True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Fighting Bird Kills Owner in Illegal Cockfight in India

By HardBoiledNews Staff

LOTHUNUR, India — A fighting cock with a three-inch blade strapped to its foot killed its owner as it tried to escape his grasp during an illegal cockfight in southern India.

The bird was struggling to break free when the blade slashed the 45-year-old Thanugula Satish’s groin before the fight in the village of Lothunur in India’s southern Telangana state.

He died from blood loss as he was being rushed to a hospital in the rural area, the New Indian Express reported.

Police seized the rooster and held it at a local police station for a day before transferring it to a poultry farm and are now hunting for at least 15 other people who were involved in the illegal event.

Cockfighting has been banned in India since 1960 but the gruesome events are still common in some areas. Many fights occur around the Hindu festival of Sankranti.

Police said the knife was attached to one of the rooster’s legs as it was being prepared for a fight on the grounds of a temple. When the bird tried to escape and Satish tried to catch it and in the ensuing struggle, he was slashed by the blade.

Police called the death a “freak accident.”

The others involved in the event could face charges of manslaughter, illegal betting and hosting a cockfight.

Thousands of roosters die each year during the fights.

Last year, a man died when his rooster’s blade hit him in the neck as he carried the bird to a fight in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.

California Man Busted for Trying to Bury Wife Alive

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CORONADO, California — A 23-year-old parolee was busted for allegedly attacking his wife during a stroll on the beach and trying to bury her alive in the sand, police said.

Cops in Coronado, California say the woman called 911 to report that her husband, Jose Luis Mares III of Moreno Valley, had just tried to kill her.

Officers arriving at Coronado beach found the badly injured women on a sidewalk and took her to a San Diego hospital for treatment of serious trauma.

The victim told investigators her husband had become enraged during a quarrel at the Coronado waterfront, assaulted her and then tried to drag her into the surf. He then took her near a lifeguard tower and tried burying her in the sand.

“She said there was a hole in the ground and the hole had previously been there from probably kids digging it during the day. But during the struggle, she said he threw her in that hole when he began putting sand on top of her,” said Det, Ryan Brennan of the Coronado Police Department.

Jose Luis Mares III

The victim told police her husband repeatedly kicked her — then stopped and ran off.

“We don’t know what scared him away. Perhaps it was someone walking by,” Brennan said.

Police searched the neighborhood and found Mares a short time later in the backyard of a nearby home.

Mares was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of attempted murder, assault causing great bodily injury, domestic violence, false imprisonment and violating terms of his parole. He was being held without bail.

 Mares had previous convictions for carjacking and burglary.

Court Rejects ‘Warrior Gene’ Defense in Santa Fe Murder

By HardBoiledNews Staff

SANTA FE, New Mexico — Presumably his “warrior gene” makes him tough enough for prison.

The New Mexico Supreme Court has upheld a murder conviction against a man who claimed his “warrior gene” made him predisposed to impulsive acts of violence.

Anthony Blas Yepez ad put forth the theory in a bid to get out of a 22-year sentence in the murder of his girlfriend’s 75-year-old step-grandfather, George Ortiz, in 2012. 

In a unanimous decision, justices ruled that a lower court was justified in excluding evidence about the theory which lacks any scientific basis, in the original trial in which Yepez was convicted.

Defense attorneys had argued that Yepez was incapable of forming the intent to deliberately kill because of his genetic makeup., but expert testimony on the scientific claim was excluded in the pre-trial hearing phase.

Yepez was convicted in 2015 in the killing of Ortiz during a domestic dispute. Yepez is serving a 22-year sentence for second-degree murder with additional time for auto theft and tampering with evidence.

“We hold that evidence of mere genetic susceptibility to a given mental condition is not relevant on the issue of deliberate intent, at least in the absence of evidence that such susceptibility is so well understood and has such strong predictive value as to be clinically validated as an indicator of the mental condition,” said the opinion from former Justice Judith Nakamura, who heard oral arguments in the case before her recent retirement.

The high court rejected the defendant’s request for a new trial.

An appeals court previously ruled that the lower court abused its discretion in excluding scientific testimony, but that no harm was done because Yepez was acquitted of first-degree murder charges that require the state prove premeditation.

Yepez’s girlfriend, Jeannie Sandoval, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine years in prison for her role in the killing.

Long Island Grave Digger Dies After Being Buried Alive in Cemetery Mishap

By HardBoiledNews Staff

MOUNT SINAI, New York — A cemetery worker was killed when a grave he was digging collapsed on him, burying him under several feet of dirt, police said.

