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Tag: Crime

  • NJ Mall Shooting Terrorizes Shoppers

    Reports claim that a shooter dressed in full body armor has fired shots inside the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. The gunman started firing around 9:20 p.m., which is shortly before the mall was scheduled to close.

    At least eight shots were reportedly fired in the vicinity of the Nordstrom department store that is located on the second level. The shooter has displayed a methodical approach through this ordeal, and has been firing shots at security cameras during his rampage.

    There are no reports at this time indicating that shoppers near Nordstrom had any warning before shots starting firing; however, other witnesses saw the suspicious person enter the mall. According to PIX11, one witness who works at the Swatch store relayed that he had seen, “a gunman walk in through a California Pizza Kitchen, he was wearing full body armor, a helmet and everything; he walked right past the movers and told them, like ‘I’m not going to hurt you’ and he walked all the way over toward the Nordstrom side and that’s where the gunshots were fired.”

    Local police are presently searching for the shooter who is said to have been clothed in completely black attire. Many other security forces have joined to search for the perpetrator including: state police, SWAT teams, and Newark emergency service units.

    The person responsible for the shooting has not been apprehended at this time. Fortunately, there are presently no reports of fatalities.

    [Image Via Pix11]

  • Man Accidentally Shoots Friend During Bigfoot Hunt

    Three people in Rogers County, Oklahoma were arrested after a Bigfoot hunt went wrong. After one of the men involved in the hunt, Omar Pineda, heard a noise and got scared, he accidentally shot his friend with a .9 mm handgun. The injured man is expected to survive, but Pineda and two others were arrested and charged with various offenses.

    Pineda and his friend were hunting for Bigfoot on Saturday night when Pineda says he heard a “barking noise.” Pineda was walking behind his friend at the time and says the noise caused him to jerk and shoot his friend in the back. “When you start off with an explanation like that, do you believe anything after that?” Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton asked.

    (image) Omar Pineda (left), Lacey Pineda (center) and Perry Don James (right) were arrested after a Bigfoot hunt went wrong.

    The 21-year-old man was arrested for reckless conduct with a firearm and obstruction. Things only got worse from there. Pineda’s father-in-law, Perry Don James was also arrested for throwing his son-in-law’s gun in a pond. James, 53, was reportedly scared to have the gun on his property because he is a convicted felon. The Rogers County man was booked for having possession of a firearm and destruction of evidence.

    Police also arrested Pineda’s wife, 22-year-old Lacey Jane Pineda, for obstruction. Lacey lied to police about what happened and told them that someone else was responsible for shooting the man.

    Considering all of the deception and the fact that a dive team spent hours searching for the gun that was thrown in the pond, the Rogers County police were just slightly frustrated. “A situation where probably no one would have went to jail if they would have just told the truth at first but as it unfolds, we had three booked into custody and one in the hospital,” Walton commented.

    “The aggravating part of this whole deal is that their dishonesty wasted several man hours of not only the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, but our partners at the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office,” Walton said.

    So after Pineda’s Bigfoot hunt went terribly wrong and left one man shot and himself and family members facing charges, inquiring minds can’t help but wonder whether Bigfoot sightings are a thing in Rogers County, Oklahoma. “To our knowledge, [there are] no Bigfoot sightings in Rogers County,” Walton said.

    Images via YouTube

  • Bullet Hits Smartphone, Saves Gas Station Clerk’s Life

    A Winter Garden, Florida gas station clerk was shot in the abdomen on Monday morning, and today he is alive after only sustaining minor injuries. He can almost certainly give all the credit for that amazing turn to the fact that he was carrying his cellphone in his front pocket.

    Yep, it’s the old cellphone-stopped-a-bullet story – and this time it’s real. Like something out of a movie, an HTC smartphone is being credited with saving the life of a robbery victim.

    According to WFTV, police say a man entered a gas station in Winter Garden early Monday morning. He reportedly pulled a revolver and demanded that our gas clerk open the safe. Two different employees tried – and failed – to open the safe.

    With his plain apparently fuddled, our robber turned around and went for the exit. But out of frustration, anger, or some combination of the two, the robber decided he needed to take one shot at the clerk. So he put one in his chest before leaving.

    According to police, the clerk had absolutely no clue that he had even been shot until he pulled out his cellphone and saw the shattered glass.

    I’m no marketer, but this is one hell of an opportunity for HTC. “HTC – saving lives…literally.” Suck on that, Apple.

    Image via WFTV, Winter Garden Police

  • No Touching! Woman Files Charges After Pregnant Belly is Rubbed

    Any woman who has ever been pregnant can probably sympathize with a Frankfort, Pennsylvania woman who got so frustrated with people rubbing her belly that she decided to file charges. After a neighbor approached the woman and rubbed her belly without asking, she filed a police report. The man could end up paying a fine for rubbing the woman’s belly.

    According to Yahoo!, an official with the Pennsylvania State Police said that 57-year-old Richard J. Beishline touched the 30-year-old pregnant woman earlier this month. The two are neighbors and Beishline reportedly hugged Michelle Troutman and said, “I just want to be friends.” He then rubbed her belly, which prompted Troutman to push him away and call the police.

