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From Los Angeles Times

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Dougherty Gang: Here's why you need to be on the lookout

The Dougherty Gang's tale reads like part of a Carl Hiaasen novel, and it's just getting started: Sooner or later, they're going to get caught. The question is whether they'll be caught dead or alive.

The Florida siblings have been on the lam since Aug. 2, after they allegedly shot out the tires on a Zephyrhills police patrol car that tried to stop them for speeding. Police say the trio robbed a bank in Georgia a few hours later.

Law enforcement officials are turning to the public for assistance because they have no idea what the Dougherty Gang is likely to do next, especially as law enforcement closes in. One of the men reportedly text-messaged their mother: "At some point we all have to die."

The Pasco Sheriff's Office has identified the three as Ryan Edward Dougherty, 21, a sex offender; his sister Lee Grace E. Dougherty, 29, an exotic dancer; and half-brother Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26.

Law enforcement officials released a video today that allegedly documents the trio during a brush with a Florida police officer that ended with gunfire. Officials released the video as part of the effort to nab the three, who they say could be anywhere.

"They were trying to hurt this officer, if not kill him," Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said during a press conference.

One thing is certain, police said: The Dougherty Gang is armed and dangerous.

"We know that Ryan several years ago purchased an AK-47 at a pawn shop," Nocco later said in an interview with local media. "We know his brother, Dylan, also purchased several high-caliber rifles and handguns. ... We were also informed by family members that they do have a large arsenal and when we searched the house, there were no weapons or any ammunition left, so we know they took them with them."

The trio apparently used to live in a self-constructed underground bunker made out of shipping containers in Pasco County.

Their mother, Barbara Bell, has publicly pleaded for her children to stop running and turn themselves over to police. She expressed hope that Dylan will be the one to make his half-siblings surrender.

Dylan has been arrested on a marijuana charge, but his rap sheet is topped by his younger brother's. Ryan has 14 felony arrests on his record, and helped trigger the manhunt when he reportedly cut off his court-ordered ankle monitoring device. He'd been wearing the device after being convicted of sending explicit text messages to an 11-year-old girl.

Authorities urge anyone who spots the trio to stay away and call 911. Here's hoping it all ends peacefully.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/08/dougherty-gang-heres-why-you-need-to-be-on-the-lookout-for-em.html

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San Diego attorney pleads guilty in 'baby-selling ring'

A prominent San Diego attorney pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to being part of what U.S. Atty. Laura Duffy labeled a "baby-selling ring."

Theresa Erickson, a lawyer specializing in reproductive law, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for allegedly transmitting phony documents to deceive both the San Diego County Superior Court and couples seeking to become parents. Two other people in the alleged ring have also pleaded guilty.

According to court documents, Erickson hired women in San Diego to go to Ukraine to be implanted with embryos created from the sperm and eggs of donors.

Once a woman was in the second trimester of pregnancy, she would return to San Diego and Erickson would "shop" the babies by falsely telling couples that a couple who had intended to adopt the baby had backed out of the deal. The new couple would then be charged between $100,000 and $150,000, according to prosecutors.

"These were people who desperately wanted babies," said Assistant U.S. Atty. Jason A. Forge.

Court documents mention a dozen unnamed couples who received babies in this manner from Erickson and the two co-defendants. Women who agreed to carry the embryos to term were paid between $38,000 and $40,000, Forge said.

Erickson would then file documents with the court asserting that the baby was part of an existing pre-pregnancy agreement between the woman carrying the fetus and the couple -- thus allowing the couple to be listed as the parents of the child on the birth certificate.

California law, Forge said, bans profiteering on the transfer of parental rights.

The women were sent to Ukraine to have the embryos implanted because no U.S. physician would perform an implantation without documents proving that an agreement existed between the woman and what the law calls the "intended parents," Forge said.

The couples who "bought" the babies did not believe they were breaking the law, Forge said. The babies were healthy and the couples will not have their parental rights taken away.

Erickson, 43, who has been a guest on national TV discussing reproductive law issues, is set for sentencing Oct. 28. Wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of five years; under a plea agreement, Erickson has also agreed to pay restitution.

Maryland attorney Hilary Neiman, 32, is set for sentencing Oct. 14. Carla Chambers, 51, of Las Vegas, is set for sentencing Oct. 28.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/san-diego-attorney-pleads-guilty-in-baby-selling-ring.html?track=icymi

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Grim Sleeper: LAPD expands serial killer probe to 230 cases

Los Angeles police detectives have significantly widened the number of cases they are reviewing as they search for more victims of the Grim Sleeper serial killer.

LAPD detectives are now looking at 230 missing persons cases and unsolved killings going back to the mid-1970s, seeing whether there are any links to Grim Sleeper suspect Lonnie David Franklin Jr., who has been charged in 10 killings.

