A body found over the weekend in Tuscaloosa is that of a teen reported missing days earlier.

Homicide investigators responded to the 700 block of Skyland Boulevard East about 3:45 p.m. Saturday after a passerby made the discovery. Lt. Kip Hart of the Tuscaloosa Metro Homicide Unit said the victim had been reported missing to Tuscaloosa police on Jan. 20.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

The 18-year-old male was last seen walking near the area where he was found. Hart said there is no foul play suspected. His death appears to be an accidental drowning.

His name has not yet been released because authorities are still notifying his next of kin.

On Sunday, two women were fatally shot by two unknown assailants, but Jackson authorities could be looking at a triple homicide.

According to Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart, Janis Nicole Evans, 23, and Stephanie Denise Mejia, 29, were both pronounced dead of gunshot wounds on Ventura Drive in Jackson around 3:30 p.m.

Two black males wearing dark clothing were seen fleeing the scene, Jackson Police Department Commander Tyree Jones said.

http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html

Family members have told reporters that Evans was three months pregnant. If that’s the case, Mississippi code dictates the shooting becomes a triple homicide.

Mississippi code states  the definition of a “human being” includes unborn children at every stage of gestation from conception until live birth for purposes of offenses of assault and homicide. Homicide is defined as “killing of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any manner.”

JPD Chief Lee Vance said police are awaiting the outcome of the autopsy to confirm the pregnancy, and the potential unborn child has been a subject of conversation as investigators have weighed the case.

Vance said one of the women was shot in the car and appears to have been shot in the back of the head with a .45-caliber weapon. The other woman was shot in the face and the chest, and the other weapon was a 9mm.

“I feel like as a community, we lost yesterday. You’ve got two families who have lost loved ones, we’ve got at least two others that have committed crimes that are basically unspeakable, and a community that’s shocked. These type crimes put fear into everybody,” Vance said. “It’s a serious blow for those directly involved, a serious blow for the community, a serious blow for the city.”

Police aren’t sure of the identity of the two men who fled the scene. However, a white vehicle was towed to be processed for evidence, and witnesses said it had several bullet holes in it.

Vance said there’s no clear motive, but some pills were found in the car. He said it’s not clear yet what they were, but they’re being tested.

“We don’t know whether the car was parked, whether it was driving, none of that stuff, let alone a motive,” he said.

The chief pleaded with the community to come forward if they know anything about the crime.

“When something like this occurs, it just reminds me that we’ve got to come together as a community,” he said. “Somebody knows something about these people. Somebody knows something about this crime. For us to truly continue to progress, those people have to let us know. There are ways to give us information and protect your identity.”

If you know anything about this crime, contact Jackson Police Department at (601) 960-1234 or Crimestoppers at (601) 355-TIPS (8477). You can submit a tip online through the Web Tip link on the home page of the Central MS Crime Stoppers website. Or use your mobile device or computer to submit a tip by going to www.P3tips.com.

An Irvington man admitted Monday to staging a 2012 car accident in Newark and collecting more than $25,000 in insurance payouts, authorities said.

Jerry Previlon pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree insurance fraud before Superior Court Judge Michael Ravin in Essex County, according to a statement from the state Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor.

Authorities say Previlon was in the passenger seat of a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by his girlfriend, Yasmeen Louis, when the car was struck from behind.

http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html

Louis later said in a sworn statement that the driver of the other car, allegedly one of Previlon’s acquaintances, got out of the car and fled the scene in a third vehicle, authorities claim.

Over the next several months, the two filed 28 medical claims with Liberty Mutual totaling $25,100. They were indicted last year on a host of charges including insurance fraud, conspiracy and records tampering.

“Staging accidents, as this defendant admitted doing, is not only a crime, it poses a serious danger to the well-being of every driver, passenger, and pedestrian in the vicinity of the crash,’ said acting Insurance Fraud Prosecutor Christopher Iu.

Under a plea deal, Previlon faces five years in state prison. Louis is seeking pre-trial intervention, authorities said. Their attorneys could not immediately be reached.

Eleven people were indicted for stealing over $700,000 in a widespread identity theft scam, prosecutors said Thursday.

Alleged leader Chester Taylor, 30 and participant Marie Ferris, 50, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to grand larceny, scheme to defraud and identity theft. 

