Monthly Archive for September, 2007

NJ AG introduces safety icon

Published on September 30, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Law. 0 Comments Tags: , .

N.J., Web Sites Introduce New Internet Safety Icon:
New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram has arranged a deal with six social networking sites to display an icon that would notify authorities of sexual predators.

The icon will be featured on myYearbook.com, BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com, AsianAve.com, Faithbase.com and GLEE.com.

I’ve only heard of one of those sites.

Anyway, while I applaud AG Milgram for taking a step about wanting to do something about predators on social sites I get the feeling this “panic button” will be abused rendering it useless.

Huntley tries to off himself

Published on September 30, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Killers. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

Soham killer returned to prison:
The other day I posted about Ian Huntley. He’s a convicted British child killer who has a profile on Facebook that a lot of UK facebook users are upset with. He is serving a life sentence in prison since the UK does not have the death penalty.

Well it seems that Huntley is trying to correct that problem himself as he attempted an overdose on Friday. Unfortunately he was not successful.

I had to chuckle at this quote from a BBC reporter…

BBC correspondent Danny Savage said the news will be a huge embarrassment for the Prison Service, whose job it is to keep Huntley alive.

Embarrassment? If it were up to me and this scumbag offed himself I would say they deserve an accommodation.

Who cares about kids? I want to party.

Published on September 30, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Police: Couple Abandoned Baby So They Could Party:

Ah Dumpsterdom. Where the desire to “party” is more important than you’re children.

GLENDALE, Wis. — A Glendale couple said they couldn’t afford a baby sitter, so they strapped their 14-month-old son in his stroller at home while the couple went out, police alleged.

Rachel Anderson and her live-in boyfriend, Mitch Laputka, were ordered to stand trial Thursday on charges they neglected baby Gabriel so badly that his body was covered with diaper rash, his body temperature was 12 degrees below normal and he stopped breathing, requiring 21 minutes of CPR to revive him. Police said the couple admitted to leaving the boy home alone because they wanted to party.

The couple recently got jobs at Pizza Hut, police said Anderson told them, and the couple used the money for drinking parties. Police said Anderson told them that she often left Gabriel strapped in his stroller when the couple went out or to work, and that she changed Gabriel’s diaper once per day. Police said Laputka told them that he didn’t do diapers, that was Anderson’s job.

You know what they say. If you can’t afford a baby sitter then maybe you shouldn’t be going out.

So we got child abandonment, McJobs, suspect hygiene, and a “father” who doesn’t change diapers. That earns them a Dumpster rating of 4.

Suspect in Donna Jou’s disappearance arrested again

Published on September 30, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Killers. 0 Comments

Suspect in disappearance arrested:

Convicted sex offender and the last man seen with Donna Jou alive, John Steven Burgess, has been arrested yet again. For those of you who don’t know Donna Jou met Burgess on craigslist and went on a date with him and that was the last time she was seen. He was last arrested for failing to report as a sex offender.

Now he’s been arrested for using a fake ID to steal DVD’s from a Jacksonville, Florida Blockbuster.

Since Donna Jou has not been found authorities are still unable to file charges against Burgess for Jou’s disappearance.

Standoff at Las Plumas High

Published on September 30, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

UPDATE: Las Plumas gunman to be charged with attempted murder:

I’m sure by now you’ve all heard about the hostage situation that happened on Friday at Las Plumas High School in Oroville, California.

17-year-old Greg Wright took a gun to school in order to kill what the article calls a romantic rival. Except his rival wasn’t in school that day. Wright then went to the band room expecting to find it empty where he was going to kill himself. Instead the room was full. It was at that time that Wright fired shots into the ceiling taking everyone in the room hostage. Negotiators eventually got him to release all but 3 people. Wright then released those three as well and was taken into custody.

Wright is now facing charges of attempted murder, false imprisonment, and bringing a gun to school. No word yet on if he’ll be charged as an adult but I’d imagine he would be.

I know I’ve said it before but it bears repeating. Kids. listen to your Uncle Trench. No boyfriend or girlfriend in high school is wroth killing yourself or anybody else over. Odds are you won’t even be together after high school.

More on this story as information becomes available.

Gary Olson ordered to stand trial

Published on September 29, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Olson bound on felony charges:

A couple weeks ago I posted about Gary Olson. He’s the guy from Kansas who threatened to pull a Columbine on his kids’ school because he was mad at his wife. His wife happened to be a teacher at said school. On the original posting I chided Connie Olson for dropping the kids off at the school since the school was his potential target. I apologize for that now because of additional information provided by this article and Connie Olson’s testimony.

The two had argued earlier, at home, about whether the boys should ride the bus to Southeast of Saline School, where Connie Olson taught and they attended class, or whether she would drive them. She left the house with the boys with the issue unresolved, and he followed seconds later in his pickup truck. He passed her at a high rate of speed, she said.

I was under the impression that Gary Olson was still at the house. Now that my mea culpas are over let’s get to the point of the article. Gary Olson has been ordered to stand trial on charges of making a criminal threat and aggravated criminal threat. He’s also been allowed to have supervised visits with his kids but may not enter any of the school’s facilities which may make his job kind of hard since he’s a school board member.

SJU Gunman’s lawyer says 9/11 made him do it

Published on September 29, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Lawyer: 9/11, mental illness affected St. John’s student:

This may just be the lowest thing a lawyer has ever tried in the 7-year-history of this website.

The lawyer for St. John’s gunman Omesh Hiraman is claiming that 9/11 caused Hiraman’s schizophrenia which caused him to take a gun onto the St. John’s campus.

Moments before the Sept. 11 terror attack, Omesh Hiraman and his classmates at nearby Stuyvesant High School gathered outside to take their senior class pictures, his lawyer said Thursday.

The subsequent mayhem, with Hiraman running north for two miles until he was lost, sent him on a downward spiral from which he’s never recovered — an argument likely to be made in court now that he has been accused of carrying a loaded rifle onto the campus of St. John’s University.

“It’s 9/11 aftermath,” said his lawyer, Anthony Colleluori, of Woodbury. “He changed after 9/11 and went downhill. It’s not Columbine. This is not Virginia Tech. This is something that goes on every day on the streets of America, someone who is mentally ill and needs help.”

This bottom feeder is not only disrespecting the victims of 9/11 he’s also disrespecting his client. If he thinks a 9/11 defense is going to fly with a New York City jury he’s dreamin’.

I’m actually a little sympathetic towards Hiraman. So far it sounds like he may have had legitimate mental and medical problems. His lawyer would do better if he used that as a defense instead of pulling the 9/11 card.

Hiraman’s family seems like they care about him an awful lot. If they care that much they may want to look into getting him new representation.

More on craigslist trafficking

Published on September 29, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Prostitution and Human Trafficking. 0 Comments

Web driving human trafficking:

Our favorite website has been mentioned in the same breath as human trafficking once again.

There was a human trafficking conference in Minnesota and this is what someone in the know had to say.

Heather Weyker, a 10-year veteran of the St. Paul Police Department had this to say.

“We’re on Craig’s List constantly, looking for girls who look young,” Weyker said at the conference, describing the popular online classifieds site. “They always have captors. How many 13-year-old girls think, ‘Hey, I think I’ll put myself on Craig’s List.”‘

And this is what you’re supporting when you use a craigslist or any other kind of prostitute.

They don’t have the option to quit their “work” without suffering physical or sexual punishment, conference participants said. They can’t even walk out the door unaccompanied by one of their captors.

“We’re not just talking about illegal aliens or about people who are disadvantaged,” said U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose. “These are also girls from the suburbs. It can affect anyone.”

Victimless crime my ass.

Man uses MySpace and craigslist to catch thief

Published on September 29, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Criminals. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Bike path robber foiled by MySpace page:
A man from Somerville, Mass. was robbed of his cell phone. Rather than doing nothing about it he montored craigslist for someone selling the phone which of course someone did.

With police assistance he set up a phony e-mail account and contacted the seller. While conversing with the seller he got the seller’s name, one 21-year-old Casey Kolenda.

The victim was able to identify the suspect through MySpace. Police and the victim then arranged to puerchase the phone where they arrested Kolenda and another suspect.

Man uses MySpace and craigslist to catch thief

Published on September 29, 2007 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Stolen Goods. 0 Comments

Bike path robber foiled by MySpace page:

A man from Somerville, Mass. was robbed of his cell phone. Rather than doing nothing about it he montored craigslist for someone selling the phone which of course someone did.

With police assistance he set up a phony e-mail account and contacted the seller. While conversing with the seller he got the seller’s name, one 21-year-old Casey Kolenda.

The victim was able to identify the suspect through MySpace. Police and the victim then arranged to puerchase the phone where they arrested Kolenda and another suspect.