Sunday, October 31, 2010

Granny does hard time

Prison?  Really?

I guess this might be a life sentence.


America's oldest crack dealer to celebrate her 89th birthday in prison
The Smoking Gun -

The country’s oldest crack dealer was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison, where she will celebrate her 89th birthday before being released.


Ola Mae Agee, 87, was convicted at trial this week of a felony charge of selling cocaine to an undercover cop in Florida. As previously reported, Agee was nabbed in May for selling crack from her Pensacola home. The hand-to-hand transaction was videotaped by investigators with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.

A jury found Agee guilty after just 20 minutes of deliberation, according to court records. The felonious octogenarian is pictured here in a mug shot snapped after she was taken into custody following the October 26 verdict.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Politics as blood sport

Oh Brother!

Some one call the Waahmbulance!



Candidate files criminal complaint over firm handshake

Broward School Board candidate claims abuse from opponent via handshake
By TODD WRIGHT - NBCMiami

A firm handshake is usually seen as a good thing in business and even in politics.
Not so much in South Florida. A candidate for the Broward County School Board wants the cops to lock up her opponent after what she claims was akin to battery after a recent debate.

Jaemi Levine filed a complaint with the Broward Sheriff's Office claiming David Thomas squeezed her hand so hard during a post-debate handshake Tuesday that it now hurts.

Instead of getting a grip on education issues, Thomas decided to get a grip on his opponent for the Disctrict 4 seat.

Levine alleges Thomas was upset that she outclassed him during the debate in Tamarac, which led to the Kung Fu-grip handshake and a few mumbled harsh words to get his point across.

"Don't ever question my integrity again," Thomas allegedly told Levine as he delivered the crunching handshake.

Thomas, a social science teacher at J.P. Taravella High School and a retired U.S. Navy Lt. Commander, told the Sun-Sentinel the story is non-sense and he didn't purposely injure Levine.

BSO has not decided what to do with the criminal complaint yet, but don't be surprised if Levine shows up in a hand cast at the next debate with armed body guards to get her point across.

But as the saying goes in South Florida, sticks and stones may break some bones, but it's the handshake that will really hurt you.

Bike racing lawsuit

I wonder about the parents who let the kids race their bicycle down the sidewalk where other folks were walking.  What were they thinking?

Wasn't it foreseeable that this could /would occur?

Besides the parents have money, not the kids.

4-year old can be sued, Judge rules in bike case
By Alan Feuer The New York Times


Citing cases dating back as far as 1928, a judge has ruled that a young girl accused of running down an elderly woman while racing a bicycle with training wheels on a Manhattan sidewalk two years ago can be sued for negligence.

The ruling by the judge, Justice Paul Wooten of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, did not find that the girl was liable, but merely permitted a lawsuit brought against her, another boy and their parents to move forward.

The suit that Justice Wooten allowed to proceed claims that in April 2009, Juliet Breitman and Jacob Kohn, who were both 4, were racing their bicycles, under the supervision of their mothers, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, on the sidewalk of a building on East 52nd Street. At some point in the race, they struck an 87-year-old woman named Claire Menagh, who was walking in front of the building and, according to the complaint, was “seriously and severely injured,” suffering a hip fracture that required surgery. She died three months later of unrelated causes.

Indecency at school admitted

I hope he is not working somewhere else and doing the same things to other children.


Judson investigates indecency case
By Tracy Idell Hamilton - Express-News

A former Judson Independent School District employee admitted to indecent contact with students, district officials said Friday.

Once alerted by police, district officials checked school records and discovered allegations made against the employee in 2004 and 2006 that apparently were not investigated, they said.

The man, who was not identified because he has not been arrested, worked as a dyslexia aide at Franz Elementary School from 1996 to 2008. Officials did not say under what circumstances he left his position.

The rest of the story:

Killed in the line of duty

Officer Sergio Antillon died in the line of duty.  Doing that which he was trained to do and what he wanted to do which was to serve and protect.

Rest in Peace, Sergio.  Rest in Peace.

Thank you for your service to our community.

Officer taken off life support dies
By Peter J. Holley - Express-News

He entered the police academy a shy and respectful cadet whose lifelong ambition had been to become a police officer.

Transformed by 33 weeks of intensive training, Sergio Antillon left a confident and assertive decision-maker, academy officials said, someone whose academic proficiency and high marks for customer service heralded a long and promising career.

But less than two months into his career, the rookie officer was critically injured in a wreck, moments after stopping to help a stranded motorist. Surrounded by relatives, friends and co-workers, Antillon died Friday at University Hospital after being taken off life support.

The rest of the story:

Friday, October 29, 2010

Who will watch the guardians of the law?

Glad he's exonerated and that some ethical prosecutors stood up for him to see he was cleared.

I believe those that prosecutors who do these things, abuse the system,  should have their actions scrutinized very carefully for sanctions including criminal charges if they are found to have acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly..


Exonerated man contemplates life after 18 years locked up
By Mike Tolson - Houston Chronicle

Anthony Graves spent his first full day of freedom in almost two decades eating a stack of barbecue ribs, visiting with happy supporters who had diligently pressed his cause and insisting to all who cared that he bore no malice toward those who railroaded him onto Texas' death row for a crime in which authorities now say he had no involvement.

Graves said he was enjoying simply soaking in the free world, which he had not seen since August 1992, and praying that it was not merely a dream that would end with the sharp clank of a heavy cell door or a painful twinge from a hard steel bunk.

“It's still a surreal moment for me,” Graves told reporters Thursday, calmly entertaining every question with a smile. “I've tried to understand as best I could what I'm feeling, but I still haven't been able to. ... I was going through my own personal hell for 18 years, then one day I walk out.”

The rest of the story:

Another massacre south of the Border

Another day another massacre along the Texas-Mexico Border.

But heck, someone will say I'm a Racist for pointing it out rather than acknowledging that the Drug War is a problem for all of us on both sides of the Border.


Mexico violence hits U.S. maquiladora
By Dudley Althaus - Houston Chronicle

MEXICO CITY — In the first attack of its kind in more than three years of gangland terror, gunmen near the border city of Ciudad Juárez opened fire early Thursday on two buses carrying employees of a U.S.-owned factory, killing four people and wounding 14.

The employees were heading home after their evening shift about 1 a.m. when the killers struck near the small village of Caseta, near the Rio Grande southeast of Juárez.

The assailants forced a man off one of the buses and then opened fire on the other occupants, investigators said.

The rest of the story:

But only if you're a citizen

Sorry I don't see the point in this.

Why can we not make folks who want to register to vote, show they are citizens?

Since when do folks who are not citizens have the right to vote in our elections?

How can say the Democrats, including the President, complain (hypocritically) that the US Chamber of Commerce is buying ads with foreign money, yet condone voting by folks who are not entitled to vote?

My parents didn't vote until they became citizens.  And BTW don't tell me this is an anti-Latino or anti-Mexican stance on my part.  That's a bullshit argument.

Its a stance to allow citizens to vote.  I don't give a crap where they come from.  Israel, China, Russia, Fiji, Mexico, or anywhere else.

If you're here, legally or otherwise, and you are not a citizen, you don't get to vote unless the right gets extended to you.  What is so difficult to understand about that?  This decision is plain wrong and bubble-headed politically-correct nonsense.

I hope this matter makes it to SCOTUS and gets reversed.


S.A. lawyer credited for voter rights victory
By Elaine Ayala - Express-News

San Antonio voting rights and legal experts are hailing a decision this week by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which struck down an Arizona law, known as Proposition 200, requiring residents to prove citizenship when they register to vote.

In a 2-1 ruling, the law was deemed unconstitutional, superseding the National Voter Registration Act, passed to encourage voter registration and erase discrimination at the polls.

The decision was celebrated by several groups as a critical win against what they see as Arizona's anti-Latino, anti-immigrant climate and a message to other states contemplating similar laws.

The rest of the story:

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Mo' Money Mo' Money

Isn't anyone in the Administration ashamed we are being taken to task for this by China?

I am.

They are speaking about us like we are a third-world country who cannot control ourselves.

They could be right.


Dollar printing feeding China inflation: Minister
Breitbart -

Rampant issuance of dollars by the United States is saddling China with "imported inflation", Chinese commerce minister Chen Deming was quoted as saying by state media on Wednesday. 

"Given the current situation, companies have thought ahead and prepared for exchange rate fluctuations as well as an increase in labour costs," Chen said, according to the state-run China Business News.

"But because the issuance of dollars is out of control, and international commodities prices are continuing to rise, China is confronted with imported inflation, which has created major uncertainties for businesses," he said.

The rest of the story:

Only 30 years for murder? Its better than the 5 that the defense asked for

Give him mercy and only 5 years because he shot and killed a participant in the drug deal he was doing?

Uhh...that would be a no.



Drug slaying nets 30-year sentence
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

An alleged crack dealer was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for an execution-style killing during a drug dispute at a Days Inn motel near downtown.

A jury convicted Flanzo Townes, 33, last month in the Oct. 20, 2008, murder of Conrad Chapman, 26, whose body was found by a housekeeper in the bathroom of his motel room. He was curled in the fetal position and riddled with seven bullets, including two to his back.

Addressing state District Judge Lisa Jarrett during the brief punishment hearing, Townes continued to assert Wednesday that he had been wrongly accused.

The rest of the story:

No debating it; UTSA is Number One!!

Wow!!  What a great achievement for these students from UTSA!!

Our ninos and ninas beating out Ivy League power houses from Harvard and Dartmouth.

Outstanding!!


UTSA debate team No. 1 in nation
Express-News

The University of Texas at San Antonio’s debate team is No. 1 in the nation after a weekend tournament, beating out Harvard, Dartmouth and the University of California-Berkeley.

Debaters Michael Stroud, Michael Ely, Jordan Nerison and Tia Robertson led the Roadrunners to victory in the varsity and junior varsity divisions last weekend at the national tournament in Kansas City.

Stroud also won the First Speaker award, and Stroud and Ely were voted most congenial in the tournament. UTSA debate coach Skip Eno won the Amy Fugate Leadership Award for lifetime contributions to the collegiate debate community.

The rest of the story:

Move along! Nothing to see here but some more ugly South Texas politics as usual

Not a good thing.

I imagine he's running for re-election and this shouldn't help him, unless, of course, he has no opponent.


Legislator Flores convicted of tampering, perjury 
Express-News -
 
Advertisement
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- State Rep. Kino Flores, a South Texas lawmaker accused of using his elected position to sell legislative favors, was convicted Wednesday on all 11 counts of tampering with government records and perjury.

A Travis County jury convicted Flores, 52, of five counts of misdemeanor tampering with a governmental record, four counts of felony tampering with a governmental record and two counts of misdemeanor perjury in deliberations that began Tuesday. Flores did not testify.

Flores faces up to two years behind bars on each of the felony counts. Sentencing was set for Nov. 22 by State District Judge Bob Perkins.

The rest of the story:

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The war continues

A thousand rounds and grenades?

No wonder they quit.  That's probably more rounds that they have budgeted for a year.


Entire police force in Los Ramones, Mexico quits after gunmen attacks headquarters
By Phillip Caulfield - New York Daily News

The entire police force in a small Mexican town abruptly resigned Tuesday after its new headquarters was viciously attacked by suspected drug cartel gunmen.

All 14 police officers in Los Ramones, a rural town in northern Mexico, fled the force in terror after gunmen fired more than 1,000 bullets and flung six grenades at their headquarters on Monday night.

No one was injured in the attack. Mayor Santos Salinas Garza told local media that the officers resigned because of the incident.

The gunmen’s 20-minute shooting spree destroyed six police vehicles and left the white and orange police station pocked with bullet holes, the Financial Times reported.

The station had been inaugurated just three days earlier.

The rest of the story:

Huh? What?.......... Buhahahahahah!!

Don't move I've got you covered.......with salad dressing?

Was it Ranch dressing?


Cops: Salad Dressing Used By Teen In Store Hold-Up
WFTV.com

DELAND, Fla. - A DeLand High School student is facing robbery charges after allegedly holding up a convenience store armed with a bottle of salad dressing.

Police said 16-year-old Larry Franklin struck one convenience store on South Woodland Boulevard before using his so-called "weapon" at another store on Florida Avenue in DeLand on Friday.

Surveillance video shows the teen walking behind the counter of the Friendly Way convenience store on South Florida Avenue and pointing a bottle of salad dressing a the store clerk.

The rest of the story:

There'll be "L" to pay

Someone is sure to catch "L" for this.


Michelle, W.H. misspell
When it comes to typos and spelling, everyone makes mistakes... even the White House. 


In a White House press release sent Tuesday evening, there's a misspelling, and it's a big one: The first lady's first name.


"Michele and I are deeply saddened by the loss of life, injuries, and damage that have occurred as a result of the recent earthquake and tsunami in West Sumatra," reads the release.


Of course, the first lady's first name is spelled "Michelle," with two "l"'s.

Wanted !!

Are folks going to turn in other folks for a bounty of $50 to $100?

Are we going to have room in the to house all of these absconders until trial?

Something needs to be done and this will get folks to talking about it hopefully.


Bounties eyed to nab DWI fugitives
By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

Bexar County Clerk Gerard “Gerry” Rickhoff has an idea — to offer cash rewards to locate fugitives in driving-while-intoxicated cases — and has shared it with other officials in the past few weeks, but it has yet to gain much traction.

After missing their court dates, more than 1,800 people are wanted on outstanding local DWI warrants, some of which are more than 15 years old, Rickhoff said.

Fugitives can become repeat DWI offenders, and some cause fatal crashes, he said, adding, “These intoxicated manslaughter arrests begin with your first DWI.”

The rest of the story:

Wilkommen !! Come celebrate 50 years of Wurstfest!

Wurstfest starts this Friday, October 29th and runs through Sunday, November 7th.

Come join us for the annual 10 day festival of good fun and times, good food and good music.

I'll be working at the Republican Women's booth on Tuesday evening frying up pickles. 

Stop by and say Howdy!



Traditional German attire in demand for Wurstfest
NEW BRAUNFELS — Finding the right dirndl or the perfect lederhosen to dress up for Wurstfest is not the easiest thing to do — especially in New Braunfels, where the supply of German clothes is surprisingly limited.
Since the festival begins Friday, time is running short to find a costume, but here’s a start:

The rest of the story:

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Cover up! Its the law

What!  An Italian beach town without scantily clad women to look at?

Why go?


Italian seaside town bans 'scanty clothing'
Brietbart.com -

Skimpily-clothed women in the town of Castellammare di Stabia in southern Italy are to be fined by the police under new regulations banning "very scanty clothing" that were approved late Monday. 

The ban will include skirts judged to be too short, jeans that are too low-slung and necklines that are too plunging and is intended to guard against anti-social behaviour, a spokesman for the town council told AFP.

Mayor Luigi Bobbio of Italy's ruling People of Freedom party defended the much-derided new legislation, which prompted a small protest by female members of the opposition Democratic Party who held a "Mini-skirt Day" rally.

The rest of the story:

Man frees dog, dog gets death penalty

Very Sad.

<===== Not the man and dog in the story


Hydro man lands in jail over poodle rescue

Edwin Fry, 73, of Hydro, faces charges after springing his poodle from the pound with a lawn tractor and bolt cutters. The dog, Buddy Tough, was euthanized while his owner was in jail.

By Ann Kelley - NewsOK

A Hydro man sprung his poodle from the pound using a lawn tractor and bolt cutters, only to land himself behind bars with no one to rescue him. And while he was in jail, his dog was put back in the pound and euthanized.

Edwin Fry, 73, said he wasn't going to let Buddy Tough rot in jail, but he didn't intend to pay the $100 fine to free him.

Instead, on Oct. 13 he drove his lawn mower to the town's kennel, cut through the cage with a large pair of bolt cutters and started home with Buddy Tough on his lap.

Fry's not denying what he did. He warned police to stay away from his dog and meant it, he said.

"I told them 'I don't advise you take my dog unless you want to face my shotgun,'" Fry said.

"They told me they were going to kill him — so there was no choice but to take matters into my own hands."
Hydro police officer Chris Chancellor said ever since two pit bull terriers killed a high school student's show calf three weeks ago, the department has been flooded with calls about unleashed dogs.

"We don't have the manpower to patrol for loose dogs, but we act on every complaint," Chancellor said.
Chancellor said there were numerous complaints about Fry's dog. One woman complained Buddy Tough was coming to her house and causing a ruckus with her dogs.

In a separate incident, a senior fell and injured herself trying to get Buddy Tough off her porch one night. After that, a resident caught the dog and brought him to the police station, he said.
Buddy Tough had already been in the city pound once before. That time, Fry paid the $50 fine and had him released.

The second offense would be a $100 fine, but Fry was told he could retrieve his dog, take the citation and sort out the fine in court, Chancellor said.

"I've been in law enforcement 20 years, and this is the first time I've known of anyone that has busted a dog out of jail," Chancellor said.

Chancellor said he saw Fry leaving the kennel with the dog, but didn't stop him right away.

"He'd threatened to shoot us before, so I approached him with caution," Chancellor said. "I was afraid he might have had a rifle with him."

Once Fry stopped, Chancellor held him at gunpoint.

"He stood up and had the dog in one arm and dropped the 3-foot bolt cutters he had in the other hand," Chancellor said.

Fry was arrested on complaints of second-degree burglary, trespassing and destruction of city property.

Formal charges were not as stringent.

He faces a municipal charge of allowing an animal to run at-large, and a misdemeanor charge in Caddo County District Court of breaking and entering.

Fry spent several days in jail. His bail was set at $1,000 requiring a $100 deposit to a bondsman for release, but no one seemed willing to put up the money, Chancellor said.

Eventually, a Hydro resident came to his rescue.

While Fry was in jail, the dog was euthanized.

"He's flying now with the angels, and I know I'll see him again," Fry said.

Wow! The biggest company you never heard of

In this day of the Internet and easy, fast research how people get duped by claims like this is beyond me.

Unless you chalk it up to judgment clouded by visions of profit.


Bandera woman named in securities fraud probe
By Guillermo Contreras - Express-News

A Bandera woman is under investigation over allegations that she helped dupe people into investing millions of dollars in a company whose principals made outlandish claims that, if true, would have made it the second-largest firm in the country, agents say.

A federal court affidavit filed Friday said Teresa Brown is one of the main sellers of unregistered shares for a Kansas City company called Petro America Corp., whose CEO, a man named I. Owen Hawkins, is the primary focus of the probe led by the U.S. Attorney for Western Missouri and the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation division.

Brown could not be reached, and the company did not return calls.

The rest of the story:

She's probably no longer reachable

Unfortunately anyone even slightly familiar with governmental corruption in Mexico will find this to be eminently believable.


Ex-AG's sibling ties her to cartel
By Dudley Althaus - Houston Chronicle

MEXICO CITY — In a video posted Monday on the Internet, a man saying he is the kidnapped brother of Chihuahua state's former attorney general accused her and other senior officials of working for members of the Juárez Cartel.

The man, who identified himself as lawyer Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez, claims Patricia Gonzalez ordered the murders of two journalists, a pair of Mormon community activists and several lawyers.

None of the man's accusations could be verified.

The rest of the story:

Monday, October 25, 2010

Lowest of the low?

Someone burglarizing churches?

They must be a bottom-feeder from the bottom of a scum pond.

I mean that's right down there with stealing from widows and orphans.



Police investigating church burglaries

SEGUIN — Police who are investigating a series of church burglaries Saturday expressed sadness that someone is apparently targetting houses of worship — and asked the public to help them lock him up.

Seguin Police Detective Sgt. Aaron Seidenberger said detectives are looking into a series of recent church break-ins.

They include two, on Sept. 11 and Oct. 14 at First United Methodist Church, and thefts this past week at Cross United Church of Christ and La Trinidad United Methodist Church.


The rest of the story:


'Money' arrested

Farewell "Money".


Police make arrest in shooting death

By Sarah Mills -Express-News

San Antonio police on Saturday arrested an alleged drug dealer accused of killing Mark Anthony Menchaca, 29, who was found dead with multiple gunshots last month.

Joshua “Money” Williams, 26, was jailed with a $150,000 bail on a murder charge, according to county records.

Menchaca’s body was found next to his bicycle Sept. 10 in a breezeway between two apartment buildings in the 4800 block of Goldfield Drive, where Williams lived, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The rest of the story:

A fitting re-distribution of wealth?

C'mon smile.

There is a certain amount of irony involved here isn't there?

Besides now the Headquarters spent Sunday buying replacements thereby aiding the economy.


Democrat headquarters burglarized
By Michelle Mondo - Express-News

A break-in at the Bexar County United Democrats headquarters Sunday had organizers scrambling to replace stolen computers and other electronics, a spokesman said.

Christian Archer, who helps run the organization, said workers arrived around 7 a.m. at the headquarters located in the 1100 block of Broadway and discovered thieves had broken through a glass door and stole 11 laptops, a desktop computer, two flat-screen televisions and phone chargers.

Archer said no sensitive voter information is kept on the computers and the organization spent Sunday morning buying replacements.

The rest of the story:

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bad luck all around

You know things are really bad when the cops are driving while intoxicated while on patrol.

The girl who died died as a result of the ambulance which was coming to render aid, ran her over.


Drunk-driving cop in Tomsk region arrested
by Evgeniya Chaykovskaya - The Moscow News

A drunk cop who ploughed into a group of teenage girls has been arrested – and could face up to five years for his role in the death of Dasha Nesterova, 15.

Nesterova was hit by the policeman’s vehicle and later died from injuries she suffered when an ambulance sent to help her inadvertently drove over her in the twilight.

The ambulance driver will not face disciplinary action after investigators concluded he was fit to drive and simply could not see the girl as she lay in the road in the village of Kargasok, Tomsk Region.

Drunk cop
Blood samples from the police officer found an alcohol rate of 1.43 per mille, equivalent to “average intoxification”. In Russia it is illegal to drive with any detectable level of alcohol in the blood.

The ensign was arrested on Thursday and is on his way to a pre-trial detention centre in Tomsk, Interfax reported.

Superiors fired
The police are not confirming the name of the driver, but some reports suggest that it may be Alexander Skirnevsky, 29, the chief convoy of a security group.

The local police chief fired the policeman that caused the accident along with two of his superiors.

The ensign had only positive references and has often been rewarded by his superiors, Tomsk region police press secretary Natalia Ustimenko told Rossiyskaya Gazeta. He has been working in law-enforcement since 2002.

Speedy ambulance driver
Although Nesterova’s fatal injuries came when she was hit by the ambulance, no further action is to be taken against the ambulance driver.

The driver said that headlight glare blinded him as he approached the scene of the accident, and the police did not find any alcohol in his blood, the head of the investigative department of the prosecutor’s office in Tomsk region Pavel Sbyshko told RIA Novosti.

“The driver of the ambulance was not drunk. But he has been described as a master of daring driving on the ambulance. His colleagues and relatives always said that he was driving very fast,” Sbyshko said.

Kargasok’s hospital representatives said that the driver of the ambulance did not have any reprimands and also received only positive references.

No actions were taken against the man.

The ensign could face up to five years in prison for breaking traffic rules that resulted in the death of a person by accident.

Road rage happens everywhere

I hope the authorities catch these folks.


Road rage: man stoned to death
The Times of India


NEW DELHI: An unexpectedly ugly road rage incident in the capital ended in the horrific and tragic death of the sole breadwinner of a family of nine. A 42-year-old driver of a chartered bus was stoned to death by unidentified men in a red Qualis car. The car had reportedly been trying to overtake the bus for a while but couldn't manage it despite chasing close behind for more than a kilometre. The incident was reported from east Delhi late on Friday night. A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered in Seemapuri police station against the unidentified assailants.

Sheikh Kalu, who operated a private bus on the Old Seemapuri-New Seemapuri stretch was reportedly driving back to New Seemapuri when the Qualis tried to overtake near the Ghaziabad border.

He had reportedly just parked the bus a block away from his house near Idgah road, New Seemapuri at about 2 am when the occupants of the Qualis drove up and started to hurl insults at him. The argument took a nasty turn.

The conductor of the bus, Mohammad Azhad, claimed to have been asleep inside the bus when the entire episode took place. In his statement to the police, Azhad claimed that he had woken to Kalu's cries for help and was only able to see four men running towards the red Qualis and zooming off.

Residents claim that the incidents of crime were common in the area. "People are constantly aware of the criminal elements in the area. It is unfortunate that a god-fearing man like Kalu, who was feeding his family by honest and hard-working means fell victim to tyrants on the road. Now the family has nowhere to go," claimed Seemapuri RWA president Sheikh Nisar to Times City.

The driver's death has left his family of nine without any support or source of income. The traumatised family was unable to comment on the tragic blow that has left them rudderless for the present. "Kalu had called me from his cellphone when he reached the parking lot to say that he would be home soon. Now, all is lost," said a distraught Salma, Kalu's wife. Kalu had been driving the bus for Umesh Tours and Travels for several years now.

Salma lives with her mother-in-law Rubia and her seven children. Her youngest child, a girl aged two-and-a-half years, is barely able to comprehend the tragedy that has struck their family. Salma's eldest child, a boy of 16, is confounded at the sudden responsibility on his young shoulders. "I don't know what is in store for us," he said.

Facebook and outcries

Was it left on her Mother's wall or was it a private message to her?

An academic exercise in outcry statement admissibility?


