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Tag: Crime

  • Waffle House Robbed By Man With Pitchfork

    Waffle House Robbed By Man With Pitchfork

    Reality is stranger than fiction, and sometimes you have to creative with the robbery process.

    In Norcross, Georgia, police are searching for Jeffery Wooten, a 50-year-old man that robbed Buford highway’s Waffle House with a pitchfork on Thursday night.

    Surveillance photos unveiled Mr. Wooten with a purple ski-mask and pajamas (some Hugh Hefner outfit) yielding an iron pitchfork with a wooden handle and pointing it across the counter; he forced employees into the backroom and then moved to the cash register.

    “When he realized he couldn’t get the cash register open, he took the whole cash register and exited the store… with his pitchfork,” Norcross police Chief Warren Summers told Channel 2 Action News.

    When the swindling was through, Wooten stumbled out of the restaurant, realizing the cumbersomeness of a cash register in one hand and an agricultural tool in the other. According to WSB-TV, he dropped his weapon, and dashed on the sideway for his truck parked near a Rite Aid.

    After realizing Wooten unequipped his mighty weapon, the employees at Waffle House wanted their revenge.

    “Once he didn’t have a pitchfork, he wasn’t as brazen. I know that,” Summers said.

    Norcross Police said that two of the employees ran after Wooten, picking up and yielding the very weapon that herded them earlier. The back window of the truck shattered into sparkles of glass, and Wooten himself received a few blows from the pitchfork. Wooten managed to flee temporarily, with detectives issuing warrants for his arrest for armed robbery.

    “It wouldn’t be an offensive weapon in your garden, but it was in a Waffle House,” Summers said.

    According to police, Wooten took the pitchfork from a relative’s house of which he’s staying at, which isn’t too far away from the Waffle House he robbed.

    As of Friday afternoon, Wooten is currently in custody.

    Image via WSBTV

  • Police Plan to Live-Tweet Prostitution Sting, Embarrass Johns

    In what they call an “unprecedented social media tactic,” the Prince George County Police Department is going to live-tweet a bunch of prostitution sting arrests next week.

    “We won’t tell you when or where, other than it’s somewhere in the county sometime next week. The PGPD’s Vice Unit will conduct a prostitution sting that targets those soliciting prostitutes and we’ll tweet it out as it happens. From the ads to the arrests, we’ll show you how the PGPD is battling the oldest profession,” said the PGPD in a release.

    If you follow the PGPD’s official Twitter account, you can expect to see photos of johns as well.

    But there will be no tweets about the prostitutes themselves during this social media operation. According to Gawker, there was a bit of confusion when the PGPD first posted their intentions. Apparently, they used an image of a woman in handcuffs in their post (it has since been removed).

    PGPD cleared everything up in another post, saying that it was never their intention to shame young girls and women, as oftentimes they are victims of human trafficking.

    “Our Vice Unit will target those who choose to solicit a prostitute, not prostitutes themselves. The intent all along has been to put on notice and/or arrest the very people who exploit women and even young girls in our community. Some young girls and women involved in prostitution are victims of human trafficking. Our Vice Unit regularly helps trafficked women connect with groups and advocates who help them escape the dangerous sex trade,” says the PGPD.

    Police departments all over the country have turned to social media to help with their law enforcement efforts, whether it’s monitoring Facebook and Twitter for information that can help them solve crimes, or maintaing robust community pages that engage people and enlist their help in finding suspected criminals.

    But live-tweeting a prostitution sting? That’s new.

    If you’re in Prince George County Maryland next week and looking for love in one of the wrong places, you might want to think twice, as the PGPD plans to broadcast your likely embarrassed face to their 11,000 followers. And to the police that are planning this “unprecedented social media tactic,” might you want to consider what this public shame can do to people’s families? Just a thought.

    Image via PGPD News, Twitter

  • Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams Arrested For IRA’s 1972 Slaying Of A Widow

    Irish republican and Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams was arrested and interrogated on Wednesday for being a suspect in the killing of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10, in 1972. Adams confirmed his arrest and called it voluntary and pre-arranged.

    The murder happened during a turbulent time for Ireland, when the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was killing people almost daily.

    McConville was accused of being a British spy by the IRA, so they killed her and told her children that their mother had abandoned them. McConville’s body was then secretly buried, and the IRA only admitted to the crime in 1998. McConville’s shattered skeletal remains were found near a shoreline in 2003.

    When Adams was taken in, he was interrogated about IRA activities, such as shootings that happened in the 70s and 80s, bombings, and the car-bomb offensive in Belfast. Adams insisted that he has never had a position in the underground army, and said that he has only been convicted for a single IRA offense, which was a failed escape when he was imprisoned without going to trial.