    Pennsylvania’s harassment law covers unwanted touching like this, so Beishline could very well pay a fine (or worse) if he is found guilty. “Pennsylvania law defines harassment as engaging in conduct that harasses, annoys, or alarms a person,” Pennsylvania attorney Phil DiLucente said. “That’s always been the law, whether someone is pregnant or not, but this is the first time to my knowledge it’s been used in such a way.”

    Don’t think that simply touching a pregnant woman’s belly one time in Pennsylvania will necessarily land you in a mountain of legal trouble. According to DiLucente, Troutman will have to prove a “course of conduct,” meaning she will have to prove the unwanted touching happened multiple times. If the incident happened just one time, Beishline may receive a simple criminal citation and pay a fine, which is no more serious than a traffic ticket.

    The case is being widely debated on Facebook and Twitter, with many women saying that rubbing a pregnant woman’s belly is no big deal, while others say it’s a huge violation of personal space. Jennifer Bosse, a mother of two, called the situation “tricky.”

    “Elderly grandmother that exclaims excitedly and touches your belly for the briefest of moments? Maybe mildly annoying but not a crime. Scary woman or man that grabs at your belly and continues to jiggle you around long after the first no? Crime,” Bosse said.

    Another woman, Dani Mathes, says that this is much ado about nothing. “Annoying? Sure. Illegal? Heck no. We can’t have laws for everything. We already complain about having so many laws for minor crap.” What do you think about the pregnant belly rubbing issue? Respond below.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Supermax Prisons: Created in Response to Aryan Murders

    Slate crime correspondent Justin Peters wrote a story last week that explored the origins of the Super-maximum-security prison.

    In 1983, the Marion Penitentiary in Illinois was the toughest prison in the federal system. In Marion’s maximum-security complex, the most dangerous and violent federal inmates were held; the worst had to live in the “control unit,” which Peters equated with being buried alive. Those prisoners’ few moments outside the control unit were spent shackled and under constant watch.

    Two of the Aryan Brotherhood gang in Marion’s control unit, Thomas Silverstein and Clayton Fountain, had managed to successively murder two black inmates in spite of the increased control. Their first victim, Robert Chappelle, was strangled during an exercise period.

    Former Washington Post reporter Pete Earley describes their second in-prison murder on his site: “Silverstein [and Fountain] broke out of an exercise area and caught [black gang leader Raymond “Cadillac”] Smith as he was leaving a shower area. They stabbed him 67 times and then dragged his body up-and-down the prison tier so that other prisoners, still locked in their cells, could see the bloody corpse.”

    Following the killings, Silverstein became obsessed with a prison guard named Merle Clutts whom he believed to be unduly harassing him. On Oct. 22, 1983, in-transit from Silverstein’s cell to the showers, a prisoner slipped him a shank, and the keys to his shackles. Clutts was stabbed 40 times by Silverstein, and within mere hours, Fountain had murdered a second guard.

    The aftermath was horrific: since Marion officials believed these men to be truly uncontrollable, beatings became routine, and the entire prison was placed in a, 24-hour, 23-year state of lockdown. Inmates only got 90 minutes of exercise per day, compared with the 13-hour recreational average for federal prisoners.

    The federal government saw the harsh action as fundamentally necessary. Former Bureau of Prisons director Normal Carlson told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998 that “There is no way to control a very small subset of the inmate population who show absolutely no concern for human life. [Silverstein and Fountain] had multiple life sentences. Another life sentence is no deterrent.”

    Commissions in the 1990’s recommended ending the lockdown, and even Amnesty International had said that, in Marion, “There is hardly a rule in the [United Nations] Standard Minimum Rules [for the Treatment of Prisoners] that is not infringed in some way or other.” But Marion remained in a state of lockdown until 2006, and the methods pioneered there became a prototype for prisons today.

    Almost every state in the Union now has at least one dedicated “control unit.” The largest today is ADX Florence in Colorado, whose more famous inmates include Ted Kaczynski, Ramzi Yousef, and Zacarias Moussaoui. Silverstein is also at ADX Florence.

    Here is an interview on YouTube with former prison guard David Hale, who was employed at the prison during Fountain and Silverstein’s rampage (some of the language is NSFW):

    [Image via a YouTube interview with David Hale]

  • Penn State to Pay $59.7 Million in Abuse Settlement

    Nearly two years after news of the Penn State child molestation scandal broke, the university has agreed to pay a settlement of almost $60 million to 26 victims that were sexually assaulted by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

    Thirty two men claimed to have been sexually abused by Sandusky, but Penn State dismissed six of the claims, saying they were “without merit.”

    “We hope this is another step forward in the healing process for those hurt by Mr. Sandusky, and another step forward for Penn State,” University President Rodney Erickson said in a statement that was posted to Penn State’s website. “We cannot undo what has been done, but we can and must do everything possible to learn from this and ensure it never happens again at Penn State.”

