Officials say teen may have died from drinking racing fuel and Mountain Dew
GREENBRIER, Tenn. -– A Tennessee teenager who died last week may have consumed a mixture of racing fuel and Mountain Dew, according to police
Logan Stephenson, 16, died on Thursday. According to Greenbrier Police Chief K.D. Smith, Stephenson and a friend started drinking the concoction Wednesday.
Stephenson was found unresponsive the next morning, reports WZTV.
“They noticed the color of his skin had changed and he started having a seizure. His hands started drawing up,” Smith told WZTV.
Stephenson’s friend was rushed to an area hospital where he is still in a coma.
Two other teens have admitted to drinking the same mixture of racing fuel and Mountain Dew.
Police are awaiting the results of a report from a medical examiner to learn Stephenson’s exact cause of death.
Woman hired off Craigslist steals $14,000 from company on first day of work.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Police say a woman hired off Craigslist stole more than $14,000 from a company after just one day of work.
Angela Phan, 35, was hired to do accounting work for the company for one day. She was mailed a paycheck with the account and routing number of the business account, which Phan admitted were used to transfer $14,720.21 into her account between the months of July 2014 and December 2015.
The bank that the business account was with told the victim that at least one of the unauthorized transactions was made to an account connected to Phan.
Phan is facing one count of felony identity theft in St. Louis County. Her bail was set at $50,000.
Scholastic Pulls Children’s Book About George Washington And His Slaves After Outcry
White folks are so insensitive; REALLY don’t understand that Slavery WAS NOT cakes, pies; roses. Slaves were NOT HAPPY, singing and dancing. I know one thing the slaves was NOT smiling when massa came to RAPE the slave woman, beat the slave men if they ran. WHITE FOLKS ALWAYS WANT TO SUGARCOAT THE TRUTH! But #itdontmatter case #blacklivesdontmatter
NEW YORK (AP) — Scholastic is pulling a new picture book about George Washington and his slaves amid objections it sentimentalizes a brutal part of American history.
“A Birthday Cake for George Washington” was released Jan. 5 and had been strongly criticized for its upbeat images and story of Washington’s cook, the slave Hercules and his daughter, Delia. Its withdrawal was announced Sunday.
“While we have great respect for the integrity and scholarship of the author, illustrator and editor, we believe that, without more historical background on the evils of slavery than this book for younger children can provide, the book may give a false impression of the reality of the lives of slaves and therefore should be withdrawn,” the children’s publisher said in a statement released to the AP.
The book, which depicts Hercules and Delia preparing a cake for Washington, has received more than 100 one-star reviews on Amazon.com. As of…
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/george-washington-book-pulled_us_569cb0d5e4b0778f46f9eda9
Woman bites off Walmart worker’s finger after stealing condoms, police say
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) – Myrtle Beach police have arrested a woman who they say bit off part of a finger of a Wal-Mart worker during an altercation.
Local media outlets cite a police report which said store security tried to stop a woman who they say was concealing merchandise on Sunday, but an altercation ensued.
According to police, the woman punched one worker, then bit another worker’s finger. A customer tried to call 911 on her cell phone, but the woman took it and grabbed the customer by the hair.
The suspect fled the store and got into a van, but the van’s path was blocked, and police arrived soon after.
Police say 23-year-old Carolyn Wright faces assault and battery charges. She’s jailed on $51,000 bond. It’s not known if she has an attorney.
Naked woman preaches to and attacks customers at Waffle House
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Police say a Georgia woman who was first walking around a Waffle House preaching to customers, allegedly punched a woman, took off her clothes and attacked those in the restaurant.
Witnesses say Jennifer Nicholson arrived at the Waffle House in Kennesaw, Ga., with a man on Jan. 8. He left, leaving her alone in the restaurant.
According to a police report, a witness said Nicholson, of Marietta, Ga., began to walk around the restaurant preaching to customers. The witness said Nicholson followed her outside and back inside the restaurant. When the woman told Nicholson to leave her alone, she said Nicholson punched her in the nose, chest and twice on her arm. Nicholson then allegedly threw a plate at the woman, missing her and striking a window.
Another witness told police that Nicholson stopped him when he tried to leave the restaurant by wrapping her arms around him “like a bear hug.” The man said he pushed Nicholson away so he could leave.
Alan Rickman Dead At 69
As of January 14th, famous English actor Alan Rickman best known for his roles as Hans Gruber in Die Hard and Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film series, passed away after a short battle with cancer. He was 69 years old.
