Texas high school teacher was caught on camera punching and stomping on a special needs student’s head, according to a report
In the disturbing footage, the 16-year-old student appears to hit substitute teacher Tiffani Shadell Lankford in the face at Lehman High School in Kyle — sending her into a fit of rage, according to kvue.com.
Shadell, 32, is shown punching the teen at least three times, pulling her out of a desk and stomping on her head as she lays on the ground.
Lankford, who was busted for domestic violence in 2014, was charged with aggravated assault Friday, according to the station.
The teen’s family was “disturbed” by the attack, their lawyer Paul Batrice said.
“We are shocked and disgusted after seeing the abuse and excessive force used in this teacher’s attempt to discipline a special needs child,” Batrice told the station. “All parents, myself included, should be deeply disturbed by the facts surrounding this attack.”
The teen, who suffers from seizures, was treated for severe injuries.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/10/teacher-caught-on-camera-beating-special-needs-student/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Man allegedly killed mom’s dog after she said no sex in the house
A Texas man enraged that his mom wouldn’t let him have sex in the house picked up her dog and threw it so hard that its heart burst, killing it, according to news reports.
James Garcia, 39, who has lived with his parents in San Antonio on and off for four years, asked his mom for permission to bring a woman into the home to have sex in his bedroom on Oct. 24, News 4 San Antonio reported.
When the mom refused to allow the woman in, Garcia allegedly hurled the dog, Roxy, 18 feet across the home, according to court records obtained by the outlet.
Then he took off, leaving the helpless pup to suffer on the kitchen floor, the records said. Roxy was rushed to the veterinarian’s office — but it was too late.
The throw was so violent that it “caused [Roxy’s] heart to burst, eventually bleeding to death,” the veterinarian said, according to local outlet KSAT 12.
Garcia returned to the home while police were still there and told them “he didn’t like hurting the dog,” the court records said.
He was arrested Saturday but is now out on $5,000 bond, KTSA reported.
Photo Credit: Bexar County Jail
2 Disney Employees Arrested in Child Pornography Sting in Florida
Two Disney employees were arrested in a child pornography sting orchestrated by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
They were among 17 men nabbed in an undercover sting operation, according to a press release from the agency.
Brett Kinney, 40, of Lake Alfred, Florida, told investigators he was a guest experience manager at Disney World, according to the release. Kinney was arrested and charged with one count of promotion of child pornography and 24 counts of possession of child pornography-enhanced, the release said.
A Disney spokesperson told CNN by phone that Kinney was no longer employed with the company following his arrest in the sting.
In the release, the sheriff’s office alleges that Kinney would search online for images of boys from toddlers to 10 years old. He was caught during a peer- to -peer investigation of alleged child pornography.
When confronted by investigators, Kinney told them that he had an addiction to child pornography and had been viewing it for 22 years, according to the release.
A second Disney employee, Donald Durr Jr., was also arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Durr, 52, of Davenport, Florida, told investigators he was a custodial worker at Walt Disney Resorts. He was arrested and charged with eight counts of possession of child pornography and one count of promotion of sexual performance by a child.
Durr is on unpaid leave, a Disney spokesperson told CNN.
Investigators discovered an electronic tablet with three images of child pornography and a DVD created by Durr nine years ago showing explicit images of a child, the sheriff’s press release said.
Durr described himself during an interview with detectives as “a pervert, but not a monster,” according to the release.
CNN has reached out to both men for responses to the charges they face but has not yet heard back. CNN has not determined whether they have legal representation.
via: https://ktla.com/2019/11/09/2-disney-employees-arrested-in-child-pornography-sting-in-florida/
Photo Credit: Polk County Sheriff’s Office via CNN
A police chief is killed, allegedly by one of his officers, during a training retreat
An Oklahoma police chief and one of his officers went to Florida for a law enforcement training conference, but something went terribly wrong.
Michael Nealey, 49, was arrested and will be charged with homicide after the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office found Police Chief Lucky Miller dead in their hotel room, Amber Southard, chief public information officer for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN.
The sheriff’s office made the discovery after responding to a call about a fight at the Hilton on Pensacola Beach on Sunday night, Southard said.
Miller, 44, was chief of police in Mannford, Oklahoma since 2007. He had a wife, Amber, and three children.
It is unclear what led to the fight, and officials have not released a cause of death.
“We are heartbroken by the news,” Mannford Mayor Tyler Buttram said in a Facebook post. “Please keep both families in your prayers as we work to move forward.”
Nealey is being held without bond at the Escambia County Jail. He has a court appearance scheduled for December 5.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/police-chief-killed-allegedly-one-195637242.html
Photo Credit: Google Earth / Google Earth
Convicted murderer who ‘momentarily died’ claims life sentence has been served
DES MOINES, Iowa – An Iowa inmate serving a life sentence says he should be a free man after he became ill, momentarily died, and had to be revived at the hospital. But the courts are having none of it.
