Have a nice Thursday !
God bless you !
Big hugs !
Anne
Thank You Posts
Show post that are related to the Thank-O-Matic. It will show the topcis where you become a Thank You from an other users. (Related to the first post.)
Topics - AnneTheBelgian
on: September 27, 2012, 10:57:38 AM 1 Off Topic / Off Topic - Anything / HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAREN (AKA KITTEN RESQ) :-)
Dear Karen (aka Kitten Resq),
Have a nice Thursday !
God bless you !
Big hugs !
Anne
Have a nice Thursday !
God bless you !
Big hugs !
Anne
on: July 18, 2012, 01:32:23 PM 2 General Death Penalty / Stays of Execution / Anthony C. Haynes - TX - 10/18/2012 STAYED
The execution of this POS is scheduled for October 18, 2012 !
Link : http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_scheduled_executions.html
Here is a photo of him and his special page (link : http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_info/haynesanthony.html)
Other link : http://off2dr.com/smf/index.php?topic=3556.msg55783#msg55783
GO TEXAS
Anne
Link : http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_scheduled_executions.html
Here is a photo of him and his special page (link : http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/dr_info/haynesanthony.html)
Other link : http://off2dr.com/smf/index.php?topic=3556.msg55783#msg55783
GO TEXAS Anne
on: July 04, 2012, 10:26:10 AM 3 Off Topic / Off Topic - Anything / United States of Amercia, July 4th 2012...
Dear Members, Dear Friends here,
Today is a special day for the United States of America...
HAPPY JULY 4TH TO ALL THE CITIZENS OF THIS GREAT NATION
GOD BLESS AMERICA, I LOVE YOU
Anne
Today is a special day for the United States of America...
HAPPY JULY 4TH TO ALL THE CITIZENS OF THIS GREAT NATION
GOD BLESS AMERICA, I LOVE YOU
Anne
on: April 30, 2012, 10:46:50 AM 4 Across the Globe / World Death Penalty Discussion / Jordan Death Penalty News
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/30/211307.html
MONDAY, 30 April 2012 Alarabiya.net English
Last Updated: Mon Apr 30, 2012 18:16 pm (KSA) 15:16 pm (GMT)
Jordanian to hang for raping, killing girlfriend
Monday, 30 April 2012
By AFP
Amman
A Jordanian was condemned to death on Monday for raping and stabbing his teenage girlfriend to death before burning her body because her family refused to let him marry her, a court official said.
“The criminal court in Amman sentenced the 19-year-old to death by hanging for finding him guilty of murdering his girlfriend, who was also 19, in May last year,” he told AFP.
“He wanted to marry the girl, but her family refused.”
The official said the convict “got enraged and decided to commit his crime.”
“He took the girl to a deserted area south of Amman, where he raped and stabbed her to death several times in the neck, chest and stomach,” he added.
“The next day, he burned her body and turned himself into police, confessing to the murder.”
Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but, in so-called “honor killings,” courts sometimes commute or reduce sentences.
Between 15 and 20 women die in such murders each year in the Arab kingdom.
Anne
MONDAY, 30 April 2012 Alarabiya.net English
Last Updated: Mon Apr 30, 2012 18:16 pm (KSA) 15:16 pm (GMT)
Jordanian to hang for raping, killing girlfriend
Monday, 30 April 2012
By AFP
Amman
A Jordanian was condemned to death on Monday for raping and stabbing his teenage girlfriend to death before burning her body because her family refused to let him marry her, a court official said.
“The criminal court in Amman sentenced the 19-year-old to death by hanging for finding him guilty of murdering his girlfriend, who was also 19, in May last year,” he told AFP.
“He wanted to marry the girl, but her family refused.”
The official said the convict “got enraged and decided to commit his crime.”
“He took the girl to a deserted area south of Amman, where he raped and stabbed her to death several times in the neck, chest and stomach,” he added.
“The next day, he burned her body and turned himself into police, confessing to the murder.”
Murder is punishable by death in Jordan but, in so-called “honor killings,” courts sometimes commute or reduce sentences.
Between 15 and 20 women die in such murders each year in the Arab kingdom.
Anne
on: April 30, 2012, 09:52:54 AM 5 General Death Penalty / U.S. Death Penalty Discussion / Rolling Back The Death Penalty
I have found this article :
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/149510925.html
Rolling back the death penalty
Article by: E.J. DIONNE JR. , Washington Post
Updated: April 30, 2012 - 11:07 AM
Since the 2010 elections, the activism of newly empowered conservative and Republican state legislatures has gained national attention with their wars on public employee unions, additional restrictions on abortion, and new barriers to voting.
Against this backdrop, the little state of Connecticut has loomed as a large progressive exception. Last year, it became the first state to require employers to grant paid sick leave. It also enacted a law granting in-state tuition to students whose parents brought them to the United States illegally as young children.
And recently, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy signed a law repealing the state's death penalty. There are now 17 states without capital punishment, Illinois having joined the ranks last year. What happened in Connecticut brings home the flaw in seeing everything that has happened in the states since the midterm vote as embodying a steady shift rightward.
Where they hold power, progressives have also been using their states as laboratories, and Malloy is part of an impressive group of mostly smaller-state Democratic governors who have combined a moderate, business-friendly style with progressive policymaking. Their ranks include, among others, Govs. Jack Markell in Delaware, Martin O'Malley in Maryland, John Hickenlooper in Colorado, Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and outgoing Gov. John Lynch in New Hampshire.
After the 2012 election, a key front in the battle for America's political future will involve how the various left and right experiments in the states are judged. Aggressive conservatives such as Govs. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio are in the headlines now, and the recall Walker faces will keep him there for a while. But there will be a quieter and more comprehensive reckoning down the road.
Part of this reckoning will be a remarkable pivot in the politics of the death penalty, the premier issue on which an overwhelming consensus favoring what's taken to be the conservative side has begun to crumble.
In the 1980s and '90s, capital punishment was a staple of Republican campaigns against a handful of liberals who bravely stuck with their opposition to the ultimate punishment. George H.W. Bush used the issue effectively against Democrat Mike Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign, and so did Republicans in their 1994 electoral sweep, notably in defeating three-term Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo in New York. And no wonder: In 1994, support for the death penalty hit its peak of 80 percent nationwide.
But a Gallup survey last fall showed how much things have changed: Support for capital punishment was down to 61 percent. Among the many reasons for the drop are a decline in crime rates, which has increased public confidence in the criminal justice system, and a stream of reports casting doubt on the guilt of some who were executed. In addition, significant groups of libertarian Republicans and opponents of abortion have crossed to the repeal side. An important test of the new politics of capital punishment will come this November in a California death penalty referendum.
For all this, it still takes political courage to end capital punishment. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week as Malloy signed the death penalty repeal found 62 percent of Connecticut voters still favoring executions of those convicted of murder, with only 30 percent opposed. Just 29 percent approved of the Legislature's handling of the issue, while 51 percent disapproved.
But (and it's a very important but) support for the death penalty, in Connecticut and elsewhere, is not as robust as it looks. When Quinnipiac asked a different question -- "Which punishment do you prefer for people convicted of murder, the death penalty, or life in prison with no chance of parole?" -- only 46 percent favored the death penalty. An equal number chose life without parole. Death penalty opponents have an opening they haven't had for some time.
Moreover, voters aren't as agitated by the issue as they once were. Only 37 percent of Connecticut voters told Quinnipiac that the issue would be "extremely" or "very" important to how they cast their ballots in legislative elections.
Malloy is under no illusions about the strong residual opposition to repeal. When he signed the repeal bill last Wednesday, he did so with little ceremony, carefully observing that "many people whom I deeply respect, including friends and family ... believe the death penalty is just."
Nonetheless, what Malloy did was historic, and it was a sign that despite the dreary polarization that characterizes our debates, American politics is still capable of springing surprises.
Photo : Dr. William Petit Jr., left, speaks to the media as his sister Johanna Chapman looks on at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., in early April. The sole survivor of the deadly Cheshire home invasion made an eleventh-hour push to persuade members of the Connecticut Senate to oppose efforts to repeal the state's death penalty.
(Photo: Jim Michaud, Associated Press)
Anne
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/149510925.html
Rolling back the death penalty
Article by: E.J. DIONNE JR. , Washington Post
Updated: April 30, 2012 - 11:07 AM
Since the 2010 elections, the activism of newly empowered conservative and Republican state legislatures has gained national attention with their wars on public employee unions, additional restrictions on abortion, and new barriers to voting.
Against this backdrop, the little state of Connecticut has loomed as a large progressive exception. Last year, it became the first state to require employers to grant paid sick leave. It also enacted a law granting in-state tuition to students whose parents brought them to the United States illegally as young children.
And recently, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy signed a law repealing the state's death penalty. There are now 17 states without capital punishment, Illinois having joined the ranks last year. What happened in Connecticut brings home the flaw in seeing everything that has happened in the states since the midterm vote as embodying a steady shift rightward.
Where they hold power, progressives have also been using their states as laboratories, and Malloy is part of an impressive group of mostly smaller-state Democratic governors who have combined a moderate, business-friendly style with progressive policymaking. Their ranks include, among others, Govs. Jack Markell in Delaware, Martin O'Malley in Maryland, John Hickenlooper in Colorado, Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and outgoing Gov. John Lynch in New Hampshire.
After the 2012 election, a key front in the battle for America's political future will involve how the various left and right experiments in the states are judged. Aggressive conservatives such as Govs. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio are in the headlines now, and the recall Walker faces will keep him there for a while. But there will be a quieter and more comprehensive reckoning down the road.
Part of this reckoning will be a remarkable pivot in the politics of the death penalty, the premier issue on which an overwhelming consensus favoring what's taken to be the conservative side has begun to crumble.
In the 1980s and '90s, capital punishment was a staple of Republican campaigns against a handful of liberals who bravely stuck with their opposition to the ultimate punishment. George H.W. Bush used the issue effectively against Democrat Mike Dukakis in the 1988 presidential campaign, and so did Republicans in their 1994 electoral sweep, notably in defeating three-term Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo in New York. And no wonder: In 1994, support for the death penalty hit its peak of 80 percent nationwide.
But a Gallup survey last fall showed how much things have changed: Support for capital punishment was down to 61 percent. Among the many reasons for the drop are a decline in crime rates, which has increased public confidence in the criminal justice system, and a stream of reports casting doubt on the guilt of some who were executed. In addition, significant groups of libertarian Republicans and opponents of abortion have crossed to the repeal side. An important test of the new politics of capital punishment will come this November in a California death penalty referendum.
For all this, it still takes political courage to end capital punishment. A Quinnipiac University poll released last week as Malloy signed the death penalty repeal found 62 percent of Connecticut voters still favoring executions of those convicted of murder, with only 30 percent opposed. Just 29 percent approved of the Legislature's handling of the issue, while 51 percent disapproved.
