Teen shoots cousin over salt and vinegar potato chips
A South Carolina teen shot his cousin in the chest – critically wounding him – after warning him not to eat his salt and vinegar potato chips.
“Do not touch my chips, or I’ll shoot you,” Ryan Dean Langdale barked at the 17-year-old victim before pulling the trigger during the bizarre episode last month, The Post and Courier newspaper reported, citing a sheriff’s incident report.
Langdale, 19, now faces charges of attempted murder, using a firearm in a violent crime and obstructing justice in the Sept. 29 shooting at Langdale’s home in rural Colleton County.
The suspect tried to cover-up the crime, by telling police that his cousin had accidentally shot himself by dropping a hunting rifle while cleaning it, according to the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim – succumbing to pressure from his older cousin — initially confirmed the bogus account to police before being rushed into surgery, but cops weren’t buying it.
“We knew from the beginning that something wasn’t right,” sheriff’s Maj. J.W. Chapman said, according to The Post and Courier. “The more we looked into it, the more it seemed odd.”
Chapman noted that the route the bullet took through the victim’s chest was “impossible” if the teenager shot himself by mistake, the news outlet reported.
A week after the shooting incident, the victim awoke at the Trident Medical Center in North Charleston and admitted to investigators that it was indeed the chips– which he never even touched– that nearly sent him six feet under.
After Langdale warned him, Langdale went into a back room, grabbed a rifle and pointed it at the victim, according to the sheriff’s incident report.
“The next thing he knew,” the document said, “the rifle went off.”
According to the report, Langdale had switched out the firearm he used to cover up his involvement.
The rifle was found when authorities searched Langdale’s home this week.
He surrendered to the crime Wednesday and a judge set his bail at $55,000.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/10/11/teen-shoots-cousin-over-salt-and-vinegar-potato-chips-cops/
Wife claims she fatally stabbed husband after slipping on dog poop
A Florida woman arrested on murder charges Wednesday claimed the fatal stabbing of her husband was an accident because she had slipped on dog feces, authorities said.
But they added that the suspect, identified as Rachel Fidanian, 38, has given “several inconsistent statements” about what happened in the couple’s Lakeland, Polk County, home on June 25, FOX 35 of Orlando reported.
“The suspect made a lot of excuses, but none of them made sense,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement obtained by the Miami Herald. “Our detectives did a thorough investigation. In the end, they determined this was an intentional act of domestic violence.”
In the initial 911 call, Fidanian said she was holding her dog while washing dishes, then ran toward her husband, slipped and stabbed her husband in his shoulder area, according to FOX 35. Then later in the call, she said she was holding the dog while slicing pizza, and accidentally stabbed her husband when she tripped while walking toward him, according to detectives.
When Polk County Fire Rescue officials arrived on the scene, Fidanian said she was slicing pizza, then noticed her dog had defecated and urinated in the living room. When she went to clean the mess, she slipped, still holding the knife, and fell onto her husband, investigators said.
But detectives said they found no traces of feces or urine in the living room, FOX 35 reported.
The husband, Bryant Fidanian, was transported to a local hospital and later died there, authorities said.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/10/12/wife-claims-she-fatally-stabbed-husband-after-slipping-on-dog-poop/
Family to sue Applebee’s after baby burned by steaming water at Queens location
ROSEDALE, Queens — A family plans to sue Applebee’s after their 17-month-old baby was severely burned by steaming water at a Queens location of the restaurant.
Cadien Scott Gaffney suffered 2nd degree burns in the Friday incident, according to Kourtnei Patterson, a spokesperson for the family. The family had requested hot water to sterilize utensils. After a server brought it to the table, the baby was able to pull the hot water onto himself.
“The baby was just screaming,” Patterson said.
His mother tried to take the smoking clothing off of him, but skin came away, Patterson said.
“This is a family restaurant. They should have known better,” Sanford Rubenstein, the family’s attorney, said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
A spokesperson from the Applebee’s franchisee sent PIX11 the following statement:
“We are truly saddened by this accident and our thoughts are with the child and family. After a thorough investigation and review of security footage and call logs, we are confident that our team members acted with urgency, calling for medical assistance while helping the family. We were unable to obtain the family’s contact information onsite but would like to assist in any way that we can as we continue to cooperate with authorities. As always, the safety of our guests is top priority.”
Men indicted after mom finds video of 9-month-old being raped
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two Tennessee men accused of raping a 9-month-old child and recording it have been indicted by a grand jury, according to WREG.
The child’s mother reported the incident to police after she found videos of the crime on a cellphone, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
The suspects were later identified by police as Isiah Hayes, 19, and Daireus Ice, 22.
