Gabriel Falcon
AC360 Writer

The Marquee Night Club in NYC bills itself as a premiere hot spot. It is a place for big stars…and the star-struck.

But just before dawn last Wednesday, this upscale lounge was the setting for an encounter between a convicted sex offender and a young woman - new to New York City- who hasn’t been seen since.

The disappearance of Laura Garza, a 25-year-old transplant from Texas, has been splashed across the front pages of New York’s local newspapers over speculation that what began as a mystery could in fact turn into a case of murder.

Right now, police are focusing their attention on this sex offender named Michael Mele. He owns a Quiznos franchise in upstate New York. He reportedly may have been trying to destroy evidence connecting him to Ms. Garza. According to the New York Daily News, investigators say large patches of rug were removed from Mele’s home when they investigated over the weekend.

But there is more. The Daily News says Mele had scratch marks on his neck and bite marks on his hands. They also recovered a machete and a woman’s shoe from a dumpster near his home in Upstate NY.

Mele has not been charged with any crime as of now. The 23-year-old is, however, in custody on an unrelated probation violation.

Security cameras from the Marquee apparently captured Mele and Garza getting cozy inside the club. CCTV cams also captured Mele and Garza leaving together last Wednesday night, the night she was last seen.

Garza lives in Brooklyn. She is described as a bright, beautiful young woman by those who knew her. Question is: Will she ever be seen again?

Compiled by Gabriel Falcon
AC360 Writer

Welcome to the 360 Crime Blotter.

Some of the best crime writing comes from cops on the beat. But it’s not fiction. It’s fact, put down on paper in incident reports. We’re going to bring you their first-hand accounts. Taken from police department web sites, the official submissions run the gamut from mundane misdemeanors to the most serious of felonies. They all show what police officers across the country face 365 days a year. So let’s get started:

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16 arrested Wednesday in methamphetamine investigation

Law enforcement officers arrested 16 people Wednesday as the result of a two-year investigation into methamphetamine manufacturing rings.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have been investigating the two groups, which have also been involved in other criminal offenses, including burglary, assaults, forgery and homicide.

DPS Narcotics officers in Midland, as well as the Texas state troopers, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshal Service, the Odessa Police Department, the Midland Police Department, the Ector County Sheriff’s Department, the Ward County Sheriff’s Office and the Monahans Police Department served arrest warrants at numerous locations Wednesday. The Howard County Sheriff’s Office, the Midland County Sheriff’s Office and Kermit Police Department have also assisted in this investigation.

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Paul Vercammen
CNN Senior Producer

Today at 9a PT (noon ET) Sentencing in the O.J. Simpson trial begins

On October 3, a jury convicted Simpson, 61, and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart of 12 charges, including conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon.

Their convictions stem from a September 13, 2007, fracas at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Prosecutors alleged that Simpson led a group of men who used threats, guns and force to take sports memorabilia from dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley.

Length estimated: one to two hours

Courtroom insiders expect closer to one hour as Judge Glass stays true to her no-nonsense form.

Besides defense and prosecution lawyers, another expected speaker is former prosecution witness and alleged victim Bruce Fromong.

In this bizarre tale of Men Behaving Badly, memorabilia dealer Fromong will testify FOR Simpson, saying the crime does not warrant a long sentence.

The prosecution will call no one.

Simpson for now is not expected to speak, unless asked to by the judge.

Judge Jackie Glass is expected to be tough on Simpson. There was palpable tension between Glass and the defense team all trial long. Glass has called Simpson arrogant and cut him zero slack in his legal proceedings.

Glass has tremendous leeway under Nevada State law to impose a variety of senteces ranging from eligible for parole in six years (according to several sources) to life in prison.

Keep reading

Compiled by Gabriel Falcon
AC360 Writer

Welcome to the 360 Crime Blotter.

Some of the best crime writing comes from cops on the beat. But it’s not fiction. It’s fact, put down on paper in incident reports. We’re going to bring you their first-hand accounts. Taken from police department web sites, the official submissions run the gamut from mundane misdemeanors to the most serious of felonies. They all show what police officers across the country face 365 days a year. So let’s get started:

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Seattle Police Department

The Seattle Police Homicide Unit is seeking the public’s assistance in locating the suspect wanted in a homicide that occurred on November 30th. The suspect is Jose Angel Blanco, AKA Jose A. Blanco-Naranjo. He is 39 years old, described as 6′ 0″ and 190 pounds. He has brown eyes and black hair. He may be driving a silver 2001 BMW with Washington license plate 732PPB. The suspect is the ex-husband of the victim. There is a murder warrant for him. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Seattle Police Department or call 911 immediately.

Hartford, Conn Police Department

Detectives of the Hartford Police Department’s Major Crimes Division have released a video of the New Alliance Bank Robbery that occurred on October 29, 2008 at 1700 Park Street, Hartford.
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Editor’s note: Dr. Gail Saltz is a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Dr. Gail Saltz
Psychiatrist

Over the weekend a group of waiting shoppers trampled and killed a temporary Wal-Mart worker who was standing at the door to let shoppers in. How in the world could this happen? How could anyone do such a thing?

This was sadly a case of the effects of group dynamics, or in other words mob mentality. When you put people into a group you tend to increase their level of arousal and excitement. Another phenomena of a group is that of shared responsibility, that each individual feels less directly responsible and “delegates” his own superego (conscience) to the group. The particular group in question here were people feeling the effects of this recession and fearful that they will not be able to get enough stuff for the holidays, thinking they NEED the sales to make their family and themselves happy. This added to the feeling of rationing, that there is a limited commodity of stuff, money, sales items and if they don’t get it now then they never will. This is of course untrue and in no way justifies anyone’s actions, none the less it is this desperate perception that likely fueled extreme behavior.

