Murder Trial Jury Deliberations to Continue

STAMFORD -- Jurors in the trial of a Greenwich man accused of shooting two gas station attendants in 2009, killing one of them, asked in state Superior Court in Stamford on Tuesday to review evidence and testimony.

During the trial of Alain LeConte, 24, jurors listened to testimony about three armed holdups he is accused of committing over a two-month period. He allegedly shot two convenience store clerks in the head, killing one in Norwalk and severely injuring another in Greenwich. LeConte is also charged with using a gun to rob a Stamford bodega.

He is facing more than 60 years in jail on the charges.

As they did earlier in the trial, jurors Tuesday heard a secretly taped jailhouse conversation involving LeConte, in which he admitted to many details of the crimes.

"I'm full throttle with this (expletive)," LeConte can be heard saying on the tape, referring to the time period immediately before the 2009 robbery of the Mobil on the Run gas station on East Putnam Avenue in Old Greenwich.

LeConte recalled how he rushed away from the Greenwich crime scene with an accomplice, later identified as Teran Nelson, and they sped toward Bridgeport "like it was a movie."

Nelson, the getaway driver in the robbery, took the stand previously in the trial.

Jurors listened Tuesday to a recording of his testimony.

Nelson testified he acted as a lookout outside the gas station while LeConte entered and, soon after, he heard a popping noise.

"When I heard the pop noise, I panicked and started to run," Nelson said.

Nelson has signed a cooperative agreement in the case, exchanging his testimony to reduced exposure to jail time.

Jurors once again saw video surveillance footage from the Greenwich crime and the Oct. 10, 2009, robbery at the West Avenue Shell station in Norwalk, in which a hooded suspect shot and killed gas station attendant Jose Joaquin Morales.

In surveillance footage from both crimes an armed man dressed in black aims a gun at the attendant.

The attendant in the Greenwich video can be seen exiting the store clutching his head after the man leaves.

David Wash, of Bridgeport, faces robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery charges in connection with the Greenwich crime.

Mustafa Jacobs is facing felony murder, robbery and conspiracy charges for his alleged role in Morales' murder.

Mark Phillips, LeConte's attorney, and Senior Assistant State's Attorney James Bernardi, the case prosecutor, both rested their cases last week.

WANTED

WESTPORT - Police say they are searching for the man who shot and killed a Westport jeweler and critically wounded an associate at a store last night.
The shooting happened at YZ Jewelers on Post Road East at around 10 p.m.

Police say the owner of the store, Yekutiel Zeevi, 65, died at Norwalk Hospital.

The second victim, Ronen Konfino, of New York City, is in critical condition.

Westport Police Chief Dale Call says the suspect had responded to an ad about buying and selling diamonds.

Police say the suspect is a white man, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, in his early to mid 40s, with a medium build and thinning salt-and-pepper hair. They say he was last seen wearing glasses with black frames and driving a four-door, boxy, blue vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Westport police at (203) 341-6080.

1 Dead, Another Critical in Westport Shooting

(12/09/11) WESTPORT- A Westport jeweler is dead and an associate is critically wounded following a shooting at a store last night.
It happened at YZ Jewelers on Post Road East around 10 p.m.

Police say the owner of the store, Yekutiel Zeevi, 59, died at Norwalk Hospital.

They have not identified the second victim but say he is an associate of the business and is in critical condition.

Police believe this was not a random robbery and that the victims were specifically targeted by a single unknown suspect.

Anyone with information is urged to call Westport police at (203) 341-6080.

At Sentencing Will DiMeo Apologize?

CT Post- Barbara Caggiano doesn't recall Christopher DiMeo apologizing to her and her family and even if he did, it wouldn't have made a difference.

"I mean, what was he going to say? `Hey I'm sorry I killed your son-in-law, now please forgive me?' " Caggiano said.

On Aug. 26, 2005, DiMeo was sentenced in New York to life in prison without release for the December 2004 murder of Thomas Renison during the robbery of Renison's Glen Head, N.Y., jewelry store.

On May 6, DiMeo is to be sentenced in Superior Court here for the Feb. 2, 2005, murders of Fairfield jewelers Tim and Kim Donnelly.

As in New York, DiMeo will be receiving a prison term of life without the possibility of release.

As a result of the jury's verdict, Judge Robert Devlin's hands are tied. He can only sentence DiMeo to life without the possibility of release and nothing DiMeo may or may not say at the hearing can affect that.But as he did in New York, DiMeo is expected to say something to Donnelly family members in the courtroom.

DiMeo made a long scripted-sounding speech during the New York sentencing hearing characterized in court by Senior Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Corradino as a remorseless "tale of woe."

"First off and most importantly, I would like to express to Mr. Renison's family, that I'm very sorry for the extreme and ultimate loss that I have caused them," he began. "I know that to hear words could never help diminish the severe pain that I've caused; but I hope at the same time that me serving the rest of my life in prison gives them some sort of closure. I also know that nothing I say or do could ever change the pain they feel. All I can tell them is that my apology is sincere and heartfelt."

