WebProNews

Tag: Crime

  • Shoe Stabbing Murder Suspect Found Guilty

    Shoe Stabbing Murder Suspect Found Guilty

    The jury trial of a Houston, Texas woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death with a stiletto heel in June reached a guilty verdict Tuesday. Ana Trujillo, 45, who stabbed Alf Stefan Andersson, 59, at least 25 times in the face according to detectives, was found guilty of murder, and now faces life in prison. The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding Trujillo guilty, and she was taken into custody, after being free on bond during the trial.

    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 blue suede shoe Trujillo used to murder her mate. Ironically, Andersson, who was a University of Houston professor, had purchased the $1500 kicks for Trujillo.

    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.”

    Stiletto trial enthusiasts took to Twitter:

    After a night of drinking in a bar, Andersson became jealous of Trujillo, and an argument ensued. Trujillo testified that Andersson’s “face got red and he became infuriated. And then he came toward me, (and said) ‘You are not going to leave me, ever.’” The two began to wrestle, and Trujillo began stabbing him with the stiletto, while asking him to “please stop.” Trujillo claims she hit Andersson “a couple of times” and then he grabbed her hand and she dropped the shoe. “At first I didn’t know there was blood coming out of him,” she said. “He didn’t even seem like he was hurt.”

    Former massage therapist Trujillo showed little emotion as her guilty verdict was read. Her sentencing phase will commence Wednesday.

    Toward the end of her testimony, Trujillo had commented, “It got too much for me.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Alabama Sheriff Guilty of Beating Door-to-Door Salesman

    An Alabama county sheriff has pleaded guilty to beating an unarmed, handcuffed man. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Keith McCray, a criminal investigator at the Macon County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office, admitted to violating the civil rights of the prisoner on Independence Day last year.

    McCray has been found guilty of one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law. He now faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

    “While we look to law enforcement to maintain the safety and security of our citizens, their position of authority does not give them the right to act outside the bounds of the law,” said George Beck, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. “We trust them to protect and serve our communities. While most members of law enforcement serve honorably, McCray breached this trust and must be held accountable. Failure to do so would discredit the noble service of every other officer, and weaken the public’s trust in those who are sworn to protect them.”

    The incident occurred on July 4, 2013 when McCray arrested a door-to-door salesman in Tuskegee, Alabama. McCray then took the man, who had been selling alarm systems, to the Macon County Jail. According to court documents, McCray then struck the salesman four times in the face and head, all while the man was handcuffed and, according to the Justice Department, “posed no threat.”

    “The defendant attacked an innocent citizen who was simply trying to earn a living on the day of the incident,” said Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. “When he assaulted the defenseless victim, he violated the trust put in him by the community as well as the law. The Department will continue to hold accountable those who abuse their authority.”

  • Stolen Gauguin Painting Recovered in Italy

    Two paintings stolen from a house in London in 1970 by renowned French artists Paul Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard were found hanging on an Italian autoworker’s kitchen wall.

    The unnamed Fiat mechanic bought the paintings at an auction for roughly $30 in 1975, not having any idea of their actual worth. The man had hung them in his kitchen in his home in Turin, stating he thought Gaugin’s still life of fruit in bowls complimented the dining area. He then took them to Sicily upon his retirement. A friend eventually grew suspicious of the actual value of the pieces, and alerted the Italian heritage police last summer.

    The Gauguin painting, entitled Fruits sur une Table ou Nature au Petit Chien (Fruits on a Table or Still Life with a Small Dog), is thought to have been painted in 1889 and is worth anywhere between $13 million and $41 million. Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist who was recognized for his experimental use of colors, and for a style that was distinctly different from Impressionism. His work was influential to Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.

    The Bonnard painting is titled La Femme aux Deux Fauteuils (“Woman with Two Armchairs”). Pierre Bonnard is regarded as one of the greatest colorists in modern art, especially in areas built with small brush marks and close values. He was known to at times photograph his subjects before painting them, to better asses the color scheme.

    Italy’s Culture Ministry unveiled the two paintings Wednesday. The art was allegedly ditched on a Paris-to-Turin train not long after being stolen, and wound up in the Italian Railways lost and found. They eventually were included in a lost-property auction.

