Criminal Justice Quote: Former Pro Wrestler Kevin Nash and Son Arrested

     Former WWE star Kevin Nash and his 18-year-old son, Tristen Nash, were arrested on December 24, 2014 after getting into a scuffle at their Florida home. Kevin Nash, known as Diesel in the ring, was arrested after police say he got into a physical altercation with his son after the boy came home drunk. Father and son gave the police different accounts of the incident, each blaming the other.

     Tristen Nash claims he and his father got into an argument about the boy's girlfriend and the fact he came home drunk. The 6-foot-10 former wrestler pinned his son to the ground. Kevin Nash told officers that his son had been the aggressor and that he only pinned him to protect his wife…

     Police arrested the father at the scene, but deputies later returned and arrested Tristen after his mother and uncle said he tried to fight with them as well…The family lawyer told reporters that the son was "out of control."

     Kevin Nash and his son were released from the Volusia County Jail without bond.

"Former Wrestling Star Arrested on Battery Charge," CNN, December 25, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Over-The-Hill Sitcom Actor Stabs Man in Bar

     Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on the 1990s TV show "Saved by the Bell," was charged on Friday December 26, 2014 with stabbing a man during a fight on Christmas day. He faces charges of endangering safety, disorderly conduct, and carrying a concealed weapon…According to the criminal complaint, Diamond told police that he and his fiancee went out to several bars on Thursday night in Port Washington, a town thirty miles north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The couple got into a tussle with two men and another woman at the Grand Avenue Saloon…

     Port Washington police say they responded at 11:15 PM to a report of a stabbing. When officers caught up with the couple in their SUV down the road from the bar, Diamond said he had held a pen in his hand during the fight. In the vehicle, however, officers found a bloody switchblade knife. At this point Diamond admitted that he had accidentally stabbed the man while trying to defend his fiancee…The victim had been stabbed under the arm and was not seriously injured.

     Diamond appeared in Ozaukee County court where the judge set his bail at $10,000….His fiancee, 27-year-old Amanda Schutz, faces a disorderly conduct charge…

     Since his decade-long run on the TV show, Diamond has been sued several times for delinquent taxes and in foreclosure proceedings for missing mortgage payments. He has appeared on reality TV [the graveyard for career-dead celebrities] and most recently produced a tell-all documentary on Lifetime TV called "The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story."

"Saved by the Bell Star Arrested After Stabbing," Associated Press, December 27, 2014

Criminal Justice Quote: Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty in 2014

     The number of law enforcement officers killed by firearms jumped by 56 percent in 2014 and included 15 ambush deaths. But gun-related police deaths still remain far below historic highs and lower that the average annual figures in the past decade, according to a report released Tuesday December 30, 2014.

     The annual report by the nonprofit National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund found that 50 officers were killed by guns this year. That's higher than the 32 such deaths in 2013 but the same as 2012 figures. In 2011, 73 officers were killed in gunfire, the most of any year in the past decade. The average since 2004 is 55 police deaths annually,

     The report found that 126 federal, local, tribal and territorial officers where killed--from all causes--in the line of duty in 2014. That's a 24 percent jump from last year's 102 on-duty deaths and below the average annual figures since 2004 and the all-time high of 156 in 1973. Of the 126 officer deaths this year, shootings were the leading cause, followed by traffic-related fatalities at 49…

     The states that saw the most officer deaths were California, at 14, Texas, at 11, and New York, at nine. Florida followed with six deaths, and Georgia had five, according to the report. The 15 ambush assaults on police officers this year compares to just five in 2013, but matched 2012 for the highest since 1995….

"Report: Police Gun Deaths Up, Still Below Average," Associated Press, December 30, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Flagstaff Man Kills Police Officer

     A police officer in Flagstaff, Arizona was killed Saturday afternoon December 27, 2014 while investigating a domestic violence case…The gunman then fatally shot himself…The officer, Tyler Jacob Stewart, 24, was the first Flagstaff officer to die in the line of duty in 13 years and only the second fatality in the history of the department…

     Officer Stewart was investigating the case on the west side of Flagstaff when a man opened fire. Officer Steward was struck several times…The gunman was identified as Robert W. Smith of Prescott, an Arizona town 90 miles southwest of Flagstaff.

