Category: Crime
Video shows wild car chase after police rescue 11-year-old from alleged kidnapper who tortured him at campsite
A harrowing video showed a wild police chase after a routine traffic stop that led to the rescue of an alleged kidnapping victim and the arrest of his kidnapper in Florida.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said deputies pulled over a white Ford F-150 on U.S. Highway 1 on Wednesday after a 911 caller reported suspicious activity. They found a 60-year-old man identified as Darnell Hairston with two male juveniles.
‘A caller that knew his background as a sex offender with two children in his pickup truck called us. And if it wasn’t for that, we might be investigating a completely different crime.’
When deputies separated an 11-year-old boy, he told them he had been kidnapped by Hairston and feared for his life.
“He told us that he thought they were going to kill him,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said.
Police video showed deputies taking down the man before the other juvenile passenger, a 15-year-old boy, got into the truck and fled from the scene. He comes within inches of driving over one officer’s feet. When police followed the vehicle, he rammed one cruiser before crashing the truck.
The 11-year-old had been missing for three days and was treated at a hospital, according to police.
He allegedly told police that he had been lured to a wooded campsite at Flagler Estates, where he was choked unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he was gagged with duct tape and tied with an extension cord and shoelaces. He also said he was threatened with a knife and firearm.
The boy was forced to hide under a blanket on the floorboard of the truck while being transported, according to investigators.
Search warrants performed on the man’s vehicle, his residence, and the campsite led to the recovery of duct tape, weapons, and video surveillance equipment. Police said these were consistent with statements given by the victim.
Investigators said the two juveniles were in a Snapchat group where the 11-year-old was warning others about Hairston being a sexual predator.
Video of the traffic stop was posted to the sheriff’s office Facebook account.
Hairston was eventually charged with kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, battery by strangulation, and robbery with a deadly weapon. He had been initially arrested for attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
The 15-year-old boy was placed into the custody of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. He faces multiple charges and is being investigated as a possible co-conspirator.
Hairston is being held without bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and may face additional charges.
“A caller that knew his background as a sex offender with two children in his pickup truck called us,” Staly said. “And if it wasn’t for that, we might be investigating a completely different crime.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Scathing Indictment Claims Nicolás Maduro Orchestrated Drug-Fueled ‘Culture Of Corruption’ Which Plagued Entire Region
‘shipping low-quality cocaine to New York’
18-year-old ISIS sympathizer who allegedly planned New Year’s Eve terror attack in North Carolina is arrested
A North Carolina man who allegedly planned to use knives and hammers for a New Year’s Eve attack at a grocery store and a fast food restaurant in support of ISIS was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, federal officials said Friday.
The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina said a criminal complaint was filed Wednesday and unsealed Friday after Christian Sturdivant appeared in federal court in Charlotte. Sturdivant turned 18 just two weeks ago, according to jail records.
‘May Allah curse the cross worshipers.’
“This successful collaboration between federal and local law enforcement saved American lives from a horrific terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. “The Department of Justice remains vigilant in our pursuit of evil ISIS sympathizers — anyone plotting to commit such depraved attacks will face the full force of the law.”
FBI Director Kash Patel added that “the accused allegedly wanted to be a soldier for ISIS and made plans to commit a violent attack on New Year’s Eve in support of that terrorist group, but the FBI and our partners put a stop to that.”
The FBI in Charlotte on Dec. 18 received information that an individual later identified as Sturdivant was making multiple social media posts in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to allegations in the arrest affidavit.
Sturdivant in early December posted an image depicting two miniature figurines of Jesus with on-screen text that read, “May Allah curse the cross worshipers,” officials said. The post allegedly is consistent with ISIS rhetoric calling for the extermination of all non-believers, including Christians, Jews, and Muslims who do not agree with ISIS’ extreme ideology.
Image source: Department of Justice
The criminal complaint alleges that Sturdivant on or about Dec. 12 began communicating with an online covert employee, or “OC,” whom Sturdivant believed was an ISIS member, officials said.
Sturdivant told the OC, “I will do jihad soon” and proclaimed he was “a soldier of the state,” meaning ISIS, officials said, adding that on Dec. 14, Sturdivant allegedly sent an online message to the OC with an image of two hammers and a knife. This is significant because an article in the 2016 issue of ISIS’ propaganda magazine promoted the use of knives to conduct terror attacks in Western countries, officials said, adding that the article inspired actual attacks in other countries. Later, Sturdivant told the OC that he planned to attack a specific grocery store in North Carolina, officials said. Sturdivant also told the OC about his plans to purchase a firearm to use along with the knives during the attack, according to the arrest affidavit.
What’s more, officials said Sturdivant on Dec. 19 allegedly sent the OC a voice recording of Sturdivant pledging “Bayat,” which is a loyalty oath to ISIS.
On Dec. 29, 2025, law enforcement conducted a search warrant at Sturdivant’s residence, where they discovered handwritten documents, one of which was titled “New Years Attack 2026,” officials said.
RELATED: FBI stops radical pro-Palestinian New Year’s Eve terror plot: Report
Image source: Department of Justice
The document listed items such as a vest, mask, tactical gloves, and two knives allegedly to be used in the attack, officials said, adding that it also described a goal of stabbing as many civilians as possible, with the total number of victims to be as high as 20 to 21.
The note also included a section labeled as “martyrdom op,” which described a plan to attack police responding to the site of the attack so Sturdivant would die a martyr, officials said.
RELATED: Trans-identifying radicals among those arrested in alleged planned New Year’s Eve terror plot
The complaint alleges that Sturdivant lived with a relative who secured knives and hammers so Sturdivant could not use them for harm, officials said. Yet, law enforcement seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a blue hammer, a wooden handled hammer, and two butcher knives which appeared hidden underneath the defendant’s bed, officials said. These items appear to be the ones depicted in the online message Sturdivant previously sent to the OC, officials said.
Law enforcement also seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a list of targets, as well as tactical gloves and a vest, acquired as part of the defendant’s planned attack, officials said.
Sturdivant remains in federal custody, officials said, adding that he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison if convicted. He was behind bars Friday night at the Gaston County Jail with no bond.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
It’s Not Just Minnesota. The Vast Majority Of Daycare Is A Scam
Taxpayers have spent hundreds of billions more on completely ineffective daycare than even Somalis have been able to pilfer.
Wife of Jill Biden’s ex-husband found dead in Wilmington home after domestic dispute call
Police officers responding to a report of a domestic dispute in Wilmington, Delaware, found a woman dead on Sunday at the home of Jill Biden’s ex-husband, Bill Stevenson.
According to the New Castle County Police Department, officers arrived around 11:16 p.m. and found Linda Stevenson, 64, unresponsive in the living room. Despite administering life-saving measures, Mrs. Stevenson was later pronounced dead.
‘She’s the greatest thing in my life.’
Detectives with the NCCPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit responded to the scene and have taken over the investigation. The decedent’s body was, meanwhile, turned over to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science so that an autopsy can be conducted to determine the cause of death.
When pressed by the Daily Mail about the suggestion by the decedent’s daughter, Christina Vettori, that the death is being investigated as a murder, the New Castle County Sheriff’s Office responded, “No, it is a death investigation.”
No charges have been filed.
Bill Stevenson, the founder of the University of Delaware-area bar Stone Balloon, married the former first lady in February 1970. The pair divorced in 1975 — two years prior to her marriage to Joe Biden.
RELATED: ‘Obvious f**king failure’: Even Hunter Biden admits dad’s Afghanistan exit was a total disaster
Photo by Cynthia Johnson/Getty Image
Jill Biden’s biographer Julie Pace claimed in a 2022 interview that “she had these expectations of sort of what that marriage was going to be, and the marriage did not live up to those expectations.”
Stevenson told the Daily Mail in 2020 that he suspected that Jill was having an affair with Biden in August 1974 — when she declined to join him on a trip to meet Bruce Springsteen, allegedly claiming she had to look after Biden’s kids, who had lost their mother years earlier in a car crash. Jill and Joe Biden alternatively claim that they began dating in March 1975.
Stevenson claimed, however, that he was not bitter because “if it wasn’t for my divorce, I would never have met my wife, Linda, and she’s the greatest thing in my life.”
Citing law enforcement sources, TMZ reported that Bill Stevenson was the individual who called police to report the domestic dispute at his home and was present when authorities pronounced his wife dead.
The Office of Joe and Jill Biden did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Top 5 of 2025: Everyday people who turned the tables on armed thugs
When everyday people find themselves presumably overmatched and outgunned by armed crooks — and end up turning the tables on the thugs breaking the law — it’s nothing short of inspiring.
In 2025, Blaze News ran across its fair share of such stories. Such as when a concealed-carrying garbage truck driver found himself facing down a pair of would-be armed robbers — and won the battle … or when five armed males forced their way into a California home, only to find themselves on the losing end of things when the homeowner grabbed his own gun … and best tale of all, when a gun-wielding thug demanded a Rolex from a man on a West Hollywood street. The crook’s problem? His target allegedly was a retired wrestler. Oops!
So check out our satisfying top-five instances when everyday people turned the tables on armed thugs:
Home invasion victim fights armed burglar, then turns the tables on him — with deadly results
A Houston home invasion victim fought an armed burglar on the night of April 9, police said — and the victim turned the tables on the crook, taking his gun away and then shooting him dead with it.
Police told KPRC-TV that three burglars targeted an apartment on Westridge Street near the NRG Stadium in the southeast part of the city a little after 9 p.m. One of the masked males knocked on the door while the two others tried breaking in through a window, the station said, citing a police news release. The residents called 911 by that time, KPRC reported.
Police said one of the burglars pointed a gun at the two tenants, and a fight ensued after one of the tenants knocked the gun out of the burglar’s hands, the station reported.
During the fight, police told KPRC the burglar “pulled out a second gun from his waistband.” But the 20-year-old apartment resident who was fighting the burglar wrestled the gun away from the suspect and shot him, the station said.
The two other burglars ran off by the time police arrived, KPRC said, adding that the third burglar, who was shot during the fight, died from his injuries. Police have identified the deceased burglar only as an 18-year-old male, the station said.
No charges have been filed against the homeowner, KPRC said, but police confirmed that the Harris County District Attorney’s Office was contacted and that a grand jury would review the case.
Concealed-carrying garbage truck driver turns the tables on wannabe armed robbers — 1 of whom pays ultimate price
A concealed-carrying garbage truck driver turned the tables in late January on a pair of would-be armed robbers in Chicago, fatally shooting one of them and wounding the other, police said.
Chicago police told WLS-TV the shoot-out occurred around 5:15 a.m. Jan. 31, just steps away from a high school. The station, citing police, said a 28-year-old man working as a garbage truck driver was outside in the 900 block of South Homan Avenue when two males approached him, showed a gun, and announced a robbery.
But it seems the pair chose unwisely.
Police told WLS the suspects and the victim — who has a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card and concealed carry license — engaged in a shoot-out.
One of the suspects, 42, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, the station reported. The other suspect, 20, was shot in the neck and was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition, WLS noted.
The victim was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in good condition for an evaluation, the station said.
Police recovered two weapons from the scene, the station said, adding that Area Four detectives are investigating.
Gun-wielding thug demands Rolex from man. But victim allegedly is a retired wrestler — and the tables are about to turn.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told Blaze News that deputies responded just before 1 p.m. Oct. 22 to the 900 block of North Sweetzer Avenue in West Hollywood regarding an armed robbery call.
