NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL VERSION WITH TRANSLATION

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Crime & Punishment


Grandmother Finds 3 Relatives Dead in Dallas Home

An elderly grandmother woke up in her Dallas home Tuesday to find her daughter and granddaughter dead, along with the granddaughter's estranged husband, police said. Police are calling the three deaths a double murder-suicide.

The estranged husband of Janice Hill, 24, is the suspect in the killings, Dallas police spokesman Sgt. Gil Cerda said. Keith Hill, 26, was found dead in the home with a rifle by his body. There was no sign of forced entry. Janice Hill and Jeanne Carroll, her 52-year-old mother, were also found dead in the home when Hill's elderly grandmother woke up around 1 p.m. Tuesday. She is in her 80s, hard of hearing and never heard the rifle shots, Cerda said.

Yellow police tape surrounded the ranch-style East Dallas home, located on a street next to Eastfield College, a Dallas community college. Crime scene technicians and medical examiner's personnel entered the house with stretchers, at one point loading a black body bag into a van. About 100 yards south of the home, Keith Hill's vehicle was hooked up to a tow truck to be carted away. Police said they believe he parked there, walked up the residential street with his rifle and was let into the home early Tuesday.

Janice Hill was assaulted by her husband in Grand Prairie on Oct. 9, Cerda said. Keith Hill was arrested on Oct. 23 and she sought a restraining order five days later. Police were at the home as recently as Sunday. Janice Hill called police, saying she has been receiving harassing phone calls from an unknown person whom she believed was her husband. The caller never spoke, Cerda said.

Body Found In 1,500-Pound Paper Bale

Investigators in Idaho have a gruesome mystery to solve. Workers at a recycling plant found a man's body inside a 1,500-pound bale of paper. Investigators are trying to figure out who he was, and how he got there. The body was found at a plant in Twin Falls, but investigators say the paper bale came from the Boise area, more than 100 miles away. Police said the man was likely in his 50s and was wearing clothing consistent with a homeless person.

The Boise plant churns out dozens of the bales of recycled paper every day. It's collected from bins scattered around the county. The center also receives large amounts of newspapers from commercial compactors. A coroner said that because of the unanswered questions, investigators are treating the death like a homicide, and are preserving forensic evidence.

Police: Man Stole Communion During Service

Police said they have arrested a Connecticut man after he tried to steal communion wafers during a church service.

The Martin County Sheriff's Office said John Samuel Ricci, 33, of Canton, Conn., was cornered by fellow churchgoers when he grabbed a handful of wafers from the priest during communion services Saturday.

The Stuart News reported that Ricci was being held down by six or seven offended parishioners when deputies arrived at St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Jensen Beach. Police said two parishioners, ages 82 and 61, received minor injuries in the scuffle.

Ricci was charged with two counts of simple battery, theft and disruption of a religious assembly. He was being held Tuesday on $2,000 bond at the Martin County Jail.

Big Purse Stops Bullet From Hitting Student in Robbery

Don't knock those trendy, oversized purses -- they could save your life, as one college student found out. Police say the contents in an oversized purse saved Elizabeth Pittenger, a 22-year-old Middle Tennessee State University student, by stopping a bullet during an attempted robbery.

Pittenger was walking to her car on campus Thursday evening when a man confronted her and demanded her purse, cell phone and laptop, university Police Chief Buddy Peaster said. She fought the man off, but he fired a gunshot before fleeing.

The bullet was found inside the purse, along with a calculator, umbrella and small case that had been punctured. Pittenger was not injured. Police nearby heard the gunshot and arrested Orlando Edmiston, 20. Officers found a .38 caliber handgun beneath a parked van.

Edmiston was charged with attempted murder, attempted armed robbery and possession of a weapon on school property. He was being held at the Rutherford County jail on $32,500 bond.

Facebook Photos Lead To Restaurant's Liquor License Loss

Cobb County, Georgia yanked the liquor license of a restaurant after pictures of underage drinkers popped up on the social networking web site, Facebook.com. The Mi Pueblo restaurant near the Town Center Mall had apparently become famous for two things -- their margaritas and selling to underage drinkers. When photos hit the Internet, it had gone too far, police said.

"Apparently someone had actually seen photos on Facebook, the web site, that indicated that young people, underage people, were drinking alcohol at the restaurant. We saw some references to a particular bartender making really great margaritas," said said Cobb County Police spokesman Robert Quigley.

The restaurant's owner came to the Cobb County Commission to apologize and ask for a second chance. Jesus Bernal said through an interpreter that he was trying to keep the place afloat for his family. "I never had any problems and this is basically the future for me and my kids," said Bernal.

But if it's three strikes and you're out, police said the restaurant might be out several times. Detectives told commissioners that they sent in underage, undercover customers and buying alcohol was no problem.

"The guy said we made a mistake. No, they made at least eight mistakes. There were six people charged," said Det. Chip Mercier with the Cobb County Police Department.

After the photos showed up on Facebook, Cobb County authorities sent in an undercover, underage drinker who was served alcohol. Police said when they entered the restaurant Monday, they found out that six people working there didn't have the proper licenses to be serving alcohol.

Will

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