EXCLUSIVE: Twenty-three years after Duane "Dog" Chapman chased fugitive Max Factor heir Andrew Luster to Mexico and tackled him on a Puerto Vallarta street, the convicted serial rapist is a free man — despite an initial sentence of 124 years.

"I hope he's smart enough — and he's smart — to never do anything like that again," Chapman told Fox News Digital Wednesday, more than two decades after the capture that helped make him a household name.

MAX FACTOR HEIR'S FORMER LAWYER DETAILS JUDGE'S ERROR THAT WIPED OUT 124-YEAR RAPE SENTENCE

Chapman, his son Leland and several others went to Mexico after receiving a tip about Luster's whereabouts — months after he fled the U.S. in the middle of a California rape trial. They first identified him from the tipsters' photo, which showed a knee and a watch.

'AMERICA'S MOST WANTED' EX-COP FUGITIVE RETURNED AFTER 20 YEARS ON THE RUN TO FACE MURDER, CHILD SEX CHARGES

Chapman had been studying his face closely for weeks, but he also recognized the watch from a televised interview, he said. And he credits his son with first spotting Luster, who was speaking with a young woman in a bar on June 18, 2003.

PARENTS OF SLAIN PREGNANT MOM CHRISTA GILLEY DEMAND LEE GILLEY'S RETURN FROM ITALY FOR MURDER CASE

"When I saw him, you talk about an adrenaline rush went through my body," Chapman told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "Tim got down...he snuck up behind him, and then I pushed him. He fell over. We all jumped on him, and I screamed, 'You're under arrest by the United States of America.'"

EXCLUSIVE: FBI EXTRADITIONS SOAR AS PATEL RAMPS UP FOREIGN OUTREACH, VOWS 'NO SANCTUARY'

They pulled him into an SUV and drove off — only to be intercepted on the road outside town by Mexican authorities who arrested everyone amid the chaos.

Luster claimed he'd been kidnapped, Chapman said, so he handed the lead investigator what Chapman called a "bible" of information on the case.

NEWSOM-BACKED LAW LETS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILD RAPIST SEEK EARLY RELEASE AGAIN AS DA URGES 'STOP THE MADNESS'

Luster, the great-grandson of makeup mogul Max Factor, vanished during a recess in his trial and was convicted in absentia on 86 counts involving the drugging and raping of three women between 1996 and 2000 at his home in Mussel Shoals, California.

One of the victims, who asked not to be named out of concerns for her safety, said she's still struggling to comprehend Luster's release even though she knew it was coming.

SENATOR TIM SHEEHY: SOFT-ON-CRIME JUDGES NEED CONSEQUENCES. THE JAIL ACT DELIVERS

"It’s very unsettling knowing that he is not behind bars, not in a closed facility," she told Fox News Digital Wednesday. "He is out in the public, in a community that just — it just doesn’t feel very good at all."

She said she has concerns for her own safety, her family, Luster's other victims and even investigators after a notebook containing a "payback list" was recovered from his Mexican hotel room — with their names on it.

CAPTURED 'AMERICA'S MOST WANTED' FUGITIVE RONALD FISCHER ABANDONS ALIAS AFTER 20 YEARS ON THE RUN

She said she dated Luster for five or six months without knowing she'd been drugged and raped the night they met — something detectives discovered years later, after they recovered video tapes from the home.

"It was me, comatose on his bed, wearing the clothes that I was wearing the first night I met him," she said. "That’s how I knew when it happened, because I had just bought that outfit, and I was wearing it the night that I met him. So that’s how I figured out when it happened to me, which was absolutely horrifying."

AMERICAN WHO FLED US AFTER ALLEGEDLY KILLING PREGNANT WIFE COULD RETURN WITHIN DAYS WITH MURDER CHARGE DROPPED

Police found more than 100 videos, she said. Not all of them involved criminal activity, but those that did were "mortifying," she said, as Luster spoke to the camera like he were playing with "a toy."

"They’re pretty brutal," she added, "The things that he did to us while we were completely unconscious were things that, I mean had we been able to feel anything, it would have been awful. He narrated the video and talked to the camera throughout and thoroughly enjoyed the whole entire thing."

He initially received consecutive sentences totaling 124 years — later reduced to 50, and he was released earlier this month after over two decades behind bars.

Prosecutors had opposed early release in 2024 and again in 2025. However, he was able to earn substantial early release credits under California's controversial Proposition 57 criminal justice reforms, and his prison term came to an end on Oct. 11.

"I did not know that [Prop 57] meant that it was gonna make Andrew Luster’s crimes be deemed nonviolent," Doe No. 3 told Fox News Digital. "That’s just so baffling. I just feel like if anybody could watch these tapes of what he did to me and all of these other women, just to look at that and try to put the word nonviolent on it, that word could not come out of your mouth. It just would be impossible."

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Chapman said he never received the bounty for Luster and lost hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money for the operation and ensuing legal fallout.

Mexican law did not allow bounty hunters to apprehend fugitives. Chapman said he was arrested alongside his son Leland, longtime friend and associate Tim Chapman, who is not a blood relative, and members of a camera crew.

"He told me, 'I’m going to get him for you,' and he did," Doe said of Chapman. So to help him get out after he put Luster back behind bars, she kicked off a legal fundraiser that she said attracted donations from around the country.

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A judge in Mexico later dismissed the case.

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The incident happened shortly before Chapman rose to fame with A&E's reality series, "Dog the Bounty Hunter."

Chapman is returning to the screen with a new YouTube series launching Saturday — "Dog the Bounty Hunter...Everyone Deserves a Second Chance."

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As part of the series, he plans to help bail out certain inmates with a history of good behavior and positive reports — but not for people facing serious felonies or sex abuse charges, he said.

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"We'll call out the ones that deserve a second chance, right, and you can't be perfect OK, so if they run, yeehaw," he said. "I don't wish they would, but if they do, then I'm going to catch them."

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He said he's got at least another five to seven years of bounty hunting left in him.

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Fox News' Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An American woman living in Massachusetts has been accused by the Department of Justice of arranging sham marriages to help her clients seek green cards and U.S. citizenship.

Jennifer Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen, collected up to $40,000 per marriage and arranged as many as 20 per year over the last decade, according to Leah Foley, the U.S. attorney for the Massachusetts District.

Gonzalez's female employees, who were also charged, married the men looking to get legal status in the U.S., authorities said.

"This conspiracy netted her $6 million during the course of the alleged scam," Foley said during a news conference Wednesday at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. "She bragged that she invested her ill-gotten proceeds in businesses and property in the Dominican Republic, which she repeatedly referred to as 'my country.'"

DOJ SUES CONNECTICUT, NEW HAVEN OVER SANCTUARY POLICIES: 'OPEN DEFIANCE'

It appears Gonzalez spilled the details of the scheme to a witness cooperating with federal law enforcement. Foley said Gonzalez believed this individual was an illegal immigrant.

Gonzalez, 43, told a witness who was recording the interaction that Massachusetts was "so special" because it is a sanctuary state where "illegal aliens get a lot of help as an immigrant."

Gonzalez also allegedly said her goal was to give all her children pieces of land in the Dominican Republic they could later own.

