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Tag: Crime

  • Bold Move: Lawyer Demands Phone Records from NSA to Prove Client’s Innocence

    Bold Move: Lawyer Demands Phone Records from NSA to Prove Client’s Innocence

    This is either the most brilliantly executed defensive move I’ve heard about in quite some time, or possibly the most ill-conceived air-grab since my buddy asked to read his wife’s texts “to prove she’s getting them ok.” Only time will tell.

    Another question to remand to the future historians – what’s the deal with the NSA’s recently revealed phone data collection program? Massive invasion of privacy? A necessary, albeit heavy-handed tactic in the ongoing fight against terrorists?

    I don’t know. I have opinions, but I don’t know. One thing I do know is that June 12th, 2013 will always be remembered as the day one defense attorney first turned the tables on the NSA’s no-longer-secret surveillance program.

    This is beautiful, really. Marshall Dore Louis, attorney for Florida’s Terrance Brown, has decided to use recent revelations to his avantage. “Oh, NSA, I hear you’re spying on all of our phone calls. Well, how bout you let me see what you found so I can prove my client’s innocence”* – or something like that.

    According to the Sun-Sentinel, Brown is one of five men accused of robbing a series of armored trucks making cash deliveries to banks a few years ago. The prosecution has been using phone records to prove that the men were all nearby when the robberies occurred.

    Well, the only problem is that prosecutors have been unable to obtain records for Brown during the period before September, 2010 (when at least one of the robberies took place). You see, Brown’s carrier, MetroPCS, simply doesn’t keep records that far back.

    But wait a minute. Louis says he wants those records to exonerate his client by proving he was nowhere near the area of the robbery at Lighthouse Point in July, 2010.

    “Who has extensive phone records on American citizens? Aha! The NSA of course! I just heard about that on the news.”**

    “The president of the United States has recognized this program has been ongoing since 2006…to gather the phone numbers [and related information] of everybody including my client in 2010,” Louis said.***

    He has a point. Imagine if this ploy actually worked. Seriously. Imagine it. Imagine lawyers all over the country asking the NSA to help prove their clients’ innocence.

    Imagine the NSA laughing and saying no. That’s a lot easier to imagine, I guess.

    ————

    * I don’t know what Mr. Louis was thinking. This is what I would have been thinking.
    ** Once again, I assume he must’ve had this train of thought. Just go with it, please.
    *** He really said that – in court on Wednesday.

    [Image via gadgetdan, Flickr]

  • Delavan Turtle Dies After Being Beaten by a Golf Club

    [Graphic photos of animal cruelty below]

    A female snapping turtle found severely beaten in a sand bunker of a Delavan, Wisconsin golf course has died from her injuries.

    Authorities believe that the turtle was probably attempting to lay her eggs in the bunker when she was beaten with what appears to be a golf club. Investigators are currently searching for the eggs, but have so far been unsuccessful.

    “It happened at the Delbrook Golf Course in Delavan on June 10 between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. The female turtle, looking for a place to lay her eggs, was found lying in the sand in a bunker with holes in its shell. It was also struck in the right eye, a wound which appeared to have been from a golf club,” said the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in a Facebook update.

    The turtle was supposed to undergo surgery, which was to give her a 40%-60% chance of survival. Sadly, the turtle died before that was possible.

    The Global Conservation Group, Wisconsin’s largest animal rights organization, has offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible. And PETA has reportedly pledged an additional $5,000.

    The photos of the turtle, post-attack, are pretty brutal. According to the people at the Pineview Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, the turtle (aged 10-13) was just too banged up to survive. Not only did the turtle sustain multiple gouges to its shell, but also sustained a severe blow to the head.

    What the hell, people?

    (image)

  • Whitey Bulger Trial Begins, Juror Falls Asleep

    Whitey Bulger, the infamous Boston gangster whose life has inspired several books and films–including “The Departed”–began his trial today on racketeering and murder charges. The story of how he rose to power over the Winter Hill Gang, allegedly killed 19 people, and somehow got the FBI in his pocket is sensational to say the least, but at least one juror didn’t think so; during opening statements this morning, the man nodded off for several minutes.

