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U.S. murder suspect went to pachinko parlor, then met girls after crime

43 Comments

A U.S. solider was arrested for allegedly killing a Japanese taxi driver in Yokosuka on March 19. According to police, the suspect, Navy seaman Olatunboson Ugbogu, 22, who is a Nigerian national, seems to have gone drinking with his Japanese female friends after the alleged murder.

Police say Ugbogu went to a pachinko parlor near the station to wash bloodstains out of his clothes, and then went to a nightlife area just three minutes walk from the crime scene.

A taxi driver, who picked up him at Shioiri Station in Yokosuka, said, “He was covering his face with the jacket hood. He was with two beautiful Japanese girls in their 20s. The girls were wearing very flashy outfits and miniskirts.” He says Ugbogu didn't talk at all but just kept his arms crossed in the taxi. “He didn't look serious, not what you'd expect from a man who was supposed to have killed someone. I smelled alcohol on his breath. When they were getting out of the taxi, he didn't pay. The two girls said 'Money, Money,' but he ignored them. So, the girls finally paid the taxi fare.”

A police investigator says Ugbogu was staying with a Japanese girl that night. The knife he used to allegedly kill the taxi driver was one he had stolen from another Japanese female friend's house. Police believe Ugbogu has several Japanese girlfriends. (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)

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The idiocy of these women is beyond words. What on earth do women see in men like this? Quite apart from the murder case, I should think the lot of them need health checkups...

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We have a special term of endearment here in Yokosuka for the category of of girls described above--"Honch Monsters". I think these two fit the bill.

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Last 'shot of leg' he'll have for awhile. But I question why the article ends with "Police believe Ugbogu has several Japanese girlfriends." What is the journalistic value--possibly a message being sent to the readers that not only do sailors commit crimes but they also are #$@%#^$ there women???

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I am a American Black male in Japan. I do not commit any crimes. I am a HARD WORKING teacher. Please do a news story on me.

You know it is getting HARDER now for any black male trying to find Japanese friends in Japan.

I tried to chat with a japanese person I emailed the other day.

I said, "I am Black. " No emails no more.

Very sad !!!

Okinawa Now Yokosaka

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You know this story does not make any sense. He went to a pachinko parlor near the station to wash bloodstains out of his clothes, and then went to a nightlife area just three minutes walk from the crime scene.

So now I am suppose to believe that this guy washed the blood out of his clothes and went out for a few drinks and then took another taxi with some friends. Well if they had all of this proof before then why are we hearing about it now.

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Why are Japanese media always so anti-pachinko?

I find this representation of those hard twisting, chain smoking baby abandoners to be dangerously close to defamation.

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Did he hear also voices in his head telling him to play pachinko and spend the night with a girlfriend after the murder?

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greenteaonsens, It's pretty common and very much true that a lot of women tend to get attracted to criminals or thugs, whichever term you would prefer to use. But, that's beyond the point here. This is totally irrelevant. The police should be focusing on the motive behind this crime and not about how many girlfriends he had or been flirting with. I can imagine what the family of the taxi driver are going through at this momoment and to me, the cops are just adding salt to an injury. I don't think anyone is interested in this crap! C'mmon now.....

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Great job by the Military Police who were supposed to be looking for a seaman who had gone AWOL. Such a rubbish job that the guy could actually go out drinking in Yokosuka and hang out with his girlfriends. Don't blame the local cops. They are the only ones who seem to be putting together a trace on where he went and what he got up to.

I also read in the Yomiuri Shinbun that he alledgedly went back to his base after the murder and withdrew cash from an ATM. Anyone have an update on that ?