"Miss Gonzalez got rich off selling the American dream, all the while investing her money in another country," Foley said.

Gonzalez told the witness she stopped holding phony marriages at the end of 2024 because President Donald Trump was returning to office, before shutting down the scheme entirely in 2025 because immigration enforcement had become "a little harsh," according to Foley.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE'S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY

Gonzalez was described by prosecutors as the "ringleader" of the operation, though there were other alleged co-conspirators.

Amara Pugh, Gonzalez's 31-year-old secretary, along with Jessica Tavares, 31; Erica Daniels, 29; and Jaylin Hill, 26, were allegedly paid to marry Gonzalez's clients. Gonzalez also allegedly entered into a sham marriage herself with an illegal immigrant.

Photographs of at least two marriage ceremonies were included in court records shared by the Justice Department.

In most cases, they would stay married to the illegal immigrants for years, get divorced, then get married to other illegal immigrants as early as a month after their divorces, officials added.

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Foley told reporters that another component of the alleged fraud involved Gonzalez applying for and receiving SNAP benefits from 2019 through 2026. She received more than $124,000 from the SNAP program over that time, according to prosecutors.

"She did not list her income from her sham marriage business and did not list anyone else in her household, not the illegal alien she married and not the father of her children, who she referred to as her husband," Foley said.

Gonzalez, Pugh, Tavares and two other conspirators were arrested Wednesday morning, the Justice Department said. Hill is already in state prison for a gun offense.

A Connecticut man who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a 1992 felony murder conviction has been arrested again in connection with a road rage shooting that left a grandfather dead in Bridgeport, according to city police.

Jorge "George" Ortiz, 57, was arrested after a brief foot chase Monday to end a week-long manhunt and charged with murder, criminal possession of a pistol and carrying a pistol without a permit, Bridgeport police said in a statement.

He is accused of gunning down 48-year-old Nelson Batista, a grandfather who recently laid his 25-year-old Air Force airman son to rest, in a 9 a.m. road rage incident on Oct. 12, according to a police affidavit.

PREGNANT WOMAN DRIVING HOME FROM PRENATAL VISIT SHOT DURING ALLEGED ROAD RAGE ATTACK: POLICE

Ortiz and Batista were strangers, according to Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter.

"This was a random act," he told reporters at a news briefing announcing the arrest — just hours before Batista's funeral.

Surveillance video shows a man identified as Ortiz following a woman down Park Avenue as the victim turned his SUV down a side street, according to the affidavit. Ortiz allegedly slapped his hands on the side of the car, prompting the driver to stop and get out.

Ortiz allegedly punched the victim first, and they fell to the ground in a scuffle before surveillance video showed them struggling for control of a handgun, according to the affidavit. The city's ShotSpotter program captured at least two gunshots, with the medical examiner later determining one struck Batista in the chest.

APPARENT ROAD RAGE DRIVER APPEARS TO THREATEN MOM ON CAMERA AS 3-YEAR-OLD CRIES IN BACK SEAT

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He died at the hospital.

Police credited tips from the community for Ortiz's capture after a woman recorded some of the incident on cellphone video and other witnesses helped identify him.

Video taken from inside a vehicle captured some of the scuffle, including the attacker getting up, striking Batista in the head with the butt of a pistol and taking off as the victim lies motionless in the street.

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A detective recognized Ortiz from prior encounters, including one in March, according to the affidavit. He had been arrested on misdemeanor drug charges in a case that is still pending. Police also received a tip from a man who also said he could identify Ortiz as the man in the photo.

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Court records show Ortiz received a 30-year sentence in 1992 for felony murder. He was off parole at the time of Batista's death.

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Batista's son's funeral was held on Oct. 3 in Louisiana, according to an online obituary.

Batista was an avid fan of Major League Baseball and the NFL, according to his own obituary, and especially fond of the New York Yankees. He was a father of six and grandfather of three.

The autopsy released for Brooke Hanlon, a new mother found stabbed to death inside her home in an affluent zip code, lists the manner of death as homicide due to "sharp force injuries."

Hanlon, 35, was killed inside her Chester, New Jersey, home on Pottersville Road, investigators say. She leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter. Her husband, Conor, has gone on the record denying any involvement in her death.

The autopsy lists the cause of death as "sharp force injuries" with the manner of death a homicide, the autopsy report states. It confirms what the Morris County Prosecutor's Office previously released in June. 

The autopsy was conducted by Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Di Wang on June 7, a day after Hanlon was found dead.

NEW JERSEY PSYCHOTHERAPIST MOM KILLED INSIDE HOME AS COPS LAUNCH MANHUNT TO IDENTIFY SUSPECT

The heavily redacted report lists the Morris County Sheriff's Office, Prosecutor's Office and local police department in Chester were "present" at the time of the examination.

Read the autopsy report here: 

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As it stands, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office has not announced any arrests or persons of interest in its ongoing investigation.

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Jennifer Payne, Hanlon's graduate school friend and former roommate, previously said to Fox News Digital, "Honestly, it’s been confusing, heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating," at the lack of updates from investigators.

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She shared with Fox News Digital exclusive photos of the pair during their time in Boston and the years that followed.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS, TIMELINE TRACE BROOKE HANLON'S LIFE AS FRIEND SAYS CASE IS 'SO UNUSUAL EVEN FOR A MURDER'

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Hanlon's husband was the first person to find her unresponsive, according to a 911 call obtained by Fox News Digital. In the frantic call, he says to an operator, "There's a laceration" on his wife's body as the operator was instructing Hanlon on how to provide CPR to his wife.

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Months after the killing, neighbors on Pottersville Road confirm to Fox News Digital that Hanlon has frequently returned to his home and has been spending nights there. Previously, he had been splitting time between Chester and the Boston area — where his family is from.

SLAIN NJ MOTHER 911 CALL MADE BY HER HUSBAND HAS FORENSIC EXPERT WARNING ONE MISTAKE COULD DERAIL FOCUS

Authorities have not revealed whether a murder weapon was recovered from the scene.

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Brooke's family previously confirmed to Fox News Digital, "We have full and unwavering confidence in the investigative efforts of law enforcement."

Police said a 19-year-old was taken into custody after allegedly filming a University of North Carolina at Charlotte student during sex and sent the video to a fraternity group chat.

Officials accused Alexander Michael Evanoff of using his cellphone on Sept. 19 to secretly record a "sexually explicit video" of a woman while the two had sex, then sharing it without her consent. He was charged with one count of disclosing private images and two counts of felony secret peeping.

After Evanoff and the woman had sex, he allegedly sent a video of the sexually explicit recording to a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity group chat, which had 32 members.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE SOCCER TEAM MAKES DISTURBING DISCOVERY IN LOCKER ROOM CEILING

During an interview with law enforcement, according to the affidavit, Evanoff allegedly admitted to intentionally recording the sexual act and sending it to the fraternity group chat.

He also acknowledged to detectives that he didn't request or obtain the victim's permission to create or distribute the video.

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When the woman confronted Evanoff about the alleged recording, she asked if sending it to the fraternity group chat made him "appear cool," to which he "responded affirmatively" and apologized.

