True Crime and News of the Weird from around the Globe

Sicko Son Kills Dad, Stepmom With Machete For Trying to Stop Sex Assault

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jesus Medrano III

KENOSHA, Wisconsin — A deranged sicko has been charged with killing his father and stepmother with a machete after they tried to stop him sexually assaulting a young relative, police said,

Investigators in Wisconsin say Jesus Medrano III, 24, had brought the weapon into the bedroom where he planned his assault with the intention of using it if anyone tried to stop him.

“This is as violent, assaultive and tragic a set of crimes that one can commit against their own family members,” said Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley, according to the Kenosha News. 

Police called to the house encountered a horrific scene with “blood all over the floor and along the walls.” According to the criminal complaint, Jesus Medrano Jr., 49, was lying in front of the door with his arm nearly severed and a stab wound to his stomach. His wife, Latrice Meyers-Medrano, 36 was lying face-down on a mattress. The scene was soaked with blood.

Cops say Medrano III confessed to having sexual thoughts about one of his young relatives, and went into her bedroom that night planning to sexually assault her, bringing a sock to gag her and a machete he planned to use in case his father tried to stop him.

According to the complaint, when he woke the sleeping girl she struggled, waking up another sibling that shared the room and alerting Medrano Jr., who came to find out what was wrong.

Graveley said that as soon as Medrano III realized his father did not believe him when he said nothing was wrong, so he stabbed his father in the stomach, then struck him in the shoulder. When his stepmother came into the room, he stabbed her as well.

Jesus Medrano Jr. and Latrice Meyers-Medrano

Medrano III said he fled when he heard his father saying they would call police, running to the home of a relative who lived a few blocks away. Other kids ran from the house to a neighbor who called 911.

Cops later found Medrano III, covered with blood and with a machete in his right hand. “Just kill me,” Medrano said, according to police who took  him into custody without incident.

Medrano III has been charged wiith two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree sexual assault and child abuse. He was held on $2.5 million bond.

Sick Border Agent Charged With Pouring Urine on Boss’ Desk on Last Day on Job

By HardBoiledNews Staff

TONAWANDA, New York — He crossed some serious borders here.

A former Border Patrol agent has been hit with federal charges after allegedly spraying urine on his supervisor’s desk on his last day on the job at a station on the Canadian border.

Prosecutors say Eduardo Flores Jr. was caught on camera splashing urine all over Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Brandon Steele’s desk, chair, keyboard, clothing, books and personal items, including picture frames, in the cubicle at the station in Tonawanda on Aug. 24.

Flores retired from the Border Patrol four days later and the day of the alleged vandalism was  Flores’ last day in the office.   

Steele, upon returning to work after three days off, “noticed an unpleasant scent” at the cubicle, according to the criminal complaint.

Video surveillance footage showed that Flores “began to spray/pour a substance throughout the cubicle” and over the supervisory agent’s belongings and “continued this action for about one minute,” the complaint states.   

Authorities said it cost $458 for a cleaning company to sanitize the cubicle.

Flores was charged with destruction of property. He faces up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.

Man Kicks In Ex-Boss’ Door Over Slow Reply to Facebook Friend Request

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Caleb Burczyk just wants to be friends

WILLISTON, North Dakota — There’s a reason this guy doesn’t have many friends.

A North Dakota man has been charged with terrorizing his ex-boss by kicking in his door after the man didn’t respond to his Facebook friend request quickly enough, authorities said.

Police say Caleb Burczyk, 29, started sending aggressive Facebook friend requests to his former employer starting the day before Christmas, some which included threats.

“Accept my friend request or I’m going to murder you,’” investigators quoted Burczyk as writing in an affidavit filed in court, according to the Williston Herald.

On Dec. 26, Burczyk said there would be trouble for his former boss if Burczyk had to fire up his pickup and come find him, the document said. That message included a photo of his truck.

Later that day, the victim’s door was kicked in.

Burczyk layer posted a photo of himself on Snapchat with a message about his boss’ family needing a new door. That photo showed him in a black cap, black vest and red and black plaid long-sleeve shirt, court documents state.

Security footage from Dec. 26 showed the man who kicked in the door of the home on Creekside Drive wearing the same outfit.

Burczyk has been charged with counts of burglary and terrorizing. He was held on $25,000 bond and  is due back in court Jan. 27.

