List of All Articles with Tag 'us crime news'

The father of a three-month-old baby has been charged with murder after the little girl’s lifeless body was found dumped in a wooded area close to the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Genevieve Comager’s body was found at around 8.25pm ET on Sunday evening at West 161st Street and the Major Deegan Expressway, following a tip-off from the little girl’s grandfather. The NYPD said that emergency workers responded to the area – close to a transitional housing shelter where she lived with her parents – but the infant was pronounced dead at the scene. The little girl’s father Damion Comager, 23, was arrested and charged with murder and concealment of a corpse on Monday night, police said. Genevieve’s 20-year-old Ivana Paolozzi was also arrested and hit with charges of concealment of a corpse and obstructing governmental administration. It is not currently clear how the little girl died. However, Mr Comager’s father Donald Comager told The New York Post that his son told him he “shook” his daughter when she wouldn’t stop crying. He then later found her “stiff” and “cold” in her bed and panicked, before leaving her in the trash-strewn wooded area, he said. “He told me the baby was doing a lot of crying. She wouldn’t stop crying,” Donald Comager said. “He said he just shook her and lay her down, and he lay down and went to sleep. “He got up and reached for her and she was stiff and her body was cold. He panicked. He told his girlfriend, ‘I think she is dead.’” Donald Comager, 47, said it was him who then turned his son into authorities after speaking to a priest and deciding he needed to “do the right thing”, he told the Post.

A manhunt is under way to track down a second suspect wanted in connection to a mass shooting that left nine victims – including four children – injured on Memorial Day. The shooting unfolded at about 6.15pm local time near the beach boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday as families and friends gathered to enjoy the holiday. Police said that a fight is believed to have broken out between two groups on the seafront, which then escalated into gunfire. At least nine people were injured in the mass shooting, including a one-year-old baby and a 17-year-old. Hollywood Police Department spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said one victim was in surgery late on Monday while the others were stable. One person has been detained following the incident and a second suspect is now on the run from authorities. He is described as a Black man with dreadlocks who was wearing a black short-sleeve shirt and camo shorts. Chilling video take on the boardwalk shows terrified crowds fleeing the busy boardwalk as the gunfire erupted near a convenience store, a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store and a Subway sandwich shop. Read More At least nine people wounded in Memorial Day mass shooting at Florida beach Video shows tourists fleeing Miami beach in terror at mass shooting Ron DeSantis news – live: DeSantis facing three new lawsuits as Trump blames him for making Disney ‘woke’

At least nine people were wounded in a mass shooting at Florida’s Hollywood Beach on Memorial Day, according to reports. The incident, which saw a 15-year-old victim among the wounded, took place in the area of the 1200 block of N Broadwalk on Monday evening, according to CBS Miami. “Please avoid the area of Johnson to Garfield Streets, as well as the Broadwalk, due to an ongoing shooting investigation. Heavy police presence in the area. If you are looking to reunite with a family member, we have set up a reunification area at Johnson St and N Ocean bus loop,” tweeted Hollywood Polie Department. Witnesses posted online that the shooting took place outside Nicks Bar & Grill at around 7pm ET.

At least seven people were wounded in a mass shooting at Florida’s Hollywood Beach on Memorial Day, according to reports. The incident, which saw a 15-year-old victim among the wounded, took place in the area of the 1200 block of N Broadwalk on Monday evening, according to CBS Miami. “Please avoid the area of Johnson to Garfield Streets, as well as the Broadwalk, due to an ongoing shooting investigation. Heavy police presence in the area. If you are looking to reunite with a family member, we have set up a reunification area at Johnson St and N Ocean bus loop,” tweeted Hollywood Polie Department.

Nikki Alcaraz vanished without trace while on a roadtrip from her home in Tennessee to California with her boyfriend Tyler Stratton. Ms Alcaraz, 33, was last seen in the New Mexico town of Moriarty on 6 May. Authorities and her desperate family are appealing for information about her whereabouts. The missing person case has drawn comparisons to the Gabby Petito investigation after sheriff’s deputies in Torrance County pulled the couple over after receiving reports that Mr Stratton had assaulted Ms Alcaraz. The officers let them go without pressing criminal charges after Mr Stratton claimed he had also been hit. Here’s what we know about the case. The trip Nikki Alcaraz, a mother of two also known as Nikki Hernandez, left her home in Cheatham County, Tennessee, in her 2013 Jeep Wrangler with Tennessee plates in late April bound for Orange County, to visit family. Ms Alcaraz was travelling with her boyfriend Mr Stratton and a pet dog. On 4 May, sheriff’s deputies in Torrance County, New Mexico, pulled the couple over after receiving a report that he had struck Ms Alcaraz. Mr Stratton told authorities that he had also been hit, and both declined to press charges. Authorities have since released photos showing Ms Alcaraz with a black eye, cuts on her face and severe bruising on her arms after the alleged assault. “He beat her up pretty badly,” her brother Josh Alcaraz told Fox5. “A truck driver had to pull him off of her, call the police, the police picked him up, took him a couple exits down and dropped him off. She was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, and a broken hand or wrist.” Ms Alcaraz was taken to a Super 8 motel in the town of Moriarty. A friend travelled from California and stayed with her overnight at the motel. The plan was for the friend to take her back to California. On 6 May, Ms Alcaraz left the motel and told the friend she was going to try to find her boyfriend. This was the last time she has been seen alive, the woman’s family said. Her sister Toni Alcaraz told WKRN that she received a text on 8 May saying she was in Arizona, and planned to continue the trip to California. She hasn’t heard anything since then. Ms Alcaraz told the news site it was highly unusual not to hear from her for an extended period. Ms Alcaraz’s licence plate was picked up near Flagstaff, Arizona, on 9 May. But her phone has reportedly been switched off, and no further sightings have been reported. Missing person investigation Toni Alcaraz said she filed a missing persons report in New Mexico as that was where she was last seen. Josh Alcaraz said he feared that his sister’s vehicle might have broken down in the desert or come off the road. "We would like everybody to keep their eyes open, and if you see the Jeep, if you see him, if you see her, call somebody. Call the police," he told Fox5. Officials in Cheatham County, Tennessee, are working with law enforcement agencies in New Mexico and California to try to locate Ms Alcaraz. “Due to a history of domestic assault we believe she is in danger,” the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post appealing for information. District Attorney General Ray Crouch told WKRN his office had requested a nationwide extradition for Mr Stratton, who is also missing. Mr Stratton is wanted on an unrelated arrest warrant for theft and begged for the public’s assistance. Family say they are holding onto the hope of finding Ms Alcaraz alive. “If you see the Jeep, if you see him, if you see her, call somebody,” Josh Alcaraz told Fox5. “Obviously, worst-case scenario is very present in the back of my mind. I’m trying to hold out hope.” Ms Alcaraz, who is also known as Nikki Cunningham, is 5’6” with brown eyes and black/brown hair. She also has several distinctive tattoos. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call police in Moriarty on 505-832-6060 or 505-834-2705. Mr Stratton’s family have reportedly not filed a missing person report, according to online reports. Gabby Petito comparisons The allegations of assault on a cross-country road trip have been drawing comparisons to the 2021 disappearance and murder of vlogger Gabby Petito. Petito set off from her home in New York in July that year with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. The couple was pulled over in Utah by officers from the Moab Police Department on 12 August after receiving reports that Laundrie had struck Petito. They were allowed to continue separately after Laundrie claimed he had been hit by Petito. After a nationwide search and international media attention, Petito’s remains were found in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in September. Laundrie later shot himself in the head and left a suicide note confessing to killing Petito. Petito’s family is suing the Moab Police Department for failing to follow the law and protect her during the traffic stop. An independent review of the domestic assault incident found the officers had made several mistakes, and should have been classified as a domestic assault. Petito’s family are also suing Laundrie’s parents Chris and Roberta for emotional distress. Read More Search for missing woman who vanished on cross-country roadtrip with her boyfriend sparks Gabby Petito comparisons Bombshell letter where Brian Laundrie’s mother vowed to ‘dispose of body’ is given to Gabby Petito’s parents Louisiana high school graduate who fell off boat in Bahamas is lost at sea as Coast Guard calls off search

A wild shootout between a bus driver and passenger on a moving vehicle that left both injured was captured on security video. Officials in Charlotte, North Carolina, say that the shocking incident took place when a passenger got up while the bus was moving and asked to be dropped off between stops. The driver, David Fullard, told the passenger, identified as Omarri Shariff Tobias, he would have to wait until the next approved stop, according to the Charlotte Area Transit System. Transit bosses say that after a two-minute exchange between the pair, Mr Tobias pulled out a gun and pointed it at the driver. Mr Fullard then pulled out his own weapon and both men fired “in rapid succession”, although the company says it is unclear who fired first. The driver was struck in the arm, and the passenger was hit in the abdomen, says the transit system. Video of the event then shows the driver stopping the bus and firing from the aisle of the bus as the passenger crawled towards the back of the vehicle. Mr Tobias and another passenger got out of the bus by the rear exit, while the driver got out of the front door, firing his weapon again. Both Mr Fullard and Mr Tobias were taken to hospital in stable condition and are expected to recover, the transit system said. Mr Tobias was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injuries, communicating threats, and carrying a concealed firearm, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said in a statement. It is unclear if Mr Fullard will face criminal charges, but he was fired by his employer RATP Dev, which supplies bus drivers for the transit system. The system says its policy bans employees from possessing a firearm or weapon while on duty or on company property. Read More Man confesses to string of deadly Arizona shootings, blaming his hatred of drugs and homelessness Aderrien Murry called 911 to help his mom. A police officer shot the 11-year-old as he complied with commands ‘Malibu sniper’ convicted of murdering California dad shot dead in camping tent

A 20-year-old Arizona man who allegedly confessed to shooting four people dead and wounding a fifth person told police he carried out the killing spree due to a hatred of drugs and homelessness, court documents show. Iren Byers claimed responsibility for the shootings after he was taken into custody for trespassing near Main St and Extension Rd in Mesa, Phoenix, on Sunday, according to a statement from the Mesa Police Department. Mr Byers was cooperative and told police where they could find a 9mm handgun and clothing he had been wearing during the shootings, according to the release. Shell casings from each of the shootings in Mesa and Phoenix were linked to the 9mm pistol found in a fanny pack in his room at his grandmother’s apartment, police said. The first shooting occurred at around 2.45pm on Friday near 26th and Oak St, in east Phoenix. According to the documents obtained by The Independent, Mr Byers said he had been walking along a canal with with 41-year-old Nicholas Arnstad. Mr Byers told police he shot Arnstad in the head because he was smoking fentanyl, which had angered him because his brother had also abused the deadly opiate. Police found Arnstad’s body soon afterwards. Mesa police officers were called to Beverly Park at about 10.30pm on Friday night where they found the body of 41-year-old Julian Cox, according to the statement. Mr Byers later claimed he had shot Cox in the head after he started talking about using “blues”, which is a street name for fentanyl, according to the court papers. Mr Byers told investigators he then met Stephen Young, 41, at a Circle K and rode with him on light rail. Mr Byers claimed that he wanted to smoke marijuana, and that Young spoke about using fentanyl. He allegedly confessed to shooting Young in the head before taking off. Police found Young’s body near a Greyhound station on Country Club Rd at about midnight. Mr Byers told investigators he then met 40-year-old John Swain, who he said was homeless and not from the Phoenix area, while walking on nearby railroad tracks, according to the probable cause statement. He said he shot Swain once, and continued to shoot him as he fell down a hill, according to the court papers. Officers found his body near Extension Road and Main Street at about 1am on Saturday. Mr Byers then met his final victim, identified as 36-year-old Angela Fonseca, while walking on Main St. He claimed to have shot her in the face after getting angry at her. Ms Fonseca was found just after midnight, and was taken to hospital where she was underwent several surgeries. Doctors say she is expected to survive. Mr Byers was initially arrested on a trespassing charge, and was reportedly cooperative with police officers. He allegedly told investigators they could find the 9mm handgun and clothing at his grandmother’s house, police said. At least one shell casing from each crime scene matched the weapon, according to documents. Security footage also showed Mr Byers wearing clothes that matched the recovered items, the papers stated. Mr Byers has been booked into prison without bond on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. “Knowing that Iren Byers will have to face the consequences of his unjustified actions is the start of justice to be seen,” Mesa Police Detective Brandi George said in a statement. Read More Aderrien Murry called 911 to help his mom. A police officer shot the 11-year-old as he complied with commands Succession finale review: Kendall’s wretched past comes back to bite him in poetic, violent last episode Fight over photograph sparks New Mexico biker brawl that leaves three dead and six injured

