Virginia Ready to Fry a Woman

MoonHowler

Dead woman walking–Convicted killer Teresa Lewis is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection this Thursday, September 30. If the execution goes through, Lewis will be the first woman to be executed in Virginia since 1912.

Lewis was convicted of killing her husband and stepson for $250,000 in insurance money. Death penalty activists say that Lewis is being treated unfairly because the 2 gunman who killed the victims only got life in prison.

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Lewis, then 33, plotted with her then-22-year-old lover, Matthew Shallenberger, and his friend Rodney Fuller to murder her husband and stepson on Oct. 30, 2002. Killed were Julian Lewis, 51, and C.J. Lewis, 25, a soldier visiting the Lewises’ mobile home.

She was to be the beneficiary of her stepson’s $250,000 life insurance policy should he and her husband die. She left a door unlocked so Shallenberger and Fuller could enter early that morning. The two arrived armed with shotguns paid for by Teresa Lewis. She left the bedroom and waited in the kitchen during the shooting.

The gunfire over and her husband dying, Lewis retrieved his wallet from their bedroom and divided the money with the killers. She waited 45 minutes before calling for help, but Julian Lewis lived long enough to tell a deputy sheriff, “My wife knows who done this to me.”

Teresa Lewis, Shallenberger and Fuller pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced Shallenberger and Fuller to life and Lewis, whom he called “the head of this serpent,” to death.

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Another area sexual predator arrested

MoonHowler

Leonel Vega-Perezm, an illegal immigrant, has been charged with raping a 10 year old girl. We are not going into the sordid details. The incidences occurred in Manassas Park and in Prince William County. The victim was an acquaintance of Vega -Perezm.

We don’t usually run threads on this type of crime. There are other blogs you can go to for that kind of feeding frenzy. Today however, we are making an exception and we made an exception with the Osbourn High School teacher several weeks ago. Why? because there seems to be just too much of this sort of behavior going on in our community. The default answer as to why would be, “why school is out and our kids are outside and we need to keep a close eye on them.” Unfortunately, Kevin Ricks makes that comment less than valid. he was in a school, lurking and waiting and manipulating.

Child molestors come in all sizes, shapes, ages, educational levels, socio economic classes and ethnicities. This is the vilest of crimes to commit. The News & Messenger reported that local authories had called ICE. So what. ICE would have been notified regardless of the severity of the crime. Hopefully, Leonel Vega-Perezm stands trial and goes to prison for a good 20-25 years, if he is found guilty. He shouldn’t be needing ICE until then. He is a scourge on society and needs to be treated as such, if convicted.

I would be furious if he were turned over to ICE. He needs to stay right here in Prince William County and face the music until he is shipped out to a prison somewhere in the state. If he were just deported, he woud go back to his country of origin and do the same nasty, dastardly thing to some child there. Either we care about children, all children, or we don’t. We cannot differentiate our feelings because of their location. We need to protect them from creeps like this man and Kevin Ricks and all the other perverts who want to harm our children.

Unnamed Utah Group Outs Illegal Immigrants

MoonHowler

The unnamed group is now the hunted.  It is thought to be an inside job.  Apparently someone has access to inside information. About 1,300 people’s names appear on the list. There are more than 30 pages.

This behavior belongs in the Hall of Shame. The State of Utah is doing the right thing in attempting to find and prosecute those who published these 30 pages.

Bloomberg’s Al Hunt says crime is down in Arizona

MoonHowler

Politifact.com reports:

The debate about immigration often involves discussions about whether illegal immigrants cause more crime.

The topic came up on ABC’s This Week on July 4, 2010, when Al Hunt, the executive editor in Washington for Bloomberg News, criticized John McCain for the Republican senator’s comments about crime in Arizona.

McCain had explained his shift on immigration by saying, “The violence is incredibly high. The human smuggling and drug cartels are at a level of violence where 25,000 — 23,000 Mexican citizens have been murdered in the last few years, 5,000 already this year. There’s a level of violence which has increased to a significant degree, which makes the situation far different than it was in 2007” when the Senate last considered immigration reform.

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Overnight: Van der Sloot Confesses to Murder

MoonHowler

Joran van der Sloot has confessed to the murder of Peruvian Stephany Flores.  According to MSNBC:

LIMA, Peru – Joran van der Sloot confessed to the slaying of a 21-year-old woman in a Lima hotel room, a high-ranking Peruvian government official told NBC News on Monday.