Gunman Wearing Trump Mask, Santa Hat Shoots Brother-in-Law

By HardBoiledNews Staff

ROHNERT PARK, California — A man donning a Santa Claus beard and hat and rubber Donald Trump mask walked up and shot his estranged 77-year-old brother-in-law right in front of his house, cops said.

The victim was hospitalized with two gunshot wounds which were considered serious but not  life-threatening, the Rohnert Park police said. Gerald Jacinth, 75, of Las Vegas, was caught soon after and charged with attempted murder.

The bizarre encounter unfolded Saturday morning when Jacinth drove up to his brother-in-law’s home in Sonoma County north of San Francisco wearing the goofy get-up while carrying a .380 handgun. He then walked up to the victim and tried to hand him a present.

“He had parked his black Dodge car across the street from the victim’s house wearing an over the head mask resembling Donald Trump, white long curly beard and a Santa hat as he made his way up the driveway,” the Rohnert Park authorities said.

The 77-year-old victim, whose name was not released by police, met Jacinth outside but did not recognize him, police said. He would not take the package, which the suspect said was a “special delivery.” Jacinth then raised a duffle bag he was carrying and opened fire, cops said.

“Even though the victim was suffering from two gunshot wounds,” police said, “he was still able to take a photo of Jacinth getting into his vehicle as he was fleeing.”

The victim’s wife dialed 911, and officers were in the area almost immediately and caught up to Jacinth driving nearby. He was quickly cornered and surrendered, police said.

“While searching the vehicle, the officers found a .380 handgun in a duffle bag,” the department said. They also found the mask, beard and hat police said.

A box found in the victim’s driveway was deemed suspicious and the bomb squad was called, but its contents were later determined to be a towel.

Parents Lose Lawsuit Over Destruction of Son’s Porn Stash

By HardBoiledNews Staff

GRAND HAVEN, Michigan — An elderly couple took a real legal spanking when a judge ordered that they must pay their son for destroying his massive pornography and sex toy collection.

Paul and Beth Werking, of Grand Haven, were sued by their 42-year-old son David Werking after they destroyed his collection of DVDs, VHS tapes and other pornographic materials in 2018. The younger Werking estimated the value of the collection to be around $25,000.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, David Werking claimed his parents illegally destroyed his porno stash after he left it behind at their home when he moved out at the “request of local law enforcement” in 2017. He now lives in Indiana.

Emails between the father and son, described the collection as including 12 moving boxes “full of pornography plus two boxes of sex toys.” David Werking included an itemized list of the destroyed property, including 1,605 titles of pornographic DVDs and VHS tapes. The collection also included at least 50 sex toys. 

Some of the titles David Werking described as irreplaceable. But his old man didn’t see it that way.

“Frankly, David, I did you a big favor by getting rid of all this stuff for you,” Werking’s father wrote in an email, citing concerns for his son’s emotional and mental health, the Holland Sentinel reported.

The elder Werkings told their son they were unwilling to transport the porn to him in Muncie, Ind., and were uncomfortable having it in their home. 

A final judgment on damages has not yet been determined.

The lawyer for the parents said she has  hired pornography expert Victoria Hartmann, the executive director of the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas, to help determine those damages.

Maine Maniac Holds Up McDonald’s at Chainsaw Point

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Alice Sweet

WESTBROOK, Maine — They must have had the McRib.

A maniac in Maine marched into a McDonald’s with a chainsaw, leapt over the counter and began menacing employees before walking off with some food and a drink, cops said.

Police in Westbrook, Maine say they received numerous 911 calls that a lunatic was on the loose, chasing people with a chainsaw at McDonald’s.  

Every on-duty officer in the department immediately responded to the area and quickly located the suspect at a tire shop nearby. The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Alice Sweet, of Portland, ran from officers, but was quickly caught and arrested without further incident.

Investigators say Sweet entered McDonald’s with the chainsaw, went behind the counter where the employees were actively preparing food, revved the chainsaw intermittently, and stole a drink and some food.

When the manager confronted Sweet in the parking lot, he began chasing the manager with the chainsaw. Sweet also used the chainsaw to damage two vehicles that were at the restaurant. 

Sweet was charged with robbery, criminal mischief and refusing to submit to arrest.

Alleged Serial Killer Now Charged With 17 Murders in Texas Retirement Homes

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Billy Chemirmir allegedly posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to his victim’s homes

DALLAS — An alleged serial killer accused of sneaking into retirement homes to smother elderly residents and steal their belongings has been indicted in three new deaths, bringing the total number of capital murder cases against him to 17.

