Posted on 06/25/2002 10:07:53 PM PDT by stlnative
By Derek Jensen and Pat Reavy
Deseret News staff writers
Richard Albert Ricci was at home with his wife the morning an armed kidnapper snatched Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom, according to his attorney.
Salt Lake police have said Ricci, 48, has a questionable alibi and that he's been moved to the top of their list of potential suspects in the 14-year-old's June 5 kidnapping.
"It's all an interpretation. We think he has a good alibi," Ricci's attorney David K. Smith told the Deseret News. "Of course they would want to say that because they've got to bolster their position, but I think his alibi is pretty good. His alibi is that he was home with his wife."
Ricci worked at Mitchell's Nursery, 2184 E. 3300 South, until 5:30 p.m. on June 4 the night before Elizabeth's kidnapping, owner Lee Mitchell said. Ricci had the next day, June 5, off, Mitchell said. Ricci and his wife spent that day preparing for Ricci's 11-year-old stepson to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ricci's attorney said. But the family went to the wrong chapel and missed the baptism, he said.
Ricci showed up as scheduled for work on June 6 at 10:30 a.m. and stayed there until 7 p.m., Mitchell said.
Employees at the nursery reported Ricci's demeanor seemed normal when he returned to work that day.
"He was very knowledgeable, and he did an excellent job for us," Mitchell said of Ricci.
Police came to Mitchell's Nursery June 14 to arrest Ricci, but he had the day off. His co-workers said they haven't seen him since. Police have interviewed the store's employees and searched the building since Ricci's arrest.
Ricci was moved Monday morning from the Salt Lake County Jail, where he'd been since his June 14 arrest on a parole violation, to the Utah State Prison, where he's spent much of the past 30 years of his life.
His attorney says Ricci's criminal past is causing police to look suspiciously at the convicted felon.
"There's just a natural bias against him, I believe," Smith said. "He's a convicted felon. He's been in jail a long time. He shot a cop. They're just looking at it with kind of a jaundiced eye."
Salt Lake police released pictures Tuesday of the vehicles that Ricci may have had access to over the past two weeks.
Anyone who has seen a 1992 tan four-door Taurus, a 1995 white four-door Oldsmobile Cutlass or a 1990 white four-door Jeep Cherokee between May 31 and June 8 is asked to call police at 799-3000.
Investigators are especially interested in knowing where the Jeep may have been seen, said Capt. Scott Atkinson. Ricci owns the Jeep and the Taurus and had access to the Oldsmobile, which belongs to a relative, he said.
Detectives are trying to retrace Ricci's steps over the past two weeks and are asking for the public's help in putting that puzzle together.
Detective Dwayne Baird said Tuesday investigators had already searched and returned the Ford Taurus and Oldsmobile, which Ricci had access to.
Elizabeth's father, Edward Smart, said during his daily briefing with the media Tuesday he hired Ricci after he was referred to him by another contractor. But he was unaware of Ricci's criminal history.
"I had absolutely no knowledge of his background whatsoever. I would never hired him had I known that. I would never have exposed my family to that, " Smart said.
Ricci was at times "undependable," but "never in my wildest dreams would have imagined his background," he said.
Smart also said that Ricci "seemed nice and could be very personable at times."
Ricci left on good terms with the family, according to Smart. But he declined to comment on reports that Ricci had stolen jewelry from the Smart home. Police said Ricci was fired after the Smarts reported some items had been stolen from their home but he was later hired back because there was no evidence to link him to the theft. Smart also said he could not think of any reason why Ricci might want revenge on him.
"I never felt like that I had misgivings with him," Smart said.
When asked if he believed Ricci took Elizabeth, Smart said he didn't even want to speculate.
"I don't know why he would have any feeling about me that would cause that to happen," Smart said. But if he did take her, Smart said he prays that he will let her go.
Smart said Tuesday the family remains confident that Elizabeth is alive.
The Jeep Cherokee that police are asking for the public's help with was the vehicle given to Ricci by Ed Smart. Smart said he and Ricci signed a contract that Ricci could have the beat-up vehicle by working it off. Ricci completed his work as agreed, Smart said, and the title was given him in either September or October. That's the last time Smart saw Ricci, he said.
Ricci's criminal history dates back to 1973 when he was convicted of burglary. His record contains several burglary incidents, and his most serious offense was a 1983 conviction of attempted murder and aggravated robbery for shooting Salt Lake police officer Michael Hill in the head with a shotgun after burglarizing a pharmacy. Hill spotted Ricci running from the Westminster Pharmacy, 1702 S. 1100 East, with a sawed-off shotgun about 4:30 a.m. Sept. 27, 1983, according to court records.
After chasing Ricci down an alley near the pharmacy, Hill spotted Ricci in some bushes.
"Suddenly our eyes met," Hill told the Deseret News while recalling the incident Monday. "There was just enough light that I could make out his facial description and he could make out mine. I told him to drop the shotgun. He pivoted to me. I fired two shots towards him."
Hill then took cover behind a car but was hit on his way down with a shotgun blast across his hand, shoulder and head. Five pellets were removed from his hand, and one pellet lodged in his scalp.
"I just ducked and the shotgun blast went over the top of the car," said Hill, who still works as a Salt Lake patrol officer. "If I would have waited one-hundredth of a second longer I would have gotten it right in the face."
Those who lived near Ricci in the Shadow Ridge Estates trailer park in Kearns said he basically kept to himself and spent a lot of time gardening. No one answered the door Monday at the trailer home where Ricci lived with his wife, Angela, and 11-year-old stepson. Angela Ricci's mother, who lives next door, declined to speak with reporters.
"Speaking on behalf of the family they sincerely hope that whoever did this is found and whatever may have happened to Elizabeth can be ferreted out," Smith said. "When he (Ricci) learned the next morning of the incident he was heartbroken and saddened by what he heard because he did know Ed Smart and held him in high regard, and he felt great sorrow for Mrs. Smart."
Ricci painted, did yard work and other handyman jobs at the Smart's million-dollar Federal Heights home for about two months beginning last March, Smart family spokesman Chris Thomas said. Ricci was referred to the Smarts by a contractor, but Thomas did not say which contractor.
In exchange for the work, Edward Smart gave Ricci a 1990 Jeep Cherokee.
Police say Ricci would have been familiar with the Smart home and family members.
"He was familiar with the children," Thomas said. "He knew the kids, the kids knew him. He wasn't like a friend or uncle, but he was someone they would recognize."
Police said they have not shown Ricci's photo to Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine. Mary Katherine told police she saw a man carrying a small handgun and dressed in a Scottish-style tan hat, pants and jacket wearing a polo shirt enter the bedroom she and her sister shared sometime between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. June 5. Mary Katherine also said the man had dark hair on the back of his hands and arms and was between 5 feet 8 inches tall and 5 feet 10.
Ricci is 6 feet tall and weighs 180 pounds, but police say his description is "in the ballpark" with Elizabeth's abductor.
This wouldn't be Elizabeth's body..If it was, they would be able to identify the body given this period of time.
The hair certainly would be there, and from the pix she has long hair.
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