    Before he entered the Belfast police station, Adams gave television interviews saying “Well publicized, malicious allegations have been made against me. I reject these.” He also said that he will never disassociate himself from the IRA but he is “innocent of any part in the abduction, killing, or burial of Mrs. McConville.”

    According to Ed Moloney, one of Ireland’s leading reporters,  it is unlikely that the authorities will charge him unless he confesses to committing the crime.

    The authorities who are in charge of McConville’s case have been arresting suspects based on taped interviews. These tapes, obtained from Boston College, consist of interrogations of IRA veterans. The only condition the IRA veterans had was that the tapes only be revealed when they are dead.

    In one of the tapes, Adams’ confidante Brendan Hughes, admitted that the one who ordered the killing of McConville was “the head of Sinn Féin.” Hughes died in 2008.

    Gerry Adams Interview

    Image via YouTube

  • Man Named Popadick Fulfills Surname Destiny in Public Park

    Until just now, I’d never come across any “Popadicks.”

    My introduction to the surname comes in the form of a story about one Donald Popadick, who Ottawa Police claim exposed himself in a public park.

    Yep. A man named Donald Popadick apparently exposed himself in a place called Mooney’s Bay Park. Everything does happen for a reason!

    From an official Ottawa Police Service release:

    The Ottawa Police Service Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Section have charged a 62 year old Ottawa man following an incident at Mooney’s Bay Park situated on Riverside Drive. Ottawa Police had received several complaints of an adult male exposing himself in this park since April 14th, 2014.

    On April 29, 2014 around 9:00 am, an adult male exposed himself to a person near a pathway in the park. Police were in the area and were alerted. The suspect was arrested at the scene.

    He’s been charged with an indecent act of mischief.

    News about a old, bald, white guy in glasses acting weird around people in a park isn’t all that uncommon. But when that criminal appears to be living up to a destiny prescribed to him by his father, and his fathers before him, well–it becomes something more.

    No, The Onion has not contributed to this report.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • FedEx Shooter Injured Six Before Taking His Own Life

    A FedEx employee armed with a shotgun injured six people at a FedEx warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia, before killing himself with his own gun on Tuesday morning.

    According to police spokesperson Sgt. Dana Pierce, the shooting started at 5:54 am. The police were alerted of the incident by several 911 calls that reported a shooter in the FedEx building. Over a hundred officers responded to the incident, but the shooter was already dead by the time they arrived.

    Reports indicate that the shooter, identified as Geddy L. Kramer, worked as a package handler for the company. He entered the facility through the guard shack where he shot the guard on duty before entering the warehouse where he shot five other people.

    Eyewitness account

    Of the six that were injured, two had to undergo surgery and three are in critical condition. One of the victims was treated and released by the hospital. All of the victims were brought to the WellStar Kennestone Hospital. A doctor at the facility described the wounds to have been caused by shotgun blast projectiles.

    Liza Aiken, a FedEx employee, said Kramer “looked like he was heading into war.” She also said that he had bullets strapped to his chest just like Rambo. Aiken was working on some packages when he saw Kramer enter the warehouse carrying a gun and a knife.

    Eyewitness Liz Aiken said “shooter looked like he was heading into war.”

    After the incident, the authorities went through the building in order to make sure that Kramer did not plant any devices that may bring danger to the employees. They were able to find a Molotov cocktail (petrol bomb) that was left by Kramer.

    In a statement, Aiken said that she had already reported Kramer to her superiors after he aimed a laser pointer at her eye. As of now, there are no clues leading the Kramer’s motives for the attack.

    Scott Fiedler, the spokesperson for FedEx, released a statement saying that the company is cooperating with authorities in the investigation.

    Image via YouTube

  • Julie Schenecker Double Murder Trial Begins

    Julie Schenecker was a suburban mother and former military linguist. She is charged with two counts of murder for allegedly killing her two teenaged children. On Monday, Schenecker attend the jury selection stage of her trial at the Hillsborough County courtroom. Her ex-husband Army Col. Parker Schenecker was also in attendance.

    According to police, the 53-year-old military wife from Tampa confessed to fatally shooting her 13-year-old son Beau and 16-year-old daughter Calyx because they were being “mouthy”. The crime allegedly took place while their father was abroad.

    The court was informed by several potential jurors that they have some knowledge of the case. A number of jury members stated that they have already made a decision regarding the case, based on the reports released by various media.

    The jury pool was advised by the presiding judge that the murder trial may last a maximum of three weeks, which some of the members considered a “hardship” that they will have difficulty dealing with.

