Texting Rage: 1 Man Shot, 1 Man Jailed

We've all heard of Road Rage; well, Scott Allen Elder, 22 and Brian Matison, 24, both of Savannah, Ga. took the concept to mobile phones, sending one of them to the hospital with a gunshot wound and the other to jail facing an aggravated felony assault charge.

According to Savannah-Chatham police spokeswoman, Veda Lamar Nichols, the incident began when one man dialed the phone number of the other man by mistake. This led to an argument which the two of them continued and escalated via hostile text messages.

They did however agree on one thing: They arranged to meet each other in the parking lot of the local CVS pharmacy at the corner of  Edgewater Street and Montgomery Crossroad.

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"They allowed a text message conversation to escalate to physical violence," Nichols said. "It was just one of those senseless things."

When the two men arrived at the CVS, the argument continued and Scott Allen Elder pulled a gun and shot Brian Matison.

Matison was taken to Memorial University Medical Center where he remains in serious condition. Elder was arrested and taken to the Chatham County jail on the felony assault charge. Police say that Elder's vehicle was also damaged in the encounter.

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5 Officers Charged with Masturbating a Dog

This is another case of  "just when you think you've seen/heard it all..." 5 Virginia Department of Corrections officers have been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty - punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine - involving the fondling of a K-9 dog and videotaping two incidents. They are:

• Kelvin Thompson, 25, who works at Green Rock Correctional Center in Chatham;


• Melvin Boone, 40, who worked at the state prison in Sussex County;


• Adam R. Webb, 27, and Cheri Campbell, 35, who work at Nottoway Correctional Center; and


• Anthony Eldridge, 33, a sergeant who worked at Nottoway.

2 of the 5 charged, Melvin Boone and Anthony Eldridge, no longer work with the state. The Department of Corrections acknowledged that the matter had been investigated internally but declined to say whether Eldridge and Boone were terminated or left voluntarily. The department also would not say whether the other three were on leave. Trial is set for Nov. 20 for all except Webb, who will be tried Dec. 11.

Kelvin Thompson is accused of having "some sexual contact" with the dog - a male German shepherd or shepherd mix - while being videotaped by his fellow officers.

"Essentially, he was touching the dog's penis with his hand," Attorney Robert B. Beasley Jr. said. "The others were there filming it. That's actually how we learned of it -- there's a video."

Another corrections employee saw the video and reported it to a superior, Beasley said.  The events occurred between June 16 and Aug. 1, according to arrest warrants. All five officers were charged Oct. 2 by summons.

Apparently Kelvin Thompson was told that massaging his dog's genitals, would somehow make the animal easier to train. Dog trainers say that's obviously "not" a normal method of training but it is not unheard of:

"It has been used previously with very aggressive dogs to make them more submissive and passive, because it exhausts the dog but it's an inappropriate way of training dogs," said animal trainer Jemi Hodge.

Terry N. Grimes, Thompson's attorney, said his client planned to plead not guilty but admitted to fondling the animal. Grimes suggested the prosecution would have a difficult time proving animal cruelty. "The statute is not set up to deal with this type of thing. I don't think the legislature quite had this in mind," he said.

"Animal cruelty is conduct that is tantamount to torture. That inflicts pain. That puts the animal at risk of loss of life," said legal analyst Steve Benjamin.

In Virginia, bestiality is covered by crimes against nature, which could have resulted in a felony charge, according to state statutes. But a felony charge requires "carnal knowledge" of a "brute beast," implying intercourse, said Beasley, who added that he consulted with the state veterinarian's office before filing the charges.

Even if prosecutors do not win on the animal cruelty charges they may have another motive: Embarrassment.

"The embarrassment factor alone is going to be sufficient punishment for these individuals," said Steve Benjamin.

Even though what these officers did to their K-9 dog is no laughing matter and may still result in jail time, there is this episode from the series South Park that takes an irreverent and comedic look at this topic. Thanks to Mizozo.com I found this clip:

South Park - Red Rocket Video

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Feces Throwing Man Gets 31-Year Sentence

Weusi McGowan, 38, of San Diego, Ca. got his wish for a new trial and a new public defender after he smuggled a bag of his own feces into court. During a break in the proceedings he opened the bag and smeared the excrement all over the face and hair of  Public Defender Jeffrey Martin. He then threw the remains at the jury, some of which hit the computer case of one juror.

Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lawson said in court that McGowan clearly has mental health issues, but he committed an intentional act when he threw the feces.

Lawson said McGowan had previously wiped human feces on himself and was examined by doctors to ensure he was mentally competent to stand trial.

Three days earlier Judge Jeffrey Fraser had denied McGowan's request for a new trial. McGowan had claimed that some of the jurors had seen him in shackles while being escorted into the courtroom. The judge spoke with and dismissed the jurors in question and allowed the proceedings to go forward. McGowan also asked to have the public defender removed from his case. This was also denied.

According to court records, McGowan “became very boisterous and somewhat belligerent” after his request was denied. At one point, he told sheriff's deputies, “You better put the chains back on before I do something.”

McGowan was on trial for an October 2007 incident in which he allegedly hit his victim with a rock in a sock, then tied him up and ransacked his apartment, taking money and drugs. He then fled in the man's car. He was caught shortly after and charged with robbery, assault, kidnapping and auto theft.

McGowan case was transferred to Judge Frank Brown. This time, instead of going to trial, McGowan plead guilty to residential robbery causing great bodily injury and residential burglary. He also pleaded guilty to assault on a public official and assault on a juror.

Judge Frank Brown ordered McGowan to pay $129 to the juror whose case was ruined by the feces. He then sentenced McGowan to 31 years and four months in state prison.

Defense attorney Stephen Cline said McGowan’s medications were messed up when he was about to go to trial. When medicated properly, the defendant does “relatively OK,” Cline said.

“He’s mentally disabled,” the attorney said. “(But) that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He can be extremely violent if not medicated.”

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Mom Wanted Baby to Die

Christina McIntyre, 23, of  Titusville, Fla. has been charged with attempted felony murder, aggravated child abuse, child abuse and child neglect causing great bodily harm.

The charges stem from an incident in which McIntyre watched as her 2-year-old son piled blankets and a bean bag chair onto the baby and climbed onto the pile and jumped until the baby stopped breathing. Police are not sure if the mother encouraged the boy to do this, or if she simply did not stop it.

Police said the mother waited about a minute after the baby stopped moving to pull her other child off, after which she took the 2-year-old into his room and spanked him for smothering his brother.

McIntyre then waited for sometime before calling 911, deciding to leave it up to them if the baby lived or died. She told the 911 dispatcher she had administered CPR when she had not. Just before the paramedics arrived she apparently had a change of heart and did five heart compressions in an unsuccessful attempt to revive her child. Fortunately when the paramedics arrived they were able to save the infant with oxygen.

At the hospital doctors became suspicious. She finally admitted to lying to them that the 11-month-old had apnea, to cover for him nearly dying, saying she feared her children would be taken away. The police were called in and McIntyre confessed what had really happened.

Christina McIntyre confessed that she watched the baby struggle for breath, fight for life and then fall unconscious.  She told police that her life would be easier if the infant was dead. She said she wanted to go back to work, but that she could not afford day care for both of her children, so if the infant was dead she could afford to put her toddler in day care.

Neighbors said they were shocked and knew McIntyre as a caring mother. The toddler and the baby are in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.

"I'm shocked," Jimmy Mullins said. "She took great care of those kids."

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The Car of the Future

Looking for a new car? Tired of all those cars with a pesky steering wheel and omnipresent brake and gas pedals? How about see-through LED rear combination tail lights and electric sliding doors on both sides? Ever just want to stretch your legs while tackling the constant stop-and-go of rush hour traffic?

Well, the Toyota FT-EV II was made just for you.

Designed for short distant driving, the electric motor can travel around 90km (50 miles) at up to 100km/h (60 mph), making it most useful in the city.

Rather than a conventional steering wheel, Toyota has fitted the FT-EV II with joystick-like controls which means there are no conventional controls such as accelerator, brake pedal... or even a steering wheel.

Key to the FT-EV II’s space efficiency is careful placement of the battery and electric motor, freeing up space and leg room at the front of the car.

Toyota has also paid attention to improving vision with a large windscreen and airy cabin feel.

Even the LED tail lights form part of the rear vision, allowing the driver to see through them when reversing.

FT-EV II Concept dimensions:
Length 2,730 mm
Width 1,680 mm
Height 1,490 mm
Wheelbase 1,900 mm
Seating 4

This is a concept car. See other concept vehicles from Toyota: The FT-86 and the single-seat personal mobility i-Real

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