truesee's Blog

Monday, Sep. 21, 2009

MERCED — The Merced Police Department's Internal Affairs Division is investigating whether an officer twice used a Taser on an unarmed, wheelchair-bound man with no legs.

Gregory Williams, 40, a double-leg amputee, spent six days in jail on suspicion of domestic violence and resisting arrest. He was released from jail Friday after the Merced County district attorney's office decided not to file charges against him.

"How much resisting am I going to do with no legs? No feet?" Williams said. "It's ridiculous what they did to me. How far am I gonna run? Where am I gonna go?"

Police took Williams' wife into custody during the incident on an outstanding $10,000 misdemeanor warrant for domestic violence.

Williams is black, and the two main arresting officers are white, but it's unknown whether race played a role in the incident.

Williams said officers never used racial epithets toward him. Although he said he does believe race and class played a role in his arrest, he said he believes the police just wanted to be "downright nasty" to him.

Williams said he was manhandled and Tased by police, even though he said he was never physically aggressive toward the officers and didn't resist arrest.

Williams said he was humiliated after his pants fell down during the incident. The officers allegedly left him outdoors in broad daylight, handcuffed on the pavement, with his pants down. Williams said the Sept. 11 arrest also left him with an injured shoulder, limiting his mobility in his wheelchair.

A handful of residents in Williams' apartment complex said they witnessed the incident and supported Williams' charges. A short video clip, shot by a neighbor, shows Williams sitting on the pavement with his pants down, his hands cuffed behind his back.

A Merced police report, written by the responding officers, says police tried to reason with Williams before the arrest, to no avail. The officers wrote that Williams was uncooperative and refused to turn his 2-year-old daughter over to Merced County Child Protective Services, among other allegations.

In the report, police also say a hostile crowd gathered as the officers tried to perform their duties.

The Merced Police Department spokesman declined to comment, saying he can't discuss it because the investigation is internal. Both of the officers remain on duty.

Although the officers remain on duty, Cmdr. Floyd Higdon said, the department is taking the internal investigation and the allegations seriously.

"We want to get to the bottom of it," he said. "We want to make sure we're doing the right thing for the right reasons."

Between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sept. 11, Williams said, he and his wife, 28-year-old Demetrice Shaunte Phifer, were arguing when a Merced Police Department patrol car arrived at the couple's studio apartment.

While one officer spoke with his wife, Williams said, another officer arrived and ordered him, "Go back to your house!" Williams, who had his 2-year-old daughter, Ginni, in his lap, said he rolled his wheelchair back to his apartment.

The officer, who is identified in the police report as John Pinnegar, approached him in the doorway of his apartment. Pinnegar said his wife had accused him of striking her, which Williams denied.

Shortly afterward, police Sgt. Rodney Court and a worker with Merced County Child Protective Services entered the room, Williams said. "I'm trying to tell him nothing happened. We were just having an argument," he said.

Pinnegar grabbed Williams' 2-year-old daughter from his lap, handing her to the CPS worker. "I said, 'What are you doing? I haven't done anything!' " Williams said.

Williams said Pinnegar unholstered his Taser, jammed it into his rib cage and shocked him twice. A police report says Williams was Tased once in the shoulder.

Williams said he fell from his chair onto his stomach on the ground outside his doorway.

While he was down, Williams said, Court put his knee on his neck, and one of the officers then cuffed his wrists. At some point after he fell out of his chair, Williams said, his shorts slid down his legs.

With his hands cuffed behind his back, Williams said, he was unable to pull his pants up. He said police left him for five to 10 minutes in that position on the pavement, with his private parts showing as neighbors and onlookers watched.

Williams, a lifelong Merced resident with three children, said both his legs were amputated in 2004 after he was diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis that led to gangrene in his legs.

Doctors amputated his legs below the knees when he was 34. He lost his job as a truck driver and supports himself and his family from a Social Security disability allotment of $1,004 a month.

Merced Sun-Star

SUN-STAR PHOTO BY LISA JAMES Greg Williams, a disabled double amputee who was Tasered by Merced Police Officers on Sept. 11th, recounts the incident to a Merced Sun-Star reporter last Friday at Williams' K Street apartment where the incident occured. Sept. 18, 2009

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Child swallows cocaine after Newark dad allegedly tells son that drugs were "candy"

James Queally

The Star-Ledger 

September 18, 2009, 11:50PM

The dangerous miscue occurred because the child's father, Shaheed Wright, 25 of East Orange, told his son the drugs were candy after he hid several bags of cocaine in his son's jacket following an alleged run-in with Newark police, according to city police spokesman Detective Todd McClendon.

Wright was arrested at his South Munn Avenue residence this afternoon and charged with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

The children, identified as one girl and three boys, were all four years of age. A teacher at the daycare center had the children taken to Beth Israel around 9:30 a.m. when they noticed the girl had a foreign object in her mouth, which was later identified as a small plastic bag filled with cocaine, McClendon said.