    Bulger is accused of using force–sometimes deadly–to get what he wanted from some of Boston’s undesirables. The Irish mob made their ill-gotten funds disappear by buying up property in their neighborhood, but in 1994, Bulger was tipped off by an FBI informant that he was on the verge of being busted on federal racketeering charges. He went into hiding, and that’s where he stayed for 16 years. Two years ago, he was captured in Santa Monica with his girlfriend, who received eight years for aiding and abetting a known criminal.

    Now, the stories of Bulger’s misdeeds are about to come to light, in grisly and fascinating detail.

    “The guy is a sociopathic killer,” Tom Foley, an organized crime investigator who spent most of his career with the Massachusetts State Police trying to bust Bulger, told CNN. “He loved that type of life. He’s one of the hardest and cruelest individuals that operated in the Boston area. He’s a bad, bad, bad guy.”

    Bulger’s tactics for avoiding detection reportedly included cutting off the fingers and pulling the teeth of the people he killed so they couldn’t be identified. It also helped that he had a friend working within the FBI who tipped him off to anything he wanted to know; disgraced agent John Connolly is now serving 50 years for second-degree murder in the death of a businessman who was about to testify against Bulger and other Mob members in 1982.

    The trial is just getting started, but it’s sure to be a doozy. And as more details of Bulger’s deeds come to light, it’s doubtful any more jurors will decide to take a nap. It may also make Johnny Depp rethink his position on salary.

  • Coffee Poisoning: Doctor Charged With Assault

    A Houston doctor is accused of poisoning her lover’s coffee with a chemical found in antifreeze, but claims she’s totally innocent.

    Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, an oncologist specializing in breast cancer, allegedly dosed Dr. George Blumenschein’s coffee with the chemical and told him the reason it tasted so sweet was because she’d put Splenda in it. He says she gave him a second cup, and within hours he was in the emergency room with slurred speech, loss of fine motor skills, central nervous system depression, cardiopulmonary complications and renal failure.

    Rather than Splenda, it was ethylene glycol, which is also used for medical purposes and is reportedly found quite easily at the hospital the two worked at, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. But Gonzalez-Angulo maintains her innocence.

    “She is a distinguished citizen and scientist, and these allegations are totally inconsistent with her personal and professional life,” attorney Derek Hollingsworth said in a statement.

    Gonzalez-Angulo has been charged with aggravated assault, but it’s not clear just yet what her motive may have been. She’s free on $50,000 bail; Dr. Blumenschein, meanwhile, has had to undergo dialysis for kidney failure.

  • Arrested 396 Times: Woman Gets Noticed By Judge

    A Chicago woman who has been arrested nearly 400 times since 1978 will finally get a mental health evaluation and undergo treatment for alcohol abuse in compliance with a deal struck by a Judge.

    Shermain Miles has been booked for public drunkenness, armed robbery, trespassing, and an alleged attack on Alderman James Cappleman, among other things. She has become well-known among community law enforcement members for her erratic behavior, such as shrieking from her holding cell. But after years of being passed through the system only to be released on the streets again, a judge decided to break the cycle and offer her help.

    “All of us are reaching out to you and offering you, maybe for the first time in your life, a hand, OK?” Judge Peggy Chiampas said. “But you’ve got to reach out and grab all of our hands as well.”

    Miles has taken the plea deal after serving time for committing her most recent crimes while on parole. As of now, she’s at Logan Correctional Center, and her case is being reviewed pending completion of the plea bargain agreement.

  • Kids Steal Wheelchair, Get Arrested After Pics of Joyride Hit Facebook

    Two 14-year-old New York boys have been arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and third-degree grand larceny after stealing an electric wheelchair and posting photos on Facebook.

    According to police, the kids took the wheelchair from a house that’s undergoing some renovations near midnight on Saturday. They allegedly took the wheelchair on a joyride until the battery died, upon which the kids abandoned it.

    The chair, a custom-made motorized scooter, is valued at around $17,000. It belongs to a 27-year-old man with cerebral palsy.

    “My son had nine surgeries and that chair was specially made for him,” said the man’s mother, Carmela Pinello. “They left my son stranded. They should be ashamed of themselves and realize that you don’t play with somebody’s life and think it’s a joke, because it’s not a joke.”

    Of course, this story has a Facebook connection. Police were able to make arrests when they found pictures of the kids on the stolen wheelchair on the social network. The chair has yet to be recovered.

