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Police: Tampa mother forced children to eat vomit, children detail stories of abuse
 TAMPA, FL - Many people who live along Annie Street in Tampa were clueless that there were so many children living in the cream-colored house behind the cyclone fence. Jasmine Bisbee, a mother of five who lives nearby, grew up in the neighborhood and walked by the house every day. "I'd never even seen kids playing outside in the yard or anything," said Bisbee. "I never knew kids lived there period." But they did; eight of them. Now, Tampa Police investigators believe the life those children were living was, at times, severe, cruel, and bizarre and it happened, they say, at the hands of their mother. As of Friday, detectives were still interviewing the children who have, up to this point, described a life of abuse, including having to eat their own vomit. Jamie Marie Hicks, 43 is the mother of all eight children, according to police. Her husband, Vernon Lovell, 53 of the same address, fathered five of those kids and was step-dad to the others, who are the oldest. |
At least one gunman opened fire at Fort Hood on Wednesday, killing or injuring an unknown number of people at the U.S. Army base in central Texas that was the scene of a shooting rampage in 2009, officials said. The base said in a statement that its directorate of emergency services "has an initial report that a shooter is dead, but this is unconfirmed." It added: "the number of injured are not confirmed at this time." "We know there are casualties, both people killed and injured," Hagel told a news conference in Honolulu, where he was meeting with Asian defense ministers.
SCHENECTADY — Michael Briggs could spend the rest of his life in state prison for the December 2012 killing of an 82-year-old former nun. Briggs, 38, pleaded guilty in Schenectady County Court on Monday to one count of second-degree murder and an attempted burglary count. He faces a total sentence of 30 years to life in state prison at his June sentencing. The plea came as a trial was scheduled to begin next week. Attorneys said there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence of his guilt. Briggs’ DNA and fingerprints were found at multiple points inside the victim’s apartment. There was also other evidence, including video from the county’s street surveillance cameras of a man believed to be Briggs walking in the direction of 
TUNICA COUNTY, MS - - A Tunica County judge declared a mistrial Wednesday for James Willie, the man accused of murdering two people on Mississippi highways in May 2012. Witnesses say an outburst made by Willie in court Tuesday could have played a part in the judge's decision to call for a mistrial. On multiple occasions, Willie reportedly attempted to speak out in his defense without permission from the court. Deputies say he was warned and even shocked via his ankle monitor in front of the jury after trying to object to testimony given by Tunica County Sheriff KC Hamp.
PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Police are searching for a man and a woman they say allegedly forced an elderly woman into a car, drove her to a bank, and then robbed her. The 80-year-old victim told police she was walking toward the Salvation Army at 55th and Market Streets around 12 p.m. Monday when she was approached by a woman. The victim says the woman went and got her vehicle while the man allegedly forced her into the car. When she was in the car, the victim says they asked her what bank she used. Police say the victim told them Citizens Bank, and on the way to the bank the suspects allegedly told the victim to take money out of the account so they could give her money.
The male suspect is described by police as a Black male, short, about 40 to 50-years-of-age, wearing a dark colored hat, dark colored blazer and white shirt. The female suspect is described by police as a Black female, tall, with a dark colored wig, wearing all dark clothes driving a green or dark colored Saturn, SUV, with New Mexico tags. 
Police say a man was arrested after breaking into a home while wearing nothing but a cowboy hat in Johns Creek, Ga., on Monday. "They're like, what was he wearing? And I'm like, absolutely nothing... a cowboy hat," homeowner 
NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV - Police said they arrested a man in connection with what they described as the "gruesome" deaths of his mother and sister in a North Las Vegas home. The two bodies were found early Monday morning inside a home in the 6100 block of Stibor Street. Police said that 30-year-old Darius Davon Sorrells was charged with two counts of murder in connection with the case. They said that when they determined he was a suspect in the case, they found he had already been arrested in connection with a high-speed chase and crash on Saturday. One of the victims had been partially dismembered. "It appears from the evidence that the murder suspect was in the home with these women for several days." 
