Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 06.05.23

Episode Date: June 5, 2023

Environmentally conscious man threatens dumpers at gunpoint. Man steals rare books, comics, and tortoises? For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Carlos Profit finds two guys in his New Mexico property trying to dump an old boat. Profit insists they remove it, but when they refuse, Profit points an assault rifle at them and slashes the tires on their boat trailer. Nancy, this is not the first time Profit has had a run-in with unethical campers. 20 years ago, Prophet held people hostage for dumping garbage on the mesa. In 2018, Prophet held a family with three young children hostage because he believed they had shot and killed a red-tailed hawk. This time, the DA's office has called for pre-trial detention for Prophet, who was, quote, an obvious danger to society. Proffitt now charged

with ag assault, false imprisonment, and criminal property damage. Joshua McCarty Thomas uses lockpicks, breaking into Florida businesses, stealing rare books, newspapers, rare comics, and two rare tortoises. McCarty Thomas sells several of the books and comics on eBay, leading detectives straight to his home, where they find the remaining stolen books, one of the Galapagos turtles in the backyard, and the other turtle dead in McCarty Thomas's freezer. He's now facing eight counts of burglary charges. Why did he have to kill the turtle? More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley.

We begin in Colorado, where a judge has decided to postpone the first criminal trial connected with the death of Elijah McClain. The 23-year-old black man died almost four years ago after being detained by police in a Denver suburb, brutally restrained and given a powerful sedative. Since prosecutors have not specified what actions by their clients are allegedly the cause of McClain's injuries or whether they are accused of being directly responsible for his injuries or considered complicit in the actions of other defendants, the attorneys for the two officers, whose trial was originally scheduled to begin July 10, asked for more time. They claim that without this information they are

unable to mount a proper defense. Overseas now, as an Australian judge has dismissed accusations by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Robert Smith that he was falsely accused by the media, finding that Australia's most decorated living war veteran unlawfully killed captives and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Former Special Air Service Regiment Corporal Robert Smith, now a media firm executive, was found to have committed a variety of war crimes according to a ruling by federal court justice Anthony Bissanco. The ruling was made in 2018. According to Bissanco, Robert Smith, who was also given the Medal of Gallantry for his service during the Afghanistan War, quote, broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement and dishonored Australia

with his actions. The decision, which came after a contentious trial lasting 110 court hearing days and costing an estimated $25 million in legal bills, is viewed as a landmark victory for press freedom against Australia's very draconian defamation rules. The attorney for Robert Smith has requested an additional 42 days to consider filing an appeal with the federal court's full bench. In a report released on Thursday, the National Police Agency of Japan states that insufficient security measures such as lack of metal detectors and bag checks allowed an assailant to get into a crowd during an election campaign and throw a pipe bomb at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in April.

Before the bomb was able to explode, special police moved Kishida away from it, protecting him from injury. The 24-year-old suspect, Ruiji Kimura, was arrested at the scene of the incident April 15 at the fishing town of Saikazaki in the western prefecture of Wakayama, where Kishida was preparing to deliver a speech in support of a local candidate. Kimura is still being held by police while undergoing a psychiatric examination authorized by the court until September 1. Back in this country now, as Alabama lawmakers have given their final approval to a bill that may result in longer jail terms for felonies

committed as part of a, quote, criminal enterprise. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. The Senate passed bill, which allows for harsher sanctions for people associated with organized crime groups, including street gangs, has been approved by the House of Representatives 95 to 6. The legislation now heads to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey's office, where she's expected to sign the bill. According to the legislation, if the prosecution can show that a defendant belongs to a criminal organization and that an offense was done for the benefit of that organization, the penalties might be increased. When a gun is used in the commission of a crime, it also establishes obligatory minimum punishments.

According to the approved bill, a criminal enterprise is defined as a network of three or more individuals who together engage in a pattern of criminal activity. Raja McQueen, home from college, G. Georgia, H. Happy, 3953, stopping for gas. McQueen leaves the gas station. The next time her car is caught on video, a man is driving. The car also riddled with bullet holes, the hubcaps missing, and a fake dealer license displayed in the back window. Cleveland cops say they've identified and interviewed the man, but he did not provide leads on McQueen's whereabouts. If you have information on Raja McQueen's disappearance, please contact Cleveland PD 216-623-5418.

For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.