Busted Martial Artists

[sanjuro_ronin]

As a former bouncer I know this:
You don't put your hands on someone's chest unless you are willing to escalate it.

[GeneChing]

More on Darrell Lewis. Anyone here attend the NBL Super Grands in 2001?

Martial arts teacher faces more charges
By Adriana M. Chávez / El Paso Times
Posted: 11/24/2008 12:00:00 AM MST

EL PASO -- A man who allegedly assaulted and threatened an El Paso County sheriff's deputy earlier this month is the focus of Manhunt Monday, wanted on a probation violation.

On Nov. 11, Darrell Lewis, 25, of the 7900 block of La Jolla, was stopped by a deputy on Interstate 10 East near mile marker 33. Sheriff's spokesman Deputy Jesse Tovar said during the stop, the deputy noticed the driver seemed nervous and acted suspiciously.

After the deputy told Lewis to get out of his vehicle for questioning, Lewis allegedly assaulted the deputy and ran off. The deputy chased Lewis and, after a brief struggle, took him into custody.

Additional deputies who arrived at the scene searched Lewis' vehicle and found 58 pounds of marijuana hidden in duffel bags on the back seat. Lewis was charged with possession of marijuana more than 50 pounds and less than 2,000 pounds and with assault on a public servant. He was booked into the El Paso County jail and later released on $35,000 bond.

Tovar said because of the Nov. 11 arrest, Lewis violated probation stemming from an October 2007 marijuana possession charge.

Two weeks ago, a caution advisory was issued to area law enforcement officers about Lewis.

According to El Paso Times archives, Lewis participated in the National Blackbelt League Super Grands in 2001, a world championship competition, and won titles in open weapons, musical weapons and musical forms.

At the time of his arrest, Lewis told deputies he was an instructor at an East Side martial arts academy. The academy's owners said Lewis only worked there during the summer months. Tovar said Lewis continues to work as an instructor and has contact with children.

Anyone with information on Lewis' whereabouts is asked to call 546-2280 or Crime Stoppers of El Paso at 566-8477.

Adriana M. Chávez may be reached at achavez@elpasotimes.com,546-6117.

[GeneChing]

Probably just some dude with two swords.

Sword-wielding man slain at Scientology center
Associated Press
Monday, November 24, 2008

(11-24) 04:00 PST Los Angeles -- A security guard shot and killed a man wielding two samurai swords Sunday on the grounds of a Scientology building in Hollywood, police said.

The unidentified man approached three guards around noon in the parking lot of the Scientology Celebrity Centre, Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara said.

The man was "close enough to hurt them" when one of the guards shot him, Hara said.

Detectives were questioning the guard to figure out the swordsman's motive and determine whether the shooting was justified. Surveillance tape showed the man arriving at the Celebrity Centre's parking lot in a red convertible, then approaching the guards with a sword in each hand, Hara said.

"The evidence itself, it's very, very clear," Hara said. "The security officers were defending their safety."

Detective Wendi Berndt told the Los Angeles Times the man was involved with the church a long time ago.

"There was a previous relationship, but it is unclear to what degree," Berndt said.

Calls to Scientology spokespeople were not immediately returned Sunday.

The Celebrity Centre includes a seven-story Norman-revival landmark that towers over the Hollywood freeway and used to be a residential hotel for movie stars.

The castle-like facility now serves as "a home for the artist, a place where he can come and learn, attend seminars, meet other artists and even perform at our many showcases and events," according to the Centre's Web site.

The Church of Scientology was established in 1945 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It teaches that technology can expand the mind and help solve problems and claims 10 million members around the world, including celebrity devotees Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

[GeneChing]

Dang - four reports on the newsfeeds this Monday morning.

'Martial arts gang' in expat kidnap probe

A group of British 'martial arts experts' are being questioned by police after a foiled kidnap and extortion attempt on an expatriate in southern Spain.

Shoppers in the resort of Tarifa rescued the British victim as he was being bundled into a jeep by four men outside a supermarket. The suspects were arrested at a roadblock last Thursday on their way to the Strait of Gibraltar.

Spanish detectives believe the group, who they describe as 'martial arts experts who belong to a criminal organisation', travelled from the UK on the orders of a criminal paymaster who had been attempting to force the victim to transfer £100,000 into British bank accounts. Spanish police said the victim was 'a law-abiding man' without criminal links, but would not say why he was targeted or release his name.

A spokesman for Spain's Civil Guard said: 'The victim had been the object of a campaign of extortion. When he refused, the person demanding the money hired four British men to obtain the cash by kidnapping him.' Investigators said they believed the gang planned to fly back to Britain on Friday after carrying out the kidnap. Details of the four men, aged between 40 and 55, have been passed to British detectives.

[GeneChing]

Sakai was listed here on posts 54 & 84

Martial-Arts Manic Who Twice Killed In B’klyn, Found Guilty Again
by Associated Press (), published online 11-25-2008

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Sunset Park bouncer who has already been sentenced to life in prison for two Brooklyn murders has been convicted of shooting another man dead and wounding three others outside a Manhattan nightclub.

A jury found 32-year-old Stephen Sakai guilty Friday of murder, attempted murder and assault. He again faces life in prison at his sentencing, set for Dec. 15. Sakai testified he feared he would die during a fight outside Chelsea’s Opus 22 club in May 2006. Sakai, a martial-arts zealout, said he took a gun off one of the four and started firing.

The shooting stemmed from Sakai’s argument with one victim who insisted on waiting for his girlfriend to return from the ladies’ room after the club had closed. The incident left one dead, another paralyzed from the chest down and two with less serious wounds.

[GeneChing]

Took the contract money and ran. What a fool. Contracts go both ways.

Martial arts studio owner being sued
Business owner failed to give refunds, customers say
By Katie Merlie
Posted: November 28, 2008

The owner of martial arts studios that operated in Hamilton and Boone counties is facing a civil lawsuit over customers' claims that they failed to get refunds after the business closed.

Jonathan Stowe, whose last listed address is in Westfield, is the owner of Champion Martial Arts, which once had studios in Carmel, Noblesville and Zionsville. He is being sued in an action brought by the state attorney general.
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According to Attorney General Steve Carter, Stowe solicited and entered into multi-year contracts with the 19 customers listed in the lawsuit filed in Hamilton County.

"It is unfortunate for the people involved that their efforts to engage in a healthy and constructive extracurricular activity and learning experience ended up in conflict, leaving them without the services they paid for in full," Carter said.

The investigation revealed that contract amounts ranged from $2,900 to $5,760 and that many customers paid up to $2,210 in additional program fees. Carter said Stowe used the money to pay personal expenses, lease a new vehicle and vacation in the Caribbean.

A message left at the office of Stowe's attorney, Daniel Sandlin, was not answered.

Earlier this year, Laura Gagnon, 36, Noblesville, signed up her 4-year-old son Christian at Champion Martial Arts. She and his father paid $3,600 for a two-year membership.

Six weeks after classes began, a representative from Champion persuaded the Gagnons to pay another $460 toward Christian's promotions as he progressed over the next two years.

But in September the classes stopped, the Noblesville studio was closed, and Gagnon couldn't get her phone calls returned. Within a month, all three studios were closed.

Gagnon said she called the Attorney General's office in mid-October to file a complaint.

"I'm happy they've filed the lawsuit; I want to put a stop to what this man is doing to people," said Gagnon, who has never met Stowe.

Carter said this isn't the first time Stowe has been accused of misleading customers. His office filed a lawsuit against Stowe in 2006, and Stowe later agreed to refund $20,000 to customers in Mishawaka.

Gagnon said she hopes she and the other families involved get justice.

"I would like to get my money back, but I know that it's gone," Gagnon said. "I just want to make sure this stops happening."

[GeneChing]

Pretty much the opposite?! There's your problem right there. It's completely the opposite of what we teach!

Bend martial arts teachers react to sex-case sentence
Posted: Dec 5, 2008 06:09 PM

Former instructor chatted online with 'girl' who was undercover agent

By Jennifer Burns, KTVZ.COM

"It was a big surprise when you turn on the TV in the morning and see something like that going on," said Robert Gregory, a former co-worker of Todd Barton Campbell and co-owner of Bend's Martial Arts Center.

Two recent arrests in the martial arts community, and now the sentencing of one of them, has shocked instructors.

"When you see something like that happen, it kind of puts a stain on everybody in the martial arts community," Gregory said Friday.

Campbell, 38, was sentenced Thursday in Portland federal court to 18 months in prison, more than four months after his guilty plea to the crime of transferring obscene materials to a minor. He has to surrender to federal prison officials on Jan. 5, and will serve three years of supervised release after his time behind bars.

