A D.C. man has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing another man over a 2021 game of flag football.
A D.C. man has been convicted of first-degree murder for killing another man over a 2021 game of flag football.
A D.C. Superior Court jury found 22-year-old Antonio “Slick” Hawley Jr. guilty of shooting and killing 26-year-old Aaron Wiggins at Watkins Elementary in Southeast on Oct. 6, 2021.
Wiggins, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, had scored the winning touchdown during a late-night pickup game on the school’s sports field.
Players were talking trash during and after the game. Witnesses said that curses and insults were flung between the groups, and things got heated between the two teams.
Prosecutors said Hawley pulled a handgun from another player’s bag and fired 17 shots, hitting Wiggins 13 times. Wiggins died at the scene.
Hawley fled the scene but was later identified by eyewitnesses and video footage. He was arrested in December 2021.
Hawley is scheduled to be sentenced April 10.
WTOP’s Jeffery Leon and Ciara Wells contributed to this report.
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An appeals court on Monday overturned a conviction for an ex-UCLA gynecologist serving 11 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing patients after determining that the trial judge failed to inform his lawyers that some of the jurors raised questions about the English proficiency of one of the panel members.
A three-justice panel of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal ordered that the once-renowned cancer expert, James Heaps, 69, be sent back for a retrial on the charges involving the two patients he was convicted of abusing.
In October 2022, after a complex two-month jury trial, Heaps was convicted of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration involving the two patients. Jurors acquitted him of abusing two other patients and deadlocked on charges involving four more patients. In April 2023, a judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison.
The University of California system paid nearly $700 million to settle lawsuits brought by hundreds of Heaps’ accusers.
John Manly, who represented more than 200 former patients in a lawsuit that resulted in the settlement with UCLA, said the reversal of Heaps’ conviction is “an indictment of California’s criminal justice system which allows criminals to threaten public safety and prey upon the most vulnerable.’’
“These brave survivors suffered through a four-year ordeal of prosecution and trial resulting in an 11-year prison sentence for this monster,” he said. “Now they are being told that they must start over. … Our criminal justice system needs reforms that put victims first.’’
During the jury deliberations, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Carter, who presided over the trial, sent a judicial assistant, Luis Corrales, into the jury room to speak to the jury about a note sent by the foreperson describing the jurors’ “collective concern” that Juror No. 15 “did not speak English sufficiently to deliberate and had already made up his mind,” the appeals panel wrote.
Juror No. 15 had been an alternate on the jury, but on Oct. 18 he replaced Juror No. 8. Only an hour later, the jury sent the note, signed by the foreperson. The note stated, “We have observed that the language barrier with Juror [No.] 15 is preventing us from properly deliberating. Juror [No.] 15 was not able to understand calls to vote guilty or not guilty, and expressed to us that his limited English interfered with his understanding of the testimony.”
The judicial assistant spoke to the jury in English and, at the request of Juror No. 15, in Spanish. “At no time did the trial judge inquire of the jury or inform trial counsel of the note’s existence,” the appeals panel said, adding that the conversations with the judicial assistant were not transcribed.
Heaps’ defense lawyer was not informed of the note or of the communications, and the trial proceeded to a verdict.
Leonard Levine, Heaps’ trial lawyer, in a declaration to the appeals panel, said that had he been informed of the note, he would have sought to determine whether Juror No. 15 was “qualified to serve” and investigated the juror’s limited English and the jury’s view that Juror No. 15’s mind “is already made up.”
The Court of Appeal found “the trial court’s handling of the note deprived defendant of his constitutional right to counsel at a critical stage of his trial.”
“The failure to notify counsel about the jury’s note and the judicial assistant’s ex parte communications with the jury during deliberations amounted to a violation of the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel,” the panel found. The three-judge panel noted that it did not assess the juror’s English ability; rather, that was the shared opinion of the juror’s fellow jurors.
The appellate court found that the prosecution failed to meet its burden to demonstrate, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the constitutional error was harmless. As a result, the panel reversed the conviction and remanded it for a new trial.
“We recognize the burden on the trial court and, regrettably, on the witnesses, in requiring retrial of a case involving multiple victims and delving into the conduct of intimate medical examinations. The importance of the constitutional right to counsel at critical junctures in a criminal trial gives us no other choice,” acting Presiding Justice Helen I. Bendix wrote on behalf of the panel, with Associate Justices Gregory J. Weingart and Michelle C. Kim concurring.
The ruling overturns Heaps’ convictions for sexual battery by fraud, a crime jurors found involved separate acts of violence or threats of violence, two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person by fraudulent representation and two counts of sexual battery by fraud. He is currently at California’s Correctional Training Facility in Soledad.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80.Video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy.”“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan’s ideals,” the foundation said.His cause of death was not immediately announced.Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio program, “The Michael Reagan Show.”Reagan was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan took up acting, built his syndicated radio show and authored several books, including two about his personal journey titled “On the Outside Looking in” and “Twice Adopted.”Throughout his life, Reagan also focused his time on several charities, raising money in powerboat racing and serving as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation board for three years.Ronald Reagan, who was known for trying to scale back government and devoting his presidency to winning the Cold War, died in 2004 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Michael Reagan pushed his father’s ideas forward as chair of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.Michael Reagan’s second marriage was to Colleen Stearns, with whom he had two children.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80.
Video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy.”
“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan’s ideals,” the foundation said.
His cause of death was not immediately announced.
Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio program, “The Michael Reagan Show.”
Reagan was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.
The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.
After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan took up acting, built his syndicated radio show and authored several books, including two about his personal journey titled “On the Outside Looking in” and “Twice Adopted.”
Throughout his life, Reagan also focused his time on several charities, raising money in powerboat racing and serving as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation board for three years.
Ronald Reagan, who was known for trying to scale back government and devoting his presidency to winning the Cold War, died in 2004 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Michael Reagan pushed his father’s ideas forward as chair of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.
Michael Reagan’s second marriage was to Colleen Stearns, with whom he had two children.
WASHINGTON — Jeffrey Rosenberg is still trying to understand why President Trump would free the man who defrauded him out of a quarter of a million dollars.
