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‘Truther’ Wingnut Charged with Threatening Sandy Hook Dad

December 7, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Lucy Richards has struggled with mental illness

MIAMI — An unhinged Florida conspiracy theorist who believes the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax has been indicted on charges that she threatened the parent of a child killed in the tragedy.

Lucy Richards, 57, who lives in Tampa, allegedly phoned the grieving father of one of the 20 small children and six adults killed in a Newtown, Connecticut school in 2012 and told him, “you gonna die, death is coming to you real soon.”

Federal prosecutors described Richards as a so-called “truther” who believes the school shooting was staged as part of an elaborate plot to impose draconian gun control laws in the United States.

The bunk conspiracy theory has taken firm root in the darker corners of the internet among people who frequent conspiracy driven websites that peddle the theories as news. Most troubling is that some believers of such sham theories have taken to harassing relatives of children slain that day and accusing them of being “crisis actors” pretending to be grieving parents.

While prosecutors did not name the parent who had Richards had targeted, the Tampa Bay Times identified him as Lenny Pozner whose 6-year-old son Noah was killed that day. Pozner has since moved to Florida.

“It was hard knowing this darkness is out there,” he told the paper. “I get so much hate on a weekly basis.”

Richards was charged with our counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce and faces up to five years in prison for each count. She was released on $25,000 bond. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Pizzo called the alleged conduct “particularly disturbing,” but determined that Richards is unlikely to be a flight risk, given that she claims to have agoraphobia and uses a walker, the paper reported.

Her sister told the paper that Richards has struggled with mental illness.

Va. School Guard who Enlisted Teen Gang Recruits Convicted of Murder

December 7, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Michael Hopson recruited gang members from the high school were he worked

Michael Hopson recruited Black P-Stone gang members from the high school were he worked

NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia — A Virginia gang leader who used his job as a high school security guard to recruit teenagers to sell drugs to classmates was convicted of racketeering and murder.

Michael Hopson, 39, who was also known as “Hop” and “Big Homie,” was the founder and leader of the Black P-Stones Gang in Newport News.

According to federal prosecutors, Hopson helped plan and direct the nefarious activities of the gang, which was also known as the P-Stone Bloods or Cobra Stones. The gang is alleged to have engaged in widespread drug trafficking, robberies and the murder of its enemies.

Hopson also worked as a guard at Denbigh High School where he recruited minors to sell drugs to other students.

Hopson faces a mandatory term of life in prison when he is sentenced in March.

Hopson was convicted of murder and racketeering

Evidence at trial showed that Hopson personally ordered multiple shootings and murders between October 2007 and June 2009.

Among the killings included the November 2007, slaying a 17-year-old member of the gang who had been friendly with a rival gang called Thug Relations. The trigger man in that killing was given a promotion, the evidence showed.

In December of the following year, Hopson authorized the murder of a member of the Crips gang who had been disrespectful to members of the Black P-Stones. As a result, two Black P-Stones members went to the man’s home and and fired multiple rounds into the dwelling wounding his father.

In March 2009, Hopson ordered the murder of two members of the rival 10-1 Mafia Crips, in response to the beating of a Black P-Stones member. Two gang members fired multiple shops into their intended victims’ homes.

The next month Hopson ordered two Black P-Stones members to fire into a home occupied by people he felt had been disrespectful to him. And in June, he ordered the murder of a Thug Relations member responsible for the murder of a Black P-Stones member. The intended target was shot and wounded.

Mannequin Challenge Video Leads Cops to Weapons and Drug Stash

December 6, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

This gang made it a bit too easy for cops

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — A mannequin challenge clip featuring a gang of gun-wielding dopes ended with two men getting arrested and Alabama cops seizing a cache of drugs and guns after the video went viral.

The video, which was shot on Nov.9, features several armed men standing still in poses as if they were engaged in a pitched gun battle in front of a home in Huntsville. When the video spread like wildfire on Facebook, it drew the attention of police.

A raid of the house uncovered two handguns, an assault rifle and a shotgun as well as a bullet-proof vest and a cache of bullets and magazines, the Madison County sheriff said. Cops also found several bags of marijuana packaged up to be sold as well as scales and other drug equipment.

Two men, Kenneth Fennell White, 49, and Terry Brown, 23, were arrested. White was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm by a violent felon and was held on $30,000 bail. Brown was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and loitering and held on $3,800 bail.

Terry Brown (L) and Kenneth White

The mannequin challenge is a viral video trend in which a group of people stand frozen like statues in a pose while someone walks through the scene filming with a camera. Numerous athletes and celebrities have taken part, but this is the first arrest believed to have stemmed from such a video.

Ex-NFL Back Joe McKnight’s Killer Charged with Manslaughter

December 6, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Ronald Gasser was charged with manslaughter in McKnight’s killing

HARVEY, Louisiana — The man who gunned down former NFL running back Joe McKnight in a road rage incident last week has been charged with manslaughter.

