Ironic

Ironically he proved he was right in feeling unlucky.

C'mon you guys chip in and give him a million bucks.

Worker skips office Mega pool, loses share of $319M

By PERRY CHIARAMONTE in Albany and BOB FREDERICKS in New York - NY Post

He didn't think Lady Luck was on his side -- and now he's out millions.

A hapless state information-technology worker who usually joined his office lottery pool took a pass last week -- only to learn that seven positive-thinking pals nailed a whopping $319 million Mega Millions jackpot, said a deli owner who knows the winners.

"The word is that when they were going around the office asking who wanted in on the pool, one guy said no, that he wasn't feeling lucky," said Jill Cook, who with husband Tom owns Cook's Deli in Albany, where the winners are lunchtime regulars.

The rest of the story:

Dying declaration exception to the hearsay rule

The last words of a dying man.

Seems like pretty compelling testimony to me.

Officer recall dying words: "Tony cut me'

By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

After being stabbed 10 times, including once in the throat, Alonzo De La Garza wasn't able to say much to police officers who had followed a trail of blood to his South Side apartment.

But he was able to point out his killer, prosecutors said Wednesday as testimony began in the murder trial of neighbor Anthony Deleon.

“Tony cut me,” De La Garza, 55, struggled to say three times as he gurgled and choked on his own blood, officer Juan Marines told jurors in the 175th state District Court.

The rest of the story:

Ooops!

Well, if I ever have a house torn down by the city I'm going to Tyler Rutherford to represent me.

Jury finds city wrongly demolished house, awards $27,500

Jury says city violated his rights by razing house without warning.
By Guillermo Contreras - Express-News

A federal jury Wednesday awarded $27,500 to a real estate investor after determining the city of San Antonio violated his constitutional rights by demolishing one of his houses without warning.

The verdict for Realtor Steven Gragg was another blow to the city over its dangerous structures ordinance and the way it handles emergency demolitions.

In September, another jury awarded $52,000 to homeowner Paul Chance Kinnison after U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez determined the city violated his procedural due process rights and had conducted an unreasonable seizure of his property.

The rest of the story:

Man found with shrimp in pants!!

Sorry, I just couldn't resist re-writing the headline!  Wait!

Are you happy to see me or is that a shrimp in your pants??

Ha Ha, I crack myself up sometimes!  LOL

The picture is of a 3-year old Sarah Palin holding some live shrimp.


Police: Pa. man put shrimp in pants, struck guard
Associated Press -

DOVER, Pa. (AP) — A central Pennsylvania man faces robbery and assault charges after he allegedly stuffed a bag of frozen shrimp down his pants and attacked a grocery store security guard.

Northern York County Regional Police say 37-year-old Brian McDaniel was spotted hiding the shrimp in his pants and struck a security guard who tried to stop him inside a grocery store Thursday in Dover Township. The guard sustained minor injuries.

McDaniel was caught in the store's parking lot by the security guard and a bystander. He is being held on $10,000 bail.  It was not immediately clear if McDaniel had an attorney.

Color within the lines

I guess their defense will be:

Who knew the kid would do something like that?

NJ sheriff finds drug in coloring book pages

Associated Pres -

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. (AP) — There was nothing innocent about coloring book pages with the words "To Daddy" scribbled on top and mailed to a New Jersey jail, authorities said.

Five people are facing charges after the prescription drug Suboxone, which is used to treat opioid addiction, was turned into a paste and the paste was drawn on the pages, Cape May County Sheriff Gary Schaffer said.

"In my 38 years of law enforcement, I've never seen anything like this," Schaffer told The Press of Atlantic City.

The rest of the story:

Some fish story

Wow, what a fish story to tell the grand-kids!

375-pound shark leaps into fisherman's boat

Express-News -

FREEPORT, Texas (AP) — It's the catch of a lifetime, but it's not clear whether a Texas fisherman landed an 8-foot shark or it landed him.

Jason Kresse, 29, of Freeport, and two crew members had been fishing for red snapper about 50 miles into the Gulf of Mexico and were dumping fish guts into the water about 3:45 a.m. Monday when they heard two big splashes in the distance.

"All of a sudden something hit the side of the boat," Kresse told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He ends up landing on the back of the boat."

The rest of the story:

Drunk Cop?

I don't know what the jury may do.  I'm leaning towards they find him guilty.

Jury told of signs cop was intoxicated

Prosecutors say he refused to cooperate on sobriety tests.
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Soon after running into a highway median and flipping his unmarked San Antonio Police Department vehicle, officer Winder Amedalio Morales showed signs he was intoxicated — including an unwillingness to cooperate — prosecutors said Tuesday as his drunken driving trial began.

“You're going to see the defendant is incredibly evasive,” Assistant District Attorney Katie Magee told jurors in County Court-at-Law No. 9, explaining that Morales refused field sobriety and breath tests. “The defendant doesn't even look the officer in the eye.”

Morales, 34, resigned from the department in January 2010, two months after the one-vehicle, early morning wreck on U.S. 90 West near South Gen. McMullen Drive.

The rest of the story:

The one time there was harm in asking a question

Well, I guess he won't be asking again; now will he?

Murdered for Sexual Harassment

The Times of India -

Dharmalingam, 40, a mason, was murdered for allegedly demanding sexual favours from a worker.

Dharmalingam, a native of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, was working at a building in Konanakunte under Subramanyapura police limits. Police said Shivu alias Shivashankar, hit Dharmalingam with an iron rod on Sunday around 8.30 pm, as he had demanded sexual favours from Shivu's sister. 

Shivu had warned him earlier, and on Sunday, the fight took an ugly turn.

Pushed over the limit

That must've been quite a push.

Man killed over bar bill

The Times of India -

BANGALORE: A 26-year old man was murdered, allegedly by his friend, in a bar in Sampangiram Nagar police limits on Monday afternoon.

The victim, Vijay Kiran, a resident of Sampangiram Nagar, was a cab driver at a travel agency. He visited a bar and restaurant with his friend, Lokesh, around 1 pm. "Both had liquor together and began fighting over paying the bill," police said.

Lokesh reportedly punched Vijay in his face and pushed him, killing him on the spot. Police have arrested Lokesh.

More meat for the grinder

I would not want to be any of these folks.

I believe Chinese justice is pretty harsh on scandals involving public officials.

Probe finds 12 officials involved in meat scandal

By Qiu Bo (China Daily)

Beijing - An initial investigation has found that 12 government officials were implicated in a scandal involving tarnished meat products, while another 41 are still being probed.

In an announcement on Monday, the Henan provincial government said law enforcement officers have captured two major suspects and shut down their plants, after they tested 310,000 pigs across the province and confirmed that 134 of them tested positive for clenbuterol, a toxic chemical added to the animal's feed.

The 12 officials have been delivered to judicial departments for further investigation, the government said.

Fresh meat for the grinder

How exciting for these young thugs!!

Only 17 and 18 and they made it to the big leagues.

Armed Robbery, Aggravated Kidnapping and the like.

Couple robbed, held at gunpoint in Seguin

Two teenagers' backtracking in Seguin costs them their freedom.
By Roy Bragg - Express-News

SEGUIN — A pair of teenagers accused of orchestrating a three-hour, two-county crime spree early Sunday that netted them cash, a computer and tools were arrested after returning to the home of their victims, authorities said.

The teens — identified as James Riojas, 18, and Marissa Diaz, 17 — were being held in the Guadalupe County jail Monday on several charges, including kidnapping and robbing a married couple at knifepoint. Each was being held on $950,000 bond.

Robert Murphy, a Guadalupe County sheriff's investigator, said the female victim told deputies that she was driving north of Seguin at 8 a.m. Sunday when she was flagged down by a teenager, who told her he was having mechanical problems with his truck. That truck, Murphy said, had been stolen earlier that morning in Seguin.

The rest of the story:

Dog poop!

Somebody sure needed some xanax or something.

Now that's a good doggy in the photo!

Dog poop in yard leads to shooting

By Holbrook Mohr - Associated Press


JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — An argument between two armed neighbors over a dog and its feces escalated to a shootout in rural Mississippi, sending one neighbor to the hospital with injuries from shotgun pellets and the other neighbor to jail.

Terry Tenhet, 52, told The Associated Press he was struck Wednesday in both hands, the shoulder, chest and side by the spray of pellets from shotgun blasts fired by his neighbor, Jerry Blasingame, 60. The wounds are not life-threatening.

Washington County Sheriff's Assistant Chief Deputy Billy Barber said Tenhet was angry at Blasingame because he thought Blasingame's mixed-breed dog had defecated in his lawn.

The rest of the story:

Rubber Ducky is missing!!

Breaker, Breaker, one-nine, Rubber Ducky do you copy?

Rubber Ducky??

