Crime Time

Man gets 5-year sentence for beating calf to death after Saints' loss

A Louisiana man who apparently took his loyalty to the New Orleans Saints too seriously, was sentenced this week to five years in prison for stealing a newborn calf from a farm and beating it to death with a shovel after the Saints lost last season to the Dallas Cowboys.

David J. LeBlanc Jr., who did the fatal beating at a party at a parking lot, was one of four men convicted in the case. The others stood by and watched, the Associate Press reported.

Because he said he told the truth to investigators, LeBlanc said he expected a lighter sentence than the others who got probation. But the judge said no way. District Judge Martin Coady said LeBlanc used "a dangerous weapon" to inflict a "painful death" of the defenseless animal, the Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

Police: Granny tossed toddler 6 stories to death from mall walkway

Police in McLean, Va., say that a woman threw her 2 1/2-year-old toddler -- believed to be her granddaughter -- to her death Monday night from a shopping mall walkway six stories above the ground.

Carmela Dela Rosa, 50, was leaving the mall with family when she allegedly picked  up the girl and tossed her off. The girl later died at a hospital, the Associated Press reported.

The accused woman faces a charge of aggravated malicious wounding that will be upgraded to murder, the Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

Female police chief gunned down in Mexico

Cartel henchmen reportedly have gunned down one of the handful of female police chiefs in Mexico, CNN is reporting.

Hermila Garcia, 38, took the reins of the police department in the town of Meoqui in Chihuahua state about two months ago, CNN reported.

She was attacked by gunmen as she drove alone to work, the network reported.

-- Lance Murray

83-year-old murderess caught after fleeing authorities

Age apparently is no boundary for Bronislawa Jarosz's criminal activity.

The convicted 83-year-old murderess was captured by Polish authorities after she disappeared from her apartment.

She'd been released from prison after having been deemed to sick to serve her sentence, but recently was determined fit enough to go back and an arrest warrant was issued, the Associated Press reported.

That's when authorities discovered she was on the lam.

-- Lance Murray

Police: Woman shoved 100-year-old Walmart greeter

Police in Milwaukee, Wisc., have arrested a 37-year-old woman for allegedly pushing a 100-year-old Walmart greeter who was trying to verify that the woman had paid for bottles of water in her cart.

The centenarian was bruised and sore, but otherwise not injured.

In fact, the greeter, Lois Speelman, said she plans to be back at work on Thursday.  Of the incident, Speelman said she was just doing her job, the Milwaukee Journal reported.

-- Lance Murray

Arlington police step up presence around retail centers

With the holiday season in full swing, Arlington police have stepped up patrols at the city's prime retail spots in attempt to prevent criminals from ruining the shopping experience and ease the flow of traffic.

Skywatch towers have also been placed in shopping areas such as The Parks at Arlington mall and the Arlington Highlands. Police are also using bait cars to try to catch car thieves in the act.

As they did on Black Friday, police will be coordinating traffic around retail areas on the busiest shopping days. In the parking lots of the busiest shopping centers, bike and foot patrols will also be deployed to deter crime.

Read more here.

- Patrick M. Walker

Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/11/29/2665320/arlington-police-step-up-presence.html#ixzz16iYexMeI

17 bodies found buried on Mexican ranch near border

The El Paso Times is reporting that Mexican authorities have discovered 17 bodies buried at a ranch near Palomas, in the state of Chihuahua.

None of the bodies have been identified.

The Mexican Army made the discovery in the northeastern part of the state across the border from Columbus, N.M., the paper reported.

-- Lance Murray

Alleged leader of deadly gang is arrested in Ciudad Juarez

Reputed gang leader Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, aka "El Farmero," was arrested over the weekend in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, the El Paso Times reported.

Gallegos, leader of the Aztecas gang, allegedly told police after his arrest that he is "responsible for at least 80 percent of the homicides committed in Ciudad Juárez in the period since August 2009 to the present date," the paper quoted a federal police statement.

He also reportely ordered the hit on a U.S. Consulate employee in the city last March that resulted in three deaths, the paper reported.

And, Gallegos is alleged to have been involved in the January massacre of 15 students at a birthday party in the city and the killings of five federal police officers, the Times reported.

-- Lance Murray

Dallas officer, bystander wounded; gunman found dead

A Dallas police officer and a bystander were wounded, and the apparent gunman found dead Sunday night at an apartment complex in the city.

Police are trying to figure out if the gunman killed himself or was killed by a police bullet in an exchange of gunfire, the Associate Press reported.

The officer was shot in the leg and a patrol car was damaged by bullets, the AP reported.

-- Lance Murray

Brave woman is dangerous Mexican town's police force

Guadalupe, Mexico, sits in the Juarez Valley, one of the busiest and most deadly drug-trafficking lanes in northern Mexico.

The town of 9,000 people across the Rio Grande from Fabens, Texas, is such as a dangerous place that most of its police officers have resigned. The once nine-member police force is down to one officer -- a 28-year-old woman who has no formal police academy training, the El Paso Times reported.

But Erika Gandara is willing to don her bullet-proof vest, grab her AR-15 assault rifle and risk her life to protect the town by herself.

In a country where police corruption is rampant, she thinks it might be best, in fact.

"I am better off alone than in bad company," she told the Times.

You can read the Times' fascinating profile of Gandara here.

-- Lance Murray