Former local high school baseball coach to spend 10 years in prison for molesting a player

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On Tuesday, Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Patricia West sentenced former Bayside High School baseball coach Dennis Ray Collins, to 20 years in prison, with ten years suspended.

Collins, 53, pled guilty to one count of sexual penetration with an object, and one count of indecent liberties while in a custodial role.

Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney Harvey Bryant said that the abuse took place in Collins’ home.

The molestations occurred between 1986 and 1988. During the period in question, Collins was also a youth minister at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

His victim came forward and filed charges against Collins in the fall of 2009. Collins, who was living in Winston-Salem, NC at the time of his arrest, was extradited to Virginia Beach a few days before Christmas.
 

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Good samaritan gets kidnapped, robbed for his trouble

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On Monday night, a man driving through South Richmond, along Southwood Parkway, stopped to help two women seemingly stranded with car trouble. Once out of his car, the pair pulled a gun on him and stole his car.

The two women pretended to have locked themselves out of their vehicle. However, one of the women quickly produced a pistol, forcing the man back into his car, the thieves then sped off in his Toyota Camry, along with the man. A few blocks later, he was able to jump from the car unharmed.

Police describe both female assailants as black, around 18 or 19 years of age, one being heavyset and the other thin.

Anyone with any information on this crime or the whereabouts of the two suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

A few facts about carjacking:

-There are an average of 49,000 carjacking every year.
(U.S. Dept of Justice)

-Men are more likely to be the victim of a carjacking.
(U.S. Dept. of Justice)

-According to an Illinois State Police study, 60 percent of those who committed carjacking were gang members.

-The Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 made carjacking a federal crime.

 

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Good samaritan gets kidnapped, robbed for his trouble

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On Monday night, a man driving through South Richmond, along Southwood Parkway, stopped to help two women seemingly stranded with car trouble. Once out of his car, the pair pulled a gun on him and stole his car.

The two women pretended to have locked themselves out of their vehicle. However, one of the women quickly produced a pistol, forcing the man back into his car, the thieves then sped off in his Toyota Camry, along with the man. A few blocks later, he was able to jump from the car unharmed.

Police describe both female assailants as black, around 18 or 19 years of age, one being heavyset and the other thin.

Anyone with any information on this crime or the whereabouts of the two suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (804) 780-1000.

A few facts about carjacking:

-There are an average of 49,000 carjacking every year.
(U.S. Dept of Justice)

-Men are more likely to be the victim of a carjacking.
(U.S. Dept. of Justice)

-According to an Illinois State Police study, 60 percent of those who committed carjacking were gang members.

-The Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 made carjacking a federal crime.

 

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Former local high school baseball coach to spend 10 years in prison for molesting a player

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On Tuesday, Virginia Beach Circuit Court Judge Patricia West sentenced former Bayside High School baseball coach Dennis Ray Collins, to 20 years in prison, with ten years suspended.

Collins, 53, pled guilty to one count of sexual penetration with an object, and one count of indecent liberties while in a custodial role.

Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney Harvey Bryant said that the abuse took place in Collins’ home.

The molestations occurred between 1986 and 1988. During the period in question, Collins was also a youth minister at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

His victim came forward and filed charges against Collins in the fall of 2009. Collins, who was living in Winston-Salem, NC at the time of his arrest, was extradited to Virginia Beach a few days before Christmas.
 

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Investigation into alleged plot by Muslim soldiers kept quiet by US Army

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A few days ago, CBN News reported that shortly before Christmas, five Muslim soldiers at Fort Jackson in South Carolina were arrested in connection to an alleged plot to poison the base’s food supply.

The soldiers are all members of the Army’s Arabic Translation program.

The day after CBN broke the story, the U.S. Army confirmed the ongoing investigation.

On Friday, Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver told the Associated press that the allegations did indeed involve soldiers' food being poisoned, but could not release any specific information about the investigation.

Chris Grey, a spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, told Fox News that the Army is taking the alleged plot “extremely seriously.”

