Gag Order Issued In Videotaped Beating Case:
The lawyer representing look out Zachary Ashley has requested and received a gag order in the recorded beating of Victoria Lindsay.
Ashley’s lawyer, the esteemed James “Rusty” Franklin, requested the order after Sheriff Grady Judd made inflammatory statements to the media. Judd called the suspects animals. I guess technically the truth can be inflammatory. And you know if your lawyer has a “nickname,” you may want to consider better counsel.
Questions Remain About Beating:
It seems that the now infamous taped beating of Victoria Lindsay may have been retaliation for MySpace drama.
Let’s hear from one of the suspects’ mothers defending her precious little snowflake.
According to the mother of one of the suspects, the victim of the beating, Victoria Lindsay of Lakeland, posted numerous MySpace bulletins, or public messages, insulting the girls. Lindsay called them names and claimed the girls wouldn’t fight her because they were too scared, said Christina Garcia, mother of Mercades Nichols.
That’s still no reason for a 6-on-1 beating with two lookouts. Ms. Garcia, where were you when all this was happening?
And for good measure, let’s throw in Mercades’ MySpace. Stay classy.
Craigslist child sex ads lead to arrests:
A 15-year-old runaway girl from Onalaska, Wisconsin, was found in Milwaukee prostituting herself on craigslist.
Milwaukee police found that girl’s ad on Craigslist offering oral sex and other acts. She also was advertised as working with another female whose age was not listed in the warrant. Like the 16-year-old, detectives found the Onalaska girl at the Port Motel.
Around that time, 33 advertisements on Craigslist offered prostitution in the Milwaukee area, about half of them from the 15-year-old girl, the warrant indicates.
Police arrested an unnamed 21-year-old male who posted the ads on craigslist for her.
But there are no victims here right?
Our favorite craigslist mouthpiece had this to say…
“Our hearts go out to the victim and their family, and there is nothing more gut-wrenching to our staff than to hear Craigslist has been abused to exploit children,” said Susan MacTavish Best of Craigslist.
Riiiiiight. If your gut is that wrenched, why does the erotic services section still exist?
craigslist, the home of lip service.
Guilty Plea In Assault Of Teen Met Through MySpace:
I’ve posted about Angel Alverio and Tony Pacheco before here and here.
Back in 2006, they were arrested for the rape of a 14-year-old girl they met over MySpace. It’s alleged that those two and an underage cohort of theirs got this girl drunk to the point where they raped her.
His sentencing will be in late May.
No word yet on Alveiro and Pacheco themselves.
Girls Record Brutal Attack On Teen To Allegedly Post On YouTube:
Proving once again that a lot of teens are idiots comes this story from Polk County, Florida.
16-year-old Victoria Lindsay was lured to a ‘friend’s’ house where six other girls were lying in wait. When she got there, she was attacked by most of the girls while someone recorded the beating so they could post it to MySpace and YouTube in order to embarrass her. Two male suspects kept watch while the beating was taking place.
The 16-year-old suffered a concussion, eye injuries and several bruises.
The suspects were identified as 17-year-old Mercades Nichols, 17-year-old Brittini Hardcastle, 14-year-old April Cooper, 16-year-old Cara Murphy, 17-year-old Britney Mayes and 15-year-old Kayla Hassell. Zachary Ashley, 17, and Stephen Schumaker, 18, were identified by deputies as the lookouts.
And of course one of the ‘parents’ has to play the ‘not my kid’ card.
“They weren’t really involved, I don’t know. I’m just overwhelmed by all of it. I don’t know why the girls have them involved,” said Debbie Shumaker, Stephen’s mother.
No, they actually were involved. That’s what’s called being an accessory, and I’m not talking about fashion.
All suspects face charges for false imprisonment and battery. Three of them were charged with kidnapping because, the sheriff’s office said, they forced Lindsay into a car and drove her to another location after the beating.
No word yet if they’ll be charged as adults, but they should be.
More arrests sought in Dunbar Village gang rape case:
Police have asked the State Attorney’s Office to issue arrest warrants for two more juveniles in the notorious Dunbar Village rape case, where a mother and son were brutalized for hours, West Palm Beach police said Friday.
One of the four teens arrested, Jakaris Taylor, accepted a plea deal that required his testimony. He identified two other juvenile defendants and police filed the charges with the State Attorney’s Office.
Hopefully, those arrest warrants will be issued and all scumbags involved will be brought to justice.
Dipping once again into the well of craigslist’s ugly-ass blog, we come across this missive from craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster about Conn. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
While I think AG Blumenthal is out of his ever-lovin’ mind I do want to take Mr. Buckmaster to task for a quote in his post.
Unlike the telephone yellow pages, many newspapers, and countless websites, which for many years have profited from “erotic service” ads, craigslist derives no revenue (let alone profit) from “erotic services”, and in fact we incur significant costs in enforcing our terms of use regarding these ads.
It’s not about the cash, Jim. It’s about the anonymity. Newspapers, phone books, etc., can easily trace back to their clients if need be. On the other hand, you can not. It’s not just about the erotic services either, at least not with me. The anonymity of craigslist allows all types of criminals to prey upon the law-abiding users of craigslist.
Speaking of craigslist’s ugly-ass official blog, CEO Jim Buckmaster posted this entry the other day about craigslist’s new phone verification system for their erotic services section. I have yet to check it out, but I’m sure I can find numerous ways that it can be circumvented. Anyway, he claims that it cut down on the number of erotic service ads by 80%. That’s still 20% too many. Even one instance of child prostitution or human trafficking is still too many.
Mr. Buckmaster also said that they are looking for additional ways to eliminate criminal activity on craigslist. I’ve got two ways that would eliminate most, if not all, the crime on craigslist. Take away the anonymity and do away with the erotic services section.
I’ll be awaiting my consultant’s check, Jim.
Judge sentences Underwood to die:
The convicted killer of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin has been officially sentenced to death. A jury had recommended the death penalty for Kevin Ray Underwood, but today a judge made it official.
Underwood killed and raped Jamie Rose Bolin, unfortunately in that order, in order to consume her flesh because of a cannibalistic fantasy he had.
The death penalty couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Prosecutor: Accused Randolph killer not impaired:
Morris County, NJ, assistant prosecutor Robert Lane told a judge Tuesday that accused killer Jonathan Zarate bragged to other inmates that he wasn’t mentally diminished when he killed and dismembered his 16-year-old neighbor Jennifer Parks. This should come as a surprise to absolutely no one.
It seems that Zarate has a new lawyer as well. Richard S. Mazawey replaces Anthony Fusco as Zarate’s attorney. No reason was given why Fusco is no longer his attorney. Mazawey plans to use the same diminished capacity defense that Fusco was pursuing.