JW CRIMES AGAINST Non-JWs

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The following criminal and other cases, in which the Jehovah's Witnesses religion served as the spiritual element of the perpetrators' and/or other actor's formative environment, or otherwise served as one of the major influencers of the perpetrators' and/or other actor's behavior, are often tragic, and speak for themselves.

Court Cases involving Jehovah's Witness Criminals who have been convicted of stealing money from their employers and others, and similarly related crimes, are summarized on a sister website. Click HERE for two webpages of financial related case summaries.

Visitors to this website should keep in mind that this website generally defers to SILENTLAMBS.ORG for coverage of the topic of sexual abuse and molestation committed by Jehovah's Witnesses. However, I will occasionally post summaries of a few of such type court cases in which the perpetrator committed other crimes, such as murder, or where there are other factors which make appropriate the posting of the case on this website.

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Yes, it is true. The PSYCHIATRIC UNIT at a small city's Hospital was known as the KINGDOM HALL back in the 1980s-1990s.

A retired Phychiatrist, who had practiced in a lightly populated locale, where the numbers of  "Jehovah's Witnesses" were sparse, was recently asked whether he had treated many Jehovah's Witnesses over the years. Pausing to thoughtfully form his answer, he smiled and stated, "Let's just say that there must be a whole lot of Jehovah's Witnesses living in my neck of the woods."

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SOUTH CAROLINA v. BATTLE was a 2009-11 South Carolina MURDER prosecution. A 26 year-old African-American Jehovah's Witness, named Julian Deandre Battle, was arrested on December 25, 2009, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for the murder of 29 year-old Rafael Dodd, of Memphis, Tennessee. Facing drug dealing and murder charges, Julian Battle talked about the Bible to the Deputy Sheriff who transported Battle to jail. Later, Battle made sure that he informed authorities that, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, he did not celebrate Christmas (priorities, evidently). The first trial of Julian D. Battle, of Taylors, South Carolina, in September 2011, ended in a "hung jury". In the November 2011 re-trial, Battle was convicted of murdering Rafael Dodd, and was sentenced to life in prison.

On the evening of December 24, 2009, Julian "Dre" Battle, and a cousin, named Clinton Dupree Owens (aka Clintonion Dupri Owens), also age 26, and possibly also a member of this extended Jehovah's Witness family, went to the Greenville apartment of Clinton D. Owen's girlfriend. There, Clinton Owens allegedly argued with his girlfriend. When the girlfriend's visiting out-of-state relatives attempted to quiet the argument, Julian Battle stepped in, pulled a handgun, and shot and killed the girlfriend's cousin. Battle claimed that Rafael Dodd had attempted to rob him, and that he shot Dodd in self-defense. Clinton Owens testified at the first "hung jury" trial that Battle had acted in self-defense, and had saved his life. (At the second trial, Owens changed his story, and testified against Battle, in exchange for murder charges against him being dropped.) The accused "robber", Rafael Dodd, just so happened to have a Masters Degree Education, and was employed as a Portfolio Manager at a Memphis area bank. When a second cousin of Owen's girlfriend attempted to call 9-1-1, Battle allegedly took the cellphone from him, and mocked his shooting of Dodd. Julian Battle was arrested the next day at a Spartanburg apartment, along with four other African-Americans, who were all charged with drug possession with intent to distribute, after a significant quantity of crack cocaine and other related items were discovered at the premises.

SOUTH CAROLINA v. BATTLE. In June 2007, Julian Deandre Battle, then age 23-24, was arrested and charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, after an incident at a Greenville apartment complex in which "Dre" Battle was alleged to have shot a man twice in the leg with a handgun. Even while police were on the scene investigating that first shooting, "someone" fired several more shots at a carload of the victim's friends leaving to visit the victim at the hospital -- some of which shots struck the vehicle. Described by police as a "gang-related" shooting, Battle was apparently never prosecuted -- likely because none of Julian Battle's "ilk" would cooperate with police.

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NEW JERSEY v. LEROY McKELVEY is an ongoing September 2011 New Jersey criminal court case. On Sunday, September 11, 2011, Leroy McKelvey, of Moncks Corner, South Carolina, who is the African-American father of Power 105.1 DeeJay Charlamagne Tha God, was arrested during halftime of the Jets-Cowboys football game at MetLife Stadium, which was attended by past President George W. Bush and other public officials present to honor the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Tha God excuses his father's behavior due to Leroy McKelvey being a "devout Jehovah's Witness". Commenters report that Tha God was reared as a Jehovah's Witness by Leroy McKelvey.

Leroy McKelvey, age 59, was reportedly charged with two weapons counts and three counts of aggravated assault after a brawl with a Marine and two other patrons. Reportedly, McKelvey and his three friends and/or relatives drew the ire of those seated around them due to their reported "obnoxious" and "disrespectful" behavior during various portions of the program honoring 9/11. McKelvey's entourage initially drew attention to themselves when they refused to stand during the playing of the National Anthem. Then McKelvey's entourage allegedly talked loudly and acted disrespectfully during the playing of "Taps" and "Amazing Grace".

A United States Marine, who was seated at the end of McKelvey's row, had had enough, and told the pack that they better hope that they did not need to get out, because he was not going to stand up for them. At halftime, Leroy McKelvey challenged the Marine, and a brawl ensued, during which the Jehovah's Witness pulled a TASOR and tased the Marine and two others. McKelvey was arrested, but quickly released on $22,500.00 bail.

Who wishes to bet that before this case is over that the Marines, the Jets, Stadium Management, the state of New Jersey, the Police, and a long list of others BEG these Jehovah's Witnesses for their "forgiveness".

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On October 1, 2005, Joel Henry Hinrichs III, 21, who was a Junior at the University of Oklahoma, and who was majoring in mechanical engineering, died when the homemade BOMB that he had attached to his body detonated. The time of detonation was around 8:00 PM, and the place of detonation was a bench located about 100 yards just outside the OU football stadium, where an ongoing OU-Kansas State football game was in the second quarter.

Federal, state, and local authorities quickly seized on a statement made by Hinrichs father, Joel Hinrichs, Jr., 61, of Colorado Springs, Colorado -- that his 21 year-old son had allegedly suffered from several bouts of depression over the years, and supposedly had sought out counseling there in Norman, Oklahoma -- to label the incident as nothing more than an intentional suicide caused by depression. Those same authorities worked overtime to disprove that Hinrichs had intended to act as a suicide bomber amongst the large crowd of 80,000 people, either inside the football stadium, or outside the stadium, either during halftime, or after the game was over.

However, those authorities did successfully disproved rumors that Hinrichs had converted to Islam. Given that most Islamic terrorists are religious fanatics by nature, it typically has not been difficult to prove a terrorist's tie to Islam, if such tie exists. That is the Islamic terrorist's whole point. If Hinrichs had had Islamic ties, not even the federal government would have been able to hush up everyone on campus who would have known about such, and keep them all quiet over an extended period of time, especially given that Hinrichs apparently lived either in dorms or university apartments during all of his five semesters at OU.

But, some motive had to be assigned to the "Hinrich's incident", and "suicide" was the least reactive from the standpoint of the general public. Besides, there really wasn't anything else in the life of Joel Henry Hinrichs III which might explain why he would construct a bomb, attach that bomb to his body, and then go sit outside a packed football stadium.

The fact that Joel Hinrichs III was the youngest of five children reared by a Jehovah's Witness Mother who had managed to rear one or more of Hinrich's older siblings as active Jehovah's Witnesses was either not mention by reporters, or mocked as a possible cause when such was mentioned -- "When was the last time a Jehovah's Witness Suicide Bomber blew anyone up?". Typically, every mention of the mother's WatchTower affiliation was accompanied by a mention of the father's Lutheran affiliation.

According to an OU discussion board posting, during Hinrichs' first semester at OU, an OU senior who was an active Christian had discussed religion with Hinrichs on multiple occasions, and that person later supposedly recalled that Hinrichs had indicated that all of his "spiritual beliefs" had come from his Jehovah's Witness Mother. That was a first semester freshman talking to an older fellow student. Does anyone really believe that if Hinrichs would admit that much of a connection to the JWs, then the reality probably was even much more?

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UNITED STATES v. HINRICHS and COLORADO v. HINRICHS. Although the FBI had promoted the "suicide" excuse for the death of Joel Henry Hinrichs III, the very next day after the OU explosion, the FBI opened an investigation of Hinrich's 24 year-old brother, Thomas Carlisle Hinrichs, who was an Iraq War veteran, who lived with the father in Colorado Springs (the parents reportedly had separated). That investigation was closed in April 2006, but the FBI continued to "monitor" Tom Hinrichs.

Interestingly, on November 15, 2006, the father pressed charges against Tom Hinrichs for an alleged "assault" which had happened two weeks earlier. Allegedly, Tom Hinrichs had simply "pushed" his father during an argument. More interestingly, Tom Hinrichs was quickly arrested that day at Pikes Peak Community College, where he was a student. There, in Tom Hinrichs' car, police discovered a semi-automatic assault rifle, 80 rounds of ammunition, three rifle magazines, several knives, a bulletproof vest, and a bulletproof helmet.

Based on threats against a local FBI agent made to local police at that arrest, Hinrichs was federally charged in November 2006, and then again in December 2006, based on an earlier threat made during an October telephone conversation with a second FBI agent. In October 2007, Tom Hinrichs was sentenced in federal court to 37 months in prison and to three years probation after his release.

Thomas Hinrichs' father told reporters that Tom Hinrichs was "insane", and that like his younger brother, Joel Henry, he also had been mentally ill for years. "He has been at the bottom of every single pecking order he's been in or near, ever since starting kindergarten."  Regarding both Joe Hinrichs and Tom Hinrichs, the father stated, "These are good kids who somehow missed out on the necessary social skills that it takes to get along in the world, and the results were ugly."

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To those Readers looking for the Phillip Garrido and Nancy Garrido case summaries, such have been updated with Jehovah's Witness related info NOT FOUND ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE WWW -- (well that is until other website owners read our website and post our research on their websites without crediting us.) Those updated Garrido summaries have been moved to our CHILD MOLESTATION webpage.

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The new information consists of police reports from Bakersfield and Fresno, California. The first of these reports, dated September 28, 2001, recounts that the victim's mother, Mary Beth Hill, reported to the Bakersfield police that the victim was missing. According to the report, the victim was having lunch at a restaurant with Hill and a friend, when her cell phone rang. The victim left the restaurant with her phone and never returned. Hill could not find the victim outside the restaurant, and informed the police that it was "out of character" for the victim to "just take off." Hill added that the victim was raped several months earlier in Michigan, and since "has not been herself."

A second Bakersfield police report, dated September 29, 2001, summarized information the police had received from the victim's father, Dale Hill. Hill reported that the victim called recently and "told him she had been kidnapped and he needed to call the police." The police went to Hill's home and asked Hill if he believed his daughter. The police report documents that Hill replied, "No. I'm afraid it's just a smoke screen. My daughter likes to have a lot of attention." In the second report, Hill additionally explained that the victim "had been sexually assaulted between the ages of 10 and 12 years, by a female member of their Jehovah Witness congregation." The report continued, "Dale Hill told me the police were never contacted, a report was never made, and [the victim] never received any type of counseling."  ... ... ... ... ...

The final California police report was from Fresno. It consisted solely of a narrative by [friend of the victim -Katina] Mamigonian's fiance [a police technician]. In relevant part, he related his opinion that the victim "is possibly mentally unstable and may try to file false allegations against him if (the victim) was willing to lie to his (fiancee) and the police." He therefore "wanted this incident documented in case she does try to do something like that." ...  Although the Fresno report includes the victim's story about being kidnapped, and her recantation of that story, it does not indicate that the victim told the fiance about being raped in Bakersfield.

The police report from St. Clair, Michigan, was generated because in 2004, the victim recontacted one of the officers who had been involved in the investigation in the instant case. During that investigation, the victim had mentioned having been sexually assaulted as a child by her father and brother, and she now wished to pursue that with law enforcement. The St. Clair Sheriff's Department referred the matter to the Huron County Sheriff's Department on venue grounds. The Huron County Sheriff's Department notified the St. Clair Sheriff's Department that the victim had reported being the victim of a rape in California, ... .

PENNSYLVANIA v. TURNER (times 15 or more past and potential criminal prosecutions).  On October 21, 2010, 22 year-old Kevin Turner was shot and killed during the armed robbery of the William Glatz Jewelry store in Philadelphia -- during which William Glatz was murdered. At the time of the Glatz robbery, Kevin Turner was an escapee from the maximum security lockup of a Pennsylvania prison, where he was serving time for one of more previous gun and robbery offenses. The 22 year-old African-American was a "repeat offender" with 15 or more narcotics and gun offenses related to multiple past alleged robberies and alleged burglaries, including three open cases at the time of his escape from prison. Turner had already served a previous two year prison term. Police believe that Turner and one or more accomplices also had armed robbed another Philadelphia area jewelry store on October 18.

Kevin Turner's sister, Faith Spruill, 34, of Norristown, Pennsylvania, told a reporter that her younger brother had served as a "Jehovah's Witness youth minister" as a teenager, but had rebelled under the JW Father's strict upbringing when he was seventeen. Despite Kevin Turner's extensive past history of violence, Spruill told the reporter:  "He was desperate. He was on the run. He's young. He obviously wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think it was his intention to kill somebody."

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CALIFORNIA v. LEE (2003) and MARYLAND v. LEE (2008) were previous criminal convictions of James Jae Lee, who in September 2010 was labeled the "Discovery Channel Gunman". On September 1, 2010, James J. Lee, age 43, who had had a ongoing battle with the Discovery Channel over its' environmental policies, stormed the Discovery Channel's Maryland headquarters and took three hostages at gunpoint. After a four hour standoff, James Lee was shot through a window and killed by a S.W.A.T. sniper.

James J. Lee was arrested at the same Discovery Channel's headquarters during a February 2008 protest. Lee was convicted of disorderly conduct and served two weeks in jail, and was ordered to stay 500 feet from the Discovery Channel's building.

James Jae Lee, of San Diego, was also convicted in 2003 in California federal court of attempting to smuggle an illegal alien from Mexico, who had been hidden in a secret compartment in Lee's automobile. James Lee was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

In court documents related to Lee's 2003 conviction and sentencing, James J. Lee's brother, Aaron Lee, described James Lee as "non-violent" and claimed that James Lee did not smoke, drink, or use drugs. Aaron Lee stated in 2003 that his brother had been a "devoted Jehovah's Witness for a decade".

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WASHINGTON v. JONES and WASHINGTON v. JONES are separate State of Washington cases related to the February 2010 alleged attempted murder of a Washington State Trooper, and assault on a tow truck operator .

In the early A.M. hours of Sunday, February 14, 2010, Susan M. Jones, 45, was stopped by a Washington State Trooper about one mile from her Seaside, Washington home and arrested for D.U.I. Later, as a second Washington State Trooper and a tow truck operator prepared Susan Jones' van for tow, Martin A. Jones, 45, walked onto to scene and briefly questioned the Trooper and tow truck operator before allegedly pulling a small caliber pistol and attempting to shoot the Trooper in the back of his head. Fortunately, the Trooper suffered only a slight wound, and was released from the hospital within 48 hours, despite being grazed by one bullet, and having one bullet still lodged near an ear. "Marty" Jones also allegedly fired shots at the tow truck operator, but missed.

Martin Jones own family told the news media that he was an active Jehovah's Witness. Marty Jones reportedly was reared in the Kennewick, Washington area, and spent most of his life there abouts, but he did live and work for a time in Couer d'Alene, Idaho, and in Portland, Oregon.

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DOOR-KNOCKING THIEVES, RAPISTS, and MURDERERS. On November 13, 2006, an African-American male and a Caucasian male, both in their mid-20s, knocked on the door of a home in Port Charlotte, Florida. Reportedly carrying Bibles, the two males identified themselves as "Jehovah's Witnesses" to the responding male homeowner. The two "JWs" reportedly were allowed to enter the home -- probably at their request, but possibly at the homeowner's invitation. After a brief exchange of conversation, the homeowner stated that he was not interested, and the "JWs" left.

Shortly thereafter, the homeowner was startled by the sound of breaking glass at the rear of his house. When he went to see what had happened, he was accosted and struck by the African-American "JW". The now three home-invaders used a stun gun to subdue the homeowner. After tying him up, the Trio ransacked the home, before eventually leaving with roughly $4000.00 in cash and electronics.

The Trio were eventually arrested for that home invasion robbery, and similar crimes, and were identified as members of a local area gang that specialized in home invasions. Those same three members of the gang reportedly had been repeatedly "casing" multiple homes as potential targets by using the ruse that they were "Jehovah's Witnesses".