Detroit — Wayne County Circuit Judge Wade H. McCree Jr. was removed from office and will be suspended without pay if voters re-elect him this year, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. In a 34-page ruling that issues a blistering indictment of McCree’s misconduct in office that began in 2012, including an affair with a witness in a case before him, the state’s highest court concluded, “The cumulative effect of respondent’s misconduct convinces this court that respondent should not remain in judicial office and we therefore remove him from that office and conditionally suspend him without pay for six years beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, with the suspension becoming effective only if respondent is re-elected to judicial office in November 2014.” The justices added “the likelihood of his continuing to commit judicial misconduct is high.” The court said in its ruling that McCree’s misconduct undermined the justice system. 
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A powerful general session judge stands accused of threatening the life of a 
DALTON, Ga. - Local public defenders say they plan to continue defending a woman accused of killing a northwest Georgia store clerk unless District Attorney Bert Poston decides to pursue the death penalty. Skyy Raven Mims, a 21-year-old aspiring model, dancer and rapper from Detroit, is accused of stabbing 37-year-old 
MINNEAPOLIS – A 24-year-old Mississippi man is accused of shooting a bar employee in St. Cloud last weekend after he was kicked out of the bar for giving alcohol to underage girls, according to charges filed Tuesday in Stearns County Court. Cordney Terell Holmes was charged with attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the incident, which happened Saturday outside the 
(JOLIET, Ill.) -- A volunteer gymnastics coach at south suburban Lincoln-Way High School District 210 - who was a former gymnastics state champion for the district - has been charged with sexually abusing a female student. Isaac Kruspe, 20, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault for having sex with a 
Sea-Tac Airport’s Credential Center Manager, Maleaka Carroll-Jones, is being investigated for stealing up to 
A man has been left without genitals and with three missing toes after a witch doctor told him that losing his body parts would make him rich. 
A 10-month-old baby died on Friday night after his mother's boyfriend allegedly beat him. Eddie Widdick, 23, of Jermyn, Pennsylvania was charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of his girlfriend Ashley Nelson's child on Wednesday for allegedly bludgeoning the boy so badly he suffered deep brain injuries, hemorrhages in both eyes, bruises on the head and torso, and a rib fracture. An autopsy will be performed on the baby Silas on Monday and more charges will be filed against Widdick following the autopsy, First Assistant District Attorney Gene Talerico said Saturday. He also said that homicide charges are likely. Widdick frantically called Ashley Nelson on Wednesday morning to say 'he didn't do it' but that 
GOODLETTSVILLE, TN - Metro police are searching for two gunmen after a deadly weekend home invasion in Goodlettsville. According to police, two masked gunmen broke into the home of 
NEW BERN, N.C. - A New Bern police officer killed in the line of duty has been escorted to a final and somber homecoming. The body of officer 
NEW BERN, N.C. - One person is dead and two officers are injured after a late night shooting in New Bern on Friday. New Bern Police Chief Toussaint E. Summers, Jr. says
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Four people are facing charges after a woman was robbed at a bus stop at Amy and Market streets. Twenty-one-year-old Jerron Bush, 20-year-old Craig Dean, 19-year-old Tyrone Booker and 18-year-old Shaquazz Allen are all facing first degree robbery charges in connection with the incident. According to a police report, the four suspects approached several people waiting for the bus and one of the men pulled out a gun, held it to the victim's head demanding her purse. Witnesses told police the suspects left the scene, headed toward 39th Street. Officers were on N 39th Street when they said they saw four individuals matching the suspects' denoscription sitting on the porch of a home where Bush lives. Police said officers detained the four at the home until a positive ID was made by the victim and they were then taken into custody. 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Louisville Metro Police served warrants and arrested two individuals in connection with an assault that occurred on March 22 at the intersection of First and Jefferson. Shaquazz E. Allen, 18, and Tyrone D. Booker, 20, are both charged with seven counts of first degree unlawful imprisonment, and one count each of fourth degree assault and third degree criminal mischief. Both men are facing the charges in relation to an incident in which
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A string of assaults and robberies in downtown Louisville this weekend has police concerned. They know of 17 incidents from Saturday night, which include robbery, assault and criminal mischief. Police say the trouble started near the Big Four Bridge at Waterfront Park, where a group of 200 teens gathered. A 
LILBURN, Ga. — A Gwinnett County high school student is recovering at home after an attack at school sent him to the hospital.
MINNEAPOLIS — A 17-year-old boy has been sentenced to over 16 years in prison for taking part in the brutal beating of a St. Paul man last August, the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday. Cindarion De’Angelo Butler, of St. Paul, was 16 at the time of the beating, but he was tried as an adult. Judge Joanne Smith sentenced him to 196 months in prison. The jury previously found him guilty of first-degree assault and first-degree aggravated robbery in connection to the Aug. 4 beating that left 27-year-old
PHILADELPHIA - A local teen says violent attacks on Temple University students could have been prevented. She says that same group of teen suspects. Hurt her just days before. A 16-year-old girl we're not identifying says last Monday she was jumped by a group of girls inside a septa concourse. The teen was left with a concussion after being punched. She says days later she saw video of the Temple assaults on the news and recognized the girls as the ones who attacked her. "I so I feel real sad be the girl would have never been attacked if somebody would have gotten these girls right after I was attacked," she said. The teen says she gave police names of the suspects three days before the temple attacks. Police won't say if they had the suspects' names, but say they are looking at the connection between the cases. One of the Temple students was hit in the face with a brick on Norris Street. Police say three of five suspects have been arrested in connection with a series of assaults and charged as assaults. They are still seeking others. 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A 29-year-old Jacksonville man was arrested early Wednesday morning on a charge of murder and two counts of attempted murder in the shooting death of another man Tuesday night in Arlington. Terrance Sopenasky is accused of killing 22-year-old 
ORANGE PARK, Fla. - A man who met a woman on an online dating service was robbed and shot Sunday night in Orange Park, and now detectives in Clay County are asking for the community's help in identifying the three people involved in the crime. Deputies said the woman, known only as Brittany, met the 43-year-old victim, 
RALEIGH -- One of the brothers convicted of a violent Raleigh crime spree received a lengthy prison sentence. Jurors found Jahaad Marshall guilty of 22 counts, including a terrifying home invasion and sexual assault that left the home owner paralyzed. When it came to sentencing, the prosecution asked that Marshall get every second of time he was eligible for. The judge obliged with a minimum sentence of 263 years. In some of those charges, the jury could have found Marshall guilty of lesser crimes, but they agreed to convict the 27-year-old on the very worst charges. The conviction and sentencing finally brought to a close a horror story for victims across Raleigh and their families. They celebrated with tears. It all started in December 2012 with middle-of-the-night robberies. In two of the robberies, the victims were ordered around by two masked gunmen. In the Oakwood case, a Lane Street man, 
Hummelstown Police have released more information on a missing 16-year-old girl. Police say 
A registered sex offender raped a friend in his St. Paul apartment Friday before she fled naked, Ramsey County prosecutors say. Michael D. Burns, 53, is also accused of choking and beating the 33-year-old woman early Friday. Burns was arrested around 2 a.m. Friday after neighbors at the Redeemer's Arms Apartments at 313 Dale St. heard sounds of a fight, sheltered the woman and called a security guard. The charges filed against him Friday include criminal sexual conduct, terroristic threats and domestic assault by strangulation. He's currently jailed with bail set at $75,000. 
"You know, 11 million people live in the shadows. I believe they're already American citizens," Biden said Thursday at a Washington gathering of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "These people are just waiting, waiting for a chance to contribute fully. And by that standard, 11 million undocumented aliens are already Americans, in my view."
COOLIDGE - A previously deported illegal immigrant has been arrested on weapons charges and using a fake identity. On March 25th, a deputy assigned to the Pinal County Sheriff's K-9 Unit stopped a 1992 Toyota Corolla on Highway 87 for several traffic violations. The driver of the vehicle, 25-year old 
HARTFORD, Conn. – A West Hartford man was charged with sexual assault Monday, after allegedly luring a woman in with the promise of helping her with citizenship. Police say 66-year-old 
Georgia's Supreme Court has thrown out the conviction and death sentence for a man convicted of killing a Macon County bank vice president in 1999. The court ruled that Artemus Rick Walker was probably incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness. They said the lawyer who represented him at his 2002 murder trial failed to present evidence about his mental illness that might have prevented the conviction. On May 12, 1999, the court's summary said Walker stabbed Lynwood Ray Gresham 12 times, in the chest and back, outside Gresham's home. Walker hired a second man to help him rob and kill a "rich" man, the summary said. After the pair rode their bikes to Gresham's home, the second man refused to stab Gresham himself. Friday's ruling upheld a 2009 ruling in Butts County, where the state's death row is located. That court heard testimony about Walker's mental state. On May 12, 1999, the court's summary said Walker stabbed 
Authorities arrested and charged a suspect for killing a Newark, Del. man Friday, 17 months after the murder took place. Police say 32-year-old Myron Parker of the 300 block of Glasgow Drive, Newark, Del. killed 25-year-old 
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A grand jury has indicted a man accused of killing two of his former girlfriends. Andrew Jett is charged with one count of murder in the 2012 killing of 50-year-old 
MEMPHIS, TN - - A second arrest has been made in the Galilee Memorial Gardens scandal, where the cemetery is accused of burying bodies on top of bodies. Police say 21-year-old bookkeeper, Corey Taylor, used office records to hide multiple bodies in single graves. Up to 12,000 bodies are buried at the Bartlett cemetery. A class action lawsuit is underway and the owner, Jemar Lambert, is in jail with no bond. Taylor was arrested Friday afternoon and charged with theft of property and the abuse of a corpse. In a detailed affidavit, investigators say Taylor used a computer in the cemetery office to produce a list that showed 3 to 4 bodies were buried in one grave. The report suggests he even served as a witness, noting that "Taylor was also present when Robert Savage aka "Juicy" crushed caskets with the wheel of a backhoe in effort to make room for multiple caskets." 
BARTLETT, TN - - A cemetery is shut down after the owner was arrested, accused of "burying multiple bodies in the same graves without proper permission to do so." Jemar Lambert, 38, who owns Galilee Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Bartlett, is charged with theft of property and abuse of a corpse. This is not Lambert's first arrest. Last year, he was charged with selling burial plots to families on land he did not own, which sat adjacent to the cemetery. A temporary restraining order was filed since Lambert's most recent arrest, shutting down cemetery operations. 
AUSTIN — 
AKRON, OH - Summit County Prosecuting Attorney Sherri Bevan Walsh announced Friday the Ohio Adult Parole Board denied the parole of Victor Logan. Logan was sentenced in 1986 to 30-75 years for the murder of 
Police in Montgomery County say they've identified one of the men they say stalked an elderly couple as they made multiple stops on their way home from work last year before he and two other men beat the man with a hammer while robbing his wife. Whitpain Township Police say that the unidentified couple was unloading their car after arriving home along Wyndrise Drive just before 11 p.m. on October 16, 2013 when three men, one of them 24-year-old Sean Favors, attacked the man while covering their faces with t-shirts. One of the attackers 
An animal abuser could spend nearly two years behind bars after being sentenced for setting a cat on fire in Philadelphia. Tyrique Hall was sentenced to 11-1/2 to 23 months in prison with two years of probation and fines of nearly $2,400 for torching a cat in the Olney section of the city last November, according to court records. Authorities say that Hall and 18-year-old 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The daughters of a woman found beaten and bruised Sunday in front of a storage unit in the Sunbeam area of Southside are thankful their mom is still alive. They said she was held captive for two days and narrowly escaped when the man she said was keeping her fell asleep. Haywood West, 38, was arrested and charged with felony battery causing great bodily harm, permanent disability or disfigurement, and false imprisonment. Two strangers found the woman on the side of the road, stumbling toward their car and called 911. "For the people who stopped for my mother, I would love to meet them and say thank you so much for helping my mom, 'cause she probably wouldn't have survived," one daughter said. The victim's daughters said they're disgusted and hurt by what their mom said happened to her over the weekend. Graphic images show how badly she was beaten. The woman was naked, bruised and bleeding. (Daughters) Mandy and Melissa said their mom and West were friends, but they said she had no clue what she was walking into. The daughters said doctors think their mom will be blind. She's supposed to have surgery by Tuesday.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Prosecutors said a Memphis man has been sentenced to one year and four months in prison for killing a puppy by putting it in a dishwasher. In a news release, Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich says 27-year-old Marcus Curry has pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated animal cruelty. Last June, witnesses told Memphis police investigators that Curry put the dog in his dishwasher, turned it on and left it running. Police said that the puppy, a small mixed-breed named Daisy, was not moving when Curry opened the dishwasher.
WINTER HAVEN, FL - Winter Haven Police have made an arrest in the murder of a homeless man. Police say 
DETROIT - A man has been found guilty in the murder of his neighbor who was beaten and strangled in her Grosse Pointe Park home last May. The prosecution called 40 witnesses to prove that Myron Williams was addicted to crack, and so desperate for the drug that he was willing to kill for it. A cord was found around 35-year-old 
NEW ORLEANS – "The St. Roch Tavern is a neighborhood staple," said Derrick Floyd, president of the Faubourg St. Roch Improvement Association. That’s why he is shocked that it was robbed at gunpoint just after 6 p.m. Wednesday night. Surveillance video inside the business shows two men walking in. One man went behind the bar and demanded cash from the register, while the other pointed a gun at three customers in the bar. Then, the robber behind the bar jumped over the counter, and the two ran off. It all happened in just 28 seconds. “By the time they were in here and to this side of the bar, I knew they weren't here for beer or tacos,” said bartender 
A Chicago bicyclist punched by a machete-wielding assailant was speaking out, after his narrow escape. CBS 2’s Chris Martinez reports the Humboldt Park man was just three blocks from his when he was hit. The victim asked CBS 2 to conceal his face. He’s still stunned by what happened over the weekend. He was riding home when he spotted two men approaching from an alley. Then he noticed one of them had a machete. “One of them hit the bike with the machete, in the back wheel, and that stopped me,” the bicyclist says. Pictures show the damage. There was a gash in the bike’s tire, followed by the victim’s question to the attacker: “I think I said, ‘Oh, my God, you have a machete. Is this a joke?’” His attackers’ next move proved it was not. “He got right in my face, but he just punched me in the face,” he said. 
The fate of John Graham, the teenager charged with the murder of an Irishman in 2011, now lies in the hands of a 12 person jury at Suffolk Superior Court, Boston. The 19-year-old is charged with the first-degree murder of 
A Cincinnati State student won't be going back to class any time soon. Kendall Flucas, 21, of Westwood, was sent to prison Wednesday for 20 years after beating a delivery man in a campus restroom and then, while in jail on that charge, scheming to kill the delivery man to prevent him from testifying. Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Ralph Winkler imposed the sentence -- nine years for assault and 11 years for planning to kill the delivery man. Flucas, who pleaded guilty to the charges, was in a Cincinnati State Technical and Community College bathroom Sept. 5 when a delivery man walked in. Flucas asked if he had change for a $20. When the delivery man pulled out his money, Flucas beat him with a rock and robbed him. 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mayor Patrick D. Cannon, a Democrat who has been in office less than six months, resigned Wednesday, just hours after he was arrested and accused of taking more than $48,000 in bribes from undercover FBI agents posing as businessmen who wanted to do work with North Carolina’s largest city.
Federal agents today raided the Albany and city offices of Queens Democratic Assemblyman Bill Scarborough, the FBI confirmed this afternoon. “The FBI conducted searches today of the Albany and New York City Offices of New York State Assemblyman William Scarborough,” FBI Albany spokesman Paul Holstein said in a statement. “At this time, no further information is being released.” 
A Guatemalan man accused in five rapes in Palm Beach County has been extradited to the United States to face charges, officials announced Thursday. DNA evidence linked the suspect to the five victims, said Capt. Carol Gregg of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. 
SAN FRANCISCO — A California state senator who authored gun control legislation asked for campaign donations in exchange for introducing an undercover FBI agent to an arms trafficker, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. The allegations against Sen. 
Escambia County, Fla.- An Escambia County Florida grand jury has indicted Henry Damon Payton on two counts of first degree murder. He is accused of shooting to death 
A man already serving a life sentence in one murder case will be heading to trial in the shooting death of an aspiring teacher who authorities say was gunned down for his iPod a month after moving to Philadelphia. Prosecutors say an indicting grand jury charged 35-year-old Marcellus Jones on Monday with murder, conspiracy, robbery and other counts in the May 2008 murder of 23-year-old 