Of course, this incident came on the heels of the Fort Hood attack, in which jihadist and U.S. Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan, 39, went on a shooting spree, killing 13 soldiers and civilian workers. Despite several eyewitnesses reporting that Maj. Hasan shouted “Allah Akbar” as he gleefully gunned-down his fellow soldiers, Army officials initially denied the mass murder was an act of terrorism.

It was not until recently that the Obama administration even publicly acknowledged that the Fort Hood shooting was in fact, an act of terrorism. The lack of candor on behalf of the White House, as well as the president’s refusal to classify the event as another example of Islamic terror, angered many Americans, as well as some of those in Congress.

In a late November interview with Fox News, Rep. Hoekstra (R-MI) said that the Obama administration was still delaying information to Congress on the terrorist attack, raising suspicions that the White House is hiding facts about the case.

Hoekstra said: “When they withhold information, you always start asking questions. That's what raises red flags. What do they know that they don't want us to know?”

The Congressman continued: “It is political correctness that is making it unable for us to identify the real threat of homegrown terrorism.”

He ended the interview with the chilling warning: “we have similar Hasans” in the United States.

Of course, the Fort Hood attack was not the first act of Islamic terrorism committed by a member of the U.S. military.

In 2003, in Kuwait, Sgt. Hasan Akbar tossed several grenades into the tent of two officers (Army captain Christopher Scott Seifert of Easton, Pennsylvania and Air Force Major Gregory Stone of Boise, Idaho), killing them and injuring 14 other soldiers who were catching up on some much needed rest.

Akbar, who was born Tony Kooks, converted to Islam after joining the Army, and while the mainstream press avoided the term, after questioning him, it was learned that it was a clear case of Muslim terrorism.

Akbar was eventually sentenced to death for the attack and is still awaiting his date with the executioner.

In April 2008, the Defense Department reported that there were 3,409 Muslims on active duty. However, military officials now claim the actual number of Muslim soldiers could be much higher.

World Tribune recently quoted an anonymous source from within the Pentagon as saying: “We believe there are many more Muslims who when recruited did not list their religion. Some of these people simply wanted to avoid harassment; others might have had a sinister agenda.”

According to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, there are currently 2.5 million Muslims living in the U.S., with at least 1,209 mosques across the country.

 

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New law would dictate where child predators could live

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Del. Clifford "Clay" Athey (R-Front Royal), recently introduced a bill to the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly which would greatly restrict where child predators could live. Athey says the measure is necessary “to protect the most vulnerable citizens.”

If approved, HB 1004 would ban those who are court-ordered to register as sex offenders for crimes against children from living within 500 feet of various places children are known to frequent.

Predators would not be allowed to live near, school bus stops, community parks, playgrounds, rec centers, day cares, public pools, and schools (both public and private).

According to Virginia State Police, as of Dec. 1, 2009, there were 16,238 registered sex offenders in the Commonwealth.

As typical with such proposals, the ACLU has taken issue with the bill.

American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis told the Virginian-Pilot: “It's one thing to limit someone's mobility, to prevent them from going to certain places. It's another thing to restrict where they actually live ... There are real legal constitutional questions involved in such a restriction.”

Expressing his concern for the new restrictions child molesters would face if the measure passes, Willis said that lawmakers like Athey “tend to ... react by their emotions and react in a politically opportunistic way. That's the unfortunate trap that sex offender laws fall into.”

Currently, HB 1004 is on track to pass the Va. House of Delegates, but will face more opposition in the Democratically controlled Senate.

A few facts on child predators:

-More than 1/2 of all convicted sex offenders are sent back to prison within a year. Within 2 years, 77.9% are back.
(California Department of Corrections)

-Many child molesters know their victims. Some stalk their victims, observing their habits as they walk to and from school. They often try to buy houses near schools or parks.
(http://www.sex-offenders.us/child.molester.list.htm)

-There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and an estimated 80 to 100,000 of them are missing.
(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

-An incident of child abuse is reported, on average, every l0 seconds
(Child Study Center, NYU School of Medicine, 2006)

-In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home. In many cases, the abduction does, too.
(U.S. Justice Dept.)