    During a news conference on the matter, head of the Italian Heritage Police Gen. Mariano Mossa commented, “There are all the elements for a nice novel; it is very unique.”

    Since the London couple the paintings were stolen from have since passed away and have no heirs, the art is now locked in a Italian police safe.

    Image via YouTube

  • Shoe Stabbing Murder Trial Pushes Forward

    The jury trial of a Houston, Texas woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death with a stiletto heel in June has entered the third day of testimony. Ana Trujillo, 45, 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. On Tuesday, jurors were shown the blue suede shoe Trujillo used to murder her mate.

    On Wednesday Harris County jurors were scheduled to watch Trujillo’s police interrogation concerning the night of the slaying. During the interrogation, Trujillo told detectives 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.”

    Trujillo might have taken some cues from the 1992 thriller Single White Female:

    After a night of drinking in a bar, Andersson grew jealous of another man buying Trujillo a drink, and was further agitated when Trujillo told him she’d planned to go visit family in Waco, Texas the next morning. Andersson became fearful that Trujillo was leaving him, and the argument escalated.

    Trujillo testified that Andersson’s “face got red and he became infuriated. And then he came toward me, (and said) ‘You are not going to leave me, ever.’” The two began to wrestle, and Trujillo began stabbing him with the stiletto, while asking him to “please stop.” Trujillo claims she hit Andersson “a couple of times” and then he grabbed her hand and she dropped the shoe. “At first I didn’t know there was blood coming out of him,” she said. “He didn’t even seem like he was hurt.”

    “It got too much for me,” Trujillo explained. The trial is expected to last at least another week. If convicted, Trujillo faces up to life in prison.

    Image via YouTube

  • Woman Pranks Daughter with School Shooting Text in Dumbest April Fools’ Joke of the Year

    And you thought Netflix’s sizzling bacon documentary was bad…

    A 54-year-old woman has been charged with disturbing schools, breaching the peace, and unlawful use of a telephone after sending a text to her daughter claiming that shots had been fired at a Virginia College campus where she worked. It could go down as the dumbest April Fools’ joke of the year.

    Police say that Angela Timmons, an employee of the private institution’s Spartanburg, South Carolina wing, messaged her daughter that she had heard shots inside the building. When the daughter tried to get in touch with her mother again and failed, she unsurprisingly called 911 to report the incident.

    Authorities swarmed the location and found nothing.

    Timmons admitted to police that it was just an April Fools’ joke, and that she’s always playing April Fools’ jokes like this–you know, like that makes it better.

    Mooooooooooom!

    Virginia College operates branches in dozens of locations–mostly in the South. The branch involved in this terrible April Fools’ prank was opened in January of 2011.

    Image via WYFF News 4, Twitter

  • Teen Stabs Friend 65 Times Over Nude Facebook Selfies

    In well-that’s-just-a-horrible-turn-of-events news, a Mexican teen was stabbed 65 times after posting racy photos of herself and her best friend on Facebook, according to police in Guamúchil, Sinaloa.

    The NY Daily News reports that Erandy Gutierrez, 16, fatally stabbed Anel Baez, also 16, on March 19th. Apparently, nude Facebook selfies prompted the attack. Baez reportedly made the post, which infuriated Gutierrez.

    When Baez tried to make things right by inviting Gutierrez over to her home, things got violent. Police say Gutierrez grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Baez a sickening 65 times. Baez died from her injuries.

    As if this story couldn’t get any stranger, Gutierrez was only apprehended when she attended Baez’s funeral.

    Post by Anel Baez.

    Notus provides an account of some menacing tweets Gutierrez sent before the fatal attacks.

    “Pueda que parezca muy calmada, pero en mi cabeza, te he hatado al meno tres veces,” she tweeted. In English, this roughly translates to “I may seem very calm, but in my head, I’ve killed you at least three times.”

    According to Notus, Gutierrez also confessed on Twitter after the murder.

    “I am an asshole…OMG I did,” she reportedly tweeted.

    Gutierrez’s Twitter and Facebook accounts have both been deactivated. The image of the two girls you see above is from Baez’s Facebook account.

    Gutierrez will be charged with murder, but her age could mean she’ll serve a reduced sentence, possibly seven years.

    Just brutal.

    Images via Facebook, h/t Gawker

  • Medical Marijuana Means More Crime?

    Medical Marijuana Means More Crime?

    Last year, a study was published, and reported on by McClatchey, that showed that marijuana was linked to crime more often than other commonly-abused substances. For example, the study reported, eighty percent of the adult males that had been arrested in Sacramento, California had tested positive for one or more drugs, most commonly marijuana.

    White House “drug czar”, Gil Kerlikowske, often cites studies like this, warning of the dangers of legalizing marijuana, even for medicinal purposes. However, Gil Kerlikowske often makes a common college freshman argument mistake in this regard: he confuses “correspondence” with “causality.”

    Just because two things are commonly found together (correspondence) odes not mean that one caused the other (causality). For example, there may be a high incidence of chocolate milk consumption among school children with low test scores. But to assume that drinking chocolate milk causes low test scores would be a fallacy. Lots of school kids drink chocolate milk. It’s available at the school, their parents aren’t around, they like it, they drink it. So do lots of high-scoring kids.

    The question then is whether the use of drugs, especially marijuana, leads to crime.

    Enter a new study that aims to get to the bottom of the correspondence between medical marijuana legalization and any potential crime increase. The study stated its aim this way:

    Debate has surrounded the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes for decades. Some have argued medical marijuana legalization (MML) poses a threat to public health and safety, perhaps also affecting crime rates. In recent years, some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes, reigniting political and public interest in the impact of marijuana legalization on a range of outcomes.

    And what did they look at to determine their answers?

    Relying on U.S. state panel data, we analyzed the association between state MML and state crime rates for all Part I offenses collected by the FBI.

    Results did not indicate a crime exacerbating effect of MML on any of the Part I offenses. Alternatively, state MML may be correlated with a reduction in homicide and assault rates, net of other covariates.

    These findings run counter to arguments suggesting the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes poses a danger to public health in terms of exposure to violent crime and property crimes.

    One revealing fact that this study pointed out was that other studies “found a relationship between marijuana use and subsequent arrest, although once the authors removed all types of drug charges from the models, the relationship was no longer significant.”

    In other words, yes there were more arrests of people who use marijuana. But most of those arrests were for HAVING the marijuana, not for some other crime.

    With the easing of national opinions, not just on medical marijuana, but also on recreational use, these kinds of questions will go on being debated for some time to come.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Leland Yee, California State Senator, Arrested For Bribery And Arms Dealing

    Senator Leland Yee, 65, candidate for California Secretary of State and author of gun control legislation, was apprehended Wednesday during an FBI sweep in the Sacramento and San FranciscoBay area. He was accused of wire fraud and conspiracy to illegally transport firearms, among other crimes.

    The senator represents California’s 8th District, which encompasses San Francisco and a sizeable portion of San Mateo County. He is known for his advocacies of strengthening government transparency and whistleblower protection. Certain bills he previously filed sought a ban on fast reloading of military-style assault weapons and the state study of safe firearm storage.

    Yee was implicated with 25 other individuals including gang leader Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow and Yee’s campaign aide Keith Jackson. The senator is alleged to have abused his office by performing official acts for donations to clear his failed mayoral campaign debt amounting to $70,000. He is also alleged to have accepted campaign contributions in exchange for getting introductions, facilitating contracts, and influencing legislation. His alleged wrongdoing was brought to light by undercover FBI agents.

    The FBI affidavit stated that Yee offered an undercover FBI agent access to weapons worth up to two and a half million, even walking him through the acquisition process from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines where the senator intended to hide out in November. The undercover agent represented himself as part of Ghee Kung Tong, an association in San Francisco’s Chinese community.

    Yee was released on bail amounting to half a million dollars and is expected to be back in court next week to negotiate the terms of his release. He is the third senator from the Democratic Party to face charges in 2014.  He has been serving in the California Senate since 2006. He was also a member of the California Assembly, and was the first Chinese American to be elected to the California State Senate.

    Yee out on half million dollar bail

    Image via YouTube

  • Man-On-Car Murder Sentencing Postponed

    Man-On-Car Murder Sentencing Postponed

    A California woman who drove two miles while drunk through the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance with a dying man on her windshield has had her sentencing for murder charges postponed.

    Substance-abuse counselor Sherry Lynn Wilkins, 52, was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder, drunken driving and hit-and-run for the accident that killed 31-year-old Phillip Moreno in Torrance in November, 2012. Wilkins faces 45 years to life in prison, and was to be sentenced today.

    The sentence had become so substantial, as Wilkins had committed two previous felonies, which makes her eligible to fall under California’s three strikes law. Prosecutors had said Wilkins’ hitting of Moreno “struck at human dignity,” and noted that her blood alcohol level at the time of the incident was over twice the legal limit.

    Though, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said today’s scheduled sentencing of Wilkins will be postponed until June. No details concerning the change of schedule were provided.

    Wilkins, a self-proclaimed recovered addict, had said she’d been “self-medicating” due to a knee replacement surgery, and that she wasn’t drunk, just buzzed. She’s consumed 3 shots a vodka and a Budweiser beer and Clamato before getting behind the wheel, and ended up hitting Moreno with such force that his shoes came off, and he’d became embedded in her windshield. Other drivers noticed, swarmed her car, and took her keys before police arrived at the scene.

    After the guilty verdict was read, Deputy District Attorney John Harlan commented, “We do not tolerate someone who does not pull over when they see someone on their windshield.”

    Wilkins had testified that she never saw Moreno, and it was as if he’d fallen out of the sky.

    Image via YouTube

  • CNN Producers Arrested Trying to Get into World Trade Center Site to Cover Recent Break-ins of the WTC Site

    Two CNN producers have failed at something a set of BASE jumpers and a 16-year-old parkour enthusiast succeeded in doing: getting past security and scaling the World Trade Center.

    Reuters reports that 35-year-old Yon Pomrenze and 26-year-old Conner Fieldman Boals were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, obstruction of governmental administration, and disorderly conduct after attempting to bypass security at the site not once, not twice, but three times. The last attempt wasn’t the charm.

    The producer’s first attempt was pretty straightforward–they simply walked up to a main gate and tried to enter the premises. Unsurprisingly, the pair was stopped by a Port Authority officer and a New Jersey Police officer. According to those officials, the CNN producers argued that they should be able to get in if a 16-year-old kid could get in.

    Of course, the producers were referencing Justin Casquejo, the teenager who was able to slip past security, make his way to the top of the new WTC, traverse the spire, and snap some selfies.

    Rebuffed but resolute, Pomrenze and Boals reportedly tried to scale a fence in break-in attempt number two–but were caught.

    Finally, the pair apparently tried to muscle their way through a manned gate and were subsequently arrested.

    Not exactly the smoothest tactics, guys. The aforementioned Casquejo had to crawl through a hole in a fence, possibly don a construction uniform to hitch a ride up an elevator, and sneak past a sleeping guard. That’s how to do it.

    A spokesperson for CNN said that the producers were looking into doing a story on the recent security breaches at the World Trade Center:

    They were not asked to sneak onto the WTC site. They were in the surrounding area to do a story about the recent incidents at the WTC and other sites–and the notion that daredevils are being drawn to them.

    As you may recall, four BASE jumpers were arrested this week after turning themselves into police following an illegal jumping exercise performed at the WTC site back in September of last year.

    I say we keep the chain going. Who’s up for getting arrested trying to break in to report on the producers who were arrested trying to break in?

    Image via WTC Progress, Facebook

  • Flavor Flav’s Speeding Cased Postponed

    Flavor Flav’s Speeding Cased Postponed

    William Jonathan Drayton, Jr., better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, appeared in a Mineola, New York courtroom Tuesday, where a judge postponed a criminal speeding case against the rapper, after he was pulled over on a Long Island parkway as he was en route to his mother’s funeral in January.

    Flav, 54, plead not guilty to a felony charge of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a speeding violation and marijuana possession. While removing his signature clock chain to pass through courthouse metal detectors, the reality television star told reporters he’s, “Just trying to get this over with as fast as possible so I can get back to my life in Vegas.”

    Flavor rose to fame as a member of the mainstream hip-hop group Public Enemy. He is also known for making the role of the “hype man” popular, by yelling “Yeah boy!” and “Flavor Flav!” during performances. When Rick Rubin initially signed Public Enemy in 1984, he didn’t fully understand Flavor Flav’s role in the group, and wanted to sign Chuck D as a solo act. Chuck D wasn’t having this, and Flav remained on as his comic foil, offsetting Chuck D’s more serious and political charged themes with relative silliness.

