Crime

The Guardian reports: An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut the engines on a regional jet mid-flight on Sunday told police after his arrest that he believed he was having a nervous breakdown, thought he was dreaming when he pulled fire handles in the cockpit, and that he had experimented with psychedelic mushrooms recently as his mental health …

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: A local Catholic priest called Westlake Police Department to report “a disturbing incident” involving Luis Jesus Barajas, 76, who was visiting the area and performing spiritual ceremonies in Spanish for Hispanic residents in the area. Barajas was driven to a home in Westlake on Oct. 10 to bless a 15-year-old girl who is undergoing chemotherapy. …

The National Catholic Reporter reports: Fr. Armand D. Garcia appeared in a Philadelphia courtroom Oct. 23 to plead guilty to corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor. He will be sentenced in January 2024. The abuse took place while Garcia was a parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Philadelphia from 2014-2017. The priest had …

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports: An “active shooter” incident occurred at Kennedy Middle School Monday night, the Germantown Police Department said. An officer with the department said no injuries occurred at the school, but the Wisconsin Department of Justice issued a statement around midnight saying the suspected shooter was shot by Germantown officers shortly after 6:36 p.m. Police initially responded to …

NBC News reports: A Portland man was arrested for allegedly planning a shooting at a rock climbing festival over the weekend in Oregon, authorities said. Samson Zebturiah Garner, 39, was arrested Thursday after “evidence of a planned attack,” including a rifle and two handguns, were found in his vehicle. Garner was allegedly planning to attack a three day climbing festival …

Politico reports: When Sidney Powell, a top ally of Donald Trump, pleaded guilty Thursday to crimes associated with the 2020 election, lawyers for many Jan. 6 defendants were stunned by her relatively meager sentence: six years of probation and a modest fine. For years, those lawyers — and some judges — have lamented that the thousands who breached the Capitol …

Springfield’s CW affiliate reports: A former pastor from McLeansboro has been sentenced to prison for grooming charges. On October 19, 28-year-old Garrett S. Biggerstaff was sentenced to a maximum three years in prison with the Illinois Department of Corrections for one count of grooming. Biggerstaff was also fined $10,000 and must make restitution to the victims in his case. The …

CBS News reports: Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea from South Korea earlier this year, has been charged by the Army with several crimes, including desertion, assaulting other soldiers and officers, and soliciting and possessing child pornography. King faces eight total charges, which also include making false statements and disobeying superior officers. A conviction on a …

The Decatur Daily reports: A former member of Grace River Community Church in Decatur said Tuesday that he left the church after one of its leaders was arrested and charged with electronic solicitation of a child and violating the Sex Offenders Registration and Community Notification Act. “It seems to me that a background check would’ve caught this,” said Josh Harris, …

The New York Times reports: Few defenders of Donald J. Trump promoted election fraud theories after his 2020 defeat as stridently as Sidney K. Powell. In high-profile appearances, often alongside other members of the Trump legal team, she pushed conspiracies involving Venezuela, Cuba and China, as well as George Soros, Hugo Chávez and the Clintons, while baselessly claiming that voting …

Via press release from New York AG Letitia James: New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a sweeping lawsuit against cryptocurrency companies Gemini Trust Company (Gemini), Genesis Global Capital, LLC and its affiliates (Genesis), and Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG) for defrauding more than 230,000 investors, including at least 29,000 New Yorkers, of more than $1 billion. An investigation …

The New York Daily News reports: A far-right Twitter troll who posted fake ads telling Hillary Clinton supporters they could vote in the 2016 election by text was sentenced to seven months in prison Wednesday. Douglass Mackey, 34, was convicted of election interference in March. Despite his arguments in court motions that his activities were protected First Amendment speech, Brooklyn …

Colorado Springs’ CBS affiliate reports: A former youth pastor is now staring down prison time after he was found guilty of sexually exploiting a child. As Fountain police reported last year, Jeffrey Williams was arrested in November of last year for allegedly sending sexually explicit material to one of the kids who attended his youth group. He was booked into …

Cincinnati’s NBC affiliate reports: A pastor from Covington has been arrested and accused of sexually abusing a child at a church, according to Covington police. The investigation began when police received a report of sexual abuse from a child. An investigation revealed the abuse allegedly took place at the Ministerio Jesus Liberta Church in Covington late last month. During the …

The Mississippi Sun-Herald reports: A computer software developer and “Media Ministry” member at a Mississippi Coast church faces federal charges for distributing and possessing child pornography, court papers say. Cameron “Cam” Cotrill, 66, of Vancleave, is jailed without bond pending trial in January. Federal authorities allege he had accessed 9,900 sexually explicit images of children engaged in sex acts on …

Law & Crime reports: A Pennsylvania mother of eight known as “Bullhorn Lady” since she was identified as a window-smasher and boastful obstructionist at the tip of the pro-Trump mob’s spear on Jan. 6, falsely believing her preferred candidate won the 2020 election, has been sentenced to serve over four years in prison for numerous crimes. Rachel Marie Powell, now …

The Hill reports: Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes rose sharply in 2022, jumping more than 19 percent over 2021, according to the FBI’s annual crime report released Monday. Hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people were up significantly compared with 2021, with 622 reported single-bias, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. Hate crimes motivated by an anti-transgender bias rose more than 35 percent year over year, reaching …

Omaha’s NBC affiliate reports: An employee with a company that assists authorities in transporting dead bodies was arrested — and fired — after he allegedly tampered with one such scene last week. Ryan Smith, 41, was arrested Friday and is facing charges of burglary, criminal trespassing, and tampering with physical evidence. Smith had contacted the property manager saying the Sarpy …

Chicago’s ABC affiliate reports: The 6-year-old suburban boy stabbed to death in an apparent hate crime over the weekend will be laid to rest Monday, in Muslim tradition. Joseph Czuba stabbed Wadea Al-Fayoume and his mother in unincorporated Plainfield Saturday morning because they are Muslim, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said on Sunday. Late Sunday, the Chicago FBI Field Office, …

Gainesville’s CBS affiliate reports: Federal prosecutors say former state Rep. Joe Harding betrayed the “public’s trust” and should be sent to prison. Harding’s employers and one of his brothers paint a picture of a hard-working family man who regrets fraudulently applying for business loans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor is poised to decide Harding’s punishment …