Then DiMeo launched into a nearly 900-word speech about his poor upbringing and the dangers of using heroin.

But for Caggiano, and her family, it made no difference.

"What he said didn't give me any closure, I'll never have closure," she said. "It's just lucky that the police got him when they did or he would have killed more people."

Bridgeport drug kingpin Russell Peeler Jr. was in the same position as DiMeo as he stood before Devlin in December 2007 to be sentenced to death for ordering the 1999 murders of 8-year-old Leroy "B.J." Brown and his mother, Karen Clarke. But he didn't apologize.

"This whole process has been a farce!" Peeler shouted. "I had nothing to do with killing these people. He (former State's Attorney Jonathan Benedict) opened up his checkbook to prosecute me. I had nothing to do with killing these people ... This prosecutor, Mr. Benedict, is the wickedest person ever."

But his statement had no effect on the sentence; Peeler sits on death row.

Benedict and others say while it is a criminal's right to have their say, it may only mean something to the family of the victim.

"If the jury has found for death, or even in cases where the jury has reached a decision for life without parole, it's an automatic punishment," Benedict said. "So what the defendant has to say at the time of sentencing is interesting, but it can in no way affect the outcome."

He said it would be interesting to see whether DiMeo does say something at his sentencing hearing. "He could say something that conceivably could help the victims' family with closure,'' he said, "but I don't expect it."

Greenwich Man Charged in Gas Station Shooting

STAMFORD -- A 22-year-old Greenwich man was charged with attempted murder Wednesday afternoon in the November 2009 near-fatal shooting of an Old Greenwich gas station attendant and will face felony murder charges Thursday for a deadly robbery in Norwalk that occurred a month before.

Alain LeConte, 22, of Bertolf Road, Greenwich, was arraigned Wednesday in state Superior Court in Stamford on attempted murder and felony robbery charges, nearly a year after an attendant at the Mobil on the Run gas station on East Putnam Avenue was shot in the head and survived.

LeConte is expected to be formally charged with the brutal murder of Norwalk gas station clerk Jose Joaquin Morales on Thursday.

Norwalk police Chief Harry Rilling said LeConte, and another man, Mustafa Jacobs will be charged in the Norwalk robbery homicide on Thursday at state Superior Court in Norwalk.

Morales, 32, was behind the cash register of Miracle Shell on West Avenue, next to the northbound entrance of Interstate 95, at 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 10, 2009 when two men, police have identified as LeConte and Jacobs entered the convenience store and demanded money. Security video shows Morales complied with the demand and was on the ground when he was shot in the head by one of the masked robbers. A few days later, Morales was taken off life support and died at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Jacobs is also facing felony murder and first-degree robbery charges for his role in the Morales murder.

Two other men, Taran Nelson, 23, of Waterbury and David Wash, 37, of Bridgeport are facing robbery and conspiracy charges for their role in the Greenwich shooting. Wash was also arraigned Wednesday and is being held on $500,000 bond.

Police are also looking to charge a fifth suspect who they have not yet identified in the incidents.

The Mobil on the Run shooting occurred just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 21, 2009 when a man, now identified as LeConte, entered the store wearing a mask and a hooded sweatshirt and demanded cash. The 37-year-old clerk complied with the request, but the suspect still shot him in what police have described as an unprovoked attack.

LeConte, who is already incarcerated after being charged in a Stamford bodega robbery, was held on $1 million bond. In the Stamford robbery, police caught LeConte while he was committing the act. Police said he held a gun to a the head of a female clerk at the Adams Avenue store.

LeConte appeared in court Wednesday wearing a bright orange prison-issue jumpsuit and scanned the gallery for friends and relatives before his arraignment began. Attorney Mark Phillips, who is representing him currently for the Stamford robbery was again appointed special public defender for LeConte, who is due back in court Jan. 5.

The arrests of LeConte and the the three other alleged conspirators after Greenwich and Norwalk detectives teamed up.

Greenwich Police began to focus on LeConte soon after he was arrested by Stamford Police on Dec. 12, 2009, while committing a robbery at a bodega, Chief David Ridberg said in a 1 p.m. press conference at police headquarters.

Because LeConte was held in custody after that robbery, it gave Greenwich Police time to develop their case, Ridberg said.

In that case, Stamford Police were tipped off about the robbery and arrested LeConte and accomplice David Hackney of Bridgeport as they walked out of Adams Grocery at 20 Adams Ave.

LeConte had pointed a revolver at the face of the cashier who handed over less than $250 to the robbers who had pulled pantyhose over their faces as a disguise.

Greenwich Police worked hard to solve the Mobil shooting, said the department's detective division head.

"It was an extremely violent crime," Capt. Mark Marino, head of the Greenwich Police Department's detective division said. "When you have a case of that severity you were going to put the resources into solving it."

