Searchingtoo's Blog

$2.6 million check lands her in workhouse, not easy street

Sabrina Walker, who spent $267,000 of a state check within hours after learning it had been issued to her by mistake, got a nine-month sentence.

By ROCHELLE OLSON, Star Tribune

Last update: October 3, 2008 - 12:15 AM

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Sabrina Walker

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• For the first time since she erroneously received aa $2.6 million check from the state and went on a spending spree that included cars and jewelry, Sabrina Walker told her story Thursday, tearfully saying she never imagined herself in court for a criminal sentencing.

"Indeed this was a mistake. I didn't create this," she said. "I didn't swindle the state. I didn't trick anyone. I have suffered greatly from the moment this has been done. My dreams have been shattered."

Walker, 38, of Minneapolis, asked for mercy and compassion. District Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum noted that after calling the Department of Health and Human Services about the check and establishing it wasn't for her, Walker went out and spent $267,000 within a few hours.

Rosenbaum said Walker had already been given some mercy and sentenced her to nine months in the workhouse -- three months longer than a presentence investigation report prepared by the county suggested. She agreed to allow Walker to be released for classes and work.

Late in March 2007, a check intended for the Hennepin County Medical Center was addressed and sent to Walker when a state employee typed a single digit wrong.

The typing was proofread, but the error went unnoticed. Walker had a state vendor number because she had been paid $84 in October 2006 as a witness who testified in Hennepin County District Court. The bigger check cleared the state treasury on April 4, 2007.

Walker and her then-boyfriend, Charles Lockhart, went on a spending spree, buying several vintage and luxury automobiles, jewelry, retirement accounts and a U.S. Treasury bond worth $500,000. She also used $100,000 to pay off a student loan.

Some charges were dropped

Walker pleaded guilty in late July to failure to pay over state funds. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to ask for no more than a nine-month sentence and three years' probation, although they could have asked for a year in jail.

In exchange for Walker's plea, four other charges were to be dropped, including theft by swindle, appropriating lost property, concealing criminal funds and theft of more than $35,000.

Lockhart also faced similar criminal charges when the incident came to light in the summer of 2007, but charges against him were dismissed in exchange for his cooperation.

Walker's lawyer Eric Olson noted that one witness in the case, a bank employee, said Lockhart appeared to be a driving factor during banking transactions. Lockhart received no jail time for his role, Olson told the judge.

But Rosenbaum said she didn't handle Lockhart's case and wouldn't consider his role. "I had no part in or understanding of what went on," she said.

The judge said Walker's "thread that someone else was to blame" is "not credible."

Olson talked about how Walker will continue to pay back her debt, stay employed and never be before the court again. She also is working on her master's degree and has managed to continue to make payments on her town home.

Rosenbaum said to her, "I hope that you're not back. I hope nothing goes wrong in the next three years so you don't have to see me again."

Walker is on probation for three years. With good behavior, she could be out of the workhouse in about six months. She also will receive credit for the 17 days she served in jail after her arrest in 2007.

Walker said those days were the worst of her life and have caused a continuing case of depression.

Money was for needy patients

Before sentencing, assistant attorney general Cara Hawkinson, who works with human services, said the state has not been made whole since the check was cashed by Walker. She noted the funds sent to Walker were intended to cover health care for needy patients.

Prosecutors say some $2.1 million has been recouped as well as various cars and funds. "A lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of energy and effort" have gone into reclaiming the funds, Hawkinson sai

 

iDIOT.. she knew that wasnt her money.. she checked on it first.. then proceeded to go crazy.. if you know it is wrong.. it is wrong... this wasnt YOUR dream.. this was flat out thieving!

 

 

 

 

Mutilated bodies found in Tijuana The Monterey County Herald Article Last Updated: 09/30/2008 01:42:21 AM PDT
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The bodies of 11 men and one woman, some with their tongues cut out, were found dumped in an empty lot next to a Tijuana elementary school Monday morning, an hour before children were scheduled to arrive.

City officials suspended classes after finding the victims, most of whom had been bound and tortured.Some were only partially clothed, said Prisna Perez, state police spokeswoman in Tijuana.

Baja California state attorney General Romel Moreno said that seven of the victims had their tongues cut out. He said a plastic bag containing five human tongues was also found near the bodies. "We're in a war," Moreno told a news conference late Monday. "We're in a constant battle."

Moreno said at least three of the victims were teenagers.

He said the federal attorney general's office has taken over the investigation.

 

Baja California attorney general's office spokesman Jose Manuel Yepiz said the 12 bodies were discovered next to a message written on a white piece of cardboard that read, "This is going to happen to all of those who are with 'The Engineer' for being blabbermouths."

Minutes after the grisly discovery, four other bodies were found in another empty lot in Tijuana, and two other bodies were discovered late Sunday in a lot next to a factory.

Investigators believe 16 of the victims were killed by warring drug gangs. The other two were victims of street crime, Yepiz said.

He said police also found a message with the four bodies found in an empty lot in a residential area that read, "I'm not a traitor but I don't like to be with in the company of cowards."

Victor Clark Alfaro, director of the Binational Center for Human Rights, said the killings come as the Arellano Felix cartel suffers internal strife and seeks to fend off Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's push into the region.

Tijuana is among the cities hardest hit by violence as Mexico's drug cartels battle for lucrative smuggling routes past the border to supply illegal drug users in the United States.

Nearly two years ago, President Felipe Calderon launched a nationwide battle to take back territory controlled by some of the world's most powerful drug gangs, and the cartels have responded with unprecedented violence.

The violence has battered Tijuana's once-boisterous tourist economy, silencing discos and shops.

 

And the War in Mexico lives on..........

 

In Lusby, MD a seven year old girl was found wondering around the streets, obviously abused. When investigators went to the girl's home, they found the bodies of two siblings in the freezer incapsulated in ice. All were adopted.

 

Here is the whole story, including mugshot of the mother-- I use the term loosely.

Picketers Want Lee's Summit Officer Fired Richard McKinley Falsely Accused Ted White Of Child Molestation

 

LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- Ted White wants to know what it takes to fire a police officer. White was falsely accused of child molestation and spent five years in prison. Ten years ago, Lee's Summit police Officer Richard McKinley was the lead detective in the case that focused on White. However, a jury didn't know that McKinley was having an affair with White's wife. McKinley also ignored evidence that could have cleared White.

 

Here's the whole story

13-year-old boy charged in father’s shooting death

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By ROCCO LaDUCA Observer-Dispatch Posted Sep 25, 2008 @ 10:21 AM Last update Sep 26, 2008 @ 06:46 AM

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ONEIDA —

Thirteen-year-old Joseph Giacona III told police there were no guns in sight when he came home last January to find his father with a fatal gunshot wound to his head, according to police reports.

Later that night, however, he changed his story and said he did place a shotgun in a gun cabinet after finding it on the floor of their Vernon home, the reports show.

Eight months later, Giacona III was charged Thursday as an adult with second-degree murder after police said they located the weapon used Jan. 24 to kill 37-year-old Joseph Giacona Jr. locked inside that same gun cabinet, prosecutors said during a news conference at state police headquarters in Oneida.

“We believe we have the weapon that was used,” Oneida County Assistant District Attorney Kurt Hameline told reporters. It was a .410 New England shotgun, with a spent casing, he said.

Giacona III has always denied having anything to do with his father’s death inside their 14 N. Sconondoa St. home, Hameline said.

“That’s his version and he’s sticking to it,” Hameline said.

Hours earlier Thursday, Giacona III – who stands roughly 5 feet tall and weighs less than 90 pounds – pleaded not guilty to the murder charge after he was arraigned at 10 a.m. in Oneida County Court on a sealed grand jury indictment.

Giacona III will be held in a secure juvenile detention facility until he returns to court Friday, Oct. 3, to discuss a possible disposition, Judge Michael L. Dwyer said. If found guilty, Giacona III faces a life sentence in prison.

Motive not released

What still remains unclear, however, is what reason Giacona III might have had to kill his father while he apparently slept on the couch after returning home from school that day.

“I can’t comment on that,” Hameline said.

Hameline acknowledged the case was based solely on circumstantial evidence, without any eye witnesses. And that’s why police conducted a very “exhaustive” investigation before prosecutors were ready to charge Giacona III, Hameline said.

Especially considering the age of the accused, he noted. This is the first 13-year-old ever prosecuted as an adult in Oneida County, Hameline said, and perhaps only three or four others cases have ever been prosecuted across the state.

“It was very important we cross the T’s and dot the I’s and get everything done upfront before we go ahead and accuse someone,” Hameline said. “We want to be very, very careful that we were pursuing the right person.”

Mother in disbelief

But Giacona III’s mother, Rachelle Rustici of Whitestown, doesn’t quite see it that way.

Considering the amount of time it took to build a case against her son, “I just hope that it takes a very short time for them to find out that he is not the one who did it,” she said following Giacona III’s arraignment.

“I can't believe that, with everybody working on the case, they couldn’t find another direction to go down,” Rustici said. “Obviously I stand by my child. I, 100 percent, don’t believe the indictment.”

At the news conference, Hameline said he’s very confident in the strength of the case, especially in light of the inconsistencies in Giacona III’s story.

Suspect’s statement

This is how Giacona III initially described discovering his father, according to his signed police statement filed in court:

“When I got in the living room, I saw my dad on the couch” after arriving home from school around 2:35 p.m., Giacona III stated. “I saw red blood on him and a hole on his face … He wasn't talking but made a humming noise like he was trying to talk. I didn't touch him.”

A further look at other police statements stemming from the case reveal where Giacona III’s story doesn’t quite add up.

Did Giacona III find any guns? Giacona III told police several times he did not find any guns around his father's body, and he repeatedly denied moving any guns. But during an interview with state police investigators Michael Grande and Edward Marecek, Giacona III changed his story.

After Giacona III said he didn't move any guns, the investigators wrote, “Joseph was asked if he was sure, because the guns would all be checked for fingerprints in order to catch whoever might have hurt his father and it was very important to know if he had actually seen a gun in the room and had moved it to protect his Dad.”

That's when Giacona III said he did find a .410 shotgun on the floor near the gun cabinet, they wrote.

“I picked it up and went over to the gun cabinet and put it back inside where it belonged,” Giacona III told the investigators. “I got the key for the cabinet off the top of the cabinet where it is kept, I unlocked it, and put the gun back inside.”

Giacona III said he then put the key back on top of the cabinet, they wrote.

What time did Giacona III get home from school? Giacona III initially told police he got off the school bus at about 2:35 p.m. and found his father on the couch moments later bleeding from a gunshot wound, according to police reports. The teen said he then ran upstairs and called 911 on his cell phone.

That call wasn't made until about 3:16 p.m. – about 40 minutes after Giacona III said he arrived home, investigators noted.

When investigators asked if Giacona III was “leaving something out,” he replied, “When I went up to use my cell phone to call 911, it was dead so I had to charge it for a little while before I could call.”

Investigators Grande and Marecek then questioned why Giacona III didn't use the house phone, to which the teen replied: “I didn't want to use the phone because it was right next to my Dad. I didn't use the other phone that is in my Dad's bedroom because I'm not supposed to go in there.”

Midtown Miscreant is at it again, this time the series is about sociopaths, that he has known. Here is a snip from chapter 1: Ruthless, Worthless and Clueless....chapter 1....You say Sociopath like it's a bad thing. About 40 minutes south of Kansas City, a tiny lake, a big pond really, is surrounded by a dozen homes. We ain't exactly talkin Lake Tahoe, or even lake Quivira for that matter. Imagine a lower income , white trash village, add a few trailer houses, some tiny slapped together shacks, and a few 40 year old starter ranch houses, and that's a pretty good description of the place I'm talking about. The police , or sheriff's deputies are no stranger to this place. Meth labs, a little weed cultivation, domestic disputes, and stolen property recoveries, are a few of the reasons the cops are so familiar with Lake Whiskey Tango. Kansas City detectives and Federal authorities are more familiar with the area because it is home to a guy that was at one time one of the city's most violent career criminals. Lets call him Joe.
Read all about Joe, Bird Dog and a very interesting incident with a neighbor lady I love this guys blog!

Soldier in Iraq held in deaths of 2 unit members

By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press Writer Wed Sep 17, 11:26 PM ET

SAVANNAH, Ga. - A soldier was detained in Iraq after he allegedly opened fire on a superior and another unit member, killing them both, the Army said Wednesday.

