This document is part of a series about Randall "Duke" Cunningham's attempted murder / suicide on November 25th, 2005
Home page for "Cunningham's Last Battle" web site / Contact the author / victim / witness Russell 'Ace' Hoffman
October 28th, 2007
Dear Mr. Anderson,
Thank you for visiting my web site about Randall Cunningham and for posting a comment at the Duke forum.
Visual identification is good enough in many criminal cases. Additional physical evidence (besides the wheel well liner) would require a little police work or perhaps, now that a cursory and late police report has been produced (which I posted), some old-fashioned detective work to dig up.
But it surely must exist, because the man I saw was Cunningham. He was only about 10 or 12 feet away for one brief instant, but that was enough time to freeze his image in my mind forever.
The point of the web site is to prove that a police cover-up occurred from the very first instant -- or maybe just to show how police cover-ups occur. Instant "celebrity justice" prevented the rest of the evidence from being gathered, and police rules prevent what was gathered in the Internal Affairs investigation from being made public, including to my wife and I, the victims of his assault.
However, I'm sure any proper gumshoe could track down the connection between the car's owner and Cunningham, could find out what happened to all the cops involved, or could do a little research into normal police behavior following a typical 911 call like I made that night, and could decide for themselves that the SYSTEM failed.
At the web site, I explain what I've done to prove that the system failed. It is very difficult for a citizen to get to the truth if the police are purposefully covering up the truth.
I am fully aware that the only way to prove the driver was Cunningham is if someone trusts my eyesight, he confesses, or the police cough up the evidence they have. My wife, in the seat next to me, did not look at the other driver as he passed (a shame, since she was closer to him than I was) and the closing speed was probably about 80 miles an hour, about 65 or 70 of those being his. But what Cunningham himself has said about jets is even more true with automobiles. No, you don't see the face of every driver that passes you and clips your tail. But sometimes you do.
When I had that much adrenalin running in my veins, time slowed down enough for me to look hard at my would-be killer and I certainly tried to. His face, and especially his expression, were vital to my survival at that moment and I had to understand what his problem was (at that moment, it was more important than recognizing him, since who knows what the next few seconds would have brought if both cars had become disabled and I had to meet the other driver face-to-face?)
His expression in that instant showed his intention to ram the back end of my car, even after I had already avoided the head-on. It would have been great for ME if he had finally turned away instead of hitting me -- but it would have been TERRIBLE for the next driver. That's why I actually WANTED him to hit the back end of my car -- I left it available for him.
He knew exactly what he was doing and was very upset to begin with, which is why he tried to flip the car before coming at the one I was driving. Then he was doubly upset after I foiled his evil plan.
When I looked back after coming to a stop after the accident, his car was about 80 to 100 feet away and he immediately took off, wildly swerving down the road (I think his right tie rod was busted, or at least bent). A more proper investigation than Deputy Cheever did could still reveal records about such things. But the police don't need to find this guy, because it WAS Cunningham, and I'm sure the police know it. If they ever let him out of prison, I will immediately file court papers to protect the public, by denying him a driver's license. The cops surely know this.
The wheel well liner from the car, with the sticker that ties it to a specific vehicle, remains in my possession. The owner of that car is undoubtedly connected to Cunningham by a very short chain, although the owner undoubtedly had no idea why Cunningham wanted to borrow that tippy little "hot rod" that night.
I'm working on an animation which illustrates the exact behavior of both cars. I hope to have it online in a week or two. I invite you to check back at the site periodically and see what you think.
Lastly, I did not send you an "unsolicited email." I posted a comment at your "Unofficial Randy Cunningham web page" since it seemed likely you'd be interested, under the circumstances.
Sincerely,
Russell "Ace" Hoffman
Carlsbad, CA
P.S. The method I used to evade Cunningham can work against anybody, but ONLY if you follow the directions absolutely exactly. Braking early and HARD is vital, to give the other car time to speed up. When evading doesn't work, stop evading completely and don't gain speed. Wait. Wait some more. Then keep on waiting while you pray that you don't wait a moment too long. Then accelerate straight at the other driver and don't turn until the last possible moment. The final turn depends on having LESS speed than the other driver but enough speed to have MORE maneuverability.
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Re: http://dukecunningham.org/forum/read.php?f=1&i=2441&t=2441 Cunningham Suicide Attempt
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Author: Dan Anderson (---.Sun.COM)
Date: 10-02-07 16:31
I received this unsolicited email about an alleged suicide attempt by Duke Cunningham. I haven't verified anything here. I don't really see anything connecting Cunningham with the incident, except physical resemblance:
Sender: Russell 'Ace' Hoffman
Hi,
I thought you might want to check out my web site devoted to "Cunningham's last battle" which was when he tried to commit suicide / homicide by smashing the car he was driving in head-on into the one I was driving.
Had he succeeded, the bribery case and all the rest of the criminal cases he and his cohorts were involved in would never have happened -- which, of course, what what he wanted. The police helped him that night, and have been trying to cover their mistakes ever since.
I've posted about 50 documents and pictures related to the incident, which occurred three days BEFORE he resigned. Here's the URL:
http://www.animatedsoftware.com/cunningham/
Warmest regards,
"Ace"