Rodwin Allicock, 42, of Coroam, was working at the bottom of a 7-foot-deep grave at Washington Memorial Park in Mount Sinai, N.Y., when the walls collapsed, Suffolk County police said.

Allicock’s co-workers raced to dig him out but were unable to reach him in time and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.

Suspect in Triple Homicide Admits Cooking Victim’s Heart for Supper

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CHICKASHA, Oklahoma — A triple murder suspect who had recently been released on parole,  admitted he killed his neighbor and cut her heart out to eat at home, authorities said.

Lawrence Paul Anderson is accused of killing neighbor Andrea Lynn Blankenship, 41, at her home and then returning to his home , where he allegedly killed his uncle and his 4-year-old niece. Anderson is also accused of stabbing his aunt, but she survived.

“He took the heart back to 214 West Minnesota, Chickasha,” an agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation told a judge in a request for a search warrant.

“He cooked the heart with potatoes to feed to his family to release the demons,” the agent wrote.

The case has sparked outrage because, Anderson, a repeat felon, had been released early from prison in January, the Oklahoman reported. He had been sentenced in 2017 to serve 20 years behind bars but got out after Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted his sentence.

The governor commuted the sentence to nine years at the recommendation of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and Anderson served a little more than three years. He had been staying with his uncle, Leon Pye, and aunt, Delsie Pye, since his release.

Anderson, 42, now faces possible death penalty charges.

Chickasha police went to Anderson’s uncle’s house on Feb. 9 after a woman called 911 for help. An officer forced his way into the house after hearing a woman yelling. Inside they found Leon Pye, 67, dead and his granddaughter, Kaeos Yates, injured. “She was pronounced deceased in the ambulance on scene,” the OSBI agent wrote in the search warrant request.

Delsie Pye suffered stab wounds to both eyes, police said

Anderson was arrested inside the Pye home. “Chickasha Police Officers observed Anderson throwing up in the living room into some pillows,” officers wrote in their report.

Blankeship was discovered Feb. 11 after investigators interviewed Anderson at an Oklahoma City hospital where he was being treated for injuries and he confessed to the additional slaying.

Anderson was first sentenced to prison in Oklahoma in 2006 for four years for attacking his girlfriend, pointing a gun at her and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute, records show. He was out in less than two years.

He went back to prison in 2012 to serve a 15-year sentence for selling crack cocaine near an elementary school in Chickasha. He also was ordered to spend 20 years on probation after his release. He was out in less than five years and four months.

He was sent back to prison in December 2017 to serve 20 more years when a judge both revoked his probation in full and sentenced him for new crimes.

He had been out less than five months in 2017 when police arrested him after he confronted a woman at her car in a church parking lot in Chickasha. Police reported he was carrying a handgun, which was illegal for him to have because of his past convictions.

At the jail, a detention officer found a vial of PCP hidden in his underwear. He pleaded guilty to gun and drug offenses.

Vet Gets 80 Years in Fatal Fight Over Whether Army or Marines are Better

By HardBoiledNews Staff

BILLINGS, Montana — A 69-year-old Army vet was resentenced to 80 years in prison following his second conviction in a brutal stabbing during a drunken argument over whether the Army or the Marine Corps are better.

William Earl Cunningham was first convicted of deliberate homicide in Montana in 2015 in the death of 40-year-old Nathan Horn, the year before.

The stabbing came after two nights of drunken arguments over which military branch was superior. Horn had claimed at the time to have served in the Marines, although he never did.

Ultimately Cunningham blew his top and repeatedly slashed Horn across his neck and face, killing him, authorities had said. Prosecutors said Cunningham had a long history of drunkenyl assaulting people with a knife. 

The Montana Supreme Court overturned Cunningham’s conviction and 80-year sentence in 2018, saying he was denied the chance to question the professional history and credibility of a state witness and not allowed to fully testify about why he was afraid of Horn. He testified he killed Horn in self-defense.

Cunningham didn’t testify at his retrial last summer.

Cunningham told a pre-sentence investigator that Horn’s death was an accident and that he believed he had served enough prison time.

Cunningham’s attorney asked for a 40-year sentence with 20 years suspended, which would have made Cunningham immediately eligible for parole. Prosecutors again sought the 80-year sentence.

Explosive to be Used for Gender Reveal Party Kills Dad-to-Be

By HardBoiledNews Staff

LIBERTY, New York — A 28-year-old dad-to-be was killed when an explosive device he and his brother were preparing for a gender reveal party detonated unexpectedly, police said.

Christopher Pekny was working on the device that was to announce that he and his girlfriend were having a boy, when it exploded in his garage in Liberty, N.Y., killing him and wounding his brother, Michael Pekny, 27, New York State police said.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.

Pekny’s death was the latest in a number of mishaps tied to explosives being used for gender reveal parties.

Explosive devices used at gender-reveal events have been linked to at least two deaths since 2019 and two major wildfires. 

A 26-year-old man died in Michigan this month after he was hit with shrapnel from “a small cannon type device” that exploded when it was fired in celebration at a baby shower, the authorities said.

Arizona Man Charged With Faking Own Abduction to Get Out of Work

By HardBoiledNews Staff

COOLIDGE, Arizona — He could have just called in sick.

An Arizona man was busted for making a false report after faking his own abduction in order to get out of having to go to work.

Police in Coolidge, Arizona say they found 19-year-old Brandon Soules on Feb. 10 with his hand tied behind his back and a bandana stuffed in his mouth lying on the ground near the town’s water tower.

Soules told them that two masked men had kidnapped him, hit him over the head, knocking him unconscious and then drove him around before dumping him where he was found.

He said the men had abducted him because his father kept a large amount of cash hidden around town.

But after conducting an extensive investigation, cops say they eventually determined that Soules had made the whole thing up. During an interview, Soules admitted he’d fabricated the story as an excuse to get out of work and he was arrested.

Soules was also fired from his job at a tire shop.

Gun Battle at New Orleans Gun Store Leaves Three Dead

By HardBoiledNews Staff

NEW ORLEANS — Three people were killed and two others wounded when a raging gun battle erupted inside a News Orleans gun store and then spilled into a parking lot, police said.

The deadly fire fight at Jefferson Gun Outlet, a firearms store and shooting range, began when one man inside shot two people to death, sparking numerous customers, employees and other armed passersby to open fire,  the Jefferson Parish Sheriff office said.

Police say the man who triggered off the shootout was ultimately killed in the parking lot. Two others were injured as the gunfight moved outside, police said, but their injuries were not thought to be critical.

Police sources told Nola.com that detectives believed  the gunfire may have been sparked when the initial shooter argued with store employees who ordered him to unload an extended magazine from a pistol he carried into the business. Gun ranges generally forbid patrons to carry loaded weapons in the lobby.

Woman Dead After Trying to Stop Kidnapper Taking Car With Baby Inside

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Brittany Martie Went Down Fighting

PEORIA, Arizona — A Phoenix mom was killed after jumping on top of her minivan in a desperate bid to stop the father of her infant son from kidnapping the boy inside, police said.

Eric Maes, 30, was arrested after a day-long manhunt during which he abandoned the child on the front steps of a stranger’s house, police in Peoria, Arizona said.

He has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of the baby’s mother, Brittany Martie.

The tragic incident unfolded Tuesday, when officers responded to a report of a domestic violence incident in Peoria. 

Police say Martie, 30, had been loading her 10-month-old baby, Abel, into a Chrysler minivan when the boy’s father jumped into the driver’s seat. Maes then sped off with the baby inside, police said.

Maes does not have custody of the baby, police said. 

Eric Maes

Witnesses told cops they saw Martie grab onto the minivan and hold on while Maes was driving, but that she was thrown off of it as Maes drove away. She was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries, Peoria police said.

The baby was found safe at about 1 a.m. Wednesday, after he’d been left on the doorstep of a stranger’s home in Phoenix, police said. Martie’s minivan was found abandoned less than a mile away. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Phoenix police received a 911 call reporting a possible sighting of Maes. When officers approached, Maes ran but was captured after a search of the area.

MIT Researcher Eyed in Fatal Shooting of Yale Grad Student

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Qinxuan Pan (L) is wanted for questioning in the murder of Kevin Jiang (R)

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — Cops have launched a nationwide manhunt for a MIT researcher eyed in the cold-blooded shooting of a Yale grad student.

Police in New Haven say they wanted to question Qinxuan Pan, a 29-year-old artificial intelligence researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the weekend shooting of Kevin Jiang outside his house.

Jiang, 26, studied at the Yale School of the Environment and had just gotten engaged to be married to Zion Perry a week before he was shot multiple times. Perry is also a grad student at Yale and had previously studied at MIT.

Police have believed that Jian had been targeted, instead of being a victim of a random act.