A fight over a photograph between the Bandidos biker gang and its rival Waterdogs sparked a brawl on Saturday that left three people fatally shot and six wounded, New Mexico police said on Sunday. State police had already increased their presence in the town of Red River, less than an hour north of Taos, in anticipation of thousands arriving for the Red River Memorial Day Motorcycle Rally, New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnston told the Santa Fe New Mexican. Shots rang out at around 5pm on Saturday and responding officers found two dead and six injured, authorities said on Sunday. All were members of organised motorcycle gangs. One injured person was airlifted to Denver for treatment and five were taken to area hospitals, where one was pronounced dead. According to Chief Johnston, a confrontation over a photograph had been sparked in Albuquerque between the Bandidos gang from Texas and New Mexico-based Waterdogs. The disagreement continued in Red River and escalated, he told the New Mexican. “Something as stupid as that,” he said, referring to a picture that showed “somebody taking a picture with a different gang.” The three dead have been identified as Anthony Silva, 26, of Los Lunas, NM; Randy Sanchez, 46, of Albuquerque, NM; and Damian Breaux, 46, of Socorro, NM, police said on Sunday. Jacob David Castillo, 30, of Rio Rancho, NM has been charged with one open count of murder; injured in the incident, he remained hospitalised on Sunday and will be booked into Taos County Detention Center upon his release, officials said. Also injured was Christopher Garcia, 41, of Texas, who was charged with possession of cocaine when he was released from the hospital and booked into jail, according to a release from the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Matthew Charles Jackson, 39, of Austin, Texas was charged with unlawful carrying of a firearm in a liquor establishment and booked into the Taos County Detention Center, too, police said. Four other injured people, aged between 31 and 53, “will not be identified unless they are eventually charged with a crime,” the DPS release said. Chief Johnston said that area hospitals had been locked down following the Saturday incident. “It’s been our experience, and I think it’s been the experience around the country when dealing with these types of gang bangers, is that when somebody gets shot or is killed and they go to the hospital, all their friends like to go there to be with them or pay respects or to protect them,” he told the New Mexican. “But again, we had a mess here. We didn’t also want to have a mess at all the hospitals because there’s obviously a lot of innocent folks there that needed our protection.” He said: “I’ll apologise initially to the law-abiding citizens that came to Red River to have a good Memorial Day weekend, not the gang bangers that are ruining it for all of them.” Officials said the investigation was ongoing and appealed for witnesses or anyone with footage to contact New Mexico State Police. Read More Jail term increase for killer of biker ambushed by rival motorcycle gang members Three bikers jailed for killing rival for wearing wrong colours on their turf New Mexico shooting victims mourned by their children, 64 grandchildren What now for the Proud Boys? The far-right street gang has a new target after January 6 convictions Sonny Barger, figurehead of Hells Angels, dies at 83

