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From the Los Angeles Times

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Guns tracked by firearms bureau found at firefight scene

Two AK-47s bought in Arizona were used in a firefight that left a Border Patrol agent dead last month. The discovery comes amid a growing congressional investigation into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

by Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

February 2, 2011

In a sign of the cost of widespread U.S. weapons smuggling into Mexico, federal law enforcement sources have confirmed that two guns, part of a series of purchases that were being monitored by authorities, were found at the scene of the firefight that killed a U.S. Border Patrol agent in southern Arizona.

Sources said U.S. authorities did not have the ability to adequately monitor the movement of the guns toward the southern border, in part because current laws and low levels of staffing.

As a result, "the next time they became aware of those weapons was when they turned up at the crime scene," said one source, who, like others connected to the case, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing criminal investigation.

"My worst fear was that they would be used in a homicide of a Mexican military official or a Mexican police official. It crossed my mind that they would be used against U.S. forces, but I didn't think it would happen this soon," said another federal law enforcement source.

The disclosure comes amid a widening congressional investigation into allegations lodged by whistleblowers within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. They allege the agency has been aware of the purchase of assault weapons in the U.S. by buyers suspected of selling across the border, but failed to adequately track them.

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has asked the bureau for detailed answers about its gun smuggling investigation, known as Project Gunrunner.

In a letter to the bureau, Grassley said there are "serious concerns that the ATF may have become careless, if not negligent, in implementing the Gunrunner strategy."

Grassley has focused on allegations that two AK-47s purchased with cash from a dealer in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 16, 2010, were then used in the Dec. 14 firefight that left Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry dead. Federal sources said agents were notified about the sale of the guns several days after the purchase.

The whistleblowers have complained that Project Gunrunner has focused on gathering intelligence on suspicious weapons sales, but has put less attention on actually stopping those weapons from moving south. Some also have complained that Mexican authorities had been dangerously kept out of the loop.

Federal sources confirmed that there has been controversy over the program within the bureau and, at least in the early stages, little communication with Mexican authorities, many of whom are often targeted with U.S.-smuggled weapons.

"Should they have been notified? I think you're correct," said one source familiar with the investigation.

"The policy [until Project Gunrunner] has always been we don't allow any weapons to cross south of the border, because then it's out of our hands and we can't control it," he said.

But the complaints were "overruled," he said, by both the Phoenix office and bureau headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Tom Mangan, spokesman for the bureau's Phoenix office, which oversaw the latest series of arrests under Project Gunrunner, said he was "absolutely unaware" of any instance in which federal investigators knowingly allowed weapons to be smuggled into Mexico.

At the same time, he and others said, federal agents were not always able to ascertain what happened to weapons after being purchased by straw buyers — legal residents who buy the weapons from licensed gun dealers, but end up selling the guns to Mexican drug cartels. They said this was in part because there is no federal law preventing the sales of multiple assault weapons to individual buyers, even when those buyers seem suspicious.

As the allegations have come to light, gun dealers across the southwest border have said the ATF has for years been quietly gathering information about questionable multiple purchases and even asking gun dealers to gather information, including descriptions and license plate numbers of suspicious buyers.

Dick DeGuerin, who represents Houston gun dealer Bill Carter, owner of Carter Country, said the company is now being threatened with a federal indictment as a result of multiple sales to purported straw purchasers — sales he said were not only reported to the ATF, but which federal agents encouraged Carter Country employees to complete.

"What's going on now is some of these agents are scared of their own careers, and are afraid to own up to the fact that they encouraged Carter Country to go through with these sales," DeGuerin said. "The breakdown came with, what did the ATF do with the information that Carter Country was delivering to them? Apparently, they didn't do much."

One federal law enforcement source said the agency has far too little staff to monitor the large number of suspicious transactions of which it was made aware.

"Sometimes you do a controlled delivery to some guy over there, but if you talk to the U.S. attorneys on the U.S. border and they tell you they prosecute those cases, they're lying to you," he said. "There's a lot of time involved, and those people are going to get 18 months. Those straw purchasers know they're going to get no time, and it's time consuming, sitting on these gun stores, following these guys all over the place."

