ReportWire

Tag: Virginia

  • Court asked to enforce $3M deal in police shooting lawsuit

    Court asked to enforce $3M deal in police shooting lawsuit

    [ad_1]

    VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Several parties to a wrongful death lawsuit over the fatal police shooting of a Black man on the Virginia Beach oceanfront last year have asked a judge to enforce the $3 million settlement agreement announced earlier this month.

    The city of Virginia Beach and the family of Donovon Lynch — a cousin of musician and Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams — announced the settlement agreement Dec. 13. But Lynch’s father, Wayne Lynch, has since told local news outlets that he has parted ways with his attorneys and that the settlement isn’t finalized.

    Last week, several parties to the matter filed a joint motion asking a judge to enforce the announced deal.

    The joint motion was filed by Thomas Martin and Justin Fairfax, who have served as attorneys for Wayne Lynch, as well as attorneys for the city and the officer who shot Donovon Lynch.

    The motion says that an outside party advised Wayne Lynch not to sign the agreement, “which is against the interests of the Estate and contrary to Plaintiff’s prior agreement.”

    Court records show that the motion was referred to a judge on Tuesday.

    Efforts by The Associated Press to reach Wayne Lynch weren’t immediately successful. But Lynch wrote in an emailed statement on Tuesday that the settlement had not been finalized, TV station WVEC-TV reported.

    “I regret that it was publicly disclosed before all non-monetary terms were finalized,” Lynch’s statement said.

    He also wrote that Fairfax, a former lieutenant governor, and Martin were no longer representing him. On Wednesday, he filed a motion to substitute Fairfax and Martin with a new attorney, court records show.

    Lauren Burke, a spokesperson for Fairfax, said in a statement provided to the AP Wednesday that Fairfax and Martin remain “the attorneys of record in this case.”

    “Justin E. Fairfax and Thomas B. Martin have been honored to secure a $3M settlement in the death of Wayne Lynch’s son Donovon Lynch,” the statement said. “This historic settlement for the Lynch family will soon be completely settled in Virginia federal court.”

    A spokesperson for the city declined to comment.

    Wayne Lynch filed the $50 million wrongful death lawsuit in June 2021 against the city and Solomon D. Simmons, the police officer who shot his son. Simmons is also Black.

    Lynch’s shooting occurred on a warm March night near the city’s crowded boardwalk, which is lined with restaurants and hotels. The evening dissolved into chaos after separate outbreaks of gunfire. At least eight people were wounded, and one woman, who was believed to be a bystander, was killed.

    In November 2021, a special grand jury found that Simmons was justified in shooting Lynch. Authorities said Lynch had a gun and racked a round into the chamber before pointing his weapon toward a parking lot filled with people and police.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • José Andrés and his daughters eat their way through Spain

    José Andrés and his daughters eat their way through Spain

    [ad_1]

    NEW YORK (AP) — On his new TV show, celebrated chef José Andrés goes into a restaurant kitchen in Spain and confronts a massive moray eel. Only one of them is leaving that kitchen intact.

    Andrés oversees as cooks prepare the eel for its final flourish — deboned, sliced paper thin, dredged in three kinds of flour and then deep fried with cilantro.

    “People of the world, I know you don’t usually eat eel. But if you try it, you will love it,” he says to the viewers. “Nothing can be more simple and more sophisticated at the same time.”

    That eel is just one delicious moment in discovery+’s “José Andrés and Family in Spain,” which follows the chef, restaurateur and humanitarian on a food tour through his homeland with his three American-raised daughters, Carlota, Inés and Lucia Andrés.

    The ladies join their dad as they visit such places as Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia, the Canary Islands and Asturias, where he was born and where the food, he says, made him who he is. It’s a travel show, a cooking show and a parenting show, all wrapped up in a celebration of Spain and proud fatherhood.

    “I think going with my dad and going to all of these places was just so special because he’s such a curious person,” Carlota Andrés says in a recent interview with her dad at The Bazaar, the elder Andrés’ rooftop bar at the The Ritz-Carlton in New York. “That’s the type of person that he is and no trip is the same if he’s not there.”

    Throughout is José Andrés’ infectious and ebullient spirit, a whirlwind of passion for food and respect for where it came from. He cheers both the deconstructive brilliance of august restaurant El Bulli and also humble street food.

    Tapas turns out to be a perfect reflection of his philosophy on eating — going from place to place eating many things, cold and hot, fish and meat and vegetables — and making it a celebration of ingredients, hard work and life.

    “If I was the president of the world, I would make it mandatory that every person has to go around the world for a year of their lives — country to country, culture to culture, continent to continent. If we all did that, the world would be a magical place. That’s what this show celebrates,” he says.

    In Barcelona, José and his daughters ride electric scooters around the city, popping into restaurants, markets and cafes as dad bearhugs his old culinary friends, offering a delicious insider tour that involves tapas, red shrimp, sparkling wine and croquettes.

    The elder Andrés — who has drawn attention to Spanish food and helped put a spotlight on humanitarian disasters with his World Central Kitchen — can hardily contain himself. “He’s already in the kitchen causing mayhem,” one of his daughters comments.

    In Andalusia, they drink the celebrated summer vegetable soup gazpacho and try various dishes, highlighting blue-fin tuna, a local delicacy. They celebrate the North African influence on the region in dishes like ham and eggs with artichoke and with grilled lamb skewers.

    “Happiness happens when you mix different people and different colors and different places all in one plate,” José Andrés says onscreen. In another moment, he offers this wonderful challenge: “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are.”

    There is flamenco dancing, and a trip to buy sweet treats baked by secretive, cloistered nuns — dubbed the family’s “spiritual cookie moment.” The daughters try their hand at making churros and later a shrimp fritter called Tortillitas de camarones. They milk goats, harvest salt from tide pools, paraglide, and scuba dive for goose barnacles, known in Spain as percebes.

    During it all, José Andrés is a hype man for Spanish cuisine, playfully arguing that surf and turf, pizza, open-faced sandwiches called tostas, and beer were all concocted in his native land, and that Spanish versions of crème brûlée and prosciutto are vastly superior to other countries’ versions. “Everything was invented in Spain!” he shouts.

    “I think every culture needs to be proud of who they are and even chauvinistic about it. In my case, sometimes I take it to the extreme,” he explains later. “Defend your own, defend what you know. In a way, you’re celebrating everybody else.”

