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Saturday 10 December 2011

Teen Arrested On Suspicion of Stealing From Los Gatos Apple Store

San Jose, the teen may have figured that Los Gatos was so sleepy Thursday night that he could simply stroll up to the brightly-illuminated Apple store in the heart of the tony community, smash the front window with a pick axe and simply walk away with a bag filled with iLoot.
Perhaps he wasn't counting on the rather widespread tradition of actually having 24-hour police officer coverage nearby.
In this case an officer was transporting prisoners to the Santa Clara County Main Jail at 3:25 a.m. when he saw a shattered window and a pick axe on the ground in front of the Apple store on North Santa Cruz Avenue.
Inside the iconic computer store was a 15-year-old suspect, not identified by police because of his age. He had, police said, "borrowed" a family car for the heist.
Even the most-high-powered Apple product may not come up with a good answer as to what the brazen crook was thinking.
"It is naive," said Officer Katherine Mann Friday. "He certainly underestimated that there would be police in the area. Then again, he's 15. He probably wasn't thinking at all."
The officer was already on his way to San Jose to drop off two suspected drunks who apparently had some stolen property of their own and were brawling at Number One Broadway nightclub a couple blocks away from the Apple store.
Looking more closely at the store, which had been burglarized similarly before, the officer saw the bandana-masked burglar,


Upon closer inspection, the officer saw a person inside the store wearing a mask and all black clothing stealing various Apple products.


With the help of additional officers, the person was taken into custody as he was exiting the store.


He was identified as a 15-year-old boy from San Jose.


Officers found him in possession of a duffel bag filled with various Apple products.


Investigators believe the boy acted alone and used a family member's car to drive to the store.


The suspect was booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall on charges of commercial burglary and possession of stolen property.


Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call the police investigations unit at (408) 827-3209.


Tags: Apple Grand Central,   Steve Jobs,   iPhone ExhibitApple ApprovesApple’s Black dealsiPad 3 Screen,  Apple Big Win HTCApple Property,  Apple iPod Nano

Thursday 8 December 2011

Virginia Tech shooting: Police officer and at least one other killed

WASHINGTON - Soon after Virginia Tech officials at a hearing defended actions taken to notify the campus as a 2007 shooting rampage unfolded, the university on Thursday issued a series of warnings about gunfire on its campus five hours away.


Following the 2007 shootings that left 33 people dead, Virginia Tech expanded its emergency notification systems. Alerts now go out by electronic message boards in classrooms, by text messages and other methods. Other colleges and universities have put in place similar systems.


Virginia Tech officials said a police officer and another person were shot and killed on campus Thursday, and a suspect remained on the loose. During about a one-hour period, the university issued four separate alerts, followed by additional notifications.


The alerts went out even as university officials, including the university's police chief, were in Washington for the administrative hearing about 260 miles from the campus in Blacksburg, Va. The hearing ended less than an hour before the first alert went out. Ernest C. Canellos, an Education Department administrative judge, said he would later issue a ruling on the hearing about Virginia Tech's handling of the shootings more than four years ago.


Universities are required under the Clery Act to provide warnings in a timely manner and to report the number of crimes on campus.


Virginia Tech has appealed a $55,000 fine levied after the 2007 shootings because it says it acted appropriately based on protocols on campuses at that time. The Education Department says the university violated the law by waiting more than two hours after two students were shot in a dorm on campus in the 2007 shootings before sending an email warning. By then, student gunman Seung-Hui Cho was chaining the doors to a classroom building where he killed 30 more people and then himself.


Wendell Flinchum, the police chief, testified that there were no immediate signs in the dorm at that time to indicate a threat to the campus. He said the shootings were believed to be an isolated domestic incident and that the shooter had fled.


Flinchum said that conclusion was based on the isolated nature of the dorm room, the lack of forced entry and what the victims were wearing _ the woman in pajamas, the man in boxer shorts.


The scene, he said, did not suggest an ongoing safety threat.


"I don't believe we could have known that from what the scene presented," Flinchum said.


He said the dead woman's boyfriend initially was identified as a "person of interest." Police were shown a social networking site with the boyfriend holding guns, Flinchum said, and were told he usually dropped her off on Mondays. The shootings took place on a Monday.


The university faces charges of failure to issue a timely warning and failure to follow its own procedures for providing notification.


Parents of some victims have testified that they think their loved ones would have stayed away from campus if they had known of a threat.


James Moore, a department official, testified that even if it had been a domestic incident, there were enough signs that a gunman was on the loose to warrant quicker campus alerts by the school.


The 1990 Clery Act was named after Lehigh University student Jeanne Clery, who was raped and murdered in her dorm room by another student in 1986.


The maximum fine per violation under the law is $27,500. Institutions also can lose their ability to offer federal student loans, but that has never happened.


A gunman is on the loose on Virginia Tech campus after shooting dead a police officer and killing at least one other person.


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The campus is where 32 people died in a massacre four years ago.


The officer was gunned down after carrying out a routine traffic stop on campus.


The suspect then fled across a student car park where he shot dead another person.


Armed police raced to the campus and began hunting for the gunman - described as a white male, wearing grey sweat pants, grey hat with neon brim, a maroon hoodie and backpack - by going from building to building.


he shooting comes on the same day as Virginia Tech appealed against a £35,200 fine imposed by the Education Department in connection with the university's response to the 2007 rampage by a student gunman who killed 32 people and then himself.


The campus was immediately put on lockdown and students, busy preparing for their final exams, were told to stay indoors.


They tweeted: "A police officer has been shot. A potential second victim is reported at the Cage lot. Stay indoors. Secure in place."


The alert on their web page reads: "There is an active campus alert in Blacksburg. Everyone should seek shelter or stay where you are. Blacksburg Transit service is suspended until the alert is lifted."


On the school's web page, an alert marked 12:47 p.m. reads: "Reports of Shots Fired- Initial Description: Suspect described as white male, gray sweat pants, gray hat w/neon brim, maroon hoodie and backpack. On foot towards McComas. Call 911."


A picture posted on Twitter shows a body lying in the road covered with a white sheet.


One student was walking home when she came across the police officer's car moments after he had been shot.


She said: "As I walked past his car, police pulled up and when they opened his car door he just fell towards the ground.


"They tried to revive him. As soon as I saw his face I started crying.


"Then the other officers started yelling his name to get him to wake up and that's when it started to hit me."


"It's crazy that someone would go and do something like that with all the stuff that happened in 2007," said Corey Smith, a 19-year-old who was heading to a dining hall near the site of one of the shootings, but stayed inside after seeing the alerts from the school.


"It's just weird to think about why someone would do something like this when the school's had so many problems."


Harry White, 20, a junior physics major, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that he was queueing for a sandwich at a Subway restaurant in a campus building when he received a text message alert about the shooting.


He said he did not panic, thinking instead about a false alarm about a possible gunman which caused the campus to be locked down in August. He used an indoor walkway to go to a computer lab in an adjacent building, where he checked news reports.


"I decided to just check to see how serious it was. I saw it's actually someone shooting someone, not something false, something that looks like a gun," he said.


Mr White said the campus was quieter than usual because classes ended yesterday and students are preparing for the start of exams.


A spokesman for Virginia Tech said: "Shortly after noon today, a Virginia Tech police officer stopped a vehicle on campus during a routine traffic stop in the Coliseum parking lot near McComas Hall.


"During the traffic stop. the officer was shot and killed. There were witnesses to this shooting.


"Witnesses reported to police the shooter fled on foot heading toward the Cage, a parking lot near Duck Pond Drive. At that parking lot, a second person was found. That person is also deceased.


"Several law enforcement agencies have responded to assist. Virginia State Police has been requested to take lead in the investigation.


"The status of the shooter is unknown. The campus community should continue to shelter in place and visitors should not come to campus."


In August the campus was put on lockdown after children attending a summer camp for middle-schoolers reported seeing a 'gunman'.


The alert was sparked after the children told police they saw the man quickly walking towards the volleyball courts, carrying what might have been a handgun covered by some type of cloth.


State and local police combed the area but said they could not find anyone matching their description.


Tags: Virginia Tech locks gunman kills 2,  Campus 2 person killed at Virgina Tech ,  Virginia Tech shooting: brings back '4/16'

Jerry Sandusky,s wife react to the Penn State scandal‎ Report

Sandusky originally from Chattanooga, Tennessee, married Jerry and together they adopted six children, some were adopted when they were just infants, others were older.