Campbell admitted that in 2006 he sent an FBI agent, posing as a 13-year-old girl, pictures of himself naked. Later, he tried to lure the "teen" to meet him.

"Inside the school, he was completely professional - that's why it kind of shocked everybody to see that," said Gregory.

Campbell worked closely with children, but co-workers say they never saw signs of such issues.

"That's pretty much the opposite of what we teach," said Kristina Knittle, co-owner of Sorter Bushido Kai Karate.

Last February, Bend martial arts instructor Mark Froelich, who owned Karate for Kids in Bend, was arrested on rape charges involving a 15-year-old student. He is set to go to trial Feb. 10 on 27 sex abuse charges.

"It was just kind of heart-wrenching to know that some of the kids who were at the first school training moved over to Karate for Kids and went there to continue training, and had it happened to them a second time," Knittle said.

Other instructors say Froelich offered lessons when no one else was in the building, something many other schools do not allow.

"It upsets me a lot," Gregory said. "Especially as a teacher. you have students who are looking up to you, you have parents who trust you."

They say they are taking action to regain the community's trust, requiring more training and rigorous background checks.

"If we prevent situations from even being possible, if nobody is ever alone with a child," Knittle said. "We just need to be aware of how to keep kids safe all the time. And that is on the top of our priority list - then it's near impossible to happen."

[GeneChing]

This story has been huge in our area because it's so horrible, so I'm disheartened to see it take this turn. To have "martial arts sticks" reflects so poorly upon us, as if martial arts sticks are a cause, or at least aid and abet, such crimes. If it was nunchuks, that'd be different. But martial arts sticks could be anything - a cut hardwood dowel is a martial arts stick.

Docs: Woman Hit Teen With Martial Arts Sticks
Teen Escaped From Tracy Home In Shackles
POSTED: 11:46 am PST December 5, 2008

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A probation officer's report from last year details a woman's alleged egregious abuse of two boys, one of whom escaped Monday from a Tracy home in shackles.

Caren Ramirez, 43, was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with abuse of the teen.

Kelly Layne Lau and husband Michael Schumacher, of Tracy, were charged with 13 counts of abuse and former guardian Ramirez, whom the boy called an aunt, was charged with 10 counts.

The boy's relation to Ramirez is unclear. Authorities had earlier identified Ramirez as the boy's aunt but said Thursday they had learned she was a family friend that he called his aunt. Probation documents show that Ramirez claims to be the teen's mother, but the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office said that is not a fact. The office also said that there is no DNA or biological relationship between Ramirez and the teen.

The documents show that the boy, then 13, told officers from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department that Ramirez had used martial arts sticks to spank him.

"He further explained the defendant has also hit him with a spatula, broomstick and a clothes hanger in the past," the report said.

The report was taken after deputies responded to a child abuse report on May 30, 2006 at a Citrus Heights home.

The teen showed signs of bruising on his buttocks, legs, arms and had a split or swollen lip, sheriff's deputies said in the document. He also told officers that Ramirez gets angry at times and takes her anger out on him.

The report said Ramirez told officials that she suffers from depression and anxiety attacks and took Zoloft for her condition.

Another boy named in the document, who was 16 at the time, told officers that Ramirez had hit him with a martial arts stick approximately five times in the head. That teen also told officers that earlier that day, Ramirez had told him to "panhandle" for her, and that he started hitting him because he didn't get enough money.

Ramirez had become the Tracy boy's guardian after child-welfare officials took him from his abusive father three or four years ago, police said. After Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of abusing the boy, the youth was placed in another foster home, police said.

A CPS worker reported that the boy ran away from the Sacramento Children's Receiving Home and was missing since May 9, 2007.

Police said Wednesday that the boy detailed his escape from the home, telling investigators he found a brief moment of freedom to slip out the back of the house and jump over a fence that divided the couple's property with a fitness center.

He limped into the gym with a chain shackled to his leg, wearing only boxer shorts and pleading for help. Gym employees contacted paramedics and police.

The teen's older brother, identfied only as Austin, told KCRA 3 he'll fight to get full custody of the boy.

[GeneChing]

There's a vid on the first report's site with a news report.

