Arrest made in robberies spree

In Joplin, Mo Paul D. Shoumake, 42, was arrested for burglary charge for an attempt to rob a Carie Parish at her home east of Carterville. Shoumake went to the door of Parishs home on a Monday afternoon and asked to use her phone. He then forced himself through the door to gain entry to her home and demand money from her. When she told him she had none, he forced her outside the house with her 3 year old child in her arms, Shoumake intent was taking her to the bank to obtain money from an account. Perish tried to run from him with her child once they got outside, but he tried to grab her with a struggle causing him to flee without obtaining any money. Shoumake has also been charged with the robbery of the Great Southern Bank on East 32^nd Street and is suspected of three more robberies, or robbery attempts, dating back to Nov. 21.

I’m glad this man was caught since he is known to be aggressive and it may have been a matter of time before a victim would have been harmed. It’s scary that this could have happened to anyone at any time.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x622291115/Arrest-made-in-robberies-spree

Joplin woman charged in baby-for-sale scam

In Joplin, MO, Alice H. Sims, 29, allegedly offered an unborn baby for sale on Craigslist. She has been arrested and accused for accepting a $200 down payment on the imaginary baby from two undercover police officers. Police say Sims placed an ad on the Internet site Craigslist and advertised an unborn baby for sale. Sims wanted a $200 down payment and $100 per month until the due date on May 18 of the supposed baby. Two Joplin undercover officers posed as a couple and was sent to meet Sims at her vehicle in a McDonald’s parking lot. They met and discussed the purchase of the baby and then exchanged $200. She agreed to accept $200 more at the time of the child’s birth instead of the $100 per month that she had been expecting. Soon after, Sims was stopped as she was leaving the parking lot and then was taken in for questioning.

Wow I think crazy what people will do for money but in my opinion why would you advertise an unborn baby on the internet, she should know it’s illegal. Obviously the girl is not very bright on how to scam people very well and good thing she got caught, so she can’t actually do it to someone who desperately wants a child.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1312703632/Joplin-woman-charged-in-baby-for-sale-scam

Judge tosses out federal charges in Gary Hall tobacco case

In Witcha, Kansas a federal judge threw out an indictment against Gary Hall a Kansas tobacco wholesaler and business associates who were charged with trying to avoid paying $25 million in cigarette taxes to the state of Oklahoma and Indian tribes. U.S. District Judge Monti Belot had ruled out the defendant’s indictment because the case against them was unconstitutionally vague and should be dismissed. Belot stated the government’s case was based on the government’s opinion and not by federal for Kansas or Oklahoma statute. The decision clears all charges against Gary Hall, Discount Tobacco Warehouse Inc, and Rebel Industries Inc. Prosecutors could seek another indictment because charges were dismissed without prejudice. They also could appeal Belot’s decision, but the judge strongly discouraged prosecutors from seeking reconsideration. Hall’s companies stamped cigarettes for sale at smoke shops in lower tax rate areas when they actually were sold at shops with higher tax rates. Belot said the cigarettes had tax stamps and records were accurately made and maintained. The investigation started in 2006 after a Kansas Highway Patrol officer had stopped a vehicle in Coffeyville that was allegedly carrying cigarettes worth more than $200,000 without appropriate tax stamps. In May 2007 federal and state agents raided Rebel Industries. Belot ruled out the evidence of Kansas Highway Patrol officer had no reason to suspect the driver of a U-Haul van that was found to be loaded with cigarettes was violating any laws, and the search was illegal. The 43 count indictment filed in October 2008 included charges of conspiracy to divert cigarettes, mail and wire fraud, and record keeping violations of the Cigarette Trafficking Act, interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, transporting contraband cigarettes, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.

In my opinion it sounds like Gary Hall paid off the Judge because the judge ruled out most of the evidence against him, which he evidently committed fraud. If this was to be anyone else who doesn’t have money would be prosecuted and sent to prison for life if that person didn’t pay $25 million in cigarette tax. I think by law everyone should be treated equally the same but in this day in age money talks for almost anything.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1853594621/Judge-tosses-out-federal-charges-in-Gary-Hall-tobacco-case

Suspect in stabbing turns self in

Donnie R. Wilson, 22, was taken to St. John’s hospital of Joplin on a Saturday night for treatment of a stab wound during a fight with another man and required surgery for the wound to his lower back. A steak knife was believed to have been the weapon used in the stabbing and was recovered at the scene, but the 19 year old suspect who fought with Wilson was gone before the arrival of police. The alleged 19 year old suspect came to the police station on a Sunday night in the company of a bondsman and turned himself in. Police were seeking a charge of first-degree assault against the man, but the charge has yet to be filed.

