Crime Newswire

In the wake of several high-profile and salacious scandals alleging corruption and sexual politics inside the Vatican, Rome was rocked again Thursday by an Italian... The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meredith-bennettsmith/

Richmond hopes to continue gains against violent crime, tamp down on property ...
Contra Costa Times
"There was a time when we just didn't have the resources to do much with these property crimes," Richmond police Chief Chris Magnus said. "And that perception persists, but we want to let the community know there is a new mindset, that property crimes ...

and more »

Hunterdon County Democrat - NJ.com
Crime Stoppers of Hunterdon County offers cash for anonymous tips
The Express Times - LehighValleyLive.com
The volunteer-run program, which launched today, offers up to $1,000 in rewards for crime tips that lead to arrest or indictment, County Prosecutor Anthony Kearns III announced today. Residents can submit information anonymously online, through a ...
Rewards for being a Hunterdon Crime Stopper include cashHunterdon County Democrat - NJ.com

all 5 news articles »Google News

The Nation
Round one to Central in riot case
The Nation
According to the Office of Insurance Commission, 30 companies in the affected areas have insurance policies for a combined coverage of Bt137 billion, but only 1 per cent of the cover is for riot damage. The Office also said that of all affected ...

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Federal legislation that will reform how colleges treat sexual violence and stalking on campus is on its way to President Barack Obama's desk after the... The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyler-kingkade/

FORT HOOD, Texas — More than three years after the deadly shooting rampage at Fort Hood, an Army psychiatrist may soon describe details of the... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-moye/

During the quiet, predawn hours of June 10, 1982, attorney James “Snake” Campbell and his wife Virginia Campbell lay soundly sleeping in their Houston home when intruders slipped quietly through a window, slithered to the master bedroom, and fired six rounds into their bodies; their young grandsons camped out at the foot of the grandparents [...]

The post Cynthia Campbell Ray, David West, and the Cold Blooded Murder of James and Virginia Campbell appeared first on True Crime Zine.

San Francisco Chronicle
Utah crime lab struggles to keep up with evidence
San Francisco Chronicle
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators were confident the touch DNA they brought to Utah's crime lab a couple years ago would confirm they had the right suspect. But an analysis pointed to someone else, according to lab director Jay Henry. In fact, the ...

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KUHF-FM
Houston Crime Prevention Month Focuses On Robbery Prevention, Gun And ...
KUHF-FM
It began in 1984 to address violent crimes being committed in the black community, but the success of the "March on Crime" initiative enabled it to be expanded to all areas of the city. Former Houston police officer Ed Gonzalez is mayor pro-tem and ...

Google News

WFAA
Prosecutor's murder prompts Kaufman County to revisit call for new courthouse
WFAA
KAUFMAN –– It's been nearly a full month since the parking lot, execution-style murder of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse. And while the investigation into who is responsible spans the state, the tragedy has caused the issue of ...

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The Daily Star
Islamist inmates riot in Roumieh after visit denied
The Daily Star
The men were detained in 2007 on suspicion of engaging the Army in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon and belonging to Al-Qaeda affiliated Fatah al-Islam. The inmates have been behind several riots inside Roumieh prison.

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Chicago Tribune
Niles man charged with hate crime
Chicago Tribune
A Niles man faces a felony hate crime charge after police allege he hurled racial insults at a man and threatened to put a bomb in his car. Michael G. Green, 55, was arrested around 10 a.m. Feb. 22 at his residence in the 7900 block of Octavia Avenue, ...

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BOSTON — A claim by a lawyer for gangster James "Whitey" Bulger that his client was never an FBI informant is a tactic to influence... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-moye/

The judge who delivered a controversial decision in the assault trial of Jonathan Josey, a former Philadelphia police lieutenant who was filmed hitting a woman... The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andres-jauregui/

DPP: Special corruption courts not the answer
Daily News
THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Dr Eliezer Feleshi, has said formation of special courts to try corruption cases was not the solution in the struggle to fight the vice in society but what was needed was rather to strengthen the capacity of ...

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ABC News
Medical examiner: Boys slain in Conn. murder-suicide each had multiple ...
Fox News
HARTFORD, Conn. – The state medical examiner's office says the two boys killed in a Connecticut murder-suicide each had multiple gunshot wounds. The examiner's office says the boys' grandmother, 47-year-old Debra Denison, died of a gunshot wound to ...
Double Murder-Suicide Again Brings Mental Health Issues to the ForefrontPatch.com
Grandma's murder of kids a mysteryCt Post
New details emerge in Conn. murder-suicideProvidence Eyewitness News

all 143 news articles »

Kirby: Crime prevention is priority No. 1
Fayetteville Observer
"Our citizens are kicking our butt with it at every single community watch meeting," Val Applewhite, the proactive city councilwoman, said at a recent retreat, where she and fellow council members identified crime prevention and public safety as a No ...

-- U.S. Speedskating began an investigation Friday into the report of a female skater accusing former Olympian and organization president Andy Gabel of sexual... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-greenberg/

It is rare for the mainstream media to report on how murdering fathers gained access to their victims through the family courts. So reporter KIM MINUGH is to be commended for that.

But why won't we name the judge who was responsible for this travesty?

