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Queens man pleads guilty to acting as unregistered agent for China’s Ministry of State Security

18Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

New York

Queens man pleads guilty to acting as unregistered agent for China’s Ministry of State Security

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 18, 2025 – Yuanjun Tang, 68, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Flushing, Queens, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to act as an unregistered agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) within the United States. According to court documents, Tang, a former PRC citizen and political dissident, had previously been imprisoned in China for opposing the Chinese Communist Party, including his participation in the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. After defecting to Taiwan in 2002, he was granted political asylum in the United States, where he later settled in New York City and became active in pro-democracy efforts. Between at least 2018 and June 2023, Tang acted at the direction of the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS), the country’s civilian inte...

Guatemalan national indicted in Louisiana for fraud in attempt to sponsor unaccompanied child

18Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Louisiana

Guatemalan national indicted in Louisiana for fraud in attempt to sponsor unaccompanied child

BATON ROUGE, LA, Sept. 18, 2025 – A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Louisiana has indicted a Guatemalan national residing unlawfully in the United States for fraud involving a government program designed to protect unaccompanied alien children (UAC). According to court documents, Felix Coc Choc, 29, of Rogers, Arkansas, is charged with one count of making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement and one count of aggravated identity theft. The indictment was unsealed today. Authorities allege that after a 16-year-old Guatemalan UAC entered the United States illegally in January 2023, Coc Choc submitted an application to sponsor the child through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). In the application, Coc Choc all...

Lewes man arrested for felony home improvement fraud involving elderly victim

18Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Delaware

Lewes man arrested for felony home improvement fraud involving elderly victim

LEWES, DE, Sept. 18, 2025 – Delaware State Police have arrested 63-year-old Jeffrey Brower of Lewes following an investigation into a home improvement fraud involving an elderly victim. According to investigators, troopers began looking into Brower on Sept. 2, 2025, after receiving a complaint from a 66-year-old Lewes resident. The victim reported signing a contract with Brower in October 2024 for HVAC work and paying him $7,000. However, Brower never started the work and failed to reimburse the funds. Following the investigation, troopers obtained a warrant for Brower’s arrest. He turned himself in at Troop 7 on Sept. 11, 2025. Brower was charged with one felony count of Home Improvement Fraud by False Pretense $1500 or Greater where the victim is 62 years or older. He was arrai...

Pennsylvania man arrested after allegedly flashing gun during road rage incident in Wilmington

18Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Delaware

Pennsylvania man arrested after allegedly flashing gun during road rage incident in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, DE, Sept. 18, 2025 – Delaware State Police have arrested 30-year-old Robert George, of Wallingford, Pennsylvania, in connection with a road rage incident that occurred Monday evening on Concord Pike near Concord Mall. According to investigators, around 6:00 p.m. on Sept. 15, a 45-year-old Wilmington man contacted authorities after an encounter with another driver who allegedly displayed a firearm. The victim told troopers he was driving southbound in the left lane of Concord Pike when a Chevrolet Colorado abruptly swerved into his lane, cutting him off. The confrontation escalated near the intersection of Concord Pike and Rocky Run Boulevard, where the driver of the Colorado, later identified as George, entered the left-turn lane toward Widener University Delaware Law...

Santa Ana man convicted for kidnapping and sexual assault of a 6 year old girl

18Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

California

Santa Ana man convicted for kidnapping and sexual assault of a 6 year old girl

SANTA ANA, CA – A jury convicted 51-year-old Francisco Javier Lopez of Montebello for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl in 2012. Police said Lopez abducted the child from the 1400 block of S. Townsend Street, assaulted her in a nearby parking lot, and left her near her home. DNA evidence produced the first female familial DNA match in Orange County, identifying Lopez as the suspect. He was arrested in 2019 and on September 16, 2025, found guilty of 11 felony counts, including kidnapping to commit a sex offense and multiple child sexual assault charges. Sentencing is set for October 9, 2025.

Two Mississippi men flee into woods after high-speed chase ends on I-40 in Arkansas

18Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Arkansas

Two Mississippi men flee into woods after high-speed chase ends on I-40 in Arkansas

HAZEN, Ark., Sept. 18, 2025 – Arkansas State Police are searching for two suspects who fled into a wooded area following a high-speed pursuit that ended along Interstate 40 near Hazen early Wednesday morning. According to ASP, the pursuit began around 8:45 a.m. when troopers attempted to stop a black Hyundai Palisade for a traffic violation. The driver reportedly fled at speeds nearing 100 miles per hour while making dangerous lane changes. The driver, identified as Brevin Tre Harvey, 24, of Saltillo, Miss., and a rear passenger, Marice Quencha Sykes, 30, of Tupelo, Miss., exited the vehicle and fled on foot into nearby woods. Both men remain at large. A third occupant, Kyle Anthony Easley, 33, of Shannon, Miss., was taken into custody and booked into the Prairie County Detent...

HPD Senior Police Officer Alex Roberts killed in Anderson County crash while on traffic escort

17Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas

HPD Senior Police Officer Alex Roberts killed in Anderson County crash while on traffic escort

HOUSTON, TX – The Houston Police Department has announced the death of Senior Police Officer Alex Roberts, who was killed in a vehicle crash while conducting a traffic escort. The crash occurred around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday in Anderson County, Texas. Officer Roberts was assigned to HPD’s Solo Motorcycle Detail. The department has asked for continued prayers for Officer Roberts' family and the extended HPD family during this time of mourning. More information will follow if it becomes available.

Firefighters battle warehouse blaze involving lithium and lead acid batteries in East Downtown

17Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas

Firefighters battle warehouse blaze involving lithium and lead acid batteries in East Downtown

HOUSTON, TX – HFD firefighters responded Wednesday afternoon to a fire at a warehouse on Milby Street in the East Downtown area. Photo Courtesy of HFD According to officials, the warehouse stores lithium and lead acid batteries. Although there is no hazard to the public at this time, authorities are asking the public to give crews space as they work to bring the fire under control. More information will follow if it becomes available.

Oklahoma man pleads guilty to federal hate crime for racially motivated assault

17Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Oklahoma

Oklahoma man pleads guilty to federal hate crime for racially motivated assault

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Braden Birdsong, 28, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to a federal hate crime for attacking a Black man while using racial slurs. According to court records and statements made during the hearing, the assault occurred on August 25, 2023, while the victim, identified as D.G., was cleaning the parking lot of the restaurant where he worked. Birdsong, a white man, approached and repeatedly punched D.G. in the head while yelling racial slurs and anti-Black rhetoric. The victim sustained bodily injuries as a result of the assault. Birdsong admitted in court that he committed the attack because of D.G.’s race and color. Birdsong faces up to 10 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Bernard M....

United States files False Claims Act lawsuit against Inland Empire Health Plan for misuse of Medi-Cal funds

17Sep

By Houston StringerNo Comments

California

United States files False Claims Act lawsuit against Inland Empire Health Plan for misuse of Medi-Cal funds

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA – The United States has filed a civil complaint under the False Claims Act against Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP), a local initiative health plan based in Rancho Cucamonga, for allegedly submitting false statements and retaining overpayments related to California’s Medi-Cal Expansion program. IEHP, which contracted with California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to provide services to residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, is accused of violating the False Claims Act by misusing surplus federal funds and concealing the nature of the spending from state and federal agencies. Beginning in 2014, IEHP received full federal funding to serve the Medi-Cal Expansion population. Under the terms of its agreement, IEHP was required to spend at...