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Tag: Assault and battery

  • Man charged with killing 4 workers at Oklahoma pot farm

    Man charged with killing 4 workers at Oklahoma pot farm

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    OKLAHOMA CITY — A man accused of killing four workers at an Oklahoma marijuana farm had demanded the return of his $300,000 investment in the operation shortly before he started shooting, prosecutors allege in court documents.

    Chen Wu, 45, was charged Friday in Kingfisher County with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault and battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the Nov. 20 killings.

    “Eyewitnesses to the murders have stated that (Wu) demanded $300,000 be handed over to him by other employees of the marijuana operation, as a return of a portion of his ‘investment’ in the enterprise,” Assistant District Attorney Austin Murrey wrote. “The fact that it could not be handed over on a moment’s notice is what precipitated the mass murder.”

    Prosecutors on Friday also filed a motion that Wu be held without bond.

    In an arrest affidavit filed in the case, a worker who was at the farm on the day of the killings told investigators that a man, later identified as Wu, came into the garage and shot one man in the leg.

    “The suspect held multiple people inside the garage at gunpoint,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent Phillip Ott wrote in the affidavit. “The suspect demanded $300,000 within the next half hour or he was going to kill everyone in the garage.”

    Another worker at the farm told investigators Wu had worked at the farm about a year earlier.

    Killed in the attack were Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee, court documents show. A fifth person, Yi Fei Lin, was wounded. Authorities have said Wu and all of the victims were Chinese citizens and that the pot farm on a 10-acre (4-hectare) property west of Hennessey was operating under an illegally obtained license to grow marijuana for medical purposes.

    Wu is scheduled to make an initial appearance Wednesday, court documents show. Jail and court records don’t indicate the name of an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

    The state’s motion also indicates there is video that depicts portions of the slayings and that eyewitnesses who know Wu have positively identified him. Authorities have previously said the victims were “executed.”

    Wu was arrested Nov. 22 in Florida after the vehicle he was driving was flagged by a car tag reader, police in Miami Beach said. Oklahoma authorities took Wu from Miami-Dade County jail Wednesday, and he was booked into the Kingfisher County jail on Thursday.

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  • Report: Woman attacks 6 deputies at New Orleans airport

    Report: Woman attacks 6 deputies at New Orleans airport

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    Officials say a woman bit, kicked and spat on six sheriff’s deputies while refusing to exit a plane at an airport in Louisiana early Thanksgiving Day, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported Saturday.

    Authorities said the 25-year-old woman attacked Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputies at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to local news reports.

    Deputies were responding to Spirit airline workers’ requests to remove the woman, who had reportedly grown irate and asked nearby passengers who she assumed to be Latino whether they were smuggling cocaine. Paramedics treated the deputies on site, according to local news reports.

    Police charged the woman with six counts of battery on a police officer, three counts of disturbing the peace, one count of resisting arrest by force and another count of remaining after forbidden, according to reports. The woman was released from Jefferson Parish Correctional Center later that day after paying $10,750 bail and is scheduled for a Jan. 23 court date.

    Reports of passengers’ bad behavior have skyrocketed since air travel has increased after early pandemic shutdowns.

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  • Deshaun Watson returns from ban with some support, many boos

    Deshaun Watson returns from ban with some support, many boos

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    HOUSTON — Deshaun Watson signed autographs for Texans and Browns fans and posed for selfies before his first game in 700 days in a familiar place.

    Once the game started, it was overwhelming boos for Watson.

    Watson heard jeers before taking each snap throughout the first half in his first game Sunday since returning from an 11-game suspension for sexual misconduct. Watson’s debut with Cleveland came against Houston, where he was a three-time Pro Bowl pick in four seasons.

    After an interception gave the Browns their first possession at their 43, Watson threw a pair of incomplete passes. He spun away from a sack on third down, and fans cheered when his throw to David Bell hit the ground.

    Watson’s first completed pass on his third attempt resulted in a turnover when Anthony Schwartz fumbled after a 12-yard gain. Watson later drove the Browns to Houston’s 11 before throwing an interception in the end zone.

    Watson looked rusty after the nearly two-year layoff, completing 8 of 14 passes for 96 yards and a pick. But the Browns took a 7-5 lead into halftime following a 76-yard punt return for a score by Donovan Peoples-Jones.

    Watson had several supporters in the stands before the game, while a group of the women who accused him of sexual harassment and assault during massages also planned to attend. Attorney Tony Buzbee, who represents the women, didn’t respond to a text message seeking to confirm their attendance. He said earlier in the week about 10 women wanted to attend “to kind of make the statement, ’Hey we’re still here. We matter.’”

    One fan walked into NRG Stadium wearing a derogatory shirt in Browns colors that includes text saying “I need a massage.” He was joined by a fan wearing Watson’s No. 4 Browns jersey.

    Fans in the parking lot set up a fake massage table with a mannequin wearing a red Texans jersey and a towel.

    The few fans in their seats when Watson and the Browns jogged onto the field about an hour before kickoff booed.

    Watson sat out the 2021 season after demanding a trade from Houston. After two grand juries in Texas declined to indict him over the allegations, the Browns traded several draft picks to get Watson and then signed him to a fully guaranteed $235 million contract.

    After warming up, Watson signed jerseys for fans behind the end zone. An 18-year-old man from East Texas got Watson’s autograph on his Browns jersey. A couple from Houston wearing Texans jerseys also got Watson’s signature on their jerseys.

    “We don’t really know what happened and everyone deserves a second chance,” said Sherry Holden, explaining her support.

    Several Browns fans said they were uncomfortable rooting for Watson.

    “I’m cheering for the jersey and the team but it’s hard to accept him as my quarterback,” said Brandon Collins, who traveled from Ohio for the game.

    The NFL wanted to suspend Watson for at least one season but settled for 11 games after an independent arbiter initially gave him a six-game ban. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell pointed to former U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson calling Watson’s behavior “egregious” and “predatory” in seeking the full suspension.

    Watson also was fined $5 million and required to undergo professional counseling and therapy. Watson has maintained his innocence but also apologized to the women he impacted.

    The Browns went 4-7 with veteran Jacoby Brissett filling in for Watson. The Texans are 1-9-1.

    ———

    Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi

    ———

    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP—NFL

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  • Man pardoned by ex-Kentucky gov. convicted of strangulation

    Man pardoned by ex-Kentucky gov. convicted of strangulation

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    COVINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky man has been convicted of strangulation and domestic violence, three years after he was one of hundreds pardoned during former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s last days in office.

    Joheim Bandy, 20, was found guilty by a jury in Kenton County this week, The Kentucky Enquirer reported. Since his 2019 pardon, Bandy has been charged in three separate strangulation cases, the newspaper reported.

    Bandy was 15 when he was given a 13-year prison sentence for robbery and assault, according to court documents. He had served two years of that sentence when he was fully pardoned by Bevin.

    Bevin wrote in the document that Bandy is “turning his life around,” and “I am confident that he will do great things with his life.” The Republican issued hundreds of pardons following his failed reelection bid, attracting criticism from lawmakers, prosecutors and victims who were outraged that violent felons were being released.

    “The pardon (Bandy) received was shockingly irresponsible and it nearly cost a 22-year-old mother her life,” Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said.

    In the strangulation case, a victim identified in court documents as the mother of Bandy’s child, told Covington police officers Bandy “pinned her against the wall, placing his hands around her neck, and restricting her ability to breathe.”

    Sanders said another trial for Bandy is scheduled to begin in February.

    Patrick Baker, another man pardoned by Bevin, was sentenced earlier this year to 42 years in federal prison for a 2014 drug robbery killing, the same crime he was pardoned for. That pardon had drawn particular scrutiny after media reports revealed that Baker’s family had political connections to Bevin and hosted a fundraiser for the former governor. Baker was convicted of murder last year in a federal trial.

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  • Affidavit: Oklahoma man said he killed 4 men, ‘cut them up’

    Affidavit: Oklahoma man said he killed 4 men, ‘cut them up’

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    OKMULGEE, Okla. — A man described as a “person of interest” in the killing and dismemberment of four men in eastern Oklahoma admitted to a woman that he killed the men and “cut them up,” according to a prosecutor’s affidavit.

    Authorities believe 67-year-old Joseph Kennedy shot and killed the four men on Oct. 9 at Kennedy’s scrap yard, according to the affidavit unsealed Thursday and signed by Assistant District Attorney Carman Rainbolt.

    Kennedy told a woman in Gore, Oklahoma, that he killed and dismembered the four men because they were stealing from him, according to the affidavit, which was filed by prosecutors who were seeking to increase Kennedy’s bond.

    The dismembered bodies of Mark Chastain, 32, Billy Chastain, 30, Mike Sparks, 32, and Alex Stevens, 29, were found Oct. 14 in the Deep Fork River in Okmulgee, a town of around 11,000 people that’s about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Tulsa. The men were believed to have left a house in Okmulgee on bicycles the evening of Oct. 9.

    One of Kennedy’s court-appointed attorneys, Gregg Graves, declined to comment Friday.

    Kennedy was arrested Oct. 17 in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida, while driving a stolen vehicle, according to Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice. He was later extradited to Oklahoma.

    Kennedy has not been formally charged, but Okmulgee County Jail records show he is being held on $10 million bond in connection with a 2012 charge of assault and battery with a deadly weapon for which he was still on probation.

    A telephone message left Friday for Rainbolt and Okmulgee County District Attorney Carol Iski was not immediately returned.

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  • Fired San Antonio cop is indicted for shooting teen in car

    Fired San Antonio cop is indicted for shooting teen in car

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    SAN ANTONIO — A former San Antonio police officer who shot and wounded a 17-year-old as the teen put his car in reverse while eating a hamburger has been indicted by a grand jury on two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant and one count of attempted murder, prosecutors said Thursday.

    James Brennand, 28, was a rookie officer when he was fired and charged with the two counts of aggravated assault after shooting Erik Cantu on Oct. 2 in a McDonald’s parking lot.

    Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said that one of the aggravated assault charges is for shooting Cantu and the other is for shooting in the direction of his female passenger. He said the attempted murder charge relates to the shooting of Cantu.

    Aggravated assault by a public servant is punishable by up to life in prison, while attempted murder is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, Gonzales said.

    “We know that most officers in this city care deeply about this community, but we cannot have a safe city if the community does not have trust in the criminal justice system,” Gonzales said.

    One of Brennand’s attorneys, Nico LaHood, said Thursday that so far, Brennand’s side of the story hasn’t been told, adding that there’s been an initial “rush to judgement attitude.” Video of the episode from Brennand’s body-worn camera has been released by police.

    “We anticipate more information will be revealed that will further shed light on this incident,” LaHood said.

    Cantu was released from the hospital last week, nearly two months after the shooting. In a statement after his release, his parents said he “still has a long road to recovery.”