Mobs can incite all kinds of awful behavior. “Fans” have set fires and destroyed property at sporting events. Concert goers have groped women and jumped on top of and hurt people. Gangs have robbed and destroyed stores in city blackouts. Taken as individuals many of these people would never ever have done something so amoral. But put together they incite each other, embolden the crowd and lose their moral compass.

This weekend’s horror was likely done by a group of anxious, excited shoppers who individually would never have done this and are likely feeling tremendous guilt and remorse that they were in anyway involved. Some will feel so uncomfortable that they may be in utter denial they were involved at all. It speaks to the power that one psyche can have upon another and to the immense power and loss of boundaries in a group. It is also evidence of the tremendous anxiety people are feeling in the face of the economic pressures and the unknowns that financially lay ahead. We need to be aware of the ability of such fears to move us, to make us behave in ways that we will regret. Desperation can mess with your conscience and so we all need to be on the alert to remember there is no material thing worth hurting someone for. Although a group can have a negative impact, it can also have a positive one. What we need is for people to gather together in support of each other, to lend a hand to your neighbor, be a listener to your friend, be compassionate to your loved ones. And remember grouping together for support requires no stuff.

Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer

Chicago police say they’ve arrested 27-year-old William Balfour for the October murders of three relatives of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson. Balfour is the estranged husband of Hudson’s older sister and stepfather of one of the victims, 7-year-old Julian King. The other victims were Hudson’s mother and brother. Balfour has been in custody on a parole violation since shortly after the killings; he previously served seven years for a 1999 attempted murder and carjacking conviction. We’ll have the latest on his arrest and the investigation.

Some other stories we’re following tonight:

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Program note: Watch Randi’s full report tonight at 10pm ET.

Randi Kaye | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Imagine the force it took to bring down Wal-Mart employee Jdimytai Damour. He was the worker trampled to death by hundreds of crazed shoppers at a Wal-Mart store on Long Island last Friday. Black Friday. It doesn’t get any darker than this.

Today I learned that Damour stood six foot five and weighed two hundred and seventy pounds. Imagine what it must’ve taken to knock him down! Police officially said today he died from suffocation, from the pressure of feet pounding over his chest.

Can you imagine? All this worker did was attempt to open the doors so people could shop. Is a deal on a plasma TV really worth it? Or is that new video game really worth it? How can anyone at the store that morning actually give a gift this year and not wonder what role they may’ve played in that stampede and the tragedy that followed?

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Compiled by Gabriel Falcon
AC360 Writer

Welcome to the 360 Crime Blotter.

Some of the best crime writing comes from cops on the beat. But it’s not fiction. It’s fact, put down on paper in incident reports. We’re going to bring you their first-hand accounts. Taken from police department web sites, the official submissions run the gamut from mundane misdemeanors to the most serious of felonies. They all show what police officers across the country face 365 days a year. So let’s get started:

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Boston Police Department

DAILY INCIDENTS FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008

Death Investigation at 8 Malta Street in Mattapan

This morning around 12:22AM, officers from District E-18 (Hyde Park) responded to 8 Malta Street in Mattapan for a person shot.

On arrival, officers located a 29 year-old male victim suffering from several gunshot wounds lying on the sidewalk in front of 8 Malta Street. EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim to Boston Medical center with life threatening injuries. Once at the hospital, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced.

Boston Police Homicide detectives are actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and appeal to any and all individuals who may have information relating to this incident to contact them at (617) 343-4470. Individuals who wish to provide information anonymously may do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or texting ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).

Death Investigation at 416 Talbot Street in Dorchester
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A Wal-Mart employee at this Long Island location was killed in a rush early Friday morning.

Gabriel Falcon
AC360 Writer

Jdimypai Damour began the day working part-time at a Wal-Mart mega-store in Valley Stream, New York. His job was to stand by the entrance doors — marked with a sign saying “BLITZ LINE STARTS HERE” — as the crush of early-morning holiday bargain-hunters began their frenzied Black Friday shopping.

Damour never made it home alive. The 34-year-old man from Queens, New York was crushed to death, a victim of a massive stampede of people pouring into Wal-Mart. One detective described the scene to CNN, calling it “utter chaos as these men tried to open the door this morning.”

Police officers who arrived to tend to Damour reportedly couldn’t even break through the mob to get to Damour. As the man lay dying on the ground, men and women continued to trample over him, fixed on gifts and deals, seemingly ignoring his plight or refusing to help.

In a statement, Wal-Mart said, “We are saddened to report that a gentleman who was working for a temporary agency on our behalf died at the store and a few other customers were injured. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families at this difficult time.”

A video camera caught pictures of the police trying to rescue Damour with CPR. Please be cautious: the video can be disturbing.

Damour’s death is tragic. He was an innocent man. But was a crime committed? A law broken? Authorities investigating this disturbing story have not filed any charges at this point. One officer told the New York Times that Wal-Mart “could have done more.”

What do you think?

Soledad O'Brien talks with Jeffrey Toobin about the case of the woman allegedly using MySpace to bully a teenager.

Gabriel Falcon
AC360° writer

Lori Drew is not being charged with murder, but the parents of Megan Meier are convinced she drove their daughter to suicide.

Now, two years after the 13-year-old girl hanged herself in her bedroom, Drew, who lived just down the block from the Meier home, is being tried in connection with this tragedy.

But are prosecutors overreaching in their case against her? Drew was indicted on one count of conspiracy and three counts of three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.

A jury in Los Angeles has already reached a partial verdict on three of the counts. The judge has ordered them to continue deliberations.

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