But (and it's a very important but) support for the death penalty, in Connecticut and elsewhere, is not as robust as it looks. When Quinnipiac asked a different question -- "Which punishment do you prefer for people convicted of murder, the death penalty, or life in prison with no chance of parole?" -- only 46 percent favored the death penalty. An equal number chose life without parole. Death penalty opponents have an opening they haven't had for some time.
Moreover, voters aren't as agitated by the issue as they once were. Only 37 percent of Connecticut voters told Quinnipiac that the issue would be "extremely" or "very" important to how they cast their ballots in legislative elections.
Malloy is under no illusions about the strong residual opposition to repeal. When he signed the repeal bill last Wednesday, he did so with little ceremony, carefully observing that "many people whom I deeply respect, including friends and family ... believe the death penalty is just."
Nonetheless, what Malloy did was historic, and it was a sign that despite the dreary polarization that characterizes our debates, American politics is still capable of springing surprises.
Photo : Dr. William Petit Jr., left, speaks to the media as his sister Johanna Chapman looks on at the Capitol in Hartford, Conn., in early April. The sole survivor of the deadly Cheshire home invasion made an eleventh-hour push to persuade members of the Connecticut Senate to oppose efforts to repeal the state's death penalty.
(Photo: Jim Michaud, Associated Press)Anne
on: April 10, 2012, 08:51:33 AM 6 General Crime / U.S. Crime Related News / Former Soldier Dwight Smith Could Face The Death Penalty, Accused Of 2011 Murder
http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/Former-Fort-Drum-Soldier-Could-Face-Death-Penalty-In-Delaware-146779595.html
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Former Fort Drum Soldier Could Face Death Penalty In Delaware
Story Published: Apr 10, 2012 at 5:56 AM EDT
Story Updated: Apr 10, 2012 at 5:56 AM EDT
A former Fort Drum soldier accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a woman in Delaware could face the death penalty.
Authorities say a grand jury returned a six-count indictment of Dwight Smith on Monday.
Attorney General Beau Biden said the aggravating circumstances make the case eligible for the death penalty.
Smith is accused of killing 65-year-old Marsha Lee of Wilmington, who was taking her dog for a walk on Dec. 19.
According to police, Smith targeted Lee at random after deciding he wanted to kill somebody, hitting her with his sport utility vehicle, stuffing her inside, then beating her to death.
Smith was on leave from Fort Drum at the time of Lee's death, having previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other link : http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/Fort-Drum-Soldier-Accused-Of-Kidnapping-Murder-In-Delaware-135986943.html
(with video)
Fort Drum Soldier Accused Of Kidnapping, Murder In Delaware
Story Published: Dec 21, 2011 at 11:07 AM EDT
Story Updated: Dec 21, 2011 at 7:34 PM EDT
A Fort Drum soldier, veteran of two wars and Purple Heart recipient has allegedly admitted to kidnapping and murdering a woman in Delaware.
According to CBS Philly.com, Staff Sgt. Dwight Smith Jr. kidnapped the 65-year old woman while she was walking her dog and later killed her.
The website also quotes police who say Smith told them he intentionally killed the woman.
A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was on leave from Fort Drum at the time of the incident. He is a resident of Delaware.
He is currently being held in jail without bail.
Fort Drum officials say Smith was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team.
He joined the Army in July 2006 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Smith was deployed to Iraq from September 2007 to November 2008 and to Afghanistan from May 2010 to April 2011.
He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division and came to Fort Drum in September.
Smith's awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the NATO medal, four Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, the Marksman Qualification Badge - Carbine, and the Marksman Qualification Badge - Field Artillery.
Photo : The murderer Dwight Smith
Anne
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Former Fort Drum Soldier Could Face Death Penalty In Delaware
Story Published: Apr 10, 2012 at 5:56 AM EDT
Story Updated: Apr 10, 2012 at 5:56 AM EDT
A former Fort Drum soldier accused of kidnapping, raping and killing a woman in Delaware could face the death penalty.
Authorities say a grand jury returned a six-count indictment of Dwight Smith on Monday.
Attorney General Beau Biden said the aggravating circumstances make the case eligible for the death penalty.
Smith is accused of killing 65-year-old Marsha Lee of Wilmington, who was taking her dog for a walk on Dec. 19.
According to police, Smith targeted Lee at random after deciding he wanted to kill somebody, hitting her with his sport utility vehicle, stuffing her inside, then beating her to death.
Smith was on leave from Fort Drum at the time of Lee's death, having previously served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Other link : http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/Fort-Drum-Soldier-Accused-Of-Kidnapping-Murder-In-Delaware-135986943.html
(with video)
Fort Drum Soldier Accused Of Kidnapping, Murder In Delaware
Story Published: Dec 21, 2011 at 11:07 AM EDT
Story Updated: Dec 21, 2011 at 7:34 PM EDT
A Fort Drum soldier, veteran of two wars and Purple Heart recipient has allegedly admitted to kidnapping and murdering a woman in Delaware.
According to CBS Philly.com, Staff Sgt. Dwight Smith Jr. kidnapped the 65-year old woman while she was walking her dog and later killed her.
The website also quotes police who say Smith told them he intentionally killed the woman.
A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was on leave from Fort Drum at the time of the incident. He is a resident of Delaware.
He is currently being held in jail without bail.
Fort Drum officials say Smith was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, 1st Brigade Combat Team.
He joined the Army in July 2006 and was assigned to the 101st Airborne, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Smith was deployed to Iraq from September 2007 to November 2008 and to Afghanistan from May 2010 to April 2011.
He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division and came to Fort Drum in September.
Smith's awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, the NATO medal, four Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, the Marksman Qualification Badge - Carbine, and the Marksman Qualification Badge - Field Artillery.
Photo : The murderer Dwight Smith
Anne
on: April 06, 2012, 01:01:36 PM 7 General Death Penalty / U.S. Death Penalty Discussion / Oklahoma Court Rejects DR Inmate's Patrick Murphy Claim,Retardation,1999 Murder
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/9a2dddfb58dd4e55b02fbac42cd7e0cc/OK--Death-Penalty-Retardation/
Oklahoma court rejects death row inmate's claim he can't be executed because he's retarded
TIM TALLEY Associated Press
First Posted: April 05, 2012 - 7:32 pm
Last Updated: April 05, 2012 - 7:33 pm
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday rejected a death row inmate's claim that he is mentally retarded and should not be executed for the slaying of his girlfriend's ex-husband in 1999.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the decision in the case of Patrick Dwayne Murphy, 42, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die for the death of George Jacobs, 49, of rural McIntosh County. Both Murphy and Jacobs were members of the Creek Nation.
Authorities said Jacobs was beaten and slashed to death. His genitals were cut off and his body dumped in a ditch. At his trial, Murphy testified he was intoxicated on the day of the beating and couldn't remember what happened. His defense attorneys argued Murphy was so drunk that he was incapable of forming the specific criminal intent legally necessary to commit murder.
Prosecutors who sought the death penalty argued it was warranted because Murphy is a continuing threat to society and Jacobs' murder was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."
On appeal, Murphy claimed he is mentally retarded and should not be executed. The U.S. Supreme Court has banned the execution of the mentally retarded, and the state appeals court has said an IQ of under 70 could be a factor in a jury's determination of whether an inmate is retarded.
In 2005, the appeals court ordered McIntosh County Judge Thomas Bartheld to empanel a jury to determine whether Murphy's claims were true. Following a four-day trial, the jury determined Murphy was not mentally retarded, but Bartheld threw out the jury's findings because of a procedural technicality.
Before a new jury could be empanelled, Bartheld granted a motion by prosecutors to end the proceedings. In granting the motion, Bartheld ruled that Murphy had received two separate IQ scores above 76 on scientifically recognized, standardized IQ tests.
In a unanimous decision written by Judge Gary Lumpkin of Madill, the five-member appeals court said the Legislature has given capital defendants in Oklahoma the benefit of a standard measurement of error in the administration of the IQ tests. But state law disqualifies anyone from being considered mentally retarded in a death-penalty case if the individual has received an IQ score of 76 or higher on a scientifically recognized, standardized test.
The appellate decision says Murphy received IQ scores of 80 and 82 on tests administered by two psychologists.
"Petitioner received all that Oklahoma law allows him," the ruling states. "There is nothing unsettled about petitioner's mental retardation claim."
Murphy's defense attorney, Gary Henry of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
Other links : 1. http://off2dr.com/smf/index.php?topic=6338.msg43826#msg43826
2. http://www.doc.state.ok.us/offenders/DRMR.pdf
Photo : The murderer Patrick Dwayne Murphy
Anne
Oklahoma court rejects death row inmate's claim he can't be executed because he's retarded
TIM TALLEY Associated Press
First Posted: April 05, 2012 - 7:32 pm
Last Updated: April 05, 2012 - 7:33 pm
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday rejected a death row inmate's claim that he is mentally retarded and should not be executed for the slaying of his girlfriend's ex-husband in 1999.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the decision in the case of Patrick Dwayne Murphy, 42, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die for the death of George Jacobs, 49, of rural McIntosh County. Both Murphy and Jacobs were members of the Creek Nation.
Authorities said Jacobs was beaten and slashed to death. His genitals were cut off and his body dumped in a ditch. At his trial, Murphy testified he was intoxicated on the day of the beating and couldn't remember what happened. His defense attorneys argued Murphy was so drunk that he was incapable of forming the specific criminal intent legally necessary to commit murder.
Prosecutors who sought the death penalty argued it was warranted because Murphy is a continuing threat to society and Jacobs' murder was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel."
On appeal, Murphy claimed he is mentally retarded and should not be executed. The U.S. Supreme Court has banned the execution of the mentally retarded, and the state appeals court has said an IQ of under 70 could be a factor in a jury's determination of whether an inmate is retarded.
In 2005, the appeals court ordered McIntosh County Judge Thomas Bartheld to empanel a jury to determine whether Murphy's claims were true. Following a four-day trial, the jury determined Murphy was not mentally retarded, but Bartheld threw out the jury's findings because of a procedural technicality.
Before a new jury could be empanelled, Bartheld granted a motion by prosecutors to end the proceedings. In granting the motion, Bartheld ruled that Murphy had received two separate IQ scores above 76 on scientifically recognized, standardized IQ tests.
In a unanimous decision written by Judge Gary Lumpkin of Madill, the five-member appeals court said the Legislature has given capital defendants in Oklahoma the benefit of a standard measurement of error in the administration of the IQ tests. But state law disqualifies anyone from being considered mentally retarded in a death-penalty case if the individual has received an IQ score of 76 or higher on a scientifically recognized, standardized test.
The appellate decision says Murphy received IQ scores of 80 and 82 on tests administered by two psychologists.
"Petitioner received all that Oklahoma law allows him," the ruling states. "There is nothing unsettled about petitioner's mental retardation claim."
