Man reported guns stolen after he traded them for sex with underage girl
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PA (WPMT) — A 53-year-old Newport man has been charged after police say he falsely reported that two of his firearms were stolen.
Instead, police say, Michael Shane McCreary exchanged the guns for drugs — after trying to use them as payment for for sex with an underage girl.
East Pennsboro Township Police say they began investigating on Dec. 6, 2018, when McCreary came to the station to report the theft of two of his firearms from his secondary residence in Enola.
On Dec. 13, 2018, Harrisburg Police contacted East Pennsboro Township Police to report that one of the firearms had been recovered. They also told East Pennsboro Police that they observed and followed McCreary as he brought another man into the city, where the firearm was sold for drugs, police say.
After further investigation, East Pennsboro Township Police determined McCreary had paid for sexual favors with the girl. While the girl did not want the firearms, police say, she asked her boyfriend to take the guns. McCreary then drove the man to Harrisburg to purchase drugs, according to police.
McCreary was charged with four counts of sale or transfer of firearms, prostitution, unlawful contact with a minor, false reports to law enforcement authorities, unsworn falsification to authorities, and corruption of minors.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled, police say.
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Florida woman stabs herself because she ‘doesn’t want to live in Trump’s country’
(Meredith) — A woman in Palmetto, Florida stabbed herself multiple times in the stomach with a kitchen knife, because she’s “tired of living in Trump’s country.”
According to the police report, an officer arrived at the scene and asked the woman what was wrong. She showed the officer three stab wounds on her midsection and said, “I’m tired of living in Trump’s country. I’m tired of Trump being President.”
She was then transported to a medical center by emergency services and treated. Deputies at her house noted seeing a large amount of blood on the floor of her kitchen, bathroom, and living room.
The woman told police she has attempted to hurt herself before and had been previously given emergency mental health treatment under Florida’s Baker Act.
The Baker Act provides emergency mental health services and temporary detention for people impaired by their mental illness.
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Couple charged with leaving child home alone, robbing bank
BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS, Mo. (AP) — Court documents say a couple left their child home alone while they robbed a bank in suburban St. Louis.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 40-year-old Melissa Harrison and 33-year-old Ramon Alonzo Gregory Falls are charged with stealing or attempted stealing from a U.S. Bank in Bellefontaine Neighbors and child abuse. No attorney is listed for them in online court records.
Charges say Harrison handed a teller a note Saturday demanding money and that Falls drove the getaway vehicle. But the teller inserted a tracking device into the money-filled envelope, and the couple was arrested after a chase.
Investigators later found that the couple’s child home alone for more than six hours with no running water or food. Charges say the child was “covered in dirt, in soiled underwear, and extremely hungry.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com/Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department
Authorities say a man beat to death an infant who was in the arms of a mother who was the intended target of the blows
A criminal complaint charges 21-year-old Kenta Evans with reckless homicide in Wednesday’s death of 2-month-old Jaquerrion Dancer, who might be his son.
The mother says Evans came over to see the baby and accused her of having other men in the house. The complaint says Evans began beating the woman as she held the infant. The mother’s sister intervened, saw the baby was bleeding from the mouth and took him to a hospital. He died that evening.
The complaint says Evans told detectives he had repeatedly hit the mother, with many blows also striking the baby. Evans appeared in court Monday where probable cause was found for further proceedings.
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Fake License Plate on Big Rig Leads to DUI Arrest in Moorpark
A man wanted on an arrest warrant was caught in Moorpark after a motorcycle officer spotted the fake license plate on the tractor-trailer he was driving, authorities said Tuesday.
The counterfeit license plate, painted black and yellow and reads “Califas” instead of California, prompted the officer to pull the truck over on May 28, Senior Deputy David Anaya with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said.
The driver, 41-year-old Jorge Salazar, appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Anaya said. He had methamphetamine, did not have a license and had an active warrant for his arrest, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The vehicle he was driving had to be towed from the scene “because it was unsafe to be driven,” Anaya said.
Salazar was booked into jail but has since been released on bond, Sgt. Marta Bugarin said.
The arrest is just one of many involving commercial vehicles traveling through Moorpark, which have become a safety concern for residents, authorities said.
