CrimeTimeNews (c)

DISABLED WOMAN DOUSED WITH GASOLINE

2004-04-08T16:46:00.000-05:00

New Orleans, LA - As she always did, the healthcare worker went around to the back door of the neat house on Nursery Avenue. This time, something was wrong...the door stood open.
The first Jefferson Parish officer to arrive heard a soft moan and found a thirty-eight year old woman lying face down on an upstairs bed. The victim suffers from a rare debilitating form of multiple sclerosis that has left her partially blind, paralyzed and confined to a wheel chair.
When she was finally able to describe what happened to her, she told how she was awakened at 2AM Sunday morning by woman standing over her holding a large kitchen knife. The intruder slapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists and hog-tied the invalid with shoe laces. The burglar then ransacked the place until she found her victim's ATM card. When the helpless woman refused to reveal her PIN code, the felon poured gasoline all over her and threatened to light a match to get the number.
One of the first things officers noticed at the scene of the crime was the lack of forced entry into the home. It wasn't long before they began to focus on a former medical aide who knew where a hidden key was kept. What really caught their attention was that Watrina Hall's family filed a missing persons report about the time the crime was taking place.
Hall, 27, has been arrested and sits in jail charged with attempted murder, armed robbery and battery on the infirmed.
The victim, who is staying with her sister, is recovering from the chemical burns she suffered from lying on the gasoline soaked mattress.

MOLESTER HIDES MURDERED MOM

2004-04-07T19:20:00.000-05:00

Syracuse, NY - It was 1990 when Peg Reome was devastated to learn that her live-in boyfriend was molesting her ten year old daughter. She did the right thing. She had George Geddes, Jr., arrested for rape. Two weeks later she disappeared.
She still hadn't turned-up when, in 1993, Geddes was convicted of the sexual assault. He did his time and was released on probation. Probation officers have control of every aspect of their ex-con's lives. Last summer it came up that Geddes was renting a storage unit and hadn't reported that as required.
Back when Ms. Reome initially went missing officers immediatedly searched the apartment she shared with Geddes but, they came up empty handed. Now records revealed that their prime suspect had been renting the space at the U-Haul center for the past fourteen years. Armed with a search warrant, they opened the door to the five by five room. Inside they found a single trunk. In it were the remains of a thirty-one year old woman who had suffered severe blows to the head.
As Peg Reome was recovered, her three children looked on. "Talk about giving your life for your child," said her daughter, "She really did." One of the detectives commented, "It takes a pretty stupid criminal to put a body in a place he rented under his own name."
Geddes, who paid to hide his victim even while in prison, has just been arraigned for murder.

I WANT TO MARRY MY RAPIST

2004-03-31T20:30:00.000-05:00

Racine, WI - Five months ago Penelope Parker told police that she had been raped while they stood outside her house awaiting court permission to enter. Now she wants to marry her assailant.
The strange case started when a neighbor witnessed Matthew Rice beating and dragging Ms. Parker into the house they shared. Responding officers couldn't get anyone to answer and were about to break down the front door when their sergeant arrived and told them to stop.
By the time he had called his supervisor, who in turn contacted a prosecutor and received authorization for forced entry, forty-five minutes had passed. When police rescued the battered woman, she complained that Rice had raped her while officers were only a few feet away. Rice was lodged in jail.
Then, two months after the attack, Parker wrote to the court saying he had only beaten her. She stated she would refuse to testify to rape. Without her cooperation, prosecutors had to drop that charge. Rice pled guilty to felony battery and received a six month jail sentence followed by three years probation.
An additional stipulation of the sentence was that rice could have no contact with Ms. Parker. Now the victim has again written the court requesting that provision be set aside. "We are engaged and still planning on getting married." her letter said. In his response, the judge ruled that the only way that will happen is if Ms. Parker submits to a psychological examination.
Pending the results, should Rice violate terms of his sentence, he will be facing another one year in prison and two and a half years of extended supervision.

