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Officer could lose job over gun
Wife arrested on parole violation after weapon found in bedroom.
By Doug Hoagland
The Fresno Bee
(Published Thursday, January 30, 2003, 5:18 AM)
A Fresno police officer could be fired after marrying a woman who served time in prison for attempted murder and then violated her parole in December by having access to his department gun.
Parole agents found city police officer Ray Holquinn's gun, pepper spray, baton and cartridges on the floor of his bedroom near the bed, where his bride had been sleeping.
Holquinn and his wife, Tanya Marie Holquinn, knew his gun had to be kept in a locked safe or locked gun cabinet for her not to violate parole, said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the California Board of Prison Terms.
Holquinn said he tried to find out what to do with his gun at home, but one parole agent gave him incorrect information and another agent wasn't in the office. Holquinn said he kept the gun in a safe until the day before his wife was arrested: "It was my mistake leaving the gun [in the bedroom]."
During an interview Tuesday, Holquinn provided details about a relationship that stunned fellow officers when it was first reported. Holquinn acknowledged the novelty of the situation: "This is totally irregular -- a cop marrying a parolee."
Holquinn said he believes his wife's past is being held against her: "Nobody wants to let it go and let her live a life."
Tanya Holquinn is now back in prison as she awaits a hearing to determine how much time she will have to serve for violating parole. She faces a maximum of one year.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Jerry Dyer will decide if her husband acted inappropriately and should be disciplined.
Police spokesman Sgt. Herman Silva said Dyer could opt for penalties ranging from a letter of reprimand to termination. Or the chief could do nothing.
The Fresno Police Department has no policy that prohibits officers from fraternizing with convicted felons. That's not unusual, according to Fresno police officials, who point out that the International Association of Chiefs of Police did not include a fraternization policy in its code of conduct.
Silva said, however, the department's Internal Affairs unit investigated Holquinn to see "whether there was any misconduct regarding his personal life."
The police spokesman added: "I don't recall anytime when an officer married an ex-felon or [was] visiting an ex-felon in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Certainly that warrants some looking into."
Internal Affairs investigations can explore whether an officer's conduct brings "disrepute" to the profession and department, Silva said. He added that embarrassing the Fresno Police Department could be grounds for disciplining Holquinn.
Does any element of this case justify Holquinn's firing?
Lt. Pat Farmer, Dyer's chief administrative assistant, said that is up to officers in Holquinn's chain of command and ultimately the chief.
Holquinn said he understands the police department's need to investigate him: "They have to go for the facts ... and not be sentimental or soft-hearted about it. They are under a lot of pressure with the press and stuff."
Mike Oliver, president of the Fresno Police Officers Association, declined to say whether the union is representing Holquinn in the department's investigation. He said case law supports the department's right to look into an officer's off-duty conduct.
Oliver questioned, however, if embarrassing the department could be grounds for disciplining an officer.
"How do you embarrass an agency?" he said. "You don't. But you can damage the reputation of [an agency]."
Holquinn, 49, has been a Fresno police officer for 21 years and has been paid approximately $7,000 since being placed on administrative leave Dec. 12, according to Silva. Holquinn's wife was taken into custody three days before that.
Silva said it's not uncommon for officers to be off the job and on paid administrative leave when serious allegations are leveled. The law requires they be paid during the investigation.
Holquinn's first wife, Diana, died in 1998, and he alluded to loneliness after her death. "I sat at home all the time," he said.
Holquinn disputed reports that he met Tanya Rodriguez on the Internet. Rather, he said, they became pen pals, but he would not say how.
Holquinn said he knew his future wife was in prison when they started writing, and he had no reservations about that: "To me, she was a person. She was an inmate. What did she have to gain? What did I have to gain?"
Holquinn also visited her at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. She was imprisoned after being convicted of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. She stabbed another woman five times as the two sat in a car, according to news reports. The victim recovered from her wounds.
Tanya Holquinn, 39, was sentenced to seven years and went to prison in April 1997. She served almost six years of that term.
She was released from prison Dec. 1, and the couple were married that day.
On Dec. 9, she was arrested in Holquinn's northwest Fresno home for violating her parole.
"She came very close to stabbing someone to death in the middle of an alcoholic blackout," said Sessa of the board of prison terms. "Given that history, having any weapon in the house would have been a serious concern."
The arrest occurred when parole agents made a scheduled visit. "The service revolver and belt were lying on the bedroom floor next to the bed," Sessa said.
The belt holds officer Holquinn's pepper spray, baton and cartridges for his service pistol. Tanya Holquinn's four parole violations stem from access to those items and the gun.
