truesee's Blog

Girl, 9, leads officers on high speed chase

Posted: Aug 21, 2009 9:09 AM EDT Updated: Aug 21, 2009 12:56 PM EDT

SMYRNA, Tenn. - A nine-year-old girl led officers on a two-county high speed car chase early Friday morning.

According to authorities, the girl's grandmother called police shortly before 3:30 a.m. to say her autistic granddaughter was missing and had taken the keys to her car.

Police spotted the girl six minutes later driving with no headlights on Bell Road in Antioch.

They followed her onto Interstate 24 East, where she reached speeds of 90 miles-per-hour.

She then stopped in the middle of the interstate near the Sam Ridley Parkway exit in Smyrna.

Police pulled in front of her but she decided to take off again, crashing into the police cruiser.

The interstate was shutdown for a short period of time after the incident.

Police said they believe the girl would have stopped had she known right from wrong.

"You know it's kind of gut wrenching because we want her to stop," said Metro police Sgt. Kurt Reddick.  "It was kind of one of those, ‘let's get this ended as quickly as possible and nobody get hurt'."

No one was seriously injured, although the girl had a few scratches on her face.

She is now with her family.

The family says they didn't even know the girl knew how to operate a car and were taken by complete surprise.

Police said she will not face any charges.

LINK TO VIDEO LIBRARY:

http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp?s=10968626

Sheriff: 80-year-old woman fired at Haywood deputies

 
MARIANN MARTIN
Jackson Sun.
August 20, 2009

An 80-year-old woman is behind bars after a Friday night standoff with Haywood County deputies that included her firing several shots at authorities, according to Sheriff Melvin Bond.

Bond on Wednesday said deputies arrested Lorene Harrell and her son, Claude Featherstone, 60, who was found hiding in a closet in her mobile home. No one was hurt in the incident.

Harrell is charged with aggravated assault and is being held on $10,000 bond. Featherstone was charged with evading arrest and is being held on $7,500 bond. The sheriff did not know when they would appear in court.

Bond said authorities received an anonymous tip that Featherstone was at Harrell's mobile home on Daisy Bradford Road.

Featherstone, of Brownsville, had several outstanding warrants from Missouri and Crockett County.

Four deputies went to Harrell's home to serve the warrants because deputies had dealt with Featherstone before, Bond said.

Two deputies knocked on the door of the mobile home after hearing Featherstone talking inside. Harrell came to the door, and deputies told her they were looking for her son.

"She slammed the door in the officers' faces," Bond said.

Deputies started to leave the doorstep but heard Featherstone talking again. They knocked on the door, but Harrell refused to open it, telling them to get off her property, Bond said.

That is when a shot was fired through the front door and deputies took cover in a standoff that lasted more than an hour.

"I advised them to wait this thing out and make sure no one gets hurt," Bond said.

Bond said dispatchers called Harrell on the telephone and that he tried to talk to her, but she hung up on him. Bond said they continued to try to talk to her.

"Deputies could see her inside the door, brandishing a gun," Bond said.

Bond said Harrell fired two more shots through the back door during the standoff.

Dispatchers eventually told Harrell that Bond wanted to see her outside, and she came to the door. Deputies were then able to arrest her, Bond said.

Authorities found a .22-caliber rifle and a .38-caliber revolver in the mobile home, as well as a box of .38-caliber bullets on the coffee table.

Bond said Featherstone was found hiding in a closet in a back room.

Harrell was examined at a local hospital before she was taken to jail, Bond said.

"I'm thankful that no one was hurt and me and my men were able to handle it," Bond said.

Haywood County Mayor Franklin Smith praised Bond for how authorities handled the incident.

"It was a situation that could have ended very differently," Smith said. "But Sheriff Bond handled it well, and no one got hurt."

Mother accused of striking bus driver

Staff Reporter

News Star

August 20, 2009

Sherbert Bradley, 29, 114 Monterey Circle, was charged with battery of a schoolteacher and simple battery of the infirm.

According to an arrest affidavit, a Ouachita Parish School bus driver said Bradley showed up at her house Tuesday evening and struck her in the mouth, causing bleeding, because she thought the bus driver was mean to her daughter.

When a 60-year-old woman tried to intervene, Bradley allegedly pushed her down, causing her head to strike against the floor.

Bradley was arrested and taken to Ouachita Correctional Center. She booked on a bond of $15,000.

Incident involving Midland County deputies ruled non-criminal by Williamson County, Round Rock authorities

Staff Reporter

The Midland Reporter-Telegram

In this photo provided by the Midland County, (Texas) Sheriff, an unidentified waitress at Twin Peaks Restaurant and Bar posses for a photo in Round Rock, Texas, Aug. 10, 2009. Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter fired one deputy and suspended three others without pay for the photos of a waitress holding a rifle sitting on a Midland County patrol car. Round Rock officers were dispatched to the restaurant after someone reported the waitress with the weapon, which had been given to her by one of the deputies who had been attending a training session near Austin.

(AP Photo/Midland County Sheriff)  In this photo provided by the Midland County, (Texas) Sheriff, an unidentified waitress at Twin Peaks Restaurant and Bar posses for a photo in Round Rock, Texas, Aug. 10, 2009. Midland County Sheriff Gary Painter fired one deputy and suspended three others without pay for the photos of a waitress holding a rifle sitting on a Midland County patrol car. Round Rock officers were dispatched to the restaurant after someone reported the waitress with the weapon, which had been given to her by one of the deputies who had been attending a training session near Austin.(AP Photo/Midland County Sheriff)

http://www.mywesttexas.com/articles/2009/08/19/news/top_stories/doc4a8c310b92908011507831.txt#ixzz0OoOA6WAo

4 busted in Monroe 'assault for hire'

MONROE -- In what is being termed by police as an assault for hire, a teenage girl from Redding is accused of hiring a homeless man and two local teenagers to assault a Monroe man she claimed had robbed her of marijuana.

JC Penney caper nets $1.5 million

Thursday, August 20, 2009

By Jeff Adelson

St. Tammany bureau

 

 

 

Carrying out a heist that could have been scripted in Hollywood, two men scaled the JC Penney store near Covington under the cover of darkness early Sunday.

They cut a hole in the building's roof, descended into the store using ropes and, somewhere along the way, disabled the security system, paving the way for them to browse the darkened store and stuff plastic garbage bags with jewelry, clothing and other goods.

After an hour in the store, the burglars disappeared through a fire door, taking with them more than $1.5 million in goods and pulling off what authorities called the largest burglary in St. Tammany Parish history.

It also was one of the most sophisticated.

The thieves planned their entrance and exit, knew how to shut down the store's security system and shielded their faces from the security cameras that dot the building.

It's expertise that may have come from practice.

Investigators said the thieves may be responsible for at least four other burglaries at JC Penney stores across the South and Midwest, including one in Lafayette on Wednesday morning.

Hours after that burglary and three days after the crime near Covington, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain held a news conference and provided details on what he described as an "incredibly sophisticated" burglary ring.

"The deployment of their plan was flawless," Strain said of the break-in at the store in the Stirling Covington Center at Interstate 12 and Louisiana 21.

The Sheriff's Office released surveillance footage of two men walking through the store shortly after midnight carrying garbage bags, which they later used to haul off their loot, and 2x4s. The men apparently had T-shirts wrapped around their heads as makeshift masks.

Investigators are unsure whether accomplices were waiting outside.

Authorities do not know whether all the burglaries were committed by the same suspects or carried out by different members of a larger organization. But the break-ins bear similarities that have prompted cooperation between agencies in three states and the retail company itself.

JC Penney is offering a $10,000 reward for information on the burglaries, Strain said. The company's security officers are working with law enforcement, he said.

"No stone is being left unturned; we're doing a careful analysis of the evidence that's there," Strain said.

Investigators do not believe the suspects are from St. Tammany Parish but are executing several search warrants in the area. Officials refused to say what the search warrants targeted.

This kind of burglary is one of the most difficult types of cases faced by law enforcement, and the ability of thieves to melt down and dismantle jewelry can impede efforts to recover the stolen goods, Strain said.

Officials did not notify the media or public about the break-in for days, time Strain said was needed to collect evidence and conduct the investigation.

"We don't make decisions on when to release things based on the needs of the media," he said.

It is common for cases involving a particular chain to be traced back to someone with an inside connection, often a former employee. Investigators said they do not have any suspects but have not ruled out the possibility that it is an inside job.

"We're looking at all aspects of it, security, management and sales," Lt. Bobby Juge said.

Strain also noted the burglars seem to have chosen an unlikely target.

"Personally, I would be climbing on the roof of a bank or a gold depository," he said.

Link to Audio:

http://www.wwl.com/Heist-of--1-million-in-jewelry-and-perfume-from-No/5040916

Op-Ed Columnist

Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons?

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

Nicholas D. Kristof

Mr. Wilkerson is serving a life sentence in California — for stealing a $2.50 pair of socks. As The Economist noted recently, he already had two offenses on his record (both for abetting robbery at age 19), and so the “three strikes” law resulted in a life sentence.

This is unjust, of course. But considering that California spends almost $49,000 annually per prison inmate, it’s also an extraordinary waste of money.

Astonishingly, many politicians seem to think that we should lead the world in prisons, not in health care or education. The United States is anomalous among industrialized countries in the high proportion of people we incarcerate; likewise, we stand out in the high proportion of people who have no medical care — and partly as a result, our health care outcomes such as life expectancy and infant mortality are unusually poor.

It’s time for a fundamental re-evaluation of the criminal justice system, as legislation sponsored by Senator Jim Webb has called for, so that we’re no longer squandering money that would be far better spent on education or health. Consider a few facts:

¶The United States incarcerates people at nearly five times the world average. Of those sentenced to state prisons, 82 percent were convicted of nonviolent crimes, according to one study.