The arrest late Monday of Ronald Gasser came four days after the shooting, and after he had initially been released. The delay had touched off allegations online of racial bias and that the Jefferson Parish Sheriff was dragging his feet. Gasser is white and McKnight is black.

But Sheriff Newell Normand insisted the delay was driven by the need to allow investigators to speak to as many witnesses as possible and gather enough evidence to deliver the strongest case to prosecutors.

“This isn’t about race,” he said. “Not a single witness to this day said there was one racial slur uttered during the course of these events. Unfortunately, a life was lost. But you want you know something, folks? Two people engaged in bad behavior that day. Why? I don’t know.”

Gasser, 54, was held on $500,000 bond.

Normand said the deadly encounter began when McKnight — who appeared to have been driving erratically — cut Gasser off as they drove over a bridge. That enraged Gasser who told police he “set out after Mr. McKnight,” with the two engaging in a running game of cat and mouse over several blocks, weaving around cars and screaming at each other from their cars.

When the two stopped at a red light, McKnight got out of his Audi Q7 SUV and approached Gasser’s Infiniti G37 from the passenger side.The two exchanged more words, and Gasser pulled out a gun and shot McKnight three times, killing him, Normand said.

He said Gasser’ told police he acted out of fear of McKnight’s “threatening statements.”

“That’s why on Thursday evening, only faced with, and only having Mr. Gasser’s statement, that we thought it best that an arrest not be made for strategic reasons, until we could get other witnesses,” Normand said.

McKnight played 4 seasons in the NFL

He said the delay in making the arrest was part of an effort to make sure that investigators could interviews witnesses who hadn’t been tainted.

“The Stand Your Ground law gives us an obligation to get it right,” Normand said. “For those who have criticized us – tough, I don’t care. I can put my head on my pillow at night knowing I did the right thing.”

He leveled particular criticism at a witness who falsely told a local newspaper that Gasser had gotten out of his car and opened fire at McKnight as he tried to apologize and then stood over his body and screamed,“I told you don’t you f— with me,” and then fired again.

“Shame on that individual,” he said.

Normand revealed for the first time that McKnight had a gun in the car he was driving, but that it belonged to his stepfather and he never displayed and that Gasser was not aware it was there.

In 2006, Gasser was involved in a road rage incident at the same intersection in which he struck another motorist several times. He was charged with battery but the charges were later dropped.

McKnight was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the New York Jets. He played for the Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, both as a running back and kick returner. McKnight, 28, most recently played for the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/12/06/joe-mcknight-manslaughter-arrest-ronald-gasser/95033986/

Texas Teacher Busted for Steamy Snapchat Affair with Pupil

December 5, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Alaina Ferguosn started the steamy affair by sending nude photos on Snapchat

Alaina Ferguson started the sultry affair by sending nude photos on Snapchat

PLANO, Texas — A female Texas high school algebra teacher was busted for having a sexual relationship with a student that grew out of an exchange of nude photos on Snapchat, officials say.

Alaina Ferguson, 23, was engaged to be married when the relationship with the 16-year-old male student in Plano, Texas started getting hot and heavy at the beginning of this school year. The marriage has since been called off.

Ferguson has been charged with sexual assault and was released on $100,000 bond. She was also ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and to deactivate all her social media accounts, KDFW-TV reported.

She is accused of sending the boy nude selfies, plying him with alcohol and having sex with him in her fiancé’s apartment while he was out of town on a hunting trip.

According to the arrest affidavit, the relationship began on Snapchat and quickly became illicit when the two met up in a park and had sex on a bench.

The couple went on to have sex several more times during which they played beer pong and ate pizza, the affidavit said.

Ferguson quit her job in October, but the two met up again in November after a football game and had sex in the back of the teen’s truck.

Ferguson told police that she “knew it was not the right thing to do, but it felt right at the time,” the affidavit said.

She also said she planned to “break it off with her fiance because she didn’t feel anything for him.”

Word of the affair soon began circulating through the school and eventually got back to school officials.

“I heard the kid was just talking about it to his friends and I guess a teacher or a student overheard it,” senior Andy Flores told KTVT-TV. “She’s kind of good-looking … so she’s attractive.”

1 Dead as Bus Filled with Cheerleaders Slams into Semi

December 3, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

The cheerleading squad from Iraan, Texas were heading home from the big game when their bus collided with a tractor trailer

BIG SPRING, Texas — One person was killed and seven injured in a terrifying crash of a tractor trailer and a school bus carrying high school cheerleaders back from a game.

Texas officials say the crash occurred late Friday when the driver of the 18-wheeler lost control and crossed the median into oncoming traffic and slammed into the bus carrying the cheerleaders from Iraan High School in West Texas.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said DPS the 52-year-old cheerleading sponsor Liz Pope, died in the crash and her 48-year-old sister, Christina Garlock, who was driving the bus, was seriously injured.

“The community is heartbroken and we are just coming together and grieving,” Iraan-Sheffield Independent School District school board president, Margaret Holmes, told KWES-TV in Midland. “Both girls are a big part of the community and we’re heartbroken.”

