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Police: Transient Trio Used Stolen Gun To Rob And Kill Yoga Instructor, Canadian Tourist

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Three young transients used a handgun that was stolen from an unlocked car to rob and kill a backpacking Canadian tourist in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco then a yoga instructor two days later on a hiking trail north of the city, authorities said Friday.

The handgun was reported stolen on Oct. 1 from the Fisherman's Wharf neighborhood in San Francisco, police commander Toney Chaplin said.

"We believe the same weapon was used in both crimes," Chaplin said.

The body of Audrey Carey, 23, was found Oct. 3 in Golden Gate Park. She had been shot in the head.

Yoga instructor Steve Carter, 67, was discovered dead on Monday near a popular hiking trail in Marin County across the Golden Gate Bridge. He had been shot multiple times while walking his dog.

Police identified the suspects as Morrison Haze Lampley, 23; Sean Michael Angold, 24; and Lila Scott Alligood, 18. They were being held without bail and it was unclear if any of them are represented by a lawyer.

They were arrested Wednesday at a soup kitchen in Portland, Oregon. Police say the stolen gun was recovered during the arrest and they believe it's the weapon used to fatally shoot Carey and Carter.

Police also said the suspects were in possession of Carter's car and some of Carey's camping gear was found inside it.

Valerie Chapman, administrator of St. Francis Church in Portland, said she had to admonish the three for smoking in a no-smoking area just outside the dining hall. Some of the hall's regular diners told her the three suspects were asking if anyone wanted to buy a Volkswagen Jetta station wagon, Chapman said.

"We serve low-income and homeless people, many of them with mental illness," Chapman said. "It's not the smartest place to sell a car."

The suspects have waived extradition proceedings in Portland and will be returned to the San Francisco Bay Area to face charges in the shooting deaths, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said.

Chaplin said San Francisco detectives spotted similarities in the shooting deaths of Carey and Carter, including the locations in wooded areas. Chaplin said the two agencies collaborated and soon traced the three suspects to Portland using the navigation system in Carter's car.

Chaplin said investigators were still trying to piece together the movements of the suspects after the gun was stolen. Police have received tips from the public and were following several leads but have not determined how the trio and the homicide victims crossed paths.

Marin County sheriff's Lt. Doug Pittman has described the suspects as drifters and said none of them has a known address.

Carey had left her native Quebec and was on a solo backpacking trip when she was killed after the first day of a music festival in Golden Gate Park. Her body was found near the site where the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival is held each year on six stages spread throughout the park.

Tens of thousands of fans stream into the park each year to watch the free music performed by dozens of bands over three days.

San Francisco police spokesman Albie Esparza said it's unclear if the suspects or Carey attended the festival because there are no tickets to the free event. Investigators believe Carey may have camped in the park.

A hiker found Carter's body Monday evening and he was still holding the leash of his wounded dog. The Doberman pinscher was turned over to the Marin County Humane Society and is expected to recover.

Pittman said investigators were also aided by surveillance footage from a gas station in Point Reyes that showed the suspects with the stolen car about a half-hour after the slaying.

Authorities have said it did not appear the suspects knew Carter.

Followers credited Carter with improving their romantic relationships by teaching tantra, a philosophy of meditation, yoga and sexuality famously embraced by rock star Sting.

In July, police said a stolen gun was used by a Mexican national in the U.S. illegally to kill Kate Steinle as she walked along San Francisco's waterfront. The gun was previously reported stolen from the car of a Bureau of Land Management agent in downtown San Francisco.

Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the case.

 

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.

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