Billy Chemirmir, 48, has been accused in indictments, lawsuits and medical examiner reports with the deaths of 24 elderly people in North Texas. If convicted, Chemirmir could face the death penalty. He has pleaded innocent and is being held in lieu of $11.6 million bail.

The new charges against Chemirmir involved three elderly women killed at the Tradition-Prestonwood luxury senior living complex in Dallas in 2016 and 2017. The women had all been previously identified as possible victims of Chemirmir in civil lawsuits against the facility.

In previous cases, Chemirmir is believed to have smothered his victims with a pillow or choked them to death. Investigators say Chemirmir often posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to the victim’s apartments and later sold or pawned their jewelry.

Many of the deaths now attributed to Chemirmir were initially listed as natural causes with the deaths often not investigated because there was no suspicion of foul play.

In all three of the new cases, jewelry and other valuables were reported missing from the women’s rooms after they were found dead.

Chemirmir’s lawyer, Phillip Hayes, told the Dallas Morning News that much of the evidence against his client is circumstantial, and that while it may put him in the area of an alleged murder, it doesn’t prove he was the killer.

“It seems like every unexplained death they come up with, they’re pinning on him,” Hayes said. “If you look at all of it, it doesn’t stand up.”

The Tradition-Prestonwood home said in a statement that it relied on investigators who initially ruled the deaths as natural causes.

“Those rulings stood for more than 27 months,” the statement says. “The Tradition-Prestonwood has cooperated with all the authorities and will continue to do so.”

Chemirmir’s reign of terror ended in March 2018, when a 91-year-old woman survived an attack by him and reported it to police. She said the man told her to “Go to bed and don’t fight me,” before putting a pillow over her head and then making off with her jewelry.

Cops were able to connect Chemirmir to the attack through his license plate number which a witness had taken down after spotting a suspicious vehicle in the area. Over time, investigators have been able to connect him to many other cases.

Russian Police Bust ‘Volga Maniac’ Serial Killer Behind at Least 26 Slayings

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Radik Tagirov

KAZAN, Russia — Russian investigators have arrested a long-wanted serial killer known as the “Volga maniac,” who stands accused of murdering at least 26 elderly women in their homes.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old Radik Tagirov, was arrested in the city of Kazan in southwestern Russia as the result of a years-long investigation into dozens of murders in 2011 and 2012 that police have long believed had been committed by a single person.

The serial killer was dubbed the “Volga maniac” because many of the slayings were committed in 12 cities situated along the Volga River, Europe’s longest waterway.

Tagirov had previously been convicted in 2009 for theft and was connected to the killings through DNA evidence and shoe prints found at some of the crime scenes, cops said.

Most of the victims were elderly women, between 75- and 90-years-old, who lived alone. Investigators said that the suspect posed as a social services or utilities worker to enter the apartments.

Once inside, police say Tagirov strangled the women with his hands or nearby objects, and would often take valuables and money from their homes. Investigators have suggested that the total number of victims could be as high as 32, which would make Tagirov one of the most prolific serial killers in modern Russia.

In a video released by the police online, a handcuffed Tagirov admits he committed murders but he didn’t specify how many. When asked by the police why all his victims were elderly women and why he decided to kill them instead of just robbing them, he said he had no explanation.

“All that happened spontaneously. I wanted to eat. I lived partly on the street,” he said when answering what motivated him to commit his first murder. He said he couldn’t recall when exactly it took place.

Tagirov said that he chose to strangle the women as he thought it was “quiet, fast” and “painless for them.” 

The suspect reportedly committed his first murder back in 2011 in Kazan. Within months that year several more women were found in the city. One woman survived, but was blind so was unable to describe the attacker.

Thieves Steal Tire, Replace it With Turkey Just in Time for Thanksgiving

By HardBoiledNews Staff

MILWAUKEE — It’s a crime even the Butterball hotline couldn’t solve.

A Milwaukee man says he was dumbfounded to find a tire had been stolen from his car just before Thanksgiving and replaced with a turkey.

The man told WITI-TV that he came out to head to work when he noticed the stunning switcheroo.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” the man said. “I heard of people putting bricks, but I’ve never heard of a turkey underneath. I hope you enjoy that tire because you could have given that turkey to somebody who really needed it.”  

The man said he filed a police report, and added it will cost him $600 to get it fixed.

