Altamonte Springs Police Hunt for Serial Attacker

Altamonte Springs Police are actively searching for a who allegedly has been preying on women in late-night attacks.
The wave of fear has gripped Altamonte Springs as police intensify their search heading into the weekend hours near the intersection of Waymore Road and State Road 436.
'With me having a child so young It's not something I am comfortable with happening in my area,' said Shauna Brownlowe, an Altamonte Springs Resident.
Police urge the community to remain vigilant after three women were assaulted in separate incidents, all occurring between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.
The latest attack happened Sunday night outside a popular Mexican restaurant, where employees who did not want to be named said a female DoorDash driver fell victim to the violent ambush.
The employee said the woman grabbed her order, walked out the front door, and was attacked. They said her attacker was a young Caucasian man wearing dark-colored clothing.
Surveillance video from outside the restaurant showed the unsettling moments leading up to the assault. The assault, not in view of the camera, showed the man pacing anxiously outside the entrance, waiting for his target. As soon as she stepped outside, he struck.
This is the third reported incident of its kind, with two other women attacked in recent weeks under eerily similar circumstances. Investigators are working to determine whether the suspect is deliberately stalking his victims before launching his assaults.
Residents we spoke with said they are increasingly alarmed as police urge women, especially those out during late hours, to take extra precautions.
Altamonte Springs Police said it is reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses along Waymore Road, State Road 436, and Douglas Avenue to track down the suspect before he strikes again.
Police said the suspect is described as a possible White or Hispanic male with dark hair, wearing dark clothing and white shoes. Witnesses advised he is approximately 6 feet tall with a slim build. He appears to be in his 20s or 30s.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents or who can identify the suspect should contact the Altamonte Springs Police Department at (407) 339-2441 or dial 911. Anonymous tips go through Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.
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7 hours ago

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50 Genuinely Surprising Historical Facts

Until the 18th century, it was common practice to put animals on trial. What were their crimes, you ask? Rodents and other pests were often tried for damaging crops, while pigs were often tried for the murder of children (with at least one executed by hanging). Bestiality was another crime that animals were tried for (despite certainly not being a willing participant). The guillotine was used as a method of execution in France until Sept. 10, 1977. The last person executed this way was Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend. France outlawed capital punishment in 1981, officially ending the usage of the guillotine. The world's oldest known joke dates back to 1900 BCE in Sumer and it was...a fart joke. Here it is: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap." I'm thinking the punch line was lost in translation?(The image above is an example of Sumerian writing from the time period of the fart joke and was recorded for posterity, but it's slightly more sophisticated — it's about medical practices.) The Tollund Man — a naturally mummified corpse of a man from the 5th century CE — was found in a bog in Denmark in 1950. His facial features were so well preserved that he was mistaken for a recent murder victim. A common ingredient in medicine until the 20th century was — yuck! — human remains. The remains were most commonly ground up into a fine powder that could be made into pills or stirred into drinks. It was believed that ingesting a certain part of the deceased's body would help to cure illnesses in that part of the body. For example, crushed skull powder was believed to cure headaches. Mexican General Santa Anna had an elaborate state funeral for his amputated leg. The general (and Mexican president) had to have his leg amputated after being hit with cannon fire during a battle against the French in the Pastry War of 1838–1839. Later, he ordered a lavish military-style ceremony (including cannon fire and poems), and buried it with honors. That isn't the end of his leg's, uh, leg-end. After Santa Anna fled the country following his failed administration, people dug up his leg and dragged it through the streets until nothing was left. Saddam Hussein was given the key to the city of Detroit in 1980. Backstory: After Hussein rose to power in the late '70s, Rev. Jacob Yasso of Chaldean Sacred Heart sent Hussein congratulations, and in return, Hussein donated $250,000 to the church. (Chaldeans are a Catholic group in the mainly Muslim Iraq.) Years later, the reverend visited Iraq and, with the mayor of Detroit's blessing, presented him with a key to the city. Billionaire Jeff Bezos is today's richest person with a net worth of $100+ billion, but, according to modern estimates, historical figures like Augustus Caesar and Mansa Musa (ruler of West Africa's Mali Empire in the 14th century) were likely trillionaires by today's standards. The first known vending machine was invented by Hero of Alexandria in ancient Egypt to dispense holy water. It worked a lot like modern vending machines — you inserted a coin, pushed down a lever, and got your soda...I mean holy water! Ketchup was originally sold as a medicine in the 19th century. In the 1830s, ketchup was sold as a medicine that could cure indigestion, diarrhea, and even jaundice. While the medicinal claims were later debunked, the condiment caught on. Man, I wish I lived in a time when a bunch of ketchup on fries was considered health food! Ancient Romans used urine as a cleaning agent for laundry. They didn't have soap back then, so they had to improvise. And, it turns out, stagnant urine was full of ammonia, which we still use to clean today. Beethoven continued to compose music even after becoming completely deaf at age 40 (16 years before his death). Despite being deaf, he still managed to compose one of his most famous symphonies — "Symphony No. 9," aka The Ninth. It goes without saying that it is pretty damn impressive! In 1931, psychologist Winthrop Kellogg and his wife Luella decided to raise their infant son, Donald, alongside a baby chimpanzee named Gua to see whether Gua could learn human behaviors and maybe even develop language. At first, Gua walked, understood commands, and even solved problems faster. But then something unexpected happened. Instead of Gua becoming more human, Donald started grunting like a chimp and copying Gua's behavior. Alarmed, the Kelloggs ended the experiment after just nine months. (Note: The above image is not of Donald and Gua, but some other kid/chimp combo from the '50s. What was going on back then, LOL?) The Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (where Mexico City now stands) was larger and more sophisticated than many European cities when the Spanish arrived in 1519. With an estimated population of 200,000–300,000 inhabitants, Tenochtitlan was significantly larger than London (which only had 50,000–70,000 people), and Paris (about 200,000). Tenochtitlan's infrastructure was better, too, with advanced aqueducts, causeways, floating agricultural fields, and even efficient waste management Spaniards' siege and the aftermath all but destroyed the great city that was. In 1518, a "dancing plague" in Strasbourg caused people to dance uncontrollably for days. It started when a woman named Frau Troffea began dancing uncontrollably. Within days, dozens of others joined her, and the phenomenon grew to involve hundreds of people. The "dancers" seemed unable to stop, with some collapsing or even dying from exhaustion, strokes, or heart did they do this, you ask? Some conjecture it was a case of mass hysteria, while another theory suggests that the dancers may have ingested bread contaminated with ergot, a toxic fungus. Ergot contains chemicals similar to yeah. The shortest war in history, between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896, lasted only 38 minutes. The war was fought over who should succeed the recently deceased pro-British Sultan. A Prince — Khālid bin Barghash — refused to let the British install another pro-British ruler and occupied the Sultan's palace. But when the Royal Navy fired on the palace, sending it up in flames and killing 500 of Khālid's men, that was pretty much all she wrote. Chopsticks predate the fork by some 4,500 years. The first forks were used by the ruling class in the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire around 1,000 A.D. They were frowned upon in Europe, though, for the next several hundred years because they were thought to be a tool of the devil. John Scott Harrison is the only person to watch both his father and son become president of the United States. For his part, John Scott Harrison was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio from 1853 to 1857. Not exactly president, but not bad! People were so afraid of being buried alive in the 18th and 19th century that inventors patented safety coffins that would give the "dead" the ability to alert those above ground if they were still alive. Speaking of being buried alive, military genius Alexander the Great may have been. The historical record of his death is filled with unusual details, including that his body didn't decompose at all in the six days following his supposed death (a fact many attributed to his divinity). Today, doctors believe it is possible he'd become paralyzed due to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré Syndrome, and was mistaken as dead as a result. Famously, in 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried the city of Pompeii in volcanic ash. What you might not know, though, is that the ash preserved a lot of everyday items. Below is a loaf of bread baked the morning of the eruption, so almost 2,000 years ago! The bread — which you can tell looked pretty damn tasty out of the oven — was found during the excavations in Pompeii. Marie Curie is the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (physics and chemistry). The pioneer in radiology was the first woman, the first double winner, and only in two sciences! The world's first recorded police force was established in ancient Egypt around 3000 BCE. Back then, Egypt was split into 42 jurisdictions, and the pharaoh would appoint an official for each one whose job was to ensure justice and security. Each