DNA AND ALIBI CLASH IN MURDER CASE, ALIBI WINS

Fingernail scrapings from victim led to suspect who was dead-drunk in hospital at time of the murder

What an idiot! This millionaire brought a shitload of prostitutes to his home. He fathered two children with one of the hookers, while others described his wealth and pad to Oakland gang members. Just goes to show that money can’t buy smarts.

MAN’S ALIBI HOLDS IN MILLIONAIRE’S SLAYING
By Henry K. Lee

San Francisco Chronicle
June 2, 2013

A man whose DNA was allegedly found on the fingernails of a millionaire killed in his Monte Sereno mansion has been released after investigators confirmed his alibi - that he was drunk and unconscious at a hospital during the attack, a prosecutor said Sunday.

Lukis Anderson, 26, was freed Thursday from Santa Clara County Jail after prosecutors dismissed murder charges against him in the slaying of Raveesh "Ravi" Kumra, a 66-year-old cell phone entrepreneur and the former owner of Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Two alleged Oakland gang members and two prostitutes remain charged in connection with the home invasion and killing.

Kumra's body was found Nov. 30 after police were called by his wife, Harinder Kumra, 63, to their ransacked 7,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, seven-bath brick mansion on Withey Road, in the hills west of San Jose. Kumra died of asphyxiation after his assailants left him gagged with packaging tape as they beat his wife and told her to "be quiet if you want to live," police said. They made off with cash, jewelry and rare coins.

Anderson was arrested a week later. But investigators have since confirmed that an extremely intoxicated Anderson was brought to Valley Medical Center in San Jose about two hours before the attack on Kumra began, said Deputy District Attorney Kevin Smith. Anderson was also still at the hospital 12 hours after the victim was killed, the prosecutor said.

Anderson's blood-alcohol level was 0.40 percent - five times the legal limit, authorities said.

"Based on what I've seen, during the course of the home invasion and murder, he was unconscious," Smith said.

But a key mystery remains: how Anderson's DNA ended up on Kumra's fingernails, as prosecutors allege, citing laboratory tests.

"We are convinced that at some point - we just don't know when in the 24 hours, 48 hours or 72 hours beforehand - that their paths crossed," Smith said.

The prosecutor also said he was certain there was no impropriety involving the handling of the DNA evidence. Lab officials have reviewed the work in the case, and "I'm confident in them," Smith said.

Two other men, alleged Oakland gang members Deangelo Austin and Javier Garcia, both age 21, and Austin's sister, alleged prostitute Katrina Fritz, 33, have been charged with murder and are awaiting trial. Phone records showed numerous calls between the siblings, and placed Austin and Garcia in the area of the victim's home at the time of the slaying, police said. Authorities say Austin was the man who struck Harinder Kumra.

A second alleged prostitute, Raven Dixon, 22, has been charged with being an accessory in the case.

Sources said Raveesh Kumra frequently hired prostitutes and that some of them fed information about his home - including the layout - to people affiliated with an Oakland gang known as the Money Team. Austin is believed to be affiliated with the Money Team, while Garcia is believed to be associated with Ghost Town, a West Oakland gang that has joined forces with the Money Team, sources said.

The home invasion that ended in Kumra's death was one of several around the Bay Area tied to the Money Team that victimized Asian and Indian families, authorities said.

While the criminal case is progressing, attorneys are also battling over Kumra's estate in civil court. A former alleged prostitute, Keila Goggins, won a ruling from a judge in April stating that Kumra was the father of her two daughters, now ages 7 and 10, and that they are entitled to a monthly allowance. The girls are also seeking to inherit half of Kumra's estate.