Dennis Flechtner

If you are a “true crime addict” like I am then you are likely also addicted to the Investigative Discovery channel. I am in the process of changing my cable companies right now and while I was looking at the packages that were offered I was making sure that I would continue to get that channel in my lineup. That being said, I am not a fan of all of the shows that they air and I also know that not all of the shows are completely accurate. Of course this can be said about just about all documentary shows. In fairness they generally have to break down a story into a forty minute dramatization. But, they are all generally bias in some way which is part of the reason that I do these blogs. It often takes some digging around to get more of the story and find more accurate information. One of my favorite series on ID is the show Fear Thy Neighbor. I have mentioned before that it is these types of crimes that often fascinate me the most because I feel like it could happen to just about anyone. We do not generally get to pick who are neighbors are and sometimes it just ends up being a bad fit. For the most part I have been lucky in that aspect throughout my life save one situation but luckily it did not last long.

This case was featured on Fear Thy Neighbor and as I said they are not always completely accurate but I have to say after researching this case I was quite disappointed in their broadcast of the story. There were several things in which they either changed, likely for dramatic purposes, or failed to mention that I believe changed the entire aspect of the story. At the end of the episode you learn that Dennis Flechtner was acquitted in his court proceedings. After seeing the episode I was left with the feeling that while Flechtner had claimed self defense he may have simply gotten lucky in finding a jury that seemed to believe his story. But, my research told me something very different. It has become one of the more difficult cases to blog about because I tend to at least attempt to stay away from “victim bashing.” I do not want to come off as being insensitive because the reality is that no one, at least most people, deserves to be murdered. I was faced with much of the same problems when I sat down to tell the Rachel Wade case. It was a case of two young girls who had a long standing rivalry over a boy who was “playing” them both. Neither the victim, nor the perpetrator in that case would back down and ultimately the victim went out of her way to find Rachel Wade and the end result was her death. It became difficult to not blame the victim for her actions because had she not sought Rachel Wade out that evening she would likely still be alive today.

Angela Leird and Dennis Flechtner were long time neighbors in Phelan California. Now, again if you saw the episode of Fear Thy Neighbor you are given the impression that the two lived next door to each other but in fact they lived on different streets. Their properties met in their back yards. Dennis was a single father of daughters and Angela was a single mother with a daughter of her own when the two met in the neighborhood. For a long while the families were close. The kids had sleepovers; the families had get togethers and barbecues. At some point Angela's boyfriend, Rusty Jones, moved in with Angela and her daughter, Chelsea. But, sometime around 1999 it seems Chelsea had gone to her mother with accusations that Rusty had molested her. While time frames were not specific by all accounts it would appear that Chelsea was somewhere around six years old when this happened. Angela had Rusty arrested and filed charges against him. Dennis and Rusty had become close friends over time and when the allegations were made it seems that Dennis “took” Rusty's side. According to Dennis he had questioned his own daughters about Rusty's behavior towards them and they flatly denied that he had ever done anything inappropriate. This seemed to be enough for Dennis but then the prosecutor dropped the charges against Rusty. At that point Dennis and Angela's relationship really took a turn. Angela was furious with Dennis for not believing Chelsea and Dennis was furious with Angela believing she had lied about Rusty and had attempted to in essence ruin his life. Some stories say that these allegations had occurred soon after Angela had discovered that Rusty was unfaithful, hence giving a little credence to Dennis' side of things. What Dennis did next made things even worse and the television show I saw on the story made it seem really bad. Remember how I said that the television show indicated that the families lived next door to each other? In the show they reported that after the charges were dropped against Rusty that Dennis took to making signs in his yard taunting Angela about being a liar. The show went on to state that at some point after this Angela attempted to sell her house but that Dennis' behavior, and his signs prevented her from selling the home. And again, the television show portrayed things as if there was really no getting away from him or missing things. My research indicates that the “signs,” in fairness if they existed, were notes written on the back side of Dennis' fence facing Angela's home. There was an indication that he would make one, then paint over it. And, over the years there were several reports from both families to the sheriff's department of complaints ranging from harassment, to property line issues, to loud parties. As I recall Dennis may have admitted to making some of the signs but I cannot say that they were to the extent that they were portrayed. It was noted that while the feud between the two families was noted when Dennis went to trial in 2011 and there may have been mention of the signs both in court and since to the media that there never seemed to be any pictures taken of these signs. Personally I find that odd. If I had a neighbor who was harassing me and I continually called the police as has been alleged I would have definitely been taking pictures of every new sign I saw and documenting the information.

This so called “feud” went on for about twelve years. Then some point Angela moved a new boyfriend, Adam Owen, into the home. Also a friend of Adams, Robert Light moved in and rented a room. But, according to friend and family the feud continued and now Adam was getting involved. All of this ended on the night of October 4, 2009. When it was all said and done three people would be dead and Dennis Flechtner would be behind bars facing three counts of first degree murder.