Police believe Pan was “in the area” at the time Jiang was killed. The department considers Pan a person of interest and he is not officially suspected of committing the shooting.

“We are not prepared to identify him as the shooter in this investigation. At this point, the only information we can put out is that he is a person of interest,” said New Haven Police Chief Otoniel Reyes.

Asked about the MIT connection to Jiang’s fiancee, Reyes said “we are exploring every angle related to this investigation and every person involved,” but that the department was not ready to discuss any such connections. They were not ruling out a prior relationship between Perry and Pan, he said.

Jiang had gotten engaged to Zion Perry a week before the shooting

Reyes said Pan should be considered armed and dangerous. He is thought to have fled Connecticut and authorities believe he may be in Georgia.

Police say they had contact with Pan shortly after Jiang’s killing, after receiving a call about a man acting suspiciously near some railway tracks. At the time, the officers were unaware at that time that a killing had taken place and Pan was let go.

It was later determined that Pan had been driving in a car that had been stolen in Massachusetts and he is wanted on a warrant for allegedly possessing a stolen car.

The FBI is also investigating the case.

Chicago Man With History of Impersonating Cops, Arrested Again

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Vincent Richardson

CHICAGO — A man who has been repeatedly arrested for impersonating a Chicago police officer — including once when he was just 14 — has been charged again with posing as a cop,  authorities said.

Vincent Richardson, 26,  is accused of pretending to be a Chicago police sergeant on three occasions in recent weeks and has been charged with felony impersonation of an officer. 

Richardson was first arrested in 2009 at age 14, when he was so convincing as a cop that he was assigned a radio and went on patrol with a real officer.  In that episode,  14 officers, including the captain running the watch during Richardson’s shift and seven sergeants, were brought up on departmental charges, the Chicago Tribune reported.

In 2013, at age 19, Richardson pretended he was an officer and was arrested when he tried to buy police equipment. 

And in 2015, at age 21, Richardson was arrested after police stopped his car while investigating a call of shots fired. He was wearing a protective vest and had a police duty belt, scanner, BB gun and stun gun in his possession. 

He received 18-month sentences for impersonating an officer after each offense.

13-Year-Old Kansas Girl Dragged to Death As Ex-Con Steals Family Car

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Cops say Brianna Ibarra got caught in her seatbelt as she tried to escape

WICHITA, Kansas — A 13-year-old girl died after being horrifically dragged for miles by an ex-con who stole her family’s car as she waited for her parents to pick up food, police said.

Wichita Police say Kevin Palmer, 34, had hopped behind the wheel of the Ford Escape as it idled outside a restaurant with the girl in the back seat. 

As Palmer sped off, the girl tried to jump out of the moving car, but got caught in her seatbelt and ended up being dragged alongside the vehicle. Cops say Palmer continued driving for miles as the girl was dragged.

“This is one of the saddest cases I have been associated with in my over 28 years of law enforcement,” Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said. 

KWCH-TV identified the girl as Brianna Ibarra.

As Palmer kept driving, another motorist spotted what was going on and called 911. When cops closed in, Palmer finally stopped and fled on foot and was quickly arrested.

Kevin Palmer

Palmer, who has had numerous prior felony arrests, has been charged with felony murder.

High-End Kicks Nabbed in Drug Raid to Hit the Auction Block

By HardBoiledNews Staff

ALBANY, New York — If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live in a drug kingpin’s shoes, now is your chance.

The New York State Office of General Services is auctioning off 188 pairs of high-priced, collectible sneakers and 14 pieces of sports memorabilia seized by the State Police in a drug bust on Long Island.

Many of the sneakers are Nike Air Jordans and LeBron James brands, as well as other rare shoes.

Authorities say the items were seized as part of an investigation into the distribution of illegal drugs on Long Island. The state regularly auctions off items either owned by the state, such as furniture and tools, or what it takes possession of in, say, a drug raid.

Other items from the raid include Upper Deck-authenticated Michael Jordan jerseys from the Bulls and the University of North Carolina. There are also items from athletes like Stephon Marbury, Jason Kidd, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre,Mike Schmidt, Mark McGwire and Vinny Testaverde.

The state said that all items are being sold as is, and bidders are encouraged to inspect items for sale before bidding.

Gun Man Sticks Up Chicken Shack After He’s Denied Service for No Mask

By HardBoiledNews Staff

PASADENA, California — A man who got into a fight with staff at a California chicken shack because he wouldn’t wear a mask, pulled out a gun and stole a bag of chicken and several other people’s orders before leaving, cops said. 

