Miley Cyrus (Twitter)Over the weekend, Miley Cyrus dealt yet again with one of the less-desirable aspects of fame … an unwanted (and potentially dangerous) person at her Los Angeles-area home. According to reports, early Saturday morning a man jumped the fence onto her property and knocked on her door, claiming he knew Cyrus, before repeatedly throwing himself against the exterior wall of the house. Someone at the home called 911 (Cyrus was out of town at the time) and the man was later caught hiding in the bushes at the pop star's property holding a pair of scissors. In footage obtained by TMZ, the suspect, who identified himself as Jason Luis Rivera, claimed he knew the 19-year-old. "I am a friend of Miley Cyrus. I am. She's my wife. Me and Miley have been friends for five years," he said during his arrest.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Rivera is being held on suspicion of burglary. "He thinks they were married," Lt. Brian Wendling of the Los Angeles Police Department told E! News. "And I would say delusional is a good characterization of him."
A bicyclist competing in a race from Logan, Utah, to Jackson Hole, Wyo., crashed on a bridge in Wyoming and fell about 35 feet to his death into the Snake River.
Robert Verhaaren, 42, of Mesa, Ariz., was participating in the annual LoToJa race when he swerved to avoid a pothole and crashed on Highway 89 about eight miles from the finish line Saturday afternoon, Teton County sheriff's deputies said.
The 206-mile race also was marred by serious accidents in Idaho and Wyoming that sent two bicyclists to the hospital and by flat tires experienced by roughly 200 cyclists early on, said race spokesman David Bern.
He said it's the first fatality in the 30-year history of the race, which is billed as the longest one-day bicycle race in the country sanctioned by USA Cycling. This year's event drew 1,500 competitors from across the nation.
Sheriff's deputies said when Verhaaren swerved to miss the pothole, he crashed into a guardrail and was catapulted over it into the river.
The victim was a highly experienced cyclist who had competed in the event at least twice before, organizers said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Louisville man accused of opening fire at a homeowners association meeting, killing one and critically wounding another, was ordered held on a $1 million bond Saturday at an initial court hearing where a prosecutor called him "the epitome of danger to the community."
A not guilty plea was entered on behalf of 55-year-old Mahmoud Yousef Hindi to charges of murder, assault and wanton endangerment in the Thursday evening shooting at a church.
Dressed in a blue jail outfit, Hindi showed no emotion and did not speak as he stood before a judge.
Afterward, defense attorney Todd Lewis called the case a "horrendous tragedy" and said the Hindi family's thoughts were with the victims' families. Lewis asked for patience in unraveling the case.
"We look forward to our day in court," he told reporters. "There's always another side to things."
What specifically sparked the attack wasn't clear.
Police say Hindi, a doctor educated in Jordan, had a history of disputes with the homeowners group revolving around a fence that the association said didn't meet its height or design requirements in the upscale neighborhood of Spring Creek.
The association's attorney says the organization brought the zoning violation charges to the city. Hindi wrote several letters to the attorney, expressing anger and contempt for the attorney.
In one letter that ranted about several neighbors, Hindi cited the Quran, the theory of creationism, the idea that America has gone to Communism, threatens to form his own homeowners association and accused neighbors of stealing his "no trespassing signs" in the dispute over the fence.
PENSACOLA, Fla. - A former medical examiner has been arrested on charges of keeping human remains in a rented storage unit in the Florida Panhandle.
Dr. Michael Berkland, 57, was arrested Friday on charges of improper storage of hazardous waste, keeping a public nuisance and driving with a suspended license. He was released from jail on $10,000 bail.
Berkland's attorney, Eric Stevenson, told the Pensacola News Journal (http://on.pnj.com/U1JQAg) that he and Berkland will start preparing their defence next week.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said more charges may be filed.
Crudely preserved brains, hearts, lungs and other organs and specimens were discovered in more than 100 containers last month in a Pensacola storage unit Berkland had rented for about three years. The unit was auctioned off after Berkland defaulted on his payments, according to an arrest affidavit.
Berkland had declared the contents to be household goods, furniture, boxes, sporting goods and landscaping equipment. A man who bought the unit's contents discovered the human organs after becoming overpowered by a strange smell while sifting through the items, authorities said.
Ten cardboard boxes stacked in a corner of the unit contained "numerous individual containers with ... human remains stored in a liquid substance," according to the affidavit.
Most of the containers were labeled. About half the containers were medical grade and the other half included soda cups and plastic food containers, according to the affidavit.
The organs were stored in a liquid solution containing formaldehyde and methyl alcohol, authorities said.
