Category: Crime
Man allegedly lit random woman on fire on Chicago train — suspect had numerous previous arrests
A horrific incident on the el train in Chicago on Monday has led to a woman in critical condition with severe burns.
Police say that a 45-year-old male had a “verbal altercation” with the 27-year-old woman before the alleged attack, but a source who spoke to CWB Chicago contradicted the account.
The arson incident would be his 23rd arrest. Some of those arrests include other incidents of arson.
The source said the attack was unprovoked and completely random.
A person of interest was apprehended by police, but he has not been charged yet.
The source told CWB Chicago that the woman was paying attention to her cell phone on a Blue Line train at about 9:26 p.m. when the man doused her with a liquid from a bottle. She tried to run away, but he was able to catch up to her and light her on fire, according to the source. The man was also lit on fire during the altercation.
The woman was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
CWB Chicago reported that the suspect had previously been charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, but a judge denied a request to keep him in custody and ordered 24/7 electronic monitoring instead.
Three weeks later, another judge modified the terms to allow him to leave his home outside daytime hours, which includes the time of the alleged assault.
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The report also said that the suspect had been arrested 22 times since 2016 by the Chicago Police Department alone. The arson incident would be his 23rd arrest. Some of those arrests include other incidents of arson.
A source told CWB Chicago that no one on the train stepped in to help the woman after she was lit on fire. A witness also described the man as black.
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Chicago community outraged over viral video of mom and kids getting jumped by grade-school children
Residents of a Chicago suburb are calling for action after a viral video on social media showed a mother and her two children getting attacked by a gang of schoolchildren.
33-year-old Corshawnda Hatter was walking with her son and daughter on South Bensley Avenue in the South Deering neighborhood on Monday at about 3 p.m. when they were attacked. They were walking home from Orville Bright Elementary School at the time.
‘It’s been an ongoing thing in this community, and the parents don’t take accountability for anything their kids do.’
The video shows the children laughing and mocking the mother and children before cornering them against a chain-link fence. Hatter tries to protect her children before the attackers begin punching her and drag her to the ground, where she is kicked and beaten.
The video lasts about two minutes.
Hatter and her son were treated at a hospital for injuries sustained in the attack.
On Tuesday, dozens of people showed up at the school demanding accountability and calling for students to be expelled. Hatter described what happened to her at the impromptu gathering.
“I asked my kids to come to the next side of the street with me, so they wouldn’t get jumped,” she recalled.
“So we kept walking. They followed us all the way,” she added. “And then they fought my son and hit my son first. … Then they dragged me in the grass and pulled my little baby’s hair out.”
She said she had a meeting with school officials about the incident.
Others told WGN-TV that the students had been terrorizing the neighborhood but that parents were to blame.
“It’s been an ongoing thing in this community, and the parents don’t take accountability for anything their kids do,” said one parent. “If my kids were being messy, I’m going to come out here and let it be known. I’m going to shut it down.”
Chicago Public Schools released a statement offering few details.
“We are horrified by the attack on this family, and we are working collaboratively with city departments and agencies to provide support to the victims of the attack. CPS is coordinating closely with the Mayor’s Office, CPD, CHA, and other city departments to provide additional support to the family,” read the statement in part. “School administrators, teachers, and support staff work with students to create an open environment where conflicts and grievances can be addressed.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reacted on social media and called the attack “unacceptable” in a long statement saying he was deeply disturbed by the incident.
Hatter said outside the school that her son had been previously bullied by students.
“I’m trying to get justice for my son,” she said.
“And you deserve it!” a supporter responded.
CPD said no arrests had been made but that the department had increased the police presence at the school — for the rest of the week.
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Mom allegedly left her children in filthy apartment with trash, human and animal feces, according to police
A woman was arrested and charged with child neglect on Nov. 9 for allegedly leaving her children in a filthy apartment full of human and animal feces, Michigan police said.
