Updates since January 31, 2021, Reversal of the Parole Grant
March 30, 2022- A second parole hearing for inmate #P80613 took place to determine the suitability of Debra's murderer. Amidst the technical difficulties of internet connection and internal clashes between the presiding commissioner and the inmate’s attorney, alarming new information was brought to light. Despite the glaring issues for suitability, McNeal was granted parole.
“Your expressions of remorse didn't ring true. They were very hollow in my opinion… You don't seem very empathetic to the family. All of that seemed very hollow…”
July 19, 2022- An Appeal to the Granted Parole meeting took place with Debra’s daughter, Shantel Haynes, South Dakota District 1 House of Representative, Tamara St. John, the previous District Attorney of San Bernardino, Michael Ramos, Deputy Attorney, Connie Lasky and Governor Gavin Newsom’s team.
August 26, 2022- Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision on the parole grant:
INDETERMINATE SENTENCE PAROLE RELEASE REVIEW REQUEST FOR EN BANC REVIEW
…. And this is where we need YOU!!!! Be on the side of Justice for Debra BlackCrow!!!!
NOTICE OF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2022 @ 9:00 a.m. PST
This hearing is open to the public so anyone can send a statement or call into the hearing. Please submit your statement as soon as possible to ensure the board will have adequate time to provide your comments to the commissioners in advance of the meeting. Statements should be emailed to BPHEXE.BRDMEETING@cdcr.ca.gov and must be received by 10:00 a.m. the day of the meeting.
It can be as simple as:
RE: RODNEY MCNEAL, P80613
My name is _________________________. I believe that Rodney Patrick McNeal is still a threat to society and should be denied parole.
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As expected, McNeal continued to put the blame for his actions on Debra:
Page 40 of parole transcripts: Inmate McNeal: “… I believe that that all the problems were due to the hormones of pregnancy. So I was believing that after our child was born, uh, again, rightly or wrongly, I believe that everything’s going to go back to normal and we’re going to be a nice, healthy, happy family.”
He admitted that he did more than just restraining Debra:
Page 37-38 of Parole transcripts: Inmate McNeal: “…. I was involved in physical violence by, uh, taking her to the bedroom, throwing her onto the bed…..”, “I twisted her arms behind her back. I spit in her face. I poured a gallon of juice over her head and pushed her down at one point….” Regarding the verbal abuse he stated, “I was involved in putting her down, criticizing her, uh, I would say things that struck at the heart of her insecurity. I, you know, I would tell her that, hey, she couldn’t go ahead and leave because I was 27 and she was 38. I could find a, a new woman if I wanted to, because I was young…..”
He continues to point the blame on his brother for the murder:
Page 23-24 of Parole transcripts: Deputy Commissioner Guerrero: “and why do you think your brother did this?”
Inmate McNeal: “Uh, that is because two witnesses came forward, including our, uh our sister and my brother’s best friend. They came forward and they went- well, one of them went to the police and told them that my brother committed the murder I’m in for, and as well as two other murders. Uh, he has subsequently committed – convicted for two other murders. And, uh, yes, I, I believe the witnesses based on my brother’s history.”
Page 76 of Parole transcripts: Presiding Commissioner Cassady: “Okay. So let me ask you again, same question, who did he allegedly killed?”
Inmate McNeal: ”Well, allegedly, they were two drug dealers in Las Vegas.”
Presiding Commissioner Cassady: “Okay. So he killed two drug dealers and then drives to San Bernardino County. Am I on the right county? I’m sorry. Yes, San Bernadino county to kill your – to kill his pregnant sister-in-law because you said you were having problems in your marriage.
His reasoning why his brother, Jeff West, committed the murder:
Page 86 of Parole transcripts: Inmate McNeal: “…I had not told anyone about anything that was occurring in my home prior to that time. When an incident happened in Las Vegas and my brother was witnessed…” “…I mean I did not just say, hey, I’m having these problems at home. No, I dehumanized her. I told him, I told him things like he was – she was no good that she was, she was using me that she probably tricked me from the beginning just to try to get a big payday, from having a baby from me and that she gets paid for 18 years and that she was destroying my life, destroying my career, uh, calling the police on my….”
