Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Man Calls Cops After Finding Nude Woman Sleeping in His Bed

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Michelle Watkins turned out to be an unhappy finish to a California man’s day

ANDERSON, California — In most instances, coming home to find a naked woman in bed would be considered a good thing, but not this time.

A California man called cops when he came from to work and found a completely nude woman that he had never seen before sleeping in his bed, police said.

When the man arrived at home, he first discovered a package that had been delivered for him had been opened. Then he spotted a half-eaten sandwich on the kitchen counter next to an open can of beer, the Anderson police said.

He went upstairs and saw signs that someone had taken a shower. Then he spotted a pile of women’s clothes and a wet towel next to the bed, where Michelle Irene Watkins, 33, of Junction City, was curled up asleep.

Watkins woke up and tried to leave the house, but the homeowner followed her out as he called police.

When officers arrived, they found she had stolen a pack of the man’s smokes. They then returned her clothes and took her to jail on burglary charges. She was held on $50,000 bond.

Transient Arrested in Terrifying Axe Attack on Good Samaritan Who Tried to Help Him

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West Hollywood Station Assault with a Deadly Weapon Suspect Wa…

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — A Los Angeles homeless man has been arrested in a chilling axe attack on a man who offered to pay for items the vagrant had tried to steal from 7-11, cops said.

Kisu Bradley Brown, 41, was charged with attempted murder in the vicious attack which left the Good Samaritan in critical condition with a fractured skull and apparent lasting damage to his ability to use his hands, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s department said.

Cops had said Brown grew upset when the other man offered to pay for the items he was stuffing into his pocket and then scuffled with him. Brown then left the store and when the Good Samaritan walked out, attacked him with a double-headed axe.

Surveillance video shows Brown striking the man on the head, knocking him down, and then hitting him repeatedly with the axe as he lay on the ground. A bystander tried to intervene, but Brown can be seen darting around behind him to strike the victim on the ground once more.

Brown is being held on $500,000 bond.

Youngest Manson Family Cult Member Granted Parole

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Leslie Van Houten admitted stabbing Rosemary LaBianca in the spate of murders that stunned L.A.

CHINO, California — The youngest member of the Manson family cult that was responsible for seven ritualistic slayings in 1969 that terrorized Los Angeles and shocked the county has been granted parole by California authorities.

Leslie Van Houten, 68, had similarly been granted parole last year only to have the board’s decision overruled by California Gov. Jerry Brown, who decided she still posed a threat to society.

Van Houten, was 19 when she took part in the stabbing deaths of Los Angeles grocer Leno La Bianca and his wife, Rosemary, in their home on Aug. 9, 1969. She was not present for the killings of actress Sharon Tate — director Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife — and four others the night before by other member of Charlie Manson’s murderous cult.

She has admitted helping hold down Rosemary La Bianca while another Manson follower stabbed her repeatedly and then taking a knife and stabbing her a dozen more times.

She was initially sentenced to the death penalty, but had her original conviction and sentence overturned on appeal. She was retried  and in 1978 sentenced to seven year to life in prison.

None of Manson’s murderous band has ever been paroled. Manson, who is now 82, is serving a life sentence. Another family member, Susan Atkins, died in prison in 2009.

Van Houten was the youngest member of the group and an unlikely one. A high school homecoming princess, athlete and cheerleader, Van Houten had dropped out of school and gotten into drugs before joining the ragtag hippy cult who considered Manson to be a Christ-like figure.

Since she was incarcerated more than 40 years ago, Van Houten has been a model prisoner and earned college degrees. This year’s hearing marked the 21st time Van Houten had appeared before the parole board.

It is unclear what Gov. Brown intends to do although he has several options. He could uphold, reverse or modify the decision or send the matter to the full Board of Parole Hearings, or take no action, in which case the decision to set her free would stand.

Relatives of Tate and the LaBianca’s have been vocal in their opposition to her being set free.

Man Eyed in Temple Univ. Slay Used Lyft to Dump Body: Cops

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Jenna Burleigh disappeared after leaving a bar

PHILADELPHIA — A man suspected of killing a Temple University student he picked up at a Philly college bar is believed to have hired a Lyft car to help him move the body 100 miles away, police said.

Josh Hupperterz, 29, a former Temple student allegedly told cops that he had gotten so blotto the night Jenna Burleigh disappeared, that “he had no recollection of who he had been with,” when he left the bar last Thursday at 2 a.m., cops said.

Investigators believe Hupperterz killed Burleigh at his apartment and then stashed her in a rubber storage bin at his mother’s Jenkinstown, Pa. home before hiring the Lyft car to move the  box about 100 miles to his grandmother’s property.

The Wayne County Coroner ruled Monday that she died of blunt trauma and strangulation.

Burleigh’s body was eventually found at Hupperterz’s grandparent’s home, and he was charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and drug offenses.

Hupperterz’s roommate said the 29-year-old former Temple student returned to their apartment at one point with cleaning supplies to get rid of blood, WPVI-TV reported.

Police found blood and drugs inside the Philadelphia residence when they went in with a search warrant, according to the station

Good Samaritan Attacked With Axe After Offering to Help Shoplifter Pay For Stolen Items

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Cops are hunting for this man in an axe attack on a Good Samaritan

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — They say no good deed goes unpunished.

A Good Samaritan who offered to pay for the items he saw another trying to steal from a 7-11 found his overture rejected with prejudice when the suspected thief flew into a fit of rage and hit him over the head with an axe.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s office says the suspect was stuffing items into his pockets at the convenience store on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Holywood when the kind-hearted shopper offered to help him pay for them.

But the suspect grew upset, cops say, and not only refused the offer of help, but began struggling with the other man.