Officials said they are not sure how many cases might ultimately be linked but that they considered it important to cast the largest net possible.

FULL COVERAGE: Grim Sleeper

The bid to expand reviewable cases, whose number recently stood at 60, began three months ago as LAPD robbery-homicide detectives sought to include cases in South Los Angeles dating to May 1976, when Franklin got out of the Army. The previous effort was concentrated from the early 1980s until Franklin's arrest in July 2010.

During that time Franklin worked in the LAPD's motor pool and with the Los Angeles City Department of Sanitation.

The sources stressed it would be a slow process to pull the records and remaining evidence from archives and that it was likely that many cases might never be linked. Nonetheless, they said it could provide some answers to families about the fate of their loved ones.

"There's no telling what we will find," said one source, who asked not to be named citing the ongoing criminal case.

The development comes as the LAPD is planning to re-release images of 51 women found in July 2010 among a cache of about 1,000 photographs and hundreds of hours of home video during a search of Franklin's South Los Angeles home.

The LAPD originally released images of 180 unidentified women last December in hopes that those in the pictures, or their families, would contact police. Most let investigators know they were OK.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Grim Sleeper killings, 1985-2007

Franklin, 57, has been charged with murder in the slayings of Debra Jackson, 29; Henrietta Wright, 35; Bernita Sparks, age unknown; Mary Lowe, 26; Lachrica Jefferson, 22; Barbara Ware, 23; Alicia Alexander, 18; Princess Berthomieux, 15; Valerie McCorvey, 35; and Janecia Peters, 25.

Franklin, who has pleaded not guilty, is also charged with one count of attempted murder, apparently stemming from the 1988 shooting of a woman who police have said is the only Grim Sleeper victim known to have survived. On Monday, prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty against Franklin.

Franklin's attorney, Louisa Pensanti, has asked Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg to approve appointment of a second defense attorney because of the possibility of the death penalty in the case.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/grim-sleeper-lapd.html?lanow

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From Google News

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Florida

SHIFTING GEARS: School speed zones mean drivers have to slow down

by LAURA GATES

BONITA SPRINGS — As Lee County school children head back to school Monday, local motorists will need to slow down and allow extra time when traveling near school zones.

Lee County Sheriff's officers will be watching for motorists who aren't watching out for kids. Speeding fines are doubled in school zones.

“We always ramp up patrol of school zones and school bus stops,” said Lt. Larry King, public information officer for the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

A recent memo put out by the Lee County Sheriff's Office reminds motorists to yield at crosswalks and never pass a stopped school bus when its red lights are flashing and stop arm is extended. Both directions of traffic are required to stop unless there is a raised or grass median dividing the roadway.

When school resumes on Monday, more than 600 school buses will be deployed in Lee County. Many of those buses have already hit the roadways in preparation for shuttling children to and from local schools.

Along U.S. 41 in Estero, motorists are advised to be especially mindful of bus stops in the construction zone.

“People are going to have to be more vigilant,” said Lee Sheriff's Cpl. Bobby Hunter, a Community Policing officer in Bonita Springs. “If you see kids walking, slow down.”

Many students walk along Old 41 and West Terry Street to get to Bonita Middle School, he said. Some children also walk along Old 41 to Bonita Springs Charter School.

The city of Bonita Springs sent out a newsletter this week reminding residents to be mindful of increased vehicle, bike and pedestrian traffic near its schools, said spokesperson Lora Taylor.

The sheriff's office advises student walkers to stick with a buddy, mind traffic signals and stay off the road. Cyclists should wear a helmet (it's legally required for those under age 16) and ride in the same direction as traffic or on sidewalks.

Collier County Schools don't resume until Aug. 22, but Lee County Schools shifted its calendar forward by two weeks this year. An option for high performing school districts, the change allows students to finish the first semester before winter break, said Joe Donzelli, Lee County Schools' director of communications.

The calendar shift also gives students an additional two weeks of instructional time before taking high-stakes standardized tests in the spring, Donzelli said.

“The pros far outweigh the cons,” he said.

Lee County teachers reported to school Aug. 1.

Parents can find a wealth of back to school information on the Lee County Public Schools website at www.leeschools.net/Back2School, including supply lists, school locations, bell times, procedures and uniform requirements.

Parents who drive their children to school are advised to allow extra time, especially during the first two weeks.

Other motorists should expect increased traffic during the morning rush hour.

“In that first week, people's patience sometimes wears a little,” King said. “Everybody needs to take a deep breath and realize we're all working toward the same goal. Plan ahead and prepare.”

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/aug/06/school-speed-zones-drivers-means-slow-down/?print=1

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