Antihero983
03-15-2010, 08:48 PM
Grandpa Punched Kids In Head At Walmart For "Thrill" - The Consumerist (http://consumerist.com/2010/03/grandpa-punched-kids-in-head-at-walmart-for-thrill.html)
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
"While parents were entranced by Wal Mart bargains"
WTF is wrong with people?
And why not just punch the adults why the kids aren't looking?
original story here: Bond set at $150,000 for accused child-puncher | The Columbus Dispatch (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/12/police-retiree-hit-kids-with-his-keys.html?sid=101)
The 68-year-old grandfather accused of punching children in a Northwest Side Walmart appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court this morning.
Judge Mark Hummer set bond for Ralph Conone, of 5687 Shadowbrook Dr., at $150,000. Should he post bond, Conone was ordered to stay away from his victims and Walmart while the case proceeds.
Columbus police have charged Conone with two misdemeanor counts of assault but said they expect that more victims will come forward as their investigation unfolds.
Hummer told the news media not to photograph Conone in court to protect the police investigation. Police said they hope other children can identify him.
Conone was caught Wednesday night at the Wal-Mart at 2700 Bethel Rd. after a 6-year-old boy complained to his mother that Conone had punched the back of his head.
The woman followed Conone out of the store, grabbed his arm, led him back inside and notified security.
Police said a review of the surveillance video in the store confirmed not only the assault on that boy but other assaults on his 7-year-old brother and two other children who haven't been identified.
Conone told police he would put his keys between his fingers and strike the children when their parents weren't looking. He said he'd been doing it since January because he liked the excitement of getting away with it.
His public defender said in court today that Conone has mental health issues.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Caught in the act at his local Walmart on Wednesday night, Conone admitted that for months he'd been punching children on the backs of their heads with his keys in his fist, Columbus police said yesterday.
The grandfather also told them why, police said: He got a kick out of it.
"He stated that he does this because of the excitement of being able to do it and get away with it with the parents right there," said Sgt. John Hurst of the special victims bureau. "He'll just strike them in the head and just turn around and walk away."
Conone, of 5687 Shadowbrook Dr. on the Northwest Side, is jailed on two misdemeanor counts of assault after an alert mother realized he had done something to her two boys, ages 6 and 7, while they shopped about 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Walmart at 2700 Bethel Rd.
Last night, that mother talked about the incident. She asked that only her first name be used, saying she's afraid to have Conone know her children's names.
Vanessa said she was looking over the plums in the store's fruit section, with her boys nearby, when she heard her younger son cry out, "He hit me!"
At first, Vanessa thought he was talking about a fight with his older brother, until the 6-year-old added, "The man hit me."
She said her son pointed to a man who was heading out the front door.
Vanessa said she followed him outside and confronted him. He denied hitting the boy, but she grabbed him by the arm, led him back inside and asked store personnel to call police.
"I just knew I couldn't let him go," she said.
Vanessa said she took her son's hat off and found some blood. A Columbus Division of Fire rescue squad was called, and her son was treated for a minor cut.
A store security tape confirmed that the man had struck her son, police say.
Vanessa said she was surprised to learn that her other son also had been hit.
The store surveillance camera also showed two other boys being struck by Conone the same night while their parents were distracted briefly, Hurst said. Police hope to identify and speak with them.
Conone said he would wait until a parent wandered briefly out of sight before striking the child with his keys between his fingers. The child would cry out, and he would slip away unnoticed.
Investigators said Conone doesn't appear to have a criminal record and told them he'd never tried to abduct or otherwise harm the children.
"He was surprised (Wednesday) night that he had caused injury to the child," Hurst said.
Conone told police that he would commit the assaults while shopping. But police said he didn't appear to shop for anything Wednesday night, and he later admitted going into the store with the intent to strike the children, Hurst said.
Police suspect there have been other incidents that were not reported, likely because parents weren't sure what had caused their children to cry.
Conone told authorities that he'd committed the assaults since January and that all were at the Bethel Road Walmart. He selected only little children.
"He told us it was because they were unable to defend themselves," Hurst said.
Conone had been married for 42 years before his wife, Ruth, divorced him in 2007. She spoke briefly with reporter Brittany Westbrook of WBNS-TV (Channel 10), saying that she left her husband because he was manic-depressive and wouldn't take his medication.