    When I was 14, kids were just dicks. Now, with the ubiquity of Facebook, kids are just dumber dicks who make it easy for police to spot their dumb dickdom. Our dumb teens will find themselves in family court next week.

    [via CBS New York]

  • 2 Chainz Mugged At Gunpoint In Oakland

    2 Chainz Mugged At Gunpoint In Oakland

    Rapper 2 Chainz became the victim of an armed robbery on Sunday in Oakland, California on Sunday, according to reports. He was reportedly walking with five companions when three men approached the group. One of the men produced a gun, and there are reports that shots were fired. The men escaped in a gray sedan with 2 Chainz’s wallet and cell phone.

    Rumors about the incident quickly spread, and Twitter lit up with reports that the rapper had been shot. 2 Chainz (born Tauheed Epps), took to Twitter to assure fans (and detractors) that he was, in fact, alive and well.

    After the incident, 2 Chainz continued on to the Oakland Summer Jam festival, where he performed as planned.

  • YouTube Rapper Will Not Face Terroristic Threat Charges

    YouTube Rapper Will Not Face Terroristic Threat Charges

    A Boston teen and aspiring YouTube rapper will not be charged with making terroristic threats in the hours following the Boston Marathon bombings after a Grand Jury has rejected his indictment.

    18-year-old Cameron D’Ambrosio was arrested on May 1st after officials were notified of Facebook posts containing “with disturbing verbiage,” according to police.

    What did he post exactly?

    fuck a boston bombinb wait til u see the shit I do, I’ma be famous for rapping, and beat every murder charge that comes across me.

    “He’s telling people to shut up and in order to get some props he’ll have to go kill somebody. He says he’ll go insane and make the news,” said Police Chief Joseph Solomon at the time of the arrest. “And he said people shouldn’t cry when they see what he does because they have it coming.”

    D’Ambrosio has been held without bail for over a month. The charges leveled against him could have resulted in up to 20 years in prison.

    The case drew national attention, as many free speech activists argued that the arrest and subsequent incarceration amounted to a First Amendment violation.

    Noted First Amendment advocates Fight for the Future launched a petition to free D’Ambrosio. That petition received over 90,000 signatures.

    “The post contained no specific threat of violence against any person or group of people, and in the context of the rest of the lyrics and Cams’ rap persona, it was clearly nothing more than a metaphor and rap braggadocio – Cam wasn’t saying he would ‘outdo’ the Marathon bombing, as the media has frequently reported, he’s saying he’s going to be famous rapping, more famous than the marathon bombing. A la Biggie Smalls ‘blowing up like the World Trade.’ It may be a distasteful line, but it’s free speech and it’s protected by the Constitution,” said FFTF.

    “At an initial bail hearing, the prosecution was clearly grasping at straws and brought up incidents from Cam’s past – like the fact that he allegedly bit another student during a fight when he was 11 years old, and the fact that the police were called after a fight he had with his sister several years ago.”

    “There will be a bail hearing this afternoon, after which point he will probably be released, is my educated guess,” said Essex County DA spokesperson Carrie Kimball Monahan.

  • Prosecutor Fired for Using Facebook to Convince Alibi Witnesses to Change Their Stories

    A Cuyahoga County, Ohio prosecutor has been fired after admitting to using a fake Facebook profile in an attempt to persuade two key witnesses for the defense to recant their testimony.

    Aaron Brockler remains adamant that he did nothing wrong, and that this type of practice is common among law enforcement.

    “Law enforcement, including prosecutors, have long engaged in the practice of using a ruse to obtain the truth,” said Brockler. “I think the public is better off for what I did…to me, this is all a massive overreaction. I wasn’t some rogue prosecutor sitting behind a computer trying to wrongfully convict someone. I did what the Cleveland police detectives should have done before I got the file.”

    The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Brockler, who had served as a county prosecutor since 2006, posed a a fictitious girlfriend of the defendant in a murder case. The defendant, 29-year-old Damon Dunn, is accused of shooting Kenneth Adams on May 18th of last year at a car wash.

    Apparently, Brockler held Facebook chats with the two alibi witnesses, who both claimed that Dunn was actually on the other side of town when the murder occurred. He claims that they both told him that their stories for the defense were “bogus,” and that they weren’t going to lie for Dunn.

