Chicago Fire youth coach allegedly groomed girls for sex, including one he urged not to wear a bra to a training session so she could play better
Fernando Calderon, 49, is also accused of telling another teenage girl that having sex would translate to an immediate impact on the pitch, making her more “flexible,” the Chicago Tribune reports, citing Cook County prosecutors.
Calderon, who has since been fired by the team, then allegedly gave the 14-year-old girl his phone number during a practice in Chicago in July 2017 in case she wanted to accept his offer. He also is accused of telling her having sex with him would let her “do more” while playing soccer.
Calderon told the teen to contact him if she “ever felt lonely” before putting his number into the teen’s phone, prosecutors said.
Calderon then allegedly victimized a second Chicago Fire Juniors City player last July during a private training session in his garage, where he touched and rubbed the breasts of a 16-year-old girl under the guise of measuring her chest. Prior to the one-on-one session, Calderon told the girl not to wear a bra to his home in order to “get horny” — which he claimed would equate to better play thanks to increased hormone levels, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said a third teen, another 16-year-old girl, also reported that Calderon told her sometime last summer that he needed to massage her after a training session. He then showed the girl a video on his phone of a topless woman being massaged. Calderon also promised the teen that he could help her get into college but told her she needed to “work with him,” prosecutors said.
Calderon remained held without bail Monday at Cook County Jail on charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and indecent solicitation of a minor. His next date in court is scheduled for Tuesday, jail records show.
Calderon also told the girls that he needed to “manipulate” their bodies during the alleged incidents between July 2017 and last August.
Team officials said Calderon was immediately suspended after they learned of the disturbing accusations.
“We have since dismissed the coach,” the team’s president, Paul Caldwell, said in a statement obtained by The Post. “We have always maintained strict personnel safeguards including rigorous background checks, safe sport training, implementation of a code of conduct and guidelines governing interactions with minors. Nevertheless, we will reexamine our policies, practices and training to ensure we are fostering a positive and safe environment for every young player throughout our system.”
An attorney for Calderon, meanwhile, told WLS-TV that he had never been arrested before and had lived for three decades in Chicago.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/04/15/chicago-fire-youth-coach-allegedly-groomed-girls-for-sex/
Graphic video shows high school students viciously attack teen at taco shop
Warning: Viewers may find the video disturbing.
CHULA VISTA, Calif. – Police are investigating a video that shows a 16-year old boy being attacked by a group of high school students at a restaurant in Chula Vista.
The attack happened at the Cotixan restaurant located on East Palomar Street, according to KSWB. Video shows a swarm of teens punching, kicking and throwing chairs at the teen, even after he fell to the ground.
Fortunately, the boy suffered only minor injuries to his arm. “It still feels unreal,” said the boy’s father, Margarito Martin. The attack didn’t seem like a “normal” high school fight: “I think that they were more of a gang or a mob that wanted to kill him.”
Martin said he filed a police report with Chula Vista Police Department. Officers told FOX 5 that investigators are speaking with witnesses and looking at cellphone video for suspects.
After the disturbing video spread through the community, supporters scheduled a peaceful protest against bullying outside the restaurant for Wednesday, April 17 at 5:30 pm.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/04/15/graphic-video-shows-high-school-students-viciously-attack-teen-at-taco-shop/
12-year-old Yonkers boy in grave condition after shooting himself in head with illegal gun
YONKERS, N.Y. — A 12-year-old Yonkers boy is in grave condition and not expected to survive after he accidentally shot himself in the head with an illegal gun while he was home alone, police said Monday.
Yonkers Police responded to an apartment on Nepperhan Avenue just before noon to find the boy on the bedroom floor, bleeding from his head.
He was transported to a local area hospital where he is currently listed in grave condition and is not likely to survive. Medical examination of his head indicated that he suffered an apparent gunshot wound to his right temple.
An investigation revealed the boy was home alone with a younger neighbor, who was in a separate room. At some point, the boy found the loaded handgun and discharged two cartridges in the bedroom, with one bullet striking a window and the other striking the boy in what appears to be a self-inflicted, potential accidental injury.
