Archive for the ‘Crime Scene Investigation’ Category

90-year-old Trenton man charged with murder accused victims boyfriend of burglary, witness says – The Trentonian

TRENTON City resident Cheryl Jones encountered the gunman knocking on her front door, and officers at Trenton Police headquarters heard the fatal gunshots.

Clent Morris, 90, has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree burglary and weapons offenses on allegations he shot and killed his neighbor on Sheridan Avenue this past weekend.

New details in the grisly homicide emerged in court documents obtained by The Trentonian.

Jones, 65, and her boyfriend identified by the initials EG were watching TV inside their Sheridan Avenue household when someone knocked on the front door about 6:20 p.m. Saturday, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Jones went downstairs to answer the door and said, I told you to stay off my porch, Clent.

Morris, who has long accused Jones boyfriend of breaking into his nearby house and stealing his money and food, tussled with Jones on the front porch before shooting her multiple times at close range, according to witness statements provided to the Mercer County Homicide Task Force.

Ive been shot, Jones said, according to witness statements. He shot me.

Trenton Police Department officers heard the shooting occur, for Sheridan Avenue is an adjacent street to TPDs North Clinton Avenue headquarters, Detective Jessica Senese of the homicide task force wrote in the probable cause statement.

Detectives Jeffrey Vetter, Michael Gettler and Gregory Woods immediately responded to the scene and found Jones lying on the front porch suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to information released by Trenton Police and the Mercer County Prosecutors Office.

The officers performed CPR on Jones, who had succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Additional officers arrived on the scene, entered the house and found Morris ascending the stairs to the second floor of the Sheridan Avenue residence, according to Seneses probable cause statement supporting the heavy charges against the 90-year-old city man.

The officers, believing Morris was armed and dangerous, told him to drop the weapon and to surrender.

Morris put his hands up and walked down the stairs, according to court documents, which indicate Morris did not have a gun on him at that time.

Officers, however, found a revolver on the second floor near the steps and a gun holster on the front porch, court documents show.

Police searched the entire house and also found the victims boyfriend, EG, on the second floor.

EG, in a statement to police, said he had heard the gunshots that killed his girlfriend and saw Morris walking back downstairs when the cops told Morris to put your hands up.

Morris accuses EG of burglary and theft, but EG said he had never been inside the elderly mans Sheridan Avenue household, according to EGs statement to police as detailed in court documents.

Based upon their crime scene investigation, police charged Morris with the murder of his Sheridan Avenue neighbor.

Instead of hauling him into TPD headquarters and taking his mugshot Saturday night, police transported Morris to a local hospital to treat his eye injuries. He was suffering from a wound to his eye at the time of the homicide, police said.

Police officially filed murder charges against Morris about 11:50 p.m. Saturday, records show.

In New Jerseys criminal justice system, a general presumption of pre-trial detention exists for any defendant charged with murder.

The Mercer County Prosecutors Office says Morris has been hospitalized since his arrest but has not said whether it will seek to place the elderly man in jail without bail pending trial.

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90-year-old Trenton man charged with murder accused victims boyfriend of burglary, witness says - The Trentonian

Officers respond to shooting along 11th Street in Des Moines minutes before incident near 23rd Street – Local 5 – weareiowa.com

Moments after leaving the first scene, Local 5 learned of a police presence just five minutes away along 23rd Street.

DES MOINES, Iowa Officers are at the scene of a different incident along 23rd Street in Des Moines Wednesday night after responding to a shooting just five minutes away.

Two people were injured following a shooting near the 1700 block of 11th Street, according to officers with the Des Moines Police Department.

Details are minimal, but Local 5's Eva Andersen confirmed there were three police cruisers and a crime scene investigation unit at a residence in the area.

Jefferson Avenue is blocked off at the 11th Street intersection while officers investigate.

Moments after leaving the area of the shooting, Local 5 learned of another police presence just five minutes away along the 1800 block of 23rd Street.

Our crews observed what appeared to be bullet casings in the street. Evidence markers are also visible.

Officers are blocking off the area.

Local 5 will update this story as more information becomes available. Download theWe Are Iowa appor subscribe to Local 5's"5 Things to Know"email newsletter for the latest.