    Family attorney Ben Crump, who has taken on some of the nation’s most high-profile police killings of Black people, said in a statement that the indictments were “a relief” for the family.

    “Erik and his family are grateful for the outpouring of support they have received, not only in Erik’s fight for survival, but also in our fight for full justice,” Crump said. “Today, we are one step closer.”

    Police said Brennand had been responding to an unrelated disturbance at the McDonald’s when he saw Cantu in a car he believed had evaded him the day before during an attempted traffic stop.

    Police said Brennand violated his training and police procedures after approaching the car, which they said he believed to have been stolen. Although the car’s registration plates didn’t match the vehicle, the car was not stolen, according to police.

    In body camera footage released by police, Brennand opens the car door and tells Cantu to get out. The car then drives backward with the door open, and the officer fires multiple times into the vehicle. He continues to shoot as the car drives away.

    ———

    This story has been updated to correct James Brennand’s age to 28, not 27.

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  • ‘Squid Game’ actor indicted over indecent assault charges

    ‘Squid Game’ actor indicted over indecent assault charges

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    South Korean actor Oh Young-soo speaks during a press conference at the Welcome Daehakro Festival 2022 in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 21, 2022. Award-winning “Squid Game” actor Oh will stand trial on charges of indecent assault after a woman accused him of inappropriately touching her in 2017, a South Korean court said. (Park Jin-hee/Newsis via AP)

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  • Former Nebraska interim coach arrested in domestic case

    Former Nebraska interim coach arrested in domestic case

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    LINCOLN, Neb. — Mickey Joseph, Nebraska’s interim coach for nine games after Scott Frost’s firing, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of strangulation and third-degree domestic assault.

    Police went to a Lincoln residence in the afternoon after a report of a domestic disturbance. Following an investigation, the 54-year-old Joseph was arrested at another location. He was being held at Lancaster Country Jail.

    “While the Lincoln Police Department does not normally provide a news release for a domestic-related arrest, due to the high-profile nature of the person involved and, in an effort, to provide transparency on an arrest involving a public figure, notification of the arrest is being made,” police said in a statement.

    Further details weren’t released.

    Matt Rhule was introduced as the Cornhuskers’ head coach Monday. Athletic director Trev Alberts had said he spoke with Joseph about the job before Rhule’s hiring.

    Rhule had not announced whether Joseph would be retained on his staff. Rhule did not immediately respond to a text message and voice mail left on his phone.

    Joseph played quarterback for the Cornhuskers from 1988-91 and returned last December as receivers coach.

    He was named interim head coach Sept. 11 after Alberts fired Frost. The Huskers were 3-6 under Joseph and finished the season 4-8.

    “I was made aware of the charges against Coach Joseph and given the nature of the allegations and based on University policy he has been placed on administrative leave,” Alberts said in a statement. “We will have no additional comment at this time.”

    Joseph had said at his first news conference as interim coach that he wanted the job full-time.

    When asked Monday by The Associated Press how Joseph reacted when told Rhule would be hired, Alberts said, “He took it really good.”

    Alberts did not answer directly Monday when asked if Joseph were a serious candidate. Alberts has repeatedly lauded Joseph for creating positive energy around the team and motivating players to play hard.

    “Mickey’s an outstanding coach, and he’s obviously got a huge and bright future in the business, and we’ll see whether it continues here,” Alberts said Monday. “Coach Rhule wants to sit down with him. I have so much respect for Mickey Joseph and what he’s done for our program, and our players do as well.”

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    AP college : https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF

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  • Colorado governor visits shooting site as community heals

    Colorado governor visits shooting site as community heals

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In a crowded brewery, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis embraced Richard Fierro, the veteran hailed as a hero after tackling a shooter who killed five people and injured 17 others at the LGBTQ enclave Club Q last week.

    There was a festive atmosphere Tuesday at Atrevida Beer, owned by Fierro, where patrons clutched pints of beer, a long line stretched across the room to the door, and above the bar was printed a message: “Diversity, it’s on tap.”

    Fierro’s event, where Polis and the Colorado Springs mayor both made an appearance, was the paradigm of a catchphrase Fierro has repeated since the shooting: “Be nice, hug each other, take care of your neighbor.”

    The hugs seemed contagious. Fierro squeezed Wyatt Kent, a drag queen whose 23rd birthday was being celebrated the night of the shooting, and chatted with his family.

    Kent, who’s drag name is Potted Plant, was still reeling from the horrific night. Kent remembered shots, then collapsing below Kelly Loving, who had been shot in the chest. Squeezing her hand as they asked Siri to call 911, Kent then held Loving’s head, repeating “one more breath, just one more breath” before paramedics arrived.

    The bleeding from Loving’s chest, was “like a hole in an air mattress,” said Kent, pausing and looking away. Loving was among the five dead, along with Daniel Aston, who Kent was in a relationship with. Aston had left strawberries, roses and a card for Kent’s birthday before he was killed.

    Kent, who’d written 119 poems about Aston, went completely numb in the days afterward. Then, they began connecting with Aston’s family and friends, those “who loved him, it’s really healing,” they said.

    Club Q’s community had been a steadfast support network, said Kent, one which has continued to undergird the community’s healing since the tragedy.

    “If I pour myself out into others they will pour themselves out back into me,” said Kent, “and that’s what this community has always done.”

    The broader Colorado Springs community is pouring out support for the survivors, too. At his brewery, Fierro was honored with $50,000 from a local credit union.

    “I’ve never had that much money in my life,” said an astonished Fierro, who reiterated that “everyone in (Club Q) was a hero.”

