From the Archives

The bones of one or several Ohlone Indians were discovered at San Mateo High School during the school’s reconstruction the week of July 31, 2003 and have since been blessed by a shaman, stored and are now waiting to be re-interred.

While the discovery caused no delay to the large-scale project, it cost the San Mateo Union High School District more than $200,000, Associate Superintendent Bob Arnold said at the time.

An arm bone and portions of a shin bone and a skull were found under asphalt at the southeastern end of the school approximately six months prior, Arnold said.

Officials initially believed the bones were part of a shellmound, or Ohlone Indian burial site. After the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office determined that the bones were more than 100 years old, two American Indian observers were summoned. The two spent every day the last few months watching workers sift through the 30 foot by 10 foot area shovel by shovel looking for additional remains.

Convicted child molester freed

Little more than six months after Ramiro Jack Long was handed a prison term likely to keep him behind bars until his death, the former Redwood City karate instructor walked away from his conviction the week of July 31, 2003 on 10 counts of child molestation.

Long, 68, is the latest person convicted of child molestation in San Mateo County who must have been freed under a U.S. Supreme Court decision tossing an extension to the statute of limitations. While the ruling has nabbed the most attention for the Catholic priests who can no longer be prosecuted, eight cases in San Mateo County are quietly being contended with. Long is the third person released from custody. His record will be expunged and he will never have to register as a sex offender. For all purposes, Long cannot even be referred to as a child molester because his conviction is considered invalid.

Carjacker gets 185 years

The East Palo Alto man convicted of leading Millbrae police on a two-hour chase following a carjacking more than a year ago was sentenced July 28, 2003 to 185 years to life in prison.

Titi Lavea, Jr., 25, received the maximum penalty for multiple carjackings, police chases, firearms theft and possession. He is also charged with trying to escape from the county jail while awaiting trial.

After deliberating for four hours June 18, 2003 a jury found Lavea guilty of two counts of carjacking, grand theft, evading police and damaging the county jail. He was found not guilty of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Lavea’s accomplice, James Robert Petelo, 19, of East Palo Alto, pleaded guilty in March 2003 in return for a reduced sentence.

However, Lavea’s convictions counted as a third strike and the sentence was the stiffest possible under law. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for carjacking with an added year for firearms possession; a consecutive sentence of 27 years to life for a different carjacking; 25 years to life for stealing firearms in San Carlos; two sentences of 25 years to life for police chases with reckless driving in South San Francisco and San Mateo; and 25 years to life for a residential burglary in East Palo Alto.

Applemania strikes Burlingame

Not since the opening of Draeger’s Supermarket in downtown San Mateo has an opening of a local retail store been so anticipated. But it wasn’t gourmet food that brought the huge number of people to downtown Burlingame Saturday July 26, 2003 — it was Apples.

Thousands lined up around the block for the grand opening of the newest Apple store at 1301 Burlingame Ave. at 10 a.m. The line of anxious Apple fans stretched around the block at Park Road, through the parking lot behind the store and onto Primrose Road.

Like a line for the latest ride at Disneyland, people waited for more than an hour to get a glimpse of the new store. From full-fledge geeks to passersby, everyone wanted to take a look at the new store.

The building sits like a big gray cube amid historical buildings on the street. The front window of the building is flanked with album covers ranging from the Ramones to Mariah Carey. Inside the store music of the same sort blared out the speakers. The store boasts an impressive array of computers for people to play with and the hands-on environment attracts leagues of gadget gurus.

From the archives highlights events that occurred five years ago this week it appears in the Thursday edition of the Daily Journal.