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From the Los Angeles Times

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Pirates kidnap 3 Danish children, 4 adults in Indian Ocean

The Danish Foreign Ministry says the youths, ages 12 to 16, were seized along with their parents and two others on board a sailing vessel. It's believed to be the first time that children have been victims of pirates in the recent spate of hostage-taking off eastern Africa.

by Henry Chu, Los Angeles Times

March 1, 2011

Reporting from London

Three children are among seven Danes who have been kidnapped by pirates in the Indian Ocean, Danish officials said Monday.

The youths, ages 12 to 16, were taken captive along with their parents and two other adults on board a sailing vessel that put out a distress call Thursday, the Danish Foreign Ministry said. Media reports said the ship was on its way to Somalia, but the purpose of the voyage was unclear.

It's believed to be the first time that children have been victims in the spate of hostage-taking bedeviling the waters off eastern Africa. Lene Espersen, Denmark's foreign minister, said officials were in close contact with the victims' families.

"It is almost unbearable to think that there are children involved," she said in a statement Monday.

Espersen said the Danish government would not say much about the situation, for fear that media attention could make things worse. Just two days before the Danish boat issued its distress signal, four Americans aboard another hijacked ship were shot and killed by their Somali captors.

Pirates have become a major scourge in recent years on the high seas of the Indian Ocean and around the Gulf of Aden. Although international naval forces have stepped up patrols, the area is too vast to be made completely safe.

The pirates have mostly hijacked cargo ships and their crew, but amateur sailors on smaller vessels have also been taken.

In November, a British couple seized from their yacht near the Seychelles were released after more than a year in captivity. The couple's family is widely believed to have paid a sizable ransom, but family members have declined to confirm whether money changed hands.

The four Americans slain last week, including a couple from Marina del Rey, were hijacked on their yacht while on an around-the-world trip. U.S. military commandos stormed the boat to try to rescue them but said they found the four had already been shot to death.

Danish officials did not reveal whether the captors of the seven Danes had made any demands.

The European Union Naval Force said Monday that the cargo ship Dover had fallen prey to pirates in the northern Arabian Sea. The Greek-owned vessel, on its way to Yemen from Pakistan, has 23 crew members on board, most of them Filipinos. No contact had been established with the hijackers.

On Friday, the Panamanian-flagged Izumi was released by pirates, along with its 20-member Philippine crew, the EU Naval Force said. The condition of the ship and those aboard was not immediately known.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pirates-danes-20110301,0,5487984,print.story

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Couple confess to kidnapping Jaycee Lee Dugard, attorney says

Phillip and Nancy Garrido reportedly admit holding the girl captive for 18 years in a ramshackle compound in Northern California, where she gave birth to two daughters after being repeatedly raped.

by Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times

March 1, 2011

Reporting from Placerville, Calif.

Phillip and Nancy Garrido have confessed to authorities that they kidnapped Jaycee Lee Dugard in 1991 and held her captive for 18 years in a ramshackle compound in Northern California, where she gave birth to two daughters after being repeatedly raped, a defense attorney said Monday.

Stephen Tapson, Nancy's court-appointed attorney, told reporters outside El Dorado County Superior Court that the couple confessed to the crimes, which made international headlines when Dugard was discovered nearly two years ago, because Phillip, 59, is hoping that his wife's sentence will be reduced.

Tapson said authorities have offered Nancy, 55, a plea agreement that would put her behind bars for nearly 242 years to life and have offered Phillip a sentence of 440 years to life.

After a brief hearing Monday afternoon, Tapson said the couple had met with sheriff's investigators within the last month and had given a "full confession."

They have been charged with nearly 30 counts of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment. According to a grand jury indictment, Phillip videotaped some of the rapes. He fathered Dugard's children.

"As far as being involved in any of the sexual stuff, she wasn't," Tapson said of Nancy. "She's guilty, obviously, of kidnapping and a bunch of other charges…. She should be able to walk on the beach, probably with a walker, at some point in time before she dies."

