Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Naked Man Killed By Cop's Taser in Texas
A naked man who was banging on doors and windows at a northside apartment complex died Wednesday after being shocked by Tasers at least three times during a confrontation with Harris County sheriff's deputies, authorities said.
About 4 a.m., deputies received calls from residents at the apartments in the 200 block of Dominion Park near Kuykendahl.
Investigators said the 46-year-old man was randomly knocking on doors and windows and yelling while walking around the complex. At one point, he kicked open a front door and briefly went inside an occupied apartment, officials said.
The resident "did not know who he was," said Lt. John Legg of the Sheriff's Office.
The first deputy arrived within minutes.
"He was immediately confronted by the suspect, who ran toward his patrol car, opened the front passenger door and climbed in," Legg said.
The deputy ordered the man out, but the man ignored his commands, yelling and flailing his arms, Legg said.
"He was incoherent," the lieutenant said. "The deputy said his eyes appeared glassed over."
The deputy's Taser had little, if any, effect, officials said. After the man got out of the patrol car and pulled out the stun gun's prongs, the deputy fired it again while struggling with the man, officials said.
Another deputy arrived and ordered the naked man to back away, then used his Taser, investigators said.
Deputies were then able to handcuff the man, officials said.
He appeared to be unresponsive when paramedics arrived, officials said.
They performed CPR en route to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Torturing and killing the mentally ill with tasers is becoming commonplace. There must be a better way.
lost? An elderly driver took getting lost to a whole new level
An elderly driver took getting lost to a whole new level when she took a few wrong turns and wound up cruising along an airport runway in New Hampshire
The unidentified, 70-year-old motorist finally realized where she was and called police in terror because she thought she saw a plane about to land on her silver Toyota.
Officials at Pease International Airport near Portsmouth guided her to safety.
Annoyance Law
Talk about a double standard!
A small town in Michigan has recently passed an ordinance to prohibit any annoyance. But it seems the legislation is actually bothering the residents more than helping.
As part of the harasment ordinance, the Brighton City Council voted earlier this month to make annoying behavior an offense that is punishable by a fine of $100.
One resident said, "I think it's the most ridiculous thing in the world. And I think everyone who voted for it should be impeached."
But officials disagree. Such as Brighton Police Chief Thomas Wightman who said, "It's not an annoyance ordinance. It's a harassment ordinance."
What the fuck is a harassment ordinance????
Basically it prohibits physical violence in all public areas. It also prohibits "insulting another person in a public place or harassing another person by telephone, e-mail or other forms of communication."
Though citizens are paying attention the paragraph that reads, "It shall be unlawful for a person to engage in a course of conduct or repeatedly commit acts that alarm or seriously annoy another person and that serve no legitimate purpose."
People will now be ticketed for things like "continued neighborhood disputes, repeated text messages or ongoing harassment between ex-spouses or former boyfriends and girlfriends."
Looks like the town's officials need to pull that stick out of their butts.
"Annoyance" can be subjective and it does kind of sound like it's restricting peoples' personal rights.
[Image by Janet Gough via Celebrity Photos.]
Friday, December 26, 2008
Police: Woman faked missing baby story to win back ex
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Meagan McCormic faced television cameras on Christmas Day to plead for the return of her missing 5-month-old son. "I don't even know if he's dead or alive," she said.
In fact, she knew that the child had never existed, police said.
McCormic was trying to lure an ex-boyfriend back when she invented a missing-child story that triggered a statewide search this week, police said Friday.
Investigators have charged the 22-year-old with filing a false police report. If convicted, they said, she may have to pay authorities for the cost of their search.
She was scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon.
McCormic had described her infant son as having a mohawk, a single tooth and a fake tattoo. She told reporters his name was Riley Buchness and that she had left him with a nanny who had a French accent and a gap between her teeth.
She invented the story to lure back an ex-boyfriend by pretending he had fathered a child he did not know about, said Delrish Moss, a spokesman for the Miami Police Department. When the boyfriend showed up and asked to see the child, Moss said, McCormic told him the boy was missing.
"He finally decided to show up, and she created a story and he had no idea," Moss said.
On Christmas Day, the estranged boyfriend attended a news conference with McCormic under the impression that he had a son who was missing.
"I don't understand," John Buchness, 26, said then, choking back tears. "It's Christmas."
McCormic told police she had left her son with a nanny named Camille.
"I don't know if they're in Florida," she said. "I don't know where they are."
Authorities around Florida started looking for the boy and nanny, using the descriptions McCormic supplied, police said. She even gave police a picture of the boy, but Friday they said they believe she had downloaded the photo from the Internet.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Lonely man jumps into polar bear's cage in Berlin
A man jumped into the Berlin zoo enclosure of famed polar bear Knut, but officials were able to keep the animal away from the intruder by distracting him with a leg of beef, police said. The 37-year-old man jumped over a fence into a water-filled ditch at the edge of the bear's enclosure Monday morning, police said in a statement. Zoo keepers, who had just let Knut into his outdoor enclosure, were able to lure the bear back into his cage by producing a leg of beef. Police said the man, a German, was less cooperative, initially ignoring instructions to leave the enclosure. He was led away unharmed but, although he was soaked and cold, he refused to undergo a medical checkup. Police said that, before being let go, the man told them that he felt lonely and the bear appeared lonely, too.
