Category: Violence

Restaurateur Nick Sord Charged with DUI in Crash that Killed Girlfriend

Posted on by TL

An absolute tragedy.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A business partner of a Blackhawks legend and former coach has been charged with drunk driving after a crash early Thursday near Oak Forest that killed his girlfriend, Cook County sheriff’s officials said today.

Nick Sord’s blood-alcohol level was 0.236, three times the legal limit for driving, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. Sord, 22, of the 10600 block of Churchill Drive, and Denis Savard are partners in a venture to open a restaurant, Savard’s Hall of Fame, in Munster.

Sord has been charged with reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence.

His girlfriend Jessica Mejia, 20, of the 700 block of Brookwood Road in New Lenox, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened near 147th Street and Oak Park Avenue in unincorporated Cook County.

Once again, according to police, Nick Sord’s blood-alcohol level was 0.236, three times the legal limit for driving.

Read more at the Trib.

Dem Rep. Eric Massa Smacks Cheney: ‘Political diarrhea of the mouth’

Posted on by TL

As I’ve said before, I don’t care for MSNBC’s The Ed Show. Host Ed Schultz enjoys inflammatory rhetoric. On Wednesday, Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) gave him some.

From the raw story:

"We need to grow a spine and stand up and show America exactly who did what," Massa said, pointing to Cheney’s role in the events leading to the Christmas day attempt and the fact that the Bush administration took several days longer than Obama to address the 2001 shoe-bomber incident.

"It was Dick Cheney personally responsible for the release of the masterminds of the Christmas airline terror plot," he said, accusing the former vice president of shifting his culpability to Democrats.

"It makes no difference what we do, this man suffers from political diarrhea of the mouth, and unless we stand up and call it as it is he’s going to keep on getting away with it," Massa said.

Host Ed Schultz called Cheney a "coward" and heatedly rebuffed the GOP meme that their party is more effective on national security, and said the Democratic Party cedes ground by failing to counter these claims.

Yes, Dick Cheney needs to shut up, but he won’t. He’s angry. Very angry. That much anger can’t be good for your health.

Take a walk, Dick. Take up tennis or yoga.

Suspect Shot by Police on Chicago’s South Side

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Police and fire crews remain at the scene of a police-involved shooting Tuesday night in the South Side Fuller Park neighborhood.

Independent Police Review Authority spokesman Curtis Tarver confirmed a police-involved shooting happened at 54th and Indiana Avenue about 7:40 p.m. He said a suspect was shot by a police officer.

Fire crews remained at the scene in the 7800 block of South Shore Drive at 9 p.m., according to Fire Media Affairs Cmdr. Will Knight, who said no transports had been made.

This is a developing story.

Read more here at the Sun-Times.

Courtesy the Associated Press, An Alleged Terrorist’s Underwear

Posted on by TL

Thanks to the Associated Press, you can now see that guy’s underwear.

From ABC News:

A singed pair of underwear with a packet of powder sewn into the crotch, seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, is all that remains of al Qaeda’s attempt to down an American passenger plane over Detroit.

As seen in these photos, the alleged bomb consisted of a packet of powder sewn into the briefs of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian. Al Qaeda took credit Monday for the attempted bombing, boasted of its ability to overcome U.S. intelligence and airport security, and promised new attacks.

The first photo, to the left, shows the slightly charred and singed underpants with the bomb packet still in place. All photos include a ruler to provide scale.

Now you have seen an alleged terrorist’s underwear. No alleged skid marks.

Amazing.

Electronics Sales and Thefts Up This Year; Watch Your Stuff on CTA

Posted on by TL

Reports leading up to the holiday season indicated sales of electronics were up this year. While not meeting 2010 targets due to the G.O.P./Bush Recession, manufacturers still expected to do well.

Thieves are also looking for your gadgets, so be careful.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Lindsey Anderson had a strange feeling when a man boarded and sat down in front of her on the CTA’s Green Line near the Harlem station earlier this month.

“Maybe it’s women’s intuition or ESP, I don’t know,” said Anderson, 26, who lives in the city’s North Center neighborhood.

Sure enough, Anderson said the man reached toward her in a swift motion and tried to take her high-end cell phone. But she kept a tight grip on her Motorola Droid, and the man eventually ran off.

The would-be thief left Anderson with some soreness, but also her phone. Other commuters haven’t been as lucky. Chicago police say crooks spy the tiny white ear buds that often signal an iPhone and use the frequent stops of an “L” train to get away with a quick score.

I visited several mobile phone centers today, and they were packed. I didn’t purchase anything new — just shopping around — but these places were booming. Compare that with Macy’s, which was all but empty. Would-be thieves hope to sell your favorite gadget on the streets.

And Macy’s is way over-rated.

Christmas Day Terror Suspect Charged

Posted on by TL

From WTAE Pittsburgh:

The Justice Department has charged the alleged Christmas Day terrorist with attempting to destroy an airplane.

The Justice Department said 23-year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab had a device containing a high explosive attached to his body. The government says that as the flight neared Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Friday, Abdulmutallab set off the device, but it sparked a fire instead of an explosion.

According to an affidavit filed in federal court in Detroit, a preliminary analysis of the device shows that it contained PETN, also known as pentaerythritol.

The government alleges that Abdulmutallab told passengers that his stomach was upset, then pulled a blanket over himself. Passengers then heard popping noises.

He allegedly claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.

Imagine using the justice system to prosecute alleged terrorists! Send him to Guantanamo without a trial and throw away the key!

