TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Author: Trench Reynolds

  • Insanity motion withdrawn for Roseburg suspect

    Insanity motion withdrawn for Roseburg suspect

    RHS shooting suspect won’t be evaluated:

    This one surprised me…

    ROSEBURG — The defense attorney for the teenager accused of shooting a fellow high school student has withdrawn a motion that would have allowed him to argue the teen suffered mentally at the time of the incident.

    Attorney Bruce Tower withdrew the motion Tuesday morning before Douglas County Circuit Judge Robert Millikan.

    The motion had indicated Tower intended to argue 14-year-old Vincent Leodoro suffered from a mental disease or defect at the time of the Feb. 23 shooting.

    Leodoro is accused of shooting 16-year-old Joseph Monti several times on the Roseburg High School campus. He is charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, possession of a weapon in a public building, unlawful use of a weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.

    My guess is, they’re either going to reach a plea agreement or they’re going to go with a “bullying” defense.

    The trial is still set for June 27th.

  • Michelle Dohm turns herself in

    Michelle Dohm turns herself in

    Thurmont teacher faces more threat charges:

    Michelle Dohm turned herself in to law enforcement today after new charges were filed against her. The new charges are further explained…

    Two of the new charges involve a Thurmont boy who received a suspicious package in late April that turned out to be harmless, and a letter several weeks earlier, Thurmont Police Chief Gregory Eyler said. The third threat was received by another boy April 21, according to the indictment, which didn’t specify the type of threat or how it was delivered.

    If she is the one still sending threats while she’s being investigated then she has some serious issues to work out. She was released on $200K bail.

  • Richard Castaldo talks about Columbine RPG

    Richard Castaldo talks about Columbine RPG

    Columbine SurvivorTalks About Columbine RPG:

    For those of you who don’t know what an RPG is, it stands for Role Playing Game. It’s a type of video game that deals mostly in fantasy scenarios. Popular RPG franchises would be Final Fantasy or Suikoden. Think of it as Dungeons and Dragons but as a video game. And yes, someone made one based on Columbine. I’ve seen it, but I haven’t played it. I’m not about to download that to my computer.

    Anyway, Richard Castaldo, who I first mentioned here did an interview with Kotaku, a gaming site, about the Columbine RPG. I won’t reprint the whole thing, but I found this segment of the article most interesting…

    Do you think it glamorizes what happened at Columbine?

    There is a part where after the character’s representing the killers in the game die, and then the game shows an extended real-life montage of what happened that day. And it shows their blood-soaked corpses, and isn’t pretty. Which to me deglamorizes what they did. I’ve heard of some stories where some students try to make folk heroes out of these killers, which is very disgusting to me. I think people who have that mindset and then play this game and see that part it would make it real for them. As opposed to having this sort-of romanticized version that some people have.

    But, at the same time there are some dialog in the game that comes up after you kill the students that refers to you as being “brave boys”, which i would hope was supposed to be ironic, because clearly what they did was not brave or heroic in anyway, it was quite the opposite. It has you killing students with absolutely no protection whatsoever. Which is what actually happened. So if the killers (or anyone else for that matter) thought that what they were doing was heroic in any way they were deeply fooling themselves. People ask me all the time, “Did you know them?” And my answer is of course no, i didn’t. And, I didn’t do a damn thing to either one of them. So, I think the game kinda highlights that. That there was no real rhyme or reason why specific people got killed.

    And that’s from someone who was there that unfortunately did not come out unscathed.

    So, think about that the next time you think that the killers weren’t cowards.

  • Michelle Dohm faces new charges

    Michelle Dohm faces new charges

    Troubled teacher faces new charges:

    Michelle Dohm, the Maryland teacher accused of stalking and threatening some students, has had new charges filed against her, seemingly right after new evidence was seized from her home…

    The Frederick County Grand Jury today indicted a Thurmont Middle School teacher on three additional charges of threatening to explode a destructive device, State’s Attorney Scott Rolle said.

    Michelle Dohm, 41, is set to go to trial June 12 in Frederick County Circuit Court on 12 counts of threatening to explode a destructive device and two counts of stalking.

    The new charges were obtained “based on additional evidence seized during the ongoing investigation,” Mr. Rolle said.

