True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Good Samaritan Gets Robbed and Stabbed While Trying to Help

By HardBoiledNews Staff

ASHEVILLE, North Carolina — Being a Good Samaritan isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be.

Police in Asheville, North Carolina say a person who stopped to help a man who was lying motionless on the side of the road, got robbed and stabbed for his trouble.

The bizarre encounter unfolded on Monday evening when the victim stopped their car on an exit ramp from the I-40 and spotted a person not moving by the side of the road, cops said.

The driver rolled down their window and asked if the man needed help and when the person didn’t respond, the driver got out and walked over.

When he got close, the suspect demanded his wallet. When the man refused, the man on the ground stabbed him in the leg and ran toward the wooded area. 

The victim transported themselves to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The suspect is described as a white male, 6-feet-tall, and approximately 180 pounds. He has a beard and light brown hair down to his shoulders.

North Carolina Mom Stabbed to Death by Husband in Front of Kids

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Alexander Dzikowski faces first-degree murder charges in the slaying of his wife

BATTLEBORO, North Carolina — A North Carolina mom was fatally stabbed by her husband in front of her terrified children who were forced to run to a neighbor’s house for help, authorities said.

Alexander Dayton Dzikowski, 33, faces first-degree murder charges in the stabbing death of his wife, Tiara Dzikowski, after a violent domestic disturbance at the couple’s home, the Nash County Sheriff’s Office said.

Deputies responded to the Battleboro residence after getting a call about an unconscious person early Sunday, authorities said.

“While en route, deputies were advised that the children of the residence had gone next door to a neighbor’s house and stated that the victim had been stabbed by the suspect,” police said in a statement.

Deputies then found Tiara Dzikowksi, 34, with multiple stab wounds in the home. She was pronounced dead at the scene, sheriff officials said.

Cops say at least one of Tiara Dzikowski’s kids witnessed the slaying.

It’s unclear exactly what sparked the attack, but cops say the couple had argued before the bloody altercation. Deputies said the kids — who are Tiara’s children — are between the ages of 5 and 12 years old.

Alexander Dzikowski was taken into custody without incident, cops said. He was hospitalized with minor injuries sustained during the stabbing and will be charged with first-degree murder once he’s released, sheriff officials said.  

FBI Seeks Hulking ‘Too Tall Bandit’ Behind 16 Bank Robberies

By HardBoiledNews Staff

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — The FBI is on the hunt again for a serial bank robber they’ve dubbed the “Too Tall Bandit,” who has eluded law enforcement for at least 11 years.

The menacing criminal has been described by victims as standing up to 6-feet-8-inches tall and weighing 250 pounds. He has held up 16 banks dating back to 2009, in South Carolina, Tennessee and, most recently, western North Carolina, federal investigators said.

He has always struck armed with a handgun and disguised with a variety of terrifying Halloween masks.

After a two-year hiatus, the man struck twice in November, most recently last Friday at the United Community Bank in Etowah, North Carolina, authorities said.

Like in other robberies, the man, who authorities believe to be white and in his 40s, entered the bank holding a dark handgun and aggressively vaulted the teller counter.

Authorities say he speaks with a very deep voice and walks with a noticeable limp on his right side

He also struck the First Bank in Brevard, North Carolina, about 11 miles southwest of Etowah, on Nov. 6.

Before that heist, the robber’s last known stick up was back on Jan. 4, 2019, at a SunTrust Bank in Franklin, Tennessee. He is believed to have robbed the same bank in 2012, officials said.

The FBI is probing why the bandit apparently took a nearly two-year break, looking at the possibility the  robber was in jail during that time.

Following a string of robberies in 2018, the FBI issued a $15,000 reward for information leading to the man’s arrest, but nothing came of it.

The FBI believes the bandit’s first robbery occurred on Nov. 27, 2009, at the Volunteer State Bank in White House, Tennessee.

The only time he’s deviated from his pattern of targeting banks was when he allegedly robbed the Farragut Pharmacy in Farragut, Tennessee, on Dec. 18, 2014, FBI officials said. But in that case, he apparently wasn’t looking for cash.

“The suspect walked behind the pharmacy counter and instructed employees to place prescription opioids into a bag the robber brought with him, similar to the bank robberies,” read a statement the FBI released at the time.

