Judge Tosses ‘Objectively Outrageous’ Charge Against Arizona Mom Arrested For Speaking At City Meeting
An Arizona judge dismissed the criminal case brought against a state resident who was for speaking at a public meeting.An Arizona judge dismissed the criminal case brought against a state resident who was for speaking at a public meeting.Trespasser physically attacks homeowner, charges at second homeowner who retrieved gun, cops say — and gets gut full of lead
A Louisiana trespasser last week physically attacked a homeowner who confronted him, then charged at a second homeowner who retrieved a gun — and that second homeowner shot the the trespasser, investigators told WVUE-TV.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said the shooting occurred around 9 a.m. July 29 in the 1200 block of Dove Park Road in Mandeville, the station said. Mandeville is about 40 minutes north of New Orleans.
Both homeowners called 911, and investigators believe the shooting was in self-defense, WVUE added.
Investigators said the suspect was trespassing in the garage on the property, WVUE reported, adding that the homeowners don't know the suspect.
The station said one of the homeowners confronted the suspect, after which the suspect allegedly physically attacked the homeowner.
The homeowner yelled for a second homeowner, who came outside to help, WVUE said.
The station said the suspect continued the physical attack despite pleas to stop — and the second homeowner grabbed a gun.
Officials told WVUE that second homeowner reportedly tried to de-escalate things; in fact, WSDU-TV — citing the sheriff's office — said the person begged the suspect to stop — apparently to no avail.
Authorities told WVUE the suspect charged at the second homeowner, who shot the suspect in the abdomen.
Deputies found Careyunius Smith of Slidell with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, WVUE said, adding that Smith was taken to a hospital for surgery and was in stable condition.
Both homeowners called 911, and investigators believe the shooting was in self-defense, WVUE added.
Smith was booked for criminal trespassing, attempted simple kidnapping, simple battery, and simple assault, WVUE said, adding that he was to be taken to jail after his release from the hospital.
How are observers reacting?
Commenters on WVUE's Facebook page about the incident seem very much in the homeowners' corner:
- "Try that in a small town," one commenter wrote.
- "So maybe don't step foot on a property that doesn't belong to you," another user suggested.
- "Haha," another commenter reacted. "This needs to happen more."
- "Good job homeowner," another user said.
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'It's time for the city to cough up my guns': Mark McCloskey throws down after judge expunges convictions against him, wife
A St. Louis judge this week expunged misdemeanor convictions against Mark McCloskey and his wife, Patricia, after the couple in June 2020 famously stood outside their home with guns while facing a mob of Black Lives Matter protesters.
Now McCloskey wants his firearms back, saying in an interview that "it's time for the city to cough up my guns," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. He added that he'll sue if the city doesn't cooperate, according to the paper.
'We were all alone facing an angry mob.'
McCloskey surrendered the two guns he and his wife possessed that day — a Colt AR-15 rifle and a Bryco .380-caliber pistol — as part of an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and she pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment, both misdemeanors, the Post-Dispatch said. They originally were charged with felonies.
Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson later pardoned the couple, and McCloskey sued in 2021 to get his guns back, the paper said, adding that judges denied that request and a subsequent appeal.
The McCloskeys in January petitioned to expunge their misdemeanor convictions, the Post-Dispatch said, testifying during a March hearing and arguing that they have been upstanding citizens since their guilty pleas. McCloskey said he has continued to work as a lawyer, fighting for his clients, the paper added.
More from the Post-Dispatch:
Attorneys for the city's public safety department, however, asked protesters to testify about how the McCloskeys' actions affected them. They also quizzed the couple on advertisements for Mark McCloskey's subsequent political campaign that featured footage from the incident.
The city and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore's Office argued that the couple represents a continued threat to public safety and has shown no remorse for the impact of their actions.
But Judge Joseph P. Whyte wrote in an order that the testimony of the protesters showed a threat to public safety on June 28, 2020 — not in the time since.
The purpose of an expungement, he wrote, is to give people who have rehabilitated themselves a second chance. McCloskey's campaign rhetoric is protected by the First Amendment and not evidence of a continued threat, Whyte said.