    According to Penn State’s website, the settlement money won’t be funded by student tuition or taxpayer funds. The university believes that several liability insurance policies will cover the settlement.

    Sandusky was convicted in June 2012 on 45 criminal counts of abuse. He was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison, which should keep the 69-year-old former coach behind bars for the rest of his life. Sandusky, who has always maintained his innocence, applied for a retrial earlier this month and was denied.

    The NCAA levied serious sanctions upon Penn State for lack of university control in the sex abuse scandal. Joe Paterno, PSU’s late legendary coach, was said to have known about Sandusky abusing boys in the showers at the university, but never turned it in. This led to Paterno’s firing shortly after the scandal broke.

    Penn State lost 40 football scholarships, was fined $60 million and received a postseason ban as part of the sanctions. The NCAA decided to restore the football scholarships this past September. Penn State will get to add in 5 scholarships next year and will add 5 more scholarships each year until they reach the normal amount.

    Image via YouTube

  • Canadian Travel Scam Turns Australian Couples into Drug Mules

    The Australian reports that a Perth couple were conned into being drug mules by a bogus Canadian travel agency.

    It all looked legit, at least on the surface. A 72-year-old man and his 64-year-old wife entered a sweepstakes for a bargain holiday to Canada, and ended up back in Australia with 3.5kg in crystal meth rocks instead of their original luggage.

    “Be very careful if you win anything,” the woman cautions reporters under the conditions of anonymity. “I could have ended up in jail for 25 years, and they could have ruined my life. So be very wary, be very careful and check everything out.”

    Australian Customs Officials and Australian Federal Police uncovered the scam earlier this month in a joint investigation. A Canada-based website that was a front for a fake Canadian tour company named AUSCAN Tours was responsible for managing the sweepstakes, which specifically targeted elderly Australian couples with an all-expenses-paid trip.

    Once the “lucky winners” have enjoyed their peaceful vacation, their bags are swapped at the airport and the couple carries the drugs back to their home country. An agent was scheduled to meet with this particular couple when they returned, but they thought there was something wrong with their bags, and reported them to Customs officials.

    A search warrant was issued, and a car and hotel room were searched. Police reported uncovering documents relevant to the con job, more bags just like those used to smuggle the drugs, and $15,000 in cash. A 38-year-old Canadian was arrested at the airport the same day the warrants were carried out, and he is being charged with importing commercial quantities of a border-controlled substance.

    The AFP’s Airport Police Commander, David Bachi, said “The organizers of this scam went to great lengths to provide a façade of legitimacy. Thankfully the travellers contacted Customs and didn’t dismiss their concerns, allowing us to make the arrest.”

    [Image via this YouTube video about Australian Border Security]

  • Belmont, NC Drug Store Standoff Ends Peacefully

    In a story that should be hailed as a shining example of two police departments working together towards a nonviolent goal, the Charlotte Observer reports a six-hour standoff between a lone gunman and law enforcement came to a peaceful end.

    The suspect, 46-year-old Edward Scott Russ, was taken into police custody around 7 a.m. this morning, nearly six hours after he barged into a CVS on Wilkinson Blvd. and took several hostages. Over the next few hours, witnesses indicated that Russ took several pills from the pharmacy. Even more remarkably, two law enforcement agencies arrived simultaneously, and worked together: Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Gastonia Police Department’s SWAT Unit.

    Police Chief Charlie Franklin said to reporters that the police were called almost immediately as the suspect entered the store at 2 a.m. with a 7.62×39 caliber SKS, a semi-automatic assault rifle. When the police arrived, they instructed him to put the weapon down; instead, he fired at them. The police initially fired back, but immediately retreated as soon as they realized there were civilian hostages.

    A police negotiator was called in, and over the next two hours, three hostages (two male, one female) were released uninjured. The last remaining hostage, a male, was released around 4 a.m. The suspect laid down his rifle and walked out the front door with his hands up. The chief noted that the suspect “appeared apologetic” and said he was sorry.

    NBC News reporter Glenn Counts noted some specific details from a parking lot a couple blocks from the CVS: apparently, a CVS customer called the police so early in the incident that the cops arrived before any kind of verbal exchange could occur between Russ and the hostages.

    Counts also noted that, since Russ was carrying 7.62×39, typical law enforcement Kevlar would have failed to protect them from his rifle in the event of the police storming the store.

    You can check out that report here:

    [Image via an NBC news report on YouTube]

  • Sultan of Brunei Moves Sharia into Law

    Sultan of Brunei Moves Sharia into Law

    As unlikely as it looked that any of the United States would implement Sharia law (in spite of people who believed it possible), other nations seem more willing.

    The AFP reports the tiny nation of Brunei, noted as the third wealthiest Muslim nation in the world for its rich oil and gas exports, has just seen its equally-wealthy monarch, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, officially introduce the Sharia Penal Code that his lawmakers have been designing. It will “come into force six months hereafter and in phases,” he said in a conference.

