Florida police aide probed for saying black sergeant looked ‘like a monkey’
A police aide in Florida has been reassigned after allegedly saying a black sergeant looked “like a monkey,” according to a report.
Pablo Espinoza, a public service aide for the Miami-Dade Police Department, has been placed on administrative duties pending the outcome of an investigation for purportedly making the racial slur during a state Department of Motor Vehicles hearing in September, the Miami Herald reports.
An attorney for Miami-Dade Schools Police Sgt. Tracy Moore said Espinoza made the comment in reference to his client as she sat in a waiting area during a hearing to determine whether she would keep her driver’s license after being arrested for drunk driving in July.
“Your client looks like a monkey sitting there,” Espinoza said, attorney Michael Catalano recalled, adding that he was stunned by the unprovoked remark.
“I was shocked,” Catalano told the newspaper. “Nobody talks like that in 2019.”
Catalano later told Moore about the slur, but the officer, who is black, did not confront Espinoza during the administrative hearing, the attorney said.
Instead, Catalano ordered Espinoza to apologize within two hours, saying he would “drop” the entire ordeal if the public service aide admitted to making the comment.
“I was disgusted by that and they have video in the hallway,” Catalano wrote in a text message. “Apologize and we drop it.”
Espinoza, who has been employed by the department since 1987 and makes more than $55,000 a year, replied with an apology and indicated that he considered the matter “done,” but Catalano later circled back to the allegation during an Oct. 7 deposition in the criminal case against Moore, the newspaper reports.
“My client and I are very upset about this,” Catalano wrote in a complaint a day later to Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez. “My client wants PSA Espinoza fired immediately.”
Espinoza, who handles maintenance for Breathalyzer devices, regularly testifies at administrative and criminal hearings, but is not a sworn officer, the Herald reports.
“I can’t talk to you, bro,” Espinoza told the newspaper when reached by cellphone. “You know that.”
Department officials confirmed to The Post on Tuesday that Espinoza had been reassigned pending an internal investigation, adding that he has never been disciplined previously.
“The Miami-Dade Police Department takes all complaints seriously and are committed to the highest performance standards and ethical conduct,” the statement said. “We hold ourselves accountable for our actions and take pride in a professional level of service and fairness to all.”
Photo Credit: Facebook
Texas inmates caught escaping prison for a whiskey run
Four inmates have been caught busting out of a federal prison in Texas to go on a whiskey run — and then returning, according to officials.
A special surveillance op was conducted by sheriff’s deputies and US Marshalls after “repeated reports of prisoners continuing to escape” from Beaumont federal prison, officials said on Facebook.
The team spotted four inmates leaving the prison grounds last Friday, fleeing when they saw officers springing from their hiding spots in the brush, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
All four were quickly arrested — and found carrying contraband, with some cellphones along with bottles of whiskey, the crime report said.
Julian Lemus, 34, Robert Young, 45, Leo Martinez, 25, and Silvstre Rico, 35, were all charged with escaping custody.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/10/15/texas-inmates-caught-escaping-prison-for-a-whiskey-run-officials/
Photo Credit: Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
Florida officer shoves teen from roof as partner shouts, ‘Push him off!’
Shocking bodycam footage shows a Florida cop pushing an 18-year-old off a roof as his colleague shouts, “Push him off!”
The unidentified teen, accused of taking his girlfriend’s car without permission, was cornered by cops in Florida as he sat calmly on the edge of a first-story roof in Kissimmee, according to WFTV.
“Now you have no choice to jump down, right?” an officer who climbed up to approach him said in what was initially a calm exchange.
Sgt. Anthony Amada, one of two cops on the ground, aimed a Taser at him and repeatedly commanded his officer, “Just push him off! Push him off!”
The teen sounded confused and appeared eager to tell the officers he was not resisting and wanted to get down by climbing through a window, the footage released to WFTV shows.
Instead, he was shoved off — immediately getting tased as he hit the ground after a fall of more than 9 feet, the station said.
“Hey, I’m down! I’m not resisting!” he can be heard pleading. “I’m not resisting, bro,” he added as they cuffed him on the ground.
The suspect was not injured, but Police Chief Jeff O’Dell admitted that the “decision to push the suspect off the roof could have resulted in significant injury,” the station reported.
The dramatic bodycam footage was released following an internal investigation by Kissimmee police. WFTV did not give a date for the incident
Amada — already facing disciplinary action in a separate case — resigned from the force in June.