Dorothy ‘Dottie’ Gross Sandusky is mentioned in the 23-page Grand Jury indictment which graphically details the charges against the 67-year-old former Penn State coach.


Mrs Sandusky, 68, attempted to call one of the victims in the weeks leading up to his testimony, despite the fact the now 26-year-old had cut off all contact with Sandusky two years prior.


Dottie’s children once spoke about the opportunity their parents brought into their lives and future..


“My life changed when I came to live here. There were rules, there was discipline, there was caring. Dad put me on a workout program. He gave me someone to talk to, a father figure I never had. I have no idea where I’d be without him and Mom. I don’t even want to think about it. And they’ve helped so many kids besides me. “Who knows how any of us would’ve ended up if we hadn’t become Sanduskys.”


Dottie helped and support her husband throughout his 23 year at Penn State and with his work at Second Mile.


After we had taken in some foster children,” Dottie Sandusky told Sports Illustrated in 1982,


“we saw the opportunities that some kids just hadn’t had. But we’d gotten to the point where we couldn’t take in any more, so Jerry started thinking about starting a group home.” Said Dottie Sandusky.


Mrs. Sandusky is devasted about her husband’s sexual abuse scandal. Especially after it was reported some of the abuse her husband did on these poor children took place at their home in their basement,It is so sad that while many think of Jerry as a Saint, leader of linebackers, molder of men, for his work at the organization. It was at this same place where he picked his victims. He left the Second Mile last fall. Today he has been arrested and charged with 40 counts related to sexual abuse of young boys.


Whether Mrs Sandusky was worried by any such behaviour is not yet known. What is established is that she has been by Sandusky’s side since the mid-1960s, when they married. She met Sandusky in Washington a few years before. He endearingly called his wife ‘Sarge,’ because she was in charge in their home.


Just shy of seven years ago, my life and the lives of my two children were turned upside down. The man I had been married to for more than a decade had been arrested as a part of an FBI sting to bring down NAMBLA, the North American Man-Boy Love Association, an advocacy group for pedophiles that supports an “end to the extreme oppression of men and boys in mutually consensual relationships.” I was a well-educated, philanthropic, 39-year-old mother who, until recently, was living a charmed Dallas life, married to a well-liked dentist who had been living a lie for our entire relationship.
A former youth-ministry volunteer at a local church, an energetic volunteer at our kids’ elementary school, and a favorite at their Y-Guides outings, my ex-husband, Todd, turned out to be a criminal who brought tremendous harm, both physically and emotionally, to prepubescent boys. He was an “inner circle” member of NAMBLA—a member of its board of directors—wanted by the feds. Throughout our marriage, which ended in a confusing divorce shortly before the FBI swept in, I believed him when he said he was traveling to dental conventions—when in fact, he was attending pedophile conferences. He kept a secret mailbox at the local post office, where he received his pedophilia newsletters and other suspicious mail. We never found any proof of illegal Internet activities—his hard drive had been cleaned—except for a printed-out receipt for a porn video of young boys.


“I understand,” State College Detective Ronald Schreffler testified Sandusky said. “I was wrong. I wish I could get forgiveness. I know I won’t get it from you. I wish I were dead.”


Sandusky – who maintains he is innocent – has since been charged with 40 criminal counts, accusing him of molesting eight young boys between 1994 and 2009. Two PSU administrators who have since stepped aside have also been charged with failing to notify authorities of a 2002 incident reported by an eyewitness.


The 11-year-old was only identified as the former assistant football coach’s sixth alleged victim. In 1998, his mother tried to make Sandusky promise never to shower with a boy again, but he wouldn’t make that promise, Schreffler testified.


Tags : Joe PaternoPenn State UniversityJoe Paterno  Wrong MessageJerry SanduskyJoe Paterno misconductPenn State abuse story,  Sandusky Denies Charges,  Corbett Laconic StyleVictim's Mom Speaks Penn State considerDorothy Sandusky Call VictimSandusky,s wife and children   Penn State considerDorothy Sandusky Call VictimSandusky,s wife and children 

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Geezer Bandit drops clue that may lead to his capture

Investigators hope a bank robbery in San Luis Obispo on Friday will lead to the arrest of the Geezer Bandit, responsible for 16 heists, most in San Diego County.