I think the suspect who fought Wilson made the right decision by turning himself in but I think it’s stupid when guys bring weapons to fights, it’s a cheap way to fight and even worse it could kill someone. Wilson is very lucky that he did not get killed during the fight.

http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x622288902/Suspect-in-stabbing-turns-self-in

Man accused in sex-slave case facing gun charges

In St. Louis, Mo, Bradley Cook, 32, was accused of torturing and mutilating a runaway teen who was a sex slave for years, but he is facing a new felony charge because he possessed and transported firearms illegally in December last year. Cook is in federal custody on charges filed in Kansas City for the alleged sex slave case. Federal prosecutors in St. Louis are pressing an order against Cook to stay behind bars that’s pending trial on the weapons count, casting the man as a dangerous threat to the community, and a serious flight risk. Cook has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, sex trafficking, racketeering and weapons charges in the sex case. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted of the trafficking count. Edward Bagley, 43, is known as the victim’s “master” who went by the name Master Ed promised the 16 year old girl that she would become a model and dancer with a great life. Instead, the teenager was given drugs and sexually abused. When she turned 18, she was sexually tortured, persuaded to sign a sex slave contract and tattooed with several slave symbols. Bagley allegedly advertised online and in-person torture sessions, with Cook and three other men that are also accused of using cigarettes, computer hard drives, meat, and other items to take part in the sexual abuse and torture. Cook frequently visited Bagley’s home to have sex with the victim and would often jolt her with a crank-activated phone rigged with wires attached to parts of the woman’s body. Cook’s attorney, has portrayed Cook as a responsible member of the St. Louis community who had a real-estate business and restored old cars, who has no criminal record other than the unpaid tickets and was not a risk to flee.

I hope Cook stays behind bars! It’s sick that someone would want to do horrible things to a young girl, who was helpless. I feel sorry for the young girl it’s terrible that she had to go through torture by men, who are sick and twisted. I hope authorities will charge Cook with both charges, so he will go to prison for a long time for what he did and I hope the other men do too, especially Bagley. It makes me sick that Bagley made the young girl call him master and forced the poor girl to be a sex slave, when all she was looking for was a good home to grow up in.
http://www.joplinglobe.com/local/x1199045050/Man-accused-in-sex-slave-case-facing-gun-charges

New York professor installs camera in head

Wafaa Bilal, a New York University professor had a camera surgically implanted into the back of his head, so he can be closer to reality and ideas that are unseen in everyday life. Bilal is a photography professor at the university's Tisch School of the Arts, had the procedure done at a piercing studio for an art project commissioned by a museum in Doha, Qatar. “A project like this is meant to establish a dialogue about surveillance," said Bilal. The project is called "The 3rd I," which is a posterior camera that is used to take snap-shot photographs each minute of Bilal's everyday activities for one year. The thumb-sized camera is mounted on a titanium plate inserted inside the back of his head. A cable runs from the camera to a computer that he carries in a custom-made shoulder bag, providing a real-time global positioning signal of his location. Bilal wants his artwork to examine broader ideas and realities. “I see myself as a mirror reflecting some of the social conditions that we ignore," said Bilal. University authorities have tried to prevent concerns of privacy by requiring a cover over the lens while Bilal is teaching on campus, since the school of arts takes the privacy issues of his project serious.

I think this is a neat idea, but I wonder how that would be comfortable to have a camera on your head and carry a computer in a shoulder bag for a year, that sounds like a lot of work. I want to see the results of this dialogue and understand more where he is coming from with this project. It would be interesting to know what people don’t see behind them in their everyday life.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/12/02/new.york.camera.head/index.html?npt=NP1

Ryan Gosling: 'fat and unemployed'

Actor Ryan Gosling says he was fired from the 2009 movie "The Lovely Bones" for getting too fat. In a new interview, the 30-year-old star reveals how he prepped to play the role of Jack Salmon, whose teenage daughter Susie is brutally murdered by packing on 60 pounds. The problem was Gosling never told the film director Peter Jackson of his plan. Gosling told reporters, "We didn't talk very much during the pre-production process. It was a huge movie, and there are so many things to deal with, Jackson just couldn't deal with the actors individually." When Gosling showed up on set, Jackson was shocked by his weight gain, which ultimately got him fired and was soon replaced by Mark Wahlberg for more of a muscular look. "We had a different idea of how the character should look. I really believed he should have been 210 pounds,” says Gosling.

The “Lovely Bones” was a really good movie, but is a chiller since it could happen to anyone. I think Mark Wahlberg was a good choice for the role of Susie’s Dad and Ryan Gosling would have been a good pick too but I don’t think the character would have look good being fat. Gosling should have confirmed it with the director first before gaining the weight, since the director is the boss of the set.

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/03/ryan-gosling-fat-and-unemployed/?npt=NP1