Oregon woman poured soda on food cart worker, told her to ‘go back to Mexico’
An Oregon woman is facing hate crime charges for allegedly dumping soda on a Mexican food cart worker and telling her to “go back to Mexico,” police said.
The beef began when Sierra McDonald, 30, who was recently indicted on bias crime and other charges, ordered food from the Portland cart and refused to pay for it, saying it was too expensive, The Oregonian reported.
The Sept. 21 confrontation escalated as McDonald, who is black, told the woman to “go back to Mexico” and poured soda on her head. She also doused the woman’s grill and chicken with the beverage, the victim told police.
The alleged victim called police, but McDonald hung up on the officers who were trying to interview her about the incident, police said.
Fuming that the woman had called the cops, McDonald returned later that day and threatened the worker and another employee with a wooden stake that had a pointed tip, according to charging documents.
McDonald, of Portland, is accused of spitting into the food cart and trying to toss chicken off the grill, forcing the workers to chuck 12 whole chickens due to contamination concerns, police said.
She later told cops she thought workers at the food cart were racist because “they served white people faster than they served her,” court documents show.
The woman McDonald allegedly threatened initially reported having a heart attack after the dispute, citing the fear and stress of the incident, according to the documents.
Police were unable to arrest McDonald after the incident because she refused to leave her apartment. She was taken into custody Sunday before being released Monday, the newspaper reported.
McDonald is also facing charges of criminal mischief, menacing, harassment and unlawful use of a weapon.
Photo Credit: Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Paramedic allegedly kills wife with eye drops
NORTH CAROLINA — A North Carolina paramedic is accused of killing his wife with eye drops and collecting a $250,000 life insurance payout after her death.
Joshua Hunsucker, who appeared in court Friday, has been charged with first-degree murder, according to prosecutor Jordan Green with the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
Hunsucker’s attorney, David Teddy, told the judge that “there’s been an allegation that has been made, and, of course, Joshua is to be presumed innocent just like anybody else.”
Hunsucker “hasn’t run from” the allegations, the lawyer said, and he “has been a law-abiding citizen his entire life.” The attorney did not immediately return CNN’s calls seeking additional comment.
Hunsucker’s wife, Stacy Hunsucker, suffered some health issue at her home September 23, 2018, Green said. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment and “eventually succumbed” to the health issue.
A Department of Insurance agent and the medical investigator tested vials of her blood and found high levels of tetrahydrozoline, Green said, “which is one of the active ingredients in a certain eye drop medicine that you would use to clear your eyes.”
Green did not say how authorities believe she was poisoned.
A toxicologist and cardiologist advised that the medication could cause heart stoppage or failure in a short time span, Green said. Investigators believe Hunsucker poisoned his wife, causing her death, he said. Authorities have ruled out suicide and other people contributing to her death, he said.
Bail set at $1.5 million
Hunsucker — whom his attorney described as a 35-year-old paramedic — has asked that a reasonable bond be set, the attorney said.
“He’s done nothing since his wife passed away that would give the impression that he’s doing anything other than doing everything he can do to take care of his two little girls,” Teddy said.
Green countered, citing Stacy Hunsucker’s $250,000 life insurance policy.
“He also has $250,000 from life insurance proceeds that he collected upon his wife’s death. He has less holding him here than the picture was painted, and he has considerable assets as he collected this life insurance policy some one year ago,” the prosecutor said.
The judge set bail at $1.5 million and said Hunsucker is to be fitted with a GPS monitor if he bonds out. He remains in the Gaston County Jail. He is due back in court in January, according to online records.
The US Food and Drug Administration warns that ingesting tetrahydrozoline can cause serious harm, especially among children, while the American Academy of Ophthalmology reports that the substance had been used in murder attempts.
According to CNN affiliate WSOC in Charlotte , police have reported two other cases, one this year and one in 2018, in which women were arrested and accused of attempting to poison their partners with eye drops.
via: https://www.pix11.com/news/paramedic-allegedly-kills-wife-with-eye-drops
Photo Credit: Gaston County Sheriff
50 Cent’s Christmas gift to his 7-year-old son, Sire: An entire Toys R Us store
Despite what the magazines say, celebrities are not just like us. And neither are celebrities’ kids.