Teen Who Killed Mom in Fight Over Pizza Delivery Gets 15 Years

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Arnav Uppalapati (r) strangled his strict mother after she slapped him for ordering a pizza

RALEIGH, North Carolina — A teen who killed his mother after getting into a fight with her over him ordering a pizza has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Arnav Uppalapati was 16-years-old when he strangled his strict 51-year-old mother in 2015 after she slapped him for ordering in the food to their home in Cary, North Carolina, authorities said.

“His mother was strict,” Assistant District Attorney Howard Cummings said, according to the Raleigh News Observer. “She wanted him to put his emphasis on his education. It was all just bottled up inside.”

Uppalapati then dragged Nalini Tellaprolu’s body into the garage and placed a plastic bag over her head. The following day, he called police saying he found his mother dead in the garage after he returned home from school.

It took cops a year to charge Uppalapati after they discovered his DNA on the tightly tied knot of the plastic bag.

The arrest shocked North Carolina’s Indian community, in which Tellaprolu, who worked at Duke Medical Center, was well known.

Now 19, Uppalapati will serve between 12 and 15 years in prison, a sentence officials described as “the absolute most lenient” considering his age and immaturity.

78-Year-Old Punches Out Bear in Terrifying Back Yard Attack

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Sonny Pumphrey wasn’t going to take no guff from some bear

WHITE OAK, North Carolina — Really, don’t mess with this guy.

A tough-as-nails 78-year-old punched out a bear that attacked him outside his North Carolina home, suffering only some cuts and bruises before driving the beast off.

Sonny Pumphrey said he was walking down his driveway in White Oak, when the mother beat wandered by with her two cubs. The cubs bolted, but the mother was ready to fight.

“She made a charging dead run at me. That sucker was eyeball-to-eyeball to me,” he told WLOS-TV.

But before it could get to him, Pumphrey says he punched the bear in the nose, casing the creature to duck down and bite his hip.

“She kind of shook me a little bit, and I’m still … I’m hitting her steady on the top of the head just as hard as I could swing, man, for dear life,” he said. “I just continue pounding and pounding and pounding and she’s continuing trying to bite me.

“And like I said, she got a hold of me and then shook me a little bit, then she let go and she took a swat at me. And when she took a swat at me she knocked me about eight feet over on the concrete,” he continued.

Hearing screams, his wife Betty ran outside with their Yorkshire Terrier and was shocked to see her husband trading blows with the angry beast.

“I saw her stand up and rear her paw back and all I seen was a mouthful of teeth,” she said. “And I just knew he was going to be gone.”

But between their dog barking and the two of them yelling, the bear got scared and ran off. Betty then got a shotgun and fired a shot in the woods to make sure the animal didn’t decide to return.

Wildlife officers tracked the bear but were unable to locate it. They say food has been scarce at higher elevations, so bears have been foraging lower.

Pumphrey had to get rabies shots, but was otherwise okay.

“I could have been dead. I could have been really cut up bad,” he said.

“We have a lot to be thankful for because we were both very, very lucky,” Betty said.

Woman Found Not Guilty of Biting Ex’s Testicles During Argument

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Martinne Delavega claimed she only bit her boyfriend’s testicles in self defense

JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina — A woman who admitted chomping down on her boyfriend’s testicles but argued it was self-defense has been found not guilty of malicious castration.

Martinne Delavega, 54, said she only starting biting her boyfriend after he pinned her down and started choking her during an argument that started when she told him to move out. She testified that she thought she was biting his leg.

“I thought, he’s gonna kill me,” Delavaga testified, according to WITN-TV. “I couldn’t get away from him. I just started biting, I thought I bit his leg and then he yelled ‘you bit my balls’!”

But the man had testified that he only punched her to stop her from biting him and that she had taken a chomp out of his chest and arms before ripping open his scrotum.

He required stitches following the 2015 attack but says he still has psychological and physical problems.

“I live in this community. I work in this community. It’s embarrassing,” he told jurors.

Delavega was also cleared of assault charges. Her attorney, Matt Silva, called the verdict “a poor definition of victory,” given that she “endured three years of being vilified.”

