CRIME REPORT

Devil Escapes Justice

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Pair's pleas end sex assault case - Crime/Safety - NewsObserver.com.

A 2008 Durham case marked by sensational accounts of Satanism and sadomasochism appears to have wound to a close with best-interest misdemeanor pleas by a man first charged with rape and kidnapping, and by a woman charged with letting those crimes happen.

Joseph Scott Craig, 26, and wife Joy Suzanne Johnson, 31, have entered Alford pleas, under which defendants do not admit guilt but concede that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict them.

Craig's Alford pleas came on two counts of assault inflicting serious injury and one count of assault on a female, Vann said. Johnson pleaded to being an accessory. Both received consecutive 60-day suspended sentences and a year of supervised probation.

Johnson, a former Durham County Democratic Party vice chairwoman, stepped down from her post after she was charged in July 2008. Diana Palmer, the county party's former first vice chairwoman, had accessory charges against her dismissed in District Court in January.

Daughter of slain leader of NC Hell's Angels arrested

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Searches lead to arrests of 4.

The daughter of the slain local leader of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club and three local men were arrested Monday on drug and weapons charges after authorities found firearms, explosives and illegal drugs in their homes.

Elizabeth Diane Sluder, 25, of 4615 Circle Drive in Winston-Salem was charged with possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said yesterday in a statement.

Her father, Dwight Sluder, 48, was found dead on July 15 in his house in northern Forsyth County. He had died of two gunshots to the head.

Dwight Sluder's name and address appear in a 2006 database of confirmed gang members whom the sheriff's office has identified as being affiliated with the Hells Angels.

Maj. Brad Stanley, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said that the arrests of Elizabeth Sluder and the three men were not related to Dwight Sluder's death.

They are either members or associates of the Hells Angels, Stanley said. "That case is still open, and it is unsolved," Stanley said. "There are leads that we are following."

Stanley declined to comment on whether investigators will question Sluder's daughter and the three men about Dwight Sluder's death.

Hutchens 'a Hero': Third officer at shooting says sergeant saved him

Journal Photo by Jennifer Rotenizer

Chief Scott Cunningham (left) listens as Officer Kaleb Mathews answers questions about the shooting Oct. 7 near Bojangles’ that killed two.

Hutchens 'a Hero': Third officer at shooting says sergeant saved him.

Officer Kaleb Mathews, on the Winston-Salem police force for only a few months, had to make the dreaded call: Two of his fellow officers had been shot.

Police detailed yesterday Mathews' role in the fatal confrontation with Monte Evans on Oct. 7 near the Bojangles' restaurant on Peters Creek Parkway.

Based on the findings of two internal investigations, Chief Scott Cunningham said, Mathews, Officer Daniel Clark and Sgt. Mickey Hutchens acted professionally and appropriately as they chased Evans into a ravine and exchanged gunfire with him at close range.

"There was no golden moment where anything the officers did could have changed the outcome," Cunningham said.

He offered a detailed timeline of the shooting, which killed Evans and Hutchens and wounded Clark. Mathews was not injured.

Mathews and Clark had stopped at Parkway Ford, just behind Bojangles', that morning to get some work done on Clark's patrol car, and they were the first to respond to a call from dispatchers.

At 10:16 a.m., Sally Evans, a manager at Bojangles', had called 911 to report that Evans, her former husband, had approached her at the trash bins behind the business. She told a dispatcher that she had taken out warrants against Evans about 10 days before, and that in the past he had pulled a gun and a knife on her.

But when she called police that day she didn't know if he was armed.

Records personnel first verified the warrants, and police Cpl. Matt Winnicki was dispatched at 10:28, Cunningham said.

Before he arrived, a Bojangles' employee pressed a panic button, and police got a second 911 call saying that Evans was in the restaurant harassing employees and customers.

At 10:32 a.m., Mathews and Clark drove into the parking lot behind the restaurant and began talking to employees at the drive-through window.

Evans left Bojangles' through the north door as Clark entered the south door. An employee pointed out Evans, and Mathews and Clark chased him toward Link Road, said Sgt. Jeffrey Stutts of the Professional Standards Division. Evans started running when he got to the Precision Tune, then doubled back toward Bojangles'. By then, employees had locked the doors.