Does anyone really believe that those mid-20s males would call at multiple home pretending to be JWs, where they apparently were discussing JW beliefs with homeowners, unless one or more of the thieves had a background as a door-knocking Jehovah's Witness?

In fact, only three months later, in Tallahassee, Florida, on Sunday morning, February 25, 2007, two "well-dressed" males carrying Bibles, and identifying themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses, barged into the home of a man getting ready for church. This Duo also bound and robbed their victim.

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Over the years there have been several similar crimes reported in the news media. Some of such crimes were committed by criminals who may not have had a JW background, but rather had simply observed that posing as JWs was an ideal way to gain entry into victims' homes. For example, there have been multiple instances over the years in which criminals posed as a JWs, but did a very poor job of doing so. For example, in 1995, in Philadelphia, four males posing as JWs gained the confidence of a young home-alone female, and robbed and assaulted her. In 1992, a Sheriff in Pennsylvania had to issue a warning to residents of his county due to repeated instances of persons posing as JWs, but who supposedly were not behaving at the doors as JWs typically behaved. Other instances have involved easily fooled extremely elderly victims, such as the 89 year-old Birmingham, Alabama man robbed in 2001 by a man posing as a JW, and the 77 year-old south Chicago woman robbed and murdered in 1994 by a 19 year-old female and a juvenile female who posed as Jehovah's Witnesses in order to gain entry into the elderly woman's apartment.

However, there are other instances where the media report provides details that suggest that the perpetrators more likely than not had a background and prior experience as a door-knocking JW, such as in the above instance where the perpetrators reportedly had used the ruse repeatedly, and would even enter peoples' homes to discuss JW teachings in order to "case" potential victims. Some others include:

On a Sunday afternoon, at around 3:30 P.M., in July 1989, in New Jersey, a "well-dressed" man and woman knocked on the door of a 67 year-old male homeowner and identified themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses. When the homeowner told the couple that he was "not interested", the man pulled a handgun, forced their way into the home, and proceeded to rob the homeowner.

In May 1997, in Hartford, Connecticut, in what may have been a crime of opportunity, a home-alone obviously pregnant 16 year-old girl was raped inside her parents' apartment after she opened the door for a heavy-set, eyeglasses and dark-suit wearing man, who identified himself as a Jehovah's Witness.

In January 1992, in Florida, a man and woman, along with a baby, identified themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses at the door of an elderly couple who themselves turned out also to be JWs. After entering and exchanging conversation for a short while, the man asked to use the couple's bathroom. The elderly couple eventually discovered the "JW" rummaging through their house. After the Trio fled, the elderly couple discovered their cash missing.

On a weekday afternoon in January 1999, in Durham, North Carolina, a man and woman identifying themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses were allowed inside by a 59 year-old female homeowner. After conversing for a short while, one of the Duo asked for a glass of water. The homeowner obliged. After the "JW Duo" left, the homeowner discovered $600.00 missing from her purse. Interestingly, a local JW Elder denied that the thieves were JWs, and advised homeowners to to ask for an "identification card" from any door-knocker claiming to be a JW. That statement is "interesting" for two reasons. First, Jehovah's Witnesses are not issued "identifications cards", and second, the WatchTower Society argued and won, in the 2002 SCOTUS Stratton case, the right NOT to carry and present "identification cards" to homeowners. In December 2011, a Woodbury, Minnesota homeowner called police when door-knockers refused to show him any identification as to who they were. The JWs later presented ID to responding police.

On a Monday afternoon, in October 1997, in New Jersey, two women identifying themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses called at the door of a 41 year-old female homeowner. When she opened her door, one of the two women pulled a handgun and proceeded to rob her.

On September 3, 2009, in rural Madison County, Georgia, an older home-alone female was in the rear of her home when her dog began barking. When the homeowner went to see why, she was startled to find two unknown men standing in her living room. They identified themselves as Jehovah's Witnesses. The woman refused their request for money, told them to leave, and then called the sheriff. If these home-intruders were actually robbers posing as JWs, and not real JWs, then why did they not take further advantage of their already illegal entry into the woman's home?

In September 2009, a British newspaper reported that a Paisley, England teenaged female apartment resident was robbed of cash and jewelry by two 20s-30s males who claimed to be Jehovah's Witnesses. The JW Duo quoted Bible verses and were "knowledgable and believable on the subject of religion."  While preparing tea in her kitchen for the two "JWs", one male stood talking in the doorway between the kitchen and living room, while the other male apparently rummaged for valuables in the woman's bedroom.

In September 2009, a Toledo, Ohio television station reported that two yet-to-be-apprehended unidentified adult females had committed multiple burglaries in the upscale "The Quarry" neighborhood. According to the Salisbury Quarry Home Owners Association, the two females were going door-to-door as Jehovah's Witnesses, but really were "casing" the neighborhood for not-at-homes where the front door had been left unlocked or the garage door had not been closed.

In September 2009, a Chattanooga, Tennessee homeowner reported to local police that two Jehovah's Witness Males knocked on his front door and offered him WatchTower literature. The homeowner declined the JW Duo's literature offer and told the Duo that he was "not interested". The homeowner's curiosity was aroused when he then heard three doors shut on the JWs' station wagon rather than two. The homeowner hurried outside and discovered that the JW Duo had obsconded with his WeedEater and hedge trimmer, which he had earlier left near his driveway.

In October 2009, a homeowner in the North Versailles section of Pittsburgh reported that her home was burglarized during daytime hours while the homeowner was not at home. Neighbors told police that two well-dressed African-American females had been going door-to-door through the neighborhood with WatchTower pamphlets about the same time that the home was burglarized, and that two well-dressed African-American males were specifically seen at the burglarized home.

In December 2009, Todd J. Briggs, 48, of Brookfield, Massachusetts, was charged with the theft of a woman's purse from her backpack, which she had left unattended while patronizing the Sturbridge Dunkin Donuts. After a review of the store's surveillance tape, local police tracked down Todd Briggs, who reportedly confessed that he stole the purse simply because he had had the "opportunity" to do so. Multiple sources indicate that Todd J. Briggs is/was a Jehovah's Witness, including one website containing allegations that Todd Briggs is/was both a "Pioneer" (fulltime door-knocker) and a "Congregation Overseer" (pastor).

In February 2010, a Russian court convicted a Jehovah's Witness husband and wife of committing 13 murders, 4 attempted murders, 10 rapes and sexual assaults, and 11 assaults and robberies between December 2007 and September 2008. The JW Door-Knockers reportedly carried handmade firearms and an electric shocker, and attacked elderly women.

In March 2010, a Grass Valley, California homeowner telephoned local police and reported "a Jehovah's Witness came into a residence and left articles without permission."

In April 2010, an elderly female homeowner living in Trim, Ireland reported to police that her purse containing a large quantity of cash and two diamond rings were missing after she had invited into her home two well-dressed male Jehovah's Witnesses who told her they wanted to talk to her about religion. Neighbors confirmed that two males JWs had also called at their homes around the same time.

In May 2010, a Bar Harbour, Maine homeowner telephoned local police and reported "a Jehovah's Witness entered his home while he was not there."

In 2011, a Longview, Washington homeowner reported to police that an unidentified Jehovah's Witness kept door-knocking his home despite that JW being told not to return by the homeowner.

In December 2011, a Strongsville, Ohio homeowner reported to police that she was being harassed by Jehovah's Witnesses.

In January 2012, a Kalispell, Montana homeowner reported to police that Jehovah's Witnesses continued to trespass on his property despite their repeatedly being told not to return.

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In January 2010, an Italian Jehovah's Witness Elder and prominent traveling lecturer, named Moreno Furlan, 49, of the Monfalcone, Italy Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, was arrested and charged, along with two others, of allegedly operating a BROTHEL disguised as a beauty parlor. 

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FLORIDA v. MOYER was a 2009 Florida court case which involved John William Moyer of Cressona, Pennsylvania. In an August 2009 trial, a Florida jury convicted John W. Moyer, age 59/60, of misdemeanor battery on "Minnie Mouse" while Moyer and his Pennsylvania family visited Orlando's Walt Disney World theme park in June 2009.

