By David Greenwald and Antoinnette Borbon
On Tuesday morning, at 12:45, the Winters Police Department was notified by the U.S. Marshals that William Gardner was taken into custody at an apartment complex on the 4800 block of E. Tropicana Ave in Las Vegas.
According to a release from the Winters Police Department, “This happened after a standoff that lasted over six hours with U.S. Marshals and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) surrounding the apartment complex. Gardner barricaded himself inside an apartment creating a hostage situation due to a woman and small child still in the apartment.”
The negotiators were eventually able to convince Gardner to surrender and be taken into custody without incident. William Gardner is wanted for the murder of Leslie Pinkston, where she was shot and killed in downtown Winters, CA on November 18, 2013.
In a press conference on Tuesday, U.S. Marshals and Winters Police Chief Sergio Gutierrez told the media that they have captured the man sought in the death of his ex.
Leslie Pinkston, a Winters woman, was shot and later died at the hospital on November 18. Her ex-boyfriend, who the police chief says is responsible for her death, led U.S. Marshals and police to the Las Vegas standoff that ended with his surrendering. The apartment where he was found was said to have been that of an acquaintance of the man. But a lot of information into the details of his arrest remain unknown to Yolo County authorities at present, Chief Gutierrez stated.
It took a tireless three-week long effort to find and arrest him but “working with several law enforcement agencies, we were able to find him,”stated the U.S. Marshals.
Chief Gutierrez stated that at around 12:37 a.m. or so they made the arrest at the complex in Las Vegas. He said he phoned Ms. Pinkston’s mother to tell her the man had been captured.
He stated her reply was, “Now I can sleep!”
When the Vanguard asked Chief Gutierrez if he knew why the woman was not notified her ex had had been released from custody on the Friday prior to her death, he responded that he had no information about that.
He said that the Yolo County District Attorney’s office will have more information as it goes to court. It was unclear whether the police would hold anyone from the apartment where the man was found as an accomplice.
The U.S. Marshals stated this was a nationwide hunt and through the help of all agencies they were able to catch him.
Police Chief Gutierrez said the suspect will be transported back to Yolo County within the next two to three days. It has not been revealed how the man got to Las Vegas after shooting his ex. He will be arraigned once he is back in Yolo County on murder charges.
William Gardner allegedly gunned down his ex-girlfriend in downtown Winters, in broad daylight, just days after being released from custody at the Yolo County jail, where he had been held on charges that he stalked and threatened the victim in this case, Leslie Pinkston.
The victim’s friend, Katie Winkler, wrote two weeks ago that Ms. Pinkston was “terrorized by an abusive ex-boyfriend. Harassed, stalked and threatened via social media, through email, phone and in person, Leslie tried to prevent and stop this behavior on her own and with the help of family and friends. She changed her number, she moved, she stayed under the radar, all in an effort to keep herself and her daughter safe.”
“When it reached a point where those things were not enough, she sought protection from the police and the courts, pressing charges and obtaining a restraining order,” Ms. Winkler wrote.
Court records show that Mr. Gardner, who remains at large, had a long history of criminal offenses. As Ms. Winkler noted, “He had prior domestic violence charges, prior threat charges and prior firearm possession charges and was facing more felony stalking and threat charges. He had failed to appear in court on numerous occasions. His prior acts coupled with the current charges clearly showed him as a danger and a threat to Leslie and her family. Yet he was given the opportunity to be released on bail time and time again.”
A restraining order was obtained following a January stalking incident outside of Ms. Pinkston’s home. Mr. Gardner was alleged to have thrown a lawn chair through a window.
He also made a series of threats. And despite missing court appearances and violating his terms of probation, he was continually able to post bail.
As Ms. Winkler asked, “Why? Why was this man allowed to be freed on bail? Freed on bail so that he could murder as he threatened to do? Why are we as a society OK with the fact that our domestic violence and anti-stalking laws protect the perpetrator more than they do the victim? Why are we content to continue to release dangerous criminals and refuse to hold them accountable for their actions?”
Ms. Winkler wrote, “Leslie was never notified of his release, never even given the chance to protect herself from the ambush that took her young life and robbed her innocent 6-year-old daughter of her mother.”
She continued, “Unfortunately, the justice system failed her and failed her daughter, just as it fails countless other women who die at the hands of their abusers. Where do we stop and say enough is enough? How many women must die and how many children be made motherless before we say no more? Before we say we will not allow abusers to go free so they can kill? Before we say, stricter laws, higher bails, stiffer punishments?”
