Sweet Dreams

2010-08-15T19:59:00.001-07:00

Ederly Woman Found Dead In House Filled With Trash

2010-07-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

July 20, 2010 (SKOKIE Ill.) (WLS) -- A woman's body has been found in a home packed with trash piled so high, police could not get through the door.
The building department Tuesday afternoon posted a sign saying that the house is not approved for occupancy and that entry is not allowed.
The woman's daughter discovered the body, and when they arrived, they found her sitting on top of several feet of debris.
"The officers that were on the scene and responded reported that it was some of the worst conditions that they had been exposed to in at least 29 years," said Sgt. Michael Krupnik of the Skokie Police.
Police say the debris inside Marie Davis' Skokie home was so bad that officers responding to her daughter's call for help last night could not get to the 79-year-old woman. Instead, the fire department was called in to punch a hole in the roof to remove the deceased woman's body.

"Debris-filled; unable to gain access," said Krupnik. "Unable to even enter through a doorway without crawling through small tunnels. "

The medical examiner says Davis died of natural causes, yet it is not her death, but the way she and her daughter lived, that attracted attention Tuesday.

"Every night... they [were] walking around the neighborhood," said neighbor Jairo Nieto.

It was at night that Davis would collect trash from other people's homes and take it back to her own. Although some say they knew she was a hoarder and had filed complaints about the outside of the home with the village, none imagined the conditions within.

"We have worked with this family over a number of years and we've been called out a few times in the past," said Dr. Catherine Counard of the Skokie Health Department.

The health department will seek a court order Wednesday to go inside the home and inspect it.

"I noticed sometimes when I'd walk the dog through the alley that her backyard was cluttered," said neighbor Joan Morris. "But I figured, OK, that is her backyard, that's her business, not mine."

"About a year ago, Skokie sent somebody to clean the garage," said Nieto. "They [took] two trucks full of garbage from the garage."

The Skokie Health Department has confirmed they do have a long history of complaints regarding this house. As for the future of the house, they would like to clean it out and rehab it, but it may come down to having to tear it down, a decision that could be made Monday.

ONE OF THE WORST CASES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE....

2010-06-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

CREVE COEUR — A bloody 25-minute window Thursday night in which a woman and her ex-husband died on opposite sides of the Illinois River represents the tragic culmination of years of domestic abuse.

The violence that left 47-year-old Suzann K. Alexander dead at the hands of Bernell B. Alexander, 48, who afterward took his own life, ultimately may have been precipitated by a child support issue that was resolved earlier in the day when an order to garnish wages was sent to the ex-husband's employer.

Both died in plain view of a horrified public. Bernell Alexander came to the Dairy Queen in Creve Coeur's business district on Illinois Route 29 about 9 p.m. and began harassing his ex-wife as she worked the drive-through window. After that confrontation, he entered the business through the back door.

Bernell Alexander grabbed his wife and began beating her, throwing her to the ground as at least one employee attempted to tear him off his victim. He ended the struggle by pulling a gun and firing several times at close range into Suzann Alexander's face and chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

"It's obvious there was a lot of rage involved with this incident," said Creve Coeur Police Chief Mike Button.

Bernell Alexander fled in his truck to South Peoria. He was followed by a Dairy Queen customer, who assisted Peoria police in blocking Bernell Alexander's escape as a squad car attempted to pull him over near South Western Avenue and West Ann Street.

Bernell Alexander shot himself there, and his vehicle veered out of control and hit a tree at 9:25 p.m., ending a brief spasm of domestic violence that has roots reaching back to at least 1997.

Bernell and Suzann Alexander had been together since at least 1990, when their first daughter was born. A second daughter was born two years later, though the couple did not wed until Oct. 19, 1996.

Almost exactly a year later, on Oct. 13, 1997, Bernell Alexander shoved and struck his wife in the face, also leaving red marks on her neck and breaking her necklace, according to Tazewell County court records.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery with bodily harm and received a year of probation. But his probation was revoked in September 1998 after he again shoved Suzann Alexander, this time in front of their daughters.

