Open Thread ... Friday, Sweet Friday

Welcome to Crime Scene KC. Please add any off-topic comments, story ideas, etc., in the space below. Thanks again, and have a good day. (Continuity Note: I'm James Hart, one of The Star's police reporters, and I'm filling in while Greg's on vacation.)

New ad effort on Hispanic youth meth use

It's not often you can see gory pictures on the White House website. But the government is taking a head-on approach to reduce meth use among Hispanic youth, and those pictures are part of that campaign:

• The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, along with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, has introduced a new communications campaign aimed at preventing use of the illicit drug methamphetamine in the Hispanic community.
• The English and Spanish-language campaign messages, which include public service advertisements for television, radio and print, will receive national distribution, making this the largest scale Spanish-language anti-meth effort to date.

Methamphetamine stats for Hispanic youth:

• Hispanic teens are almost twice as likely to have tried meth than White or Black teens. 12.8 percent of Hispanic teens grades 7-12 reported lifetime trial of meth in 2005 versus 7.1 percent of White and 6.2 percent of Black teens.
• 1 in 3 Hispanic teens grades 7-12 reports having close friends who use meth, versus 1 in 5 among White or Black teens
• Only 49 percent of Hispanic teens—less than half—see "great risk" in trying meth once or twice.

New! Improved! Crime prevention

What if crime prevention were advertised like toothpaste? What if you couldn't turn on the TV, radio or drive down the highway without being assaulted, so to speak, with ads for crime prevention?

Here's a new 84-page federally-funded study that says, well, crime prevention advertising by police can do some good:

• Developing innovative efforts to reduce crime and social disorder is an integral part of modern police work. Police agencies that undertake such interventions should consider advertising their work and ideas. Departments can help remove crime opportunities by teaching and encouraging the public to adopt better self-protection measures, or they can warn offenders of increased police vigilance or improved police practices. When designed properly, publicity campaigns can offer police departments another problem-solving tool in the fight against crime.

Blue Springs man pleads guilty to kiddie porn, again

George M. Bass, Jr., 59, of Blue Springs, pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing and receiving child pornography over the Internet. This is the second federal child-porn case against Bass, who was sentenced in the first one earlier this month.

KCK investigates fatal shooting

From KCK police, via Officer Jackie Waters

HOMICIDE – 3300 block of Delevan Avenue

Kansas City, Kansas – At approximately 12:42 a.m. on Thursday, 07-27-2006, officers with the Kansas City Kansas Police Department responded to the 3300 block of Delevan Avenue on reports of a shooting. When officers arrived they discovered a black male who had been shot.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and he has been identified as Brandon Franklin, 03-14-1984, a Kansas City, Kansas resident. The victim’s family has been notified. The shooting is being investigated by the Kansas City Kansas Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Criminal Investigation Division at 913-573-6020 or the Tips Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. There is nothing further to report at this time.

71-year-old woman killed by dog

KCK police say it was a pit bull, which the city bans.

UPDATE: Police are now saying they aren't sure about the breed of the dog.

Teens get high on mothballs

From Reuters: Doctors were mystified what was making a pair of twins sick ... then a cleaning lady found a bag of mothballs in their hospital room. Apparently, they got high by breathing deeply from the bag for 10 minutes a day; they learned how from some classmates.

Update on 82nd-Wornall shootings

A city official told The Star that party organizers Monarch Entertainment didn't have the right permits to host the event Saturday night at 82nd and Wornall. Two college students, Nathan Buie and DeMarco Harvey, were killed by gunfire in the parking lot outside a Knight of Columbus Hall; several others were injured. (Buie and Harvey's funerals will be Saturday.)

A Monarch organizer says he had a business license and didn't know he needed anything else. The story also talks about why Hickman Mills School District canceled another Monarch event in June.

Worst. Date. Ever.

Police arrested a naked 18-year-old outside an elementary school in Albuquerque late Tuesday night. Apparently, the teen and his girlfriend were in a bathroom inside the school, when they heard noises. He panicked and ran outside, forgetting to bring his clothes with him. At some point, he discovered he'd locked himself out of the building.

The teen climbed on the roof, so he could get back in through a skylight. That's when the ceiling collapsed.

The good news? The police let him get his clothes before they hauled him to jail.

(Hat Tip: You're a mean drunk R2D2 -- many thanks, R2!)

Agents raid N.C. zoo

Authorities raid a zoo in North Carolina, where they find drugs, guns and 10 illegal video poker machines, as well as several reptiles and birds that didn't have the right paperwork. Apparently, you need state and federal permits for birds of prey. (The story doesn't mention what kind of drugs; just pills. Ditto for the guns.)

The story mentions the zoo owner is a "controversial figure in the exotic animal community." In the past, he's been cited for illegally keeping a cougar in his house, and he's gotten into trouble for not feeding animals the approved food and for keeping shelters in disrepair.

Colorado dad: A pit bull saved my son

A man -- authorities think it might be a sex offender -- tried to grab a 9-year-old boy from his back yard, but the family pit bull scared the man away.

Carjackers steal veteran's van

From KSHB: Carjackers steal and wreck a van belonging to a disabled Vietnam vet. He's about 64 years old.

