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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.

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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.

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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.

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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/

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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.”

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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