    Here is where Brunei is on a map, in relation to Malaysia:
    (image)
    [Google Maps]

    “By the grace of Allah, Brunei Darusallam, as a blessed nation, has never sought permission from [anyone] when we chose Islam as our national religion,” the Sultan continued. “Similarly, we do not ask anyone from anywhere to implement our Sharia Penal Code for us, because the code is a ‘special guidance’ from Allah to us all.”

    Sharia Criminal Law, which stringently applies only to Muslim religious adherents, can include punishments from stoning, amputation, and flogging for crimes such as abortion and drinking alcohol. Brunei’s population consists of roughly 70 percent Malaysian Muslims, and a 15 percent non-Muslim ethnic Chinese minority.

    Human rights advocates are lampooning Brunei’s decision. The Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said “Brunei is showing its feudal characteristics as an 18th-century state rather than an important member of a regional Southeast Asian economic and social consensus in the 21st century.” He focused on Brunei’s economic position because the country’s per-capita income is higher than every other Southeast Asian nation except for Singapore.

    Sultan Hassanal rules as an absolute monarch from a dynasty that has controlled Brunei for over 600 years. He first called for Sharia implementations in 1996, and Brunei’s laws are considered conservative when compared to Malaysia and Indonesia; for example, in Brunei, it is illegal to buy, sell, or consume alcohol publicly.

    Brunei will not overwrite its current law, but rather amend the entire legal code to be “Sharia-compliant.” Brunei’s resident top Islamic scholar, Mufti Awang Abdul Aziz, said regarding the implementation that “the Sharia criminal law is very neat, very cautious and its conditions are very tight. There must four witnesses, and all four must be just. This is different from civil court, which accepts whoever as a witness, including children and sinners.”

    [Main image via this Brunei Times YouTube video]

  • Danvers Homicide: Teacher, 24, Killed By Student, 14

    CNN reports tragedy out of Boston today, where a Danvers High School mathematics teacher was brutally murdered by a 14-year-old student and dumped in the woods behind the school.

    According to the Essex County District Attorney’s office, 24-year-old Colleen Ritzer was reported missing when she did not return home from school. After discovering blood in a bathroom on the second floor, they expanded the search and found her in the woods, a short distance from Danvers. Ritzer, in addition to teaching, was in the process of earning a master’s degree from Salem State University.

    Classes at Danvers were cancelled at 4:45 a.m. this morning by Danvers town officials because the police were conducting a homicide investigation. The official cause of death for the teacher was not reported.

    The suspect in the case is Philip D. Chism, also reported missing around the same time as Ritzer because he did not return home. The two knew each other from Danvers High, and Chism was new in town, having recently moved there from Tennessee.

    Chism had last been seen leaving a 4:30 p.m. matinee of Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine at 6:30. The movie theatre’s manager, Scott Przybcien, indicated to the Boston Herald that “He blended right in… I think he just was wandering, looking for a place to hide. A movie theater is a perfect place for that.”

    Police tweets indicated their search for Chism began around 9:30:

    The boy was reported found shortly after 7 a.m. this morning:

    Police had picked Chism up just past midnight, walking north on the southbound side of Route 1. He will be arraigned today in Salem court on the charge of murder.

    Here’s an interview with some students who said they knew Chism:

    Additionally, here’s a reporter who uncovered some personal details from interviewing people about Colleen Ritzer:

    [Image via Facebook]

  • Drunk Driver Who Confessed to Killing Man on YouTube Gets 6.5 Years

    A 22-year-old man who famously confessed, via YouTube video, to killing a 61-year-old man while drunk driving has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

    “It should have been me instead of an innocent man. I vow that I’ll do everything I can to prevent it from happening again and his memory from fading,” said Matthew Cordle at his sentencing hearing.

    On August 9th, Cordle contacted the Facebook page for Because I Said I Would, a non-profit organization that sends promise cards across the world for free in order to “better humanity through the power of a promise.” He asked them to help him film a video where he would confess to killing someone while driving under the influence. A little under a month later, that video was released and went viral.

    “On that night I made a mistake – I got into my truck, completely blacked out, and tried to drive home,” said Cordle in the video. “I ended up going the wrong way on the highway, directly into oncoming traffic – and I struck a car. I killed a man.

    Immediately following that, I consulted some high-powered attorneys who told me stories about similar cases where the drivers got off. They were convinced that they could get my blood tests thrown out, and all I would have to do for that was lie. But I won’t go down that path. My name is Matthew Cordle, and on June 22nd, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani. This video will act as my confession.”

    Last month, Cordle pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. He said he didn’t want a trial and waived his right to appeal. He and his lawyer also offered no recommendation for sentencing.

    “After getting to know Matt, I can say with confidence that he truly regrets his decision that night. He describes the guilt he has as “insurmountable.” Knowing that Matthew has a tremendous amount of remorse for his actions, does that still mean he deserves years of incarceration? Absolutely. Drinking and driving is a serious crime; we must treat it as such. I know that it is harsh to say, but Matt’s regret will not bring back Vincent Canzani. We must enforce the law to discourage others from making this tragic mistake. I assure you that Matt agrees with me,” said a post on BISIW’s site.