Rosenberg, a retired wholesale produce distributor living in Nevada, has supported Trump since he entered politics, but the president’s decision in November to commute the sentence of former private equity executive David Gentile has left him angry and confused.
“I just feel I’ve been betrayed,” Rosenberg, 68, said. “I don’t know why he would do this, unless there was some sort of gain somewhere, or some favor being called in. I am very disappointed. I kind of put him above this kind of thing.”
Trump’s decision to release Gentile from prison less than two weeks into his seven-year sentence has drawn scrutiny from securities attorneys and a U.S. senator — all of whom say the White House’s explanation for the act of clemency is not adding up. It’s also drawn the ire of his victims.
“I think it is disgusting,” said CarolAnn Tutera, 70, who invested more than $400,000 with Gentile’s company, GPB Capital. Gentile, she added, “basically pulled a Bernie Madoff and swindled people out of their money, and then he gets to go home to his wife and kids.”
Gentile and his business partner, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted of securities and wire fraud in August 2024 for carrying out what federal prosecutors described as a $1.6-billion Ponzi scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors. After an eight-week trial, it took a jury five hours to return a guilty verdict.
More than 1,000 people attested to their losses after investing with GPB, according to federal prosecutors who described the victims as “hardworking, everyday people.”
When Gentile and Schneider were sentenced in May, Joseph Nocella Jr., the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher Raia, a senior official in the Justice Department, called their punishment “well deserved” and a warning to would-be fraudsters.
“May today’s sentencing deter anyone who seeks to greedily profit off their clients through deceitful practices,” Raia said in a statement.
Then, on Nov. 26 — just 12 days after Gentile reported to prison — Trump commuted his sentence with “no further fines, restitution, probation, or other conditions,” according to a grant of clemency signed by Trump. Under those terms, Gentile may not have to pay $15 million that federal prosecutors are seeking in forfeiture.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters this month that prosecutors had failed to tie “supposedly fraudulent” representations to Gentile and that his conviction was a “weaponization of justice” led by the Biden administration — even though the sentences and convictions were lauded by Trump’s own appointees.
The White House declined to say who advised Trump in the decision or whether Trump was considering granting clemency to Schneider, Gentile’s co-defendant. Attorneys for Gentile and Schneider did not respond to a request seeking comment.
Adam Gana, a securities attorney whose firm has represented more than 250 GPB investors, called the White House’s explanation “a word salad of nonsense,” and questioned why Trump granted Gentile a commutation, which lessens a sentence, rather than a pardon, which forgives the offense itself.
“If the government wasn’t able to prove their case, why not pardon David Gentile? And why is his partner still in prison?” Gana said. “It’s left us with more questions than answers.”
‘It hurts a lot’
To Rosenberg, Tutera and two other investors interviewed by The Times, the president’s decision stripped away any sense of closure they felt after Gentile and Schneider were convicted.
Rosenberg has tried not to dwell on the $250,000 he lost in 2016, after a broker “painted a beautiful picture” of steady returns and long-term profits. The investments were supposed to generate income for him during retirement.
“A quarter of a million dollars, it hurts a lot,” Rosenberg said. “It changed a lot of things I do. Little trips that I wanted to take with my grandkids — well, they’re not quite as nice as they were planned on being.”
Jeffrey Rosenberg, a longtime Trump supporter, said he felt “betrayed” after the president granted clemency to convicted fraudster David Gentile.
(Scott Sady / For The Times)
Tutera, who runs a hormone replacement therapy office in Arizona, invested more than $400,000 with GPB at the recommendation of a financial advisor. She hoped the returns would help support her retirement after her husband had died.
“I was on grief brain at the time and just feel I was taken advantage of and really sold a bill of goods,” said Tutera, 70. Now, she says: “I have to keep working to make up for what I was owed.” She has been able to recover only about $40,000.
Tutera said her sister, Julie Ullman, and their 97-year-old mother also fell victim to the scheme. Their mother lost more than $100,000 and now finds herself spending down savings she had planned to leave to her children and not trusting people, she said.
“That’s really sad,” Tutera said. “People, unfortunately, have turned into thieves, liars and cheaters, and I don’t know what’s happened to the world, but we’ve lost our way to be kind.”
Ullman, 58, who manages a medical practice in Arizona, said the financial loss was life-changing.
“I’m going to have to work longer than I thought I would because that was my retirement fund,” Ullman said.
Mei, a 71-year-old licensed acupuncturist who asked to not use her full name out of embarrassment, said a broker introduced her to the GPB investment funds at a lunch meeting targeting divorced women. She eventually invested $500,000 and lost all of it. It was only through lawsuits that she was able to recover roughly $214,000 of her money, she said.
Mei had planned to retire in New York to be close to her children. But the loss of income has forced her to live in China, where the cost of living is much lower, six months out of the year, she said.
Mei fears Trump’s decision to commute Gentile’s sentence will allow these schemes to continue.
“Donald Trump is promoting more white-collar financial criminals, for sure,” Mei said. “How unfair.”
Bob Van De Veire, a securities attorney who has represented more than 100 GPB investors, said he has mostly handled negligence cases against the brokers who touted GPB investments.
“Based on all the red flags that were present, they should have never sold these investments at all,” Van De Veire said.
Gana, the securities attorney, added that he will continue to fight for victims in civil court, noting the clemency only addressed the criminal conviction.
The commutation caught the eye of Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who sent a letter to the White House last week asking several questions: Why, for example, did Gentile receive clemency while Schneider did not? And what were the trial errors cited as a reason for the commutation? He said victims deserve answers.
“They will not forget that when they needed their government to stand with them against the man who stole their futures, their President chose to stand with the criminal instead,” Gallego wrote.
Rosenberg, the retiree from Nevada, said he still supports the president but can’t help but think Trump’s decision makes him “look like another of the swamp” that Trump says he wants to drain.
“I think Trump does a lot of good things,” he said, “but this is a bad one.”
Still, Rosenberg is hopeful Trump may do right by the victims — even if it’s just by admitting he made a mistake.
“I would like to think that he was fed some bad information somewhere along the way,” he said. “If that is the case … at least come forward and say, ‘I regret it.’ ”
A man who killed one woman and raped another at his Palm City home will be sentenced next year following his conviction on murder, rape, and kidnapping charges.
