Drunk driver got into 10 hit-and-run wrecks before being stopped, police say
Story is from Arizona. A motorcyclist was hurt in one encounter. The suspect faces a slew of charges, including Super DUI.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Mugger steals woman's bank deposit, escapes on skateboard
Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!
Okie teen accused of stabbing other girl after fighting over boy on MySpace
They allegedly met at a local QuikTrip shortly before midnight to settle each other's hash, the Tulsa World reports. The victim got jabbed in the arm, but should live. The suspect is 14, the victim 15.
DON'T LOOK, ETHEL!
An inmate escaped from Kansas City police headquarters this afternoon, stripped off his jail uniform and ran onto an interstate in his underwear.
The incident began about 12:45 p.m. when Spencer L. Rounds, 38, appeared in city court on assault and indecent conduct charges.
After his court appearance, Rounds was escorted through a tunnel that connects the city courthouse with police headquarters. He was escorted up a ramp to a waiting bus that was going to take him back to the Municipal Correctional Institution at 8100 Ozark Road.
But instead of boarding the bus, he crawled under it and ran out a pedestrian door in the police headquarters garage. He ran eastbound through several parking lots — shedding his clothes along the way — and onto the highway, where he was arrested.
Your leg isn't broken, son, but there's plenty else wrong with you
Then: California mother begs rescuers to find her teenage son, who is lost in the forest and has broken his leg!
Now: He's fine. As it turns out, so is his leg. Police say Junior was dropping acid, which made him THINK he had a broken leg, police say.
Open Thread ... Wednesday
The Open Thread -- our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion -- is up and running on a lovely Wednesday morning. Thanks again for stopping in! If you've seen an interesting story elsewhere, feel free to post a link below.
Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. I read the OT, but if you need to contact me directly, my email is jhart@kcstar.com.
Thanks, and have a great Wednesday!
TX authorities say several FLDS kids had suffered broken bones
Which was revealed during a legislative hearing. The state authorities say it's way too early to draw any conclusions about the injuries or how they were caused, though investigators are going to be looking into that.
Hat Tip: Many thanks to the Incredible Tam!
Suspected tweaker loses high-stakes game of Hide-And-Seek, police say
Story is from Quincy, Ill., where police tried to arrest a couple of gentlemen for running an alleged meth lab. They got one right off, but the other ran to nearby Quincy University, sneaked into an office and hid under the desk of a computer-science professor, who thought he heard a truck:
"So I got up and looked out the window, but then I heard it again," Robinson said.
What Robinson heard was Wert breathing heavily as he tried to hide under a table and behind some boxes. Robinson said he saw a leg sticking out from under the table, so he calmly walked out of the office and downstairs, where he alerted QU security.
A minute later, Wert was in custody. "I guess this is a sign I need to clean up my office," Robinson said with a smile.
Midtown Miscreant
... reacts to the kid accused of planning an attack on his school in South Carolina --- allegedly so he could go to Heaven and kill Jesus. Take it away, Double-M:
At any rate, killing an omnipotent and all knowing god seems like a bit of over reaching to me. Apparently being a straight A student doesn't necessarily make you smart. Someone should have told Ryan that the whole kill Jesus thing had been done, and it didn't stick then.
Police: Homeless man arrested after knives are found inside his prosthetic leg
But he was actually charged for carrying a gun without a conceal-carry permit, police say.
Saw this via Fark!
Report: Mexico produces 80 percent of U.S. meth
The good news is that we've stomped out all the little hillbilly labs. The bad news is that we've still got "superlabs" operating right across the border. In the first three weeks of April, the feds seized about $30 million of meth, a good chunk of which was bound for Kansas City, McClatchy reports.
LAPD and racial profiling
How many allegations of racial profiling were investigated by Los Angeles police last year: 320
How many were found to have merit: 0
The Los Angeles Time has more here. It's provoking different reactions from people. One of the police commissioners doesn't believe it, but the chief says it's in line with other big departments.
Since you have to prove what was going through an officer's head during an arrest, it could be pretty tough to prove racial profiling, but the police union says that, even so, discrimination isn't a problem for the LAPD.
Wichita police use Craigslist to arrest 8 in prostitution sting
See, the Internet makes life easier for everybody ...
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Greg P!
A treasure hunt
The P-D has a great story this morning about a prison guard who took up with an imprisoned drug dealer's girlfriend -- and she happened to know where the dealer had buried thousands upon thousands of dollars, authorities say. At some point, the IRS get involved in the treasure hunt, too ...
Witness (sort of) fingers suspect in KC homicide
Gary Eye and Steven Sandstrom are on trial for the slaying of William McCay -- who, prosecutors allege, was killed simply because he was black. On Tuesday, Mark Morris reports, Sandstrom's ex-girlfriend testified that she heard Eye confess to shooting McCay. A few minutes later, the ex said she might have gotten it wrong:
Eye’s defense lawyer, John Osgood, noted that a mixture of drugs, conversation among many people and possibly loud music could have confused Chirino.
“Is it possible somebody else said that?” Osgood asked.
“Yes,” she acknowledged.
Gary Dourdan
Dourdan, who stars on "CSI," was arrested by police "after locating suspected cocaine, heroin, Ecstacy, miscellaneous prescription drugs and paraphernalia," The AP reports. He was found passed out in his car, which was parked on the wrong side of the street.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM
Smiley Face Murders = Shenanigans?
We linked to a story earlier in the week about two detectives who believe that a series of apparent drownings might actually have been murders. They used the phrase "Smiley Face" murders because of reported "smiley-face" graffiti found near the spots where the bodies went in the water.
Steve Huff from the True Crime Weblog has a good post here, though, explaining why there's reason to be skeptical about the claims. For one thing, the vast majority of serial killers work alone, which conflicts with the detectives' theory.
Shots fired, burglar hurt during OP break-in
Police were called before 11 last night to Ratliff Guttering Company. From OP Police:
The responding officers were informed that an employee of the company had been sleeping in an apartment inside the business when he heard a loud crash coming from the garage area. The employee grabbed a 12 gauge shotgun and went to investigate. He saw company’s garage door partially open and then saw a person inside near one of the company’s trucks.
He then fired one shot and heard the person, male voice, yell out. After a moment the intruder ran towards the garage door and the employee fired a second shot. Investigators at the scene found blood on the garage floor. A K-9 responded but no suspect was found.
Life imitates "Grand Theft Auto"
Man is stabbed by suspect who was apparently standing in life for "Grand Theft Auto," UK police say.
UPDATE: GamesRadar interviews a source connected to the store, who says the victim wasn't standing in line and waiting for the game. Which agrees with the BBC account -- the Beeb says the suspect is the one who MIGHT have been waiting in line. The victim was walking by. (Thanks, David!)
Hat Tip: Many thanks to the Astonishing Ash!
Quote of the day
"I just got out of jail. I'm trying to have fun and whoop some ass." -- Kevin J. Diaz, 19, a Wisconsin man accused of using an ice scraper to hit a bicyclist in the back of the head.
2 critically injured in KCK shooting
A double shooting tonight in Kansas City, Kan., left two men in critical condition.
The shooting was reported at 7:10 p.m. in the parking lot of a music and video store at 33rd Street and Parallel Parkway, where the victims were shot while inside a vehicle, Officer Troy Rice said.
The men, both thought to be in their mid-20s, were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Police were looking for two men who fled the scene in a maroon GMC Yukon, possibly a Denali. The suspects fired multiple shots, Rice said, but it was unclear whether they fired from inside or outside their vehicle.
The Duct Tape Bandit Rides Again
To prison, it seems. Kasey G. Kazee, who was accused of wrapping his head in duct tape before robbing a Kentucky liquor store, has pleaded guilty. Here's a link to our original story, which includes this gem:
Another employee tackled the suspect in the parking lot: "Miller said the thief also had a t-shirt pulled up around his head, which he said reminded him of the Cornholio character from the Beavis and Butthead cartoon."
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
Pregnant teen assaults baby daddy with waffle iron, police say
Story is from Sheboygan. According to Baby Daddy, he and the pregnant teen's sisters were laughing at a joke, but she thought they were laughing at her. Baby Mama and Baby Daddy reportedly traded slaps, which led Baby Mama to throw a waffle iron at him. He'll live.
Should sex offenders be tracked with GPS for the rest of their lives?
There's a debate happening right now in North Carolina on whether the state can force registered sex offenders to wear GPS tracking devices, even after their sentences are up. The state has typically reserved this for its more serious cases -- plus, it costs $3K per inmate annually. Defense attorneys, though, argue it's a form of punishment, and some judges are starting to agree with them.
Dear RIAA: It probably isn't as much fun when people sue you, huh?
BusinessWeek has a great story about a single mother who beat the Recording Industry Association of America, which accused her of stealing music over the Internet. Now? She's suing them, accusing the music industry of conspiracy.