A photo of the missing rubber duckies.

2,500 rubber ducks stolen from Ill. police academy

Associated Press -

YORKVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A flotilla of yellow rubber ducks intended for a fund-raising event has been stolen from a police academy in suburban Chicago.

The Beacon-News in Aurora says Friday that some 2,500 ducks took flight this week from the Yorkville Citizens Police Academy.

Police say several of the toy ducks have been found on a Yorkville roadway and request that any more found be returned to the academy.

Police plan to use the toy ducks in their annual "Duck Pluck" to raise funds for the academy.

Rough air ahead

More contract disputes and headaches.

Headed to court.

Airport flap headed for court

By Roy Bragg - Express-News

NEW BRAUNFELS — Dan Kelly held forth at an ad hoc conference table consisting of a half-dozen tables pushed together in the middle of the now-closed Aviator Café at the city's airport.

Fifteen other men sat around the table, munching on doughnuts, bananas and breakfast tacos donated by various group members. The guys — all pilots, some local and healthy contingents from towns such as Bulverde and New Berlin — have been gathering like this for years.

They fly in to eat and to talk about flying.

The rest of the story:

Hill Country murder

This is a shame.  That he was killed and that it may have involved drugs.

No matter why it occurred; thank you for your service and rest in peace.

Kendall man found slain in bed

Military retiree was shot to death in his bed.
By Zeke MacCormack - Express-News

A Kendall County man was found shot to death early Saturday in bed at his remote home, where authorities also reported finding a variety of illegal drugs.

A friend of Ravis Clark, 55, called authorities at 1:21 a.m. Saturday after driving to the home on East Headwaters Ranch Road because he could not reach Clark by phone, Chief Deputy Matt King said Sunday.

“The killing was the likely result of a drug deal gone bad,” said King, who reported that Clark, a military retiree, had been shot multiple times.

The rest of the story:

Counterfeit dough?

Just because paid for the pizza with fake dough doesn't mean they should get a crappy pizza, does it?

Lincoln Life blog: Stupid criminals with discerning taste

By CINDY LANGE-KUBICK / Lincoln Journal Star

A pair of hungry (alleged) counterfeit bill-passers apparently weren't satisfied with their Pizza Hut delivery Wednesday and called the restaurant, complaining their pie was "too doughy."

The brief on the bungled passing of the fake bills is Stupid Criminal of the Week worthy.

It might have been worthy even without the complaint, since the manager had already called authorities about the fishy bills. It makes one wonder how bad they were. Crayon and construction paper, perhaps?

The couple should have ordered thin crust.

Because gas is way over $4 a gallon??

Non-polluting theft!!

In California even the thieves are green.

So are the police who chase them!!

Thieves flee ATM heists in golf carts

Associated Press -

California ATM thieves are using stolen golf carts to make their getaways.

Fresno County sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice says the heists appear the work of the same crooks.

The Fig Garden Golf Club was their latest target. On Monday, an employee heard an alarm and spotted the crooks fleeing down a fairway in a golf cart.

 

The rest of the story:

Bath salts make you high?? Who knew?

Learn something new each day!

Man high on bath salts thought he was being chased by electricity during burglary, police say

By Sara Ganim -The Patriot-News

A 31-year-old man under the influence of bath salts broke into a home in East Hanover Township and later damaged two cars — including a marked state police cruiser — because he thought he was being chased by electricity, police said.

Seth Thomas Sanders, of Elizabethtown, ditched his car along state Route 22 near Gravel Hill Road in Lebanon County Feb. 27 and began running around 1 a.m. because “he thought it was melting and electricity was following him,” police said.

In fleeing, he broke into a house, was chased out by a homeowner, then broke into a garage before running down state Route 22, and jumping onto the hood of two cars, police said.

He was arrested by a state trooper inside the second car he damaged. It was a marked state police cruiser.
Burglary, disorderly conduct and other charges were filed against Sanders.

Santa Claus he ain't

The stork didn't bring him either.

Man fleeing police falls through apt. ceiling naked

By Shiff Blair - 9news.com

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - It was a normal Tuesday morning until a man in his birthday suit crashed through the ceiling of an unsuspecting woman.

A man was running from police when he crashed through a woman's ceiling. He was completely nude.
"Well I was asleep in my bed and hear this loud crashing noise," Foxgate resident Kaliegh Townsend said.

Startled by the noise, Townsend got out of bed to investigate. She received a rude awakening.

