Tag: Americas

  • Beloved college student killed in hate crime; Toddler’s disappearance remains unsolved

    In this episode of True Crime News: Blaze Bernstein was a well-liked Ivy League college student from Orange County, California. His life met a tragic end when Samuel Woodward, who was active in extremist online groups, lured him to a park under the guise of a date and stabbed him nearly 30 times. Then, Hannah Kobayashi flew to Los Angeles while on her way to New York from Maui, but now she’s missing. Plus, 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds seemingly vanished into thin air while staying at her father’s house. Twelve years later and she has yet to be found.

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  • Wife gets life for burying husband in pit; Love affair turns deadly on the highway


    In this episode of True Crime News: A judge ordered Laurie Shaver to spend the rest of her life behind bars for shooting her husband Michael in the back of the head and burying him in a pit. Plus, Bill Hall Jr. was a successful businessman in San Antonio with a loving wife and family, but he didn’t hide his relationship with his younger girlfriend. One day, the two women encountered each other on the highway, leading to a fateful and fatal moment.

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  • Police nab 'Grinch' who allegedly stole $45,000 worth of decorative reindeer from baseball stadium

    JOLIET, Ill. (TCN) — A 52-year-old man might end up on the naughty list this year after he was arrested for allegedly stealing three decorative reindeer worth $45,000 from a baseball stadium ahead of the team’s holiday event.

    According to the Joliet Police Department, on Nov. 13 just before 5:15 p.m., officers were called to Duly Health and Care Field, where the Joliet Slammers baseball team plays, regarding a theft of Christmas décor. Officers received information that the three 12-foot lighted reindeer were nabbed from the facility’s loading dock on Nov. 11 and Nov. 12 and placed into pickup trucks. The suspect reportedly arrived in a newer dark truck on Nov. 11 and an older brown one the next day.

    The Joliet Slammers shared surveillance photos of the cars and asked the public to help “identify this Grinch that is trying to steal holiday cheer here at Slammers stadium!” The team said they would give a cash reward to a person’s favorite charity for information “leading to the recovery of Rudolph and his associates.”

    On Tuesday, Nov. 26, Joliet Police announced they located and arrested Victor Sessoms the day prior. Sessoms reportedly “indicated his involvement in the theft, and it was determined that Sessoms had scrapped the Christmas decorations for money following the theft.”

    Police released Sessoms after his arrest on a notice to appear.

    MORE:

    • News Release – Joliet Police Department
    • HELP us try to identify this Grinch – Joliet Slammers

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  • Tennessee man charged 27 years after allegedly fatally stabbing teen, sexually assaulting his mom

    KINGSPORT, Tenn. (TCN) — A 64-year-old man reportedly shot himself after he was recently identified and charged with allegedly killing a teen nearly 30 years ago.

    According to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, the investigation began on Sept. 6, 1997, when 17-year-old James Hutson was found stabbed to death and his mother, Mary Hutson, sexually assaulted in their home on Rock Springs Road. Detectives processed the scene, obtained evidence, and submitted DNA for testing.

    A DNA profile was created, but investigators were unable to find a match, and the case went cold. Authorities reopened the case in 2023 and sent DNA evidence to Othram Labs, a private genetic genealogy company in Texas. As a result, Othram investigators identified George Robinson as a possible suspect.

    According to the sheriff’s office, authorities recently collected a DNA sample from Robinson and concluded it was a match to DNA found at the 1997 crime scene.

    On Wednesday, Nov. 20, a Sullivan County jury indicted Robinson on three counts of first-degree murder. Detectives attempted to apprehend Robinson, but he barricaded himself inside his home. Sullivan County SWAT personnel responded and tried negotiating with the suspect, but he still refused to surrender. Several hours later, the SWAT team reportedly forced entry, and Robinson shot himself. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

    The sheriff’s office has not provided an update on Robinson’s condition.

    MORE:

    • Suspect Identified, Charged in 1997 Cold Case Homicide and Sexual Assault – Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office
    • Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Team with Othram to Identify the Suspect in a 1997 Homicide and Assault – Othram Labs

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  • Ky. mom sentenced for fatally shooting 2 young sons in the head

    BULLITT COUNTY, Ky. (TCN) — A judge sentenced a 33-year-old woman to life in prison for killing her young sons in her what defense attorney argued was a “psychotic episode” from drug withdrawal.

