Crime Stories

Rob Ford, the now infamous Toronto mayor, is currently facing political turmoil. But most of his woes stem not from public policy decisions, but from his allegedly criminal behavior on both sides of the border. While currently Mr. Ford only has one serious charge officially on his rap sheet (a 1999 charge for driving under the influence in Miami, Florida, to which Ford pleaded “no contest”), he is currently being haunted by an array of allegations—many of them substantiated by video evidence, and some of which may become official criminal charges in the future. Mr. Ford escaped a marijuana charge as part of his “no contest” plea in the Miami DUI case. Since then, Mr. Ford has been the subject of numerous drunk and disorderly conduct allegations, as well as claims that Mr. Ford was a cocaine user. Most recently, a video has surfaced of Mr. Ford taking hits from…

Back in March, Alexander Song, a student at the University of Maryland, made numerous online threats of a shooting rampage on the College Park campus. Song was immediately dismissed from the school and taken into Police custody. This week, months after the original threat, Song entered a plea of guilty to the charges he faced as part of a plea deal that will enable him to avoid jail time. This case is interesting because Song is being punished for the threats that he posted online, which could have been hollow. Law enforcement was unsure not only of whether Song had the actual intent to pull off such an act, but they also questioned his ability to get something like this done even if he really wanted to. Police found no weapons in his dorm room, car and parent’s home and also concluded that he had not tried to procure any…

A midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises turned tragic early Friday morning when a gunman opened fire on a theatre in Aurora, Colorado, leaving 12 dead and another 38 injured. The youngest victim of the incident was just three months old, and many other victims are still in critical condition in local hospitals. According to CNN, the gunman entered the theatre through an emergency exit. He then stood in front of the screen, threw canisters of tear gas into the audience, then opened fire as they began to flee out of the theatre. He was reportedly wearing a gas mask, and used four guns as part of the attack; an assault rifle, a shotgun and two handguns. Police were able to apprehend who they believe to be the gunman in a parking lot behind the theatre shortly after the incident took place. According to police, he still had two…