Sandy Hook dad wins suit against massacre deniers
A parent of a slain student won a civil lawsuit against two deniers of a 2012 mass shooting who published a book called “Nobody Died At Sandy Hook.”
Lenny Pozner had sued James Fetzer and Mike Palecek for defamation in November, documents show. The suit focused on claims, both in the book and in Fetzer’s blog, that Pozner had circulated a false birth certificate for his son Noah, one of the 20 children and six adults killed in the elementary school massacre.
Judge Frank D. Remington of the Dane County Circuit Court in Wisconsin signed an order on Tuesday finding that the statements published by the two men were in fact defamatory. Fetzer lives in Wisconsin.
The judge granted Pozner’s motion for summary judgment, allowing the case to proceed to a trial by jury to determine the damages.
Pozner’s attorney, Jake Zimmerman, told CNN his client is seeking $1 million in damages. The jury selection is set to start in mid-October. “The damages go beyond Mr. Pozner’s feelings being hurt, there are real-world implications,” Zimmerman told CNN, saying the real damage is that people who read these defamatory claims have taken against his client.
In 2016, a Tampa woman was indicted on four counts of making threats against Pozner. According to a federal indictment, the woman called him and said, “You gonna die, death is coming you real soon,” as well as “death is coming to you real soon and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
She pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting threats and was sentenced to five months in federal prison in 2017. Zimmerman told CNN that part of the woman’s probation terms is that she isn’t allowed to visit websites like Fetzer’s. In a phone call with CNN, Fetzer, who represented himself in court, said that the judge’s decision was “completely inappropriate” and “a violation of proper legal protocol.”
“This case is a sham, just as fabricated as the documents involved here. I stand for the truth,” Fetzer said. “I’m out for the truth and to protect the American people from scams.”
Mike Palecek, who was also self-represented, did not respond to a request for comment.Wrongs Without Wremedies LLC, which publishes Moon Rock Books including “Nobody Died At Sandy Hook,” was named in the initial complaint but settled. An attorney for the company told CNN it had no comment.
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Woman allegedly strangles 76-year-old mother, calls 911 to tell Suffolk County police what she’d done
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — A woman allegedly choked her 76-year-old mother to death with a vacuum cleaner cord in a Central Islip home on Tuesday, police said.
Sharon Easter, 57, called 911 shortly after 8 a.m. and told an operator she’d killed her mother, officials said. When police arrived the the Cocoanut Street home, they found Dorothy Easter’s body.
Homicide Squad detectives charged the daughter with murder in the second degree, officials said. She will be held overnight at the Fourth Precinct, and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Wednesday.
Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer of the Suffolk Homicide Squad said investigators believe the daughter had “some mental health issues.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Michigan mother and her two daughters died after she drove their car into a river. Police believe it was intentional.
A Michigan mother and her twin daughters died after she drove her car into the Kalamazoo River in what is suspected to be an intentional act, police said Tuesday.
The bodies of the 44-year-old woman and one of her 9-year-old daughters were found Monday evening after the car was found submerged in the river.
The other daughter’s body was recovered Tuesday morning with the assistance of the Michigan State Police Dive Team, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas said.
Authorities said they responded to a 911 call Monday evening after passers-by saw two girls crying on the side of the road. The passers-by called police.
The girls told officers that they had previously been inside the car with the woman and her twins, but were let out of the vehicle. They told officers that the woman had driven her car into the river.
A motive has not yet been determined
The two girls were reunited with an uncle. Both girls are related to the 44-year-old woman, but it’s not yet clear what their specific familial connection is, Thomas said.
“I’ve been here over 25 years. We’ve never had an incident like this,” Thomas told CNN.
Investigators believe the act was intentional.
“We do not believe this was an accident,” Thomas said, noting the river is not easily accessible in the area where the car was found submerged. “You have to purposefully drive your car into that area.”
A motive has not yet been determined and the investigation is ongoing. Police are withholding the names of the victims until they are positively identified and family members have been notified.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Planters Peanuts is rolling out a sneaker. The Crunch Force 1
Mr. Peanut is hitting the basketball court ahead of the NBA draft this week.
