Mother arrested after attacking 3-year-old daughter with machete in Philadelphia, police say
(Meredith/KYW/CNN) — A woman is accused of attacking her 3-year-old daughter with a machete in north Philadelphia.
Authorities said Lauren Rodriguez, 34, will face several charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, child endangerment and related offenses.
Officers were called to a home in Feltonville shortly before 8:30 p.m. Sunday and found the girl “covered in blood and being consoled by multiple individuals.”
Neighbors told police they rushed to help the girl after witnessing Rodriguez strike her with the weapon numerous times.
“I saw the daughter with her head split open from her mother with a machete,” neighbor Pauline Williams told CBS Philly. “Thank God for the neighbors. They all got together, and they really helped that little girl.”
The child was later listed in stable condition with skull fractures and multiple lacerations on her head, shoulder and knee.
Police said a man at the same address was arrested a week prior for allegedly attacking a neighbor with a machete.
Photo Credit: philadelphia.cbslocal.com
Loss Prevention Officer raped ‘Forever 21’ shoplifter; may have victimized others
GRAPEVINE, Texas (KTVT/Meredith) — Texas police said a loss prevention officer charged with sexual assault may have more victims.
Investigators arrested Alex Landry, 29, at an apartment in Grapevine, Texas on Thursday. He is accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside the Burlington Coat Factory Loss Prevention Office at Grapevine Mills Mall.
The victim says Landry caught her stealing merchandise from a Forever 21 store within the mall and took her back to his office inside Burlington Coat Factory.
Once the two were alone, the victim says Landry took her picture with his phone, then coerced her into sex to avoid arrest.
The victim reported the assault to Grapevine Police on July 7, 2019, and officers launched an investigation. A search warrant was later issued for Landry’s phone, and detectives found photographs of other women in Landry’s Loss Prevention Office. Officers do not know the identities of these women, but believe they could be additional victims.
Grapevine police urge any women who were confronted or assaulted by Landry to contact detectives during business hours at 817.410.3200 or after hours at 817.410.8127.
Alex Landry is charged with Sexual Assault, a Second Degree Felony. His bond was set at $25,000.
Photo Credit: Grapevine Police
Illinois requires public schools teach LGBTQ history
Illinois public schools will be required to teach about the contributions of LGBTQ people across the state and the country — under a new law approved by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The law, signed by Pritzker last week, mandates that the history curriculum in schools across the state include lessons spotlighting noteworthy lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, according to the Chicago Tribune.
As part of the new curriculum — set to launch in 2020 — the LGBTQ-focused lessons must be taught before the students reach the eighth grade, according to the report.
All textbooks “must include the roles and contributions of all people protected under the Illinois Human Rights Act and must be non-discriminatory as to any of the characteristics under the Act,” the bill states.
“One of the best ways to overcome intolerance is through education and exposure to different people and viewpoints,” Democratic state Sen. Heather Steans of Chicago, one of the bill’s Senate sponsors, said in a news release obtained by the Tribune. “An inclusive curriculum will not only teach an accurate version of history but also promote acceptance of the LGBTQ community.”
State Rep. Anna Moeller said in a release that Illinois is the fifth state in the country to adopt a law of this nature.
“The new law’s goal is simple: to understand that people from different backgrounds deserve the same opportunity to learn and be recognized for their contributions in society as everyone else,” Moeller said.
The curriculum will include topics ranging from the country’s first gay rights organization — the Society for Human Rights, launched in Chicago in 1924 — to a spotlight on Sally Ride, the first US woman in space who was also gay, Unilad reported.
The civil rights advocacy group Equality Illinois supported the bill, noting that it would have a “positive effect on students’ self-image and make their peers more accepting.”
In a statement, Victor Salvo, executive director of the Chicago-based Legacy Project, which fosters an appreciation for the contributions of LGBTQ individuals, called the new legislation life-saving.
“To deny a child information that could give them hope, that could help them feel less alone, that could help them feel like they mattered — while at the same time condemning them to hearing bigoted slurs in the hallways of their schools — is a cruelty that every feeling adult has a responsibility to stop,” he said.
The state’s public schools are already required to teach students about the history of minority ethnic groups, including African Americans and Hispanics, according to the Tribune.
The LGBTQ legislation made it through the House by a vote of 60-42 and 37-17 in the Senate.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/08/13/illinois-requires-public-schools-teach-lgbtq-history/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Teen Arrested After Loaded Gun Falls From His Pants During Traffic Stop in Oxnard
A 16-year-old passenger was arrested after a firearm was found on him during a traffic stop in Oxnard on Monday afternoon, police said.
About 3:10 p.m., officers pulled a 20-year-old driver over on H Street near Second Street for a stop sign violation, according to a statementfrom the Oxnard Police Department.
When officers went to the stopped car, they noticed the smell of marijuana and observed the teen tossing out what appeared to be a small amount of pot from the right-front passenger window, police said.
That led them to search both occupants.
An officer was patting down the teen when “a loaded gun fell from his pants,” the statement read.
The boy, who has not been identified, was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed firearm in a car. He was booked into juvenile hall.
Police also arrested the driver on suspicion of resisting or delaying the duties of police and allowing a passenger to carry a loaded gun in a vehicle. He was taken to Ventura County Jail.
Photo Credit: Oxnard Police
Man admits putting hidden camera in neighbor’s bathroom, hoping to videotape a nude 13 year old
NEWTON, N.J. — A New Jersey man has admitted installing a hidden camera in his neighbor’s bathroom in hopes of videotaping a 13-year-old nude.
Joseph Rebisz of Newton pleaded guilty Monday to criminal attempt/endangering by photographing or filming a child in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such an act.
Under terms of a plea agreement, the 56-year-old will undergo an evaluation and register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. He could face up to 3 years in prison.
Rebisz had a copy of his neighbor’s key to take care of the neighbor’s dogs when they were away. He placed the camera facing the shower.
The camera was discovered before Rebisz captured any images of the teen.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/13/man-admits-putting-hidden-camera-in-neighbors-bathroom/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Man shoves beef brisket, propane bottles down pants at Walmart
NASHVILLE — A Nashville man was arrested for what started out as an alleged shoplifting attempt, that turned into charges of assaulting an officer.
Police report that they were at Walmart on Dickerson Pike north of Nashville on another call, when while in the loss prevention office they observed John Allen Honaker on security camera, shoving items in his pants.
Police and the loss prevention employee detained the man, and discovered he had placed two propane bottles in his pants, along with sliced beef brisket. The total value of the items found in Honaker’s pants is approximately $35.00.
Police say the company asked to prosecute Honaker for shoplifting, and so they began transporting him to central booking.
While on the way, officers report that Honaker tried kicking out the windows on the police vehicle, as well as spitting a number of times inside, and slammed his head against the plastic partition separating the rear and front seats.
After the officer called for backup assistance, police say they attempted to place a hobble restraint on Honaker, to prevent his attempts at causing damage to the police vehicle.
That’s when Honaker allegedly attempted to kick the officer in the head and midsection. Police say he had a strong odor of alcohol about his person, admitted to officers he had been drinking, and advised officers to “leave his drunk *expletive* *expletive* alone.”
Honaker was arrested on a class B misdemeanor charge of assault on an officer.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/13/man-shoves-beef-brisket-propane-down-pants-at-walmart-police/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Iowa Trump Voter Says Anti-White ‘Racism’ Is Reason He Plans To Re-Elect Trump In 2020
An Iowa man who implied he plans on voting for President Donald Trump’s re-election in 2020 said he once lived with a “colored” guy in college and that he’s been victimized by people calling him a “racist.”
The Iowa State Fair attendee identified as Bob Fisher was asked who he plans on voting for after placing his corn kernel next to Trump’s name as part of an unofficial presidential poll Friday. Fisher turned the question around at the MSNBC reporter and disparagingly asked him who a “white, old” man should be expected to vote for in 2020. The man explained he’s tired of being labeled a “racist” and that he has no problems with “colored” people.
“You put in your corn kernel?” MSNBC correspondent Vaughn Hillyard asked Fisher at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Guess: I’m white, old, they call me all kinds of names, who do you think I would vote for?” Fisher replied as he ceremoniously removed his hat. “Come on you are smarter than that. You don’t have to fill in the blank, everybody knows. We’re the bad people.”
He claimed “they” repeatedly say he’s a “racist” before going into detail about how his personal history reflects tolerance and racial acceptance rather than the racism of which he says he’s accused.
“I went to school, I shared my dorm with a colored guy. I have nothing against them, I grew up in the East. We grew up with people,” he said.
