Tag Archives: Arrests

US

Tyre Nichols death: Multiple former Memphis polilce officers to be charged with murder, court records show

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

[Breaking news update, published at 1:22 p.m. ET]

Multiple former Memphis police officers are facing charges, including second-degree murder, in the death of Tyre Nichols, according to Shelby County criminal court records.

[Original story, published at 12:40 p.m. ET]

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is set to provide an update on the investigation into the Memphis Police arrest of Tyre Nichols and his ensuing death at 2 p.m. CT Thursday that will include an announcement of criminal charges, a source close to the investigation told CNN’s Don Lemon.

The source also said authorities expect to release police video of the stop on Friday.

One of the five officers fired after Nichols’ death has been indicted and has surrendered, attorney William Massey said. Massey represents former officer Emmitt Martin III. The attorney said he does not yet know the nature of the charges.

Live updates on the Tyre Nichols case

The anticipated announcement of criminal charges comes about three weeks after Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was hospitalized after a traffic stop and “confrontation” with Memphis police that family attorneys have called a savage beating.

Nichols died from his injuries on January 10, three days after the arrest, authorities said.

The five Memphis police officers, who are also Black, were fired for violating policies on excessive use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid, the department said. Other Memphis police officers are still under investigation for department policy violations related to the incident, the chief said.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis condemned the actions of the arresting officers as “a failing of basic humanity” and called for peaceful protests ahead of the release of video of the arrest.

“This is not just a professional failing. This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual,” Davis said in a YouTube video Wednesday, her first on-camera comments about the arrest. “This incident was heinous, reckless, and inhumane, and in the vein of transparency, when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves.”

The prosecutor has said a decision on whether to file charges is forthcoming. An attorney representing one of the officers will hold a news briefing after the district attorney’s update Thursday.

Authorities have not publicly released video of the arrest, but Nichols’ family and attorneys were shown the video on Monday. They said the footage shows officers severely beating Nichols and compared it to the Los Angeles police beating of Rodney King in 1991.

Nichols had “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating,” according to the attorneys, citing preliminary results of an autopsy they commissioned.

Nichols’ arrest and ensuing death comes amid heightened scrutiny of how police treat Black people, particularly since the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd in May 2020 and the mass protest movement known as Black Lives Matter.

Davis, the first Black woman to serve as Memphis police chief, said she anticipated the release of the video in the coming days would cause public reaction and urged citizens to be nonviolent amid “our outrage and frustration.”

“I expect our citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to protest to demand action and results. But we need to ensure our community is safe in this process,” Davis said. “None of this is a calling card for inciting violence or destruction on our community or against our citizens.”

Law enforcement agencies nationwide are bracing for protests and potential unrest following the release of video, multiple sources told CNN. The Major Cities Chiefs Association, one of the leading professional law enforcement organizations, has convened several calls with member agencies, according to the group’s executive director, Laura Cooper.

A law enforcement source familiar with the national coordination told CNN that in at least one of those calls Memphis police told participants to be on alert for unrest. The source added there was an additional call among Washington, DC, law enforcement agencies to coordinate responses and share information.

Nichols, the father of a 4-year-old, had worked with his stepfather at FedEx for about nine months, his family said. He was fond of skateboarding in Shelby Farms Park, Starbucks with friends and photographing sunsets, and he had his mother’s name tattooed on his arm, the family said. He also had the digestive issue known as Crohn’s disease and so was a slim 140 to 145 pounds despite his 6-foot-3-inch height, his mother said.

On January 7, he was pulled over by Memphis officers on suspicion of reckless driving, police said in their initial statement on the incident. As officers approached the vehicle, a “confrontation” occurred and Nichols fled on foot, police said. The officers pursued him and they had another “confrontation” before he was taken into custody, police said.

Nichols then complained of shortness of breath, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died three days later, police said.

In Memphis police scanner audio, a person says there was “one male Black running” and called to “set up a perimeter.” Another message says “he’s fighting at this time.”

Attorneys for Nichols’ family who watched video of the arrest on Monday described it as a heinous police beating that lasted three long minutes. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said Nichols was tased, pepper-sprayed and restrained, and family attorney Antonio Romanucci said he was kicked.

“He was defenseless the entire time. He was a human piñata for those police officers. It was an unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating of this young boy for three minutes. That is what we saw in that video,” Romanucci said. “Not only was it violent, it was savage.”

