Police need a warrant to track cell phones, federal judge rules

(NaturalNews) A federal appeals court has ruled that police need to obtain a search warrant in order to track the cellular telephones of criminal suspects, a ruling that could help finally resolve a key privacy issue in the technological age that has split courts and judges around the country.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta held that the government violated the Fourth Amendment privacy rights of Quartavius Davis, who had been convicted of robbing seven stores in 2010, including a Little Caeser’s pizza house, a Walgreens drugstore and a jewelry shop. He had been sentenced to roughly 162 years in prison.

During his initial trial prosecutors introduced evidence that included cellphone records placing Davis and his cohorts near the scene of each of the robberies. The evidence included cell phone tower records to which the group’s phones were connected when they placed and received…

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Revealed: How gangs used the Freemasons to corrupt police

Secret networks of Freemasons have been used by organised crime gangs to corrupt the criminal justice system, according to a bombshell Metropolitan Police report leaked to The Independent.

Operation Tiberius, written in 2002, found underworld syndicates used their contacts in the controversial brotherhood to “recruit corrupted officers” inside Scotland Yard, and concluded it was one of “the most difficult aspects of organised crime corruption to proof against”.

The report – marked “Secret” – found serving officers in East Ham east London who were members of the Freemasons attempted to find out which detectives were suspected of links to organised crime from other police sources who were also members of the society.

Famous for its secret handshakes, Freemasonry has long been suspected of having members who work in the criminaljustice system – notably the judiciary and the police.

The political establishment and much of the media often dismiss such ideas as the work of…

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6 students cited for disorderly conduct during ‘Nerf War’in WAUSAU, WI

WAUSAU, Wis (WSAU)  Wausau police issued six disorderly conduct citations to Wausau-West High School students who took part in a nerf-gun fight. On Tuesday night a neighbor on Stevens Street called 911, saying someone pointed a gun at her car. It was not clear from the initial call to police if it was a nerf gun or a real gun. Police responded by sending several squad cars to the area.

Police quickly determined a group of Wausau-West seniors were playing Nerf Wars in the area.

The school sent a letter home to parents earlier in the week. It said parts of the Nerf Wars game could be considered illegal — like trespassing on private property, causing property damage, and a rule where students remove clothing to avoid being shot.

Wausau West says the six students who were cited will be put on athletic probation, but they will not be suspended.

Ex-sheriff’s Deputies Charged with Planting Evidence at Pot Dispensary

Two former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies have been charged with conspiracy, perjury and altering evidence in connection with planting guns inside a medical marijuana dispensary to justify two arrests in 2011, prosecutors said.

Julio Cesar Martinez, 39, and Anthony Manuel Paez, 32, were charged with one felony count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice and altering evidence as a peace officer, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Martinez was also charged with two felony counts of perjury and one of filing a false report.

Both men were booked Friday and released on $50,000 bail each. They are scheduled to be arraigned June 17. Prosecutors said if the former deputies are convicted of the charges, they face more than seven years in state prison.

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