¶California spends $216,000 annually on each inmate in the juvenile justice system. In contrast, it spends only $8,000 on each child attending the troubled Oakland public school system, according to the Urban Strategies Council.

¶For most of American history, we had incarceration rates similar to those in other countries. Then with the “war on drugs” and the focus on law and order in the 1970s, incarceration rates soared.

¶One in 10 black men ages 25 to 29 were imprisoned last year, partly because possession of crack cocaine (disproportionately used in black communities) draws sentences equivalent to having 100 times as much powder cocaine. Black men in the United States have a 32 percent chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives, according to the Sentencing Project.

Look, there’s no doubt that many people in prison are cold-blooded monsters who deserve to be there. But over all, in a time of limited resources, we’re overinvesting in prisons and underinvesting in schools.

Indeed, education spending may reduce the need for incarceration. The evidence on this isn’t conclusive, but it’s noteworthy that graduates of the Perry Preschool program in Michigan, an intensive effort for disadvantaged children in the 1960s, were some 40 percent less likely to be arrested than those in a control group.

Above all, it’s time for a rethink of our drug policy. The point is not to surrender to narcotics, but to learn from our approach to both tobacco and alcohol. Over time, we have developed public health strategies that have been quite successful in reducing the harm from smoking and drinking.

If we want to try a public health approach to drugs, we could learn from Portugal. In 2001, it decriminalized the possession of all drugs for personal use. Ordinary drug users can still be required to participate in a treatment program, but they are no longer dispatched to jail.

“Decriminalization has had no adverse effect on drug usage rates in Portugal,” notes a report this year from the Cato Institute. It notes that drug use appears to be lower in Portugal than in most other European countries, and that Portuguese public opinion is strongly behind this approach.

A new United Nations study, World Drug Report 2009, commends the Portuguese experiment and urges countries to continue to pursue traffickers while largely avoiding imprisoning users. Instead, it suggests that users, particularly addicts, should get treatment.

Senator Webb has introduced legislation that would create a national commission to investigate criminal justice issues — for such a commission may be the best way to depoliticize the issue and give feckless politicians the cover they need to institute changes.

“There are only two possibilities here,” Mr. Webb said in introducing his bill, noting that America imprisons so many more people than other countries. “Either we have the most evil people on earth living in the United States, or we are doing something dramatically wrong in terms of how we approach the issue of criminal justice.”

Opponents of universal health care and early childhood education say we can’t afford them. Granted, deficits are a real constraint and we can’t do everything, and prison reform won’t come near to fully financing health care reform. Still, would we rather use scarce resources to educate children and heal the sick, or to imprison people because they used drugs or stole a pair of socks?

Despite Eviction, Family Fights To Stay

Family Squats In Foreclosed Home Despite Eviction Notices

MIAMI -- A Miami family illegally squatting in their own foreclosed home is facing eviction, for a second time. Once again, they're taking a stand to keep their home.

The Trody family was first evicted from their home on 849 NW 137 Street on Feb. 23. The matriarch of the family, Carolyn Conley, claims she lost the home because of a refinanced mortgage that was too complicated to understand.

With the help of Take Back the Land, a vigilante housing advocate group, the family of 12 broke into the same home from which they were evicted and moved back in. At one point, they were living in a van.

On Wednesday, the family was served with another eviction notice. Rather than leave and return to living in the van, they are taking a stand to keep their home.

"Housing is a human right," said Max Rameau of Take Back the Land. "As such, the Trodys have a greater need, and right, to this home than big corporations getting billions of dollars in our money for a bailout."

Members of the family said they would have to be forcefully removed from the home.

Community members and organizations are planning to support the Trodys and defend against the eviction for as long as the family wants to stay.

Police and mortgage companies say the Trodys are trespassing. Anyone caught violating the mandate to leave could be arrested.  The Trody family was first evicted from their home on 849 NW 137 Street on Feb. 23. The matriarch of the family, Carolyn Conley, claims she lost the home because of a refinanced mortgage that was too complicated to understand.

With the help of Take Back the Land, a vigilante housing advocate group, the family of 12 broke into the same home from which they were evicted and moved back in. At one point, they were living in a van.

On Wednesday, the family was served with another eviction notice. Rather than leave and return to living in the van, they are taking a stand to keep their home.

"Housing is a human right," said Max Rameau of Take Back the Land. "As such, the Trodys have a greater need, and right, to this home than big corporations getting billions of dollars in our money for a bailout."

Members of the family said they would have to be forcefully removed from the home.

Community members and organizations are planning to support the Trodys and defend against the eviction for as long as the family wants to stay.