Saw this via QuizLaw!
LAPD: Wallet saves man from driveby shooting
Two bicyclists were fired upon during a driveby early Tuesday. One died, but the other -- who was shot in the buttocks -- didn't suffer a serious injury because his wallet stopped the bullet, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
MO man tried to steal T-shirts from store while lovah applied for job, police say
Story is from Springfield. Police say the suspect was also holding his girlfriend's 8-month-old -- whom he promptly dropped when the store staff tried to grab him.
K9 officer fights to get job back -- kicking the dog was part of training, he says
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM
No. 18
Meet James Lee Woodard, who spent 27 years in prison for a murder that he never committed. He is the 18th person in his county -- not in his state, in his county -- to be exonerated, thanks to DNA. Sort of makes you wonder about the quality of justice in Dallas County, Texas. He was freed today.
Wisconsin thieves hate the elderly
First, we had a story about a thief stealing a 52-inch TV from a veterans hospital in Milwaukee. The same thing's happened again, only at a senior-housing complex.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, goshel!
Shooting victim, age 5, gets to go home
Katherine Cook, 5, was shot in the head while playing outside her home in Oswego back in February. (Leavenworth authorities aren't sure who fired or why.) After several weeks in the hospital, Cook is back home, KMBC reports.
Shopper pulls gun on grocery-store managers, who PULL their guns, police say
Story is from Florida. Nobody got shot, which is the good news. Really liked the Sun-Sentinel's lead:
Memo to shoppers: Next time Mr. Whipple tells you to stop squeezing the Charmin, pay attention. He might be packing heat.
Open Thread ... Tuesday
Thanks again for spending time on the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. Or if you've seen an interesting story elsewhere, feel free to post a link below!
Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. I read the OT, but if you need to contact me directly, my email is jhart@kcstar.com.
Thanks, and have a great Tuesday!
KC man used toy gun to hold up auto-parts store, police say
Jordan D. Hoffman, 21, is accused of stealing almost $300 from a CarQuest Auto Parts store at 36th and Main, using a toy gun to threaten the clerk, Jackson County prosecutors say. According to the probable cause, police found Hoffman with the clerk's "lucky" $20 bill from 1950.
NM man uses sword to steal tequila from Sam's Club, police say
To be specific, it was two bottles of Patron. He attracted the attention of store management after he initially tried hiding them in his pants, police say.
Local bloggers talk about the FLDS case
Midtown Miscreant wants prosecutors to drop the hammer:
So much for calls of religious tolerance and allegations that outsiders "Just don't understand" the religious beliefs of the Pedophile band of scumbags at the Yearning for Zion ranch. Half of the girls between the ages of 14 and 17 either have had children or are currently pregnant.
There really isn't much left to say on this subject, other than every adult over the age of 21 should be looked at for prosecution. The other compounds spread across the country, yes there are more, should be raided and the children removed. Seem harsh? Violation of religious freedom? Tell that to the 14-year-old girl who is getting raped in the name of Gawd.
RDM thinks the lady who reportedly made the hotline call is getting a bad rap:
The authorities made it rain on the sex compound and snatched up all those kids. What they found was what Swinton told them. Wouldn’t you think that she should be applauded for making that call? Isn’t it the same call that you would make to tell the authorities that a neighbor is abusing their kid?
A child's letters to vicious killers ...
Great piece from Radar magazine, which had one of its writers pose as a 10-year-old boy named Billy and write letters to famous murderers ... the vast majority of whom wrote back. Specifically, Billy wanted to know if he should drop out of school. Here are the results. Probably the creepiest response is from the Night Stalker. (The bad one, not the good Darren McGavin one.)
Billy,
Greetings. Got your letter. What school do you go to? Who's your friend? You should stay in school. Send pictures.
Richard
Wife cried rape -- but she was actually with her secret lover, authorities say
Texas authorities accuse Tracy Roberson of involuntary manslaughter because, after her husband caught her with another man, she allegedly cried rape. Which led her husband to fire four shots at Devin LaSalle, killing him. Roberson's husband has already been cleared of criminal charges. Her attorney has denied the charges.
One of the worst things about this case? The star witness is the couple's daughter, who's still in elementary school, the Star-Telegram reports.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
MO bill would make sex offenders renew their drivers licenses every year
Which would be a pretty handy way to keep track of where they're abiding -- though I'm sure it'd be fairly easy to outwit. The Missouri Senate's judiciary committee approved the bill yesterday, but they stripped out a measure that would put a special RSO code on their driver's licenses. (That way, police would have an easy way to see if they'd pulled over an RSO.)