Fisher defended Trump from accusations of racism as well, saying the president’s comments directed at African-American or Hispanic communities are from people who say “bad things” about Trump that he couldn’t repeat on television. “No I don’t. I really don’t,” Fisher said when asked about the “send them back” Trump rally chants about four Democratic congresswomen of color.
“Some of those people he’s talking about have said just as bad things about him that you can’t say on TV,” he continued.
Hillyard concluded the segment by saying his discussions with Iowa voters––who will vote in the first presidential nominating contest on February 3, 2020––are “not the same conversations that I’ve had in years past.”
Hillyard was pressed by some critics and Trump supporters to explain why MSNBC would choose to air that specific man-at-the-fair interview. He said the conversation with Fisher was “emblematic” that discussions of presidential candidates focus on rhetoric from the White House rather than discussions of policy.
“Why air this gentleman’s take? Because it’s emblematic––no longer does the conversation with voters go immediately to health care or tax policy or education (despite the importance of these issues to them). It goes, first, almost every time to race & the rhetoric out of the WH.”
Several social media responses quipped there is a Democratic Party strategy of simply “letting Trump voters speak” that is discrediting the administration and its supporters.
Photo Credit: newsweek.com
Florida Man Threatened To Blow Up Planes And Churches While Sending Woman 10,000 Texts In 12 Days
A Florida man is accused of stalking a woman and sending threatening messages after authorities said he sent 10,000 texts to her over 12 days.
According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Nicholas C. Nelson is charged with stalking and sending intimidating and threatening messages to a woman who has not been identified. The woman told a Broward County detective that Nelson is an acquaintance who she met a few times because they share a mutual friend.
However, Nelson is accused of sending the woman approximately 10,000 text messages in April, including one that was accompanied by a photograph of a ticket from an airport parking lot with the message, “I’m going to start blowing up planes to prove my point.”
Another message said, “Her & I can drive tanks around America & blow up churches or whatever we want & you could protect us” while a third read, “The only man you’ll ever be with again is me.”
The woman alleges that the texts began on April 5, and in the hopes of stopping them she shared them with the friend she and Nelson share. Instead of stopping, the woman told local police that the frequency of the texts increased.
Other messages allegedly sent by Nelson include, “You and I, We die together,” and another where he insisted he wasn’t suicidal, which reads, “I’m not suicidal, not even in the least” But I’d rather die then [sic] spend time in jail.”
According to the Sun-Sentinel, there is no reason given in Nelson’s arrest affidavit for why he sent the messages though the man’s efforts towards the woman didn’t end via phone contact.
On April 13, Nelson reportedly texted the woman a threatening message and then went to the home of some of her relatives and left his clothes in the front yard.Nelson, a Florida resident, was arrested in Georgia and returned to Florida where he remains in the Broward County Jail. His bond totals $500,000, though there is a no bond hold due to another charge of aggravated stalking in Palm County, Georgia.According to the Sun-Sentinel, authorities believe that case is connected to a different victim and not related to the Florida woman.Nelson’s case comes months after Arizona resident Jacqueline Ades allegedly sent 159,000 text messages and stalking a man she had gone on one date with. It was initially reported that Ades had sent the man around 65,000 text messages, but authorities later discovered thousands more. Ades also reportedly threatened to kill the man and broke into his home.Ades messages also included threats to the man, including one which read, “Don’t ever try to leave me. I’ll kill you… I don’t wanna be a murderer!”
Photo Credit: newsweek.com
22 Year Old Who Got BMW For His Birthday Pushed It Into The River Because He Wanted A Jaguar
A young man in India who received a BMW for his 22nd birthday pushed it into a river because it wasn’t the Jaguar he had been hoping for, police claim.
Villagers in Yamunanagar, in the northern state of Haryana, were shocked to see a pricey white BMW 3 Series sinking into the Western Yamuna Canal. One witness called police, who sent a recovery team to make sure nobody was trapped inside.
Police divers borrowed an earthmover and, with the help of locals, recovered the BMW from a patch of tall grass it was moored on. Authorities determined the car belonged to a man named Akash, reportedly the son of a prosperous local landowner.
According to police, Akash deliberately pushed his new car into the canal.
