Daily Archives: March 26, 2010

by | March 26, 2010

Beware of boy crying ‘cat’ robbing homes

Great story I actually heard about yesterday but forgot to post. What a couple of scam artists. A 9 year old boy knocks on your door. You answer, and he explains that he lost his cat, but he saw the cat leap your wall into your backyard.

You let the lad in, lead him into your backyard while he searches for his “lost cat.” You don’t lock the front door or perhaps leave it open while this innocent child looks for his cat.

Meanwhile, an accomplice, probably his dad, is in your home stealing all of your valuables. People suck. JD

HEMET — Police in Hemet are warning homeowners of a burglary scam involving a little boy who provides a diversion by asking for help finding his lost cat.

The boy, about 9 years old, knocks on doors and uses the pretext of having lost his cat in a resident’s backyard to lure people into their backyards, police say. The burglar then attempts to enter through the front door.

According to Hemet police Cpl. Jeff Dill, the team targeted two homes in the 600 block of Shasta Way this month. Both times, the ploy was attempted in the evening hours.

The first burglary attempt was successful, however, a resident scared off the child by calling police during the second.

The man is described as white and in his 20s, about 5 feet-5 inches tall, with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a brown fishing hat and driving a black, full-sized, late model, pickup truck, according to Hemet police Cpl. Jeff Dill.

Residents should always be wary of strangers coming to one’s door, said Dill. He asked anyone with information regarding the scam to call the Hemet tip line at (951) 765-3897.

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by | March 26, 2010

Dennis Hopper Terminally Ill, to Receive Star on Walk of Fame

I love Dennis Hopper. I remember seeing him as a young man is a couple of “Bonanza” episodes, but his best role was in a small movie called “Easy Rider” with a young Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda. Unfortunately, Mr. Hopper has prostate cancer and is only about 100 pounds now. He will be missed. dennis hopper dying of cancer

LOS ANGELES — Actor Dennis Hopper, who is said to be dying of cancer and too weak to participate in a deposition in his divorce case, is expected to make an appearance in Hollywood Friday to receive his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hopper, who is battling prostate cancer, will receive the 2,403rd star along Hollywood Boulevard.

Hopper’s lawyer, Joseph Mannis, has said Hopper is terminally ill and too weak to be questioned by his wife’s divorce attorney.

A doctor approved the late-morning appearance, saying in court documents that it would likely be a positive experience.

The physician also wrote that Hopper, 73, weighs barely 100 pounds and is unable to carry on long conversations.

Actor Viggo Mortensen and film producer Mark Canton are scheduled to speak at the ceremony in front of the Egyptian Theatre.

Mortensen appeared with Hopper in the 1991 film “The Indian Runner,” and “Boiling Point” two years later. Canton produced the 2005 film “Land of The Dead,” in which Hopper appeared.

The ceremony also coincides with the seventh birthday of Hopper’s daughter, Galen.

Hopper and his wife, Victoria, have been locked in a bitter feud since the actor, director and artist filed to end the couple’s nearly 14-year marriage in January.

Both have agreed to stay 10 feet away from each other while the divorce is ongoing. Victoria has stated in court filings that Hopper filed for divorce to cut her out of her inheritance, a claim the actor has denied.

The case is scheduled for a court hearing on April 5.

Hopper began his film career in the classic 1955 tale of teenage rebellion, “Rebel Without a Cause,” developing a friendship with its star, James Dean. The two also appeared in “Giant.”

Hopper has appeared in more than 150 films including `Apocalypse Now,” “Blue Velvet” and “speed.”

Hopper received a best original screenplay Oscar nomination for co-writing the script of the 1969 counter-culture road movie “Easy Rider,” which he directed and starred in.

Hopper’s other Academy Award nomination came for best supporting actor for his role as an alcoholic father who becomes sober to be an assistant coach of his son’s high school basketball team in “Hoosiers.”