Facebook can act as crime net
By Peter J. Holley - Express-News

It's no secret that Facebook has been recasting private lives as public drama.

But in an unusual local example, a San Antonio child used the social networking site to tell her mother she had been sexually assaulted.

Details of the incident last Sunday, revealed in an arrest warrant affidavit Monday, suggest the girl turned to Facebook after her mother rebuffed her previous attempt to allege the abuse face-to-face.

The rest of the story:

His vision was blurry

How stupid was this?

Pretty stupid.

Texas is a no-fault divorce state.  So she gets at least half of  the community property, big deal, you ain't playing pick up the soap with Bubba.


Businessman faces hire-to-kill charge
By Gulliermo X. Garcia - Express-News

A local businessman known for wearing flamboyant outfits on his optical and tattoo shop television commercials was charged Saturday with hiring someone to arrange to kill his wife.

Mike Yuchnitz, 57, was arrested by San Antonio police at his home and faces a first-degree felony charge of solicitation of capital murder.

He is accused of providing a $5,000 down payment to a man who was to find an assassin, homicide Sgt. Butch Matjeka said.

The rest of the story:

Saturday, October 23, 2010

WTF?!!

What the Hell is wrong with folks?

Is it the trauma of living in or near Detroit?



Jennifer Petkov's Kids Ordered to Live with Father
By RON SAVAGE - myFOXDetroit.com

TRENTON, Mich. - A custody hearing was held for two of Jennifer Petkov's children. A Wayne County Probate Court judge ruled on an emergency order. Her eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son from a previous relationship will now move in with their father until further notice.

Petkov made headlines a few days ago after she admitted to taunting the family of 7-year-old Kathleen Edward, who is dying from Huntington's Disease.  She posted disturbing photos of Kathleen of Facebook, and her husband Scott Petkov parked a coffin on the street in front of the girl's home.
 View Ron Savage Original Report

The father of Petkov's children filed for the emergency hearing right after the story broke.

Meanwhile, ot far from both families' homes, Edward was having her face painted. Today it was a princess party with a real princess and lots of friends and family at West Grange Pharmacy in Trenton.

"People (have) been coming in here today all day long leaving checks, leaving donations and literally crying because they were just so moved by what's going on," said pharmacy owner Rich Grossman.

What's happening is that 20-percent of all toy and gift purchases at the pharmacy Wednesday will be donated to Edward's family for medical expenses as she battles Huntington's disease.

"It was actually kind of a surprise for all of us. We ... got a phone call a few days ago saying ... to come down. They're going to do a benefit here, and we didn't know it was going to be this entailed, but it's great. She's been smiling all day," said Robert Edward, Kathleen's father.
 
For the latest involving Kathleen Edward and a rally that is planned for her on Saturday the 23rd, click here.

Good Luck Rangers!

As a kid who grew up in New York City watching his childhood heroes like Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard and Yogi Berra, (this of course, after the treacherous Brooklyn Dodgers were stolen by Los Angeles) you understand I rooted for the Yankees.

Kudos to the Rangers who were second in my heart and now occupy first place.

Go Rangers!


Rangers down yanks to reach first World Series
ARLINGTON, Texas (Reuters) – The Texas Rangers reached the World Series for the first time in their 50 years as a franchise by beating the New York Yankees 6-1 on Friday to win the American League Championship Series.

The win gave them a 4-2 triumph in the best-of-seven series and put them into the Fall Classic against the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, who lead it 3-2.

Rookie closer Neftali Feliz struck out former Ranger Alex Rodriguez for the final out, igniting wild celebrations on the diamond and among the crowd of more than 51,000 at Rangers Ballpark.

The rest of the story:

Everyone loses

A very sad situation for all of the parties concerned and involved in this matter. 

The community lost a promising neurosurgeon/teacher, parent and spouse and also a father with two children who is a little league coach who is going to prison.

Albeit he will get out at some point in time while Dr. Hlattky is gone forever. 

Such is tragedy writ large due to alcohol.



Driver gets 10 years for killing brain surgeon
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

A former Iraq War contractor who killed a prominent San Antonio neurosurgeon in a drunken driving wreck four years ago wept loudly Friday as he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

“I'm sorry, for what it's worth,” Clayton Don Stowe, 31, said moments before visiting state District Judge Pat Priest announced the sentence. “I still hate myself, so I can understand why people hate me.”

Priest said he would keep jurisdiction of the case for six months and might later consider altering the prison term to shock probation.

Stowe was arrested just past midnight on Sept. 20, 2006, after witnesses said his pickup, traveling at a high rate of speed, slammed into the back of an SUV driven by Dr. Roman Hlatky along Interstate 10 near the De Zavala Road exit.

The rest of the story:

Stop!! Tank!

Tanks are hard to stop.

Yes, I know its a bad pun.


Judge won't stop BexarMet tank
By Guillermo Contreras - Express-News

A judge Friday refused to stop construction of a water tank in a North Bexar County subdivision whose neighbors sued over allegations that it eroded their quality of life and was not even meant to provide water for their area.

State District Judge Victor H. Negrón Jr. denied a request for an injunction against the Bexar Metropolitan Water District that was sought by some residents of Timber Oaks North Estates, where the nearly $10 million tank is being built.