    On January 28, 2011, police officers discovered the bodies of the two teenagers in the Schenecker’s Tampa Palms residence. Authorities had visited their home on a “welfare check” call made by Julie Schenecker. She had allegedly received an alarming email from her daughter, Calyx, that implied that she would be taking her own life.

    Two police officers headed over to the Schenecker’s home and found Julie at the patio, sprawled on the floor and initially unresponsive. Once she regained consciousness, she informed the officers that she was on medication for bipolar disorder. Julie added that she had also been drinking prior to their arrival.

    However, when the officers checked the other rooms in the house, they found Julie’s daughter Calyx lying on her bed, with two fatal gunshot wounds to the head. The body of Julie’s son Beau was also found dead in the garage, with at least one gunshot wound. Police also managed to find a handgun, as well as multiple used shell casings inside the premises.

    Julie Schenecker used to work as an Army Intelligence officer for the U.S. military forces. In her job, she used her ability to communicate in fluent Russian to interrogate refugees. Prosecution are no longer seeking the death penalty but Schenecker could face life in prison without parole if found guilty.

     Schenecker pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

    Image via YouTube

  • Potato Arrest: Police Put An End To Crime Spree

    Police authorities from Providence, Rhode Island, put an end to a robbery suspect’s potato crime spree Friday afternoon.

    No, this man did not try to steal potatoes; instead, he used the starchy vegetable as a weapon in two separate robbery attempts. Gary Deming, who hails from Cranston, first headed to a convenience store in the city’s Charles neighborhood, wherein he demanded all the money from the store’s cash register. Deming wielded a potato, which he tried to disguise as a gun, but failed to get the cash. Instead, the convenience store manager retaliated by running after him using a baseball bat until he left the store.

    In another incident, Deming made an attempt to rob the neighborhood dry cleaners. This time, however, an employee at the establishment handed him a counterfeit $20 that she took out of a decoy cash register.

    In a separate police report, Deming was said to have also broken into his sister’s home on Douglas Avenue just a few hours prior to the two attempted robberies. According to Deming’s sister, he was a druggie and had stolen a hundred dollars in cash, a Michael Kors purse, and a debit card before fleeing her home.

    She added that it was not the first time Deming had stolen from her.

    Deming, who also has an outstanding warrant for larceny in East Providence, was arrested by Providence police on Thursday afternoon. He was charged with larceny in December, after admitting to authorities that he had stolen two laptop computers and some jewelry from his sister’s home over the course of months. Deming was living on the ground floor of his sister’s home at the time, and showed multiple pawn shop receipts as proof of his crimes.

    A telephone listing for Deming has yet to be found.


    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Tennessee Policeman Fired After Choking Student

    A Knoxville, Tennessee police officer was dismissed by the Knox County Sheriff after photos surfaced of the patrolman strangling a University of Tennessee student during an arrest near the site of a large party. The officer, 47-year-old Frank Phillips, choked 21-year-old Jarod Dotson while two other officers handcuffed him, until the student fell to his knees.

    Dotson did not appear to be displaying any sign of resistance, and Phillips proceeded to slap him in his head a couple of times before walking off. Knox County Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones said in a statement posted on the Knox County Sheriff’s Department website (which is down at the time of this writing), “In my 34 years of law enforcement experience, excessive force has never been tolerated. After an investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, I believe excessive force was used in this incident.”

    Jones added, “This incident provides a perfect example of why we are in the process of purchasing officer-worn body cameras (video and audio recordings) so incidents like this will be fully documented.” The party near where the arrest occurred was attended by roughly 800 drunken coeds, some of which were throwing beer bottles at police officers.

    Dotson was charged with public intoxication and resisting, and was released from custody after posting a $500 bail. Phillips, a police officer since 1992, was immediately dismissed after the photos surfaced, and the case has been handed to the Knox County Attorney General’s Office to determine if any charges should be filed.

    Police brutality, or the wanton use of excessive force by a police officer, is prevalent in the United States, with 26,556 citizen complaints made in 2002. Though, of those cases filed, only about 2000 were substantiated. Still, the New York City Police Department recently suffered a public relations fiasco with the Twitter #myNYPD debacle.

    Here are some notable Tweets from the scandal.

    Image via YouTube

  • Rachael Rapraeger Admits to Falsifying Mammogram Reports

    One of the scariest things for a woman is the possibility of getting breast cancer, which is why many women diligently check themselves for lumps at home each month and have regular mammogram screenings. Taking such preventative measures is great, unless you’re one of the hundreds of women that former technician Rachael Rapraeger victimized by falsifying their mammogram reports.

