Crime

Goldsboro’s CBS affiliate reports: According to officials, 30-year-old Shelton Kelsey Burkart was charged with 5 counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 5 counts of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation seized his electronic devices at his church. NC SBI said Burkart was the pastor at Zion Global …

Erie’s Fox affiliate reports: On Tuesday, August 12, the McKean County District Attorney’s Office announced that Daniel Merrick, a pastor in Smethport, was sentenced for possessing nearly 700 images and videos of child porn after attempting to withdraw a plea agreement. Merrick claimed he was in possession of the content “as part of an investigation he had undertaken for law …

The New York Times reports: A former Republican candidate for a State House seat in New Mexico was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Wednesday for orchestrating a politically motivated shooting spree against four Democratic officials. The series of shootings happened in December 2022 and early January 2023, weeks after the candidate, Solomon Peña, had lost his race. When …

The New Jersey Advance reports: A Jersey City pastor who resigned in June has been charged with sexually assaulting two children while he was working as a youth pastor at an embattled Colorado church over two decades ago. Robert Anthony “Tony” Langston, 60, who served as lead pastor at Tapestry Church in Jersey City, is accused of assaulting two members …

The Associated Press reports: A Georgia man who opened fire on the CDC headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday. The suspect’s father contacted police and identified his son as the possible …

The Associated Press reports: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the man who opened fire at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White of Kennesaw, Georgia. The GBI statement says White died and Officer David Rose with the DeKalb County Police Department was shot and killed during the shooting Friday. At least four …

Politico reports: Officials fear that Latin American drug cartels are among those who obtained sensitive court data due to a sweeping breach of the federal judiciary’s case filing system, raising concerns that the groups will now be able to target cooperating witnesses involved in criminal trials against them. The worry, according to three judicial officials and investigators with knowledge of …

Houston’s ABC affiliate reports: “Hundreds” of images of child pornography were found on a computer that allegedly belonged to a youth church volunteer who has since been arrested, Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office said. Kevin Hartgrove, 45, was taken into custody at his home on Wednesday and charged with two felony counts of possession of child pornography, which carries …

The Erie News-Times reports: A Catholic priest from Erie, Pa. who admitted to fixing a church raffle for a Chevy Corvette Stingray 1LT is facing a criminal investigation, and authorities are looking into his gambling habits and spending history. The Rev. Ross R. Miceli, 42, known to his flock as Fr. Ross, is pastor of St. Jude the Apostle Church, …

Baltimore News Radio reports: There could be more victims after a former youth pastor at the Central Christian Church along Rossville Boulevard has been charged with 24 sex abuse counts for abusing six boys in Baltimore County. Court papers say one victim told police that 52-year-old Thomas Pinkerton was a “father figure” to him “in a spiritual way,” meeting him …

Myrtle Beach’s NBC affiliate reports: A North Carolina pastor is out of jail after he was arrested in a child sex crime investigation. Kyle Lynn Sigmon is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor. A police report shows that in July, a detective with the Boone Police Department notified North Myrtle Beach police about a sexual assault that …

The Independent reports: A 34-year-old youth pastor in Virginia is facing federal charges over allegations he posed as a teenage boy to exchange nude photos and videos with young girls, telling one of them last month that it was “time for her to see her first d**k,” according to an FBI probable cause affidavit. Throughout the conversation, Jacob Ryan Barnett …

Politico reports: The electronic case filing system used by the federal judiciary has been breached in a sweeping cyber intrusion that is believed to have exposed sensitive court data across multiple U.S. states, according to two people with knowledge of the incident. The hack, which has not been previously reported, is feared to have compromised the identities of confidential informants …

Tulsa’s Fox affiliate reports: The Tulsa Police Department said an arrest warrant has been issued and they’re currently searching for a Claremore pastor who has been accused of trying to film underneath a woman’s skirt at a Hobby Lobby in Tulsa. Security reported to authorities that they saw the man follow a woman around the store as he attempted to …

The Associated Press reports: Five soldiers were shot Wednesday at Fort Stewart in Georgia, leading to a lockdown at the Army base before the shooter was arrested, officials said. The conditions of the soldiers and the circumstances of the shooting weren’t immediately clear, nor was the identity of the shooter. The injured were treated and then moved to Winn Army …

Politico reports: A 19-year-old man known as “Big Balls” who played a key role in the DOGE initiative to shrink the size of government was assaulted over the weekend in Washington, according to city police. Edward Coristine, who still works for the government, was assaulted by approximately 10 juveniles near Dupont Circle about 3 a.m. Sunday, according to a police …

CBS News reports: Crime decreased in every category in 2024, including murder, violent crime and motor vehicle thefts, according to data released by the FBI on Tuesday. It reflects a trend experts have been tracking as reported numbers of violent crimes continue to drop from a spike immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic. The FBI’s report did not venture to say …

Austin’s ABC affiliate reports: Community members came together on Saturday morning to paint over vandalism spray painted on a LGBTQ-friendly church in South Austin. Life in the City UMC said its pride flag was torn down on Thursday night and a message saying, “Pride was the first sin,” was spray painted on the front of the building. According to Pastor …

The Washington Post reports: He was the personification of shame in the Vatican, the lone prisoner in the three-cell jail of the world’s smallest sovereign state. Now, the Rev. Carlo Alberto Capella — convicted of possessing and distributing a “large quantity” of child pornography while serving as a Vatican diplomat in Washington — is presenting Pope Leo XIV, the new …

Chattanooga’s NBC affiliate reports: James Neil Gill, 83, former director of the Sumner County Food Bank and senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony theft and patronizing prostitution, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) says. Assistant DAs Thomas B. Dean and Christopher V. Boiano secured felony convictions after …