Cold-Hearted Teen Sticks Up 9-Year-Old at Lemonade Stand

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The thief made off with about $20 in lemonade money

MONROE, North Carolina — This will leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Cops in North Carolina are hunting for a teen who allegedly held up a lemonade stand, pointing a gun at a 9-year-old boy and demanding his money.

The Union County Sheriff’s office says the stick-up occurred in broad daylight on Saturday, when the teenage boy wearing a camouflage hat and black shirt approached the young boy’s lemonade at a roundabout and pulled out a handgun.

He then stuck the gun into the boy’s stomach and demanded he hand over the proceeds from the day’s business. After the boy handed over around $20, the teen ran off.

Cops later found a camouflage hat and black-colored BB gun plus the stolen metal tin the young boy had kept his money, along a trail in the woods nearby.

Deputies say they believe the teen had stashed a bicycle in the woods before walking over to the lemonade stand to rob it.

Other Man Ordered to Pay $8.8 Million to Jilted Hubby For Stealing Wife

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Keith King (upper left) accused Francisco Huizar (bottom left) of stealing his wife, Danielle

DURHAM, North Carolina — Imagine having to pay the divorce settlement without even having gotten divorced or even having  been married in the first place.

A North Carolina judge ordered a Texas man to pay $8.8 million to the ex-husband of the woman with whom he had an affair.

Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson awarded Keith King the giant sum in compensatory and punitive damages from his wife Danielle’s Texan lover, Francisco Huizar III.

King, who runs a BMX bike stunt show business, had sued last year Huizar for criminal conversation and alienation of affection, accusing him of breaking up his marriage.

As it turns out, North Carolina is one of a handful of states that let jilted spouses sue people when someone has sex with a married person before separation, according to the Durham Herald-Sun. Huizar’s lawyer said his client — who lives in San Antonio and earns $84,000 as a marketing tour manager — will appeal.

Keith and Danielle King married on April 3, 2010 and she went to work for his company, BMX Stunt Shows. They now have a 5-year-old daughter.

Keith King’s attorney argued that the affair cost the company money and that he was forced to fire his wife when he discovered the affair and moved to divorce her. He also had to spend more money on household help, child care, and counseling.

Huizar’s attorney said her client was not responsible, as the King’s marriage was already falling apart when he entered the picture. His attorney argued that Keith King, who is 15 years older than his 33-year-old wife, was manipulative, controlled her access to money, forced her to wear bikinis and stiletto heels and made her watch porn.

Danielle and Huizar ended up meeting at a BMX show in New York in 2015 and began the affair, which continued for nearly a year. She testified that she pursued the affair and that her marriage to King was troubled from the start.

According to testimony, Huizar and Danielle met up for trysts in Durham and regularly talked on the phone. In February 2016, the married woman’s lover even joined her on a spa vacation paid for by her husband.

Keith King’s lawyer argued that Huizar’s ‘relentless behavior’ made it impossible for the Kings to save their troubled marriage.

After several attempts to patch things up, the couple separated in January 2017, according to Keith’s lawyer.

In early January, Danielle moved out of her husband’s house and rented an apartment, with Huizar on the lease. When her estranged husband came by one day and found her lover there, the men came to blows and Huizar put him in a choke-hold, according to court papers. His lawyer argued that Huizar was only trying to protect his terrified girlfriend from her husband.

When Judge Hudson delivered the verdict at the conclusion of the civil trial, he noted that it was a ‘textbook case’ of how not to end a marriage in North Carolina.

Man With Gun Face Tattoo Busted on Illegal Gun Possession Charges

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Michael Vines learned that having a face tattoo means he will never get away from cops for long

GREENVILLE, South Carolina — He must really believe in truth in advertising.

A man with a handgun tattooed on his face has been charged in South Carolina with having an illegal handgun, cops said.

Michael Vines was caught after a recent car accident, when he was spotted tossing a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber handgun into a nearby grassy field as police arrived.

The gun was later recovered and it was determined that because of his past criminal record, Vines is not legally allowed to own a gun.

Vines was charged with driving with a suspended license, driving too fast for conditions and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the Greenville police.

 

N. Carolina Truck Driver Jailed For Lying About Role in Bosnian Massacre

By HardBoiledNews Staff

A woman weeps at a memorial to those slain in the Srebrenica massacre

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — A Serbian man who came to the U.S. in the 1990s as a refugee from the bloody Balkan wars, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying about his role in one of the war’s most brutal massacres.