  • 5/5/06 From The Mail Sack: A Survivor’s Opinion

    5/5/06 From The Mail Sack: A Survivor’s Opinion

    I received comments today from someone claiming to be Columbine survivor Richard Castaldo on my entry about Dylan Klebold’s car being up for auction. I have no reason to doubt that claim. Here’s what he had to say…

    i saw some shit on the news about people having websites paying tribute to the assholes that did this shit, and it bothered me for obvious reasons. so i hope people would be disuaded to do fucked up shit by this site and others like it. And its completely fucking ridiculous to admire what they did in any way. In contrast to popular opinion a lot of people that were shot didn’t do a god-damn thing to these fucks (me included). I have no idea why you’d admire dipshits wwhod kill people over absolutlely nothing. snd what thy did was definatley in no way noble and in no way brave, as they claimed. it doesn;t take shit to kill someone who isn’t expecting ir and with no armor. so i dont know what the hell that proves other than what pussies they really were. REal men would never think of doing something like that. And they brought being nade fun of on themselves, i saw them a couple times and they acteed like they were above it all. oh, and its also moronic to blame games and music and whatnot. cause i play and lisen to the exact same stuff, and am not negatively effected in any way.

    I hope the mutants were paying attention.

  • Jennifer Parks remembered II

    Jennifer Parks remembered II

    Slain Randolph teen leaves legacy:

    Jennifer Parks, the 16-year-old New Jersey girl who was brutally murdered and dismembered by Jonathan Zarate, will be remembered by her high school…

    RANDOLPH — It’s closing in on one year since Laurie Parks’16-year-old daughter, Jennifer, was senselessly murdered.

    Parks, who attended Randolph High School, will be honored on May 13 by her classmates during the Pennies for Jen Memorial Walk, an idea generated by the student council that will raise money for a scholarship and memorial park at the school.

    “I thought it was a great idea,” Laurie Parks said on Thursday.

    “(I’m) really proud of what they’re doing. They’ve done so much for me and my husband.”

    Parks said the scholarship fund already has $900, and that she and her husband, David, will award the scholarship to a student who wants to study editing or journalism in college.

    “That’s what my daughter loved to do,” Parks said. “She wanted to be an editor or in journalism when she graduated.”

    The walk will begin at 9 a.m. at the Randolph High School parking lot and will wind through a nearby trail system that connects the township.

    The event is sponsor- and donation-driven, said Kimberly Standridge, 17, a junior who also is treasurer of the student council’s executive board.

    Proceeds will go toward the scholarship, as well as a memorial garden.

    Standridge said Jennifer Parks’ mother didn’t want the garden to be only about her daughter.

    “She didn’t want the memorial garden just to be for Jen, so it’s going to be dedicated to Jen and other high school students who lost their lives during their high school careers,” Standridge said.

    The walk is open to anyone and donations will be accepted on the day of the event. Standridge hopes the event is held every year.

    I’m working on getting an address to send donations to.

  • Supporters react to Esmie Tseng’s sentence

    Supporters react to Esmie Tseng’s sentence

    Friends stand by Tseng, call sentence poor:

    Some supporters of Esmie Tseng react to her sentencing…

    “Nobody’s really better served by this (sentence),” Horwitz said. “When the judge talks about rehabilitation in the prison system … She needs help (after) years and years of challenges and what many argue to be abuse in the home situation.”

    Another Tseng family friend, Grant Mallett, said his daughter used to play with Esmie. He said Esmie would not be forgotten.

    “We’re committed to stay in touch and help her out as best we can,” Mallett said. “I saw her last week. Her spirits seemed to be quite good, and I was pleased and impressed with how she seems to be doing personally.”

    Horwitz said real friends would not abandon Esmie.

    “Everybody wants to visit her and write her. She has a lot of true friends,” he said. “She’s been in the community since kindergarten and the people who have known her her whole life know that this is a really good kid and a terrible set of circumstances.”

    I am neither a supporter nor detractor of Esmie Tseng, but I can sympathize with Esmie. I really do. I also grew up in a house of abuse, so I know to some extent what she went through.

    However, it doesn’t change the fact that she stabbed her mother with a kitchen knife and when her mother got the knife away from her, Esmie picked up another knife and stabbed her again. I have to agree with what the assistant D.A. said…

    Assistant District Attorney Richard Guinn said the sentence, considering all factors, represented a “fair and just outcome.”

    “We feel for the family, we feel for the dad, we feel for (Esmie) in terms of her situation at home,” Guinn said. “But we are also taking a very strong position here.”

    Guinn said stabbing someone multiple times should draw prison time as opposed to the shorter sentence, perhaps three years, available through the juvenile justice system. With good behavior and considering time already served, Esmie faces about seven years in an adult prison, he said.

    In prison, Esmie could advance herself academically through college classes, Guinn said.

