Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 08.27.24 | Teen Attacked During Apology for Unruly Behavior

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Man strangles teen who accidentally splashed his wife with water. Felon caught with gun and meth pipe on his way to public defender meeting.  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. A group of Colorado teens playing around while they wait for their food at an In-N-Out. One of the teens is splashing his friends with water. He accidentally gets a few drops on a woman eating with her husband. The boy starts to apologize when husband Lucas Kalischer grabs the teen by the neck, slams his head on the table, and throws the teen backwards onto the floor. Nancy, the teen victim initially did not want to involve law enforcement, but his friends convinced him to call police. After listening to witness statements and reviewing video, cops decide to charge Kalischer, and Kalischer turns himself in just before 10.30 p.m.

Kalischer has now been arraigned on his charges and reportedly posted a bond. Lucas Kalischer, 55, now charged with strangulation and child abuse. Robert Suggs, 34, on the way to a Florida public defender's office to talk about his felony animal cruelty charge, but he doesn't get past security. As his backpack goes through the x-ray, security guards notice a gun. The pistol is reported stolen and fully loaded. Sugg claims the backpack belongs to a friend, and he didn't know there was a gun inside. Okay. During a pat down, cops also discover a meth pipe in his pocket. Suggs didn't know he had a meth pipe either. Robert Suggs now charged

with possession of, theft of, and concealing a gun and drugs. Wow. You think the public defender is going to take that case? More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. In La Crosse County, Wisconsin, a man has been convicted for the brutal 2021 shootings that left three men dead near a local quarry. We turn to Sydney Sumner of Crime Online for more. 37-year-old Nia Tao of Onalaska, Wisconsin, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The verdict,

delivered by a La Crosse County jury, follows Tao's second trial, the first ended in a hung jury last year. Tao, along with co-defendant Kamtameth Ratanisak, was charged in connection with the deaths of Ping Lor and Nemo Yang, both 24, and 23-year-old Trevor Maloney. The three men were found shot to death outside the entrance of a quarry approximately 14 miles northwest of La Crosse near the Minnesota border. According to prosecutors, the violence was sparked by Ratanisak's belief that one of the victims had stolen $600 from him. A witness who was with the victims recounted to police that Ratanisak ordered the men to their knees and handed the gun to Tao, who then shot them multiple times. Ratanisak pleaded guilty last October to one count of first-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime and was sentenced to life in prison in January. The Cross County

Sheriff John Siegel responded to the verdict, saying, Tuesday's decision brings closure to a horrific crime that impacted not just the victims and their families, but our entire community. Sentencing for Tao is set for October 14th. A federal judge has ordered Louisiana State Penitentiary to take immediate action to protect inmates working in the prison's agricultural fields from extreme heat. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson's ruling builds on a previous order issued in July, mandating enhanced measures to shield prisoners from the dangerous conditions they face while laboring in the intense sun.

The order comes after alarming evidence was presented in court, including photographs depicting inmates in the fields of Angola Prison, once a notorious slave plantation, where they had minimal protection from the sun. The images, provided by the advocacy group Voice of the Experience, show approximately 20 men huddled under a single pop-up tent with no seating available and limited shade. Judge Jackson's latest directive highlights the dire situation, citing 50 reported instances of heat-related illnesses among inmates between July 2 and August 5, with seven cases severe enough to require emergency medical attention. In response, Jackson ordered the installation of additional tents near

work areas, the provision of seating, and mandated 15-minute breaks every 45 minutes during heat alerts. State corrections officials have already appealed Jackson's initial July ruling. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has since modified parts of the original decision, but upheld key provisions. This legal battle over the conditions on Angola's farm line underscores a broader national conversation about the ethics of prison labor. The practice, with its deep roots in America's history of slavery, has drawn increasing scrutiny. A two-year investigation by our friends with the Associated Press revealed that the supply chains of major corporations, including Walmart and Burger King, have been linked to prison farms

like Angola, where incarcerated workers are paid little to nothing for their labor. In response to the growing outcry, several companies, including Cargill, have severed or are in the process of cutting ties with these controversial labor practices. A spokesperson for the Louisiana State Corrections Department stated that officials will withhold comment until they have thoroughly reviewed Judge Jackson's order. Thanks, John. Maria Nina Miller, 34, working at the Dandy Mini Mart, where she plans to take two days off to visit husband Kenneth's ill mother in Charleston, West Virginia. Maria and Kenneth drive to the hospital,

but they have an argument in the parking lot. Kenneth claims Maria insists on going to Virginia Beach, so he drops her off at an unknown apartment complex there. Four months pass, and West Virginia State Police collaborate, offering a $7,000 reward for information to resolve the case. Maria, 5'1", 125 pounds, black hair, brown eyes. She would now be 46. If you have info on the whereabouts of Maria Nina Miller, now missing 13 years, contact Pennsylvania Police 570-265-2186. For the latest crime and justice news, go to CrimeOnline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories.

With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.