An Alaska woman who pleaded guilty to being involved in a revenge mail bombing that killed one man and injured his wife has been sentenced to 24 years and four months in federal prison. The reason Williams is believed to have been reared in the WatchTower religion is due to a reference by Williams himself that his mother was a devoted Jehovah's Witness. A defendants sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. More interestingly, Juan Soria, who had no prior criminal convictions, had been "arrested" for vandalizing and attempting to break into a "church" just two months prior to being ejected from the family home. But there still remained the impossibility of the pair actually getting their hands on the components needed to make the bomb and physically taking it to a post office to mail it. Garrett chose not to reenlist and was honorably discharged three days later. Northern District of New York While Father/Jr would have have 16 years-old at the time, thus possibly a friend of the groom, per his Obit, he was not baptized until around 1973. In 1995, Coffee's symptoms improved with treatment and medication, so he was transferred to the less restrictive Anoka-Metro Regional Treatment Center. A lock ( However, that conviction and sentence was reversed on appeal in 1987. Lowe's aunt testified that due to the WatchTower beliefs which the father attempted to impose on Lowe, Lowe rebelled and lived an abnormal teenage life. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), We were not alive in 1950, but we suspect that the apocalyptic WatchTower Society had convinced its membership via its typical "insinuation" method that "Jehovah" was gathering together his people in NYC (location of WatchTower World HQ) to protect them at the start of "Armageddon", simply to ensure a large attendance that would be fawned over by NYC media coverage, which would be repeated worldwide. Raymond is serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona. Limited details. (It was nighttime on October 24.) Joe Preinesberger testified against Wilburn Boggs, and received a deferred sentence and probation. In November 1992, 22 year-old London Williams, who after serving the federal wrist-slap was running with the Hornets gang, chased a rival onto a MBTA bus and stabbed him. Senior was restrained and allegedly beaten again by several officers, put in handcuffs, and placed in the rear seat of Fleetwood's vehicle. WebView the profiles of people named Douglas Gustafson. FLORIDA v. JOSEPH ANTHONY RAKE was a 1950 Florida criminal prosecution of then 19 year-old Jehovah's Witness Joseph A. Rake, of Fort Pierce, Florida, for ARMED ROBBERY. Instead, they went for a high-speed joy-ride that ended in a terrible crash that killed both JWs instantly, and a third friend later, and injured the driver and the fifth friend. Lowe's JW Father further stated that he would never speak to his son again. Even after such, Dugar's father continued his efforts to get the murder conviction overturned, and his son committed to a mental institution. In September 1991, just months after 20-year-old George Kerr of Chugiak, Georgia, helped the state put two of his friends, Doug Gustafson and Raymond Cheely behind bars for 65 and 60 years respectively after he witnessed them fatally shooting teenager Jeffrey Cain on the Glenn Highway, the Kerr's family received a package in the mail addressed to George - who was not there at the house at the time. Apparently, "someone" had so convinced this 19 year-old Jehovah's Witness of the necessity of his being at the first-ever WatchTower International Convention in NYC that this Jehovah's Witness believed that committing ARMED ROBBERY was acceptable, and possibly unpunishable. TENNESSEE v. EUGENE EDWARD HAMBLIN. It also came out that Gustafson had a history of harming and even killing pets in his neighborhood. Along the way, Dugar stopped long enough to empty his revolver into Williams, and then reload, and empty it into Williams again. However, he later alleged that the police had beaten him to obtain the confession, and Yarbough eventually pleaded "not guilty". Cheely and Gustafson also managed to establish contact with each other inconspicuously while inside the jail to plan their revenge. WASHINGTON v. JAMES LEROY BRETT was a 1991-2001 Washington state murder court decision. Police then found the store manager in the rear storage room dead from a gunshot, and a second store employee shot in the back but still alive. Earl Resnover later even told authorities that he had been "studying" to become one of Jehovah's Witnesses. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Troy Dugar was initially given a death sentence, but after years of appeals pushed by his father, Dugar's sentence was reduced in 1993 to a term of life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. The inmate's current location is in Victorville, California, and you can visit the facility during permissible hours. In the media coverage of this murder, a neighbor of Douglas Gustafson described Gustafson's parents as "strict" Jehovah's Witnesses. It is not known whether Carrie Tucker's refusal to submit blood samples for testing was based on her own genuine interpretation of WatchTower teachings, or whether it was the more likely situation that Tucker simply was being uncooperative with "the system", and was actually just using her JW beliefs as the only legitimate-appearing excuse not to cooperate. At trial, a series of fellow Jehovah's Witnesses served as character witnesses for Eugene Hamblin -- one even publicly condemning Halloween as being "a satanic holiday". WebDouglas pled guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence for his sister. Ultimately, cooperation from one of the people who was involved in the incident led to the case being closed. On Oct. 19, 1990,George Kerr was hanging out, shooting guns with his friends Gustafsonand RaymondCheelyin gravel pits just outside Chugiak, according to Killer Siblings. The three men were all a roughly the same age around 20. If you know where Gustafson might be, reach out to the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force tips line at 315- 473-7625. Anthony James Carver died at the scene. Rivera testified that McGensey's hand again went into one of his pockets, and believing that McGensey was drawing a gun, Rivera discharged his weapon and killed McGensey. Cloud's public defender curiously allowed him to plead "no contest". 100 South Clinton Street One of the strangers then told Hoker that he would pay Hoker $200.00 to drive a Texas-registered 1955 pickup truck back to Houston, to which Hoker agreed. However, Richard was learning disabled, and such drew the ire of his JW Father and older brother, who each tormented Richard for his deficiencies. Forbrich eventually graduated to traveling to the United States for the same purpose. The following cases are often Gregory Resnover was executed in 1994 for the murder of a police officer, while Earl Resnover received a life sentence, but was paroled around 2011. Undercover police officers previously had made several drug buys from the two brothers. In May 1990, in what has the appearance of "different rules for different schools", two Jehovah's Witnesses Minors, Marco D. Martinez, 17, and his brother, David D. Martinez, 16, were killed during an illicit "joy ride" during school hours. Leaving his wife and their car where they were, Rivera went to a nearby street intersection outside the complex to await the responding officers. Rivera got out of the car and encountered a resident coming out of his condominium. Antonio Melton received the death penalty. Have a question about Government Services? Or was it? They were, helped by Dougs siblings Peggy and Craig. James Leroy Brett was convicted by a jury of aggravated first degree murder and first degree felony murder, and was given the death penalty by that same jury. When some of the neighborhood children attempted to walk onto the Hamblin's front porch, they were lunged at by the female ROTT. Given that the then young 21-25 year-old hardened gang leader was from a large extended family, several of whom have repeatedly testified to his upstanding moral character, it is more probable that his "conversion" was the result of the efforts of family members who were Jehovah's Witnesses, than the possibility that the gang leader picked up the WatchTower religion on his own while in prison. (Does anyone really believe that Garrett's status as a Jehovah's Witness Elder was not thrown around repeatedly during this incident, and such was the main reason for the dropping of all criminal charges, and even the large jury award? Despite the fact that even if the situation were as Balderama claimed -- consensual sex -- (which is an excommunication offense for JWs), Stan Boyd, a Jehovah's Witness [Elder?] Prosecutors agreed that they would not charge Kerr as an accessory, or for a burglary he had taken part in that same night, if he got a recorded confession out of Gustafson. }); At his July 1977 trial, Steven Balderama was convicted on kidnapping and rape charges, and Balderama was sentenced to two concurrent prison sentences of 10 to 50 years each. A moment later, Rivera was hit in the chest by a cigarette lighter which McGensey had hurled at him. Outcome unknown. On June 4, 1992, Ronnie Caldwell was arrested and charged with battery, endangering a child, and other misdemeanors, after a fight with his wife, Angela Caldwell. James' parents were even harder on him than before. The Circuit Court concluded that although it could order Tucker to submit to such a physical examination, if Tucker refused to comply, it did not have the statutory authority to treat Tucker's refusal as a contempt of court. McGensey said, "I ain't done nothing," and repeated variations of this disclaimer, disregarding Rivera's command to climb down. In Rivera's over 16 years as a police officer, that was the first time he had ever fired his weapon at anyone. }); Jackson played the 1992-3 season, but just prior to the start of the 1993-4 season, in August 1993, the day after Mark Jackson was notified that he was the team's starting tailback, Mark Jackson told the coach that he was quitting the football team because playing football conflicted with his beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness -- a matter he evidently had been pondering since his father's death, probably due to lobbying from his JW Mother. In the following criminal cases, the WatchTower Society - Jehovah's Witnesses Gregory Westbrooks failed to return home. The details are incomplete, but Cloud may have had mental issues. Rivera told him that he was a police officer and to hold it. Both JW Parents were strict disciplinarians, and devout Jehovah's Witnesses. Interestingly, a significant percentage of male JWs arrested in Maine in the early 1940s were found to be using aliases, and many had criminal records. VICTIMIZING JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES CRIME CASES. Jackson pled guilty to one count of first degree burglary and one count of felony stealing. Some of his victims were handcuffed to trees. However, just about everyone connected with the judicial process knows that the vast majority of Jehovah's Witness Venirepersons disclose their religious background during the jury selection process and use such as an excuse to be excused from sitting on a jury -- especially a criminal court jury. COVID origins? For violating the conditions of his supervised release, Gustafson faces a potential additional penalty of up to 5 years in prison. .". I get the feeling that Cloud committed these rapes much as did Robert Biddings below -- preaching the Bible all the while. Cheely and Gustafson had planned the murder while behind bars, instructing Gustafsons sister Peggy and brother Craig to build the bomb, while Peggy mailed it. } During his phone calls to his pregnant sister, Doug kept giving Peggy coded instructions on how to make the bomb, under the pretext of helping her fix her car and she showed him pieces of it during her jailhouse visits. Official websites use .gov Interestingly, the pistol contained two spent cartridges, and the pistol had been re-cocked onto a third cartridge. James played regularly after that. We do not know in which stages of James Allridge's prosecution that his having been reared as a "Jehovah's Witness" was disclosed. This was where things got out of hand. 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