Milan Trisic, 55, admitted that he was a member of the feared Bratunac Brigade during the war in Bosnia and Herzogovina and took part in the bloody Srebrenica massacre in 1995 in which up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were summarily executed.

The killings are considered the worst war atrocity in Europe since World War II, and late last year, former Serbian general, Ratko Miladic, was found guilty by a U.N. tribunal of genocide and crimes against humanity for commanding the slaughter at Srebrenica and the siege of Sarajevo. He was sentenced to life in prison.

When Trisic applied for refugee status, prosecutors say he claimed to have lived in Serbia during the war, hiding the fact that he was involved in arresting and beating thousands of  Muslim prisoners and transporting them to be killed and buried in mass graves.

Once he moved to the United States, Trisic settled in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he became a truck driver and raised a family. He eventually obtained a green card by similarly lying about his wartime activities on his application.

“Those who wish to live in the United States ought to respect our laws, support our national security, and pursue residency legally and honestly.  Anything less is inexcusable,” said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Trisic will be deported back to Serbia upon completion of his sentence. It is unclear if he will face war crimes charges upon his return to his homeland.

Man Breaks Into Pizza Hut, Calls 911, Claims He is Jesus and is Hungry

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Richard Lee Quintero said he was Jesus and needed pizza

HIGH POINT, North Carolina — Jesus, like the pizza dough, has risen.

A North Carolina man was busted after calling 911 and proclaiming that he was Jesus Christ and had broken into a Pizza Hut because he was “starving,” police said.

Richard Lee Quintero, 46, broke into the High Point eatery early Wednesday and made the divine claim, according to audio of the 911 call obtained by WFMY-TV.

“Yes, this is Jesus Christ and I just broke into the Pizza Hut,” Quintero said. “I broke the window. Jesus is here now, he’s back to earth.”

When the operator asked Quintero if he worked for the restaurant, he replied:  “No, I just broke in, had a pizza.”

He then added that he also had a Mountain Dew. “I’m Jesus.”

Quintero also said he was “tired of the Judases here on earth” and that he was starving and “everybody’s been treating me mean.” He also reportedly told dispatchers that he has schizophrenia.

“I broke the window. Jesus is here now, he’s back to earth.”

Quintero was arrested without incident ad was charged with felony breaking and entering and felony larceny.

Inmate Serving Life Finds Death After Wrecking Stolen Vehicle in Escape Bid

By HardBoiledNews Staff

David Woods was serving life but met his end in this ditch after his escape from prison in North Carolina

GASTONIA, North Carolina — All’s well that ends well.

An inmate serving a life sentence for murdering an 89-year-old woman was killed when he stole a truck while trying to escape from a work detail and crashed into a ditch, police said.

David Woods, 46, was on an outside work assignment from the Gaston Correctional Center in North Carolina, when he managed to take off in a city-owned pickup truck, the Department of Public Safety said.

But Woods eventually lost control of the vehicle, driving into a ditch and flipping over multiple times.

“I seen that truck just going in the air and just flipping over, over, and over and going into this ravine right there,” witness Ruth Varney told WSOC-TV. “And then after that I’d seen a bunch of smoke and dirt and everything. It was pretty devastating.”

Woods had been serving a life sentence since 1995 for second-degree murder. He had pleaded guilty to the 1993 beating death of an 89-year-old woman in an alcohol and weed-fueled stupor while trying to burglarize her trailer with another man, Jeffrey Dickens.

After the killing, the pair made their way to a known crack cocaine house to purchase drug.

Dickens, 44, was convicted of first-degree murder and also received a life sentence.

Prison records show that Woods racked up 31 infractions in his 23 years behind bars, for possessing unauthorized funds, weapon possession, provoking assault, profane language and substance possession.

The state division of prisons is investigating the circumstances surrounding Woods’ escape.

 

Parents Who Went on Dr. Phil for Help Finding Daughter Charged With Her Death

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Erica Parsons adoptive parents went on Dr. Phil two years after she disappeared pleading for public help finding her even though she was already dead

SALISBURY, North Carolina — A pair of adoptive parents who went on Dr. Phil pleading for help finding their missing daughter who disappeared in 2011 have been charged with killing her, authorities said.

