Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Kaufman County DA, wife slain; link to Hasse murder probed


Mike and Cynthia McLelland
( http://www.kaufmanherald.com/news/article_14cdabc4-99bc-11e2-aca7-001a4bcf887a.html )

by JASON WHITELY and CARLA WADE
WFAA
Posted on March 30, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Updated March 31, 2013 at 12:48 AM

FORNEY — Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were found shot dead inside their Forney home on Saturday night, a chilling crime that put law enforcement agencies across Texas on high alert and shook prosecutors, defense attorneys and others in legal circles around North Texas.

Late Saturday night, sources said a .223-caliber assault rifle, similar to an AR-15, was used in the murders, with approximately 14 rounds being fired.

The McLellands might have been murdered up to 24-hours before their bodies were discovered, sources said. A police officer friend came to the house to check on them and discovered the front door opened Saturday night then found their bodies inside.

The district attorney's body was found in a hallway where he appeared to have tried to get away, sources said. McLelland's wife, Cynthia, was found dead in a front room in their house.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers are taking the lead role in the investigation.

After an initial investigation, nothing appeared to be missing from the home, sources added.

Investigators now believe the double murder of the D.A. and his wife is likely related to the Mark Hasse murder investigation.

Almost two months ago, Hasse, McLelland's top deputy, was gunned down in broad daylight just a few steps from the county courthouse. He was murdered on January 31 as he walked to his office from a parking lot.

A task force of multiple local, state and federal agencies have investigated dozens of leads, but have so far been unable to develop any suspects in the Hasse murder.

McLelland vowed to hunt down Hasse's killer, and was confident that person would be brought to justice.

"He knows and I know there will be a reckoning," the D.A. said at Hasse's memorial service. "Too many people are focusing on that. That's not going to be a problem."

Kaufman County Sheriff's Lt. Justin Lewis said he couldn't discuss the investigation in detail, including how the couple died and whether authorities believe their deaths are linked to Hasse's fatal shooting on January 31.

The front door of the McLellands' 3,000 square foot residence was found kicked in, sources added. Kaufman County deputies, the FBI, Texas Rangers, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Forney police are all involved in the investigation.

Late Saturday night, news media was asked to leave their positions near the house as law enforcement agencies widened the crime scene.

A neighbor told News 8 police were outside the house when she returned home around 9:00 p.m. Saturday. The neighbor said McLelland and his wife were friendly people.

"I'm very very scared," said Vanessa Hernandez. "It's really hard to imagine something like this happening in the neighborhood."

One district attorney in a neighboring county has already asked for increased security, and the McLelland case could lead to additional measures being taken at courthouses throughout the region.

According to the district attorney's official biography, the McLellands have five children, one of whom is a Dallas police officer.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

© 2013 WFAA-TV, Inc., a subsidiary of Belo Corp.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/crime/Kaufman-Co-District-Attorney-wife-shot-to-death-in-their-home-200752961.html [with comments, including e.g.:

"The DPS sent out a memo in December to all the offices involved in the arrests and imprisonment of Aryan Brotherhood gang leaders and members. They uncovered evidence that they where planning retaliation. Seems it was correct. Kaufman Co. was involved in the cases."

"They're as lethal as the cartels. It doesn't stop just at the Aryan Brotherhood. They have alliances with the White Aryan Resistance (W.A.R.), The National Alliance, The World Church of the Creator, various Hammerskins groups, etc. etc .etc."

"The Silver or The lead. same way they did it in Mexico. better to live under those criminals than the ones we have now that call themselves "police" and "govt. officials'.
I know some people are hurting right now and my heart breaks for you , it really does but we need a change in this country and apparently someone out there, is tired of waiting for it to happen in other ways."]


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VoteVets.org Ad: "Anyone"

Published on Mar 26, 2013 by votevets

Join VoteVets.org and tell your Senators that you support universal background checks: http://action.votevets.org/page/s/background-checks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flo5MthVnAA


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Dale Peterson, Gun-Waving Alabama GOP Candidate, Charged With Shoplifting Again
03/28/2013
Dale Peterson, an Alabama Republican state official famous for flaunting his rifle in campaign ads promising to be tough on crime, was arrested Wednesday and charged with shoplifting a can of cashews. The arrest, first reported [ http://yellowhammerpolitics.com/blog/dale-peterson-arrested-for-stealing-cashews/ ] by YellowHammerPolitics.com, marked the second time in six months that Peterson has been accused of stealing.
His new arrest occurred at a Sam's Club, where police said employees watched Peterson eat a can of cashews in the store, then place the empty can back on a shelf. Store security guards confronted Peterson on his way out. He was released from custody after posting $1,000 bond.
Peterson was charged in October with stealing paper towels and beer from a Walmart. Employees said he pushed his way through the checkout line without paying for the items in his cart, according to police. ...
[...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/dale-peterson-gun-alabama-shoplifting_n_2968471.html [with embedded video, and comments]


