The Ten Commandments
On This Week's Episode:
Stories of people confronted with stealing, lying, killing and more of those old, primal rules of life.
This is a rerun of an episode that first aired in May 2007.
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Waukesha child abandonment case; parents charged, wanted
The Brief Two children were found "in a completely wild, unkept state" at a Waukesha apartment that was "a complete and total mess." The parents are now charged with child abandonment, and a warrant was issued for their arrest. WARNING: Details of this story may be disturbing to some readers. WAUKESHA, Wis. - Waukesha County prosecutors said two children were found naked "in a completely wild, unkept state" at an apartment that was "a complete and total mess." Now, the parents are charged with child abandonment. In Court Court records warrants were issued for the arrests of 31-year-old Jessica Borkert and 36-year-old James Domoracki after they failed to appear in court on Thursday. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android What they're saying Waukesha police were called to a multi-level apartment on Jan. 9. A criminal complaint states the kids, ages 2 and 4 at the time, were found screaming and crying. Prosecutors said Borkert and Domoracki left their children with a grandmother, who has mobility issues. The grandmother said she tried to stay on top of things but could not travel up and down stairs, did not have a vehicle and could not go anywhere to get food, supplies or medicine and was unable to take the children out of the residence. Court filings described the apartment as "a complete and total mess." The front door could not fully open because there was "junk everywhere." One of the children slept on a bare mattress "with stains and cockroaches." The apartment was "cluttered with toys, bags of garbage, clothes and blankets." The walls were "covered in dirt, dust, and other unknown substances." Both children are nonverbal and were "in a completely wild, unkept state," per the complaint. One of the children had bruises, scratches and dirt "all over him." The child also had matted hair and smelled of urine. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Dig deeper Court filings said the grandmother told investigators that she lived with Borkert, Domoracki and the children until the parents left roughly two months earlier and did not come back. A detective spoke to Borkert days after the children were found. The complaint states she said she had gotten work in the Grafton area, which was "too far to come back to Waukesha." She said she and Domoracki had been staying at an Oak Creek motel, which court filings said appeared to be further away from Grafton than Waukesha. Prosecutors said detectives questioned Borkert on how the parents were supporting the grandmother while they were gone, during which she was "evasive." Domoracki said he would try to send food and diapers "via Walmart shopping" but he "ran out of money." Detectives reviewed the parents' shared cellphone, per the complaint, which found the "majority of text conversations" were indicative of "active participation in narcotics use and trade." The Source Information in this report is from the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Prison for Instagram posts? L.A. authorities target street racing influencer
A man described by law enforcement as one of Southern California's most prominent street racing influencers has been charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with 16 counts of conspiracy for organizing a number of so-called "street takeovers." Erick Romero Quintana, 22, pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance Thursday in downtown L.A. He faces at least a decade in prison after authorities charged him with running the Instagram account @privatemeetz, which blasted out the locations of 16 different takeover events across South L.A. to its more than 60,000 followers from December 2022 to November 2023, according to a criminal complaint filed last month. At one of those events, a 24-year-old girl died after a spinning car careened into the crowd. Street racing events have long proved to be a deadly part of Southern California's broader car culture. A Times investigation found that at least 179 people were killed in street racing related incidents between 2000 and 2017. While people often think of street races as the quarter-mile one-on-one speed contests highlighted by the early installments in the "Fast & The Furious" film franchise, so-called "sideshows" or "takeovers" can often prove dangerous too. Read more: Ex-DEA agent charged with pointing gun at co-worker and motorist in separate incidents At takeover events, racers and spectators rush to an intersection and block traffic, while motorists perform stunts in a small space with little room between the asphalt they're skidding across and the audience itself. Drivers often perform "burnouts" or "doughnuts," trying to see how many times they can spin their car in a circle, or compete to see who can skid to a stop closest to a fixed object without crashing into it. The charges filed against Quintana represent a novel approach to target people involved in the racing scene who aren't drivers. Sgt. Arnold Castellanos, a member of the LAPD's Street Racing Task Force, said the first-of-its-kind prosecution is a necessary step. "Street takeovers have evolved into so much more than just cars doing donuts. Over time 'car clubs' have formed, these car clubs 'compete' against each other to see who has the better drivers and can 'bully' other drivers out of the pit," Castellanos said. "This has escalated tensions and has resulted in the car clubs acting like gangs." Quintana is due back in court in July. Each conspiracy count carries a minimum prison sentence of 16 months. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said the charges against Quintana are the beginning of a broader effort to rein in street racers. Hochman noted that the takeovers can attract large and unruly crowds, which commit secondary crimes in the areas where they take place. He pointed to the large mob that smashed their way into a Compton bakery and robbed it after a takeover last year. "People like Quintana are the ones bringing together the street racers and the spectators, they are as responsible and accountable for the crimes being committed as all the other participants in the conspiracy," Hochman said. Quintana's attorney, Bart Kaspero, said he was "puzzled" by law enforcement's approach to the case. While he didn't dispute that Quintana was behind the account or that he posted locations of takeovers, he said his client didn't attend the events or drive at any of them. He likened the prosecution to charging someone who handed out fliers to a party where a crime was committed. 