Archive for the 'Criminal Arrests' Category

Police in Albertville, Ala. received a call over the weekend about a minivan driving down a state highway with a kid riding on the roof.

According to an Associated Press article, the 37-year-old mother driving the minivan was arrested for allowing her 13-year-old daughter to ride inside a cardboard box that was secured to the top of the minivan with a coat hanger.

The woman told police that the box wouldn’t fit inside the vehicle, so her daughter was inside it holding it down.

No one was harmed, and the girl was turned over to a relative when her mother was arrested. The woman was allegedly out on bond as of yesterday.

There is no indication that criminal charges have officially been made in this case.

Four men who allegedly engaged in the making, selling and viewing of child porn in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin were recently caught by the FBI. The group referred to themselves as the ‘Boy Lovers.’

The criminal arrests were facilitated by another man who had been caught for child pornography crimes earlier in the year. After his own arrest, he became a cooperative witness, helping the FBI find the other participants, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Over the course of a few months, the witness corresponded and spoke with the four men involved in the child pornography ring. Phone calls and emails were exchanged to help the FBI bring the criminal charges on the men.

If the four men are convicted of the crimes they allegedly committed, they will face prison terms of 20 years or more. The witness may still face a 10-year jail sentence.

Many marine recruiters visit schools looking for young adults to invest in serving our country. These recruiters should have the best intentions at heart when searching for our future brave men and women to serve the United States.

Unfortunately there has been a rise in the number of sexual assaults by marine recruiters. According to CBS.com, back in 2006 over 100 young women said they had been raped or sexually abused.

Of the many cases that were brought to court, one young woman filed a lawsuit stating the recruiter told her if she wanted to join the navy then she had to have sex with him. She didn’t know what to do - she was 18 years old, and she trusted this man in uniform.

In some of these cases, the relationships were romantic and initiated by the young women, but these were adult men recruiting young women into the navy and not all the women were legally adults.

In the most recent case one marine recruiter allegedly had sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl and is facing 14 felony charges. If convicted he can serve up to life in prison.

26-year-old Trevor Hooper is being charged by Salt Lake Prosecutors for rape, forcible sodomy, sexual exploitation of a minor and forcible sexual abuse.

The two met when Hooper visited her high school to recruit. They allegedly went to a motel together and engaged in sexual acts, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The girl’s father found photos of sexual relations between her and Hooper on a memory card that contained images of the two engaged in sexual activity.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Sgt Damien McGee, a spokesman for the Marine Corps. recruiting station in Salt Lake City, stated that the Marine Corps. was unaware of any issues until Hooper was arrested. They are not exactly sure of the high schools visited by Hooper but advised each recruiter should visit four different schools in the surrounding area.

Sgt. Damien McGee also stated that “all marines, including recruiters, have very stringent rules to follow.”

Hooper may also face federal criminal charges in sexual exploitation of a minor as well as facing disciplinary consequences from the military.

The young girl’s name has not been released.

Neighbors feared for their lives as they waited for police to search for the suspect who killed eight in the town of Brunswick, Ga. - a small community left in the shadows in the beginning of a police investigation.

According to an Associated Press report, seven people were murdered at the scene and two were left in critical condition. The local police department is not releasing any information as to whom, how, what or why.

Neighbors wondered if the murderer was still on the loose, and many were upset that no information was being provided to ease their worried minds.  Some wanted to know if they should take matters into their own hands in fear the killer was still on the loose.  One neighbor talked about putting a gun under her pillow just to make sure she was safe at night.

The police stated they could not provide any information, as it could interfere with the investigation, and there was no known suspect in custody.  The best the police could do was to urge the neighbors to be cautious and aware of their surroundings.

After a week of not knowing if a murderer or murderers were running wild around the neighborhoods of Glynn County, the police arrested a 22-year-old man by the name of Guy Heinze who is related to all the victims.

Heinze is the one who reported the murders to the police.  He called 9-1-1 stating “my whole family is dead.” He found them after returning to the mobile home after a night out.  When police arrived at the scene they arrested Heinze.

He was initially charged with evidence tampering, lying to the police and drug possession, but was not yet accused of the murders, the Associated Press reported.

Heinze allegedly removed a shotgun from the mobile home and attempted to hide it from the police by putting it in the trunk of his car.  He allegedly told police he thought the gun was stolen and that’s why he tried to hide it.

Later that same day, the police arrested him for the murders of his family and he is now being charged with eight counts of first degree murder - since one of the two survivors, 19-year-old Michael Toler died at the hospital and became the eighth victim, ABC reported.

The victim’s names were released and they were all Heinze’s family members who lived in the mobile home together owned by his uncle, Toler Sr. According to neighbors, his uncle took in all the family members who needed help and were having hard times.  His father and uncle were among the deceased.

The only survivor of this horrible and deadly attack was three-year-old Byron Jimerson. He remains in the hospital.
For many that knew Heinze, they were surprised that he could have killed his family members.  Many of his friends and family say that they were all so close and he never seemed  like the type to commit such horrible crimes.

Heinze was not able to attend the funeral for his family.  He remained in jail while the funeral proceedings were carried on.

Ontario’s high-profile former attorney general, Michael Bryant, has been charged with dangerous driving and causing the death of a biker in an alleged fit of serious road rage.

During his tenure as attorney general, Bryant helped institute several controversial and severe traffic safety regulations.

According to a New York Times article, the incident was fairly minor at first, but escalated out of control. The accident involved a bicycle courier - Darcy Allen Sheppard, 33 - and Bryant who was driving his Saab convertible.

After the car and cyclist collided, Sheppard grabbed hold of the Saab’s driver’s side door, and Bryant, behind the wheel, allegedly took off while the biker held onto the car.

Witnesses said the car was speeding down the street with a person clinging to the side of it, and the car veered into oncoming traffic, the New York Times reported. Witnesses believed the driver was trying to get close to lampposts and mailboxes in an attempt to knock the person off the side of the vehicle.

After a final knock from a mailbox, Sheppard fell off the car. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died shortly thereafter, according to Toronto police.

Prior to the criminal charges that Bryant now faces, he was one of the province’s most prominent politicians, working hard to crack down on street racing and makes roads safer for Ontario residents.

In Miami, Fla. it was. The ambulance was rushing down the street - typcial, right? But this time it was for a different reason than rushing a patient to the hospital.

According to NBC News-Miami, 48-year-old Karen Taylor swiped an ambulance right off the street.

The most commonly stolen cars are Honda Civics and Accords - because they themselves are common. Typically if you steal a car, you aren’t really looking to stand out in a crowd. When Taylor stole the ambulance, it definitely stood out.

The vehicle was reported missing, and Taylor was spotted just hours later. She was arrested and charged with grand theft auto and resisting arrest - allegedly a bystander had to help the arresting officer get Taylor under control.

She is currently being held at $10,000 bond, and no criminal lawyer has been assigned to her case.

In Dayton, Ohio, the U.S. Marshal’s Service has arrested D’AlCapone AlPacino Morris, 20, who was wanted for a June 2 murder, according to a Dayton Daily News report.

Morris, whose name combines that of Al Capone, a known criminal and historic figure and Al Pacino, who has acted in roles portraying criminals, was found under housing insulation in the attic of a home.

The murder Morris allegedly committed was part of a drug-related robbery. Michael D. Guy, 19, was also arrested in association with the murder. The two wanted men, Morris and Guy, face criminal charges of murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and felonious assault, according to Dayton court records.

In California this morning, San Mateo’s Hillside Highschool was evacuated because of a pipe bomb explosion in the building. Luckily, no one was injured - but a suspect is in custody, and may face criminal charges.

Though several cases of violence on school grounds have made the news, those aren’t the only ones that happen each year. Some cases of note are:

• Columbine High School, Colorado 1999
• Rocori High School, Minnesota 2003
• Red Lake High School, Minnesota 2005
• Amish School Shooting, Pennsylvania 2006
• Virginia Tech Shooting, Virginia 2007
• Northern Illinois University, Illinois 2008

Unlike the incidents listed above in which several people were killed, most shootings/bombings/threats that happen in the U.S. at high schools and colleges result in nothing more than just that: a threat.

While the examples above can be used as warnings and reminders that these terrible things can happen to anyone, anywhere at any time, our criminal defense system has practices in place to help avoid these situations, and handle them accordingly when they do crop up.

Outside the Wisconsin State Fair, Milwaukee’s mayor, Tom Barrett, was trying to help a screaming woman who was yelling for someone to call 9-1-1.

According to CNN, as Barrett approaced the woman, he saw that she was holding a baby, and he thought the problem was with the kid - but as he reached for his phone to make the call, he realized the problem was actually with the man - Anthony Peters - who was holding a lead pipe and had been beating the woman. Now the angry Peters was coming at the mayor, and he succeeded.

The mayor suffered blows to the head and neck - and complained of a sore lip. He was hospitalized for his head and neck injuries, but would not elaborate further because of the pending criminal charges.

The situation arose from a domestic disturbance, and Peters’ family blames the mayor for the arrest.

A couple who went on a purse-snatching spree in Southern California had their three-year-old son in the car with them while they were out commiting the thefts.

According to a San Jose Mercury News report, police found the toddler in the backseat of the couple’s car when a high-speed chase ended with the getaway vehicle smashing into a local police cruiser.

The two offenders will face criminal charges. Nothing has been said as to what is next for the child.