What's the background?
On Sunday evening, June 28, 2020, the McCloskeys confronted a mob that reportedly had broken through gates in their private community. Mark McCloskey soon afterward said the mob rushed toward their home "and put us in fear of our lives," adding that mob members told the couple that they "would be killed, our home burned, and our dog killed. We were all alone facing an angry mob."
Days later police said they were investigating whether the mob of protesters, which numbered approximately 500, committed fourth-degree assault by intimidation, as well as trespassing. By September, law enforcement officials said they wouldn't prosecute nine Black Lives Matter protesters who were arrested and charged with trespassing.
That was not the case with then-St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who filed charges against the McCloskeys a month after the incident, stating that the couple waved their guns in a "threatening manner" at "peaceful, unarmed protesters." But Gardner at the time was accused of having a history of politically motivated decisions, and then-state Attorney General Eric Schmitt also called out her "political prosecution" of the McCloskeys and filed for dismissal of the charges. By December a judge dismissed Gardner from the case because the George Soros-backed attorney used it in fundraising emails.
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6 suspected squatters arrested outside $500K Atlanta home less than 2 weeks after new law criminalizing squatting took effect
Six suspected squatters were arrested outside an Atlanta-area home worth more than a half-million dollars — and thanks to a new law, they may soon be gone for good.
"This is the worst criminal activity I’ve ever seen in my life."
The house at 4300 Caveat Court in the Hampton Oaks neighborhood of South Fulton, Georgia, was supposed to be vacant. It's estimated worth, according to Zillow, is $518,400.
But on Christmas day 2023, several squatters allegedly took advantage of the vacant home and moved in as though they owned it. Neighbors knew no one should be living in the home, but there was little they could do about the alleged squatting because at the time, Georgia law treated squatting as a civil matter.
"The ringleader, we see him walking his dog all the time," said Hampton Oaks Homeowners Association vice president Kendra Snorton. "He's very courteous and polite when he interacts with the community."
However, the suspected squatters may have told on themselves when they allegedly broke into another home in the neighborhood while the owner was out of town, stole the owner's car, and parked it on the driveway of the home they'd been occupying, rent-free.
"When the police showed up, the car was behind us in the yard," said Hampton Oaks HOA president Mel Keyton. "That's how we put two and two together."
All six suspected squatters were arrested. Two were charged with felonies. The other four were charged with misdemeanor trespassing. The vehicle was returned to its rightful owner.
But the drama didn't end there. The suspected squatters then bonded out of jail and came back and broke into a neighborhood home within 24 hours, Keyton told Fox News, though whether they allegedly broke into the home they had been occupying or the home where they stole the car is unclear. Keyton said the suspects were quickly rearrested.
"This is the worst criminal activity I’ve ever seen in my life," said Keyton, who's running as a Democrat for the Georgia state House.
"It's dangerous," he added. "They use our amenities. They walk through the neighborhood. They break into houses."
Thankfully, on April 24, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law the Georgia Squatter Reform Act, which took effect immediately. The new law makes squatting in Georgia a misdemeanor criminal offense that can result in a $1,000 fine, a year behind bars, or both. The charge can even be elevated to a felony if a squatter were to forge documents to further the squatting scheme.
With some 1,200 homes in and around Atlanta inhabited by squatters, this new anti-squatting law gives hope to beleaguered residents.
"Hopefully, it won’t get this bad [again]," Keyton said. "Hopefully, we won’t have to use this amount of police."
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Up to 30 squatters took over Atlanta man's property for years; he spent thousands to clean up estate, got sued for $190,000
A Georgia man has been desperately fighting for years to remove dozens of squatters off his property in Atlanta. The property owner has faced major hurdles in trying to reclaim his land from the squatters, including spending thousands to clean up the estate and being sued for $190,000.
David Morris owns a nine-acre property in southeast Atlanta. He said that about 10 years ago, he started allowing four individuals to live on the property rent-free.
However, uninvited trespassers began living on his land at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The people who were living on the land started having other people live on the land, their friends," Morris recently told WAGA-TV.