Police and mortgage companies say the Trodys are trespassing. Anyone caught violating the mandate to leave could be arrested.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.justnews.com/video/20474237/index.html

Father Wants Public Caning for Malay Woman Over Beer 

By Ranjeetha Pakiam

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The caning of a Malaysian mother for drinking a beer should be conducted in public if it is meant to set an example to fellow Muslims, her father said, days before the punishment is set to be carried out in a closed prison.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, faces six strokes of the cane after a Shariah court found the former model guilty of breaking a law that forbids all Muslims, including foreign visitors, from drinking alcohol.  After deciding not to appeal, she may become the first woman to be caned in Malaysia.

The Shariah court in the eastern state of Pahang Kartika fixed Aug. 24 to 30 for the Prisons Department to conduct the sentence, said Mohamad Isa Abd Ralip, president of the Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia.  Kartika will be held for a week at the women’s prison in Kajang outside Kuala Lumpur, a decision that has puzzled her father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib.

“As a Muslim, I agree with her punishment, but I don’t agree that it should be done in jail, she is not a prisoner,” Shukarno, 60, told Bloomberg in an interview. “If the authorities want to use this as an example, then the caning should be done in public in Pahang.”

The businessman said it was embarrassing for his daughter to be brought to prison where criminals are held. If there was no alternative, Shukarno said he would ask the authorities to allow him and the media to attend the caning to ensure transparency.

“Nobody should have to endure corporal punishment, be it a man or woman,” said Ragunath Kesavan, president of the Malaysian Bar Council. He said a public caning would be considered unacceptable to many members of society and would set an unwelcome precedent.

Long Ordeal

Kartika, who is married to a Singaporean, decided not to appeal against the court’s July 20 judgment because she wants to get the ordeal over with and get on with her family life, the New Straits Times reported on July 22.

The mother of two, who also paid a fine of 5,000 ringgit ($1,420) for drinking in a hotel lounge in July last year, wants other people to learn from her experience. Her husband, also a Muslim, wasn’t with her at the time.

“When I received the news, I was relieved,” Kartika said in a telephone interview yesterday. “I want it to be over, rather than leave it hanging. I’m a bit afraid because I don’t know what to expect, but I’m prepared” to be punished.

Kartika and her husband left Singapore Aug. 18 when they heard of the court’s decision and traveled to her father’s house in the northern state of Perak. Shukarno said they hadn’t received any written notification and would wait for the Islamic authorities to pick up Kartika and take her to the prison.

‘Fair Decision’

Malaysia has a dual-track judicial system where Islamic courts operate alongside civil institutions. Three of the Southeast Asian nation’s 13 states permit the caning of convicted women under the Shariah Criminal Offences Code.

“This is a fair decision, because the Shariah laws do not discriminate whether the offender is male or female,” said Mohamad Isa. “The punishment is more geared to teaching a lesson. The caning is not meant to physically hurt.”

Shariah judges have meted out the maximum sentence for drinking alcohol to a woman on one previous occasion. The first offender, waitress Noorazah Baharuddin, 22, was sentenced in January for consuming liquor in a pub in Pahang last year, state news agency Bernama reported. She has appealed and the case is pending, the Star newspaper said.

Three men who were previously convicted for drinking alcohol and were sentenced to be caned are still waiting for their appeals to be heard, Mohamad Isa said.

Caning Rules

According to Islamic principles and the Pahang Shariah rules, caning should be conducted with a small, thin stick and cannot be administered on the head, face, stomach, chest or genitals.

The prison officer wielding the cane is not allowed to use much force, ensuring his or her hand doesn’t rise above head- height, Mohamad Isa said. The offender must be fully clothed and men must stand, whereas women can be seated.

Under the government’s civil criminal system, men can be caned for serious offences such as rape. These punishments are administered using a thicker cane and applied to the bare buttocks of the offender, who is bound to a frame.

Neighboring Singapore’s law also allows for caning for serious offences such as rape and drug trafficking. In 1994, U.S. teenager Michael Fay received four strokes of the cane in a Singapore prison after being convicted of vandalism.

In Indonesia, caning is not part of the criminal legal system though it is used in Aceh province, which has introduced a form of Shariah law since being granted autonomy in 2005.

About 60 percent of Malaysia’s population is Muslim. The rest are mostly Buddhists, Hindus, Christians or Sikhs.

Too Harsh

Many Malaysians feel caning is too harsh a sentence, said Chandra Muzaffar, president of the International Movement for a Just World, a Malaysian non-governmental organization, adding that there are no studies to suggest caning is a deterrent to drinking alcohol.

“Accepting the fact that the consumption of alcohol is prohibited” in Islam, “the best approach is to counsel,” said Chandra. If he or she persists, “it’s between the person and God.”

Last Updated: August 20, 2009 05:31 EDT

                                   ORIGINAL STORY

Ian MacKinnon

Bangkok

Daily Telegraph
Published: 5:08PM BST 19 Aug 2009

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno: The mother-of-two who lives in Singapore with her husband, paid a fine of £860 Photo: AFP

The 32-year-old will receive six lashes at a woman's prison next week in what is being viewed as an example of the growing influence of Islamic hardliners on the country.

