12 Step Member Charged with Child Porn with Teen He Met At 12 Step Meeting, Also Charged With The Murder Of Woman Stabbing Her 100 Times

 Accused murderer pleads not guilty to child porn charges

NA Member Found Guilty of Providing Heroin to Teen Who Overdosed

Good reasons not to send your kid to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings!

Recovering addict guilty of providing drugs to teen who overdosed

MEDINA — An Iraq war veteran was found guilty Tuesday morning of providing drugs to a teenager who died of an overdose last year.

Brittnee Johns, 17, was found dead of an overdose in her home in May 2013.

Heather Graham is escorted out of a Medina County courtroom on Tuesday after Common Pleas Judge James L. Kimbler found her guilty in the heroin overdose death of  17-year-old Brittnee Johns in May 2013.(LOREN GENSON / GAZETTE)

Heather Graham, 31, was charged with corrupting a minor with drugs and complicity and conspiracy to traffic heroin. At her Sept. 18 sentencing before Medina County Common Pleas Judge James L. Kimbler, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

“I feel like it will give Brittnee some peace, and we can all finally move on,” Meghan Blough, Brittnee’s aunt said of the verdict. NA Daytona meetings in Holly Hill and Daytona Beach.

Kimbler rendered Tuesday’s verdict because Graham opted for a bench trial.

According to testimony at her trial two weeks ago, Graham met Brittnee at Narcotics Anonymous. Prosecutors said they believed Graham gave Brittnee heroin after they returned to Medina after spending a day in Cleveland.

Brittnee was found dead the next morning.

 

Brittnee’s mother, Darlene Johns, and her fiance, Dennis Martin, said they hoped Graham would continue to receive sobriety support while behind bars.

“While this does not bring Brittnee back, we find solace in the fact there is some responsibility,” said Martin, who helped to raise Brittnee. “Hopefully she can focus on sobriety.” Holly Hill Sunrise Park AA Meetings still smoking against City rules.

Graham’s attorney, Anthony Bondra, said he trusts Kimbler’s ruling.

“I know the judge spent a lot of time evaluating the evidence,” he said. “Obviously we’re disappointed by it, but we respect it.”

He said he believes somebody else gave Brittnee the drugs.

“There were two sides to this story,” Bondra said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way.”

Graham’s mother, Leslie Jones, who attended Tuesday’s hearing, said she was upset by the judge’s decision. Hollyland Park NA Meeting refuses to pay rent in Holly Hill Parks.

“My daughter didn’t kill that girl,” she said. “That girl was an addict before my daughter came along.”

Medina High School student Brittnee Johns, 17, was found dead in 2013 in her Canterbury Lane townhouse of a drug overdose.

Graham said during her trial that she became addicted to opiates after she was injured by an improvised explosive device while serving in Iraq. After an honorable discharge in 2005, she was prescribed pain medication and became addicted to opiates. Daytona NA meetings and Heroin addiction.

Jones said her daughter was a quiet and kind person who was in law school before her addiction to heroin became too much to handle. She said she was worried about her daughter’s incarceration and the impact it would have on her future.

“She’s been doing very good in treatment,” she said. “Now she has to serve jail time and when she comes out, she’ll have a felony record.”

Several of Graham’s friends also were there to support her, including Lovell Cochran, a fellow veteran who helped Graham through treatment at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.

“She’s been trying to put her life together,” Cochran said, “and we’ve been working diligently together to help her and others.”

Graham, who had only been living in Ohio for a few weeks when Brittnee died, came to Medina to get away from heroin abusers in Virginia, where she had settled after her time in the military. She worked as a U.S. marshal and held other security-related positions before coming to Ohio.

The family of Brittnee Johns reacts to a guilty verdict for Heather Graham, 31, of Cleveland, in Medina County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday. (LOREN GENSON / GAZETTE)

Cochran said he understood Graham’s struggle because he became addicted to opiates during the Vietnam War and has been struggling with addiction for 38 years. He said he’s five years clean, so he serves as a role model for veterans with addictions like Graham.

“She’s a good person, and we accepted her as our little sister,” he said. “I feel very bad about this incident, but we’ve all got to remember that our actions have consequences — some good, some bad.

“You don’t ask for trouble. It just shows up.”

He said he hoped Graham would take advantage of the treatment options while incarcerated at the county jail, and in prison if it comes to that.

Graham’s friend, Lisa Lopez, who attends the same VA recovery program, said she was in recovery for an addiction to pain pills. Though she never used heroin, she said she understood Graham’s addiction and the two became friends while in treatment.

“It’s so hard for me because I know Heather has a good heart,” she said. “I just pray her military service and her background will go toward a shorter sentence.”

Lopez said she feels sad for Brittnee’s family.

“The big picture here is that heroin and pain pills are destroying families,” she said.

County Prosecutor Dean Holman said he was satisfied with the verdict.

“The facts of this case show how dangerous heroin actually is,” Holman said. “I’m pleased with the work of the police and Matt Razavi, who tried the case.”

He said the case was tough because it was sad.

“This is a tragic loss,” he said. “A young girl with a life in front of her died days before her graduation.”

At Graham’s trial, witness Jason Gangle testified that he bought the drugs in Cleveland with Graham’s cash and took a “finder’s fee” from her money.

Gangle, 23, of Medina, was sentenced Thursday to nine months in prison for his part in Brittnee’s death. He had pleaded no contest to two counts of complicity to traffic heroin, one a fifth-degree felony and one a first-degree misdemeanor.