For the first time in the nearly 2 1/2-year string of Geezer Bandit robberies, a dye pack stuffed next to the money exploded soon after the robber made his escape from a Bank of America branch in San Luis Obispo.


Such explosions leave the money soaked in red dye and can also burn the hands or face of the robber or leave dye marks that are difficult to wash off.


The suspect in the San Luis Obispo robbery fits the description of the gun-waving man who appears to be in his 60s or 70s and is known as the Geezer Bandit.


If the robber is actually a younger man wearing a theatrical mask, the mask could also have burn marks or dye coloring, said officials, who hope the red-colored money or burn marks lead to a tip about the robber's identity and whereabouts.


It's perhaps the clue that will reveal who this alleged master of disguise really is. The serial robber's series began in August 2009. Now, it's possible it could be coming to an end if authorities develop key information from the botched holdup.


"There was either a day planner or address-type book that was left behind," San Luis Obispo Police Department Capt. Chris Staley said. "I'm not sure what was contained inside that book, and we will be processing it obviously as evidence and turning it over to the FBI."


During his getaway from a Bank of America branch in San Luis Obispo last week, the robber was surprised with a hidden exploding dye pack. He left behind red-stained cash in a nearby parking lot, along with a planning book.


"I sure hope it is the break we're looking for in the case, and I'm hopeful that whatever evidence we were able to recover will lead to his identification," Staley said.


It's also possible authorities now have a better description of the clever crook's getaway vehicle -- a white 5-series BMW sedan -- that peeled away from the crime scene.


"It departing the parking lot at a high rate of speed and a citizen obviously thought it was suspicious," Staley said.


Investigators also say he dropped the demand not that he presented to the teller.


A San Diego National Bank employee who came face-to-face with the Geezer Bandit during a January 2010 holdup in Point Loma described her encounter.

Los Angeles Police Evacuate Headquarters Due to 'Unspecified Threat'

DEVELOPING: Los Angeles police evacuated their downtown headquarters Tuesday after a "suspicious" item was found in the building's lobby, local media reported.


Personnel cleared the offices shortly after 10:30 a.m. local time, according to KCAL-TV.


LAPD officials said a manila envelope was dropped off at the building and run through the X-ray machine around 10:30 a.m., when officers decided that the item warranted additional scrutiny.


The lobby was cleared as technicians with the department's bomb squad checked out the item. Shortly before 11, the issue was resolved and people were allowed to return to the lobby.

Copper thefts this year total $90,000

BART police are hunting a slippery copper crook whose thieving antics forced a train operator to hit the brakes Sunday.


A speeding train was forced to stop around 10 a.m. Sunday to avoid striking a thief who was pilfering copper wiring directly from the trackway between the Balboa Park and Daly City stations, according to BART cops and an agency employee with knowledge of the situation.


The crook also is suspected in the Friday morning theft of copper from a trackway just before 2 a.m., BART police spokeswoman Era Jenkins said.


BART police know the suspect, Jenkins said. His identity is not being released due to the ongoing investigation.


“Detectives are actively working on … search warrants,” Jenkins said.


The crook managed to elude law enforcement on Friday, according to the anonymous BART employee, who was not authorized to speak to the media. The suspect’s vehicle was apparently parked illegally near the tracks. Officers who spotted the car called for a tow truck.


“They probably weren’t even aware that he was on the tracks,” the employee said. “I guess they didn’t realize at the time that his vehicle was loaded with BART stuff.”


After the officers left and the tow truck was preparing to take the vehicle away, the thief returned and somehow got his vehicle back, the employee said.


While BART has dealt with copper wire thefts before, the number of such incidents have increased recently, transit agency spokesman Jim Allison said.


The thefts, which mostly occur overnight when trains aren’t running, can be hazardous to both the system and the thieves, Allison said.


“Trains come by sometimes at 80 miles per hour,” he said. “They can come up on people without them even realizing it.”


Thieves target two types of copper wires on BART’s trackway. One returns electricity from the electric third rail to the transit agency’s power supply. Pulling that wiring can cause stray currents potentially able to cause fires, Allison said.


