Daily Rotten Archives February 15, 2005 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 GTA allegedly inspires real-life killings Fox News | Submitted by: Baron Von BigMeat "A lawsuit claims the video game Grand Theft Auto led a teenager to shoot two police officers and a dispatcher to death in 2003, mirroring violent acts depicted in the popular game. The suit announced Tuesday seeks damages from the game's manufacturers and two stores that allegedly sold it to Devin Thompson, now 18... Thompson is accused of killing the three men in June 2003 after being brought to the Fayette police station on suspicion of driving a stolen car. Thompson allegedly grabbed one of the officer's guns, shot him and the other two, then fled in a patrol car... Named in the suit are Wal-Mart Stores and Gamestop along with Take-Two Interactive Software, the manufacturer of the games, and Sony Computer Entertainment, the maker of the PlayStation 2." Read article... Preteen allegedly strangles younger sister WNBC-TV 4 New York | Submitted by: Jad Walther "A 12-year-old girl is accused of killing her 9-year-old sister in a dispute over a hamburger... The sisters were home alone on Dec. 22 when the older girl reported finding her sister lifeless on the floor. Authorities could find no evidence of violence, and Medical Examiner Michael Graham ruled the cause of death undetermined. But police received a phone call from a social worker Feb. 1 saying the older sister was in a hospital psychiatric unit suffering visions and nightmares. Police said she told staff at the hospital that she strangled her sister during a quarrel over a hamburger. On Monday, Graham ruled the case a homicide and said the victim had injuries on her neck that were consistent with strangulation." Read article... Jailer on trial for allegedly abusing inmates Youngstown Vindicator | Submitted by: Ted Bundy "Allegations of inmate abuse and a cover-up in the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department came before a jury Monday as the trial of Maj. Michael Budd, the sheriff's second-in-command, began in federal court... federal prosecutors launched their case contending that Budd: Ordered Mahoning County deputy sheriffs to beat an inmate in 2001. Tried to cover up the incident with false reports and by withholding a key document from investigators. Beat two other inmates in 2000 and 2002." Read article... Ex-cops allegedly rob would-be johns Houston Chronicle | Submitted by: Dylan the Face "Three former area lawmen are accused of using women posing as prostitutes to ensnare prospective customers, who would be threatened with arrest and then robbed... Murphy L. Randall, 36, and Undre Skinner, 40, who worked as jailers at sheriff's headquarters in Richmond, and Yusef West, 28, who once worked for the Harris County Precinct 6 Constable's office, were charged following an investigation by Texas Rangers and the Harris County District Attorney's Office... [Assistant District Attorney Joe Owmby] said the scheme involved a woman who would pose as a prostitute. She would lure potential customers into an area of the apartment complex where they would meet Randall, Skinner and West. After threatening to make an arrest, they would take money from the men and let them go, Owmby said." Read article... ChoicePoint scammed, data stolen MSNBC | Submitted by: optional "Criminals posing as legitimate businesses have accessed critical personal data stored by ChoicePoint Inc., a firm that maintains databases of background information on virtually every U.S. citizen, MSNBC.com has learned. The incident involves a wide swath of consumer data, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit reports and other information... Last week, the company notified between 30,000 and 35,000 consumers in California that their personal data may have been accessed by 'unauthorized third parties,' according to ChoicePoint spokesman James Lee. California law requires firms to disclose such incidents to the state's consumers when they are discovered. It is the only state with such a requirement... The Atlanta-based company says it has 10 billion records on individuals and businesses, and sells data to 40% of the nation's top 1,000 companies. It also has contracts with 35 government agencies, including several law enforcement agencies." Read article... McLibel case headed back to court Financial Times | Submitted by: "Happy" Biju "15 years after a postman and an unemployed gardener provoked the fury of McDonald's by distributing highly uncomplimentary leaflets outside one of its restaurants, the 'McLibel' pair chose a central London burger outlet to taunt the multinational on Tuesday. Unfurling a banner that called for a celebration of 20 years of 'global resistance to McWorld' Dave Morris and Helen Steel, the two indefatigable activists, praised what they saw as the 'growing opposition to McDonald's and all it stands for.' ... McDonald's was anxious to play down the significance of the case on Tuesday, pointing out that it was really against the British government rather than a company that had 'moved on' since the 1980s." Read article... and This article... Horses allegedly starved to death WAVE-TV 3 Louisville | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Four horses were found starved to death on their owner's farm. Five others were near death and more dead horses are said to be buried on the property. Now the owners may face charges... All of the horses on Daniel and Eugene Edgeson's farm have been neglected for months, and five horses were on the verge of dying from starvation after weeks without food. 'I haven't seen any hay given to no animals all winter,' said next door neighbor Harold Ashby. At least four horses didn't survive the neglect, and one of the dead horses lay just feet away from Ashby's home... 'In my many years of law enforcement, this is the worst I've ever seen,' said Chief Deputy Jim McAuliffe of the Bullitt County Sheriff's Department. 'We have animals who literally died and fell in their stall.'" Read article... Influential polygamist croaks KSL-TV 5 Salt Lake City | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "The leader of one of the nation's largest and most public polygamist groups passed away last night at his home in Bluffdale. Owen Allred took over one of the largest fundamentalist churches when his brother was assassinated, and he led the group for nearly three decades... His brother, Dr Rulon Allred, was gunned down in 1977, one of at least 28 murders carried out by the fanatical cult of Ervil LeBaron... He once told us he had 21 kids, four houses, and at least four wives. He called them his LOL's - Little Old Ladies. He told us the group tripled in size to 6,000 after his brother's murder." Read article... Queen's guards reportedly in gangbang video London Daily Mirror | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Five Queen's guards filmed an orgy with a girl in barracks near Buckingham Palace, it was claimed last night. The MoD is investigating the incident with 'the greatest rigour' after videos were passed among the elite Life Guards. The film is said to show them taking turns having sex with the woman, 'Lizzy,' while others egg them on. The film was shot at London's Hyde Park Barracks - home to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment - a mile from the Palace." Read article... and This article... O.J.'s bro reportedly crashes airport shuttle San Francisco Chronicle | Submitted by: Evergreen Terrori$t "The driver of a San Francisco airport shuttle bus - O.J. Simpson's brother - may have fallen asleep at the wheel before the vehicle crashed Friday on Interstate 280, killing a passenger, authorities said Monday. Melvin Leon Simpson, 58, of San Mateo, was at the end of his shift and was suffering flu-like symptoms when his 21-seat SFO Airporter shuttle bus struck a guard rail and veered into a concrete support column near Mariposa Street, killing 57-year-old Lynne de Matties of Phoenix, authorities said. De Matties, who was arriving in San Francisco for a Valentine's weekend vacation, was thrown from the van and died instantly... Simpson first told investigators that the dead woman was a homeless person who had wandered onto the freeway. But later, when he realized a passenger was the victim, Simpson said he had swerved to avoid a car that cut in front of him." Read article...