High-profile case enters its final stage after more than a month of testimony from 34 witnesses
Closing arguments began on Thursday morning in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, signaling the final stage of the high-profile case.
Assistant US attorney Christy Slavik began her closing argument by describing Combs as the “leader of a criminal enterprise” who “doesn’t take no for an answer”.
Continue reading...Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, died Tuesday by lethal injection at Florida state prison in state’s seventh execution this year
A man convicted of raping and killing a woman near a central Florida bar was executed Tuesday evening.
Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was pronounced dead at 6.13pm after receiving a lethal injection at Florida state prison near Starke, said Bryan Griffin, a spokesperson for the governor, Ron DeSantis.
Continue reading...The political temperature is dangerously high – and shows few signs of cooling
It has been a grim couple of weeks in the US, as multiple acts of politically motivated violence have dominated headlines and sparked fears that a worrying new normal has taken hold in America.
Last Saturday, a man disguised as a police officer attacked two Democratic legislators at their homes in Minnesota, killing a state representative and her husband, and wounding another lawmaker and his wife. The alleged murderer was planning further attacks, police said, on local politicians and abortion rights advocates.
Continue reading...Vance Boelter had texted his family that they needed to flee their house before ‘people with guns’ showed up
The man charged in connection with the recent shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses was a doomsday “prepper” who instructed his family to “prepare for war” as he tried to evade capture, according to new court filings.
Vance Boelter, 57, faces multiple federal and state murder charges after allegedly shooting dead the Democratic Minnesota state house speaker emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in the early hours of 14 June. Boelter is also accused of shooting and seriously wounding the Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, about 90 minutes earlier.
Continue reading...Police say Arturo Gamboa was carrying a rifle when safety volunteer fired on him and accidentally killed bystander
A man jailed on suspicion of murder for allegedly brandishing a rifle at a “No Kings” rally in Utah before an armed safety volunteer fired and inadvertently killed a protester has been released from custody.
Local district attorney Sim Gill’s office said on Friday that it was unable to make a decision on charges against Arturo Gamboa after the 14 June shooting that killed demonstrator Arthur Folasa Ah Loo – but that the investigation into the slaying continues.
Continue reading...Read, who was found guilty of drunk driving, was accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston officer John O’Keefe
A jury has found Karen Read not guilty of second-degree murder, but guilty of drunk driving in the death of her police officer boyfriend in a divisive and high-profile case that dueling lawyers presented as either a tragic love story or a sinister cover-up.
Read, 45, was accused of fatally striking her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, 46, with her SUV and leaving him to die in the snow outside a house party where other local police and a federal agent were closing out a night of drinking in 2022.
Continue reading...The New Jersey Democrat will be held in Pennsylvania facility after his conviction on bribery charges
Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat and former US senator has been mocked for the crimes as “Gold Bar Bob”, according to his own lawyer.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Schuylkill federal correctional institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it is likely he will end up in the camp.
Continue reading...Vance Boelter accused of killing legislator Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding John Hoffman and his wife
The man suspected of opening fire on two Minnesota legislators and their spouses on 14 June, killing one legislator and her husband, was set to appear in court on Monday afternoon charged with two counts of murder and two of attempted murder, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, said at a news conference.
Vance Boelter, 57, is suspected of fatally shooting the Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their residence early on Saturday. Boelter is also suspected of shooting the state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home, seriously injuring them.
Continue reading...Gunman believed to have left Minneapolis region after killing one legislator and wounding another
The hunt for the man suspected of shooting two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses while impersonating a police officer, killing one legislator and her husband, continued on Sunday more than 24 hours after the killings.
Vance Boelter, 57, now on the FBI’s most wanted list, is believed to have left the Minneapolis region after allegedly gunning down Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home, according to CNN. Boelter is also suspected of shooting Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their residence, gravely injuring them; a relative posted on Facebook that they were out of surgery and recovering.
Continue reading...Ministers tight-lipped over discovery of 233 guns and 40,000 rounds of ammunition that could ‘arm a small army’
Jamaicans are seeking answers after officials revealed a massive illegal firearms seizure described by experts as the largest in the country’s history, with enough guns and ammunition to “arm a small army”.
More than a week after the police and customs said they had intercepted 233 illegal rifles and handguns and more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition, the government has remained tight-lipped about the details of the find, arguing that revealing more information would hamper a sensitive cross-border investigation into their origin and the identity of those involved.
Continue reading...Grant Hardin, nicknamed ‘Devil in the Ozarks’, had escaped from prison after impersonating a corrections officer
A former police chief who is also a convicted killer and rapist nicknamed the “Devil in the Ozarks” was captured by law enforcement 1.5 miles north-west of the prison he escaped from following a 13-day manhunt in the mountains of northern Arkansas, authorities announced on Friday.