The plaintiffs, who say they are on private water wells, argued that the 35-foot-high tank would mostly supply Stone Oak. They claim BexarMet has known since 2000 that it needed an elevated storage tank to serve the upper Stone Oak area but abandoned two less-expensive sites, on Canyon Golf Road and at the end of Hardy Oak Boulevard in Stone Oak, after residents there complained or negotiations fell through.

The rest of the story:

Friday, October 22, 2010

Oh brother!

Not very bright is he?


Cops: Break-in suspect reports his car was stolen 

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut man was arrested after police said he burglarized three condos then called officers to report that the car he allegedly used in the break-ins had been stolen. Police said 33-year-old Geraldo "Tito" Figueroa, of Waterbury, reported late Monday to Fairfield police that his car had been taken.

An officer responding to the burglaries in Old Saybrook, Conn., just hours before said he had spotted Figueroa fleeing the sceene with a pillow case full of items.

Police said a car linked to Figueroa was left at the condo complex with items inside that had been reported stolen there.

Figueroa was arraigned Wednesday on burglary and larceny charges and was ordered held on $300,000 cash bond. It was unclear if Figueroa had hired an attorney.

ROT Cops

Probably not the end of the story.

Mr. Miller(s) please feel free to respond with your side of the story.


Father, son punished for posing as cops
By Jeorge Zarazua - Express-News

A Kerrville father and son were sentenced to probation this week in separate Kerr County courts for purporting to be peace officers, authorities said.


Charles Tiller III was ordered late Thursday to serve three years probation and pay a $2,000 fine after being convicted earlier this year on a felony charge of impersonating a public servant. Authorities said Tiller, 65, identified himself as a constable when trying to order a badge last September from a firm that supplies peace officers.

On Monday, Charles Tiller IV, 41, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of falsely identifying himself as a peace officer. He had an emblem on his vehicle with a star and the words “Bexar County Sheriff's Department” and “Republic of Texas.”

The rest of the story:

Lord watch over the boy, please

I hope she leaves her son and ex-husband alone.

I am concerned this may not be over.


DeWalt to be released Wednesday

NEW BRAUNFELS — A notorious Comal County custody battle will take a new twist next week when Suzanne April Kerns DeWalt is released from prison.

DeWalt, 47, spent five years in the Texas prison system after fleeing with her son to Mexico for three years in the wake of a civil custody trial in Comal County.

The rest of the story:

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Never call any new car model an Edsel!

OMG!!

Is Obama really that tone-deaf and ignorant of history?  Calling the Volt an electric Edsel is about the worst thing to call any new car roll-out.


Volt fraud at Government Motors
Investors.com

Green Technology: Government Motors' all-electric car isn't all-electric and doesn't get near the touted hundreds of miles per gallon. Like "shovel-ready" jobs, maybe there's no such thing as "plug-ready" cars either.

The Chevy Volt, hailed by the Obama administration as the electric savior of the auto industry and the planet, makes its debut in showrooms next month, but it's already being rolled out for test drives by journalists. It appears we're all being taken for a ride.

When President Obama visited a GM plant in Hamtramck near Detroit a few months ago to drive a Chevy Volt 10 feet off an assembly line, we called the car an "electric Edsel." Now that it's about to hit the road, nothing revealed has changed our mind.

The rest of the story:

Nursing home found liable

Seems like such a little amount doesn't it?



Jury finds nursing home negligent
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

After more than a day of deliberation, a civil jury found a San Antonio nursing home negligent Wednesday in its care of a now-deceased resident who developed severe, infected bedsores.

Jurors ordered Retama Manor Nursing Center to pay the estate of Emilio Gonzalez $250,000 for his physical pain and suffering, $150,000 for mental pain and anguish and $192,439.88 in medical bills.

But the nearly $600,000 verdict is expected to be reduced substantially after state District Judge Victor Negrón applies Texas tort reform caps that have been in place since 2003.

The rest of the story:

Adults acting stupidly (ETOH involved, of course)

Some of you may remember a smilar matter out of Hays County, Wimberly I believe, where a man picking up his daughters from his ex-wife sat one of them in his lap and she blew into the ignition interlock device.

He drove off and into a lake and all three died.  I believe Mom was prosecuted because she saw him do that and took no steps to stop it or prevent him from driving off.

At least these kids will live.

Women arrested for using kid to foil car breathalyzer
By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Two Rio Grande Valley women were jailed after trying to get a child to foil a court-mandated car breathalyzer, island police said Wednesday.

Not only were the women too drunk to start the car, but they made their noisy attempt outside the home of a municipal judge, who phoned the incident in, town police spokesman Carlos Centeno said.

Bond was set at $50,000 apiece for Jessica Rosalez, 28, of Weslaco, and Linda Rosalez, 31, of La Villa, after police on Sunday determined both women “had lost all use of their mental and physical faculties and were a danger to themselves and others.”

The rest of the story:

Comal County Drug Court

I am proud to be involved with this program.

Even in a small way.


Challenge Court to benefit from $346, 956 federal grant
NEW BRAUNFELS — For a court coordinator, Steve Thomas has some very specialized skills.

The rest of the story:

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

When the Death Penalty is a good idea

This is simply horrible.

