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Strange Crimes

Thousands of parcels have been scattered across the railway tracks in east Los Angeles.

According to locals, thieves have been targeting trains, both moving and stationary, to try and steal packages.

This section of railway is being cleared by Union Pacific who operate the line - they've had to do so multiple times over the last three months.
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I saw some footage of this happening - it's disgraceful.
A likely 100+ people climbing all over the containers while the train is stationary, they force open the doors and just start rifling through the contents, throwing the contents to others waiting on the ground (even items that are obviously big TVs!) and there is nobody doing anything to stop them. The train companies know it's going on, clearly, cos it's been for months.
They even keep on doing it when the train starts moving off.
And it's not as though they're poor people - I saw a lot of quite new 4WDs parked up there.
And what really surprises me about it is that this is in the US where they have guns and aren't afraid to use them.
I can only see this ending badly.
 
hunck said:
Thousands of parcels have been scattered across the railway tracks in east Los Angeles.


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Ah now y'see that wouldn't happen in Liverpool.

Containers on trains in Liverpool are stabled overnight with the doors (opening outwards) facing each other to prevent theft.
They are secured with hefty padlocks and the keys signed for, taken away and disposed of. The padlocks are cut off at destination.

Containerisation was resisted by the Liverpool dockers because it streamlined the workforce and allegedly made theft more difficult.
 
Trevp666 said:
I saw some footage of this happening - it's disgraceful.
A likely 100+ people climbing all over the containers while the train is stationary, they force open the doors and just start rifling through the contents, throwing the contents to others waiting on the ground (even items that are obviously big TVs!) and there is nobody doing anything to stop them. The train companies know it's going on, clearly, cos it's been for months.
They even keep on doing it when the train starts moving off.
And it's not as though they're poor people - I saw a lot of quite new 4WDs parked up there.
And what really surprises me about it is that this is in the US where they have guns and aren't afraid to use them.
I can only see this ending badly.
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And what a pain in the arse for the thousands who never receive their parcel & have to pursue someone for replacement/compensation.

Makes you really worry for law & order/civil society when mobs like this can do shit like this with seeming impunity.
 
hunck said:
Makes you really worry for law & order/civil society when mobs like this can do shit like this with seeming impunity.
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Organized crime is helping drive large scale theft like this. Some looters get paid by professional thieves to go in and grab targeted items, others sell what they've grabbed on sites like Amazon and Facebook (like we need another reason to hate F—, well, you know). Other reasons cited are inadequate legal consequences for thieves, but the ease with which they can make a profit without any resale license makes it very lucrative. The size of the mobs, the availability of weapons and the looters' willingness to use those weapons makes it very problematic for law enforcement to stop a mob in action. It would turn into a massacre, and could involve innocent shoppers.

Yeah, it's an especially disturbing turn of events at a particularly challenging time. :(
 
Maybe there would be less looting if, oh I dunno......the trains didn't stop????
 
This is a complicated case ... A 16-year-old female Burger King cashier was fatally shot during what was originally believed to be an armed robbery. Now the purported robber and his daughter (best friend and coworker of the deceased) are claiming the robbery was faked and the deceased was in on the plan. The latest criminal complaint also adds the disturbing fact that the young woman wasn't shot by the purported robber, but rather by another coworker who was attempting to shoot the alleged robber.

As I said - it's complicated. You need to read the entire article to savor all the weirdness (and perhaps deception) in this sad affair.
New criminal complaint alleges Milwaukee Burger King robbery that left a 16-year-old cashier dead was staged

A Burger King employee told Milwaukee police that she, her father and Niesha Harris-Brazell were in on a plan to stage the robbery that led to the inadvertent shooting death of the 16-year-old cashier.

The allegations came in a criminal complaint filed Friday against the coworker’s father, Antoine Z. Edwards, 41, of Milwaukee, which accuses him of enacting the staged robbery by leaning into a drive-thru window with a gun.

The details in the complaint mark another wild turn in the investigation in the death of Harris-Brazell. It also alleged clearly what earlier court documents suggested: that Harris-Brazell was not shot by the robbery suspect but instead by a coworker who was not in on plans to stage a robbery and shot at the robbery suspect, inadvertently hitting and killing Harris-Brazell. ...

The complaint said it does not appear that Edwards, the man carrying out the staged robbery, ever fired his gun.