The five officers who were terminated were identified by police as Martin, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith. All joined the department in the last six years, police said.

In addition, two members of the city’s fire department who were part of Nichols’ “initial patient care” were relieved of duty, a fire spokesperson said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced an investigation into Nichols’ death and the US Department of Justice and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation.

Video of the incident could be released this week or next week, Mulroy told CNN’s Laura Coates on Tuesday night, but he wants to make sure his office has interviewed everyone involved before releasing the video so it doesn’t have an impact on their statements.

Prosecutors are trying to expedite the investigation and may be able to make a determination on possible charges “around the same time frame in which we contemplate release of the video,” Mulroy said.

Nichols’ family wants the officers charged with murder, Romanucci told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday evening.



Read original article here

US

Tyre Nichols: A timeline of the investigations into Nichols’ death after a traffic stop and arrest by Memphis police

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

Nearly three weeks after a traffic stop in Memphis resulted in a violent arrest and subsequent death of a driver, police are expected to release police body camera footage of the incident to the public.

Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was hospitalized after the arrest on January 7 and died three days later from injuries sustained, according to police. Five officers from the Memphis Police Department, who are also Black, were fired after an internal investigation and face potential criminal charges.

The family of Nichols and attorneys have met with police and city officials to view the traffic stop’s video recordings, which have been described as a vicious, prolonged beating that lasted for minutes after officers chased down a fleeing Nichols.

Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis decried the officers’ conduct, adding additional officers continue to be investigated.

“This is not just a professional failing,” Davis said. “This is a failing of basic humanity toward another individual. This incident was heinous, reckless and inhumane. And in the vein of transparency, when the video is released in the coming days, you will see this for yourselves.”

Here’s what we know about the timeline of the incident, investigations from authorities and reaction from Nichols’ family:

On January 7 at approximately 8:30 p.m., officers pulled over a vehicle for suspected reckless driving, according to a statement from Memphis police.

“A confrontation occurred” between officers and the vehicle’s driver – later identified as Nichols – who then fled on foot, according to Memphis police. Officers apprehended him and “another confrontation occurred,” resulting in Nichols’ arrest, police said.

An ambulance was called to the scene of the arrest after Nichols complained of shortness of breath, police said, and he was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

On January 10, three days after the stop, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced Nichols had died due to injuries sustained in the “use-of-force incident with officers,” according to a statement.

Following the traffic stop, the officers involved were relieved of duty – a standard departmental procedure while an investigation into their use of force began, Memphis police said. The TBI and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office were also enlisted to investigate.

Preliminary findings indicated the serious nature of the officers’ conduct during the stop, police said.

“After reviewing various sources of information involving this incident, I have found that it is necessary to take immediate and appropriate action,” Chief Davis said in a statement released January 15. “Today, the department is serving notice to the officers involved of the impending administrative actions.”

The department needed to follow a required procedural process before disciplining or terminating government civil servant employees, the statement added.

In the days after Nichols’ death, his family’s attorney Ben Crump repeatedly voiced their desire for the release of body camera and surveillance footage of the traffic stop.

“This kind of in-custody death destroys community trust if agencies are not swiftly transparent,” Crump said in a statement.

On January 18, the Department of Justice said a civil rights investigation has been opened into the death of Nichols.

“Last week, Tyre Nichols tragically died, a few days after he was involved in an incident where Memphis Police Department officers used force during his arrest,” Kevin G. Ritz, US Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, said in a statement.

Acknowledging the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s ongoing efforts, the US Attorney’s office “in coordination with the FBI Memphis Field Office and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, has opened a civil rights investigation,” Ritz said, declining to provide further details.

After its internal investigation, Memphis police identified and fired five officers involved in the traffic stop due to their violation of multiple department policies.

Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith were terminated for failing in their “excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid,” the department said in a statement.

“The egregious nature of this incident is not a reflection of the good work our officers perform, with integrity every day,” Davis said.

A statement from the Memphis Police Association, the union representing the officers, declined to comment on the terminations beyond saying that the city of Memphis and Nichols’ family “deserve to know the complete account of the events leading up to his death and what may have contributed to it.”

Nichols family attorneys Crump and Antonio Romanucci called the firing of the five officers “the first step towards achieving justice for Tyre and his family.”

Two Memphis Fire Department employees who were part of Nichols’ “initial patient care” were also fired, department Public Information Officer Qwanesha Ward told CNN’s Nadia Romero.

After meeting with officials to watch the unreleased police video of the arrest, Nichols’ family and their attorneys described their horror at what they saw.

“He was defenseless the entire time. He was a human piñata for those police officers. It was an unadulterated, unabashed, nonstop beating of this young boy for three minutes. That is what we saw in that video,” Romanucci said. “Not only was it violent, it was savage.”

“What I saw on the video today was horrific,” Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, said Monday. “No father, mother should have to witness what I saw today.”

Crump described the video as “appalling,” “deplorable” and “heinous.” He said Ravaughn Wells, Nichols’ mother, was unable to get through viewing the first minute of the footage after hearing Nichols ask, “What did I do?” At the end of the footage, Nichols can be heard calling for his mother three times, the attorney said.

According to preliminary results of an autopsy commissioned by attorneys for his family, Nichols suffered “extensive bleeding caused by a severe beating.” CNN has requested a copy of the autopsy, which Crump said will be available when the full report is ready.

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office has yet to announce if anyone will be charged in the case. District Attorney Steve Mulroy told CNN on Tuesday his office is ensuring all necessary interviews with those involved have been conducted before the footage’s release.

“A lot of the people’s questions about what exactly happened will, of course, be answered once people see the video,” Mulroy said, noting he believes the city will release enough footage to show the “entirety of the incident, from the very beginning to the very end.”

Read original article here

US

First on CNN: New Mexico AG probing campaign finances of GOP candidate accused of orchestrating shootings

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez’ office is taking the lead in probing the campaign finances of Solomon Peña, who police say was behind a spate of shootings at Democratic officials’ homes.

The move comes after Albuquerque police said they were investigating whether Peña’s campaign was funded in part by cash from narcotics sales that were laundered into campaign contributions.

“We have formally opened an investigation into the campaign finances,” Lauren Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, told CNN.

Peña, a Republican and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump who lost a state House race in 2022, is accused of hiring and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners.

He was arrested Monday and is due to appear in district court on January 23 for a hearing that will determine whether he is detained or released with conditions.

The Albuquerque Police Department said in a statement that investigators believe Peña “identified individuals to funnel contributions from an unknown source to his legislative campaign.”

“Detectives are working with other law enforcement agencies to determine whether the money for the campaign contributions was generated from narcotics trafficking, and whether campaign laws were violated,” the department said in the statement.

Campaign finance records show the single largest contributor to Peña’s campaign was José Trujillo, a man who police say Peña recruited to be part of the team of shooters.

Police say Trujillo, who donated $5,155 to Peña’s failed campaign and listed his occupation as “cashier,” was arrested on January 3 – the night of the last of four shootings – on an outstanding felony warrant.

A Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy found Trujillo with more than $3,000 in cash, nearly 900 narcotics pills worth roughly $15,000 and two guns, one of which was ballistically matched to that day’s shooting, police said. He was stopped driving Peña’s car, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Albuquerque investigators are focused on Trujillo’s large campaign contributions and whether they might have come from drug money, because investigators say Trujillo has no known legitimate source of income and was arrested with drugs and money, the law enforcement official said. In an assault case in which Trujillo was the victim last fall, police records say Trujillo told police he was between homes at the time.

“You have a suspected gunman who claims to be homeless with $3,000 dollars in cash and a bag of drugs making big donations to a campaign. You have to ask yourself where that money is coming from,” said the law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Trujillo’s mother, Melanie Griego, donated $4,000, according to campaign finance records. But Griego staunchly denied making any campaign contributions in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, telling the newspaper she lives on a “monthly income” and doesn’t have thousands of dollars to invest in a political campaign.

CNN reached out to Peña’s and Trujillo’s attorney but did not immediately receive a response.

A criminal complaint in the court case against Peña says that Trujillo, his father Demetrio and his two brothers conspired with the failed Republican candidate to shoot up the homes of four politicians. The four have not been charged, but additional charges are expected in the case.

A law enforcement source said Peña met members of the shooting team he allegedly recruited when he was in prison serving time for his role in a smash-and-grab team that specialized in stealing cars and driving them through the windows of big box stores to steal high-end electronics.

Peña had to obtain state court approval to run for office as a convicted felon. The state court concluded that under current New Mexico law, Peña was eligible to run because he had served his sentence and completed his parole.

Gunshots were fired into the homes of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa on December 4; incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez on December 8; then-Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O’Malley on December 11; and state Sen. Linda Lopez on January 3, according to police.

Peña lost his race to Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia 26% to 74%. A week later, he tweeted he “never conceded” the race and was researching his options.

Barboa said, after November’s election but before the shootings, that Peña – who had embraced Trump’s claims of widespread election fraud on social media – had approached some officials at their homes with paperwork he claimed was evidence of election fraud.

“He came to my house after the election. … He was saying that the elections were fake … really speaking erratically. I didn’t feel threatened at the time, but I did feel like he was erratic,” Barboa told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.

CNN has reached out to Peña’s campaign website for comment. On Wednesday, his attorney, Roberta Yurcic, said in an email that the allegations against him are “merely accusations.”

“Mr. Peña is presumed innocent of the charges against him,” Yurcic said. “Mr. Peña and I look forward to a full and fair investigation of these claims. I plan to fully defend Mr. Peña and fiercely safeguard his rights throughout this process.”

Read original article here

US

Tyre Nichols: 5 Memphis officers fired after death of man who was hospitalized after his arrest

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

The Memphis Police Department has terminated five police officers in connection with the death of Tyre Nichols, who passed away in a hospital after being arrested by police earlier this month, according to a post from the department’s verified Twitter account.

“The egregious nature of this incident is not a reflection of the good work our officers perform, with integrity every day,” Police chief Cerleyn “CJ” Davis said in a statement.

Investigators working on an internal review of the arrest found the officers violated policies for use of force, duty to intervene and duty to render aid.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether the officers’ actions were criminal in nature. The Department of Justice and FBI have opened a civil rights investigation.

“Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, the Memphis Police Association will not comment on the termination of officers in the Tyre Nichols case,” the union representing the officers said. “The citizens of Memphis, and more importantly, the family of Mr. Nichols deserve to know the complete account of the events leading up to his death and what may have contributed to it.”

On January 8, the police department announced officers pulled over a motorist for reckless driving the previous day. “As officers approached the driver of the vehicle, a confrontation occurred and the suspect fled the scene on foot,” officials said in a statement posted on social media.

Officers pursued the suspect and again attempted to take him into custody when another confrontation occurred before the suspect was apprehended, according to police.

“Afterward, the suspect complained of having a shortness of breath, at which time an ambulance was called to the scene. The suspect was transported to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition,” officials said.

The man, identified as Nichols, died a few days later, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Details about the injuries Nichols suffered or his cause of death have not been released. CNN has reached out to the Shelby County coroner.

On Tuesday, city officials said the video record by the officers’ body-worn cameras will be released publicly after the police department’s internal investigation ends and after the family is given a chance to review the recordings. Attorney Ben Crump on Friday indicated the family would see the footage Monday and said he and the family would hold a news conference that afternoon.



Read original article here

US

Brian Walshe: Arrest warrant charges husband of Ana Walshe with her murder

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

An arrest warrant charging Brian Walshe with murder was issued Tuesday in the death of his wife Ana Walshe, a Massachusetts mother of three who had been missing since the new year, Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey announced.

Walshe, 47, pleaded not guilty last week to misleading investigators about his actions around the time his wife went missing. He is being held at the Norfolk County House of Corrections and will be transported to Quincy District Court to be arraigned on the murder charge on Wednesday, Morrissey said.

“Additional details in the investigation and the evidence in support of those charges are likely to be presented at arraignment but will not be disclosed at this time,” the prosecutor said.

An attorney for Brian Walshe declined to comment.

Live updates: Brian Walshe faces murder charge

The arrest warrant comes roughly two weeks after Ana Walshe was reported missing by her workplace, spurring investigators to launch a massive search for her whereabouts.

Police have found possible grim evidence: blood and a bloody knife in the basement of the family’s Cohasset home, according to prosecutors; Brian Walshe’s internet records showing searches for how to dismember and dispose of a body, according to law enforcement sources; and a hacksaw and apparent bloodstains at a trash collection site, law enforcement sources said.

