Four decades and four-hundred miles of space had separated Richard Moore from the Roseville alcove where Madeline Garcia was savagely killed in 1984. On Monday, Moore found himself back in South Placer County – this time in chains – as he faced charges indicating that he’s the unknown slayer authorities have been hunting for all along. 

Moore’s recent arrest came as a surprise to some in his Los Angeles neighborhood, where the 59-year-old was widely known as “Woody” or “Woody on Fairbanks.” Prior to that news, “Woody” was commonly thought of as a helpful guy who liked to ride his bike around Echo Park all day long. Several weeks ago, Moore had even discovered a lost cat and worked with someone to successfully locate its owner.

But Moore has also had run-ins with the law, ones that occurred after the appalling murder for which he now stands accused.

Placer County Judge Jeffrey Penney made that clear during Moore’s arraignment at the Roseville Justice Center. When considering if the defendant should be eligible for bail, the veteran judge mentioned, without elaborating, that there were other criminal offenses to consider.

SN&R first broke the story of Moore’s alleged unveiling and apprehension on June 27. Since then, the Placer County District Attorney’s Office has been working to get him extradited into local custody. Moore was officially booked into the Placer Jail on Independence Day.

Monday afternoon, District Attorney Morgan Gire met with Garcia’s four granddaughters at his office and then escorted them through the scorching heat to the nearby jail court department.

“I’m grateful to be here,” granddaughter Sharon Garcia mentioned as she took her seat.

Granddaughter Loraine Mullins agreed, adding, “This is real now.”

For his part, Moore stood alone in an orange jumpsuit with 12 similarly dressed men seated behind him inside a plexiglass tank. His movements were frigidity as he waited in silence, sometimes restlessly rolling his neck a bit. When Penney took to the bench, he spoke with the defendant about his constitutional rights – and informed him that he’s facing a charge of murder with special allegations.

“Do you have an attorney?” the judge asked.

“I believe my family has already hired an attorney,” Moore replied, a slight rasp in his voice.

“Is that person here?” Penney went on.

“I don’t know,” Moore said. “I think that was supposed to get done by today.”

The public defender was temporarily appointed to represent Moore and immediately entered a ‘not guilty’ plea to all charges.      

When the topic of Moore’s potential bail was brought up, the public defender noted that probation officers had done a pre-trial risk assessment of Moore and ranked him at level-3, which is on the low-end of its ‘moderate’ category.

Gire argued forcefully that Moore shouldn’t get bail at all.

“He lived under the radar for years,” he told the judge. “He attacked the victim in the early morning hours, dragged her into an alley, sexually assaulted her, and then beat her to-death.”

Standing outside the courtroom after the hearing, Gire elaborated on his thinking.

“Today has been a long time coming – justice hasn’t stopped,” the DA said. “The defendant committed a heinous crime in 1984 … And anyone who can commit that kind of crime, no matter their age – no matter the time that has passed since the crime – represents a danger to our community. And it is imperative that people capable of committing these kinds of crimes do not remain free while their case is pending.”

Judge Penney ultimately agreed, denying Moore the chance to post bail.  

Scott Thomas Anderson is also the writer-producer of the true crime podcast series ‘Trace of the Devastation.’