Only 30 days?

Shannon Cook, a 25 year old woman from Illinois, left her three children alone for 9 hours so she could go see The Jerry Springer show with her boyfriend. The three children, two girls and one boy were ages 9 months- 4 years old!!! The 4 year old escaped to alert neighbors 5 hours later and police were called. Cook returned 9 hours later... after midnight.

ONLY 30 DAYS!!!! Are you kidding me? Cook was only charged with misdemeanor child endangerment. How the heck is it that you leave your three kids home alone for 9 hours and only get 30 days in jail? Especially a nine months old baby!

Her excuse was, “I didn’t think I’d be gone that long, according to CNN. Personally, I think she should get more jail time. 30 days is a slap on the wrist for the amount of danger she put her 3 children in.

I feel terrible for the children and I sincerely hope she never gets those kids back. I hope they are able to place all three children together. I hate to see kids suffer because of their parents’ mistakes. Of course, the children are now safe in foster care. Still… what was she thinking? Could she be that dumb? A baby needs to eat, have their diaper changed, etc. A four year old can’t cook! Who knows if she even left any food for them?

Very, very sad!

Another source.

Murder in Matthews, NC

Murder in Matthews, NC

Father kills twin daughters

This blog seems to have turned to a NC crime blog with all the tragic crimes that have happened here in the past few months. Unfortunately, most of them involve children and it is becoming quite heartbreaking to hear about parents killing their children. What is going on? This tragedy took place in Matthews, NC, which is about 10 miles from where I live. Another recent murder involving a mother killing her two children is about 35 miles from here. She is charged with setting the family home on fire, killing her two children inside. See my blog entry about this tragedy here.

On January 20th, David Lauren Crespi, a 45 year old father of five children, murdered his five year old twin daughters. Tessara and Samantha Crespi, were stabbed to death in their beautiful 4,900 square foot home. Mr. Crespi called 911 just before 1pm and told the operator killed his daughters and wanted to kill himself.

According to friends and relatives, Crespi was a loving father who adored his two daughters and his other three children from a previous marriage. His first wife died of brain cancer in 1993. Crespi was a Senior Vice-President at Wachovia bank in the audit division. All those who knew Crespi are in complete shock over this tragedy and the question everyone is asking is why??

As reported by News 14 Carolina reported: Crespi appeared in an orange jumpsuit with shackles around his ankles and handcuffs on his wrists at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. The only family member on hand was the suspect’s brother, John Crespi. He addressed the media after the hearing. “Obviously it’s a sad, horrible time for us all,” he said through tears. “I want to express my thanks to the people of Charlotte for your support and prayers – we feel them.”

Crespi spent one night in a mental hospital before he returned to jail. Reports have stated that he suffered from depression and insomnia and it looks like we may see an insanity defense coming along. I cannot say that I disagree at this point. I think any mother or father that kills their child is CRAZY but I still think they should be punished for their crime. More and more we are hearing about parents killing their children and it needs to stop!
More information reported on David Crespi can be found here.

The little girls will be laid to rest Tuesday. This case is absolutely heartwrenching and I feel terrible for the mother, siblings, relatives, friends, and all the others affected by this tragedy.

I'm now a crime victim...

I live in Charlotte, NC - in a safe (so I thought) neighborhood. On Friday morning, my car was stolen right in front of my apartment. I am the dummy who left the car running- for one minute (and I mean one minute) while I ran inside of my apartment to retrieve something I forgot. Prior to that, I was sitting in my car for about 5 minutes, warming it up to defrost the morning ice. When I originally went out to my car, I saw a man in a running car two spots over but I paid no attention. I figured he was warming up his car or waiting for someone in my building. Never did I think he was a car thief who was about to steal my car! Never did I think this would happen to me... Especially in my neighborhood! Boy, I learned my lesson and an expensive one at that.

The guy who stole my car left another vehicle in its place- running, with the wipers going and it wasn't even raining... When the police arrived, I learned the vehicle was reported stolen at 11 pm the night before from a nearby town. Of course, this was the first car ever stolen from my apartment complex in the 10 years they have been here. Lucky me!

Around 1:30 PM, I received a call from an officer telling me that my car had been recovered; however, it was involved in an accident and had significant front end damage. It was towed to a lot and I went to go take a look. The car is totaled! The whole front end is gone- airbag deployed and the windshield is all smashed up. He advised me they have arrested the guy who stole it and he was being investigated by the detective and will be charged with felony theft, among other charges. I was given his name and additional details of the accident. Apparently, he was about 7 miles from my apartment when the car was spotted by police and a chase ensued. He then crashed the vehicle and was taken into custody.

Of course, I could not wait to look at his mugshot and see the charges against him. It seems as if they charged him with everything they could:

Larceny of a vehicle
Possession of a stolen vehicle
Reckless driving
Hit & Run- failure to stop- property damage
Possession of drug paraphernalia
Failure to heed blue light and siren
Speeding

This kid, Jermaine Hoover, is only 18 and in the past 11 months, he has been arrested 12 times for various offenses including:

3 times for communicating threats
1 time for marijuana possession
1 time for possession w/intent to distribute
2 times for hit & run w/ property damage
7 times for resisting public officer
2 times for assault on a public officer
2 times for disorderly conduct
2 times for second degree trespassing
1 time for assault and battery

Clearly, this kid is on the fast track to becoming a career criminal. 12 arrests in 11 months? And he is on the street? I have to wonder how many charges he had as a juvenile offender. Most of his charges in the past year are misdemeanors butwhy wouldn't nÂ’t the amount of arrests warrant jail time? The longest time he sat in jail was 15 days when he was arrested with intent to distribute marijuana.

