911 call preceded death

Three hours before Satender Singh was punched in a fatal attack at Lake Natoma on July 1, a bystander called 911 to warn that a fight was brewing, according to witness and phone records.

However, Sacramento County Sheriff's Department deputies could not find the site after searching for about 20 minutes, a sheriff's spokesman said.

Folsom resident Wolfgang Chargin said he watched the increasingly angry interaction between Singh's group of Fijian and East Indian immigrants and a group of Russian-speaking people for much of that July afternoon. They were both using the Lake Natoma picnic area off Hazel Avenue.

The Russian-speaking group seemed especially offended by Singh, 26, who was dancing with both men and women, Chargin said.

At one point, Singh's party went into the water and one of the men in the other group walked over and spit on their blankets, Chargin said. The man then went to the lake's edge and shouted something at them that they seemed to find especially shocking, Chargin said.

Chargin said he did not hear any of the anti-gay and racial slurs Singh's group later reported to park rangers and sheriff's investigators.

The one slur that he heard seemed out of place. Singh's group seemed offended when one of the Russian speakers called them "white trash," Chargin said.

After watching several verbal exchanges between the two groups, Chargin called 911. He stressed that Singh's group was never aggressive but that they were confronted several times.

"There were lots of people looking at this, but nobody else was calling the cops," Chargin said.

The call went to the California Highway Patrol because Chargin called on a cellular telephone. The CHP operator switched his call over to the Sacramento County sheriff's dispatch center.

Chargin said he told the 911 dispatcher that a fight was quite likely. "Nobody showed up. Not even the park rangers," he said.

With trouble still simmering, Chargin packed up his family and left. He made one final try -- notifying the person at the gate kiosk that a shouting match in the back picnic area was turning into a shoving match. The gatekeeper just looked at him, Chargin said.

Highway Patrol dispatch supervisors confirmed that their 911 center received Chargin's call at 4:58 p.m. July 1. It was transferred to the sheriff's 911 center.

That was not an error, even though Lake Natoma is state park land, said Sgt. Robert Davis, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.

"CHP typically routes all calls like that to us," Davis said.

By 5:03 p.m. there were two sheriff's cruisers heading for Hazel Avenue. "They got there nine minutes after the call," Davis said.

But the location deputies were provided with was "the back of Nimbus Beach," Davis said.

There is no indication that they were routed to Nimbus Flat, the picnic area near the California State University Aquatics Center. Deputies also looked for the people described in the 911 call and for a specific vehicle that had been mentioned, Davis said.

Chargin said he is new to the area and at first he told the 911 operator that he was near Nimbus Dam. After some conversation, the operator seemed clear that the trouble was happening in the park off Hazel Avenue, Chargin said. Operators never called him back.

Deputies spent 20 minutes in the area before heading off on other calls, Davis said.

Singh's friends said the trouble finally boiled over about 8 p.m. as they were attempting to leave. Some of the Russian-speaking men confronted them again, according to the friends. Singh was punched once, fell and struck his head.

Singh lingered for several days with no brain activity and died a few hours after being taken off life support.

The American River Parkway Safety Coalition has posted a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Singh's attacker.

The group Stop Hate Northern California is offering $500 and appealing to other organizations to help fund a larger reward, said Sean South, group coordinator.

Investigators are interested in talking to anyone with information about the incident. They can be reached at (916) 874-5115 .

Camie Bhuie, Singh's uncle, said his nephew's body was returned to Fiji and funeral services were held Tuesday.

About the writer:

• The Bee's David Richie can be reached at (916) 608-7455 or drichie@sacbee.com.