THE KRISPY KREME GETAWAY TRUCK

2004-03-29T21:41:00.000-05:00

Kodak, TN - It was 10:26 Thursday morning and no one in the bank realized what was happening until the robber had fled. Behind she left a briefcase containing four pipe bombs. The teller who handed over her cash drawer described a light skinned black female 35-40, thin build, glasses, long sleeved green shirt and blue jeans.
The woman fled in an old beat up delivery van that had been stolen from the Krispy Kreme facility on Kingston Pike. Police found the abandoned truck less than two miles from the bank at a mini storage. Meanwhile, officers removed the briefcase and detonated the bombs outside the bank.
On Saturday morning in the nearby town of New Market, James Allen and his sixteen year old daughter were working in their yard when a minivan pulled alongside the curb and the driver beckoned the girl. He told her he was running from the FBI and needed some food and money before he turned himself in. She ran to her father who immediately called police.
Moments later constable Frank Soloman spotted the suspect and turned on his lights and siren. The driver stomped on it and the chase was on. About seven miles later, with officers from several departments on his tail, the chase ended on a dead end road in front of the Mill Dale Bed and Breakfast. The suspect, who hasn't yet been identified, resisted but was subdued and taken into custody.
A search of the van turned up a bomb, a hand gun, handcuffs, bank bags and a wig. The bed and breakfast was evacuated while the bomb squad removed what turned out to be a fake explosive. Officers speculate that, given the evidence recovered, the woman robber may have been a fake as well.

A FATAL CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY

2004-03-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

Long Island, NY - The co-owners of the Dolphin Fitness Club, Paul Riedel and Alex Algeri, were best friends in addition to being business partners. They looked alike and even drove similar cars. Late one night when Alex went out the back door to get some CD's from his vehicle, an assassin stepped out of the dark and fired five rounds into the wrong man.
The trail of tragic events that led to the killing began when Lee Ann Riedel, tired of her husband, decided murder was easier than an interstate divorce. Lee Ann had already left New York and gone to stay with her mother in Florida. When she headed South, Lee Ann took $125,000 of Paul's money with her. Before she fled, she also took out a $100,000 life insurance policy on Paul.
It was Lee Ann's mother and her live-in girlfriend who introduced the former strip club bartender to Ralph "Rocco" Salierno. The two quickly became lovers and Rocco agreed to kill Paul if Lee Ann would hand over the $100 G's. She agreed.
The six week trial that just ended saw a parade of witnesses who filled in the details of what happened next. Rocco, a some time loan shark, took on an accomplice, Scott Paget, himself a drug addict and dealer. The two drove to New York. Once there, they staked out the car she had described and used a picture she gave them to identify their target.
After Rocco ran up to the SUV, the criminals drove back to the Sunshine state expecting to collect big. Instead, the whole crowd is only going to get hard time. Lee Ann and Rocco have both been convicted of first degree murder and are awaiting sentencing. Scott, the get away driver, testified against them, and as part of a plea agreement, is awaiting sentencing on unrelated federal drug charges.

DAVE THE DEADHEAD IS DEAD

2004-03-26T13:08:00.000-05:00

Olympia, WA - When David George didn't show up at the Oregon County Fair last July, his friends knew something was wrong. The artist made it a ritual to come and paint signs in his own trademark eclectic style. Everyone familiar with the fifty-one year old batchelor also knew he smoked a little dope and had followed his favorite band, the Grateful Dead, all over the world.
For a while Dave designed and sold t-shirts at concerts. That is how he and lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia, became friends. It was Jerry who invited Dave to accompany the group when they played in front of the pyramids in Egypt. Dave even carried a pebble he had picked up there in his pocket.
About a week after the fair, a dismembered body was found and a week after that it was identified as most of David George. Police got several breaks in the case and soon arrested two men, Mert Celebisoy, 21, and Joseph D'Allesandro, 19. As often happens, the accused quickly turned on one another. Both agreed, though, that the death was the result of an argument over drugs. Each claimed to be driving a car when the other stabbed Dave, who was sitting in the passenger seat, five times with a hunting knife.
Forensic evidence revealed the dead head was alive when he was stuffed into the trunk and that he bled to death there. After leaving the body where it lay for several days, the pair hatched a disposal plan. Dave was taken to a vacant home where he was cut to pieces using an electric saw. The body parts were then shoved into black trash bags and placed back in the trunk. The killers then drove to another property where they used a wheelbarrow to carry the bags to a shallow grave.
Thursday morning a jury in Olympia convicted both men of murder. Friends of the deceased hope that before sentencing is imposed the two will tell them where to find Dave's missing left arm and head.

