Not guilty verdict given in inmate death

7-29-17 Missouri:

A Cole County jury has found a man not guilty of charges in connection with the killing of an inmate at the Algoa Correctional Center in December 2015.

David Young, 43, had been charged with second-degree murder and violence against a Department of Corrections offender.

His defense had argued he was an accomplice and not the person who killed Harley Holt, 35, who had been serving a four-year sentence for two counts of failure to register as a sex offender in Greene and Howell counties at the time of his death.

Young was serving a sentence for drug possession at the time Holt was killed.

Homeowner killed wanted suspect 'to protect myself, my family, and my neighbors'

July 2017 Tennessee:

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - A man wanted by police for ramming Memphis police cruisers and speeding off was shot and killed by a homeowner over the weekend.

The homeowner said it was all in self-defense.

The homeowner said he was in his driveway trying to protect himself, his family, and his neighbors. As a last resort, he opened fire.

Larry Hampton said he has some remorse for shooting and killing the man in his driveway, but he stands firmly behind his choice to pull the trigger.

"To protect myself, my family, my neighbors. I feared for my life," Hampton said.

DA: Rap Pioneer Killed Man Because He Thought He Hit On Him and was Going to Rob Him; Homeless Man was a Sex Offender

August 2017 New York:

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York prosecutor said Thursday that a founding member of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five stabbed a homeless man to death in Manhattan after he became enraged because he thought the man believed he was gay and was hitting on him, and he feared he would be robbed.

Rapper Kidd Creole — whose real name is Nathaniel Glover — was returned to jail without bail by Judge Phyllis Chu on Thursday after an initial appearance in a Manhattan criminal court on a second-degree murder charge.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Dahl said Glover, 57, a lyricist with the pioneering group, gave a detailed account of the street encounter in midtown shortly before midnight Tuesday that Dahl described to the judge, saying he wanted to demonstrate “the strength of the case.”

Defense lawyer Patrick Watts told the judge the evidence was “circumstantial” as his calm client stood alongside him, a tightly wound gray braid draped halfway down his back. Outside court, Watts declined comment.

La Crosse police identify career felon as carjacker killed during pursuit

8-16-17 Wisconsin:

La Crosse police identified career felon Roger Burzinski as the armed carjacker fatally shot by officers during a pursuit Sunday on the city’s South Side.

Burzinski, 54, of Green Bay, stole a Chevy Trailblazer from Houska Park about 5 p.m. after confronting a woman in the passenger seat at gunpoint. She was able remove her 3-year-old daughter from the backseat before Burzinski sped off with her 1-year-old daughter still inside.

Police found the car minutes later at 10th and Green Bay streets. Burzinski led officers on a pursuit of speeds up to 47 mph from South Avenue to Eighth Street, where he drove through a road construction site at Johnson Street, went airborne and crashed into a parked car about 10 minutes later.

Two officers, identified as Andrew Adey and Stephen Hughes, shot and killed Burzinski when he refused to comply with orders and they noticed he had a firearm, according to the department.

Hale homicide victim was a convicted sex offender

8-15-17 Michigan

HALE, MI -- Before being killed and buried in his backyard in rural Michigan, a 72-year-old man served time for sexually assaulting a minor.

The Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry states Roger L. Knickerbocker II in July 2000 was convicted of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim 13 or younger. The charge is a life offense and involves penetration.

Since 2006, a person convicted of the crime when the victim is 13 or younger must serve a mandatory minimum 25 years in prison.

The crime occurred in Pontiac. The conviction was handed down in Oakland County Circuit Court. He was paroled of May 2009 and discharged from parole in May 2011, said Chris Gautz, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Knickerbocker had to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He last registered on June 26.

Two suspects identified in homicide of inmate at Oklahoma County jail

6-5-2017 Oklahoma:

An inmate at the Oklahoma County jail who died in early February was the victim of a homicide, the first at the troubled facility in almost three years, an autopsy report shows.

Two suspects already have been identified and are in custody, authorities said.

The victim, Ricky Earl Windle, died because of complications from multiple blunt force trauma, the pathologist who did the autopsy concluded. He was 53.

The autopsy report — released in May by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner — lists the manner of death as homicide. Windle had been assaulted at the jail Jan. 10, the autopsy report also shows. His injuries included three broken ribs.

Windle died Feb. 5 at a hospital, a day after being found unconscious alone in his cell. His death earlier had been described by the sheriff's office as apparently from natural causes.

Suicidal Man Shot Dead by Deputy was Registered Sex Offender Bruce Dawley

6-5-2017 California:

Authorities released the name Monday of a 66-year-old Campo man fatally shot by a deputy during an exchange of gunfire in a rural neighborhood near Lake Morena County Park.

Bruce Dawley of Campo — a registered sex offender — made a 911 call shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday from his home in the 2500 block of Gladiola Drive and reported that he was suicidal and armed with a gun, according to sheriff’s officials.

“Deputies arrived a short time later and established a perimeter in front of the home,” said Lt. Kenneth Nelson. “Shortly after doing so, deputies heard at least one gunshot … from inside the home.”

Moments later, Dawley appeared at the front door of his house, holding a pistol.

During a brief confrontation, Dawley allegedly fired at least one round from the handgun at deputies, prompting one of them to shoot back with a shotgun. Dawley then retreated back into his residence.

Getting no further response from Dawley, sheriff’s officials sent members of a SWAT team into the home, where they found him dead from a gunshot wound to his torso.

Though authorities were initially unsure whether Dawley’s fatal wound had been self-inflicted or resulted from the deputy’s return fire, the county Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the latter was the case, Nelson said. ..Source..

Prison death of convicted Kan. sex offender under investigation

4-11-17 Kansas:

LANSING – Officials are investigating a suspicious death at the Lansing Correctional Facility.

James Beeson, 56, died on Sunday, according to statement from the Kansas Department of Corrections and confirmed on the state’s web site.

An autopsy is planned to help determine the cause of death.

Beeson had eight convictions since December of 1998 for a variety of child sex crimes in Osage County.

He had been in held in the El Dorado and Hutchison Correctional facilities until a move to Lansing earlier this month. ..Source.. by Hays Post

Prison denies liability for murder of inmate

3-31-17 Maine:

Warren — The state is claiming immunity for prison officials being sued by the brother of a Maine State Prison inmate who died after being beaten and stabbed 87 times by another prisoner with a known history of violence.

The state filed its response Jan. 26 to the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Bangor brought by Caleb Boland of Jefferson, brother of Micah Boland, who was murdered Feb. 28, 2014, at the state prison in Warren.

The lawsuit initially was filed in February 2016. Caleb Boland is also the personal representative of Micah Boland's estate. Named as defendants in the civil suit are Warden Rodney Bouffard, Deputy Warden Michael Tausek, and Unit Manager Antonio Mendez.

Micah Boland died Feb. 28, 2014, at the age of 37 in his cell at the Warren prison after fellow inmate Richard A. Stahursky entered the cell, tied him up, beat him — breaking bones and knocking out teeth — and then stabbed him 87 times with a homemade knife.

Man killed by Stockton officer had ties to Sauk Valley

3-31-17 California:

STOCKTON — The Pearl City man shot and killed by a Stockton Police officer Wednesday was a longtime drug dealer with convictions in Jo Daviess, Carroll and Whiteside counties, and a registered sex offender in Florida and Illinois.

Troy J. Boyle, 41, was shot shortly after noon at the intersection of West Front Avenue and Blackhawk Drive in Jo Daviess County, ISP said in a news release.

State police would not confirm media reports that Boyle fired at the officer.

He was pronounced dead at FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport, the Stephenson County coroner said in a news release. An autopsy was done Thursday; toxicology results will take a a few weeks.

The Stockton officer's body camera was out of service; video from various squad cars is being reviewed, and witnesses are being questioned, the ISP release said.

Man Who Went to Register as Sex Offender Dies After Shootout With Deputies at Temple City Sheriff's Station: LASD

3-20-17 California:

California -- A man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after engaging in a gunbattle with deputies in the parking lot of the Temple City sheriff's station, where he had gone to register as a sex offender Monday morning, authorities said.

The man, identified only as a 47-year-old white male, entered the station located in the 8800 block of East Las Tunas Drive about 7:25 a.m. to register as a sex offender, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lt. Joe Mendoza said.

The deputy at the counter inside the station realized that the man had a $40,000 warrant for his arrest in connection with a felony sex crime that occurred in the city of Los Angeles, Mendoza said. When the deputy went further inside the station and returned with other deputies in order to arrest him, the man ran toward his vehicle, the lieutenant said.

Officials release names of inmates killed in Tecumseh incident

3-5-17 Nebraska:

Police have released the names of two inmates who were killed during an incident at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.

TECUMSEH, Neb. — Police have released the names of two inmates who were killed during an incident at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.

Damon Fitzgerald, 39, and Michael Galindo, 31, died during the Thursday disturbance.

Fitzgerald was serving 310 to 470 years for two counts of first-degree sexual assault, robbery, burglary, five counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, two counts of assault by a confined person and assault on a peace officer.

Galindo was serving a 12 to 21 year sentence for robbery, second-degree forgery, and three misdemeanors of attempted possession of a controlled substance, sale of alcohol to a minor and driving under suspension.

“Any loss of life is tragic. The TSCI staff handled the situation extremely well, which limited the incident to a small number of participants and minimal damage,”said Director Scott R. Frakes. “The public’s safety was never compromised.”

Frakes sent an updated release on Friday:

SWAT standoff sparked by donut fight ends with deputy shot, sex offender dead & suspect arrested

3-15-17 Florida:

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A SWAT standoff in unincorporated Pinellas County has ended with a deputy shot and a sex offender dead.

Pinellas County deputies responded to a home located in the 5100 block of 80 Way N. on Wednesday morning.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Susan DiFabbio called police Wednesday morning after an argument with her son, 24-year-old Jeffrey Falsey.

"What triggered it this morning was Falsey wanted his mom to go get donuts and she wouldn't do that," said Gualtieri.

DiFabbio called police after a heated argument with Falsey because she refused to get him donuts

Portland homicide victim was convicted sex offender

2-28-17 Maine:

Bryan K. Garcia of Scarborough, who was found unresponsive Monday in his car on a West End street, also had convictions for drug and weapons offenses.

Portland police have identified the homicide victim who was found slumped over in his car on a West End street as Bryan K. Garcia, a registered sex offender who also had convictions for drug and weapons offenses.

No details were released about Garcia’s death or the circumstances that led the Scarborough resident to Portland on Monday afternoon, when he was found unresponsive in his Silver Infiniti G35 near the intersection of Chadwick and Carroll streets.

Police have not released details about how Garcia, 35, died, whether he suffered obvious injuries or if they have any suspects in his slaying.

St. Lucie County detectives vet more than 150 fair workers, arrest two and find one sex offender

2-23-17 Florida:

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. -- The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced it has vetted more than 150 carnival workers at the St. Lucie County fair, set to begin Friday.

Detectives made sure anyone with an outstanding warrant or sex offender status was removed from the fairgrounds before floods of visitors arrive.

“We get a list of all the employees out at the fairgrounds when the fair comes to town. Our detectives vet all of those people,” said St. Lucie County Chief Deputy Garry Wilson.

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the 10-day fair.

General Manager Jeanne Keaton says there are also hundreds of children who attend with various organizations volunteering, and working alongside livestock.

Family 'destroyed' by killing of Tangipahoa Parish jail inmate

2-8-2017 Louisiana:

A niece of a Tangipahoa Parish jail inmate who died after being attacked by 11 other detainees said Wednesday (Feb. 8) her family has been "destroyed" by his killing. She questioned why her uncle, a sex offender, was placed in the lockup's general population instead of an isolation unit.

Karly Varnado of Hammond said she and other relatives wanted to see the faces of those responsible for killing Tommy Joe Smith, 40, of Independence. But they were sickened when the Sheriff's Office released photos of the suspects, she said.

"They were kids," Varnado said. "He got murdered by 11 inmates who were way younger than him.

"Our family is absolutely destroyed."

Authorities said 11 inmates, ages 18 to 38, and one juvenile younger than 17 have been booked in an attack that other inmates described to investigators as a "shark feeding frenzy." The assault occurred shortly after Smith was booked Jan. 30 into the jail in Amite.

Man convicted of molesting girl, 6, dies during appeal

9-22-2016 Georgia:

A life sentence became a death sentence for 64-year-old Robert “Buddy” Turner.

The Columbus man who maintained his innocence after he was sentenced to life for aggravated child molestation two years ago has died in state custody.

A sister testifying at his sentencing on Jan. 14, 2015, said she feared he would not survive an extended prison sentence. A brother-in-law told Judge William Rumer the case had turned the former construction worker into "an aging, frail, broken man.”

Defense attorneys said Turner’s health declined precipitously in prison, where he did not get the medical care he needed.

On Oct. 20, 2016, authorities brought Turner to Columbus for an Oct. 26 court hearing. As his health worsened, medical workers at the Muscogee County Jail had Turner taken to Columbus’ Midtown Medical Center, which later transferred him to a hospital in Atlanta.

Man shot in standoff with Effingham County deputies was sex offender

2-1-17 Georgia:

The man killed last week during a standoff with two Effingham County Sheriff’s Office deputies and one deputy from Bulloch County was a registered sex offender, and had been jailed in 2014 for attacking Effingham deputies during a routine compliance check.

Gary M. Wigley of Highway 119 North in southeast Bulloch County, was convicted in 1988 on charges of child molestation and cruelty to a child, according to sex offender registry records.

Wigley, 52, was scheduled to appear in Effingham County Superior Court Jan. 9, before Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Judge WiIliam Woodrum Jr., regarding yet another, more recent case, where he was charged with false imprisonment, obstruction, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, disorderly conduct, and simple assault, according to Woodrum’s criminal bench trail calendar.

Tomas Beauford might have survived a seizure had Mesa County jailers not taken away his bracelet

1-28-17 Colorado:

A bracelet might have kept Tomas Anderson Beauford alive.

Despite mental and behavioral illnesses that meant the 24-year-old functioned more like a 6-year-old, Beauford had mastered the use of the magnetic bracelet that combatted his epilepsy.

But on April 16, 2014, Beauford didn’t have his bracelet. It had been confiscated by deputies at the Mesa County Jail.

Taking his prescribed medications also might have kept Beauford alive. But in jail without family and caretakers who often cajoled him with promises of Starbursts and Sprite, Beauford hadn’t taken his meds regularly in six weeks when he died.

In the hours before his death, Beauford’s jailers saw him suffering what they would later realize were several violent seizures in his cell. Attorneys representing Beauford’s mother wrote that if deputies had reacted correctly, he might never have died.

“Alone in his cell, Mr. Beauford ultimately had a series of seizures, fell off his bed and died with his head jammed underneath his desk,” the attorneys wrote in a civil lawsuit naming Mesa County and the jail health care providers as defendants last spring. “Mr. Beauford’s demise could have undoubtedly been prevented had defendants provided him with prompt and appropriate medical attention and treatment.”

A Prisoner’s Death, 3,000 Miles From Home

1-25-17 New Mexico:

Frank Pauline Jr.,, 42, died a sudden, violent death more than 3,000 miles from home.

It was April 2015, and the Hawaii resident was walking laps around the recreation yard of the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility when an assailant sneaked up behind him with a rock wrapped in a green shirt.

Three swift blows to the head with the rock, and Pauline was down on the ground, lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

Back in Hawaii, the news of Pauline’s death made big headlines, owing to his checkered history: In 1999, he was convicted in the kidnapping, rape and beating death of Dana Ireland — a notorious case on the Big Island that garnered much attention.