Local Martial Arts Instructor Sentenced on Indecent Liberties Charges
By Philip Jones
Reporter
Published: December 17, 2008

He took advantage of the children he taught and now a local martial arts instructor will be spending more than a decade behind bars.

Christopher Smith, 34, of Jacksonville pleaded guilty to a number of charges in Onslow County Superior Court.

Nine On Your Side’s Philip Jones breaks down what will keep Smith locked up for so long:

Not long after he was arrested in June 2007, Christopher Smith sold his tae kwon do studio on Piney Green Road in Jacksonville.

After pleading guilty Tuesday to four counts of indecent liberties with a child and one count of second degree sex offense, Smith will now spend the next 12-15 years in prison paying the price for what he did there.

Investigators say over a four-year period from June 2003 to May 2007, Smith either exposed himself to or inappropriately touched both male and female children who were students here at his tae kwon do school.

But the problems didn’t stop there.

In fact, the investigation into Smith began after deputies got word from a parent last June that Smith took indecent liberties with an eight-year-old girl at a swimming pool in Smith’s backyard.

One young victim’s father declined our request for an interview Wednesday—but it’s easy to understand why he’s upset a man trusted to teach self-defense took advantage of several defenseless children.http://www.jdnews.com/news/smith_611...nders_sex.html

Once Smith gets out of prison, he’ll have to register as a sex offender.

He will also be subject to satellite-based monitoring for the rest of his life

Martial arts instructor sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison
December 16, 2008 - 6:34 PM
LINDELL KAY

A Jacksonville martial arts instructor pleaded guilty Tuesday to several counts of molesting male and female students under the age of 10 and was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison.

Christopher Aaron Smith, 34, of Broadleaf Drive, pleaded guilty in Onslow Superior Court to second-degree sex offense and four counts of indecent liberties with a minor. When his active prison sentence expires, he will have to spend two years on intensive probation, register as a sex offender and submit to satellite monitoring for life, according to a ruling by Superior Court Judge Jack Hooks Jr.

Authorities say Smith molested two girls under the age of 10 while they were students at his Tae Kwon Do academy at 1368 Piney Green Road. He removed their clothes, touched them inappropriately and exposed his private parts to them. He also exposed himself to other students in the bathroom of his business, according to statements made in court and court documents.

After Smith was arrested by the Onslow County Sheriff's Department in June 2007 on charges of molesting the two girls, a third victim, a boy who was under the age of 6 when Smith molested him, came forward. Prosecutors said Smith repeatedly molested the boy from June 2003 until August 2004. Smith put his hands down the boy's underpants and touched his genitals, warrants state.

The boy, also a student of Smith's, told his parents about Smith molesting him during martial arts classes, authorities said.

"He talked to his dad, and the dad called the detective and the detective took over the case," Sheriff Ed Brown said.

Sheriff's Sgt. John Getty arrested Smith again a few days later and charged him with a slew of other child molestation charges.

"After what he did, I hope that he does not get out," a family member of one of Smith's victims told The Daily News. "I mean I hope true justice is done."

Smith will be subject to new state laws that took effect Dec. 1.

Those laws include the requirement that registered sex offenders report to the local sheriff's office in person within three days of moving to a new home. The offender will also have to provide authorities with written notification of address changes, changes to academic status or employment status at colleges and universities and intent to move out of state.

Registered sex offenders are prohibited from accessing commercial social networking Web sites that permit minors to become members or maintain personal Web pages. Offenders are forbidden from legally changing their names.

And offenders whose victims were younger than 16 are prohibited from being within 300 feet of schools, children's museums, child care centers, nurseries and playgrounds.

[TenTigers]

what I find the most disturbing is that there seem to be alot of kid touchers that are MA instructors.
If this keeps up there will jokes like, "Half Nelson, Full Nelson, Sensei Nelson!"

[GeneChing]

This isn't particularly more informative than the previous post. The newsfeeds are dominated by Justin Levens right now.

Martial arts teacher in Onslow sentenced to prison for molesting children
December 18, 2008 - 8:19 PM
By Lindell Kay
Freedom ENC

JACKSONVILLE -- A Jacksonville martial arts instructor has been sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison for molesting male and female students under age 10.

Christopher Aaron Smith, 34, of Broadleaf Drive pleaded guilty in Onslow Superior Court to second-degree sex offense and four counts of indecent liberties with a minor. When his active prison sentence ends, he will have to spend two years on intensive probation, register as a sex offender and submit to satellite monitoring for life, according to a ruling by Superior Court Judge Jack Hooks Jr.

