Crime

From the Justice Department: A Michigan man was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with illegally possessing firearms after having been committed to a mental institution and while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. The man came to the attention of the FBI after he made numerous threats over YouTube …

The Lafayette Courier & Journal reports: On Friday, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York convicted former Indiana Rep. Stephen Buyer on insider trading charges. These charges were filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission based on allegations that Buyer had used insider information to purchase stock in Navigant Consulting and Sprint Corp. before their acquisitions …

The Geauga Maple Leaf reports: Dennis W. Laferty, a pastor at Thompson United Methodist Church in Thompson Township, is accused of sexual battery against one or more minors. Laferty, 37, who lives in a home Trustees of Thompson Methodist Church own at 6724 Madison Road, is facing multiple felony counts. Laferty was charged with five counts of third-degree felony sexual …

The New York Times reports: A former New York City police officer was convicted this week of several crimes for her role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, during which, prosecutors said, she pushed against and slapped the arms of police officers, all while yelling and wielding a tambourine. A federal jury in Washington, D.C., found the retired …

Hannibal’s CBS affiliate reports: The Quincy Police Department says an investigation began in January on Isaiah W. Mikkelson after law enforcement was contacted by a parent of a juvenile that had disclosed possible sexual abuse by a Youth Director/Pastor, at Hope Lutheran Church. Police say during the investigation, multiple juveniles were interviewed at the Child Advocacy Center and alleged abuse …

Jacksonville’s CBS affiliate reports: A former Jacksonville minister was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. In March of 2020 Michael Linkenauger was arrested and charged for sexual battery and lewd or lascivious acts. A judge heard from the now 17-year-old victim who asked the judge to hand down the maximum penalty. “My world has been turned upside down by …

Orlando’s Fox affiliate reports: Orlando police detectives say acts of vandalism at two Orlando LGBTQ businesses earlier this year were not motivated by prejudice or hate. Martin Narvaez, 49, has been charged with felony criminal mischief and throwing a deadly missile after police said he confessed to damaging windows of the District Dive bar and adjacent Southern Craft cocktail lounge. …

The Ohio Capitol Journal reports: After more than nine hours of deliberation, a jury on Thursday found former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and state Republican Chairman Matt Borges guilty of felony racketeering charges in connection with a billion-dollar utility bailout that was passed in 2019. Both men face maximum sentences of 20 years. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black will …

Johnson City’s ABC affiliate reports: A former pastor from Southwest Virginia was sentenced to four life sentences after he pleaded guilty to multiple child sex crimes. A release from the office of Washington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Josh Cumbow states that Terry Frank Compton was sentenced in Washington County Circuit Court. Compton was sentenced to 240 years in addition to the …

The Baptist News reports:  Drew Erickson, lead teaching pastor at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, resigned suddenly March 5 after he was arrested in Tarrant County two days before on suspicion of carrying an unlawful weapon and driving while intoxicated with a child under age 15 in the car. “Over the last 12 months and more recently, …

Law & Crime reports: Right-wing activists Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman’s robocalls targeting Black voters violated the Voting Rights Act and Ku Klux Klan Act — and the question isn’t close enough to require a jury, a federal judge ruled. He found that the evidence “establishes that the neighborhoods that Defendants targeted were not accidental or random,” finding that a …

Cincinnati’s ABC affiliate reports: Eric Deters, a candidate for Kentucky governor, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges after police said he chased down his nephew and sent harassing messages to his sister-in-law. In a release, the Kenton County Attorney’s Office said Deters entered guilty pleas for one count of menacing and two counts of harassing communications. Court documents claim Deters …

Washington DC’s WTOP News reports: A former Prince George’s County, Maryland, public school librarian arrested on vandalism and hate crime charges last year is now also charged with possessing child pornography. Charles Sutherland, 31, of Takoma Park, was arrested last June after police said he was caught on video spray painting the word “groomer” on entrances to public libraries in …

The Maryland Chronicle reports: On March 4, Charles County Sheriff’s detectives arrested and charged David Warren Henson, Jr., a 53-year-old teacher from Waldorf, with sexual abuse of a minor and child pornography. The charges came after it was reported that he sexually abused an adolescent female over a period of two years. Henson has been employed as a teacher at …

New Orleans’ CBS affiliate reports: A Chalmette pastor was arrested by State Police on Wednesday on suspicion of sexual abuse of a minor over the course of three years. A State Police spokesperson told our partners at NOLA.com that Milton O. Martin III, 56, was booked with carnal knowledge of a juvenile and sexual battery. Martin was accused of having …

Law & Crime reports: Two Florida residents accused of assaulting multiple police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have apparently gone missing just as their trial was set to start. Olivia Michele Pollock and Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III are facing an array of charges for allegedly participating in what federal investigators described as “at least four …

College Station’s CBS affiliate reports: The Leon County Sheriff’s Department said Gary Buckaloo surrendered to authorities Monday after being indicted on two felonies. Buckaloo is charged with one count of Indecency with a Child-Sexual Contact, a 2nd-degree felony, and one count of Sex Abuse of a Child Continuous: Victim under 14, a 1st-degree felony. Buckaloo was also listed as the …

Cardinal News reports: Del. Matt Fariss, R-Campbell County, has been arrested on two felony charges following what Virginia State Police describe as a hit-and-run that injured a pedestrian and led to the woman obtaining a protective order against him. Farriss, 54, is charged with one count of malicious wounding, a Class 3 felony punishable by up to 20 years in …

San Francisco’s NBC affiliate reports: A lay official with the Diocese of Oakland has been arrested on suspicion of possessing and sharing child pornography, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has confirmed via local law enforcement. Jeremiah York, 24, worked as the Director of Liturgical Ministries and the Executive Assistant to the Rector at the Cathedral of Christ the Light in …

Religion News Service reports: Mark Rivera, a former lay pastor in a conservative Anglican denomination who was convicted in December of felony child sexual abuse and assault, was sentenced on Monday afternoon (March 6) to 15 years in the department of corrections. Judge John Barsanti of Illinois’ 16th Judicial Circuit Court in Kane County granted Rivera the minimum sentences for …