Pasadena police say the man walked into a local branch of Roscoe’s House of Chicken and got angry when told he had to wear a mask to be inside.

Instead of leaving, the man whipped out a gun, walked into the kitchen and told the cooks to “put all the chicken in the bag.” He then walked out.

No injuries were reported.

Restaurant employees say the robber drove off in a dark-colored, four-door sedan.

Pennsylvania Squirrel Hunters Busted for Hunting While High

By HardBoiledNews Staff

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania — That’s nuts.

Two men who smoked a doobie before heading out to hunt squirrels in western Pennsylvania were busted by game warden for hunting while high.

Douglas Litz, 32, and Bryan Post, 34, both of Williamsport, were arrested after a game warden stumbled upon their minivan parked on state game lands, stinking of weed and with a glass pipe in plain view on the console.

When the men returned to the car with guns in tow, the game warden asked why they too smelled of pot, Poust began to fidget and lit a tobacco cigarette, NorthCentralPA.com reported. 

“Poust stated that they did not have anything,” the warden wrote in his report..

When asked if they’d been around anyone smoking marijuana, the report said that “Litz then looked down at the ground and Poust stated that they had smoked before leaving Litz’s house.”

“Litz stated that yes, they did smoke at his house before they left to go hunting,” the report continued.

A search of the vehicle turned up a blue and white glass pipe, a baggie of marijuana, a box of wrapping papers and a baggie of blue pills believed to be DayQuil.

Each man was charged with hunting under influence of a controlled substance and use and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Homeless Man Who Attacked Tortoise Busted Again After Returning to Finish Job

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Michelangelo is said to be recovering well

EAST SAN JOSE, California — A man who had been arrested for seriously injuring a decades-old tortoise at a California preschool, was busted again after returning to the school holding a brick shortly after being released from jail. 

The director of the Play ‘N’ Learn Preschool in East San Jose chased George Robles off the school’s property just minutes before students were set to arrive Monday morning.

“I was terrified. I saw the guy, the same guy, run out from the side gate,” Yvonne Co told the San Jose Mercury News. “He should not have been released after something like this. That’s insane. What could he do next to anyone else?”

He was picked up several hours later by a police mental health crisis team.

Robles, who is homeless, was busted on Saturday after attacking the tortoise, an African sulcata named Michelangelo, that the preschool acquired from a rescue program four years ago and kept in a large enclosed garden.

Michelangelo underwent surgery Saturday to repair cracks in its shell and remove shards of wood from a fencepost and glass from flood lamps that had been embedded in its flesh. Veterinarians say the nearly 70-year-old tortoise is recovering.

Authorities could not immediately explain why Robles was released so quickly, but county jails have been reluctant to hold as many offenders due to Covid-19 concerns.

Robles has also been charged with burglary for an earlier breakin at the school in which several iPads were stolen.

95-Year-old Gunman Charged With Killing Assisted Living Employee

By HardBoiledNews Staff

LAFAYETTE, Colorado — A 95-year-old resident of a Colorado assisted living facility has been charged with gunning down an employee there he believed had been stealing from him.

Police in Lafayette say Okey Payne had confronted the employee, Ricardo Medina-Rojas, in the facility’s lobby and then pulled out a handgun and opened fire. He then aimed the gun at two other employees before walking back to his room.

Deputies took Medina-Rojas to a nearby hospital where he was later declared dead. A small handgun was recovered from Payne, who told cops he was sorry to have killed Medina-Rojas but was happy “the thievery would stop.”

Payne had told the facility’s administrators about the alleged thefts, but police say the matter was investigated by adult protective services and no evidence was found. Payne had also said he believed the facility’s employees were trying to kill him.

Cops say Payne had been told he couldn’t have a gun in the facility and that two pistols had earlier been taken from him and put into a safe. He told cops that the .45 caliber gun he allegedly used for the shooting had been given to him by his father when he was 23-years-old after the father used it in World War I.

The officer who interviewed Payne noted that other than difficulty hearing, there were no other apparent issues. Payne was “clear headed” and “lucid” while providing detailed information about what happened and did not appear “confused or unable to comprehend questions.”

Payne has been charged with first-degree murder.

Woman Sues Neo-Nazi Who Shot Her For Stealing His Swastika Flag

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Alexander Feaster is a fan of Hitler

ENID, Oklahoma — A woman who was shot in the back with an AR-15 by an Oklahoma Neo-Nazi after she tore down a Nazi flag flying in front of his house has filed a lawsuit accusing him of negligence, according to court documents.

Kyndal McVey, 26, was at a party across the road from Alexander Feaster’s house last June in the town of Hunter, Oklahoma, when she ran over around 3 a.m. and grabbed one of the two swastika flags he had flying outside his residence.

As she ran off with the flag, Feaster ran out of his house with an AR-15 and began firing.

Cops say the 45-year-old Feaster fired at least seven shots at McVey, striking her several times in the lower abdomen and legs. She required multiple surgeries and several weeks of hospitalization, authorities said.

In her lawsuit, McVey accuses Feaster of “reckless disregard” and asks for more than  $75,000 in damages for “mental and physical pain and suffering,” and medical expenses.

Kyndal McVey

Feaster was arrested following the shooting and charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, a felony. Investigators allege that Feaster, was lying in wait for someone from the party to try and steal his Nazi flags. The shooting was captured by Feaster’s home security system, which, cops say, recorded him running out the front door “with a large AR platform rifle on a sling and at the ready.”

During a search of Feaster’s home, cops noticed that a chair was placed at the front of the residence facing the door. A large ashtray containing several cigarette butts was nearby, as was a pair of handcuffs. “It appeared that Mr. Feaster was anticipating an incident to take place and had been watching from that spot,” a sheriff’s deputy reported.

Feaster, free on $75,000 bail, is scheduled for a March 5 preliminary hearing in the shooting case. He claims to have “acted in self-defense,” adding that he was in fear of “imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.”

In court filings, Feaster–who spent 10 years in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq–has portrayed himself as a “patriotic citizen” and “loyal American” whose political beliefs had subjected him to threats, harassment, and the frequent theft of his Nazi flags.

Feaster claims McVey is the real criminal and that he is actually a hate crime victim. The AR-15, Feaster contends, is a “precautionary weapon” that he aimed below McVey’s “center mass” so that the fusillade would not prove fatal.

Feaster’s profile page on Gab, a social network favored by the alt-right, is decorated with a Nazi flag and the German phrase “Meine Ehre Heisst Treue” (“My Honor, is Loyalty”), which was the motto of the Waffen-SS.

In a court filing, Feaster argued that there should be no negative implications from his public display of the swastika flags. While he “does not subscribe to all the tenets of National Socialism,” Feaster “believes that the United States’ economic situation, as it is now, is not dissimilar from the Weimar Republic of Germany in the early 1930’s when Adolph Hitler was elected Chancellor.”

Three Denver Teens Charged in Arson Fire that Killed Family of Five African Immigrants

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Denver police had only released these chilling images of the suspects in the Aug. 5 fire

DENVER — After a nearly six-month investigation, Denver police have arrested three teenagers for a devastating arson fire that left five members of a family of African immigrants dead.

Police said the teens, two of whom are 16 and the other 15, face first-degree murder charges in the Aug. 5 blaze that killed Djibril Diol, his wife Adja and their 2-year-old daughter Khadija Diol, as well as his sister, Hassan Diol, and her infant daughter, Hawa Beye.

The tragic blaze had unnerved the community and perplexed investigators who had been working with clueslike  photos of a car leaving the scene and chilling, black-and-white images of three suspects wearing hoods and full masks over their faces.

“This was as complex of an investigation as I’m aware of in my entire career,” said Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen.

Many details of the crime remain shrouded in secrecy, with police limited in what information they could release — including the suspects’ names — because they are juveniles. 

Pazen said that the three teens know each other, but are not related. He said there was no evidence to suggest the attack was a hate crime. 

“We are very confident to say we don’t believe this is a bias-motived crime,” Pazen said. “If facts change as the investigation and prosecution continues, we can add that.”

Pazen said he could not provide further information about a possible motive to protect the integrity of the case and ensure a successful prosecution.

Immediately after the fire, Denver police opened a homicide investigation, saying there was evidence it had been intentionally set. Three other residents of the house managed to jump from the second story and survived without life-threatening injuries.

The three teens each were arrested on 10 counts of first-degree murder — five counts apiece under felony murder and extreme-indifference murder statutes — as well as three counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, three counts of first-degree arson, eight counts of fourth-degree arson and one count apiece of first- and second-degree burglary.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann ultimately will decide how to charge the three suspects, and whether to prosecute them as juveniles or adults.