A short time later, the child was located by adults and family members who called 911. The younger neighbor was uninjured and uninvolved, and there are no other reports of injuries.
First responders located an illegal, loaded .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol at scene that was recovered as evidence. Investigators are working to determine how the handgun came to be possessed by a child, and the origins and transfer history of the same and family members are being interviewed at this time. The identity of the victim will not be disclosed.
This is an active and on-going investigation and additional information may be released as it becomes available.
Dad accused of leaving daughter in car that caught fire after police chase, killing her
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A South Carolina father is accused of leaving his 1-year-old daughter in a car that caught fire, killing her, after he ran from the vehicle during a police chase Friday.
Imhotep Osiris Norman, 26, of Spartanburg, has been charged with homicide by child abuse, court records show.
Authorities say the police chase began around 10:20 p.m. when a trooper with the South Carolina Highway Patrol pulled over a car going nearly 70 mph in a 45-mph zone, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.
Norman allegedly refused to stop, leading troopers on a chase down Interstate 85. Highway Patrol Capt. Kelley Hughes said troopers saw a “large bag” containing drugs fly out of the window just minutes before the car began to spark, then burst into flames, the paper reports.
Norman allegedly jumped from the burning car and ran. After extinguishing the blaze, troopers found the body of 1-year-old Xena Rah’Lah Norman in the back seat of the vehicle, according to WYFF.
During a court hearing Saturday afternoon, WHNS reports that a tearful Norman told the judge that he saw sparks but thought the car wasn’t on fire when he ran.
“I would have stayed in that car with my daughter, I would have never got out the car while the car was on fire,” Norman said.
“He would have died for her,” the child’s grandmother, Christina Palmer, told the Herald. “I don’t believe what they are saying. He would have saved his baby.”
The judge denied bond for Norman, who is also being held on four court bench warrants. Court records do not show any charges for the drugs troopers reported finding in the bag thrown from Norman’s vehicle.
Chicago mom allegedly asked to leave movie theater because her special needs son was laughing
(CBS Chicago/KMOV.com)– A Chicago woman details her experience after being asked to leave the movies with her special needs son due to a noise complaint.
In a Facebook post, Jennifer Daly says she went to an AMC Theatre with her two boys to see Disney’s Dumbo Friday night. One of her sons, Jonathan, has a rare form of dwarfism and cervical spine issues, according to CBS Chicago.
“It is not easy with Jonathan’s oxygen and feeding bag and just carrying him to be able to go and do this,” she wrote.
Daly said her sons were excited about the movie and wanted to see it for the past few weeks but didn’t expect her night to end as it did.
During the flick, Johnathon began giggling in excitement as Dumbo began to suck in feathers to fly. According to the mother of two, a manager walked up to her row 10 minutes later and said there was a noise complaint.
She was told that she immediately had to pack up and leave.
“I was mortified.. never in my life have I ever been kicked out of anything especially if I had done nothing wrong. I was at the top back of the theater to try and stay out of anyone’s way so that is a major haul to get to,” said Daly. “I was not moving fast enough because she wanted to expedite me because I had to stand up and pack Jonathan up and get all his equipment.”
She said it took her two trips to get all of her belongings.
After leaving the movie theater, Daly said the employee offered several other accommodations such as free refills on drinks and food, a toy from the display case, and movie vouchers.
The horrible ordeal left Daly questioning if she would ever return back to the movie theater.
“I don’t know if I will ever feel like I could go to the movies again because I won’t be able to enjoy myself if my son laughs that I might get kicked out,” said Daly. “He has seen so many movies with me and we have never had a problem.”
CBS Chicago reached out to AMC for a response. A representative said:
“Disruptive behavior is not permitted during a movie. An AMC manager received multiple reports from guests about an ongoing disruption. The manager offered several options, including relocating the family and offering a private show. The guest received a refund, but declined all other options offered.
Teen admitted to killing elderly couple, planning attack on Wisconsin school
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A 17-year-old told investigators that he fatally shot his grandparents and was planning to cause harm at his eastern Wisconsin high school, police said Monday.
Police officers responding to a 911 call for assistance found the bodies of 74-year-old Dennis Kraus and 73-year-old Letha Kraus at their home in Grand Chute about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Officer Travis Waas said. He declined to release details of the call.
Police arrested their grandson, Alexander M. Kraus at the couple’s home, Waas said. Kraus, who lives in nearby Neenah, admitted that he shot the couple, Waas said. Waus declined to comment on the nature of Kraus’ plans at his school or the severity of the threat. Police also released no information on why the couple was shot.
Kraus was being held in the Outagamie County Jail and has not yet been charged. Police said in a news release that he could be charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide. Each charge would carry a life sentence. An initial court appearance was set for Tuesday afternoon.
Wass said he didn’t know whether Kraus had an attorney who could comment on the allegations. Online court records didn’t list his case as of Monday afternoon.
Grand Chute, a city of 22,000, lies about 110 miles (177 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. Neenah, home to 26,000, is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Grand Chute.
Wisconsin is one of six states that treat 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has included provisions in his state budget that would move 17-year-olds back into juvenile court.
A long gun believed to have been used in the crime was recovered at the grandparents’ house, Waas said.
Kraus also told investigators about his plan to cause harm at Neenah High School, where he was a junior, Waas said. He said investigators recovered documentation related to that plan.
He said more details would be included in charging documents Tuesday.
The school district released a statement Monday saying police determined there was no danger to students and staff at the high school and that the school day would proceed as normal. Additional counselors were available to students and there was an extra police presence at the high school, the district said.
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Associated Press writer Todd Richmond in Madison contributed to this report.
Naked California Man Goes On McDonald’s Stabbing Spree
Police are investigating a bizarre and tragic incident at a McDonald’s in Palmdale, California, where a man was shot and killed after he crashed his car, stripped off his clothes and stabbed a diner at the fast-food outlet.
KTLA5 reported that the 29-year-old man was shot by a security guard at the restaurant after he stabbed an 88-year-old patron. The elderly man was eating with his grandson at the time. The suspect, who died of his wounds shortly after the episode, reportedly also attempted to stab the guard.
Juan Pais, the owner of the security company contracted to the McDonald’s at 2427 East Avenue S, explained how the man crashed his car into a nearby Carl’s Jr. restaurant and then proceeded on to the McDonald’s, stripping off his clothes. At the second outlet he confronted numerous diners.
“[He] apparently started stabbing several patrons,” Paiz said. “At that point, security approached him. He tried to stab a security officer and the security officer defended himself by firing his service weapon,” he added.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Lt. Brandon Dean said the elderly victim was in a stable condition. The wounded suspect was taken from the scene in an ambulance but was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly afterward. Police have also said they recovered the knife used by the suspect at the scene.
One witness, Irvin Diaz, described how he heard a number of gunshots being fired nearby and then ran over to see what was happening. He recounted that he saw the security guard standing over the naked man.
Video footage recovered from the area has shown the moment the car struck the Carl’s Jr., just over the road from the McDonald’s.
Investigators are still considering the impetus behind the man’s strange behavior. They have not ruled out the possibility that a drug or controlled substance was somehow involved.
Reports of violence in McDonald’s restaurants are not uncommon in the Golden State. Footage captured at a Moreno Valley McDonald’s in January this year showed a mob of teenage girls hurling heavy objects at employees after being asked to leave the children’s play area.
CBSLA reported the group caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. The manager of the fast-food outlet posted a video of the attack on social media, where it was viewed over 56,000 times.
Middle school student’s ‘kill list’ leaves Missouri parents on edge
Kearney, MO (KSHB) – A Kearney Middle School student’s “kill list” left parents and classmates frightened this weekend.
The Kearney, Missouri, Police Department said Friday evening it was aware of the alleged threats and was investigating.
The incident left some parents so frightened they decided to keep their kids out of school Friday and might do the same Monday.
“I took my child out of school Friday,” Courtney Kennedy said. “I was scared for her to be there.”
Kennedy, the mother of a sixth-grade student, was unnerved by a threat made toward several students.
“Things are in an uproar,” Kennedy said. “Parents are scared — me being one of them. I am very frightened for the safety of, not only my child, but the entire school.”
One of the students who threatened posted a message on Snapchat that reads, in part: “(The student who made the list) threatened to kill me and everyone at KMS. He told me that he wanted to be a serial killer and kill me first. He always told me that he didn’t like me and that he was going to kill me one day.”
Parents were equally upset by he lack of communication from the Kearney School District regarding the threat. Most parents only found out after the police announced the investigation on social media.
“Finding out on social media — on Friday on social media — was just shocking,” said Rhonda Holland, who has a seventh-grader at KMS. “Why wasn’t there a statement by the Kearney School District saying that they had the matter brought to their attention and they were investigating it?”
The district finally sent out a statement to parents Saturday, acknowledging the threat and explaining the timeline.
According to the letter from Kearney Middle School Principal Bart Woods, a student notified the school counselor about another student’s “hit list/kill list” and additional prior threatening statements, which had gone unreported.
Woods said the school launched an immediate investigation, reported the threats to local police, and required the student who made the threat to complete a mental health assessment.
The district also tweaked its policy and put “a safety plan has been put in place to monitor the initial threats as we move forward from this incident,” Wood said,
According to the letter, the KMS administration was in contact with the parents of all the students involved throughout the process.
“We have also made contact with all others who expressed concerns to us,” Woods said in the letter.
He indicated that it hasn’t been school policy to send information regarding verbal threats to all parents, but it was making an exception “due to concerns being expressed on social media” and in an effort to “eliminate any confusion and misinformation.”
Woods said he believes Kearney Middle School is a safe environment, expressed appreciation for the students who came forward about the threats and encouraged parents to reach out with any concerns.
“Student/school safety is extremely important to us and is something we talk about with our students,” Woods said.
Given the number of high-profile incidents nationwide involving violence in schools, it’s little wonder some parents are on edge when such threats impact their communities.
“We send these kids to school, and we believe it’s a safe place,” Holland said. “You have something like this happen, and it’s just hard.”
Kearney police provided an update of the investigation Saturday afternoon.
“Today we have conducted investigations and interviews,” a post on the department’s Facebook page said. “We believe that we have a much better understanding of this alleged incident. We have been working with the Kearney School District to ensure that everyone will be safe and that Monday will be another productive day of learning at the Kearney Middle School.”
Kearney police also said to expect an increased police presence at KMS next week.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/04/14/middle-school-students-kill-list-leaves-missouri-parents-on-edge/
Woman facing charges for starving two dogs locked in a cage together, one eats the other
Canton, OH (WEWS) — A 25-year-old Canton woman has been charged for allegedly starving two dogs locked in a cage, causing one of the animals to eat the other after it died, according to court records.
Court records state that on or about April 5, Jessica J. Swinehart locked a beagle in a cage with a German Shepherd-mix and starved the animals. When the beagle died, the other dog ate it to survive.
When authorities found the German Shepherd, it appeared to have lost nearly two-thirds of its body weight. It was still locked in the cage with the decaying beagle.
An arrest warrant was filed on April 8 and she was later arrested.
Swinehart has been charged with two counts of prohibitions concerning companion animals, a fifth-degree felony.
A future court date is pending.
Police officer ‘excused’ after mistakenly using gun instead of Taser to shoot unarmed inmate in cell
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. – A small-town Pennsylvania police officer will not face charges after shooting an unarmed man during a struggle because the officer honestly believed at the time he was using his Taser, not his service weapon, the Bucks County district attorney’s office said in a statement.
District Attorney Matthew Weintraub said the March 3 shooting was “was neither justified, nor criminal, but was excused,” according to the statement posted on the DA’s office website.
“Weintraub said the law excuses the shooting officer’s conduct from criminal prosecution because of his ‘honest but mistaken’ belief he was deploying his Taser at the time he discharged his service weapon,” the statement said.
