Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Criminal Profiling Topic of the Day: The Second Tragedy of the Superbike Motorsports Quadruple Murders

The Victims of the Motorbike Motorsports Murders
Eight years ago on November 6, 2003 four people were gunned down in cold blood in Chesnee, South Carolina in the middle of an ordinary work day at the Superbike Motorsports, a shop that sold motorcycles. The murdered were the owner, Scott Ponder, his mother Beverly Guy, his best friend and right hand business man Brian Lucas, and a new employee who was cleaning up bikes in the back, Chris Sherbert. Someone came into the business shot them all dead in the middle of the day when there were no witnesses in the building to identify the shooter.

Zero progress has been made in solving this crime. Why? In my opinion, not because it is unsolvable or difficult to solve or because that one person won't come forward and identify himself (the man police claim is the key to the crime, in fact, the man they claim is involved in the crime, the man they have been showing a composite of, albeit now an altered composite, for year upon year). It won't be solved because the police refuse to believe the evidence in front of them or refuse to investigate it for some reason. I know because I spent a week in Spartanburg County, South Carolina working with the Sheriff's department, going through the files, analyzing every photo and bit of evidence, and running an experiment to test how long it took to drive from the shop to a convenience store that would help rule in or rule out one suspect. I have read all the interviews.

After I left, the police told the family I was just a celebrity whose profile wasn't worth anything. Yet, they refuse to show that profile to the family and tell them what is wrong with it. They won't reveal any of what I said because it is damning to their reputation, their analysis and handling of the investigation. I can't tell you what I came up with, what the evidence shows, because I signed a contract that states I will not release the specifics of the evidence. And because of this I have remained quiet for years hoping that they would move forward with the profile analysis and investigate properly. However, ever since AMW rolled into town and harped yet again on that composite of some unknown custom/person-of-interest again, I have just been steaming. What a bloody sham.

I can't tell you what the evidence is but I can tell you this. None of the four murder victims were involved in any drug operation. The motive for the crime wasn't some kind of drug deal gone bad. There is no reason to believe drugs were ever at the business nor hidden in motorcycles coming in and out of the business, so this isn't a falling out over drugs.

Nothing was taken from the business, so this wasn't a robbery. Nothing was damaged in the business, so this wasn't retaliation. The police got the order of the shooting wrong because they misunderstood the ballistics; the guy in the back, Chris Sherbert, was not shot first. The way the shooting went down shows me that the murders were personal and the was a specific reason the four were shot in the order in which they were shot. Also, because nothing was touched in the shop shows me that the murders were not about money. This was the crime of a psychopath who had a falling out with certain people at the business.

Is there someone who fits this description who should be known to the police? You bet there is. Not only is he known but he was interviewed twice and his statements are off-the-wall for bizarre and deceptive. Did he have an alibi for the time of the crime? No. Could he have committed the crime? Yes. When I showed the police exactly what was peculiar about his statements, where he was clearly lying, exactly how he could have committed the crime and why, what was their response? They just said they didn't think it was him.

What did they tell the family? They told him they had investigated the man thoroughly. That is a blatant untruth because I know from the files that the man's cock-and-bull story was never followed up. Why? I have no idea. Why not now? Probably because it would make them look bad to suddenly change course and state they ignored someone who should have been investigated right in the beginning.

Scared schmuck who is NEVER coming forward
I rarely speak out against a police department after I work with them but I am to the point of disgust with being slandered by them to the family and their refusal to come clean with their failure to solve this case in eight years and why. I hope some media outlet and the family finally get fed up with this smoke-and-mirrors game being played by the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Department and get to the bottom of this crime in which the motive is still a mystery.Like hell it is. If you follow the evidence and the obvious person-of-interest it becomes clear as day. If you keep trying to pin the crime on some poor scared schmuck who Sheriff Wright claims should not be worried about identifying himself in spite of the fact he states, "This fellow will tell us exactly what happened in the shop that day,"  you won't get very far.

Actually, all Sheriff Wright has to do to solve this crime is follow the evidence. Heck, he could even watch Geraldo's videotaped interview and get a pretty good start.



Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

May 15, 2012



Pat Brown’s ONLY THE TRUTH
Harkening back to the writing styles of the earlier American authors – John Steinbeck, Harper Lee, and Carson McCullers, "Only the Truth" is a story of soul searching, a psychological mystery which examines the question, “Whom should one love and when should one quit doing so?” Billy Ray, a lonely and rather slow, uneducated African-American man living in the mountains of Arkansas, runs across a mysterious young woman at the railroad tracks. She asks to go home with him and Billy Ray takes her with him as she requests. He comes to love this woman, Charlene, unconditionally. She is the only woman he has ever loved, and life is finally good for Billy Ray. Then Charlene shoots the neighbor and burns down the neighbor’s house. His happy life destroyed, a confused and devastated Billy Ray is at a loss. Is the woman he loves “just a troubled girl” or a psychopathic killer? Billy Ray sets out on a quest to find the truth, only the truth, whether it leads him to be able to save Charlene from a death sentence or it frees him from her spell.

37 comments:

  1. Pat,

    Well said! I am the private investigator who traveled to Spartanburg at the request of the family. I am a retired police officer and board certified investigator who was treated like you were by Sheriff Wright and Detective Gary. They also threatend to arrest me if I didn't stop interviewing people. I would like to speak with you at your convenience. Tom and Lorraine Lucas will confirm my credability. I can be reached at 614-565-7189. Something needs to be done about the Sheriff and his staff failure to adequatley investigate this case.

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  2. Well said Don & Pat,
    News 7 reported update at 11:00 > Criminal profiler ripped Sheriffs Dept. of investigation of this case.
    Sometimes even professionals need to put there egos a side and seek additional help. Still remains to be questioned why is the FBI/SLED not involved in this case?

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  3. Just from the video clip, the so-called "best friend" seems sketchy at best. Granted, it's a few years later, but his tone is almost jovial. Creepy! Are you implying he was not looked into at all?

    It seems ridiculous to think it could be 'anyone' from all of the States who was unhappy about his/her bike.

    Hello! It's someone who knew one of these poor victims!

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  4. Anonymous, if it walks like a duck....

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  5. My thought on the "best friend" is that why would he keep his face hidden and voice distorted on interviews if he did not actually see anything? Why would he say he thought they were playing a joke, who does that? Just the whole thing sounds sketchy. Have they ever looked to see if this could be connected in any way to the disappearance of Scott's father? I completely agree that this was committed by someone known to one of these four.

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  6. What happened to Scott's father? I am good friends with Scott's widow and I know she would love to have this case solved so she could have closure.

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  7. Anon, what "best friend" are you talking about that keeps his face hidden and voice distorted? Are you referring to Noah Lee? If so his voice wasn't distorted although it didn't show a close up of him on the video clip. I knew all of the victims and used to ride bikes with them for a couple of years before this tragedy. I was closer to Brian Lucas and Shooby(Chris Sherbert) than I was with Scott Ponder but I knew them all pretty well. I don't ever recall this "best friend" Noah so I'm assuming he was close to Scott since I knew him the least. I've racked my brain for years trying to find out who and why someone would do this but I just can't come to a conclusion. There were rumors swirling about Scott's biological father, who supposedly served time in jail, maybe owed some "loan sharks" some big money and this was done in retaliation for him not paying up. I honestly can't figure out who would do this to these guys(and Beverly).

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  8. I am from the area and knew things about ponder when he was youn and his dad was around. i can say that ponder was not always lets say a honest man. From things i know from the past and things i was told before the murders he was still involved in bad dealings. Sales should have been tracked and inventory checked well. I know the ball was droped and should talk to people that worked there in the past because they know first hand what went on in the business and how business is done. I beleave that they are so close but just cant see it. I pray that the persons will be caught, but i think it is also very dangerus and need to be careful.

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  9. Ok so he just drove up and seen his best friend's, friends mother and employee all shot execution style. He then calls 911 in the most calm voice ever and says " apparently everyones been shot down here". . Most people would be frantic at this sight.. Maybe there's nothing to it but that seemed very strange to me.

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  10. Hi Pat, this is Tom L, I know you are upset...but please try not to post anything that could jeperdize
    the case...

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  11. Tom, the only people jeopardizing the case is the Spartanburg Sheriff's Department who have spent eight years ignoring the evidence and letting the perpetrator walk. They are not going to solve this case unless all hell breaks loose and the investigators are replaced with people who are not covering their asses for their failure to properly handle the investigation. Even then, it would be a long shot to ever see this go to prosecution.

    You can see that keeping quiet and letting the Sheriff's Department do it their way has led to absolutely nothing. I kept quiet for thee years and that did no good. You asked me to push and now I am pushing. What you need to do is push for Sheriff Wright to be removed from his office as he is a blatant liar and has obstructed justice in this case. He just proved it on air.

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  12. Thank you Pat for showing the people of Spartanburg the truth about the Sheriff's department. Chuck Wright is not cooperating because he is trying to cover it up. Otherwise, he would be seeking justice for these families that have already endured enough grief...
    If this doesn't wake up the community about how unethical our Sheriff's department is, then I don't know what will!

    *********resign Chuck, let us have justice***********

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  13. Pat, do you believe the person responsible has already been interviewed?

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  14. Some people are mentioning Noel Lee as the person of interest. We know he was the one who found them...wouldn't they do a test on him for the residue of firing a gun? Did they do that test on him?

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    1. Yes they did, several times.

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  15. First off, thank you Pat and Don for shining a bright light on such a dark thing. Somebody needed to get something going. Scott and Brian were the first friends I've had murdered. Since then my dear friend Paige Connell was murdered, and although we all know who did it, the Grand Jury will go no further. My childhood friend and nieghbor, Steve Satterfield, was shot and killed in his front yard by one of Spartanburg's finest, for "brandishing a shovel." Check out the statistics, our sleepy little town is now one of the top 10 most violent cities in the country. That's what I call progress!

    Second of all, Scott Ponder was a fine man who treated everyone with respect and fairness. Not only in business, but also in his personal life. Was he perfect? No, but neither am I, and somehow I don't think that's a capital offense. He started his business in his Grandmother's back yard, and built it into something that he was proud of, and rightly so. You don't get very far in life cheating people, except in politics.

    Class up, and don't speak I'll of the dead. There's enough of that in life, don't you think?

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  16. Spartanburg county sheriff department has been corrupt since I can remember. I'm 44 and have no trust for them period. There has got to be someway to bring justice. If sheriff wright wants to be sheriff again he better grow some balls and serve spartanburg county w the truth and respect. Then get rid all the dang crooks working along side him. It might be easier to get rid of all of them.. period and start over. This is a bloody shame!!!

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  17. I see where all of your post were removed from WSPA News website in Spartanburg. Does this mean you are backing off, or are you going to continue? I can't imagine that you would not continue on with this for the families sake.

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  18. The comments did disappear for a period of time but they have returned; maybe a glitch. No, am not backing down. Keep an eye out for my next blog on this case.

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  19. :) we (spartanburg,sc) need honest, bold and Caring individuals like: Yourself and don. Please. Keeep pressing on. You will be blessed. Thanks for everything. You're doing.. do you know if the sheriff department has followed up on tips?

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  20. They are gone again. Don't know what's happening but all of your post are removed.

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  21. Hi Pat I post a comment/question a few days ago regarding the order of the shootings but I don't see it here. I thought it went through but maybe not. I will try again. You said in your opinion the police are wrong about the order they think the shootings happened. I was wondering if your reasoning for this is,the person you feel was the main target was not the last person shot. If the killing was personal/revenge the killer left the main target for last so they could terrorize them more by seeing the others killed first? Keep up the great work, I find your views very interesting.

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  22. Does anyone find it interesting that the Sheriffs Department has not made another statement or that he is not defending his so called best detectives on the case that has handled it? Or is it he is going to them be the "fall guys" after he accused Ms. Brown of reading all her information of the internet? It appears with all the comments made this week everyone has come to the same conclusion>> What the hell was so many cops doing on the crime seen, How did so many errors be made in DNA testing? Was there any testing done on the 911 caller & the person that made a shitty sketch (and redone it 8 years later) tested to see if they had gun powder residue on hands, arms, clothing to see if maybe they pulled the trigger(s)? How the hell can the public trust the cops when they are part of the problem here. I say keep up the good work Pat Brown, Don Corbett and where the hell is FBI/SLED. Nancy Grace would love to get this case and slam who ever she has too for answers as Ms Brown is trying to do so patiently. Again 3 years wasted! Shame Shame Sheriff(s), this is a true example of why Bill Coffey was kicked out and people wanted change. Apparently when you get in on the platform you run on "SOLVE CRIMES" and hold perpetrators responsible the power goes to your head or should i say to your ass and your so called egos step in! Mr. Wright (wrong) could still become a hero if he allowed the FBI/SLED, Pat Brown, Don Corbett, AMW or who ever help crack this case while on his clock. Maybe to much to handle, Sheriffs Dept and County Jail as Warden. Duh >Spartanburg may be considered a small punk town, but we are still to large in population for one man to have so much control! No wonder the families are so humiliated with Detective WG and the Sheriff!!!!

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  23. Gambler, the order of the shooting is based on evidence ()I read on the Internet), not on theories of motives. AFTER one does a crime scene reconstruction, THEN we might have a better idea of motive. Doing it the other way around is not using a scientific method and is an improper methodology of analysis (subjective, not objective).

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  24. Pat, are you saying that a crime scene reconstruction was not even done? I find that hard to believe, but, if true would most certainly be a major malfeasance for the Sheriff.

    From your other postings, I gather you have an uneasy feeling about a certain person of interest. Can you tell what, if any type of procedures were done to this person to either further raise suspicions, or eliminate this person from the list.

    Speaking of a list, does the Sheriff's Office have one, and do you have one?

    We don't really know why the Sheriff is keeping his list quite unless its because he is waiting on air tight evidence for a sure conviction. But if you have one, why haven't you named a suspect.

    It's done all the time on "48 Hour" type shows, so I would assume the legality of doing such a thing would not be the issue.

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  25. Ok, so you have damning evidence and decide to sign it over and let them seal it away, never to be seen....oooh, how mystical. That's surely what I'd do if I had worthy info on a quad homocide.

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  26. Wow something to consider. It seems obvious, even with the limited information the public has been given, this was very personal! Allow me to add this was my thoughts before reading your blog. I've lived in this area all my life (42 yrs)& have often wondered why crime is so much worse in Spartanburg County. Let me add it's unfair to blame that on Mr. Wright as this has been an issue since the 80s. It doesn't make sense (I obviously don't have all the facts) that the Sheriff wouldn't want to solve such a crime. What is the process to turn such a case over to SLED? My heart aches for these family members & our community. Be nice to see Mr. Wright prove he's not working the good old boys way of the south. Seems profiling is a PROVEN science & with your name as an accomplished profiler I can't see why you weren't considered a blessing to this case. Keep pushing ~ we are very proud of our community & appreciate any "outsider" who cares enough to fight for what's right for our good people. I realize this blog was published this blog a couple of years ago but this is a sore on our community & solving it would be a God send.

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  27. Anonymous 4:51

    Obviously, you haven't read my other posts about the case since this post - the ones titled, "I Read it on the Internet." Sheriff Wright lied not only to the family but to the public and claimed on camera that I never worked on the case. He had to retract that statement publicly (in other words, he was caught lying) after I published the other posts. Those posts will show you exactly what the evidence is in the case and prove that Sheriff Wright has not properly handled the case. Why? Because he screwed it up years ago and does not wish to admit it. After I profiled the case, I said nothing and he had an opportunity to go back and properly interview the people that should be reinterviewed or interviewed for the first time but he has not done so to this day. SLED DID come in last year but, as I told the family, this is an old law enforcement trick that simply is a way to give support and credibility to the department under fire...they haven't done the basic interviews either, so clearly they are not really reinvestigating the case...it is all political to keep those in power in power. This happens across the country, not just in Spartanburg. Sad situation but politics is more important to politicians than justice and safety.

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  28. Very interesting. I am from Chesnee and was in high school when this took place. I remember the news and the rumors. From it being drug related, to there being a hitman, to it involving the mafia. But to see that there's evidence that could be followed that's not being looked into to solve this case is ridiculous and it's a shame.

    Good work.

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  29. Just watched on crime watch daily that sheriff department already screwed up the blood samples and was going after the widow of the victim that's a disgrace. Get in touch with your governor or go higher but get some people who know what the hell they're doing.

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  30. Good for you to keep this posted after having been proven so wrong. We all make mistakes.

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  31. Apaparently, Anon,

    You have not kept up with my most recent blogs concerning THE FALSE CONFESSION OF TODD KOHLHEPP. I have not been proven wrong; in fact, Kohlhepp's completely incorrect "confession" proves me right.

    https://www.facebook.com/pat.brown.52012?ref=tn_tnmn

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  32. You never explained how Lee passed a polygraph... or even mentioned that he took one.

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  33. Anon 12:30,

    First of all, I never said Lee was guilty of Superbike. I said he should be properly investigated. Lee claimed he went to pick up tickets but no tickets were in evidence. I asked the detectives why there were no tickets in evidence and they did not respond. Lee later claimed the police handed him those tickets straight out of the crime scene!

    Secondly, I never saw a polygraph test and I do not know, if it was done, hoe it was done. People can pass polygraphs even if they are guilty. Much depends on the examiner's skills and what they are trying to achieve. This is why a polygraph is only a tool and not considered reliable enough to use in court.

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