Former Ill. Police Sergeant Found Guilty of 4 Rapes

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Police in NC may have been warned before killing

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina authorities say they are are investigating whether police were warned that a woman with five dead spouses was trying to hire a hit man to kill one of her husbands.
Authorities reopened the cold case last year, and last month, charged 76-year-old Betty Neumar with one count of solicitation of murder in the July 1986 death of Al Gentry.
Detectives say Neumar tried to hire several people to kill Gentry. Lead detective Scott Williams says that police are looking into the possibility that one of those would-be hit men went to police before Gentry's death, but no one took him seriously.
Neumar has been married five times since the 1950s, but each union ended with the death of her husband. Investigators are urging police elsewhere to look into those deaths.

Man Arrested With Maijuana Claims He Was Going To Use It For Compost, Not Smoke It

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Police in Iowa say a man caught with a large quantity of marijuana claimed all he had in mind was recycling.

A complaint by the Johnson County Sheriff's Office says the 30-year-old man told police in Iowa City that he planned to turn several large bags of marijuana into compost.

Officers report the bags he had when he was arrested early Saturday held a "gallon" or more of marijuana each.

The complaint says officers didn't buy the compost story. The suspect remained in jail Sunday without posting $14,000 bail on a charge of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute.

Inmate attacks women at metro detention center

Two women from the public defenders office survived a brutal beating Thursday morning at the Bernalillo County Metro Detention Center.

Investigators say somehow the women were locked in with an inmate who attacked them.

One of the women is a paralegal, and the other is a client service agent.

Investigators say 180 pound Derek Kirven was locked alone with the two women when he attacked.

Investigators will not release the video of the beating, but they say it is extremely violent.

"They appear to go unconscious following the first couple of strikes. He stands over them and begins to continue striking the two women," said Sgt. Mark Kmatz of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators say it took guards about a minute to get the doors unlocked and get inside to restrain Kirven.

The two women were taken to Presbyterian Hospital where they were treated and released.

Kirven was in jail for two misdemeanor warrants.

He is now facing two additional counts of aggravated battery

Man accused of handing pot to court security

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - A man was arrested after pulling marijuana from his pocket at a security check at a court. The man was visiting the courts section of the Bradley County Justice Center on Monday when he was asked to empty his pockets into a plastic bowl, a standard procedure.
Sheriff Tim Gobble said the items he placed in the bowl included marijuana and rolling papers. When questioned, the man ran from the building, but officers captured him within minutes.
`The man faces charges of having contraband in a penal institution and evading arrest

911 call recounts aftermath of teen's videotaped beating

BARTOW, Fla. A newly released 911 call recounts the aftermath of the videotaped beating of a central Florida teen. The 16-year-old victim tells the 911 operator: "I got jumped."
The Polk County Sheriff's Office released the recording of the call Tuesday
The girl called from a friend's house in Lakeland after the March 30 beating. The friend's mother got on the phone and told the operator: "She's got blood in her mouth a big old knot on her left eye, and we think she's got a tooth broke."
Eight teens have been charged as adults in the beating.
Part of the video was released by the sheriff's office and has been seen widely on national TV and the Internet. Authorities believe the girl was attacked and taped so the video could be posted on YouTube. You can listen here at USA Today.

Robber shoots self in groin!

KOKOMO, Ind. -- A man accidentally shot himself in the groin as he was robbing a convenience store Tuesday, police said.

The store clerk told police a man carrying a semiautomatic handgun came into the Village Pantry demanding cash and a pack of cigarettes. The clerk put the cash in a bag and as she turned to get the cigarettes, she heard the gun discharge.

Police say surveillance video shows the man shooting himself as he placed the gun in the waistband of his pants. The clerk wasn’t injured.

A short time later, police found 25-year-old Derrick Kosch at a home with a gunshot wound to his right testicle and lower left leg.

Kosch was released from the hospital Tuesday and booked into the Howard County jail on a charge of armed robbery, criminal recklessness and battery. He’s being held on a $100,000 cash bail.

Cyberbulling may soon be a Felony

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS – State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion has introduced legislation to crack down on how adults can talk to minors on the internet. This came about after hearing the story of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old girl from Dardenne Prairie, Mo., who killed herself last year after receiving hurtful messages on MySpace, a social networking site, from a fictitious boy that was made up by some people in her neighborhood.

Illinois has a law now that restricts sexual predators from communicating with children over the internet but the one filed last week in Springfield would expand the law to include any and/or type of potentially damaging communication on the Internet with a minor. It would make it a felony for an adult to have any electronic communication that “demonstrates a knowing disregard for the health, safety and welfare” of the minor.
Megan Meier’s Mother, Tina Meier, has been lobbying in the state of Missouri to help get a cyber bulling law passed there.

Two Killed and Four Wounded Colorado Shootings

A gunman killed two staff members at a missionary center early Sunday after being told he couldn't spend the night, and about 12 hours later four people were shot at a busy mega church in Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs police said a suspect had been detained in the shootings at the New Life Church, but a church member who was locked down at the church Sunday afternoon said a security guard had shot and killed the gunman. Authorities in Arvada, a Denver suburb about 65 miles north, said no one had been captured in the shootings there.

It was not immediately known whether the shootings were related.

A gunman in a black trench coat and a high-powered rifle entered the church's main foyer about 1 p.m. and began shooting, according to the church member, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the police department had asked that it release all information.

The church's 11 a.m. service had recently ended, and hundreds of people were milling about when the gunman opened fire. Nearby were parents picking up their children from the nursery.