Six cheerleaders were hospitalized, and three were later released. All are expected to live, officials said.

Dhalia Butchee, the team’s mascot, who was released, said the cheerleading squad was having a difficult time coming to terms with what had happened.

“It’s very emotional for a lot of them,” she told the station. “The physical injuries and stuff like that will heal. And the emotional trauma, the mental trauma, as far as that goes, I feel like if we stick together we’ll be fine.”

The cheerleaders were on their way home from a football game in Colorado City, Texas where Iraan defeated the Munday Moguls 40-12 in the state quarterfinals. The team is slated to play Wellington in the state semifinal in Abilene next Friday.

No, He Wasn’t Convicted of Piracy

December 2, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Craig Buckner is the one being booked, not the bird

HILLSBORO, Oregon — He’s lucky he doesn’t face a sentence of keelhauling.

An Oregon bird lover ending up having to pose for a mugshot with his trusty macaw perched on his shoulder after showing up at court with his companion and unexpectedly getting arrested.

The Washington County Sheriff’s office says Craig Buckner came to court with the 4-year-old bird, which is simply named “Bird,” and told it to wait in a tree outside while he went in to deal with some business.

But officials say he fell asleep inside and missed his court appearance leading officials to conduct a urine test which Buckner failed.

A friend came to collect the bird while Buckner was taken to jail

Mr. Buckner had not expected to be at the courthouse long,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “When he was taken into custody on his court case and was very concerned for the well-being of his companion animal.”

Officials said the bird w”was very well trained and would not leave the tree for anyone other than Mr. Buckner,” so court deputies allowed him to retrieve his pet and bring him inside while he was being booked.

He eventually got hold of a friend who came to take “Bird” home, while Mr. Buckner went to jail.

“Our Sheriff’s Office has very strong core values of doing the right thing,” said Deputy Shoana McKelvey. “Mr. Buckner was already in a stressful position and did not need the additional stress and worry of his loved pet.”

Death by Turtle Ruled Cause in Florida Man’s Demise

November 30, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

A box turtle was deemed the culprit in David Kervin’s death

INDIAN HARBOR BEACH, Florida — Slow and steady wins the rest, and to think otherwise proved deadly for one Florida man.

Police in Brevard County say 51-year-old David Kervin appears to have met his fate when he accidentally struck a box turtle and was thrown off his bike while cycling in Indian Harbor Beach early Wednesday.

David Kervin was thrown from his bike and suffered a head injury

Cops received a report of a man lying in the road with an apparent injury. Officers discovered Kervin laying next to a motorized bike and declared him dead at the scene in what they called an isolated mishap. The presence of a turtle with a cracked shell nearby led them to believe the animal played role in Kervin’s death.

“There was no evidence that any vehicles were involved. A small turtle was observed in the area where Mr. Kervin had been traveling. The turtle had a small crack in the bottom of the shell, which could suggest Mr. Kervin possibly had contact with the turtle causing him to lose control of his bicycle,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

Police say the turtle’s injuries were not life threatening and it was returned to its natural habitat.

An autopsy determined Kervin, who had worked as a server in the restaurant of the nearby Eau Gallie Yacht Club, died of injuries consistent with a fall from a bike, police said.

Man Pleads Guilty in Terrorist Plot to Create Separatist State in India

November 29, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Balwinder Singh, aka Happy, had some sinister plans for India

RENO, Nevada — A man named Happy has pleaded guilty to helping organize an assassination attempt on an Indian official and supporting terrorist attacks aimed at creating an independent Sikh state there.

Federal prosecutors in Nevada say Balwinder Singh — who is also known as Jhaji, Happy, Possi and Baljit Singh — had been in contact with a group of Sikh nationalists in India to arrange sending a supporter from the United States to kill a government official.

Singh, 42, is an Indian citizen and a permanent U.S. resident living in Reno. Prosecutors say that in October 2013, Singh had plotted with the others to send the man to India to carry out the attack and acquired two sets of night vision goggles for him to use. In December of that year, the co-conspirator was arrested trying to board a flight from San Francisco to Bangkok, foiling the plot.

Following the bust, Singh and the others continued to discuss and plan a terror attack in India until Singh’s arrest later that December. He has been in custody since.

“National security is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to locate, identify, and prosecute those who conspire and attempt to provide material support to terrorists and terrorist activities,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden.

Singh pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support and resources to terrorists with the intending of it being used to commit terrorist attacks overseas. He faces up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced in February.

The cause Singh admitted supporting aims to create a separate Sikh nation called Khalistan — or the land of the pure — in the Indian state of Punjab.

Canadian Police Threaten Drunk Drivers With Nickelback Tunes

November 29, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Canadian police are threatening to unleash the country's most loathed musical act on drunk drivers

Canadian police are threatening to unleash the country’s most loathed musical act on its drunk drivers

KENSINGTON, Canada — This most definitely violates Geneva Convention prohibitions against torture.

A police force on Prince Edward Island in Canada has warned that anyone who gets caught drunk driving during the holiday season will be forced to listen to the band Nickelback while being driven to jail.