Murphy's defense attorney, Gary Henry of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
Other links : 1. http://off2dr.com/smf/index.php?topic=6338.msg43826#msg43826
2. http://www.doc.state.ok.us/offenders/DRMR.pdf
Photo : The murderer Patrick Dwayne Murphy
Anne
on: March 28, 2012, 01:39:11 PM 8 General Crime / U.S. Crime Related News / DP Sought Against Darren Price And Jerard Davis, 2011 Murders
http://www.dailygate.com/articles/2012/03/28/news/dgc2311934.txt
This site last updated on, Wednesday, March 28, 2012
State seeks death penalty in Tulsa murders
BY THE DAILY GATE CITY
Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 1:38 PM CDT
TULSA, Okla. – Motions for the death penalty were filed Tuesday by a Tulsa County (Okla.) district attorney against two men accused of the murders of a former Keokuk couple.
Jerard Davis, 21, and Darren Price, 19, allegedly gunned down 21-year-old Ethan Nichols and 18-year-old Carissa Horton last fall in an East Tulsa park.
Davis and Price each are charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of robbery with a firearm. Price faces additional charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and eluding a police officer.
Nichols, who moved from Keokuk to nearby Broken Arrow, Okla., exactly one year ago today with his family, and Oral Roberts University freshman Horton were jogging in the park on the night of Sept. 18, 2011, when they were robbed and shot execution-style. Their bodies were discovered the next morning by dog walkers.
According to police, Price and Davis stole the couple’s car and cell phones and texted Nichols’ family the next day, pretending to be him in order to throw them off track.
Price returned to the scene of the crime after the bodies were discovered, telling a TV reporter he feared for his family’s safety. He and Davis were arrested hours later.
After Horton and Nichols were identified, patrol officers covered the area around the park and found what appeared to be Nichols’ 2001 White Pontiac Grand Am in the Salida Park Apartments. A pursuit of the vehicle ended when the driver, Price, crashed into an apartment building. Police later arrested Davis in a separate location.
Price and Davis’ district court arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, April 26. No trial date has been set.
The death penalty is sought in a small percentage of murder cases in Tulsa County, according to a report this morning from the Tulsa World.
Other link : http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Forgiving-the-killers-of-a-young-couple/Re8IB9EtOEOoLhG3Xr3CZw.cspx
(with video)
March 28, 2012 - 10:32 PM
Reported by: Abbie Alford
Email: aalford@fox23.com
Updated: 9/24/2011 1:43 pm Published: 9/20/2011 9:38 pm
Police say the two men arrested on murder charges showed no remorse for their alleged crimes.
Darren Price, 19, and Jerard “Jirao” Davis are accused of ambushing, robbing and shooting a young couple at Hicks Park in east Tulsa on Sunday night.
The bodies of Ethan Nichols, 21, and Carissa Horton, 18, were found on the jogging trail the next day by a couple walking their dog.
Tulsa Police patrol, homicide detectives and the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force tracked down Darren Price just hours after the bodies were found, he was in Ethan’s car.
Police arrested Davis not long after Price’s arrest and found the suspected murder weapon inside his apartment, not far from Hicks Park.
In an interview Tuesday, the parents of Ethan and Carissa share their children’s story and their dedication to Christ.
Ethan worked at Blue Bell Creamery and had his Associates degree and wanted to be a graphic designer. His family says he loved Frisbee golf and was an active guy.
Carissa was a freshman at ORU and her parents say she was nervous about earning credit for physical education. She was majoring in music and moved to Tulsa on August 2nd.
Carissa and Ethan enjoyed jogging together, that’s why they were at Hicks Park Sunday night.
Carissa’s father says he talked to her earlier that Sunday; she called to sing an early birthday song. “That was the last time I talked to her. She said ‘well Daddy I'll talk to you later… we want to go the concert,’” says Carissa’s father Rod Horton.
They were headed to a Christian piano concert and Ethan, who always wore tennis shoes, wanted to impress Carissa. "He bought brand new dress shoes so they could be there together,” says Ethan’s mother Teresa Nichols.
Carissa wrote and performed Christian music and always had her guitar. "She loved Ethan. Her world was beautiful. I think for the first time in her life she was exceptionally happy,” says Carissa’s mother Susan Gardner.
The two were from a small town Keokuk, IA but didn’t know each other until recently. Their parents did and when Carissa got accepted to ORU, his mom asked him to help Carissa get adjusted.
"If he got to know you he would do anything for you. He did everything he could to lighten up anything,” says Mrs. Nichols.
Before she moved the pair exchanged Facebook messages, then text messages and then started talking on the phone. Their families say the couple prayed together every night before they got off the phone. They say the couple was destined to be together.
"There will be hard times and a love story," says Mrs. Nichols. Carissa’s mother believes this is where Carissa was destined to be, "Their lives started here. It bloomed and blossomed then it is snuffed out mercilessly,” says Mrs. Gardner.
A tragic love story of two young people whose love for Christ brought them together and was taken away by two robbers who gunned them down.
"We know with all of our hearts the moment the triggers were pulled that they were in heaven,” says Mrs. Nichols.
Police say the suspects, Darren Price and Jerard Davis, showed no remorse.
“They are right where they need to be in this society. We need to warehouse them and that's where they need to be for the rest of their life. If there is any case for a death penalty case this would be one of them," says Tulsa Police Homicide Sergeant Dave Walker.
Ethan’s father is fighting to forgive the men who took away his youngest child.
"I know I have to forgive to be forgiven but I can't find it in my heart for them to,” says Scott Nichols. Ethan’s mother believes he will find forgiveness.
“I can't say I want them condemned to hell because that wouldn't be any better. If they have a chance to know Christ, and really truly know Christ then they will know and realize and feel the anguish they have they have caused by killing absolutely two loving and innocent, wonderful kids," says Mrs. Nichols. "It is so important for us to know, we cannot, I will allow none of my family to see revenge or seek hatred in their hearts because that is Satan. We wouldn't be any better for them.”
Carissa’s mother believes all the anger in the world will still not bring her daughter and her boyfriend back.
"Tulsa needs to know that these were two innocent children. Not doing anything wrong. Their lives were taken in a horrifying way,” says Mrs. Nichols.
They warn others that this can happen to any innocent person. “Continue to remind their kids not to put themselves in a vulnerable position," says Mr. Nichols.
"Don't turn your back on anybody it's just not right. If Tulsa can step up and take hold of that and at least love each other a little bit maybe we can stop some of this next time,” says Mrs. Nichols.
One of the suspects was so bold that he was seen at the park while police were on the murder scene. A reporter even interviewed Darren Price about the murders; he made-up a story about being scared by what happened and not wanting to bring his children to the park.
Price and Davis are charged with two counts of First-Degree Murder and two counts of Robbery. Their bond has been raised to $2,050,000 and are currently in jail.
A memorial service will be held for Ethan Nichols and Carissa Horton on Saturday at their Church, Destiny Church, in Broken Arrow at 11 a.m.
Carissa will be buried in her hometown Keokuk, IA.
Darren Price and Jerard Davis are scheduled for September 27th.
Photos : 1. The murderers Darren Price and Jerard Davis
2. The two victims Carissa Horton and Ethan Nichols
Rest in Peace Carissa and Ethan God bless you
Anne
This site last updated on, Wednesday, March 28, 2012
State seeks death penalty in Tulsa murders
BY THE DAILY GATE CITY
Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 1:38 PM CDT
TULSA, Okla. – Motions for the death penalty were filed Tuesday by a Tulsa County (Okla.) district attorney against two men accused of the murders of a former Keokuk couple.
Jerard Davis, 21, and Darren Price, 19, allegedly gunned down 21-year-old Ethan Nichols and 18-year-old Carissa Horton last fall in an East Tulsa park.
Davis and Price each are charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of robbery with a firearm. Price faces additional charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and eluding a police officer.
Nichols, who moved from Keokuk to nearby Broken Arrow, Okla., exactly one year ago today with his family, and Oral Roberts University freshman Horton were jogging in the park on the night of Sept. 18, 2011, when they were robbed and shot execution-style. Their bodies were discovered the next morning by dog walkers.
According to police, Price and Davis stole the couple’s car and cell phones and texted Nichols’ family the next day, pretending to be him in order to throw them off track.
Price returned to the scene of the crime after the bodies were discovered, telling a TV reporter he feared for his family’s safety. He and Davis were arrested hours later.
After Horton and Nichols were identified, patrol officers covered the area around the park and found what appeared to be Nichols’ 2001 White Pontiac Grand Am in the Salida Park Apartments. A pursuit of the vehicle ended when the driver, Price, crashed into an apartment building. Police later arrested Davis in a separate location.
Price and Davis’ district court arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, April 26. No trial date has been set.
The death penalty is sought in a small percentage of murder cases in Tulsa County, according to a report this morning from the Tulsa World.
Other link : http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Forgiving-the-killers-of-a-young-couple/Re8IB9EtOEOoLhG3Xr3CZw.cspx
(with video)
March 28, 2012 - 10:32 PM
Reported by: Abbie Alford
Email: aalford@fox23.com
Updated: 9/24/2011 1:43 pm Published: 9/20/2011 9:38 pm
Police say the two men arrested on murder charges showed no remorse for their alleged crimes.
Darren Price, 19, and Jerard “Jirao” Davis are accused of ambushing, robbing and shooting a young couple at Hicks Park in east Tulsa on Sunday night.
The bodies of Ethan Nichols, 21, and Carissa Horton, 18, were found on the jogging trail the next day by a couple walking their dog.
Tulsa Police patrol, homicide detectives and the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force tracked down Darren Price just hours after the bodies were found, he was in Ethan’s car.
Police arrested Davis not long after Price’s arrest and found the suspected murder weapon inside his apartment, not far from Hicks Park.
In an interview Tuesday, the parents of Ethan and Carissa share their children’s story and their dedication to Christ.
Ethan worked at Blue Bell Creamery and had his Associates degree and wanted to be a graphic designer. His family says he loved Frisbee golf and was an active guy.
Carissa was a freshman at ORU and her parents say she was nervous about earning credit for physical education. She was majoring in music and moved to Tulsa on August 2nd.
Carissa and Ethan enjoyed jogging together, that’s why they were at Hicks Park Sunday night.
Carissa’s father says he talked to her earlier that Sunday; she called to sing an early birthday song. “That was the last time I talked to her. She said ‘well Daddy I'll talk to you later… we want to go the concert,’” says Carissa’s father Rod Horton.
They were headed to a Christian piano concert and Ethan, who always wore tennis shoes, wanted to impress Carissa. "He bought brand new dress shoes so they could be there together,” says Ethan’s mother Teresa Nichols.
Carissa wrote and performed Christian music and always had her guitar. "She loved Ethan. Her world was beautiful. I think for the first time in her life she was exceptionally happy,” says Carissa’s mother Susan Gardner.
The two were from a small town Keokuk, IA but didn’t know each other until recently. Their parents did and when Carissa got accepted to ORU, his mom asked him to help Carissa get adjusted.
"If he got to know you he would do anything for you. He did everything he could to lighten up anything,” says Mrs. Nichols.
Before she moved the pair exchanged Facebook messages, then text messages and then started talking on the phone. Their families say the couple prayed together every night before they got off the phone. They say the couple was destined to be together.