Evans tried the north door then ran around the front of the restaurant and passed Hutchens, who had just pulled up in his squad car. As Evans headed toward Salem Creek, Hutchens backed up and got out of his car just as Evans approached the steep, brushy ravine.

Witnesses later told police that Evans had reached into his waistband at one point, and one said he thought that he saw the handle of a gun. But that information did not reach the officers before they confronted Evans at the ravine, police said.

Police Capt. David Clayton said that the officers were within a few feet of Evans when Evans turned and began firing with a .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol.

Hutchens was incapacitated by a shot to the face and never had a chance to draw his gun. Clark was struck in the chest just above the heart -- the bullet was stopped by a bullet-proof vest -- and in the right ear, with the bullet coming to rest at the back of his neck.

Clark fell backward and landed on Mathews' leg, but he was able to pull out his gun and return fire. Clayton said that Clark fired six shots. Three bullets hit Evans -- one each in the head, shoulder and chest, Clayton said.

Evans collapsed face-down in the weeds, and the gun fell to the ground inches away from his right hand.

Mathews, 28, broke into tears yesterday as he recalled what happened.

He said he was able to talk to Clark after Clark was wounded. Clark told Mathews that he had been shot in the head. Mathews tried to talk to Hutchens but was unable to get a response.

"Officer Clark's been shot one time in the side of the head," Mathews told dispatchers. "We got another officer down…. I got a confirmed subject down. He's not moving."

Mathews credited Hutchens with laying down his life in service to others.

"Sgt. Mickey Hutchens is a hero," Mathews said. "If it weren't for Mickey Hutchens, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Mathews transferred to the Winston-Salem Police Department from Lexington earlier this year and was training with Clark at the time of the shooting.

Mathews is back at work, and he said that the shooting has changed how he works. He said he has received counseling and may get more, and that the support of his fellow officers helped him make it through the ordeal.

"Emotionally, it puts a different perspective on how you view life," he said. "Life is a precious thing."

Yesterday, Monte Evans' family members echoed that sentiment, thanking God that Clark survived the shooting and congratulating him on the pending birth of his first child. They also sent their condolences to the Hutchens family, and thanked the community for helping them raise money for Evans' funeral.

"Officer Clark, we are truly sorry for the ordeal you had to endure, and we ask God to cover you with the whole shield of armor," said Azilee Majett, Evans' mother.

Evans' death has come at a particularly hard time because she has breast cancer. She had surgery two days after Evans died, and she has had several surgeries since then.

"He's in a better place," she said about her son. "I hope that with his last breath he was able to ask God to forgive him for the wrong he had done. I will be able to see my child on the other side when my time comes." The family didn't see yesterday's news conference, and wants to have a private meeting with Cunningham to get answers about what happened to their son.

Cunningham said that the State Bureau of Investigation has not completed its investigation. It is waiting for results from ballistics, toxicology and other tests. Because there will be no arrest or trial, he said, it's unlikely that the SBI will apply much urgency to this investigation.

Once its report is complete, the results will be forwarded to the Forsyth County District Attorney's Office, Cunningham said.

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Police: Dad leaves boy and goes into strip club

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Police: Dad leaves boy and goes into strip club - Weird - NewsObserver.com.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A man was arrested after police said he left his 5-year-old son in a tractor-trailer while he ducked into an Indianapolis strip club to drink. The 39-year-old was arrested at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday on child neglect and public intoxication charges after calling police to report his truck stolen and his child missing. Police said the man was too drunk to remember where he had parked.

They found the boy inside watching cartoons on a television inside the cab. The keys were in the ignition, and the doors were unlocked.

Police said the suspect put his son in jeopardy by leaving him exposed in a high crime area.

The man was taken to the Marion County jail, where his wife picked up him and the child.

NOW THAT'S JUSTICE!

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Two executed in China over tainted milk - CNN.com.

Two people were executed Tuesday in China for their part in a tainted milk scandal that killed at least six babies and sickened about 300,000 others, state-run media reported.

Zhang Yujun was executed for endangering public safety and Geng Jinping was executed for producing and selling toxic food, the Xinhua news agency said.

The tainted formula came to light in September 2008, after several babies fell ill from drinking formula that contained melamine. Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants added the chemical to milk products so they would appear to have a higher protein level.

