Month: July 2026

By Carlos E. Castañeda

Click here for updates on this story

    SAN JOSE, California (KPIX) — Two San Jose police officers acted lawfully when they shot and killed a man who had fatally stabbed his young son last year, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said.

The DA’s Office issued a report on Wednesday on the fatal police shooting on July 13, 2025 at Cataldi Park in East San Jose, which concluded that lethal force used was justified and reasonable under the circumstances.

Officers had responded at about 3:30 p.m. to a 911 call from 48-year-old Fremont resident Mateusz Dzierbun, who reported that his 9-year-old son had been stabbed to death by another person. The San Jose Police Department said he later admitted to dispatchers that he did it, saying, “They were going to torture him … I had to do it.”

Officers arrived to find Dzierbun holding a butcher knife and kneeling next to the child who appeared to be severely injured and bleeding. Police said officers warned Dzierbun numerous times to drop the knife so they could attend to his child, but he would not comply. According the report, Dzierbun told officers: “If you get the stun bag, I’m going to get up and charge this guy.”

“The officers were confronted with an extraordinarily dangerous and rapidly evolving situation,” the report stated. “The evidence before them indicated only two possibilities: either Dzierbun had already murdered his son, demonstrating his homicidal intent, or the child had been stabbed by Dzierbun and required immediate lifesaving aid.”

The report said Dzierbun made multiple comments indicating an intent to provoke a lethal response from the officers.

The officers again stated, “Sir, will you please drop the knife?” Dzierbun responded, “Listen to me very carefully. I am armed, and one of you guys is going to kill me today. I don’t want to traumatize you.” The officer repeated for a third time, “Sir, I need you to drop the knife,” to which Dzierbun responded, “I don’t want to traumatize anyone here … so listen to me carefully, whoever killed someone before needs to be here.”

Police body camera footage showed that within two minutes of the officers arriving, Dzierbun stood up, brandished the knife above his head, and charged at the officers. Sergeant Joel Casey and Officer Eduardo Eyer opened fire, hitting Dzierbun 14 times.

The District Attorney’s Office said by law, officers can use deadly force when they or others face imminent danger.

“Officer Eyer and Sergeant Casey were less than 30 feet away from an individual charging at them armed with a knife,” the report concluded. “The facts before them clearly support their belief in the necessity to use lethal force to prevent death or great bodily injury to themselves or their fellow officers”

At the time of the killing, Police Chief Paul Joseph said that in his more than 30 years of service with the San Jose Police Department, he’s never seen anything comparable.

“The child suffered from injuries so severe that it’s unimaginable they could have been inflicted by his own father,” Joseph said.

Dzierbun had no criminal or mental health record in Alameda or Santa Clara counties, but police said that he had moved throughout the country.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Lauren Pozen

Click here for updates on this story

    LOS ANGELES, California (KCAL, KCBS) — There’s still a long way to go, but one small section of the infamous graffiti towers in downtown Los Angeles is showing glass once again.

“It’s always been this, so I am curious to how it is going to be now,” resident Oscar Meza said.

Crews began cleaning up Oceanwide Plaza on Wednesday, with 24-hour security making sure new graffiti doesn’t hamper the effort. The new owner of the building, KPC Square, said the barbed wire and fencing will still surround the property. A neighborhood watch group also said they’ll help the private security guard the towers.

“As a neighborhood organization, we are going to watch it,” said Debra Shrout, the board chair of the South Park Neighborhood Association.

Shrout’s home overlooks the three towers, giving her a front-row seat to the project’s progress, pauses and tagging. She said for the first time in years, there’s hope for what the development could bring to downtown LA. Shrout said part of bringing that hope back is making sure the property feels like it belongs to the community.

KPC Square said the cleanup should be done in less than 90 days. While the initial cleanup was a test run, the company plans to choose a contractor to finish the work within two weeks.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Tori Mason

Click here for updates on this story

    AURORA, Colorado (KCNC) — As Colorado faces some of the driest soil conditions in the country, more homeowners are trading traditional grass lawns for drought-tolerant landscaping in an effort to conserve water and lower their utility bills.

Landscapers say demand for xeriscaping has surged this summer as drought conditions intensify and water restrictions become more common.

“I’ve seen a lot more requests because of the drought,” said Shaun Cherry, owner of Cherry Bomb Landscaping. “There’s a lot more people wanting drought-resistant plants and rocks. It’s not just throwing rock down.”

Cherry said this year has been unlike anything he’s experienced.

“This year has been ridiculous,” he said. “A lot more people are asking for it. It’s more creative than just looking at grass, and it’s a lot easier to maintain as well.”

The growing interest comes as Aurora Water warns Colorado is experiencing exceptionally dry conditions.