Ruth Conone said that her ex-husband, who is retired from the Ohio Department of Development, has no history of this behavior, but she said he needs help with mental-health issues.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
"While parents were entranced by Wal Mart bargains"
WTF is wrong with people?
And why not just punch the adults why the kids aren't looking?
original story here: Bond set at $150,000 for accused child-puncher | The Columbus Dispatch (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/03/12/police-retiree-hit-kids-with-his-keys.html?sid=101)
The 68-year-old grandfather accused of punching children in a Northwest Side Walmart appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court this morning.
Judge Mark Hummer set bond for Ralph Conone, of 5687 Shadowbrook Dr., at $150,000. Should he post bond, Conone was ordered to stay away from his victims and Walmart while the case proceeds.
Columbus police have charged Conone with two misdemeanor counts of assault but said they expect that more victims will come forward as their investigation unfolds.
Hummer told the news media not to photograph Conone in court to protect the police investigation. Police said they hope other children can identify him.
Conone was caught Wednesday night at the Wal-Mart at 2700 Bethel Rd. after a 6-year-old boy complained to his mother that Conone had punched the back of his head.
The woman followed Conone out of the store, grabbed his arm, led him back inside and notified security.
Police said a review of the surveillance video in the store confirmed not only the assault on that boy but other assaults on his 7-year-old brother and two other children who haven't been identified.
Conone told police he would put his keys between his fingers and strike the children when their parents weren't looking. He said he'd been doing it since January because he liked the excitement of getting away with it.
His public defender said in court today that Conone has mental health issues.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
Caught in the act at his local Walmart on Wednesday night, Conone admitted that for months he'd been punching children on the backs of their heads with his keys in his fist, Columbus police said yesterday.
The grandfather also told them why, police said: He got a kick out of it.
"He stated that he does this because of the excitement of being able to do it and get away with it with the parents right there," said Sgt. John Hurst of the special victims bureau. "He'll just strike them in the head and just turn around and walk away."
Conone, of 5687 Shadowbrook Dr. on the Northwest Side, is jailed on two misdemeanor counts of assault after an alert mother realized he had done something to her two boys, ages 6 and 7, while they shopped about 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Walmart at 2700 Bethel Rd.
Last night, that mother talked about the incident. She asked that only her first name be used, saying she's afraid to have Conone know her children's names.
Vanessa said she was looking over the plums in the store's fruit section, with her boys nearby, when she heard her younger son cry out, "He hit me!"
At first, Vanessa thought he was talking about a fight with his older brother, until the 6-year-old added, "The man hit me."
She said her son pointed to a man who was heading out the front door.
Vanessa said she followed him outside and confronted him. He denied hitting the boy, but she grabbed him by the arm, led him back inside and asked store personnel to call police.
"I just knew I couldn't let him go," she said.
Vanessa said she took her son's hat off and found some blood. A Columbus Division of Fire rescue squad was called, and her son was treated for a minor cut.
A store security tape confirmed that the man had struck her son, police say.
Vanessa said she was surprised to learn that her other son also had been hit.
The store surveillance camera also showed two other boys being struck by Conone the same night while their parents were distracted briefly, Hurst said. Police hope to identify and speak with them.
Conone said he would wait until a parent wandered briefly out of sight before striking the child with his keys between his fingers. The child would cry out, and he would slip away unnoticed.
Investigators said Conone doesn't appear to have a criminal record and told them he'd never tried to abduct or otherwise harm the children.
"He was surprised (Wednesday) night that he had caused injury to the child," Hurst said.
Conone told police that he would commit the assaults while shopping. But police said he didn't appear to shop for anything Wednesday night, and he later admitted going into the store with the intent to strike the children, Hurst said.
Police suspect there have been other incidents that were not reported, likely because parents weren't sure what had caused their children to cry.
Conone told authorities that he'd committed the assaults since January and that all were at the Bethel Road Walmart. He selected only little children.
"He told us it was because they were unable to defend themselves," Hurst said.
Conone had been married for 42 years before his wife, Ruth, divorced him in 2007. She spoke briefly with reporter Brittany Westbrook of WBNS-TV (Channel 10), saying that she left her husband because he was manic-depressive and wouldn't take his medication.
Ruth Conone said that her ex-husband, who is retired from the Ohio Department of Development, has no history of this behavior, but she said he needs help with mental-health issues.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH