The Face of an Assassin?

Investigation of ex-Texas J.P.

Apr 15 2013 

DANNY ROBBINS, Associated Press and the editorial staff of Bizarre Stuff

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

This photo provided by the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office shows Eric Williams. Williams was admitted to the Kaufman County Jail, in Kaufman, Texas, early Saturday, April 13, 2013, and charged with making a "terroristic threat." Federal and local authorities searched Williams' home Friday as part of an investigation into the deaths of District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia. (AP Photo/Kaufman County Sheriff's Office)

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) — A law enforcement official says Texas authorities investigating the killings of a district attorney and his wife are building a case against a former justice of the peace prosecuted last year for theft, apparently of food.

The official said Monday investigators are focused on 46-year-old Eric Lyle Williams, who's jailed on a charge of making a terroristic threat. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because his superior would can him if he found out, and because of the ongoing investigation into the deaths of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife.

The official says at least 20 weapons found in Williams' storage locker are being tested by ballistics experts. The official also says a car similar to one seen in the McLellands' neighborhood on the day they died also was found at the locker.

Williams had a super sized storage locker.

Williams' attorney didn't immediately return a call.  He probably never will.

She Thought It Was a Real Emergency

Pa. woman cited for calling 911 seeking divorce

Apr 15 2013 

GIRARD, Pa. (AP) — Police have cited a 42-year-old Pennsylvania woman for disorderly conduct after she called 911 requesting a divorce and police assistance to make her husband leave.
Troopers say the woman called just after 1 a.m. Saturday asking that officers be sent to her home in Girard Township in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Police say they explained to the woman, whom they are not identifying, that a divorce is a civil matter and that they could not make her husband leave the residence because no crime had been committed.
Instead, police have cited the woman for disorderly conduct and misusing the Erie County 911 system.

Man Torched At Seven-Eleven

Apr 13 2013 

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A man who was set on fire while sitting in his SUV outside a convenience store remained hospitalized in critical condition on Saturday as investigators tried to determine what would have motivated a homeless man suspected in the attack, police said.  (See burning vehicle below.)

The 63-year-old Long Beach man was badly burned on the upper torso in Friday evening. His name was not immediately released.

The man was inside his Toyota SUV in front of a 7-Eleven shortly after 5 p.m. when a homeless man threw a flammable substance inside the car. The car's interior and the man went up in flames in seconds, police Sgt. Aaron Eaton said.

The scene was terrifying, said Shannon Flynn, 16, of Long Beach.

"He was engulfed in flames," she told the Long Beach Press-Telegram . "The fire was so big, people were screaming. I just can't believe this happened here."

Robert Linkroum said he was buying a newspaper at the store when he looked up and saw a man "walking on a mission" toward the car and throwing what appeared to be a bottle inside.

"The vehicle went up in flames immediately, just totally engulfed. It was all flames," he said. "It became so hot in 7-Eleven that I moved towards the back of the store because I thought the windows were going to blow."

Eaton said bystanders helped the burning man by trying to pour water on him to douse the flames.

Police arrested Raymond Sean Clark, 38, about a block away. Clark, who is homeless, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and for two misdemeanor warrants for failing to appear on other charges. He remained jailed Saturday on more than $500,000 bail.

Witnesses said Clark is a panhandler who asked people for change and cigarettes outside the store. 

Eaton said the motive for the attack was unclear. There was no indication that the victim and attacker knew each other, he said.  But it would appear the panhandler was angry because the victim refused to give him cigarette money and his change. "These people are not harmless," said an expert on homelessness.  "They are angry at society in general. Many are wired on crack or some other substance and literally are out of their minds."

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Chief Gets High in Ohio - Daughter to Blame

 Police chief says he ate cake laced with pot

Apr 12 2013 

LAURELVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police chief says he ate cake left in his kitchen without realizing it was laced with cannabis oil.
Laurelville Chief Mike Berkemeier says he fell ill after eating the cake a couple of weeks ago and couldn't figure out what was wrong. He says he drove a few blocks to the police station, where medics took him for medical testing.

The Logan Daily News reports Berkemeier was hospitalized for more than a day. While there, a phone call with his daughter revealed the cake had been laced with an oil form of the psychoactive chemical component that causes a high from marijuana.
Berkemeier tells WBNS-TV one of his daughter's friends took the cake to his home, about 35 miles southeast of Columbus.
There's no word of criminal charges.

