TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Author: Trench Reynolds

  • Roberts’ grave vandalized

    Roberts’ grave vandalized

    Grave of Amish schoolhouse gunman desecrated:

    Desecrated is a pretty harsh word. I’d say vandalized. But any way you put it, the grave of Charles Roberts, the gunman who killed 5 girls in the Amish school shooting, has been defiled…

    Someone trashed the freshly dug grave of the man who shot 10 Amish girls last week, killing five of them before he reloaded his pistol and killed himself.

    Tuesday morning “was the first incident where the grave site was damaged,” said state police Trooper David Fedorshak. “The caretaker’s wife was walking through the cemetery about 7 a.m. when she noticed the grave was kicked about. Flowers and a stuffed animal stomped on and kicked around there, the flowers ripped out and thrown around.”

    I get the feeling it won’t be the last time, either.

    In other news from Dutch Pennsylvania, Roberts is not a suspect in any other crimes.

    The schoolhouse where the shooting took place is scheduled for demolition tomorrow.

    Area hospitals that treated the victims of the shooting are waiving the costs to treat them.

  • Conn. child predator used MySpace

    Conn. child predator used MySpace

    Man arrested for preying on teens on myspace.com:

    Seriously, what is up with Connecticut? They seem to be breeding more and more child molesters every day…

    (Vernon-WTNH, Oct. 10, 2006 10:30 PM) _ Police have arrested a Connecticut man they say preyed on teens on myspace.com.

    Police say the suspect may have sexually assaulted five teens he met online and there may be more.

    Scott Shefelbine does not have a police record but police say he has been going online and lying to teenage girls that he is also a teen in order to gain their trust and meet them.

    It was 12:30 a.m. at a tower in Henry Park in Vernon when a police officer patrolling the grounds noticed a teenaged girl with an older man and began asking questions.

    31-year-old Scott Shefelbine does not particularly look 19 or 17, but that is what he told at least 5 different victims that he allegedly met on myspace.com.

    The Vernon police, State Police and the FBI have now seized 5 computers from Shefelbine’s home.

    “We don’t know how many victims are out there. The internet is so pervasive and these predators are using it to contact so many different victims it is entirely possible that there are some out of state,” says Collins.

    The five victims that police know of are all in Connecticut and between the ages of 14 and 17.

    The age of consent is 16, but police say that Shefelbine has had sex with a 16-year-old he met in Henry Park when she was just 15. Shefelbine is also accused of raping the 17-year-old. He is also suspected of plying his victims with alcohol before sexually assaulting them.

    I wasn’t able to find a MySpace attributed to Shefelbine, but his actions are disgusting and reprehensible. I hope he goes away for a long time.

  • Is the Kerns trial finally starting?

    Is the Kerns trial finally starting?

    Kerns trial starts Monday:

    The trial of Toby Kerns is supposed to get underway again this Monday, October 15th. For those of you who have not heard about this case, it’s been going on for the past two years.

    Toby was arrested for plotting an attack against Marshfield High School in Marshfield, Mass. The only problem is the person who turned him in is also implicated in the plot. Joe Nee, who is being tried separately, turned Tobin in but was arrested later after others implicated Nee.

    Joe Nee is the son of the head of the Boston Police union. Joe Nee also has a Columbine fascination and wore a shirt to school that had pictures of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that said: “Remember The Heroes”. In my opinion, Joe Nee implicated Tobin Kerns when Tobin opted out of the plot.

    Joe Nee has obvious police connections. My theory is Joe Nee implicated Tobin before Tobin could implicate Nee. For more details, you can check the Marshfield archives.

    With any luck, Tobin will be exonerated.

  • Roberts may be attempted rape suspect

    Roberts may be attempted rape suspect

    Roberts eyed in sex attack on Amish woman in 2005:

    Charles Carl Roberts IV, the gunman in the Amish school shooting, is being looked at as a possible suspect in the 2005 attempted rape of an Amish woman in her home.

    The victim’s father, who interrupted the assault, said that neither he nor his daughter got a good look at the attacker because it was dark at the time. And they have no definitive proof it was Roberts.

    Police are investigating by comparing fingerprints from both crime scenes.

    Roberts lived less than one-quarter mile from the victim.

  • Joplin shooting could have been worse

    Joplin shooting could have been worse

    Bloodbath averted:

    It seems that yesterday’s shooting incident in Joplin, Missouri could have been much worse than it was. The 13-year-old suspect, who was dressed in a mask and trench coat and carrying his parents’ Mac-90 rifle, tried to fire additional shots after firing the initial shot into the ceiling.

    However, through nothing short of a miracle, the gun jammed. Most reports today are saying that the suspect had a fascination with Columbine but have not elaborated. Also, the suspect had bomb-making instructions and plans for the school, but no explosives were found.

    Still no ID or motive.

  • Suburban craigslist pimp on the run

    Suburban craigslist pimp on the run

    I-TEAM: Police search for suspect in Craigslist prostitution ring:

    BOULDER – Jeffrey Bagnall had a plan, detectives say: to run the most successful prostitution ring in the country.

