North Carolina: CONVICTED MURDERER Clint McQueen, 48, charged after beating dog to death with hammer

NORTH CAROLINA -- An Asheboro man has been charged with felony animal cruelty after allegedly striking a dog in the head with a hammer, according to a press release from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.

Clinton Lamont McQueen, 48, was booked earlier this month into the Randolph County Jail under a $20,000 secured bond.

On Jan. 9, authorities responded to 1665 Independence Ave. in Asheboro.

Information obtained by the original call alleged that a dog was struck and killed with a hammer moments before the call was made.

When units arrived on scene they located McQueen and spoke with him about the incident.

While speaking with McQueen, they observed a dog that appeared to be badly injured and suffering from a head injury.

The animal was taken to a local veterinary hospital where it was evaluated and determined the most humane option for the animal was medical euthanasia.

During the scene processing, two hammers were seized.

McQueen posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 26.

CLINT MCQUEEN IS A CONVICTED MURDERER

Clinton Lamont McQueen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Monday, one day before jury selection was to have started in his murder trial.

McQueen, 32, killed Mitchell Ray Maness in May 1999, shooting the Randleman man in the head on Brewer Street after the two began arguing, said King Dozier, assistant district attorney for Randolph County.

The state had planned to seek the death penalty against McQueen, but Dozier said prosecutors had the blessing of Maness' family to accept McQueen's plea to the lesser charge. McQueen was sentenced to at least 15 years in prison.

Three days after the shooting, police arrested McQueen, 717 Russell St., Asheboro. McQueen was also at the time charged with two counts of attempted murder and one count of firing a weapon into an occupied vehicle.

According to N.C. Department of Correction records, McQueen had previously served six years in prison on manslaughter and drug convictions. He was released in October 1997.

Note: Of course he'll torture, beat, abuse and kill animals. He's been killing human beings for a decade with no real punishment. 

(Fox8 - January 16, 2018)

Michigan: Before killing himself, Christopher Lockhart left note admitting to strangling his wife to death and also to killing her beloved cats

MICHIGAN -- A Michigan man who confessed to killing his wife and her beloved cats before taking his own life left detectives a descriptive note on when and where the horrific homicide took place.

Christopher Lockhart was found dead inside the home he shared with his wife Theresa in Portage in late October, after police say he had been dead for several days.

 

 

The 47-year-old was found in the home by police after he failed to show up for a routine appointment with his probation officer.

Also found next to his body, was a note confessing to the high school Spanish teacher's murder which he said he carried out in May after an argument.

The letter contained a 'hand-drawn map' to where he had dumped her body in a game area 50 miles away.

Aside the map, he wrote: 'Detective Hess, I'm sorry for taking her away from everyone. Find her and put her to rest. I had no right to do what I did. I pray that God forgives me. I love her so much.'

In the confession. dated October 23, the former manager of a Pfizer drug production warehouse revealed he choked his wife to death in the downstairs of their home when he was drunk and 'snapped' the night of May 18.

Police followed the map to the Allegan State Game Area where they found the 44-year-old Spanish teacher's body partially submerged in some shallow water.

Since his wife went missing, Lockhart had been arrested four times on various charges including drunk driving, tampering with his alcohol tether and cutting his next door neighbor's internet and air conditioning wires.

 

 

 

Despite being going in and out of custody on those separate charges and being considered a person of interest in Theresa's disappearance, police never brought charges against him for her vanishing.

Detectives suspected the man was involved in his wife's disappearance but never had enough evidence to arrest him at the time.

Back in June, Theresa's mom did an interview in which she said how much Theresa loved her cats and also 'wouldn't put it past' her husband to have done something to her daughter:

Thumbing through old photos Tuesday afternoon, Loretta Huyge looked back fondly on memories of her daughter, Theresa Lockhart.

“That’s Theresa,” she showed 24 Hour News 8 as she pointed at a 4-by-6 picture. “She loves cats.”

But Portage police have named Christopher Lockhart — who was previously charged in a domestic violence case involving his wife and has at least three peeping convictions — the sole person of interest in her disappearance. He has denied involvement.

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past him,” Huyge said when asked if Christopher Lockhart could have killed her daughter.

Huyge hopes that her daughter is somehow still alive and perhaps hiding out somewhere, but fears something horrible happened.

“If they (police) should blame him (Christopher), I hope he burns in Hell,” Huyge said.

As he announced his death and the discovery of Theresa's body in October, Portage Public Safety Director Nick Armold said he never once helped in efforts to try to find his wife.

'Not once had he orchestrated, participated or took part in searches for Theresa or contacted the agency,' he said. The couple shared two young adult children.

Theresa was reported missing by school officials after failing to show up for classes in May.

Her car was later found in a park-and-ride in the area. Her estranged mother shared her suspicion of her husband before her body was found in October.

'He controlled her and wouldn’t let anybody see her,' her mother told Wood TV.