Page 74-75 of Parole transcripts: Presiding Commissioner Cassady: “Um, you indicated that you take responsibility, and I don’t get that. You’re talking about some moral responsibility for the acts of your brother. It’s a question. How – why are you morally responsible for the acts of your brother? Did you tell him to kill her?
Inmate McNeal: “… And he said that, that I had told them that all the problems and issues that I was having at home with Deborah and in December, the December before her murder, I had gone to Las Vegas and in Vegas and I, I ended up telling my brother all the problems I was having.”
Clarifying information about the sister, Ebony Grant and Jeff’s best friend, Carrie McGill:
Page 17 of Parole transcripts: Presiding Commissioner Cassady: “….You have a good relationship with your older sister [Wendy], your other sister is struggling financially….”
Page 96-99 of Parole transcripts: Deputy Attorney Lasky: “…Mr. West pled guilty to the other two murders. And Mr. Miguel only came forward because he was also a suspect in those other two murders.” “…The declaration of Terra Holt who is Jeff’s wife said Miguel was framing Jeff” “..the concern also said that he [Jeff West] took the fifth, um, when he was asked about, uh, killing the victim, he also took the fifth, uh, when he was asked if Miguel shot at him, what did he <inaudible> born in? How he got to Deborah’s funeral so having taken a fifth” “…from Mr. Miguel, from the inmate’s brother and from his- and from his sister Ebony, and all this – and that court determined that that evidence was not credible and did not overcome the inmate’s, uh, conviction.”
His “Hero Complex” is still an imminent danger to the indigenous community:
Page 70-71 of Parole transcripts: Inmate McNeal: “Uh, uh, yes, but yeah, I guess it is a nonprofit I would love to say, it wouldn’t be officially because I’m an inmate, but yeah. Uh, my proposal is to, for CCI Tehachapi to adopting, uh, an elementary school, uh, that has a high percentage, the best we could find with high percentage of Native American children, uh, that go there. And that’s part of giving back and making amends for both Samara and, and Deborah and recognizing the damage that I did to the Native American community…”
He is only focused on being on a TV Show (Investigation Discovery "Reasonable Doubt" Aired August 9, 2022):
Page 132 of Parole transcripts: Victim’s Daughter Haynes: “… all these things that the Governor has done, all these things that the President has done in the past 13 months, and all you could do is try to be on a TV Show. That’s [that I’m] forced to do now. I don’t even want to do it….”
Page 146 of Parole Transcripts: Attorney Sheppard “Commissioner, before you go off record, I feel like this needs to be mentioned that if the television show contacts the victim’s kin, we did not tell them to do that. Um, if they do that, that is because the television show sought out their information. So I just want to make sure this doesn’t end up being a parole violation”
He is expected to leave prison with a full bank account:
Page 99 of Parole transcripts 2020-09-03: Deputy Commissioner Lam: “Okay. And you, you have some money set aside, you have, you have money set aside by Jennifer. I guess Its your…..” “She died from cancer. Is that right?”
Inmate McNeal: “Yes. Um, yeah. She, um, yeah, she and I worked together since 2013. We were friends and then developed a relationship and, uh, yeah, she died of cancer on October 21st, uh, 2018. And she left me the money in that Edward Jones account, uh, to help with my transition along with, uh, some furniture and, and the car, uh, a Honda Civic.”
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You would think that there would be a law in California that prohibits a convicted felon from receiving beneficiary benefits from a life insurance policy that he was not married to and who he is not an heir to.
“Whenever a beneficiary is incarcerated in a State or Federal jail, prison, penal institution or other correctional facility due to a State or Federal felony conviction, he or she forfeits all rights to compensation benefits during the period of incarceration.”
I included all these items in this update because it shows that Patrick is not remorseful, he is not taking accountability, he shifts blame to others, he only wants notoriety and he continued to commit insurance schemes while in prison.
Let’s make sure we keep him where he belongs, behind bars!
Sincerely,
Shantel Haynes
Daughter of Debra BlackCrow
Sister to Samara