Double Stabbing at Moonshine Wake

Dennis Jerome Foust, 33, of 9587 Walsh, Montague, MI seems to be trying to set some kind of record. He has already been convicted of: Breaking and Entering, Home Invasion, Furnishing Contraband to a prisoner, Criminal Sexual Conduct, and Disarming a Peace Officer. If the prosecutors get their way Foust, who has been on parole since June 2008, can add: Two counts of felonious assault and a misdemeanor count of domestic violence to his resume.

Foust is accused of stabbing two men who tried to intervene when he got into a fight with his wife. The incident happened at a funeral wake for Shawn Davila, 39, who died on New Year's Day from methanol alcohol poisioning. Davila died four days after drinking from a batch of homemade moonshine. Two other men were sickened, but survived.

During the wake on Jan. 9th - where many people were drinking alcohol - a fight broke out between Foust and his wife. According to the police, Foust allegedly assaulted his wife during the altercation. Two men intervened on the woman's behalf, instigating another fight in which both men were stabbed by Foust. The two victims were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and released.

In addition to being charged with assault and domestic violence, Foust was also charged as a habitual offender. This could result in him being sentenced to a longer prison term, if convicted on the current charges. The assault charges carry maximum four-year prison sentences, and the domestic violence charge carries a 93-day jail sentence.

Judge Kevin Drake ruled there was enough evidence presented for Dennis Jerome Foust to face trial. Drake ruled after hearing testimony from victims James Riggs, 32, and Riggs’ brother-in-law Steven Davis, 40. Drake also heard from Davis’ wife, Kathy, and a sheriff’s deputy.

Davis said he was stabbed in the side of the head, the neck, shoulder and lower back. Riggs said he was stabbed below the left shoulder. They all admitted to consuming alcohol. Foust is scheduled for arraignment in 27th Circuit Court Monday, Jan. 26, before Judge Terrence Thomas.

Killer of Homeless Man Caught

Benjamin Mathew Martin, 30, was arrested at about 11:45 am on Jan. 22 2009 for setting a homeless man ablaze, killing him while he slept. The homeless man was later identified as John Robert McGraham, 55. The killing of John McGraham, which occurred on Oct 9 2008, garnered significant media attention both because of the brutal nature of the attack and because the attack occurred without any provocation. Read the full story here.

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John McGraham was also featured on the TV program America's Most Wanted which painted a melancholy picture of John's life, who grew up with an abusive father, had an ill-fated love affair and suffered from depression which ultimately led to his homelessness.

The gruesome slaying of John Robert McGraham, 55, as he sat on his usual corner at 3rd and Berendo streets in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles on  Oct. 9, galvanized the multi-ethnic, largely working-class neighborhood. Martin is Latino, as are the neighborhood people who regularly gave McGraham -- who was white -- food and clothes. LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said the alleged motivation for the killing appears to be "straight-up personal dislike." The crime provoked widespread introspection about the dangers faced by homeless people in the state. Hundreds gathered for vigils at the corner that McGraham called home.

"The attack occurred without any apparent provocation. The victim was totally helpless," said LAPD Chief William J. Bratton. "The suspect intentionally set the victim on fire and then ran from the scene, leaving a red plastic gasoline container."

Benjamin Martin was described as a former barber in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood with a grudge against the homeless. He has a previous criminal record for a drug offense. It was with the help of eyewitnesses and by matching his DNA on file, with evidence found at the crime scene, that the police were able to identify and eventually capture Martin. He was taken into custody in Rancho Mirage - 120 miles away from the scene of the murder.

McGraham's sister, Susanne McGraham-Paisley, was very grateful to the police and the community for their support in capturing her brother's killer. After hearing the news she called her brother David McGraham, who lives in Washington state. She started to cry soon after he picked up the phone.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"No, David, it's OK," she said between sobs. "They got him."

He grew tearful as he recalled the phone call. "I thought, 'My God, I can't believe it. They got him.' "

Psychologist Gets 7 Years for Child Porn

Dr. Joseph Belanger, 61, of Jamestown, ND, a former mental hospital psychologist who said he became interested in child pornography while treating sex offenders was sentenced to seven years in prison. He plead guilty in court to two charges of receiving materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. When asked by U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Erickson if the allegations against him were true, he looked up at the judge and in a quiet deep voice replied: “Yes, Your Honor”. With those three words Belanger became a convicted child sex offender. Read the full story here.

His sentencing originally scheduled for Dec. 11, 2008 had been delayed until Jan. 23, 2009. He had faced a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a mandatory minimum term of five years. In sentencing Belanger to 7 years behind bars, Judge Ralph Erickson said he should have taken advantage of his experience and background to seek treatment for himself.

"He, of all people, should have known there was help available," Erickson said.

Dr. Belanger, a former psychologist at North Dakota State Hospital, worked for 20 years examining sex offenders and testifying in court as an expert witness in hundreds of cases. He was targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an investigation code named Operation Flicker. He was accused of subscribing to and paying for downloading child pornography from various websites.

Defense attorney Steven Light said a psychologist's report showed his client was a good candidate for rehabilitation. Belanger cooperated with authorities and had no previous criminal history. "He's not a hands-on offender," Light said.

During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl read a victim impact statement from a 17-year-old girl who had been sexually molested by her father when she was 10 or 11. Images of the girl were posted on porn sites accessed by Belanger.

Victims in such cases "are traumatized in a way that never really ends," Judge Ralph Erickson said.

