Monday, September 29, 2014
Man fired shot into neighbour's home to unload gun
A 31-year-old Pennsylvania man accused of firing a bullet that broke a neighbour’s window allegedly claimed he fired the gun because it was the only way he knew how to unload it.
No one was injured when the bullet hit the rear window on Adams Avenue in Middletown at around 12:30pm on Friday, but George Byrd IV, of Jefferson Avenue, is facing charges including persons not to possess firearms and discharging a firearm into an occupied structure.
The Adams Avenue resident told police that around noon she heard what she thought were gunshots near her home. She later noticed a rear window on her porch had been shattered.
At around 1:00pm she was standing inside her home looking at the damage when she saw a man dressed in dark coloured shorts and no shirt leave the house behind hers. As he stood in the doorway of the home, he fired a gun in what appeared to be the direction of her home and then ran back into the house he had previously exited, police said. Detective Patrick Nicastro inspected the Adams Avenue home and found what appeared to be two bullet holes in a fence that separated the Adams Avenue and Jefferson Avenue homes, police said. Nicastro also found a small hole in a window screen of the shattered window and recent damage to the siding on the porch.
After pulling the siding free, Nicastro found what appeared to be a fired, medium calibre handgun bullet behind the siding. Police officers visited the Jefferson Avenue home where they were met by a man wearing black shorts and no shirt later identified as Byrd. Byrd denied any knowledge of shots being fired and police detained him and checked the home to see if any armed subjects were inside, court documents said. During that sweep, police allegedly found several rounds of handgun ammunition on the basement floor. A search warrant was obtained and executed and police confiscated various handgun ammunition of varying calibres, a .357 revolver, 12-gauge double barrel shotgun an a M77 long rifle.
Police also found two bullet holes entering and exiting the back of a shed in the rear of the property. Similar bullet holes were seen entering and exiting a fence at the rear of a shed on the Jefferson Avenue property. A review of Byrd’s criminal record found he was adjudicated delinquent — the juvenile court equivalent of guilty in adult court — of felony burglary when he was 17, which would prohibit him from possessing a firearm. During his arraignment Byrd made a statement to District Judge Philip Daly admitting that he shot the gun into the ground to clear it because he was unfamiliar with guns and didn’t know how to unload ammunition, Nicatro said. Following his arraignment Byrd was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $20,000 bail.
At around 1:00pm she was standing inside her home looking at the damage when she saw a man dressed in dark coloured shorts and no shirt leave the house behind hers. As he stood in the doorway of the home, he fired a gun in what appeared to be the direction of her home and then ran back into the house he had previously exited, police said. Detective Patrick Nicastro inspected the Adams Avenue home and found what appeared to be two bullet holes in a fence that separated the Adams Avenue and Jefferson Avenue homes, police said. Nicastro also found a small hole in a window screen of the shattered window and recent damage to the siding on the porch.
After pulling the siding free, Nicastro found what appeared to be a fired, medium calibre handgun bullet behind the siding. Police officers visited the Jefferson Avenue home where they were met by a man wearing black shorts and no shirt later identified as Byrd. Byrd denied any knowledge of shots being fired and police detained him and checked the home to see if any armed subjects were inside, court documents said. During that sweep, police allegedly found several rounds of handgun ammunition on the basement floor. A search warrant was obtained and executed and police confiscated various handgun ammunition of varying calibres, a .357 revolver, 12-gauge double barrel shotgun an a M77 long rifle.
Police also found two bullet holes entering and exiting the back of a shed in the rear of the property. Similar bullet holes were seen entering and exiting a fence at the rear of a shed on the Jefferson Avenue property. A review of Byrd’s criminal record found he was adjudicated delinquent — the juvenile court equivalent of guilty in adult court — of felony burglary when he was 17, which would prohibit him from possessing a firearm. During his arraignment Byrd made a statement to District Judge Philip Daly admitting that he shot the gun into the ground to clear it because he was unfamiliar with guns and didn’t know how to unload ammunition, Nicatro said. Following his arraignment Byrd was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $20,000 bail.
Little dog rescued after spending week in drain
A dog mysteriously stuck in a drain for days was rescued on Wednesday in the city of Guiyang in southwest China.
People passing by said they realized the little animal was trapped underground when they heard it barking.
It had apparently been stuck underground for over a week, and local people had been feeding it through the holes in the drain cover.
YouTube link.
They had tried in vain to free the dog, but the concrete drain cover was too heavy. They then called in a road maintenance worker, and after 20 minutes, the worker managed to free the muddy dog.
People passing by said they realized the little animal was trapped underground when they heard it barking.
It had apparently been stuck underground for over a week, and local people had been feeding it through the holes in the drain cover.
YouTube link.
They had tried in vain to free the dog, but the concrete drain cover was too heavy. They then called in a road maintenance worker, and after 20 minutes, the worker managed to free the muddy dog.
