List of All Articles with Tag 'crime'

Anderson Lee Aldrich, 23, opened fire with an assault rifle at Club Q in Colorado Springs.

Law enforcement agencies are investigating a series of hoax bomb threats that targeted major US retailers and grocery stores in an apparent extortion scheme for thousands of dollars in gift cards, bitcoin and cash, according to a report. Kroger, Meijer, Walmart and Whole Foods are among the companies that have been targeted in several states, according toThe Wall Street Journal. Callers have threatened to detonate bombs if gift cards, bitcoin or other payments are not provided, the newspaper reported. The FBI is working with state and local law enforcement to identify the threats, which have so far been unfounded, WSJ reported. It is unclear whether the calls are part of an organised effort. Callers have used block numbers to conceal their identities, according to police. One call to a Whole Foods in suburban Chicago reportedly demanded $5,000 in bitcoin and threatened to detonate a pipe bomb. Another call to a Kroger in New Mexico reportedly demanded an employee wire money and threatened that a bomb would go off if they called the police. Calls to a Meijer grocery store in Wisconsin demanded $5,000 in Apple gift cards. The threats echo similar menacing calls that have been a mainstay of local news outlets across the US in the past several years. After such threats, law enforcement agencies are typically called to the scene to evacuate the stores, causing major headaches for retailers and surrounding traffic. The latest efforts are “another evolving scam” for US retailers, according to Lisa Bruno, a senior executive vice president of retail operations at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, speaking to The Wall Street Journal. The threats also appear to be separate from those made towards retailers like Target, where stores in at least five states have faced threats over the company’s support for LGBT+ shoppers during Pride Month. Read More Pride collection backlash has derailed retailers, but LGBT designers are more empowered than ever Starbucks workers at 150 stores to strike over alleged ban on Pride decor

A man has been indicted on five drugging murders in New York City, including that of a fashion designer who worked with Lady Gaga. Kenwood Allen, 33, is facing allegations that he was part of a widespread campaign of drugging and robberies in the city. He was indicted for the murder of designer Kathryn Gallagher, the office of the Manhattan District Attorney said on Wednesday. Gallagher, 35, was found lifeless in her bed by her neighbour in July last year. There were no clear signs of trauma, according to The Daily Beast. The front door of her apartment was open with the keys still in the lock when she was discovered. The cause of death was unclear until the medical examiner determined that she had died from “acute intoxication” because of a cocktail of drugs. The indictment shared on Wednesday states that Mr Allen is suspected of three murders in addition to the two killings he was indicted for last year. Mr Allen is alleged to have worked both alone and with a group of others when he conducted a number of robberies between March and December last year. He allegedly drugged his victims with fentanyl and other opioids to steal their credit cards, watches, phones, and other items. He pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. He would then proceed to empty their accounts at ATMs and make a number of charges on the victims’ credit cards, according to authorities. The “drugging, robbery and larceny spree” affected a total of 21 victims, five of which died, according to the Manhattan DA. The three additional murders Mr Allen was indicted for on Wednesday allegedly took place on 22 July, 23 July, and 6 August last year. The New York Supreme Court indictment includes 10 counts of murder in the second degree, 13 counts of robbery in the first degree, two counts of robbery in the second degree, 11 counts of assault in the second degree, two counts of attempted robbery in the first degree, three counts of grand larceny in the fourth degree, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree, and one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree. The 10 murder counts, two for each of the five people who died, include one count of acting with depraved indifference to human life, and one count of acting in furtherance of another crime. “These alleged pernicious drugging and robbery schemes have left far too many families mourning the loss of their loved ones,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “The careful and meticulous work of our prosecutors and the NYPD has led us to charge this individual with a spree of criminal conduct that now includes five murders – four of which took place over a mere 15 days last summer. We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to aggressively uncover and investigate these incidents.” The Manhattan DA said in a press release that “in most of the incidents, Allen drugged his victims with fentanyl and other opioids in order to steal their credit cards, watches, phones, and other personal identifying information. Many of the victims were later found unconscious on the street. He would then withdraw cash from ATMs and use the stolen credit cards to make purchases and transfer money”. Vogue wrote that Ms Gallagher was “a hands-on artisan” who was “fiercely independent and sure of her vision”. Her pieces have been worn by Chrissy Teigen, Kourtney Kardashian, Rita Ora, Laverne Cox, and members of the New York Ballet. “Katie established her own fashion line, Katie Gallagher, in New York City in 2010. Under this label, she completed 26 collections that premiered during New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week,” her obituary said. “She was unique, beautiful, smart, unabashed, and always wanting. She was hardworking and talented, with so many ideas and plans for future projects,” it added. “We are so proud of who she was and all she achieved in her brief but full and beautiful life.” Police have said that in one of the robberies, the perpetrators smeared a white powder that included fentanyl under the nose of a victim, and in another case, they offered marijuana also laced with the drug. They took aim at people active in the nightlife in Lower Manhattan who looked like they were wealthy and waited for them to leave the club before pushing them against a wall to take what they had. The chief of detectives at the New York Police Department, James Essig, said on Thursday that “they bum-rushed them,” according to The New York Times. Mr Allen was charged in December with the deaths of Nurbo Shera and Ardijan Berisha. On Wednesday, he was charged with the deaths of Ms Gallagher, 25-year-old student Alexander Rudnitsky, and Sadath Ahmed, 33. Sean Shirley, 36, is charged in the drugging deaths of Mr Rudnitsky and Mr Ahmed. Facing charges of second-degree murder, robbery, and grand larceny, he was arraigned on Thursday. He also pled not guilty. Assistant district attorney Brian Rodkey said in court that Mr Allen and Mr Shirley “robbed them, and left them on the street, not caring whether they lived or died,” according to The New York Times. The Gallagher family said in a statement that they hope the case will make people aware of how fentanyl and other drugs have been used “as weapons against innocent people”. “The number of victims confirmed at this point is shocking. We are gutted by the magnitude of this collective and senseless loss,” the family said, according to The New York Times. In a separate case, five men were accused in April of the druggings and killings of people going to gay bars in Manhattan. Read More Police identify suspects in fatal drugging of men at New York City gay bars Julia Fox’s brother arrested in NYC apartment raid as police find ghost guns, drugs and ‘explosive materials’ NYC robbery crews drug unsuspecting men, some fatally

