Friday, July 18, 2008
VIDEO: Man in penis costume ruins special day
I know, I know ... it feels like we're beating this story to death. But thanks to QuizLaw, we've finally got VIDEO of the event.
Guilty plea in planned babysnatching
An Odessa woman pleaded guilty this morning to her role in a failed plot to take a baby from a pregnant teen.
Lauren M. Gash, 20, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, assaulting and restraining the teen July 30 inside a Blue Springs motel room.
Authorities earlier had connected her to a plot that included the possibility of cutting the baby from the mother’s womb. Gash and her lawyer, bearing testimony at today’s hearing, said the plan was to let Howard deliver the baby before taking it and raising it as Gash’s.
The best defense ... is an outrageous story
A Texas constable is accused of exposing himself at a local gas station. His explanation, courtesy of KWTX:
During his trial in November, Westerman told jurors that he was in the parking lot that day, but his pants were only down because he had gas. He went on to say that the woman who made the complaint against him, had merely seen him shaking a bottle of Pepto Bismol.
He was found guilty. There's some debate whether he'll get to stay constable.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM
Meanwhile, in Edwardsville
18:41 7/17/2008 ... Officers were dispatched to Riverfalls Road for a report of vandalism. The victim reported that two juveniles, age 5 and 7 years old, dumped a bucket of sand on her door mat.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Judge gives the go-ahead for war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo
Osama's former driver is scheduled to be the first who goes on trial next week. It'll be the United States' first war-crimes trial since World War II, Reuters reports.
UPDATE on the guy in the penis costume
This is the gentleman who ran onstage during a high-school graduation in Saratoga Springs and started spraying the crowd with Silly String. It appears that he will be writing a letter of apology ...
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Patty PV!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
UPDATE: Rozita shows up
Rozita Swinton, the Colorado woman accused of falsely hotlining the Yearning For Zion ranchers, DID appear in court, after all. (She missed one appearance earlier in the week, leading to a warrant for her arrest.) Her lawyer said it was because of a misunderstanding.
A great day for annoying Australians
Remember how Australia passed a law against being annoying to World Youth Day visitors, just in time for the pope's visit? Well, a court has determined that measure is, in its finest legal opinion, horse-hockey.
Hat Tip: Saw this via weirduniverse.net!
Suspect rams KCK cruiser, escapes during chase
A driver rammed a Kansas City, Kan., police car before leading officers on a two-state chase tonight.
The suspect’s vehicle hit the officer’s car just before 8 p.m. in the 2000 block of South Mill Street, then took off, police reported. Officers pursued the vehicle into Missouri but lost sight of the car near downtown Kansas City.
Tiller attorneys want his criminal charges kicked on constitutional grounds
The Kansas attorney general's office filed 19 misdemeanor charges against Tiller in June 2007, alleging he broke a 1998 state law requiring that a second, independent Kansas physician sign off on most late-term abortions. Two doctors, without financial or legal ties, must conclude that if the pregnancy continues, the mother will die or face "substantial and irreversible" harm to "a major bodily function," which has been interpreted to include mental health.
Tiller relied on Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus, of Nortonville, for his second opinion for abortions in 2003, and she had a financial relationship with him that is against the law, according to the criminal complaint.
Tiller's attorneys contend that the law creates an unconstitutional burden on a physician's right to practice medicine.
The judge, based in Wichita, says he'll make a decision in the next week.
It's too bad that electrocution has gone out of style
An Arizona man is accused of cutting down a power pole -- knocking out power to 4,000 homes in 115-degree heat -- because he "enjoyed the sparks it made," the Arizona Republic reports.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Charges dropped against OP teacher in alleged tambourine attack
A battery charge has been dismissed against a former Overland Park teacher who was charged after a tossed tambourine struck a child, who suffered a cut and bruises.
The Overland Trail Elementary School music teacher, who retired after the incident, took a tambourine from a kindergarten child and tried to toss it behind him on a desk but it struck a boy. Parents contacted police and pressed for the municipal charge but later decided not to pursue it, police said.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!
Say it ain't so, Rozita!
Rozita Swinton -- the woman accused of hotlining the Yearning For Zion Ranch, kicking off that infamous raid -- might be on the run, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. An arrest warrant has been issued in her name after she failed to show up for a court appearance.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Mom accused of threatening witnesses against her son
The mother of a Kansas City shooting suspect has been charged with threatening one of the witnesses against her son.
Jackson County prosecutors on Saturday charged Janet M. Peregrina with a felony count of tampering with a witness.
