This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Jonn Lilyea

  • Sunday morning feel good stories

    Sunday morning feel good stories

    From Fremont, California;

    A man killed by Fremont police Thursday night during an exchange of gunshots near a gas station had fled from an officer who tried to stop him for a probation violation earlier this week, a police spokeswoman said.

    Undercover and uniformed officers shot at the man after he pointed a gun at them near the ARCO station at the intersection of Fremont Boulevard and Nicolet Avenue, according to police. Authorities have not yet identified the man.

    Undercover officers spotted him around 6:47 p.m. as a passenger in a vehicle on Fremont Boulevard near Central Avenue, Fremont police spokeswoman Geneva Bosques said. Several marked patrol cars were then called to the area.

    The car stopped at the intersection, and police said when the man ran away they chased him. Police reported the man pointed a gun at one of the uniformed officers, so they fired at him, Bosques said. She said seven officers — three undercover and four patrol — fired their weapons.

  • Hugo Gonzalez bombs Sam’s Club

    Hugo Gonzalez bombs Sam’s Club

    According to KABC, Hugo Gonzalez set off two bombs inside a Sam’s Club in Ontario, California.

    According to an Ontario Police Department spokesperson, the incident was initially reported at 2:08 p.m. as a structure fire after the caller heard a “popping sound” on aisle 4 of the warehouse store in the 900 block of Milliken Avenue.

    Bomb squad personnel later confirmed that two homemade devices were detonated, but there were no injuries or significant damage.

    “Each device had ignited small fires to products within close proximity,” the police department said in a statement. “Sam’s Club employees acted quickly and used fire extinguishers to put out the flames.”

    According to the Ontario Fire Department’s bomb squad, the devices were set off at opposite ends of the store.

    When cops caught up to Hugo, they found more bomb-making material in his car. It’s too bad that aren’t laws forbidding the manufacture of explosive devices so these guys won’t attempt these incidences.

  • Lakeith Smith trades away 25 years for 65

    Several people have sent us links on Fox News about 18-year-old Lakeith Smith who participated in an armed robbery in Millbrook, Alabama. One of his accomplices, 16-year-old A’Donte Washington was killed when he pointed a gun at a police officer. Smith is then charged with his buddy’s murder along with the other participants, Jhavarske Jackson, 23, Jadarien Hardy, 22 and La’Anthony Washington, 22. Smith was offered a 25 year sentence but rejected the offer and got 65 years instead;

    “I don’t think Mr. Smith will be smiling long when he gets to prison,” C.J. Robinson, chief assistant district attorney, said. “We are very pleased with this sentence. Because the sentences are consecutive, it will be a long time before he comes up for even the possibility for parole, at least 20 to 25 years.”

    Judge [Sibley] Reynolds said Smith seemed to show no remorse for his crimes during the trial and did not apologize. He also overhead the teen say, “I don’t have time for this.”

    “You got plenty of time for this,” Reynolds told Smith before announcing the sentence. “When I called the case earlier you said you ain’t got time for this, so I didn’t know if you had time for this now?”

    Good job, Junior.

    I hope Claw oiled up the Whiz Wheel for this bumper crop of Name Scrabble contestants.

  • Driver plows into crowd in Muenster, Germany

    According to Fox News a driver drove his car into a crowd in Muenster, Germany, killing at least three pedestrians injuring dozens more before killing himself;

    Several people were killed and others were injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd of pedestrians Saturday in Muenster, German police said.

    Muenster Police have asked citizens to “avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub” as authorities investigate the incident. A large-scale police operation is currently underway. Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the city’s historic downtown area.

    CNN says that the vehicle was a delivery van.

    From BBC;

    The driver of the vehicle has killed himself, police said, without providing further details. They are not looking for more suspects.

    About 30 people are reported injured in the incident, which occurred near the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town. Some are said to be in a serious condition.

    Of course, no one is speculating that was a terror attack.

  • Marine Raider awarded Silver Star for Mali operation

    Marine Raider awarded Silver Star for Mali operation

    The Marine Corps Times reports that an unnamed Marine Raider was awarded a Silver Star Medal for his valor in an operation against terrorists who took over the Raddison Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali in 2015;

    The elite operator with 3rd Marine Raider Battalion out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was serving as a senior leader with the American commando force when his unit got word of a terrorist attack at the hotel, according to a command release.

    The Raider kitted up and devised a plan with his fellow teammates en route to the hotel, where terrorists associated with Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, had just stormed a hotel frequented by Westerners, holding nearly 170 hostages.

    “There was very little time to respond,” the Raider said in a command release. “We fell back on what we had prepared for. There were points in which the situation became more intense, ambiguous and scary. At times, the situation we faced was confusing and difficult. However, our purpose was clear. That clarity and unity of purpose allowed us to navigate the ambiguity and manage our emotions to accomplish the mission at hand.”

    Their actions resulted in the rescue of about 170 hostages and only one Marine was injured in the operation.

    “It was one of those defining points in life where you realize you are exactly where you belong,” the Raider said in the command release.

    Despite the intensity of the battle, the Raider said he “knew beyond all doubt” what needed to be done and that failure was never on his mind.

    “Every American we found and pulled out of the hotel only increased my desire to keep going,” he said in the release. “Every time the smoke cleared a little more, I felt both exposed and enabled.”

    Thanks to AW1Ed for the link.

