There are just some crimes that are difficult define. This arrest of Brendon Alan Erhardt, 39, would be one of them and it would not be “shooting kangaroos from the vehicle whilst driving north”.
Continue reading “Man Arrested in Flagrante Delicto Whilst Driving North Shooting Kangaroos”
Remember the British pullout that led to all of the lawlessness and killings? It turns out to have been triggered by a disastrous deal struck with a Shia prisoner, Ahmed al-Fartusi, who promised that the release of him and his men (and the withdrawal of British forces) would stop the violence. Instead, they unleashed a torrent of shootings and bombing — most directed at the withdrawing British.
The Prince George’s Sheriff was investigating the delivery of marijuana on July 31, 2008. A pot package would normally not be viewed as the equivalent to the Lindburgh kidnapping, but you would not know it from the reaction of the Prince George’s sheriff’s office. They sent in a SWAT team to the home of Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo. The team proceeded to shoot the two black labradors at the home, bust through the door, and handcuff the the mayor (who was in his underwear) and his mother-in-law. They were questioned for hours while their dogs laid nearby in pools of blood. It turned out to be a mistake — the smugglers were probably just using their address to pick up the package off the porch — a common practice.
Continue reading “In Mistaken Pot Raid, SWAT Team Members Shoot Mayor’s Two Dogs, Bust Into Home, and Handcuff Mayor and his Mother-in-Law”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has continued her search for book sales and it seems her search for a plausible rationale for personally blocking any impeachment investigation of President Bush. The latest explanation can in an interview with Time Magazine. It seems that she would not allow an investigation because Bush would never have supplied incriminating evidence against himself. It seems that House investigators rely on the accused to build an impeachment case.
In the latest decision involving the liability of sperm donors, the New Mexico Court of Appeals says some sperm donors must pay child support. The case involves Kevin Zoernig who agreed to donate sperm for two children with Janna Mintz. Mintz is a lesbian who wanted a child with her partner in the mid 90s. It is one of a recent series of such decisions exploring the liability of both anonymous and non-anonymous sperm donors.
Continue reading “New Mexico Sperm Donor Found Liable for Child Support”
In Onway, Arkansas, Lonnie Montgomery created a tragic example of assumption of the risk in tort. Montgomery was found dead on Skunk Hollow Road after he tried to re-establish electrical service with a pair of jumper cables. It appears to be an urban legend gone bad that all you need is a pair of jumper cables and a meter box. Sheriff’s Major Andy Shock (I kid you not) says Montgomery was attempting to adjust or remove when he was shocked to death.
Continue reading “Latest Tampering Fatality: Dead on Skunk Hollow Road”
Richard D. Davis has been found guilty of killing Marsha Spicer of Independence, Missouri in a bizarre videotaped sex slaying. He was also convicted of 24 other counts. He now faces the death penalty, which seems a virtual lock given the videotape and heinous elements of the murder.
Only recently, the FBI and Justice Department agreed to a huge settlement with Steven Hatfill for $5.82 million after ruining his life and his career through harassment and baseless charges as the suspect in the 2001 anthrax mailings. At the time, many of us stated that such a settlement was likely an indicator that they were about to make an arrest. It appears that they were. Scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, 62, was about to be indicted for the attacks when he committed suicide.
Continue reading “Anthrax Suspect Commits Suicide as FBI Closes In”
With only a couple days to execution, Thomas Arthur, 66, was given a postponement by the Alabama Supreme Court after another prisoner signed a sworn statement that he committed the murder. Bobby Ray Gilbert now claims that he killed Troy Wicker Jr. of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. What is astonishing is that, even with a confession from another man, the vote was still 5-4 on the Alabama Supreme Court to simply postpone the execution to investigated. Four state justices still wanted him to be killed without further questions asked — a position vigorously urged by the prosecutors.
Continue reading “The Wicker Murder: Execution Interrupted by a Prisoner’s Last Minute Confession”
A former scientologist has sued the church for $250 million, alleging that it is a criminal enterprise. Peter Letterese also sued Tom Cruise, who he claims is effectively the right-hand man of Scientology head David Miscavage.
Continue reading “Scientology Hit with $250 Million RICO Lawsuit”
After blocking any serious investigation or impeachment hearings on crimes committed by President Bush, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally addressed the allegations of presidential crimes on that forum of deep intellectual and legal thought: the television show The View. She agreed to answer a question from Joy Behar, who will have to suffice as a substitute for Peter Rodino. In a perfectly bizarre moment, Pelosi stated that there is simply no evidence of any crime committed by the President despite the findings of the International Red Cross, various international groups, and a legion of constitutional experts. It seems that America has now had its impeachment hearing before the august body of Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Joy Bahar, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. If you feared that our democracy is de-evolving into a caricature of itself, just watch this video.
Continue reading “Speaker Pelosi Declares That There is No Evidence of Any Crime by President Bush”
In a scene reminiscent of Robert Duvall’s character in The Apostle, Evangelist Anthony Hopkins, 37, was preaching on forgiveness when the police arrived to arrest him for the murder of his wife. The arrest in Mobile, Alabama, came after a relative alerted police to a body in a freezer in his home with eight children. His wife 36-year-old Arletha Hopkins hasn’t been seen for three years.
Continue reading “Evangelical Preacher Arrested for Murder of Wife Found in Freezer”
Gonzales High School educators seem to believe that outfitting their students like prisoners is good training for American society in the twenty-first century. They have purchased the jumpsuits for violators of the school dress code. The biggest surprise is that the school was not named after former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales but the Texas town itself.
Continue reading “Jail Bait High: Texas High School to Force Troublemakers to Wear Prison Jumpsuits”
One can certainly understand why the Khang family is a bit confused. This week the Minneapolis police department gave awards to eight police officers who raided the wrong home last year and exchanged gunfire with the father of six who thought that the house was being burglarized. The police have apologized for shooting up the home containing Khang, his wife, and six children aged 3 to 15. It didn’t help much. The house was destroyed and they could not afford to fix it up — and ultimately lost the house altogether.
There is an interesting criminal case in Connecticut that falls on the borderline between criminal law and torts. The president of a residential pool company was criminally charged with manslaughter for the death of six-year-old Zachary Cohn, who drowned after having his arm caught in a pool drain. Prosecutors allege that David Lionetti, president of Shoreline Pools, knew of the problem with the drain. This is only the latest tragic death involving such drains in pools, click here.