    When Cordle finally does get out of prison, he will have his driving privileges revoked for the rest of his life.

    At the sentencing hearing, Canzani’s ex-wife said she didn’t think her ex-husband would have wanted Cordle to receive a maximum sentence.

    “Nothing will bring Vincent back,” Oates said. “I know what pain Matthew feels. The pain will stay with him until his death.”

    Post by Because I said I would.

    Images via Because I Said I Would, YouTube & Facebook

  • ‘Duck Dynasty’ Scarecrow Thief is Arrested

    ‘Duck Dynasty’ Scarecrow Thief is Arrested

    Poor Uncle Si can’t catch a break. Between the guys on Duck Dynasty giving him a hard time for his vocabulary and naps and someone stealing and burning up a scarecrow made in his likeness, the tea-guzzling duck hunter is always catching grief. Cherokee County police in Georgia have made an arrest in the case of the stolen Duck Dynasty scarecrow. It turns out that the thief was a teenager.

    A police report was filed last week that said someone had stolen a Duck Dynasty scarecrow from downtown Ball Ground. Police offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who had information that led to the arrest and conviction of the scarecrow thief.

    The police received a tip at the end of last week that led to the arrest of a 16-year-old, who confessed to the crime. “Someone called in a tip and said they’d seen it on a porch outside the city. He admitted that he did take it on his way home one night, and he burned it because he got afraid of the media attention and what it got on social media,” Police Chief Byron Reeves said.

    A group of moms from Ball Ground Elementary worked an estimated 40 hours to make the scarecrow look just like Uncle Si, and were quite upset at the news it had been stolen, but they have forgiven the teen thief.

    “To begin with we were kind of upset, the main reason we had done Duck Dynasty was because of the background and their beliefs and we truly believe in them, and as a community we have to forgive,” Martin said. Martin is referring to the Christian beliefs the Robertson clan is very open about on the show, and every Duck Dynasty ends with patriarch Phil Robertson saying grace.

    While the teen has been charged with theft, he is described as being remorseful over his actions. “He felt bad about what he did and he actually talked about going and apologizing to the class,” Ball Ground City Manager Eric Wilmarth said.

    Duck Dynasty scarecrows and costumes are all the rage this Halloween. Check out some photos before if you’re looking for some inspirations for your Halloween costume:

    Images via YouTube and WSBTV

  • Boy Scout Leaders Are Kicked Out After Toppling Rock Formation [VIDEO]

    A group of Boy Scout leaders may find themselves facing felony charges after toppling a rock formation at Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park. The rock formation was estimated to be around 170 million years old before Glenn Taylor, one of the Boy Scout leaders, gave a boulder a shove and knocked over the formation. Taylor claims he toppled the formation to save lives.

    The video of the Boy Scout leaders whooping it up over knocking over the ancient rock formation was uploaded to Facebook last week by the man who took the video at Goblin Valley, Dave Hall. Hall can be heard saying, “Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way, so it’s all about saving lives here at Goblin Valley.” The men proceeded to dance and cheer after toppling the boulder.

    The men were leading a group of 14 to 16-year-old Boy Scouts on a trip when they noticed that the rock formation was unstable. “I put my hand on a rock and it moved,” Taylor told the Salt Lake Tribune. Taylor says he spied a family below and was concerned about their safety. “While we were sitting right there we thought, ‘Man if this rock falls it’ll kill them.’ I didn’t have to push hard.”

    Apparently the Boy Scouts of America don’t quite view this as a heroic feat, as Hall and Taylor were removed from the organization today. Read the statement made by Deron Smith, the PR director for the Boy Scouts of America:

    We are shocked and disappointed by this reprehensible behavior. For more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America has been a leader in conservation—from stewardship to sustainability. We teach our 2.6 million youth members and 1.1 million adult members, who collectively spend more than 5.5 million nights outdoors, the principles of “Leave No Trace.”

    These principles stress a commitment to maintaining the integrity and character of the outdoors and all living things. The isolated actions of these individuals are absolutely counter to our beliefs and what we teach. We are reviewing this matter and will take appropriate action.

    Hall says there are no hard feelings about the decision. “We’ve always supported the Boy Scouts and if that’s what they feel is best, we support that decision,” Hall said. “We’re extremely sorry for our mistake. We look forward to doing everything we can to make it right and move on.”

    Even though the Boy Scout leaders claim that toppling the ancient rock formation was all about helping others, they may need a little help themselves now, since they may face felony charges. Deputy Emery County Attorney Brent Langston said that Taylor, as well as anyone who egged him on his criminal behavior, could face second degree felony charges, depending on the value placed on the rock formation.

    Image via YouTube

  • Drug Cartel Leader Shot… By Clown

    Reuters and The New York Post have both reported that one of Mexico’s most powerful ex-drug lords was shot by children’s clowns as he attended a party in Cabo San Lucas.