According to police, he told investigators he last saw his wife early January 1 when she left their Cohasset home in a rideshare or taxi to head to the airport and catch a flight to Washington, DC for her real estate job. He said he ran errands for his mother in nearby Swampscott later that day and went for ice cream with one of his children the day after.

However, prosecutors said there was no evidence that Ana Walshe hailed a ride or made it to the airport, and in a criminal affidavit, police said there was no evidence he ran errands for his mother on New Year’s Day. Prosecutors did discover surveillance video showing Brian Walshe at a Home Depot buying $450 of cleaning supplies, including mops, a bucket and tarps, in cash on January 2.

The affidavit describes Brian Walshe’s statements to police as a “clear attempt to mislead and delay investigators.” Prosecutor Lynn Beland said in court last week his statements “allowed him time to either clean up evidence (or) dispose of evidence.”

Her workplace, Tishman Speyer, reported her missing on January 4 after she failed to show up for work. According to Brian Walshe’s defense attorney Tracy Miner, he called her workplace to ask if they knew of her whereabouts prior to the workplace’s call to police. Miner also said her client “has been incredibly cooperative.”

The murder warrant follows a string of tumultuous legal issues for Brian Walshe.

In 2021, he pleaded guilty to three federal fraud charges related to a 2018 scheme to sell fake Andy Warhol artworks online. He has been on house arrest and monitoring since then as part of his pre-sentence conditions.

Also in 2018, his father Dr. Thomas Walshe died, leading to a protracted legal battle over his estate. In court documents, those close to the family accused Brian Walshe of financial misconduct, described him as an angry and violent person and said he had been diagnosed as a sociopath.

“He had a severe falling out with his son,” Andrew Walshe, the executor of the estate, said of Dr. Walshe’s relationship with Brian. “Brian had ran off with a significant amount of his money; he had had almost zero contact with Brian R. Walshe over the last ten plus years.”

Further, Ana Walshe told police in 2014 someone threatened to “kill (her) and her friend,” according to an incident report CNN obtained from the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department. A spokesperson for the department confirmed that Brian Walshe was the person involved in the report.

The report was filed by Ana Walshe – then Ana Knipp – when she resided in DC. The case was later closed because the victim refused to cooperate with the prosecution, the spokesperson said.

The couple’s three children, all between the ages of 2 and 6, are in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, a spokesperson said.

Read original article here

US

Solomon Peña: Failed GOP candidate arrested on suspicion of orchestrating shootings at homes of Democrats in New Mexico, police say

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

A Republican former candidate for New Mexico’s legislature who police say claimed election fraud after his defeat has been arrested on suspicion of orchestrating recent shootings that damaged homes of Democratic elected leaders in the state, police said.

Solomon Peña, who lost his 2022 run for state House District 14, was arrested Monday by Albuquerque police, accused of paying and conspiring with four men to shoot at the homes of two state legislators and two county commissioners, authorities said.

“It is believed he is the mastermind” behind the shootings that happened in December and early January, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a news conference.

CNN has reached out to Peña’s campaign website for comment and has been unable to identify his attorney.

Before the shootings, Peña in November – after losing the election – had approached one of the legislators and some county commissioners at their homes with paperwork that he said indicated fraud was involved in the elections, police said.

An investigation confirmed “these shootings were indeed politically motivated,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Monday.

“At the end of the day, this was about a right-wing radical, an election denier who was arrested today and someone who did the worst imaginable thing you can do when you have a political disagreement, which is turn that to violence,” said Keller, a Democrat. “We know we don’t always agree with our elected officials, but that should never, ever lead to violence.”

The stewing of doubt about election veracity, principally among Republicans and usually without proof, has exploded nationwide since then-President Donald Trump lost his reelection bid and began propagating falsehoods the 2020 presidential election was stolen. The claims have stoked anger – and unapologetic threats of violence – against public officials down to the local level.

Peña will face charges related to four shootings: a December 4 incident at the home of Bernalillo County Commissioner Adriann Barboa; a December 8 shooting at the home of incoming state House Speaker Javier Martinez; a December 11 shooting at the home of then-Bernalillo Commissioner Debbie O’Malley; and a January 3 shooting at the home of state Sen. Linda Lopez, police said in a news release.