She filed for her first order of protection against him at that time, and his probation was extended until January 1999. He successfully completed the sentence and his probation was terminated.

No further criminal charges resulted from fights between the couple, but Suzann Alexander filed for four more orders of protection over the next decade, before they were divorced.

Suzann Alexander's descriptions of harassment, threats and vandalism to her vehicles and home in those documents paint a disturbing picture of a man who on Thursday followed through with remarks he had made several times in the past.

In an order of protection filed in October 2006, Suzann Alexander claimed her then-husband keyed her car twice, put sugar in the gas tank and threatened to beat her and suffocate her with a pillow while she slept. On Oct. 30, 2006, she claimed he broke off the front door knobs of their home, then broke into the home through a back window and threatened to beat her and kill another man.

She filed for the order the next day. In that instance, Suzann Alexander followed through with maintenance of the order after the initial emergency period expired, and Bernell Alexander was ordered to stay away from her until Jan. 31, 2007.

Additional orders of protection would follow in 2007, 2008 and 2009 in what one law enforcement official involved in the investigation of the murder-suicide called "a classic case of domestic violence gone bad."

In the final order of protection filed Jan. 6, 2009 - just days before the couple's divorce was finalized - Suzann Alexander described additional vehicle vandalism, with anti-freeze in her gas tank in November 2008. On Dec. 23, 2008, she said she awoke to him standing over her. He said he had guns with no serial numbers.

Suzann Alexander twice filed for divorce from Bernell Alexander, in 2007 and 2008. She sought dismissal of the first case, claiming they had reconciled. But the 2008 divorce case was completed in January 2009, with Suzann Alexander receiving sole custody of the couple's daughter, who was still a minor, and the family home at 406 Joliet Road in Marquette Heights.

Friends and family of the victim gathered Friday at the tidy tan ranch with a rustic wooden fence and a neat row of hostas around the base. They declined to comment.

As part of the divorce settlement, Bernell Alexander received a collection of Chicago Bears items, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and his truck, among some other miscellaneous domestic items. He was ordered to pay $231.18 a week in child support.

Sources said Friday that Suzann Alexander had recently attempted to have Bernell Alexander's wages garnished, and that a letter was sent to or had arrived at the man's employer Thursday, though it was not immediately clear where he worked. Court records indicated he worked with water heaters and other appliances as part of his career.

If a letter to garnish wages had arrived, however, Bernell Alexander didn't betray any emotion over it a few hours before the slaying. He was a longtime friend and work-out companion of a third-shift Creve Coeur police sergeant and the two had met to lift weights together about 4:30 p.m. Bernell Alexander could reportedly bench press 350 pounds.

"He was joking around, was his usual self," Button said the sergeant told him about their interaction that afternoon.

Bernell Alexander previously had confided in the sergeant when domestic problems arose between him and Suzann Alexander, but no such discussion came up Thursday during the work out.

Five hours later, both had died as part of the most violent episode in Creve Coeur in recent memory and the most tragic ending to any domestic violence case. (PJ Star)

PERVERTED AND TWISTED PASTOR GETS 19 YEARS FOR HIS CRIMES

2010-06-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

An Aurora,Il. pastor has been sentenced to 19 years in prison this week, on two counts of felony predatory criminal sexual assault as well as aggravated criminal sexual abuse.Lee Palmer 63,was found guilty of engaging in indecent sexual acts with a female under the age of 13, over a period of two years-from September 2006 til September 2008 according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors also stated that the indecent acts took place in the perverted and twisted pastor's home and not in his church.On Friday Judge Thomas Mueller found that the suspect abused his position of authority and trust over the underage victim.

The Judge also sited on the suspect's denial of responsibilty for his actions,claiming the suspect told investigators that he was "Overcome by the demon of lust and the underage victim was asking for it".The sexually twisted pastor must serve 85 percent of his 19 year sentence and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life,according to prosecutors.