Wright's son later told police that his father gave him the cocaine and told him the bags were actually "packets of candy," according to McClendon. Friday morning, when classmates asked the young boy for candy, he unknowingly distributed the cocaine to his friends.

Hospital tests indicated that only one of the children actually swallowed the cocaine, according to McClendon. That child was treated and released on Friday.

McClendon said the Division of Youth and Family Services is expected to conduct a separate investigation into the incident.

                                             RELATED STORY

Newark 4 year old passes out cocaine at daycare thinking it was candy

James Queally

The Star-Ledger

September 19, 2009, 9:21PM

photo courtesy of Newark PoliceShaheed Wright, 25, of East Orange, was arrested Friday after allegedly putting cocaine in his 4-year-old son's pocket after a brush with police. One classmate of the child ingested the cocaine.

NEWARK -- Shaheed Wright feared police were closing in on him, authorities say, so he hid his bags of cocaine in his son’s jacket pockets, telling the child that it was candy.

And when the boy arrived at his daycare center in Newark on Friday morning, he did what any other 4 year old might: The boy handed the white powder out to his friends.

One girl ate it.

She was rushed to Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark along with Wright’s son and two other boys from the day care suspected of eating cocaine. They all turned out to be fine and were released to their parents, according to Todd McClendon, a spokesman for Newark Police.

Wright, meanwhile, was arrested Friday afternoon in the hallway of his apartment building on South Munn Avenue in East Orange. The 25-year-old man is accused of endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and other charges, including employing a juvenile in a narcotics scheme.

He emerged shackled yesterday from Newark Police Headquarters, his hair in long dreadlocks, his face downcast. When asked if he wanted to say anything to the parents of the other children, he looked up for a moment.

"I apologize deeply," Wright said.

He is being held on $400,000 bail and scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning in Superior Court in Essex County.

The children were identified only as a girl and three boys, all 4-years old.

A teacher at Clinton Avenue Daycare Center first noticed the girl had something odd in her mouth at about 9:30 a.m. Friday, police said. The teacher looked closer and noticed a small plastic bag filled with the white powder.

Then, she called an ambulance.

It turned out only the girl actually swallowed the cocaine, McClendon said.

The center, a three-story townhouse near Lincoln Park, was closed yesterday. Attempts to reach the owner were unsuccessful.

Authorities suspect Wright shoved the cocaine into his son’s pockets following a "near brush" with police. McClendon said he was unable to elaborate on when or where the encounter occurred.

But when they searched the boys’ pockets, police found multiple bags of cocaine, McClendon said.

The Division of Youth and Family Services plans to conduct a separate investigation into the incident, McClendon said. A spokeswoman for the agency said state law did not allow her to comment on the status of the investigation.

9/19/09   

Co-workers at Waldoboro store discover they are brothers

Gambler wants casino to return his losses

Jennifer Chambers 

The Detroit News

Detroit -- Italo Mario Parise has sworn off gambling for good.

The 61-year-old professional engineer indulged his appetite for cards, slots and game tables at MotorCity Casino in Detroit for a decade, losing $673,854 of his own money.

Looking back, Parise says he believes he was brainwashed by the casino to keep coming back to gamble more.

And now that he says his head is clear, Parise -- who says he hasn't set foot in a gambling hall since March -- wants his money back from the casino he blames for his losses.

In what appears to be the first lawsuit of its kind in Michigan, Parise is suing MotorCity Casino to recover his money, claiming the gambling house had a duty -- under an obscure Michigan law -- to stop him when he was down.

The statute -- called "gaming: action by loser" -- has been on the books since 1961 and remained there after the passage of Proposal E, which established non-Indian casinos in Michigan in 1996.

In the suit, to be heard Friday in Wayne Circuit Court, Parise alleges the casino "knew or should have known of his enormous financial losses" and did not make any attempt "to aid" him in stopping them.

In an interview with The Detroit News, Parise said the casinos market themselves as places of entertainment when they are in, in his opinion, illegal operations that deceive the public.

"These places, they suck people in. It's not gambling, it's brainwashing. They take money from you until it is gone," he said.

MotorCity's lawyers say the lawsuit is "frivolous" and are seeking to have the case dismissed and sanctions filed against Parise's attorney.

Rick Kalm, head of the Michigan Control Gaming Board, called the lawsuit "unusual" and said he is not familiar with the 1961 law. A spokesman with the Attorney General's office declined to comment on the case or the statute.

In preparation for the case, Parise's lawyer, Frank A. Cusumano, said he searched for other lawsuits using the statute to recover losses and could find none, suggesting this case is the first of its kind in Michigan.