In the latest shooting, police found evidence “Peña himself went on this shooting and actually pulled the trigger on at least one of the firearms that was used,” Albuquerque police Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock said. But an AR handgun he tried to use malfunctioned, and more than a dozen rounds were fired by another shooter from a separate handgun, a police news release reads.

The department is still investigating whether those suspected of carrying out the shootings were “even aware of who these targets were or if they were just conducting shootings,” Hartsock added.

“Nobody was injured in the shootings, which resulted in damage to four homes,” an Albuquerque police news release said.

Barboa, whose home investigators say was the site of the first shooting, is grateful for an arrest in the case, she told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday.

“I’m relieved to hear that people won’t be targeted in this way by him any longer,” she said.

During the fall campaign, Peña’s opponent, Democratic state Rep. Miguel Garcia, sued to have Peña removed from the ballot, arguing Peña’s status as an ex-felon should prevent him from being able to run for public office in the state, CNN affiliate KOAT reported. Peña served nearly seven years in prison after a 2008 conviction for stealing a large volume of goods in a “smash and grab scheme,” the KOAT report said.

“You can’t hide from your own history,” Peña told the outlet in September. “I had nothing more than a desire to improve my lot in life.”

A district court judge ruled Peña was allowed to run in the election, according to KOAT. He lost his race to Garcia, 26% to 74%, yet a week later tweeted that he “never conceded” the race and was researching his options.

“After the election in November, Solomon Peña reached out and contracted someone for an amount of cash money to commit at least two of these shootings. The addresses of the shootings were communicated over phone,” Hartsock said Monday, citing the investigation. “Within hours, in one case, the shooting took place at the lawmaker’s home.”

Firearm evidence, surveillance video, cell phone and electronic records and witnesses in and around the conspiracy aided the investigation and helped officials connect five people to this conspiracy, Hartsock said.

Detectives served search warrants Monday at Peña’s apartment and the home of two men allegedly paid by Peña, police said in the news release, adding Peña did not speak with detectives.

Officers arrested Peña on suspicion of “helping orchestrate and participate in these four shootings, either at his request or he conducted them personally, himself,” Hartsock added.

Police last week announced they had a suspect in custody and had obtained a firearm connected to one of the shootings at the homes of elected officials. A car driven at one of the shooting scenes was registered to Peña, the department said.

Authorities had earlier said they were investigating two other reports of gunfire since December – near the campaign office of the state attorney general, and near a law office of a state senator. Detectives no longer believe those two incidents are connected to the other four, police said Monday.

O’Malley, the then-county commissioner whose home police say was shot at in December, is pleased an arrest has been made, she said.

“I am very relieved – and so is my family. I’m very appreciative of the work the police did,” O’Malley told CNN on Monday evening. O’Malley and her husband had been sleeping on December 11 when more than a dozen shots were fired at her home in Albuquerque, she said.

Barboa discovered the gunshots at her home after returning from Christmas shopping, she said.

“It was terrifying. My house had four shots through the front door and windows, where just hours before my grandbaby and I were playing in the living room,” Barboa said in a statement. “Processing this attack continues to be incredibly heavy, especially knowing that other women and people of color elected officials, with children and grandbabies, were targeted.”

Martinez, the incoming state House speaker whose home also was shot at, is grateful a suspect is in custody, he told CNN in a statement. “We have seen far too much political violence lately and all of these events are powerful reminders that stirring up fear, heightening tensions, and stoking hatred can have devastating consequences,” he said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Debbie O’Malley’s first name.



Read original article here

World

After 30 years, Italy arrests mafia boss Messina Denaro at Sicilian hospital

Leave a comment

  • Cosa Nostra boss captured after 30 years
  • Detained at private hospital in Palermo
  • Convicted for his part in killing anti-mafia prosecutors

PALERMO, Italy, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Italy’s most wanted mafia boss, Matteo Messina Denaro, was arrested by armed police at a private hospital in Sicily on Monday, where the man who has been on the run since 1993 was being treated for cancer.

Nicknamed “Diabolik” and “‘U Siccu” (The Skinny One), Messina Denaro had been sentenced in absentia to a life term for his role in the 1992 murders of anti-mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, crimes that shocked the nation and sparked a crackdown on Cosa Nostra.

Messina Denaro, 60, was led away from Palermo’s “La Maddalena” hospital by two uniformed carabinieri police and bundled into a waiting black minivan. He was wearing a brown fur-lined jacket, glasses and a brown and white woolly hat.