Casey and Sandy Parsons, who are already in prison for tax fraud, were indicted by a North Carolina grand jury in the slaying of their 13-year-old  daughter, Erica Parsons.

Her dismembered body was found in a shallow grave in September 016 in South Carolina, five years after she vanished. Already in prison, adoptive dad Sandy Parsons had shown investigators where he buried the child shortly before Christmas in 2011.

The teen had lived with her adoptive parents in Rowan County from 2000 until the time of her disappearance, police said.

The couple have been charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, concealment of death and obstruction of justice..

Forensic experts say the girl appeared to have endured numerous beatings, malnourishment and abuse over the years, according to the Charlotte Observer.

She was not even reported missing until 2013, when the couple went on “Dr. Phil” McGraw’s national TV show to plead for help in finding her.

Sandy Parsons admitted he locked Erica in a closet, beat her “with belt buckle” and bent her fingers back and choked her, according to the Observer.

Both continued to collect adoption benefits after Erica’s disappearance and were convicted of tax fraud in 2014.

Ex-Gov Computer Contractor Guilty in Massive Cyber Sabotage at Fort Bragg Army Base

By HardBoiledNews Staff

GREENVILLE, North Carolina — A former government contractor has been convicted of leaving behind a “logic bomb” computer virus in an act of cyber sabotage that slowly destroyed a payroll system for nearly 200,000 Army reservists at Fort Bragg.

Federal prosecutors say Mittesh Das, 48, of Atlanta, decided to leave the destructive computer virus behind after he had lost his contract to operate the base’s payroll and personnel management system.

Authorities say the program was set to kick into high gear the day after Das left the job in late November 2014, with computer systems failing left and right. Officials say it cost $2.6 million to repair the damage Das left behind.

“Cyber-sabotage is not a ‘prank.’  It is a very serious crime with real victims and real costs.  In this case, the crime cost taxpayers $2.6 million,” said John Stuart Bruce, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

The virus caused delays in payments to the 200,000 reservists not long before the holiday season.

Das faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced on Jan. 9.

Teen Busted Selling Weed Out of Backyard Kiddie Playhouse

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Layton Jenkins will soon graduate to the big house

STATESVILLE, North Carolina — This guy is growing up so fast, he’ll soon fit in a prison jumpsuit.

North Carolina police busted a teenager who was allegedly selling drugs out of a kiddie playhouse in his backyard, authorities said.

Detectives were investigating reports of possible drug dealing in the area of  18-year-old Layton Charles Jenkins’ home in Statesville, when the saw him allegedly engaged in a drug sale right in front of his house, the Statesville Record & Landmark reported.

As they approached to speak to Jenkins, he had walked back to the playhouse in his backyard. The officers then noticed a strong smell of marijuana coming from the playhouse, cops said.

Jenkins gave the officers permission to search the playhouse and they uncovered 50 grams of marijuana, 10 grams of butane hash oil — commonly called “shatter” — and a stash of booze, police said. They also found plastic baggies and a digital scale.

Jenkins was hit with a variety of charges like possession with intent to sell marijuana, felony possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia and underage possession of alcohol.

He was also taken in on a number of warrants for his arrest on prior drug charges. He was held on $30,000 bail. He has prior convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Black Suspect Busted in Racial Arson Attack He Tried to Pin on ‘White America’

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Curtis Flournoy is accused of setting a fire he tried to blame on ‘White America’

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — Police arrested a black man for a racially-charged arson attack on a North Carolina store in which a threatening note was left that was signed “White America.”

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department say they busted 32-year-old Curtis Flournoy on Sunday for the attack and charged him with ethnic intimidation, burning a commercial building and writing anonymous and threatening letters.

Police had previously said they were investigating the attack Thursday evening on Charlotte’s Central Market, which sells South Asian products, as a hate crime. Investigators said a rock had been thrown through the store’s window and a fire set in its entrance way which burned itself out by the time authorities arrived.

No one was hurt.

A note found at the scene stated that refugee business owners weren’t wanted and “that they would torture the owner if they did not leave and go back to where they came from,” police said. The note was signed “White America.”