    Matt Gendron, chief engagement officer at Ent Credit Union and who’s employee had been in Club Q that night, said that Fierro “saved the lives of many people, including one of our family members.”

    Earlier that day, Polis solemnly walked along a line of flowers, crosses and signs bearing the photos and names of the victims outside Club Q in Colorado Springs.

    When he reached the end, he picked up a piece of pink chalk and drew a heart and wrote “We remember” on the pavement in front of the memorial, which had been covered with tarps to protect it from snow until his arrival.

    “Five people are lost forever. We celebrate their lives. We mourn them,” Polis said while speaking to reporters afterward at the site.

    Polis, who spoke earlier in the day to relatives of those killed as well as the injured, wore a gay pride ribbon pinned to the zipper of his puffy jacket. The Democrat, who became the first openly gay man elected governor in the U.S. in 2018, said he was concerned about rhetoric associating mainly transgender people with grooming and pedophilia and feared it could “inspire acts against the LGBTQ community.”

    But he was also optimistic about the future of the club, a sanctuary for the LGBTQ community in the mostly conservative city of 480,000, located about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Denver.

    “Club Q will be back and the community will be back,” he said.

    The attacker opened fire Nov. 19 with a semiautomatic rifle inside the gay nightclub before being subdued by patrons and arrested by police who arrived within minutes, authorities have said.

    The motive remains under investigation and one person is in custody.

    Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was being held without bond on suspicion of murder and hate crimes. Aldrich was arrested at the club after being stopped and beaten by patrons.

    Hate crime charges would require proving that the shooter was motivated by bias, such as against the victims’ actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Prosecutors have not yet filed formal charges against Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, according to court filings by his lawyers.

    Aldrich was arrested last year after a relative reported Aldrich was threatening her with a homemade bomb and other weapons, according to authorities.

    Ring doorbell video obtained by The Associated Press shows Aldrich arriving at their mother’s front door with a big black bag the day of the 2021 bomb threat, telling her the police were nearby and adding, “This is where I stand. Today I die.”

    Authorities at the time said no explosives were found.

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  • Big Ten fines MSU $100K, reprimands Mich for tunnel melee

    Big Ten fines MSU $100K, reprimands Mich for tunnel melee

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    ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Big Ten has disciplined Michigan State and Michigan for their roles in stadium tunnel altercations that led to seven Spartans being charged with crimes.

    The conference announced Monday that it is fining Michigan State $100,000 for its players “hitting, kicking or using of their helmet” to hit Michigan players and suspending cornerback Khary Crump, who is facing a felony charge, for the first eight games of next season.

    The Big Ten is also reprimanding Michigan for not providing adequate protection for both teams as they left the playing surface.

    “The Big Ten Conference has a standard of excellence both academically and athletically that has been built over 127 years,” said Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, who attended the game a month ago and has a son, Powers Warren, who is a walk-on tight end for the Spartans. “Our standards require that our student-athletes, coaches and staff members represent the conference, and their member institutions, with the highest level of decorum and sportsmanship.

    “We are taking disciplinary action and will continue to work with our member institutions to strengthen their game day procedures and ensure our honored traditions.”

    The Big Ten said the suspensions that ended the season for seven other Michigan State players was sufficient. The conference also said the schools properly addressed a staff member who violated the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy that was unrelated to the tunnel altercations.

    Last Wednesday, the Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office charged seven Michigan State football players for their actions Oct. 29 following the game at Michigan Stadium.

    The most serious charge is against Crump, who faces one count of felonious assault, and the other six players are charged with misdemeanors. Crump in one video appears to swing his helmet at a Michigan player. That could account for the more serious charge, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. State law describes felonious assault as an attack “using knife, iron bar, club, brass knuckles or other dangerous weapon without intending to commit murder or to inflict great bodily harm.”

    Linebacker Itayvion “Tank” Brown, safety Angelo Grose, cornerback Justin White, defensive end Brandon Wright and defensive end Zion Young are each charged with one count of aggravated assault while linebacker Jacoby Windmon faces one count of assault and battery. A conviction for a misdemeanor count of assault carries a prison term of up to one year, while misdemeanor assault and battery carries a maximum sentence of 93 days behind bars.

    “Our institution does not excuse the concerning actions by some of our student-athletes,” Michigan State Interim President Teresa K. Woodruff said in a statement. “At the same time, we challenge ourselves collectively to be thoughtful in how we approach this situation so that further harm isn’t needlessly done.

    “What seems to be missing from the disciplinary outcomes are the learning opportunities that can and should coexist with findings of fault. We must ask ourselves: Are we doing enough, as leaders, to help further safety within our competitions through meaningful actions and education? Or are we risking the opportunities and livelihoods of young people without creating change for success in the future?”

    Spartans cornerback Malcolm Jones, one of the suspended players, is not facing charges, nor are any players from Michigan.

    Following the Wolverines’ 29-7 win over their in-state rivals, social media posts showed Michigan State players roughing up Michigan’s Ja’Den McBurrows in and near a hallway that doesn’t lead to either locker room. Brown, Grose and Young are clearly seen on video getting physical with McBurrows.

    McBurrows skipped into the tunnel after the game and defensive back Gemon Green walked up it alongside Spartans while much of Michigan’s team was waving the Spartans off the field.

    Green, in another post, is seen surrounded by police while shouting across the tunnel at Michigan State players.

    The prosecutor’s office did not provide detail on the allegations, including who is accused of hitting whom. It was not clear when the charged players will make initial appearances in court.

