Find the Craziest Thing in this News Report

[RWebb]

there are LOTS of possibilities, so try not to get confused - we want the single craziest thing

... and BTW, I apologize for the lack of face eating - it's just not that common up nawth


Rapist accused of faking identity
The man allegedly conspired with a local nurse to become “Winter Rain Waters”

BY KAREN MCCOWAN, The Register-Guard

A registered sex offender and a local nurse embraced Oregon’s counterculture past when they allegedly conspired to briefly obtain a new identity for the man, who served more than eight years in prison for a Yamhill County rape.

But 21st century technology — facial recognition software — soon outed “Winter Rain Waters” as convicted rapist Michael Allen Snow, court documents show.

Snow, 27, pleaded not guilty last week to federal charges of making false statements, mail fraud, mail fraud conspiracy and failure to register as a sex offender.

Willy Gibson Whitebird, a PeaceHealth Medical Group nurse who also has worked on her own as a midwife, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to mail fraud and mail fraud conspiracy for allegedly helping Snow to pull off the ruse.

Together, the pair persuaded a Lane County Circuit Court judge to order a delayed birth certificate for a Winter Rain Waters in February 2011, according to a search warrant affidavit in the case.

The story they told Lane County Circuit Judge Mustafa Kasubhai was perhaps plausible only in Eugene.

Snow told the judge under oath that he was Winter Rain Waters, according to a transcript of the hearing. He presented documents, including a notarized statement by Whitebird, asserting that he was born Christmas Day of 1987 in a converted school bus on “The Rainbow Farm.”

According to the documents, his parents, “Misty Summer Rain” and “William Waters,” never registered his birth.

According to Whitebird’s November 2010 statement, she began prenatal midwifery care for “Misty Summer Rain” in the summer of 1987. Whitebird also wrote that she attended the birth of Winter Rain Waters and remained in touch with his family for 12 years before they moved away from the area.

“Winter came to see me last summer and asked me to help him get a birth certificate,” Whitebird’s 2010 statement continued. “He wants to become a Naturopathic doctor and needs to enroll in school. He said he would also like to drive a car and register to vote.

“I did some research and began applying in his behalf, because he can’t even use a notary without ID.”

Whitebird, also under oath, presented Kasubhai with what she swore were original birthing records, prenatal records and a birth announcement documenting the unregistered delivery.

When the judge asked if “Mr. Waters” intended to testify, Whitebird indicated that he did not, according to a transcript of the court hearing. But Kasubhai said he had some questions for the man seeking the birth record. When he asked the man to state his birth date, Snow initially said Dec. 25, 1983 — the year Snow was born — before saying, “Excuse me, 1987.” Later, Snow again stumbled over his answer when the judge asked if he had a Social Security number, prompting Whitebird to say, “No, you don’t.”

Eventually, Kasubhai ordered the state to issue a registration of birth for Winter Rain Waters. State officials did so, and Snow used the document to obtain an official Oregon identification card last July from state Driver and Motor Vehicle Services.

That card included a photograph of his face, which led to his discovery. The Oregon DMV runs images for every new driver’s license or ID card through a facial recognition software program, which compares them with other images in the state’s database.

In an effort to prevent fraud and identity theft, the agency notifies the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General whenever it finds a likely match.

That’s what happened in the case of Michael Snow and Winter Rain Waters, according to Dale Boring, a special agent with the inspector general’s office, who obtained a Feb. 23 search warrant in the case. The ID photo for Waters apparently matched a driver’s license photo of Snow.

With that information in hand, Boring then studied the birthing records submitted by Whitebird and concluded that they had been created with “more advanced word processing or spreadsheet programs” than were available in 1987, he wrote in his sworn statement for the search warrant.

Snow’s criminal history showed that he served nearly 8¼ years in prison after being convicted of first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy in 2001, the special agent wrote.

Yamhill County Court records obtained by The Register-Guard show that Snow pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse “by forcible compulsion” with a victim younger than 16 in 1999, when he was five months shy of his 16th birthday.

At the time Snow obtained his new identity as Winter Rain Waters, a warrant was out for his arrest for failing to register as a sex offender, Boring also wrote. Boring’s search warrant affidavit also suggests why Whitebird may have helped Snow: He reportedly fathered two of her grandchildren.

Snow is lodged in the Lane County Jail, and Kasubhai has rescinded his order for a birth certificate in the name of Winter Rain Waters.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Probably way tooo obvious, but this seems to 'stick out a little more' in this rather convoluted story:

He reportedly fathered two of her grandchildren.

Cheers
JB

[Head416]

^ exactly. Is she helping her daughter's rapist? Not enough evidence here to prove it, but I got a feeling...

[vonsmog]

And here I thought it was he changed his name from "Snow" to "Rain"!!!

[stomachmonkey]

He was "born" on The Rainbow Farm but he's straight?

[Dottore]

I'm gonna go with the birther angle. The court ordered birth certificate.

[RWebb]

Nobody is going to mention the Muslim judge??

[Jim Richards]

No

[RWebb]

I went to law school with him - very personable guy.

what else in the story stands out? (I mean for people that live in normal places, like Florida or LA) not in my crazy town...

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by RWebb

what else in the story stands out? (I mean for people that live in normal places, like Florida or LA) not in my crazy town...

That "Winter Rain Waters" is a stupid farking name? Why not just kill 2 birds with one stone and change it to Hank Skillington or something normal while you're going in front of the judge for a birth certificate....

[RWebb]

or he could have gone with Rain Laden Snow - play up the bin Laden angle

[Head416]

How about "she began prenatal midwifery care for “Misty Summer Rain” in the summer of 1987" and supposedly gave birth on Dec 25th, 1987. How about the idea of a 25 year old claiming to exist out of thin air? How about the guy not knowing his own information and forgetting his own birth date? And his friend telling him whether or not he has a social security number? And a judge falling for it?

This list is endless with this story.

I find it interesting that determined the documents were created with software too advanced for that time.

[ratpiper71T]

” Later, Snow again stumbled over his answer when the judge asked if he had a Social Security number, prompting Whitebird to say, “No, you don’t.”

I can picture an idiot looking around to see if he should answer the question. If you want to start a new go to a Central American country or the far east, like other escaping criminals, idiot.

[RufusMadore]

The court ordered birth certificate.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Head416

I find it interesting that determined the documents were created with software too advanced for that time.

High probability that a document from that time would have been produced by a typewriter or dot matrix which are both impact devices and will dent the paper.

Possible that a laser printer would have been used, they were becoming common, the toner will sit on top of the paper and with the early ones you could feel it when you ran your fingers over the text.

My guess is the dumb asses used an inkjet where the ink absorbs into the paper, no dent, no raised text and inkjets were not available back then.

Could also be as simple as the font, most official documents used an early version of Courier. Fonts are pretty easy to determine origin.

[herr_oberst]

snip...The Oregon DMV runs images for every new driver’s license or ID card through a facial recognition software program, which compares them with other images in the state’s database. snip....

Really? Advanced software in place at the Oregon DMV, used effectively by State personnel that properly achieved it's intended goal? Not plausible.

[Dottore]

Is there a prize?

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Head416

...

This list is endless with this story.

...

We HAVE a WINNER!

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by Dottore

Is there a prize?

yes

[Joe Bob]

Facial recognition? I hear they have a new thang....de call it thumb foouching prints, J edgar used to say it's was new schitzlelll.....