Breaking News - Houston Stringer

Court upholds insurance payout dispute tied to Memphis studio arson

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Tennessee

Court upholds insurance payout dispute tied to Memphis studio arson

MEMPHIS, TN – A federal appeals court has affirmed a lower court ruling in a dispute over a multimillion-dollar insurance payout following a 2015 fire and arson at the House of Blues recording studio in Memphis. According to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the fire caused extensive damage to the studio and its equipment, which had been insured by Hanover American Insurance Company. Music producer Christopher C. Brown, through his company Tattooed Millionaire Entertainment, held the policy covering the premises and recording gear. Separate insurance coverage had also been obtained by musician John Falls, who leased and operated one of the studios. Court records show that Brown submitted forged receipts to Hanover for equipment lost in the fire. The jury later determined that F...

Man accused of lying about identity to get U.S. citizenship now faces having it taken away

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Washington D.C.

Man accused of lying about identity to get U.S. citizenship now faces having it taken away

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Justice filed a civil denaturalization complaint on Sept. 24, 2025, against Gurdev Singh Sohal, who allegedly used a false identity to obtain U.S. citizenship after being ordered deported more than a decade earlier. Sohal, also known as Dev Singh and Boota Singh Sundu, was ordered deported in 1994 under the name Dev Singh. Rather than comply, he allegedly assumed a new identity and submitted immigration applications under the name Gurdev Singh Sohal. He later naturalized in 2005 using that new identity, failing to disclose his previous immigration record. According to the complaint, Sohal used a new name, date of birth, and date of entry into the country. In 2020, expert fingerprint analysis confirmed both identities belonged to the same perso...

Justice Department seeks to revoke citizenship of man convicted of child sex abuse during naturalization period

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Washington D.C.

Justice Department seeks to revoke citizenship of man convicted of child sex abuse during naturalization period

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a civil complaint to revoke the citizenship of Hector Daneri Regalado, who was convicted of sexually abusing a child during the period he was required to demonstrate good moral character for naturalization. Regalado became a naturalized citizen in 2010. However, in 2012, he entered an Alford plea to two counts of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child in North Carolina. Prosecutors stated that Regalado abused the victim, who was between 12 and 14 years old, over a span of approximately two years beginning in 2007. The conduct occurred during the statutory period required to demonstrate moral character before gaining citizenship. The civil complaint to revoke his citizenship was filed on Sept. 24, 2025. This is the tenth ...

Dover man charged after allegedly firing gun during road rage incident on Route 1

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Delaware

Dover man charged after allegedly firing gun during road rage incident on Route 1

DOVER, DE – A 33-year-old man from Dover is facing felony charges after allegedly shooting at another driver during a road rage incident on Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. Delaware State Police say the incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. on September 23, 2025, on Route 1 northbound, just south of South Dupont Highway. Investigators said a 64-year-old man driving a GMC Yukon Denali was being followed too closely by a Chevrolet Silverado, driven by Joseph Novak, near the Roth Bridge. Both vehicles were reportedly involved in aggressive driving before colliding. After the crash, Novak allegedly fired a handgun at the Denali. Troopers noted damage to the Denali consistent with gunfire. No injuries were reported. Novak was taken into custody without incident. A legally owned h...

Oklahoma marijuana grow manager loses appeal after conviction for conspiracy to distribute 20,000 plants

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Oklahoma

Oklahoma marijuana grow manager loses appeal after conviction for conspiracy to distribute 20,000 plants

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of Jeff Weng, who was found guilty of running a large illegal marijuana grow in Wetumka, Oklahoma, where nearly 20,000 plants were seized by federal authorities. Weng, who managed the operation, was convicted alongside his cousin, Tong Lin, of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants. Lin previously appealed his conviction, which was also upheld. In his appeal, Weng argued that the trial court made mistakes by blocking evidence that the grow may have followed Oklahoma’s marijuana laws, and by allegedly allowing a conviction without enough proof that the plants were marijuana or that he was part of a conspiracy. He also asked the court to consider the same arguments his cous...

Appeals court says man who killed daughter can’t take back guilty plea or appeal life sentence

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Colorado

Appeals court says man who killed daughter can’t take back guilty plea or appeal life sentence

DENVER, CO – A federal appeals court has ruled that a man who admitted to killing his five-year-old daughter on tribal land in Oklahoma cannot appeal his life sentence or withdraw his guilty plea. According to court documents, Adam Raymond Mason pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. As part of his plea deal, Mason had agreed not to appeal his conviction or sentence. He later tried to back out, arguing that his mental illness made the plea invalid and that his lawyer should not have dropped a request for a mental competency evaluation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit rejected his claims, saying Mason understood the consequences when he entered the plea. The court noted that he told the judge he was thinking clearly and taking m...

Ohio woman allowed to keep Camaro after filing fourth bankruptcy since 2023

25Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Ohio

Ohio woman allowed to keep Camaro after filing fourth bankruptcy since 2023

DAYTON, OH – A woman in Ohio will be allowed to keep her 2018 Chevrolet Camaro after a bankruptcy judge conditionally denied a lender’s request to lift the automatic stay on the vehicle, despite the woman filing her fourth bankruptcy case in just over two years. The decision was issued in Case No. 25-31383 by Judge Crist of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio on September 22, 2025. The woman, who filed the case without an attorney, previously filed Chapter 13 bankruptcies in March 2023, September 2023, and April 2025. All three prior cases were dismissed. American Credit Acceptance had repossessed the Camaro the morning after the woman filed her latest bankruptcy on July 17, 2025. The court found the repossession violated the automatic stay and ordered the...

Canadian man loses bid to stay in U.S. after child endangerment case involving 14-year-old girl

24Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Washington D.C.

Canadian man loses bid to stay in U.S. after child endangerment case involving 14-year-old girl

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Board of Immigration Appeals has reversed a 2025 decision by an Immigration Judge that granted cancellation of removal to Samuel Michael McDonald, a Canadian citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States, citing the severity of his criminal conduct and recent convictions involving a 14-year-old victim. According to Matter of McDonald, 29 I&N Dec. 249 (BIA 2025), McDonald had been convicted in New York of two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Although those convictions were classified as misdemeanors, the Board determined that the underlying conduct—including alleged sexual grooming, drug use, and attempts to involve the victim in sexual activities—presented serious and recent adverse factors that outweighed any equities. The dec...

Florida man arrested in 2017 North Carolina double homicide, police say

24Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

North Carolina

Florida man arrested in 2017 North Carolina double homicide, police say

FOREST CITY, NC – A Florida man has been arrested and extradited in connection with a double homicide that occurred more than eight years ago in Forest City. File Photo (August 2025) On September 24, 2025, Forest City Police, with the assistance of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, arrested 55-year-old Jose Angelo Gonzales of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He has been charged with the May 18, 2017, killings of Akir Hooper and Stephanie Walker. Gonzales is currently being held without bond at the Rutherford County Detention Center. The arrest follows a lengthy investigation led by Forest City Police, with assistance from the SBI, FBI, Broward County Sheriff’s Office, Sunshine Police Department in Florida, and the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office. Officials say th...

Arizona woman admits to running $15 million mail fraud scheme targeting elderly victims

24Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Washington D.C.

Arizona woman admits to running $15 million mail fraud scheme targeting elderly victims

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An Arizona woman has pleaded guilty for her role in a mass-mailing fraud scheme that defrauded thousands of elderly consumers across the United States and abroad. According to federal prosecutors, 48-year-old Kimberly Stamps of Gilbert, Arizona, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. She was the operator of a prize notice scam that ran from 2012 until early 2018 and stole more than $15 million from victims. Stamps admitted she mailed millions of deceptive prize notices that falsely claimed recipients had been selected to win large cash prizes, requiring a $20 to $50 fee to claim the reward. Victims never received any real prize, only sweepstakes information or trinkets of minimal value. Court documents show Stamps managed nearly every as...