    Spicy potato dish patatas bravas, glasses of sangria and pyramids of royal pastries were on the menu in Madrid, while Valencia offered the travelers the world’s best paella. “You think you’ve tasted the real thing — think again,” the chef warns viewers.

    The family hopes that the series will inspire other families to go out and explore, especially after the pandemic. “Spain is the excuse,” says José Andrés. “Sometimes we have the most exciting things in front of our eyes.”

    “You can go into the Chesapeake Bay and have an amazing moment of discovery. You can go to Virginia and discover the wine country of Virginia. Everybody thinks that you have to go to the most remote parts of your world. The excitement is not in the places. The excitement is within yourself.”

    ___

    Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Henrietta Lacks statue will replace Robert E. Lee monument in Roanoke, Virginia | CNN

    Henrietta Lacks statue will replace Robert E. Lee monument in Roanoke, Virginia | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    A statue of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were used without her consent in crucial medical research, will replace a monument to Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Roanoke, Virginia.

    Lacks, a Black mother of five receiving treatment for cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital, was undergoing radium treatments in 1951 when tissue from her cancer was removed and sent to another doctor’s lab without her consent. Cancer researcher George Gey used Lack’s tissue to cultivate a line of cells that are still used in medical research today. The hospital says on its website that while “the collection and use of Henrietta Lacks’ cells in research was an acceptable and legal practice in the 1950s, such a practice would not happen today without the patient’s consent.”

    Lacks died later that year from her cancer at age 31.

    A statue dedicated to Lacks and her contribution to science will be erected in Roanoke, Lacks’ hometown, in fall of 2023, according to the city’s Facebook page. The plaza, previously known as Lee Plaza, has also been renamed to Lacks Plaza in her honor.

    The city started the legal process to remove the Robert E. Lee statue, erected in 1960, in June of 2020. In July of that year, the statue was found knocked over and broken into two pieces, according to CNN affiliate WDBJ.

    In a December 19th press conference, city officials unveiled a preliminary sketch for the statue and celebrated Lacks’ life.

    “In the past, we commemorated a lot of men with statues that divided us,” said Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who has represented Lacks’ estate, at the press conference. “Here in Roanoke, Virginia, we will have a statue of a Black woman who brings us all together.”

    Trish White-Boyd, the city’s vice mayor, said that the Roanoke City Council had voted unanimously to rename the plaza.

    “We want to honor her, and to celebrate her,” White-Boyd said of Lacks.

    The city exceeded its goal of fundraising $160,000 for the statue, she added.

    The cell line produced from Lacks’ cells, called HeLa cells, allowed scientists to experiment and create life-saving medicine, including the polio vaccine, in-vitro fertilization, and gene mapping. They’ve also helped advance cancer and AIDS research.

    Ron Lacks, Henrietta’s grandson, said “it was an honor just to come down here” at the conference. He lauded Roanoke for actually working with Lacks’ family and estate to design the statue.

    And Lawrence Lacks, Henrietta’s only surviving child, said the statue of his mother would make him “the happiest person in the world.”

    Artist Bryce Cobbs crafted a sketch of Lacks that will be used as inspiration for the statue. Creating the sketch was “a humbling experience,” said Cobbs at the press conference. “Just being involved with something like this, that has so much historical impact, is a huge humbling moment. I couldn’t imagine being surrounded by more supportive people.”

    Larry Bechtel, the sculptor who will create the sculpture, called the project a “big deal” at the conference. “I’ve had a number of commissions, but this one is singular,” he said.

    Little was known about Lacks’ impact on modern medicine outside the medical community until author Rebecca Skloot’s 2010 book about her life, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”

    Since then, activists and institutions have worked to posthumously honor Lacks’ nonconsensual contributions and to raise awareness about the Black women’s often-unknown contributions to science. In 2018, the Smithsonian unveiled a portrait of Lacks at the National Portrait Gallery. And in 2021, the World Health Organization honored her with an award.

    “In honouring Henrietta Lacks, WHO acknowledges the importance of reckoning with past scientific injustices, and advancing racial equity in health and science,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement at the time.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Trans Kids Stuck In Limbo As Glenn Youngkin Delays Anti-Trans Policies

    Trans Kids Stuck In Limbo As Glenn Youngkin Delays Anti-Trans Policies

    [ad_1]

    Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin spent the fall confidently proclaiming that his administration would implement policies targeting transgender students in public schools.

    “I expect every school jurisdiction to follow the policies as is the law,” Youngkin said in October at a rally for Yesli Vega, a Republican who went on to lose her race for the U.S. House.

    But the initial date he intended to implement these policies has come and gone, and transgender students in Virginia are left in limbo wondering if they’ll be stripped of their rights.

    “The sense of urgency has basically evaporated,” said Democratic state Delegate Marcus Simon.

    The change seems to be the result of the realization — after a 30-day public comment period and a statewide school walkout organized by Pride Liberation Project, a youth-led group — that targeting trans children isn’t popular outside of certain conservative circles and that a cascade of lawsuits could follow if schools implement the new guidance.

    The new guidance would ban transgender kids from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity and from playing on sports teams that align with their gender, and would require parental notification if a student wished to change their name or pronouns.

    Former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill in 2020 that required public schools in the state to adopt the Virginia Department of Education’s policies on trans kids. At the time, the department said schools should allow kids to use bathroom facilities and play on sports teams that matched their gender identity. The policies were implemented, although there was no mechanism for enforcement.

    But the state Department of Education has since changed its guidance, and Youngkin is using the existing law to say schools must adopt the policies that discriminate against trans kids.

    “These policies go against the very principle and intent of the original bill,” said Bo Boletti, an activist and former legislative aide who helped craft the initial bill. “It’s undemocratic and unprofessional that Youngkin is using this policy that was designed to help trans students like this.”

    Youngkin campaigned on so-called parental rights, a euphemism for implementing policies that are palatable to right-wing parents. As a result, he riled up the small percentage of the Republican base that is concerned about transgender students being in public schools. The GOP has been waging a war on teachers and public schools, first concocting a moral panic around critical race theory — a college-level theory about institutional racism that Republicans claim is being taught to school-aged kids around the country — before pivoting to banning books that deal with racial justice and LGBTQ themes.

    “This is more about politics than policy,” Simon said.

    There is also an ongoing conservative effort to dismantle public schools and remake them as profit centers, which Boletti said may be connected to Youngkin’s push for anti-trans policies.

    “This is a long-term strategy for chipping away at the trust we have in public education,” Boletti said. “The best way to do that is to get their parents to pull their kids out of school, and they’re doing it through reactionary rage.”

    The legally required 30-day public notice period before implementing the new policies ended on Nov. 26, and the Youngkin administration was technically allowed to enact them on that date. But during the public comment period, the expected red wave in the midterm elections didn’t pan out. Nationwide, candidates who made transphobia the cornerstone of their campaign platforms didn’t fare well.

    The governor has not publicly commented on whether he’ll move forward with the policies affecting trans students. In an email to HuffPost, the Youngkin administration said it would need to review the 70,000 comments received during the notice period.

    “My hope is that they saw the results of the midterm elections and went, ‘Well, shit, this is not a popular issue,’” said Allison Chapman of Virginia Trans, an activist network. “It’s become abundantly clear that like anti-abortion policies, anti-trans rhetoric is not a winning issue.”

    Lawyers and advocacy groups are on standby, ready to file lawsuits if the Youngkin administration decides to enact the anti-trans policies.

    “The proposed guidelines violate the law in several key ways,” said Eden Heilman, the legal director of the ACLU of Virginia. She noted that the law signed by Northam requires that only evidence-based policies be implemented.

    “Youngkin’s policies are quite the opposite,” she said. “It’s not clear that they consulted any experts at all.”

    Legal experts are also concerned that the way the policies are written may require schools to violate state and federal discrimination laws. “The U.S. Supreme Court has held that discrimination based on gender identity is the same thing as discrimination based on sex,” Heilman said.

    “I don’t know if the way the policies have been written can even be fixed,” Heilman said. “The only way they can fix it is to rescind it.”

    For now, trans students and their families are waiting to find out if their rights will be compromised — a situation that can be extremely stressful.

    “There’s an emotional toll that just having the debate takes on marginalized people,” Boletti said. “I know from personal experience. When I came out my sophomore year of high school, I missed 37 days of school because of bullying.”

    Elected officials have noted that the proposals — even if they aren’t adopted statewide — can hurt the mental health of trans students. “The existence of the policies has been damaging to kids,” Simon said. “I’m hearing from kids and families in Fairfax County that it’s been psychologically difficult.”

    Chapman moved to Virginia right after the policies were announced, which she said have made her “seriously reconsider” her decision.

    Youngkin officially rescinding the proposed policies still wouldn’t end the fear that transgender people in Virginia are experiencing. The state legislature is planning on introducing anti-trans bills next year, which are extremely unlikely to pass but would still make the LGBTQ community feel under attack.

    “Introducing pro-trans bills, even ones that won’t pass, is like putting up a flag,” Chapman said. “Trans kids need to know they’re people out here fighting every day to make our state a safer place for them.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Virginia probes hiring of trooper who killed teen’s family

    Virginia probes hiring of trooper who killed teen’s family

    [ad_1]

    RICHMOND, Va. — After a former state trooper from Virginia drove across the country, kidnapped a 15-year-old California girl, killed three members of her family, then shot himself, Virginia State Police and the sheriff’s office he had recently started working for said they found no warning signs during background checks before he was hired.

    But in the weeks since Austin Lee Edwards went on a rampage in Riverside, California, it’s become clear Virginia State police missed red flags about Edwards’ mental health that were in plain sight before they hired him in 2021.

    Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has called for a “full investigation” by the state inspector general’s office.

    “I believe that there was human error here,” Youngkin said last week in response to a reporter’s question about whether state police should have done more to investigate Edwards’ background before hiring him.

    “Our job is to not let this happen again,” Youngkin said.

    Edwards was hired by state police and entered the police academy in July 2021. He graduated as a trooper in January and worked for only nine months before resigning in October. Edwards was hired as a deputy sheriff in Washington County, Virginia, on Nov. 16, just nine days before the killings in California.

    Authorities in California have said Edwards posed online as a 17-year-old boy while communicating with the girl, a form of deception known as “catfishing.” He asked her to send nude photos of herself and she stopped communicating with him.

    On Nov. 25, Edwards killed the girl’s mother and grandparents, then set fire to their home in Riverside, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

    Edwards died by suicide during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies the same day. The girl was rescued. Family members and police said the girl is now in counseling for trauma.

    After repeatedly saying state police found no areas of concern in Edwards’ background, state police spokesperson Corinne Geller said Dec. 7 that a recently completed review found “human error” resulted in an incomplete database query during the hiring process.

    That admission came in response to news reports that Edwards had been involuntarily held at a psychiatric facility after he threatened to kill his father and himself in 2016, when he was 21.

    A report written by police in Abingdon, Virginia, near the Tennessee border, said Edwards’ father restrained him after he found his son with a self-inflicted injury to his hand. The incident was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

    “Austin made several statements in the presence of Officers that he wanted to die, that he would try to kill himself the instant he was free from restraints, and that he would kill his father,” police wrote in the report, which was obtained by The Associated Press.

    An emergency custody order was issued, followed by a temporary detention order, which allowed police to take him to a psychiatric facility.

    The scope of Virginia Inspector General Michael Westfall’s investigation was not immediately clear. His office released a statement Friday saying it had received a request to “review a recent Virginia State Police matter,” but a spokesperson did not respond to a phone message and email seeking details on the parameters of the investigation.

    Youngkin’s office also declined to discuss specifics. Spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement that Youngkin “has full confidence that they will follow the evidence, wherever it may lead.”

    The inspector general’s office focuses on investigating complaints about fraud, waste and abuse in the executive branch of state government. It also conducts investigations and performance audits of state agencies.

    “The IG has fairly wide-ranging investigatory powers that are defined by statute, but the statute is fuzzy enough so that the IG might be able to investigate general issues that the governor asks the IG to investigate,” said Henry Chambers, a law professor at the University of Richmond.

    Geller said state police believe the error made during the hiring process for Edwards was “an isolated incident,” and said “steps are currently underway to ensure the error is not repeated going forward.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Virginia Democrats to hold ‘firehouse’ primary ahead of special House election | CNN Politics

    Virginia Democrats to hold ‘firehouse’ primary ahead of special House election | CNN Politics

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    Virginia Democrats will choose a nominee on Tuesday for the special election to fill the term of the late Rep. Donald McEachin, who died in November just weeks after winning reelection.

