List of All Articles with Tag 'crime'

The city of Birmingham, Alabama was preparing to bury a fallen hero after a firefighter was killed during a shooting at the fire station. Jordan Melton, 29, died following the attack which also wounded fellow firefighter Jamal Jones. Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama was offering a reward of $45,000 for tips leading to an arrest. Melton and Jones were on duty on 12 July at Fire Station 9 in the Norwood area of Birmingham when shots were reported around 8.30am, police said in a release. It appeared the shooting had occurred near the station bay doors. Both firefighters were transported to hospital. Mr Jones was listed in serious condition, according to a fire department statement, but survived. Mr Melton, who had graduated from the academy one month earlier, died from his injuries on 17 July. “You could not be around Recruit Melton and not smile,” Battalion Chief Stan Frierson, from Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service, tweeted. “I am known as a person who doesn’t smile often, but every time we spoke, it would end wit (sic) him saying, Chief, smile. I want [to] tell anyone you could not be around him and not smile.” A public visitation for Mr Melton will be held on Tuesday followed by a public viewing and funeral on Wednesday in Birmingham. “Know that we’re exhausting every resource to find answers and justice for Jordan’s loved ones,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin tweeted last week. “Jordan paid the ultimate price for his service to our city, we will not let that sacrifice be in vain.” Police told WVTM13 that the attack was targeted and the suspect(s) had a personal conflict with one of the firefighters. Read More This Alabama town disbanded its police force over a racist text. Here’s what happened next Fargo police officer's funeral scheduled; 2 other officers remain hospitalized after shooting Six suspects arrested for Alabama birthday party shooting that left four people dead and 32 injured Alabama church shooter gets life for killing 3 at potluck Firefighter killed while battling cargo ship fire is posthumously promoted during funeral

Four men have been arrested after a hearse was driven on to the pitch during a pre-season football match, forcing officials to abandon the game. The friendly between non-league teams Gateshead and Dunston was called off on Friday at half-time after the hearse was driven on to the pitch at Dunston’s UTS Stadium, Tyne and Wear, along with a Subaru, shortly before 8.20pm. Both vehicles were spun around in circles while leaflets were thrown from one of the cars at the club on Wellington Road. Men wearing balaclavas left the hearse and joined the second car, which was driven off the pitch and out of the stadium. Disorder will not be tolerated in the community, and anyone found to be involved will be dealt with robustly Northumbria Police statement The hearse was left on the pitch. Northumbria Police said on Saturday that three men – two aged 19 and one aged 32 – had been arrested on suspicion of affray, while a 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage. They remain in police custody. A statement from Northumbria Police said: “Disorder will not be tolerated in the community, and anyone found to be involved will be dealt with robustly. “Officers would like to thank members of the public who have come forward to assist the investigation to date. People are also reminded to continue to avoid any speculation online and on social media as enquiries continue. “Police will remain in the area throughout the weekend – and those with concerns and information are encouraged to speak with an officer on duty.” Anyone with information or footage of the incident is asked to get in contact with Northumbria Police through the force’s website, or by calling 101 quoting reference number NP-20230721-1154.

Carlee Russell has been fired from the Alabama beauty spa where she was working on the night she claimed to have been kidnapped, according to a new report. Stuart Rome, the owner of the Woodhouse spa in Birmingham, told the New York Post that Ms Russell was no longer employed there and staff were “pissed” about her abduction claims. The 25-year-old told police she was kidnapped while stopping to help a toddler on Interstate 459 on 13 July. However, Alabama police have expressed doubt over Ms Russell’s abduction claims and revealed she appeared to have made suspicious internet searches about kidnappings prior to the incident. Mr Rome said staff had been devastated by Ms Russell’s disappearance, and had passed out flyers in an effort to help find her. “As the information came out that there were some questionable things, we’ve been a little pissed off, mainly because so many people took so much time out to search,” Mr Rome toldthe New York Post. Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said during a press conference on Wednesday that investigators were “unable to verify” most of the 25-year-old’s statements. Read More Carlee Russell sent several bizarre tweets before disappearing Alabama lawyer says police is using ‘every other synonym for lie except saying she lied’ in Carlee Russell case Boyfriend of Carlee Russell deletes social media posts after police cast doubt over her kidnapping story Police doubt Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claims. Could she face consequences?

(Reuters) -A drone attack on an ammunition depot in Crimea prompted authorities to evacuate a 5 km (3 mile) radius

Ukrainian forces hit an ammunition dump in Crimea, forcing an evacuation of the area and canceling train services, authorities in the annexed province say.

Russian-installed authorities halt railway services in Crimea and say Ukraine was behind a drone strike.

