Crime

Officials In Colorado Plead Not Guilty In Murder Of Elijah McClain

(CTN NEWS) – DENVER – On Friday, several police officers and paramedics entered a not-guilty plea to charges related to their alleged involvement in the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who was cuffed and given a ketamine injection.

The guy was also given a potent sedative. In 2021, a state grand jury indicted them on charges including criminally negligent homicide and manslaughter.

Elijah McClain passed away two years prior after being stopped while crossing the street in Aurora, a Denver suburb. A 911 caller had reported a “sketchy” individual.

According to a revised postmortem report issued last year, McClain would have likely survived if ketamine hadn’t been given to him at a dose that was too high for someone his stature.

Demonstrators carry placards as they walk down Sable Boulevard during a rally and march over the death of Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colo., on June 27, 2020.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

However, Elijah McClain’s cause of death was still recorded as unknown and not a homicide.

The usage of ketamine has come under renewed investigation due to McClain’s passing, which prompted Colorado’s health agency to adopt a rule restricting when emergency personnel can use it.

Trials of paramedics, according to experts in emergency medicine, are uncommon.

However, two paramedics in Illinois have been charged with murder for strapping a Black man facedown on a stretcher after police called for an ambulance last month.

At a hearing in the Brighton, Colorado, suburb of Denver, police officers Randy Roedema, Nathan Woodyard, Jason Rosenblatt, fire department paramedic Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec, all entered not-guilty pleas.

Other than stating that they were aware of their rights, they remained silent during the session.

Family members and other supporters crowded the small courtroom during a meeting that mostly focused on addressing motion hearings and setting trial dates.

Former Aurora Police officer Jason Rosenblatt attends an arraignment at the Adams County Justice Center in Brighton, Colo., on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023.(Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP)

The first of three separate trials for cops Roedema and Rosenblatt is scheduled to start in July after a judge made the decision to schedule them.

August is the scheduled date for Cooper and Cichuniec’s next trial. September is the date chosen for Woodyard’s trial.

Megan Downing, the attorney defending Woodyard, refuses to respond to the accusations since any denial would be included in the grand jury’s confidential records.

The other defendants’ attorneys walked out of court without saying anything.

After Democratic Governor Jared Polis instructed Attorney General Phil Weiser to launch a criminal inquiry into the situation, a grand jury indicted them.

As demonstrations gathered over the 2020 murder of George Floyd, there had been a resurgence in interest in McClain’s passing. The city of Aurora consented to pay $15 million to resolve a lawsuit Elijah McClain’s parents filed in 2021.

Prosector Jason Slothouber speaks at the arraignment for Aurora Police officers Nathan Woodyard, Randy Roedema and former officer Jason Rosenblatt, and paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec at the Adams County Justice Center in Brighton, Colo., on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP)

Elijah McClain, a masseuse, was unarmed and had never been charged with a crime. Before the epidemic made facial coverings prevalent, the indictment claims that he was seen wearing a ski mask while heading home from a grocery store in 2019 after purchasing iced drink.

After being placed in a chokehold by cops, McClain initially lost consciousness as the confrontation soon heated up.

Three officers had McClain shackled on the ground as he moaned he couldn’t breathe and repeatedly puked.

According to relatives, Elijah McClain wore the mask because anaemia made him cold.

After a former district attorney said he was unable to press charges because an autopsy could not reveal how McClain died, Polis commissioned the state probe.

His passing influenced the passage of a comprehensive police accountability law in Colorado, as well as rules prohibiting chokeholds and limiting the use of the anesthetic ketamine.

According to the revised autopsy report made public in September, McClain passed away due to complications from taking ketamine after being detained against his will.

Aurora Police officer Randy Roedema, center, attends an arraignment at the Adams County Justice Center in Brighton, Colo., on Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. (Andy Cross/The Denver Post via AP)

Pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina wrote that he could not rule out that Elijah McClain’s exertion while being restrained by police caused changes in his blood chemistry, such as increased lactic acid, which contributed to his demise.

But there was no proof that police injuries were the direct cause of McClain’s demise. According to the indictment, McClain’s blood had too much acid and little oxygen.

According to family and friends, Elijah McClain was a sweet and compassionate introvert who volunteered to play his violin at an animal shelter to comfort cats.

His sad phrase, “I’m just different,” which was recorded on police body camera video, severely underlined his bewilderment at what was happening.

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Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

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https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

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Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.