2/23/2021

TAMPA BAY, Fla., This morning, DeliverFund announced some preliminary results from anti-human trafficking operations conducted ahead of and during Super Bowl LV. Over 15 intelligence reports of suspected traffickers were referred to law enforcement for potential human trafficking investigation cases.

Additionally, over 100 cases were reviewed by DeliverFund and IAHTI team members and were submitted to the Tampa Bay Fusion Center. DeliverFund has provided support to IAHTI over the past year, partnering on operations in support of human trafficker identification and law enforcement training.

“Every year, while 100 million people enjoy the Super Bowl around the world, countless women and children are sex trafficked in one of the most sickening and brutal crimes in human history,” said Jeanne Parker, Director of Special Programs at DeliverFund.

“We are grateful to work with our federal, local, and non-profit partners as we work to eradicate human trafficking in the United States.

I would like to thank the IAHTI, Tampa Bay Police Department, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montgomery County Department of Police for trusting the unrivaled talents of DeliverFund’s analysts as we work to protect human life and crush the criminal enterprises behind human trafficking.”

“Human Trafficking Investigations are complex and require a multi-faceted approach,” said Jeremy Lewis, President of the nonprofit organization International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators.

“IAHTI, which includes active law enforcement and partners, has been supporting large-scale events, along with providing training for the host agency and outreach to the host community for the past five years. IAHTI started out as an organization that provided training, networking, and outreach and has since become a force multiplier for host agencies across the United States.

Our team brings decades of investigative and analytical support with the intent to support joint investigative operations by identifying victims of exploitation. It is through partnerships between organizations like IAHTI and DeliverFund that victims will be identified and their traffickers prosecuted.”

Tampa Bay ranks third in the United States in human trafficking reports, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. DeliverFund has participated in Super Bowl operations over the last 3 years, in addition to ongoing law enforcement operations around the country.

DeliverFund was founded and is operated by a group of uniquely qualified and trained individuals who have decades of experience from careers in the CIA, NSA, Special Operations, and law enforcement. They leverage cutting-edge technology into the ultimate weapon against human trafficking.

The International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators has provided training to anti-human trafficking and exploitation practitioners from 64 countries since their inception in 2009.

2/23/2021

LAS VEGAS — A former youth football coach was arrested Feb. 8 for possession of child pornography, according to a police report from the Henderson Police Department.

Gino Mondino, 37, was arrested Feb. 8 on four counts of use/permit minor, 14+, to produce porn; four counts of distributing porn with a minor; one count of possession of porn with a person under 16; and one count of contempt of court.

According to an arrest report from HPD, Facebook notified authorities that an account associated with Mondino had pornographic images on his account. According to Facebook, Mondino had received self-produced pornographic images and videos through his Facebook Messenger in Aug. 2020.

Authorities identified the girl in the images and interviewed her in Jan. 2021. The girl’s age was not identified in the arrest report, but she reportedly told police she was a cheerleader in 2016 for a youth football team Mondino coached. They later became friends on Facebook and messaged back and forth, but never met up in person, the report said.

Mondino was arrested Feb. 8. Mondino’s next court appearance was set for Feb. 24.

2.22.2021

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A man wanted for murder was arrested late Saturday night after carjacking a vehicle and kidnapping two people inside the vehicle while trying to avoid arrest.

Metro police say at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, officers were conducting surveillance at an apartment building on N. Natchez Court after receiving information telling them that suspect Antwan Churchwell, 28, was at the apartment.

Police had been searching for Churchwell in connection to the February 1 murder of 24-year-old Mayte Aguirre, who was shot inside a car on Glenrose Avenue. The investigation accuses Churchwell of shooting Aguirre from the back seat as she was riding in the front passenger seat.

Officers saw Churchwell come out of the apartment briefly, armed with a pistol before going back inside.

Officers then immediately entered the building, prompting Churchwell to run away and make his way to a convenience store in the 3500 block of Nolensville Pike. At the store, Churchwell saw a 38-year-old man get out of his car.

According to police, Churchwell then grabbed the man, threw him out of the way and drove off in the man’s car with the man’s 16-year-old daughter and 31-year-old female cousin still inside. The two women late told police Churchwell pointed his gun at them and told them not to use their phones as he drove.

