Hard Boiled News

True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Dash Cam in Crash Leads Cops Right to Burglar: the Owner of the Car

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Xavier Moran didn’t realize the dash cam he handed cops showed him robbing a store

ROYAL PALM BEACH, Florid — Crack criminal, he wasn’t.

A Florida did the local police force’s work for them when he handed over the dashboard camera from his car following a fender-bender, but which also showed him robbing a store a few hours earlier.

Xavier Moran, 25, had been involved in a crash on April 5, and told cops the dashboard camera would prove his version of events, that he had been cut off.

Detectives had Moran sign a waiver allowing them to review the camera.

But officers quickly discovered video of Moran smashing the window and breaking into Sally Beauty Supply Store.

Moran was also arrested on April 7 for allegedly threatening to shoot his brother with an assault rifle and pistol. Moran and his brother live with their parents in Royal Palm Beach, and during the incident, Moran allegedly pointed the gun at his father and threatened his parents as well as his brother.

 

Well-Known Evangelical Pastor Hit With Child Sex Abuse Charges

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

The founder of the Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries is charged with sex abuse for allegedly molesting a young family friend

HOOVER, Alabama — A well-known evangelical pastor in Alabama has been busted on child sex abuse charges, police say.

Paul Edward Acton Bowen, the 37-year-old founder of Acton Bowen Outreach Ministries, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of second-degree sodomy, enticing a child to enter a vehicle or house for immoral purposes, and second-degree sex abuse.

Cops only described the victim as a male family acquaintance above the age of 12 but under 16.

“This is certainly one of the more disturbing cases that we’ve investigated in quite some time,” Hoover Police Capt. Gregg Rector told AL.com. “Mr. Bowen is in a highly-respected position of influence and he is trusted by many. We believe he betrayed that trust in the worst kind of way.”

Bowen was released Wednesday on $90,300 bond.  In a statement, Bowen denied the allegations against him.

“I have not done what I am accused of and have not acted inappropriately in any way,” Bowen said. “My family and I trust the legal system and the people who are entrusted with the duty of protection each of our rights. I believe the truth will stand and I will be vindicated of this false accusation. We ask that each of you keep everyone involved in this process in your prayers.”

Bowen describes himself on his website as a speaker, best-selling author and visionary.

“Many words are used to describe him, but Acton Bowen’s only passion has been to connect people with the one, true God,” the website states. “Once recognized as one of the nation’s leading student pastors, God has clearly blessed Acton with the ability to reach today’s high tech, attention-lacking culture.”

 

Woman Blames Stiff Wind for Blowing Bag of Coke Into Her Purse

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Kennecia Posey blames a strong wind for putting cocaine in her purse

FORT PIERCE, Florida — More likely it was a bunch of hot air.

A Florida woman tried to claim that a bag of coke cops found in her handbag must have blown in there by a strong gust of wind, police said.

Kennecia Posey, 26, was one of two passengers in a car cops pulled over for swerving all over the road in Fort Pierce on March 21, police said.

As the officers approached, they say they smelled marijuana from inside the car and conducted a search. In Posey’s purse, cops say they found a bag a of marijuana and separate baggied that contained cocaine.

When asked about the coke, Posey claimed she had no idea where it had come from.

“I don’t know anything about any cocaine,” she said, according to a police report seen by WPLG-TV. “It’s a windy day. It must have flown through the window into my purse.”

Posey was charged with a felony count of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor charged if marijuana possession. She was later released on $5,000 bond.

 

Clown-Faced Bomber Charged With Threatening to Blow Up 7-Eleven in Virginia

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Crystal Mostek threatened to blow up a 7-Eleven with a fake bomb

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia — What she did to her face may well be the real crime.

A Virginia woman with a heavily-tattooed and pierced mug has been charged with threatening to blow up a 7-Eleven after placing a device on the counter and claiming it was bomb.

Authorities say they are not entirely sure why Crystal Mostek, 33, walked into the convenience store Tuesday evening and placed the package on the counter. Officials later determined that the device wasn’t actually a bomb.

Mostek was charged with threatening to bomb and possession of a hoax device and remains in custody at the Virginia Beach Jail.

At her arraignment, Mostek said she’s not guilty and that the charges against her are false. WTKR-TV reported that Mostek’s attorney is looking into whether she needs mental health treatment.

Drunken Wannabe Arsonist Wags Tongue at the Law

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Amber Legge — and her tongue — do not seem to be taking being arrested very seriously

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio — Take your law and shove it.

That’s the attitude Amber Legge had on display when she was arrested in Ohio for allegedly threatening to burn a woman’s house down and driving drunk.

Legge, 32, had gotten into a fight with the owner of a Huber Heights home after going there at 3:15 a.m. Friday to demand money she believed she was owed.

“(The victim) indicated that Legge then returned to her residence…began calling her a ‘dope friend’, threatened to beat her, burn her house down, and contact Children’s Services,” the police report read, according to the Dayton Daily News.

As police arrived at the scene, Legge took off, but was pulled over later when officers determined she was under the influence.

Naked Car Thief Attempts to Get Away From Cops in Helicopter

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Travis Smiley thought climbing in helicopter was the perfect getaway

BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky — This getaway was never going to make it off of the ground.

A Kentucky man was taken away in cuffs after he drove a stolen car into a Bowling Green lake, then tried to escape from cops by stripping naked and hiding in a helicopter, police said.

Travis Smiley, 36, told cops he thought someone was trying to kill him and that he had been using methamphetamine for about a week when he drove off  a boat ramp into the lake, the Warren County Sheriff’s office said.

A witness dove in to help, but Smiley climbed out of the lake and made a beeline to a maintenance hanger at a nearby aviation park where a helicopter was being restored.

When cops arrived at the building, they found wet footprints and pile of wet clothes in the trash. And then they found Smiley hidden in the tail of the chopper and had to take him out by force.

When he was later taken to an area hospital for observation, Smiley attempted to get away by climbing through the ceiling tiles in a bathroom, only to have his plan foiled when a paper towel dispenser he climbed on, broke away from the wall.

In Some Cases, Man Really Does Bite Dog

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Leland O’Malley flipped the script, taking a bite out of a police dog that took him down for resisting arrest

DOVER, Wisconsin — It’s a story of man bites dog.

Officers had to sic a police dog on an intoxicated man who charged at them, but had the tables turned when he bit the dog.

The Racine County Sheriff’s office says deputies were called to a house in Dover after 44-year-old Leland O’Malley refused to leave and began banging on windows demanding to be let back in so he could sleep.

When the officers arrived they found O’Malley outside an yelling. They say they told him to stay put but he began advancing towards them and not following directions.

When O’Malley got too close, police dog Murphy, leapt into action, knocking him to the ground. But that’s when O’Malley placed the dog into a chokehold and tried to bite him.

Officers then jumped in and subdued O’Malley and the freeing the dog, who was not hurt.

O’Malley was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and attacking a police dog.

 

Woman Busted After Trying to Order Breakfast Sandwich at Jail Security Booth

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Lizabeth Ildefonso was busted after cops saw white powder on her nose while she tried to order a breakfast sandwich

RIVERHEAD, New York — Let me get a bacon, egg and cheese with a side of jail time.

Guards at a New York jail were stunned when a woman drove up to a security booth and tried to order a breakfast sandwich.

Suffolk County police say Lizabeth Ildefonso, 44, drove up to the Riverhead Correctional Facility Friday morning and attempted to place an order for a “bacon, egg and cheese.”

When told she was at the front gate of a jail, cops say Ildefonso insisted that she “really wanted a sandwich.”

The deputy manning the booth then noticed that Ildefonso’s eyes were dilated and glassy and that she allegedly had white powder residue on her left nostril.”

A further check revealed that she was also driving without a valid license. Ildefonso was arrested after failing to adequately perform a field sobriety test, and was charged with DWI.

Lunch Lady Gives Up 1st Amendment Fight Over Nude Pics She Sent to 15-Year-Old

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

Lunch lady Krista Ann Muccio argued it was her right to send nude pics to a 15-year-old

HASTINGS, Minnesota — Even in America, there are limits to free speech.

A former middle school lunch lady pleaded guilty to sending nude photos a 15-year-old student after fighting the constitutionality of the state’s sexting laws.

Krista Ann Muccio, 44, of Inver Grove Heights, had argued that the photos and texts were protected under the first amendment.

Last year, the state Supreme Court ruled that the law did not violate the constitution.

“This statute was enacted for the important purpose of prohibiting sexually explicit speech directed at a child that is intended to cause sexual arousal. We are pleased to bring Krista Muccio to justice for violating this law,” Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said.

Muccio will be sentenced on April 6.

She was busted in March 2015, for sharing the explicit photos with the 15-year-old boy through Instagram’s direct message feature in late 2014. She then asked the boy for “something in return,” prompting him to share explicit photos with her, according to the criminal complaint.

The teenager had known Muccio as the lunch lady since the eighth grade, and she began communicating with him on Instagram in June 2014, the complaint said.

Cops began an investigation after the boy’s father found the photos on an iPad.

Utah Granny Busted For Hiring Third Hitman in Effort to Kill Ex

By HardBoiledNews Staff Leave a Comment

 

Linda Gillman really wanted her ex dead

SALT LAKE CITY — If at first you don’t succeed … .

An elderly Utah woman on trial for trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband and who was accused of hiring a second contract killer while in jail, has been charged with trying to hire a third hitman, prosecutors said.

Linda Tracy Gillman, 70, was hit with the new charges on the same day she was convicted in the original case of trying to get her ex killed.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said, according to KSL-TV.

Gillman had originally been charged with giving an employee $5,000 to an employee to arrange for her ex-husband — a prominent bankruptcy lawyer — and his new wife to be killed in a way that looked like a drug overdose. She promised to hand over another $10,000 when the job was done.

But the man went to police instead.

While she was in jail, Gillman was charged with approaching another inmate who she thought was affiliated with a white supremacist gang, to arrange to have the original “hit man” killed so he couldn’t testify against her.

The case was ultimately dropped due to problems with the witness.

But as Gillman’s trial began, it surfaced that she had tried a third time to hire a contract killer to bump off the original “hitman” in the case involving her ex-husband and an attorney who had won a separate civil suit against her.

Authorities caught wind of that plot when they intercepted a check for $155,000 that was made out to relatives of a fellow inmate she had tried to get involved in setting up the hits.