    The odd thing here is that Brockler didn’t try to conceal his actions. He printed out the Facebook chat transcripts and logged them into his file.

    Despite Brockler’s claim that he actually did nothing wrong, County prosecutor Timothy McGinty said that the termination was a no-brainer.

    “This office does not condone and will not tolerate such unethical behavior,” said McGinty. “He disgraced this office and everyone who works here. By creating false evidence, lying to witnesses as well as another prosecutor, Aaron Brockler has damaged the prosecution’s chances in a murder case where a totally innocent man was killed at his work.”

  • Revenge Porn Targeted by California Lawmakers

    A new California bill looks to curtail the spread of so-called “revenge porn” by finally codifying the crime into law and setting specific penalties for the unauthorized distribution of sexual materials.

    SB 255 has passed the California Senate’s Public Safety Committee, which means it will be up for a vote within the next couple of weeks.

    Here’s the text from the bill:

    This bill would make it a misdemeanor for any person who, with the intent to cause substantial emotional distress or humiliation to another person, by means of an electronic communication device, and without consent of the other person, electronically distributes, publishes, emails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading nude images of the other person along with personal identifying information of the other person.

    Those found guilty of violating the law would be subject to up to one year in jail and/or a fine of $1,000. The bill broadly describes “electronic communication device” as cellphones, computers, any internet-connected device, and actual web pages as well.

    “There has been a recent increase in what is commonly called ‘revenge porn,’ and this bill seeks to discourage the act,” says the bill’s sponsor Anthony Cannella.

    “People who post or text pictures that are meant to be private as a way to seek revenge are reprehensible. Right now, there is no tool for law enforcement to protect the victims. Too many have had their lives upended because of an action of another that they trusted. This is a common sense bill that clamps down on those who exploit intimacy and trust for revenge or personal gain.”

    Finding a place on the moral outskirts of pornography, so-called revenge porn sites host images and videos of so-called “exes.” The point of such sites is that men are exacting revenge on ex-girlfriends by posting their private sexual communications online for the world to see.

    We’ve seen revenge porn sites targeted in the past, sued for invasion of privacy, public disclosure of private facts, and such. Most of the time, these sites are able to stand behind the famous section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects websites from being liable for user-submitted content. This new bill would give officials more leeway to target individual offenders.

    By the language of this bill, however, it wouldn’t just be revenge porn sites that would fall under its purview. Anyone that sends their buddies a text of their ex-girlfriend naked, or uploads such images to an internet forum like reddit could be targeted as violators.

    “It is unfortunate that we have to create legislation to protect individuals from the misuse of technology,” said Christine Ward, executive director of Crime Victims Action Alliance. “I applaud Senator Cannella for his efforts to prevent future victimization in California.”

  • Chili-Finger Lady: Wendy’s Scammer Is Going Back to Jail

    An infamous fraudster is going back to jail for once again attempting to deceive law enforcement.

    Anna Ayala, better known as the “chili-finger lady,” is about to spend another two years in prison after lying to police to protect her son from a parole violation.

    Mercury News reports that Ayala hid the fact that her 26-tear-old son Guadalupe “Junior” Reyes accidentally shot himself in the ankle, as having a gun would have been a serious parole violation. Ayala and her son blamed the shooting on two men, which led to the interrogation of one suspect. Of course, he wasn’t involved and now Ayala and her son are both facing jail time.

    Ayala pled no contest to three different crimes this time around – being an accessory to a felony, filing a false police report and being a felon in possession of a firearm. She has been sentenced to serve two years for the crimes.

    Ayala gained notoriety back in 2005, when she filed a lawsuit against fast food chain Wendy’s after she allegedly found a severed human finger in her chili. Investigators soon determined that the finger didn’t come from any Wendy’s employee and that the consistency of the finger was not representative of something that had been cooked at 170 degrees.

    Ayala was eventually charged with grand larceny, as Wendy’s claimed that her lawsuit caused a loss of $2.5 million in revenue.

    The finger was later identified to belong to one Brian Paul Rossiter, a co-worker of Ayala’s huband who had lost a fingertip in an industrial accident.

    She was sentenced to 9 years in prison in 2006, but only ended up serving 4 years.