Rafael Reyes Banda, 47, was found guilty by a San Diego jury last week of killing Jayme Dawn Morton, whose body was found at his home in March 2023.
Prosecutors said he also held another woman captive at the home, raped her, and demanded she help him dismember Morton’s body.
That woman was able to escape the house and flag down a passerby, leading to Banda’s arrest.
While prosecutors said Banda tied up Morton and beat her over the belief that she had stolen property from him, one of Banda’s defense attorneys, Gretchen Von Helms, argued her client lacked injuries to his hands that would indicate he had struck someone.
Von Helms told jurors it was more likely that Morton died of a drug overdose and argued the case against Banda was concocted by the woman who claimed Banda raped her.
A $100,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of a mail thief.According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a suspect can be seen on surveillance footage prying open mailboxes and stealing mail from the Ventura post office in Orlando.The incident occurred on Nov. 21 just after midnight. The United States Postal Inspection Service has issued a letter to residents, warning them of the ongoing criminal investigation and the difficulty in determining which mail pieces have been affected.Martha Morales headed to the post office near Curry Ford and South Goldenrod on Tuesday. Morales, who has had a PO box for nearly ten years, discovered the letter from the Miami division of the United States Postal Inspection Service when she checked her mail Tuesday night. “Going on ten years,” she said.”We are currently conducting a criminal investigation in your area involving a mail theft ring,” the letter stated.The letter further explained, “Because of the nature of the crime, it is difficult to determine exactly what mail pieces corresponding to you have been taken. It is possible recovered mail was returned to you and/or mail was destroyed as a result of the perpetrators actions.”On the door of the post office, the same letter Morales received is displayed, along with another notice about adjusted lobby hours to protect mail and ensure timely service. Morales expressed her concern, saying, “Oh yeah,” when asked if she would double-check her mail for missing checks.Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly noted that mail theft is typically considered a federal offense, and his office has investigated similar cases recently. “We have investigated a theft of five, six hundred pieces of mail that were attributed to a group out of Central Florida,” Staly said. “They were stealing checks, they were washing the checks, and then adding a different amount and a different person payable.”Sheriff Staly encourages residents to report stolen mail to their post office and local law enforcement. As for the mailbox theft on Curry Ford, it remains unclear what the thief managed to steal. Morales hopes, “they got caught.”Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact law enforcement at 1-877-876-2455. WESH 2 reached out to the inspection service for more information on the alleged theft ring, but by Tuesday night, had not heard back. Though mail theft would typically be considered a federal offense, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said his office investigated mail theft just within the last six or seven months. “We have investigated a theft of five, six hundred pieces of mail that were attributed to a group out of Central Florida,” Staly said. As far as what that group was doing with the mail they stole, Staly said, “They were stealing checks, they were washing the checks, and then adding a different amount and a different person payable.”If your mail gets stolen, the sheriff encourages you to tell your post office and local law enforcement.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
A $100,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of a mail thief.
According to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a suspect can be seen on surveillance footage prying open mailboxes and stealing mail from the Ventura post office in Orlando.
The incident occurred on Nov. 21 just after midnight.
The United States Postal Inspection Service has issued a letter to residents, warning them of the ongoing criminal investigation and the difficulty in determining which mail pieces have been affected.
Martha Morales headed to the post office near Curry Ford and South Goldenrod on Tuesday.
Morales, who has had a PO box for nearly ten years, discovered the letter from the Miami division of the United States Postal Inspection Service when she checked her mail Tuesday night. “Going on ten years,” she said.
“We are currently conducting a criminal investigation in your area involving a mail theft ring,” the letter stated.
The letter further explained, “Because of the nature of the crime, it is difficult to determine exactly what mail pieces corresponding to you have been taken. It is possible recovered mail was returned to you and/or mail was destroyed as a result of the perpetrators actions.”
On the door of the post office, the same letter Morales received is displayed, along with another notice about adjusted lobby hours to protect mail and ensure timely service. Morales expressed her concern, saying, “Oh yeah,” when asked if she would double-check her mail for missing checks.
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly noted that mail theft is typically considered a federal offense, and his office has investigated similar cases recently. “We have investigated a theft of five, six hundred pieces of mail that were attributed to a group out of Central Florida,” Staly said. “They were stealing checks, they were washing the checks, and then adding a different amount and a different person payable.”
Sheriff Staly encourages residents to report stolen mail to their post office and local law enforcement. As for the mailbox theft on Curry Ford, it remains unclear what the thief managed to steal. Morales hopes, “they got caught.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact law enforcement at 1-877-876-2455.
WESH 2 reached out to the inspection service for more information on the alleged theft ring, but by Tuesday night, had not heard back.
Though mail theft would typically be considered a federal offense, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said his office investigated mail theft just within the last six or seven months.
“We have investigated a theft of five, six hundred pieces of mail that were attributed to a group out of Central Florida,” Staly said.
As far as what that group was doing with the mail they stole, Staly said, “They were stealing checks, they were washing the checks, and then adding a different amount and a different person payable.”
If your mail gets stolen, the sheriff encourages you to tell your post office and local law enforcement.
A Herndon, Virginia, man has been found guilty in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy in March 2024.
A Herndon, Virginia, man pleaded guilty Monday in the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy in March 2024.
Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said Ismael Cruz Delcid, now 20, faced charges of voluntary manslaughter in the case.
Cruz Delcid was sitting in a car in a parking lot on Coppermine Road on March 20, 2024, when he saw two teenage acquaintances, according to prosecutors. He spoke with them, and when the conversation escalated, Cruz Delcid shot the teenage boy, later identified as Michai Malave, twice.
Malave was taken to the hospital, where he later died. The other teenager was not hurt in the shooting.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, at the time, described Malave as a “student in good standing” at Westfield High in Chantilly.
Police said Cruz Delcid then ran into the woods, where he got rid of the gun and his clothing, then took public transportation and a rideshare to his girlfriend’s home. He turned himself in to police the next day.
He was charged with second-degree murder and later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
“My heart breaks for the victim’s family,” Descano said in a statement. “His parents deserved the chance to see him graduate high school and pursue his dreams. He had his whole life ahead of him, and I hope that this conviction allows everyone who knew him to continue healing from this terrible loss.”
