The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Photos and text from wire services cooperating with the investigation. He is white. Santos was from Mexico.
Wiliams and Santos disappeared under similar circumstances in this southwest Florida county bordering the Everglades and its alligators.
In October 2003, Santos, a construction and farm worker, had been in a fender bender and Calkins took him into custody because he did not have his license and registration.
Three months later, Williams’ car broke down and he parked in a cemetery parking lot. He had just moved to the area to be near his mother and had been facing jail in Tennessee for failing to pay child support.
Calkins came upon him and called for a tow. He then detained Williams for also failing to provide identification. He was recorded using a Southern black accent as he spoke to his dispatcher and described Williams’ car as a “homie Cadillac.” Neither man was ever seen again. Calkins told investigators he had released the men before taking them to jail because they had been nice and he cut them a break. The Collier sheriff’s office says Calkins failed a polygraph examination, but investigators found no blood or signs of struggle in his patrol car. A tracking device was placed on it in case he ever visited a spot where the bodies may have been dumped. He never did.