    That’s right–a radiological technician at Perry Hospital in Perry, Georgia falsified mammogram reports for approximately 1,300 women, saying that all of the women were free of any signs of cancer. At least 10 of these women had lumps or cancerous tumors, and two women died from cancer after being cleared. Rapraeger’s crimes came to light back in 2010, but it wasn’t until earlier this month that she pleaded guilty to 10 misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct and one felony charge of computer forgery.

    One would think that committing such a crime that damned at least two women and postponed cancer treatment for others would carry a pretty hefty sentence, right? Wrong. Rachael Rapraeger (pictured below) was sentenced only to up to six months in a detention center, 10 years of probation, and a $12,500 fine. To further add insult to injury, Rapraeger isn’t even banned from working in the healthcare field for life–her ban will last only as long as her probation.

    When asked why she falsified the mammogram reports, Rapraeger said that it was because personal issues caused her to fall behind in her work. Instead of working late or letting her superiors know that she couldn’t complete the work, according to The Augusta Chronicle, Rapraeger decided to access “the hospital’s computer system, assumed the identities of physicians, and gave each patient a clear reading.”

    “She just could not keep up with her workload and when faced with that, she started doing what she did…trying to make her hospital employer happy, not realizing what the consequences could be…she’s going to be paying a price, but even without that she’s very remorseful,” explained Floyd Buford, Rapraeger’s attorney.

    Considering that some criminals receive much longer prison terms for crimes that don’t actually harm anyone, the news of Rachael Rapraeger’s crimes and light sentence has shocked and outraged the web:

    While most people seem to agree that Rachael Rapraeger’s sentence was anything but just, deputy chief assistant district attorney Daniel Bibler thinks the judge got the sentence right. “I think it’s a fair sentence based on what happened and based on her cooperation in this case,” Bibler said.

    Victim Sharon Holmes, who was cleared of cancer by Rapraeger only to find out that she had cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes, thinks that the sentence is anything but fair. “If I’m living a sentence of having cancer then you should live a sentence behind bars,” Holmes said.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Florida Execution Leaves ‘Old Sparky’ Unemployed

    Florida executed a man on Wednesday who was convicted of murdering two relatives in 1990, marking the 85th instance of capital punishment for the state, and the fourth so far this year.

    Robert Hendrix, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Starke, shortly after a lethal injection procedure began. He remained silent, offering no final words.

    Hendrix was convicted of killing his cousin Elmer Scott and his wife Michelle, to prevent them from testifying against him the following day during a burglary trial. Scott had been an accomplice of Hendrix, but reached a plea deal in exchange for his testimony. Hendrix shot, beat and stabbed his cousin, and then cut the throat of Scott’s wife, before shooting her.

    Florida was the first state to reintroduce the death penalty after the Supreme Court of the United States struck down all capital punishment statutes nationwide in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision. All Floridian executions are carried out at Florida State Prison, which houses the sole remaining death chamber statewide. At present, 396 inmates are awaiting execution in Florida, and sixteen inmates have been administered lethal injections since Governor Rick Scott took office in 2011.

    While lethal injection has been the preferred method of execution in Florida since 2000, inmates can still request the use of “Old Sparky,” the nickname of the electric chair in the states of Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New York, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Virginia. Hendrix opted to stay clear of Old Sparky, as botched execution attempts in this manner are not unheard of, and have a chance of becoming an extremely gruesome form of cruel and unusual punishment.

    Last June Governor Rick Scott signed the Timely Justice Act of 2013. The statute is designed to accelerate the capital punishment process. The law forces death row inmates to be quicker about making appeals and post-conviction motions.

    Image via WIkimedia Commons

  • Kentucky Mailman Jailed for Stashing 45K Letters

    Former Western Kentucky postal worker William “Brent” Morse has been sentenced to 6 months in a federal prison for hiding almost 45,000 pieces of mail he didn’t feel like delivering. According to David J. Hale, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, Morse is guilty of “destroying, hiding and delaying the delivery of at least 44,900 pieces of mail.”

    Morse, a mailman for five years, stored stacks of letters in his deceased mother’s home and in storage lockers he’d rented near his mail route in Dawson Springs, Kentucky. The hoarded mail was meant to be delivered to approximately 250 households in the Dawson Springs area between March, 2011 and March 2013. City police Capt. Craig Patterson commented, “He wanted to speed up his route. I think he was lazy.”

    Adel Valdes, a U.S. Postal Inspector in Louisville, stated that Morse’s reasoning was that “he wanted to pick up his kids from school every day at a certain time.” Morse, 34, was found out after he’d left the door to one of his storage facilities open, to where the owner of the locker noticed a large amount of undelivered mail and USPS equipment. The owner of the storage facility then alerted authorities.

    Morse wasn’t charged with theft of the mail, though he must pay almost $15,000 in restitution for losses incurred by two businesses that send out commercial circulars. The USPS has since delivered the wayward mail.

    Morse appears to be cut from the same cloth as Jerry Seinfeld’s oft-nemisis Newman:

    Image via Facebook

  • Missouri Execution: Fourth Inmate Executed in 2014

    Death row inmate William Rousan was executed on Wednesday; the execution is the fourth for Missouri in 2014. Rousan was sentenced to death after being found guilty of murdering a couple in 1993.

    After being denied clemency by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon on Tuesday evening, 57-year-old William Rousan was put to death by lethal injection just after midnight on Wednesday. Rousan was injected with the drugs at 12:01 a.m. and pronounced dead just nine minutes later at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.

    Rousan, his brother Robert Rousan, and his 16-year-old son Brent Rousan were found guilty in the 1993 slaying that took the lives of Charlie and Grace Lewis. The Rousans shot the couple to death in a plot to steal two cows, a VCR, and some other small items. William Rousan was arrested almost a year after the murders and was the only Rousan to be sentenced to death. Robert Rousan was sentenced to seven years in prison and Brent Rousan is serving life without parole.

    “My trials and transgressions have been many,” Rousan said, starting his last words. “But thanks be to my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, I have a new home in his heavenly kingdom.”

    Rousan’s execution was Missouri’s fourth execution in 2014. The state has executed six inmates total over the past six months.

    Of the states that still carry out capital punishment, Missouri has the fifth most executions. Missouri has carried out a total of 74 executions since 1976, when the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. Seven inmates have been executed in Missouri since 2010, with six of those executions occurring over the past six months.

    Missouri’s increase in executions has certainly drawn criticism from some. Michael Lewis, who is the son of the victims, spoke about Rousan being put to death and said that he draws no satisfaction from the execution.

    “I draw no real satisfaction from Mr. Rousan’s incarceration or execution, for neither can replace or restore the moments lost with my parents or give my sons back the grandparents they never got to know,” Lewis said. “Nor can it fully heal the broken hearts and lives of our family, or his family who my heart also goes out to.”

    Lewis also spoke briefly about his view on capital punishment and says that he thinks it takes too long to carry out the sentence. “As for the death penalty, I think the delay from sentencing to finalization is too long. I have never thought of it as revenge or justice served in terms of an ‘eye for eye,’ so to speak,” Lewis said. “Nor do I see it as a big deterrent to would be criminals. But I still believe it is a humane and permanent prevention of further criminal activities by the convicted inmate.”

    Watch Lewis’s statement after the execution below.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jaren Lockhart: Police Resume Investigation In Murder Case

    On June of 2012, Jaren Lockhart’s dismembered body was found a few days after she went missing in New Orleans.

    According to the Hancock County Sheriff Office’s investigation, Lockhart, 22, was murdered shortly after she left Bourbon Street, which is the location of the club where she worked.

    Now, two years after Lockhart was found, the police are resuming their investigation. Their main concern in the past was that they went as far as they could and “didn’t have the resources to move it further.” The Kenner Police Department is now aiding in the investigation, since one of the suspects in the case resides in Kenner.

    Based on the surveillance images acquired by the authorities, Lockhart was seen leaving her place of work along with a couple identified as Margaret Sanchez, 29, and Terry Speaks, 41.

    Speaks was a doorman at Stiletto’s Cabaret, which is located beside Lockhart’s workplace. He is currently serving jail time for neglecting to register himself as a sex offender, but is slated for release from federal prison in October.

    A month after Lockhart’s murder, Sanchez appeared in an episode of Final Witness and stated that one of her best friends named Addie Hall was also dismembered back in 2006. According to Detective Glenn Grannan, knowing two people who have been dismembered seems too much of a coincidence.

    Neighbors describe living next to Margaret Sanchez and Terry Speaks

    Kenner Police will be going over all the details of the case. They will also be conducting re-interviews of people who are involved in the case to make sure that they haven’t missed anything.

    Lockhart’s friends and family conducted a beachfront vigil in her memory. They described her as a loving mother who was caring and happy.

    To date, there are still no developments from the evidence that was collected. However, some evidence was already sent to the FBI headquarters in Virginia for further processing.

    Image via YouTube

  • 1957 Murder Cold Case Appealed by Lifer

    1957 Murder Cold Case Appealed by Lifer

    In 2012, former police officer Jack McCullough was convicted of the 1957 kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph, a case that ran cold for almost 60 years. Now an Illinois court is considering an appeal filed by McCullough, whose lawyers claim that an eye-witness to 1957 events was having a “romantic notion.”