“The U.S. Drought Monitor says Colorado actually has the driest soils in the entire country right now,” said Aurora Water Deputy Director of Internal and External Affairs Shonnie Cline. “Any moisture we’re getting is quite literally getting sucked up into the ground.”

Cline said outdoor irrigation use has dropped by nearly 20% compared to last year, but the city is still losing significant amounts of water to evaporation and dry soils before it ever reaches reservoirs.

Amanda Jones recently transformed the front yard of her home into a xeriscape after watching her lawn struggle through the drought.

“The biggest part was water conservation,” Jones said. “We’ve always just tried to be part of the solution and not the problem. And just the amount of money that you spend dumping into trying to save your grass.”

Jones participated in East Cherry Creek Valley Water & Sanitation District’s Water Wise program, which helped offset the cost of removing her lawn and replacing it with drought-tolerant plants.

After incentives, she said the project cost about $3,000.

She expects the investment will quickly pay for itself.

“We’re only using a quarter of the amount of water that we were before,” Jones said. “My water bill was around $300, so we’re going to be saving a ton of money there. Not having to mow is going to save. My husband’s excited about that. Not having to pay for seeding, fertilizing and all of the stuff you have to do to try to keep your yard up.”

She estimates her family spent more than $1,800 over the past two years simply trying to keep their grass alive.

Interest from neighbors has already been growing.

Jones said after posting photos of the project online, many people stopped by to ask about the landscaping process, rebates and whether their homeowners association allows xeriscaping.

“I think it’s so much prettier than just the grass,” she said. “The kids got to help pick different plants and flowers, so it’s more meaningful.”

Cherry believes drought-friendly landscapes are becoming the new normal in Colorado.

“I think this is the way of the future,” he said. “I don’t even put sod in right now. If somebody wants sod, I tell them to wait until fall or try to talk them into a dryscape instead.”

He said homeowners can also benefit financially over time because xeriscaped yards require far less watering and maintenance than traditional lawns.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Michael Abeyta

Click here for updates on this story

    HUDSON, Colorado (KCNC) — The town of Hudson is now facing a lawsuit over plans to open an ICE detention center in the eastern Colorado town. The GEO Group, which already runs a detention center in Aurora, announced plans last week to open another inside a prison that closed in 2013.

This lawsuit was filed by a Hudson resident and a group of faith leaders who are part of the community organization Together Colorado.

That includes Reverend Ben Konecny from the First Congregational Church in Greeley. He says his faith brought him out to Hudson Thursday.

“Faith without works is dead, as the Epistle of James says,” said Konecny. “It is easier to turn a blind eye to what is happening right now. It is easier to buy into some of these bites, and to be comfortable knowing that my status is pretty safe in our country. But my status as a Christian is dependent on me raising my voice in moments like this.”

Konecny and his peers at Together Colorado said in a news conference on Thursday that they are “simply asking Hudson to do what it is obligated and has the authority to do.”

Ten days ago, town officials said in a post on Facebook that the town does not have approval authority over federal immigration detention operations at a private facility but that they do have authority over local services.

The lawsuit claims the town is not helpless in regulating the facility, which is to be called the Big Horn Facility. They claim under Colorado law, Hudson has the authority and obligation to treat the proposed facility the way it would treat any other new facility: primarily by enforcing its own land development code. They claim the property is not zoned for use as a detention facility. The property has not been zoned since 2008, and given its long vacancy, the plaintiffs believe it must go through the zoning process again.

“We’re not asking in this case, for GEO and ICE to be treated with special disfavor, right. All that we’re asking is that they are not given preferential treatment,” said David Seligman, an attorney who represents Together Colorado.

Konecny says he has lived in Weld County for 15 years and having this facility near his community doesn’t sit well with him. He understands some in his community might have a difference of opinion, but he hopes the town will try harder to regulate the facility than they have so far.

“My hope is by saying this is an imperative for me as a person of faith, that others might feel that it is the case for them as well,” said Konecny.

In response to a CBS Colorado request for comment about the lawsuit, the Hudson town manager wrote in part “the town’s role is not to determine immigration enforcement” and added “the town remains committed to focusing on its roles at the local level such as water, wastewater, streets and public safety.”

Hudson is located in Weld County 34 miles northeast of Denver.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Charlie De Mar

Click here for updates on this story

    WORTH, Illinois (WBBM) — Police are investigating after a hidden camera was found inside the bathroom of a marijuana dispensary in southwest suburban Worth.

Cameras outside Curaleaf at 114th Street and Harlem Avenue are expected, but police were called to the cannabis dispensary in June after employees discovered a hidden camera inside a restroom.

A police report shows officers collected a USB cord, a black battery power bank, and one mini spy screw camera attached to a motherboard.

“In the second bathroom closest to the wall, and then it was underneath the sink,” said Curaleaf employee Samantha Dean.

