17-year-old Christian Daniel Castro Alvarez pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego to murdering a federal officer during a robbery.

17-year-old Christian Daniel Castro Alvarez pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in San Diego to murdering a federal officer during a robbery. The teen admitted to illegally crossing into the United States near Campo with a group July 23 and luring Rosas from his patrol vehicle to rob him, according to the plea agreement. During the robbery, Castro Alvarez and Rosas struggled over a gun, and the agent was shot eight times by the teen and at least one other assailant. Prosecutors declined to answer additional questions about the incident. It was unknown if Rosas’ service weapon, which was stolen, has been recovered. The case remains under investigation, according to the FBI. No additional arrests have been announced. “The Rosas murder investigation will continue to be a priority until all involved in the murder are brought to justice,” Border Patrol Deputy Chief Richard Barlow said yesterdayat a news conference at the agency’s Chula Vista headquarters. “Though this provides some degree of closure, the murder of Robert is a stark reminder of the dangers that our agents face every day protecting our homeland.” The teen, with the assistance of a translator, appeared in federal court yesterday morning before U.S. District Judge M. James Lorenz for a motion to make the proceedings an adult case. He later pleaded guilty to charges of murdering a federal officer during a robbery, and aiding and abetting. The courtroom was packed with onlookers, including Rosas’ widow, Rosalie. The family could not be reached later for comment. Ezekiel E. Cortez, the attorney representing Castro Alvarez, said during the brief federal court hearing that his client did not intend to shoot the Border Patrol agent. “He is deeply, deeply remorseful,” Cortez told reporters outside the courtroom. “He himself was shot during the struggle, in the right hand. At no time did he have any intention to harm anyone, specifically a law enforcement officer.” He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 19. The prosecution and defense have both recommended a sentence of 30 years to life in prison, according to the plea agreement. The document stated that the defense could argue for a sentence of 24 years and four months to life in prison, depending on the teen’s criminal history. Both parties agreed that the sentencing should take into consideration the facts that Castro Alvarez voluntarily surrendered and agreed to be considered an adult. “They wanted him to be treated as an adult because of the severity of the crime,” said Charles LaBella, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice in San Diego. LaBella said a judge can do whatever he or she thinks is appropriate. “Under the law, the guidelines are truly guidelines,” he said. “Judges under federal law are required to consult the guidelines. As a general rule, they stay within the guidelines.” In the days after the shooting, law enforcement on both sides of the border detained men believed to have information, but no one was formally charged in the killing. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement that the guilty plea is a clear sign to criminals that assaults on officers will not go unpunished.
“I am confident that any others involved in Agent Rosas’ tragic death will also be held responsible, and I applaud the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, as well as the government of Mexico, for their cooperation in this case,” Napolitano said. Rosas, 30, a three-year member of the force, became the first Border Patrol agent killed by gunfire since 1998, according to a Web site that tracks law enforcement deaths. He was one of 2,500 agents serving in the San Diego sector, which runs along 61 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Imperial County line. Rosas worked for two years as a reserve officer in the El Centro Police Department, then for six as a state prison guard, before joining the Border Patrol. He is survived by his wife and two young children in El Centro. Border Patrol spokesman Jerry Conlin said the danger for agents at the border remains high. “It is still that level of threat where every agent has to remain vigilant as smuggling organizations are continually using tactics in the forms of assaults — either with rocks or vehicles or not yielding to emergency lights and sirens,” Conlin said. “In every encounter, you just never know. It could be a group of three or 30.”

Deputies in Virginia arrested a mother and her son in connection with the shooting deaths of four men outside a Mount Airy appliance store

 
Deputies in Virginia arrested a mother and her son in connection with the shooting deaths of four men outside a Mount Airy appliance store.On Tuesday, investigators with the Mount Airy Police Department issued warrants for the arrest of Kathy Young Barnette, 56, and her son, Gregory Brandon Holt, 34, charging them with accessory after the fact.Barnette and Holt both live in Claudeville, Va., so Mount Airy police asked the Patrick County Sheriff's Department to serve the warrants. The two were arrested without incident, Mount Airy police said.Last week, officers arrested Marcos Chavez Gonzalez on four counts of murder near a Henry County (Va.) motel around 2:30 a.m. Monday.According to Mount Airy Police Chief Dale Watson, the deadly shooting happened around 2:15 p.m. on Nov. 1 in the parking lot of Wood's TV at 729 Worth St. in the historic district of Mount Airy.Two of the victims died at the scene. The other two were taken to Northern Surry Hospital, where they died.
Investigators identified the victims as Victor Alphonso Martinez-Jimenez, 22; Javier Manuel Martinez, 21; Juan Manuel Martinez, 26; and Marco Ovievo Agulira, 21. The Martinezes were brothers and Martinez-Jimenez was their cousin, investigators said. Agulira was an acquaintance of the other three.Investigators would not say how Barnette and Holt were involved in the shooting deaths.

