CRIME NEVER STOPS

I check the news every day. And everyday there are new stories of murder, mayhem, tragedies, cheating, stealing ad naseum.

So today I am sick, and I might not post all the crime stories I would like to post, and you would like to read. But, alas, you and I both know that there will be more stories. Check back this evening. I may post then if I feel better.

Have a wonderful Saturday. Stay warm. Stay out of the avalanches and mudslides. I hope to see you soon.

CHOMP

TINLEY LANE BRYANT: DESCRIPTION OF SUSPECT; MEMORIAL FUND

Investigators Release Description Of Ill. Store Shooter

The suspect is described as a black male with hair styled in braids with four light-green dangling beads. Police are expected to release a sketch of the suspect on Wednesday.

Authorities are seeking information from barbers and hair stylists with the detailed description of the suspect's hair.

All funds collected will benefit the victims' families, and will be distributed equally among the five victims' families. Periodic distributions will be made to the families until the fund is exhausted.

Donations may be made by check or money order and will be accepted at all Harris Bank locations. Checks should be made payable to "Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund", and mailed to:


The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund
Harris Bank
19500 S. Harlem Avenue
Frankfort, IL 60423
ATTN: Sandy Kozin

The Tinley Park Police Department has asked that anyone having information regarding this crime, or who may have seen anything of a suspicious nature in or around the mall located at 191st & Harlem Avenue, between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Saturday February 2, 2008, to call the Tinley Park Police Department at 708-444-5394, or to call the Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-7867.

I'll post the police sketch of the suspect as soon as it's released. We all need to look for this guy...and catch him as soon as possible. Someone knows him...his mother, his wife, a brother, a friend. Please, help apprehend this man. He is dangerous!
CHOMP

KIRKWOOD, MO: SHOOTER KILLS MAYOR, 2 COPS, 2 OTHERS

AP
Police surround the Kirkwood, Mo., City Hall after a gunman burst into a city council meeting and killed 5 people including the mayor and two cops, officials say.

Gunman Kills Five at City Council Meeting, Shot Dead by Police</span>
Thursday, February 07, 2008

FoxNews

KIRKWOOD, Mo. — Two police officers were among five people shot and killed Thursday night by a gunman who opened fire at a city council meeting in this St. Louis suburb, police said.

A total of seven people were shot, including the mayor and several city officials, before police shot and killed the gunman, though it is unclear which officials are among the dead.

The gunman was identified as Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who was attending the meeting.

MyFOXStLouis, citing a local newspaper, reports that Thornton had a history of disruptive activity at council meetings. Thornton, a local contractor and a black man, repeatedly accused the city of racism and discrimination in citing him for unlicensed work, and he even sued the city for civil rights violations but recently lost the suit, the TV station reported.

Thornton first shot a police officer outside the city council chambers before walking inside and opening fire, police said in a brief news conference.

The Post-Dispatch reporter said the 7 p.m. meeting had just started when the shooter rushed into the council chambers yelling and began opening fire with at least one weapon. He started yelling "shoot the mayor" while walking around and firing, hitting a police officer first, the reporter said.

READ UPDATE ON THIS STORY...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,329767,00.html

HEATH LEDGER: DEATH FROM 6 DRUGS RULED ACCIDENT

This image provided by Focus Features shows actor Heath Ledger portraying the character Ennis Del Mar in the movie "Brokeback Mountain."

Heath Ledger Died of Accidental Overdose of Prescription Drugs, Examiner Says
Wednesday, February 06, 2008

AP

NEW YORK — Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of painkillers, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety medication and other prescription drugs, the New York City medical examiner said Wednesday.

The cause of death was "acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.

The medical examiner's office only provided generic names, so it is unknown whether he took generic or brand-name drugs. Police had said they found six types of prescription drugs, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, in Ledger's apartment.

Click here to see the documents

Oxycodone is a painkiller marketed as OxyContin and used in other painkillers such as Percodan and Percocet; hydrocodone is used in a number of painkillers, including Vicodin.

Diazepam and alprazolam are the generic names for the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the other two drugs are sleep aids commonly sold under the brands Restoril and Unisom.

READ MORE...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,328828,00.html

DEADLY TORNADOS: 47 DEAD AND COUNTING!

Twisters kill at least 47 in four Southern states
Rescuers sifting through rubble for survivors; at least 24 dead in Tenn.

NBC News and news services
updated 45 minutes ago

ATKINS, Ark. - Authorities went door-to-door early Wednesday searching for more victims of deadly tornadoes that ripped the roof off a shopping mall and blew apart warehouses as they tore across four states. The Associated Press reported at least 47 fatalities throughout the South.

The dead included 24 people in Tennessee, 13 in Arkansas, and seven in Kentucky, NBC News said. Three were killed in Alabama, emergency officials said. Among the victims were Arkansas parents who died with their 11-year-old in Atkins, about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock.

(snip)

Northeast of Nashville, Tenn., a spectacular fire erupted at a natural gas pumping station that authorities said could have been damaged by the storms. An undetermined number of people were reported dead.

Eight students were trapped in a battered dormitory at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., until they were finally freed.

Well after nightfall Tuesday, would-be rescuers went through shattered homes in Atkins, a town of 3,000 near the Arkansas River. Around them, power lines snaked along streets and a deep-orange pickup truck rested on its side. A navy blue Mustang with a demolished front end was marked with spray paint to show it had been searched.

(snip)

Washed away, but ultimately rescuedA few people north of the mall took shelter under a bridge and were washed away, but they were pulled out of the Wolf River with only scrapes, said Steve Cole of the Memphis Police Department.

In Mississippi, Desoto County Sheriff’s Department Cmdr. Steve Atkinson said a twister shredded warehouses in an industrial park in the city of Southaven, just south of Memphis.
“It ripped the warehouses apart. The best way to describe it is it looks like a bomb went off,” Atkinson said.

JUST TOO MUCH NEWS ON THIS...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23006771/

CHOMP SAYS: There is so much news on the devastation that I couldn't keep up! I will try to consolidate some of the stories this evening.

When I lived in Denver, the tornado warning sirens would go off. Very scary! We would grab cats, water, flashlights, radio...very quickly...and head for the basement.

TINLEY IL: LANE BRYANT MASSACRE, 4 DEAD, 1 SURVIVOR

7264 W. 191st Street, Tinley Park. (Google/NAVTEQ / February 2, 2008)

Flowers, photos and notes rest Monday in front of a cross in honor of Connie Woolfolk, one of five women killed by a gunman in a Tinley Park Lane Bryant on Saturday. (Tribune photo by Chuck Berman / February 4, 2008)

The five victims of a shooting inside the Tinsley Park, Ill., clothing store Saturday were identified as Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; Sarah T. Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Carrie H. Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort; Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; and Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind. Inset from left to right are McFarland, Chiuso, Woolfolk and Szafranski. No image was available of Bishop. (AP Photo/ABC)

Greg Zanis of Sugar Grove reacts after erecting crosses at the Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008. (Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / February 3, 2008)

Massacre Survivor Could Help ID Gunman
FBI Joins Urgent Search for Man Who Fatally Shot Five Women Inside Illinois Clothing Store

By DAVID SCHOETZ Feb. 4, 2008

A victim wounded during a Saturday morning massacre that claimed five lives inside an Illinois women's clothing store may be able to help identify the perpetrator, authorities said.

The shooting survivor, whose name had not been released, was sent to a local hospital after a gunman fatally shot four shoppers and the store manager at a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, a normally tranquil town 30 miles west of Chicago.

A hospital spokesman did not provide the condition of the victim Sunday or any details beyond a confirmation that a single shooting victim had been admitted.

A Kentucky newspaper reported Monday that the survivor is a 33-year-old female student with Kentucky ties who worked weekends at the store. The woman's parents told The Messenger of Madisonville, Ky., that the bullet intended to kill their daugther passed through her neck without hitting any vital body parts. The parents also reportedly said that all of the victims were bound and the five women who died suffered gunshot wounds to the back of the head.

Authorities hope the survivor will help them create a composite sketch to assist in the manhunt for the suspect, according to ABC News Chicago affiliate WLS.

The gunman has been described as a black male, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 250 pounds and wearing a black jacket to the waist, a black baseball cap and dark jeans. Police did not originally reveal that one woman had survived the shooting.

