VIDEO: Kid touches electrified yard sign
A little disappointing, really. His hair doesn't frizz out, light doesn't shoot out of his eyes. Maybe if they'd upped the voltage.
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Friday, October 31, 2008
TX mom threw girl, 4, into traffic, police say
Luckily, the oncoming driver hit the brakes in time. Snip:
A witness at the bus stop told police he saw Gallardo lift her daughter by the arm so forcefully that he thought the girl's arm "was going to dislocate out of the socket." The witness told police that Gallardo then violently threw the girl into the street and pulled her by her hair before throwing her into a parked vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.
The witness said Gallardo told her daughter, "You are dead to me" and "You are a slut."
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
Depends on what you mean by "convicted"
The latest from Ted Stevens, via the New York Times:
By Thursday night, at a debate with his Democratic rival, Mayor Mark Begich of Anchorage, Mr. Stevens said that not only would he be vindicated but that he had been the victim of a “massive abuse of government power,” one that legal scholars would study for years for the breadth of its injustice.
“I have not been convicted of anything yet,” he said, a reference to the fact that a conviction does not formally take place until a judge enters final judgment upon sentencing. The guilty verdicts, he said, were “a temporary situation,” an incremental setback until a judge throws them out or Mr. Stevens wins on appeal.
Is the Amber Alert being overused?
Kevin Hoffmann had an interesting story this morning about the Amber Alert and how, locally, it's been issued even though it didn't meet the official standards. Local LEOs are getting together today for an annual review of the system.
On the one hand, you've got officers who say the Amber Alert is one of those tools that should be used in only the most dire situations -- otherwise, people might not pay attention to it. Others say it should be issued whenever a kiddo goes missing, even if kiddo is probably just with a noncustodial parent.
UPDATED: Kevin has more from today's meeting ...
The meeting was led by U.S. Congressman Dennis Moore who asked the group how the system was working and whether changes needed to be made. The group reached a consensus that all local Amber Alerts should be cleared by the Metropolitan Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Association before being broadcast.
The chiefs and sheriffs group still has to approve this, though.
Guilty plea in Diane Garner homicide
From the Jackson County prosecutor's office: Derek A. Vaughn (04/26/90) entered a guilty plea today to charges of Second Degree Murder, Armed Criminal Action and Unlawful Use of a Weapon for a May 31 drive-by shooting in Independence that left Diane Garner dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
According to court documents, the shooting was the result of a fight between Vaughn and the victim's son. The victim was not an intended target for the shooting.
Vaughn is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 19. A co-defendant - Dustin Rinehart (04/31/90) - is scheduled for a court appearance on Nov. 21.
Dance Party Friday ... Halloween Edition
Now for something truly terrifying ... a Bollywood version of "Thriller." You're welcome.
Quote of the day
"I grew up in New York City, I've seen a lot of things in my life. I'm
not going to let anyone take my money. I tell him one of us isn't leaving here alive."
Kostas Kolitsidas, 61, a pizzeria owner from Connecticut, who -- when a teenage gunman demanded his money -- went to the kitchen and produced a knife. The gunman then ran away. (Again, please DO NOT try this at home.)
Death By Pornography!
It is precisely what you think ...
Hat Tip: Saw this via QuizLaw!
Open Thread ... Sweet Merciful Friday
Thanks for spending part of your day on the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. This is also a good spot to post links, if you want to share a story you saw somewhere else.
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 again, and have a great day!
Chiropractor asked patients to kill his wife, police say
Story is from Philly. I just really love this lede. Snip:
After a nearly 30-year marriage, chiropractor Alan Kushner grew to hate his wife so much during their divorce that he hung a Halloween mask resembling her in his office and shouted "Die!" at it, authorities said.
Then, prosecutors accuse him of taking a further step: soliciting patients to assassinate her, and almost succeeding.
Colorado man admits to shooting wife's cat
As a way to get even with her. While the police were investigating the dead cat, they also found his weed stash, all four pounds of it.
Judge still can't decide if he'll dismiss MySpace suicide case
You know, Lori Drew -- the Missouri woman accused of harassing teenager Megan Meier over the Internet, which reportedly led to the girl's suicide -- might beat this after all. She's accused of committing a federal cybercrime in California, and her lawyers are trying to get the case kicked.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu indicated he would likely reject the motion but wanted to look at arguments more closely.
"I will probably keep on wavering until the time of the trial," Wu told attorneys. Trial is slated for Nov. 18.
Molestation suspect: 8-year-old took advantage of me
Story is from Utah. I figure if he has a hard time avoiding the sexual advances of an 8-year-old girl, he's probably not going to like prison much.
Chronic shoplifter-prison inmate wins $200K in charity raffle
Story is from Wisconsin. It kind of sounds like a real "My Name Is Earl" situation ...
Many trees were felled to create Delvalle's court files. His shoplifting cases and drug offenses began at 16, and the arrests just kept on coming.
More than once he's been stopped trying to wheel shopping carts of liquor out to his vehicle. He took power tools from a store in Greenfield and a DVD player from another in Greendale. His last arrest was in May 2007 for stealing Dr. Scholl's shoe inserts from a grocery store in West Milwaukee.
Here's hoping somebody tells him about karma.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Goshel!
KS teen gets 15 years for raping girl, age 8
Story is from Brookville. The defendant here is 17.
KC man accused of sex trafficking, feds allege
From Mark Morris: Federal prosecutors Thursday charged a 35-year-old Kansas City man
with commercial sex trafficking violations and attempting to produce
child pornography.
Prosecutors said that while operating his prostitution business, Michael L. Buck allegedly beat, choked, burned, bound and cut women if they resisted his control. Some of the women suffered internal bleeding and loss of consciousness and bladder control.
Girls, ages 3 and 11, brought to IN party so they could be abused, police say
Here's how the planning went, police say. Snip:
On Aug. 7, Milligan allegedly emailed Robinson driving directions from Midlothian to Terre Haute, according to the complaint. The subject line read: "map to the party lol" using an abbreviation of "laugh out loud." Five days earlier, Robinson allegedly told Masulla over an Internet chat service that the weekend was "supposed to be fun and exciting!"
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!
2 accused of downtown KC robbery
From Sara Shepherd: Prosecutors on Thursday accused Tiffany C. Roberts, 18, of helping
rob a downtown resident at gunpoint Wednesday. Her alleged accomplice,
a 16-year-old girl, was turned over to juvenile authorities.
According to court documents, the victim told police she was entering her home near Seventh Street and Broadway about 8:15 p.m. when two females asked to use her phone.
After she made a call for them, one female sprayed her eyes with pepper spray and the other pointed a gun at her. They took her phone, a laptop and $20.
Should cities be able to set their own immigration laws?
That's what a town in Pennsylvania, Hazleton, wants to do. Officials there passed an ordinance that, basically, prohibited illegal immigrants from renting or working in their town. (There would be fines for landlords, and businesses could lose their licenses.) A court declared the ordinance unconstitutional, but an appeal is in the works.
The town argues that their rules don't conflict with federal policy. The ACLU says all hell would break loose if every town got to have varying rules.
UPDATE on Texas FLDS case
Originally, 439 kids were removed from the Yearning For Zion ranch in Texas. Only 37 of those kids remain under some kind of court supervision -- the rest have all been cleared of any abuse or wrongdoing. Most of the families have NOT returned to the ranch. When the kids were scattered around the state, their parents moved to be closer to them. Eight FLDS members have been indicted on child-sex charges.
Not remotely crime-related
UK vicar goes to the emergency room after a potato becomes wedged in his nether regions. He says he was hanging curtains while naked when he fell backward onto his kitchen table. Riiiiiight ...
KMBC: 1 shot and injured in Olathe parking lot
Happened early this morning in the 800 block of Old 56, KMBC reports. The victim, who ran to 7-Eleven for help, should live.
1 shot and injured at 61st and Farrow in KCK
From Meredith Rodriguez: A man who was shot several times tonight in Kansas City, Kan., underwent surgery and is expected to live, said police Captain Rick Hartzfeld.
Shell casings littered the parking lot of an apartment complex at 61st Street and Farrow Avenue, where the shooting occurred after 9:20 p.m. A couple of hours later, another victim thought to have been associated with the shooting showed up at Truman Medical Center, where police were questioning him.
More on Michael Vick's guilty plea in Virginia
He's decided to plead guilty to state dogfighting charges in Virginia because it'd let him get into a halfway house quicker. He'd hope to enter the plea via videoconference, but the judge wants him to travel to Virginia and do it in person.
German Shepherd saves MO woman from rapist
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Golfer!
There is a special place in Hell ...
... for anybody who'd steal a dream car -- in this case, a restored 1968 Dodge Charger -- from a man in a wheelchair. It's taken him about 15 years and $250K to get it fixed the way he likes it.
Fact: Getting drunk inhibits your thinking skills
You might think, hey, burying our friend alive sounds really funny. Nothing makes a hangover worse than an involuntary manslaughter rap.
Homeless man hospitalized after trying to keep his beagle
Freddy is the dog's name, and the story is from St. Charles, near St. Louis. The Post-Dispatch reports that two other homeless people, possibly under the influence of vodka, tried to take the dog, and a fight ensued.
A warning to sign thieves ...
Some of your targets have electrical-engineering degrees and a lot of free time. If you'd like to "see how the sign was put together," just ask.
Life for man who stabbed wife to death, then laughed over her corpse
No death sentence, even though he wanted it and gigged the DA about not doing so, the Mercury News reports. Snip:
Jihad said the July 8, 2007, murder occurred, in part, because his wife's sister had threatened him with a gun earlier in the day and he wanted to teach both her and his stepson that using guns has consequences.
He also blamed his previous stints in prison — once for killing a sailor in Alameda in the 1970s and once for raping a stepdaughter in Berkeley in the late 1980s — and his time as a soldier in Vietnam for teaching him to react to violence with violence.
"I warned about the guns in the house and my warning came true because the gun ended up being pulled on me," Jihad said Wednesday before he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. "It should be no surprise that it ended in violence. "... Who created the atmosphere?"
Thursday, October 30, 2008
AMBER ALERT: Where is Leilah Arriaz?
The McDonald County Sheriff’s Department in southwest Missouri has issued an Amber Alert for a 3-year-old girl reported missing in the Kansas City area earlier today.
Leilah Arriaz was taken from a temporary custodian south of Longview Lake by her non-custodial father, according to amberalert.com.
Her father, Julio Arriaz, is 21 years old. He was described as being 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 240 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. Leilah was described as being 2 feet tall, weighing 32 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
They were last seen in a reddish- or peach-colored 1995 Ford F150 pickup truck with a camper shell and Missouri license plate number 838-XC7.
MO Halloween law for sex offenders gets a green light
From The AP: Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon’s office says a court order means a new state law aimed at keeping children away from sex offenders on Halloween night can be enforced in its entirety.
That means registered sex offenders in the state are required to remain inside their homes from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday unless they need to work or have a medical emergency. They must keep their outside lights off and post a sign telling trick-or-treaters no candy is available. They must avoid Halloween-related contact with children.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
Postville plant manager facing criminal charges
Postville, Iowa, was the scene of a huge immigration raid earlier this year -- one of the largest in U.S. history. The manager, BTW, just happens to be the son of the company's owner. Snip:
The 49-year-old will face charges of conspiracy to harbor undocumented immigrants for financial gain, aiding and abetting document fraud and aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.
Anthrax-hoax suspect: "I'm not sorry"
A Sacramento man is accused of sending more than 100 anthrax-hoax to newspapers, businesses and elected officials earlier in the week. A local TV station got a jailhouse interview:
"I don't consider myself a criminal," Keyser added. "I'm just trying to convince people that they need to know the danger we are facing. I feel people are underestimating the dangers we are facing from terrorism."
File Photo: (Sacramento Bee/Michael A. Jones)
Yard-sign vandal caught on tape in OP
From OP Police: Overland Park Police received reports on October 21 and October 24 of damage to 14 political signs for Marvin Kleeb, who is a candidate for Kansas State Representative.
It is estimated the damage to the signs exceeds $2,500.00. Overland Park Police set up a surveillance camera and captured a person on a motorcycle spray painting a large Marvin Kleeb sign at 135th and Quivira. This surveillance video was taken on 10-30-08 at 4:51 am. The individual rides up on a motorcycle and spray paints the sign.
Anyone who has information regarding this person, motorcycle or this crime is asked to contact Detective Justin Reeder at 913-344-8721 or the TIPS HOTLINE at 816-474-TIPS.
Toplikar: OK, I did it
For the first time, Johnson County Commissioner John Toplikar admitted today that he took his opponent’s campaign signs and said he shouldn’t have done it.
Toplikar made the comments at the county offices in Olathe after a retired sheriff’s deputy, who witnessed the Saturday incident, disputed the version of events that Toplikar gave to the media on Wednesday.
The deputy, who’s backing Toplikar’s opponent Calvin Hayden, was in a van with Hayden’s wife and another campaign worker, who caught Toplikar on videotape with the signs.
On Wednesday, an unrepentant Toplikar said he was merely trying to help Hayden when he pulled up the signs.
Open Thread ... Thursday (Friday Eve)
Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. Feel free to post a link, if you've seen an interesting story somewhere else.
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 again, and have a great day!
Wal-Mart has a posse
You know what Sam's Club is? It's a two-by-four we use to beat down anybody who messes with the WM. What-what!
Wisconsin man accused of 10th DUI offense
He rented his buddy's van for $100, went barhopping, crashed into a tree and had to be pulled from the burning vehicle, police allege. My question: How is this man still alive?
3-year-old tries to throw down with police officer
Story is from Memphis. The officer, of course, was trying to arrest the man and woman who were in the car with the kiddo. (Not sure if they're Mom and Dad.)
Bill Pullman's kid busted for moonshine possession, police say
The mugshot is awesome. Bill Paxton unavailable for comment.
IA bowling alley wins legal battle over half-naked beer slide
It all ties back to that sex-fueled debauch, the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa:
Ed and Elaine Brown
Remember the Browns? They're the New Hampshire couple convicted of tax evasion and, as a bonus, refused to leave their house and threatened violence if the feds tried to take them. How serious was that threat?
Prosecutors say agents seized from the property 22 pipe bombs; semiautomatic, assault-type rifles strategically placed throughout the house; 60,000 rounds of ammunition; metal cans of gunpowder with fuses or ready to accept fuses, some wrapped in nails intended to become shrapnel; and the tree-placed mines that Riley built.
Man threatened coworkers after firing, prosecutor says
From Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd: A Platte County employee has admitted making threats against his former co-workers and their families. Joshua T. Ellington, 26, of Shawnee Mission, KS pled guilty October 28 to harassment in Platte County Associate Circuit Court.
... Ellington was released from his job with the Platte County Collector’s Office on October 7. Following his termination, Ellington spoke with a former co-worker about his belief of a conspiracy against him.
Ellington made a reference to another former co-worker and threatened to harm her grandchild. Ellington admitted to detectives that he made threats to harm a child. He also admitted to stating he would push a co-worker down the stairs to cause injury to her.
Judge Gary Witt sentenced Ellington to two years probation and after he completed 20 days in the Platte County Jail. As a special condition of his probation, Ellington must obtain a psychological evaluation and follow treatment recommendations as made by the psychologist.
Golfer John Daly found drunk outside Hooters, police say
From The AP: In this photo provided by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, professional golfer John Daly is shown. Daly was taken into custody Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, by Winston-Salem police after he was found drunk outside a Hooters restaurant in Winston-Salem, N.C.
While at the restaurant, police said Daly "appeared extremely intoxicated and uncooperative," refused repeatedly to be taken to the hospital and was asked to leave the restaurant by several workers. Daly was taken to the Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center for a 24-hour stay, until he was sober.(AP Photo/Forsyth County Sheriff's Office)
Not remotely crime-related
Great story about a UK dad spending 100K pounds on a gaudy, trailer-trashy wedding for his 16-year-old daughter. I rescind the part about this not being a crime: somewhere in Britain, good taste is lying in a ditch, bleeding out from multiple stab wounds.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tom!