ELDERLY BABYSITTER IS ACCUSED OF MOLESTING A 5 YEAR OLD

2010-06-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

An 89 year old Peoria man has been charged with one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault of a 5 year old girl,of whom he was babysitting.Warren Slonneger appeared before a Judge in Peoria County Circuit court last Thursday.

The suspect is accused of fondling the 5 year old child on May 24th according to police reports.The assaulted child's Mom called police immediately after her daughter revealed to her,the elderly pervert had touched her in an inappropriate area.He was ordered held on a $20,000 bond and a hearing is set for July 1st.

Woman Attacked At Her Home Over A Man...

2010-06-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

A 17 year old Central Illinois woman was stabbed last thursday by an out of control 28 year old woman.Renee Nichols was arrested for aggravated battery.Shortly before 10:30 p.m.,The suspect and a group of her rowdy friends went to the victim's home and confronted her about an earlier dispute over an ex-boyfriend,according to police.

At some point the dispute turned violent and the 17 year old victim was stabbed and suffered cuts on both of her shoulders,that were determined to be non-life threatening.Another woman in the group was also arrested for criminal damage to property,after she jumped onto the hood of the victim's car and smashed the windshield with a baseball bat,according to police reports.

LA POLICE FIND MAN'S SEVERED HEAD IN PARK

2010-05-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES - Police searching a Long Beach park have found a severed head believed to be remains of a man killed and dismembered in a double murder-for-profit plot in Orange County.

Costa Mesa police Sgt. Patrick Wessel said Sunday that a coroner will officially determine whether the head recovered in the Saturday search is that of 26-year-old Samuel Herr.

Herr's neighbor Daniel Wozniak was charged with two counts of murder Friday for the death of Herr and his friend Juri Kibuishi.

Authorities allege Wozniak, a 26-year-old stage actor, shot Herr at a Los Alamitos military base and dismembered his body, leaving the torso at the base and the head and limbs in the Long Beach park.

Wozniak also is accused of shooting Kibuishi. Her body was found May 22.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com

Man Attacked From Behind Dies...

2010-05-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

On Chicago's South Side a man was beaten and stabbed to death.A man is dead following a brutal stabbing and beating with a baseball bat, early Sunday on the South Side.The nineteen year old victim and a friend were walking together in the 3200 block of South Asland, when three male suspects approached the victim from behind and hit him in the head with a baseball bat and knocking him to the ground,according to police reports.

Police were notified and found the victim unconcious but were unable to interview the victim.The male companion that was walking with the victim, fled the scene and was not present,when police arrived,it is reported.However police were able to track him down thanks to eyewitnesses.

The victim was rushed to a local hospital, where a doctor also found two stab wounds to the back of his neck.Doctor's were unable to save the victim.The victim died at 5:42 a.m. during surgery.No arrests have been made.The case is still being investigated by police.

Suspected Chicago Serial Killer Arrested

2010-05-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

A suspected Chicago Serial Killer has been arrested.He is suspected to have murdered at least three women in south Chicago by strangulation.Police say DNA lead to his arrest.Each victim was found (1 naked)and strangled to death in abandoned buildings.

The suspect is also accused of trying to strangle a fourth woman to death,but the victim got away and was able to indentify the suspect.

The very first victim was murdered in November 2008.The suspect was also spotted by police in one of the vacant building's where a victim was found.According to reports,there was also a fourth victim was found early in May of this year,and police believe the suspect may have murdered her too

All of the victims were African American.

GANG MEMBER FACES LIFE FOR PLAYGROUND MURDERS..

2010-05-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

The first of six defendants on trial for the horrific 2007 execution-style slaying of three students at a Newark playground was convicted of murder Monday.

After just four hours of deliberations, the jury found Rodolfo Godinez, a Nicaraguan national who was one of six men and boys charged with the brutal slayings, guilty on all 17 charges.

Godinez, a reputed M-13 gang member, faces life in prison when he is sentenced on July 8.

The murders of Dashon Harvey, Iofemi Hightower, both 20, and Terrance Aeriel, 18, shocked Newark - and the nation - and led city officials to tighten gun tracing laws and install more security cameras.

"When I first found out my son was attacked and killed in a schoolyard playground, I blamed it on the parents" who don't teach children right from wrong, said Harvey's father, James Harvey.

"When you let them run astray, these are the types of things that can happen to any child," he said.

The three victims - all enrolled or about to be enrolled at Delaware State University - were found slumped against a wall of the playground, each having suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the head. Hightower and the survivor also were slashed with a machete.

A 19-year-old Delaware State University student survived the massacre. Her face partially paralyzed, she testified last month about being attacked with the knife, sexually assaulted and shot in the head.

"Somebody had their knee on my back, pulled my hair up and was trying to chop my neck off with a machete," she told the jury.

The six defendants in the case are being tried separately.

Attorney General Paula Dow called the Godinez' verdict "just one of six pieces of a cold-blooded puzzle, that shocked this city, this state, this nation three years ago."

Godinez's lawyer, Roy Greenman, had argued his client was at the scene but didn't take part in the attacks.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/

PARAMEDIC ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

2010-05-24T19:30:00.001-07:00

DISPUTE OVER BEER LEADS TO STABBING...

2010-05-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Cambridge — Three people were stabbed Saturday night in two separate incidents in Cambridge, with one that started over a dispute about beer, according to an e-mail from City Manager Bob Healy sent to city officials obtained by the Chronicle.

"Two young adult males were stabbed at Magazine and Granite in an incident that grew out of a dispute over beer that was being consumed at Magazine Beach," said Healy in the e-mail.

The second incident was a domestic at 246 Hurley St.

Healy described the injuries of the three as "non life threatening."

Additional details were not immediately available on the incidents.---http://www.wickedlocal.com/

INDIANA MAN ARRESTED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULTS...

2010-05-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

Police arrested a 27-year-old man who is suspected in at least four sexual assaults of minors, including that of an 11-year-old girl.
Luis Gonzales, Indianapolis, was preliminarily charged Sunday with two counts of child molestation and two counts of criminal confinement.

Police said Gonzales was the suspect in the assault of an 11-year-old on May 13. He was found sleeping in a pick-up truck in the 5700 block of Hillsboro Drive, near the home of another girl who alleges he fondled her.
A BB gun matching the description of a gun used in the 11-year-old's molestation was found in the truck, along with charms and earrings.
Indianapolis Police Sgt. Paul Thomson said in news release that Gonzales could face charges in the molestations of four girls. It was not immediately clear whether the preliminary charges that were filed were for one of more incidents--http://www.indystar.com/

WOMAN STABS BOYFRIEND DURING MONEY DISPUTE...

2010-05-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

A Florida woman has been charged with the murder of her boyfriend, following an arguement over money.On Sunday Morning 39 year old Vonceillia Solomon and her 34 year old boyfriend Carlton King were in a heated arguement over finances, when the victim(King) pushed the suspect (Solomon) down in front of her 15 year old daughter.She reportedly then ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife and ran back past her daughter and stabbed the victim(King) in the chest.Police were called to the home around 9:00 a.m. and found the victim(King) wounded just inside the front entrance.He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.The suspect was then charged and taken into custody.None of the suspects four children were injured.

TOPLESS DRUNK WOMAN STEALS WINE

2010-05-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

MINDEN, Nev. - A Nevada woman is accused of stealing a bottle of wine from a store while she was topless and intoxicated.

Brandi Smith, of Gardnerville, acknowledged her behavior was "mind-boggling" during an appearance Wednesday before a judge to face charges of indecent exposure, felony drunken driving and burglary.

Authorities say the 41-year-old was arrested May 10 after stealing a $20 bottle of wine, then driving to a nearby fast-food restaurant, where an off-duty sheriff's deputy kept her in the vehicle until other deputies arrived.

A preliminary test revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent, nearly twice the legal limit.

A records search found Smith has two prior convictions of driving under the influence in California.

She was in jail on $5,000 bail. ---http://www.dailybreeze.com/

MAN MURDER'S GIRLFRIEND AND KEEPS HER CORPSE AND CHILD FOR DAYS..

2010-05-22T19:39:00.001-07:00

A Florida man reportedly murdered his girlfriend in his home and kept her 3 year old child and her decaying body in his home for days.Calvin Simpson,52 of Jacksonville faces 25 years to life in prison after being convicted on Thursday of second degree murder by a jury.

In 2008,police responding to a missing persons report smelled a foul odor coming from the suspect's home and found his murdered girlfriend's decaying body inside.He reportedly murdered the victim right in front of her 3 year old child.The suspect has a history of violence and petty crimes,according to police reports.He will be sentenced by a judge on June 21.

MAN KILLED GIRLFRIEND AND KEPT HER BODY AND HER 3 YEAR OLD CHILD IN HOUSE FOR DAYS...

2010-05-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

A Jacksonville man faces 25 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him Thursday of murdering his girlfriend, then keeping her child in his house with the decaying body for days.

Calvin R. Simpson, 52, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the 2008 killing of Tyronnie Lynne Dennis, 31, in Simpson’s Blackshire Road home.

Circuit Judge Elizabeth Senterfitt scheduled sentencing the week of June 21.

Assistant State Attorney London Kite said Simpson killed Dennis in front of her 3-year-old child then stayed with the child in the house as the body decayed.

Police were responding to a missing persons report when they smelled the body and found Dennis inside the house near Highlands Middle School on the Northside.

Simpson has a history of worthless check convictions and served prison time in the 1980s for aggravated assault.---jacksonville.com

SUSPECTED CHILD MOLESTER SHOT IN FRONT OF SCHOOL BY POLICE...

2010-05-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

A suspected child molester shot by police in front of a Laguna Niguel elementary school was hospitalized today.

The 44-year-old man was wanted on a $1 million warrant, but his name was not made public by Orange County sheriff's deputies, who are investigating the officer-involved shooting.

The shooting near Rancho Niguel Road and Via Lido occurred about 9:50 a.m. Thursday, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Brea and Anaheim police were searching an apartment building for the suspect, who ran from the building to a jogging path where he was shot, Amormino said.

The shooting happened in front of Marian Bergeson Elementary School, which was locked down for several hours.

It was unclear if the suspect was armed, Amormino said.

The wounded man was hospitalized today, sheriff's Lt. Jim England said.

Brea police were investigating a child-molestation case in Yorba Linda, and their investigation led them to Laguna Niguel, Brea police Sgt. Bill Smyser said. The suspect is believed to have known his alleged victim, he said.

"This is not a predator on the loose," Smyser told the Orange County Register---http://www.dailybreeze.com/

MAN STABS GIRLFRIEND'S 14 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER TO DEATH....(very tragic and sad)

2010-05-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

A 14-year-old girl was stabbed to death in the Bronx and her little sister helped cops nab the suspect - the younger girl's father.

The night of violence Thursday followed two days of arguments between Keisha Austin, 36, and her ex-boyfriend Christopher Ezell, 35.

Austin invited the ex-con to stay with her and then changed her mind, telling him she wanted him out of her life. They jawed over his presence and over her daughter, Emonee Williams.

"I heard them upstairs arguing around 11 that the mother doesn't control her," neighbor Malika Stephenson, 31, said. "He was yelling at the mother about Emonee, that she doesn't control her."

The mom stormed out of the Melrose apartment leaving behind Ezell, her adult sister and her four children - a pair of 2-year-old twin boys, a 9-year-old girl and Emonee.

At some point, Ezell booted the sister from the apartment. About 11:45 p.m., the hot-headed homeless man set in on Emonee, because she kept reminding him that her mother wanted him to leave.

As her twin brothers slept, Emonee was stabbed more than 20 times. The victim's 9-year-old sister, Jazmine, woke up and came out of her bedroom, a police source said.

She may have seen part of the attack in the living room.

Ezell assured his daughter that "everything's going to be okay" and motioned her back into her bedroom, the police source said.

The suspect ran from the apartment and Jazmine called 911. Police said Jazmine gave police a description of her father. He was arrested on the street less than a mile away. Ezell was charged with second degree-murder.

Police took a pair of kitchen knives from the bloody scene. Cops led Ezell from the 40th Precinct stationhouse just before 2 p.m. Friday. The suspect was wearing a bullet-proof vest after cops heard rumors that the victim's father wanted to kill him, police said. Ezell and Emonee, a student at South Bronx Prep, are not related.

A student there told the Daily News a teacher broke the news to her class, bringing everyone to tears. Emonee loved to draw and to dance, friends said. She mentored other students in math and was a great writer, according to teachers at Intermediate School 162 in the Bronx.

She graduated from the school last year and earned a service award for helping teachers and students. "She was a beautiful person," said Jacqueline Araujo, her 8th grade English teacher. "She was always smiling. She had goals. She wanted to become a teacher."

Police had been to the apartment at least twice before the Thursday night attack. They came in December after Austin complained that Ezell had been calling and harassing her. In March 2005, police were called to squash an argument between the the two. Neither case involved Emonee and no one was arrested. The convictions on his record were for attempted robbery and grand larceny.

"It's still hard to believe," neighbor Virginia Vigo, 19, said. "He could have sent her to her room or something. He didn't have to do what he did to her."

The feeling was much the same at a makeshift memorial outside the teen's building, where classmates and friends gathered in grief to place teddy bears, flowers and candles.

"She's like the sister I never had," Janay Wilkerson, 15, wrote in a letter after learning about her best friend's death. "She's earned her pair of wings and I know she has my pair in her hands just waiting for me."
Share981 retweet 26

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/

ONE LESS ABUSIVE MAN ON THE STREETS....

2010-05-22T18:47:00.001-07:00

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP -- An Aurora man with a lengthy history of violence has been sentenced to prison for physically abusing a domestic partner.

Kevin M. Cooper, 35, of the 1700 block of Molitor Road, was sentenced this week to four years and six months in prison, the Kane County state's attorney's office said.

He was convicted in April of one count of domestic battery causing bodily harm, a Class 4 felony.

Prosecutors said that on Dec. 22, 2008, Cooper struck the victim in the face several times until she fell to the floor. Cooper then kicked the woman in the back.

During sentencing, Judge Robert J. Morrow cited Cooper's lengthy history of violence, which includes two prior felony domestic battery convictions, as well as felony burglary, weapons and drug convictions.

WOMAN ATTACKED BY MAN FROM BEHIND...

2010-05-22T18:45:00.001-07:00

Cambridge — A 30-year-old woman reported she was walking on Pleasant Street towards Central Square in the area of River Street Thursday shortly before midnight when she was approached from behind by a male who put a hand over the victim’s mouth.

Police said the victim was able to break free and run up Pleasant Street to River Street where she was able to find people to assist her in notifying the police.

The victim was transported to an area hospital for minor injuries sustained in the assault.

The suspect description is of a white or Hispanic male 6-foot-2 tall, very thin build with something on his head, possibly a hat or headphones and wearing gray hoodie or a gray track jacket.

The Cambridge Police advises women to be cautious when out walking alone at night and when possible walk with someone else. The Police Department also advises people walking at night not to wear head phones and to be constantly aware of their surroundings.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cambridge Police Detective Bureau at 617-349-3370.--http://www.wickedlocal.com/

Man followed 12 year old and attempted to kidnapp her...

2010-05-20T14:33:00.001-07:00

MURDERED WOMAN'S LETTERS PROVE SHE KNEW HER BOYFRIEND WOULD KILL HER....

2010-05-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

She knew he was going to kill her.

Letters found on the computer of the live-in girlfriend of Robert Camarano, accused of stabbing her to death in their Chelsea apartment, show he was boiling over with rage, prosecutors said.