The rest of the story:

Crazy Day and weekend

Dear Readers;

I have some hard and fast time and deadlines coming up for a seminar I will be giving three lecture at in Baltimore.  Posting will be light this weekend due to the time constraints.  
Please check back periodically to see if new items appear over the weekend.

See you on the other side.  Be safe out there.


Best wishes,

Man o' Law

A crap tax?

In some ways aren't they all?

Don't squeeze the taxpayer!!

Suttle unrolls toilet paper tax

By Maggie O'Brien - WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Mayor Jim Suttle went to Washington Tuesday flush with ideas for how federal officials could help cities like Omaha pay for multibillion-dollar sewer projects.

Among the items on his brainstorming list: a proposal for a 10-cent federal tax on every roll of toilet paper you buy.

Based on the four-pack price for Charmin double rolls Tuesday at a midtown Hy-Vee, such a tax would add more than 10 percent to the per-roll price, pushing it over a buck.

The rest of the story:

Burger brawl bikini

Rioting at the local Burger King.

Unbelievable.  The woman who did this is a 23 year old mother of four children. (TSG reports she has 4 children)

What, if anything was she thinking?

Video shows bikini brawl in PCB Burger King 

WJHG.com -

Panama City Beach -- A cell phone camera captured the action in the Panama City Beach Burger King on Front Beach Road Saturday, as a crowd of tourists nearly rioted at the restaurant.

Employees dialed 9-1-1 for help, as one bikini-clad woman, later identified as Kimesia Smith of Montgomery, Ala., jumped up on the counter and threw a charity coin jug at employees, and 3 of Smith's friends also began throwing napkins, utensils, and trays throughout the location.

The woman in the bikini, who became concerned about the whereabouts of her two children after Panama City Beach Police placed her in handcuffs, was taken to the Bay County Jail on charges of simple battery, in part because of allegations she pulled a Burger King employee's hair. Beach police contacted a friend of the woman, who told police she would take care of Smith's children.

The video has already been watched thousands of times, but be warned, there may be some harsh language overheard as the out of control group destroyed the Burger King.

The rest of the story and video:

Convictions affirmed on all 15 counts

He's not due to be released until August, 2022.

Ex-Judson teacher loses appeal in death-threat case

He was convicted of sending violent emails to a former girlfriend.
By Guillermo Contreras

A former Judson High School history teacher has lost his bid to overturn the conviction and 15-year prison sentence he got for sending death threats and other graphically violent emails to several people, including an ex-student he had dated.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Wednesday that Steven Weste failed to convince them that U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez erred at trial, or that the judge made a mistake in calculating Weste's sentence.

A federal jury convicted Weste, 34, in July 2009 of all 15 counts he faced, including threatening to kill several people, among them Amanda Stewart, his former student whom he started dating after she graduated in May 2005.

The rest of the story:

Court finally freed

Well, after a day and a half of deliberations the deposed Queen is the Queen again.

I think she may have won the battle but ultimately, she will have lost the war.

Who will want to hire a difficult, litigious 17 year old diva?

Crowning achievement: Ramirez back as Miss S.A.

Jurors decide pageant group breached her contract.
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Ousted beauty queen Domonique Ramirez retrieved her title and crown Thursday under a national media spotlight after a lawsuit jury unanimously decided the pageant organization that fired her had breached her contract.

“I don't have any choice but to reinstate Miss Ramirez as Miss San Antonio 2011,” state District Judge Barbara Hanson Nellermoe told the parties after shaking each departing juror's hand.

Family and friends of Ramirez, 17, broke into applause, and her attorney, Luis Vera Jr., appeared to wipe away a tear.

The rest of the story:

Crack trial of the Century coming soon!

Look out!!

Train wreck approaching!!

Lindsay Lohan refuses plea deal: Let the crack trial of the century commence!

 From CeleBitchy -

This afternoon, TMZ was the first to report that Lindsay Lohan was definitely not taking a plea deal in her crack thievery case, and that she was now set to take this crack shenanigan all the way to trial.

I didn’t write about it at the time because I thought it was just another BS Linnocent story, and I wanted to wait until tomorrow, the actual deadline for Linnocent to make her decision about taking the plea deal.

Looks like TMZ was right, though. Radar reports that Shawn Chapman Holley, Linnocent’s long-suffering attorney, has notified the judge that no deal will be taken. Crack trial commence!

The rest of the story:

Instant Karma

Karma Kop's going to get you.

He did.

Instant karma for suspected Idaho wallet thief

Express-News -

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Chalk it up to instant karma. An Idaho man suspected of stealing a wallet from the desk of a prospective employer has been arrested after calling police to report that his wallet was missing.

The Idaho Statesman reports Boise police realized the man who reported the missing wallet matched the description of the suspected wallet thief and arrested 25-year-old Daniel Damico on suspicion of burglary and grand theft.

Police say they believe Damico disposed of the stolen wallet, but used a credit card to buy tobacco at two stores. It was when he was leaving the second store Tuesday that he thought he may have dropped his own wallet.

The rest of the story:

Inexscusible Act

My heart goes out to the families.

What this woman did was inexcusible.

Hearing on day care fire 'is where justice begins'

Former fugitive pleads not guilty in tots' deaths.
By Peggy O'Hare - Houston Chronicle

Tears started flowing as soon as Jessica Tata — the subject of a worldwide manhunt after four children died in a fire at her child care facility — walked into a Houston courtroom wearing handcuffs Wednesday.

The tears weren’t from Tata herself, who sat stone-faced as nine criminal charges with multiple counts were read against her, but from relatives of the children entrusted to her care.

Keshia Brown, the mother of 16-month-old Elias Castillo, one of the toddlers killed in the Feb. 24 blaze, began to cry silently as soon as Tata was escorted into the courtroom by sheriff’s deputies to hear the charges against her.

The rest of the story:

Court still held hostage

The jury has been deliberating since yesterday mulling over whether the Queen was told she was eating too many tacos or not.  And did she eat too many tacos?

Or whether she was a teen-age diva.

Fate of dethroned Miss San Antonio is in the jury's hands

Calling it a night after a few hours, they'll pick it up this morning.
By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

The jury began deliberating Wednesday evening but failed to reach an immediate verdict in the closely watched civil trial in which ousted beauty queen Domonique Ramirez is seeking to recover her crown.

Jurors discussed the case for about 31/2 hours before notifying state District Judge Barbara Hanson Nellermoe that they wanted to go home. They're set to resume deliberations today at 8 a.m.

Ramirez, 17, filed suit last month after she was notified in an email that her reign as Miss San Antonio 2011 had been revoked by the pageant board of directors. She was later provided with a lengthy list of alleged infractions, including repeated tardiness to events, not writing a thank-you note for a minor gift, gaining weight and insubordination.

The rest of the story:

No longer a habit

Good job Sammy and Steve.

I believe that he had 7 prior burglaries and a total of 8 prior felonies.

This sentence is stacked on top of other sentences he has.


Habitual burglar gets life in prison after stealing brother's wedding ring
By J. Louise Larson New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung


NEW BRAUNFELS — A Comal County jury took 15 minutes to sentence Mario Albert Valadez to life in prison for burglarizing his own brother’s home, stealing his wedding ring and a Seiko watch.

Wednesday’s sentence on a second-degree felony burglary of a habitation conviction stemmed from a June 2010 incident at his brother’s home in the 1100 block of West Coll.

The rest of the story:

A walker-by shooting?

To paraphrase Shakespere:

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  No matter how old she is."

Woman, 92, goes ballistic after being denied kiss

Cops: Pensioner fired four shots at home of crush, 53
The Smoking Gun -

After being denied a kiss yesterday by a neighbor 39 years her junior, a 92-year-old Florida woman allegedly returned to her home, retrieved a .380 semi-automatic handgun, and fired several shots into the man’s residence.

Aged pistolero Helen Staudinger was arrested last night and charged with aggravated assault and firing into an occupied dwelling, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office report. Staudinger is pictured in the mug shot at right.


Investigators allege that Staudinger went next door to speak with Dwight Bettner, but her 53-year-old neighbor asked her to leave. In an interview with a sheriff’s deputy, Staudinger said she told Bettner that she would not leave unless he gave her a kiss.

The rest of the story:

Certifiable nut job

Words fail me.

How can he believe this?  Mars is, as everyone knows, the RED planet.

So, ergo, Communism/Socialism killed all life on Mars!

Yeah, take that El Presidente Chavez!


Cahavez says capitalism may have ended life on Mars
By Eyanir Chinea - Reuters

CARACAS (Reuters) - Capitalism may be to blame for the lack of life on the planet Mars, Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday.
"I have always said, heard, that it would not be strange that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe
capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived and finished off the planet," Chavez said in speech to mark World Water Day.