“Akash was demanding a Jaguar car from his father, but when his father failed to buy him one, he threw away his BMW in a fit of anger, Mukesh Kumar, a station house officer for the Chhachhrauli police, told The Times of India. “His family had sold the [Toyota] Innova they had received from his in-laws to buy him the BMW,”
The car, which retails for more than $49,000, was a gift to Akash for his birthday two months ago. Sources told authorities that Akash made a video of himself pushing the vehicle down the embankment into the water and sent it to his parents.
Akash’s father, though, denied the sinking was intentional, claiming his son had swerved to avoid an antelope in the road. He added that Akash never requested a Jaguar for his birthday. Police claim Akash’s parents told them their son has an undisclosed mental health issue that impairs his judgement.
Officials don’t plan to make any arrests, as no criminal complaint has been filed. Whether the BMW can be driven again is still unknown.
This isn’t the first example of someone destroying their own luxury car, though: In 2011, a Chinese businessman was so upset by engine problems with his $200,000 Lamborghini Gallardo that he paid a group of workers to smash the car with sledgehammers on World Consumer Rights Day.
In 2013, another Chinese man intentionally totaled his Maserati Quattroporte after learning the service crew installed used parts.
That same year, a man smashed his 2008 BMW M6 with a sledgehammer outside 2013 International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Germany. He had paid more than $107,000 for the car when it was new, but complained he had gotten it serviced ten time in Germany and Italy and it still didn’t work right.
Photo Credit: flickr
Video shows figures leaving vintage TVs on front porches in Virginia
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. – Nearly a year after a Virginia neighborhood woke up to find dozens of vintage box television sets sitting on their front porches, the strange circumstance has happened again.
Only this time the culprits, who apparently dropped off more than 50 TVs, were caught on several neighbors’ doorbell cameras.
The bizarre discoveries were made by families in the Hampshire neighborhood Sunday morning.
Michael Kroll spotted a TV set on his doorstep when he went to let his dogs outside.
“I thought my son brought it home, but apparently not,” Kroll said. “I think it’s just a prank.”
Kroll speculated “bored” college students may be responsible.
“They had way too much time on their hands if they had all these TVs and spread them all over the neighborhood,” Kroll said. “I think it’s funny in some ways… Now if my whole front yard was covered with TVs, I’d kind of get upset.”
Jim Brooksbank said he found an old, tube-style, 13-inch TV on his porch.
“It’s sort of funny… He wants to be known as the TV Santa Claus, I don’t know,” Brooksbank said. “I can’t think of any technology or political point that would be valid here. It’s just a senseless prank.”
Lt. Matt Pecka with Henrico Police said more than one person “wearing a mask resembling a television” dropped off the TVs to “the majority of homes throughout the community.”
“Many residents were alerted by their security devices of these unwanted deliveries,” Pecka said.
As a result, Henrico Police and Solid Waste Divisions worked together to remove the more than 50 TVs.
“In just over an hour, officers were able to speak with residents and remove a lot of unwanted televisions,” Pecka said.
Brooksbank said officers made quick work of collecting the TVs.
“Nobody should have to now go to the dump, pay the $3 and have to dispose of someone else’s garbage,” Brooksbank said.
“It’s summer, and people are getting ready to go back to school,” Brooksbank said. “Maybe TV man was just ready to strike and put a little humor in our lives.”
Police urged anyone who spots suspicious activity to call Henrico County Police at 804-501-5000.
Vintage TVs left on Henrico front porches in 2018
Robyn Schorr told WTVR last year that she was leaving for work on Thursday, Aug. 23 when she spotted what she assumed was a package at her front door.
“I told my husband to get the package off the front door,” Schorr said.
Schorr’s husband instead found a Toshiba FST Black Stripe television dated February 1986 sitting outside of their front door.
“He took a picture of it and sent it to me and said, ‘Amazon must be getting lazy. Where did you want this?'” Schorr said. “It looks like a TV from back to the future.”
Schorr posted the picture on a Grey Oaks neighborhood discussion page where she found out she wasn’t the only victim.
“Apparently down the road they have lots of TVs delivered to their houses,” she stated. “People were calling them Trojan horses saying ‘Don’t put them inside your house. Who knows what can happen.'”
Neighbors estimated more than 20 vintage televisions were left at homes throughout their neighborhood.
However, it remained unclear whether a crime had been committed.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/08/12/video-shows-figures-leaving-vintage-tvs-on-front-porches-in-virginia/
Photo Credit: fox2now.com