Friday, October 25, 2013

President Barack Obama said during a visit to Brooklyn Friday that the borough had always been "cool"

» Obama: Brooklyn Is "Cool," Inspired Generations of Immigrants - NBC New York
25/10/13 21:08 from Top Stories - Google News
NBC New YorkObama: Brooklyn Is "Cool," Inspired Generations of ImmigrantsNBC New York President Barack Obama said during a visit to Brooklyn Friday that the borough had always been "cool," and has drawn generations of ...

Five people were taken to WakeMed hospital in Raleigh Thursday night after a ride malfunctioned at the North Carolina State Fair

» OFFICIALS: At least 5 injured at NC State Fair after ride accide - WFSB 3 ... - WFSB
25/10/13 17:33 from Top Stories - Google News
ABC NewsOFFICIALS: At least 5 injured at NC State Fair after ride accide - WFSB 3 ...WFSB Five people were taken to WakeMed hospital in Raleigh Thursday night after a ride malfunctioned at the North Carolina State Fair, according to the W...

» Mass. students back in class, two days after killing - USA TODAY
25/10/13 17:10 from Top Stories - Google News
U.S. News & World ReportMass. students back in class, two days after killingUSA TODAYDANVERS, Mass. (AP) — With few details emerging about the killing of a Massachusetts teacher allegedly by one of her students, classmates returned to sc...


» Boy charged in death of Massachusetts teacher - Washington Post
25/10/13 14:08 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostBoy charged in death of Massachusetts teacherWashington PostA well-liked teacher was found slain in the woods behind the high school in Danvers, Mass., and a 14-year-old boy who was found walking along a state highway over...


» Man live-tweets details of ex-NSA chief's phone calls - CBS News
25/10/13 16:37 from Top Stories - Google News
Voice of AmericaMan live-tweets details of ex-NSA chief's phone callsCBS NewsFile this one under #PrivacyFail. While traveling on an Amtrak Acela train Thursday, former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden apparently deci...


» Ukrainian jailed for life for killing Muslim, planting bombs in UK
25/10/13 15:22 from Reuters: International
LONDON (Reuters) - A Ukrainian man who murdered an elderly Muslim five days after arriving in Britain and planted bombs outside mosques was jailed for life on Friday. 


Publishing Edward Snowden security secrets a 'criminal' act, says former terrorism watchdog

» Publishing Edward Snowden security secrets a 'criminal' act, says former terrorism watchdog
24/10/13 10:30 from Russian news, all the latest and breaking Russia news
Publication of stolen state secrets by the Guardian newspaper was a "criminal act" and it is wrong to paint the newspaper's journalists as "virtuous whistleblowers", the former terrorism watchdog has said.    


U.S. alerting partner nations on Snowden files


Documents taken by Edward Snowden contain information on operations against adversaries such as Iran, Russia and China that involve countries not publicly allied with the U.S., officials say. 

Ex-NSA chief learns the other side of eavesdropping thanks to a tweeter

Ex-NSA chief learns the other side of eavesdropping thanks to a tweeter
Michael Hayden’s cellphone call with reporter from Acela train turns public after it was live tweeted.

Soros backs Hillary Clinton for president

Former Secretary of State and former first lady Hillary Clinton sits and watches during the Clinton Global Initiative 2013 (CGI) in New York September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri













Soros backs Hillary Clinton for president

WASHINGTON - Billionaire financier George Soros, a major Democratic donor, is backing an effort to persuade former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016, a spokesman said. Full Article 

Germany wants a German Internet as spying scandal rankles

Germany wants a German Internet as spying scandal rankles


By Leila Abboud and Peter Maushagen
German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel talks with Sigmar Gabriel (2nd L) leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) SPD parliamentary floor leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L) and Federal Chancellery Minister Ronald Pofalla (R) prior to a constitutional meeting of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin October 22, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
German Chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Angela Merkel talks with Sigmar Gabriel (2nd L) leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) SPD parliamentary floor leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier (L) and Federal Chancellery Minister Ronald Pofalla (R) prior to a constitutional meeting of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin October 22, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch
PARIS/FRANKFURT | Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:54am EDT

(Reuters) - As a diplomatic row rages between the United States and Europe over spying accusations, state-backed Deutsche Telekom wants German communications companies to cooperate to shield local internet traffic from foreign intelligence services.

Germany and France Propose Talks to Rein In U.S. Spying

The offer to hold talks is an attempt to agree on rules for surveillance operations, and to ease a dispute over eavesdropping by the United States that has plunged its relations with Europe to a low point.

Allegation of U.S. Spying Puts Obama at Crossroads

Officials in the Obama administration say that the National Security Agency, in its push to build a global data-gathering network, has rarely weighed the long-term political costs of some of its operations.

ROOM FOR DEBATE
If We Spy on Them, Are They Still U.S. ‘Allies’?
Brazil, France and Germany are angry at U.S. surveillance, but maybe that is the new normal.

Merkel, Hollande want new rules for sharing intelligence

The German leader says trust must be rebuilt after allegations that the NSA monitored world leaders’ phone lines.

Alleged monitoring of Angela Merkel’s cellphone has infuriated Germans. What deals could this endanger?


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Family members of Landsberry, a former Marine who was also a member of the Nevada Air National Guard, described him as a hero who tried to persuade the young gunman to drop his weapon

Michael Landsberry - GS


Nevada student shoots teacher dead, wounds two before killing self


Police officers are at the shooting scene at the Sparks Middle School in Sparks, Nevada, October 21, 2013. REUTERS/Marilyn Newton/Reno Gazette-Journal
SPARKS, Nevada | Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:42am EDT
(Reuters) - A student armed with a semi-automatic handgun killed a math teacher and critically wounded two classmates before killing himself at his Nevada middle school on Monday, law enforcement officials said.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene at the school in the northwestern Nevada town of Sparks, just east of Reno near the California border, after the gunfire erupted outside classrooms as students were arriving for the school day.
"A kid started getting mad and he pulled out a gun and shoots my friend, one of my friends at least," a seventh-grade student identified as Andrew Thompson told local television station KOLO. "And then he walked up to a teacher and says back up. The teacher started backing up and he pulled the trigger."
"The teacher was just lying there and he was limp," he told KOLO. "And me and five other friends went to him and said 'come on, we've got to get him to safety.' We picked him up, carried him a little bit far and we left him because our vice principal came along and said 'go, go, go, get to safety, get to safety.' So we left the teacher there and we went to safety."
The incident was the latest in a string of shooting rampages across the United States in recent years, including one in December at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 20 students and six adults and helped reignite a national debate over gun control.
The slain educator at Sparks Middle School was identified by his family as 45-year-old math teacher Michael Landsberry.
The shooter's identity was not released. Police in Sparks said he was a 12-year-old student enrolled at the school. Some media outlets later reported his age as 13.
Authorities declined to identify the two wounded students, both aged 12, who acting Sparks Police Chief Tom Miller said were rushed to a Reno hospital where one had emergency surgery.
One of the boys sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder and the other was hit in the abdomen, he said, and were listed in stable condition on Monday afternoon.
TEACHER CALLED HERO
Family members of Landsberry, a former Marine who was also a member of the Nevada Air National Guard, described him as a hero who tried to persuade the young gunman to drop his weapon.
"(He was) probably trying to stop that kid from hurting himself or anyone else," his sister-in-law Chanda Landsberry told Reuters.
Law enforcement officials said the student gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun at 7:16 a.m. local time (1416 GMT), about 15 minutes before classes were scheduled to begin at the school, which serves about 700 seventh and eighth grade students.
A 13-year-old eighth grader, Kyle Nucum, told the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper that he heard about half a dozen shots. Student Michelle Hernandez said she had seen the suspect before the shooting began.
"I heard him saying, 'Why you people making fun of me, why you laughing at me,'" Hernandez told the paper.
Some 150 to 200 police officers descended on the school following the shooting and searched the grounds with bomb dogs, Reno Deputy Police Chief Tom Robinson said. Agents from the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security were assisting in the investigation, he said.
Sparks Mayor Geno Martini told a late-morning news conference that the shooting marked a tragic day for the city: "I just want to reiterate again that the city itself is very safe and this is just an isolated incident. But it's very, very tragic."
Robinson said it was too early to tell if the boy was targeting anyone in the shooting rampage. Authorities also declined to speculate on his motives.
Classes and after-school activities were canceled at Sparks Middle School for the rest of the week and counselors would be on hand to work with students and staff members who were traumatized by the shooting, the school district said.

(Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Alistair Lyon)

U.S. Budget Woes Hit Military Readiness

» U.S. Budget Woes Hit Military Readiness
22/10/13 01:45 from Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
U.S. General Ray Odierno, U.S. Army chief of staff, has said that budget cuts and fiscal uncertainty in the United States have led to sharp reductions in army training. In comments on October 21 at a conference of the Association of th...

» New York restaurant makes diners eat in silence
22/10/13 09:59 from Uploads by ITN
New York restaurant makes diners eat in silenceA restaurant in New York expects silence from its diners. . Report by Sophie Foster.From:ITNViews:19 1ratingsTime:01:22More inTravel & Events


Sunday, October 20, 2013

Derailed Alberta Cargo Cars Still Burning

» Derailed Alberta Cargo Cars Still Burning
21/10/13 02:49 from WSJ.com: World News
Two railcars were still burning on Sunday almost 36 hours after a cargo train carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas derailed in a rural area of Alberta, officials said.

Suicide bombing in Iraq kills 35 in busy cafe - USA TODAY

» Suicide bombing in Iraq kills 35 in busy cafe - USA TODAY
20/10/13 19:32 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostSuicide bombing in Iraq kills 35 in busy cafeUSA TODAYBAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden car Sunday night into a busy cafe in Iraq's capital, killing 35 during a day of violence across the coun...

BART accident that killed 2 workers under investigation - Los Angeles Times

» BART accident that killed 2 workers under investigation - Los Angeles Times
20/10/13 15:15 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostBART accident that killed 2 workers under investigationLos Angeles TimesAuthorities on Sunday continued to investigate the deaths of two maintenance workers on a Bay Area Rapid Transit line Saturday, as a radio transmissio...

“Russia is sending out a clear signal, saying ‘hands off our part of the Arctic and hands off complaining about our right to drill for oil there’

“Russia is sending out a clear signal, saying ‘hands off our part of the Arctic and hands off complaining about our right to drill for oil there’. It has certainly sent a very loud and very clear signal about that to Greenpeace, there is no question about that,” the 59-year-old tellsThe Independent.

» Greenpeace director John Sauven 'Russia has sent us a clear signal over the ... - The Independent
20/10/13 19:19 from Russia - Google News
The IndependentGreenpeace director John Sauven 'Russia has sent us a clear signal over the ...The Independent“Russia is sending out a clear signal, saying 'hands off our part of the Arctic and hands off complaining about our righ...

Greenpeace - G News

map


Greenpeace Briton Frank Hewetson denied bail in Russia

15 October 2013 Last updated at 07:20 ET

Frank Hewetson
Frank Hewetson's bail application was denied and he has been returned to jail

Related Stories


A British Greenpeace activist held in Russia on piracy charges has been denied bail.
Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise - G News

Posted on Thursday 10th of October 2013 

"Illegal" drugs were found by Russian authorities on board the detained Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. Weeks ago Greenpeace activists were detained after an attempt of boarding an oil platform owned by Gazprom. The investigators discovered on board the ship drugs, poppy straw and morphine. Poppy straw is famous with its usage in the production of heroin or morphine. 

The organization Greenpeace does not agree with the allegations for transportation of illegal drugs. The non-governmental environmental organization explained that the Russian investigators was talking to medical ship supplies that were needed according to the maritime law. 

The Greenpeace activists are still in jail after their protest actions were considered as "pirate attack" after an attempt of boarding a Russian oil rig. The environmental organization is worried about the welfare of the arrested activists.

Arctic Sunrise is Dutch-flagged and the Netherlands asked Russia to free the ship and the arrested Greenpeace activists in Murmansk.
The jailed passengers now faces serious charges after new evidence of the "hard drugs" were discovered. Russian investigators found also suspicious equipment, that only makes the things serious for the arrested Greenpeace activists. 

Investigators will try to find the person who was "deliberately ramming" the Coast Guard boats along the Russian border. Greenpeace organization denied allegations with the drugs on board the ship Arctic Sunrise informing that illegal drugs are now allowed on board their ships.

The non-governmental organization announced information that before Arctic Sunrise went to the Arctic, the ship passed standard check conducted by Norwegian authorities with a sniffer dog. It is known that Norwegian law is one of the strictest. Nothing illegal was found after the search operation. 

Background information:

Russian military forces stormed the Greenpeace owned Arctic Sunrise ship and arrested all crew members because of the threat over a Gazprom oil platform. Greenpeace activists have been protesting against oil exploration in the Arctic but they went to far in their actions. Armed Russian Guards boarded the Arctic Sunrise and took measures, the activists were "aggressive and provocative" according to Russian authorities. The crew members of the Greenpeace owned ship tried to interrupt the work of a state owned Russian(Gazprom) oil rig. 

Related articles:

http://www.vesselfinder.com/news/bytag/Arctic-Sunrise 

by Vessel Finder


Read more at: http://www.vesselfinder.com/news/1536-Hard-drugs-found-by-Russian-investigators-on-Greenpeace-ship-Arctic-Sunrise
Copyright © Vesselfinder

China holding up shipment of Iranian petroleum to North Korea

China holding up shipment of Iranian petroleum to North Korea



October 20, 2013


By KOICHIRO ISHIDA/ Correspondent

DALIAN, China--China is holding petroleum that was heading to North Korea from Iran in an apparent attempt by Beijing to maintain its control over Pyongyang, sources said.
According to Chinese sources, the petroleum was part of North Korea’s contract to import about 500,000 tons of condensate, a light oil, from Iran. North Korea, seeking to diversify its energy sources, started discussions on the deal last year.
The agreement was reached with the cooperation of a major Chinese state-run petroleum company.
The condensate is believed to have been shipped from Iran over a number of occasions on tankers registered to a third nation. But Chinese authorities ordered the tankers to stop when they reached the Chinese coast in the Yellow Sea this spring.
The ships were then towed to ports in Dalian, Liaoning province, and Qingdao, Shandong province. Sources said the condensate remains in those ports, which have restricted access to outsiders.
China is believed to have asked North Korea to pay about $2 million (about 196 million yen) for storage expenses.
“Once China realized that North Korea was beginning to depend on Iran for petroleum, China began using various measures to remain engaged so it can maintain its influence over North Korea,” a diplomatic source knowledgeable about relations between China and North Korea said.
Under the North Korea-Iran contract, Pyongyang is to pay Tehran for the condensate, but the condensate itself must be first sent to a Chinese state-run petroleum company.
“Because North Korea does not have the most advanced refineries, it had to ask China to refine the condensate,” a source in the petroleum industry said.
It is unclear what legal basis China is using for holding up the shipments because condensate and other petroleum products needed for daily living are not banned under U.N. economic sanctions imposed against North Korea.
However, one source involved in the transaction said, “As part of the economic sanctions that were imposed against military actions taken by North Korea, inspections were carried out by Chinese authorities, which asked that the petroleum be kept at the port.”
After Pyongyang conducted its third nuclear test in February, the U.N. Security Council imposed additional sanctions that obligated U.N. member nations to inspect cargo headed to North Korea if there were suspicions those ships carried banned goods.
China agreed to the additional sanctions, and it may have extended the range of inspections to the latest shipment because a state-run company was involved.
Until now, China is said to have provided about 80 percent of the petroleum used in North Korea. The main means of transport were through a pipeline that runs along the Yalu River between the border of the two nations as well as by ship.
According to Chinese customs statistics, the export volume was about 520,000 tons a year.
However, since the end of last year after North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile and conducted the nuclear test, China has limited some of its petroleum exports.
“Not only has a ban on petroleum export shipments been imposed by China, but the total import volume through the pipeline has also been reduced to one-third the level of the same period of the previous year,” a source involved in trade between China and North Korea was told by a North Korean government source in September.
China remains North Korea’s biggest backer, even with the contract with Iran.
By KOICHIRO ISHIDA/ Correspondent


north korea - G News


Совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности

Владимир Путин провёл оперативное совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности. 
Обсуждались актуальные вопросы международной политики. В частности, был проведён анализ ситуации в Северо-Восточной Азии.
Кроме того, члены Совбеза обсудили вопросы, связанные с подготовкой к предстоящим на следующей неделе заседанию Высшего Евразийского экономического совета (ВЕЭС) и саммиту СНГ в Минске.

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi, R-he-e-e-ah-ah-ah-l-l-l-y-y-y!!!

» The Worst Ex-Central Banker in the World - New York Times (blog)
20/10/13 15:41 from world - Google News
The Worst Ex-Central Banker in the WorldNew York Times (blog)Steven Pearlstein reads Alan Greenspan's new book, and discovers that Greenspan believes that he bears no responsibility for all the bad things that happened on his watch —...

» 5 Die as Motorcycles, SUV Crash in Southern Pa. - ABC News
20/10/13 15:27 from Top Stories - Google News
WTSP 10 News5 Die as Motorcycles, SUV Crash in Southern Pa.ABC NewsFive people were killed when two motorcycles collided with an SUV in south-central Pennsylvania near the Maryland line. Washington Township police said two motorcycles tr...



Two Florida convicted killers captured after release on forged orders - Reuters

» Two Florida convicted killers captured after release on forged orders - Reuters
20/10/13 06:06 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostTwo Florida convicted killers captured after release on forged ordersReutersBy Bill Cotterell. TALLAHASSEE, Florida | Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:06am EDT. TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Two convicted murderers released from a F...


Two Florida convicted killers captured after release on forged orders


By Bill Cotterell
Escaped convicts Joseph Ivan Jenkins (L) and Charles Walker are shown in this combination of undated booking photos provided by the Florida Department of Corrections October 17, 2013. REUTERS/Florida Dept of Corrections/Handout via Reuters
TALLAHASSEE, Florida | Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:06am EDT
(Reuters) - Two convicted murderers released from a Florida prison based on forged court documents were captured on Saturday, law enforcement officials said.
Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker, both 34, were arrested at the Coconut Grove Motor Inn in Panama City, Florida, at about 6:40 p.m., the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a statement.
The pair were arrested without incident, according to the department. A desk clerk at the inn said authorities captured the fugitives quietly.
"During the investigation, information was developed to lead investigators to Bay County. An interview with an associate of an inmate helped pinpoint the men," said Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Plessinger would not elaborate on the associate's relationship with the men. She said the two were unarmed when they were caught on Saturday.
Authorities mounted a nationwide manhunt for Jenkins and Walker, who were released from the Franklin Correctional Institution in Carrabelle, Florida, on September 27 and October 8, respectively. Their releases were based on forged documents that indicated their life sentences had been reduced.
Both were serving life sentences without eligibility for parole. Walker was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 in Orange County and Jenkins of first-degree murder in 1998.
A court spokeswoman in Orange County, Florida, where the men were convicted, said earlier this week that someone signed the name of Chief Judge Belvin Perry of the state's Ninth Judicial Circuit Court on two official-looking documents granting their release.
Perry presided over the 2011 trial of Casey Anthony, the young mother acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Perry told CNN earlier this week that his signature was easy to find online on documents related to the Anthony case.
The spokeswoman said the paperwork passed through that department and was forwarded to the state corrections department. The origin of the documents is unclear. The paperwork was not emailed to the clerk but may have been mailed or dropped off at the office, she said.
After their release, Jenkins and Walker even checked in as paroled inmates at the Orlando County Jail before vanishing.
Both men turned up separately at the jail, within 48 hours of their release, to be checked for outstanding arrest warrants and be photographed and fingerprinted for a registry of released felons, according to Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jeff Williamson.
Such registration is required under Florida law.
Their erroneous release was discovered only this week, when a relative of one of their victims received a routine notice of the release.
Walker visited family members in Orlando after his escape. Earlier on Saturday, relatives of the fugitives held a news conference in that city, urging them to surrender.
State Attorney Jeff Ashton in Orlando said on Thursday that a third inmate, Jeffrey Forbes, serving a life sentence for the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, attempted a similar scheme last spring.
Forbes is now being prosecuted for forgery and attempted escape.

(Writing by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Peter Cooney)

» Fla.'s Fugitive Prisoners Surprised at Motel - ABC News
20/10/13 15:20 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington PostFla.'s Fugitive Prisoners Surprised at MotelABC NewsTwo Florida prisoners who used forged documents to escape knew it was just a matter of time before they were caught. Frank Chiumento (Sha MENTO) is chief of the U.S. ..


Escaped Fla. Prisoners Grilled: Who Helped You?


Back in custody after using forged documents to escape their life sentences, two convicted killers were being grilled on Sunday by law enforcement authorities who said they expect to make more arrests in a case that has given both court and corrections officials in Florida a black eye.
Among the questions being posed to Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker: Who forged the papers? Who helped you run from police? What other prisoners have gotten away with this? Who was coming from Atlanta to whisk you out of Florida?
"I can tell you, there will be more arrests," Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey told a news conference Sunday, hours after Jenkins and Walker, both 34, were arrested without incident at a motel in Panama City.
"We will be backtracking to those who helped carry out this fraud and along the way we will be looking closely at anyone who may have helped harbor these fugitives," Bailey said.
Jenkins and Walker, both 34, were captured Saturday night at the Coconut Grove Motor Inn in Panama City Beach, a touristy area of putt-putt courses and go-kart tracks. Hours earlier, their families had held a news conference in Orlando — 350 miles away — urging them to surrender.
The men, who had fled the Orlando area after word of their ruse became public, did not know law enforcement was on the way to Panama City. They were waiting in the motel for someone to arrive from Atlanta to take them out of state, Bailey said, adding that authorities don't yet know who that person was or where the convicts planned to go. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is working with Georgia authorities to answer those questions, he said.
"They had to have had help — a lot of help — to get to where they were last night," Bailey said. He said the men were unarmed and didn't have much money on them.
Bailey's department is pursuing a tip that someone was offering to forge documents for prisoners for $8,000. He said there are at least two other recent cases where prisoners were thwarted trying to use fake documents to escape.
"The documents themselves looked good, they looked official," Bailey said, although they contained the signatures of people who normally don't deal with release documents, something that maybe should have raised questions, he said.
Meanwhile, Corrections Secretary Michael Crews scheduled a meeting with court clerks on Monday to find ways to prevent future escapes through bogus documents.
"It is embarrassing, but my concentration at this point is making sure that we come up with a process and a procedure that prohibits this from happening in the future," Crews told a news conference.
Crews has already ordered his department to begin verifying the legitimacy of early-release orders with a judge, not just court clerks. He said his department receives a few thousand such orders each year, although he acknowledged that reduced sentences in murder cases are rare.
He also expressed relief that the men were captured.
"I did a lot of praying for the last five or six days," he said. "To say we're thankful I think is probably an understatement. These were two hardened, convicted felons and the thought of them being out there in our state caused me great concern."
The two prisoners had not been traveling together, but hooked up once word of the forgeries became public and traveled from Orlando to Panama City, said Frank Chiumento (Sha MENTO), chief of the U.S. Marshals Service for Florida and the Caribbean.
Chiumento told The Associated Press on Sunday that Joseph Jenkins and Charles Walker knew their time on the run was limited once their ruse had been uncovered. They were under surveillance for about two and a half days, and the men were surprised when authorities finally knocked on their motel door.
A woman who answered the phone at the motel said she saw police coming and they went into room 227. After authorities left, the parking lot of the two-story motel next to Big Willy's Swimwear was mostly empty.
Jenkins and Walker were both serving life sentences at the Franklin Correctional Facility in the Panhandle before they walked free without anyone realizing the paperwork, complete with case numbers and a judge's forged signature, was bogus. The documents seemingly reduced their life sentences to 15 years.
Jenkins was released first on Sept. 27 and registered himself as a felon Sept. 30 in an Orlando jail. Walker was released Oct. 8 and also registered himself with authorities three days later.
Family members said they thought the releases were legitimate and that the convicts even spent time with their relatives before they disappeared.
Jenkins had been locked up since the 1998 killing and botched robbery of Roscoe Pugh, an Orlando man. It wasn't until Tuesday, when one of Pugh's relatives contacted the state attorney's office to let them know Jenkins had been let out, that authorities knew of the escape.
Prosecutors reviewed Jenkins' case file and quickly discovered the forged paperwork, including motions from prosecutors to correct "illegal" sentences, accompanied by orders allegedly filed by Judge Belvin Perry within the last couple of months. The orders granted a 15-year sentence.
———
Farrington reported from Tallahassee.
———
Follow Farrington at www.twitter.com/bsfarrington

-

» 'More arrests' expected after authorities capture 2 escaped Florida convicts - Fox News
20/10/13 20:32 from Top Stories - Google News
ABC News'More arrests' expected after authorities capture 2 escaped Florida convictsFox NewsAuthorities say there will be “more arrests” after police caught two convicted murderers Saturday who were mistakenly released from priso...

» More arrests expected soon after Florida killers nabbed - WXIA-TV
20/10/13 19:47 from Top Stories - Google News
ABC NewsMore arrests expected soon after Florida killers nabbedWXIA-TV"I've learned to fight the good fight, because the rewards are so worth it," ... President Obama (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP). Obama confronts Obamacare...