Lawyers for MotorCity said no Michigan statute exists that allows a casino patron to sue a casino for gambling losses. Attorney Patricia Nemeth said Detroit Entertainment, which operates MotorCity, says the company does not comment on pending litigation.

But in a court filing on behalf of Detroit Entertainment, attorney Deborah Brouwer says nothing in the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act, which governs casinos, states that a person who loses money at a Detroit casino may sue for recovery of those losses.

Such a provision "would be the death knell for the Detroit casinos, none of which would be able to remain in business if forced to return gambling losses to disgruntled gamblers," the brief says.

Robert Stocker II, a Lansing attorney and gaming law expert with Dickinson Wright, said the law allows a person to pursue a cause of action only in cases of illegal gaming in Michigan. The Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act specifically authorizes casino gambling in Michigan and says any other law inconsistent with that is nullified.

"Attempts periodically are made throughout the United States by an individual to recoup gaming losses. I'm not aware of any specific cases with success. Lots of very creative attempts have been made but generally this stuff is not successful," Stocker said.

Lawyers for MotorCity said compulsive gamblers get help from the state already via a $2 million compulsive gaming prevention fund to assist problem gamblers, a toll-free compulsive gaming helpline number and the ability to be placed on a "disassociated persons list." A person on such a list is barred from three Detroit casino halls for life.

As of Aug. 19, the list contained the names of 2,221 people.

Cusumano maintains he has a viable case against the casino and has set up a Web site with a page on how to sue casinos to recover gambling losses. He says the law actually dates back to 1827 when Michigan was a territory and has remained on the books since statehood in 1837.

Parise, who filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy in Detroit in 1996 and had his case discharged or cleared in 2000, gambled from 2000 through March 22 of this year, losing $577,549 at the slots and $96,305 at table games such as blackjack.

During the time period cited in the lawsuit, Parise says he won $5,450.

Parise says he has lost opportunities for business contracts because of his gambling losses. He says he went to MotorCity officials and placed himself on a house ban until the end of the year. He has no plans to place himself on a disassociated person's list because he maintains he is not addicted to gambling and has no plan to gamble again.

"I have no desire to gamble. I swear on my father's grave. You can't win. It will ruin your life," he says.

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Two three-year-old boys investigated for vandalism become youngest criminal suspects in British history

Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:01 PM on 20th September 2009 

Two boys aged three have become the youngest suspects in British criminal history.

They were questioned by police, in separate cases, after complaints of vandalism.

The two are among ten children under six who have been subject to investigations for crimes including sexual offences and criminal damage.

The figures, from officials in Scotland, include a five-year-old boy cautioned for lewd behaviour.

It has emerged two three-year-olds have been investigated by police for vandalism in Scotland (picture posed by models)

There were allegations against two five-year-old girls while a four-year-old boy was also accused of vandalism.

Dr Cynthia McVeigh, head of psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University, said their actions could be a result of learned behaviour.

'Sometimes it is a case that they themselves have been abused or have witnessed crimes being committed,' she said.

Scottish Labour spokesman Richard Baker said: 'Questions have to be asked about the family situations of those children.'

In Glasgow, an 11-year-old migrant from Eastern Europe has been accused of raping and robbing a 14-year-old girl earlier this month.

The youngest offender in England and Wales was a six-year-old arrested in Bedfordshire on suspicion of robbery in June.

The children are below the age of criminal responsibility and cannot be prosecuted or held in custody.

In Scotland the age is 8, which is the lowest in Europe and in England and Wales it is 10.

Richard Baker, Scottish Labour's justice spokesman said: 'Questions have to be asked about the family situations of those children.'

And Bill Aitken, Scottish Conservatives justice spokesman added: 'It is deeply depressing that children of these tender years are committing serious offences. These children may be at risk.'

Dr Cynthia McVeigh, head of psychology at Glasgow Caledonian University said the children's actions could be as a result of learned behaviour.

'When you get children acting like this sometimes it is a case that they themselves have been abused or have witnessed crimes being committed,' she said.

'Children who commit crimes have learned or witnessed it and it can sometimes mean they are not being monitored by their parents.'

Disclosures under Freedom of Information laws have brought attention to the thousands of children committing offences every year.

Figures obtained by the Sunday Times this month revealed more than 6,000 offences have been committed by children under 10 over the past three years, including nine-year-olds accused of rape and eight year-olds believed to have caused grevious bodliy harm.

Other alleged crimes include possession of knives, assaults, burglaries and theft.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1214816/Boy-3-investigated-vandalism-UKs-youngest-crime-suspect.html#ixzz0RgfkfEYq

'Cheater' wants to reunite with boyfriend

Sunday, September 20, 2009 1:30 AM EDT

Sandusky Register

PERKINS TWP.

