Suspect in Lily Burk's slaying had 10 prior convictions, DA says

The man charged in the slaying of 17-year-old Lily Burk has 10 criminal convictions in the last 30 years including felony burglary and home invasion, according to information from the L.A. Dist. Atty.'s Office.

Most of the convictions were for misdemeanor crimes such as DUI and theft, according to the information, which The Times requested.

Charles Samuel, 50, was charged Tuesday with murder, kidnapping and robbery -- charges that could make him subject to the death penalty.

Burk never returned to her family's Los Feliz home Friday after running an errand for her mother at Southwestern Law School in the city's Mid-Wilshire area. In the afternoon, she made two odd calls to her parents asking how to use a credit card to withdraw cash at an ATM. About 7 p.m., they contacted police to report her missing. Later that night, police tracked Burk's cellphone and ATM activity to the skid row and Little Tokyo areas, but a search into the early hours of Saturday morning turned up nothing.

 At dawn, however, Burk's lifeless body was discovered in the passenger seat of her Volvo in a downtown parking lot. She had been beaten about the head and her neck was slashed.

Here is the list of the suspect's convictions:

1978: Misdemeanor grand theft in San Bernardino County.

1981: Misdemeanor petty theft in San Bernardino.

1985: Misdemeanor providing false information to a peace office in San Bernardino.

1985: Misdemeanor under the influence of a controlled substance in San Bernardino.

1986: Misdemeanor under the influence of a controlled substance in San Bernardino.

1987: Felony home invasion robbery, felony burglary, unlawful taking of vehicle in San Bernardino.

1997: Felony burglary in San Bernardino.

2003: Misdemeanor driving on a suspended license in Los Angeles County.

2006: Felony petty theft with prior theft in Los Angeles.

2009: Misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia in Los Angeles.

Samuel has not entered a plea in Burk's slaying.

Police said they have collected footage from surveillance cameras showing Samuel driving away from the area of the law school in Burk's car with her in the passenger seat, with Burk at a downtown ATM machine and then abandoning the car late Friday afternoon in the parking lot where Burk's body was found.

Fingerprints lifted from the inside of the car have been matched to Samuel, who reportedly made incriminating statements to detectives after his arrest. They believe that Burk was killed within about 45 minutes of her last call to her parents and hours before she was reported missing.

-- Richard Winton

Comments

[Margaret]

Why was this creep out on the streets I hope he gets the death peanalty very tragic and sad for this girls family

[koo]

I count three felonies - 1987, 1997, 2006... why was he not locked up 25 years to life for his "third" strike back in 2006? Weren't there articles about some guy who stole a pizza slice and since it was his "third" strike, the judge had no choice but to throw him in jail for 25 years to life before?

[Dave]

Why was he not in prison for 25 to life under the 3 strikes law?It appears he has had at least 3 felony convictions.

[robt]

But hey; at least all the liberal laws regarding the rights of perpetrators were protects over his 30 year history of ever escalating criminal career- that's what's really important right libtards?

[Chunkdog]

I read three felonies. Three strikes law?

[Santa Claus]

I'm wondering why banks and other issuers of debit/credit cards don't furnish two account access numbers, so that customers can enter the alternate number when under duress--still affording them access and processing the transaction while secretly notifying the bank immediately that they are accessing their account under duress and need public safety to respond.

[Bob]

So much for THREE STRIKES...

[South LA Dweller]

You know, I feel really sorry for this poor girl and I am glad her case is getting a lot of coverage. What does anger me is the fact that people are murdered in South LA all the time and they never get this type of attention. It seems the only way the LA times cares about murder victims is if they are white and affluent. Shame on you.

[George Soros]

"Felony home invasion robbery" dating back as far as 1987? This is so sick! Why wasn't this guy locked up for life after that violent offense? So in essence, the people who let this animal lose after that little incidence are now indirectly responsible for this poor young woman's death. They should be locked up as well.
So sick...

