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Tag: criminals

  • FBI: Driverless Cars Might Be Good for Bad People

    FBI: Driverless Cars Might Be Good for Bad People

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Strategic Issues Group is worried about the possible criminal uses of all these self-driving cars that folks like Google are trying to get on our roadways.

    The Guardian obtained an internal FBI report, which offers up some insight into how the country’s top investigative body feels about all this autonomy. From The Guardian:

    In a section called Multitasking, the report notes that “bad actors will be able to conduct tasks that require use of both hands or taking one’s eyes off the road which would be impossible today.”

    Send a text? Change the song on Spotify? The FBI is presumably worried about these “bad actors” doing things that are hard to do when focusing on not crashing the car – like shooting (accurately) at pursuant cops.

    Again, from the report:

    The report, written by agents in the Strategic Issues Group within the FBI’s Directorate of Intelligence , says, “Autonomy … will make mobility more efficient, but will also open up greater possibilities for dual-use applications and ways for a car to be more of a potential lethal weapon that it is today.”

    A little vague – thousand-pound boxes of metal and glass are already potentially lethal weapons. But it’s not a huge leap to wonder about even more sinister uses for an autonomous vehicle. One the comes to mind, of course, is allowing suicide bombings to, well, just be bombings.

    It’s not all doom and gloom from the report, however. The FBI rightly acknowledges that “the risk that distraction or poor judgement leading to collision that stems from manual operation would be substantially reduced.”

    They also speculate on some potential uses for the good guys – like better suspect tracking through inconspicuousness. It sure would be easier to sic a driverless car on a criminal’s tail. Would they even notice? I’d imagine that driverless cars would have to become pretty commonplace before people would stop caring about the ghost mobiles following them.

    Image via Google Self-Driving Car Project, YouTube

  • Cops Find Disgusting Cat Torture Dungeon In Texas

    Cops Find Disgusting Cat Torture Dungeon In Texas

    (Warning: This article contains descriptions of animal cruelty)

    In Santa Fe, Texas, a narcotics investigation that ended Friday had police finding more than what they were looking for; sub-human treatment by “humans” to animals.

    On Friday afternoon in the 4000 block of Avenue N1/2 in Santa Fe, police executed a warrant and raided the house of 39-year old Brian Anthony Cheek, and his wife, 38-year-old Veronica Lynn Springer with the intention of finding drugs, according to Galveston Daily News. During the search, detectives found roughly nine grams of crystal methamphetamine, a scale of which to measure the drugs, packaging materials for sales, and a stolen all-terrain vehicle (ATV) valued at $14,000.

    Unfortunately, as the search went on, investigators later found a grueling and morbid discovery: 20 dead cats, ranging from kittens to fully grown mature cats. Police stated that the dead cats had all appeared to undergo various forms of torture before their demise.

    (image)
    (image)

    Investigators stated that there was evidence of blunt force trauma, disemboweling, strangulation, and burning as well as evidence of cats being burned. One of the murdered felines was found in a box in the bed of Cheek’s truck.

    Galveston County Sheriff’s Office Animal Cruelty investigators picked up the remains of many of the cats which will be later examined by necropsy, thus finding out the actual causes of the cats’ death.

    Cheek already had a history of felony charges for violating parole, but he is now charged with the first-degree felony of manufacturing and delivering controlled substances. Yesterday, Cheek was held on a $300,000 bond. As the investigation continues, felony charges related to animal cruelty and theft are expected to be imposed on Cheek, as well as his wife Springer.

    Springer was charged with possession of controlled substances; her bond was set at $20,000. ‘

    Sgt. Eric Bruss of the Santa Fe police declined to provide any additional information surround the animals, including whether or not any of them had tags or signs of ownership.

    Santa Fe police were assisted by the GCSO Special Crimes Unit, GCSO Auto Crimes Task Force, Galveston County I.D. and the Galveston County District Attorney’s Office.

    Here’s to more laws and penalties imposed on those who torture helpless beings, no?

    (Images via Santa Fe Police, Wikicommons)

  • Two Teenage Girls Take Selfies Before Robbery

    When you’re a teenager influenced by a hubris culture, taking a picture of yourself (a “selfie” as they say) and your friend wearing ski masks and clenching knives is the only way to show how cool you are, even if it’s used against you in a court of law.

    Such is the case with a 17-year-old girl and her accomplice. According to reports in the Swedish edition of news website The Local, before they robbed a Max hamburger restaurant in Halmstad, southern Sweden in March of this year, they took pictures of themselves with their smart phone. In one of the pictures, the two girls wear hoodies and balaclavas; one girl holds her phone with one hand – in the other, she clenches and holds up a 30cm (11.8 inches) kitchen knife.

    According to The Local, the two girls wound up stealing 2,420 krona ($368) from the diner. A court heard witnesses say that the girl held up the restaurant staff, brandishing the knife and yelling: “Give me the money, or I’ll stab you!”

    Around 47 minutes after the crime, police with sniffer dogs tracked down the two girls. The first piece of evidence they police uncovered was a bag filled with money, the second was the phone that contained the incriminating photos. Police were able to trace the dastardly duo back at one of the girls’ grandmother’s home.

    Last Friday, the eldest girl who was found at the grandma’s house was convicted and sent to juvenile detention. During the mitigation, the court uncovered that the girl had a difficult childhood and had been thrown out from her family home. Her sentence would have been harsher had she been 18; the girl will receive treatment from a youth psychiatrist.

    The other girl, despite overwhelming evidence, was not convicted due to a lack thereof. She had told police that the pictures taken in the mirror were nothing more than a mere joke.

    The Local also reported that among the evidence was the phone that contained numerous selfies, a picture of the money, and a quote by US poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, which read: “Commit a crime and the world is made of glass”.

    (Picture via Swedish Police)

  • Bonnie And Clyde Miniseries Draws In Fans Across 3 Networks

    Bonnie And Clyde has finally hit the small screen. The crime duo made famous by the 1967 film starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunnaway has been the inspiration for a new TV miniseries, and aired on multiple networks simultaneously in a miniseries that started last night.

    The miniseries has become a hit already, drawing in the long-time fans of the film and history buffs who are interested in the tale. Bonnie and Clyde were real life criminals who became notorious for robbing banks, and went on one of the most infamous bank-robbing sprees in history.

    The duo seem to still be popular with audiences, after a very successful premiere night, bringing in a total of 9.8 million viewers. Bonnie And Clyde is being shown on three different networks, which might help it get more viewers too, and is being shown on all of the A&E networks, Lifetime, A&E, and History. This marks the first time that the A&E Networks have ever done an simulcast across all three networks at the same time.

    Post by Bonnie & Clyde Movie Event.

    The miniseries has been criticized by some for not being the most historically accurate representation, although that did not seem to deter any audience members. Bonnie And Clyde stars Emile Hirsch and Holliday Grainger as Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Other notable stars in the cast include Holly Hunter and William Hurt.

    Bonnie And Clyde put up impressive numbers, however, it fell short to the previous two miniseries which ran on the History channel, Hatfields And McCoys and The Bible. Hatfields and McCoys opened with 13.9 million viewers, and The Bible brought in 13.1 million viewers. In last night’s simulcast, the History channel led the way with 3.7 million viewers, followed by Lifetime with 3.1 million viewers and A&E with 3 million viewers.

    The first episode of Bonnie And Clyde aired on Sunday, December 8th, and will conclude the two night event tonight at 9 p.m. After the ratings from last night, Bonnie And Clyde becomes cable’s best miniseries opening among total viewers since 2006’s Broken Trail.

    Image via Facebook