California Police Plant Evidence

     California cops planted drugs in a woman's house to frame her after finding nothing in their illegal search of her home….Allison Ross has since filed a federal lawsuit against the Santa Clara sheriff's department, a crime lab, and twelve officers she claims participated in a conspiracy to plant drugs in her house and frame her for a crime she did not commit.

     Ross was initially charged with being under the influence of methamphetamine, but the case against her was thrown out after the district attorney determined that the police made false statements about Ross's arrest….

     Most shocking of all, Ross's lawsuit alleges that police vehicle video footage actually recorded the police discussing their plan to plant drugs inside her house. The incident transpired on New Year's Eve of 2009. Deputies arrested Ross's husband for unspecified reasons while he was at a neighbor's house. They then came to Ross's home, detained her and searched the premises. Ross…said she heard one officer tell another that they had not acquired a warrant….They ransacked the house, but found nothing criminal.

     The police video footage caught the officers admitting as much. "The house is clean, there is no meth in the house," said one officer….The officers then discussed taking white powder from the police vehicle and planting it in the house….Police reported that they found two bags of white powder inside the dwelling, although that was proven to be false. Ross also believed the crime lab tampered with evidence….

Robby Soave, "Cops Found Nothing in Raid, So They Planted Drugs to Frame Innocent Woman," The Daily Caller, April 24, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: College Jocks Assault Homeless Man

     Two college football players were arraigned in Massachusetts Superior Court on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 for allegedly kicking and beating a  homeless man until a passerby shielded the victim's body with her own…Craig "C.J." Parsons, 22, and Anthony Varrichione, 23, were charged with aggravated assault and battery and aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Additionally, Parsons was charged with violating the state's witness intimidation statute in an attempt to stymie the investigation….

     Parsons is a senior football player at Boston College and Vasrrichione, a former quarterback, recently graduated from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Both men pleaded not guilty….

     The incident occurred early January 26, 2014. The unidentified victim, 50, is a homeless man who was panhandling in Boston's Allston neighborhood. After an argument between him and the two suspects, Parsons and Varrichione allegedly punched and kicked him. Prosecutors say Parsons also knocked the man to the sidewalk, rendering him unconscious.

     A female passerby saw part of the attack and ran to the victim's aide, using her body to shield him from the attackers. Other witnesses called 911, and the victim was taken to a nearby hospital. The man is expected to survive but has no memory of the attack….

     Parsons, who was set to graduate this spring, has been given an immediate suspension from Boston College "in light of the disturbing nature of the allegations," said the director of communications for the college….Parsons' attorney told CNN that his client is "a wonderful young man from a fine family."…Varrichlione's attorney said  his client "has had no previous difficulties in life" [of course not, he was a football player]….

     Varrichione is listed as 6-foot-four, 225 pounds….Parsons played tight end for the Boston College Eagles and is six-foot-six, 253 pounds….

Laura Ly, "Two College Football Players Arraigned in Beating of Homeless Man," CNN, April 23, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: The "Squeaky" Fromme Tape

     Nearly 40 years after a former Manson family member pointed a gun at President Gerald Ford, the audiotape from her pretrial psychiatric examination has been made public. Federal Judge Kimberly J. Mueller granted the release of the 132-minute recording on April 18, 2014 in response to a motion filed by the Sacramento Bee in November 2013.

     The recording of Lynette Alice "Squeaky" Fromme was made on September 21, 1975, a little more than two weeks after the 26-year-old Fromme aimed her pistol at President Ford in Sacramento's Capitol Park. The gun did not go off and Fromme was wrestled to the ground by a Secret Service agent. The tape was made in order to determine her competence to stand trial and to be her own attorney.

     The Sacramento Bee reports that in the recording, Fromme spoke confidently about her ability to represent herself at trial and be acquitted….She was wrong. Though Fromme did not represent herself at trial, she was convicted and remained in prison until she was released on parole in 2009….Charles Manson, 79, remains imprisoned at California State Prison in Corcoran.

"Tape Released of Woman Who Pointed Gun at Ford," seattlepi.com, April 24, 2014

Criminal Justice Quote: Girl, 15 Steals Car With Kids Inside

     San Diego police say three children are safe after being taken on a wild ride by a suspected car thief who led authorities on a chase before being arrested….A woman told police Sunday, April 20, 2014 that someone drove off in her gray Dodge Charger while the children--ages 1, 3 and 7--were inside. The stolen vehicle was spotted by a California Highway Patrol officer on state Route 94 about an hour later. After a chase the Charger exited the freeway and was stopped.

     Police say a 15-year-old girl is being held on numerous charges related to the car theft….It is not clear if the young thief knew the children were in the car when she allegedly stole it.