Judicial sources said he was being treated for cancer and had an operation last year, followed by a series of appointments under a false name.

“We had a clue to the investigation and followed it through to today’s arrest,” Palermo prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia said.

Magistrate Paolo Guido, who was also in charge of investigations into Messina Denaro, said dismantling his network of protectors was key in reaching the result following years of work.

A second man who had driven Messina Denaro to the hospital was arrested at the scene on suspicion of aiding a fugitive.

Images on social media showed locals applauding and shaking hands with police in balaclavas as the minivan carrying Messina Denaro was driven away from the suburban hospital to a secret location.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni travelled to Sicily to congratulate police chiefs after the arrest.

“We have not won the war, we have not defeated the mafia but this battle was a key battle to win, and it is a heavy blow to organised crime,” she said.

Maria Falcone, sister of the murdered judge, echoed that sentiment.

A screengrab taken from a video shows Matteo Messina Denaro the country’s most wanted mafia boss after he was arrested in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on January 16, 2023. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERS

“It proves that mafiosi, despite their delusions of omnipotence, are ultimately doomed to defeat in the conflict with the democratic state,” she said.

FAST CARS, FLASHY CLOTHES

Messina Denaro comes from the town of Castelvetrano near Trapani in western Sicily, and is the son of a mafia boss.

Police said last September that he was still able to issue commands relating to the way the mafia was run in the area around Trapani, his regional stronghold.

Before he went into hiding, he was known for driving expensive cars and his taste for wearing finely tailored suits and Rolex watches.

He faces a life sentence for his role in bomb attacks in Florence, Rome and Milan that killed 10 people in 1993 and is accused by prosecutors of being solely or jointly responsible for numerous other murders in the 1990s.

In 1993 he helped organise the kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy, Giuseppe Di Matteo, in an attempt to dissuade his father from giving evidence against the mafia, prosecutors say. The boy was held in captivity for two years before he was strangled and his body dissolved in acid.

The arrest comes almost 30 years to the day since police arrested Salvatore “Toto” Riina, the Sicilian Mafia’s most powerful boss of the 20th century. He eventually died in jail in 2017, having never broken his code of silence.

“It is an extraordinary event, of historic significance,” said Gian Carlo Caselli, who was a prosecutor in Palermo at the time of Riina’s arrest.

Despite the euphoria, Italy still faces a struggle to rein in organised crime groups whose tentacles stretch far and wide.

Experts say that Cosa Nostra has been usurped by the ‘Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, as the most powerful organised crime group in Italy.

“There is a sense that the Sicilian Mafia is not as strong as it used to be, especially since the 90s, they have really been unable to enter the drug market and so they are really second-fiddle to the ‘Ndrangheta on that,” said Federico Varese, Professor of Criminology at Oxford University.

additional reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini, writing by Keith Weir and Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Gavin Jones, Nick Macfie and Alex Richardson

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro arrested in Sicily

Leave a comment


Rome
CNN
 — 

Matteo Messina Denaro, one of the bosses of the Cosa Nostra Mafia in Sicily and Italy’s most wanted man, has been arrested by police while being treated in a private health clinic in Palermo, prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia said Monday.

He had been a fugitive since 1993 and was considered by Europol one of the most wanted men in Europe, de Lucia told CNN.

Denaro was sentenced to life in prison in absentia in 1992 for his role in the murders of anti-Mafia prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and is thought to be responsible for dozens of Mafia-related murders.

Known as Diabolik, he is regarded as one of the successors of Bernardo Provenzano, who was arrested outside Corleone, Sicily, in April 2006.

He was taken into custody during a raid carried out by specialized agents with the anti-Mafia Carabinieri in the early hours of the morning.

A suspected sighting of him in September 2021 led to a manhunt and hundreds of tips, the prosecutor said.

This is a breaking story, more to follow…

Read original article here

US

Arizona woman charged with 43 counts of animal cruelty: police

Leave a comment

An Arizona woman faces 43 charges of animal cruelty after complaints of animal hoarding at two different homes led police to discover the residences were covered in urine, feces and trash, police said.

The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Animal Enforcement Division investigated animal hoarding at two different residences in Dolan Springs, both of which were utilized by 77-year-old Betty Lynn Fuchsel.