I am so disappointed with our legal system. I know jail space is limited and most of his charges were not very serious but it is a known fact that people like this will likely re-offend after being released from jail. Furthermore, the crimes they commit will likely grow more serious. I am curious to know the situations surrounding all the charges, especially the resisting a public officer charges since they were stand-alone charges in two of his arrests.

Of course, I will be looking at this kid pretty close to see when they release him from jail. I will not be happy if it is anytime soon!

Mom murders her own children

I cannot think of anything more heinous than killing your own child. Lisa Louise Greene, a 40 year old woman from North Carolina is accused of killing her own children by setting fire to the family mobile home.

According to this January 17th article in The Charlotte Observer, Greene told investigators that she told the children to “stay in their room” as she ran out of the house unharmed. A neighbor dialed 911 and two minutes later, Greene called 911 herself. Greene stated that she was sleeping in a recliner when she was awakened by the smoke detectors. She claimed the fire was too hot for her to rescue her children and then she twisted her ankle trying to get out of the house.

At first it seemed like a local tragedy where two children were killed in a house fire... until the Mother of the children was arrested- accused of setting the fire that killed her 8 year old daughter Addison Macemore, and her son, 10 year old Daniel Macemore.

News 14 Carolina reported Lisa Louise Greene was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson. She was also charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police have said the children were alive when the fire was set and Ms. Greene’s inconsistent statements led them to suspect her of setting the fire.

A Charlotte Observer article gave more insight into why they suspected the Mother:

"The search warrant, released Monday at the Observer's request, details some of the inconsistencies that Cabarrus County Sheriff Brad Riley said led to Greene's arrest.
Greene first told firefighters she saw fire only inside the children's room. But there was no evidence of burning or charring inside the room, according to the search warrant.
"The origin of the fire was outside the room occupied by the children," the warrant says.
Talking with a 911 dispatcher as the house burned, Greene also said the door to the children's room was closed. She later said Addison was on the bed and Daniel was on the floor. She said they had been watching a movie and had a lit candle in their room.

Greene also told investigators the fire was so severe she couldn't help the children.
But the search warrant says, "The fire could not have reached the level of severity claimed by Ms. Greene at that time, considering the timeframe and the actual damage to the dwelling."
It's not clear whether the children tried to escape even after Greene told them "to stay on the bed."

Firefighters said no one broke the windows in the children's bedroom before fire crews arrived. Riley couldn't say whether the windows worked the way they were supposed to. He also declined to comment on whether the children's bedroom door was closed during the fire and whether it worked properly.

Detectives sought the search warrant to look for propane, gas, kerosene or diesel fuel -- substances that could be used to ignite a fire -- as well as blood and DNA. They also were seeking burned or charred paper, plastics or other objects; unburned furnishings; paperwork; and matches, lighters, candles or other items that could be used to light a fire.
They seized three doorknobs, a candle and candlestick, two sections of drywall and a computer, according to the search warrant inventory.

Other items seized included a fire safe with assorted papers, jewelry and money; photographs; a door casing; sunglasses; a candy wrapper; handkerchiefs; and containers of assorted medications.

During the initial investigation, detectives found a plate with marijuana leaves and three smoking pipes in the modest, one-story house at 10925 Candilara Lane. Detectives have no evidence that Greene was impaired at the time of the fire, Riley said. In court today, Greene is expected to acknowledge the charges and be offered a court-appointed attorney.

This is what she told authorities at the time of the fire:
-She had been sleeping in a recliner in the living room and awoke to a blaring smoke detector. -She tried to help the children, but the fire was too hot.
-She couldn't get to the working phone inside, so she grabbed her purse, which contained her cell phone, and ran out.
-A few feet outside, she fell, twisting her ankle, dropping the purse and spilling its contents. A neighbor found Greene screaming on the ground and called 911, investigators said. "

War on NAMBLA III

If you haven't already- check out the latest updates to Rikijo's WAR ON NAMBLA blog. A bunch of pedo's have been BUSTED in action. NAMBLA and its members need to be shut down! GO TEAM!

Julie Michelle Bullard

Where is Julie?

Julie Bullard went missing on Monday, January 2, 2006 when a masked man entered a trailer where Julie and her friends were "hanging out."
The gunman tied up all the girls but left with Julie. She has not been see since. The man who entered the trailer is described as white, in his 30's, approx 5'8."

According to this article, a man named David Wilson committed suicide just hours after the invasion. He was found 6 miles from the trailer where Julie went missing. His truck and clothing were taken by police for analysis.

If you have seen Julie, please contact the Lee County, NC police.


Link to article here.

BROADWAY, N.C. -- Witnesses say a masked gunman snatched a woman from a home in Lee County early Monday morning, but investigators are being tight-lipped about the case. Investigators say Julie Michelle Bullard was last seen hanging out with friends in a home early Monday morning. According to authorities, a masked man surprised the group, breaking through the door with a gun.Detectives say the masked man tied everyone up and left with Bullard. They said there is no indication that any of the victims knew the masked man.
Search crews from Lee, Harnett and Moore counties combed through fields. Divers also checked a nearby pond, but there was no sign of Bullard.Investigators met with family members Tuesday, but investigators will not release details of the meeting or the latest on the search. Bullard's father said he will not rest until she is found. He formed a private search group Monday night with friends and family to keep looking for her. Bullard is described as being 5-feet-2-inches tall and weighs 105-115 pounds. She also has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
According to the family, the suspected kidnapper is in his mid-thirties, he is white, approximately 5 feet, 8 inches tall, wearing a camouflage jacket and blue jeans.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I wish you all the best in 2006...

On Crime