NYPD to search New York beach again for clues in mysterious deaths of at least eight people

Police will conduct a "limited" land search Friday near the Long Island bay, part of their continued search for clues in the mysterious deaths of at least eight people.

Investigators will be searching in an area of the Town of Oyster Bay for more human remains, said Lt. Kevin Smith, of the Nassau County Police Department.

Investigators, earlier this week, scraped the sea floor with metal detectors and long poles with mesh baskets during an underwater search for evidence in the possible serial killer case.

"It could be a piece of jewelry, it could be a piece of apparel, anything of interest," said Suffolk County Marine Deputy Inspector Harold Jantzen.

Thursday's search was in the same area where the bodies of four women were uncovered in December 2010.

The area, near private docks in the upscale Oak Beach area, is also where 23-year-old Shannan Gilbert -- the missing New Jersey woman whose disappearance prompted the initial search -- was last seen in May, 2010.

Police said Gilbert, like the other four women, was a prostitute who advertised on Internet sites such as Craigslist.

She was first reported missing after attending a private party at a home in the Oak Beach community.

A man who lives a few miles from where the remains were found said that a young woman who matched Gilbert's description and "looked like she was partying all night" came to his door at about 5 a.m. on May 1.

"She was screaming 'Help me, help me!' and said somebody was chasing her," said Oak Beach resident Gustav Coletti.

She then ran away when Coletti called 911, he said.

Gilbert has not been found, but it was her case that led to the grisly discovery of the bodies of four women, at least some of whom were wrapped in burlap and discarded in tangled bushes next to an oceanside Long Island highway.

At least four other bodies were later found nearby in March and April, though medical examiners have yet to identify them.

Two additional sets of remains -- including a human skull -- were discovered last week in bordering Nassau County, police said.

Tennessee WR Da'Rick Rogers Among Those Arrested At Knoxville Bar

Tennessee Vol receiver, Da'Rick Rogers, along with as many as six to 10 of his Volunteer teammates, were allegedly involved in the assault of an off-duty police officer at a local bar. Below is a recount of what happened as told by the bar's co-owner, Sandy Morton:

"Basically, it was a normal Thursday night — Thursday’s our big night," Morton said. "We had all the UT football players come in. They’re on a first-name basis with my husband (and co-owner), and they get VIP status, which means they pay no cover at the door. We’ve never had a problem with them in the past, but tonight, apparently they had a falling out with another gentleman. I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened, but several of the guys started beating up the other customer. I want to guess there was seven to 10 guys beating up this one gentleman.

"All the security then rushed in and were trying to break it up. My husband saw them picking up bar stools and starting to swing them. We got them out the door with security. There happened to be a friend of ours who was an off-duty police officer outside. He tried to help, and he ended up getting knocked out in the street and proceeded to be kicked while he was down on the ground in the middle of Cumberland.

"That’s basically the gist of it." (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 7/09/10)

Well, we appreciate your honesty, Sandy. The first question I have to know the answer to is this, why on earth are you giving VIP status to Tennessee players at your bar?

Furthermore, I'm not up on every single NCAA bylaw, but, I'm pretty sure that it's an NCAA violation to give gifts to a Division-I football player. Did you miss the part where she said the players are on a "first name basis" and "pay no cover at the door?"

Hellllooooooooo, that's a big no-no.

I will reserve full judgment on Mr. Rogers for now as it is possible that he was simply a bystander to all the action. However, it goes without saying that it was probably not the best idea to be within a handcuff of this fight.

From reading what Ms. Morton had to say about the overall attitude of the players they serve, this seemed like an inevitability,

"We have a strict dress code, and they’ll try to cross the line as much as they can," she said. "They’ll try to come in without ID, but we’re very strict on ID. We’re very strict on underage drinking. We’ve had small occasions where we’ve had to throw a couple of them out for underage drinking. An overage friend will buy them a drink.

"That’s the typical problems we’ve had, but we’ve never had a fight. This is our first, and it will be our last."

Hmmm, on second thought, maybe Ms. Morton shouldn't say too much about how her establishment caters to football players, "...they'll try to cross the line as much as they can?"...nooooooo, really? You don't think by granting them "VIP-status" that you in effect give them a sense of entitlement?

The assault that took place at Bar Knoxville was unfortunate. Jokes aside, Derek Dooley doesn't need this controversy hovering over his program to start the season. It's a headache and a public relations nightmare. I sincerely hope that the number of players speculated to have been involved is a lot less than has been reported thus far.

No additional names have been released as of yet but, it's safe to assume, they will be revealed as soon as the charges are filed.

In the meantime, Rogers has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest by the University of Tennessee Police Department.
 

Georgia DB Jordan Love's Family Retains Attorney—Statement Released

Georgia defensive back Jordan Love's family has retained an attorney in order to further expedite the matter surrounding his arrest on Monday night.

To recap, briefly, Love was charged with misdemeanor obstruction of justice after failing to divulge his middle name to campus police. He was booked into Clarke County Jail and release a couple hours later on bond.

It was later reported that his failure to state his middle name was due to his inability to spell it for the police at that time—apparently Love seldom uses or goes by his middle name. His family explained this to police chief Jimmy Williamson and the chief feels that may be sufficient to clear him of any wrongdoing,

However, the Love family felt it was necessary to retain legal services to be certain that nothing slips through the cracks during this process. That attorney, William Stiles, released the following statement to the media late Tuesday evening:

The family is hopeful that this minor issue will be resolved soon.

UGA AD, Damon Evans, Sealed His Fate Once Infidelity Questions Arose

The DUI charge was one thing but the possibility of infidelity on the part of UGA Athletic Director, Damon Evans, likely sealed the deal on his future as Georgia's AD moving forward.

It was embarrassing enough to have an AD, who so vehemently opposed, and spoke out against the perils of, drinking and driving, place himself in a DUI situation in the first place. But, to add the possibility of infidelity being at the very heart of his behavior, elevated him from poor decision-maker  to jerk status—no one likes a cheat. 

Even more, the police report didn't do him any favors either as he seemingly threw his weight around in the name of the university—flaunting his misguided sense of institutional power in the hopes that his actions might be overlooked or dismissed altogether.

As a follower, and admitted supporter, of the University of Georgia, this is the part that made me the most uneasy. My immediate response was "he will definitely need to be replaced now, this is inexcusable".  In my mind, it was hard to dismiss the image of him standing with his family as he was introduced as the new AD at Georgia just six years ago.

"How dare he!" was my reaction. I felt genuine sadness for his wife and his children because I could only imagine the repercussions this one act was about to have on their future—not only as a family but as individuals as well—it broke my heart.

Some might say, the DUI was enough. The infidelity was simply the cherry on top of a deplorable situation. As a young woman who lost her father to the violence of alcohol, I am inclined to agree. the DUI, in and of itself, was a despicable act—one that Damon Evans should have known better than to commit.

However, as with others who have made mistakes, both alcohol and non-alcohol related, I understood that being "under the influence" isn't always the picture that's painted by the images you see on Cops—there are shades of gray.

So, on Saturday afternoon when I heard about the DUI, I was willing to forgive the act because the details were sketchy and I wanted to give Mr. Evans the benefit of the doubt. However, as the truth began to unfold and the words "red panties", "just friends", and "bribery" started to trickle into news reports, it became much harder to focus on the positives Evans brought to Georgia.

Now, all I want to see is him gone.

I feel awful for his family, the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Bulldog community—all of whom must suffer the indignity of the shame and senseless spotlight these actions have and will bring their way.

Evans should have saved everyone a lot of trouble by simply resigning as I am sure he had to know the extent of the trouble he would be in after the release of the police report.

He has left Michael Adams little choice as to what he must do. The question now is who will take over the reigns as the next AD at Georgia. We will find out for certain on Monday what Evans' fate will be.

As of this posting, Evans reportedly has resigned from his position, although nothing has been verified as of yet.
 

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• Damon Evans Tried To Bribe Police, Had Women's Underwear On His Lap: Police Report (huffingtonpost.com)
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