In June, Cruz Delcid’s trial resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury.
Cruz Delcid is expected to return to court Jan. 9 for sentencing and faces up to 10 years in prison.
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A judge has agreed to revoke bond for a man accused of trying to rape a woman on an Orange County trail.The man, 23-year-old Jacoby Tillman, was out on a $9,500 bond after he was accused of attacking a woman from behind and attempting to rape her on July 25. Tillman was arrested on Oct. 10 and charged with attempted sexual battery, battery by strangulation and false imprisonment.The incident happened on a running trail near Econ Park. Tillman’s bond release sparked outrage from Orange County Sheriff John Mina.Prosecutors said they wanted him locked up until his trial, and they filed a new motion for it to happen. They also upped his charge to attempted first-degree murder. After being released on bond, prosecutors said Tillman posted a TikTok and made comments directed at the witness and used a text message that the witness had sent him in the past.The state argues that this violated the judge’s no-contact order with the victim and witnesses, which is a condition for his release.The judge agreed that Tillman violated court orders. At that time, he was charged with attempted sexual battery. In a new court filing, prosecutors said they want Tillman to be sentenced as a “habitual violent felony offender.”Tillman’s criminal record includes convictions for aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery in Orange County.His girlfriend at the time also reported abusive behavior, including an incident where he choked her until she lost consciousness, according to the OCSO.Related content
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A judge has agreed to revoke bond for a man accused of trying to rape a woman on an Orange County trail.
The man, 23-year-old Jacoby Tillman, was out on a $9,500 bond after he was accused of attacking a woman from behind and attempting to rape her on July 25.
Tillman was arrested on Oct. 10 and charged with attempted sexual battery, battery by strangulation and false imprisonment.
The incident happened on a running trail near Econ Park.
Tillman’s bond release sparked outrage from Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
Prosecutors said they wanted him locked up until his trial, and they filed a new motion for it to happen. They also upped his charge to attempted first-degree murder.
After being released on bond, prosecutors said Tillman posted a TikTok and made comments directed at the witness and used a text message that the witness had sent him in the past.
The state argues that this violated the judge’s no-contact order with the victim and witnesses, which is a condition for his release.
The judge agreed that Tillman violated court orders.
At that time, he was charged with attempted sexual battery. In a new court filing, prosecutors said they want Tillman to be sentenced as a “habitual violent felony offender.”
Tillman’s criminal record includes convictions for aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery in Orange County.
His girlfriend at the time also reported abusive behavior, including an incident where he choked her until she lost consciousness, according to the OCSO.
>> Video above: Previous coverageA man who was arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a woman on a running trail in Orange County could have his bond revoked.According to court records on the Orange County Clerk’s website, a motion has been filed to revoke 23-year-old Jacoby Vontell Tillman’s bond.The Orange County Sheriff’s Office spent months searching for Tillman, following a report that he assaulted a woman while she was jogging on the Little Econ Greenway Trail in July.OCSO said Tillman attacked a woman from behind and attempted to rape her. The woman said he grabbed her and wrapped both arms around her neck, choking her, causing her to see stars and eventually blacking out.Once she woke up, the woman said she was still face down and realized her shorts and underwear were gone, according to the OCSO. Tillman was arrested on Oct. 10 and charged with attempted sexual battery, battery by strangulation and false imprisonment. However, he was released from jail on Sunday on a total bond of $9,500, according to the Orange County Corrections Department.Tillman’s bond release sparked outrage from Orange County Sheriff John Mina.”This is atrocious! He should have never been released,” Mina said on Facebook.The attempted rape victim has also shared concerns about Tillman’s release. “I think he is a danger. Not just to women, but to kids,” she said.Tillman’s criminal record includes convictions for aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery in Orange County.His girlfriend at the time also reported abusive behavior, including an incident where he choked her until she lost consciousness, according to the OCSO. This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.
>> Video above: Previous coverage
A man who was arrested for allegedly attempting to rape a woman on a running trail in Orange County could have his bond revoked.
According to court records on the Orange County Clerk’s website, a motion has been filed to revoke 23-year-old Jacoby Vontell Tillman’s bond.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office spent months searching for Tillman, following a report that he assaulted a woman while she was jogging on the Little Econ Greenway Trail in July.
OCSO said Tillman attacked a woman from behind and attempted to rape her.
The woman said he grabbed her and wrapped both arms around her neck, choking her, causing her to see stars and eventually blacking out.
Once she woke up, the woman said she was still face down and realized her shorts and underwear were gone, according to the OCSO.
Tillman was arrested on Oct. 10 and charged with attempted sexual battery, battery by strangulation and false imprisonment.
However, he was released from jail on Sunday on a total bond of $9,500, according to the Orange County Corrections Department.
Tillman’s bond release sparked outrage from Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
“This is atrocious! He should have never been released,” Mina said on Facebook.
The attempted rape victim has also shared concerns about Tillman’s release.
“I think he is a danger. Not just to women, but to kids,” she said.
Tillman’s criminal record includes convictions for aggravated battery and misdemeanor battery in Orange County.
His girlfriend at the time also reported abusive behavior, including an incident where he choked her until she lost consciousness, according to the OCSO.
This is a developing news story and will be updated as more information is released.
Nicolas Sarkozy will be the first French President to go to prison. The 70-year-old politician has been found guilty by the Paris Criminal Court of criminal conspiracy in the case of suspected financing of his 2007 campaign by Muammar Gaddafi.
The sentence was handed down on Thursday with a deferred committal order, meaning that Sarkozy will not be going to prison immediately. But the provisional execution of the sentence means that it cannot be suspended by an appeal. The former president will be incarcerated in about a month’s time. Like any prisoner, he will be able to apply for a modified sentence. As he is over 70, he will even be able to request this immediately after his sentence begins.
The news of Sarkozy’s sentencing came as a political shock. Leaving the courtroom, the former president described the decision as “extremely serious for the rule of law” and “the confidence we can have in justice.” He continued: “I will assume my responsibilities. I will comply with the summonses of the courts. And if they absolutely want me to sleep in prison, I’ll sleep in prison. But with my head held high. I am innocent.”