"There will be hard times and a love story," says Mrs. Nichols. Carissa’s mother believes this is where Carissa was destined to be, "Their lives started here. It bloomed and blossomed then it is snuffed out mercilessly,” says Mrs. Gardner.
A tragic love story of two young people whose love for Christ brought them together and was taken away by two robbers who gunned them down.
"We know with all of our hearts the moment the triggers were pulled that they were in heaven,” says Mrs. Nichols.
Police say the suspects, Darren Price and Jerard Davis, showed no remorse.
“They are right where they need to be in this society. We need to warehouse them and that's where they need to be for the rest of their life. If there is any case for a death penalty case this would be one of them," says Tulsa Police Homicide Sergeant Dave Walker.
Ethan’s father is fighting to forgive the men who took away his youngest child.
"I know I have to forgive to be forgiven but I can't find it in my heart for them to,” says Scott Nichols. Ethan’s mother believes he will find forgiveness.
“I can't say I want them condemned to hell because that wouldn't be any better. If they have a chance to know Christ, and really truly know Christ then they will know and realize and feel the anguish they have they have caused by killing absolutely two loving and innocent, wonderful kids," says Mrs. Nichols. "It is so important for us to know, we cannot, I will allow none of my family to see revenge or seek hatred in their hearts because that is Satan. We wouldn't be any better for them.”
Carissa’s mother believes all the anger in the world will still not bring her daughter and her boyfriend back.
"Tulsa needs to know that these were two innocent children. Not doing anything wrong. Their lives were taken in a horrifying way,” says Mrs. Nichols.
They warn others that this can happen to any innocent person. “Continue to remind their kids not to put themselves in a vulnerable position," says Mr. Nichols.
"Don't turn your back on anybody it's just not right. If Tulsa can step up and take hold of that and at least love each other a little bit maybe we can stop some of this next time,” says Mrs. Nichols.
One of the suspects was so bold that he was seen at the park while police were on the murder scene. A reporter even interviewed Darren Price about the murders; he made-up a story about being scared by what happened and not wanting to bring his children to the park.
Price and Davis are charged with two counts of First-Degree Murder and two counts of Robbery. Their bond has been raised to $2,050,000 and are currently in jail.
A memorial service will be held for Ethan Nichols and Carissa Horton on Saturday at their Church, Destiny Church, in Broken Arrow at 11 a.m.
Carissa will be buried in her hometown Keokuk, IA.
Darren Price and Jerard Davis are scheduled for September 27th.
Photos : 1. The murderers Darren Price and Jerard Davis
2. The two victims Carissa Horton and Ethan Nichols
Rest in Peace Carissa and Ethan
God bless you Anne
on: March 28, 2012, 11:24:24 AM 9 General Crime / U.S. Crime Related News / Binh Thai Luc Charged With 5 Counts Of Murder (2012), Possible Death Penalty
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sf-homicides-20120328,0,6072958.story
Slayings of 5 in S.F. cited to back immigrant detention bill
The suspect is from Vietnam and has a record. A House bill would let the government hold 'as long as necessary' immigrants deemed to be criminals who can't be deported to their native countries.
By Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times
March 28, 2012
Lawmakers are using revelations about the suspect in the slaying of five San Francisco residents to push legislation that would allow lengthier detention of criminal immigrants who cannot be repatriated.
Binh Thai Luc, 35, of San Francisco was arrested Sunday in connection with the slayings of five people in a home in the Ingleside neighborhood. He had been taken into custody in August 2006 after serving time for assault and attempted robbery but had to be released six months later after Vietnamese authorities declined to provide appropriate travel documents for his deportation, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Supreme Court rulings hold that continued detention of an immigrant becomes unlawful after 180 days, when "no significant likelihood of removal exists in the reasonably foreseeable future."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) released a statement Tuesday morning calling attention to a bill he introduced in May that aims to allow the Department of Homeland Security to detain "as long as necessary" immigrants deemed to be criminals who cannot be deported to their native countries.
The proposed law allows for a review of an immigrant's detention every six months. Officials said Luc, a convicted felon, probably would have remained in custody under the proposal.
"Just because a criminal immigrant cannot be returned to their home country does not mean they should be freed into our communities," Smith said in a statement tailored to the Luc case. "Dangerous criminal immigrants need to be detained."
A Judiciary Committee aide said the bill was approved by the panel in July and now awaits floor consideration.
The legislation has ignited opposition from civil rights groups. Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, testified against the bill in May, and Tuesday he called the law's provisions "deeply misguided."
"We don't indefinitely detain people after their sentences are finished in the name of public safety," he said. "That violates our most basic constitutional principles."
Smith's bill follows a Florida law that allows judges to deny bail to violent criminals who commit a felony while on probation. The Officer Andrew Widman Act, signed into law in May, was named for a police officer killed by a Cuban immigrant who was on supervised probation and also was ineligible for deportation.
Photo : The suspect Binh Thai Luc
Anne
Slayings of 5 in S.F. cited to back immigrant detention bill
The suspect is from Vietnam and has a record. A House bill would let the government hold 'as long as necessary' immigrants deemed to be criminals who can't be deported to their native countries.
By Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times
March 28, 2012
Lawmakers are using revelations about the suspect in the slaying of five San Francisco residents to push legislation that would allow lengthier detention of criminal immigrants who cannot be repatriated.
Binh Thai Luc, 35, of San Francisco was arrested Sunday in connection with the slayings of five people in a home in the Ingleside neighborhood. He had been taken into custody in August 2006 after serving time for assault and attempted robbery but had to be released six months later after Vietnamese authorities declined to provide appropriate travel documents for his deportation, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Supreme Court rulings hold that continued detention of an immigrant becomes unlawful after 180 days, when "no significant likelihood of removal exists in the reasonably foreseeable future."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) released a statement Tuesday morning calling attention to a bill he introduced in May that aims to allow the Department of Homeland Security to detain "as long as necessary" immigrants deemed to be criminals who cannot be deported to their native countries.
The proposed law allows for a review of an immigrant's detention every six months. Officials said Luc, a convicted felon, probably would have remained in custody under the proposal.
"Just because a criminal immigrant cannot be returned to their home country does not mean they should be freed into our communities," Smith said in a statement tailored to the Luc case. "Dangerous criminal immigrants need to be detained."
A Judiciary Committee aide said the bill was approved by the panel in July and now awaits floor consideration.
The legislation has ignited opposition from civil rights groups. Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, testified against the bill in May, and Tuesday he called the law's provisions "deeply misguided."
"We don't indefinitely detain people after their sentences are finished in the name of public safety," he said. "That violates our most basic constitutional principles."
Smith's bill follows a Florida law that allows judges to deny bail to violent criminals who commit a felony while on probation. The Officer Andrew Widman Act, signed into law in May, was named for a police officer killed by a Cuban immigrant who was on supervised probation and also was ineligible for deportation.
Photo : The suspect Binh Thai Luc
Anne
on: March 20, 2012, 02:19:55 PM 10 Across the Globe / World Death Penalty Discussion / Antigua & Barbuda's: Amnesty International Displeased With Death Penalty Stance
http://www.caribarena.com/antigua/news/latest/100031-amnesty-displeased-with-death-penalty-stance.html
Amnesty Displeased with Death Penalty Stance
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
02:30
caribarena news Antigua News - Latest
Antigua St John's - Amnesty International has issued a public statement regarding Antigua & Barbuda's reluctance to abolish the death penalty.
This came after this week's adoption of the Universal Periodic Review of Antigua & Barbuda by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The following is a statement sharing the recommendations made by the organisation to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda: Amnesty International welcomes the commitment to condemn human rights violations against persons because of their sexual orientation, but regrets the rejection of recommendations to abolish the death penalty.
Human Rights Council adopts Universal Periodic Review outcome on Antigua and Barbuda
Amnesty International welcomes that there have been no executions in Antigua and Barbuda in the last 11 years, and further welcomes the government’s commitment to rigorously apply international standards for fair trial in all death penalty cases.
However, Amnesty International is disappointed that Antigua and Barbuda rejected recommendations from six States to abolish the death penalty.
Amnesty International rejects the government’s justification that it does not have a political mandate to abolish the death penalty.
The organization believes that public opinion on capital punishment is overwhelmingly based on a desire to be protected from violence and to be free from fear of crime.
A more effective strategy to address public safety would involve improving the capacity of the police to detect and solve crimes, enhancing the criminal justice system, and tackling the root causes of crime and violence more effectively.
Amnesty International recalls that the death penalty violates the right to life as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and urges Antigua and Barbuda to impose a formal moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to abolishing it; to commute all death sentences to terms of imprisonment; to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR; and to vote in support of the next General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
Amnesty International welcomes Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to condemn human rights violations against persons because of their sexual orientation and to institute policies and initiatives to address discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
However, the organization emphasizes that the removal of discriminatory laws is a first step in fighting the stigma surrounding homosexuality, and regrets the government’s rejection of recommendations to decriminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex.
Amnesty International welcomes Antigua and Barbuda’s support of recommendations to sign and ratify international human rights conventions including the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Anne
Amnesty Displeased with Death Penalty Stance
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
02:30
caribarena news Antigua News - Latest
Antigua St John's - Amnesty International has issued a public statement regarding Antigua & Barbuda's reluctance to abolish the death penalty.
This came after this week's adoption of the Universal Periodic Review of Antigua & Barbuda by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The following is a statement sharing the recommendations made by the organisation to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda: Amnesty International welcomes the commitment to condemn human rights violations against persons because of their sexual orientation, but regrets the rejection of recommendations to abolish the death penalty.
Human Rights Council adopts Universal Periodic Review outcome on Antigua and Barbuda
Amnesty International welcomes that there have been no executions in Antigua and Barbuda in the last 11 years, and further welcomes the government’s commitment to rigorously apply international standards for fair trial in all death penalty cases.
However, Amnesty International is disappointed that Antigua and Barbuda rejected recommendations from six States to abolish the death penalty.
Amnesty International rejects the government’s justification that it does not have a political mandate to abolish the death penalty.
The organization believes that public opinion on capital punishment is overwhelmingly based on a desire to be protected from violence and to be free from fear of crime.
A more effective strategy to address public safety would involve improving the capacity of the police to detect and solve crimes, enhancing the criminal justice system, and tackling the root causes of crime and violence more effectively.
Amnesty International recalls that the death penalty violates the right to life as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and urges Antigua and Barbuda to impose a formal moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view to abolishing it; to commute all death sentences to terms of imprisonment; to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR; and to vote in support of the next General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
Amnesty International welcomes Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to condemn human rights violations against persons because of their sexual orientation and to institute policies and initiatives to address discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
However, the organization emphasizes that the removal of discriminatory laws is a first step in fighting the stigma surrounding homosexuality, and regrets the government’s rejection of recommendations to decriminalize sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex.