The mother-of-two who lives in Singapore with her husband, paid a fine of £860, but declined to lodge an appeal so she could get the punishment over with and put the episode behind her.

The harsh sentence has provoked anger among women's rights groups who fear it is another sign of the creeping influence of conservative Islam on Malaysian society.

In the northern backwater state of Kalentan ruled by the hardline Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, authorities have decreed that supermarkets must have separate checkout queues for men and women and beaches be segregated.

Young couples caught sitting too close together on park benches in the state capital, Kota Baru, are hunted down by the city's moral enforcers and fined up to £285 in Sharia courts.

The Islamic alcohol prohibition laws in Malaysia's eastern Pahang state date back more than two decades. But Malaysian-born Kartika, who now has Singaporean citizenship, is the first woman to fall foul of them.

She was arrested in July last year in a hotel nightclub in the beach resort of Cherating during a raid by the state's religious department and admitted drinking beer.

An Islamic court fined her and ordered her to be caned at Kajang women's prison next week, but spared her a jail term of up to three years.

She received word of the sentence from her father and said she would be returning to Malaysia from Singapore.

"I accept the punishment," she said. "I am not afraid because I was ready to be punished from day one. [The authorities] hope to use my case as a way to educate Muslims. So go ahead. I want to move on with my life."

Prosecutor Saiful Idham Sahimi said: "This is the first case in Malaysia. It is a good punishment because under Islamic law a person who drinks commits a serious offence."

Muslims make up about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 28 million people and are governed by Sharia courts for all civil and religious matters.

Non-Muslims, mainly Chinese and Indians, are governed by civil courts, which impose caning sentences for serious offences such as rape. The lashes administered to the buttocks, break the skin and leave scars.

But in Kartika's case the rattan cane will be lighter than those used to punish men. Sharia law dictates it be no thicker than the little finger and the cane cannot be lifted so high the arm is away from the armpit. The court ordered the jail's female governor administer the sentence.

Kartika has been ordered to report to the jail next Monday, where she will be given a medical check-up to ensure she is fit to receive the punishment.

She could then be held for seven days, but will be released immediately after the caning.

Burglar targets police station

A suspect has been arrested in the theft of Tasers, a radio and a patrol car in North Bend

Winston Ross

Wednesday, Aug 19, 2009

  by Cathy Gandolfo & Dann Cuellar

Funeral Fiasco: Wrong body sent to family

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - August 18, 2009 (WPVI) -- It was to have been a time to say farewell to 80-year-old Kenneth Roberts.

As if funerals aren't sad and emotional enough, what happened in South Philadelphia was a nightmare for the family and friends of Mr. Roberts.

The funeral was to be held at Tindley Temple United Methodist Church on South Broad Street Tuesday morning, but the body that was brought there was not that of Kenneth Monroe Roberts, a South Philadelphia resident and army veteran.

"They kept trying to tell us that it was him and I knew it wasn't him," the wife of Kenneth Roberts, Janin Holsey, said.

The body of Kenneth Roberts and that of another man were mistakenly switched.

Family members who viewed the body on Monday say they knew something was wrong and told the funeral director.

"I told them it wasn't my grandpop; all his grandkids came in here and said that's not their grandpop. We know what my grandpop looked like, that wasn't him," granddaughter Kenayah Cerban said.

The funeral home of James Hawkins at 17th and Federal Streets handled the arrangements. Tuesday morning, during the viewing and just before the funeral service began, the error was acknowledged.

"She came in the service and said, 'we made a mistake, that's not your husband.' Everyone went into a rampage," sister-in-law Lois Bundy said.

The family waited an hour and a half and then Roberts' body finally arrived.

However, mourners were still horrified as the body was face down and partially hanging out of the ajar casket.

"This is not right. I never in my life... and that's my dad and I just want it fixed," daughter Rhonda Warring said.

One man suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital along with a woman suffering an asthma attack. The funeral was cancelled.

A similar scene played out across town at the Francis Funeral Home in Southwest Philadelphia.

Claire Beverly and her sister were laying to rest their father, Charles, when they too realized their father was not in the casket, but rather the body of Kenneth Roberts.

"Id like an apology and make sure this doesn't happen to another person because this is ridiculous," Claire said.

Family members tell Action News both funeral homes are owned by Frankie Francis. Embalming is performed at the Francis Funeral home and the bodies are then transported to the services.

After repeated calls were not returned Action News went looking for answers, but found none as no one would explain what happened.

Family members say they've received the same response.

"I'm lost for words. The words out of my mouth I don't think he wants to hear because this doesn't make sense," relative Melanie Oliver said.

The family of Kenneth Roberts is planning a small private funeral.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=6971877

                                                   RELATED STORY

Beloved husband & dad is mourned, but it's not his body in the casket

By KITTY CAPARELLA
Philadelphia Daily News

Wed, Aug. 19, 2009

Mints Believed To Be Crack Land Man In Jail

Posted: 5:27 pm EDT August 17, 2009

  Updated: 11:30 am EDT August 19, 2009

WFTV 9

Department for an arrest over mints. When officers pulled Donald May over for an expired tag, they thought the mints he was chewing were crack and arrested him.

May told Eyewitness News they wouldn't let him out of jail for three months until tests proved the so-called drugs were candy.

May said he was just minding his business, driving home from work, when a Kissimmee police officer pulled him over near 192.

LINK TO VIDEO/ COMPLAINT/MUST SEE STRANGE SLIDESHOW:

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/20435114/detail.html

"I don't know how it occurred," he said.

May was pulled over for an expired tag on his car. When the officer walked up to him, he noticed something white in May's mouth. May said it was breath mints, but the officer thought it was crack cocaine.

"He took them out of my mouth and put them in a baggy and locked me up [for] possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence," May explained.

The officer claimed he field-tested the evidence and it tested positive for drugs. The officer said he saw May buying drugs while he was stopped at an intersection. He also stated in his report May waived his Miranda rights and voluntarily admitted to buying drugs.

May said that never happened.

"My client never admitted he purchased crack cocaine. Why would he say that?" attorney Adam Sudbury said.

May was thrown in jail and was unable to bond out for three months. He didn't get out until he received a letter from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office that test results showed no drugs were found.

"While I was sitting in jail I lost my apartment. I lost everything," he said.

While May was behind bars, the Kissimmee Police Department towed his car and auctioned it off. He lost his job and was evicted. Now May is suing the city for false arrest and false imprisonment. He wants to be compensated for the loss of his car and job.

May's attorney and the city of Kissimmee discussed a possible settlement last year, but failed to reach an agreement.  Department for an arrest over mints. When officers pulled Donald May over for an expired tag, they thought the mints he was chewing were crack and arrested him.

May told Eyewitness News they wouldn't let him out of jail for three months until tests proved the so-called drugs were candy.

May said he was just minding his business, driving home from work, when a Kissimmee police officer pulled him over near 192.

"I don't know how it occurred," he said.

May was pulled over for an expired tag on his car. When the officer walked up to him, he noticed something white in May's mouth. May said it was breath mints, but the officer thought it was crack cocaine.

"He took them out of my mouth and put them in a baggy and locked me up [for] possession of cocaine and tampering with evidence," May explained.

The officer claimed he field-tested the evidence and it tested positive for drugs. The officer said he saw May buying drugs while he was stopped at an intersection. He also stated in his report May waived his Miranda rights and voluntarily admitted to buying drugs.

May said that never happened.

"My client never admitted he purchased crack cocaine. Why would he say that?" attorney Adam Sudbury said.

May was thrown in jail and was unable to bond out for three months. He didn't get out until he received a letter from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney's Office that test results showed no drugs were found.

"While I was sitting in jail I lost my apartment. I lost everything," he said.

While May was behind bars, the Kissimmee Police Department towed his car and auctioned it off. He lost his job and was evicted. Now May is suing the city for false arrest and false imprisonment. He wants to be compensated for the loss of his car and job.

May's attorney and the city of Kissimmee discussed a possible settlement last year, but failed to reach an agreement.

Katrina victims in Oprah homes indicted

They are accused of taking FEMA money after moving

MARY FLOOD

Houston Chronicle

Aug. 19, 2009, 1:35PM

Three Hurricane Katrina evacuees who bought houses here with the help of Oprah Winfrey appeared in court today on charges they cheated the Federal Emergency Management Agency by lying to continue to obtain rental assistance for storm victims after they moved into the furnished homes.

The three came to Houston from New Orleans after the storm devastated that city. They received legitimate FEMA help and then were aided by Winfrey's “Oprah's Angel Network,” which provided the financing to allow the storm victims to move into and own new homes.

“Oprah's Angel Network” worked with Habitat for Humanity to build and furnish homes for approximately 65 families, most of whom moved onto Asheburton Springs Drive in southwest Houston, which was subsequently renamed “Angel Lane”

“The response to natural disasters brings out the best and worst in people,” said Houston-based U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson. “Generous acts of charity are tarnished by those who despite the generosity of others, fraudulently make claims for government relief funds. This office will continue its efforts to bring those who make false claims for public funds to justice.”

The trio was charged along with the sister of one of them, who allegedly helped her sibling cheat FEMA.

Darlene McGruder Poole, 30, of Houston, and her sister, Lashona McGruder Victor, 37, of La Place, La., are charged together with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Victor is expected to surrender to law enforcement authorities in Houston by the end of the week, a press release from the U.S. attorney stated.

Kiesha Murphy, 34, of Houston, and Angela Payne, aka Angela McKinnies, 38, of Houston, are each charged in separate indictments with making false statements to FEMA and theft of government property.

After Katrina and Rita hit in 2005, FEMA provided rental assistance payments to displaced individuals. Winfrey visited some of the victims in Houston and through her charitable organization partnered to build and furnish homes.