Grant Hardin’s identity was confirmed through fingerprinting, the Izard county sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.
Continue reading...Music mogul warned to desist from looking and nodding at jury during sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial
The judge in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to remove the music mogul from court for looking and nodding at the jury during testimony on Thursday.
The court also heard from a woman, under the pseudonym “Jane” and who previously dated Combs, as she began testifying about their relationship and the drug-fueled sexual marathons that she said Combs orchestrated.
Continue reading...FBI detains 32-year-old from Washington state over links to blast in which authorities believe bomber died
The FBI arrested a man in connection with last month’s bombing of a facility clinic in Palm Springs, California, US authorities said on Wednesday.
Daniel Park, a 32-year-old US citizen who lives in Kent, Washington, was taken into custody at John F Kennedy airport in New York on Tuesday after he was deported from Poland, said Bill Essayli, a US attorney for California, at a press conference. Park allegedly provided materials for explosives to the person who carried out the bombing, which officials have described as the largest incident of its kind in southern California. Authorities believe the bomber died in the blast.
Continue reading...Mohamed Sabry Soliman charged with multiple felonies after allegedly shouting ‘Free Palestine’ as he attacked Boulder crowd
A man has been charged with a federal hate crime and multiple other felonies after he allegedly used a makeshift flamethrower and incendiary devices to attack a crowd of people who were raising awareness for Israeli hostages in Gaza, injuring 12 victims.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, is alleged to have shouted “Free Palestine” as he attacked the crowd on Sunday. The FBI said Soliman told police he planned the attack for a year and had specifically targeted what he described as the “Zionist group”, the Associated Press reported.
Continue reading...Officials say about 100 people, many high school students, were present when one or more people began firing
At least 80 shots were fired in a North Carolina neighborhood, killing one person and injuring 11 others, authorities said Sunday.
The shooting early Sunday took place in Hickory, the Catawba county sheriff’s office said. No arrests have been made, but authorities said there was more than one shooter.
Continue reading...Leaks and a Dateline special have complicated matters but Bryan Kohberger due to face trial – and possible execution
Bryan Kohberger, the suspect accused of killing four young University of Idaho students in 2022, is set to go to trial in August in a case that could see him sentenced to death.
He is charged with the murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin – who were together in the same house when someone broke in at night and stabbed them to death.
Continue reading...Police announce allegations against Christian Anderson, 33, after body of Adan Manzano, 27, found on 5 February
Authorities investigating the apparent drugging death and robbery of a Telemundo reporter who was covering February’s Super Bowl have arrested a third suspect in the case.
On Friday, the Kenner police department in Louisiana announced the arrest of 33-year-old Christian Anderson on allegations that he had a role in the death of Adan Manzano, 27, whose body was found on 5 February in his hotel room in the city just west of New Orleans.
Continue reading...Police also find widespread animal mistreatment, relocating 310 of the 450 animals and euthanizing three
Oregon police have arrested a zoo owner on drug charges following a police raid at the facility earlier this month that found drugs and widespread animal mistreatment.
The Coos county sheriff’s office said that Brian Tenney, the owner of West Coast Game Park Safari, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of methamphetamine possession, manufacturing and attempted distribution. He was later released as the district attorney’s office awaited more information, a staff member at the Coos county jail said when reached by the Associated Press.
Continue reading...Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves still at large, while at least 11 people arrested on suspicion of aiding prisoners
Two of the 10 prisoners who escaped from New Orleans’s jail on 16 May remained on the run as of Tuesday, after three more of the group were rearrested on Monday, authorities said.
One of the men was arrested by local police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, about 80 miles north-west of New Orleans. Two others were arrested in Walker county, Texas, Louisiana state police said on the Twitter/X.
Continue reading...Agency also announced new inquiry into pipe bombs found outside Democratic and Republican offices in 2021
The FBI will launch new investigations into the 2023 discovery of a bag of cocaine at the White House during Joe Biden’s term, as well as into pipe bombs discovered at Democratic and Republican party headquarters before the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot by supporters of Donald Trump, and the leak of the supreme court’s draft opinion before the historic overturning of national abortion rights with the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that overturned Roe v Wade in 2022.
Dan Bongino, a rightwing podcaster turned deputy director of the FBI, made the announcement on X, where he said he had requested weekly briefings on any progress in looking into the old cases. The incidents have been popular talking points on America’s political right wing and among conspiracy theorists.
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