Black Sheriff’s Deputy Denied Burial at ‘Whites Only’ Cemetery in Louisiana

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Darrell Semien’s widow was told the cemetery where he wanted to be buried was for whites only

OBERLIN, Louisiana  — It was a grave insult.

 A Louisiana widow was stunned when a small cemetery in her community  denied her the right to bury her husband, a sheriff’s deputy, because he was Black and that the burial ground was for whites only.

Karla Semien of Oberlin wrote on Facebook that a woman at the Oaklin Springs Cemetery in southwest Louisiana told her that her husband could not be buried there because it was for whites only.

“She stood in front of me and all my kids wow what a slap in the face. I just can’t believe in 2021 in oberlin Louisiana this is happening,” Semien wrote.

“To be told this is like we were nothing. He was nothing? He put his life on the line for them,” Semien told KPLC-TV on Wednesday. 

Days later, the board of the cemetery held an emergency meeting to remove the shocking clause that had been in their sales contracts since the 1950s.

This was the offending clause in the contract

H. Creig Vizena, board president for the cemetery said he was stunned and ashamed to learn that the family of Allen Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Darrell Semien, who died of cancer at age 55, had been told that he could not be buried at the cemetery because he was Black.

“It never came up,” says Vizena. “I take full responsibility for that. I’ve been the President of this board for several years now. I take full responsibility for not reading the by-laws.”

Vizena said when he told other members about the language, they all agreed it had to be fixed.

He said a relative of his was the woman who told the family about the race clause, and she was “relieved of her duties.”

Vizena said he apologized to the family and offered one of his own plots in the small cemetery, but the offer was turned down. The family said Semien couldn’t rest easily there.

“My dad wasn’t any man, he was a phenomenal man,” daughter Shayla Semien told KATC-TV. “He was a police officer in this same community for 15 years. He was denied a place to lay because of the color of his skin.”

Vizena said the episode is “a stain that’s going to be on our cemetery and our community for a long time.”

Fang-Tooth Felon Out on Bail Charged With Killing 12-Year-Old in Drunken Wreck

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CHICAGO — A man who sports teeth sharpened into fangs and is out on bail for three felonies, allegedly killed a 12-year-old girl in a drunken crash in which his blood-alcohol level was five times the legal limit, prosecutors said.

Daniel Regalado, 27, was driving in South Cicero with two passengers when he crossed the median and plowed into an oncoming Cadillac Escalade, cops said. 

The collision killed Cire Robinson, a 12-year-old girl riding with her father, Prosecutors say that five seconds before the crash, Regalado was driving 66 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone.

Regalado’s girlfriend was ejected from his Chevy Impala’s passenger seat and suffered a broken femur, facial fractures, and other injuries. She was hospitalized in critical condition. She allegedly told police that Regalado was the driver and was responsible for the crash, CWB Chicago reported.

A passenger riding in the back of Regalado’s car and Robinson’s father were also hospitalized as was Regalado himself. Prosecutors said Regalado’s blood-alcohol level was .457 when he arrived at Stroger Hospital after the crash.

Judge David Navarro said Regalado’s alleged intoxication level “is, I’ll say, the highest I have seen with an individual who is still alive.”

At the hearing, Regalado tried to explain himself. “I was running away. I was running away because I was being shot at,” he told the judge via video. “This has been on-going…this isn’t fair. This isn’t fair at all.”

Lying in a hospital bed with his head and neck braced, Regalado insisted, “they were chasing us!”

When the judge cautioned Regalado against speaking without an attorney present, he continued talking.

“I don’t need an attorney. People that need an attorney are guilty. I don’t need an attorney. Why would I need an attorney? For what?”

Prosecutors charged Regalado with reckless homicide with a motor vehicle, aggravated DUI causing death, and two counts of DUI.

Navarro set his bail at $500,000. But the judge also ordered Regalado held without bail for violating the terms of bond in three separate pending felony cases.

In one pending matter, Regalado is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and reckless discharge of a firearm stemming from a July 2018 incident that prompted a SWAT stand-off in Oak Park. In January 2019, prosecutors charged him with felony manufacture-delivery of cannabis. 

Seven months later, with both of those cases still pending, Regalado was again arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of another gun, court records show.

In each case, he was released on a few hundred dollars bail

In December 2015, Regalado was indicted on five counts of attempted murder, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, and possessing a defaced firearm, but Cook County prosecutors dropped the case two years later

Teen Steals $1 Million From Georgia Kroger Where He Worked

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Tre Brown

GWINNETT, Georgia — He must have taken the whole “go big or go home” thing a bit too literally.