    Flavor Flav displays his skills as a hype man in Public Enemy’s “Can’t Truss It” from 1991:

    Flav had 16 license suspensions at the time he was pulled over on January 9th, while doing 79 in a 55 mph speed zone on the Meadowbrook State Parkway. Concerning the 16 license suspensions, Drayton’s lawyer, Indji Bessim, commented, “We’re still conferencing the matter,” and added that she had “no idea” if Flav would change his present plea.

    Drayton, who will be back in Nassau County Court in Mineola on May 16, commented, “Hopefully, by my next court date, we can get this thing resolved,” while complaining of the price of plane tickets from Las Vegas to New York.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Debit Card Welfare Payments Could Cut Crime, Shows Study

    In recent years more states have begun to move their public assistance programs over to Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) systems. The programs essentially provide assistance through debit cards rather than cash through traditional checks.

    These EBT initiatives have sparked plenty of debate about the nature of welfare and the part the banking industry plays in EBT systems. A new study has now thrown new data into the mix showing that EBT programs do have at least one massive benefit for communities.

    The study, published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research, shows that EBT systems have a direct correlation with lower street crime. Researchers found that less cash on streets could put a dent in criminal enterprises that disproportionately rely on cash.

    “Our study shows that even a small reduction of cash has a positive effect in reducing street crime,” said Topalli. “That’s a good thing. But the question moving forward is, what will the impact of a future with even more cashless transactions be on the nation’s poor, who up to now have relied disproportionately on cash?”

    The study’s authors have calculated that EBT programs could be a factor in as much as a 9.8% reduction in crime rates in a given area. In addition to the predictable cash-friendly crimes that are disrupted by the systems, the study found that property crimes and muggings also decreased as cash was converted to debit cards.

    “Our results indicate that implementation of the EBT program is associated with a 9.8 percent reduction in the overall crime rate,” said Volkan Topalli, a co-author of the study and an associate professor of criminology at Georgia State University. “This was led by reductions in home burglaries, assault and larceny. We also find fewer arrests for non-drug offenses in counties where EBT benefit payments were implemented.”

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Man Blackmailed After Responding to Craigslist Sex Ad with Naked Photo

    My mother always told me “Josh, never send naked selfies to people you don’t know on the internet.” That was her favorite mom warning, apart from “Josh, don’t blackmail people.”

    Moms are so smart.

    A Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to second-degree theft by extortion and is looking at a 5-year prison sentence after he blackmailed a man who sent him naked photos of himself in response to a Craigslist ad.

    According to the New Jersey State Police, the victim (an unnamed New Jersey resident) responded to an ad for gay sex taken out by 42-year-old Steven J. Beisher. The victim’s response came in the form of a naked photo, which Beisher decided to use to blackmail the victim.

    According to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office:

    “Beisher found the victim’s telephone number and address and called him the following day, threatening to expose the victim to his wife and family if he did not pay Beisher money. Beisher called repeatedly to demand that the victim meet him at various locations in Philadelphia to make payments.”

    And it worked–at least for a while. Over the next 9 days, our victim made 7 payments to Beisher, totaling $1,950. I guess 7 times is enough, as our extortee refused to meet with Beisher for an eighth time, instead electing to report him to state police.

    It appears that theft, in all its forms, is Beisher’s thing. He has 8 prior convictions, ranging from burglary to receiving stolen property and even another theft by extortion charge.

    Crime doesn’t pay, and don’t send pictures of your dick to strangers. Thus ends today’s lesson.

    Image of Steven Beisher via NJ AG’s office

  • Man Offers to Shoot Someone for 100 Retweets, Promptly Arrested

    The Los Angeles Police Department has arrested a 20-year-old man for making criminal threats after he tweeted that he would shoot someone if he received 100 retweets.

    “100 RTs and I’ll shoot someone walking,” tweeted Dakkari Dijon McAnuff alongside the image below–seemingly a scoped rifle aimed out of a window.

    McAnuff’s account, @StillDMC, has been suspended.

    According to police, they were able to track McAnuff after tying him to his Twitter account. In his apartment, police found an air rifle.

    McAnuff is currently still in jail on a $50,000 bond. While incarcerated, he’ll surely have enough time to think about ways to avoid being a complete dumbass in the future.

    Image via @DodgerFan951, Twitter

  • Guy Who Shot Texting Moviegoer Was Also Texting

    Back in January, 71-year-old Curtis Reeves shot and killed Chad Oulson in a crowded movie theater during a screening of Lone Survivor. Reeves shot Oulson after an altercation the sprang from the latter texting in the theater and refusing to stop. According to Oulson’s wife, who was non-fatally shot, they were simply texting a babysitter about their 3-year-old daughter. Reeves shot Oulson in front of dozens of people because he was pissed about texting, which makes him an asshole.

    The shooting occurred during the previews, moreover, which makes Reeves a double asshole.

    Apparently, the now triple asshole even had a history of aggressively confronting people for texting.

    Today we can give Reeves to dubious honor of quadruple asshole, or better yet the hypocrisy superfecta. According to Reuters, Reeves was also texting in the theater, moments before shooting another man with a .380-caliber handgun.

    Via Reuters:

    In a twist in a shooting that gained national attention, court documents released this week amid pre-trial proceedings said Reeves sent a text message to his son, Matthew, minutes before the 1:20 p.m. showing.

    The younger Reeves, a Tampa police officer, told sheriff’s investigators he sent a text message to his father earlier to let him know he would be late in meeting them at the theater.

    He said he received a text message back from his father at about 1:04 p.m. that said he and his wife were inside the theater.

    Court documents didn’t reveal the content of the text, but I assume it read something like “Hi son, I hope this text finds you well. Some guy won’t stop texting in front of me. Ugh. Don’t you hate when people text in movie theaters? kbye.”

    Reeves is claiming that he was in fear of being attacked, and that’s why he pulled out his gun and made an irreversible decision. Witnesses claim, however, that Oulson had merely tossed a bag of popcorn moments before the shooting. Reeves is facing charges of second-degree murder.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Death Row for 30 Years, Now Glenn Ford is Free

    Louisiana man, Glenn Ford, walked free on Tuesday evening for the first time since being incarcerated 30 years ago for a murder he didn’t commit, according to CBS.

    “My mind’s going all different kinds of directions, but it feels good,” Ford said moments after taking his first steps outside the Angola prison. He feels good, but does harbor some incredibly understandable resentment.

    “I’ve been locked up almost 30 years for something I didn’t do,” Ford said. “I can’t go back and do anything I should have been doing when I was 35, 38, 40, stuff like that.”

    He is now 64, and most of his life has passed. Ford was convicted in 1984 for the 1983 murder of Isadore Rozeman, 56, a Shreveport jeweler and watchmaker for whom he said he did some occasional yard work.

    Rozeman was found shot to death behind the counter of his shop on Nov. 5, 1983 and no murder weapon was ever found. There were also no eyewitnesses to the crime.

    The wrinkles in the case against Ford were numerous and are now a little disturbing. The most damning testimony came from a woman named Marvella Brown who happened to be the girlfriend of Jake Robinson, the man Ford implicated in the murder. Brown later testified that she had lied to the court.

    There was also the fact that Ford’s court-appointed attorneys had never tried a murder case before. And there was the entirely white jury of his “peers” which, after his conviction, called for the death penalty.

    In 2013, prosecutors notified the defense that “a confidential informant for the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office stated that Jake Robinson told him that he, not Mr. Ford, shot and killed Isadore Rozeman.”

    The family of Isadore Rozeman welcomed the overturning of Glenn Ford.

    “This is a positive reflection on the criminal justice system,” Phillip Rozeman, Isadore Rozeman’s nephew said. “We don’t have animosity for anyone. If someone else was involved or others were involved in his death there also will be justice for those people.”

