True Crime Author Kicks Off the Friends of DHS Library Fall Author Series
DESERT HOT SPRINGS — Former Brawley resident and author of Almost Eleven, Glenn Crowson, will speak about what he calls the worst crime in the Valley at the Desert Hot Springs Library.
Harrell Glenn Crowson will present his non-fiction crime book, Almost Eleven, on Thursday, Sept. 18, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at the Riverside County Library in Desert Hot Springs. This will be the fifth year of this popular Author Series.
Crowson grew up in the nearby town of Brawley, where he graduated from high school in 1966, and later graduated from UC San Diego in 1979. Glenn has always been involved in public service. He worked as an officer in the Brawley Police Department. He met his future wife, Linda, after giving her a ticket for parking in front of the school where she taught third grade in Brawley.
After a long career which included Director of Parks and Recreation in Brawley, and City Manager of Evans, Colorado, Needles, and Desert Hot Springs, Crowson decided to retire in 2013. All these years he never forgot the biggest crime in Brawley, the 1965 abduction, rape, and murder of ten-year-old Brenda Sue Sayer. Newly retired, he finally had the time to research and write the story.
When asked, “When did you start writing,” he commented, “I am a storyteller at heart and always told stories beginning with my family’s move from Oklahoma to Brawley in the 1930’s. I was fascinated how the Imperial Valley evolved after World War 1 to become the mecca for produce and cattle.”
Though the crime happened in 1965, it was well documented. Crowson researched volumes of official records and conducted his own interviews with witnesses, relatives, the FBI, and police departments from all over the United States. His book, Almost Eleven, goes into detailed interviews with Brenda Sue Sayers’ mother, the relatives of the serial killer, Robert Eugene Pennington, police departments and other pertinent sources.
He discovers Pennington not only murdered Sayers but was a possible suspect in killing Dorothy Minor-Hindman in Fresno and fifteen other victims coast to coast. The book provides the reader with details of Pennington’s life from his unstable early years, the murders, capture, court proceedings to life in prison.
Crowson’s says those he interviewed could be a book by themselves. One police chief even had Brenda’s picture taped to his dashboard. Ector Garcia, a sketch artist with the LA Police Dept., drove at his own expense to interview a thirteen-year-old girl who saw Pennington with Brenda. The girl described the man. Ector’s sketch from the girl’s description was on the front page of every newspaper. Pennington was identified and arrested two days later.
All these crimes occurred before the advent of cell phones, Amber alerts, DNA testing, and AI.
Whether a fan of true crime or not, this fascinating book impels the reader to look at crime through the eyes of law enforcement, families, the victims, and the perpetrators. Crowson skillfully puts the puzzle together. Please join us for further insight into the non-fiction true crime novel, Almost Eleven. The author will be signing and selling books.
If you go
What: Friends of the Desert Hot Springs Author Series presents Harrell Glenn Crowson, author of Almost Eleven
When: 1 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18
Where: Desert Hot Springs Library Community Room, 14-300 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs
Cost: Free
More info: Call 925-788-9862