Police declined to say whether a weapon was recovered.

Norwalk police Detective James O'Leary said authorities put the two cases together because it was the first execution-style robbery in the area in years.

Police wouldn't go into specifics of the case because the warrants are sealed due to court orders. Marino said police believe Wash and Nelson were in the area when LeConte is alleged to have shot the clerk.

Greenwich Police stopped and arrested Wash as he was driving northbound on Interstate 95 near Exit 4 Tuesday afternoon. Police "had been in communication" with Wash prior to the arrest Marino said, but he declined to say when or how that communication was done. He offered no resistance when he was arrested, police said. A male passenger was in Wash's vehicle but he had nothing to do with the case and was released, Marino said.

Nelson turned himself in to Greenwich Police Wednesday morning. He was released on a promise to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on Dec. 22.

Detective Pasquale Iorfino, of the Greenwich Police Department, attributed the "successful outcome" of the case to his partner, lead investigator Detective David Wilson, and the work of neighboring police agencies.

"After a year-long investigation by Detective Dave Wilson, we are happy to see that justice is done and a man like this won't be walking the streets for a very long time," said Iorfino, as he walked out of the courtroom.

Wilson,said he spoke with the the former Mobil employee's wife Wednesday morning to inform her of the arrests.

"She was ecstatic," he said during the press conference. "She was very happy that these guys were arrested today."

The man had been shot in the back of the head during the armed robbery and although police didn't release details of his condition, they said it was a serious wound.

"Let's just say the Good Lord saved that man," Iorfino said.

The Norwalk store clerk was not as fortunate and the Morales family continues to grieve, said their attorney Alex Martinez.

Norwalk police met regularly with the Morales family updating them on the progress of the investigation and Martinez said they can now begin the process of healing now that suspects are behind bars.

"Now that the family has been notified that there appears to be some closure, as far as identifying the responsible person, that is extremely gratifying," Martinez said. "It is a beginning of the healing. It is a start. You could tell there was a weight coming off their shoulders when I told them that an arrest was imminent."

Two Juveniles Rob and Rape 80 Year old Woman

Sickness!!

RICHLAND COUNTY, SC (WIS) - Two male juveniles are arrested after authorities say they broke into an 80-year-old woman's home, stole some property, and raped her.

It happened in the Trenholm Acres Subdivision around 9:00pm Tuesday night. "We really think they were just up to no good that day, and then it just got out of hand," says Richland County Deputy Monique Mack.

Deputies say the 14 and 15-year-olds broke into the woman's home and demanded money. "She gave them whatever they wanted," says Mack, "She was being very cooperative."

They say one of the teens was armed with a shotgun. The teens proceeded to vandalize the inside of the home and took some electronics, jewelry, and money before sexually assaulting the woman in a bedroom. They then fled on foot.

Sheriff Leon Lott says, "The acts committed in this incident were both vicious and were carried out with malicious intent." He claims he's never seen anything more devastating.

Deputies say the woman is out of the hospital. They say she's still recovering but is surrounded by family.

She was able to give a detailed description of the suspects, and deputies began questioning neighbors Wednesday morning about unusual activity. "At which time we had neighbors saying, 'Yeah, we saw two juveniles walking through. They looked like they were looking in and out of homes and saw some suspicious activity.'," says Mack. The sheriff's office says several individuals were able to identify the teens, who happened to live nearby.

Deputy Mack says your watchful eye can always help in cases like this. "We're in the holiday season," says Mack, "We're going to have students out for the next two weeks. If you see them doing something they shouldn't be doing, then give us a call. We'd rather go and address them than anyone else becoming a victim."

Both young men attend the Richland Two School District, but district officials aren't releasing what grade the boys are in. One of them was eventually located in the subdivision while the other was found at school. Both are in custody and being charged first-degree burglary, criminal sexual assault, kidnapping, and armed robbery. Sheriff Lott says right now the teens will be charged as juveniles, but investigators are working with the solicitor's office to decide if the teens should be charged as adults.

Helmet-Wearing Gunman Robs Bellagio Casino of $1.5 Million in Chips

(CNN) -- Police say they're trying to find a helmet-wearing gunman who robbed one of Las Vegas' most recognizable casinos of $1.5 million in casino chips Tuesday morning -- and may also have robbed a different casino last week.

With a helmet and visor hiding his face, the man rode to Bellagio casino on a motorcycle, walked inside and pulled a gun at a craps table where several people were gambling at about 3:50 a.m., said Lt. Clint Nichols of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The gunman told everyone not to move, and then took the casino's supply of chips "that were ... [in] the box they keep on the craps table," Nichols said.

The man then ran back outside to the motorcycle, which he rode away, Nichols said. No injuries were reported.

