The continuing saga of Uncle Ed

Midtown Miscreant has an update on Muscare, the one-time local TV host who was busted for molestation back in the 1980s. And I found this older post from Kansas Watch about Muscare that's worth reading, too.

VIDEO: Mom literally drags kid through store, police say

Story is from Alabama -- and is actually from a few months ago, but I hadn't seen it yet. The local paper says the kiddo was wearing a chest harness and had marks because of the dragging. Mom was arrested.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

A not-so-brilliant disguise

UK robber uses a pair of underwear as his mask. Snip:

The crook burst into the BP garage on London Road in Clacton, Essex, with the elastic of the white pants pulled over his face and his eyes peering through the leg holes.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

Say, how did the Beer Summit go?

It's sort of like "Lost In Translation," you know, at the end where Bill Murray whispers something very meaningful in Scarlett Johansson's ear, but the audience can't hear it. Same deal. The press was allowed to take pictures of the president, Gates, Crowley and Joe Biden drinking beer (and nonalcoholic beer), but there weren't any questions, and the parties involved ain't saying much.

I suppose it's nice that everybody was able to sit down and talk without, you know, arresting each other or threatening a lawsuit. Gates and Crowley plan to talk more in the future.

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

OP woman asphyxiated newborn baby, prosecutors charge

Alice M. Zeorlin, 25, is facing a charge of first-degree murder from a May 31 incident at her parents' home in the 7200 block of Hemlock. Prosecutors say that Zeorlin lived with her parents, but didn't tell them about her pregnancy. She allegedly gave birth to a baby girl, cut off her oxygen and put the body in plastic bags in a refrigerator -- where her mother later found the body, Joe Lambe reports.

Zeorlin had a court appearance via video yesterday. She's not due back in court until sometime next month. Fox 4 says she used to work as an administrative assistant at Catholic Charities.

Rapper gets 2 years for "Kill Me A Cop" song

A rapper named T.O. wrote a rap song about killing two cops, which Florida authorities considered a threat against public officials. He pleaded no-contest and was sentenced to two years.

Report: Crash victims wait 75 minutes until police find them

Though it doesn't sound like the police's fault. The wreck happened on 169 near Englewood, and the car had run off the road, where it was covered by brush, WDAF reports. A man inside crawled to the road so that police would see them, and a female victim stayed on the line with 911 so their victim could be tracked via pings.

This isn't the first time I've seen this happen in the Northland. There are a lot of trees and shrubs lining 169, and if it's after dark, finding a car off the road can be pretty tough.

They won't forget Nancy Shoemaker

Donald Wacker -- the man who watched while 9-year-old Nancy Shoemaker was raped and murdered -- will ask the Kansas Parole Board to release him from prison this October. Opponents are already organizing to keep him behind bars, the Wichita Eagle reports.

If you're not familiar with the case, Nancy disappeared in 1990. She was walking to a convenience store to buy a 7-Up for her brother, who was sick. Her body wouldn't be discovered until seven months later in Sumner County.

Her killer, Doil Lane, was sentenced to death in another little girl's rape and murder, but he wasn't executed because he's mentally retarded, the Eagle notes. He's still in prison in Texas. Wacker, meanwhile, was sentenced to 16 years to life. His family had previously argued for parole by saying that he's reformed and that "he wasn't the one who done it."

Parents of Murdered Children are part of the effort to oppose Wacker's parole. They've got a petition on their Web site.

Home invader spelled his name for his victims, MO cops say

Story is from Jefferson County, near St. Louis. Police say a young man named Robert Gabler, 19, allegedly forced his way into a house in Arnold, Mo. (He reportedly thought the people inside were involved with his friend's stabbing earlier that day, the Post-Dispatch reports.)

He not only told the occupants who he was, he even spelled his name for them, the victims told police. Snip:

"We were skeptical that a suspect would spell their name, but we were proven wrong when we confirmed his location at an area hospital with the injuries he obtained during the incident," Higginbotham said.

Special-needs boy locked in attic, covered in feces and vomit

The victim is a 5-year-old whose 27-year-old mother, Kristin Paquette, allegedly locked him in the 120-degree attic while she went out, the Lowell, Mass., Sun reports. At least four other children were in the home, and they were taken into state care, too. More from WCVB.

Murder victim used last moments to call her daughter

Near Pittsburgh, police are investigating the murder of Amy Kucsmas, a recovering drug addict who had relapsed and then disappeared. Her body was found rolled in a carpet in a park in Wilkinsburg, Pa., and police ID'd her remains using dental records, a fingerprint and a tattoo. She was the mother of three teenagers, the Post-Gazette reports.

The heart-breaking part? Kucsmas apparently knew she was going to be murdered and convinced her killer for one last phone call, to her daughter. From WTAE-TV:

"Kayla got a call the night that it happened. She said that she's going to die tonight," Kucsmas' sister, Jayme, told WTAE Channel 4's Marcie Cipriani on Wednesday.

"She told Kayla not to cry and that everything will be OK, and then Kayla heard some man in the background screaming. Then, she said her mom was hysterically crying. She couldn't understand what she was saying, and then the phone hung up."

Truck driver was using 2 phones when he wrecked, NY cops say

From AP: Sgt. Kevin Locicero, left, and Capt. Bruce Elliot, of the Niagra County Sheriff's Department, examine a flatbed towing truck that drove into a swimming pool in Lockport, N.Y. on Thursday, July 30, 2009. Police said that the Buffalo-area tow truck driver was juggling two cell phones, texting on one and talking on another, when he slammed into a car and crashed into the swimming pool. (AP Photo/Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, Stephen Wallace)

15 years for KCK man who secretly taped women undressing

Frankly, the undressing stuff is relatively tame compared to the other videos that were found on James E. Rincon's computer and in his home. Snip from Tony Rizzo's article:

When investigators searched Rincon’s home, they also found homemade videotapes, including one titled “Rape in the Boy’s Bathroom,” which showed him trying to fondle a girl before she fought him off and ran away.

Another tape showed Rincon masturbating while driving behind a school bus full of children who could see him. One video appeared to have been shot from outside a bedroom window and depicted a girl changing clothes and putting on a cheerleading uniform.

Do you recognize this man?

From The Star: A man wearing a brown wig with blond highlights robbed the Liberty Bank and Trust, 4850 State Ave., about 4 p.m. Thursday, the FBI said.

He was carrying a handgun, described by witnesses as a silver pistol. He was described as black, 6 feet tall, 180 to 190 pounds, with a goatee. He also wore black sunglasses, a full brim hat, Michael Jordan emblem shorts and tennis shoes. He left in an older red Ford Tempo.

Robber in gorilla suit gets hit with meat cleaver during holdup at hibachi restaurant

Monkeyman still had the cleaver hanging out of him when he ran off. Story is from South Carolina.

UPDATE: Mom's BF made 3 kids live in motel bathroom, TX cops say

What these children lived through is unimaginable.

Could this woman be Mother of The Year?

A Tennessee mother is accused of loading up a Wal-Mart shopping cart with goods, then having her son push the cart to her car -- without her paying for it. When the security guards detained Junior, though, Mom took off and left him holding the bag, police say. (Or shopping cart, as the case may be.)

VIDEO: KCPD officers involved in U.S. 71 crash

We've got dashcam video from a wreck Sunday night where two KCPD officers were hit by another vehicle, even though they had lights and sirens working. The crash was severe enough that emergency responders had to cut the police out of the wreck. The other driver was taken into custody.

KS sets rules for new "Silver Alert"

It's sort of like an Ambert Alert, but for the elderly. Here's what the AP reports:

For police to issue the alert, they must determine that the missing person is at least 65 and has a medical or mental condition that reduces the person’s ability to make reasonable, sound decisions. It is also the responsibility of the police to deactivate the Silver Alert as soon as possible after the person is found.

KCK death now classified as homicide

From KCK PD: The suspicious death investigation from Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 1215 Central Avenue has been classified as a homicide. The victim has been identified as Kansas City, Kansas resident Carol S. Thomas, white female, DOB 08-06-1960. The victim’s family has been notified.

The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department’s Major Case Unit is encouraging anyone with information regarding the incident to please call 913-573-6020 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

Priest among suspects caught in St. Louis sex sting, FBI says

They say the priest offered to pay so he could have sex with a 16-year-old girl, the AP reports.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Goshel!

NY towtruck was using 2 cellphones at once when he crashed, police said

He was texting on one, speaking on another, they allege. He ran into a car carrying a 60-something and a little girl, crashed through a fence, smacked a house and landed in a pool.

Girls say TN cops showed them bondage porn, gave them beer

That sounds like the worst Police Athletic League ever. (Kidding, kidding: PAL is not involved.)

"Monopoly" player smacks friend who won't sell Boardwalk, Park Place, police say

He hit her hard enough to break her glasses. But he just needs to roll doubles or pay the $50 fine, and he'll be out of jail.

UPDATE: OH man killed his dogs because he was going on vacation

The defendant lost his position as a firefighter because of this conviction. And now he's fighting to get his job back, saying his dismissal was a result of politics, not because he screwed up at work. Maybe he and Michael Vick can start a support group.