There are interesting details in today's federal criminal indictments against two jail guards at the Manhattan jail where pedophile and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein died. Read the rest

In Arkansas, Henderson State University chemistry professors Terry D. Bateman, 45, and Bradley A. Rowland, 40, were charged on Friday with making methamphetamine. They had been put on administrative leave on October 11. From the New York Times:

(Tina V. Hall, a university associate vice president of marketing and communications) said the school’s Reynolds Science Center had been closed on Oct. 8 because of “a report of an undetermined chemical odor.” Testing revealed an elevated presence of benzyl chloride in a lab, she said...

Stephen J. Madison, who is on the chemistry faculty at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., said that benzyl chloride could be used to help make methamphetamine...

It was not clear whether the chemical smell in the school building had prompted the investigation by law enforcement.

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On Monday, a 78-year-old man in Harford County, Maryland, withdrew a large sum of cash from his bank. That night, an intruder forced his way into the man's house and assaulted him until a relative interrupted the beating. As the relative called the cops the intruder ran off. Police later identified the culprit as 19-year-old Nathan Michael Newell, a teller at the victim's bank.

Newell is currently in the county jail. He was also fired, probably for lousy customer service.

"We are shocked and appalled to hear of the events that led to the assault and injury of a longtime member of our credit union," (Freedom Federal Credit Union president Michael) MacPherson said. "Our thoughts go out to him, and his family, during this difficult time."

(CNN)

Bank teller arrested in connection to home invasion of bank customer. pic.twitter.com/LGvEBoGL7m

— Harford Sheriff (@Harford_Sheriff) November 14, 2019

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Three Indiana judges got in a fight. Two were injured, all were suspended. NPR's Laurel Wamsley reports "an incident brimming with colorful details."

The altercation apparently started sometime after 3 a.m., when one of the judges, Sabrina Bell, raised a middle finger at two men yelling from a passing SUV, and ended after one of those men shot two of the judges.

In between, the three judges took a number of actions that "discredited the entire Indiana judiciary," according to an opinion posted by the Indiana Supreme Court this week, suspending the judges.

The court found that the three — Andrew Adams, Bradley Jacobs and Sabrina Bell — had "engaged in judicial misconduct by appearing in public in an intoxicated state and behaving in an injudicious manner and by becoming involved in a verbal altercation." Adams and Jacobs engaged in further judicial misconduct "by becoming involved in a physical altercation for which Judge Adams was criminally charged and convicted."

The judges will be in the sin bin for two months. The shooter's been charged with felony aggravated battery.

UPDATE: I read the ruling and it's fantastic, the reason we're here is because Judge Bell just stood there blabbing to the cops instead of shutting the fuck up.

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In Limestone County, Alabama, Christopher James Shock, 32, was arrested for counterfeiting after a garbage collector spotted bags filled with bills in Shock's trash cans and called police. A clue that the money was funny is that one of the $50 notes was printed on a the back of a receipt from Alabama Pardons and Paroles. From WHNT:

Investigators estimate between 10 and 30 thousand dollars in Shock's counterfeit bills are already in circulation.

If you have been passed a fake bill, Limestone County Sheriff's Office encourages you to turn it in to police.

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Here is a video of pumpkin thief. Deadspin's Dan McQuade offers critical analysis:

It appears they pulled over specifically to steal a pumpkin. One dude gets out, and then hauls ass to the car, screaming at the driver to hit the gas like he’s just robbed a bank. Check out that 40 speed!

Read the rest

Johnson City, Tennessee police arrested Tupac Shakur for assault, resisting arrest, and possession of meth and drug paraphernalia. According to News Channel 9, Shakur is being held on an $18,000 bond. In addition to being a hip hop legend, Shakur is apparently a master of disguise.

Read the rest

When police arrested Matthew Bushman, 36, of Mansfield, Illinois on Friday, he reportedly tried to provide a fake name. Thing is, his real name is tattooed right across his neck. Police shouldn't be surprised though. After all, they were investigating Bushman for possible involvement in a forgery.

(WAND17) Read the rest

AirCSI is a prototype drone system that scans crime scenes from above, identify possible pieces of evidence, and then collect more detailed images and data of such items of interest. Leading the development of the system is Pompílio Araújo, a researcher at the Intelligent Vision Research Lab at Federal University of Bahia who often assists the Federal Police of Brazil in crime scene investigation. From IEEE Spectrum:

"...AirCSI provides a sketch with the localization of the evidences, as well as a detailed crime scene imagery,” says Araújo. His team used simulation software to test this newer version of AirCSI, and found that using multiple angles to detect evidence is up to 18 percent more effective than using only one angle...

While the researchers have yet to test the new, multi-angle approach beyond simulations, they expect to try it out in a real environment by the end of this year or early next year...

He also plans on developing a way to completely reconstruct crime scenes using the drone footage, creating a virtual environment that investigators can explore indefinitely—or at least until the crime is solved.

"Multi-Perspective Object Detection for Remote Criminal Analysis Using Drones" (IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters) Read the rest

Ronan Farrow reports in his forthcoming book Catch and Kill [Amazon] that TV host Matt Lauer is accused of raping a colleague at NBC News. Read the rest

In this video, bodycam footage shows a young man in jeans and a vaguely authoritarian shirt leaning into a driver's window. The bodycam wearer quietly approaches on foot, as if acting as backup on a stop in progress. But it soon becomes clear the two "officers" don't know each other and, well, perhaps you can guess the rest.

There's a fine comic moment not far in:

"What's your name?"

"Brenden Wysynski."

"How do you spell that?"

"B. R. E. N. D. E. N."

Fire and Police Videos obtained lapel footage of an Albuquerque Police Department investigation and arrest of 18-year-old Brenden Wysynski for posing as a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputy.

Wysynski unlawfully pulled over a citizen for speeding and a passing Albuquerque Police Officer noticed something was off about the traffic stop.

He had pulled over a citizen of Albuquerque in his personal vehicle that was outfitted with lights, sirens, and radio bought off the internet. APD and BCSO Officers determined he did not work for any police department and was placed under arrest.

Wysynski is being charged with impersonating a peace officer. His trial is later this month.

If you are not sure the person pulling you over is a law enforcement officer, call 911 or pull into a very public parking area and ask to speak to a supervisor.

Some people who pretend to be cops in this manner are rapists or robbers, but there's a pattern of narcissistic people doing it for kicks. One man took it to Philip K. Read the rest

Meet Maria Elena Gimeno, facing felony charges after vandalizing a parked Tesla. Teslas have cameras on the wing mirrors (two of nine!) and Gimeno was filmed by them. She turned herself in after the footage went viral.

The crime took place in the parking lot of Legacy High School on Saturday morning while Alan Tweedie was watching his daughter’s nearby soccer game. When Tweedie found his Tesla was damaged, he told CBS4 he’d try out a new feature on the vehicle. He looked back through the video captured by the car’s nine motion-activated cameras and eventually spotted a woman using a key to scratch the side of his car.

No word on why she did it. The obvious and fun assumption is "inchoate hatred for electronic vehicles", but it was at a school ball game, so acts of inane violence and retribution are to be expected.

Read the rest

The House Intelligence Committee posted the Ukraine whistleblower's letter [Direct PDF link], detailing a complaint that President Trump was soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election.

Following below is a quick and uncorrected OCR of the letter, which was posted in typical government fashion as nine JPG images in a PDF file. Read the rest

A gentleman was arrested in Portsmouth, England after punching a police horse during a riot following a soccer game. He apparently was angry that Portsmouth lost to Southampton. It isn't clear why he blamed the horse though. From The Telegraph:

In the footage of the aftermath of the first match in seven years between bitter rivals Southampton and Portsmouth, the supporter then attempts to run from the horse, but his path is blocked as he ends up in the arms of a group of police officers with riot shields.

Hampshire Constabulary said a 52-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and attempted criminal damage. He was later released but remains under investigation.

Read the rest

Joshua Garnes of Huntington, West Virginia had an ongoing problem with porch pirates swiping boxes outside a house he's renovating. Read the rest

A man already awaiting trial on charges of auto theft was arrested again, this week. The new charge? Auto theft. The Gallup Independent, via the AP:

Justin Villa was arrested Sunday after a witness reported seeing the 37-year-old driving a stolen Chevrolet pickup. According to a criminal complaint, Villa was spotting in the stolen truck around Gallup, New Mexico, before being confronted by a police officer. Court documents show Villa has two stolen vehicle cases pending in McKinley County and one pending in Cibola County.

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Two years ago, I informed you of the fully-functional golden toilet created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, then available for use at the Guggenheim. The installation, currently on tour, was stolen last night from Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. One man was arrested; police are hunting for the rest of the gang—and for the precious pissoir.

A gang broke into the Oxfordshire palace at about 04:50 BST and stole the artwork, Thames Valley Police said.

The working toilet - entitled America, which visitors had been invited to use - has not been found but a 66-year-old man has been arrested.

The burglary caused "significant damage and flooding" because the toilet was plumbed into the building, police said.

The toilet was previously assailed by a yarn bomber.

**OFFICIAL STATEMENT**

Following the Thames Valley Police statement we can confirm ‘America’, the art piece by Maurizio Cattelan has been stolen in the early hours of this morning.

We are saddened by this extraordinary event, but also relieved no-one was hurt.

— Blenheim Palace (@BlenheimPalace) September 14, 2019

It’s therefore a great shame an item so precious has been taken, but we still have so many fascinating treasures in the Palace and the remaining items of the exhibition to share.

— Blenheim Palace (@BlenheimPalace) September 14, 2019

Read the rest