 

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Mitt Romney assaulted on way home from Olympics

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On Monday, former U.S. presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was assaulted aboard an Air Canada flight, after he and his wife Ann, spent the weekend attending the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The plane was still on the ground when a man sitting in front of Ann Romney, flipped his seat back prior to takeoff. Gov. Romney asked the man to return his seat to the upright position, at which time the man apparently became enraged, leaping to his feet and reportedly tried to strike Romney.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told Fox News: “Governor Romney did not retaliate.”

Immediately following the incident, the plane returned to the gate, and the unruly man was taken into custody by Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

 

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Woman who falsely accused Duke Lacrosse Team of rape, arrested for attempted murder

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On Wednesday evening, police in Durham, NC arrested Crystal Gail Mangum for the assault and attempted murder of her boyfriend, Milton Walker, 33, among other charges.

According to police, Mangum set his clothes on fire, physically assaulted him, attempted to stab him, all in view of her three children, ages 3, 9 and 10. The 911 call was actually placed by one the children.

She initially gave the responding officers a false name, "Marella Mangum," and allegedly fought with the officers.

Mangum has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, five counts of arson, assault and battery, communicating threats, three counts of misdemeanor child abuse, injury to personal property, identity theft and resisting a public officer.

She is being held in the Durham County Jail on a $1 million bond. Mangum, 33, is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 22.

While Mangum became famous for the false allegations she made against the Duke Lacrosse Team, she has a history of criminal behavior, and making allegations of rape.

In 1996, two months after her graduation from Hillside High School in Durham, N.C., Mangum went to the police and claimed that she had been raped three years earlier and identified her attackers as her boyfriend and two of his friends. In 2006, CNN reported that the police interviewed Mangum and asked her "to write a chronological-order statement for investigative purposes."

She originally told police that her three alleged attackers had held her against her will, raped her, and threatened her life. However, she failed to follow up with police after the initial interview and simply dropped the charges.

Late in 1996, Mangum joined the U.S. Navy, signing on for an eight year enlistment. She began active duty in 1997. Though committed for eight years, the Navy discharged her in 1998.

In 1997 at age 19, she met and married a 33 year old illiterate man named Kenneth Nathaniel McNeill. Under Navy orders, her and her new husband moved to California, where she was assigned to the USS Mount Hood. While aboard the Mount Hood, she began a sexual affair with another sailor. She became pregnant as a result of the affair and eventually had another child with the sailor.

The U.S. Navy has refused to disclose the reason for Mangum's abrupt discharge.

Because of the extra-marital affair, Mangum and Kenneth McNeill became separated. On June 16, 1998, she filed charges against McNeill in which she claimed that he had taken her into the woods and threatened to kill her. A hearing on the matter was held on June 23, Mangum failed to appear in court to prove the charges and the complaint was dismissed.

After a string of low-wage jobs, Mangum decided to enter the world of stripping. She showed up one evening in 2002 at the Diamond Girls strip club in Durham. Club owner Larry Jones said that she was looking for a job and auditioned by giving lap dances to several men. Jones decided not to hire Mangum because she was "acting funny."

One of the men she entertained with a lap dance was a taxi driver. According to a Durham County Sheriff's report: "As she was feeling him up and putting her hands in his pockets she removed the keys to his taxi cab, without him knowing. He [the cabbie] told her he would drive her home but needed to go to the restroom first. While in the restroom he was advised that she was driving off in his taxi cab."

Durham County Deputies went looking for Mangum and when they tried to stop her, she sped away driving the wrong way on U.S. Highway 70. They quickly caught up with her in a wooded area, as deputies approached the vehicle she aimed the car at one of them and attempted to run him over. She was finally apprehended after hitting one of the sheriff's cars. Mangum passed out while being questioned by deputies and was transported to Duke University Medical Center. Her blood alcohol level was .19 (more than twice the N.C. legal limit).

That incident resulted in Mangum's conviction on the following charges:
-larceny
-speeding to elude arrest
-assault on a government official
-DUI

She received a sentence of three consecutive weekends in the Durham County Jail and two years probation.

Eventually, Mangum landed a job as a stripper at a club known as Platinum Pleasures. She was also working for an escort service called Bunny Hole Entertainment. After the Duke rape allegations, she told a reporter with The News and Observer that she went on dates with clients (johns) about three times a week.

While no DNA of any Duke Lacrosse player was found on Mangum, the DNA of her boyfriend and habitual DUI offender Matthew Murchison was found. She also told police that she had engaged in sexual intercourse with two other men close to the time she erroneously reported the rape. The other two men were Jarriel Johnson of Raleigh, and Brian Taylor of Durham. They both worked as drivers for the escort service, taking her to parties and 'dates.'

Mangum had the benefit of a rather unscrupulous district attorney in Mike Nifong, who apparently took her lies and ran with them. Nifong was in the midst of a re-election campaign at the time she made her false allegations and used the case in an attempt to persuade the black community to support his campaign.

The case brought national attention to Nifong and stirred-up racial tensions in the Raliegh-Durham area. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton both joined in the public persecution of the Duke students, even the Black Panthers came to town looking for trouble.

Eventually, the truth prevailed, charges against the students were dropped, and Nifong was discredited and forced to step down. He was ultimately disbarred for his actions in the case and spent one night in jail for lying to a Superior Court judge.

Unfortunately, due to Mangum's false allegations, innocent women will suffer, as sexual assaults continue to be the most under-reported crimes. Victims already feel humiliated and are often hesitant to risk further character attacks from criminal defense attorneys, and often decide not to report the heinous crime. Undoubtedly, Mangum's selfish actions have made the very painful process of coming forward to prosecute attackers even more difficult.

 

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Former local public defender sentenced to jail

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On Monday, former Chesapeake, VA public defender Eugene B. Harris, 31, was sentenced to six months in jail in a Portsmouth courtroom for larceny. Harris was also found guilty earlier this month of assault on a police officer.

Circuit Judge Johnny E. Morrison found Harris guilty of larceny from a person and gave him five years, but suspended all but six months of the sentence. Harris will do his time in the Portsmouth City Jail.

In November 2008, Harris met with one of his clients, Jorge Luis Concepcion Jr., at a Portsmouth restaurant. According to Concepion, someone who was with Harris to $100 from his pocket, and when he tried to drive away, Harris got into the car with him and demanded a check from Concepcion for $2,600.

The bizarre events led to charges of robbery, abduction, and conspiracy for Harris, who was ultimately found guilty on only the lesser charge of larceny, with Judge Morrison dismissing the more serious charges. However, larceny is a felony.

Harris will be sentenced on June 14 for his unrelated assault conviction.

In February, 2009, Harris got into a fight at a nightclub, and punched a Chesapeake police officer who attempted to break it up.

Harris worked for the Chesapeake public defender's office between October 2007 and July 2008. His live-in girlfriend, Ciara Brown, told the Virginian-Pilot that Harris was fired because the office discovered their relationship. Brown, became a client and met Harris when she was arrested for allegedly stabbing her husband in 2008.

According to Brown, when they met, Harris was already on probation at the public defender’s office for dating his clients. Brown who was present at Harris’ meeting with Concepicion, also faces charges stemming from the incident. Her trial is scheduled for March.

The Virginia State Bar Association is currently conducting an investigation into Harris’ actions.

In court, Harris said that if allowed, he would like to return to private practice, if not, he wants to attend graduate school. In 2004, Harris received a law degree from Regent University.

 

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New law would dictate where child predators could live

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Del. Clifford "Clay" Athey (R-Front Royal), recently introduced a bill to the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly which would greatly restrict where child predators could live. Athey says the measure is necessary “to protect the most vulnerable citizens.”

If approved, HB 1004 would ban those who are court-ordered to register as sex offenders for crimes against children from living within 500 feet of various places children are known to frequent.