Five members of a neo-fascist hate group that planned to disrupt a Pride event in Idaho last year will spend three days in jail after a jury convicted them of conspiracy to riot. The men – Devin Center, Forrest Rankin, Robert Whitted, James Johnson and Derek Smith – were found guilty by a six-person jury on 20 July after an hour of deliberation following a three-day trial. On 11 June, 2022, police arrested 31 members of Patriot Front blocks away from the annual Pride in the Park event in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after calls to 911 identified a group of people coming out of a UHaul box truck in a military-like formation. They carried shields, metal flag poles, shin guards and at least one smoke grenade. Paperwork inside the truck appeared to show plans for a riot, according to police, and the men came from more than a dozen states, including some as far as Colorado and Texas. The men were arrested on charges of conspiracy to riot, a misdemeanor punishable up to one year in prison with fines of $5,000. They pleaded not guilty. Under the sentence imposed on 21 July, the men will spend three days in jail and will have one year of unsupervised probation. They are also not allowed to go within two miles of the Coeur d’Alene City Park in that time. Because the probation is unsupervised, those men are able to leave the state. Despite the mass arrests of its members in Idaho, Patriot Front’s presence across the US has not diminished. The group, which first emerged from the splintering of another white nationalist group in the aftermath of the lethal rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, was responsible for the vast majority of “hateful propaganda” efforts in the years that followed, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which designates Patriot Front as a hate group. Over the last few years, Patriot Front have made their physical presence known at demonstrations and rallies across the country. A month after the arrests in Coeur d’Alene, a Black artist was attacked during a Patriot Front march in Boston. This year, members have marched in Indianapolis, protested a drag brunch in Tennessee, and, in a grim display in the nation’s capital, marched in Washington DC. A report from the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD discovered more than 350 targeted threats against LGBT+ people within the last year from a wide array of anti-LGBT+ groups, including online harassment as well as armed protests at drag performances, bomb scares against hospitals that provide gender-affirming healthcare, and other acts of violence, including a mass shooting inside a Colorado Springs LGBT+ nightclub. Incidents targeting drag performers and the people and venues that host them have accelerated across the US, with similar threats surfacing in the UK, according to a separate recent report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. The group collected 203 on- and offline threatening incidents specifically targeting drag events within the last year. Read More Patriot Front planned to disrupt a Pride event in Idaho. One year later, members are on trial Montana LGBT+ advocates sue state over ‘Frankenstein’s monster’ drag ban

Alabama police have expressed doubt over Carlee Russell’s claim that she was abducted from the side of an interstate highway last week, saying she appears to have made internet searches relating to kidnappings prior to the incident. Hoover police chief Nick Derzis said during a press conference that investigators were “unable to verify” most of the 25-year-old’s statements relating to the events. Mr Derzis detailed Ms Russell’s peculiar search history on Wednesday, saying she had searched for the movie Taken and Amber Alerts, raising the possibility she may have faked her alleged ordeal. Before she disappeared for a mysterious 49 hours, she posted a series of bizarre tweets. On the day she went missing on 13 July, she tweeted at 8.55pm: “today was a GREAT day God be looking out im telling you!!” One minute later, Ms Russell wrote: “someone to tell you ‘i love you’ and don’t got a reason.” Finally, she tweeted, “yeah i want a family now” at 9.19pm. Just moments later, around 9.30pm, the Alabama woman called 911 and told detectives that she was following a lost toddler along the interstate. Read More Carlee Russell claimed she was kidnapped by a man with orange hair. Police say they can’t verify any of it Boyfriend of Carlee Russell deletes social media posts after police cast doubt over her kidnapping story Police doubt Carlee Russell’s kidnapping claims. Could she face consequences? Carlee Russell searched for Amber Alerts and the movie ‘Taken’ before disappearing, say police

Dallas police have arrested a man they believe killed three women whose bodies were found over three months in the city. Oscar Sanchez Garcia, 25, was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Kimberly Robinson, 60, and an unidentified woman, according to the Dallas Police Department. He is also the main suspect in the slaying of a third woman, Cherish Gibson, 25. Mr Sanchez Garcia is being held on a $4m bond at the Dallas County Jail.

Oregon officials have identified Jesse Lee Calhoun of Portland, as a person of interest in the mystery deaths of four women that police say are linked, law enforcement sources told The Associated Press. The 38-year-old has not been charged with any crimes related to the investigation. He is currently in prison on unrelated charges, after being arrested on 6 June for a parole violation. Court records show that Calhoun has an extensive criminal history including 2003 and 2008 convictions for assault. He was also sentenced to four years in 2019 for burglary. He was released early in July 2021 after being granted a “conditional commutation” by then-Oregon Governor Kate Brown, due to his service as an inmate firefighter during the wildfires and the fear of Covid-19 spreading in prisons. Meanwhile, a woman saying that she’s Calhoun’s girlfriend has said that he had links to two of the four victims, revealing that Calhoun and Ashley Real had been seeing each other on and off for about a year and that he would provide Bridget Webster with drugs in exchange for sex. Read More Woman claiming to be girlfriend of person of interest in Oregon killings reveals alleged links to victims An inmate was pardoned by Oregon’s governor. Two years on he’s a person of interest in four suspicious deaths Jesse Calhoun identified as person of interest in suspicious deaths of four women in Portland Mothers hope for answers as authorities announce 'person of interest' in deaths of 4 women in Oregon Portland police dismissed serial killer fears after the deaths of six women. Then came a chilling connection