The former president was also fined 100,000 euros and stripped of his civil rights. However, he was acquitted of the bribery charges against him. In reading out the 400 pages of deliberations, the president of the 32nd chamber stated that the legal proceedings had not made it possible to “demonstrate that the money that left Libya” had “ultimately” been used to finance his campaign.
“In the court’s view, the material elements of the bribery offense have not been established,” argued head judge Nathalie Gavarino, explaining the acquittal of the bribery charges. The judges did, however, find that “as Minister and President of the UMP,” Sarkozy had “allowed his close collaborators and political supporters, over whom he had authority and who acted in his name,” to solicit the Libyan authorities “in order to obtain or attempt to obtain financial support in Libya with a view to obtaining financing for the 2007 campaign.”
“I am therefore condemned for having allegedly allowed two of my collaborators to come up with the idea of illegally financing my campaign,” said the former president as he left the courtroom.
A total of 12 defendants were on trial last March in this case, including the former head of state and three former ministers. Sarkozy was charged with “concealment of misappropriation of public funds,” “passive corruption,” “illegal financing of an electoral campaign,” and “criminal conspiracy.” He was facing up to ten years in jail, the prosecution having requested seven years.
The Hawaii Supreme Court, in a 5-0 decision, upheld the 2021 murder conviction and life sentence of a man found guilty of fatally stabbing his 67-year-old wheelchair-bound landlord, Kauai County Prosecutor Rebecca Like announced this week.
The high court reversed the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ ruling that overturned the conviction.
Peter Grewer’s murder trial began in April 2021, nearly three years after the death of Joellen Hartman, who was stabbed 17 times June 18, 2018. Grewer had been living in an ohana unit on Hartman’s property and was evicted the same day she was stabbed to death.
During the trial, the state called 23 witnesses and provided circumstantial evidence along with forensic DNA evidence found on Grewer’s bloodied clothes and under Hartman’s fingernails.
A Kauai Circuit Court jury found him guilty of second-degree murder.
“Due to the heinous and cruel nature of the crime as well as Ms. Hartman’s advanced age, the state sought extended and enhanced sentencing, ” the Kauai Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Grewer appealed the conviction based on a potential juror’s comments that he wanted to be excused from jury duty.
The court was made aware of the comments, and all potential jurors who heard the comments were interviewed by the judge. The judge excused the potential juror who made the comments from serving as a juror, and reminded the others to disregard the statements made about the case.
Grewer argued the comments violated his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.
The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled, 2-1, that his right to a fair trial was violated, overturned the conviction, and sent the case back to Circuit Court for a new trial.
The Kauai Prosecutor’s Office petitioned the Supreme Court, which opined that the Circuit Court’s investigation into the juror’s comments was adequate, that the judge’s instructions given to the jury were sufficient to address any prejudice that could have arisen from those comments, and any prejudice caused by the comments was harmless in light of the overwhelming, uncontradicted physical evidence of Grewer’s guilt.
Deputy Prosecutor Tracy Murakami handled the petition. Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Arakawa and former Deputy Prosecutor Kimberly Torigoe Metcalfe tried the case.
Like said in a written statement : “Our office, with our law enforcement partners, celebrate (the ) Hawaii Supreme Court decision reversing the ICA and restoring Grewer’s conviction in this heinous, premeditated, callous murder of a vulnerable Kauai resident.
“We are grateful to the many individuals who worked tirelessly on this case and we hope this decision provides some solace to the victim’s friends and family.
“We are relieved that this defendant will never walk the streets again.”
A Central Valley man was convicted on Wednesday for the murder of an Amazon semi-truck driver during a shooting on Interstate 5 two years ago. On June 15, 2023, around 12:45 p.m., Andrew Watson, of Manteca, merged onto northbound I-5 from Highway 120 and began swerving erratically before pulling up alongside the victim’s truck and firing multiple shots. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office said the deadly encounter was captured on dash camera footage.(Previous coverage in the video player above.)The shooting killed a truck driver, 37-year-old Ilkhom Shodiev. Following the shooting, Shodiev’s truck left the interstate and crashed into two parked vehicles and a business. No one else was injured. Beyond the dash camera footage, the district attorney’s office said surveillance video, witness accounts, bank and cell phone records, and gunshot residue tied the crime to Watson. On Wednesday, a jury found Watson guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and shooting at an occupied vehicle with a firearm enhancement. “This senseless act of violence stole the life of a hardworking husband and father who was simply doing his job, leaving his family in profound grief,” said District Attorney Ron Freitas in a news release. Freitas also said the conviction ensures Watson “faces the consequences of his savage actions.”Shodiev lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and two young children, who were ages 1 and 3 when he was killed. VIDEO BELOW: Loved ones grieve Amazon big rig driver shot, killed in LathropOfficials have not revealed a motive in the shooting. Watson is set to be sentenced on Sept. 23.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
A Central Valley man was convicted on Wednesday for the murder of an Amazon semi-truck driver during a shooting on Interstate 5 two years ago.
On June 15, 2023, around 12:45 p.m., Andrew Watson, of Manteca, merged onto northbound I-5 from Highway 120 and began swerving erratically before pulling up alongside the victim’s truck and firing multiple shots. The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s office said the deadly encounter was captured on dash camera footage.
(Previous coverage in the video player above.)
The shooting killed a truck driver, 37-year-old Ilkhom Shodiev. Following the shooting, Shodiev’s truck left the interstate and crashed into two parked vehicles and a business. No one else was injured.
Beyond the dash camera footage, the district attorney’s office said surveillance video, witness accounts, bank and cell phone records, and gunshot residue tied the crime to Watson.
On Wednesday, a jury found Watson guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm enhancement and shooting at an occupied vehicle with a firearm enhancement.
“This senseless act of violence stole the life of a hardworking husband and father who was simply doing his job, leaving his family in profound grief,” said District Attorney Ron Freitas in a news release.
Freitas also said the conviction ensures Watson “faces the consequences of his savage actions.”
Shodiev lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and two young children, who were ages 1 and 3 when he was killed.
VIDEO BELOW: Loved ones grieve Amazon big rig driver shot, killed in Lathrop
Officials have not revealed a motive in the shooting.
Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989.A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules.The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life.The parole hearings marked the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole.Erik Menendez made his case to two parole commissioners, offering his most detailed account in years of how he was raised, why he made the choices he did, and how he transformed in prison. He noted the hearing fell almost exactly 36 years after he killed his parents — on Aug. 20, 1989.”Today is August 21st. Today is the day that all of my victims learned my parents were dead. So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey,” he said, referring to his family members.The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.Erik Menendez’s prison recordMenendez, gray-haired and spectacled, sat in front of a computer screen wearing a blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeve shirt in a photo shared by officials.The panel of commissioners scrutinized every rules violation and fight on his lengthy prison record, including allegations that he worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used cellphones and helped with a tax scam.He told commissioners that since he had no hope of ever getting out then, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. Then last fall, LA prosecutors asked a judge to resentence him and his brother — opening the door to parole.”In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered,” Menendez said. “Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”A particular sticking point for the commissioners was his use of cellphones.”What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” Menendez said.The board also brought up his earliest encounters with the law, when he committed two burglaries in high school.”I was not raised with a moral foundation,” he said. “I was raised to lie, to cheat, to steal in the sense, an abstract way.”The panel asked about details like why he used a fake ID to purchase the guns he and Lyle Menendez used to kill their parents, who acted first and why they killed their mother if their father was the main abuser.Commissioner Robert Barton asked: “You do see that there were other choices at that point?””When I look back at the person I was then and what I believed about the world and my parents, running away was inconceivable,” Menendez said. “Running away meant death.”His transformation behind barsErik Menendez’s parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, emphasized 2013 as the turning point for her client.”He found his faith. He became accountable to his higher power. He found sobriety and made a promise to his mother on her birthday,” Rummel said. “Has he been perfect since 2013? No. But he has been remarkable.”Commissioner Rachel Stern also applauded him for starting a group to take care of older and disabled inmates.Since the brothers reunited, they have been “serious accountability partners” for each other. At the same time, he said he’s become better at setting boundaries with Lyle Menendez, and they tend to do different programming.More than a dozen of their relatives, who have advocated for the brothers’ release for months, delivered emotional statements at Thursday’s hearing via videoconference.”Seeing my crimes through my family’s eyes has been a huge part of my evolution and my growth,” Menendez said. “Just seeing the pain and the suffering. Understanding the magnitude of what I’ve done, the generational impact.”His aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, who is Jose Menendez’s sister, said she has fully forgiven him. She noted that she is dying from Stage 4 cancer and wishes to welcome him into her home.”Erik carries himself with kindness, integrity and strength that comes from patience and grace,” she said.One relative promised to the parole board that she would house him in Colorado, where he can spend time with his family and enjoying nature.The board brushed off prosecutor’s questionsLA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said ahead of the parole hearings that he opposes parole for the brothers because of their lack of insight, comparing them to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom denied him parole in January 2022 because of his “deficient insight.”During the hearing, LA prosecutor Habib Balian asked Menendez about his and his brothers’ attempts to ask witnesses to lie in court on their behalf, and if the brothers staged the killings as a mafia hit. Commissioners largely dismissed the questions, saying they were not retrying the case.In closing statements, Balian questioned whether Menendez was “truly reformed” or saying what commissioners wanted to hear.”When one continues to diminish their responsibility for a crime and continues to make the same false excuses that they’ve made for 30-plus years, one is still that same dangerous person that they were when they shotgunned their parents,” Balian said.What happens nextLyle Menendez is set to appear over videoconference Friday for his parole hearing from the same prison in San Diego.The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama ” Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a documentary released in 2024 have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers.Greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has also helped mobilize support for their release. Some supporters have flown to Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.
LOS ANGELES —
Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after serving decades in prison for murdering his parents with his older brother in 1989.
A panel of California commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public. A parole hearing for his brother Lyle Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, is scheduled for Friday morning.
The two commissioners determined that Menendez should not be freed after an all-day hearing during which they questioned him about why he committed the crime and violated prison rules.
The brothers became eligible for parole after a judge reduced their sentences in May from life without parole to 50 years to life.
The parole hearings marked the closest they’ve been to winning freedom from prison since their convictions almost 30 years ago for murdering their parents.
The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion in 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.
A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole.
Erik Menendez made his case to two parole commissioners, offering his most detailed account in years of how he was raised, why he made the choices he did, and how he transformed in prison. He noted the hearing fell almost exactly 36 years after he killed his parents — on Aug. 20, 1989.
“Today is August 21st. Today is the day that all of my victims learned my parents were dead. So today is the anniversary of their trauma journey,” he said, referring to his family members.
The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.
Erik Menendez’s prison record
Menendez, gray-haired and spectacled, sat in front of a computer screen wearing a blue T-shirt over a white long-sleeve shirt in a photo shared by officials.
The panel of commissioners scrutinized every rules violation and fight on his lengthy prison record, including allegations that he worked with a prison gang, bought drugs, used cellphones and helped with a tax scam.
He told commissioners that since he had no hope of ever getting out then, he prioritized protecting himself over following the rules. Then last fall, LA prosecutors asked a judge to resentence him and his brother — opening the door to parole.
“In November of 2024, now the consequences mattered,” Menendez said. “Now the consequences meant I was destroying my life.”
A particular sticking point for the commissioners was his use of cellphones.
“What I got in terms of the phone and my connection with the outside world was far greater than the consequences of me getting caught with the phone,” Menendez said.
The board also brought up his earliest encounters with the law, when he committed two burglaries in high school.
“I was not raised with a moral foundation,” he said. “I was raised to lie, to cheat, to steal in the sense, an abstract way.”
The panel asked about details like why he used a fake ID to purchase the guns he and Lyle Menendez used to kill their parents, who acted first and why they killed their mother if their father was the main abuser.
Commissioner Robert Barton asked: “You do see that there were other choices at that point?”
“When I look back at the person I was then and what I believed about the world and my parents, running away was inconceivable,” Menendez said. “Running away meant death.”
His transformation behind bars
Erik Menendez’s parole attorney, Heidi Rummel, emphasized 2013 as the turning point for her client.
“He found his faith. He became accountable to his higher power. He found sobriety and made a promise to his mother on her birthday,” Rummel said. “Has he been perfect since 2013? No. But he has been remarkable.”
Commissioner Rachel Stern also applauded him for starting a group to take care of older and disabled inmates.
Since the brothers reunited, they have been “serious accountability partners” for each other. At the same time, he said he’s become better at setting boundaries with Lyle Menendez, and they tend to do different programming.
More than a dozen of their relatives, who have advocated for the brothers’ release for months, delivered emotional statements at Thursday’s hearing via videoconference.
“Seeing my crimes through my family’s eyes has been a huge part of my evolution and my growth,” Menendez said. “Just seeing the pain and the suffering. Understanding the magnitude of what I’ve done, the generational impact.”
His aunt Teresita Menendez-Baralt, who is Jose Menendez’s sister, said she has fully forgiven him. She noted that she is dying from Stage 4 cancer and wishes to welcome him into her home.
“Erik carries himself with kindness, integrity and strength that comes from patience and grace,” she said.
One relative promised to the parole board that she would house him in Colorado, where he can spend time with his family and enjoying nature.
The board brushed off prosecutor’s questions
LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said ahead of the parole hearings that he opposes parole for the brothers because of their lack of insight, comparing them to Sirhan Sirhan, who assassinated presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom denied him parole in January 2022 because of his “deficient insight.”
During the hearing, LA prosecutor Habib Balian asked Menendez about his and his brothers’ attempts to ask witnesses to lie in court on their behalf, and if the brothers staged the killings as a mafia hit. Commissioners largely dismissed the questions, saying they were not retrying the case.
In closing statements, Balian questioned whether Menendez was “truly reformed” or saying what commissioners wanted to hear.
“When one continues to diminish their responsibility for a crime and continues to make the same false excuses that they’ve made for 30-plus years, one is still that same dangerous person that they were when they shotgunned their parents,” Balian said.
What happens next
Lyle Menendez is set to appear over videoconference Friday for his parole hearing from the same prison in San Diego.
The case has captured the attention of true crime enthusiasts for decades and spawned documentaries, television specials and dramatizations. The Netflix drama ” Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story ” and a documentary released in 2024 have been credited for bringing new attention to the brothers.
Greater recognition of the brothers as victims of sexual abuse has also helped mobilize support for their release. Some supporters have flown to Los Angeles to hold rallies and attend court hearings.
After a group of hikers found an abandoned German shepherd wandering the Malibu wilderness with its mouth zip-tied shut, an animal protection group is offering a $2,500 reward to find and hold accountable the person responsible.
Just before 8 p.m. on July 3, two hikers found the pup near Malibu Creek Canyon, according to a news release from In Defense of Animals. The dog had a zip tie around his mouth and another around his neck.
The hikers quickly called 911 and removed one of the zip ties before police and animal control arrived. Together, they removed the second zip tie and carried him to safety, the group said.
“Someone did this intentionally. They left him stranded, down a hill in the middle of nowhere off the side of the road,” one of the hikers who found the dog told KTLA. “Something needs to be done to find the person who did it.”
The dog, which In Defense of Animals said was described as “sweet and gentle,” warmed up to his rescuers and eventually let them pet him. He was later taken to the Agoura Animal Care Center.
“We are grateful for the quick actions of these hikers and law enforcement, but our efforts must continue,” said Fleur Dawes, spokesperson for In Defense of Animals. “We are determined to find the person responsible for this horrific abuse and hold them accountable since they are a danger to others.”
Anyone with information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of a suspect is asked to call In Defense of Animals at (415) 879-6879.
A massive gold nugget was reported stolen Thursday from the Long Beach Convention Center, spurring an offer of a $10,000 reward.
Bob Campbell, the owner of a coin shop in Salt Lake City, said he brought the gold nugget to the Long Beach Expo — a show that gathers sellers of coins and other collectibles — to sell for more than $80,000. He said its value exceeds its sheer content in gold, as an “original 49er nugget” believed to date back to the Gold Rush.
“They will lose money if they melt it. It has collector value,” Campbell said. The roughly 27-ounce nugget was about the size of a goose egg, he added, and specimens of that size are “exceedingly rare.”
Video captured by another coin dealer at the event shows someone appearing to press on the display case, then pocket something. Campbell faulted a defect in the case that allowed the thief to wiggle his hand inside.
Long Beach police said they are investing the theft, which was reported before noon Thursday. Campbell is also passing out fliers with a photo of the gold nugget and the alleged thief and personally offering a $10,000 reward hinging on the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.
“We’re hoping that this information gets out” and maybe “one of his friends will rat him out,” Campbell said.
He urged anyone with information to call his Utah shop at (801) 467-8636 or to contact the Long Beach Police Department regarding case number 24-28245.
Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media on Monday, April 15, 2024 in New York City before entering a Manhattan courtroom for his criminal trial over hush money paid to a porn star.
ANGELA WEISS
ANGELA WEISS/Pool via USA TODAY
A jury unanimously found Donald Trump guilty in his New York hush money trial Thursday — making him the first president in U.S. history to be criminally convicted, let alone convicted of a felony.
In the wake of the verdict, they took to social media to defend their party’s leader and presumptive presidential nominee, calling the trial a “sham” and insinuating the whole thing was a political orchestrated by Joe Biden and his Democratic allies.
U.S. Sen. Ted Budd called it a “rigged charade” and encouraged his followers to donate to Trump’s campaign to join him in “fighting back.” U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx called it a “political witch hunt.” Said Rep. Greg Murphy: “We are officially now a banana republic.”
Others more brazenly chose to lay false blame directly at the feet of Democrats.
“The American people know that this verdict is election interference and the Biden admin is behind all of it,” Rep. Richard Hudson said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
(Of course, the Biden administration had nothing to do with this case, as it was brought by the Manhattan district attorney and the conviction was unanimously agreed upon by a jury of 12 New Yorkers.)
North Carolina Lt. Gov. and GOP gubernatorial nominee Mark Robinson said, “The Democrats know they can’t beat President Trump at the polls so they weaponize our government against him.”
Those half-truths and lies are dangerous enough. But some Republicans, like Rep. Dan Bishop, opted for even more sinister rhetoric.
“Lawfare has reached its Waterloo,” Bishop said in an X post. “A reckoning is coming for gangster government.”
Waterloo, of course, was a bloody battle that marked the final defeat of Napoleon. Nearly 50,000 lives were lost. Is that the kind of “reckoning” Bishop wants to see?
How interesting — and revealing — to see the crowd that constantly cries about “law and order” turn on that very principle when their ally is the one being brought to justice. It’s particularly rich coming from Bishop, who is running to be the state’s chief law enforcement officer yet seems to be directing strangely ominous threats toward the government itself.
No one should be above the rule of law, not even an American president. “Law and order” means that everyone must be held to the same standard. Yet Republicans continue to undermine the public’s faith in our justice system, egged on by Trump himself, who insists he is a “political prisoner” and has repeatedly likened himself to Mother Teresa. The lies, the false accusations, the hints of violence — those words carry especially dangerous weight when spoken by those with power and a platform.
But we shouldn’t be surprised. Nothing, so far, has been enough to cause most Republicans to stray from the man who demands their absolute fealty, despite the severity of his crimes and moral transgressions. They stood by him through an insurrection, the mishandling of classified documents, through credible sexual assault accusations for which he now owes more than $80 million. They’ve bent over backwards and forwards to justify why they still support him, no matter what the truth says. A felony conviction was never going to change that.
Paige Masten is the deputy opinion editor for The Charlotte Observer. She covers stories that impact people in Charlotte and across the state. A lifelong North Carolinian, she grew up in Raleigh and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2021. Support my work with a digital subscription
O.J. Simpson’s death certificate released this week confirms he died of prostate cancer at his home in Las Vegas, his attorney told The Times.
Attorney Malcolm LaVergne said on Saturday the Clark County, Nev.-issued death certificate “just confirms what I think most people widely suspected anyway — it was prostate cancer. No other causes listed.”
Simpson’s family previously said on the social media platform X that the 76-year-old had died of cancer April 10.
Simpson, a former football star, was acquitted in the 1994 deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald L. Goldman in a criminal court. A civil court jury later found him liable for the deaths.
He served nine years of a 33-year sentence following his 2008 conviction on armed robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy and other charges stemming from his attempt to recover memorabilia he claimed had been stolen from him. His incarceration was widely viewed as overdue punishment for the slayings of Simpson and Goldman.
Simpson announced in a May 2023 social media post that he had an unspecified type of cancer. In two videos posted in February, Simpson reassured his followers that he was healthy.
“Obviously, I’m dealing with some issues, but I think I’m just about over it, and I’ll be back on that golf course, hopefully, in a couple of weeks,” he said, seated in a chair by a pool.
About one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer risk is higher in African American men and in Caribbean men of African ancestry than in men of other races.
A Rutherford County man pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges on Wednesday for his actions related to the breaching of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, which included picking up a flagpole-like object and throwing it toward a line of police officers.
Anthony Mastanduno, 61, pleaded guilty to a nine-count indictment, including six felony charges, a release from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Those felonies were:
Civil disorder
Entering and remaining in a restricted area with a deadly and dangerous weapon
Becoming involved in physical violence in a restricted area or groups with a deadly and dangerous weapon
Two counts of assaulting
Resisting or impeding certain officers using a deadly and dangerous weapon
Additionally, Mastanduno pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges that included disorderly conduct in a capitol building, an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or building, parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
An image from the US Attorney’s Office shows Anthony Mastanduno, circled in red, with a pole-like object as he approaches a line of officers at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. US Attorney’s Office
Mastanduno at the Capitol building in Washington D.C.
The release said court documents showed that on Jan. 6, 2021, in the afternoon, Mastanduno entered the Capitol building via the Senate Wing Door, about four minutes after it was first breached by rioters.
He made his way to the Capitol Crypt, where he was at the front of a line of rioters who overwhelmed police officers in the area. Almost 20 minutes after he first entered, Mastanduno exited the Capitol building and made his way to the Lower West Terrace.
There, police formed a defensive line at the mouth of an archway leading to an entrance of the Capitol building known as the Tunnel. Rioters at the location “battled” with police officers for hours, the release said, in an attempt to storm the Capitol building.
The release said the Tunnel was the site of “some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement” on Jan. 6.
Coordinated attacks on police
Later that afternoon, Mastanduno began participating in coordinated attacks on uniformed police protecting the tunnel after engaging with other rioters.
Picking up a blue, flagpole-like object, Mastanduno threw it into the mouth of the tunnel towards the line of officers “as if throwing a javelin or spear,” the release said.
He then got a police shield, stolen from officers, which he used to push against the same line of police at the mouth of the Tunnel. He also used a telescoping baton while pushing, the release said, to strike police officers multiple times.
The baton can be worn on the hip and expands in length. Mastanduno aimed for the hands and arms of the officers.
He abandoned his position in the Tunnel after being sprayed with a chemical irritant spray.
The FBI arrested Mastanduno on Aug. 23, 2023, in North Carolina. He will be sentenced by a judge on June 27.
A Hong Kong court has convicted a father of ill-treating his two young daughters, who were hospitalised after they were accidentally fed sweets containing cannabidiol (CBD) at home.
The 26-year-old part-time construction worker, identified as CKW on the court document, appeared in Tuen Mun Court on Monday after pleading not guilty to three charges of possessing the illegal drug and neglecting his daughters, aged two and four.
Magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai said that although no CBD sweets were found at the defendant’s home, his negligence led to his children’s accidental consumption of the drug on June 25 last year. The older daughter was admitted to an intensive care unit the same day.
“Even though the defendant has a clear record, this case is rather a serious offence and a custodial sentence will be the only option,” he said.
The court previously heard the defendant had left his children at home in the care of a family friend as he and his wife were getting a divorce at the time. The friend called an ambulance after discovering the sisters were feeling unwell.
The mother testified in court that she suspected her girls had consumed drugs in her estranged husband’s possession and had requested urine tests, which came back positive for the substance.
During the trial, the defendant said he had admitted to the crime after police threatened him, a defence argument that Magistrate Wong…