  • Wind Carried Beer Can DNA to Used Condom, Claims Rape Defendant

    Wind Carried Beer Can DNA to Used Condom, Claims Rape Defendant

    Today’s creativity in defense award goes to 20-year-old Marcelles Peter and his attorney, who are attempting to nullify DNA evidence by claiming that it was transferred by the wind.

    Peters is one of the six men charged in the gang rape of a 15-year-old Richmond high-schooler in 2009. The San Francisco Bay-area rape case garnered quite a bit of attention after the brutal nature of the crime was disclosed.

    On the night of the crime, the victim was leaving a homecoming dance at the school and was asked to join a large group of males in the campus courtyard. After the victim and the perpetrators drank copious amounts of alcohol, tre victim was propositioned for sex – an offer she refused. The men proceeded to beat and rape the girl for hours.

    One bystander described the attack as such:

    “They were kicking her in her head and they were beating her up, robbing her and ripping her clothes off; it’s something you can’t get out your mind. I saw people, like, dehumanizing her; I saw some pretty crazy stuff. She was pretty quiet; I thought she was like dead for a minute but then I saw her moving around.”

    Now, years later, Peter has a creative defense that he hopes will call into question his role in the attack. According to Fox News, his claim is that wind from a police helicopter must have carried his DNA from a beer can to a broken used condom found at the scene.

    Peter’s trial has just begun. Last year Manuel Ortega, the oldest defendant in the case, admitted guilt and was sentenced to 32 years in prison. Another defendant, Ari Morales, was sentenced to 27 years in prison this January. The other defendants are still awaiting trial.

    [Photo via KTVU]

  • American Woman Gang-Raped in India, Suspects Not Arrested

    An American tourist was allegedly gang-raped this week in northern India, sparking more questions about the safety of women in the country.

    According to a Reuters report, the woman was visiting friends on Monday while staying in a guest house in Manali, a small town in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Failing to find a taxi back to the house, the woman was picked up by three men in a truck while hitchhiking. The men allegedly drove the woman to an isolated area and raped her.

    The woman was taken to a hospital before being taken home. Hospital tests have reportedly confirmed the rape. The men were detained for questioning, but were later released without arrest.

    Rape in India has come to light as a national human-rights problem in the last few decades. Among recent notable cases, five men were charged with rape and murder in January for their assault on a 23-year-old student in Delhi. They are accused of luring the woman onto a bus, then beating and raping her. She died from her injuries two weeks later. That incident sparked protests across India for better enforcement of sexual assault laws.

  • Man Tricked Teen with a Fake Facebook Account in Bizarre Kidnapping Turned Murder Case

    The story behind what happened to a murdered Maine teen is coming into focus after police unsealed an affidavit on Wednesday.

    15-year-old Nichole Cable was reported missing on May 13th. After a statewide search that went on for a week, she was found dead on the night of May 20th. 20-year-old Kyle Dube has been indicted on charges of murder and kidnapping after he reportedly used a fake Facebook account to lure Cable outside, where he proceeded to kill her and dump her in the woods.

    The story gets even stranger. According to the affidavit, obtained by the AP, Dube told his brother that the planned to stage Cable’s kidnapping in order to eventually rescue her and become a hero. Dube’s brother says that Dube lured her outside of her home, grabbed her and duct taped her, and put her in the back of his truck. Dube later discovered that Cable was dead, so he dumped her in the woods and covered her with branches.

    The medical examiner is still trying to determine the cause of death.

    Police say that Dube set up the fake account in the name of Bryan Butterfield, a friend of Cable’s. Butterfield told police that Dube had wanted to start a sexual relationship with Cable, but was denied. Police say that on the night of the murder, Cable agreed to meet Butterfield outside of her home. Of course, she didn’t know that she was actually agreeing to meet Dube, who used the fake Facebook profile to gain her confidence.

    Apparently, Facebook aided investigators by revealing the true identity of the fake Butterfield account, which was then traced to Dube.


    [Image via YouTube]

  • Nurse Admits to Murdering 11 in Sydney Nursing Home Fire

    A 37-year-old Australian Man has admitted to setting a fire at a Quaker Hill nursing home that took the lives of 11 elderly patients and injured another 8.