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Newtown

Published on Mar 28, 2013 by maigcoalition

Mayors Against Illegal Guns released this ad, airing in the Hartford market and focused on pending Connecticut legislation. The ad features Neil Heslin, father of Jesse Lewis; Chris and Lynn McDonnell, parents of Grace McDonnell; Jillian Soto, sister of Vicky Soto; and Terri and Gilles Rousseau, parents of Lauren Rousseau. In the ad, family members call on leaders to remember their loved ones and prevent other families from experiencing the toll of gun violence by taking real action to pass commonsense gun law reforms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU3c4o353yA


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Newtown Documents Reveal Adam Lanza's Massive Arsenal & NRA Papers

Mar 28, 2013
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/03/newtown-documents-adam-lanza/63643/ [with comments]


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Ted Cruz Accuses Obama Of Taking 'Advantage' Of Sandy Hook, Vows To Stymie Gun Control Legislation

03/29/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/28/ted-cruz-obama-sandy-hook_n_2974471.html [with embedded video reports, and comments]


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Cabarrus County, NC standoff ends with suspected shooter and two others dead
March 30, 2013
http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/03/30/4733574/cabarrus-county-nc-standoff-ends.html [with comment]


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Mike Lee: Background Checks Like Letting Government Know What You Ate For Breakfast

03/29/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/mike-lee-background-checks_n_2979737.html [with embedded video reports, and comments]


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John Charles Upton Jr. Dead: Filmmaker Who Rescued Romanian Orphans Killed Over Shrubbery

03/29/13
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/john-charles-upton-jr-dead_n_2981965.html [with comments]


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Andrew Tachias, Chris Dorner Victim, Makes First Public Appearance Since The Shooting

Andrew Tachias, shot eight times by rogue ex-cop Chris Dorner, makes his first public appearance since the events.
03/30/13
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/30/andrew-tachias-chris-dorner-victim_n_2985557.html [no comments yet]


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With gun nuts hoarding bullets, will cops be disarmed?

Gun owners terrified of nonexistent plans to restrict ammo are hoarding bullets. Now police are running out
Mar 27, 2013
http://www.salon.com/2013/03/27/cops_are_running_out_of_bullets_thank_the_nra/ [with comments]


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Mark Kelly Discovers One Way to Convince a Gun Store Not to Sell You an Assault Weapon


Mark Kelly and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, have become high-profile advocates for increased gun control.
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

By Josh Voorhees
Posted Tuesday, March 26, 2013, at 11:08 AM

Maybe it's more difficult than we all thought to purchase an AR-15-style rifle—well, at least if you make it very clear that you never plan to actually fire it.

A Tucson, Ariz., gun store says that it is canceling Mark Kelly's recent purchase of the semi-automatic rifle because the outspoken gun-control advocate wasn't going to keep the assault weapon but instead turn it over to police after using it to show how easy it was to obtain. "While I support and respect Mark Kelly’s 2nd Amendment rights to purchase, possess, and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner, his recent statements to the media made it clear that his intent in purchasing the Sig Sauer M400 5.56mm rifle from us was for reasons other then for his personal use," Diamondback Police Supply Co. owner Douglas MacKinlay said in a statement posted to Facebook on Monday.

Kelly made something of a show of paying for the rifle and a 45.-caliber handgun earlier this month, posting a photo to Facebook [ http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=474203615968235&set=a.215073368547929.71130.163148530407080&type=1 ] and writing that the background check took only a "matter of minutes" and that it was "scary to think of people buying guns like these without a background check at a gun show or [on] the Internet." That move sparked plenty of online discussion from both sides of the gun-control debate, something that was clearly Kelly's intent.

The retired Navy captain made the purchase on March 5, according to the Associated Press [ http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MARK_KELLY_GUN_PURCHASE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT ], but couldn't immediately take possession of the rifle because the shop had bought it from another customer. As a result, the store was required by local law to hold the gun for 20 days [ http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/25/gun-store-rescinds-mark-kelly-rifle-purchase-questions-his-intent/ ] to give police enough time to make sure the weapon hadn't been used in a crime. That extra time allowed MacKinlay to rethink his sales decision. He says that he is instead refunding Kelly's money and plans to donate the $1,295 the rifle sells for to the NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program [ http://www.nra.org/Article.aspx?id=1353 ] designed to teach young children gun safety. Here's his full statement [ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Diamondback-Police-Supply/143341839017998?ref=stream ]:

While I support and respect Mark Kelly’s 2nd Amendment rights to purchase, possess, and use firearms in a safe and responsible manner, his recent statements to the media made it clear that his intent in purchasing the Sig Sauer M400 5.56mm rifle from us was for reasons other then for his personal use. In light of this fact, I determined that it was in my company’s best interest to terminate this transaction prior to his returning to my store to complete the Federal From 4473 and NICS background check required of Mr. Kelly before he could take possession this firearm. A full refund was sent to Mr. Kelly, via express mail, on Thursday of last week.

