Phoenix lawyer shot in attack on office building dies.

Date/Time: 01/30/2013 - Around 10:30 A.M.
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Victims: Two killed, one injured
Suspect: Arthur Harmon(70), deceased

 The suspect

 Victim Steve Singer

 Victim Mark Hummels

The shooting scene

By FOXNews

" A lawyer wounded by a gunman in a Phoenix office shooting this week has died, the second of three people wounded in the attack, the publicist for his law firm said Friday.
Mark Hummels, 43, had been on life support at a Phoenix hospital after Wednesday morning's shooting that killed a Scottsdale-based company's chief executive and left a woman with non-life threatening injuries.
The gunman -- Arthur Douglas Harmon, 70 -- was found dead early Thursday in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.
Harmon opened fire at the end of a mediation session at a north-central Phoenix office building over a lawsuit he filed last April.
Steve Singer, a 48-year-old father of two and CEO of Scottsdale-based Fusion Contact Centers LLC, died hours after the 10:30 a.m. shooting.
Police said Harmon targeted Singer and Hummels and "it was not a random shooting." A 32-year-old woman not involved in the mediation was caught in the gunfire near the building entrance and suffered a gunshot wound to her left hand.
Fusion had hired Harmon to refurbish office cubicles at two call centers in California.
Hummels worked with the Phoenix law firm Osborn Maledon and focused on business disputes, real estate litigation and malpractice defense. He died Thursday night, publicist Athia Hardt told The Associated Press early Friday.
He was a reporter for the Albuquerque Journal and Santa Fe New Mexican before he left to go to law school in 2001. He graduated first in his class at the University of Arizona's law school.
Hummels was admitted to the Arizona bar in 2005.
Colleagues of Hummels described him as smart, competent and decent man who was a rising star in his profession and dedicated to his wife, 9-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.
"This is a day of just unspeakable sorrow," said 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Andrew Hurwitz, who hired Hummels straight out of law school to serve as a law clerk from 2004 to 2005 while Hurwitz was serving on the Arizona Supreme Court.
According to court documents, Harmon was scheduled to go to a law office in the building where the shooting took place for a settlement conference.
Harmon represented himself in the lawsuit, and Hummels represented Fusion.
Fusion said Harmon was paid nearly $30,000 under the $47,000 contract. But the company asked him to repay much of the money when it discovered the cubicles could not be refurbished, according to the documents.
Harmon argued Fusion hung him out to dry by telling him to remove and store 206 "worthless" work stations after the mix-up was discovered. Harmon said Fusion then told him that the company decided to use a competitor.
Harmon's lawsuit had sought payment for the remainder of the contract, $20,000 in damages and reimbursement for storage fees and legal costs.
The company countersued Harmon, protesting the sale of his home to his son for $26,000 and asking a judge to prevent Harmon from getting rid of other assets. Harmon said the company's claims that the home was fraudulently transferred to his son were unfounded."

News Article

15-year-old boy suspected of killing parents, 3 kids in New Mexico home.

Date/Time: 01/19/2013 - Night
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Victims: Five killed
Suspect: Nehemiah Griego(15), arrested

