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YUBA COUNTY OBITS
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STEPHEN ROY DOLLAR
Appeal Democrat - Mon 12/13/1976, pA-1 & A-8- Two Sought In Marysville Assassination-Type Murder - A 26-year-old Yuba City man was murdered in an assassination-type killing in a Marysville duplex Saturday. - Stephen Roy Dollar, 578 Onstott Road, was shot once through the back as he lay face-down on the floor of a duplex at 1725 C St., according to Marysville police. - The bullet fired from a small-caliber revolver wielded by an unidentified black man passed through Dollar's heart and out through his chest. He lived briefly but was pronounced dead on arrival at Rideout Hospital at 1:05 p.m. - Dollar was killed about 12:56 p.m. at the home of Joseph W. Dietrich, 27. - Dietrich, Eric Gottlund, 26, of Del Mar, Dollar and Dollar's girlfriend, Eva L. Bernardi, 23, had been drinking and "smoking a little pot" when the black man and a white accomplice walked in through an unlocked door about 12:40 p.m., Dietrich told police. - The white man, wielding a hunting knife, ordered Dietrich, Gottlund and Miss Bernardi to lie on the floor, then used electrical cord to tie Dietrich and Gottlund, according to Chief of Police John O. Blevins. - The black man ordered Dollar to lie face down on the floor and stood over him with a cocked, small caliber revolver while the other man took a total of $114 from the wallets of Dietrich and Gottlund. - The gunman ordered Dollar, "don't move" and don't look," and Dollar told him, "Be cool, man, you've got us scared." - Then there was a shot, one of the men said to the other, "Let's go," and both fled from the house. - They were seen running west of 17th Street to B Street, where they got into a car and drove away. The car was described as a late model, Ford Bronco with a chromium luggage rack on the roof. It has not been located. - While robbery could have been the motive, the circumstances of the killing are "very peculiar," and "there are a lot of unanswered questions," Blevins said. - Police are investigating the possibility that the killing was drug-related. The two men made no effort to search the house for money or valuables, and Dollar was not bound before he was shot, although Dietrich and Gottlund had been loosely bound. - Dietrich freed himself after the men fled and ran across the street to the home of Myrna Shingle, who telephoned the police department. - Dietrich was later arrested and held at Yuba County jail for a brief time on a charge of being under the influence of marijuana, but was released with no charge filed. A small quantity of marijuana was found in the house but no charges was filed in connection with that marijuana, officers said. - The gunman was described as a Negro in his 20's, about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a blue cap. - His white accomplice was in his 20's, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with brown, shoulder-length hair and a light beard. - Dollar, a truck driver, was born in Marysville. He graduated from Yuba City High School and attended the University of California at Davis. He was a member of Teamster's Local Union No. 137. - He is survived by his mother, Betty Jean Williams of Yuba City; his father, Stanley Dollar of Bakersfield; his step-father, Gray Williams of Yuba City; his maternal grandmother, Irene W. Gardella of Yuba City; and several aunts and uncles. - Funeral services are scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Hutchison's Colonial Chapel. Rev. Walter B. Martin of Woodland will officiate. Burial will be at Sierra View Memorial Park.
Appeal Democrat - Tue 12/14/1976, pA-1 & A-12 - 'Lots of Leads' In Murder Case - Marysville Police Chief John O. Blevins said today he is "optimistic" that the two suspects sought for the murder of 26-year-old Stephen Roy Dollar during a weekend shooting will be found. - "We have a lot of leads on this," Blevins said today. - Dollar of 578 Onstott Road, Yuba City, was shot once through the back as he lay face-down on the floor of a duplex at 1725 C St., Saturday afternoon. - Funeral services for Dollar were held at 2 p.m. today at Hutchison's Colonial Chapel with Rev. Walter B. Martin of Woodland, officiating. Burial was to be in Sierra View Memorial Park. - "There has been a lot of information given to us on the identities of possible suspects," Blevins said. "Right now it's a matter of checking them out," he said. - The investigation into the murder has been aided by three witnesses to the shooting who provided descriptions of the two suspects, Blevins said. - Composite drawings of the two men prepared by police from descriptions furnished by the witnesses have resulted in dozens of calls to the police department by people who say they may have seen men matching the descriptions. - "When you have witnesses it makes the problem of solving a murder case much easier," Blevins said. - Dollar was killed about 12:56 p.m. Saturday at the home of Joseph W. Dietrich, 27. - A black man and a white accomplice walked in through an unlocked door about 12:40 p.m. The white man, wielding a hunting knife, ordered Dietrich, Eric Gottlund, 26, of Del Mar, Dollar and Dollar's girlfriend, Eva L. Bernardi, 23, to lie on the floor, then used electric cord to tie Dietrich and Gottlund, police said. - The black man ordered Dollar to lie face down on the floor and stood over him with a cocked, small caliber revolver while the other man took a total of $114 from the wallets of Dietrich and Gottlund. - Seconds later Dollar was shot and the two suspects were seen running west on 17th Street to B Street where they got into a car and drove away. - The bullet fired from the revolver passed through Dollar's heart and out through his chest, according to police. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Rideout Hospital at 1:05 pm. - The gunman was described as a black man in his 20s, about 6 feet tall. He was wearing a blue cap. - His white accomplice was in his 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, with brown shoulder-length hair and a light beard. - The car they fled in was described as a late-model, Ford Bronco with a chromium luggage rack on the roof. It has not been located.
Appeal Democrat - Wed 12/15/1976, pA-1 Heroin Taken From Hub Death Dwelling - The men who burst into the Marysville home Saturday where Stephen Dollar, 26, was fatally shot "went in there specifically to steal heroin," Chief of Police John O. Blevins said today. - And they escaped with $1,000 worth of it, the chief said. - Dollar was killed at the home of Joseph W. Dietrich, 27, at 1725 C St. - Dietrich told police the men-a white man and a black man, both in their 20s-simply demanded money from the four persons in the home. - Questioned again by Det. Jerry Akins, however, Dietrich said the men demanded the heroin they said they knew he had in the house and they left with it after the black man killed Dollar. - The men burst into the house through an unlocked door about 12:40 p.m., the black man armed with a small caliber revolver and the white man with a hunting knife. - They ordered Dollar, Dietrich, Eric Gottlund, 26, of Del Mar and Dollar's girlfriend, Eva L. Bernardi, 23, to lie on the floor. The white man took about $114 from Dietrich and Gottlund while the black man stood over Dollar with a cocked revolver pointed at him. - Then Dollar was shot once in the back and the two men fled. The bullet passed through Dollar's heart, and he was dead on arrival at Rideout Hospital. - The motive for the killing is still unclear, Blevins said. He said both Gottlund and Mrs. Bernardi will be questioned again. - The black gunman and his companion were seen running to a car parked near the intersection of 17th and B Streets. They got into the late model, Ford Bronco and drove away, witnesses said. The car has not been located, and the men have not been identified, Blevins said. - "We have many leads" to their identity, and "It's a process of running all of them down," he said.
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