Peanut brand Planters announcedon Tuesdaythe release of the Crunch Force 1, a basketball sneaker featuring everyone’s favorite legume-style icon meant to give wearers a “shella strong shoe game.”
It’s not a stunt:The nutty new kicks were produced by Philadelphia-based shoe manufacturer Rich Franklin, and they’reavailable for pre-order now until Friday for $170.
It’s an example of companies beyond the footwear and apparel industry getting in on the “sneaker hype” marketing opportunity that legacy brands like Nike’s Air Jordan and Adidas’ Yeezy have taken advantage of for years. Pizza Hut used a similar tactic ahead of March Madness two years ago.
Here’s how it works: A brand, often with the help of a celebrity or icon like Mr. Peanut, builds anticipation for a new sneaker. Thenthecompany releases only a limited number of the shoes, ideally spurringfans to line up outside of shoe stores or frantically hit refresh on the company’s website when it drops. Hours later, that sneaker — this one features Mr. Peanut’s signature grin and “Planters” splashed on the heel — maybe listed for hundreds of dollars more on shoe resale sites for buyers salty that they didn’t get a pair on the first go-around.
Although those hundreds of resale dollars don’t go to the sneaker companies themselves, they do generate valuable attention for a brand — all without shelling out for an ad campaign.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/06/18/planters-peanuts-is-rolling-out-a-sneaker-yes-really/
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Florida officer dragged by car traveling 60 MPH as suspect flees arrest – just kept saying, “Officer, please”
ORLANDO, Fl. (CNN) — An Orlando officer had a frightening arrest when he was dragged in a car by a suspect trying to flee.
It was just past 1 a.m. on May 9 when Officer Sean Murphy said he noticed marijuana residue inside Zavier Askew’s car.
Askew denied having any weed in the car, but after officers searched the vehicle, Askew ran back to the driver’s side, leapt behind the wheel, and took off.
Murphy tried to stop Askew, but was stuck being dragged by the car as it reached speeds of 60 miles per hour.
Body cam footage shows Murphy pleading with Askew to stop, saying, “You’re killing me” and warning him the road was ending.
“It’s a dead end. You’re going to crash!” Murphy repeated several times.
Askew just kept saying, “Officer, please.”
Eventually he hit a parked car on the dead-end street, and Murphy pulled his legs inside the car to avoid being pinned.
Others officer arrived and pulled Askew from the car, arresting him.
He faces several charges, including attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer and kidnapping.
He’s being held in the Orange County Jail with no bond.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Man beheaded woman’s dog because she owed his mom rent money
BUCKEYE, Ariz. (KTVK) — An Arizona man has been arrested after police say he beheaded his roommate’s dog over the weekend.
According to police, the incident occurred Saturday night in Buckeye.
The victim told officers that she was moving her belongings out of a home she shared with 21-year-old Jose Vega Meza. The victim said she had her dog with her but lost track of it for a while.
A few hours later, the woman and her friends, who were helping her move, noticed Vega Meza was trying to load a small box onto a truck without anyone seeing him. That’s when the victim confronted Vega Meza and asked him what was in the box.
According to police, Vega Meza reportedly just smiled at her. The victim then opened the box and found her dead dog inside. Police say the dog had been mutilated and was headless.
“The other day there was a girl walking out of that house, she was crying and screaming saying he did something,” said Victoria, who lives in the area. “She had like 4 or 5 people outside trying to calm her down and she couldn’t calm down.”
The victim told officers that she was so distraught and upset about the discovery that she waited until Sunday to contact them.
On Sunday afternoon, officers found Vega Meza walking in a Buckeye neighborhood took him into custody.
Vega Meza told officers that he knew why he was being arrested and admitted his involvement in the crime.
The suspect told officers that he wrapped the dog in a string and then cut it open with a razor blade.
Vega Meza added that he killed the dog because the victim owed his mother rent money. He later told officers that he knew what he did wasn’t right. The suspect also admitted to killing and torturing other animals in the neighborhood in the past, according to court documents.
