Charles Cunningham, Murder: John Finley Scott, TBD
Murder charge for handyman By Lauren Keene/Enterprise staff writer WOODLAND — More than seven months after the mysterious disappearance of retired UC Davis professor John Finley Scott, a local handyman with a history of legal troubles, has been charged with his murder. Charles Kevin Cunningham, 38, appeared Monday in Yolo Superior Court, where he was faced with a six-count Yolo County grand jury indictment charging him with murder with the special circumstance of murder of a witness. Cunningham did not enter a plea Monday. His arraignment was postponed until Friday. “Our office has not received a single piece of evidence linking Mr. Cunningham to any homicide,” Deputy Public Defender Richard Van Zandt, Cunningham’s attorney, said in a phone interview Monday evening. “We anticipate a plea of not guilty and look forward to vigorously defending Mr. Cunningham.” The body of the 72-year-old Scott has never been found. A former student of the retired sociology professor reported him missing on June 11, 2006, though his last known contact with anyone occurred eight days earlier. The grand jury indictment was filed on Sunday, charging Cunningham not only with the special- circumstance murder, but also grand theft, possession of stolen property and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In a news release, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office announced the grand jury indictment and disclosed that Cunningham had been working as a handyman in the area at the time of Scott’s disappearance. Deputy District Attorney David Akulian, who is prosecuting the case, declined to comment on the relationship, if any, between Scott and Cunningham. He also would not elaborate as to when, how or why Scott allegedly was killed, or the nature of the crime Scott had reportedly witnessed. “We’re not getting into that at this point,” said Akulian, who also declined to explain the timing of the indictment. According to the California Penal Code, the charge of murdering a witness applies in cases in which “the victim was a witness to a crime who was intentionally killed for the purpose of preventing his or her testimony in any criminal or juvenile proceeding ... or the victim was a witness to a crime and was intentionally killed in retaliation for his or her testimony in any criminal or juvenile proceeding.” Court records show Cunningham has a criminal history going back more than six years in Yolo County, including two arrests in 2000 for charges including being an unlicensed driver, driving under the influence, hit-and-run with property damage and possession of marijuana. In 2002, he faced charges of possession and transportation for sale of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and false evidence of vehicle registration, records show. A 2004 case involved minor traffic infractions. His most recent arrest occurred June 19, when he was charged with vehicle theft and possession of stolen property. That case was dismissed in August, then refiled in late December to include the weapon charges that appear in his current grand jury indictment, according to court records. Cunningham is being held without bail at the Yolo County Jail. Yolo County sheriff’s detectives indicated early on they believed foul play was involved in the case. Scott, an active retiree who enjoyed extensive hiking and camping trips, was never known to lose touch with family and friends for more than a couple of days. Extensive air and ground searches of Scott’s home on County Road 98 yielded no clues as to his whereabouts, though authorities have been tight-lipped as to what they found inside his house. Friends who visited the property around the time of Scott’s disappearance told The Enterprise they arrived to find all the house’s windows open, but no signs of anyone being home. Scott’s career at UCD spanned more than three decades, starting as a graduate student and lecturer in 1963. He became an associate professor of sociology in 1968 and was elevated to full professor in 1976. He retired in 1994. In addition to his academic work, Scott was an accomplished photographer and has been credited by the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame for introducing the first mountain bike to the United States in 1953. He also once owned a Cupertino bicycle shop. — Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 747-8048. Tuesday, January 23, 2007 http://www.davisenterprise.com/articles/2007/01/23/news/343new1.txt