La. teen accused of knocking school bus driver unconscious

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — One Louisiana teen has been charged
with assault and another with saving the day: The first knocked a school
bus driver unconscious and the second prevented the bus from crashing.

The 26-year-old female driver had stopped the bus Thursday afternoon
to exchange words with a student who was unruly, said Baton Rouge Police
Department spokesman Cpl. L’Jean McKneely.

The driver told authorities the 15-year-old boy then walked up behind
her and punched her several times in the head, knocking her
unconscious, McKneely said.

The bus started to move after the unconscious driver’s hands and feet
slipped off the wheel and brakes, said Keith Bromery, a spokesman for
East Baton Rouge Parish schools. He said after the 15-year-old fled, the
14-year-old male student ran forward and stepped on the brake, put the
bus in park and called 911.

The 15-year-old boy’s mother later turned him in to police. He is
charged with battery of a bus driver, second-degree battery and
aggravated obstruction of a roadway. Authorities said they did not know
if the teenager had an attorney. The Associated Press does not generally
identify juveniles accused of crimes.

Local news media reported that school officials have suspended the
15-year-old pending an expulsion hearing, and that the 14-year-old was
congratulated by transportation officials for trying to protect his
fellow students and get medical help for the bus driver.

The bus driver was recovering at home after being treated at a hospital for moderate injuries, local news media reported.

Information from: WBRZ-TV, http://www.wbrz.com

 - WTOP

Hong Kong woman jailed for 6 years for maid abuse

Indonesian maid Erwiana Sulistyaningsih,
center, is accompanied by supporters as she arrives at a court in Hong
Kong, Friday, Feb. 27, 2015. A Hong Kong court sentenced a mother of two
to six years in prison on Friday for abusing her Indonesian maid in a
case that triggered outrage over its brutality. AP

HONG KONG–A Hong Kong woman was jailed for six years on Friday for
beating and starving her Indonesian maid and keeping her prisoner, as
the judge called for action over laws which leave domestic workers
exposed to abuse.

But while victim Erwiana Sulistyaningsih said she was happy and
“appreciated” the judgment, she felt that six years was not long enough.

“I’m still not satisfied with six years’ imprisonment, because of
what she has done to me, and to my fellow domestic workers,”
Sulistyaningsih told reporters.

Law Wan-tung–who had faced a maximum sentence of seven years–“showed
no compassion” to Sulistyaningsih and other domestic staff, said judge
Amanda Woodcock in handing down the sentence.

Law saw them as “people that are beneath her,” said Woodcock.

“It is regrettable that this conduct is not rare and sadly is often dealt with in the criminal courts,” she added.

The judge called for an investigation by Hong Kong and Indonesian
authorities into employment agencies that charge domestic workers huge
fees which are then deducted from their salaries.

Of Sulistyaningsih’s treatment, she said: “She was given little rest,
sleep and nutrition which left her a shadow of her former self.”

Sulistyaningsih, 24, told a Hong Kong court in December how she lived
on meagre rations of bread and rice, slept only four hours a day and
was beaten so badly by her employer Law that she was knocked
unconscious.

During the six-week trial, prosecutors said mother-of-two Law, 44,
turned household items such as a mop, a ruler and a clothes hanger into
“weapons” against her maids.

Law was convicted on 18 of 20 charges against her, including grievous
bodily harm, assault, criminal intimidation and failure to pay wages.

Judge demands reform

The Hong Kong government welcomed Friday’s verdict, saying in a
statement: “This has sent a clear signal… that the society will not
accept any abuse of foreign domestic helpers.”

A Labor Department spokesman said the government would take
“stringent” action against employers who failed to comply with the law,
and listed ways the government is attempting to increase awareness of
workers’ rights.

However, the statement also made clear that a law requiring foreign
domestic workers to live with their employers would not be changed,
calling it a “cornerstone” of the policies allowing them to work in Hong
Kong.

“The Government is firmly of the view that the ‘live-in requirement’
must be strictly maintained,” the spokesman said, citing reasons
including a shortage of local live-in domestic help.

In her ruling judge Woodcock had said that domestic staff are made
vulnerable by this law–which activists have long campaigned to change.

“Such conduct could be prevented if domestic helpers were not forced to live in their employer’s home,” she said.

Woodcock also highlighted the “significant fees” charged to domestic helpers by agencies in their home countries.

“There must be an element of exploitation here… the domestic helper
becomes trapped when they are unhappy, but cannot leave or change
employers because the debt needs to be paid off,” she said.

Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with her own face and the word
“justice,” Sulistyaningsih said she felt the six-year sentence “doesn’t
guarantee she (Law) will not hurt others.”

But she praised Woodcock.

