by Bob Walsh
According to CDCr (California Dept. of Corrections and rehabilitation) four individuals have come forward to claim the carcass of Charlie Manson, all claiming to be his next-of-kin. So they are keeping Charlie in an ice box somewhere while the coroner sorts it out.
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
SOME SITUATIONS HAVE NO GOOD OUTCOMES
by Bob Walsh
In November 2008 it was a moderately common, grotty little family homicide in Flagstaff, Arizona. Except for one factor. The murderer was an eight-year old.
Vincent Romero, 29 and his friend Timothy Romans, 39, were both dead. The youngster shot and killed his dad with a single-shot .22 rifle, then called to Romans, telling him something was wrong When Romans approached the boy shot and killed him too.
In two days the youngster will be 18, and will walk away clean. No probation, no mandatory psych follow-up. Nothing. He did have some trouble with violation of his probation when he was 12, but has been 'clean" since then.
He has been housed in a foster home for some period of time. It is likely, though not mandatory, that he will continue to live there until he is 21 and likely but not mandatory he will continue psychiatric care of some sort. Apparently he was pissed off because his father chastised him for pulling the rifle out from under his bed without permission.
The kid, about to be a young adult, still has strong ties with his mother.
I wonder if legally there will be a prohibition against him owning or possessing firearms. The kid copped to negligent homicide, for deliberately killing two people. I guess he had a good lawyer.
In November 2008 it was a moderately common, grotty little family homicide in Flagstaff, Arizona. Except for one factor. The murderer was an eight-year old.
Vincent Romero, 29 and his friend Timothy Romans, 39, were both dead. The youngster shot and killed his dad with a single-shot .22 rifle, then called to Romans, telling him something was wrong When Romans approached the boy shot and killed him too.
In two days the youngster will be 18, and will walk away clean. No probation, no mandatory psych follow-up. Nothing. He did have some trouble with violation of his probation when he was 12, but has been 'clean" since then.
He has been housed in a foster home for some period of time. It is likely, though not mandatory, that he will continue to live there until he is 21 and likely but not mandatory he will continue psychiatric care of some sort. Apparently he was pissed off because his father chastised him for pulling the rifle out from under his bed without permission.
The kid, about to be a young adult, still has strong ties with his mother.
I wonder if legally there will be a prohibition against him owning or possessing firearms. The kid copped to negligent homicide, for deliberately killing two people. I guess he had a good lawyer.
THROW THE KEY AWAY ON THESE FOUR OHIO TEEN MURDERERS AGED 13-15
Four Toledo teens charged with murder after sandbag tossed from overpass
By Ryan Dunn
The Toledo Blade
December 26, 2017
The loved ones of Marquise Byrd grieve his tragic killing as they prepare for a series of court cases to come.
But for now, they would still like a phone call.
“I would appreciate if [the boys' parents] could at least call my auntie and tell her they're sorry,” said Mr. Byrd's cousin, Shaveontae King.
Toledo police said Tuesday they filed murder charges against four teenagers — Pedro Salinas, 13; Sean Carter, 14; Demetrius Wimberly, 14, and William Parker, 15 -— accused of killing Mr. Byrd with a sandbag dropped onto I-75.
An autopsy found Mr. Byrd, 22, of Warren, Mich. suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and neck. He was pronounced dead 8:57 p.m. Friday at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, according to the Lucas County Coroner's Office.
Mr. Byrd was traveling to meet friends in Toledo. He was engaged and had a 1-year-old son, said Ms. King, 26, of Roseville, Mich.
“Young, energetic, outgoing, lovable. He had a bright smile,” Ms. King said while describing Mr. Byrd as like a brother to her.
Officers responded about 10:10 p.m. Dec. 19 to the Indiana Avenue bridge over I-75. A sandbag had smashed through a car’s windshield and hit Mr. Byrd in the passenger seat.
Police said the boys were tossing objects from the overpass, and officers saw the teenagers leaving the area after the incident. Each is charged with vehicular vandalism as well.
Ms. King said she has no sympathy for the teenagers. They know right from wrong, and should be charged as adults, she said.
This killing has devastated their family, Ms. King said. She recalled the October killing of a motorist in Genesee County, Michigan, who was struck by a large rock. At the time, Ms. King thought it would never happen to them.
“My auntie has to bury her son. He's gone. He's never coming back,” Ms. King said. “She's holding up the best she can.”
Lori Olender, deputy chief of the county prosecutor's juvenile division, said she is not seeking to transfer the teenagers' cases to adult jurisdiction. She said she did not wish to put Mr. Byrd’s family through the court case with no chance of success.
“These kids have almost no record,” Ms. Olender said.
Ms. Olender cited a December, 2016 case in which a 14-year-old Toledo girl was accused of fatally shooting her brother. It was a deliberate act, and she did not stand trial as an adult, Ms. Olender said.
Ohio law allows children as young as 14 to stand trial as adults, but those younger than 16 are discretionary transfers.
Judges in these cases must consider factors including whether the juveniles could rehabilitate by 21 years old, if they used firearms, and whether they are mature enough for the adult system.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Lori Olender, deputy chief of the county prosecutor's juvenile division, should be ashamed of herself. How can she be sure that an adult court trial would have no chance of success?
Personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass whether these murderers could rehabilitate by age 21. Even the 13-year old one had to know tossing that sandbag from the overpass could result in one or more deaths. There have been too many of these deadly object overpass tossings. These four teens and other teens committing such crimes should serve as an example to other would be deadly object tossers that they will be shown no leniency, regardless of their age.
By Ryan Dunn
The Toledo Blade
December 26, 2017
The loved ones of Marquise Byrd grieve his tragic killing as they prepare for a series of court cases to come.
But for now, they would still like a phone call.
“I would appreciate if [the boys' parents] could at least call my auntie and tell her they're sorry,” said Mr. Byrd's cousin, Shaveontae King.
Toledo police said Tuesday they filed murder charges against four teenagers — Pedro Salinas, 13; Sean Carter, 14; Demetrius Wimberly, 14, and William Parker, 15 -— accused of killing Mr. Byrd with a sandbag dropped onto I-75.
An autopsy found Mr. Byrd, 22, of Warren, Mich. suffered blunt-force trauma to the head and neck. He was pronounced dead 8:57 p.m. Friday at Mercy Health St. Vincent Medical Center, according to the Lucas County Coroner's Office.
Mr. Byrd was traveling to meet friends in Toledo. He was engaged and had a 1-year-old son, said Ms. King, 26, of Roseville, Mich.
“Young, energetic, outgoing, lovable. He had a bright smile,” Ms. King said while describing Mr. Byrd as like a brother to her.
Officers responded about 10:10 p.m. Dec. 19 to the Indiana Avenue bridge over I-75. A sandbag had smashed through a car’s windshield and hit Mr. Byrd in the passenger seat.
Police said the boys were tossing objects from the overpass, and officers saw the teenagers leaving the area after the incident. Each is charged with vehicular vandalism as well.
Ms. King said she has no sympathy for the teenagers. They know right from wrong, and should be charged as adults, she said.
This killing has devastated their family, Ms. King said. She recalled the October killing of a motorist in Genesee County, Michigan, who was struck by a large rock. At the time, Ms. King thought it would never happen to them.
“My auntie has to bury her son. He's gone. He's never coming back,” Ms. King said. “She's holding up the best she can.”
Lori Olender, deputy chief of the county prosecutor's juvenile division, said she is not seeking to transfer the teenagers' cases to adult jurisdiction. She said she did not wish to put Mr. Byrd’s family through the court case with no chance of success.
“These kids have almost no record,” Ms. Olender said.
Ms. Olender cited a December, 2016 case in which a 14-year-old Toledo girl was accused of fatally shooting her brother. It was a deliberate act, and she did not stand trial as an adult, Ms. Olender said.
Ohio law allows children as young as 14 to stand trial as adults, but those younger than 16 are discretionary transfers.
Judges in these cases must consider factors including whether the juveniles could rehabilitate by 21 years old, if they used firearms, and whether they are mature enough for the adult system.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Lori Olender, deputy chief of the county prosecutor's juvenile division, should be ashamed of herself. How can she be sure that an adult court trial would have no chance of success?
Personally, I don’t give a rat’s ass whether these murderers could rehabilitate by age 21. Even the 13-year old one had to know tossing that sandbag from the overpass could result in one or more deaths. There have been too many of these deadly object overpass tossings. These four teens and other teens committing such crimes should serve as an example to other would be deadly object tossers that they will be shown no leniency, regardless of their age.
