000661 Three Meat Inspectors Slain at Calif.Meat Plant

San Leandro, CA - A sausage factory owner who had complained he was being harassed by the government over health violations allegedly shot and killed three meat inspectors who had come to examine the plant.

Stuart Alexander, 39, chased down another inspector before quietly surrendering to police.

“He was a good man, but pressure, pressure - everybody blows up under pressure,” said Michael Smith, a friend.

Alexander, a former candidate for San Leandro mayor who had run into financial and legal trouble, was booked on murder and attempted murder charges.

Killed were two inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and one from the state. It was unclear whether Alexander would face federal charges; under federal law, he could get the death penalty for the murder of a government employee.

Alexander's plant in San Leandro, just south of Oakland, had been closed and recently reopened. The factory had been cited for not properly heating sausage that was labeled as fully cooked and for not using expiration dates on meat.

Alexander had publicly protested the inspections of the factory, which has been in his family for three generations. A sign outside the plant, signed by Alexander, decried what he called harassment.

“To all our great customers, the USDA is coming into our plant harassing my employees and me, making it impossible to make our great product,” the sign reads. “Gee, if all meat plants could be in business for 79 years without one complaint, the meat inspectors would not have jobs. Therefore, we are taking legal action against them.”

Two federal and two state inspectors went to the factory, and an argument apparently broke out.

Police said Alexander shot and killed federal inspectors Jeannie Hillery, 56, and Tom Quadros, 52, and state inspector Bill Shaline, 57. The victims were found alongside each other with multiple gunshot wounds.

A fourth inspector escaped injury by running out of the factory with Alexander chasing behind, firing shots, police said. He also allegedly returned to fire more shots at the three who were already dead.

A short time later, an unarmed Alexander calmly surrendered to a bicycle officer.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said he was shocked to hear about the shooting.

“Every day thousands of USDA inspectors work to ensure the safety of America's food supply,” he said. “We often take their hard work and diligence for granted, never expecting them to face danger in the line of duty.”

Jackie Galvan, a longtime friend, said that Alexander he had been harassed for months and that inspectors would show up frequently, bothering the plant's 10 or so employees.

“He did everything they asked of him,” Galvan said. “He was the most mild- mannered person I've ever known.”

Police Lt. Dan Marchetti said: “He was pretty vocal about, well, everything. A lot of people apparently had words with him. I don't know of any recent threats, however.”

Alexander ran for mayor in 1998 and came in third among 12 candidates.

Two years earlier, he was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse and other charges for allegedly attacking a neighbor in a dispute over garbage on Alexander's property. The charges were dropped when he paid his neighbor $10,000, according to court records.

Alexander filed for bankruptcy twice, most recently in January, according to court records. Lawsuits against him claim he did not repay tens of thousands of dollars in personal loans.

His family life also has been troubled, leaving him primarily responsible for the business at a young age. Alexander's father, who ran the factory for more than 40 years, died in 1993. One of Alexander's brothers committed suicide soon after. Another brother was killed in a 1977 motorcycle accident.

“I could cry for his family, they've had so much tragedy,” said family friend Carol Fehn Fitzpatrick.

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