"I want to knock your face off, see your teeth break," Michele Hyams wrote that Camarano hissed at her shortly before her brutal June 2008 death. "I want to slam my fist into your f---ing face and knock half your f---in' head off."

"Bobby I have to find some way to protect myself from you. You are going to kill me," Hyams, 60, wrote on one of the letters prosecutors read in Manhattan court yesterday.

Camarano, a 62-year-old ex-con acting as his own lawyer, said someone planted the letter to frame him.

A police witness disputed that claim. "All I can tell you is the documents were created in that computer," said Detective Christopher Wachholtz, an NYPD computer forensics expert, adding the person logged in as Hyams.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/

HOMELESS MAN MAKES RACIAL ATTACK ON TWO WOMEN...

2010-05-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

Cambridge — After police determined he approached two black women and allegedly called racial slurs out against them, as well as striking one on the arm, they arrested Ronald Sparks, 53, 240 Albany St., on May 10 and charged him with assault and battery after reportedly hitting multiple victims on Sidney Street.

According to police reports, Sparks was at the Shaw’s supermarket on Sidney Street at approximately 3:31 p.m. When they arrived at the store, they found Sparks sitting on the sidewalk, yelling at two black females standing approximately 10 feet away from him. One had been struck by Sparks and the other spat upon. The females said Sparks attacked them for no reason. Witnesses who stopped to assist the women said Sparks was belligerent toward them, which caused them to walk away. They said he was “out of control” and “crazy.”

Police reported Sparks appeared to be intoxicated. When officers approached him, he continued to swear at the women, and then reached up with his left arm to grab one of the officer’s shirt. Police turned him over on his stomach and arrested him on disorderly conduct charges. They stated he was uncooperative and combative. He also spat on another officer’s right arm and shirt. After speaking with the two women and witnesses, he was charged with assault and battery.--http://www.wickedlocal.com/

QUESTIONS REMAIN IN MURDERED WISCONSIN MAN'S DEATH...

2010-05-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

Police have questioned a Big Rock woman in connection with a fatal shooting in Wisconsin last month.

According to a search warrant filed in Kane County, on April 30, two Wisconsin investigators went to the Big Rock woman's home after several clues led them to believe she had information about the death of Vance Evans, a bar owner in Tomah, Wis., about two hours northwest of Madison.

Evans' girlfriend found the body of the 53-year-old in his apartment at 1:30 a.m. April 27, the search warrant says. Local police said Evans was shot, but have not classified the death as a murder.

Tomah Police Chief Wesley Revels said Wednesday his department continues to gather information while awaiting crime lab test results. Serving the search warrant was part of the investigation, though it does not necessarily mean the Big Rock woman is a suspect, Revels said.

According to the warrant, not long before Evans died, his girlfriend had received a call from Evans' cell phone. Evans told his girlfriend the "psycho from Illinois" was at his house and he could not get rid of her.

Later, the girlfriend called Evans back and the phone was answered by a woman, the warrant says. Investigators combing the apartment for evidence found contact information for the Big Rock woman.

The Big Rock woman is named in the warrant, but she has not been charged with a crime. Mike Rabbit, the woman's attorney, declined comment.

According to the warrant, Evans received calls from the Big Rock woman the night he died. The Big Rock woman also checked into a hotel in Tomah the night before Evans died, but a housekeeper later said it appeared the room had not been used.

Court records show that two Wisconsin officers went to the Big Rock woman's house on April 30 to talk about an "unfortunate incident in Tomah." The woman replied her lawyer advised her not to answer any questions.

Police seized a brake pedal, floor mat, cell phone and documents from her house, according to court records.

Evans was born and raised in Tomah, but lived in Illinois for 30 years while he worked at Chrysler. He bought The Sportsman's Bar in Tomah in 1995.

"He was life of the party," said the bar's co-owner, Dorothy Walker. "He had lots and lots of friends. We miss him terribly."(Aurora-Beacon News)