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“He was covering his face with the jacket hood. He was with two beautiful Japanese girls in their 20s. The girls were wearing very flashy outfits and miniskirts.” He says Ugbogu didn’t talk at all but just kept his arms crossed in the taxi. “He didn’t look serious, not what you’d expect from a man who was supposed to have killed someone. I smelled alcohol on his breath. When they were getting out of the taxi, he didn’t pay. The two girls said ‘Money, Money,’ but he ignored them. So, the girls finally paid the taxi fare.”

i find all this funny. first off, not 1 but 2 beautiful japanese girls in their 20s in the honch and this guy get to go home with them? unheard of. ububu didnt talk at all and covered his face with a hood but driver smelt alcohol in his breath? lol. he didnt look serious like he killed someone? so im getting that he had a mellow look on his face while covering it with a hood along with crossing his arms. since when does japanese taxi drivers even pay that much attention to their passengers?

i dont see how any of this is even relevant but it sure sounds like they're just adding fuel to the american/black generalization fire.

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Police say Ugbogu went to a pachinko parlor near the station to wash bloodstains out of his clothes, and then went to a nightlife area just three minutes walk from the crime scene.

Doesn't match the info in the headline.

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I hear he won big on the Fuyu no Sonata machine.

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Memo To All Readers Taking This Article Seriously:

It is a translation from the Shukan Post, you know.

We should forget about Mr. Ugbogu. He is irrelevant as a human being now.

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Ever since the days of the Wild West, right up to today, you still haven't worked out that having the 'freedom' to purchase a rifle for everyone equates to enormously high numbers of gun-related deaths and gun-related crimes.

Kelly had his chance to deal with the situation from the beginning but fluffed it trying to do his public relations job for the US navy.

I also read in the Yomiuri Shinbun that he alledgedly went back to his base after the murder and withdrew cash from an ATM. Anyone have an update on that ?

London: Your anti-american sentiment is appalling. Why don't you just come out and say "American's suck". Honestly, your personal 2 cents are chirped on each article with a heavy anti-US sentiment. We get it.

Now just shut your face and move on.

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matada, It's an open discussion pal, so you can't tell other people to shut their faces just because you disagree with that point of view. We don't all have to agree with your way of thinking, just the same as the flak I cop for speaking my own mind. The quote you copied by the way is from a totally different article, back when Charlton Heston passed away. And if you had read that posting correctly you would see that it was not anti-American, just anti-possession of firearms at home.

My 'rant' on this page was to defend those who started bashing the local cops, who in my mind are doing a far better job than the Military Police did. And that is an anti-Military Police rant, not anti-American as there are thousands of Americans in this country who are not Military Police.

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matada,

And you may want to ask yourself why the local police (once they finally were given the chance to arrest the guy and gather evidence), are gathering information that the Military cops should have found themselves in the first place ? The guy was on the AWOL list yet managed to hang out with friends and go drinking in Yokosuka.

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Northlondon

I read the same article in the Yomiuri about his using an ATM in a Base Welfare Facility. The ATM in question is located on the outside of the Club Alliance around the corner and out of sight of the Main Gate. It is outside the gate and anyone, including Japanese, with the right ATM card can use it. Access to the base is not required.

Prior to this incident Shore Patrol, who are personnel assigned to ships and shore stations, were not briefed on Sailors who were in an Unauthorized Absence status, my guess is this will change. The personnel out there that night probably didn't have a clue who this clown was. It wasn't their fault, it was the systems fault, along with the myriad of other things that have been discussed in other threads on this topic.

Don't blame the local cops. They are the only ones who seem to be putting together a trace on where he went and what he got up to.

And you may want to ask yourself why the local police (once they finally were given the chance to arrest the guy and gather evidence), are gathering information that the Military cops should have found themselves in the first place.

As they should, it's their case. I'm sure the Japanese Police don't want the Navy out there investigating their case and screwing it up, as you said they're doing a very good job and NCIS isn't knowledgeable in Japanese Police procedures nor do they have the same tools. It also appears the evidence they found was being shared with NCIS and during their questioning of Ugbogu he admitted to the murder. The Japanese Police did not ask to question him until Wednesday 2 April (the day after he admitted to NCIS that he had committed the murder). They were allowed to question him that day and he was turned over to the Yokosuka Police the following day. There had been no requests prior to that.

Kelly had his chance to deal with the situation from the beginning but fluffed it trying to do his public relations job for the US navy.