     Officer Stewart was taken to Flagstaff Medical Center where he died shortly upon arrival…Officials reported that the officer had not been able to return fire…Investigators do not know why Mr. Smith killed the police officer. Officer Stewart had been on the force less than a year…

     The last Flagstaff police killing occurred in 2001….

"Man Fatally Shoots Arizona Officer, Then Kills Himself, Police Say," The New York Times, December 27, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Targeting the Police

     Two Los Angeles police officers were shot at Sunday night December 28, 2014 while they drove their patrol car…The officers returned fire…No one was injured in the exchange. One suspect was arrested in possession of a rifle, the other remained at large…

     That Sunday there was a second incident involving police officers who were fired at. This shooting took place in Pasco County, Florida. Someone fired three shots at two sheriff's deputies as they sat in their patrol car. According to a sheriff's office spokesperson, "Both deputies heard the whizzing sound of each projectile. The officers did not see the shooter or the vehicle from which the shots were fired."…

     These two police targeting incidents occurred after New York police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were gunned down in their patrol car on December 20, 2014….

"Officers Shot At in Florida and Los Angeles," CNN, December 29, 2014 

Writing Quote: The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

     If you want to write or illustrate books for kids, the number one piece of advice you're going to hear is "Join the SCBWI." I'll bet money on it.

     SCBWI stands for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and is a world-wide organization that links together those who want to create content for kids. There are many regional chapters in the United States, and plenty internationally as well. The group holds meetings, has annual conferences (both regional and national) and provides both a support system as well as a wealth of online resources.

Chuck Sambuchino in Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, edited by Chuck Sambuchino, 2013 

The Death Penalty Remains Popular in Oklahoma

     The botched execution of Clayton Lockett in April 2014 and other troubling executions in Ohio and Arizona gave capital punishment opponents a flicker of hope that areas of the country that most enthusiastically support the death penalty might have a change of heart. They didn't.

     Although Governor Mary Fallin suspended further executions so that Lockett's death and Oklahoma's methods could be reviewed, the state held what amounted to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its overhauled death chamber only months later and is scheduled to resume killing inmates in mid-January 2015. And rather than causing states to question whether capital punishment is just or worth the risk of subjecting someone to a potentially agonizing death, the prolonged executions and problems states have had securing lethal injection drugs have led them to explore new and more efficient ways of killing, including gassing inmates…

     Lockett's execution did little or nothing to dampen support for the death penalty in deeply conservative Oklahoma which has killed more inmates than any other state except Texas since the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. In October 2014, officials gave media tours of the renovated execution unit at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, which got a $104,000 overhaul after Lockett's death and now stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the shabby, 106-year-old facility.

     Not content with just the upgrades to the prison and lethal injection equipment, though, Oklahoma's House of Representatives conducted a study on the use of nitrogen gas to execute inmates and is expected to consider legislation early next year that would make Oklahoma the first state to adopt hypoxia by gas--the forced deprivation of oxygen--as a legal execution method…

     Tennessee passed a law in 2014 to reinstate the electric chair if it can't get lethal injection drugs and Utah is considering bringing back the firing squad.

     Oklahoma has executed 194 inmates since achieving statehood in 1907, including one by hanging, 82 by electrocution and 111 by lethal injection….

Sean Murphy, "Death Penalty States Unmoved by Botched Execution," Associated Press, December 27, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Shoplifter Fakes Heart Attack While His Accomplice Steals Toys

     Tarus Scott, 30, and Genard Dupree, 27, were arrested Tuesday December 16, 2014 after a surveillance camera in Walmart in Lake Wales, Florida, captured their shoplifting stunt on tape…The video showed the suspects walking through the store together. Suddenly, Dupree laid on the ground near the entrance and clutches his chest, pretending to have a heart attack.

     When other shoppers saw Dupree on the ground, they tried to help him while Scott allegedly helped himself to $369 worth of toys…Once Scott was out of the store, Dupree got up, brushed himself off, and walked out as well. Both men were seen getting into a silver sport utility vehicle…Police picked up the suspects a short time later and charged them each with grand theft…

     Both Scott and Dupree have extensive criminal backgrounds and Scott was recently released after serving 10 years in state prison. [Apparently ten years wasn't enough.]