"Children Safe After Car is Stolen," peaklife.com, April 21, 2014 

Gangster Shot in Court Room

     A U.S. marshal shot a defendant in a Utah federal courtroom on Monday morning, April 21, 2014 after the defendant rushed a witness as his trial….Saile Angilau, an alleged gang member charged with racketeering conspiracy, was shot several times at a Salt Lake City federal court house after Angilau attacked someone who was on the witness stand….Angilau was the only person shot….

     Judge Tena Campbell declared a mistrial, noting that the shooting happened in front of jury members, who were "visibly shaken and upset."

     Angilau is one of nine alleged members of the Tongan Crip Gang charged in a 2010 indictment with racketeering conspiracy. The indictment alleges Angilau committed several convenience store robberies in Salt Lake City and assaulted the stores' clerks from December 2002 to July 2007. Angillau was charged with several other crimes, including assaulting a federal officer.

Amanda Watts and Jason Henna, "Marshal Shoots Utah Defendant Who Rushed Witnesses," CNN, April 21, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Another Mother Drives Into the Water To Drown Her Children

     Police say Joann Smith, 49, of Florence Township, New Jersey, sped off a boat ramp into the Delaware River on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. She's charged with three counts of attempted murder and three counts of endangering the welfare of children.

     A man driving on West Front Street in Florence saw the sinking vehicle and ran out to help Smith and her three children, ages 15, 14, and 13, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said. One of the children came away from the capsized van with a cut leg.

     Smith was checked into a medical facility for evaluation. Her bail was set at $600,000….The incident comes after another mother was accused of driving a minivan into the Atlantic Ocean with her three children in Daytona Beach, Florida on March 4, 2014….

Gabe LaMonica, "Van With Children Hits River; Mother Charged," CNN, April 17, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: NYC Police Officer Kills Old Man Armed With Shotgun

     Police shot and killed a man in Queens Saturday, April 12, 2014 after he shot and killed his daughter. Authorities say an 86-year-old man called 911 saying that he had shot his daughter and her dog with a 12-gauge shotgun, and that he wanted to kill himself.

     Police officers responding to the scene on 38th Street in Long Island city found the man with the shotgun and ordered him to put it down, but he turned the gun toward them, prompting officers to shoot and kill him.

     Sources say the man's daughter was found with a shotgun wound to the head and was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital….The dog, a brown Yorkshire Terrier, is being treated by the ASPCA for a neck laceration. It is expected to survive.

"Police Shoot and Kill Elderly Queens Man After He Kills Daughter," NY1 News, April 12, 2014 

Arresting Police Rough Up an Old Man

     An Elderly Missouri man dialed 911 and asked for an ambulance to come and help his ailing wife. Instead, the police showed up, threw him to the ground, sat on his head and handcuffed him. He later received stitches for his injuries. "I never had anybody jump on me for doing nothing," said the man, Elbert Breshears of Humansville, Missouri….

     The trouble began after Breshears called to get help for his wife, who suffers from dementia. He asked for paramedics to come provide assistance to her after she knocked out one of their home's windows. The Humansville police arrived first, however. According to Breshears, an officer tackled him right away, then barked at him to stand up. "He told me to get up," recalled Breshears. "I told him I couldn't."

     Officers threw him into a pile of gravel and sat on his back and head as they attempted to handcuff him. Breshears pleaded with the officers to get off him. "I told them I can't get my hands up to where you can handcuff me. If you let me up you can handcuff me," he said. "I got no objection to being handcuffed."

     A doctor had to sew up his head and removed gravel from his wounds.

     Breshear said that he has had trouble with police in the past. A spokesperson for the police declined an interview with local reporters, but did say that the man is facing charges for abusing his wife, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer. Breshears claims the charges are ridiculous. "I didn't hit my wife," he said. "I've lived with the woman for 47 years. I love the woman. I can't help what she does," he added, referring to her dementia.

     The wife was taken away from her home and is now under professional care. Breshears plans to sue the police.

Robby Soave, "Elderly Man Calls for Ambulance, Violent Cops Beat Him Instead," The Daily Caller, April 21, 2014 

Who Murdered Jeremiah Oliver?

     To get away from her estranged husband against whom she had been granted a restraining order, 28-year-old Elsa Oliver and her three children moved from their home in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to Florida where they lived with her mother. Early in 2013, Elsa, still married to Jose Oliver, returned to Fitchburg, a town of 40,000 in the north central part of the state. She came home with 5-year-old Jeremiah, his 7-year-old sister, and his older brother who was nine.

     In Fitchburg, Elsa began a relationship with Albert Sierra, a local man six years younger than her.