The Sig Sauer rifle will be donated to the Arizona Tactical Officers Association where it will be raffled off to generate funds the association can use to purchase much needed tactical equipment for the organization’s members. The A.T.O.A. represents the SWAT and Special Response officers of the state’s law enforcement community who regularly place their lives on the line to protect the residents of this state. Additionally, Diamondback Police Supply will make a $1295.00 contribution (the selling price of the M400 rifle) to the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program that teaches children, in pre-K through 3rd grade, four important steps to take if they find a gun. The emphasis of the program is on child safety, something that is important to all of us and at the core of the current debate on gun control."

Kelly and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, have become two of the most vocal advocates for tighter gun-control laws, forming a political action committee to lobby Congress for universal background checks for gun buyers.

© 2013 The Slate Group, LLC

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/03/26/mark_kelly_douglas_mackinlay_gun_store_refuses_to_sell_mark_kelly_an_ar.html [with comments]


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FPSRussia Raid: Kyle Myers's Property Searched By Federal Agents

By Hunter Stuart
Posted: 03/29/2013 2:32 pm EDT | Updated: 03/29/2013 4:47 pm EDT

The Georgia residence of Kyle Myers, maker of the popular weapons and explosives YouTube series FPSRussia [ https://www.youtube.com/user/FPSRussia ], was raided by 40 agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives [ http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-03-27/atf-agents-lead-search-explosives-carnesville-home ] (ATF) on Tuesday, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

The federal agents, accompanied by members of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, also conducted a search of Myers's father's nearby farm [ http://www.921wlhr.com/atf-agents-search-two-properties-in-connection-with-ratliff-homicide/ ], where FPSRussia is sometimes filmed, reports northeast Georgia radio station WHLR.

Myers's FPSRussia series features him demonstrating advanced weaponry, including machine guns [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xDJtZ2VK6k ], tanks [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvkLaa9bogU ] and drones [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNPJMk2fgJU ].

But what was the justification for the raid? ATF spokesman Richard Coes told the Banner-Herald [ http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2013-03-27/atf-agents-lead-search-explosives-carnesville-home ]: "The claim is that [Myers] was using explosives and getting paid for it via YouTube."

Myers has used the substance Tannerite [ http://www.tannerite.com/ ] in his videos. While the powder explosive is legal in the U.S., Business Insider points out [ http://www.businessinsider.com/atf-raids-professional-russian-fpsrussia-2013-3 ] that the manufacturing of explosives for business purposes is illegal without a federal license [ http://www.atf.gov/explosives/how-to/binary-explosives.html ].

Under YouTube's partner program [ https://www.youtube.com/yt/partners/ ], amateur video producers can earn money from the site if their videos are watched enough times. Myers's YouTube channel, which has garnered over half a billion views, is part of the site's partner program.

Seeming to contradict the ATF's statement, Franklin County Sheriff Stevie Thomas told WHLR that Tuesday's raids were in connection [ http://www.921wlhr.com/atf-agents-search-two-properties-in-connection-with-ratliff-homicide/ ] with the investigation [ http://www.independentmail.com/news/2013/mar/07/ratliff-murder-investigation-active-gbi-says/ ] into the suspected murder of Myers's former business partner, Keith Ratliff, who was found dead from a single gunshot to the head in January [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/09/keith-ratliff-fpsrussia-dead_n_2439284.html ] in the office of FPS Industries, the weapons testing business he owned.

The ATF did not return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.

Myers's colleague, Kitty Walden, told Guns.com that Myers was always careful about obeying the law [ http://www.guns.com/2013/03/28/fpsrussia-home-raided-by-atf/ ].

“If it ever came to doing something outside of our legal boundaries, we would then work with someone who was legally authorized to do it in an approved location,” said Wandel, who is a producer of FPSRussia [ https://twitter.com/Paintball_Kitty ]. "We can only hope this helps [the ATF] understand how we make our money, so it doesn’t hurt another YouTuber."

It is unclear whether any items were seized during Tuesday's raid.

Copyright © 2013 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/fpsrussia-raid-kyle-myers_n_2979108.html [the YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ8Ndkg8urw , as embedded; with (additional) embedded video report, and comments]


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3D Printed Guns (Documentary)

Published on Mar 25, 2013

Cody R Wilson has figured out how to print a semi-automatic rifle from the comfort of his own home. Now he's putting all the information online so that others will join him.

This is a story about the rapid evolution of a technology that has forced the American legal system to play catch up. Cody Wilson, a 25 year old University of Texas Law student, is an advocate for the open source production of firearms using 3D printing technology. This makes him a highly controversial figure on both sides of the gun control issue. MOTHERBOARD sat down with Cody in Austin, Texas to talk about the constitution, the legal system, and to watch him make and test-fire a 3D-printed gun.

Produced By Erin Lee Carr
Edited by Chris O'Coin

Read more on MOTHERBOARD here: http://motherboard.vice.com/read/click-print-gun-the-inside-story-of-the-3d-printed-gun-movement-video

To find out more about what the ATF says about 3D-printed guns, read this: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-atf-is-unconvinced-3d-guns-compare-to-real-thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DconsfGsXyA


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