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Evanoff was arrested Monday and released Tuesday on $10,000 bond, according to court and jail records.

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A University of North Carolina at Charlotte spokesperson told WSOC that Evanoff isn't a student.

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"The individual who has been charged is not currently enrolled at the University. The alleged conduct in this case, if true, is reprehensible. It is not what we expect or will tolerate from members of our campus community," the spokesperson said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the university, Evanoff's attorney and Sigma Alpha Epsilon for comment.

The autopsy released for a new mother found brutally stabbed to death inside her home in an affluent zip code provides new detail into the mystery surrounding the tragedy.

Brooke Hanlon, 35, was killed inside her Chester, New Jersey, home on Pottersville Road, investigators say. She leaves behind a 1-year-old daughter. Her husband, Conor, has gone on the record denying any involvement in her death.

The autopsy was conducted by Morris County Medical Examiner Dr. Di Wang on June 7, a day after Hanlon was found dead and confirmed "sharp force injuries" as her cause of death, according to a report from NorthJersey.com.

NEW JERSEY PSYCHOTHERAPIST MOM KILLED INSIDE HOME AS COPS LAUNCH MANHUNT TO IDENTIFY SUSPECT

The heavily redacted report lists the Morris County Sheriff's Office, Prosecutor's Office and local police department in Chester were "present" at the time of the examination.

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As it stands, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office has not announced any arrests or persons of interest in its ongoing investigation.

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Jennifer Payne, Hanlon's graduate school friend and former roommate, previously said to Fox News Digital, "Honestly, it’s been confusing, heartbreaking and incredibly frustrating," at the lack of updates from investigators.

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She shared with Fox News Digital exclusive photos of the pair during their time in Boston and the years that followed.

EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS, TIMELINE TRACE BROOKE HANLON'S LIFE AS FRIEND SAYS CASE IS 'SO UNUSUAL EVEN FOR A MURDER'

LISTEN TO THE NEW 'CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO' PODCAST

Hanlon's husband was the first person to find her unresponsive, according to a 911 call obtained by Fox News Digital. In the frantic call, he says to an operator, "There's a laceration" on his wife's body as the operator was instructing Hanlon on how to provide CPR to his wife.

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Months after the killing, neighbors on Pottersville Road confirm to Fox News Digital that Hanlon has frequently returned to his home and has been spending nights there. Previously, he had been splitting time between Chester and the Boston area — where his family is from.

SLAIN NJ MOTHER 911 CALL MADE BY HER HUSBAND HAS FORENSIC EXPERT WARNING ONE MISTAKE COULD DERAIL FOCUS

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Brooke's family previously confirmed to Fox News Digital, "We have full and unwavering confidence in the investigative efforts of law enforcement."

PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of police officers from around the U.S. traveled to the City of Brotherly Love Tuesday for the funeral of Shane Seiber, who was shot and killed in the line of duty on Oct. 10, when prosecutors say an armed suspect shot him and his partner.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel announced during the service at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul that Seiber had been promoted posthumously to the rank of sergeant.

Seiber had served 10 years in the department after spending the prior decade in the Air Force, where he deployed for two tours in Iraq.

Officers from around Pennsylvania and other states packed the memorial service to pay their respects.

SUSPECT IN DEADLY PHILADELPHIA POLICE AMBUSH FACES 76 CHARGES, ORDERED HELD WITHOUT BAIL

Seiber and his partner were responding to a report of a man waving a gun in West Philadelphia when prosecutors say a man named Eric Lewis approached them from behind and asked what they were doing on his doorstep.

PHILADELPHIA POLICE OFFICER KILLED, PARTNER SHOT 12 TIMES IN AMBUSH; SUSPECT FOUND HIDING IN TREE

They got into an argument, a struggle ensued and then Lewis allegedly opened fire, striking Seiber three times and his partner 12. Lewis was arrested after a standoff with SWAT officers — allegedly carrying two handguns, one belonging to the officers, and a shotgun.

FOX 29 Philadelphia has identified Seiber's partner as Officer Hector Rodriguez III, a 33-year-old father of five. He survived his injuries.

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Lewis, 35, had been acquitted at trial in a prior murder case, according to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who blamed a "deeply flawed" investigation.

DOJ SENDS GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS TO PHILADELPHIA DA KRASNER AFTER JUDGE'S REFERRAL, SOURCES SAY

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced that the city would create an annual internship program for public service in Seiber's honor during a eulogy Tuesday, describing him as "a giant of a man" and "clearly a gentleman of the first class."

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Prior to joining the police department, he served in the Air Force and deployed for two tours in Iraq, she said.

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Seiber is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their children Finn, 7, and Emily, 3.

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Fox News' CB Cotton contributed to this report.

"Law enforcement certainly needed to do a better job as to describing why these charges haven't been filed," says Jamie Copenhaver.

Copenhaver, a former sheriff's detective in Florida who worked with an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, is curious as to why law enforcement has been tight-lipped about the lack of charges in the horrific Kansas soccer field crash.

A mother walked away with no charges after investigators say she drove onto the active field at Stryker Sports Complex where children and families were present — killing two and injuring several others.

CHILD AMONG 2 KILLED AFTER VEHICLE DRIVES ONTO SOCCER FIELD AT KANSAS SPORTS COMPLEX

It happened on Saturday; Cole Adrian, 6, and Nicholas Schafer, 35, who were both from McPherson, were killed. The woman behind the wheel was released after being interviewed by investigators that day.

Wichita Police said she was released "pending the results of toxicology testing and a mechanical examination of the vehicle."

Police said in a statement Tuesday that they have interviewed nearly 50 witnesses, with more interviews ongoing. 

"Investigators are also inspecting the truck, analyzing available vehicle data and continuing investigative work at Stryker Sports Complex," police said. "They are working closely with the Regional Forensic Science Center and awaiting official, peer-reviewed toxicology results."

The driver remained at the scene and has been cooperative, they said.

"Based on the information available Sunday morning, and after consultation with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, investigators did not have probable cause to arrest the driver. She was released, and the investigation remains ongoing. Her release does not represent a final determination about whether criminal charges are appropriate."

LISTEN: KANSAS SOCCER FIELD DISPATCH CALL CAPTURES MASS-CASUALTY RESPONSE AFTER DRIVER KILLS BOY, MAN

"We know that this case has captured the attention of people all over the country, and many of those people have strong opinions about the incident even though they do not have direct knowledge of what occurred," Chief Joe Sullivan said. "We recognize that the decision the law and constitution required us to make on Sunday morning may not be popular. We swear an oath to support the laws of the State of Kansas and the Constitution of the United States and no one in the Wichita Police Department takes that oath for granted."

The driver had a valid driver’s license and no outstanding arrest warrants, police said. 

They dispelled rumors circulating online, noting that the driver is not in the country illegally, has no documented criminal history, and no association with the Wichita Police Department, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office or any other law enforcement agency. 

Andrew Ford, a spokesperson for the Wichita Police Department, told TMZ that the driver was interviewed for several hours after the crash. He said she answered questions about what happened, according to the outlet.

Ford told TMZ that police are investigating all possibilities about why this happened, including whether speeding, mechanical failure, or drugs or alcohol played a factor.

Wichita police could not immediately be reached for comment.

Did the driver suffer a medical emergency?

No information on the driver's medical condition at the time of the crash has been released.

Copenhaver said it may be necessary for law enforcement to release information on the woman's physical health condition at the time of the incident to "prevent conspiracy theories."

"People need to know a little bit more transparency as to why this may have occurred," he said.

Did her vehicle malfunction?

Police said that the black pickup truck involved in the incident was going to undergo mechanical testing. Copenhaver said the black box will be able to give a better idea of whether something went mechanically wrong before the deadly crash.

He said the data will reveal possible "contributing factors" like speed, whether she hit the brakes, timing of the braking and how far the vehicle may have skidded.

ACCUSED TEEN KILLER'S OWN DASHCAM COULD PROVE MURDER OF TWO GIRLS MOWED DOWN, LAWYER SAYS: 'NOT AN ACCIDENT'

"It doesn't take that long, in my opinion, to download that data, have one of their experts go over it," he said.

Copenhaver went on to say, "If there's an issue with that truck, that computer is going to alert the examiner or the expert that's looking at this data."

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TEXAS WOMAN SENTENCED TO 7 YEARS IN PRISON, ANNUAL JAIL TIME DURING PROBATION FOR DEADLY DUI CRASH

Why is the toxicology taking so long?

Copenhaver said in his experience results from alcohol-related DUI testing usually comes back within a day.

FLORIDA WOMAN ACCUSED OF DUI CRASHES SUV INTO PARKED CAR, THEN MAKES BIZARRE PLEA TO POLICE CAUGHT ON CAMERA

"If it's alcohol-related, they're going to know instantaneously," he said.

He added, "Once that blood draw is taken, once it's ran through the machines [investigators] will be able to tell you if an individual is under the influence of alcohol."

He said testing for other substances like hard drugs or medications can take significantly longer. Those require "specialty testing," he said.

There is also a possibility that the woman may have been taking prescription medication, which could have impacted her driving, he said.

Testing for that is "longer than that normal blood draw," he said.

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In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, the Wichita Police Department shot down questions circulating on social media about whether there was a law enforcement connection.

"The Wichita Police Department is aware of false information circulating on social media regarding this investigation, including a rumor alleging that a Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office deputy was involved," the department said in part. "The Sheriff's Office has publicly addressed that allegation and identified it as false."

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The department went on to say, "We ask everyone to be responsible with what they share, consider the harm misinformation can cause and allow investigators to do their work based on facts and evidence, not speculation."

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When asked by Fox News Digital about allegations of the driver's possible connection to law enforcement, the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office referred questions to the Wichita Police Department.

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush built the Titan submersible to implode on its dive to the Titanic wreck so he could become part of "Titanic mythology," a longtime friend claimed, saying it was a "mousetrap for billionaires."

Karl Stanley, a commercial submersible expert and longtime friend of Rush, made the claim in author Matthew Gavin Frank’s new book, "Submersed: Wonder, Obsession and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines."

"[Rush’s] ego was so big," Stanley told Frank, "he was willing to die and kill to be the pivotal character of this story. He wanted to go [die] at the wreck [of Titanic]. The more high-profile, the better. He didn’t just murder four wealthy people and get paid a cool mill to do it — they are all part of the Titanic mythology."

TITAN SUBMERSIBLE WIDOW SAYS REMAINS OF HUSBAND AND SON CAME BACK IN WHAT LOOKED LIKE SMALL 'SHOEBOXES'

The Titan lost contact with its support ship on June 18, 2023, while it was descending to see the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic, which sparked a multinational search. Debris was found four days later, and officials announced the Titan had imploded, killing all five people onboard: Rush, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Hamish Harding, and Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.

Passengers paid up to $250,000 to be onboard the Titan.

A U.S. Coast Guard investigation would later determine that the disaster was preventable.

TITANIC SURVIVOR'S LIFE JACKET SELLS FOR OVER $900K AT AUCTION, FAR EXCEEDING PRICE EXPECTATIONS

Frank wrote that Rush's ambitions went well beyond his own death, saying that the name Titan, which was borrowed from the doomed ocean liner in Morgan Robertson’s 1898 novel "Futility," was done intentionally. That novel features a fictional British ocean liner named "Titan" that strikes an iceberg, drawing a parallel to the fate of the Titanic.

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"According to Stanley, in order to extend, and to be a part of this larger story, Rush needed to compel more than just his own death, and he needed to knowingly fabricate a 'futile' vessel, costumed in a titanic name, as his murder weapon," Frank wrote.

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"You believe that Rush knew the sub was going to implode — actually intended it to — and that he killed everyone onboard, himself included, to best become part of the ongoing Titanic mythology?" Frank asked Stanley.

"I know this is what happened," Stanley said.

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Stanley also alleged that "most everyone" who worked for OceanGate knew what would happen to the Titan, and "all of them are s---ting their pants" after the implosion.

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Brandi Young, a former federal and state prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that a first-degree murder charge would have been difficult to prove because Rush was risking his own life on the dive, saying a manslaughter charge would have been more likely.

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"There’d be an argument to be made that perhaps second-degree murder, showing just reckless, extreme disregard, something that’s heightened over manslaughter, that potentially might be an avenue," said Young. "You have a lot of direct evidence of just the pure recklessness of someone going forward with complete disregard for the other human life."

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, commuted the sentence of a death row inmate on Tuesday after the current Jefferson County district attorney and several former judges and prosecutors raised concerns about his conviction.

The governor said she was commuting Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life in prison without parole. Johnson, who has long maintained his innocence, was convicted in the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy. He remains incarcerated at the Holman Correctional Facility.

"When presented with Mr. Johnson’s case, I had concerns there was not enough direct evidence to carry out the most serious punishment, death," Ivey said in a statement. "My decision is not a determination of innocence, but a recognition that the circumstances of this case justify commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment, without possibility of parole."

Ivey has commuted the death sentences of three death row inmates since she became governor in 2017. She has also overseen 27 executions during her tenure, which will end in January because she is term-limited and cannot run for re-election.

GOP GOV DEWINE URGES OHIO TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY, SAYS IT IS NO LONGER A DETERRENT

The governor spared his life despite Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall urging her last week to reject the clemency request and "respect the jury's decision" and the rulings of the courts reviewing Johnson's case.

On July 19, 1995, Hardy was shot twice in the head as he was working off-duty security outside a hotel in Birmingham. Johnson said he was on the other side of the city when the shooting happened.

One of Johnson’s attorneys, Ty Alper, said he and his client are grateful to Ivey for "diligently reviewing Toforest’s case and taking action to spare an innocent man from execution," but added that they will continue to fight to overturn the conviction.

"Toforest Johnson is innocent. Now it is up to the courts to overturn his conviction and grant him a new trial. We will keep fighting until he is home with his family," Alper said in a statement.

LAWYERS, EXPERTS URGE TENNESSEE GOVERNOR TO COMMUTE CHRISTA PIKE’S SENTENCE AFTER BOTCHED EXECUTION

Johnson's attorneys have waged a yearslong legal battle to secure a new trial. His push for a new trial has received national attention and attracted widespread support, including from prominent lawyers, such as the original prosecutor in his case, as well as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian.