Police were called to a residence on South Francis Street over a possible break-in, but instead found the “deplorable conditions” that led them to arrest 31-year-old Teriomas Tremice Johnson, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
‘It defies understanding how parents blessed with the gift of a child could show such cruelty.’
Deputies found a 12-year-old girl, a 9-year-old girl, and a 9-year-old boy alone in the apartment. There was no working plumbing, and the children were forced to defecate in a cardboard box. Police said three cats also lived in the home and all of the sinks were clogged.
The sheriff’s department also said that the children only sporadically attended school.
The children were placed into the custody of their fathers by Children’s Protective Services.
Johnson is facing three felony charges of second-degree child abuse. Each charge may be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. She had been on probation for 36 months after a conviction on retail fraud and other charges.
The sheriff’s department posted two photographs from the apartment on social media.
“It defies understanding how parents blessed with the gift of a child could show such cruelty,” said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. “The complete lack of compassion and humanity is heartbreaking, and I am eager to see justice served for this unconscionable act.”
Bond for Johnson was initially set at $250,000, but Magistrate Angelena Thomas-Scruggs revoked the bond after the suspect threw a chair and yelled an expletive at the official, according to the sheriff’s office.
The School District of the City of Pontiac said the district is cooperating with the police investigation.
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Mamdani Promises To Get Along With Cops — Group That Helped Him Wants Jails Emptied
‘Freedom for all incarcerated people’
Woman faces prison time for bringing dangerous dog to playground that mauled boy for 2 minutes
Prosecutors are requesting that a woman be imprisoned for three years after her dog mauled a 9-year-old boy because of her negligence.
Patrycja Siarek’s dog Capo was under a muzzle order when she brought it to the Little Norway Park in Toronto where dogs are prohibited. The dog had been previously investigated three times for biting incidents by the city of Toronto.
‘I feel horrible, and it’s my fault. I just feel so bad. I’m so sorry, and I hope that child’s OK.’
Siarek allowed the dog to run off without a leash and without a muzzle before Capo attacked a boy who was with his father.
The dog attacked the boy for approximately two minutes before it let go of the boy’s leg.
Video showed the woman rushing away from the park without identifying herself, but police were able to find her through the help of tips from the public.
Siarek pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm and apologized for her behavior.
“I’m just really sorry, I never would want to hurt a child or hurt anybody, I feel horrible, and it’s my fault,” she said in court. “I just feel so bad. I’m so sorry, and I hope that child’s OK. I know it’s my fault Capo died. It’s [a] terrible thing.”
Her attorney argued that there were no children in the area when she arrived and that she had taken off his leash to play fetch when the child approached the enclosure, which had an open door. Siarek also consented to having Capo euthanized.
Assistant Crown Attorney Nathan Kruger asked the court to sentence her to three years in prison and a prohibition against her owning a dog for 10 years.
“It was negligence that resulted in this outcome for the dog. The dog owner’s liability act was to protect the dog. Capo is not legally responsible for his actions. Ms. Siarek was,” said Kruger.
Kruger said that the child had asked his parents if it would have been easier if he had died, after having to face surgery for the injuries sustained.
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“She knew Capo was dangerous, knew others considered him dangerous, knew there were legal restrictions on him because he was dangerous, and despite this knowledge, she put members of the public and, indeed, Capo in a very dangerous situation,” he added.
In addition to the restrictions on the dog, Siarek was out on bail for a mischief charge at the time of the attack. She had also been convicted on 15 charges, including fraud, failing to comply peace orders, and obstructing police officers.
The dog was described as similar to a pit bull.
The judge in the case said she would reserve her sentencing decision until next month.
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People so ‘extremely obese’ they were almost bedridden starved 14-year-old girl until she weighed 35 pounds, police say
Wisconsin prosecutors have charged four people, two of whom they described as “extremely obese,” with allegedly starving and neglecting a 14-year-old girl until she weighed only 35 pounds.
Forty-seven-year-old Walter Goodman lived with his wife, his stepdaughter, and her female partner in a home in Oneida in Outagamie County that one court official described as a “house of horrors.”
