Tag: crime

ICE says San Fran sheriff denied request to speak to illegal immigrant accused of attacking Pelosi

Federal officials this week appeared to rebuke a local California sheriff for allegedly denying a federal agent access to the illegal immigrant who reportedly attacked Paul Pelosi last month.

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department this month told local news media that on Oct. 31  an unidentified individual “pretended to be a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent” in order to gain access to alleged Pelosi attacker David DePape.

Yet an ICE official this week told Fox News that the agency had indeed sent an agent to speak to DePape and that the agent in question presented full identification while there. 

“The officer identified herself and presented her government issued credentials bearing her photo, name, position and organization,” the official told the news network. “[San Francisco County Jail] denied the DO’s request to interview DePape.”

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‘Sex cult’ leader who preached Islamic sermons while surrounded by scantily-clad women dubbed his ‘kittens’ is jailed for 8,500 years in Turkey for child abuse, rape and fraud

A Turkish sex cult leader and televangelist who preached Islamic sermons while surrounded by scantily-clad young women has been jailed for more than 8,500 years in prison for child abuse, rape and fraud following a retrial.

Adnan Oktar, 66, is known for holding theological discussions while surrounded by glamorous women who he dubbed his ‘kittens’.

He was sentenced last year to 1,075 years in prison after being found guilty of ten separate charges including child sexual abuse, leading a criminal gang, rape, blackmail, fraud, political and military espionage and causing torment.

This ruling was overturned earlier this year by an upper court. 

But following a retrial, the high court in Istanbul yesterday sentenced Oktar to 8,656 years in prison – an eightfold increase to his previous sentence.

The court held Oktar responsible for the crimes committed by his disciples as he was the head of the cult. Ten others were also sentenced to lengthy prison sentences. 

Oktar, who had pleaded not guilty, welcomed the final ruling, saying it is ‘God’s will’. 

‘We have full confidence in our state,’ Oktar said, reports Hurriyet newspaper. ‘We are happy with the decision. God made the decision. There are good days in our lives. 

‘Islam will dominate the world. Turkey will also be a beautiful country. May the decision be beneficial.’

A number of women who have since left the cult told his trial that they were subjected to sexual slavery. One woman testified that Oktar had sexually assaulted her and forced the women to take contraceptive pills. 

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NBC suspends correspondent after retracting his story on Paul Pelosi attack, report

NBC News has reportedly suspended national correspondent Michael Almaguer over a story the news outlet retracted about the assault of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi. 

Almaguer’s apparent suspension, first reported by The Daily Beast, comes after NBC said it retracted the reporter’s Nov. 4 story on Pelosi “because it did not meet NBC News reporting standards.”

Citing “sources,” Almaguer reported that police arrived at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home the day of the attack and Paul Pelosi opened the door for the first responders.

“The 82-year-old did not immediately declare an emergency or try to leave his home but instead began walking several feet back into the foyer toward the assailant and away from police,” Almaguer said. 

His report seems to contradict police and prosecutors’ claims and spurred conspiracy theories.

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Ireland Considers Enacting A Bill Criminalizing The Possession Of Hateful Material

We recently discussed a troubling conviction in Great Britain of a man for his “toxic ideology.” Now Ireland appears ready to replicate that case a thousand fold. The proposed Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 would criminalize the possession of material deemed hateful.

It is a full frontal assault on speech and associational rights. The law would allow for sweeping authoritarian measures in defining opposing viewpoints hateful. Ireland appears to be picking up the cudgel of speech criminalization from Britain, an abusive power once used against the Irish.

The law is a free speech nightmare.  Even before addressing the crime of possession of harmful material, the law would “provide for an offence of condoning, denying or grossly trivialising genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.” The crime of condoning, denying or grossly trivailising” criminal conduct would make most autocrats blush. The lack of any meaningful definition invites arbitrary enforcement. The law expressly states the intent to combat “forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law.”

What is so striking about the law is how utterly unapologetic it is in the use of criminal law to curtail not just free speech but free thought. It allows for the prosecution of citizens for “preparing or possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics.” That could sweep deeply into not just political but literary expression.

The interest of the Irish in assuming such authoritarian measures is chilling given their own history under British rule, including violent crackdowns on nonviolent protests like “Bloody Sunday.”  Free speech is now in a free fall in Great Britain and Ireland appears eager to follow suit.

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California megachurch leader, grandparents charged with murder, torture in death of 11-year-old daughter

A California megachurch leader and her parents have been arrested on charges including murder and torture in the death of the woman’s 11-year-old daughter.

Leticia McCormack, a leader at Rock Church in San Diego, founded and led by former NFL player Miles McPherson, was booked in jail Monday on a charge of murder, three counts of torture, and three counts of willful cruelty to a child in the death of Arabella McCormack, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office reported.

On Thursday, McCormack’s leadership profile had been removed from the megachurch’s website.

Arabella was initially fostered before being adopted by Brian and Leticia McCormack, officials said.

The 49-year-old church elder’s father, Stanley Tom, 75, was also charged with murder, three counts of torture, and three counts of willful cruelty to a child, according to a news release from the department. Arabella’s grandmother Adella Tom, 70, was booked on three counts of torture and three counts of willful cruelty to a child.

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Paul Pelosi Attack Suspect Indicted by Federal Grand Jury: DOJ

The Canadian national who allegedly attacked the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in the Pelosis’ home was indicted (pdf) on Nov. 9 by a federal grand jury, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

David DePape, 42, was “charged with one count of assault upon an immediate family member of a U.S. official with the intent to retaliate against the official on account of the performance of official duties,” the DOJ said in a statement. “He is also charged with one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official on account of the performance of official duties.”

Federal officials last week confirmed to The Epoch Times that DePape was in the United States illegally, having overstayed his visa after he initially entered the country in 2000. The DOJ statement didn’t mention DePape’s immigration status and referred to him as a “California man.”

If convicted, DePape faces up to 30 years in prison on the alleged assault count and 20 years in prison for the attempted kidnapping count. He also faces a number of state charges, including attempted murder, for which he has pleaded not guilty.

He remained held on Nov. 10 in the San Francisco County jail without bail ahead of a Dec. 14 preliminary hearing on the local charges, according to the Mercury News. No court date has been set for the federal charges.

The indictment stated that two police officers arrived at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home early on Oct. 28 to see DePape and Paul Pelosi struggling over a hammer. When officers told the two to drop it, DePape allegedly got control of the hammer and hit Pelosi in the head, fracturing his skull.

The officers, according to court papers, then restrained the suspect while Pelosi remained on the ground.

“As set forth in the indictment, once DePape was restrained, officers secured a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer, a pair of rubber and cloth gloves, and zip ties from the crime scene, where officers also observed a broken glass door to the back porch,” the DOJ said in its statement.

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JonBenet Ramsey Murder Now Under Investigation By Cold Case Team Examining DNA Remnants

In yet another effort to discover the murderer of 6-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey, who was found bludgeoned and strangled in her family’s basement in 1996, local police are now going to work with a review team to use new technology to find the killer.

The girl was reported missing the day after Christmas 1996 after JonBenet’s mother Patsy found a handwritten ransom note demanding nearly $118,000; her father John found her body later that day. For years, John, as well as Patsy, who died of cancer in 2006, were suspected by the public of killing their daughter, but in 2008 they were officially cleared.

“The amount of DNA evidence available for analysis is extremely small and complex. The sample could, in whole or in part, be consumed by DNA testing,” the Boulder Police Department and Boulder County District Attorney’s Office stated in a news release.

“The Boulder Police Department will be consulting with the Colorado Cold Case Review Team in 2023. The Cold Case Review Team is comprised of professional investigative, analytical, and forensic experts from across the state,” the district attorney’s office added.

Last May, John Ramsey asked Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) to move the case from the Boulder police to an independent agency.

“Anyone who would do this to a child is just beyond sick. He may be still out there, and if he is, he’s probably killed other children,” Ramsey said, according to Inside Edition, adding that new technology should be used to identify his daughter’s killer. “Technology has advanced so far in 25 years, that to not go back and apply the latest technology is just foolish.”

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Good Samaritan Killed by Violent Cop While Rendering Aid to Shooting Victim

Kenneth Vineyard, 48, is the type of man who would run up to a complete stranger who lay bleeding on the ground and do anything he could to help him. In fact, that is exactly what he did on Sunday when a shooting unfolded in a Walmart parking lot. Unfortunately for Vineyard, however, this would be his last act of kindness thanks to Pennsylvania’s finest — who killed him for it.

Vineyard’s family is now demanding justice after an officer with the Center Township Police Department walked up to Vineyard as he helped a complete stranger and killed him.

“This appears to be another instance of senseless police violence,” said attorney Joel Sansone, according to KDKA.

According to police, Vineyard was at the Monaca Walmart with his fiancé on Sunday afternoon when gunfire erupted in the parking lot. Vineyard was not involved in the shooting. Police said Rashaun Smith, 20, was shot in the abdomen by Yeshua Bratcher, 23, and Vineyard simply ran up to Smith and began rendering aid.

“As the victim of that shooting lay bleeding, a Good Samaritan named Kenneth Vineyard rushed to the victim to render aid,” said Sansone.

Vineyard stopped Smith’s bleeding until paramedics arrived. When paramedics began helping Smith, Vineyard backed away and let them work. That’s when a man in plainclothes — who was a Center Township police officer — approached Vineyard and began barking orders.

Vineyard told the officer that he had just helped the shooting victim and was trying to make his way back to his fiancé. The officer couldn’t have cared less, however, and violently attacked Vineyard, according to Sansone. The officer reportedly shoved Vineyard to the pavement so hard that it killed him.

“The unidentified man insisted Mr. Vineyard step away and violently pushed Mr. Vineyard to the ground where he struck his head on the pavement,” Sansone said.

According to Sansone, Vineyard’s fiancé began chest compressions immediately while the first responders on the scene jumped in to help as well but he had no pulse. Vineyard was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Sansone says he has video of the officer shoving Vineyard as well as witness statements that corroborate his claims. “We want the name of the individual who caused this death and we intend to sue him and possibly others,” said Sansone.

“This officer should be immediately suspended pending the outcome of this investigation if the facts are as I’ve been told. He should be arrested and charged with manslaughter at the very least,” he added.

Although state police claim to be investigating the attack, the officer involved has yet to even be interviewed. Yeshua Bratcher, however, has been found, arrested, and charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and a firearms violation.

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Tiffany’s jewelry tycoon, 71, plunges to her death from Norwegian Spirit cruise ship at 3am off Tahiti coast as it’s revealed gems were stolen from her cabin – and boyfriend took TWENTY HOURS to report her missing

A tycoon who owns Tiffany jewelry empire in Turkey has died after plunging to her death from a cruise ship during a South Sea Islands holiday.

Dilek Ertek, 71 – the distributor of Tiffany in Turkey for more than 20 years – fell into the South Pacific off the coast of Tahiti from the Norwegian Spirit ship on October 26.

Respected Turkish newspaper Sabah reported that her family have urged police to investigate Miss Ertek’s Swiss national lover, who was with her on the trip.

Her son Gokce Atuk says jewelry had gone missing from the safe in his mother’s cabin.

And despite ship CCTV footage showing she probably fell at 3am, her unnamed lover only reported her missing some 20 hours later, according to local media.

Experts seem baffled over how Miss Ertek – who was just 5ft2 and tee-total – was able to fall over the 3ft-high guard rail to her cabin. 

The 74-year-old partner was kept under observation by the ship’s crew in a separate cabin before they then docked in Tahiti three days later.

He was reportedly questioned by police in Tahiti before being released due to a lack of evidence. He has since returned to Switzerland.

A search at sea for Miss Ertek’s body has been discontinued.

Miss Ertek had boarded the vessel on October 24 in Papeete Island, French Polynesia, to celebrate her birthday in Bora Bora, a small South Pacific island on November 5.

The cruise was set to end in Honolulu, in Hawaii.

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