The man might be the same person who robbed the Suncoast Hotel & Casino on Thursday morning, police said. In that robbery, a man wearing a motorcycle helmet robbed the cage area of a poker tournament room of less than $20,000 in cash at about 12:30 a.m., Nichols said.

The Suncoast casino is about a 20-minute drive northwest of the Bellagio, the Las Vegas Strip facility that is renowned in part for a huge fountain that shoots water 240 feet into the air, choreographed to music.

Police released surveillance images of both robberies, as well as surveillance video of the suspect running through the Bellagio. The Bellagio images show a man wearing a black helmet with white stripes, a black down jacket, black pants and gloves, police said. The man is white, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighs about 220 pounds, according to police.

The Suncoast images show the robber wearing a silver helmet and dark clothes.

Nichols said he believes the chips taken in the Bellagio robbery range in value from $100 to $25,000. The higher-value chips should be hard to convert, he said.

"The industry has some safeguards in place that make that ... extremely difficult," Nichols told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.

Nichols said the department has recorded 10 casino robberies this year. Nine were reported last year.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Las Vegas Police Department at 702-828-3591, or you can place an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers of Nevada at 702-385-5555.

Jury Selected in DiMeo Murder Trial

FAIRFIELD - A jury has been selected for the trial of a man accused of murdering two Fairfield jewelers in their store.

Chri DiMeo is accused of killing Tim and Kim Donnelly during a robbery in 2005.

DiMeo's ex-girlfriend already has pleaded guilty in the case.

DiMeo could receive the death penalty if he is convicted.
His trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 18.
Jury selection under way in Fairfield double murder trial

Twenty Years Later: Slaying of Police Officer Still Unsolved

Memorial Day 1981, it was just before 3:30 pm when 34-year-old Darien Patrol Officer Kenneth Bateman Jr. responded to burglar alarm at a fast food restaurant on Post Road near I-95.

When his back up officer arrived at the Duchess, near the border with Norwalk, Bateman was found bleeding from a gunshot wound to the neck. He died shortly afterwards.

Two witnesses reported seeing a heavyset man around the age of 40 run away. However, searches by police and tracking dogs revealed only burglar tools and around $2,000 that had been stolen and apparently dropped during the escape.

The State, town and police union have put up a $100,000 dollar reward for information leading to the conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the slaying of Kenneth Bateman Jr. Police say all calls to them will be confidential and that protection is available.
The Darien police can be reached at 203-662-5330.

Homicide of Joseph Mackanesi - Stratford - July 28, 1990 - $5,000 Reward

The Town of Stratford is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the homicide of Joseph Mackanesi.

On July 28, 1990, at approximately 2:00 a.m. Mr. Mackanesi, age 32, flagged down a police patrol car near the intersection of Soundview and Barnum Avenues in Stratford.

Mr. Mackanesi reported that he had been shot by two black males that had attempted to rob him. Mr. Mackanesi was transported to the hospital where he later expired. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was a gunshot wound.

Mr. Mackanesi was employed in the local area as a truck driver and food salesman prior to his death.

If you think you know this individual or can provide any information about this incident:

* Call the Stratford Police Department at 203-385-4100.
* Call the Cold Case Unit tip line at 860-548-0606 or toll-free at 1-866-623-8058.
* Write to the Cold Case Unit, P.O. Box 962, Rocky Hill, CT 06067

Homicide of Javed Akhtar - East Windsor - February 28, 2007

On February 28, 2007, Javed Akhtar was found slain outside his place of business, the One Stop Convenience Store, located at 68 Depot Street in East Windsor.

Investigation revealed that Mr. Akhtar, age 32, was the victim of a shooting, apparently in the course of an attempted armed robbery.

On June 30, 2008, the Honorable M. Jodi Rell, Governor of Connecticut, authorized a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the homicide of Javed Akhtar.

The case is being investigated by the East Windsor Police Department in conjunction with the Connecticut State Police, Central District Major Crime Unit, and the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Hartford.

Anyone with information about the homicide of Javed Akhtar should contact the East Windsor Police Department at 860-292-8240.

Norwalk Store Robbery Victim Dies, Reward Now Offered for Information

..I wonder if it's the same robber that shot the Greenwich gas station attendant in the head last year, right around the time of this robbery?? He's lucky because at least he had lived..

NORWALK -- Doctors at Yale-New Haven Hospital took a Norwalk Shell station clerk off life support Monday who had been shot in the head during a robbery at the West Avenue gas station early Saturday morning.

An autopsy on the man, Jose Joaquin Morales, 33, of 17 Lee St., Stamford, is scheduled for today at the state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

"This is so horrendous and so absolutely outrageous that I would hope anyone with information would be so angry they would call us and give us information," Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling said. "The robbery was extremely brutal. Words cannot explain how horrendous this was."

The robbery occurred just before 2:13 a.m. Saturday, when police said two masked men -- at least one armed with a handgun -- walked into the station's large convenience store and demanded money from Morales. The station is about 150 yards from Interstate 95's northbound Exit 15.

