Former Wrestlemania star named as suspect in hours-long standoff with police after fatally shooting his wife



A former pro wrestler allegedly engaged police in an hours-long standoff and fatally shot his wife in Washington, according to multiple reports.

Tactical teams responded to a shooting around 9:52 a.m. on Thursday in the Lents neighborhood of Portland, Washington.

Officers determined the gunman was inside the residence and requested assistance from the Special Emergency Reaction Team and the Crisis Negotiation Team. The suspect was reportedly uncooperative with law enforcement officers and police advised nearby residents to shelter in place, according to a news release from the Portland Police Bureau.

It took officers approximately two hours to detain the suspect – 70-year-old William Albert Haynes Jr.

Inside the home, officers found the dead body of an elderly woman.

Authorities identified the shooting victim as 85-year-old Janette Becraft – the second wife of Haynes.

The medical examiner determined Becraft died of homicide by gunshot wound.

Haynes was taken into custody by police and then transported to a local hospital for treatment of a "medical condition unrelated to the homicide or his contact with law enforcement." Portland police said his release from the hospital "may be days from now," but he would then be booked into jail and formally charged.

KATU reported that Haynes was a former pro wrestler.

Haynes started his professional wrestling career in 1982 and performed under the name Billy Jack Haynes.

Haynes joined the WWF in 1986, and competed against wrestling stars such as Ric Flair and Randy “Macho Man” Savage during the 1980s.

According to Slam Wrestling, Haynes had a "long feud with Hercules Hernandez, including the Battle of the Full-Nelsons at WrestleMania III and a series of bloody chain matches that stood out in the fairly family-friendly promotion."

Haynes departed from the WWF in 1988 after he allegedly refused to lose in a match hosted in his hometown of Portland.

The Portland Police Bureau is urging anyone with information about this case to contact Detective Ryan Foote at ryan.foote@police.portlandoregon.gov (503) 823-0781 or Detective Travis Law at Travis.Law@police.portlandoregon.gov 503-823-0395 and reference case number 24-31552.

Like Blaze News? Circumvent the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'My baby boy is in a casket': Portland judge slammed for releasing drunk driver accused of killing 11-year-old boy



A Portland judge released an Oregon man accused of a drunken car accident that killed an 11-year-old boy, according to reports. The release has sparked local outrage.

Around 10:19 on July 8, Portland Police Department officers responded to an automobile crash. There were reportedly two vehicles involved in the accident, including one car that was rolled over. Investigating the car crash in the Mill Park neighborhood were the Portland Major Crash Team, the Enhanced Community Safety Team, and the Focused Intervention Team.

According to authorities, one of the drivers – 29-year-old Duprie Smith – had a gunshot wound. Another car crash victim – 11-year-old Ryan Ambrose – suffered serious life-threatening injuries, and first responders attempted CPR at the scene.

The New York Post reported, "Smith claimed in a now-deleted Facebook post that he was 'shot two times' and was on his way to the hospital when he 'passed out/fainted from loss of blood [and] crashed into another car.'"

Smith’s attorney claimed that an ambulance was taking too long so his client drove himself to the hospital because he believed he was "bleeding out."

Ambrose was also taken to the hospital.

The outlet added, "The footage also allegedly showed Smith running red lights, swerving through traffic, before hitting the car Ambrose was in. The affidavit estimated that Smith was driving 86 mph in a speed limit zone of 30 mph, overturning his car.'"

Ambrose was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The New York Post reported, "Dashcam footage from Smith’s car showed him 'driving erratically' and heard him saying: 'Where’s the hospital?' and 'I am going to die,' the affidavit said, according to KGW 8."

Smith was charged with manslaughter in the first degree. He was allegedly held in the Multnomah County Detention Center on DUI charges.

KAKE reported, "According to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, the Deputy DA in this case requested $100,000 bail, but the judge declined bail and instead released Smith on enhanced DUII conditions, meaning he cannot possess or consume alcohol, he is not allowed to use any drugs not prescribed by a doctor, he cannot drive or possess a vehicle, and he cannot enter any bars, taverns, or other businesses that primarily serve alcohol. He was released on Monday."