The internal affairs report into the case says he would’ve been fired anyway because his order to push the man off the roof “is not indicative of a supervisor with 14 years of experience.”
Officer Plenio Massiah, who pushed him, lost eight hours’ vacation “for failing to follow KPD general order,” the station said.
“Members shall use only the degree of force necessary to affect lawful objectives,” the ruling against him stated, according to the report.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/10/16/florida-officer-shoves-teen-from-roof-as-partner-shouts-push-him-off/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Houston teen dies by suicide after she was rescued from sex trafficking ring
A 15-year-old Houston girl killed herself after she was rescued from a sex trafficking ring, according to a report.
Leticia “Letty” Serrano took her own life Saturday two years after her horrific ordeal, news station KTRK reported.
“I feel like I let her down,” her grandmother Cynthia Rivera told the news outlet.
Serrano was only 13 years old when she was drugged and sold to sex traffickers, KTRK reported. She was later found at Moody Park, but her family said she was never the same.
“We got her back damaged,” Rivera said.
Her family is speaking out to raise awareness about the prevalence of sex trafficking.
“We as a community and the system failed this young lady and her family once. Let’s not do it again,” her grandmother wrote on a Facebook page to spread the word.
Photo Credit: Facebook
NJ men sentenced for bribing postal workers to steal credit cards
NEWARK, N.J. — Two New Jersey men who bribed postal workers to steal credit cards from the mail are now headed to prison.
Olagoke Araromi received a 61-month sentence on Tuesday, while Moussa Dagno got a 57-month term. Olagoke also must pay $87,503 in restitution, while Araromi must pay $84,573.
Both men had pleaded guilty to bribery, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Federal prosecutors say Araromi, a Union Township resident, and Dagno, of Harrison, recruited at least six letter carriers and postal service employees to steal credit cards from the mail in exchange for cash bribes, usually $100 per stolen card.
Once Araromi had the stolen cards and activated them, prosecutors say he and Dagno used them to buy high-end electronics and clothing at retail stores throughout the state.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/10/16/nj-men-sentenced-for-bribing-postal-workers-to-steal-credit-cards/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Police ask FL man to stop calling 911 about stolen weed
DADE CITY, F.L. — A Florida man repeatedly called 911 to report that his roommate had stolen his marijuana, according to police.
A deputy for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office posted a Twitter response to the man’s calls Saturday night: Stop calling.
Deputy Neal Zalva says in the Twitter video that he called the man back to tell him to quit contacting the sheriff’s office about his stolen marijuana. Zalva recorded the video as part of the agency’s #TweetAlong program, which allows viewers to get a behind-the-scenes look at the police work by the deputies.
Recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Florida.
A sheriff’s office spokesman says no charges were filed against the caller.
Sheriff’s office communications director Kevin Doll said Tuesday they just wanted the man to stop calling about the stolen weed.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/10/16/police-ask-man-to-stop-calling-911-about-stolen-weed/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Man suspected of killing girlfriend, infant daughter told authorities God told him to kill
ABILENE, Texas — A man who told authorities that God told him to kill his girlfriend from Wisconsin and their infant daughter has been arrested in West Texas on two counts of capital murder.
Cody Edmund Dixon, 33, is accused in the slayings of 9-month-old Aria Ellen Dixon and 22-year-old Alia Rae Hutchison. A rancher found their bodies dumped outside his property near Baird, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) west of Dallas, early Saturday evening, said Rick Jowers, the Callahan County chief sheriff’s deputy.
Investigators believe the bodies had been there about an hour.
Police spotted Dixon’s vehicle in Baird, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the ranch. He leaped out of the vehicle and tried to run but a Baird officer shot him with a stun gun and a citizen tackled him, Jowers said.
Dixon, of nearby Abilene, told the arresting officers that someone who wanted to kill him was chasing him and that God had told him to kill Hutchison and the child, Jowers said.
Investigators believe the couple was on their way back to Wisconsin when Dixon attacked Hutchison and their daughter, Jowers aid. The deputy declined to say specifically whether Dixon may have used a weapon in the homicides but said investigators did recover a knife.
Hutchison graduated in 2015 from Waupun High School in Wisconsin, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. Her friend, Sadie Wilson-Ziegler, said in a Facebook exchange with The Associated Press on Monday that she worked with Hutchison at Richelieu Foods, a food processing company in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, several years ago. She said Hutchison moved from Wisconsin to Texas to be with Dixon. She believes the couple had been together for three or four years.
