Cable Could Help Solve Peninsula Cold Cases

East Palo Alto police hope tonight's cable TV show profiling two unsolved murders will spur viewers to call in with tips.

Tonight's episode of "Make the Call" will air at 7 p.m. on Mid-Peninsula Cable channel 27. The show will profile two cases in which police have few leads, police Capt. Carl Estelle said.

Estelle urged viewers to call with any information, saying that even rumors or seemingly minor details can provide valuable leads for investigators.

"Even if they've only heard something, they can call us on the tip line," he said.

The first profile is of the murder of Michael Eugene Booker, killed Sept. 22, 2008. Booker was sitting in his car when somebody shot him six times, Estelle said. A person of interest was seen leaving the area on a bicycle but no arrests have been made in the case, he said.

The second focuses on the case of Aaron Dennis, a Fresno resident killed on the street in East Palo Alto in October 2007. Police found Dennis near the intersection of Tulane Avenue and Xavier Street, shot multiple times. The only information police have, Estelle said, is that a green Dodge Durango was seen fleeing the scene.

"That's really all we have and that's why we're putting cases like this on (the show)," Estelle said.

Family and friends of the victims will appear on the show, an approach Estelle said humanizes the two victims.

"We're trying to get away from the victim just being a number or a statistic," he said. "We're talking about murder. People are no longer here."

Estelle said he hopes these stories trigger a response in viewers.

"It may strike a chord with somebody if they see this guy had kids, a mother, father, brothers, cousins, and was well-liked," he said.

This is the second "Make the Call" program that the cable channel and Police Department have aired. It will also stream live on the Mid-Peninsula Media Center's Web site, www.communitymediacenter.net.