    A former Tijuana Cartel boss, the 63-year-old Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix sustained a bullet to the head at point-blank range during a family gathering at the Los Cabos resort in the southern part of Baja California. Francisco Rafael was the oldest of the seven Arellano Felix brothers, who helped to popularize trafficking drugs between Mexico and California. Their story inspired Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 drug war film Traffic.

    Rafael was first arrested in 1980 for selling drugs in San Diego. He returned to Mexico, where he continued to sell drugs. A second arrest in 1993 connected with the murder of a Roman Catholic Cardinal, Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, did not dampen his efforts, and in 2006 the cartel made headlines when smuggling tunnels were discovered connecting Tijuana to the United States.

    Security experts have indicated that they believe Tijuana’s cartel is still operational, and that the Arellano Felix legacy is being continued by their sister and her son, alias “The Engineer.”

    Although Rafael was released in 2008 for good behavior, his enemies were more than willing to wait for the opportune moment to strike. Since most of the Arellano Felix brothers have been arrested or killed, their rivals have supplanted their place in the Latin American illicit drug trade, and officials have speculated that the assassins had ties to organized crime.

    The AP reported a former San Diego prosecutor who penned one of the cartel’s indictments, John Kirby, as saying “[Rafael] was never really part of the leadership of the big organization, mostly because he was in [Mexican] jail. He was arrested before they became what they really became.”

    Mexican authorities had hoped to let the United States deal with Rafael, but even after an extradition request to finish out a weapons possession sentence, Kirby said “The Mexicans were very concerned he was going to get out.” The Mexicans were right; Rafael’s 2008 release followed a six-year prison sentence from 2006 for drug trafficking, but he was released on parole and was deported to Mexico shortly after.

    [Image via Google Maps]

  • Bourbon Heist: 65 Cases of Pappy Van Winkle Stolen

    As Zac Brown sings, “The whiskey’s gone.” Someone in Frankfort, Kentucky must like Pappy Van Winkle bourbon an awful lot because they made off with 65 cases (195 bottles) of the rare bourbon, which is valued at over $25,000. Nine cases of Pappy Van Winkle rye were also missing.

    The 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon is hard to get (unless you’re a master thief, anyway). “We get phone calls from people asking, ‘Do you have Pappy in stock?’” said Bill Thomas, owner of the Jack Rose Dining Saloon, where a two-ounce shot of 20-year-old Pappy Van Winkle will set you back $65.

    Franklin County Sheriff Pat Melton, who is leading the investigation, says that the bourbon is “highly coveted” and is “the best of the best.” Melton says that he is “being told that it’s going for $300-$400 a bottle, if you can find it.”

    The sheriff thinks that the Pappy Van Winkle bourbon heist, which occurred at a warehouse at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, is probably an inside job. “We believe whoever did this took them out the back from the secured area over a period of two months” Melton said. “I don’t think anyone could walk out with 74 cases of bourbon. Obviously, the way this happened, it’s indicative of an inside job.”

    Sean Brock, the owner of Husk Restaurants in Nashville and Charleston, S.C., has his own theory of how the bourbon was stolen. “I’m pretty sure it was George Clooney and the boys from Ocean’s 11,” Brock said.

    Bourbon aficionados are heartbroken, no joke. Pappy Van Winkle bottles fly off the shelves and even the super rich have a hard time finding the bourbon. “We have people with literally billions of dollars who can’t find a bottle,” said Julian Proctor Van Winkle III, the current head of the Wan Winkle family dynasty. “They could buy a private jet in cash. They’d have an easier time buying our company.”

    If you were going to toast the stole bourbon, what would you use? Respond below. (And if you say “Pappy Van Winkle,” prepare to have Sheriff Melton come knocking on your door.)

    [Image via Twitter]

  • Baby Found in Bag After Teen Mom is Detained for Shoplifting

    After a teen was detained by security guards for shoplifting on Thursday, they made a shocking discovery in the girl’s bag: a dead baby. Seventeen-year-old Tiona Rodriguez (below) said that she miscarried the baby, but police think the baby was born alive and that he may have been drowned or smothered.

    (image)

    The security guards that were talking to Tiona Rodriguez and her friend after they were accused of shoplifting at a Victoria’s Secret in New York City knew that something was very wrong when they noticed a strong odor coming from Rodriguez’s bag. After looking inside, they discovered a baby’s remains. The security guards then called the police.

    Rodriguez, who already has a 2-year-old son, claims she was around six months pregnant and miscarried the baby. She told officers she was carrying around the baby’s remains because she didn’t know what to do. She says that the baby was born on Wednesday and made a Facebook post referencing cramping that day.

    (image)

    Police aren’t buying the teen’s story, as the baby weighed more than eight pounds and is believed to have been born alive. Police suspect that Rodriguez drowned or smothered the baby. The NYPD is waiting for a report from the Medical Examiner’s office, so an official cause of death could take a few weeks. If the report is consistent with what police already suspect, Rodriguez will be facing a murder charge in addition to the larceny charge she and her friend face.

