Category: Crime
Elderly Catholic priest charged with 2 felonies over fight with senior woman about ‘politically inclined’ poster
A fight broke out between a Catholic priest and a woman who was trying to take a photograph with a political poster at a donation drive at a Miami-Dade church, according to police.
Father Jesus Saldaña, 72, was arrested and charged with two felonies for the Nov. 5 incident at the St. Kevin Catholic Parish involving a woman described as a senior. The church was collecting donations to help hurricane victims in Cuba.
The woman took photos of the father, and he lunged at her, which led to witnesses separating the two.
The woman was dropping off a donation when Saldaña confronted her and said she could not take a photograph there with a political poster related to anti-Cuba political ads, according to police. She then asked for her donation to be returned.
A verbal altercation ensued that allegedly turned physical.
The woman took photos of the father, and he lunged at her, which led to witnesses separating the two. Then Saldaña followed her to her car, where he damaged her vehicle and got bitten on the wrist by the victim in return.
Saldaña allegedly damaged the car’s gear selector, broke off the rearview mirror, and then grabbed the woman’s purse and dumped out its contents in order to look for her phone, according to police.
He was charged with burglary of an occupied conveyance, battery on a person 65 years or older, and criminal mischief involving property damage of $200 or less.
The woman was admitted to a hospital over cardiac issues after the incident but had no visible injuries, according to police.
Saldaña was released after paying a bond.
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What They Get Wrong About ‘What We Get Wrong’
Have you ever interrupted some axe-grinder mid-rant by asking “Who is the ‘they’”? The latest in editorial pandemics brings up…
Ex-teacher accused of paying students for sex, loading them up with booze and drugs finds out her fate
A Missouri woman who was accused of paying students for sex and giving them alcohol and drugs while she was a substitute teacher just learned where she’ll be spending the next decade.
Carissa Smith, 31, was arrested last November and indicted on a host of charges including two counts of sexual trafficking of a child under the age of 18, nine counts of statutory rape, two counts of statutory sodomy, three counts of sexual contact with a student, and one count of patronizing prostitution from a victim 14 years and younger.
‘Very disturbing and distressing information.’
Investigators indicated the incidents occurred from August 2023 to September 2024.
According to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, victims alleged that Smith — who began regularly working as a substitute teacher at Dixon Middle School in August 2022 then worked at Dixon High School from 2023 until her resignation in August 2024 — “would offer money, marijuana and/or alcohol to students in return for sex or to allow her to perform oral sex.”
The probable cause statement indicated that Smith paid one victim at least $100 to engage in sexual activities with her. Authorities noted further that Smith urged one minor victim not to discuss their encounters with anyone else.
Court documents reviewed by USA Today indicated that Smith also involved her husband, informing him that one victim had a compromising video and was blackmailing her. The husband allegedly threatened more than one minor with a baseball bat.
The affidavit reviewed by People magazine indicated that after hearing a rumor about a video circulating in the community that allegedly showed the substitute teacher performing a sexual act with one of her students, Smith’s brother-in-law caught her in bed with an underage student.
RELATED: Former teacher sentenced to 132 years in prison for horrific abuse of her two stepsons
Photo by Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff
Victims claimed that Smith would have sex with them at her house as well as other locations, including on roadsides.
The day after Smith’s Nov. 12, 2024, arrest, Dixon R-I School District Superintendent Travis Bohrer revealed to parents that the district had received a report of possible misconduct by Smith earlier in the year from at least one student and had notified the relevant authorities.
Bohrer noted, “This is very disturbing and distressing information for everyone in our school community.”
While out on bond, Smith was arrested again in September and charged with tampering with a witness after court documents say she was caught at the home of one of her victims, the sheriff’s office confirmed to USA Today.
The former teacher’s $250,000 bond was revoked on Sept. 10.
“The defendant was ordered to have no contact with any victim in this case,” noted prosecuting attorney Jeffrey Thomas. “The defendant has failed to follow a course of good conduct.”
Smith pleaded guilty to lesser charges of two counts of sexual contact with a student and one count of first degree endangering the welfare of a child/sexual conduct on Sept. 17, reported KRCG-TV, and faced as many as 12 years in prison.
Smith instead received a sentence Wednesday of 10 years behind bars, the station said in a separate story.
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Video: Female bully towers over and beats up elderly woman on Florida bus. Victim is left ‘battered and bruised’: Sheriff.
Law enforcement in Florida is looking for a female seen on video inside a bus beating up an elderly passenger last month.
A 70-year-old woman on Oct. 21 took a seat in the disabled section of a transit bus, the Broward County Sheriff’s office said, adding that “her ride would end with her battered and bruised after being attacked by a fellow bus rider.”
‘This is repulsive. This is something that should never happen; it should not happen in any type of civilized society. What this woman did is absolutely unacceptable.’
Detectives said the attacker, who was standing, bumped into the victim several times due to the movement of the bus, officials said.
The victim asked the attacker to give her some space, officials said, after which a verbal argument ensued.
With that, officials said the attacker “intentionally and forcefully pushed her body into the victim several times. The attacker then grabbed a grocery bag and struck her in the face with it.”
At one point during the assault, video appears to show the feisty elderly woman issuing a middle finger to her attacker.
The sheriff’s office said the victim used her cane to defend herself, and the attacker punched the victim multiple times in the head.
Officials said several bystanders on the bus came to the victim’s defense and separated her from the attacker.
The bus driver saw the incident and stopped the bus in the 4100 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard in Lauderdale Lakes, officials said, and that’s where the attacker and a woman with her fled.
The victim suffered bruising on her forehead but declined to be transported to the hospital, officials said.
“Fortunately the victim did not suffer any major injuries. She was treated on scene,” sheriff spokesperson Carey Codd told WFOR-TV.
Codd added, “This is repulsive. This is something that should never happen; it should not happen in any type of civilized society. What this woman did is absolutely unacceptable.”
Broward Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit detectives released video of the attack in hopes of identifying the woman who pestered the elderly woman before punching her repeatedly. You can view the sheriff’s office video here.
Those with information on the identity of the attacker or the woman with her are asked to contact BSO Violent Crimes Unit Detective Andres Lopez at 954-321-4915 or submit a tip through the SafeWatch app, officials said.
Those wishing to remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward can contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477), submit a tip online at browardcrimestoppers.org, or dial **TIPS (8477) from any cell phone in the United States. If your tip leads to an arrest in this case, you are eligible for a reward of up to $5,000, officials said.
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Two Texans allegedly plotted to kill men on island with homeless mercenary force and take women and children as sex slaves
Federal prosecutors revealed a shocking indictment of two men from Texas who are accused of planning to assault the inhabitants of an island near Haiti and enslave the women and children.
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle allegedly plotted a coup d’état on Gonâve Island, which is a part of the Republic of Haiti.
Prosecutors said the two intended the plot to indulge their ‘rape fantasies.’
The plan involved recruiting and training homeless people from the Washington, D.C., area to build a mercenary force to attack the island inhabitants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Texas.
“Weisenburg and Thomas intended to murder all of the men on the island so that they could then turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves,” the press release reads.
The pair partially completed many parts of their plan, including learning the Haitian Creole language, recruiting others into the scheme, and making operational and logistical plans. They intended to purchase firearms, ammunition, and a sailboat.
Prosecutors said the two intended the plot to indulge their “rape fantasies.”
Weisenburg enrolled at the North Texas Fire Academy in Rockwall in order to gain skills for the endeavor, while Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Air Force for the same reason.
The two are also charged with coercing a minor to commit sex acts on camera in August.
The pair allegedly plotted the island invasion from Aug. 2024 until July 2025.
There are about 87,000 inhabitants living on Gonâve Island, which measures about 266 square miles.
Weisenburg and Thomas face life in prison if convicted of federal conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country, and they face between 15 and 30 years in prison for charges of production of child pornography.
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Virginia high-school principal allegedly suggests anti-ICE ‘hunting’ plot; brother brags about ‘assault rifle,’ cop claims
A pair of Virginia brothers are facing charges related to an alleged plot to attack U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as retaliation for their enforcement of the law.
Mark Bennett, 59, and his younger brother John Bennett, a 54-year-old assistant principal at Virginia Beach’s Kempsville High School, were arrested on Wednesday at Norfolk International Airport and each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit malicious wounding.
‘Our ICE law enforcement is now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them.’
While having lunch at a pho restaurant in Virginia Beach on Nov. 15, an off-duty Norfolk police officer allegedly overheard the brothers discussing “how ICE agents are kidnapping individuals and that they needed to do something about it,” said the criminal complaint obtained by WTKR-TV.
Mark Bennett allegedly indicated during the conversation that he was planning to link up with like-minded people in Las Vegas and return with “enforcement ideas and plans.” He also allegedly indicated that he recently purchased a so-called assault rifle because “it utilizes the explosive rounds that are needed to penetrate the vests.”