    A key witness of the crime was Ridulph’s childhood friend Kathy Sigman Chapman, who is now in her sixties. Chapman claimed she had seen McCullough, then a teenager, giving Ridulph a piggyback ride in Sycamore, Illinois before she disappeared. In a 72-page appeal, McCullough’s lawyers contest that Chapman’s memories of Ridulph’s vanishing were so deeply ingrained into her mind that she could have mistakenly identified McCullough five decades later. The case was once the oldest unsolved murder in the United States, before McCullough, formerly John Tessier, was arrested in July, 2011.

    Chapman testified during the trial that on December 3, 1957, a teenager who called himself Johnny had approached her and Ridulph. Chapman went home briefly to get mittens, and upon her return both Johnny and Maria were missing. Ridulph’s body was found the following spring roughly 120 miles away. The case received national attention, and the FBI became involved under J. Edgar Hoover.

    Here is a 48 Hours documentary on the case:

    The case was reopened decades later, after Janet Tessier, McCullough’s half sister, contacted Illinois State Police. Janet Tessier had been a caretaker of McCullough’s biological mother Eileen Tessier, who had been dying of cancer. On her deathbed, Tessier’s mother confessed that McCullough murdered Ridulph. McCullough was then arrested at a retirement community in Seattle where he’d lived and worked.

    Prosecutors said McCullough, now 74, choked Ridulph with a wire and stabbed her, and he was found guilty. Though, McCollough’s lawyers have testified that Eileen Tessier, who was in the end stages of cancer, was sedated, “emotionally disturbed,” sometimes “basically comatose” and at other times “pleasantly confused.”

    McCollough’s appeal states that by allowing prosecutors to introduce “irrelevant, but highly prejudicial evidence, no rational trier of fact would have found the defendant guilty.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter Dies at 76

    Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a former middleweight boxer best known for having been wrongfully convicted for a shooting murder, passed away at his Toronto home Sunday morning. He was 76.

    Carter had spent almost 20 years in prison after being convicted of a triple homicide that occurred at the Lafayette Bar and Grill in Paterson, New Jersey in 1966. The conviction was overturned in 1985, and from 1993 to 2005, Carter served as executive director of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted. Carter had also formed the nonprofit organization Innocence International in Toronto, which likewise worked to help free wrongly convicted prisoners. Carter had been battling prostate cancer at the time of his death.

    Carter became a professional boxed in 1961, after serving stints in various institutions for crimes including muggings and for receiving an “undesirable” discharge from the U.S. Army, after failing to complete his three-year term of enlistment. While a bit shorter than the average middleweight fighter at 5 ft. 8 in., in the ring Carter was known for his ferocity, often resulting in early-round knockouts. He was a charismatic crowd-pleaser, and was remembered for his goatee, shaved head, mean mugging and a powerful left hook.

    Bob Dylan wrote a song about Carter in 1975 called Hurricane, and in 1999 director Norman Jewison filmed a biopic entitled The Hurricane, which was Golden Globe-nominated for Best Motion Picture. Denzel Washington played the role of Carter, which garnered him an Oscar nomination.

    Here is the trailer:

    While in prison, Carter penned his autobiography, The 16th Round, which was published in 1974. The book related the events surrounding his 1966 arrest. Holes in the case included little physical evidence and the fact that police took no fingerprints at the crime scene or any paraffin test for gunshot residue. No eyewitnesses pointed to Carter as a shooter. Still, he was convicted in 1967 and 1976 for the murders regardless, though both jury verdicts were overturned on various grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. After the second conviction was overturned in 1985, prosecutors chose not to try the case for a third time.

    Carter is remembered on Twitter:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Police Raid House Over Parody Twitter Account About City Mayor

    If you live in Peoria, Illinois, you’d better watch what you tweet about the mayor. Rather, you’d better watch what you tweet as the mayor from a parody account.

    City police performed a search operation at a Peoria home on Tuesday, confiscating mobile phones and computers said to have a connection to the @PeoriaMayor Twitter account–an account that has been suspended for weeks.

    Before Twitter suspended the account, however, it was a criminal operation which saw anti-government individuals falsely impersonating an official for nefarious purposes.

    Or, a Twitter account with a few dozen followers that made a few dozen joke tweets about the Mayor. You know, whatever.

    Here’s what happened to the residents of the home after the seizure, according to the Peoria Journal Star:

    Three people at the home were taken to the Peoria Police Department for questioning. Two other residents were picked up at their places of employment and taken to the station, as well.

