| By Brian Hamacher, NBCMiami.com MIAMI -- A Secret Service agent was arrested for disorderly intoxication in Miami early Friday after he was found passed out on a street hours after President Barack Obama left town, police said. Aaron Francis Engler was arrested at 7 a.m. and also faces a charge of resisting arrest without violence, according to Miami police spokeswoman Kenia Reyes. Engler was later released to members of the Secret Service's Miami Field Office, Reyes said. Officials at the office didn't immediately respond to calls for comment. Also on NBCMiami.com: Student avoids jail in Obama threat According to an arrest report, an officer spotted Engler lying down on the northeast corner of Southeast 7th Street and Brickell Avenue. When the officer approached the agent, he asked if he was ok and got no response, the report said. The officer was able to get Engler's attention and asked him to get off the ground but he refused, the report said. The officer helped Engler get up, but he was having trouble standing. When the officer walked Engler to his patrol car, he saw the agent had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, the report said. Also on NBCMiami.com: Spirit Airlines pulls ad spoofing Secret Service prostitution scandal "The defendant started arguing with me and throwing his arms around while I was conducting a pat down," the officer noted in the report. According to the report, motorists began stopping to watch as the officer told Engler to stop moving his arms around as he tried to handcuff him. Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com At one point, Engler hit the officer's face and tensed his arm, pulling it away and not letting the officer handcuff him. The officer directed Engler to the ground and tried to handcuff him again, but the agent tensed his arms again and pulled away. Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter During the struggle, Engler turned himself on his back and hit the officer's chin with his open left hand, the report said. The officer called for backup and two other officers arrived and were able to handcuff Engler, the report said. The incident happened just hours after President Obama's visit to South Florida, where he attended a rally at the University of Miami and a fundraiser at the JW Marriott Marquis. More content from NBCNews.com:
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10/12/2012
Police: Secret Service agent found drunk in street
Dolly-the-sheep cloner dies
Teen steals Cleveland city bus for early morning joyride
| By NBC News staff and wire reports A teenage boy in Ohio is in police custody after he stole a city bus early Thursday and took it for a five-mile joyride before he was arrested, according to local reports. Officials said the bus had minor damage, including a cracked window and a smashed mirror, after the 16-year-old broke into the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and boarded a bus that was in for maintenance and started it, RTA spokesperson Mary Shaffer told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter "There are no keys," Shaffer said. "It's an intricate series of buttons." The teen then allegedly drove the bus in the city for about five miles before police tracked him down. An RTA supervisor spotted the bus at 5:43 a.m., parked miles away with the teen at the wheel. Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com RTA police took the teen into custody and turned him over to the Cleveland police, Shaffer said. The RTA is investigating the breach of security, Shaffer said, adding that the building has security fencing and cameras but no overnight security guards. RTA police patrol the facility at night. More content from NBCNews.com:
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Bullet-riddled corpse unnoticed for hours in running car
| By Sevil Omer, NBC News Bloodied and riddled with bullets, a man's body sat slumped over for hours in a parked car -- its engine running and windshield wipers flapping long after the rain stopped -- as passersby, including school children, came and went throughout the day, Bridgeport police said Friday. Police on patrol found the man's body at about 6 p.m. Wednesday in the residential North End neighborhood called Sunshine Circle, according to The Connecticut Post. "They banged on the window and got no response," Detective Keith Bryant, a police spokesman, told the Post. "He was slumped over the wheel." Neighbors told police they heard gunshots at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, but no one reported a shooting. Some residents say they saw the car as early as 9 a.m., but little else. Paramedics pronounced the man dead, finding multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, police said. Detectives said they have no motive. Police said the victim has not been positively identified and planned to release his name later Friday. Watch US News crime videos on NBCNews.com Police said the Nissan Maxima's darkly tinted windows obscured the man's body from view, but Bryant said someone could have reported the gunshots earlier in the day. Residents of the neighborhood near a public housing complex "have become numb to unusual noises, even gunshots, and they probably didn't react to it at all. And that's not good," Bryant told the Post. Only a rusty fence separates the neighborhood from an area where gunfire is commonplace, the Post reported, and residents have been worried about the increase in drug activity. Councilman Warren Blunt, who represents the city's 135th District, has promised residents he'd fight to curtail the drug-related violence by working with police to create a surveillance plan and increase patrols, according to the Post. "It's an ongoing struggle," Blunt told the Post. Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter There have been 20 homicides in Bridgeport so far this year, matching the total number for all of 2011, according to the Post. In May, 20-year-old Kaqwan Glenn was fatally shot where Wednesday's gunshot victim was found in the parked car, police said. More content from NBCNews.com:
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Mom who glued toddler's hands gets 99 years
 Tony Gutierrez / AP Elizabeth Escalona, 23, breaks down as she responds to a line of questions on Thursday in Dallas. Escalona admitted to beating her toddler and gluing her hands to a wall. By NBC News and wire services DALLAS -- Elizabeth Escalona, the 23-year-old mother of five who admitted to gluing her daughter's hands to the wall and beating her as potty training punishment, was sentenced Friday to 99 years. During closing arguments on Friday prosecutor Eren Price told the court to give Escalona's children peace by knowing she would never come walking through their door in the future. The prosecution showed photos of the apartment where Jocelyn Cedillo was glued to the wall, saying "We have to imagine what it was like." Defense attorneys said Escalona needs anger management and treatment. They painted her life as a miserable one of abuse and drugs. While on the stand Thursday, Escalona sobbed as a prosecutor ordered her to look at the injuries she inflicted on her daughter's body. She cried and didn't speak for several seconds after prosecutor Eren Price displayed a photo of then-2-year-old Jocelyn during Escalona's sentencing hearing. Dozens of red and brown marks from the September 2011 beating covered Jocelyn's back. "Ms. Escalona, if you can do it, you can look at it," Price said in a loud, sharp voice. View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com. Escalona, who pleaded guilty in July to felony injury of a child, was on the witness stand for a second day. Prosecutors had earlier offered her a plea deal with a 45-year sentence. Police say Escalona kicked her daughter in the stomach, beat her with a milk jug, then stuck her hands to an apartment wall with an adhesive commonly known as Super Glue. Escalona's other children told authorities their mother attacked Jocelyn due to potty training problems. Jocelyn suffered bleeding in her brain, a fractured rib, bruises and bite marks, and was in a coma for a couple of days. Some skin had been torn off her hands, where doctors also found paint chips from the apartment wall, witnesses testified. Prosecutors have portrayed Escalona as an unfit mother with a history of violence, and Price has repeatedly referred to her as a "monster." Escalona has admitted she behaved like a monster when she beat Jocelyn, but insists she isn't one now. Price asked Escalona what she thought should happen in the case. Escalona replied in a soft, halting voice: "I should be put away." Then, she added, "But I also think I should be given a second chance." When Price asked her why, she responded: "Because I'm not a monster." Escalona also testified that her children were a source of stress. "They didn't bother me, but I did (need) a little break," she said. She described one of her sons misbehaving and getting into fights and another daughter once leaving home without her permission. Under questioning from defense attorney Angie N'Duka, Escalona said she was learning ways to deal with her anger and the stress of raising five children. But Price said she still didn't understand what could have caused the attack on Jocelyn. "Explain to us what about your stress is unique from what everybody else in this world lives through every single day," she said. In her testimony, Escalona admitted she often doesn't tell the truth and had lied to doctors and others assigned to her case. But she resisted Price's repeated efforts to get her to admit she was a liar. "I'm not a liar," Escalona said. "I have a hard time trusting people." Escalona acknowledged several missteps in her childhood: hanging around with gang members and trying marijuana around the age of 11, assaulting her mother at 12 and getting pregnant with her first child at 14. She also admitted drinking and doing drugs after she was released from jail on bond in February. Despite what she described as problems paying rent and other bills, Escalona admitted she was using marijuana about twice a day in the time before she attacked Jocelyn. NBCDFW.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report. More content from NBCNews.com:
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American Airlines cuts more flights
US: Hackers in Iran responsible for cyberattacks
| 14 min.  U.S. authorities believe that Iranian-based hackers were responsible for cyberattacks that devastated Persian Gulf oil and gas companies, a former U.S. government official said. Just hours later, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the cyberthreat from Iran has grown, and he declared that the Pentagon is prepared to take action if American is threatened by a computer-based assault. The former official, who is familiar with the investigation, said U.S. authorities believe the cyberattacks were likely supported by the Tehran government and came in retaliation for the latest round of American sanctions against Iran. Read more: Panetta: Cyber intruders have already infiltrated US systems Before Panetta's remarks on Thursday, U.S. officials had said nothing publicly about the Gulf attacks or the investigation. But Panetta described them in a speech to business leaders in New York City, saying they were probably the most destructive cyber assault the private sector has seen to date. Panetta did not directly link Iran to the Gulf attacks, but he said Tehran has "undertaken a concerted effort to use cyberspace to its advantage." And, he said the Pentagon has poured billions into beefing up its ability to identify the origin of a cyberattacks, block them and respond when needed. "Potential aggressors should be aware that the United States has the capacity to locate them and hold them accountable for actions that harm America or its interests," said Panetta in a speech to the Business Executives for National Security. A current U.S. official acknowledged Thursday that the Obama administration knows who launched the cyberattacks against the Gulf companies and that it was a state actor. U.S. agencies have been assisting in the Gulf investigation and concluded that the level of resources needed to conduct the attack showed there was some degree of involvement by a nation state, said the former official. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is classified as secret. While Panetta chose his words carefully, one cybersecurity expert said the Pentagon chief's message to Iran in the speech was evident. "It's not something where people are throwing down the gauntlet, but I think Panetta comes pretty close to sending a clear warning (to Iran): We know who it was, maybe you want to think twice before you do it again," said cybersecurity expert James Lewis, who is with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "I think the Iranians will put two and two together and realize he's sending them a message." He said Panetta's remarks were an important step by the U.S. because the Iranian cyberthreat "is a new dimension in 30 years of intermittent conflict with Iran for which we are ill-prepared. It's really important to put them on notice." The cyberattacks hit the Saudi Arabian state oil company Aramco and Qatari natural gas producer RasGas using a virus, known as Shamoon, which can spread through networked computers and ultimately wipes out files by overwriting them. Senior defense officials said the information was declassified so that Panetta could make the public remarks. The officials added that the Pentagon is particularly concerned about the growing Iranian cyber capabilities, as well as the often discussed threats from China and Russia. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the cyberthreats publicly. In his speech, Panetta said the Shamoon virus replaced crucial system files at Aramco with the image of a burning U.S. flag, and also overwrote all data on the machine, rendering more than 30,000 computers useless and forcing them to be replaced. He said the Qatar attack was similar. Panetta offered no new details on the Pentagon's growing cyber capabilities or the military rules of engagement the department is developing to guide its use of computer-based attacks when the U.S. is threatened. He said the department is investing more than $3 billion a year in cybersecurity to beef up its ability to defend against and counter cyberthreats, including investment in U.S. Cyber Command. And the Pentagon is honing its policies so that any actions comply with the law of armed conflict. "Our mission is to defend the nation. We defend. We deter. And if called upon, we take decisive action to protect our citizens," he said. He added, however, that the Defense Department will not monitor American citizen's personal computers, or provide for the day-to-day security of private or commercial networks. Panetta used the Persian Gulf attacks in his remarks as a warning to business community that it must embrace stalled legislation that would encourage companies to meet certain cybersecurity standards. And he is endorsing a planned move by President Barack Obama to use his executive powers to put some of those programs, including voluntary standards, in place until Congress acts. "These attacks mark a significant escalation of the cyber threat," Panetta said. "And they have renewed concerns about still more destructive scenarios that could unfold." U.S. authorities have repeatedly warned that foreign Internet hackers are probing U.S. critical infrastructure networks, including those that control utility plants, transportation systems and financial networks. "We know of specific instances where intruders have successfully gained access to these control systems," Panetta told the business group. "We also know that they are seeking to create advanced tools to attack these systems and cause panic and destruction, and even the loss of life." Business leaders, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, opposed the legislations, arguing it would expand the federal government's regulatory authority over companies already struggling in the tough economy. The bill also encourages more information sharing between the government and private companies. Panetta pressed the group to support the stronger cybersecurity measures, warning that failure to do so could have catastrophic consequences. "Before September 11, 2001 the warning signs were there. We weren't organized. We weren't ready. And we suffered terribly for that lack of attention," said Panetta. "We cannot let that happen again. This is a pre-9/11 moment." |