A woman in Florida has been arrested on aggravated manslaughter charges after a 10-month-old child she was caring for was found unresponsive in a car. Temperatures inside the car were in excess of 113F, according to Baker County Sheriff's officials. Rhonda Jewell has been accused of leaving the child unattended in the car for "at least five hours" while temperatures outside rose to 98F. The child died as a result. Ms Jewell was babysitting the infant and three other children on the day of the incident, according to CNN. She picked up the 10-month-old girl from her parents' home and drove to another location, where she planned to babysit all the children together. Ms Jewell told investigators that when she arrived, the child appeared to be sleeping, so she left the baby and went inside to see the other children. She said she forgot about the baby in the car. “It wasn’t until the decedent’s mother arrived at the address (…) to pick up her child, that the decedent’s mother found her to still be strapped in a car seat inside the hot vehicle,” the police report said. The mother arrived around 1pm and saw her child in the car, not breathing and with blue lips. She then called 911. The child was pronounced dead at the hospital. A detective examining the baby said the child's skin was "still very hot to the touch" even after she was taken to a hospital for treatment. Medical staff took the infant's internal temperature, which was 110F, but noted that 110 was the highest the thermometer could measure. Ms Jewell was subsequently arrested for aggravated manslaughter of a child resulting in death. She was booked into the Baker County Detention Centre on Thursday. Baker County Sheriff Scotty Rhoden issued a statement after the tragedy asking the community to be mindful of the victims when seeking out information about the incident. "Each of us are given the gift of life every morning we wake up and every evening when we finish our day, we are blessed if our family is safe and healthy. In the blink of an eye, our world can be turned upside down," he wrote. "Please be mindful of this when trying to understand the tragedy that took place in our small town yesterday." Read More Colorado police buy woman groceries after her partner made young children ‘watch him eat’ and go hungry Mother of kidnapped and murdered Alabama teen speaks out after she helped in search for Carlee Russell Father accused of killing his three sons ‘had plotted murders for months’

A New Jersey con man who was pardoned by former President Donald Trump has been arrested and is accused of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars. Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein was charged alongside four others with a number of crimes, including conspiring to defraud investors of more than $35m and conspiracy to obstruct justice, according to a statement from the office of the US attorney for New Jersey. Each of the five defendants was charged with one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Mr Weinstein was given a 24-year federal prison sentence after being convicted of two separate investment fraud schemes — one that ran from 2004 through 2011, the other from 2012 through 2013 — across both of which he defrauded investors of roughly $230m, according to a court document. On 19 January, 2021, after Mr Weinstein had served less than eight of the 24 years, Mr Trump pardoned him. Shortly after his release from prison, Mr Weinstein started up a new scheme, the statement said. “We allege Mr. Weinstein took part in a new scheme to rip off investors by hiding his real identity,” Special Agent in Charge James E Dennehy of the Newark FBI said. Mr Weinstein allegedly used the alias “Mike Konig” in this new scheme outlined by the FBI. Mr Weinstein allegedly said in a “surreptitious audio” obtained by investigators August 2022: “We collectively did not tell everyone who I was, no one would ever give you a penny if they knew who I was . . . because I have a bad reputation.” He worked with four others, the court document states: Aryeh “Ari” Bromberg , Joel Wittels, Shlomo Erez, and Alaa Hattab. The men were accused of taking “tens of millions of dollars from investors” through the firm Optimus Investments Inc. Most of these investors were “family, friends, or close associates,” the document said. Mr Weinstein, Mr Bromberg, and Mr Wittels received a large portion of the money through Tryon Management Group LLC — another company that was owned and operated “by two other conspirators” — which promised investors opportunities to invest in deals involving Covid-19 face masks, “scarce baby formula,” and first-aid kits “bound for Ukraine,” according to the statement. However, unable to pay the investors with legitimate investment returns, the men decided to combine the funds from both Optimus and Tryon investors and “use it to make monthly payments to other investors in a Ponzi-like fashion” starting in February 2022, the document states. “Once the Tryon owners learned that Mike Konig was actually Weinstein, they agreed with the defendants to continue concealing Weinstein’s identity from investors and to raise additional money to pay off existing Tryon investors, all in an effort to stop the Ponzi scheme from falling apart and to cover up the fraud,” the statement said. The men are also charged with obstructing justice after allegedly “hiding Mr Weinstein’s assets” — $200m in restitution — owed to his previous victims, as well as allegedly “concealing his myriad business activities, which were expressly prohibited by the terms of his supervised release,” according to the court document. If convicted on both charges, each of the five men face a maximum of 25 years in prison and fines of “either $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest,” according to the statement. On top of this, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed a civil complaint against the men and two other individuals “based on the same and additional conduct,” the statement said. Mr Weinstein was one of the 143 people pardoned by former President Trump in the final hours of his term. Read More Donald Trump is the first former president arrested on federal charges. Can he still run in 2024? An inmate was pardoned by Oregon’s governor. Two years on he’s a person of interest in four suspicious deaths Egypt pardons jailed activists, including two prominent rights defenders, official reports say