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Colorado man sues sheriff's office for civil rights over excessive use of Taser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A Southern Colorado man filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Las Animas County Sheriff's Office, the county, the sheriff, the undersheriff and two deputies over a traffic stop that happened last November.Kenneth Espinoza was following his son Nathaniel to the shop on Nov. 29, 2022, to get his truck serviced when his son was pulled over by Las Animas County Deputy Mikhail Noel. Espinoza pulled up behind the scene when he is confronted by Lt. Henry Trujillo. Trujillo repeatedly asked Espinoza to leave the scene, but Espinoza refuses because his son is his ride home from the shop. The argument escalated and Deputy Noel came over to Espinoza's truck, and asked him to leave. When Espinoza put his truck in drive to leave, Noel can be heard commanding Espinoza to stay and grabbed the truck door handle. Noel pulled out his gun and pointed it at Espinoza. Espinoza is eventually pulled out of his truck and pushed into the back of a sheriff's office cruiser. He is ...

Atlanta PD announces active shooter situation at medical office building

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

ATLANTA, Ga. (WSVN) — The Atlanta Police Department said they were working on an active shooter situation at a medical office building. Officials made the announcement in a tweet, Wednesday.https://twitter.com/Atlanta_Police/status/1653802589413158921?s=20They mentioned multiple people are injured and no one has been taken into custody.Police closed off the streets near the building as a result of the incident and authorities are asking local residents to stay out of the area.

Loved ones honor Parkland school shooting victim in boutique closet ribbon-cutting ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

A teen that was one of the 17 killed in the Parkland shooting is being honored by his family in a way that will help many South Florida children.With a hand on her chest and a photo of her late son around her neck, Gina Hoyer was alongside her husband as they remember Luke who was killed at just 15 years old during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.“I’m so touched by your kindness in remembrance, of our son, always,” said Gina.On Wednesday, loved ones honored Luke’s life in a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a storage garage turned boutique closet to remember what Luke stood for.“Naming this closet after our son just means the world to us,” said Tom Hoyer, Luke’s father. “Just another example of how they step off and embrace us by remembering our son.”Located on the SOS Children’s Village Campus, Lukes’s Closet is a space where foster children get the satisfaction of the shopping experience. They could find,...

Police kill man suspected of shooting Florida mom, 3 kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

LAKE WALES, Fla. (AP) — After an hourslong standoff at a motel, police in central Florida fatally shot a man suspected of killing a 40-year-old woman and her three children, authorities said Wednesday.Al Joseph Stenson, 38, quickly became a suspect on Tuesday night after police were called to an apartment complex in Lake Wales, where the bodies of the woman and children, ages 21, 17, and 11, were found.After investigators tracked Stenson to the motel, he made statements that “he would kill himself or force law enforcement to kill him,” Lakes Wales police said in a news release.Investigators did not release a motive in the family’s slaying, and did not describe the relationship between Stenson and the victims other than to say they knew each other.Stenson died at the Slumberland Motel in Sanford, north of Orlando, after a standoff involving crisis negotiators and a SWAT team, police said. Sanford is about a two-hour drive from Lake Wales.Police believe the victims, whose names have n...

French economy minister defends literary pursuits after criticism over racy novel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

PARIS — A new novel about legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz has been the subject of much polemic in French political circles in recent days. The reason? It features an erotic scene and was written by France’s Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.Le Maire’s new novel “Fugue Américaine” drew instant criticism and mockery after hitting bookstores last week, including by government opponents who accused the powerful minister of shunning his duties and spending his energy writing literature at a time of economic tension and social unrest. The debate on Le Maire’s side-gig comes amid protests against a controversial pensions reform and as the minister is intensifying efforts to convince Brussels that he can reduce the country’s massive public debt. His pledge didn’t convince ratings agency Fitch, which downgraded France’s credit rating one day after Le Maire published his new novel.Responding to critics, Le Maire cast himself as an...

Zelenskyy denies Ukraine tried to kill Putin in Moscow drone attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

Ukraine has denied that it tried to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin during an overnight drone attack on his official residence in Moscow.Russia claims it foiled a Ukrainian-backed plot to target Putin — but Kyiv rubbished the Kremlin’s allegations which sparked a storm Wednesday afternoon.“We don’t attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, speaking on a visit to Finland.In an earlier statement, Russia triggered consternation in Ukraine and among its Western allies by accusing Kyiv of trying to bump off Putin. “We consider these actions to be a planned terrorist attack and attempt on the life of the President,” the original Kremlin statement said, adding that Putin was “not injured [and] the schedule of his work has not changed.”The Kremlin did not give any evidence that Ukraine had carried out the attack and POLITICO was un...

Man accused of shooting 3 senior citizens at Alabama church group meeting sentenced to life without parole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

(CNN) — Robert Findlay Smith, who was accused of shooting and killing three senior citizens at an Alabama church group’s meeting in June 2022, entered a guilty plea Tuesday for the intentional murder of Jane Pounds, Walter Rainey and Sarah Yeager, according to a news release from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.Because Smith “intentionally murdered two or more persons,” his charge was capital murder and his only sentencing options were either life without parole or the death penalty, according to the release.“This type of senseless murder of three innocent people is certainly a case our office would typically try in front of a jury and seek the death penalty, however, that was not the wish of the three families in this case,” District Attorney Danny Carr said. “After much discussion, thought and prayer the families were unanimous that they would prefer a plea of Guilty to Capital Murder and a Life Without Paro...

Appellate court denies Adnan Syed’s motion to overturn reinstatement of murder conviction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

(CNN) — A Maryland appellate court has denied Adnan Syed’s motion to reconsider the reinstatement of his murder conviction Tuesday, according to a court order signed by Chief Judge Gregory Wells.The brief order states it denied the motion “based on an argument not previously raised.”Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, says they will appeal to Maryland’s Supreme Court.“Appellate courts routinely assess whether an error impacted the underlying proceedings,” Suter said in a statement to CNN. “We are dismayed that the Appellate Court of Maryland opted not to do so here. We will be seeking review in the Supreme Court of Maryland.”Syed spent over two decades behind bars for the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and had his case featured in the landmark podcast “Serial,” before his release in September 2022.The Lee family attorney, David Sanford, did not immediately respond to CNN...

Man gets 48 years in prison for arranging family killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man has been sentenced to 48 years in prison for orchestrating the stabbing deaths of his stepmother and her mother in a 2020 attack that also wounded his father, in retribution for what he claimed were years of abuse.Charles Dzurenka Jr., 20, apologized and said he deserved the sentence during a hearing in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday, the Journal Inquirer reported. His girlfriend, Makenzie Bezio, also was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for conspiring in the attack.Dzurenka’s stepmother, Marianne Dzurenka, 55, and her mother, Sandra Marci, 78, were stabbed multiple times in the Dzurenka’s home in Windsor on May 11, 2020. Dzurenka’s father, Charles Dzurenka Sr., also was stabbed but survived.Prosecutors said the younger Dzurenka, who was 17 at the time of the killings, arranged to have his friend, Terry Brown Jr., kill his father and stepmother, who Dzurenka claimed abused him for years. In exchange...

Jackson Mahomes arrested on sexual battery charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:25 GMT

Jackson Mahomes — the influencer brother of NFL star quarterback Patrick Mahomes — was arrested for alleged aggravated sexual battery.Records from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Kansas indicate the 22-year-old internet celebrity was booked shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday.According to the Kansas City Star, police have been investigating a Feb. 25 incident where Mahomes allegedly shoved a waiter, then forcibly kissed the owner of a restaurant-lounge he and a handful of friends visited on a Saturday night. The Star said it viewed surveillance video seeming to show Mahomes grabbing the 40-year-old restaurateur by her throat and attempting to kiss her. She believed he’d been drinking.Mahomes and the restaurant owner were reportedly in her office discussing a kerfuffle between the suspect and a 19-year-old server he allegedly shoved.An attorney for Mahomes said in March there was “substantial evidence” refuting claims against his client. Bail wa...