Crime

Law & Crime reports: A Colorado town council member is accused of shooting a teenager — who was hoping to use the man’s property for a high school homecoming photo shoot — in the face. Brent Metz, 38, allegedly opened fire as two teens sat in a car on the other side of his property line on Tuesday, the Jefferson …

The watchdog site Church Leaders reports: A Southern California pastor has been arrested and charged with multiple counts related to alleged child sexual abuse of at least two female victims. Jose Alcides Vasquez, 47, was arrested at his home in Menifee, California, on Sept. 5. Vasquez faces eight charges, including one count of lewd and lascivious behavior with a victim …

Los Angeles’s Fox affiliate reports: The Riverside Police said their investigation began in May 2024, after a man reported that his pastor, Juan Barrios, had assaulted him for years, beginning when he was just nine years old. After that man came forward, police said his younger brother came forward to report similar claims of sexual abuse against Barrios. The brothers …

Los Angeles’s ABC affiliate reports: Prosecutors said the arson suspect charged with igniting the massive Line Fire in San Bernardino County tried to set off two other blazes on the same day. Norco resident Justin Wayne Halstenberg, 34, is accused of deliberately igniting the Line Fire on Sept. 5 near Baseline Road in Highland. He now faces nine felony charges …

The Christian Post reports: David Baker Sr., a Tennessee pastor and father of 11, who served as vice president of Independent Baptist Online College, walked into a local hospital Wednesday and fatally shot himself a day after he was charged with aggravated sexual battery of a minor family member. A statement from the Columbia Police Department said Baker walked into …

Winston-Salem’s NBC affiliate reports: A Triad pastor was charged with groping a man at Walmart, according to officials with the Mebane Police Department. On Monday, around 9 a.m., officers with the Mebane Police Department responded to the Walmart, located at 1318 Mebane Oaks Road. Jeffrey Smith, 67, was arrested and charged with one count of misdemeanor sexual battery. According to …

From the New York State Health Department: The New York State Department of Health today voided pediatric immunization records for approximately 135 children, all school-aged or younger, whose purported vaccinations were found to have been falsified by former Suffolk County nurse practitioner Julie DeVuono who did business as Wild Child Pediatrics. An investigation by the Department of Health’s Bureau of …

ABC News reports: Harvey Weinstein was rushed from Rikers Island, where he is being held, to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains, his representatives told ABC News. “Mr. Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital last night due to several medical conditions,” Weinstein representatives Craig Rothfeld and Juda Engelmayer said in a statement. The emergency comes as …

The Associated Press reports: Americans were duped out of more than $5.6 billion last year through fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency, the FBI said in a report released Monday that shows a 45% jump in losses from 2022. The FBI received nearly 70,000 complaints in 2023 by victims of financial fraud involving bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies, according to the FBI. …

The Rockville Herald reports: Former North Carolina police officer Erickson Douglas Lee showed up in York County court Friday on child sex charges a day late and still received a plea deal. The former church volunteer failed to appear Thursday for what was supposed to be a guilty plea for an eight-year sentence. On Friday, he received a sentence of …

The Lexington Courier-Journal reports: Authorities in Laurel County, Kentucky, believe they have contained the suspect in a shooting that occurred about eight miles north of London on Interstate 75 Saturday evening within their search area, said Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department. Joseph Couch, the man wanted in connection with the shooting, purchased a gun and …

CNN reports: A manhunt is underway for a suspect after five people were injured in a shooting Saturday near an interstate in a rural area of Laurel County, Kentucky, located south of Lexington, according to the sheriff’s office. All five victims are in stable condition, and authorities are searching for one shooter. Responding deputies later discovered nine vehicles had been …

Las Vegas’s CBS affiliate reports: Las Vegas Metro police arrested an evangelical pastor for allegedly having guns and drugs in a hotel room in an incident that initially sparked a counter-terrorism response, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. David McGee, 61, faces drug and gun-related charges connected to his Aug. 20 arrest at the Strat Hotel Casino & Tower, …

CNN reports: Colin Gray, the father of 14-year-old Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray, appeared in court Friday and learned he could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted. Gray, 54, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children after Wednesday’s mass shooting, which killed …

The Associated Press reports: The 14-year-old suspect in a shooting at a Georgia high school that killed four people will stay in detention as his lawyer declined to seek bail at a Friday morning court hearing. After the hearing, Colt Gray was escorted out in shackles at the wrists and ankles in khaki pants and a green shirt. The hearing …

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: An arrest warrant affidavit out of Howard County in Indiana alleges that a former Gateway Church employee molested three girls all under the age of 11. A warrant for Scott Gerber’s arrest was obtained on April 26, 2023. The 65-year-old faces two counts of molesting a child under the age of 15, Howard County court …

The Associated Press reports: Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov promised to step up efforts to fight criminality on the messaging app, his first public comments since French authorities handed him preliminary charges for allegedly allowing the platform’s use for criminal activity. In a Telegram post late Thursday, Durov defended himself against the French judicial investigation, suggesting that he shouldn’t …

CNN reports: The father of the mass shooting suspect accused of killing four people at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, told investigators this week he had purchased the gun used in the killings as a holiday present for his son in December 2023, according to two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the investigation. Colt Gray, a 14-year-old …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Marcee Gray, the mother of the suspect in Wednesday’s Apalachee High School shooting, has a criminal record spanning more than 17 years and four counties, court records show. The 43-year-old has faced prosecution in Barrow, Fulton and Forsyth counties, accused of domestic violence, drug possession, property damage and traffic violations. She has also faced civil fraud …

Nashville’s NBC affiliate reports: The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting that left the home of Greg Locke, pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, riddled with damage. The sheriff’s office said gunfire erupted outside the home late Tuesday night. Locke said he returned home with his family and found his home had been shot at …