Since 2008, Hopper has portrayed record producer Ben Cedars on the Starz series “Crash,” continuing a television career that began with an 1955 appearance on the NBC medical drama “Medic.” His other television credits include “The Twilight Zone,” “The Rifleman,” “Naked City” and “24.”

Hopper is also an accomplished photographer and painter. His photography has been displayed at The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, The Manege in Moscow, the Stedlejik Museum in Amsterdam and The MAK in Vienna.

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by | March 26, 2010

Jarred Harrell Charged With Premeditated Murder of Somer Thompson

Florida police today charged a suspect with the premeditated murder of 7-year-old Somer Thompson.

Florida police today charged Jarred Harrell with the premeditated murder of 7-year-old Somer Thompson.

(Courtesy Clay Co Sheriff’s Office/AP)

“I’m here today to announce that Jarred Harrell has been formally charged with murder,” Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said standing in front of a “Justice for Somer” banner to the applause of those gathered for the statement.

Police said they believe Harrell, 24, encountered Somer as she walked by his house on her way home from school. Beseler said police have evidence that Harrell then assaulted Thompson, killed her and disposed of her body. Two days after her death, Thompson’s body was found in a landfill in Georgia. She died, police said, by asphyxiation.

The arresting documents charged Harrell with first-degree murder, sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12.

“I don’t believe that this was anything more than a crime of opportunity,” Beseler said.

Citing witness testimony, statements by Harrell and DNA samples, among other evidence, Beseler said investigators were “confident that Jarred Harrell committed this crime.”

Beseler said Harrell’s own statements gave investigators “the amount of probable cause [necessary] to make the arrest today.”

Harrell was a former neighbor of the Thompsons and was already in custody on a battery of unrelated child pornography and child molestation.

He had been named a person of interest in the case in early February when he was arrested on 29 unrelated counts of child pornography. Additional unrelated pornography and child molestation charges followed, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Thompson was last seen walking to her Orange Park, Fla., home from school with her older sister, Abby, and twin brother Samuel. Her body was found two days later in a Georgia landfill.

In August, two months before Thompson went missing, Harrell’s former roommates turned over to police a computer Harrell allegedly used that had sexual images and videos of children, according to the February arresting documents. The computer, which had a filed called “Toddler Insertion,” held “a large amount of child erotica and also child pornography,” the documents said.

Apparently responding to criticism that police had not picked up Harrell earlier, Beseler said the suspect “did not come onto anyone’s radar screen as someone who would commit a crime like this.

“We did our job,” he said.

Neighbors described Harrell as antisocial and withdrawn, and said they saw Thompson occasionally stop to pet a little white dog near his former home.

Harrell had moved to Mississippi after the girl’s death and was extradited to Florida last month.

Beseler said that Harrell would be eligible for the death penalty should the state attorney choose to seek it.

Days before Harrell was named a person of interest, Thompson’s mother, Diena Thompson, said the girl’s killer should die.

“I want them to get the death penalty,” she told ABC News Chief Law and Justice correspondent Chris Cuomo in February. “So in that sense I care, but other than that I don’t, you know, I don’t care.”

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by | March 26, 2010

Moreno Valley man admits slitting throat of teen runaway

Here is an article about illegal immigrants, or the product of illegal immigrants, and what they did to a young lady while they killed her. These miscreants stabbed the girl 133 times, repeatedly raped her and lit her hair on fire while she was still alive. Bob

An 18-year-old being tried for torture and murder in the death of a 16-year-old Moreno Valley girl admitted in court Thursday that he killed her.

Jose Solorza said he slit Kayla Wood’s throat and left her to die in a burning building because he feared for his life and the life of his cousin, Anthony Bobadilla, 19.

Solorza said he was afraid of Roman Aldana, because he had his gun.

If convicted of murder, torture and arson, Solorza faces life in prison without parole. Aldana faces the death penalty if convicted. Solorza was ineligible for the death penalty because he was 15 when the killing occurred.

In January, Bobadilla pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and agreed to testify in exchange for a 23-year prison sentence.

The three men are charged with carrying out a 45-minute attack on Kayla, a group-home runaway. She was stabbed 133 times, raped with beer bottles and someone attempted to set her hair on fire during the Sept. 9, 2006 incident.

“Did you kill Kayla?” Supervising Deputy District Attorney John Henry asked Solorza during cross-examination.

“Yes,” Solorza said softly.

Henry asked Solorza why, a question he said he avoided several times when police asked.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” Solorza said.

Henry showed a photo of an open gash across Kayla’s neck and told Solorza, “You did that to her.”

“I feel bad about everything,” Solorza said.

Solorza testified that the morning of the killing Aldana, then 19, asked him if he was “down to get” Kayla. Solorza told police Aldana feared he had gotten Kayla pregnant and said she had witnessed him shooting somebody. Solorza told him he had a razor blade and Aldana told him to “do it.”

“I didn’t want him to do that to me,” Solorza said. “I was just trying to leave. I didn’t want to be there.”

Solorza told police Aldana stabbed her as well. Henry said both were laughing during the attack.

Solorza met Aldana and Kayla through a friend a few days before she was killed. He said they were both homeless and living in a park in Moreno Valley until he offered to let them stay at his mother’s former house on Cactus Avenue.

Both Kayla and Solorza were group-home runaways. Solorza said Kayla looked skinny and Aldana wanted to “fatten her up” to work for him as a prostitute.

Solorza told police he thought she was ugly and Aldana should leave her.

Solorza and Aldana both had sex with Kayla in the shower when Solorza poked her with a screw driver.

He said he and Aldana both stabbed her and Aldana became angry when Solorza didn’t cut Kayla deep enough. Prosecutors showed a photo of three long cuts on Kayla’s leg that Solorza circled as his doing. He also stabbed her in the chest and in the genitals.

“Roman said I wasn’t it doing it right. I couldn’t do it, so I did it on her leg instead,” Solorza said.

When showed a series of tools, including a screw driver and a knife handle, Solorza told his defense attorney Eric Keen he couldn’t remember what he used to stab Kayla.

Aldana forced Bobadilla to watch while they attacked Kayla and told him to do something so he punched her and threw a toaster at her, Solorza testified Thursday.

During an argument, Kayla ran to hide in a closet until Solorza pulled her out and resumed the attack. As he stabbed her, he told her, “You’re going to die in seven days,” according to Bobadilla’s testimony.

Solorza testified that following the attack, Kayla stood up and came at him with a screw driver. He described it as “Dawn of the dead” and punched her until she fell back into the bathtub where she bled to death.

Solorza said Aldana began lighting fires in the house that Solorza tried to put out. He put a blanket over Kayla’s body as she lay in a full bathtub and then he left the scene.

Police said Kayla was still alive when they left the house.

“Did you try to do anything to help her?” Keen said.

“I told her to leave. I was leaving too,” Solorza said. “After all the stuff that happened to her, I didn’t mean to do that stuff.”

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by | March 26, 2010

Retired Pomona CA. Police sergeant gets 3 years for robbing banks

I thought this was an interesting story. A retired Pomona police sergeant robbing banks to pay off credit card debt. Where is President Obama on this? Bob

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—A retired Pomona police sergeant has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for robbing several banks in 2008.

Frank Holder, who authorities dubbed the “The Grandpa Bandit,” was arrested after robbing a Bank of America in Rancho Cucamonga. He later confessed to committing five bank robberies.

The 62-year-old Phelan resident told investigators he had $80,000 in credit card debt and he couldn’t afford the minimum monthly payments despite a six-figure pension.

He pleaded guilty in August to two counts of bank robbery.

During sentencing Wednesday, Holder told federal Judge Virginia A. Phillips he turned to robbing banks because he feared losing his family.

Holder, a Vietnam War veteran, worked for the Pomona Police Department for 30 years and retired in 2004.

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