A fisherman looks to catch his assailant
CITYWIDE It’s no hoax. Those wanted posters residents have found stuffed in their newspaper racks along busy streets here are real.
Still, detectives have no reason to believe the fugitive they are searching for is in Santa Monica.
Detective Troy Brown of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Pensacola, Fla., is investigating the robbery and stabbing of a fisherman named Gerald Chamberlain, who has, along with his family, placed countless “wanted” posters here and in other states where he believes his attacker, a fellow fisherman, may be hiding, possibly still making a living off the high seas.
The posters, many of which were placed along Wilshire and Lincoln boulevards in Downtown and Ocean Park, have drawn the attention of residents and police officers here and in cities in Mississippi and Florida, where wanted signs have also popped up.
“I’ve had a couple of detectives (from Santa Monica) call me because they are curious, or because residents have called in, but mostly we get calls from up and down (Florida) with people asking if this is legit... some of the posters look like they were made with Crayon or something,”
Brown said. “It is legit. (The stabbing) did happen, but right now we have no leads.”
The wanted posters describe a suspect who is a “white male, bald in front with long, dirty, stringy (frizzy) hair,” who is “armed and dangerous: He was last seen driving a white GMC van spray-painted gold on top with ‘Chamberland Commercial Divers Office,’ written on the back, Harrison County license plate number H2J622.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Brown, and there is a telephone number provided.
SMPD Lt. Alex Padilla, who had not personally seen the posters, said police are not investigating the case and have received no evidence to suggest the suspect is in Santa Monica.
The stabbing occurred in October 2006. Chamberland told detectives that he had met the assailant, who allegedly used the name Terry Malligan, among others, while the two worked on a fishing boat in the waters off Biloxi, Miss. The two then traveled together to Pensacola, where they went fishing at a popular watering hole, according to Brown.
“Apparently, they had far too many Busch beers … and when Mr. Chamberland turns around, this guy stabs him in the back, takes his van and hauls ass,” Brown said.
With no real name to go on, and a failed attempt to track the suspect using a cell phone number, detectives are at a dead-end.
“That really makes it harder to investigate,” Brown said. “If I had a name, date of birth, it would be a piece of cake to get a lineup and have Mr. Chamberland point him out. But in this case, he just meets this guy on a fishing boat. They and anybody and everyone who works on them (fishing boats) don’t have a life, no wife … They’re out there for 30 days or more, make two grand and then they’re broke in two days.”
As for contacting Chamberland, Brown did not have a valid telephone number for the victim.
“He changes his cell phone every three days, it seems,” Brown said. “He’s one leg away from being a transient himself.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 30, 2007. Read the original PDF.