 The crime scene

 The suspect

 One of the victims

By FoxNews

"A 15-year-old boy remained in custody as detectives tried to piece together what led to the shooting of his parents and three of their children who were found dead in a New Mexico home.
The teenager was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with the shootings, which happened Saturday night at the home in a rural area southwest of downtown Albuquerque, said Lt. Sid Covington, a sheriff's spokesman, on Sunday.
Authorities identified the victims late Sunday as Greg Griego, 51, his wife Sara Griego, 40, and three of their children: a 9-year-old boy, Zephania Griego, and daughters Jael Griego, 5, and Angelina Griego, 2. The suspect was identified as Nehemiah Griego.
Authorities said Monday that Nehemiah Griego had never been in trouble with the law.
A records check also indicated the teen had never been involved with the juvenile justice system before being charged over the weekend killings.
Investigators say there was no history of any emergency calls to the home in the recent past.
Word of the shootings traveled quickly through the law enforcement community, and officials began offering their condolences for Greg Griego, a spiritual leader known for his work with firefighters and the 13 years he spent as a volunteer chaplain at the county jail.
"Chaplin Griego was a dedicated professional that passionately served his fellow man and the firefighters of this community," Fire Chief James Breen said in a statement. "His calming spirit and gentle nature will be greatly missed."
The killings come just three days after President Barack Obama presented a sweeping gun-control package that marks the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in the U.S. in nearly two decades. Obama's package was triggered by last month's school shooting in Connecticut, where a gunman with a legally purchased high-powered rifle left 20 young children and six adults dead.
Jail Chief Ramon Rustin said Griego was instrumental in the creation of the Metropolitan Detention Center's chaplain program and worked to get inmates integrated back into the community.
Griego also was a former member of the pastoral staff at Calvary, a Christian church in Albuquerque. As part of his work there, he oversaw the Straight Street program for jail inmates.
Authorities said each victim suffered more than one gunshot wound, and several guns were found at the home, one of which was a semi-automatic military-style rifle. Investigators were trying to determine who owned the guns.
"Right now we're to the meticulous points of processing the scene and collecting physical evidence, and this is a vast scene with a lot of physical evidence," Covington said.
Authorities declined to release details of any conversation that the 15-year-old had with investigators, but they said he was the Griegos' son. The sheriff's office said he is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death.
The sheriff's office said it wouldn't release any further information about the case until Sheriff Dan Houston holds a news conference Tuesday morning.
On Sunday, a police roadblock cut off public access to the narrow dirt road that leads to the home, which is surrounded by trees and an agricultural field on one side.
Neighbors said they saw the first police cars and ambulances arrive at the home Saturday night. The road was blocked and word of the shootings began to make its way through the neighborhood.
Peter Gomez, a 54-year-old carpenter who lives about 200 yards from the home, said he had seen the family -- a husband and wife and their four children -- pass by many times but didn't know them personally.
"It's a horrible thing," Gomez said. "You see all this stuff that happens all over the country, the shootings in the schools and theaters, and then it happens right here. It's sad.""

News Article

Biddeford landlord charged with murdering two.

Date/Time: 12/29/2012 - Night
Location: Biddeford, Maine
Victims: Two killed, one injured
Suspect: James Pak(74), arrested

 The suspect

 A makeshift memorial for the victims

 The two victims

By The Portland Press Herald

"BIDDEFORD — A dispute over the parking of vehicles may have been a factor in the shooting deaths of two Biddeford teenagers Saturday night at an apartment at 17 Sokokis Road.

The house's owner has been charged in the killings.
Maine State Police identified the victims as Derrick Thompson, 19, and his girlfriend, Alivia Welch, 18.
Thompson's mother, Susan Johnson, 44, was treated for a gunshot wound at Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was in stable condition early Sunday. Johnson's 7-year-old son, Brayden, was not hurt.
James Pak, 74, was arrested in his driveway about 10 p.m. after surrendering to state police after three hours of negotiations.
Pak, who has been charged with two counts of murder, owns the two-unit house where the shootings took place and lives in the main building. Johnson rented the apartment.
State police Sgt. Mark Holmquist said Sunday that Biddeford police had been called to the home a few minutes before the shooting, to settle a landlord-tenant dispute over cars being parked in the driveway during Saturday's snowstorm.
Biddeford had declared a parking ban for Saturday night so city crews could plow the streets.
Holmquist said Biddeford police responding to the dispute talked to Thompson and Pak at the house and left after everyone involved said they no longer felt threatened.
Three minutes after police left, they received a call from Johnson reporting the shootings at the house. Police returned to find Thompson and Welch unresponsive inside. They removed Johnson and her 7-year-old son from the house. The child was hiding in a back bedroom on the instructions of his mother.
Biddeford police also removed Pak's wife, Armit Pak, from her house and brought the three to safety at a neighbor's. Holmquist said Pak's wife has been cooperative and has been interviewed.
Holmquist said a handgun was used in the shooting, but would not be more specific.
The state Medical Examiner's Office in Augusta was conducting autopsies on the victims Sunday.
Police had few details about the argument over parking.
"There may have been some shoving. We are still trying to clarify that at this point," Holmquist said.
Holmquist said it appears Pak has no criminal background in Maine.
The Biddeford Police Department has little history of Pak or the victims, Holmquist said.
Pak was being held Sunday at the York County Jail in Alfred. His first appearance before a judge is tentatively set for Monday, when bail will be determined.
Several neighbors, who said they heard the argument over parking, said Pak was known for his short temper.
Andrew Lemelin, 19, who lives across the street from the Pak home, said that Pak is known in the neighborhood for getting angry at his neighbors.
Lemelin said he had done some work for Pak earlier this year.
Pak was not happy with the teenager's performance and wrote a letter to Lemelin's father asking for his wages back. Lemelin said his father declined to repay the wages. Pak then left a message on the Lemelins' answering machine that Lemelin described as disturbing and threatening.
Lemelin said his family turned the message over to Biddeford police but nothing more came of the incident.
"He seemed like the kind of person who could deal with it without guns," Lemelin said.
Lemelin said Pak moved into the upscale neighborhood off Pool Road about five years ago, fixed up the house and started renting out the unit. Each tenant stayed for about a year, Lemelin said.
Johnson and her family moved into the apartment in October.
The Cape Cod-style home has an addition that houses the apartment. The house has two driveways, one on either side of the house. On Sunday morning three cars were parked in one driveway and a landscape company truck was parked in the other.
Pak owns Korean Yankee Landscape in Biddeford. The business website identifies Pak as the owner, designer, dry stone mason and installer with 50-plus years of experience.
The site describes Pak as a Korean war orphan who grew up in Danby and Rutland, Vt., and went to work in the marble quarries.
He started his own stone masonry and landscape business in 1964, which he sold in 2006 when he moved to Biddeford with his wife and opened another business, according to the website.
Pak also sold hot dogs from a stand on Pool Road, Lemelin said.
A memorial to the two teenagers has been set up across from the crime scene. It features a cross with garlands. On Sunday, a snow-covered bouquet sat at the base.
Brent Curtis, a reporter at the Rutland Herald in Vermont, who wrote a profile about Pak before he moved, said he was surprised to hear about Pak's arrest.
"He was kind of, to the best of my knowledge, a beloved figure over here," Curtis said."

News Article

3rd person dies after Ky. college shooting.

Date/Time: 01/15/2013 - Around 6:00 P.M.
Location: Hazard, Kentucky
Victims: Three killed
Suspect: Dalton Lee Stidham(21), arrested

 The victims

 The suspect

By Miami Herald

"HAZARD, Ky. -- A 12-year-old girl allegedly shot by her cousin's ex-boyfriend at an eastern Kentucky College has died of her injuries.
Fayette County Coroner Gary Ginn said Taylor Jade Cornett died shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday at University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Taylor was shot Tuesday, along with her father and her female cousin in the parking lot of Hazard Community and Technical College in Hazard.
Police said 21-year-old Dalton Stidham was charged with murder and attempted murder in the case.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A gunman enraged by a domestic dispute bought a gun and fatally shot his former girlfriend and her uncle and severely wounded a 12-year-old girl in the parking lot of a small southeastern Kentucky college, police said Wednesday.
The violence near the school Tuesday afternoon locked down the campus for more than an hour as police searched the two buildings of Hazard Community and Technical College in Hazard. The campus was closed Wednesday and will reopen Thursday.
Hazard police Chief Minor Allen said Wednesday that Dalton Stidham, 21, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
Allen said the shooting resulted from a dispute between Stidham and the woman who was killed, 20-year-old Caitlin Cornett.
Allen identified the male victim as Caitlin Cornett's uncle, Jackie Cornett, 53, and the wounded girl as his daughter. She was in critical condition at noon Wednesday at Kentucky Children's Hospital, said Julie Phillips, a hospital spokeswoman. Allen said the girl was shot multiple times.
Allen said the gun believed to have been used Tuesday was purchased the same day at a local pawn shop. A semiautomatic pistol was found at the scene.
Allen said Caitlin Cornett, who was a student at the college, and Stidham had a child together and had met to exchange custody of him.
Caitlin Cornett's sister, Brittany Cornett, told The Lexington Herald-Leader that Stidham and Caitlin Cornett had separated in October after a three-year relationship. Their son is 2 years old.
The boy was not injured in the shooting and was in the custody of social services workers, Brittany Cornett said.
College President Stephen Greiner said that at the time of the shooting, about 30 students were probably on campus. He said college staff responded quickly to the shooting, securing campus buildings to limit the impact.
"Our thoughts and sympathy are with the families of the victims of this tragedy," he said.
Caitlin Cornett was a student at the Hazard college in the 2010-11 school year and had recently signed up for a February course.
Caitlin and Jackie Cornett were already deceased when police arrived about 6 p.m., Allen said.
Conor Duff, the college's evening coordinator, said the outbreak of violence was startling.
"Everybody here's been pretty shook up," he said. "This is definitely something people around here are not used to. We have our fair share of problems, but normally this isn't one of them."