"Man Fakes Heart Attack So Accomplice Can Steal Toys," huffingtonpost.com, December 17, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Boy Drowns in Murky Day Care Pool

     A former Philadelphia day care owner pleaded guilty in the drowning death of a boy who attended her unlicensed center. Tianna Edwards, 32, faces up to 22 years in prison…She pleaded guilty on December 18, 2014 to involuntary manslaughter and lesser charges. Prosecutors say it took police nine hours to find 7-year-old Isear Jeffcoat's body in the murky backyard pool at her mother's house.

     According to the police, Tianna Edwards, in June 2012, dropped off 20 children for a swim then left the house. Before pleading guilty to the criminal homicide charge, Edwards had pleaded guilty to improperly taking $1.4 million in day care payments. The judge sentenced her to five years on that charge.

     With regard to the involuntary manslaughter charge, her lawyer said Edwards had pleaded guilty to take responsibility for what he called a "tragic accident." [Letting children swim unsupervised in a filthy pool was not an "accident."]

     Authorities say Edwards hid her criminal record to open Tianna's Terrific Tots day care center and spent government payments on gambling and personal expenses.

"Day Care Owner Pleads in Boy's Death in Murky Pool," Associated Press, December 19, 2014

Dead Infants Found in Abandoned Storage Unit

     A mother is under investigation after sheriff's deputies found the remains of two infants in a storage locker in Placer County, California. In November 2014, Placer County resident Regina Zimmer purchased the abandoned storage unit in an auction. Inside the locker she detected a foul odor coming from a container. "We opened it up, and the smell that came out was horrible," she said. "It was a little skull. It looked like it was in three pieces with some hair. And you could see a jawbone."

     Investigators said the previous owner of the storage unit had defaulted on the rent, leaving the inventory untouched for several months--including the remains of two babies. "The remains were in very poor condition," said Lieutenant John Poretti with the Placer County Sheriff's Department. "I mean, there was no easy way to tell exactly what we had."

     The container was taken to the Placer County morgue for autopsies on both babies to determine the causes of their deaths….

"Remains of Infants Found in Colfax Storage," kcra.com, December 18, 2014 

Writing Quote: The Children's Book Writer Must Identify With His Intended Reader

Before you begin to write your children's book, make sure that you are clear in your own mind whether you are writing about children, or for them. Do you have a reader in prospect? If there is any doubt or ambiguity about this, your work will suffer. If you try to write for children, but hope that adults will be reading the book, too, an element of insincerity is almost certain to slip into your style.

Joan Aiken, The Way to Write for Children, 1999

Criminal Justice Quote: Is Former NFL Star Darren Sharper a Serial Rapist?

     Former New Orleans Saints football player Darren Sharper has been indicted by an Orleans Parish grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape…Sharper's indictment stems from an alleged incident in September 2013. According to a police report, the rape happened in the Warehouse District on September 23, 2013 at ten in the morning. Later, police said a second victim claimed she was raped by Sharper and another man in the same apartment…

     Sharper, who remains in a Los Angeles jail, is under investigation for eight rapes and 11 druggings in Louisiana, Nevada, Arizona, and California. He is being held without bond in Los Angeles as he awaits two rape charges there. He also has been formally charged in two rapes in Tempe, Arizona.

     The 38-year-old Sharper spent 14 years in the NFL as a safety. He played for the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings and then the Saints. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection. He retired in 2010.

"Darren Sharper Indicted on Rape Allegations in New Orleans,"  USA Today, December 12, 2014 

The Lambert Corpse in the Refrigerator Murder Case

     In June 2014, Patrick Lambert, his wife Anastacia, and their 6-month-old son moved into the Braeswood Oaks apartment complex in southwest Houston, Texas. Anastacia had been born and raised in West Africa and Patrick had lived in New York City, Clearwater, Florida, and Hawaii.

     On September 2, 2014, Anastacia Lambert called 911 to report a domestic disturbance at the second-story Braeswood Oaks apartment. To the responding officers with the Houston Police Department, she accused her husband with threatening her with a knife. The police did not take Patrick Lambert into custody and no criminal charges were filed against him.

