Formal murder charges levied against ex-LAPD cop
A group of officers walk past a police vehicle after a news conference on the search for Christopher Dorner in Big Bear, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013. Dorner was last spotted near the ski town. / AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Updated 9:23 p.m.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. Hundreds of tips prompted by a $1 million reward poured in to authorities seeking help finding the most wanted man in America, an ex-Los Angeles police officer who was charged Monday with murdering a policeman in Riverside.
With thousands of officers around Southern California searching for Christopher Dorner, prosecutors in Riverside announced charges for last week's killing. Dorner also was charged with attempted murder for wounding another officer and firing at two others, Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach said.
This undated photo released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows suspect Christopher Dorner, a former Los Angeles officer.
/ AP Photo/Los Angeles Police DepartmentAuthorities obtained a no-bail arrest warrant, which allows Dorner to be apprehended anywhere, Zellerbach said.
The manhunt for Dorner, 33, began last Wednesday when he was named the suspect in the Orange County murders of a former Los Angeles police captain's daughter and her fiance the previous weekend. Hours after police announced they were looking for him, Dorner first fired at two LAPD officers, then ambushed the Riverside officers.
"By both his words and conduct, he has made very clear to us that every law enforcement officer in Southern California is in danger of being shot and killed," Zellerbach said at a news conference that was guarded by four officers armed with rifles.
Manhunt for suspected LAPD cop killer
Fugitive officer goes from hunter to hunted
It was also revealed Monday that officials were worried Dorner may be able to escape by airplane. Los Angeles police believe Dorner may have received some flight training during his time in the Navy, however they are unsure of the extent of his abilities, reports CBS Los Angeles.
A warning has been issued to local airports and others in the aviation industry to be on the lookout for him. They suggest securing unattended aircraft, checking passengers and cargo, and keeping an eye out for unknown pilots or personnel. Officials have also been advised to watch for anyone who may appear to be under stress, or possibly under the control of someone else.
Police say Dorner wrote a lengthy manifesto that was posted to Facebook after the double murder. He vowed deadly revenge on those in the LAPD responsible for his firing years earlier, and their families. Police now are providing protection for some 50 families thought to be targets.
The search for Dorner was focused in the mountains near Big Bear Lake about 80 miles east of Los Angeles after his burned-out truck was found there last Thursday. That effort was scaled back over the weekend, when authorities announced the reward.
Police and city officials believe the reward, raised from public and private sources, will encourage the citizens to stay vigilant. More than 700 tips had come in since the reward was announced.
"Now it's like the game show `Who Wants to be a Millionaire,"' said Anthony Burke, supervisory inspector for the U.S. Marshals regional fugitive taskforce. "Instead of one contestant, we've got 100,000, and there's only one question you have to answer. All they have to answer is where he's at, and we can take it from there."
- Hundreds of tips follow $1M Christopher Dorner reward offer
- Massive reward offer for Christopher Dorner
- LAPD to reopen probe into fugitive ex-cop's firing
The wide-ranging search has created unusually heavy traffic backups at California border crossings into Mexico, as agents are more closely inspecting each car. State police in Mexico's Baja California were given photographs of Dorner and warned to consider him armed and extremely dangerous.
Zellerback said authorities believe Dorner will emerge at some point and try to continue carrying out his vendetta.
"I don't think he's done," Zellerback said. "Just read his manifesto and look at his actions. He's trying to send a message, and it would be my belief that his message is not completed yet."
Dorner was fired from the LAPD five years ago, when a department board determined that he falsely claimed another officer had kicked a suspect. Randal Quan represented him during the proceeding.
Quan's daughter, Monica, and her fiance, Keith Lawrence, were found shot dead Feb. 3 in a car in the parking structure of their Irvine condominium. Last Wednesday, after discovery of the manifesto, Irvine police announced they were searching for Dorner.
Early Thursday in the Riverside County city of Corona, police say Dorner shot at two LAPD officers who had been dispatched to protect a possible target of Dorner's. One officer's head was grazed by a bullet; the other was unharmed.
Minutes later, authorities believe Dorner used a rifle to ambush two Riverside officers, killing one and seriously wounding another. The slain officer was identified as Michael Crain, 34. The other officer's identity was not released to protect his family.
Popular on CBSNews.com
- Tornado victims start picking up the pieces
- Tornado's destructive path 17 Photos
- Children rescued from two elementary schools in Oklahoma 19 Photos
- Oklahoma tornado victim search efforts winding down
- Twisters touch down in the Midwest 13 Photos
- Brigadier general suspended over altercation with woman
- Up-close video of Moore, Okla., tornado Play Video
- Oklahoma tornado as seen by storm chasers Play Video
....And speaking of targets, there's no excuse for strafing that newspaper truck. The LAPD has had a history of brutality, corruption and flat incompetence that goes back LONG before I was born and I am in my seventh decade. Over-reaction is an art form with these guys (and gals) and I can't think of a single large metropolitan police force in a developed country anywhere that has as vile a rep as Los Angeles' finest.
Is that rep deserved? Much of it, yes! All hyperbole aside, the LAPD has and has had a public relations problem that is well earned and this latest nightmare is as much their doing as it is Dorner's.
Make no mistake....There is no excuse for Dorner's rampage, He didn't just step over the line, he took a flying leap that would have made Bob Beamon or Mike Powell spit with envy. That the LAPD needs a thorough house cleaning and has a lot of rot within its ranks does not justify what Young mister Chris did. He needs to be caught, tied up in knots and confined for a VERY long time.
All that said, however, with the LAPD's sordid history - strongly suspected as well as proven beyond any doubt; what surprises me more than anything else was it took this long before someone unloaded on them...
Looks less and less likely he seems to have a certain discpline if he was not an ex marine we could doubt it but having been a marine we have to assume that he is very disciplined and will not necessarily repond to fire and is most likely less prone to the type of shoot out that occurred with the newspaper ladies.
It turns out we also can not get a straight story about the riverside cops.
Do you realize that anyone can shoot at the LAPD and attribute it to Dorner at this point thanks to the LAPD themselves.
He is being charged do not know what that means. Is evidence needed?
or basically it's straight to the electric chair.
As said earlier the more time goes by more of the truth seems to seep out.
It's been a week since the murders... I hope nobody else is killed before this ends.