Members of the crew impersonated customers of Wells Fargo, Chase, Capital One and Key Bank, withdrawing cash using fake IDs and purchasing money orders from post offices, prosecutors said.

http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html

The operation spanned at least ten states including New York, South Carolina, Texas, Maryland and Washington, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

“There are two hallmarks of the modern identity theft case: it intersects with traditional street crime, and it is no longer locally confined,” DA Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement.

Bail was set at $200,000 for Taylor and $100,000 for Ferris.

Police in Georgetown are looking for a man who robbed the General Dollar Store in the Indian Acres Plaza on Saturday.

They posted a picture of the suspect on Facebook. They describe him as a light skinned, black male, heavy set, approximately 6’-6’2” tall.

They say he was wearing a black mask, a purple towel, gray gloves, a gray long sleeve T-shirt under a matching tan top/bottom that resembles “scrubs” or some type of uniform that had large plastic buttons on the top.

http://liarcatchers.com/contact.php

The suspect had a black semi-automatic handgun.

For any tips or information on this case, please contact GPD Detective Chris Bayer at 502-863-7826.

A 70-year-old man was recently charged with human trafficking of a child victim in Brunswick County. His co-defendant in the case also faces sexual exploitation of a minor after the two suspects were arrested on drug charges in December

Willie Anderson Dock Jr., 70, of Cherry Road in Boiling Spring Lakes, faces multiple sex offense charges, including human trafficking of an adult victim, human trafficking of a child victim, sexual servitude of an adult victim, sexual servitude of a child victim, two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and seven counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Emily Flax.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

Dock was served with the warrants late Thursday night while being held at the Brunswick County Detention Facility, Flax said. Dock was charged with recruiting, enticing, harboring and transporting two victims – a 17-year-old girl and an adult female in her early 20s  – with intent for the victims to be held in sexual servitude, according to arrest warrants.

Warrants also state Dock was charged with distributing a lewd photograph of the minor victim to his co-defendant in the case, 27-year-old Travis LaShawn Siler, also of Cherry Road in Boiling Spring Lakes. The two suspects were living together but are not related, Flax said.

On Dec. 30, 2015, Dock and Siler were arrested on multiple drug charges. According to Flax, police arrested Siler after he was observed by drug agents allegedly selling drugs near a business at the intersection of N.C. 211 and N.C. 133 in Southport. Dock was arrested during a traffic stop on outstanding warrants. Heroin was seized from the vehicle at the time of the stop, she added.

The investigations were initiated by the county’s drug enforcement unit, Flax said. Through the course of the instigation, detectives received information that led to the sex offense charges. The victims in the sex offense case were known to the suspects.

Dock was originally charged with trafficking heroin, conspiracy to traffic heroin, possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Upon facing the sex offense charges, Dock’s bond was increased to $2.01 million secured.

Siler was originally charged with trafficking heroin, conspiracy to traffic heroin, selling or delivering heroin and conspiracy to sell or deliver heroin after his Dec. 30, arrest.  According to arrest warrants, Slier is charged with conspiring with Dock to traffic between 4 and 14 grams of heroin.

On Thursday, he was charged with two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Siler’s bond has been increased to just over $1.1 million secured.

The investigation of this case is ongoing, Flax said.

A 10-year-old boy is safe, police say, because his mother stepped in and spoke up when she noticed something strange in his social media activity.

The boy was contacted by a child predator who’s now facing federal sex charges.

“If I wouldn’t have intervened, I wouldn’t have a son right now and he’s my everything,” she said.

We’re keeping her and her son’s identity private.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

This mother broke down telling us the story of how she discovered an inappropriate conversation a 30-year-old man was having with her 10-year-old. She has her son’s social media accounts synced to her email.

“If he gets a message or a friend request or anything like that, I see everything he does,” she said.

One day she got a strange notification that her son received a message on Kik, a messenger app and one she hadn’t seen before. She decided to check it out.

“Well, I pushed on it and it’s a grown man and I’m thinking, that’s not right.”

She began posing as her son and engaging in conversation with his new friend.

“He said I’m 30. And I said I’m 10. He said, I’m cool with that, and he proceeded to say, where do you live? Do you want to meet up some time?”

The conversation soon took a turn. Police say 30-year-old Lance Kyer began sending nude images and vulgar messages.

