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Entries by Alyric - CrimeNe.ws

Entries by Alyric - CrimeNe.ws
Andy Jones  |  by crimene.ws. All rights reserved. 29.05 | 7:32

Apparently, we were

According to sheriff's office spokesman Kraig Troxell, deputies were called to a Hedgerow Terrace home shortly after noon after two occupants reported they were awakened by two men entering a townhouse. The victims were assaulted with a small firearm. A third victim knocked on the door of the residence and got into an altercation with one of the men.

All three victims had minor injuries, but declined medical treatment.


They don't go into any more details on the nature of the injuries, but since they declined medical treatment I have to assume they were really minor. Probably clubbed with the weapon, rather than shot.


Anyway, since you're reading this here...


Troxell said the suspects left the residence with cash, a video game system and an MP3 player. The game system and MP3 player were later found outside the home.

While not strictly about video games, spyware is an unfortunate problem that many computer gamers are faced with.

I ran across an excellent about the I-SPY bill aimed at preventing spyware that recently passed the House of Representatives.
I thought about posting excerpts, but really, the entire article is worth the read, and it's too long to post here.
I would like to point out that in addition to the problems mentioned in the article, the exact definition of what constitutes spyware is still debated by some.

There are still people that do not consider non-malicious software spyware, even if it installs itself and transmits information to a third party without your knowledge or permission.
Even without being malicious, these kinds of programs often have a detrimental effect on your computer, and doing it without informing you is a breach of trust by the developers responsible.

Apparently, the an 18 year-old by the name of Robert Gray, robbed neighbors in his apartment complex.


I had to chuckle at this, though:

Following up on an anonymous tip, (Broward Sheriff's Office) detectives visited apartment N102 on May 15 and met with Gray. When Gray opened the door, detectives said they smelled a strong scent of marijuana and asked permission to search his apartment.

If you're going to keep several thousand dollars worth of stolen equipment in your apartment, it's probably a good idea not to give police probable cause to search it.

As for what was taken...


Detectives obtained a warrant to search the apartment and found about $15,000 in stolen property inside Gray's bedroom. The items recovered include two flat screen TVs, several cell phones, two X-Box video game consoles, DVD players, other electronic items, jewelry and more.

Well, he's nothing if not industrious.

Did he really think he could just keep all of that in the same apartments that he'd stolen them from, and nobody would be the wiser?

Gray faces 16 charges including burglary dwelling, possession of burglary tools and grand theft.

He's already confessed to the robberies, so he's probably facing a hefty prison sentence.

At the age of 18. If only that would serve as a lesson to others. I'm not holding my breath.

First and foremost, an Australian politician has vowed to the matter.
Meanwhile Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan said that Lambourn should seek professional help, adding that she will be instigating an official investigation against the game.
"The individual responsible for the game is using a terrible tragedy to draw attention to himself and his work.

It is in very poor taste and the person concerned may want to consider getting some professional help", Senator Coonan said.


Moving on, we can find that this isn't the first time he's created something offensive about a
Unfortunately, it speaks for itself - but one of his replies to a comment in the review section is even more telling. First, a portion of the comment:
Dude, I'm from New Orleans, and my house was destroyed.

Usually I try to keep an opened mind about other peoples flashes, but this is cruel. Most of those pictures you showed had dead bodies, and that's awful how you could make fun of it like that.


Now, his response:
Others peoples misery makes me smile.

...

isnt that a good enough reason?


I think he's beyond psychological help. What he needs is a padded white room for the rest of his life.

The title says it all, but the is short so I'll post the entire thing here:
A Caddo Parish grand jury voted 11-0 to uphold police decision to charge a Shreveport man for killing his 76-year-old grandfather.
Terry Cooksey, 22, was indicted Tuesday on one count of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Arthur Busby, according to Caddo district attorney’s office.
Cooksey was arrested April 19 on a negligent homicide charge for leaving his grandfather, Arthur Busby, lying on the floor for five days.

He initially told police the elderly man fell in his Queensborough home about 10:30 p.m. the Saturday prior but that he didn’t call 911 until that Thursday.