It also offered no additional evidence that Harris-Brazell conspired with the other two, and only repeats their assertions to police she was in on it. ...
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FULL STORY: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...aged-according-criminal-complaint/6525774001/
 
From the few details the police have released, this seems to have been a violent home invasion.

Very unusual indeed in Britain. The legal term for it here is 'aggravated burglary'.

(Safe Guardian link)
Derbyshire woman, 86, killed in ‘horrific’ attack

An 86-year-old woman was killed in a “horrific” attack that left her 88-year-old husband with life-threatening injuries, police have said.

Freda and Ken Walker were attacked in their home in a Derbyshire village on Saturday morning.

Police confirmed on Sunday that emergency services had been called to the couple’s home when neighbours raised the alarm at about 9.30am.

While detectives have not confirmed the nature of the incident, they are understood to be looking for suspects who managed to get inside the Walkers’ semi-detached home in the village of Langwith Junction.
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Ch Supt Hayley Barnett, of Derbyshire police, said

“Whilst I can’t talk about the mechanics or how people came to be in the address, what I do urge people to do is keep good security to their homes.

“Keep their doors and windows locked, don’t let any strangers in, don’t keep any valuables on display and have a means of making contact with emergency services.”
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The local newspaper website mentions another, similar attack about a week beforehand and 26 miles south -

(Safe Nottingham Post link)
Vicious attack on elderly couple in own home in Trowell frightens neighbours

The incident occurred in a house in Stoney Lane, Trowell, at around 12.26am on Thursday, January 6.

The suspect is said to have demanded money from the couple before fleeing the property.

The woman is reported to have sustained cuts to the right side of her head, severe swelling to her arm, and a possible broken jaw.

Her husband is said to have injuries to his face, arms and body but both victim's injuries are not thought to be life-threatening or life-altering.
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I do get a faint whiff of disbelief about that one though. You know what I mean.
 
escargot said:
From the few details the police have released, this seems to have been a violent home invasion.

Very unusual indeed in Britain. The legal term for it here is 'aggravated burglary'.
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Incorrect: ln the UK, an "aggravated" burglary is one committed with one’s WIFE, i.e a Weapon of offence, Imitation firearm, Firearm or Explosive.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/10

Also, in the UK a majority of all burglaries - averaging roughly 55% - are committed when there’s someone in the house.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/natureofcrimeburglary/yearendingmarch2020/nocburglarytablescorrection.xlsx (See Table 10a)

maximus otter
 
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maximus otter said:
Incorrect: ln the UK, an aggravated burglary is one committed with one’s WIFE, i.e a Weapon of offence, Imitation firearm, Firearm or Explosive.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/10

Also, in the UK a majority of all burglaries - averaging roughly 55% - are committed when there’s someone in the house.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/natureofcrimeburglary/yearendingmarch2020/nocburglarytablescorrection.xlsx )See Table 10a)

maximus otter
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Don't the cuts to the woman's head suggest a 'weapon of offence' though?
 
Here's a report from this morning on the safe Derbyshire Time page -

Neighbours urged to ‘lock doors and windows’ as police hunt Derbyshire killer

It's worth reading for the things left unsaid, if you get my drift.

My suspicious mind noted that while 'Mr Walker suffered ‘horrific injuries and is in a critical condition in hospital', Chief Superintendent Hayley Barnett went on 'The family are aware, but I am not sure if the family are by his side at this time.'
What a strange thing to mention.

Also, the reporter has been careful to give direct and attributed quotes. No 'A police spokesman confirmed' or 'Sources suggest' here.
No press speculation, most unusual.
Smacks to me of an agreement to keep a lid on things. Not uncommon in certain investigations where there'll be a big scoop later.

To me, having lived through Yorkshire Ripper and Black Panther times, this sounds like an attempt to prevent a panic.

But again, what do I know! :)
 
maximus otter said:
ln the UK, an aggravated burglary is one committed with one’s WIFE,
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There is a tv sketch IIRC in which a police officer is reprimanded by a senior for misusing his authority with a series of questionable charges.
One of which is arresting someone for being in possession of an offensive wife.
Oh, and for going around during the hours of darkness in a loud shirt.
It might be from 'Not The Nine O'Clock News'.
 
escargot said:
Here's a report from this morning on the safe Derbyshire Time page -

Neighbours urged to ‘lock doors and windows’ as police hunt Derbyshire killer

It's worth reading for the things left unsaid, if you get my drift.