Admiral Kelly was doing his job, attempting to hopefully save face for the Navy. Apologies and remorse are very important to the Japanese. in 1982 a Japanese airline president completely avoided lawsuits by apologizing personally to the families of victims involved in a plane crash resulting from a psychologically-troubled pilot. By Japanese custom Admiral Kelly was required to do what he did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Airlines_Flight_350

As I stated in a previous post, I hope the next voices he hears are "We find you guilty and sentence you to death by hanging."

nuff' said.

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The Jcops and NCIS were sharing information, back and forth, the entire time he was in military custody.

If it's not an anti-US rant, it's anti-military, anti- military police, or anti-NCIS. Some people just look for a reason to rail on anything American.

And all from people that have no clue in the slightest of NCIS procedure, military police procedure or even Jcop procedure, much less how all three of them work together.

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Well if they had all of this proof before then why are we hearing about it now.

Because the Japanese Police are not required to release information obtained from the results of their investigation, and it would be stupid to do so especially when the suspect was still at large.

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He probably went to "GeoDana" (which is owned by a hard working Nigerian) or to club US to meet his girls. As "Dan" said, these were your typical "Honch Runners" who are broke and looking for what they see in the latest rap videos of what blacks are like. The fact that he made them pay and they still went with him tells you of the mentality of the two girls he was with.

The description of the way they were dressed, probably is no different from the many "kogals" I see around Yokosuka-chuo in the "Japanese Only" section of clubs that us gajin are not allowed in.

What ever the stories, I hope that they do a methodical and through investigation enough so that this clown can be found guilty and given the ultimate.

As far as American Bashing on this subject, yes he is a green card holder from Nigeria that has enlisted in the USN, but I wonder what steps the Nigerian gov't has had in this case? Will they come to the aide of their countryman to ensure his rights are guarnteed? I doubt it seriously. So when everyone begans to rant on how "uncouth" the US is with our "right to bear arms" (which is not even relevant in this case), please remember, that there are no recruiting stations in Lagos, Nigeria, or in the Philippines. These foregin nationals come to the US and view the US military as a way to get a faster and better chance for citizenship. So if we are that screwed up, why is it that someone would leave their own country to try to become part of a land of "wild west holigans?" Could it be that just maybe, even with all of the US's problems, that they see that they have a better chance of getting a chance for a better way of life than their own country?

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Seriously folks, If this article is true. Then this guys has got to be the most diabolical, purely insane man (non Japanese) in Japan. he killed a taxi driver ..then ran into a panchinko parlor (oh wait there are none on that side of town. They are a half mile through the HONCH over on blue street RT27. But the article says he ran into a mythical panchinko parlor that doesn't exist in Shiori. Cleaned himself up and then grabbed ANOTHER taxi..minus the money he clearly didn't take from the first one ...oh wait he picked up to fine honey's along the way. Diabolical AND a mad playa! Teach me that one. He covered his face and the next taxi driver recognized him later as the killer. Or was it one of those mistaken identities. Would it be too far of a stretch to say that cabbies think all Blacks folks look alike? The article is a shameful attempt to sell newspapers...like a National Enquirer does...same crap, no color photos. It's beneath and serious news organization to repeat rumors and unsubstantiated information.

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The US military police ARE useless. But maybe, in this case, because he was a Nigerian, they felt he was lower priority?

Now you guys can flame me/invade my territory/launch nuclear strike.

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Killing an innocent man makes no sense whatsoever including any of this guy's other actions before and after the crime.

Why did he join the navy and desert a few months later? Why randomly select his victim in Tokyo and kill him right outside the Navy base? Why did he leave his credit card at the murder scene? Why did he chose to do it right on the heels of another highly publicized incident involving the US military?

This guy is either completely nuts or he intended to kill, intended to get caught and quite possibly, carried out his crime with the intention of embarrassing the Navy.

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Loki520

Yea, they did their job a little too good.... If I (or any of the people I have worked with) happened to be on duty that day and had the opportunity to escort this young man... Would have made sure that he fell down quite a few stairs on his way to the base...

This is part of this "new" military attitude, a bunch of whiny-ass, smart-ass kids, that do their PT's on exercise bikes and will sell their buddy out at the drop of hat.