"The remains included tissue samples and dissected organs. (Investigators) also advised that there were numerous whole organs, including hearts, brains, a liver and a lung," according to the affidavit.
Berkland worked at the District 1 Medical Examiner's Office in Pensacola from 1997 to 2003, when he was fired for not completing autopsy reports. Berkland's license to serve as a medical examiner in Florida has been withdrawn.
Before coming to Florida, Berkland had been fired as a contract medical examiner in 1996 in Jackson County, Mo., in a dispute over his caseload and autopsy reports. His doctor's license was ultimately revoked there.
The medical examiner's office in Pensacola said the organs found in the storage unit appear to have come from private autopsies Berkland performed between 1997 and 2007 at funeral homes in the Florida Panhandle and in Tallahassee.
Jeff Martin, director of the medical examiner's office, said about 10 families have been notified that their relatives' remains were in the unit.
Improper storage of hazardous waste carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, and keeping a public nuisance, a misdemeanour charge, could mean a 60-day jail term, according to the state attorney's office.
Saturday, September 8, 2012 | Borderland Beat ReporterBuggs
By Michael Weissenstein Associated Press
Mexican federal police announced Friday that they have arrested a suspect in the killing of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, the slaying at the center of the scandal over the botched U.S. gun-smuggling probe known as Operation Fast and Furious.
Jesus Leonel Sanchez Meza is one of the five men charged with killing Terry in December 2010 during a shootout in Arizona near the Mexico border. One is on trial in Arizona and the other three remain fugitives. Sanchez was arrested Thursday in Sonora state.
Two guns found at the scene were bought by a member of a gun-smuggling ring that was being monitored in the Fast and Furious investigation. Critics have knocked U.S. federal authorities for allowing informants to walk away from Phoenix-area gun shops with weapons, rather than immediately arresting suspects.
In Operation Fast and Furious and at least three earlier probes during the administration of President George W. Bush, agents in Arizona employed a risky tactic called gun-walking—allowing low-level "straw" buyers in gun-trafficking networks to leave with loads of weapons purchased at gun shops.
The goal was to track the guns to major weapons traffickers and drug cartels in order to bring cases against kingpins who had long eluded prosecution under the prevailing strategy of arresting low-level purchasers of guns who were suspected of buying them for others. During Operation Fast and Furious, many of the weapons weren't tracked and wound up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S., including the Terry shooting.
In July, U.S. authorities made a rare disclosure linked to the botched gun-smuggling probe, revealing identities and requesting the public's help in capturing the four fugitives accused in the shooting death of Terry. The release of the suspects' identities in an unsealed indictment came with the offer of a $1 million reward for information leading to their capture.
The FBI said it was seeking information related to Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, 31, Ivan Soto-Barraza, 34, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, 34, and a man identified as Lionel Portillo-Meza, which Mexican police said was an alias of the man arrested Thursday in Puerto Penasco, Sonora. Portillo-Meza's age and birthplace were unavailable.
The other three fugitives were born in Mexico, but their hometowns were not available. Authorities had previously released the identity of the fifth suspect, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes of El Fuerte in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. He was shot during the gunfight and has been in custody since the night of the shooting. He has pleaded not guilty in the case, telling investigators that he raised his weapon toward the agents during the shootout but didn't fire, the FBI said in records. His age was not immediately available.
All five men have been charged with murder. They also face charges of assaulting four federal agents. FBI agents declined to discuss which fugitive is suspected of firing the shot that killed Terry. They also would not comment on whether the weapon was linked to an Operation Fast and Furious purchase.
The five men, plus another who faces lesser charges in the case, went to the U.S. from Mexico in order to rob marijuana smugglers, the indictment said
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — A young Christian girl accused of burning pages of Islam's holy book was freed Saturday from a jail near the capital where she had been held for three weeks, a Pakistani jail official said.
Jail where they held the Christian Girl
The release a day after a judge granted her bail is another step closer to ending an episode that has focused an uncomfortable spotlight on Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws, which can result in life in prison or even death for defendants. Many critics say the laws are misused to wage vendettas or target Pakistan's vulnerable minorities like the Christians.
The jail official, Mushtaq Awan, said the girl left the prison in Rawalpindi, a garrison city near Islamabad amid tight security.
An Associated Press reporter on the scene said she was taken from the prison in an armored vehicle and whisked to a waiting helicopter while covered with a sheet to protect her identity.
Thursday, September 6, 2012 | Borderland Beat ReporterBuggs
Twelve suspected Cartel Independiente de Acapulco members wanted for the killings of at least 18 people in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero were arrested, state officials said Thursday.