He also pleaded guilty in a separate case to grand theft (firearm), a third-degree felony.

Gangle admitted at sentencing that he too was an addict and said he wanted to overcome it, especially after Brittnee’s death.

Medina Police Chief Patrick Berarducci said he thought Kimbler made the right call.

“With this verdict, we have convicted both people involved in the death and sent a strong message to the community about our resolve,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “We work every overdose like a homicide investigation and pursue the dealers like we would a gunman.

“There is a price to pay for dealing heroin in Medina.”

He thanked his detectives — especially Sgt. Brett McNabb and Josh Grusendorf — for their work on building a case against Graham.

“I hope this prosecution gives Brittnee’s family some comfort,” Berarducci said.

http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2014/08/05/recovering-addict-guilty-providing-drugs-teen-overdosed/

 

Alcoholics Anonymous Member Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charges

This sick Child porn distributor became an AA member after his arrest on child pornography charges. He got off easy with only 10 days in jail and probation. He was facing 10 years! AA helped this dirt bag get the AA get out of jail card.

Man gets jail and probation for child porn

 November 08, 2013 11:00 pm  •  Andrea J. Cook Journal staff

A Rapid City man will spend time in jail and on probation after pleading guilty to child pornography charges.

Circuit Judge Robert Mandel suspended the execution of two concurrent five-year prison sentences for 41-year-old Waylen S. Block, but imposed a 10-day jail sentence and three years probation when Block appeared for sentencing Friday.

Block was charged with three counts of possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography in March. He pleaded guilty to two charges, related to images found on his computer.

Pennington County State’s Attorney Gina Nelson left the sentencing to Mandel but informed him that it was the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that alerted local officers to Block’s conduct. He was posting graphic downloaded images of small children on an adult site, she said. AA Meetings in Holly Hill Parks

Nelson recommended a prison sentence.

Block’s attorney, Randall Connelly, said his client was a daily drinker who battled depression during the year he viewed the images. Block cooperated with investigators.

After his arrest, Block took “dramatic and aggressive steps to correct his behavior,” Connelly said. His client joined Alcoholics Anonymous and Sex Addicts Anonymous, the attorney said. Block faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine on each of the two counts he pleaded guilty to. Holly Hill Police Department Complaints.NA Daytona meetings in Daytona Beach Florida and Port Orange.

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/man-gets-jail-and-probation-for-child-porn/article_4321a768-e5d0-5f20-baf0-2efd0a52cbc4.html

Woman Pleads Guilty to Trying to Sell her Boyfriends 1 Month Old Baby is Mandated to Narcotics Anonymous Meetings

JULY 30, 2013

Woman pleads guilty to trying to sell baby in Hood County

073013 Heather Wall
A 25-year-old woman has pleaded guilty in a Hood County court and received a 10-year suspended sentence for her role in trying to sell her boyfriend’s 1-month-old child.Heather Janette Wall (right) of  Mabank, northwest of Athens, pled guilty to the third-degree felony on Monday. She must complete eight years of supervised probation, enter a substance abuse program and attend Narcotics Anonymous.

073013 Randall Bonneville

According to earlier reports, Wall and her boyfriend, Randall Bonneville (left), were was arrested after they took the then 1-month-old daughter from her biological mother and attempted to sell her to Wall’s uncle in Hood County.

Read more here.

— Bill Miller

Read more here:

http://blogs.star-telegram.com/crime_time/2013/07/woman-pleads-guilty-to-trying-to-sell-baby-in-hood-county.html

Violent Woman Convicted Three Times for Stabbing Partner Attends Narcotics Anonymous Meetings

This very violent woman attends both AA meetings and NA meetings after being charged with stabbing her partner on 3 different occasions. So many violent criminals go to AA meetings before they are sentenced in hopes to impress the judge. Many defense attorneys tell their clients to do this no matter how violent the crime.

Campbell River woman avoids more jail for third stabbing

Published: June 06, 2013 

A woman convicted for the third time of stabbing her male partner is spending her time in rehab, but not jail.

Lena Walkus, 38, appeared in Campbell River provincial court on May 29, to be sentenced for assault causing bodily harm.

According to Crown prosecutor Adrienne Venturini, it’s the third time Walkus has been convicted in connection with a domestic stabbing assault.

Venturini asked the court to impose nine more months of jail time, but instead, Judge Roderick Sutton delayed sentencing a few days to allow Walkus to immediately enter residential treatment in Alert Bay.According to defence lawyer Angie Penhall, Walkus grew up in Vancouver and began drinking at age 12 or 13. At 15, she began smoking marijuana and by 17 she was using crack cocaine. Continue reading

Wisconsin Narcotics Anonymous Member Arrested at Church for Attacking NA Members

Waukesha Wisconsin Narcotics Anonymous Member Samantha A. Mueller attacked fellow NA members including a 16 year old minor boy that spilled outside of St. Luke Church 300 Carroll St., Waukesha , Wisconsin 53186  when she accused people of trash talking about her. She even assaulted the police when they arrived.

When are these churches going to see what a liability having pagan NA 12 step meetings at their churches? I hope this church asked this NA group to carry liability insurance.

Waukesha woman charged with attacking others at N.A. meeting

March 15, 2013

 An 18-year-old Waukesha woman could face more than 16 years in prison after allegedly attacking several people, including arresting officers, following a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in the City of Waukesha.