    WDRB-TV reports Tiffanie Lucas received the sentence Friday, Nov. 22, about a month after she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder for the deaths of 6-year-old Maurice Baker Jr. and 9-year-old Jayden Howard. Lucas will not be allowed to appeal because she entered the plea.

    Bullitt County Commonwealth Attorney Bailey Taylor said following the sentencing announcement, “Tiffanie Lucas not only murdered Jayden and Maurice but she forever scarred the lives of their family and friends — both adults and children.”

    On Nov. 8, 2023, Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a shooting call on Bentwood Drive and found the two boys critically injured with gunshot wounds. Medics transported them to Norton’s Children Hospital, where they both died from their injuries. Investigators arrested Lucas the same day.

    According to WHAS-TV, Lucas attempted to shoot herself in the head, but the gun jammed.

    WDRB reports an investigator asked if she “meant to hurt her children,” and Lucas “indicated that it was an accident.”

    Lucas reportedly called herself “so stupid” and said she was “in such a bad spot.”

    The detective, Richard Beahl, said at the time of Lucas’ arrest that she was convinced she was “being manipulated through Facebook, through the internet or through Wi-Fi — through Facebook and through her Wi-Fi — being manipulated into doing what she did.”

    One of her attorneys, Richard Lawniczak, told the judge at her sentencing that Lucas’ “psychotic episode was brought on by opioid withdrawal,” adding, “She abstained from use, and, in trying to get clean, this was the side effect.”

    Her other attorney, Jonathon Villavicencio, said, “I understand that this is a hard thing for many people to accept or understand, but no one is more devastated by their deaths than Tiffanie Lucas.”

    WAVE-TV reports Maurice Baker Jr.’s father, Maurice Baker Sr., spoke at the sentencing hearing about how he tried to fight for custody, but Lucas ignored him.

    Baker Sr. said, “I didn’t just lose Maurice on Nov. 8. I lost my son the day he was born. Ever since he was born, she held my son over my head. I begged her so many times.”

    Baker Sr. planned a birthday party for their son, but Lucas “never let him come.”

    WHAS reports the boy’s aunt, Bobbie Baker, told Lucas, “I will never forgive you. I will be there at every parole hearing.”

    MORE:

    • Tiffanie Lucas learns her sentence for killing her 2 sons in their Bullitt County home – WDRB
    • Bullitt County mom sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting her 2 sons – WHAS
    • Bullitt County woman who killed her young sons receives two life sentences – WAVE
    • Bullitt County detective reveals what mom told him after she was charged with killing her 2 children, 11/14/2023 – WDRB
    • Shooting with Injury, 11/8/2023 – Bullitt County Sheriff’s Office

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  • Teen arrested after 4 people were found shot in house set on fire

    LANCASTER, Calif. (TCN) — A teen faces charges after allegedly killing four people, including two siblings, while they were sleeping.

    According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, in the early hours of Nov. 16, authorities allege 19-year-old Miguel Sandoval burglarized a residence, where he shot 24-year-old Edwin Garcia, 23-year-old Matthew Montebello, 29-year-old Christine Aca-ac, and Aca-ac’s brother, 24-year-old Janvi Maquindang. Following the shootings, Sandoval allegedly set the house ablaze to conceal his crimes.

    Garcia, Aca-ac, and Maquindang were pronounced deceased at the scene. Deputies attempted to revive Montebello and pull him from the burning house, but he later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. Prosecutors said another victim, who KTLA-TV reports is 16 years old, was in the home at the time, but she was unharmed.

    Montebello’s mother told KABC-TV Sandoval allegedly used to date one of the younger siblings who lived in the residence.

    On Nov. 26, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that Sandoval faces four counts of murder, one felony count of first-degree residential burglary with person present, and one felony count of arson of an inhabited structure or property.

    Sandoval is set to be arraigned on Jan. 27 and remains held without bail. Sandoval faces a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole if convicted.

    Gascón said, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of these four lives, including a brother and sister, who were callously shot as they peacefully slept in their beds.”

