DA says deputy coroner was stealing possessions of dead people

This guy was a Selma planning commissioner for two years, and was 241 votes shy of being elected to the Selma City Council in November.

That's low! But at least it does no create hunger pangs or incurs an eviction notice for the innocent victim. I am not trying to be funny. But our national and local economy has created so many victims, that one is tempted to cite the Apocalypse ....that the living shall envy the dead.

A suggestion for the District Attorney. Just fire the lowdown thief, and make him do restitution. I don't want to have to feed and house him for three years in prison. Please honk your horn if you agree!

That is pretty low to steal from dead people eapecially when those possessions may be all the family has left for memories. Fire him now and prosecute him with a sentence of community service. Hard work community service and talks about what stealing can do to your life to younger people.

"Hard work Community service" I like that.

When a deputy coroner steals from a corpse, he is justifiably prosecuted for felony embezzlement and grand theft. When the federal government does effectively the same thing under color of law, we call it the estate tax.

Welcome To prison my friend!!! Have Fun you would find yourself in a whole lot of trouble if you stole from a family member of mine.

I personally worked with Joey. So it is shocking to hear something like this! Working with Joey I notice when it comes to the job he is on it and 100% And it always seems that he was straight by the rules because he would always be on us about them. But I guess if the allegations are true then it will prove to me that you can never really know someone for what they do, just for what they really are.

Personality is what you have when everyone's looking. Character is what you have when no one's looking.

I, too, worked with Joey for several years at the Coroner's Office. Contrary to others who have posted here, I was NOT shocked to hear of his arrest. His unprofessional attitude and profound lazyness were his hallmarks so that he was also a thief is no big surprise. I believe that once the investigation is over, a stolen iPhone will be the least of it.

Lets look at the big picture. DEA has been taking drugs, personal property, etc. for years. Joey Tiger is a very small part of has been happening for a very long time. Fresno, Selma this is small stuff next to Los Angeles and other big cities. Cut him a break.

This guy should have never been honored with a badge. I have been around him on several occassions and have never been impressed with his personal character, work ethic, or lack there of. He abused his position of trust and should be held 100% accountable. I'd like to be a member of that jury.

F.B. will you keep us posted when he gets caught steeling from his cellie?

That they steal more in Los Angeles; that's a mitigating circumstance for local stealing? That logic escapes me.

The reason this stealing escalates in the first place is because they get a break the first few times. He should definately be prosecuted. It doesn't matter who it is DEA, POLICE or CORONERS OFFICE. That's just plain low to steal from a dead person.

Jill Johnson - You say "cut him a break?" I need to get this straight because as a mom I need to make sure my children are educated correctly. So what you are saying is if someone else's illegal activities are bigger or worse than yours then yours are no big deal. I showed this to my 13 year old son and my 11 year old daughter, they had quite a field day with the implications of this way of thinking. My favorite, "So if I want to kill someone it is O.K. as long as I don't become a serial killer?" My son, always the responsible one, told me he would be late from school today because he was going to rob a few houses on his way home. I said, "Sure, start at jill's house 'cause she's cool with it." Luckily both know their parents would exact a higher penalty than any lawbook can think of; so your homes and lives are safe. That's why we have laws folks because not everyone has parents that are as scary as we are. If you don't like the laws, repeal them. If you don't repeal them then don't break them. It's simple. By the way, this bloke did not steal from a dead man. He stole from the dead man's heirs.

There are more drive bys in LA also but that doesn't make it ok. Those people in LA should be prosecuted as well even if they are celebrities. Don't teach our children that this is ok. I would bet there were some pictures on that phone that would have been priceless to his heirs.

Kim Tanksley, I have every confidence that your kids will be raised right. My own daughter she lied to me about who she was with, she lied where she was, and she lied as to why she was home late (whenever there was a boy in the mix) but she never took a dime in spite that I had loose money laying about all over the place because of changing handbags a lot and being untidy.

Maybe Ms Johnson is a Christian who forgives because we are all human. But we humans shall not steal. It's written in stone.

