Jamaican Man Sentenced for Role in Greece Triple Murder and for Assaulting Federal Jail Guards

ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Andrew Wright, 44, a citizen of Jamaica, was sentenced to four consecutive life terms, plus five years, by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa for participating in a large, multi-state marijuana distribution conspiracy and murdering three men in furtherance of that conspiracy in the Town of Greece in March, 2010.
“Today’s sentencing brings to a successful conclusion a very violent and tragic episode in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “These defendants will never again inflict further violence on the residents of Western New York. This case is also a great example of the cooperative efforts of our office working closely with our law enforcement partners at all levels. We will continue to pursue members of other violent criminal organizations with the same vigor until such gangs are no more.”
In December, 2013, a jury convicted Wright and his two co-defendants, Richard Anderson and Aston Johnson, of murdering Robert Moncriffe, Mark Wisdom, and Christopher Green in Greece on March 9, 2010. The evidence presented by the government at trial established that in the days prior to March 9, the defendants traveled to Rochester from Phoenix, Arizona and planned the murders. The evidence also showed that Anderson, Johnson, and Wright targeted the victims because they believed Moncriffe, Wisdom, and Green were cheating them out of proceeds from the sale of marijuana. The defendants went to the apartment in Greece, where the three victims lived. They bound and gagged Christopher Green and waited for Moncriffe and Wisdom to arrive home. Once they arrived, the defendants shot the three men to death at the same time.
In a separate case, Wright was also sentenced for assaulting two federal guards at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, New York. A jury convicted Wright of these assaults in May 2011, but sentencing had been postponed pending the outcome of the triple homicide and marijuana distribution case. Judge Siragusa sentenced Wright to 20 years on each of the two counts of assaulting the federal guards, such sentences to run concurrent to each other but consecutive to the life terms.
In addition to sentencing the defendant to life in prison, Judge Siragusa also imposed a $1,000,000 forfeiture judgment against defendant Wright, as well as the forfeiture of three guns seized at the house in Phoenix, Arizona.
Co-defendants Richard Anderson and Aston Johnson had been previously sentenced on March 11, 2014, to life sentences.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation conducted by the Greece Police Department. under the direction of then-Chief Todd Baxter and current Chief Patrick Phelan; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Mark Koss; the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief Michael Ciminelli; the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of Marshal Charles Salina; the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, under the direction Sheriff Patrick O’Flynn; the Monroe County Crime Analysis Center; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division, under the direction of Acting Inspector in Charge, Shelly A. Binkowski; the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James C. Spero; the U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent in Charge Tom Pocorobba, Jr.; the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking area; the Franklin County, Ohio Sheriff’s Department; the Arizona Department of Public Safety; and the Los Angeles Police Department.
The investigation of the assault of the two federal guards in Batavia was handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Enforcement and Removal Operations, under the direction of Field Office Director, Michael T. Phillips.

California Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Racially Motivated Assault on White Man and African-American Woman

WASHINGTON—Billy James Hammett, 30, of Marysville, California, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez to serve 87 months in prison for violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in a 2011 racially motivated attack against a white man and an African-American woman in Marysville. The court also ordered Hammett to pay restitution in the amount of $175 and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Hammett pleaded guilty on December 17, 2013, and his co-defendants, Perry Sylvester Jackson, 28, and Anthony Merrell Tyler, 33, have also pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
According to documents filed with the court, around 10:45 p.m. on April 18, 2011, a white man and an African-American woman parked their car at a convenience store in Marysville. Shortly afterward, the three defendants, each of whom has white supremacist tattoos, attacked the man and woman based on race. After calling the male victim a “[racial slur]-lover,” Jackson punched him twice in the head through the open passenger window. At the same time, Hammett kicked the woman in the chest. A few seconds later, Tyler smashed the car’s windshield with a crowbar. As the attack continued, the woman managed to take refuge inside the convenience store. All three assailants then descended upon the male victim and began attacking him in the parking lot. He sustained abrasions on his right forearm and knees, while the woman suffered bruising to her chest. At the end of the incident, Tyler used a racial slur to refer to an African-American witness.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge Mendez said he found surveillance video footage of the assault “disturbing.” He noted that Hammett’s attack on the victims was “unprovoked and unwarranted,” and that the victims continue to suffer.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Mendez also specifically considered Hammett’s background and criminal history, which includes a conviction in 2006 for assaulting a 72-year-old black man, also in Marysville. According to court records, Hammett made racial comments immediately before the unprovoked attack. In addition, Hammett has been affiliated with a number of white supremacist gangs, including Supreme White Power. He has tattoos of the words “white power” across his abdomen, a large swastika on the right side of his torso and the word “skinhead” written across the top of his back. Judge Mendez stated during the sentencing hearing that Hammett poses “a serious threat to the public.”
“The defendant and his associates accosted the victims in public and assaulted them because of their race,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The department is committed to stamping out racial violence and will continue to prosecute hate crimes vigorously.”
“Racially motivated violence has no place in civilized society,” said U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner for the Eastern District of California. “This office has a history of prosecuting those who perpetrate crimes of hate, and as long as these crimes continue, we will be there to enforce the law and uphold this nation’s constitutional values.”
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on April 22, 2014, and Tyler is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8, 2014. Each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Wagner and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the Civil Rights Division.