The soldier was subdued by other troops, and medics tried unsuccessfully to save the wounded soldiers, said Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo, commanding general at Fort Stewart in southern Georgia, where the soldiers' unit is based.

An Army spokesman said the shooting happened Sunday in Tunnis, Iraq. The slain soldiers and the alleged shooter, whose name was not released, belong to the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division.

The Army identified the slain soldiers as Staff Sgt. Darris J. Dawson, 24, of Pensacola, Fla., and Sgt. Wesley R. Durbin, 26, of Dallas. Both were assigned to the brigade's 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment.

"We also know the accused is in custody — in control of military authorities in theater for now — and the investigation is under way," Cucolo said in a release that gave few other details.

A defense official in Washington, D.C., said the alleged shooter is a sergeant who was in a meeting to discuss his leadership performance with Dawson, who was his squad leader, and Durbin, who was a fellow team leader in the squad. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the incident have not been released.

Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said he did not know if the soldier in custody had been charged by military authorities.

Dawson's stepmother, Maxine Mathis, said the Army had told the soldier's family few details other than that he was killed by a fellow U.S. soldier.

"I can't say he died for his country, dying like that," a weeping Mathis said from her home in Pensacola.

Cucolo called the deaths "a tragic and senseless loss of two professional soldiers ... who were also husbands and fathers."

Mathis, whose husband is Dawson's biological father, said her stepson joined the Army immediately after graduating from high school six years ago. He was serving his third combat tour in Iraq, and had re-enlisted not long before he was killed.

Mathis said he told her, "Momma, I'm not so afraid of the enemy. I'm afraid of our young guys over there, because they're so jumpy and so quick to shoot."

___

Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this story.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects slain soldier's hometown to Dallas instead of Hurst, Texas.)

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 870,000 People Arrested For Pot The tough enforcement of the Drug War continues as arrests for marijuana hit a new record in 2007.
According to FBI figures released today, about 873,000 people were arrested on marijuana charges in the United States last year, 5 percent more than in 2006 and a new record. This is the fifth year in a row that marijuana arrests, which are up 167 percent since 1990, have increased. In 2007 marijuana arrests accounted for nearly half of the 1.8 million drug arrests; as usual, the vast majority of the pot busts, about 775,000, were for simple possession.I cannot imagine the resources dedicated to busting those people who possess a small amount of weed. To me, this is the law enforcement equivalent of pork barrel spending – resources are used for a lower priority rather than helping out with school security, cleaning the streets of murder, theft, rape and other violent activities.

This is not advocating the use of weed, but resources should not be spent on cracking down the simple possession or use of weed. If someone chooses to do bodily harm to themselves, there should be no punishment other than what they are inflicting on themselves.

Now, if they are driving while "high" or drunk, then it is time to crack down. At this point, someone puts another life in danger.

But the millions spent and days occupied chasing those down who hold weed are a waste. Posted by Nick Sloan at 12:30:00 AM Labels: Drug War      Seriously.. isnt it time to end prohibition... just think of all the taxes they would have collected instead of spending!

Testing prompted by an Associated Press story that revealed trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in drinking water supplies has shown that more Americans are affected by the problem than previously thought — at least 46 million.

That's up from 41 million people reported by the AP in March as part of an investigation into the presence of pharmaceuticals in the nation's waterways.

The AP stories prompted federal and local legislative hearings, brought about calls for mandatory testing and disclosure, and led officials in at least 27 additional metropolitan areas to analyze their drinking water. Positive tests were reported in 17 cases, including Reno, Nev.; Savannah, Ga.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Huntsville, Ala. Results are pending in three others.

The March report found only one substance in the Milwaukee area's drinking water - cotinine, a byproduct of nicotine. But other tests last year of Lake Michigan water collected more than a mile offshore found detectable amounts of cotinine and prescription medications, including pain relievers and antibiotics.

The new test results, added to data from communities and water utilities that bowed to pressure to disclose earlier test results, produce the new total of Americans known to be exposed to drug-contaminated drinking water supplies.

The majority of U.S. cities have not tested drinking water while eight cities, including Boston and Seattle, were relieved that tests showed no detections.

The substances detected in the latest tests mirrored those cited in the earlier AP report.

The drug residues detected in water supplies are generally flushed into sewers and waterways through human excretion. Many of the pharmaceuticals are known to slip through sewage and drinking water treatment plants.

While the comprehensive risks still are unclear, researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish and frogs in the wild and impair the workings of human cells in the laboratory.

While the new survey expands the known extent of the problem, the overwhelming majority of U.S. communities have yet to test, including the single largest water provider in the country, New York City's Department of Environmental Protection, which delivers water to 9 million people.

In April, New York City council members insisted during an emergency hearing that their drinking water be tested. But officials subsequently declared that "the testing of finished tap water is not warranted at this time."

From Wisconsin:On day metal detector debuts, student is stabbed at Hamilton High Girl, 15, taken to hospital for treatment; 2 students arrested By LINDA SPICE
lspice@journalsentinel.com Posted: Sept. 12, 2008

A 15-year-old student at Hamilton High School was stabbed several times Friday inside a restroom at the school by a fellow student, prompting a morning lockdown at the school on Milwaukee’s southwest side.

Stabbing

Photo/Tom Lynn

Hamilton High School was on lockdown Friday morning after a female student was stabbed in a school restroom. The girl, 15, was taken to a hospital for treatment.

education@jsonline .

The attack came on the day the school, at 6215 W. Warnimont Ave., debuted a $50,000 airport-quality metal detector.

The victim’s injuries were not considered life-threatening, but she was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police arrested two 16-year-old girls in connection with the stabbing, and by 10:30 a.m. the lockdown was lifted, and the school returned to its normal schedule, said Roseann St. Aubin, spokeswoman for Milwaukee Public Schools.

Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said officers recovered a weapon, and that the suspected assailant is known to police, who were still sorting out what role the second suspect may have played. Schwartz said the victim and the suspects had been involved in an ongoing feud.

St. Aubin said Hamilton’s principal planned to send a letter home to parents Friday, which will likely ask families to recognize and inform school officials when their child is having any issues at school, particularly if they involve another student.

Officials said the new metal detector had been used only on tardy students Friday, while school staff learned to use the equipment. School officials did not know whether the suspects had been scanned by the new device.

MPS has purchased four of the new archway-style scanners, St. Aubin said.

Two are to be put in place at Hamilton, which has about 2,200 students, and two will be put in place at Vincent High School. The intention is that they will be used daily, just at belt scanners are already used at Custer High School, she said.

She said she expects parents will have questions on the future use of the scanners in light of today’s stabbing.

“When there is an incident, it’s a chance for us to review the system and see whether anything has to be changed,” she said. “The school safety aides assigned to that school and the supervisor speaking with the school will go over the incident as part of a normal review and see if they have to tweak anything.”

Midtown Miscreant speaks out about a local group called Veronica's Voice. It's objective is to  end prostitution.... 

Well, MM is not so sure that that is what the prostitutes really want

snip:

At the end of the day, we all live with the choices we make. You can't preach, threaten or cajole someone in to not doing something they have set their minds to doing. Is it sad that there are women out there who have put a price on their dignity and self worth, yeah it's tragic. And it's equally tragic when we see some wino passed out on a corner, or some kid throw their life away by committing a murder, or.... you get my drift, life is full of tragic stories, and when you really dig down and look at the core of the story, you will find that most people do what they do, because they want to. Think I'm being harsh? Next time you see a hooker on troost or the Avenue, ask her if she wants a job, a real job, waiting tables or whatever, then roll your window up before you get hit in the head with a round heeled shoe.

 

Decide for yourself.. warning this is MM were talking about.. He does not pull any  punches

Midtown Miscreant ends his Urban Blight tour in Marlboro..

His words at the end of the tour:

I'll let you in on a little secret, this whole Urban Blight series has been the easiest thing I've ever done. I never had to drive far or look hard to find run down, ragged neighborhoods. I never really gave it much thought, but this city really is on the skids.

Sure there are still nice areas in Kansas City proper, but for every good one, I can show you an equally piss poor one. And not for nothin, but the whole thing has been a little depressing. Driving around as much as I do, looking at all of this decay eating away at the city, all BLEEP aside, it saddens me.

I've said it before, I really love this city, my city, even though she ain't nearly as pretty as she once was.

 

Take a walk with him through Marlboro, Pictures included

In Mexico, a police victory against smuggling brings deadly revenge September 7 2008 From the LA TImes. Please take the time to follow the link to the story on Mexico under Seige.

Late last year, Tecate's new mayor salvaged Soriano's career, asking him to take the No. 2 job at the department. Law enforcement contacts across the border applauded the move and didn't wait long to restore ties.

This time, though, the stakes were higher.

 

•    
• Mexico Under Siege: Complete Coverage

A well-concealed tunnel can generate tens of millions of dollars in drug profits for traffickers, who pay huge amounts of protection money to keep them open and threaten anyone who talks about their location.

It was crucial to quickly find the opening of the tunnel discovered that December morning. U.S. authorities didn't want the operators to have time to clear out the drugs and other evidence. In other tunnel cases, Mexican authorities had been slow to respond, allowing crime bosses to abscond with drugs.

Soriano took immediate action. After confiscating the cops' cellphones, he dispatched them to the four-lane border crossing and told them to look out for a fugitive trying to flee from California authorities. Then he and several trusted officers started searching for the tunnel in homes and businesses near the border. He kept a close watch on crooked cops, who he feared would slip away to warn the tunnel operators.

The search failed. Someone would have to traverse the length of the passageway to find the opening.

Soriano volunteered seven officers. They crossed into the U.S. and descended into the tunnel while U.S. and Mexican authorities waited for them to surface in Mexico. About 45 minutes later, the Mexican team climbed up the 80-foot-deep shaft into a vacant two-story building a block south of the border.

A Virgin of Guadalupe picture hung near the opening. Nearby were computer monitors and scribbled ledgers. Soriano, alerted by a radio call from his team, arrived at the building just ahead of the crush of reporters and other police. Mexican federal agents took over the crime scene.

At about 2 a.m. the next morning, a convoy of vehicles drove down the deeply rutted dirt road leading to Soriano's modest house, which was decorated with a string of Christmas lights. Two men armed with AK-47s broke in. Soriano jumped out of bed, but the men stopped him before he could grab his weapons in the hallway.

Soriano seemed to recognize his attackers and begged them not to shoot, a source said. But the men opened fire, the spray of bullets coming within inches of Soriano's year-old daughter sleeping in the crib by his bed.

Since Soriano's death, relations between the Tecate Police Department and U.S. agencies have been almost nonexistent. The force doesn't have a liaison officer, and the border lands are more lawless than ever, Mexican sources say.

Soriano's slaying sent a message to other cops who would dare cooperate with U.S. authorities.

That was clear at Soriano's funeral, where many cops seemed to be celebrating his death, said one person who attended. Some laughed, while others chatted loudly in gestures of disrespect.

Mexican authorities suspect police were involved in the slaying, either as the triggermen or the lookouts for hit men. Nobody has been arrested in the case.

Meanwhile, the tunnel investigation has stalled. There have been no arrests, and it is unknown who was behind the construction and financing of the passageway.

On the day of the tunnel discovery, Soriano turned over a largely intact crime scene. But soon, dozens of soldiers, police, federal agents and reporters gathered to marvel at the sophisticated lighting and water pumping system. Other unidentified people seemed to linger for no apparent reason, said U.S. and Mexican sources.

The computers and other evidence had vanished.

Soriano once wrote on an employment evaluation that he wanted to be a police commander and lead a team of loyal, aggressive cops whom he would treat as friends. "I want to be surrounded by honest police who would never betray anyone."

Times staff writer Robert Lopez contributed to this report.

Blight is all in the eye of the beholder. One mans blight is another's flight. Today's Urban Blight Tour takes us not in to the heart of darkness, but the land of blandness. There are no meth addled trailer park creatures, or thugged up gangstas to worry about where we are going. The biggest threat isn't a car jacking or stray bullet, the enemy here is a same sameness that is more frightening than anything I encounter in Midtown. Today my intrepid reader, we explore the Johnson County Subdivision, and all that comes with it. Now before some of my more thin skinned readers , who hail from JoCo, get their Tommy Hilfiger's in a bunch, let me say this. If you chuckled at the posts I have done on any number of my urban brethren, then turn about is fair play, it's your turn now.

 

That's right.. Johnson County

 

As usual, Midtown Miscreant, has his own way of looking at things!

