Forfeiture Victim Stories


Trails End: A Memorial to Donald Scott 
(Last update Feb. 3, 2003, by Leon Felkins)

On October 2, 1992 Malibu California millionaire Donald Scott was shot to death inside his own home, during a raid by Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and agents from five federal law enforcement agencies. The Scotts were awakened by the sound of the police breaking down their door. Scott's wife, Frances, ran downstairs to find her house swarming with men with guns aimed at her. She screamed "don't shoot me, don't kill me." Donald Scott, recovering from recent cataract surgery, got his gun and ran to the defense of his wife. When he emerged at the top of the stairs, holding his gun over his head, the officers told him to lower the gun. As he did, they shot him to death. The warrant was for evidence of the cultivation of marijuana, but no illegal activity was discovered at the Scott ranch. The report of the Ventura County District Attorney, Michael Bradbury, concluded that the police lied to obtain the search warrant, that there had never been any marijuana cultivation on the property, and that the raid was motivated by a desire to forfeit the multi-million dollar ranch. Despite the DA's dramatic conclusions, no officer was ever indicted, or even lightly disciplined for the lies or the killing. This is an outrageous abuse of police power. These officers must be brought to justice. Please write your Congressmen now and demand a Congressional investigation. Include a copy of the Ventura County D.A.'s report.


"Judge Says Ventura District Attorney Doesn't Have to Divulge Documents," summary of AP article, posted to FEAR-List by Brenda Grantland, 9/20/95

Report On The Death Of Donald Scott, by Ventura County (CA) District Attorney Michael D. Bradbury, March 30, 1993 (64 pp.)

  • "L.A. Forfeiture Squads Kill California Millionaire" by Brenda Grantland
  • List of "Persons Present When Warrant Executed" (2 pp.)
  • IMAGE: Police Diagram of the Scott house showing where Scott was killed, (4K B&W .gif)
  • Transcript of Tape From Scott's Answering Machine -- the Scott's answering machine tape recorded the officers' phone calls after the killing (2 pp.)
  • IMAGE: Map of Donald Scott property -- with handwritten notes made by police before the raid: "80 acres sold for $800,000 in 1991 in same area. 1. Fly. 2. Low crawl." (47K B&W .jpg)
  • IMAGE: Tax Assessor's appraisals of property in the area -- reviewed by police before the raid (21K B&W .gif)
  • "Forfeiture Motive Involved In The Trail's End Ranch Search Warrant", Memorandum from Deputy D.A. Kevin G. De Noce (Excellent summary of the conclusions of the report. 2 pgs.)
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    Miscellaneous
    Here is Paul Ciotti's outstanding and informative article "Ranch-coveting officials settle for killing owner: Five police agencies staged bogus drug raid on rich eccentric to acquire 200-acre spread", written Jan. 23, 2000, that adds much more detail to this fascinating story of a government out of control.

    Please go to Frances Scott's Web Page where you can learn how you can of her continuing fight to save the property from confiscation. [Note, her page is now down -- this link is courtesy of the Internet Archive.]

    IMAGE: Donald's Scott's death certificate, listing cause of death: homicide (Full size image not available)

    IMAGE: Frances Plante Scott, Donald's Scott's widow (12K color photo .gif) taken at F.E.A.R. sponsored memorial service for Donald Scott, grounds of Federal Building, Los Angeles, October 2, 1993 (Full size image not available)