Nevada Man Sentenced for Assaulting Fort Hall Correction Center Officer

POCATELLO—Clayton Amos Lossing, 54, of McDermitt, Nevada, was sentenced today in United States District Court to 34 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for assault on a federal officer, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Lossing appeared before U.S. District Judge Brian Ted Stewart of the District of Utah. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on July 23, 2013, and pleaded guilty on November 19, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, on May 5, 2013, Lossing was arrested for intoxication by Fort Hall Police and transported to the Fort Hall Correction Center. During the booking process, Lossing kneed an officer in the groin, causing the officer significant pain requiring medical attention.
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Fort Mojave Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Second-Degree Murder, Child Abuse, and Assault

PHOENIX, AZ—On January 27, 2014, Matthew Smith, 31, of Mohave Valley, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt to 35 years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. The court also ordered Smith to pay $250,193 in restitution. Smith pleaded guilty on August 15, 2013, to second-degree murder, child abuse, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Between July 8, 2012 and July 11, 2012, on the Fort Mojave Indian reservation, Smith punched his stepchild in the abdomen and assaulted the child multiple times. The child died due to multiple blunt force traumas and other injuries. During the same period of time, Smith also assaulted another of his stepchildren and left the child for approximately two days without food or water. The second child was hospitalized for a significant period of time and survived but sustained serious permanent injuries. In investigating the death and assault to Smith’s two stepchildren, law enforcement officers observed that another of Smith’s children had a visibly distorted arm. Investigators determined that, during the same July time period as the homicide and assault, Smith had assaulted this third child, who suffered a broken arm.
The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Mojave Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Jennifer E. Green and Sharon K. Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

Twelfth Former Officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution Pleads Guilty in Assault of an Inmate

WASHINGTON—Michael Morgan, formerly an officer at Roxbury Correctional Institution (RCI) in Hagerstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to assaulting an inmate on March 9, 2008, announced the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland. Morgan is the 12th former RCI officer to enter a plea in connection with the federal investigation into a series of assaults that the inmate, identified by the initials K.D., suffered at RCI on March 8-9, 2008. According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Morgan admitted that he assaulted K.D. by kicking the inmate in the area of his groin. Morgan acknowledged that he kicked K.D. in order to punish him for his prior misconduct. Morgan also admitted that he lied under oath in 2008, when he falsely denied both assaulting K.D. and having any knowledge of an assault of the inmate.
“Mr. Morgan has admitted that, as a correctional officer, he—and others—violated a person’s constitutional rights and then lied to cover up their on-duty misconduct,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who use their official position to commit and to cover up violations of federal criminal law.”
Morgan faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is set for April 23, 2014, before U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar.
In related cases before Judge Bredar, former RCI Correctional Officers Ryan Lohr, Dustin Norris, Philip Mayo, Jeremy McCusker, Walter Steele, Lanny Harris, Keith Morris, Tyson Hinckle and Reginald Martin, and former RCI Lieutenants Robert Harvey and Edwin Stigile each has entered a guilty plea. Two former RCI officers previously entered guilty pleas in state court.
Three current or former RCI officers still face federal charges in connection with this incident. These officers are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The investigation by the Frederick Resident Agency of the FBI is ongoing. The case is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorneys Sanjay Patel and Christine Siscaretti of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, with the assistance of Michael Cunningham of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.

Hualapai Man Found Guilty of Assault

PHOENIX—Valance Ray Smith, Sr., 46, of Peach Springs, Arizona, a member of the Hualapai Tribe, was found guilty by a federal jury of two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The case was tried before U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow beginning on January 7, 2014. The defendant is being held pending sentencing, scheduled March 31, 2014.
The evidence at trial showed that Smith assaulted the victim on July 8, 2011 and September 29, 2012. During the July 8, 2011 assault, the defendant stabbed the victim in a domestic violence situation, causing her to sustain injuries. During the September 29, 2012 assault, the defendant beat the victim with a metal pipe causing her to suffer serious bodily injuries.
Convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hualapai Nation Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore and Dimitra H. Sampson, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

NY Woman Resentenced for Decking Walmart Worker

A 28-year-old woman has been given a court-ordered one-year sentence for punching a 70-year-old cashier at a western New York Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve 2011.

The Daily News of Batavia reports Jacquetta Simmons was resentenced Monday after a state appeals court earlier this month ruled that her original five-year state prison sentence was too harsh. She'll serve a one-year term in a county jail with credit for time already served.

Simmons was convicted in August 2012 of assault for punching Wal-Mart cashier Grace Suozzi after she asked to see a receipt for merchandise Simmons was carrying out of the Batavia store on the morning of Dec. 24, 2011.