    Democrats in the 4th Congressional District are holding a “firehouse primary” – or one that’s conducted by the party organization, instead of by election officials – across a handful of pop-up voting locations in the Richmond-area district.

    The nominee will enter the February general election as the favorite in what has been a reliably Democratic district, and the outcome of the election isn’t likely to affect the balance of power in the US House, which Republicans are set to control in January.

    Virginia state Sen. Jennifer McClellan, who finished third in the 2021 gubernatorial primary, has the support of Democratic Party leaders and groups ranging from the political arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to the moderate-backing Democratic Majority for Israel PAC. If elected, she would be the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.

    Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine campaigned with McClellan, a close ally whose wedding he officiated, over the weekend and members of the Commonwealth’s Democratic congressional delegation have all endorsed her, as have Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney and other local officials. Democrats will not know their nominee until Wednesday, at the earliest, when the counting of ballots begins.

    The coalescing around McClellan was influenced in part by the campaign of scandal-plagued state Sen. Joe Morrissey. His feuds with the party establishment may be part of his appeal among some disenchanted partisans, but his critics point to a more damaging history, including his resignation from the state House in 2014 after a misdemeanor conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor – a 17-year-old part-time staffer at his law office with whom he had sex and exchanged nude photos. He was in his mid-50s at the time, but has argued, according to a local report, that he believed the woman was 18. (Morrissey has since married the woman and they have several children.) Morrissey has also been stripped of his law license – twice – and remains disbarred following a 2019 state Supreme Court decision to uphold its revocation.

    Morrissey attacked the state party for holding the primary on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday, saying it would limit voter turnout. In announcing his run, Morrissey called himself a “worker bee” while highlighting his work on criminal justice reform.

    Virginia doesn’t have party registration, so the primary will be open to all voters in the district, provided they sign a pledge to support the Democratic nominee in the general election. Republicans chose their candidate, Leon Benjamin, in a weekend vote.

    Benjamin has run for the seat before, having lost to McEachin earlier this year and in 2020.

    Under Virginia state law, there’s no state-run primary for this special election, so the parties are responsible for selecting their own nominees.

    The district’s Democratic committee chairwoman cheered the “firehouse” voting method as a way to increase participation in the process.

    “A Firehouse Primary allows as many candidates and voters to participate in the democratic process as possible,” Alexsis Rodgers said. “The Fourth Congressional District Democratic Committee is committed to holding a smooth, transparent, and expedient process to select a nominee.”

    Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last Monday set the date of the special election for February 21, creating a quick turnaround as the parties need to formally select their candidates by December 23.

    With just a week to campaign, a host of Democrats jumped into the race. McClellan and Morrissey are the leading contenders, largely because state Del. Lamont Bagby decided to drop out to help clear the way for McClellan, a fellow leader of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus. Bagby’s support largely shifted to McClellan.

    McClellan, who has served in the state legislature since 2006 and succeeded McEachin in the state Senate, spoke about her legislative experience and her work in the capitol with the late congressman in her announcement speech last week.

    “This is a bittersweet day for me as I continue to mourn a friend but hear the call to carry on his legacy and carry my servant leadership to Washington,” McClellan said.

    Virginia Democrats lost the governorship and the House of Delegates in 2021 and control only a very narrow majority in the state Senate. If McClellan were to win the congressional special election in February, her vacant Senate seat could weaken Democrats’ ability to block Republican bills – like potential restrictions on abortion.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Eye on America: Jamestown’s rising sea levels, Sebastian Maniscalco’s parenting advice and more

    Eye on America: Jamestown’s rising sea levels, Sebastian Maniscalco’s parenting advice and more

    [ad_1]

    Eye on America: Jamestown’s rising sea levels, Sebastian Maniscalco’s parenting advice and more – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    We travel to endangered Jamestown, Virginia, to see one community’s effort to save it from rising sea levels. And we meet up with comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, who’s sharing laughs and advice with first-time parents. Watch these stories and more on “Eye on America” with host Michelle Miller.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Walker, defense lead No. 5 Houston past No. 2 Virginia 69-61

    Walker, defense lead No. 5 Houston past No. 2 Virginia 69-61

    [ad_1]

    CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Blowing a 15-point lead in the second half against No. 4 Alabama a week ago got the attention of No. 5 Houston’s players. Coach Kelvin Sampson made sure of it.

    It may have helped the Cougars stymie a comeback by No. 2 Virginia on Saturday.

    Jarace Walker scored 17 points and Houston used runs in each half and the nation’s best scoring defense to beat the Cavaliers 69-61. The Cougars scored on three straight possessions after a steal and layup by Kihei Clark brought a sellout crowd clad in orange to its feet, exhorting Virginia to rely on its own defense to finish the comeback.

    “I’m not sure we’re able to do that without the Alabama experience,” Sampson said.

    After Clark pulled the Cavaliers within 54-48, Jamal Shead scored on a drive, Tramon Mark hit a 3-pointer and Walker made a tough fadeaway, keeping the Cavaliers at bay.

    “Just keeping our composure when you get a big lead and just be mature and try not to go away from what we’ve been doing, which we did against Alabama,” J’Wan Roberts said. “We watch film and we learn. We grew from that.”

    Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark each added 13 points for the Cougars (11-1), who used a 10-2 run early in the second half to open a 40-30 lead. Virginia (8-1), playing for the first time in 11 days, never got closer than six again, and each time the Cougars answered.

    The Cavaliers shot 41.7% (20-48). Coach Tony Bennett said when shots aren’t falling, that makes the quality of play on the defensive end all the more important.

    “Today they obviously took advantage of our breakdowns and scored,” Bennett said. “Today the tougher, sounder team on the defensive end won the game.”

    Kadin Shedrick scored 16 points and Jayden Gardner had 13 for the Cavaliers, who were hoping to avenge a 67-47 loss last year on the Cougars’ home floor. Houston became the highest-ranked nonconference opponent ever to play Virginia in Charlottesville.

    Clark’s steal and layup pulled Virginia within 56-50 with 2:55 to play, but Tramon Mark answered with a 3-pointer for the Cougars, who shot 49% (25-51) against a defense ranked 12th nationally, allowing 57.9 points.

    The Cavaliers closed to within 30-28 on Gardner’s basket to open the second half, but the Cougars went on their run, with Walker contributing a three-point play and 3-pointer in the spurt, to lead 40-30.

    Virginia scored the first nine points and led 15-7 before going cold. The Cougars outscored them 17-4 over more than 10 minutes to lead 26-19. Houston led 30-26 at halftime.

    RARITY

    The Cavaliers are the highest-ranked team Houston has faced during the regular season since it met No. 1 Memphis on Feb. 13, 2008.

    POLL IMPLICATIONS

    The Cavaliers are likely to fall, but not very far, and Houston’s victory on the road is likely to make voters almost forget their 71-65 loss to Alabama a week ago when the Cougars were No. 1 and the Tide were ranked eighth.

    BIG PICTURE

    Houston: The Cougars arrived with one player, Sasser (16.2), scoring in double figures but had five do it against the Cavaliers. Jamal Shead scored 11 and J’Wan Roberts had 10.

    Virginia: The Cavaliers got guard Reece Beekman back after he suffered a hamstring injury in their previous game. Beekman was effective defensively but did not demonstrate the explosive power driving to the basket that typifies his offensive game.

    “He didn’t quite have his burst. I thought he was pretty good defensively, not quite as explosive offensively and probably a little fatigued because he hasn’t done much,” Bennett said, adding that Beekman hardly has practiced since the injury.

    UP NEXT

    The Cougars return home to face McNeese on Wednesday night.

    The Cavaliers go on the road to face No. 25 Miami on Tuesday night.

    ———

    AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP—Top25

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Mistrial declared in gun case against Capitol riot suspect

    Mistrial declared in gun case against Capitol riot suspect

    [ad_1]

    ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal judge in Virginia has declared a mistrial in a firearms-related case against a U.S. Naval reservist who is separately charged with storming the U.S. Capitol.

    U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff declared the mistrial on Friday after a jury in Alexandria, Virginia, failed to reach a unanimous verdict on charges that Hatchet Speed illegally possessed unregistered silencers for guns. The Washington Post reports that Justice Department prosecutors intend to retry the case against Speed.

    Speed also faces charges in Washington, D.C., that he joined a mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. For that case, a bench trial without a jury is scheduled to start on Feb. 6.

    Speed was charged in Virginia with owning three unregistered silencers after FBI agents found the devices during a search of a storage unit that Speed had rented in Alexandria.

    Speed’s lawyers said he never modified the devices to convert them into functioning silencers. Defense attorney Courtney Dixon told jurors that Speed was a gun enthusiast who was stocking up on scarce items during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Before his arrest in June, Speed told an an undercover FBI agent that he stormed the Capitol with members of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group, authorities said. Speed also said he had contemplated using violence to further his antisemitic beliefs and discussed using violence against members of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights organization, according to prosecutors.

    The FBI said Speed was a petty officer first class in the U.S. Naval Reserves and was assigned to the Naval Warfare Space Field Activity at the National Reconnaissance Office, an agency that operates U.S. spy satellites used by the Pentagon and intelligence agencies.

    After the Capitol riot, Speed bought at least 12 firearms over the span of a few months and spent more than $50,000 at firearm and firearm-part retailers, a prosecutor said in a court filing.

    “This firearm-buying spree is alarming in light of statements that Speed has made in which he has espoused the use of violence to further his anti-government and anti-Semitic ideologies,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Loeb wrote.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Youngkin executive order bans TikTok from state computers

    Youngkin executive order bans TikTok from state computers

    [ad_1]

    RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin banned the use of several Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok and WeChat, on state government devices and wireless networks on Friday, calling them a threat to national security.

    Youngkin’s executive order covers apps developed by ByteDance and Tencent. Businesses who contract with Virginia must also prohibit their use on state-owned devices or IT infrastructure.

    “TikTok and WeChat data are a channel to the Chinese Communist Party, and their continued presence represents a threat to national security, the intelligence community, and the personal privacy of every single American,” Youngkin, a Republican, said in a statement. “We are taking this step today to secure state government devices and wireless networks from the threat of infiltration and ensure that we safeguard the data and cybersecurity of state government.”

    Youngkin joins at least 14 others governors who have taken such an action, amid calls for Congress to also ban the use of the programs on federal government devices.

    The executive order drew praise from one of Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Warner, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

    “TikTok has the stamp of approval of the Chinese Communist Party and it poses a serious national security threat due to its data collection practices and its ability to reach and manipulate Americans. I hope to see more states take action to keep our government technology out of the CCP’s reach,” Warner, a former governor, said in a statement.

    TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown said in an emailed statement that it was “disappointing that states and some federal officials are promoting falsehoods to ban the platform instead of advancing sound policies to promote U.S. national security interests.”

    “Millions of Americans rely on TikTok to grow their small businesses, reach new audiences, and make their livelihoods,” Brown said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 3 dead after bus, tractor-trailer collide in Virginia

    3 dead after bus, tractor-trailer collide in Virginia

    [ad_1]

    Virginia State Police are investigating a two-vehicle crash that left three people dead early Friday morning in York County, Virginia.

    Two commercial vehicles — a tractor-trailer and a passenger bus — collided around 1:38 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 64 and the 241 mile marker. York County is about half an hour from Newport News, Virginia.

    Three fatalities were confirmed by state police. Both drivers and remaining passengers on the bus were being treated for various injuries and have been taken to area hospitals for treatment.

    In all, there were 22 passengers on the bus. None were wearing seatbelts, state police say.

    The Virginia State Police Motor Carrier Safety Team and the Virginia State Police Chesapeake Division Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the scene to assist with the investigation, which is ongoing.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 3 dead following crash between bus and truck in Virginia

    3 dead following crash between bus and truck in Virginia

    [ad_1]

    This photo from Virginia State Police shows emergency personnel at the scene of a crash on Interstate 64 in in York County Virginia early Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. The crash occurred just after 1:30 a.m. near Williamsburg, which is located between Richmond and Norfolk. (Virginia State Police via AP)

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Richmond takes down its last Confederate monument

    Richmond takes down its last Confederate monument

    [ad_1]

    Richmond takes down its last Confederate monument – CBS News


    Watch CBS News



    Richmond, Virginia, has removed its last remaining public Confederate monument – the statue of Confederate General A.P. Hill.

    Be the first to know

    Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.


    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Numbers on panel examining Va. Beach mass shooting dwindle

    Numbers on panel examining Va. Beach mass shooting dwindle

    [ad_1]

    VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Several members of a state commission tasked with conducting an independent investigation of a 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Virginia, have stepped down in recent months — raising doubts among some whether the panel can perform its job.

