Author: Houston Stringer

TAMPA, FL – A Tampa man has been charged with interstate communication of a threat to injure and kill after allegedly making violent threats toward federal officials and their families. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, 35-year-old Robert Logan Shoecraft III is accused of making threats in both phone messages and online communications. In May 2024, Shoecraft allegedly called the office of a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and left an expletive-laden voicemail threatening to kill the lawmaker. On October 31, 2025, he allegedly sent a direct message via social media to the wife of a federal official who serves as an advisor to the President of the United States, threatening that she and her husband would be “dragged through the str...

SACRAMENTO, CA – A Phoenix man has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for planting hoax bomb devices at Christian churches across multiple states and attempting to obstruct the free exercise of religion. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 46-year-old Zimnako Salah was convicted in March 2025 of placing a backpack inside a Roseville, California, church bathroom to simulate a bomb threat. Prosecutors said Salah’s actions were part of a wider hate-motivated campaign targeting Christian congregations in Arizona, California, and Colorado. The jury found that Salah targeted the churches because of the religion of those who worshipped there, classifying the crimes as hate offenses. Evidence presented at trial showed that between September and November 2023, Salah vi...

EUGENE, OR – A Colombian national has been arrested and charged in connection with an organized burglary ring accused of targeting homes of Asian business owners across Oregon and Washington. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, 34-year-old Derinson Martinez-Grandas is one of seven individuals charged with conspiracy to transmit stolen property. Prosecutors allege that beginning in early October 2025, Martinez-Grandas and his co-conspirators traveled between states, staying in short-term rentals while identifying and surveilling potential victims. The crew allegedly used signal jammers, countersurveillance methods, and coordinated group calls to carry out the burglaries, often entering homes by breaking glass doors. The group is accused of burglariz...

BRIDGEPORT, CT – A Middletown man has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for defrauding the Connecticut Medicaid Program of more than $1.8 million through a fraudulent behavioral health services operation. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut, 40-year-old Ramon Apellaniz, former operator of The Gemini Project, LLC, conspired with Suhail Aponte, owner of Minds Cornerstone Behavior Therapy Services, to submit false claims for applied behavior analysis services provided to children with autism spectrum disorder. Between November 2021 and January 2025, the two caused approximately $1,876,617 in losses to the state Medicaid program. Apellaniz operated under the alias “Kristopher Rockefeller,” directing Aponte from prison on how to commit t...

SAN DIEGO, CA – A San Diego man has been indicted for allegedly running a multimillion-dollar investment scheme that defrauded investors across the United States. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, 29-year-old Ethan Joseph Sanchez was charged with wire fraud and money laundering following an extensive investigation by the FBI San Diego Field Office. Court documents allege that since 2022, Sanchez solicited more than $6 million from investors through his company, BSC Equity Ventures, by falsely claiming the funds would be used for real estate projects, including property purchases, renovations, and construction of accessory dwelling units. Prosecutors say Sanchez promised returns of up to 25 percent, falsely stating that the investment...

THOUSAND OAKS, CA – A 26-year-old man was arrested after allegedly stabbing his mother and injuring two deputies during a violent confrontation in the 2500 block of Hickory Wood Lane. According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 10:32 a.m. on November 9, 2025, to a reported family disturbance involving Ryan Goldstein and his 54-year-old mother. When deputies contacted Goldstein outside his apartment, he allegedly struck one deputy in the face, leading to a struggle. A second deputy sustained a hand injury while assisting in taking Goldstein into custody. Both deputies were treated at Los Robles Hospital and later released. Deputies then located the victim inside the residence suffering from multiple stab wounds and lacerations to her face, head, and...

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting constituted a single “occurrence” under Broward County Sheriff’s Office excess liability policy with Evanston Insurance Company. The dispute arose after 60 lawsuits were filed against the Sheriff of Broward County, alleging negligence in securing the school during the Parkland shooting that killed 17 students and staff members. The Sheriff sought a declaratory judgment that the incident should be treated as one occurrence under the policy, requiring payment of a single $500,000 self-insured retention (SIR) and deductible before Evanston’s excess coverage applied. Evanston argued each gunshot or victim represented a separate ...

AUSTIN, TX – Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Commissioners Court for allocating more than $1.3 million in public funds to organizations that he says will use the money to oppose lawful deportations of illegal aliens. File Photo (September 2025) “We must stop the left-wing radicals who are robbing Texans to prevent illegals from being deported by the Trump Administration,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Beyond just being blatantly unconstitutional, this is evil and wicked. Millions upon millions of illegals invaded America during the last administration, and they must be sent back to where they came from.” According to the filing, the Harris County Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to allocate $1,344,751 in taxpayer funds to several nongovernme...