The department also received complaints that the animals ran around at large and attacked livestock in the area.

The sheriff’s office said in a press release that Fuchsel received several citations for the violations and failed to appear in court or comply, ultimately leading to her being taken into custody on Jan. 11.

Following her arrest, the Sheriff’s office secured and executed search warrants for both of Fuchsel’s residences.

When deputies entered both premises, they reported seeing the floors covered with feces, trash and urine.

Police said several dogs were locked up inside the residence and in vehicles on the property without access to food or water.

In total, the sheriff’s office seized 43 dogs, which were emaciated and in different stages of neglect.

Many dogs were taken to receive emergency veterinarian care, while all animals were handed over to the Mohave County Animal Shelter.

Fuchsel was charged with 43 counts of felony animal cruelty.

Read original article here

US

Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appears in court, waives right to speedy probable cause hearing

Leave a comment



CNN
 — 

The man suspected of killing four University of Idaho students appeared in court Thursday for a status conference, where a judge scheduled a preliminary probable cause hearing to begin June 26.

Bryan Kohberger, who faces four counts of first-degree murder – in the fatal stabbings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20 – appeared in court wearing an orange prison uniform with his feet shackled. The 28-year-old waived his right to a speedy probable cause hearing within 14 days, and he spoke only briefly while answering the judge’s questions.

The public defender representing the suspect requested the judge allow four or five days for the probable cause hearing this summer, and the judge indicated she would block the week of June 26 for the matter. The judge also ordered Kohberger to remain remanded in state custody with no bond.

Kohberger has been held without bail in the Latah County jail in Idaho since last week following his extradition from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested late last month. Kohberger, who also faces a charge of burglary, has yet to enter a plea, and a court order prohibits the prosecution and defense from commenting beyond referencing the public records of the case.

After a night out, the four undergrads were found dead November 13 in an off-campus home, according to police, fraying nerves in the college town of Moscow, Idaho, along the Washington state border.

Follow live updates: Bryan Kohberger appears in court

Authorities arrested Kohberger almost seven weeks later, taking him into custody at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where an attorney said he had traveled for the holidays. And while it took almost two months for authorities to publicly name a suspect, police – who faced mounting criticism while the investigation outwardly appeared at a standstill – had begun focusing on Kohberger as a suspect weeks earlier.

In the meantime, a neighbor of Kohberger’s in nearby Pullman, Washington, told CBS News the suspect asked him about the killings days after they occurred, allegedly saying, “Yeah, seems like they have no leads. Seems like it was a crime of passion.” The neighbor asked not to be identified, CBS reported.

Among the most notable pieces of evidence was a witness account from one of the victims’ surviving roommates, who told police she saw a man dressed in black inside the house the morning of the killings, according to a probable cause affidavit released last week. The witness described the man as about 5-foot-10 or taller and not very muscular but athletically built with bushy eyebrows, it said.

Investigators were also drawn to a white sedan seen in local surveillance footage in the area around the home. By November 25, they had told local law enforcement to look out for the car, by then identified as a Hyundai Elantra.

Days later, officers at Washington State University, where Kohberger was a PhD student in criminal justice, found such a vehicle and discovered it was registered to Kohberger, the affidavit says.

When investigators searched for his driver’s license information, they found it consistent with the description of the man dressed in black provided by the roommate, the affidavit says, specifically noting his height, weight and bushy eyebrows.

Kohberger got a new license plate for his car five days after the killings, the affidavit says. When he was arrested in Pennsylvania last week, a white Elantra was found at his home, according to Monroe County Chief Public Defender Jason LaBar, who represented the suspect in his extradition.

Other evidence listed in the affidavit included phone records showing Kohberger’s phone had been near the victims’ home at least a dozen times since June. Records also show the phone near the site of the killings hours later, between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m., the document says.

Additionally, trash authorities recovered from Kohberger’s family home revealed a DNA profile linked to DNA on a tan leather knife sheath found lying on the bed of one of the victims, the affidavit said. The DNA recovered from the trash is believed to be that of the biological father of the person whose DNA was found on the sheath, it said.

Kohberger was also surveilled for four days before his arrest, a law enforcement source told CNN. During that time, he was seen putting trash bags in neighbors’ garbage bins and “cleaned his car, inside and outside, not missing an inch,” according to the source.

Read original article here