The tainted milk caused kidney stones and urinary tract problems in hundreds of thousands of children.

The 22 Chinese dairy producers that made the formula have offered compensation to victims' families.

In all, 21 people were tried and sentenced in January for their roles in the scandal, Xinhua reported. Among them, Zhang and Geng were sentenced to death, and most others received at least 15 years in prison.

FBI Warns of California 'Geezer Bandit'

FBI Warns of California 'Geezer Bandit': Officer.com.

AP Photo/FBI

This bank surveillance video released by the FBI shows an elderly man, nicknamed the "Geezer Bandit," during his most recent bank robbery.

The FBI is describing the man dubbed the "Geezer Bandit" as frail but dangerous. Investigators also said despite his age, he is sure to strike again.

While the Geezer Bandit looks like he can be anyone's grandfather, investigators said he has become more brazen as he's used a gun in two of his most recent robberies.

"He's not just a little bit older; he's in his mid 70s. He's very thin ... very wrinkled skin," said FBI agent April Langwell.

The FBI believes his liver spots and oxygen tank are real and not an elaborate disguise.

In August, the man robbed a bank inside a Von's grocery store in Santee. He has since hit four more banks, with the latest on Monday in which he used a gun and got away quickly.

So far, agents said the Geezer Bandit has slipped away five times partly because he blends in by dressing nicely and does not cause a scene.

911 Dropped Call

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FayObserver.com - Fayetteville's 911 equipment outdated.

The 911 call that came from the home of Billy Maxwell Jr. on Nov. 2 was short and mysterious.

Someone can be heard moaning, followed by popping noises before the line went dead.

A 911 call taker tried to return the call. Sixteen minutes later, she left a message.

To that point, the call taker followed proper protocol. And then something went wrong. After 20 minutes, city policy requires the call taker to have a dispatcher send police to the location or to notify a field supervisor.

That never happened. Police still won't say why it took an hour and 15 minutes for an officer to be sent to Maxwell's home the night he shot and killed his wife, Kathy, and their two teenage children before turning the gun on himself.

Twenty-one days after the carnage, police say they are still investigating the 911 call.

AWWW MAN! DUDE!

Smell of pot smoked out marijuana farm next to LAPD station

November 19, 2009 |  

In the end, despite a sophisticated filtration system, it was the smell that smoked out the marijuana-growing operation located just 25 feet from the Los Angeles Police Department's Topanga station in Canoga Park.

LAPD officials said officers began noticing the smell of pot Tuesday morning, investigated, got warrants and closed down the indoor farm within eight hours.

Growers had built three rooms in the building -- one for seedlings, another for medium-sized plants and one where harvesting was apparently conducted, police said. The lights were controlled so they wouldn't overheat, watering systems were automated and oxygen levels were supplemented by carbon dioxide tanks, according to police.

"It was very sophisticated," said LAPD Officer Karen Raynor.

She said the growers used insulation material to seal cracks in the building. But about a week ago, officers in the station's parking lot noticed something out of the ordinary.

"They happened to catch a whiff of it," Raynor said.

A surveillance operation was launched, and officers obtained the warrant. The names of the three men, who appeared to be in their 30s, were not released because they had not been booked.

Trooper fired at the drop of a hat

Trooper fired at the drop of a hat - News - NewsObserver.com.

"I bleed black and silver," Wetherington said. "This was my life, and they took it away from me. All I want is to get it back."

Thomas C. Wetherington, 22, says he was treated unfairly when the N.C. Highway Patrol dismissed him in August over a lost hat, especially considering that other troopers have kept their jobs despite having sexual liaisons on duty.

"Look, we've got guys having sex in patrol cars just about every day," said Wetherington, a trooper since 2007. "Why did I get dismissed when other guys get slaps on the wrist?"

Wetherington, the former trooper, said that on a blustery, wet night in March he pulled over a vehicle towing a large boat on U.S. 70 in Craven County. While seizing open containers of alcohol and two loaded pistols from the vehicle's occupants, the trooper said, he set his hat on top of his patrol car.

He said he heard it blow off during a strong gust, tumbling down the asphalt in the dark.

Wetherington and another trooper later returned and spent about two hours looking for his hat in the ditches along the busy four-lane highway. The only trace he found was the flattened cord with two golden "acorns" that had adorned the hat's brim.

When he told his supervisor about the lost hat, Wetherington was asked to file a written report so he could be issued a new one. Trooper hats - known as "campaign covers" for the military term applied to the similar headwear worn by Marine drill instructors - are state property.

"My campaign cover was caught in the wind and blew into the roadway," Wetherington wrote. "The campaign cover was struck and was blown or dragged to an unknown location."

About two weeks later, the same driver Wetherington was ticketing when he lost his hat got stopped again by another trooper. The driver had the hat, which he had retrieved from the dark road after Wetherington had left the scene to help another motorist. Although a card with Wetherington's name and phone number were in the hatband, the driver had not called to say he had it.

The hat was passed on to Wetherington's boss, according to a written report about the incident from the Highway Patrol.

"After receiving the hat, Sergeant Oglesby observed that it was in good condition and did not appear to have been run over as he had been told by Trooper Wetherington," the report said.

The report says after the sergeant questioned Wetherington, he admitted he had not been truthful in his initial report about the hat.

On Aug. 4, Wetherington was charged with a violation of the patrol's code of conduct by Col. Randy Glover, who was then the head of the district that includes New Bern. The code, similar to that used by the military, requires troopers to be truthful.

Since 1998, the Highway Patrol has dealt with at least 27 cases of sexual misconduct by troopers either on or off duty. In several cases, those involved were not fired, including a trooper who received a five-day suspension in 2002 after he was caught repeatedly having sex on duty in and on his parked patrol car. On one occasion, the trooper inadvertently left his handgun behind, where children later found it.

Those problems have also involved Glover, who was sworn in as the patrol's commander three days after he charged Wetherington with a violation of the patrol's code of conduct. Glover acknowledged last month that he was reassigned from a post in Harnett County in 1987 after his wife caught him having an affair with a sheriff's dispatcher.

After Wetherington appealed his dismissal, the N.C. Employment Security Commission determined that he engaged in no significant misconduct.

Citing a solid work record, the Employee Advisory Committee of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety also reviewed the case and ruled Sept. 1 that Wetherington should be reinstated and that the conduct of a supervisor who pushed for the dismissal be reviewed.

So far the patrol has refused to give Wetherington his job back. He is now awaiting a hearing before a state administrative law judge with the authority to order his reinstatement.

Bill would require DNA sample from NC suspects - Wire - North Carolina - NewsObserver.com

Bill would require DNA sample from NC suspects - Wire - North Carolina - NewsObserver.com.

The bill's original draft authorizes sheriff's departments to collect DNA from anyone arrested on a felony charge, but that would likely be narrowed to include only those charged with violent felonies. Around 50,000 people face such charges each year in North Carolina. DNA would only be taken from those without a sample on file.

Jailers would collect saliva by swabbing the inside of a suspect's cheek. DNA from the saliva would be entered into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. The world's largest DNA database, CODIS contains profiles of more than 5 million convicted offenders.

North Carolina law already requires those convicted of any felony to submit a DNA sample. Twenty-one states, including Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina, have passed laws requiring collection upon arrest.

A study of serial killers and rapists by the city of Chicago concludes that 60 violent crimes - including 53 murders and rapes - could have been prevented if the perpetrators' DNA had been collected on their first arrest.

Fourth Amendment groups say taking DNA samples from arrestees amounts to a warrantless search. If police believe an arrestee could be linked to another crime, they should present their evidence to a judge, said Sarah Preston, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

"The reality is that under any circumstance when you have any reason to get their DNA, you can get a warrant, which the Fourth Amendment requires," Preston said.

Neumann likens the DNA collection process to taking a suspect's mug shot and fingerprints rather than scouring his home or car for evidence.

"It's not invasive," he said. "It's a Q-tip swab."

The ACLU worries that private medical information could be gleaned from DNA, which contains predictors for mental health conditions. Neumann said the samples would be used for no other purpose than establishing identity and comparing samples to suspect DNA from crime scenes.

If an arrestee is acquitted or if charges are dropped, he could petition to have his record expunged and his DNA removed from the database. Preston said that should worry anyone who's ever been falsely accused.

"A person found innocent is going to have to go through legal proceedings to have their DNA purged," she said. "It sort of turns the principle of innocent until proven guilty on its head. We'd be assuming guilt."