A security video shows that Morales complied with the demand and was on the ground when he was shot in the head by one robber, Rilling said.

"It is beyond belief that they would feel it was necessary to do that. Everybody was cooperating," Rilling added.

Pending autopsy results, Morales could become Norwalk's first homicide victim in nearly 15 months.

Morales was treated at the scene by officers and paramedics and then transported to Norwalk Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, police said. Because of the extent of his injuries, he was transferred later Saturday to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he was put on life support.

Surveillance videos from the station and surrounding businesses are being reviewed by investigators, Rilling said.

Marvin Morales said his cousin came to the United States from Guatemala about 14 years ago and began working for the Shell station about 7 months ago.

Another cousin, Luis Morales, said that Joaquin came to America for a better future and to help his parents by sending them money.

He said his single cousin was happy most of the time and enjoyed socializing and going to church.

The family hopes to raise about $14,000 to send his body back for burial in Guatemala.

At the request of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk, Governor M. Jodi Rell authorized a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of Mr. Morales.

Anyone with information in the case should contact Norwalk Police Department at 203-854-3000.

SO HORRIBLE.

(CNN) -- A Salvation Army major was shot dead in front of his three children on Christmas Eve in North Little Rock, Arkansas, authorities said.

Maj. Philip Wise, 40, was gunned down Thursday. He was found lying by the back entrance of a Salvation Army facility, said police spokesman Sgt. Terry Kuykendall.

Wise apparently dropped two bell ringers off at home and returned to the Salvation Army building with his three children, ages 4, 6 and 8. Two men carrying handguns approached them and demanded money before shooting Wise, Kuykendall said.

The suspects fled on foot.

Police received a 911 call at 4:17 p.m. Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper said Wise's wife, Cindy, made the call from inside the building.

"My heart goes out for the family, losing their dad, and I guess having to witness it during this time of year," Camper told CNN affiliate KARK. "It's definitely going to be hard on the kids."

Wise had been active in the Salvation Army for 16 years and was assigned to the Baring Cross neighborhood of North Little Rock for the past three years.

Area Commander Maj. Harvey Johnson said the Salvation Army will hold a news conference on Christmas Day.

"We would hope that whoever the perpetrators are would step forward," he said.

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. It is perhaps best known for its donation centers and bell ringers who collect money for the needy during the holiday season.

(CNN) — Nevada’s Supreme Court denied O.J. Simpson’s request to get out of prison on bond while his lawyers appeal his armed robbery and kidnapping convictions.

The decision, published Friday, said Simpson, 61, has not proven he would not be a flight risk if set free.

Simpson’s lawyers filed and appeal of his October 2008 conviction in May, arguing his trial was “fundamentally unfair.”

'Fundamentally unfair'??? What about his murder trial?! LOL

FBI Puts Brazen Bandit's Face on Billboards

(To me, he kinda looks like that actor from the Dave Chappelle Show, lol)

(CNN) -- He has been captured by bank surveillance cameras in four states, sneering and holding a pistol sideways during heists.

Now authorities hope to catch the serial bank robber by plastering his image on electronic billboards throughout the South.

The FBI is searching for the suspect, who they say has robbed at least 10 banks in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"This is a unique instance in which the subject in these bank robberies has not used a mask ... or any type of a gimmick," FBI agent Kevin Keithley said Tuesday in Johnson City, Tennessee. "It is really uncommon just to come into a bank and show his face like he has."

The brazen bandit has been captured in surveillance footage sporting the same close-cropped hairstyle and goatee in many of the holdups. He does not seem to make any effort to cover his face and sometimes is seen aiming a handgun sideways, showing his tattoos on both forearms as he gestures at bank employees.

The FBI has mapped the bank robber's path on a map that crisscrosses the southern United States.

The billboard that went up Monday roughly follows the path that bank robber took, the FBI said.

His odyssey has spanned more than 600 miles north, from Charleston, South Carolina, to Louisville, Kentucky, and about 500 miles east, from Knoxville, Tennessee, to Edenton, North Carolina.

The robberies started in May and the most recent one was last week in Tennessee, Keithley said.

The suspect has not yet harmed anybody in the robberies, but the FBI considers him extremely dangerous.

"This guy has made no effort to hide the gun," Keithley said . "He has threatened the use of it in every bank robbery that he has committed. He has put the gun in the faces of tellers, threatened to use the gun against them.... So certainly we need to get this guy in custody before he does harm someone."

The suspect is described as white, about 25 years old, 5 feet 9 to 5 feet 11, 170 to 175 pounds. He has short, reddish-brown hair and an unshaven goatee, the FBI said.

The bureau asks anybody who knows the bank robber to call 423-282-8090.

12-Year-Old Boy Could Face Life in Prison After Alleged Robbery Attempt, Killing

AC 360- It is just after midnight on August 1 in Detroit. Trisha Babcock and a friend sit in a car on West Outer Drive. A figure approaches the vehicle.