official had a chief of police he worked with whose title was sab heri seker, or, when translated to English, 'chief of the hitters." Sounds like police work hasn't changed much over the years! In the 19th century, dentures were often made using the teeth of deceased soldiers. A famous example? Looters, uh, looted the teeth of the thousands of dead soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo and sold them for top dollar. Real teeth were in such demand, in fact, that many poor people sold their teeth right out of their mouths. Speaking of dentures, here is a photo of what's likely the most famous dentures ones belonging to George Washington, circa 1789–1799. It's commonly believed his dentures were made of wood, but these weren't — they were made of lead, human teeth, cow teeth, and elephant ivory. The dentures are on display in the museum located at Mount Vernon, Washington's former home and plantation, located in Fairfax County, Virginia. Humans, by the way, have been cleaning their teeth for thousands of years. For example, Egyptians invented toothpaste over 5,000 years ago using things like powdered ox hooves, eggshells, pumice, and water. Their formula was a little different than Colgate's — it included powdered ashes from oxen hooves, myrrh, egg shells, pumice, and water. Last one on teeth, I promise! Below is a teeth cleaning kit from 350 or so years ago in England — including a toothbrush, dental powder, and tongue scraper — and it looks pretty similar to what we use today. Before the Revolutionary War, the American colonies would vote by voice, often at places like carnivals where they may or may not have been drunk by the time voting happened. To vote, you just called out your choice. As you can imagine, this voting method was very susceptible to corruption!(I couldn't find an image of pre-Revolutionary War voting, but I thought the one above was interesting — it's a polling booth in 1840s NY!) Death masks — made out of a wax or plaster cast put on a dead person's face — have long been part of human history. Below is the death mask of notorious Depression-era gangster John Dillinger, who died in a shootout with FBI agents on July 22, 1934 (note the bullet hole captured under his right eye): The original London Bridge is now located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch bought the bridge in 1968, dismantled it, and then shipped it piece by piece to the US and reconstructed it as a tourist attraction. The first computer programmer was Ada Lovelace in the 19th century. No, she wasn't programming on a MacBook Air — it was the 1800s — but she became a colleague of Charles Babbage, who had designed a calculating machine and was working on an even more sophisticated one. In working with Babbage and fellow mathematician Luigi Menabrea, Lovelace discovered that these machines could carry out complex sequences of mathematical operations. The example she wrote to demonstrate her idea is regarded as the first ever computer program. The Great Wall of China is not a single continuous wall but a series of interconnected fortifications. Also, it was built (and rebuilt) over a long period of time, so the sections are often different based on the engineering and military practices of each time. Napoleon Bonaparte was once attacked by a herd of rabbits during a hunting trip. The story came from the memoirs of French general Baron Thiébault, who said that while on a hunting trip, a herd of rabbits swarmed Napoleon, seemingly mistaking him for a source of food. He was forced to retreat to his carriage to escape the "bunny onslaught." Pablo Picasso's full name has 20 words. Here's the name he was baptized with: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano María de los Remedios de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz you think when his mom was mad at him she called him by his full name? The first human flight was achieved by the Montgolfier brothers in a hot air balloon in 1783. Talk about brave! The brothers flew 3,000 feet above Paris for a distance of about 5.6 miles. After 25 minutes, the balloon landed safely outside the city. And, of course, Orville and Wilbur Wright invented, built, and flew the first successful airplane in 1903. But did you know it still exists and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.? Speaking of cool things you can still see — these are the contents of Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night he was assassinated, April 14, 1865. You can see them at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Lincoln had two pairs of glasses and a lens polisher, a pocketknife, a watch fob, a handkerchief, a wallet (containing a five-dollar Confederate note), and newspaper clippings, many of which touted his successes. The longest-reigning monarch in history was Louis XIV of France, who ruled for 72 years and 110 days. How did he manage this? He ascended to the throne at just 4 years of age, and ruled competently enough to avoid any coup attempts. The Eiffel Tower was initially intended to be dismantled after 20 years. The reason? It was only built as a temporary structure for the 1889 World's Fair (and was only permitted for use until 1909). The tower survived for different reasons than you're likely imagining. It wasn't because it had become a landmark, but because (at least initially) of its value as a radiotelegraph station. Ancient Greek athletes competed in the nude to honor Zeus and display the human form. Interestingly, they also did it to allow for ease of movement (this was long before spandex, LOL), and to not give the upper class an advantage by rolling in wearing fancy sporting clothes. Want one more fun fact? Gymnastics is derived from the Greek work "gymnos," meaning naked. The oldest known written laws, the Code of Ur-Nammu, date back to around 2100 BCE. It was written by a Sumerian king and covered, among other things, protection of property, family law (to divorce, a man was required to pay a kind of spousal support), and punishment for false allegations. The Statue of Liberty was originally intended to represent an Egyptian peasant woman. The statue's designer, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, originally envisioned building a colossal monument featuring a robe-clad Egyptian woman to celebrate the inauguration of the Suez Canal in Egypt. But when the Egyptians passed on the idea, Bartholdi pivoted to pitch it for the centennial celebration of the US/French alliance. The Leaning Tower of Pisa has been slowly straightening over the past few decades due to engineering efforts. Since 1990 — when it was feared the tower was on the verge of collapse — an international team has worked to reverse the lean. Since then, the tower has been straightened by nearly two inches. It doesn't sound like much, but it's made a huge difference! Albert Einstein was offered the presidency of Israel in 1952 but declined. Unsurprisingly, Einstein wanted to continue his career in science, especially considering his political experience was practically zilch. In June of 1520, England's Henry VIII and France's Francis I threw a joint 18-day party that cost $19 million by today's standards. It was so expensive because the two leaders kept trying to outdo each other. Each feast served 50 different dishes of the time's finest and rarest foods, including swans and dolphins. Queen Elizabeth I owned over 2,000 pairs of gloves. It wasn't because she was obsessed with gloves, though. Most of her collection was given to her as diplomatic or political gifts. Chain letters have their origins in ancient times — even Ancient Egypt's Book of the Dead included a section that promised "great heaven and earth" to anyone who copies a specific image. Approximately 750,000 men died in the Civil War, which was more than 2.5% of America's population at the time. In Boston on January 15, 1919, a massive storage tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses broke and sent a 15-foot tall flood of the sticky stuff flowing through town, killing 21 people. The 11 dead mentioned in the headline was later raised to 21. Lastly, in the year 1800, the world population totaled 1 billion. Today — 225 years later — the world's population is more than eight times larger (8.2 billion).

San Francisco Chronicle​

9 hours ago

• San Francisco Chronicle​

Newsom challenges JD Vance to debate after he calls Sen. Alex Padilla ‘Jose'

Gov. Gavin Newsom challenged Vice President JD Vance to a debate after Vance attacked the governor and maligned Sen. Alex Padilla, referring to him by 'Jose,' during a press conference in Los Angeles Friday. Vance, who was in the city to meet with federal officials after weeks of protests of immigration raids and detentions, repeatedly slammed Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass during the press conference for their stances on immigration and pushback against the administration of President Donald Trump ordering the National Guard and U.S. Marines into the city. When asked about the Trump administration cracking down on Democrats, Vance referenced Padilla's detention in handcuffs last Thursday. 'I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question. But unfortunately I guess he decided to not show up because there wasn't the theater,' Vance said. 'It's pure political theater.' Padilla, who is California's first Hispanic senator, was forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's press conference last week after identifying himself as a senator asking a question — though she later claimed she did not know he was a senator — and was handcuffed before being released. 'JD Vance served with Alex Padilla in the United States Senate. Calling him 'Jose Padilla' is not an accident,' Newsom wrote. The Associated Press reported that Taylor Van Kirk, a JD Vance spokesperson, responded by saying of Vance: 'He must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.' Newsom also posted to Vance that it was 'nice of you to finally make it out to California.' 'Since you're so eager to talk about me, how about saying it to my face? Let's debate. Time and place?' Newsom wrote. The governor's press office X account also responded Friday evening, posting an altered photo of Vance at the press conference with a cartoonish version of his face and saying: 'Donald, you should send @JDVance out to California more often. He's absolutely crushing it!' Vance claimed Newsom and Bass 'actively encouraged illegal migration into this community, have strained public services, have strained law enforcement and, really, have offered generous benefits, not to American citizens, but to illegal immigrants to break the law.' Vance also claimed Newsom and Bass 'egged on' violent 'rioters' including encouraging them to harm federal and local law enforcement, which he called 'disgraceful.' Vance said during the press conference that National Guard and military members will stay in the city in case protests 'flare back up.' 'These people need to be stopped,' Vance said of demonstrators. Staff writer Tara Duggan contributed reporting.

