Dispute Turns Relatively Quiet Neighborhood into Crime Scene

8-25-2012 Massachusetts:

Stockton Police are on the lookout for a man who cops say shot a 68-year-old family friend to death. The victim was a convicted sex offender.

The shooting happened early Saturday morning, with police responding to calls near Dwight Way and N Tuxedo Avenue. During the same shift, officers in Stockton were out on a violent crime sweep.

The only problem is they didn’t come to this area.

“Last night the multi-agency operation was all over the city,” Detective Joe Silva said. “We don’t have that large of a crime issue in that neighborhood,” Silva added.

68-year-old Jesse Jimenez was found shot and killed. His family told FOX40 that an argument broke out between Jimenez and a longtime family friend, 44-year-old James Morales. In the heat of it, they say Morales shot Jimenez, got up, and left.

Police believe the incident is not gang related.

It’s Stockton’s 44th homicide of the year. Compare that to only 26 last year at this same time.

The almost four dozen murders has the community shaken.

“To me it’s like being in an earthquake, but you can’t do nothing about it. You just try to ride through,” a neighbor said.

Police consider Morales armed and dangerous. He drove away from the murder scene in a small, white, 2006 Nissan Altima 4-door, with California plates 5WPB726. ..Source.. by KTXL-TV

Detective Says Pair Admitted To "Humiliation" Of "Old Man" For Allegedly Touching Child Inappropriately

8-21-2012 Georgia:

A city detective testified Tuesday that Jennifer Hatfield-Streeval, 32, and John E Moncier, 28, admitted to carrying out the "humilation" of "an old man" for allegedly inappropriately touching Ms. Hatfield-Streeval's daughter.

However, detective Luke Fuller said he talked with the child and she never mentioned being touched by 76-year-old Garner Isbill in the incident on March 18 at Motel 6, 7300 Lee Highway.

He said Ms. Hatfield-Streeval and Moncier admitted dragging the victim down a set of concrete steps and then stripping and beating him. He was found naked in a pool of blood. He later died in a hospital at Rome, Ga.

General Sessions Court Judge Christie Sell bound charges of criminal homicide, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault to the Grand Jury against the pair. They remain in custody.

Detective Fuller said Ms. Hatfield-Streeval told him that another woman at the scene informed her that Isbill had touched the daughter in a private area while she had gone down the hall to get an extra chair.

He said she stated that she punched him in the face, knocking him down. Then she dragged him out of the room and down the stairs before she and Moncier administered the kicking and stomping.

He said Ms. Hatfield-Streeval said his clothes were taken off to add to the "humiliation."

The detective said he found one of the victim's boots at the scene and it had blood on the sole. He said he inferred that it was also used in the attack.

He said Moncier also gave a statement and acknowledged helping carry out the beating.

The motel manager said he walked up and saw Moncier stomping the victim. He said he dialed 911.

Jody Hughan, girlfriend of Moncier who is pregnant with his child, said after she and Ms. Hatfield-Streeval returned with the chair, the girl told her that "she had been touched by the old man" between her legs. She said she relayed that information to Ms. Hatfield-Streeval and she told her to take the child off and she would "take care of the old man." She said she looked back and saw him being dragged down the stairs.

She said she later saw Moncier kicking the victim. She told him they should leave, and they headed for his brother's house in Cleveland, Tn. But she said they returned to the motel room when Ms. Hatfield-Streeval called and said everything was okay. She said the victim was still lying naked outside the motel when they returned. His clothes had been thrown nearby.

The witness said his face "was demolished" and he was breathing in an odd way.

Formerly of Bryant, Ala., Garner Isbill lived most of his life in Chattanooga and had lived the past year in Resaca, Ga. He was a United States Navy veteran having served during the Korean War.

Ms. Hughan said she knew him as a homeless man who was always drunk.

She said they were all drinking that night. She said another person who was with them, Brian Owings, was passed out on a bed and slept through the whole incident. ..Source.. by The Chattanoogan

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Charges Upgraded To Murder Against Pair After Garner Isbill Dies From Injuries

5-30-2012:

Investigators with the Chattanooga Police Department’s Homicide Unit have added the charge of criminal homicide against Jennifer Hatfield-Streeval, 32, and John E Moncier, 28.

They had previously been arrested for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault for the assault of 76-year-old Garner Isbill on March 18 at 7300 Lee Highway.

Mr. Isbill succumbed to his injuries last Wednesday.

Police said the couple beat the victim, then dragged him down some concrete steps.

He was found in a pool of blood.

Formerly of Bryant, Ala., Mr. Isbill lived most of his life in Chattanooga and had lived the past year in Resaca, Ga.

He was a United States Navy veteran having served during the Korean War.

Survivors include his two daughters, Yvonne (Jimmy) Trammell, of Resaca and Rhonda Isbill, of Ringgold; sister, Patricia Isbill, of LaFayette; brother, Edward Isbill, of Chattanooga; three grandchildren, Blane (Amber) Parton, Kris (Ashleigh) Parton, and Chelsea Isbill; and two great-grandchildren, Blake Parton and Destinie Parton; and several nieces and nephews.

He was buried at the Chattanooga National Cemetery with his daughter, Pastor Yvonne Trammell, officiating. ..Source.. by The Chattanoogan

Man killed by deputies was 26-year-old Greenville man

8-14-2012 South Carolina:

The Greenville County Coroner's Office has identified the man shot and killed by sheriff's deputies at the Red Roof Inn as 26-year-old Anthony Lee Lamboy of Greenville.

Kent Dill, a Greenville County deputy coroner, said Lamboy was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m. Monday. Authorities said he was shot during a struggle with deputies trying to arrest him at the inn on Laurens Road.

An autopsy was being performed this morning, Dill said.

After receiving a report of a sexual assault Monday, three deputies responded to the inn shortly before 1 p.m., authorities said.

They said a woman gave officers a suspect’s description. The suspect was spotted shortly afterward, authorities said.

In talking to the suspect, the officers conducted a background check and discovered an outstanding warrant, Sheriff Steve Loftis told reporters.

A struggled ensued as deputies tried to make an arrest and the suspect grabbed one deputy’s gun, still in the holster, Loftis said. The gun discharged, striking the deputy, and the two other deputies drew their weapons and shot the suspect, Loftis said. ..Source.. by Staff report

DOC inmate from Nashua found dead in cell

Here we have a death which authorities keep saying "under investigation" and by now a "autopsy" has been done with no report of why! If a suicide, there are signs, none of which are mentioned here. So who/what caused his death? It is now December and no answers...

8-13-2012 New Hampshire:

MANCHESTER – An autopsy is scheduled for Monday on the body of 43-year-old Nashua resident Mark John Amsden, an inmate at the N.H. Department of Corrections who died Sunday afternoon after being found unconscious in his cell, officials said.

Amsden, of 3 Kehoe Ave., Apt. A in Nashua, had been held at the facility since July 27, a day after Nashua police arrested him on three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of felonious sexual assault.

Police said that Amsden was arrested on a warrant issued after a woman, whom Amsden reportedly knew, told police she had been sexually assaulted on several occasions.

DOC superintendent David Dionne said Amsden was alone in his cell when he was discovered unconscious at 1:17 Sunday afternoon.

“We had no indication Mr. Amsden was in any form of distress,” Dionne said.

He said correctional officers and on-duty medical personnel began emergency medical treatment, which continued until American Medical Response and Manchester Fire Department personnel arrived. Efforts to revive Amsden failed, and emergency personnel pronounced him dead at 1:51 p.m., Dionne said.

Dionne said Amsden was being held at the DOC on $50,000 bail since his July 27 Nashua District Court arraignment.

Dionne also said Amsden had 13 previous admissions to the DOC.

According to Telegraph archives, Amsden’s local criminal history dates back to at least 2004, when Nashua police arrested him in December on three counts of forgery in connection with the theft of checks from his neighbor. He was indicted in March 2005. At the time, Amsden gave an address of 4 Auburn St., one of several he had over the years.

In August 2005, Amsden, then of Revere, Mass., was charged with violation of a protective order. Two months later, he pleaded guilty to stalking, and received a suspended sentence.

Amsden was 37 when he was charged in February 2007 with felony failure to register as a sex offender. He lived at 28 Railroad Square at the time; In August that year, he lived at 18 Abbott St., Unit B, when he was charged with criminal trespass.

In February 2008, Amsden lived at 20 Harvard St., No. 3, when he was arrested for driving after revocation or suspension, records state. In October that year, while living at 24B Fletcher St., Nashua police picked Amsden up on a warrant for assault out of Portsmouth.

About a year later, Amsden was arrested for criminal threatening and stalking. On July 4, 2011, he resided at 23 Temple St., No. 302 when police arrested him on stalking and domestic violence charges.

And about a month before his most recent arrest, Amsden was again arrested on domestic violence – stalking.

Dionne said Amsden’s death is under investigation by Manchester police and corrections officials. ..Source.. by Dean Shalhoup

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Nashua Man Found Dead in Prison Cell

8-20-2012 New Hampshire:

A Nashua man with a long arrest history was found dead inside his prison cell Sunday.

Mark John Amsden, 43, was found unconscious at about 1:15 p.m. at Valley Street Jail in Manchester, according to Manchester Police Lt. Maureen Tessier.

Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead just before 2 p.m.

Amsden, of 3 Kehoe Ave., Nashua, was arrested July 26 by Nashua Police, charged with three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault; and one count of felonious sexual assault, a class B felony. Amsden had been incarcerated more than a dozen times over the past decade on charges ranging from forgery, stalking, and assault to criminal threatening.

Cause of death remains under investigation, pending results of an autopsy, which is scheduled for today, Tessier said. ..Source.. by Carol Robidoux

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Nashua Man’s Jail Cell Death Under Investigation

An autopsy is planned for a 43-year-old inmate at a New Hampshire jail who was found unconscious in his cell.

Mark John Amsden of Nashua had been at the Manchester Department of Corrections facility since July 27. He had been arrested on charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault.

he Telegraph of Nashua reports Superintendent David Dionne said Amsden was alone in his cell when he was found Sunday afternoon. Emergency medical personnel were unable to revive him.

His death is under investigation by Manchester police and corrections officials.

Amsden had a criminal record going back to 2004 including charges of forgery, stalking, and failing to register as a sex offender. ..Source.. by CBS Boston

Suspicious death investigation of Elkhart man

8-5-2012 Indiana:

Suspicious. That's how investigators are, so far, describing the death of an Elkhart man, found on Saturday at his home in the 1700 block of Morton Avenue.

The victim is identified as 69 year-old James Grant, who also went by the name Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

He's said to be a registered sex offender, having been convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor going back to the late 1990's.

Right now, the case is under investigation pending an autopsy. ..Source.. by News Talk 95.3 MNC

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Elkhart police investigate possible murder

8-5-2012 Indiana:

Elkhart police are investigating a possible murder.

Officers were called to a home on Noble St., near Morton Ave. late Saturday morning. Police were called to this home on Noble Street, near Morton Avenue just after 11:00 a.m.

Inside the home, they found a man dead.

He’s identified as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

Neighbors say the man who lived there was a convicted sex offender and they stayed away from him.

“It's scary not knowing if there's somebody out there that's doing something, breaking into homes or if it's just a random act, or if it's just was somebody who knew him,” said neighbor Deb Fay.

Neighbors also told WSBT that teenagers were constantly coming and going from that house. ..Source.. by WSBT-TV Report

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Elkhart County Coroner: Autopsy determined T-Rex was murdered

ELKHART, Ind. -- We have an update on the death investigation of an Elkhart County sex offender.

The Elkhart County Coroner's Office just told us that "Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens'" death has been determined to be a homicide.

The coroner also said that Mullens died of "multiple sharp force trauma". He would not confirm whether or not T-Rex was stabbed.

