Tag: Crime & Public Safety

Man Pleads Guilty to Helping 2 Others Accused in the Fatal Shooting of Rapper Young Dolph

MEMPHIS, Tenn.—A Tennessee man pleaded guilty Friday to helping two other men charged with fatally shooting rapper Young Dolph in a daytime ambush at a Memphis bakery. Jermarcus Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact. Judge Lee Coffee approved a plea deal with prosecutors, allowing him to avoid trial. Johnson…


Elevated Walkway Collapses in Texas Beach City, Injuring Dozens

SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas—Nearly two dozen teenagers from a summer camp were injured when an elevated walkway collapsed Thursday in a beachside city in Texas, with five flown to the hospital by helicopter. None of the injuries were expected to be life-threatening, Brazoria County officials said. The cause of the walkway collapse in Surfside Beach, a…


Missouri Supreme Court Declines to Halt August Execution of Man Convicted of Killing Child

The Missouri Supreme Court has turned aside an appeal by a man scheduled to be executed in August for killing a 6-year-old girl. Johnny Johnson, 45, was convicted of first-degree murder in in the 2002 death of Casey Williamson in suburban St. Louis. He faces execution Aug. 1 unless the courts intervene or Republican Gov….


Judge Weighs Challenge to Gag Order in University of Idaho Killings

A judge overseeing the case against Bryan Kohberger, charged with killing four University of Idaho students last fall, is set to hear arguments Friday over a gag order that largely bars attorneys and other parties in the case from speaking with news reporters. A coalition of more than 30 media organizations has challenged the order,…


Alabama Prisoner Who Escaped With Jailer’s Help Gets Life Sentence

FLORENCE, Ala.—An Alabama prisoner received a life sentence on Thursday for escaping with the help of a jail official who ultimately took her own life as police closed in following a manhunt across three states. Casey White, 39, told those gathered in the Lauderdale County courtroom that he felt like the most hated man in…


Teen Accused of Providing Gift Cards to Help Support Terrorist Group

BOSTON—An 18-year-old Massachusetts man sent gift cards worth a total of $1,670 to someone he thought was a supporter of the ISIS terrorist group that he intended to be used to fund a war on nonbelievers, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Mateo Ventura, of Wakefield, was held pending a bail hearing next Wednesday during an initial…


New California Bill Would Prohibit Employees From Stopping Shoplifters

A California bill to prohibit employees from confronting shoplifters or active shooters has passed the state Senate, in spite of opposition from retailers who say it would add to the state’s escalating retail theft problem. “With growing awareness of workplace violence, California needs smarter guidelines to keep workers safe in the office or on the…


Covenant Shooter’s Parents Transferring Rights to Daughter’s Writings Over to Victim’s Families

The parents of the Nashville Covenant School shooter Audrey Hale, through their legal counsel, told a Nashville judge on Thursday, June 8, they are in the process of assigning all ownership of their daughter’s writings to the children of The Covenant School. The documents are still in the hands of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department…


Instagram Algorithms Promote Pedophile Networks: Investigation Finds

Instagram’s algorithms connect a vast network of pedophiles, an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, Stanford University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst discovered. An investigaton by the Stanford Internet Observatory’s chief technologist, David Thiel, research manager Renée DiResta, and director Alex Stamos discovered that a massive network of English-speaking social media accounts buy, sell,…


Main Suspect in 2005 Disappearance of Natalee Holloway Arrives in US From Peru to Face Charges

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, arrived in the United States on Thursday to face charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing woman’s mother. An FBI-operated plane carrying van der Sloot landed at Birmingham’s Shuttlesworth Airport just before 2:30 p.m. and the suspect…