Several former judges and prosecutors have joined supporters seeking a new trial for Johnson over questions about his conviction. Former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley, former Chief Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court Sonny Hornsby and Drayton Nabers and other former judges and prosecutors have submitted briefs or written editorials backing a new trial.

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, who was elected in 2018, is among those who have backed Johnson’s call for a new trial. In 2024, Carr wrote in a court filing that the "evidence in this case has unraveled over 20 years."

Carr said that credible alibi witnesses placed Johnson in another area at the time of the shooting. He also said there are multiple reasons to doubt the key prosecution witness, who "claimed she overheard Johnson confess to the murder on a three-way phone call on which she was eavesdropping."

LONGEST-SERVING US PRISONER DIES AT 101 AFTER ESCAPING DEATH PENALTY 8 TIMES

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The woman testified during Johnson's 1998 trial that she was eavesdropping on a phone call when she heard a man she believed was Johnson admitting to the shooting.

She received a $5,000 reward in 2001 for her assistance in the case.

Johnson’s lawyers said that the state withheld evidence of monetary incentive for her testimony.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A 77-year-old Florida man was executed on Tuesday for killing a sheriff's deputy more than 40 years ago, marking the Sunshine State's 18th execution of the year as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis continues an accelerated pace of executions.

William Reaves was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke following a three-drug injection. He was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the September 1986 shooting death of Indian River County sheriff's deputy Richard Raczkoski.

Reaves said he did not have any last words.

About 30 seconds after the injection began, Reaves took several big breaths and then stopped moving. A few minutes later, the team warden shook Reaves’ shoulders and shouted his name, but the man gave no response. A medic checked for a heartbeat or other signs of life, and Reaves was pronounced dead about a minute later.

FLORIDA EXECUTES INMATE WHO KILLED CELLMATE BECAUSE HE WANTED DEATH PENALTY

Raczkoski's brother, Marc, told reporters after witnessing the execution that his brother finally received justice, while Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said that he viewed the execution as closure rather than justice.

"Would we all be so lucky to be 77 years old and to die so peacefully," Flowers said at a press conference. "That’s not justice in any way, in my opinion."

On Sept. 23, 1986, Raczkoski responded to a 911 call that Reaves had made from a payphone at a Vero Beach convenience store, according to court records.

After the deputy arrived at the scene and the two men began talking, a gun fell out of Reaves’ pants, officials said. The two men struggled over the weapon before Reaves eventually regained control of it.

Raczkoski was attempting to run away when Reaves shot him four times, according to investigators. He died from his wounds later that day.

Reaves was convicted and sentenced to death about a year after the shooting. The Florida Supreme Court later overturned the conviction due to a conflict of interest with the prosecutor and ordered a new trial. After the second trial, Reaves was again convicted and sentenced to death, and subsequent appeals were unsuccessful.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Reaves’ request for a stay of execution and petition asking the court to review his case without comment on Tuesday.

TWO FLORIDA INMATES DIE IN RARE DOUBLE EXECUTION AFTER SCOTUS DENIES STAYS

The state Supreme Court also rejected Reaves’ appeals last week that sought to halt the execution.

His attorneys challenged Florida’s three-drug lethal injection protocol. Executions in the state are carried out through the injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections. The court has previously upheld the protocol against similar challenges.

Florida's method is different from the single-drug injection used in states like Tennessee, where death row inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to the hospital last month. Pike has since been released from the hospital and returned to prison.

Reaves' attorneys also argued that jurors who recommended the death penalty were never made aware that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had rated the Army veteran as 100% disabled because of post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his service in the Vietnam War.

More than 100 military veterans appealed to DeSantis in a letter on Monday to halt the execution, pointing to those factors.

Reaves was the eighth Florida prisoner over age 70 put to death this year.

Florida has accelerated its pace of executions amid a flurry of death warrants signed by DeSantis since 2025. The governor oversaw a state record 19 executions last year, more than any other Florida governor in a single year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, accounting for approximately 40% of the U.S. total of 47 executions for 2025.

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Florida would tie last year's record if Jesse Guardado, 64, is put to death as scheduled on Nov. 5 for robbing and killing a woman to buy drugs in 2004.

Florida has carried out more than half of the 32 total executions in the country so far this year, including Reaves.

In July, Florida executed two prisoners in one day, the first time a state has done so in nearly a decade.

DeSantis has said he wants justice for victims’ families who have often waited decades for death sentences to be carried out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Honduran national who federal authorities say was unlawfully present in the United States allegedly climbed onto his truck and repeatedly swung a hammer at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during a traffic stop in New Jersey this month, federal prosecutors said.

Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador, 27, was charged with assaulting federal officers and appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in Camden federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

"Federal officers put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law and protect the public," U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said in a statement.

"When an individual responds to a traffic stop by attacking an officer with a hammer, that conduct threatens not only the officer’s safety but the rule of law itself," he continued. "We will not allow violent attacks on federal officers to go unanswered and will hold those responsible accountable under the law."

EXCLUSIVE: DHS SECRETARY MULLIN SLAMS SANCTUARY POLITICIANS AS ATTACKS ON ICE OFFICERS SKYROCKET

Federal prosecutors said the incident began during a targeted ICE operation in Gibbsboro, when officers ran a license plate check on a truck traveling through the area.

According to the criminal complaint, the vehicle was registered to Licona Amador, and a search of immigration records indicated he lacked lawful status in the United States.

Officers then activated their emergency lights and pulled over Licona Amador's truck, prosecutors said.

ILLEGAL ALIEN ON THE RUN AFTER ALLEGEDLY RAMMING ICE VEHICLE IN PENNSYLVANIA, PROMPTING AGENT TO FIRE WEAPON

According to the complaint, as officers approached the truck, they saw Licona Amador reach into a tool container in the back seat and pick up a hammer.

Prosecutors said officers ordered Licona Amador to stop moving, but he refused to comply, prompting them to open the vehicle door and attempt to remove him from the truck.

He allegedly pulled away from the officers and moved to the passenger side of the truck, where they again tried unsuccessfully to restrain him.

Licona Amador then climbed out of the passenger side of the truck while holding the hammer, ignoring officers' repeated commands, according to the complaint.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECTED OF GANG TIES ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY RAMMING ICE OFFICER

He allegedly climbed onto the passenger-side door and repeatedly swung the hammer at officers, prosecutors said.

Officers then deployed oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray, commonly known as pepper spray, and wrestled Licona Amador to the ground, prosecutors said.

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He was arrested without injury and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of assaulting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

A convicted bank robber allegedly returned to a familiar disguise while robbing two Florida banks on supervised release, donning an "old man" mask and fleeing in a getaway vehicle tied to his earlier crimes, federal authorities said.

David Sartin Jr., 40, of St. Petersburg, faces two bank robbery charges after investigators say he targeted banks weeks apart while concealing his face behind a prosthetic mask with gray facial hair.

The allegations follow a sentence of more than 10 years in federal prison in a case involving five Texas bank robberies, during which Sartin wore a similar disguise, according to a criminal complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital.

FLORIDA MEN INDICTED IN ARMED HOME INVASION WHERE SUSPECT POSED AS UTILITY WORKER, 13-YEAR-OLD ZIP-TIED: DOJ

His supervised release began in May 2025. Investigators allege he robbed the first Florida bank in August 2026.

"In all of SARTIN JR.’s bank robberies, he used a mask," an FBI special agent wrote in the affidavit.

TWO KENTUCKY BANK EMPLOYEES SHOT AND KILLED DURING ROBBERY, POLICE HUNTING SUSPECT

The first holdup happened Aug. 24 at Valley Bank in Largo, where the suspect entered wearing a straw hat, sports jacket, gloves and a prosthetic face covering, according to investigators.

He approached a teller, demanded money and warned, "no dye packs," the complaint states.

TEEN SUSPECT IN MURDER OF TWO BANK EMPLOYEES IN KENTUCKY LEADS POLICE ON WILD 130 MPH CHASE

As the teller gathered cash and activated a silent alarm, the robber repeatedly urged the employee to hurry, a bank manager told investigators.

"Until we meet again," the suspect said after collecting the money, according to the manager’s account.

THIEF USES WAYMO AS A GETAWAY CAR

Authorities say he escaped with $2,900, wedging a yellow wet-floor sign between the exit doors before fleeing toward a nearby church.

Surveillance video showed the suspect retrieving a bicycle, riding into a nature preserve and leaving the area in a Toyota FJ Cruiser, according to the affidavit.

FLOCK EXECUTIVE DEFENDS CRIME-FIGHTING CAMERAS AS ACLU ATTORNEY QUESTIONS COMPANY'S MOTIVES AMID BACKLASH

Investigators traced the vehicle’s movements through video from surrounding businesses, city trucks, a police cruiser and a school bus. The Toyota was the same vehicle used in several of Sartin’s earlier Texas robberies, authorities said.

On Sept. 15, a similarly disguised suspect entered a Truist Bank in St. Petersburg wearing a flat cap, glasses, a sports jacket and an "old man" mask with a gray mustache and whiskers.

PHILADELPHIA MAN IN 'CHUCKY' MASK ACCUSED OF TERRORIZING CITIZENS NABBED IN LAS VEGAS AFTER MANHUNT

He handed a teller a note demanding cash without dye and fled with approximately $2,554, according to the complaint.

The teller suspected the man was wearing a mask and told investigators he "did not move like an old man would," the FBI agent wrote.

THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA ON YOUR STREET CORNER: LAWFUL SPYING OR CONSTITUTIONALLY PROBLEMATIC?

By then, the FBI was monitoring Sartin’s home with a surveillance camera. Video captured the Toyota leaving before the second robbery and returning afterward, when a man resembling Sartin unloaded a bicycle, according to the affidavit.

The following evening, investigators watched Sartin change the vehicle’s appearance. Investigators said he spray-painted the vehicle’s white roof black.

MASKED SUSPECT CHARGED WITH USING FUEL, FIREWORKS IN WALMART KIDS SECTION AS COVER FOR MASSIVE JEWELRY HEIST

Sartin was arrested Sept. 19 on a warrant for violating his supervised release. Searches uncovered a bicycle and clothing similar to those seen in the robbery video, authorities said.

Agents searching his storage unit found an "old man" mask they said matched the disguise worn during both robberies, along with glasses, clothing and a fake handgun.

In a guest room where Sartin occasionally stayed, investigators also found another mask and a journal identifying him as its author. Its title page included the words, "God’s Best friend is a Bank Robber!" according to the complaint.

Sartin’s previous convictions stretch back nearly two decades. He was convicted of attempted bank robbery in Mississippi in 2008 following a failed holdup involving Halloween masks and disguises.

In 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years and one month in federal prison in the Texas bank robbery case.

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He now faces up to 20 years in prison on each new robbery count if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.

The defense attorney who asked a Louisiana judge to ban pink from the courtroom in the Madison Brooks rape case was held in contempt Monday.

Caitlin Fowlkes, who represents 21-year-old Desmond Carter, used Brooks’ full name in a court filing attached to her July motion seeking to ban trial spectators from wearing pink. Under Louisiana law, sex crime victims must be identified only by their initials in court filings, and attorneys are required to redact their full names.

Brooks, a 19-year-old Louisiana State University student at the time, was allegedly gang-raped by a group of men after a night out in 2023, then struck and killed by a car.

MADISON BROOKS’ MOM SLAMS ATTEMPT TO BAN PINK AT TRIAL FOR SLAIN LSU STUDENT: ‘WE WEAR IT TO HONOR HER’

Judge Gail Horne Ray had ruled in August that Brooks' supporters could wear pink in the courtroom, but on Monday she found Fowlkes in contempt for failing to redact Brooks' full name from the filing. Fowlkes received no punishment.

While Brooks' name has received significant public attention and has been discussed by the governor of Louisiana, Ray wrote "the law is clear that an attorney's failure to comply with the provisions of this law 'shall be punishable as contempt of court."

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According to a coroner's report, Brooks had a BAC of .319 at the time of her death and had injuries consistent with rape.

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Carter was 17 years old when he was taken into custody at the time of the incident. Brooks left Reggie's Bar in Tigerland alongside three men — Carter, Casen Carver, Kaivon Washington and Everett Lee, according to officials. Authorities say Carver drove the group to a parking lot where Carter and Washington allegedly raped Brooks.

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The men told police that Brooks asked to be taken home after the incident, providing multiple incorrect addresses before requesting to be let out near a subdivision, where they said she wandered into the street and was struck by a car.

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The driver of the car that hit her remained on the scene and was ultimately cleared of charges.

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"Maddie felt safe that night, she thought these were her friends and I think a lot of selfish choices were made that night, and ultimately it led in a horrific ending," Brooks' mother, Ashley Baustert, previously told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to Fowlkes for comment.

A Canadian tourist who took a flamingo from its habitat at a popular Las Vegas Strip hotel and carried it through the property was found guilty Monday of animal cruelty after prosecutors argued the bird was injured during the bizarre encounter.

Mitchell Fairbarn, of Ontario, Canada, was convicted of felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after jurors deliberated for about five hours.

The case stemmed from a March 3 incident at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, where Fairbarn removed a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure and brought the bird to his hotel room.

UKRAINIAN INFLUENCERS FILMED THEMSELVES SITTING ON TOP OF SEA TURTLE WHILE IT TRIES TO LAY EGGS

Surveillance footage presented during the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo inside an elevator and carrying it through a hotel hallway as the bird squawked.

Prosecutors argued Fairbarn deliberately caused the bird pain, pointing to footage of him pulling Peachy by its feet and feathers found on the hotel floor.

CALIFORNIA TEEN FACES PRISON AFTER VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS HIM SQUARING UP, REPEATEDLY KICKING SEA LION IN THE FACE

Las Vegas police were called after hotel security reported the flamingo missing from its enclosure.

When authorities found Peachy, the flamingo was missing seven or eight feathers, had blood on its feathers and suffered injuries to its wings.

VIRAL BUSINESSMAN WHO ALLEGEDLY BRAGGED ABOUT WEALTH CHARGED IN FEDERAL ENDANGERED SPECIES HARASSMENT CASE

Fairbarn's defense attorney, Josh Tomsheck, acknowledged his client made poor decisions while intoxicated but argued he never intended to injure the animal.

"He should not have done that, should not have gone into the habitat, shouldn't have touched a bird, shouldn't have taken Peachy inside," Tomsheck told jurors. "The truth is, Mitch was drunk. Mitch was stupid. He made bad decisions."

ONE OF WORLD’S OLDEST ORCA WHALES FOUND WITH POSSIBLE SHOTGUN WOUNDS AS OFFICIALS LAUNCH INVESTIGATION

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Peachy is doing well physically but remains more anxious during veterinary examinations, according to Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, who treated the bird.

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Fairbarn remains under house arrest as he awaits sentencing on Dec. 1.

SUSPECT IN VIRAL MONK SEAL HARASSMENT VIDEO SAYS HE WAS DOXXED AS FEDERAL COURT FIGHT BEGINS

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He faces up to four years in prison on the felony conviction and an additional six months for the misdemeanor offense.

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During the trial, prosecutors acknowledged Fairbarn had received death threats following the incident and was unable to return to Canada when his father died while the criminal case was pending.

ATTORNEY FOR MAN ACCUSED OF THROWING ROCK AT ENDANGERED HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL SAYS CLIENT WAS PROTECTING TURTLES

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Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming argued those consequences resulted from his own actions.

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"None of that would have happened had he not done what he did, had he not made the choices he made," Willming said.

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The Flamingo Las Vegas, one of the Strip's oldest resorts, is known for its wildlife habitat, which houses flamingos, turtles, koi fish and other animals.

Nearly $1 million worth of trading cards in more than 200 packages were stolen from a FedEx truck last week outside of Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA) in Santa Ana.

The cards, which Santa Ana police said were valued at approximately $963,000, were graded by PSA and were being shipped back to their owners.

Police said that sports and Pokémon cards were included in the heist.

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The thief had broken into the truck by breaking the lock. The cards were stolen while the FedEx driver was away from the vehicle.

Card collector and YouTuber SKY-B was a victim of the heist, saying he had 104 cards stolen, "many" of which are "irreplaceable."

"A hundred four cards which were either case hits, which are ultra rare, or they're 1-of-1s, meaning they're the only one in the world," the YouTuber said.

"We are aware of a theft involving a third-party shipping vehicle carrying PSA-graded items. We are working closely with law enforcement and the carrier as the investigation continues," Collectors said in a statement.

FORMER CLIPPERS STAR WARNS OF TEAM'S UPHILL BATTLE AFTER BRUTAL KAWHI LEONARD SALARY CAP PUNISHMENT

Collectors said it has "deactivated the certificates for the stolen items and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items."

"Our customer service team has contacted affected customers directly and is arranging compensation based on fair market value," Collectors said.

"We understand the impact this has on collectors involved, many of whom see these cards as far more than a financial asset. Our team is focused on supporting them. We take this incident seriously, and we will continue working with law enforcement to hold those responsible accountable."

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No arrests have been made, and none of the cards have been recovered.

In my neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, too many of our residents, especially the children, fear the police. They have been taught that the police are not their friends, that officers might shoot them, arrest them for being Black, and that they are their enemies. I do not believe any of this, and I have sought to correct these misperceptions, which could have fatal consequences.

I recently invited several Chicago police officers to visit my community center, Project H.O.O.D. They came in full Chicago blue uniforms, with their police visor caps with the checkered bands, and their guns. At first, there was tension in the room. You could feel it. Some of the kids hid behind the adults, some of whom stood defiantly. The gulf was profound, and that is why I invited the police in to do my part to repair the damage done by the defund the police movement, one encounter at a time.

This damage goes back years, a lifetime for most of our youth who know nothing but hostility to the police. For more than a decade, Black Lives Matter and its allies conditioned a generation to treat the police as the problem. Fear and hatred of the police had always been there to some degree in the Black community.

CONTROVERSIAL SOCIALIST CHEF FLIP-FLOPS ON ABOLISH THE POLICE, SAYS SHE’S ‘SERIOUS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY’

But there was something different about this conditioning, which began to take off after Trayvon Martin’s death in 2012. When George Zimmerman was acquitted, the phrase "Black Lives Matter" was born, and the message that began to spread was that the police were hunting Black boys. Zimmerman was not a police officer, but for the sake of the narrative, he was made the stand-in as the neighborhood vigilante.

Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson in 2014 only reinforced the narrative. "Hands up, don’t shoot" became a slogan that was not true. Brown did not have his hands up — instead, he charged the cop, but the image of a White cop and a dead Black teen was all the narrative needed to continue. Police officers nationwide were demonized as an occupying force rather than neighbors with badges.

By the time George Floyd died in Minneapolis in 2020, the groundwork had already been laid. The New York Times published its May 30 opinion piece titled "No More Money for the Police," arguing that the path to safety was to reduce police power and contact with the public and redirect the money elsewhere. In Minneapolis, a majority of the City Council stood in a park and pledged to dismantle the police department. The loudest voices were not asking for better training or more accountability. They wanted abolition.

When I heard that, I knew one thing: it would be us who paid the price. Not the folks living in leafy suburbs with Black Lives Matter signs in their front yards. And the impact was felt immediately. No police officer wanted to risk going viral. They pulled back. And, shamefully, many in my community demanded that.

MR T TAUGHT ME A LESSON EVERY KID ON CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE NEEDS TO HEAR

In 2019, Chicago recorded roughly 500 homicides. In 2020, that number climbed to 781. In 2021, it reached 804 — the city’s deadliest year in a quarter-century. The spike was national — FBI data showed murders rose nearly 30% in 2020, the largest single-year increase on record, with Black Americans hit even harder. Chicago’s South and West Sides absorbed a disproportionate share. Police staffing fell as retirements and resignations surged. Morale collapsed under canceled days off, forced overtime and the constant message that the job itself was illegitimate. Arrests and proactive policing dropped. The outcome was not a policy experiment. There were more funerals in the neighborhoods that could least afford them.

So many of those who died during this time should be alive. They died because Black activists demonized the police to advance their own activist agendas, which led to the very destruction of the people they claimed to be helping. To date, none have taken responsibility for their deadly rhetoric.

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There is nothing I can do about the dead. My focus has been on the living, especially the young minds. They are the ones still paying the price. Years of being told that the police are the enemy taught some of them never to call when something bad is happening. They see the uniform and assume hostility rather than help. I have watched that fear take root in kids who have already lost too much. It is one of the lasting wounds of the defund era: not only fewer officers on the street, but a generation that learned the people sworn to protect them cannot be trusted.

At Project H.O.O.D., we are repairing that damage the only way I know how — by bringing the police into our building and letting our kids see them as people. Officers come in and sit with the children, the teenagers and the adults who walk through our doors. They answer questions. They listen to the stories that our young people carry. They show that the uniform does not hide a monster; it covers a man or woman who chose a hard job because they want to keep this community safe. Some of the kids who used to freeze up at the sight of a squad car now stay after and keep talking. A few have even started asking what it takes to become an officer themselves.

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The fear does not disappear in a single afternoon, but the wall starts to crack. That is the work. It is not a press conference. It is not a slogan. It is one conversation at a time inside a building where we refuse to let the lies of the last decade become the future of the next one.

The police are not the enemy. Treating them as if they are has already cost too many lives on these streets. We are done accepting that.

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When police were searching for his missing wife, Gurinder Gill allegedly told them Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested her when she went out to bring in the mail at their home in Sacramento, California.

Days earlier, however, authorities in neighboring El Dorado County found burned and buried remains that were later identified as hers.

Now Gill, 28, is charged with the murder of his 30-year-old wife, Jasmine Gill, an India-born nurse and mother of their 8-month-old child.

ALABAMA MOTHER SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR HIRING HITMAN TO KILL HER CHILD'S FATHER OVER CUSTODY DISPUTE

They were going through a divorce and child custody dispute when she vanished, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office.

She had last been seen on Sept. 30. Her cousin reported her missing on Oct. 4.

MAN WHOSE WIFE VANISHED YEARS AGO NOW CUFFED IN SEPARATE COLD CASE – AUTHORITIES SAY HIS PAST WAS DEADLY

"As the investigation progressed, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office detectives identified several inconsistencies in Gurinder’s statements about his wife’s disappearance," Sgt. Edward Igoe, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, said in a statement.

After Sacramento detectives contacted Gurinder Gill, they attempted to vet his claim with ICE.

ICE LODGES DETAINER FOR ILLEGAL MIGRANT CHARGED WITH STRANGLING WIFE AND DUMPING BODY NEAR OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY

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"Detectives contacted ICE, which confirmed that no enforcement activity had occurred at the residence," Igoe said.

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On Oct. 1, investigators found burned and buried remains about 70 miles away from the couple's Sacramento residence.

TEEN FOUND IN SHALLOW CALIFORNIA VINEYARD GRAVE IDENTIFIED NEARLY 50 YEARS LATER AS FAMILY WARNS KILLER

According to the Sacramento County sheriff, the remains in El Dorado were confirmed to belong to Jasmine Gill.

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Deputies arrested her husband on Oct. 14 and executed search warrants at two homes he is associated with. He is ineligible for bail.

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According to a GoFundMe campaign set up for Jasmine Gill's family, she was born in India, where her mother still lives. Jasmine Gill became a registered nurse to follow in her mom's footsteps and had an 8-month-old.

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Supporters have so far raised more than $21,000 in an effort to return her remains to her mother and to help raise her son.

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"She was fighting for a better future for herself and her baby," the campaign reads. "She was seeking a divorce. She was trying to find the freedom, safety, and fresh start they both deserved. Tragically, before she could build that future, Jasmine was murdered, leaving behind the very child she was fighting so hard to protect."

Italy has granted Texas murder suspect Lee Gilley "partial extradition" after months of back and forth with U.S. courts. Fox News Digital has confirmed.

Gilley is accused of killing his pregnant wife, Christa Bauer Gilley, and their unborn child back in 2024; he was supposed to face trial in Harris County earlier this year – but instead cut his ankle monitor off and fled the U.S. to Italy. He reportedly left his home on a bicycle before boarding a private jet in Memphis, Tennessee, according to KPRC, leading authorities to suspect he had help fleeing the country.

In the motion obtained by Fox News Digital and translated to English, the Italian court granted the extradition on one charge of murder, not capital murder.

PARENTS OF SLAIN PREGNANT MOM CHRISTA GILLEY DEMAND LEE GILLEY'S RETURN FROM ITALY FOR MURDER CASE

The motion also spelled out that Italy would only grant Gilley's extradition on the condition that he faces a reduced charge of first-degree murder for killing his wife and not their unborn child.

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Fox News Digital previously reported that Italy denied requests to extradite Gilley back to the U.S. with concerns that the murder suspect would face capital murder punishment — including possible death penalty or life without possibility of parole — if convicted.

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TEXAS LAWMAKER WARNS ACCUSED WIFE-KILLER'S ITALY ESCAPE COULD OPEN 'PANDORA'S BOX' FOR FUTURE SUSPECTS

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With the newly reduced charge — the suspect, if convicted, would now face a possible punishment of 5 to 99 years behind bars, according to Texas law.

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This new motion by Italian courts isn't an automatic ticket back to the U.S. 

Gilley's defense attorney, Dick DeGeurin, confirmed to Fox News Digital it is likely that Gilley's defense attorneys will appeal in the coming days.

TEXAS MAN ACCUSED IN PREGNANT WIFE'S MURDER FIGHTS TO REMAIN IN ITALY, CITING 'LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE'

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This could extend the already lengthy process of getting the suspect back to the U.S. to face charges. Gilley's attorney did not detail an exact timeline of when his client would be returning to U.S. soil.

An elderly Mississippi man was fatally shot with his own gun while fighting an alleged burglar inside his home, and his wife managed to escape, authorities said.

Union County Sheriff Jimmy Edwards told Fox News Digital that Eric Basco broke into Bobby McGill’s home around 4 a.m. Thursday while McGill and his wife were asleep.

McGill, 81, struggled with Basco, who got hold of McGill’s gun and fatally shot him multiple times, Edwards said.

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"It appears that there was a struggle that had ensued between the assailant and the homeowner. And he had a pistol that he kept in his chest there at the foot of his bed," Edwards said. "It looks like to us that what we're piecing together, is that he may have tried to get that pistol and the individual was fighting him, and they had a fight and the guy got the pistol and shot Mr. Bobby multiple times."

McGill's wife, Peggy, was able to escape the home safely and called 911 to report that someone "came into their house and attacked her husband," Edwards said.

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Edwards said Basco's likely motive was burglary, adding that he went into a bathroom and shot himself. Basco has since died at a hospital.

However, Edwards said investigators obtained a video from the evening before the shooting that appears to show Basco walking down a road about 1.5 miles from McGill’s home, throwing his hands in the air and screaming what sounds like "God is dead."

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"It sounds like on the video that we saw that he was saying, ‘God is dead.’ Now, like I said, we're not 100% sure of that, but it sounds like that's what he was sayin'," Edwards said. "And in Mr. Bobby's yard was a cross and a sign that said, 'Jesus is Lord.' So did that help lure him to that house? I don't know. I'm not saying it did. I'm not saying it had anything at all to do with it. But it's a question that I have in my head if that played a part or not. I don't know, we'll probably never know."

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"It was a very sad, tragic thing, just for no reason," Edwards added.

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The Union County sheriff said Basco didn't have a criminal history other than minor traffic violations and said there was "something mentally wrong with him or something that altered his thinking."

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He said the couple were "very good citizens."

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McGill’s granddaughter paid tribute to him in a Facebook post, writing, "My Papaw loved the Lord above all else & he loved his family with his whole heart."

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"What a great man. He led his life by example of what it looks like to walk with Jesus. He made sure you couldn’t leave a conversation with him without hearing about Jesus. His faith became sight this morning," she wrote. "How lucky are we to have the hope of eternity so we can see him again one day. This world & the people in it can be so evil. Please be in prayer for our family in the days to come."