“She was a really sweet girl,” Wilson-Ziegler said. “She was so excited to have a baby with him. She loved being a mom. That poor girl … she deserved so much better.”
Dixon is also charged with assault of a peace officer and attempted escape. He was wanted separately on drug-related warrants from McCulloch and Callahan counties, and is being held on a $1.8 million bond, the Abilene Reporter-News reported.
Jowers said Dixon was appointed an attorney Monday but that he didn’t know the lawyer’s name.
Photo Credit: Taylor County Jail
Neighbors aid woman living in car with 300 pet rats
SAN DIEGO, CA (KGTV) — North County residents have banded together to help a woman who was living in her van with hundreds of pet rats and nowhere to turn.
Locals were first alerted to the woman’s situation outside a Del Mar convenience store, where she works. Carla was recently living in her van with two pet rats after becoming homeless, neighbor Kimberly Jackson told 10News reporter Rachel Bianco.
The two rats had babies and the situation grew out of hand. The rodents eventually totaled more than 300. The animals chewed through the wiring of the van, rendering it inoperable.
“Everywhere, there was not one place in the van where they had not gotten into, the wiring, the engine, they came and went from the engine area,” San Diego Humane Society officer Danee Cook said. “She was extremely helpful during the entire process as well. She did love her pets, she just let it get out of hand and she became overwhelmed.”
Video of the rats scurrying across the van’s dashboard surfaced on NextDoor, catching the attention of neighbors like Jackson.
“She said, “are you here to ridicule me, like everybody else,” Jackson told 10News. “I saw what was going on in there, and said, ‘how can we help you?’ There were like 300 rats in that van.”
That’s when Jackson and other neighbors stepped in, helping Carla tow her van from the parking lot. The San Diego Humane Society then removed the rats, which are healthy and now up for adoption.
The acts of kindness have gone even further to help Carla.
Neighbors set up a GoFundMe account that has raised nearly $5,000 for Carla. Another neighbor donated a car. They’re also helping connect her to homelessness resources and housing.
“She’s just a gentle, gentle person, nobody knew she was homeless,” Jackson said. “She’s contributing to society and she fell on hard times. Everybody can use a little help now and then.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/10/16/neighbors-aid-woman-living-in-car-with-300-pet-rats/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Girl critically injured after burning herself in Brooklyn school bathroom
BEDFORD-SUYVESANT, Brooklyn — A girl was critically injured at her Brooklyn school on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
Emergency medical services rushed to Uncommon Schools Excellence Girls Charter School Elementary Academy around 2:30 p.m. after the 9-year-old girl burned herself, an FDNY spokesperson said.
The girl was inside a bathroom in the school when she was hurt, an NYPD official said. She was conscious and alert when she was taken to a local hospital.
It’s not yet clear how the girl was burned.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Wisconsin boy says man strapped him to chair in basement
SHAWANO, Wis. (AP) — An 8-year-old boy told authorities that a man who lives with him and his mother strapped him to a chair in the basement of their northeastern Wisconsin home, but that he escaped and sought help from strangers.
The boy told police he finally escaped on Saturday, Oct. 5, when he “could no longer take” the noise from mice in the basement vent and the pee he was sitting on because he wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom, according to the criminal complaint filed against 36-year-old Nathan Pogrant Monday. The boy sought help from strangers on a highway, according to authorities.
WLUK-TV reports he faces charges including false imprisonment and child abuse. The boy’s relationship to Pogrant is unclear. They live in Eland, Wisconsin.
Pogrant is held on $25,000 cash bond. No attorney is listed.
The boy managed to get out of a hooded jacket he was tied in, he told police, and untied a cord used to restrain him to a chair. It was modified with wooden and metal bars and straps, according to detectives.
The boy’s mother hasn’t been charged. She said she gave her son two peanut and butter jelly sandwiches, removed the locks on his legs the Friday before he escaped and told him “to go when it was safe.” She told police she was afraid Pogrant might hurt her.
The boy told investigators he put on snow pants, a coat and large shoes that didn’t fit him when he left the house early Saturday. One of the detectives observed the boy “was rather skinny and his rib bones could be seen.”
The boy told police that he urinated on himself after Pogrant left him tied to the chair for at least two nights and a day. He says Pogrant threatened to break his fingers if he took food.
The criminal complaint alleges the boy had been put in restraints in the basement since early September. The boy’s mother told police Pogrant threw the chair away a couple of days after the child escaped.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/wisconsin-boy-says-man-strapped-160918423.html
Photo Credit: Shawano County Sheriff’s Office