Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 08.16.23

Episode Date: August 16, 2023

Man shoots at power plants, causing hefty amount of damage. Who knew road rage had an artistic side?  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. Randy Vail stuffed a backpack with bolt cutters, two cans of gasoline, two rifles, takes off on his motorcycle. Destination? A hydroelectric power station on the Idaho-Oregon border. Vail shoots at a dam for nearly half an hour,

then heads north to a second dam and begins shooting again. Idaho cops catch Vail as he's leaving. Nancy, the shootings caused more than $100,000 in damage and left Washington, Idaho and Oregon residents with power interruptions for weeks until the damage could be repaired. Vail resisted arrest, leading cops on a chase where he reached speeds of 80 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone. If convicted on any charges, Vail could face up to 20 years in prison. Vail now facing federal charges including destruction of an energy facility. Davis Winston scrolls on his phone while he drives causing him to swerve in and out of his lane. Frustrated, the driver behind Winston honks at him for not moving on as the stoplight turns green. Winston gets out of his lane. Frustrated, the driver behind Winston honks at him for not moving on as the stoplight turns green.

Winston gets out of his car with a can of white spray paint and gets to work on the victim's car and eventually the victim's face. Passersby call 911 and by the time Houston cops arrive, both men covered in spray paint. Winston, 35, charged with criminal mischief.

Is that all? More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. After being found guilty of first-degree murder and other offenses and the killing of his estranged wife in western Illinois, a judge has handed down a life sentence to a former competitor on the game show Family Feud.

For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. According to news sources, 40-year-old Timothy Bleifnick did not respond as Adams County Circuit Judge Robert Adrian read the sentence. A jury found Bleifnick guilty of murder, use of a firearm to commit first-degree murder, and home invasion in the death of 41-year-old Rebecca Bleifnick on February 23rd. After she failed to pick up her children from school, a family member discovered her body inside her Quincy house. She had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. According to our friends at KHQA-TV, Timothy Bleifnick and some of his relatives were featured on ABC's Family Feud in 2020. The host, Steve Harvey, posed the question, what was the biggest mistake you made at your wedding? Bleifnick said, I do, quickly adding, not mine to say, I cherish my wife. Along with that, he said, I'm going to get in trouble for

that, aren't I? Harvey retorted, it will be a lot of hell to pay at your house. The couple were in the middle of a divorce and were living separately. Now to Connecticut, as relatives question the police shooting death of a man attempting to flee in a stolen automobile as an officer and police dog entered the vehicle and the canine attacked. Mike Alexander Garcia was shot by West Hartford Police, and as Connecticut's officer of inspector general looks into the incident, the victim's families and attorneys say they don't think it was justified. During a news conference this week, lawyer Ken Krayeski said, quote, the use of deadly force in this situation was unnecessary, excessive, and irresponsible.

According to Krayeski and another family attorney, Peter Billings, police escalated the situation and failed to offer Alexander Garcia clear instructions on how to avoid being shot. Police in West Hartford have not yet responded to the family's complaints. Earlier this week, Chief Vernon Riddick released a statement in which he described the circumstances leading up to the shooting as a dangerous situation, and stated that the department, quote, believes strongly in transparency and in all facts being gathered and impartially evaluated. Seven months after her son used a handgun to seriously wound a teacher in a classroom full of students, the mother of a six-year-old has pleaded guilty to a charge of felony child neglect.

Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. The misdemeanor allegation of reckless firearm storage against Deja Taylor has been dropped by the prosecution. As part of the plea deal, the prosecution agreed that they would not ask for a sentence greater than the state's recommended sentence of six months in jail or prison. The duration of Taylor's sentence will ultimately be determined by the judge, who will have complete discretion. In April, Taylor was accused of felony child maltreatment and a misdemeanor count of reckless storing of a handgun. The January shooting stunned the nation and shook the Chesapeake Bay Area shipbuilding city. The case against Taylor is one of three legal actions to demand responsibility, along with the teacher's $40 million lawsuit accusing

the school system of gross negligence. Police reported that the first grader deliberately shot teacher Abby Zwirner while she was seated at a reading table during a lesson. Zwirner underwent numerous surgeries after being struck in the hand and chest. She was hospitalized for about two weeks. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 27th. Elizabeth Prescott enjoying married life with her husband of two months, Coy Prescott, and wants to plan a special birthday dinner to celebrate him. She asks him to call before he leaves work that day so she can get everything ready. The couple kisses goodbye. Prescott leaves Elizabeth at home.

Coy Prescott calls home around 2 30. No one answers. When Prescott arrives back at the Florida home, Elizabeth's gone with $50 missing from her wallet, but the rest of her belongings all left behind. Elizabeth did not have a cell phone and there has been no activity on her bank account. Both Coy Prescott and an ex-boyfriend passed polygraphs indicating they had no involvement in her disappearance. Elizabeth Prescott now missing 19 years. If you have info on Elizabeth Prescott, please call Bay County Sheriffs, 850-747-4700. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace.

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