What a monster.  It is cases like this that i believe the Death Penalty was made for.

Why should society show someone like this any mercy when he obviously showed none to his victims?


'Have a heart. I've been good' - raped corporal's last words
smh.com.au -


A Canadian colonel who admitted to 86 lurid sex crimes videotaped the brutal rape and murder of a corporal under his command, a court heard on Tuesday.

Secret life
Colonel Russell Williams, 47, a married pilot who once flew the jet used to ferry Canada's prime minister as well as the British royal family on a visit, photographed and videotaped his repeated sexual assault over 4½ hours of Corporal Marie-France Comeau, the Crown said.

Bruised, bloodied and limp, Corporal Comeau used her last breath to beg for her life, according to an audio tape played in court: "Have a heart. I've been good all my life. I don't want to die."

"Shut up," Williams responded before he taped her nostrils and her mouth closed and watched her suffocate.

Williams sat quietly in the courtroom for the second day of his proceedings but several observers fled in tears as the gruesome evidence was presented.

Police arrested Williams in February for the disappearance and death of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd, last heard from the previous month. He was caught when his vehicle's tyre treads were matched at a police roadside checkpoint to tracks at the crime scene.

Williams was later charged with the November 2009 murder of Corporal Comeau, who was under his command at the Trenton military base.

He was also charged with two home invasions, in which women were confined and sexually assaulted, and 82 counts of break-and-enter and attempted break-and-enter in Ottawa, Belleville and Tweed.

A stash of women's undergarments taken by police from Williams's Ottawa residence was linked to the burglaries near his home and job.

Williams had met Corporal Comeau only once before her death. She was working as a flight attendant on a military flight. But as her boss, he knew she lived alone and her schedule.

Days before he killed her, he broke into her home and snapped 18 photographs of himself in her underwear and standing next to her pressed air force uniform.

On the night of November 23, 2009, he left his office at the Trenton military base, parked his car outside her home, and listened in the dark to her telephone conversation using a sensitive sound-detecting device.

Williams then broke in through a basement window and attacked her. They struggled. He beat her nearly unconscious with a flashlight, tied her up and covered all of the windows in the house.

She pleaded with him: "I don't want to die. Leave me alone. I don't want to die."

Afterwards, Williams washed her bed sheets and drove directly to Ottawa for a meeting with military brass.

He would later send a signed letter of condolence on behalf of the Canadian Forces to Corporal Comeau's father - a 45-year veteran of the military.

Williams commanded Canada's busiest air force base, the 437 Squadron in Trenton, east of Toronto, for more than a year before his arrest. Previously he was in charge of Canada's secretive Camp Mirage in Dubai.

On Monday, he pleaded guilty to his crimes. An agreed statement of facts read out in the Ontario Superior Court traced the escalation of his offences starting in September 2007.

He faces life in prison, with no possibility of parole for at least 25 years.

Breach of trust

Disgusting.

Simply and plainly, if convicted put them away.


Couple accused of luring teenager into prostitution
By Eva Ruth Moravec - Express-News

A couple was arrested Tuesday afternoon, accused of forcing a teenager into prostitution, authorities said.

Fernando Gonzales, 33, and Celeste De La Rosa, 26, are being held in Bexar County Jail on charges of compelling prostitution. Gonzales also faces one count of sexual assault of a child, as he's suspected of sexually assaulting the 16-year-old victim, according to records.

A judge set Gonzales' bail at $80,000 and De La Rosa's at $50,000.

The rest of the story:

Only one choice in the Comal County Commissioners Court Precinct 2 race

Please vote for Scott Haag for Comal County Commissioner Precinct 2

There are two folks running in the race for Comal County Commissioner Precinct 2 however, the reality is that the only real choice for the position is Scott Haag, the Republican.

A disclaimer, I do know Scott and I have the pleasure of working with his wife Sandra in the DA's office.

That is not why I am endorsing him over his opponent Wade Jacoby.

Mr. Jacoby, seems to me to be at least one brick shy of a full load.

Since when is a Democrat going to "streamline" government?  Didn't this country swallow that Kool-Aid back in 2008.

Is the Dam not getting built because of a dispute as to the efficacy of its design and location due to some allegedly poor soil sampling the fault of Commissioner's Court? 

I guess in Mr. Jacoby's rather simplistic point of view better a bad dam than no dam at all?  What about all of the folks whose lives and property would have been potentially at risk because of that policy and thought process?  Not to mention the cost of rebuilding a suspect dam that failed and the cost of the potential liability to the county?


How about taxes going up?  Is it the fault of Commissioners that Comal County is growing by leaps and bounds, requiring new roads, wider roads, more infra-structure, more law enforcement?

I'd rather live in a county where the Commissioners' keep ahead of the curve rather than be behind the curve.  It costs less to build and funds things as anticipated rather than pay later.  Furthermore it inconveniences folks less.

Scott, a former DPS trooper, is the true conservative in this race and the man that this county needs as a good steward of its capital resources.  He is earnest, solid, and honest.  He is not given to election thuggery, such as tearing down or cutting up his opponent's signs, as others seem to do.

Citizens of Comal County vote for Scott Haag for Commissioner Precinct 2.

Please don't vote for the singing jack ass.

Regards;

Man o' Law