Amnesty International welcomes Antigua and Barbuda’s support of recommendations to sign and ratify international human rights conventions including the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Anne
on: March 20, 2012, 01:59:34 PM 11 General Crime / U.S. Crime Related News / No Death Penalty For Tracy Kaufman, Accused Of 2011 Murder
http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/local/story/No-death-penalty-for-Garage-Bar-killer/ukxMTMC-7E6wnY0cHY7z6w.cspx
(with video)
No death penalty for Garage Bar killer
Reported by: Rob Munoz
Published: 11:57 am
Updated: 12:26 pm
LAS VEGAS (KSNV & MyNews3) -- In a surprise move today, the death penalty has been taken off the table for a man accused of shooting his former lover several times in a Las Vegas bar.
News 3's Rob Munoz is in the newsroom with more information. A lot of people will find this plea deal surprising because the crime seemed so deliberate.
Deliberate because Tracy Kaufman flew more than 2,000 miles to, in his words, "scare" Phil Wells, his ex-boyfriend, and deliberate because he was arrested at McCarran Airport trying to skip town.
Wells' former boyfriend and friends are glad with the deal.
"It's closure," said Thomas Martinez, Phil Wells' boyfriend. "It's knowing that it's over and that we don't have to keep coming and staring at him everyday. He's finally going to get what he deserves."
For months, Thomas Martinez and his friends have had to watch in court as his boyfriend's accused murderer saw court delay after court delay in plea deal negotiations.
But this morning reality set in on Tracy Kaufman's face as he heard judge Philip Dabney read him his rights.
A complete 180 from previous appearances says Wells' friend Albert Perez.
Kaufman told police he flew from Knoxville, Tenn. to Las Vegas last November to "scare" his ex-boyfriend with a gun.
Police say the scare tactic morphed into Kaufman shooting his former lover Phil Wells more than 15 times as Wells was at work at the Garage Bar.
The deal on the table would see the 51 year-old Kaufman serving at least 20 years to life behind bars for the murder and an additional 20 years on a deadly weapons charge.
"He's going to be an old man by the time he even gets out," said Thomas Lahey, Phil Wells' friend. "And that's the very first time he can be considered for parole. From what I hear from the DA, they don't get parole the first time, so he'll be in there for a while."
Wells' last boyfriend said Kaufman didn't deserve to get off the hook with the death penalty.
"I actually think that's too easy," Martinez said. "I don't think he deserves to get off that easy. I think sitting in there and suffering every day for the rest of his life is what he should do."
The district attorney has also said he will block any attempts by Kaufman to try and serve out his sentence in Tennessee.
Wells' friends say Kaufman doesn't deserve to be near family when Wells' will never see him again. Kauffman’s next court date is set for next Tuesday.
Related links : 1. http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/KSNV-Suspect-in-bar-shooting/UUgtIvarCkSsTsrQnb4vxw.cspx
(with video)
Suspect in bar shooting arrested while fleeing city
Published: 11/15/2011 7:29 am
Updated: 11/15/2011 12:23 pm
LAS VEGAS -- Police say 50-year-old Tracy Kauffman -- the Knoxville, Tennessee man arrested in a shooting at 'The Garage' bar in Vegas -- was trying to flee the city when he was captured. Metro arrested Kauffman while he tried to buy a ticket at McCarran airport.
Friends of the victim, Phil Wells, Kauffman and Wells were involved in a relationship at one time.
For a short while, many were afraid the shooting was a hate crime, but Kauffman's arrest quickly dispelled that notion. Kauffman has been charged with murder with a deadly weapon and burglary with the use of a deadly weapon.
Hundreds showed up at a vigil outside 'The Garage' bar. Those who showed up said they arrived not only to remember Phil Wells, but as a sign of solidarity. The vigil was quiet, except for the few times friends sang some of Wells' favorite songs.
In the short time Wells lived in Las Vegas, friends say he made an impression on a lot of them.
According to friends and family, Wells had only been bartending at 'The Garage' bar for a short time, but they said he was their first employee of the month. He was shot and killed yesterday morning at the bar, near Flamingo and Maryland Parkway.
Wells counted a few hundred in the gay community as his friends, and they came together last night outside the bar where he worked.
David Martin, Wells' uncle and roommate, said that Wells’ death has been like a punch in the gut.
“I feel like somebody's taken an ice cream scoop and scooped out my insides,” Martin said. “I'm just very raw and empty right now. I can't really see a lot of sense in the world right now, that this would have to happen.”
2. http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Police-make-arrest-in-pre-dawn-Garage-Bar-shooting/vHQSMyMaw064_OGrTepLbg.cspx
(with video)
Police make arrest in pre-dawn Garage Bar shooting
Published: 11/14/2011 6:27 am
Updated: 12/07/2011 10:52 am
UPDATE: MONDAY 5 p.m.
LAS VEGAS -- Metro Homicide Detectives have taken Tracy Kaufmann, 50 years of age of Knoxville Tennessee into custody in connection with the shooting of Phill Wells at The Garage bar.
Kaufmann’s booking photograph and the exact charges for which he will be arrested, will be released Tuesday morning following his booking into the Clark County Detention Center.
Police found Wells dead after a pre-dawn shooting at a bar not far from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Friends helped to identify the victim as bartender, who worked at The Garage bar where the shooting took place.
Brandon Busche, one of Wells' friends, says that Wells was not the type of person to make enemies, and cannot understand why he was shot.
Lt. Patrick Charoen says police were called about 5:30 a.m. Monday to the bar near Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road. Wells was declared dead around 6 a.m.
Police say they do not know the motive of the shooting. They are currently reviewing security footage as part of the investigation.
Photos : 1. The murderer Tracy Kauffman
2. The victim Phil Wells
Anne
(with video)
No death penalty for Garage Bar killer
Reported by: Rob Munoz
Published: 11:57 am
Updated: 12:26 pm
LAS VEGAS (KSNV & MyNews3) -- In a surprise move today, the death penalty has been taken off the table for a man accused of shooting his former lover several times in a Las Vegas bar.
News 3's Rob Munoz is in the newsroom with more information. A lot of people will find this plea deal surprising because the crime seemed so deliberate.
Deliberate because Tracy Kaufman flew more than 2,000 miles to, in his words, "scare" Phil Wells, his ex-boyfriend, and deliberate because he was arrested at McCarran Airport trying to skip town.
Wells' former boyfriend and friends are glad with the deal.
"It's closure," said Thomas Martinez, Phil Wells' boyfriend. "It's knowing that it's over and that we don't have to keep coming and staring at him everyday. He's finally going to get what he deserves."
For months, Thomas Martinez and his friends have had to watch in court as his boyfriend's accused murderer saw court delay after court delay in plea deal negotiations.
But this morning reality set in on Tracy Kaufman's face as he heard judge Philip Dabney read him his rights.
A complete 180 from previous appearances says Wells' friend Albert Perez.
Kaufman told police he flew from Knoxville, Tenn. to Las Vegas last November to "scare" his ex-boyfriend with a gun.
Police say the scare tactic morphed into Kaufman shooting his former lover Phil Wells more than 15 times as Wells was at work at the Garage Bar.
The deal on the table would see the 51 year-old Kaufman serving at least 20 years to life behind bars for the murder and an additional 20 years on a deadly weapons charge.
"He's going to be an old man by the time he even gets out," said Thomas Lahey, Phil Wells' friend. "And that's the very first time he can be considered for parole. From what I hear from the DA, they don't get parole the first time, so he'll be in there for a while."
Wells' last boyfriend said Kaufman didn't deserve to get off the hook with the death penalty.
"I actually think that's too easy," Martinez said. "I don't think he deserves to get off that easy. I think sitting in there and suffering every day for the rest of his life is what he should do."
The district attorney has also said he will block any attempts by Kaufman to try and serve out his sentence in Tennessee.
Wells' friends say Kaufman doesn't deserve to be near family when Wells' will never see him again. Kauffman’s next court date is set for next Tuesday.
Related links : 1. http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/KSNV-Suspect-in-bar-shooting/UUgtIvarCkSsTsrQnb4vxw.cspx
(with video)
Suspect in bar shooting arrested while fleeing city
Published: 11/15/2011 7:29 am
Updated: 11/15/2011 12:23 pm
LAS VEGAS -- Police say 50-year-old Tracy Kauffman -- the Knoxville, Tennessee man arrested in a shooting at 'The Garage' bar in Vegas -- was trying to flee the city when he was captured. Metro arrested Kauffman while he tried to buy a ticket at McCarran airport.
Friends of the victim, Phil Wells, Kauffman and Wells were involved in a relationship at one time.
For a short while, many were afraid the shooting was a hate crime, but Kauffman's arrest quickly dispelled that notion. Kauffman has been charged with murder with a deadly weapon and burglary with the use of a deadly weapon.
Hundreds showed up at a vigil outside 'The Garage' bar. Those who showed up said they arrived not only to remember Phil Wells, but as a sign of solidarity. The vigil was quiet, except for the few times friends sang some of Wells' favorite songs.
In the short time Wells lived in Las Vegas, friends say he made an impression on a lot of them.
According to friends and family, Wells had only been bartending at 'The Garage' bar for a short time, but they said he was their first employee of the month. He was shot and killed yesterday morning at the bar, near Flamingo and Maryland Parkway.
Wells counted a few hundred in the gay community as his friends, and they came together last night outside the bar where he worked.
David Martin, Wells' uncle and roommate, said that Wells’ death has been like a punch in the gut.
“I feel like somebody's taken an ice cream scoop and scooped out my insides,” Martin said. “I'm just very raw and empty right now. I can't really see a lot of sense in the world right now, that this would have to happen.”
2. http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Police-make-arrest-in-pre-dawn-Garage-Bar-shooting/vHQSMyMaw064_OGrTepLbg.cspx
(with video)
Police make arrest in pre-dawn Garage Bar shooting
Published: 11/14/2011 6:27 am
Updated: 12/07/2011 10:52 am
UPDATE: MONDAY 5 p.m.
LAS VEGAS -- Metro Homicide Detectives have taken Tracy Kaufmann, 50 years of age of Knoxville Tennessee into custody in connection with the shooting of Phill Wells at The Garage bar.
Kaufmann’s booking photograph and the exact charges for which he will be arrested, will be released Tuesday morning following his booking into the Clark County Detention Center.
Police found Wells dead after a pre-dawn shooting at a bar not far from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Friends helped to identify the victim as bartender, who worked at The Garage bar where the shooting took place.
Brandon Busche, one of Wells' friends, says that Wells was not the type of person to make enemies, and cannot understand why he was shot.
Lt. Patrick Charoen says police were called about 5:30 a.m. Monday to the bar near Maryland Parkway and Flamingo Road. Wells was declared dead around 6 a.m.
Police say they do not know the motive of the shooting. They are currently reviewing security footage as part of the investigation.
Photos : 1. The murderer Tracy Kauffman
2. The victim Phil Wells
Anne
on: March 17, 2012, 04:50:15 AM 12 Off Topic / Off Topic - Anything / HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2012 !!!
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY 2012 to all the members here who have irish blood !
In Belgium, we appreciate this great Day !
Every year, myself and my friends go to the Irish Times Pub in Charleroi because there is a big party with a lot of music !
Also, we like to drink beers like Guinness or a Kilkenny.
