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Man faked Down syndrome to con caregivers into baths, diaper changes: cops

An Arizona man is accused of pretending to have Down syndrome so he could hire caregivers who bathed him and changed his diapers, authorities said.

Police arrested Paul Anthony Menchaca, 31, at his parents’ home in Gilbert on Sept. 6 after his female caregivers discovered he didn’t have special needs, news station KTNV reported.

The first caregiver responded in May to an ad on CareLinx, a site designed to help families find licensed help.

Menchaca contacted and hired the helper while allegedly posing as a woman named “Amy,” who claimed to be the mother of a man with Down syndrome, according to AZFamily.

“’Amy’ asked all three victims to ‘punish’ [Menchaca] when he soiled his diaper by putting him in timeout and taking away his privileges,” an arrest affidavit obtained by AZFamily said.

The caregiver told police that she helped bathe and change the man’s diapers on 30 separate occasions. In five separate incidents, Menchaca reportedly told her that his genitals were not cleaned well enough.

She then referred the second caregiver in July and the third the following month.

All three women agreed to the same terms, and claimed that Menchaca would become sexually aroused when he was being washed.

The first victim told police she became suspicious and followed Menchaca back to his parents’ home.

“[The victim] was greeted by [Menchaca’s] actual mother and father and discovered [Menchaca] did not have Down syndrome and did not require diaper changes,” the police report said.

When the three caregivers confronted Menchaca, he reportedly admitted to lying about having Down syndrome.

Menchaca now faces charges for fraudulent schemes and sexual abuse.

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Lawsuit: Surgeon left needle in patient who later died

The family of a Tennessee man who died shortly after a surgeon left a needle inside his chest cavity has sued the hospital.

The Tennessean reports 73-year-old John Burns Johnson had open heart surgery at TriStar Centennial Hospital in May 2017. After about nine hours of surgery, a surgeon closed his chest, only to discover one of his needles was missing. An X-ray revealed it was inside Johnson. The surgeon then tried to retrieve the needle but was unsuccessful.

Johnson died about a month after the surgery. The lawsuit says Johnson’s health deteriorated and described his death as “painful, unnecessary and wrongful.”

The hospital released a statement saying it would not respond to the lawsuit’s claims, but noted it is serious about caring for patients and empathizes with the family.

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Wisconsin parents arrested after teen dies during 40-day religious fast

A father and mother were arrested in Sauk County, Wisconsin after their teenage son died and another child were hospitalized following what the father described as a weekslong religious fast.

The father walked to the Reedsburg police station Sunday to report the death of his 15-year-old son, according to police Chief Timothy Becker. When police arrived at the family’s home they found the dead teen and an extremely emaciated 11-year-old boy. The mother was also found to be emaciated.
Becker said the father told police he was a minister affiliated with Cornerstone Reformation Ministries and that the family had started a religious fast on July 19. Investigators do not believe the father is a minister and made up the name of the ministry, Becker said.
“There’s no IRS number, no corporation,” he said.

No food was found in the house and police had to force their way into the home because doors were padlocked on the inside. The younger boy and his mother were brought to the hospital. The mother refused treatment, citing religious reasons, and was taken to the Sauk County Jail.
The parents were being held on possible charges of neglecting a child causing death and neglecting a child causing great bodily harm, the chief said. They could appear in Sauk County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon.

The 11-year-old was placed into protective custody at Children’s Hospital in Madison. Becker said the parents are eating while jailed in Baraboo. Reedsburg, a community of about 10,000, is located approximately 130 miles (209 kilometers) west of Milwaukee.

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Homeless Samaritan suing couple who raised funds to help him

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — A homeless man whose selfless act of using his last $20 to fill up the gas tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia got him worldwide attention is suing the couple who led a $400,000 fundraising campaign to help him.

Johnny Bobbitt says he’s concerned that Mark D’Amico and Katie McClure have mismanaged a large part of the donations raised for him on GoFundMe. The New Jersey couple denies the claims, saying they’re wary of giving Bobbitt large sums because they feared he would buy drugs.

Bobbitt’s lawsuit contends the couple committed fraud by taking money from the fundraising campaign for themselves. He’s seeking undisclosed damages, and his lawyers want a judge to appoint someone to oversee the account.


A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday.

McClure set up the online fundraiser page as a way to give back to Bobbitt, who came to her aid when she ran out of gas on an Interstate 95 exit ramp late one night. It raised more than $400,000 in funds donated by more than 14,000 people.

Bobbitt walked a few blocks to buy McClure gas. She didn’t have money to repay him at the time, but sought him out days later to give him the money, and visited him a few more times to bring food and water. They later appeared on shows like “Good Morning America” and were interviewed by the BBC.

But the relationship has since gone sour.

Christopher C. Fallon, one of Bobbitt’s lawyers, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that the legal action was taken after D’Amico ignored multiple requests for a full accounting of the money raised by the GoFundMe campaign.

“He’s really left us with no choice but to go forward,” said Fallon, one of two pro bono lawyers from Cozen O’Connor in Philadelphia whom Bobbitt retained last week.

McClure and D’Amico have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or misusing any of the money. D’Amico has said Bobbitt spent $25,000 in less than two weeks in December on drugs, in addition to paying overdue legal bills and sending money to his family.

The couple also bought Bobbitt a camper with some of the funds and parked it on land McClure’s family owns in Florence. But Bobbitt became homeless again after D’Amico told him in June that he had to leave the property.

During an appearance Monday on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” show, D’Amico told Kelly there was well over $150,000 left of the donations.

Source: WJLA

Parents Outraged After Their Son Is Punished for Referring to His Teacher as ‘Ma’am’

Teretha Wilson and McArthur Bryant raise their 10-year-old son Tamarion to call their elders “ma’am” and “sir,” but that politeness got the fifth grader in trouble from a teacher at his preparatory school.

The North Carolina parents told ABC-13 that they had Tamarion moved to a different classroom at North East Carolina Preparatory School in Tarboro after his teacher punished him for calling her “ma’am.”

Tamarion had returned from school on Tuesday with a punishment he had to have signed by his parents. He went on to explain that he had continued to repeatedly call his teacher “ma’am” despite her requests not to, and was told to write the word “ma’am” written on a piece of paper four times per line on both sides as a penalty.

“He had a look on his face of disappointment, shame,” Bryant told ABC-13. “At the end of the day as a father, to feel kind of responsible for that…knowing that I have been raising him and doing the best that I can, it’s not acceptable.”

Wilson went on to explain that Tamarion had recently been in the hospital for seizure-related activity, and had been suffering from memory loss and hallucinations.

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Staples manager fired after accusing pregnant woman of shoplifting

PINEVILLE, N.C. – Staples said in a statement Monday it had fired the manager who assumed an expecting mother had shoplifted at its store in Pineville.

hirell Bates told Channel 9 she now regrets leaving her home on Friday for back-to-school shopping.

“Being pregnant is already high-risk, and having to deal with that, just additional stress that I don’t need,” Bates said.

Bates said she learned that the manager was fired on social media.

Bates said a police officer asked her if she was shoplifting while she was checking out of the store.

“Mid-transaction, a police officer approached me and insisted he wanted to speak with me,” Bates said. “He asked what was under my shirt.”

Bates is pregnant with twins.

“Initially, I thought he was joking, so my response was, ‘Twins,’” Bates said. “I’m 34 weeks with twins. I’m having a boy and a girl.”

Bates said the officer didn’t believe her the first time, and he asked her again.

“At that point, to avoid him asking me again, I actually lifted my shirt just a little bit, just to expose my belly, so he could see that I’m just a regular pregnant person buying school supplies,” Bates said.

Pineville police said a Staples manager approached the officer and asked him to speak with Bates because the manager believed Bates may have been “concealing merchandise.”

“When I confronted her about what happened, she admitted that, ‘In the past, we’ve had a lot of people putting school supplies or merchandise in their clothes and hiding, so I asked the officer to reach out to you,’” Bates said.
Bates said she planned to contact Staples’ corporate office and possibly seek legal action.

“You pretty much jumped the gun without any type of evidence, except my stomach is large,” Bates said. “That’s not fair. No mom should have to go through that.”

Staples said Monday that the manager did not follow the correct protocol and did not adhere to the company’s policy on interacting with customers.

The company said it has since apologized to Bates.

Bates said she would like Staples to provide sensitivity training for all employees.

She also hopes Staples improves its communication with customers who submit formal complaints.

Source: wsoctv.com:

Man accused of eating parts of dead ex-girlfriend deemed fit

An Indiana man accused of raping, killing and eating parts of his ex-girlfriend’s dead body is now mentally competent to stand trial, a state psychiatrist said Thursday.

Joseph Oberhansley, 35, of Jeffersonville has been committed at the Logansport State Hospital since October, when a judge ruled that he wasn’t competent to stand trial for the 2014 killing of girlfriend Tammy Jo Blanton.

Prosecutors allege Oberhansley broke into the Jeffersonville home of Blanton in September 2014, and that he raped her, fatally stabbed her and ate parts of her body.

“This matter has been going on for four years now, and it’s high time that the victim’s family saw justice done,” Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Jeremy Mull told the Courier Journal after the hearing.

The letter from the psychiatrist filed with Clark County Circuit Court noted that Oberhansley’s competency has been restored since he was committed there last October to undergo competency restoration. In some of his early court appearances after his arrest, Obserhansley had outbursts in court and said his name was Zeus, WAVE3 reported.