_{Register photo/ANNIE ZELM Jess Duttry, 19, holds a sign saying "I cheated. Honk if I deserve a second chance," along Perkins Avenue in front of the Kroger parking lot on Wednesday evening. Duttry held the sign out for every passer-by to read as a way to admit her mistake and show her regret about having cheated on her fiance earlier this summer.}

It's the modern-day equivalent of the scarlet letter -- a young woman standing on the street corner with her mistake scrawled in black permanent marker.

"I cheated," her sign said in bold letters. "Honk if I deserve a second chance."

On the back, it read, "I honestly love him."

The woman stood on the curb of Perkins Avenue, in front of the Kroger parking lot, on a Wednesday evening with her plea.

Passing drivers beeped their support.

"I've gotten 57 honks in the last hour and a half," said Jess Duttry, 19, as her long black ponytail fluttered in the wind. "I've had people come out of their cars and hug me, tell me 'Good luck.'"

The Sandusky High School graduate said Wednesday was her one-year anniversary with her fiance, and he took back the ring that same day after she confessed to having cheated earlier this summer. She said she got the idea for her act of repentance online.

"I just want a chance to redeem myself," she said. "I honestly feel bad. If I have to stand out here in the rain for him to take me back, I will."

Naked 91-year-old Lake Worth man holds drunken burglar at gunpoint until deputies arrive

MICHAEL LaFORGIA

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Saturday, September 19, 2009

LAKE WORTH — A burglar early this morning clambered over a backyard fence on a quiet block on the city's west side. He picked the wrong house.

He made it maybe a couple of steps before Rettt the dog, a mixture of Rottweiler and Doberman pinscher, charged, tearing the intruder's shirt from his back in a growling, ferocious attack.

This gave homeowner Robert E. Thompson, 91, time to jump out of bed, grab his gun, a .38-caliber revolver loaded with hollow-point bullets, and to phone the police.

Then he went out back to let the guy know how he felt about home invaders. He raised the gun and shouted out in the darkness. He thought there might be three or four of them. He didn't care.

"The funny part was I didn't have any clothes on," said Thompson, a World War II veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart during combat tours in Europe. "I was standing out there with a .38 in my hand, and I was stark naked."

Already terrified of the dog, the burglar, who looked to be no older than 20, took a step toward the nude 91-year-old, and that was it for Thompson.

"I fired a warning shot," he said, and the burglar froze. "I wasn't going to let the guy get within six or eight feet of me. He spoke only Spanish, and I couldn't understand anything he was saying. I think he was more scared than I was, really."

And so they stayed that way, the hapless young burglar, who appeared, authorities said later, to be very drunk, and the naked old homeowner, his head cool, his revolver leveled, until Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies showed up.

Thompson would've made it out of the whole ordeal completely unscathed if, when the deputies told him to drop the gun, it hadn't accidentally gone off, sending a tiny bullet fragment ricocheting off the concrete pool deck and into Thompson's right shin.

He barely felt it, but the deputies called paramedics and insisted he get checked out at Delray Medical Center. He was back home by midday, recounting the incident.

The burglar, who identified himself as Jose Pasqual, 26, of no fixed address was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on a burglary charge.

"I have a real bad feeling about these guys. I don't tolerate them. I would've shot him if he kept coming," Thompson said. "You've got to protect yourself."

Jose Pascual

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The Foxy Life

Thu Sep 10, 2009 3:39pm PDT

Last Updated Sep 16, 2009 4:12pm PDT

Hotel Made Out of 200,000 Plastic Key Cards

How you write 'shows if you're a liar', scientists discover

Psychologists have suggested that handwriting changes when someone is lying because the brain has to work harder to invent facts Photo: GETTY

Instead of analysing body language or eye movement, to catch out people telling fibs, people’s handwriting can instead give them away.

While stressing the research was in the early stages, scientists say it could one day help validate loan application or even insurance claims.

Psychologists have suggested that handwriting changes when someone is lying because the brain has to work harder to invent facts, which then in turn interfere with the normal writing process.

Researchers at the University of Haifa, Israel, asked 34 volunteers to write two short paragraphs, where in one they recalled a real memory while in the other a fictitious event.

The volunteers used a wireless electronic pen with a tip that was pressure-sensitive in order to write their memories and lies, the study published in the Journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology reported.

The paper was then placed on a computer tablet, which monitored and analysed their writing style.

The scientists then found those who wrote lies pressed harder on the paper, had longer pen strokes and produced taller letters than those telling the truth.

“In the false writing condition, the average pressure, stroke length and height were significantly higher than in the true writing condition,” the researchers said.

Professor Richard Wiseman, psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire, told the Daily Mail the technique was promising, but needed testing on a much bigger scale.

“We know that people hesitate more when they lie and some companies already use this fact to see how long it takes people to tick boxes when filling in surveys online,” he said.