Man gets bashed in the head while he's helping 2 teens with flat tire, pair takes off, and harrowing police chase follows



Police in Palestine, Texas, said officers responded to the 100 block of Crockett Road just after 11:30 p.m. Monday in reference to an assault, and a victim told police he was struck in the head while trying to help two people with a flat tire there.

The victim added to police that the suspects left the scene in a white pickup. Palestine is about 100 miles west of Waco.

During a search of the vehicle, officers located in the driver compartment a Glock handgun that had been altered with an automatic switch and also was reported stolen.

Soon officers noticed a white GMC pickup with a flat tire traveling on East Park Avenue near Crockett Road. Officers pulled over the driver, but police said that as they approached the vehicle's door, the driver sped away.

The vehicle continued to evade officers for nearly four miles, police said, until it crashed at the intersection of West Carolina and North Conway Streets.

The driver — later identified as 18-year-old Kevin Mancera of Palestine — fled the crash on foot, police said. The passenger — 19-year-old Sedonta Lyles of Palestine — was ejected during the crash, police said, adding that emergency medical services were called to the scene to treat Lyles. Police said Lyles was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released. Police said Mancera was located and detained a short time later.

During a search of the vehicle, officers located in the driver compartment a Glock handgun that had been altered with an automatic switch and also was reported stolen, police said. Officers also located in the passenger compartment an AR-15-style pistol. Police said spent shell casings were found on Lyles that match the pistol's caliber.

Both Lyles and Mancera were taken to the Anderson County jail where they were booked for possession of prohibited weapons, theft of a firearm, and unlawful carrying weapons, police said, adding that Mancera also was charged with evading arrest detention with a vehicle.

According to KETK-TV, Mancera was being held on a $275,000 bond, and Lyles was being held on a $175,000 bond. Police said additional charges are expected, and the investigation is ongoing.

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Dad tells cops he caught a rideshare driver sexually assaulting his daughter. So he did what dads do.



A father told police in Washington state he caught a rideshare driver sexually assaulting his daughter and got physical with the driver and fired his gun, the Olympian reported.

Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies around 1 a.m. Saturday were dispatched to Sixth Avenue Southeast and Old Pacific Highway — a fishing location on the Nisqually River — over a report of a weapons violation, the paper said.

The female's father told deputies he discovered his daughter being sexually assaulted, 'beat up the driver a little bit,' and fired the gun.

Two shell casings were found at the scene, the Olympian added.

A deputy who stopped a motorist attempting to flee the scene noticed the motorist was injured, Fox News reported, adding that detectives determined the motorist was a rideshare driver who had provided transportation to a "highly intoxicated female."

The driver had suffered injuries in a fight but wasn’t shot, Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Brooks said Sunday, according to the Olympian.

The female's father told deputies he discovered his daughter being sexually assaulted, “beat up the driver a little bit,” and fired the gun, Brooks told the paper, adding that the timing of the physical altercation and the gunshots wasn't clear.

The 58-year-old driver was treated for his injuries at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia and then booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree rape, the Olympian reported.

Those with information about this incident should call the nonemergency dispatch line at 360-704-2740 or send an email to detectives@co.thurston.wa.us, the paper added.

How are observers reacting?

Nearly 1,000 comments so far have appeared underneath the Fox News story about the incident, which was published Monday on Yahoo News. As you might imagine, a number of commenters are sympathetic toward the father:

  • "The father did what every red-blooded American father would do to protect his daughter!" one commenter declared. "Kudos to him for being a real father!"
  • "The dad was defending protecting his daughter, and tried his best to stop the criminal assault in progress," another commenter said. "He saved his daughter's life."
  • "It's uplifting to have some good news for once," another commenter noted.
  • "It's Washington state, so the father's freedom is still up in the air, but great job dad," another commenter added. "Shame you didn't put him underground."
  • "I'm a progressive individual, but even I feel the dad was well within his rights as a father," another commenter stated.

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Thugs armed with guns allegedly try to rob vape shop, but employee isn't having it, chases crooks outside and fights them



Two males armed with guns entered a vape shop in San Antonio, Texas, over the weekend and tried to steal merchandise — but an employee was in no mood to play and actually chased them out of the store and fought with them outside.

What happened?

Police told KENS-TV they responded to Vape City on FM 78 at Foster Road, near Rittiman Road, around 10:35 p.m. Saturday for reports of an aggravated robbery and possible shooting.