    The Virginia Beach Mass Shooting Commission began with 21 members, but 10 members have resigned, according to a spokesperson for the state office that oversees the panel.

    Some current and former members have expressed frustrations with the way the investigation into the shooting has been handled, suggesting that efforts could be intentionally impeded to shield the city, The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk reported.

    “We have lost 10 people; I am quite upset about it,” said current member David Cariens, telling the newspaper that most have left in the past six months.

    “I think there are people on the commission who do not want to be aggressive in investigating,” Cariens added. “The net result of their lack of enthusiasm to investigate is that it does protect the city.”

    A city engineer fatally shot 12 people and wounded four others on May 31, 2019, at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center before he was killed by police. The commission’s charge in part is to recommend improvements to Virginia’s laws, policies and other areas to minimize the risk for future shootings.

    Kate Hourin, communications director for the Office of the State Inspector General, which oversees the commission, confirmed the 10 resignations last week but declined to comment further.

    Commission chairman Ryant Washington said some members left the volunteer positions due to family matters or because it was interfering with their jobs.

    Washington, a former Fluvanna County sheriff and state law enforcement administrator, said he hopes the vacancies will be filled but that the commission’s work will continue regardless. The group meets about once a month in Richmond.

    “There are many of us who are working diligently,” he said. “We are trying to do what is set before us and I think we will continue to do that.”

    Rebecca Cowan, who resigned from the commission last month, wrote to Attorney General Jason Miyares and Virginia Beach Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler about her concerns in an email. Miyares, then another Virginia Beach delegate, and Convirs-Fowler pushed to create the state commission in 2020.

    Cowan wrote that efforts to obtain necessary information were met with resistance from the city and some commission members.

    “In my opinion, manipulative attempts have been made to stifle information-seeking,” she wrote. “I have concerns that the commission’s work is being obstructed from within, either deliberately or due to negligence.”

    Miyares and Convirs-Fowler didn’t respond Friday to a request for comment from the newspaper.

    Vice Chairman Robert “Butch” Bracknell said the panel would benefit from more state support, such as the addition of full-time staff members.

    Jason Nixon, whose wife, Kate, was killed in the shooting, said he’s been deeply disappointed with the commission and no longer has faith in its work.

    “It’s embarrassing for the state of Virginia,” Nixon said. “They should be ashamed of themselves to allow this to go on.”

    The FBI said in June 2021 that its investigation determined the employee who conducted the shooting rampage “was motivated by perceived workplace grievances” that “he fixated on for years.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Confederate monument set to be removed from Virginia capital

    Confederate monument set to be removed from Virginia capital

    [ad_1]

    RICHMOND, Va, — Work to relocate Richmond’s final city-owned Confederate monument should start this week after a judge refused a request to delay the removal of the statue of Gen. A.P. Hill from its prominent spot in Virginia’s capital, an official said.

    Richmond Circuit Court Judge David Eugene Cheek Sr. last week rejected a motion from four indirect descendants of Hill, who was killed in the final days of the Civil War, to stop the city’s removal plans.

    Though the process of removing the monument from a busy intersection should start Monday, it’s unclear if it would be removed entirely by the end of the week, city deputy chief administrative officer Robert Steidel told WRIC-TV.

    The city, a onetime capital of the Confederacy, began removing its many other Confederate monuments more than two years ago amid the racial justice protests that followed George Floyd’s murder. Among the notable monuments removed was an imposing statue of Gen. Stonewall Jackson, which was taken down from a concrete pedestal in 2020 along Richmond, Virginia’s famed Monument Avenue.

    Richmond officials decided to convey the monuments to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia. But efforts to remove the Hill statue have been complicated because the general’s remains were buried beneath the monument in 1891.

    The indirect descendants and the city have agreed that Richmond’s plan to move Hill’s remains to a cemetery in Culpeper should be allowed to move forward. But these descendants contend they have control over the statue and want it relocated to Cedar Mountain Battlefield, near the cemetery, instead of to the museum. Cheek ruled against them in October.

    In the most recent hearing, Cheek denied their motion to stay the removal of the Hill monument while the descendants press an appeal with the Virginia Court of Appeals.

    The city has spent at least $1.8 million removing other city-owned monuments, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Cheek determined that delaying the removal would result in additional cost and retain a potential traffic hazard.

    The monument will be kept in storage while the case goes through the expected appeal process, Steidel said in court last week.

    Many Confederate statues in Virginia were erected decades after the Civil War, during the Jim Crow era, when states imposed new segregation laws, and during the “Lost Cause” movement, when historians and others tried to depict the South’s rebellion as a fight to defend states’ rights, not slavery.

    Those seeking removal of the statues, particularly in Richmond — the onetime capital of the Confederacy — said that would service notice that the city is no longer a place with symbols of oppression and white supremacy.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Deputy in California slayings killed self with service gun

    Deputy in California slayings killed self with service gun

    [ad_1]

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Virginia sheriff’s deputy who police say traveled to California to kill three family members of a 15-year-old girl he tried to sexually extort online killed himself with a government-issued firearm, authorities said Saturday.

    Austin Lee Edwards, 28, drove across the country and on Nov. 25 killed the girl’s mother and grandparents and set fire to their home in Riverside, a city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.

    That same day, Edwards died by suicide during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies. The teenage girl was rescued.

    “Our detectives determined the gun used was Edwards’ department-issued semi-automatic service pistol,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Gloria Huerta said in a statement.

    The Riverside Police Department, which is investigating the deaths of the girl’s family members, has not said how they were killed.

    Edwards, a resident of North Chesterfield, Virginia, appears to have posed online as a 17-year-old boy to engage in a romantic relationship with the girl and obtain her personal information by deceiving her with a false identity, known as “catfishing,” police said.

    Authorities said the girl stopped communicating with him after he asked her to send him nude photos of herself.

    Edwards was a former Virginia state trooper and was a sheriff’s deputy in Washington County, Virginia, at the time of the killings.

    Both law enforcement agencies have said they found no warning signs about Edwards before he was hired. But a police report from the Abingdon Police Department in Virginia shows he was detained in 2016 for a psychiatric evaluation over threats to kill himself and his father, years before he joined law enforcement.

    On Thursday — a day after the Los Angeles Times broke the news about the mental health episode — the Virginia State Police said a recently completed review showed “human error” resulted in an incomplete database query during the hiring process.

    The Washington County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to calls seeking comment on the 2016 episode.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • 2 lawyers and a former US attorney will probe UVA shooting

    2 lawyers and a former US attorney will probe UVA shooting

    [ad_1]

    CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Two lawyers and a former U.S. attorney have been chosen to conduct an external review of the shooting that killed three University of Virginia students and wounded two others on campus last month, state Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Thursday.

    William Burck and Crystal Nix-Hines co-chair the Crisis Law and Strategy Group for the Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan law firm and will lead the probe, Miyares said in a statement.

    Zachary Terwilliger, a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, will serve as special counsel for federal, state and local law enforcement issues surrounding the Nov. 13 shooting.

    Miyares noted the “many questions about the events that led to the tragedy” and said a report will be released to the public at the appropriate time.

    Miyares was asked by UVA President Jim Ryan and Rector Whitt Clement to initiate the external review.

    Ryan said in the same statement that the university is “committed to working with the special counsel team to learn as much as we can about this event and the circumstances that led to it, and to apply those lessons to keep our community safe.”

    Police have said that a former member of the school’s football team opened fire on a charter bus as he and other students returned to campus after seeing a play and having dinner together in Washington, D.C.

    Authorities have not released a motive. A witness told police the gunman targeted specific victims. Football players Lavel Davis Jr., D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed, while a fourth member of the team, Mike Hollins, and another student were wounded.

    The suspected shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., 23, made his first in-person appearance in court Thursday, as a judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for March 30. Jones has not yet entered a plea.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • A Virginia superintendent is fired after a state report into handling of sexual assaults at school is issued | CNN

    A Virginia superintendent is fired after a state report into handling of sexual assaults at school is issued | CNN

    [ad_1]



    CNN
     — 

    A Virginia school superintendent was fired Tuesday, a day after a report from the state accused him of lying about a sexual assault involving a student in May 2021.

    The special grand jury report, conducted by the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, also criticized former school superintendent Dr. Scott Ziegler and other school officials for mishandling the investigation of an October sexual assault allegedly by the same student that year.

    The superintendent said of the May sexual assault “to my knowledge we don’t have any records of assaults occurring in our restrooms,” at a June 2021 school board meeting, according to the report. At the time, Ziegler said he misunderstood the question.

    The Loudoun County Public School Board voted unanimously to fire Ziegler Tuesday night, but provided no reason for the firing, school spokesman Wayde Byard told CNN.

    “The Special Grand Jury’s report contains important recommendations and information,” Miyares said in a statement to CNN Wednesday. “I’m glad to see that the school board is taking the report seriously, and hope it results in positive change for the LCPS community.”

    CNN has attempted to reach Ziegler for comment. Byard would not comment further regarding allegations into LCPS mishandling of the sexual assault cases outlined in the special grand jury report.

    A teenage student had been arrested for sexual battery and abduction of another student at a Loudoun County public school in October 2021, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said, according to the report.

    The teenager also allegedly sexually assaulted another student in May 2021, according to the report. In that assault, the grand jury report alleged that the sexual assault occurred in a women’s bathroom while the perpetrator was wearing a skirt.

    “National outrage focused on Loudoun County because the student was labeled as gender fluid, LCPS had recently passed a transgender policy to conform with the Virginia Department of Education’s model policy,” said the report.

    CNN could not find evidence substantiating that the student identified as transgender or gender-fluid.

    The 2021 Virginia Department of Education’s Model Policies for the Treatment of Transgender Students in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools outlined that transgender students should be allowed to use bathrooms and staff should use the personal pronouns that were most consistent with their gender identity.

    In 2022, under Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the Department of Education replaced the policy with an updated one stating that students should use bathrooms according to his or her sex.

    On his first day in office on January 15, Youngkin passed an executive order authorizing an investigation of Loudoun County Public Schools by the Attorney General. Youngkin had mentioned the sexual assault cases at Loudoun schools several times while campaigning for governor.

    “The special grand jury’s report on the horrific sexual assaults in Loudoun has exposed wrongdoing, prompted disciplinary actions, & provided families with the truth. I will continue to empower parents & push for accountability on behalf of our students,” Youngkin tweeted Wednesday.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Former medical director at Virginia children’s hospital charged with sex crimes: “This was a long time coming”

    Former medical director at Virginia children’s hospital charged with sex crimes: “This was a long time coming”

    [ad_1]

    A former medical director of a Virginia hospital that serves vulnerable children has been charged with four felony sex crimes in connection with abuse that authorities say happened at the facility years ago. A grand jury indicted Dr. Daniel N. Davidow of Richmond, a former longtime employee of the Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents, last month, court records show. 

    The records were unsealed Thursday, a local prosecutor announced Friday. Robert F. Donnelly, an attorney for Davidow, told The Associated Press by email that “we are still learning details and facts, so we are not in a position to comment.”

    Children's Hospital Investigation
    This aerial image taken with a drone shows Cumberland Hospital for Children and Adolescents on Tuesday Sept. 20, 2022, in Richmond, Va. 

    Steve Helber / AP


    The hospital, located in New Kent County, about half an hour east of the state capital, treats children and young adults with complex medical needs, including chronic illnesses, brain injuries and neurobehavioral disorders. An investigation into staff at the hospital by Virginia State Police has been ongoing since 2017. The facility is also facing civil lawsuits that say it operated without proper licensing and was “devoid of fundamental sanitation or humanity,” allegations the facility denies.

    The lawsuits and other concerns from patients’ parents about the hospital, which have been highlighted by persistent reporting from CBS affiliate WTVR, have raised alarms at the highest levels of state government over at least two gubernatorial administrations.

    In the civil lawsuits, more than three dozen former female patients allege Davidow sexually abused them during physical exams. In court documents and through an attorney, Davidow has previously denied those allegations.

    One of the victims interviewed by WTVR, K.J., told the station she was relieved by the indictments.

    “It felt like for the longest time he still kind of had this hold over me because of what he’s done, and that’s not there anymore,” K.J. said about the indictments. “That will be fully gone when I can look at him and say ‘I’m okay, I’m safe.’”

    Kevin Biniazan, an attorney representing the former patients in the civil case, said Friday he had confirmed the indictments were connected to allegations raised by two of his clients.

    “The first thing that’s in my mind – and probably in the minds of all my clients – is that this was a long time coming,” he said. “And in many ways I hope that it provides the public and my clients a sense of validation. … They’ve been doubted, and I think in many ways discouraged, from coming forward in many instances.”

    Neither an attorney for the hospital nor representatives of its parent company immediately responded to an emailed inquiry from AP.

    Corinne Geller, a Virginia State Police spokesperson, confirmed late Friday night that Davidow was in custody at a local jail and was being held without bond.

    He faces two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of object sexual penetration, all felonies.

    Charging documents offer few additional details about the allegations, although they say both victims were children. The documents allege the abuse of one victim occurred from March 1, 2018, to April 30, 2018. The other child was abused from mid-October of 2017 to Dec. 1, 2017, the documents say.

    T. Scott Renick, the commonwealth’s attorney in New Kent County, said in a brief statement that the charges were brought in connection with “acts of sexual abuse and sexual assault that occurred” at the hospital. He said his office would have no further comment.

    In the case of both of the sexual battery charges, the indictments say Davidow abused the victim through her “mental incapacity or physical helplessness.”

    Renick’s small office has been handling charging decisions in the Cumberland Hospital matter since Attorney General Jason Miyares handed it off earlier this year in a move than surprised some legal observers, given the nature and scope of the allegations.

    Miyares’ office had previously offered a procedural explanation for the change in course.

    “We are grateful to the New Kent County Commonwealth Attorney’s office for finally seeking the justice that our clients deserve,” Biniazan, the former patients’ lawyer, said. “These indictments are a direct reflection of our clients’ bravery and their refusal to be silenced.”

    Under the direction of the previous attorney general, Mark Herring, the office prosecuted two hospital staffers.

    One, a 72-year-old psychotherapist, was charged with sexually abusing a patient and died by suicide the same day he was due in court for a plea hearing. The other, a behavioral technician, was sentenced in December to a year in prison after pleading no contest to an allegation that she intentionally burned a disabled child with scalding water.

    In June, Dr. Alexis Aplasca, the chief clinical officer for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services told WTVR that Davidow should lose his license.

    “Not only is it a law here in Virginia, hearing the stories in the investigations and the details, it is also a moral obligation to ensure that I can do what is in my ability to ensure that it doesn’t continue,” Aplasca said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Police: Deputy posed as teen online to sexually extort girl

    Police: Deputy posed as teen online to sexually extort girl

    [ad_1]

    RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A Virginia sheriff’s deputy posed as a 17-year-old boy online and asked a teenage California girl for nude photos before he drove across the country and killed her mother and grandparents and set fire to their home, authorities said Wednesday.

    Austin Lee Edwards, 28, died by suicide Friday during a shootout with San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies. The 15-year-old girl from Riverside, California, was rescued and is in counseling for trauma, family members and police said at a news conference Wednesday.

    Edwards, a resident of North Chesterfield, Virginia, appears to have posed as a teenager online to engage in a romantic relationship with the girl and obtain her personal information by deceiving her with a false identity, known as “catfishing,” police said.

    Authorities did not provide additional details about their communications and said they still need to comb through online accounts. Officials are looking into whether he victimized other minors across the country.

    It’s also unclear whether this was the girl’s first in-person encounter with Edwards or whether she was aware that he was coming to California, officials said.

    Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said that because of the girl’s young age and trauma it will take time to complete their interviews with her and get answers to the many questions surrounding the case, such as whether she was coerced or threatened into leaving with him.

    “We don’t believe at this point she had anything to do with the murders,” he said.

    At some point, Edwards asked the girl for sexual photos and she stopped communicating with him, Gonzalez said, but detectives don’t yet know when that happened or whether Edwards killed her family in retaliation.

    Authorities believe Edwards parked his vehicle in a neighbor’s driveway, walked to the home and killed the family members before leaving with the girl on Friday. Officials have not yet determined how he entered the home, killed the victims or set the fire.

    The bodies found in the Riverside home — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles in a suburban neighborhood of single-family homes where the loud rush of freeway traffic can be heard — were identified as the girl’s grandparents and mother: Mark Winek, 69; Sharie Winek, 65; and their 38-year-old daughter, Brooke Winek.

    “Nobody could imagine this crime happening to my family, to our family,” said Michelle Blandin, Mark and Sharie’s daughter and Brooke’s sister.

    A tearful Blandin said her parents and sister “lived and loved selflessly.” The killing of Brooke, a single parent, means that her daughters — the 15-year-old girl and her 13-year-old sister — are now motherless, Blandin said.

    A front window of the charred home in the Riverside cul-de-sac was boarded up Wednesday with a wooden cross. Dozens of candles had been laid on the sidewalk, along with bouquets of flowers and stuffed animals.

    Edwards is a former Virginia state trooper and was a sheriff’s deputy in Washington County, Virginia, at the time of the killings. The law enforcement agencies there said he did not show any concerning behaviors and no other employers disclosed any issues during background checks.

    Gonzalez called it “disgusting really” to see someone in law enforcement involved in such heinous crimes and wondered how he had been hired at two Virginia agencies.

    “How did this person get past a background investigation? How this person get past a polygraph investigation?” the chief said. “From what we understand so far about him, there’s really not a big rap sheet on this person or anything that would indicate that they can see that outcome.”

    Police are also looking into whether Edwards used his law enforcement weapon or government-issued laptop in the crimes.

    A neighbor on Friday called police to report Edwards’ red Kia Soul as a suspicious car and said the girl appeared to be in distress and involved in a disturbance with a man, Gonzalez said.

    Police were able to run the vehicle’s license plate and discovered that Edwards had filed a police report earlier this year regarding vandalism to the Kia, the chief said. The police report had Edwards’ cellphone number in it, which allowed investigators to ping his phone and quickly locate him in Southern California.

    He got into a gun battle with San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies and died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the coroner’s office said Wednesday.

    Blandin said she last saw her parents and sister on Thanksgiving, the day before they were slain.

    “We had a family debate, and it got heated, on if the brownies my mom made should be frosted with sprinkles or just left plain,” she said. “Little did I know, on that day, that would be the last time that my husband and I would see my parents and my sister again.”

    Blandin begged parents and guardians to use her family’s tragedy to start conversations about internet safety.

    “When you are talking to your children about the dangers of their online actions, please use us as a reference,” she said. “Tell our story to help your parenting. Not out of fear, but out of an example of something that did happen.”

    ——

    This story has been corrected to attribute a quote to Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez. It was incorrectly attributed to Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback.

    ——

    Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press Writer Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, contributed.

    [ad_2]

    Source link