"The dude died slow"
Mark Morris has an update here on the murder trial of Gary Eye, 21, and Steven Sandstrom, 22, who are accused of killing William D. McCay back in 2005. Prosecutors allege that McCay was killed because he was black. (The defendants are both white.) Both men maintain their innocence. If found guilty, Eye and Sandstrom could face the death penalty.
Sandstorm is on the left, Eye is on the right.
MO man pleads guilty to murdering son, age 9
Awful story from the Jeff City paper. Douglas D. Lueckenotte also wanted to kill his 16-year-old son, who grabbed Lueckenotte's rifle and broke it before going and getting his own gun.
IL man accused of attacking neighbors with shovel, then bow and arrow
Alcohol might have been a factor ... From the P-D:
A 27-year-old man reported that Yount appeared to be intoxicated when he arrived home shortly after midnight and he helped him into his house. He said five minutes later Yount was in his front yard swinging a shovel at his 31-year-old girlfriend, who was on the porch smoking a cigarette.
Should hate-crime laws cover the homeless?
Last year was one of the worst ever for violence against homeless people -- something like 28 homeless men and women were murdered in 2007. (Often by young adults.) Which is leading some states to consider tougher laws against attacking people who live on the streets. A few would add homelessness as a protected class under existing hate-crime laws, USA Today reports.
Man tried to leave baby at Florida strip club, authorities say
The police got involved, but imagine for a moment if the strippers had raised the child as their own, the same way those gorillas did Tarzan.
Hat Tip: Many thanks to the Uncanny JUNGLE JIM!
FL teacher arrested 3 times in 6 weeks for having sex with students
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
A new low
NYPD's internal affairs office is investigating after Sean Bell's fiancee's family reportedly received a crank call after they returned from court last week. Snip:
"Ha, ha, ha," someone said in a 1:15 p.m. Friday phone call to the home of Nicole Bell's father Les Paultre, according to a police source.
The number for the Sergeants Benevolent Association came up on the caller ID.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM
One way or another, she wants the money
Ashley Dupre, an alleged call girl linked to the Eliot Spitzer scandal, was initially offered $1 million to pose for Girls Gone Wild -- until the company learned they ALREADY had footage of her from a few years ago. So they pulled the offer.
Dupre says she was 17 when that video was shot, so she's now suing GGW for $10 million.
Were dozens of drownings actually murders?
Initially, I had a hard time believing this story, but ABC News generally knows what it's talking about ...
They're calling them the Smiley Face Murders.
Two retired New York police detectives believe that 40 young men did not drown, as authorities originally believed, but were murdered in a series of killing across the nation. Police think they're tied together because, at each crime scene, someone painted a smiley face where the bodies went into the water. (Most investigations tend to focus on where the body ended up.) The victims were all college-aged, athletic, with good grades. A lot of times, their deaths were just written off as accidents.
The detectives, who've worked off private funds, are pushing the FBI to get involved. If this pans out, we might owe these detectives -- Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte -- a huge debt. These cases could be "perfect murders." It would be so, so easy for local authorities to just say, "Oh, well, some dumb college kid got drunk and ended up in the river."
Here's a post on the case from the Help Find The Missing blog.
KSTP in Minnesota has been doing a lot of work on the story. Be sure to visit their site -- they've got older stories about the case, maps of crime scenes, etc. Here's the most chilling part of the entire story, an insight from one of the detectives:
"I think it is a serial killer, but not one individual. I would just say, a group of individuals, probably located in more than one state," Duarte said, adding that he thinks they may kill again.
Dear Criminals: Always remember to leave the crime scene
Boston police say a man who vandalized a church there was actually still in the building, asleep, when officers arrived. Snip:
Police allege 47-year-old Charles Martin of West Roxbury resisted arrest and kicked an officer in the groin.
A search of Martin allegedly turned up a gold spoon with religious symbols, two knives, a sword, and prescription pills.
What's so hard about lemonade?
A Michigan college professor accidentally bought his 7-year-old kiddo a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade when they went to a Tigers game. For the churchgoing among us, the "hard" in "hard lemonade" means that it has been infused with alcohol.
Which (eventually) caused Tigers security and, yea, the state of Michigan itself to freak out. Junior went to foster care, until Ma was able to spring him a couple of days later, though Dad actually had to go stay in a hotel for a few weeks as a result. They've filed a complaint, saying the state's reaction was a smidge overboard.