Benjamin Schreiber was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1997 after being convicted of first-degree murder. In March 2015, he developed large kidney stones that led to septic poisoning, according to court documents.
He eventually fell unconscious in his cell and was taken to a local hospital, where he was resuscitated five separate times, the documents say.
According to the Iowa Court of Appeals, Schreiber “claims he momentarily died at the hospital, thereby fulfilling his ‘life’ sentence … Because his sentence has been fulfilled, he argues, he is imprisoned illegally and should be immediately released.”
A district court previously denied Schreiber’s motion. And on Wednesday, the Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision.
In its opinion, the appeals court said a “plain reading” of Iowa law says defendants guilty of a class A felony “must spend the rest of their natural life in prison, regardless of how long that period of time ends up being or any events occurring before the defendant’s life ends.”
“Schreiber is either alive, in which case he must remain in prison,” Judge Amanda Potterfield wrote, “or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot.”
An attorney for Schreiber did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday morning. It’s unclear whether Schreiber plans to take the case to a higher court.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
14 year old girl charged with murder after police say she tied down and killed an animal rescue advocate
PHILADELPHIA — A 14-year-old girl was arrested and charged with murder after police say she tied down and killed a 59-year-old Philadelphia man known for his animal rescue efforts.
Philadelphia police said they responded early November 5 to a report of a man in distress. Police entered the home and found a man, later identified as Albert Chernoff, partially tied to the bed with a massive head wound and several slashes to his chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A female was seen leaving the property before police arrived, and police released surveillance video from inside the home in an attempt to identify her. The girl, who is 14, arrived with her mother and two defense attorneys to turn herself in, police said.
She was arrested November 8 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 27, court documents show. Given her arrest, the surveillance video has since been removed, police said.
Police have not named the girl.
Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney, said officials have not decided whether to proceed in juvenile or adult court.
One of the teenager’s attorneys, Howard Taylor, told CNN the girl is currently in juvenile detention.
“It’s a very sad situation. Troubled girl. There’s a reason police aren’t saying much,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot more to it.”
When asked whether she was a victim, he said he “wouldn’t put it to that extent,” but added that “he wasn’t totally innocent, either.”
Chernoff was a well-known animal rescue advocate in Philadelphia. In the wake of his death, the makers of the documentary film “The Cat Rescuers” shared a short video of Chernoff, showing his cat tattoos, and praised his “warmth and affability.”
“The world is just a little bit colder today without this wonderful human being. Please take a moment to tell the cat rescuers in your life what they mean to you. We will never forget you, Al,” their Facebook post read. “We lost a gracious soul.”
In addition, Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia praised him in a Facebook post after his death.
“The animal rescue community, and especially the cat community has lost an amazing man,” the group said. “He was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met and he would do anything for anyone. You are already missed and there is a hole in the heart of every cat rescuer that will never be filled.”
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Virginia doctor allegedly tied women’s fallopian tubes, performed hysterectomies without consent
Federal prosecutors have accused a Virginia doctor of performing surgeries on women — such as hysterectomies and removing their fallopian tubes without their consent according to court documents.
Javaid Perwaiz, 69, faces several charges related to insurance fraud as a result of an investigation that began in September 2018 after the FBI received a tip from a hospital employee who suspected he was “performing unnecessary surgeries on unsuspecting patients,” according to the criminal complaint, filed Friday in the Eastern District of Virginia.
The unidentified patients would advise hospital staff that they were there for their “annual clean outs” and were not aware of the procedures they were undergoing, the affidavit states. In addition, hospital staff “had a difficult time” keeping up with the doctor “as he ran from procedure to procedure,” charging documents say.
Perwaiz has a practice in Chesapeake, where he lives, according to the court documents.
A preliminary review of Medicaid claims from his patients revealed that certain patients were subjected to repeated surgical procedures, with some occurring on an annual basis, the affidavit states. From January 2014 to August 2018, Perwaiz allegedly performed surgery on 40% of his Medicaid beneficiaries, which amounted to 510 patients. About 42% of those patients underwent two or more surgeries, according to the court documents.
The review also revealed that Perwaiz allegedly had a “propensity to conduct bundled surgeries,” involving laparoscopy, dilation and curettage, and lysis of adhesions, the affidavit states.
On one patient, Perwaiz allegedly performed annual D and C surgeries based on a diagnosis of endometriosis, according to the court documents. On at least one occasion, she was scheduled for the procedure without having appeared for an office visit, and in 2011, Perwaiz allegedly treated her for an ectopic pregnancy.
From 2011 to 2014, Perwaiz allegedly asked the patiently “routinely” whether she planned on having another baby, the affidavit states. In 2014, when the patient sought treatment from a fertility specialist, that doctor advised her that “both fallopian tubes were burnt down to nubs, making natural conception impossible.”
The court documents alleges that Perwaiz removed that patient’s fallopian tubes without her consent or knowledge.
(MORE: Georgia medical board suspends doctor accused of filming videos during surgeries)
In another case, in 2012, federal prosecutors say the patient thought only her ovaries would be removed but was “shocked” when she awoke from surgery to discover that Perwaiz allegedly performed a full hysterectomy, which he documented as an “elective surgery”on her medical record. That patient learned that there were less invasive procedures available when consulting with another doctor, according to the court documents.
The last surgery listed in the court documents occurred on Oct. 19 of this year, in which Perwaiz allegedly performed an abdominal supracervical hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and lysis of adhesions on a patient who later told investigators that she “never made complaints” regarding pelvic pain, pelvic pressure or constant cramping, despite what was written in her medical chart on Sept. 30. The patient also stated that she told the doctor she did not want a hysterectomy, but he allegedly told her it was the “best option” and did not discuss other treatment options or the risk of surgery.
Perwaiz’s medical practice submitted three claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield for that patient on Oct. 28 and was later reimbursed $942.22 for the partial hysterectomy, according to the affidavit.
Federal prosecutors have charged Perwaiz with “executing a scheme” to defraud the Virginia Medical Assistance Program and Blue Cross Blue Shield by submitting false and fictitious claims from 2010 to about October of this year, according to the court documents. He is also be charged with making false and fictitious claims to Blue Cross Blue Shield for the patient he treated in October for providing her with medical care that “did not present with the symptoms listed” and that she did not need.
Perwaiz was arrested Friday and was still being held at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk, Virginia, as of Sunday. His attorney, Lawrence H. Woodward Jr., did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
The affadavist lists other instances in where Perwaiz was under investigation related to his medical practice. In 1982, Perwaiz lost his hospital privileges at the Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, “due to poor clinical judgment and for performing unnecessary surgeries” and had been invested by the Virginia Board of Medicine for performing surgeries, predominately hysterectomies, “without appropriate medical indications and contrary to sound judgment.”
Perwaiz was ultimately censured for poor record keeping, according to the court documents.
In 1996, Perwaiz pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion, and his medical license was temporarily revoked but later reinstated in 1998, the affidavit states. He has also been the subject of at least eight medical malpractice lawsuits, charging documents state, in which plaintiffs allege he “falsified patient records to justify a medical procedure, failed to use less invasive techniques, performed as many as 30 surgeries in one day, and provided substandard care that resulted in irreparable permanent injuries to three patients and life threatening injuries to another two patients.”
He was still wearing green scrubs when he made his initial appearance at the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, where he was ordered to be held without bond, according to the newspaper.
Photo Credit: Western Tidewater Regional Jail
Her boyfriend admitted child abuse but didn’t go to prison. She spent 15 years in prison for not reporting him
Tondalao Hall was arrested after her boyfriend left her baby girl with broken ribs. She didn’t hurt the child but still served 15 years over the abuse.
Hall, 35, was released Friday from the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in McLoud, Oklahoma. She tearfully hugged her children, her siblings and many friends who had been waiting for her.
“I’m blessed and I’m humbled,” Hall told reporters outside the prison.
In 2004, Hall and her then-boyfriend, Robert Braxton, were arrested on child abuse charges after she took two of her youngest children to the hospital. Her 3-month-old daughter had broken ribs and a broken femur, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, which is representing Hall.
In 2006, after serving two years in county jail, Braxton pleaded guilty to two counts of abuse. He was sentenced but given probation and released from custody, online court records show.
Hall got a much harsher penalty.
She pleaded guilty to enabling child abuse and was sentenced to a total of 30 years in prison, records show. Authorities said she failed to tell police about her boyfriend’s abuse.
Hall was denied commutation in 2018. But last month, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted in favor of recommending the commutation of Hall’s sentence. Gov. Kevin Stitt approved the request on Thursday, leading the way to her release on Friday morning, a spokeswoman with the state’s Department of Corrections said.
“First and foremost, I want to thank God for making a way and for keeping me safe and sane during this season of my life,” said Hall in a statement released Thursday prior to her release.
“Secondly, for all the people God has placed in my life, my children and my family for sticking by me. Time and space cannot accommodate the list of people who have loved, helped, and supported me through all of this, so, to everyone who has, thank you and God bless you!”
Hall’s son, Robert, who was only 18 months when she went to prison, said the decision came as a pleasant surprise for the family. He said he didn’t expect his mother to be released so quickly after the governor’s approval but was excited to have her back home.
“I’m feeling great, I thank the Lord for this day,” Robert, 16, told CNN affiliate KFOR. The ACLU said Hall’s cousin cared for her children while she was behind bars.
As Hall walked to a car surrounded by her family and attorneys, she said her only plans were spending time with her children. At some point in the future, Hall added, she would like to find a way to help other incarcerated women.
Hall’s release comes days after hundreds of Oklahoma inmates left prison in the largest mass commutation in US history. More than 460 non-violent inmates were released before their original sentences were over.
The move is one of many prison reform efforts in Oklahoma aimed at reducing overcrowded prisons while helping low-level offenders build a life of self-sufficiency rather than reincarceration.
Photo Credit: Sue Ogrock/AP/CNN
When a Waffle House was short on staff, customers jumped behind the counter to help out
Late last Saturday night, Ethan Crispo had just left a friend’s birthday party in Birmingham, Alabama, and walked into a Waffle House around midnight to grab a bite.
Crispo told CNN only a single employee was working in the restaurant.
He described the cook’s face, as “awash in bewilderment,” at finding he was by himself managing the night shift.
More than 30 people were there eating, and there was just one man left to “fend off the incoming crowd of hungry, heavily imbibed customers,” Crispo said.
He became resigned to going home on an empty stomach.
But a customer finished his meal, asked for an apron and stepped behind the counter to wash dishes.
“It was a smooth transition,” Crispo, 24, said. “He just busted his butt and helped out.”
‘It was one of my most memorable experiences’
Crispo said he asked Ben, the lone associate working, who the man washing dishes was.
Turns out he didn’t work at the restaurant, nor did he work at a Waffle House anywhere.
Another woman, wearing a dress and heels, also stepped up. She walked behind the counter to get a coffee pot.
“At first I thought it was out of necessity, like she just wanted coffee,” Crispo said. But she was enlisting as a second member of the volunteer staff.
The two worked together in a team, busing tables, stacking cups and washing dishes. Meanwhile, Ben, the actual employee, manned the cash register and cooked at the grill.
The man washing dishes occasionally “had to ask Ben where stuff should go,” Crispo said, but otherwise it was as though though two strangers, without even talking to each other, had spontaneously learned to run a restaurant in tandem.
Pat Warner, a spokesman for Waffle House, told CNN the store had a miscommunication about the duty roster that night, and it had created “a little gap” in staffing.
“We’re very appreciative and thankful, but we do prefer to have our associates behind the counter,” Warner said.
He added that Waffle House restaurants tend to have a special sense of community. He recalled a similar time in 2014 when diners volunteered to keep a restaurant running when paid staff couldn’t get to work during Atlanta’s notorious Snowmageddon storm.
But, for Crispo it was the first time, and it’ll stick out to him for years to come, as an example of humanity at its best.
“I’ve never seen anything like this ever happen, nor will I again, probably,” Crispo said. “It was one of my most memorable experiences.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy Ethan Crispo
New York woman arrested for allegedly harassing 2-year-old with genetic disorder
A New York woman has been arrested for allegedly harassing a child with a genetic disorder, according to police.
Krista Sewell, 26, of Melville, allegedly posted messages threatening the child, who has a “severe genetic disorder that affects the skin” on Facebook, Instagram and a GoFundMe campaign benefiting the child’s family, according to a press release by New York State Police.
The Long Island woman also allegedly mailed threatening letters to the child’s home, police said.
The 2-year-old girl, Anna Riley, lives in Ulster County in the Hudson Valley and suffers from harlequin ichthyosis, which causes skin abnormalities that affect breathing and movement. Her mother, Jennie Riley, is outspoken on social media about the condition in an effort to educate people, The Associated Press reported.
Riley said her daughter was born with the “severe” condition and that she has “made a choice to educate people publicly on Facebook and Instagram,” according to AP.
On Sunday, after the news of Sewell’s arrest became public, Riley wrote on Instagram that she refuses for her daughter “to hide from her disorder with some sort of shame about having different skin.”
“One day she will have to go out on her own to face the world and I will do everything in my power to make sure she has the confidence that is needed,” Riley wrote. “I hope so much that people learn there is someone on the other side of their keyboards and it’s not ok to send hateful messages.”
Riley thanked authorities for their “diligence and dedication” as well as their compassion in investigating the case.
“Although I knew there was a possibility for negativity I never expected to receive the messages that were sent to me,” Riley said in a statement. “Over the past year I have fought a battle I never thought I would fight and I felt fear no mother should feel.”
Sewell was charged with aggravated harassment, stalking, and a hate crime with aggravated harassment, police said. She was still being housed in the Ulster County Jail as of Sunday, a representative for the jail told ABC News. It is unclear if she has retained an attorney.
Photo Credit: Ulster County Sheriff’s Office