SKY HIGH CALIFORNIA RENT ANDHOUSING PRICES LEAD MANY INTO HOMELESSNESS
California's hidden homeless: Teachers, chefs, nurses and other middle class workers living in cars in parking lots because of the state's crazy property prices
By Emily Crane
Daily Mail
December 26, 2017
The rising cost of rent and housing in California is forcing residents into alternative accommodation with middle class workers taking up residence in their cars and RVs by the side of the road to make ends meet.
Hundreds of people, including nurses and chefs, are sleeping in parking lots in affluent areas like Santa Barbara as they make the most of the only homes they can afford.
Marva Ericson, who works as a nursing assistant, has been sleeping in her Kia for the past three months. She wakes up before dawn each day, showers at the local YMCA and dresses in her hospital scrubs to head to work.
'I wake up and I say, 'Thank you God for keeping me safe last night, and thank you for the Safe Parking program',' the 48-year-old told the LA Times.
Like Ericson, most of the people sleeping rough in their cars are part of the area's Safe Parking program, which is run by the New Beginnings Counseling Center and aims to provide a secure area for the homeless to sleep in their vehicles.
The program has roughly 150 clients and 40 per cent of those are working but they just can't afford an apartment with the rising cost of housing.
About 35 per cent of those in the program are seniors and about 30 per cent are disabled. The majority are living out of their small cars with only 25 per cent sleeping in RVs.
Ericson ended up homeless after a series of medical set backs. She suffered a number of seizures that forced her to quit her job and was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumor.
She overcame the illness while caring for her dying mother and is now working two different jobs to make ends meet. Up until three months ago, Ericson was living in apartments for $1,000-1,600 a month but became homeless when she fell behind in rent.
Kathy, 65, and Phil, 74, have been living together in their old RV after losing their condo in 2013.
'I was always into December and making the house wonderfully warm and beautiful,' Kathy said of the holiday season. 'I've got some little lights on the ceiling of the RV and I got out my mom's old snow globe, with a music box on it.'
Santiago Geronimo, who is a chef at a high-end Santa Barbara restaurant, has been living in a Ford Explorer for three months with his girlfriend and her eighth-grade son Luis.
The Safe Parking program, which has been running for 12 years, allows clients to stay overnight in the parking lots of churches, not-for-profits and government offices.
Clients can park their cars after 7pm and need to be gone by the early morning.
In Santa Barbara alone, there are 23 parking lots currently used for the Safe Parking program.
There is also a waitlist of 40 people desperate to take part.
By Emily Crane
Daily Mail
December 26, 2017
The rising cost of rent and housing in California is forcing residents into alternative accommodation with middle class workers taking up residence in their cars and RVs by the side of the road to make ends meet.
Hundreds of people, including nurses and chefs, are sleeping in parking lots in affluent areas like Santa Barbara as they make the most of the only homes they can afford.
Marva Ericson, who works as a nursing assistant, has been sleeping in her Kia for the past three months. She wakes up before dawn each day, showers at the local YMCA and dresses in her hospital scrubs to head to work.
'I wake up and I say, 'Thank you God for keeping me safe last night, and thank you for the Safe Parking program',' the 48-year-old told the LA Times.
Like Ericson, most of the people sleeping rough in their cars are part of the area's Safe Parking program, which is run by the New Beginnings Counseling Center and aims to provide a secure area for the homeless to sleep in their vehicles.
The program has roughly 150 clients and 40 per cent of those are working but they just can't afford an apartment with the rising cost of housing.
About 35 per cent of those in the program are seniors and about 30 per cent are disabled. The majority are living out of their small cars with only 25 per cent sleeping in RVs.
Ericson ended up homeless after a series of medical set backs. She suffered a number of seizures that forced her to quit her job and was eventually diagnosed with a brain tumor.
She overcame the illness while caring for her dying mother and is now working two different jobs to make ends meet. Up until three months ago, Ericson was living in apartments for $1,000-1,600 a month but became homeless when she fell behind in rent.
Kathy, 65, and Phil, 74, have been living together in their old RV after losing their condo in 2013.
'I was always into December and making the house wonderfully warm and beautiful,' Kathy said of the holiday season. 'I've got some little lights on the ceiling of the RV and I got out my mom's old snow globe, with a music box on it.'
Santiago Geronimo, who is a chef at a high-end Santa Barbara restaurant, has been living in a Ford Explorer for three months with his girlfriend and her eighth-grade son Luis.
The Safe Parking program, which has been running for 12 years, allows clients to stay overnight in the parking lots of churches, not-for-profits and government offices.
