Father sentenced to 438 years for the rape, sodomy, sexual assault of his own 2 children
(WALA/Meredith) — A Georgia father was sentenced to 438 years in an Alabama penitentiary for his part in raping, sodomizing and sexually abusing two of his own children a dozen years ago.
The sentencing for Michael William Lesher, 53, of Carollton, Ga. was announced Wednesday.
The victims reported the crimes in 2007 after a school resource officer reported an injury to one of the victim’s necks.
According to Tuscaloosa News, prosecutors were unable to get far with the case until the victims were in their 20s and willing to testify. There is no statute of limitations for sex crimes against children.
Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson said he is pleased with the sentence, noting that the conviction and sentence give some closure to the victims, who were believed by some in law enforcement to be too young to testify when the incidents were first reported.
Despite the case being delayed for years before he entered office, Anderson said, “seeking justice for these victims became the goal of the Morgan County District Attorney’s office. They have waited far too long for their day in court, and I am glad that we were finally able to give them the opportunity to tell about the abuse that they suffered at the hands of their father.”
A Morgan County jury convicted Lesher on March 29 following a four-day trial in Circuit Court. The jury returned guilty verdicts on two counts of Rape in the First Degree, two counts of Sodomy in the First Degree and two counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree as well as one count of Incest.
Judge Stephen F. Brown handed down Lesher’s sentence Tuesday afternoon in Decatur. Chief Assistant District Attorney Paul Matthews and Assistant District Attorney Courtney Schellack prosecuted the case for the state.
“In my 37 years as a prosecutor, this is singularly the most disturbing case of child sexual assault that I have ever tried,” Matthews said.
Lisa Lesher, 40, who prosecutors say was an accomplice to her husband’s crimes, remains in custody pending trial.
Photo Credit: kmov.com/Morgan County Sheriff’s Office
Jury acquits man accused of killing, dismembering 2-year-old dumped in Chicago lagoon
CHICAGO — A Cook County jury acquitted an Illinois man accused of killing a 2-year-old boy, dismembering his body and dumping his remains in Chicago’s Garfield Park Lagoon.
Kamel Harris, 44, was found not guilty on Thursday in the gruesome 2015 death of 2-year-old Kyrian Knox.
In August of 2015, Kyrian’s mother had given the boy to Harris, the father of a friend, for a couple of weeks while she and a friend tried to find jobs in Iowa in hopes of moving there, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Harris took the stand in his own defense Wednesday and said he gave Kyrian to three people after speaking by phone to a woman he believed to be the boy’s mother.
The toddler’s body was found weeks later in the lagoon after someone saw a foot floating in the water.
Harris’ attorney repeatedly said that there was no forensic evidence tying his client to the crime.
The boy’s mother, Lanisha Knox, wailed in the courtroom after hearing the jury’s verdict, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. After leaving the building, Knox reportedly said, “That was some bulls***. I can’t believe this.”
“This is an innocent man,” Assistant Public Defender Kulmeet Galhotra told the paper. “The guy who did this is still out there.”
Harris is expected to be released from custody soon.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
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Man Detained After Strangling Girlfriend, 2 Young Children in Riverside Before Threatening to Kill Them, Put Child in Dryer
A man was taken into custody more than 14 years after his then-girlfriend reported that he battered and strangled her and her two children in Riverside and threatened to kill them and put one of the children in a dryer, the Riverside Police Department said Wednesday.
The suspect, Leopoldo Martinez Garcia, severely battered and strangled the 24-year-old woman unconscious, and also battered and strangled her 1 and 4-year-old children in August 2004 at a home in the 2700 block of Iris Street in the Eastside neighborhood of Riverside, police said.
Garcia refused to allow her to leave or call for help for her and the children, according to authorities.
He held up shotgun and threatened to kill her and one of the kids, and put the other in the dryer, police said.
The mother and her children escaped the next day and called police, but officers couldn’t find Garcia and he was believed to have changed his identity and fled the country, Riverside Police said.
The Riverside Police Department’s METRO Team was called to assist with the case in 2017. The task force assists the U.S. Marshall Service with finding and arresting criminals who flee the country.
About a year later, authorities narrowed down Garcia’s location to the Mexican state of Michoacán and the investigation continued until the task force and Mexican authorities found two possible locations for the suspect within the state, police said.
Garcia was found and detained in Michoacán last week by Mexican authorities on May 16 and then transferred into U.S. custody, according to Riverside Police.
The U.S. Marshals Service is holding Garcia in Texas where he awaits extradition to Riverside County.
He faces three counts of attempted murder and several other felony offenses, according to authorities.
No further details were immediately available.
Photo Credit: ktla.com
Woman, 102, Being Evicted From Ladera Heights Home So Landlord’s Daughter Can Move In
A 102-year-old woman is being evicted from her longtime residence in Ladera Heights so the landlord’s daughter can move in instead, according to an eviction notice the woman received.
Thelma Smith was given notice on March 8 that she must vacate the single-family home where she has resided for nearly 30 years.
Her landlords said they were ending Smith’s month-to-month lease because their daughter is graduating from law school.
“The dwelling is needed as her principal place of residence,” the notice said.
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They gave the centenarian three months to get out.
Under Los Angeles’ Rent Stabilization Ordinance, a landlord can legally evict a tenant to accommodate a relative’s housing needs. But the law indicates the person forced to leave first would be the tenant who has moved into a unit of comparable housing most recently. In greater L.A. County, where a temporary rent-stabilization policy for unincorporated areas went into effect in December, the law is weaker.
“They use this law to target long-term, low-paying tenants,” said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival.
Pauline Cooper, a longtime neighbor of Smith’s, said that in the past year, at least one person has moved out of her friend’s small complex, which consists of three brown Craftsman-style homes with rock landscaping. Cooper didn’t know whether the once-empty space was occupied now, though.
“She’s been there a thousand years and is paying very low rent,” said Cooper, who has lived in the quiet neighborhood in the unincorporated area between Culver City and Baldwin Hills since 1999.
As part of the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, relocation assistance is available for evicted tenants in L.A. who are 62 or older, are handicapped or disabled. But elsewhere in Los Angeles County, there’s no such help.
Smith, who did not wish to be interviewed, is relying on friends and faraway family to find a new place to stay, Cooper said. She has offered Smith — a widow she describes as “spry” — a bedroom in her own home, but Smith currently doesn’t want to go anywhere.
“I’m trying to get her settled,” Cooper said.
Los Angeles won its rent stabilization ordinance in 1978, and L.A. County received one in 1979. Four years later, the county’s law expired. If a permanent ordinance does pass, regulations could be added.
“It’s pretty outrageous and heartless to be evicting this woman,” Gross said. “It just shows a perfect example of how tenants without strong rent-controlled protections are vulnerable to displacement and injustices.”
Smith, a former executive secretary for the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation, a nonprofit that has served underprivileged youths, recently celebrated her birthday in the home where she’s spent three decades.
The celebration may be her last there. She has until June 30 to vacate the property, her landlords say.
via: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-woman-evicted-20190523-story.htm
Photo Credit: latimes.com/(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
FL High school football star shot dead by friend over video game dispute
A Florida football player was shot dead by a longtime friend this week during a spat over a video game, according to a new report.
Joshua Ancrum, 17, was killed inside his pal’s Miami Gardens home Tuesday afternoon when the gaming dispute between the teens got heated, WPLG Local 10 reported. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“What mother wants to bury their son?” the boy’s distraught mom, Lisa Alvarez, told the station. “It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
Jatwan Phillips, 16, was arrested in connection with the slaying, according to the report. He appeared in court Wednesday and has been charged with aggravated manslaughter, though it’s unclear if he will be charged as an adult.
It was not immediately known which game sparked the fatal squabble.
A judge ordered Phillips to remain in jail on Wednesday, according to the report.
Ancrum’s teammates in the South Florida Express 7on7 Football Team considered him a brother.
“He might have grown up in a bad neighborhood and he had a lot of bad influences and stuff like that, but when he came with us, it was, kind of, you try to lead him in the right direction,” teammate Derek Wingo told the station.
The young athlete had received a football scholarship to Florida International University.
“We are saddened at the news of Joshua’s passing,” the school’s head coach, Butch Davis, said in a statement obtained by the station. “We at FIU will be praying for his family, friends and teammates in these trying times.”
Ancrum had always dreamed of going even further with his football career, but his dreams have been shattered, his mother told the outlet.
“Stop the violence,” she insisted.
The teen’s teammates launched a GoFundMe page to help raise money for his funeral expenses. It had reached $4,372 of its $10,000 goal by late Thursday morning.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/05/23/high-school-football-star-shot-dead-by-friend-over-video-game-dispute/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Teen electrocuted ‘trying to impress girlfriend’ by climbing on top of train
A teenage boy exploded into flames and died after he suffered an electric shock from 27,500-volt cables when climbing up on top of a train to allegedly impress his girlfriend.
Oleg Khoroshaev, 13, was reportedly taking a selfie during the stunt when he was electrocuted in Karasuk, Russia.
A deeply distressing video was released of the boy writhing and crying in agony after he fell off the side of the carriage by the devastating shock, as police warned children about the “dire threats” from playing near railway tracks.
A female witness said a group of boys and the girl had been walking beside the railway in Karasuk town, Novosibirsk region where there was a stationary cargo train.
“Oleg said that he wanted to climb a carriage and another boy planned to follow him, asking ‘How does it feel up there?’ Suddenly there was an explosion on top of the carriage,” she said.
“Everybody instinctively turned their heads away but when they looked up again they saw a large black mark on Oleg’s chest and then he caught fire.”
The boy was rushed to the hospital and a doctor battled to save his life, but his death was confirmed three days after the incident by Western Siberian transport prosecutors.
“The child has passed away,” they said in a statement.
One friend denied that the boy was taking a selfie but admitted he had his phone with him.
A report said he was “posing in front of his girlfriend and suffered an electric shock before her very eyes.”
Photo Credit: nypost.com/East2West News
Teachers under fire for wearing sombreros, fake mustaches in yearbook pictures
ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — Several teachers at a California high school are at the center of a controversy for the way they dressed in their yearbook pictures.
In the yearbook, the World Language faculty at San Pasqual High School appeared to dress up in attire related to the language they taught.
One woman who wore a beret was a French teacher, according to students. The Spanish teachers wore sombreros and mustaches, which some found offensive.
The Escondido Union High School District released the following statement:
“The 2019 yearbook for San Pasqual High School, ‘The Golden Legend,’ was released yesterday (5/20/19) to senior students. It has come to our attention it contained photos from the World Language Department that are culturally insensitive and in poor judgment. The photos are a collection of pictures taken at the beginning of the year for use as teacher ID photos.
Administrators have discussed the issue with SPHS staff. Principal Martin Casas and his administrative team are taking precautions to ensure a similar situation does not occur in the future.”
According to Casas, “San Pasqual High School takes pride in its rich history and diversity. It is our intent to use this situation as a tool to remind students, as well as staff, to remember the impacts of their words and actions. We are committed to continuing our efforts to ensure all students, families and staff feel welcome and valued. United…we are San Pasqual.”
Some parents said they didn’t find it offensive while others said they didn’t know how to feel.
“They could be offensive if they’re making fun of us. But it could be something honorable if they’re trying to do honor to the Mexican culture,” said Martin Reyes, whose son goes to San Pasqual. “It would be better without the big mustache and hats.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com
‘Selfie School’ gets grandma and grandpa in the social media game
BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. — Millennials made the selfie ubiquitous, but now Gram and Gramps are getting into the game thanks to a “Selfie School” for seniors.
Sure, they may be a few years behind the trend, but don’t count them out. Residents at the Greenfield of Geneva Retirement Community recently headed out to a selfie studio in Stratford Square to get hip with the kids.
“We really wanted to bridge that gap between seniors and social media,” ClubPhotoBooth Selfie Studio owner Joe O’Connell said.
For nearly two hours, the seniors learned how to shoot selfies with their smartphones while posing in front of colorful and eclectic backdrops.
“It’s been fun,” Donna Sharpe said. “I don’t do selfies so I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
They will never be the most prolific selfie creators, but with their sensible shoes and unrehearsed grins they stand out for their genuine looks.
“I liked it, but I would like to think I’m better looking than what came out in my pictures,” laughs Kathleen Dix.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/05/23/selfie-school-gets-grandma-and-grandpa-in-the-social-media-game/
Photo Credit: pix11.com