This isn't rocket science, people. Or crystal ball gazing. Most of the time, people behave pretty consistently with their track record. Dad PHILLIP HERNANDEZ was clearly bad news. But the fathers rights-friendly courts bent over backwards to accommodate his every wish. So now we have a child that was brutally slaughtered with a hatchet as a result. 

Once again, the courts ignored the pleas of a protective mother WHO KNEW THIS GUY, KNEW WHAT HE WAS CAPABLE OF. 

http://www.modbee.com/2013/03/01/2599966/man-accused-of-killing-9-year.html#.UTEbcvo4w3c.facebook

Friday, Mar. 01, 2013

Man accused of killing 9-year-old son with hatchet had custody despite record of violence

By Kim Minugh

Nine months out of prison, Phillip Hernandez wrote an impassioned plea to Sacramento's family court to let him try fatherhood. He described being a "fully and utterly changed" man with a desire to "correct past wrongs."

He talked about going to work and saving money and buying a home for himself and his boys, whom he hadn't seen in three years.

"Because ultimately, they are what matter, my view of life and what is important in it is family," he wrote to the court in July 2008, asking for visitation rights. "Please hear my plea and help me be there. … I want to give them what I didn't have – a father."

The words hardly sound like those of the man portrayed in earlier criminal court records as abusive of his wife, disobedient of the law and defiant of the court. And most starkly, they stand in contrast to the depiction of Hernandez by Sacramento police as a child killer.

Police allege that Hernandez used a hatchet to brutally attack his youngest son, 9-year-old Matthew Raymond Hernandez, as he slept on the couch of their South Natomas home Tuesday night. The violence was witnessed by the boy's great-grandmother, who made two hysterical 911 calls.

Officers arrived to find the fourth-grader dead and his 12-year-old brother, who was home at the time of the slaying, unharmed. Hernandez, 36, was arrested about a mile away.

He is scheduled to be arraigned today on one charge of murder.

Detectives, relatives and community members have sought answers in the aftermath of the attack, to no avail. Hernandez is being held in the Sacramento County Main Jail's psychiatric ward, but no one has alleged that he is mentally ill.

Criminal and family court records dating back to 2004 offer a troubling portrait of Hernandez. Three months after separating from his wife and the mother of his two children, Jessica Hernandez, he pleaded no contest to inflicting felony corporal injury upon her.

He was sentenced to 120 days in jail and five years of formal probation. According to Sacramento Superior Court records, the requirements of his probation included alcohol and drug rehabilitation; completion of a 52-week batterers' treatment program; and no contact with the victim.

In April 2005, the court revoked his probation at the urging of the Probation Department, records show. He consistently failed to attend his batterers' treatment program; he did not enroll in a rehab program and he did not make scheduled restitution payments, according to the records.

Hernandez was sent to the Sheriff's Work Project as a result, but he failed to show up to that, too, and a no-bail warrant was issued for his arrest. He then served 90 days of jail time, records show.

He violated the terms of his probation again in November 2005 when he was arrested in West Sacramento on suspicion of domestic violence, according to the court records. Shortly thereafter, the court again revoked his probation; he still had not completed a batterers' treatment program or drug rehab and he violated a court-imposed restraining order by contacting his ex-wife.

In that incident, he argued with Jessica Hernandez, forced his way into her doorway, bruised her arm and smashed her cellphone as she tried to call police, according to the West Sacramento police report filed in court.

Hernandez was sent to prison in July 2006, serving concurrent terms for the probation violation in Sacramento County and the domestic violence conviction in Yolo County. He was released in October 2007.

Public records and those provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation do not indicate any parole violations or other criminal charges since then. He was discharged from parole in November 2008.

It was July 31 of that year when he pleaded with the court to allow him access to his two boys. A family court judge issued a temporary order allowing him one visit a month, to which Jessica Hernandez immediately objected.

"He is a dangerous man and I am terrified to leave my sons in his care," she wrote.

They were sent to mediation and in January 2009 signed an agreement that gave custody to the boys' mother and some visitation rights to their father, according to records contained in the couple's divorce file.

That summer, Jessica Hernandez allowed the children to stay with their father "to try and make up for the time he had missed in their lives" and because "he was in a better financial position than me," she wrote in a later court document.

Meanwhile, Phillip Hernandez wrote to the court, charging that the boys' mother was "unstable" and not caring properly for them.

It was not immediately clear from the court file whether the boys ever returned to the physical custody of their mother. Last October, she wrote to the court saying her financial status and "quality of life" had improved and she wanted the boys to move out of state to join her.

"This is nothing personal toward their father," she wrote. "I am certain I could provide for them better for the time being."

But a judge ordered custody to Phillip Hernandez, with visitation for Jessica. The parties were scheduled to return to court in July for an update.

Meanwhile, their 12-year-old son is staying with family since his father's arrest.

New York Magazine
St. John's Hires Outside Counsel to Dig Into Cecilia Chang Corruption
New York Magazine
In the wake of new revelations (see "The Dean of Corruption") about the gifts Cecilia Chang, the St. John's administrator and fund-raiser who committed suicide in the midst of her trial for fraud, lavished on her supervisors, the university has tasked ...