moonbuggy

`Heroin should be prescribed to drug addicts to curb crime, the deputy chief constable of Nottinghamshire has said at a drugs conference.

Howard Roberts told an Association of Chief Police Officers’ conference in Manchester the idea should be assessed.

He said the treatment would cost £12,000 a year per addict but added that drug users steal property valued at an average of £45,000 a year.’

`Many people on the rundown northwest Atlanta street where Kathryn Johnston lived fortify their windows with metal bars and arm themselves for protection. Johnston, 92, was no exception. She was waiting with her gun on Tuesday night when a group of plainclothes officers with a warrant knocked down her door in a search for drugs, police said. She opened fire, wounding three officers, before being shot to death, police said.

Assistant Police Chief Alan Dreher called the killing “tragic and unfortunate” but said the officers were justified in returning fire.’

‘This is hilarious. This dude fails the sobriety test before it even begins. The cop asks him to hold a tape and place it on the ground and he [..]’

see it here »

`One witness told the Sydney Morning Herald there was initially nothing suspicious about the man, but things soon became unsual.

“He was very gentle and polite, anywhere else he could have been very believable. He said Sydney City Council had given him and other people like him permission to be in parents’ rooms all over the city to raise money for charity.”

When the woman explained she did not want him in the room while she was breastfeeding her baby, the man replied he was blind in one eye and wouldn’t see anything.

“Then he said ‘As part of our charity we also change diapers for $1,'” the woman said.

“And we all looked at each other and knew this wasn’t right.”

`An inmate accused of forcibly tattooing a slain 10-year-old girl’s name onto her killer’s forehead in an Indiana prison was the victim’s cousin, a family friend said.

Jared Harris, 22, is a cousin of Katlyn “Katie” Collman, family friend and spokesman Terry Gray told The Republic newspaper. He said he did not believe they knew each other well.

Harris, 22, who is serving time on a burglary conviction at Wabash Valley state prison in Carlisle, has been charged with battery and accused of tattooing “KATIE’S REVENGE” across Anthony Ray Stockelman’s forehead.’

followup to Prison looks into ‘Katie’s Revenge’ tattoo.

`A woman accused of duct-taping her two children together and leaving them home alone has been charged with child abuse, the sheriff’s office said.

Agla Nadia Vincent, 25, was arrested Monday following a seven-month investigation into whether she left her two boys, then aged 2 and 3, taped to each other while she went to work, said Lt. Annie Smith of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. [..]

In March, a witness heard the children crying and called the police. When military police arrived, they found the children taped in a bedroom with feces and cereal scattered on play mats on the floor, investigators said.’

`Prosecutors in the Madrid train bombing case will seek prison terms of about 38,000 years for each of the seven prime defendants in the trial due to start next February, according to a prosecution order released Monday and viewed by CNN. [..]

The sentences sought were calculated based on murder charges against the seven prime defendants for each of the 191 people who died in the attacks on Madrid commuter trains on March 11, 2004, and also for the attempted murders of the 1,824 others who were wounded, the 232-page prosecution order said.

The trial is expected to last for months. The defendants — if convicted of all the charges — would serve only a maximum of 40 years in prison, under Spanish law, which prohibits the death penalty, the prosecution said.’

`Ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death by hanging today after being found guilty of crimes against humanity in ordering the deaths of 148 Shi’ite villagers.

If an automatic review of the death sentence fails, the former strongman will hang within 30 days.’

`A Marine pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice before testifying that his squad was ordered to execute a known insurgent who turned out to be a civilian. [..]

Three members of Jackson’s unit went into the village of Hamdaniya on April 26 and returned with a prisoner who was then shot by the side of a road on the orders of squad leader Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins, Jackson said.

“Sgt. Hutchins ordered us to get on line,” Jackson testified. “Everyone fired rounds, including myself, but I fired my rounds above him. I knew he was going to be shot, but I didn’t want to be the one to do it.”

Military judge Lt. Col. Joseph Lisiecki told Jackson that even if the man he had shot at was a known insurgent, it was still unlawful to kidnap and kill him.’

`A man was arrested on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon after police found him outdoors – naked – and he told them he had a tool in his rectum, authorities said.

The man was lying on a tree stump, masturbating beside a nature path, near a Bay Area Rapid Transit station Thursday, police said. [..]

Officers drew their weapons and firefighters were called to the scene. Sheehan removed a 6-inch metal awl wrapped in black electrical tape without incident.’

`As many as 20 rocket launchers have been smuggled into Australia from the Middle East and are on sale for as much as $50,000 each in Sydney’s underworld.

The weapons were obtained by a Sydney criminal gang to fight a turf war, but authorities fear they could end up in the hands of terrorists.

A Sunday Telegraph investigation has revealed the B-7 type rocket launchers, also known as RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenades, are being offered for sale on the black market for between $15,000 and $50,000.

The rocket launchers have been in the possession of at least one Sydney crime gang since about 2002, police believe.’

`A man attempting to rob a fireworks shop fired his shotgun, igniting fireworks and starting a blaze that destroyed the business, authorities said.

No injuries were reported at North American Fireworks, the Vilas County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Saturday. A 20-year-old man was being held in jail after being tracked to a home about 10 miles away.’

`Police say a Marshall County teen raped his mother to get revenge on his brother.

Police say 19-year-old Gary Helms, Jr., raped his 45-year-old mother this past weekend at Willow Terrace Trailer Park on Doyle Drive in Albertville.

It’s a twisted crime that police say Helms admits.

“From what we understand the rape stemmed from an argument between him and his brother. And apparently they were arguing over a girlfriend. And the rape was some sort of retaliation towards his brother,” said Sgt. Jamie Smith of the Albertville Police Department.’

`Below is the complete collection of subpoenaed Georgia execution tapes, totaling more than eight hours of audio. These RealAudio files are transfers of the raw, unedited tapes. Some of the tapes begin after the execution has started or end before the procedure has been completed. Any gaps in the files exist on the original tapes themselves.’

`The family of four was enjoying a meal together at Pizza Piazza in the High Street at about 9.15pm on October 16 when they were approached at their table by the suspect, who was carrying a clear plastic bag containing what police believe to be urine.

He was heard to say “This is for you” and then threw the liquid over the family and their food. He then quickly walked out of the restaurant.

A waitress in the restaurant called the police who did not arrive immediately, leaving the family sitting in urine-soaked clothes for more than 30 minutes.’

`A Syracuse man faces DWI charges after police said he got into an accident with his 15-year-old son in the car. Stephen Bowman, 48, has been charged with driving while intoxicated and endangering the welfare of a child. [..]

The 15-year-old told police his father had been drinking beer at the game, and he had to slap his father repeatedly in the car to keep him awake.’

`A 17-year-old boy was sent to the hospital after he received a brutal beating, in the form of a new punishment called “curbing.”

Gavin Lyon, a senior at Bingham High School, was beaten last Friday night. Family and friends believe he was “curbed” – a violent maneuver where a person’s head is placed against a concrete curb on a street, and someone steps on the back of the head. In most cases, this procedure causes the jaw to break along with several teeth. [..]

Gavin sustained a broken jaw, several broken teeth, a fractured neck and his sinus cavity was crushed. Doctors have also placed a titanium plate inside of his head.’

`The four customers left Peking Palace without paying for their meal.

Waiter Bobby Aru noticed; he would be stuck paying their $40 dinner tab Monday night at his mother’s restaurant, 1261 S. Rock Road.

He ran into the parking lot and hollered at the three men and one woman to stop. When they got into a red pickup, he impulsively jumped into the bed of the truck as they drove away. [..]

He said he yelled at them again to stop, but it didn’t matter. The driver swerved and made sharp turns in an effort to “shake me loose.”

But Aru hung on.

“It looked like a kung fu movie,” he said.’

`He’s broken into nine houses on the Mountain since July. He’s stolen thousands of dollars worth of jewellery, cash and small electronics. He took a cop’s badge from one house. He’s busted in doors and ransacked rooms.

Most disturbing of all, though, wasn’t what he was taking. It was what he was leaving behind.

He’s defecated at seven scenes. Usually he leaves his calling card in the back yard. Once on the kitchen floor. At another place, he left feces in a bikini and on the bed sheets.

The cops call him the Happy Crapper.’

`A nurse in the US killed a plastic surgery patient she had a 30-year grudge against because she stole her boyfriend when they were at school, prosecutors have said. Sandra Joyner’s death after a mini-facelift had been attributed to medical error. But five years later, nurse anaesthetist Sally Hill has been charged with poisoning her with a powerful painkiller.’

`A methadone-addicted mother stopped for a cigarette while attempting to resuscitate her baby as instructions were relayed on the phone from a triple 0 operator, a Supreme Court jury was told yesterday.

The mother, who cannot be named, sobbed in the dock during a harrowing replay of the emergency call, made from the Londonderry home of Michelle Sava on January 16, last year.’

`On Oct. 27, 2004, James Flemons walked into work with a homemade samurai sword and slashed his co-worker to death.

Prosecutors say Flemons, then 30, was angry because of constant bullying by the victim, Anthony Williams, and other co-workers at Peerless Metal Powders & Abrasive.

But Flemons’ lawyer says he is schizophrenic with a psychotic obsession with fantasy role-playing games, including Dungeons & Dragons.’

`A Boston film student trying to recreate an armed sequence from the film, “The Matrix,” instead created a full-blown terror response and faces charges.

Police received a 911 call about people dressed in camouflage and wearing masks on an apartment rooftop, pointing guns toward the street.

Alex Stinson, a 21-year-old student at the New England Institute of Art and three others were arrested and six other people were being sought, the Boston Globe said.’

‘Authorities in northern New Mexico have stumbled onto what appears to be classified information from Los Alamos National Laboratory while arresting a man suspected of domestic violence and dealing methamphetamine from his mobile home. [..]

Police alerted the FBI to the secret documents, which agents traced back to a woman linked to the drug dealer, officials said. The woman is a contract employee at Los Alamos National Laboratory, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the case.

The official would not describe the documents except to say that they appeared to contain classified material and were stored on a computer file.’

‘A shopping cart that had been hoisted atop a supermarket flagpole by pranksters fell on a store employee and broke her neck.

The cart fell Saturday as the woman untied the rope to raise the flag, as she did every day when she went to work, police Lt. Lisa Perrine said Tuesday.

Shantie Marjal, 62, was hospitalized in serious condition. Police said she broke her neck and suffered serious head injuries but was not paralyzed.

Police Chief Bernard Melekian urged the pranksters to come forward.’

`A Perth man who injured his face by headbutting the road after crashing his car into a fence has been charged with drink-driving and kicking police. [..]

“The man was taken to Fremantle Hospital for treatment to facial injuries after he headbutted the bitumen of the road several times,” police said.’

`The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Unit is investigating a complaint of two deputies who allegedly forced two men to eat marijuana, KSAT 12 News reported. [..]

Martinez and Sandoval said the deputies were looking for a woman when they found their marijuana during an search of their apartment Sept. 29.

“They … put it on the counter and the cop came back up to me,” Martinez said. “(He) told me, ‘Well I’m going to watch you and your roommate eat it. And you all (expletive) better eat it or not …”

Martinez said the main deputy ordered them to wash the marijuana down with water.’

`Transport police are hunting for an “exceptionally antisocial” man who has been defecating on trains across the country, causing tens of thousands of pounds-worth of damage.

The vandal, who strikes by smearing excrement inside the carriages, appears to wait until he is alone before committing the offence but investigators can discern no other pattern to his behaviour. Police say the man has soiled at least 30 trains since August, mainly in the south-east.

His foul play has caused a total of £60,000 worth of damage and cleaning bills, while some affected carriages have had to be withdrawn from service.’

`A Framingham man angry that his ex-girlfriend removed him as a friend from her Myspace.com Web page, repeatedly bit, punched and then choked her on the weekend, police said.

Michael Magrath, 19, told police he did not punch the woman Saturday, but said he bit her and put his hands on her throat, but it was all in jest, police spokesman Lt. Paul Shastany said.

He also did not deny he destroyed her laptop computer, worth more than $2,000, Shastany said.’

`The attorney for an Alcorn State University professor said his client admitted he was wrong to discipline his child with ants.

On Tuesday, professor Festus Oguhebe pleaded no contest to one count of felony child abuse for putting ants on his child. [..]

“He believes in academic excellence. This stems from a bad report from school his child obtained, and he was concerned about that,” said [his attorney].’