SON'S CRIME CLOSES FATHER'S CLUB

2004-03-25T22:03:00.000-05:00

Warren, RI - Patrolman Matthew Cabrel entered a side door to Andy's Bar to investigate an assault that had occurred the night before. Like anyone would, he stopped for a minute to let his eyes adjust. He stood there long enough, and could see well enough, to witness a drug transaction take place.
A man, later identified as Joshua Broomfield, put a bill on the bar and the bartender, Matt Chauvin, slipped six pink pills into some cellophane and passed them back. That's when officer Cabrel stepped out of the dim light and arrested both young men.
The trouble that night at Andy's was only the latest brush with the law for the bartender. Last year during a sting, Matt was busted for selling alcohol to a minor. Police were familiar with the club having answered numerous complaints ranging from fights to loud noise.
Now the Town Council sitting as the Licensing Commission has stepped in. Citing the record and testimony, they decided to revoke the liquor license and ordered the club to close for a month. The Commission also fined the club owner, Roger Chauvin, Matt's father, $1,000 and banned the son from the establishment.
Commenting on his boy's felony arrest and the license revocation, the elder Chauvin said, "This is serious. My kid has put me over a barrel."

FATHER AND SON ROBBERS

2004-03-25T21:51:00.000-05:00

Port Huron, MI - It was about eight o'clock Friday night when the doorbell rang. The homeowner, a retired man of 65, wasn't expecting anyone but he got up and went to answer. When he opened the door, he was met by two armed intruders. Knowing they had the drop on him, he handed over his wallet and gave up his guns.
As they started to flee, the victim reached for a weapon he hadn't told them about and opened fire. The younger of the robbers staggered. He was helped to his feet and the two disappeared into the darkness.
A couple of hours later and eighty miles away, a father rushed his son into the Huron Medical Center emergency room. Desperate for help, the older man said the youth had been wounded in a road rage incident. As they do in all gun shot incidents, the hospital notified the police.
Officers were quickly able to unravel the story and arrested the robbers. Brian Stocks, Sr., and Brian Stock, Jr., were taken into custody and are charged with home invasion, armed robbery and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Police think they will be able to link the two men to another home invasion where a 61 year old woman was terrorize. Additionally, officers are adding one count of filing a false police report in the road rage lie. For Stocks, Sr., the extra charge won't make much of a difference. He's already a two-time habitual felony offender. Any conviction at all will mean he goes away for a long time.

"MURDER" CHARGED WITH MURDER

2004-03-24T20:18:00.000-05:00

Troy, NY - Michael Hoffler goes by the street name "Murder". While that may have sounded good as an alias, it probably won't help in his upcoming trial. The convicted drug dealer has been charged in the slaying of Christopher Drabik, a police informant.
Hoffler, who once lived on Osborne road in West Albany, was convicted of selling crack cocaine to confidential informants on three occasions last May. The jury found him guilty despite the absence of Drabik, who was scheduled to testify for the state.
A second man linked to the murder, Lance Booker, is accused of aiding Hoffler kill Drabik. Booker is cooperating with police and has given a detailed statement. According to his version of events, Hoffler repeatedly ask him to do the hit. Instead, Booker says he agreed to buy a gun from a woman who was trying to raise bail money for her boyfriend. Booker also admitted that he provided the cell phone that was used to lure Drabik to his death.
Both Hoffler and Booker have denied killing the informant. They claim they waited in a car while someone they knew as "G" actually pulled the trigger.
Hoffler was given 38 years in the drug case but, may not serve that sentence. The District Attorney is asking for the death penalty for "Murder".

PRIEST ROBBED

2004-03-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia, PA - It was cold, windy and just before noon Monday when Rev. James Catagnus stepped outside the St. Ambrose Roman Catholic Church. The Father, dressed in street clothes, started walking briskly toward the warm, waiting car of a parishioner. Under his arm was a box that contained his church's $4,200 collections.
Just then a man stepped into the priest's path and asked to speak with him. Catagnus feared the worst. "I sensed what was happening." said the reverend who had been robbed two years before outside a bank. The minister made a dash for the car but, was cut off. He turned to run for the rectory only to find his escape blocked by another man. As he spun to cross the road, he saw a third man. According to Catagnus, "I practically ran into his arms."
The driver who had been waiting in the car ran to the rescue but, was sprayed in the face with mace. After a brief struggle, the thieves wrested the box from the priest and all three took off running.
Police, who believe the crime was well planned, have concentrated their search in the lower Olney section of the city. The priest was unhurt and the church member that was gassed was treated and released.

