Man shot dead after posting on Facebook: 'im about to get shot'

1-18-2013 Michigan:

It appears that one of the last things Eric L. Ramsey did before he was shot and killed by police Thursday was to let his friends and family know on Facebook that he was about to die.

"Well folks im about to get shot. Peace" Ramsey posted on the social network at 3:15 a.m. Jan. 17 using his mobile phone.

How Ramsey had the presence of mind — or the time — to make such a statement isn't known. The 30-year-old man from Mt. Pleasant, Mich., had just come off a crime spree that included kidnapping and raping a woman, setting a house on fire and stealing a sanitation truck, then ramming the car of a Michigan state trooper, according to police.

"A short while later, a Crawford County Deputy located the sanitation truck and the suspect ended up hitting the deputy’s car head on. The deputy then got out of the patrol car, ran up to the cab of the pickup and fired shots, fatally wounding the suspect," Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said in a press release.

Ramsey's Facebook post, which remained publicly available as of Friday morning, was an eerie if jarring good-bye, with comments from friends who thought he was joking at first.

Suspects pursued by police have, in some cases, used Facebook to share what was happening to them.

In 2011, in Utah, a 16-hour standoff with police ended with a suspect who was holed up in a motel room allegedly shooting himself, but not before posting updates about the tense situation on Facebook.

Last fall, in Pittsburgh, a suspect went on the social network during a five-hour hostage siege, and authorities said they feared that responses from friends, family and others might goad him into violence. That incident did end peacefully.

Sex offender found shot dead in Hopewell home

5-6-2013 Virginia:

HOPEWELL, VA (WWBT) - A violent sex offender sent to prison for abduction for immoral purposes and attempted rape was found murdered Friday, almost 18 years to the day of his conviction.

Police say a man shot Richard Miles Hawthorne, 41, once in the chest. Hawthorne was pronounced dead inside hit 915 Buren St. home.

Hawthorne was convicted in 1995, and listed as a violent offender. The case went before a judge in Prince George, and the age of his victim is not listed in the Virginia Sex Offender Database.

Detectives said they are pursuing strong leads, and do not believe the shooting was random. ..Source.. by Mike Valerio

Sex Offender Shot Dead by Police After 37-Hour Hostage Standoff — 2 Bodies Found in N.J. Home

Posted in Related Deaths

5-12-2013 New Jersey:

TRENTON, N.J. (TheBlaze/AP) — Police stormed a New Jersey home early Sunday and fatally shot a registered sex offender who had held his girlfriend’s three children hostage, ending a 37-hour ordeal and recovering the bodies of the girlfriend and one of her children, authorities said.

As TheBlaze reported yesterday, officers initially went to the South Trenton home Friday afternoon and found a man was barricaded inside. A relative Carmelita Stevens, 44, said she hadn’t spoken to her in weeks and was worried, authorities said at a news conference Sunday. Upon further investigation, authorities then discovered her children hadn’t been to school in 12 days.

Police entered the home through a rear door and smelled an odor consistent with that of a decomposing body, Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said. The officers also noticed maggots throughout the residence.

They found 38-year-old Gerald “Skip” Tyrone Murphy in an upstairs bedroom and he told them he was armed with a gun and explosives and had three children with him, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr. said. Officers noticed one of the dead victims before they retreated from the second floor and rescued Stevens’ 19-year-old son from the basement, who said he hadn’t seen her or his siblings since about April 24.

Homes on the surrounding block were evacuated as a precaution, and police tape cordoned off the street in front of the house. A SWAT team was called, and an arson bomb unit was also on the scene. Police said Murphy could be seen from a window holding a black handgun.

Wanted Horry County child rapist shot and killed in Alabama

8-12-2013 Alabama:

Huntsville Alabama police said a man who was shot Friday morning in an incident involving an officer has died.

The victim was identified as Brent Egan Dotson, age 57, who was wanted for sentencing in a case of child rape.

Horry County police had been searching for Dotson who was wanted after being convicted of raping a 6-year-old girl.

Authorities said Dotson failed to show up for his trial in December, but the trial moved forward without him and he was convicted.

Alabama police got a 911 call at 8:07 a.m. Friday about a suspicious person at Mountain View Mobile Home Park on Slaughter Road, just south of Highway 72.

It's not known how long Dotson was in north Alabama or where he may have been staying, WHNT-TV reported.

Mountain View resident Samantha Perry told WHNT that she called police after spotting a man, who turned out to be Dotson.

She told the TV station that she saw the entire shootout unfold from her front window.

"He just didn't look right, he looked disturbed, very crazy," said Perry. "It's kind of shocking cause he could've gotten to my kids and the rest of the kids around here. I just can't believe somebody like that was here… I hate that the man lost his life, but he can't hurt no more kids, and I'm glad."

The Huntsville police officer who fired his weapon remains on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

The suspect in the shooting also showed a weapon and fired it, Hobbs said. Police spokesperson Harry Hobbs confirms an officer was involved, and fired his weapon in return.

Investigators are still trying to determine who fired the shot that hit the man.

Police are trying to determine if Dotson was shot by police or if his wound was self-inflicted. ..Source.. by Brie Jackson

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One of Horry County's Most Wanted killed in AL weekend shooting

Brent Egan Dotson is number one on Horry County's list of most wanted men for failure to appear for a lewd act committed on a child under 16. Horry County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Jeff Benton confirmed that Dotson was shot and killed in Huntsville, AL on Friday morning.

Huntsville police say the shooting happened at the Mountain View Mobile Home Park on Slaughter Road near Highway 72 in Huntsville Friday morning.

Officers received a call about a suspicious person at the trailer park sometime after 8 a.m., and police found a man at the premises and questioned him shortly after they arrived. The man then produced a gun and fired a shot. An officer fired a shot in return.

Dotson was transported to Huntsville Hospital and died around 9 a.m. Police are investigating whether his injury was self-inflicted or from the officer.

The officer involved was not injured. As with any officer-involved shooting, he has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Witnesses said the scene was traumatizing, especially for children who were around at the time. "We know a lot of these kids," said resident Samantha Perry. "It's very scary, especially with my kids not knowing what kind of people are around." Perry said the sounds of gunfire terrified her two children.

The Horry County Sheriff's Office has been working closely with the Huntsville, AL Police Department and their coroner's office.

Dotson's last known address was on Homestown Road in Myrtle Beach. Horry County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Cox said people who are wanted sometimes try to blend in with tourist and the transient populations along Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Some leave the state, and depending upon the severity of the crime, the Solicitor's Office will grant them access to chase them down.

WMBF News featured him on "Horry County's Most Wanted" in January. ..Source.. by WMBF News Staff

Middletown man admits shooting neighbor

8-7-2013 Indiana:

GOSHEN — A Middletown man pleaded guilty Tuesday in Orange County Court to first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of his neighbor, a registered sex offender.

Richard Brown, 69, took the plea in Orange County Court, admitting that he shot and killed 54-year-old Arthur Twyman on Wickham Avenue the night of Feb. 6, 2012. Richard Brown was arrested three weeks later and charged with murder.

In exchange for the manslaughter plea negotiated by Brown's lawyer, Joseph Brown (no relation), and Senior Assistant District Attorney Maryellen Albanese, Brown will get 15 years in prison and four years of post-release supervision by parole.

Richard Brown's wife watched from the courtroom gallery, accompanied by a relative. They have attended each court date.

Twyman's history as a convicted rapist and a registered sex offender didn't factor into his death. There had been tensions between the neighbors before the shooting, officials said at the time.

As he took his guilty plea, Richard Brown initially said he was trying to stop Twyman's dog from killing him. Then, after Judge Nicholas De Rosa moved to cancel the plea and set a trial date, Richard Brown acknowledged that he intended to seriously harm Twyman.

The defendant fired eight rounds from his .22-caliber Marlin rifle, hitting Twyman four times, Albanese told De Rosa.

"And when you did this, your intent was to cause serious physical injury?" De Rosa inquired.

"Yes," Richard Brown answered.

"And your conduct caused his death?"

"Yes."

Mrs. Brown declined to comment on the case.

Richard Brown remains in Orange County Jail, held in lieu of $250,000 bail or $500,000 bond. He'll be sentenced on Oct. 2. ..Source.. by Heather Yakin