A 60-year-old woman is shot and nearly killed by young drug dealers. ![]() Drugs were being dealt on her street ![]() C.W. Roddy was gunned down at home CASE DETAILS Just past midnight on January 1, 1990, paramedics and police in East Palo Alto, California, responded to a 911 call. A 60-year-old woman had been shot in the stomach after unknown gunmen had fired 35 rounds of ammunition into her house and car. The victim was C.W. Roddy, a retired phone company employee who had lived in the area with her son for 23 years. ![]() C.W. talked to the police The attack was the culmination of a three-year campaign of terror against C.W. by a group of young drug dealers. Their customers were often affluent residents from the surrounding communities. Darnell Roddy is C.W.’s son:
C.W. decided it was time to take action. The first confrontation came when teenage drug dealers parked their cars in front of her house. When they refused to move, C.W. told them she would report their license plate number to the police. C.W. frequently reported the young traffickers, but the under-staffed local police could not handle the enormous problem. According to C.W.:
In February of 1988, C.W. was physically threatened as she walked down the street. According to C.W., a young man said he was going to blow up her house:
![]() Her house was sprayed with bullets C.W. went over to the police officer and told him about the threat. The officer asked C.W. if she would like to make a citizen’s arrest, and she said yes. C.W. said that the officer took the offender away, but that he was back within a matter of minutes. Things only got worse over the next eighteen months. During certain hours of the day, the streets resembled a rush hour traffic jam. During off hours, the dealers used C.W.’s front curb as their personal parking lot. In October of 1989, C.W. again asked the dealers to move their car away from her home. C.W. said that the confrontation suddenly turned violent when one of the dealers struck her in the face. Then he threatened to beat her with a piece of wood. According to C.W.:
Two months later, in December 1989, C.W. was involved in another confrontation. Chris Thomas, a new neighbor, was attacked with a knife when he came to her defense:
Police arrested the young man who had attacked the neighbor. For the next ten days, things were quiet. Then came New Year’s Eve. According to Chief Dan Nelson of the East Palo Alto Police Department:
At midnight, C.W. said she was awakened by the gunfire:
C.W.’s home was sprayed with automatic gunfire, shattering her living room windows. C.W.’s son, Darnell, was also home at the time:
C.W. had been shot in the stomach. Her son immediately called for help and the police arrived within minutes. C.W. thinks the attack was planned and that the assailants were trying to kill them. Police recovered shell casings from three weapons: a .38 revolver, a .380 semi-automatic pistol, and an assault weapon, which was possibly an Uzi. After their initial investigation, the police called in the FBI. According to Special Agent William E. Smith of the San Jose, California, FBI:
To date, no suspects have been identified. But even though the case remains unsolved, the attack has rallied the neighborhood. A group of mothers took charge of the local park and drove out the drug dealers. They were successful, but they know it is only the first step on a long road. C.W. said that she is hopeful:
Neighborhood residents are still hoping that C.W.’s attackers can be brought to justice. Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season three with Robert Stack and in season seven with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu. |
David
I highly doubt in a city as thoroughly corrupt as Palo Alto that she nor her family will ever see justice. I hope she does, but I doubt it.
Bob
She died in 2012
Anonymous
I pick up, kkk, is in the drug, production,trade local, and in uniforms, I get clean clothes, delivermen.
Chanita jackson
God Bless U CW And God Will Punish The People That Had Tried To Take Your Life!
veraZ
Your story brings tears to my eyes…. I just saw unsolved mysteries today 9/2/15 & I know you’ve been in heaven for 3 years watching how your blood has made a difference. Your perpetrators will pay. Your son probably carries a heavy burden of guilt. Ourr heavenly father will give him peace of mind, just as surely as he will see those predators punished.
Jean Stanton
God bless CW. God protect her. A stranger, far away (Wilmington NC), is praying for you.