“I sincerely appreciate the judgment of the judge, who today exposed
that slavery in Hong Kong really exists,” Sulistyaningsih said via an
interpreter.

Activists welcomed the judgment, but remained reserved over whether it would bring change.

“It could send a message to other employers who are doing similar
things,” said Aaron Ceradoy of Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants.

“Whether it will be effective remains to be seen.”

Lawmaker Claudia Mo of the Civic Party said that Law had “brought
shame to Hong Kong,” but questioned how domestic helpers could be
accommodated outside their employers’ homes because of lack of housing.

Pictures of Sulistyaningsih looking frail and emaciated, in a
critical condition at an Indonesian hospital in January last year after
she left Hong Kong, focused the spotlight on domestic helpers’ rights.

The city is home to nearly 300,000 maids, mainly from Indonesia and
the Philippines, and criticism from campaign groups over their treatment
is growing.

Amnesty International in 2013 condemned the “slavery-like” conditions
faced by thousands of Indonesian women who work as domestic staff and
accused authorities of “inexcusable” inaction.

 | Inquirer News

‘Tip Jar Bandit’ Steals $80 ends up with $20,000 bail

Wikimedia/Infrogmation
California's "Tip Jar Bandit" has been arrested for allegedly stealing restaurant workers' tips.

Stealing from a tip jar is a pretty nasty thing to do, but one
California woman had allegedly been doing it regularly for at least a
month before she was caught in Beverly Hills this week.

According to CBS,
the “Tip Jar Bandit” was caught on Thursday after a customer spotted
her stealing from a tip jar at Brighton Coffee in Beverly Hills. Suspect
Jessica Shub had been wanted by police since approximately January 20
in connection with at least six other cases of tip jar theft in Beverly
Hills and Los Angeles.


Police estimate that Shub allegedly stole up to $80 from restaurant
workers each time she stole from a tip jar. Police report that Shub was
allegedly able to strike so many times in part because tip jar theft is
considered a “low-priority misdemeanor,” so it took a long time for
police to acquire an arrest warrant for her. While they were waiting,
she was able to strike again.


Shub is reportedly being held on commercial burglary charges, and her bail has been set at $20,000.

 | The Daily Meal

The Dangers of Craiglist

Over the past few months, we've heard far too many stories about innocent
people being killed or hurt by criminals who use Craigslist to lure them
into a trap. The latest is just as heartbreaking: a 21-year-old student
from Atlanta was reportedly killed after he responded to a Craigslist ad for a new iPhone 6.

James Jones, who was a junior at Clark Atlanta University, reportedly
agreed to meet the iPhone seller at a set location, but when he arrived
at 9:30 p.m. Monday, three young men allegedly robbed and fatally shot
him.


Police have arrested Jordan Baker, 18, Jonathan Myles, 19, and Kaylnn Ruthenberg, 21, in connection with the murder.


And this is the second horrific Craigslist ad-related shooting in the Atlanta area. Just last month, a war veteran named Bud Runion and his wife, June,
were reported missing after they responded to an ad for a classic car.
Their SUV was found submerged in a pond and their bodies were located
nearby. A 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with their murder.


More from The Stir: Craigslist Seller Charged With Murder of Couple Who Responded to Craigslist Ad


Despite these terrible stories, people are going to continue to use
Craigslist because it offers a relatively inexpensive and convenient way
to sell and buy items. One police department in Columbia, Missouri, has
stepped up to help facilitate Craigslist transactions and keep people
safe by offering up its department lobby as a place where Craigslist
buyers and sellers can make their exchanges.


It's a great idea, and one other police departments are reportedly
copying. Departments in Virginia, East Chicago, and Boca Raton, Florida,
have also began reportedly offering safe havens for Craigslist
purchases.


It's a shame we can't trust that everyone online has good intentions,
but it's good to know police are helping to ensure fewer tragedies like
this one occur in the future.

 The Stir

Two years after he went missing, Fox executive formally declared dead - LA Times

Gavin Smith is shown in an undated family handout photo courtesy of Lisa Smith.

Two
years after Fox executive Gavin Smith mysteriously disappeared, the
missing man has formally been declared dead, officials said.

Sheriff's officials said a public death certificate has been issued for Smith, dated May 1, 2012.

In
the two years since Smith vanished, detectives had said they had
significant evidence that he was killed, but the case remained
unresolved.

"We have physical evidence of his death," Bill
McSweeney, sheriff's chief of the detective bureau, said Thursday.
Smith's body, though, has never been found, he said.

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  Mister Los Angeles
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Last year, when investigators recovered Smith's car from a
Simi Valley storage facility, they declared a jailed convicted drug
dealer as a person of interest in what they termed a murder.