A man has been convicted in the murder of a scientist shot dead on a family camping trip while sharing a tent with his young daughters in a California state park. Anthony Rauda, 46, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Tristan Beaudette, 35, who was fatally shot in June 2018 at Malibu Creek State Park. He was also convicted of multiple burglaries and three counts of attempted murder: two counts related to opening fire in the direction of Beaudette’s daughters and a third related to shooting a Tesla driver, the Los Angeles Times reported. The defendant, who has been convicted of attacking two sheriff’s deputies since his arrest in late 2018, declined attendance at trial but will be present for sentencing next month. Prosecutors painted a picture of Rauda’s “pattern of stalking and preying upon campers.” He had been charged with seven other counts of attempted murder but was acquitted this month after he could not be definitively tied to the scenes. Mr Beaudette had been sleeping in a tent with his daughters, aged two and four, in the early morning hours of 22 June 2018. when he was fatally shot in the head. During the trial, his brother-in-law emotionally described awaking to hear one of his niece’s crying and saying “Wet, wet,” ABC7 reported. He attempted to wake up his brother but found his own hand “covered in blood,” realising in shock that he should remove Mr Beaudette’s girls from the tent. “I noticed there was nothing in his eyes,” he said of his brother-in-law. Mr Beaudette, a research scientist from Irvine, “was the last of 11 people Rauda was accused of shooting at over the course of two years,” the LA Times reported. In several instances, Rauda shot at moving vehicles or at campers in hammocks, wounding people on more than one occasion, prosecutors said. “Most of the early attacks involved the use of what prosecutors described as an ‘improvised shotgun’ filled with pellets that did not cause anyone life-threatening injuries,” the paper reported, but the defendant “at some point upgraded to a sawed-off rifle, the weapon used in each of the counts he was convicted of Friday.” Prosecutors said that Rauda sought to kill victims in creative ways during his spree. “He’s actively trying to do something that you know would cause death when he researches how to blow up a car by shooting out a gas tank, and then you see that he shoots at a BMW,” LA County Deputy District Attorney Antonella Nistorescu said in closing arguments, according to the LA Times. Rauda is due in court on 7 June for sentencing. Mr Beaudette, who met his wife in high school, had been planning to move with his family to the Bay Area the week following the shooting. His widow, Erica Wu, filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, State Parks and others following her husband’s murder, alleging authorities had failed to adequately warn the public at shootings in the area where Mr Beaudette was ultimately killed – but a judge in 2021 ruled against her. Read More British man left in Sudan shot by sniper before wife dies of starvation Mother-of-six killed in road-rage incident after driver shot into her moving car Family speak out after scientist dad shot dead on California camping trip with daughters, 2 and 4 On 1st anniversary of Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, Biden will push for more gun control

A Wisconsin bride unexpectedly died as a result of a fire on the very day of her wedding. Paige Ruddy suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage caused by smoke inhalation following a fire in a Reedsburg home on Tuesday (23 May). The 19-year-old, who was planning to get married on the day of the tragedy, died at the hospital the next day. “She was just a precious human. There was nothing about her that you couldn’t like,” Ruddy’s aunt told NBC affiliate WMTV. “She was this presence you never knew you needed in your life, but always did.” Family members had prepared to attend Ruddy and her fiancée’s Logan Mitchell-Carter ceremony at Sauk County Courthouse but instead received news of her sudden death. A funeral will take place next week, Ruddy’s aunt told the network. Ruddy, who had graduated last summer, was planning to attend a vet tech program at Madison Area Technical College this upcoming fall. A preliminary investigation into the fire and Ruddy’s death is underway, according to Sauk County authorities. Her grieving family has created a GoFundMe to cover funeral costs. “There are enough good qualities about Paige to fill up a room. Since she was a toddler Paige was full of life, ready to help anyone with anything, and an absolute joy to be around,” the description of the fundraiser read. “She was kind, fun, and according to her family had lots of spunk. Paige always worked hard at everything she did.” Read More Videos, 911 calls capture frantic response to deadly New Mexico rampage Ex Met-police officer gets ‘hundreds of hate messages’ over Couzens probe Three Black men convicted of murder launch legal appeal claiming ‘institutional racism’

