Jury chooses not to indict teen charged with murdering Texas clerk over a bag of chips

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A pair of teens entered a Sunoco convenience store in Humble, Texas, on Jan. 19. After shoplifting, they left the 42-year-old clerk dead in his car.

Although the 18-year-old present for Asif Maknojia's slaying was never charged, the apparent shooter, 17-year-old Mario Young, was charged with capital murder.

This week, a Harris County grand jury spared Young from any consequence, deciding not to indict him for murder.

The shooter's mother has painted her son as a victim, and Young's attorney Lott Brooks reiterated that the teen had just acted out of self-defense, reported KTRK-TV

Surveillance footage shows Young and his 18-year-old friend enter the convenience store around 11:25 a.m. with dark hoodies pulled over their heads. Maknojia followed them in, dressed in an orange and black jacket.

While the clerk resumed mopping the floor, he noticed one of the teens stuff a bag of chips into his pants.

BREAKING: A grand jury declines to indict Mario Young (17) for shoplifting and then shooting and kiIIing the store clerk.\n\nActivists claim that Mr. Young acted in self defense since the clerk chased after them, asking for the stolen items back.\n\nThe 2nd teen was never even\u2026
— (@)

Maknojia followed the teens outside then confronted the duo.

A witness told KPRC-TV that he saw the clerk follow the young men out of the store.

"I'm just kind of being a little nosy, looking to see what's going on. He seemed to be confronting the gentlemen about something," said the unnamed witness. "It didn't seem to be that serious."

While Young reportedly walked toward the rear of the store, the other teen paused to brandish a bottle of Gatorade, which was apparently also taken from the store, then point it at the clerk.

According to the witness, the clerk returned to the store, and the apparent shoplifters walked over to a grassy area nearby. Maknojia reportedly went back outside and yelled at the teens, telling them to return to the store. They responded with an obscene gesture.

When the teens began jogging away, the clerk allegedly got into his car and pulled up to the duo — at which point the witness heard two gunshots.

According to the Humble Police Department, one of the suspects opened fire on the victim's vehicle, striking and killing the clerk.

Humble Assistant Police Chief Dan Zientek told KPRC, "They started shooting at him, in which he tried to reverse his car and ended up on the median over there."

The witness rushed over and found Maknojia slumped over behind the wheel of his car.

"Hey, buddy. Hey, are you OK?" the witness recalled saying to the victim before calling 911. "When I looked through the window, he seemed to be unresponsive," noting that it appeared the clerk had been unarmed.

While the teens later claimed the clerk was armed, neither court documents nor the police provided any indication the clerk had a gun at the time.

After a brief manhunt, Young and his compatriot turned themselves in with the help of Quanell X, the former national chairman of the New Black Panther Nation.

Zientek told KPRC, "No one ever anticipates just going to work that day and not coming home."

"You've lost a great citizen who's just trying to work and do their job, and instead we have two people that also have ruined their lives because they will be going to jail," added Zientek.

Evidently, the chief hadn't considered the possibility that a jury would cut Young loose.

KRIV-TV indicated that part of Brooks' strategy for getting his client's case thrown out was having him tell his sob story to the jury.

"I wanted him to be there with the grand jury, be honest and tell them exactly what happened," said Brooks.

"It is just absolutely devastating, and I know my client is very upset about what happened," added Brooks, who said he didn't know where Young acquired the firearm that was used to kill Maknojia.

Precious Ferguson, Young's mother, told KTRK her son was "physically and mentally depressed, he's stressed, and he's going to need some counseling."

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Soros-backed DA Pamela Price will face recall vote

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George Soros-funded Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (D) will face a recall vote this year after campaigns targeting the soft-on-crime DA collected enough signatures to make it onto the ballot.

The groups behind the recall effort submitted 123,000 signatures to election officials in early March. The campaigns only needed approximately 73,000 verified signatures to trigger a special election.

On Monday, the Alameda County registrar of voters announced that enough verified signatures were collected to launch a recall vote.

Following a manual review, the registrar found that 74,757 of the signatures were valid, while nearly 49,000 were invalid, KQED reported.

The county's board of supervisors will need to determine when to hold the recall election. A date must be decided within 14 days of the registrar completing the signature validation process.

