The year in crime

I'd forgotten how busy the crime beat was around Kansas City until I sat down and looked over the past year's worth of posts. I've tried to put together a list of the more prominent stores from Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas. If you see a particularly egregious omission, please let me know in the comments. Thanks again for your help this year, and have a great 2010.

- A Raytown apartment complex was the scene of a gruesome murder: Four people, including two children, were murdered in March. The victims were Andre Jones Sr., 33, Precious Triplett, 21, and her two young nephews, Amir Clemmons, 10, and Gerard Clemons Jr., 7. Triplett's 1-year-old son was also inside, unharmed.

- We had another quadruple homicide, this time in June in KCK, that left the following people dead: James Warren, 66; Peggy Castleberry, 41; Juanita Castleberry-Bess, 3; and Amanda Remmers, 21. WyCo's DA is seeking the death penalty against a man named Adrian Burks.

- Abortion provider George Tiller is murdered while serving as a greeter at his church, and the police arrest a Kansas City man, Scott Roeder, who tells reporters that he was trying to save the lives of unborn children.

- Mexican groceries in the suburbs became a particularly popular target for robbers.

- Kansas City sees a slight decline in homicides compared to 2008. (Heading into tonight, the total is 110, compared to 126 last year.) Our final total is close to the average from the last several years.

- A missing Northland woman, Renee Pernice, attracted a great deal of attention and, to this date, has not been found. Her husband, Shon, is facing charges in other incidents, but has not been charged in her disappearance.

- This might be the most gruesome mugshot I've seen locally. And it was all for an Xbox, prosecutors allege.

- A local man, Dan Rinehart, is accused of fathering four children by a teenage daughter. Three of the children reportedly died, authorities say.

- In November, charges are filed against six members of the Mohler family after authorities received years-old accusations of child sexual abuse.

- In mid-Missouri, a 15-year-old girl was charged in the murder of her 9-year-old neighbor. Prosecutors say the teen wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone.

- "America's Most Wanted" -- which usually focuses on arresting bad guys -- raised questions about a Missouri inmate, Dale Helmig, and whether he was wrongly convicted.

- Kansas City installed red-light cameras all over the city. Initial reports showed the cameras helped stop people from running lights, though police were hard-pressed to keep up with the paperwork that came with managing the lights.

- In Butler County, Kan., the police conducted a massive search for a boy, Adam Herrman, who disappeared 10 years ago -- but was only reported missing this year. The search was ultimately fruitless.

- In Kansas City, authorities had a hard time explaining why a dead body was originally classified as a "natural death" -- until the funeral home reported the presence of bullet holes in the corpse.

Autopsy doesn't show how Angela Hook died

From Jim Sullinger: Merriam police said today they are no closer to determining how Angela Hook died following an autopsy performed this morning. Lt. Mike Daniels of the Merriam Police Department said there were no signs of trauma on the body of the 40-year-old Kansas City, Kan., woman.

Indictment in Gladstone beating death

From Clay County prosecutor's office: On November 24, 2009 Gladstone Police Officers were asked to respond to North Kansas City Hospital regarding an assault that had occurred in Gladstone on November 20, 2009. The victim of the assault, Gary Harris, had been assaulted with a baseball bat at a social gathering on NE 64th Street in Gladstone. According to doctors at the hospital Harris had suffered a number of facial fractures, multiple rib fractures, extensive bruising and a pneumothorax.

Working with detectives from the North Kansas City Police Department the exact location of the assault and the parties involved were identified. Harris was unable to survive from the injuries received and the assault became a homicide. Through the investigation Gladstone Detectives identified the suspect in the homicide along with witnesses who could collaborate what had happened.

On December 29, 2009 the case was presented to the Clay County Grand Jury who indicted Richard Lee Fast of Gladstone with First Degree Involuntary Manslaughter. Bond was set at $50,000 for Fast who remains in custody at the Clay County Jail.

Now, THAT is an interesting question

I saw this post at the io9 blog that raised an unusual question: If one conjoined twin was found guilty of murder, how should they be punished? Especially if their twin was innocent?

VIDEO: A cautionary tale about beer

You could end up looking like this guy ...

Woman divorces man that she never met

In Queens, N.Y., a woman didn't learn that her identity had been hijacked until she tried to get married -- and learned that someone had already "married" her and was claiming her kids as dependents. The good news is that everything has been right now.

Could California become the "Cuba of guns"?

The state passed a law that requires microstamping technology in all new semi-automatics sold there. (Microstamping works by stamping a string of characters every time a gun is fired -- theoretically making shells at crime scene traceable to a statewide database.) Only the gun industry isn't interested. They might just stop selling new-model semiautomatics there.

"California will become like Cuba with cars," said Lawrence Keane, senior counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents the gun industry. "You will only be able to get very old models of guns."

Do defendants have a right to info from "anonymous" tipster lines?

In North Carolina, two men facing murder charges are demanding to see the information collected by the local CrimeStoppers hotline -- which received anonymous tips that led to their being charged in a young woman's slaying. They argue they need that information to see what other leads might have been ignored by police. The district attorney is worried, though, that it'll undermine the hotline's promise of anonymity and lead people to stop calling in tips.

Open Thread ... Thursday

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: 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. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: 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. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: 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. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Daddy, daughter decide to fake a kidnapping, La. cops say

For fun, a Louisiana man and his 12-year-old daughter decided to play a joke on other motorists, police say. They allegedly put duct tape over her mouth and tied her hands together, then propped her in the front seat of his pickup as they roared down the interstate. (He'd just picked up the girl from her mother.) A-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Kidnapped children are hilarious.

Who wasn't laughing: Other motorists, who actually boxed in the dude's truck until police arrived. The po-po threw Dad in jail and cited the girl.

Walking while drunk can be dangerous, too

New Year's isn't just a bad time for drunk-driving crashes -- it's also one of the worst days for pedestrian deaths because a lot of those killed are walking while drunk and wander into traffic, MSNBC reports.

Alcohol impairment is likely what accounts for Jan. 1 posting more pedestrian crash deaths than any other day, the report concludes. Halloween, another booze-soaked holiday, at least for adults, comes in a close second. But emergency room workers say the risk for intoxicated pedestrians goes beyond grim encounters with cars.

Man pleads guilty to putting "Love Guru" on Internet

Have you seen this movie? Making this available on the Internet is like taking ebola monkeys to a maternity ward, just completely unacceptable.

Oklahoman, 20, accused of looting beer from stuck beer truck

I'm not saying it's OK, but I understand.

Thieves steal jewelry off corpse

Story is from Tennessee, where the bad guys apparently broke into a funeral home and stole the jewelry as the body lay in the casket.

Have you seen this man?

From KCKPD: The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department’s Major Case Unit is still requesting assistance from the public in locating the person shown in the picture below. Andre S. Chapple Jr., is wanted in connection with the murder of Kansas City, Kansas resident Eddie Cobbs, black male, 11-30-1969, which occurred on December 2, 2009 in the 2300 Block of Silver Court. The Wyandotte County District Court has issued an arrest warrant for Second Degree Murder. The bond has been set at $500,000. (Chapple is 5-11 and weighs 230 pounds.)

The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department’s Major Case Unit is encouraging anyone with information that will assist in locating this person to please call 911, 913-573-6020 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

If you insist on drinking and driving ...

.. then the McGuire, Jennings and Miller Funeral Home of Rome, Ga., has a fantastic deal for you! The funeral home is offering free burials to anyone who signs a contract saying they plan to drink or get high on New Year's, then get behind the wheel. If you die on New Year's Eve, then you win the free burial!

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Scott!

Lamb's head found inside IKEA microwave

I just don't get Swedish interior design.

6 dead after shooting at Finland shopping center

Including the gunman, authorities say, though it's not clear if he killed himself. More details here.

(AP Photo/Lehtikuva/Jussi Nukari )

Joplin PD seeks man in toddler's death

In Joplin, police are trying to arrest a man named Byron D. Lang, who's been charged with second-degree murder in connection with a 2-year-old's death there back in 2008. Lang skipped out on his bond, Kathee Baird reports, and though authorities think he probably fled to Texas, there's a chance he might be in the area for Christmas. More from the Globe.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Kathee!

Man who shot KCPD officers is up for parole

And a coalition of local law-enforcement officers is speaking out so that Saeed Aquil won't be released, Tony Rizzo reports. The shooting itself happened back in 1994 -- on Dec. 31, in fact. Sgt. Larry Schoen was hit in the leg and hip. Patrick Brown, now a former officer, was hit in the chest and saved by his bullet-resistant vest. They were able to return fire and wound Aquil.

Aquil was sentenced to 60 years, and everybody thought he would have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before parole became possible. Nope. First-degree assault of an LEO wasn't on the 85-percent list until after Aquil was sentenced. Which is why he's eligible now.

Woman punches man after "weird sex," police say

From the News Herald of Panama City:

A 23-year-old man was punched in the face by his 18-year-old girlfriend moments after they finished having “weird” sex according to a report from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

Praying for fewer murders

From Christine: Religious and community leaders plan to gather New Year’s Day to remember Kansas City’s 2009 homicide victims and pray for less violence in 2010. The event, which is open to the public, is set for 10:30 a.m. Friday at Morning Star Baptist Church, 2700 Wabash Ave. The Rev. John Modest Miles will lead a prayer for healing. Afterward, the group will release balloons symbolizing each homicide victim.

Parents of homicide victims, police officers and members of several anti-crime groups are expected to attend.

"Best man" wasn't particularly good

In Houston, police are investigating after the best man in a wedding allegedly pulled a gun during the reception and robbed the D.J. Snip:

But the groom told investigators he barely knows the guy. He said he was a last-minute replacement for his cousin, who backed out.

"He says he met him at a basketball court playing basketball," said HPD Detective Jeff Brieden.

The police are skeptical ...

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

Mo. trucker, son accused of torturing and killing man in basement

In Audrain County, Mo., a trucker named Chester Harvey Jr. and his son, 19-year-old Chad, are accused of killing and torturing an Ohio man in their basement. It's not clear why the victim, James William Boyd McNeely, was killed or how the suspects knew him. The elder Harvey reportedly picked him up in California. (The state, one presumes. The AP feed isn't crystal clear on the subject.)

This all came to the attention of authorities last week, when someone reported a dead body -- McNeely's -- in the elder Harvey's truck. That led to a standoff with police, where Chester Harvey reportedly held his family hostage. Including, the AP notes, a 9-year-old son in a wheelchair and on dialysis.

More details, some of them fairly gruesome, after the jump ...

Missing person is OK, police say

Jeffrey Clouse, a man reported missing from earlier in the week, has turned up safe and sound, KCPD says. No foul play was involved.