Crime

New York’s CBS affiliate reports: A man who allegedly threatened to blow up the “Alice in Wonderland” statue in Central Park was arrested after police found knives, rifle ammunition and what appeared to be three empty pipe bombs in his Manhattan apartment, prosecutors say. Kevin Fallon, 30, sent a group text to several people he knew around 8 p.m. on …

Reuters reports: The convicted celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti has been granted temporary freedom from a New York City jail by a California federal judge who said the spread of the novel coronavirus was a compelling reason to release him. In an order late on Friday, U.S. District Judge James Selna said Avenatti, who represented adult film actress Stormy Daniels in …

Reuters reports: Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a prison sentence for rape, has no symptoms of the coronavirus, his spokesman said on Thursday, more than two weeks after a union official for corrections officers said the former movie producer had tested positive. “As of now, it’s been 14 days since reports of concern from people inside the prison, and he …

Yahoo News reports: Pattie Stockman, wife of former Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas), asked President Trump to pardon him amid the coronavirus pandemic so his 10-year sentence for fraud and other white-collar crimes “does not become a death penalty.” Stockman, a conservative firebrand, was convicted in April 2018 of 23 felonies for allegedly misusing $1.25 million in campaign funds for personal …

The Hartford Courant reports: A Madison teenager has been arrested and charged with computer crimes after “Zoom bombing” online classes held through Daniel Hand High School. Madison Public Schools recently turned to the popular virtual video conferencing software Zoom to conduct classes online while students study from home during the coronavirus pandemic, but teachers immediately fell victim to what has …

Reuters reports: Australia’s highest court acquitted former Vatican treasurer George Pell on Tuesday of sexually assaulting two teenaged choirboys in the 1990s, freeing the 78-year-old cardinal after 404 days in jail. The High Court ordered Pell’s convictions be quashed and verdicts of acquittal be entered in their place, ending the most high profile case of alleged historical sex abuse to …

The Dallas Morning News reports: William Neil “Doc” Gallagher, a financial consultant and radio host who stole more than $20 million from investors, has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars after he reached a plea agreement with Dallas County prosecutors. Gallagher, 79, pleaded guilty Friday to one count each of theft of more than $300,000, money laundering of more …

St. Louis’s CBS News affiliate reports: 33-year-old Cuba, Mo. man was arrested Tuesday after coughing on shoppers inside a store and writing “COVID” inside a cooler door. Officers arrived to a local business for a report of a man causing a disturbance inside. An employee told police the man, later identified as 33-year-old John Swaller of Cuba, Mo., was coughing …

The Associated Press reports: Investigators arrested a California train engineer Tuesday after he allegedly derailed a train in a bid to crash into the USNS Mercy, the hospital ship treating non-COVID-19 patients at the Port of Los Angeles to lessen the burden on area hospitals, prosecutors said. Eduardo Moreno, 44, was expected to appear in court Wednesday for arraignment on …

The New York Post reports: A Brooklyn man claiming to be infected with the coronavirus coughed on FBI agents who were investigating him for hoarding medical supplies, the US Attorney’s Office said Monday. Baruch Feldheim, 43, is facing charges of assault and making false statements to the feds on Sunday outside his Borough Park home where he allegedly peddled and …

Washington DC’s NBC News affiliate reports: A Charles County, Maryland, man who threw a party at his house has unintentionally social-distanced himself from everyone after authorities say he was arrested for refusing to comply with the governor’s order against large gatherings. Shawn Marshall Myers, 41, was arrested Friday night after officers found about 60 people hanging out around a bonfire …

The New York Post reports: A Pennsylvania woman ruined an estimated $35,000 worth of goods by intentionally coughing all over them while the coronavirus plagues nations worldwide, a grocery store alleged on Facebook. The woman visited a Hanover Township location of the small grocery chain Gerrity’s Supermarket before 2:20 p.m. Wednesday and coughed on fresh produce, a small section of …

The Guardian reports: A teenager who lured a “gentle, kind-hearted” sales assistant to a remote beauty spot on a date and stabbed him to death has been locked up for a minimum of 24 years. Alex Davies, 18, was murdered in Parbold, Lancashire, by Brian Healless, also 18, after they agreed a rendezvous through the dating app Grindr. Healless, from …

The Daily Beast reports: A federal judge eviscerated Michael Cohen in an order denying his request for a shorter sentence, accusing him of chasing headlines and suggesting he “accept the consequences” of his crimes. Judge William Pauley was having none of it. In an order filed Tuesday, he said Cohen’s “extravagant allegations” of prosecutorial wrongdoing “lack any substance,” and his …

The Niagara Gazette reports: Oscar-winning movie producer Harvey Weinstein, now one of New York’s most notorious prison inmates after being sentenced for sexual assault, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, according to officials connected to the state prison system. Weinstein, who turned 68 last Thursday is being isolated at Wende Correctional Facility in Western New York, officials told CNHI …

The Associated Press reports: Coronavirus has become a “get out of jail” card for hundreds of low-level inmates across the country, and even hard-timers are seeking their freedom with the argument that it’s not a matter of if but when the deadly illness sweeps through tightly packed populations behind bars. Among those pleading for compassionate release or home detention are …

From Tyler County’s District Attorney’s Office: Over the weekend, an individual in Tyler County falsely reported on social media that the individual tested positive for COVID-19 at Tyler County Hospital. The case was promptly investigated by the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office and delivered to the District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s Office has charged the individual with Class A Misdemeanor, False …

CNBC reports: After years of denying any wrongdoing, former Rep. Duncan Hunter has been sentenced to 11 months in prison and three years of supervised probation, according to NBC’s San Diego TV station KNSD. A California Republican who represented the state’s 50th Congressional district, Hunter and his wife were charged with 60 criminal counts of campaign finance violations in August …

CNN reports: A Connecticut man was arrested and charged with threatening to murder Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff. Robert Michael Phelps, 62, was arrested Friday. He was later released on a $25,000 bond. A federal criminal complaint by the US Attorney’s office for Connecticut alleges that the man filled out a form on Schiff’s website for a meeting request on November, …

The Daily Beast reports: Harvey Weinstein reportedly suffered a “mild heart attack” after he was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault, according to Fox News. Citing an NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospital source, the news outlet said Weinstein was rushed to the New York hospital Wednesday for an “emergency angioplasty” and stayed overnight. Hours …