Chavez, who also holds capitalism responsible for many of the world's problems, warned that water supplies on Earth were drying up.

The rest of the story:

Caught at the fence line

Good catch Border Patrol!

Fugitive from S.A. nabbed at border
Express-News

A fugitive from San Antonio trying to slip into Mexico on his birthday was caught by federal officers Thursday in Eagle Pass.

Gerardo Lopez Castillo, 44, a Mexican citizen who was living in San Antonio, was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and Border Patrol agents as he tried to walk across the international bridge from Eagle Pass to Piedras Negras, Mexico.

The officials determined that Lopez Castillo was wanted in San Antonio on three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to a news release.

The rest of the story:

Judge exceeded her authority

Why will she be returning to the bench after she serves her 60 day probation for official oppression?

I would think the Judicial Conduct Commission would not allow that to happen.

Tables turned for JP who jailed truant teens

Hidalgo official's hard line earns her probation, $8,000 in fines for official oppression.
By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News

EDINBURG — A Hidalgo County justice of the peace convicted of official oppression for sending truant teens to county jail was ordered to pay $8,000 in fines and sentenced to 60 days under community supervision.

Judge Mary Alice Palacios, 51, had no comment as family and friends ushered her out of the state district courtroom following the verdict.

Her attorney, Fernando Mancias, said the full details of her probation would be worked out when she returns to court in April. He said she was for now eager to get back to work.

The rest of the story:

Apparently a mile deep and a mile wide

**ahem**

Police:  Cavity search produces 50 bags of heroin

The Associated Press-

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — Police in northeastern Pennsylvania say they recovered more than 50 bags of heroin, cash and loose change from a woman following a cavity search.

Authorities say 27-year-old Karin Mackaliunas was detained last weekend following a crash. Scranton police say they found three bags of heroin in her jacket and after being taken to the police station she told investigators she had more hidden in her vagina.

A doctor performed a search and recovered 54 bags of heroin, 31 empty bags used to package heroin, prescription pills and $51.22.

The rest of the story:

Day what, 6?

The interminable trial continues while jurors ogle photos of a bikini-clad teenager.

Miss S.A. jury reviews bikini shots and taco comments

By Craig Kapitan - Express-News

Jurors passed around a poster-sized bikini shot of ousted Miss San Antonio Domonique Ramirez as attorneys wrangled Monday over who first suggested the 17-year-old should “get off the tacos.”

Both sides remember the comment was made during a photo shoot in December, one month before the beauty queen's reign was revoked. But contrary to what Ramirez has told national media outlets while pursuing a lawsuit to try to get back her crown, she was the one who mentioned tacos, a pageant official and the photographer told jurors.

Pageant board President Linda Woods has said insubordination, and not her weight, was why Ramirez was dropped as Miss San Antonio.

One tough cookie

Yeah, good luck with this lawsuit.

How you'd prove that the corporation knew, yet failed to stop illicit drugs from being disseminated is going to be one tough cookie.

Even if you prove a guard, or guards, smuggled in the drugs you still have to show the corporation knew, or should have known about it and failed to try to stop it.

Heroin overdose in federal jail prompts lawsuit

Parents seek information on son’s death while in custody.
By Guillermo Contreras

The parents of an inmate who died last year from a heroin overdose at a privately run federal jail in downtown San Antonio have sued the operator, alleging guards may have smuggled the drugs in and provided them to the prisoner.

The suit filed by Albert and Sandra Gomez, which was moved from state court to federal court last week, states that their son, Albert Gomez Jr., died May 19 from a heroin overdose while he was held at one of the more secure parts of the Central Texas Detention Facility.

The 685-bed facility is owned by Bexar County, but has been managed for years by the Boca Raton, Fla.-based GEO Group Inc., which has a contract with the county and the U.S. Marshals Service to house federal pretrial inmates there. The suit names GEO and a female guard, listed as “Jane Doe 1,” as defendants.

The rest of the story:

Naw; on second thought let him stay

Pleas to resign seem to be falling on deaf ears.

While I am not a Democrat I would think Mr. Ramos should step down allowing the Bexar County Democratic Party to try to recover from him and the folks before him who ran it into the ground.

Going at least as far back as the early 90's under Leo Pacheco, who informed this blogger that the party would not support Anglo candidates.

Yet you call the Republicans racist.

Mayor urges Democratic Party boss to resign

By John W. Gonzalez - Express-News

Mayor Julián Castro joined the chorus of officials Monday urging Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Ramos to resign because of Ramos' bitter attacks on fellow Democrats.