The wounded man, Brian Riling, was hospitalized in critical condition for several days after being shot in the stomach but has since been released, the statement said.
The New Hope officer, who was not identified because he wasn’t charged, was placed on paid administrative leave and retired from the department April 10, the statement said.
The investigation conducted by detectives employed by the DA’s office was partly based on a video shot inside a holding cell in the police station in New Hope, a town of 2,500 people about 40 miles north of Philadelphia. The statement refers several times to a letter Weintraub sent to the New Hope police chief, but the DA’s office won’t release that letter, said James O’Malley, the communications director for the DA’s office.
CNN reached out to Riling’s lawyer and has yet to receive a response. CNN also tried to contact Weintraub and the New Hope police chief, Michael Cummings, but did not receive a response.
Struggle inside a holding cell
Riling was in police custody after being charged March 3 with intimidation and retaliation against a victim, simple assault and related offenses stemming from an incident on the same day, the district attorney’s statement said. He was also charged with burglarizing the same victim’s home in mid-February, the statement said.
The video shows Riling removing his belt inside the cell at an officer’s direction when a white, rectangular object falls from his pants to the floor. Riling puts his foot on the object. The DA’s statement said the object was “consistent with a drug baggie.”
The video shows the officer pushing Riling onto a concrete bench but Riling resists and the men struggle. The DA’s statement said Riling threw the object into the toilet, but the toilet is not visible in the video.
A second officer entered the cell to help the first officer. While holding his service weapon in his right hand, the second officer yells “Taser” and shoots Riling in the stomach, the video shows. The two officers leave the cell for a moment. The DA’s statement says Riling flushes the toilet during this time, but the toilet can’t be seen.
The first officer comes back into the cell and at first orders Riling to get onto the seat. But Riling lies on the floor, saying, “I don’t want to die, dude,” and “Why’d you shoot me? Are you kidding me?” Later he asks, “What the [expletive] is wrong with that guy?”
‘He did not possess the criminal mental state’
The DA’s statement discusses the officer’s “mindset” during the incident.
The officer who shot Riling was aware of Riling’s “criminal episodes” before the shooting and heard Riling make violent threats during a phone call with the “previously mentioned victim,” the statement said.
“Given the totality of circumstances, the officer would have been justified in using his Taser to regain control of Riling inside the holding cell, DA Weintraub said in his letter [to the police chief], as the officer had a reasonable belief the scuffle posed a danger to his fellow officer,” the statement said.
“The use of a firearm must be an officer’s last resort, Weintraub wrote, and was not justified in this case. However, the letter [to the police chief] continues, because the officer believed he was deploying his Taser and not wielding his service firearm, he did not possess the criminal mental state required to be guilty of a crime under state law.”
The statement mentions a section of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code which says a person has a defense to a criminal charge if he makes a mistake for which there is “a reasonable explanation or excuse.”
The DA’s statement said the officer violated a department policy by wearing the Taser on his right side, in front of his firearm, instead of on the “non-dominant side, in what is known as a cross-draw position.”
That policy violation didn’t constitute a violation of law, though, the statement concludes.
“Weintraub also considered the officer’s decades of exemplary service to the citizens of New Hope as evidenced by dozens of commendations and letters, as compared to relatively few minor historical infractions on his service record,” the statement said.
The New Hope Police Department posted this statement on its website: “The Department thanks District Attorney Weintraub and the members of his office for their thorough investigation and report. The police department has no further information to release, and no further comment on this matter.”
Previous cases
This is not the first time an officer has shot a suspect with a gun, thinking he was using a Taser.
Robert Bates, a reserve deputy with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma, said he meant to use his Taser stun gun, not his revolver, on suspect Eric Courtney Harris, who had been tackled by other deputies and was being held on the ground on April 2, 2015.
Bates was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and given a four-year sentence.
In a 2009 case, a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer fired his gun instead of his Taser, killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant in Oakland, California.
The former officer, Johannes Mehserle, testified that he had meant to use his Taser but drew his gun instead. Mehserle was sentenced to two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter but was released early due to good conduct.