Brittney McGoldrick, a nine-year Disney employee who was dressed in a Minnie Mouse costume, posed with John Moyer for a photograph. McGoldrick accused Moyer of touching her breasts and rear-end. While Moyer refused to testify on his own behalf, McGoldrick testified that she was greeting children when Moyer approached and gave her a hug. She said she hugged him, but then he grabbed her buttocks and her breasts. She said she then pushed him away. She claimed that Moyer offered no apology, but rather repeatedly laughed with what she described as a "creepy laugh". Investigators said three other Disney workers saw the incident and gave police sworn statements backing McGoldrick's account. Prosecutors also had photographs they said showed Moyer groping McGoldrick and being pushed away.

John W. Moyer was sentenced to six months supervised probation, 50 hours of community service, a $1000.00 fine, plus Moyer was required to undergo a mental health evaluation and then undergo any necessary treatment. Moyer was also required to write a letter of apology to the Disney employee.

Although no media article specifically identified Moyer as a Jehovah's Witness, multiple articles quoted Moyer as claiming to reporters after the trial, "I am not guilty, and I pray to Jehovah God that he has mercy on Miss McGoldrick and the jury." The 59 or 60 year old Moyer also told reporters that he doesn't even go on dates with his girlfriend without their being accompanied by a chaperon, which is a common practice of fanatical Jehovah's Witnesses. Family and friends also described Moyer as a "godly man". Additionally, immediate family members of John Moyer can be identified as Jehovah's Witnesses.

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This April 2009 SALT LAKE TRIBUNE article reported on the conversion of 39 year-old Abel Escobedo, of Brigham City, Utah, from the Jehovah's Witnesses to Catholicism. Having been born into and reared in the Jehovah's Witness Cult, Escobedo's juvenile criminal record began when he was first arrested at the age of 9. Escobedo's teen years included arrests for truancy, vandalism, and theft. By age 18, Escobedo was sentenced to 5 years in Colorado state prison. In his adult years, Escobedo repeatedly attempted to straighten out his continuing troubled life. Escobedo and his wife and four children sought help at his local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. However, Escobedo states, "I just didn't feel it was helping me. I would just fall asleep there." Escobedo and his family eventually turned to their local Catholic Church for help in turning around his life. There, Escobedo states"I finally met God."

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CALIFORNIA v. JIM DEAN WOLFENBARGER (2003-2009), CALIFORNIA v. JIM DEAN WOLFENBARGER (1988), and NEVADA v. JIM DEAN WOLFENBARGER (1980s). Jim Dean Wolfenbarger did prison time in Nevada for the kidnapping and rape of a female cab driver, and thereafter, Wolfenbarger did prison time in California for the kidnapping and rape of a 6 year-old girl. From 2003 through 2009, multiple California courts have declared Wolfenbarger to be a "sexually violent predator" -- a legal label which requires Wolfenbarger's continued incarcerated in a California mental health facility.

Numerous media reports make much of the fact that Jim D. Wolfenbarger supposedly "gradually converted" to the Jehovah's Witnesses, in 1996, while in prison. What most media reports fail to relate is that Wolfenbarger's mother and sister (Leah Harrington), and a cousin (Donna Valles), who have all publicly advocated his release, and possibly other relatives, are all Jehovah's Witnesses -- which raises the real possibility that Jim Wolfenbarger was actually reared in a Jehovah's Witness family.

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This October 2008 CONTRA COSTA TIMES news article reported on two California men who had known each other all their lives because both men had been reared by Jehovah's Witness Parents who had attended the same Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Reginald Robinson, 31, of  El Sobrante, California, reportedly has been charged with murder, solicitation of murder, and three other felonies related to a real estate scheme that prosecutors claim was the motive for the April 2008 murder of a San Ramon real estate financier named Kashmir Billon.

In October 2008, Richard Rogers testified at a preliminary court hearing that he had known Reginald Robinson his "whole life", because both men had been reared by Jehovah's Witness Parents who had attended the same Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Richard Rogers, who himself reportedly had past felony convictions on drug and gun charges, reportedly claimed to have offered back in 2006 to kill a different man for Reginald Robinson, for a fee of $20,000.00, who Rogers alleged that Robinson suspected of committing a home invasion robbery at Robinson's house. That alleged 2006 murder-for-hire contract supposedly was never finalized.

Richard Rogers reportedly further testified that just two days before Kashmir Billon was found dead that his friend Reginald Robinson had offered Rogers $50,000.00 to murder a business associate, who Robinson supposedly never specifically named, but whom Robinson wanted killed within the next few days.

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Readers should directly check out this August 2008 TOLEDO BLADE story about a 27 year-old reared-Jehovah's-Witness, who was shot and killed during a drug deal gone bad. The reporter apparently was disgusted with some of the characterizations made by the JWs' family and friends, and apparently decided to have some tongue-in-cheek fun with such. Here are some excerpts:

"Dujuan White was remembered yesterday by family and friends as a God-centered person ...

... ...

"'What really killed him is his kindness,' his mother, Linda Lawrence, said. 'He was trusting, and kindness killed him.'

... ...

"Mr. White was raised in South Toledo by his single mother and his grandmother, though he remained close to his father, Ms. Lawrence said.

... ...

"After finishing his GED in 2001 and a brief stint in the U.S. Navy [dishonorably discharged ???], he spent four years working with the elderly as a home health aide.

"He most recently worked at Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches in Maumee, but hoped to begin attending classes on real estate.

"He also intended to settle down with his girlfriend, Brittaney Steinmiller.

... ...

"The Christian values Mr. White learned as a Jehovah's Witness were his core, and he often ministered to friends by sharing the Bible's message, ...

... ...

"'He had his little run-ins with the law. That was always bad luck. He would just always be in the wrong place at the wrong time,' ... ... ... ."

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CALIFORNIA v. MORENO was a 2005-7 California court case. Incomplete details. On December 6, 2005, 16 year-old Abraham Ortega was shot and killed just outside the premises of Santiago High School, in Garden Grove, California, shortly after school had been dismissed. As many as 15 students and neighborhood gangbangers may have been involved in a brawl that gave rise to the shooting. Six or more persons, including three students, were eventually charged for their participation in the brawl and shooting, including 16 year-old Baltazar Moreno, who was described as a clean-cut, college-prep student, who both played on the high school's baseball team, and was an active Jehovah's Witness. It is unclear as to what exact charges were lodged against Moreno, nor is the outcome known.

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FLORIDA v. VICTORINO was a 2004-8 capital murder court decision. Labeled "One of Florida's Bloodiest Mass Murders", the August 2004 beating and stabbing deaths of six (6) Deltona, Florida housemates was masterminded by 27 year-old "Latin Kings" gangleader, Troy Miguel Victorino, who had been reared in a Jehovah's Witness Family with whom he continued to enjoy a good relationship, and which proclaimed his "innocence" throughout the extensive judcial proceedings. In August 2006, Troy M. Victorino was convicted on not only six counts of first-degree murder, and one count of armed burglary, but Troy Victorino was also convicted of "abuse of a corpse" for having sexually assaulted one of the female victims after she was dead, plus one count of "torturing an animal" for having stomped to death a dachshund which belonged to that same female victim. Troy Miguel Victorino was sentenced to "death by lethal injection", and is currently going through all the routine "death penalty" appeals.

The Victorino Family, which reportedly is of African-American and Carribean-Hispanic heritage, originally lived in Queens, New York, before relocating to Florida in 1987, when Troy Victorino was 10 years-old. Troy Victorino was the oldest of six children. Knowing that Victorino faced the death penalty, Victorino's defense team attempted to show that Victorino was physically, sexually, and psychologically abused as a child.

Supposedly, the 12 year-old son of an unidentified "care-giver" (possibly an aunt who lived in an adjacent apartment building) had sexually abused Troy Victorino when he was between the ages of 2 and 4. Rather than report such to authorities, and get her son professional help, according to his mother, Sharon Elizabeth Victorino, "we just took him out of the environment". The first of Troy Victorino's five suicide threats came when he was only 8 years-old. Sharon Victorino said her son had been "misunderstood".  Troy Victorino reportedly spent three days in a psychiatric hospital as a result. When Troy Victorino was 9 years-old, he spent six weeks in a psychiatric hospital, and was diagnosed with a manic-depressive disorder. It was sometime during this time period that New York authorities allegedly threatened to charge the Victorinos with "child abuse" and remove all their children. Not long thereafter, the Victorinos reportedly relocated to Deltona, Florida.

