By Donna Beth Weilenman
Staff Reporter

While Solano County coroners were autopsying two bodies believed to be two missing Vallejo women found at one of the women’s home, Hercules Police and other law agencies continued searching for a missing 35-year-old Hercules man whose father was found bludgeoned to death at their home, officers said Thursday.

Authorities said they hope to find the man alive, not only for his safety but in hopes he can shed light on a complicated case involving murder, kidnapping, a car chase and a cache of explosives that has been described by one law officer as a large “puzzle with many missing pieces.”

Missing since Saturday is Frederick Sales, a nurse’s aide, who lived in a room of a Hercules home in the 1000 block of Crape Myrtle Drive.

The body of his father, Ricardo, 73, was found in another bedroom of the house Saturday by Hercules Police after a housemate said the two men were missing. Police believe the elder man was killed the morning of Aug. 27, when loud music was heard at the home.

In another twist to the complex case, the husband of one of the missing women, Charles Rittenhouse, 72, of 110 Upland St., remains in Solano County Jail on $2,025,000 bail on charges of illegal possession of explosives and manufacturing, importing, selling or transporting ammunition designed to penetrate metal or armor.

Rittenhouse was found at his home Tuesday, where Vallejo Police also discovered the two decomposing bodies, believed to be those of Rittenhouse’s wife, Sgundina Allen, 67, and her friend, Marcaria Smart, 60, who was last seen Aug. 25 by her husband, Joe Smart, as she drove away in her 1992 black Pontiac Grand-Am to visit Allen at her home. That car later was found in Vallejo.

The husbands later reported their wives missing, as well as Rittenhouse’s ivory Cadillac Escalade, although Smart’s report came a day before Rittenhouse’s, police said.

One corpse was found inside a bedroom, Vallejo Police Lt. Abel Tenorio said Wednesday.
A second was found in a shallow grave in back of the house. The body found outdoors was autopsied Thursday morning by Solano County coroners, and the second body was autopsied that afternoon.

While Vallejo police were reluctant to confirm the identities of the bodies, representatives of other agencies have said they are those of the missing women.

Vallejo Police Sgt. Sid DeJesus said initial results may tell police the bodies’ identities, either through dental records or fingerprints; however, other results won’t be available for four to six weeks.

Tenorio said Thursday Vallejo officers didn’t initially search the women’s homes, particularly since those reporting the missing women lived at their homes. “When someone reports a missing person, an adult, you don’t go to search the house. You do if it’s a child, because the child could be hiding there,” he said.

In fact, in initial releases asking the public’s help in finding the women, Vallejo Police pointed out that the two friends frequently visited local casinos in Napa Valley, American Canyon, San Pablo and Pacheco, and noted that the were believed to be in the Escalade.

In addition to the bodies, police also found a quantity of explosives at the home. The chemicals are being analyzed, but early reports indicate they may include uranium, dynamite and plastic explosives.

More chemicals were found in a Vallejo storage unit rented by Rittenhouse, police said.

The company for which Rittenhouse works, which asked Vallejo Police not to reveal its name, said the chemicals did not come from its supplies, Tenorio said.

Although Vallejo Police referred reporters to the San Francisco field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Public Information Officer Helen A. Dunkel said, “Because it’s an ongoing investigation, we in the ATF do not release details. At this point, we’ve been called into provide expertise and look at the chemicals.” She would not confirm the types of chemicals, their quantity, or whether they were in ATF custody. Walnut Creek Police’s bomb squad also assisted in handling the chemicals.

The case also involves a kidnapping and subsequent strangling murder of Cindy Tran, 46, a hairdresser who worked at Devon Hair Salon in Vallejo, but who owned the Hercules home where the two Saleses lived.

She was forcibly taken from the salon between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday by a man who has been described as a boyfriend or former boyfriend, who is the link between the two murder sites. She made several calls to relatives to report she had been kidnapped, police said Wednesday.

Tenorio said Thursday that based on the time of her calls, his department believes she was alive while in Solano County.

The man, identified as Efren Valdemoro, 38, was wanted on a $1 million arrest warrant issued Tuesday by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office in connection with the elder Sales’ murder.

Valdemoro also is tied to the home where the two bodies and explosives were found, and when the warrant was issued, police had said he was last seen driving the Cadillac Escalade belonging to Rittenhouse. The Escalade was found at a Hercules business park Wednesday afternoon, said Michelle Harrington, Hercules community relations officer.

Initially processed by Hercules Police, it has been sent to Vallejo, Harrington said.
Tenorio said Valdemoro had lived off and on at Rittenhouse’s home for 10 years, and police had been called repeatedly to the site by what neighbors described as his disturbing behavior.

Valdemoro also lived sporadically at the Hercules house.

Pleasant Hill police officers, having learned that the man was wanted, saw him in a dark Acura that authorities later identified as belonging to Tran.

They pursued the vehicle until the man drove onto southbound I-680, when California Highway Patrol troopers picked up the chase.

Traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph, and weaving through traffic, the suspect fled onto I-580 in Alameda County, through the MacArthur Maze, onto I-880 and then I-80, CHP Sgt. Trent Cross said. Along the way, the driver was seen throwing something out of the car, but Cross later was unable to describe the object.

In hopes of stopping the Acura, troopers set out spite strips to puncture its tires. They also tried to send the car into a spin. Partway through the chase, the Acura lost a wheel, and traveled the last 20 minutes at speeds of 50 to 60 mph on three wheels.

The driver left the interstate at Central Avenue in Richmond, pulled up to the Pacific East Mall, and ran into 99 Ranch Market, where he brandished a cleaver at oncoming troopers who repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon.

When he continued threatening the troopers, they opened fire, killing him.

Police said Valdemoro may have taken some important information about the case with him when he died. Tenorio said Thursday that solving the case will be more complicated because so many key players are dead.

Troopers at the scene of the shooting saw the woman in his car. They attempted to revive her until they realized she was dead. The woman later was identified as Tran, who may have been strangled prior to the chase. Her body, as well as that of the elder Sales, has been autopsied by Contra Costa County coroner’s office.

A week before his death, Valdemoro was involved in an altercation with the two Saleses at Tran’s home on Crape Myrtle Drive, said Harrington.

Hercules Police were called to Tran’s home Aug. 22 to break up a fight between the father and son and Valdemoro.

“The victim and his son approached the suspect, because of allegations he had previously made regarding his girlfriend, Cindy Tran, and either the victim or the victim’s son,” Harrington said. However, no arrests were made.

Valdemoro, a former security guard, had had no restraining order against him, but had been arrested once on a charge of public drunkenness, authorities said.

Meanwhile, law agencies continue to search for Frederick Sales. While Vallejo police said they are not sure whether Sales is a victim or a conspirator, Harrington said, “We do not believe him to be a participant. We haven’t seen him to be a suspect. He was on his father’s side in the argument.”

In a press release issued Thursday, she asked anyone who may have information on his whereabouts may call Hercules Police Department at 510-724-1111.