-
» Friend tipped off police to whereabouts of escaped Florida inmates - CNN
20/10/13 15:59 from Top Stories - Google News
ABC NewsFriend tipped off police to whereabouts of escaped Florida inmatesCNN(CNN) -- A tip from an acquaintance of two convicted murderers who were mistakenly released from prison led to their arrests at a Florida motel, the commissione...

Friend tipped off police to whereabouts of escaped Florida inmates

By Steve Almasy. Greg Botelho and John Couwels, CNN
updated 5:31 PM EDT, Sun October 20, 2013
Your video will begin momentarily.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: "We need to do a little bit more in authentication of documents," says judge
  • Men held on one count each of escape, due back in court Friday
  • The men were freed using forged documents, authorities say
  • Both had been sentenced to life without parole
(CNN) -- A tip from an acquaintance of one of two convicted murderers who were mistakenly released from prison led to their arrests at a Florida motel, the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Sunday.
Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins were unarmed when they were taken into custody Saturday evening in Panama City, where they were waiting for their ride to arrive from Atlanta, Gerald Bailey said. It was unclear where the men expected to go, he said.
He said a "close associate" informed authorities that the men were in the area. Bailey said they were arrested by themselves without incident at the Coconut Grove Motor Inn. They had been in Bay County for only 48 hours, he said.
Walker and Jenkins will be held without bail and make their next court appearances Friday, a Bay County, Florida, judge said Sunday.
He said the two will be held with probable cause for one count each of escape.
There will be more arrests, Bailey predicted.
"They had to have had help (after their escape) -- and a lot of help -- to get where they were last night," he said.
The state Department of Corrections -- which mistakenly released the men, though it has insisted it was through no fault of its own -- said little about the arrests.

Convicted killers released by mistake
Authorities had been searching for Walker and Jenkins, both 34, after investigators discovered that the motions to reduce their respective sentences and court orders granting the requests had been forged.
Both killers had been convicted and sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole within two years of their crimes.
In September 1998, Jenkins killed Roscoe Pugh Jr. during a home-invasion robbery attempt.
Six months later, Cedric Slater was gunned down on an Orlando street corner -- shot dead, a jury determined, by Walker.
Jenkins left the prison in North Carrabelle, in the Florida Panhandle, on September 27, and Walker left on October 8, according to authorities.
On Saturday, family members of both men denied any knowledge of the escape plans.
The legal-looking documents the men used contained bogus reproductions of several key players' signatures, including those of the Orlando-area State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton or the assistant state attorney and Judge Belvin Perry. They bore the seal of the Orange County clerk of court's office.
"They are excellent fakes," Perry said.
The judge said his signature is easy to find online on documents related to the high-profile trial of Casey Anthony. Anthony was acquitted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
"People, particularly people with criminal minds, come up with ingenious ways to beat the system," Perry said. "They have nothing but time on their hands to think of things."
He stressed to CNN's Don Lemon on Sunday that he had nothing to do with the cases in question -- that they were assigned to other judges.
"When your name and documents that you've signed are plastered on the Internet for anybody and everybody to see, and someone with basic knowledge can paste and cut your signature, it doesn't surprise me that it did happen. It was just a matter of time," Perry said. "It shows that we need to do a little bit more in authentication of documents."
Prosecutors learned about what happened after a member of Walker's family contacted them, Ashton, the state attorney, said.
An October 8 letter from the Department of Corrections to Slater's mother, Evangelina Kearse, notified her a "court order and amended sentence caused (Walker's) sentence to expire."
"Please be aware that recent actions causing the release of this offender are beyond our control. Nevertheless, we apologize for the delay in this message," it said.
Mike Crews, secretary of the Department of Corrections, said he was confident in the procedure to release prisoners, but "obviously there was a gap somewhere."
From now on, prison officials will be required to check with the judge to make sure a release order is legitimate, he said.
Bailey said there have been two other instances in which inmates attempted to use false documents to gain release, but officials prevented them from escaping.
Both Walker and Jenkins appeared to play by the rules after their release. They went to the Orange County jail to register as felons -- Jenkins on September 30, Walker on October 11 -- as required by law.
Though their releases may have initially seemed legitimate, the two convicts later were classified as escapees.
CNN's Nick Valencia, John Zarrella, Kim Segal, Chelsea J. Carter and David Simpson contributed to this report.