HMB Police capture murder suspect

Half Moon Bay Police have captured a suspect in the murder of a battered body found in a field near Shoreline Station, less than 100 yards from the police station, reports Michael Manekin in the County Times.

Establishing a motive at this point in the investigation is difficult, said [Deputy District Attorney Sean] Gallagher.  Both [suspect Brian David] Ruckel and his victim were homeless alcoholics, "and things go wrong when people are drinking," he said.
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The two men were drinking beer at the campsite behind the police station when — "without warning or provocation," according to a written statement from police — Ruckel sank his teeth into his travel companion’s ear, removing a piece about 1 inch in diameter.

Ruckel’s companion left the campground and, when he returned the next day, he discovered a dead body there. The homicide occurred between six and eight hours after the ear-biting incident, said Gallagher.
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There are "easily" 100 people who are "purely homeless" on the coast and hundreds more living in make-shift shelters, automobiles and boats, said [homeless advocate Cheri] Parr. Without any full-size shelters in the area, the transients who live in Half Moon Bay and the many temporary homeless who pass through the city are left out in the cold.