The gunman was killed by a member of the church's armed security staff, the source said. Four people were shot, and the source did not know whether the shooter was one of the four. A SWAT team was searching the building for an explosive device, but the source could not confirm any details. Three people were taken to the hospital in Colorado Springs, where they were listed in critical, fair and good condition, said a hospital spokeswoman.

A man and a woman were killed and two men were wounded, Medina said. All four were staff members with the center, said a Colorado Springs-based spokesman with Youth With a Mission.

Arvada Police Chief said the suspect spent several minutes speaking with people inside the dorm. Peter Warren, director of Youth With a Mission Denver, said the man asked whether he could spend the night. Several youths called on Tiffany Johnson, the center's director of hospitality.

"The director of hospitality was called. That's when he opened fire," Warren said. Johnson, 26, was killed.

Warren said he didn't know whether any of the students or staff knew the gunman. "We don't know why" he came to the dormitory, Warren said.

Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap, who left on foot. He may have glasses or a beard.

Police with dogs searched the area through the night, and residents of nearby homes were notified by reverse 911 to be on the lookout. Medina said residents were asked to look out their windows for any tracks left in the snow during the night. About 4 inches of snow had fallen in the area in the past day.

New Life Senior Pastor Brady Boyd said security at the church had been beefed up after the shootings in Arvada, but he did not elaborate and did not take questions.

"Fortunately for New Life Church, we had a plan in place that was put into play immediately," he said. "Our prayers right now are for the people that were injured and their families.

The New Life church is one of Colorado's largest with about 10,000 members.

In addition to Johnson, killed in Arvada was Philip Crouse, 23. Youth With a Mission said Johnson was from Minnesota and Crouse was from Alaska.

The missionary center identified the wounded as Dan Griebenow, 24, of South Dakota, and Charlie Branch, 22, whose hometown wasn't immediately known. One of the men was in critical condition, and the other was stable, police said.

About 45 people were evacuated from the Youth with a Mission dormitory and moved to an undisclosed location.

Women gets Death Penalty!

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A jury has decided that a woman should be put to death for killing a retired Florida couple who were buried alive.

The jury deliberated for about 40 minutes last week before reaching its decision on Tiffany Cole, 25, who was among four people charged in the slaying of Reggie and Carol Sumner, both 61.

The couple were found buried in a shallow grave in Georgia near the Florida state line in July 2005. Cole and the others used the Sumners’ bank card and PIN number to withdraw money from their bank account, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Greg Messore had showed jurors more than 100 photos of Cole to illustrate that the killing was an aberration in an otherwise meritorious life. Two Duval County jail corrections officers described her as a model inmate who volunteers to clean the jail and pass out meals.

Circuit Judge Michael Weatherby has the final say in Cole’s sentencing, but Florida law says he must give great weight to the jury recommendation. Cole could be sentenced to life in prison without parole instead. A sentencing date has not been set.

Cole met the Sumners in Ladson, S.C., where her stepfather was their neighbor. The Sumners had recently moved to Jacksonville.

Also convicted in the crime were: Cole’s boyfriend, Michael Jackson, who has been sentenced to death; Alan Wade, for whom a jury has recommended the death penalty; and Bruce Kent Nixon, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, robbery and kidnapping after leading police to the bodies.

By agreeing to testify against the rest, Nixon avoided the death penalty and faces 52 years to life in prison.

Background Criminal Report - The Shocking Truth

A background criminal report is a tool which is used by many
employers, local and federal government, corporations and
private individuals to protect their families, themselves and
their property from the criminal element. It is generally
understood, by the majority of the public, it is a simple matter
to obtain this information from the local and federal
government. However, that is not quite true. The purpose of this
dissertation is to provide a better understanding of what may be
involved.

One of the reasons people tend to believe it is a simple
matter, to obtain the lawbreaking history of an individual, is
due to the entertainment industry and the World Wide Web. This
industry includes the movies, T.V. shows and books. The majority
of these shows and books portray someone using a computer to
access the internet and gaining access to some type of national
database, which has a file on every lawbreaker in the United
States. Frankly, that image is not quite true.

Yes! It is true the United States Government maintains a
national database called the Interstate Identification Index
(better known by the acronym Triple-I). And in fact the Triple-I
contains information on people who have broken the law. However,
the index is maintained by the F.B.I and access is limited to
state and federal law enforcement agencies. It should also be
understood, unless the federal, state, county and city
governments have submitted the information to Triple-I, the
offenders will not be in the database. Since access is limited
to law enforcement, the general public must use other means at
its disposal.

Background criminal reports can be found by searching federal,
state, county and city records. Each of these entities may have
different laws for gaining access to the records. Consequently,
it may become quite complicated when multiple jurisdictions are
going to have to be checked. However, there is one thing the
majority of them have in common, each of these entities maintain
a web site, with the criminal information, which the public can
access.

To help you get an accurate background report on the individual
you are investigating, there are several things that will be
critical to your investigation. One of the first steps you must
take is to do a thorough one on one interview with the party
concerned. The absolute minimum amount of information, you
should extract, is the full name, date of birth, social security
number and the addresses where the party of the investigation
has resided for the last seven years. This information will
determine that you indeed are getting the correct information on
the right person.

The next step which must be determined is if the investigating
party is going to conduct the criminal records investigation or
if a professional investigative agency will be utilized.
Frankly, if the investigating party is pressed for time a
professional agency may be the best way to go.

Once the information has been received from the investigation a
determination can be made as to the character of the person
being investigated. Only then will you know who you are really
dealing with!