Man accused of putting fatal dose of heroin in his wife’s cereal
A Michigan man has been arrested and charged with trying to hire someone to kill his wife and then fatally poisoning her cereal with heroin in 2014, authorities said.
Jason T. Harris, 44, was arrested Tuesday and is being charged with three felonies, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton announced at a news conference filmed by CNN affiliate WJRT. Leyton said the charges include premeditated first-degree murder and solicitation of murder, both of which can result in a life sentence, and delivery of a controlled substance causing death.
“We believe Jason Harris murdered his wife,” Leyton said. “We believe he put heroin into her cereal and milk the night she died after getting it from someone. …”
Jason Harris’s attorney, Nicholas Robinson, told CNN that his client has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is in custody at the Genesee County Jail.
Robinson said Jason Harris has been cooperating with state police and has been mourning his wife since she died.
“We were very surprised and frankly saddened to learn the original determination of accidental overdose has been overturned and that has led to these charges,” Robinson said. He declined to respond further to the prosecutor’s allegations.
Authorities originally ruled the death of Christina Ann-Thompson Harris was an accidental homicide, Leyton said, but the medical examiner amended the ruling to homicide after a deeper investigation.
At the news conference, Leyton said police were dispatched to a home in Davison, Michigan, on September 29, 2014, where Christina Harris was found dead.
According to Leyton, a neighbor told police that Jason Harris said Christina had been “fighting a cold” and had been treated for asthma, according to Leyton. He said police learned he had fed Christina cereal and milk the night before her death.
Leyton said Jason Harris’s brother and sister went to police a few days later and told them Jason had “made comments in the past about, quote, getting rid of Christina Harris.” He said they also felt Jason Harris was seeing other women prior to his wife’s death.
During the investigation, according to Leyton, some former coworkers of Jason’s told police that Jason Harris asked them what kinds of pills are tasteless and odorless, and that he offered one of them $5,000 to kill his wife. The co-workers said Jason Harris told them he did pay a man $5,000 to kill his wife, but the man was arrested for a parole violation before he could do it, Leyton said.
Leyton said Jason Harris was fired from his job for a “pattern of positive drug testing” and collected a total of $120,000 in life insurance money for his wife’s death.
Christina Harris, Leyton said, had recently been promoted to manager of Genesee County’s busiest Subway restaurant, where said she was a mentor and friend to her coworkers. She had given birth in May to her second child with her husband and was an “incredibly loving mother,” according to Leyton.
He said Christina never tested positive for any drugs at doctors’ visits during her pregnancy. Leyton said investigators were able to obtain samples of breast milk that Christina had frozen prior to her death, and found no controlled substances.
Jason’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 5.
John Potbury, deputy chief assistant prosecutor, said the Harris children went into the care of Child Protective Services within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/08/28/man-accused-of-putting-fatal-dose-of-heroin-in-his-wifes-cereal/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Teacher fights to get job back after being videotaped mowing yard naked
PORT ORANGE, Fla. – A Florida teacher who was caught on camera mowing his lawn while nude is fighting to get his job back, according toWESH.
The teacher was demoted to a non-teaching position after he was recorded, but the teachers’ union says the punishment does not fit the crime, Volusia United Educators President Elizabeth Albert said.
Albert said that when longtime teacher Brian Wheeler mowed the yard naked at his Port Orange home in 2017, he made a very poor decision.
A neighbor recorded Wheeler and filed a police complaint.
According to documents obtained by WESH, Wheeler believes the neighbor has issues with him.
Wheeler was charged with exposure of sexual organs and disorderly conduct. The exposure charge was dropped and the disorderly conduct dismissed in a deferred prosecution agreement. Wheeler was not convicted of a crime.
“This is a man who has over two decades of history teaching children in our community and successfully teaching them,” Albert said.
Wheeler was working at Cypress Elementary in Port Orange when he was removed. He was a tenured teacher with an unblemished record.
According to documents WESH obtained, many parents and colleagues supported him, however, a handful of families of young children did not.
School district officials, who gave Wheeler a written reprimand along with a demotion out of the classroom, refused to reconsider.
In addition to Volusia County, the Florida Department of Education investigated and just this past May found probable cause in Brian Wheeler’s case to pursue disciplinary action. The complaint will be heard in October.
However, Albert said a settlement has been reached in Wheeler’s case and the October hearing is just a rubber stamp.
According to Albert and the paperwork she showed us, Wheeler will be fined but will retain his teaching credential.
Allowing Wheeler to keep his credential would “infer that officials feel that he is still of the caliber that is able to work with our kids and teach,” Albert said.
Albert said that since the school district has so far refused that, the union will arbitrate on his behalf.