'To target the guy who just announced where the meetings are, is a bit of overkill," he said. Read more: A coach is suspected of killing a 13-year-old. Did a case backlog seal the boy's fate? Kaspero described his client as a mere "car enthusiast" and rejected police and prosecutors' depictions of street takeovers as havens of criminality, or the idea that his client should have known something bad would happen at the events he allegedly organized. 'I think it's safe to say most people that are there are there for a spectacle," Kaspero said. Hochman said it would be impossible for Quintana to argue he didn't know something dangerous might happen at a takeover event, considering he allegedly organized 15 additional takeovers after a woman died the Christmas Day event he posted locations for in Hyde Park. Castellanos said Quintana's account would post Instagram stories with "symbols or abbreviations which coincided with intersections allowing for all to respond in a flash mob fashion and overwhelm the location." He said people like Quintana exploit the "carnage" that happens at takeover events to gain online clout, hoping they will gain enough of a following to monetize their accounts. Castellanos said people who attend takeovers have a "Grand Theft Auto" mentality — invoking the popular video game franchise where players can turn pixelated versions of Los Angeles, Miami and New York into violent lawless playgrounds — "where individuals believe they are untouchable and do not fear law enforcement or the criminal justice system." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Prison for Instagram posts? L.A. authorities target street racing influencer
A man described by law enforcement as one of Southern California's most prominent street racing influencers has been charged by Los Angeles County prosecutors with 16 counts of conspiracy for organizing a number of so-called 'street takeovers.' Erick Romero Quintana, 22, pleaded not guilty during a brief court appearance Thursday in downtown L.A. He faces at least a decade in prison after authorities charged him with running the Instagram account @privatemeetz, which blasted out the locations of 16 different takeover events across South L.A. to its more than 60,000 followers from December 2022 to November 2023, according to a criminal complaint filed last month. At one of those events, a 24-year-old girl died after a spinning car careened into the crowd. Street racing events have long proved to be a deadly part of Southern California's broader car culture. A Times investigation found that at least 179 people were killed in street racing related incidents between 2000 and 2017. While people often think of street races as the quarter-mile one-on-one speed contests highlighted by the early installments in the 'Fast & The Furious' film franchise, so-called 'sideshows' or 'takeovers' can often prove dangerous too. At takeover events, racers and spectators rush to an intersection and block traffic, while motorists perform stunts in a small space with little room between the asphalt they're skidding across and the audience itself. Drivers often perform 'burnouts' or 'doughnuts,' trying to see how many times they can spin their car in a circle, or compete to see who can skid to a stop closest to a fixed object without crashing into it. The charges filed against Quintana represent a novel approach to target people involved in the racing scene who aren't drivers. Sgt. Arnold Castellanos, a member of the LAPD's Street Racing Task Force, said the first-of-its-kind prosecution is a necessary step. 'Street takeovers have evolved into so much more than just cars doing donuts. Over time 'car clubs' have formed, these car clubs 'compete' against each other to see who has the better drivers and can 'bully' other drivers out of the pit,' Castellanos said. 'This has escalated tensions and has resulted in the car clubs acting like gangs.' Quintana is due back in court in July. Each conspiracy count carries a minimum prison sentence of 16 months. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said the charges against Quintana are the beginning of a broader effort to rein in street racers. Hochman noted that the takeovers can attract large and unruly crowds, which commit secondary crimes in the areas where they take place. He pointed to the large mob that smashed their way into a Compton bakery and robbed it after a takeover last year. 'People like Quintana are the ones bringing together the street racers and the spectators, they are as responsible and accountable for the crimes being committed as all the other participants in the conspiracy,' Hochman said. Quintana's attorney, Bart Kaspero, said he was 'puzzled' by law enforcement's approach to the case. While he didn't dispute that Quintana was behind the account or that he posted locations of takeovers, he said his client didn't attend the events or drive at any of them. He likened the prosecution to charging someone who handed out fliers to a party where a crime was committed. 'To target the guy who just announced where the meetings are, is a bit of overkill,' he said. Kaspero described his client as a mere 'car enthusiast' and rejected police and prosecutors' depictions of street takeovers as havens of criminality, or the idea that his client should have known something bad would happen at the events he allegedly organized. 'I think it's safe to say most people that are there are there for a spectacle,' Kaspero said. Hochman said it would be impossible for Quintana to argue he didn't know something dangerous might happen at a takeover event, considering he allegedly organized 15 additional takeovers after a woman died the Christmas Day event he posted locations for in Hyde Park. Castellanos said Quintana's account would post Instagram stories with 'symbols or abbreviations which coincided with intersections allowing for all to respond in a flash mob fashion and overwhelm the location.' He said people like Quintana exploit the 'carnage' that happens at takeover events to gain online clout, hoping they will gain enough of a following to monetize their accounts. Castellanos said people who attend takeovers have a 'Grand Theft Auto' mentality — invoking the popular video game franchise where players can turn pixelated versions of Los Angeles, Miami and New York into violent lawless playgrounds — 'where individuals believe they are untouchable and do not fear law enforcement or the criminal justice system.'
