Houston Stringer - Houston Stringer

Panama City woman charged with child neglect after twins found severely malnourished

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Florida

Panama City woman charged with child neglect after twins found severely malnourished

PANAMA CITY, FL – A 21-year-old woman has been arrested on charges of aggravated child neglect and child neglect after authorities found her one-month-old twin sons suffering from severe malnutrition. According to Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford, deputies responded to a medical emergency at a residence on Blueberry Road in the early hours of September 30, 2025. Upon arrival, they encountered Hailey Nicole Smith holding her unresponsive infant in the front yard. Deputies began administering medical aid until Bay County Fire Rescue arrived and transported the child to a local hospital. An investigation by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division revealed that both twins were severely malnourished. After initial treatment at a local hospital, the children were ...

Leon County teacher arrested in sexual misconduct case involving minor

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Florida

Leon County teacher arrested in sexual misconduct case involving minor

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The Leon County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 30-year-old teacher following an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. According to the Sheriff’s Office, detectives determined that the relationship between Mikayla Rich and the victim lasted approximately three years, beginning when Rich was 27 and the victim was 16. Investigators gathered evidence and conducted interviews that corroborated the allegations, establishing probable cause for her arrest. Rich was taken into custody on October 15, 2025, and booked into the Leon County Detention Facility on one count of Offenses Against Students by Authority Figures, a second-degree felony. At the time of the alleged misconduct, Rich was employed at Acts Christian Academy. She was most recently empl...

Gunfire prompts school lockdown, large police response in Anchorage neighborhood

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Alaska

Gunfire prompts school lockdown, large police response in Anchorage neighborhood

ANCHORAGE, AK – A large police presence was deployed early Thursday morning following reports of gunfire in the 3400-block of Commercial Drive, prompting school lockdowns and a search for an armed suspect. At approximately 7:29 a.m. on October 16, 2025, Anchorage Police responded to several calls reporting multiple rounds of gunfire in the area. One witness reported seeing an adult male suspect discharge a firearm before fleeing on foot. Officers arrived on scene and began establishing containment. During the search, one officer was reportedly fired upon, triggering the activation of the Anchorage Police Department’s SWAT team. Officers, K9 units, and patrol teams conducted a comprehensive search of nearby homes, streets, and businesses. Clark Middle School was secured and sub...

Woman killed in head-on collision with semi southeast of Harvey

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

North Dakota

Woman killed in head-on collision with semi southeast of Harvey

HARVEY, ND – A 45-year-old woman from Tioga was killed late Wednesday night in a head-on crash involving an SUV and a semi-truck on Highway 52, approximately nine miles southeast of Harvey. The fatal collision occurred at around 10:26 p.m. on October 15, 2025, near mile marker 177.5. According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, a 2015 Nissan Rogue was traveling northwest on Highway 52 when it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a 2007 Kenworth truck traveling southeast. The driver of the Nissan was pronounced deceased at the scene. Her identity has not been publicly released. It is unknown whether she was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. The 73-year-old driver of the Kenworth, from Minot, was injured and transported to St. Aloisius Medical Center in H...

Motorcyclist killed in high-speed T-bone crash in Minot

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

North Dakota

Motorcyclist killed in high-speed T-bone crash in Minot

MINOT, ND – A 42-year-old man was killed in a T-bone crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV at the intersection of 37th Avenue SW and 10th Street SW on Wednesday evening. The collision occurred just before 6:30 p.m. CT on October 15, 2025. According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, a 2024 Suzuki GSX 1300 motorcycle was traveling westbound on 37th Avenue SW at a high rate of speed. At the same time, a 2015 Dodge Durango driven by a juvenile was stopped at a stop sign on 10th Street SW and attempted to turn eastbound onto 37th Avenue SW. The motorcycle struck the driver’s side of the SUV in the intersection. Both vehicles came to rest at the crash site. The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased at Trinity Health-Minot. The ...

