Georgia man gets death sentence for killing Alabama store clerk | ajc.com

Georgia man gets death sentence for killing Alabama store clerk  | ajc.com: "death sentence was ordered for a Georgia man in the shooting death of an Oxford convenience store clerk that was captured on a surveillance camera.
Circuit Judge Malcolm Street imposed the sentence Tuesday on Jesse Scheuing, 24, of Waycross, saying the 2008 killing was 'an especially cold and calculated intentional murder.'
The judge said the death sentence was proper because Scheuing was on parole for a felony when he killed 27-year-old Sean Adam Cook and it took place during an armed robbery.
'The video clearly showed it was the defendant's intent to kill Sean Adam Cook,' Street said as Scheuing looked at the floor, crying silently.
The jury, which had seen the videotape during the trial, had recommended death on a 10-2 vote. Street imposed it after a hearing in which Scheuing's mother, Marilyn Scheuing, begged the judge to sentence him to life without parole.
'Please don't kill my baby,' she said. As her son put his head on a desk in front of him, she continued, 'I love him. I hate what he did.'"

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Julian Escobar, 24, was arrested Saturday to face murder, attempted murder, gang and gun charges

Julian Escobar, 24, was arrested Saturday as he drove away from his Pajaro Circle house and will be in court Tuesday to face murder, attempted murder, gang and gun charges, authorities reported.Escobar and another, still unidentified man went to the Apple Hill neighborhood in Watsonville the afternoon of March 21, confronted a group of young men playing basketball on public court and asked what gang they claimed, according to police.Angel Escobedo, 19, and his friends said they weren't involved in gangs. He and the other basketball players fled when gang members pulled a handgun, but Escobedo was shot several times and died.Although police suspect Escobar came to Watsonville to retaliate for a prior incident - which officers are tight-lipped about - Watsonville Police Chief Manny Solano said the gang member was not seeking out Escobedo in particular."This young man was an innocent victim of the terrible, terrible gang crimes we see," District Attorney Bob Lee said.
Escobedo had grown up in Watsonville but lived in Hollister. He was planning to go into law enforcement or join the military before he was killed, according to Solano.
His death was one of four homicides in the city in 2009. Of those, three were gang-related murders. Police have made arrests in two of the gang killings as well as the fourth homicide.Investigators identified Escobar, an ex-con, as the suspect based on "a new little bit of information" they received last week, according to Watsonville police detective Jarrod Pisturino."It was something that we followed up on and it just snowballed," Pisturino said. "It was very exciting and almost unbelievable."Before Escobar surfaced as a suspect, detectives had chased hundreds of leads in the 10 months since the killing and shown photo lineups to dozens of people, including many Apple Hill residents who cooperated with the investigation.
"We went into the neighborhood immediately afterward," said Solano, highlighting the department's community outreach efforts, including the Post-Incident Team and chaplain program. "I do believe that's why it fostered trust."
In addition to witness accounts, detectives relied on video surveillance from a nearby apartment complex. A police sketch artist made two renderings of the suspect, one of which included a teardrop tattoo below the assailant's left eye.
Escobar has the same tattoo and Pisturino said seeing that marking when detectives pulled up Escobar's mug shot last week helped things click.A judge signed a $1 million arrest warrant Thursday for charges that include the personal use of a firearm, likely meaning he is suspected of firing the deadly shots.Police declined to discuss the evidence in the case or where the tip leading them to Escobar came from. They also did not say if the gun was recovered or confirm that Escobedo was the shooter.Escobar was arrested Saturday morning after Watsonville gang investigators, agents from the county's Anti-Crime Team and Salinas police officers staked out his house and other hangouts for two days.Monday, he was transferred from the Monterey County Jail to the Santa Cruz County Jail.Solano said Escobar doesn't have a history with Watsonville police, but he was arrested by Salinas police in 2005 after he brandished a gun at officers and ran when he was pulled over. Escobar served three years in prison for the incident.

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Jason Brown, 35, and his girlfriend Terra George, 24, are facing numerous drug and weapons-related charges

Jason Brown, 35, and his girlfriend Terra George, 24, are facing numerous drug and weapons-related charges following a co-ordinated police raid on Brown's Aldergrove residence Nov. 12, but so far the two have not surrendered to police.The multi-jurisdictional bust took place in the 26900 block of 26A Avenue and nabbed a 9mm handgun, a loaded magazine, boxes of ammunition, $80,000 worth of cocaine, $12,000 in cash, body armour and an RS-logoed jacket along with one kilogram of methamphetamine valued at $25,000.George and Brown are charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking methamphetamine, possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine, possession of a restricted weapon and the additional charge against Brown of possession of a firearm while prohibited.Brown has a 10-year-ban from owning a firearm following his arrest in a 2007 police biker investigation dubbed "E-Pandora," and was pegged as an associate of the Angels.He was convicted for conspiracy to commit an indictable offence at the time and given a four-year sentence.The Abbotsford Police Department, Langley RCMP, the Integrated Gang Task Force and the Lower Mainland Emergency Response Unit were all involved in the raid as Brown is "very well known" to police in several jurisdictions and has a long history of interaction with authorities for drugs, weapons and violence, according to APD Const. Ian MacDonald."This individual was probably on multiple radar screens," MacDonaldd said, adding that police intelligence indicated a seizure of this scope was indicative of a mid- to high-level gang operative.MacDonald said that Brown's arrest shows that the Scorpions are still active in the Fraser Valley and do not seem to be suffering any ill effects from the incarceration of high-profile members involved in the Surrey Six slayings

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Ian Alexander Foden, 24, of Gorse Crescent, admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition

Ian Alexander Foden, 24, of Gorse Crescent, admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition at an early hearing. Yesterday he was sentenced to five years in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Acting on intelligence received from the community, police officers executed a warrant at his home shortly after 8am on June 25. A Norinco 9mm self-loading pistol and 19 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Detective Constable Stuart Brown said: "Possessing a gun and ammunition is a grave offence and one GMP works tirelessly to tackle. "We don't know exactly why Foden had the weapon but it is possible he was storing it for someone else because of his previously unblemished record. "I hope today's sentence sends out a stark warning to those prepared to hide guns and those who use people they think police will not pursue to hide them that we will always act on intelligence given to us. "If you have any knowledge about anyone involved in gun and gang crime please come forward.

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