    MORE:

    • DA Gascón Announces Man Charged with Murder of Four Adults in Lancaster Mass Shooting, House Fire – Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office
    • Teen faces possible sentence of life without parole in arson, slayings of 4 in Lancaster – KTLA
    • Heartbroken family remembers young man after grisly Lancaster murder of 4 people – KABC

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  • Trump WINS – Jack Smith Shuts Down Lawfare

    Jack Smith’s Political Persecution of Donald Trump Ends
    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Jack Smith’s Political Persecution of Donald Trump Ends

    Following a request by Special Counsel Jack Smith, a judge has dropped the charges against President-elect Donald Trump. At last, this egregious political persecution comes to an end. This is a good day for the rule of law.

    The political decision to seek this dismissal is forced recognition that the American people essentially found President Trump innocent of the political and baseless lawfare charges brought against him by the Democratic Party machine.

    The Department of Justice under Joe Biden became a Department of Injustice as it waged lawfare against Donald Trump. Jack Smith’s mission was never anything more than retaliation and election interference at the highest level. The fake charges against Trump were built on sand and about nothing. Judicial Watch and I witnessed firsthand the corruption of Jack Smith’s operation when they forced me to testify for hours before a grand jury over my tweets, election and public policy battles, and what I had for lunch with President Trump.

    Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and all the other shady characters at Justice are no less villainous than their puppet Smith. The FBI and Justice Department (and many other Deep State agencies) are irredeemably corrupt. Indeed, even in seeking dismissal, the Biden regime asks the court to keep the option open to further persecute President Trump when he leaves office!

    This unprecedented corruption and abuse of power by the Biden regime and its party allies must now be the subject of a thorough criminal investigation.  In the meantime, Judicial Watch will continue to investigate and sue over what has been the worst government corruption in American history.

    In my new book Rights and Freedoms in Peril I detail a long chain of abuses officials and politicians have made against the American people and call readers to battle for “the soul and survival of America.” The book details how the progressive movement threatens America’s most venerable institutions, undermining the core principles that make this country a beacon of hope to the world.

    Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in May 2023 after the Justice Department rejected a December 9, 2022, FOIA request for ”staff rosters, phone lists, or similar records depicting all employees hired by or detailed to the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith.”

    In February 2024 the Department of Justice asked a federal court to allow the agency to keep secret the names of top staffers working in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office that is targeting former President Donald Trump and other Americans.

    In May 2024 we asked the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, to declare a default judgment against District Attorney Fani Willis in Judicial Watch’s lawsuit seeking records of communications Willis had with Special Counsel Jack Smith and the House January 6 Committee.

    Before his appointment to investigate and prosecute Trump, Jack Smith previously was at the center of several other controversial issues, the IRS scandal among them.

    In 2014, a Judicial Watch investigation revealed that top IRS officials had been in communication with Jack Smith’s then-Public Integrity Section about a plan to launch criminal investigations into conservative tax-exempt groups. Government officials were looking to step up a probe into requests for tax-exemption from organizations with conservative-sounding names like “Tea Party” and other “political sounding names,” according to a later report by the Treasury Department’s inspector general. Jack Smith appears to have been a key player in this attempt to silence conservative voices.

    You can see that the end of this chapter of terrible abuses of President Trump is only the middle of Judicial Watch’s ongoing investigation and accountability lawsuits over this unprecedented and dangerous lawfare.

     

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    Each year I like to remind our supporters to recall what life was like for the Pilgrims who arrived on these shores in December of 1620. As the Plimoth Plantation describes it:

    Many of the colonists fell ill. They were probably suffering from scurvy and pneumonia caused by a lack of shelter in the cold, wet weather. Although the Pilgrims were not starving, their sea-diet was very high in salt, which weakened their bodies on the long journey and during that first winter. As many as two or three people died each day during their first two months on land. Only 52 people survived the first year in Plymouth. When Mayflower left Plymouth on April 5, 1621, she was sailed back to England by only half of her crew.

    Nevertheless, a year after their arrival they sat down for a feast of thanksgiving. They had befriended and made a treaty of mutual protection with the Pokanoket Wampanoag leader, Ousamequin, also known as Massasoit to the Pilgrims.

    In the fall of 1621, the colonists marked their first harvest with a three-day celebration. Massasoit and 90 of his men joined the English for feasting and entertainment. In the 1800s this famous celebration became the basis for the story of the First Thanksgiving.It would be easy to focus on the passing difficulties of our time, especially for those of us who fight daily to preserve the God-given liberties that have blessed this land since the time of the Pilgrims. But, as they did, we must pause to reflect on all that is good and on the Source of this goodness.

    I am particularly fond of a hymn popularly associated with Thanksgiving Day and often sung at family meals and religious services on this day, having been brought to America by Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam, now New York City. It was written by Adrianus Valerius and is entitled “Wilt Heden Nu Treden” (“We Gather Together.”)

    We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
    He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
    The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
    Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

    Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
    Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
    So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
    Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

    We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
    And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
    Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
    Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

    All of us at Judicial Watch wish you and yours a most blessed Thanksgiving! I would be remiss if I also did not thank you, dear supporter, for any and all support you’ve given Judicial Watch throughout the year. Of course, your special support now for Judicial Watch’s essential work would be most welcome.

    Until next week,

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  • After Releasing Hundreds of Alien Criminals State Passes Law to Honor ICE Detainers

    Thankfully, some positive news involving the national epidemic of local governments that protect criminal aliens from federal authorities. Legislators in North Carolina overrode the veto of the state’s Democratic governor to pass a bill that requires all local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Under a program known as 287(g) local authorities are supposed to notify ICE of jail inmates in the country illegally, enhancing the safety and security of communities by creating partnerships with state and local police to identify and deport dangerous migrants amenable to removal from the United States.

    Unfortunately for Americans nationwide, a growing number of states and municipalities shield even the most violent of illegal immigrants by enacting sanctuary laws that prohibit public employees, including police, from cooperating with federal authorities. As of May 2024, ICE has 287(g) agreements with 135 law enforcement agencies in 27 states, according to the agency’s latest figures. Sixty of the pacts are designed to identify and process removable noncitizens with criminal or pending criminal charges who have been arrested by local police. In agreements with 75 local agencies ICE trains, certifies, and authorizes officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on noncitizens in their jail. Most cooperating agencies are in Florida and Texas, though local police in other states such as Wisconsin and Georgia also participate in the federal partnership.

    In North Carolina more than a dozen local law enforcement agencies cooperate with the feds to deport illegal immigrants arrested for state offenses but they tend to be smaller departments that do not typically encounter many alien criminals. The state’s two most populous counties have long offered illegal immigrants sanctuary. Wake County, the state’s most populous, does not cooperate with federal authorities and has released a multitude of criminal aliens. A few years ago, ICE blasted Wake County officials for putting “politics before public safety” by releasing foreign nationals with active ICE detainers arrested for serious criminal offenses. Among them were child rapists and a drug felon. About 170 miles west in Mecklenburg County, the state’s second most populous, the elected sheriff has kept his campaign promise to protect illegal immigrants by releasing from custody numerous violent offenders rather than turn them over to federal authorities for removal. They include rapists, child molesters, kidnappers, burglars, and migrants charged with gun-related and drug crimes. Other significant counties such as Guilford, Forsyth and Buncombe also do not honor ICE detainers and combined have released hundreds of criminal aliens with serious charges in the last few years.

    To end the madness, legislators in the Tar Heel State recently passed a bill forcing state and local law enforcement to honor ICE detainers, which are largely issued for serious criminals. The measure requires law enforcement agencies throughout North Carolina that arrest illegal aliens for state crimes to hold them for 48 hours or until ICE picks them up when the agency issues a detainer. It also requires local jail officials to check the immigration or detainer status of suspects arrested for serious offenses such as gang-related crimes, homicide, kidnapping, human trafficking, drug, and sex crimes. “Prior to the prisoner’s release, and after receipt of the detainer and administrative warrant, or a copy thereof, by the administrator or other person in charge of the facility, the prisoner shall be taken without unnecessary delay before a State judicial official who shall be provided with the detainer and administrative warrant, or a copy thereof,” the new law states. It also shields local authorities from criminal or civil liability for cooperating with ICE.

    Sounds perfectly reasonable to protect communities from serious criminals who should not even be in the country. Nevertheless, North Carolina’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, vetoed the bill with his allies in the state legislature citing the worn-out rhetoric that local police need to have trusting relationships with the communities they serve and therefore should not cooperate with the feds to deport alien criminals. Fortunately, state legislators overrode the governor’s veto and every law enforcement agency in the state must comply with ICE detainers after years of blowing them off.

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  • Idaho teen allegedly illegally surrendered deceased infant in baby box with placenta still attached

    BLACKFOOT, Idaho (TCN) — Police recently arrested a teenager on suspicion of leaving a newborn baby in a box outside a medical center after the infant girl had already died.

    According to the Twin Falls Police Department, on Oct. 13, the Blackfoot Police Department responded to the Safe Haven Baby Box at Grove Creek Medical Center in reference to a deceased infant found. Safe Haven Baby Box said medical staff determined the baby died “long before being placed” there.

    Safe Haven Baby Box reiterated that anyone can leave an infant who is unharmed and healthy, so this was an illegal surrender under state law. Founder Monica Kelsey said the baby girl was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached. Kelsey added, “We are heartbroken. Let this be clear: This is an illegal, deadly abandonment.”

    In an update posted Nov. 22, the Blackfoot Police Department said they arrested 18-year-old Angel Newberry in Twin Falls on a felony warrant for failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner. She was booked into the Bingham County Jail.

    Police did not specify the relationship between Newberry and the child.

    In a statement, Safe Haven Baby Box said since 2017, “52 infants have been lovingly surrendered at our baby box locations. These babies have gone on to be quickly adopted by families who have eagerly awaited the chance to adopt an infant. When utilized, the program saves lives and protects women in crisis. However, in any situation where the Safe Haven Law is violated, our organization will work diligently with law enforcement for justice for the infant who is illegally abandoned.”

    MORE:

    • Press Release: Update on Grove Creek Medical Baby Box Case – Blackfoot Police Department
    • Twin Falls Police Investigates Death of Newborn Found in Safe Haven Baby Box – Twin Falls Police Department
    • News Release, 10/28/2024 – Safe Haven Baby Box

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  • Texas influencer sentenced for hiring couple to kill her ex, an online critic, and a competitor

    MEMPHIS, Tenn. (TCN) — A 35-year-old Texas influencer will spend a decade in federal prison for trying to hire a couple to kill three people, including her ex-boyfriend.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee announced Nov. 18 that a judge sentenced Ashley Grayson to 10 years, plus three years of supervised release. A jury indicted Grayson and her husband, Joshua Grayson, in July 2023 for use of interstate facility in commission of murder-for-hire. The case went to trail in March 2024, and Ashley Grayson was found guilty, but the jury acquitted her husband.

    According to prosecutors, Ashley Grayson, who operated an online business and “gained notoriety,” got into a dispute with a competitor from Southaven, Mississippi, in 2021. Grayson believed the woman made fake online profiles and “criticized Grayson and her business.” Despite the falling out, Grayson had never met the woman in person.

    In August 2022, Grayson arranged to meet with a Memphis woman whom she had worked with in the past to “discuss a ‘business opportunity.’” The woman and her husband arrived in Dallas the following month, where they met with Grayson and her husband. Grayson reportedly told the couple she would pay them to kill three different individuals, including the Southaven woman, her ex-boyfriend, and a Texas woman who had posted negative things about Grayson online. Grayson allegedly offered $20,000 for each slaying.

    The Memphis woman recorded a call she had with Grayson on Sept. 10, 2022, in which Grayson told her she wanted the Southaven woman “killed as soon as possible.” Grayson reportedly said she’d pay the Memphis woman $5,000 more if she carried out the slaying the following week.

    According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Memphis couple took photos of police lights from a separate incident under the guise that they had tried to kill the Southaven woman but were unsuccessful. The couple then reportedly “demanded” $10,000 from Grayson for the unsuccessful attempt, and they met with her in Dallas for the payment.

    U.S. Attorney Fondren said, “This was a 21st-century crime where online feuds and senseless rivalries bled into the real world. The defendant tried to hire someone to murder a woman over things that happened exclusively on the internet.”

    MORE:

    • Texas Woman Sentenced to 10 Years of Imprisonment in Connection with Murder-for-Hire Plot – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee

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