A Texas man has been arrested for allegedly mutilating a living dog and her puppies. Justin Belton, 44, has been charged with four counts of cruelty to non-livestock animals and is currently being held at the Harris County Jail. According to court filings, authorities were first alerted to the alleged crimes after Mr Belton arrived at a local animal shelter on Saturday with six puppies that had been abused. Four of the puppies had their limbs cut off with what appeared to be a tool. One of the puppies’ injuries were so severe that it had to be put down, while its litter mates “were left crying in pain,” the filings obtained by ABC state. Mr Belton was arrested at the animal hospital and when investigators searched his home, they found the puppies’ mother already dead. Other dogs found at the residence were also in unsanitary and confined conditions. The alleged animal killer first told authorities that it was a neighbour who hurt the puppies and then changed his account, saying he put the dogs in a cage and they hurt themselves. Investigators noted in court documents that the injuries did not appear to be inflicted by other animals. Neighbours told law enforcement that they heard barking noises in the early morning hours of Saturday, and later heard Mr Belton “yelling and swearing.” “Very horrific, super disturbing, not just for our staff, but also for the police officers that arrived,” Dr Gabriela Vega, a veterinarian who was working at Sunset 24/7 Animal Hospital when the puppies were brought in, told ABC13. Four puppies are expected to survive, she told the network. “Some of them may only have three legs, but that’s never stopped a dog before, so I expect them to have a pretty good life moving forward,” Dr Vega said. Mr Belton has a previous criminal history. A harassment case against him was dismissed in 2016, and separate stalking charges were adjudicated four years before. The suspect is being held on $100,000 bond. According to ABC, his arraignment hearing was postponed earlier this week because the court could not find a public defender willing to take his case. Read More Known to child welfare, a violent father and a child missing for two years: What happened to Harmony Montgomery? Schoolboy, 10, stuns council meeting with stirring speech on racism he has suffered A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

By Andrew Osborn and Olzhas Auyezov (Reuters) -Ukrainian missiles struck the Chonhar road bridge connecting Crimea with Russian-held parts of

The bridge linking the peninsula to Kherson in the south was hit by British missiles, say officials.

