Crime

The Wilmington Star-News reports: A pastor of a Brunswick County church faces multiple counts in a child sexual offense case. On July 8, Jonathan Ballard, pastor of Straightway Ministries Wilmington and Church of the Living God in Leland and Whiteville, was indicted with 12 counts of taking indecent liberties with children, six counts of statutory sex offense, and one count …

Law & Crime reports: A Jan. 6 rioter and member of the militia group known as the Three Percenters who brought a hatchet with him to the U.S. Capitol will not be released from prison pending appeal following the Supreme Court‘s ruling that narrowed an obstruction charge used against him and many others. Alan Hostetter, once a police chief in …

CNN reports: The Trump rally shooter searched online for information on the arrest of a Michigan mass shooter and his parents, who were prosecuted in a 2021 high school shooting. He visited websites for how to build explosives. And in the minutes before he fired shots in an attempted assassination of Donald Trump, he screenshotted a picture from a livestream …

The Christian Post reports: Eternal Church in Fort Mill, South Carolina, has fired longtime Pastor Donald Logan after it was revealed that he is a registered sex offender convicted of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old girl 27 years ago. “Effective immediately, we have made the decision to release Pastor Don Logan,” reads an email church elders sent to the congregation. …

The New York Times reports: When the F.B.I. was able to finally access Mr. Crooks’s cellphones and other electronic devices, agents could see that he had searched for images of Mr. Trump as well as President Biden, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and even F.B.I. Director Christopher A. Wray. Mr. Crooks also typed in “major depressive disorder” and searched for …

Reuters reports: Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who has pleaded guilty in federal court to a massive leak of classified U.S. national security documents online, will face a court-martial on charges that he also violated military laws. Teixeira, 22, will face a trial on military charges that he obstructed justice following the discovery of one …

The Guardian reports: A popular former New Orleans-area Catholic priest who was dismissed as pastor from St. Anthony of Padua in Luling last year has been arrested and charged with illegally possessing child abuse imagery depicting unclothed children. Anthony Odiong was arrested Tuesday as he was leaving his home in Ave Maria, Florida. According to sworn statements in support of …

The Daily Beast reports: Police found two items beside the body of 20-year-old Thomas Crooks after he was shot during an assassination attempt on Donald Trump Saturday at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania: a remote detonator and a cellphone. A picture of the scene was published by local news station WPXI as part of a report chronicling the movements of …

Law & Crime reports: Jason Patrick Alday of Florida has been arrested and charged with threatening President Joe Biden after he said “I want to kill him, slit his throat,” according to a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors in Tallahassee. Alday is charged with three counts including making threatening communications, making threats against the President of the United States …

New York City’s NBC affiliate reports: The jury assessing the bribery case of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has reached a verdict. A court officer sent a short note to media outlets saying a verdict has been reached and “the verdict will be announced shortly.” At closings on Wednesday, Menendez’s lawyer cited patriotism as a reason to acquit his client, …

The Toledo Blade reports: A Lenawee County minister was arraigned Monday afternoon in Lenawee district court on two criminal sexual conduct charges following his arrest Saturday. The second-degree felony charges against Michael Ronald Goble filed in 2A District Court specify victims younger than age 13 and that the specific offenses occurred in November, 2021, court records show. But a statement …

The Associated Press reports:  Prime Day, a two-day discount event for Amazon Prime members, kicks off on Tuesday and runs through Wednesday. The Better Business Bureau reminded consumers to watch out for lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and unsolicited emails or calls during sales events this month. The Israel-founded cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies said more than 1,230 …

Politico reports: U.S. authorities are concerned about possible attacks in retaliation to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said Monday in a rare joint intelligence bulletin. Violent extremists or others “may attempt follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence” in response to the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally over the weekend in …

NBC News reports: More than a dozen guns were found in a search of the Crooks family home, four senior officials told NBC News. After Crooks opened fire, his father called police to say he was worried that his son and his AR rifle were missing, three senior officials said. Police went to the home after the call. The FBI …

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Max R. Smith recalled taking an American history course with Crooks as a sophomore. He did recall Crooks making political statements — but they shed no light on his actions Saturday. “He definitely was conservative,” he said. “It makes me wonder why he would carry out an assassination attempt on the conservative candidate.” Smith recalled a …

ABC News reports: The FBI did not “currently have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to attempt to identify what that motive was,” Pittsburgh Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said. The highest priority is being placed on determining motive because the bureau is also looking at the shooting as a “potential domestic terrorism act,” said Robert …

Reuters reports: The FBI identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania as the suspect in Saturday’s attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump at a campaign rally. State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican. The upcoming Nov. 5 election would have been the first time Crooks had been old enough to vote in a …

The Christian Post reports: A billionaire who has claimed to be a devout Christian and was one of the Evangelical world’s biggest benefactors was found guilty Wednesday in New York City of massive securities and market manipulation fraud that reportedly wiped $100 billion from the global market. Bill Hwang, who founded the investment firm Archegos Capital Management in 2013, stared …

Via press release from Bergen County prosecutors: Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of 74-year-old STEPHEN E. SWEET, a church pastor, who resides in Paramus, NJ on charges of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated criminal sexual contact and criminal sexual contact. The arrest was the result of an investigation conducted by …

TechCrunch reports: U.S. phone giant AT&T confirmed Friday it will begin notifying millions of consumers about a fresh data breach that allowed cybercriminals to steal the phone records of “nearly all” of its customers, a company spokesperson told TechCrunch. In a statement, AT&T said that the stolen data contains phone numbers of both cellular and landline customers, as well as …