Clients can park their cars after 7pm and need to be gone by the early morning.
In Santa Barbara alone, there are 23 parking lots currently used for the Safe Parking program.
There is also a waitlist of 40 people desperate to take part.
BODY PARTS DEALER SOLD DAMAGED GOODS ….. DISEASED BODY PARTS THAT IS
Federal agents found four preserved fetuses in their second trimester during Detroit raid of body broker's warehouse
By Reuters and Regina F. Graham
Daily Mail
December 26, 2017
Federal agents discovered four preserved fetuses in the Detroit warehouse of a man who sold human body parts, confidential photographs reviewed by Reuters show.
The fetuses were found during a December 2013 raid of businessman Arthur Rathburn´s warehouse. The fetuses, which appear to have been in their second trimester, were submerged in a liquid that included human brain tissue.
Rathburn, a former body broker, is accused of defrauding customers by sending them diseased body parts. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is set for January.
How Rathburn acquired the fetuses and what he intended to do with them is unclear. Rathburn´s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment, and neither the indictment nor other documents made public in his case mention the fetuses.
'This needs to be reviewed,' said U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who recently chaired a special U.S. House committee on the use of fetal tissue.
Blackburn recoiled when a Reuters reporter showed her some of the photographs, taken by government officials involved in the raid.
In four of the photos, a crime scene investigator in a hazmat suit uses forceps to lift a different fetus from the brownish liquid. In three other photos, a marker that includes a government evidence identification number lies beside a fetus.
'The actions depicted in these photos are an insult to human dignity,' said U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
A Republican from Virginia, Goodlatte said that if individuals 'violate federal laws and traffic in body parts of unborn children for monetary gain,' they should be 'held accountable.'
Blackburn said the discoveries in Rathburn´s warehouse raise questions about the practices of body brokers across America.
Such brokers take cadavers donated to science, dismember them and sell them for parts, typically for use in medical research and education.
The multimillion-dollar industry has been built largely on the poor, who donate their bodies in return for a free cremation of leftover body parts.
The buying and selling of cadavers and other body parts - with the exception of organs used in transplants - is legal and virtually unregulated in America. But trading in fetal tissue violates U.S. law.
In most states, including Michigan, public health authorities are not required to regularly inspect body broker facilities. As a result, it´s impossible to know whether body brokers who deal in adult donors are acquiring and profiting from fetuses.
Blackburn´s call for action came in response to a Reuters series that exposed abuses in the human body trade and what Blackburn called 'lax oversight' and 'lax enforcement' of the industry.
Photos from inside Rathburn´s warehouse offered a stark example of government failures to police the industry.
They include images of rotting human heads, some floating face up in a plastic cooler. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has been investigating Rathburn and other body brokers, declined to comment.
Blackburn said she found other Reuters stories about the body trade disturbing.
As part of the news agency´s examination of the industry, for example, a Reuters reporter was able to purchase two human heads and a cervical spine from Restore Life USA, a broker based in Blackburn´s home state of Tennessee. The deals were struck after just a few emails, at a cost of $900 plus shipping.
'It is sickening' how easily Restore Life sold the parts to Reuters, Blackburn said.
Told of Blackburn's concerns, Restore Life owner James Byrd said his company has 'invited her to tour our facility and to review the policy and procedures we have in place.'
By Reuters and Regina F. Graham
Daily Mail
December 26, 2017
Federal agents discovered four preserved fetuses in the Detroit warehouse of a man who sold human body parts, confidential photographs reviewed by Reuters show.
The fetuses were found during a December 2013 raid of businessman Arthur Rathburn´s warehouse. The fetuses, which appear to have been in their second trimester, were submerged in a liquid that included human brain tissue.
Rathburn, a former body broker, is accused of defrauding customers by sending them diseased body parts. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is set for January.
How Rathburn acquired the fetuses and what he intended to do with them is unclear. Rathburn´s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment, and neither the indictment nor other documents made public in his case mention the fetuses.
'This needs to be reviewed,' said U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who recently chaired a special U.S. House committee on the use of fetal tissue.
Blackburn recoiled when a Reuters reporter showed her some of the photographs, taken by government officials involved in the raid.
In four of the photos, a crime scene investigator in a hazmat suit uses forceps to lift a different fetus from the brownish liquid. In three other photos, a marker that includes a government evidence identification number lies beside a fetus.