    No. 2 Michigan secured the Big Ten East Division title by beating rival Ohio State, and is preparing to face unranked Purdue in the conference championship game. A win would give the Wolverines a spot in the College Football Playoff.

    Michigan State won five games under third-year coach Mel Tucker, who helped them go 11-2 last season with a second straight win over the Wolverines.

    ———

    AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25. Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://bit.ly/3pqZVaF

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  • Police: 2 young children stabbed to death in Bronx apartment

    Police: 2 young children stabbed to death in Bronx apartment

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    NEW YORK — Two small children died of stab wounds after their mother was taken into custody for observation Saturday night in New York City, police said.

    A 3-year-old boy and an 11-month-old boy were found in a Bronx apartment with multiple stab wounds to the neck and torso and did not survive after being transported to a hospital, police said.

    The 24-year-old mother of the children had been taken into custody and transported to a hospital less than an hour earlier after acting erratically at an address on Echo Place in Mount Hope.

    The mother was not arrested and the children’s father was not taken into custody, Deputy Chief Louis De Ceglie of Patrol Borough Bronx said during a press briefing late Saturday.

    Officers responded to a report of a “female acting erratic, but non-violent, with no weapons” around 7:20 p.m., De Ceglie said.

    Police were told a woman was trying to burn items in the kitchen and found her in the third-floor apartment “acting irrational,” De Ceglie said.

    She was taken into custody without incident until the arrival of an ambulance, which transported her to St. Barnabas Hospital for evaluation at about 7:50 p.m. Before leaving for the hospital, officers were told by a family friend that the children were with their father, De Ceglie said.

    A 911 call at 7:55 p.m. for the same location reported two children were not breathing. He said officers returned to the apartment and found the boys with multiple wounds.

    De Ceglie said officers and a family member tried to resuscitate the children while awaiting an ambulance, which took them to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center where they died.

    “Despite the officers’ best efforts, both children succumbed to their injuries,” De Ceglie said.

    Police had a “person of interest” in custody and were continuing the investigation, he said.

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  • Suspect arrested in fatal shooting at Houston home

    Suspect arrested in fatal shooting at Houston home

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    AUSTIN, Texas — A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection to a Thanksgiving day shooting at a Houston-area home that left two people dead and two wounded, according to the Houston Police Department.

    A man believed to be a former spouse of one of the victims entered the home through the back door as the families were finishing dinner Thursday and shot four people, Houston Police Department Assistant Chief Patricia Cantu said earlier Friday. The suspect has been questioned and is facing two counts of capital murder and two counts of aggravated assault, according to a Friday statement from the Houston Police Department.

    “There were four other people inside the house. As soon as they heard the shooting, they ran to the rooms for safety,” Cantu said. “The suspect discharged multiple rounds and even reloaded his weapon at the scene.”

    A woman and a man were pronounced dead. A second man was in critical condition and a 15-year-old boy was in stable condition at a hospital, Cantu said.

    Police have not identified the suspect and formal charges are pending, according to the Friday statement by Houston police.

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  • China sentences Chinese-Canadian star Kris Wu to 13 years

    China sentences Chinese-Canadian star Kris Wu to 13 years

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    BEIJING — A Chinese court on Friday sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years in prison on charges including rape.

    Beijing’s Chaoyang District Court said Wu was given 11 years and 6 months for a 2020 rape, and 1 year and 10 months for the “crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity” in a 2018 incident in which he and others allegedly assaulted two women they had gotten drunk.

    The court said the three victims in the rape case had also been drunk and were unable to resist.

    It said a combined 13-year sentence was agreed on and Wu would be immediately deported after serving his time.

    “According to the facts … the nature, circumstances and harmful consequences of the crime, the court made the above judgment,” the court said in an online statement.

    A Canadian diplomat was in court to hear the sentencing, it said.

    The June trial of the 32-year-old former member of the South Korean group EXO had been closed to the public to protect the alleged victims’ privacy.

    Wu has been detained since August last year while police conducted an investigation in response to comments online that he “repeatedly lured young women” to have sex, according to a police statement at that time.

    That year, a teenager accused him of having sex with her while she was drunk. Wu, known in Chinese as Wu Yifan, denied the accusation.

    The teenager then said seven other women contacted her to say Wu seduced them with promises of jobs and other opportunities. She said some were under 18.

    Rape is punishable by three to 10 years in prison, although exceptional cases can result in harsher sentences up to death. The second charge Wu faced is punishable by up to five years in prison.

    Wu grew up in Guangzhou in China and in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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  • Mexico wants American extradited on charges in tourist death

    Mexico wants American extradited on charges in tourist death

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    CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — Mexican prosecutors said Thursday they have filed charges against a U.S. woman on suspicion of killing another American seen being beaten in a viral video.

    Prosecutors in the state of Baja California Sur did not name the suspect in the Oct. 29 death of Shanquella Robinson.

    But they said they have approached Mexican federal prosecutors and diplomats to try to get the woman extradited to face charges in Mexico.

    Robinson’s death at a resort development in the Baja resort town of San Jose del Cabo shocked people in both countries. The video raised suspicions that Robinson may have died at the hands of people she was travelling with.

    Local prosecutor Antonio López Rodríguez said the case was being treated as a potential homicide and an arrest warrant had been issued for the suspect. However, the group Robinson was travelling with left Mexico after she was found dead in a rented villa.

    State prosecutor Daniel de la Rosa Anaya said the suspect was also an American, but did not identify her.

    Local media in Charlotte, North Carolina reported the people Robinson was travelling with gave differing versions of how she died, but that an autopsy revealed she died of a severe spinal chord or neck injury.