Santa brawl leaves two in hospital
Police are hunting the gang of Father Christmases who were seen fighting in central Norwich. The Santas clashed with another group of men, described as Asian or African, on a busy street in the city centre. One man was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with head injuries and another needed stitches after receiving cuts to his face in the skirmish. The trouble continued with small pockets of disorder reported in the city. A police spokesman said: "The incident involved two groups of males. One of the groups were all dressed as Father Christmas, the other group were described as being of dark-skinned African or Asian appearance." One man has been arrested in connection with the incident. In 2004 police were forced to arrest five people when an annual charity run in Newtown, Wales, involving 4,000 Santas, ended in fighting.
Clown Forced To Strip at Airport
A clown was forced to strip to his underpants at Birmingham airport after a piece of metal on his costume policeman's uniform triggered the security alarm, the British press reported. Children's entertainer David Vaughan, 60, was on his way to perform for disadvantaged children on a charity one-hour entertainment flight over the Midlands region. But, despite his huge floppy shoes, policeman's helmet and face paint, "PC Konk" was stopped by security staff who did not see the funny side, confiscated his plastic handcuffs and ordered him to strip down to his shorts and T-shirt. Staff also demanded that he put his bubble mix liquid, to be used to blow bubbles from a plastic saxophone, into a clear sealed plastic bag. Vaughan, from Birmingham, said: "I'd made sure I'd bought plastic handcuffs and a plastic whistle, but I hadn't realised that the costume had a metal band - I thought it was plastic."
Angry online divorcee 'kills' virtual ex-hubby
Police say woman logged on virtual reality game and ended ex's avatar.
TOKYO - A 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher's sudden divorce from her online husband in a virtual game world made her so angry that she logged on and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.
She used his identification and password to log onto popular interactive game "Maple Story" to carry out the virtual murder in mid-May, a police official in northern Sapporo City said on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.
"I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as telling investigators and admitting the allegations.
Is this an angel captured on camera? 'I look at things differently than I used to – because I know God is in control'
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
Is this a photo of an angel?
A mother fervently praying while her teenage daughter lay, possibly dying, in intensive care received a blessing of encouragement when, to her astonishment, she believes she saw an angel in the hospital hallway.
Colleen Banton of Mint Hill, N.C., was in the waiting room when a nurse
called her to see a video capture of the hallway outside the pediatric
intensive care unit.
"On the monitor, there was this bright light," Banton told the Charlotte Observer. "And I looked at it and I said, 'Oh my goodness! It looks like an angel!'"
Banton quickly took a picture of what she saw, and the image stayed with her as her 14-year-old daughter, who has battled repeated illnesses since being born prematurely in 1993, miraculously recovered. Her daughter, Chelsea Banton, will turn 15 on Christmas Day.
Breaking News: Man with kitchen knife robs Longview credit union Wednesday, December 24, 2008 10:44 AM PST
A man armed with a kitchen knife robbed the First Citizens Federal Credit Union at the Triangle Mall early this morning, getting away with a small amount of cash, Longview police said.
The robbery took place at about 8:30 a.m.
The suspect is a white male who was wearing a black stocking cap that covered his face and bright green workout clothes. He has blue eyes, is about 45 years old and is about 6-feet-2-inches tall.
Police are still searching for the robber and called out a K9 unit to assist in tracking him.
Watch TDN.com for further updates.
Craigslist prostitutes arrested in Oak Harbor
Five women have been arrested in what detectives are calling the first prostitution stings in Island County history.
To the surprise of investigators, three of the women are Oak Harbor residents and they were allegedly prostituting themselves purely for money in tough economic times. Drugs didn’t appear to be a factor, as it often is in such cases.
The two undercover operations were made possible by Craigslist, an Internet site featuring free classified ads. Men and women in “the oldest profession in the world” use the modern technology to advertise themselves, making prostitution easy and available in nearly all corners of the nation.
It’s a widespread problem that state Attorney General Rob McKenna is trying to crack down on. He recently reached an agreement with Craigslist officials requiring people posting ads for erotic services to provide a phone number and pay a fee.
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Dumb Crooks: Sheriff Stages Holiday Cash Ruse to Nab Fugitives
CHICAGO — There's more than one way to catch a fugitive. Turns out a promise of extra holiday cash makes an effective trap this time of year.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Sunday that a fugitive sweep led to the arrest of 230 suspects on warrants for forgery, aggravated battery and other crimes. More than 60 of those suspects fell for a ruse with a holiday theme.They got invitations to take part in a survey to help retailers figure out the needs of holiday shoppers.