Dean said she’s worked as a budtender at Curaleaf in Worth for about three years, and while she didn’t find the camera, coworkers told her that a memory card was also discovered in the bathroom that both employees and customers can access.

“Oh, it’s awful,” she said. “To feel like my body could be anywhere in this world at this point, especially because time is just going on and on and on, and we have no idea if it was hooked to the internet. We have nothing,” she said.

Employees told Worth police the camera was affixed under the sink and pointed at the toilet.

Dean said she’s “highly, highly confident” the camera recorded her using the restroom.

“I cannot use the restroom up there there at all. I’m grateful I live close, so I’m able to go home and use the bathroom when I have to,” she said.

Curaleaf did not respond to repeated attempts to contact them for comment.

“First and foremost, we need to find out who did it, because he’s assaulted us all,” Dean said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Bo Evans

Click here for updates on this story

    DALLAS, Texas (KTVT) — Jeff Primeau and Curtis Beavers prepared boxes on Thursday, boxes that will soon be filled with hope.

“Tomorrow we will be here from nine until three packing 3,000 hope kits that will be delivered to women all across the country,” said Ashley Miller, senior director of communications with the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Warm fuzzy socks, herbal tea, a little candy, and more go into each box sent to women fighting breast cancer nationwide. Each one is packed with care by volunteers, then labeled and prepared for mailing.

“We always remind people of this. Look at the label, understand the impact. There’s a name on the label. That’s what’s impactful,” said Primeau, who volunteers with NBCF.

Names like Gina Iniguez.

“I was just doing a routine mammogram,” Iniguez said.

Last August, she got the call so many women fear.

“I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma,” she said.

Telling her family was the hardest.

“I had walked in the door he was in a meeting. He looked at me, and I looked at him; he knew. So he came out, and I told him. My oldest came out, he knew what that meant,” Iniguez said.

But she decided she was going to fight and began treatment immediately. While much of her care focused on the medical side, she needed emotional support, too.

So she signed up to receive a hope kit.

“I opened it up, and it felt like I received just a hug, honestly, that’s what it felt like, and it really did feel like it was full of hope,” she said.

That’s what volunteers are packaging in these kits. With every box folded and every item placed, they are sending a whole lot of love – and a little bit of hope – to women across the country.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation is sending out 3,000 kits on Friday, but hopes to send even more. On its website, nationalbreastcancer.org, supporters can click on the Hope Kits link and fill an Amazon cart with items needed to help provide more kits – and more hope – to women fighting breast cancer.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Ray Campos, Adam Duxter

Click here for updates on this story

    SHAKOPEE, Minnesota (WCCO) — Would you stay at a hotel with deadly drug overdoses and pool parties with strippers? After seeing a social media post advertising a 24-hour “lock-in” party at a hotel in Shakopee, Minnesota, the mayor decided to shut it down.

The Shakopee City Council voted 4-1 to revoke the Baymont Hotel’s license, citing a pattern of public safety incidents and management failures that outweighed the hotel’s efforts to remain in compliance.

City officials argued the case was not based on a single incident, rather what they described as a continuing pattern of problems that place pressure on police and firefighter resources.

According to the city, Baymont Hotel generated 84 police incidents during 2025 and 2026, including disturbances, assaults, welfare checks, criminal sexual misconduct and repeated fire alarms.

Two events became essential to the city’s case.

“They had a sell out of the hotel to a party that ran an adult event. After the event police were notified for missing persons,” said Micahel Kerski, Planning and Development Director of Shakopee.

On New Years Day 2025, officers conducted a welfare check and discovered two people dead inside a hotel room following a private event. Suspected illegal narcotics were found in the room, with substances testing positive for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.

The incident raised concerns about oversight of large events, guest monitoring and security procedures. Which leads to the second event, held between March 28 to March 29.

A 24-hour lock-in was created by a private group that rented out the entire hotel. Police were alerted to a possible gang-related threat targeting the gathering.

During the event, police responded to 16 calls for service involving assaults, disturbances and other incidents. The Shakopee fire department also responded to multiple fire alarms that officials say were triggered by marijuana smoke.

“The event had an unlicensed security company there,” said Kerski. “Security had long guns, it wasn’t a pretty site.”

The organizer of the event provided approximately 80 armed security guards.

“It’s unacceptable, the property owner and the hotel management understands it’s unacceptable,” said Megan Rogers, an attorney representing the hotel.

Hotel representatives urged the council to not revoke their license, arguing they would take corrective action.

“The structural change that we have made within the hotel, we can stop this from happening again and it will not be an ongoing problem for the city,” said Rogers.

The council decided revocation was necessary in this case. The vote means the Baymont can no longer operate a city-issued hotel license, though the hotel and their representatives can pursue legal action to challenge the council’s decision.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.