Stupid people of the week

‘Rogue’ daycare workers busted for allegedly running child fight ring

Two South Carolina daycare teachers face multiple charges for allegedly directing 3 and 4-year-olds in their care to fight each other and “allow[ing] the violence to proceed without correction,” police said.

Kids Unlimited of Prosperity day care employees Ericka Jones, 27, and Serena Caldwell, 56, turned themselves in to authorities on Thursday after warrants were issued for their arrest, per the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office.

Both are charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and unlawful conduct to a child, according to the department’s Friday press release. Jones faces 14 counts of each charge, while Caldwell faces 15.

Daycare owner John David Dawkins wrote in a statement provided to local outlet WIS-TV that Jones and Caldwell were “immediately terminated” after staff reported their behavior and security footage was viewed.

The facility immediately notified the South Carolina Department of Social Services and the Newberry County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Lee Foster told WLTX the daycare had cooperated fully in their subsequent investigation.

Investigating deputies discovered that the two women instructed children to shove, pull and hit each other, per the outlet.

Foster told WLTX that the behavior “started out with [Caldwell and Jones] saying the teacher had promoted other students or other clients of the daycare, to use violence to try to punish a child or make another child compliant.”

“I have no idea what the two daycare workers were thinking of – that was just abhorrent behavior,” Foster continued. “I just can’t imagine why you would do this.”

A total of 14 children were involved, Foster said – per WLTX they were between three and four years old.

Although none had serious physical injuries, Foster said, it remains unseen “how much emotional or psychological damage could have been caused by this.”

A parent of one of the victims, who WLTX did not name, testified that their child was told to hit another child, then told to do it again.

Foster told WIS-TV that the two women were “rogue employees” and that the department does not believe the daycare was complicit in their behavior.

A parent of one of the victims told the outlet that she didn’t believe that the problem was systemic and said that she “hate[d] that these two women kind of tarnished the name of this daycare.”

“But at the same time, I’m glad it was caught and they will have to serve justice. But at the end of the day, there’s no real justice because how do you remove that from a child’s head?” the woman asked. “You’ve altered their life.”

Source; Fox News

Missing pig named Kevin Bacon finally found after shout-out from actor Kevin Bacon

A pig named Kevin Bacon that spent more than two weeks on the run in Pennsylvania is finally home thanks to some sticky buns, Benadryl and a shout-out from his namesake, actor Kevin Bacon.

Chelsea Rumbaugh brought the two-year-old, 200-pound Juliana pig, home to her farm in Cumberland Township on Oct. 13 — but the following day the pesky porker had dug under his pen and escaped, she wrote in a Facebook page formerly titled “Bring Kevin Home.”

“We were so close [to Kevin] my 16-year-old was petting him,” Rumbaugh wrote on the page. “He stayed close but eventually took off into the woods.”

Over the next two weeks, the pig spent his time roaming the woods in the area, sometimes making appearances at neighbors’ homes but evading capture.

Rumbaugh launched the Facebook page to alert local hunters and ask neighbors to help track down Kevin. The page soon took off, attracting thousands of followers concerned about the hog.

When award-winning actor Kevin Bacon learned of the footloose pig, he chimed in to spread the word, posting on Meta’s Thread app: “Bring Kevin Home!”

Kevin the pig, meanwhile, would continually wander close to home, but scurry away whenever someone got close.

“Kevin and I have been doing a song and dance since 8:30 a.m.,” Rumbaugh wrote on Oct. 30, the day before he was re-captured.

“He comes close, I wait and then inch towards him, he trots away. He didn’t even ask to dance he just thought it sounded fun I guess,” she wrote.

Frustrated, Rumbaugh decided to lace a sticky bun with benadryl in the hopes that Kevin would fall asleep.

“Benadryl sticky bun has been eaten and now I’m looking for a passed out pig somewhere. We did see him at 6:40 in the yard so I’m hoping he’s close,” she posted on Tuesday.

Hours later, she posted a picture of Kevin back in his pen: “He’s home.”

Now growing acclimated to his new home and socializing with the fellow pigs, Kevin will spend his time relaxing and eating some snacks, she said.

Rumbaugh also said she is considering writing a series of children’s books based on Kevin’s adventures.

The Facebook page has since been renamed “Kevin’s Home Adventures,” which documents his day-to-day antics on the farm.

Source; NY Post

Navy appeals court overturns conviction of sailor who deserted in 1978

A military appeals court has thrown out the conviction of a junior sailor who deserted his unit in 1978 and went on the lam for more than 44 years.

In overturning Airman Apprentice Antonio D. Miller’s guilty plea on a desertion charge, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals noted that such a charge could not be applied more than three years after a service member deserted, as of the time Miller went missing.

The Oct. 23 appellate ruling added that neither the trial judge nor Miller’s Navy defense attorneys seemed aware of that fact, and no one brought it up during his proceedings in August 2022.

Miller had the right to know that the desertion charge to which he was pleading guilty involved a statute of limitations that had expired, according to the ruling, which flagged the “clear and obvious error” by military judge Donald Ostrom.

