Crime

The Scranton Times-Tribune reports: A former Lackawanna County reverend who was caught trying to set up a sexual liaison with a child during online chats with an undercover police officer pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of unlawful contact with a minor. Robert John Morgan, 76, entered his plea in exchange for prosecutors dropping additional charges against him. Kingston …

NBC News reports: A man has been federally charged with carrying out arson attacks against the Republican Party headquarters in New Mexico and a Tesla dealership, the Department of Justice said Monday. Jamison Wagner, from Albuquerque and born in 1984, faces two counts of causing malicious damage or destruction of property by fire or explosives. He is currently in police …

NBC News reports: A Santa Monica man was arrested Saturday around 12:15 p.m. after he threatened to bomb the Coachella Music & Arts Festival, the Cathedral City Police Department said. Police were notified of a suspicious man at Agua Caliente Casino after security guards were approached by a man traveling in a Tesla who said he’d “be responsible for a …

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports: Paul Scouten, 39, of East Cortland Street in Fayetteville, was arrested by Arkansas State Police at his home Thursday in connection with distributing, possessing or viewing material depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, according to Washington County Detention Center records. Scouten remained at the Washington County jail Monday in lieu of $25,000 bond. He is …

CNN reports: Pennsylvania State Police have charged a Harrisburg man they say broke into Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence early Sunday and started a fire while Shapiro and his family were sleeping. Shapiro, his wife Lori, their four children, two dogs and another family were forced to evacuate from the home, which was significantly damaged by the fire. There were no …

USA Today reports: A person was taken into custody in connection with a suspected arson attack that caused a “significant amount of damage” to the home of Gov. Josh Shapiro, authorities said, hours after the Pennsylvania lawmaker’s family celebrated the start of Passover. Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, was arrested on April 13, Col. Christopher Paris, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, …

Penn Live reports: Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated without incident from the Governor’s Residence early Sunday morning after what state police say was an arson fire at the house. Shapiro said he and his family were awakened by “bangs on the door” from state police troopers. “The Harrisburg Bureau of Fire was on the scene and while …

NorthCentralPA.com reports: A reverend from a church in North Rome is facing child pornography charges after a predator sting was conducted in Bradford County. The 40-year-old man, who was arrested at the church on Thursday, allegedly admitted he has been viewing and masturbating to child pornography for years. Swink has been a pastor at North Rome Wesleyan Church since 2018. …

Gothamist reports: Lawyers for Luigi Mangione say the government’s plan to seek the death penalty for the 26-year-old charged with stalking and killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson is a “political stunt” and should be taken off the table. Mangione’s attorneys filed a motion Friday arguing that the federal government should be precluded from seeking a death sentence in the …

Miami’s CBS affiliate reports: The man accused of plotting to kill President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club during the presidential campaign will face new charges – this time in the state of Florida. Accused would-be assassin Ryan Routh already faces federal charges after he allegedly hid outside the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club before …

Los Angeles’s NBC affiliate reports: A Catholic priest serving at a church in Downey was arrested after being accused of raping a minor, LA County records showed Tuesday. Fr. Jaime Arriaga, 41, was removed from ministry at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Downey after the allegation surfaced, the LA Archdiocese confirmed Tuesday. “The archdiocese has a long-standing commitment to …

The Associated Press reports: Indian police have arrested a 24-year-old American Youtuber who visited an off-limits island in the Indian ocean and left an offering of a Diet Coke can and a coconut in an attempt to make contact with an isolated tribe known for attacking intruders. Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was arrested two days after he set …

Oklahoma City’s NBC affiliate reports: A metro pastor was arrested this week after he allegedly convinced his congregation to move in with him, and then molested a young girl. Elmer Baca-Flores is the owner of a 501c3 nonprofit church labeled ‘Ministerio Levantando Adoradores Para Cristo Inc.’ Two men told officials that their wives had been brainwashed by Flores and that …

The New York Times reports: Theodore E. McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington and the highest American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church to be accused of sexually abusing minors and seminarians — a charge that stripped him of his ministry, his place in the College of Cardinals and his priesthood, reducing him to the status of a layman — …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: A former New York City councilman who once did time in federal prison in a bribery scheme has been arrested on child pornography charges in Miami. Daniel James Halloran, 53, was arrested at Miami International Airport on Saturday on charges of possession of child pornography and transportation of child pornography. U.S. Customs agents searched Halloran’s iPhone as …

Salt Lake City’s NBC affiliate reports: A former Provo counselor who specialized in counseling gay men will spend at least 15 years and up to life in prison after admitting to nonconsensual sexual conduct during therapy, instructing the men that it was part of their treatment process. Scott Dale Owen, 66, of Spanish Fork, was sentenced to three terms of …

CBNC reports: Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday said she had ordered federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case against Luigi Mangione in connection with the December slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, …

The Albuquerque Journal reports: The Republican Party of New Mexico’s entryway was destroyed by what party chairwoman Amy Barela described as a “deliberate act of arson” in a news release Sunday morning. It is unclear if there are any suspects. “This horrific attack, fueled by hatred and intolerance, is a direct assault on our values, freedoms, and our right to …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: Yamaris Marrero, 45, of Hallandale Beach, is now facing a felony criminal mischief charge because, according to police, the “large wad” of gum caused $2,623.66 in damage to the electric car’s door handle mechanism. It was captured on the car’s built-in cameras. Its owner told Local 10 News that he felt targeted as the result of …

Jacksonville’s NBC affiliate reports: Thursday, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper announced the arrests of 23 people across Florida and Georgia — who he referred to as “real monsters” seeking sex with children — in a two-phase sting operation. Detectives went undercover online, posing as minors, and were then able to intercept the suspects as they sought to meet up with …