Hisham Talaat Mustafa former member of the Egyptian Parliament was sentenced to death Thursday for ordering the murder of his former girlfriend

Billionaire developer and former member of the Egyptian Parliament was sentenced to death Thursday for ordering the murder of his former girlfriend, a troubled Lebanese pop singer whose body was found in her high-rise apartment in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai.The verdict against Hisham Talaat Mustafa, once a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, was the latest twist in a drama that has offered a rare peek into the closely guarded realm of Egypt's politicians and businessmen. Mustafa was found guilty of paying $2 million to a former policeman in 2008 to kill Suzanne Tamim, a diva whose professional slide led her into an affair with one of the country's richest men.Appearing in court wearing prison-issued white shirt and pants, Mustafa was granted an immediate review of the sentence by Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa. A religious investigation is common in Egypt for death penalty cases, but few expected that a tycoon who built luxury hotels and had ties to President Hosni Mubarak's family would be facing the gallows."I am definitely sad because today's decision shows that the court is moving in a particular direction," said Mustafa's lawyer, Farid El-Deeb. He added that his client, who sat in a defendant's cage during Thursday brief hearing, was also entitled to an appeal before Egypt's highest court.The verdict may be a sign to businessmen "that nobody is above the law," said Hassan Nafae, a writer and political commentator. "It may deter some arrogant businessmen who thought there were no political or legal constraints on their ambitions as well as their sexual desires."The case has fascinated the media across the Middle East. Egypt's prosecutor general, Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud, had newspapers confiscated from kiosks and ordered a ban on publishing stories as the police investigation pointed toward Mustafa, who was a member of the NDP Policy Secretariat headed by Mubarak's son, Gamal. But the ruling party's ability to protect one of its own collided with the insistence of Dubai authorities that Mustafa be charged with murder.Mustafa hired hotel security guard and former policemen Mohsen Sukkari to kill Tamim, 31, after the singer broke off their relationship when she became involved with an Iraqi kick-boxing champion. Mustafa, a married man with graying hair and a dark mustache, had dated Tamim for three years; the couple met in hotels and apartments in London, Dubai and Cairo.Police say Sukkari, who was also sentenced to death, entered Tamim's flat in Dubai on July 28, 2008, by posing as a representative of the building's owners. He slit her throat and fled, leaving his bloody clothes behind and his picture on a surveillance camera. He was quickly arrested and implicated Mustafa, whose conversations with Sukkari about the murder were also caught on state security eavesdropping tapes.Mustafa was head of the Talaat Mustafa Group, which built hotels and businesses throughout the Middle East, including at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh. Tamim rose to prominence after winning a TV talent show in Lebanon in 1996, but legal battles with her estranged second husband, a music producer, hurt her career.

