Hazel Hamilton, an 83-year-old widow, lived alone in house in Fresno. She suffered from poor eyesight and arthritis. During an evening in December 1991 a neighbor, Eulalia Gauss, heard loud noised coming from Hamilton’s house. She stepped to look and saw, through a wide-open window, a man standing inside Hamilton’s bedroom. He appeared to breaking things.
Police were called. An arriving officer heard what sounded like someone ransacking the house. The front door was open. The officer saw Keone Wallace standing inside. He called to Wallace, who turned and fled. Officers at the rear of the house saw Wallace dive through the open window. Wallace struggled and was subdued and handcuffed. “They made me do it,” he said. “The other guys” were getting away, he said.
