The Daily Blog

Rabie Abdullah, Egyptian Al Qaeda Suspect, Arrested At Airport.

CAIRO — An Egyptian suspected of belonging to Yemen’s branch of al-Qaida was detained Thursday upon arrival in Egypt from Yemen, an airport official said.

The official said the man, his Yemeni wife and three children returned to Egypt on Thursday with false documents.

The official said interrogators identified the man as Rabie Abdullah, convicted in absentia to five years in one of Egypt’s largest terrorism trials in the 1990s. He was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The new al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, was sentenced in the same case along with more than 100 others, most of them in absentia. The suspects were convicted on charges ranging from forgery to conspiracy to topple the government.

The 42-year old Abdullah denied the charges against him during the airport interrogation, the official said, and he will get a retrial.

The official said Abdullah left Egypt in 1991 for Turkey, Yemen and Afghanistan. He lost his passport in Afghanistan and returned to Yemen using a fake identity. There, he is suspected of joining the local al-Qaida branch, the official said.

Abdullah told his interrogators he returned from Yemen because of the conflict there and that he wanted to settle in Egypt, the official said.

Yemen is home to one of the most active al-Qaida branches, which has been linked to several nearly successful attacks on U.S. targets, including the plot to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner in December 2009. The group has been emboldened by the current turmoil in the impoverished Gulf nation.

Police Suspect Carmen Montenegro’s Trash Can May Have Been Stuffed With Missing Ex-Boyfriend’s Body Parts.

Authorities in California suspect  dismembered human remains found inside a trash can San Bernardino resident Carmen Montenegro allegedly pushed down a suburban street Sunday could belong to her missing ex.

“Detectives are … looking into the recent disappearance of Montenegro’s past boyfriend,” the City of Ontario Police Department said in a press release.

According to police, the unidentified ex-boyfriend was last seen by relatives on May 1. He was later reported as a missing person to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Montenegro, 51, was caught with the 30-gallon wheeled container full of human remains Sunday afternoon, after several concerned neighbors contacted police.

On Tuesday, detective Jeff Crittenden told The Huffington Post he could not comment on the condition of the body, but did say the victim was a male of unknown age or race. He also said the man “was dismembered [and] it appears to be a homicide.”

Crittenden said investigators suspect Montenegro disinterred the remains from a home she used to live at in the 700 block of North Holmes Avenue, which is located about 200 yards from where she was arrested.

Investigators conducted an extensive search of the property and excavated portions of the backyard. According to Sgt. David McBride, detectives have now finished processing the residence and have “recovered undisclosed items of evidentiary value.”

On Tuesday, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of murder against Montenegro. She is being held at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

“The investigation is on-going and updated information will be released when available,” McBride said.

Texas Deputy Killed in Shootout; Suspect Fatally Shot.

VENUS, Texas — A North Texas deputy has died after being shot in the line of duty in a small town south of Dallas-Fort Worth and a suspect also was fatally shot, authorities said.

Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford said in a statement that the shooting erupted Saturday afternoon near Venus and that a suspect was shot dead by deputies.Alford didn’t identify the suspect or the officer in his release, but local media outlets said Alford later spoke to reporters outside a Fort Worth hospital where the deputy had been rushed and identified him as Clifton Taylor, 31.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said Taylor, who had been with the department for little more than three years, had been shot three times - in his neck, side, and back.”I can’t say enough what a fine officer Clifton Taylor was,” Alford was quoted as telling the newspaper. “He will be missed.”

A supervisor at the John Peter Smith Hospital, Anthony Vargas, told The Associated Press early Sunday that a man identified as Clifton Taylor was pronounced dead at the Fort Worth hospital on Saturday evening. Vargas said the man had at least one gunshot wound but he declined to release further information.Alford had said earlier no further information would be released as the investigation continues.

Tim Jones, the agency’s spokesman, said in the statement that the sheriff’s office “requests your support and prayers during this very trying time in our agency.”

Venus is a town of less than 2,000 people, located about 30 miles south of Dallas-Fort Worth. Local reports said Texas Rangers would take part in the investigation as is customary when an officer is shot.