A gun appears. A shot is fired. Babcock is mortally wounded. She dies a short time later.

For homicide detectives, the circumstances are sadly familiar. Except for one detail: the murder suspect is 12-years-old.

He is just a child, but authorities in Michigan believe the boy was old enough to kill. And if convicted of the crime, he could face a possible lifetime inside an adult prison. “As you can imagine, it’s a very sensitive case because of the nature of it,” Deputy Chief John Roach of the Detroit Police Department told CNN.

The situation is both sensitive and highly controversial. The boy is currently being held at a juvenile center in Wayne County. Authorities say they are awaiting a preliminary examination before releasing his name.

The office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the suspect will be tried as a minor. However, under Michigan law, if he is found guilty, he can be designated as an adult for sentencing.

“The judge would have three options at the time of sentencing,” Maria Miller, the spokeswoman for Worthy said to CNN in a phone interview. “To sentence him as a juvenile, sentence him as an adult, or a blended sentence.” A blended sentence gives the judge discretion of sending a juvenile offender to prison when he or she reaches the age of 19.

The suspect is charged with felony murder, armed robbery, felony firearms, and a curfew violation, according to Roach, who also provided a detailed description of the shooting:

“The 12-year-old approached the vehicle and pointed his gun at Babcock. After a brief struggle, he fired one shot, striking her in the chest. She was taken to Sinai-Grace hospital where she died a short time later.”

Witnesses told police the boy was attempting to rob Babcock, who ironically was 24-years-old, twice his age.

Roach said forensic evidence linked the boy to the homicide, who, accompanied by his father, turned himself in on August 14.

He is young, but he may appear older than he looks.

“He is 6′2″, Maria Miller said, “he’s a big kid for his age, a big kid.”

Roach, who said the suspect turns 13-years-old next month, can not recall a similar case to this one ever in Wayne County. He called it an “aberration.”

However, he added “the reality is that we do have a lot of juvenile shooting suspects which is a very serious issue. It’s at the center of what our new chief is trying to address.”

The judge assigned to the case was unavailable for comment. Attempts to determine if a defense attorney has been retained or appointed have been unsuccessful.

The child’s next court appearance will be August 26.

Graphic Testimony at Marine Slay Trial Sends Mother of Victim Running from Courtroom

Daily News- A gang of marines sexually assaulted the wife of a Brooklyn-raised Marine in front of him before killing both of them - revelations that sent the slain woman's mom fleeing from a courtroom Wednesday.

The four men used a sex toy to attack Quiana Pietrzak on a table as her bound-and-gagged husband, Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak, watched helplessly in their California home, cops testified.

The attackers - who thought Jan Pawel Pietrak had a hidden stash of cash - also planned to force the newlywed to dance naked in hopes of getting her husband to "break," police said.

Tyrone Miller, 21, and Kesuan (Psycho) Sykes, 22, later allegedly joked about attacking Quiana Pietrzak and sodomizing her with the toy.

"(They) were joking around, laughing, making buzzing sounds," Kevin Cox, 21, told cops, Det. Gary LeClair of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.

The graphic testimony was too much for Quiana Pietrzak's mother, Faye Jenkins, who left the courtroom with tears in her eyes.

The men are accused along with Emrys John, 19, of the Oct. 15 murders of the Pietrzaks, who had married just two months earlier.

Police are testifying at a pretrial hearing for the men, who worked under the command of Jan Pawel Pietrzak at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego.

The gun-toting men burst into the couple's home in Winchester, Calif., and tied up Jan Pawel Pietrzak, who was raised in Bensonhurst and joined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The suspects believed the couple had a large amount of cash in the house, although it's not clear why.

Miller and Sykes used a knife to cut the straps off Quiana Pietrzak's nightgown and planned to force her to dance in front of her husband to force him to divulge the location of the cash.

They instead decided to force the hog-tied husband to watch as they attacked her with the toy on a living room table.

"Sgt. [Pietrzak] had duct tape over his mouth, and he was making growling sounds," LeClair said.

The sadistic fiends discussed burning the couple alive, but couldn't start the fire. So they shot them both in the head.

The four even grabbed milk and juice from the refrigerator as the slain couple lay dead.

Cops later found stolen items in the accused Marines' rooms at a military base.

Racial epithets were found spray-painted in the bedroom, a reference to the fact that Jan Pawel Pietrzak was white and Quiana Pietrzak was black.

Cops believe robbery was the primary motive.

Seven Indicted in Deaths of Florida Couple

PENSACOLA, Florida (CNN) -- Seven men charged in the deaths of a Florida couple slain last month were indicted Tuesday on murder charges, officials said.

According to the office of State Attorney Bill Eddins, each man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of home-invasion robbery in connection to the July 9 killings at the Beulah, Florida, home of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a couple known for adopting special-needs children.

The suspects are Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., 35; Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr., 56; Wayne Thomas Coldiron, 41; Gary Lamont Sumner, 30; Fredrick Lee Thornton, 19; Donald Ray Stallworth, 28; and Rakeem Chavez Florence, 16, who was charged as an adult, authorities said. All seven are being held without bail.

Police have described the younger Gonzalez as the organizer of the crime. Two of the suspects claim that he was the lone shooter, according to court documents

An eighth suspect, Pamela Wiggins, was charged with being an accessory after the fact, though she was not included in the indictment returned by the Escambia County grand jury on Tuesday. Police say they found a safe belonging to the Billingses in the Wigginses' back yard.

Meanwhile, relatives of the couple confirmed reports that another safe containing more than $100,000 was in the home at the time of the killings.

The first safe, containing prescription medication, family documents and some jewelry, was taken from the Billingses' home, authorities have said.

"Following a meeting with the state's attorney this Monday, the Billings family now feels it is appropriate to acknowledge the existence of a second safe in the home," said a statement released by family attorney Robert Beasley.

Rumors have said the safe contained as much as $12 million, the statement said, but in fact it "contained $164,000 in cash, some antique jewelry and assorted legal documents."

The money was a reserve for Byrd Billings' financing business, he said, and has been removed as possible evidence.

"There were no drugs, guns or any other items which suggested illegal activity found in the home," the statement said.

Prosecutors believe that there were two motives in the killings: robbery and a contracted hit, a source said last month.

The source said the state attorney's office was working under the belief that most of the suspects in the case were told only that they were robbing the Billingses but that Leonard Gonzalez Jr. and other yet-unnamed suspects also were plotting a hit on the couple. The source was not sure of the exact motive behind the hit.

The Billingses had adopted 13 special-needs children, and each had two biological children. Police have said nine of the children were at home at the time of the invasion, and one managed to flee and seek help from a neighbor.

New Arrests Made in Killing of Auschwitz Survivor

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Two additional suspects in the strangulation of an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor were arrested Friday, the Manhattan district attorney's office said.

Aljulah Cutts, 27, and his brother Hasib, 30, were taken into custody in Manhattan in connection with the death last week of Guido Felix Brinkmann, the district attorney's office said.

A spokeswoman declined to specify what, if any, connection the men are suspected to have had to the victim or to a woman previously arrested in the case.

Police also would not say what charges the two might face.

The woman, Angela Murray, 30, of the Bronx, was arraigned Sunday on one count of murder in the second degree and three counts of robbery in the case.

Brinkmann was found dead in the bedroom of his apartment July 30, his hands tied behind his back, police said. A safe was missing from the apartment, and his car had been stolen.

Brinkmann, a native of Latvia, was held in the Mauthausen, Ebensee and Auschwitz camps during World War II.

After the war, he and his wife, who also survived Auschwitz, came to America.

In 1971, Brinkmann co-founded Adam's Apple disco in Manhattan, and later was the real estate manager of a mixed-use building in the Bronx, according to his son, Rick Brinkman, who uses a different spelling for his last name.

Brinkmann's wife died last year.

Rogue Minutemen Leader Held in Fatal Home Invasion

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- Raul Flores thought federal agents had barged with guns drawn into his home in Arivaca, Arizona, in the middle of the night.

The woman and two men wore uniforms and identified themselves as U.S. Marshals. They claimed the house was surrounded. They said they were looking for an escaped prisoner, Flores' wife told a 911 dispatcher.

But there was no backup waiting outside, and no fugitive. The marshals were imposters.

They had targeted Flores because they suspected he was a drug trafficker and they wanted to rob and kill him, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.

As the intruders searched his home, Flores asked one of the men why his handgun was taped. The man responded by shooting and killing Flores.

"Someone just came in and shot my daughter and husband," Flores' wife frantically told 911. She tells the police operator that she was shot and left for dead with her husband, Raul Flores, 29, and daughter Brisenia, 9, who were both shot in the head.

Police are not releasing the woman's name to protect her identity. But her 911 call, released to the media by the Pima County Sheriff's Department, tells the story of a deadly home invasion by a rogue band of impostors.

As she describes the initial attack, the intruders return to the house. The door can be heard opening.

"They are coming back in! They are coming back in!" the caller screams. She has armed herself with her husband's handgun.

"Get the f--- out," she barks. The order is followed by the explosive sound of gunfire traded as the wounded woman and her would-be killers fire on each other. A man -- one of the intruders -- is hit and groans loudly. The attackers retreat and leave the woman alive and alone with her slain family.

Twelve days later police have the "marshals" in custody on charges of first-degree murder, burglary and aggravated assault. Police identified the suspects as Shawna Forde, 41, of Buena Vista, Arizona; Jason Eugene Bush, 34, of Kingman, Arizona; and Albert Robert Gaxiola, 42, of Tucson, Arizona.