CCTV operator jailed for voyeurism
A CCTV operator who was convicted of spying on a woman in north Belfast with a police camera has been jailed for a total of eight months.
Ciaran McCleave, 51, of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, was convicted of voyeurism and misconduct in a public office at Antrim Road police station.
The court heard, he had directed a camera at a woman's apartment for 79 minutes over a 26-day period.
A judge said he had spied on the woman for his own "sexual gratification".
On one occasion, the woman was viewed in her underwear after coming out of the shower.
The camera he used was supposed to monitor a north Belfast interface. McCleave faced eight charges - misconduct in a public office, voyeurism and six counts of attempted voyeurism. Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Ramsey QC said McCleave's conduct was a "flagrant and wilful abuse of the trust placed in you by the public as a CCTV operator". The judge said the defendant had deliberately "trained the camera on her apartment to catch her in a state of undress". "This was, in any view, a gross intrusion into the privacy of this woman in her apartment for your personal sexual gratification," he said.
The judge said that as a result of his misconduct in public office he had "lost his job, his reputation and his good name". He said the only mitigating factor in McCleave's favour was that he was a "man of previous good character with no criminal convictions". During the trial, the jury heard how the alarm was raised by a colleague of McCleave's who noticed that a security camera being operated by McCleave was trained into the first floor window of an apartment in north Belfast. The camera's default position was to monitor an interface but McCleave used the camera to zoom into the apartment when he watched the woman in her flat.
McCleave was also convicted of six counts of attempted voyeurism, having zoomed the same camera into the same woman's apartment on all occasions. The jury was also shown footage of cameras being used by McCleave zooming in on women going about their business in Belfast. Supt Muir Clark said it was "regrettable this incident took place". "It was something we uncovered locally and we dealt with robustly," he said. "It is right that those working for the Police Service of Northern Ireland are held to account via a number of mechanisms including through the legal system. As a result of this incident, we have reviewed the work processes of our CCTV operators and have put into place a number of procedures to help minimise the risk of this happening again."
The camera he used was supposed to monitor a north Belfast interface. McCleave faced eight charges - misconduct in a public office, voyeurism and six counts of attempted voyeurism. Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Ramsey QC said McCleave's conduct was a "flagrant and wilful abuse of the trust placed in you by the public as a CCTV operator". The judge said the defendant had deliberately "trained the camera on her apartment to catch her in a state of undress". "This was, in any view, a gross intrusion into the privacy of this woman in her apartment for your personal sexual gratification," he said.
The judge said that as a result of his misconduct in public office he had "lost his job, his reputation and his good name". He said the only mitigating factor in McCleave's favour was that he was a "man of previous good character with no criminal convictions". During the trial, the jury heard how the alarm was raised by a colleague of McCleave's who noticed that a security camera being operated by McCleave was trained into the first floor window of an apartment in north Belfast. The camera's default position was to monitor an interface but McCleave used the camera to zoom into the apartment when he watched the woman in her flat.
McCleave was also convicted of six counts of attempted voyeurism, having zoomed the same camera into the same woman's apartment on all occasions. The jury was also shown footage of cameras being used by McCleave zooming in on women going about their business in Belfast. Supt Muir Clark said it was "regrettable this incident took place". "It was something we uncovered locally and we dealt with robustly," he said. "It is right that those working for the Police Service of Northern Ireland are held to account via a number of mechanisms including through the legal system. As a result of this incident, we have reviewed the work processes of our CCTV operators and have put into place a number of procedures to help minimise the risk of this happening again."
Bomb disposal team called to deal with suspicious bag of rubbish
A "suspicious bag" found on a roundabout close to Southend Airport was found to contain just clothes and rubbish, police said.
Bomb disposal experts were called to the airport approach road at about 10:40am.
The entrance to the airport was closed and passengers arriving at the terminal were told not to leave the site. Four inbound and outbound flights were delayed for 50 minutes. The police cordon was lifted at about 1:00pm.
Mark Slemmings, who had just arrived at the airport from Barcelona, said: "After clearing immigration we heard that nobody was allowed in or out of the airport. I walked as far as I could go, but was stopped by airport staff.
"Once we could leave you could see the cordon and a suitcase looked like it had been exploded with rubbish everywhere." A spokesman for Essex Police said: "The bag, which had been left on a roundabout near the airport approach road, contained rubbish and old clothes."
The entrance to the airport was closed and passengers arriving at the terminal were told not to leave the site. Four inbound and outbound flights were delayed for 50 minutes. The police cordon was lifted at about 1:00pm.
Mark Slemmings, who had just arrived at the airport from Barcelona, said: "After clearing immigration we heard that nobody was allowed in or out of the airport. I walked as far as I could go, but was stopped by airport staff.