Report: Alleged "Dungeon Dad" locked up his mom, too
That's according to a psychologist who's examining Josef Fritzl before his trial starts next year. Fritzl says he was abused as a kid and locked up his mother as a way to punish her, the psychologist reports. Snip:
"I locked her up in a room at the top of the house. I then bricked in the window so that she never again saw the light of day."
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Simone!
A town without "a real Halloween"
Oil City, a town in Pennsylvania, stopped trick-or-treating at night for 16 years after an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped and killed while walking home from a Halloween party. That's changing this year, though, after a fifth-grader started a petition drive.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Golfer!
That truck looks VERY familiar
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Patty PV!
KSHB: Could Amber Alert teens have been found sooner?
Interesting followup to those two Clinton County teenagers who went missing and were later found near Omaha. (Paige Alley and Levi Carlson are now safe, sound and back home.) As it turns out, their car was towed by police the day after they went missing -- but Omaha police apparently didn't notice, despite the Amber Alert and other warnings. Alley's family is annoyed. They say the kids could've been found a lot sooner if Omaha PD had caught this.
KCPD wants $45 million for 54 new officers, other upgrades
That's a 20 percent increase in the department's budget, which -- unless the chief starts spending part of this year's budget on Powerball tickets -- probably ain't gonna happen. The request also includes money for 400 new vehicles, more 911 dispatchers and jailers, a new helicopter and other items, Christine Vendel and Lynn Horsley report. Karl Zobrist, one of the police board members, says it's a realistic increase.
Toplikar says he wasn't stealing yard signs
He was moving them. Because his opponent's were in the way, he tells KMBC.
Skunk makes domestic disturbance much worse
Story is from Colorado, where a man was fighting with his girlfriend and decided to go to their back yard -- where he was sprayed by a skunk. That made him so mad, apparently, that he grabbed a machete and dragged the GF to the back yard, which is when the SWAT team showed up, thankfully.
Cheating at the buffet? Oh, you're going to jail
The world's cheapest date goes to jail for letting his GF eat off his plate. Snip:
He said that “there were no signs in the restaurant that said someone could not have some food off your plate,” the report said.
Young moron tries to reenact "Italian Job" chase scene
With the brand-new Mini that mummy and daddy bought him. Things go horribly, horribly wrong. Alcohol might have played a part.
OP plans DUI saturation patrol on Halloween
From OP Police: The Overland Park, Kansas Police Department is conducting a DUI Saturation Patrol on October 31, 2008. It is the police department’s goal to reduce alcohol related auto accidents and discourage impaired driving within its community.
The DUI Saturation Patrol will begin at 11:00 PM, and the enforcement will not end until 3:00 AM. The Traffic Safety Unit will hold a briefing at the Myron Scafe Building, 8500 Antioch, Overland Park, KS, prior to initiating the enforcement. This is a (Non-grant Event).
Report: AZ illegal immigrants are more afraid of police than crooks
Because they're afraid they'll get deported. They're especially skittish in Arizona, which launched a pretty successful piece of legislation that, basically, made hiring illegal immigrants illegal. (REALLY illegal, not the pretend-illegal from before.) Some advocates say this is emboldening the criminal element, but the police say there's no proof yet.
"I'm going to put a stop to this crime, one way or another"
A tale of the world's most dangerous liquor-store clerk. She lives in Topeka ...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Michael Schlax
From the Platte County prosecutor: A Platte County jury found a man guilty on October 28 of all five counts related to a police chase that ended in a car wreck. Michael W. Schlax, 28, of Kansas City, KS, was convicted of assault, careless and imprudent driving, property damage, resisting a lawful stop and leaving the scene of an accident.
... Prosecutors proved at trial that Schlax was running from Kansas police when he drove the wrong way on the Fairfax Bridge into Platte County. Schlax drove a pick-up truck into on-coming rush hour traffic on Interstate 635 in Riverside on September 26, 2007. He crashed the truck into another car shortly after driving into Missouri.
After Schlax wrecked, he fled on foot and got away. A police helicopter was called in to help with the manhunt, and the defendant was captured about an hour later. At trial, the criminal defense lawyer claimed that Schlax was not the driver but was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was caught.