Legal Random, Random

[ti-amie]

The antics of the "parents" of the Michigan school shooter have added a new layer of WTF to their son's case. This is what happened overnight.









The perp walk



They are being held on $500k bail (!) each. It seems that they're now in the same jail their son is.

[ti-amie]

Today's "Sure Jan" moment.



There is video of the police chief's presser from this morning but I can't find it now.

[ti-amie]

Michigan school shooting suspect’s parents held on $500,000 bond each as judge expresses flight-risk concerns
Acting on a tip, police found the pair hiding in a commercial building, authorities said

By Jennifer Hassan, Timothy Bella, María Luisa Paúl and Meryl Kornfield
Today at 4:30 a.m. EST|Updated today at 12:23 p.m. EST

The parents of a 15-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting four classmates at a Michigan high school were ordered held Saturday on $500,000 bond each, hours after they were found hiding in a commercial building in Detroit and taken into custody.

Jennifer and James Crumbley each pleaded not guilty to four counts of involuntary manslaughter, appearing separately via webcam at a 35-minute virtual arraignment in which the prosecution and defense clashed over whether the parents had provided easy access to the weapon authorities say was used in the crime.

“This is a serious, horrible, terrible shooting, and this has affected the entire community,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said, adding that the likelihood of conviction is “strong.” “And these two individuals could have stopped it.”

The arraignment capped a stunning series of events in the aftermath of Tuesday’s shooting, which left Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Justin Shilling, 17, dead.

Prosecutors allege that the parents bought the gun for their son, and that Jennifer Crumbley boasted on social media about taking her son to a shooting range to try it out. Authorities also say 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley’s parents left the gun unlocked and neglected to act on concerns expressed by school officials that he might act violently.

Hours after announcing that the pair was being charged — an extraordinarily rare move to hold parents accountable when a minor uses a weapon in a school shooting — police officials said that the couple had gone missing. They were located overnight in a commercial building after an extensive search involving police dogs, local law enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said.

Jennifer Crumbley fought back tears when asked by the judge if she understood that she faces the charges while her husband shook his head as McDonald recounted some of the accusations, including that the parents had provided “total access” to the weapon. Their defense attorneys, Shannon Smith and Mariell Lehman, denied that allegation and said the pair had always planned to cooperate with the investigation.

“This case is absolutely the saddest, most tragic, worst case imaginable, there’s no doubt,” Smith said. “But our clients were absolutely going to turn themselves in.”

Oakland County Judge Julie A. Nicholson agreed with the prosecution’s request for a $500,000 bond, stating that the couple could pose a flight risk, and ordering parents to hand over all weapons to sheriff’s office if they are released from jail.

“Obviously, these charges are very, very serious, there is no question about that,” Nicholson said. “The court does have some concern about the flight risk along with the public safety, given the circumstances that occurred yesterday and the fact that the defendants did have to be apprehended in order to appear for purposes of arraignment.”

Ethan Crumbley faces multiple charges as an adult in the attack Tuesday at Oxford High School: one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm.

The shooting has torn apart the small Michigan community, located about 45 minutes outside Detroit, and reignited calls for tighter gun laws, with more states considering laws to punish parents if children fire unsecured guns. It appears to be the deadliest episode of on-campus violence in the United States in more than 18 months. Seven others were wounded.

Charging parents is unusual in a school shooting. A Washington Post review of 145 school shootings committed by children in the two decades after the Columbine High massacre in 1999 found that the weapon’s source had been publicly identified in 105 cases. In total, the guns those children used were taken from their own homes or those of relatives or friends 80 percent of the time.

However, in just four instances did the adult owners of the weapons face any criminal punishment for not having locked them up — and none of those prosecutions stemmed from negligent-storage laws.

“While the shooter was the one who entered the high school and pulled the trigger, there were other individuals who contributed to the event,” McDonald said Friday as she announced the charges against the parents.

Jennifer and James Crumbley were located after a 911 call from a business owner who spotted the couple’s car in his parking lot in Detroit, Chief Deputy Mike McCabe of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office. He added in an emailed statement that a female observed near the car fled on foot when he called 911. Detroit Police Chief James White said police found “video of one of the two fugitives entering the building” and that police had quickly “set up a perimeter” at the location.

The pair “did not break in” at the building but “were aided,” White said, adding that police were investigating one other person who may have helped the couple. He thanked the community, saying that “it was a tip that led us to this location” and that officers responded “in a matter of minutes,” arriving on scene at 10:30 p.m. local time Friday.


Law enforcement officers outside the building where James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of suspected Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley, were arrested on Dec. 4 in Detroit. (Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images)

When asked about the pair’s emotional state as they were taken into custody, White said that they were “very distressed” and that one of them left the scene with head bowed.

Attorneys for the Crumbleys had earlier said the couple left town the night of the shooting “for their own safety,” adding that they would return to be arraigned on the manslaughter charges. They repeated that at the arraignment Saturday, saying that the couple had planned to meet their attorneys outside the court at 7:30 a.m.

“We did not announce it because unlike prosecution we weren’t attempting to make this a media spectacle,” Smith said.

But police and prosecutors disputed that account, with White telling reporters Saturday: “This isn’t indicative of turning themselves in, hiding in a warehouse.”

The pistol, purchased by James Crumbley on Nov. 26, was stored in an unlocked drawer in the parents’ bedroom, according to officials.

A day before the fatal shooting, a teacher noticed Ethan Crumbley using his cellphone to search for information on firearm ammunition. Jennifer Crumbley did not respond when the school contacted her via voice mail about her son’s “inappropriate” search, McDonald said. Instead, she exchanged a text message with her son that read, “LOL I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught.”

On the morning of the shooting, both parents were summoned to a meeting by school administrators after a teacher found a troubling note in their son’s desk, McDonald said. It contained a drawing of a semiautomatic handgun pointing at the words “The thoughts won’t stop. Help me.”

The note included a drawing of a bullet with the words “blood everywhere.” There was also a drawing of a bloody figure with two gunshot wounds, McDonald said, and another drawing of a laugh emoji.

Ethan altered the note, McDonald said, scratching out the most disturbing parts of it by the time the meeting with his parents began shortly after 10 a.m. on Nov. 30. McDonald said the teen brought his backpack to the counselor’s office for the meeting and noted that at no point did his parents ask about the recently purchased gun. McDonald said neither the Crumbleys nor school officials searched the teen’s backpack.

The Crumbleys “resisted the idea of their son leaving the school at that time,” McDonald said. Instead, Ethan returned to class with his backpack.

Karin Brulliard, Kim Bellware, John Woodrow Cox and Paulina Firozi contributed to this report.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2 ... s-custody/

Video of the arraignment.

<iframe width='480' height='290' scrolling='no' src='' frameborder='0' webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
Jennifer and James Crumbley, the parents of the alleged Michigan high school school shooter, were held on $500,000 bond each on Dec. 4. (The Washington Post)

[ponchi101]

Meanwhile, somewhere in Hollywood, Chuck Engag, a young, promising scriptwriter sat down in front of his terminal and started typing a story about a teenage mass shooter whose parents had fostered all his life to commit a heinous crime and, after reaching page seventy two, thought to himself "Nah, nobody is going to believe his parents actually were proud of what he did", and deleted his work.
He looked around and thought to himself "let me turn on the news and see what's going on. Maybe I will think of something..."

[JazzNU]

I assume it's being reported as $500k bond or bail because the writers don't know the difference that their wording makes here. But they are actually being held on $500k CASH bond. Much different. Means they aren't going anywhere unless a very wealthy (and very dumb) NRA benefactor wants to enter the fray.

[ti-amie]

I assume it's being reported as $500k bond or bail because the writers don't know the difference that their wording makes here. But they are actually being held on $500k CASH bond. Much different. Means they aren't going anywhere unless a very wealthy (and very dumb) NRA benefactor wants to enter the fray.

I think that in the video you can clearly hear the judge say "cash bond not 10%" or whatever the percentage is.