     On November 20, 2014, the utility company turned off the power to the Lambert apartment for lack of payment. Because neighbors hadn't seen Anastacia, her husband, or their 11-month-old son since the end of November, they thought the family had moved out. Because Anastacia didn't have family in the country and didn't work outside the home, there were no relatives or fellow employees to report her missing.

     At two in the afternoon of December 8, 2014, maintenance workers at the Braeswood Oaks complex detected a strong odor of death coming from unit 822, the Lambert apartment. The workers called 911.

     Upon entering the apartment, police officers discovered a large quantity of dried blood on the kitchen floor. They also found 27-year-old Anastacia Lambert's corpse stuffed inside the refrigerator. She had been stabbed to death and her son was not in the apartment.

     On the day police found the body in the refrigerator, the authorities issued an Amber Alert for the Lambert child and his 38-year-old father. Police described the missing murder suspect as a five-foot-elven inch black male. The police did not have a description of Lambert's vehicle and had no idea regarding his whereabouts or the whereabouts of his son.

     Police officers had the crime scene refrigerator transported to the Houston Crime Lab for forensic examination.   

Criminal Justice Quote: Police Arrest Brazilian Serial Killer

     A Brazilian man has confessed to killing 39 women in the Rio de Janeiro region… If his claim is confirmed, he will be one of the most prolific serial killers in the country's history.

     In an interview with Brazilian broadcaster TV Globo, the alleged killer, Sailson Jose das Gracas, said he carried out his first slaying when he was 17 and continued to kill over the next decade. "I started robbing purses and small things like that," he told TV Globo. "And as I got older, I started having different thoughts. My thoughts started changing. From stealing, I started thinking about killing."

     The 26-years-old said he didn't kill impulsively but stalked his victims. Rio police said they arrested Sailson on Wednesday December 10, 2014 on suspicion of killing a woman in the suburb of Nova Iquacu. He confessed to that homicide and then told police about the other killings. Sailson described his need to kill as pathological.

     "When I didn't kill, I would get nervous," he told TV Globo. "I would pace around the house, and then when I killed, it calmed me."…The self-declared killer said he had no regrets about his actions and would kill again if set free. "What is done is done," he told the TV reporter. "If I leave prison in 10, 15, 20 years, I'll go back to doing the same thing."

"Brazilian Man Says He Killed Dozens of Women," CNN, December 12, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Man Kills Himself and His Two Children Amid Custody Battle

     A man who was in a custody battle with his ex-wife deliberately crashed his car into a tractor-trailor on a southern California freeway, killing himself and his two children…Alan Dean Edwards, 46, of Lancaster, his 9-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter all died in the crash on Interstate 5 around one in the morning on Monday December 8, 2014.

     The truck was parked in a brake-check area in Castiac, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles when it was struck from behind by Edward's fast-moving Honda Accord…The driver didn't make any attempts to stop…The front half of the car was crushed and wedged under the truck.

     Edwards and his former wife were in a custody battle and he had picked up the children on Friday December 5, 2014 for a scheduled visit. She filed a missing persons report when they failed to return on Sunday December 7.

"Man in Custody Battle Deliberately Crashes Into Truck, Killing Himself and His Two Children," Associated Press, December 9, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Two Atlanta Homeless Men Murdered

     Atlanta police are calling the shootings "sinister" because whoever pulled the trigger wasn't expecting to gain monetarily from the homicides. The victims were homeless men, shot to death as they slept. And police aren't convinced that the threat is over. "A lot of our shootings involve robbery. A lot of our shootings involve someone making good on an old debt or some kind of revenge factor," Atlanta police detective David Quinn told reporters on December 10, 2014. "I don't know why someone would shoot two defenseless men."