The couple were married in 1981 at the U.S. penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., where Phillip was serving a 50-year sentence for a 1976 kidnapping and rape.

"Listen, she had a normal life, goes to Leavenworth, gets enthralled with Mr. Garrido, never uses drugs, never been in trouble, gets in his grasp and things go down the tubes from there," Tapson said, when asked why Nancy should be shown leniency.

"Admittedly, she cooperated with him under his authority, under his thumb," he said. "Obviously, at trial we're going to have to argue Stockholm syndrome and Patty Hearst stuff and so on. There's already psychiatric evidence to show that she was under his thumb, or his whatever you want to call it. Even the D.A. says he's a master manipulator."

Neither Susan Gellman, Phillip's attorney, nor Dist. Atty. Vern Pierson returned calls for comment.

Dugard, now 30 and living in seclusion, was an 11-year-old schoolgirl when the Garridos drove down her quiet South Lake Tahoe street and snatched her, screaming, as her horrified stepfather watched.

Phillip was the driver and Nancy grabbed the girl, Tapson said Monday.

They took her to Antioch, Calif., where they kept her imprisoned for 18 years in tents and soundproof shacks in their backyard. She was repeatedly raped. Nancy, a former nurse's aide, delivered Dugard's two babies there.

After the kidnapping, Dugard never saw a doctor and never set foot in a classroom.

Nancy "was their mother," Tapson said, in what he described as "a bizarre family" that formed "after all the evil stopped."

"She fed them, took them places. They had that kind of relationship," he said. "Jaycee has admitted she was like a mother."

The Garridos are being held in El Dorado County Jail.

Judge Douglas C. Phimister ruled last month that Phillip, who now sports a salt-and-pepper beard, is competent to stand trial; he has yet to enter a plea. His arraignment was scheduled for Monday but has been continued until March 17.

Nancy has pleaded not guilty. A trial date has yet to be set.

Tapson said the Garridos "gave full, complete statements to the Sheriff's Department in the last month or so" at the request of investigators. The sheriff's officials had asked to speak to the defendants, and Tapson and Gellman approved the request.

The couple told authorities "everything they wanted to know," Tapson said, "except they didn't produce any missing bodies. There's no other victims."

The interviews occurred at the detectives bureau here, and Dugard was present when Nancy spoke to the authorities.

Tapson said he believed the encounter was designed "hopefully to get an opinion from [Dugard] about Nancy."

Nancy's attorney, who was present, said he could not see Dugard's reaction, but he could see his client's. "Tears," he said.

Tapson said that he thinks Nancy deserves a sentence of 20 to 30 years in prison for the crimes she committed, and that 241 years and eight months to life is inappropriate.

He said he wants to know what Dugard thinks.

"Tell Jaycee to give me a call," he said to reporters Monday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-garrido-20110301,0,2781313,print.story

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From the New York Times

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Bill to Criminalize Laser Pranks Advances

People who knowingly aim laser pointers at aircraft — which can distract or temporarily blind pilots — would be committing a federal crime subject to up to five years in prison under a measure passed by the House on Monday. The Senate approved the measure a month ago. The two chambers must now decide whether to send it to President Obama as separate legislation or an amendment to another bill. The Federal Aviation Administration says 2,836 people pointed lasers at planes and helicopters in 2010.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/us/01brfs-BILLTOCRIMIN_BRF.html?ref=us&pagewanted=print

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From the White House

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Marking the 8th Anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security. As I said in my “State of America's Homeland Security” address in January, our nation is more secure than it was two years ago, and more secure than when DHS was founded. Nonetheless, our work never stops.

I am joining my predecessors, Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff, today at a public commemoration of the Department's 8th anniversary. We'll speak to the history and progress of the last eight years, and to the dedication and service of the more than 230,000 men and women of DHS. A live video stream of the event will be available here.

Since it was formed in 2003, DHS has achieved remarkable progress across our key missions: preventing terrorism; securing our borders; enforcing our immigration laws; securing cyberspace; and ensuring resilience to disasters.

But we know that we have more work to do to counter the evolving threats we face. We must remind ourselves that our mission – a secure homeland – requires our constant vigilance, hard work, and determination to prepare for, prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other threats.

As I often say, homeland security begins with hometown security. Working hand in hand with first responders, state, local, tribal and territorial governments, community groups, international partners and the private sector, we have made great strides in protecting our nation from terrorism and other threats while building a culture of resiliency and preparedness in our communities. Security is, indeed, a shared responsibility.

I invite you to watch and to learn more about how DHS is working every day to secure our nation. I look forward to the coming years, as we build on the foundation we celebrate today.

Janet Napolitano is the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/01/marking-8th-anniversary-department-homeland-security

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From the FBI

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Help Us Catch the East Coast Rapist

New Digital Billboard Campaign Launched

Investigation involves 12 sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults between 1997 and 2009 by the same offender. Each of the assaults is linked by DNA.

02/28/11

A new digital billboard campaign launched today aims to help investigators catch the "East Coast Rapist," a violent serial offender who has attacked or attempted to attack a dozen women in Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island for more than a decade.

The billboards feature composite sketches of the rapist and a toll-free telephone number where people can call to provide information. “These billboards give local police departments and the FBI an added edge to identify, locate, and apprehend the subject,” said Ronald Hosko, special agent in charge of the Criminal Division in our Washington Field Office. “The public is the most important tool law enforcement has for solving crimes like this.”

The East Coast Rapist attacked his first victim in February 1997 in a Maryland suburb of Washington D.C. He approached the 25-year-old victim on a bicycle as she walked home from work. The attacker began a conversation but then pulled a gun, forced the woman into nearby woods, and raped her.

Since then, 11 more attacks or attempted attacks have occurred. The female victims have been white, black, and Hispanic. The rapist generally approaches victims outdoors on foot and threatens them with a weapon—usually a knife or a handgun. He sometimes wears a black mask or hooded sweatshirt to conceal his face. He typically asks for money, giving victims the impression they are being robbed. But after the assault, no robbery occurs.

The attacker is described as a black male between the ages of 20 and 40 who is 5'7" to 6' tall, weighs between 150 and 200 pounds, and has a medium to muscular build. In addition to a mask and hooded sweatshirt, he has worn a variety of clothes during attacks, including green overalls, a green camouflage coat or black jacket, dark sweatpants or blue jeans, tan boots or light-colored tennis shoes, a black hair rag, and a brown or black hat.

The rapist's last known attack was in Woodbridge, Virginia on Halloween night in 2009. He raped two teenagers on their way home from trick-or-treating.

All of the East Coast Rapist's attacks have been linked by DNA, said John Kelly, a detective with the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia. “We have the DNA linking the offender, but we need someone to recognize and identify him.”

The digital billboards will run in Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, where the attacks and attempts have occurred, as well as in New Jersey, New York, and Delaware.

The FBI started its national digital billboard initiative in 2007 with the help of outdoor advertising companies that provide free access to more than 1,500 digital billboards in more than 40 states nationwide to publicize investigations and to provide public safety information. Since the start of the initiative, at least 39 cases have been solved as a direct result from tips from the public.

Today's campaign includes partnerships with a number of local police departments involved with the East Coast Rapist investigation. In addition to the billboards, Fairfax County Police Department has launched a dedicated website, www.EastCoastRapist.com, which provides composites and additional information about the case.

We need your help to capture this armed and dangerous serial offender. If you have any information regarding the East Coast Rapist, call 866-411-TIPS . Maryland's Prince George's County Police Department is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information related to the investigation.

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/february/seeking_022811/seeking_022811

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