Police say the punch knocked the cashier to the ground and caused fractures to the side of her face.

Federal Inmate Pleads Guilty to Assaulting an Officer

SACRAMENTO, CA—Leonard Griffin, 43, currently in federal custody at the Federal Correctional Institute in Herlong (Susanville), pleaded guilty Wednesday to assault on a federal officer, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, on December 3, 2011, Griffin approached a correctional officer from behind and punched him several times. The officer suffered a broken orbital bone in his right eye, a concussion, cuts to his face, and bruising on his body. A sock weighted with a padlock was found in Griffin’s pants pocket.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the case.
Griffin is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on April 2, 2014. Griffin faces a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, which will be served following the completion of Griffin’s current federal sentence in 2020, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Judge to Decide on Trial in Boardwalk Rampage

A judge who has heard from multiple victims of a Venice Beach boardwalk auto rampage is set to consider final arguments Wednesday and rule on whether a driver will stand trial on allegations that he plowed through crowds last summer, killing a newlywed woman and injuring others.

A lawyer for defendant Nathan Campbell is expected to argue for the dismissal of a murder count in the death of honeymooner Alice Gruppioni, 32, of Bologna, Italy.

Campbell, 38, a transient with a history of petty-crime convictions, has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Phillip Dube, has said there was no intent to kill and the event was an accident.

Some 30 witnesses, including tourists from across the country and the world, flew to Los Angeles to testify at the preliminary hearing.

One woman appeared in a wheelchair. Others spoke of their terror when the car came barreling down the boardwalk on an early summer's evening when hundreds of people jammed the popular tourist spot.

Superior Court Judge Antonio Barretto must determine if Campbell should stand trial on one count of murder, 16 counts of assault with a deadly weapon and 17 counts of hit-and-run.

Witnesses to the Aug. 3 tragedy say the driver maneuvered around barriers and intentionally aimed at tourists and vendors.

Man on probation arrested, let go, then allegedly kills Catholic priest

A California man was on probation when he was arrested then released for public intoxication, hours after which he allegedly killed a Roman Catholic priest in a church rectory.
The terms of slaying suspect Gary Lee Bullock's probation -- which were for three years tied to a November 2012 arrest for cocaine possession -- did not mandate that he should have remained behind bars after his arrest in southern Humboldt County, California, on New Year's Eve.
But had he stayed in custody, or if Eureka police officers detained him again after being tipped off about a suspicious man shortly after his release at the coastal city's St. Bernard Church, the gruesome story may have turned out differently.
Instead, around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, New Year's Day, church staff alerted police after finding the Rev. Eric Freed's body.
Eureka Police Chief Andy Mills said later that officers and a doctor, who also was a parishioner, soon determined that Freed was dead, having suffered "blunt force trauma" in what he described as a "violent struggle."

Court and other records obtained Friday by CNN did not hint at any violent crimes in Bullock's history.
But they do shed light on some of his life, including speeding tickets, the fact he has at least three daughters, bankruptcy filings and the aforementioned cocaine arrest.
He pleaded guilty to a controlled substance charge on the latter matter, leading to the probation. CNN's efforts on Friday to reach the lawyer who represented Bullock in this case were unsuccessful.
Bullock's was a relatively low-level probation: It did not mean he should remain detained were he ever arrested on any charge, Lt. Steve Knight of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office said.
Humboldt County's chief probation officer, William Damiano, said Bullock's case never fell under his department, and as such Bullock didn't have to do things like check in regularly with a probation officer.
The California Superior Court document outlining Bullock's probation specifies that he would be in violation if he was found to have "any nonprescribed controlled substance."
But the guidelines specifically do not include things like prohibiting the violation of any "criminal statutes;" possession, custody or control of any alcohol; or "aggressive or assaultive behavior toward any person."
These facts are relevant, given Bullock's interaction with authorities in the hours before Freed's death.
According to Eureka police, the 43-year-old was "acting strangely" when he was picked up by county sheriff's deputies in Garberville.
They took him to a jail where "he was rejected due to his erratic behavior," then moved him to a nearby hospital "where he became more agitated and had to be physically restrained by deputies," police added. Knight, from the sheriff's office, said Bullock was sent to a hospital because of a high heart rate.
He was eventually booked into a jail shortly after 4:30 p.m. that day, staying there for more than eight hours before his release at 12:43 a.m. on January 1.
Less than two hours later, police got a call about a suspicious person at St. Bernard Church. Officers found Bullock, but because he wasn't "intoxicated and did not qualify for an emergency psychological hold," they didn't detain him.
Instead, they referred him to a shelter, Mills said.
Chief: Police want to know why slaying happened
At some point later, a guard at St. Bernard found a person matching Bullock's description on the premises and told him to leave, police said.
Then came the devastating discovery of Freed's body. The slain priest's 2010 Nissan hybrid was gone.
Bullock apparently drove 45 minutes from the parish to a family member's house in that car, police said. One of Bullock's relatives eventually tipped off police to his whereabouts, leading to his arrest midday Thursday, according to the Eureka police chief.
"There's no question in our mind he's responsible for this heinous act," Mills said, citing evidence recovered at the crime scene and interviews with witnesses that allegedly link Bullock to the priest's death.
The chief added: "To me, 'why' is the biggest thing that we would like to establish -- to bring a sense of ease and comfort to the community," Mills said.
That community -- including members of St. Bernard Parish, students and staff at Humboldt State University where Freed taught, and residents throughout greater Eureka -- was still hurting Friday, as it tried to make sense of the violent death of the popular priest.
"Eric knew as well as anybody just how senseless violence could be," said William Herbrechtsmeier, a professor at Humboldt State. "When a fine person like him is brought down -- that's just tragic."
Since 2007, Freed had taught about the New Testament at that public university, where he also had a leadership role in the Newman Center for Catholic students.
He developed a reputation there for his warmth as much as his scholarly expertise, which made him popular on campus.
"Kind is the word that comes to mind, sensitive." said professor Stephen Cunha, the chairman of Humboldt State University's religious studies department. "... He was very much someone that you could sit down and speak with. ... He connected with everybody."
But his primary calling was as a priest. Freed had been part of California's Santa Rosa diocese since 1999, establishing himself as a "great preacher" and an engaging teacher from his work in Catholic schools, said Monsignor Daniel Whelton.
John Chiv said he and other St. Bernard parishioners are shocked and angered by Freed's death, especially given how it happened.
"It's hard to feel Christian because ... it was brutal," Chiv said, adding that Freed was "very jovial ... very accessible (and) very loving."
"We lost a pastor, we lost a friend and, for many of us, he was like a father figure."

New York man charged with hate crimes for seven 'knockout' assaults

A 35-year-old New York man has been charged with hate crimes in connection with seven "knockout" assaults, including attacks on two elderly woman and a mother walking with her daughter, police said Saturday.
Barry Baldwin, a Brooklyn resident, was charged with six counts of assault as a hate crime, six counts of aggravated harassment as a hate crime, and other crimes for a spate of attacks between November 9 and December 27 in predominantly Jewish sections of Brooklyn, police said.
On November 9, Baldwin allegedly punched a 78-year-old woman who was pushing a stroller -- apparently as part of the "knockout" assault game, where people try to knock a random stranger unconscious with a single blow. The victim was knocked to the ground.
On December 7, he allegedly struck again, punching a 20-year-old woman in the back of the head in Brooklyn.

Between December 21 and December 27, Baldwin allegedly assaulted five more woman, including a 33-year-old woman who was walking with her young daughter and another 78-year-old woman.
After the attack on the woman walking with her 7-year-old daughter in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, police released a sketch of the suspect. The mother was punched in the back of the head and knocked down, police said. She sustained minor injuries to her knees and hands. The suspect fled on foot.

Baldwin was arrested December 29 by hate crimes detectives canvassing the neighborhoods where the previous attacks occurred, police said. He was charged after witnesses identified him in a police lineup.
At least nine suspected "knockout" attacks have been reported since October in New York, but police have said they see no evidence of a trend.
Authorities have reported similar incidents in New Jersey, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri and Washington.

Teens' Thievery Turns Tragic for Honduran Cop

Edwin Mejia didn't want to go out and steal that morning.

The $75 he and his buddy had made the day before from the stolen motorcycle felt like a fortune compared to the $5 a day he earned selling his mother's tortillas. The 15-year-old lay in bed inside the wooden one-room house he shared with his 10 brothers and sisters and told his partner, Eduardo Aguilera, that he wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, man, we have to go!" insisted Eduardo, also 15.

From yesterday's take, their first job, Edwin could buy a cellphone. If they did the same today, maybe Edwin could buy himself some sneakers. White Nikes were a favorite with the 18th Street gang members.

Edwin relented.

A few miles away, in downtown Tegucigalpa, Santos Arita was starting his 12-hour shift as a traffic cop. At 42, he'd spent most of his career working in small towns in the north. His new job in the capital made him nervous. He'd already been assaulted once by three gunmen on a bus. He was afraid, but nobody asked him if he felt like going to work that day.

With the highest murder rate in the world, Honduras is a dangerous country. Its capital is a city where people watch murders on YouTube, wake up to photos of the dead in the newspapers and drive by bodies dumped on the outskirts of town. It is a country where the disparaging concept of the "banana republic" was born, when U.S. fruit companies used the Honduran military to control labor, but it is not a nation that recovered from a legacy that favored the interests of the few over those of the many.

Honduras never developed the democratic institutions that would guarantee a rule of law. Instead, it is a largely lawless land where there are few choices for the poor, heroes are scarce, and violence is a given.

Edwin and Eduardo downed a breakfast of coffee and left their rough neighborhood, Sinai, one of many controlled by gangs where even the police did not venture without guns drawn or at least a warning that they were headed in.

It was almost lunchtime.

The boys would use the same strategy as the day before. Edwin would drive the motorcycle, Eduardo would ride behind him. When they found a target, Eduardo would hold up the mark, then drive away on the stolen bike. Easy.

The year before, Edwin had dropped out of school to help out his mother. Tortillas had to be sold before lunch, so he didn't have much choice. In a nation where 70 percent of people live in poverty, few could afford the luxury of school beyond sixth grade.

Many Hondurans had discovered that crime does pay, and the best way to commit one was with a motorcycle — for a fast getaway.

It was illegal, in fact, for two men to ride tandem on a motorcycle, a new law to cut down on drive-by shootings.

The boys ignored that law and made their way downtown. Oddly, amid the traffic chaos in one of the poorest cities on the continent and in a place where the law is rarely obeyed, what would bind the fates of Edwin and Eduardo with that of a humble traffic cop was a red light.

The boys stopped. They did not see Arita, helping a woman cross the street behind them. She carried an umbrella as a sunshade while Arita guided her through the traffic.

Arita had been reassigned to Tegucigalpa two months earlier and already had requested a transfer back home. He missed his family, and he talked with his wife every day by phone. His family lived in Ocotepeque, a seven- or eight-hour bus ride from the capital, but with his $400 monthly salary, Arita couldn't afford a ticket. He hitchhiked home every two weeks for just 24 hours — to see his wife and three children, go to church.

His home in Ocotepeque was not so different from Edwin's. It sat on a muddy street, a one-room with concrete floors, a tin roof that leaked and plywood walls. There was no running water, and the kitchen was just a wood stove. For furniture, they had two beds, a beaten sofa and a couple of tables with a bare bulb hanging from a wire.

It wasn't much, but it was paradise compared to the barracks he shared with dozens of other police officers when he was working in the capital. There was no running water for a shower, just a cup and a barrel. No heat for the chilly evenings, and, of course, no meals.

Arita had arrived in the city two days before that fateful afternoon at the intersection. He had come with $10 in his pocket after leaving $20 at home.

Many Hondurans, from the country's newly elected president to elementary school children, say the police are corrupt. The problem has reached such a crisis that Congress recently approved a plan to put the military on the streets while police ranks are cleaned up.

The problems are vast. Police have been accused of running death squads to eliminate gang members. The government does not know how many officers are on the National Police payroll — estimates range from 8,000 to 15,000.

One police general appeared on national television recently and accused another general of ordering the killing of his son. The boy was 17, ambushed along with his two special forces bodyguards in a restaurant shooting earlier this year.

On the street, many motorists are wary of the traffic police, who often stop them to extort money. It is hard to tell the difference between a bad cop, and a good one.

What happened on the afternoon of Aug. 7 was captured on a traffic camera, and on several others in the area.

As soon as Arita saw the two teenagers on their motorcycle, he left the woman with the umbrella and ran up to the boys.

He ordered the young men off the bike and, thanks to decades of experience, pulled out the bike's keys. He did not see Eduardo, dressed all in black, reaching for something tucked into his pants. A gun.

Eduardo fired off two shots before the policeman, miraculously unhurt, wrestled him to the ground and attempted to disarm him. Edwin, in a blue T-shirt, rushed to help his friend as he scuffled with the cop.

Drivers around them sped out of the way.

Although he would later insist that the day's plan marked only his second attempt at robbery, Edwin seemed skilled as he tried to grab the policeman's weapon. Eduardo managed to hand him the other gun. In the struggle, Arita fell down.

He was a middle-aged, paunchy man fighting with two tall and agile teenagers. As he tried to get up, Edwin shot him twice in the back of the head point-blank. Eduardo looked on. Arita collapsed, lifeless, on the pavement.

With an eerie calm, Edwin picked the bike keys up off the road, waited for Eduardo to climb back on, and sped off.

The entire exchange between the officer and the boys had lasted 42 seconds.

Later, the police would leak the CCTV video to a local paper.

What came next would last four hours.

The two teenagers, visibly nervous, ditched the bike and started running in the middle of a five-lane highway, desperately trying to stop anyone to give them a ride. They ran past a Clarion Hotel, a Burger King and a McDonald's. At one point, traffic video caught them trying to jump a moving bus, pointing their gun at the driver, who did not stop.

The fleeing pair was not such an unusual sight, running in broad daylight, in the middle of Tegucigalpa. Seasoned motorists knew to stay out of the way.

Two policemen finally caught the boys in a parking lot near the Marriott Hotel, in the same block as the presidential palace.

Police won't say what happened next, but according to public prosecutor Alexis Santos, 40, the police officers started beating both the boys, focusing on Eduardo, whom they thought had fired the gun.

"Immediately they started beating us, with their weapons, with their feet," Edwin said. "They'd hit me on the head with the back of the gun, and they kept telling us they were gonna kill us."

When officers realized people had gathered to watch, they took the young men, already badly hurt, to the headquarters of the transit police. The beatings continued — again in a parking lot — for three hours. At the time, Santos said, neither boy had been officially detained, which would have alerted a prosecutor.

Edwin doesn't know how many policemen took part in the beating. Santos later said soldiers were also there.