“When we catch you, and we will catch you, on top of a hefty fine, a criminal charge and a years driving suspension we will also provide you with a bonus gift of playing the office’s copy of Nickelback in the cruiser on the way to jail,” the Kensington police service posted on its Facebook page.

“Now, now, no need to thank us, we figure if you are foolish enough to get behind the wheel after drinking then a little Chad Kroeger and the boys is the perfect gift for you,” the warning continued. “You don’t drink and drive and we won’t make you listen to it.”

While the Canadian douche nozzles Nickelback have achieved dumbfounding commercial success with hits like “How You Remind Me,” and “Photograph,” many consider their derivative and bland music a form of torture.

In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone magazine voted Nickelback the second worst band of the 1990s, behind only Creed. Even the magazine said the blind hatred many people feel for the band has gotten a little out of hand.

“It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Nickelback. Sure, they aren’t the greatest band in the world, but people act like they make Nazi folk music or something,” the magazine wrote.

Woman Stabs Granny to ‘Cut the Demons Out of Her’

November 29, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Savannah Esperson Weaver thought her grandmother was possessed by demons

PASADENA, Maryland — A Maryland woman repeatedly stabbed her grandmother in order to “cut the demons out of her,” police said.

Anne Arundel County police say they got a call Sunday morning about family violence at a home in Pasadena. The caller, a family member who was not at the home at the time, said that an elderly woman living at the house had been stabbed multiple times.

When cops arrived, they found the 82-year-old woman and brought her to a trauma center in Baltimore. She was later released.

The granddaughter, identified as 20-year-old Savannah Esperson Weaver, told officers that she attacked her grandmother in order to “cut the demons out of her.” Weaver was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

She will be charged with attempted murder and other assault charges when she is released from the hospital, police said.

SPECIAL DELIVERY: Buffalo News Driver Busted for Selling Pot on Route

November 28, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

A Buffalo News delivery man was looking for a way to make some extra green

HOLLAND, New York — That’s one way to save the newspaper business.

A Buffalo News delivery man has been arrested for using his route to sell marijuana he kept stashed in stacks of newspapers inside his vehicle.

Deputies with the Erie County Sheriff’s office had received an anonymous tip saying driver Douglas Lukehart, 58, of Sardinia, N.Y. had been selling drugs along his morning delivery route.

Early Saturday morning, deputies saw Lukehart commit a traffic violation and pulled him over. When they ran his name through their database, they discovered he was a “person of interest” named in the anonymous drug complaints.

Officers brought in a K-9 unit to search the vehicle and the dog found a bag of marijuana stuffed into a stack of papers.

Lukehart was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and several traffic violation and was later released after appearing in Holland Town court.

The Buffalo News said in a statement that Lukehart was not an employee of the paper, but rather worked as an independent contractor to deliver papers. The statement said the paper would sever their contractual relationship with Lukehart.

Man Tosses Blind Date From Car, Leads Cops on High-Speed Chase

November 28, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Whoever set her up on this date has some explaining to do

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — It was truly a blind date from hell.

A man who got pulled over by police pushed a woman he had just met on a blind date out of his car before leading officers on a high-speed chase.

Officers with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office in Alabama say they pulled the man over at 8 p.m. on Saturday night for a minor traffic violation. The man said he did not have his license with him but the officer agreed to run his name and information through the system.

But when the cop walked back to his patrol car, the driver, identified as 22-year-old Jesse Allen Elliot of Hayden, threw his date out of his Mazda and sped away.

Deputies say they ended their pursuit because of Elliot was driving erratically and at a dangerously high rate of speed. It turned out the name Elliot had given them was false and that he had several outstanding misdemeanor warrants and a suspended driver’s license.

The woman was unharmed.

“She told deputies that she had just met the suspect and, in fact, had been on a blind date with him when they were stopped. She was given a ride to her home,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“I think these two are off to a bad start,” Chief Deputy Randy Christian told the Birmingham News. “Whoever fixed her up has some explaining to do.”

Dad Shoots Newborn Baby, Wife and Mom, Then Turns Gun on Self

November 25, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

McKay Hutton (left) is believed to have shot his mother, daughter and wife, Emily McDonald (left) before killing himself

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Four people, including an 8-week-old baby girl, were found fatally shot in an Alaska hotel room in what police believe was a murder-suicide.

Cops were called to a Hampton Inn in Fairbanks in the afternoon on the day after Thanksgiving by staff reporting a “suspicious circumstance.” Upon arriving, they found a man crying in the hallway on the second floor who directed officers to a room.

There, police discovered four people dead. They were identified as Linda Hutton, 54, McKay Hutton, 22, Emily McDonald, 22, and Teagan, 8-weeks-old.

Investigators say they believe McKay Hutton killed his mother Linda, wife Emily and daughter Teagan before turning the gun on himself.

Baby Teagan, was born just 8-weeks ago

Police said the motive for the shooting remained under investigation but there was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved. The family all resided in the Fairbanks area and it was unclear what had brought them to the hotel.