But video surveillance footage captured a black man leaving the scene.

 

The store’s owner, Kamal Dhimel, previously lived in Nepal and Bhutan before coming to the U.S. in 2010. He opened the store in 2014, selling goods from Nepal, India and Pakistan.

He told The Charlotte Observer that he hadn’t faced anti-immigrant attitudes in the U.S. before last week’s episode.

Police did not say what they believed Flournoy’s motive might have been. He has a long rap sheet with multiple arrests for drugs as well as damaging property and assaulting a government official. He is currently being held on $22,500 bond.

Teen Decapitates Mom, Carries Head Out of House As Cops Arrive

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The suspect’s father collapses to the ground when he learns his wife has been killed

ZEBULON, North Carolina — A North Carolina teen has been charged with first-degree murder after cutting off his mother’s head and walking out of their house with it in one hand and bloody butcher knife in the other as police arrived.

“It was a gruesome scene,” Franklin County Sheriff Kent Winstead said at a press conference on Monday.

As officers approached, cops say the alleged killer, 18-year-old Oliver Funez, put his mother’s head on the ground and surrendered without a fight. Her body was found inside the house.

Police say they were alerted to the grisly slaying by Funez, himself, who phoned 911 to report that his mother, Yesenia Funez Beatriz Machado, 35, was dead.

“He stayed on 911 until the deputy arrived, talking the whole time,” Winstead said.

Two other kids, ages 2 and 3, were in the house at the time, cops said, but were unharmed. A fourth child who lived in the home was at school at the time. All three kids are in the custody of their father.

Police say Funez’s mother had been stabbed several times. Investigators say it was too early to say what caused Funez to kill his mother.

North Carolina Man Busted in Puzzling Half-Ton Chicken Statue Heist

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The stolen bird statue weighed 1,000 pounds

TAYLORSVILLE, North Carolina — It was an act of fowl play.

North Carolina cops busted a man for making off with a 1,000-pound concrete chicken statue from a neighbor’s farm.

The Alexander County Sheriff’s office on Thursday said they have arrested Andrew Justice, 32, of Taylorsville for stealing the half-ton chicken last weekend using a tractor to lift it from in front of a neighbor’s property and drive it away. The base of the statue was found several miles away.

Unfortunately, only pieces of the 3-foot-tall statue have been found, police said. Investigators had said the bird was worth approximately $1,100.

Andrew Justice was charged with larceny

The owner of the statue, Pete Gilleland, said he had bought the rooster statue for his wife’s birthday to place at the entrance of their North Carolina broiler farm.

“She always decorated for each holiday,and people were always watching to see what it would look like next,” he wrote on Facebook.

Justice has been charged with larceny and damaging property.

‘Black Hawk Down’ Hero Who Innovated Urban Combat and Won Silver Star Has Died

By HardBoiledNews Staff

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Virginia — Jeffrey Bray,  a hero soldier who was awarded the Silver Star for saving dozens of lives in the famed “Black Hawk Down” battle in Somalia in 1993, has died at age 49.

Bray, an Air Force sergeant, was credited with coming up with a novel defense of the men pinned down by militiamen in Mogadishu, coordinating airstrikes amid close-quarter urban combat and creating methods that would later become a blueprint for U.S. forces in Iraq.

“At the time, there wasn’t a lot of urban warfare and it gave us a really good look at how we conduct operations in an urban environment,” said Tech. Sgt. Tim Wilkinson, who was awarded the Air Force Cross for his role in the battle.

 

Bray was among the soldiers sent to help rescue the crews of two Black Hawk helicopters that had been shot down over the Somali capital. But the rescue teams quickly found themselves surrounded and the a pitched battle ensued that left 18 U.S. servicemen dead and 73 wounded over the course of two days.

The fierce fighting later would become the subject of a book, “Black Hawk Down,” which was adapted into a 2001 film of the same name that starred Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore.

While Bray had not had experience with urban warfare, he quickly came up with a system of distinguishing his men’s positions from those of the enemy, enabling helicopter gunships to provide the trapped men cover without accidentally hitting them.

In some of the the fiercest combat, Bray’s system allowed successful air strikes to be delivered to enemy positions just 35 feet from where his men were holed up, driving the militiamen back.