According to La Republica newspaper, van der Sloot said he broke Stephany Flores’ neck after she grabbed his laptop without his permission and found out that he was involved in the disappearance of an American woman.

The paper quoted van der Sloot as saying, “I did not want to do it. The girl intruded into my private life… she didn’t have any right.

NBC News reported that a lawmaker confirmed that van der Sloot confessed to a police officer during interrogation. However, the source did not know the circumstances under which the confession was allegedly obtained.

Amazing, a laptop for a life.  Too bad Arbua didn’t apply the same interrogation techniques to extract a confession in the Natalee Holloway case.  Van der Sloot could get up to 35 years in prison.  Many Peru will let Beth Twitty at him for about an hour.  Too bad they didn’t extract a confession about Natalee while they were at it.

One less scumbag out on the street and I don’t like name calling.  I will make an exception in his case.

Young Mr. Joran van der Sloot May Get His Just Deserts

MoonHowler

 

Joran van der Sloot may get his just desserts after all.  Van der Sloot was investigated time and time again over the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who disappeared her last night on Aruba while on a high school senior trip.  Holloway was never found.  Van der Sloot and his pals were held by authorities several times, along with his father, an aspiring judge.  The Arubans never had the evidence to charge van der Sloot, regardless of American outrage and pressure brought to bear by the American press and Natalee Holloway’s family.

\Now, another young Peruvian woman has turned up dead in van der Sloot’s hotel room in Lima.  Caught on camera, the last person Stephany Flores was seen alive with was none other than van der Sloot.  Van der Sloot was captured in a taxi, in Chili.  He went with the authorities  without incident. 

Earlier this year, Paulus van der Sloot basically dropped dead on a tennis court, quite unexpectedly.  According to Greta Van Susteren  of Fox News:

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: There’s news tonight on Aruba involving the Natalee Holloway case. As you know, the Alabama teenager vanished on May 30th, 2005 while in Aruba on a high school trip.

The chief suspect in the case is Joran van der Sloot. Yesterday Joran’s father Paulus van der Sloot suddenly and unexpectedly died. Paulus was a huge part of this case. Joining us by phone in Aruba is Julia Renfro, editor and chief of “Aruba Today.” Good evening, Julia, and tell me what happened with Paulus?

JULIA RENFRO, EDITOR, “ARUBA TODAY” (Via Telephone):Good evening, Greta. It was very shocking for the van der Sloot family and the entire community of Aruba. Paul was playing tennis yesterday and he collapsed. And the ambulance was unfortunately unable to resuscitate him.

Seems a little odd that young women end up missing or dying around this man.  Best he be put away for a long long time before he harms someone else.  Perhaps being off the island of Arbua and away from those who can make him less accountable will do the trick.  Will van der Sloot weasel out of this one or will he go to prison for the rest of his life?  I suppose it all depends on how strict Peruvian law is and how much pressure the Dutch apply to his case.

 

Virginia State Majority Leader Victim of Identity Theft

MoonHowler

Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw discovered in March that he was a victim of identity theft when charges on his American Express were declined. According to the Washington Post:

Saslaw said he was alerted to a problem with his American Express credit card in March and quickly reported it to Virginia State Police. Virginia authorities reported it to the California State Highway Patrol, which is now searching for two suspects in the Sacramento area in connection with the theft. Saslaw said the suspects reached out to multiple banks and credit card companies in an effort to get new cards in his name. “They were persistent,” he said.

Saslaw praised the Virginia and California authorities and said reaching out to police was the right thing to do when he realized he’d been the victim of identity theft. “They were really very efficient,” he said.

Saslaw theorized that his number was skimmed while he ate at a Northern Virginia restaurant

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News10 out of Sacremento had the following:

Saslaw said the same thing happened to two other lawmakers in the Virginia legislature and he believes information on the magnetic stripes of their credit cards was stolen in a process known as “skimming” while they dined together at a restaurant.

Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force commander Capt. Jim Cooper said investigators were searching for two suspects they say changed Saslaw’s home address in Virginia to an apartment on Fulton Avenue in Sacramento. Investigators believe Bernell Bryan Washington, 24, and Sky Manriquez, 21, are staying with friends or relatives in the Fresno area.