The man in the hallway was identified as a relative but police say he was not in the room at the time of the shooting. McDonald had another child who lived together with her and Hutton, but police say the child was not present at the time of the shooting and is safe.

McDonald’s mother, Linda Hendrick, told KTVA-TV that her daughter had planned to become a registered nurse.

“When I was called and notified that my daughter and granddaughter were murdered, I fell to my knees and cried like never before,” she said. “This news has destroyed me. No one deserves this! Emily was a wonderful person, and an amazing mother.”

White West Virginia Man Charged with Killing Black Teen he Called ‘Trash’

November 24, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

James Means, 15, was killed after an argument in the street with a white gunman

CHARLESTON, West Virginia — A 62-year-old white West Virginia man showed no remorse for fatally shooting a black teenager after they bumped into each other on the street, calling him just “another piece of trash,”cops said.

Charleston police say William Pulliam confessed to shooting 15-year-old James Means on Nov. 21 after exchanging words outside a Dollar General store.

“The way I look at it, that’s another piece of trash off the street,” Pulliam was quoted as saying in a criminal complaint signed by Det. C.C. Lioi.

Police say Pulliam left the scene after the shooting and went to have dinner and then visit a friend. A revolver was found at the friend’s house.

Pulliam has been arraigned on a state murder charge and federal authorities are reviewing whether the shooting qualifies as a hate crime.

In the criminal complaint, witnesses told cops that Means and Pulliam bumped into each other in front of the store and exchanged words. Pulliam then went inside but when he later came back out and passed a nearby porch where Means and some friends were sitting, the argument flared up again.

Means then crossed the street to confront Pulliam, who pulled out a .380 caliber revolver and shot the teen twice.

Pulliam told WCHS-TV in a jailhouse interview that he felt threatened by Means and his friends. He said he only shot in self-defense and that race had nothing to do with it and denied giving the statement attributed to him by investigators.

William Pulliam said he’d feared for his safety when he pulled the trigger

Others in the neighborhood told the Charleston Gazette-Mail that Pulliam had sparred with minority teens in the area before and had used racial epithets.

That paper reported that Pulliam was not legally allowed to carry a gun after pleading no contest to a charge of domestic battery in 2013. In that case, he was charged with hitting his pregnant daughter in the face several times with a closed fist and kicking her in the stomach. He also shoved his wife to the ground during that incident, according to the paper.

Missing California Jogger Found Alive After 3 Week Abduction

November 24, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Sherri Papini had been missing for three weeks

REDDING, California — A missing California mother of two who disappeared three weeks ago while out for a jog has been found alive on Thanksgiving day after being released by her abductors, police said.

Sherri Papini, 34, was bound with restraints when she flagged down a motorist along Interstate 5 in northern California’s Yolo County around 4:30 a.m.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Papini was taken to a local hospital with “non-life threatening” injuries which he would not disclose and had been reunited with her family. He would not say if she had been sexually assaulted.

“We are very ecstatic to report that Sherri Papini has been located and has been reunited with her husband and family on this day of Thanksgiving,” he said. “I am happy to say that Sherri is now safe.”

He said investigators did not yet know where Papini had been held since she was abducted, but that police were looking for two armed Hispanic women driving a dark-colored SUV who had let her go along the side of a rural county road north of Woodland, California.

“This investigation is far from over and has only begun a new chapter in our investigation. We do not know who the captors are or what their motive is at this time,” he said. “Until we identify a suspect or suspects, we urge the public to remain cautious.”

Papini had disappeared on Nov. 2 while out for a run near her Redding, California home. When her husband returned home and found her not there, he used the Find my iPhone app and located her phone and headphones, along with some strands of her blond hair nearby. Bosenko said detectives believe that is where she was abducted.

He said police did not yet know if Papini knew her abductors or if they had acted at random. The suspects appear to have never contacted anyone about a possible ransom, he said.

We will not rest until Sherri’s captor or captors are identified and brought to justice,” he said.

At the time of the abduction, Papini’s husband Keith said it was inconceivable that she would have left on her own and abandon her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. “She was definitely taken against her will,” he told ABC News.

Police say Keith Papini passed a lie detector test and they do not consider him a suspect.

Son of Executed Prisoner Pleads to Paralyzing Prostitute

November 23, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Ronnie Paul Threadgill’s designer glasses were a dead giveaway to cops

SANTA ROSA, California — The college student son of a death row inmate executed in 2013 in Texas, was sent to prison for 22 years for shooting a prostitute in a robbery and leaving her paralyzed from the neck down.

Ronnie Paul Threadgill, 24, a student at Santa Rosa Junior College in Northern California, admitted setting up the rendezvous online with 24-year-old Kenisha Jackson in July 2015 and trying to rob her.

After meeting her at a Motel 6 , about 50 miles north of San Francisco in Rohnert Park, prosecutors say Threadgill shot Jackson twice, in the leg and in the back of her neck, leaving her paralyzed. He then pistol-whipped her pimp as he fled the motel room.