This started 15 years ago and now, "the chickens are coming home to roost." If you kiss enough ass, you can be an E7 in under 7 years... This is the mentality that now that permeates the military, esp this new "ticket puncher" navy...

These people are now division officers, division chiefs and the senior leadership where this "Ugbogu" guy came from...

No, this isn't the only reason this kind of thing happens, but together with all of the other elements, lax screening standards, blase'blah attitude and the new increased "quality of life" stuff...Unbelievable...

It's no wonder....

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how are the "military police" not doing thier job if they got the guy to confess to the murder? i think that was enough. unlike the hard working japanese police, the military police is not interested in what the guy had for breakfast, what color boxers he was wearing or how many females he smashed after the murder. as for him walking around the honch, clueless ignorant members on here need to familiarize themselves with a few words - UA, deserter, shore patrol, MA, NCIS, military police - because to anyone who's familiar with the military and its reglations, you just sound dumb.

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I blame it on MTV and the stupid Blacanese girls who watch it and want to be with the hip hop thug types they see on the screen. Everybody wants to be like a star but run when they go around stabbing taxi drivers. I'm sure this guy will be in a movie when he gets out in 25 years or so.

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I checked with the owner of the club GeoDana in Yokosuka. He told me that he was there the night of the murder. And he was a regular there. So the fact that he went to a club is probably not far fetched. I thought that if you exited the Shiori station and took a left turn, there was a pachinko parlor across the street. I could be wrong. But in all likely hood I hope that he is found guilty. As for the "Blackanese" girls that he was with, tyedyed is true in his comments. Not only the girls but sad to admit some of the guys that come here from America are really hyped on that "thug" image and try to live it to the max. I have seen a few guys over here that were in the military or relatives of them and they are out in the streets dressed like "clowns" in all of the hip hop regalia and trying to live the life like they see on a video. Not only do they have a huge following among Japanese women, but I have seen many a young Japanese male with dreadlocks, and wearing North Carolina Blue (I doubt if they even know where that state is) and acting as if they jsut fell out of the latest BET video.

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"Blackanese"

What's the comparable term for suburban white kids who go in for the whole gangsta image?

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tyedyed: I blame it on MTV and the stupid Blacanese girls who watch it and want to be with the hip hop thug types they see on the screen. Everybody wants to be like a star but run when they go around stabbing taxi drivers.

What are you talking about? You must really be upset that you’re not getting any play. Girls will like who they like. Some like what they see in a video. Some don't but you can't blame a culture for what happened here. So it seems like everyone is blaming hip hop or blacks for what happened here. What does the enjoyment of music or a certain style have to do with killing a person? I mean I don't blame Japanese Television or the Japanese culture when a mother kills her child. Or a child pushes a man on to the train tracks. I was taught that we blame that person not a culture. But the funny part to me is that people seem to be more upset that the younger Japanese generation is embracing the hip hop culture over their own. Why that is I don't know. But don't make general statements about a culture and put the blame on them. You should spend more time educating them on why they should embrace their own culture.

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UnagiDon at 10:23 AM JST - 10th April

"Blackanese" What's the comparable term for suburban white kids who go in for the whole gangsta image?

I was told the term blacanese by some friends of mine who are black and told me that it is very easy to spot the girls who like them by the way they look and dress. Anyone who has been in Japan for more than a week knows it as well. Those same friends also told me the term you are refering to for the white suburban kids is a Reverse Oreo or RO(also called RoYo's like the kids toy YoYo) because its sounds like Yo, the catch phrase they say in every sentence, like now you know, yo.

CMEANDU26 at 10:27 AM JST - 10th April What are you talking about? You must really be upset that you’re not getting any play. Girls will like who they like.

I wasn't complaining about anything just making an honest observation from what I have seen. I get plenty so I don't have to worry about that. You are right that they like who they like. I also like who I like.

I'm not blaming Hip hop in the least for this, if that were true I would have to get rid of all my hip hop Cd's before I turn into a killer. I blame Olatunboson Ugbogu and him alone for his actions. The fact that he can't separate real life from a screen or video or whatever he is claiming made him do it this week is for the judge to work out. I hope he pays and pays dearly for all of the trouble he has caused all of the good people that are in Japan.

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tyedyed: where are you and the other bashers getting the info that hip hop music is the cause of ugubu's actions? you said youre not blaming hip hop but you go on to say that he cant separate real life from screen or video, are you saying that what he saw on a "screen or video" lead him to do what he did? anyway more ruthless men have lived before tv or video was ever invented. After a crime, everyone wants to be detectives and analysts but at the end of the day no one knew what lead the guy to do what he did. black male commit a crime and everything from his race to the clothes he wears is brough up, white man commit a crime and its just another man with problems.....

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Each person should be held accountable for their own actions. It is a shame that so many people think that speaking about what they see on a daily basis is somehow bashing. I personally have nothing against any form of music except maybe yodeling. If you saw my CD collection you would know that. I don’t know Olatunboson Ugbogu and can only hope that nobody follows in his footsteps. Who knows what made him do what he did, only he can answer that and that is changing from moment to moment. Voices in his head, how convenient. His actions before and after the fact show nothing but the fact he is a calculating cold blooded person guilty of premeditated murder. The point I was trying to make about hip hop is that it is stupid for anyone to think that listening to music can make you want to kill someone. Guess it got lost in translation.

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Actually, there IS a pachinko parlor over in that area. There is one at the Daiei, and if you exit Shiori and turn LEFT there are a couple of them.

ROBIN HOOD.... I have to agree with the majority if your 8:29 post. It's the reason retirement was so easy to accept and has been completely enjoyable.

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Seaman Olatunboson Ugbogu should have jumped off the Yokohama Bay bridge instead of acting like a fool on the evening in question.

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UnagiDon, The term you are looking "whiggers."

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What the hell is a "whigger"? Where do people make this crap up at?

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What the hell is a "whigger"? Where do people make this crap up at?

This has actually been around for a long time. It basically meant any white person, mostly male, who dress and act black. Personally, I don't care, people are people. Whatever. Back on topic.

The fact that J-girls hung with this guy because of image is normal. A certain segment of the population here will like you because you are different. This dirt bag is responsible for his actions. There were no voices. Rubbish. He wanted to do this, for whatever reason. I mean, he stole a kitchen knife from one girl, so he obviously was planning to do more than have some "steki" somewhere. I'd like to see him get hard labor in a J-jail. Shouting at him in Japanese and eating fish heads and rice....Better than death.

Addiu

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This is the guy who supposedly heard "voices" telling him to stab the cab driver? And yet these voices also told him to go party for a while. Amazing how these killers never have "voices" that tell them to put a sock in it and go back to work.

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"The girls were wearing very flashy outfits"

I'll bet they had those sparkly things on them.

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Why would any Japanese woman throw herself at this piece of garbage? Women are unbelievable sometimes.

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Umm I guess the women didn't know. Well, he said he heard voices in his head. That is a lie most people say that for they could be sent to a mental institution instead of jail. But I think he knew well what he was doing. Maybe is too much drugs and stories that affected his head. Well, no matter which reason a crime is against the law both in Earth and in Heaven. There's no excuse live through what you did. I feel sad for the parents of this man. The whole family must be shocked.

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Seaman Olatunboson Ugbogu AKA "Kenny" is rather interesting character because he was a low life from the start. When you peel the onion back an look at events prior to this scandal we can see that leadership failed for sure. The young Kenny had numerous issues like identity theft, passing bad checks and was on his way to court martial. The COWPENS leadership failed to take care of this individual before he could climb down a mooring line, go UA and wreck havoc in the community.

At the end of the day the Navy has to take responsibility for its knuckleheads......this is nothing new.

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black tie affair hit the nail on the head !as for the other posts , it is easy to profile and that may be wrong..... however , if for example the majority of the know crime is being committed by a certain ethnic group, what is the system to do. not sure about Japan but in my little city in the usa about 95% of the murder , assault, robbery is being committed by black men. I rest my case

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