Tenth Circuit orders reinstatement of asylum for Honduran woman after decade-long legal battle

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

U.S.

Tenth Circuit orders reinstatement of asylum for Honduran woman after decade-long legal battle

DENVER, CO – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has ordered the reinstatement of asylum for Modesta Ramos Ramos and her two minor children after determining that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) misapplied the legal standard in overturning an immigration judge’s decision. Ramos, a native of Honduras, was first granted asylum by an immigration judge in 2014 after credible testimony that she and her children were threatened by a gang member following the murder of her partner. The judge found that Ramos faced persecution due to her membership in the nuclear family of Arturo Robles, the children’s father. However, the Department of Homeland Security appealed, and the BIA remanded the case. A second immigration judge again granted asylum in 2019, but the government ap...

Arkansas State Police seek public’s help after 18-year-old service worker killed in I-40 hit-and-run

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Arkansas

Arkansas State Police seek public’s help after 18-year-old service worker killed in I-40 hit-and-run

EARLE, ARK. – The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is requesting public assistance following a fatal hit-and-run that killed an 18-year-old service worker on Interstate 40. The incident occurred Friday, October 10, 2025, at approximately 10:30 p.m. near the 262-mile marker, just east of the Earle exit. Troopers responded after receiving a report of a service truck parked on the shoulder with flashing hazard lights and a person lying in the right lane of traffic. Upon arrival, they found Jacob Allen Marquis of Marked Tree deceased at the scene. Marquis had been dispatched to repair a tire and arrived at the location around 8:36 p.m., according to preliminary findings. Investigators believe Marquis was struck by an unknown vehicle between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m....

Sixth Circuit upholds firearms trafficking enhancement in Elias Pagan case involving undercover gun and drug sales

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee

Sixth Circuit upholds firearms trafficking enhancement in Elias Pagan case involving undercover gun and drug sales

CINCINNATI, OH – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed the firearms trafficking sentencing enhancement imposed on Elias Pagan, who pleaded guilty to multiple drug and firearm offenses after selling crack cocaine and firearms to an undercover agent in Cleveland. Pagan sold five firearms and crack cocaine across multiple transactions in 2023. The undercover agent, posing as a buyer, asked about illegal firearm modifications, used a hidden compartment in his vehicle, and bought drugs—factors the court found sufficient to establish Pagan had “reason to believe” the firearms would be used unlawfully. This met the criteria for the trafficking enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) (2021). The court rejected Pagan’s argument that the enhancement amounted to impr...

Sixth Circuit denies Amir Beigali’s appeal for sentence reduction tied to stacked firearm convictions

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee

Sixth Circuit denies Amir Beigali’s appeal for sentence reduction tied to stacked firearm convictions

CINCINNATI, OH – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has denied Amir Karim Beigali’s appeal seeking a sentence reduction based on changes under the First Step Act and amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines. Beigali, currently serving a 35-year federal sentence for attempting to possess cocaine and for a second conviction of using a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, argued that recent legal changes—particularly the First Step Act’s revision to the “stacking” provision under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)—should entitle him to a sentence reduction. He also cited Amendments 814 and 821 to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which address unusually long sentences and criminal history scoring. The Sixth Circuit upheld the district court’s decision, finding that Bei...

Sixth Circuit denies asylum to Honduran woman who fled gang threats as child

16Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee

Sixth Circuit denies asylum to Honduran woman who fled gang threats as child

CINCINNATI, OH – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit denied Carmen Odalis Cabrera-Hernandez’s petition for review after the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) rejected her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. Cabrera-Hernandez, a native of Honduras, unlawfully entered the United States in 2014 at the age of 12 after receiving threats from gang members who later kidnapped her friend and allegedly murdered her uncle. She claimed fear of being kidnapped or killed if forced to return to Honduras, citing distrust in local police and lack of family protection. The Immigration Judge (IJ) found her proposed social groups—“Honduran women,” “Honduran females between the ages of 5 and 21,” and “Honduran females betw...