| 3 teens charged in robbery on south side of DM
Three teenagers were taken into custody following a robbery on the south side of Des Moines early this morning.
Jack Petsche, 17, and Nicholas Ceretti, 18, both of Des Moines, are charged with robbery. Brandon Beechum, 17, of Des Moines, is charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly providing an additional set of clothes for Petsche after hold-up.
It was Petsche who went inside the Kum & Go Store at 4001 S.W. Ninth St., with a knife and a shirt pulled over his head with eye holes cut in the cloth, police said. Ceretti is accused of being the the driver.
The robbery occurred about 1:40 a.m.
A witness gave police a description of the get-away car after the robber left the building with less than $100 in cash. Officers stopped the vehicle shortly thereafter and took the suspects down to the police station for questioning.
Durham Man Charged in Avalon Nightclub Slaying
A Durham man faces a murder charge in a shooting outside a Chapel Hill nightclub last year, though authorities believe someone else pulled the trigger, police said Thursday. Chapel Hill police said they had picked up Willie James Mayo, Jr., 28, of 910 Cartman St. in Durham, with help from the Durham County Sheriff's Office. They charged Mayo with first-degree murder and accessory after the fact in the shooting of Kedrain Monta Swann of Chapel Hill. Mayo was being held without bail in the Orange County Jail. Swann was shot 12 times with a high-powered rifle outside Club Avalon on July 29, 2006, after an altercation inside the club, police said. He died at a local hospital. Town officials later forced the nightclub to close, citing a "grave safety risk" to nearby residents.
3rd man charged in nightclub death
CHAPEL HILL -- Police have arrested a third and final suspect in the slaying of a man outside of a nightclub last year.
Montaray Self, 21, was charged Tuesday with being an accessory.
Chapel Hill police have already charged Christopher Shipley with first-degree murder. He is accused of gunning down Kedrain Swann on July 29, 2006 outside the Avalon nightclub.
Last week, police charged Willie Mayo Jr. with first-degree murder. They say he drove the car while Shipley shot the victim. .
Tests clear teens accused of murder in racially charged case
TAYLOR, Mich. -- Charges have been dropped against two black teenagers accused of killing a white mother of six. Police say ballistics tests show neither had a hand in shooting Wendy Meinke, who was killed July 30 during a dispute involving her son and others at an apartment complex in the Detroit suburb of Taylor. She tried to intervene, and two people shot in her direction. Taylor police later stopped a car carrying Devin Plummer, 17, and Franklin Smith, 18. Plummer was charged with first-degree murder and Smith with being an accessory for driving the car. The charges were dismissed after prosecutors received gun-residue tests Wednesday indicating it was highly improbable Plummer could have fired the gun police think is the murder weapon. The sudden reversal came two days after relatives and black activists protested outside 23rd District Court.
FedEx driver one victim of knife-wielding teenage girls
CARLSBAD Two teenage girls who claim local gang affiliation were arrested Tuesday morning and charged with attempting to commit armed robbery, a police report stated. Gabrielle Madrid, 15, of the 200 block of Russell, was charged with two counts of attempted armed robbery. April Parraz, 14, of the 600 block of North Canyon, was charged with accessory to armed robbery. According to court documents, at approximately 9 a.m. Tuesday, outside the Allsup's convenience store in the 1000 block of South Canal, a FedEx driver, Jose Gomez, was preparing to get gas for his truck when a white Ford Tempo pulled up to the gas pump next to him. The young female driver of the Tempo, identified as Madrid, began throwing gang signs at Gomez and asked him if he was affiliated with Sureno 13, a local gang, Gomez told police.
Murder suspect's mother arrested, charged with accessory to murder
A mother who may have been trying to protect her son in a local murder case, may end up serving more than four years in jail. Police arrested the mother of murder suspect Larry Thompson Wednesday night and charged her with accessory to murder. Investigators say Debra Thompson refused to tell police where her son was. They say she also withheld evidence from detectives. Exactly what that evidence is though was not released. Her son, Larry Thompson, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Morris Cuttino. Cuttino was found shot in his car on Grace and Tenth Streets last week. Autopsy results show Cuttino died from a single gunshot wound to his abdomen. According to prosecutors, accessory to murder is a class c felony, with class A being the worst offense.
Prosecutor, police deny racism in charging black teen with murder
TAYLOR - Police in this predominantly white city and the county's black prosecutor are denying accusations of racism in the charging of a 17-year-old black youth with murdering a 38-year-old white mother of six. Wendy Meinke was fatally shot July 30 during a dispute involving her son Joshua and others at an apartment complex in this southern Detroit suburb, police say. They say she tried to intervene and two people shot in her direction. Taylor police stopped a car with local residents Devin Plummer, 17, and Franklin Smith, 18. Plummer was charged with first-degree murder and Smith with being an accessory for driving the car. Smith was freed on bond and Plummer ordered held without bond. Both are black. .
Man killed while fleeing cops
The driver of a speeding sports car being pursued by a Polk County deputy sheriff was killed Saturday when his red Pontiac Fiero crossed the center lane of North Galloway Road and crashed into another vehicle, injuring its driver.
Samuel Lugo, 34, of Lakeland was killed on impact. Police said he had an extensive criminal record in Polk and Orange counties, including charges of reckless driving, fleeing to elude, battery on a police officer and armed robbery. He was acquitted on a first-degree murder charge in December, and an accessory-to-murder charge was dropped in June, authorities said.
Kelly Thornton, the driver of the other car, was treated at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and released.
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