SLEDGEHAMMER STOPS ROBBER

2004-03-23T13:37:00.000-05:00

There is an old rule that says you should never take a knife to a gun fight. Maybe you should bring a sledgehammer instead. That's what a quick thinking customer used to foil an armed robbery at his favorite pizza shop.
J.R. Croy was waiting on his order when a ski-masked man burst through the front door of Stoney's Pizza on Lockbourne Road Saturday night. When the cashiers saw the weapon in his hands, they ran to hide in the cooler. That's when the gunman ordered the customers to the floor and began searching the office for cash.
While he was busy, Cory slipped out the back door and ran around to his pickup. He saw a mini-van, it's door open, motor running. Cory quickly blocked the getaway vehicle in and got out just in time to be confronted by the masked man.
As the gun started coming up toward him, Cory brought the 2 pound hammer from behind his back and landed a hard blow against the side of the robber's head. The man just stood there so Cory hit him three more times. "He just wouldn't go down." according to the good Samaritan.
Responding officers handcuffed the bloody and dazed man and transported him to an area hospital. They also discovered the weapon involved was a paint ball gun. For his help, the shop owner gave Cory a $500 reward.

AIDS RAPIST RELEASED IN ERROR

2004-03-22T21:25:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia, PA - It had been eight days since John Hall had gotten out of jail. When prison officials first notified him that he was due to be released, Hill knew they didn't know what they were talking about. He wasn't about to tell them. Hill had originally been sentenced in 1993 to consecutive 5-10 year stretches on rape and attempted rape charges but, only one had been included in his file.
Now back on the street, he was about to return to his old ways. He pulled his car up to the bus stop, rolled down the window and asked the young girl for directions. When she came over, Hill pointed a gun at her head and forced her into the vehicle. He drove the terrified 16 year old to a secluded parking lot and raped her.
Court and correction administrators are now pointing fingers at each other for the paperwork error that turned this dangerous man loose. This isn't the first time they have had to answer the same kind of questions. In 1996 a Philadelphia Inquirer review showed that 100 people who had been legitimately ordered released had, instead, been forced to stay in custody for weeks while the forms for their freedom trickled through the system.
Hill, now 52, is back in custody and facing another rape charge. Prosecutors have asked permission to tell a jury about his criminal past. In addition to the 1993 cases, he has a rape conviction from the 1980's, and acquittal on rape in 1992. He also did time in the 1970's for robbery. Given his record, Hill, who is HIV positive, is believed to have used a condom in the latest attack to prevent leaving DNA evidence rather than out of concern for the victim.

2004-03-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

CODE VIOLATION LEADS TO MULTIPLE CHARGES

2004-03-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

Park Hills, MO - When code enforcement officer Jim Pope found out that people were living in a house where the water had been turned off for a month, he suspected they were stealing water and sewer service. He called the police department.
As it happened, officers had already taken an interest in the pair that lived at the address. Earlier they had opened an investigation into an incident where the male tenant was suspected of shooting a neighbor's dog with an arrow.
Further, a computer check showed outstanding warrants against a man and a woman known to live at the location.
Uniformed officers were dispatched but, no one would answer. That's when Pope and Detective Mike Kurtz went to the residence in an unmarked car, wearing civilian clothes. This time the man came to the door but, then turned and started back inside, at which time officers placed him under arrest.
It was while handcuffing the man inside the house that officers realized they had stumbled in to a meth lab. All over the place there were speed ingredients in various stages of processing.
The male subject was arrested on a laundry list of drug possession and manfacturing violations. During the search, officers seized a compound bow and think they may be able to file animal cruelty charges. Due to the presence of two juveniles, age 7 & 12, found hiding in a bedroom, child endangerment charges will almost certaintly be added.
The woman who lives at the address was at work when officers arrived and arrested her. Both subjects were taken to jail.