     The shootings happened over the Thanksgiving week within three days of each other. The killer hasn't struck since, but police are asking the city's homeless to remain vigilant…

     Dorian Jenkins was fatally shot five times as he slept, wrapped in a blanket, on a sidewalk in downtown Atlanta. Less than three days later, Tommy Mims didn't show up as normal at a recycling center where he took cans and other scrap metals to sell. Mims, known locally at "Can Man" was found dead under a bridge where he usually slept. His body, also wrapped in a blanket, was riddled with seven bullets. He was killed less than three miles from Jenkins…

     Detectives believe the killings are related because the rounds used in both shootings are fairly distinctive: .45-caliber bullets that haven't been manufactured since 2010. They were fired from revolvers, either a Taurus "Judge" or a Smith & Wesson "Governor." Since Mims had been shot seven times, the killer had to reload the gun. [Revolvers only hold five or six rounds in the cylinder.]

     The police have no motive or suspects in the murders.

"Atlanta Police Looking For Suspect, Motive in Killings of Homeless Men," CNN, December 11, 2014 

Stabber in Brooklyn Synagogue Killed by Cop

A man stabbed a person inside a Brooklyn synagogue Tuesday morning December 9, 2014 before he was shot and killed when he lunged at a police officer…The suspect entered the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters where he stabbed another man sometime after one in the morning. A responding officer ordered the suspect to drop the knife. The stabber lunged at the officer who shot him in the torso. The stabbing victim was treated at a nearby hospital. [According to reports, the armed intruder said he wanted to kill a Jew.]

"Man Stabs Another Inside Brooklyn Synagoge, Then Lunges at Officer," CNN, December 9,  2014

Criminal Justice Quote: Rapper Murders His Wife, Kills Self on FaceTime

     Rapper Earl Hayes murdered his wife Stephanie Moseley early Monday morning December 8, 2014 in Los Angeles. Moseley, a dancer who toured with Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Usher, and Chris Brown, starred in VH 1's dramatic series "Hit the Floor."

     An angry Hayes, a member of Floyd Mayweather's Team Money, talked to the undefeated boxer on FaceTime prior to the murder-suicide. The call continued through the event. The rapper, in the midst of a break-up, accused his wife of infidelity with a famous singer…The welterweight boxing champion attempted to talk his friend down from his rage to no avail.

   A Los Angeles SWAT team discovered the bodies in a high-end Los Angeles apartment. Neighbors reported hearing an argument before hearing the gunfire.

     Hayes once belonged to Mayweather's music label and frequently partied with the boxer…

"Floyd Mayweather Witnesses Murder-Suicide on FaceTime," breitbart.com, December 9, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Man Leaves Scene of a Minor Accident to Get Away From His Angry Girlfriend

     Police in Vineland, New Jersey say a man told officers he fled the scene of an automobile accident because he "didn't want to deal with his girlfriend yelling at him." They say David Scarpa was having an argument with his girlfriend when he backed into a utility pole in Cumberland County. The caller who reported the hit-and-run on November 29, 2014 said he heard people "yelling" and then heard a bang and saw debris on the ground by the pole.

     Police say the 21-year-old Scarpa then took off and didn't report the accident immediately. He went to police headquarters to turn himself in a day later…A prosecutor charged Scarpa with leaving the scene of an accident and reckless driving.

"Man Flees Crash to Avoid Girlfriend," Associated Press, November 30, 2014 

Teen Pimp Arrested For High School Prostitution Ring

     In the summer of 2014, 17-year-old Alexa Nicole De Armas, a Venice High School student in Sarasota, Florida, came up with a scheme to recruit other high school girls to offer sex for money and alcohol. De Armas and an accomplice planned to charge $50 to $70 for oral sex and $100 for intercourse with a virgin. The prostitutes, under the plan, would keep 40 percent of what they earned. De Armas wanted the money for narcotics.

     In a Facebook exchange between De Armas and the accomplice, De Armas wrote: Why pimp out old hoes when I have fresh young hoes I can give up for money? As long as I'm getting paid I'm trafficking all these bitches."

     In August 2014, the high school pimp allegedly arranged for John Michael Mosher, a 21-year-old restaurant dishwasher from Nokomis, Florida, to have paid sex with a 15-year-old girl. The encounter allegedly took place in a community pool shed in a Nokomis park. When the girl told Mosher that she did not want to have sex with him, he allegedly forced himself on her. The John gave De Armas $40 and a bottle of booze for the sexual act.

     In October 2014, four female students at Venice High School reported to school officials that Alexa Nicole De Armas had tried to recruit them as sex workers.

