Ga. executes Vietnam vet whose lawyers claimed PTSD tie to killing of deputy

FILE – This undated prison file photo provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows convicted murderer Andrew Brannan. (AP Photo/Georgia Department of Corrections, File)

JACKSON, Ga. –  A man who fatally shot a sheriff’s deputy who stopped him for speeding on a Georgia interstate was put to death Tuesday for the 1998 killing, which was captured on the patrol car’s video camera.

Andrew Howard Brannan, 66, was pronounced dead at 8:33 p.m. Tuesday after a single-drug injection at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted of the January 1998 shooting death of Kyle Dinkheller, a 22-year-old sheriff’s deputy in Laurens County, central Georgia.

“I extend my condolences to the Dinkheller family, especially Kyle’s parents and his wife and his two children,” Brannan said in a statement moments before the injection was administered.

Lawyers for Brannan, a Vietnam veteran, had unsuccessfully argued to authorities to spare the inmate’s life, saying the shooting was tied to mental illness directly traced to Brannan’s military service.

Dinkheller had stopped Brannan for driving 98 mph and demanded he take his hands from his pockets during a traffic stop, officials said Brannan then began cursing, dancing in the street and saying “shoot me” before he rushed the deputy. After a scuffle, Brannan pulled a high-powered rifle from his car and shot Dinkheller at least nine times, authorities said.

The confrontation was captured by a video camera in Dinkheller’s patrol car and a microphone he wore. Parts including the scuffle between the two happened off camera, according to court documents. But Dinkheller can be heard yelling orders at Brannan, who responded with expletives, authorities said. Brannan can also be seen crouching by his car and firing at the deputy as Dinkheller yelled at him to stop. Brannan walked toward the patrol car, still firing, exhausted one magazine, reloaded and continued firing, authorities said.

Police found Brannan the next day hiding under a camouflage tarp near his home. He had been shot in the stomach, apparently by Dinkheller.

Dinkheller, who was married, had been promoted months before to an elite interstate highway squad. He had nearly three years with the sheriff’s department.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles held a hearing Monday on a petition for clemency from Brannan’s lawyers and denied the request to commute the sentence to life without parole.

“Is it right to execute a mentally-ill veteran whose sole incidence of violent behavior is traceable directly and inexorably to mental illness resulting from his combat service?” Brannan’s lawyers had written in that clemency petition.

Brannan volunteered to serve in the U.S. Army in 1968 and received two Army Commendation Medals and a Bronze Star for his service in the Vietnam War, the clemency petition said, adding he was repeatedly exposed to death and violence in Vietnam.

Veterans Administration doctors had diagnosed Brannan with post-traumatic stress disorder in 1984 and determined that his condition had deteriorated to the point of 100 percent disability by 1990, the petition said. That mental illness was compounded by bipolar disorder diagnosed in 1996, his lawyers added.

Brannan was convicted and sentenced to death in 2000. He challenged the legality of his conviction and sentence in 2003, and a state court judge threw out his sentence on grounds that his trial lawyer failed to present complete mental health defenses. But the Georgia Supreme Court later tossed out that ruling and reinstated the death sentence

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Ga. executes Vietnam vet whose lawyers claimed PTSD tie to killing of deputy

New ISIS video appears to show child killing alleged Russian spies

A horrifying new video released online on Tuesday appears to show ISIS using a young boy to execute a pair of captives the terror group claims are Russian spies.

The slickly-produced video shows two men being interrogated in Russian about their alleged attempt to infiltrate ISIS. One captive, and alleged Kazakh national, states he was ordered to spy on an ISIS leader , while the other confesses to having been sent to assassinate a senior ISIS commander. The video later skips to an outdoor scene where the alleged spies are kneeling in a field before a burly man and a young boy of 10 or less armed with a pistol. 

“Allah has gifted the Islamic State’s security agency with the apprehension of these two spies,” the adult states. “By Allah’s grace, they are now in the custody of the lion cubs of the Caliphate.”

At that point the young boy steps forward and appears to calmly shoot the two men repeatedly in the head.

ISIS has been known to employ child soldiers, which it calls the “lion cubs of the Caliphate.” The video ends with a scene from a previous ISIS propaganda video released in November, showing a training camp for “the next generation” of jihadis. The same boy appears in that video, speaking of his ambitions to grow up to “kill infidels” and identifying himself as “Abdullah” from Kazakhstan.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately return a request for comment about the video. An official with Russia’s Federal Security Service declined to comment when asked about the video by Russia media outlet RIA Novosti. The news agency said the Russian embassy in Damascus also had no comment.

