Memphis Teen Dies After Being Arrested

( Memphis 08/16/2009) Two Memphis teens are arrested while driving through Middle Tennessee, but only one lives to tell what happened the night they were jailed. Andron Reed died after being booked on charges of DUI and evading arrest at the Rutherford County Detention Center. Reed's brother, Octavius, was separated from his brother at the center but says he could hear his brother's cries for help.

There are many questions surrounding the death of 18-year-old Andron Reed. His family and friends are still trying to come to terms with how the Overton High school graduate ended up dying while in police custody.

"He was a good guy. There aren't too many good guys out here. He had a good heart. He died too early," said Andron's friend Corey Coleman.

Reed was driving through Murfreesboro with his older brother when the Highway Patrol says they tried to stop him for speeding. They say a chase started and ended with Reed hitting another car. He was arrested on DUI and evading arrest charges and brought to the Rutherford County Jail for booking where police say he was combative and had to be restrained. Hours later a nurse found him unresponsive in his cell. He died at the hospital.

"He didn't deserve to die. I don't care what he did. He didn't deserve to die, being in jail 12 hours and now he dead," said Coleman

Andron's family says he was beaten while in custody. His older brother, who was in another jail cell, says he heard Andron screaming before he died. Friends say the teen had never been in any trouble, was looking forward to going to college in the fall and encouraged others to do the same.

"There were times I wanted to give up but he told me to stay strong. Go to school just like him. He graduated. He can't even see me graduate now," said Sherman Carter.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the case. Meanwhile, Andron's family and friends say his life ended just as it was beginning.

"We don't know what Dron would have became but we know he had a lot of potential and he had a good head on his shoulders," said Coleman.

"I want to see justice prevail, that's all I want," said Carter.

Reed's family says they plan on getting an attorney. The TBI is waiting on autopsy results. When their investigation is complete, they will turn it over to the district attorney who will decide if charges will be made.

Missing Boy Found With Sex Offender

(Memphis 08/15/2001) - A 14-year-old boy is found safe after he disappears with a known sex offender. The disappearance set off an Amber Alert this morning. The boy and the suspect were found Saturday afternoon walking in Bartlett. News Channel 3 was the only station there when his family got the good news.

"There are no words to express how I feel right now. It's been one heck of a week. One heck of a morning. It's been one heck of a week but hopefully it's going to come to a good end and not a sad end," said Barbara Hartjen, the teen's grandmother.

The 14-year-old disappeared sometime after 10 o'clock Friday night. Memphis police issued a West Tennessee Amber Alert with a full description of the brown-haired, blue-eyed teen. He was with 37-year-old Mark Tyre, a registered sex offender in Tennessee, when they found him.

Both Tyre and the boy live in the Kingsbury area. They were found walking together in Bartlett around 11 o'clock Saturday morning. Two Bartlett police officers recognized them from the Amber Alert that was issued.

"I feel very very relieved that my son is coming home. Thank ya'll for helping us and thank God he is coming home," said Gloria James, the teen's mother.

The family says Tyre had befriended the 14-year-old. They suspected something was wrong with the teen's new adult friend. So, they looked him up on the internet and found Tyre was a registered sex offender classified as violent. They took the information to Memphis police this past Monday but Tyre remained free until this incident. The family hopes now he is finally going back to jail.

Hartjen said, "That was a relief to me to know the man is going to be off the streets. He does not need to be on the streets of Memphis. Any child can be attacked by this man."

Mark Tyre was transported to the Memphis police department sex crimes for questioning. Officers told the boy's family Tyre is expected to be charged. No word yet on what those charges will be.

Video Released of 72 year old Grandmother Being Tased

What is this beat up on old women month? I would like to believe that she did something to deserve

80 Year Old Black Woman slammed to the ground

This is to much, to slam this old lady with a walking cane goes beyond belief. Grant you she is wrong for walking around with a knife talking about cutting someone. What is in this cops head that he had to be so ruff with the slam that he would do it so malicious? There is such a thing as reasonable force but when does it go over the edge?

NFL Star Donte Stallworth Suspended Without Pay After DUI Manslaughter Plea

NEW YORK — Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth was suspended without pay for this season Thursday after pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter in June. He cannot participate in any team activities until he is reinstated after the Super Bowl.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Stallworth placed a "stain" on the reputation of the league and all its players.

Stallworth, who played for Tennessee in college, struck and killed a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol March 14 in Miami. He pleaded guilty to the second-degree felony June 16 and was suspended indefinitely by Goodell two days later.

Stallworth was given a 30-day jail sentence and reached an undisclosed financial settlement with the family of Mario Reyes, a 59-year-old construction worker who was leaving his job as a crane operator.

In a letter to Stallworth released by the NFL, Goodell wrote that he didn't take into account the sentence in determining the 28-year-old player violated the league's substances of abuse and personal conduct policies.