Soon after his death was reported fans of the late actor created a memorial in honor of him at the 9 3/4 platform at the King’s Cross station in London. J.K. Rowling and several of the Harry Potter actors and other actors spoke out about Rickman such as Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Emma Thompson, and Ian Mckellen.
While I haven’t really seen any other roles he’s played outside of Harry Potter, Mr. Rickman’s character Professor Snape definitely stood out to me. While I’ve only been a fan of the Harry Potter franchise for a few years, just like everybody else he went from a character who I loved to hate to someone who I really respected and admired. I can tell by they way the people have written about him that he was a wonderful man with great talent.
R.I.P. Alan Rickman, and as your character Snape said, “Please turn to page 394”
Suspects claim teen was having sex with father before alleged gang rape
The fifth suspect wanted in the gang rape of an 18-year-old girl in Brooklyn last week was nabbed Tuesday at school, law enforcement sources said.
The suspect, Travis Beckford, 17, of Brooklyn was being questioned by cops after he was picked up at Tilden High School. He has yet to be charged, sources said. Meanwhile, two other suspects in the shocking crime told investigators that the five youths came across the young woman as she was having sex with her father in the Osborn Playground in Brownsville around 9 p.m. Thursday, sources said.
“Can we have some of that?” one asked the dad, who was allegedly drunk and had been boozing with his daughter before the attack, sources said.
Two of the teens say they then had consensual sex with the victim while her sloshed dad staggered away.
The dad returned and chucked a bottle at the teens, who fled, said one of the suspects, according to the sources. The victim, the sources added, was combative, tried to flee from cops at the scene and bit an officer when she was finally placed in an ambulance after first refusing to go to the hospital and fighting with EMS.The woman claimed to have bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, but was not prescribed any medicines.
Police observed multiple healed scars on the victim’s arms.
Once she arrived at Kings County Hospital, she finally consented to a rape kit test.
Cops took her clothing and underwear, which they found at the scene, for DNA testing.
The dad walked into two local delis looking for help — but was too drunk for anyone to understand him, witnesses said.
“He was swaying side to side. He asked me, ‘Lend me your phone.’ I said no,’’ said a worker in one of the shops, Zaida Deli and Grocery.
“He didn’t tell me it was an emergency or ‘I need to call the police’ or of course I would’ve given it to him or just called the police for him.”
As for two of the suspects’ claims that the sex was consensual, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said, “At this juncture, we have no doubt she was raped.”
The first four teens were charged early Tuesday for their roles in the gang rape, while charges were pending against the fifth alleged attacker.
Denzel Murray, 14, Shaquell Cooper, 15, Ethan Phillip, 15, and Onandi Brown, 17, were each charged with rape, forcible compulsion, criminal sex act and sex abuse, police said.
The four teens were all charged as adults and were being held pending arraignment early Tuesday.
Two of the teens were brought in by their mothers Sunday night, the third was picked up at an undisclosed location and the fourth turned himself in, sources said.
“She has cuts and bruises consistent with being physically attacked,” a source added of the victim.
Police said the girl told detectives in a “detailed interview” at her house that one of her attackers had a bright red “satin-type’’ jacket on.
A video of the teens at a local bodega shows at least one of them wearing such a jacket, police said.
While two of the teens claim they engaged in consensual sex with her, a third suspect said he left the playground before the assault, sources said. The fourth teen is refusing to talk.
Police said they have video that shows the girl and her dad buying 22-ounce cans of beer at a bodega and entering the park before the attack.
The victim told cops that she and her 39-year-old dad — whom she only recently reconnected with after being adopted — were drinking near the handball courts “to be away from the police,” sources said.
Their plan backfired when the teens, including one with a gun, confronted them and ordered the father to scram, the pair told cops.
Surveillance video from the store shows the victim’s father walking inside before he begins to chat with two men. He does not appear to be frantic or in distress.
After walking out of the store, the dad drunkenly ran past a marked police car before eventually circling back and alerting the cops to his daughter’s attack — 20 minutes after the alleged rape first began to unfold, sources said.
Local activists complained that residents didn’t learn of the attack until it was publicized by the media over the weekend — and Mayor Bill de Blasio joined in the chorus of gripes Monday.
“The mayor was informed on Sunday of the tragic assault in Brooklyn. After further conversations with the NYPD, the mayor now believes strongly that the local community should have been informed sooner and has instructed that the NYPD notify communities more quickly moving forward, whenever appropriate,” a rep said.