“He’s telling my son he loved him, not even knowing my son… He wanted to have sex with my son knowing that he’s ten… He told my son he wanted to Skype, he wanted to Skype with him… He wanted to see my son’s body,” she said.

She turned her son’s phone over to police who continued the conversation posing as the boy. Less than 12 hours later, police planned a meeting at a south side gas station. That is where Kyer was arrested. He’s now facing federal sex charges all because this mother decided to step in and speak out.

“Pay attention to your children; know what your children are doing,” she said.

When Kyer was arrested, he admitted to police he had sexual contact with a 13-year-old boy from Cincinnati. He will appear for the first time in federal court on Wednesday.

Attorney General Andy Beshear wants Kentuckians to know that if someone named “Sergeant Joe Crews” calls you and tells you that you have a federal warrant issued against you, hang up.

This scam has been affecting several Kentuckians.  Law enforcement officials would not contact Kentucky residents concerning federal warrants and would never ask for money.

It’s just another scam, similar to the IRS and Payday lender scams of recent past, Beshear’s office said.

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

The AG’s office is asking anyone who receives such a call to hang up and contact its Office of Consumer Protection at (888) 432-9257 or your local law enforcement office.

“In my two weeks of office already I am seeing a large number of attempts by scammers to take Kentuckians’ money,” Beshear said. “Our best defense is to make sure the public is aware of these scams and not falling victim to their claims.”
Never give out personal information to anyone over the phone.

Three men were arrested Thursday in connection with an insurance fraud scheme that intentionally damaged dozens of cars at auto repair shops in and around Salinas, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

David Ramirez, 48, Perry Hall, 56, and Martin Lopez, 47, were arrested without incident for their roles in “scratch out” schemes, Deputy Arras Wilson said.

The men are suspected of conspiracy to commit a crime, insurance fraud and other alleged crimes, Wilson said.

http://liarcatchers.com/insurance_fraud.html

Family members, friends and other associates participating in the scheme would bring their undamaged cars to the shops, where they would be instructed on how to damage the vehicles based on the value, Wilson said.

The suspected vandalism would take place offsite and returned to the shop, where workers would file insurance claims and spilt the money received back for repairs with the car owner, according to Wilson.

The damage included scratches and dents, in some cases gave the appearance that the car was sideswiped, Wilson said.

The auto body shops would keep some of the money from the insurance companies as profit, he said.

The three men were taken into custody after warrants were served at Universal Automotive on Murphy Street and West Market Auto Body on Market Street, sheriff’s officials said.

Ramirez and Hall are owners of Universal Automotive and Lopez owns West Market Auto Body, Wilson said.

Universal Automotive is suspected of carrying out the most scratch off frauds compared to the other 11 auto body shops believed to be part of the schemes, Wilson said.

Some of the impacted companies include Progressive Corporation, Allstate Corporation, Farmers Insurance Group and State Farm Insurance, according to Wilson.

The amount lost by the major insurance companies victimized in the scheme is estimated at $1 million, according to Wilson.

Investigators learned about the alleged scheme through an insurance company who notified them of “highly suspicious” claims filed by a shop owner, who was not named, on probation for similar fraud crimes, Wilson said.

The false claims have led to increased rates for insurance holders in the Salinas area, according to Wilson.

The arrests were a result of months-long undercover operations by the sheriff’s Multi-Agency Detail Commercial Auto Theft Task Force and Monterey County District Attorney’s Auto Fraud Unit, sheriff’s officials said.

The investigation into the schemes has lasted a year and the task force anticipates serving more warrants, Wilson said.

Anyone who has information on car thefts or insurance fraud is asked to call the sheriff’s MADCAT investigators at (831) 759-7279.

A central Pennsylvania man has been convicted of more than 1,000 counts of rape and related charges against two children.

Forty-one-year-old Edward Geier, of Milesburg, could be sentenced to life in prison when he returns to Centre County court on March 18.

The Centre Daily Times reports Geier was convicted Wednesday.

The investigation began when state police found a child walking alone along a road in the dark in August 2014. That child accused Geier of four years of repeated molestation. A second child came forward in April with similar claims.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

Geier was already a registered sex offender due to a 2001 indecent assault conviction.

Geier was convicted of 1,068 counts of rape, rape of an unconscious victim, statutory sexual assault and other crimes.