truesee's Blog

Thursday, February 19, 2009

(02-19) 08:34 PST PALM BAY, Fla. (AP) --

Police say a trail of candy wrappers helped them find five Florida teens suspected of breaking in to a nearby home.

Officers responded to a burglary report Tuesday in Palm Bay on Florida's central Atlantic coast. An officer then followed a trail of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups packages in the backyard. The officer noticed another wrapper on the front porch of a house near the victim's home.

Officers found several juveniles at the other house. Police say the teens confessed to the burglary and informed officers that the stolen property was in the attic.

Three of the teens face armed burglary charges and two others face charges of resisting arrest without violence and tampering with evidence.

Information from: Florida Today

HONG KONG – A Chinese woman who freaked out at Hong Kong's international airport after missing her flight has hit the big time on YouTube after her hysterics were filmed and uploaded to the video sharing website.

The middle-aged woman was seen charging at a security guard at the departure gate, before screaming "aieyyahhhhh," at the top of her lungs in a rant that lasts about three minutes.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVw7entkxg)

The woman, sprawled on the ground, was seen wailing. An elderly man travelling with her tried to pull her to her feet but she shouted in Cantonese: "I want to go, I want to go."

Cathay Pacific said it had already closed the aircraft's doors and had offloaded the woman's baggage, and so was unable to allow her to board the flight to San Francisco.

"Don't be so upset, don't be so emotional," a male Cathay Pacific staff member is heard saying on the video.

Cathay Pacific said the incident occurred earlier this month, and the video appeared to have been loaded onto YouTube late last week. By Monday, the "woman going insane after missing her flight video" had over 400,000 hits.

In 2006, another sensational outburst by a stressed-out Hong Kong man captured the imagination of many people in this fast-paced, money-obsessed, Asian financial capital.

The middle-aged man, who chastised and swore at a youngster in a six-minute-long diatribe aboard a double decker bus, was dubbed "Bus-Uncle" and a video of the incident received close to two million hits.

His quote "I have pressure, you have pressure" became a catch-phrase and sparked navel-gazing at the pressure that many over-worked Hong Kong citizens suffer.

As for the woman at the airport, Cathay Pacific said it put her and her two travel companions on a later flight to Los Angeles, at no extra cost.

02/17/2009 10:25 AM

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- A University of South Florida official announced he will resign after he was accused of stealing a $100 bike that was parked at the school.

Abdul Rao, senior associate vice president for research, said Tuesday that he has signed a document stating that he will leave his $384,280-per-year position at the school Friday, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Wednesday.

Rao previously said in a statement that he took the bike from a parking area on the loading dock of the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer's Center and Research Institute to help a day laborer in need of transportation, The Tampa (Fla.) Tribune reported.

The security tape of the incident, which was later posted on Youtube, shows a woman leaving a red mountain bike in the parking area at 2 p.m. Monday. At about 8:50 p.m., Rao and another man arrive in a van and look at the bicycles before choosing the bike left by the woman and loading it into the van.

Christine Dillingham, the woman who parked the borrowed bike at the school, told the St. Petersburg Times that she "basically wanted to see (Rao) take responsibility for his actions. Stepping down seems to show he did that."

Timothy Boyd, who had loaned the bike to Dillingham, said Rao told him after the bike was returned that he had only intended to borrow it for one day. However, Boyd said he wants Rao charged with theft.

 Feb 20, 2007 11:04 pm US/Central

 When a couple brought their pickup truck into a Midas service center in St. Paul, little did mechanics know they would find a $157,000, highly illegal problem.

The middle-aged couple whose truck was towed in -- a 48-year-old man and 62-year-old woman from Washington state -- claimed not to have much money.

The mechanics at the Midas shop felt sorry for the two and gave them a lift to their Hastings, Minn. motel while they worked on the truck.

It didn't take long for the mechanics to discover the fuel system was clogged.

When the two suspects were told the tank needed to be replaced, they were "adamant" that the repair wasn't needed, Bailey said. Eventually, they relented but insisted that the pickup's old tank be saved.

When they removed the gas tank from the truck, they noted the tank seemed inordinately heavy. It also had new weld marks.

"It took two big guys to move that gas tank," said mechanic Ted Thompson. "For a tank without much gas in it, that is pretty unusual."

The mechanics were suspicious and anxious to see what was causing the tank's weight discrepancy. They contacted police, but opened the gas tank before they arrived to see what was inside.

The 40-gallon gas tank were two metal boxes. Needle-nosed pliers pulled out marijuana.

As authorities descended upon the scene, the Midas men cut open the boxes and revealed 150 pounds of compressed marijuana. The estimated street value of the stash is $150,000.

The couple told investigators they were driving from Yakima, Wash., to Chicago, according to Kent Bailey, acting agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Twin Cities office.

"Their bad luck is their vehicle had some fuel problems and they ended up taking it into a Midas Shop," Bailey said.

The two suspects in the case are in jail.

DITCHES MOM  RIDES FOUR STOPS

6:08 pm

February 17, 2009

 
AP-Authorities say a 3-year-old wandered out of a McDonald's in Queens while his mother went to get napkins, and then he got on a subway and traveled four stops before transit workers noticed him and called police.

Christian Marquez was reunited with his mother about a half-hour after he disappeared Tuesday from the fast-food restaurant. He walked into the No. 7 line station at Roosevelt Avenue and Main Street, somehow got past the turnstile and stepped onto a westbound train. The 10-minute trip covered about 4 miles.

The mother realized her son was missing just before 2 p.m. and asked police eating at the McDonald's to help her. Meanwhile, transit workers saw the child in the train, called police and stopped the subway.

Christian was unharmed. His mother's name wasn't released.

Troy Brisport, 34, was charged with kidnapping and felonious assault. Bail was set Tuesday at $400,000.

He picked up the woman Wednesday night in Detroit after she told him she had nowhere to stay, and brought her to his home in Toledo, about 55 miles away, police said.

The woman told police that after she fell asleep Brisport handcuffed her wrists and ankles, gagged her, undressed her and put her in an adult diaper, then read Bible passages, said police Capt. Ray Carroll.

She apparently was not sexually assaulted, Carroll said.

However, court documents alleged that Brisport tried several times to suffocate the woman using a pillow and blanket.

The woman told police she escaped Saturday after Brisport fell asleep. Police found her dressed only in a T-shirt and the adult diaper and still wearing handcuffs.

There was no immediate response Tuesday to a call seeking comment from jail officials, and there was no indication whether Brisport had an attorney to speak for him.

ROSE COOPER
County Editor
2/14/2009 1:05:00 AM 

Clinton County Juvenile Court Magistrate Roger Bowling will soon be back on the bench.

Bowling, 58, who was charged Dec. 9 with two misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, appeared Jan. 23 in Hillsboro Municipal Court where the case was transferred after Clinton County Municipal Court Judge Chad L. Carey stepped aside. Judge David McKenna, of Hillsboro Municipal Court, and Prosecutor Fred Beery, brought the case against Bowling.

A spokesperson in the Clinton County Municipal Court said the possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed with prejudice under a plea agreement. For the possession of marijuana charge, the court ordered a $158 bond forfeiture.

A Wilmington resident, Bowling was charged after Wilmington police executed a search warrant at his home for illegal narcotics. Police detectives found marijuana, marijuana seeds and stems, pipes with residue, rolling papers and burnt marijuana cigarettes, according to a media release from the Wilmington Police Department.

At the time the charges were filed, police said anonymous tips led to a three-month investigation. During the investigation, detectives “developed probable cause,” said police, prompting the issuance of the search warrant.

After he was charged, Bowling was removed from the bench and initially placed on paid administrative leave, according to Clinton County Juvenile Court Administrator David Hockaday.

Clinton County Probate Judge Allen Gano said Bowling was later placed on leave without pay.

Judge Gano said Bowling has gone through the steps required under the county’s drug policy. “The drug policy urges us to take steps to rehabilitate,” he said.

Bowling began rehabilitation “on his own initiative,” Gano said. “He was taking the steps that fit into the county policy. We followed that from the beginning. I’m pleased with the way he has dealt with it. I’m satisfied at the sincerity of his efforts. As the county policy would have us do, he will get a second chance,” the judge said.

There was never an indication in any of Bowling’s work performance there was a problem, Gano said.

Bowling is expected to return to the bench at the end of February or beginning of March. “This is the right thing to do under the circumstances,” Gano said. “After a good deal of consideration and discussion with him, it was an appropriate decision. He’s done the rehabilitation and I’m satisfied he will be able to perform.”

Gano said the magistrate’s decisions are always reviewed by the judge.

Bowling has served as a Clinton County magistrate for more than 10 years.

As juvenile court magistrate, Bowling oversees a number of juvenile cases, most of them traffic offenses, said Hockaday. Bowling also handles a variety of other cases, including juvenile misdemeanor drug cases.