Man accused of urinating in co-worker’s water bottle for months
MINNEAPOLIS – A 47-year-old Minnesota man accused of urinating in his co-worker’s beverage on multiple occasions now faces charges, according to authorities.
Conrrado Cruz Perez allegedly polluted the woman’s water bottle after she turned down his romantic advances, according to the Pioneer Press. Perez has been charged with two counts of adulterating a substance with bodily fluids.
According to a Ramsey County court document, the 42-year-old woman called police in October, saying a baker at the Perkins Family Restaurant where she worked was harassing her.
She also told authorities that, for several months, the water she kept in a bottle at work had tasted like urine, according to WCCO.
The woman told investigators she started noticing the foul flavor after she told Perez she only wanted to remain friends, documents say. Since that day, she said that she detected the urine taste roughly 15 times.
According to WCCO, Perez initially denied being involved, but later admitted to relieving himself in the bottle after investigators told him they might perform DNA tests. Perez, however, said he only did it because there were so many orders piling up and he was too busy to go to the restroom. He added that he was going to dispose of the bottle but forgot to do so.
Perez, who appeared in court last week, has not yet entered a plea. His lawyer, Adriel Benjamin Villareal told the Pioneer Press, “We haven’t made any decisions at this point.”
His next court date is set for March 28.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/03/08/man-accused-of-urinating-in-co-workers-water-bottle-for-months/
Teacher secretly ran white supremacist podcast – claims it was just satire
CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. — Dayanna Volitich is a social studies teacher at Crystal River Middle School in Florida. Online, she was also known as “Tiana Dalichov,” the pseudonymous host of a white supremacist podcast called “Unapologetic” and the voice behind a Twitter account riddled with racist and anti-Semitic posts.
In a statement through her attorney, Volitich confirmed that she was the one speaking as Dalichov on the podcast, but claimed her comments were “political satire and exaggeration” and the persona was a “hobby.”
“None of the statements released about my being a white nationalist or white supremacist have any truth to them, nor are my political beliefs injected into my teaching of social studies curriculum,” she said in the statement.
Now that her alter ego has come to light, Volitich has been removed from the classroom while the school district investigates her behavior.
In a statement provided to CNN, the Citrus County School District said “the Human Resources department was notified and an investigation was initiated immediately” when they learned of Volitich’s alleged online behavior.
“The teacher has been removed from the classroom and the investigation is ongoing,” the statement read.
Assistant Superintendent Michael Mullen also told CNN Volitich is still employed by the school, but “does not have contact with students while the investigation is being conducted.”
The Huffington Post first connected the 25-year-old teacher to her online persona earlier this week. Details tweeted from @TianaDalichov’s account matched up with details of Volitich’s life, and the account appeared to use a photo of Volitich as its avatar, according to the news outlet. Dalichov’s online presence has now mostly been scrubbed.
On Twitter, Volitich, as Dalichov, would tweet about the “horrors” of Islam and the superiority of white culture, and referred to the “Jewish Question,” an antisemitic conspiracy theory. In screenshots of tweets captured by The Huffington Post, Volitich abbreviates this as “JQ” — a common practice in alt-right and white supremacist circles.
In a February 26 episode of the podcast obtained by HuffPost, Dalichov talked about being a middle school teacher in her second year — the same as Volitich, according to Citrus County Schools. In the recording, she says she strives to teach her views to her students and take back influence in the classroom from “the left.” She also says she staved off any suspicion by encouraging students to “play along” when she acted differently under the observation of superiors.
“I danced like a little puppet and I waited until they were gone,” she says in the recording posted to HuffPost’s website.
Dalichov’s guest talks about “closet Red Ice listeners.” Red Ice is a white supremacist media company that produces podcasts and videos trading heavily in Holocaust denial, ethno-nationalism and white genocide.
“I do hear from teachers all the time that are closet Red Ice listeners that support what we do,” the guest says.