"One of the cops would grab me by the hair and hold me, while another one punched and kicked me," Edwin said.

The cops took pictures with their cellphones, something Honduran policemen often do when they catch a suspect. Graphic photographs of the beaten, the tortured and the dead are typically sent to reporters for publication — including to The Associated Press. La Tribuna published photos of the boys, showing Eduardo lying on the ground, shirtless, unconscious and covered in blood. Edwin slumped stunned against a wall, handcuffed, his left eye swollen.

He couldn't see past the blood in his eyes, and then he passed out.

Eduardo was taken to Hospital Escuela, a medical school. He died four days later.

The autopsy indicated the cause of death was more than 20 blows to the base of the skull with a blunt object — a gun, prosecutors say.

Santos calls the incident a crime, a public lynching. The charges were clear: illegal detention, torture leading to death, dereliction of public duty and a cover-up.

Accusations that police commit extrajudicial killings are nothing new here. At least seven times in the last few months, members of a street gang were killed or went missing after run-ins with police, the AP has reported, feeding charges that they were victims of federal death squads.

There is some justice in Honduras, but not much — 82 percent of the complaints filed to a prosecutor never reach trial. An attorney general testified before Congress in June that nine out of 10 crimes went unpunished. He was fired shortly thereafter.

People who talked to Santos about the case were mystified that he was frustrated by his inability to corral a chaotic criminal justice system.

"People say, 'Why are you going after the police, if the one they caught has killed a policeman?'" Santos said.

The video of Arita's killing and the boys' escape went viral after it was broadcast by the media, triggering hundreds of responses on newspaper websites.

But rather than demands for justice, the crime epidemic has created an "eye for an eye" culture.

"They are too dangerous to be allowed to live, these people should die," read a comment left on a local newspaper's website.

"Too bad the thugs didn't kill each other. I hope he gets raped and killed in prison," said another.

And a third one: "One less scumbag in the world."

Santos thinks the images of the policeman's killing were released to justify what happened afterward. Eduardo's death was a sort of "social cleansing."

The surveillance video of the beating in the parking lot was never released to the public.

Santos doesn't expect to find evidence that will indict the police. When he asked for the names of the agents who participated in the beatings, he was given more than 100 names. None of them are compelled to testify. The crime will just top his mountain of some 600 open cases — the average for a federal prosecutor.

The case was as good as closed since Santos had no assistant and no car to conduct investigations — or even a motorcycle.

Police director Juan Carlos Bonilla told the AP in an interview in September that "you should not have the slightest doubt that we will act according to the law, and we will do it fast."

Four months later, there were still no arrests. Bonilla was removed from his post. Santos was fired shortly after landing Edwin's case.

At the correctional center for minors outside Tegucigalpa, Edwin is awaiting trial.

His mother rarely visits. She can't afford the trip.

"If she comes, she can't sell tortillas, and if she doesn't sell tortillas, there's no money for food."

Why did he shoot Arita? He didn't really mean to, he insists. He panicked and went after the gun. "I regret it; of course I regret it."

Edwin faces eight to 15 years in jail. But he will be lucky if he lives that long. In September, he was admitted to a hospital for more injuries from a second police beating, this one in jail. During his first meeting with an AP reporter, he could not walk on his own.

One of the guards says that in Honduras, someone who kills a policeman "is carrying four planks of wood on his shoulder" — a dead man walking.

But Edwin has left his own legacy.

In the town of Ocotepeque, the son of the murdered traffic cop has a new set of dreams.

Joaquin, the oldest at 15, dropped out of school to sell paintings for $5 a day, to help the family make ends meet after his father's death. He is nurturing a slow vengeance. When he grows up, he said, "I want to be a policeman and kill those gang members."

'Knockout Game' Attack on 79-Year-Old Leads to Hate Crime Charge

A white Houston-area man was arrested Thursday on federal hate crimes charges for allegedly shooting video of himself sucker-punching a 79-year-old black man in a "knockout game"-style attack.

Conrad Alvin Barrett, 27, made a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy, who scheduled a detention hearing for the Katy man on Friday.

According to prosecutors, the attack happened Nov. 24 in Katy, but it wasn't until 12 days later that authorities connected the attack to the cellphone video of it.

Authorities learned of the case because Barrett allegedly showed the video on the night of the attack to an off-duty arson investigator he had just met at a restaurant in nearby Folshear. According to the criminal complaint, Barrett asked the off-duty investigator and the woman with the investigator if they knew about the knockout game. He told them he played earlier that day, then showed them the video, prosecutors allege.

The investigator then flagged down a uniformed officer across the street and led him to Barrett.

The attack video doesn't show Barrett's face, but investigators matched his voice to the voice in the video and the couple at the restaurant told investigators that Barrett was wearing the same shorts and shoes at the person who shot the video.

According to prosecutors, the video shows Barrett approach the victim and ask, "How's it going, man?" A "loud smack" is then heard, the victim falls to the ground, Barrett laughs and says, "Knockout." The assailant then flees in his vehicle.