About 243 commercial vehicles go through the city every hour, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Moorpark Police Department and the California Highway Patrol regularly conduct mechanical safety inspections on those vehicles, often on Los Angeles Avenue, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Three motorcycle officers with Moorpark police dedicate about one-third of their time on commercial vehicles, the agency added.
Officers in the city issued 983 traffic and parking citations for commercial truck violations in 2018, the Sheriff’s Office said.
via: https://ktla.com/2019/06/11/fake-license-plate-on-big-rig-leads-to-dui-arrest-in-moorpark/
Photo Credit: ktla.com
Doctor finds 100 bubble tea pearls in girl’s abdomen
This might burst your affinity for bubble tea.
A 14-year-old girl in China who was constipated for nearly a week had an abdominal blockage caused by undigested bubble tea pearls, according to reports.
The teen from Zheijiang province in eastern China was sent to a hospital on May 28 by her parents after having stomach pains and not being able to eat or use the bathroom for five days, Asia One reports, citing local media.
After doctors couldn’t find what was ailing the backed-up teen, a CT scan revealed about 100 “unusual spherical shadows” that were later found to be undigested tapioca pearls from bubble tea that she downed five days earlier.
But a doctor who treated the girl believed she may have underestimated just how many servings of boba she consumed, saying her condition was so severe that she must’ve consumed more of the starchy tapioca balls than she relayed to her parents.
Dr. Zhang Louzhen told The Paper that “so many undigested ‘pearls’” would not have come from just one drink.
The girl was ultimately given laxatives to relieve her symptoms, Asia One reports.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/06/11/doctor-finds-100-bubble-tea-pearls-in-girls-abdomen-reports/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Class mom arrested after confronting son’s bullies in school
A South Carolina mom faces charges after she went to her son’s class to take his bullying issues into her own hands — but says she couldn’t “get the message across any other way,” according to a report.
Jamie Louise Rathburn, a class mom, was arrested last month after she posted a since-deleted video of herself ranting to the third-graders at Greenbrier Elementary School, the Greenville News reported.
Rathburn was charged with interfering, disrupting or disturbing schools three days after the incident.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said the mom went to her son’s class May 17 during the morning school drop-off.
Surveillance video showed her approach the class and “lift her finger in a pointing manner and circle around as if making sure all the kids heard her and were listening,” authorities said.
A teacher told deputies that Rathburn yelled about “not knowing who was bullying her son but that she was going to find them and their moms.”
Rathburn apologized for “allowing emotions to control” her behavior but has since been banned from school grounds.
“I can’t go eat lunch with my children,” Rathburn said. “I can’t watch them on field day. As class mom, that’s devastating.”
The mom said she had reached a breaking point over what she felt was an inadequate response from the school faculty to her multiple complaints.
“I’m frustrated with the children’s actions, but at the end of the day I’m angry with the adults involved in this situation, because we are the ones with the power to stop this,” Rathburn told the Greenville News.
For the mom, the final straw was when the administrators came up with a solution that involved separating her son during recess so they could better watch him, according to the Greenville News.
It was unclear whether her son’s bullies were ever punished and the school wouldn’t provide her with documentation of his situation, citing privacy concerns since the reports may involve other students, she said.
“I am absolutely ashamed of myself for the actions of walking up into that school,” Rathburn told the Greenville News. “You know, I owe the parents, the children and the staff an apology for that. Absolutely, it was wrong. But honestly, I don’t know how I could have gotten my message across any other way.”
Greenville County school officials said they couldn’t comment on Rathburn’s case, according to the newspaper.
She was released on $1,000 bond and her next court date is set for June 18.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/06/11/class-mom-arrested-after-confronting-sons-bullies-in-school/
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Florida woman squeezed boyfriend’s genitals ‘until they bled
A Florida woman was arrested last week on allegations that she squeezed her boyfriend’s testicles until they bled, police said.
The alleged incident occurred on June 4 in Indian Harbour Beach, about 70 miles southeast of Orlando. Authorities responded to a call from a man who said his live-in girlfriend had assaulted him, according to a police report.
The report said the woman — identified as 21-year-old Katie Lee Pitchford — had become “enraged” during an argument. The alleged victim, who was not identified, reportedly told the officers that Pitchford had struck him “with her fists and scratched the left side of his face.”