“We have very little confidence that trial defense counsel, much less (Miller) himself, was aware of the statute of limitations issue,” the appeals court wrote. “Perhaps even more revealing that (Miller) was not aware of his rights, every attorney involved in the military justice processing of (Miller’s) case appears to have been unaware of (Miller’s) right to be advised of the statute of limitations defense prior to pleading guilty.”

Miller could not be reached for comment, and his Navy defense attorney did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Before his guilty plea was set aside by the appeals court, Miller had been sentenced to a bad-conduct discharge, reduction in rank to E-1 and two months confinement.

A Tennessee native, Miller entered the Navy in 1976 after a stint with the Marines, according to court records. He deserted his Norfolk-based unit in April 1978 and traveled home to Chattanooga.

Miller “briefly returned to military control” after visiting a local Naval Reserve Center, where officials booked him a flight back to Norfolk and told him to report to his unit immediately.

Instead, Miller traveled to St. Petersburg, Florida, where one of his brothers lived. Shortly after, he was apprehended by civilian authorities and transferred to military custody, according to court records.

Once again, military officials told him to get back to Naval Station Norfolk, but Miller ignored the order. He instead vanished for more than 44 years until he was arrested in Tennessee on May 19, 2022.

During that encounter in the town of Soddy-Daisy, Miller provided his dead brother’s driver’s license to police when they asked for his identification. Law enforcement there soon realized Miller was not his brother, according to court records.

Miller was later transferred to military custody and taken to Norfolk, where he was charged.

At no point did anyone in the Navy legal system stop to check whether Miller could be charged with desertion, given the three-year statute of limitations that was on the books at the time of his alleged crime, the appeal court ruling suggested.

“The trial transcript, plea agreement, stipulation of fact and the record are silent as to the statute of limitations,” the appeal ruling stated.

Source; Navy Times

Former Loveland police officer Dylan Miller fired, charged with sexual assault of 15-year-old girl in Northern Colorado

A former police officer in Northern Colorado is facing six charges including, sexual assault, sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and unlawful sexual conduct by a peace officer in a case involving a 15-year-old girl. Dylan Miller was identified as the suspect by Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran at a news conference Monday.

“When a member of our department is accused of violating the law, I will act swiftly,” Doran said.

The department was contacted Monday, Oct. 23, by a 15-year-old girl’s family about the alleged assault. They say it happened at North Lake Park this past summer. Investigators said Miller conducted a traffic stop of a car in which several people, including the girl, were riding in late July.

Several days later, while on duty, detectives say Miller drove into the park at night and saw the girl and another person. He told the other person to leave.

Then, say investigators, he told the girl to go to a wooded area “and instructed her to walk to a secluded area of the park. It was in this location that he sexually assaulted her,” said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen, whose department led the investigation.

Doran said his department acted swiftly when the allegation was brought to them.

Loveland PD requested that the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office conduct the investigation and the girl was interviewed three days after the complaint. The following day when Miller arrived for work, he was put on administrative leave.

“You can rest assured we acted as quickly as possible to identify and place the former officer on leave to minimize his contact with the public,” said Doran.

After getting an arrest warrant and taking Miller into custody Monday, the department fired him.

In addition to the sex charges, Miller, 28, faces a kidnapping charge, first-degree official misconduct and official oppression. The latter two are misdemeanors.

Source; CBS News

U.S. Park Police officer unintentionally fatally shoots fellow officer at Virginia gathering, police say

An off-duty U.S. Park Police officer unintentionally shot and killed another off-duty officer over the weekend in Virginia as he pulled a trigger on a gun he thought was unloaded, police said.

Alexander Roy, 25, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jesse Brown Hernandez, 22, while they were at a gathering in an apartment in McLean, Virginia, about 10 miles west of Washington.

Police were called to the scene shortly after midnight on Sunday.

Two other people, including another U.S. Park Police officer, were also at the gathering. Police said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the shooting. Roy is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on no bond.

Hernandez was found dead with a gunshot wound to the upper body. The investigation continues, and Fairfax County police ask anyone with information about the incident to contact them.

The Park Police serve the National Park Service and neighboring communities. They also provide security for the president, the interior secretary and visiting dignitaries.

Park Police said in a news release that they are aware of the incident and directed all questions about the investigation to Fairfax County police.

“Our focus right now is on supporting the family, friends and coworkers of our employees involved in this tragic incident. USPP has nothing further to share at this time,” Park Police said in a statement.

Source; NBC News

Chattanooga police officer fired for having sex on duty following internal affairs investigation

A Chattanooga police officer was fired last month for having sex multiple times while on duty.

CPD Internal Affairs launched an investigation into Officer Brian Angel in June when the incident was reported.

Documents Local 3 News obtained through an open records request show Chief Murphy terminated Angel on October 20.

Angel’s letter of termination says he admitted to having sex with another officer at least five times while on duty.

This happened on June 7, 2023, in “public view” near the Chattanooga Zoo.

The letter says the other officer who was involved resigned.

Angel worked for the Chattanooga Police Department for 19 years.

His Internal Affairs record shows he was disciplined for insubordination in 2021.

Source; Local 3 News

Category: Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals