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Black boyfriend, who called 911, charged in white Brandon woman’s death
  TAMPA — A Valrico man, who called 911 on Tuesday to alert authorities after finding the body of a Brandon woman outside his house, has been charged with his apparent girlfriend’s death. Deputies charged Michael Jason Fields, 32, with second-degree murder early this morning in the death of Christina Mahzamani, 32, who died of bludgeoning to her head, an autopsy showed. Deputies say Fields alerted 911 around 2:20 p.m. to a body found at the side of the house where he was living, later identified as Mahzamani. After finding drag marks on the grass, and leaves leading from the back yard toward the middle of two houses, deputies say investigators discovered a cinder block with blood behind the home. Investigators also found an area of dirt with what appeared to be blood and a partial shoe print consistent with the sole of the shoes that Fields was wearing, deputies say. A search of Fields’ bedroom yielded a pair of pajama pants with blood on the front, deputies say. Fields told detectives he was Mahzamani’s boyfriend, and she came to visit him at the house on Sunday night around 11 p.m., staying a short time before she left. He said he had no further contact with her. Mahzamani, the mother of three children ages 3, 7 and 9, was last seen at around 10 p.m. Sunday at her home. She left her home that night but never returned. - (Black-on-white) |
BERKELEY COUNTY, W.Va. - A Martinsburg man who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Martha Tyler, 72, was recently released from jail and was out on probation from Morgan County, W.Va., when the homicide occurred. William Patrick Jackson, 37, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with one felony count of first degree murder. Jackson was initially arrested for fraudulent use of a credit card, after it was discovered he had used the victim's bank card. He was incarcerated at the Eastern Regional Jail for a probation violation. He was released in February 2014. Tyler was found dead with a bag over her head and her hands tied behind her back by her daughter. On Monday, investigators released the results of her autopsy, stating she died from ligature strangulation and smothering. - (Black-on-white)
The Greene County Sheriff's Department has charged two people with first degree murder in connection with a suspicious death reported earlier this week. Mario Donte "Rio" Keene, 39, and Amanda Kate Harris, 27, are charged with killing 
The South Carolina woman accused of trying to kill her three young children by driving them into the ocean in Florida last week was involved in a car crash that claimed a woman's life several years ago. The husband of the woman killed in the 2007 wreck is speaking out against the young mother who he claims tried to convince a judge that he was to blame for the deadly wreck. Doug Krane's wife, 
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio— The Gates Mills man accused of driving high on marijuana at 85 mile per hour and crashing into a tree, killing his 16-year-old passenger, is being held in the city jail on $780,000 bond. Jerard A. Rood, 19, entered no plea Friday at his initial appearance in South Euclid Municipal Court, where he is charged with first-degree felony aggravated vehicular assault and two first-degree misdemeanor charges of phone harassment. Rood’s friend’s sister, 16-year-old 
CANTON, Miss. —A man convicted of sexual battery involving a 4-year-old girl will spend the next 20 years in prison, prosecutors said. Tawarius Donta Sanders, 27, was sentenced to 40 years, but the last 20 will be suspended. When he's released from prison, Sanders will have to register as a sex offender and will be on probation for five years. Guest said the mother of the child called the Canton Police Department on Dec. 29, 2012 to report the incident. The mother told police that her daughter had been to Sanders' home and when she returned she told her mother what had happened, Guest said. The mother took the girl to Madison River Oaks Hospital and called police, Guest said.
LOWELL -- Police are probing four stalking incidents during the past month in which a man wearing black clothing and a black ski mask, followed women from a Dracut gym, and in one case, sexually assaulted a woman outside her Lowell home. Bryant Tuff, 19, a former Dracut High football star, is charged in one of the assaults and is held without bail. Tuff is charged with assault with intent to rape and assault and battery for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s outside her Ennell Street home in Lowell on Feb. 26. He is a suspect in the other three stalking incidents, though he has not been charged. 
BALTIMORE — Baltimore City Police identify a suspect in connection with the shooting of an off-duty officer in East Baltimore.The police commissioner called the shooting a “cowardly act” and zeroed in on a suspect–a man they warn should be considered armed and dangerous. All eyes are now out for 34-year-old Gregg Thomas–a man with a violent past, including a conviction for second-degree murder. An outraged Police Commissioner Anthony Batts called Thomas a suspect in Friday night’s shooting of police officer
A resident at a Des Moines group home has been accused of strangling and punching one of his caretakers Friday night, according to a police report. Joseph Vanzant Bonner, 27, has been charged with willful injury and probation violation. He is being held at the Polk County Jail. Police responded to an assault report at Optimae Life Services, 2111 E. 13th St., at about 7:30 p.m. Friday. A caretaker at the group home told police Bonner had strangled him three times and punched him numerous times.
A 26-year-old LaGrange man allegedly broke into a home with “numerous children” inside and began shooting. None of the children were injured in the Saturday morning shooting on Clearwater Drive, but three adults were taken to various trauma centers with gunshot wounds, Deputy Stewart Smith with the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said in an emailed statement. A total of nine people were in the home when Victor Wayne Weatherspoon forced his way into the residence and began shooting, Smith said.
OAKLAND — Police were asking for the public’s help finding a man wanted in connection with an armed robbery at an Oakland business. The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old John Thomas Allen. He is described as a standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He has a scar on his chin and a receding hairline. Police said Allen is considered armed and dangerous. If anyone spots him they are advised to not approach him and call 911.
A Perris pastor has been arrested on suspicion of rape, and Riverside County sheriff’s officials believe there are more victims. Jerome Anthony Clay Sr., 41, of Perris, was arrested at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 13, at his home in the 400 block of South Perris Boulevard in Perris after sheriff’s officials served search warrants at the residence and at Compassion Church at 190 E. 5th St. in Perris, according to a sheriff’s news release. He was booked into the Southwest Detention Center in French Valley on suspicion of rape, oral copulation with a person under 16, and sexual penetration by force, booking records show. He is being held in lieu of $110,000 bail.
Denver Police have issued a crime alert after two separate attacks just blocks apart within a week. According to the alert, the first crime happened around 8 p.m. on March 6. The woman, who didn't want to be identified, said she walked out of her apartment and saw two black men -- one had a knife -- at the bottom of the stairwell. "We made eye contact and they rushed up. By the time I got to the door, one of them already had their foot in the entrance door," the victim said. The victim said she dialed 911 as she fought to close her door. 
JENSEN BEACH, Fla. - The Martin County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 26-year-old Trayvon D. Jackson in connection with the fatal shooting of 18-year-old 
The man accused of attacking a man in McDonald’s who later died was denied bond at his court appearance Thursday. Donald Thomas, 50, was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated battery and robbery in the Feb. 28 attack on 
BOCA RATON — Jimmy the Greek helped everyone he knew, even the man who allegedly stabbed him to death. Sarantis Monemvasitis, a server at Jimmy the Greek Taverna, recalled walking into 
SLIDELL, LA - Slidell Police have arrested four additional suspects in the Olde Towne shooting case that left
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Austin Police Department arrested Tyler Gregory Okonma on Saturday after ensuing a riot at the Scoot Inn Thursday. Police have charged the rapper, who uses goes by the name "Tyler the Creator," with a riot, Class A Misdemeanor. His bond is set at $3,500. The 'Yonkers' rapper encouraged a large crowd on more than one occasion to force themselves past venue employees. The venue was already at full capacity.
LEE COUNTY, FL - A 15-year-old boy will be labeled a sex offender after he sexually assaulted another boy inside the Lee County School District headquarters. 15-year-old Cozelle Francis pled ‘no contest' to trying to have sex with an 
FORT WAYNE – The 51-year-old former foster parent asked a judge to keep him out of prison for the rest of his life, but with a 40-year prison sentence for child molesting, that is not a likely outcome. In February, an Allen Superior Court jury convicted James M. Burton of two of four counts of child molesting, believing the account of a young girl who said the former pastor of Greater Faith Baptist Church had repeatedly touched her and performed sex acts on her while she lived with him in foster care. The two counts of Class A child molesting – each punishable by 20 to 50 years in prison – were the most serious charges Burton faced. The jurors acquitted Burton of two Class C felony counts of child molesting punishable by up to eight years. The girl, now 10, alleged he touched her sexually as well as performed a sex act on her and had her perform a sex act on him while she was staying in his home as a foster child between June 2009 and January 2012. 
Dallas police confirmed they have arrested a second person in connection to a report of an aggravated sexual assault of a child. The Dallas Police Department confirmed Friday morning that 20-year-old Lucas Martin surrendered to at Dallas police headquarters late Thursday night. Martin and 19-year-old Jarvis Fisher — who is already in custody after being arrested Wednesday night — are accused of sexually assaulting a 
DALLAS — A 19-year-old man has confessed to the rape of a 13-year-old hearing-impaired girl. Jarvis Fisher of Dallas is being held in the Dallas County Jail on a charge of aggravated sexual assault. Authorities and the girl's mother said she had gone to Sand Springs Park with a cousin on Tuesday evening. The cousin left her alone in the park; that's when Fisher and another man approached her.
FAIRFIELD — An 18-year-old Fairfield man has been arrested for biting the nose off of his infant son, police said. Fairfield Police said they received a phone call from a hysterical female saying her infant child was bleeding from its nose. Doctors at North Bay Medical Center determined the infant’s nose had been severed and the child had possible head trauma, according to the police press release. The infant was later taken to Oakland Children’s Hospital where doctors determined the 1-month-old infant had a skull fracture, a brain hemorrhage, and a third of the child’s nose had been severed off, according to the release. Investigators determined the father, Joshua Cooper, had bitten his son’s nose off out of frustration over the infant crying, police said.
Three Nigerian brothers have been arrested for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a
HOUSTON - A good Samaritan jumped in to help a police officer capture a man accused of attacking a woman. Locking up his downtown business after a late-night event, Darren Ricketts thought his work was done until he heard the screaming. Ricketts said he realized Arthur William Brown was attacking a young woman, attempting to rape her as she tried to get to her car near the University of Houston Downtown campus. "She was in shock. She got thrown down by a masked guy on the sidewalk," said Ricketts. Ricketts said he watched an off-duty Houston police officer step in, fighting to stop Brown, but Brown managed to break free from the officer. "He was trying with everything he could to tackle him and subdue him and arrest him, so I jumped in and helped," said Ricketts. Ricketts and the officer chased Brown for a block. Then, before the masked man could cross the street, they tackled him. Court documents also show Brown has a criminal history dating back several decades. They state Brown was convicted of rape in 1979 and convicted of failure to comply as a sex offender in 2010.
CINCINNATI —A man arrested for several rapes that date back two decades was back in court Wednesday. Hamilton County investigators said Stanley Lightner is responsible for rapes that date back to 1995. On Wednesday, two assault charges were dismissed because of the statute of limitations. A recent sex offender registration sweep led to his DNA being collected, which connected him to the 1995 crimes. Lightner now faces 23 charges. 
A court hearing has been set for Monday in the case of 56-year-old Cleveland Jones, who is charged with raping a 33-year-old woman in a field Tuesday afternoon. Both parties are homeless and are believed to have met on the street in recent days. Police responded to the field at 1:15 p.m. after a citizen reported seeing a man and woman having sex in the field, and that the woman appeared to be impaired. Central Precinct officers found the woman in the field extremely intoxicated and unresponsive. Jones, who matched the denoscription provided by the witness, was spotted by officers walking away from the area on 8th Avenue South. Jones was charged with rape of a helpless individual. 
One of five men accused of participating in the gang rape of a home health nurse in 2012 has pleaded guilty to several charges and netted a 40-year sentence in exchange. Darren Holmes, 21, pleaded guilty to charges of forcible rape, second-degree kidnapping and armed robbery during a hearing in Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Keva Landrum-Johnson's courtroom on Tuesday (March 11). During what was scheduled to be a court appearance to evaluate whether Holmes was mentally fit to stand trial, prosecutors agreed to amend his original charges of aggravated rape and kidnapping. Prosecutors replaced them with charges of forcible rape and second-degree kidnapping, both of which carry lesser sentences. Had Holmes been convicted at trial of aggravated rape he would have faced life in prison. Holmes was indicted on an additional rape charge last year after police say he sexually assaulted an inmate at Orleans Parish Prison. As a part of his plea deal Tuesday, he was sentenced to 40 years for that assault as well, although the sentences are set to run concurrently, meaning he was sentenced to serve 40 years in total, with credit for the time he has already served. 
Judge Aleta Trauger granted the couples a preliminary injunction that requires Tennessee to recognize their marriages pending a final decision on the constitutionality of Tennessee's ban on same-sex nuptials. Federal judges have recently struck down gay marriage bans in states including Utah and Texas. 
U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled that the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act was unconstitutional because of the issue of viability. The law "impermissibly infringes a woman's 
AUSTIN – Rashad Charjuan Owens, 21, the driver in a deadly downtown wreck who police suspected of driving drunk, will be charged with
A carjacking in Pompano Beach is caught on video and it all began with a traffic stop at a convenience store, but soon the 
PHOENIX (AP) — A man convicted of killing nine people, including six monks, at a Buddhist temple in metro Phoenix was sentenced Friday to 249 years in prison. The sentence given to 39-year-old Johnathan Doody came after he was convicted in his third trial. Doody was one of two men convicted in the robbery and killings at the Wat Promkunaram temple west of Phoenix in August 1991. It was one of Arizona's most notorious crimes. The six monks, one nun and two helpers who died in the robbery were shot in the back of the head, their bodies found arranged face-down in a circle. 
Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 was a commercial flight that crashed near Cayucos, California, United States, on December 7, 1987, as a result of a murder-suicide scheme by one of the passengers. All 
BRADENTON, FL - A Bradenton mother reported a man inappropriately touching her 5-year-old daughter while babysitting, Bradenton Police officers said. They arrested the man for lewd and lascivious molestation. The woman flagged the officers down on West 12th Avenue Wednesday. She had her daughter with her. She told the officers that Jerry Lejuan Solomon, 37, had touched her kid inappropriately, according to the Bradenton Police report. Officers interviewed Solomon and he confessed to the touching. He was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation. Solomon is a registered Sexual Offender in Florida.
(LAS VEGAS)–A substitute teacher in the Clark County schools is facing multiple charges in connection with the sexual assault of a teenager. CCSD police identify her as 22 year old Tanikka Queen, accused of sexually assaulting a 
U.S. Rep.
The audit last week by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General said Raymond T. Jones, the one-man staff of Philadelphia Safety Net, repeatedly gave himself raises without board approval. 
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A longtime state lawmaker from the Philadelphia region has been charged with using her legislative offices for campaign purposes. State senator LeAnna Washington, a Democrat who represents portions of Philadelphia and Montgomery counties, turned herself in to authorities this afternoon in Abington, accompanied by her son. She was released on her own recognizance, charged with theft and conflict of interest. A statement released by the attorney general’s office says the heart of the case involves an annual campaign birthday fundraiser and Washington’s alleged use of state-paid staff and equipment in her district offices to organize it. The statement claims that Washington used intimidation and verbal abuse to pressure staff to do campaign work even though they knew it was illegal, going so far as to cut salaries or fire staffers who expressed concerns about what was going on.
A self-proclaimed “black Hitler” was indicted Thursday for beating up an alleged hooker and for pimping out five women on Backpage.com, prosecutors announced in Manhattan Criminal Court. Sherman Gamble, 54, of Manhattan, thought he was a free man last week — at least temporarily — when he posted $80,000 bail Friday on attempted murder, kidnapping, assault and strangulation charges. But cops immediately rearrested him on a single count of promoting prostitution for pimping five women out on several web sites used by hookers and pimps, according to a new criminal complaint.
A Detroit woman is being sought in the robbery of a Dalton convenience store and the murder of the clerk on Sunday night. The victim has been identified as 
A former Queens housing court officer and volunteer girls basketball coach was convicted on Wednesday for hoarding hundreds of child pornography images and raping one of his nieces — while the judge declared a mistrial on charges for two other victims due to a hung jury. Kerbet Dixon represented himself in the month-long trial and is facing up to 25 years in prison for violating his 10-year-old niece and additional years for downloading over 600 forms of kiddie porn from June 2008 until June 2009. Dixon was also charged with sexually assaulting two other nieces inside the basement of his Springfield Gardens home that he shared with his three children and his wife of 25 years — but the jurors could not make a unanimous decision to convict.
The Harlem preacher running for the seat held by Rep. Charles Rangel talked up the fantastic claim that AIDS was concocted to destroy black people in an interview six years ago. The Rev. Michael Walrond spoke about the AIDS conspiracy with The Economist in 2008. He was asked about accusations advanced by President Obama’s former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, that “the government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color.” The article says Walrond called Wright’s theory “credible.” Walrond, now running for Congress, insisted that’s not his view today.
It was the weekend before Christmas, and there was quite a crowd inside Chill, a restaurant and sports bar. Just before 2 a.m. on December 23, 2013, surveillance video shows a bartender telling a customer to leave, pointing at the door several times. "When he was asked to leave, his belligerence and unruliness turned into violence," said attorney Darren Wolf, who represents 
BANGOR, Maine -- The Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Georgia has arrested UMaine running back Zedric Joseph and charged him in connection with a murder in West Palm Beach, Florida. Police say the incident occurred on March 7th. Police say 
A former soldier accused of killing his five-year-old daughter kicked her so hard that he left a boot imprint on her chest, prosecutors have said at the opening of his murder trial. Naeem Williams, 34, appeared in court in Honolulu, Hawaii, near to where he was based at Wheeler Army Air Force Base, for the first day of the trial on Tuesday morning. He is accused of inflicting seven months of abuse on
He got canned for being a thieving cop, and now a former NYPD detective — who still faces criminal charges in a $10 million burglary ring — says police brass ripped him off, using funny math to steal his pension. Brash ex-cop 
Two arrests have been made after deputies said a father and his stepdaughter were run off the road and robbed in what may have been a setup. Mobile County Sheriffs Deputies said they charged two women in the shooting death of 
MINNEAPOLIS – A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to murder charges in the July 2011 shooting death of 
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After a year of waiting, it took a jury four hours to deliver the answer the Bouwman family has been waiting for: Javonte Higgins is guilty of murder. “Javonte Higgins is the lowest form of humanity we can have here on God’s green earth,” said Tom Kelly, son-in-law of murder victims
The mother of a the teenager convicted of murdering a 13-month-old Brunswick boy was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for her role in the case. Karimah Elkins was convicted of providing a false alibi, evidence tampering for getting rid of the gun, and possession of a firearm by convicted felon. She has 30 days to appeal the sentence. Her son, DeMarquise Elkins, was sentenced to life for shooting and killing 
Sumter, SC - A Sumter pastor is facing new charges of sexually assaulting female church members. Sumter police charged 59-year-old Larry Durant with two counts of criminal sexual conduct third degree. Durant is the pastor of Word International Ministries in Sumter and Bishopville. According to officers, a teenage girl who goes to the church told police Durant assaulted her during private sessions of prayer. The victims says the crimes took place between November of 2012 and April of 2013 at the church's Manning Avenue and Guignard Drive locations. Last June, Durant was arrested on similar charges after female church members came forward to say that he'd assaulted them under the pretense that it was part of the healing process and private prayer.
YORK, S.C. -- A York, S.C. pastor is in trouble with the law, accused of sexually abusing a young teenage member of his church. Cory Dean Moses, 38, is wanted for first-degree assault and battery. Investigators say 
The case against a New Orleans police officer indicted on sexual assault charges remains in limbo after prosecutors revealed Tuesday they are having trouble getting an underage witness to cooperate in the case. The trouble with the witness prompted prosecutors to seek another delay in the trial of Officer Desmond Pratt. The officer, who has typically kept his composure and remained quiet during previous hearings, cried out in the courtroom, saying "This game's gotta stop, man." He is accused of abusing a 
Tulsa, Okla. — Update: One of two men accused in a deadly shooting at a Skelly Best Buy was found guilty Friday night. Tulsa court clerk says the jury convicted Willie Wise of killing 
The body of 28-year old 
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Police say it appears that after Demarco Carnegie strangled 
Omaha, NE - Omaha police have made an arrest in the shooting death of 21 year old 
GREENVILLE, SC - Greenville County deputies have charged an Upstate special education teacher's former student with murder after she was found dead at a local hotel. Dispatchers said they received a call about an explosion at the Quality Inn and Suites motel on South Pleasantburg Drive near Mauldin Road at 5:28 a.m. Monday. Deputy Jennings Autry said a woman was found dead inside the room where the reported explosion occurred, but there were no other injuries reported. He said guests in the surrounding rooms were evacuated. Coroner Parks Evans said the woman had to be identified with dental records because of the severity of her burns. Evans identified her as 39-year-old 
FORT MILL, SC - A Fort Mill mom wants to send a message to parents after she caught her 
The man accused in a Minneapolis "good Samaritan" slaying also sexually assaulted the shooting victim's wife, prosecutors say. Devon Derrick Parker, 20, was initially charged with a single count of second-degree murder that accused him of acting with intent but not premeditation in the Jan. 31 death of 
ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. - A 12-member jury has unanimously recommended the death penalty for a man it convicted last month of kidnapping and murdering a Florida State University student. Quentin Truehill, 26, was the first of three suspects to stand trial in the killing of 
SPRINGFIELD — A federal jury took less than two hours Friday to find the daughter of President
The first blow from the shotgun stock sent the woman to the floor. The 
PITTSBURGH – Arthur Leroy Whitfield III wasn’t talking when he was escorted out of a district magistrate’s office. But earlier this month, he’s accused of talking a lot, telling his ex-girlfriend, “This is the last time you’re going to (expletive) me up.” Witnesses, including his own daughter, say he then fired nine shots into 
MEMPHIS, TN - - A woman said she was shot and told to climb on all fours to get her purse. Now, a Memphis teacher is fighting back against her accused attackers. Two teens knocked on her door, asked to rake her leaves, then allegedly robbed and shot her on Nov. 27. She faced them for the first time Friday. 
As San Francisco Police search for man in a wheelchair who has attacked multiple people in the area of SF General Hospital, a victim of one of those assaults on Thursday described how she fought off the attacker with her cane. The Sheriff's Department issued a crime alert earlier this week stating at least four people have been attacked near San Francisco General Hospital. Investigators describe the man as African American, between 40 and 50 years old. His right leg is partially amputated and he's in a wheelchair. SF resident 
A jury on Thursday convicted a man of shooting and paralyzing a Florissant police in May 2012. Brian Lamont Cannon, Jr.’s trial on charges of first-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, armed criminal action and second-degree burglary began Monday. According to the Florissant Police Department, a jury found him guily on those charges Thursday evening. Florissant police officers responded to a call of a burglary in the 1800 block of Banstead around 3 a.m. on May 28, 2012. Police said Florissant Police Officer
Convicted teen killer Jordan Wallick has won a new sentencing hearing, meaning he could possibly avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. On Wednesday, the state Superior Court agreed with defense attorney Dawn Cutaia's argument that an automatic life sentence without parole for Wallick was unconstitutional because he was 15 at the time he murdered law student 