     Vice detectives, on Friday November 21, 2014, arrested De Armas on the felony charge of human trafficking of a person younger than 18. That day police officers also took John Michael Mosher into custody in Nokomis, Florida. Mosher faced the felony charge of sexual battery of a juvenile.

     De Armas and Mosher were placed into the Sarasota County Jail without bond. Police told local reporters that other arrests in this case were forthcoming. 

Man Pushes McChicken Sandwich Into His Pregnant Wife's Face

     A picky eater in Des Moines, Iowa was jailed on December 2, 2014 for using a McDonald's McChicken sandwich as a weapon against his pregnant wife…Marvin Tramaine Hill II, 21, admitted to police that he threw the sandwich at his wife "because he doesn't like them." Hill was arrested for simple domestic assault and taken to the Polk County Jail.

     Des Moines police met with Hill at the couple's home where Hill told them it was actually his wife who assaulted him. Hill said his wife woke him up around one in the afternoon with a McChicken in her hand. He admitted that he became upset and threw the sandwich at her, then picked up some of the bun and threw it at her.

     The woman went to the bathroom to clean herself up but Hill followed and began recording her using his cellphone, which he later shared with the police. In the video, police saw the woman knock the phone out of his hand.

     Hill's wife had mayonnaise on her shirt and face when officers spoke to her. According to the woman, Hill had forcefully smashed the bun into her face. Police noted that the woman's nose was swollen and believed Hill was trying to entice the woman into knocking the phone out of his hand to make her appear aggressive.

"Man Assaulted Wife With McChicken Sandwich, The Des Moine Register, December 3, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Police-Involved Shootings are Up, Violent Crime Rated are Down

     The number of people killed by the police has increased by a third in recent years, even as violent crime has trended downward and the number of officers assaulted or killed in the line of duty has dropped…

     When adjusted for population, the data shows black people were twice as likely to be killed by police than whites. Blacks are also disproportionately more likely to come in contact with police as suspects in violent crime…

     In 2012, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 386 whites and 140 blacks were killed by police, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on causes of death. [According to data I collected in 2011, the police killed 607 people that year.]…The number of people killed by the police has steadily climbed from 381 in 2008 to 546 in 2012…

     Twenty-seven officers were killed in the line of duty in 2013, and 49,851 were the victims of assault, according to FBI statistics…The FBI data show that the number of deaths and assaults have declined in recent years. In 2011, 72 officers were killed in the line of duty and in 2008, 61,087 were assaulted.

     Of the subjects in the 27 officer deaths in 2013, 15 were white and 11 were black, according to the FBI report. Of the officers killed, 25 were white and two were black.

"Killings by Police Increase as Crime Declines," Dayton Daily News, November 29, 2014

Criminal Justice Quote: Carjacker Runs Over, Kills Victim

     Police say a Long Island, New York man picking up food for a soup kitchen was run over by his own vehicle while trying to stop a carjacker from stealing it. Suffolk County police said 69-year-old Dionel Ramirez parked his car at a 7-Eleven in North Bay Shore early Friday November 28, 2014…He intended to run in quickly, which is why he left the car door open and the motor running.

     According to the police, the car thief started to drive off with the vehicle while Ramirez was in the store. Ramirez tried to stop the thief and the man ran over him. The victim, of North Amityville, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The car was later recovered, but no arrest has been made.

"Carjacker Kills Soup Kitchen Volunteer," Associated Press, November 29, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Juveniles Murder Motorist on Street With Hammers

     Two juveniles are in custody Sunday November 30, 2014 in the death of a man beaten with hammers on a St. Louis Street. The victim, 32-year-old Zemir Begic, suffered injuries to his head, abdomen, face, and mouth…He was unconscious by the time officers arrived on the scene. Begic was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead…

     Investigation revealed that the victim was traveling in his vehicle when several juveniles approached his vehicle on foot and began damaging it. The victim exited his car and the juveniles began yelling at him and striking him with hammers. After the assault the juveniles fled the scene on foot…Two suspects were later taken into custody. A motive for the murder was not immediately clear.

"Man Beaten to Death With Hammers in St. Louis," CNN, December 1, 2014