Jose Alberto Quiroz Perez, one of the cartel's suspected bosses, was among those captured, the Guerrero Public Safety Secretariat said.
Quiroz allegedly was in charge of merging the gangs left leaderless by the arrests of the bosses of the La Barredora drug trafficking organization.
La Barredora fought the Cartel Independiente de Acapulco for control of drug sales, kidnappings and extortion rackets in Acapulco, a resort city on Mexico's Pacific coast. The two gangs were formed after the break-up of the organization led by Edgar Valdez Villarreal, who was arrested by the Federal Police on Aug. 30, 2010.
The arrest of Valdez Villarreal, known as "La Barbie," unleashed a war for control of Acapulco, one of Mexico's top tourist destinations, sending the crime rate soaring in the port city.
Quiroz Perez and his associates kidnapped members of rival gangs, murdered them and dumped their bodies in public areas along with threatening messages, the secretariat said.
The Cartel Independiente de Acapulco is suspected of being behind extortion rackets targeting businesses in Acapulco.
Acapulco, a favorite among Mexican and foreign tourists for decades, has lost business to other destinations due to the violence.
The cartel operates in Acapulco and cities in Guerrero's Costa Chica region that were previously controlled by La Barredora, whose members were recruited by Quiroz Perez, the secretariat said.
For a river known as the "golden watercourse," red is a strange color to see.
Yet that's the shade turning up in the Yangtze River and officials have no idea why.
The red began appearing in the Yangtze, the longest and largest river in China and the third longest river in the world, yesterday near the city of Chongquing, where the Yangtze connects to the Jialin River.
The Yangtze, called "golden" because of the heavy rainfall it receives year-round, runs through Chongqing, Southwest China's largest industrial and commercial center, also known as the "mountain city" because of the hills and peaks upon which its many buildings and factories stand.
The red color stopped some residents in their tracks. They put water from the river in bottles to save it. Fishermen and other workers who rely on the river for income kept going about their business, according to the UK's Daily Mail.
While the river's red coloring was most pronounced near Chongqing it was also reported at several other points.
Police said their investigation determined that Maffei drove to Ballena Isle Marina in Alameda where he stole a 40-foot yacht and sailed away with the two children. The rental car was found abandoned in the parking lot of the marina and towed for evidence.
UPDATE IN CUSTODY
The Coast Guard and FBI began tracking the 40-foot sailboat Unleashed, which was sailed from a harbor in Alameda on Tuesday.
The children's rescue south of Monterey Bay around 8 p.m. Friday came hours after the Coast Guard had dispatched a HC-130 Hercules plane, a helicopter and two cutters to follow the boat as it slowly sailed down the coastline, Coast Guard officials said.
"A Coast Guard cutter approached the vessel and just started talking to them," Coast Guard spokesman Thomas McKenzie said. "He put his hands up and surrendered without incident."
Maffei's daughter Brooklynn and son Devin were examined by medics before a reunion with their mother, McKenzie said.
Jennifer Hipon told television reporters that she was "blown away" that her estranged boyfriend took the children.
South San Francisco PD
Police believe Christopher Maffei kidnapped his two children, Brooklynn and Devin, and took them aboard a stolen yacht.
A man from Charlotte, North Carolina has been arrested for threatening on Twitter to assassinate President Barack Obama during the Democratic National Convention.
Police arrested 21-year-old Donte Jarmar Sims on Wednesday. He has been charged with threatening the president’s life.
Donte Sims (can get 5 years in prison for that tweet)
“Well Ima Assassinate president Obama this evening !… Gotta get this monkey off my chest while he’s in town,” he tweeted on Monday.
The Secret Service is gonna be defenseless once I aim the Assault Rifle at Barack’s forehead… F* the #DNC,” he added.
Sims told investigators that he hated the President and was high on marijuana when he made the threats. He acknowledged what he did was wrong and has provided police with a written apology. Sims is currently being held at a federal detention center.
He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Sims has previously been charged with drug-related offenses.
The Secret Service is gonna be defenseless once I aim the Assault Rifle at Barack’s forehead… F* the #DNC,” he added.
Sims told investigators that he hated the President and was high on marijuana when he made the threats. He acknowledged what he did was wrong and has provided police with a written apology. Sims is currently being held at a federal detention center.
He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. Sims has previously been charged with drug-related offenses.
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — Jurors deliberating the murder case against Drew Peterson sent a note to the judge Thursday asking for the definition of the word 'unanimous' — a request that would seem to indicate a lack of consensus among them after more than a day and a half of discussion.
After the former Illinois police officer and his attorneys gathered in the Joliet courtroom, Judge Edward Burmila read out the one-sentence note from the 12 panelists, who include a research technician, a part-time poet and mail carrier. It read: "Just to be clear, judge — what does 'unanimous' mean?"
After discussing a response for several minutes with attorneys, Burmila said he would respond with a note saying the word "indicates the agreement of all on the matter at hand" and that, if they reach a decision, they would all have to sign the verdict form to show they are all in agreement.
Accused Mexican drug kingpin Eduardo Arellano Felix, whose Tijuana-based cartel was dramatized in the Oscar-winning film "Traffic," pleaded not guilty to federal drug charges on Tuesday in his first court appearance since extradition to the United States.
Arellano Felix, 55, the fourth brother from the reputed crime family to be taken into U.S. custody, arrived in California on Friday to face charges of racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy to distribute and import marijuana and cocaine.
During a brief hearing in U.S. District Court in San Diego, a public defender assigned to the case entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to all charges. He faces up to 140 years in prison if convicted.
Arellano Felix, shackled and dressed in an orange jumpsuit, sat expressionless and silent with his hands folded during the proceedings, surrounded by five federal marshals. He nodded in the affirmative when asked by the judge if he understood the charges against him.
HUMAN RIGHTS / CIVIL RIGHTS TRIBAL DIS-ENROLLMENT / BANISHMENT
Pechanga Council, using tribal terrorism, STRIPS the
citizenship of 25% of the Tribe,denying Pechanga People due process,equal
protection of tribal/federal laws,property rights.These acts of cultural
genocide and Apartheid are shameful Councils are using tribal sovereignty as a
club to beat the weak & helpless. We will continue to fight for our rights:
"They have the Rolex's, We have the Time
The owner of this Pechanga Blog (Rick Cuevas) fights to bring awareness to
Paulina Hunterthe public regarding ongoing civil rights violations in Indian Country.
(Reuters) - Five suspected Islamist militants were killed in a U.S. drone attack on Wednesday in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout, a Yemeni security official said.
The strike targeted a house where the suspected militants were hiding in the Wadi al-Ain area, said the security official. "Five militants were dead and three were injured and managed to escape".
"Lone Wolf strikes again" (5) Killed
The United States, which fears the spread of militants in Yemen, has stepped up attacks by unmanned aircraft this year. This is the fourth strike in two weeks in Hadramout province.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based in Yemen and has mounted operations in neighboring Saudi Arabia as well as attempting to launch attacks against the United States.
On Sunday, ten civilians including a 10-year-old girl were killed by a Yemeni government air strike that apparently had missed its target.
Tribal heads met with government officials in the central city of Redaa where the attack happened, officials said.
"It's been agreed that compensation will be paid to the families of the
Ten people, including a city official, a police chief and a law enforcement agent, suspected of having links to the Los Zetas drug cartel were arrested in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, officials said Tuesday.
Ruben Muzquiz Riojas, security secretary of the city of Anahuac, police chief Jesus Mario Mata Hernandez and police officer Juan Jesus Mendez were among those arrested.
The suspects, who have been linked to 17 murders, were arrested in the past few days by state and federal authorities, Nuevo Leon Security Council spokesman Jorge Domene said in a press conference.
Army troops and Nuevo Leon State Investigations Agency, or AEI, agents “managed to capture a gang of criminals who mainly operated in the cities of Anahuac and Lampazos,” Nuevo Leon, and Candela, a city in Coahuila state, Domene said.
The suspects kidnapped and murdered their victims, incinerating the bodies to wipe out the evidence, Domene said.
The officials from Anahuac worked for the gang, with Muzquiz Riojas receiving 40,000 pesos (about $3,000) from the cartel, Domene said.
Five vehicles, several cell phones, an ammunition clip for a rifle and ammunition were seized from the suspects.
Human remains were found at two ranches in Anahuac, which is in northern Nuevo Leon.
Los Zetas has been battling the Gulf cartel for control of Nuevo Leon and smuggling routes into the United States.
An heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune was arrested after he fatally hit a policeman with his Ferrari, dragging the officer's body down a Bangkok street early this morning, police said.
Vorayuth Yoovidhya, 27, admitted to investigators that he had been behind the wheel of his Ferrari when he struck the policeman, but claimed the officer had abruptly cut him off, the Associated Press reported.
Oil streaks stretching several blocks led police to a gated estate owned by the Red Bull family, local media reported.
Once a family lawyer was present, police searched the grounds, where they found the damaged Ferrari, which was taken to the Thing Lor police station as evidence, the Bangkok Post reported.
A log book keeping track of the family's vehicles also indicated Yoovidhya had been behind the wheel at the time of the accident, despite the fact a household employee tried to take responsibility, the newspaper reported.
Yoovidhya's lawyer said his client was still in shock and that he was prepared to offer funeral expenses and compensation, the Bangkok Post reported.
The 27-year-old faces charges of causing death by reckless driving and escaping an arrest.
The Yoovidhya family has a net worth of $5.4 billion, according to an August 2012 estimate by Forbes, and is the fourth richest family in Thailand.
Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution - First Degree Murder
(3 Counts), Arson of an Occupied Structure
REWARD: The FBI is offering a
reward of up to $100,000 for information leading directly to the arrest of
Robert William Fisher.
Robert William Fisher is wanted for allegedly killing his wife and two young
children and then blowing up the house in which they all lived in Scottsdale,
Arizona in April of 2001.
Fisher is physically fit and is an avid outdoorsman, hunter, and fisherman.
He has a noticeable gold crown on his upper left first bicuspid tooth. He may
walk with an exaggerated erect posture and his chest pushed out due to a lower
back injury. Fisher is known to chew tobacco heavily. He has ties to New Mexico
and Florida. Fisher is believed to be in possession of several weapons,
including a high-powered rifle
A new report refutes the finding that
Max Shacknai, the six year old son of millionaire Jonah Shacknai died due to an
accident at the Spreckles mansion in Coronado in July of 2011. The report
suggests the boy died a result of a homicide.
The report summarizes the
findings of two independent experts hired by the boy's mother Dina. One is
Robert Bove, PhD, who is an injury biomechanics expert. He reconstructs
accidents, and analyzes injuries from these accidents. The second expert is Dr.
Judy Melinek, a pathologist who is a Harvard grad, and an assistant medical
examiner at UCSF. She was also a clinical instructor in forensic medicine at
NYU.
"The accidental
scenario that was purported or put forward by the Coronado Police Department is
not accurate," said Dina Shacknai. "The experts' findings was that Max was
assaulted and
Dr Melinek wrote, "It is my opinion that Maxfield Shacknai's injuries are not
consistent with the scenario depicted… " She cited the boy's center of
gravity would have been too low to go over the bannister on his own, the pattern
of injury on the boy's back is not consistent with an impact of the bannister,
and the skull fracture contusion indicates that the primary fall impact was
against the top of Max's head, and not the right as stated in the original
report. The most riveting statement in Dr. Melinek's report is: "A more
reasonable scenario... is that Maxfield was assaulted by another person at the
hallway, near the banister on the second floor. The perpetrator injured his face
and shoulder and Maxfield then was pushed against or backed into the second
story railing, causing the patterned injuries along his back. Then, he was
either lifted over the banister or he escaped over the banister, falling down to
the front entryway, below. He landed on the top of his head…"
The doctor
concluded, "it would be more accurate to certify this manner of death… as a
homicide, where homicide is defined as death at the hands of
another."
The Coronado police Department responded with a brief
statement
"We did meet with Dina Shacknai last week, and will review the
information provided."
TUCSON - A man has turned himself into the Pima County Jail after his ex-girlfriend persuaded him.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department say 48-year-old William David Leverett showed up at the Pima County Jail Saturday morning.
Deputies say his ex-girlfriend convinced him to go directly to authories, after seeing his surveillance photos on the local news.
According to Deputy Tom Peine, they drove first to the Tucson Police Department on Stone Avenue. They weren't able to make contact with anyone there, so they drove to the police station on Miracle Mile, which was also unattended. They then decided to go to the Pima County Jail.
Leverett is charged with robbing a bank in Green Valley and another one on Ina Road.
His booking photograph is being withheld for investigative purposes.
Tucson Police Sgt. Chris Widmer says Leverett is the same person the FBI dubbed smokey and bandit robber.
Miley Cyrus (Twitter)Over the weekend, Miley Cyrus dealt yet again with one of the less-desirable aspects of fame … an unwanted (and potentially dangerous) person at her Los Angeles-area home. According to reports, early Saturday morning a man jumped the fence onto her property and knocked on her door, claiming he knew Cyrus, before repeatedly throwing himself against the exterior wall of the house. Someone at the home called 911 (Cyrus was out of town at the time) and the man was later caught hiding in the bushes at the pop star's property holding a pair of scissors. In footage obtained by TMZ, the suspect, who identified himself as Jason Luis Rivera, claimed he knew the 19-year-old. "I am a friend of Miley Cyrus. I am. She's my wife. Me and Miley have been friends for five years," he said during his arrest.
Saturday, September 8, 2012 | 
