Crime

Milwaukee’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Racine pastor convicted of child enticement was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison. Prosecutors argued Bernabe Leon-Alvarez used his position of power to inappropriately touch two teenage girls while he worked at a Racine church that is now closed. A jury found him guilty of attempted sexual exploitation by a therapist and child …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: A Clearwater man who vandalized the Delray Beach LGBTQ+ pride intersection pleaded guilty in court Wednesday morning before apologizing at the request of a Palm Beach County judge. “Do you understand what I mean when I use the word ‘remorse’?” Judge Daliah Weiss asked Dylan Reese Brewer, 19, before granting the plea deal, which critics …

The Ventura County Star reports: A former Oxnard priest was sentenced Thursday to a year in jail in connection with sex offenses against two youths in Los Angeles County but avoided state prison, officials said. Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara pleaded no contest to sodomy with a person under age 16 and a lewd act with a child age 14 or 15, according …

Law & Crime reports: A U.S. Navy veteran and Oath Keeper who rioted on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol in a Depends adult diaper was sentenced to time served this week. Thomas Caldwell, 70, learned that he will avoid any further time in custody at his sentencing hearing on Friday in front of U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta. …

Washington DC’s NBC affiliate reports: A D.C. man says he was taking a Metrobus to the Anacostia Metro Station when a stranger set his shirt on fire. “Crazy, you know,” Eric Walton said. “Like, I never even spoke to that guy.” Walton says he was on the way to the library with friends on the A4 bus around noon Nov. …

Panama City’s NBC affiliate reports: A church leader in Okaloosa County, Florida has been arrested and is facing several counts of possession of child pornography after a months-long investigation. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip back in May 2024. Information obtained from the tip and other findings ultimately led law enforcement to a home …

From the Justice Department: A federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington has returned an indictment charging Francier Obando Pinillo, age 51, of Miami, Florida, with 26 counts of fraud in connection with running a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded investors of millions of dollars between November 2021 and October 2023. Pinillo was arraigned today at the U.S. District …

The New York Times reports: Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have recommended a sentence of at least 15 years for Robert Menendez, New Jersey’s former senator who was convicted of trading his political clout for bribes. The U.S. attorney’s office is requesting a similarly long period of incarceration for Mr. Menendez’s two co-defendants, Wael Hana and …

Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate reports: A Northern Kentucky man is facing dozens of charges, including sexual abuse and sodomy. According to the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, a victim reported in late December that he had been sexually abused for several years by an adult male. Investigators alleged that Michael Howard, 36, of Burlington, sent text messages of a sexual nature to …

The Daily Telegram reports: A retired Adrian pastor accused of molesting boys has been charged with a new offense and will be appointed a new attorney. Michael Ronald Goble, 76, already faced four counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13 and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a detained juvenile. He was arrested …

The Christian Post reports: An Alabama pastor and church planter who led Landmark Church in Phenix City is being held in the Russell County Jail after he was arrested last month in connection with an armed bank robbery along with a female accomplice. A representative with the Russell County Court confirmed on Wednesday that 40-year-old former Landmark Church Lead Pastor …

CBC News reports: A man convicted and sentenced to nine months in jail for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was arrested in Whistler, B.C., four years to the day after the riot. Rather than reporting to jail in the U.S., Antony Vo headed north to seek asylum in Canada. On Wednesday, a spokesperson …

CBS News reports: Capitol Police said officers arrested a man with a machete and other knives on Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol Visitor Center. Those wishing to view Carter’s casket are entering through the Capitol Visitor Center. Capitol Police said they arrested the man after 2 p.m. as he was going through security at the Capitol Visitor Center. “Our officers …

Via press release from the Justice Department: The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the fourth anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results: “On this day, four years ago, police officers were brutally assaulted …

Phoenix’s Fox affiliate reports: A Valley pastor is behind bars tonight accused of recording women in the church bathroom. The church, Casa de Adoracion, is located near 27th Avenue and McDowell. A woman said it fell out of a dryer while she was changing her baby’s diaper. Detectives obtained a screenshot showing Pastor Arturo Laguna fixing the camera in the …

CNN reports: The New Orleans attacker visited the city twice in the months prior to New Year’s, and used Meta smart glasses to film Bourbon Street and plan out the attack, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil said Sunday. The attacker, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, stayed at a rental home in New Orleans from October 30 for a few …

Politico reports: A federal judge has denied a Jan. 6 felony defendant’s request for permission to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration, despite a personal invitation from members of the Utah congressional delegation. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Russell Taylor’s “unusually grave” conduct at the Capitol — which included recruiting “fighters” to descend on the Capitol, wearing armor, carrying weapons and …

Duluth’s Fox affiliate reports: While the criminal cases against former Duluth Vineyard youth pastor Jackson Gatlin were prevented by a plea deal, new lawsuits aim to discover how sexual abuse within the church went overlooked for so long. On Nov. 6, Jackson Gatlin pled guilty to five counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct with a child. Gatlin received a 13-year sentence …

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: Disgraced former Rep. George Santos asked a judge on Friday to delay his sentencing in his federal fraud case. Santos is currently scheduled to be sentenced on February 7 on Long Island following his summertime guilty plea to federal fraud, campaign finance and embezzlement charges. His attorneys asked the judge to postpone six months, …

The Associated Press reports: A highly decorated Army soldier who died in an explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck at the Trump hotel in Las Vegas left a note saying it was stunt to serve as “wakeup call” for the country’s ills, investigators said Friday. Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret from Colorado Springs, Colorado, also wrote in the note that …