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