According to an account he gave in a 1994 Airman magazine,  Bray said he sent runners to mark locations with infrared strobe lights only visible to U.S. aircraft. When the runners spotted target positions, they would relay it to Bray, who plotted the locations and called in airstrikes.

In some cases, when airstrikes would miss their target, Bray braved heavy enemy fire to help pinpoint exact enemy locations.

Officials credited Bray’s actions with saving numerous lives and he was awarded a Silver Star by President Clinton.

“Sergeant Bray’s efforts were paramount in the limitation of casualties and safe evacuation of all U.S. soldiers in an intense 18-hour long firefight. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Sergeant Bray reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force,” the citation read.

Afterwards, Bray became an instructor in conducting airstrikes in such close-quarter urban combat situations.

“In Mogadishu, Jeff saved dozen of lives: men who were able to come home and either return to their families or someday start a family of their own,” said retired Col. Kurt Buller, a former special tactics officer. “As an instructor, he was exceedingly demanding of our technical skills … his training kept us alive in combat, I’m sure of it.

“The majority of the guys Jeff taught went on to fight post 9/11 and were tested the way Jeff was tested,” Buller said. “Besides being a great person and a great operator — his legacy was the training he provided to the scores of guys at the squadron, who would ultimately go on to be successful in combat as well.”

Bray died on Oct. 24 in Asheboro, North Carolina where he lived with his wife. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery on Dec. 30.

Notorious KKK Leader Charged with Stabbing at Klan Gathering

By HardBoiledNews Staff

klan5

YANCEYVILLE, North Carolina — A notorious California Ku Klux Klan leader has been arrested for the stabbing of a fellow Klansman in North Carolina hours before a Klan rally to celebrate Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race.

William Hagen, 50, was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in the stabbing at a home in Yanceyville late Saturday evening, the Caswell County Sheriff’s office said.

A second man, Christopher Barker, 37, was charged aiding and abetting  an assault with a deadly weapon. Hagen was held on a $350,000 bond and Barker on a $200,000 bond.

Barker (left) and Hagen are charged with stabbing a fellow Klan member

Barker (left) and Hagen are charged with stabbing a fellow Klan member

Authorities say the victim, 47-year-old Richard Dillon, staggered into a police station following the brutal assault at Barker’s home, with several stab wounds. He was treated and released from a local hospital.

Hagen is the “Grand Dragon,” or state leader, of the Loyal White Knights faction of the Klan in California. Barker is the “Imperial Wizard,” or national leader, of the Loyal White Knights, and Dillon is a known Klan member from Indiana.

Hagen’s group was involved in a rally that turned bloody in Anaheim, California in February, when counter-protesters attacked the Klansmen as soon as they arrived. Klan members stabbed three people, but prosecutors determined they acted in self-defense.

Hagen often travels around the country to attend Klan rallies. Klan members rallied in Roxboro, North Carolina on Saturday to celebrate Trump’s election, but a rally planned the next day in Yanceyville failed to materialize.

 

Investment Advisor Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.9 million from NFL Players

By HardBoiledNews Staff

No. 1 pick, JaMarcus Russell, was one of the NFL stars bilked

One-time No. 1 pick, JaMarcus Russell, was one of the NFL stars bilked

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — A businessman who served as a money manager for several NFL player pleaded guilty to bilking them out of $2.9 million.

Michael Rowan, 46, of Greensboro, N. Carolina, recruited players as they came out of college to hire him and his partners in Capital Management Wealth Advisors and APS Management to manage their money.

Their more notable clients over the years included Mario Williams, JaMarcus Russell, Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, Carlos Rogers and Jonathan Stewart.

Federal prosecutors say that once a player was drafted by the NFL, Rowan would enter into an agreement to provide them financial services for a fee of between $15,000 and $50,000 a year. He would then have them sign an agreement allowing him access to their bank accounts to make investments for them.

While he told his clients he would only make transactions they authorized, prosecutors say Rowan transferred over $2.9 million for his own accounts and without their knowledge.

The shady investment advisor also pleaded guilty to not paying taxes on the purloined cash between 2009 and 2013.

Rowan was sued in 2010 by former San Diego Chargers wide receiver Craig “Buster” Davis, who claims he was bilked out of $500,000 in a bogus investment.

He faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in January.