Case in point: Your child probably isn’t going to get his or her very own Toys R Us store this holiday season.
But that’s what 50 Cent gave his 7-year-old son, Sire, on Saturday.
The family descended on the store in the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey, with a camera crew in tow. When they got there, the rapper told Sire, “You can have whatever you see. All of it’s yours, really, so you might as well pick out whatever you want, right?”
The rapper posted a video of their trip to his Twitter account, showing Sire choosing toys and meeting Geoffrey, the store’s giraffe mascot. Dad got into the action, too, playing with a Nerf dart blaster.
The “Candy Shop” rapper‘s ex, Amber Joy, posted a few sweet photos of the excursion to Sire’s Instagram account, which she maintains.
She captioned the first post, “When I asked my Dad for the ‘WHOLE Toys R Us Store’ for Christmas I didn’t think he would actually do it, but he did ??❤️ Thank you Daddy! Best Christmas Ever!”
A second post, with a video clip of their arrival says, “Did this just happen? #ToysRUs #BestChristmas”
The New Jersey Toys R Us, much smaller than the cavernous Aladdin’s caves of old, is one of only two recently opened brick-and-mortar locations the company has after it was forced to liquidate last year. The other is in Houston.
Photo Credit: topindinews.com
Texas barber shot over 13-year-old’s haircut
Texas law enforcement officials are searching for a suspect accused of shooting a barber over his 13-year-old son’s haircut, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded Saturday to the barber shop on Franz Road in Katy, near Houston, the sheriff’s office said on Twitter, where a male employee was apparently shot around 5 p.m. by a customer. The customer fled the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
Harris County Det. Wallace Wyatt told CNN affiliate KPRC that the argument was over the haircut given to the suspect’s 13-year-old son.
“He went home, came back. They fixed the haircut for free and then that’s when the altercation occurred,” Wyatt told KPRC.
“That is one of the worst ones I’ve heard,” he added, “especially with your son being here, witnessing what you’re doing.”
The barber is expected to survive, investigators told KPRC. He’s listed in stable condition.
The sheriff’s office described the suspect as a black man who may be driving a gray four-door sedan, possibly a Honda Accord.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/texas-barber-shot-over-13-194108060.html
Photo Credit: currently.att.yahoo.com
Accused pedophile charged with killing 9-year-old girl with chloroform
An accused pedophile killed a 9-year-old girl by giving her chloroform while trying to sexually assault her in a disturbing makeshift tent, according to an affidavit in Colorado.
Jeff Beagley, 34, had called 911 after finding the unidentified girl lifeless on Nov. 9, his screams waking up the girl’s mother who was elsewhere in the Grand Junction house, according to The Daily Sentinel, citing an arrest affidavit.
The girl died at the scene — with the cause of death later shown to be a fatal oral dose of chloroform, which is often used as a knock-out drug to facilitate sexual assault, police say.
Officers later found a bottle of chloroform with a rag in a disturbing makeshift tent inside a shed that had computers and cameras — and a heated area with blankets and pillows, according to the affidavit.
There were sex toys, masks and lubricants in the tent along with drops of blood, First Coast News also said of details from the affidavit.
Officers also found a thumb drive with “a lot of child porn” on it, the document says, saying there were 1,120 pictures and 73 videos, including some seemingly taken from a hidden camera.
Some of the photos and videos were of the 9-year-old victim, the report says, with no details given of their exact nature.
Other images allegedly depicted adult men having intercourse with female children with Beagley’s face inserted to replace the abuser’s, according to the documents.
In interviews, Beagley admitted to buying the chloroform, but he insisted it was for making Hemp. He denied knowing what was on the computers and thumb drive and denied any sexual activity in the shed, the affidavit said.
Beagley was charged earlier this month with first-degree murder, reckless manslaughter and child abuse resulting in death, police said in a release.
Other charges included attempted sex assault on a child by one in a position of trust, sexual exploitation of children and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification.
Beagley is being held without bond in the Mesa County Detention Facility. A court hearing is set for Dec. 31.