A recent study by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) revealed the growing use of children by ISIS both in its propaganda and in military roles, but this is the first such graphic use of a young child in a public execution.

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New ISIS video appears to show child killing alleged Russian spies

Ticket prices killing movies

Bad news for theater owners: High ticket prices were the biggest culprit in the 21 percent year-over-year decline in domestic box office revenues last summer, research and consulting firm PwC reports today based on a survey of 1,044 consumers in October and November. Some 53 percent of the respondents cited the rising admission costs over the last five years as one of the main reasons they stayed away.

“High ticket prices are, by far, the number one reason for dissatisfaction across age demos and by movie-going frequency,”PwC concludes in its report, part of its Consumer Intelligence Series. “Despite advanced technology, better seating, improved concessions and the return of 3D movies, the negative of higher ticket prices is difficult to counter-act.” Indeed, it adds, “3D ranks last among drivers of movie attendance.”

Moviegoers spent an average of $8.08 for a ticket in Q3, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners, up 3.1% from the same period in 2013 and 3.9% vs 2012. (People typically shell out much more in cities and in the evening.)

After pricing, 41 percent said that the movies were not as interesting to them, 30 percent said they want to watch movies on their own schedules, and 29 percent said they’d prefer to spend on different recreational activities.

Consistent with the overall theme, well over half of those surveyed said that lower prices would motivate them to attend more frequently. About 23 percent said that they’d go if the movies were better while 9 percent wanted better prices for food.

You can pretty much forget enticing people with extras such as live entertainment or by offering them a digital copy of the movie. “Most of these movie perks fell flat on consumers, except last-minute ‘cheap’ seats,” PwC says. “Respondents of all ages were interested in getting a break on last-minute seats.”

Perhaps just as worrisome for theaters: 71 percent said that they were “very” or “somewhat” interested in watching new movies at home — and 82 percent said that they’d pay anywhere from $10 to $20 extra to do so.

There were glimmers of hope, though, for studios and theaters. The core movie audience, especially 18-to-34 year olds, is “strong” and can be motivated to attend more frequently, PwC says. Moviegoers generally saw three of the summer’s top 20 movies, although a third of those in their 50s didn’t see any of the best sellers.

“Since lowering ticket prices across the board is likely not a viable strategy” PwC recommends incentives including monthly movie subscriptions, last minute discounts, and — more interesting to studios than theaters — offering opportunities to watch new movies at home.

Even so, exhibitors “need to promote the benefits of the in-theater experience including the ‘night out’ and advanced technology benefits,” PwC says. Seemingly contradicting its findings about consumer sensitivity to pricing, the firm says that Summer 2014 “was an anomaly, given less interesting film options. Focusing on interesting content in relevant genres is key. And don’t underestimate the value of recommendations from family and friends.”

WATCH: How are people not shocked by ‘Girls’ sex scene?

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Ticket prices killing movies

Son accused of killing hedge fund founder dad reportedly stands to inherit part of $1.6M estate

Thomas Gilbert Jr. allegedly shot and killed his millionaire hedge fund father Sunday after the two argued over the son’s allowance. (AP)

The man accused of killing his millionaire father in the older man’s Manhattan apartment earlier this month stands to collect an inheritance, according to the hedge fund founder’s will.

The New York Post reported that Thomas Gilbert Sr.’s will splits his $1.6 million estate between his wife, daughter, and son Thomas Gilbert Jr. The younger Thomas, 30, is due to receive quarterly payments from a trust established in his name until age 35, when he gets whatever amount is left in a lump sum. 

Gilbert Jr. has been indicted on murder and other charges in the Jan. 4 shooting in his father’s Beekman Place apartment, not far from the United Nations. Investigators believe that Gilbert confronted his father over a $200 cut in his monthly allowance. 

The Post reports that the will, filed Wednesday in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court, was written less than two years ago. It does not specify the amount of money contained in the trust fund. Court papers say that Gilbert Sr. had $50,000 in bank accounts, $477,000 in hedge funds, $1 million in private equity shares and $100,000 in tangible personal property at the time of his death. 

Legal experts tell the Post that Gilbert Jr. could lose his right to inherit if he is found to have committed “intentional or reckless killing” of his father. However, his defense attorney could petition to have the estate cover Gilbert’s legal fees. The younger man may also have a claim if he makes a successful insanity plea. 

Click for more from the New York Post.

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Son accused of killing hedge fund founder dad reportedly stands to inherit part of $1.6M estate

Trinidad police deny killing Jamaican man

Saturday, September 27, 2014 | 5:09 PM    

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad  – Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams has denied that police officers were involved in the recent killing of three people, including a Jamaican, in Laventille, Port of Spain.

Since the incident, the Laventille community has been in a state of unrest and the police have called on the government to consider a state of emergency in the area, according to the Trinidad Express newspaper.

The uproar in the area began when an unknown group of heavily armed men reportedly opened fire on the Besson Street Police Station about 10 pm Thursday, shortly after an alleged gang leader, Dillon “Bandy” Skeete, was killed.

According to Williams, Skeete was one of three people who were killed following a shooting incident along Desperlie Crescent, Laventille. The other two men have been identified as Tremin Thomas of Jamaica and Joel Tash.

When the Express visited Desperlie Crescent yesterday, residents described the killing of the three men as “an execution” and they believed that law enforcement officers were the persons responsible.

“The preliminary investigations that we have conducted clearly points to the fact that the persons involved are not law enforcement,” Williams said at a press briefing yesterday.

He said investigations will proceed with “an open mind”.?

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Trinidad police deny killing Jamaican man

Mexico troops held over June killing

26 September 2014 Last updated at 18:43 Most of the bodies from the incident were found close to the walls of this warehouse in the village of San Pedro Limon Eight Mexican soldiers have been arrested over the killing of 22 alleged gang members in a shooting incident in June in the south-west of the country.

The seven soldiers and their commander are charged with military disobedience and breach of duty.

The arrests came after a witness said most of the victims were killed in cold blood.

The army had said they died in a firefight, but suspicions were later raised as only one soldier was injured.

The confrontation happened on 30 June in the village of San Pedro Limon in the municipality of Tlatlaya, about 240km (150 miles) south-west of the capital, Mexico City.

At the time, the authorities said the victims were probably members of La Familia Michoacana drug cartel.

But some of the bodies appeared to show bullet wounds at chest level, suggesting they had not been killed in a shootout.

Witnesses then said only one person died in the initial confrontation – the others were killed after surrendering to soldiers, our reporter says.

Last week, Mexico’s federal attorney-general’s office said it had not found evidence to corroborate that account.

Drug gang activities have led to an increase in violence across Mexico over the past decade

Criminal organisations are known to operate in the area, in the southern part of Mexico state. La Familia Michoacana is active in neighbouring Michoacan and Guerrero states.

‘War on drugs’

President Enrique Pena Nieto has promised to review the war on drugs policy of his predecessor, Felipe Calderon.

Critics said Mr Calderon’s decision to deploy the armed forces to combat the powerful drug cartels in December 2006 had led to a sharp increase in violence.

At least 60,000 people are estimated to have been killed in drug-related violence during his six-year term.

Despite that criticism, Mr Pena Nieto’s government has continued to fight the gangs.

In February, it managed to arrest Mexico’s most wanted drug lord – Joaquin Shorty Guzman – who had evaded justice for more than a decade.

Correction: A version of this story published earlier on 26 September said a soldier had been killed in the June incident. He was in fact wounded.

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Mexico troops held over June killing

No bail for man accused of killing girlfriend

Christopher Thomas, STAR Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

A St James man accused of killing his girlfriend and hiding her body under banana leaves in his yard, had his bail conditions altered in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Neville Thompson from Cambridge charged with the May 2 murder of Simone Grossett, will report at the Falmouth Police Station in Trelawny, after having previously reported to the Mount Salem Police Station in Montego Bay. He is to return to court on September 10.

Allegations are that Thompson and Grossett were at the accused man’s home in Cambridge, when they got into a dispute. Sometime afterward, Thompson went to the police station and filed a missing persons report for Grossett.

Bail conditions

However, the police acted on information and went to Thompson’s house, where a search of the premises revealed Grossett’s body, with several stab wounds, hidden under banana leaves near a fowl coop. Thompson was subsequently arrested and charged.

Thompson’s attorney Martyn Thomas, asked presiding magistrate Carolyn Tie to adjust his client’s bail conditions, as he changed his address.

“He (Thompson) wishes to have his bail conditions varied, as he has moved to Trelawny,” Thomas explained.

The court was told the prosecution’s case-file was not ready, as the post-mortem report and the forensic certificate were outstanding.

“He is to report to the Falmouth Police Station, same days and times as prior, and all other conditions remain the same,” said RM Tie, referencing Thompson’s previous conditions of reporting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and to have no contact with witnesses in the case.

“Sir, you are to return here on September 10. Your bail is extended,” the magistrate addressed Thompson.

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No bail for man accused of killing girlfriend

St Kitts prime minister calls killing of three “a brazen act”

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Credit: Caribbean360 / Bigstock)

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Sunday July 13, 2014, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas Saturday said he was “appalled by this brazen act” after gunmen shot and killed three people and injured four others at the at the Frigate Bay Strip during the early hours.

In a statement, Dr. Douglas quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the “victims seems to have been targeted”

The police have not released the names or details of the shootings at the Frigate Bay Strip, but media reports said that two men, who had been sitting on the beach near a bar, had been shot and killed.

The media also reported that a third man died near the water’s edge as he attempted to flee the area.

Two female bystanders were struck in their legs during the early morning shooting that occurred around 3.00 am (local time).

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In his statement, Dr. Douglas said that the twin island Federation had been experiencing almost “ two years of peace and tranquility” and praised the police and the Defense Force for having “worked extraordinarily hard” in ensuring the peaceful environment.

“They have made excellent use of additional training and equipment, and they have benefited tremendously from our county’s strong relations with regional and international law enforcement agencies. This has had a very positive impact on the ground, and I wish to make it clear that my Government is determined to keep it this way.

“Like everyone in the Federation, I am appalled by this brazen act,” he said, extending his condolences to the family of those killed “sincere concerns to those who were injured”.

Dr. Douglas said he wanted to “remind each and every citizen and resident that indifference to criminality is not an option” and that “accommodating any form of criminality in your communities – and particularly in your homes – can come back and hit you hard.

“Because revenge and retaliation are often at the base of much crime, accommodating or excusing criminal behavior in your communities, your businesses, or your homes could result in you – or those you care about – falling victims in a cycle of action and reaction.”

He told citizens that the only way to protect yourself and those you love is to do what the people of the Federation have been doing for the past two years now, “strengthening their partnerships with law enforcement, ensuring that our children avail themselves of the youth-oriented programs organized by the police, doing their part to make our homes, our neighborhoods, and our country, crime free zones.

“Good, decent, and law-abiding citizens constitute the vast and overwhelming super-majority in this country. And it is we who must – and will – define the fabric and texture of life here. No-one else,” he added.

Dr. Douglas said that no one person, intent on violence, can be given greater weight than the rest of country.

“We, as a people, have already shown, and dramatically so, that when working in partnership with our police and defense forces, the law-abiding and decent citizens of our country most assuredly prevail. We have proven this over the past two years. And this is the trajectory on which we must – and shall – remain.

“The public has my assurance that our country’s law enforcement is treating the apprehension of the person responsible for this heinous act as a matter of utmost urgency,” Dr. Douglas added.

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St Kitts prime minister calls killing of three “a brazen act”

Police killing sparks protest

Another police killing has sparked a protest by residents. The latest incident took place in Dunbeholden in the central parish of St. Catherine on Saturday where a man was shot.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Corporate Communications Unit identified him as 30 year old Tyrone Mattis of Gilbert Lane. Details were not provided, but the police confirmed the incident took place at 2:20 on Saturday morning.

Residents claimed the police shot Mattis because they thought he had a firearm. They say the killing took place during a gathering in the area.

Adamant that he was killed in cold blood, his friends and family took to the streets.

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Police killing sparks protest

No breakthrough in killing of Portmore businessman

The Portmore police say they have not made any breakthrough, but are following several leads into the abduction and killing of a 54-year-old businessman on Friday.

The dead man has been identified as Keith Murray, who is of a Caribbean Estate address in Portmore, St Catherine.

Police say investigations have so far revealed that Murray returned to the island from a trip to the United Kingdom on Friday, the same day he was killed, and was abducted along the Fort Augusta Road in Portmore.

A body was later found in Spanish Town, St Catherine, and confirmed to be that of the missing man.

The police say they are again appealing to persons who are returning to the island to be careful who they inform on their return, as some of these incidents regarding people returning to the island are not coincidental.

According to the lawmen, some of the robberies and abductions of people who just arrived in the island and are on their way to their location are oftentime orchestrated by individuals who know that the victims are returning on the particular date and time.

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No breakthrough in killing of Portmore businessman

Soldier accused of killing man with helmet gets new date

Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

A soldier who allegedly used his helmet to kill a man almost two years ago will return to the St Catherine Circuit Court on September 23.

Charged with murder is Corporal Kevin Gardener, 32, of the Jamaica Defence Force. He is charged with the death of Kevin O’Connor, 24, from Bog Walk, St Catherine.

The matter came up in the St Catherine Circuit Court before Justice Lennox Campbell.

Attorneys-at-law Lancelot Clarke Jr and Vincent Wellesley, who are representing Gardener, said the defence is awaiting documents

“For some time, we have been aware of statements collected from soldiers by Colonel Patrick Cole, and we need it for our defence of the case, ” Wellesley said.

Allegations are that on September 11, 2012, Gardener was part of a police-military patrol. On reaching the bus park in Spanish Town, they observed an angry mob raining blows on O’Connor after he allegedly refused to pay his bus fare.

He was taken to the police post on the compound, during which he was reportedly hit by Gardener with a helmet, and later died from injuries received.

The Independent Commission of Investigations conducted a probe, which resulted in Gardener being charged with murder.

He has made numerous court appearances and has maintained his innocence throughout.

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Soldier accused of killing man with helmet gets new date

Cops to face court Tuesday in killing of trainee at Police Academy

Monday, January 27, 2014 | 9:16 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Three policemen charged with the killing of a trainee at the Police Academy at Twickenham Park, St Catherine are to face the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s on Tuesday.

The cops are charged for the January 30, 2013 killing of Constable Ricardo McKenzie during a late-night tactical training exercise.

Five other trainees were also shot and injured in the incident.

According to reports at the time, live rounds were allegedly expended instead of the expected blanks and the six trainees were shot.  

The incident was reported to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) which submitted its case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions in May last year for a ruling.

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Cops to face court Tuesday in killing of trainee at Police Academy

Returned resident"s shooting a contract killing, say police

BY PAUL HENRY Co-ordinator — Crime/Court Desk henryp@jamaicaobserver.com

Tuesday, January 21, 2014    

THE murder last Friday night of a 75-year-old returned resident in St Elizabeth is believed by the police to be a contract killing.

Robert Campbell was attacked and shot near his two-storey home on Baptist Road in Middle Quarters by a gunman who called out to him before opening fire. Campbell’s household helper, who was travelling with him in his van, wasn’t injured.

A police source told the Jamaica Observer about the suspicion of a hit, while adding that the ‘trigger man’ and two other men had been in the area for two days interacting with residents of the quiet district in west St Elizabeth, before committing the crime.

The men were travelling in a Toyota Camry motor car. It was after the incident that residents started coming forward with the information.

According to Deputy Superintendent Lanford Salmon, Campbell’s murder could have been prevented had residents been more vigilant and reported the presence of the three strange men in the area.

“The citizens of St Elizabeth need to realise that the landscape has changed,” said Campbell, who is head of operations for the parish.

“St Elizabeth people are nice people and welcome [all] in their home, but they should look at strange men in the area as suspects and check them out with the police. We have intelligence that migrant criminals are coming into the parish seeking safe haven. The people are too friendly and need to wise up,” he added.

Campbell’s murder came a week after his wife died of natural causes in hospital. He leaves behind five grandchildren.

Meanwhile, grieving relatives and residents had nothing but kind words about Campbell, who reportedly returned to live in the island in the late 1990s after spending approximately 50 years working in the United States of America.

He’s been described as friendly, kind, helpful and a person who likes to give advice and a listening ear.

His grandson Kemar Campbell told the Observer that these qualities may have led him to stop when flagged down by a stranger around 8:45 on that fateful Friday night.

Speaking of Campbell’s kindness, Kemar said that whenever there was a shortage of water in the area, Campbell would allow people to catch the commodity from his tank, free of charge.

Residents said that on occasion when he was leaving his house in the morning and saw children on the road he would pack them into his van and take them to school.

“I always watch it on TV and my heart would sink,” Campbell’s sister, Gracelin Wilson, said in relation to news reports of murders, “but I never knew it was coming right at our door.”

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Returned resident"s shooting a contract killing, say police

Ohio man admits raping children, killing 2 women

CLEVELAND (AP) — A sex offender accused of killing two women more than 15 years ago and raping children pleaded guilty on Monday to hundreds of charges, crying when some of his surviving victims addressed him.

“I’m not a monster. I feel a lot of remorse,” Elias Acevedo said in the hushed courtroom as some of his child-rape victims, now adults, and relatives of the women watched, some wiping away tears. “I love you all, and God bless you.”Acevedo sobbed into a tissue as three rape victims clutched each other and addressed him in front of the judge: “You robbed me of my childhood,” one victim said. “You hurt so many people.”Acevedo, 49, agreed to plead guilty to 297 counts, including murdering the women and kidnapping and raping children. He accepted a life prison term under the plea deal.The two 20-years-to-life sentences for aggravated murder and sentences for other crimes total 445 years, the judge said.The murder charges involve a Cleveland neighbour, Pamela Pemberton, who was killed in 1994, and 18-year-old Christina Adkins, who was pregnant when she disappeared in 1995.Acevedo also was charged with rape and sexual assault involving attacks on minors, some dating back more than 25 years. He folded his cuffed handed together as Judge Michael Donnelly read the terms of the plea deal and explained it.Acevedo’s case is the latest among a group of high-profile cases involving violence against women in and around Cleveland.Authorities re-examined the disappearances of women in the city following the escape of three women held captive for a decade in the run-down home of Ariel Castro.The prosecutor’s office said Acevedo most recently lived about a block away from Castro, who kidnapped the three women when they were in their teens or early 20s, imprisoned them in his home and raped them repeatedly, fathering a child with one of them.The women escaped on May 6 while Castro was away from the home. Castro killed himself in prison on September 3, just weeks into a life prison sentence.At Monday’s sentencing, FBI agent Andrew Burke said investigators reopening missing-person cases in the area began to focus on Acevedo during the summer based on discrepancies in earlier law enforcement interviews, his sex crime conviction and tips.Acevedo, faced with the mounting evidence, admitted killing the women after authorities agreed to skip the death penalty if he detailed the crimes, Burke said. Acevedo described the killings and pinpointed the locations, all information consistent with details developed by investigators, Burke said.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserverAcevedo pleaded guilty Monday, December 30, in Cleveland to killing two women more than 15 years ago. (Photo:AP)

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Ohio man admits raping children, killing 2 women

Hawaii molasses spill killing thousands of fish

Latest News

Thursday, September 12, 2013 | 11:27 AM

HONOLULU (AP) — Thousands of fish are expected to die in Honolulu waters after a leaky pipe caused 1,400 tons of molasses to ooze into the harbour and kill marine life, state officials said.Hundreds of fish have been collected so far, the state Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday. Many more fish are expected to die and thousands will likely be collected, it said.The fish are dying because the high concentration of molasses is making it difficult for them to breathe, said department spokeswoman Janice Okubo. Television footage shows some fish sticking their mouths out of the water.The department has warned people to stay out of the area because the dead fish could attract sharks and other predators like barracuda.The brown, sugary substance spilled Monday from a pipe used to load molasses from storage tanks to ships sailing to California. The shipping company, Matson Navigation Company, repaired the hole and the pipe stopped leaking Tuesday morning, spokesman Jeff Hull said.As much as 233,000 gallons of molasses leaked into the harbour, Matson said. That’s equivalent to what would fill about seven rail cars or about one-third of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.Underwater video taken by Honolulu television station Hawaii News Now showed dead fish, crabs and eels scattered along the ocean floor of the harbour and the water tinted a yellowish brown.State officials expect the spill’s brown plume will remain visible for weeks as tides and currents flush the molasses in to nearby Keehi Lagoon and out to sea.There’s a possibility the state could fine Matson for violations of Clean Water Act after the department investigates the circumstances of the spill, Okubo said. The state’s focus is currently on public safety, she said.The state was documenting the fish it collected and keeping them on ice for possible testing. Officials were also collecting water samples. The data will allow the department to estimate the duration and severity of the contamination.Matson ships molasses from Hawaii to the mainland about once a week. Molasses are a made at Hawaii’s last sugar plantation, run by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui.Matson said in a statement it takes its role an environmental steward very seriously. The company is taking steps ensure spills don’t occur in the future, it said.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserverA worker from Pacific Environmental Corporation skims the water near the Matson shipyard in the Kapalama Basin in Honolulu, Hawaii on Wednesday. -AP

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Hawaii molasses spill killing thousands of fish

Teen convicted of killing baby gets life in prison

News

Thursday, September 12, 2013 | 5:51 PM

BRUNSWICK, Georgia (AP) — A Georgia teenager convicted of fatally shooting a baby in a stroller while trying to rob the child’s mother was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.De’Marquise Elkins, 18, was sentenced in Georgia’s Glynn County Superior Court less than two weeks after a jury found him guilty of murder in the slaying of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago.The toddler was in his stroller and out for a walk with his mother when he was shot between the eyes March 21 in the Georgia coastal city of Brunswick. The mother and a younger teenager charged as an accomplice testified at the trial that Elkins killed the boy after his mother refused to give up her purse.Elkins was spared the death penalty because the killing occurred when he was 17, which the US Supreme Court has ruled is too young to face capital punishment. Under Georgia law, the only possible punishments for Elkins were life with or without a chance of parole.Prosecutors said Sherry West was pushing her son in his stroller as she walked home from a post office when two teenagers approached her that day in March, just a few blocks from her apartment.Dominique Lang, 15, testified at the trial he was with Elkins when the older teen pulled a gun and demanded West’s purse. When she refused to give it to him, Lang said, Elkins twice threatened her baby and counted down from five.West testified she pleaded with Elkins that she had no money and tried to cover her child with her arms as the gunman fired a warning shot, fired a bullet into her in the leg and shot her baby in the face.Police recovered a .22-calibre revolver from a saltwater pond, and prosecutors said it matched the gun used in the killing. Prosecutors also have said information from Elkins’ mother and sister led them to the weapon.Lang also faces murder charges in the case. No trial date has been set and it’s unknown how his cooperation in the prosecution of Elkins might affect how his case gets handled.Elkins’ mother, Karimah Elkins, stood trial alongside him and was convicted of evidence tampering for helping dispose of the gun. Elkins’ sister and aunt have also been charged with trying to help him avoid prosecution in the case.The killing in the Southeast port city of Brunswick drew national attention and Elkins’ trial was moved more than 300 miles away to the Atlanta suburbs because of pre-trial publicity.Elkins’ never testified at his two-week trial in August. But his defence attorneys argued police rushed to build a case against Elkins without considering other possible suspects. They even suggested the slain child’s own parents may have been the real killers.Kevin Gough, Elkins’ lead attorney, has said he plans to appeal the murder conviction.

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Teen convicted of killing baby gets life in prison

South Manchester twins mourn killing of their mother

KENESHA Nelson will never be able to forget that fateful day when Joseph Francis stood in the dock of the Mandeville Circuit Court and confessed why he killed her mother, Claudette Reid-Nelson, 49, as he was about to be sentenced.

Francis had, some three- and-a-half years before, used a large kitchen knife to almost sever the woman’s head before fleeing the quiet farming village of Warwick in South Manchester.The killer stared at the woman’s two daughters, the only ones brave enough to follow the trial through to the end, and tried to explain why he committed the sordid act.“He said he killed her because she was going abroad and was not coming back to him. At first he gave a statement that it was provocation, but when he made that confession on the final day the judge declared that the act was premeditated murder and sentenced him to 21 years,” Nelson said.Francis has since appealed the sentence, but was slapped with four more years after his appeal was rejected.But despite the extended sentence, the woman’s twin daughters realise that nothing Francis will go through during his time behind prison walls will bring back their beloved mother.“Even if him get a million years it will not bring back my mother,” Kenesha, the more talkative of the two, said.For Denesha, not even the death penalty would be enough.“There are times when I think about it and wish he was put to death, but you realise that death is no revenge and can’t remedy the situation, even though I get very angry at times,” she said.Kenesha and Denesha were 17 years old at the time of the incident, and nine years later, both are mothers but neither has been able to come to grips with the way their mother was taken away from them.Reid-Nelson was a businesswoman and a farmer who operated a small shop in the district. Years before her untimely demise she had hired Francis to assist on her farm.Eventually, both became lovers although he was more than a decade her junior.The union was not approved by Reid-Nelson’s four daughters and they constantly warned their mother to get rid of Francis.But the woman did not heed their warning and on one fateful morning in June 2004, when she did not awake early as usual to tend to her grandchildren’s needs, her four-year-old grandson went in search of her in her room.The child stumbled on a gruesome scene.His grandmother was lying in a pool of her own blood. Her head was attached to her body only by a tiny string of flesh and she suffered several stab wounds.There was also a footprint in her back.To date, that child has not recovered from the sight and has been relocated from the community to live with his father’s relatives.“He will never recover. Up until now that boy don’t get over it and all the while I worry for him,” Denesha told the Jamaica Observer.A black and white merino, a bloodied pair of jeans and a knife were found by residents at the back of the shop where the couple lived and were handed over to homicide investigators.The night that she was killed, Reid-Nelson held a dance and residents reported that Francis had begun acting strangely and started to chase patrons away.The dance reportedly made $80,000 in profit but that money was never found.Residents also reported that days before the murder, Francis had been seen sharpening a large knife and swearing that he was going to commit murder, but no one took him seriously.“You feel traumatised all the time. I see the image of her body all the time and it keeps haunting me. It is not nice. It not pretty,” Denesha said.Her sister was too traumatised to look at the gory sight and never saw her mother’s remains until the day of her funeral.Francis had been on the run for all of two years before he was eventually collared, and during that time Reid-Nelson’s relatives and residents of Warwick, a community which had never before experienced any kind of violent murder, were fearful that he would return to the community and do more harm.Everyone was on the alert.“He never liked me one bit because I always told her to get him out. I know he would have killed me if he got the chance, so not even six o’clock would catch us on the street and if it did, we paid people to follow we home,” Denesha said.Francis was captured after an all-night trek through thick bushes in the district of Orange Vale in deep rural northern St Catherine.After a six-hour operation during which the cops used no flashlights or machetes and moved stealthily in a bid not to alert Francis, the lawmen finally found him huddled inside a small two- walled hut about three feet high, which was covered with branches and leaves.The unkempt Francis, dressed in shorts and a torn shirt and with dirt caked in his hair and on his body, welcomed his capture and during the long trek back to civilisation, confessed to the cops that he had murdered his lover. The cops also claimed that Francis confessed to another murder — that of a man known only as ‘Friday’ from Riversdale, St Catherine in 1999.Months before, Francis had managed to avoid capture after cops went after him in a district known as Freedom, close to Riversdale.As news of his capture spread, an angry mob descended on the Alligator Pond police station in Manchester and demanded that he be handed over to them so that they could deliver their own brand of justice.But even though the man who had caused them untold woe had now been captured and was behind bars, the trauma continued for Reid-Nelson’s relatives as it took over two years for his trial to get underway.Yanique Daley, Reid-Nelson’s granddaughter, was only 12 at the time of the macabre murder but the memory still remains fresh in her mind.“I am still jerked up about it. You can never get over things like that no matter how long ago it happened,” she said.For Denesha the memories flood her mind and tears flow freely every Mother’s Day.“It is especially hard when we hear other people sending out greetings to their mother and to know that we lost our mother at the hands of a villain. It is very painful,” she said.But her sister said that she is trying to stay strong in the face of an inestimable tragedy.“No matter what, we will have to live with it and try to cope,” she said.The pain also still lingers in Warwick and, according to Reid-Nelson’s neighbour Gladstone Allwood, the road to recovery will be long and arduous.“This is something the community will never forget because things like that never happen around here,” he said.Reid-Nelsons twin daughters Denesha Reid (left) and Kenesha Reid (centre) and her granddaughter Yanique Daley are all still traumatised after her gruesome murder nine years ago. (PHOTOS: GARFIELD ROBINSON)Reid-Nelson’s daughter Denesha Reid, in a reflective mood.The late Claudette Reid-Nelson.

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South Manchester twins mourn killing of their mother

US teenager admits killing referee

5 August 2013 Last updated at 21:10 ET Ricardo Portillo’s daughters spoke to reporters after the hearing A US teenager who killed a soccer referee by punching him in the head has pleaded guilty to homicide by assault.

Ricardo Portillo, 46, died after a week spent in a coma following the assault during a game in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The 17-year-old player, who will be convicted as a juvenile as part of a plea deal, struck Portillo in April as he called a foul on him.

The teenager told a court he acted impulsively, but took full responsibility for the death.

Speaking calmly during Monday’s hearing, he said to Portillo’s family: “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done.”

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I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much pain and suffering you made us go through”

End Quote Ana Portillo Football referee’s daughter A juvenile judge has ordered the teenager, who has not been identified because of his age, to put up a picture in his cell of Portillo and to write the dead man’s daughters a letter every week, in order to be reminded of the pain he has caused the family.

He faces up to just over three years in prison, until he turns 21. His eventual prison term will be decided by a juvenile parole board.

The adult charge of homicide by assault carried up to a five-year prison sentence.

Two of the football referee’s three daughters spoke in court on Monday, saying their father’s death had destroyed the family.

“I don’t think you’ll ever understand how much pain and suffering you made us go through,” said Ana Portillo, 21.

“We just wish you had taken a deep breath before you did what you did. You have to change.”

According to a police report, the incident happened during a game at a high school in a suburb of Salt Lake City.

After the assault, Ricardo Portillo sat down and began vomiting blood

The teenager was playing as a goalkeeper when Portillo showed him a yellow card for shoving a player on the opposing team who was attempting to score.

After arguing with the referee, the teenager punched him. Portillo sat down and began vomiting blood.

He was taken to hospital and slipped into a coma with swelling on his brain.

Prosecutors said the juvenile charge plea deal was fair, but the Salt Lake County district attorney’s office originally said they wanted the accused tried as an adult due to the seriousness of the assault, and because he was set to turn 18 in less than three months.

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US teenager admits killing referee

VIDEO: Is modern life killing us?

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VIDEO: Is modern life killing us?

McGregor Gully residents continue protest over police killing

Latest News

Thursday, July 25, 2013 | 10:56 AM

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Angry residents in McGregor Gully, East Kingston have again taken to the streets in protest over the shooting death of a man by the police in their community on Wednesday.The man, 38-year-old Omar Young was shot and killed during an alleged shootout.Police said that a 9 mm firearm was recovered during the incident.But irate residents blocking roadway on Wednesday have contradicted the police report.“Murder them murder the youth a contract killing them carry out,” claimed one female protester.She was among several people who used debris to again block roadways in the community Thursday morning.-Kimmo MatthewsLike our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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McGregor Gully residents continue protest over police killing