It is unclear whether the county will hold a separate special election, which would cost around $20 million, or if the recall vote will be consolidated with the regularly scheduled election in November to save funds.

Leaders of the effort to oust Price have blamed her progressive policies for the increase in criminal activity in Oakland.

Price promised to radically reform the criminal justice system, reduce mass incarceration, end the death penalty, and prohibit minors from being charged as adults.

Since Price has been in office, many Oakland businesses have closed down due to the area's rampant crime.

Carl Chan, one of the recall's leaders, stated in March that the petition to remove Price is "not about politics, but about public safety."

Brenda Grisham, another leader of the recall effort, said, "We shouldn't have to do this, but for the safety of our community, the safety of our children, the safety of our businesses, this is something that had to be done. This is a right for the citizens of Alameda County."

Under Price's leadership, multiple veteran prosecutors have resigned, citing an inability to perform their job duties. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Oakland branch has accused Price of creating a "doom-loop," slamming her "progressive policies and failed leadership."

A spokesperson for Price's Protect the Win campaign previously claimed that the DA would win a recall vote. However, Price's campaign has since become so low on money that it allowed the contract with its campaign manager to expire, KQED reported.

Price, during a July interview with local news, claimed that her role as DA "has really no impact on crime." She has called those who support the recall effort "election deniers."

"We had an election. We won the election by an overwhelming majority. It wasn't a small, close election and so the people who lost, they lost, and when you lose an election, you shouldn't be able to overturn the will of the voters. That's what happened during the insurrection on Jan. 6," Price stated last year.

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Brazilian woman caught on camera puppeteering dead man to sign for a loan: 'Uncle, are you listening?'

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A woman was arrested Tuesday after wheeling a corpse into a South American bank and attempting to take out a loan in the decedent's name.

Brazilian police indicated 68-year-old Paulo Robert Braga had long been dead when Érika de Souza Vieira Nunes, 42, rolled him into a Rio de Janeiro bank in a wheelchair, talked to him as though he were still among the living, then attempted to puppeteer a signature out of him for a $3,234 loan.

According to the Brazilian news outlet G1, bank employees quickly became suspicious of Nunes' behavior. There were, after all, a few dead giveaways that something was amiss.

In footage of the incident captured by bank employees, Nunes can be seen attempting to keep Braga's head upright and engaging in a clearly one-sided conversation.

"Uncle, are you listening? You need to sign. If you don't sign it, there's no way," Nunes can be heard saying in her native tongue. "I can't sign it for you. I'll do what I can do."

"You hold your chair very strong there," Nunes says to the corpse. She proceeds to ask one of the tellers, "Didn't he hold the door there just now?"

Feigning frustration with Braga's lack of cooperation, Nunes says, "Sign so you don't give me any more headaches. I can't take it anymore."

According to a translation provided by USA Today, one teller says in the video, "I don't think this is legal. He doesn't look well. He's very pale."

Nunes, who claimed to be the dead man's niece, says, "He is like this."

The grim borrower then suggests to Braga, whose mouth is wide open and eyes are glassy, "If you are not well, you will go to the hospital."

Bank attendants ultimately called the police who promptly detained Nunes.

Police chief Fábio Souza of the 34th Police Station confirmed to CNN Brazil that Nunes was charged with attempted theft by fraud and abuse of a corpse. If convicted of the latter, then Nunes could face up to three years in prison and a fine.

Nunes reportedly expressed no remorse in her interviews with police and told officials that Braga had expired while in the bank. Police are not buying her story in part because medical examiners found indications the elderly man had been dead for at least two hours prior to his posthumous banking experience.

Authorities are reportedly still waiting to confirm Braga's cause of death, indicating they will open a homicide investigation if they suspect foul play.

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Migrant suspected of double homicide used CBP's app to gain entry into US



A Haitian migrant suspected of murdering two men in New York previously used United States Customs and Border Protection's CBP One app to gain entry into the country, Fox News Digital reported.

Kenol Baptiste, 30, was arrested by Middletown police on April 1 and charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Baptiste allegedly fatally stabbed two male roommates. One of the victims died at the scene. The other victim sustained multiple stab wounds and was transported to Garnet Health Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries during surgery.

