Stockton County Jail

Horror, hope

Early in their courtship in 1973, he took her on a date to a seedy San Francisco strip club. This was the first of many warning signs Alice Swafford says she missed.

Later in her marriage with William Choyce, their 11-year-old daughter, Crystal, called her while she was at a conference in Los Angeles to report with fear: "Something is wrong with daddy."

Crystal saw him running down the stairs wearing a ski mask. Oakland police next came looking for the unidentified man who had tied a neighbor to a chair and left her. The woman threw herself from the second floor, fearing the man would return.

It's clear to Swafford, now 57, that for years she refused to come to grips with her husband's bizarre behavior. She desperately held onto the ideal of marriage to maintain the semblance of family and home she craved.

Swafford's denial later turned into an unavoidable reality when murder charges surfaced. Then she felt guilt.

Today, Choyce, 57, is on death row at San Quentin State Prison.A jury of San Joaquin County convicted in 2008 for the rape and murder of two women and one third from Stockton to Oakland. He lived in Stockton for that part of his murderous escapade.

Swafford expects to publish a book in late August outlining his tumultuous marriage. It will be titled, "Conquering Darkness:. Memory of the wife of serial killer"

The book of 278 pages takes readers through 18 years of relationship of the couple, 12 years of marriage and the courtroom for the trial of a Stockton Choyce. It also depicts Swafford's inner battle with depression, stemming in part from her connection to Choyce.

Swafford said that over the last three years while writing the book, she has started coming to grips with her ex-husband's terrifying exploits. She also wrote it with the intention of helping other women avoid bad relationships and the grief she endured.

Even after pouring her emotions into a book, Swafford said her recovery will last a lifetime.

"Don't think I don't get sad over this, that it doesn't come to visit me," she said. "It does."

Swafford, an English teacher in the Oakland Unified School District, said she can now explain why she decided to look the other way for so long.

Office of the Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney » “Third Time's The ...

Felon Released on Bond Terrorizes Family, Sentenced to Probation (Again)

It was the day after Christmas, 2010. At about 3:00 that afternoon a young lady was shopping with members of her family in the Hamburg Pavilion. She walked out of a store and was accosted by a stranger, who grabbed her purse out of her shopping cart and ran away. The victim, who is in her early 20’s, gave chase and was joined by several bystanders including an off-duty Lexington police officer. The suspect was restrained, and, although he threatened physical violence against the officer, he was held until patrol units arrived. , arrested for felony Theft, and transported to the Fayette County Detention Center.

Stockton is no stranger to the county jail. Records show that he has been booked in at the FCDC 11 times since 1996. Stockton had been released on bond in August of 2010 after pleading guilty to felony Flagrant Nonsupport. His whereabouts remained unknown until he was arrested in the above incident in December.

Criminal records show that Stockton had two prior felonies for Burglary and Flagrant Nonsupport. He was put on probation and completed the Fayette County Drug Court program in 2009. He has 13 previous misdemeanor convictions, including Trespass, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument, Theft, Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon, and Bail Jumping. He was convicted of misdemeanor Forgery for an offense he committed after being released on bond. He has violated the terms of probation for these offenses on two previous occasions.

Stockton pleaded guilty to theft by unlawful taking and was sentenced, the conviction Flagrant Nonsupport, for a total of five licensed for five years. Records show that child support is now more than $ 40,000 in arrears on its obligations, and although he now has four convictions crime, it has never been in prison.

Downtown Stockton

Debates and proceedings of the Constitutional convention of the state of California, convened at the city of Sacramento, Saturday, September 28, 1978

Stockton in Vintage Postcards

The Pacific reporter

Charter and Ordinances of the City of Stockton