Intended Intimidation Turns to Gruesome Murder

In the 2010 film, Machete, a former Mexican Federale named Machete Cortez goes on a brutal and vengeful rampage after being set-up and betrayed by the man who hired him to assassinate a Texas Senator. As his name suggests, Cortez’s trademark weapon of choice is a machete, which he uses to kill those who stand in his way. It’s a gruesome slasher film; something that we wouldn’t necessarily associate with in real-life. However, a recent case involving an estranged couple, shows some slight similarities to this slasher film, namely the weapon that was used.

A Northern California man charged with brutally murdering his estranged wife in July 2009 with a machete took the stand Wednesday in Fontana Superior Court. Horacio Gonzalez Jr., who is accused of ambushed his wife, Griselda Gonzalez, 37, at the Fontana beauty salon where she worked is facing murder charges.

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When in Rome…

An attorney in the state of New York, who served five years in a state prison for participating in a large-scale methamphetamine ring is looking to leverage two recent state, as well as a landmark Supreme Court case to overturn his 2004 conviction.

Robert P. Moran, 56, who practiced in Rome, which is located in Oneida County just west of Syracuse, appeared before County Court Judge John S. Balzano on Tuesday to argue that the GPS tracking device used by law enforcement officials to monitor his movements without having a warrant for the device during his case, violated his Constitutional rights, which protects him against unreasonable searches.

Moran is basing his argument on a New York State Supreme Court decision from 2009, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision from earlier this year, both of which ruled that a warrant must be issued before a GPS tracking device can be used by police and law enforcement officials.

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Law Enforcement Officials Track Bank Robber with GPS Tracker 

According an FBI report, a man in Chicago  has been charged with robbing an Old Town bank after police were able to locate and arrest him using a GPS tracking device that was concealed in the money he stole from the bank.

Sean Wiley, 45, faces a bank robbery charge in the heist of the Fifth Third Bank on Monday. Three tactical officers were able to catch Wiley within minutes of the robbery thanks to the GPS tracking device that a bank employee stuffed into the bag along with the money he demanded. According to the complaint, the man walked into the bank wearing a black dust mask over his face and a white towel over the dust mask, and was confronted by a bank employee, who asked him “What’s going on?” The man replied, “This is a robbery,” and handed another bank employee a black plastic bag.

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Man Indicted in an Undercover Sting Ordered to Read and Complete Book Reports

In an odd turn of events, one of three men indicted in an undercover sting operation in Northern California for allegedly trying to sell a grenade launcher in a deal that led to gunfire in Richmond, was released on bond Monday by a federal judge. Interestingly, the judge ordered the man to be released under the condition that he reads each day and completes subsequent book reports.

Although federal prosecutors objected to the conditions of the release, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers granted the request, which was made by 23-year-old Otis Mobley Jr. While free on bond, Judge Rogers ordered Mobley to “read and complete book reports,” spending an hour every day on books and at least a half an hour writing.

The judge said she also plans to provide a reading list for Mobley as he awaits trial. Judge Rogers, however, delayed Mobley’s release until Tuesday morning to allow prosecutors enough time to file an expected appeal of her order.

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GPS Tracking Devices are Valuable Tools to Help Prevent and Deter Car Theft

Perhaps the best solution in the battle against car theft, would be to take car your with you wherever you go [as seen from pictured on the left]. While not quite the safest car on the road, I’m sure that tiny car gets great gas mileage.

Recently, bait cars have become a more commonly used by police to catch and deter car thieves. Police often equip bait cars with hidden cameras, real-time GPS tracking devices, silent alarms and remote shut-off capabilities. The GPS trackers help police locate the stolen vehicles once it moves from its current spot. Hidden cameras, usually located somewhere on the dashboard, record the act as it is happening.

In a unique story, a man in Minneapolis, accused of stealing a bait car gave law enforcement an interesting excuse for why he stole the vehicle. He told police, “Man, I should have just walked home but my feet were sore.”

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The “Beast of Blenheim” to be Released Despite High-Risk

In 1996 Stewart Murray Wilson from Blenheim, New Zealand, was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for sexual offenses against 16 women and girls over a span of approximately 25 years.

The charges against him included rape, attempted rape, indecent assault, stupefying, wilful ill-treatment of a child, and bestiality. Yet, despite repeated appearances before the parole board since September 2006, Wilson, who has been dubbed the “Beast of Blenheim,” has not been released due to his unrepentant behavior, his unwillingness to participate in treatment options and his assessed high/acute risk of reoffending once released from prison.

However, Stewart, who is now 65, will be released on September 1 after serving two-thirds of his 21-year sentence, due to the fact that he was sentenced before any preventive detention laws were introduced. This means that although he remains unrepentant and shows high risk of committing prior offenses, he cannot be imprisoned indefinitely.

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City Worker Goes to Great Lengths to Get Out of Work

A worker from the Columbus, Ohio, Division of Power & Water resigned after he was accused of cheating the by disarming a GPS tracking device that was being used to keep accurate tabs on the number of hours he worked. The Watchdog10 news team was able to obtain important investigative information surrounding the case involving the city employee, Joshua Ruark, and the lengths he was willing to go to in order to get out of work.

Last summer, the Department of Public Utility, including the Division of Power & Water, installed GPS tracking systems on some of their vehicles in order to monitor and track where and how their employees were utilizing their time during work hours, and to determine if, in fact, they are doing their jobs. According to the city, the GPS tracking system also came with an unexpected feature that exposes workers who try to cheat the time clock.

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GPS Data Used to as Evidence to Convict Drug Dealer

A man in Champaign, Illinois, is being held at the Champaign County jail on $1 million bond after local police used a GPS tracking device attached to his vehicle to document his alleged drug-distribution operation. The cash and suspected drugs that law enforcement officials seized from the arrest are estimated to be valued at more than $400,000.

Kwenton Palmer-Smith, 31, asked for more time to hire an attorney after he was charged on Monday with unlawful possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance, unlawful possession with the intent to deliver cannabis and aggravated unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz said that local police, along with the aid of her office, were able to obtain a search warrant authorizing the placement of a GPS tracking device to Palmer-Smith’s vehicle. Rietz said it was the first known use of such a search warrant in Champaign County since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on January 23, mandating law enforcement officials to secure an official court-issued warrant before placing a GPS tracking device on a vehicle for surveillance purposes.

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TNT Presents New Reality Lineup for 2013

The cable network, TNT, will be expanding its lineup of unscripted dramas with the addition of two new series: the police procedural docu-drama Boston Blue, from executive producer Donnie Wahlberg (star of the hit CBS show, Blue Bloods and singer on the hit 90′s boy-band New Kids on the Block); and the competition series 72 Hours, from the executive producer of Extreme Makeover and The Moment of Truth. TNT has ordered eight episodes of each series, with plans to launch them in 2013.

Boston Blue will give viewers a behind the scenes look as it follows the men and women of the Boston Police Department’s gang unit. The police docu-series comes to TNT from the Jarrett Creative Group, known for the show, Celebrity Ghost Stories, with Julie Insogna-Jarrett and Seth Jarrett serving as executive producers along with Donnie Wahlberg and his Donnie D. Productions.

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Criticism Over How GPS Tracking Devices Are Being Used Half-Heartedly in Manitoba

The provincial government in Manitoba, Canada, is only “lukewarm” towards monitoring criminals with GPS tracking devices, which includes a current program that attaches GPS ankle bracelets on repeat teen auto thieves, according to Tory Justice critic, Kelvin Goertzen.

Goertzen made the accusation against the provincial government on Sunday, after being prompted by statistics and comments provided by Justice Minister Andrew Swan in the legislature on the NDP’s efforts to monitor the city’s worst youth auto thieves with the devices. Swan conceded during a house debate on Thursday that recent data shows the program has been showing mixed results after four years.

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