Crime Newswire

Interactive: A Century of Crime
Vulture
From sordid tragedies to gruesome murders, the past century has been filled with lurid tales that rocked the tabloids. In the world of organized crime, the high do occasionally fall, the dons occasionally disappear, and the guilty are, in fact ...

Dad is identified as DENNY PANTOJA.

http://longisland.news12.com/news/denny-pantoja-charged-after-son-accidentally-shoots-himself-with-his-illegal-gun-1.4702021?firstfree=yes

Denny Pantoja charged after son accidentally shoots himself with his illegal gun

Published: February 24, 2013 1:14 PM

MOTT HAVEN - A Bronx father has been charged after his young son accidentally shot himself at their Mott Haven apartment.

Denny Pantoja, 33, has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon and endangering his child. His 5-year-old son was injured when he shot himself in the shoulder while playing with Pantoja's illegal gun.

The boy remains in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital.

A California judge ordered Ronald Ross' release from prison on Friday after he spent nearly seven years behind bars for an attempted murder he did not commit. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

"I can feel sunshine and breathe clean air again," said Ross, who hugged his private investigator, Keith McArthur, before facing a bank of television cameras. "Today is a lovely day. It's past a good day. It's a blessed day."

Ronald Ross was convicted for an April 15, 2006, Oakland shooting incident based largely on the victim's identification in a photo lineup and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Ross' trial attorney brought the case to the Northern California Innocence Project for further investigation, which revealed that Oakland police had not followed through on a strong lead to a different suspect. The man now suspected in the shooting has since been arrested for an Oakland crime spree in July 2011.

A second review of the case conducted by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office concluded that Ross's conviction should be thrown out in light of new evidence of his innocence. If the conviction had not been vacated, Ross could have spent the rest of his life behind bars.

Read news coverage and watch a CBS video of Ross after he was released.

Speakers in Code
Video | Ra Ra Riot - Beta Love
Speakers in Code
The video for the title track off Ra Ra Riot's upcoming release is thick with nostalgia, featuring footage of '80s teenagers grooving away unselfconsciously in a TV studio. "Beta Love", the song, is similar: thick with synthesizers and falsetto vocals ...

FOX8.com – Cleveland news & weather from WJW Television FOX 8
Evidence detailed against alleged triggerman in Ohio murder case in phony ...
Fox News
AKRON, Ohio – The prosecution has outlined motives of robbery and identity theft in Ohio attacks two years ago that left three men dead and a fourth wounded, all lured by phony Craigslist job offers. The alleged triggerman, 53-year-old Richard Beasley ...
Evidence Detailed in Ohio Craigslist Murder TrialABC News
Craigslist Murder Suspect Called 'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'FOX8.com – Cleveland news & weather from WJW Television FOX 8
Judge Hopes To Start Testimony Tuesday In Craiglist Murder TrialWOUB

all 19 news articles »

BBC News
BBC Documentary Exposes Corruption and Abuse in Afghan Police Force
PRI's The World
Reporter Ben Anderson spent five weeks following a group of US Marines who are advising the police in Sangin district before the hand-over of power is completed there next month. He discovered evidence of some shocking behavior including corruption, ...
Afghan police accused of corruption and child abuseBBC News
Panorama - Mission Accomplished? Secrets Of Helmand - sex slaves ...Unreality TV

all 15 news articles »

Previous accounts have made it clear that UNNAMED DAD was custodial, and that the wife is a step. Notice that this is no longer made clear....maybe because it's politically incorrect? And we don't want raise "unnecessary" questions about how this POS got custody, or who gave it to him. Do we?

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20130225/APC0101/302250215/Father-set-stand-trial-abuse-case

Father set to stand trial in abuse case

Feb. 24, 2013 10:08 PM, | Written by Post-Crescent Media

MADISON — A trial is set to begin this week for a Madison man accused of starving and torturing his teenage daughter.

The man and his wife are accused of locking the girl in the basement and denying her food until she wasted away to 68 pounds. They each face six felonies, including child abuse and neglect. The girl’s stepbrother has been accused of sexually assaulting her.

The Associated Press isn’t naming any of the defendants to protect the girl’s identity.

The father’s trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Monday.

Baton Rouge Police: 'Major crime' down in 2012
The Advocate
Major crimes inside Baton Rouge's city limits last year decreased by 3.65 percent in 2012 when compared to the previous year, but violent crimes against persons — murders, rapes, robberies and assaults — rose by about 1.6 percent, according to crime ...
2012 crime stats show overall decrease in total major crimes in Baton RougeWGMB FOX 44

all 6 news articles »Google News

An op-ed by William S. Sessions, former director of the FBI, appeared in Sunday's edition of the Courier-Journal, Kentucky's largest newspaper. In the piece, Sessions endorsed two bills currently pending in the Kentucky Legislature that would improve access to post-conviction DNA testing in the state. Sessions writes about witnessing DNA testing evolve into a "powerful tool for separating the innocent from the guilty" during his tenure as FBI director and urges Kentucky lawmakers to begin using DNA technology to its full potential.

Sessions writes:

Unlike most every other state, Kentucky only allows DNA testing access to those on death row. Fortunately, Rep. Johnny Bell and Sen. John Schickel have filed bills to improve access to post-conviction DNA testing for Kentuckians who have been wrongfully convicted. In the interests of justice and safety, I urge Kentucky lawmakers to ensure these bills become law.

On February 11, the Kentucky Senate unanimously passed a version of the bill that would exclude those who pled guilty or accepted an Alford plea from receiving post-conviction DNA testing. Sessions addresses his concerns with these exceptions in his op-ed:

While it may be difficult to comprehend why someone would plead guilty to a crime they did not commit, this reality has occurred in 10 percent of the 302 cases where people were exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing. When post-conviction DNA testing can provide probative evidence of innocence in violent crime cases, a judge should be allowed to order such testing regardless of how the conviction came about.

The Senate bill has since moved on to the House where members are also considering Representative Bell's bill, which does not currently include this exception.

Read the full op-ed.

More about access to DNA testing.

Learn about your state's law granting access to testing.

An out-of-control man who refused help from his friends and eventually bit two B.C. RCMP officers is facing charges. Police were called to Jimmy Liks... The Huffington Post B.C. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jesse-ferreras/

No mention of a mother in the home. UNNAMED DAD.

http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20130225/news/news1.html

Father forces kids to eat faeces

Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

A St Catherine man who is accused of forcing his children to eat faeces is now in police custody, charged with cruelty to children.

The incident occurred in the parish last Thursday, police told THE STAR.

Reports are that last Wednesday night, the man was at home with the children, ages 7, 9 and 12 years. Police said one of the children wanted to defecate but was afraid to go outside and use the pit latrine.

The child reportedly defecated in a closet and left it there.

Police said the following day the faeces was reportedly found by the father who inquired of the children who had carried out such an act. All the children denied it.

The man, the police said, became angry and reportedly forced all three to eat the mess.

Residents became aware of the incident and contacted the police.

Following investigations, the children were given medical examinations. Further investigations resulted in the arrest of the father.

Dad BRENT TROY BARTEL has been indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/02/25/4642179/father-charged-with-carving-pentagram.html

Richland Hills father indicted on charge of carving pentagram on son's back

Posted Monday, Feb. 25, 20135

By Domingo Ramirez Jr.

FORT WORTH -- A Tarrant County grand jury has indicted a Richland Hills father on a charge that he carved a pentagram on the back of his young son with a box cutter.

Jurors returned the indictment last week against Brent Troy Bartel, 39, who remained in Tarrant County Jail Monday with bail set at $500,000.

The indictment charged Bartel with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

If convicted, Bartel faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Bartel was arrested Dec. 12 at his home in the 3700 block of Ruth Road in Richland Hills after he called 911 and told a dispatcher that "I shed some innocent blood."

When asked why he did it, Bartel said because "it's a holy day," according to the 911 recording. When officers arrived, police found Bartel and his son -- wearing only pajama bottoms -- in the home. Police found that a pentagram had been carved on the back of a boy who was later identified as Bartel's son.

The child was taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth where he was treated and released a few hours after the attack.

Investigators also believe that Bartel got some of his son's blood and smeared the door frame of the family's home in the 3700 block of Ruth Road in Richland Hills.

The boy's mother had fled to a neighbor's home where she had that neighbor call 911.

Bartel's mother, Lori Ponce, told the Star-Telegram in a December interview that her son had no history of mental illness, but he had been under tremendous stress because of marital and financial problems.

Dallas Morning News (blog)
Reward in murder case of Kaufman County assistant DA now $100000
Dallas Morning News (blog)
The reward offered in the murder case of the Kaufman County assistant district attorney gunned down last month has grown to $100,000. Pat Laney, Kaufman County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman, confirmed that many people donated to the Mark Hasse ...

A University of North Carolina student says she faces possible expulsion for "intimidating" her alleged rapist by speaking publicly about her assault and how the... The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyler-kingkade/

Increase in CTA cameras hasn't stopped increase in crime
Chicago Sun-Times
As the CTA and Chicago increasingly turn to cameras to combat crime, the Sun-Times examined online Chicago Police Department data for reported crime at CTA stations and on CTA platforms — areas teeming with $26.2 million in high-resolution cameras ...

Of course, no one asks the most natural question of all: Why wasn't this 2-year-old girl at home with her mother instead of out "carousing" with Daddy?

Dad is identified as SANTOS BARILLAS.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/van-nuys-strip-club-dad-toddler.html

Man who allegedly left child in truck at strip club faces court date
February 25, 2013 | 1:12pm

A father accused of leaving his 2-year-old daughter in a pickup truck while he drank inside a Van Nuys strip club is awaiting a March court date after his release from jail over the weekend.

Santos Barillas, 24, of Canoga Park was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment and other charges shortly after midnight on Saturday, KTLA reported. He was held on $15,000 bail, but online jail records indicated he was released Saturday afternoon.

Barillas had not yet been charged as of Monday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Online jail records showed he was scheduled to appear in court March 20.

Police were called to the 7557 Club on Woodley Avenue after 911 dispatchers got a call that the toddler was locked in a truck parked outside, KTLA reported. There, officers found Barillas asleep at the wheel, with the girl in the back seat.

Barillas was taken into custody and representatives of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services were called to assist with the care of the child, officials said.

Investigators interviewed several bar patrons and workers who confirmed the man was inside the club without the child, police said. The suspect was allegedly intoxicated at the time of his arrest, officials said.

Officials said the temperature in the truck was about 45 degrees.

The Source (blog)
Man found not guilty of murder in Slim Dunkin's death
Atlanta Journal Constitution
While a Fulton County jury acquitted Vinson Hardimon of murder and felony murder – causing someone's death by committing a felony – he was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a handgun during the commission of a ...
Slim Dunkin's Killer Acquitted Of MurderThe Source (blog)

all 4 news articles »

FORT WORTH, Texas -- A North Texas grand jury has indicted a man who admitted in a 911 call that he carved a pentagram on... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilary-hanson/

Dad is identified as MARQUIEZ DESHON PRATT.

http://www.ktxs.com/news/Boy-4-kills-himself-with-father-s-stolen-gun/-/14769632/19076846/-/3nrf91/-/index.html

Boy, 4, kills himself with father's stolen gun

POSTED: 38 mins

HOUSTON (AP) - A suspected drug dealer has been arrested for the death of his 4-year-old son who Houston authorities say picked up his father's gun and shot himself.

Police determined the gun had been stolen in a burglary two years ago.

Twenty-year-old Marquiez Deshon Pratt is being held Monday under $50,000 bond on charges of injury to a child by omission and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. A court appearance is set for Tuesday.

Investigators said Pratt was asleep Sunday when his son, Jaiden, picked up the .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol that was nearby and shot himself in the stomach.

Pratt was outside his apartment when police arrived, handed the boy to officers and ran back inside. Police who chased him found marijuana, crack cocaine, scales and other items.

VANCOUVER - A bar room brawl in Vancouver put a would-be bride in the hospital while she was celebrating at a bachelorette party.Police say the... CP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andree-lau/