In one of those videos, authorities say, one of the suspects was nude from the waist down and was touching himself while standing near the little girl. In another, the the man was seen performing sex acts on the child, police said.
The DA’s office told WHBQ that Ice was the one filming while Hayes allegedly assaulted the child.
The child’s mother found the videos Oct. 14, 2016. A WREG article from February 2018 stated the mother was able to identify one of the suspects using social media. She then took all the information she had gathered to police.
Hayes was indicted on aggravated rape of a child and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. Ice was indicted on aggravated rape of a child/ criminal responsibility for conduct of another and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/10/11/men-indicted-after-mom-finds-video-of-9-month-old-being-raped/
Man charged for filming himself removing ankle monitor in Facebook video
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A Missouri man is charged with a felony after he allegedly filmed himself removing an ankle monitor and then posted the video on Facebook.
Thirty-three-year-old Dustin Burns of Springfield was charged last week with tampering with electronic monitoring equipment.
The video shows someone using a butter knife and screwdriver to remove an ankle monitor. The man advises viewers to remove the ankle monitor without damaging it to avoid hefty fines.
The Springfield News-Leader reports court records show Burns pleaded guilty to violating a restraining order earlier this year and was placed on probation.
Court records show warrants were issued this summer after several probation violations were filed against Burns. He has been in the Greene County jail since Aug. 28.
He does not have an attorney listed in online court records.
White woman calls cops on black man babysitting white kids
A white woman reportedly called the cops on a black man she saw babysitting two white children at a Georgia Walmart.
Corey Lewis, who runs a youth-mentoring program in Atlanta, used Facebook Live to film his interaction with a Cobb County police officer responding to the woman’s call about the girl and boy he was babysitting Sunday.
Lewis explained to the officer that he is the kids’ babysitter — that he’d taken them to eat dinner at the Subway in Walmart and then stopped to get some gas — which is when the woman, who’d been following them, approached.
The woman asked Lewis if she could speak to the girl, to see if she knew who he was — and he refused, Lewis recounted to the cop. That’s when she called the cops and then followed Lewis all the way home, he said.
“All because I got two kids in the back seat who do not look like me, this lady took it upon herself to say that she’s going to take my plate down and call the police,” Lewis said in another Facebook video. “It’s crazy … It’s 2018 and this is what I’ve got to deal with.”
The kids, a 10-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy, confirmed to the officer that Lewis was their after-school teacher and babysitter.
Their parents, David Parker and Dana Mango, were shocked when they were called by the police to confirm the story, telling local outlet CBS46 that they believe Lewis was stalked and harassed for “babysitting while black.”
“I said, ‘Are you saying that because there’s an African American male driving my two white kids, that he was stopped and pulled over and questioned?’ and he said, ‘I’m sorry, ma’am, that’s exactly what I’m saying,’” the mother told the station.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/10/10/white-woman-calls-cops-on-black-man-babysitting-white-kids/
Man stabbed at haunted house by friend who thought knife was a prop
Halloween is James Yochim’s favorite time of year: “I get really excited about going to haunted houses.”
His Friday night at Nashville Nightmare in Madison—a sprawling attraction with four haunted houses, an escape room, and scary cast members running around with fake weapons—might dull the thrill, however.
Yochim says a thin man with skull makeup, assumed to be an actor, approached his friend, Tawnya Greenfield, asking if Yochim was “f—ing around with her,” per BuzzFeed. When she jokingly said yes, the man handed her a knife and said “stab him,”
Yochim tells the Nashville Tennessean. “Keep in mind, we’d been chased by chainsaws, holding other weapons, all kinds of stuff all night, and it was all fake,” he adds. “So she stabs at me with it, and everything got really black.”
The blade—very much real—went through the 29-year-old’s forearm.
Though it didn’t hit any major arteries, bones, or tendons, “his arm was gushing blood like something out of a horror scene,” Greenfield tells Fox 17.
Nine stitches later, Yochim recalls the unknown man apologizing as he lay bleeding, saying, “I didn’t know my knife was that sharp.” But according to Yochim, there were no weapons allowed inside the attraction and visitors were required to go through “very thorough” metal detectors.
In a Tuesday statement, Nashville Nightmare’s organizers said an employee believed to be “involved in some way” had been placed on leave “until we can determine his involvement.” An initial police report said the suspect had not been identified. No charges have been laid.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/10/10/man-stabbed-at-haunted-house-by-friend-who-thought-knife-was-a-prop/
4-year-old girl gives mom crack cocaine she got at Bronx day care
BRONX — A 4-year-old girl brought crack cocaine home from her Bronx day care.
Mom Sabrina Straker was horrified when her daughter, Serenity, showed her the capsules and explained she’d put one of them in her mouth. The girl gave her mom the capsules on Friday. She told Straker another child in the day care gave her his “teeth,” but when the Straker looked at the capsules, she knew something was wrong.
“This can’t be what I think it is,” Straker said she thought at the time. “How did this get in the day care?”
She immediately went to the 46th Precinct to alert police. Narcotics detectives ran a test on the capsules and confirmed it was crack cocaine.
Serenity was then rushed to a hospital where she tested positive for the drugs. Serenity had put one of the capsules in her mouth, but then spat it out.
“She could have died if she ingested this,” Straker said. “I was furious.”
PIX11 spoke with Yvette Joseph, the director at the Little Inventors Day Care on Andrews Avenue in the Bronx, to get answers. She said someone threw the drugs over the fence and it fell into the hands of one of the children.
“We checked our center thoroughly and all of the children are safe,” Joseph said.
Police are looking at all possibilities, including at the family of the child who gave the capsules to Serenity.
Straker wants the day care shut down, she said staff there drop the ball not noticing the children passing around the capsules filled with drugs like candy.
“No one was watching the children,” she said. “There are 15 kids in the room with two teachers and two aides, where were they when this was going on?”
PIX11 reached out to the Administration for Children’s Services to see if the agency is looking into this, but they have not yet responded. but so far no comment. The NYPD is investigation this as an endangering the welfare of a child case.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/10/09/4-year-old-girl-gives-mom-crack-cocaine-she-got-at-bronx-day-care/
Kanye West to Visit Trump This Week to Discuss Prison Reform, Violence
Kanye West will meet with President Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner at the White House on Thursday.
West will have lunch with the President at the White House and meet with Kushner, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. The New York Times first reported news of the meeting.
West’s visit to the White House falls in line with Kushner’s efforts at criminal justice reform. West hopes to discuss two key issues during his visit at the White House: job opportunities for ex-convicts and ways to increase manufacturing jobs in and around his hometown of Chicago.
Other topics of discussion will include prison reform, how to prevent gang violence and reducing violence in Chicago, Sanders said.
West’s visit follows two visits by his wife Kim Kardashian West, who has met with Trump at the White House and successfully secured a presidential pardon for a woman who was serving a life sentence in prison over non-violent drug charges.
The visit comes after West stoked controversy by wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” and delivering a pro-Trump speech on set.
via: https://ktla.com/2018/10/09/kanye-west-to-visit-trump-this-week-discuss-prison-reform-violence/
Man accused of murdering woman on front lawn, driving ‘back and forth’ over her
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A gruesome murder has residents of one Memphis, Tennessee community shocked and heartbroken, according to WREG.
Police responded to the call Sunday night and found a woman who had been severely beaten and run over – allegedly by the father of her children. That man, 34-year-old Santrez Traylor, has been arrested numerous times for domestic abuse, according to court records.
Neighbor Jay Smoot said he couldn’t believe what happened, especially in their quiet Orange Mound neighborhood.
“We saw a car driving back and forth across the lawn, and we didn’t know what was happening from where we could see. But it turned out we were witnessing the murder occurring,” he said.
Police responded to an armed party call at a house in the 3200 block Carnes around 9:30 Sunday night.
Witnesses said they heard a woman scream and discovered it was their neighbor, Amanda Petrowski. The father of her children, was said to be repeatedly hitting her in the head with a brick or rock.
“I didn’t realize the severity of what was happening just right across the street,” Smoot said.
Witnesses said Traylor then got into a car and ran Petrowski over several times near her porch. Bloodied damage and tire marks could be seen on Monday.
One neighbor told WREG she was on the phone with police for eight minutes while she waited for them to arrive.
Traylor was about to leave when officers showed up.
“He tried to flee the cops. He drove across the yard and into the street and the cops took off after him. That was the last of what we saw of the incident,” Smoot said. “We feel bad for the kids and for her mother. I heard when they told her mother what happened. It was just gut-wrenching.”
Petrowski was pronounced dead on the scene.
“I was shocked. I got real emotional,” Deborah Robinson told WREG. Robinson said she is a domestic violence survivor and vowed to keep sharing her story for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in honor of victims like Petrowski.
“Don’t look down on us,” Robinson said. “It’s hard, especially us as women, and it does happen to men, but we’ve got to have the support of everybody.”
Police reports show Traylor has been arrested multiple times over the past three years for stalking or abusing Petrowski.
Just last month, he was arrested for trespassing, threatening to “beat her brains in” and threatening to put one of their two children “through the wall.”
Affidavits say he once called around 200 times and has threatened to kill her before.
Traylor now faces second-degree murder charges and two counts of aggravated assault.
If you or anyone you know might be in an abusive relationship, visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline for more information and direct ways to contact someone who can help.