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Subpoena Necessary For Duck To Enter Courthouse

Honolulu court screeners find pet duck in bag

Apr 11 2013 

HONOLULU (AP) — Security screeners at a Honolulu courthouse noticed something moving inside a defendant's bag as it passed through an X-ray machine earlier this week.

After initially refusing to open it, the bag's owner reluctantly revealed that his pet was inside. When he opened the bag, screeners found a live duck and a bottle of beer, Department of Public Safetyspokeswoman Toni Schwartz said.

Deputies told Michael Hubbard that his pet and beverage wouldn't be allowed inside Circuit Court, so he left. He returned a short while later and asked that deputies look after his belongings while he went inside for an appointment, Schwartz said, adding that visitors are allowed to leave their things outside at their own risk.

Hubbard went to his appointment, while the duck waited outside. Hawaii News Now reports Hubbard has two felony assault cases pending. He couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

Schwartz said Hubbard didn't appear intoxicated. "Everything was peaceful," she said.

"We recommend people not bring their pets to court," she said. "Believe it or not this is not an unusual occurrence. A lot of people try to bring their pets to court."

But those pets are usually dogs.

"A duck is unusual," she said. "I don't think we've come across that one before."

Woman Sues Chicago Over $100K Parking Fine

Chicago woman fighting $100,000 parking fine

Apr 11 2013 

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago woman is trying to get out of paying a parking fine that has snowballed to more than $100,000.

WBBM Radio reports that (http://cbsloc.al/10PoNXv ) Jennifer Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit last year against the city over the $105,000 worth of tickets that police piled up on her car.

The car was left for nearly three years in an O'Hare International Airport parking lot. WBBM says a judge dismissed the lawsuit Wednesday and pressed the parties to try to reach a settlement.
Fitzgerald says she should not be held responsible because her ex-boyfriend abandoned the car in an employee parking lot at the airport. She says the car is worth only about $600. The suit also names her former boyfriend.

Cannibalism A Growing Epidemic in U.S.?

Warrant: Texas suspect interested in cannibalism

Apr 11 2013 

JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Dylan Quick, 20, is seen in an undated photo provided by the Harris County, Texas, Sheriff's Office. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Quick used a razor-type knife in a rampage Tuesday at the Lone Star College System's campus in Cypress, a Houston suburb, hurting more than a dozen people. Quick was charged Tuesday night, April 9, 2013 with three counts of aggravated assault. It wasn't immediately clear if additional charges would be filed, though he is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday. (AP Photo/Harris County Sheriff's Office)

HOUSTON (AP) — A man accused of stabbing more than a dozen people at a Houston-area college told investigators that he had fantasized about cannibalism and necrophilia and about cutting off people's faces and wearing them as masks, according to a court document made public on Thursday.
Dylan Quick admitted to an investigator that about a week before the attack at Lone Star Community College in Cypress he had researched mass stabbings on his home computer, according to a search warrant affidavit.
"He stated he had read numerous books about mass killings and serial killers which are also located at his residence," the affidavit said.
Quick is being held without bond on three counts of aggravated assault for Tuesday's attack at Lone Star Community College that injured 14 people. Only one person remained hospitalized Thursday, and that person was listed in good condition.
The affidavit listed nine items that were seized from Quick's home, including one listed as "Hanibal Lecter Mask." Hannibal Lecter is the cannibalistic serial killer from the film "The Silence of the Lambs."
Also among the nine items seized were an animal dissection kit and several books including one called "Hit List" and another titled "Hitman." The affidavit does not say what the books are about.
The affidavit said Quick told the investigator that in preparing for the campus attack, he had sharpened things, including a hairbrush and pencils, to use as weapons.
Authorities have said Quick used only a razor utility knife to slash at his victims on two floors of the college's health science building.
After a brief court hearing earlier Thursday, Jules Laird, Quick's attorney, said he was still looking into Quick's background but that he didn't think the 20-year-old had a history of mental illness or had taken any medication to treat such a condition.
He said Quick was on suicide watch and will stay in jail as he undergoes a psychological evaluation.