When officers arrived, they were told two males armed with guns tried to take items from the store, but one of the employees chased them outside, the station said.

With that, a struggle ensued, KENS said, adding that one of the suspects pulled out a gun and fired it. Police told the station they believe the suspects fled on foot after the shooting.

Officers are trying to determine if the suspect shot toward the employee or into the air, KENS said, adding that no one was wounded, and the building was not hit by gunfire, either.

Police will continue their investigation, the station said.

Shots fired by suspects in attempted robbery at local vape shop youtu.be

Other vape shops in city targeted

A male allegedly demanded money and merchandise at gunpoint from another Vape City — this one on Southwest Military Drive near I-35 — and fled the scene once the employee handed over the money, WOAI-TV reported.

Security camera video of the robbery identified the suspect's vehicle, after which the vape shop employee identified 48-year-old Theodore Sanchez Jr. from a photo lineup, the station said. Sanchez was arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and taken to jail on $100,000 bail, WOAI added.

In another incident, a male arrived at Carter's Smoke and Vape shop near the 500 block of South Zarzamora around 7 p.m. Jan. 13, pointed a gun at an employee, allegedly stole multiple items, and fled on foot, KABB-TV said.

Police examined surveillance video and got fingerprints at the scene, and the victim identified 25-year-old Elixier Cabrerra Neira, who was not wearing a mask or gloves, the station said.

Neira was charged and arrested for aggravated robbery and taken to jail on a $75,000 bond, KABB reported.

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Two good guys with concealed guns use them to detain suspect accused of shooting at two females outside Bingo Paradise in Florida Panhandle



Things were a tad more exciting than usual at Bingo Paradise in Pensacola, Florida, on Wednesday night when a couple of good guys with concealed guns used them to detain a man accused of shooting at two females outside the bingo hall.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

What are the details?

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year-old Lee David Wilkerson was standing outside the business on Mobile Highway when two females tried to enter.

They got into an altercation at the entrance of the building, and Wilkerson grabbed a gun from his side and hit one of the females in the head with it, authorities said.

Wilkerson then began shooting in the direction of the females and continued to fire into the parking lot as the victims fled, authorities said.

WALA-TV reported that no one was hit by the gunfire.

He then tossed the gun into a nearby dumpster and tried to enter the building — but two citizens who witnessed the altercation pulled their concealed weapons and held Wilkerson until deputies arrived, authorities said.

Wilkerson was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, firing a weapon in public, use/display of a firearm during a felony, aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon, and trafficking of methamphetamine, authorities said.

WALA said deputies found the meth while searching Wilkerson's pockets.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Deputies also located the gun in a dumpster, authorities added.

Image source: Escambia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office

Image source: Escambia County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office

Wilkerson was booked into the Escambia County Jail on a $206,000 bond; jail records indicate he was still behind bars Monday afternoon.

'Nothing's gonna stop me from playing bingo'

Fannie Stanford told WALA she saw much of the action unfold.

“I was sitting in the second row, right from the front door," Stanford recalled to the station. "A young lady came inside, and she yelled. And I heard her say, 'They got a gun!' She went back outside, and there was pop."

With that, Stanford told WALA she and others fled to safety with help from bingo hall staff.

“The manager came, and he was ready. He told all of us to get down. And we got down and headed toward the back. We all were secured in the back. We locked ourselves inside until it was over,” Stanford added to the station.

Despite the scary incident, she added to WALA that she feels safe coming back to play again: “Nothing's gonna stop me from playing bingo."

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Here's the report from WALA:

Pensacola man arrested after allegedly shooting at women outside of “Bingo Paradise”youtu.be

VIDEO: Dozens of apparent shots fired in vicinity of George Floyd Square on anniversary of namesake's death



Videos on Tuesday captured the moment that dozens of apparent shots were fired in the vicinity of George Floyd Square in Minneapolis on the anniversary of Floyd's death while in police custody.

Here's a clip from KARE-TV showing numerous people running for cover and a man yelling to "get down!":

Gunshots near George Floyd Square in Minneapolisyoutu.be

Here's another video from a different vantage point, showing AP reporter Philip Crowther speaking on camera when the apparent shots rang out — and he reported what he heard as he headed for safety.

Content warning: Language:

Gunshots heard near Floyd memorial squareyoutu.be

Crowther on Twitter reported that he saw "one broken window, apparently from one of the shots fired. Consensus among reporters here at George Floyd Square was that we heard anywhere between a dozen and two dozen shots fired."