As police put her into a car, Forde told reporters, "I did not do it." The Pima County public defender's office, which represents Forde, Bush and Gaxiola, did not return CNN's calls requesting comment.

Authorities from five different police departments in three states are investigating crimes allegedly involving the trio. Forde's arrest has had even greater reverberations across a community of private citizens who believe the government is not adequately protecting the nation's borders.

Forde was a one-time member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, a citizens group whose self-described mission is to secure the U.S. border, before she started her own smaller border enforcement organization. The accusations against her have given more fuel to Minutemen critics who say the groups dangerously blur the lines between law enforcement and vigilantism.

Forde was well known in anti-immigration circles. She ran a failed campaign for City Council in her hometown of Everett, Washington, that touted her connections to the Minutemen. She posted videos on YouTube of her border patrols and was an outspoken fixture at Minutemen Washington meetings and rallies in Washington state.

But even among this gung-ho group of self-styled border warriors, Forde was extreme, both Minutemen members and their critics agreed.

Washington human rights advocate Luis Moscoso said he had a run-in with Forde during a protest he attended at a 2007 Minutemen conference in Bellingham, Washington. While other Minutemen engaged in a dialogue, Moscoso remembered Forde shouting insults at the protesters.

Moscoso later was shocked, he said, to find his photograph and address on Forde's Web site. "It wasn't a bull's-eye but it was close enough," he said. The Web site was taken down after the arrests, so CNN cannot independently confirm Moscoso's account.

Eventually, Forde's tactics alienated even the most stalwart proponents of border security. "The screaming, hollering, calling names, we don't do that," said outgoing Washington state Minutemen president Joseph Ray. "She broke standard operating procedure too many times, she was too damn unreliable."

The Minutemen kicked Forde out of their ranks in 2007, Ray said. Around the same time, police said, Forde became embroiled in several bizarre incidents that remain under investigation in Everett.

Forde's then-husband was shot in the abdomen by an unknown male assailant at their home. The couple later divorced. Forde next said she was the victim of a sexual assault. Later, Forde was found wounded in an alley where she told police she had been shot in the arm by an attacker.

Speaking to the media about the attacks, Forde said she was being targeted by Mexican drug cartels for her work guarding the border. According To Sgt. Robert Goetz, spokesman for the Everett Police Department, Forde's sister and mother told police something very different. They believed she invented or played a part in the violence against her and her family.

Cast out from the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, Forde formed her own organization called the Minutemen American Defense. Chuck Stonex was a member. Despite "her cloudy reputation" in Minutemen circles, Stonex said, he and Forde got along well.

Still, he said he noticed during an operation monitoring the border in Arizona with her in 2008 that Forde was well funded for the leader of a tiny group on the fringe of the Minutemen movement. "She always had a lot of cash," he said.

Cash was what led Forde, Bush and Gaxiola to Raul Flores' house on May 30, 2009, said Dawn Barkman, a spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff. Flores had a reputation for involvement in the narcotics trade along the border, Barkman said, and Forde devised a plan to bluff her way into his home and rob and kill him to finance her border patrol group.

According to Barkman, it was Forde's plan but Bush allegedly fired the fatal shots inside the Flores home. It was not Bush's first slaying, police say.

After his arrest in the shooting of Raul Flores, police in Wenatchee, Washington, charged Bush with the fatal stabbing of Hector Manuel Lopez Partida. Homeless and traveling through Wenatchee, Lopez Partida was killed in 1997, stabbed seven times, apparently as he slept on the ground next to a grain silo.

Police in Wenatchee found a blood-soaked shirt near where Lopez was killed. Eight years later, advances in forensics testing indicated that Bush's DNA was on the shirt, a police affidavit said.

Bush has "long-standing ties to Aryan Nations groups," the affidavit said, and he allegedly bragged to an unidentified police informant about killing "a Mexican," saying he and another man "stomped" and "stabbed" the man and "left [him] to bleed out."

After the shooting at Flores' home, the crime wave continued, police said. A couple who are friends of Forde's mother was robbed at gunpoint of their $12,000 inheritance by men pretending to be U.S. Marshals, said Sgt. John Hubbard of the Shasta County Sheriffs Department. The victims, Hubbard said, identified Bush as one of the gunmen.

Hubbard said police believe Forde helped carry out the robbery.

In the next town over, Hubbard said, the home belonging to Forde's brother was robbed on the same day.

The alleged crime spree leaves Forde's former compatriots feeling exposed and under attack. Stonex said he last saw Forde and Bush right after the shootout at the Flores home. Stonex helped patch a bullet wound to Bush's calf. "They said they were jumped by border bandits," he said.

He said had he known about their alleged killing of Flores and his daughter, Stonex would never have had anything to do with Forde. Now, he said, he and other Minutemen have been forced to cancel border patrol operations and wait for the scrutiny to die down.

"It's given us a lot of grief," said Stonex, "I'd build her gallows if I could."