As the man tried to flee, police say the suspect pulled out an axe and struck him several times on the head. The suspect then fled.

The victim was taken to a local hospital to be treated for unknown injuries.

Decorated Pilot Admits Stealing From Distinguished Flying Cross Society

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SAN DIEGO — A highly decorated combat pilot admitted stealing $124,000 from a national society of Distinguished Flying Cross winners to pay for his stable of horses and buy stocks in order to maintain his high-flying lifestyle.

Anthony Ventura, 71, of Lincoln, California, was awarded the medal and many other during the Vietnam War and served as the treasurer for the Distinguished Flying Cross Society from 2012 until 2016.

Federal prosecutors say that in 2014, Ventura — who once served as a senior vice president for Wachovia Securities — filed for personal bankruptcy following a series of poor business decisions.

But instead of cutting back on his lavish lifestyle, Ventura admitted dipping into the society’s coffers to cover bills related to his horse stable, pay for personal expenses and to buy stocks and bonds.

In addition to embezzling the funds, Ventura also admitted he filed false tax documents for the charity, claiming it had tens of thousands of dollars more in its accounts than it did.

“Regardless of how significant an individual’s contribution is to our society or how desperate their financial condition, there can be no excuse for stealing charitable funds that are destined for the awarding of scholarships,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Alana Robinson.

The Distinguished Flying Cross was first awarded by President Calvin Coolidge to Charles Lindbergh for his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927. Other recipients include Amelia Earhart, the original seven astronauts, President George H.W. Bush and Sen. John McCain.

 

Plastic Surgeon to the Stars Pleads Guilty to Hiding Cash from IRS

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Dr. Mani examining reality TV star, Courtney Stodden

LOS ANGELES — A Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who has been romantically linked to actress Heather Locklear and starlet Courtney Stodden, has pleaded guilty to hiding cash overseas to avoid paying taxes.

Dr. Marc Edward Mani, a boob job and facelift specialist who has been featured on television, admitted failing to declare on his U.S. taxes,  $1.3 million he earned for procedures he performed in Dubai, federal prosecutors said.

Authorities said Mani, 47, had been told that he had to declare the income he brought in between 2011 and 2013 on a foreign bank and financial account form, but he ignored his accountant’s advice.

Instead, he opened an account in Dubai and stashed the cash he earned there. At one point, Mani had over $400,000 in the account, prosecutors said,

Mani, who was named one of the top 10 plastic surgeons in America by Forbes in 2009,  faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

The doctor was linked to “Melrose Place” star Locklear until the pair broke up in 2016. Earlier this year, he was spotted out with the famously enhanced, 22-year-old  Stodden on his arm.

Starbucks Robbery Cut Short By Hero Customer’s Epic Beatdown of Thief

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FRESNO, California — A robbery attempt at a California Starbucks turned into an epic beatdown when a 58-year-old customer began wailing at a wannabe thief nearly half his age with a chair.

Surveillance video footage released by the Fresno police shows hero coffee lover, Cregg Jerri, dart up behind a man wearing a Transformer mask, carrying a knife and a replica gun as he menaced the barista, and brain him with the chair.

The initial blow sent the mask flying off of 30-year-old Ryan Michael Florez’s head, triggering a scuffle between the two men that left both of them with stab wounds.

Police say Florez later tried to claim that he was the victim of a robbery to explain away  the stab wounds he received during the fight, but that he was ultimately charged with attempted armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3cpqq4uPc0

The wild episode erupted Thursday, when Florez allegedly charged into the Starbucks wearing the mask and brandishing the weapons and demanding cash.

Jerri, who is a regular customer and knows the baristas well, was seated nearby and calmly grabbed a chair and ran up behind Florez and slammed him over the head twice.

The two then rumbled throughout the store, with Jerri suffered cuts to his hands, but eventually wrestling away the knife and using it to stab Florez in the face and torso. He fled the scene but was soon arrested after being spotted bleeding as he walked along a nearby canal.

 

Police called Jerri a “courageous hero.

Man Begs for Change to Buy Gas for His $245K Ferrari

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SAN RAFAEL, California — He spent so much on the new Ferrari he had no money left over to buy gas … or so he said.

Police in San Rafael, California say 36-year-old Rocky Jimenez, of Georgia was begging for gas money at a gas station with his Ferrari 488 GTB standing nearby.

Passersby say Jimenez was acting strangely, with witnesses saying he poured gasoline on the $245,000 car and that he hassled people as they came and went.

Jimenez told cops the car was his, but that it had been in the shop for the past two year and that he had only just gotten it back.

Police were skeptical as Jimenez gave increasingly vague answers to questions. When he allowed the officers to look into his bag, they found the key to the car but no papers for it. They also found the keys to another Ferrari.  A call to area dealers revealed that the car Jimenez was driving had indeed been stolen.

He was charged with vehicle theft, possession of a controlled substance and possession of stolen property. Officers also found property in his car linked to a burglary from two days earlier. They are looking to see if Jimenez may have been involved with other unsolved burglaries.

 

California Man Shot With Shotgun Shell Loaded With Rice Krispies

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EUREKA, California — A  cereal shooter has been arrested for blasting a pal with shotgun shell loaded with Rice Krispies, cops said.

Cops in Eureka, California say Timothy Glass Jr., 29, had loaded the Rice Krispies-filled shell into a flare gun on Wednesday and shot his friend in the hand.

When police arrived at the scene, they say Glass had already fled on foot. He was detained a short while later after encountering cops nearby. Police say Glass resisted arrest and injured a police officer.

The man who was shot identified Glass and is expected to recover but attempted to decline to press charges.

Glass was held on a probation violation and resisting arrest charges.  Prosecutors in Humboldt County will review the case and decide how to proceed, cops said