Photo Credit: Grand Junction Police Department
Iowa Woman Says She Intentionally Hit 14-Year-Old With Car Because Girl ‘Was a Mexican’
An Iowa woman was charged with attempted murder after running over a 14-year-old girl, saying she did so because the teenager “was a Mexican,” police said.
Nicole Marie Poole Franklin, 42, was arrested on other charges and Thursday admitted to Clive police she hit the girl with her vehicle on December 9, according to a news release from the Clive Police Department. Clive is about 9 miles from Des Moines.
The girl was walking to Indian Hills Junior High when a vehicle drove onto the sidewalk, ran over her and left the scene, the release said.
“I don’t remember the impact, I just remember the car coming toward me,” the girl told CNN affiliate KCCI-TV. She added that she had been going to a basketball game. “I didn’t do anything, I’m just a girl just walking to a basketball game.”
Officials say the girl was able to return to school one week after the incident, according to CNN affiliate WOI-TV. CNN is not naming the girl because she is a minor.
During her interview with detectives, Poole Franklin, a Des Moines resident, said she was the driver and intentionally struck the girl because she “was a Mexican,” police said. Poole Franklin then “made a series of derogatory statements about Latinos,” police said.
Poole Franklin was charged with assault in a separate incident on Dec. 9 after police said she used racist terms toward a clerk and customers at a West Des Moines convenience store and threw items at the clerk, KCCI reported. This incident took place about an hour and a half after the hit-and-run.
Authorities are looking at whether Poole Franklin running the girl over was a hate crime, Clive Police Chief Michael Venema said during a news conference.
“We’re going to present all of that information to the prosecutors and ultimately they will make the determination on what crimes to prosecute,” Venema said.
The Polk County Clerk of Courts office told CNN that Poole Franklin does not currently have an attorney.
Venema said in the release the victim’s family requests privacy.
“There is no place in our community (or any other) for this kind of hatred and violence,” Venema said. “We are committed to supporting the victim and (her) family and working diligently with them to seek justice.”
Charging documents say Poole Franklin is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing Dec. 30.
Photo Credit: ktla.com
Lizzo Remains Unbothered After Tomi Lahren Debates Her on Twitter
- Singer Lizzo and conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren got into a Twitter debate over the news of Donald Trump’s impeachment yesterday.
- Lizzo remained calm, cool and collected during the exchange of tweets, seemingly unbothered by Lahren’s comments.
Lizzo had no time to entertain conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren when the Fox News contributor initiated a Twitter debate with the singer over the news of President Donald Trump’s official impeachment.
The “Truth Hurts” singer had retweeted an old post from September where she simply wrote “IMPEACHMENT,” with a peach emoji. Lizzo added the comment, “This aged well…” once news broke that the House of Representatives voted to impeach the president.
Like she does with most anti-Trump commentary, Tomi Lahren felt the need to defend the president, and even dared to quote one of the lyrics to Lizzo’s smash hits while doing so.
“Well @realDonaldTrump is still your president. Truth hurts. #KAG2020,” Lahren tweeted.
But of course, Lizzo didn’t back down.
“The only thing that hurts is this country is divided by hatred fueled from people like you…,” tweeted Lizzo. “Why don’t u do better and give ya boy some advice on telling the truth, he’s gonna need it.”
Lahren responded once more with claims that the impeachment is a liberal witch hunt on conservatives, and that America is “soaring” under Trump’s guidance—but we’ll spare you the recap. (If you need to read the rant, you can do so here.)
Lizzo remained cool, calm, and unbothered by Lahren’s lashing out, however. The pop star tweeted immediately after the Twitter altercation, “Anyways, I’m having a great day!”—because sometimes you have to just keep it moving.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/lizzo-remains-unbothered-tomi-lahren-214200176.html
Photo Credit: NBC
Florida Vegans Charged With Murder for Allegedly Starving Toddler on Raw Food Diet
A Florida couple who fed their children only raw fruits and vegetables was charged Wednesday with murder for the death of their 18-month-old son, authorities said.
Ryan Patrick O’Leary, 30, and Sheila O’Leary, 35, were indicted by a Lee County grand jury on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect, State Attorney Amira Fox said at a Wednesday press conference.
Authorities said the toddler weighed only 17 pounds, the average weight of a 7-month-old, when he died in September.