A $50K reward, but nobody is talking
Christmas Eve 2006. Two crooks break into Missouri Poster and Banner, a business in North Kansas City, at 5 in the morning, owner Jerry Barham says. He should know -- he was there when they crept inside. He still remembers the first words out of the other guy's mouth: "Jerry, you're not supposed to be here."
Barham and a female friend were held captive for two hours while the robbers stole his guns and an entire safe. Before the bad guys left, Barham was worked over so badly that he spent three weeks recovering in the hospital, including nearly 10 days in intensive care.
So you can understand why Barham, with the help of friends, is offering a $50,000 reward through the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline to any anonymous tipsters who can help them catch the bad guys. It's one of the largest local rewards in recent memory. (Anyone who wants to claim it should call 816-474-8477.)
Despite the money at stake, police have received a grand total of two tips since the reward was increased to $50K back in February.
So now Barham and his company are trying another avenue of attack. They're launching a massive email campaign to spread the word about the reward. For the past three weeks, one of his employees has spent two to three hours per day writing emails.
After the attack happened, Barham got an anonymous voice message, apologizing for the robbery, saying it wasn't supposed to have happened like that. (You can hear the voice in the YouTube clip above.) The guns and the documents in the safe were even returned. Barham's theory? Someone -- possibly a former employee or friend -- masterminded the break-in, but wasn't one of the thugs who showed up that morning.
A lot of time has passed since the robbery, but Barham is confident that some day, the right person will speak up. The bad guys will go to jail. "We're just playing every card we can come up with," Barham says.
FBI: The child pornographers are winning
Over the past few years, the FBI has made fighting online kiddie porn one of its top priorities and dedicated more agents to tracking down the people who trade these images online. The number of cases has skyrocketed, too, from a few hundred to 2,400 last year.
But it's not enough because so many other cases are slipping through the cracks, FBI Director Robert Mueller says. He says that's why the U.S. should require Internet service providers to retain user records for longer periods of time. (Two years, according CNET.)
Not-So-Fun Fact: Experts estimate the kiddie-porn business is a $20 billion-per-year operation, ABC News reports.
More companies use GPS to thwart thieves
GPS devices are getting small enough now for some companies to hide the gadgets on their products, as a way to catch thieves who steal the goods (especially tools, appliances and expensive equipment) before they reach their final destinations.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Report: Over half the FLDS teen girls are pregnant or Moms
Texas pulled 53 girls between ages 14 and 17 from the ranch. Of that group, 31 of them are either (A) pregnant right now or (B) somebody's mother.
SC Troopers' Greatest Hits
In South Carolina, there have been questions about state troopers and whether their tactics have been too aggressive. (You know, uh, using a cruiser to hit a motorcyclist.) The State has reviewed several dashcam tapes and found evidence of some misbehavior, as well as cases where officers performing heroically. (You'll have to visit The State for the heroic stuff, which didn't make The AP's highlight reel.)
Slaughter pleads guilty to 1985 murder
Sidney W. Slaughter, 47, has pleaded guilty to the 1985 slaying of Patricia McMahan, whose body was found June 16 on a playground at 20th and Prospect. (Charges didn't come until 2006, when a DNA test tied Slaughter to the scene, Jackson County prosecutors said.)
The case was just getting ready to go to trial. By copping a plea, Slaughter's charge was reduced from first to second degree.
Best. Lede. Ever.
From WRTA:
Saw this via Fark!
Judge: JoCo DA can't have abortion records
Johnson County District Court Judge Stephen Tatum ruled today that prosecutors cannot have the abortion reports they want for their criminal case against Planned Parenthood.
The documents are key to District Attorney Phill Kline’s 107-count case against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and its Overland Park clinic, Comprehensive Health, its attorneys have said.
But Kline said today that he can proceed with his criminal case against Planned Parenthood even if KDHE doesn’t turn over the reports.
Tabitha Brewer and Nick Travis
This weekend was the 10th anniversary of Tabitha Brewer and Nick Travis' disappearance. The teenagers, ages 16 and 18, are believed dead, and a man named Brandon Howell is awaiting trial, accused of their murders.
Tabby's family says the case was supposed to be in court this week, but it's been pushed back to October. I can't even imagine what that must be like. Not just losing a child, but to have the entire legal process just keep dragging on and on ...
Nick's body was found a few months after the disappearance in a back yard in Kansas City, but Tabby's remains have never been found. Anyone with information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (474-8477).