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Belleville man sentenced for producing, distributing explicit images of kids

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A Belleville, Illinois, man was sentenced last week in federal court for producing and distributing sexually-explicit images of children.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois said Brandon Lepper, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of distribution of child pornography.“The defendant hid his cell phone and set it up to record in a bathroom he knew a minor would be using to undress in for his own sick pleasure, but then also proceeded to violate and humiliate his victim further by sending their images out into the hands of other pedophiles,” U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW According to court...

Broncos WR Tim Patrick carted off practice field Monday with apparent left leg injury

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

ENGLEWOOD , CO – JUNE 14: Tim Patrick (81) speaks with Jerry Jeudy (10) of the Denver Broncos during minicamp at the team’s training facility in Englewood, Colorado on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)Broncos wide receiver Tim Patrick suffered an apparent left leg injury Monday during a 7-on-7 drill in the middle of Denver’s first day of fully padded work.Patrick reached for a pass and went down without having sustained any contact from a defender. He yelled in pain and threw his gloves to the ground in frustration as teammates gathered around and the Broncos’ training staff attended to his lower left leg.Quarterback Russell Wilson and fellow wide receiver Courtland Sutton helped Patrick get to his feet and provided support until a cart arrived and transported Patrick off the field.The 6-foot-4 receiver missed the entire 2022 season with a torn right ACL suffered Aug. 2 last year.The nature and severity of Patrick’s injury w...

Lowline fire expanding north of Gunnison as firefighters retreat and set backfires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

The lightning-sparked Lowline fire burning in western Colorado north of Gunnison has expanded to 1,331 acres as firefighters retreat and set deliberate backfires in an effort to reduce thick fallen trees in the forests.And federal land managers on Monday said they anticipate eventual ecological benefits.The fire is burning on public land managed by the U.S. Forest Service 14 miles north of Gunnison, and on recent hot days, embers spread, igniting spot fires in forest areas that firefighters could not safely reach. The back-burning tactic is intended to deny approaching flames fuel so that the fire eventually can be contained. It grew by more than 300 acres over the weekend, according to the latest aerial infrared mapping.“In places where we can’t safely insert firefighters, we are backing off – areas where heavy trees have come down,” said Rick Barton, spokesman for the interagency team of 419 firefighters tasked with suppressing the fire.“You will see increased acreage in the...

Rosie Lee Mayes, David Isaac Robbins Killed in Head-On Crash on Highway 33 [Dos Palos, CA]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

Two-Vehicle Crash near Christian Avenue Kills Two Dos Palos ResidentsDOS PALOS, CA (July 26, 2023) – Thursday night, a two-vehicle crash on Highway 33 claimed the lives of Rosie Lee Mayes and David Isaac Robbins.Officers responded to the deadly collision around 9:45 p.m. along southbound Highway 33, just south of Christian Avenue.Based on the initial investigation, a northbound 2020 Honda went over the southbound lanes of Highway 33 to pass another vehicle. Police believed that the Honda driver was driving with disabled headlights.As a result, the Honda collided head-on with a southbound 2015 Nissan traveling at an unknown rate of speed.Tragically, both drivers sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. The Merced County Sheriff’s coroner’s office identified the deceased driver as 75-year-old Rosie Lee Mayes and 18-year-old David Isaac Robbins. Both victims were determined to be Dos Palos residents.The California Highway Patrol ruled out drugs or alcohol to be a fac...

1 Killed in Fiery Car Accident on Highway 74 [Rancho Mission Viejo, CA]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

One Pronounced Dead after Multi-Vehicle Collision near LucasRANCHO MISSION VIEJO, CA (July 31, 2023) – Early Saturday morning, one victim was pronounced dead after a fiery car accident on Highway 74.Authorities responded to the scene shortly before 2:15 a.m., a westbound highway, just west of Lucas on July 1st.For reasons under investigation, two vehicles were involved in the collision. Reports indicate that one of the vehicles lost control and struck an electric post before becoming engulfed in flames.Responding medics pronounced one victim dead at the scene. Although, police have not yet released their identity.Meanwhile, paramedics took a second victim to a nearby trauma center for further treatment.At this time, an active investigation to determine further details is still currently underway. Once available, more information will be provided about the fatal car accident on Ortega Highway 74.The team at Sweet James sends out their heartfelt sympathies to the friends and fam...

Former Alameda County prosecutor appears in court on misdemeanor charge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

A former Alameda County prosecutor — and one of the loudest critics of his former boss, District Attorney Pamela Price — appeared in court on Monday amid allegations he interfered with the prosecution of a San Leandro police officer.Amilcar “Butch” Ford was arraigned before Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer on a misdemeanor charge of defending after public prosecution as the prosecutor. Ford — who now works for the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office — could be disbarred if convicted.Appearing in a black suit, Ford spoke little during the hearing while flanked by three attorneys. Several of his supporters sat in the gallery — among them multiple former Alameda County prosecutors who resigned after Price took office, including Stacie Pettigrew and Charly Weissenbach. Also on hand to support Ford was Matt Finnegan, an attorney with the local union representing Alameda County prosecutors.Prosecutor Leah Abraham did not...

Sale closed in Palo Alto: $3.5 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

835 Ross Court – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 800 block of Ross Court in Palo Alto was sold on July 7, 2023. The $3,500,000 purchase price works out to $1,942 per square foot. The house, built in 1956, has an interior space of 1,802 square feet. This single-story home offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. Additionally, the house features a two-car garage. The property encompasses a generous 6,552 square feet of land, featuring abundant outdoor space and a pool.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:A 1,817-square-foot home on the 800 block of Ames Avenue in Palo Alto sold in April 2023, for $3,000,000, a price per square foot of $1,651. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Holly Oak Drive, Palo Alto, in September 2022, a 2,384-square-foot home was sold for $4,200,000, a price per square foot of $1,762. The home has 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In February 2023, a 1,...

Idaho mom faces sentencing in her childrens’ deaths

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

By Rebecca Boone | Associated PressBOISE, Idaho — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.At the Fremont Cou...

Elon Musk threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

BY DAVID KLEPPER | Associated PressWASHINGTON  — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly pu...

Oakland murder suspect and victim were friends, tied by illicit business and drug cartel connection, police say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:49 GMT

OAKLAND — Last May, when 53-year-old Elk Grove resident William Lusk was arrested in Florida for allegedly possessing a pound of cocaine and distribution quantities of fentanyl, he allegedly told police that his close friend who had a drug cartel connection had been gunned down in Oakland months earlier.Police in Jacksonville, Fla. didn’t know it at the time, but back on the west coast, authorities were still investigating the homicide of 57-year-old Delondo Bellamy, and Lusk was the prime suspect. They believed that Lusk had used a cellphone app to hide his number and disguise himself as a woman, then lure Bellamy to a location where he could safely gun him down.Now, after a police investigation that spanned four months, prosecutors have charged Lusk with killing Bellamy in the March 29 Oakland shooting. He was booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on July 27 and remains there on a no-bail hold, court records show.The police investigation was based largely on phone reco...