Detectives later upgraded the charge to first-degree murder after learning that Cooksey physically assaulted the elderly man during a dispute over a video game, police said.
Cooksey is set to be arraigned June 13 before Caddo District Judge Scott Crichton. If convicted as charged, he faces the death penalty or life in prison.


I really, really hope he gets the death penalty. Maybe they could string him up as a pinata in a nursing home.
By now you've probably read about the based on the Virginia Tech murders.

Note that elements of the 'game', and comments by the creator (including his explanation that he used Cho's favorite song in the game) indicate that this, like the Columbine game before it, was his tribute to the murderer.
But now,
The game's creator is demanding $2000 to take the game down, and says he'll "issue an apology" if he gets $3000.
You, sir/madam/mutant, are a despicable excuse for a human being.

To create something about the murders less than a month after they happened - something that is so patently offensive in every regard that you believe you can get people to pay you for getting rid of it tells me you share more genes in common with pond scum than with the typical homo sapien.
According to the creator is an Australian by the name of Ryan Lambourn. Seeing how Australia is bigger on banning things than the U.

S., maybe he'll get into some kind of trouble over this. One can hope - I mean, hey, it's not our freedoms in jeopardy!


At the very least, maybe a dingo will eat him.

..

. and they don't look for him.
Of course, they don't make the victims look particularly bright, either:

On Thursday, Pfeiff and Shiflett described frequently seeing Brooks show off a gun at parties.

Brooks made sure people saw the weapon's handle when he carried it in his pocket, the roommates said.


In hindsight, the two roommates said they should have reported Brooks' weapon to authorities.

bangs forehead on desk You don't say.


"Maybe it was morally wrong not to say something," said Shiflett said. But he said the roommates didn't see the gun possession and braggadocio as a big deal.

Still feel that way?


Shiflett said he first saw Brooks' gun last fall. He recalled Brooks saying at the time that the revolver "was a perfect murder weapon," because the shell casings remain in the gun. Other types of guns spit out their shells after the bullets are fired.


When Brooks didn't have a gun, he would pretend he was twirling one on his finger, Pfeiff said.


Pretty damning, if they can be believed. All of this is coming from the people he shot, so far, so we'll have to wait and see.

There are plenty of people claiming he was a decent guy, a role model, etc., but let's face it. Decent guys don't carry around a gun, steal Playstations, and shoot people at the drop of a hat.

I'm a bit late on this one - at first I was waiting for more information, then it completely slipped my mind. Then I had a story all typed up and when I went to save it, got booted to login and lost it. Anyway, thanks to Trench for the link to the story today reminding me about it.


In a story that bears some similarity to recent story, 17 year-old is claiming that details overheard by teachers and found in his notebook were part of the design for a game he was planning.
I'm really undecided about this one. There's no real evidence other than his word that he was planning a game, and unlike the Counterstrike story, if it was a game, he was apparently focusing on making students and possibly teachers targets in it.


In court Friday Timmering sat quietly with both his hands and feet in cuffs as they read the charges against him. Court documents say two teachers overheard Timmering "saying something about chaining the doors on the school except for one, then shooting kids as they came out."
When Guglielmino asked him about it he said he was just playing a game though she noticed a notebook with the word, 'Assassination' on the cover.


Apparently the Assassination notebook contained more details. This is why I really have little sympathy for the kid. Even if everything he's saying is true, and he was only planning a game, bringing that notebook to school - especially labeled so prominently - was one of the stupidest things he could possibly have done.

And don't try hiding behind freedom of speech. It's really no different than joking about a bomb in an airport, it's just a really stupid thing to do.
That said, I think there's been an overreaction here.

Don't get me wrong, I feel the teachers and school administrators were entirely justified in notifying the police. There was enough evidence to warrant an investigation. But barring the possibility of details that have been withheld, I think they're going to find it impossible to prove intent.


Of course, the on the case hasn't helped matters:

In an unusual move, the judge did not set bail because Timmering underwent a risk assessment Friday afternoon, the results which will be presented at a bail hearing on Monday. At that time, Timmering's attorney hopes he'll be released, without any bail.

Even though bail was set, the judge presiding over Monday’s bail hearing wants another doctor to perform a second risk assessment to make sure Lance Timmering doesn't pose a risk to the community.

His family says this isn't a story about risk though, but that the story revolves around First Amendment rights.


Now, I can maybe understand the first time, if only as a "cover my ass" move. But trying for a second time (especially if it was considered so unusual the first time) gives me the indication that the judge isn't interested in assessing risk, he wants a specific answer and is not going to be happy until he gets it.

I was under the impression that judges were supposed to operate without bias, but you know, I could be wrong.

Critics argue however that these types of games influence violent activity and, in fact, it was widely reported at the time that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the two gunmen in the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, played first person shooter games. Early news reports also suggest that Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui also played these types of games.


Why dredge up past shootings, except to get a knee-jerk emotional response/connection? Nevermind the simple fact that such a vast majority of Americans - particularly among teens and young adults - play video games that assuming any particular person plays or has played a violent video game is a decidedly safe bet. (This is why anti-game activists had no problem predicting the Virginia Tech killer played video games before they even knew who he was.

It's like predicting that there might be an earthquake in California somewhere someday. Duh.) As we've said before at Public Enemy: Player One, correlation is not causation.

Every school shooter also ate food - should we start arresting anyone caught eating?
I'll keep an eye on the story to see if there are any new details. But since I've yet to form a solid opinion one way or the other, I'll end this post by going off topic a bit on the decline of the American education system:

“I have to look at every threat as though it is real irregardless what I know about the student," (Northport Superintendent Patsy Guglielmino) said.


Someone should tell her that irregardless isn't a word. At least she's not an English teacher. I hope.

Another short update - the is mostly a rehash of information that's been available. (And yes, it's the Washington Post. Sorry, Trench.

)
However, it did have a bit of a surprise: Jonquel Brooks is apparently claiming self defense.

Brooks' attorney, David Mugridge, said his client received a grazing wound to his upper right thigh, which required treatment at a hospital, and suggested his client had been assaulted.
"This is a young man who was doing reasonably well at Fresno State and was not known as a loner," Mugridge said.

"If anything, this was an issue of self-defense."


If the people he's accused of shooting are responsible for the wound he recieved, and if they threatened or assaulted him first - running was the stupidest thing he could possibly have done. Not just running, either, but changing his appearance to try to avoid being captured.


If he really believed the shooting was justified - if he had no doubts about it - he'd have no reason to run and hide. Even on the off chance it's true, he's going to have a hard time selling it in court due to his subsequent actions. The suspect, Jonquel Brooks, has .


According to reports, Pfeiff says, "The guy who shot us - he had stolen from our apartment. We went to confront him with the evidence and it just turned ugly from there. He pulled a gun out on us.

"


If you have evidence that someone's stolen from you, it's probably better to go to the police, even if it seems pretty minor. I mean, hey, this guy's proof that the world is full of crazies.
Still no word on how he managed to slip away from the apartment, but according to police, he'd shaved his head and changed his clothing in an attempt to avoid being recognized.


How'd that work for you? Short story because there aren't a lot of details out yet, but the recent in appears to have been the culmination of an argument over a video game.
Reports are that one person was killed and two wounded.

The suspect is a 19 year-old criminology student (ah the irony), Jonquel Brooks. From the sound of things he's escaped despite police believing they had him trapped.

Apparently what led to the shooting, however, was when 3 individuals went in to the Jonquel Brooks' apartment to talk about their equipment that the suspect had.

The 19-year-old student then pulled out a gun and started shooting. The deceased was a former student, 1 wounded victim is a current student, and 1 wounded victim is not.


Considering other stories mentioning video games and a Playstation 2, I'm assuming that the equipment they're referring to was a console and/or peripherals.

Ok, to start things off I have to take a small issue with the first paragraph of the story:

Four young men were playing video games in North Braddock when one opened fire with a real gun, killing two of his friends, according to the fourth player, who testified yesterday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. The shooter then gave him a choice: He could stay and meet the same fate, or go.

Erm, I very much doubt he killed two people with a fake gun, so why the need to emphasize "real"?

Later in the article it says they were playing Madden NFL - I'm not big on sports but I think professional football is still played with no guns on the field. I could be wrong. Maybe the author was just trying to be cute, but is it really necessary?

Still, it's a very minor gripe. Moving on.
Let's take a look at what happened, starting from the beginning.


In testimony that was contradictory and confusing, (Marlin) Sanders said he skipped school Nov. 9, 2005, and went in the early morning to Mr. Hutson's house to offer protection while his friend handled several drug deals in and around his home.


Oh, we're off to a stellar start. The article then goes into a few of his contradictions, and his trip to a store to buy blunts. Then:
At one point, Mr.

Smith and Mr. Hutson were bragging about who had a bigger gun, but neither was angry and both put their weapons away, the witness said. The foursome began playing Madden NFL "to see who was better.

" Then they moved the console from the living room to a back bedroom.


It sounds like these people had some major compensation issues.
The two victims were taking a turn facing off at the controls when, without uttering a word, Mr.

Smith shot the host from behind with a .22-caliber pistol, Mr. Sanders said.

He said he heard pops and saw flashes and his right ear was ringing from the gunfire.
Mr. Hutson had four gunshot wounds to the back of the head, four stab wounds to the throat and one to the cheek.

A forensic pathologist found no defensive wounds, indicating that Mr. Hutson had no opportunity to try to fight off the attack.
Mr.

Sanders testified he didn't know who stabbed Mr. Hutson. The bleeding pattern indicated that the stab wounds were inflicted last, according to the pathologist.


The second victim attempted to escape through the living room. The defendant shot him as he pleaded for mercy, Mr. Sanders testified.


Really, I think the details speak for themselves. He murders two of his friends in cold blood, both shooting and stabbing them. And not only that, he was apparently composed enough afterwards to take the time to rob one of them:
Mr.

Smith, 20, also faces a gun charge and two counts of robbery for stealing the PlayStation 2 console and taking cash from Mr. Hutson's pockets.


This sounds like one seriously fucked up individual.

Hopefully he gets taken off the streets for good. Three stories today, and additionally, an update to an older story.
First up we have 18 year-old Jacob Forcier, who was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter in the death of Christian Craig, who he was giving a ride home.


California Highway Patrol investigators determined Forcier had not been under the influence of any alcohol or drugs, and he had not been speeding.
Immediately after the accident, Forcier told police he had been having car trouble with his 2000 Mercury Cougar, which he had bought 10 days earlier.
(Deputy District Attorney Dave) Walters brought in witnesses during this week's trial to testify that the car had undergone a thorough safety inspection at a used-car dealership a month before the accident.

The car's previous owner also testified nothing was wrong with the car.


Unfortunately, the damage done to the car during the wreck made determining whether there was really a problem with the car impossible. This is one of those cases where there's no easy answer.

Sure, the kid could have been lying to cover his ass. But so could the previous owner and the car dealership, if they'd lied about the condition of the car and were trying to cover their asses. Or something could have happened to the car in the few days he'd had it, though that seems unlikely.

The only one that really knows for sure is Jacob Forcier.

Anderson surmised that, instead of experiencing car trouble, Forcier was most likely distracted by helping her son play a video game on Forcier's laptop, a device the boy had never used before.

Based on what?

Did you have a telepathic connection to your son? Are you capable of remote viewing? Don't get me wrong, I understand that this family is going through an incredible amount of grief right now and needs someone or something to blame, but saying "he must have been playing video games with my son while driving" just seems like grasping for straws.


And on a final note for that story, considering how tense/emotional the article described the thing, you'd think the kid was facing some serious penalties. Of course, you'd be wrong:

After three hours of deliberation, a jury of Nevada County residents found driver Jacob Forcier, 18, of Reno, not guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with ordinary negligence, a charge that could have landed him in jail for up to a year and suspended his license.

Up to a year?

A suspended license? I don't think there's much point in getting upset with an acquittal when you'd likely have been just as upset with a conviction.
Moving on, we have a short story about a .


Sometime between 8:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.

m. last night, a person or person(sic) entered a home on Justina Street in the village, taking a X-Box video game system with paddles, 6 to 8 games, and a Century safe containing approximately $6,000 in cash, most of which was in $50 and $100 bills.


I take it this person didn't believe in banks.

Certainly sounds like the person responsible knew the owner (directly or otherwise) at least well enough to know about the safe.
And on that note, we go to our next . This one is interesting, I'm going to post the first few paragraphs here.