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Officers respond to shooting along 11th Street in Des Moines minutes before incident near 23rd Street - Local 5 - weareiowa.com

Area officers attend CSI training – The Torrington Telegram

TORRINGTON Officers from around Wyoming, Nebraska and Colorado attended a 40-hour training session hosted by the Torrington Police Department Monday, March 29, through Friday, April 2.

Forensic Pieces, a Florida-based forensic training company, provided entry-level investigations training to a class of officers from different agencies throughout the tri-state area.

Dr. Michael Doc Berkland and April Crichton provided instruction for greater than 20 students throughout the week. Doc is a former medical examiner, while Crichton works for the city of Anaheim, Calif. as a forensic specialist.

Crichton has been with the city of Anaheim for the past 13 years, where she has worked as a self-proclaimed jack of all trades. She has been involved with evidence collection, fingerprints analysis, blood spatter analysis and crime scene work.

In addition, she has experience working with a wide range of major cases, such as officer-involved shootings, homicides, death investigations, domestic violence investigations, breaking and entering investigations, burglaries and much more.

Ive seen one of everything, Crichton said of her experience as a forensic specialist.

Crichton acquired a bachelors degree and was then certified as a crime scene investigator in California when she was hired by the city of Anaheim.

This is a basic crime scene class. It is here to give everybody the crash course, who may not know how to handle a crime scene, Crichton said. A lot of the people here in are in an investigation role, now, and they are fairly new in it. So, they want to make sure they can preserve the scene, and they can preserve and collect the evidence properly, document the scene, everything, so that it is reproducible and verifiable.

During the class, officers were provided sample crime scenes and directed to diagram the scenes. The goal was to obtain as much information as they could while preserving the scene.

After the officers did this, they would have other officers come to their mock crime scene to attempt to reconstruct the crime scene, based on the original officers notes and documentation of the scene.

A lot of it is measurement and math, Crichton said.

Officers were later provided with samples of simulated blood spatter which they were required to measure to determine the angle of trajectory for the blood.

During the blood spatter analysis portion of the class, officers were also instructed on the proper way to test red-colored spots or stains to determine whether the spots or stains were blood or something like nail polish or dried barbecue sauce.

Its very important for officers to be able to distinguish whether something is evidence or not, Berkland said. As part of this class, we teach officers to check for the viability of certain pieces of evidence, such as blood. We then test the officers to ensure they are able to determine whether or not there is blood present on a swab; some swabs have blood on them, some have dried barbecue sauce.

After determining whether the red-colored spots or stains are blood, officers are then required to document the spots and stains so they can begin to understand what occurred at the location.

When somebody, sadly, gets bludgeoned, theres standing, theres castoff, there are all sorts of things, Crichton said. When that blood hits that wall, we want them to know what direction its going, why it is going this way, what to expect. Crime scene work is a lot of measurement, a lot of math.

The officers were provided mock crime scenes, complete with simulated blood spatter, on Wednesday and Thursday.

We have the officers set up the scene and create a scenario, Berkland said. Other officers will then be required to diagram the scene and use what they have learned to determine what happened in the scenario created by the first group.

Berkland said this is one of his favorite parts of the training as the officers try their best to challenge one another.

The officers setting up the scenes will swipe the blood here, and swipe the blood there, to try and mislead the officers who are investigating the scene, Berkland said. Its a really good time.

After the conclusion of the training, many of these officers will use what they learned and immediately apply their education to ongoing and new investigations. Additionally, there are other courses available for the officers to progress further and learn more about crime scene investigation.

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Area officers attend CSI training - The Torrington Telegram

That Bridgerton bummer; CSI revival; cancellations, renewals, and more TV news – OregonLive

It may not be business as usual in the TV world, but little by little, production has picked up, networks are announcing renewals and new (and some not all that new CSI, again?) shows are being greenlit. Heres a round-up of some shows and developments that have been generating TV talk.

Bridgerton news: The fabulously watchable Netflix series set in 1800s London is returning for a second season. Let the rejoicing begin! But good as that news is, heres the bummer: Reg-Jean Page, whose sexy, elegant performance as Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings, helped ignite viewer passion for the show, wont be back for Season 2.

Pages career has caught fire after his sizzling work in Bridgerton, so it may not be all that surprising that hes pursuing other opportunities. And Season 2 is, were told, going to mirror author Julia Quinns series of novels, and deal with Daphne Bridgertons (Phoebe Dynevor) brother, Anthony, and his search for an appropriate spouse.

