‘I am having car trouble and I have a body in the trunk’ – Missouri man facing murder charges
BUTLER COUNTY, MO – When you’re having trouble and you have a body in your trunk in rural Missouri, you apparently use a lifeline and call a friend, at least if you’re Edward Weaver.
In an affidavit to support murder charges against Weaver, Sgt. Jeff Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol wrote that a Butler County Sheriff’s deputy found a car Thursday belonging to the victim on a county road, with the body of Norman Jones in the trunk. Jones’s limbs were bound and there was an apparent ligature mark around his neck. His wife had reported him missing the day before, saying she had last seen him on August 22nd.
Through witness statements, investigators determined Edward Weaver believed Jones had stolen pills from him. Trooper Johnson said Weaver sent a text message with a picture of the victim in the trunk to another man that read, “I am having car trouble and I have a body in the trunk.” Weaver claimed to have recently obtained the vehicle and told the man he needed help and friends need to be loyal.
Johnson wrote that Weaver told his father, “Dad, I may not see you for a while. I did what I had to do.”
Police have so far been unable to locate McDannald, a woman they say is a person of interest.
New Yorker pretends to be doctor for 3 years, officials say
He is “a dangerous scam artist who never completed any medical school or doctoral program. He merely bestowed upon himself the professional titles of clinical psychologist and medical doctor,” said Daniel Master Jr., Richmond County district attorney.
According to authorities, Lee-Edwards said he worked “extensively with family members and victims of 9/11” and made himself available for home visits. In June, the district attorney’s office was notified of his practice after skeptical patients complained of his unorthodox bedside manner and his prescription methods.
CNN affiliate WCBS spoke to one of Lee-Edwards’ patients, Kim Broadie, outside his office. Broadie showed them a bottle of anti-depressants he had been prescribed with a different doctor’s name; the district attorney’s office said Lee-Edwards would call in his prescriptions under the identity of a different doctor with a similar sounding name.
Lee-Edwards operated out of a basement apartment below a two-family residence in State Island; he lived in the floor above his office with his parents, officials said.
Photographs released by the district attorney’s office show a waiting room with seating area, a kitchenette, a front desk and rooms for treatment. They also show shelves of blood vials and urine samples and medical equipment throughout the apartment.
Lee-Edwards’ letterhead advertised him as a clinical psychologist, Ph.D., M.D. and L.P., and when CNN called Lee’s business and cell phone numbers for comment, his voice mail did the same. Lee-Edwards and his attorney, Matthew Blum, could not be reached for comment.
The district attorney’s office said during Lee-Edwards’ time practicing, he saw “approximately 10 parolees through word-of mouth referrals” and he would talk to their parole officers about session attendance. He also prepared progress reports for parolee’s files, officials said.
The district attorney’s office brought a 12-count indictment against Lee-Edwards, including charges of criminal impersonation, identity theft, unauthorized practice of medicine, criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions. Lee-Edwards is due back in court in September and is being held on a $150,000 bond/$75,000 bail.
KY babysitter fires gun shots at children
(RNN) – A woman in Kentucky fired shots at 8-year-old twins and claims she doesn’t remember doing it. Lorie Cornett, the babysitter of the twins, was carrying a loaded and cocked pistol when deputies arrived last Sunday, according to police.
Reports say the children ran to a nearby house, and said their babysitter fired shots and threatened to kill them. Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell said while investigating a deputy found three empty cartridges, and the gun had two spent cartridges.
Cornett told police she didn’t remember babysitting the children, and that she was on medication and had been drinking.
She has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment and is free on bond.
via: http://www.kmov.com/story/29798981/ky-babysitter-fires-gun-shots-at-children
Man killed where ‘End Violence’ march concluded
(KMOV.com) – Homicide has been called to the scene of a shooting near the spot where an end violence march ended on Saturday. Police say the victim, a man in his 30s, was shot in the torso and head on 21st Street and St. Louis Avenue near Rauschenbach Park.
The victim was transported to an area hospital. He was later pronounced dead. The investigation is ongoing.
This homicide marks the 127th of the year. In 2014, St. Louis had its 127th homicide in November.
via: http://www.kmov.com/story/29796292/man-shot-in-head-torso-where-end-violence-march-concluded
HOW IRONIC?!?
Woman sues Missouri restaurant known as “Home of Throwed Rolls” for being hit by a roll
OZARK, Mo. – A well-known Missouri restaurant, known for being the “Home of Throwed Rolls,” may be in some hot water for a guest who is saying she received a roll-related injury. Lambert’s Cafe, the Sikeston-based restaurant chain, which features dinner rolls being thrown across the room by servers to guests, is being sued. The suit was filed Tuesday by a woman named Troy Tucker who claims she “sustained a lacerated cornea with a vitreous detachment and all head, neck, eyes and vision were severely damaged” after being hit by a dinner roll during a visit in September of 2014.
Tucker is seeking at least $25,000 to cover for her medical bills and legal fees. The restaurant’s “carelessness and negligence” as the lawsuit alleges, has already caused expenses totaling $10,000. The law suit claims that the restaurant should’ve known about the dangers involved in their signature practice.
Johnny Fugitt of the River Front Times points out in a blog entry that Tucker may not have much of a case, considering that back in June, Slugger and the Kansas City Royals were deemed to have not been at fault after a thrown hot dog hit a man in the face and tore his retina. Fugitt said in that case the “baseball rule” was referenced, and that by voluntarily entering a baseball stadium the victim assumed some responsibility for personal awareness.
He points out that “Home of Throwed Rolls” is posted all over, which could mean Lambert’s diners assume they are putting themselves at risk of being hit by a flying roll, upon entering the establishment.
Lambert’s general manager, Jerry Johnson, told KFVS servers never intend to hurt anyone when they throw rolls.
St. Charles woman hires hitman to kill husband’s pregnant mistress
ST. CHARLES, MO (KTVI) – A woman is under arrest for trying to hire a hitman to kill a victim and her unborn child. Police say Sherrie Marie Densing, 34, met with an undercover police officer on Wednesday at around 7pm. She said she suspected her husband was having an affair during the meeting at a shopping center located on Bass Pro Drive. She wanted the undercover officer to kill the other woman and her unborn child.
Densing made an agreement with the officer for payment to to murder the victim. She gave the undercover officer photographs of the victim and her vehicle, along with keys to the victim’s vehicle and home. Police say that Densing left the meeting and returned a short time later. She brought $60 in cash to pay for a gun and multiple vials of morphine. She was arrested on the scene. The entire meeting was recorded on video. Investigators say Densing confessed that she paid the undercover officer to kill the victim and her unborn child during an interview.
Densing is charged with Conspiracy to commit murder and distribution of a controlled substance.
McComb man charged with murdering 10-year-old
MCCOMB, MS (Mississippi News Now) –
The McComb Police Department has filed additional charges against Willie Wilkinson Jr. in relation to their investigation the shooting death of 10-year-old Jadarrious Wilkinson, that occurred on August 5.
The charges include Possession of a stolen firearm, stolen from from William Hughes’ home prior to shooting. Wilkinson is also being charged with Second Degree Murder. Wilkinson is currently being held at Pike County Detention Center. Judge Danny Smith stated that the arraignment date for these additional charges will be Monday August 10, 2015. Bond has been set in the amount of $1,090,000.00 for all charges. The incident is still under investigation. Ten-year-old Jadarrious Wilkinson was shot and killed in McComb, Wednesday night.
His mother says the shooting was no accident, and she believes a pillow fight led up to the deadly incident. Terrika Wilkinson, Jadarrious’ mother said, “I guess my baby hit him too hard or whatever and he got mad about it but he was up in there playing with a gun in a house full of kids.” Officers received reports of the shooting at the home on McComb Street around 10:44 PM, Wednesday, where they found Jadarrious unresponsive. Emergency crews were unable to revive him, and he was later pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Twenty-two year-old Willie J. Wilkinson Jr. was arrested on the scene. Authorities say Wilkinson, who is related to the child, had been staying at the home where the shooting happened for the last 2 weeks. Both the police chief and Jadarrious’ mother say that Wilkinson’s story of what happened has changed numerous times.
He is currently being held at Pike County Detention Center for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and probation violation.
via: http://www.kmov.com/story/29735517/mccomb-man-accused-in-pillow-fight-shooting-gets-no-bond
Cops make disgusting online ‘memorial’ mocking death of Ferguson’s Michael Brown
An online group dedicated to police officers posted a wildly offensive “memorial” to slain Ferguson, Missouri teenager Michael Brown on the social medium Facebook. After an outcry, it now appears the tasteless post has been removed.
The Free Thought Project reported that the Facebook group Police Officers posted the offensive image in advance of the 1-year anniversary of Brown’s slaying at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson.
The image showed a photoshopped gravestone with Brown’s dates of birth and death along with a poem that said:
There once was a thug named Brown,
Who bum-rushed a cop with a frown,
Six bullets later,
He met his creator,
Then his homies burnt down the town
Before it was taken down, the post received nearly 4,000 Facebook “likes” and was shared more than 1,700 times.
Some users, however, objected to the post.
“Sorry, while I support my LEO [law enforcement officer] brothers,” wrote one commenter, “this is very distasteful. We are above this garbage. Should take down.”
The Police Officers administrator replied that “Mike Brown chose his path, one that has lead [sic] this country into complete divisiveness. He’s not a martyr, he was a thug, who robbed a clerk then made the adult choice to fight a cop, of which he intended to murder.”
“At the end of the day,” the post continued, “the person truly responsible for the killing of Mike Brown is Mike Brown himself.”
Brown’s was one of the factors that touched off the #BlackLivesMatter movement and has remained a bone of contention in the year since.
Officer Wilson was profiled this week in a New Yorker article in which he said he is trying to put the slaying of the unarmed teen behind him and that he and his family are living in anonymity. To avoid conflict, Wilson said when the family dines out, they go to businesses frequented by “like-minded individuals” and restaurants that “aren’t a mixing-pot.” The offensive rhyme seems to have originated on a now-banned Reddit community called “CoonTown,” but was reprinted on Facebook by the Libertarian group Communism Kills.
South Carolina officer shoots unarmed white teen during pot bust
You think you’ve heard this story before. A young, unarmed man is gunned down by police, black activists are outraged — the only difference with this scenario is that the young man is not black, he’s white. Nineteen-year-old Zachary Hammond was on a date July 26 when he was fatally shot twice by a police officer while at the back parking lot of a Hardee’s fast food restaurant in Seneca, a city 40 miles from Greenville, near the North Carolina border, according to Eric Bland, the attorney representing the teen’s family.
The Seneca Police Department said the officer was conducting a drug investigation and shot Hammond in self-defense. “He was a uniformed officer, he was in a marked vehicle, was out of his vehicle on foot approaching the suspect vehicle — weapon drawn given it was a narcotics type violation,” Seneca Police Chief John Covington said to CNN affiliate WHNS. A small amount of marijuana was found in the front passenger’s compartment in Hammond’s car. “He was a 19-year-old, 121-pound kid killed basically for a joint,” Bland said. Tori Morton, who was on the date with Hammond, was arrested on charges of simple possession of marijuana. It was an amount, Bland said, that did not warrant such excessive police force. “This is about the use of overreaching deadly force in situations where it is not required,” Bland said. Covington said the officer was attempting to arrest Hammond when the teen accelerated the car and drove toward the officer, prompting the officer to shoot in self-defense.
The Oconee County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy on Tuesday and confirmed that Hammond was shot twice and had wounds consistent with a .45 caliber handgun that was used by the Seneca Police. Hammond suffered one gunshot wound to the collar bone-shoulder region and one wound to the chest, which was fatal, according to the report. The autopsy ruled that Hammond’s death was a homicide. The report did not state if Hammond’s gunshot wounds were consistent with his vehicle moving at the time of the shooting. Bland said Hammond’s wounds indicate the vehicle was not moving, and the teen was shot on the rear of his shoulder and on the side of his chest. The Hammond family commissioned an independent autopsy, which found the teen’s gunshot wounds indicated he was shot from behind and at close range. Covington told WHNS the officer involved in the shooting, who has worked at the Seneca Police Department for more than five years, is on administrative leave. The police department is not releasing the name of the officer, citing safety concerns.
“We will not be releasing the officer’s name that was involved in the shooting and consider him a victim of attempted murder as we have previously stated several times,” Covington said in a statement Friday. Hammond’s death has not generated the same national outcry as the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others. Black Lives Matter, an activist community that is working to end what it says is the systematic targeting of black people by police, has been sharing Hammond’s story on social media as another example of police brutality while also asking why Hammond’s death has not prompted outrage by other groups. Meredith Clark, an assistant professor at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas who is conducting research on the Black Lives Matter movement, told the Los Angeles Times the lack of outrage over Hammond’s death did not appear to be race-related. She said the lack of compelling video or a history of brutality complaints with the police department was more of a reason the story did not reach national levels.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has taken over the investigation and collected the handgun as evidence. Kathryn Richardson, a spokeswoman for SLED, said the investigation is continuing. Richardson also confirmed there is dashcam video of the incident but would not say when it would be released. CNN’s Shawn Nottingham, John Newsome and Chris Youd contributed to this report.
via: http://fox2now.com/2015/08/07/south-carolina-officer-shoots-unarmed-white-teen-during-pot-bust-2/
Darren Wilson profile in ‘New Yorker’ riles activists
ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – With the one-year anniversary of Michael Brown’s shooting death this Sunday, New Yorker magazine published a profile Monday morning of the former police officer who shot and killed the Ferguson teenager. That story, which delves into Darren Wilson’s upbringing and the moments leading up to his fateful encounter with the 18-year-old Brown, as well as Wilson’s current life in hiding, has drawn the ire of activists online. Writer Jake Halpern’s 10,000-word profile piece on Wilson, entitled ‘The Man Who Shot Michael Brown,’ is based on a series of interviews with the 29-year-old former police officer and his wife, conducted since March 2015. Wilson, who has since moved to “the outskirts of St. Louis,” said he began receiving death threats shortly after shooting Brown. An U.S. Justice Department-led investigation into the events of the shooting concluded Wilson did not willfully violate Brown’s civil rights and cleared him of wrongdoing. However, a second report by the DoJ blasted practices by the city and its police force regarding arrests and fines levied against black citizens in overwhelmingly high numbers. Shortly after the profile piece was published, civil rights activist DeRay McKesson took to Twitter to accuse The New Yorker of “humanizing” Wilson, adding “watch whiteness work” in a subsequent tweet.
via: http://fox2now.com/2015/08/03/darren-wilson-profile-in-new-yorker-riles-activists/