    Most of Rodriguez’s friends and neighbors didn’t know she was pregnant. “I couldn’t really tell because she’s a little heavyset, so I wouldn’t know if she was pregnant or that’s just her,” neighbor Ramon Acosta said. “She’s a nice girl. She doesn’t hang out. She’s always with her family and her son. The baby’s father visits them also. Everybody is surprised,”

    One of Rodriguez’s friends doesn’t believe foul play was involved in the baby’s death. While she didn’t know the teen was pregnant either, Zami Ford said, “She’s a good girl, I can’t believe she would do that. She’s not a harmful person. Basically, she’s kind of person you can chill with. She’s a nice young lady.”

    [Main image via YouTube; Facebook images via Daily Mail]

  • Air Marshal Arrested for Taking Pictures Up Women’s Skirts

    If you think the only invasions of privacy you have to worry about when flying are being patted down by TSA agents and going through body scanners, think again. A federal air marshal was arrested on Thursday after someone reported him for using his cell phone to take photos up women’s skirts.

    Adam Bartsch (below) was kicked off a Southwest flight at Nashville International Airport and taken into police custody after a witness saw him taking inappropriate pictures with his cell phone.

    (image)

    The witness, Rey Collazo, said that he first noticed Bartsch taking pictures while boarding the plane. Collazo was unaware that Bartsch was an on-duty federal air marshal and called him out, disgusted by his actions

    “I looked at the guy and said, ‘Excuse me, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. A disgrace to a human being, to a man, that’s wrong,’” Collazo said. Collazo then attempted to take the cell phone from the air marshal. “I just reached over with my left hand and grabbed it, struggled with him a little bit and I got the better part of the phone and twisted and hit him with my right hand between the neck and the shoulder. Shoved him back and I took the phone,” Collazo said.

    Collazo notified a flight attendant of Bartsch’s behavior, and he was removed from the plane. The married 28-year-old air marshal admitted taking around a dozen pictures up women’s skirts with his cell phone. Bartsch also told police he had taken these types of photos multiples times in the past.

    Bartsch was booked and released on a $10,000 bond late Thursday evening. The Maryland native will return to Nashville to face a judge on his disorderly conduct charge in November. According to Tennessee law, the disorderly conduct charge is a misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 30 days in jail. See Bartsch’s arrest record from Thursday here.

    Do you think a charge of disorderly conduct is enough for the air marshal? Respond below.

    The TSA issued a statement on the situation and said that Bartsch has been removed from his duties: “TSA does not tolerate criminal behavior. The agency has removed this individual from his current duties and is in the process of suspending or terminating his employment. TSA is cooperating fully with investigators.”

    [Images via YouTube]

  • Woman Faces Jail Time After Taking $2.87 From a Water Fountain

    People are outraged after learning that a woman who stole less than $3 from a water fountain may face jail time. An Ohio woman, Deidre Romine, was charged with petty theft and issued a summons to appear in court after a police officer discovered her taking change from a fountain.

    Romine has no job and took $2.87 from a water fountain to buy food for herself and her cats. She was gathering change from a fountain in front of the Logan County Courthouse last week when an officer with the Bellefontaine Police Department approached her.

    “The cop asked me what I was doing and I was afraid to tell him,” Romine said. “The money didn’t belong to anybody, so I just took it out of there. I’m trying to feed myself and I’ve got four cats I’m raising and trying to feed them,” she said. “I might go to jail.” According to Ohio state law, a first-time petty theft offense is punishable by up to 180 days in prison.

    “I am trying to find a job,” Romine said. “I am filling out applications all the time. No one will hire me. I get food stamps but they are not enough. My lease is up here and they are asking me to leave,” Romine continued. “I was just trying to get food for me and my cats–that’s it. It’s really hard for me.”

    While some people are split on whether Romine’s actions were okay or not, most agree that tying up the courts over pocket change is ludicrous. Do you think she should be fined or receive jail time? Respond below.

    A man named Will Zell started an online fund to raise money for Romine’s defense. Zell originally wanted to raise $200 for Romine, but his GoFundMe page has gotten almost $9,000 in donations so far. “We want the community to know the why rather than just the headline that she got arrested, and we also want to help her out,” Zell said.

    [Image via 10TV]

  • Justice Dept. Brings New Charges in 2007 Blackwater Shooting

    Justice Dept. Brings New Charges in 2007 Blackwater Shooting

    The AP via ABC News reported yesterday that the U.S. Justice Department has brought charges against four ex-contractors from Blackwater Worldwide over a 2007 shooting that left between 14 and 17 civilians dead.

    Although the four contractors involved had been previously charged in 2008 with manslaughter and weapons violations, those charges were dropped when a federal judge ruled the Justice Department withheld evidence and violated the contractors’ constitutional rights to a fair trial.

    A federal appeals court resurrected the case on the grounds that the federal judge, Ricardo Urbina, was wrong in his interpretation of the law. Urbina is now retired. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has given the Justice Department until Monday to decide how to proceed.