He added a tweet saying that a "fellow reporter just had her phone smashed because she took photos of a storefront hit by a bullet."

The New York Times reported that the mood had been somber all morning as people placed flowers and bowed their heads in front of an outline where Floyd was killed — and the serene scene was over about 10:10 a.m. "with a series of loud noises that sounded like at least 10 gunshots. One girl screamed for her mother as she ran into a corner behind portable toilets. Organizers yelled for children to run to one side."

The paper said organizers returned to the square five minutes later to attend to those who appeared panicked by the incident. Here's a police statement via the Times:

On Tuesday morning at 10:09 a.m., the Minneapolis police department responded to the 3800 block of Elliott Avenue south on a report of the sound of shots fired.

Information received from callers was that a suspect vehicle was last seen leaving the area at a high rate of speed.

A short period of time later, an individual showed up at Abbott Northwestern Hospital suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim has been transported to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment. It is believed that the injury is non-life-threatening.

Anything else?

The autonomous zone consisting of several barricaded blocks that the city has allowed to exist has been a recent source of controversy.

Video from March showed the area being controlled by thuggish, left-wing militants. Here's a reporter's encounter with two of them.

Content warning: Language:

The George Floyd memorial is an "autonomous zone" with several blocks controlled by activists. Police don't even go… https://t.co/tLHXtegToQ

— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) 1615338802.0

Last month video showed a sign posted at one of the barricaded entrances to George Floyd Square that included rules "for white people in particular."

Walking into George Floyd Square https://t.co/jIDzBNicVw

— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) 1619027576.0

And black-owned businesses near the square in late April were begging for financial help because they said increased crime in their neighborhood is driving their businesses into the ground.

NBA players union director claims no shots were fired during Capitol siege — and ESPN doesn’t even fact-check her



In an interview with ESPN Wednesday night, National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts responded to news that a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol by wrongly stating that no shots were fired to quell the riot.

In her statement to the sports news site, she connected the dots between the police response during Wednesday's breach of the Capitol Building and Tuesday's news that no charges would be filed against any of the police officers involved in the Aug. 23 shooting of Jacob Blake, a young black man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, whose confrontation with police sparked over a week of protests in the city.

"Today started yesterday, when the Jacob Blake shooting was being justified, although I'm not sure there was a single human surprised at that finding," Roberts told ESPN. "Every single player that contacted me — or that I contacted — saw the same connection to the Blake shooting being justified."

Roberts then went on to express frustration that police hadn't taken more aggressive — even lethal — action against supporters of President Trump: "We were watching these people essentially committing treason at the Capitol and I have yet to hear about a single shot being fired," she said.

Of course, Roberts' assertion that no shots were fired is inaccurate. Shots were fired by law enforcement personnel that ultimately resulted in the death of a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from San Diego named Ashli Babbit.

Yet amazingly — even though the article was published nearly four hours after news that Capitol Police had shot one of the rioters had been widely disseminated — ESPN failed to fact-check Roberts' claim. On Thursday morning, a correction or editor's note on the subject was still missing from the publication.

Hi @wojespn, this article was published about four hours after it was widely reported that one of the rioters was f… https://t.co/fJ36p2GRjg
— Leon Wolf (@Leon Wolf)1610021971.0

"On a day like this, it's the first thing that comes to mind," Roberts added. "And all I can say is that I'm grateful knowing that hopefully nobody who looks like me is going to Capitol Hill to respond to this, because if they do, you'll see a different response by law enforcement. You know it — and I know it."

It was not immediately clear why ESPN failed to note Roberts' obvious error. TheBlaze has reached out to ESPN requesting that a correction be issued and will update the story with the network's reply.

Rand Paul: Lindsey Graham is ‘dangerously naive’ on North Korea

In an interview on Fox News’ “Your World” Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., added to the rising tension with Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., regarding President Trump’s meeting with Kim Jong Un Monday.

Paul responded to Graham’s statement Monday suggesting that the United States authorize a military response if negotiations failed.

“I think he’s dangerously naïve,” Paul said. “I think in the midst of this historic opening that President Trump has orchestrated, for Lindsey Graham to say he wants to declare war on North Korea is terribly naïve, wrong-headed, and a wrong way to go. But this is just one of a series of problems I have with him.”

Watch:

Paul asserted that Graham’s statement was not simply about keeping the “implied force” of the military on the table during negotiations.

“What he said is that he’s preparing an authorization to use force against North Korea.”

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