The Hollywood Reporter cites sources who say that Page originally signed a one-year deal for Bridgerton, the first season of which revolved around the relationship and romance between his character and Daphne Bridgerton.

According to the Hollywood Reporter story, Sources close to the show tellTHRthat Page was offered an opportunity to return as a guest star in three to five episodes of season two at a rate of $50,000 an episode but declined for a multitude of reasons.

While Dynevor is expected to return for the second Bridgerton season, Page has been busy elsewhere, recently hosting Saturday Night Live, and working on movies.

Oh, well. To paraphrase Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that when an actor becomes a breakout hit on a TV show, they may quickly depart for greener pastures.

Everything old is new again: Networks love to revamp shows that viewers are familiar with. Theres no better evidence of that than the recent announcement that CSI is making a comeback. CBS has ordered CSI: Vegas, which is being described as a sequel to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the crime-solving procedural that gave birth to a bunch of spinoffs. Back for more are original stars William Petersen, Jorja Fox and Wallace Langham. New cast members include Paula Newsome, Matt Lauria, Mel Rodriguez and Mandeep Dhillon.

Theres no word yet on when CSI: Vegas will premiere. The original CSI premiered in 2000, and ran for 15 seasons, just in case you forgot.

Cancellations and renewals: While 2021-2022 schedules are still in flux, news keeps dribbling out about shows that have been axed, and others that will live to see another season. Heres some recent news.

Canceled: American Gods (Starz); Pose (the FX series returns for its third and final season on May 2); Killing Eve (the BBC America series returns for its fourth and final season in 2022); Bless the Harts (Fox); Mom (CBS); NCIS: New Orleans (CBS)

Renewed: Mr. Mayor (NBC); Dancing With the Stars (ABC); Young Sheldon (CBS); The Simpsons (Fox); Bob Hearts Abishola (CBS); FBI (CBS); FBI: Most Wanted (CBS); The Neighborhood (CBS); The Equalizer (CBS); Superman & Lois (The CW); Walker (The CW); Making the Cut (Amazon Prime Video)

More of our coverage:

Jon Stewarts TV return: Title, premiere plan for former Daily Show hosts new series

Chad: Another Portland-filmed comedy from a Saturday Night Live veteran debuts Tuesday

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

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That Bridgerton bummer; CSI revival; cancellations, renewals, and more TV news - OregonLive

Nina Metz: Enough with the reboots and regurgitation of the same old, same old. Tell new stories – Hastings Tribune

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation had an impressive 15 season run on CBS. But these days nothing is ever really over, which is why the network is bringing the show back, along with original stars William Petersen and Jorja Fox, under the slightly reworked title CSI: Vegas.

This is not good news. I like both actors; Petersen is a veteran of the Chicago theater scene and hes always found a way to retain that grounded, no-bull approach in his work on TV. Even on a weekly procedural.

But I would deem the return of CSI as the least inspired television gambit of the year if it werent for Dick Wolf and NBC saying hold my beer and burping up Law & Order: Organized Crime, which premiered last week starring Christopher Meloni, whose Det. Elliot Stabler last appeared 10 years ago on Law & Order: SVU. Hes back. And hes more or less the same: Too intense but the ends justify the means because he cares. Meet the new show, same as the old show.

This is nothing against Meloni, whos a terrific actor. Audiences like Stabler. We also like familiarity. Theres nothing wrong with that, and executives appear all too happy to launch new projects if half their marketing is already done.

Even so, its a curious decision to add yet more cop shows in the midst of a collective reckoning on police abuse, racism and fatalities. Its a genre that plays such an influential role shaping real world perceptions and misconceptions about what justice is supposed to look like. Im still waiting for a bold network or streaming executive to greenlight a TV show that portrays a community that has replaced policing with other systems. How might that work? What are the upsides? And what are the unintended consequences? Fiction can take all kinds of leaps and help us envision alternatives to our present.

But really, I just want Hollywood to tell new stories instead of succumbing to franchise fever and regurgitating the same old intellectual property over and over.

Its the only way forward if people in decision-making roles are serious about creating real opportunities for writers who have long been marginalized and ignored. So many words were spoken to that effect last summer when studios acknowledged they needed to publicly take a stand against racism. Was that just lip service?

Thuc Nguyen is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter and founder of the mentorship program #StartWith8Hollywood. She moved to the U.S. from Vietnam with her family in 1980. I look at the big picture, she said. And from my point of view as a Vietnamese American woman, Im coming at it from the perspective of: What do I think society needs to know that you couldnt possibly know unless you were me?

Theres been no shortage of films about the war in Vietnam from the perspective of those who served in the U.S. military. And they just keep getting made; Zac Efron and Russell Crowe are in talks to star in Beer Run from director Peter Farrelly, about a Marine vet in 1967 who sets out on a wild journey from New York to Vietnam just to bring beer to his childhood buddies in the army as they battle overseas.

There are other stories worthy of backing from financiers and studios.

Nguyens screenplay for Scent of the Delta tells the story of a Vietnamese American woman in her 30s who returns to her hometown of New Orleans after her mother, a manicurist at a nail salon, is murdered.

She has another script, a satire called Mindy Wu Tran Versus Silicon Beach, about a Vietnamese American entrepreneur who battles racism, sexism and the less talked about insidiousness of white feminism in order to keep her startup alive: Will she make it out of #Brotopia?

Nguyen also has a couple of horror films written, as well as a TV pilot that tackles the fetishization of Asian women, about a Ph.D. candidate who pretends to participate in a white male/Asian female romantic relationship to examine: What is the deal with these things and what are the racial dynamics? Its her academic study of yellow fever.

What kind of feedback does Nguyen get when she pitches these ideas?

Theres a scene in Scent of the Delta where the main character is walking alone at night and a car drives by and someone yells, Me love you long time. And a white woman producer told me, That doesnt happen. And I said, Yes it does! Its happened to me a million times in my life. And she said, Lets go ask my Vietnamese friend down at my tennis club if this happens to her, I bet it doesnt. Those are her words, verbatim, that ring in my head.

As violent attacks on Asian people have increased in recent months, Nguyen said shes had more requests to see her screenplays. Especially after the mass shooting last month of female spa workers in Atlanta. Nguyen mentioned something neither of us has seen addressed so far: The women in Atlanta were killed on the anniversary to the day, March 16 of the 1968 My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, when a company of American soldiers slaughtered a village of unarmed Vietnamese women, children and elders.

So we have history practically slapping us in the face, Nguyen said. Her scripts contend with the kind of violence Vietnamese and other Asian women experience today, and when producers suddenly express interest in her scripts but only in the wake of traumatic events, it feels cynical. Nguyen pointed out one of the lines on the poster for 1987s Full Metal Jacket as emblematic of the apathy that is the norm: Vietnam can kill me, but it cant make me care.

All these messages right now about #StopAsianHate, were begging people to just care. And in Hollywood, people havent cared unless they can make money off of Asians, or proliferate these white-friendly lifestyle movies like Crazy Rich Asians, which doesnt show that there are actually socioeconomic problems experienced by the Asian diaspora, it just makes it look like Asians dont need help. That were rich and we flaunt it.

Much as I want to see new stories, I also want projects that avoid old traps and bad habits.

Too often when Hollywood does zero in on Asian stories, they lack specificity: That applies to Disneys Raya and the Last Dragon, where its like all Southeast Asians were put into a blender, said Nguyen. Theyre expecting all Asians to share this one crumb.

Or producers would rather cast a star the point of view character who is white. Thats the case in the forthcoming Netflix movie A Tourists Guide to Love, with Rachael Leigh Cook playing a travel executive who goes undercover to learn about the tourism industry in Vietnam.

This white woman goes to exotic Vietnam and interprets the country through white eyes, produced by all white, people isnt really sitting well especially right now, Nguyen tweeted when the film was announced earlier this month.

Often, Nguyen said, Hollywood only thinks of Asian women serving you as your nail tech or your girlfriend or your eye candy. Or serving a bad guys rear on a platter.

But theres a whole spectrum of characters and human experiences that arent being portrayed as often. Or at all.

Does Nguyen feel optimistic about her own prospects as well as those of others?

Im a cynic supreme, she said, but I just saw an ad from a company looking for grounded Asian stories that have nothing to do with wealth. So well see.

(Nina Metz covers TV and film for the Chicago Tribune.)

2021 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Nina Metz: Enough with the reboots and regurgitation of the same old, same old. Tell new stories - Hastings Tribune