The complaint claims that John Bennett said that he wanted to “go hunting” and signaled interest in flying to Vegas with his older brother.
While detectives confirmed that Mark Bennett was scheduled to make the flight on the day of his arrest, it’s unclear whether his brother similarly had a ticket to fly.
RELATED: Ramming attacks on ICE spike, endangering agents as Democrats continue to spew hateful rhetoric
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
“These allegations of violence against law enforcement, the very ones who protect and serve our communities, are incredibly alarming,” Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said in a statement. “We are grateful this information was brought to our attention. VBPD was able to work with various law enforcement agencies to assess the credibility of the information, leading to today’s arrests, ensuring the safety of both our law enforcement community and the public at large.”
Neither ICE nor Kempsville High School responded to Blaze News’ requests for comment by deadline.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools told WTKR that Bennett has been with the district since 2009 and is currently on leave.
During the brothers’ bond hearing on Thursday, the Bennetts’ attorneys claimed that the conversation overheard at the restaurant amounted to hearsay, that they were just joking around, and that neither brother posed a threat to the community, reported WVEC-TV.
The attorneys suggested further that the purpose of Mark Bennett’s trip to Las Vegas was to attend a Formula 1 race with his two sons.
The Bennetts were granted $25,000 bond but are confined to their homes and barred from contacting each other or possessing firearms.
ICE agents have faced an alarming number of threats and attacks in recent months. In some case, such as the sniper shooting in September at a Dallas facility, the attacks have proven deadly.
The Department of Homeland Security revealed this week that since Jan. 20, there have been 71 vehicular attacks against Customs and Border Protection agents and 28 vehicular attacks against ICE, amounting to 58% and 1,300% increases, respectively, of such attacks over the same period last year.
“Our ICE law enforcement is now facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them while they risk their lives every single day to remove the worst of the worst,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said late last month.
“From bounties placed on their heads for their murders, threats to their families, stalking, and doxxing online, our officers are experiencing an unprecedented level of violence and threats against them and their families,” continued McLaughlin. “Make no mistake, sanctuary politicians are contributing to the surge in violent threats and assaults of our officers through their repeated vilification and demonization tactics, including gross comparisons to the Nazi Gestapo.”
The agency noted that concerned citizens can report doxxing and harassment against ICE officers by calling 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or by completing ICE’s online tip form.
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UK woman said she wanted to be tortured and killed on fetish site — her body was found in shallow grave in the US
The boyfriend of a woman who allegedly paid someone to torture and kill her said that she had been suffering from mental illness before the shocking events, according to Florida authorities.
Sonia Exelby was reported missing in October before police were able to trace her to an Airbnb in Reddick and found her remains nearby.
‘I’m so, so scared. I’m so broken and in so much pain. … I thought he’d do it quick and not give my mind time to stew.’
Exelby boarded a flight to Florida and arrived on Oct. 10, according to an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The FDLE said that Exelby posted on a fetish website that she was willing to pay someone to torture and kill her.
A week after she arrived in Florida, her remains were found in a shallow grave.
Investigators linked her to a man named Dwain Hall, who had used her bank card and tried to use her credit cards.
When they interviewed him, he gave conflicting accounts of how they met.
Police said they gathered evidence pointing to Hall as Exelby’s alleged killer.
Authorities said Hall purchased rope and gun cleaner among other items at a Walmart in Gainesville on Oct. 10. After that purchase, he made a second purchase of a shovel. He then allegedly went to pick up Exelby at the airport, and they both went to an Airbnb that he had rented.
The next day, he charged $1,200 to Exelby’s bank card.
Authorities said he recorded a video of Exelby showing her with cuts and bruises, and asking her to say that she consented to being stabbed.
Exelby sent a message to a friend via the Discord app expressing regret.
“I’m so, so scared. I’m so broken and in so much pain. … I thought he’d do it quick and not give my mind time to stew,” she wrote.
On Oct. 14, Hall allegedly sent a package to a friend that authorities said contained a knife that had traces of Exelby’s blood. It also had a bracelet with DNA from both Exelby and Hall.
Police also said the shovel Hall purchased matched the one they found at Exelby’s grave site.
Hall was initially arrested for fraud in relation to his alleged use of Exelby’s financial cards, but those charges were dropped when he was charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder.
U.K. law enforcement said that Exelby sought someone to kill her in 2024, but she obtained mental health treatment instead after the attempt was thwarted.
Hall allegedly told police he was upset because she promised to pay him $4K, but he only received $1.2K.
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