    One resident — 36-year-old Jacob L. Elliott — was booked into the Peoria County Jail on charges of possessing 30 to 500 grams of marijuana and possessing drug paraphernalia, but no arrests were made in connection with the Twitter account.

    “They just asked me about the Twitter account, if I knew anything about it,” said Michelle Pratt, 27, a resident who was in the shower when officers first arrived at the front door. “They brought me in like I was a criminal.”

    Pratt, who is Elliott’s girlfriend, said she spent more than three hours alone in an interview room before being questioned by detectives. One other resident, who declined to be identified, said he spent considerably less time in custody but was subject to the same type of questions.

    “They said they had a search warrant and took all the electronic devices that had Internet access,” Pratt said. “They said there had been an Internet crime that occurred at this residence.”

    So, what’s the big deal with the Twitter account? Apparently, whoever operated it used the platform to “pose” as Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis (profile pic, listed email address and all), making outlandish tweets about sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll (maybe not rock n’ roll). At one point, the account holder updated the profile info to clearly indicate that it was, indeed, a parody account. You know, just in case the 50 people following the account thought that the Mayor was actually tweeting about bitches and coke.

    Peoria’s police chief said that he’s unconvinced that the account was obvious parody.

    As stated above, no arrests have been made in connection to the Twitter account, although, if the police ever find the culprit, he/she could be subject to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine–for impersonating a public official, a misdemeanor.

    Just fightin’ the good fight.

    Image via PeoriaGov

  • Portland Shootout Leaves K-9 Dead, Officer Wounded

    A police dog sent after a robbery suspect was killed during a shootout in Portland, Oregon Wednesday morning, and the K-9 unit handler was wounded.

    The incident began after police observed three men exiting a uniform shop, which lead to a vehicle pursuit. The chase ended when the suspects crashed their SUV into a utility pole. The suspects and police exchanged fire, and officer Jeff Dorn was wounded in both legs. “Mick,” a dog who had recently joined the K-9 unit, was later found dead under a hedge in a yard.

    In a statement, Officer Dorn, a 16-year veteran, said that “Mick saved my life,” after the officer had told the dog to “Take that suspect!” Portland Police Chief Mike Reese said that the shootout ensued shortly after Dorn sicced Mick on the three men.

    Three suspects are now in custody, including one authorities had been tracking through southwest Portland neighborhoods for roughly three hours. That suspect was injured during the incident, and was transported to a local hospital.

    The Portland PD was initially unable to locate Mick after the shootout, and used Twitter to put the word out:

    Sadly, Mick was located with apparent gunshot wounds:

    Police dogs are specially trained for duties including searching for drugs and explosives, searching for missing people, sniffing out crime scene evidence and protecting their handlers. The most commonly used breed is the German Shepherd, although Belgian Malinois are also employed. John Reese, the protagonist in the CBS crime drama Person of Interest owns a Belgian Malinois named “Bear.”

    Police vehicles formed a procession to transport Mick across the Willamette River to an animal hospital after the shooting. Sgt. Rhonda Sandoval, an official of the Oregon Police Canine Association, commented that police dogs are trained to bond with their handlers, and that they “become part of our lives and our families.”

    Image via YouTube

  • 7 Babies Found Dead in Utah Home

    7 Babies Found Dead in Utah Home

    In one of the most gruesome stories in recent memory, Utah police have recently discovered the bodies of seven dead infants in a Pleasant Grove, Utah home. One suspect has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder.

    According to the Pleasant Grove Police Department, the incident began on April 12 when Pleasant Grove police officers responded to reports of one dead infant at the home. Officers who visited the residence did find one dead infant, enough to secure a search warrant for the property.

    Upon a full search of the home, police discovered six more dead infants. According to police, each of the bodies was packed into a separate cardboard boxes and stored within the house’s garage.

    Following an investigation into the incident, police now believe that each of the infants belonged to one woman. Over a 10-year period the woman is believed to have given birth to the babies and subsequently killed them.

    Post by Pleasant Grove Police Department.

    According to a Salt Lake Tribune report, 39-year-old Megan Huntsman has been arrested and jailed on six counts of murder.

    The report named Huntsman’s ex-husband as the person who called police with a tip about the house and the dead infant. The man was reportedly cleaning out the garage on Saturday when he discovered the dead infant. Though the ex-husband is believed to be the father of the infants, Police are not charging him with a crime at this time.

    Neighbors interviewed by the Tribune described Huntsman as a good neighbor. They also reported that the woman was never clearly pregnant, though she had gained and lost weight over the years.

    Image via Pleasant Grove Police Department

  • Stiletto Shoe Killer Gets Life in Prison

    A Houston, Texas woman convicted of stabbing her boyfriend to death with a 5.5 inch blue suede stiletto shoe was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday. Ana Trujillio, 45, cried as a judge upheld the jury’s decision, and commented, “I never meant to hurt him. It was never my intent. I loved him. I wanted to get away. I never wanted to kill him.” Trujillo had stabbed Alf Stefan Andersson, 59, at least 25 times in the face according to detectives.

    The incident took place in Andersson’s ritzy condo, and Trujillo claims she had used the shoe to defend herself during a drunken argument surrounding jealousy. Last Tuesday, jurors were shown the shoe Trujillo used to murder her mate. Ironically, Andersson, who was a University of Houston professor, had purchased the $1500 kicks for Trujillo. Andersson’s niece, lva Olofsson, said the family was pleased with the verdict.

    “My uncle was a great man. He was kind. He didn’t deserve what happened to him. We are happy that justice is served,” Olofsson said.

    Trujillo’s attorney was unable to peddle a self-defense argument to the jury, especially after prosecutors revealed that only Andersson had shown any signs of defensive wounds. During Trujillo’s initial interrogation, she’d told detectives that Andersson was a heavy drinker and was mentally abusive. She said Andersson had been pestering her into marrying him, and that she eventually grew to care for him, but resisted sleeping with him, as it was akin to “sleeping with my grandfather.”

    Prosecutors painted Trujillo, a native of Mexico, as unruly on the night of the stabbing after she and her boyfriend went to a taco joint and had drinks. A cab driver testified that before Andersson’s death on June 9, Trujillo was off her rails and screaming during the ride to Andersson’s condo.

    Andersson, a native of Sweden who became a U.S. citizen, was described as mild-mannered by witnesses, though it was mentioned that he had an alcohol problem. Trujillo herself been arrested for DUI twice in the past, and witnesses described her as being physically violent while drinking.

    Image via YouTube

  • Michigan Doctor Body Identified: Accident or Murder?

    A body found in an Indiana lake has been identified as that of Michigan doctor Teleka Patrick, who had been missing since December. There still remains no clear answer as to what happened to the doctor.

    Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller told the Associated Press that “There were no indications of any trauma, other than a possible, accidental drowning. Short of anything big, this investigation will be closed. … I do believe it’s as solved as it’s going to get.”

    Patrick disappeared after attempting to check into a hotel in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The hotel turned the thirty year old doctor away for not having proper identification or money. It was unclear why she was trying to rent a hotel in the city where she lived. Jim Carlin, a private investigator told Reuters that “the whole thing has been very, very dubious”.

    After Patrick disappeared in December, Carlin had suspected she had been murdered. The private investigator was hired by the family, who had high hopes she was still alive. “They absolutely know that God is going to return their daughter,” he told the Detroit Free Press. Patrick’s ex-husband, Ismael Calderon, was also interviewed by the Free Press, adding that she suffered delusions and paranoia. He believed “some criminally minded predator took advantage of her on the side of the road”.

    Prior to disappearing, gospel singer Marvin Sapp had filed for a protection order against Teleka Patrick. She had moved to Michigan to join Sapp’s church and began referring to him as her husband. Sapp claimed to have “over 400 page(s) of correspondence from her” according to the Detroit Free Press. It is unknown whether her stalking attempts were related to her disappearance.

    Patrick was a resident of Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo. The university stated that they were “saddened by the news”.

    Image via ABC News, YouTube

  • San Francisco Apparently Has a Smart Car Tipping Problem

    In rural areas, kids have been tipping cows to beat their boredom for years–or that’s how the story goes. Now, in the less-rural Bay Area, some pranksters are tipping new things for the new generation.

    It seems that San Francisco has a Smart car-flipping epidemic.

    NBC Bay Area reports that several smart car owners have awoken to find their $13,000 automobiles tipped on one side.

    Some have been tipped to rest on one side, others to rest on their back bumpers. One was flipped to rest on its hood and front windshield.

    Other than the fact that Smart cars are a fairly easy target if car-flipping is your thing, not much else is known regarding any possible motive.

    I guess some people just think it’s funny to tip over a tiny little car.

    And it is, kind of. Totally illegal and ill-advised, but something about it makes me laugh. I’m just a bad person. I definitely wouldn’t call them heroes, as whoever is doing this to someone else’s property is an asshole.

    But as far as vandalism goes, this is about as funny as you can get.

    Smart Automobile is headquartered in Böblingen, Germany, and they launched their first Smart car in 1998. The microcars’ parent company is Daimler AG.

    Images via Wikimedia Commons,  NBC Bay Area, screenshot