MySpace Monday Mayhem
I was on deadline for a while but now have time to catch-up on a stockpile of stories I wanted to share with readers… I’m going to be making a slew of posts over the next few days… starting with one of my favorite themed series…
MySpace Monday Mayhem, the post to kick off the week that highlights some of the awesome buffoonery that takes place on the glorified social network. This really has nothing to do with monitoring other than this message: be smart! Know what your kids are doing online and know who their friends are. You can do so with our PC Pandora computer monitoring software…
The stories below include a 16-year-old making terrorist-style threats to his fellow students on MySpace, an update to the story about the 16 year-old that shot and killed his father after dad took away MySpace privileges, and a 27-year-old that gloated on MySpace about successfully robbing a bank.
May 20, 2009
Online threats on MySpace lands Chilton County teen in juvenile detention
By Associated PressJEMISON, Ala. (AP) — A sixteen-year-old Chilton County boy has been arrested on state charges for making terrorist threats against fellow students on the social web site MySpace.
The teen who attends Jemison High School was not identified because of his age.
Jemison Police Chief Shane Fulmer said the juvenile was arrested just before midnight Monday.
He said a concerned parent contacted authorities after reading the message online.
Fulmer said the boy had compared his planned event to the shootings at Virginia Tech.
The youngster was placed in juvenile detention and awaits a hearing in district court.
May 27, 2009
Teen accepts plea in murder of father over MySpace
By Jim Walsh, The Arizona RepublicA 16-year-old Mesa boy accused of shooting his father to death for not letting him use a MySpace account pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder.
The plea agreement calls for Hughstan Schlicker to be sentenced on July 10 by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Tim Ryan to 20-22 years in prison, said Eric Crocker, Schlicker’s defense attorney.
“This is a tragic case all around,” Crocker said. “The plea agreement gives my client a set number of years” in prison and avoids a potential life sentence.
Schlicker was angry at his father, Ted, 49, for not allowing him to contact his friends on MySpace, calling it his emotional outlet, according to a police report.
He told detectives he was contemplating suicide after finding a loaded shotgun and ammunition in the family’s home, but later decided to kill his father and then kill himself.
The son apparently surprised the father, approaching him from behind in the kitchen and squeezing the trigger. A gun was found strapped to Ted Schlicker’s hip. The slaying occurred in February 2008 at a Mesa condominium complex.
Hughstan Schlicker admitted the shooting to police, saying, “But I was mad at him very much, and I wish I could take everything back. I wish this was a bad dream but it’s not.”
The teenager originally was charged with first-degree murder but entered a plea to the lesser charge before Ryan.
“Given his young age, he’ll be a young man and still have a life” when released from prison at 33 or 34 years old, Crocker said.
Man convicted after boasting of crime on MySpace
Associated PressCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man who confessed to robbing a South Carolina bank in a message posted on MySpace has pleaded guilty. Federal prosecutors said Thursday that 27-year-old Joseph Northington of Roanoke, Va., will be sentenced later for using a firearm during a crime of violence.
Authorities said Northington robbed a bank in North Augusta of almost $4,000 in January while visiting a friend, who called investigators after seeing surveillance pictures of Northington.
Prosecutors said before his arrest, Northington posted a message to his MySpace account reading: “On tha run for robbin a bank Love all of yall.”
Northington faces seven years to life in prison. His attorney did not return a phone call Thursday.
Northington’s MySpace page is still up, his status listed as “wanted.”