Nude Florida Woman Busted For Second Time Masturbating in Public

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Vanessa Lee Jones has a thing for doing her thing in public

ST. PETERSBURG Florida — She had a party in her pants and wanted everyone to know about it.

A Florida woman has been busted for openly masturbating in public outside a fast food joint for the second time in several weeks.

Cops say Vanessa Lee Jones, 38, was picked up after a witness reported spotting her masturbating near a dumpster outside a Popeyes in St. Petersburg. Jones was fully nude at the time, the Smoking Gun reported.

Jones was arrested for exposure of sexual organs, a misdemeanor and was held on a $150 bond.

The arresting officers noted that Jones showed no indications of being under the influence of  drugs or alcohol and no signs of mental health issues. 

In late September, Jones was arrested after similarly exposing herself and masturbating in front of a 7-Eleven in St. Petersburg in broad daylight. Jones was charged with lewd and lascivious exhibition since she allegedly “continuously rubbed her vagina” in view of a minor who was accompanied by a male relative who recorded the incident.

Jones remained jailed until Oct. 28, when she was freed after prosecutors declined to pursue the felony case. The 7-Eleven is just a few blocks from the Popeyes restaurant where Jones was arrested.

According to court records, Jones has prior convictions for theft, possession of drug equipment, trespassing, and possession of synthetic marijuana. 

Serial Shoplifter Turns to Burglary Out of Lockdown Boredom

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Samuel Giblin stole hundreds of chocolate bars from this shop because he was bored

STOKE-ON-TRENT, United Kingdom — A serial shoplifter told cops he was so bored by being unable to pilfer items from shops because of England’s lockdown that he switched to burglarizing the shuttered stores instead.

Samuel Giblin was jailed for 16 months after kicking in the glass window of a Poundland variety store and making off with $135 worth of chocolate bars and milk, according to the Stoke Sentinel.

The 29-year-old was identified from surveillance cameras and, when police searched his room, they found nine bottles of vaping liquid that had been stolen from a supermarket a few days earlier.

Giblin told cops he committed the crimes because he was “bored” as he “could not go shoplifting because all the shops were shut.”

The arrest didn’t stop him. While on bail, he broke into The Bait Box, in Newcastle, and stole $640 worth of fishing tackle, police said.

Satanic Ripper Crew Killer Eyed in 20 Slayings to Be Let Out on Parole

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Ripper Crews killer Thomas Kokaraleis has served about half of a 70-year sentence

ELMHURST, Illinois —  A member of the satanic Ripper Crew, who kidnapped up to 20 women in the early 1980s and tortured, raped and killed them, will be released from prison on parole at the end of the month, authorities said.

Thomas Kokaraleis, 59, will walk out of the Illinois River Correctional Center on March 29 after serving half of a 70-year sentence for the slaying of 21-year-old Lorry Borowski in 1982.

Police believe he and his brothers and two other men were responsible for the murder of up to 20 women in and around Chicago during the 1980s.

His brother, Andrew Kokoraleis, received the death penalty and was executed by lethal injection in 1999 before it was abolished in Illinois. Two other men connected to the murders are still behind bars, with one eligible for parole in 2042.

The men were part of the satanic cult group known as the “Ripper Crew,” which stalked the streets of Chicago and its suburbs, in a red van looking for women to kidnap, beat, rape, torture and kill. The men would often cut off their victims’ breasts as part of a cannibalistic ritual.

Victim Lorry Borowski

Borowski was kidnapped in May 1982 from outside a real estate office where she worked. She was then tortured, raped and killed. Her body was found five months later and the crew was finally arrested in November of that year.

Sicko Graphic Novelist Ordered to Pay $41.6M in Scalping Slay of Fiancee

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Blake Leibel modeled the slaying of gal pal Iana Kasian after a graphic novel he wrote

LOS ANGELES — A sicko graphic novelist heir to a powerful Canadian clan has been ordered to pay $41.6 million to the family of his fiancee who he brutally tortured and scalped just weeks after she gave birth to their daughter.

Blake Leibel, who is serving life in prison in the 2016 slaying he modeled after a graphic novel he’d written, was found liable in a wrongful death suit brought by Iana Kasian’s family.

“This murder didn’t just kill one person, it really did kill the family, it shattered the family. And the family has had a hard time crawling back from this,” said Jake Finkel, an attorney representing Kasian’s family told the Los Angeles Times.