Authorities reported two separate incidents in the last week involving bandits cutting cables and disturbing the train tracks, all in the quest for copper.


The Bay Area Rapid Transit police were called Sunday after a driver operating a moving train spotted a man on the tracks. The man escaped but left behind damaged equipment, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.


Two days earlier, a transit police officer was patrolling a station at 2 a.m. when he noticed a suspicious pickup truck. The officer questioned two people nearby in connection with possible copper theft, but they denied any wrongdoing.


Transit agencies in the Bay Area acknowledge that copper theft is common and has caused delays in some maintenance projects in the past.


No arrests have been made but police have targeted at least one suspect and a few other persons of interest, BART police Deputy Chief Benson Fairow said.
Fairow said it is unlikely that the burglaries were an inside job by a BART employee, but he would not rule it out.
Police did not provide a suspect description.
The track burglaries have not interrupted daily service, but they have strained the transit agency's electrical system, Allison said.
Also, the repeated crimes are dangerous for the burglars, who risk electrocution or being hit by a train.
BART has incurred labor costs in addition to the price of lost supplies, as crews sometimes must spend more than one shift to replace the wire, he said.
"This is a theft from the taxpayers," BART board director Robert Raburn said, noting that tax dollars pay for stolen goods and repairs.
BART's most costly copper theft occurred in the summer in a Pleasant Hill yard, where burglars


stole a spool of cable set to be used for a construction project in Contra Costa County, Raburn said.
That project has been delayed because of the theft, he said.
BART officials on Tuesday called for authorities to place more accountability on scrap metal yards, which buy the copper wire for $3 to $4 per pound.
"If people weren't buying it, people wouldn't be stealing it," Allison said.


Tags:  We are the 99 percentOccupy PortlandOccupy Wall Street Police Begin Clearing Zuccotti ParkNYC Police Remove Occupy,  Occupy Remain in NYC,  Court delays Occupy TorontoOccupy protesters arrestedPolice clashes NY Occupy

Newport Beach Man Charged With Drugging, Raping 2 Women

Authorities are looking for people who may have been sexually assaulted by a Newport Beach man already accused of drugging and raping two women.


Adel Regragui, 42, is charged with three felonies of forcible rape, two felonies of forcible oral copulation, felony sexual penetration by force and sodomy by force.


He faces up to 115 years in prison, if convicted, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney's office. He is also facing sentencing enhancements for allegedly assaulting multiple victims and tying and binding a victim, the Daily Pilot reported.


Authorities say Regragui met a 23-year-old woman at a party in May 2010 and invited her to his house, where he drugged and raped her.


Prosecutors claim Regragui drugged and raped a 21-year-old woman he met at a Balboa Peninsula bar at his house this June.


They also say he raped the same woman in November and dressed her in lingerie that wasn't hers, tied her hands together and raped her while she was unconscious.


Prosecutors have charged Adel Regragui, 42, of Newport Beach, with one count of rape, one felony count each of forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration with a foreign object by force of a woman authorities call Jane Doe #1.


Regragui was charged with two felony counts of rape, one count each of forcible oral copulation and sodomy by force of Jane Doe #2.

California couple released from hospital after attack by naked, 300-lb bodybuilder

A California couple is recovering after they were savagely beaten by a 300-pound naked bodybuilder in a bizarre encounter outside their home, police said.


Ruben Arzu, 22, was waiting on the unidentified couple's front porch when they returned to their home in Colton, Calif., at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, The San Bernardino Sun reported.


When the 34-year-old woman fled inside to call police, the nude brute attacked her husband, 35, "causing major head trauma and injuries," police told the newspaper.


When the man's wife tried to stop the beating, Arzu went after her, tossing her around like a rag doll and splitting open her head, police said.


Arzu took off after the attack, but neighbors cornered him in the backyard of another home, the Sun said.


Cops said it took four officers and multiple jolts from a Taser gun to finally take the muscle-bound thug down.


Arzu was injured in the scuffle and still recovering at a hospital on Tuesday, police said.


He was expected to be booked for attempted homicide and aggravated mayhem.


The couple was released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center on Tuesday.


Arzu, 22, is awaiting booking on suspicion of attempted homicide and aggravated mayhem, Colton police Officer Todd Smith said. His condition was not immediately available.