The indictment against Poole — who had received $23,000 in legitimate assistance after being displaced from her home in New Orleans — continued to submit declarations of need for rental assistance despite her August 2006 purchase of a home on Angel Lane. Poole also claimed to be unemployed though she was working for Harris County.

Her sister, Victor, registered with FEMA as Poole's landlord on Angel Lane and the pair submitted fraudulent lease agreements and fictitious rental receipts to collect $14,000, the government alleges.

Murphy, who received $17,000 in legitimate disaster assistance after being displaced from New Orleans, is also accused of continuing to submit bogus rent receipts after moving onto an Angel Lane home in July 2006. The government alleges she too claimed to be unemployed though she was working for Memorial Hermann. Murphy is accused of wrongfully obtaining more than $12,000 in benefits as a result of fraudulent filings with FEMA.

Payne, also from New Orleans, purchased her home on Angel Lane in July 2006, and is also accused of submitting fraudulent claims for continued rental assistance.

These four charges bring to 94 the number of persons charged in the Southern District of Texas with fraud arising from three hurricanes — Katrina, Rita and Ike.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/07/templates/listpop.html?bcpid=823433113&bctid=13806813001

2 fired from Broomfield Best Buy for tackling shoplifter

Internet addiction treatment center opens in Fall City

JANE MCCARTHY 

KING 5 News

08:23 AM PDT on Tuesday, August 18, 2009

FALL CITY, Wash. - China, South Korea and Japan have several already. Now, the first in-patient treatment center for Internet addiction is launching in Fall City.

And it already has its first patient: a 19-year-old whose parents tried everything before finding this program.

Ben Alexander is a long way from his home in Iowa City. At the reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program, he feels a world away from his gaming addiction.

"My game of choice was 'World of Warcraft,'" said Alexander.

He played so much, it started affecting his schoolwork.

"I'd have all these rationalizations of, well, it's not a big deal to just miss this one class," he said.

One class turned into several and he eventually withdrew from college.

KING

Ben Alexander, 19, of Iowa City is Restart's first patient.

"I would play until I fell asleep on my keyboard," he said.

His parents struggled to find appropriate help.  Initially, he went to a substance and alcohol abuse program, even though he didn't have that kind of addiction.

"It was kind of hard to really relate to the other people there," he said.

His parents finally found reSTART Internet Addiction Recovery Program, which sprawls over 5-acres.  It's the first of its kind in the U.S., specifically aimed at treating people who are addicted to the Internet.

Co-founder Cosette Rae saw the need in her job as a social worker.

"Concerns like their children would be gaming 16, 17 hours a day; that they stopped bathing; that they would just eat at the computer," said Rae.

Rae launched the  new six-bed facility with Dr. Hilarie Cash, who specializes in Internet addiction. The 45-day program works to launch tech-addicted people back into the real world.

"What are they avoiding?  What are they using the Internet to numb out for?" said Rae.

Alexander was once interested in biology and animals, so now he helps with taking care of the goats, chickens and other animals on the reSTART property.  Cross country running is also something Alexander used to enjoy 'pre-gaming', so it is again part of his daily routine at reSTART.

Alexander knows the internet will likely be a part of life down the road, but he believes he's finally found a balance in Fall City.

"I'm not able to say, oh, I'm never going to be online ever again," he said.  "But at this point I'm not really worried about it."

The reSTART Center offers individualized plans to treat a number of Internet issues.

The program is not covered by insurance and runs about $14,500 for 45 days.  They do have a few scholarships available now, based upon need.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_081809WAB-internet-addiction-center-LJ.f1222024.html?rss

The Maryland Gazette

As word spread of his imaginative marriage proposal last Friday, Jon Cardin has been the toast of the town this week.

With the help of a friend, Cardin concocted a plan to surprise his girlfriend, Megan Homer, but even the hubby-to-be wasn't in on all the details.

The couple was invited to a happy hour cruise on the Inner Harbor aboard the buddy's boat where Cardin was to pop the question. But not without some drama.

Cardin's friend told him not to fret if "some people" boarded the boat during the cruise — that it was all part of the plan. So there they were, enjoying the company of friends, when a boat and helicopter from the Baltimore City Police Department converged on the vessel under the guise that there were reports of contraband aboard.

Understandably, Homer was startled and worried that she would be detained, even though she knew there was nothing illegal on board, Cardin said.

"I knew that we were not going to get in trouble, but I think she thought we were going to get arrested," he said.

After a brief search, an officer pointed to a box on the deck behind Homer and asked her what was inside. She turned back around and responded that she didn't know. The officer then told Homer to turn around as if to slap on handcuffs.

When she did as told, Cardin was on bended knee with ring in hand. Once Homer's heart started beating again, she said "yes."

Cardin, who knew the cops delighted in practical jokes from a high school senior project he did with the city police department's marine unit some 20 years ago, made sure to note that there was no abuse of public resources. The police's involvement was only to take place if they were not on assignment, he said.