    The incident occurred on September 16 in Baghdad. During an assignment in which they were expected to protect U.S. diplomats, the Blackwater escort convoy opened fire on the crowded Nisoor Square with grenade launchers, machine guns, and sniper fire. Defense lawyers are claiming the men were under insurgent attack.

    The defendants’ names and veterancy statuses were reported: Dustin Heard, former Marine of Knoxville, TN; Evan Liberty, a former Marine of Rochester, NH; Nick Slatten, a former Army sergeant of Sparta, TN; and Paul Slough, a U.S. Army veteran of Keller, TX.

    The amount of charges vary between the ex-contractors: Slatten is being charged with 14 counts of voluntary manslaughter and 16 counts of attempted manslaughter while Liberty and Heard are respectively charged with 13 counts of voluntary and 16 counts of attempted manslaughter. Slough also received 13 counts of voluntary manslaughter, although his number of attempted manslaughter charges is 18.

    All those charged would face a long stint in prison if they are convicted. Two other contractors were reportedly involved in the incident, but prosecutors dropped their charges against a fifth contractor (retired Marine Donald Ball of West Valley City, UT), and a sixth contractor (Jeremy Ridgeway of California) is already awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty.

    Only Heard’s defense lawyer, David Schertler, emailed comments to the AP. “We will continue to fight and defend Dustin Heard’s innocence and honor until he is fully exonerated,” he wrote.

    Across the aisle, U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen said the prosecuting team “demonstrates our commitment to upholding the rule of law even in times of war and to bringing justice to the memories of those innocent men, women and children who were gunned down in Baghdad more than six years ago.”

    [Image via Blackwater’s website as it exists today]

  • Larry Flynt on Shooter: “I Don’t Want to Kill Him”

    While some people would want nothing more than to see the person who made an attempt on their life die, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt feels quite differently.

    Flynt has spoken out about the pending death of the man who shot and paralyzed him from the waist down in 1978. Flynt wrote about the assassination attempt and his shooter’s upcoming lethal injection in a guest column, and it is quite clear that Flynt does not want the shooter, Joseph Paul Franklin, to die.

    While Flynt speaks out against the death penalty, he does say that he would like an hour by himself with Franklin. Read part of Larry Flynt’s column from The Hollywood Reporter:

    In all the years since the shooting, I have never come face-to-face with Franklin. I would love an hour in a room with him and a pair of wire-cutters and pliers, so I could inflict the same damage on him that he inflicted on me. But, I do not want to kill him, nor do I want to see him die.

    As far as the severity of punishment is concerned, to me, a life spent in a 3-by-6-foot cell is far harsher than the quick release of a lethal injection. And costs to the taxpayer? Execution has been proven to be far more expensive for the state than a conviction of life without parole, due to the long and complex judicial process required for capital cases.

    Joseph Paul Franklin, whose death sentence is scheduled to be carried out on November 20 at Potosi Correctional Center in Missouri, admitted to shooting Flynt after being arrested for other crimes. The attempt on Flynt’s life was hardly the only violent crime Franklin has confessed to committing.

    Franklin has been convicted of six murders, but confessed to eight, and the Mobile, Alabama man is suspected to be involved in up to 20 murders. Franklin went on a murder spree from 1976 to 1980 (the year he was arrested) in an effort to “cleanse the world” of people he considered inferior. Franklin was involved in a number of hate crimes, including shooting civil rights activist Vernon Jordan and fire-bombing multiple synagogues.

    After Franklin was arrested, he told investigators of plans he had to try to kill President Jimmy Carter and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, plus he admitted to trying to kill Flynt and others. The reason Franklin gave for trying to kill Flynt was because his magazine displayed images of interracial sex.

    After Larry Flynt’s column was published, he also posted his thoughts concerning Franklin’s upcoming death on Twitter.

    [Image via Twitter]

  • Facebook Death Threats Against Congressional Dems Land Man in Prison

    Making death threats to members of Congress is ill-advised, and it’s especially dense to make them on a public forum like Facebook. A New York man has been sentenced to 15 months in prison after he admitted to using Facebook to make threats against a handful of top Congressional Democrats.

    Lawrence Mulqueen, 50, told a federal judge that he was “truly sorry” for his statements and the “violence they imply.”

    Back in February, Mulqueen was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after police discovered some disturbing Facebook posts.

    “Their dirt nap is coming very soon,” wrote Mulqueen in one status. “I cannot wait to start killing the scum,” he said in another.

    Court documents indicate that Mulqueen also made a “how-to” post on using the most effective weapons to get the job done. When Mulqueen was arrested (on an unrelated harassment allegation), police stumbled across the posts. They also found a couple of rifles, ammo, body armor, and various bladed weapons at Mulqueen’s home.

    The threats were directed toward a handful of prominent Congressional Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Rep. Nita Lowey. He also threatened New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and various members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

    During sentencing, Mulqueen blamed most of it on his alcoholism, saying that it never would’ve happened if he’d been sober.

    Image via CBS New York