Authorities say Smith molested two girls under the age of 10 while they were students at his tae kwon do academy at 1368 Piney Green Road. He removed their clothes, touched them inappropriately and exposed his private parts to them. He also exposed himself to other students in the bathroom of his business, according to statements made in court and court documents.

After Smith was arrested by the Onslow County Sheriff's Department in June 2007 on charges of molesting the two girls, a third victim, a boy who was under the age of 6 when Smith molested him, came forward. Prosecutors said Smith repeatedly molested the boy from June 2003 until August 2004.

The boy, also a student of Smith's, told his parents about Smith molesting him, authorities said.

"He talked to his dad, and the dad called the detective and the detective took over the case," Sheriff Ed Brown said.

Sheriff's Sgt. John Getty arrested Smith again a few days later and charged him with a number of other child molestation charges.

[GeneChing]

Remember Ung?

Martial arts instructor pleads guilty to solicitation of murder
By MEGAN SCHMIDT
The Holland Sentinel
Posted Dec 29, 2008 @ 04:50 PM
Last update Dec 30, 2008 @ 11:14 AM
Ottawa County, MI —

A Holland martial arts instructor who was arrested in July for hiring a hit man to kill his former girlfriend pleaded guilty in Ottawa County Circuit Court on Monday, Dec. 29.

Eang Ung, 42, will serve a minimum of three-and-a-half years and a maximum of five years, 10 months in prison for the charge of solicitation of murder.

After recording several conversations between Ung and an undercover officer whom Ung believed to be a hit man, police said he gave the officer money, a photograph of his ex-girlfriend and directions to her home on July 15.

Ung, who owns Ung’s Martial Arts, 143 N. River Ave., was arrested the next day.

In court Monday, Ung pleaded guilty to the same charge he received at his arraignment in district court in July.

He did not plead to a lesser charge, however a solicitation of murder charge can carry up to a life sentence.

Ung will be sentenced in circuit court March 2 at 10 a.m.

At Ung’s martial arts school on Monday, the building was empty and dark, with little furniture inside and evidence that signs have been removed from doors.

[Dale Dugas]

hope his skills help him in the shower in the big house............................................. .......................

[GeneChing]

Anyone across the pond know Richard Mumford?

Martial arts expert accused of raping nurse
8/1/2009

A FORMER national martial arts competitor raped a woman in a kitchen while her baby son was in the next room, a crown court trial has been told.

The alleged victim - a 44-year-old nurse - sobbed as she told how she was grabbed around the throat and shoved backwards so violently that it caused the glass door of an oven to shatter into fragments.

Richard Mumford, 39, a shooting instructor from Windsor Road, Chobham, denies rape and common assault on the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Jurors at Guildford Crown Court were told on Monday this week that the defendant, who teaches shooting at Bisley Rifle Range, was a martial arts enthusiast who had won medals in a national contest.

The court was told the alleged sex attack happened on September 20, 2006, while the woman was living on a houseboat.

Jurors heard that she and Mumford had known each other since a young age when they had played together as children.

Robin Johnson, prosecuting, said the woman was working in her kitchen when the defendant came in and demanded sex.

He said: "He grabbed her around the neck and started assaulting her. It happened so suddenly she didn't even have the opportunity to remove her Marigold rubber gloves."

Giving evidence in a police interview, the woman said: "I try to forgive people for what they do. But this I can't.

"All I could think of was my little son next door.

"He forced me to have sex. I grabbed hold of the oven door. He pushed me so hard that the oven door broke off and the glass shattered."

The woman said the next day a nursing colleague noticed the bruise marks on her neck and asked her about them.

But she said: "I told her it was too painful to talk about."

She said she bottled up the incident for two years and only revealed it when police questioned her about an assault said to have been carried out by Mr Mumford during a visit to her flat.

The alleged victim said the defendant was a martial arts enthusiast who had competed at national level.

"I've seen the medals he's won.

"I'm very scared of him," she added.

The trial continues.

[BoulderDawg]

The last couple of stories had nothing to do with martial arts. They were people that practice MA who just happened to commit a crime. It's not like their position or MA activities lead to it.

You run across murder for hire, rape, beating up women in all professions.