“Well I am absolutely one of them, then,” Dalichov replied.
Later in the same episode, she invokes racial biology, another popular white supremacist theory.
“So many other researchers have looked into this,” she says. “There are races that have higher IQs than others.”
Although the “Unapologetic” recordings have been deleted, an entry on podcast search engine Listen Notes identifies the guest in the February 26 episode as Lana Lokteff, one of the hosts of Red Ice.
A Twitter account appearing to belong to Lokteff recently tweeted in support of Volitich, saying she’s the target of a “witch hunt.”
“Lefties never wanted diversity of thought/opinion,” she tweeted. “They want leftist totalitarian rule where they police everyone for ‘wrong think.’ They are delusional religious zealots who hate nature.”
via: http://pix11.com/2018/03/07/teacher-secretly-ran-white-supremacist-podcast/
Tenant accused of killing landlord was ‘upset’ over $30 rent increase
MILWAUKEE – A 37-year-old Wisconsin man accused of killing his landlord was upset over a $30 rent increase, prosecutors say.
Jason Tilley, of Cudahy, faces charges of first degree intentional homicide and possession of a firearm by a felon after he admitted to shooting his landlord in the back of the head, police say. Authorities have not yet identified the landlord.
“We never thought Jason would do that,” said tenant Sharon Cebula.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim’s wife reported her husband missing on Thursday, March 1. She told police her husband had gone to the apartment complex he owns in Cudahy to meet with a tenant who was identified as “Jason.”
The complaint indicates an officer went to the apartment complex to speak with Tilley. Tilley was not there — but the officer “did observe what appeared to be blood on the door and door frame” of Tilley’s unit. Another resident indicated she saw Tilley and the victim “talking outside the garage area around 3:30 p.m.” on March 1.
The next day, two officers returned to the apartment complex and looked in the garage, where they “observed what appeared to be a pool of blood that led to a large blanket rolled up against the wall.” The victim was inside. An autopsy shows the victim died as a result of a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
“Someone loses a temper, maybe smack ’em or something, but to kill him…” said Cebula.
Tilley was arrested at his workplace on March 2. When questioned by investigators, Tilley stated he did meet with the victim. He paid the victim money for rent “and was told by the victim that his rent was being increased by $30,” and Tilley said this upset him, according to the complaint.
Initially, Tilley gave investigators a description of his activities — and did not mention any altercation with the landlord. When a detective stated that Tilley shot the victim and asked whether that was “right or wrong,” Tilley paused and said, “yes.”
“He just had a personal vendetta, you could say, against him,” said Cebula.
Tilley told investigators when he went to the garage area to discuss the rent issue, “they were not arguing and there was no physical confrontation.”
Prosecutors say Tilley admitted he went to the garage with a gun in the pocket of his hoodie and “while they were talking, the victim turned away from him and … Tilley took out the gun and shot the victim.”
Tilley allegedly took the victim’s money and car keys before fleeing. He later abandoned the victim’s car and bought new clothes, leaving the old ones at the store, prosecutors say.
Cebula told WITI she will never forget the landlord for his genuine kindness and dedication to the people in his buildings.
A check of criminal records indicates Tilley has previously been convicted of felony offenses.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/03/07/tenant-accused-of-killing-landlord-was-upset-over-30-rent-increase/
Illinois day care workers gave melatonin gummies to kids before naptime
Three employees of a day care facility in suburban Chicago were arrested Friday after they gave children gummy bears laced with sleep aid melatonin without parental consent, according to police.
The Des Plaines Police Department said Monday that officers were called to Kiddie Junction after management learned a teacher was giving children the gummies. A further investigation revealed that two other teachers were also involved.
Three workers – 25-year-old Ashley Helfenbein of Chicago, 19-year-old Jessica Heyse of Des Plaines and 32-year-old Kristen Lauletta of Niles – now face charges of endangering the life or health of a child and battery. They are all due in court April 4.