An arrest affidavit, cited by the Miami Herald, said the man’s face was bloodied and had visible bruising. The man reportedly told officers that Pitchford had grabbed him “by his b—s and squeezed them until they bled.”
He told officers that after that, Pitchford choked him until he couldn’t breathe, but he managed to wrestle her away and call police, the affidavit reportedly said.
Pitchford was arrested for battery and accused of violating her probation, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
In the back of the patrol car, Pitchford reportedly asked to talk to the victim so she could apologize.
She was detained by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office on no bond and will appear in court later this month, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/06/11/florida-woman-squeezed-boyfriends-genitals-until-they-bled-cops/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/Indian Harbour Beach Police Department
Kraft introduces ‘Salad Frosting’ to help trick your kids into eating more vegetables
Salad frosting. Yes, it’s a thing.
Instead of simply asking kids to eat salad dressing – or pretending the age-old condiment bears the hallmarks of a dessert staple – Kraft Heinz has introduced “Salad Frosting,” with the sweet tooth-invoking word right there on the label.
But here’s the catch: It’s just a slim tube of ranch dressing, relabeled so parents can trick kids into happily eating their vegetables.
“Kids will eat anything with frosting, right?” the company states in a news release. “It’s a match made for dinnertime bliss.”
True, but you have to wonder: What about kids who have tasted ranch dressing? Won’t they quickly blow the cover?
It’s also worth noting that ranch dressing isn’t exactly the healthiest option for kids – or grown-ups. Just 2 tablespoons of Kraft’s version has 110 calories, 11 grams of fat and 290 milligrams of sodium. The same amount of Betty Crocker vanilla frosting has more calories — 140 — but just 5 grams of fat and 70 milligrams of sodium.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
A veteran died in police custody. His body was returned to his family with some organs missing
wo days before he died, Everett Palmer Jr. called his brother, Dwayne, to tell him he was on his way from Delaware to New York to visit him and their sick mother. But first, he said, he wanted to resolve an outstanding DUI warrant from an incident in 2016 in Pennsylvania to make sure his license was valid for the drive to see his family.
The phone call was the last time the family would hear from the 41-year-old US Army veteran and father of two.
On April 9, 2018, two days later, the family was told that Palmer had died in police custody at the York County Prison. Fourteen months later, the Palmers say they still don’t know what really happened. But they are suspicious because when Palmer’s body was returned to them, his throat, heart and brain were missing.
“This entire case smacks of a cover-up,” civil rights attorney Lee Merritt told CNN by phone.
The family hired Merritt to help find answers because so far, they have been unable to get them on their own, they say. Merritt says prison and county officials have not been cooperative with providing an official manner of death.
But York County Coroner Pam Gay said those organs were actually retained as part of the forensic autopsy for additional testing.
“There were never any missing organs,” Gay told CNN on Saturday. “The lab that does our autopsies has the organs. Coroner’s offices don’t always have a morgue or a forensic pathologist. We contract those services out. We utilize a team in Allentown. That’s who retains the specimens. They don’t always tell us what they retain. We made that clear to the family from the beginning.”
She noted that removing the throat is typical in this kind of investigation because “we have to make sure there wasn’t any kind of component that caused asphyxia.”
Gay also said local authorities have been cooperative.
“We were in communications with them directly and through their attorney,” she said. “I understand their need and desire for answers. We are working to do that. The truth will come out. I can’t comment on the active investigation.”
Representatives for the prison could not be reached for comment Friday.
An initial autopsy by the York County Coroner’s Office stated Palmer died after an incident “following an excited state” during which he “began hitting his head against the inside of his cell door” and was restrained. The report says Palmer became agitated as a result of “methamphetamine toxicity.” A probable “sickling red cell disorder” as listed as a contributing factor.
According to his family, Palmer never had any health problems leading up to his death. They also say the autopsy report of him hitting himself is completely out of character.
The York County Coroner’s Office updated its autopsy results on July 28, 2018, to include a manner of death, which it listed as “undetermined.” The autopsy report says details of the autopsy may be corrected as more information becomes available.