Despite the fact that the Victorinos were self-proclaimed "strict disciplinarians", who took their children to the three weekly "meetings" at their local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, Troy Victorino was convicted of burglary when he was 10 years-old, and trespassing when he was around 13-14 years-old. When he was 15 years-old, Victorino was convicted on various charges relating to the theft, burglary, and arson of an automobile, and spent approximately 26 months in prison.

Released in 1997 for only about 8 weeks, Victorino was again arrested on auto theft and battery charges after Victorino had beat the owner in the head with a stick, crushing his face, ripping off one of his ears, knocking out all his teeth, and leaving him with a permanent eye injury. Instead of charging Victorino with attempted murder, the prosecutor went for "battery". Victorino spent approximately six years in prison before again being paroled.

Released from prison in October 2003, Troy Victorino was a leader in the "Latin Kings" street gang, yet he apparently still enjoyed a good relationship with his parents. Victorino reportedly had dinner with his parents either on the same Friday night or the Satuday night after the Friday morning murders. In fact, in 2006, while awaiting trial, a local reporter who eventually interviewed Troy Victorino wrote:

"His mother, Sharon Victorino, called me a few days later. I quickly discovered that Troy consulted her about most of his decisions, and that he took her advice seriously. It was clear she was screening me. We agreed to meet at a restaurant in Lake Mary.

"Sharon Elizabeth Victorino is a tall, statuesque woman with auburn hair who works at a bank. She dresses professionally with a touch of jauntiness; dangling earrings in her double-pierced ears, a conservative black outfit with accents of leopard print. A devout Jehovah’s Witness, she has held herself together, though her husband is terminally ill and on dialysis, she herself suffers from hypertension ... .

"'Troy is the big brother of the family," Sharon informed me solemnly. She brought family photographs of her enormously tall brood to our meeting. [Troy Victorino is supposedly 6'7" tall, and weighs 300+ pounds.] She studied one picture of Troy as a toddler inclining a curly head toward his baby brother and tears came to her eyes. 'This is how I remember him,' she said. 'The innocence.' Then she got down to business.

"'This has nothing to do with an Xbox. I have five sons; we never owned an Xbox. This is all because my son is a big, scary black guy. If he were a basketball player, he’d be a hero. And because we live in Volusia County. If I lived 10 miles away, none of this might have happened.'

"'The night before he was arrested, he came over for dinner,' she continued. 'Chinese food. He ate off my plate. That was Troy. After dinner, he was watching the news on TV. He said to me, '"Mom, I bet you 50 dollars within 24 hours they’ll be wanting to talk to me."' I took pictures of him because I was afraid.'

"She pushed the snapshot she took that night toward me. It showed Troy in his mother’s home posing indulgently, like any son, looking down into the lens as it captured his last night of freedom.  ... ...

"As we said goodbye, Sharon looked me straight in the eye. 'I am absolutely convinced of his innocence,' she said. ...

"I don’t know why Sharon and Troy agreed to let me visit him in jail. ...

"I made it clear to both Sharon and Troy that I had no interest in trying to vindicate him. She thanked me for not treating her like a monster. He thanked me for 'being on the fence' and at least willing to listen to his side. ... ...

I visited Victorino three times in prison for about 90 minutes each time. ... ...

"'This is a bad place,' the mother said. 'There are bad people in here.' That her son might be one of them didn’t seem to occur to her. 'He doesn’t have clean underwear,' she told me. ..."

For several weeks during Summer 2004, Troy Miguel Victorino, and other "Latin Kings" associates, had been "squatting" in the Deltona "winter home" owned by one of the victims' grandparents. When the granddaughter arrived from New Hampshire to spend the summer there with friends, she had to have local police arrest some of the squatters who unbelievably refused to leave. In the process, an X-Box and other belongings of Troy Victorino were supposedly left in the house.

When Victorino got out of jail, the granddaughter apparently refused to give Victorino the belongings he claimed to have left in the house, because the gang had stolen all of her grandparents' electronics. In revenge, Victorino first fired a gunshot at the house during a drive-by. Then, a week later, during the early AM hours of Friday, August 6, 2004, Troy Victorino kicked in the front door of the home while the six occupants slept. All six victims (four males and two females) were killed by Victorino and his three Latin Kings underlings by being beaten with aluminum baseball bats, and thereafter repeatedly stabbed just to make sure they were dead. Victorino stomped to death the granddaughter's pet dog, and then raped her corpse after savagely beating her to death. The granddaughter's face was so pulverized that dental records could not even identify her.

The judge called the killings "conscienceless" and "unnecessarily torturous". The judge told Victorino, "You have not only forfeited your right to live among us, you have forfeited your right to live at all."

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CALIFORNIA v. RYAN MICHAEL MARSHALL was a 1985-2008 California capital murder case. In January 1985, 18 year-old Ryan Marshall and two accomplishes broke into a rural Visalia, Tulare County, California home in order to steal weapons that they knew to be there. The homeowner, Silva Teague, was unexpectedly home, and after being forced to lie down on the bathroom floor, Marshall shot her in the head four times. The Trio were quickly apprehended, and Marshall admitted to the crime. In a 1986 trial, Ryan Marshall was convicted of special circumstance murder, robbery, and burglary, and received the death penalty. The typical death penalty appeals began in 1993, and finally, in 2008, the federal USDC overturned the state court sentence and mandated that Ryan Marshall's sentence be changed to life in prison without possibility of parole.

Ryan Marshall was the 1966 out-of-wedlock child of Lonnie Marshall, of Louisiana, and Phyllis Muldworf, of California. The couple did not marry until 1972, although the mother and child stayed with Lonnie Marshall, in Louisiana, for four months during 1968. As it turns out, Lonnie Marshall was a Jehovah's Witness, and when he moved to California in 1972 to live with his child and new wife, he turned their lives upside down. Marshall was described as a "dictator" who forced the WatchTower religion on Phyllis and Ryan. All of the seven-year-old's toys were discarded. Early on, Ryna was beaten by Lonnie Marshall after Ryan argued with his mother about being forced to attend a meeting at the Kingdom Hall. Ryan was beaten regularly thereafter. However, by the time he was 13 years-old, Ryan Marshall finally became receptive to the WatchTower religion. Ironically, it was around the same time that Lonnie Marshall began to lose interest. Starting at the age of 10, Ryan Marshall suffered from depression and other mental health issues. He constatntly thought of suicide, and attempted such on occasions. There were repeated run-ins with the law, and Ryan began using alcohol and drugs. As a teenager, Ryan Marshall suffered from ulcers and hypertension.

Phyllis Marshall, who started working as a social worker for the Child Protective Services of Tulare County in 1976, claimed that she stayed with Lonnie Marshall because she was afraid of him. She claimed that Lonnie Marshall's parenting style was "to coerce obedience through cruelty and intimidation". Marshall's concept of family life was that "he was the man of the house, he was the one in charge and everybody was going to do what he wanted." He yelled; he never talked. He threw objects in the house that were not to his standards of cleanness or neatness. He had an explosive personality. She further claimed that Lonnie Marshall forced his Jehvah's Witnesses religion on them, and he berated wife and child for their Jewish heritage.

A JW Elder, named Isaac Hull, testified in the sentencing phase of Ryan Marshall's 1986 trial, and spoke well of him calling him "bright and studious". Hull recounted a time when Ryan Marshall had visited his wife and he at their home in 1983. Hull described Lonnie Marshall as "very knowledgeable about the Bible, [but] he didn't apply what he knew". Elder Hull attempted to label Lonnie Marshall as "strange" by describing an incident when Lonnie Marshall called Hull to the Marshall residence because Marshall insisted that Ryan's foot locker was "possessed". (Readers should understand that Isaac Hull knew that his non-JW listeners would interpret such as a negative against Lonnie Marshall. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, the WatchTower Society had promoted fear amongst JWs that items in their home might be "demon possessed". In fact, this was one of Jehovah's Witnesses favor topics of inter-denominational conversation during that time period. No sympathy for Lonnie Marshall, but that was certainly a hypocritical low-blow by the JW Elder.)

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CORRELL v. SCHRIRO, ARIZONA v. CORRELL, ARIZONA v. CORRELL, Etc., Etc.  Michael Emerson Correll currently sits on Arizona's "death row" after being convicted in 1984 of three first-degree murders, one attempted murder, one count of armed robbery, one count of first degree burglary, and four counts of kidnaping. Michael E. Correll's most recent "death penalty" appeal was in May 2008. The USCA ruled that Correll was entitled to a new penalty phase trial, because:

"Correll was constitutionally entitled to the presentation of a mitigation defense. He did not receive one, although substantial mitigation evidence existed."

Michael Correll's mother, Joyce Elene Callahan Correll (remarried Knobel) was described as a "fanatical" Jehovah's Witness, whose commitment to the WatchTower Society came before her commitment to her family. She spent most of her time with JW activities, and often neglected her six children's basic needs. Her six children were required to attend all meetings at the Kingdom Hall, and if they misbehaved, or even indicated that they were confused, or did not understand WatchTower doctrine, they were punished.

As a result of their rearing in this abusive Jehovah's Witness household, all six Correll children (Robin Darlene, Patricia Williams, Michael, Daniel, Terry, and Timothy) reported that they had or have had substance abuse problems beginning in childhood or adolescence. At least five of the six children spent time in juvenile correctional facilities, and all four of the boys in the family have spent time in adult correctional facilities.

Michael Correll's problems with drugs and alcohol began early. In response to Correll's obvious substance abuse problems, his parents intervened with beatings and threats of kicking him out of the house. He was arrested multiply times before he was 14 years-old. Correll's JW Parents were not entirely remiss in his rearing. After Correll was expelled from the eighth grade for threatening a teacher with a knife, his parents took him to a private psychologist, and participated in a six-month treatment program with him.

However, shortly thereafter, when Correll was 14 years-old, he got into another incident in which he was shot in the arm. After he recuperated from such, Correll's parents petitioned the State of Arizona to sever their parental rights and make him a ward of the state. According to the court record, Correll's parents had done such in accordance with the WatchTower Society practice of "shunning", which is treating an excommunicated member as if they were already dead, which would also seem to indicate that Michael Correll may have been a "baptized" member, and that he may have been "disfellowshipped", which would further indicate that Correll's local JW Elders may have played an "unadvertised" role in all of the aforementioned.

Within months of becoming a ward of the state, 14-year-old Correll became addicted to heroin. Amongst the various state institutions where Correll spent his teenage years, Correll was committed to psychiatric institutions at least twice, and at age 16, Correll was described  as "severely psychologically impaired". Correll was treated with tranquilizer/anti-psychotic drugs while institutionalized, and he attempted suicide on two occasions.  Correll's criminal history also included numerous escapes from mental health treatment facilities, as well as hostage taking and armed aggression against mental health workers.

Methamphetamine eventually became Correll's drug of choice. At the time of the April 1984 murders, Correll's meth use put him in the top 1% of meth users quantity-wise. Michael Correll's life as a druggie was one of continuously trouble. The court record also included brief remarks about Correll's knifing of one man, and his stabbing of a pregnant woman. Except for 229 days, Correll was incarcerated for the 9-year period between October 1975 and March 1984.

During the early AM hours of April 12, 1984, Michael Correll and John Nabors went to the home of a friend/co-worker of Nabors, pulled a gun, and demanded money and drugs. After Correll secured the homeowner and his girlfriend with duct tape, a tenant and her boyfriend arrived at the home, and Correll secured them with duct tape as well. For whatever reason, the Duo left the home with the friend, tenant, and the tenant's boyfriend in the tenant's car. Curiously, the homeowner's girlfriend was further bound by Nabors, but left at the home. She was later found in the house dead from strangulation.

Correll drove the stolen auto to a deserted area where Nabors's truck was parked. Nabors took his truck and followed Correll to a desert area north of Phoenix. There, they forced the three victims out of the car and made them lie face down on the ground. Correll shot the homeowner in the back of the head. Nabors then shot and killed the tenant's boyfriend, and then tried to shoot and kill the tenant. The gun misfired a couple of times. After reloading the gun, Nabors was finally successful in shooting and killing the tenant.

Miraculously, the homeowner, whom Correll had shot, did not die, nor even lose consciousness, and he reported the crime as soon as Nabors and Correll left the scene. Nabors committed suicide while police were attempting to arrest him a few days later. On April 20, 1984, Michael Correll was apprehended at his father's residence in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he had fled to be with the father and other family members.

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MASSACHUSETTS v. PRING-WILSON was a 2003-8 Massachusetts criminal court case. In January 2008, former Harvard graduate student Alexander Pring-Wilson pleaded "guilty" to "involuntary manslaughter" for stabbing to death Michael Colono, 18, during an April 2003 confrontation in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A 2004 manslaughter conviction had been overturned on appeal, and the 2007 re-trial had ended in a hung jury. Pring-Wilson plea bargained to a two year prison sentence, and received ten months credit for time served.

This politically charged case received much publicity over the years, including CourtTV coverage, because it pitted the small affluent Pring-Wilson family from Colorado Springs, Colorado, against a large extended lower middle-class Cambridge, Massachusetts family of Puerto Rican immigrants. Despite the fact that over the years several reporters have written very specifically about the Colono family, but-for a single media reference back in April 2003, it would never have been known that the Gabriel and Ada Colono family were Jehovah's Witnesses, or that Michael Colono had been reared as a Jehovah's Witness.

In the early AM hours of Saturday, April 12, 2003, the Harvard grad student was walking home alone after a Friday night of bar-hopping with friends, when he passed a car parked outside a pizza parlor, which was occupied by Samuel Rodriguez, 22, Rodriguez's girlfriend (driver), and Rodriguez's cousin, Michael Colono, 18. Michael Colono made an insulting remark to Pring-Wilson, and an altercation ensued, during which Colono was stabbed five times by Pring-Wilson.

Samuel Rodriguez claimed that the Harvard grad student first assaulted Colono, and that he then came to his cousin's aid, and after punching Pring-Wilson only one time, the pair fled to their car and left, and only discovered that Colono had been stabbed afterwards.

Pring-Wilson claimed that he was jumped by Colono and Rodriguez after a verbal exchange that was initiated by the pair insulting and taunting him, and that he only used the pocket knife in self-defense after being repeatedly punched and kicked.

During the 2007 trial, Rodriguez, who worked as a bouncer in 2003, acknowledged that previous to the altercation he had pleaded guilty to three assault-and-battery charges, as well as one charge of carrying an unlicensed firearm. Rodriguez reportedly was also sentenced to probation for marijuana possession in 1999. The police had even come to the home of Rodriguez and his girlfriend, Giselle Abreu, earlier that same Friday evening due to the couple's arguing. Abreu also testified that both Rodriguez and Colono were drinking beer and brandy in the car as they waited on their pizza.

***

MASSACHUSETTS v. COLONO, MASSACHUSETTS v. COLONO, ETC.  At the time of the 2003 pizza parlor altercation, Michael Colono was on probation for a malicious destruction of property charge, which curiously arose out of a 2001 arrest when Colono, 16, threw money in the face of a cashier at a pizza restaurant, and then kicked in the front door and shattered the glass.

Michael Colono's juvenile record also include three or more disorderly conduct arrests, including a time when he assaulted two people on a subway, and then spat on the police officers who arrested him. In July 2001 Colono was arrested for trespassing, and in September 2001, Colono was arrested for possession of 16 small bags of crack cocaine with intent to distribute. Colono had also spent time in a substance abuse rehab facility.

Michael Colono had fathered a child when he was only 15 years-old, and he thereafter dropped out of high school. At the time of his death, Colono was employed in the kitchen of a Boston area Days Inn Hotel restaurant.

At Pring-Wilson 's sentencing, Desmarias Colono, sister, stated:  "Nothing will ever make life better without Michael -- and I mean nothing. It's all Alexander Pring-Wilson's fault, the man who thinks he's God."  During a previous hearing, Marcos Colono, brother, called Pring-Wilson a "Harvard thug".

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CALIFORNIA v. STONE was a 2007 California criminal court case. In January 2007, an 18 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Allyson Stone, was convicted in juvenile court of felony assault, with a hate crime enhancement, and thereafter sentenced to "probation", and ordered to perform 250 hours of community service, and ordered to take part in an eight-week racial tolerance program offered by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, for Stone's participation in a racially motivated mob beating which occurred on Halloween 2006. Allyson Stone also spent 99 days in juvenile hall.

Allyson Stone is an African-American Jehovah's Witness, and is the daughter of firefighter, Ervin Stone. At the time of the mob attack, Stone was also a scholarship track athlete at California State University -Long Beach. Stone reportedly had not return to college as of Fall 2007.

