Category Archives: US crime

Florida jury finds ex-sheriff’s deputy not guilty in shooting death of Black air force airman

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Roger Fortson was shot by deputy when he opened door with gun in hand after a false domestic disturbance call

A Florida jury recently found former sheriff’s deputy Eddie Duran not guilty of manslaughter with a firearm in the fatal shooting of Roger Fortson, a Black US air force airman who was killed inside his apartment after authorities responded to an unfounded report of a domestic disturbance.

An Okaloosa county jury acquitted Duran, 38, on Thursday after about two hours of deliberations. He had faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

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Shop clerk and son charged with selling illegal kratom after two Ole Miss students die from suspected overdoses

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Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang died after apparently ingesting kratom product last month

Federal authorities investigating the recent deaths of two University of Mississippi students have charged a store clerk and his son with selling an illegal kratom product, prosecutors announced on Friday.

A drug taskforce in Mississippi had previously urged people to avoid kratom, an herbal substance that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses, after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on 21 September.

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Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s former husband says he was ‘shocked’ by death of her ex-partner

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Ryan Anderson says he reached out to Blanchard’s father to offer support after apparent overdose death of Ken Urker

The ex-husband of Gypsy Rose Blanchard has said he was “shocked” by the recent death in Louisiana of her former partner Ken Urker – and that he would be there for Blanchard and her daughter “if she needs me”.

Ryan Anderson made those remarks during an appearance on The Sarah Fraser Show podcast on Friday, providing a noteworthy reaction to the latest chapter involving Blanchard, who achieved an unusual level of celebrity in the US after spending time imprisoned for a role in the murder of her abusive mother in Missouri.

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Partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard found dead in Louisiana home

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Kenan ‘Ken’ Urker, 34, who died of apparent drug overdose, was partner of woman convicted of murder of mother

The on-and-off partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who spent time in prison for her role in the murder of her abusive mother, was found dead inside his Louisiana home on his 34th birthday on Thursday in what authorities described as an apparent drug overdose.

The sheriff’s office in Lafourche parish, Louisiana, confirmed Kenan “Ken” Urker – the father of Blanchard’s daughter – was discovered on Thursday after relatives asked police to conduct a welfare check at his residence.

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Tennessee suspends executions as Christa Pike’s lawyer says failed lethal injection leaves her in critical condition

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Independent inquiry ordered after failed execution of Pike, who was convicted of 1994 murder

Tennessee’s governor on Thursday said it was “deeply disturbing” that his state botched the execution of a death row prisoner who remained alive and snoring 40 minutes after receiving a double dose of the lethal drug that should have quickly killed her.

Bill Lee, a Republican, has suspended all executions in the state until at least the end of the year and ordered an independent inquiry after Wednesday night’s failed attempt to put to death Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder, at the execution chamber in Nashville.

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Trump and his allies credit deportations with record low crime. Experts disagree

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Administration says increased immigration enforcement led to fewer homicides, but they have been on the decline since Joe Biden’s term

Over the last year and a half, the US has seen a historic drop in homicides. Researchers and reporters are still puzzling through the complex set of reasons why - from the easing of pandemic-era stressors and the Biden administration’s investments in community-based violence prevention to policing and other factors.

But for the Trump administration, there’s one easy explanation: increased immigration enforcement. As the midterm elections approach, the White House has been doubling down on this message, saying its crackdown against immigrants is why US crime rates are now falling.

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Tennessee woman ‘snoring’ and still alive as execution halted, witnesses say

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Christa Pike, sentenced to death over 1995 murder, was heard snoring 40 minutes after lethal doses administered, witnesses said

Tennessee officials were unable to carry out the execution of Christa Pike, media witnesses said Wednesday, despite her being administered two doses of a lethal injection drug.

In a press conference, media witnesses described hearing Pike snore 40 minutes after she was administered two doses of pentobarbital. An ambulance pulled up to Riverbend maximum security institution ahead of the press conference, but Pike’s condition is unclear.

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Utah death-row prisoner released after new DNA analysis of 1985 killing

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Douglas Carter, 71, who has spent more than four decades on death row, was released on bail until new trial begins

A Utah man who has spent more than four decades on death row was released from jail after newly analyzed DNA evidence showed that he was not connected to a 1985 homicide.

Douglas Stewart Carter, now 71, walked out of the Utah county jail late on Monday night after a judge ordered his release on bail. He will have to wear a GPS monitoring device until a new trial begins.

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Third person arrested in death of Tasia Fortune, as police say hanging was staged

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Eric Clark, 45, charged with murder as autopsy concludes Fortune was dead days before body discovered in tree

A third person has been arrested in the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune in Mississippi’s capital city, while investigators said they had determined the scene where her body was found hanging had been staged.

Eric Clark, 45, surrendered to authorities on Friday and was charged with murder, according to the Jackson police department (JPD). Clark was scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday.

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Wisconsin police investigating fraternity for hazing after men found in basement

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Pledges found covered in food in heated basement of fraternity house near University of Wisconsin-Madison

Police are investigating suspected illegal hazing after about 30 partially clothed young men covered in food, condiments and other liquids were found recently in the basement of a fraternity house near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Madison police said some of the men, whom they described as pledges of a fraternity, had signs of being physically assaulted.

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Kansas judge reportedly convicts driver in death of teacher whose husband was killed months prior

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Ashleigh Boyd died in a car crash months after Adan Manzano, a TV reporter, was killed in Louisiana while preparing to cover the Super Bowl

A Kansas school teacher’s fatal car wreck on Monday reportedly led to a vehicular homicide conviction for the motorist who crashed into her – a verdict delivered just four days after a Louisiana jury found a woman guilty of the drugging death of the educator’s widower while he prepared to cover the 2025 Super Bowl for Telemundo.

Todd W Armstrong’s one-day bench trial in an 11 April 2024 traffic collision that killed Ashleigh Boyd in Topeka, Kansas, resulted in the judge, Andrew Holmes, finding him guilty of vehicular homicide, driving on the wrong side of the road and speeding, according to the victim’s father, Brian Hinck.

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Lindsay Clancy’s defense lawyer asks judge to investigate lone juror

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Holdout juror in Clancy’s case, Michael Desronvil, sided with the prosecutors, arguing that Clancy knew what she was doing when she killed her three young children

Lawyers for Lindsay Clancy have asked a judge to investigate the conduct of the lone juror who wanted to convict the mother from Massachusetts of murder in the deaths of her three children.

In a motion filed Friday but made public Monday, Clancy’s lawyers asked the court to question the juror about his alleged use of a cellphone during deliberations, his truthfulness on a questionnaire that prospective jurors filled out before the trial began and his truthfulness when jurors were questioned by the judge a day before the trial ended.

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Patrick Clancy, ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, opens up on children’s killings in first televised interview

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In a 60 Minutes interview, ex-husband describes moments leading to the 2023 killings

In his first televised interview, Patrick Clancy, the ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, described the moments leading up to the 2023 killings of their children and how he coped in the aftermath.

Patrick Clancy responded to online criticism and conspiracy theories from people who supported Lindsay Clancy and believed he did not provide enough care to his wife at the time.

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Elderly man allegedly beaten to death in Virginia Walmart by parents of employee

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Bert Atienza and teen worker reportedly exchanged words before parents showed up and allegedly attacked shopper

A 77-year-old Walmart shopper died after he was allegedly attacked inside a Virginia store by the parents of a teenage employee he had confronted over a shopping cart incident involving his wife, according to US media reports.

Bert Atienza died from blunt head trauma on 8 June, one day after the attack at the Walmart in Norfolk, Virginia, WTKR reported on Monday. The shocking incident was captured on surveillance video.

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Man who sprayed Ilhan Omar with vinegar sentenced to 14 months

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Anthony Kazmierczak agreed plea deal over January town-hall attack that came amid Minneapolis ICE crackdown

The man who sprayed vinegar at the Democratic US House member Ilhan Omar during a Minneapolis town hall was sentenced Thursday to 14 months in prison after reaching a deal with prosecutors.

The sentencing of 56-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak came nearly eight months after the 27 January assault. At the time, Minneapolis was facing an immigration crackdown that led to angry protests, arrests and the killing of two US citizens by federal officers.

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Attorneys for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs drop music mogul, alleging unpaid legal bills

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The musician is serving a 50-month federal prison term for prostitution-related offenses

Attorneys representing rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs say they are no longer acting for the disgraced star in a dispute over months of unpaid legal bills.

The musician, who is serving a 50-month federal prison term for prostitution-related offenses, has become increasingly belligerent in recent months, causing “a total breakdown in cooperation and communication” with New York law firm Sher Tremonte, one of its partners Michael Tremonte said in a court filing.

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Texas kills man by lethal injection in state’s fifth execution this year

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LeJames Norman, 40, killed at Huntsville penitentiary while scheduled execution in Georgia halted by judge

A man convicted over the shooting deaths of three people was executed on Wednesday in Texas, while another execution scheduled for the same time in Georgia was halted by a judge.

It’s the fifth execution in Texas this year. Georgia has yet to put anyone to death this year. The nation’s busiest death chamber is in Florida, which accounted for more than half the 25 executions already carried out in the US this year.

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Mississippi police say more arrests to come in death of woman found hanging from tree

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Officials still investigating death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman, a day after man’s arrest in relation to killing

Mississippi police said on Saturday they were still investigating the death of Tasia Fortune, a Black woman found hanging from a tree last month, a day after a man was arrested in connection with the killing.

Loved ones also painted a picture of Fortune as a mother, athlete and woman of faith who they hoped would not solely be remembered for her horrific death.

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Six Nigerians extradited to US over $6m online romance scam

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Alleged members of Black Axe criminal network that swindled US women out of $6m flown from South Africa

Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of more than $6m through online romance scams were extradited to the United States on Friday.

South African police confirmed they were to be extradited earlier on Friday, while local news in Africa confirmed that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, facilitated their handover to officials from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Secret Service at Cape Town international airport, in collaboration with Interpol South Africa.

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CIA releases dozens of presidential daily briefs on Bin Laden and al-Qaida from before 9/11

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The presidential briefing documents were declassified on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks

Several dozen presidential briefing documents declassified on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, detail intelligence that government officials had gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida leading up to the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people and upended American national security.

The documents illustrate security analysts’ tracking of Bin Laden’s movements and support system, as well as concerns about possible threats to US targets. They also detail officials’ understanding of his network in the United States and other countries, including how his operations were financed.

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