Leibel, whose family built their fortune in Canadian real estate and chemicals manufacturing, once had a fledgling Hollywood career as a writer and illustrator.

But in 2016, cops found him barricaded in his West Hollywood apartment with Kasian’s mutilated body.

Prosecutors said during Leibel’s trial that he had cut off  Kasian’s scalp, letting all of her blood drain from her body, killing her.

Experts testified that Kasian was alive during much of the torture and died “a very slow, excruciating, painful death.” Prosecutors said the grisly slaying was modeled after the story of “Syndrome,” a graphic novel that Leibel helped create years earlier. I

Leibel moved to California in 2004, married and had a son, living off an allowance from his parents — payouts that totaled $1.8 million over about seven years.

He worked on the animated series “Spaceballs,” based on the 1987 film by Mel Brooks, and collaborated with a team of writers and an illustrator to develop “Syndrome.”

In 2015. he filed for divorce and met Kasian who became pregnant. Prosecutors argued at trial that Leibel had been driven by jealousy over the attention Kasian gave to their newborn, Diana, when he committed the gruesome slaying.

Kasian hailed from Ukraine, where she worked as an attorney prosecuting tax crimes and moved to the U.S. in 2014. The $41.6 million will go to Kasian’s mother, Olga, who is raising the now-3-year-old girl in Ukraine.

“The most precious thing to take away from a little girl, from a woman, is her mother. [Diana’s] mother was taken away from her before she even got a real chance to learn about her, get to know her,” Finkel said. “At one point, she’s going to learn about the reality of her mother, and what happened to her, and her biological father and what he did to her mother.”

 

Phony Uber Driver Took Pics of Unconscious Women in His Car: Cops

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Phony Uber driver Tommy Wayne Beard was found with an unconscious college student in his car

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — A creepy perv posing as an Uber driver was taken into custody after cops found him driving around with an unconscious University of Alabama student in the back seat of his car.

The Tuscaloosa County sheriff’s office said they also found numerous photos of unconscious young women in 61-year-old Tommy Wayne Beard’s phone, the Tuscaloosa News reported.

Cops began investigating Beard when they spotted the woman passed out in the back seat of his car around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday. He told them he was an Uber driver and was taking the woman home.

But the 22-year-old woman told cops she had no recollection of getting into Beard’s car and could only remember leaving a bar in downtown Tuscaloosa earlier in the evening.

Beard then confessed that he was not actually a driver for Uber but had simply purchased a placard identifying him as one and was picking people up and giving them rides, cops said..

When cops found the pictures in Beard’s phone they took him into custody although he was not immediately charged.

Minnesota Samaritan Confuses MyPillow Founder Cutout for Deranged Man

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Passersby confused a cutout of the MyPillow CEO for a crazed man wandering around hugging a pillow

JORDAN, Minnesota — It’s not surprising that there are some who might think MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is bit deranged.

Officers in Minnesota were called  to check on the welfare of a man standing outside a home with no coa in the frigid cold and hugging a pillow.

But when cops arrived at the scene they discovered the man was “actually a cardboard cutout of MyPillow CEO and inventor Mike Lindell.”

“Those cardboard cutouts sure can look real from a distance and the caller certainly was not wanting to get too close thinking who is this deranged person standing outside in the cold hugging a pillow; always better to call the police,” the Jordan, Minnesota police wrote on their Facebook page.

Lindell is well known for his commercials in which he jumps out of people’s medicine  cabinets to sing the praises of his patented pillow. He is also a vocal supporter of Donald Trump who he says was “chosen by God” to be president.

Lindell, 57, spent many years struggling with cocaine and alcohol addiction and built his multi-million dollar pillow business after becoming sober in 2009. He has also created a faith-based foundation to help addicts.

Tennessee Man Charged With Dipping Testicles in Cheap Tipper’s Salsa

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Matt Webb and his testicles took double-dipping to a whole new level

MARYVILLE, Tennessee — What a nut!

A Tennessee man has been charged with dipping his testicles into a container of salsa being delivered to a low-tipping restaurant customer.

Howard Matthew Webb, 31, of Tuckaleechee Pike, was arrested after police in Maryville were contacted by the Dinner Delivered service about a video that seemed to show someone tampering with food being delivered to a diner.

The 14-second video, apparently shot from the driver’s seat of a vehicle, shows a man in the passenger seat take a white cup and hold it to his groin area while moving his pants.