Gay said investigations into possible drug-related deaths can take one to three years. She ruled out one cause of death, saying it wasn’t suicide.
The family says Palmer did have “some history of drug use,” but never meth. Prison processing reports made available to the family provided no indication that Palmer was under the influence or had any drug paraphernalia listed in his items when he arrived.
“He would have had to receive (the meth) in the jail itself. We don’t believe that happened,” Merritt said.
Palmer’s body was returned to his family, but it was only after the family hired their own independent forensic pathologist that they discovered Palmer’s body was missing three body parts.
“It’s not unusual to take organs out of a body during an autopsy, especially if you believe they were subject to trauma. The highly unusual part is to misplace them,” Merritt said.
For seven months, the family could not track down Palmer’s brain, heart or throat. They say they were told by the York County Coroner to check with the funeral home for the body parts.
“The funeral home says they hadn’t touched the body,” Merritt said.
The family says they were later told by the coroner that the body parts were at an independent lab. However, the lab, Merritt says, has refused to hand over the parts, citing an ongoing investigation.
Merritt says the family believes the body parts will reveal details of how Palmer died. “But we haven’t been able to get them back yet,” Merritt said. “His constitutional rights are being violated.”
CNN reached out to the York County District Attorney’s Office for comment. Kyle King, the chief administrator and spokesman for the district attorney, told CNN by phone, “The office of the district attorney does not comment on pending or ongoing investigations.”
When asked how long an investigation into a case like this typically takes, King said, “Every investigation is unique.” He did not answer when asked why, more than one year after Palmer’s death, there is still no official determination about his cause of death.
Multiple calls to the Pennsylvania State Police, which is listed as the investigating police agency on the autopsy, were not returned. A voicemail message left with the York County Coroner’s Office also went unanswered.
Of the five children in the Palmer family, Everett Palmer Jr. was like the glue that kept the family bond strong, his brother Dwayne said. He was a “gentle giant,” tall and muscular, and served as a US Army paratrooper. An avid sports fan, especially of basketball, Palmer was often found working out in the gym or helping others achieve their goals as a personal trainer.
Palmer also enjoyed being a DJ and had a very “eclectic taste in music,” preferring heavy metal, according to his brother, Dwayne. He may have looked imposing, his brother says, but he loved to smile.
“He joked around a lot. He was the life of the family,” Dwayne Palmer said. “He wasn’t a perfect person, but certainly not somebody that’s a rabble-rouser, fighting, starting trouble or anything like that. He was a loving person.”
Speaking from his home in New York, Dwayne says the family just wants to know what happened. He says the information they have been given so far is scant.
“We don’t believe anything (officials) are telling us at this point,” he said. “It’s a tremendous loss for our family. We are devastated.”
According to the autopsy report, on the morning of his death, Everett Palmer Jr. was taken to a medical clinic where he was noted to be unresponsive. He was transferred to York Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:46 a.m.
“If he was being processed for something that he did wrong in terms of the DUI — he should be held accountable for that — but it shouldn’t be a death sentence, certainly inside of a jail,” his brother added. “We know that there are good people in that prison system. We appeal to them to come forward and share what they know.”
The Palmer family has put in a Freedom of Information Act request for any video recordings from the York County Prison while Palmer was in their custody.
“It’s been over a year and we want some answers. He was delivered back to us without organs. We want closure,” Palmer said. “If something criminal happened, and I believe something criminal did happen, we want the people that was involved in that to be held accountable.”
“The major problem in this case is what happened to Everett Palmer Jr. in a holding cell in police custody,” Merritt said Saturday on CNN.
Was a chokehold applied to Palmer? he asked. Why haven’t other reports or video shot in the cell been released to the family?
“We expect for York County and for the district attorney … to do a thorough, complete investigation, which includes the autopsy, but it also includes gathering any reports about physical contact that was required in that cell, and releasing the videos to the family,” Merritt said. “We want what everybody would want in this situation, which is just justice for the family.” Family searches for answers one year after veteran’s death CNN US Army veteran Everett Palmer Jr.’s body was returned to his family, but it was only after the family hired their own independent forensic pathologist that they discovered Palmer’s body was missing three body parts. CNN’s Polo Sandoval reports.
Photo Credit: pix11.com