Police said the children were given the melatonin “in an effort to calm them down before nap time,” and that parents hadn’t given permission for their children to receive the melatonin.
“You can’t distribute that without the parents being told,” Des Plaines police Cmdr. Christopher Mierzwa told the Chicago Tribune. “(The teachers) didn’t know if the child was allergic to melatonin.”
Police told FOX 32 Chicago they have footage showing the teachers giving the melatonin gummy bears on two occasions, and one of the teachers may have been doing this since November 2016.
Authorities contacted parents who had children at the facility, and said that no children were sickened. “When the detective called me he didn’t specify what classroom it happened and he called me and said I’m detective so and so with the Des Plaines Police Department and I’m here at the Kiddie Junction and my heart dropped,” parent Edi Kulasic told FOX 32.
Des Plaines Police said the management of the facility is cooperating in the investigation.
Kathy Wiley, whose grandson Mason goes to the day care, told FOX 32 he still has faith in the teachers at the facility.
“I feel terrible for the owners and the management and this is just some poor choices that these girls made,” she told FOX 32.
Woman arrested after dumping popcorn on 2-year-old during movie, police say
LEVITTOWN, L.I. — A woman is accused of dumping popcorn on a 2-year-old girl at a Long Island movie theater earlier this year.
On Jan. 2, while a toddler was asking her mother for popcorn during a movie, Keri Karman, 25, allegedly tried to quiet the child down verbally, police said.
According to authorities, when the child’s mother intervened, Karman started to yell and curse at the mother and daughter then placed her hand over the toddler’s mouth.
Karman then dumped a container of popcorn on the child’s head and struck her in the head with the container, causing her to cry, said police. The child suffered a contusion on her head.
Karman and Charles Karman, 61, fled the theater.
Following investigation, the Karmans were arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
Bayonne Public Schools closed Monday following threat to shoot up schools
BAYONNE, N.J. — Bayonne Public Schools will be closed Monday, several days after a threat to shoot up the schools was posted to social media, and the day after officials said officers would be stationed at the schools, which would remain open.
The school closures were announced on social media around 7:30 a.m.
The statement from Interim Superintendent of Bayonne Public Schools Dr. Michael Wanko read, in part, “The Bayonne School District received a twitter post that has yet to be discredited by the Bayonne Police Department. Therefore, Mayor Davis contacted me at 6:40 AM today and in the interest of safety it was decided to close all schools today, Monday, March 05, 2018.”
Some 10 hours earlier, the district stated schools would remain open but police officers would be stationed at Bayonne schools on Monday.
The announcements came after someone on Friday tweeted a threat to shoot up all Bayonne Public Schools, officials said.
“Postings like this cause much anguish and concern for parents, students, and staff,” Wanko said Sunday.
Child sex offender serving 300 years is set free
COLORADO — He was set to pay for his crimes in prison for at least 316 years. But on Tuesday, 46-year-old Michael McFadden walked out of Colorado’s Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility a free man, released under circumstances that have left Mesa County’s district attorney “appalled,” per the Daily Sentinel.
McFadden, who was convicted in 2015 of sexual assault against six children, appealed his conviction by claiming that his right to a speedy trial had been violated due to delays, and in June of last year, the Colorado Court of Appeals overturned his conviction, KKCO reports.
The state’s Supreme Court declined to hear the case last month, keeping the appeals court’s decision in place and resulting in McFadden’s release.
“We are without remedy,” DA Dan Rubenstein lamented. “If you’ve heard the phrase, ‘he got off on a technicality,’ this is exactly that situation,” he added, per KKCO.
Rubenstein took to Facebook to explain McFadden’s release at length so the community “can take action at the next election of [the] court of appeals judges” involved.
It initially appeared McFadden wouldn’t have to add his name to any sex offender registry, since his crimes were officially vacated. He’d been convicted once before for sexually assaulting a child, but that conviction happened before it was required by law for sex offenders to add their names to a public register.