'The actions depicted in these photos are an insult to human dignity,' said U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
A Republican from Virginia, Goodlatte said that if individuals 'violate federal laws and traffic in body parts of unborn children for monetary gain,' they should be 'held accountable.'
Blackburn said the discoveries in Rathburn´s warehouse raise questions about the practices of body brokers across America.
Such brokers take cadavers donated to science, dismember them and sell them for parts, typically for use in medical research and education.
The multimillion-dollar industry has been built largely on the poor, who donate their bodies in return for a free cremation of leftover body parts.
The buying and selling of cadavers and other body parts - with the exception of organs used in transplants - is legal and virtually unregulated in America. But trading in fetal tissue violates U.S. law.
In most states, including Michigan, public health authorities are not required to regularly inspect body broker facilities. As a result, it´s impossible to know whether body brokers who deal in adult donors are acquiring and profiting from fetuses.
Blackburn´s call for action came in response to a Reuters series that exposed abuses in the human body trade and what Blackburn called 'lax oversight' and 'lax enforcement' of the industry.
Photos from inside Rathburn´s warehouse offered a stark example of government failures to police the industry.
They include images of rotting human heads, some floating face up in a plastic cooler. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has been investigating Rathburn and other body brokers, declined to comment.
Blackburn said she found other Reuters stories about the body trade disturbing.
As part of the news agency´s examination of the industry, for example, a Reuters reporter was able to purchase two human heads and a cervical spine from Restore Life USA, a broker based in Blackburn´s home state of Tennessee. The deals were struck after just a few emails, at a cost of $900 plus shipping.
'It is sickening' how easily Restore Life sold the parts to Reuters, Blackburn said.
Told of Blackburn's concerns, Restore Life owner James Byrd said his company has 'invited her to tour our facility and to review the policy and procedures we have in place.'
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
FAT ROSIE WANTS BEN SHAPIRO TO SUCK HER DICK ….. HUH, FATSO HAS A DICK?
Is this proof Twitter favors liberals? Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro slams the site for their 'double standards' after they cleared Rosie O'Donnell of harassing him with vulgar post saying 'suck my dick'
Daily Mail
December 24, 2017
Ben Shapiro has slammed Twitter for saying Rosie O'Donnell was not abusive when she 'harassed' him on the social media platform.
The conservative columnist and commentator reported the former The View host after she directed a vulgar comment at him.
O'Donnell told editor in chief of the Daily Wire Shapiro to 'suck my dick ben' in a tweet that she later deleted.
She then taunted him for looking like a 'high school junior' when he said the remark was sexual harassment.
Shapiro wrote in a tweet on Friday: 'Just reported @Rosie for targeted harassment, mainly to see if Twitter does indeed have a double standard. Everyone knows if Rosie were conservative, Twitter would suspend her in a hot second. So, Twitter, put your money where your mouth is.'
He then wrote: 'It's an attempt to clarify Twitter's standards. I don't actually want them to ban or suspend Rosie. I want them to stop applying their own rules inconsistently.'
Just a few hours later, Shapiro revealed to his followers that he had already got a response from Twitter.
Alongside a screenshot of the decision from Twitter, he wrote: 'Surprise of surprises. Twitter says that @Rosie's tweets were not in fact abusive in any way under their rules. Good to know.'
The feud between the pair started when Shapiro slammed the talk show host for saying she would give Senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake $2million for voting against the Republican's tax reform.
Many critics, including Shapiro, said the payment would be a violation of federal law.
After Shapiro alerted his followers that he had reported O'Donnell, she simply replied, 'oh ben'.
He responded to her by saying: 'All victims deserve to be believed.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Saturday night, Twitter reversed its position and removed Rosie’s ‘suck my dick’ tweet. Twitter sent Shapiro the following notice:
“You have received two emails from us about your recent report. The first email stated that the Tweets were not in violation of our policies when in fact they are, based on our Twitter rules. We have required that the reported Tweets be deleted and they have since been removed.”
Daily Mail
December 24, 2017
Ben Shapiro has slammed Twitter for saying Rosie O'Donnell was not abusive when she 'harassed' him on the social media platform.
The conservative columnist and commentator reported the former The View host after she directed a vulgar comment at him.
O'Donnell told editor in chief of the Daily Wire Shapiro to 'suck my dick ben' in a tweet that she later deleted.
She then taunted him for looking like a 'high school junior' when he said the remark was sexual harassment.