Maybe not. Perhaps this still is America, with justice for all.

Firecracker Story Was Really Terrorist Attempt to Blow Up Plane (Maybe)

Posted on by TL

The media botched this one again. First, this was just a guy who set off a firecracker on an airplane. No act of terror. I heard that on several reports.

Later, we learned more. Turns out the media was once again trying to give us the definitive report before they actually had all the facts, on the hope that they would be right.

Well, it would appear that this was an act of terror. I waited a while to blog on this because the story changed so often.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A Northwest Airlines passenger from Nigeria, who said he was acting on al-Qaida’s instructions, set off an explosive device Friday in a failed terrorist attack on the plane as it was landing in Detroit, federal officials said.

Flight 253 with 278 passengers aboard was 20 minutes from the airport when it sounded like a firecracker had exploded, witnesses said. One passenger jumped over others and tried to subdue the man. Shortly afterward, the suspect was taken to a front row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel, but were not specified.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. Others had slightly different spellings.

One law enforcement source said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil.

In the days ahead, we’ll learn more. Please remember that the media reports before they actually know what’s going on.

I have a friend flying from Ireland to Chicago today. Glad he wasn’t on this flight. Hope he made it home all right.

(That’s for you, Mike.)

Report: 225,000 Haiti Children Work as Slaves

Posted on by TL

The sad news from the Associated Press:

Poverty has forced at least 225,000 children in Haiti’s cities into slavery as unpaid household servants, far more than previously thought, a report said Tuesday.

The Pan American Development Foundation’s report also said some of those children — mostly young girls — suffer sexual, psychological and physical abuse while toiling in extreme hardship.

The report recommends Haiti’s government and international donors focus efforts on educating the poor and expanding social services such as shelters for girls, who make up an estimated two-thirds of the child servant population.

Young servants are known as "restavek" — Haitian Creole for "stays with" — and their plight is both widely known and a source of great shame in the Caribbean nation that was founded by a slave revolt more than 200 years ago.

Researchers said the practice is so common that almost half of 257 children interviewed in the sprawling Port-au-Prince shantytown of Cite Soleil were household slaves.

Most are sent by parents who cannot afford to care for them to families just slightly better off. Researchers found 11 percent of families that have a restavek have sent their own children into domestic servitude elsewhere.

The report says that researchers said their sources were unaware of any prosecutions of cases involving trafficking children or using them as unpaid servants in this deeply poor nation of more than 9 million people.

Read more here.

Always Loving the Spotlight, Dwight Welch Helps Nab 3 Bank Robbery Suspects

Posted on by TL

When I first read this in the Trib, I just knew the “suburban mayor” had to be Dwight Welch trying to play cowboy again.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Three suspects were arrested this afternoon after they robbed a bank in south suburban Country Club Hills, officials said.

Three officers from Country Club Hills and Mayor Dwight Welch, who is a state-certified police officer and former sergeant, were joined by officers from neighboring Homewood and Flossmoor to make the arrest in the city’s Provincetown subdivision just south of 183rd Street.

Officials say two of the men robbed the First Midwest Bank at 4101 W. 183rd St. at about 2 p.m., while the third suspect waited in the van, according to a news release.

I really don’t care for Dwight Welch. I don’t care for anyone who engages in patronage government. It’s a big waste of taxpayer dollars, and really only benefits the politician dolling out the dollars or jobs. Dwight Welch certainly knows how to spend money.

But, you have to give credit where credit is due. According to the report, Mayor Welch joined three of his officers and responded to the scene, where they met with the two other officers. The group followed a set of fresh footprints to a nearby townhouse, where they ordered the suspects outside and took them into custody.

I’m glad the police caught the alleged bad guys, and I’m sure Dwight Welch is happy for the good press. Sure beats the State Board of Elections knocking on your door.

This isn’t the first time Welch has tried to steal the spotlight. NBC’s Steve Rhodes asked in September why Welch was trying to become the face of the Chris Kelly’s suicide investigation:

Welch also seems to have watched a few too many episodes of NYPD Blue, eagerly announcing in the early-going of the investigation that Flores-Buhelos had “lawyered up.”

It’s not an unusual term to hear around the federal building in Chicago or the grittier precincts of the city, but probably not a term a Country Club Hills mayor hears that often in real life.

Terry Gillespie is a defense lawyer tasked to represent his client with zeal, but in this case his angry retort that Welch had engaged in “unconscionable grandstanding” rang true.

In the least, Welch has acted carelessly, which is always a good way to endanger a criminal case.

But the criticism lobbed Welch’s way hasn’t slowed him down.

Now he is promising revelations at a press conference today that will leave people following the case both “pleased and a little surprised.”

How anyone could be “pleased” with any new findings is a mystery in itself.

At the time, Rhodes suggested that it was time to push Welch off-stage and let the real authorities “take hold of the case.”

Dwight is jumping into the spotlight again.  I simply cannot imagine a situation where a police officer would be happy to have the mayor tagging along for a chase.

Read rest of the story here at the Trib.

Bengals Receiver Chris Henry Dies

Posted on by TL

From WTAE Pittsburgh:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry has died, one day after suffering serious injuries upon falling out of the back of a pickup truck in what authorities describe as a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Police say Henry died at 6:36 a.m. Thursday. Henry was 26.

Away from the team because of a broken forearm, Henry was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after being found on a residential road. Police say a dispute began at a home about a half-mile away, and Henry jumped into the bed of the pickup truck as his fiancee was driving away from the residence.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, the Cincinnati Bengals and their fans.

Read more.