Peregrina, 46, allegedly confronted the witness last Thursday in front of his West Side business and told him it was his fault her son was in jail, according to court documents.
“Peregrina then told the victim she knew where he lived and then read the victim’s full name, address and phone number to the victim,” according to court documents filed in support of the charge. She allegedly told him that her family would “get even.”
Police v. 8,000 drunk mooners
I hate to say who won and give away the ending, but I will note that nobody was arrested ...
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Pastor of KY church accused of illegally trading in poisonous snakes
Most were taken from the Middlesboro home of Gregory James Coots, including 42 copperheads, 11 timber rattlesnakes, three cottonmouth water moccasins, a western diamondback rattlesnake, two cobras and a puff adder.
See? Aren't you proud of me for not making a big deal about his last name being Coots?
Youths were playing with guns when 19-year-old was shot, KCPD says
Youths playing with guns — not an argument that got out of hand — led to the fatal shooting death of a 19-year-old man in the 9100 block of James A. Reed Road, police said tonight.
Hasaan Alhambra, who was shot Thursday, died late this afternoon at an area hospital, according to Kansas City Police Capt. Rich Lockhart.
Initially, police said the shooting appeared to have stemmed from an argument.
After interviewing several witnesses, detectives discovered that several youths were playing with guns inside the home when Alhambra was shot, Lockhart said. The shooter is now in juvenile custody.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Fetch me the world's tiniest violin!
Josef Fritzl -- the Austrian man who allegedly locked up his daughter for 24 years and forced her to bear his secret children in their basement -- wants to go outside more often for exercise because he dislikes being cramped up in a cell.
The Subway Goddess
A Chilean stripper has been arrested after she reportedly gave impromptu performances in subway cars -- they do have poles, you know. The stripper, nicknamed the Subway Goddess, only got down to her undies. She says it was her way of protesting Chile's conservative culture ...
Mayor Frank Melton
Remember Mayor Frank of Jackson, Miss.? He's something of a character, known for raiding nightclubs and regularly riding along with police at night. In 2006, he and his police bodyguards allegedly cleared out a reputed drughouse and then told a group of yutes to, well, attack the place with sledgehammers.
Only it was NOT a drughouse. And now Mayor Frank, who beat a slew of state charges, has been indicted on federal civil-rights charges.
Photo: The faux drughouse, after the sledgehammers did their work. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Cranky old bat triumphs in U.S. court of law
Jean Merola, 76, who refused to pull forward in a McDonald's drive-through while she waiting for unsalted fries, has been found not guilty, the St. Pete Times reports. Apparently, she HAD moved forward some, but not enough for a police officer behind her to pull around her. They got into a confrontation that led to Merola getting arrested.
During the trial, six state witnesses testified that Merola was visibly agitated and verbally abusive to Parco (THE POLICE OFFICER).
Parco told the court Merola said she hoped he was Christian because he was "pure evil and going to hell."
Even Merola sounded surprised that she won.
"Did you say I'm not guilty?" she asked.
"You're guilty of a lot of things," (THE JUDGE) said. "Just not this."
In interest of completeness, it should be noted the officer resigned during an internal-affairs investigation. Snip:
Witnesses told investigators that he offered a 15-year-old girl chewing tobacco, fired his Taser into his cruiser windshield to demonstrate how it worked and showed the teen a computer video of a cow being Tasered.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
NY mom kept sawed-off shotgun, knife in baby stroller, police say
Along with a baby, of course. Mom is accused of pulling the weapons out when she got into an argument with another woman during a walk.
Hat Tip: Saw this via QuizLaw!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Why is everyone so mean to Sheriff Joe?
In Mesa, Ariz., someone is putting up graffiti that demonizes Sheriff Joe Arapaio -- or "Nazi Joe," as the taggers like to call him. Mesa authorities, who originally weren't going to get involved, now say they'll investigate. Snip:
"There hasn't been one elected official to step up and say 'they shouldn't be saying these things about our Sheriff' regardless of what they believe," Arpaio said. "Where is everybody? For me, no one cares."
Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!
Former MO cop gets 15 days for giving vodka to teen girl, who later died
Story is from Pineville, the cop used to work from Neosho PD. The Missouri AG, which prosecuted the case, had wanted him to go away for a year, the Joplin Globe reports.
Emporia police capture escapee from NH prison
What's funny is this is the second time he's escaped from New Hampshire, and both times, he runs and hides in Emporia. This time, it took police about 90 minutes to capture him.
Did this woman launch the TX polygamist raid?