“The couple showed up at home from a party and he’s there in their front yard, naked,” said Smith, adding that the victims did not know Arzu.


Police said Arzu attacked the husband and caused major head trauma after the 36-year-old man confronted him.


The 34-year-old woman ran inside the house and called 911. When she came back out to check on her husband, Arzu picked her up and threw her around, causing facial injuries and multiple cuts to her head, Smith said.


Before officers arrived, a neighbor came out of her house to try and help the woman but ran back inside when Arzu turned to confront her, Smith said.


The names of the two victims were not released.


KABC and The Sun of San Bernardino cited authorities while reporting Arzu had been taking steroids and was under the influence of other drugs. Smith could not confirm those reports.

Naked bodybuilder attacks Colton couple, police say

California - Police say a naked, 300-pound bodybuilder savagely beat a Southern California couple at their home, leaving them in critical condition.
The Sun of San Bernardino says 22-year-old Ruben Arzu apparently was under the influence of steroids and other drugs, and it took four police officers, two stun gun blasts and four sets of handcuffs to restrain him.


Police say the couple came home late Saturday to find Arzu naked on the front porch of their home in Colton.


When Arzu was confronted by the 35-year-old husband, police say the bodybuilder attacked the man, causing major head trauma.


The attack by the intruder -- who was likely under the influence of steroids and other drugs, according to police -- sent both to the hospital with critical injuries, the San Bernardino County Sun reported Monday.


Colton police told the Sun that Ruben Arzu, 22, was on the couple's front porch when they arrived home Saturday night and "violently attacked" the 35-year-old man, leaving him with major injuries, including head trauma.


His wife ran into the house to call police and after she came back outside, the bodybuilder, who stood about 5-feet-10, went after her, police said, picking up the 34-year-old woman and flinging her around, leaving her with facial injuries and several deep cuts on the top of her head.


Police said Arzu then ran into a neighbor's yard, where neighbors cornered him until police arrived. He did not respond when police used a Taser on him. It took four officers and four sets of handcuffs to restrain him, police said.
Arzu also was taken to the hospital. The Sun reported the couple were in stable condition as of Monday, and Arzu was expected to be booked by police on suspicion of attempted homicide and aggravated mayhem.

Serial arsonist sought in 22 Long Beach fires

On May 16, shortly after midnight, surveillance cameras mounted on the Green Room, a marijuana dispensary in Long Beach, recorded a hooded man carrying milk jugs apparently filled with gasoline.


Minutes later, the man is seen running away from the burning building with his right arm on fire.


The short video clip was played at a Monday news conference regarding a string of fires in the central part of town — 22 in the last six months. Authorities said they have been unable to determine if the man in the video, whom they estimate to be 18 to 25 years old and heavyset, is the serial arsonist.


There have been 22 fires ranging from trash fires, vehicle fires and commercial structure fires since mid-May. It has been determined that many of these fires are arson and possibly related, said Capt. Richard Brandt of the Long Beach Fire Department.


The most recent fires occurred over the Thanksgiving weekend when two minivans were burned within a block of each other on Gardenia and Rose avenues.


Additional evidence has been uncovered that make these fires a federal crime. Investigators are continuing to analyze pictures and surveillance videos from these fires, Brandt said.


Involved in the investigation is the Long Beach Fire/Police Arson Unit, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.


The ATF is offering two separate $5,000 rewards for tips leading to the capture and conviction of the suspects involved in two commercial building fires and two car fires, Brandt said.


Anyone with information on the fires was asked to call the Long Beach Fire Department Arson Hotline at (562) 570-2582.

California Supreme Court tosses death sentences

After upholding nearly 50 death sentences in a row, the California Supreme Court on Monday broke its pattern by overturning the convictions of a reputed gang leader in Los Angeles and his alleged accomplice in two killings that sent both men to death row for 15 years.


The state high court unanimously ruled that Cleamon Johnson and Michael Allen, convicted of killing rival gang members Peyton Beroit and Donald Loggins in 1991, were denied a fair trial when a judge removed a juror who appeared to be critical of the prosecution's case.


