Friday, October 10

Breaking News

Latest breaking news and developing stories from Houston Stringer, covering major incidents and local stories across the U.S. and worldwide.

Dover man charged after allegedly firing gun during road rage incident on Route 1
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
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
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
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
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
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
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...
Oklahoma man sentenced again to life in prison for brutal 2013 murder of former girlfriend
Oklahoma

Oklahoma man sentenced again to life in prison for brutal 2013 murder of former girlfriend

MCINTOSH COUNTY, OK – A McIntosh County man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for the second time for the 2013 murder of a Checotah woman he had previously dated. David Deval Martin, 40, was convicted in October 2024 of murder in Indian Country after a federal jury found him guilty. The federal prosecution followed a Supreme Court decision requiring the case to be retried in U.S. District Court due to jurisdictional issues stemming from McGirt v. Oklahoma. Martin was originally convicted in state court in 2016 and sentenced to life without parole, but that conviction was vacated following the Supreme Court ruling. According to court records, Martin beat and stabbed the victim on November 7, 2013, inflicting more than 100 injuries to her head and neck. The medical ex...
Tulsa man accused of trying to provide 3-D printed weapons to al-Qaida
Oklahoma

Tulsa man accused of trying to provide 3-D printed weapons to al-Qaida

TULSA, OK – A criminal complaint was unsealed today against a Tulsa man who allegedly attempted to provide 3-D printed weapons and firearm components to an individual he believed was associated with al-Qaida, according to federal prosecutors. Andrew Scott Hastings, 25, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and with the illegal possession or transfer of a machinegun. According to court documents, in June 2024, the FBI became aware that Hastings was using a social media app to discuss violent acts against U.S. civilians in support of global jihad. Hastings, who was then enlisted in the U.S. Army National Guard and held a national security clearance, allegedly failed to report international travel as required and made s...
High-ranking members of Sinaloa Cartel indicted for drug trafficking and money laundering in Southern Illinois
Illinois

High-ranking members of Sinaloa Cartel indicted for drug trafficking and money laundering in Southern Illinois

EAST ST. LOUIS, IL – A superseding federal indictment unsealed today charges 26 individuals with participating in a large-scale drug trafficking operation allegedly connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the Department of Justice. The indictment accuses the defendants of trafficking hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine from Mexico into Southern Illinois, and laundering proceeds back to Mexico through U.S. banks. According to court documents, the conduct occurred between January 2020 and July 2025. Two Mexican nationals, Prospero Coronel-Sanchez, also known as “Pro,” and Jose Luis Angulo-Soto, also known as “El Mi Nino,” face narcoterrorism charges and are accused of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Both are also cha...