"Your conduct endangered yourself and others, leading to the death of an innocent man," Goodell wrote. "The NFL and NFL players must live with the stain that you have placed on their reputations."

Police said Stallworth had spent the night drinking at a Miami Beach club and had a blood-alcohol level of .126, above Florida's .08 legal limit.

I feel sad that Donte is going to get off cheap considering that the homicide was created by him. Why is it with a little money, the worse that you get is a slap on the wrist. The ideal of sentencing him before he goes to court is unfair in one sense. I think that the one thing that should have happened is after he was sentenced then suspend him from the league. Goodell Created an arbitrary action by getting involved in something that does not concern him. In my mind itd grounds for a law suit...

Teaneck mom sells apple cakes to avoid foreclosure

TEANECK, New Jersey (CNN) -- Actress Angela Logan has played many roles off-stage to earn a living. She's worked as a teacher, model and hairdresser and is studying to be a nurse.

Angela Logan samples a bite of her Mortgage Apple Cake as Bake Me A Wish! founder Josh Kaye looks on.

But when she fell into foreclosure on her Teaneck, New Jersey, home, Logan turned to baking an apple cake her family had always loved.

"It was a flash of desperation," Logan said. "I thought, 'Wow. We could sell these cakes, they're so good.' "

Logan named her delicacy Mortgage Apple Cake and resolved to sell 100 in 10 days at $40 each to meet a mortgage payment, pay off bills and qualify for a federal program that could lower her monthly payments.

She advertised the cake to everyone she knew, including her classmates.

"The hardest part was saying, 'Can you buy my cakes, this is my problem,' because admitting to your friends that you're in foreclosure, and that you need their help, that's a hard thing to say," Logan said.

Two years ago, a contractor promised to renovate Logan's brick-and-stucco home. But instead, Logan says he took the money and did only a portion of the work -- leaving the entire second floor bare to the beams and plastic wrap still covering much of the exterior.

Logan's financial squeeze tightened when one of the actress' talent agencies shut down without paying her for commercial work.

The 55-year-old divorced mother of three fell far behind on her mortgage and other debt payments, leading her to seek help from Consumer Credit Counseling of New Jersey. Counselor Pamela Glass brainstormed with Logan to envision potential extra sources of income.

"We put our heads together to make extra money," Glass said. "I said, 'Take a look at what you can do.' She said, 'I bake once in a while'. I said, 'Well, maybe you can do some baking.' "

When Logan asked, neighbors, fellow church congregants and classmates responded. Soon she was baking night and day, two cakes at a time. Al Hamdi, general manager of the Hilton in nearby Hasbrouck Heights, heard of Logan's plan and offered the hotel's four giant ovens, letting her accelerate production.

"She was going to do something out of the box to save her home and her family. That was the inspiring part for us," Hamdi said.

Logan figures she's baked about 200 cakes -- double her goal. And since qualifying for the federal Make Home Affordable program, her monthly mortgage payment is dropping by nearly 20 percent

Other Americans in a financial bind can also find creative answers to their cash crunch, Logan said.

"Find your talent. Find something you can do that will help," she said.

Many hobbies have the potential to generate extra cash: teaching a skill like playing an instrument or speaking a foreign language; home repairs for those who are handy; even dog-walking or pet-sitting for animal lovers.

Haskell Educator Starts 59th Year Of Teaching

HASKELL, OK -- 59 years at one job is inspiring, but 59 years teaching math and science to middle school students is impressive.

That's the case for Sylvester Franklin, whose career started shortly after World War II came to an end. The only place he has ever taught is in Haskell, in Muskogee County.

A bustling hallway marks the start of a new school year in Haskell.

"Well I'm so glad you all are here this morning," said Sylvester Franklin.

"Make sure you're ready for class, that's the main thing."

Franklin is starting his 59th year as a school teacher in Haskell. This year it's math to sixth graders.

"Mainly I stayed here all those years because I didn't have any particular reason to leave," said Franklin.

Now 84-years-old, Mr. Franklin started teaching shortly after fighting in the Battle of Okinawa during World War II.

He spent 16 years at Haskell's all-black school before desegregation.

Since 1967, he has taught thousands of Haskell students the ins and outs of math and science.

These days Mr. Franklin only teaches a few hours a day, but it's time he loves and time he hopes to never give up.

"As long as I feel good, I have nothing else that I aspire to do except to be with young people and teach," said Franklin.

Mr. Franklin also teaches the GED classes, helping adults get their high school diploma.

If nearly six decades on the job isn't impressive, Mr. Franklin has only missed two days of classes in that entire time.

Absolutely incredible, that one man can continue doing the same job for that many years. I have not been able to work consistently at a job over 3 years. The one thing that stands out about this man is he loved what he was doing and I believe that if you choose a job for what you love doing instead of what you want to get out of the job no stretch of time is impossible for you to continue working at one place.