|
||||||||
Trenton standoff: Armed man kills girlfriend, her child, holds other kids hostage
By
TRENTON -- A mother and her
child are dead at the hands of the woman’s boyfriend, who took the
woman’s other children hostage and barricaded himself inside his South
Trenton home yesterday afternoon, law enforcement sources said.
The deceased woman is 42-year-old Carmen Kelly, her first cousin Ray Kelly said. She had five children, four of whom were inside the house last night: two daughters, ages 17 and 14, along with a son in his early teens and a 4-year-old boy. Ray Kelly had not been told which of the children had been killed.
Carmen Kelly’s 19-year-old autistic son, who had been living inside the Grand Street home, was safe with family members last night, Ray Kelly said.
The man holding the children hostage is not their father, but someone Carmen Kelly met when she came to Trenton from the South recently.
“She just met this guy no more than three months ago,” said Kelly, who added that Carmen Kelly was living with his sister prior to moving in with the man on Grand Street.
Kelly confirmed what neighbors in the South Ward also said, that the man went by his nickname, “Skip,” but Kelly declined to give the man’s full name.
A Trenton police spokesman could not confirm a double homicide or children being held hostage, but two law enforcement sources familiar with the details of the investigation said Trenton police were called to the home for a well-being check yesterday afternoon. When the officers entered the home, they discovered the partially decomposed body of the woman inside, the sources said.
After the man brandished a handgun and the officials pulled back, police realized they were dealing with a hostage situation, with the man holding the children, the sources said.
The body of the dead child thought to have been killed by the suspect is still inside the home, the sources said.
Trenton police spokesman Lt. Mark Kieffer confirmed last night police were dealing with an armed, barricaded suspect.
Patrol officers were called out to Grand Street at 2:57 p.m., where they engaged the man in conversation.
“Patrol went out there and they found the suspect was on the second floor, and they began to talk to him,” Kieffer said.
Once they found the man was armed, the officers backed out of the house. No shots were fired, and the suspect did not make any threats against the police officers, Kieffer said.
The State Police TEAMS unit was called in, along with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office SWAT unit. Sheriff’s officers were also deployed as extra manpower to assist city officers in shutting down streets.
Kieffer did not release any information on the suspect’s identity, but said there were no prior police calls to the home.
Detective Brian Egan of the Homicide unit was handling the case, and was seen leaving with several patrol officers late in the evening.
A State Police spokesman said the agency’s TEAMS tactical unit, crisis negotiators and various specialized units were on the scene last night. At least two armored personnel carriers were seen on Chestnut Avenue. The State Police took tactical control of the scene around 7 p.m., Kieffer said, and would be making the decisions on how to handle the ongoing standoff.
The State Police also deployed what appeared to be bomb-disposal robots at the scene.
Officials including Police Director Ralph Rivera, city Business Administrator Sam Hutchinson and First Assistant Prosecutor Angelo Onofri were on scene as darkness fell and the mood shifted from urgency to one of waiting. There was no immediate indication on how negotiations were going.
A large group of local residents turned out to watch the scene, sitting on porches or standing on sidewalks. Among them was Jon, who did not want to give his last name, who said he had frequent, casual conversations with “Skip” after he moved in on Grand Street about four months ago.
“For all I know, he’s a calm guy,” Jon said. “He usually helps people.”
The man worked security in a nearby store, walked his two pit bulls around the neighborhood, and would try to help people solve their problems.
“He’s a cool guy, I don’t know what would drive him to do this,” Jon said.
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/05/trenton_hostage_standoff_armed.html
California dad 'begged for his life' as police beat him to death - witnesses
AFP Photo / Jonathan AlcornA California father of four died Wednesday shortly after a group of
police allegedly beat him with batons as he lay defenseless on the
sidewalk. Cops, before confiscating witness' cameras, also reportedly
unleashed a canine unit on him.
Witnesses who had recorded the events on their cell phone cameras had the devices confiscated by officers, who claimed the footage was part of a police investigation that could yield evidence. The Sherriff’s Department has released the names of seven officers who were on the scene, but the identities of the California Highway Patrol police who were also there have not yet been made public.
“When I got outside I saw two officers beating a man with batons, and they were hitting his head so every time they would swing, I could hear the blows to his head,” said witness Ruben Ceballos, who told the Californian the noise was so loud it woke him up.
AFP Photo / Kevork Djansezian
Police have refused to comment, citing an ongoing investigation that could take years to complete, but relatives have demanded the cell phone footage be made public.
“My brother spent the last eight minutes of his life pleading, begging for his life,” said Christopher Silva, 31. “The true evidence is in those phone witnesses that apparently the sheriff deputies already took. But I know the truth will come out and my brother’s voice will be heard.”
An autopsy was completed Thursday but the cause of death’s release is pending a toxicology report and microscopic studies, the local coroner’s office told the Bakersfield Californian Friday.
The family has hired attorney David Cohn, who told reporters they plan to file a civil rights lawsuit in federal district court next week. He sent a letter formally requesting that law enforcement agencies do not tamper with the video evidence on the phones.
“We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words,” Cohn said. “And thank God we have concerned citizens who take video and pictures of incidents like this and who are ultimately policing the police … But we will get to the bottom of this and I ask the sheriff’s department once again, what are you hiding?”
http://rt.com/usa/begged-for-life-cops-beat-126/
Incredible update on Boston Bombing
|
| May 10, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Justice Department Has Decided 4th Amendment Doesn’t Apply
|
PREVIOUSLY FEATURED |
White House Meets Privately with Press to Discuss Benghazi
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)