Latest news with #aggravatedassault
CBS News
20 hours ago
- CBS News
Violent week in Fort Worth highlights urgent need for funding for shooting prevention program
A 22-year-old woman has been arrested in connection with a shooting early Friday morning at a FedEx Ground facility in Fort Worth. Police say Gerneicea Fulton has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly shooting someone during a fight in the facility's parking lot. The victim remains in critical condition. Private lot shooting raises concerns CBS News Texas "With our extra patrols on the street, you've got a private parking lot where something like this takes place," said Officer Buddy Calzada, a public information officer for the Fort Worth Police Department. "In that private parking lot, people just have to be adults. They don't need to bring weapons to try to solve some kind of disturbance." Calzada added, "That concerns us — that people think this is the way you solve an argument, when it's not." Spike in gun violence across Fort Worth The incident is the latest in a string of violent events across Fort Worth this week. On Sunday, five people were killed in separate, unrelated shootings over the course of about 20 hours. Then, on Wednesday night, officers found a man shot in the head inside a car in west Fort Worth. Police say that in nearly all of this week's shootings, the violence began with an argument or altercation that escalated when someone pulled out a gun. Community leaders urge conflict resolution "Our biggest concern is how can we prevent it from leading up to that?" Calzada said. "You know, speak to somebody, get your frustrations out by talking to another individual." That's exactly what local nonprofit VIP Fort Worth aims to help young people do. Nonprofit scales back after funding loss The organization mentors young men ages 11 to 29 who live in neighborhoods identified as "shooting hot spots." "Our purpose is to try to stop retaliation whenever it takes place, as well as stop gun violence before it happens," said Rodney McIntosh, program director of VIP Fort Worth. "We just engage with these young men on a day-to-day basis, talking about emotional intelligence, emotional maturity, de-escalation, how to deal with conflict." But the group has had to scale back its efforts dramatically after losing federal funding in May — an outcome McIntosh says is already having deadly consequences. Call to restore violence prevention programs "In the last month, since we kind of had to slow things down — we hadn't lost a fellow in I think three years — we've lost two in the last month," he said. McIntosh emphasized the urgency of restoring the program to full capacity. "When this program is not functioning or not working, the chances of a young man losing his life becomes far greater," he said. "And so we have to make sure that we keep this program going in this city."
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Houston Marine veteran says neighbor shouted racial slurs, tried to run him over
A 64-year-old Houston man is facing second-degree felony charges after allegedly attempting to run over his neighbor while shouting racial slurs, according to Houston police. Jesse Ruffer, 64, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the incident on Winsome Lane in West Houston, police said. The alleged confrontation occurred Monday afternoon after Blaine McShaw, a Marine veteran, said he briefly stepped off the sidewalk to avoid a puddle, according to Houston ABC station KTRK-TV. "I walked out in the street just enough around a parked car," McShaw told KTRK. "This gentleman like swerved really close to me." According to McShaw, Ruffer then allegedly threatened him with racial slurs, stating, "If you want to walk in the street ... I'll run you down." McShaw said he remained calm during the incident and contacted law enforcement instead of engaging with the suspect. "I was just more taken aback by the fact that he actually said that after trying to literally run me over in a car," McShaw said. MORE: Former Florida student schemed to overturn his conviction in friend's 2012 murder During a bail hearing, prosecutor Christine Huang requested a bond of $51,000, citing the use of a vehicle as a deadly weapon and the defendant's previous arrest warrant from 2022 for a terroristic threat charge. "This is indicative of his violent propensity," Huang told the court. Ruffer's public defender argued for a lower $15,000 bond, noting that her client was a lifetime Houston resident who had lived at his current address for 38 years. She emphasized that this was Ruffer's first arrest and that he had no criminal history. The judge set the bond at $20,000 and imposed several conditions, including no contact with McShaw and that he remain within the Houston area. The judge also ordered Ruffer to stay at least 200 feet away from McShaw's home and work addresses. In the 2022 case, Ruffer is accused of calling his Arab neighbor a terrorist and threatening to kill both the neighbor and the man's dog, according to KTRK. Court records show he received a general order bond in that case. If convicted of the current charge, Ruffer could face up to 20 years in prison, according to Houston police.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Mother of four sentenced for driving through park full of kids, running over girl
A mother of four in Arizona was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for driving her pickup truck through a park full of kids and running over a 12-year-old girl, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced. Brandie Gotch, 31, was sentenced June 13 after pleading guilty to three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon earlier this year. On Feb. 27, 2024, Gotch's children were fighting with each other at Westgreen Park in Peoria, according to a county attorneys' office release. Other kids at the park were "egging" the kids on and recording the fight. Gotch went to the park to pick up her kids, and while she was walking them back to her truck, a boy called her a name. Gotch responded by going over to the boy and pulling him by his hair, the release said. Then another boy called her a name, so she chased him around the park with a stick. Court records said that while chasing the boy, Gotch yelled, "I am going to kill you and run you over!" When she got into the truck with her kids, the second boy stood behind it, dancing and mocking her, the release said. He eventually moved to stand near his sister. Gotch then backed out of the parking space, revved her engine and drove right at the boy and his sister, according to the release. He was able to jump out of the way, but his sister's leg was run over. Gotch continued driving through the park where more than a dozen other children were at the time — some had to run away to get out of the truck's path. Gotch left the park and was later arrested at her home. 'This could have been a much more tragic situation," Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in the release. "Thankfully the worst injury in this was a sprained ankle and some bad scrapes and bruises. Even when angry or frustrated, it's up to adults to act like adults. It is never okay to take our rage out on a kid." After she was arrested, Gotch told detectives that the altercation started when she saw preteens throwing wood chips at three of her kids. She believed one of the preteens punched her 10-year-old daughter. That's when she approached the two boys. Gotch admitted to grabbing the first boy and getting a stick and walking toward the second, but she never threatened him, she said. Gotch admitted to reversing aggressively with her truck and then driving forward before driving through the park, police said. According to court documents, Gotch didn't believe she ran over the girl but later said, "I hope I didn't." This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Brandie Gotch sentenced for driving through park, running over girl
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Plane Passenger Goes Viral for Video Showing Her Pulling Hair, Spitting on Fellow Flyer Over Seat Dispute
A plane passenger went viral this week after a video showed her pulling a woman's hair and spitting on fellow travelers. The passenger, a 32-year-old New York resident, boarded a Southwest flight from LaGuardia Airport to Kansas City in the early morning hours of June 17. Authorities were alerted of her presence at about 1:10 a.m local time. Following her outburst, the passenger was removed from the flight and charged with aggravated assault, PEOPLE confirms.
CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Lilo convicted of orchestrating attack and attempted kidnapping of Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtamiri
A jury has found Mohamad Lilo guilty of aggravated assault in the December 2021 frying pan attack on his former girlfriend Elnaz Hajtamiri. Hajtamiri has been missing now for 1255 days and is presumed dead after police say she was kidnapped from a Wasaga Beach, Ont. home where she'd gone into hiding with loved ones fearing for her safety following the frying pan assault. This week a Barrie jury convicted Lilo of orchestrating the vicious attack on his former girlfriend in her Richmond Hill parking garage during a failed abduction attempt- and ultimately her kidnapping on the night of January 12, 2022. The court heard Lilo was obsessed with Hajtamiri and wouldn't leave her alone, eventually having her followed by several men paid to kidnap her. Elnaz Hajtamiri Elnaz Hajtamiri suffered a head wound requiring roughly 40 stitches after an assault in a parking garage in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Dec. 20, 2021 (Supplied) Over the course of the five-week trial the court heard Lilo hired Riyasat Singh, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in late 2022, and Harshdeep Binner, who pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon in the frying pan attack that sent Hajtamiri to hospital, following a mistrial in March. During Binner's plea, the court heard the Agreed Statement of Facts read by the Crown, who said Lilo tracked Hajtamiri using GPS and private investigators and hired people to assault her, including Binner, who admitted to striking Hajtamiri with a frying pan after lying in wait for hours. Hajtamiri assault suspects Jaspreet Singh, 24, of Delta, B.C. (L) and Sukhpreet Singh, 23, of Mississauga, Ont. (R) are wanted on Canada-wide warrants for their alleged involvement in the Elnaz Hajtamiri assault case. (YRP) The Crown said Binner spotted Hajtamiri and ripped her from her car hitting her repeatedly in the head while Singh recorded the assault on his phone. Binner and Singh then took off when a passerby intervened. The court heard the duo left behind DNA on several items, including a black balaclava and on the stolen car they tried to torch following the attack. Binner was later picked up in Edmonton and charged with stealing Ford F-150 pickup trucks while police had a Canada-wide warrant out for his arrest. He was sentenced to time served to be released from jail in Lindsay this week after spending two and a half years behind bars. He came to Canada on a student VISA, according to his lawyer Uma Kancharla. Lilo, has been in custody for three years and been denied bail twice. He is scheduled to return to court next week. The remaining allegations against him have not been tested in court.