During this special Day, we don't drink our belgians beers LOL
We love Ireland and the irish culture !
God bless you all here !
Photos : The Irish Times Pub in Charleroi 
Anne
In Belgium, we appreciate this great Day !
Every year, myself and my friends go to the Irish Times Pub in Charleroi because there is a big party with a lot of music !
Also, we like to drink beers like Guinness or a Kilkenny.
During this special Day, we don't drink our belgians beers LOL
We love Ireland and the irish culture !
God bless you all here !
Photos : The Irish Times Pub in Charleroi
Anne
on: March 14, 2012, 10:45:16 AM 13 Off Topic / Off Topic - Anything / Kingdom Of Belgium : Twenty-Eight Dead In Coach Crash In The Swiss Alps
http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/news/120314_coach
(with video)
14 March 2012
18:33
Twenty-eight dead in coach crash in the Swiss Alps
Wed 14/03/2012 - 08:48
Update: Wed 14/03/2012 - 13:15
A Belgian coach carrying school children from schools in Heverlee and Lommel has crashed in Sierre in the Swiss Alps. Twenty-eight people are dead including twenty-two children.
The accident happened shortly after 9PM on Tuesday night. The coach crashed into the left flank of a tunnel at full speed. As yet it is unclear why the coach veered off its course. No other vehicles are believed to have been involved in the accident.
The accident happened in a tunnel on the A9 road between Sierre and Sion. The coach involved in the accident was accompanied by two other coaches.
Inside the tunnel the coach with 52 people on board crashed into a wall of the tunnel. The entire front of the coach was destroyed as a result of the impact. Several victims were stuck in the wreckage.
The two drivers did not survive the crash. The four other adults, monitors and teachers also died. In addition to the fatalities a further twenty-two people are thought to have been injured. The injured have been taken to four different hospitals across the Swiss canton of Valais (Wallis). A number of injured have been taken as far afield as Lausanne and Bern. Three injured are in a coma and further deaths cannot be ruled out.
The Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry says that the children were aged 11 and 12 and hailed from the Sint-Lamberts School in Heverlee near Leuven (Flemish Brabant) and from the primary school 't Stekske in Lommel (Limburg). They were returning from a skiing holiday in the resort of Saint Luc in Val d'Anniviers.
The relatives of those killed and injured have been informed. The Belgian army is ferrying relatives of those involved to Switzerland in the course of Wednesday morning. The Swiss authorities expect them to arrive in Valais (Wallis) this morning.
The Swiss authorities can be contacted on the following number 0041/848.112.117. This is the emergency number of the Belgian Foreign Ministry: 02/501.40.00.
Other links : 1. http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/mediatheek_en/2.3815/1.1244878
(with video)
King Albert rushed to Melsbroek to see off families
VRT
Belgium’s King Albert interrupted a visit to a school to see off the relatives of victims of the Swiss Coach Disaster. The king has also expressed his support for the families.
2. http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/news/120314_reaxpol
14 March 2012
18:39
"This is a very sad day for Belgium"
Wed 14/03/2012 - 10:13 The Flemish and Belgian Prime Ministers, Kris Peeters and Elio Di Rupo, have sent a message of support to the survivors and relatives of those killed in the Swiss coach crash.
In a statement Belgian Premier Di Rupo says that his thoughts are with the victims, their parents and all their relatives: "The government is doing all in its power to ensure that the relatives of all those involved in the crash are properly informed. It is also making preparations to take relatives to Switzerland. This is a very sad day for Belgium."
Mr Di Rupo, his Flemish counterpart Kris Peeters and Deputy Premier Steven Vanackere are all travelling to Switzerland, but priority is being given to the relatives of those involved.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders has spoken of his gratitude with the Swiss aid effort. He was clearly satisfied with the assistance provided by the Swiss police and emergency services: "The police and our ambassador, who is on the scene, say that no other vehicles were involved. It's incomprehensible. We have no information about the cause of the accident. The police and emergency services and people from hospitals across the region were on the scene immediately."
Flemish Premier Kris Peeters has also expressed his support for the victims and their families: "Words fail me. I wish to voice my deepest feelings of sympathy for the children, the teachers, the parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends."
Mr Peeters also expressed his support for the two schools involved.
Mohamed Ridouani, alderman for schools in Leuven: "It's a tragic accident. In Switzerland the focus is to provide assistance to the victims. The head of the Sint-Lambertus school in Heverlee (Leuven) told parents to go to the school to receive more information.
Mayor Peter Vanvelthoven of Lommel where the other affected school is located is organising a crisis centre and visited the school 't Stekske.
Dear Members, Dear Friends,
It is a very bad and sad day in the Kingdom of Belgium...
My country crys and I cry...
God bless all the victims and their families...
Your thoughts and your prayers are welcome... We need them...
Thank you very much !
God bless you all here and also all your loved ones...
Anne
(with video)
14 March 2012
18:33
Twenty-eight dead in coach crash in the Swiss Alps
Wed 14/03/2012 - 08:48
Update: Wed 14/03/2012 - 13:15
A Belgian coach carrying school children from schools in Heverlee and Lommel has crashed in Sierre in the Swiss Alps. Twenty-eight people are dead including twenty-two children.
The accident happened shortly after 9PM on Tuesday night. The coach crashed into the left flank of a tunnel at full speed. As yet it is unclear why the coach veered off its course. No other vehicles are believed to have been involved in the accident.
The accident happened in a tunnel on the A9 road between Sierre and Sion. The coach involved in the accident was accompanied by two other coaches.
Inside the tunnel the coach with 52 people on board crashed into a wall of the tunnel. The entire front of the coach was destroyed as a result of the impact. Several victims were stuck in the wreckage.
The two drivers did not survive the crash. The four other adults, monitors and teachers also died. In addition to the fatalities a further twenty-two people are thought to have been injured. The injured have been taken to four different hospitals across the Swiss canton of Valais (Wallis). A number of injured have been taken as far afield as Lausanne and Bern. Three injured are in a coma and further deaths cannot be ruled out.
The Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry says that the children were aged 11 and 12 and hailed from the Sint-Lamberts School in Heverlee near Leuven (Flemish Brabant) and from the primary school 't Stekske in Lommel (Limburg). They were returning from a skiing holiday in the resort of Saint Luc in Val d'Anniviers.
The relatives of those killed and injured have been informed. The Belgian army is ferrying relatives of those involved to Switzerland in the course of Wednesday morning. The Swiss authorities expect them to arrive in Valais (Wallis) this morning.
The Swiss authorities can be contacted on the following number 0041/848.112.117. This is the emergency number of the Belgian Foreign Ministry: 02/501.40.00.
Other links : 1. http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/mediatheek_en/2.3815/1.1244878
(with video)
King Albert rushed to Melsbroek to see off families
VRT
Belgium’s King Albert interrupted a visit to a school to see off the relatives of victims of the Swiss Coach Disaster. The king has also expressed his support for the families.
2. http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/news/120314_reaxpol
14 March 2012
18:39
"This is a very sad day for Belgium"
Wed 14/03/2012 - 10:13 The Flemish and Belgian Prime Ministers, Kris Peeters and Elio Di Rupo, have sent a message of support to the survivors and relatives of those killed in the Swiss coach crash.
In a statement Belgian Premier Di Rupo says that his thoughts are with the victims, their parents and all their relatives: "The government is doing all in its power to ensure that the relatives of all those involved in the crash are properly informed. It is also making preparations to take relatives to Switzerland. This is a very sad day for Belgium."
Mr Di Rupo, his Flemish counterpart Kris Peeters and Deputy Premier Steven Vanackere are all travelling to Switzerland, but priority is being given to the relatives of those involved.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders has spoken of his gratitude with the Swiss aid effort. He was clearly satisfied with the assistance provided by the Swiss police and emergency services: "The police and our ambassador, who is on the scene, say that no other vehicles were involved. It's incomprehensible. We have no information about the cause of the accident. The police and emergency services and people from hospitals across the region were on the scene immediately."
Flemish Premier Kris Peeters has also expressed his support for the victims and their families: "Words fail me. I wish to voice my deepest feelings of sympathy for the children, the teachers, the parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends."
Mr Peeters also expressed his support for the two schools involved.
Mohamed Ridouani, alderman for schools in Leuven: "It's a tragic accident. In Switzerland the focus is to provide assistance to the victims. The head of the Sint-Lambertus school in Heverlee (Leuven) told parents to go to the school to receive more information.
Mayor Peter Vanvelthoven of Lommel where the other affected school is located is organising a crisis centre and visited the school 't Stekske.
Dear Members, Dear Friends,
It is a very bad and sad day in the Kingdom of Belgium...
My country crys and I cry...
God bless all the victims and their families...
Your thoughts and your prayers are welcome... We need them...
Thank you very much !
God bless you all here and also all your loved ones...
Anne
on: March 13, 2012, 10:36:51 AM 14 General Crime / U.S. Crime Related News / Prosecutors Will Seek The DP Against Enrique Manuel Ortiz, 2012 Murder
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2012/03/prosecutors_to_seek_death_pena.html
Prosecutors seek the death penalty in fatal Allentown shooting
Published: Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 12:24 PM
Updated: Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 12:28 PM
Colin McEvoy | The Express-Times
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for an Allentown man accused of the Jan. 7 killing of an Ethiopian refugee on Fountain Street.
First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa filed notice last week that he will seek the death penalty against Enrique Manuel Ortiz, who is accused of killing Hagos Mezgebo in what was the city's first homicide of 2012.
Two teenage girls -- ages 19 and 17 -- were a few feet away from Mezgebo when he was shot, and prosecutors said they were nearly struck by a stray bullet, according to previous court testimony.
Since the teens were placed at grave risk of death, that gave prosecutors an aggravating circumstance that allows them to seek death, according to Lehigh County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Debbie Garlicki.
Ortiz's attorney, David Nicholls, said the aggravating factor is based on a bullet hole discovered on a porch next near where the teenage girls were running.
He does not believe that alone is sufficient cause for the prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
"That description would fit half the homicides that are charged in town," Nicholls said. "I think they'll have a hard time getting a death penalty in this case even if they get a conviction."
Ortiz, 25, is accused of shooting Mezgebo to death a few minutes after Ortiz was thrown out of an Allentown nightclub, according to past testimony.
Mezgebo was passing by Ortiz's car and, after the two exchanged words, Ortiz exited the vehicle and repeatedly shot Mezgebo, according to testimony.
Ortiz then drove away and, after nearly striking a double-parked car on Walnut Street, threatened three women at gunpoint, placing a gun under one of their chins and threatening to "cap" them, police said.
Luksa previously said there is no evidence Ortiz even knew Mezgebo, and he speculated the victim may have looked at or spoken to Ortiz as he argued with his girlfriend in the car prior to the shooting.
Nicholls said he believes making it a capital crime is a waste of time and resources because, with automatic appeal avenues, inmates are rarely executed even when they receive the death penalty.
Although hundreds of inmates have received the death penalty in Pennsylvania, Nicholls noted that only three have actually been executed since 1976.