Morris looked to the city of Atlanta for assistance in removing the squatters from his property. Unfortunately for the property owner, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed a halt to residential evictions starting in September 2020. The pandemic-mandated eviction moratorium in Georgia didn't end until October 2021.
At one point, as many as 30 trespassers were living on his property. He noted that there are now eight squatters on his land.
One of the squatters filed a $190,000 counter-claim against him. However, the case was dismissed because they did not show up in court.
About a year ago, Morris said the "entire medical staff" of the Stop Cop City activist movement was camped on his property.
Morris, who was living in California at the time, said Atlanta police officers detained more than 20 activists fighting against the construction of a $90 million police training center in Dekalb County's South River Forest.
This year, he was contacted by code enforcement demanding that he clean up his property. It has cost Morris thousands of dollars to clean up the mess left by squatters on his property.
"It's frustrating that I'm having to spend so much money. I spent $10,000 on cleaning up garbage from vagrants," Morris said.
He said he has gone through five dumpsters to haul away trash just in the past month.
Morris noted that he obtained a writ of possession on Friday.
"A writ of possession is a court order a landlord must obtain when they seek to terminate a tenant’s right to possession and the tenant will not vacate the premises voluntarily," explained Sharon Lewonski – partner and real estate practice chair at the Culhane Meadows Law Firm in Atlanta.
Morris said, "So, it will take, I am predicting, another thirty days before the marshals will call me to schedule a time for me to have five people here to move everything from there to the street."
He added, "We're going to build just a big fence here and a gate, and put no trespassing signs."
Despite all the issues with the trespassers, Morris said he intends to build affordable housing on his property for people in need.
However, Morris said he won't begin the affordable housing project until all of the squatters are off the property.
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Squatter sues Atlanta property owner for $190K | FOX 5 News www.youtube.com
Fake Stanford student squatted in dorms for a year, posed as athlete, created Tinder profile saying he was pre-med: Report
An Alabama man managed to pose as a Stanford University student for an entire year, living in various dorms across campus until an alleged incident of theft prompted officials to track him down once and for all.
From fall 2021 until just last week, William Curry — who graduated high school in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2021 — squatted in various dorm rooms in at least five different residence halls throughout campus, befriending local students, and avoiding tough questions about his background or his purpose in California.
"It seemed that he was a friend of the football players. So, anytime we saw him we let him in because it was like he knew people," said Stanford student Kacey Logan.
Officials believe Curry used his gregarious personality to put others at ease and lessen the chances that they would suspect him of anything untoward.
"While Stanford University has protocols and policies in place to prevent non-students from entering and living in our residences, the unique aspects of Mr. Curry’s persistence and ability to integrate himself with our student community has made it clear that gaps exist in those protocols," said university spokesperson Dee Mostofi. "We will immediately undertake a review to ensure our procedures do not allow for this type of incident to happen again."
And indeed, residents from different dorms indicated that Curry would often shrug off personal questions with "a joke." He also had a handful of pre-determined cover stories to satisfy others' curiosities. At different times, he claimed to be a Duke University transfer student or a track and field athlete. He even created a Tinder profile which listed him as a sophomore studying pre-med.
In January 2021, Curry began dating a female student, who claimed he told her he was on a Coca-Cola scholarship. She also said that he drank and gambled frequently and that he ingratiated himself with other students by purchasing alcohol for them.
After the two broke up about six months later, she claimed that Curry harassed her and logged into her iMessage account. He also allegedly began sending threatening messages to her and to her roommates using different phone numbers. One such message sent to his ex-girlfriend supposedly read: "F***ing me raw then sucking n****s…dirty b****."
Curry made temporary housing stops at five different residence halls, including Crothers Hall, Roble Hall, Murray House, EAST House, and Yost House. At least two students reported that Curry had broken into their rooms while they were away. One girl even reported that Curry spent an entire weekend in her room while she was gone.
Despite these alarming reports, Curry managed to evade campus authorities until October 27 when he was allegedly caught stealing a TV from a dorm in the Crothers basement. Curry was then served a "stay-away" letter, which is necessary for a issuing him a trespassing citation, should he ever be spotted on campus again.