Shapiro wrote in a tweet on Friday: 'Just reported @Rosie for targeted harassment, mainly to see if Twitter does indeed have a double standard. Everyone knows if Rosie were conservative, Twitter would suspend her in a hot second. So, Twitter, put your money where your mouth is.'
He then wrote: 'It's an attempt to clarify Twitter's standards. I don't actually want them to ban or suspend Rosie. I want them to stop applying their own rules inconsistently.'
Just a few hours later, Shapiro revealed to his followers that he had already got a response from Twitter.
Alongside a screenshot of the decision from Twitter, he wrote: 'Surprise of surprises. Twitter says that @Rosie's tweets were not in fact abusive in any way under their rules. Good to know.'
The feud between the pair started when Shapiro slammed the talk show host for saying she would give Senators Susan Collins and Jeff Flake $2million for voting against the Republican's tax reform.
Many critics, including Shapiro, said the payment would be a violation of federal law.
After Shapiro alerted his followers that he had reported O'Donnell, she simply replied, 'oh ben'.
He responded to her by saying: 'All victims deserve to be believed.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Saturday night, Twitter reversed its position and removed Rosie’s ‘suck my dick’ tweet. Twitter sent Shapiro the following notice:
“You have received two emails from us about your recent report. The first email stated that the Tweets were not in violation of our policies when in fact they are, based on our Twitter rules. We have required that the reported Tweets be deleted and they have since been removed.”
MEXICAN KILLER COPS HUNTED BY JALISCO NEW GENERATION CARTEL
Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel put a price on the heads of police officers accused of killing women and children and allegedly attempting to cover up the crime
By Jeremy Kryt
Daily Beast
December 20. 2017
In the central Mexican state of Morelos on Thursday, Nov. 30, a raid by state police left four women, an infant, and a teenage boy dead. And since then Mexico’s fastest growing drug cartel has been out for blood.
The officers involved claim the deceased were “caught in a crossfire” during a shootout at their residence in the town of Temixco, about three miles south of Cuernavaca, a popular tourist destination.
But the crossfire theory has been contradicted by eyewitness testimony and and by forensic evidence. The half-dozen victims were found huddled on the bathroom floor and appear to have been killed execution style. At least three bodies were found with a single 9mm bullet to the head, according to the family lawyer. Investigators also charge that the police officers falsified evidence in the case, such as planting bogus firearms near the bodies.
The target of the raid was José Valdez Chapa, aka “El Señor de la V” (“The Lord of the V”). Valdez allegedly has been linked to several criminal organizations, including Los Rojos (The Reds), the Southern Cartel, and the ascendant Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Those killed during the operation were all Valdez’s immediate family, including his wife, mother, sister, cousin, 2-month-old niece, and 14-year-old nephew. They were celebrating the baptism of the youngest child when police stormed the apartment building.
Valdez and six others surrendered to authorities during the raid. However, over the next few days all the suspects were freed, with the presiding judge citing “inconsistencies” in police reports and in the results of field ballistic tests.
Upon his release, The Lord of the V was met by a convoy of 10 trucks bearing some 40 men, as reported by Mexico’s Milenio newspaper. Standing before the courthouse, Valdez promised vengeance against those officials from the Morelos State Commission for Public Security responsible for the alleged extrajudicial killings.
“For every drop of blood spilled from my family [there] will be a liter of blood spilled from yours,” Valdez vowed before climbing aboard one of the trucks and speeding off.
“Perfect Lethality”
Valdez wasn’t alone in his outrage over the bloodshed of innocents and charges of police corruption. The “massacre” quickly led to street protests in Temixco, with marchers carrying signs demanding the accused officers be brought to justice.
The family’s lawyer has accused authorities of “fabricating” a crime scene, and forensics indicate the weapons planted on the bodies of the slain women had not been fired by them. In fact, investigators indicate that police officers were the only ones to have discharged weapons during the raid, and that their claims of “repelling” an attack were faked.
A survivor of the assault said that officers “came in shooting,” and promised “that they were going to kill everyone.” Based on preliminary evidence, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission has promised to take up the case, although such scrutiny carries little official weight.
Morelos Police Commissioner Alberto Capella already has walked back his initial promise to undertake an internal investigation. Capella now refuses to release the names of the officers involved and is sticking to the “crossfire” story despite evidence to the contrary.
“These cases are all too common in Mexico,” says Laura Carlsen, director of the Mexico-based Americas Project, in an interview with The Daily Beast. “There’s even a category for it with the macabre title of ‘perfect lethality.’”