[Disgusted Citizen]

This guy should be taken out in the street and shot, this story makes me sick.

[brettstrodamus]

There's only one thing to do with this kind of creep...round em up and drop em off in the middle of Nevada at high noon.

[Tom]

another fine product of meth

[MarK]

he seems to be useless.

[Jet]

I would guess the reason that he was not a 3rd stricker is the felony counts were before the three strike law. Anything before that date with the three strick law became law do not count. Remember those that don't vote miss the opportunity to voice an opinion when something comes up. VOTE it might seem use less at the time but then things like this come up and things like prop 36 that allows chance after chance for drug rehab. At some point prop 36 needs to be looked at but since the majority voted for it. For now we have to live with it.

[JimBob]

What happened to three strikes? All you ever hear about is the travesties of justice under three strikes -- well, here's a perfect example of a case where it would've saved a young woman's life had it been invoked after that 2006 conviction!!

[chrism]

How is it that the Times' inquiring reporter didn't ask the DA's office how this suspect managed to be at large with three felony convictions dating back to the '80s? That should have been the first question asked about this arrest record.

[BruceAlmighty]

And those are only his convictions. I wonder how many other times he was arrested/ prosecuted. This kind of scum should be put in the carpool lane to death row. He was convicted of his fourth felony after 3 strikes was in place, so why did he ever get out? The judge who sentenced him should be prosecuted for manslaughter.

[Boils]

But he was homeless and a living saint. He just needed his own apartment and some social services.

[Bob]

Wouldn't it be nice to know his whole story. First arrest at 19, in and out of trouble, continuous drug problem for 20+ years.

What's wrong with us? It's our issue. WE let this happen to him. For 31 of his 50 years, maybe more. She paid but the problem is all of US. WE just want to lock them him. It's not the solution.

Grow up, you can't keep every person in the slammer for ever. Abused, abandoned kids grow up, screwed up. Really badly screwed up. You have to get them when they are infants and make sure they are not abuses, have someone who cares, and insure that the are educated so they can take care of themselves.

We could shoot them all but that doesn't fix the problem any more than trashing coca fields in Columbia stops the Coke. We create these people.

[August]

And after ZILLIONS in taxpayer programs and treatment and prisons and jails...NOT ONE OF THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE PROGRAMS EVER SAID "MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, HE NEEDS TRAINING AND A JOB! THEY DON'T DO THAT!

[blue27 in Pasadena]

Interesting that this is the first photo we have been allowed to see of the suspect, even though it is a photo from a distance where the suspect is barely visible. I even read a quote where the police didn't want to release a photo of him because they thought it might compromise interviews. Is that because he's black? Ya think? Thanks for the censorship, media. I guess black really is the new white.

[August]

NO MORE INSANE PROGRAMS!!!!!!!!!! REAL TRAINING & REAL JOBS!!!!!!!

[Frank]

This is one of the saddest events of murder that I have ever read about. It sounds like the victim was a bright, loving and beautiful young lady. The perpetrator deserves the death penalty under the facts of this case without a doubt. His previous felony convictions did not qualify this guy for the three strike's law under the California penal code. However, why was this guy allowed to leave the halfway house. It is clear that he did not have a job (he claimed to be a "recycler"), and with his history of drug abuse, it would follow that he would need to steal to feed his drug issues and that that could lead to violence. Pathetic.

[Clueless lala land dwellers]

The creep was not locked up bc LAPD is running around skid row arresting small time pot smokers, surveilling small time bs like counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags and high fiving ea other at the station for # of arrests instead of concentrating on career criminals!!! Or they're out citing downtown workers for jaywalking!!!

[Live Work Downtown -- NOT!]

The creep was not locked up bc LAPD is running around skid row arresting small time pot smokers and surveilling small time bs like counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags and high fiving ea other at the station for # of arrests instead of concentrating on career criminals!!! Or they're out citing downtown workers for jaywalking!!!