Ontario Man Arrested After Fatally Shooting Father in Front of Victim’s 2 Young Children
A man was arrested days after fatally shooting a father as he drove with his 1- and 4-year-old children in the backseat, police said Friday.
The unidentified father was driving near East G Street and North Vineyard Avenue around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when he was killed, according to the Ontario Police Department.
The man crashed after being shot, and responding officers discovered the vehicle with a 40-year-old man dead and his two young children inside. Both children were in the backseat, and said to be safe and unharmed.
An investigation into the shooting led to Javier Alex Frias, 37, being identified as a suspect.
As officials searched for Frias Thursday evening, a citizen alerted police to a man hiding in a backyard chicken coop in the 200 block of East Phillips Street, a Police Department news release stated.
Frias was identified as the hiding man and was ordered to come out.
When he refused, a police K-9 was deployed and apprehended him.
Frias, a parolee, was transported to a local hospital and treated for injuries sustained during the apprehension, and later booked at the West Valley Detention Center.
He had loaded handgun at the time of his arrest, and a forensic examination would determine if it was the gun used to kill the father on Tuesday, police said.
Frias was believed to have known the father, but the motive for the killing was not immediately known.
Mother dies and father unresponsive from heroin overdose in 7 year old daughter’s hospital bathroom
CINCINNATI — Police arrived at an Ohio hospital Thursday to find a mother dead and a father unresponsive from a heroin overdose on the floor of their 7-month-old child’s hospital room bathroom.
The parents had traveled from Alabama to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to seek treatment for their child.
The mother, identified Friday by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office as Mary Landers, 31, of Trinity, Ala., was found dead from an apparent overdose at the hospital, police said.
Wesley Landers, also of Trinity, was found with a heroin syringe in his arm, needles strewn on the bathroom sink and a loaded and chambered handgun in his pants pocket, according to court documents.
He was transported to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment and was arrested on charges of possession of drugs, carrying a concealed weapon, having weapons while under disability and possessing drug abuse instruments.
During his arraignment in Hamilton County (Ohio) court Friday, Wesley Landers’ stance and posture were unchanged for most of it until his wife was mentioned.
At that moment, Landers dropped his head, closed his eyes and leaned against the lectern in front of him.
“If the heroin epidemic has exhibited itself in a more tragic form, I haven’t seen it,” said Judge Curt Kissinger during Landers’ arraignment.
Bond was set at $500,000 with the judge saying he weighed heavily that Landers is now a single father. The amount could be revisited in coming days, Kissinger said.
Officials at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center would not release further information on the incident and referred further questions to police.
Facebook and GoFundMe pages linked to the Landers show they were in Cincinnati seeking medical treatment for their 7-month-old daughter. Posts state the family was seeking assistance with covering out-of-pocket expenses for surgery the baby was undergoing Wednesday.
Trinity is about 33 miles west of Huntsville, Ala. The family traveled about 400 miles to Cincinnati for treatment.
Sarasota parents zip-tied daughter, confined her to ‘playhouse’ inside home, investigators say
The parents of a 12-year-old girl in Sarasota have been arrested after it was discovered she was routinely restrained by zip ties and confined to a “playhouse.”
Eugenio Erquiaga, 51, and Victoria Erquiaga, 53, are charged with aggravated child abuse, according to detectives from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said the two would restrain their daughter’s hands and ankles with zip ties when she got angry and regularly locked her in a playhouse in a loft area of their home. Investigators said it was also used as her bedroom.
On Dec. 27, deputies were called to the area for a possible kidnapping after the 12-year-old went to a neighbor’s front porch with her hands and ankles tied.
Deputies investigated and the girl showed them the “playhouse.”
According to the affidavit, the room was 5 feet by 7 feet wide and 7 feet tall. The door could be barred shut by a large piece of wood and all but one of the windows had been screwed shut. The playhouse reeked of urine and the wooden floor was discolored. The girl said she was often forced to soil herself because she couldn’t get out of the playhouse.
The room also contained an “eye hook.” The Erquiagas told deputies they would secure the girl’s zip ties to the hook to keep her from kicking the playhouse apart. They also stated that while the child is allowed to eat dinner with the family, which includes seven other children, she is sometimes forced to sit on the floor to eat.
The Erquiagas said their daughter has behavioral issues, which is why they took the actions they did.
The couple’s other children have been taken into protective custody.