During the holiday season customers turn to the Internet to find good deals on certain items. But Lexington police are warning citizens about buying and selling goods from strangers after two people reported being robbed by someone they were supposed to be buying merchandise from.

Police say both reported victims had set up to meet with the alleged suspects after seeing a listing for an iPhone on Craigslist.

http://liarcatchers.com/fraud_investigation.html

When the buyers showed up to the meeting place, they were approached by an armed person, who then took their money and fled the scene, police said.

Below are some tips police say buyers should follow when shopping from strangers online:

– Get as much information about a seller/buyer as you can upfront.

– Deal with local buyers. A local transaction is easier to manage and gives you more control over how and when you will meet.

– Ask for cash and accept cash. A common Internet scam involves buyers paying sellers with money orders or cashiers checks.

– For large ticket items, such as a car, meet the seller/buyer at their bank so that they can get cash directly from the bank.

– Meet in a public place with plenty of people around. Never meet a buyer at your home or theirs. Avoid big open areas like parks or parking lots where other people are less likely to notice you. Do not agree to meet in an area you are unfamiliar with.

– Bring a friend or family member with you, or at least let someone know where you are going and when. Take a cell phone with you as an extra precaution.

A Bracken County man was arrested Monday and charged with manslaughter after being accused causing the death of his own father.

According to his arrested citation, Bradley Weaver told police he was drinking alcohol with his father on Friday night at their home on Mary Ingles Hwy. in Augusta when he punched the man in the eye.

Weaver said the 71-year-old, Richard Weaver, fell to the floor and Weaver left him there until Sunday afternoon when he then asked a neighbor to call the sheriff’s department.

http://liarcatchers.com/wrongful_death.html

The coroner was called out to the home and Richard was pronounced dead. Police say Weaver willfully failed to provide any assistance to his father, thus causing his death.

Weaver is charged with first degree manslaughter.

Two Rhode Island men have been sentenced to prison for fraudulently obtaining federal tax refunds using the stolen personal information of more than 1,200 people.

The state attorney general’s office says 23-year-old Julian Balbi of Providence was sentenced in federal court on Friday to 30 months in prison. A co-defendant, 23-year-old Richard Lara of Providence, received a 60-month prison sentence in the same court Thursday.

http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html

Prosecutors say the scheme involved using stolen personal information to file fraudulent tax returns totaling nearly $1.9 million. Rhode Island State Police arrested Balbi and Lara during a routine traffic stop in January 2012 and found 87 U.S. Treasury tax refund checks made out to other people.

Lara and Balbi previously pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft, conspiracy and theft of government property

The aunt of a teenager who disappeared in 2012 and is now presumed dead is set for trial on charges of being part of a family ring that sexually abused children, including the missing young woman.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in Baldwin County in the trial of Wendy Wood Holland, 35, who has pleaded not guilty to sodomy, sexual abuse, sexual torture and endangering the welfare of a child.

Court records show prosecution witnesses could include Holland’s brother-in-law Dustin Kent and nephew Derek Wood, who pleaded guilty after being accused of being part of a group of relatives and friends who used children — including family members — for sex.

http://liarcatchers.com/pedophile_tracking.html

Other potential witnesses include investigators, child welfare workers, and friends of the alleged victim, documents show.

Holland, seven relatives and three family friends were arrested following the disappearance of Brittney Wood, Holland’s 19-year-old niece. The teen was believed to have been with Holland’s husband, Donnie Holland, the night she was last seen on May 30, 2012.

Wendy Holland reported finding her husband in his vehicle with a gunshot to the head a few days after Wood vanished, and he later died. Authorities ruled his death a suicide.

Donnie Holland was under investigation amid allegations of child sexual abuse at the time of his death, but he was never charged.

None of the felony charges filed after Wood’s disappearance directly involve her as a victim, but authorities have said they have evidence showing she was among the children who were forced to watch and participate in sexual activities with adult relatives.

Holland made a last-minute attempt to stop her trial by arguing that the indictment against her was too vague and had other flaws, but Circuit Judge Jody Bishop refused to dismiss charges.

Court officials have set aside a week for the trial of Holland, the second person to go on trial in the case. Her two sisters await trial. They are twins Mendy Kent and Chessie Wood, Brittney Wood’s mother.

In October, family friend Billy Brownlee, 50, was convicted in Baldwin County on charges of sexually abusing a girl in the Holland family when she was about 12.

Jurors rejected Brownlee’s claims that Donnie Holland forced him into the acts against his will.

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is requesting your help in locating Trinel Bikus, 18, who was last seen on Sunday, November 23, 2014. However, he had a phone conversation in which he told someone he was in Lincoln-Lemington on Tuesday, November 25.

Troopers in eastern Kentucky are hoping to learn more about a man who has been missing for a week.

Paul Clifton Sigman hasn’t been seen since the first of the month. He was last seen on Stump Road Run off Route 7 in Carter County.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

A Facebook group looking for him says Paul is about 6 feet tall, 175 pounds and was wearing a blue hoodie, jeans and boots.

If you see Paul or have any information on where he could be, please call state police.

The Barren County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a missing teenager.

Local news affiliate WBKO reports that Jessica Ann Marie Fauber, 15, was last seen at her house on Mammoth Cave Loop early Friday morning. Police said her father came home later Friday morning and found she wasn’t home.

http://liarcatchers.com/missing_persons_investigations.html

She was last seen wearing striped pajamas and could possibly be wearing a light blue/turquoise North Face jacket. She is approximately 5’7, 130lbs with brown eyes and brown hair.
She also has a scar just above her left eye.

If you know the whereabouts of Jessica, please contact the Barren County Sheriff’s office at 270-651-2771.

A woman was arrested after police say her vehicle crashed into a Lincoln County home Sunday morning.

The driver has been identified as Jessica Walls, 28.

The officer who was dispatched to the scene smelled alcohol on her breath and noticed that Walls was unsteady on her feet.

The officer also reported that Walls was extremely irate.

She pulled away from the officer in an aggressive manner and did not cooperate when asked to perform a sobriety test.

http://liarcatchers.com/accident_reconstruction.html

The officer used an arm bar to take her into custody.

While being detained, Walls remained irate and aggressive and caused noise that brought neighbors out of their houses to see what was going on.

She was not alone in the car. She was carrying one adult and two juveniles with her. There were also two people inside of the house that she collided into.

The officer says she placed all parties in extreme danger of serious physical injury or death.

Walls was not carrying any insurance.

Police in western Kentucky were able to nab two suspected drug dealers.

Paducah police say they found 8 pounds of marijuana and 2 handguns when they searched the homes where Gregory Hixon and Anthony Bryant lived.

http://liarcatchers.com/contact.php

Officers got the search warrants right after undercover officers say they bought half a pound of marijuana from Hixon. The 8 pounds of marijuana has a street value between $10,000 and $12,000, and officers say one of the handguns they found is stolen.

Hixon and Bryant could face more charges as the investigation continues.