The Miami Spots Club Shooting Spree Mystery

     The Spot Nightclub, a strip-mall bar built into a storefront wedged between a furniture store and a smoke shop on Northwest 64th Street at Seventh Avenue in Miami, opened its doors sometime during the first week of September 2014. Just before one in the morning of Sunday September 28, 2014, an unknown number of gunmen opened fire inside the crowed nightclub. The assailants fired 100 or more shots. Fifteen of the 100 or so patrons were wounded, some seriously, others not.

     The Spots Nightclub victims were aged 11 to 25 with five of the injured under 17. Most of the victims received non-life threatening wounds. One girl was hospitalized in critical condition.

     Miami police and emergency rescue crews came upon a loud and chaotic scene. Wounded people were both inside the club and lying outside on the parking lot. People were screaming, running about, and calling for help. The shooters who had caused the mayhem had slipped into the night.

     From the beginning, investigators operated on the theory that at least four people were responsible for the shooting spree. Among the things detectives were trying to determine included the nature of the event and why so many teens were in attendance. Was this a private party or was the place open to the public? Early in the investigation the police didn't know what prompted the violence or if the attack was gang-related. Over the past few years Miami has been the site of several nightclub/restaurant mass shootings. 

Whackademia Quote: Kid, Don't Take Your Bomb to School

     A 16-year-old boy is in jail after bringing a homemade bomb to his high school in St. Helens, Oregon. The student at the school near Portland showed off the device to friends Friday morning September 26, 2014. Those friends told school officials who called the police and quickly evacuated the building…

     After the school was evacuated, students were bused to local elementary school as police and bomb squad personnel investigated. During a sweep, police found the homemade device in the student's locker. The student didn't threaten or do anything with the bomb.

     Following the all-clear, students were allowed to return to class but many opted to go home. The young bomb maker faces several felony charges for possession and manufacturing an explosive device and for disorderly conduct….

"Oregon Teen Accused of Bringing Homemade Bomb to School," ABC News, September 27, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Drug Dealers' 5-Year-Old Son Collateral Damage in Their Lives of Crime

     A Sylmar, California couple's 5-year-old son tested positive for cocaine after detectives in Ventura County stopped his parents' vehicle and found the boy in the back seat along with a half pound of the drug…Marco and Sandy Cuevas were arrested Friday September 26, 2014 in Moorpark, California by detectives investigating cocaine use and sales in the eastern portion of Ventura County…

     Through a series of investigations, detectives learned that Marco Cuevas was allegedly the source of the majority of cocaine in these cases…Members of the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit, along with other investigators with the sheriff's office stopped Cuevas as he was en route to make a cocaine deal…

     The son was tested for cocaine and preliminary results indicated he had the drug in his system…

     Detectives searched the Cuevas' home…and found evidence of drug sales, several pounds of marijuana, hundreds of prescription pills, $75,000 in cash, 16 guns and nearly 300 pounds of ammunition…

     Marco Cuevas was booked into the Ventura County Jail on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sales, conspiracy to sell cocaine, child endangerment, and multiple weapons violations, including being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

     Sandy Cuevas was booked on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sales, conspiracy to sell cocaine, and child endangerment, but she bailed out and is awaiting a court hearing.

"Suspected Drug Dealers' Son, 5, Tested Positive for Cocaine," mynewsla.com, September 29, 2014. 

Criminal Justice Quote: Another Mass Youth Detention Center Breakout

     Thirteen teenagers escaped overnight from a youth detention center in Nashville, Tennessee. All but one were captured within hours of the breakout. This marked the latest in a rash of such security breaches involving youth corrections centers…

     Three teens overpowered a guard late Friday September 26, 2014. They took his keys and let the others out of the Woodland Hills Youth Development Center…Nashville Metro police and Tennessee Highway Patrol officers were able to regain custody of all but one 16-year-old. The twelve back in custody were taken to a juvenile court detention center after what was the third major disturbance at the Woodland Hills facility…

     Thirty-two teenagers escaped from the same center on the night of September 1, 2014. Two of those teens who escaped are still at large. The center has a history of violent clashes, breakout attempts and attacks on guards. Since the escape, officials at the center said they have adopted extra security measures. The problem sheds light on the difficulty of maintaining order at a center where most of the 14 to 19-year-olds have committed at least three felonies…

"Thirteen Escape Detention, Most Recaptured," seattlepi.com, September 27, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Police Kill Fellow Officer in Domestic Standoff

     A sheriff's deputy was shot and killed Wednesday September 24, 2014 by members of his own police agency after they responded to a domestic violence call at his home in LaPlace, Louisiana just outside of New Orleans. Lieutenant Nolan Anderson was in a brief standoff with fellow deputies when he was shot multiple times and later died in the hospital.

     Police received a call about a domestic dispute and arrived at Anderson's house where they found him pointing a gun at his wife's head. During negotiations, Anderson pointed his gun at officers and fired several shots into the air. The police then fired at Anderson…Anderson died at River Parishes Hospital. His wife was not hurt.

Ben Smith, "Officer Gunned Down by Fellow Deputies," The Daily Caller, September 25, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Man Stabs Four Children in China

     A knife-wielding man stabbed to death four primary school children in southern China on Friday September 26, 2014. This was the latest in a series of attacks in recent years…The attack took place in the town of Pingsham in Lingshan County as the students were on their way to school. Three of the children died at the scene and the other died later in the hospital…

     A slightly heavyset 56-year-old man surnamed Shri rode a red motorized trishaw while stabbing the children. Local police publicized the license plate number of the trishaw and offered a reward of 20,000 yuan ($3,260) for information leading to the killer's capture.

     Violent crime has been on the rise in China in recent decades as the nation's economy has boomed and the gap between rich and poor has expanded rapidly. Studies have also described the rise in the prevalence of mental disorders, some of them linked to stress as the pace of life becomes faster in China and government support systems decline….

"Man Stabs Four School Children to Death in China," hindustantimes.com, September 26, 2014
     

The Corpse Wars: Coroners Versus Organ Harvesters

     Pennsylvania legislators are considering passing a law (House Bill 30) aimed at increasing the number of organ donors in the state. It's a nice goal, but there are problems and complications with this bill.

     Presently, in cases of violent or unexpected death such as traffic accidents, drownings, drug overdoses, sudden infant death cases, suicides, obvious homicides, and deaths involving infectious diseases that could threaten the community, the state's coroners and medical examiners have first claim on the corpses.

     As things stand now, when the body in question is that of an organ donor, organ procurement organizations can claim the remains after the autopsy. HB 30 would reverse that order, giving the organ procurement people first crack at organ donors' bodies.

     Under the proposed legislation (there is a similar bill working its way through the state senate), a coroner or medical examiner who needs the body, can object in writing to the harvesting of organs prior to the autopsy. But pursuant to HB 30, organ procurement officials would not have to honor the request. In cases of violent, unexpected and suspicious death, forensic pathologists and coroners could attend and view the organ harvest procedures. Moreover, the procurement organization would supply coroners and medical examiner offices with photographs of the body, blood samples, and biopsies.

     According to the chief lobbyist for the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association, photographs and blood samples would be useless in the process of determining cause and manner of death. Also, organ harvesters have no training in forensic pathology and are not required to be surgeons or even medical doctors.

     Opponents of HB 30 say that autopsy results acquired after the organ harvest procedure could not be used at trial as cause and manner of death evidence against a murder defendant. Organ harvesters could, for example, leave hemorrhages in the neck as well as laryngeal fractures that would mimic strangulation. Forceps used in organ removal could inflict wounds that could be mistaken for signs of homicidal trauma.

     According to Dr. Cyril Wecht, the renowned Pittsburgh-based forensic pathologist, a defense attorney could destroy a murder prosecution's case based upon the unreliable results of an autopsy performed after the corpse had been subjected to organ harvesting.

     Even before the introduction of HB 30 and its senate counterpart, the state's coroners and medical examiners have been at war with the organ harvesters. Coroners claim that representatives of organ procurement groups have called them at all hours of the night to harass them into giving up the bodies quickly for organ harvesting.