Video footage after the shooting showed law enforcement officers pacing about a shed in a yard while an ambulance stood by and a crime scene photographer worked at the site.

Suspect in California Synagogue Blast Arrested.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - A man believed to be a suspect in the explosion outside a Santa Monica synagogue has been arrested near Cleveland, authorities said Monday.

A man thought to Ron Hirsch, 60, was taken into custody in suburban Cleveland Heights Monday evening after a concerned citizen who came into contact with him called police, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller in Los Angeles said.

She said the FBI was working with local authorities to confirm the man’s identity and had no immediate details of the arrest.

“It’s believed to be him but, just as in any arrest scenario, a formal identification must be made,” Eimiller said.

Investigators believed Hirsch boarded a New York-bound Greyhound bus the day of last Thursday’s blast near Chabad House Lubavitch of Santa Monica.

Hirsch is believed to have family in New York. However, video surveillance captured him getting off the bus in Denver, going to the ticket counter and then boarding another eastbound bus, FBI spokesman Dave Joly in Denver said.

Authorities considered him dangerous based on his suspected involvement in the explosion.

Hirsch, a transient known to spend time at synagogues and other Jewish community centers seeking charity, is wanted on state charges of possession of a destructive device and unrelated local charges.

The explosion shattered windows and punched a hole in the synagogue, while sending chunks of concrete and a heavy pipe crashing into the roof of a nearby house. Authorities said a child was sleeping almost underneath where the device landed.

Authorities initially believed it was an industrial accident, but they now say the device was deliberately constructed and items found at the scene were linked to Hirsch.Investigators do not have a motive for the blast. Jewish groups have said they did not believe anti-Semitism was necessarily behind it.

Police stepped up patrols at Chabad House and other houses of worship over the weekend after naming Hirsch as a suspect.

“If he did it, he’s not here no more. He’s not coming back,” Rabbi Eli Levitansky told KCAL-TV on Monday. “If he didn’t do it, the security here is … more than it was just a couple days ago.”

Tucson Shooting Suspect Indicted on New Charges.

PHOENIX - The suspect in the Tucson shootings that critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was charged on new counts that include the murders of a federal judge and a congressional aide, according to an indictment released Friday.A federal grand jury returned the 49-count indictment Thursday, charging Jared Lee Loughner in the deaths stemming from a Jan. 8 shooting at a political event held by Giffords outside a grocery store.

The latest indictment charged the 22-year-old Tucson man with murder in the deaths of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman. Loughner also faces new charges of causing death to or injuring participants at a federally provided activity.Loughner had pleaded not guilty to earlier federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and kill two of her aides.

His attorney, Judy Clarke, didn’t immediately return a call and e-mail left at her office Friday.

Federal prosecutors haven’t yet said whether they will seek the death penalty against Loughner. But legal experts believe it’s a virtual certainty.

In all, 13 people were wounded and another six people, including a 9-year-old girl, died in the attack.Loughner also will likely face state charges in the attack, but will be tried first in federal court before any prosecution begins on state charges. Federal and county prosecutors said federal law requires state prosecutions to be suspended while a federal case is pending.

Loughner is scheduled for a court hearing Wednesday in Tucson.

A day after the shootings, prosecutors filed a complaint in court charging Loughner with trying to assassinate Giffords, attempting to kill two of her aides and killing Roll and Zimmerman. Those charges were later replaced by federal indictments that mirrored the same charges.

In many criminal cases, prosecutors will often file charges themselves without a grand jury indictment, but will later replace those charges with an indictment.

It was not known why the charges against Loughner weren’t contained in one indictment.

Police Kill Maryland Robbery Suspect, Hostage Escapes.

TAKOMA PARK, Md. — A suspect who took a bank teller hostage during a robbery Friday in Maryland was shot and killed by police after he walked outside using the woman as a shield.

When the man walked out of the Capital One bank branch in a Washington suburb, he was holding a gun to the woman’s head. It also appeared he had a bomb taped to him, police said.
Officers were already outside the bank as the suspect walked out.The woman ran away from the suspect toward police and held her hands up to cover her ears.

Gunfire erupted shortly afterward. Takoma Park Police Chief Ronald Ricucci said the suspect was killed.