That’s when “the people on just one side are killed and there are no wounded. This doesn’t happen in a shootout—in real life, in a typical shootout, you have about an equal killed-to-wounded ratio,” Carlsen said. Perfect lethality only “happens in an execution.”
Extrajudicial killings like those in Temixco are “part of the strategy and a standard practice of the police and armed forces here,” Carlson says. A 2016 analysis by the United Nations also highlighted the “lack of accountability” behind such frequent executions in Mexico.
“Trust in the police and justice system [is] at desperately low levels among the public,” says Duncan Wood, a Latin American specialist with the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Wood also agrees with Carlsen that the narrative offered by Morelos state authorities in the Temixco shootings seems implausible:
“With ample evidence to show that police have repeatedly failed to use effective investigative tools and procedures, there is every reason to be skeptical of the official version of events,” says Wood.
Until an independent investigation takes place, he adds, “serious doubts will continue to be raised about police actions.”
V for “Vendetta”
José “El Señor de la V” Valdez was last seen threatening the Morelos state police and promising blood for blood. But his enemies are also out for vengeance.
In December of 2015, another shootout occurred in Morelos, this time in an upscale neighborhood of Cuernavaca. The Lord of the V escaped, but Valdez’s younger brother Óscar was killed in the gun battle—and so was one of the cops.
Observers say the slaughter of the Valdez clan in Temixco was likely meant as payback for the dead officer.
“This case apparently shows a bloody vendetta in a context of impunity such that security forces didn’t think twice about massacring an entire family,” Carlsen says. “Mexico is dangerously close to a state where police and armed forces have in practice carte blanche powers, with no consequences for crimes and human rights violations.”
But if corrupt cops might have little reason to fear legal repercussions in Mexico, they can still be subject to the law of the streets.
A week after events in Temixco, the fearsome CJNG put up signs along a highway in Morelos offering a 100,000 peso reward (about $5,000) for the heads of Commissioner Capella and several other police chiefs and commanders linked to the Valdez case.
By far the most powerful of the crime groups with which Valdez has been associated, the involvement of the CJNG dramatically increases the chances that Lord V will act on his promise to spill “liters” of blood in his quest for revenge.
“CJNG is now the largest cartel in Mexico. They’re always looking for ways to expand their territory, and Morelos is no exception,” says Emmanuel Gallardo, an independent journalist in Mexico City. He explains that bounties on the officers are a way to “pressure and intimidate” authorities into compliance with the cartel.
“This is just more proof that Mexican authorities are incapable of providing security to citizens,” says Gallardo, who characterizes police in Morelos as “corrupt to the core.”
Americas Project Director Carlsen takes heart, however, from the response generated by grassroots demonstrations and NGOs alike:
“The fact that there are protests and investigation of the [Temixco] massacre as a crime against humanity is encouraging,” she says. “If there is enough outrage and organization, the hope is that it can crack the impunity”—and in the process thwart the law of the street.
By Jeremy Kryt
Daily Beast
December 20. 2017
In the central Mexican state of Morelos on Thursday, Nov. 30, a raid by state police left four women, an infant, and a teenage boy dead. And since then Mexico’s fastest growing drug cartel has been out for blood.
The officers involved claim the deceased were “caught in a crossfire” during a shootout at their residence in the town of Temixco, about three miles south of Cuernavaca, a popular tourist destination.
But the crossfire theory has been contradicted by eyewitness testimony and and by forensic evidence. The half-dozen victims were found huddled on the bathroom floor and appear to have been killed execution style. At least three bodies were found with a single 9mm bullet to the head, according to the family lawyer. Investigators also charge that the police officers falsified evidence in the case, such as planting bogus firearms near the bodies.
The target of the raid was José Valdez Chapa, aka “El Señor de la V” (“The Lord of the V”). Valdez allegedly has been linked to several criminal organizations, including Los Rojos (The Reds), the Southern Cartel, and the ascendant Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Those killed during the operation were all Valdez’s immediate family, including his wife, mother, sister, cousin, 2-month-old niece, and 14-year-old nephew. They were celebrating the baptism of the youngest child when police stormed the apartment building.
Valdez and six others surrendered to authorities during the raid. However, over the next few days all the suspects were freed, with the presiding judge citing “inconsistencies” in police reports and in the results of field ballistic tests.
Upon his release, The Lord of the V was met by a convoy of 10 trucks bearing some 40 men, as reported by Mexico’s Milenio newspaper. Standing before the courthouse, Valdez promised vengeance against those officials from the Morelos State Commission for Public Security responsible for the alleged extrajudicial killings.
“For every drop of blood spilled from my family [there] will be a liter of blood spilled from yours,” Valdez vowed before climbing aboard one of the trucks and speeding off.
“Perfect Lethality”
Valdez wasn’t alone in his outrage over the bloodshed of innocents and charges of police corruption. The “massacre” quickly led to street protests in Temixco, with marchers carrying signs demanding the accused officers be brought to justice.
The family’s lawyer has accused authorities of “fabricating” a crime scene, and forensics indicate the weapons planted on the bodies of the slain women had not been fired by them. In fact, investigators indicate that police officers were the only ones to have discharged weapons during the raid, and that their claims of “repelling” an attack were faked.
A survivor of the assault said that officers “came in shooting,” and promised “that they were going to kill everyone.” Based on preliminary evidence, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission has promised to take up the case, although such scrutiny carries little official weight.
Morelos Police Commissioner Alberto Capella already has walked back his initial promise to undertake an internal investigation. Capella now refuses to release the names of the officers involved and is sticking to the “crossfire” story despite evidence to the contrary.
“These cases are all too common in Mexico,” says Laura Carlsen, director of the Mexico-based Americas Project, in an interview with The Daily Beast. “There’s even a category for it with the macabre title of ‘perfect lethality.’”
That’s when “the people on just one side are killed and there are no wounded. This doesn’t happen in a shootout—in real life, in a typical shootout, you have about an equal killed-to-wounded ratio,” Carlsen said. Perfect lethality only “happens in an execution.”
Extrajudicial killings like those in Temixco are “part of the strategy and a standard practice of the police and armed forces here,” Carlson says. A 2016 analysis by the United Nations also highlighted the “lack of accountability” behind such frequent executions in Mexico.
“Trust in the police and justice system [is] at desperately low levels among the public,” says Duncan Wood, a Latin American specialist with the Woodrow Wilson Center.
Wood also agrees with Carlsen that the narrative offered by Morelos state authorities in the Temixco shootings seems implausible:
“With ample evidence to show that police have repeatedly failed to use effective investigative tools and procedures, there is every reason to be skeptical of the official version of events,” says Wood.
Until an independent investigation takes place, he adds, “serious doubts will continue to be raised about police actions.”
V for “Vendetta”
José “El Señor de la V” Valdez was last seen threatening the Morelos state police and promising blood for blood. But his enemies are also out for vengeance.
In December of 2015, another shootout occurred in Morelos, this time in an upscale neighborhood of Cuernavaca. The Lord of the V escaped, but Valdez’s younger brother Óscar was killed in the gun battle—and so was one of the cops.
Observers say the slaughter of the Valdez clan in Temixco was likely meant as payback for the dead officer.
“This case apparently shows a bloody vendetta in a context of impunity such that security forces didn’t think twice about massacring an entire family,” Carlsen says. “Mexico is dangerously close to a state where police and armed forces have in practice carte blanche powers, with no consequences for crimes and human rights violations.”
But if corrupt cops might have little reason to fear legal repercussions in Mexico, they can still be subject to the law of the streets.
A week after events in Temixco, the fearsome CJNG put up signs along a highway in Morelos offering a 100,000 peso reward (about $5,000) for the heads of Commissioner Capella and several other police chiefs and commanders linked to the Valdez case.
By far the most powerful of the crime groups with which Valdez has been associated, the involvement of the CJNG dramatically increases the chances that Lord V will act on his promise to spill “liters” of blood in his quest for revenge.
“CJNG is now the largest cartel in Mexico. They’re always looking for ways to expand their territory, and Morelos is no exception,” says Emmanuel Gallardo, an independent journalist in Mexico City. He explains that bounties on the officers are a way to “pressure and intimidate” authorities into compliance with the cartel.
“This is just more proof that Mexican authorities are incapable of providing security to citizens,” says Gallardo, who characterizes police in Morelos as “corrupt to the core.”
Americas Project Director Carlsen takes heart, however, from the response generated by grassroots demonstrations and NGOs alike:
“The fact that there are protests and investigation of the [Temixco] massacre as a crime against humanity is encouraging,” she says. “If there is enough outrage and organization, the hope is that it can crack the impunity”—and in the process thwart the law of the street.
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