I've known Joey Tiger my whole life, 23 years to be exact and have never thought of him as a bad guy in any way. Joey was my football coach back in high school and you couldn't have asked for a better guy to take time out of his busy life to coach a bunch of high school kids. He not only was a coach but a very good role model for all of us. Joey gave each and every one of us his out most attention and never thought twice about helping someone. So back to this " stealing from the dead" stuff... I know Joey wouldn't have pulled this kind of act due to the kind hearted person he is. And if " it " did happen, all people make mistakes. For all you sitting here bad mouthing Joey, your wrong because you make it sound like your perfect in every way, never making a mistake.. For the people who said he was not professional in his job, thats B.S. Joey is innocent till proven guilty and by ALL MEANS, HE IS INNOCENT!! There are no if and's or buts about the issue, he's innocent and no reason for people who don't even know Joey to go running thier mouth.

Anybody out there have all the facts pro and con...Didn't think so.Kim...kudos for taking this and making a teachable moment out of it."Dizzy"...You seem spiritually conflicted as a non-believer bashing "Christians" using the "Ten Commandments".Is this a misrepresentation?

I believe he's innocent til proven guilty and even though he may have been a good guy people change just like people make mistakes. It will all come out in court. The DA doesn't usually prosecute really weak cases. Was he caught with the phone on him or in his car, home etc?????? Do they have survelliance tape???? We don't know but it will come out. Having lost things after the loss of my father to an idiot step niece has me feeling a bit harsh on this matter. My relative cleaned out his bank accounts of nearly 30K while he was taking his last breath,destroyed his willand changed his vehicle i to her name in a matter of a couple of days. S heill face judgement day.

I believe he's innocent til proven guilty and even though he may have been a good guy people change just like people make mistakes

Do you give everyone the benefit of the doubt like that? Including alleged drunk drivers arrested at DUI checkpoints, and alleged gang members arrested in gang sweeps on the west side?

What gave you the ridiculous idea that I am a non-believer. I am no Bible thumper. How am I "spiritually conflicted" ? The questions is rhetorical. It had been posted by someone else , that you are trying to bug me for the sport of it. That tends to make you morally conflicted, with all your talk about Jesus in your life... Now in very un-Christian spirit, I bid you to "bugger off!"
Mrs. Lawson.

P.S. What prompted your Epiphany about Kim Tanksley? You seem to have given up bugging her?

There we have Steve Nakashima, one of Reedley's most successful denizens. The notice of his death resulted in one single post. And here we are on number 21 (or so) post about a public servant, (allegedly) stealing from the dead at the office of the Coroner. What does that say about us? In my opinion, the topic (and I don't mean news) should not have come up until after an indictment. If indicted, is the defense going to raise the lack of fair trail doctrine because of the publicity?

What gave you the ridiculous idea that I am a non-believer.

To some people, if you don't adhere to their particular brand of Christianity, you're not a "real Christian." Apparently they trade-marked the term without telling the rest of us.

Perhaps you have to attack everybodys opinions cause you think you are high and mighty.

You certainly don't seem to be giving me the benefit of the doubt. Is that part of your application of the Golden Rule? I simply asked you a question (which you didn't actually answer, btw).

Mike I give the benefit of doubt unless I have personal knowledge of the events that occured. It is what is required of you to be on a jury. From what I have read and heard he is guilty. If the phone was found at his house liuke the grieving mother said then hes guilty. I am thankful for the checkpoints that get potential drunk drivers off the street even though they are just back out in a couple hours. I would expect the same Innocent until proven guilty for myself if I had comkmitted a crime. If he did it now would be the time to plead guilty and save the family from further heartbreak.

"Grieving Mom" This is about my post. I have no idea what you read into it; but I am on your side. Probably there shall be a trial with the usual prosecution and defense. Do we want to just hand it to defense? Therefore the criminal should not be tried by a blog. I think we should leave it to the courtroom. I am sorry if my suggestion to prevent a claim of improper pre-trial publicity has offended you.