Three women were attacked in a string of Manhattan subway slashings in New York on Sunday, 18 June. Police on 19 June said they believed the same man was responsible for all three attacks, and released Metropolitan Travel Authority (MTA) surveillance footage of the alleged perpetrator. According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), the man attacked two women at the 86th Street and Lexington Avenue station, before slashing the leg of a third woman while riding a southbound 4 train. The first attack took place shortly after 4pm on Sunday, when a man wearing a Boston Red Sox cap approached 19-year-old Bianchelli Diplan and slashed her right leg with a sharp object. “I started up the steps and then I felt something [on] the back of my leg. So I like, hold on to it. And I saw there was blood.” Ms Diplan, who was on her way to buy a Father’s Day cake, told ABC7. “So I turned around I saw him and, like, he just stared at me and I was crying. And he just walked away.” She reportedly needed 19 stitches and is recovering at home. The NYPD believes he also attacked a 48-year-old woman at the same station before riding the 4 train to Brooklyn Bridge Station where he slashed a 26-year-old woman’s left leg at around 4.32pm. The cut was so deep that a tourniquet had to be applied on her leg before she was rushed to Bellevue Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the New York Post. Surveillance footage shows the suspect jumping the turnstile at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station after slashing his third victim. During a briefing on 19 June, NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said he was confident the perpetrator’s “identity will be obtained shortly”. “I’m also confident that he’ll be apprehended shortly,” Mr Kemper said. Ms Diplan urged commuters to “be aware of your surroundings” while travelling on the subway “because this could happen to anybody”. Anyone with information about the attacker, who is 5ft 8in and weighs 220 pounds, can send the NYPD a direct message on Twitter or call 800-577-TIPS. The attacks come one day after the death of a man who was found with fatal stab wounds on a 4 train at Union Square Station. Police have charged Claude White, a 33-year-old homeless man, with the murder of Tavon Silver. Charges against Mr White also include criminal possession of a weapon. While Mr White didn’t know the victim, police believe they became embroiled in a dispute which ultimately led to Mr Silver’s death. Read More Russia tried to kill ‘CIA informant’ in Florida, report says Missing Titanic submarine with five onboard may have 50 hours left as US accused of hampering rescue – live Inside Titan: Titanic-spotting submarine steered by video game controller Where is the Titanic wreckage? British Navy expert warns ‘timescale’ of missing Titanic sub is ‘very concerning’

Authorities in Idaho have revealed an alleged quadruple murderer opened fire on his victims after one of them exposed himself to the suspect’s daughters. Majorjon Kaylor, 31, has been charged with the killings of Kenneth Guardipee, 65, his daughter Kenna 41, and her sons 18-year-old Devin Smith and 16-year-old Aiken Smith on Sunday. The victims lived below the suspect and his family in a duplex at 515 W Brown Ave in Kellogg. The carnage last week shocked the community of Kellogg, with court documents shedding some light on the circumstances surrounding the shooting. According to an affidavit unsealed on Tuesday, Mr Kaylor reportedly told law enforcement that he “snapped” and “lost it” during an argument with his neighbours. Mr Kaylor and his wife, Kaylie Kaylor, told police that they were upset because several days earlier, Devin had allegedly masturbated in front of his bedroom window in full view of the Kaylors’ young daughters. The families shared a duplex, and the girls were playing outside in the yard when the exposure allegedly occurred. The incident was reported to the police, and the report was forwarded to the county prosecutor so a criminal charge of indecent exposure could be filed. But on Sunday evening, the Kaylors had an argument with the Guardipees over how the allegations were being handled. Police arrived at the house after reports of a shooting at around 7.20pm on Sunday. Mr Guardipee, his daughter and youngest grandson were found shot in the temple at close range, while Devin was shot multiple times in the head. Kaylor is being held without bond and has not yet entered a plea. A preliminary hearing has been set for 3 July. This is a developing story ... check again for updates.

