Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 01.15.25 | Woman Escapes Kidnapping Attempt by Former Housekeeper

Episode Date: January 15, 2025

Woman lured into kidnapping manages to escape and is shocked by her attacker's identity. California driver caught monkeying around.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Eric Quinn, a do-gooder mother of two from California, attacked in Winchester after responding to an unsolicited text. The message, claiming to be from an elderly woman named Connie, offers items for a children's toy drive Aaron's organizing. Aaron the trigger several times. She then instructs Aaron to drive, threatening her family if she does not cooperate. Aaron blares her horn as she passes several construction workers, and the attacker tases her again, causing Aaron to

crash into two parked cars. Aaron takes the chance to fight back and pulls a wig off the attacker, revealing her former housekeeper, Olga Mendez. Aaron has no idea why Mendez would attack her. Their relationship ended on good terms. Mendez escapes the scene, but is arrested 10 days later. 44-year-old Mendez jailed, accused of kidnap and assault with a deadly weapon. A $400,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost speeding on a California highway reveals a bizarre passenger, the driver clutching a baby spider monkey wrapped in his jacket. California Highway Patrol stops Ali Mohammed, 27, and bust him for DUI and cannabis possession for sale. In his jacket, the month-old monkey dressed in a pink polka dot onesie. Primates are illegal as pets in California, leading to a third criminal charge. The monkey, named Marcel, spends the night eating mashed bananas

before being checked out at the Oakland Zoo. Muhammad watches as his supercar towed away. Monkey and Rolls Royce, all gone. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. A man is in custody following a string of violent stabbings in Denver over the weekend that left two people dead and two others injured. Denver police made the arrest Sunday night shortly after a stabbing near the 16th Street

Mall, a bustling downtown shopping and dining district. The victim in that attack was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. Authorities now believe the same individual is connected to three other stabbings that occurred Saturday evening in the same area. One of those attacks claimed the life of a woman while two other victims sustained injuries. Police have not yet disclosed the suspect's identity. Investigators say there appears to be no connection between the suspect and the victims, and a motive for the attacks remains unclear. Prior to the arrest, police released a surveillance video of a person dressed in black

and sought the public's assistance in identifying them. That image played a critical role in advancing the investigation. A historic review by the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that there is no longer a legal avenue to prosecute individuals involved in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, more than a century after one of the deadliest racial attacks in American history. We turn to Sydney Sumner of Crime Online for details. The DOJ's investigation, detailed in a report exceeding 120 pages, offered a comprehensive account of the massacre, which decimated Tulsa's thriving black community of Greenwood.

The attack, carried out by a white mob, claimed as many as 300 lives and left approximately 1,200 homes, businesses, schools, and churches in ruins. Federal investigators examined archival materials, including reports filed in 1921 by an agent from the precursor to the FBI, yet they found no evidence that federal prosecutors at the time acted on those findings. The report also scrutinized the roles of the Tulsa Police Department, local sheriff, Oklahoma National Guard, and then-Mayor T.D. Evans, concluding that these entities either failed to prevent the violence or actively contributed to it. The survivors of the massacre, including Viola Fletcher and

Lessie Bennington Randall, both 110 years old, have been at the forefront of efforts to seek justice. Their attorney, DeMario Solomon Simmons, has previously hailed the Justice Department's decision to investigate as a significant moment. However, he has not yet commented on the final report. While the DOJ's findings bring new clarity to the events of 1921, legal and financial restitution remains elusive. In June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by survivors ruling their claims fell outside the scope of state public nuisance laws. This decision has further dampened hopes for financial reparations, even as advocates point to the estimated $32.2 million in damages the attack would equate to today. Historian Victor Lucerson, who has chronicled the Greenwood District's legacy, says that while the DOJ's investigation cannot undo the past,

creating an official record of these events is a critical step toward acknowledgement and understanding. Brandon Terrell Bankhead attends his great-grandfather's funeral, St. Louis. The 19-year-old spends the day at Life Center International Church with family and friends. After the service, witnesses see him leave. He gets into a black four-door car with tinted windows and black rims with friends. That day is the last day anyone sees him. Not long after, his mom gets an alarming anonymous phone call. The voice on the line claims Brandon's being held in a vacant Walnut Park home, trapped in a closet. Despite the disturbing tip, searches reveal nothing. He never surfaces. Brandon, African-American, 5'2", 130 pounds, last wearing a red hoodie, a multicolored Burberry

shirt, black pants, and blue and white shoes. He has a Mohawk-style fade haircut, both ears pierced. Anyone with info, please contact St. Louis PD 314-231-1212. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com and please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.