Officers then started a pursuit of the car, following Churchwell who drove over 75 miles per hour into oncoming lanes of traffic and even drove the wrong way down a one-way street. Churchwell ended up crashing into a brick wall at the intersection of Trimble and Chestnut Streets.

After the crash, police say Churchwell got out of the car and ran away. Officers saw him hop a locked fence in the 70 block of Trimble Street. A canine unit quickly responded to the scene and took Churchwell into custody. The two women inside the car were not injured.

In addition to criminal homicide, Churchwell now faces several other charges, including carjacking, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, child endangerment, felony evading arrest and unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon.

2/23/2021

CHICAGO — At least two people are dead and 16 others wounded in shootings across Chicago this weekend.

In the latest deadly attack, a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot Sunday in Little Village on the Southwest Side.

The boy was shot in the chest about 5:10 p.m. in the 3300 block of West 30th Street, Chicago police said. He was brought to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

He was identified as Alberto Flores of Little Village by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Early Saturday, a man was found shot to death in Gresham on the South Side.

Officers found him lying face up next to his vehicle about 1 a.m. in the 2000 block of West 79th Street, Chicago police said. The man, between 30 to 40 years old, had been shot in the back of the head and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead.

In nonfatal shootings, three people were injured in an attack Sunday in South Shore on the South Side.

The shooting happened about noon, when someone pulled out a gun and opened fire at a 24-year-old woman after an argument in the 7800 block of South Muskegon Avenue, police said. The woman was struck multiple times and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. Two men, 60 and 53 years old, who were standing in front of a nearby home where also shot and taken to the same hospital.

On Saturday, a 14-year-old boy was shot in Roseland on the Far South Side.

He was outside about 11:30 a.m. in the 11200 block of South King Drive when someone opened fire, police said. The teen was struck in the hand and groin and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital.

About half an hour earlier, a man was shot in Fernwood on the South Side.

He was driving about 11 a.m. in the 10100 block of South Perry Avenue when he got into an argument with someone in a gray four-door sedan, police said. A male got out of the sedan and opened fire, striking the 24-year-old in the back. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Earlier Saturday, a 45-year-old man was wounded in Lawndale on the South Side.

About 5 a.m., he was in the 4100 block of West 13th Street when someone walked up and fired shots, striking him in the knee, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Hours earlier, a 19-year-old man was shot in Marquette Park on the Southwest Side.

He was walking north about 12:10 a.m. in the 7200 block of South Kedzie Avenue when a black Mercedes Benz SUV pulled alongside him and began shouting at him, police said. Someone inside then fired multiple shots at the 19-year-old. He was struck on the thumb and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital.

At least nine other people were wounded in shootings between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday.

2/22/2021

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office recently arrested 13 people following an investigation into prostitution and human trafficking. 

Following the day-long operation, the sheriff’s office arrested 13 people on charges related to prostitution and the possession of illegal narcotics. 

Tkyree Dernard Speller, 25, of Hillsborough received the most charges of those arrested Wednesday; he faces multiple felony charges. 

He was charged with soliciting prostitution, possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, possession with the intent to sell or deliver meth, possession with the intent to sell or deliver a schedule two controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana. Speller is being held on a $70,000 secured bond. 

The rest of those arrested were each charged with one count of soliciting prostitution and were released on written promises to appear in court. At this time, it’s unclear if the soliciting prostitution charges are felonies or misdemeanors. In North Carolina, the charge is a misdemeanor for a first offense and felony on subsequent offenses. 

Those arrested include:

• Juan Pablo Bonilla-Reyes, 35, of Axton, Virginia
• Shawn Quincy Royster, 45, of Burlington
• Lak Man Rai, 34, of Greensboro
• Stevyn Jamal Thompson-Dilworth, 35, of Greensboro
• Cresencio Layunas Abarca, 56, of Burlington
• Ernest Tyron Satterfield, 49, of Whitsett
• Roger Darren Hall, 53, of Morrisville
• William Edward Brandley, 54, of Raleigh
• Terence James Freas, 33, of Mebane
• Elliot Spratt, 49, Greensboro
• William Grant Woodard, 46, of Julian
• Terrell Jamal Picket, 24, of Whitsett
• Tkyree Dernard Speller, 25, of Hillsborough

The investigation is ongoing, and additional charges are possible, the sheriff’s office said. Anyone with information related to prostitution or human trafficking is asked to contact a member of the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office Human Exploitation Team at 336-570-6300.

2/21/2021

Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II agreed Friday to accept a 14-year prison sentence for raping a homeless woman and assaulting two other women.

Winslow, 37, agreed to changes to a previous guilty plea in order to avoid a potential 18-year sentence.

In 2019, Winslow was convicted of raping a 58-year-old homeless woman in Encinitas, California. Facing a retrial on other charges, he later pleaded guilty to raping an unconscious teenager in 2003 and to the 2018 sexual battery of a 54-year-old hitchhiker in Encinitas.

That plea deal capped his sentence at 18 years. On Friday, a San Diego County Superior Court judge approved a change in which Winslow’s sexual battery plea was replaced with a guilty plea to assaulting the hitchhiker with the intent to commit rape.

That brought the potential sentence down to 14 years. Winslow will be sentenced next month.

His sentencing had been scheduled for last year. But it was postponed because of court closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Winslow was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2004 and spent four seasons with the team, being named to the Pro Bowl in 2007. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and New York Jets. His last NFL season was in 2013.

Winslow is the son of Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow Sr., who spent nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers.

The use of Barry Soetoro is justified because Obama used this name to apply for aid as a foreign student in southern California. So Obama put that name out there for people to see. He is either foreign born, or he falsified his application saying he was a foreign-born student. So maybe that was another one of those lies that Obama has forgotten about. Makes you kinda wonder. Oh, I do not watch Fox, so you will have to shoot me down with some other kind of garbage.

Michael Valgos, Modesto

Editor’s note: According to the non-partisan organizations factcheck.org, snopes.com, The Associated Press and Occidental College, the story circulated on the internet about Obama using the name Barry Soetoro to apply for admission and aid at Occidental College was an April Fools’ Day hoax.

Updated On 2/20/2021

Esmeralda Garza.

A South Texas woman is accused of selling her 7-year-old son and trying to sell two other young children to pay off a drug debt.

Esmeralda Garza, 29, was arrested Friday after a drug raid in Corpus Christi, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. She was booked into the Nueces County jail on a charge of sale or purchase of a child, with bail set at $100,000.

DPS agents who executed a search warrant at the home found a 7-year-old boy who had been sold to another adult. Two girls, ages 3 and 2, were in the process of being sold, authorities said.

According to an arrest report, a woman at the home told authorities she had paid Garza $2,500 for the boy, part of which cleared a drug-related debt, the Corpus Christi Caller Times reported.

A man and a woman at the home were arrested on drug-related charges; their names have not been released.

Authorities are continuing to investigate, and additional charges could be forthcoming.

2/21/2021 Sunday

TAMARAC — A tip from search giant Google led Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies to a 27-year-old Tamarac man suspected of downloading child pornography, but that’s not all detectives found.

The Internet Crimes Against Children task force received a tip in August that led to Robert Joseph Glaros’ arrest on Wednesday after detectives found more than 1,700 child porn photos and videos in his cloud storage account, according to the arrest report.

Two of the videos showed two of his eight dogs licking him in a sexual manner, investigators said.

During questioning, detectives said Glaros admitted to downloading the child pornography and to having his dogs Holly and Boomer engage in sex acts with him.

Glaros is facing 10 charges of possession of child pornography, one charge of compiling child pornography with a computer and two charges of engaging in sexual contact with animals. He remains in the Broward County Jail on bonds totaling $825,200, records show.

The dogs are in his grandparents’ custody, according to the report.

2/20/2021

The Phoenix Police Department, in partnership with other Arizona authorities, on Friday announced 37 arrests in connection to human trafficking and sex crimes.

Undercover police placed ads on websites commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts with children as part of an investigation dubbed Operation Broken Hearts.

33 MISSING CHILDREN RESCUED IN MAJOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATION, FBI SAYS

The probe targeted “sexual predators engaged in child sex crimes and human trafficking,” Phoenix police wrote in a Friday Facebook post. 

Suspects “solicited and/or brokered deals for various sex acts and were subsequently arrested,”  police said.

Police told Fox News that the operation lasted a week and took place in early February. Because police were posing undercover, there were no live victims in the case. 

Those arrested ranged from 21 to 66, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.

Also participating in the operation were the Mesa, Tempe and Chandler police departments, Homeland Security Investigations and the Attorney General’s Office.