Authorities said they believed the former UCLA basketball player was killed the same night he vanished.

The storage unit where the car was found was later linked to a man named John Creech.

Creech
is currently serving an eight-year jail term for drug-related offenses
and has not spoken to detectives. His wife, though, said he her husband
had a "relationship" with Smith, whom he met in rehab.

Creech's wife had talked with detectives, according to Lt. Dave Dolson.

Before
his jailing, Creech told The Times he had never met Smith and knew
nothing about his disappearance. More than two dozen search warrants
have been served in connection with the case.

Smith, who worked in
Fox's movie distribution department, was last seen leaving a friend's
home in Ventura County's Oak Park neighborhood the night of May 1, 2012.

Wearing
purple athletic pants belonging to one of his sons, Smith drove away in
his Mercedes, leaving behind his cellphone charger, shaving kit and
other items.

In the months after Smith was last seen, officials
insisted the case remained a missing person investigation, even as
Creech's home and vehicle were searched.

After the car was found
last year, Dolson said, the condition of the vehicle along with
statements from witnesses indicated Smith had been killed.

Creech
was picked up by Glendale police in a February 2010 drug bust, when he
allegedly sold bricks of cocaine to a man whose car contained more than
2,500 oxycodone tablets.

Subsequent searches of Creech’s home and
business yielded drugs, cash and other items, police said. Creech later
admitted that he was a middle-man between drug producers and lower-level
street dealers, and pleaded no contest  to one count of selling and
transporting cocaine.



 - LA Times

Three-Year-Old Boy Accidentally Shoots Pregnant Mother

From the world of "things that need to stop happening:" the Albuquerque Journal
reports that a 3-year-old boy shot both of his parents on Saturday
after he reached into his mother's purse for her iPod. The toddler found
a loaded handgun instead.

The boy fired one shot, which hit his father, exited his body and
then hit his mother in the arm. The woman is eight months pregnant. Both
parents were rushed to the hospital.

Albuquerque Journal reports:

The family, which also includes a 2-year-old girl, was living in the
room at America's Best Value Inn near Menaul and University where the
shooting occurred, [the Albuquerque police spokesperson] said. The man
and woman each confirmed the story, but the two children won't be
interviewed until a later date because of their age. A 9mm handgun was
found inside the motel room.

The state Children, Youth and Families Department took custody of the children for at least 48 hours.

The police have recommended that the parents be charged with felony criminal negligence.

Image via Shutterstock.

'Hero' Who Returned Missing Boy Arrested for His Kidnapping (VIDEO)

A man who was initially thought to be a hero for dropping off a missing 4-year-old boy at a convenience store after
he found him "wandering around" has been arrested for kidnapping him.
George White, 56, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was caught on surveillance
camera as he brought a missing tot, Quinton Thompson, into a
convenience store and left him there, saying he'd found him on the
streets. At first glance, it seemed like a man doing the right thing.
Upon further glance, it was much more sinister.

It all started when Quinton's mother, Stefannie Thompson, left the
boy with his grandmother Saturday night while she went out with friends.
When she returned around 5 a.m. and went to check on Quinton, she was
astonished to find he was nowhere in the house.


She told News 9:

This is a parent's worst nightmare, is for their kid to disappear and
not know where they're at, not know if they're OK. For every second to
go by and if anything has happened to them not knowing if they ate or
anything. It's just the worst thing ever.

In a panic, Steffanie woke up her mother and demanded to know where
Quinton was. Her mother told her the little boy was in bed. "No, he's
not," Steffanie said. She then called police. A massive manhunt ensued.


But by 11:30 a.m., awesome news came in. Quinton had been dropped off
at a convenience store by a man who said he found him wandering around.
He then left.


Police searched for the man, hoping to ask him questions about the boy. An anonymous tip led to his whereabouts.


It turns out the man, who at first seemed to be Quinton's savior, was really his alleged kidnapper.


Police say that White knocked on the family's door sometime in the
evening and the little boy answered. White says the boy was home alone,
so he took him for his own safety. This is, of course, a bizarrely
implausible explanation. Why not bring him to the police then? Instead, authorities say that the man took the boy's tablet and got him dressed and left with him.


Police believe the man then took Quinton to his house and kept him
there for about six hours. It's unclear what happened to the little boy
during that time. He then dropped him off at the store.


As if all of this isn't scary enough, White was already a convicted kidnapper. He had served 12 years in prison for kidnapping an ex-girlfriend.


Despite the fact that Quinton initially told the store clerk he knew White, police say White did not know Quinton or his mother.


Terrifying to think a man could just knock on a door and snatch a
little boy. Did he know a child lived there? Had he been watching the
house?


It's just fortunate the man didn't do worse to the boy and that he
returned him to safety. You have to be grateful for that, at least. It
could have ended with horrible, tragic news.


White remains in jail awaiting formal charges.

 | The Stir

Mother of teen accused of raping jogger in North Chattanooga says 'He's a good child'

The family of a boy accused of raping a man jogging in North Chattanooga, says there’s been a mistake. The 17-year-old boy’s mom says her son is a good child and she knows he didn’t do it.

The attack on the 69-year-old runner happened Monday on West Mississippi Avenue. Police arrested the teen at school and officials say he gave a verbal and written confession.

Now District Attorney Neal Pinkston has requested that the boy be tried as an adult. That will be up to juvenile court judge Rob Philyaw. If the boy is convicted as an adult, he could face 15 to 60 years - in prison.

• 

Standing outside the Hamilton County courtroom where a teenager faced a charge of raping a 69-year-old man, the boy's family said there has been a mistake. "I know he didn't do it," his mother said. "He ain't a pedophile," another family member said.

"That's not what type of child I got," his mother said, shaking her head. Police charged the 17-year-old with aggravated rape in the attack on a man who was running along West Mississippi Avenue in North Chattanooga around dawn Monday.

Early Thursday, District Attorney General Neal Pinkston filed a transfer hearing petition requesting the boy's case be moved to Hamilton County Criminal Court and that he be tried as an adult. Magistrate Judge Troy McDougal ruled the boy will stay in the county's juvenile detention center rather than be released to house arrest. The Juvenile Court judge must decide whether to grant the DA's request and try the teen as an adult. If Judge Rob Philyaw grants the request and the boy is convicted as an adult of aggravated rape as an adult, the youth could face 15 to 60 years in prison.

The assault rattled Chattanooga's running community. The West Mississippi Avenue route is a popular one, and news of the assault came just days after saboteurs threw oil and tacks on the bike course of the city's high-profile Little Debbie Ironman competition.

Police arrested the teen Wednesday at his school, his mother said. Afterward, Court Administrator Samuel Mairs said, the teen "gave a verbal and written confession to his actions during the rape.

The boy's mother said she wasn't with him when he gave that confession. She says he is innocent. Her son likes music and dancing. He sings in the church choir. He's been to this courthouse before to face
charges of disorderly conduct, but he's devoted his life to Jesus Christ, she said.

"He's a good child," she said.

 Times Free Press

LISTEN: Teen calmly admits to shooting family in chilling 911 call

(Billy Hallowell) -- In a chilling phone call to 9-11 operators last week, 17-year-old Jake Evans admitted to shooting his mother and sister to death. The call, during which the young man said he had hoped to kill the two without putting them through any pain, opened with the youngster’s startling admission.

“I just killed my mom and my sister,” he said. “I shot them with a .22 revolver.”

However, the details didn’t end there. Evans went into the shocking factors surrounding the incident.

“I just thought it would be quick, you know,” the teen told the dispatcher of the crime, which was committed in Annetta South, Texas. “I didn’t want them to feel any pain. That’s why I used a gun, but it was like everything went wrong.”

The call was made on Thursday evening around 12:30 a.m., according to authorities. Rather than being shaken by his actions, the teen generally remained calm and detailed the crime in its entirety to 9-11 operators before police arrived on the scene. Evans was then arrested without incident and the bodies of Jami Evans, 48, and Mallory Evans, 15, were removed from the home,The Orange Leader reports.

Police don’t currently have a motive for the murders, as Evans had no history of mental illness or substance abuse. In fact, the young man even told the dispatcher that he wasn’t angry with his mother or his sister.

“I wasn’t even really angry with them. It just kind of happened. I had been kind of planning on killing for a while now,” Evans proclaimed, saying that he wanted to kill “pretty much anybody.”

As his basis for wanting to commit murder, Evans ironically said that he didn’t like the negative attitudes people generally have. He also explained that his family was suffocating him and then said that he is “evil.“ The teen also admitted that ”this is really going to mess me up in the future.”

Among the details he shared during the call, Evans recounted how he convinced his 15-year-old sister to leave her room before the shooting.

“See, my sister, I told my sister that my mom needed her. She was in her room, and she came out of her room, and I, uh, I, I shot her,” he said. “She rolled down the stairs, and I shot her again. And then I went down, and I shot my mom about maybe three or four times.”

The teenager also has two other sisters who were unharmed in the incident — one who is away at college and another who lives across the street from the family home with his grandparents. His father, who also lived in the upscale home in a gated community, was away on business at the time.

Naturally, the local community is shocked.

Listening to the bizarre 9/11 call, below (caution: disturbing).

Photo Credit: The Orange Leader

(H/T: The Orange Leader)

Read more at The Blaze.

via big1059.com