What gets me is that they were running - there is a lot of speculation as to whether they were headed to someplace in Michigan or Canada - and leaving their still minor child to face the rap alone. This is not said out of sympathy but in astonishment since the mother, in her rant, went on about how "illegal alien" parents don't care about their children.

[ti-amie]

This is when local knowledge can illuminate a situation. They kept saying that they were going to Canada but in my brain I was asking why to Detroit then? Now I know.

[JazzNU]

Oh yeah, you don't have to be local to know they were trying to get to Windsor (dumb plan) since they stayed in Detroit. For anyone that doesn't know, the busiest crossings from the US into Canada are the tunnel and bridge in Detroit to Windsor.

[ti-amie]

Oh yeah, you don't have to be local to know they were trying to get to Windsor (dumb plan) since they stayed in Detroit. For anyone that doesn't know, the busiest crossings from the US into Canada are the tunnel and bridge in Detroit to Windsor.

Wait it's a 13m drive? Were they waiting for someone to take them? I guess customs at the other end would've snagged them if they didn't have fake id.

13 min (1.8 mi) via Detroit Windsor Tunnel

[ti-amie]

Also don't forget I'm a native NY'er. Everything past the Hudson River is a blur!

[ti-amie]

The other big trail this week is taking place in Chicago. Actor Jussie Smollett is being tried for wasting the CPD's time by staging an attack on himself and saying that it was done by MAGA sympathizers. The consensus seems to be that he shouldn't have taken the stand.

Via @Dave Byrnes via @threadreaderapp
24 tweets, 4 min read

Cross examination of Jussie Smollett by the state prosecutors now starting. Prosecution asking Smollett if he just said he knowingly withheld useful evidence from the police. Smollett saying he wouldn't know, at least regarding what is "useful" evidence. #Smolletttrial
However, Smollett denies ever lying to the police. "I told them the truth, that I was the victim of a hate crime," he said.
Smollett claims that the news about one of his alleged attackers wearing a MAGA hat was a lie; a leak in the investigation that he says worried detectives as much as himself. Smollett denies ever mentioning a MAGA hat in his initial report to police.

Smollett now saying he didn't withhold anything from police to cover anything up. Maintains that there was no hoax.
Prosecutor Dan Webb counters that the lead investigator in the case, Michael Theis, testified last week that in 30 years doing his job, "You are the only victim of a crime that refused to turn over a cell phone."
Prosecution asking Smollett if he turned over only a small amount of phone records to police because he was worried the police thought he was lying. Smollett denies this, citing that his staff changed his phone number after the attack for security reasons.
Due to this change of a number, Smollett said, the relevant phone records weren't available until the next billing cycle. Smollett also added that the change to his phone number was done without his consent.

Prosecution still going over Smollett's level of police compliance in the investigation with a fine-tooth comb. We're on to Smollett's medical records now.
"Were you concerned that if you produced your medical records, that it would show that you did not suffer significant injuries?" - Prosecutor Dan Webb
Defense objects to the question, and Smollett is incensed by it. "My injuries are real." he says, citing a scar under his eye that he says came from the attack.
Webb, undeterred, points out that Dr. Robert Turelli, who examined Smollett following the alleged attack, testified last week that Smollett had no significant injuries at the time of the examination.
Defense once again objects that this is a mischaracterization of testimony, saying that Turelli's comments referred to Smollett's MRI and CAT scan, not to the bruising and cuts he suffered in the alleged attack.

Into DNA evidence now. Smollett says he "[doesn't] even do Ancestry.com" because he's that hesitant to give out DNA samples.

On to the noose rope now. Smollett says he took it off after getting back to his apartment following the alleged attack, but also says he put it back on when police arrived so as not to unintentionally soil potential evidence.
Smollett denies doing anything to deliberately alter the rope's appearance, but also says it had become slightly unraveled in taking it off and putting it on again.
Michael Theis, the lead investigator into Smollett's case in 2019, said last week that detectives found it suspicious that the rope's appearance differed between Smollett's apartment lobby security camera and the responding police officer's body camera.
Smollett, looking at the two images together, argues that the rope looks less like a noose in the body camera footage. This is counter to Theis' assessment last week that Smollett made the rope look *more* like a noose for when the police arrived.