I expect that American Express was all over this one. I had a card stolen in a restaurant. I alerted Am Ex and their fraud department was all over the case within minutes of the report. I had had unauthorized purchases made also and I knew where I had been when the card was taken. I have had 2 other unauthorized uses of credit cards. American Express was the most professional in handling the situation. People need to be on continual look out for unauthorized charges.

Fortunately, gas was bought with my card and not medical marijuana. The right wing blogs have already started having a field day with Saslaw’s identity theft, mainly because he is a left leaning Democrat. Too bad this can’t be a teachable moment about identity theft and how to handle it. Instead it is being used by some as a ‘gotcha moment.’ Shame on those who cannot transcend politics when the situation is obvious.

McDonnell Reiterates Revoking Release of Soering

MoonHowler

Governor McDonnell has reiterated his position on releasing double murderer Jens Soering to his native Germany to Attorney General Holden. According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Last Thursday, Holder, responding to questions from Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th, said his office was waiting for official word for Virginia’s position on the Soering matter.

McDonnell wrote yesterday, “in light of your public comments at last week’s hearing, I want to formally reiterate that Virginia has clearly revoked authorization for a transfer of Jens Soering to Germany. Soering is currently in Virginia’s custody for state offenses and he will remain so in order to serve out his Virginia sentence for the horrendous crimes he committed in our commonwealth.”

Additionally, McDonnell has stated that he is revoking the state’s consent to any transfer of Soering who was convicted in the 1985 vicious slayings of his girlfriend’s parents, Derek and Nancy Haysom in their Bedford County home.

Good for Governor McDonnell. Soering needs to cool his jets in a Virginia prison. I would hope that AG Holden upholds Virginia’s wishes.

Supreme Court Bars Life in Prison for Youth Who Have Not Killed

MoonHowler

NYTimes Alert:

Justices Bar Life Terms for Youths Who Haven’t Killed

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court said that sentences of
life without possibility of parole for crimes other than
homicide that were committed when the offender was under the
age of 18 are unconstitutional. The decision, in a Florida
case involving an armed burglary conviction, said such
sentences violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and
unusual punishment

Some criminals in their teens are just as vicious as adults. Why should they get a pass because of age?

Justice Kennedy was the swing vote.

According to Sciencemag.org:

Juveniles who have not committed murder should not be locked up for life, according to a U.S. Supreme Court decision today. In the case of Graham v. Florida, the court says it considered brain and behavioral science in deciding that life sentences for most young criminals amount to cruel and unusual punishment.

The decision extends a 2005 decision (Roper v. Simmons) banning the death penalty for juveniles. Amicus briefs submitted to the court by the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, and others questioned whether youths should be held to the same standards of culpability as adults given research suggesting that their brains are not yet fully mature.

In its decision, the court says it took this data into consideration:

No recent data provide reason to reconsider the Courts observations in Roper about the nature of juveniles. As petitioners amici point out, developments in psychology and brain science continue to show fundamental differences between juvenile and adult minds. For example, parts of the brain involved in behavior control continue to mature through late adolescence. … Juveniles are more capable of change than are adults, and their actions are less likely to be evidence of irretrievably depraved character than are the actions of adults.

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A Time of Healing: One Team One Heart One Love

MoonHowler

Both the UVA men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have won the first round of the NCAA championship. The men’s team won Saturday evening in an 18-4 win over Mt. St. Marys. The women’s team just won a narrow 14-12 victory over Towson State. Yeardly’s mother and sister were present at the game and her mother was awarded the winning ball from the game.

Both games started with a tribute and moment of silence to Yeardly. Her number, #1 was worn on the uniforms. The teams have begun to heal. The Love family was asked about continuing the season after the tragic death of their daughter. They encouraged them to not only play but play to win–to win for Yeardly.

According to yesterday’s NYdaily.news:

“A lot of mixed emotions,” Clausen said. “The field’s provided a sanctuary. I wanted to soak it all in one last time.”

An hour later, the public address announcer requested a moment of silence for the “tragic loss” of Love, and Clausen remained still. The words “One Love” were written in orange script on the back of the players’ navy blue warm-up shirts, and black patches with Love’s initials and jersey number dotted the front of their white game uniforms. Clausen, a defenseman, wore her initials on his eye black. He embraced teammates with hugs.

