Mother of boy who died while drinking and driving holds alcohol party for teens

Belleville, IL: 18 months after her 15 year-old son and another teenager died while drinking and driving, Andrea Sharos decided to share the wealth. Sheriff's deputies stopped a car stocked with underage teens and beer leaving Sharos's home last week. When questioned, the teens said that they had been drinking at Sharos's house with her consent. Officers found FOUR OTHER teenage boys, aged 16-18, at the home, and they all tested positive for alcohol.

"(Mary) did not think anything was wrong with this because the kids do not have anything else to do in St. Libory," an investigator's report said.

Source: The Associated Press

11th Circuit--warrant requirement coughs once, dies.

The 11th Circuit has just rubber stamped officer-created exigent circumstances in the case of Glover v. Eight Unknown DEA Agents, 06-13061 (11th Cir., Feb. 23, 2007. Here are the facts of the case, straight from the court's opinion:

__________
[T]he agents attempted to secure a search warrant for Glover’s residence on the suspicion that he was operating a clandestine methamphetamine lab there. The magistrate judge determined that the agents lacked sufficient evidence to merit a warrant. So the agents arranged to have a confidential source enter Glover’s house on the pretense of delivering a tank of anhydrous ammonia he had ordered.

. . .

The source was wired and agents were monitoring the situation, ready to raid the alleged lab if necessary. In their affidavits, the agents state that after entering Glover’s residence, the source started coughing and complaining of chemical fumes over the wire. Glover claims that he never heard any coughing but admits that the source went upstairs to use the bathroom. Fearing the source was being exposed to noxious chemicals, the agents entered Glover’s house and made the arrest.
_________

After pleading guilty to drug charges, Glover filed a section 1983 civil suit, claiming that his 4th Amendment rights were violated in the raid. The trial court gave summary judgment to the defendant agents and the 11th Circuit affirmed the decision, explaining that the agents’ entry into the home was justified by the exigent circumstances doctrine, since they feared that their source’s life was in danger due to the noxious chemicals inside the house.

So: all government agents need to do to justify a search now is cough once into the microphone. Source: Decision of the Day

Judge Judy threatens IRS inquiry, child-protective services inquiry over eBay scam.

Sorry for the lack of postings this week. I've been laid up with the flu, couch-ridden all week, and forced to watch daytime TV. In honor of that special hell, I bring you this clip.

Dayton cop uses pepper spray instead of brain

Speeding cop charges whistle-blowers with "stalking"

Bartow County, GA: Here is another story from outside of our coverage area, but one that we just couldn't let slide. Lee and Teresa Sipple, concerned about how speeding traffic in their neighborhood was endangering their son, set up $1,200 worth of camera equipment and a radar gun outside their home. They were hoping to convince their neighbors to drive more slowly (somewhere in the vicinity of the speed limit, for instance).

When they caught Kennesaw police officer Richard Perrone speeding 17 miles an hour over the speed limit, the cop was not happy. Rather than obey the laws that Perrone is sworn to uphold, the officer decided to press charges against the Sipples for stalking.

This family set up equipment to monitor traffic on a PUBLIC street in their neighborhood, because officers like Perrone were apparently too busy pursuing vendettas to enforce the traffic laws, let alone obey them.
What was the big rush, Perrone? Were you on the way to the courthouse to sue somebody for writing down your license plates?

In case you want to let Perrone's supervisors know what you think of his actions (and exercise your constitutional right to seek redress from your government for greivances), here is the contact information for the Kennesaw Police Department:
Kennesaw Police Department
2539 J O Stephenson Ave NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144
(770) 422-2505.

I guess it could be worse. Cops in many parts of the country would use a nightstick rather than a stalking charge. But police intimidation in any form should not be tolerated.

Source: The Daily Tribune News

More felons granted waivers to enlist

Still scrambling to meet recruiting goals since the beginning of the war in Iraq, the Department of Defense is granting many more morals waivers to men and women who want to join the military but have criminal records. The Army granted more than double the number of waivers for felonies and misdemeanors in 2006 than it did in 2003. Some recruits may get more than one waiver.

The number of felony waivers granted by the Army grew from 411 in 2003 to 901 in 2006, according to the
Pentagon, or about one in 10 of the moral waivers approved that year. Other misdemeanors, which could be petty theft, writing a bad check or some assaults, jumped from about 2,700 to more than 6,000 in 2006. The minor crimes represented more than three-quarters of the moral waivers granted by the Army in 2006, up from more than half in 2003.

Source: The Associated Press

Paging Chris Rock: Bullet-Control proposed in Cook County

“Gun control? We need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost 5,000 dollars. Because if a bullet cost five thousand dollar, we wouldn't have any innocent bystander .” -- Chris Rock

Cook County is taking its first small steps along the path to Rock's plan. A measure introduced by Cook County Board Commissioner Roberto Maldonado would institute a 10 cent per bullet tax on all ammunition sold in the county.

THE BULLET POINTS
A look at how much of an effect a fee on bullets would have - from small fries to big shots:

10 cents: Deputy Barney Fife, if he bought his own police-issued bullet and was able to join the Cook County Sheriff's Department.

$50: Terry "Tank" Johnson, if the Bears defensive tackle made the trip across the county line for the 500 rounds of ammunition allegedly found in his Lake County home.

$530,368: If every person in Cook County, 5,303,683 according to 2005 U.S. Census estimates, were to do his or her part and buy one bullet.

$600,000,000: From the U.S. military, if Cook County could get its 10-cent fee for the average 1.5 billion rounds of small arms ammunition used each year of the nearly four years of the Iraq war.

Source: The Chicago Sun Times

Muskegon woman giving Hamm a run for her money in Mother-of-the-Year contest.

Muskegon, MI: The mother of a 15 year old girl signed a written agreement with Michael Fitzgibbon, agreeing to let him have sex with the girl while the mother recuperated from surger. She was afraid of losing Fitzgibbon and so gave up her teenage daughter to the man. He faces up to 17 years in prison, and she will go to trial on February 21.

Source: NewsNet5

Hamm may only serve 14 months for killing her three children

Clinton, IL: Amanda Hamm, who was convicted in December for the role she played in the drowning deaths of her three young children, may only serve another 14 months in jail.

Having avoided first-degree murder charges, Hamm was only sentenced to 10 years, with time served for the three years she has already been in custody. She could be out in just over a year.

"I cannot change what has occurred but I can, and will, try to live my life in a way which will be pleasing to them ... ," Hamm said.

That's very nice. It's too bad you took that opportunity away from your babies, you monster.

Source: The Associated Press.

Cleveland Traffic Cameras bring in $6.5 MILLION / year.

In news that is sure to make other cities more eager to put ticket-writing cameras at every intersection, Cleveland officials announced that its camera program brought in over six million dollars last year alone. And that is with a collection rate of only 50%-70%.

The profit margin for the city is huge, as well; Cleveland keeps half of that money and half of it goes back to the private company that installed and maintains the cameras.

Source: The Plain Dealer

Know Your Rights--How to survive a traffic stop.

Do you live in Alcona County? Then you probably just contributed to the Nigerian Royalty Fraud.

Alcona County, MI: Thomas Katona, former treasurer of Alcona County is accused of embezzling over $1,200,000 from tax payers, part of which he used to pay a Nigerian 419 scammer. Katona is being charged with NINE felonies. Bank officials even told him that the investment was a scam, but he didn't listen. Prepare to see this email coming to your inbox:

To: FaithfulReader
From: tkatona@alconacountyjail.gov
Subject: Investment Opportunity

Hello. You do not know me but I am an official being held prisoner in Alcona County Jail, Michigan. I have over $1.2 MILLION dollars in a hidden account that I cannot access to free myself. I need a checking account that I can move this money into so that I can pay for lawyers and / or shovels. If you provide me with this account, I will let you keep 50%. I may need you to advance me a small amount to cover my bail bond, but this is a small investment that will earn you $600,000.

Please reply with your routing and checking account number.

Tom.

Source: The Register.

Archaic law and Prosecutorial over-reaching result in tragic conviction.

For an in-depth examination of the story of Genarlow Wilson, high school football star and victim of the perfect storm combination of archaic laws, over-reaching prosecutors, and the current RSO regime, please click here.

Election Staff Convicted of Rigging Recount!

Cleveland, OH: Cuyahoga County, which was crucial to delivering Ohio to Bush in 2004, should have received a full, in-depth hand recount. In order to avoid such a (required by law, democratic, American) result, two election workers tampered with and pre-selected ballots that would not show a discrepancy when checked by hand. Because these pre-selected ballots seemed to match the machine count, a full hand recount was never ordered.