Police from at least three jurisdictions had responded to the scene because Takoma Park is near the border of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. The city also has its own police force.

“From our point of view, it looks like it was a successful resolution,” said Prince George’s County police Maj. Andy Ellis, adding that three of his officers fired at the suspect. “Things were changing very quickly, and the officers had to make split-second decisions.”

Besides the device that looked like a bomb strapped to the suspect, a suspicious device also was reported inside the bank. Both ended up being plastic foam when checked by a bomb squad, police said. But the potential for an explosion affected the response by police officers, Ellis said.

At least three people were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. A police officer was grazed in the leg by a bullet. One person had been pistol-whipped, and another person was treated for shock, police said.

Bill Benjamin, who witnessed the incident from a nearby store, told WTTG-TV that he had walked outside to take out the trash. He said he heard three quick shots fired and saw police chase down the suspect.

Herschel Ivy, who saw the incident from across the street, told WTTG-TV that he saw the suspect’s hands go up when shots were fired. Ivy said he heard seven or eight gunshots fired as the hostage ran toward police.

“She ran directly through the cordon of police officers,” Ivy said. “You couldn’t tell if they were firing from the left or from the right.”

Deputy, Suspect Dead in Ohio Trailer Park Standoff.

E

NON, Ohio — A sheriff’s deputy investigating a report of gunfire at a trailer park was shot dead Saturday, and the shooting suspect was killed after a gun battle with police, authorities said. A police officer was wounded.

The slain deputy was married and was the mother of two children, Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly said. He didn’t release the names of the deputy or the suspect killed in the standoff in Enon Beach, about 50 miles west of Columbus.

The deputy was shot as she tried to photograph a footprint in the mobile-home park, which sits near a highway, Kelly said.

“Our deputy never had the opportunity to return fire or take cover,” he said at a press conference.Police officers were trying to retrieve the deputy’s body when the suspect fired on them from inside a trailer, and a German Township officer was wounded in a large exchange of gunfire, Kelly said. There were “many, many, many” shots fired by the suspect and police, he said.

Enon Beach resident Angelina Inman said she looked out of her trailer to see the deputy lying on the ground. She watched as another officer tried to reach her body.”He was itching to get her,” Inman said. “He kept radioing in, can he please get her, and he was told no because it wasn’t secure. You could see that male sheriff crying - he wanted to get her, he wanted to get her bad.”

It appears that it was gunfire from Clark County deputies that killed the suspect, said Kelly, who has been sheriff for 24 years. He said he had hired the slain deputy and had known her since the police academy. He called her “just a good person, an outstanding deputy,” and said she was the first officer he’s lost.

“This,” Kelly said, “is the worst day of my entire law enforcement career.”

Enon Beach sits near Interstate 70 and acts as a seasonal campground with some summer-only residents and others who live there year-round. A portion of the highway was closed twice for a total of about an hour because the trailer park is so close to the roadway, Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Gary Lewis said.

A girl who lives in the trailer park said she knew the shooting suspect and he had a temper.

“He was a quiet person, but if you made him mad - he wasn’t very pleasant,” 15-year-old Chelsea Bagley said.

Her mother’s boyfriend, John Burkhardt, said he heard the shots fired in the neighborhood. Police then arrived, Burkhardt said, and for several minutes authorities asked the suspect over a loud speaker to come out and surrender.

“They give him 25 chances to walk out of there,” Burkhardt said. “They were begging him to come out, but he wouldn’t come out.”

Shortly after, Burkhardt said, authorities opened fire on the man’s trailer.

“All hell broke loose,” he said.

Man, 63, convicted in 1991 Md. rape.

A 63-year-old man dubbed the “Silver Spring Rapist” was convicted Tuesday for a rape that occurred in 1991.

The trial came about after a DNA match to a suspect who was imprisoned for a different offense in New York after the rape, according to prosecutors.

Fletcher A. Worrell has been charged with nine rapes from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

Police originally filed these charges in 2005. He could be responsible for as many as 20 rapes in the Silver Spring area over that time, according to prosecutors.

Worrell still has more prison time to serve in New York. Montgomery prosecutors intend to ask for a long sentence for the new conviction, saying they are concerned he may become eligible for release in New York.