“I had a cat, she was black and white, and she used to go around everywhere–you know, across the street, over there, over there–so it could’ve been her too. He could’ve taken her into his yard and killed her,” Victoria said. “We just had 2 cats come up missing like two days ago so that’s like really scary and my little brothers and sisters are probably wondering what happened to their cats and maybe that guy probably did something to my little brother and sister’s cat and that’s really horrible.”
Several neighbors say Vega-Meza and the other people who live in the home typically keep to themselves.
“Really none of the neighbors know them personally. We kind of keep our distance because they are a little noisy and cause trouble,” said Lisa, another neighbor.
“To think that there was someone who was living there, like right across the street from my house, it could’ve been my animals! That’s really, really scary,” said Victoria.
Vega Meza was later booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on two counts related to animal cruelty. The suspect was also charged with a count of misdemeanor assault after he attacked another prisoner.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Young girl playing in puddles dies after falling into manhole
A 3-year-old Chinese girl died while playfully jumping in puddles — and accidentally falling into a rain-filled manhole, according to reports.
The girl fell into the open sewer on June 11 as she played games while walking home from her nursery with her grandmother in Chang’an in China’s southern Guangdong Province, according to The Sun.
It sparked a huge rescue operation involving nearly 200 people, including divers searching through the shoulder-width sewers, The Mirror said.
The underground tunnels were full of water after a “torrential downpour” that officials believe may have also pushed off and carried away the manhole cover, the reports claim.
Video of the search shows an elderly woman, believed to be the toddler’s grandmother, held back as she sobs uncontrollably.
A body was found near a sewage outfall three days later and the girl’s family positively identified her as the missing child, according to the reports.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/06/18/young-girl-playing-in-puddles-dies-after-falling-into-manhole/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Boy, 5, dies after being shot and abandoned at hospital
KENOSHA, Wis. — A 5-year-old boy has died of a gunshot wound after two men abandoned him at a hospital in southeast Wisconsin, according to police.
The shooting happened before 2 p.m. Monday at a home in Kenosha, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Milwaukee, authorities said.
Staff at the Froedtert South Hospital-Kenosha Campus called authorities after two men dropped off the wounded boy then left. Authorities have not described the relationship between the adults and the child who died.
Police said they have interviewed the men and recovered a firearm, but have not made any arrests.
Curtis Cannon told WISN-TV that the boy was his grandchild and that one of his two adult sons accidentally shot the boy. He said both sons drove the child to the hospital and left him there. Cannon said one son is the boy’s father, but he didn’t say which son shot the boy or describe the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
“Maybe they was scared to death. Maybe they took him to the hospital because they realized they (expletive) up, and they didn’t want the boy to be in pain or suffer. I don’t raise killers,” Cannon said.
Neighbors questioned how the young boy died.
“That’s a 5-year-old kid. Why would you leave a child?” said Karen Bialas, neighbor. “How the hell did this happen? Who did it? Who had a gun around a 5-year-old? Why would you have a gun around a 5-year-old?”
Police said the investigation was still “very active.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/06/18/boy-5-dies-after-being-shot-and-abandoned-at-hospital/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Prop mistaken for dead baby found near Queens park
BAYSIDE, Queens — A prop was mistaken for a dead baby Tuesday morning, prompting a police investigation near a Queens park, NYPD officials said.
Fire, EMS and police units responded around 7:45 a.m. after a call reported a deceased baby in the grass by Bayside’s Crocheron Park, near 215th Street and 35th Avenue, the FDNY said. Once they arrived, they found what “appeared to be a baby with discoloration consistent with signs of prolonged death, but thankfully, it was actually a lifelike prop,” an FDNY statement read.
According to a police source, EMS did not actually touch the “baby” but pronounced it dead at the scene, before it was later realized it was a prop.
PIX11’s Nicole Johnson was on the scene and described the prop as very realistic, saying it “even had a purple hue to it, like a human would if strangled.” The doll reportedly looked like a prop used on a movie or television set.
Additional information about the prop, and its origins, were not immediately available, but police are looking into whether it was placed at the location on purpose or not.
Officials are also looking into whether or not someone at the crime scene dropped the ball.
According to fire officials, EMS will conduct a medical review of the incident.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/06/18/police-investigating-after-baby-found-dead-in-queens-officials/
Photo Credit: pix11.com