New York Post

a day ago

• New York Post

Man conned out of $400K in gold coins latest vic of LI fraud ring: suit

A Michigan man was allegedly scammed out of almost $400,000 in gold coins by a Long Island dealer who is at the center of at least a dozen scams across the United States, court documents reveal. Ahmad Abdallah shipped five boxes of American Gold Eagle coins to Suffolk County-based Austin Coins in May 2024 as part of a deal that they be appraised and sent back if no trade was agreed to, according to a lawsuit filed on Long Island last week. The collection included nearly 150 perfect condition, 22-karat coins minted as early as 1987 and ranging in size from 1/10th of an ounce to 1 ounce. The coins have face values of up to $50 each, though with gold currently priced at $3,400 an ounce, their actual worth is much higher. 3 Patrick White sent Ahmad Abdallah a text in October of Abdallah's coins that were supposed to be returned after appraisal, according to a lawsuit. Obtained by the New York Post After what he says was a 'bad faith, low-ball appraisal,' Abdallah demanded that Patrick White, the owner of Austin Coins, send the collection back to him, the federal court filing claims. But Abdallah never got his coins back, he claimed in the suit, and was instead strung along by White, who assured him he was trying to find a buyer for the collection. 'Any news on my coins?' Abdallah asked White in October, according to court documents. 'Pat, please man, tell me something.' 'Pat, you just tell me things to hold me off for a day or so and then you disappear and nothing happens,' Abdallah texted him a week later. Abdallah is seeking at least $385,000 for what he calls a 'willful, fraudulent, and dishonest 'appraisal scam.'' 3 White sent Abdallah over text boasting of his travels. White was already in court in April for a hearing in a different case, in which he and co-conspirators were accused of scamming Earl Keith — an 82-year-old retiree and cancer patient from Wyoming — into 'investing' more than $300,000 of his life savings into gold coins. Kenneth Walsh, an attorney for Keith, Abdallah and several other alleged victims of White and his businesses said he asked White about Abdallah during the April hearing. White claimed he had Abdallah's coins at his home in Huntington, before admitting they were actually in a storage container mostly filled with 'junk' in Melville that was at risk of being auctioned off because he owed the facility money, according to transcripts. He paid the CubeSmart an hour before the contents were auctioned off but has refused to return Abdallah's coins, according to the court papers. 3 Abdallah begged White for months to give him an update on his gold coins and to ship them back to him in Michigan. Obtained by the New York Post 'Mr. Abduallah's case is an unfortunate example of how these coin fraudsters work,' Walsh told The Post. 'We believe there are many other Austin Lloyd customers like him suffering financial losses in the millions,' Walsh continued. 'Even while under investigation, Patrick White and his accomplices continue to brazenly defraud consumers like Mr. Abduallah. Someone has to put an end to this — and that's why we pursue these cases.' White, a former stockbroker now banned by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is accused of being the 'ringleader' of at least 12 different coin scams, according to a lawsuit filed last year in Onondaga, New York, and several others reviewed by The Post. White allegedly swindled upwards of $6.8 million from people across the country since around 2020, primarily 'vulnerable' retirees recruited through telemarketing cold calls made by his various shell companies, including Austin Lloyd, Inc., according to the filed lawsuits. White said in court testimony that he and his accomplices had more than 5,000 customers. White, who sources say has yet to face jailtime for the accused crimes, did not immediately respond to a message from The Post.