He said agents "never" knowingly allow weapons to be transferred across the border. "You don't let the guns walk intentionally," he said. "I can tell you for a fact that was never done. Ever. All ATF agents are taught that way. But sometimes on a surveillance, you might lose the guns."

Federal authorities in Phoenix last month announced the indictment of 34 people accused of acting as straw purchasers for weapons bound for Mexico, mostly destined for delivery to the Sinaloa drug cartel. Many of them came from the same Arizona gun dealer believed to have sold the weapons found at the scene of Terry's death.

Mangan said it is possible under current federal law for intermediaries to buy hundreds of assault weapons without triggering a federal reporting requirement, as is required with handguns. "Unless that gun is recovered or brought to the attention of the authorities, we wouldn't even know about the purchases, and that could be going on for a number of years," he said.

He said ATF agents have had "very good relations" with gun dealers who voluntarily report the information. "A lot of federal firearms licenses will call us on a daily basis, and they may identify certain individuals. They feel an obligation when they're dealing this type of weapon to people they suspect might be trafficking in guns," he said.

But agents are hampered in following up, he said. "An individual could buy 500 guns, and painfully, we know that's legal. And then they can turn around and say, 'I sold them.' And then again, realistically, say you have a list of these guns, if some of them would turn up in Mexico, it's, 'I just sold them; they're not my responsibility; I don't know how they got there.'"

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20110203,0,2498606,print.story

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Orange County man convicted of raping 5 women

A Lake Forest man was convicted Wednesday of raping five Orange County women and sexually assaulting a sixth, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

Sekayi Rudo White, 33, was found guilty of 14 felony counts of rape, sexual assault, making criminal threats and burglary. He will be sentenced April 15 and faces a maximum of 119 years to life in state prison.

Prosecutors learned of White's history of sexual assaults after his  arrest in April 2007 for attempting to assault a 28-year-old woman the month before. Three additional victims stepped forward after prosecutors released details about his arrest to the media.

Authorities believe the attacks stretch back to August or September  2002, when White raped an unconscious 22-year-old woman at a Santa Ana hotel. The woman said she woke up while White was raping her, prosecutors said. The woman could not remember drinking alcohol or entering the hotel room. After the assault, she told prosecutors, White began harassing her at work and home.

In December 2005, White met a 44-year-old woman at a bar at the Irvine Spectrum. He gave the woman a ride to her home in Newport Beach, where he asked if he could use the restroom. Shortly after, White came out of the bathroom naked, pinned the woman down and tried to remove her pants, prosecutors said. The woman fought back and White grabbed his clothes and fled, authorities said.

In August 2006, White met a 22-year-old woman at a bar in Huntington Beach and drove her to his home in Lake Forest, where he raped her, prosecutors said. The following month, he was arrested and charged for the Newport Beach assault and the attack against the 22-year-old woman at his Lake Forest home.

While out on a $250,000 bail, White went on to rape at least three more women from January through April 2007, when he was arrested again, prosecutors said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/02/man-convicted-of-five-rapes.html

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Charles Manson found with second cellphone

For the second time in less than two years, California prison officials caught Charles Manson, mastermind of one of the most notorious killing sprees in U.S. history, with a cellphone behind bars.

Guards at Corcoran State Prison found the phone on Jan. 6, according to prison spokeswoman Terry Thornton. Manson was charged with violating prison rules, but not with a crime, because there is no law in California that prohibits inmates from possessing phones. Thornton declined to provide any details about where Manson got the phone, or who he called, saying the case is still under investigation.

Manson called people in California, New Jersey and Florida with an LG flip phone found under his prison bunk in March 2009, Thornton said.

