2/14/2021

 A man has been arrested and charged Sunday in connection to a string of subway attacks that left two people dead.

Police say 21-year-old Brooklyn resident Rigoberto Lopez has been arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder after a series of deadly stabbings on the A train over the weekend.

Law enforcement sources say Lopez was taken into custody Saturday night in four separate subway attacks.

Police said the suspect is likely homeless and was wanted in as many as four knife attacks since Friday that killed two homeless people on the A train within hours and stabbed two others.

Sources told Eyewitness News that suspect was being held at 34th precinct.

The crimes are just the latest in a string of violence in the subway across the city.

In Saturday’s violence, officials investigated four total incidents, two of which were fatal, of stabbings and slashings that occurred on A line subway trains in less than 24 hours between Friday at 11:20 a.m. and Saturday at 1:28 a.m.

Officials say a man was found with numerous stab wounds to his neck and torso onboard an A train around 11:30 p.m. Friday night stopped at the Mott Avenue subway station in Far Rockaway, Queens.

The man has been accused of 4 stabbings on trains within 2 days, resulting in 2 deaths. Reportedly, officers found the man still covered in blood.

MIAMISBURG, Ohio —

Updated: 9:40 AM EST Feb 12, 2021

A woman will spend more than 25 years in prison after kidnapping an elderly man, robbing him, stuffing him in the trunk of a car and abandoning that car at a Rumpke waste facility.

Jessica Rose Boomershine was sentenced Friday on a range of 25 to 30.5 years in prison in connection to the Jan. 15, 2020 crime spree.

According to investigators, Boomershine and Billy Joe Farra broke into an 85-year-old man’s Miamisburg home.

The pair stole his firearm, and after firing a round into the victim’s bedroom, kidnapped him. That 85-year-old man was beaten, and forced to give up his ATM pin number, investigators said.

Officials said Boomershine and Farra then drove him to an ATM and took funds from his account.

Eventually, prosecutors say the victim was bound and shoved into the trunk of his car, which was abandoned at a Rumple waste facility on East Monument Avenue in Dayton.

Officials said the 85-year-old man was able to pull the emergency release inside of the trunk, then entered the Rumpke facility where he was discovered by employees.

Authorities say the man was able to identify Boomershine and Farra, whom he recently met at a local casino.

Both were arrested.

On Jan. 21, prior to the pair’s arrest, police say Boomershine attempted to climb into the ceiling of the holding area in the jail. She was eventually caught, officials said, but the ceiling was badly damaged.

Boomershine was indicted in late January on two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of felonious assault, two counts of kidnapping, one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle, one count of grand theft of a firearm, one count of misuse of a credit card, one count of escape and one count of vandalism of government property.

Farra was previously sentenced to 55 to 60 ½ years in prison on Nov. 3.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office and United States Marshal Service arrested eight people in a sweep looking for fugitive sex offenders. Charges against them range from the promotion of human trafficking to failure to register as a sex offender. Three of the arrests are people classified as sexually violent predators.

“Marion County is safer today than it was yesterday thanks to the hard work of our Sheriff’s Deputies and our partners at the United States Marshal Service. Several dangerous sex offenders were removed from our streets, some of whom will likely remain in prison for several years,” said Sheriff Kerry Forestal.

Officers made the following arrests:

• Eric Thompson – Promotion of human trafficking of a minor (a Level 3 felony), sexual misconduct with a minor (a Level 4 felony), and two counts of promoting prostitution (Level 5 felonies)
• Charles Day – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender with a prior conviction (a Level 5 felony)
• Marcellus Evans – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender with a prior conviction (a Level 5 felony)
• Brett Hill – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender with a prior conviction (a Level 5 felony)
• Reginald Smith – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender with a prior conviction (a Level 5 felony)
• David Burroff II (no mug shot currently available) – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender (a Level 6 felony)
• Terry Davis – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender (a Level 6 Felony)
• Andre Veal – Failure to register as a sexual or violent offender (a Level 6 felony)

Currently, of the 1,800 sex offenders living in Marion County, 43 percent committed their crimes outside of Marion County. The sheriff’s office said that is up from 39 percent in 2018.

Attempt to impede the course of justice

Gerald Brummell, 57, wanted on the somewhat unusual charge of engaging in conduct to impede the performance of justice. It’s explained in general terms here. Mr. Brummel is 5’7″, 165 lbs., with white hair and blue eyes. He is known to frequent the Quinte West area.

Intimidation of a justice system participant or a journalist

• 1(1) No person shall, without lawful authority, engage in any conduct with the intent to provoke a state of fear in
  • (a)a group of persons or the general public in order to impede the administration of criminal justice;
  • (b)a justice system participant in order to impede him or her in the performance of his or her duties; or
  • (c)a journalist in order to impede him or her in the transmission to the public of information in relation to a criminal organization.
• (2)[Repealed, 2015, c. 13, s. 12]
• Marginal note: Punishment

(3) Every person who contravenes this section is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than fourteen years.

• 2001, c. 32, s. 11
• 2015, c. 13, s. 12

~end~

Brummell is known as Agent Margaritaville on You Tube where he publishes videos and claims to have evidence of child sex abuse that implicates high level officials in government including information about Jeffrey Epstein and Hillary Clinton.

Brummell was a semi frequent guest on the program Abel Danger hosted by Boeing whistleblower, Field McConnell, Plum City, Wisconsin. McConnell, a former U.S. Marine is well known for exposing Boeing’s uninterruptible auto pilot, as well as speaking out against his sister, Hillary Clinton-associate Kristine Marcy, who McConnell says traffics children.

Brummell made many fantastic claims on McConnell’s program including claims that he (Brummell) possessed evidence of a $68 Billion money transfer from Jeffrey Epstein to Toronto Union Bank.

McConnell, 70, was arrested (kidnapped) in Wisconsin in November, 2019, after Wisconsin law enforcement executed a very suspicious arrest warrant issued for him in Broward County, Florida – regarding something he did or said during his Web show.

No charges were ever filed against McConnell in Wisconsin.

Records, including emails and messages from Brummell to Holmseth, show Brummell was in direct contact with key figures in STATE OF FLORIDA’s case against McConnell.

After McConnell was extradited from Wisconsin to Florida, Brummell began contacting judicial officers in Florida, including Howard Sohn, McConnell’s lawyer.

Brummell attempted to author and broker a ‘plea deal’ for McConnell (of which Holmseth has a copy).

The proposed ‘plea deal’ required McConnell file a (false) report to the FBI against award-winning news reporter Timothy Holmseth which would gain McConnell his freedom.

On February 28, 2020 Holmseth reported on the $68 Billion money transfer from Epstein to Toronto Union Bank of which Brummell had been claiming knowledge

February 13, 2021 | 9:00 a.m

Gary Leon Caplinger surrendered to authorities on Feb. 11, 2021 on charges of possession of child pornography and possession with intent to promote child pornography.Collin County Sheriffs Office

The married mayor pro tem of a Texas town is facing child pornography charges, city officials said.

Gary Leon Caplinger, the longtime mayor pro tem of Allen, was arrested Thursday, city officials confirmed in a statement.

“We were shocked to learn today of the arrest of Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Caplinger on charges related to child pornography,” the statement read. “The case did not originate with the Allen Police Department.”

Caplinger — a married real estate agent who has two sons — was first elected to the Allen City Council in 2005. He has served as mayor pro tem of the Dallas suburb since 2012. He’s now in his final term, which is set to expire in May, city officials said.

Caplinger, 56, surrendered to authorities in Collin County Thursday on charges of possession of child pornography and possession with intent to promote child pornography, the Dallas Morning News reported

Caplinger was released from custody after posting $80,000 bond, the Dallas Morning News reported.

He was indicted by a grand jury last week, leading to warrants for his arrest. Investigators had searched his Allen home last March, KXAS reported.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is handling the ongoing investigation, the station reported.

