Sherry Black, Pickers, and the Salt Lake City Meth Underworld

As far as I can tell, there are no new leads in the murder of bookseller Sherry Black. Or at least none that the police are sharing with the media.

However, that blog update did link to this fascinating piece from 2008 talking about a ring of meth addicts stealing Mormon collectables and selling them to antique dealers, and the (mostly unsuccessful) quest of Randy Holladay to get back his possessions. I am very far indeed from the Salk Lake City antique business, but the story paints them (and the “pickers” that sell to them) in a most unflattering light:

Holladay made one fatal mistake, he says, in his homespun investigation. He gave out his list of stolen property to antique dealers in the first week of March. That’s something the Utah Antique Dealers Association advocates, according to its vice president, Nate Bischoff. One day to the next, though, Holladay says, the trail went cold. He suspects the list was circulated to dealers across the Salt Lake Valley, who then hid from view whatever they had bought of his possessions.

The story it paints of the Salt Lake City police is also less-than-flattering, noting that “In 2007, nine burglary detectives handled 1,300 cases each.” The story also notes:

A month ago, Holladay learned that 10 pages of e-mails he had sent to law enforcement at the beginning of the investigation were being circulated among neighbors and what he calls “various shady people” throughout the city. In those e-mails, Holladay poured out his anger, his fear, his suspicions—accurate or not—of neighbors and others. The district attorney’s office shared the e-mails with defense attorneys in the discovery process. Lloyd says his house was broken into several weeks ago. The only thing taken was the discovery file containing Holladay’s e-mails relating to this case.

Then again, hosility to police is pretty much a given for an “alternative weekly,” so their reporting in that arena may need to be taken with a grain of salt…

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3 Responses to “Sherry Black, Pickers, and the Salt Lake City Meth Underworld”

  1. Bryon Pierce says:

    I would seriously see what the link is between Lorin Nielsen and Paul David Vera who was arrested yeaterday for the Fairmont Park Rape and Murder and the Rape at Pioneer Park . The police are painting him as a transient but he really is a Juggalo / ICP freak based on his profile on Facebook. I do not have the link but within Facebook search “Paul D Vera”

    Another note look at the comments he made and the dates of his alleged crimes.

    I would look into perhaps the Sherry Black involvement was what started his spree.

    here are some quotes:

    “im a san anto TEXican. i live in salt lake for now. hope to be moving back to TX sometime soon.” (profile desc)

    “ftw. especially salt lake.” 12/16/2010

    “TX screwed n’ chopped repping” 12/13/2010
    “jammin’ out to the rest of my life.” 12/13/2010
    “i’ma sucker for romance & death.” 12/13/2010
    “the evil in needs to get out sometymes.” 12/13/2010

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  3. Bryon Pierce says:

    orry for not responding sooner, I am usually in front of my computer at work and our firewall does not allow facebook.
    the link to what I believe is his public profile on facebook is…
    http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001442351843
    and on myspace..
    http://www.myspace.com/daulgypaw/comments

    I did leave a tip with the police and they have not contacted me, the officer i talked to said she didnt think it was relative to their case.

    I am familiar with how twisted and dangerous some of the Juggalos / ICP group is. A few years ago I lived next door to a Juggalo “Safe House” and also experienced a step-daughter become involved with and go through the challenges of leaving the Juggalo lifestyle.I think they are a lot more organised and dangerous than the local police departments would like to believe. The music and culture is extremely violent. They do not fit the traditional sense of what a street gang is, therefore the movement may be more dangerous then what we have seen in other urban gangs.

    The social-economic demographic is a lot wider and more inclusive. The message of the music of ICP (Insane Clown Posse) looks morally sound from the onset, giving many Juggalos a sense of zeal and justice, much like the “straight edge” movement of the late 90’s. Most members I have talked with revere it as a mix of church and family.

    I know that my alligations seem far-fetched but combining the Lorin Nielsen (ICP, Seedy Sugarhouse Picker Culture) and David Paul Vara (ICP, Psyco-path and Sugarhouse Drifter)…maybe ther is something there.

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