READ DESCRIPTION. LET'S CATCH THIS COWARD!
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=4239645&page=1

Cook County Crime Stoppers offered an additional $5,000 for information about the case.

COCKEYSVILLE, MD: SON ARRESTED, FRIENDS REMEMBER LOVING BROWNING FAMILY

Neighbors and friends of the Browning family gather at the Brownings' home in the 10900 block of Powers Ave. in Cockeysville. (Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam / February 3, 2008)

Vigil pays tribute to family
About 100 gather to remember four found shot in Cockeysville home
By Brent Jones and Tom Pelton Sun reporters
February 4, 2008

They told stories about the Browning family for an hour last night, the most colorful of which involved Greg Browning's attempts to play soccer.

Instead of scoring goals, the rambunctious 13-year-old made his classmates laugh, and the dozens who showed up on the steps of the family's Cockeysville home for a vigil continued to do so as they remembered his antics."

He was just so funny," said Gabe Ford, 13, to the chuckles of his classmates. "We would play soccer, and the kid would never run straight. He was just great. He didn't deserve to die."

Yesterday morning, Baltimore County police charged Nicholas W. Browning, 15, with first-degree murder in the deaths of Greg, brother Benjamin, 11, and parents John and Tamara.

Nicholas Browning was arrested about 1 a.m. after confessing, police said.

About 100 people came to the vigil, the majority of whom were classmates of Greg, the middle son. On a darkened street lit only by candles and television equipment, kids stood teary-eyed. Some sobbed, a few others wailed. All described Greg and the Brownings as good people.

READ MORE...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.reaction04feb04,0,681034.story

COCKEYSVILLE, MD/ANOTHER AMITYVILLE? TEEN, NICHOLAS BROWNING, KILLS FAMILY

Bill Toohey, spokesman for the Baltimore County police, speaks to reporters after police arrested Nicholas Waggoner Browning, 15, and charged him with four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his mother, father and two younger brothers. Browning has been charged as an adult. (AP photo / February 3, 2008)

The Cockeysville home where four people were found dead on Saturday. Police arrested Nicholas Waggoner Browning, 15, of Cockeysville, Md. and charged him with four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his mother, father and two younger brothers. Browning has been charged as an adult. (AP photo / February 3, 2008)

Teen arrested in death of family members
15-year-old in Balto. Co. charged with first degree murder
By Justin Fenton Sun reporter
12:21 PM EST, February 3, 2008

Baltimore County police have charged a 15-year-old Dulaney High School student with first degree murder in the deaths of his father, mother and two younger brothers.

Nicholas W. Browning was arrested at about 1 a.m. this morning after confessing to the murders of his parents and siblings, police said today at a 11 a.m. news conference in Towson.

Police said Nicholas had an argument with his father, John W. Browning, Friday night and that he took his father's handgun and shot his father, as well as his mother, Tamara Browning, and brothers, Gregory Browning, 13, and Benjamin Browning, 11.

Nicholas left his family's home in the 10900 block of Powers Ave. on Friday and spent that night with a friend. He returned Saturday at about 5 p.m. and reported to his friend that he had discovered the body of at least one of his family members. Police were called and patrol cars swarmed the area.

The teenager, who is a sophomore at Dulaney High School and a Boy Scout, is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center, police said.

WOW! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-bodies0203,0,6317131.story

TRAVIS MULLIS: CAR-SEAT BABY KILLER CAPTURED

Photo by/MyFOXHouston.com




Texas Baby Murder Suspect Arrested in Pennsylvania
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Fox News

The father of a 3-month-old boy who was found murdered near the Galveston seawall turned himself into police in Pennsylvania, saying he intentionally murdered the boy by repeatedly stomping on him, MyFOXHouston reports.

Travis Mullis told Pennsylvania investigators he repeatedly stomped on the 3-month-old until he felt his skull collapse, according to an official Galveston Police Department document. Mullis turned himself in Friday afternoon, where his bond was set at $1 million, police said at a Friday night news conference.

The baby boy was discovered by a bird-watching couple on Tuesday morning in an area known as Cherry Hill. The boy was found with a car seat near by, wearing nothing but a clean diaper.

READ UPDATE ON THIS CAPTURE...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,327916,00.html