HISTORY OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DEVIANT BEHAVIOR
Christopher was previously charged in a domestic violence case which involved his wife. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge at the time.

He also had several window peeping charges stemming back to the 1990s.
Witnesses told how he would appear at victims' windows late at night while dressed in a swimsuit.

One male victim said Christopher sprayed him with pepper spray when he confronted him.

 

 

(Daily Mail - Dec 23, 2017)

Pennsylvania: Justin Bartlett beat his ex-girlfriend with a baseball bat. He killed his friend's cat by setting it on fire and burning it to death. No one seems surprised that he's now accused of stabbing Linda McGinnis to death.

PENNSYLVANIA -- Justin Bartlett's criminal record points to a violent history: A one-time girlfriend accused him of beating her with a baseball bat, and he served time for torching a former friend's cat.

Bartlett's violent past has come under scrutiny because the 25-year-old Brackenridge man is charged with another more horrendous act — murdering a neighbor.

Bartlett will be returned to Pennsylvania from West Virginia, where he was arrested more than a week ago, to face charges in the stabbing death of Linda K. McGinnis.

Bartlett decided Tuesday not to fight extradition. It was not immediately known when he will be returned to the state.

Details of Bartlett's violent past demonstrate a pattern of behavior associated with someone who acts impulsively and doesn't care, according to one behavioral expert who hasn't examined him. Bartlett spent time in jail for setting a friend's cat on fire.

“The fact that he's willing to kill an animal like that, in a really horrific manner, suggests that he just doesn't have any appreciation for the sanctity of life,” said Mark Safarik, a former FBI agent and owner of Forensic Behavioral Services Inc.

Police said Bartlett told them he broke into McGinnis's home on Dec. 29 to steal her car because he needed to get to West Virginia to meet up with some women he had met online and flee from an arrest warrant on unrelated charges. He grabbed a steak knife from the sink and stabbed McGinnis to death while she slept, according to a criminal complaint.

Bartlett allegedly told investigators he panicked because McGinnis' dog was growling at him.

Bartlett was tracked to West Virginia by the OnStar security and safety feature on McGinnis' car and arrested there three days after police found her dead in her home.

Police said he told them he didn't mean to kill McGinnis, a woman he called “grandma,” and that she did not deserve what happened to her.

McGinnis would give Bartlett rides to the store, he allegedly told police. Neighbors said they had warned the retired dietary aide not to befriend him because of his violent history, and people who said they had faced his wrath in the past weren't surprised to hear he's accused of murder.

One-time girlfriend Rachel Harnish said she “felt cold” when she heard that Bartlett was accused of killing McGinnis. Harnish, 26, said Bartlett threatened to kill her own family when she filed a protection from abuse order against him in 2013.

That order stemmed from an incident in which Harnish accused Bartlett of biting, hitting, and striking her with a baseball bat.

“He jumped on top of me and hit and bit me,” she said. “Then he went to the hall and got a baseball bat and he was hitting me in the legs. For nothing. He has anger issues.”

Safarik said Bartlett fits the profile of someone who understands that “when he assaults somebody, a girlfriend, when he throws knives at people, when he terrorizes people, that he's going to get reported.

“But from his perspective, he doesn't really care.”

JUSTIN BARTLETT PUT HIS FRIEND'S CAT IN HER CARRIER AND SET IT ON FIRE, BURNING HER TO DEATH

Richard Marvin, formerly of Brackenridge, said he used to be friends with Bartlett. He said the friendship ended when Bartlett and another person allegedly attempted to get into Marvin's home through a bedroom window.

Subsequently, Marvin said, random items would go missing from his house. Eventually, his rear sliding glass door and skylight were brokenMarvin told police he looked around but could find nothing missing except his cat.

As he walked around the house with police, Marvin found his cat, which had been burned to death.

In addition, police said Marvin's cat carrier was melted in the backyard. There were paw prints leading from the carrier to where the dead cat lay.

“I was devastated,” Marvin said. “[Mouse] was like a child to me.”

Police say he admitted to killing the cat by burning it to death. The reason he allegedly gave was because he was upset that he and Marvin had a “falling out.”

In 2014, Bartlett pleaded guilty to a charge of animal cruelty in that case and was sentenced to up to two years in jail and two years of probation.

Marvin said he was fearful of Bartlett following the incident, and feels fortunate that nothing happened to him, especially after hearing the recent allegations against his former friend.

Safarik said that in many cases animal cruelty is associated with criminal and anti-social behavior.

“The fact that he doesn't find any problem with torturing an animal to death suggests that he doesn't respect the lives of animals that, basically, we should be caring for,” Safarik said.

“What's important for him,” Safarik said, “is acting on these impulses.”