Oberhansley’s attorneys requested in court Thursday to have a month to talk with him and form an opinion on his competency. During the hearing, Oberhansley spoke up, telling the judge he needed to fire his attorneys, according to the Courier Journal.

“They’re trying to control my thoughts,” he said in court. “They’re trying to control my mind.”

Judge Vicki Carmichael told him he needed to work with his attorneys, and scheduled another hearing on Sept. 21 to discuss the matter.

Prosecutors have previously said they will seek the death penalty for Blanton’s killing. Before his arrest in 2015, Oberhansley was free on parole for a previous killing when he was a teenager, according to WAVE3.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: https://nypost.com/2018/08/12/man-accused-of-killing-eating-dead-ex-girlfriend-deemed-competent-for-trial/

Man dumps bucket of poop in 7-Eleven as revenge act: cops

A Florida man dumped a bucket of human waste inside a 7-Eleven convenience store Wednesday as an act of revenge against a manager who had kicked him out months prior, police said.

Damian Simms, 41, walked into the St. Petersburg shop around 1:30 a.m. and emptied the bucket containing human feces and urine onto the floor and some splashed onto merchandise, The Smoking Gun reported.

Simms was reportedly mad at the manager for having him kicked out of the store in May, according to the crime website. Police said Simms filled the bucket with waste from a port-a-potty.

Simms was charged with trespassing and criminal mischief and was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $300 bond, according to The Smoking Gun. He is barred from contacting the store or the manager.

The Smoking Gun reported Simms had a long criminal history, which includes convictions for burglary, weapons possession, grand theft, animal cruelty, drunk driving and carrying a concealed weapon.

Source: https://nypost.com/2018/08/03/man-dumps-bucket-of-poop-in-7-eleven-as-revenge-act-cops/

Unarmed felon robs bar so he could go back to prison, avoid homelessness

A man who spent more than three decades behind bars for murder and parole violations begged police to put him back inside to avoid homelessness.

Paul H. Barroni was 17 in 1979 when he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing a Missouri high school student who wouldn’t date him. After serving 38 years – which included several parole violations – he was released on Feb. 8.

However, not less than a month later, the 57-year-old walked into a Clayton bar that is popular among judges and lawyers and threatened to shoot an employee if she did not call the police.

Authorities said Barroni did not have a gun with him and was using his finger.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Barroni told police he wanted to get arrested.

“He just came right out and said it, ‘I want to go back to jail,’” said Clayton Police Capt. Stewart Glenn.
Barroni told police that he had been kicked out of one housing facility and then tried to get a bed at a homeless shelter in downtown St. Louis, but had no luck getting in.

“He said he wasn’t going to be homeless,” Glenn said. “He doesn’t want to be out there.”
Court papers showed that he was kicked out of the housing facility because he violated rules barring drug and alcohol use and was combative with staff.

Barroni is now facing a first-degree robbery charge and was held on $250,000 cash bail. His court-appointed attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.Authorities said Barroni did not have a gun with him and was using his finger.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Barroni told police he wanted to get arrested.

“He just came right out and said it, ‘I want to go back to jail,’” said Clayton Police Capt. Stewart Glenn.
Barroni told police that he had been kicked out of one housing facility and then tried to get a bed at a homeless shelter in downtown St. Louis, but had no luck getting in.

“He said he wasn’t going to be homeless,” Glenn said. “He doesn’t want to be out there.”
Court papers showed that he was kicked out of the housing facility because he violated rules barring drug and alcohol use and was combative with staff.

Barroni is now facing a first-degree robbery charge and was held on $250,000 cash bail. His court-appointed attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.

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Two stowaways hid in a plane’s landing gear — and fell to their death during takeoff

On Monday, three objects tumbled from a plane leaving Ecuador for New York, falling nearly 1,000 feet shortly after takeoff and landing with a thud on the runway.

Airport personnel rushed to the site, fearing LATAM Airlines flight XL1438 lost vital parts before leaving the port city of Guayaquil.

They arrived to find one person dead from the fall and another badly injured but alive. He would die minutes later, local media outlets reported. A suitcase with clothes and about $20 also was found.

The two men appear to have crawled into the landing gear section of the plane, said Gen. Marcelo Tobar, Guayaquil’s police chief. He speculated they were either forced out by the mechanics of the gears or they had second thoughts and jumped in the hope they would survive, according to Ecuador-based El Comercio. The men, between the ages of 25 and 30, did not have identification.

Officials suggested the men were Peruvian because the flight originated in Lima with a stop in Guayaquil, but they later determined the stowaways likely climbed aboard in Ecuador, El Comercio reported.

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