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK The founder of OneTaste, a sexual wellness company that claims to teach "orgasmic

It’s been 10 months since the name Harmony Montgomery first hit headlines across the US when a missing persons investigation was launched to find the seven-year-old girl. Since then, her father and stepmother have both been arrested and charged. A home where she used to live in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been searched for days on end. And a reward for information leading to her discovery has topped $150,000. But, despite the national attention and the painstaking efforts to find the missing child, who is blind in one eye, investigators made little headway. In a press conference in mid-January, Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg admitted he was a “little discouraged”. Though concerning, the lack of progress was perhaps unsurprising as whoever had information about what happened to the little girl had a more than two-year head start on investigators. Manchester Police said Harmony has not been seen since around October or November 2019 when she was five years old. Yet, a missing persons investigation was only launched in December 2021. However, on Monday a definitive move was finally made on the case, possibly bringing the years-long investigation closer to a close; Harmony’s father, Adam Montgomery, was charged with murdering his daughter. When was Harmony Montgomery last seen? The last confirmed sighting of Harmony by law enforcement was on 11 September 2019 when Manchester police officers were called to the home on 77 Gilford Street in Manchester where she lived. Harmony was living with her father Adam Montgomery, who had been given custody of his daughter in February 2019, as well as his wife Kayla Montgomery and their children at the property at the time. The little girl had been in and out of foster care for much of her life. Then, in 2018, her mother Crystal Sorey lost custody of her due in part to substance abuse. Ms Sorey lived in Massachusetts so the child was moved to New Hampshire where Mr Montgomery lived. Chief Aldenberg previously said the last police callout to the property was in October 2019 but confirmed he had muddled the dates in a press briefing on 12 January. Despite the date change, the police chief said investigators are still working to the belief that Harmony was last seen in October or November of that year. This timeline appears to be based on police interviews and statements from various family members. Ms Sorey told police she had not been able to contact her since they spoke on a video call in April 2019. After that, she said Mr Montgomery cut off all contact between her and her daughter. Mr Montgomery claimed to investigators he last saw his daughter around Thanksgiving 2019, claiming that Ms Sorey had picked her up from Manchester to take her to live with her. The criminal complaint says that Mr Montgomery claimed to believe his daughter was living with his ex and did “not show much emotion or reaction” when officers said they were concerned whether Harmony was alive when they contacted him in December. His story was also contradicted by Ms Montgomery’s account, who said she last saw Harmony the day after Thanksgiving when her husband said he was driving her to see Ms Sorey. Mr Montgomery’s uncle Kevin Montgomery told investigators he has not seen Harmony or his nephew since late 2019 when she was five years old. Who has been charged? On Monday, Harmony’s father, Adam, was charged with murdering his daughter. Attorney General John Formella made the announcement Monday at the Manchester Police Department. “Earlier this morning, Adam Montgomery was arrested for the murder of Harmony Montgomery in 2019 and other related charges,” Mr Formella said. According to Mr Formella, Mr Montgomery is facing four new charges in addition to others brought against him in early 2022. Those charges are one count of second-degree murder for recklessly causing the death of Harmony; falsifying physical evidence for altering, destroying, concealing or removing the girl’s body; abuse of a corpse for unlawfully removing, concealing or destroying Harmony’s body; and tampering with witnesses or informants, which he allegedly did by attempting to coerce his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, to lie to investigators. “I do want to again express my deepest sympathies to Harmony’s family, friends and loved ones,” Mr Formella said at the news conference in Manchester. “We understand that today’s news, while significant for purposes of this investigation, is yet another difficult moment for those who loved Harmony and those who have followed this case.” The charges accuse Mr Montgomery of repeatedly striking Harmony with his fist sometime around 7 December, 2021. His arraignment is scheduled for 25 October, according to the Department of Justice. In early January, Harmony’s father and his wife were both arrested and charged on counts related to the missing child. Mr Montgomery was arrested on 4 January and charged with second-degree felony assault, two misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and one misdemeanor count of interference with custody. On the assault charge, he is accused of “striking [Harmony] in the face” sometime in July 2019, giving her a black eye, according to the criminal complaint. Police interviews with other family members revealed Mr Montgomery was allegedly abusive toward his daughter, including giving her a black eye, forcing her to clean the toilet with her own toothbrush and making her stand in a corner for hours as a punishment. Mr Montgomery’s brother Michael Montgomery told investigators he “had concerns that Adam was physically abusive” to the child and was “super short” with her. Kevin Montgomery said he noticed Harmony had a black eye in July 2019, which his nephew confessed to causing by hitting her in the face, according to the criminal complaint. “I bashed her around this house,” he said his nephew told him. Kevin said he contacted DCYF that time and had also noticed Mr Montgomery subject Harmony to other forms of “abusive discipline” including scrubbing a toilet with her toothbrush and her being “spanked hard on the butt”. Officials said Mr Montgomery was not cooperating with the investigation into his daughter’s disappearance and has refused to say where she is. The day after her husband’s arrest, Ms Montgomery was arrested on one felony charge of welfare fraud for allegedly fraudulently collecting welfare benefits for the missing child between December 2019 and June 2021. Ms Montgomery, who has three children with her husband, is accused of fraudulently obtaining $1,500 in food stamp benefits meant for Harmony between December 2019 and June 2021 even though the girl was not living with them. Prosecutors have now dropped that welfare fraud charge and added three new charges - one count of theft by deception and two misdemeanor charges of welfare fraud. The charges accuse Ms Montgomery of making intentional false statements about her stepdaughter’s whereabouts in February and March 2021 in order to claim benefits. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Mr Montgomery has a history of violence and a long criminal record including convictions for shooting a man in the head in a drug deal just six months before Harmony was born. He was also convicted in 2010 for attacking two women at gunpoint. It has also emerged that Mr Montgomery is a suspect in the cold case murder of a 28-year-old man in Lynn, New Hampshire, back in February 2008. Darlin Guzman was found shot in the chest in the parking lot of the former White Hen Convenience store in Lynn’s Austin Square on the night of 10 February 2008. He was pronounced dead in hospital. A law enforcement source told Boston 25 Newsthat Mr Montgomery, who was 18 at the time, and two members of his family, who were not named, have been the focus of the murder investigation since day one. The three family members had been in contact with the victim earlier that day and planned to meet with him at the convenience store, before the meeting culminated in gunfire, according to the source. The victim’s car was later found abandoned in the direction of Bedford, New Hampshire, where Mr Montgomery lived at the time. No one has ever been charged with the Mr Guzman’s murder but the source said Mr Montgomery remains the focus of the investigation to this day. Almost 14 years on from that killing, Mr Montgomery and his wife are now charged on counts related to his missing daughter, including, in her father’s case, her murder. Why was she not reported missing for two years? Questions arose over how a little girl could not be seen for more than two years without any action being taken by authorities. Multiple family members have said they raised concerns for Harmony’s safety with New Hampshire’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) over the last two years. Ms Sorey accused the authorities of “failing” her daughter. She said she made multiple attempts to report concerns to child services. On November 18 she contacted Manchester Police saying she believed her daughter was missing. Police officers contacted the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) about the location of the missing child. Then, on 27 December, the DCYF reported that it was also unable to locate Harmony. Manchester Police announced a search was launched on 31 December. Ms Sorey was so conviced that her daughter was in trouble that she sent emails to the Manchester mayor’s office, begging for help in finding the girl. “Please, I’m begging for help in finding my daughter,” she wrote on 29 December. Ms Sorey said Mr Montgomery had never enrolled their daughter in school and that she has missed “important doctor’s appointments she’s had since a baby due to a disability in her eye”. The emails were sent just two days before police finally reported Harmony missing. As well as the repeated attempts to raise the alarm, the family was well-known to child services. Records released on 12 January showed that police officers were called to the Gilford Street home at least 10 times between February 2019 - when Mr Montgomery got custody of Harmony - and when she was last seen in the fall. Reports ranged from claims of domestic disturbances to animal welfare and concerns about the living conditions in the