Ronnie Paul Threadgill, Sr. was executed in 2013

“This is a just outcome to a senseless shooting with tragic consequences,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch. “He shot an unarmed female who posed no threat to him, nearly killing her. As a result of his actions he will be spending a substantial part of his life in state prison.”

Authorities were led to Threadgill about a week later through a pair of prescription designer Bulgari glasses he left at the scene. A bloody pair of boots found at his apartment also connected him to the crime.

A pal, Koa James Sibley, was charged as an accessory to the crime for allegedly driving Threadgill to and from the motel.

Threadgill pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and first-degree attempted robbery charges and will be sent to prison for 22 years when he is sentenced on Dec. 20.

Threadgill’s father, also named Ronnie Paul Threadgill, was executed by lethal injection at the age of 40 in Texas in 2013 for fatally shooting of a teenager during a carjacking outside a nightclub in 2001.

Threadgill was put to death after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal arguing that he had had deficient legal counsel at trial.

Deranged Dad Charged With Drowning Daughter in Baptismal Pool

November 21, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Gerardo Mendoza Ordaz is accused of drowning his 4-year-old daughter in a baptismal font

HEALDSBURG, California — A deranged dad has been charged with the horrific drowning of his 4-year-old daughter in the baptismal font of a California Catholic church.

Gerardo Mendoza Ordaz, 42, was arrested after walking naked up to the Healdsburg police station in Northern California late Sunday with the wet, lifeless body of his daughter in his arms. At his side was his 9-year-old son who was partially clothed, police said.

Cops soon determined that the girl had been drowned in the one-foot-deep baptismal pool in the sanctuary of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church nearby.

“We do believe she was drowned and that it was intentional,” Healdsburg Police Department Chief Kevin Burke said.

Officers tried to revive the child and she was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Investigators said they did not have a sense for what the motive was for the killing. Ordaz has been booked on suspicion of murder and is being held without bail.

“They were the only people inside the church at the time. There were no other parties present. As I understand it our local Catholic church, leaves the doors to the premises unlocked late on Sundays. And so they were in there alone at the time through an unlocked door,” Burke said. “We are relying on testimony of the older son and the statement of the suspect.”

Ordaz has a rap sheet, having served several years in the late 1990s on a felony robbery charge in Healdsburg. He lived just outside the town with his wife and their four children. The three surviving children have been left in the custody of their mother.

In a statement issued by the Diocese of Santa Rosa, the church’s pastor, Rev. Sean Rogers, called the girl’s death a “tragedy.”

“When police finish the investigation we will know more. In the meantime, please pray for the family, and the parish community,” he said.

Kidnapping Victim Slain Despite Ransom Being Paid

November 21, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Sandra Harris was found dead two days after she was abducted

KENNEWICK, Washington — A woman has been charged with kidnapping a 69-year-old woman she knew who was found dead after a $250,000 ransom had been paid for her safe return.

Theresa Wiltse, 49, was arrested as she picked up a bag containing the ransom cash at a gourmet grocery store in Washington state, a day after Sandra Harris had been abducted from her home in Kennewick.

Harris’ body was discovered a day later along a rural road south of Kennewick. She appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound, police said.

“Theresa confessed to being part of the kidnapping,” along with two men she identified only as “Jose” and “Jesus,” according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press.

Investigators said Wiltse’s “role appears to be much bigger than she claims,” and that blood was found in the backseat of her car which was being analyzed.

Wiltse has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping and is being held on $1 million bail.

“This was not a random act,” Kennewick police said in a statement. “The suspect we have in custody, Theresa Wiltse, was known to Sandra Harris and her husband Randy Harris. The exact nature of how they are known to each other is still a part of this investigation.”

Theresa Wiltse has been charged with 1st degree murder and kidnapping

Investigators said “there could be another person or persons involved but we do not have any specific persons that we are looking for.”

Randy Harris owns a small pawn shop in Kennewick and Wiltse lives in the small town of Connell about 40 miles away. She worked as a state prison guard in Walla Walla from 2008 to 2010, when she quit, the Corrections Department said.

Cops caught up to Wiltse after Sandra Harris called her husband from her cell phone and said her abductors were demanding cash. With the help of authorities, an exchange was set up and Wiltse was arrested after driving off in a rental car with California plates.

Dennis Rodman Facing 2 Years in Jail for Wrong Way Crash

November 21, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman’s wild life may land him in jail

SANTA ANA, California — Former NBA wild man Dennis Rodman has been charged in a bizarre road accident in which he allegedly drove the wrong way down a California expressway, causing another car to crash and then fleeing the scene.

Rodman, 55, a rebounding machine nicknamed the “Worm,” who won several championships with Michael Jordan’s Bulls and was elected to the NBA Hall of Fame in 2011, could face up to two years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said/

Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Rodman was driving the wrong way on Interstate 5 in Santa Ana on July 20, forcing another driver to crash his sedan into a concrete divider to avoid slamming into Rodman’s SUV.

Rodman stopped briefly, but is charged with failing to exchange information with the other driver and then leaving the scene before the California Highway Patrol arrived. He is also accused of later giving false accounts of the incident to investigators.

The hoops legend’s attorney said the accident occurred on a poorly marked exit-ramp.

“Mr. Rodman turned and corrected the driving error, stopped and spoke with the people in the other car,” Paul S. Meyer said in a statement. “Their cars never touched. We look forward to a discussion of all of the facts.”

Rodman faces charges of hit and run with property damage, driving a motor vehicle across a dividing section, giving false information to a police officer, and driving a motor vehicle without a valid license. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 20, 2017.

Cops Turn Fire Hoses on Pipeline Protesters in Escalating Clash

November 20, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Hundreds clashed with cops

CANNON BALL, North Dakota — Protesters opposed to an oil pipeline project were sprayed with water from fire hoses in frigid temperatures after police say officers were pelted by flaming logs, rocks and other projectiles in a furious clash on a bridge.

The violent confrontation was the latest in a months-long protest over the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has pitted hundreds of Native American and environmental activists who say the $3.7 billion project threatens water resources against police guarding construction of the pipeline.

The standoff came to a head late Sunday, when police say hundreds of protesters forced their way onto the Backwater Bridge, which had been closed after numerous cars were burned on it in a protest in October that rendered it possibly unsafe.

As protesters moved to remove the burned out cars, police say numerous fires were set and debris hurled at cops manning a barricade on one edge of the bridge. Cops responded by firing tear gas and using hoses intended to put out the fires to repel protesters despite below-freezing temperatures..

“We are just not going to let people and protesters in large groups come in and threaten officers,” said Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier. “In this circumstance it was the best option we had at that point.”

Protesters said police also fired rubber bullets at them. One activist was airlifted to Minneapolis after an explosion severely mangled her arm. Protesters said they believe the woman was wounded by a police concussion grenade, but cops denied being responsible and said it was possible the explosion was caused by an incendiary device intended to be thrown at police.

One protester was arrested while trying to push through the police barricade, Kirchmeier said, and 16 others were arrested the following morning. One officer was hospitalized after being struck in the head by a projectile, Kirchmeier said.

Protest leaders have said the closure of the bridge has been a point of frustration for weeks as many believed it is intended solely to keep demonstrators away from the pipeline construction zone.

“Folks have a right to be on a public road,” Dallas Goldtooth, of the Indigenous Environmental Network told the Bismarck Tribune. “It’s absurd that people who’ve been trying to take down the barricade now have their lives at risk.”

Kirchmeier said the bridge would not reopened until engineers had deemed it safe, which could not happen while the protests were ongoing nearby.

Completion of the pipeline, set to run approximately 1,200 miles from North Dakota to Illinois, was delayed in September so federal authorities could re-examine permits required by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Plans called for the pipeline to pass under Lake Oahe, a federally owned water source, and to skirt the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation by about half a mile. Most of the construction has otherwise been finished.

The Standing Rock tribe and environmental activists say the project would threaten water supplies and sacred Native American sites and ultimately contribute to climate change.

Ohio Veteran Sets Self on Fire in Trump Protest

November 19, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

On Ohio vet was so perturbed by a Trump presidency he followed a terrifying example set by Buddhist monks during the Vietnam War

On Ohio vet so perturbed by a Trump presidency followed a terrifying example set by Buddhist monks during the Vietnam War

AKRON, Ohio — An unhinged Ohio man dressed in a Marine uniform doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire as he ranted about the need to protest president-elect Donald Trump.

The shocking self-immolation occurred Saturday in a residential neighborhood of Akron where days earlier hundreds gathered for an anti-Trump protest, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.

Police say the 69-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was hospitalized with severe burns and it was unclear if he would survive. A passerby used his coat to help put the flames out.

Witnesses told the paper that the man walked into the Angel Falls Coffee shop that morning asking if anyone knew who had organized the protest earlier that week. When patrons said they didn’t know, the man grew agitated.

“For less than a second, he was calm,” patron Denise Bowman told the paper. “But then he became agitated. His tone changed, his body language changed and he got loud.”

He began a rant about giving blood for his country and listed places where he said he served. When his language became vulgar, he was asked to leave.

Out on the street, witnesses said he asked a man to take his photo with his phone. He then pulled a gasoline canister from his car and poured it over his head and set himself on fire.

As the man collapsed to the ground, the passerby tried to put the flames out using his coat and people from a nearby apartment complex ran out with fire extinguishers.

“He had been wearing cloth gloves and they were burned off,” Jim King, the co-owner of Angel Falls told the paper. “Part of his clothes burned away, too.”

Bowman said news of the protests across the country worried her.

“And now that I’ve seen this, a suicide attempt with a veteran. I’m scared,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next,” she said. “All I can say is God help us and help Trump, too. God help our country.”

Ex-Gal Pal Sets Up Fake Facebook Page to Frame Man as Stalker

November 18, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Stephani Renae Lawson really had it out for her ex-boyfriend

SANTA ANA, California — A 25-year-old Las Vegas woman has been charged with sending herself threatening messages from a phony Facebook account she set up in an ex-boyfriend’s name in order to get him arrested.