Did a killer take your picture?

Bill Bradford was convicted back in 1987 of killing two aspiring models, but authorities in Los Angeles are worried he may have killed others. At his sentencing, Bradford told jurors: "Think of how many you don't even know about."

Investigators recently went back through his files found photos of 50 unknown women, taken back when Bradford had an amateur photography business. They released those shots to the public, hoping people would help identify them. So far, about 14 of 50 have been ID'd as alive.

A lot of the women are believed to be from southern California, but authorities also listed Kansas as one of the states where the women might be from.

Open Thread

Please post any off-topic comments, story ideas, etc., in the space below. Greg Reeves is on vacation this week. My name is James Hart, one of the Star's police reporters, and I'm filling in. Thanks again, and have a good day.

Federal Webcast today on campus violence

Campus violence, and helping victims of campus crime, will be the topic of a Webcast today at 1 p.m. sponsored by the Department of Justice's Office of Victims of Crime (OVC).

Assisting Victims on College and University Campuses
Join guest host S. Daniel Carter  for an OVC Web Forum discussion on campus victimization and assistance services. Mr. Carter is Senior Vice President of Security On Campus, Inc., a nonprofit organization devoted to assisting victims of violence on college campuses and to improving campus security.

New federal study on fight against gun violence

Above: Marchers protest along 24th Street against gun violence in Kansas City, Aug. 2, 2004. Pictured: Rachel Riley, whose son was shot dead in 2003. (Star photo by Norman Ng)

A new 40-page report from the Department of Justice on Atlanta’s successful fight to reduce gun violence – with lessons, they say, for other cities:

• Atlanta’s goal was to preempt juvenile gun violence by breaking the chain of illegal events leading up to these crimes— disrupting illegal gun supply, demand, and carrying, and rehabilitating offenders.
• In its final form, the Atlanta gun violence project consisted of a small but determined coalition of Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors, with the Atlanta Police Department (APD) in a central role.
• Tactics ranged from traffic stops and directed patrol to Federal prosecution of adult gun traffickers.
• The key to problem solving is ongoing, communitywide action involving multiple public agencies and private organizations. Because this approach is data driven, researchers work side by side with practitioners.

BOLO: Donald L. Spring, 54

KC police are looking for Donald L. Spring, 54, who's accused of shooting his girlfriend in the face with a shotgun on Monday. She got hit with pellets on the left side of her face and neck, but she survived.

Yates not guilty by reason of insanity

Andrea Yates will be sent to a mental hospital, instead of a life sentence in prison. She'll receive periodic hearings to see if she should be released at some point.

Police remove 68 pit bulls from Wichita home

Two kids, 11 and 5, also lived in the house. A social worker and police made the discovery when they were following up on a tip. Authorities think the animals were being sold on the Internet. No word on the dogs' condition, though some of them had scars from fighting. The story says dozens of them were kept in plastic cages inside the house, which didn't look that big. Dad's been charged with child endangerment, resisting arrest and obstructing the legal process.

Man who fled checkpoint now charged with 2nd-degree murder

A 20-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder after authorities said he tried to flee from a DUI checkpoint and instead crashed into a light pole and another car near the Plaza. The crash killed the 20-year-old's passenger.

Missing woman located

From KCK police via Officer Jackie Waters

MISSING PERSON (ADULT)

***UPDATE***

The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division has advised Samantha J. Hinkle has been found.  She was located with the assistance of friends who had seen her picture on television.  Miss Hinkle was found in Kansas City, Kansas and is in good health. The circumstances regarding her disappearance are unknown at this time but she is back with her family and her two young children. There is nothing further to report at this time.

Missing: Anthony L. Hamby, 51

From KC police via Officer Darin Snapp Subject is Anthony L. Hamby, b/m, 3-10-1955. Subject left his home 4611 Wabash on 6-19-2006 and has not been seen since. He is the primary care giver for his ailing mother. Hamby has a history of drug abuse and has been depressed recently. If located, notify FAAS 816-234-5239. G: Sorry about the funky styling earlier. Thanks for the heads-up.

Tips sought in one of KC's worst shootings

Not a lot of developments yet in the big shooting this weekend in south KC, which killed two college students, Nathan Buie and DeMarco Harvey, and injured several others. Police say at least 57 rounds were fired into a large crowd outside a Knight of Columbus hall. Activists had a prayer vigil Tuesday at the scene, urging people with info to come forward. The Star's multimedia desk was there. (Launches video.)

Exotic dancer has exotic hobby

A stripper from New Jersey was arrested after police found six human skulls and a severed human hand in her house. They were looking for a guy who was trying to kill himself with a hammer, but he wasn't there, and yes, this all actually happened. It is quite possibly the Best Crime Story Ever Told.

A couple of roommates told Newark's Star-Ledger, which broke the story, that an admiring med student had given the hand as a gift. (It's not clear where the skulls came from, but apparently, you can order them off the Internets.)

The hand's nickname was "Freddy." The suspect's mom told reporters, "She has a flair for the dramatic."

Lee's Summit barricade, shooting

While Lee's Summit police were negotiating with a man barricaded in a house on Tuesday, an officer shot a different man in the same neighborhood during an unrelated altercation.