Curry had first been reported to campus security last December.
Two trespassing teens dead after backyard shootout with homeowner; the pair reportedly stole airsoft rifle in burglary of nearby home
Two trespassing teenage males died after a backyard shootout with a homeowner in Northglenn, Colorado, on Sunday afternoon — and the pair reportedly stole an airsoft rifle in a burglary of a nearby home prior to the shootout.
What are the details?
Northglenn police received a report of trespassing and felony menacing and said the teens broke a fence and entered the back yard of a home in the 11600 block of Pearl Street around 2 p.m., KCNC-TV reported.
The homeowner approached the teens, and the station said a shootout ensued.
Police responded to the scene and found the teens wounded by gunfire, KCNC said. They were taken to a hospital, where they both died, the station said, adding that no one else was reported hurt.
Police did not release the names of the teens or the homeowner, but the family of one of the juveniles identified him as 16-year-old Ismael Cordova.
Officers got a warrant to search the home Sunday evening and said the homeowner was cooperating with investigators, KUSA-TV reported, adding that Northglenn police didn't say whether the homeowner will be charged.
KUSA legal expert Scott Robinson told the station that Colorado's "Make My Day law," which lets residents use deadly force against intruders, doesn't apply to the homeowner in this case because the intruders never entered the home.
But Robinson said the homeowner could still avoid charges under the state's self-defense laws, KUSA added.
"You can't use deadly force to protect mere property," Robinson noted to KUSA. "If you reasonably believe that you need to use deadly force to protect yourself from serious bodily injury or death, you are free to use deadly force and need not retreat."
Cops say juveniles burglarized nearby home
Police believe the juveniles burglarized a nearby home just hours before the shootout, KCNC-TV reported in a separate story, which noted that an airsoft rifle was stolen from the home.
LJ Percival and her son noticed their home was burglarized when they returned to it Sunday, after which she called 911, the station said.
"We started looking through the house and noticed they had rummaged through my room and his room," Percival told KCNC. "We were totally violated. They went through my underwear and all my clothes."
The station said the only item taken from her home was her son's airsoft rifle.
"I was concerned because what were they going to use it for? Airsoft rifles look like real guns with the exception of a little orange butt on them," she told KCNC.
The station said it asked Northglenn police additional questions about the weapon the teens fired in the shootout with the nearby homeowner, but KCNC said police didn't respond.
The station also said it tried to speak on Monday evening with the homeowner involved in the shootout with the teens, but the homeowner had no comment.
'You have a right to stand your ground'
"I don't think it's easy for anybody to take some another person's life, especially a child," Percival told KCNC. "But at the end of the day, you have a right to stand your ground."
Percival's son David saved $300 to buy the airsoft gun, the station said.
"It didn't really hit me until I found out this morning that they had passed away. They are kids the end of the day," she added to KCNC. "I really hope that something positive comes out of this. Parents should get more involved in their kids' lives and know where your kids are and what they're doing. It could cost them their lives."
2 juveniles killed in Northglenn wanted in nearby burglary just hours before youtu.be
Family of one of the fatally shot teens speaks out
“I know he made mistakes, but he didn’t deserve this,” Ismael Rodriguez — the father of one of the fatally shot teens, Ismael Cordova — told KDVR-TV. “If somebody is breaking into your shed, they could have called the cops. There’s other alternatives than to just go outside and start shooting.”
Natasha Rodriguez — Cordova's stepmother — added to KDVR that he "didn't deserve to die."
“I don’t know what he was thinking that day," she also told the station. "I don’t know if he’d intentionally made the wrong choices, but he didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to be shot. Neither did the other child."
Shirley Gallegos — Cordova's great-grandmother — told KDVR that "it’s just not right, especially these young kids, you know, they’re just beginning their lives. Now at 16, he’s gone."
Family of 16-year-old killed in Northglenn wants answersyoutu.be
Black Lives Matter Protesters Cited for Trespassing After McCloskey Confrontation
Several Black Lives Matter protesters were recently given citations for trespassing at Mark and Patricia McCloskey's home on June 28 in St. Louis, Missouri.![]()
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