(Tribune Live - Jan 10, 2017)

Earlier:

• Pennsylvania: Justin Bartlett, 21, accused of burning cat to death. John Johnston, 38, is accused of snapping a cat's neck

Connecticut: Vamond Elmore's Animal Cruelty charge nolle prossed since the Pit Bull's owner, Nicole Hoyt, refused to show up at court. But for his other crimes, Elmore still gets year in prison

NORWALK, CONNECTICUT -- A city man had charges relating to the stabbing of a vicious dog nolled Wednesday at Norwalk Superior Court, but he was sentenced to a year in prison for other offenses.

Vamond Elmore, 35, pleaded guilty Wednesday to third-degree assault, interfering with an officer and criminal impersonation. Charges of reckless endangerment, cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct were nolled*.

*nolle prosequi - Latin for "we shall no longer prosecute," which is a declaration made to the judge by a prosecutor in a criminal case (or by a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit) either before or during trial, meaning the case against the defendant is being dropped.

State's Attorney Suzanne Vieux said the charges were nolled after numerous attempts to reach out to the alleged victim in the case -- Nicole Hoyt, who just happens to be the Pit Bull's owner -- were unsuccessful, and Hoyt skipped numerous court dates for six pending criminal cases.

Three months after the stabbing, Hoyt's Pit Bull then mauled sixty-year-old Archie Hilliard, and Hoyt was given a citation for possession of a vicious dog and permitting a dog to roam at large.

Elmore encountered Norwalk Police on Jan. 7 -- just four months after being released from federal prison -- when he reached into a car and choked the driver of a vehicle on West Washington Street. The driver threw her car into reverse and dragged Elmore, severely injuring him. Elmore at first disputed the charges but on Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to a third-degree assault charge stemming from the incident.

In May, Elmore was again arrested for allegedly stabbing a dog during a domestic dispute at a Hanford Place residence.

Elmore claimed that the dog attacked him, and he stabbed the dog in self defense. He had a cut on his hand and a tear on his sweater from the alleged attack. The Pit Bull's owner, Nicole Hoyt, also was bitten by her dog.

The dog later attacked Hilliard, 60, and chewed Hilliard's ankle to the bone.

Elmore was again arrested in September after yelling at police officers who were investigating a shots fired call on South Main Street.

His final arrest came in October when he gave a false name to an officer, who noticed that Elmore was wearing an ankle bracelet.

The officer then called Elmore's parole officer, who gave the officer Elmore's real name.

On Oct. 1, federal authorities issued a warrant for Elmore's arrest for violation of the terms of release. Elmore finished a seven-year prison sentence for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon in September 2011 and began a three-year period of supervised release.

His arrests were in violation of the agreement of supervised release, and he faces more than two years in federal prison for the violation.

Vieux said she could not promise that the state sentence would run concurrent with the federal sentence.

Elmore is currently being held on a remand to custody order at an undisclosed federal facility.

(Stamford Advocate - November 9, 2012)

Earlier:

• Connecticut: Archie Hilliard, 60, describes surviving attack by Nicole Hoyt's Pit Bull

Update to story:

Conn. man wanted for murder killed by police in SC - July 22, 2014

ST. GEORGE, S.C. (AP/WTNH) — A man wanted on a murder charge in Norwalk. Conn., has been shot and killed by police outside a motel in St. George.

The U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release that 37-year-old Vamond Elmore was holding a gun as he tried to run away Tuesday morning from a hotel room near Interstate 95. Authorities say officers shouted for him to drop the gun, but he turned it toward them instead and was killed. Elmore was accused of killing Jimmy Martinez on May 15, 2014.

U.S. marshals, Dorchester County deputies and State Law Enforcement Division agents were working together to arrest Elmore. Charleston County deputies are investigating the shooting, and said two SLED agents fired on Elmore. Investigators say Elmore had family around St. George.

According to information released later, “acting on information developed during a six-week investigation members of Operation Intercept, a U.S. Marshals fugitive task force, along with members of SLED and the Dorchester Co. Sheriff’s Office, approached the Southern Inn II hotel located in St. George, S.C., at approximately 11:15 a.m. looking for Connecticut fugitive Vamond Arqui Elmore, 37, wanted in connection with a murder occurring in Norwalk, CT in May of this year.”

“Elmore was observed by members of the task force exiting a hotel room and rapidly departing on foot with a pistol in his hand. Elmore did not obey commands of law enforcement to drop the gun and after turning toward task force officers Elmore sustained gunshot wounds and was transported to MUSC hospital,” authorities said.  Elmore was wanted by both the U.S. Marshals and the Norwalk Police Department as a suspect in a homicide in Norwalk on May 15.

In addition to the murder charge, warrants were also issued for Elmore for criminal possession of a pistol, criminal use of a firearm, theft of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and violation of his federal supervised release.

Officials said that in June 2005 Elmore was convicted in Washington, D.C. federal court for unlawful possession of a weapon and ammunition by a convicted felon and was sentenced to 92 months in prison.