     Opponents of the proposed bills also point out there is nothing in the legislation that prevents a suspect in a homicide case who is also "next of kin" as defined by the bill, from donating the victim's organs in an effort to discredit a subsequent autopsy.

     Under the proposed legislation, organ procurement officials can void living wills in order to keep the donor alive simply to maintain the health of the organs until they can be harvested and sold. (It is against the law for individuals to sell their organs, but organ procurement organizations are allowed to market the body parts. A single body can bring as much as $3 million. Beyond saving lives, big money is involved in the organ harvesting business. The bills will probably pass because in politics money talks and forensic science walks.) 

Criminal Justice Quote: Mass Murder on the Rise

     The number of U.S. shootings in which a gunman wounds or kills multiple people has increased dramatically in recent years, with the majority of attacks in the last decade occurring at a business or a school, according to an FBI report released on September 24, 2014. The study focused on 160 "active shooting incidents" between 2000 and 2013. Those are typically defined as cases in which a gunman in an attack shoots or attempts to shoot people in a populated area.

     The goal of the report, which excluded shootings that are gang and drug related, was to compile accurate data about the attacks and to help local police prepare for or respond to similar killings in the future…

     According to the report, an average of six shooting incidents occurred in the first seven years that were studied. That average rose to more than 16 per year in the last seven years of the study. That period included the 2012 shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, as well as last year's massacre at the Washington Navy Yard in which a gunman killed 12 people before dying in a police shootout.

     The majority of the shootings occurred either at a business or a school, university or other education facility, according to the study…A total of more than 1,000 people were either killed or wounded in the shootings. In about one-quarter of the cases, the shooter committed suicide before the police arrived. The gunman acted alone in all but two of the cases. The shooters were female in six of the incidents…

     "The copycat phenomenon is real," said Andre Simons of the FBI's Behavioral Unit. "As more and more notable tragic events occur, we think we're seeing more compromised, marginalized individuals who are seeking inspiration from those past attacks."

"U.S. Mass Shootings on the Rise, FBI Warns in Call for More Police Training," Associated Press, September 25, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Retrial in Florida Loud Music Murder Case

     Was it fear for his own life that prompted Michael Dunn to fire ten shots into a SUV, killing teenager Jordan Davis? Or was it contempt? A Jacksonville, Florida jury couldn't decide in February 2014, getting hung after thirty hours of deliberation. So, on Monday September 22, 2014, Dunn goes to trial again. The prosecutor takes another crack at proving first-degree murder in the racially charged case. The shooter, Dunn, is white. Davis, who was 17-years-old when he died, was black.

     There was an argument about loud music coming from Davis' Dodge Durango before Dunn opened fire in November 2012 at a gas station. He argues that he fired his weapon because he saw a gun barrel sticking out of the other vehicle's window and feared for his life…

     The new jurors will be tasked with deciding if State Attorney Angela Corey can disprove Dunn's self-defense argument…Police found no weapon in Davis' Durango. After the shooting, Dunn drove off and never notified the police.

     Three other teens were in the Durango during the shooting. Dunn was convicted on three counts of attempted second-degree murder in the first trial for endangering them. He could face up to 60 years in prison for that alone--a life sentence for a 47-year-old….

"Retrial: Did Michael Dunn Kill Jordan Davis Out of Fear? Or Loud Music?" CNN, September 22, 2014  

Criminal Justice Quote: Four California Escapees Captured

     Four of five inmates have been captured a day after their escape from a central California jail…The fifth man remained at large. A pair of special sheriff's units caught the four men Saturday night September 20, 2014 about 24 hours after they broke out of the Madera County lockup…

     Juan Lopez, 33, Jorge Lopez-Diaz, 26, Abel Ramos, 25, and Ricardo Cendejas, 19, all of Madera, were back in custody. Authorities around the state were still looking for Roel Soliz, 29, of Chowcilla. The men were being held on various charges including attempted murder and armed robbery…It's unclear how they escaped, but they were gone for an hour before they were discovered missing…The jail is operated by the Madera County Department of Corrections….

"California Authorities Catch 4 or 5 Jail Escapees," Associated Press, September 21, 2014