Melissa Huckaby, 28, a Sunday school teacher at Clover Road Baptist Church, has been arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and killing Sandra Cantu. The police took her into custody after she voluntarily went to them for questioning, which reportedly lasted nearly five hours. She is being held without bail at the San Joaquin County Jail, with an arraignment set for Tuesday. If you ask me, she should certainly be denied bond because of what she did to this poor child. As sad as this is, it is very rare for a woman to kill a child, so I would like to know the motive for this senseless killing.
Huckaby had previously told the Tracy Press that Sandra visited her home to play with her daughter March 27, the day she disappeared. She also said she had left her suitcase in the driveway that day, and that it was missing. Police said that large, dark-colored suitcase was the one in which Sandra's body was found April 8, submerged in an irrigation pond in Tracy. This woman was obviously misguided into thinking the cops would not have made a connection between the suitcase and her.
She brought untold attention to the church and her grandfather Pastor Clifford Lane Lawless, which was the subject of a police search. Huckaby taught Sunday school at the church and lived with Lawless in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park that also was Sandra's home. Of course, I won't be surprised if an insanity plea is brought in this case. This was reprehensible and I am glad that the accused killer was found alive and not dead. If she is proven guilty, she ought to meet the same fate as this little girl. Sandra Cantu has gone too soon. The church is supposed to be a refuge, not a trap for this little girl. The last person you would expect to kidnap and murder someone is a Sunday school teacher. But, the Bible did talk about wolves in sheep's clothing.
The long arm of the law has caught up with another unscrupulous judge. Well, this one is of a different ilk. Former Mobile County Circuit Judge Herman Thomas was arrested Friday after a grand jury returned the indictments against him. He was released on $287,500 bond later the same day. According to media reports Judge Thomas was slapped with indictments totalling 57 counts and charges ranging from ethics violations to kidnapping, extortion, sex abuse and sodomy. If convicted of kidnapping, which is the most serious charge, he faces a prison sentence of 10 to 99 years in prison, Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson Jr.
Wait, it gets better. His attorney, Robert Clark, used a phrase uttered by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas about the scandal involving Anita Hill -- the accusations against the former judge amount to "a high-tech lynching." He then pulled the race card -- "Did you ever think of the fact that this is the only black circuit judge we've ever had in Mobile County and that the right-wing Republicans have gotten rid of him?" "This is racism at its very finest." Let me get this straight. The former judge has been accused of some serious charges and the best his attorney could do was get in the mud and scream racism? Did anyone force this judge to allegedly do these things? The Alabama State Bar said its disciplinary commission suspended Thomas' law license Monday.
"The South hasn't changed all that much," Clark, described by the Mobile Press-Register as "a longtime and flamboyant fixture of the Mobile defense bar," told CNN on Monday. He said Thomas denies all the charges, and he questioned the credibility of the alleged victims. "Everybody that's listed in the indictment is either serving life for murder or some other horrible crime." Some have already recanted, Clark said, adding, "None of this is new stuff." He pledged he would "fight till the last dog falls."
The indictment returned Friday, offers few details of the alleged offenses but makes several references to Thomas forcing people to expose their buttocks "to paddling and/or whipping." The posted indictment had names of the alleged victims blacked out. But each of the nine alleged victims was in Mobile County Circuit Court on charges ranging from criminal mischief to murder, according to the Press-Register, which cited court records.
One of the inmates, according to the newspaper, went before Thomas on multiple occasions and faced several felony charges. He was sent to prison for a short time, but Thomas ordered him released early, according to the Press-Register. He was sentenced in federal court and later released and has since been accused of murder and attempted murder.
During Thomas' judgeship, he had a storage room furnished like an office near his eighth-floor chamber at Mobile's Government Plaza, the Press-Register said. Several criminal defendants have alleged, in affidavits and in court, that Thomas asked to paddle their buttocks in the room, and some said he suggested sexual encounters there, according to the newspaper. Source: CNN
He resigned from the bench in October 2007 before this drama hit the fan. He left just before being scheduled to stand trial before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary on ethics violations charges. The complaint was dismissed after Thomas' resignation and accused him of "extrajudiciary personal contact" with some defendants but does not refer to any sexual contact. The man is a pervert. No better than the scumbag running around among us with no good intentions. It is scary that this man could have been sitting on a bench and handing down sentences for any crime, when he has broken the law himself, and on such a grand scale.
TRACY, Calif. - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.
This undated photo provided by the Tracy Police Department shows Caren Ramirez. Police were seeking Ramirez on suspicion of participating in alleged abuse against her 17 year-old nephew who showed up Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 at a northern California gym with a chain locked to his ankle.
Police were also seeking the boy's aunt and had an outstanding felony warrant against her for an earlier alleged assault against the teen.
The boy, who authorities said ran away from a Sacramento foster home last year, came into the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy, Calif. on Monday wearing only boxer briefs and covered in what appeared to be soot, gym manager Chuck Ellis said. Tracy is about 110 kilometers south of Sacramento.
Ellis said the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden. "He said, 'Don't let them get me, don't let them get me,"' Ellis said. "He was totally terrified." The boy said he had been held captive for nearly a year, said Ellis, adding that he looked as if he were only 10 to 12 years old.
Police arrested Kelly Layne Lau, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, late Monday after questioning the couple. A subsequent search of their nearby home found further evidence implicating them, Tracy police spokesman Matt Robinson said.
They were booked on charges of torture, kidnapping and child abuse, and were set to appear in court Thursday, according to online jail records. The couple were being held at San Joaquin County jail on bail of nearly $1.2 million each.
Police still were seeking Caren Ramirez, 43, the boy's aunt, on suspicion of participating in the alleged abuse, Robinson said. Investigators were trying to figure out the connection between the couple and Ramirez, who authorities believe occasionally visited their home.
Lau and Schumacher's four young children, two of whom were home when police arrived, have been placed with Child Protective Services, authorities said.
Lau started serving as a local Girl Scout leader sometime in September, after a background check turned up nothing to cause concern, said Pam Saltenberger, chief executive of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California.
According to neighbors, the couple seemed to lead lives that revolved around their kids. Jennifer Foster, 33, said she and Lau became acquaintances through their children, who were neighborhood playmates. Foster said she first noticed an older boy with the family about a year ago.
"She told me that he was a nephew that was staying with them because he was having problems at home," Foster said. The boy was outside frequently, and his appearance never suggested anything unusual was happening behind closed doors, though the last time she saw him was May, she said. Another neighbor said that more recently, the boy looked unwell.
"The last time I seen him, maybe two weeks ago, we were both taking our cans in from garbage days and he was really skinny and pale," Rachel Portillo said.
Robinson, the police spokesman, said the boy was confused when approached by detectives Monday, unsure where he had come from and how long had been held. He was taken to a hospital.
"The victim says he was held against his will," Robinson said. "When you have a 17-year-old boy showing up with a bloody ankle from having a chain wrapped around it, it's one of those things for officers to put one and one together."
Robinson said detectives plan to interview the boy more Tuesday when he is a "little healthier." Police wouldn't release details about any conversations they've had with the boy or the couple since the arrests.
On her MySpace web page, Lau describes herself as a stay-at-home mom and says her husband worked as a contractor. She posted many photos of her family, friends and pets.
Final thoughts....
I hope the authorities find this scumbag, Caren Ramirez. Is that a man or a woman? She ought to get a dose of the same treatment this young man had to suffer for a year. This is completely reprehensible and they ought to be incarcerated for the rest of their lives. These three are a pack of maggots. To think the Schumachers are parents is totally mindboggling. Would they like someone to treat one of their own children in such a manner? Wow. This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I have heard in a long time. Thankfully the boy is still alive.
TRACY, Calif. - A Girl Scout leader and her husband were arrested after an emaciated, terrified and nearly naked 17-year-old showed up at a gym with a chain locked to his ankle, saying he had just fled his captors, authorities said Tuesday.
This undated photo provided by the Tracy Police Department shows Caren Ramirez. Police were seeking Ramirez on suspicion of participating in alleged abuse against her 17 year-old nephew who showed up Monday, Dec. 1, 2008 at a northern California gym with a chain locked to his ankle.
Police were also seeking the boy's aunt and had an outstanding felony warrant against her for an earlier alleged assault against the teen.
The boy, who authorities said ran away from a Sacramento foster home last year, came into the In-Shape Sports Club in Tracy, Calif. on Monday wearing only boxer briefs and covered in what appeared to be soot, gym manager Chuck Ellis said. Tracy is about 110 kilometers south of Sacramento.
Ellis said the teen was scared someone was going to come after him and asked to be hidden. "He said, 'Don't let them get me, don't let them get me,"' Ellis said. "He was totally terrified." The boy said he had been held captive for nearly a year, said Ellis, adding that he looked as if he were only 10 to 12 years old.
Police arrested Kelly Layne Lau, 30, and Michael Schumacher, 34, late Monday after questioning the couple. A subsequent search of their nearby home found further evidence implicating them, Tracy police spokesman Matt Robinson said.
They were booked on charges of torture, kidnapping and child abuse, and were set to appear in court Thursday, according to online jail records. The couple were being held at San Joaquin County jail on bail of nearly $1.2 million each.
Police still were seeking Caren Ramirez, 43, the boy's aunt, on suspicion of participating in the alleged abuse, Robinson said. Investigators were trying to figure out the connection between the couple and Ramirez, who authorities believe occasionally visited their home.
Lau and Schumacher's four young children, two of whom were home when police arrived, have been placed with Child Protective Services, authorities said.
Lau started serving as a local Girl Scout leader sometime in September, after a background check turned up nothing to cause concern, said Pam Saltenberger, chief executive of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California.
According to neighbors, the couple seemed to lead lives that revolved around their kids. Jennifer Foster, 33, said she and Lau became acquaintances through their children, who were neighborhood playmates. Foster said she first noticed an older boy with the family about a year ago.
"She told me that he was a nephew that was staying with them because he was having problems at home," Foster said. The boy was outside frequently, and his appearance never suggested anything unusual was happening behind closed doors, though the last time she saw him was May, she said. Another neighbor said that more recently, the boy looked unwell.
"The last time I seen him, maybe two weeks ago, we were both taking our cans in from garbage days and he was really skinny and pale," Rachel Portillo said.
Robinson, the police spokesman, said the boy was confused when approached by detectives Monday, unsure where he had come from and how long had been held. He was taken to a hospital.
"The victim says he was held against his will," Robinson said. "When you have a 17-year-old boy showing up with a bloody ankle from having a chain wrapped around it, it's one of those things for officers to put one and one together."
Robinson said detectives plan to interview the boy more Tuesday when he is a "little healthier." Police wouldn't release details about any conversations they've had with the boy or the couple since the arrests.
On her MySpace web page, Lau describes herself as a stay-at-home mom and says her husband worked as a contractor. She posted many photos of her family, friends and pets.
Final thoughts....
I hope the authorities find this scumbag, Caren Ramirez. Is that a man or a woman? She ought to get a dose of the same treatment this young man had to suffer for a year. This is completely reprehensible and they ought to be incarcerated for the rest of their lives. These three are a pack of maggots. To think the Schumachers are parents is totally mindboggling. Would they like someone to treat one of their own children in such a manner? Wow. This is one of the worst cases of child abuse I have heard in a long time. Thankfully the boy is still alive.