On the night of the murders a woman by the name of Whitney Telliano was visiting with Robert Light. Aside from Dennis Flechtner she would be the only living eyewitness to what happened. It would later be stated that investigators and prosecutors alike based their theory or ideas on what happened solely on Telliano's word. According to Telliano on the evening of the murders Dennis had been “taunting” Adam Owen and eventually he had gone to Dennis' home. She then stated that she, along with Angela Leird and Robert Light had chased after him to prevent there being an altercation. Keep in mind that it is unclear how at that point Telliano stated they had gotten to Dennis' property or if it was even accessible through the backyard of Angela's home. The only other way apparently to get there was to walk around the block. According to Telliano once she and the other two got to the home the argument between Dennis Flechtner and Adam Owen had already begun and instead of attempting to stop the argument it appears that Angela and Robert joined it. She said it was at that point that Dennis Flechtner pulled is gun and began firing. Telliano claimed that he had also fired in her direction as she ran away but she had escaped unharmed. She then ran back to Angela's home where she told her daughter, Chelsea to call the police.

Officers arrived at the scene at about 7:50 that night. By then Dennis had also made a 911 call himself. He would tell authorities his version of what happened that night. He would claim that he saw shadows coming towards him in the dark and he saw a mask and hands reaching out to grab him. At that point he drew his gun and just as he was firing he saw Owen's face and he continued to fire as he saw the other shadows continuing to come towards him. He was arrested without incident it seems on “suspicion” of homicide and his weapon was seized. He would be held for nearly two years without bond as he awaited trial on three counts of first degree murder.

Dennis Flechtner would go to trial in August of 2011. And here again is where I feel a lot of things were left out of the television show that aired on this story. One of the most interesting things I believe that they failed to mention was the fact that both Adam Owen and Robert Light were found to be under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of their murders. In addition to that it was determined that Angela Leird also had a significant amount of Fentanyl and alcohol in her system. In fairness, it was said that Dennis Flechtner added to authorities that night that he had had “several drinks” but apparently there was not a toxicology report done on him. To be fair, I do not even recall the there even being mention of a fourth person, being Whitney Telliano, but I admit that I could have simply forgotten that part.

If the seriousness of the crime would not have been what it was it appears that the trial would have been funny. As I stated earlier, by all accounts it appears that the investigators and the prosecutors put all their money on Whitney Telliano and her story. The problem was that her story apparently kept changing, but I will get to her in just a minute. It was also alleged that the prosecutors attempted to make the jury believe that the victims were not on Dennis Flectner's property at all when they were shot since they were found in or close to the road. The defense was able to counter that by pointing out that a blood trail had proven that they had in fact been well on his property when they were shot. Prosecutors would argued that Dennis had lured the trio to his home and goaded them to come onto his property. Then came Whitney Telliano who was said to be the “star witness” in the trial considering she was the only witness aside from Dennis Flechtner. I found a site that had an analysis of the case and skimmed through quite a bit of it. It was quoted as saying “Whitney Telliano's account of the shooting was wrought with proved inaccuracies and continual significant changes of that account up to the trial. Her credibility in trial was destroyed and the prosecutors' case fell apart.” Then I came across other things that discussed her actions in this trial to back much of this up. It was said that even in her direct examination by the prosecutor her story seemed to vindicate Dennis Flechtner more than implicating him. When she was cross examined she admitted to lying and exaggerating in her initial story to police officers saying that she knew if she told the truth he would not have been arrested and charged with murder. That was likely the first honest thing it seems that Telliano stated.

At the trial Whitney admitted that Adam Owen and Robert Light had smoked meth just prior to the four heading to Dennis' home. It is at this point that I believe the television show did a great dis-service by portraying the homes as being right next to each other because Whitney goes on to describe how they walked around the block to get to Dennis' home. She admitted that along the way Owen and Light continually talked of how they were going to “kick his ass” and planned to “fuck him up.” Once at his home she alleges that the three victims began harassing and engaging with Dennis Flechtner. By her account she remained on the street and did not engage in the argument but I am unsure if that can be believed. Obviously she got away unharmed, so maybe she really did not participate in the argument.

Dennis Flechtner testified on his own behalf and told the same story he had told from the beginning. He also claimed that Owen had threatened him on six separate occasions, two of which were recorded on video. I suppose at this point I should address the video issue, if in fact there is one. This was the only thing in my research in which I found mention of video. However, despite my vocal reservations about what the television show portrayed and how they did so if I recall correctly Dennis had at some point installed video cameras on his home but on the night of the murders they were not running or functional. As I said earlier I could be confused or wrong but I believe that the fact that things were not recorded on that night seemed to add fuel to the prosecutors “fire” in the fact that they attempted to use that to bolster their idea that Dennis had lured the trio to his home to murder them.

Most of my research stated that they jury deliberated over the course of two days before reaching a decision. However, a website discussing cases in which the defense attorney has been involved seemed to indicate that there was only one day of deliberations. Regardless of the time, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. After spending close to a year in jail Dennis Flechtner was now a free man, at least as far as the law was concerned. He went back to live in the home where the incident in October of 2009 had changed the lives of so many people. If he had been convicted he faced a sentence of life without parole.

Of course there are those who believe that Dennis Flechtner got away with murder. Reality I suppose is that he did because no matter the circumstances three people lost their lives at his hands and the nearly two years he spent in jail seems like nothing compared to death. I am not going to sit here and tell you that Dennis Flechtner handled everything the way he should have throughout the years that his “feud” with Angela Leird went on but neither did other people. All of the evidence, even the last story of the “sole eyewitness,” indicates that the victims went to his home looking for a fight, they just got way more than they expected.