Since Ramos made statements last week slamming gays and other party members, several local elected officials have blasted him. Ramos, one year into his two-year term, refuses to step aside, despite demands for his resignation from the Texas Democratic Party chairman and Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus.

“Your refusal to fully apologize for your remarks convinces me you should not lead the Bexar County Democrat Party,” the mayor said in an email letter to Ramos.

The rest of the story:

See-sawing convictions

They were convicted in the trial court.  That conviction apparently was reversed by the intermediate appeals court for insufficiency of the evidence.

Now that decision was reversed and the convictions reinstated by the Supreme Court of India.

Anchorage 'paedophiles' to surrender

The Times of India -

MUMBAI: The two British nationals, whose acquittal in a case related to the sexual abuse of minor boys, was overturned by the Supreme Court are likely to surrender on Monday (March 21). Duncan Grant and Allan Waters are likely to surrender on Monday, their advocate Taraq Sayyed said.

"Once we get the copy of the writ from the Supreme Court of India, the accused would surrender," he said.

The copy of the writ is directly sent to the Sessions Court. 

The rest of the story:

Good God, No!!

Please!

Just say No!

Tommy Hilfiger's Dallas Cowboys uniform makeover

By Michael Quintanilla - Express-News

If duds make the dude, then maybe new Dallas Cowboys uniforms could make for a winning team.

In designer Tommy Hilfiger’s eyes that could be a game changer with his imagined uniforms for the Texas team in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine “where he was asked to give his ideas for redesigning some top American sports teams’ uniforms,” said Hilfiger’s menswear spokesman Mark Recker.

America’s team has just finished a lackluster season, so maybe a change of clothes could take them to blockbuster as a stylish squad in re-tweaked stars and royal blue and metallic silver. Talk about fantasy football.

The rest of the story:

Prosecutor down

Investigation into the cause and circumstances surrounding his death are ongoing.

God watch over his wife and child.

Rest in Peace, Arturo.

Prosecutor found dead in Mexico

By Lynn Brezosky - Express-News

BROWNSVILLE _ Cameron County officials are investigating the weekend death in Mexico of a 26-year-old prosecutor.

Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos in a news release said Assistant District Attorney Arturo Jose Iniguez's death "is considered an open and on-going investigation, which our office is reviewing.”

"Cause of death has not been confirmed," Villalobos said. "We don't suspect foul play; however, because of our type of work and because of the death occurring in Mexico, we want to be completely confident of the manner and means of death."

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Burritos and gas prices up. But isn't that just saying the same thing?

Who could blame him?

It was, after-all, a 50% increase in the price of his Beefy Crunch Burritos.

BTW that was sarcasm, okay?

The Beefy Crunch Burrito incident

Man upset by price gets in shootout with police; no one hurt.
By Michelle Mondo - Express-News

The price of the Beefy Crunch Burrito had gone up from 99 cents to $1.49 and the man at the Rigsby Road Taco Bell drive-thru had just ordered seven.

The fast food customer was so disgruntled by the price hike he shot an air gun at the manager, displayed a semiautomatic assault rifle and pistol while in the restaurant's parking lot, fled as police were called, exchanged gunfire with three officers who pulled him over, then barricaded himself in his hotel room — all over $3.50 plus additional tax.

The final incident in the burrito-triggered spree happened Sunday afternoon at the Rodeway Inn on North W.W. White Road, engaging SWAT negotiators in a more than three-hour standoff, according to officials and witnesses.

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Stupid is as as stupid does

Hello?  I'd like to report a kidnapping and false detention.

Sandusky Man calls 911 from jail

The Sandusky Register -


Police in Ohio say a man arrested on a disorderly conduct charge called 911 from jail to complain he was being held against his will.

The Sandusky Register reports the man had been handcuffed to the door of his holding cell early Sunday because officers said he wouldn't calm down and they were afraid he would hurt himself or cause damage. He'd been arrested in a dispute outside a Sandusky bar.

The newspaper reports police in the northern Ohio community took away the man's cell phone after the 911 call was placed and included in the charges against him a count of misuse of 911.

This about says it all

Do you feel lucky punk?

Well?  Do you?

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Balancing act

Well, it is a unicycle after all.

NYC refuses to tire against unicyclist's lawsuit

Associated Press -

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City says it's fighting a $3 million lawsuit brought by a Brooklyn unicyclist who's taking issue with a technicality in city code.