The court had upheld 46 consecutive death sentences before the unanimous ruling that overturned both the sentences and murder convictions of Cleamon Johnson and Michael Allen for two 1991 gang killings, said Johnson's lawyer, Andrew Love, an assistant state public defender. Prosecutors must now decide whether to retry them.


Even before the most recent two-year period, California's high court typically upheld more than 90 percent of the death sentences it considered each year, one of the nation's highest affirmance rates.


Although the court has a 6-1 majority of Republican appointees, its record on social issues has been moderate and occasionally liberal, but when it comes to death sentences, said Love, a longtime defense lawyer, "this is by far the most conservative court" in the nation.


Prosecutors in the Los Angeles case said Johnson, a leader of the 89 Family Bloods, ordered Allen to fire the shots that killed Peyton Beroit and Donald Loggins in a parked car in August 1991.


Police have said Johnson is responsible for many homicides, but this was his only conviction, and he could go free if he is not retried. Allen has been convicted of another murder and will remain in prison regardless of the outcome of this case.


During jury deliberations at their trial in 1997, Superior Court Judge Charles Horan concluded that a juror had prejudged the case and replaced him with an alternate. According to statements from fellow panel members, that juror had told them early in deliberations that he didn't think the prosecutor had a case when she ended her presentation of evidence against Johnson and Allen.


The juror denied prejudging the case, and voted "undecided" on guilt in the first jury poll. But Horan questioned each juror separately and found that the juror had made up his mind before deliberations. The reconstituted jury deadlocked briefly but then voted unanimously for convictions and death sentences.

Albert Pujols

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara, born January 16, 1980, better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player who is currently a free agent. A first baseman, Pujols is considered one of the top players in Major League Baseball, and was the most feared hitter in baseball in 2008, according to a poll of all 30 MLB managers.
He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2001, and has since been selected as an All-Star nine times, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He has also twice won the National League Hank Aaron Award, and has two World Series rings from the Cardinals' 2006 and 2011 titles.
At the end of the 2011 season, he led all active players in batting average (.328), slugging percentage (.617), and OPS (1.037), and ranked 37th in number of home runs in Major League Baseball history. He was selected by ESPN.com as the greatest player of the decade from 2000–09. He stands 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall, weighs 230 pounds (100 kg), and bats and throws right-handed.


Read more.......



Tuesday 6 December 2011

Bianca Jones:Volunteers in Detroit join search for 2-year-old girl

Bianca Jones has been missing since last week after she disappeared from her father's car. The child was strapped into the child seat when the car was stolen. The child has not been seen since. The father was questioned by police and despite some people thinking he should be the prime suspect, a sketch of one of two carjackers have been released.


Now, Bianca's parents are speaking out and they are hoping that whoever has their daughter will return her safe and sound. According to KWTX, Bianca's mother Banika Jones "begged whoever has her daughter to drop the child off somewhere safe." Although some speculate that Bianca is dead, it is clear that her family has not given up hope that the child is still alive.


In addition, Bianca Jones's mother also addressed all volunteers who are taking the time to search for her daughter. "I just want to say thank you so much," Banika said to volunteers. "I appreciate you so much. There are so many people that have come out to be strong for us."


Bianca Jones' mother is not a primary suspect in her disappearance and her involvement in the search for the daughter could have something to do with that. Unlike Deborah Bradley, Lisa Irwin's mother, Banika is out there to say 'thank you' to those who are wanting her daughter home alive.


Despite steady rain and cold temperatures, Johnson said she signed up as soon as she heard police were seeking volunteers to search for the toddler. Bianca has been missing since Friday.


"Because I'm a mother, this story has touched my heart," said Johnson, 37, of Oak Park. "Ever since the story broke, I've been holding out hope, but the days continue to go by."


More than 75 volunteers arrived at Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Detroit throughout the day to assist police by going block by block, house by house and searching trash bins for anything that would assist police in their investigation.


Gordon Jones, who took a day off work as a contractor to join the effort, walked through a lot with overgrown weeds and debris and came out covered in burrs.


"I wanted to do whatever I could to search for this little girl," said Jones, 45, of Detroit, who is not related to Bianca. "People in the entire city should go out of the front door and check their own block until this child is found."


Tasha Harris walked with her four-prong cane down Philadelphia Street. She used her cane to rifle through debris found in a few lots with overgrown grass and brush.