"My perception on it is it's an enormous waste of taxpayer money," said Nicholls, who noted legal costs for a capital case are about 10 times that of a regular homicide prosecution.
Garlicki said Lehigh County jurors have handed down several death sentences over the years, and that almost all are currently in various stages of appeal.
As an example, she cited Junius Burno, who was sentenced to death in 2007 for killing two people in April 2003 during a botched robbery attempt.
Lehigh County Judge Edward Reibman determined in 2009 that a new trial and sentencing must be held for Burno, Garlicki said.
She also cited Harvey Robinson, whose 1994 death sentence for raping and killing 15-year-old Charlotte Schmoyer was vacated in 2001.
A new sentencing hearing must be held on that case, and Reibman must also decide whether a separate death penalty verdict should be set aside for Robinson's 1993 conviction in the killing of another victim, Jessica Fortney, Garlicki said.
Other links : 1. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2012/01/allentown_police_arrest_man_fo.html
Allentown police charge man for city's first killing of 2012
Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 12:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 2:38 PM
Colin McEvoy | The Express-Times
Enrique Manuel Ortiz, 25, has been charged with homicide in connection with Allentown's first murder of 2012.
Ortiz, who has no current address, allegedly shot Hagos Mezgebo several times on Jan. 7 near the corner of Emmett and Fountain streets, prosecutors announced today.
After shooting Mezgebo, Ortiz fled the area and had an encounter with three unidentified individuals in which he pulled out a gun and threatened them, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's office.
Debbie Garlicki, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, declined to comment on a motive.
Ortiz was arraigned today before District Judge John Dugan is currently incarcerated in Lehigh County Prison without bail, according to court records.
He is charged with homicide, illegally possessing a firearm, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault.
Ortiz had already been facing drug and weapon charges from an unrelated Allentown incident earlier in the month, according to court records.
Based on an Jan. 9 incident, he was possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a prohibited firearm, according to records.
Allentown police Capt. Daryl Hendricks did not immediately have information about that incident. Check back later for more details.
According to court records, he had been committed to Lehigh County Prison on Jan. 9 in lieu of $250,000 bail. He has been incarcerated since, said corrections official Ed Sweeny.
Mezgebo was found collapsed near the intersection of Fountain and Chew streets. Police discovered him while responding to a report of shots fired in the 200 block of Fountain Street, prosecutors said.
Based on information from witnesses, blood evidence and the location of shell casings, police concluded Mezgebo was actually shot while standing at Emmett and Fountain streets, prosecutors said.
Police believe then Mezgebo ran north on Fountain Street, turned east onto Chew Street then collapsed, according to the district attorney's office.
Mezgebo was a refugee who had fled to Allentown from his former home of Tigray, Ethiopia, according to the Diocese of Allentown. The diocese has been working to get Mezgebo's family from Ethiopia to Allentown for funeral arrangements, according to spokesman Matt Kerr.
The Jan. 7 shooting was the first of two homicides in Allentown so far this year. The second occurred on Sunday, when Andy Hernandez Rojas was shot to death at 521 N. Seventh St.
Later that day, police announced the arrest of Pedro Alicea-Perez in connection with that shooting.
There also were four murders in the city within a week in December.
2. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2012/01/22-year-old_identified_as_alle.html
Allentown's first homicide victim of 2012 identified
Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 1:56 PM
Updated: Monday, January 09, 2012, 4:55 PM
JD Malone | The Express-Times
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office identified a 22-year-old Allentown man who was shot and killed Saturday morning.
Hagos F. Mezgebo, of the 200 block of North 13th Street, died of gunshot wounds to the body, according to Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim. Mezgebo was pronounced dead at 1:59 a.m. in front of 920 Chew St. after being shot about a hour earlier in the 200 block of Fountain Street, Grim said.
Police are investigating.
It was the first homicide in Allentown in 2012, although the city ended 2011 with four murders in one week in December.
Two people were shot Dec. 22 in their home in the 200 block of North 15th Street. Angel Millayes, 22, died about an hour later at a hospital. Louis Nieves, 20, suffered non-life-threatening wounds in that shooting. No one has been charged.
John R.E. Briele, of the 600 block of North Jordan Street, was shot and killed early the previous morning. No arrest has been made in that case.
The bodies of Adrian Ramirez, 34, of the 700 block of Walnut Street, and Steven Santiago, 37, of New York City, were found early Dec. 17 on South Hall Street. John Boyd, 27, of Allentown, and a juvenile were charged in those killings.
Photos : 1. Enrique Manuel Ortiz is escorted to the Lehigh County Courthouse for a Feb. 2 hearing. (Express-Times File Photo | MATT SMITH)
2. The victim Hagos Mezgebo
Rest in Peace Mister Mezgebo God bless you
Anne
Prosecutors seek the death penalty in fatal Allentown shooting
Published: Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 12:24 PM
Updated: Tuesday, March 13, 2012, 12:28 PM
Colin McEvoy | The Express-Times
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for an Allentown man accused of the Jan. 7 killing of an Ethiopian refugee on Fountain Street.
First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa filed notice last week that he will seek the death penalty against Enrique Manuel Ortiz, who is accused of killing Hagos Mezgebo in what was the city's first homicide of 2012.
Two teenage girls -- ages 19 and 17 -- were a few feet away from Mezgebo when he was shot, and prosecutors said they were nearly struck by a stray bullet, according to previous court testimony.
Since the teens were placed at grave risk of death, that gave prosecutors an aggravating circumstance that allows them to seek death, according to Lehigh County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Debbie Garlicki.
Ortiz's attorney, David Nicholls, said the aggravating factor is based on a bullet hole discovered on a porch next near where the teenage girls were running.
He does not believe that alone is sufficient cause for the prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
"That description would fit half the homicides that are charged in town," Nicholls said. "I think they'll have a hard time getting a death penalty in this case even if they get a conviction."
Ortiz, 25, is accused of shooting Mezgebo to death a few minutes after Ortiz was thrown out of an Allentown nightclub, according to past testimony.
Mezgebo was passing by Ortiz's car and, after the two exchanged words, Ortiz exited the vehicle and repeatedly shot Mezgebo, according to testimony.
Ortiz then drove away and, after nearly striking a double-parked car on Walnut Street, threatened three women at gunpoint, placing a gun under one of their chins and threatening to "cap" them, police said.
Luksa previously said there is no evidence Ortiz even knew Mezgebo, and he speculated the victim may have looked at or spoken to Ortiz as he argued with his girlfriend in the car prior to the shooting.
Nicholls said he believes making it a capital crime is a waste of time and resources because, with automatic appeal avenues, inmates are rarely executed even when they receive the death penalty.
Although hundreds of inmates have received the death penalty in Pennsylvania, Nicholls noted that only three have actually been executed since 1976.
"My perception on it is it's an enormous waste of taxpayer money," said Nicholls, who noted legal costs for a capital case are about 10 times that of a regular homicide prosecution.
Garlicki said Lehigh County jurors have handed down several death sentences over the years, and that almost all are currently in various stages of appeal.
As an example, she cited Junius Burno, who was sentenced to death in 2007 for killing two people in April 2003 during a botched robbery attempt.
Lehigh County Judge Edward Reibman determined in 2009 that a new trial and sentencing must be held for Burno, Garlicki said.
She also cited Harvey Robinson, whose 1994 death sentence for raping and killing 15-year-old Charlotte Schmoyer was vacated in 2001.
A new sentencing hearing must be held on that case, and Reibman must also decide whether a separate death penalty verdict should be set aside for Robinson's 1993 conviction in the killing of another victim, Jessica Fortney, Garlicki said.
Other links : 1. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2012/01/allentown_police_arrest_man_fo.html
Allentown police charge man for city's first killing of 2012
Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 12:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 2:38 PM
Colin McEvoy | The Express-Times
Enrique Manuel Ortiz, 25, has been charged with homicide in connection with Allentown's first murder of 2012.
Ortiz, who has no current address, allegedly shot Hagos Mezgebo several times on Jan. 7 near the corner of Emmett and Fountain streets, prosecutors announced today.
After shooting Mezgebo, Ortiz fled the area and had an encounter with three unidentified individuals in which he pulled out a gun and threatened them, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney's office.
Debbie Garlicki, spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, declined to comment on a motive.
Ortiz was arraigned today before District Judge John Dugan is currently incarcerated in Lehigh County Prison without bail, according to court records.
He is charged with homicide, illegally possessing a firearm, terroristic threats, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault.
Ortiz had already been facing drug and weapon charges from an unrelated Allentown incident earlier in the month, according to court records.
Based on an Jan. 9 incident, he was possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a prohibited firearm, according to records.
Allentown police Capt. Daryl Hendricks did not immediately have information about that incident. Check back later for more details.
According to court records, he had been committed to Lehigh County Prison on Jan. 9 in lieu of $250,000 bail. He has been incarcerated since, said corrections official Ed Sweeny.
Mezgebo was found collapsed near the intersection of Fountain and Chew streets. Police discovered him while responding to a report of shots fired in the 200 block of Fountain Street, prosecutors said.
Based on information from witnesses, blood evidence and the location of shell casings, police concluded Mezgebo was actually shot while standing at Emmett and Fountain streets, prosecutors said.
Police believe then Mezgebo ran north on Fountain Street, turned east onto Chew Street then collapsed, according to the district attorney's office.
Mezgebo was a refugee who had fled to Allentown from his former home of Tigray, Ethiopia, according to the Diocese of Allentown. The diocese has been working to get Mezgebo's family from Ethiopia to Allentown for funeral arrangements, according to spokesman Matt Kerr.
The Jan. 7 shooting was the first of two homicides in Allentown so far this year. The second occurred on Sunday, when Andy Hernandez Rojas was shot to death at 521 N. Seventh St.
Later that day, police announced the arrest of Pedro Alicea-Perez in connection with that shooting.
There also were four murders in the city within a week in December.
2. http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/allentown/index.ssf/2012/01/22-year-old_identified_as_alle.html
Allentown's first homicide victim of 2012 identified
Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 1:56 PM
Updated: Monday, January 09, 2012, 4:55 PM
JD Malone | The Express-Times
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office identified a 22-year-old Allentown man who was shot and killed Saturday morning.
Hagos F. Mezgebo, of the 200 block of North 13th Street, died of gunshot wounds to the body, according to Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim. Mezgebo was pronounced dead at 1:59 a.m. in front of 920 Chew St. after being shot about a hour earlier in the 200 block of Fountain Street, Grim said.
Police are investigating.
It was the first homicide in Allentown in 2012, although the city ended 2011 with four murders in one week in December.
Two people were shot Dec. 22 in their home in the 200 block of North 15th Street. Angel Millayes, 22, died about an hour later at a hospital. Louis Nieves, 20, suffered non-life-threatening wounds in that shooting. No one has been charged.
John R.E. Briele, of the 600 block of North Jordan Street, was shot and killed early the previous morning. No arrest has been made in that case.
The bodies of Adrian Ramirez, 34, of the 700 block of Walnut Street, and Steven Santiago, 37, of New York City, were found early Dec. 17 on South Hall Street. John Boyd, 27, of Allentown, and a juvenile were charged in those killings.
Photos : 1. Enrique Manuel Ortiz is escorted to the Lehigh County Courthouse for a Feb. 2 hearing. (Express-Times File Photo | MATT SMITH)
2. The victim Hagos Mezgebo
Rest in Peace Mister Mezgebo
God bless you Anne
on: March 13, 2012, 10:27:58 AM 15 General Crime / U.S. Crime Related News / Prosecutors Are Seeking The DP Against Mark Edward Mesiti, 2006 Teen Murder
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_20163088
Death penalty sought for former South Bay man accused of killing his daughter
By Mark Gomez
mgomez@mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/13/2012 09:07:03 AM PDT
Updated: 03/13/2012 10:03:19 AM PDT
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a former South Bay man accused of killing and molesting his 14-year-old daughter in 2006, just months after a Santa Clara County judge awarded him custody.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office said in court Monday it will seek the death penalty against Mark Edward Mesiti, 44, who is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting his daughter Alycia from July, 2005 through May, 2006, according to the Modesto Bee.
Prosecutors stated in court documents that they are seeking the death penalty because of the age and vulnerability of the victims, Mesiti's lack of remorse and evidence of his other crimes, according to the Bee. Prosecutors in Stanislaus County have added allegations that Mesiti sexually abused two other girls, one age 8 and the other 16 and 17, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Bee.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Alycia Augusta Mesiti-Allen was 14 when she vanished in August 2006, months after a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge granted custody of the girl and her older brother to Mesiti, who at the time had a lengthy criminal history. After winning custody of his children, Mesiti moved to Ceres, a small town located near Modesto in the Central Valley.
At the time of Alycia's disappearance, Mesiti told Ceres police the girl ran away during a camping trip with friends and her pet Chihuahua.
Her body was discovered in March, 2009 by cadaver-sniffing dogs in the backyard of Mesiti's former Central Valley home.
Alycia and her brother, now an adult, were placed in Mesiti's care by the family court in November 2005. During the previous seven years, court records show, Mesiti had been convicted of state and federal charges, including bank fraud and drunken driving. He also was charged with domestic violence and ordered to attend anger-management classes after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
During the nine months Alycia and her brother lived with Mesiti, police and child welfare workers fielded repeated warnings of danger in their Ceres home. Beginning in 2005, the children's court-appointed lawyer, Jonnie Herring, reported her concerns, recommending only a supervised, temporary placement with Mesiti due to "sufficient issues and risks to these minors." In 2006, she reported that Mesiti had failed to comply with court orders to enroll his children in school and remain in touch.
Alycia's disappearance was not elevated to a homicide investigation until a longtime detective on the case retired and a Ceres investigations supervisor ordered up a fresh round of interviews. Police obtained a search warrant for Mesiti's former Ceres home, which he is said to have abandoned a few months after Alycia vanished, and discovered her remains buried in the backyard.
Days later, Ceres and Los Angeles police arrested Mesiti in a Los Angeles apartment and found evidence of a meth lab. Mesiti was convicted in Los Angeles County of manufacturing methamphetamine in May and sentenced to five years at North Kern State Prison, according to the Bee.
Related story : http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_12556022?source=pkg
June 2009: Father charged with killing 14-year-old found buried in yard
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News
Posted: 06/09/2009 05:59:02 PM PDT
Updated: 03/13/2012 08:56:34 AM PDT
The short, tragic life of Alycia Augusta Mesiti-Allen ended at the hands of her father, prosecutors say.
Mark Edward Mesiti was charged last week with killing and molesting the 14-year-old girl in Ceres, a town outside Modesto, less than a year after a Santa Clara County judge put her in Mesiti's custody.
Mesiti, 41, is in custody in Los Angeles on separate charges of running a meth lab and endangering his current girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter. But once that case is prosecuted, Mesiti will be arrested on a $2 million warrant and brought to Stanislaus County to face charges in the death of his daughter, Stanislaus officials say.
In addition to murder, Mesiti has been charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, penetration by a foreign object, and giving the victim drugs or alcohol to prevent resistance during those acts.
"Sending her to live with Mark was a death sentence," said the girl's aunt, Roberta Fitzpatrick of San Jose. "It was just a travesty."
When a family court in Santa Clara County granted Mesiti custody in 2005, Alycia had bounced from home to home among relatives after her mother, Roberta Allen, had been declared an unfit parent. And despite repeated reports of improper parenting — failure to enroll Alycia and her brother in school, not allowing the children to speak with their mother and allowing Alycia and her brother to go hungry — the girl was allowed to remain with Mesiti. The girls' court-appointed lawyer had recommended only a supervised, temporary placement with Mesiti, who has a long criminal history.
When Alycia disappeared in 2006, her father claimed she had run away, and that he heard from her by phone from time to time. Roberta Allen wasn't buying it and told the Mercury News she tried many times to get police in Ceres, where Mesiti lived, to investigate with no luck. After a longtime detective on the case retired, police reinterviewed principals in the case and launched a murder investigation.
In March of this year, cadaver-sniffing dogs found Alycia's body buried in the yard of Mesiti's former home in the Central Valley.
Mesiti faces life in prison if convicted, said Stanislaus County Assistant District Attorney Carol Shipley. Los Angeles authorities "will finish their case first and we'll get it after that," she said.
Shipley said Alycia was killed on Aug. 16, 2006, and molested the previous year, from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2005. On June 2, Mesiti was charged with killing his daughter.
Alycia "never got to enjoy anything," her aunt said. "My greatest hope is that this sheds light on the way they've done things (in court) and that they will make changes."
Photos : 1. The murderer Mark Edward Mesiti
2. The victim Alycia Mesiti-Allen
Rest in Peace Alycia God bless you
Anne
Death penalty sought for former South Bay man accused of killing his daughter
By Mark Gomez
mgomez@mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/13/2012 09:07:03 AM PDT
Updated: 03/13/2012 10:03:19 AM PDT
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a former South Bay man accused of killing and molesting his 14-year-old daughter in 2006, just months after a Santa Clara County judge awarded him custody.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office said in court Monday it will seek the death penalty against Mark Edward Mesiti, 44, who is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting his daughter Alycia from July, 2005 through May, 2006, according to the Modesto Bee.
Prosecutors stated in court documents that they are seeking the death penalty because of the age and vulnerability of the victims, Mesiti's lack of remorse and evidence of his other crimes, according to the Bee. Prosecutors in Stanislaus County have added allegations that Mesiti sexually abused two other girls, one age 8 and the other 16 and 17, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Bee.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office could not immediately be reached for comment.
Alycia Augusta Mesiti-Allen was 14 when she vanished in August 2006, months after a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge granted custody of the girl and her older brother to Mesiti, who at the time had a lengthy criminal history. After winning custody of his children, Mesiti moved to Ceres, a small town located near Modesto in the Central Valley.
At the time of Alycia's disappearance, Mesiti told Ceres police the girl ran away during a camping trip with friends and her pet Chihuahua.
Her body was discovered in March, 2009 by cadaver-sniffing dogs in the backyard of Mesiti's former Central Valley home.
Alycia and her brother, now an adult, were placed in Mesiti's care by the family court in November 2005. During the previous seven years, court records show, Mesiti had been convicted of state and federal charges, including bank fraud and drunken driving. He also was charged with domestic violence and ordered to attend anger-management classes after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.
During the nine months Alycia and her brother lived with Mesiti, police and child welfare workers fielded repeated warnings of danger in their Ceres home. Beginning in 2005, the children's court-appointed lawyer, Jonnie Herring, reported her concerns, recommending only a supervised, temporary placement with Mesiti due to "sufficient issues and risks to these minors." In 2006, she reported that Mesiti had failed to comply with court orders to enroll his children in school and remain in touch.
Alycia's disappearance was not elevated to a homicide investigation until a longtime detective on the case retired and a Ceres investigations supervisor ordered up a fresh round of interviews. Police obtained a search warrant for Mesiti's former Ceres home, which he is said to have abandoned a few months after Alycia vanished, and discovered her remains buried in the backyard.
Days later, Ceres and Los Angeles police arrested Mesiti in a Los Angeles apartment and found evidence of a meth lab. Mesiti was convicted in Los Angeles County of manufacturing methamphetamine in May and sentenced to five years at North Kern State Prison, according to the Bee.
Related story : http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_12556022?source=pkg
June 2009: Father charged with killing 14-year-old found buried in yard
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News
Posted: 06/09/2009 05:59:02 PM PDT
Updated: 03/13/2012 08:56:34 AM PDT
The short, tragic life of Alycia Augusta Mesiti-Allen ended at the hands of her father, prosecutors say.
Mark Edward Mesiti was charged last week with killing and molesting the 14-year-old girl in Ceres, a town outside Modesto, less than a year after a Santa Clara County judge put her in Mesiti's custody.
Mesiti, 41, is in custody in Los Angeles on separate charges of running a meth lab and endangering his current girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter. But once that case is prosecuted, Mesiti will be arrested on a $2 million warrant and brought to Stanislaus County to face charges in the death of his daughter, Stanislaus officials say.
In addition to murder, Mesiti has been charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, penetration by a foreign object, and giving the victim drugs or alcohol to prevent resistance during those acts.
"Sending her to live with Mark was a death sentence," said the girl's aunt, Roberta Fitzpatrick of San Jose. "It was just a travesty."
When a family court in Santa Clara County granted Mesiti custody in 2005, Alycia had bounced from home to home among relatives after her mother, Roberta Allen, had been declared an unfit parent. And despite repeated reports of improper parenting — failure to enroll Alycia and her brother in school, not allowing the children to speak with their mother and allowing Alycia and her brother to go hungry — the girl was allowed to remain with Mesiti. The girls' court-appointed lawyer had recommended only a supervised, temporary placement with Mesiti, who has a long criminal history.
When Alycia disappeared in 2006, her father claimed she had run away, and that he heard from her by phone from time to time. Roberta Allen wasn't buying it and told the Mercury News she tried many times to get police in Ceres, where Mesiti lived, to investigate with no luck. After a longtime detective on the case retired, police reinterviewed principals in the case and launched a murder investigation.
In March of this year, cadaver-sniffing dogs found Alycia's body buried in the yard of Mesiti's former home in the Central Valley.
Mesiti faces life in prison if convicted, said Stanislaus County Assistant District Attorney Carol Shipley. Los Angeles authorities "will finish their case first and we'll get it after that," she said.
Shipley said Alycia was killed on Aug. 16, 2006, and molested the previous year, from April 1 through Sept. 30, 2005. On June 2, Mesiti was charged with killing his daughter.
Alycia "never got to enjoy anything," her aunt said. "My greatest hope is that this sheds light on the way they've done things (in court) and that they will make changes."
Photos : 1. The murderer Mark Edward Mesiti
2. The victim Alycia Mesiti-Allen
Rest in Peace Alycia
God bless you Anne
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