The 69-year-old man's birth name is James E. Grant.

Police found his body on Saturday morning at a home on Morton Ave. ..Source.. by Jenny Dolph

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Coroner: Man was victim of homicide

8-10-2012:

ELKHART -- The Elkhart man found dead last weekend in his home was the victim of a homicide, according to Elkhart County Coroner John White.

White confirmed 69-year-old James Grant was killed by a sharp object, what he described as "sharp force trauma,"

WSBT reported.

Grant was also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullins.

Police were called to 17011/2 Morton Ave. late Saturday morning when they found Grant dead inside. ..Source.. by Staff

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Mother says teen accused of murdering convicted sex offender "T-Rex" acted in self-defense

8-22-2012 Indiana:

The mother of 18-year-old Brandon Johnston, who is accused of murdering 69-year-old convicted sex offender James Grant, aka Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens, defended her son on Tuesday saying he acted in self-defense.

Mullens, who was convicted of sexual misconduct with a minor in 1996, was found stabbed to death in his home on the 1700-block of Morton Avenue on August 4. The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office announced the arrest of Johnston on Monday. Johnston’s mother believes Mullens was a predator who targeted her son for years.

Jessica Dills, Johnston’s Mother, said she, son and her parents lived on Morton Avenue for years and Mullens moved in about five-years ago. Dills claimed that nobody in the neighborhood was notified that Mullens was a sex offender and only found out after they grew concerned about Mullens’ behavior.

"He tried to buy my parents gifts, he tried to buy us stuff because he always tried to get a hold of Brandon…he would call and ask where my son was,” Dills described. “He even showed up at our house before, he showed up at my parent's house, it was just creepy."

Dills claimed she and others made numerous formal complaints and reports to the Elkhart Police Department about Mullens’ behavior, saying that he often had contact with the numerous children in the neighborhood.

"People would see him, supposedly, masturbate in front of their window," Dills explained. “The bus stop is right in front of his house.”

Eight-months ago Dills moved to her current home in Three Rivers, Michigan, in part to get away from Mullens. However, he parents (Brandon Johnston’s Grandparents) remained at their home near Mullens and her son often stayed with them. Johnston was staying with his grandparents when Mullens was murdered and has told his mother that Mullens had gotten him drunk on the night of the murder, but he can’t remember much of what happened.

"I don't know if he slipped something into the drink that he gave my son and that's why my son can't remember some of it, it knocked him out and then he woke up and that's when everything happened,” Dills claimed. “My son tried to get it to stop and he (Mullens) was hitting my son with an object and my son said, ‘I had to defend myself.’"

Brandon Johnston is in the Elkhart County Jail awaiting trial.

"I saw him by myself and when he started crying I just started to lose it, it's not easy to see your kid there," Dill described. "The rest of his life it's going to haunt him, it's going to haunt us…he wanted to join the Army, that's never going to happen, so much is going to be taken away from him just because of this.”

Dills said she believes police should have done more to investigate Mullens before his murder and that the case should serve as a reason for stricter rules about where sex offenders should be allowed to live.

“I’m not saying he (Mullens) didn’t have a right to live anywhere, but in amongst a general population with tons of kids that wasn’t right,” she said. “I don’t want this to ever happen again, this shouldn’t have happened this time.”

Brandon Johnston is scheduled to be in court for an initial hearing on August 23. ..Source.. by Tony Spehar

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Teen pleads guilty to Elkhart man's murder

12-13-2012 Indiana:

18-year old Brandon Johnston pleaded guilty to murder Thursday morning in Elkhart County.

He's accused of killing James Grant – Also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens – back in August.

Police say Grant was stabbed several times in his head, neck, and chest in his Morton Avenue home in Elkhart.

Johnston is scheduled to be sentenced next month. ..Source.. by WSBT.com

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Teen sentenced on murder charge said victim gave him drugs

1-31-2013:

GOSHEN — What exactly happened the early morning of Aug. 2, 2012, may never be known. But what came out of the incident was the death of a 69-year-old man —a registered sex offender,— and the sentencing of an 18-year-old on charges of murder.

Brandon Johnston pleaded guilty in December to the charge of murder in connection to the death of James Grant, also known as Tyrannosaurus Rex Mullens. He was sentenced to 51 years in prison Thursday morning in Elkhart Circuit Court. He also will serve four years on probation.

Grant was killed in the early hours of Aug. 2. His body was found two days later in his home located at 1701 ½ Morton Ave., Elkhart. According to the probable cause affidavit for Johnston’s case, during their investigation police found a witness who said Johnston had said he “stabbed Rex in the head.”

Police also interviewed another person who said Johnston had told them “he had hurt someone and he thought he had killed them.” Johnston had told the witness he was going to “Rex’s house” to drink some beer. According to the witness, “Rex” was known as a person who lived on Morton Avenue and frequently spent time with Johnston.

Johnston was arrested Aug. 17.

An autopsy revealed that Grant died of multiple sharp force injuries to the chest, neck and head. During the sentencing hearing in Elkhart Circuit Court, Deputy Prosecutor Vicky Becker said Grant received a total of 23 stab wounds. She added that Grant, who used a wheelchair to move around, had stab wounds on his forearms, which indicated he was trying to shield himself from Johnston.

Becker said Johnston had committed acts that sent red flags with his constant use of alcohol and drugs since the age of 15, which he admitted to in his pre-sentence report.

“The choices that he was making led him down the path that resulted in the death of Mr. Grant,” Becker said.

Judge Terry Shewmaker said Johnston’s case was one he had given much thought to.

A few letters filed to the court by Johnston’s mother, Jessica Dills, and other members of Johnston’s family, asked the judge for leniency in his sentencing.

In one of her letters, Dills said her son, as other children in the neighborhood, had been targeted by Grant. Dills said in her letter that several phone calls were made to police about possible ongoing molestation the last few years.

Grant was a registered sex offender who in 1996 was found guilty on two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor.

Those letters were brought up during the hearing. Shewmaker asked Johnston if it was true he had received alcohol and drugs from Grant.

Johnston admitted that he had received marijuana, synthetic marijuana, alcohol and pills from Grant on multiple occasions.

Johnston, whose address is listed in Three Rivers, Mich. said that on the day of the incident he was in Elkhart to visit family. He said he had gone to Grant’s house, which he described was just around the corner from where his family lives, to get alcohol.

The fact that Johnston was receiving drugs and alcohol from the victim was considered as a mitigator at the time of the sentence, Shewmaker said. Johnston’s acceptance of responsibility and his arguments at the sentencing hearing were also taken into consideration.

“I’m not going to make an excuse or try to justify what I did,” Johnston told the court. “I don’t want people to think I’m a psychopath or a monster.” ..Source.. by Sharon Hernandez

City police ID man shot by officer in Medfield

8-1-2012 Maryland:

Police have identified the man fatally shot by police after officers responded to a domestic disturbance in Medfield on Tuesday afternoon.

Jonathan Blankenship, 40, was shot at least once and pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Anthony Guglielmi, the police department's chief spokesman, said an officer responding to a domestic call in the 1400 block of N. Weldon Pl. got into a struggle with Blankenship, and officers who came to his aid fired at least once.

Blankenship has a prior record including a second-degree assault conviction in Harford County for shoving his then-wife's sister, and he initially received 10 years in prison with five years suspended in District Court. Prosecutors said he appealed the case to Circuit Court, where the victim declined to testify, resulting in a sentence of 99 days.

In 1990, Blankenship was convicted of second-degree rape in Anne Arundel County and received 10 years in prison, records show. He was not required to register as a sex offender, however, because the conviction pre-dated the state's sex offender registry.

City police have shot eight people this year, seven fatally. That's two more than were killed in police shootings all of last year.

The officer involved in the shooting is expected to be identified Thursday, per the department's policy of allowing two days to pass before identifying officers involved in shootings. ..Source.. by Justin Fenton, The Baltimore Sun