MAN, DOG SURVIVE SHOT TO HEAD

2004-03-18T16:26:00.000-05:00

Farmington, MI - Elwin and Patterson have something unusual in common...both have taken a bullet to the head and lived. Elwin Churchill still carries a fragment of the AK-47 round that nearly took his life back in Viet Nam. He survived the wound but still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He and his son live in a secluded home out in the country.
They were headed into town Friday morning when they saw a tan and white pile laying in the middle of the secondary road. As they pulled over to see what it was, a bleeding collie-shepherd drug itself across the blacktop and under Elwin's pickup. "He was looking for place to die.", said Churchill.
It took some coaxing but, the two men were able to talk the wounded dog out and gently placed him onto an old blanket. They then carefully lifted him into the bed of the truck and set out to find veterinarian Dr. Robert Patterson.
It was Dr. Patterson's experienced hands which examined the injured animal and determined that he had been shot in the right side of his mouth. The bullet shattered several teeth, tore through the tongue and exited through the throat.
In appreciation for his life saving efforts, Churchill decided to name his new friend after the good doctor. Now, twice a day, the veteran can be found at the Clearwater Veterinary Clinic walking Patterson as part of his recuperation.
Police are investigating.

MARSHALL'S ARREST MARSHALL

2004-03-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Houston, TX - The man who answered the door looked alot like his 1969 mug shot. There were, of course, the obvious signs of aging but, all of his tattoos matched those described on the wanted poster. After 33 years on the run, US Marshall's asked Allen Delaney Marshall if he knew why they were there. The thin, grey haired man showed no surprise and answered "yes". He then calmly turned to his teenage sons and said, "I'll see you in 2 1/2 years."
Marshall, now 62, was granted a 3-day furlough from a Pennsylvania prison back in 1971 and never went back. Authorities believe he headed straight for Mexico and spent the next two decades there. At the time of his escape, Marshall was 2 1/2 years into a 5-10 sentence for beating his first wife to death.
US Marshall's received an anonymous tip last month that only gave them a telephone number to work on. They now think the fugitive has been in Houston for about 2 years. The non-descript, middle class home he shared with his wife and two boys was rented last year in his real name.
The young men remained calm when agents put their father on the living room floor and handcuffed him behind his back. They even helped him put on his shoes before he was led away.
When taken before a judge, Marshall said, "I'm ready to get this over with. I should have taken care of this a long time ago." In addition to the remainder of the original sentence, the senior citizen could get an additional 7 years on the escape charges.

SHELTER WORKER GUILTY IN TEEN SUICIDE

2004-03-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

Ft. Lauderdale, FL - When Sandra Trotter, 41, walked into Anthony Duma's room at the Lippman Family Center for troubled youths, she found the 15 year old boy hanging from the ceiling. Instead of helping the still breathing teen, she grabbed a Polaroid camera and started taking pictures. A jury has decided that her failure to act constitutes child neglect and has found Trotter guilty.
At the time of the incident, the counselor gave numerous reasons for her behavior. First she said she didn't know what to do then, that she was scared she would be liable if she intervened. She then said that she ran out of the room in a futile attempt to find scissors or a knife. In one version, she claimed a supervisor ordered her not to touch the child. In the three minutes it took police to respond, Trotter did manage to take four pictures of his dangling body.
The suicide happened 19 days after Dumas was ordered to the facility for shoving his mother. Within hours of his admission, the boy told a staff member that he intended to hang himself with his belt. After the boy was cut down, he lapsed into a coma and finally died four months later.
The family has reached a confidential, out of court settlement with Lutheran Services of Florida, the non-profit organization that operates the Lippman Center. Trotter, who is awaiting sentencing, faces up to 5 years in prison.

15 YEAR OLD RATS ON 19 YEAR OLD PIMP

2004-03-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

Queens, NY - What started out as an arrest for street fighting has turned into a grand jury indictment. Clifford Augustin, 19, was involved in an altercation that officers from the 118th precient were called to breakup.
When they put Augustin up against a wall to frisk him, they found a butterfly knife in his jacket pocket. What really got their attention, though, was the stack of motel receipts, a room key, a handful of condoms and $600 in cash.
Over the next few weeks, officers developed enough information to file a 40 page criminal complaint. Key to their case is a 15 year old who said she first met Augustin in a clothing store at the Green Acres Mall. He told the girl she could make a "great deal of money". Later he contacted her again and explained the business of prostitution, including how to pickup clients and how to lie about her age.
The next month, she began putting his lessons to use, charging $50 for oral sex, $80 for intercourse and $100 an hour for a motel stay. During a 24 day period, the girl turned 2-3 tricks a night and split her $4,800 take with Augustin.
The grand jury returned a true bill on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, conspiracy, and multiple counts of promoting prostitution. Bail was set at $150,000. Augustin is looking at 15 years in prison if convicted.

AUTO BLACK BOX DATA ADMITTED

2004-03-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

Montreal, Canada - It was shortly before one in the morning, in an industrial area on the east side of the city, when Eric Gauthier, 26, decided to show his friend just how fast his new Sunfire would go. Eric's right foot was still plastered to the floor when he slammed into a Dodge Neon.
The cars collided with such force that they swung sideways and smashed together again. Then they flew into and knocked down the poles holding up the traffic signals.
As they began their investigation, officers immediately ran into a problem. Since there were no skid marks, it was impossible to use traditional means to determine speed. Instead, they did something unusual. They seized the odometer from Mr. Gauthier's car as well as a palm-sized device connected to his air bag.
The module, known in the industry as an EDR (event data recorder) was installed by the manufacturer to protect themselves in case they were ever sued should an air bag malfunction.
The little black box is designed to capture and hold information on the last 5 seconds before the bag is set off. When the data was downloaded, officers found that the Sunfire's speed was more than three times the 50K legal limit. In addition to RPM's, the chip showed that the accelerator was on the floor four seconds before the crash.
Because of the severity of the charges, the driver of the Neon was killed, a Quebec judge has ruled the evidence admissible. He said that despite the defense contention that such information violated rules against self incrimination, any infringement against Mr. Gauthier rights would be minimal.
Eric's friend is recovering from a broken arm.

DEATH PENALTY FOR 67 MURDERS

2004-03-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

Henan, China - Yang Xinhai, 38, had a lengthy criminal record before his latest conviction. He dropped out of school in 1985 and began to travel around China, working occasionally as a day laborer. When he tired of earning his way in the world, Yang turned to crime.
He was sent to re-education camps in 1988 and again in 1991 for theft. Then in 1996 he got five years for an attempted rape. It was upon his release in 2000 that Yang began a four year-four provience crime spree of horrible proportions.
By the time he was captured, he had killed 67 people, raped 23 women and left 10 other victims left for dead. According to Yang, "Killing people is usual, nothing special." He admitted guilt in only 17 cases and acknowledged that his weapon of choice is the hammer.
In one especially brutal case, Yang beat an entire family to death...a farmer in his 30's, his mother, wife, son and daughter. After the blood bath, Yang buried the iron hammer near a tomb and threw his bloody clothes in a river and then walked two hours into another town.
On Sunday the peoples intermediate court convicted the drifter of intentional homicide, willful and malicious injury, pillage and rape. His sentence? Death.
Unlike the US prison system of death rows, China employs the services of mobile execution chambers. Since Yang has stated that he does not intend to appeal, he can expect one to pay a visit to his prison soon.

PRESSURED SHERIFF COMMITS SUICIDE

2004-03-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

Plattsburg, MO - "I was not able to take it any more." Clinton County Sheriff, Dan Jones, wrote to his wife. "They are trying to destroy my name and reputation. I was just tired of the threats, backstabbing and blackmail that is occurring."
In addition to the note to his wife, Jones left a stack of letters addressed to numerous officials he felt were trying to force him from office. In fact, the family specifically blamed eight former county colleagues for his suicide. The group, which included the coroner, prosecutor and deputies, were asked not to attend the sheriff's memorial service.
Ironically, the trouble really started when Jones decided not to seek reelection. That triggered a tug-of-war between two of his deputies for the top spot. The men had been friends for years but, the lure of power pulled them apart.
Their bickering spilled all over the county political landscape and soon everyone was taking sides. Charges began to fly back and forth. One deputy was charged with a felony firearms violation for possession of a sawed-off shotgun. The other fired back accusing his old partner of being involved in a suspicious death.
Things came to a head for Jones when a police chief that had been his friend for twenty-five years, passed along word that the sheriff was going to be removed from office so that one of the deputies could run as an incumbent. The reason for removal? Incompetence.
According to the chief, Jones was "Comatose. He was so scared. He said, 'I might as well be dead." Two days later he was.
It was Saturday afternoon when the sheriff drove out to a reservoir where he liked to fish. He lit a charcoal grill and waited until the embers were just right. Then he set the smoldering charcoal in the back of his county issued Chevrolet Tahoe. Wearing his full uniform, he sat behind the steering wheel, laid back against the head rest, and inhaled.

