Stand Trial; New Hearing May Take Months


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The man accused of a random, fatal baseball-bat attack on two little boys playing in a park in December has been found incompetent to stand trial -- for now.

Joe Sauceda Gallegos, 39, a reported schizophrenic with a history of mental problems, became the only suspect after the mangled, bloody bodies of the boys -- aged 7 and 10 -- were found by neighbors in a southwest Phoenix park. He's been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and child abuse.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is seeking the death penalty, but mental-health evaluations could possibly derail that plan. It looks like this case is headed to a conclusion similar to that of lunatic Ed Liu, who was placed in a psychiatric institute earlier this year following the 2005 slaying of two Peoria Walmart workers.

Judge Warren Granville of the Maricopa County Superior Court made the latest ruling on Gallegos last week after reviewing two mental-health reports on the murder suspect. Granville ordered the Maricopa County Correctional Health Services department to work up a "restoration regimen" for Gallegos that could last up to 15 months, reports the West Valley View.

If county shrinks can't straighten out Gallegos' head, he may be handed a get-out-of-jail-free card. Being imcarcerated in a mental institution is probably no fun at all, but it's a darned sight better than getting locked up on death row with the execution clock running.

Assuming Gallegos is certifiably, hopelessly insane, though, maybe a lifetime of state care is appropriate. That is, maybe the crime wasn't of evil intent.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/10/suspect_in_baseball-bat_killin.php

[ineedanap]

That is, maybe the crime wasn't of evil intent.

Pardon me? What the fuck kind of intent IS it when you bludgeon 2 little kids to death with a baseball bat???!!!

I lose a little more faith in our justice system everyday.

[biteme]

Suspect in Baseball-Bat Killing of Two Boys Found Incompetent to Stand Trial; New Hearing May Take Months


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http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/10/suspect_in_baseball-bat_killin.php
About six months ago, Gallegos allegedly called police to report he killed his two sons in the attic of his home. Officers arrived to find that no such crime had occurred.

The way I read the whole story he wanted to kill his own children
Sounds pretty Gad Dam evil to me
Saw these poor boys thinking they were his children and not yet dead he went after them and made sure they were dead
he may be sick, but fuck if he's not evil, the problem with putting him in an institution some quack phycobabalist will claim he's cured in a year or so and he'll be out killing more children.

[Whisper]

2 Life Terms for Phoenix Man Who Fatally Beat Kids

A Phoenix man was sentenced to two terms of life in prison Wednesday for brutally beating two boys to death with a baseball bat in a random attack in 2008 two days before Christmas — a crime that shook their neighborhood and the entire Phoenix area.

Joe Sauceda Gallegos, 39, was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court in downtown Phoenix after agreeing to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder to avoid getting the death penalty.

Maricopa County Bill Montgomery told The Associated Press that prosecutors were willing to give up seeking Gallegos' execution because of his mental-health issues, which would have further delayed the case and could have made him exempt from the death penalty anyway.

He said prosecutors discussed the plea agreement with the boys' family members at length, and they agreed that life in prison would be a just resolution given the circumstances.

"True justice would be bringing those boys back, and that's just not going to happen," Montgomery said.

[...]
A year after the killings, The Arizona Republic reported that Phoenix police were called twice about Gallegos in July 2008, that he was ordered hospitalized the second time, and that on Aug. 12, 2008, a judge ordered him into treatment for a year.

The Republic wrote that Gallegos didn't complete the minimum monthly mental-health visits required by the judge and that he wasn't seen again after being released from a hospital in October 2008.

Gallegos' brother, Joe Gallegos, told the Republic that the family tried repeatedly to get help for him, that they had him committed twice, and that both times his brother was released.

Before Gallegos' trial got under way in 2010, a judge declared him mentally unfit to stand trial, ruling that Gallegos didn't understand the charges against him and couldn't assist in his own defense.

Gallegos was sent to the Arizona State Hospital and was immediately rearrested and recharged with murder after he was cleared for release last month. He then was found mentally competent to stand trial and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges before agreeing to the plea deal Wednesday.

Montgomery said Gallegos will not be eligible to have his sentence reduced.

Gallegos' attorney, Tim Agan, said Gallegos agreed to sign the plea deal because "he feels really badly about what he did and is taking responsibility for it."

"Obviously he's very sad about having been involved in this and taking these kids' lives," Agan said. "I think this is a fair and just result given the circumstances, and hopefully maybe the finality of the whole thing being over will help people heal and move on. But I don't know if that's even possible in this circumstance."http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/life-terms-phoenix-man-fatally-beat-kids-16075840

[EdwardRichtofen]

if he can eat by himself and wipe his own ass than he should be considered competent. If my dog attacked those too boys there would be no discussion of the matter of them being killed.

"reported schizophrenic " he is not schizophrenic! He is phsyco. Im schizophrenic, i have a job, i have many friends who are schizophrenic , i dont hear from god, they dont hear from god. This man is just angry. He killed the children out of hatred. Not hatred of children but of authority around him. Most likley a woman. Why do we tolerate this bullshit justice system. There is enough of us with brains we should be able to come up with something better.

My first suggestion is this. A no doubt hearing...Is there video proof or absolute knowledge a person has killed someone else? If Yes than on to The Why Hearing. Why did you do this? If God is in the answer than, we thank them and shoot them.