Boy Lives with Dead Mom for 10 Days

8-Year-Old Trinity Tipado could not figure out what was wrong with his Mom. Everyday for 10 days he tried to wake her up but she would not respond. Trinity's mother, Gaynell Tipado, 41, was dead.

Gaynell Tipado apparently died Jan. 9 in their apartment in the Detroit suburb of Romulus. Tipado, a Louisiana native, was a survivor of the hurricane Katrina in 2005 and had moved with her son to Romulus about three and a half years ago. An autopsy into her death is pending but the police do not suspect any foul play was involved.

According to authorities, 8-year-old Trinity Tipado survived in the apartment with his dead mother by eating dried rice, butter and flour. When supplies ran out he would make trips to Romulus Liquor Store, about a block away, where he and his mother had been shopping regularly for about a year and a half. He would buy milk, chips, candy and bread and pay for them with cash.

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Layth Saco, who co-owns the store with his brother Sam, said the boy made four trips in a week to buy supplies. He said he was curious why the boy came in by himself and asked about his mother. On his fourth trip to the store, Trinity did not have any cash and presented his mother's driver's license and an expired credit card to pay for $34.80 worth of grocery items — including nacho cheese dip, a package each of processed ham and turkey, hamburger buns, milk, doughnuts, soda and candy. This peaked Layth's curiosity even more.

He asked the boy if he could speak to his mother. "Is she alive?" Saco asked the boy.

"She's in a better place," the boy replied. He also said, “I tried to wake her up every day. I wanted to talk to her.”


"I sat him down, gave him chocolate milk. Then I called Romulus PD," Saco said.

Police arrived and took the boy home. They called Saco about 10 minutes later to tell him the boy's mother was dead. They questioned the boy and found out he was home-schooled, had no siblings and his father had died several years ago.

Police said that with his father dead, along with his grandparents and now his mother, he worried that he would have to go out and live by himself.

"In his little 8-year-old mind, that's what he came up with -- that's what he was afraid of," said Romulus Police Lt. John Leacher. "Your heart just breaks for this little boy."

"It's sad. It's very hard. It's very unfortunate for him," said Layth Saco, 36, a father of three young children. "I just feel bad. What he had to see for 11 days.

“The things he went through,” said Sam Saco. “I’m shaken. I’m almost about to cry. I’ve been thinking all night about the kid.” Sam said he felt guilty he had not called the police earlier.

Trinity was placed in foster care, but fortunately the police were able to find his aunt and uncle. Tipado's sister, Verna Lemieux and her sister's husband came up from Louisiana after police notified them of her death. When reached by The Detroit News, Lemieux's husband said they were still making arrangements for Gaynell Tipado's burial as well as measures for caring for Trinity. The family has requested privacy, for now, despite an outpouring of support from people wishing to make contributions.

Calls continue to flood the Romulus Police station from people concerned about Trinity. The boy is currently in foster care.

"I've had calls from all over the country from people who want to adopt him on the spot, sight unseen," Leacher said. "I told them there was a lot of officer support but right now they just want to get some time to grieve their losses."

Saco said he already turned away hundreds of dollars from customers because he hoped to set up a fund for Trinity at a local bank. He said he called at least half a dozen, but none was willing to help.

"Nobody wants to do it, because we're not a family member," Saco said. "A lot of people are giving me (money). I keep turning these people back. I would have had $200 for the poor kid by now."

Saco, having no success at finding a sponsor, finally relented and put a donation box in his store.

"I'm going to do whatever I can," he said. "I don't want to bother them (Trinity's family). They are probably miserable."

Parents of Adolf Hitler to be Evicted

When Heath and Deborah Campbell complained that their local ShopRite supermarket refused to decorate a birthday cake with their son's name, little did they know how much publicity they would receive.

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They could not understand why the supermarket would not put their son's name - Adolf  Hitler - on his birthday cake. They could not understand why naming all three of their children after Nazi names was such a big deal. They could also not understand why everyone thought they were racists just because they had swastikas all over their house. They really did not understand all the negative publicity they received. And one more thing - they don't know why New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) came and removed all three children from their home.

To be fair to the Campbells DYFS has not given a reason for removing the kids from the household. DYFS cited privacy concerns and has refused to provide any information about the case. DYFS did however say that they would not remove children from their parents just because of their names. A recently scheduled court appearance has been postponed, reportedly at the request of the parents, to give them time to find a lawyer.

In the meantime Heath Campbell is hospitalized due to stress and his wife Deborah gave the following interview:

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Mr. Campbell had at least two of the children’s names legally changed in recent months. He dropped his son’s original first name, Antonio (Adolf and Hitler had been the middle names), so he is now Adolf Hitler Campbell, and fixed his daughter’s birth certificate to correct the spelling of “Aryan.”

The Campbells’ neighbors described a family living on the fringe, financially and socially. Mr. Campbell, 35, and his wife, Deborah, 25, do not work and receive disability payments for emphysema and neck pain, respectively. Their landlord, Larry Lippincott, who shares the two-family home, said the family is often up all night.

“I hear the kids playing at 2:30 in the morning and the TV on,” Mr. Lippincott said. “He told me he was a night person and didn’t like to do anything during the day.”

Mr. Lippincott said he had decided — before the cake incident — not to renew the Campbells’ lease when it expired in November because, he said, a relative they frequently argue with threatened to “firebomb the house.” He expects to begin eviction proceedings soon.

“They’re not destroying anything, the house is clean and they pay their rent on time,” he said. But, he added, “There comes a point when you say, ‘Enough is enough.’ ”