My suspicious mind noted that while 'Mr Walker suffered ‘horrific injuries and is in a critical condition in hospital', Chief Superintendent Hayley Barnett went on 'The family are aware, but I am not sure if the family are by his side at this time.'
What a strange thing to mention.

Also, the reporter has been careful to give direct and attributed quotes. No 'A police spokesman confirmed' or 'Sources suggest' here.
No press speculation, most unusual.
Smacks to me of an agreement to keep a lid on things. Not uncommon in certain investigations where there'll be a big scoop later.

To me, having lived through Yorkshire Ripper and Black Panther times, this sounds like an attempt to prevent a panic.

But again, what do I know! :)
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Terrible. Reading the Nottingham one concerning the public footpath nearby; houses/estates here often have public footpaths going through them. Having lived next to one (that is only meant for owners' access to the houses at the back) and all the problems it brings- litter/thefts/noise/youths gathering etc, I would never buy another one that was set up like that. I know people shouldn't have to worry about this, but it is often a factor in crime, both petty and serious.
 
Trevp666 said:
There is a tv sketch IIRC in which a police officer is reprimanded by a senior for misusing his authority with a series of questionable charges.
One of which is arresting someone for being in possession of an offensive wife.
Oh, and for going around during the hours of darkness in a loud shirt.
It might be from 'Not The Nine O'Clock News'.
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Yup, Not The Nine O'Clock News.

 
Floyd1 said:
Terrible. Reading the Nottingham one concerning the public footpath nearby; houses/estates here often have public footpaths going through them. Having lived next to one (that is only meant for owners' access to the houses at the back) and all the problems it brings- litter/thefts/noise/youths gathering etc, I would never buy another one that was set up like that. I know people shouldn't have to worry about this, but it is often a factor in crime, both petty and serious.
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Where I live there is a policy called 'Alleygating' where there are no rights of way behind rows of houses, enforced with the installation of lockable gates.

However, some areas here still have open paths running between homes. My former in-laws lived in such a house, with only a low gate and fence at the back.
When my kids were young I'd sternly remind their father not to let them play out alone in the garden there. It seemed very exposed to me.

He'd laugh at my fears but many years later, a child was abducted from a garden in Wales by a man who had watched her playing there and later accessed the garden from the bridle path behind the property. My blood ran cold. :(
 
escargot said:
Where I live there is a policy called 'Alleygating' where there are no rights of way behind rows of houses, enforced with the installation of lockable gates.

However, some areas here still have open paths running between homes. My former in-laws lived in such a house, with only a low gate and fence at the back.
When my kids were young I'd sternly remind their father not to let them play out alone in the garden there. It seemed very exposed to me.

He'd laugh at my fears but many years later, a child was abducted from a garden in Wales by a man who had watched her playing there and later accessed the garden from the bridle path behind the property. My blood ran cold. :(
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I saw those new gates in Crewe a few years ago on a back alley. I remember thinking that I bet some people just leave them open though.
 
Floyd1 said:
...public footpath nearby; houses/estates here often have public footpaths going through them. Having lived next to one (that is only meant for owners' access to the houses at the back) and all the problems it brings- litter/thefts/noise/youths gathering etc, I would never buy another one that was set up like that. ...it is often a factor in crime, both petty and serious.
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:twothumbs:

maximus otter
 
Floyd1 said:
I saw those new gates in Crewe a few years ago on a back alley. I remember thinking that I bet some people just leave them open though.
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As far as I can tell, most are kept at least closed if not locked. You don't generally see them standing open although I think I've spotted one lot that are.
More fool whoever does that, when all the residents there will have a key to secure them.

My area doesn't have alleys so we don't need the gates but there are parking areas with them.

Anyway, what were you up to, loitering round back alleys in Crewe and noting which are locked? Eh? Eh? Eh? :thought:
 
escargot said:
As far as I can tell, most are kept at least closed if not locked. You don't generally see them standing open although I think I've spotted one lot that are.
More fool whoever does that, when all the residents there will have a key to secure them.

My area doesn't have alleys so we don't need the gates but there are parking areas with them.