The victim lost three teeth and needed surgery to repair his jaw, which had been broken in two places. He was hospitalized for more than four days, authorities said.

Investigators retrieved other videos from Barrett's phone, including some in which he uses racial epithets and talks about trying to work up the courage to play the knockout game, the complaint states. In one, Barrett says: "That plan is to see if I were to hit a black person, would this be nationally televised?"

U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said Thursday that such crimes won't be tolerated.

"Evidence of hate crimes will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted with the assistance of all our partners to the fullest extent of the law," Magidson said.

Barrett's attorney, George Parnham, said Barrett has bipolar disorder and has been prescribed heavy medications to treat it. He said Barrett's family "feels horribly sympathetic" for the person who was attacked.

"When you start peeling back the layers of the onion and look at the mindset behind the action you soon realize there's a mental issue," said Parnham, who added that he's trying to gather as much information about Barrett's mental health as possible.

If convicted of the hate crime charge, Barrett could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

Ukrainian civic activist and journalist beaten outside Kiev

(CNN) -- A prominent Ukrainian civic activist and journalist was beaten on Christmas Day by a group of men who dragged her from her car outside of Kiev in the latest attack on government opponents, authorities said.

In a statement on its website, the Interior Ministry said it had identified three suspects in the beating of Tetiana Chornovol, who was assaulted in the early hours of Wednesday. The ministry said it had arrested two of the suspects.

A dashboard camera in Chornovol's car captured part of the attack on the 34-year-old journalist known for her muckraking investigations into corruption among senior state officials, according to the opposition Batkivshchyna party website.

A still image from the dashboard camera footage showed the black SUV that struck Chornovol's car moments before the assault.

The freelance journalist suffered a broken nose, concussion and numerous bruises, the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported.

On Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Kiev sharply condemned the beating in a statement. It called for an investigation, "which unlike previous such incidents must result in those responsible being held fully accountable under the law."

The embassy alleged that people were being targeted for their involvement in pro-European Union protests.

"These are unacceptable violations of civil liberties that have no place in a modern, democratic society," the embassy said.

Pro-Western protests

The attack on the activist journalist comes as Russia agrees to buy Ukrainian debt and slash the price Kiev pays for its gas -- an economic lifeline from President Vladimir Putin as Ukraine is rattled by protests calling for closer economic ties with Europe instead.

Under the deal, Putin said Moscow would buy $15 billion in Ukrainian debt by investing in its national welfare fund. The cost of Russian gas supplied to Ukraine was cut from more than $400 per 1,000 cubic meters to $268.50.

The deal has been criticized by the tens of thousands of protesters who have poured into the streets of the Ukrainian capital for weeks, angry at Yanukovych for spurning a trade deal with the European Union last month and turning to Moscow for help.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius condemned the violence and intimidation against participants in rallies in support of Ukraine's integration into the European Union and calling for the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, according to the state news agency UKrinform

"Intimidation and violence against (pro-European Union) activists must be stopped," Linkevicius wrote on Twitter.

In a post on his Facebook page Wednesday, independent journalist Mustafa Nayyem said supporters of Yanukovych and his administration were complicit in the brutal attack.

"YOU are personally complicit, and you support this disgusting state of affairs," he wrote. "And it's no longer about image, or losing power, or losing influence -- it is about losing a sense of humanity and our entire generation. You no longer have the right to decide things for us. You no longer have the right to determine what country we should live in."

Face battered

Pictures and a video of the journalist posted online showed Chernovol with the right side of her face and her lips swollen and bloody, according to Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency. Sources on various social media pages said she was hospitalized with a concussion.

Yanukovych urged police Wednesday to investigate the attack as quickly as possible, the news agency reported.

The attack was the second on a Ukrainian opposition activist in as many days, according to RIA Novosti . Dmitry Pilipets, a civic activist and organizer of protests in the eastern city of Kharkiv, was stabbed four times on the street by two unknown male attackers late Tuesday night. He was hospitalized Wednesday in stable condition, according to the news agency.

The latest assault could increase tensions between the state and demonstrators who have braved sub-zero temperatures and set up tents and barricades in the city center to voice their opposition to closer ties with Russia.

Dingmans Ferry Man Charged with Assaulting a Federal Law Enforcement Officer at the Delaware Water Gap

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a felony criminal information charging Brian Michael Herdman, age 52, of Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, was filed in the United States District Court in Scranton, Monday.
According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Herdman was charged with allegedly assaulting a United States Park Ranger at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area on September 4, 2013.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Park Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Todd K. Hinkley.
Indictments and criminal informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is eight years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational, and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

Mission Man Indicted on Assault Charges

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, South Dakota man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Celso Estrada, Jr., age 49, was indicted on November 19, 2013. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on November 25, 2013, and pled not guilty to the indictment.
The maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 10 years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.
Estrada is accused of stabbing two people at an apartment complex in Mission on November 16, 2013. The charges are merely accusations, and Estrada is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher is prosecuting the case.
Estrada was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending trial. A trial date has not been set.