In the background a voice that sounds like a woman is laughing and saying, “This is what you get when you give an 89-cents tip for an almost 30-minute drive.”

The man says, “Ah, this feels good on my nuts.”

Webb is charged with “adulteration of food, liquids, or pharmaceuticals,” the Daily Times in Maryville reported.

Aliyah Wilson, a general manager for Dinner Delivered, told the paper that the driver, who was an independent contractor, no long works for the company. “She will never drive for Dinner Delivered again,” Wilson said.

 

Calif. Woman Charged With Impersonating Cop, Groping Woman Outside Bar

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Denise Latta allegedly has a thing for posing as a cop in order to grope women

TUSTIN, California — A depraved fraudster posed as a cop to force a female patron out of a southern California watering hole where she allegedly groped and robbed her, authorities said.

Denise Latta, 54, of Huntington Beach, went into a bar in Tustin on Sept. 13, and whipped out a badge as she approached the bartender and female patron, police said.

Investigators say Latta instructed the woman to produce an identification card, which the phony cop then cut several pieces. Latta then demanded the victim leave the bar with her.

Once outside, Latta forced the victim to put her hands on a wall and spread her feet, and while searching her, touched her breast and groin through her clothes, police said. Latta then told the victim that she wasn’t going to arrest her and told her to leave and never come back to the bar.

In late November, Tustin police tracked Latta down and charged her with kidnapping, robbery, false imprisonment, sexual battery, and impersonating a police officer. She is being held on $100,000 bond.

When Latta was arrested, officers found fake badges, identification cards that read “agent,” and clothing that read “fugitive recovery agent,” among her belongings.

Latta told detectives that she worked as a private detective and bail enforcement officer, but lacked any identification to prove it. Latta was also in possession of several items that led detectives to believe this may not be an isolated incident and cops are looking for additional victims.

Florida Woman Pulls Knife on Man Who Complained of Her Loud Fart in Store

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Shanetta Wilson’s loud fart led to an ugly standoff

DANIA BEACH, Florida — He smelled it and she dealt it.

A Florida woman was busted for pulling a knife on a man and threatening to “gut him” after he complained about her loudly farting while on line a store.

Police in Dania Beach say Shanetta Wilson, 37, was on line at a Dollar General when she let one rip. When the man standing behind her, John Walker, complained, things got ugly.

According to the police report, Wilson allegedly pulled a small “lock back knife” from her purse, “opened the knife and told the victim she was going to ‘gut’ him.”

Cops say that while Wilson mad the threat, she pulled back her right hand with the knife as if she was going to attack the victim with it.

Walker told officers he  was “in fear that he was going to be stabbed by the defendant,” the affidavit read.

When cops arrived at the scene, they managed to track Wilson down a few blocks after Walker identified her.

Wilson was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and held on $2,500 bail.

Nude Thief Busted in a String of In-The-Buff Burglaries in Arizona

By HardBoiledNews Staff

Jeremy Lawrence’s habit of committing burglaries while nude made it easy for cops to identify him from his tattoos

FLORENCE, Arizona — A naked man caught on video stealing from neighbors’ homes has been arrested and charged in at least five burglaries, authorities said.

Jeremy Lawrence, 47, of Florence, Arizona, was busted last week after several victims provided surveillance video from their homes to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the bizarre series of in-the-buff break-ins.

Investigators were first tipped off to Lawrence after getting a call on Nov. 11 from a man who noticed an exotic tree was missing from his property. He said he suspected Lawrence was the thief and that he may have also been responsible for stealing items from another neighbor’s home the night before, deputies said.

Lawrence also was spotted on a surveillance camera on Nov. 10 while wearing a camouflage hunting suit. Deputies said he stole 25 air conditioner evaporator coils and a radiator belonging to a vintage truck.

After noticing similarities in the cases, deputies linked Lawrence to an incident from August when a suspect — who was nude, except for shoes and gloves — stole plants from a home in Florence. Deputies say the thief sported a distinguishing tattoo on his right shoulder, which later helped investigators connect Lawrence to two more burglaries in 2016.

Deputies said the suspect in those incidents was caught on surveillance cameras without a shirt, allowing investigators to recognize the identifiable tattoo, deputies said.

A search of Lawrence’s home on Friday resulted in the recovery of most of the stolen property from two of the burglaries. Cops say they also found a marijuana grow operation with more than 26 plants on Lawrence’s property.