Jacqueline Maiden, elections coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer each were convicted of a felony count of negligent misconduct of an elections employee. They also were convicted of one misdemeanor count each of failure of elections employees to perform their duty.

Current Official American Casualties in Iraq: 3,063 killed, 22,951 wounded.

But who's counting? Not Cuyahoga County, that's for sure.

Source: The Associated Press

Possible 295-Year sentence for conviction in Hobart drug slayings

Crown Point, IN -- After seven hours of deliberation, a jury delivered a guilty verdict for the third defendant in a 2005 drug-related triple homicide. Sajjad Q. Rasheed was found guilty on three counts of murder during a robbery and two counts of attempted murder.

Rasheed faces a possible prison term of 295 years and will be sentenced on February 15th.

Source: The IndyStar

Never bring a knife to a gunfight...unless it's this one.

The Drug Enforcement Agency is putting out an alert regarding a new weapon hitting the streets. A new "knife" that fires bullets may begin appearing in the hands of gangbangers and lawbreakers, and the DEA wants local police departments to know about it.

The weapon can fire up to five rounds, and officials speculate that they are manufactured overseas, in someone's garage.

Source: WCBS TV.

Fresh Start: Wayne County, MI program gives women caught up in drug and prostitution a way out.

Instead of slapping prostitutes with a misdemeanor charge, giving them 30 day jail tour, and tossing them back onto the streets to continue their downward spiral, Wayne County authorities are taking a new approach.
The program, called Fresh Start, is a collaboration between Detroit Health and Law departments, the city's Bureau of Substance Abuse and 36th District Drug Court and Probation. Fresh Start keeps the women for 15 to 24 months, rehabilitating them, and combating the cycle of self-abuse and hooking. Of the 100 women that have entered the program, 18 have graduated and 59 are still working their way through it. None of the 18 have relapsed.

Source: The Detroit Free Press

Corrections Officers fired for contacting teenage juvie inmate -- On MySpace

Medina, OH -- The Medina County Juvenile Detention center acted quickly in firing two corrections officers who setup a MySpace account at work and used that account to contact a teenage inmate at their facility. John Stone and Anthony Berrios do not appear to have contacted the girl in other ways or met with her inappropriately...all interactions seem to have taken place on MySpace.

Seems like the real story here, though, is that inmates at the Medina County Juvenile Detention facility have Internet Access and MySpace accounts. That seems like exactly what troubled teenagers need...unbridled access to the sexual deviants and pedophiles who troll MySpace. "Welcome to the Medina County Juvenile Detention Facility. Please step this way so that we can photograph you for a milk carton notice that will be published within six months of your release."

Wisconsin Hmong-hunter clashes end with murder charge

The body of squirrel hunter Cha Vang, age 30, was found on January 6th, a day after his friends had reported him missing. When James Nichols, 28, appeared at a local hospital suffering from a gunshot wound, sherrif deputies arrested him for Vang's murder. Nichols had previously been charged with breaking into a cabin and spray-painting "KKK" on its walls.

Racially charged killings among white and Hmong hunters in Wisconsin seems to be growing more popular than hunting game itself. It has been just two years since another Hmong deer hunter shot and killed six white hunters, claiming that they had shot at him first and shouted racial epithets.

Source: The Associated Press.

AZ has some dirty words for drunk drivers

Okay, this one doesn't take place in the midwest, but we just couldn't pass it up. After a phone number mix-up, the State of Arizona is directing people convicted of drunk driving to a phone sex hotline. As one of the options to have an ignition interlock system installed in your car, AZ official accidentally listed a phone number that may leave its drunk drivers breathless for entirely different reasons. The problem has now apparently been fixed.

The charge for the call? 69 cents per minute.
Source: Arizona Daily Star

Danville, IL: Jury convicts Danville man in 2004 slaying

Juan Antonio Reyes faces 45 years to life now that he has been convicted of first degree murder for gunning down William Thomas three years ago. He will be sentenced on February 1, 2007. The jury, evenly divided by gender, deliberated just over three hours before unanimously voting to convict.

"I'll appeal," Reyes confidently told the courtroom.

Source: Champaign-Urbana News Gazette