The pall that has hung over the program since former midfielder George Huguely was charged with first-degree murder for his alleged attack on Love, a member of the women’s lacrosse team, 12 days ago lifted for one night. By vanquishing No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s, 18-4, Virginia (15-1) coasted to next Sunday’s quarterfinals at Stony Brook.

“You witnessed a team that was happy to be on the field again,” said Virginia coach Dom Starsia.

Supportive messages were scrawled on signs and enmeshed in shirts with the words “One Team. One Heart. One Love.” Two teammates wore orange ribbons in their hair and one had the No. 1 etched on her white wristband. Eleven men’s team members, led by senior tri-captain Mikey Thompson, marched up the stands as the game started.

The same faces that followed Love’s family to the funeral last week reunited for the games. Love’s mother, Sharon Donnelly, arrived in the bleachers five minutes before the game, with her oldest daughter, Lexie, by her side. The two wore bright pink outfits and dark sunglasses. Next to them, university president John Casteen III sat among the team’s families.

And Speaking of Swastikas…

MoonHowler
Universal sign of stupidity
Universal sign of stupidity

It seems that an 18 year old Potomac student has been charged with plastering swastika stickers all over Potomac High School. Apparently this vandalism happened between April 15 and May 5 and were put on a resource police cruiser as well as exit doors to the building, lockers, doors and other conspicuous places.

The student, Joseph Barnes, was named since he is 18. It makes one wonder what possesses people to do something this stupid. Did he do it on a dare? Was he bored? Is he disturbed? Was it a senior prank? Or is this kid a Nazi sympathizer?

According to the News & Messenger:

On Tuesday, police arrested 18-year-old Joseph William Barnes of 2493 Fraser Court in Woodbridge in class. He is charged with five counts of destructing and defacing property, said Hernandez.

He was released on $3,500 bond and is scheduled to appear in court June 24.

Police said he was not charged with a hate crime because the vandalism was not aimed at any single “race, religion or creed.”

In August, four teens were arrested after police found sod that had been formed into a swastika in the parking lot of Sinclair Elementary School near Manassas.

In addition to the swastika, sod was also used to form “KKK” and “white power.”

There were 263 incidents of hate crimes in the commonwealth that year, according to FBI crime statistics.

Nationwide, there were 7,783 reported cases of hate crimes in 2008, according to the FBI.

Regardless of his reason, this stunt seems like a very immature thing to do. It sounds more like something an 8 year old would do, not an 18 year old who can legally vote. Now there’s a scary thought!

Joseph Barnes
Joseph Barnes

UVA Loses 2 LaCrosse Players: An Update

MoonHowler

There is more to the UVA Lacrosse story than the death of Yeardly Love. Tragic as it is, the entire UVA community, and especially its athletic community has been dealt a horrible blow. I called down today to life-long friends who live 2 blocks from the murder site. They were all devastated. University towns very much personalize their tragedies. Yeardly was a well-loved campus icon and the teams, both hers and his, were headed to the national finals.

There is another side to this story that transcends personal tragedy:

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

This murder sent shock waves across the nation. This story is just another perspective.

Yet when all is said and done, someone’s child is dead. Someone else’s child faces many years in prison if convicted. And sports teams come and sports teams go. The Duke lacrosse team recovered and so will UVA’s. Friends and family and the school in general, however, might not have that luxury.

Do student athletes lead a different life? Are they under more stress than others? Do they party harder to make up for the intensity of the sport they play? Is being BMOC or BWOC more difficult?

My father was a student athlete at UVA during the Great Depression. His family had no money to send him to school. He was fortunate enough to land a scholarship. There was no free lunch. He played 3 sports. Football, basketball, and baseball, and excelled at all three. Until his dying day he bore resentment towards sports and the amount of time they took out of his life. Maybe these kids felt the same way. And maybe it got too much for them.

Regardless, maybe this week we are all Wahoos.

That good old song of Wah-hoo-wah,
We ‘ll sing it o ‘er and o ‘er.
It cheers our hearts and warms our blood
To hear them shout and roar.
We come from Old Virginia,
Where all is bright and gay.
Let’s all join hands and give a yell,
For the dear old UVa.
Wah-hoo-wah,
Wah-hoo-wah.
Uni-v, Virginia,
Hoo-rah-ray,
Hoo-rah-ray,
Ray! Ray! U-V-A!

The Cavalier Dailyhas copies of affidavits and more on the story and crime scene

UVA LaCrosse Tragedy: 2 Lives Lost

MoonHowler

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch:

George Huguely, 22, has been charged with murder in the death of Yeardley Love, 22. Both were fourth-year U.Va. students from Maryland and lacrosse players.  Huguely is from Chevy Chase and Love was from Cockeysville.  Both students were to graduate in a few weeks.

Love, 22, was found dead in her apartment yesterday morning. Hours later, 22-year-old George Huguely was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.  Roommates summoned police thinking that she was comatose from alcohol poisoning.  First responders found that Ms. Love’s condition was far more serious and that she had suffered physical trauma.  While not elaborating, police ruled out weapons.  Neighors heard nothing.

Police say the two had been in a relationship but investigators plan to interview fellow players.  Huguely’s lawyer says that  “he is confident the death of a women’s lacrosse player from the same school, Yeardley Love, was not intended.”  What a horribly tragic accident.  One of these young people will probably spend time in prison and the other, who has been described by those who know her as an angel, is gone.  Dead.  Never to play lacrosse again, never to graduate, never to go to that first day of a new job.  Her life has been snuffed out, for whatever reason. 

Ms. Love is the 7th UVA student to die this academic year.  We don’t send out children to college to die. 

The University issued the following:

U.Va. President John T. Casteen III said in a statement that he hopes Love is remembered for her talents and her potential and not for the way she died.

“However little we may not know now about Yeardley Love’s death, we do know that she did not have or deserve to die — that she deserved the bright future she earned growing up, studying here and developing her talents as a lacrosse player,” Casteen said.

“She deserves to be remembered for her human goodness, her capacity for future greatness, and not for the terrible way in which her young life has ended.”

Casteen said he knows of no explanation for what happened to Love.

“This death moves us to deep anguish for the loss of a student of uncommon talent and promise, and we express the university’s and our own sympathy for Yeardley’s family, teammates and friends,” he said.

 

UPDATE:

Car Bomb Plot Suspect Arrested

MoonHowler

According to CNN:

New York (CNN) — A U.S. citizen has been arrested in the Times Square bombing probe, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced early Tuesday.

Faisal Shahzad was arrested at JFK airport in New York as he prepared to board a flight to Dubai, Holder said.

The officials said the suspect is the person who bought a Nissan Pathfinder used in the bombing attempt. Earlier, a law enforcement official said the buyer is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan, and that investigators are looking at more than one person in connection with the unsuccessful bombing.

The report came as CNN learned that the Joint Terrorism Task Force investigating the bombing attempt is considering the possibility that the attempt involved more than just a “lone wolf.” The identity of the person under scrutiny was not known, however.

According to a source familiar with the investigation, investigators believe the plan was an intended terrorist attack to set off explosives in the heart of midtown Manhattan on Saturday night, but the individuals didn’t have the expertise to detonate their device.

It is important to note that this is an on-going investigation. What a terrific job of capturing the evil-doers.

9-Year Old Saves Little Brother from Abductor

MoonHowler
Photo by Uriah Kiser/News and Messenger
Photo by Uriah Kiser/News and Messenger

A would-be abduction was thwarted by a 9 year old boy who pushed his little brother to the ground to keep him from being kidnapped.  The incident happened in an upscale neighborhood in Bristow.  PWC police are urging parents to warn their children and to be on the lookout for  :

The 9-year-old told police the attacker was white, between 40 and 50 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a small silver hoop earring in his right ear and a goatee. He wore a yellow polo shirt with a pocket on the left chest and light blue jeans.

The little brother who is aged 5 is fortunately he has a quick thinking older brother.  This incident in a reminder to all parents that abduction doesn’t just happen in bad neighborhoods.  Abduction can happen anywhere.  According to the News and Messenger:

MANASSAS, Va.—As police searched for a would-be kidnapper Wednesday, a 9-year-old Bristow boy was hailed a hero for saving his 5-year-old brother from the abduction attempt.

Walking home from a friend’s house about 5:30 p.m. Monday, the two boys decided to cut between two homes near the intersection of Noltland Castle Drive and Lennice Way.
A man then approached the two from behind and grabbed the 5-year-old, said Prince William police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez.

The 9-year-old rushed to his brother’s aid and pushed the younger boy to the ground, effectively freeing him of the would-be abductor’s grasp, said police.

The attacker ran from the scene, and the children ran home.

Parents’ reactions can be read at insidenova.com