"When I heard about this little girl, my heart went to my stomach," said Harris, 29, of Detroit, founder of the Detroit Housewives Foundation.


Bianca's mother, Banika Jones, greeted volunteers at the church before they were split into groups to search for her daughter.


"I just want to say thank you so much," Jones said. "I appreciate you so much. There are so many people that have come out to be strong for us."


The FBI searched the home of Bianca's father, D'Andre Lane, during the weekend, according to a Free Press source. The FBI would not comment on the investigation.


Detroit police investigators using two bloodhounds searched around the Jones home as well as the neighborhood around the house Monday afternoon.


A marked Detroit police SUV and three dark unmarked vehicles followed an officer and his dog east on side streets to the southbound Chrysler service drive along I-75, across the pedestrian walkway that crosses I-75 just south of Holbrook, stopping along northbound I-75 service drive.


Police Sgt. Eren Stephens said Monday there were no further updates in the investigation.


Police have not said whether Lane was a suspect in the girl's disappearance.


Lane, 32, told police he was driving his silver Mercury Grand Marquis with Bianca in the backseat when he was carjacked near East Grand Boulevard and Brush Street. He said the girl was taken with the car.


Police found the car 10 minutes later at Beaubien and Philadelphia, but Bianca was missing.


Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee Jr. issued a statement Sunday saying the credibility of Lane's account is "under intense scrutiny by our investigative team."


Godbee said Saturday that Lane was being held for warrants on an unrelated matter. Lane was released from police custody Monday. Police have not identified any suspects.


Wayne County Jail staff said Sunday that Lane was an inmate in 2003 after being convicted on charges of possession of a controlled substance and firearm possession by a felon. Oakland County Court records also show Lane had a personal protection order filed against him this year.

Monday 5 December 2011

Jeneen Dunn

Police have identified the two victims shot and killed outside of the Arundel Mills Mall last Friday night.

Investigators say 30-year-old Chonsay Laquez Green of Capitol Heights and 25-year-old Jeneen Desiree Dunn of Greenbelt were shot and killed by James Edward Coleman of District Heights.

Coleman was later killed at a home in District Heights after an exchange of gunfire with police.

Using information from witnesses, Anne Arundel County Police tracked Coleman's vehicle from Arundel Mills to a house in the 8100 block of Rydal Road in District Heights, Md., on Saturday morning. They then called for backup from Prince George's County Police.

Cpl. Henry Tippett, a police spokesman, says 22-year-old James Coleman was killed today after emerging from a District Heights home with two guns. He says Coleman shot one officer in the torso with a shotgun, but the officer is expected to survive. Six officers are believed to have opened fire.

Tippett says Coleman was suspected in the fatal shooting hours earlier of two people in the parking lot of the Arundel Mills Mall. The motive in those shootings wasn’t immediately clear.

Tippett says Prince George’s police went to the home based on information and tips received by the Anne Arundel police.

Powerball Winners Donate $1 Million To Charity

GREENWICH, Conn. -- A trio of Connecticut money managers who split a $254 million Powerball jackpot say their new charitable trust is giving $1 million to five organizations that support veterans and military members who recently returned from deployments.


A spokesman for the Putnam Avenue Family Trust says the donations, announced Sunday, are the first of many they expect to make using lottery winnings they claimed Nov. 28.


The trust created by Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson took in a $103.5 million lump sum after taxes. They say they hope the trust's donations will become an example for other lottery winners.


Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson created the Putnam Avenue Family Trust after scoring the windfall on a $1 ticket bought at a gas station. They claimed $104 million in a lump sum after taxes.
Five organizations -- the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Building Homes for Heroes, Services for the Under Served, Operation First Response and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund -- which will each receive $200,000, according to WTNH.
"These grant awards reflect the beginning of a process that allows us to leverage lottery winnings into materially helping our society," the trio said in a statement.
Reports that the three men -- all colleagues at Belpointe Asset Management in Greenwich, Conn. -- had won the jackpot sparked an immediate controversy, with some claiming they had collected the winnings on behalf of an anonymous wealthy client.
A spokesperson for the men denied the story and said they would give much of their windfall to charity.
Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection, which oversees the lottery operation, has said it believes the rules were followed.