Thirty days were added to his sentence for the first offense, officials said. Manson is technically eligible for parole but will almost certainly die in prison for ordering the ritualistic murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others in 1969.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/02/charles-manson-found-with-second-cellphone.html

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From Google News

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Julie Schenecker Case: Parents Sometimes Can Lose Control of Emotions

After 'Mouthy' Kids Killed, Experts Weigh in on Warning Signs

It's normal for parents to feel angry at their children now and then, and experts say those emotions rarely reach a level or a frequency that leads to violence. 

"While there are common patterns among parents who kill their children, there do seem to be some parents who just 'snap,' like the buildup of stress becomes too much and they can no longer cope," said Kaslow.

Several parents told ABC News while they've never felt the urge to kill their children, they have had trouble coping with anger.

One mother, who didn't want to be identified, knew she needed counseling after she realized arguments with her teenage daughter became too frequent and too loud. She said she they both needed a "sane voice."

Her daughter was dating a boy who had been in trouble with the law, which caused a lot of concern -- and anger.

"I was totally taken aback by the way I frequently got absolutely white hot with rage," she said. "My younger daughter used to dread the ride to school because it would inevitably degenerate into a shrieking match."

Frequent Arguments May Signal a Need to Get Help

"If a parent and adolescent are having angry arguments more than two times a week, if they are unable to resolve these conflicts, if the arguments escalate out of control or if they ever spiral into physical aggression, the family should seek counseling," said Laurence Steinberg, author of "You and Your Adolescent: The Essential Guide for Ages 10 to 25."

Relationships with adolescents can be especially challenging, and experts say abuse of adolescents isn't uncommon.

"Across age groups, adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 are among the most frequent victims of parental violence -- there are more than 25,000 reported cases of this each year," said Steinberg, who is also a professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia.

But young children also can be the target of parental rage.

Another mother, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said her six-year-old daughter has sensory processing disorder, which causes the brain to perceive sensory information differently. The disorder can cause people to have difficulty dealing with everyday activities.

Because of her disorder, her mother said, her child is easily frustrated and "on edge."

"I have suffered my fair share of rage at her and have sought counseling both for her and myself," the woman said. "There are times I lose my temper with my child and just feel like I cannot stand another minute of my life as her mom."

Experts said such situations can remind parents to be aware of negative emotions like anger toward their children and pay attention to possible warning signs that their feelings are irrational.

"When parents feel consumed by their anger and cannot think about or feel any positive emotions toward their children, this is very concerning," said Nadine Kaslow, professor of psychology at Emory University in Atlanta. "If parents start to have fantasies of their children being dead or actually of killing them, not only do they need to step back but they need to get help."

There also are signs that it's time for a parent to step back and take a few deep breaths or count to 10.

Those signs may include, "when they feel that they are on the verge of saying or doing something they may regret [or] when they seem to be on the verge of forgetting that they are parents and not siblings to their children," said Dr. Harold Bursztajn, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

While she never wanted to kill her son, another woman told ABC News she had trouble bonding with him and often raised her voice and argued with him.

Her son, now 6, recently was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

His mother said he was sometimes a difficult child. She adopted him when he was an infant shortly after her biological infant son died.

"It was a combination of grief and a lack of bonding, and I got angry at him a lot," she said. "He would do things that little boys do, like leave the toilet seat up or leave dirty clothes on the floor. I would lose patience and argue with him. There were a lot of raised voices and I had a short fuse."

Warning Signs Never Should Be Ignored

Experts say arguing is particularly problematic when dealing with adolescents. Instead, parents should tell their child they're too angry to discuss a certain issue.

Kaslow said there are other warning signs parents never should ignore, including neglect or abuse of their own children, thoughts about killing their children, saying they wish their children were dead and actual attempts to kill their children.

The mothers who spoke to ABC News want to encourage other parents to address their anger and get help, if needed. One of them, while she did get counseling and is able to cope with her young daughter's troublesome behavior caused by sensory processing disorder, still is struggling.

"I often feel like a horrible failure as a mom," she said, "because I can't seem to love my daughter like other people love their children."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/julie-schenecker-warning-signs-parental-rage/story?id=12814782

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