According to the victim, a dark-colored sedan was seen traveling down the street at a high rate of speed before stopping near his location, authorities said.
As you might expect, the driver didn’t need directions.
The sheriff’s department told Blaze News that an adult black male wearing a mask exited the vehicle holding a semiautomatic handgun and demanded the victim’s Rolex watch. But the victim refused to comply, and a physical struggle ensued, authorities said.
Patrick McCloskey told KTLA-TV he was working from home when he heard a woman screaming from the sidewalk: “The chaos was so intense, I didn’t know who jumped who. I ran to the door to see what was happening. At that point, I hear her yell, ‘Get the gun, get the gun!'”
Apparently getting hold of the gun wasn’t too difficult for the victim, as McCloskey explained to the station that the gunman “didn’t know that the guy was a retired wrestler. So he was able to get the gun off the guy and wrestle him down.”
Video of the incident’s aftermath shows the victim — who didn’t want to be identified — telling a deputy that he grabbed the gunman’s wrist and put him on the ground before taking the gun away, KTLA reported. The victim’s girlfriend then threw the gun over a nearby fence, and he held the suspect down until police arrived, the station said.
The sheriff’s department told Blaze News that a second adult male suspect exited the vehicle during the struggle but fled the scene in the dark-colored sedan prior to the arrival of deputies. Responding deputies recovered the gun and took the suspect into custody without further incident, officials said.
“I was told the gun was loaded,” McCloskey noted to KTLA. “The guy who is sort of the hero in all of this, who was able to pin the guy down, told me he saw a bullet in the chamber.”
McCloskey added to the station that the retired wrestler showed no mercy in his struggle with the gunman: “At one point the guy’s arm got dislocated, and he just held him down.”
5 armed thugs force their way into residence — but gun-toting homeowner isn’t about to back down
When five armed males forced their way into a residence in Los Banos, California, in late March, the homeowner also got himself a gun — and won the confrontation, shooting two of the intruders.
Police Chief Ray Reyna told KFSN-TV that “the homeowner approached the intruders with a gun he legally owns,” after which the chief said a shoot-out ensued with the homeowner shooting two of the suspects.
A dispatcher on police scanner audio indicated that one suspect was wounded in the leg and another was wounded in the stomach, KFSN reported. The two suspects were in custody at a Modesto area hospital where they were expected to survive, the station said. Los Banos is about an hour south of Modesto.
KFSN said police were searching for the other three suspects who escaped the home through a bedroom window and then took off in a car.
The chief told the station that at least four people were inside the home at the time of the incident, and they weren’t hurt.
Reyna added to KFSN that he has reason to believe the intruders are not from the area, and he said police are looking into a possible motive.
Thug picks wrong victim to allegedly point weapon at and chase — and the tables painfully turn on him
Deputies from the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office in upstate New York responded to a reported physical altercation involving a weapon in Vernon on the evening of Dec. 1, officials said. Vernon is about 40 minutes east of Syracuse.
It was reported that an individual was acting erratically and pointed what was believed to be a handgun at two victims, officials said. The two victims tried to retreat into a nearby residence, but the suspect advanced toward them with the weapon, officials said.
A fight then broke out between the suspect and one of the victims, officials said, and the victim managed to get the weapon away from the suspect. Arriving deputies took the suspect into custody without issue, officials said.
The suspect was identified as Glenn A. Wallis, 40, of Vernon, officials said, adding that Wallis was taken to the Kurt B. Wyman Law Enforcement Building.
Wallis was charged with two counts of menacing in the second degree — a class A misdemeanor — along with one count of harassment in the second degree, which officials defined as a “violation.”
However, officials said a member of the Criminal Investigation Unit also charged Wallis with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, which is a class D felony. According to WUTR-TV, the weapon that Wallis was brandishing was a pistol-style pellet gun. Wallis was then taken to and held at the Oneida County Correctional Facility.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