home. The DCYF was notified about some of the incidents. A neighbour told The Independent that it was a “bad situation” at the property, describing lots of people living there at different times, adults seen arguing in the street, junk left piled up in the yard, and the electricity being switched off at one point. “We didn’t intermingle with them as it was a bad situation,” she said. “There was lots of different people living there, piles of junk in the driveway, junk outside. “The electricity was turned off and they ran the generator all summer with the wiring running through the window.” The neighbour said the Montgomerys were “basically squatting” at the home when it had fallen into foreclosure and Mr and Ms Montgomery were refusing to leave. She said she went away for the Thanksgiving holidays in 2019 and returned to find the family had finally packed up and moved out. This coincides with when Mr and Ms Montgomery claimed they last saw the little girl. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu announced on 12 January that the DCYF is carrying out an internal review of its handling of Harmony’s case. However, the governor defended the state’s work saying: “As soon as we found out that this child may not have been showing up for school for quite some time, it was reported up to us. “The team got right on it. It wasn’t a delay. It didn’t sit in a file on somebody’s desk.” An independent investigation was also launched by the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate after Harmony was moved from Massachusetts into the custody of Mr Montgomery in New Hampshire in February 2019. Officials in New Hampshire and Massachusetts passed the blame between each other. The New Hampshire governor sent a letter to Massachusetts court officials slamming a judge for placing Harmony in the care of her “monster” father, given his violent past and long rap sheet. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker responded to the criticism saying he “felt his pain” but said he wants to wait to see the results of the independent review by the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate. The report, released in May, found placed the blame on state agencies failing to consider Harmony’s needs above her parent’s rights to her custody. “The central and most important finding in this investigation and report is that Harmony’s individual needs, wellbeing, and safety were not prioritized or considered on an equal footing with the assertion of her parents’ rights to care for her in any aspect of the decision making by any state entity,” Maria Mossaides, Director, Office of the Child Advocate, said in the report. “When children are not at the center of every aspect of the child protection system, then the system cannot truly protect them. This report describes the ripple effect of miscalculations of risk and an unequal weight placed on parents’ rights versus a child’s wellbeing.” Mr Baker responded to the report a day later by saying “everybody failed in this case,” and pushed a bill that included $50 million to recruit, train and pay guardian ad litems within the Massachusetts court system. “There are a lot of lawyers who are in the room on this case, and none of them at the end of the day had just Harmony Montgomery’s interest as a primary concern,” Mr Baker said. Where is Harmony? Investigators have revealed little detail about what they think may have happened to Harmony. The girl’s remains have still not been found. The Gilford Street property was the focus of much of the search with investigators seen in the home and the backyard for multiple days. However, Manchester Police said the search concluded there. It is not clear if anything of interest was uncovered and no other locations for searches have been identified. Around 300 tips have been received from the public so far and the reward for information about Harmony’s disappearance has topped $150,000. Anyone with information is asked to call or text 603-203-606 Read More Harmony Montgomery last seen one month before first thought as police chief says ‘somebody knows something’ Stepmother faces new charges in case of missing girl Harmony Montgomery Harmony Montgomery’s mother says daughter was ‘failed by everybody’ as police search home Harmony Montgomery neighbour says family moved on Thanksgiving 2019 – the same time dad says he last saw missing child

A man has appeared in court for the first time on four murder charges as he’s accused of shooting and killing a family with whom he shared a duplex in Kellogg, Idaho. Majorjon Kaylor, 31, appeared in Shoshone County Magistrate court in an orange jumpsuit on Tuesday morning, according to The Spokesman-Review. Mr Kaylor is facing allegations that he killed Kenneth and Kenna Guardipee, in addition to Devin Smith and a teenage boy who in the courtroom was referred to as AS. The family lived below the suspect and his family in a duplex at 515 W Brown Ave in Kellogg. Police arrived at the house after reports of a shooting at around 7.20pm on Sunday. Police found the family killed by gunfire in the home. More follows...

Two men are arrested in early morning raids by police investigating an Albanian organised crime gang.