    It’s always nice to have goals.

    Toward that end, the 35-year-old Bagnall carefully logged expenses such as cell phones and room rentals, brainstormed marketing ideas on how to lure older male clients and consulted industry advice from books, such as, “Pimp Game, The Instructional Guide.”

    For more than a year, Bagnall was on his way, police said, advertising for free on Craigslist and pocketing about $2,000 a month from his 30 percent cut from the prostitutes who worked for him.

    According to police, that’s when Bagnall moved his base of operations into a quiet, close-knit East Boulder cul-de-sac – and his plan collapsed.

    Now, Boulder police have issued a warrant for Bagnall’s arrest on charges that include pimping and keeping a place of prostitution.

    While authorities search for Bagnall, who has apparently skipped town, they are quick to credit the townhome’s residents for their part in bringing down his business.

    On Aug. 24, undercover detectives obtained a search warrant for Bagnall’s home, finding cash, empty condom boxes, child pornography,, notes documenting his business plan and ledgers of his clients’ names and phone numbers, police said.

    This week, a judge issued a warrant for Bagnall’s arrest. His former neighbors said they couldn’t be happier.

    Anyone with information on Jeffrey Bagnall is encouraged to call the Boulder Police Department at 303-441-3333.

    Don’t ever try bringing that stuff into suburbia. Short of pitchforks and torches, the neighbors will run you out.

     

  • Teen fires gun in Mo. middle school

    Teen fires gun in Mo. middle school

    Student, 13, fires AK-47 in Missouri school:

    A masked Joplin, Missouri 13-year-old fired an AK-47 inside his middle school. Luckily, no one was injured.

    The student was wearing a mask and pointed the assault rifle at Principal Steve Gilbreth, Assistant Superintendent Steve Doerr and two students, saying, “not to make me do this,” Superintendent Jim Simpson said.

    Simpson said the teen then fired a shot into the ceiling, breaking a water pipe, and said again, “Please don’t make me do this.”

    Gilbreth and Doerr persuaded the student to leave the building, where he was arrested by police.

    Joplin police Officer Curt Farmer said officers found a note in the student’s backpack indicating that he had placed an explosive in the school, which has about 700 students. Students in the school were moved to nearby Joplin Memorial Hall, and the school was closed while officers searched the building.

    The student was wearing a mask and apparently had been planning an attack for a “long time,” Simpson said. He didn’t elaborate and said authorities did not know whether others were involved.

    No ID or motive was given yet.

    Thanks to Magz for the tip.

  • Victim taken off life support shows improvement

    Victim taken off life support shows improvement

    Family Asks For Prayers As Girl Shows Some Improvement:

    HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lancaster County’s coroner said one of the Amish girls was released from the hospital Thursday and brought home to die. Since then, News 8 has learned that the 6-year-old victim was taken back to the hospital because she began showing signs of improvement.

    “I promised the families not to talk a lot about what’s happening right now,” said Rev. Rob Schenck of the National Clergy Council. “I will say there is a lot of talk of miracles and answer to prayers. And one of the families said to me, ‘There’s always something to thank God for.’”

    The victim’s family has not said much. But they have asked for prayers. They said they appreciate all of the prayers and well wishes and think that they are making a difference.

    I’ll still be praying for this girl’s survival. I hope you will as well.

    Thanks to Magz for the tip.

  • Amish school shooting victim removed from life support

    Amish school shooting victim removed from life support

    Amish Shooting Victim Taken Off Life Support:

    GEORGETOWN, Pa. (AP) — The number of dead from Monday’s Amish schoolhouse shooting could soon rise by one more.

    A county coroner and a doctor who serves Amish children said it appears that one of the survivors is being taken off life-support and taken home to die.

    I can’t even imagine the pain that family must be going through right now.

    My heart breaks for them and my prayers are with them.

  • Day late, Dollar short

    Day late, Dollar short

    School ‘security’ is wrong response:

    This is a letter to the editor of a Wisconsin newspaper about new security measures being put in place after the killing of Weston Schools principal John Klang…

    Dear Editor: I have great sympathy for those affected by the Weston school shooting last week, particularly the family of John Klang.

    That said, the new “security measures” in place as students return to school seem to be a prime example of the wrong sort of response, the kind Americans are so good at these days, of putting good people on lockdown in the wake of a singular act by a single person. One very troubled youth commits a horrific act, and now the rest of the school is subject to armed surveillance and the registration of outsiders?

    What sort of message is that intended to send we are trying to prevent further armed attacks by bringing in more arms and suspecting everyone?

    I urge the School Board to consider intelligently and rationally addressing root causes here, even in the wake of a very irrational and heartbreaking incident, before initializing knee-jerk measures that can only result in more fear and anguish.

    Not to mention the fact that the steps they seem to be taking are like closing the barn door after the horses are already out.