Circus performer Kyle Peterson was issued a ticket in 2007 for violating an ordinance that prohibits riding a "two- or three-wheeled device" on sidewalks.

He filed the federal lawsuit against the city claiming his rights were violated because he was riding on one wheel.

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Fugitive turns herself in

This woman was wanted in connection with a deadly fire at her home day-care center.

She allegedly left the children in her home day-care center alone while she went shopping at a near-by Target.

She had fled the country after the incident.

She has apparently turned herself in to authorities in Nigeria.

Tata reportedly surrendered to authorities

By Mike Morris - Houston Chronicle

A woman who fled to Nigeria after a fire at her west Houston day care killed four children last month has surrendered to authorities, her brother said Saturday.

Jessica Tata faces 14 charges, including four counts of manslaughter, in connection with the Feb. 24 blaze at Jackie's Child Care. Officials have said that Tata, 22, left seven children unattended and oil cooking on the stove while she shopped at Target. She fled to Nigeria before being charged.

Her brother, Ron Tata, 26, said she turned herself in around 11 a.m. Saturday. According to his relatives in Nigeria, workers at the U.S. Consulate in Lagos traveled to Port Harcourt to take her into custody, he said.

"She planned to do it a couple days ago, and they came over to pick her up after she called them and said she wanted to turn herself in, basically," Ron Tata said.

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OWWWW!!!!

Yikes!

I guess she believes she had her reasons.

British woman 'bites off' boyfriend's testicles

News.com.au -


A BRITISH man had surgery to reattach his testicles after his girlfriend allegedly bit them off, the Daily Mirror reported yesterday.

Maria Georgina Topp, 43, appeared in court accused of carrying out the horrific attack on her boyfriend Martin Douglas, 45, in Newcastle, northern England.

BDouglas had to call emergency services himself after the incident, but was in so much pain operators could not understand what he was saying. He needed emergency surgery and had to spend several days in the hospital recovering from the attack.

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The cost of living goes up, even in prison

They won't charge indigent prisoners but if they are indigent why do they have their own personal tvs and radios?

Maybe they can avoid paying if they make their own electricity?

Ohio to charge inmates $1 per month for electricity

Associated Press -


COLUMBUS - Ohio inmates paying their debt to society also will have to pay $1 per month for electricity and deal with less variety at meal time, including fewer beverage choices, under prisons department spending cuts intended to help the state close an expected $8 billion budget hole.

The new electricity fee and the changes in meals will be implemented in July and are among $30 million in moneysaving measures being adopted from suggestions made by Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction employees, department spokesman Carlo LoParo said Friday. Administrators sought the staff's input and received thousands of ideas, he said.

Dropping noncarbonated flavored drinks, currently offered with inmate lunches and dinners, will trim $2 million in costs over two years, LoParo said. Another $3 million will be saved with more repeats at mealtime - serving the most popular and least expensive foods more often.

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The family business

Its always nice when the children follow in their parents' footsteps.

Except, of course, when the parent is a criminal, eh?

Oakland County mother-son duo arrested for armed robbery of drug store

By Dave Phillips and Karen Workman - For the Daily Tribune

A mother and her son teamed up to rob an Independence Township drugstore in the 7200 block of Ortonville Road at gunpoint, according to authorities.

Pamela Jane Allen, 50, and her son, Tyler Earl Fischer-Greenfield, 25, both of Holly, were arraigned for armed robbery Thursday in 52-2 District Court in Clarkston.

Fischer-Greenfield, whose bond was set at $100,000, was also charged with delivery or manufacture of a controlled substance less than 50 grams. That felony charge can bring up to 20 years in prison.

What we have here is a good start

32 folks arrested for DWI in a five hour span this past St. Patrick's Day is a good start. 

However, how many more managed to escape detection?

Dozens arrested on drunk-driving charges

By Guillermo X. garci - Express-News

River Walk patrons weren't the only ones seeing green for St. Patrick's Day — bail bond firms and city magistrate's officers had a booming business as San Antonio police made more than 30 DWI arrests citywide in a five-hour span late Thursday and early Friday.

Police and magistrate officers said the spike in drunken driving arrests roughly tracked the closing time of bars and coincided with late-night, Irish-themed festivities around town.

All told, 32 people were charged between 11 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday, according to magistrate's office records. In addition to first-time driving while intoxicated charges, police logged evading arrest charges and several instances of people being arrested for second or third drunken driving offenses.

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