Samantha A. Mueller was charged on March 14 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with physical abuse of a child, attempted battery of a peace officer, resisting an officer, causing injury, two counts of misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct.

Continue reading

Mandated AA Member Kills Dad With Baseball Bat after Plotting to Murder His Family According to Arrest Report

Tuckercipriano

Social media offers peek into Tucker Cipriano’s life before attack

June 1, 2012  |

 Nearly two months before he was accused of attacking his family, Tucker Cipriano asked friends on Facebook whether anyone went to local Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

According to police reports, Cipriano was known to use synthetic marijuana and was said to have stolen from his parents.

Social media has offered a glimpse into the life of Cipriano, 19, who is accused along with a friend of breaking into his parents’ home on April 16, beating his father to death with an aluminum bat and nearly killing his mother and one of his brothers.

A Feb. 26 message on Cipriano’s Facebook page — he posted under the name Johnathen Kodiak Hammond — asked: “anyone go to any A.A. meetings around farmington?” A later message, responding to someone giving a meeting location, said: “u go? i need someone to go with.”

Continue reading

12 STEP Troubled Teen School Silverado Academy Utah Employee Rapes Students

Silverado Ranch in Panguitch, Utah is a troubled teen boarding school that incorporates the 12 step program for teens that come through their door. Eric Allen Glossen charged with sexually abusing at least kids at the ranch. This is an outrage that this was allowed to happen to these boys. It is down the road from Troubled Teen School Sorenson’s Ranch in Koosharem, Utah run by Mormons. It also has kids attending AA meetings.

Continue reading

Narcotics Anonymous Members Charged in Brutal Killing Of 19 Year Old Teenager

Narcotics Anonymous members James Ayers and Nicole Okrzesik, are charged in the brutal murder of 19 year old Juliana Mensch. James Ayers was on pre-trial release on a drug charge when he murdered Juliana Mensch. Continue reading

AA Member Bronco Branko Busick West Virginia Linebacker Sentenced In Felony Assault

Amazing, no jail time for AA Member Branko Busick who was arrested on felony assault charges. Even though a gun was used in one of the assaults  that included robbery, this man walks free. His AA sponsor was a character reference, and spoke about Branko Busick at trial! So much for AA trying to say they are not affiliated with the judicial system, and helping criminals with the “AA get out of jail card!” Continue reading

NCJFCJ Does Not Recommend AA or NA Meetings For Juveniles

The National Council Of Juvenile and Family Court Judges does not recommend AA or NA meetings for juveniles for a variety of reasons. It is good to see some common sense being used, and to let the Judges know that 12 step programs have proved to not be beneficial for the majority of youths. Most do not fit the criteria for substance use disorder ( SUD).  Feeling safe and being safe is another noted concern. Here are some highlights from the NCJFCJ opinion on the matter of 12 step groups and minors / youths.

Considering sexual predators and violent felons including rapists and murderers are mandated to AA and NA, no wonder their are safety concerns.

Continue reading

Ex-Con Alcoholics Anonymous Member Arrested During Drug Raid That Uncovered Drugs And Handgun

AA member Leslie Mitchell who was an ex-con had his home raided and he had eight small marijuana plants, cocaine, steroid pills, liquid steroids, drug paraphernalia, $3,590 in cash, a .22 caliber handgun and a magazine containing seven rounds of ammunition. He had been on probation for having 16 ounces of heroin! He only served 9 months in jail.

AA Member Busted

VINELAND — An ex-con enrolled in the state’s intensive supervision program (ISP) who was arrested March 7 on drug and weapons charges had been visited just four days earlier by an ISP officer, a state judiciary spokeswoman said.

Leslie H. Mitchell, 43, was charged with multiple counts of drug possession and distribution offenses, as well as violation of parole after police made the discovery March 7. He is accused of growing marijuana, possessing a handgun and selling cocaine and two types of steroids.

“The last visit was March 3,” said Tamara Kendig, spokeswoman for the New Jersey State Judiciary, which runs the intensive supervision program.

“This person had reported to the ISP office on March 5, two days before the arrest. An officer was scheduled to visit the home later in the evening on March 7. He had already observed the arrest though and so did not go through with the visit.” Mitchell was allowed into the ISP on Jan. 27, 2011. He had originally been imprisoned on May 11, 2010, after he was convicted of possession of more than five ounces of heroin. Captain Thomas Ulrich of the Vineland Police Department said he had been caught with 16-ounces of the substance.

He could have received a maximum sentence of eight years, but was released after less than nine months in prison.
ISP is a program in which convicts are released early from prison and are allowed to stay out so long as they follow a set of guidelines.

“Generally speaking, the guidelines are the same,” said Kendig. “You’re required to maintain employment, and he was employed. Curfews are imposed, although the curfew can change. Depending on whether someone’s compliant, as you move along they may change your curfew a little bit. You’re required to pay outstanding fines.”

She added that Mitchell did have one violation during his release for possession of alcohol in April 2011.

“He was required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and had been in attendance,” she said.

He also had paid $4,380 out of $4,630 in fines that he owed.

When police executed a warrant and raided Mitchell’s apartment, he had eight small marijuana plants, cocaine, steroid pills, liquid steroids, drug paraphernalia, $3,590 in cash, a .22 caliber handgun and a magazine containing seven rounds of ammunition.

The ATF is tracing the weapon.