However, Rubenstein said Thursday that McFadden will have to register based on that 1990 case.
Word as of Thursday was that McFadden was holed up in homeless shelters in Colorado Springs and was trying to get enough cash to take a bus to Florida.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/03/02/child-sex-offender-serving-300-years-is-set-free/
Plainfield teen accused of shooting parents dead at Michigan university; father was cop, Iraqi war veteran
manhunt continued late Friday for a college student from the Chicago suburbs who authorities said fatally shot his parents on the campus of Central Michigan University.
Authorities said Friday evening they had more than 100 officers from multiple agencies searching for 19-year-old James Eric Davis, of Plainfield. They warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous.
The victims were identified by authorities as Davis’ parents, James Eric Davis Sr. and Diva Jeneen Davis. Davis Sr. was a police officer in west suburban Bellwood and an Illinois National Guard veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Diva Davis’s Facebook page identified her as a real estate broker; friends said she was also a breast cancer survivor and had worked as a flight attendant.
People who knew the family called Davis Jr. “respectful” and “a good kid” and his parents “upstanding,” and said they saw no obvious signs of trouble with the teenager, who was a sophomore at the school in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
“He was a good kid, always,” said Deantre DeYoung, 20, who met Davis Jr. when they were high school freshmen at Plainfield South High School and had kept in touch. “You would never expect something like this to come from James.”
The Davises were reportedly picking up their son from college for spring break when the shooting happened inside a residence hall on campus.
But Lt. Larry Klaus of the campus police department said Davis Jr. was taken to a hospital Thursday night by campus police because of a drug-related health problem, possibly an overdose. Authorities did not elaborate.
Bellwood Police Chief Jiminez Allen confirmed Friday that Davis Sr. was a part-time officer in the village and called it “a very difficult time” for the department.
An Illinois legislator whose district includes Bellwood, Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, said in a Tweet on Friday afternoon: “My sincerest condolences go out to the family of Bellwood Police Officer James Davis Sr. and his wife who were shot and killed this morning. May they RIP.”
The younger Davis attended Plainfield South High for three years, then completed high school at Plainfield Central, where he played basketball and graduated in 2016, Plainfield Community School District 202 officials confirmed.
They declined any further comment “out of respect to the family.”
Campus police identified and released a photo of Davis Jr. during an afternoon news conference. Klaus said surveillance video suggests he fled on foot after the 8:30 a.m. shooting at Campbell Hall. Police warned the public not to confront him. Earlier Friday, they said they suspected he was still in the central Michigan area.
Jordan Murphy, a longtime friend of Davis Sr., said they worked together as Illinois Army National Guard recruiters after being deployed together as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Murphy said Davis Sr., who went by Eric, brought his son to Murphy’s home on several occasions.
“Junior was a very respectful man, raised by upstanding parents, who would do anything to protect him and his siblings,” Murphy said. “This is an incredibly tragic event, and I pray for Eric’s other children. This is so incredibly out of character, something went wrong somewhere.”
Murphy called Eric and Diva Davis “loving, ever-present parents who doted on their children.”
Besides Davis Jr., the couple had a daughter and another son.
Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, public affairs director of the Illinois National Guard, said Davis Sr. served with the guard for 24 years before retiring in 2014.
His time in the guard included a 2003 deployment to Iraq, when he was with the 1244th Transportation Co. out of North Riverside. Later, he worked as a recruiter out of the Joliet Armory, Leighton said.
Julian Leal, who lives on the same block as the Davis home in Plainfield, called Davis Sr. a good neighbor, the type who would shovel out his neighbors after a snowstorm.
“We had picnics in our backyard,” Leal said. “I just had a beer with him last week. We talked about our kids who are in college. He was proud of his son.”
Leal added there was no hint of any problems or violence.
“We’re all confused and at a loss,” he said. “We’re telling our kids to be strong and pray for them. They wouldn’t want us to fall apart.”
Klaus, the campus police lieutenant in Michigan, said anyone who sees Davis Jr. shouldn’t confront him, but needs to call 911. Officials at the school, which has about 23,000 students, urged everyone on campus to take shelter.
“He should be considered armed and dangerous,” said Klaus, adding that Davis Jr. was wearing a black hoodie but had been shedding certain clothes while on the run.
The shooting occurred on the last day of classes before spring break at the Mount Pleasant campus, which is about 70 miles north of Lansing and is about a 270-mile drive from Chicago. Parents who were trying to pick up students were told instead to go to a local hotel where staff would assist them while the manhunt was ongoing.
The school posted an alert Friday morning on social media about shots being fired at Campbell Hall. An automated phone message also was sent to students.
Halie Byron, 20, said she locked herself in her off-campus house, about a 10-minute walk from Campbell Hall. She had planned to run errands before traveling home to the Detroit area.
“It’s scary thinking about how easy a shooter can come into a college campus anywhere — a classroom, a library. There’s so much easy access,” Byron said.
In the surrounding community, students and staff in the Mount Pleasant school district were told not to leave nine buildings. Visitors also weren’t being allowed to enter.
Article via: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-james-eric-davis-central-michigan-shooting-20180302-story.html
Georgia teacher arrested for shooting gun in classroom
GEORGIA — A north Georgia high school teacher was arrested on Wednesday after he barricaded himself in a classroom and fired a shot from his handgun out of a window, police said.
No one was injured in the incident at Dalton High School, except for a female student who injured an ankle running through the school, police spokesman Bruce Frazier said.
The shooting about 85 miles north of Atlanta heightened the already tense debate around guns in schools in the wake of the deadly mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, two weeks ago.
President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association, among others, have proposed that teachers should be allowed to bring firearms into schools to defend against possible attacks. But critics have said arming teachers would create a host of other dangerous side effects, and pointed to the Dalton shooting as Exhibit A in that argument.
The incident began about 11:30 a.m. when Randal Davidson, a 53-year-old social studies teacher, refused to let students into his classroom while he was in his planning period, Frazier said. When the principal put a key in the door in an attempt to enter, Davidson fired a shot from a handgun through an exterior window of the classroom, Frazier said.
The school went into lockdown, and police quickly arrived and evacuated the immediate area around his classroom. After about 30 to 45 minutes, Davidson agreed to surrender and was taken into custody without further incident, Frazier said.
Frazier said there was no evidence Davidson was trying to fire at anyone.
“It certainly seemed like he didn’t have any intention to harm anybody else,” Frazier said.
Police later tweeted that Davidson would face charges of aggravated assault, carrying a weapon on school grounds, terroristic threats, reckless conduct, possession of gun during commission of a crime, and disrupting a public school.
Dalton police said the school resource officer, who has a close relationship with school staff, was at the junior high school when the incident began and then came to Davidson’s classroom. The officer was able to speak to the teacher and persuade him to leave his room without harming anyone.
“We’re very, very proud of this officer and everything that he did to render this horrible situation safe as quick as what he did,” Dalton police Assistant Chief Cliff Cason said.
Cason praised the school’s lockdown drill as “flawless” and said it made it easier for police to quickly reach the teacher.
“When we got there, they directed us where we needed to go and it made things so much easier for us because it wasn’t mass chaos, as you see at times,” Cason said.
In a lockdown drill, teachers are instructed to gather students into classrooms, lock the room, turn off the lights and move away from windows, Principal Steve Bartoo said.
Davidson has been a teacher at Dalton since 2004 and was the play-by-play radio announcer for the high school’s football team, Frazier said. Police did not release any explanation for what happened.
Bartoo said Davidson was an “excellent teacher” who was “well thought of in our building.”
Classes will resume Friday. Students can go by the school Thursday to claim their belongings.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/03/01/georgia-teacher-arrested-for-shooting-gun-in-classroom-police/