Crime

Via press release from the Justice Department: The Justice Department announced today the results of a coordinated, nationwide enforcement action to combat COVID-19 fraud, which included 718 enforcement actions – including federal criminal charges against 371 defendants – for offenses related to over $836 million in alleged COVID-19 fraud. “The Justice Department has now seized over $1.4 billion in COVID-19 …

Asheville’s ABC affiliate reports: A former kindergarten teacher and senior pastor at a North Carolina church was arrested and charged Tuesday with a child sex crime. The Burke County Sheriff’s Office said Aaron Doyle Mirtsching, 41, of Morganton, was charged with three counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor following a cyber-tip that was received from Internet Crimes Against …

The Associated Press reports: San Francisco’s Roman Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Monday, saying the filing is necessary to manage more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials. The Chapter 11 protection filing will stop all legal actions against the archdiocese and thus allow it to develop a settlement plan with abuse survivors, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said …

The Independent reports: Tributes are pouring in for a “beloved” California business owner who was shot dead by a man who complained about a Pride flag hanging at her store. Laura Ann Carleton, 66, was killed outside of her Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen by a suspect who made “several disparaging remarks about a rainbow flag that stood outside …

Via press release from the Queen County District Attorney: Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Frank Cavalluzzi was convicted of nine counts of attempted murder for attacking peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrators in June 2020, first charging at them wearing a glove with serrated blades and then attempting to run them over driving his SUV on the sidewalk. District …

From the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times: This would be a good time to fly your multicolored Pride flag. If you don’t have one, this might be a good time to get one. Laura Ann Carleton flew the flag in front of her store in Cedar Glen, near Lake Arrowhead. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials said a …

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: A beloved store owner in Lake Arrowhead was shot and killed during a dispute over a Pride flag, officials say. The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Friday at the Mag Pi clothing store on Hook Creek Road in Cedar Glen. When deputies arrived, they found 66-year-old Laura Ann Carleton with a gunshot wound. According to …

The Washington Post reports: The FBI has joined an investigation into a barrage of threats against Fulton County officials in recent days, including members of the Atlanta-area grand jury that voted to indict former president Donald Trump. The statement came amid growing concern about the safety of grand jurors after the names, home addresses, photos and social media profiles of …

Hoodline reports: Todd Baldwin, a department staff member at Valley Christian Schools in San Jose, was arrested on August 17th, 2023, for possession and distribution of explicit digital media involving juveniles, according to the San Jose Police Department. The 43-year-old suspect allegedly paid students for the explicit images and videos. The Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force/Child Exploitation …

The Wisconsin State Journal reports: The former pastor of a West Side church was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for alleged incidents about four years ago in which a girl who was then about 10 said he touched her improperly during a day camp that was held at the church. Robert C. Stine, …

NBC News reports: The FBI has arrested a Jan. 6 defendant who said he assaulted an officer on video while standing in front of a Washington courthouse on the day of the riot. Ronald Alfred Bryan, 70, was arrested on Wednesday and he made his initial court appearance in Louisiana, according to the Justice Department. He had been No. 418 …

Fort Wayne’s CBS affiliate reports: A former teacher at Bishop Luers High School pleaded guilty Wednesday to child seduction following allegations that he had sex with multiple students. Jordan Miller entered a guilty plea on two counts of child seduction, a Level 5 felony. If a judge accepts Miller’s guilty plea, the 33-year-old would serve four years of probation. An …

CBS News reports: A Texas woman is facing federal charges after threatening a United States District Judge overseeing one of Donald Trump’s cases and a Democratic Congresswoman. “Hey, you stupid slave,” the voicemail began, followed by a racial slur. According to documents from the Southern District of Texas court, Abigail Jo Shry, of Alvin, allegedly left a voicemail for Judge …

The New York Times reports: The hoax calls to police departments or suicide hotlines around the country say that a man is considering killing himself and others or that a bomb has been placed in a building. The address given on the phone belongs to a synagogue that is livestreaming its services. In some cases, the callers watch in real …

Champaign’s CBS affiliate reports: For throwing a makeshift Molotov cocktail into Peoria’s Planned Parenthood clinic earlier this year, a Chillicothe man will go to federal prison for 10 years. Tyler Massengill, 32, clad in an orange jumpsuit of a Peoria County Jail inmate, showed no emotion as the sentence was read aloud. He stood before the judge and apologized, saying …

Michigan’s Hillsdale Daily News reports: A Jonesville man who fled to the Philippines to avoid prosecution on dozens of child sex abuse charges last summer has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. The Hillsdale County Prosecutor’s Office turned over a number of criminal allegations to the U.S. District Court when it was discovered Tye Braxton Stiger, 37, fled …

The San Antonio Express-News reports: In letters read aloud on Sunday to the affected congregations, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller announced that two priests had been removed from ministry and reported to law enforcement over allegations that they had inappropriate sexual contact with minors. The congregations at both churches were notified Sunday via letters from Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller that were …

From my September 2022 report: A Republican county official in Georgia escorted two operatives working with an attorney for former President Donald Trump into the county’s election offices on the same day a voting system there was breached, newly obtained video shows. In the surveillance video, which was obtained by CNN, Cathy Latham, a former GOP chairwoman of Coffee County …

The Kenosha County Eye reports: Someone summoned the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department to the Somers Walmart early Thursday morning, August 10th. The person saw a male white, fully naked, standing next to a black truck and appeared to be masturbating. According to Kenosha County Sheriff spokesman Lt. Ryan Markowski, 57-year-old Thomas Bartmer was seen by responding deputies quickly getting into …

The Hill reports: A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to charges that he sent a bomb threat to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office in 2021, the Justice Department announced Friday. James Clark, of Cape Cod, sent a message to the secretary of state’s office via its website demanding the secretary “resign by Tuesday February 16th by 9 am or …