Erik Menendez was denied parole by a panel of California commissioners yesterday. He and his brother Lyle were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills mansion in 1989.
During his 10-hour hearing, he offered a detailed account of how he was raised and why he made the choices he did, both at the time of his parents’ killing and during his decades in prison. A panel of two parole commissioners said Menendez was unsuitable for release. They said his actions in prison—including affiliating with a prison gang and having a cellphone in violation of the rules—showed he was a risk to public safety.
Menendez can come before the parole board again in three years if the decision is not overturned. Lyle Menendez’s case is set to be heard by the parole board today.
Interpol dismantles major cybercrime networks. A major cybercrime crackdown coordinated by Interpol led to the arrest of 1,209 suspects across Africa and the recovery of nearly $97.4 million. “Operation Serengeti 2.0” took place between June and August, bringing together investigators from 18 African countries and the United Kingdom to fight harmful cybercrimes. Altogether, the scams—including inheritance scams, ransomware, and business email compromise—targeted nearly 88,000 victims.
Not as admirable as a snow day. On just the fifth day of school, a school district in Indiana had to cancel in-person classes on Tuesday after someone stole the catalytic converters from many of its buses. Transportation staff discovered early Tuesday morning that the buses had been vandalized, and the district said it was forced to switch to online learning due to the thefts. According to the local news outlet, about 20 buses were vandalized.
Clearing criminal records online. Pennsylvania recently launched an online application for pardons, becoming one of the first states to digitize the process for people seeking to clear their record of criminal convictions. With thousands of people applying annually, the paper process was arduous for both applicants and Board of Pardons staff, and a pardon candidate could wait years for their application to reach a decision.
According to the AP News article, applicants must include a personal statement that explains why they want a pardon. The board encourages applicants to explain how their life has changed for the better since the crime and include any additional documents that can serve as evidence of positive change. The online application is available in 18 languages, including English and Spanish, and those who wish to submit a paper application may still do so. More than 240 people have applied for a pardon online since the application launched.
Quite the week for jewels. Dubai police caught three thieves just hours after they stole a pink diamond worth $25 million. A diamond trader who had brought the jewel from Europe was lured to a villa by a crime gang under the pretense of a viewing by a potential wealthy client. The gem was stolen when the diamond dealer arrived for the bogus inspection. Within eight hours, three people were arrested due to “the efforts of specialized and field teams, and by using the latest artificial intelligence technologies.”
The heist came just days after a group of thieves stole $2 million of merchandise from a family-owned jewelry store in Seattle in a daylight robbery that took only 90 seconds.
Wolf justice. A Wyoming man was indicted on an animal cruelty charge by a grand jury. The indictment comes nearly a year and a half after the man allegedly hit a wolf with a snowmobile, taped the wounded animal’s mouth shut, and showed it off in a rural bar before killing. The man, Cody Roberts, paid a $250 fine last year for illegal possession of wildlife but avoided more serious charges as investigators struggled to find cooperative witnesses. If convicted, Roberts faces up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Private property. A Peruvian woman was arrested in Bali after trying to smuggle cocaine into the resort island using an adult toy and hiding drugs in her underwear. Customs officers at Bali’s international airport allegedly found 3.1 pounds of cocaine inside the toy hidden in her intimate areas. Police also accused her of smuggling dozens of ecstasy pills. The woman told police she was hired to transport the drugs to Indonesia by a man she met on the dark web in April in return for $20,000. She has been charged under Indonesia’s harsh narcotics law and could face the death penalty if found guilty.