Included was a "scratch off" card redeemable for at least $500 if they brought it along to the hotel where the survey would be conducted. Those who showed up were taken into custody.
One of the fugitives arrived with marijuana in his pocket. Possession of cannabis was added to his charges.
Associated Press
Villagers Shave, Beat 50 Women Accused of Witchcraft
India - Villagers in tribal central India have allegedly beaten 50 women with sticks and cut off their hair after accusing them of witchcraft. A spiritual man told the villagers the assaults would protect them from evil spirits, police said.
The alleged attacks happened at a forest in a poor district of Chhattisgarh state, 250 miles from the capital Raipur. Dozens of women are killed every year on suspicion of being witches or witch doctors in India. A spiritual man told the villagers the assaults would protect them from evil spirits, police said.
The alleged attacks happened at a forest in a poor district of Chhattisgarh state, 250 miles from the capital Raipur.
Dozens of women are killed every year on suspicion of being witches or witch doctors in India.
Superstition is widespread, especially in rural areas that lack an effective schooling system.
While there are few killings in Chhattisgarh, more than 100 women are tortured, paraded naked or harassed in the state annually, officials said.
"Police have begun a probe and interrogated dozens of villagers who hosted a nine-day purification ceremony," Radheshyam Nayak, a senior state police officer said.
Funny or Die Gets a $3 Million Christmas Present
What recession? Will Ferrell's online video site, Funny or Die, just received a $3 million cash infusion from "a single, undisclosed investor." Which got us wondering: Who is playing Santa for Ferrell's struggling venture during these difficult economic times? So long as Pearl is getting her money on time, we suppose it doesn't really matter. But if you have any guesses, feel free to leave them in the comments! [Reuters]
By: Mark Graham
"Ecstasy Was For My Dog Your Honour"
A NORTHERN Territory businessman who pleaded not guilty to possessing more than 70 ecstasy tablets told Darwin Magistrates Court he thought they were birth control pills for his dog.
Steven James Dwyer, 48, pleaded guilty to possessing a traffickable amount of methamphetamine, but contested the charge of possessing an amount of ecstasy tablets, saying he thought the pills would stop his pet shar-peis from breeding, the Northern Territory News reported.
He was found guilty and convicted on both charges - magistrate Vince Luppino adding he did not find the excuse for having a traffickable amount of ecstasy "reasonable".
Dwyer told the court the ecstasy tablets - MDMA - had come into his hands when he was outside a Katherine laundromat, after he met a man with a female shar-pei dog.
"We chatted about them - where he got them ... we kept talking about dogs and how he bred her," Dwyer said.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Woman Sued for Rescue Effort in Car Crash
No good deed goes unpunished, or so goes the saying. Such was the case with Lisa Torti, who is being sued for pulling a now-paralyzed friend from the wreckage of a Los Angeles car accident in 2004.
The victim's lawyers claim the Good Samaritan bumbled the rescue and caused injury by yanking her friend "like a rag doll" to safety.
But Torti -- now a 30-year-old interior designer from Las Vegas -- said she thought she had seen smoke and feared the car would explode. She claims she was only trying to help her friend, Alexandra Van Horn, and her own life has been adversely affected by the incident.
"I know [Van Horn] has a lot of financial issues and her life has changed," she said. "But it's not my fault. I can't be angry at her, only the path she has chosen to take. I can only pray it helps her."
"I don't have any more fight left," Torti told ABCNews.com, choking back tears. "It's really emotional."
Duggar family welcomes 18th child Jordyn-Grace Makiya
NEWS.com.au
 Family portrait ... the Duggar familyn at the birth of their 16th child in 2005 / AP |
A WOMAN who has already had 17 kids with names beginning with the letter J has given birth to her 18th child - a girl named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar.
The latest addition to Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's brood was delivered by Caesarean section at Mercy Medical Centre in Rogers, Arkansas overnight.
"The ultimate Christmas gift from God," Mr Duggar, 43, told the Associated Press.
Jordyn-Grace weighed 3.26kg and was 51cm long at birth.
The Duggars other 17 children are Joshua, 20; , 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 17; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 12; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah, nine; Jedidiah, nine; Jason, eight; James, seven; Justin, six; Jackson, four; Johannah, three; and Jennifer, one.
And Mr Duggar the newborn may not be the last for him and his 42-year-old wife.
Florida woman drinking on roof asks man for Beer
FORT PIERCE, Fla. – A man called police on Wednesday night after he came home from work and spotted an intoxicated woman drinking a beer on the roof of his home. The 28-year-old woman was taken into custody after she refused to get down and leave. The police report said the woman agreed to leave only if the man agreed to give her more beer.
The woman, who faces a disorderly intoxication charge, has been in trouble before.
A police report shows that she was suspected of stealing money from her sister to buy alcohol in October. And last week an officer who went to her apartment on a disturbance report reported that Smith was intoxicated and wouldn't quiet down.
AP
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