    Roger Dean had been working as a nurse at the nursing home for just two months.

    According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the incident occurred on the morning of November 18th, 2011. Dean admitted to setting an empty bed ablaze. He then moved to the room of 80-year-old Dorothy Sterling and 85-year-old Dorothy Wu.

    From the SMH:

    Around 4.50am, Dean set an empty bed on fire in one wing, before moving to the room where Ms Wu and Ms Sterling were sleeping. When resident Helen Perry, 63, saw her friends’ room was on fire she told Dean, “We have to get them out”.

    But Dean grabbed her arm and moved her on, saying, “People are on their way”.

    They weren’t. As firefighters battled to contain the first blaze Dean had started, they had no idea the room of Ms Wu and Ms Sterling was also on fire. He didn’t tell them and by the time they reached the spot, the blaze had reached the roof. As the fires raged, Dean “actively assisted in moving residents and their beds, being careful to keep up the appearance of having nothing to do with the lighting of the two fires,” the documents said.

    Dean had already stolen over 200 pills from the nursing home, and hours before the fire police visited the home to investigate the theft.

    Now, in a New South Wales court, Dean has admitted his guilt. Previously, he had said that it was Satan that made him do what he did. The oldest victim of the fire was 97, and the youngest was 73.

  • Florida Man Butt Dials 911, Details Murder Plot

    Earlier this month, a 33-year-old man was shot dead in his car while traveling southbound on I-95 near Oakland Park, Florida. After the shots were fired, Nicholas Romondo Walker’s silver Buick crashed into a guardrail and burst into flames. The incident shut down traffic on the interstate for nearly 4 hours.

    Now, some interesting details have emerged surrounding the incident, the suspects, and the events leading up to the murder – mainly that an ill-timed 911 butt dial led police to one of the men involved.

    The Broward County Sheriff’s Office says that the man who orchestrated the plot , 24-year-old Scott Simon, has been arrested and charged with first degree murder after he pocket-dialed 911 just moments before the fatal shooting occurred. They believe that the plot was hatched after the men got into a fight at a Waffle House.

    “On a recorded line, Scott Simon can be heard telling someone else that he’s going to follow the victim home and kill him. Minutes later, 33-year-old Nicholas Walker was shot and killed while driving his car onto the highway,” said the Sheriff’s office in a release.

    Authorities do not think that Simon actually pulled the trigger, so they are still searching for two other suspects in the case.

    This isn’t the first time that a butt dial to 911 has led to a criminal’s demise. Back in 2011, two men were arrested after one of the made an unknown pocket call to 911 detailing their plot to sell stolen video games at a local exchange store. And last year, a man was arrested after butt dialing 911 during a drug deal.

    It looks like the world’s worst superhero, Florida Man, has struck again.

  • Ray Rice Robbed: Burglar Stole $2000 and Two Guns

    According to police, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was robbed over the weekend.

    Reports indicate that Rice’s home was burglarized some time between the hours of 8:30 pm Friday and 12:50 am Saturday. In the end, $2000 and two guns were reported stolen.

    Rice wasn’t at home during the robbery – he was out of town. But a friend was staying at the house and reported the crime. Police say that the burglar made his way into Rice’s home through a back window.

    Luckily for Rice and police, it appears that the whole thing was caught on surveillance video.

    “My family and I are fine, which is the most important thing,” Rice said in statement. “This is an unfortunate incident that I am dealing with through the proper channels.”

    Rice, a prolific Twitter and Facebook users, isn’t using social media to discuss the crime. Instead, he used Facebook on Monday to send his condolences to those affected by the Oklahoma tornado.

    (image)

    Ray Rice1 day ago

    Thoughts and prayers for the people affected in Oklahoma. Absolutely heartbreaking. Powered by socialditto(image)  1,000+ likes ·  151 comments

  • Walters’ Daughter Arrested On Sunday For DUI

    Jacqueline Walters Danforth, the daughter of television personality Barbara Walters, was arrested for DUI in Florida this past Sunday.

    According to the Collier County Sheriff’s records, this was her first offense. It was officially listed as “TRAFFIC OFFENSE-DUI ALCOHOL OR DRUGS 1ST OFF”.

    (image)

    TMZ, who obtained the police report, says it describes the incident as follows: Danforth was in the driver’s seat of a Honda Pilot, which police stopped at 1:24 AM after reports about an SUV stopped on the highway without its lights. She and a male passenger were found to appear “extremely intoxicated,” and when they went to place the male in handcuffs, she grabbed at one of them and “began shouting.”

    An arresting officer reportedly said in the report, “I was afraid that the suspect may run into traffic on the highway, so she was taken to the ground due to her unpredictable behavior, then secured in handcuffs.”

    Danforth was released several hours after being booked, on $1,000 bond. Her court date is scheduled for June 12th.

    Danforth is 44 years old.

  • LAPD Officer Arrested, Charged with Molesting Two Young Girls

    A Los Angeles Police Department officer is due in court on Tuesday, where he will face charges of performing lewd acts with minors inside his Castaic home.

    Officer Miguel Schiappapietra, 28, was arrested on Saturday at his home and charged with two counts of lewd acts with a child. He was held on $100,000 bail.

    According to police, Schiappapietra lured two young girls, both under the age of 10, into his home and molested them. The LAPD provided no other details on the actual assaults, or whether there was any prior relationship between Schiappapietra and the girls. Schiappapietra had only been living in the neighborhood for just over a month.

    The LAPD says that he has been placed on paid administrative leave pending both the criminal investigation and an internal investigation. Schiappapietra has been a member of the LAPD for 6 years.

    Stories of child abuse are always hard to stomach, but they’re even more terrible when the alleged perpetrator holds a position of power – especially one whose job is to protect.

    [via LA Times]

  • Celtics Player Arrested: Terrence Williams Accused Of Brandishing A Gun

    Boston Celtics guard Terrence Williams was arrested Sunday in Washington State on charges of brandishing a firearm. According to police, the incident happened during an argument with the mother of his 10-year-old son. When Williams arrived to pick up his son, he got into an argument with the boy’s mother. During the argument Williams allegedly made threats and brandished a firearm.

    Williams was later tracked down by police and arrested, though his gun was not found. He appeared in court yesterday in Kent, Washington, where a judge set his bail at $25,000.

    According to the Boston Herald, officials with the Celtics have declined to comment on the situation, the organization is said to be conducting its own investigation of the incident, per policy.

    Williams came to the Celtics late last season after playing for the Nets, Rockets, Kings, and a team in China. He played a handful of games – including two playoff games – last season. The Celtics have signed him to a $948,000 contract, provided he earns a spot on the team’s roster during training camp.

  • Man Taunts Police on Facebook, Says ‘Catch Me If U Can,’ Promptly Arrested

    It takes a special kind of idiot criminal to talk about their crimes on Facebook. We’ve seen plenty of that since the advent and expansion of Facebook. It takes a whole other kind of idiot to taunt police on Facebook when you’re a wanted fugitive. And I’m not sure what it makes you when you taunt police on their actual Facebook page.

    Whatever it is, Sam Greenwood is it.

    According to the Greater Manchester Police Rochdale North, Greenwood is back in custody after posting a taunt on their Facebook page.

    Greenwood was reportedly wanted after he breached the terms of his release from jail. GMP Rochdale North tapped the Facebook community to help in their search, posting a photo and status about Greenwood. A day later, Greenwood posted to the GMP Rochdale’s status.

    “Catch me if u can,” he commented.

    They can, and they did. Within 12 hours, Greenwood was back in jail. Imagine that? Our mastermind couldn’t elude the police. Shocking.

    “Caught you. Do not pass Go, do not collect £200, go straight to jail,” posted GMP Rochdale North after his capture.

    “Unfortunately this man was always going to be a hostage to fortune once he decided to goad us on Facebook. I tried my best to coax him into handing himself in, but he seemed determined to remain at large. Thankfully, we managed to track him down in no time at all and he is now back where he belongs for the time being – behind bars,” said Inspector Umer Khan.

    I’d like to say that this is the only time we’ve seen a criminal taunt police on Facebook – but I can’t. Back in 2011, we told you about a New York man who posted the status “catch me if you can, I’m in Brooklyn.” NYPD found him shortly thereafter, sitting at his computer, with Facebook open in his browser. Idiocy knows no geographical bounds, my friends.

    [GMP Rochdale North via CNET]