Prosecutors in Orange County, California, say Stephani Renae Lawson, created the fake account sometime before Sept. 2015 while living in California and began using it to send numerous threats to herself.

She then allegedly filed multiple police reports saying the boyfriend, who authorities identified only as John Doe, had stalked and threatened to kill her and violated a restraining order. As a result, police arrested the boyfriend four times between September and December of 2015 and charged him with multiple felonies.

Lawson, allegedly sent herself more threatening messages in May using her own devices and internet connection. A few days later, she is charged with testifying at a court hearing under penalty of perjury that her ex had sent the threatening messages.

But a further investigation revealed that the boyfriend was not responsible and that Lawson had been behind the threats all along. Charges against him have since been dropped and Lawson was arrested in Las Vegas.

She has been charged with false imprisonment and perjury and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Boise Police K-9 Dies a Week After Cop Shooting

November 17, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jardo died a week after being shot

BOISE, Idaho — A police dog who survived a shooting that wounded his handler and another Boise cop died suddenly after vets thought he would recover fully.

Jardo, a Belgian malinois, collapsed at his home a week after being shot in the chest by a gunman wanted in a separate shooting whio opened fire when cornered by police.

“After an amazing initial recovery, BPD was shocked to learn of Jardo’s passing, our Department is deeply saddened by his loss,” said Boise Police Chief William Bones. “Jardo served our community and though we were blessed with these few extra days to share with him, he ultimately gave his life in the protection of fellow officers.”

Jardo had been released two days after undergoing surgery and appeared to be doing well, vest said. But when he was rushed back to the hospital, doctors determined he was suffering from internal bleeding and went into cardiac arrest while on the operating table.

The dog was born in Europe and joined the Boise Police Department in 2013 when he was 2 years old. He was trained to track and apprehend dangerous criminals and find evidence of crimes and locate dangerous street drugs.

The suspect in the Nov. 11 shootings, Marco Romero, was killed in the exchange of gunfire with police. Cpl. Chris Davis, who was wounded, has since been released from the hospital. The second officer, whose name has not been released, remains in the hospital, cops said.

Minnesota Cop Charged in Slaying of Black Motorist, Philando Castile

November 16, 2016 By HardBoiledNews Staff

Philando Castile was gunned down behind the wheel of his car during a traffic stop

ST. PAUL, Minnesota — A Minnesota cop whose fatal shooting of a black motorist triggered off protests across the country amid a national debate on racial profiling and the use of force by police, has been charged with manslaughter.

Prosecutors said they could find “no justification for the use of deadly force” by St. Anthony Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez in the July traffic stop shooting of school cafeteria worker Philando Castile.

“No reasonable officer who knew, saw, and heard what Officer Yanez did at the time would have used deadly force under these circumstances,” said Ramsey County Attorney John Choi.

Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

Officer Jeronimo Yanez faces 2nd degree manslaughter carges

Officer Jeronimo Yanez faces 2nd degree manslaughter charges

Court documents showed that Yanez had pulled the 32-year-old Castile, over at 9:05 p.m. on July 9 because he believed he resembled a suspect from a gas station robbery a few days earlier because of his “wide-set nose” and was driving with a broken tail light.

Within a minute of the traffic stop, Yanez fired seven shots into Castile’s car, killing him as his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter watched. The girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, then broadcast a Facebook Live video showing Castile bleeding to death in the car which was viewed millions of times around the world.

“I was worried that charges were not going to be brought against him just because of the simple fact that he is a police officer,” Reynolds told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “This is only the first step. We are looking for conviction.”

According to the criminal complaint, the traffic stop began taking an ominous turn when Castile informed the officer that he was carrying a gun, which he had a license for. Yanez then put his hand and his holstered weapon and told Castile not to pull his weapon out.

“I’m not pulling it out,” Castile said, the complaint read, citing an audio recording captured by Yanez’s dashboard camera.

“He’s not pulling it out,” Reynolds said.

“Yanez screamed, ‘Don’t pull it out’ and quickly pulled his own gun with his right hand while he reached inside the driver’s side window with his left hand,” and then fired seven shots into the car, the complaint read.

Castile’s last words were: “I wasn’t reaching for it.”

Officer Joseph Kauser, who had also responded to the scene and was standing on the other side of the vehicle, said he didn’t see Castile making any sudden or threatening gesture and was surprised that Yanez had opened fire.

Yanez told investigators he became nervous when Castile began reaching between the car’s center console after stating he had a weapon, and opened fire because he thought he was in danger.

Choi said prosecutors had determined that Yanez’s use of force was not reasonable and also endangered Reynolds and her daughter, who was strapped into a car seat on the rear passenger side of the vehicle. One of the shots went through Castile’s seat and into the rear driver’s side seat and another into the car’s center console, the complaint said.

“There was absolutely no criminal intent exhibited by [Castile] throughout this encounter,” Choi said. “He was respectful and compliant based upon the instructions and orders he was given.”