Mitchell was lodged in the Cumberland County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail as well as a no-bail warrant for violating his parole.

http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2012/03/officer_visited_vineland_ex-co.html

12 Stepper Employed At Project 90 Rehab Found Guilty Of Murder

The retrial of Mohammed Haroon Ali found him guily of first degree murder. He was once known for his sponsoring of young people when he worked at Project 90 San Mateo CA, a 12 step based facility. It named after the suggestion of ‘ 90 meetings in ninety days. Ali murdered his girlfriend Tracy Biltnikoffs at the substance abuse rehab with a Narcotics Anonymous meetings going on at the time.

Biletnikoff re-trial: killer takes stand
By John Servatius

Already in prison for first-degree murder and a 64 year-to-life sentence, former CSM student Mohammed Haroon Ali took the witness stand Feb. 29 in a bid for a voluntary manslaughter conviction and time served. This comes during his second trial in the strangling death of Tracey Biletnikoff on Feb. 15, 1999. She was the daughter of Fred Biletnikoff, the Oakland Raiders’ wide-receiver and Hall-of-Famer.
In 2009, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco overturned Ali’s conviction, citing racial discrimination as the reason that at least one African-American was left off the jury. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the appellate decision in 2010. Ali’s retrial began Jan. 25 in Redwood City.

snip

The buzz around Friendship Hall, the P-90 facility in downtown San Mateo that Monday evening was that Ali had relapsed, and that he wanted Biletnikoff’s car keys.

The witnesses were recovering substance abusers waiting for a Narcotics Anonymous meeting to begin. Jean San Genito-Martin, R.N. and Paula Panizzi, a contract manager with county alcohol and drug recovery services, testified that many of those present outside the building were against Biletnikoff giving Ali the keys. Biletnikoff was also in the crowd.

Ali was in his office in the back of the facility playing computer games. Biletnikoff went to see him at the urging of Paul Galindo. At one point, according to witnesses, she was sitting on Ali’s lap, consoling him.
According to detectives and the defendant’s own statements, Ali grabbed Biletnikoff’s keys out of her hands when she wouldn’t give them up or give him a ride to relatives.

She was standing in front of the office door, which was closed, blocking the defendant’s escape. He put his hands on her shoulders “to move her,” he said, because of the difficulty in getting past her. She slapped him several times, calling him various expletives and a loser. His hands went from her shoulders to her neck.
After that, the defendant said, he drew a blank.

http://www.sanmatean.com/biletnikoff-re-trial-killer-takes-stand-1.2813473?MMode=true#.T2Pc_BHOxOE

Another Article

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/15/BAAK1NLC68.DTL&tsp=1

Alcoholics Anonymous Member Pulls Gun On AA Member At Church Meeting

Police: Man pulled gun at church AA meeting, charged with assault
Published On: Dec 29 2011 12:25:45 PM EST

Drug Dealing

The stories just keep coming! Here an AA member at St John’s Church pulled a gun on another Alcoholics Anonymous member accusing him of selling drugs to AA members in the church bathroom. I hope the church and the AA group have a good insurance policy.

Police: Man pulled gun at church AA meeting

POTTSTOWN, Pa. –
A man was arrested Wednesday after police said he pulled a gun at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Robert Ortgiesen was taken into custody at his home on Annette Dr. in Limerick Twp., Montgomery Co., and charged with assault, police said.

A man told police Ortgiesen, 47, pulled the gun after an argument outside St. John’s Church on Church St. in Pottstown, according to court documents. He said Ortgiesen then followed him inside the church.

Ortgiesen allegedly made a threat and then left in his car.

Ortgiesen told police he confronted the man because he was selling drugs to AA members in the church bathroom, according to court documents.

http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-southeasternpa/Police-Man-pulled-gun-at-church-AA-meeting-charged-with-assault/-/121434/7227936/-/tmyk15/-/

‘Mothers With A Purpose’ Fighting Teen Drug Problems Sends Them To AA Meetings

These two Mom’s met at an AA meeting and ended up starting ‘Mothers With A Purpose’. If you notice all they are offering the teens is to attend AA and NA meetings. They do not point out that AA and NA have no meetings for minors. There are only adult meetings with court mandated felons. It is great to see an effort being put out to reach teens.
They need to offer them something other than the 12 step program. www.smartrecovery.org has teen literature for those that want to start a teen meeting in their area that is non-religious and science based.

Local Moms Fighting That Drug Problem on Our Doorstep
Meet the Pleasanton moms and founders of Mothers with a Purpose, who want to beat the pervasive drug problem through education.

By Autumn Johnson and Tanya Rose Email the authors March 8, 2012

In July of 2010, when Donna and Kelly spearheaded Mothers With a Purpose, a group that provides support and raises awareness for families battling prescription pill addictions, they had no idea they would end up foraging friendships from working through the pain. The duo met when Kelly recognized Donna’s son while attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with her own son. The two mothers connected and realized their children were going through a similar battle of prescription drug addiction.

After meeting for hours and crying over the agony of the opiate addictions their children were fighting, they decided to take action and to start a support group. They have asked that their last names not be used, to protect the privacy of themselves and their families. Donna recruited other families in the community who were suffering from the same problem. The group rapidly grew from the two tenacious mothers to now close to 100 people.

“Forty years ago, addicts were seen as the scum of the earth,” said a former addict, who has spoken before the group about his own struggles in an effort to help Pleasanton kids who are suffering. “Today, it can be a child from a family that makes a million dollars. It’s not someone who lives in alleys; it’s your own neighborhoods.”

