Sausage Plant Owner Held in 3 Slayings

A troubled San Leandro sausage factory owner who had long complained of government harassment was charged Thursday in the shooting deaths of three food inspectors who showed up at his business for a routine check.

Stuart Alexander, 39, the third-generation owner of the Santos Linguisa Factory, was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with a shooting rampage Wednesday afternoon.

Alexander, beset by financial problems and personal tragedies, opened fire on four government workers who arrived for a follow-up inspection of his plant, said San Leandro Police Lt. Marc DeCoulode.

Afterward, he surrendered calmly, telling officers, “I’m the guy you’re looking for. Take me,” DeCoulode said.

Alexander had a short conversation with the inspectors and became extremely angry, authorities said. “That’s when the shooting started,” said Andrew Black, an FBI special agent. “This was not his first contact with the inspectors. They had been there before.”

Authorities said the factory had been briefly shut down in January for violations that included not using expiration dates on meat and selling sausage labeled as fully cooked that had not been properly heated.

Police identified the victims as Tom Quadros, 52, of Hayward, and Jeannie Hillery, 56, of Alameda, both U.S. Department of Agriculture compliance officers; and Bill Shaline, 57, of Sacramento, an inspector with the state Department of Agriculture’s meat inspection division.

The unidentified fourth inspector, who left to summon police after Alexander began a verbal tirade, escaped injury although the owner chased him down the street, firing several shots, police said. The bodies were found in a small retail area of the plant. Officers also found three handguns at the scene: two 9-millimeter Berettas and one .380-caliber Walther.

Gov. Gray Davis on Thursday ordered flags at state buildings to be lowered to half-staff in honor of the slain investigators. “This is an unspeakably barbarous act,” he said in a statement.

Alexander was being held without bail Thursday and is scheduled for arraignment today. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Friends said Alexander, who lives alone, has been troubled by business problems and the deaths of two brothers; one died in a motorcycle accident and the other committed suicide after his father’s death.

Alexander owns several apartment buildings in addition to the sausage factory in San Leandro, a suburban community 20 miles southeast of San Francisco. The city is known as California’s sausage capital.

Recently, Alexander posted a sign at his plant, alleging that repeat inspections were “making it impossible to make our great product.”

Two years ago, authorities said, he waged a buck-the-system campaign in an unsuccessful run for mayor in San Leandro. “He apparently had some unresolved issues with the building department,” Black said.

Neighbors described Alexander as an eccentric with a short temper who kept several beaten-up cars and a menagerie of animals--including dogs, pigs and sheep--at his home and various properties.

“I complained to the health department, but they never did anything about it,” said Clifford Berg, 79, who lives near one of Alexander’s properties.

In 1996, Alexander was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly attacking Berg during a dispute that Berg said he’d rather not talk about. The charges were dropped after Berg accepted an out-of-court settlement, police said.

“I feel sorry for those poor inspectors who are dead and their loved ones,” Berg said. “This guy is unstable and I tried to tell anyone who would listen. But it’s the same old problem with these types of characters: Nobody ever does anything.”

Authorities said that the victims were all veterans of their agencies and that Quadros had been due to retire in two years. State and federal authorities said this was the first time food inspectors have been gunned down on the job.

Police said the four inspectors arrived at the factory about 3 p.m. Wednesday and had a brief conversation before an argument started and one compliance officer went to get help.

Investigators said they are trying to determine whether the three victims were still alive when Alexander returned after chasing the fourth inspector.

Said Black: “That’s one of the key issues--whether the suspect came back to finish people off.”