Predators would not be allowed to live near, school bus stops, community parks, playgrounds, rec centers, day cares, public pools, and schools (both public and private).

According to Virginia State Police, as of Dec. 1, 2009, there were 16,238 registered sex offenders in the Commonwealth.

As typical with such proposals, the ACLU has taken issue with the bill.

American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis told the Virginian-Pilot: “It's one thing to limit someone's mobility, to prevent them from going to certain places. It's another thing to restrict where they actually live ... There are real legal constitutional questions involved in such a restriction.”

Expressing his concern for the new restrictions child molesters would face if the measure passes, Willis said that lawmakers like Athey “tend to ... react by their emotions and react in a politically opportunistic way. That's the unfortunate trap that sex offender laws fall into.”

Currently, HB 1004 is on track to pass the Va. House of Delegates, but will face more opposition in the Democratically controlled Senate.

A few facts on child predators:

-More than 1/2 of all convicted sex offenders are sent back to prison within a year. Within 2 years, 77.9% are back.
(California Department of Corrections)

-Many child molesters know their victims. Some stalk their victims, observing their habits as they walk to and from school. They often try to buy houses near schools or parks.
(http://www.sex-offenders.us/child.molester.list.htm)

-There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and an estimated 80 to 100,000 of them are missing.
(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

-An incident of child abuse is reported, on average, every l0 seconds
(Child Study Center, NYU School of Medicine, 2006)

-In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home. In many cases, the abduction does, too.
(U.S. Justice Dept.)

 

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Mitt Romney assaulted on way home from Olympics

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On Monday, former U.S. presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was assaulted aboard an Air Canada flight, after he and his wife Ann, spent the weekend attending the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The plane was still on the ground when a man sitting in front of Ann Romney, flipped his seat back prior to takeoff. Gov. Romney asked the man to return his seat to the upright position, at which time the man apparently became enraged, leaping to his feet and reportedly tried to strike Romney.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom told Fox News: “Governor Romney did not retaliate.”

Immediately following the incident, the plane returned to the gate, and the unruly man was taken into custody by Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

 

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New law would dictate where child predators could live

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

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Del. Clifford "Clay" Athey (R-Front Royal), recently introduced a bill to the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly which would greatly restrict where child predators could live. Athey says the measure is necessary “to protect the most vulnerable citizens.”

If approved, HB 1004 would ban those who are court-ordered to register as sex offenders for crimes against children from living within 500 feet of various places children are known to frequent.

Predators would not be allowed to live near, school bus stops, community parks, playgrounds, rec centers, day cares, public pools, and schools (both public and private).

According to Virginia State Police, as of Dec. 1, 2009, there were 16,238 registered sex offenders in the Commonwealth.

As typical with such proposals, the ACLU has taken issue with the bill.

American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis told the Virginian-Pilot: “It's one thing to limit someone's mobility, to prevent them from going to certain places. It's another thing to restrict where they actually live ... There are real legal constitutional questions involved in such a restriction.”

Expressing his concern for the new restrictions child molesters would face if the measure passes, Willis said that lawmakers like Athey “tend to ... react by their emotions and react in a politically opportunistic way. That's the unfortunate trap that sex offender laws fall into.”

Currently, HB 1004 is on track to pass the Va. House of Delegates, but will face more opposition in the Democratically controlled Senate.

A few facts on child predators:

-More than 1/2 of all convicted sex offenders are sent back to prison within a year. Within 2 years, 77.9% are back.
(California Department of Corrections)

-Many child molesters know their victims. Some stalk their victims, observing their habits as they walk to and from school. They often try to buy houses near schools or parks.
(http://www.sex-offenders.us/child.molester.list.htm)

-There are 400,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and an estimated 80 to 100,000 of them are missing.
(National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

-An incident of child abuse is reported, on average, every l0 seconds
(Child Study Center, NYU School of Medicine, 2006)

-In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact occurs within a quarter mile of the child's home. In many cases, the abduction does, too.
(U.S. Justice Dept.)

 

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