It's our old friend, Rozita Swinton, the woman accused of hotlining the Yearning For Zion crew, even though, as far as anybody can tell, she's never been within a mile of the place. (Rozita lives in Colorado.) She's pleaded not guilty, and now the judge has set a trial date for late October.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Capt. Spaulding's World
weighs in here on the police taking out a gunman yesterday. Snip:
As I stated in a previous post - this is a sign that economic hard times and other factors may increasingly push those on the edge over same ...
Police catch driver of stolen car after brief chase, KCPD says
The driver of a stolen car led Kansas City police on a brief high-speed chase this afternoon before crashing on U.S. 71 near 43rd Street.
The suspect was taken into custody. It was not known if he was injured.
The chase went through Swope Park, where officers deployed a device at 63rd Street and Lewis Road that punctured at least one tire on the vehicle.
The suspect vehicle may have been involved in several collisions before police began the pursuit, according to radio traffic.
Pray for El Jeffe
Warren Jeffs has been hospitalized, though nobody's saying why. Perhaps it's a broken heart?
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
Suspect arrested in Viola c-store kidnapping
This is the case from a few days ago, where a convenience-store clerk was reportedly abducted at work in a small town called Viola, Kan. (She was later released unharmed a day or so later.) Sedgwick County authorities now say the suspect, Robert D. Abner, has been arrested.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
KCPD shoots man who was firing at passing cars
I don't know the man's story or whatever drove him to this. I'm sure it's a sad one. But thank God for the KCPD and the three officers who stopped him before any innocent people were killed.
From KCPD: Tuesday, at 1658 hours, a 52 year old male was driving his vehicle when he lost control of it and left the roadway near Oldham and Hillcrest, striking a tree. The man got out of his car with a rifle in his hand. An off-duty officer assigned to the Police Athletic League saw the man and got out of her car and approached him.
The officer ordered the man to drop his weapon and the man refused. The man continued to walk in a southeasterly direction on Oldham road toward the picnic shelters. The officer radioed for assistance. The man started firing the rifle at passing vehicles as he was walking.
Three uniform officers arrived and converged on the man. The officers were armed with a patrol rifle (AR-15 Bushmaster), a shotgun, and a handgun. The officers ordered the man to surrender and when he pointed the gun at them, they all three shot striking the man several times.
The man was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. No officers or civilians were injured during the encounter. The 52 year old gunman hit at least 3 vehicles with gunfire that were driving on Oldham road. His vehicle was the only vehicle involved in the accident.
The three officers who were involved in the shooting will be on administrative leave and were appointed as officers on 02/13/1994, 12/19/1999, and 05/01/2005. The officer who initially encountered the man was appointed as an officer on 12/19/1999.
Maybe he's just not that into you
Authorities say an Illinois man ordered shipments of pufferfish toxin, sent inquiries to hitmen and was named the beneficiary of a $5 million life-insurance policy on his wife. His wife, though, doesn't think he REALLY wanted to kill her ...
KMBC: Cops catch suspect who escaped police HQ
KMBC says that, when officers caught up with him, he was in a stolen car. Oddly enough, that's why he got brought in SUNDAY, too, police report.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV!
Monday, July 07, 2008
Handcuffed man escapes from KCPD headquarters
From KCPD:
Attached is a picture of Brennon Taylor, 08/18/1980. Taylor was arrested this evening (Sunday) by officers near 55th and Brooklyn. He was in a stolen car and was in possession of a .44 magnum handgun. Taylor is a convicted felon and was arrested and transported to police headquarters detention, 1125 Locust.
While waiting in the lobby to be booked in, Taylor snuck into the elevator after a paramedic team got off the elevator to treat a different prisoner. Taylor rode the elevator to the first floor where he escaped out a side door at about 620 pm.
Taylor is 6'0" tall and weighs 150 pounds. He is known to frequent 55 and Brooklyn and 43rd and Mersington. He faces charges related to the escape, stolen vehicle, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Anyone with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline.
Bill Maas speaks
about his legal troubles from the past year or so. What are his chances of getting back into broadcasting?
“To be honest,” he says, “I don’t think it’s resurrectable.”
Portable toilet explodes in St. Joseph
Detectives are trying to figure out what type of device was used to blow up the structure.
Hmm. It happened late Friday. Is there possibly some event on Friday that could be connected to this terrible crime?
UPDATED: Keith G in PV points out this story from Washington state on the dangers of SPRINKLER SPARKLER BOMBS!!!
File Photo: A pair of unmolested portable toilets.
Note: Sorry about the sprinkler-sparkler confusion ... I'm still getting back in the saddle after vacation ...
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
If you get caught trying to sell guns and Tasers to a 7-Eleven clerk ...
... you probably don't have diplomatic immunity.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!
Where is Kenneth C. Evans Jr.?
UPDATED: They're still looking for him. We know now that he's wanted for questioning in the Ulises Jaco homicide from December 2007 at 75th and State in KCK.
From KCK PD: The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department is requesting the public's assistance in locating a wanted person, Kenneth C. Evans Jr., black male, 07-15-1988, 5'9, 160, black hair, brown eyes. Mr. Evans is wanted for questioning in an active criminal investigation and has an active warrant out in Kansas City, Kansas.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Kansas City Kansas Police Department's Major Case Unit at 913-573-6020 or the Crime Stoppers TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS (8477).
JoCo Sheriff will have extra officers to stop fireworks
From the JoCo Sheriff: Johnson County Deputies will be enforcing the fireworks ban in rural Johnson County during this year's Independence Day weekend celebrations.
There will be additional patrols in place to assist in this effort. According to county regulations, fireworks including sparklers are illegal without a permit in all unincorporated areas of Johnson County. Persons using or selling fireworks will be subject to fines from $25 up to $100. For more information on regulations for fireworks, visit http://cmo.jocogov.org/permits/article3.htm
All my friends know the low rider
A New Hampshire woman is facing criminal charges -- AGAIN -- because she allegedly let her pants hang too low while, of course, NOT WEARING ANY UNDERWEAR. Starbucks got an official letter barring her from the premises. Snip:
Bentz noted on the back of the complaint that he observed Skiff squatting in front of a bench exposing what he estimated to be six inches of buttocks. After “several requests” that she pull her pants up, Bentz reported, she did “slightly" but her “pubic hair and buttocks were still exposed.”
Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!
Dakota DeRemus' dad to face trial over alleged threats
The father of a Gardner boy who died after a fistfight was bound over for trial Monday on charges that he allegedly threatened nine people.
Frank Scott DeRemus, 41, pleaded not guilty in Johnson County District Court to nine counts of making a criminal threat, which is a felony. His trial was set for Aug. 11.
DeRemus is the father of Dakota DeRemus, 17, who collapsed during the fight and died. Dustin Howard, 17, pleaded no contest in June to aggravated battery.
Can this marriage be saved? ... No.
An Arizona man is accused of threatening to kill the man he caught shtupping his wife, which I think is pretty petty of the local authorities. If he KILLED the dude or gave him some extra holes? OK, I think charges would be warranted.
I think limiting the response to a threat and, I don't know, throwing the dude into a computer is pretty humanitarian.
WARNING SIGNS THEY SHOULD HAVE SEEN EARLIER: The couple has been married three years, but the wife has spent two of them in halfway houses, the Arizona Republic reports.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, eephus!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Olathe man accused of counterfeiting money
From U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren's office: Vincent M. Cunningham, 50, Olathe, Kan., was charged Thursday with counterfeiting.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Topeka alleged
that Cunningham sold $1,150 in counterfeit bills to an informant for
$250. Cunningham was arrested June 25, 2008, at 515 Clairborn in
Olathe. Investigators served a search warrant at his residence, where
they found un-cut sheets of counterfeit U.S. currency.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to
$250,000. The Topeka Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service
investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Mattivi is prosecuting.
Paraplegic accused of leading Calif. police on a high-speed chase
Which goes to show that people with disabilities really can do anything. This gentleman became paralyzed when police shot him several years ago and lied about him assaulting officers. He went to prison, but had most of his sentence kicked because of the scandal in L.A.'s Rampart division.
Fact: "Drug addicts don't make very good friends"
Midtown Miscreant finishes the story of an old buddy, Charlie, here. Snip:
I can't say I miss the Charlie that he had become, drug addicts don't make very good friends. I have often asked myself why I ever got involved in that mess. The best I can answer is to say this. I did it for the old Charlie. The Charlie I remembered from my childhood. The one that got picked on and smelled like pee. But that Charlie was long gone, in his place was just another wigged-out dope fiend. I never looked back.
Man accused of wearing wig, thong, fake breasts while walking along road
Story is from Connecticut, where authorities got several complaints about the gentleman. Police later arrested a suspect who was picking up cans behind a store when they found him. Charges here are simple trespass and disorderly conduct -- which seems like a stretch to me. Is it a crime now for men to parade around in thongs and fake breasts?
Trouble at the Gateway Arch
A park ranger was hit by a car after he tried to stop some men from throwing traffic barriers into the Mississippi early on Sunday. The ranger was able to return fire, though, and his shots ended up killing the getaway car's driver. The ranger is expected to live.
"Convicted of causing a catastrophe"
The Hannibal Courier-Post has a story about James Scott, who was convicted of breaking a West Quincy, Ill., levee during the flood of 1993. ABC's Primetime Live is taking another look at the case during its broadcast on Tuesday night. Scott is trying to convince people that he was innocent, but the prosecutor says the evidence against him was overwhelming.
Convicted child molester tried to gather urine from men's bathroom, police say
Uh, so he could drink it. It's sort of interesting -- in a horrible way -- the level of planning he allegedly put into his urine-collection scheme ...
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!
Woman shot, abducted -- suspect later kills himself, police say
From KCPD:
On Sunday June 29, 2008 at around 11:15pm KCMO Police Officers were called to the Gates Restaurant-1221 Brooklyn Avenue on a man who witnesses reported had abducted a woman at gunpoint. Those witnesses provided officers with a description of the man and his vehicle and license plate information.
Officers then responded to the residence on file for the license given and found the same vehicle that had been described by the witnesses at the restaurant in the driveway of a house located at 3810 east 35th street.
As the officers approached the house a woman who matched the description of the woman abducted from the restaurant ran out of the house and told officers she had just been shot by a man inside the house.
Officers then observed a man matching the description of the one given by witnesses at the restaurant, come out of the house onto the porch smoking a cigarette. The man then went back inside the house. Officers then approached the door of the residence and upon doing so heard what sounded like a gunshot inside. An Operation 100 was initiated and an attempt was made to contact the man with no response.
Tactical officers eventually made entry into the residence and found the man inside who was dead from a single gunshot wound. No officers fired their weapons during this incident.
The woman who was shot was transported by MAST to an area hospital for treatment of her non-life threatening injury.
More information will be released as it becomes available .
Saturday, June 28, 2008
OMG
The inimitable Nice Deb has tracked down photographic evidence of the dude dressed as a penis.
NY officer accused of excessive force, bodyslamming woman
Story is from Yonkers, N.Y., where a police officer reportedly picked up a woman and bodyslammed her to the ground last year, breaking her jaw and putting her in the hospital for four days, The AP reports. It happened during a medical call involving the woman's niece -- looks like the officer was trying to give the EMTs some space.
The woman originally faced a criminal charge, which she beat. She's filed an $11 million suit against the police, and the officer is facing criminal charges.
From The AP: This March 2007 photo released in New York by Certain & Zilberg, PLLC, shows Irma Marquez in her hospital bed bearing injuries she sustained after being body-slammed by a Yonkers, N.Y, police officer. The FBI arrested Yonkers police officer Wayne Simoes on Friday, June 27, 2008, charging him with violating Marquez's civil rights when he used excessive force and put Marquez in the hospital for four days. (AP Photo/Certain & Zilberg, PLLC)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Dirtbag teenagers try to ruin "GTA" for everybody else
By blaming their violent crime spree on the game. If you're clever enough to blame a video game for affecting your impulse control and providing a bad influence, then you're smart enough to know you shouldn't go out mug people, dirtbag.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM.
Woman IDs her pimp in exchange for pizza
1. Dear Pimp: If your ladies are selling you out for food, you're not pimping hard enough.
2. Why aren't we offering fast food to all of our criminals? A Taco Bell run has got to be easier than a yearlong undercover investigation.
Report: MO underage drinking is higher than U.S. average
Story is from the Jeff City paper, which cites a state-sponsored study. Snip:
According to a 2006 Missouri Student Survey commissioned by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Mental Health, in a 30-day period 43 percent of high school juniors and 50 percent of high school seniors had more than one drink.
Man dressed as penis disrupts graduation, NY police say
To be fair, if you're dressed as a penis, you're going to be disruptive no matter where you go. This cat, however, was running across a stage as high-school diplomas were being handed out, police say. For that little something extra, he reportedly sprayed the crowd with Silly String. Loved this quote from police:
"Once I stopped laughing, he was pretty easy to catch because he was tripping on the lower portion of the costume,'' said Briscoe, who made the arrest.
Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!
4th-grade teacher convicted of leaving bomb threats at her school
She still says she's innocent -- depending on her sentencing, she could spend a maximum of 73 years in prison. Story is from Pennsylvania.