‘These allegations before the court today are incredibly disturbing. And it’s alleged that the minor child was quite frankly living in a house of horrors.’
Goodman called emergency services in August to report that his daughter had been sick.
A dispatcher described the call as, “Fourteen-year-old child who does not eat much has been sick, vomiting, and lethargic. Now unresponsive.”
First responders said the teenager appeared to be the “size of a 6- to 8-year-old,” according to the criminal complaint.
“She was very, very close to death. Again, 35 pounds at 14 years old,” said Assistant District Attorney Julie DuQuaine of Outagamie County in court.
The girl was airlifted to Children’s Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, where doctors treated her for extreme malnutrition.
“This is the most egregious case of child neglect I think I have ever personally seen in my nearly 25-year career,” DuQuaine said.
Investigators said that the teenager had lived with her father since 2020 but had never gone to school or seen a doctor. Goodman said that she had lived with her biological mother until the mother was sent to jail and he got full custody. He also claimed that the teen had an eating disorder.
“She don’t eat. She’s autistic,” he is quoted as saying.
However, texts obtained by police showed that the people in the home referred to her as “dummy” and “stupid” when communicating about her eating schedule.
“We gave her a (expletive) shake last night bc I felt bad and of course she was laying nice and quiet to get what she wanted,” texted 29-year-old Savanna Lefever, Goodman’s stepdaughter.
“Yes, she’s a manipulative. That’s how she works,” responded Melissa Goodman.
The criminal complaint described Lefever and Melissa Goodman as being “extremely obese to the point of being nearly bed-bound and rarely left the residence.” Lefever’s 27-year-old partner Kayla Stemler is the only person who left the home to go to work.
“But for the grace of God, she did not die,” said Outagamie County Court Commissioner Brian Figgy.
“Quite frankly, these allegations before the court today are incredibly disturbing. And it’s alleged that the minor child was quite frankly living in a house of horrors,” he added.
All four of the adults face five counts of chronic child neglect.
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‘You are an absolute monster’: Teenager sentenced to 35 years for ‘sadistic and evil’ serial rapes
A Wisconsin teenager was convicted of “sadistic and evil” acts related to serial rapes committed in Milwaukee.
Seventeen-year-old Tremonte Kirk was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday by Judge David Borowski at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.
‘This is as aggravated, depraved and sadistic and evil as it gets.’
In December, Kirk saw a random woman from a busy street and followed her into the elevator of her apartment. He raped her and then stomped on a surgical incision on her leg.
The woman, Charlotte Nozar, testified in court against her attacker.
“Your honor, the serial rapist you have sitting in front of you today is an existential threat to the women of Milwaukee,” she said.
“Nothing, nothing can give me my life as I knew it and my leg back,” she added.
Judge Borowski berated Kirk for his actions and pointed out that his criminal behavior extended back to when Kirk was only 12 years old.
“This is as aggravated, depraved and sadistic and evil as it gets. You engaged in monstrous conduct, conduct that would lead the average person to believe you are an absolute monster. Your parents raised a monster,” said the judge. “Your record, Mr. Kirk, is horrible. If you were 40 years old, it’d be a horrible record.”
DNA evidence presented during court linked Kirk to another potential assault last year of a woman who was sleeping in her car at the time. She was able to escape the attack.
“I had to run for my life, and my survival depended on instinct,” said the woman. “Trauma is not measured by how quickly a victim could get over it.”
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Astoundingly, Kirk had been wearing an ankle monitor during both instances.
“You had a GPS monitoring device on your ankle when you were doing this! Did you honestly think you weren’t … did you think you were going to get away with it?” asked the judge.
Kirk apologized in his statement, but Nozar said she could not accept the apology and did not forgive him.
“On the good days when the thoughts are minimal and fleeting, I’m all about the healing,” Nozar said. “On the bad days, when the stinging memory plays over on a continuing loop, I’m pissed off as hell that I even have to.”
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