Crime
2 Parma Heights Bars Busted for Running Illegal Gambling Operations
By Julie Kent. Published on 01/26/2012 - 11:42am
Two Parma Heights bars were busted on Wednesday, accused of permitting illegal gambling inside their establishments. The raids, which were conducted in the afternoon, involved seven different law enforcement agencies and locations in five different cities.
Undercover agents from the Ohio Investigative Unit removed 80 computers, money, and financial records. Investigators raided Good Time Charlie's II on Pearl Rd. and Mr. B's on West 130th.
Julie Hinds, a spokesperson for the Ohio Investigative Unit, said:
"We did a long-term investigation ourselves and Parma Heights police and we found that the complaint was valid."
Cleveland Agent-in-Charge Greg Croft added:
"We were able to receive cash payouts at both locations. It was determined by our investigation that the machines in these premises were actually, in fact, gambling devices, not internet sweepstakes machines as claimed... there were several different gambling violations that were taking place."
Investigators also raided homes in Brunswick and Parma, as well as the Union Vending company in Cleveland.
Milwaukee Police Offer to Let People Use Police Station to Conduct Craigslist Transactions
By Julie Kent. Published on 01/25/2012 - 10:00am
With Craigslist related robberies on the rise, police in Milwaukee are offering to let people conduct their Craigslist transactions inside the police station. This offer has been extended in order to prevent robberies.
Milwaukee police came up with the idea after a huge uptick in robberies that occurred during the trade-off of goods sold on Craigslist. Officer Lisa Staffold explains:
"The media has deemed it 'robbery by appointment' because you're posting ads, you're selling your iPhones, your iPads, your vehicles, and when you go to a meeting location, you're being robbed."
Anyone who's sold stuff on Craigslist is familiar with being nervous about meeting up with the prospective buyer, or seller. Many people meet in public places, or invite buyers to their homes. A police station seems like the safest place, and perhaps more cities will soon start offering up their stations for Craigslist transactions as well.
North Carolina Man Tries to Go Shopping at Walmart Using Fake $1 Million Bill
By Julie Kent. Published on 01/01/2012 - 9:37am
A North Carolina man is currently in jail on a $17,500 bond after he allegedly tried to go shopping at Walmart with a million bill. Michael Fuller, 53, insisted that the one-million bill was real when attempting to buy $476 worth of items, including a microwave oven and a vacuum cleaner.
The largest bill in circulation in the United States is the $100. The U.S. government stopped printing notes up to $10,000 in 1969 because they were rarely used by the public. The largest bill to have ever been printed in the U.S. was the $100,000 bill that featured a picture of President Woodrow Wilson. They were printed between Dec. 18, 1934 and January 9, 1935, and were used only for transferring money between Federal Reserve banks.
Fuller has been charged with attempting to obtain property by false pretense and uttering a forged instrument. He is due to be in court on Tuesday.
Black Friday Pepper-Sprayer Considering Suing Walmart
By Julie Kent. Published on 12/12/2011 - 11:21am
The woman who made international headlines the day after Thanksgiving for pepper spraying her fellow Walmart shoppers who had the gall to try to get the same Xbox games that she wanted, is now considering suing the retailer.
Authorities say that 32-year-old Elizabeth Macias used the pepper spray to keep people away from the Xbox games that she was eying up, however, they concluded that there was not enough evidence to indict her on felony charges.
Macias now claims through her attorney that she was protecting her teenage son and daughter, who she says were being punched and kicked by others. She says that Walmart is at fault because they did not provide more security, and says that her children were "traumatized."
DA Says Statute of Limitations Has Passed in Syracuse's Bernie Fine Molestation Case
By Julie Kent. Published on 12/07/2011 - 1:28pm
On Wednesday, the district attorney for Onondaga County in New York said that former Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine cannot be charged with child molestation because the statute of limitations has passed.
William Fitzpatrick said that Fine would have been arrested on child molestation charges if his office had been informed of the allegations in 2005. In the press conference, Fitzpatrick said that the allegations of abuse by two former Syracuse ball boys - Bobby Davis and Mike Lang - were credible, but said that he did not learn of the claims until a report by ESPN on November 17.
Fitzpatrick said that a key piece of evidence in the case was the audiotape of a supposed 2002 telephone conversation between Davis and Fine's wife. In this tape, Laurie Fine appeared to have acknowledged that she knew of the alleged abuse by her husband. ESPN and The Syracuse Post-Standard both received copies of the tape. Fitzpatrick said that they should have turned the tapes over to police.
Dr. Conrad Murray Gets 4 Years in Prison for Michael Jackson's Death
By Julie Kent. Published on 11/29/2011 - 2:00pm
Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of fatally poisoning Michael Jackson, was sentenced on Tuesday to four years behind bars, but he could end up walking free by early next year.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor could only sentence Dr. Murray, 58, to a maximum of four years in jail for his involvement in the pop star's unexpected death on June 25, 2009. The judge said:
“Dr. Murray created a set of circumstances and became involved in a cycle of horrible medicine. The practice of propofol for medicine madness, which violated his sworn obligation, for money, fame prestige and whatever else may have occurred.”
Judge Pastor also scolded Murray for audio taping Jackson in his last days:
"That tape recording was Dr. Murray's insurance policy. It was designed to record [Jackson] ... at that patient's most vulnerable point."
Before he was sentenced, Murray refused to address the judge, letting only his lawyer speak for him.
FBI Investigating Possible 2nd Craigslist Death in Ohio
By Leader Staff. Published on 11/25/2011 - 1:19pm
The FBI is currently investigating whether a body discovered in a shallow grave in Akron, Ohio, is a second killing related to a fake Craigslist job ad.
Photo (right): Timothy Kern of Massillon, Oh. has been missing since Nov. 13.
FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson says that the body was found on Friday near the Rolling Acres shopping mall in Akron. The cause of death and identity of the victim are under investigation. Anderson says that the FBI is working under the supposition that the body could be that of a man who answered the ad.
Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon, hasn't been seen in over a week. He was last seen during the early morning hours of Sunday, November 13, in the Plain Township area. Kern posted a message about a "strange" job offer on Facebook on November 10:
"Just got one of the strangest job offers. A good offer but strange. The job is to watch over 680 acres south of cambridge. Odd jobs and such but mainly just secure it. Trailer, utilities, salary. Drawbacks? No cell phone service, kids are up here, and i have to move this sunday."
Black Friday Chaos Erupts Across the U.S., Includes Bomb Threats, Pepper Spray & Gunfire
By Julie Kent. Published on 11/25/2011 - 9:49am
Tales of Black Friday sales shoppers camping out to be first in line, and pushing and shoving to get the coveted item at retail stores have become all too common in recent years. This year, with sales starting earlier than ever on Thanksgiving Day, the chaos seems to have erupted across the U.S. in even more profound ways. In Los Angeles, a woman pepper sprayed fellow shoppers to keep them from nabbing the goods, there was a bomb scare at a Phoenix Wal-Mart, and in North Carolina, gunfire went off in a shopping mall.
At a Los Angeles Wal-Mart, at least 20 shoppers suffered minor injuries after a female shopper desperate to score some discounted electronics pepper sprayed a crowd to keep them away from the merchandise she wanted. The incident occurred just after 10:20pm on Thursday as Black Friday bargain hunters were allowed inside the store.
According to police, the suspect began to shoot pepper spray when the coverings of items she wanted were removed. Witnesses say that rabid shoppers at this particular LA area Wal-Mart ripped down video game displays, trampled merchandise, and shoved each other. Police are still looking for the woman responsible for pepper spraying the shoppers.
Jerry Sandusky Accused of Molesting His Own Grandchild
By Leader Staff. Published on 11/24/2011 - 5:07pm
Two more victims have come forth to file formal complaints against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, and one of them is from within his own family.
The two new allegations were both brought against Sandusky, 67, within the past two months. One was brought by the wife of one of his adopted sons, who filed a complaint with Centre County's Children and Youth Services.
Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, denies the new allegations. He has also denied all previous charges against his client. Amendola said:
"The allegations are ridiculous and unfounded. Jerry has absolutely denied any inappropriate contact with his grandkids."
Earlier this month, Sandusky was charged with 40 criminal counts ranging from rape to inappropriate touching of minors. He met all of the alleged victims through his charity, The Second Mile.
Investigations into the two new claims are still in their early stages.
UC Davis Police Brutally Pepper Spray OWS Protesters Sitting Peacefully on Campus
By Julie Kent. Published on 11/19/2011 - 12:02pmOn Friday, a group of students at the University of California, Davis, who are a part of he Occupy Wall Street movement on campus, became the latest victims of alleged police brutality. The police actions against peaceful protesters were captured on video, and show the students seated on the ground as a UC Davis police officer holds up a canister of pepper spray, showing it off to the crowd of students gathered, before spraying the students in a thick, heavy mist.
The incident was witnessed by many, including students and professors. Several were hospitalized, and one woman was treated for chemical burns.
A longer version of the video shows students seated across a walkway surrounded by more than a dozen UC Davis cops donning riot gear and batons. Many other students are seen standing along the edges of the scene, watching as the attack unfolded and protesting. One of the police comes over to the line of seated students asks a question, to which the student replies "We're sitting here." The cop then leaves and goes back with the other officers, even turning his back on the students, suggesting no fear that they may retaliate. A cop talks on his radio for awhile, and then a cop goes back to the students. A student asks:

