Stupid people of the week

Jane with her first car, Cardiff, Wales, 1968

Baton Rouge Police arrest man accused of shooting, injuring his girlfriend, dog

A Baton Rouge man was arrested after an accidental shooting at a Burbank Drive apartment that left his girlfriend and dog injured.

According to an affidavit, Baton Rouge police officers found a woman with a gunshot wound to her leg in front of an apartment after 1 a.m. Friday. Officers found Michael Taylor Jr., 29, in the apartment, where he told officers he accidentally shot his girlfriend and his dog.

He told officers that his girlfriend, who lives in Texas, called him about a bad dream she had, warning him to be careful and to be on the lookout for someone coming to his apartment. Shortly after, the dog started barking at the door and Taylor reportedly fired two to three rounds at the door.

Taylor told investigators he did not know it was his girlfriend on the other side of the door. According to arrest documents, Taylor said his “instincts as a man” had kicked in when he started shooting at the door. Detectives noted that the girlfriend had a key to his apartment.

Taylor was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of attempted second-degree murder, illegal use of weapons or dangerous instrumentalities, illegal possession of a stolen firearm, cruelty to animals and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Police noted that Taylor was found guilty of illegal carrying of weapons with a controlled dangerous substance on Jan. 15.

Source; Louisiana First News

Five Hanceville officers, spouse of an officer arrested in connection to dispatcher’s death

There’s a lot to unpack here, and if you click to through the links, it looks there might be some extra chromosomes at work here.

Five Hanceville Police Department officers and one of their spouses were arrested in connection to the death of a dispatcher who was found dead in his office.

Christopher Michael Willingham, 49 of Cullman, was found dead in his office at the Hanceville Police Department on Aug. 23, 2024. Officials say he was last seen the day prior.

His body was sent for an autopsy at the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Huntsville Lab.

The autopsy determined that Willingham died from “combined toxic effects of fentanyl, gabapentin, diazepam, amphetamine, carisoprodol and methocarbamol.”

The Cullman County District Attorney and the Cullman County Sheriff announced the arrest of five Hanceville Police officers and one of the officer’s spouses during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

The district attorney presented the charges to a Cullman County Grand Jury on the following individuals:

Cody Alan Kelso

According to Kelso’s indictment, he is accused of viewing records from a Cullman County murder investigation and accessing the records to obtain motor vehicle tag information to provide to Eric Kelso.

• Two counts of Computer Tampering
• Solicitation to Commit a Controlled Substance Crime
• Use of Office for Personal Gain
• Tampering with Physical Evidence

He was released from the Cullman County Jail on a $15,000 bond.

Jason Scott Wilbanks

Four indictments for Wilbanks were filed, the reason behind the charge will be listed under each one.

• Two counts of Computer Tampering
• Accused of obtaining records about a woman and man to provide it to a co-conspirator
• Two counts of Use of Office for Personal Gain
• Accused of using his work-issued phone to buy controlled substances from Eric and Donna Kelso and traveling to a hospital while on duty to receive shots of Anabolic Steroids from Donna Kelso.
• Tampering with Physical Evidence
• Accused of removing or mishandling evidence from the Hanceville Police Department evidence room
• Two Counts of Solicitation to Commit a Controlled Substance Crime
• Accused of soliciting Eric and Donna Kelso to sell him Anabolic Steroids and soliciting Eric Kelso to sell him Hydrocodone.

He was released from the Cullman County Jail on a $66,000 bond.

Jason Shane Marlin – Hanceville Police Chief

According to Marlin’s indictment, he is accused of failing to report Wilbanks and Cody Kelso for violating ethics laws after being notified of the same by the State Bureau of Investigation.

• Two counts of Failure to Report Ethics Crime
• Tampering with Physical Evidence

Marlin was released from the Cullman County Jail on a $30,000 bond.

William Andrew Shelnutt

According to his indictment, he is accused of removing or mishandling evidence from the Hanceville Police Department’s evidence room

• Tampering with Physical Evidence

Eric Michael Kelso

According to Kelso’s indictment, he is accused of distributing Adderall to man, Hydrocodone and Anabolic Steroids to Wilbanks, and Anabolic Steroids to Cody Kelso.

The conspiracy charges stem from the conspiracy to distribute Anabolic Steroids to Wilbanks Cody Kelso.

• Four counts of Unlawful Distribution of a Controlled Substance
• Two counts of Conspiracy to Unlawfully Distribute a Controlled Substance

Kelso was released from the Cullman County Jail on a $30,000 bond.

Donna Reid Kelso

According to Kelso’s indictment, she is accused of giving Anabolic Steroids to Wilbanks and Cody Kelso.

The conspiracy charges come from agreeing with Eric Kelso to give the steroids to Wilbanks and Cody Kelso.

• Two counts of Unlawful Distribution of a Controlled Substance
• Two Counts of Conspiracy to Unlawfully Distribute a Controlled Substance

She was released from the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office on a $50,000 bond.

The Grand Jury issued the following findings and recommendations to Judicial Circuit Judge Gregory Nicholas after looking over the evidence presented and touring the Hanceville Jail:

1. Any current or former Hanceville PD officer indicted be suspended from law enforcement
2. That the Hanceville Police Department be immediately abolished
3. That another law enforcement agency, whether local or state, be tasked with protecting the citizens of Hanceville
4. That the Hanceville Police Department is a “particular and ongoing threat to public safety.”
5. That there is a rampant culture of corruption in the Hanceville Police Department
6. That the Hanceville Police Department has abused public trust by its failure of oversight, lack of leadership and negligent training and hiring.
7. The Hanceville Police Department has failed to account for, preserve and maintain evidence and in doing so has failed crime victims and the public at large. The evidence is unusable.
8. Following the Grand Jury’s tour of the Hanceville Jail, they stated that they had zero confidence in the
9. Hanceville Police Department’s ability to maintain a jail or to meet the basic health and safety needs of jail personnel or inmates.
10. That the death of Willingham is the direct result of the Hanceville Police Department’s negligence, lack or procedure, general incompetence and disregard for human life.

During the press conference, District Attorney Champ Crocker showed images of the evidence room.

The evidence room showed a hole in a wall and a broom that was used to access evidence behind the unsecured wall.

Crocker, and Alabama State Attorney General Steve Marshall, recommended that the evidence room be audited.

The City of Hanceville Mayor Jim Sawyer released a statement following the press conference:

You really should do yourself a favor and have a peek at the picture of the hole in the wall to the “secure” evidence room.

Source; WAFF

OSHP trooper charged with OVI after crashing patrol car in Huron Co.

A trooper has been removed from duty and put on unpaid leave after allegedly crashing a patrol car while impaired.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Trooper Tashawna Berry was traveling on S.R. 601 in Huron County on February 8 around 7 p.m. when she drove off the road and hit a utility pole and then a tree.

She has been charged with OVI, failure to control, driving while texting and improper handling of a firearm.

Source; 13ABC

Category: "Teh Stoopid", Crime, Police, Stupid Criminals, WTF?