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Man charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting homeless man who threw shoe at him, OCDA says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

A Garden Grove man faces a felony manslaughter charge after he shot and killed a homeless man who threw a shoe at him during an altercation in September, the Orange County District Attorney's Office said.Craig Sumer Elliott, 68, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter and a felony enhancement of personal use of a firearm, the OCDA said in a news release.On Sept. 28, Elliott was jogging with his two dogs and pushing a pushcart on the sidewalk in the 10400 block of Katella Avenue when he came upon a sleeping 40-year-old Antonio Garcia Avalos.Avalos was in the middle of the sidewalk, the OCDA said, and "Elliott is accused of using his pushcart to nudge Avalos in an attempt to wake him up to get around him."Instead, Avalos woke up and started yelling at Elliott to go away. In response, Elliott began video recording the encounter and pulled out a handgun, for which he had a concealed carry permit."Video taken by Elliott captured Avalos standing up and throwing a shoe at Elliott, who...

Man charged with allegedly pointing rifle at West Hollywood charter school employee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

A man arrested last week after he allegedly pointed a rifle at an employee of a charter school in West Hollywood has been charged in connection with the incident.Vahe Armen, 32, was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of having a firearm on school grounds, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced Monday.Armen was taken into custody last Thursday near the Larchmont Charter School campus in the 1200 block of N. Fairfax Avenue. The D.A.'s Office alleges Armen pulled into a school dropoff zone around 8:30 a.m. where dozens of students were in the process of starting their day. He's accused of then pulling out the rifle and pointing it at a school administrator who was directing traffic.That employee told investigators that she believed the weapon was an "assault-style rifle."The school was then placed on lockdown and parents were notified through the school's emergency alert system.L.A. County Sheriff's deputies are seen outside Larchm...

Pasadena man arrested after fatal shooting at Washington Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

A Pasadena man was fatally shot at Washington Park in Pasadena early Saturday morning, and a 24-year-old man is facing a murder charge as a result.At 4:10 a.m., Pasadena's ShotSpotter detected a gunshot at the park in the 700 block of East Washington Boulevard, and Mickey Cooper, 64, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Pasadena Police Department said in a news release. Aaron Miguel Conell of Pasadena was identified as a person of interest in the hours following the shooting, and he was arrested later that day on a charge of assault with a firearm "different and unrelated" to Cooper's shooting, police said."Over the weekend, detectives pursued their investigation and obtained further evidence pertaining to the murder of Cooper," police said. "On November 20, 2023, Conell’s booking charge was amended to include Penal Code 187 (Murder)."Conell is being held at the Pasadena Police Department in lieu of $1.105 million bail.Anyone with information is encouraged to call police at 626-744...

Brad Pitt’s 2nd son blasted him as ‘terrible,’ ‘awful human being’ in 2016 post, report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

Several months after Brad Pitt reached the pinnacle of his Hollywood career in 2020 by winning an Academy Award, his second son, Pax Jolie-Pitt, blasted him on Father’s Day as an “awful human being” who makes the youngest of his six children “tremble in fear.”The then-16-year-old used his private Instagram account to slam Pitt, penning his screed over a photo of Pitt accepting his Oscar for best supporting actor in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” in February 2020, the Daily Mail reported. Four years earlier, Angelina Jolie  filed for divorce from Pitt after the actor allegedly became intoxicated and abusive to her and at least two of their six children on a private plane ride from Europe to Los Angeles.“Happy Father’s Day to this world class a–hole!!” wrote Jolie-Pitt, now 19, according to a screenshot of the post, which was published by the Daily Mail. “You time and time again prove yourself to be a terrible and despicable perso...

Letters: Thankful for freedom | Mental health | Lessons in sustainability

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Amid challenges, givethanks for freedomThere’s a lot of negativity, tension and pessimism in the world today. On this upcoming Thanksgiving Day, let’s be grateful for the freedoms that we enjoy, and often take for granted. And let’s be sure to remember and thank those who came before us; those who sacrificed so much to bring us to this day.As Americans, we have much to be grateful for. We have freedom, and freedom is everything.That all men and all women are created equal, and carry with them God-given rights to life and to liberty, is a truth self-evident to us, and a truth that should be recognized and assumed all around the world.Happy Thanksgiving.Pete CampbellSan JoseMandate mentalhealth educationI write as a concerned student at Evergreen Valley College to address the crucial need for comprehensive mental health education in Santa Clara County schools. Having witnessed the escalat...

Fentanyl found ‘all over’ baby Phoenix’s pink-flowered onesie; father denied bail on felony charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

SAN JOSE – The father of baby Phoenix Castro was denied bail on a felony child endangerment charge Monday, as new court filings helped explain the mystery of how the 3-month-old girl could have ingested a lethal dose of fentanyl while in her father’s care.A crime lab analysis found fentanyl “all over” the pink flowered onesie she was wearing when she died May 13, including around the neck area.At the bail hearing, several family members fought back tears as they read prewritten letters pleading with Superior Court Judge Christopher Rudy to keep Phoenix’s father, David Castro, in jail, stressing he still has visitation rights with his two older children, now 3 and 4, who are living with their maternal grandmother. The baby’s mother, Emily De La Cerda also died of a fentanyl overdose, four months after Phoenix’s death.Emily De La Cerda’s uncle, Ed Morillo, center, Pastor Randy Smith, center right, and others pray for baby Phoenix Castro, who died at three months old of fentanyl poison...

Rosalynn Carter’s hometown mourns a much-beloved global icon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

By Bill Barrow | Associated PressPLAINS, Ga. — Linda Campbell decorated the Lions Club Christmas tree in her small hometown just as she would any other Thanksgiving week, but this was no ordinary Monday in late November.All around the town of Plains, neighbors mourned the death of their matriarch, former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, while worrying about their patriarch, former President Jimmy Carter.“We’ve prayed for them every day for a long time,” said Campbell, 75, as another lifelong Plains resident, Lee Johnson, lowered the U.S. and Georgia state flags that fly in front of the downtown commercial district.Rosalynn Carter died at home Sunday after her physical health declined rapidly as she lived with dementia in recent months. She was 96. The former president, who is 99, has been in home hospice care since February.It was not immediately clear Monday whether Jimmy Carter will be able to attend the public services for his wife next week in Sumter County and...

Scare for Amazon driver kidnapped in East Bay by pair who smashed into work van

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

SAN RAMON — An Amazon delivery driver came away unscathed physically after two people kidnapped him and forced the worker to drive to two banks and pull out money from an ATM, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Driver arrested in hit-run death of San Lorenzo pedestrian Crime and Public Safety | Teen charged with attempted murder in wild East Bay gang shootout on Halloween, but suspected killer set free Crime and Public Safety | Hit-and-run driver kills man standing outside disabled vehicle on Oakland freeway Crime and Public Safety | Bay Area businessman arrested in Venezuela just days after Biden administration eases oil sanctions Crime and Public Safety | Fremont man arrested for attempted murder in double stabbing Officers responded to the kidnapping Saturday about 4 p.m. and found the victim at the Bank of America in the 3100 block of Crow Canyon Road, according to a statemen...

Jury reaches guilty verdict in San Carlos beheading case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.REDWOOD CITY — Jurors have reached a guilty verdict in a notorious murder case against a man charged with beheading his child’s mother on a San Carlos street last year in front of several bystanders, capping a bizarre trial in which the defendant was accused of gaming his mental illness to dupe the jury.Jose Rafael Solano Landaeta, 34, of Hayward, was charged with killing 27-year-old Karina Castro on Sept. 8, 2022 not far from her apartment off Laurel Street on the Peninsula city. The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and confirmed an additional allegation of using a sword in the slaying.After the primary verdict was announced in a hushed Redwood City courtroom Monday afternoon — eliciting loud sobs from Castro’s family and friends — jurors were asked to deliberate a series of aggravating factors, encompassing the domestic violence and other dimensions of the case, which along with the sword ...

Verdict reached in San Carlos samurai sword murder trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:57 GMT

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (KRON) -- A jury reached a verdict on Monday for a man who used a samurai sword to behead his ex-girlfriend in San Carlos. The San Mateo County jury found Jose "Rafa" Solano Landaeta guilty of murdering 27-year-old Karina Castro in 2022. Prosecutors said the 34-year-old Hayward man was driven by "vengeance."Castro was a mother of two daughters and Landaeta was the youngest daughter's father. Their relationship turned "toxic," his defense attorney said. The former couple sent each other menacing private messages over social media in the days leading up to the murder on Sept. 8, 2022.Karina Castro (Images via Facebook) Castro accused her ex-boyfriend of being a pedophile and rapist, trial evidence showed. When she threatened to post their Snapchat conversation publicly on social media, Landaeta responded by sending emoji symbols of ninjas with swords on their backs, evidence revealed.Landaeta refused to attend several key moments of his own murder trial. He was a ...