Category: Violence

Park Forest Bank Robbed Near High Noon

Posted on by TL

From ENEWSPF:

The Chicago F.B.I. has confirmed a report that the First Midwest Bank, 2 Main Street, Park Forest, was robbed this morning.

According to Special Agent Julia Meredith of the Chicago F.B.I., at approximately 11:40 a.m. Friday morning, two female employees were servicing the ATM on the north side of the building when they were approached by a black male, approximately 6-feet tall.

According to the F.B.I., the man said he was armed and demanded money, which the employees gave him. The man then fled on foot. The man did not show a weapon, according to Agent Meredith.

The F.B.I. is taking the lead on this one. Acutally, the F.B.I. takes the lead on all bank robberies, since banks are federally insured.

More, and a picture of the bank here.

Sex Offender Charged With Murder In Chelsea King Case (Video)

Posted on by TL

News out of San Diego via WGN Chicago:

A convicted sex offender charged Wednesday with murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King while raping or attempting to rape her was linked to the crime by DNA from semen found in her clothing, a state Justice Department spokeswoman said.

The break led to the weekend arrest of 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III as thousands of people still held out hope that an extensive search would find the teen alive even though she had not been seen since last Thursday.

Prosecutors declined to answer questions about the evidence against Gardner.

However, California Department of Justice spokeswoman Christine Gasparac told The Associated Press Gardner was identified after the semen from clothing found by investigators was run through a national database.

The semen had been detected by the San Diego County crime lab and forwarded to the state, where technicians ran it through the national Combined DNA Index System.

"We were able within two hours to get a match to Gardner, and they were able to make the arrest," Gasparac said.

More here from WGN.

Jacob B. Nodarse, 23, Suspect in Darien Killings in Custody

Posted on by TL

First from the Sun-Times:

A suspect in the triple murder of a family in west suburban Darien was arrested this afternoon in south Florida, authorities said.

Jacob Nodarse, 23, of Lemont, was sleeping in a van outside his parents’ house in Lehigh Acres, Fla., when police and deputy U.S. marshals arrested him at about 4 p.m. today, officials said.

Nodarse was the subject of a manhunt after Darien Police early today issued an alert that he might have fled to Florida in a BMW, which was found parked in his parents’ garage, authorities said.

Nodarse has been charged with obstruction of justice. Police would not say why they believe he is a suspect in the fatal shootings early Tuesday of Jeffrey R. Kramer, 50, his wife Lori L. Kramer, 48, and their 20-year-old son Michael J. Kramer.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Shortly after the arrest in Florida, four police cars pulled up to a building in Countryside where records show Nodarse once lived. About half a dozen police officers in bullet-proof vests entered the building, breaking down a door.

Nodarse’s grandmother, Ingrid Kampe, 64, of Tinley Park, was shocked at news of the arrest.

She said they had just had dinner together at a steakhouse on Sunday "and he seemed fine, he seemed really good" and didn’t act out of the ordinary at all. She described him as kind, quiet and mild-mannered.

"He’s got a heart of gold," Kampe said.

Earlier today, Hamilton County sheriff’s police had searched a stretch of rural highway in northern Florida after cell phone signals indicated he was there.

But deputies reported back to Darien police that they found nothing. "They gave us a location where the car may be located. We checked every location in the area and haven’t found anything," said Hamilton County Sheriff J. Harrell Reid.

And it’s at this point that I’ll stress everyone arrested in this country is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

What a horrible tragedy.

SeaWorld Trainer Killed by Killer Whale (Video and Story)

Posted on by TL

From CNN:

 A killer whale killed a trainer Wednesday afternoon at SeaWorld’s Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Florida, a public information officer for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.

The 40-year-old woman, identified by sheriff’s spokesman Jim Solomons as Dawn Brancheau, was in the whale holding area about 2 p.m. when "she apparently slipped or fell into the tank and was fatally injured by one of the whales," he said.

But a witness told CNN affiliate WKMG-TV that the whale approached the glass side of the 35-foot-deep tank at Shamu Stadium, jumped up and grabbed the trainer by the waist, shaking her so violently that her shoe came off.

From ClickOrlando.com:

Jim Solomons of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said she fell into the tank and, "this appears to be an accidental death."

"It is with great sadness that I report one of our most experienced trainers has drowned in an incident with one of our whales this afternoon," park manager Dan Brown said.

Brancheau had 16 years experience working with killer whales, the sheriff’s office said.

The park was closed because of the fatal incident, and the Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation at the theme park.

"We have never in the history of our parks experienced an incident like this and all of our standard operating procedures will be under review," Brown said.

Witness Victoria Biniak said she saw the deadly incident from a viewing area.

"The trainer was explaining different things about the whale and then the trainer that was down there walked away from the window. Then Telly (the whale) took off really fast in the tank and he came back, shot up in the air, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started thrashing (her) around," Biniak said. "He was thrashing her around pretty good. It was violent."

Biniak said the attack was so violent that it caused the trainer’s shoe to fly off.

"He was thrashing her around pretty good. It was violent," Briniak said.

To All The Media: Colin Powell Debunks Claims That America Is Less Safe Under Obama (Video)

Posted on by TL

Video above is from MediaMatters.org.

Copy the code. Help spread the word.

I still love Colin Powell.

Dems Soft on Terror? Taliban’s Top Commander Captured

Posted on by TL

"Less talk, more action," might be a motto for President Obama’s approach to the two wars he inherited from President Bush.

From the New York Times:

The Taliban’s top military commander was captured several days ago in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to American government officials.

The commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is an Afghan described by American officials as the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the American-led war in Afghanistan started more than eight years ago. He ranks second in influence only to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban’s founder, and was a close associate of Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Mullah Baradar has been in Pakistani custody for several days, with American and Pakistani intelligence officials both taking part in interrogations, according to the officials.

It was unclear whether he was talking, but the officials said his capture had provided a window into the Taliban and could lead to other senior officials. Most immediately, they hope he will provide the whereabouts of Mullah Omar, the one-eyed cleric who is the group’s spiritual leader.

Disclosure of Mullah Baradar’s capture came as American and Afghan forces were in the midst of a major offensive in southern Afghanistan.

No Mission Accomplished, for sure. But certainly a big move in Afghanistan.

Police Say Woman Ran Over Cop After Chase and Crash

Posted on by TL

Ouch.

From the Sun-Times:

A Back of the Yards neighborhood woman has been charged with three felonies, two misdemeanors and issued six traffic tickets after she allegedly struck an officer with a vehicle following a chase and crash early Saturday on the Southwest Side.

Police fired shots at the woman, but she was not struck by the police gunfire. She was hospitalized after being Tasered following the crash. The officer struck by the vehicle was also injured, police said.

Rosa Gutierrez, 31, of the 5000 block of South Hoyne Avenue, was charged Saturday one count each of felony aggravated battery to a police officer, felony possession of a controlled substance, felony aggravated fleeing an accident with bodily injury, misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor resisting/obstructing a peace officer, according to a police statement.

Officers responded about midnight to a report of shots fired near South Kedzie Avenue and West 60th Street and saw a vehicle matching the description of a dispatch report fleeing the scene, police News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti said.

The officers activated their emergency equipment and attempted to curb the vehicle, but the motorist — identified in the statement as Gutierrez — refused to stop and committed multiple traffic violations in an attempt to elude police, Ursitti said.

The vehicle eventually crashed into a residential garage in the 4100 block of West Marquette Avenue at 12:07 p.m., police said. When officers approached, Gutierrez allegedly reversed the vehicle into an officer, prompting another officer to fire shots at Gutierrez, police said.

The officer was taken to a local hospital, treated, and released.

17-Year-Old Ramone Washington Shot By Coward In West Humboldt Park

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune :

A 17-year-old boy was shot and killed this afternoon in the city’s West Humboldt Park neighborhood,Chicago police said.

Police believe the teen’s killers chased him down before shooting him, authorities said.

Killed was Ramone Washington, of the 700 block of South Karlov Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A neighbor called police to report screaming followed by shooting near the 1100 block of North Keystone Avenue just after 1:40 p.m., police said.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ramone Washington.

Read more here.

Alert: Police Locate Vehicle of Missing Park Forest Woman

Posted on by TL

From ENEWSPF:

Deputy Chief Mike McNamara said in a statement Friday that the vehicle driven by Dana Hayes, who is missing from her Park Forest home, was located by members of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force in Harvey last night. The vehicle was unoccupied and there were no signs of foul play. However, Ms. Hayes has not contacted her family since Monday morning.

She is considered a missing/endangered person, McNamara said in the statement.

Related: Police and South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force Seek Missing Park Forest Woman

The related story is from eNews Park Forest.

Jordan Brown, 12, A Child Accused of Murder, May Be Charged As An Adult

Posted on by TL

Jordan Brown is a 12-year-old child accused of murder. A Pennsylvania judge is expected to rule today on whether the juvenile will be tried as an adult.

From WTAE Pittsburgh:

Judge Dominick Motto will hear arguments over whether Jordan Brown should be tried as an adult or a juvenile for allegedly killing his father’s pregnant fiancée.

Prosecutors said Brown, who was 11 at the time, shot and killed 26-year-old Kenzie Houk and her unborn baby as she lay sleeping in her Wampum home last February.

If tried as a juvenile, the court’s jurisdiction would end when Brown turns 21 and he would be released.If Brown is tried as an adult, he would face life in prison.

Brown has been charged with one adult count of criminal homicide and is being held without bail in a juvenile facility.

How this child got his hands on a loaded weapon is another matter entirely.

I’ve written about this before. Jordan Brown is a child. He should be charged as a juvenile.