    A video apparently taped at the luxury villa in San Jose del Cabo shows one woman, apparently an American, beating another woman identified as Robinson.

    The video has been reposted many times on social media sites. In it, a man with an American accent can be heard saying “Can you at least fight back?” The man did not appear to intervene in the beating.

    The video raised questions about why nobody intervened in the purported beating, or why people she was traveling with would have beaten her.

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  • Colorado gay club shooting suspect to be at court hearing

    Colorado gay club shooting suspect to be at court hearing

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The alleged shooter facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub is scheduled to make their first court appearance Wednesday from jail after being released from the hospital a day earlier.

    Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who was beaten into submission by patrons during Saturday night’s shooting at Club Q, was scheduled to appear by video at the hearing. The motive in the shooting was still under investigation, but authorities said Aldrich faces possible murder and hate crime charges.

    Hate crime charges would require proving that the shooter was motivated by bias, such as against the victims’ actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The charges against Aldrich are preliminary, and prosecutors have not yet filed formal charges. Aldrich is represented by Joseph Archambault, a chief trial deputy with the state public defender’s office. Lawyers from the office do not comment on cases to the media.

    Defense attorneys said late Tuesday that the suspect is nonbinary. Standard court filings submitted by the defense team refer to the suspect as “Mx. Aldrich,” and the attorneys’ footnotes assert that Aldrich is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. The motions deal with issues like unsealing documents and evidence gathering, not Aldrich’s identity and there was no elaboration about it.

    Aldrich’s name was changed more than six years ago as a teenager, after filing a legal petition in Texas seeking to “protect himself” from a father with a criminal history including domestic violence against Aldrich’s mother.

    Aldrich was known as Nicholas Franklin Brink until 2016. Weeks before turning 16, Aldrich petitioned a Texas court for a name change, court records show. A petition for the name change was submitted on Brink’s behalf by their grandparents, who were their legal guardians at the time.

    “Minor wishes to protect himself and his future from any connections to birth father and his criminal history. Father has had no contact with minor for several years,” said the petition filed in Bexar County, Texas.

    The suspect’s father is a mixed martial arts fighter and pornography performer with an extensive criminal history, including convictions for battery against the alleged shooter’s mother, Laura Voepel, both before and after the suspect was born, state and federal court records show. A 2002 misdemeanor battery conviction in California resulted in a protective order that initially barred the father, Aaron F. Brink, from contacting the suspect or Voepel except through an attorney, but was later modified to allow monitored visits with the child.

    The father also was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in custody for importation of marijuana and while on supervised release violated his conditions by testing positive for illegal steroids, according to public records. Brink could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

    Aldrich’s request for a name change came months after Aldrich was apparently targeted by online bullying. A website posting from June 2015 that attacked a teen named Nick Brink suggests they may have been bullied in high school. The post included photos similar to ones of the shooting suspect and ridiculed Brink over their weight, lack of money and what it said was an interest in Chinese cartoons.

    Additionally, a YouTube account was opened in Brink’s name that included an animation titled “Asian homosexual gets molested.”

    The name change and bullying were first reported by The Washington Post.

    Court documents laying out Aldrich’s arrest were sealed at the request of prosecutors. Aldrich was released from the hospital and was being held at the El Paso County jail, police said.

    Local and federal authorities have declined to answer questions about why hate crime charges were being considered. District Attorney Michael Allen noted that the murder charges would carry the harshest penalty — life in prison — whereas bias crimes are eligible for probation. He also said it was important to show the community that bias motivated crimes are not tolerated.

    Aldrich was arrested last year after their mother reported her child threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons. Ring doorbell video obtained by The Associated Press shows Aldrich arriving at their mother’s front door with a big black bag the day of the 2021 bomb threat, telling her the police were nearby and adding, “This is where I stand. Today I die.”

    Authorities at the time said no explosives were found, but gun-control advocates have asked why police didn’t use Colorado’s “red flag” laws to seize the weapons Aldrich’s mother says her child had.

    The weekend assault took place at a nightclub known as a sanctuary for the LGBTQ community in this mostly conservative city of about 480,000 about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Denver.

    A longtime Club Q patron who was shot in the back and thigh said the club’s reputation made it a target. Speaking in a video statement released by UC Health Memorial Hospital, Ed Sanders said he thought about what he would do in a mass shooting after the 2016 massacre of 49 people at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

    “I think this incident underlines the fact that LGBT people need to be loved,” said Sanders, 63. “I want to be resilient. I’m a survivor. I’m not going to be taken out by some sick person.”

    The attack was halted by two club patrons including Richard Fierro, who told reporters that he took a handgun from Aldrich, hit them with it and pinned them down with help from another person until police arrived.

    The victims were Raymond Green Vance, 22, a Colorado Springs native who was saving money to get his own apartment; Ashley Paugh, 35, a mother who helped find homes for foster children; Daniel Aston, 28, who had worked at the club as a bartender and entertainer; Kelly Loving, 40, whose sister described her as “caring and sweet”; and Derrick Rump, 38, another club bartender known for his wit.

    A database run by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University that tracks every mass killing in America going back to 2006 shows this year has been especially bad. The U.S. has now had 40 mass killings so far this year, second to the 45 that occurred for all of 2019. The database defines a mass killing as at least four people killed, not including the killer.

    ———

    Bedayn is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

    ———

    Associated Press reporters Bernard Condon in New York, Jake Bleiberg in Dallas, Amy Forliti in Minneapolis, Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas, Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles and news researcher Rhonda Shafner from New York contributed.

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  • Police say 6 people and assailant dead in shooting at Virginia Walmart

    Police say 6 people and assailant dead in shooting at Virginia Walmart

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    Police say 6 people and assailant dead in shooting at Virginia Walmart

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  • Cops investigating Idaho stabbings say stalker tips unproven

    Cops investigating Idaho stabbings say stalker tips unproven

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    MOSCOW, Idaho — Authorities investigating the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students as they slept said Tuesday that detectives have looked extensively into information that one of the victims had a stalker and have not been able to verify it.

    Investigators have pursued hundreds of pieces of information about Kaylee Goncalves having a stalker but haven’t been able to identify one, the Moscow Police Department said in a news release.

    Authorities have said they have no suspect or weapon more than a week after the Nov. 13 killings shook the Idaho Panhandle town of 25,000 residents.

    Anyone with information that could help detectives with the stalker tips are asked to contact Moscow police.

    Police also said Tuesday that there’s been much conversation about how to describe the weapon used and that the type used in the attacks is believed to be a fix-blade knife.

    Police said Monday they would hold a news conference to update the public on the investigation at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

    The victims were Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington; Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls, Idaho; and Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho. The women were roommates, and Chapin was dating Kernodle.

    Authorities have said they were each stabbed multiple times, and that some had defensive wounds.

    On Sunday, law enforcement officers investigating the deaths asked for patience after a week passed with no arrests.

    Police have said evidence leads them to believe the students were targeted, but have repeatedly declined to give details.

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  • Men indicted for shooting at Mississippi delivery driver

    Men indicted for shooting at Mississippi delivery driver

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    BROOKHAVEN, Miss. — A father and son have been indicted by a grand jury after allegedly chasing and shooting at a FedEx driver in January after he dropped off a package in a Mississippi city.

    Brandon and Gregory Case, who are both white, were re-arrested Friday and indicted for attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy and shooting into the vehicle of D’Monterrio Gibson, who is Black. The charges were upgraded from conspiracy and aggravated assault.

    Gibson, 24, was not injured. But the chase and gunfire have sparked social media complaints of racism in Brookhaven, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) south of the state capital, Jackson.

    Gibson and his attorney, Carlos Moore, said they pushed prosecutors to secure an indictment for nearly 10 months.

    “It was an extremely long process to get this far into the case,” Gibson told WLBT-TV. “I feel like most of the time, I was treated like a suspect rather than a victim.”

    Moore compared the incident to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was running empty-handed through a Georgia subdivision in 2020 when three white strangers chased him down and blasted him with a shotgun.

    Moore has called for a federal hate crime probe into the case. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press in February that the department received a request to look into the case and was reviewing the request to determine any next steps. The department did not provide an update Tuesday.

    Gibson said he was wearing a FedEx uniform and was driving an unmarked van that FedEx had rented when he dropped off a package at a house in Brookhaven on Jan. 24. As he was leaving, he said he noticed a white pickup truck pulling away from another house on the same large lot.

    The pickup driver then tried to cut him off as he pulled out of the driveway, he said. Gibson swerved around him and then encountered a second man who had a gun pointed at the van and was motioning for him to stop. Gibson said the man fired as he drove away, damaging the van and packages inside. He said the white pickup chased him to the interstate highway near Brookhaven before ending the pursuit.

    Attorneys for Brandon and Gregory Case did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

    The Cases were initially arrested in February and released after paying bonds on lesser charges. Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing said bond was set at $500,000 for the upgraded charges, according to the Brookhaven Daily Leader.

    Moore doesn’t expect the case to go to trial until May of 2023 at the earliest.

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  • Teenage driver charged in crash of stolen car that killed 4

    Teenage driver charged in crash of stolen car that killed 4

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    BUFFALO, N.Y. — A 16-year-old accused of driving a stolen SUV involved in a high-speed crash that killed four teenage passengers was arraigned Tuesday on manslaughter and other charges.

    The parents of two of those killed, meanwhile, have filed a lawsuit against automaker Kia, claiming their children would be alive if its cars were harder to steal.

    A total of six teens were in the Kia Sportage when it crashed on state Route 33 on Oct. 24, Buffalo police said. The car had been reported stolen the previous night.

    The driver, apparently held in by an airbag and the steering wheel, was the only occupant not ejected through the sunroof when the vehicle struck a concrete embankment at high speed and flipped backwards, District Attorney John Flynn said. The driver was treated at a hospital and released. A 14-year-old girl also survived.

    The driver, whose name was not released, pleaded not guilty in Erie County Court on Tuesday to charges of manslaughter, assault and possession of stolen property. He was released under supervision with an ankle monitor, according to Flynn, who said opposed the release.

    Flynn told reporters the teen was charged as an adolescent but he would argue to keep the case in adult court at a hearing next week.

    “I still don’t think it’s right that this kid is out playing video games when on Thursday at Thanksgiving, there’s going to be an empty chair of four individuals at the Thanksgiving dinner table,” he said.

    The 16-year-old’s attorney said in court that those killed were close friends.

    Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said after the crash that the teens may have been participating in a TikTok challenge encouraging people to break into and steal Kia cars using cellphone chargers.

    The so-called Kia challenge showed how to hot-wire Kias and Hyundais with a USB cord and a screwdriver. Many police departments around the country have reported increases in Kia and Hyundai thefts since the video was posted last summer.

    A federal lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the mothers of 15-year-old Kevn Payne Jr. and 17-year-old Swazine Swindle, who died in the Buffalo crash, seeks unspecified damages while accusing Kia Corp. and Kia America Inc. of negligence and creating a public nuisance. It alleges that Kia failed to include an anti-theft device on certain vehicles and did not recall the cars or warn the public when the issue became evident.

    California attorney Jonathan Michaels, who represents the parents, said no one should be stealing cars but social media can have a powerful pull.

    “This is something that, on a young brain that’s not fully developed, that temptation is just so strong,” Michaels, of MLG Attorneys at Law, said by phone, “and they’re not understanding the consequences of what they’re doing, and all their friends are doing it. So it’s foreseeable this is happening, and it’s a defect to begin with.”

    An insurance industry group has said some Kias are stolen at nearly twice the rate of the rest of the auto industry because their keys lack computer chips for theft “immobilizer” systems.

    Kia has since announced it would include an immobilizer for all vehicles starting with model year 2022.

    A spokesman for the automaker said the company generally does not respond to pending litigation.

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  • Rage and sadness as Colorado club shooting victims honored

    Rage and sadness as Colorado club shooting victims honored

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    COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Hundreds of people, many holding candles and wiping away tears, gathered Monday night in a Colorado Springs park to honor those killed and wounded when a gunman opened fire on a nightlife venue that for decades was a sanctuary for the local LGBTQ community.

    The vigil came as the 22-year-old suspect, Anderson Lee Aldrich, remained hospitalized after Saturday night’s attack in which five people were killed and another 17 suffered gunshot wounds before patrons tackled and beat the suspect into submission. Aldrich faces five murder charges and five charges of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, online court records showed.

    The attack at Club Q has shaken the LGBTQ community in this mostly conservative city of about 480,000, located 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of Denver. At Monday night’s vigil people embraced and listened as speakers on a stage expressed both rage and sadness over the shootings.

    Jeremiah Harris, who is 24 and gay, said he went to the club a couple times a month and recognized one of the victims as the bartender who always served him. He said hearing others speak at the vigil was galvanizing following the attack.

    “Gay people have been here as long as people have been here,” Harris said. “To everybody else that’s opposed to that … we’re not going anywhere. We’re just getting louder and you have to deal with it.”

    Authorities have yet to reveal a motive for the attack, but the charges against Aldrich include hate crime charges, which would require proving that the gunman was motivated by bias, such as against the victims’ actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The charges against Aldrich are preliminary, and prosecutors have not filed formal charges in court yet.

    Court documents laying out Aldrich’s arrest have been sealed at the request of prosecutors. Information on whether Aldrich had a lawyer was not immediately available.

    Local and federal authorities during a Monday news briefing declined to answer questions about why hate crime charges are being considered, citing the ongoing investigation. District Attorney Michael Allen noted that the murder charges would carry the harshest penalty — life in prison — whereas bias crimes are eligible for probation.

    “But it is important to let the community know that we do not tolerate bias motivated crimes in this community, that we support communities that have been maligned, harassed and intimidated and abused,” Allen said, adding that additional charges are possible.

    More details emerged Monday about those killed and those credited with stopping the shooting.

    Authorities said the attack was halted by two club patrons including Richard Fierro, who told reporters that he took a handgun from Aldrich, hit him with it and pinned him down with help from another person.

    Fierro, a 15-year U.S. Army veteran who owns a local brewery, said he was celebrating a birthday with family members when the suspect “came in shooting.” Fierro said he ran at the suspect, who was wearing some type body armor, and pulled him down before severely beating him until police arrived.

    Though his actions saved lives, Fierro said the deaths — including his daughter’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Raymond Green Vance — were a tragedy both personal and for the broader community.

    “There are five people that I could not help. And one of which was family to me,” he said, as his brother put a consoling hand on his shoulder.

    Vance’s family said in a statement that the Colorado Springs native was adored by his family and had recently gotten a job at FedEx, where he hoped to save enough money to get his own apartment.

    The other victims were identified by authorities and family members as Ashley Paugh, 35, a mother who helped find homes for foster children; Daniel Aston, 28, who had worked at the club as a a bartender and entertainer; Kelly Loving, 40, whose sister described her as “caring and sweet”; and Derrick Rump, 38, another club bartender who was known for his quick wit and adopting his friends as his family.

    Thomas James was identified by authorities as the other patron who intervened to stop the shooter. Fierro said a third person also helped — a performer at the club who Fierro said kicked the suspect in the head.

    Thirteen victims remained hospitalized Monday, officials said. Five people had been treated and released.

    A law enforcement official said the suspect used an AR-15-style semi-automatic weapon. A handgun and additional ammunition magazines also were recovered. The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

    The assault quickly raised questions about why authorities did not seek to take Aldrich’s guns away from him in 2021, when he was arrested after his mother reported he threatened her with a homemade bomb and other weapons.

    Though authorities at the time said no explosives were found, gun-control advocates have asked why police didn’t use Colorado’s “red flag” laws to seize the weapons his mother says he had. There’s no public record prosecutors ever moved forward with felony kidnapping and menacing charges against Aldrich.

    It was the sixth mass killing this month, and it came in a year when the nation was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. It also rekindled memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people.

    Since 2006, there have been 523 mass killings and 2,727 deaths as of Nov. 19, according to The Associated Press/USA Today database on mass killings in the U.S.

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    Bedayn is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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    Associated Press reporters Haven Daley in Colorado Springs, Colleen Slevin in Denver, Darlene Superville in Washington, Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Jeff McMillan in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, and news researcher Rhonda Shafner from New York contributed.

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