Anyway, what were you up to, loitering round back alleys in Crewe and noting which are locked? Eh? Eh? Eh? :thought:
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A mate of mine who lives in the 'great town', wanted a hand to dismantle a concrete panelled garage so I went to help. I hadn't been there for a few years at this point and they weren't there when I lived there. I can't remember what street it was- somewhere of Alton I think. I noticed it because it suprised me how reasonably clean the track/paths were (unlike in my area).

Here there are a couple of small 'gated areas', (not like the 'proper' ones you get in up market places) but in both cases the gates are always open. I asked someone who lived there about it and she said it was broken and they can't afford to fix it. Seems a bit pointless because I bet that would have been a selling point ie added more on to the cost of the properties in the first place.
 
Floyd1 said:
A mate of mine who lives in the 'great town', wanted a hand to dismantle a concrete panelled garage so I went to help. I hadn't been there for a few years at this point and they weren't there when I lived there. I can't remember what street it was- somewhere of Alton I think. I noticed it because it suprised me how reasonably clean the track/paths were (unlike in my area).

Here there are a couple of small 'gated areas', (not like the 'proper' ones you get in up market places) but in both cases the gates are always open. I asked someone who lived there about it and she said it was broken and they can't afford to fix it. Seems a bit pointless because I bet that would have been a selling point ie added more on to the cost of the properties in the first place.
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The local council installed the Crewe ones.

The criminologist in me says they'll just move the crime elsewhere, possibly to more affluent areas, where the 'backs' are more accessible and the pickings both easier and richer.

I personally cannot imagine living again in a house that's overlooked so easily from the back.
 
I wonder if everyone who has ever stood on a railway platform has had this fear cross their mind at one point:
News story

A woman was pushed in front of a train on the New York subway. No motive from the culprit, other than seeing what it would be like to push someone under a train. Thank goodness it doesn't happen more often.
 
GNC said:
I wonder if everyone who has ever stood on a railway platform has had this fear cross their mind at one point:
News story

A woman was pushed in front of a train on the New York subway. No motive from the culprit, other than seeing what it would be like to push someone under a train. Thank goodness it doesn't happen more often.
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There was an incident a couple of years ago that was on CCTV where an old man (an ex judge iirc) was pushed onto the tracks on a London underground line. It's quite a drop from a platform to the tracks. It felt very painful just watching it. Luckily, the other people there got him off the line in time. The same person tried it with another man who was stood waiting for a train, but he just managed to regain his balance and stop himself from going over and pulled himself back just as the train came into the station- again on CCTV.
 
Floyd1 said:
There was an incident a couple of years ago that was on CCTV where an old man (an ex judge iirc) was pushed onto the tracks on a London underground line. It's quite a drop from a platform to the tracks. It felt very painful just watching it. Luckily, the other people there got him off the line in time. The same person tried it with another man who was stood waiting for a train, but he just managed to regain his balance and stop himself from going over and pulled himself back just as the train came into the station- again on CCTV.
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A terrible business.

Safe Guardian link -
Man jailed for life for pushing 91-year-old on to tube tracks

A man with paranoid schizophrenia who pushed a 91-year-old on to London Underground tracks has been jailed for life by a judge who described him as “a grave and enduring risk to the public”.

Paul Crossley shoved Sir Robert Malpas on to the rails at Marble Arch station on 27 April last year, minutes after attempting to do the same to another man at Tottenham Court Road.
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Update on the man who killed Helen Bailey (children's author). He is now in court accused of murdering his first wife, who he claimed had died from an epileptic fit:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-author-Helen-Bailey-trial-wifes-murder.html

If only there had been a chance to investigate the death of his 1st wife sooner. What a shame the sister wasn't able to get more information/raise doubts/get it investigated properly at the time. He has sons from his marriage too.

He met Helen Bailey on a facebook page for people mourning their partner's death.
I think I picked up that others on the facebook group that she befriended were concerned about this man, a couple of them may have even tried to suggest she should be cautious regarding her friendship with him. Unfortunately, it seems she may have misinterpreted their concern as envy/negativity, and may have had less to do with them as a result.
I got the feeling that maybe he had tried targeting/connecting with others in the group before Helen but they might have sensed he was not what he seemed. Unfortunately she was vulnerable/naive and met him at that time.

That he may have murdered his wife makes his subsequent targeting of grieving widows even more sadistic/awful in my mind......:(
 
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