2004-03-15T21:07:00.000-05:00

Petoria, South Africa - VICTIM BUMPS INTO BURGLAR

When Fabian Ohlson walked into his home last Friday, he met a thief coming out, his arms loaded with Fabian's possessions. Quickly the man turned back inside, dashed across the living room, threw open the sliding glass door, jumped off the balcony onto the garage roof below and disappeared. Fabian gave chase but, the burglar managed to escape.
Monday morning Ohlson had just dropped his family off downtown when he spotted the fast felon. "I'd been fuming all weekend when I saw him. He was still wearing the same clothes and was buying sweets on the street. I couldn't believe my luck." The suspect is now lying in a hospital bed after the chance encounter.
Fabian states that he approached the unaware man and slammed him against a wall. "I punched him a few times. After he stopped struggling, I threw him down and put my foot on his throat." He went on to describe how the man who had stolen his food and hi-fi, foamed at the mouth as he begged for his life.
While Ohlson had the man pinned to the ground, a neighbor walked past and identified him as the person who had broken into her flat a few months ago. The bleeding burglar is in the hospital, under guard, until he his well enough to go to jail.

2004-03-15T20:49:00.000-05:00

Milton, FL - HUSBAND RUNS OVER EX-WIFE AND MOTHER-IN-LAW

It was just after midnight Sunday when Carl Bryan, 69, drove his truck into his ex-wife's house. He tore a gaping hole in the corner by her bedroom. When the terrified mother and daughter fled through a door on the otherside of the house, Bryan was waiting on them.
"He had planned it out." said a sheriff's department spokesman, who noted that there was rope tied across the center of the steering wheel to keep the air bag from deploying in the collision. Bryan gunned the motor and drove straight at Becky Langford, 59, who had divorced him last March.
After slamming into her, he spun the truck and drew a bead on her 85 year old mother. When he had run over the older woman, Bryan continued to tear around the yard.
A neighbor who heard the crash ran outside and straight into the path of the deranged driver. Bryan threatened to shoot him if he didn't get back into his own yard. To prove his intent, Bryan chased the man home with the pickup.
When paramedics and deputies arrived at the scene, they found a lamp post flattened and two cars that had been parked in the driveway were smashed and pushed sideways into the yard. Bryan tried to run over the EMTs before fleeing.
He was arrested a short distance away when his truck finally quit on him. Both women died in the assault.

2004-03-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles, CA - ACCOUNTANT ASSAULTS ELDERLY WOMAN

Charles Mingo, 47 was booked into the Orange County Detention Center Saturday and is being held on charges of attempted murder. Bail is set at $800,000.
The victim of his rage, Lucy Deabreu, 78, is both a neighbor and an official with the homeowners association where both live. Mingo has had a long running dispute with the Dana Point condominium board over a five foot add-on to his weekend getaway.
Mrs. Deabreu was inside her home crying for help when she was discovered. She had multiple head and facial injuries, had been choked, her teeth were knocked out and she was bloody and battered. Mingo was arrested hours later at his primary residence in Riverside.
An elderly Dana Point resident who was befriended by Mingo after her husband died described Mingo as despondent over the recent death of his cat. She said, "He adored that cat, and the cat adored him. I think he loved that cat more than any human being."

2004-03-14T22:25:00.000-05:00

Melbourne, Australia - SON LISTENED TO FATHER'S MURDER

Benu Prasad-Adhikari, a forty-five year old native of Nepal, was a hardworking man. In addition to the ethnic restaurant he owned, Benu drove taxi four nights a week for the last eight years. His plan was to give up the cab next month to concentrate on a home loan business he had started.
Last Thursday night Benu was talking with his son, Ujwal, 17, on a speaker phone in his car when the conversation was interrupted by a man seeking a ride. The cabbie asked for the cash first and the voice said, " We'll go get my friend, he has the money."
Benu turned back to the conversation with his boy. Ujak said he then heard noises, a scuffle and someone said, "Run, run." Then the phone went dead. The young man had no idea his father had just been stabbed to death. He thought it was someone trying to evade a fare.
At 1:30 Friday morning when police came to the home to say they had found Benu's Ford station wagon behind a row of flats. Benu had just taken a passenger to the remote location and officers suspect the victim was set-up.
The grief-stricken son said, "It took Mum a long time to realize what the officer was saying." Police report that a video camera installed in the cab has images of the original passenger as well as the suspect in the slaying.