15 years for child porn: Grandview man, 40

From U.S. Attorney Todd Graves' office:

• James A. Shearin, 40, of Grandview, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ortrie D. Smith this morning to 15 years in federal prison without parole.
• On June 23, 2005, Shearin pleaded guilty to publishing a notice and advertisement offering to exchange, produce, display, distribute and reproduce child pornography. Shearin admitted that uploaded and posted images to Yahoo! Internet chat rooms including descriptions and titles advertising to display and distribute child pornography between June 9, 2003, and Oct. 23, 2003. Shearin posted the advertisements from his home computer, Graves said.
• The court also ordered Shearin to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged offenses, including a Sony Vaio computer seized from his residence on June 14, 2004.                        
• This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Phillips. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Indicted for child porn: Parkville man, 26

From U.S. attorney Todd Graves' office:

• Adam S. Battiest, 26, of Parkville, was charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Battiest on Sept. 2, 2005.
• Count One of the federal indictment alleges that Battiest attempted to distribute child pornography over the Internet from Aug. 24 to 27, 2005.
• Count Two of the federal indictment alleges that Battiest received child pornography over the Internet from Aug. 1, 2003, to Sept. 1, 2005.
• Count Three of the federal indictment alleges that Battiest was in possession of child pornography on Sept. 1, 2005.
• Count Four of the federal indictment is a forfeiture count, which would require Battiest to forfeit to the government any property used to commit the alleged violations, including a Dell computer, a Nokia cell phone, 12 CDs and 11 floppy disks.
• Graves cautioned that the charges contained in the indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
• This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Indicted for child porn: Grandview woman, 43

From U.S. Attorney Todd Graves' office:

• Julie Bishop, 43, was charged in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City.
• Counts One and Two of the federal indictment alleges that Bishop received child pornography over the Internet on Feb. 12 and 13, 2005, respectively.
• Count Three of the federal indictment alleges that Bishop was in possession of child pornography on May 5, 2005.
• Count Four of the federal indictment is a forfeiture count, which would require Bishop to forfeit to the federal government any property used to commit the alleged violations, including a Hewlett Packard computer, two Western Digital hard drives, a Motorola cable modem, an Iomega external CD burner and two CD-R disks.
• Graves cautioned that the charges contained in the indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
• This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Grandview, Mo., Police Department, the St. Louis Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

KCPD IDs homicide victims #89, #90

From Kansas City police 11:45 a.m.

• Homicide Victim #89: Derell L. Edison, 19, Kansas City. Found dead in the street at 48th Terrace and Euclid, 9:44 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28. No witness information.
• Homicide Victim #90: Tyrell D. Grayson, 22, Kansas City. Found on the street in the 5500 block of Wabash about 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28. Witnesses saw two men talking with Grayson, then heard three or four gunshots.

Fletcher: Lies, all lies against me!

By Greg Reeves
Kansas City lawyer Michael Fletcher (left) is mad as heck at the lawyers and judges who got him suspended last week from practicing in federal court.
He's so mad he sued them this week in Jackson County Circuit Court for libel, slander, mental distress, etc.
Fletcher was suspended for three years because of allegedly race-baiting witnesses and other offensive behavior in court.
The suspension puts him in a world of hurt, because he has a history of winning big judgements in race-related lawsuits, and most such cases are in federal court.
The story today by incredibly well-informed and careful Star reporter Dan Margolies gives these details:

• Fletcher attracted scrutiny for abusive litigation tactics, including race-baiting witnesses and epithet-strewn tirades against opposing counsel.
• Four judges found Fletcher’s allegations (in one case) to be inaccurate, misleading, impertinent, inflammatory or scandalous.
• Fletcher allegedly tried to stiff a cabbie for a $40.58 fare in 2002 and ended up calling a Kansas City police officer "Jew boy" 21 times - on videotape. He later apologized.

Margolies writes: "Former Kansas City Municipal Judge Deborah A. Neal dismissed a theft charge against Fletcher over the cab incident. Neal in May pleaded guilty to a mail fraud charge and is awaiting sentencing."

Alabama prisons: Ollee ollee in free

By Greg Reeves
If 40 Missouri prison inmates had escaped in the past 11 months, we think Missourians would raise a holler.
Well, 42 Alabama prison inmates have escaped since October 2004. But that's good news, relatively - 71 escaped the year before.
This caught our attention after Kansas City police said yesterday that an escaped killer from Alabama might be in our area.
Decatur (AL) Daily News reporter Chris Paschenko tells Crime Scene KC that Bond was among three convicted killers who have escaped Alabama prison work-release programs this year. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has announced a review, Paschenko said.
Another recent Alabama escapee was shot to death by police in Georgia. And concern about holes in the Alamaba prison system has been in the news for years.

KCPD: Escaped killer on the loose

By Greg Reeves
Carl Brad Ward (left) is an escaped killer from Alabama thought to be in the Kansas City area.
Ward and another man, Kenneth Long, stabbed an Alabama woman to death in her home in 1990 and stole her jewelry.
The men were sentenced to life in prison. Long died in prison of a heart attack in 2003. But Ward escaped Sept. 7 from a warehouse outside the Alabama prison where he had been working, under supervision.
The Birmingham News said Ward fled in a prison employee's gold 2001 Mitsubishi 3000 GT. Authorities are trying to figure out how Ward got the worker's car keys, the paper said.
Ward is 40, 5'7" or 5'8", 162 pounds, brown hair, brown eyes. Call the TIPS Hotline 474-8477. Police haven't said why they thought Ward might be in this area.

All The Star's crime stories today

A rich trove today of criminal misbehavior and bad choices: Here are links to crime-related stories in The Star today, online and published. Warning: Clicking on a link below will take you to The Star's registration site unless you're already registered)

Blunt hired consultant charged as co-conspirator
Blunt takes insider role to new heights
Hearing begins in Ali Kemp case
Death of his son brings Guardsman back from duty in Iraq
KC homicide toll reaches 90
Man allegedly raped homeless woman
Texan is facing charges of Web sex solicitation
Missouri attorney general goes after gas stations for gouging
Kansas City police board revokes security company’s license
METROPOLITAN DIGEST