Ray Holquinn offered a more detailed account of events leading up to his wife's arrest. He said the belt with his gun, pepper spray, baton and cartridges had been in a gun safe in the garage. The night before his wife's arrest, he moved the safe to another house to store other guns he had already removed from his home.
However, he brought the department gun and belt back to his home so he would have them when he dressed for work or got a SWAT call. He locked the items in his car in the garage with the car alarm on. The next day, he was making enchiladas and needed tortillas. He went to the store. Before leaving, he took the gun and belt from the car and put them on the floor of his upstairs bedroom. His wife was sleeping in the room, and he kissed her on the cheek before leaving.
Ray Holquinn did not want to drive to the store and leave the gun unattended in the car, which would have violated department policy. "My butt would have been fried if someone had stole my gun," he said.
However, while he was gone, two parole agents came to the house and discovered the gun and belt. Holquinn said he knew they were coming, but not which day.
Eighteen-year-old Stephanie Holquinn, one of Ray Holquinn's four children, was at the house with her stepmother when the agents arrived. "She started shaking," Stephanie said, adding that she supports her father's marriage: "I want him to be happy. Why not? He lost my mom. So why not be happy again?"
After Tanya Holquinn's arrest, she was taken to Fresno County Jail. On Jan. 6, she was transferred to Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla.
Sessa said a parole revocation hearing will be scheduled, probably in two to four weeks. An officer from the board of prison terms will review the circumstances and order a prison term not to exceed one year. Some parolees get as few as three months for violations, Sessa said.
He would not speculate how much prison time Tanya Holquinn's four violations could get her. "This is far from a straightforward case," Sessa said.
Ray Holquinn is not hopeful. "They have rules they have to go by," he said. "I'm hoping they'd make an exception. I think they're going to have the attitude, 'Well, you're a cop. You should have known better.' "
Meanwhile, Holquinn visits his wife for two hours on Saturdays and two hours on Sundays. They write each other daily.
"All I have is my kids and my job," Holquinn said. "Everything else I try to get, it gets taken away from me." He was somber and his words were tinged with emotion. "First, my kids' mother dies. Then Tanya, and I didn't want to tell anybody about [us] because I wanted to give it a chance, and the next thing it's all over [the news]."
Holquinn spoke of a life upended. "Now who knows what's going to happen at work," he said sadly.
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/6028251p-6984539c.html
Wife arrested on parole violation after weapon found in bedroom.
By Doug Hoagland
The Fresno Bee
(Published Thursday, January 30, 2003, 5:18 AM)
A Fresno police officer could be fired after marrying a woman who served time in prison for attempted murder and then violated her parole in December by having access to his department gun.
Parole agents found city police officer Ray Holquinn's gun, pepper spray, baton and cartridges on the floor of his bedroom near the bed, where his bride had been sleeping.
Holquinn and his wife, Tanya Marie Holquinn, knew his gun had to be kept in a locked safe or locked gun cabinet for her not to violate parole, said Bill Sessa, spokesman for the California Board of Prison Terms.
Holquinn said he tried to find out what to do with his gun at home, but one parole agent gave him incorrect information and another agent wasn't in the office. Holquinn said he kept the gun in a safe until the day before his wife was arrested: "It was my mistake leaving the gun [in the bedroom]."
During an interview Tuesday, Holquinn provided details about a relationship that stunned fellow officers when it was first reported. Holquinn acknowledged the novelty of the situation: "This is totally irregular -- a cop marrying a parolee."
Holquinn said he believes his wife's past is being held against her: "Nobody wants to let it go and let her live a life."
Tanya Holquinn is now back in prison as she awaits a hearing to determine how much time she will have to serve for violating parole. She faces a maximum of one year.
Meanwhile, Police Chief Jerry Dyer will decide if her husband acted inappropriately and should be disciplined.
Police spokesman Sgt. Herman Silva said Dyer could opt for penalties ranging from a letter of reprimand to termination. Or the chief could do nothing.
The Fresno Police Department has no policy that prohibits officers from fraternizing with convicted felons. That's not unusual, according to Fresno police officials, who point out that the International Association of Chiefs of Police did not include a fraternization policy in its code of conduct.
Silva said, however, the department's Internal Affairs unit investigated Holquinn to see "whether there was any misconduct regarding his personal life."
The police spokesman added: "I don't recall anytime when an officer married an ex-felon or [was] visiting an ex-felon in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Certainly that warrants some looking into."
Internal Affairs investigations can explore whether an officer's conduct brings "disrepute" to the profession and department, Silva said. He added that embarrassing the Fresno Police Department could be grounds for disciplining Holquinn.
Does any element of this case justify Holquinn's firing?
Lt. Pat Farmer, Dyer's chief administrative assistant, said that is up to officers in Holquinn's chain of command and ultimately the chief.
Holquinn said he understands the police department's need to investigate him: "They have to go for the facts ... and not be sentimental or soft-hearted about it. They are under a lot of pressure with the press and stuff."
Mike Oliver, president of the Fresno Police Officers Association, declined to say whether the union is representing Holquinn in the department's investigation. He said case law supports the department's right to look into an officer's off-duty conduct.
Oliver questioned, however, if embarrassing the department could be grounds for disciplining an officer.
"How do you embarrass an agency?" he said. "You don't. But you can damage the reputation of [an agency]."
Holquinn, 49, has been a Fresno police officer for 21 years and has been paid approximately $7,000 since being placed on administrative leave Dec. 12, according to Silva. Holquinn's wife was taken into custody three days before that.
Silva said it's not uncommon for officers to be off the job and on paid administrative leave when serious allegations are leveled. The law requires they be paid during the investigation.
Holquinn's first wife, Diana, died in 1998, and he alluded to loneliness after her death. "I sat at home all the time," he said.
Holquinn disputed reports that he met Tanya Rodriguez on the Internet. Rather, he said, they became pen pals, but he would not say how.
Holquinn said he knew his future wife was in prison when they started writing, and he had no reservations about that: "To me, she was a person. She was an inmate. What did she have to gain? What did I have to gain?"
Holquinn also visited her at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. She was imprisoned after being convicted of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. She stabbed another woman five times as the two sat in a car, according to news reports. The victim recovered from her wounds.
Tanya Holquinn, 39, was sentenced to seven years and went to prison in April 1997. She served almost six years of that term.
She was released from prison Dec. 1, and the couple were married that day.
On Dec. 9, she was arrested in Holquinn's northwest Fresno home for violating her parole.
"She came very close to stabbing someone to death in the middle of an alcoholic blackout," said Sessa of the board of prison terms. "Given that history, having any weapon in the house would have been a serious concern."
The arrest occurred when parole agents made a scheduled visit. "The service revolver and belt were lying on the bedroom floor next to the bed," Sessa said.
The belt holds officer Holquinn's pepper spray, baton and cartridges for his service pistol. Tanya Holquinn's four parole violations stem from access to those items and the gun.
Ray Holquinn offered a more detailed account of events leading up to his wife's arrest. He said the belt with his gun, pepper spray, baton and cartridges had been in a gun safe in the garage. The night before his wife's arrest, he moved the safe to another house to store other guns he had already removed from his home.
However, he brought the department gun and belt back to his home so he would have them when he dressed for work or got a SWAT call. He locked the items in his car in the garage with the car alarm on. The next day, he was making enchiladas and needed tortillas. He went to the store. Before leaving, he took the gun and belt from the car and put them on the floor of his upstairs bedroom. His wife was sleeping in the room, and he kissed her on the cheek before leaving.
Ray Holquinn did not want to drive to the store and leave the gun unattended in the car, which would have violated department policy. "My butt would have been fried if someone had stole my gun," he said.
However, while he was gone, two parole agents came to the house and discovered the gun and belt. Holquinn said he knew they were coming, but not which day.
Eighteen-year-old Stephanie Holquinn, one of Ray Holquinn's four children, was at the house with her stepmother when the agents arrived. "She started shaking," Stephanie said, adding that she supports her father's marriage: "I want him to be happy. Why not? He lost my mom. So why not be happy again?"
After Tanya Holquinn's arrest, she was taken to Fresno County Jail. On Jan. 6, she was transferred to Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla.
Sessa said a parole revocation hearing will be scheduled, probably in two to four weeks. An officer from the board of prison terms will review the circumstances and order a prison term not to exceed one year. Some parolees get as few as three months for violations, Sessa said.
He would not speculate how much prison time Tanya Holquinn's four violations could get her. "This is far from a straightforward case," Sessa said.
Ray Holquinn is not hopeful. "They have rules they have to go by," he said. "I'm hoping they'd make an exception. I think they're going to have the attitude, 'Well, you're a cop. You should have known better.' "
Meanwhile, Holquinn visits his wife for two hours on Saturdays and two hours on Sundays. They write each other daily.
"All I have is my kids and my job," Holquinn said. "Everything else I try to get, it gets taken away from me." He was somber and his words were tinged with emotion. "First, my kids' mother dies. Then Tanya, and I didn't want to tell anybody about [us] because I wanted to give it a chance, and the next thing it's all over [the news]."
Holquinn spoke of a life upended. "Now who knows what's going to happen at work," he said sadly.
http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/6028251p-6984539c.html