    According to The Shreveport Times, he also stated about the incident, “From a personal viewpoint for our family, this was a hard time and it was tragic that he was killed. It had a major impact, especially on my father, I think it had a negative impact on his health. My uncle was a kind and gentle person. He never hurt anyone. It was tragic he was killed for a few antique watches and clocks, that someone felt they needed to kill him for that.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Justin Bieber is Disrespectful During Deposition

    Following a string of run-ins with the law, Justin Bieber answered questions in a deposition last week relating to a photographer’s lawsuit against the singer’s bodyguard. TMZ released footage of the deposition today, and to say that the footage painted Bieber in a negative light would be putting it lightly. Not only was Bieber uncooperative, he even stormed out of the deposition at one point.

    Judging from the few minutes of footage in the deposition videos, there are a variety of subjects that Bieber doesn’t want to discuss, including–but certainly not limited to–his drug use, former girlfriend Selena Gomez, and Usher. Not only does Bieber not want to discuss these topics, he interrupts the attorney throughout the footage and is very condescending and sarcastic at times.

    Check out videos and quotes from Bieber’s deposition below. If his frequent legal woes haven’t been enough to make some Beliebers question their idol, maybe his attitude in these videos will.

    One thing that stands out from this bit of footage is that Bieber interrupts so many times that the lawyers have to stop what they’re doing. When video evidence is introduced to Bieber as “a film,” the singer smugly asks “Is this a film?” so many times that they have to pause the video.

    “Have you ever talked to Selena Gomez and discussed your feelings about the paparazzi?” the lawyer asked Bieber, which earned the lawyer a look of disgust and a glare. “Don’t ask me about her again. Don’t ask me about her again. Don’t ask me about her again,” Bieber demanded and stormed out.

    “Do you know anybody in entertainment by the name of Usher?” the lawyer asked. Bieber’s response: “Yeah, Usher. That sounds familiar.” When it was suggested that Usher was “instrumental” to Bieber’s career, he made a slip of the tongue that was absolutely spot on when he said, “I was discovered on YouTube and I think I was detrimental to my own career.”

    Even though Justin Bieber clearly enjoys attention, apparently he wasn’t a big fan of the criticism he received on Twitter for his behavior during the deposition. The singer lashed out at the naysayers in a tweet earlier today:

    Shortly after that tweet, Bieber must have decided that there is indeed strength in numbers, as he decided to lump himself and his fans together as far as his troubles are concerned:

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Apparently, in Florida, You Can ‘Drive Off’ Your Drunk

    If you’re super messed up and being an annoying asshole, your wife might tell you to go “sleep it off.” That’ll work, given enough time.

    You might think you can go “walk it off” or perhaps “Waffle House it off.” Neither of these will help, but they probably won’t hurt either–unless you walk into oncoming traffic or go overboard with the smothering and covering.

    Now here’s something that’s not only useless but also dangerous and stupid. For this, we go to Florida (of course).

    A Florida man–you know, the world’s worst superhero–was arrested on suspicious of driving under the influence after telling a police officer than he was in the process of driving off his super drunk.

    Michael Moore (not that Michael Moore), 61, was pulled over in Hobe Sound, Florida for speeding. Officers noticed a smell of alcohol and stated that Moore was slurring his words.

    I’ll let the TCPalm’s Will Greenlee take it from here:

    He told one officer he was coming from home and had “a couple” of drinks. He said he was en route to a bar for “a few” more.

    Moore told another officer he got in an argument with his wife and left for a drive.

    “He also told me that his wife told him that he (had) been drinking too much so he decided to go out and ‘drive it off,’” an arrest affidavit states.

    That’s a new one.

    Florida man strikes again.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Yelp CEO Contributes $23K To Catch Whoever Has Been Trying To Poison San Francisco’s Dogs With Meatballs

    Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman is really looking to make a difference this week.

    Not only did he write an open letter to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer urging her to veto SB 1062, which would have allowed businesses to discriminate against gay people (eventually she did veto it), but he is also contributing to a $25,000 reward for information that would help catch the person who has been leaving poisoned meatballs for pets in San Francisco.

    The Animal Legal Defense Fund writes (via NBC Bay Area):

    Poisoned meatballs have been found in San Francisco again! The Animal Legal Defense Fund, SFDOG, and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator(s) of the poisoned meatballs in the Bay Area. On February 22, a San Francisco animal control officer found 35 meatballs that would be deadly to unsuspecting dogs and cats who came for a nibble. The poisoned meatballs were scattered through a Twin Peaks neighborhood where a similar incident occurred last year, hidden in carports, stairwells, along curbs, and in bushes. Along with funds from ALDF and SFDOG, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman has generously pledged the bulk of the reward—contributing $23,000—to help track down the perpetrator(s) responsible.

    Last year, at least two dogs were killed by very similar meatballs, and the culprit was never caught. Animal Care and Control says there’s a “high probability” the same person or people are responsible for the latest wave of meatballs.

    Stoppelman is an apparent dog lover. In addition to his reddit AMA proof picture (seen at top), he posed with his dog for a couple shots for a San Francisco Chronicle profile of him in 2012.

    Images via Jeremy Stoppelman, Twitter, Animal Legal Defense Fund

  • Guy Pokes His Ex, Gets Two-Year Internet Ban

    When I say poke, I mean Facebook poke–that’s, of course, what brings this story within my purview. How in the hell, you may ask, could a judge see it fit to dole out such a harsh penalty for the simple act of poking someone on Facebook?

    Alas, I must admit–I’ve given you the end of the story.

    Let’s back up.

    Four years ago, Houston resident Justin Pressler, 25, was convicted of some pretty serious crimes: stalking, harassment, and burglary–all perpetrated against his ex-girlfriend. The relationship had gone sour after less than a year.

    The conviction landed Pressler with a 6-month prison sentence and a 10-year probation. Obviously, the terms of said probation involved refraining from having contact with the ex-girlfriend.

    Did you know that a Facebook Poke counts?

    Apparently, Justin Pressler didn’t know that. Or he didn’t care. Either way, the simple act of poking his ex on Facebook–an act that’s literally as simple as clicking your mouse one time–forced a Brazos County judge to completely alter the terms of his probation. Spoiler alert, it was for the worse.

    According to the Houston Chronicle, not only will Pressler be banned from unsupervised internet use for two years, but now he has to wear a tracking device for the next year.

    Don’t poke your ex-girlfriend, whom you harassed and burgled. Don’t violate your probation. You know what, just stop poking. It’s 2014–if you’re going to violate your probation, go out with a bang. Send her a pic on Snapchat or something.

    Image via Facebook

  • Amanda Knox Saga: Meredith Kercher Forgotten?

    The saga of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito is huge and intriguing. There’s murder, sex, lies, a possible government set up, and who knows what else. Are they guilty? Not guilty? Lying to keep each other safe or turning on each other?

    We may never know the whole story. However, there is one person that seems to be getting lost in the frenzy and that is victim Meredith Kercher. Her family is now speaking out in a documentary that will air on Monday, and they are asking that we not forget that Meredith was a life taken too soon. She had family and friends that suffer through news reports and documentaries about the murder of their daughter and sister, according to The Guardian.

    In the interview Kercher’s sister Stephanie said, “Mez has been forgotten in all of this. The media photographs aren’t really of her. There’s not a lot about what actually happened in the beginning. So it is very difficult to keep her memory alive in all of this.”

    Meredith Kercher was a bright 21-year-old with a bright future. She was from Coulsdon, Surrey, and was on a university exchange in Perugia. Her sister said of Meredith’s fateful decision to study in Italy,

    “She was very excited about coming to Italy, looking forward to learning about Italian culture. Seeing the city of Perugia and making new friends. She really fought to be here. She wanted to be here.”

    Their last moments together before she left were bittersweet,”We were just talking on the sofa and having a little cuddle of goodbye, and I just remember her suddenly crying and saying she was going to be sad but she was excited to come and I remember being quite taken aback and I thought, ‘Don’t make me sad. I’ll miss you but you’ll go and have fun’.”

    Kercher was brutally murdered on November 7, 2007 in the space she shared with Amanda Knox. Whether or not Amanda had anything to do with it is still up in the air, but Meredith Kercher’s family’s suffering will go on even after we’ve figured it all out.

    Speaking of his family’s long ordeal, brother Lyle Kercher said: “Anybody losing anyone close is hard, losing someone so young and the way we did is obviously 100 times worse, and on top of that to have all the media attention that has gone for so long makes it very difficult to cope with.”

    Once there is a final decision, after all of the appeals and arguments can be made, perhaps this family can forget the painful process and just focus on celebrating Meredith’s life, which was ended way too soon.

    Image via YouTube