Breaking News - Houston Stringer

NYPD officer injured, suspect critically shot after domestic robbery call escalates in Williamsbridge

10Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

New York

NYPD officer injured, suspect critically shot after domestic robbery call escalates in Williamsbridge

BRONX, NY – A domestic robbery investigation turned violent in the Williamsbridge neighborhood Thursday night, leaving an NYPD officer injured and a suspect in critical condition after an officer-involved shooting. According to NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera, officers from the 49th Precinct responded at approximately 9:16 p.m. to a 911 call reporting a domestic robbery at 791 Van Nest Avenue. A man told dispatchers that his son had robbed his wife and older son at gunpoint. The father directed responding officers to a second location at 1015 East Gun Hill Road, where he believed his son was hiding with a firearm. Officers and the father went to the address and made contact with a male inside. The individual denied being the suspect, but the father recognized his son’s voice. ...

Officer returns fire, woman jumps from balcony before 17-year-old surrenders to SWAT in Sharpstown

10Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas

Officer returns fire, woman jumps from balcony before 17-year-old surrenders to SWAT in Sharpstown

HOUSTON, TX – A woman jumped from a second-story balcony to escape a relative firing a gun inside an apartment on Harbor Town Drive, prompting a SWAT response and an officer-involved shooting where police returned fire. Screengrab via @houstonpolice on X The incident occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday at an apartment complex in the 6500 block of Harbor Town Drive in the Sharpstown area. According to Houston Police, officers arrived and found a woman on the ground outside the apartment. She told police she had jumped from the balcony to escape a male relative who was firing a gun inside the unit, where others were also present. When officers went upstairs and knocked on the apartment door, the suspect began shooting at them. Officers returned fire and took cover. The woman was moved t...

Paxton files joint motion with Texas GOP to close Republican primaries

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas

Paxton files joint motion with Texas GOP to close Republican primaries

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a joint motion with the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) seeking to invalidate a provision of the Texas Election Code that prevents the party from limiting participation in its primary elections to affiliated Republicans. File Photo (September 2025) The motion supports the RPT’s lawsuit against the State of Texas, in which the party argues that the current law violates its First Amendment right of association by forcing it to allow non-affiliated voters to participate in its candidate selection process. Attorney General Paxton and the RPT are asking the court to declare the contested provision unconstitutional, prohibit its enforcement, and allow the party to implement procedures that restrict primary participation to individ...

Paxton investigates TP-Link over alleged ties to Chinese government and misuse of consumer data

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas, U.S.

Paxton investigates TP-Link over alleged ties to Chinese government and misuse of consumer data

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation into TP-Link Systems Inc., a major networking equipment manufacturer, over concerns that the company may be enabling the Chinese government to access and misuse the personal data of American consumers, including Texans. File Photo (September 2025) TP-Link, originally founded in Shenzhen, China, has become one of the largest suppliers of office and home networking equipment in the United States. Though the company now claims to operate independently from China under a California-based spin-off, the Attorney General’s Office is questioning the validity of those claims. The investigation will focus on the company’s ownership structure, production practices, and any continuing connections to the Chinese Communist ...

Paxton expands Discord investigation after platform used by reported assassin of Charlie Kirk

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Breaking News, Texas, U.S.

Paxton expands Discord investigation after platform used by reported assassin of Charlie Kirk

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has expanded his investigation into the online chat platform Discord following revelations that the reported assassin of Charlie Kirk used the service, along with ongoing concerns over the platform’s alleged role in exposing minors to sexual exploitation, extremist content, and addictive features. File Photo (September 2025) The move comes under the authority of the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act, which allows the Attorney General to investigate digital platforms that may pose risks to minors. “I’m standing shoulder to shoulder with the Trump Administration to root out and defeat nihilistic violent extremism in all its forms,” Paxton stated. “Discord has chosen to allow extremist content, sexual expl...

Eight indicted alongside Houston woman accused of running illegal abortion clinics without licenses

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas

Eight indicted alongside Houston woman accused of running illegal abortion clinics without licenses

AUSTIN, TX – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the indictment and arrest of eight individuals, including several foreign nationals, in connection with illegal abortion clinics in the Houston area allegedly operated by Maria Rojas. File Photo (September 2025) The arrests are part of a broader criminal investigation into Rojas, 49, of Houston, who is accused of unlawfully posing as a physician while operating clinics in Waller, Cypress, Spring, and Katy. A Waller County grand jury previously indicted Rojas on 15 felony counts, including the illegal performance of an abortion and 12 counts of practicing medicine without a license. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the eight individuals indicted for practicing medicine without a license under Rojas are: Yaimara...

Suspect arrested after trying to pay water bill with meth and forged check

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Texas

Suspect arrested after trying to pay water bill with meth and forged check

TRINITY COUNTY, TX – Deputies with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office arrested one person and are pursuing charges against another after a suspicious package was found in the overnight drop box at the Westwood Shores Municipal Utility District Office. According to the sheriff’s office, the package included a water shutoff notice, a check, and a small plastic bag containing a white powdery substance. Upon investigation, deputies confirmed the substance to be methamphetamine. The check included in the envelope was also determined to be forged. Deputies executed a search warrant at the associated residence early the following morning and located additional methamphetamine. One suspect was arrested on charges of felony forgery and felony possession of a controlled substance. A secon...

Man fatally shot by deputy after reportedly threatening with shovel in Garland County

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Arkansas

Man fatally shot by deputy after reportedly threatening with shovel in Garland County

PINEY, AR – A Hot Springs man was fatally shot by a Garland County Sheriff’s Deputy following a confrontation involving a shovel, according to the Arkansas State Police. The incident occurred around 8 p.m. on October 7 in the 100 block of Ebony Way in western Garland County. Deputies had responded to a report of a man allegedly swinging a shovel at a passing vehicle. Upon arrival, the deputy encountered 34-year-old Anthony Michael Dean, who reportedly threatened the deputy with the shovel. The deputy discharged his weapon, fatally striking Dean. Dean’s body will be examined at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory to determine the official cause and manner of death. The Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is conducting the investigation and will submit findi...

Homicide victim found in 1981 orchard identified as Maria Belmontes Blancas

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

California

Homicide victim found in 1981 orchard identified as Maria Belmontes Blancas

FILLMORE, CA – The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman known for decades only as “Jane Doe” in a 1981 homicide case as Maria Belmontes Blancas. According to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Bureau and Cold Case Unit, Maria’s body was discovered on January 27, 1981, in a citrus orchard near Piru. She had been shot multiple times, and her death was ruled a homicide. Despite an initial investigation, her identity remained unknown for over four decades. The Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation in 2023 and used advanced DNA analysis to suggest Maria's family may have originated from Michoacán, Mexico. Working with Redgrave Research Forensic Services, investigators traced potential family members, and by summer 2025, they were able to confirm M...

Eleventh Circuit upholds armed career criminal sentence for Florida man despite challenge to gun law and prior drug convictions

9Oct

By Houston StringerNo Comments

Georgia

Eleventh Circuit upholds armed career criminal sentence for Florida man despite challenge to gun law and prior drug convictions

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed the 204-month federal prison sentence of Samuel Storey, a Florida man convicted of possessing a firearm as a felon, after rejecting multiple constitutional and sentencing challenges, including under the Supreme Court’s 2024 Erlinger decision. Storey pleaded guilty to violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and the district court enhanced his sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) based on three prior Florida drug convictions. On appeal, Storey argued that the statute exceeded Congress’s Commerce Clause authority, violated the Second Amendment, and that the sentencing court erred under Erlinger v. United States by determining—without a jury—that his prior offenses occurred on different occasions. T...