Lawrence is facing multiple counts of burglary, as well as possession of marijuana, possession for sale and other charges. Deputies said they expect more charges to be filed against Lawrence as they continue to investigate.

Dopey Auto Thief Being Released Tries to Steal Car Outside Jail

By HardBoiledNews Staff

AutoThief Klaid Karpuzi’s likes to steal cars but his itchy fingers know no bounds

LAND O’ LAKES, Florida (Nov. 19, 2018) — If at first you don’t succeed.

A Florida man was busted for trying to steal a car from a jail parking lot, just after he had been released on auto theft charges, police said.

Klaid Karpuzi, 41, was foiled the second time around because the car he chose to steal had an off-duty deputy sitting inside, the Pasco County Sheriff’s office said.

Karpuzi wasn’t free for long as the deputy marched him back inside the Land O’ Lakes Detention Center, where he now faces a second charge of attempted auto theft, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Karpuzi was first arrested last Sunday after he stole a vehicle, cops said. He was released last Tuesday on $5,000 bail and that’s when things took a ridiculous turn.

The off-duty deputy, who was sitting inside a parked car outside the jail, saw Karpuzi walk around her vehicle and pull on the passenger-side door handle.

That’s when she got out and identified herself as a deputy and escorted Karpuzi back to jail.

Karpuzi told deputies that he saw a vehicle with the engine on and thought there was no one inside.

Karpuzi was released again Wednesday morning on another $5,000 bail, this time without incident.

Nude Break-In Artist Eats Noodles, Plays Bongos in Florida Eatery

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The nude man just wanted a place to hang out

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — If Florida is a magnet for crazy, this place must be the epicenter.

Florida cops investigating a break-in at a St.Petersburg eatery were surprised to discover a second, nude burglary episode at the same place as they looked further back at the surveillance tape.

While the initial thief just helped himself to a plate of chicken wings and a beer, the second break-in artist stripped nude, ate a bowl of ramen noodles he had brought and then beat on a bongo drum.

Police say a closer review of surveillance video showed a man ride his bike up to The Chattaway restaurant last week, slip through the back gate and go through a storage shed.

The man then gets into a restaurant bathroom and exits stark naked.

He then sat naked at a picnic tables and began chowing down on a meal of Maruchan Instant Lunch ramen. The video also shows him playing the bongos, while still naked.

“He came in with pants on but he rode off on the bike without pants,” Chattaway server Chad Pearson told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m not sure if he took his pants with him but we didn’t find them. We still don’t know where his pants are.”

The intruder also spray-painted a few chairs, the bongos and a pickle jar, but no one noticed until they checked the tape.

“We would not have known about the naked guy without the cop finding that video,” said manager Amanda Kitto.

Police identified the man, who is homeless, but did not release his name publicly. Kitto declined to give his name and said the restaurant will not press charges because he caused no harm.

“His goal was to not break in, his goal was to just hang out at The Chattaway.”

Police still haven’t caught the other suspect who made off with about $500 worth of stuff.

Kitto said that even though the two incidents happened back-to-back, she does not believe they are connected.

“I used to always joke and say that if you were going to break into The Chattaway to make sure to grab a beer. And it finally happened.”

11-Year-Old Thwarts Abduction by Demanding Kidnapper Provide Code Word

By HardBoiledNews Staff

A creep trying to lure girls into his car was outsmarted by a well-prepared 11-year-old who asked for the code word

SAN TAN VALLEY, Arizona — A well-prepared pre-teen thwarted a kidnapping when she demanded a creep trying to get her into his car provide a code word.

The man was unable to answer and sped off, police say.

Police in Pinal County, Arizona say the 11-year-old girl was walking with a friend near a park last Wednesday, when a man in white SUV drove up and said their brothers had been in a serious accident and they needed to go with him.

But the girl’s parents had taught her to ask for a code word if ever in such a situation, and — thankfully — her training kicked in. When the man was unable to come up with the answer, he drove off, cops said.

“We came up with a code word, and this one time, it saved my daughter’s life,” the girl’s mother, Brenda James, told KSAZ-TV. “I never thought it would be used, but I’m proud of her for remembering that and knowing to use that.”

Police say that other children in the neighborhood had seen the man lurking around, circling the park in his SUV several times. Investigators say the man covered most of his face with his hand while talking to the girl to conceal any identifying features.

He is described as a white male, possibly in his 40s, with a short beard and the SUV was described as possibly being a Ford Explorer.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said the girl’s training definitely save the day and that all parents should consider preparing their kids for such a situation.

“Kudos to the parents of this child for having a code word and talking about to their children about stranger danger,” he said. “We hope by putting this out, it will encourage parents to have that conversation and create a plan with their children, so they know what to do if they are in that situation.”

 

NYC Dominatrix Bound, Beaten and Robbed of $4K in Sex Toys

By HardBoiledNews Staff

The thieves made off with the madam’s magic bag of sex toys

NEW YORK — That’s a lot of whips.

A crew of masked robbers bound and beat a dominatrix in a New York hotel room before making off with her cash and bag stuffed full of sex toys.

“They stole $4,000 worth of toys from me — the whole bag, all of the strap-on dildos, nipple clamps and leather harnesses,” 27-year-old madam, Barbara Schreiner, told the New York Post. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now.”

Cops say Schreiner was waiting for a $2,500-an-hour customer at a Ramada Inn in Queens on Monday, when three men wearing masks barged in with guns drawn and ordered her to get down on the ground.

They then bound her hands with duct tape and kicked and punched her, leaving her with two black eyes.

They then pointed a gun at Schreiner— a former prostitute who now performs private sadomasochistic sessions — and demanded she give up the pin code for her debit card.

Then then took off and used her card five times.

Schreiner recently moved to the Big Apple from Niagara Falls, and said she typically meets with two or three clients per day.

“I deal with guys in power— judges, criminal lawyers, and doctors asking me to pee on them, f–k them with dildos all kinds of sick s–t,” she said. “But those a–holes took my toys and now I’m going to have two black eyes. I don’t know what I’m gonna tell my clients.”

She told the Post that she suspects the thugs were hired by her revenge-seeking former co-worker.

 

Cow Suit-Wearing Shoplifter Offers to Let Cop Suck Udder to Avoid Arrest

By HardBoiledNews Staff

UDDER MADNESS: Ashley Curry tried to use her teats to get out of a shoplifting bust

PINE BLUFF, Arkansas — Sounds like a case of mad cow disease.

A woman dressed in a black and white cow costume was busted for shoplifting at an Arkansas Walmart and then told the arresting officer he could suck one of the pink udders hanging from the front of her suit.

Pine Bluff police say Ashley Curry, 27, tried to walk off with a pack of Flonase, but was spotted by security officers monitoring the store’s surveillance cameras, because of her not-so inconspicuous outfit, KATV-TV reported.

After being detained, Curry told a cop searching her, that he could “suck a pink cow udder,” as she thrust the nipples dangling from the front of her costume in the officer’s face.

It was unclear if the offer was meant as an insult or a bribe.

Either way, cops charged Curry with shoplifting and resisting arrest.

Drama Teacher Accused of Molestation Found Dead Just Before Closing Arguments

By HardBoiledNews Staff

David Michael Bruce is suspected of committing suicide just ahead of closing arguments in his molestation case

ANAHEIM, California — A retired junior high school drama teacher on trial for allegedly molesting his students was found dead in his home of an apparent suicide just before closing arguments in his case were set to begin.

David Michael Bruce, 68, was found dead after failing to appear in court in southern California as his case was winding to a close, authorities said.

Police said they suspected a suicide, but the official cause of death remained pending. Bruce had faced up to life in prison if he had been convicted.

Bruce was accused of molesting students over the course of 15 years at Sycamore Junior High in Anaheim. Prosecutors said Bruce would typically begin with massages before escalating the molestation.

“He would tell them he had Hollywood connections” and could help them get jobs in the film industry, Deputy District Attorney Rick Zimmer said in his opening statement of the trial, according to the Orange County Register.

“The defendant basically has an obsession with male buttocks,” he said, noting that the allegations included “a lot of rubbing, touching and spanking the buttocks of these victims.”

Police also allegedly found erotic photos of young boys in the teacher’s residence.

One of the boys was a special education student who would “hang out” with his teacher at lunch, according to the prosecutor, who said the educator gave the boy gifts such as an iPod and skateboard.

One of the alleged victims confided in his sister, “who actually is the reason this whole investigation got started,” Zimmer said. A custodian at the school reported he “walked in on the defendant massaging a student.”

Bruce’s attorney had argued his client’s accusers had histories of psychiatric issues and dishonesty and were hoping to cash in on lawsuits.