    “It’s up to her what she chooses to make of this time,” he said. “My impression in talking with her attorney is that she has put this chapter of her life behind and is now doing everything she can to make a worthwhile life for herself.”

    I know I said I would never do one again, but I may have a special podcast on this sometime this weekend.

  • Blogging, students, and the First Amendment

    Blogging, students, and the First Amendment

    Can Schools Punish Students for Posting Offensive Content on MySpace and Similar Sites? Often, the Answer Is No, Unless The Posting Materially Disrupts School Activities:

    This is a great article from FindLaw about blogging, students, and the First Amendment and whether or not schools can punish students for blog posts they make at home. And I’m not saying it’s a great article because I get a mention in it. 😀 I hear a lot of cries of “But..but..but it’s free speech and it’s protected by the First Amendment”. Well now, hopefully this article should clear a few things up…

    Cases Where Postings Violate the Law, or Provide Evidence of Its Violation

    These sites – though a boon to students in many ways – have also raised their share of problems. And some of the problems may also involve torts, or violations of the criminal law.

    In some instances, students engage in cyber-bullying — making critical remarks about other students or teachers. If these postings are factual, false, and damaging, they may count as defamation. The sites cannot be sued: Under a key provision of the Communications Decency Act, web intermediaries – those who merely allow others to post their own comments and photos – are not liable for defamation. But the authors can be.

    Sometimes postings may be evidence of law-violation: In photos, underage subjects may be shown in sexually provocative poses, or shown smoking or drinking, or holding firearms. For instance, a 16-year-old boy in Jefferson, Colorado was arrested after police — having seen pictures on his MySpace page in which he was holding handguns – found the weapons in his home. And in late April, police reportedly intercepted a Columbine-style plot in Kansas on the basis of a threatening email posted on MySpace.com.

    And sometimes postings may themselves violate the law – making criminal threats, or constituting harassment. In Costa Mesa, California, twenty students were suspended from TeWinkle Middle School for two days for participating in a MySpace group where one student allegedly threatened to kill another and made anti-Semitic remarks.

    So let this be a lesson to you that not all speech is protected under the First Amendment. And if you’re in a private school, you’re out of luck.

  • Attention citizens of Massachusetts

    Attention citizens of Massachusetts

    Or, as I like to call them, Massholes. (Relax, I’m just kidding.)

    Anyway, your Attorney General Tom Reilly is calling on MySpace to beef up their security when it comes to minors. He’s making some good and some not so good requests.

    First, he wants MySpace to change its minimum user age to 18. I have no problem with that, but he doesn’t say how MySpace should do that. I suggest credit card number validations. That won’t keep every minor out, but it will keep most of them out.

    He also wants every MySpace page equipped with a “Report Inappropriate Content” link. That’s actually a great idea.

    He wants MySpace to respond to all reports of inappropriate content within 24 hours and significantly increase the number of employees who review images and content. Sounds reasonable. Newscorp does have assloads of cash.

    He wants MySpace to immediately delete any profiles that violate MySpace’s Terms of Use Agreement and permanently banning those members from using the site. I also agree with this because MySpace is notoriously bad at enforcing their TOS. Banning members is harder, though. How do you ban a member from getting another account?

    He wants MySpace to immediately remove all advertisements and other MySpace-sponsored content that are inappropriate for children. Yeah, that’ll happen.

    And lastly, like the Conn. AG he wants MySpace to offer free, downloadable software that allows parents to block the use of MySpace. I don’t think that should be MySpace’s responsibility. With just a little knowledge, any parent can have MySpace blocked on their computer.

    AG Reilly is also trying to educate parents…

    As part of an effort to enhance parental awareness of online safety for children, AG Reilly’s Office is leading a series of workshops throughout Massachusetts to educate parents about the dangers that children face when using the Internet. Today AG Reilly will conduct an Internet Safety program for parents in Weymouth warning them of the potential dangers that exist when their children use the Internet.

    How many parents actually attend these workshops remains to be seen. My guess is, there won’t be enough.

  • Esmie Tseng sentenced

    Esmie Tseng sentenced

    Esmie Tseng sentenced to prison:

    The Overland Park teen-ager who pleaded guilty to killing her mother was sentenced today to eight years and four months in prison.

    Esmie Tseng, 17, declined to say anything during the brief hearing in Johnson County District Court. She had pleaded guilty in March to voluntary manslaughter.

    The sentence imposed by Judge Brenda Cameron was recommended by both sides last month as part of a plea agreement.

    Esmie’s mother, 55-year-old Shu Yi Zhang, died after being stabbed to death on Aug. 19.