Isabell, I apologize, my post was not about your blog, just all of the blogs in general. I agree no trial on blogs, I just wanted people to hear our prespective. It wasn't a phone that was missing it was a registered gun, which indicates to us there are more cases. When we found out about our son's gun we were unware of the phone case. I just want people to understand this man may be respectable, but you can't deny the fact that he had my son's property.

Respectable or not, kind hearted or not, nice guy or not, never before or not... when someone is suspected of breaking the law, they should be tried for guilt or innocence. If found guilty, sentenced and they should pay the price. It should be the same for every body, no matter who they are. It's simple folks. Our feelings, good or bad, make no difference.

My kudos to Jim Boren for presenting this to us. I think it was an experiment in human character to see if people's thoughts change if the victim was dead; however, I think the victims here are the living. I find these little experiments interesting Mr. Boren.

Grieving Mom: Some may think because your article in question was a gun that it couldn't be as dear as other types of articles. It doesn't even matter what the article stolen was. My young nephew was killed and the dearest possession to his family was his rifle because of all the fun times the family had going out in the desert for target practice. They'd pack a picnic and make a family day of it. The rifle embodied those memories. My thoughts are with you in your pain and am sorry you were taken advantage of during such a difficult time.

There's a few here who have vouched for him and some hard evidence against him. It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds. Jim?

Grieving....I'm sorry for what must be incredibly hard for you and your family. I know nothing makes it easier.

Come on Kim. To be suspected is not enough to be tried in a court of law. Good for all of us, American justice asks for evidence. But I am reasonable certain that the Disrict Attorney has the necessary evidence against that thief. I sure hope that you never suspect me of anything. You'ld have me in the pokey before I could say Jack Robinson. hahahaha!

Come on Isabell, you know I was paraphrasing. Besides I'd torture anyone before throwing them in the pokey, you know that! Like making them listen to Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh; that ought to do it. They'd confess to anything then. HA!

It seems that Brian Murray does not understand English when it is voiced by an immigrant. I never called him or anyone else a Bugger. I said "bugger off". It is not refined in anyway, and it means get lost.

As someone who worked at the coroners office for years, I would like to point out the whole office as corrupt and dysfunctional. Stealing from the dead has been an issue there for years in I'm sure will continue to be. Look at the records and you will find that about 8 years ago another veteran deputy John Bowen was caught stealing ID's and making false checking accounts and writing bad checks. He was also caught and prosecuted for much more than Joey Tiger. When Dr. Hadden mentions that this is " the worst he can recall in his tenure" is a bold face lie. The transport has also been caught on numerous occasions of theft.

"When Dr. Hadden mentions that 'this is the worst he can recall in his tenure' is a bold face lie." "The transport has also been caught on numerous occasions of theft." by Anonymous.

The post said Joey Tiger was not the worst of the thieves, and that the entire office is dysfunctional. Reminds me of the film; China Syndrome. (Some nuclear power plant is about to blow up, but its managment tells the media; all is well! safely rest.) Can I ask this question? If not black it out. Dr. Hadden, isn't he reputed to be one of the local ruling clique?

sounds like "Anonymous" is a little more defensive than the average former employee, maybe Joey Tiger has finally made a comment!! especially considering the media has always refered to him as Joseph. every criminal tries to point the attention elsewhere. but, considering the fact that he would steal from dead people, why not try and make the whole coroner's office suffer for it??? sounds like a winner to me!

How can anyone dare say that the Coroner's office is corrupt. Sounds to me like there have been a few bad seeds over the years, but are we all forgetting that someone in that office has always done the right thing and reported such offenses.

Kudos again to Dr Hadden for getting rid of the pathetic slugs that pick on the dead and obviously defensless.

Joseph Tiger carried and badge and committed crimes under the color oh his authority. If and when he is found GUILTY, he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. There is no excuse and he should have known better.

It doesn't really matter if its past or present bc its horrible either way and should be prosecuted as such. The other guy was prosecuted so why should Tiger be any less.

leave him alone hes a wonderful guy and deserves none of this

Is my computer going weird, or are we taken back for a month?

ANYONE WHO STILLS FROM THE DEAD HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE LOWEST SCUMS ON THIS PLANET!!!!