Wheeler never lost his teaching certificate, so he’s had the option to teach elsewhere in Florida, but union representatives say he’s committed to Volusia County.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
13-year-old boy gets 78 stitches after being slashed by 11-year-old boy in Brooklyn
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn — A 13-year-old boy was slashed in the face by an 11-year-old boy in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning, an NYPD spokesman said.
They had a dispute of some kind on MacDonough Street near Marcy Avenue around 7:30 a.m., officials said. The victim was slashed in the left side of the face.
He ran into MS 258 around the corner for help, police said.
The teen got 78 stitches at Maimonides Medical Center. He’s since been released.
Police took the 11-year-old boy into custody. Charges have not yet been filed. His name will not be released because he’s a juvenile.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
NYC middle school teacher used Venmo to pay for child porn
A Queens middle school teacher was busted with kiddie porn on his phone Tuesday — which prosecutors said he bought using payment app Venmo.
Eric Paulino, 30, a Department of Education employee who a source says works as a special ed teacher at IS 93 in Ridgewood, pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn federal court to possessing child porn and was released after posting a $250,000 bond.
According to the criminal complaint against Paulino, the FBI allegedly found videos and images of children engaging in sex acts on the teacher’s smartphone Tuesday morning after federal agents executed a search warrant at his residence, which is also in Ridgewood.
Agents obtained the warrant after learning that Paulino allegedly used an online alias and made purchases from a “known purveyor of child pornography” via Venmo, court documents say.
Paulino allegedly admitted to agents that he has used his phone to download and trade kiddie porn, the complaint states.
Paulino’s attorney, Jeffery Greco, noted to The Post that his client is not being accused of accessing child porn on school grounds or having any sexual contact with students.
“He wasn’t searching on any school property and at no time did he violate any barrier between a teacher and a student,” Greco said.
The DOE said the are “reassigning this teacher away from the classroom because of this deeply disturbing allegation.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/08/27/nyc-middle-school-teacher-used-venmo-to-pay-for-child-porn-feds/
Photo Credit: facebook.com
School resource officer fired after sending nude selfies while on duty
A school resource officer in Florida was fired after she was caught taking nude selfies in the school bathroom to send to her husband, a report said.
The unidentified officer with the Kissimmee Police Department took the nude video during a school day in December at the Imagine Kissimmee Charter Academy, according to Fox News.
The video shows the woman touching herself in an inappropriate manner and urinating while speaking to a person she refers to as her husband, the report said.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office discovered the illicit video earlier this year while investigating a domestic issue between the woman and her husband.
The restroom was locked at the time. But investigators said the incident could have delayed “any immediate response” in the event of an emergency.
The officer told investigators that she had been coerced by her husband to take the video.
“Sending the material did not affect the ability to perform my job; and it is imperative to note that no one was hurt because of my actions,” she wrote in a memorandum to the department’s deputy chief.
Photo Credit: heraldpublicist.com
Touch-screen voting machines appear to be changing votes in Mississippi
There have been widespread reports of voting machine problems in Mississippi — with residents from more than a half-dozen counties claiming to have had their ballots automatically changed Tuesday while trying to vote in the state’s GOP governor primary runoff.
“It is not letting me vote for who I want to vote for,” said one Mississippian in a Facebook video, which showed one of the voting machines malfunctioning.
Every time the man tried to select his pick for governor — Bill Waller Jr. — the device would automatically choose his opponent, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.
“How can that happen?” a woman can be heard asking on video.
“I don’t know, it’s in the machine,” a man replies.
A Facebook user named Sally Kate Walker posted the footage of the malfunction on her page Tuesday, with the caption: “Ummmm…. seems legit, Mississippi.”
“As if you needed another reason to VOTE!” she added.
According to the Clarion-Ledger, Waller’s campaign received reports of similar issues with touch-screen voting machines in at least seven counties. The Walker footage was captured at a voting precinct in Oxford.
The machines that were being affected were reportedly TSX models purchased from Election Systems and Software. Those that experienced the “jumping” error, as officials put it, were taken out of service. They were believed to have been mishandled during transport — causing them to lose calibration, officials said.
Waller, a former Supreme Court Chief justice, is currently in a runoff with Reeves for the Republican primary race to see who will face Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood in the general election.
Reeves was in the lead — with 49 percent of the vote to Waller’s 33 percent — when the ballots were originally tallied on Aug. 6.
Photo Credit: nypost.com
TV anchor makes tearful apology after comparing black colleague to gorilla
A white Oklahoma City TV station anchor has tearfully apologized to her black colleague for comparing him to a gorilla during a broadcast last week.
KOCO-TV morning anchor Alex Housden finished a segment Thursday about a gorilla at the Oklahoma City Zoo by comparing the animal to co-anchor Jason Hackett.
“Kind of looks like you,” she said to Hackett, who paused and responded: “He kind of does, actually, yeah.”