A Georgia teen has been charged with scamming nearly $1 million over a two-week period from a Kroger supermarket where he worked.

The Gwinnett County Police Department says 19-year-old Tre Brown ran the scam by creating more than 40 fake returns which he then funneled back to his credit cards. The bogus returns ranged from $75 to $87,000, cops said.

In total, Brown allegedly managed to steal over $980,000 in just two weeks. The scam came to a close when employees at Kroger’s corporate offices noticed the suspicious transactions and called police.

Investigators say that Brown used the money to buy clothes, guns, shoes, and two cars. Prior to being arrested, Brown totaled one of the vehicles. 

Cops say Brown, who has been charged with theft,  has given back a large sum of the money.

FBI Investigating Bomb Explosion at California Anti-Gay Church

By HardBoiledNews Staff

EL MONTE, California — The FBI and local authorities are investigating an explosion apparently caused by a bomb at a Los Angeles-area church that had been the target of protests for its anti-gay views.

Officers responding around 4:30 a.m. Saturday initially thought a vandal had broken the windows of First Works Baptist Church in El Monte, police there said. Then officers noticed smoke coming from inside the building.

“Then we realized that the windows were not smashed, that they had actually blown out from some type of explosion,” Lt. Christopher Cano said.

No one was in the church at the time and no injuries were reported. The extent of the damage to the building was unclear.

The FBI said it appeared the damage was the result of an improvised explosive device.

Protestors have repeatedly targeted the church headed by Pastor Bruce Mejia, who has condemned same-sex relationships.

A statement on it website says: “We believe that homosexuality is a sin and an abomination which God punishes with the death penalty.”

Mejia’s sermons and the church’s stance were called hate speech during public comments at an El Monte City Council meeting, according to the Mercury News.

The Southern Poverty Law Center listed the church on its 2019 watch list of “anti-LBGTQ hate groups.”

The church had been the target of protests in the city, and more than 14,000 people have signed an online petition calling on El Monte’s mayor to recognize the church as a hate group and force them to leave town.

The church is part of the New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement, a network of 30 churches known for calling for the government to round up and execute gay people.

The network’s leader, Steven Anderson, is an Arizona pastor who has drawn widespread condemnation for celebrating the 2016 shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., where 49 people were killed.

Mr. Anderson also gained notoriety in 2009 for saying in a sermon that he had prayed for the death of President Barack Obama, and was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League in 2014 for what it called his “history of anti-Semitism.”

Body Found in Freezer Leads to Arrest of Missing Oklahoma Woman’s Roommate

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Talina Galloway had been missing since April

WAGONER, Oklahoma — A woman has been charged with murdering her roommate who disappeared in Oklahoma last spring, after a freezer containing her remains was found hidden in the woods in Arkansas last week, authorities said

Investigators had been searching for Talina Galloway since April 17, when her roommate, Kore Bommeli, reported her missing from their Oklahoma home near Fort Gibson Lake, the Wagoner County Sheriff’s office said.

Police said they initially treated Bommeli as a witness but that she immediately began behaving suspiciously and as her story began to change, she became the top suspect in the case. She was eventually arrested for obstructing the investigation and destroying evidence.

The break in the investigation came last week when a woman walking in the woods near the Ouachita National Forest outside  Mena, Arkansas, spotted a freezer with its lid taped shut and a foul smell coming from it.

Investigators discovered dismembered human remains inside, Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott said. 

The same woman had in June spotted a suspicious pickup truck pulling an enclosed trailer in the same area that had similarly had a bad odor with a foul-smelling liquid pooled on the floor of the trailer, police said. She reported it to police at the time and a deputy came to investigate but never connected with the witness, Elliot said.

But the person had taken down the vehicle’s license plate number and when police checked it, that discovered that it belonged to Galloway. 

After several days, the Arkansas State Medical Examiner’s office identified the remains as being Galloway and ruled the cause of death as homicide. 

Kore Bommeli

On Thursday, Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp obtained an arrest warrant for Bommeli, who was out on bond and living in Wisconsin. 

She was arrested in Dane County, Wisconsin on Thursday where she will remain until she is brought to Oklahoma to face charges of first degree murder and desecration of a human corpse.

Sheriff Elliott stated that they are glad they are bringing closure to this case, but that it is still active and urged anyone with information to call the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office.

“Our hearts go out to the family of Talina Galloway,” Sheriff Elliott said. “They are certainly in our prayers.”