Idaho jury hears horrid detail of family murders

By REBECCA BOONE – 1 day ago

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The crime was meticulously planned, the killer choreographing every step from his surveillance of the doomed family to the videotaped torture of one of his youngest victims.

Yet something as simple as a locked back door, or fiercer family dogs, might have turned Joseph Edward Duncan III away.

Duncan's federal sentencing hearing opened Wednesday with U.S. Attorney Thomas Moss outlining how the convicted pedophile terrorized the Groene family, all because he wanted to "live out his fantasy" and exact revenge on society for perceived wrongs.

Duncan pleaded guilty last year to 10 federal charges in the kidnapping of two siblings, ages 8 and 9, and the murder of the older child. The jury will determine whether he should serve life in prison or be executed.

Moss told jurors they'd have to watch video footage of the sexual torture of 9-year-old Dylan Groene, filmed shortly before Duncan killed him.

Duncan forced 8-year-old Shasta Groene, the sole survivor, to watch the video. He also made her watch as he killed her brother, jurors were told.

Duncan, who is representing himself, told the jury Wednesday that most of what Moss said was fair and accurate "up to the point of what occurred at the campground."

He said he would testify so he could try to "clarify things."

His standby legal counsel, Judy Clarke, has said Duncan doesn't plan to offer any mitigation, such as evidence of his own traumatic childhood.

Shasta's videotaped statements to police will tell her story in court. It's not known if she will offer a victim impact statement.

Duncan's past is littered with arrests and prison time for crimes ranging from car theft to rape and molestation. He is suspected in the 1996 slayings of two half-sisters from Seattle and is charged with the 1997 killing of a young boy in Riverside County, Calif.

In 2005, he went to Idaho. Duncan broke into the Groenes' Coeur d'Alene home, bludgeoning 13-year-old Slade Groene, his mother, Brenda Groene, and her fiance, Mark McKenzie, before abducting Shasta and Dylan. Duncan has already pleaded guilty in state court for the three murders; the federal case concerns the crimes against Shasta and Dylan.

Duncan had researched police investigation procedures and took steps to avoid getting caught, Moss told jurors. He bought too-large tennis shoes at a thrift store so no bloody footprints would lead police to him. He wiped down shotgun shells before loading them so there'd be no fingerprints. He loaded the first shot with BB pellets because he thought he'd have to shoot the family dogs and didn't necessarily want to kill them.

WTH?

He had a video camera, a computer and a GPS device filled with locations he thought would be handy, such as potential campsites, Moss said. He brought with him the framing hammer he used to bludgeon the older victims.

On the night of the murders, Duncan crept across a field to the home, using a low-visibility red-bulb flashlight to guide his way. He peered into a window and saw the children sleeping. One of the family dogs saw him and growled, frightening him enough that he retreated to the fence, Moss said.

"He made a decision: `If that back door is locked, I'm going to abort,'" Moss said Duncan later told police.

When he turned the handle, it opened. Then the terror began.

The dogs scurried away when they saw Duncan's gun, Moss said. Duncan bound the family, took the youngest children outside and beat the others to death.

Then he drove away with Dylan and Shasta, making sure they knew he had killed their relatives as he headed into the Montana wilderness.

The trio camped for several weeks at the end of a remote road. When Duncan left the camp, he tied the children to a tree with a dog chain.

On June 22, 2005, Duncan left Shasta at the camp, taking Dylan to a cabin, where he videotaped himself sexually abusing and torturing the boy.

"Heinous, cruel and depraved are tough words in the English language, but none of these words ... fully express the outrage of what you will see," Moss told jurors.

After they returned to the campsite, the first thing Duncan did was show Shasta the video, Moss said.

Then, at some point during the next four days, Shasta heard a gunshot and turned to see Dylan clutching his stomach where he'd been hit. She watched as Duncan walked over to Dylan, held the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. The gun didn't fire, Moss said, so Duncan reloaded and fired again.

Duncan wrapped the body in a tarp, threw it on the campfire and let it burn until it was reduced to ashes. He then took Shasta back to Coeur d'Alene, stopping for a meal at a Denny's restaurant, where a waitress recognized the girl and called police.

Dylan "deserves the justice that only you can provide," Moss told the jury.

 

He even made the boy write a good bye letter to his sister before he tortured him.. because he told him he was going to take him home.