Fox News Digital reported that the suspect lived at the same address as the victims, and the three individuals were acquaintances. Both of the victims were also Haitian nationals. Their names have not been released to the public.

Police located Baptiste in a wooded area near the apartment complex shortly after the incident. Authorities have not revealed a possible motive behind the killings.

Middletown Police Chief John Ewanciw told Mid Hudson News, "In follow-up with members of the community, we are learning that this group of individuals moved in there about a year ago."

According to Ewanciw, Baptiste entered the U.S. approximately eight months ago.

"Our suspect, due to fingerprinting responses, we learned that he came to the United States about eight months ago," he told Mid Hudson News. "We are still trying to track back how, where, when."

Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus called the killings "a failure on all levels of the federal government," noting that Baptiste was awaiting a federal deportation hearing, News 12 reported.

"It was one of the most brutal murders that some law enforcement is reporting to us that they’ve seen," Neuhaus added.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News Digital that Baptiste booked an appointment for July 25 at a port of entry using the CBP One app. He was given a notice to appear, processed, and released into the country's interior pending removal proceedings.

Following the killings, ICE issued a detainer request. Once he is released from jail, he will be transferred into federal immigration custody.

Since 2023, the CBP One app, which has been expanded under the Biden administration, has allowed 547,000 individuals to make appointments at ports of entry.

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Punk who slapped HS teacher twice in face gets charged — with misdemeanors

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The North Carolina high school student who was caught on video slapping a teacher twice in the face has been charged with misdemeanors.

What are the details?

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday said it "charged a juvenile with Assault on a Government Official and Communicating Threats." Specifically authorities said Juvenile Justice "issued a Secure Custody Order for one (1) count of Communicating Threats ... and two (2) counts Misdemeanor Assault ..." All the charges are misdemeanors.

The sheriff's office noted that the Parkland High School student — who's not being identified due to his age — was recorded on video Monday "assaulting an educator."

In the clip, the teacher remains seated and offers no resistance as the student delivers the pair of slaps — the second one sends the teacher's glasses flying.

“The f***’s wrong with you?" the student asks the teacher after the physical attack. "What you gonna do, still sit in that chair 'cause you a bitch ... ain’t nobody even coming, you got slapped, bitch go back to teaching ...”

Here's the video (Content warning: Language and racial slur, uttered by the student):

— (@)

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Superintendent Tricia McManus told WGHP-TV a district hearing will determine consequences for the student — and McManus will recommend expulsion.

“It’s just like everything else,” she told the station. “You’ve got people that are going to make bad decisions on a daily basis in schools, out of schools, in the community, everywhere. And we’ve got to take those incidents, and we’ve got to address them.”

When asked if he would try the student as an adult, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill noted to WGHP that he cannot bring the case to superior court because the charges are only misdemeanors.

“We hope … the message we’ve delivered here today is that our teachers, our administrators that are out in these schools … deserve to feel safe," he said, according to the station. "We are here to protect you, and we’re here to see that … you’re never assaulted when you go to work. … We do want to remind people if you put your hands on a teacher, it’s the same as if you put your hands on one of these officers. The district attorney’s office will … bright the weight of this office down on top of you, so you should have fear of consequences.”

Student caught on video attacking teacher at Parkland High School, sheriff says youtu.be

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‘Free Palestine’ Bridge Blockers Get Free Bail—And the Democratic Party’s Fundraising Platform Gets a Cut

Police across the United States arrested dozens of "Free Palestine" protesters Monday as part of a "multi-city economic blockade" targeting major airports, highways, and bridges. Those defendants are set to receive free bail money and legal assistance thanks to an online fundraiser hosted by ActBlue, the Democratic Party's primary fundraising platform that earns a cut off of each contribution.

The post ‘Free Palestine’ Bridge Blockers Get Free Bail—And the Democratic Party’s Fundraising Platform Gets a Cut appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.

Nebraska deputies catch naked married substitute teacher in car with student, chase ensues that ends in vehicle crashing: Police

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A married substitute teacher was allegedly caught unclothed in the back of a vehicle with a high school student. When Nebraska deputies confronted the couple, the car sped off and crashed into a yard, according to police.

Shortly before 3 a.m. on April 13, Douglas County deputies noticed a suspicious vehicle parked on a dead-end road in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deputies said they saw two people in the backseat of a gray Honda Pilot. After they were confronted by police, one of the individuals reportedly moved into the front seat of the vehicle. Authorities said the person quickly drove the vehicle away from the scene until it crashed into a yard about two blocks away.

As officers approached the crash site, deputies said the female passenger was naked and trying to put her clothes on in the back seat.

The driver, a teenage male, allegedly fled the scene on foot.

The other individual in the vehicle was identified as 45-year-old Erin Ward.

It turns out that Ward is a substitute teacher at Burke High School in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deputies claim that Ward admitted to having sexual relations with the teen despite being married.

The 17-year-old boy was later identified as a student of Burke High School, KLKN reported.

Officers located the teen driver around 4 a.m. on the same day, but he was reportedly only wearing underwear and a t-shirt.

The teen and Ward were reportedly taken to a local hospital to treat minor injuries from the car crash.

Authorities said the 2015 vehicle involved in the crash belonged to Ward and her spouse.

Ward was charged with one count of felony sexual abuse by a school employee. In Nebraska, the charge carries a maximum of 20 years in jail.

Omaha Public Schools released a statement on the substitute teacher's arrest.

"We are writing to share that law enforcement has arrested a metro-area substitute teacher for inappropriate conduct with a minor," stated Burke's principal Darren Rasmussen. "The individual worked at Burke High several days during the 2023-24 school year. They will not be returning to our school or any others in our district."

Rasmussen added, "Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of the students we serve. We take this most seriously. Counselors will be available on Tuesday for students in need of support. If you are ever concerned about inappropriate behavior, please call Child Protective Services at 1-800-652-1999 or contact law enforcement."

The incident remains under investigation.

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Douglas County deputies arrest Omaha Public Schools substitute teacher, accused of sexually assau... www.youtube.com

Texas mother arrested for abandoning small children so she could go on Caribbean cruise vacation: Police

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A Texas mother was arrested last week for abandoning her two small children so that she could go on a Caribbean cruise vacation, according to police.

On Thursday, 29-year-old Lakesha Woods Williams was arrested on two charges of child endangerment.

Williams is alleged to have left her 6-year-old and 8-year-old children alone in her high-rise apartment in the Memorial neighborhood of Houston. Police say the mother left her kids alone at home for six days as she took a Caribbean cruise vacation.

Williams abandoned her children so that she could fly to Miami and then vacation on a cruise ship that traveled to Puerto Rico.

Police conducted a welfare check on the children on April 9, and found the abandoned children. The small children informed law enforcement that their mother had left them alone to go on a Caribbean cruise.

ABC Houston affiliate KTRK-TV reported that the apartment unit was in disarray, had trash and leftover food strewn about, and there was a "potent" smell of urine.

Paramedics and Child Protective Services were summoned to the home to check on the health of the children. Firefighters said the children "were in good health and not malnourished."

Investigators believe that no adults checked in on the small children during the six days.

The mother reportedly left a camera on inside the apartment home to monitor her unsupervised children.

Both children were taken out of the home and released to their aunt.

Williams reportedly lied about her identity to police when questioned.

The criminal complaint stated, "Deputies tried contacting the Defendant to make the scene, but she was not cooperating and was switching up her story on her whereabouts."

Harris County Constable Precinct 5 said in a statement on Facebook, "We are still putting together the facts and circumstances of how these children were left alone for several days, but the important thing is they are safe now and those responsible should be held accountable for leaving these kids in an unsafe situation."

Keegan Childers, the chief prosecutor of the 209th District Court, said: "These children were left unattended for many days and put in harm's way. For them to provide for themselves, feed themselves, take care of themselves, as well as, what if somebody breaks in? What if there's a bad neighbor? Any number of horror, nightmare scenarios that could come up."

Williams was booked into the Harris County Detention Facility the day after she returned to her apartment from her cruise vacation.

Her bond is set at $25,000.

Williams is scheduled to be in court on Monday, according to records.

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Houston mother charged with abandoning her children to go on cruise www.youtube.com