“Please don’t shoot me again”, would be the most horrific words to hear anyone say. These were Sgt. Mike Crowe’s words as he was being gunned down by one of his subordinates at the South Border Narcotics Taskforce office in Yuma, Arizona on July 4, 1995. Mike wouldn’t be the only victim that night; the night Deputy Jack Hudson was planning his burglary at the taskforce in furtherance of his undercover plan to do his big case. Lt. Dan Elkins and Evidence Custodian Jim Ehrhart would also be looking down the barrel of the meth fueled deputy’s gun. All three lawmen walked in on the deputy as he was ransacking the taskforce to steal evidence in furtherance of taking down a local motorcycle gang. The deputy had become a junkie with a badge. What happened to this rising star – a former Eagle Scout, a 17-year U.S. Marine, number one in his academy class, Rookie of the Year? How could he fall so far from grace in only two years on the job? Once the structured environment of this phenom, who once operated under accountability, stricter rules, procedures, and uniforms, was gone, his life devolved into a drug dependent, murderous rampage.
Ritchie A. Martinez –
It has been about two months since I read this book. After speaking with Steve, the author of the book, I’m ready to share my thoughts and provide you with my insights and hopefully compel you to read this book! If you do read it, I am convinced that you will see how comprehensively Steve has told this tragic story and also respected the memory of his fellow police victims. At the same time, Steve has intelligently presented forensically all the critical issues and compiled the clearest compendium of all the case issues and events. He so carefully draws you into this story, attempting to understand the motive and seeing clearly what is coming down the path of this inevitable sad ending. In fairness, I must state that I had an awareness of this event and know Jim Elkins and Larry Wheeler very well. We were formerly Strike Fore Agents and had shared many professional endeavors investigating major illicit drug smugglers. However, when I read this book, I gained so much more insight into what happened and how. It truly woke me up to how much more this could have been even worst situation.
Beyond the personal impact of this situation, Steve’s writing about the court process and final conviction of Hudson really confirmed what I have been teaching for three decades. That “Planning to manage the information during an investigation will prevent the failing of the investigation”. I heard a very important and knowledgeable forensic pathologist say at an international Association of Homicide investigator conference at FBI Quantico Headquarters that there have always been three pillars to every investigation. There are 1) crime scene 2) forensics evidence and 3) witness statements. Additionally, the 4th pillar of investigation is what we refer to as “artificial intelligence”. Meaning the knowledge we have learned about criminal behavior and how we can predict behaviors and human profiles. Steve’s book will provide you as a police manager great insight into the potential of undercover officer’s behaviors/dangers and tell a story that exemplifies what to prevent.
Ritchie A Martinez
Arizona State Police, Retired Sworn Detective and Civilian Intelligence Supervising Intelligence Analyst/ Acting Director of HIDTA Intelligence Division
Former Past President, International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts’ (IALEIA)
Adjunct Instructor, LSU/National Cener for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter Terrorism Education