Founder and Leader of Newburgh Latin Kings Sentenced to Life Plus 85 Years in Prison for Murder, Racketeering, Drug Distribution, and Other Crimes

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that WILSON PAGAN, 27, the founder and top leader of the Latin Kings gang in Newburgh, New York (the Newburgh Latin Kings), was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel in White Plains federal court to life plus 85 years in prison. PAGAN was convicted of murder; racketeering; conspiracy to distribute crack, cocaine, and heroin; assault; and using and carrying firearms in connection with violent crimes. PAGAN is one of 35 members and associates of the gang who were charged in the case, all of whom have been convicted, 28 of whom have thus far been sentenced.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara stated: “Mr. Pagan was a gang leader, and what he led his followers to was a gang member’s life filled with death, blood, guns, drugs, and jail—and for him the gangster life in the street has become the inmate’s life in prison, forever. Gang leaders, members, associates, and wannabes in Newburgh and throughout the Hudson Valley need to understand—we will not tolerate gang violence. You will go to prison for it, potentially for the rest of your life.”
According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial:
PAGAN founded the Newburgh Latin Kings, and grew the gang from roughly a dozen members in 2008 to more than 50 members and associates by early 2010. On May 6, 2008, PAGAN ordered aspiring gang members to go on a so-called mission, during which they committed a drive-by shooting and killed, mistakenly, Jeffrey Zachary, a 15-year old boy who was an innocent bystander. PAGAN sold crack and heroin and helped other members and associates of his gang sell drugs, including at spots the Latin Kings controlled, such as the corner of Benkard Avenue and William Street in Newburgh. PAGAN also assaulted rivals of his gang and carried guns and instructed others to carry guns to protect PAGAN and the Newburgh Latin Kings’ drug turf. In leading the gang, PAGAN recruited and inducted new members, instructed the members how to behave in order to protect and conceal the gang’s criminal activities, and issued orders to gang members to shoot and assault others. PAGAN organized and led gang meetings for this purpose. During one such meeting, according to papers filed with the court, PAGAN told more than 20 assembled gang members: “[W]e don’t even live by rules of society... .”

***

Mr. Bharara thanked the Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force for their work on the Latin Kings investigation. The Task Force is led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and combines the resources of dozens of law enforcement officers from federal, state, and local agencies and departments, including agents and officers of the FBI; the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the City of Newburgh Police Department; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; the Middletown Police Department; the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Allee, Abigail Kurland, and Nicholas McQuaid are in charge of the prosecution.

Alabama Sheriff’s Investigator Indicted for Unlawfully Detaining and Assaulting Handcuffed Man at County Jail

WASHINGTON—The Department of Justice announced today that a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama has returned an indictment against J. Keith McCray, a criminal investigator with the Macon County, Alabama Sheriff’s Office for violating the rights of a man he unlawfully seized and assaulted.
McCray, 41, is charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of witness tampering. On July 4, 2013, the victim was going door-to-door in McCray’s neighborhood attempting to sell alarm systems. According to the indictment, McCray unlawfully seized the victim using a firearm and then brought the victim to the county jail. The indictment alleges that at the jail, McCray struck the victim while he was handcuffed, which resulted in bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that McCray engaged in witness tampering when he intimidated the victim and corruptly persuaded him not to file a complaint for the assault.
If convicted, McCray could face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each deprivation of rights count. He could face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the witness tampering charge.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jerusha T. Adams of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Chiraag Bains of the department’s Civil Rights Division.

Ft. Thompson Man Sentenced for Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding a Federal Officer

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Ft. Thompson, South Dakota man convicted of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer was sentenced on November 20, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.
Patrick Wind, a/k/a Patrick Azure, age 21, was sentenced to 13 months of imprisonment, 18 months of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.
Wind was indicted for the above charge by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2013, and he pled guilty on August 28, 2013.
The conviction stems from an incident on June 4, 2013, wherein a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officer was dispatched to a home in Lower Brule, responding to a report of a passed out male on the front porch of a residence. The officer made contact with the male, later identified as Wind. Wind was placed under arrest for public intoxication and Wind became noncompliant.
Once handcuffed, Wind lunged at the officer, kicking and swearing at the officer who attempted to put him in the car. Two additional BIA officers arrived on scene, and as one of them was attempting to put leg restraints on Wind, he continued to resist by spitting and kicking at the officers. Wind continued to resist the entire time.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case.
Wind was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

Wyoming Woman Charged with Assault on a Federal Officer

U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming Christopher A. Crofts announced that on October 21, 2013, Marion Joyce Kills Enemy, a 24-year-old Northern Arapaho Tribal member, was charged in an information with one count of assaulting a federal officer in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1).
The charge against Ms. Kills Enemy stemmed from an incident that occurred on August 2, 2012, on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Ms. Kills Enemy is facing a potential of up to one year of imprisonment and could be ordered to pay restitution, a fine, and special assessment.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Indian of Affairs.