The bride and groom have not yet set a wedding date and are "just enjoying the moment" for now, Cardin said Thursday in Ocean City, where he was to hold an evening fundraiser that has some speculating about a possible run for Baltimore County executive next year.

Here's betting the couple will wait until after November 2010 to tie the knot.

LINK TO AUDIO OF POLICE COMMISSIONER:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-bealefeld-cardin-mp30818,0,7022871.mp3file

                                   Update

Police upset that officers were used in lawmaker's marriage proposal prank

Peter Hermann

Baltimore Sun

6:33 p.m. EDT, August 17, 2009

City police are investigating why on-duty marine and helicopter officers helped a Baltimore County state delegate propose to his girlfriend by pretending to raid a boat the couple were aboard, a department spokesman said Monday.

Officers boarded the boat, owned by a friend of Del. Jon S. Cardin, Aug. 7 in the Inner Harbor. As the helicopter Foxtrot hovered overhead, adding to the sense of tension, one report says officers pretended to search the vessel and even had the woman thinking she was about to be handcuffed before the delegate got on one knee and proposed.

Megan Homer said yes.

Baltimore police did not find the account of the pretend raid amusing or charming.

Police said they are investigating what appears to be a misuse of police resources at a time when the budget-strapped department is begging for private donations to keep its horseback unit running and is immersed in investigating the latest violence at the Inner Harbor -- a double shooting inside the Light Street Pavilion at Harborplace over the weekend. Residents and visitors have complained that police presence is thin at best.

"Definitely there was some poor judgment exercised by some officers," said Anthony Guglielmi, the Police Department's chief spokesman. "The Police Department is not in the business of renting out the helicopter and the boats for bachelor parties and birthdays. We're in the business of upholding public safety in Baltimore."

Del. Curtis S. "Curt" Anderson, D-Baltimore and chairman of the city delegation to Annapolis, said he is appalled by the apparent indiscretion and angry that officers both in the air and on the water diverted from their primary mission of protecting citizens against crime.

"How in the world did he get something like that?" Anderson said of Cardin, also a Democrat. "If I wanted to do this myself, I wouldn't have the first clue as to how to get that accomplished. This is totally astonishing that a state delegate, especially one from Baltimore County, could commandeer the forces of the Baltimore City Police Department like that. It's a big waste of the city's money if that actually happened."

Cardin, an attorney who represents Northwest Baltimore and is the nephew of U.S. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, did not return several calls Monday. The U.S. senator was not aboard the boat; a spokeswoman said he was out of town with his granddaughter.

In a statement, Delegate Cardin gave a toned-down account of the proposal, reported Friday in the Gazette newspapers, which dealt with the news as a whimsical "reporters notebook" item. Cardin described the actions by police as a "5-minute safety check." He did not mention the helicopter, which police confirmed was used.

Cardin's statement says that during the "fuss" of the police involvement, "I surprised her with my proposal and she honored me with her answer of 'yes.'" It continued: "During the evening, I was focused on making my fiancee's night perfect. In retrospect, I should have considered that city resources would be involved and used better judgment to put a stop to it."

The delegate promised to contact Baltimore police and to "reimburse the city for whatever costs they deem appropriate."

The Gazette article says Cardin and a friend dreamed up the idea. It is not clear who made the request to Baltimore police for help with the surprise; Guglielmi said that no one in the command staff was aware that police resources were being used for a party for a state lawmaker.

The police spokesman said that the marine unit -- whose members complained earlier this year that the city was endangering the public by grounding them over the winter and spring because of budget cuts -- was patrolling the water at the time the mock raid was conducted, and that the helicopter was already flying over the harbor area.

"There was no drain on the resources of the department," Guglielmi said, adding that the financial cost to citizens is negligible because the officers were already in the area and on duty. But the spokesman did say the officers should not have allowed themselves to be distracted from their duties for a friend or a politician. A figure for how much it costs per hour to keep the helicopter flying was not available Monday.

"Most officers want to help out and engage with the public," Guglielmi said, though he readily admitted that helping a politician with a surprise party is not the same as letting a civilian pet a horse or allowing a child to sit in a patrol car. "I think there was no malice with this. I think the officers were trying to be good stewards in the department, but I don't think good judgment was used."

The upbeat Gazette article, titled "Police: There weren't more important things to do," makes light of the proposal and says that, "With the help of a friend, Cardin concocted a plan to surprise his girlfriend" and that "even the hubby-to-be wasn't in on all the details."

According to the story, officers pretended to search the boat and found a box that they suspected contained contraband. They ordered the soon-to-be fiancee to turn around as if they were about to handcuff her, according the report, and then she saw Cardin "on bended knee" and holding the ring that had been in the box.

"Once Homer's heart started beating again, she said 'yes,'" the Gazette reported, noting that Cardin was the "toast" of a convention of government leaders in Ocean City this past weekend for his "imaginative marriage proposal."

       LAWMAKER APOLOGIZES FOR STUNT