Tipped-off police officers could have prevented the ransacking of an Ozone Park woman’s home last week, but instead never responded to calls from her neighbors, the woman claims.
Marie Loria, a Jamaica Hospital Medical Center nurse, arrived home on Tuesday at roughly 4 p.m.

with her four children to find their 83rd Street Tudor in disarray after an apparent burglary. Her family lost over $10,000 in jewelry, cash, clothing, video game systems, computers and other electronics.
That was cause enough for dismay, but she soon learned that hours earlier, her neighbors had alerted officers at the 106th Precinct to a group of suspicious-looking teenagers loitering on her stoop.

Her frustration only mounted as officers took two hours to arrive at her house after she herself called them to report the crime.


Did this precinct employ graduates of the Clancy Wiggums Police School for Excellence in Doughnut Tasting? The only really good thing about this story is that this woman has great neighbors:
At around noon, when the car they were driving began disappearing and returning in intervals to a spot around the corner on Sutter Avenue, (Joe) Detoma entered its license plate number into his cellular phone.

One of Detoma and Loria’s neighbors, who had also grown suspicious, called the police. Detoma said that the car disappeared for the final time at approximately 2:30 p.m.


Not just one, but two of her neighbors took the time to do something. That may seem like just common decency but I've read plenty of stories where neighbors just ignored what was obviously an ongoing robbery. While apparently calling the police was pointless, hopefully the license plate number will be enough to track these people down and recover her belongings.


And lastly, to the fiasco.
For those who don't remember, Peyton Strickland is the 18 year-old suspected of stealing Playstation 3s that was shot through his door and killed by a police officer that mistook the sound of a battering ram nearby for gunfire. His accomplice, Brandon Riley, pled guilty:

Braden Riley, 22, of Apex, entered the plea Thursday to being an accessory after the fact to common law robbery.

Chief District Court Judge John J. Carroll III gave Riley a suspended sentence of four to five months and 24 months of supervised probation.


According to the article, the investigation into the shooting of Peyton Strickland is ongoing, though state prosecutors failed to get an indictment the first time they tried.

Christopher Long, the police officer responsible for the fatal shooting, has since .
To start things out, because you're reading this here..

. well, this time no video games were stolen. Instead they took cash, prescription drugs and jewelry.

But...


Reilly said he arrived at the apartment after the robbery and his parents told him two gunmen ordered them to get on the floor, wrapped their heads in blankets, and used cords from video game equipment to bind their hands and feet.

But moving on, things get more interesting.
Five men broke in the front screen door of a North Tustin apartment Monday and held two residents at gunpoint, ransacking the home while videotaping the crime, authorities said.


First...

five men? Thieves are getting more cowardly by the minute. Second.

.. why the hell would you videotape yourself committing a crime?

With any luck they won't destroy the videotape, and you know what that will mean...


Curious, I headed over to check it out, only to find out that it required the Wild Tangent plugin to operate.
I'm a very cautious downloader, so I did an exhaustive google search of Wild Tangent before I decided to download it - and, perhaps not surprisingly, discovered it was spyware.
Now, to qualify that statement, you need to understand that in most circles there is no "set" definition of spyware.

This has led to arguments, lawsuits, etc., over what is and is not considered spyware. But really, the answer is simple: any program that collects any information on your computer and sends it to a third party, without your knowledge or consent, is spyware.

Please note: spyware is not always malicious in nature!
Such seems to be the case with Wild Tangent, which primarily reports usage statistics and machine specifications. However, spyware often has a detrimental affect on PC performance - as has been reported of Wild Tangent.

There are are also reports that it may be bundled with , a more serious spyware/adware threat.
For those wanting to remove Wild Tangent from their systems, (and I encourage you to check to see whether it's there - some Dell computers come with it pre-loaded), try starting with . I can't verify it works or is current, as I never installed Wild Tangent.


Obviously, I can't comment on the actual game.

Read more on by crimene.ws. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Wild Tangent, Jonquel Brooks, Virginia Tech, Jacob Forcier, x Box, Mp3 Player, Arthur Busby, Peyton Strickland, Madden Nfl, Caddo District
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