Category Archives: US crime

A US woman feared dead was reported alive in Mexico. But cops now say that isn’t true

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Mexican police had said they found Shayna Feinman in Tijuana, raising the hopes of missing Arizonan’s family

Arizona authorities say their Mexican counterparts were resoundingly mistaken when they publicly claimed recently that they found alive a woman who was feared slain after disappearing in 2024 – a turn of events that her sister has called “turmoil” and “heartbreaking”.

The case in question centers on Shayna Feinman, who was reported missing in rural Yavapai county, Arizona, in March 2024 at age 38.

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Grand jury declines to indict ex-White House staffer who testified about January 6

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Cassidy Hutchinson had implicated Donald Trump in US Capitol attack during testimony before House committee

The justice department on Tuesday failed to secure a grand jury indictment against a former White House staffer who provided dramatic but disputed testimony against Donald Trump before a House committee investigating the 6 January 2021 US Capitol insurrection, according to two people familiar with the matter.

A grand jury in Washington rejected prosecutors’ request to return an indictment charging Cassidy Hutchinson, said the people, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case. It’s the latest setback in the justice department’s efforts to charge perceived adversaries of the Republican president.

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Japanese prosecutors charge US marine suspected of robbing and killing woman

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Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, denies charges that he fatally strangled Anna Yagi, 39, in a hotel on the island of Okinawa

Prosecutors in Japan have filed formal charges against a US marine suspected of murdering and robbing a woman while stationed on the country’s island of Okinawa, according to Japanese media.

Devin Jacob Ballard, a 20-year-old lance corporal assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa, is charged with fatally strangling Anna Yagi, 39, at a hotel in the city and stealing from her a backpack containing a wallet, the public broadcaster NHK reported.

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Suspect in shooting death of teen on Missouri highway charged in second road incident

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Man accused of shooting teen, who was driving to a party, has also been linked to shooting of a vehicle days earlier

A man accused in the shooting death of a Missouri teen has been charged in a second shooting incident – both of which involve firing into cars on the highway.

Alyssa Wilson, 17, was shot and killed as she drove down Interstate 170 in Overland, Missouri, on 14 October. The teen was on her way to a Halloween party at St Louis Zoo, called Boo at the Zoo, when a suspect fired a single shot into the back of Wilson’s Buick Encore.

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Indiana police officer arrested for using Flock cameras to search wife’s details

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Justin Craig charged with official misconduct and fraud, after searching plates of wife and ‘previous acquaintance’

An Indiana police officer has been arrested on allegations that he misused Flock cameras hundreds of times in a case involving his wife and a previous acquaintance of hers.

Justin Craig of Georgetown police department, was charged with official misconduct and two counts of fraud. Documents show that he searched his wife’s license plate more than 80 times and that of a “previous acquaintance” of hers nearly 250 times, the news outlet WLKY reported.

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24-year-old Kansas man arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump

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Jaden J Read was arrested after federal authorities say he posted threats online before president’s Wichita rally

A 24-year-old Kansas man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump.

Authorities arrested Jaden J Read, of Clearwater, Kansas, last Saturday after he allegedly posted threats to kill the US president at his rally in the Wichita area on Monday, according to the justice department.

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Husband and wife charged in shooting death of teen driving to St Louis Halloween party

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Alyssa Wilson, 17, was driving to a party at city zoo when prosecutors say Willie Herndon fired a gun at her car

A Texas husband and wife are facing criminal charges following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old girl who was driving to a Halloween celebration at the St Louis zoo when gunfire struck her vehicle on a Missouri highway.

St Louis county prosecutor Melissa Price Smith announced on Monday that Willie Herndon, 43, has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with the death of Alyssa Wilson. His wife, 45-year-old Taiya Herndon, is also facing a charge of hindering prosecution.

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‘Bad decisions’: Man convicted for taking Peachy the flamingo from Las Vegas hotel

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Mitchell Fairbarn found guilty of animal cruelty after prosecutors say he hurt and frightened the 27-year-old bird

A Canadian man was convicted of animal cruelty charges on Monday for snatching a flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure at an iconic Las Vegas hotel.

Prosecutors said it was a malicious prank while a lawyer for the tourist insisted it was drunken foolishness not meant to harm the bird.

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New details emerge on two killed after woman drove through Kansas soccer game

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A boy, six, and woman, 35, were killed and 10 were injured after a woman drove on to the field at a youth soccer game

New details have emerged about two people – including a child – killed when a woman drove a vehicle through a youth soccer game in Kansas, as officials on Monday continued to investigate the cause of the tragedy.

Chris Adrian, a middle school soccer coach, said his family was heartbroken over losing his six-year-old son, Cole, who died after the incident at Wichita’s Stryker Sports Complex in which 10 others were hurt, some seriously.

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Two people, including child, killed after person drives through soccer game in Kansas

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The driver of the vehicle is in custody, and two juveniles were in the vehicle, according to Wichita police department

Two people, including a child, were killed during a soccer game in Wichita, Kansas, when a person drove a vehicle through the field at Stryker soccer complex, police have confirmed. Multiple other people were injured.

The driver of the vehicle is in custody, Aaron Moses of the Wichita police department said Saturday in a news conference. There were two juveniles in the vehicle, he said.

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Selma Blair ‘did not intend to harm anyone’ during airplane incident, representatives say

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Actor experienced a ‘medical emergency’ on flight during which she allegedly injured crew members, statement says

Actor Selma Blair did not mean to hurt anyone during the recent flight which led to her arrest on allegations that she assaulted a pair of cabin crew members, a police officer and a nurse, her representatives said on Friday in a statement that characterized the episode as a medical emergency.

The lengthy statement also dismissed prior media coverage of Blair’s arrest after a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to New York as unsympathetic and inaccurate, singling out reporting from several outlets alleging that she tried to open the door of the airplane that she and her fellow passengers were on.

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Ex-Chicago detective identified as killing child in 65-year cold case

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Police used recently discovered DNA to pin murder of eight-year-old girl on Thomas McInerney, who died in 2006

Chicago police on Monday said they recently used newly discovered DNA evidence to tie the 1960 murder of an eight-year-old girl to one of its own former homicide detectives.

Thomas McInerney had been dead for 20 years by the time authorities issued a statement identifying him as the killer of Gloria Kowalewicz – well after retiring from the Chicago police department (CPD) and two federal public defender’s offices in Nevada where he worked as an investigator.

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Fugitive businessman taken into US custody in Venezuela bribery case

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A businessman wanted in the US for allegedly bribing top Venezuelan officials has been taken into custody

A businessman wanted for years in the US for allegedly paying bribes to top Venezuelan officials in exchange for lucrative state contracts in Venezuela has been taken into custody.

Alvaro Pulido was indicted in Miami federal court in 2019 and again in 2021 as part of an investigation into his longtime business partner, Alex Saab, a one-time ally of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the state department had been offering a reward of up to $10m for information leading to his arrest.

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Pennsylvania shooter who killed eight was a grandfather, says slain child’s dad

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Father of toddler killed in Erie mass shooting says reported gunman never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary

The man who killed eight people, before turning the gun on himself, in a mass shooting in a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday was a grandfather who had not shown signs that he was capable of such violence, according to people who knew the shooter.

A man whose toddler was among those killed said on Sunday that the man never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary, the Associated Press reports.

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Man accused of child rape set to become police chief in small Louisiana town

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Republican Christopher Paul is running unopposed for seat despite allegations he raped two girls 20 years ago

A candidate for police chief in a small Louisiana town candidate is on course to be elected unopposed despite two charges of child rape pending against him, leaving his community to weigh whether to convert the position into an appointed office rather than one determined at the ballot box.

Christopher Paul, a Republican who on 6 August signed up to run for chief of police in the south-western Louisiana village of Elizabeth, was arrested on 8 September on allegations that he raped two girls in 2005 and 2006.

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Man with gun kills one Philadelphia police officer and injures another

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10-year police veteran Shane Seiber was killed after responding to a report of a man with a gun

A Philadelphia police officer was fatally shot and another was wounded on Saturday after responding to a report of a man with a gun, authorities said.

Shane Seiber, 40, was killed early on Saturday morning in West Philadelphia, according to the city’s police commissioner, Kevin Bethel.

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Florida judge allows lawsuit against Shah of Iran’s alleged ‘chief torturer’ to move forward

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Parviz Sabeti denies allegations he led Savak intelligence agency under shah and directed torture of thousands

The alleged “chief torturer” for the deposed Shah of Iran is a step closer to trial for human rights abuses after a Florida federal judge rejected his demand to halt a lawsuit brought by three former political prisoners.

Parviz Sabeti, who was reported last year to have lived in a quiet upscale central Florida community, is accused of being the former head of Savak, the shah’s secret police and intelligence agency. The plaintiffs say they discovered his whereabouts only after a photo of Sabeti at a 2023 protest against the Iranian government was posted on social media by his daughter.

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Arizona congressional candidate says she was raped while trying to repair campaign sign

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Bernadette Greene-Placentia says she is sharing her story in order to fight for victims of sexual assault

This article contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.

A congressional candidate in Arizona says she was attacked and raped in August while trying to repair one of her damaged campaign signs.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Mass shootings leave two people dead in Georgia and 12-year-old girl dead in Baltimore

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At least 25 injured at block party shooting in Georgia and three wounded in Baltimore park shooting, officials say

Two people were killed and at least 25 others injured when a shooting erupted at a homecoming block party in Vienna, Georgia, early on Sunday, according to authorities.

In another high-profile mass shooting in the US over the weekend, a 12-year-old girl was shot and killed and three other people were wounded after gunfire evidently broke out over a parking spot in a Baltimore park on Saturday, officials said.

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US marine arrested in Japan on suspicion of killing woman, police say

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Suspect allegedly killed woman at hotel in Okinawa as prime minister calls crime ‘exceptionally brutal and vicious’

A US marine stationed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa is accused of murdering a Japanese woman and has been arrested on suspicion of murder, police said on Sunday.

The suspect allegedly “killed [a] 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha and stole her wallet” as well as her backpack, local police told news media outlets.

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