On Halloween Eve 2006, a group of ten African-American juveniles attacked and beat three white females outside a "haunted house", which was located in a Long Beach neighborhood known for its extravagant Halloween decorations and celebrations. Stone maintained her innocence throughout the proceeding, proclaiming that as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, she did not even celebrate Halloween. Although Stone had driven some of the ten African-American juveniles to the festivities, she claimed that she was there only because she had been asked to chaperone some of the youths. Stone even claimed that she never even left her car, much less participated in the attack and beatings, which left two of the white females in serious condition -- one of whom required reconstructive surgery on her face, and another possibly lost sight in one eye.

Interestingly, one internet commentator has alleged that during the court proceedings that the prosecution introduced into evidence a photograph extracted from Stone's personal camera showing Stone and her boyfriend, in which the boyfriend is flashing "gang signs".

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CALIFORNIA v. HERNANDEZ was a 1999-2007 California criminal court case. In August 1999, a supposedly mentally ill 26 year-old Jehovah's Witness, named Isidro Calderon Hernandez, "hit-and-ran" and killed an 18 year-old bicyclist. Hernandez was also linked to a May 1999 "hit-and-run" of a second slightly injured bicyclist, which seemed to indicate that both "hit-and-runs" were intentional.

Around 11:30 PM, on Sunday, August 22, 1999, witnesses saw a white Honda Civic, driven by Isidro Hernandez, hit 18 year-old John Lee Labord as he rode his bicycle home from work on Orangewood Avenue in Anahiem, California. The three witnesses, who just happened to be friends of the victim, claimed that they heard the Honda Civic accelerate just before the impact, swerve toward and hit Labord, then speed away, and escape onto a nearby freeway. Labord’s friends found his bicycle broken in two pieces approximately 200 feet from the point of impact. However, they did not find John Labord.

Labord's corpse was discovered about seven hours later, at daybreak, in a turnout off the 241 tollway --13 miles from where Labord was struck. Labord lived at least 20 minutes after the impact, as Hernandez sped down three different freeways with Labord stuck in his windshield. Labord eventually died due to massive blood loss from a large wound on his right forearm. Labord's body also sustained abrasions and a fracture to the right leg, but there were no major injuries to his head or internal organs.

As soon as the office of his insurance agent, Adela Diaz, opened that Monday morning, Isidro Hernandez telephoned that his Honda Civic had been "vandalized", and that he needed to get it repaired ASAP.

A neighbor who lived in Hernandez's apartment building, who had noticed Hernandez repeatedly rubbing on his car, which Hernandez kept covered with a blanket, put two-n-two together after viewing a television news report about the "hit-and-run", and telephoned the police. That neighbor had also attempted to speak with Hernandez while he was messing with his car, but an "unidentified man" called from Hernandez's apartment -- telling Hernandez to be quiet and come inside. Interestingly, Hernandez's visitors were typically only members of his immediate family -- generally his parents, Modesto Hernandez and Lilia Calderon, who came to Hernandez's apartment each day to see after his needs.

Hernandez had moved out of his parents' home into his own apartment only a few weeks prior, so that he would not have to take his "meds". Neighbors reported that Hernandez spent his days reading the Bible and talking and laughing to himself. Hernandez also was known for peeping into his neighbors windows -- supposedly because he would forget which apartment was his. Interestingly, although the circumstances are not known, Anaheim police officers found Hernandez naked and hiding in a dumpster, in 1995.

On the Sunday of the Labord killing, Hernandez's parents stated that he had spent "most of the day" at a Jehovah's Witness "picnic" in Anaheim, before going to their house that evening. Hernandez's parents told police that Hernandez left their house around 9:00 PM, which left an unexplained two hour gap of time until the incident, and provided a possible alibi for Hernandez.

The police investigation found Hernandez's Civic to have front-end damage, a caved-in windshield, a damaged hood, and a broken headlamp. Labord’s blood was found on the exterior and interior, despite the fact that Hernandez had attempted to remove such with bleach. Labord’s blood was also found on Hernandez’s shoes, one sock, and other items of his clothing. Tire tracks found near Labord’s dumped corpse were consistent with the tread wear pattern of the tires on Hernandez’s car, and a hubcap found at the point of impact matched the hubcaps on Hernandez’s car.

During this trial, the prosecution introduced evidence of the second hit-and-run incident that occurred in May 1999.  An eyewitness testified that the driver of a small white car veered into the bike lane and hit a bicyclist from behind without warning. Fortunately, that bicyclist was only slightly injured. Interestingly, a police officer testified that Hernandez’s sister told him that Hernandez confessed to her that he had hit a bicyclist in May 1999.  However, Hernandez’s sister testified that Hernandez never confessed the incident to her, and even denied making the statement to the officer.

In July 2000, Hernandez was charged with murder, kidnapping, hit-and-run driving causing injury and death, and filing a fraudulent insurance claim, to which Hernandez entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.

In June 2001, the court suspended criminal proceedings to evaluate Hernandez’s mental competence. In May 2002, the court concluded Hernandez was not competent to stand trial and committed him to Patton State Hospital, where he was confined approximately one year until his restoration to competency and return to Orange County for trial.

In January 2004, a jury convicted Hernandez of first degree murder, kidnapping, hit-and-run driving causing death, and making a fraudulent insurance claim.  La Bord's father died of a heart attack the day after Hernandez was convicted. In a separate sanity trial, the jury found that as to each crime Hernandez was capable of knowing or understanding the nature and quality of his acts, or that he was able to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the commission of the crimes. The court denied Hernandez’s motion for a new trial and sentenced him to a prison term of 25 years to life for first degree murder, with a concurrent five-year term for insurance fraud. The court stayed imposition of sentence of an additional 12 years on the remaining counts.

In 2006, an appellate court reversed and remanded on the "sanity" verdict only. That court ruled that it was prejudicial error when Hernandez's defense attorney did not object when the same psychiatrists testified in the sanity phase who had testified in an earlier competency hearing, because they had elicited potentially incriminating evidence from Hernandez when he was temporarily found mentally incompetent to stand trial.

The outcome of the sanity retrial is unknown. If ruled incompetent, Hernandez will spend his time in a mental health facility rather than a state prison until a time that his sanity is restored and he is able to assist in his defense during a second sanity hearing. However, the appellate opinion included these excerpts:

"... the testimony of Drs. Cutting and Criswell was not uniformly negative. Although Dr. Cutting concluded defendant was not insane, he testified defendant suffered from a schizoid personality disorder and that defendant probably did experience hearing voices in his head. Dr. Criswell testified defendant endured an ‘extremely pathological family,’ which could have formed the basis of his developing a mental condition as an adult. ... ... ...

"In this case, the prosecution’s expert witnesses gave uniformly negative testimony diagnosing defendant’s mental illness as malingering.  Not one of the prosecution experts would concede defendant had schizophrenia or some other psychosis, an arguably untenable position in light of the testimony from petitioner’s treating physician and the evidence of petitioner’s repeated hospitalizations.  At most, the prosecution experts would concede some type of a mental illness or personality disorder could not be ruled out, but only because defendant’s malingering made a definitive diagnosis difficult. ... ... ...

"In this case, despite abundant evidence of malingering, the jury believed the issue of petitioner’s sanity to be a close case.  Because the jury considered this to be a close case notwithstanding the overwhelming amount of inadmissible and unfavorable evidence it considered, we conclude petitioner has met his burden of demonstrating a reasonable probability of a more favorable result absent counsel’s error.  Thus, petitioner is entitled to a new trial on the issue of his sanity. ..."

The appellate opinion included at least two brief references to two prior Worker's Compensation claims filed by Hernandez. One involved some exposure to toxic chemicals, and a second involved a 16-18 foot fall from scaffolding. This excerpt reveals one psychiatrist's analysis of such:

"Rogers summarized petitioner’s symptomology as follows:

'When he was in workers’ comp cases, he tended to complain very heavily about so many symptoms that one doctor at least said that it didn’t make any sense.  He also complained of mental symptoms.  But, when he started at Orange County Mental Health, then he was prone to deny the mental symptoms and to say that there was nothing wrong with him.  But, then as time went on, and particularly when this case came into being, his strategies of presentation seemed to change.

'At the time he was arrested he told doctors at the jail it was mistaken identity.  And then, he told people he wasn’t there.  And at various times he said somebody had borrowed his car keys, or that his car was vandalized, and he reportedly made a false report about being vandalized.  And he was tending to say at the beginning "I am not mentally ill", and then he switched to "I am mentally ill, I am incompetent, I am insane."

'Those are very unusual words for a patient to use.  Then, he switched to "I don’t remember.  I don’t remember anything."  And then, in my exam he said, "I did nothing wrong, but I am insane and incompetent."’"

**************

FLORIDA v. BLACKLEDGE was a 1999-2007 Florida criminal court decision. On SuperBowl night 2007, Coral Springs Police found Glenn Blackledge, 28, passed out and slumped over the wheel of his still-running truck as it sat in a Coral Springs parking lot. Blackledge reeked of alcohol. That arrest violated a 13-year probation established in 2004, after Blackledge pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide in a plea bargain deal relating to a street-racing crash on August 7, 1999.  In 2004, Blackledge was sentenced to a mere one year in jail, a year of house arrest, and 13 years of probation. In August 2007, Blackledge's probation was revoked, and he was given a hefty 37-year prison sentence.

During the August 2007 proceedings, the father of Glenn Blackledge, named Gary Blackledge, testified regarding his son's "tender heart", and desire for treatment for his alcoholism. Gary Blackledge rationalized that his son was feeling isolated on the night of the Super Bowl, having been "socially shunned" for having recently violated WatchTower rules. Gary Blackledge said that his son had not exercised "proper conduct with a person of the opposite sex before marriage." Whether all that "spinning" means that Glenn Blackledge was being totally "shunned" due to having been recently disfellowshipped (excommunicated), or whether Glenn Blackledge was being selectively shunned due to having been "reproved" and "marked", is anyone's guess.

Glenn Blackledge had been reared in one of south Florida's most prominent and reportedly affluent Jehovah's Witnesses families. Allegedly, Glenn Blackledge had once been a "regular pioneer" (fulltime door-knocker), and a Ministerial Servant (deacon) in the organization. The father, Gary Blackledge, was not merely an Elder at the Plantation, Florida, Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses. Ranging from 1985 through 1999, multiple media reports about the activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in south Florida quoted Gary Blackledge as the WatchTower Society's area spokesperson. Gary Blackledge was referred to as "Convention Overseer", "Convention Manager", "Convention Supervisor", "Convention Director", etc. Blackledge evidently also played a significant role in the acquisition of West Palm Beach's "Leaky Teepee".

Most 2007 media reports only briefly referenced the 1999 street-racing crash in which the then 21 year-old Glenn Blackledge was blamed for the deaths of four other young adults. Glenn Blackledge's parents had allowed him to obtain a driver's license when he was only 15 years-old. Reportedly, during his first year of driving, Blackledge was involved in an accident, and received at least one traffic ticket. Between 1993 and 1999, Blackledge received at least nine tickets.

It is unclear whether the total of nine traffic tickets includes the speeding ticket that Blackledge received only about an hour prior to the street-racing crash. Blackledge received the speeding ticket from a Florida Highway Patrol officer while driving his Ford Mustang on the I-595. The speeding ticket made such an impression on Blackledge and his friends that they reportedly stopped and purchased four Heinekens to go with their 12-pack of beer, which the officer never spotted.

Shortly thereafter, Blackledge and his friends challenged another experienced street-racer on Sheridan Street, in Hollywood, Florida. Reportedly, while doing in excess of 120mph, Blackledge allegedly clipped the competitor's vehicle forcing the competitor to smash into a tree. Two males and a female were killed in the crash, and another male died six days later. Blackledge and his friends were accused of attempting to flee the scene, but his Mustang supposedly was not driveable. They were also accused of hiding their booze in some bushes while awaiting the arrival of police. Blackledge apparently hired experts who contested whether he had made contact with the other vehicle. Although charged with DUI, Blackledge's attorneys also successfully contested that charge, which was dropped in the plea bargain.

**************

WASHINGTON v. PLEAKE was a 2006 Washington DUI-vehicular homocide court case. On August 12, 2006, at around 8:00 PM, a drunk Jehovah's Witness, named David Pleake, 51, of Kennewick, blew through a Richland, Washington, red-light and broad-sided a Mazda driven by 22 year-old Samantha Semmern. Semmern later died at an area hospital.

Police found an open beer can in David Pleake's pickup truck, and he reportedly tested at a .20 blood-alcohol level. At the time, Pleake was on probation for a April 2005 DIU offense, in which Pleake had plead guilty for driving drunk with a blood alcohol level of .24. Pleake had been allowed to enter a deferred prosecution program for that DUI, and he had admitted to an alcohol addiction. An ignition interlock device ordered on Pleake's truck for a period of one year had expired three months earlier.

In January 2007, Pleake stipulated to the revocation of his deferred prosecution from an April 2005, and pleaded guilty to DUI. He was sentenced to serve one year in jail. In a second proceeding, Pleake pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the Semmern case, and was sentenced to a total of four years and seven months in prison.

According to Pleake's Congergation of Jehovah's Witness, Pleake was an "ordained minister", who was a "former Elder". It was alleged that during Pleake's 2005 proceedings that a number of family members and fellow JWs showed up to show their support for Pleake's receiving a second chance. At the 2007 proceedings, Pleake's mother, wife, brother, two daughters, and two "friends" testified as "character witnesses" in Pleake's behalf. When Pleake's mother testified that the judge was dealing with a "good person", and that "it wasn't right the way Semmern's family had portrayed her son", the crowd reportedly erupted with gasps, and shouts of "She's gone. She's gone", and "He killed her."

**************

On December 8, 2006, the day after his 29 year-old son, Brandon Ransom, was killed, Leonard Ralph Ransom, of Newburgh, Indiana, told a reporter that as Jehovah's Witnesses, his family's faith was carrying them through that difficult time. "But we don't grieve in the same way. We cry, and we grieve, but we have hope. We're going to see him again one of these days," stated Leonard R. Ransom. In August 2007, at the killer's sentencing hearing, Brandon Ransom's JW Mother, Sheila Ransom, stated: "Of the six children God gave us, we have two left."

At the time of his death, Brandon Ransom, 29, of Evansville, Indiana, was the father of four children -- ages 1 to 5 -- by three different women -- all of whom were described as "girlfriends" by the media. Several anonymous commenters on the multiple media report webpages alleged that Brandon Ransom was a drug user, who also allegedly had an extensive criminal record.

Christopher Holman, 24, of Tell City, Indiana, was the boyfriend of one of Brandon Ransom's ex-girlfriends. During 2006, Holman and Ransom had had a 8-months long running battle, which had included previous physical confrontations. On the evening of December 8, 2006, Holman and Ransom agreed to have it out in the parking lot of Evansville's Washington Square Mall after the mall closed. Both parties brought friends and weapons. The parties reportedly fist-fought initially, then separated, and thereafter introduced knives and an aluminum baseball bat into the fray. Holman reportedly had a knife, and Ransom reportedly had the baseball bat. One or more of the "friends" may have briefly participated in the battle at this point. At some point thereafter, Holman got the best of Ransom and allegedly stabbed Ransom two or more times in the chest. Brandon Ransom apparently was DOA at a local hospital from a stab wound to his heart. Holman was arrested a few hours later at a Tell City hospital.

Although Holman was initially charged with murder, after reviewing the facts of the case, the local prosecutor and court agreed to a plea deal in which Holman pleaded guilty to only reckless homocide in exchange for a mere six year prison term. At the August 2007 sentencing hearing, both families reportedly had many supporters present. Several anonymous commenters on the multiple media report webpages alleged that members/supporters of the Ransom family threatened and cursed at members of Holman's family. Media reports confirmed the many ongoing threats, although they did not say who was responsible. One media report noted that one member/supporter of the Ransom family noisily stomped out of the courtroom during the proceedings.

"Anonymous commenters" are referenced above for some alleged details. It is obvious from their comments that such included members of both families, as well as one or more of Brandon Ransom's ex-girlfriends and/or baby-mommas. One particularly annoying dominating poster repeatedly used JW buzz-phrases and JW terms in their multiple posts.

Interestingly, it was Holman's family that came across as the "christians" in this tragedy via both the "anonymous" posts and the media reports. In fact, at the sentencing hearing, Holman's father apologized for being too rough on Holman as he grew up. Holman's mother reported that her son was traumatized by Ransom's death, and that he spent he time in jail praying for the Ransom family. These are things that JWs would expect to hear from other JW Parents, not from non-JWs.

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