On to the text messages between Smollett and Abimbola Osundairo, wherein Smollett asked for Abimbola's help "on the low."
Smollett maintains that he wanted to ask Abimbola to bring him back an herbal steroid from Abimbola's trip to visit family in Nigeria. Smollett said Abimbola told him the steroid was illegal in the U.S.
"What steroid do you think is legal in Nigeria that you can't get in the U.S.?" prosecution asks Smollett. Smollett asserts that there *are* steroids that are legal in Nigeria that aren't legal in the U.S., but says he doesn't know their names.
"I trusted [Abimbola] to know what it was... he said it was an herbal steroid," Smollett says.

Prosecution asking why they had to be in a car to discuss this issue. Smollett says it's because the discussion was just a small part of the two hanging out; that the two often drove around together.

Judge Linn wants to end the day at 6 p.m., so prosecution wraps up its questioning there. Linn says that, despite his prior prediction that the jury will begin deliberation on Tuesday, he now thinks it may start Wednesday.

I'm going to end the livetweeting now as well. The trial will pick back up tomorrow, hopefully around 9:15 a.m.

[JazzNU]

Avoiding trial, a former hedge fund manager turns over $70 million in stolen antiques

by JOE HERNANDEZ

A ceremonial cup from Turkey in the shape of a stag's head. Three death masks, likely unearthed from the mountains of Israel, dating back to 6000 or 7000 B.C. An ancient Greek chest for human remains.

Those are among the 180 stolen antiquities that former hedge fund manager and philanthropist Michael Steinhardt turned over under an agreement with New York City prosecutors. The deal, reached after a multiyear investigation into his activities, also slaps Steinhardt with a lifetime ban on collecting any other historical relics.

In exchange, Steinhardt will avoid prosecution for what authorities have called his "rapacious appetite for plundered artifacts" that crossed legal lines.

"His pursuit of 'new' additions to showcase and sell knew no geographic or moral boundaries, as reflected in the sprawling underworld of antiquities traffickers, crime bosses, money launderers, and tomb raiders he relied upon to expand his collection," Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said in a statement on Monday.

Steinhardt, who is also known for his work as a co-founder of Birthright Israel, which pays for young Jewish adults to visit Israel, has denied any wrongdoing in acquiring the antiques. He said many of the dealers who sold him items claimed that they were the objects' lawful owners. "Mr. Steinhardt is pleased that the District Attorney's years-long investigation has concluded without any charges, and that items wrongfully taken by others will be returned to their native countries," read a statement from his attorneys provided to NPR.

Authorities say they'll return the 180 antiques, valued at around $70 million, to their "rightful owners" in the 11 countries where they originated.

Vance said the decision not to prosecute Steinhardt meant that the relics could be returned more quickly and that witnesses and other parallel investigations would remain secret.

The investigation into Steinhardt, who is also known for his work as a co-founder of Birthright Israel, which pays for young Jewish adults to visit Israel, began in 2017. It revealed that he had purchased some items from known antiquities traffickers without any information about their provenance. At least 100 of the pieces Steinhardt has agreed to turn over appeared covered in dirt before he bought them, which authorities said was a sign of looting.

During one exchange with investigators over a subpoena related to a different antique, Steinhardt reportedly pointed to the Larnax — the Greek chest he agreed to forfeit — and said: "You see this piece? There's no provenance for it. If I see a piece and I like it, then I buy it."


https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/10621110 ... hedge-fund

[JazzNU]

^^^ TLDR?:

[JazzNU]

^^ A good contrast to Jussie's trial on so-called wasted time and resources.

[ti-amie]

Antiquities looting, buying and selling is one of the least looked at crimes because back in the day it was done without a concern for the needs or wants of the people the antiquities were stolen from. The Elgin Marbles and the Benin Bronzes come to mind.