"Once we could leave you could see the cordon and a suitcase looked like it had been exploded with rubbish everywhere." A spokesman for Essex Police said: "The bag, which had been left on a roundabout near the airport approach road, contained rubbish and old clothes."
Otter retrieved iPhone dropped into pool by visitor at animal sanctuary
An otter fished out an unusual catch for a woman who dropped her iPhone into his pool at an animal sanctuary.
The visitor feared the phone would be lost for good after it fell into the murky depths, until Starsky the Asian short-clawed otter dived into action.
He swam down to the bottom of his tank before hauling the handset to the surface between his paws. Starksy calmly handed it back to speechless animal care assistant Jenny Lewis at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, in Gweek, near Helston, Cornwall.
Nine-year-old Starsky arrived at the sanctuary in January 2009, along with his brother Hutch. Starsky's usual tricks include juggling stones and climbing up the mesh sides of his enclosure - although he's too afraid to come down by himself.
The visitor feared the phone would be lost for good after it fell into the murky depths, until Starsky the Asian short-clawed otter dived into action.
He swam down to the bottom of his tank before hauling the handset to the surface between his paws. Starksy calmly handed it back to speechless animal care assistant Jenny Lewis at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, in Gweek, near Helston, Cornwall.
Nine-year-old Starsky arrived at the sanctuary in January 2009, along with his brother Hutch. Starsky's usual tricks include juggling stones and climbing up the mesh sides of his enclosure - although he's too afraid to come down by himself.
Sir Roger Moore shunned scotch egg for ham hock terrine
James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore stopped off for scotch egg for lunch in a pub on Friday according to Saturday's Torquay Herald Express.
The 86-year-old, who played the 007 secret agent for seven films between 1973 and 1985 called in at the Jack in the Green pub in Rockbeare.
The former 007 enjoyed a homemade scotch egg at the pub, prior to his appearance at Torquay's Princess Theatre, they reported.
However, following an exchange on Twitter, on Sunday The Herald Express published an important update as to what the octogenarian had actually eaten.
The 86-year-old, who played the 007 secret agent for seven films between 1973 and 1985 called in at the Jack in the Green pub in Rockbeare.
The former 007 enjoyed a homemade scotch egg at the pub, prior to his appearance at Torquay's Princess Theatre, they reported.
However, following an exchange on Twitter, on Sunday The Herald Express published an important update as to what the octogenarian had actually eaten.
Dog rescued after getting head stuck in tumble dryer vent
Raymond Edmonds from Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton, couldn’t believe his eyes when he found pet dog Junior's head sticking through the wall - with the rest of his body stuck outside.
German Shepherd Collie cross Junior had pushed his head through a hole in the wall which was where an old tumble dryer was installed leaving Raymond desperately shampooing his dog to try to get him out.
But the poor pet was wedged in and Raymond had no choice but to call in firefighters. Concerned Raymond called 999 and officers from West Midlands Fire Service managed to free Junior after a half an hour struggle - by drilling the wall around his head. Mr Edmonds said: “It was raining outside and I could hear Junior barking out in the garden, but when I went to the porch to let him in I had the shock of my life.
“He had pushed his head through an old vent for a dryer I used to have, and he was just peering at me through the wall. I was so shocked and I didn’t know what on earth to do.” Unfortunately for Junior the hole he had pushed his head through was slightly taller than him, so the poor pooch couldn’t sit down or rest his legs while he was stuck. Luckily, firemen managed to drill around the hole and released Junior’s head safely.
Mr Edmonds has released the pictures of Junior’s rescue to raise awareness of the good work West Midlands Fire Service carry out. He said: “Junior is a crazy dog and he coped with the ordeal really well. The firefighters who attended did an excellent job of getting Junior out of the hole, without distressing him. It’s safe to say, Junior won’t be putting his head in any other holes in a hurry.”
But the poor pet was wedged in and Raymond had no choice but to call in firefighters. Concerned Raymond called 999 and officers from West Midlands Fire Service managed to free Junior after a half an hour struggle - by drilling the wall around his head. Mr Edmonds said: “It was raining outside and I could hear Junior barking out in the garden, but when I went to the porch to let him in I had the shock of my life.
“He had pushed his head through an old vent for a dryer I used to have, and he was just peering at me through the wall. I was so shocked and I didn’t know what on earth to do.” Unfortunately for Junior the hole he had pushed his head through was slightly taller than him, so the poor pooch couldn’t sit down or rest his legs while he was stuck. Luckily, firemen managed to drill around the hole and released Junior’s head safely.
Mr Edmonds has released the pictures of Junior’s rescue to raise awareness of the good work West Midlands Fire Service carry out. He said: “Junior is a crazy dog and he coped with the ordeal really well. The firefighters who attended did an excellent job of getting Junior out of the hole, without distressing him. It’s safe to say, Junior won’t be putting his head in any other holes in a hurry.”
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