2/12/2021

Federal, state and local authorities in Texas are searching for a tanker truck days after a 911 caller in the San Antonio area reported dozens of people were trapped inside it, offering a glimpse into the difficulties authorities face in investigating human trafficking.

In the recording of the Monday emergency call obtained by The Associated Press, a man can be heard pleading for help. The caller says there are an estimated 80 people inside the truck’s tank — typically used to haul liquids or gases that can be hazardous — and that they can’t breathe.

“We are dying in here,” the caller says in Spanish, telling a dispatcher that the white tanker truck was parked and that he could hear passing cars. People can be heard gasping and screaming in the background. Then, the call dropped.

Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, told the AP on Thursday that all he wants now is to find out if the people survived the trip and made it to their final destinations. Salazar said he is not interested in prosecuting the people who were inside the tank, because they’re victims. But he wants to hold those who trapped them accountable.

“That is the kind of thing as a first responder you lose sleep over,” Salazar said. “You are just wondering ‘are there people that were dumped in our county and just waiting to be found?’”

San Antonio police also are investigating but declined comment, saying they had given the information they received to the federal Department of Homeland Security.

A spokesperson for Homeland Security said in a statement that its investigations division is “looking into an incident along with local law enforcement partners regarding a possible human smuggling event” and that no further details could be released.

Salazar said one of his deputies was able to locate surveillance camera footage of a business where the call was traced. The business — along Interstate 35, which stretches southwest from San Antonio to the border with Mexico — is not involved in the criminal investigation, Salazar said, but provided the video.

The surveillance footage shows a tanker matching the caller’s description traveling with a black pickup truck. Both stop at the side of the road around midnight and a person can be seen walking between the vehicles. Salazar said they are confident these are the vehicles in question but do not have specifics on the make or model.

Instances of human trafficking happen thousands of times a day nationwide, Salazar said, and traffickers “herd these people like cattle.”

“The only difference is in this instance, we were able to get a glimpse because this gentleman was able to place a call,” Salazar said.

Two men have been arrested and charged in the killing of a Massachusetts man found in a burning car the day after Christmas in Hartford.

Investigators believe Francisco Ramon, 28, was kidnapped in Chicopee, where he lived, and killed before his assailants tried to dispose of his body the night of Dec. 26 in a burning car left on Shultas Place in the capital city, officials said Friday.

Brandon Batiste, 33, of Springfield, and Calvin Roberson, 38, of Waterbury, were arrested Thursday and now face federal charges for the slaying.

Hartford police and fire personnel were originally called to the area of 114 Shultas Place just after 8:40 p.m. on Dec. 26 for a reported car fire, Lt. Aaron Boisvert has said. While extinguishing the blaze, firefighters discovered a body in the back of the car that medical examiners later identified as Ramon, who had been reported missing Christmas Eve from his home in Massachusetts.

Local Connecticut and Massachusetts authorities partnered with the FBI’s gang task forces in both states to investigate and ultimately identified Batiste, known as “B,” and Roberson, who goes by “Cutty,” as suspects. Authorities have said only that the two men are believed to have kidnapped and fatally shot Ramon, but officials did not discuss a possible motive and federal affidavits in the case remained sealed Friday.

Batiste was arrested in Athens, Georgia, and Roberson was arrested in Waterbury. Both men were charged in federal district court with kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and causing the death using a firearm and both were still detained Friday.

If convicted, prosecutors could seek the death penalty for Batiste and Roberson or life in prison.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Dozens of suspects in a wide-ranging drug and weapons trafficking operation run by a Mexican drug cartel have been arrested across Northern California, federal authorities announced Thursday morning.

The operation netted 44 arrests on a variety of charges spanning 15 separate cases, including a massive 572-pound methamphetamine bust in Sunnyvale late last month.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California David Anderson announced the unsealing of federal charges during a Wednesday morning press conference. He said the 15 individual cases had resulted in charges including drug trafficking, firearms trafficking and conspiracy against 44 defendants.

Anderson appeared with representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.

Anderson said the crimes had taken place all over Northern California, but that many were focused in South Bay. Charges stemmed from an overarching investigation that used wiretaps, cell phone location warrants, vehicle tracking warrants, search warrants, undercover purchases and informants to collect evidence.

The man who killed himself in front of Texas congresswoman Rep. Beth Van Duyne’s home has been identified as her former campaign staffer Richard Christian Dillard.

Dillard, better known as Chris, shot himself dead outside Republican representative Van Duyne’s home in Irving, Texas on Wednesday afternoon, while she was at the property.

The 55-year-old had worked as her communications director campaign and had been active within the Texas GOP.

More recently, Dillard had worked as a public affairs officer for the Texas State Guard.

Van Duyne, who represents Texas’ 24th Congressional District, found Dillard’s body after 3.45pm after she heard a gunshot and opened her front door to see him on the walkway.

While Van Duyne was at home at the time Dillard shot himself, she did not see him take his own life.

Irving Police told KXAS they were investigating how Dillard, who has a daughter and grandchildren, was able to gain access to the gated community that Van Duyne lives in.

Officers confirmed that Dillard had died from a single gunshot wound to the head and added there was no evidence to suggest he had any mental health problems.

Andrea Coker, a spokesperson for the lawmaker, told KTVT earlier this week: “The Irving police arrived immediately and made sure the area was secure, and she has been speaking with them since.

“She is shocked and saddened that someone would take their own life. We have no further comment at this time.”

After Dillard was identified, Van Duyne released a statement on social media where she offered her condolences to his family.

I am still shocked and grieving that Chris would take his life. We had known each other for years. He had been to my home numerous times for holiday parties, fantasy football draft parties, and get togethers with friends.— Beth Van Duyne (@Bethvanduyne) February 11, 2021

In a statement posted on Twitter, she said: “I am still shocked and grieving that Chris would take his life. We had known each other for years. He had been to my home numerous times for holiday parties, fantasy football draft parties and get togethers with friends.

“The last time I heard from him was over text in early January to share pictures of his family. I have spoken with Chris’ mother to offer my condolences and ask how to support her during this difficult time.

“I am devastated for her, his daughter and grandchildren. We are praying for Chris’s family and loved ones and ask that everyone please respect their privacy.”

2/12/2021

Men from Warren and Newton Falls are among 17 people rounded up in a human trafficking crackdown in Summit and Portage Counties.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Akron Police Department, Portage County Sheriff’s Office, Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Summit County Human Trafficking Force charged 16 men and one woman during an investigation.

Among those charged in the single-day operation were 52-year-old Ronald Kaiser of Warren and 54-year-old Benny Brown of Newton Falls. Both men are charged with soliciting.

Authorities say several possible human trafficking victims contacted during the operation have been offered help from RAHAB Ministries and the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties.

Further charges and arrests are pending the outcome of the investigation and results of drug testing.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office issued the following statement following the operation:

“To all the men and women who responded to the sexual service advertisements and were not apprehended during this operation, we know who you are.”

Fifteen more people arrested for answering an on-line advertisement offering explicit sexual services in exchange for cash include:

Michael Magoline, 53, Akron, Soliciting

Matthew Beachy, 37, Shreve, Ohio Soliciting

Carlos Carabello, 37, Brunswick, Oh, Soliciting

Daniel Manweiler, 54, Fairlawn, Ohio, Soliciting

Domingo Fontanez Jr., 42, Akron, Soliciting

Raymond Ryland,62, Wadsworth, Ohio, Soliciting

Ken Swope, 56, Akron, Ohio, Soliciting

Amanda Blanc, 38, Canton, Soliciting

Domonique Powell, 38, Akron, Soliciting

Timothy Durham, 25, Akron, Possession of Drugs, Soliciting, Warrant arrest: Robbery

James McCarroll, 41, Ravenna, Resisting Arrest, Soliciting

Rayshawn Hill, 29, Akron, Warrant arrest: Failure to Comply and Domestic Violence

Carl Walker, 39, Cleveland, Warrant arrest: Receiving Stolen Property

Seth Mellie, 33, Canton, Promoting Prostitution

Doyle Smith, 41, Lexington, KY,  Soliciting