“The evidence in this case is horrendous,” Fox said, alleging the diet was a form of “torture” and that the child died from “starvation and extreme lack of care.”
The 35-year-old mother called authorities on Sept. 27 after noticing her toddler was cold and not breathing, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The News-Press. Despite attempts to resuscitate the child, he was pronounced dead when Lee County Emergency Medical paramedics arrived at their home.
The medical examiner later determined he died from complications due to malnutrition—including dehydration, microvesicular steatosis of the liver, and slight swelling of hands, feet, and lower legs, the affidavit states.
When questioned by Cape Coral police, the couple stated they were vegan and fed their four children a raw fruit-and-vegetable diet, which mainly consisted of mangoes, rambutans, bananas, and avocados. The couple also stated the toddler’s diet was supplemented with breast milk, but admitted he hadn’t eaten solid food in the week before his death, the affidavit states.
The couple’s three other children, whose ages range from 3 to 11, also allegedly suffered from child abuse and extreme neglect similar to the toddler, authorities said.
“The evidence and crime scene in this case are gut-wrenching. These are images as a mother and State Attorney I will not be able to forget,” Fox said Wednesday.
In November, the couple was charged with aggravated manslaughter in the toddler’s death, but the charges were upgraded on Wednesday by a grand jury. Two children have been removed from the home by the Department of Children and Families for their safety, while the 11-year-old currently lives with her biological father.
The parents, who will be arraigned on Dec. 23, could face the death penalty if convicted.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/florida-vegans-charged-murder-allegedly-183432819.html
Photo Credit: Courtesy Lee County Sheriff’s Office
Ex-Florida Police Officer Gets 10 Years for Forcing Teen Couple to Strip, Run Naked to Avoid Arrest
A Florida police officer was sentenced to 10 years behind bars Wednesday for threatening to arrest two teens if they didn’t strip and run naked through the Everglades.
Former Miccosukee officer Michael Martinez, 30, pulled the young couple over in 2016 after they ran a stop sign and he found a small amount of alcohol and marijuana in the car, authorities said.
Prosecutors said he told the teens to follow him down an isolated road where he ordered them to take their clothes off and run, or go to jail.
The teens testified they felt intimidated and thought they had no choice but to follow his orders. Authorities say he also tried to solicit a sex act from the teenage girl.
A jury found him guilty of two counts each of extortion and unlawful compensation.
Martinez may be released on bail while appealing the case, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Photo Credit: Broward County Sheriff’s Office
Ex-sheriff’s deputy busted for checking obits, breaking in homes of grieving families
A former Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy allegedly broke into the houses of grieving families — using online obituaries to find out when they would be at funerals, authorities said Tuesday.
Janelle Gericke, 29, was charged with a single count of burglary stemming from an incident in February, where a family came home from a relative’s visitation and services to find her in their kitchen, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
When confronted, Gericke allegedly told the family she had been hired through Facebook to come and clean, according to a criminal complaint reported by the outlet. They asked her to leave and she did.
The criminal complaint lists at least a half-dozen other incidents in 2018 and 2019 where Gericke either tried to sneak into homes or successfully broke in.
Several of the alleged incidents occurred at houses of people listed as relatives in online obituaries, at the time that services were being held.
In one instance in February 2018, a victim’s doorbell camera caught Gericke going into and leaving the home while the owner was at a funeral, according to the complaint.
When the owner came back, a checkbook was missing. Gericke had apparently left a note that claimed she’d been at the house to pick up items she bought via Facebook Marketplace.
Over a year later, investigators pulled a print from the note that matched Gericke, the complaint said.
In at least two other instances, Gericke was spotted prowling near houses and claimed she was there to pick up items she’d purchased through Facebook, according to the complaint.
After a months-long investigation, cops set up surveillance in June at the homes of relatives who would be attending a funeral that had been in a published obituary. They allegedly saw Gericke attempt to break into two of the homes.
Gericke, who was hired in February 2016 as a corrections officer in the Jefferson County Jail, was fired in June.
It’s unclear why authorities waited until Tuesday to file charges.
Gericke is set to appear in Jefferson County court Dec. 30.
Photo Credit: twitter