Three members of a far-right anti-government extremist group who joined a mob inside the US Capitol on January 6 were sentenced to federal prison after their convictions on a range of charges connected to the attack. The hearings in US District Court in Washington DC follow the 18-year prison sentence for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who was convicted by a jury on a treason-related charge of seditious conspiracy after a nearly two-month trial last year. His is the longest sentence, to date, related to the assault at the Capitol on 6 January 2021. Kelly Meggs, another member of the Oath Keepers who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in that same case alongside Rhodes, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 25 May. Jessica Watkins, a US Army veteran who was convicted of several other charges in that same trial, was sentenced to eight and a half years. A jury found Watkins guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and guilty of conspiracy to obstruct. “My actions and my behaviors that fateful day were wrong, and as I now understand, criminal,” she told US District Judge Amit Mehta on 26 May. “Violence is never the answer.” Federal prosecutors argued that Watkins mobilised a group in Ohio alongside the Oath Keepers, and joined a mob in Washington DC in tactical gear to upend the results of the 2020 presidential election, fuelled by Donald Trump’s false narrative that the election was stolen and rigged against him. “I was just another idiot running around the Capitol,” she said on 26 May. “But idiots are held responsible, and today you’re going to hold this idiot responsible.” Prosecutors argued that she marched from the former president’s rally at the Ellipse and breached the halls of Congress in a military-style stack formation, encouraging members of the mob to push through law enforcement. According to messages and recordings shared at trial, Watkins declared the group “stormed the Capitol” on a radio-like communication app on the day of the attack. Judge Mehta, noting her apologies, said that her efforts that day were “more aggressive, more assaultive, more purposeful than perhaps others’.” “And you led others to fulfill your purposes,” he added “And there was not in the immediate aftermath any sense of shame or contrition, just the opposite. Your comments were celebratory and lacked a real sense of the gravity of that day and your role in it.” Kenneth Harrelson was found guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties, and tampering with documents or proceedings. He was sentenced to four years in prison on 26 May. In his plea for leniency, Harrelson, weeping as he spoke, apologised to US Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who testified during the trial that the Oath Keepers that the group failed to support law enforcement and ignored his warnings that they were endangering officers’ lives. “I am responsible and my foolish actions have caused immense pain to my wife and children,” Harrelson told Judge Mehta on Friday. The judge noted that, in evidence from federal prosecutors, “there is not a single word in a single communication that anyone would consider extremist, radicalized” or “encourages anyone to engage in violence.” Read More Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison for January 6 sedition Who are the Oath Keepers?

Two people were shot dead and another wounded by a Rhode Island man accused of peeping into a teenage girl’s bedroom window. James Harrison, 52, was later shot and killed by police after a chase and standoff with law enforcement in Johnston County, according to authorities. Officials say that Harrison’s 83-year-old mother, Janet Harrison, who lived with him in Johnston, was one of the victims, reported WPRI. Also fatally shot was his neighbour, 44-year-old Thomas “TJ” May, while his 15-year-old daughter was shot and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police say they were initially called to the May family home on Tuesday night after a report of loud banging noises outside a bedroom window. Harrison was allegedly seen outside the window with a ladder, and Mr May sought to file a trespass order to keep him off the family’s property, reported WPRI. The police were unable to make contact with Harrison and returned at 7.30am the following morning to speak to him. The officer said that when he arrived at the home he was the suspect driving away making a hand gesture “consistent with shooting a firearm”, the police stated. The teenage girl was then found on the front lawn suffering from gunshot wounds, and May was found in the garage of the property with a gunshot wound to the head. When police entered Harrison’s home they found that his mother had also been killed. Harrison was spotted two hours later at a cemetery and following a police chase he crashed his vehicle into a large rock. He then got out of the vehicle and pointed a firearm at officers who shot him dead. Rhode Island State Police and the state’s Attorney General’s Office will be investigating the officer-involved shooting. Read More Texas grand jury indicts man in fatal shooting of rapper Takeoff Texas parents fret over Winnie the Pooh being used to teach kids about school shootings U.S. cities reporting fewer killings hope crime strategies promote peace this summer Family Feud star faces trial for allegedly shooting wife to death years after joking about marriage on show Eleven-year-old boy shot by police after mother asked him to call 911 about domestic disturbance