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/15/3184366/2-killed-1-injured-in-ky-college.html#storylink=cpy"

News Article

Tulsa Police ID Four Women Killed Monday.

Date/Time: 01/07/2013 - Around 12:30 P.M.
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Victims: Four killed
Suspect: Unknown

The victims

By News On 6

"TULSA, Oklahoma -

Tulsa Police released the names of the four women found shot to death in a South Tulsa apartment complex Monday afternoon, and we're now learning more about their lives.

All the women were mothers and two of them were grandmothers.
The four murdered were twin sisters Rebeika Powell, 23, and Kayetie Powell-Melchor, 23; Misty Nunley, 33, and Julie Jackson, 55.
Kayetie had a little girl and Rebeika had a 3-year-old boy.
Misty was staying with the twins. She had two teenage daughters and two young grandchildren.
Julie lived next door and had three children, five grandchildren and a grand baby on the way.
All of these women had families who loved them and dreams of a better life.
Their families are devastated by the idea of how these women must have suffered when someone tied them up, and then shot them, one at a time.
Rebeika and her twin sister, Kayetie, graduated Kellyville high school in 2009.
Kayetie's marriage broke up and Rebeika got laid off, so the sisters found themselves living together at Fairmont Terrace apartments with Rebeika's 3-year-old son, Tallynn.
"They never worked anywhere they weren't liked, never in trouble with the law, never any problems, at all, easy going—everyone was their friend," said the twins' father, Larry Powell.
Larry said that trusting nature got them in trouble, because a man befriended Becca and needed a place to stay, so they let him.
He said that man was a drug dealer, who ripped off other drug dealers, and he believes that led to the murders. He said whoever did it was looking for drugs and money, but the girls knew nothing about it.
"It took a really, really, sick, cold person to do this. There is nowhere that person can hide. Sooner or later, they're gonna get you," Larry said.
Misty Nunley's family said she had a good heart and spent a lot of time helping an elderly family friend.
They said she was trying to get her life back and was staying with Becca to get on her feet.
Julie Jackson was a next door neighbor who had taken little Tallynn, under her wing.
Their families feel they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"It's more than evil. There's no word for it," Larry said.
Larry lost his son to the flu a few years ago, and now he's lost his daughters. He said he was just two days away from getting them out of the complex and moving them into the home he just built in Skiatook.
"I was just over here two days ago, playing with the baby on the bed, talking about moving, getting out of here, then this happens. I just don't get it," he said.
Homicide detectives have interviewed more than 30 people in connection with this case.
Larry Powell said they collected shell casings and other evidence from the scene.
Detectives say they are looking at all the usual motives: love, money and drugs. They are working around the clock on this case, and the six other murders that have happened in the past week.
A fund has been set up to help the Powell sisters' father pay for their funerals. Donations can be made to "Powell Sisters Fund" at any RCB bank. Donations can be mailed in to PO Box 250, Skiatook, OK 74070."

News Article

Delray market gunmen shoot 'good, hard-working' guys without a word.

Date/Time: 12/23/2012 - Around 6:00 A.M.
Location: Delray Beach, Florida
Victims: Two killed
Suspect: Unknown

 Victim Alfonza Hunter

 The site of the shooting

By Brett Clarkson, Ed Komenda and Mike Clary, Sun Sentinel

"DELRAY BEACH — Reggie Taylor and Alfonso(written as Alfonza in some articles) Hunter were fathers and friends.
The two looked forward to their morning ritual nearly every day: Head to the local market, where they would grab coffee and Taylor would try his luck at lotto.
But early on Sunday morning, the pair had their coffee cups and were heading out the door of the Community Market at 945 W. Atlantic Ave. when two robbers walked in. One of the bandits started blasting away with a semi-automatic handgun. Hunter and Taylor never had a chance. Both died.

The take for the robbers was less than $100, said a clerk at the market. Police said the gunmen likely didn't have time to figure out who they were shooting at.
"It's a heinous crime," said Delray Beach police Detective Joseph Hart of the murder that left Taylor, 56, and Hunter, 68, dead two days before Christmas.
On Monday, devastated friends and relatives in the neighborhood where Taylor and Hunter lived and died were in shock.
"He's a good guy, hard-working man, went to work every day," said Henry Jackson, 45, a friend of Taylor's who had known him since childhood. Jackson, who did maintenance work at the small apartment complex where Taylor lived, stood outside Taylor's front door. He said Taylor didn't cause trouble or look for it.
"He didn't like the clubs, you wouldn't find him out here partying in the street," Jackson said. "If you wanted to find Reggie, you just knock on that door, that's where you would find Reggie."
Another friend drove up in her car, her eyes red with tears. She said her best memories of Taylor was his soft and gentle laugh.
"I'm so numb," said the woman, who would only give her name as Lois. "I really can't believe what happened. It's just a big shock. He was very quiet, a very easygoing person, just a good guy."
Hunter was also well-liked by friends and respected as a hard-working man. On Sunday, he had his bags packed for a Christmas trip to South Carolina with his daughter.
A neighbor, Rashonne Mackey, 44, said Hunter would mow lawns in the neighborhood. She would often hear a knock at the door. It would be Hunter standing there, holding her mail in his hands.
"He'd walk up and say 'looks like this has your name on it' and he gave me the mail," Mackey said. "He was sweet as pie. ... Nobody ever said a bad thing about him."

 

Neighbors knew him as a quiet gentleman, Mackey said.
"He walked in a very quiet state, with his hands behind his back. He looked at the ground, like he was looking for something," she said. "He was so Southern."
As the family and friends were in mourning Monday, police beefed up security at local markets in Delray to help prevent another tragedy, Hart said.
"We're putting all of our resources into investigating this crime, and locating these guys," Hart said. "And we are putting extra officers at the markets."
That's because the gunmen involved in the double homicide are believed to be the same pair who on Saturday held up another market just a block and half away on West Atlantic, said Delray Beach police spokesman Officer Jeff Messer.
Messer said police were "pretty confident" the same suspects hit both stores.
An employee of the first market to be robbed said Monday the gunmen fired about five shots. He pointed out the bullet holes in the store while customers came and went. Meanwhile, a Delray Beach police cruiser sat outside in the parking lot.
At the market where Taylor and Hunter were shot, clerk Mahmoud Masoud said he was sitting behind the counter when the two robbers walked in just before 6 a.m. Sunday. One of the gunmen shot the two victims without a word, Masoud said.
"They did not say nothing. The one guy just shoots them," Masoud, 26, recalled Monday morning. "It was not like robberies you see on 'Cops,' like 'Put your hands up.' This was two innocent people."
The store manager, Mohammad Hussain, 39, said that while Masoud was dodging bullets, his wife, Rana, was in Homestead giving birth to the couple's third child. Adam was born about 4 a.m., he said.
Masoud, who started working at the store just four months ago, was able to visit his family Sunday afternoon, after he had given police an account of what happened.
"I just gave them a hug," he said. "Thank God I'm alive."
After the incident, Masoud counted nine bullet holes in the store marked by police evidence stickers. He said one shot whizzed by his head and hit a cooler. He also said there was a gun behind the counter, but he had no time to grab it.
"It was quick, man," said Masoud. "They were in the store for less than a minute."
One of the suspects is described as 5-foot-6 with a thin build wearing a dark jacket and a dark hat with a red bill. He was wearing dark shoes with light-colored soles, said police.
The second gunman was described as slightly taller than the other, wearing a light gray jacket and dark shorts that reached below his knees.
Authorities ask anyone with information to call Detective Joseph Hart at 561-243-6220, or Crime Stoppers at 800-458-8477."

News Article

Gunman, 3 others killed during Aurora hostage standoff.

Date/Time: 01/05/2013 - Around 3:00 A.M.
Location: Aurora, Colorado
Victims: Three killed, one injured
Suspect: Sonny Archuleta(33), Deceased

 The suspect(left) and three victims

The townhouse complex

By Brooke Way, KDVR

"AURORA, Colo. — Three adults and a gunman were killed during Saturday morning’s standoff at an Aurora townhome.
Police officers arrived at the Seville townhomes located at 16005 E. Ithaca Place near Hampden and Buckley just before 3 a.m., after receiving a call from a female witness who managed to escape from the home unharmed.
The woman, Stephanie Philbrook Archuleta, who family members say is the suspect’s wife, told police that a man fired shots inside the home, and that three people were dead inside when she exited by jumping out of a second-story window.
Stephanie was a teacher at Word of Life Christian Center. Pastor Mark Bagwell released the following statement on Sunday:
“The Word of Life Christian Center community was stunned and saddened to learn of the tragic events on Saturday in Aurora. Stephanie Archuleta has been a member of our community for several years. While we are thankful that she survived this tragedy, we also share in her grief.”
Family members told FOX 31 Denver’s Mark Meredith that the suspect was 33-year-old
Sonny Archuleta. A police background check shows that Archuleta was arrested at least three times before for weapons charges.
Family members also said they believe the suspect may have had a drug problem.
“That’s what they said, the gentleman had been up four days straight on a methamphetamine binge,” said neighbor Jennifer Williams, repeating what Archuleta’s wife told police.
According to multiple family members, the victims include Archuleta’s sister-in-law, 29-year-old Stacie Philbrook, and her stepfather 56-year-old Anthony Ticali. Family told FOX 31 that the third victim is Stacie’s boyfriend, Christopher Ratliffe.
Friends of the victims, including those who knew Ticali, said the loss is especially hard for them.
Police said officers and hostage negotiators arrived shortly after the call was made, and that they were able to communicate with the suspect over the phone. The man was given multiple commands to come out of the house over the phone and from a bullhorn, however police said the suspect continuously hung up on negotiators.
“Sonny Archuleta. Step outside,” an Aurora police officer yelled through a bullhorn.
“He did not comply and was behaving very irrationally throughout the incident,” said Sgt. Cassidee Carlson of the Aurora Police Department.
Police said after SWAT members moved to the front of the house to break out a window, the man fired multiple shots at the SWAT team vehicle just before 8 a.m. Luckily, no officers were injured during the incident.
Police deployed tear gas into the home over the next few hours.
Just before 9 a.m., the suspect shot at officers from a second-story window, and that’s when SWAT team members shot back and killed the suspect.
“He exposes himself at a second-story window with a weapon, fires on our officers again, this time officers return fire,” Carlson said.
Police were initially unsure how many people were barricaded inside the home, however upon entering the residence, officers confirmed that two adult males and one adult female were found dead inside the residence.
Police said the suspect was also pronounced dead in an upstairs bedroom.
“This happened right next door to me. You hear about all these tragedies, you don’t expect it in your own home. When you get home, you think you’re safe,” said neighbor Michael Ignace.
The officers who fired their guns are on routine, paid administrative leave during the ongoing investigation.
Several neighborhoods in the area were evacuated for safety reasons. Hampden Road was also shut down in both directions from Kalispell Street to Laredo Street."

News Article