However, family members are frustrated over the suspect being released on zero bail after the deadly accident.

The slain boy’s grandfather, Mario Trejo, told KPTV, "He was killed by a drunk driver and now this guy is in his house watching TV and my grandson is in a case in the funeral home right now."

"We think this is not fair. What are they trying to do? Wait until he kills someone else and then arrest him? He was drunk driving 90 miles an hour. Ran every single red light," Trejo said. "This is not fair," Trejo said. "Where is the justice? We need it. The whole family needs it."

Trejo added, "It's not fair that he gets to be out on the streets when my baby boy is in a casket. He needs to be locked away. We all hurt and we all need justice. We need him to be put away."

The grandfather said, "Everybody is destroyed. I cannot tell you how the pain is. He came to visit us for two weeks. He was seven hours away from getting on the flight back home with his mom. Now mom is going to receive him in a case. Just imagine the pain."

The family started a GoFundMe campaign for funeral expenses

The grandfather demanded justice, and encouraged concerned individuals to visit the crowdfunding effort.

"Don’t do it for us, do it for the little kid. He was 11-years-old. He didn’t do nothing wrong with nobody," Trejo said online. "It's not fair he was killed by a drunk guy driving 90 miles an hour, running every single red light. It’s not possible that it was an accident. He knew if he drove like that he could kill somebody and he didn’t care. He was driving 90 miles an hour. No lights, not stopping at a single red light. So what was he expecting to happen?"

Smith is scheduled to appear in court on August 1.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Portland cops back off from man pounding on restaurant door to give him 'space.' Soon he breaks door with 'grapefruit'-sized rock; staff hide in freezer.



Portland police said officers responded to a report of someone pounding on the door of a restaurant in the 1500 block of Northeast 103rd Avenue just before 1 a.m. Thursday.

The restaurant's dining room was closed, police said, but employees still were working the drive-through.

Police officers — along with an Enhanced Crisis Intervention Team officer who specializes in crisis communication — tried talking to the man, police said.

"The ECIT officer used de-escalation techniques including giving the man time and space," police wrote in their report. "He remained uncooperative, so officers backed out and monitored from a distance."

Oops

Soon the man broke the restaurant's glass door using a rock "roughly the size of a grapefruit" and got inside the establishment, police said.

With that, employees hid in a freezer room to get away from the man, police said.

Cops chased the suspect inside, but he barricaded himself in a break room, police added.

So officers evacuated employees and got down to negotiating with the man, the police report said.

"After a lengthy communication period, an officer used a sledgehammer to break a window to allow another officer to deploy pepper spray," the report added.

At that point police said the suspect surrendered.

What happened to the suspect?

Police said Anthony Bellamy, 38, was treated medically and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of second-degree burglary, first-degree criminal mischief — both felonies — and second-degree disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

According to the jail, Bellamy was booked just before 3:30 a.m. Thursday and released by court order the same day with no bail.

During the incident, an officer was cut with broken glass, police said, adding that he was treated and released from a hospital.

How did folks react?

Twitter users reacting to the news were none too pleased with Portland police:

  • "The police in Portland are useless," one commenter said.
  • "Criminal privilege," another user declared.
  • "Give him 'space'?" another commenter asked. "This is the police force that the moronic leftists want. Counselors to use the warm, fuzzy approach to hardened criminals. Even if they are forced to arrest them, they have a fund to pay their bail. What nation can survive without LEOs to enforce its laws?"
  • Mocking the police report's description of the officers' tactics, another commenter suggested "Americans should slowly back away from paying taxes."

Home invader in Portland charged police with a sword before hurling an axe and several knives at them, authorities say



A criminal in Portland, Oregon, was arrested over the weekend after allegedly breaking into a home and threatening responding officers with a sword and axe, police said.

What happened?

According to the Portland Police Bureau, 20-year-old Chance T. Haylett broke into a home in the northeast part of the city on Saturday while brandishing a sword and several other bladed weapons.

Neighbors reportedly alerted law enforcement officers after witnessing Haylett trying to open doors and windows to the house. Thankfully, the residents of the home were not present at the time of the break-in.

When officers arrived on the scene, they encountered a hostile suspect. Haylett became "combative," police recalled in a news release, "charging out the back towards officers on the perimeter while carrying a sword."

Police were able to partially de-escalate the situation by firing a less lethal foam-tip bullet at Haylett, but he still continued to threaten officers with the sword from a distance. At one point, Haylett hurled an axe and several other bladed weapons at the officers, but they were able to dodge the attacks.

After firing another foam-tip bullet at the Haylett, officers were able to move in and apprehend the suspect. In the press release, officers said they "were able to utilize de-escalation skills, develop rapport, and convince the suspect to drop his weapons and surrender."

Photo description: Numerous bladed weapons are displayed on the ground, including a sword, ax, and multiple knivesImage Source: Portland Police Bureau

What else?

Following the incident, Haylett was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. In all, police found he had been in possession of 15 weapons, including a sword, an axe, several knives — and yes, even a slingshot.

Haylett has since been booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of burglary in the first degree, criminal trespass in the first degree, criminal mischief in the first degree, felon in possession of a restricted weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon. Police reported that no one was injured in the altercation.

The Macon Telegraph reported that he was arraigned Monday afternoon and was being held on $65,000 bond. But jail records indicate Haylett made bail and was released on his own recognizance Monday.

Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Portland police forced to beg for community's help in curbing out-of-control violence



The Portland Police Bureau is asking for the community's help in ending a spike in violence across the city.

What's a brief history here?

According to Fox News, at least 850 shootings have been reported in Portland as of Dec. 24. The outlet noted that there were at least 59 reported shootings in December alone.

"As of Christmas Eve, this year's shootings had surpassed last year's by more than 116%, with 393 shootings reported in all of 2019, statistics show," Fox pointed out. "At least 53 murders have been reported in Portland as of Dec. 24 — the highest yearly total the city has seen in nearly 30 years."

What's happening now?

Portland Police Bureau Chief Chuck Lovell in a Dec. 16 video appealed to the public and insisted that the public needed to lock arms and "do everything we can together to break the cycle of violence."

"Gun violence has plagued our city at twice the rate of last year," he said. "On average, someone is shot in Portland roughly every two days."

"We've come together to mask up, to stay home to keep others safe. We have come together to do our best to stop the spread of a deadly disease," he continued. "Violence is also a disease that kills and our community is suffering the consequences."

"We cannot lose sight of the fact these are human beings who have died," Lovell added.

According to a report from KGW-TV, Portland Police Bureau Lieutenant Greg Pashley reported that there were at least 225 victims of gun violence in Portland in 2020 alone.

"The number of bullets that must have been flying around our neighborhoods, city streets, sidewalks — it's awful," Pashley said.

The bureau is now asking for a a community-wide effort and action to help put a stop to gun violence across the city after its gun violence reduction team was disbanded over the summer.

The team was dismantled after activists and gun control activists said that the bureau was guilty of racism in "stopping people of color disproportionately to others," the station reported.

Pashley later said that "[s]ocial services, government organizations, non-government organizations, church based [organizations]" are of utmost importance "so that people feel as if they have support and options other than to act out violently."

What else?

Sgt. Kenneth Duilio — who worked on the now-disbanded gun violence reduction task force for approximately 19 years — said that many of the killings are gang-related.

"Theyr'e all connected," he said. "And some of these connections don't just go back, like, for a few weeks or a few months. They go back years and years."

Chief Lovell talks about increased gun violence. https://t.co/EQSCSd0IGp
— Chief Chuck Lovell (@Chief Chuck Lovell)1608159846.0