Bloods street gang runs rampant inside New Jersey prisons

Bloods street gang runs rampant inside New Jersey prisons, with members smuggling in drugs and cell phones, demanding money to protect other prisoners and recruiting new members, a new report shows.The report from New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation, released Tuesday, shows the Bloods and other street gangs have a firm grip on the state's prisons, running their crime operations from inside with ease, despite stepped-up efforts to stop them."Our prison system has become a major part of the recruiting and running of violent street gangs in the streets of towns and cities all over New Jersey," said SCI chairman W. Cary Edwards. "Our population is significantly at risk because of what's going on in those prisons."Gang membership now tops one million nationwide, according to the Justice Department. And SCI spokesman Lee Seglem said that since the Bloods street gang was identified in California prisons 30 years ago, gang violence behind bars has spread like a wave across the country."There are so many in so many prisons at this point. It's getting to a situation where it is overwhelming the existing structures that are in place to control it," Seglem said. "There is no question other states are facing the same problem."Cell phones have been particularly helpful to gang leaders, allowing them to continue their operations from inside prison walls. Most cell phones can take photographs and videos that can give away prison security secrets or transmit guards' pictures to accomplices on the street.In California, a bill is pending that would increase the penalties for smuggling a cell phone into prison. And in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia, prison guards use dogs to sniff out the contraband.In Ohio, prison assaults are on the rise partly because gang members are disregarding an unofficial code among inmates by robbing others and attacking in groups.While the problem of gangs in prisons is neither new nor unique to New Jersey, it is worsening in the state, investigators said. The reasons include an explosion in the number of Bloods and other gang members in the state in the past 10 years, a severe budget crunch that is draining resources, and antiquated computer and surveillance tracking systems.New Jersey houses nearly 22,000 inmates in 14 prisons. Some 4,400 of them have been pegged as gang members.According to commission findings, gang recruitment is as active in prison as on the streets; inmates have unfettered access to money through accounts opened in the prisons; drugs and smuggled cell phones are plentiful in New Jersey prisons, and gang members extort money from families of non-members in exchange for protection.The commission credits the Corrections Department for initiating limited reforms in response to preliminary findings, but says sweeping changes are necessary to keep gang inmates from exploiting institutional weaknesses at will."Can things be improved? Of course they can be improved," said Corrections Department spokesman Matt Schuman. "But we have been pretty proactive in taking steps to try to deal with what has become a huge problem nationwide."Schuman said the state's anti-gang initiatives include a unit at Northern State Prison devoted to modifying the behavior of gang members, six cell phone-sniffing dogs that randomly patrol the prisons, and stepped up efforts to prosecute smuggling.

Michael Wilson was on his way home from a night out in Redcar when he was set upon by a gang of youths next to the Royal Standard pub

Michael Wilson was on his way home from a night out in Redcar when he was set upon by a gang of youths next to the Royal Standard pub in West Dyke Road.The 18-year-old was punched and kicked unconscious by the group, which included six girls, and was taken to hospital suffering from facial injuries.Speaking from his Redcar home today, Michael said: “I remember something coming across the back of my head and then constantly getting kicked in the head.“It was like my head was going to explode. I would say there were about 12 or 15 of them.“I must have curled up in a ball because I’ve got bruises all over my hands.”Michael, who is currently unemployed, is today nursing a swollen eye, a broken nose and bruised ribs.

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south London weekly newspaper has taken the potentially controversial decision to publish a photo of a murdered teenager at his funeral

South London weekly newspaper has taken the potentially controversial decision to publish a photo of a murdered teenager at his funeral on its front page.
Oliver Kingonzila was stabbed to death outside a Croydon bar last September and his mother Caroline took the decision to leave his casket open at his funeral to show his friends the consequences of carrying a knife.The Croydon Guardian's front page this week shows Oliver's face with visible stab wounds on his cheeks under the headline 'Grim truth of Knife Violence'.It was also shown as part of a BBC documentary last week after a film crew attended the service in October.
Assistant editor Matthew Knowles said: "We thought long and hard about it because it's a quite a shocking image and we're coming through people's homes unsolicited.
"We had to take into account the reaction that would come from this."We felt that, if it helped to stop one kid going out there with a knife, then it's been a worthwhile thing to do."It is shocking but hopefully it will get the message across that this is the reality."The Guardian has been looking back at Croydon's knife crime culture which regularly makes the national news headlines.Only last Thursday night there was another fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old man on his way to see his new-born baby in hospital.The Newsquest weekly has a special Knife Crime section on its website with stories and features about the victims, the police and other community groups trying to tackle the problem.Matthew added: "We've had a long-running look at knife crime over the past six months and done lots of stuff looking at every aspect from gang members to victims, police and social workers.
"We went out with the specialist police unit that deals with gang crime."We did one splash called 'Tales from the Street' with stories from people who live with this everyday."You always hear the big stories but not necessarily the smaller ones which some might consider less newsworthy."

Michael Colson, 29, of 877 Middle St., pleaded guilty before Judge Robert T. Kane to trafficking more than 14 grams of cocaine

Michael Colson, 29, of 877 Middle St., pleaded guilty before Judge Robert T. Kane to trafficking more than 14 grams of cocaine, trafficking the drug in a school zone, failing to stop for police, leaving the scene of property damage, driving to endanger, assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and five counts of assault with a dangerous weapon — motor vehicle.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gregory Tinsworth. Defense counsel was Tom Henneberry.
On April 11, 2008, Vice and Intelligence Unit detectives were surveilling the area of 1091 S. Main St., where they saw Colson engaged in a suspected drug deal. Police were aware he had been convicted of possession of a drug with intent to distribute and they also had information from multiple informants that he was recently selling crack cocaine, said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office.
When police saw Colson start driving a car, they recalled that his license was suspended, so they had an officer in a marked cruiser stop his vehicle.
“As they approached the rear of Colson’s car on foot, they saw him looking at them in his rear view mirror,” Miliote stated. “His backup lights came on and he revved his engine as he put his car into reverse and drove at the officers, who had to run out of the way to avoid being struck.”
Miliote said Colson then put his car in drive and squealed his tires as he moved forward and drove at the uniformed officer who had conducted the stop. “This officer also had to jump out of the way to avoid being struck.”
Colson then drove down the narrow residential street at 60 mph, nearly striking an unidentified pedestrian, Miliote added. At the next corner, Colson collided head-on with a responding cruiser operated by Officer Raul Camara. Colson then fled on foot with all the officers chasing him.
“During the pursuit, he was observed throwing down a plastic bag which was later determined to be 16 grams of cocaine,” Miliote said. Once officers caught up with Colson, he fought with them, punching three, but was eventually subdued, Miliote said.
The officers nearly struck by the defendant’s car were Detective Lt. James Keighley, Detectives James Smith, William Falandys, Brian Nadeau and Officer Derick Silva.
“This case involved rapid prosecution by ADA Tinsworth and a tough sentence for a man who put police lives at risk,” Miliote stated. “Members of the Fall River Police Department involved in this case should be commended for their swift actions on the day of the incident.”

Santa Busted for Cocaine Possession

Santa Busted for Cocaine Possession

Imran Ganchi, 30, from Ilford, east London, and Shazad Hussain, 32, from Birmingham, were jailed for car theft and money laundering last year.

Imran Ganchi, 30, from Ilford, east London, and Shazad Hussain, 32, from Birmingham, were jailed for car theft and money laundering last year. On Friday, they were ordered to pay back £100,000 and £15,750 respectively. During their "highly sophisticated" crime spree, the gang drove away cars worth up to £350,000 each, which were then given new identities by a "master forger" and exported. Most ended up in Maastricht in the Netherlands and Antwerp in Belgium, before being delivered to the United Arab Emirates. Ms Palmer-Tomkinson's BMW 645 convertible was targeted by the gang after being spotted outside her London home. The gang stole Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's £50,000 BMW It was one of just six cars recovered from the 34 stolen by the gang during its three-and-a-half year crime spree between 2003 and 2007. Others included dozens of Porsches, Mercedes, Range Rovers, Toyota Land Cruisers and a £350,000 SLR McLaren supercar. Judge Peter Testar ruled that mastermind Ganchi "benefited" by £1.22m from the spree. However only £100,000 was available to confiscate from him, he said. If Ganchi did not pay that amount back within six months his six-year prison sentence would be increased by two years, the judge said.
Hussain, of Springfield Road, Moseley, was given a four-year sentence which would be increased by 10 months if he did not pay back £15,750 within six months. Last year, accomplices Yusef Kaduji, from Forest Gate, east London, and Hameed Nawaz, from Luton, Bedfordshire, were jailed for two years and three years respectively.

Israeli businessman in his 50s living in Johannesburg, South Africa was murdered over the weekend.

Israeli businessman in his 50s living in Johannesburg, South Africa was murdered over the weekend. South African police have updated Israeli officials on the details of the investigation.'K', an Israeli living in Johannesburg said, "It was an execution. Two gunmen pulled him out of the car he was driving in with his two children and his wife. They shot him five times. This is a scary place. People walk around the streets armed. There is no police here."The Israeli community was shocked by the way the murder was carried out. This case is frightening, in broad daylight, in the middle of town. This is a lawless city, the Wild West."Last month, an Israeli jeweller, Michel Rubnik, was also murdered in Johannesburg, apparently during an armed robbery.The personal security of civilians in South Africa in general and in Johannesburg in particular is very problematic. Police forces in the country are often met with criminals and gangs carrying greater fire power than them. South Africa has been trying to shake off its dangerous image ahead of the opening of the 2010 soccer World Cup games to be held in the country. According to statistics, in the last year the number of murder cases in the country has dropped by 4.7%, but still continues to be one of the highest in the world.

Toronto police Det. Const. William McCormack Jr., former Toronto Police Association president Rick McIntosh, and Const. George Kouroudis were arrested

Toronto police Det. Const. William McCormack Jr., former Toronto Police Association president Rick McIntosh, and Const. George Kouroudis were arrested in May 2004 in what was at the time heralded as one of the worst corruption scandals in the history of the force. In reading his decision, Justice George Beatty put an end to a pretrial, which has been going on for more than three years."The evidence meets or exceeds the threshold of sufficient evidence to put the accused on trail," Beatty said in a Barrie court yesterday. Former chief McCormack was in attendance, but declined to comment.McCormack and McIntosh, who is now retired, have each been charged with breach of trust, conspiracy to commit indictable offences and influence peddling in relation to liquor regulations at downtown nightclubs. Kouroudis, who owned a club in the Entertainment District, was also charged with breach of trust and obstructing justice. At the time, police alleged that McCormack was warning Kouroudis of looming inspections.

A publication ban was issued on all evidence at the hearing.

Closing arguments for the pretrial wrapped up in mid-August and the judge reserved his decision until yesterday.

The majority of the charges will next be dealt with Jan. 21 in a University Ave. court. The more minor offences are scheduled for 2201 Finch Ave. W. court Thursday.

“Gangster Graffiti Style Robber

San Leandro Police Detective Tai Nguyen reports on 12/03/2008 unknown suspect entered the Citibank at 1300 East 14th Street and robbed the bank. A note was presented to the tellers written in a “Gangster Graffiti Style. The suspect was last seen runing east on Estudillo Avenue.

Vinnie Jones, actor and former soccer star, was arrested early Friday morning in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Vinnie Jones, actor and former soccer star, was arrested early Friday morning in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.According to reports the arrest was to due to an incident at a local bar when apparently Jones got involved in an “extremely bloody fight.”Jones suffered some injuries in the fight. He was smacked in the face with a beer mug causing his nose to bust open during the fight.He even had to go to a local hospital for his injuries.Jones was booked for misdemeanor simple assault and the other individual in the fight was booked for felony aggravated assault.Vinnie posted a $400 bond and the other guy is still in jail.For someone with a history of violence, such as when he was found guilty of assaulting a neighbor, let’s see if the judge will be lenient on Jones.

Texas state police penetrated a murky and dangerous subculture in East Texas, a world where petty criminals, drug dealers watching dogfighting

Texas state police penetrated a murky and dangerous subculture in East Texas, a world where petty criminals, drug dealers and a few people with ordinary jobs shared a passion for watching pit bulls tear each other apart in a 12-foot-square pit.
Investigators found that dogfighting was on the rise in Texas and was much morewidespread than they had expected. The ring broken up here had links to dogfighting organizations in other states and in Mexico, suggesting an extensive underground network of people devoted to the activity, investigators said.Besides a cadre of older, well-established dogfighters, officials said, the sport has begun to attract a growing following among young people from hardscrabble neighborhoods in Texas, where gangs, drug dealing and hip-hop culture make up the backdrop.
The investigation here led to the indictments of 55 people and the seizing of 187 pit bulls, breaking up what officials described as one of the largest dogfighting rings in the country. “It’s like the Saturday night poker game for hardened criminals,” said one of the undercover agents, Sgt. C. T. Manning, describing the tense atmosphere at the fights. In between screaming obscenities at the animals locked in combat, Sergeant Manning said, the participants smoked marijuana, popped pills, made side deals about things like selling cocaine and fencing stolen property, and, always, talked about dogs.Dogfighting drew national attention in 2007 when Michael Vick, the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was convicted of felony conspiracy after holding dogfights on his property in Smithfield, Va. On Monday, officials in Los Angeles announced the breakup of a dogfighting ring. It was the outcry among animal-welfare groups after Mr. Vick’s arrest that prompted the Texas Legislature to make dogfighting a felony in September 2007. Before that, the police in Texas had largely ignored the phenomenon because the offense was a misdemeanor.
In the Texas case, law enforcement officials described a secretive society of men who set up prize fights between their pit bulls and bet large sums on the outcome. Many of those indicted had long criminal records, but they also include a high school English teacher, a land purchaser for an oil company and a manager at a Jack in the Box restaurant.The participants generally arranged the fight over the phone, matching dogs by weight and sex, and agreeing to a training period of six or eight weeks. The training techniques were brutal. One man who was indicted trained a dog by forcing it to run for up to an hour at a time through a cemetery with a chain around its neck that weighed as much as it did. Then he forced dogs to swim for long periods before running on a treadmill. Every day the dogs would be given dog protein powders, vitamins and high-grade food to build muscle.
Then, as the fight date approached, the trainers would starve the dog, give it very little water and pump it full of an anti-inflammatory drug. The fights were held in out-of-the-way places — an abandoned motel in the refinery town of Texas City, a horse corral in a slum on the Houston outskirts, behind a barn on a farm near Jasper and at a farmhouse in Matagorda County, south of Houston. The two undercover agents, Sergeant Manning and his partner, S. A. Davis, posed as members of a motorcycle gang who stole automated teller machines for a living. They infiltrated the ring, allied themselves with a group of people who owned fighting dogs and rented a warehouse in Houston, where fights were eventually held.

Delhi Police filed chargesheet in a city court against gangster Fazal-ur-Rehman for allegedly making extortion calls to a real estate developer

Delhi Police Tuesday filed chargesheet in a city court against gangster Fazal-ur-Rehman for allegedly making extortion calls to a real estate developer and two other businessmen.Rehman and his accomplice were accused of making extortion calls to Parsvnath, head of Parsvnath Developers and Builders, and two other Delhi-based businessmen.In a chargesheet filed before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, the Special Cell of Delhi Police sought prosecution of Rehman and Naseem alias Tanveer for allegedly committing offences relating to extortion and criminal conspiracy.The police claimed to have intercepted an international call Sep 3 in which extortion demands were made to Parsvnath and two other businessmen, Nitin Seth and Ashok Gupta, for a total of Rs.120 million as protection money. They claimed that calls were made on behalf of ‘bhai’.According to the police, during the surveillance of the mobile numbers being used by Naseem, an alleged operative of Rehman, it was revealed that he was constantly in touch with Mauseem alias Mohsin, who was allegedly working for underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Naseem, resident of Bihar’s Darbhanga district, had passed the mobile number of the businessmen to Mohsin, asking him to make calls to them on behalf of ‘bhai’, the police claimed.
The police, in their chargesheet, also claimed that Naseem, who had met Rehman in Tihar jail Aug 31, June 13, and Sep 16 this year had hatched the conspiracy to extort money from the businessmen through Mohsin in Dubai.

Allen Brown sentenced man to 100 years in prison

Judge in Peoria has sentenced a West Bluff man to 100 years in prison for beating his landlord to death. Circuit Judge James Shadid gave 36-year-old Allen Brown the maximum sentence, citing the savage beating of 68-year-old landlord Hung Tien.
The judge also noted that Brown had spent the last 16 years in and out of prison.
Brown pleaded not guilty to Tien's death last Nov. 26. Tien was found beaten with a hammer and pry bar.

Troy Brake might be linked to several unsolved prostitute slayings.

As she sat in Troy Brake's pickup truck, a Grand Rapids woman said she found herself struggling for her life as the man now under investigation for a quadruple homicide beat and choked her. Mary Louise Parker, 43, described the brutal Oct. 16 attack in a courtroom Friday. She testified against Brake, a 31-year-old man charged in the Grand Rapids attack on her and a separate Sept. 1 shooting. "He was kicking me and beating me," a nervous-looking Parker said. "He was like crazy." She described how Brake dragged her by her hair and held a gun to her temple. Parker suffered black eyes, a bloody nose, a bruised lip and neck injuries.
Several days after he was arrested in that Oct. 16 attack, Brake was named a suspect in a Wright Township quadruple murder and arson -- the Sept. 29 deaths of Shermaine Zimmer, 53; her two sons, Jeremy, 20, and Tyler, 17, and Jeremy's friend, Katherine Brown, 18. They were found dead in the Zimmers' home in northeastern Ottawa County, which had been set ablaze after the Zimmers were shot and Brown was beaten to death.
Also, Grand Rapids police since have said they are investigating whether Brake might be linked to several unsolved prostitute slayings.

After Friday's hearing, Grand Rapids District Court Judge Michael Christensen ordered Brake to stand trial for two counts of attempted murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, felonious assault and felony firearms. He is held on a $2 million bond.

Brake's family declined comment outside court Friday.

ANTIGUA suffered a dramatic downturn in tourism after the double murder of Welsh honey- mooners Ben and Catherine Mullany.

ANTIGUA suffered a dramatic downturn in tourism after the double murder of Welsh honey- mooners Ben and Catherine Mullany.The move is part of a programme to repair the tarnished image of the Caribbean island, whose reputation for safety nose-dived after the Mullanys were shot in a bungled robbery on their seaside holiday cottage.
From today, members of the public will be able to submit information to the police via a special phone line or through the new Crimestoppers Antigua website.The Crimestoppers initiative has been spearheaded by the Antigua Hotels and Tourist Association and run by a board of 10 people.The “significant cancellations” of hotel bookings across Antigua and Barbuda from UK tourists since the killings is already estimated to have amounted to well over one million Eastern Caribbean dollars (£220,000).Trainee physiotherapist, Ben, and his new wife Catherine, a doctor, both 31 and from Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley, were fatally shot in the attempted robbery at their seaside cottage on July 27 this year, while on their honeymoon at the island’s Cocos Bay resort.Simon Calder, an experienced travel writer and presenter of BBC’s Travel Show, said the drastic effect on tourism was inevitable.
He said: “This was an appalling crime which has been a dreadful tragedy for the families of these two young people who had just married.“And the consequences financially are going to be very serious for everyone involved in the tourism business in Antigua.“And that means virtually most people on the island.”
The Antigua Sun newspaper is reporting this week that the Crimestoppers initiative is part of a wave of measures, including increased patrols aimed at tackling rising crime on the island and the image problem Antigua has suffered since the Mullanys were killed.Crimestoppers first began in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1976, when a student was shot while working part time at a filling station.Police had no leads so Detective Greg MacAleese approached a local TV station which offered $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killers.Within 72 hours, a person called in identifying a car leaving the scene at high speed and he had noted its registration.
Detective MacAleese realised fear and apathy were the primary reasons why people tended “not to get involved” so he helped design Crimestoppers for anonymous tips.
Now there are over 1,200 Crimestoppers programmes in over 17 countries and they have been credited with more than one million solved cases.In the Antigua programme staring today, a reward system is in place where callers can earn up to US $2,000 if the information given results in an arrest.Within the Caribbean, Antigua is the eighth Crimestoppers programme to be established, following Bahamas, Bermuda, Belize, Cayman, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos islands and Trini- dad.A spokesman for the island’s police force said: “Crimestoppers now gives persons with information the opportunity to share this with the police without ever saying who they are.
“The special phone lines are answered overseas to protect the identity of the callers, all information is transmitted via secure software.
“Even though answered overseas, the calls are only charged at the local rate.”
The Mullanys were buried in a private ceremony at the church where they were married this summer, St John the Evangelist in Cilybebyll, near their Pontardawe home.
And later, a memorial service for the pair was attended by almost 1,000 people, including the Duchess of York,at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.On Antigua, Keniel Martin, 20, and a youth aged 17 face charges of murdering the couple, robbery and receiving stolen goods.Two women who have been bailed face charges of receiving stolen property and perverting the course of justice.The families of the murdered couple have established a charity fund, the Catherine and Ben Mullany Memorial Fund, to raise money to help would-be medics.

Prosecutors are seeking the execution of Jodi Ann Arias

Prosecutors are seeking the execution of a woman accused of stabbing her ex-boyfriend 27 times in Mesa and shooting him in the face.The Maricopa County Attorney's Office on Friday filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Jodi Ann Arias in the slaying of Travis Alexander, 30, a legal-insurance salesman and motivational speaker.The notice, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, accuses Arias, 28, of committing first-degree murder "in an especially cruel, heinous or depraved manner." Arias, who claims innocence, said she watched as two people entered Alexander's east Mesa home and attacked him. She was unable to identify either attacker."God knows I'm innocent. I know I'm innocent," Arias said in a jailhouse interview with The Arizona Republic on Sept. 12.
Arias also appeared on Inside Edition, a nationally syndicated television show aired locally on KTVK, Channel 3.The case made a splash when Mesa police revealed that nude photos of Arias and Alexander were recovered by the city's crime lab from a digital camera found in a washing machine.One photo depicted Arias posing naked on Alexander's bed at 1:40 p.m. on June 4, Alexander posing naked in the shower, then Alexander bleeding profusely on the kitchen floor.Police also found a bloody palm print on the bathroom wall, with DNA matching that of Alexander and Arias."This was conclusive evidence that Jodi was present at the time of Travis' death or a least at the time of the initial attack," a police report concluded. Arias had told detectives she hadn't since Alexander since April. Arias' case is assigned to Superior Court Judge Sally Duncan. Arias would become the third woman on Arizona's death row if she were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to the state's ultimate punishment by jurors.