While seated next to Hackett the following day, a distraught-looking Housdon said she was sorry — while reaching out to touch his arm.
“I said something yesterday that was inconsiderate, it was inappropriate, and I hurt people,” Housden said. “I want you to know I understand how much I hurt you out there and how much I hurt (Hackett).”
She said she would “never do anything on purpose to hurt” him.
“I want you all to know from the bottom of my heart I apologize for what I said,” Housden said. “I know it was wrong, and I am so sorry.”
Hackett accepted Housden’s apology, saying she’s one of his best friends, but made it clear that her comment hurt his feelings.
“What she said yesterday was wrong,” Hackett said, adding that the apology was a “teachable moment” and that “words matter.”
“It cut deep for me, and it cut deep for a lot of you in the community,” he said.
“We’re becoming a more diverse country, and there’s no excuse. We have to understand the stereotypes. We have to understand each other’s backgrounds and the words that hurt, the words that cut deep,” Hackett said.
“We have to find a way to replace those words with love and words of affirmation as well.”
The clip of Housden’s crass comment was shared on social media, where users lambasted her through her Facebook page.
“You should be fired! Your voice doesn’t belong on the news anymore. If you’re comfortable saying those kind of things on air, who knows what you say behind closed doors,” user Sonny Holloway wrote.
“The petition to have you fired is coming and your days as an anchor are numbered. #YoureNotForgiven#YoureFired.”
User Julie Wexler also called for Housden to be canned.
“Nope. You need to go. It’s 2019 and you’re comparing black men to simians? You. Need. To. Go. No tearful apology makes up for that. GO!” she wrote.
Photo Credit: cnn.com
Student practicing extreme yoga pose falls 80 feet from balcony
A Mexican college student is alive after falling 80 feet from her balcony while practicing a yoga pose.
Alexa Terrazas, 23, was known to do yoga on her sixth-floor apartment’s balcony, often using the guardrail as a prop for extreme poses. But a risky move nearly cost the yogi her life on Saturday afternoon, as she slipped and landed on the pavement outside her building in the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León, according to reports in El Imparcial.
The health and nutrition student at Tecnológico de Monterrey was treated by paramedics with the Red Cross and Nuevo León Civil Protection, then brought to the hospital, where she underwent 11 hours of surgery. She was considered to be in critical condition as of Monday, having suffered fractures to both legs and arms, hips and head.
El Imparcial reported that doctors had to “reconstruct” her legs, and that it may be three years before she walks again. People on social media asked their followers to consider giving blood to help her. As of Sunday, a relative of Terrazas tweeted that there was no need.
Neighbors claim they saw Terrazas perform the upside-down pose over the edge of her terrace. The Nuevo León Attorney General’s Office also confirmed that the rail was structurally sound, and that the woman’s slip was an accident.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/08/27/student-practicing-extreme-yoga-pose-falls-80-feet-from-balcony/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/Example of the pose reportedly performed by Alexa Terrazas before she fell.
Boy holds hand of crying classmate with autism on first day of school
A Kansas second-grader is warming hearts around the web with a photo posted online of him consoling an autistic classmate.
Courtney Coko Moore of Wichita uploaded an image to Facebook of the moment her son, 8-year-old Christian, held hands with the other boy, Connor, also 8 years old, when he was crying, WIVB reported.
The snap was captioned: “I’m so proud of my son, he [saw] a kid balled up into a corner crying, so he went to console him, grabbed his hand and walked him inside of the school! It is an honor to raise such a loving, compassionate child! He’s a kid with a big heart, the first day of school started off right.”
The photo has been shared over 4,000 times.
The mother of the other boy, April Cites, was touched by the second-grader’s gesture to her son, reports KWCH12.
Cites said: “Tell your son I said thank you so very much! That little boy he helped is my son and is autistic, I worry every day that he is going to get bullied for being different and your son just absolutely warmed my heart. If there were more children like him I wouldn’t worry about such things.”
Moore said she hopes the two will become buddies.
“I hope that this will be the beginning of a new friendship for both our boys. Your son was so sweet,” she said, adding that her son struggles with speech as well.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/08/27/boy-holds-hand-of-crying-classmate-with-autism-on-first-day-of-school/
Photo Credit: Facebook
A black homeowner was handcuffed and detained in his boxers after his burglar alarm went off
When Kazeem Oyeneyin’s friend accidentally set off his burglar alarm, the North Carolina man went downstairs, turned it off, and went back upstairs to sleep.
Minutes later, Raleigh police showed up, handcuffed Oyeneyin and took him outside in his underwear while they started clearing his house.
“What have I done wrong?” the black homeowner asks, as seen in his home security camera footage from August 17. “I haven’t done nothing wrong.”
On Monday, Raleigh police explained the officers’ actions, saying there were several clues that led police to believe a real burglary might have happened.
But Oyeneyin, a concert promoter and nightclub owner known as Tim Boss, said the case is just another example of a black man getting profiled as a criminal in a predominantly white neighborhood.
“It’s a stereotype that I just don’t want to deal with,” Oyeneyin said.
What the home security footage shows
In one clip, Oyeneyin’s burglar alarm blares through his townhouse.
Oyeneyin walks downstairs, punches in a code to stop the alarm, and goes back upstairs.
In an interview with CNN, Oyeneyin said the alarm went off because a friend had stayed at his house the night before. When the friend left the house, he accidentally set off the alarm.
Oyeneyin said he’s had about four false alarms before. But in the past, police usually came to his house and asked for identification. The officer typically took note of the incident and left, Oyeneyin said.
Not this time.
The security footage shows the first arriving officer opening Oyeneyin’s unlocked front door. “Police! (If) you’re inside, let yourself be known,” the officer shouts into the home.
Oyeneyin responds from upstairs, though his words aren’t clear in the video.
The officer tells him to come down with his hands up. He quickly sees Oyeneyin has a gun in his hand.
Oyeneyin told CNN he wasn’t sure who was downstairs at his front door, so he took his legally owned handgun with him as a precaution. In the video, he announces that he has a firearm.
The officer tells Oyeneyin to drop the weapon, and Oyeneyin immediately does.
“Come on out here,” the officer says, stepping farther outside the house.
“I got on my drawers,” Oyeneyin responded, refusing to leave his foyer.
“Turn around. Put your hands behind your back,” the officer said.
“For what?” Oyeneyin replies, exasperated.
The homeowner and officer have a tense exchange, with the officer demanding Oyeneyin get down on his knees and turn around with his hands behind his back.
Oyeneyin does get down on his knees, but he refuses to turn his back toward the officer. He later told CNN he feared for his safety.
“It’s turning around that I’m afraid of. I’m afraid you’re going to shoot me,” Oyeneyin told CNN.
“I’m tired of having cops pointing guns at me. I’ve been through this rodeo before,” he told CNN. You want me to turn around and face the other (side) where I cant see you? It was more of a safety thing for me, not a compliance.”
The officer eventually enters Oyeneyin’s home and handcuffs him. As they wait for a police supervisor to arrive, the officer asks Oyeneyin if he lives at the home and if he has identification.
“Yep,” Oyeneyin replied both times.
But the officer doesn’t ask Oyeneyin to show him his ID. Instead, the officer explains his actions, saying the door was unlocked, he made several announcements before Oyeneyin responded, and that Oyeneyin emerged from upstairs with a gun.
“I’m just trying to figure out whether you’re supposed to be here or not, OK?” the officer said.
“I got on drawers, bro … (what do) you mean, am I supposed to be here?” Oyeneyin replied.
“I’m just trying to figure out who you are, and whether you’re supposed to be here or not,” the officer said. But he does not ask to see Oyeneyin’s ID.
Moments later, the officer’s supervisor shows up. The sergeant tells Oyeneyin to “have a seat, because we’re going to clear the rest of the house.”
More officers show up. As Oyeneyin keeps asking questions, one officer says, “put him in the car.”
“I haven’t done nothing wrong,” Oyeneyin says, as he’s taken away handcuffed.
Later in the video, one of the officers brings Oyeneyin back inside, telling other police that Oyeneyin is the homeowner and that no burglary took place. The officers leave.
What the police department says
Raleigh police sent a statement to CNN on Monday explaining the first officer’s actions.
After receiving a report of an active burglar alarm, the officer “arrived within minutes and found the front door ajar.”
“After several attempts to contact anyone within the residence, an unidentified male who was armed with a handgun came into the officer’s view,” Raleigh police spokeswoman Donna-maria Harris said in the statement.
“While the resident stated he turned off his alarm prior to RPD’s arrival, the alarm company never called dispatch to cancel police response.”
The police statement said even though the resident said he lived at the house, “the officer had no way to safely confirm the validity of the statement or check the residence for additional persons until other officers arrived on scene.”
“Based on all available facts known to the officer at the time, the resident was detained until additional officers arrived and his identity could be confirmed,” police said.
The resident was detained for about seven minutes, police said. The department said it is reviewing the incident.
‘This has been going on too long’
Oyeneyin said the incident is just the latest indignity he’s faced as a successful black homeowner.
“I’ve been kicked out of a home I used to live (in) because police have accused me of being a gang member,” he said.
“I’ve been sweeping this under a rug, thinking this is America.”
But now that he has a son, Oyeneyin said it’s time to speak out.
“I want to raise awareness to what’s going on,” he said. “This has been going on too long, and I just need it to stop.”
Photo Credit: pix11.com