  • Donald Jerden Hunley; con artist, valor thief (records added)

    Donald Jerden Hunley; con artist, valor thief (records added)

    According to the Citizen Tribune, Donald Jerden Hunley was convicted of ripping off his local American Legion Post of more than $10,000 while he was pretending to be a highly-decorated veteran;

    In a sentencing hearing before Judge Bob McGee, assistant district attorneys Willie Santana and William Bright explained to the Court that in December 2015, Hunley joined the American Legion Post #2 claiming to be a decorated veteran, Sergeant, and victim of combat-related post traumatic stress disorder.

    In reality, Hunley lasted five weeks in the military and was medically discharged before he even completed basic training. Based upon his lies, Hunley obtained leadership positions in the Post that allowed him access to the Post’s bank accounts.

    According to WBIR, he’d done it before;

    In 2007, Hunley went to churches in Jefferson County and told a story abut being an Army Ranger, sniper, and decorated veteran who received an American flag from First Lady Laura Bush when he was airlifted to Walter Reed Medical Center. By sharing that story, he was able to collect $7,000.

    He was convicted in 2008 for that.

    I guess they don’t know how to use Google in Tennessee, because I found another arrest for receiving stolen property in 1998.

    Now, his records. Actually, he had less than 5 weeks of active duty, He spent more time on DEP than active duty;

  • 2nd Lt. Travis Burch and fotos

    According to the Associated Press, Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Travis Burch has been charged with conduct unbecoming an officer for soliciting pictures from members of the military featuring their genitalia.

    Burch created a fraternal club of sorts that grew to 84 people, including 58 active military and 10 former members among the civilians, according to an investigation file obtained by The Associated Press. Most members were enlisted men in the Air Force, though the group also included a U.S. Marine and one current and one former U.S. Navy sailor.

    Burch used the military alphabet to create the code name “Whiskey Delta Tango” for the group known to users by a more vulgar term, according to a summary of the investigation.

    It started in 2012 and “was comprised of members who when going someplace deemed ‘cool’ or coming up with a ‘funny’ idea would take a picture of their penis with something related to the location or object in the picture,” the investigation said.

    The Air Force spent a year investigating Burch and his antics, for some reason.

    [Defense lawyer Jeremiah J. Sullivan III] confirmed Burch was part of the presidential security detail while stationed at Andrews Air Force Base from 2014 to 2016, but said no such photo was shot at the house then occupied by Vice President Joe Biden.

    “There were never photos taken at the White House or the vice president’s house,” he said. “We know that for a fact.”

  • Saturday morning feel good stories

    Saturday morning feel good stories

    From Cherokee County, South Carolina;

    Authorities say a Gaffney man was shot and killed during an alleged home invasion early Friday morning.

    The coroner identified the man as 41-year-old Charles Shannon Alley.

    Witnesses say Alley was armed with a shotgun when he pushed his way into a home on Piney Knob Drive in Gaffney around 3:25 a.m. Friday, Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler said in a statement.

    Fowler said Alley allegedly began fighting with a resident and threatened to harm two others at the home.

    “While engaged in the altercation, Alley was allegedly shot in the head by the female resident.

    From St Louis, Missouri;

    It began about 9:30 p.m. when the robber entered a home in the 2300 block of South Jefferson Avenue and demanded money, witnesses told police. He shot one of the five people inside, a 67-year-old man, in the back, police said.

    Another man inside the home, 29, grabbed his own gun and shot the robber in the leg, police said. The robber fled, but continued to fire shots.

    A 32-year-old man who saw this also pulled out a gun and shot at the fleeing robber’s vehicle, according to police. The robber shot at him, too, but missed.

    Police broadcast a description and the injured suspect was arrested on Harlan Avenue, off North Broadway in the Baden neighborhood.

    Robber robbed in Cincinnati, Ohio;

    Police say that they have identified a suspect in two separate bank robberies. However, Alfonso Goodwin is not under arrest. He is in the hospital.

    A surveillance picture from robbery at the US Bank in Colerain shows that the man is wearing a hat that reads, “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” and a shirt with the text, “I rule the rooster.”

    A man wore the exact same getup last Tuesday when he held up a US Bank in Middletown with the same exact hat and same exact shirt.

    Police say that they have identified Alfonso Goodwin, 48, as the suspect in both. Goodwin will be charged with aggravated robbery and other charges are pending.

    However, Middletown Maj. Scott Reeve said Goodwin was playing dice with a group of people. When they saw his wad of cash they robbed him at gunpoint. When Goodwin resisted Maj. Reeve said he was shot several times.

    From Kansas City, Missouri;

    A man said he fatally shot an intruder early Friday at a vacant apartment building he was renovating, according to Kansas City police.

    Police officers were called at 4:06 a.m. to the 2100 block of East Linwood Boulevard on a reported shooting and found a man dead.

    Investigators said the 911 caller told authorities he had shot someone, but provided few details. Police tracked the call to a home near 74th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard.

    Detectives were able to make contact with caller. Police said they are questioning the man,who is claiming self-defense.

    Bobo sends a link from Indianapolis, Indiana;

    The video above shows an elderly man walking behind the would be criminal.

    After a few steps, the robber turns around and tells the man to give him all his money. The man tells the robber that he has no money and he had just left the hospital.

    The two fight for a little bit and after the elderly man begins to scream, the victim’s 85 year old brother comes running up to the men.

    The brother hits the robber in the head with a wrench! The robber eventually runs away… and all is well.