     In June 2013, a social worker with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), during a monthly visit to the Oliver home, noticed that Jeremiah wasn't in the house. In response to the social worker's inquiry regarding the boy's whereabouts, Elsa said he was in Florida living with her mother. The social worker took Elsa for her word and didn't verify the story.

     Five months later, the social worker left a DFC card at Elsa's house with the message there would be no further monthly visits from the agency.

     Jeremiah's sister, on December 2, 2013, told her elementary school counselor that her mother's boyfriend, Alberto Sierra, had abused her. The 7-year-old and her 9-year-old brother were taken out of Elsa's custody and placed into protective care. Jeremiah still wasn't around, and his siblings had no idea what happened to him. When detectives asked Elsa about Jeremiah, she stuck to her Florida story.

     After Jeremiah could not be located in Florida, a state juvenile court judge brought Elsa into court and asked her to account for her missing son. She refused to answer the judge's questions. The judge gave Elsa 72 hours to produce the boy. At the hearing, officials noticed physical signs that Elsa had been recently abused.

     Shortly after the judge's deadline passed without proof that Jeremiah was alive, a Worcester County prosecutor charged Elsa with two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and two counts of accessory after the fact of a felony. These charges related to the alleged physical abuse of Jeremiah's sister. Police officers booked Elsa into the Worcester County Jail where she was held under a $5,000 cash bond.

     Police officers also arrested 22-year-old Albert Sierra on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a knife) and two counts of assault and battery on a child causing bodily injury. A judge denied Sierra bail. Both of the accused pleaded not guilty to all charges.

     A party made up of Fitchburg police officers, K-9 units, and 100 volunteers searched the vicinity of the Oliver house without finding the missing boy. Detectives and others involved in the case believed that he had been murdered and that Elsa, out of fear, was covering up for her boyfriend.

     While the police tried to find Jeremiah's body, a bureaucratic fight broke out within the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families over who in the agency bore the most blame for the delayed reaction to Jeremiah Oliver's disappearance. The head of the public union that represents DCF employees protested the firing of Jeremiah's social worker and her supervisor. The union leader accused the department's commissioner of deflecting blame by scapegoating the social worker and her boss. In the meantime, the 5-year-old was still missing and presumed dead.

     Duval Patrick, the governor of Massachusetts, promised an investigation into DCF's handling of Jeremiah Oliver's case. He asked the Child Welfare League of America to review the workings of the agency. Several local politicians wanted more--they called for the governor to fire the agency's commissioner, Olga Roche.

     In March 2014, the Child Welfare League of America reported that state social workers missed nearly one in five home visits during a recent 12-month period.

     A Worcester County grand jury, in March 2014, indicted Elsa Oliver and Alberto Sierra on charges of kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and reckless endangerment. Oliver was held on $125,000 bail and Sierra on $100,000. Three other people were indicted for interfering with a criminal investigation and misleading the police.

     On April 18, 2014, Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early announced that Jeremiah Oliver's body had been found at nine that morning. The remains were wrapped in a blanket inside a suitcase discovered in a grassy area 40 feet off Interstate 190's southbound lane not far from Exit 6 in Sterling, Massachusetts. Found 12 miles from his home, the boy, according to the district attorney, was a victim of criminal homicide.

     The day after the missing boy's discovery, DCF Commissioner Olga Roche assured the public that the "DCF continues to focus on Jeremiah's siblings to ensure they are receiving the support they need during this very difficult time." The commissioner admitted that the boy's killing reflects a "serious failure" on the part of the child protection agency.

     On April 19, Jose Oliver, the murdered boy's father, in a cell phone call to a reporter from the spot where his son's body was found, said, "I know the body has not been here for six months. I believe the body was thrown here Thursday morning [April 17]. Anybody that drives through here, you could see it. There's more people involved in this besides my wife and Alberto Sierria. A couple of people know what happened. My question is who did it and why they did it. I want answers."

Criminal Justice Quote: Thieves at the Gas Pump

     Two Texas men allegedly manipulated gas pumps at local 7-Eleven stores in the Austin area to allow gas to flow freely, charging drivers a discounted rate for the fuel….Guilibaldo Gonzales Puente, 48, and Alejandro Conteno Alvarez, 33, would create a rally point, and, at times, spend between one to three hours at the pumps filling up cars….

     "A lot of the vehicles were large trucks with big bladders in the back, which could hold between 200 and 400 gallons," Detective Rickey Jones, said. Puente and Alvarez were arrested at a gas pump Monday, April 14, 2014.

"Two Men Accused of Stealing More than $27 G in Gas," Fox News, April 16, 2014