Mothers With a Purpose meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month at Foothill High School in Pleasanton. They welcome anyone who wants to attend and both say it takes courage to walk through the door of those meetings to face and work through their worst fears.

The former speaker said that before Mothers with a Purpose, there wasn’t really an organization out there solely for support.”The best way to get help was to talk to another parent in the same situation,” he said. “There’s no place to turn — it’s not like you can go to church and ask around. It’s really a hidden thing.”

“Everyone is hurting from something,” says Donna.

According to Donna, the mission statement of the group is to provide total awareness, support and resources to those children and families confronting and struggling with the disease of addiction.

The group, which has recently become a non-profit organization, has had overwhelming support from the Pleasanton Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office in Pleasanton and the Pleasanton Unified School District.

In addition to the bi-monthly meetings and a website that offers many resources, Donna and Kelly attend local drug and alcohol forums. They often bring children to speak who are recovering addicts. After the forums, parents usually thank the pair for their candor. Both agree that the disease of addiction, specifically prescription pill addiction, is a nation-wide problem. Locally, they say the knowledge of this problem in the schools and in the community still shocks residents.

Donna says every parent should have to go through a class before their kids start school. “[This experience] teaches you different areas you need to balance,” says Kelly. “I look at life differently now. When it happens, you are a fish out of water. It is a life-time journey.”

Donna says her biggest challenge in starting the group has been standing up in public forums. For Kelly, the biggest challenge has been getting parents to listen. “Listening is what is going to cause change,” said Kelly. “The only way to beat this is to educate people.”

“It is our recovery too,” added Donna. “If I had had this education growing up, maybe things would have been different,” the forum speaker said. “I didn’t even know what an alcoholic was; I just knew that I did drugs and I did it well and I loved it. Every day, I struggled with addiction but now I have tools so I don’t need to do drugs. I can cope with life.

“It is all about the parents being educated,” he says, noting that he knows of a parent of a drug-addicted teen who wanted to take her own life, because she didn’t know what else to do and felt so desperate.

http://pleasanton.patch.com/articles/prescription-pill-problem-on-your-doorstep

Young People Attending Alcoholics Anonymous Puff Piece

They really sugar coat Alcoholics Anonymous in this puff piece about AA and young people. The article offers no possible options to AA other than the 12 step program. No mention of the fact that courts are mandating criminals in droves to these meetings without warning anyone. Typical media bias.

Young people turn to AA to break the grip of alcohol and drugs
BY ERIC ADLER
The Kansas City Star


• 69 percent of college graduates were current drinkers (at least one drink in the past 30 days) in 2010. That compares with 37 percent of adults with less than a high school education.
• Among full-time college students ages 18-22, 63 percent were current drinkers in 2010; 42 percent were binge drinkers; and 16 percent were heavy drinkers. Those numbers are higher than those for other adults ages 18-22 (non-college students and part-time college students): 52 percent were current drinkers, 36 percent were binge drinkers and 12 percent were heavy drinkers.

Names in this story
The Kansas City Star does not publish stories quoting anonymous sources unless there is a compelling reason to do so. Some of the subjects in this story were willing to use their full names, but because the guarantee of anonymity is such a bedrock part of Alcoholics Anonymous’ ethos, The Star agreed to abide by AA’s tradition of identifying individuals only by single, but actual, names.

LAWRENCE — Tall and lithe, 23-year-old Suzanne — once known to her University of Kansas sorority sisters as “Boozin’ Susan” — carries a load of folding chairs into a Sixth Street mini-mall storefront and arranges them in a circle.

Ten young people amble in and, over the next hour, tell why they’re here.

“Hi, I’m Claire, and I’m an alcoholic.” Age 23.

“Hi, I’m Matt, and I’m an alcoholic.” Age 25.

“Hi, I’m Jean, and I’m an alcoholic and an addict.” Age 17. She first got drunk on vodka when she was 8.

There is Stephanie, 20, and two seats away a 19-year-old addict fresh to sobriety. There are Mike and Will, both under 26.

Two sorority girls. A couple of athletes. Gen-Y’ers, children of affluence and of poverty. One young man’s abstemious parents never raised a bottle. Others barely remember mom or dad without a drink or drug in hand.

At a time when binge drinking remains at epidemic levels, and as tens of thousands of high school and college students begin packing for spring break destinations where alcohol flows freely, thousands of other young people nationwide will flow into meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, having concluded that what they once thought was a rite of youth is an addiction.

Young people in their 20s and even late teens have been part of AA from some of its earliest years, not long after Bill Wilson founded the fellowship in 1935 on a 12-step approach.

At the core of AA is a shared belief that, powerless in the face of their addictions, alcoholics and other addicts work to remain sober one day at a time, lean on others for support and rely on what in AA parlance is one’s “H.P.,” or higher power, or God.

Because of AA’s ways — no dues, no fees, no formal membership rosters and only periodic surveys of attendees — it’s impossible to say exactly how many young people are attending the fellowship’s meetings.

What is clear, researchers say, is that although AA does not work for everyone, for young people who stick to its tenets, it can offer a lifeline in a culture where the pressure to drink is often overwhelming.

“Basically, young people benefit from going,” said Harvard University’s John Kelly, an addiction recovery researcher at the Massachusetts General Hospital who in 2008 published a study that followed 16-year-olds from a San Diego rehab clinic for eight years.

“The strongest predictor of recovery was attendance at AA,” Kelly said. “For every single meeting they attended, they gained an extra two days of abstinence.”

There is testament: Shirley, 58, of Kansas City entered 37 years ago at age 21 and has never relapsed. She knows others, at 40 and 50, who came in at age 18.

“It is absolutely doable,” she said. “The simple point of it is whether you no longer want to live that way. We all have to grow up. That’s part of life. In a way it’s an advantage (entering recovery early). I had to grow up anyway. I had help.”

Come September, the 54th annual International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous is to be held in St. Louis. Some 3,000 young people are expected to attend.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/03/3467414/young-people-turn-to-aa-to-break.html

Violent Felon Who Led Police On 100-MPH Chase On Christmas Eve Is Sentenced to Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings

Rickey Lee Lidel broke the nose of a person and threatened to stab him. The victim called police and then there was a high speed chase. Here is another violent felon mandated to the rooms Of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Published March 07, 2012, 12:00 AM
Man who led deputies on high-speed chase on Christmas Eve sentenced
A Bemidji man who led area law enforcement on a 100-mph chase on Christmas Eve was sentenced in Beltrami County District Court on Monday. Pioneer Staff Report, Bemidji Pioneer

A Bemidji man who led area law enforcement on a 100-mph chase on Christmas Eve was sentenced in Beltrami County District Court on Monday.

District Judge Paul T. Benshoof ordered Ricky Lee Lidel, 56, to serve 109 days in jail, stayed for two years, with 73 days credited for time served.

The judge also ordered Lidel to serve two years of supervised probation, attend weekly Alcoholic Anonymous meetings for sixth months and pay $1,300 in fines.

Lidel pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and possessing an assault weapon while having a previous felony conviction.

According to an earlier news release issued by the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office:

An assault victim suffered a broken nose in a violent encounter with Lidel, who threatened to stab the person with a knife at the victim’s home.

After receiving the call, deputies spotted a silver Grand Am, described by the victim, and attempted to stop Lidel.

However, Lidel drove east on the U.S. Highway 2 bypass from Division Street, leading authorities on a pursuit reaching speeds higher than 100 mph. Lidel stopped the car on Highway 2 and attempted to flee on foot when deputies arrested him.

http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/100037514/

Drug Court Participants Mandated To Narcotics Anonymous Sent To Prison

Many people do not realize with all the puff pieces on Drug Courts, how many participants actually fail in the program. Drug courts results are only based on the people who completed the entire program. These men who were sent to prison that were in the Drug Court program will not be counted, because they did not complete it in it’s entirety. This is not a proper way to see drug courts success or failure.

This article also points out that many people participating in Drug Court are still committing crimes and using drugs while in the program. They do not need to be mandated to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings where many vulnerable members of society including minors attend. They end up in our parks and playgrounds in Holly Hill Fl.

Two who failed drug court sent to prison

Brett Ellis/Fremont Tribune | Posted: Tuesday, March 6, 2012 8:33 am

Two people who failed to complete drug court were sentenced to prison on Monday.
Judge Geoffrey Hall sentenced 29-year-old Ricardo Mendez of Fremont to 20 months to 5 years in prison for possession of methamphetamine, a Class IV felony.Mendez admitted to selling bath salts to fellow drug court participants and using synthetic marijuana while he was in the program.

“He turned drug court into a criminal enterprise,” Deputy Dodge County Attorney Mark Boyer said. “I can’t think of a much worse thing to do in drug court than trying to drag other people in the program down the drain.”
Mendez said he accepted responsibility for his actions but said the people he sold bath salts to chose to make those purchases.Hall, though, said Mendez was a “devious leader” who had a bad influence on other drug court participants.

“I believe your conduct in drug court is the worst kind possible because you took other people down with you,” Hall said. Hall also sentenced 20-year-old Zackery Carlstrom of Fremont to 20 months to 5 years in prison for terroristic threats, a Class IV felony. Boyer said Carlstrom reported using methamphetamine, cocaine, alcohol and marijuana while in drug court. Carlstrom also absconded twice from the program. “You had some successes,” Hall said. “However, the failures far outweigh those successes.” Hall also encouraged Carlstrom to use his talents in positive ways in the future. “Grow a backbone,” the judge said. “Do the hard right instead of the easy wrong.” Also on Monday, 26-year-old Anthony Martinez of Fremont was sentenced to 20 months to 5 years for terroristic threats and a year in prison for third-degree domestic assault, a Class I misdemeanor. The sentences will run consecutive to each other.

Martinez also was sentenced to 90 days in jail for criminal mischief, a Class II misdemeanor, and that will run concurrent with the other sentence. Hall also ordered Martinez to pay $400 in restitution.Chief Deputy Dodge County Attorney Stacey Hultquist asked for the maximum sentence based Martinez’s criminal history, which includes multiple arrests every year since 2004.

“This is a person who cannot be a productive person in our society and continues to get in trouble,” Hultquist said.
Martinez apologized to the female victim and her family. “That’s not how I was raised,” he said. “I know better than that.” Hall said probation was not an option for Martinez because of his criminal history.

http://fremonttribune.com/news/local/two-who-failed-drug-court-sent-to-prison/article_7eaca096-6799-11e1-b8d5-001871e3ce6c.html?mode=comments

Eli Coffey Who Threatened To Kill Restaurant Staff Is Mandated To Alcoholics Anonymous

After Being thrown out of a T.G.I. Friday, Eli Michael Coffey ended up threatening to kill the staff. At sentencing he got a slap on the wrist and mandated to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

Woodbury Man Given 20 Days In Jail For Threatening to Kill Local Restaurant Manager Eli Michael Coffey, 30, was also give four years probation and ordered to attend AA.

By Jeff Roberts

A 30-year-old Woodbury man was sentenced to 20 days in jail and four years of probation after being convicted on Feb. 10 of a felony county of making terroristic threats.

Eli Michael Coffey was originally charged with a second felony—pattern of stalking conduct—but Washington County District Court Judge Mary Hannon dismissed that charge in exchange for Coffey’s guilty plea.

Hannon also ordered Coffey to abstain from alcohol and drug use, attend a six-month Alcoholics Anonymous program and submit to a mental health evaluation.

According to a Washington County summons complaint, Coffey threatened to kill a manager and staff member at the old T.G.I. Friday’s after being kicked out of the restaurant for being too intoxicated.

The complaint states Woodbury police caught up with Coffey at Sunsets later that evening to warn him to stay away from T.G.I. Friday’s but that the man called the restaurant three times to issue the threats after police left him.

Had he been sentenced to the maximum penalty, Coffey would have spent five years in prison and been forced to pay a $10,000 fine.

http://woodbury.patch.com/articles/woodbury-man-given-20-days-in-jail-for-threatening-to-kill-local-restaurant-manager#comment_2624324

Chardon High School Shooter T. J. Lane Charged In Killings

The Judge lifted a ban on pictures being taken of T.J. Lane or his family after news circuits filed complaints. A win for photographers rights!

It appears T.J. Lane had been charged in the past with assault, and his brother was involved In Narcotics Anonymous for a heroin addiction when he was a minor.


TJ Lane

CHARDON, Ohio – The tumultuous home life of T.J. Lane spun into violence on a Wednesday night in December 2009.

By Aaron Josefczyk, Reuters
T.J. Lane, 17, is escorted Tuesday into the Geauga County Courthouse Annex by deputies for his court appearance in Chardon, Ohio.

He was 15 and living with his older brother and younger sister at the home of his grandparents. They had taken custody of the kids after the children’s mother split with T.J.’s father, a sometimes steelworker with a record of domestic violence. The grandparents had gone out, leaving the kids with their 44-year-old uncle, John Breuning. The household was tense, police later noted, because T.J. had refused to go to a volunteer service job required by his school.
Around 8 p.m., according to a police report, T.J.’s 16-year-old brother got into a fight with Breuning, who wanted the boy to go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting because of his “known heroin addiction.” T.J. joined the fray — he later said he was trying to protect his brother — and by the time police arrived, Breuning was bloodied and wanted to press charges against both boys.

T.J.’s grandparents returned, and the chaos continued. The grandmother “was difficult to calm down,” police later wrote, because she feared that Breuning’s charges would derail the older brother’s court-ordered drug rehabilitation program. She “continued to yell” at the boys, Breuning and his wife, who had called the police when the fight broke out.

Read More-

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-29/chardon-ohio-school-shooting-tj-lane/53309676/1

NA Member Heiress Victoria Scripps-Carmody Ran Crack House In Vermont

The famous heiress Victoria Scripps-Carmody who has a long rap sheet with drug arrests, recieved treatment at The Refuge Treatment Center located in Ocala, Florida. The Rufuge Treatment Center is based on a 12 step program. After leaving treatment there she got kicked out of a halfway house in Florida. It looks like being an heiress is helping her in court.

Victoria Scripps-Carmody

Newspaper heiress admits running a crack house in Vt.
By Mike Donoghue, Burlington (Vt.) Free Press Updated 1h 23m ago
Comments
BURLINGTON, VT — Newspaper heiress Victoria Scripps-Carmody, who was set to go on trial in March on federal drug charges, could spend another three months in prison after admitted she ran a crack house in Burlington.

Scripps-Carmody, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington to maintaining an apartment in Burlington and using it for distributing heroin and cocaine.
The government agreed to offer Scripps-Carmody a sentence equal to the time she spends in prison awaiting sentencing, which is set for June, plus two months she already has served.
Scripps-Carmody is the great-great-great-granddaughter of the founder of the Detroit News, James E. Scripps, and a descendant of the family that founded the E.W. Scripps Co., a media company that owns newspapers, television stations and the Scripps-Howard News Service.
Scripps-Carmody was 3½ years old when she saw her father kill her mother, Anne Scripps Douglas, with a claw hammer as the mother slept in their Bronxville mansion on New Year’s Eve 1993.
Her father drove his BMW to the Tappan Zee Bridge and jumped off, killing himself. The case generated headlines across the nation.
Scripps-Carmody later was adopted by her aunt and uncle and was brought up in rural Charlotte, Vt., in an effort to get her away from the limelight of New York and the publicity surrounding her parents’ case.
Her adopted parents, her lawyers and law-enforcement officials have told the Burlington Free Press that Scripps-Carmody has struggled with drug addiction in recent years.
Judge William K. Sessions III expressed some concern about the plea agreement, which is binding on both sides, but not on him.
“I want to know that you are involved in treatment and that you have your head on straight,” the judge told Scripps-Carmody. “This is a turning point in your life.”
She said prison has not been helping, and treatment is what she needs.
“I feel like I’m going crazy. It’s not helping at all,” she said about her stay at the state prison in South Burlington. “They don’t offer me treatment in jail.”
Scripps-Carmody, who was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, began to weep as the judge started to question her about whether she understood what was happening.
“She’s upset, but she understands the consequences,” defense attorney David Williams said. Scripps-Carmody said she was satisfied with her defense lawyers and had discussed all possible defenses.
Scripps-Carmody, known by her friends as Tori, spent about one month in prison following her August arrest, and was later released on conditions, including going to rehab in Florida. She was returned to jail about a month ago on allegations she violated those conditions by getting thrown out of a halfway house in Florida.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-29/newspaper-heiress-scripps-crack/53298796/1

Swat Team Called To The AA Arid Club For Man With a Loaded .22-caliber Hangun

These Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings Are Getting more and more dangerous!

Armed Man Arrested at Las Cruces AA Club
By ABQnews Staff on Tue, Feb 28, 2012

A man wearing camouflage and body armor, armed with a loaded .22-caliber handgun, entered the Arid Club at 334 W. Griggs Ave. in Las Cruces around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, prompting a SWAT call-out that ended about an hour later with the man in custody, Las Cruces police said in a news release.

Noe Jimenez, 37, a convicted felon who admitted smoking methamphetamine before the incident and told hostage negotiators that he wanted to be killed by police, was struck by two beanbag rounds and sent to the ground, then struck a K-9 dog with a chair and punched the animal several times before a Taser was deployed and Jimenez was subdued, the release said.

Jimenez was being held at the Dona Ana County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond, facing one count each of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and injury to a police dog, police said. Additional charges are possible.

Police said another person was inside the building for a short time after Jimenez entered but was able to leave unharmed after attempting to engage Jimenez in conversation.

Jimenez, who has placed the loaded gun on a countertop before SWAT officers entered the building, was also found to be in possession of nunchucks, the release said.

A search of his vehicle that was parked outside the club turned up an ammunition pouch with 45 additional rounds, police said.

The Arid Club is described as a treatment center in downtown Las Cruces and hosts meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous.

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/02/28/abqnewsseeker/armed-man-arrested-at-las-cruces-aa-club.html

Alcoholics Anonymous Member Arrested For Stealing From 78 Year Old AA Member

Timothy D. Gilbert ripped off a 78 year old elderly man he met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. He told police he had fallen off the wagon and was doing heroin. Gilbert was already facing theft charges at the time. He was probably attending AA to receive a lighter sentence. Then this poor man gets ripped off.

Man indicted for stealing from senior he met at support group
JESSICA CUFFMAN

JAN 20 2012
PORT CLINTON
A Marblehead man already indicted for theft faces additional charges after he’s been accused of stealing from a 78-year-old man he met at an addiction support group.

Timothy D. Gilbert, 41, who’s behind bars at the Ottawa County jail on $50,000 bond, was indicted by a grand jury this week.

Bank employees called police in mid-December when they noticed the elderly victim making unusual withdrawals from his account, according to Port Clinton police reports.

The victim, a 78-year-old widower, told police he met Gilbert at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Gilbert said his father had recently died and left him a large inheritance, but he needed other money to pay legal fees to obtain the inheritance.

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the widower gave Gilbert $11,000 from two bank accounts, according to police reports.

Gilbert asked the man to make checks out to people with different names, which Gilbert then cashed and kept for himself or paid to others for debts, police said.

When confronted by Det. Sgt. Corbin Carpenter, Gilbert said he was only borrowing the money, but changed his story multiple times to try to explain why.

Later, on the way to the jail, Gilbert told another officer he “fell off the wagon” and was abusing heroin again.

While investigating the case, Carpenter learned from Danbury Township Police that they had handled several calls complaining about Gilbert trying to scam people out of money by telling them he needed help getting his father’s inheritance.

Carpenter also checked to see who Gilbert’s father was, learned he died in 2010 and there was no inheritance.

Gilbert faces a felony charge of theft from an elderly person, for which he could be sentenced up to three years in prison.

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/port-clinton/news/2012/jan/20/man-indicted-stealing-senior-he-met-support-group

Montreal Killer Goes To Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings

Patrick Belanger who killed Leonard Wells gets to leave prison early for being an Alcoholics Anonymous member before sentencing. I feel for the other members who attended the same meetings !

Day parole for man who killed convicted pedophile
Posted By: Shuyee Lee slee@astral.com · 11/28/2011 2:03:00 PM

A 28-year-old Montreal man is getting out on day parole, after serving a third of his sentence for killing his neighbour who was a convicted pedophile.

Patrick Bélanger heaved a sigh of relief as the parole board announced its decision after half an hour of deliberation, Bélanger later giving his dad a big hug outside the hearing room.

Bélanger had 25 months left to serve of his three year sentence for manslaughter, less time served in detention. He was drunk and severely beat Leonard Wells after finding kiddie porn on his computer in July 2009. Wells died later in hospital.

snip

Bélanger told the board his first goal was to stay sober and to get his life back on track after a vicious circle of alcohol and drugs such as cocaine and heroin starting at age 11, calling it a sad and disgusting lifestyle. Bélanger said it helped fill a void left by an absent father and a mother who also dealt with drug and alcohol problems.

The parole board granted him day parole, citing Belanger’s low risk of being a repeat offender and his exemplary behaviour at the Ste-Anne-des-Plaines prison. The board said the most striking thing was that Bélanger initiated the process of change even before being incarcerated, such as starting therapy, going to AA meetings and going back to school to study welding.

Belanger will stay in a halfway house, can’t touch drugs or alcohol or be anywhere near a place or people that deal with the substances, and must continue psychological counselling.

http://www.cjad.com/CJADLocalNews/entry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10318807