‘There’s help out there’: Domestic violence survivor becomes victim advocate

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Quanecia Fraser

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — Holly Knihal survived a violent attack by her ex-boyfriend, and now she works as an advocate for others experiencing domestic violence.

At Heartland Family Service, her work is much more than a desk job.

“When somebody tells me that I had made a big impact or I changed their life, that’s what I do it for,” Knihal said.

She’s a case manager and victim advocate for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can access Heartland Family Service’s 24-hour crisis line at 1-800-523-3666.

“If they need me to go to court with them, I go to court with them. If they need help with protection orders, I’ll do that,” Knihal said.

But to see how she got here, you have to go back to August of 2023.

“We had just gone to a pool party out in Blair that day. We had been drinking all day,” Knihal said.

“On August 12th, 2023, I received a call for a disturbance out at the Cottonwood Marina and responded to that with a couple of the other deputies who were working that night. It ended up being a domestic assault call,” Washington County Deputy Andrea Murphy said.

Murphy said Knihal was physically assaulted by her boyfriend at the time.

“When I responded, she was already starting to show signs of bruising. She was covered in blood,” Murphy said. “And she had cut on her nose, and the bruising was starting in and around her eyes.”

“I’d say I took probably 40 or 50 closed fist punches to the face that night. And I kept trying to get out of the car, and he wouldn’t let me. And finally, somebody realized something was going on and came and stopped it,” Knihal said.

She provided photos to KETV showing the immediate and progressive aftermath of her injuries.

“It could have been worse. I’m glad that I had the strength to get out when I did because I probably wouldn’t be here to talk to you right now if I didn’t,” Knihal said.

She was rushed to the hospital.

“When I entered the ambulance, she immediately tried kicking me out, immediately,” Deputy Murphy said.

“I remember being in the back of the ambulance, and I kept telling her to get out, and looking back at it, I was trying to cover for him,” Knihal said. “I was trying to figure out how I was going to get him to get away with this because I loved him and I didn’t want him to get in trouble, and she wouldn’t leave. She wouldn’t leave me.”

Murphy followed up with Knihal in the days after, getting photos and a written statement, along with offering resources. Knihal’s ex was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

“You don’t always get to hear or know the impact that you make on someone’s life when you respond to a call,” Murphy said.

For Murphy, the situation hits close to home. She said she’s a survivor of domestic violence herself.

“I think one of the things that I regret in my situation was that I didn’t report it, and I want women to know that they’re supported, that there is a way out. That there are resources out there, when they feel that they maybe don’t have those resources,” Murphy said.

She said it’s what led her to the profession that she’s in now.

“I want people to know that there is help out there, that they’re not alone. And show that support,” Murphy said.

As for Knihal, she said she’d like to see changes when it comes to the justice system.

“Too many times, even in the job I do now, I see cases get pleaded down, and it’s just not fair to the survivors,” Knihal said.

Her message to others going through similar situations is don’t be afraid to ask for help.

“There’s help out there for you. Don’t be ashamed. It’s not your fault. This is a reflection of that other person, it’s not a reflection of you or your actions,” Knihal said.

Knihal has gone back to school and is studying human resources. Her goal is to get a bachelor’s degree in social work.

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.

Ongoing water main break turns Cleveland street into ice, stranding cars

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Kaylee Olivas

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    CLEVELAND (WEWS) — Detroit-Shoreway residents say they’ve been involuntarily living on waterfront properties since before New Year’s Eve, with seemingly no road to resolution ahead.

I stopped by the intersection of Wakefield Avenue and West 71st Street on Monday, and consistently, water was gushing from underground for the roughly two hours I was there.

Ava Glessner lives nearby. She said she first noticed the water main break in January, but didn’t realize what it was until later.

“My initial thought was that there might be a sinkhole on my street. I was a little scared. I was worried that there would be damage to my car or something,” Glessner said.

Luckily, there was no damage to her car, but she’s still concerned about what the main break could cause for others.

“My concern is that nobody knows about it. I’ve seen some orange cones come and go, but I just don’t know if it’s like even in progress,” Glessner told me. “It’s just another day of driving through the river to get to work.”

While we were there, we noticed a few cars lining Wakefield Avenue that were frozen to the ground.

Thomas Doughty said his car was shackled to the street by ice about a month ago.

“The city was out here with a bulldozer after we complained for about two weeks. Once they got me out, I drove away, and the tire on my car actually popped because I was frozen to the ground,” Doughty said. “I just got out of the shop today. I was there for about 2.5 hours. The city hasn’t really done anything about it, and it’s still a problem.”

Doughty compared the water break to a “small Lake Erie,” saying the ice-covered parts are unsafe and dangerous.

“I have a one-year-old and a three-year-old. Trying to jump the river to put them into the car has been really, really rough,” Doughty told me. “They (City of Cleveland) need to take better care of their residents. We’re trying to work and pay taxes, and I have to fight every day just to get out to go to work. Now we’re trying to see if the city will compensate me for a brand new tire that I had to buy today. They’re talking about we’ll get paperwork next week, which I don’t expect the reimbursement to be anything fast.”

He said he’s called the city seven times over the course of the last month in an effort to have the main break fixed, but feels like his complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

Traci Collier said she phoned the city about the water main break a week ago.

“I will say, about two weeks ago, there were about four trucks out here, and I thought they were fixing it, but this big thing chomped up all the ice, but it’s still freezing again. It’s been like this since before New Year’s,” Collier said.

During the time that this water main break has been an issue, she said she has seen a driver get stuck in the middle of it, forcing a tow truck to assist.

“The police came out. They called the tow truck to pull him out of there, and they pulled the bumper off as they pulled him out of there,” she recalled.

Additionally, Collier said the gushing water is building a wall of ice at the end of her sidewalk and driveway, causing her to have to jump over hurdles to get to her car.

“The last Saturday of January it was. I tried to step over the water to get up, and I hit the ice wrong and just fell,” Collier said. “I have an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon again. I did have a previous injury, but now it’s fractured in two spots.”

I reached out to the City of Cleveland on Monday for updates on the repair of this intersection.

Our repair crews are working to address the break on Wakefield Ave. as quickly as possible.

Due to the below-freezing temperatures, our service area is experiencing a number of main breaks. We prioritize breaks based on several factors, including the severity of break, number of customers affected, and overall system integrity. City of Cleveland Division of Water Manager of Communications, Danielle Miklos I asked for the current number of water main breaks the City of Cleveland is working to repair, but the Division of Water said a public records request would need to be made to obtain that information.

With no concrete timeline for when the main break at Wakefield Avenue will be fixed, nearby residents are growing even more impatient.

“Just come and fix it for the elderly folks. There’s lots of older people that live in the neighborhood,” Jessica Welch told me.

Welch lives about two blocks from where the main break is located.

“We called about two weeks ago now as we were walking the dog, and they said that they had already known and that they will try to expedite the situation, but obviously, clearly, there’s nothing being done at this point,” Welch said.

Not only does Welch believe the area to be a hazard now, but she’s also concerned about who may be footing the bill for the overflow of water.

“I wondered about their water bill. I’m like, is anybody gonna see this on the end of their bill? It’s clean water, it’s a waste. It’s pretty frustrating that they can’t come out and make it stop. Just dig a hole. I see you guys (City of Cleveland) digging holes unnecessarily on the freeway all the time. I understand how that works, but like just fix it, like turn it off. You can’t disrupt people’s water, but you can certainly try to dig this up real quick and just mitigate the problem so that it’s not a hazard,” Welch said.

Welch said she’ll continue waiting on the city to resolve this issue, but she’s almost reached a point of taking matters into her own hands and creating a plan of action for her neighbors.

I will continue to check back in with Cleveland’s Division of Water for updates and Follow Through.

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.

They told him he won $750,000, then the man lost money

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Jonathan Walsh

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    EUCLID, Ohio (WEWS) — We have a big warning to pass along after a Euclid man thought he won big money.

James Bailey, 63, said he got a phone call recently claiming they were from Mega Millions.

“Some kind of drawing, and they said I won a prize. I said, ‘I won a prize?'” recalled Bailey.

They said he was chosen to receive a car and $750,000.

“I said, ‘I can use that to pay off the mortgage,’” said Bailey.

He also told us he has some mental health issues and gets calls all the time, even several right in the middle of our interview.

“You get a lot of phone calls,” we said to him.

“Scammers,” he told us.

THEY WANTED EVEN MORE MONEY

The criminals told him he had to pay taxes upfront first $100, then $285, both on MoneyPak cards. He said he actually had to get a loan for that $285.

He told us that after giving them the money, they wanted $700 more.

“I said, ‘ya’ll scamming me.’ I said, ‘matter of fact, why don’t ya’ll send me some paperwork in the mail…I can show it to a lawyer if I can know ya’ll legit,’” Bailey told us.

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Ericka Dillworth from the Cleveland Better Business Bureau said imposter scams are rampant.

“In today’s world, you have to look at every interaction with skepticism,” she told us. “I actually just came out of a meeting with staff, and we were specifically talking about a sweepstakes company. And we probably get three to five calls a day, and people believe that they’ve won.”

Dilworth said the best thing to do is just hang up. Also, ask yourself whether this is the normal way people win lotteries?

On the Mega Millions site, it has scam alerts about this kind of fraud, and MoneyPak also warns about lottery scams.

This has all hit Bailey at a rough time. He said he just lost his wife in October to breast cancer.

“That was real difficult, real difficult. The best wife I’ve ever had,” said Bailey.

CALLING THE SCAMMERS

We called the scammers who fooled Bailey. It went to voicemail.

“How do you people sleep at night? How do you target senior citizens who don’t have money and you’re stealing it from them?” we said in our message.

Bailey said he just wanted to step forward to help others.

“I don’t want anybody else go through the same thing I’m going through,” said Bailey. “Scamming them of a lot of money, telling them they won a prize.”

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.

Neighbors rally to protect peacocks and turkeys on Salt Lake City’s west side

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Scott McKane

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    SALT LAKE CITY (KSTU) — There are wild turkeys and peacocks now living in a couple of Salt Lake City neighborhoods.

Sadly, one of the turkeys was recently hit by a car and killed.

But neighbors are doing what they can, trying to protect their feathered friends. We found one of the wild turkeys that have been spotted recently in Rose Park.

Meanwhile, pictures and videos of them are popping up on social media.

And in Poplar Grove, there’s an entire street filled with peacocks. Neighbors have actually worked with city officials to protect their peacock population.

on Salt Lake City’s west side

By: Scott McKane Posted 12:32 AM, Feb 11, 2026 and last updated 12:52 AM, Feb 11, 2026 SALT LAKE CITY — There are wild turkeys and peacocks now living in a couple of Salt Lake City neighborhoods.

Sadly, one of the turkeys was recently hit by a car and killed.

But neighbors are doing what they can, trying to protect their feathered friends. We found one of the wild turkeys that have been spotted recently in Rose Park.

Meanwhile, pictures and videos of them are popping up on social media.

And in Poplar Grove, there’s an entire street filled with peacocks. Neighbors have actually worked with city officials to protect their peacock population.

WATCH: Peacocks, tiny homes and the ‘hobbitville’ lore: Inside Salt Lake’s hidden park

Amy Larsen says the big birds are a big reason why she decided to move into her current Poplar Grove home. She says she’s been a peacock protector ever since.

“When I first got here in 2008, saw the peacocks and went, ‘That’s cool, where do you see that?’”

The peacock population has now grown to about two dozen.

Larsen says she and many of her neighbors have joined forces to try to keep them safe.

“We have a lot of really cool people here who love wildlife and want to help take care of them and keep an eye out for them,” she said.

There are signs throughout the neighborhood, and also a QR code to learn more about them and to contribute if you’d like to help.

“We just kind of work together to keep an eye out for them,” Larsen said. “The city has been great — they got us those signs, and that’s helped to keep people to slow down a little bit.”

Meanwhile, a little farther north in Rose Park, several wild turkeys have made themselves right at home.

Lindsey Musser says she and her daughter really like them.

“I think they’re cool because they just roam around. And you can be like, ‘Hey, look, there goes those turkeys!'” Musser said. “She’s always yelling at me in the car: ‘Mom, look at the turkeys over there!’”

Musser and others have been taking pictures of the turkeys and putting them on social media.

“I got pictures of them jumping onto the carport, then from the carport, jumping onto the tree and then to our house. That was pretty awesome!“ she said.

There’s another picture where some of the wild turkeys are escorting a local postal carrier on their route.

But recently, one turkey was hit by a vehicle and killed near 500 North and 1300 West.

Musser is now exploring the possibility of reaching out to city officials to see if they — like Poplar’s “peacock protectors” — can also get caution signs for the turkeys. She says it’s probably time.

“I think it would be a good smart idea,” she said, “Just to slow down and to watch when they’re there.”

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.

How police and good Samaritans helped rescue 2 Rottweilers on Ohio interstate at Dead Man’s Curve

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Damon Maloney

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    CLEVELAND (WEWS) — Dead Man’s Curve on I-90 in Cleveland is notorious for crashes, often caused by drivers going too fast.

But the keen eye of one tow truck driver caught sight of two dogs near the freeway who were at risk of getting hit. He called the Cleveland Police, and they showed up to help rescue the dogs.

It was the night of Jan. 27. Snow was on the ground. The temperature was about 9 degrees, with a wind chill of -3 degrees.

“They’re too stressed. Hi, come here. Come on,” people are heard saying on Cleveland Police body-camera video.

Two Rottweilers were underneath the big tow truck, likely scared to make a move.

“Hi baby,” a person says on the video.

Officers told me another Good Samaritan also stopped, and she had dog treats with her.

“Let’s see if this helps,” an officer said while grabbing the treats and moving closer to the dogs.

As the officer throws the food on the ground near the dogs, they slowly start to emerge from underneath the tow truck.

As trust builds, the dogs fully come out.

Cleveland Police said the dogs had run away from their owner who was looking for them.

“I didn’t forget about you, buddy,” an officer says while tossing more dog treats.

A trail of food leads the dogs to a patrol car with its back door open.

“You guys are beautiful dogs. Can I see your collar real quick, bud?” someone says.

The dogs continue to get a pep talk.

“You’re a huge dude. You are a big boy. The size of your neck is huge. I hope you know that,” a person is heard saying.

But the Rottweilers weren’t ready to commit and refused to jump inside the police cruiser.

Dogs Rescued in Cleveland I-90 Cleveland Police Department Cleveland Police said the dogs were taken to a kennel and later reunited with their owner. It took the officers about an hour to finally get the dogs to safety; however, the body-camera footage released to News 5 didn’t show that part.

But officers told me the dogs went to a kennel and were reunited with their owner. Cleveland Police said it’s a classic case of “if you see something, say something.”

“We want to have, again, that relationship with the community where they can have us work with them… to then get these dogs home in this case and make everyone happy,” said Officer Mariah Rodriguez with Cleveland Police.

Police said the dogs had run away from their owner, who was looking for them.

“And at first, it was posted on social media that the dogs were dumped there, and it turned out that was not the case,” Rodriguez said.

The Rottweiler rescue teaches a few lessons, and among them, that it only takes a moment to stop and do the right thing.

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.

San Diego Unified School District receives $850K for mobile laundromat to help homeless students

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Gabe Salazar

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    SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego-based Rep. Sarah Jacobs announced more than $14 million in federal funding was secured for 14 projects across San Diego.

A closer look at where that money is going shows a few items that really stood out — one of them focuses on students experiencing homelessness.

Imagine a laundromat, but on wheels. That’s the vision San Diego Unified School District leaders have, and it is being made possible by new federal funding.

The district is set to receive $850,000, giving them some real wiggle room to turn this idea into reality. It would be a first for San Diego.

While the project is still in the design phase, ABC 10News looked around to see if anything like this exists elsewhere. At Georgia Tech, some students jerry-rigged a school bus into a mobile laundromat.

It’s a unique concept and one that SD Unified Area Superintendent Dr. Steven Dorsey said was inspired by the devastating flooding in Southcrest, which displaced hundreds of students and families.

“As we had families who just had mud all through their clothes and really nowhere to go, I thought if we could just bring washers and dryers to them. We do have some school sites that can wash clothes, but on a larger scale we just don’t,” Dorsey said.

Currently, there are about 8,000 homeless students within San Diego Unified. District leaders say a mobile laundromat like this could help remove one more barrier and help students feel confident and secure at school.

“It can be traumatic for students as they go through their daily life at a school site, not wanting to be teased for what you’re wearing or if your clothes are dirty,” Dorsey said.

District leaders are working on a design, determining how many washers and dryers it could hold and how many students it could serve at one time.

They say the goal is to deploy this mobile laundromat to schools and neighborhoods with the greatest need, and they hope to have a clearer timeline later this year.

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.

Burger King bandit convicted for 2025 heist in Indianapolis

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Mytch Springer and Jay Adkins

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    INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A federal jury has convicted 28-year-old Cameron Love on robbery and firearm charges following a January 2025 heist at a Burger King restaurant in Indianapolis.

The Rockford, Illinois, man was found guilty of interference with commerce by robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

The conviction stems from a robbery on Jan. 16, 2025, at the Burger King located at 7620 N. Shadeland Ave. Federal prosecutors presented evidence showing Love used a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun to threaten employees and customers before stealing $459 and leading police on a multi-county high-speed chase.

During the trial, evidence showed Love entered the Burger King and paced in front of the counter before the robbery began. When an employee approached to assist him, Love pulled the 9mm handgun from his coat pocket and pointed it at her. The employee fled toward the kitchen after Love demanded she open the cash register.

Love then leaped over the counter, and pointed the firearm at other employees and customers. Witnesses testified that he threatened to kill anyone who resisted his demands for money. He eventually fled the building with $459 and entered a Chevrolet Cruze driven by Michael Scott.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers spotted the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop near 86th Street and Keystone Avenue. The vehicle did not stop, leading police on a high-speed pursuit through multiple counties that eventually ended in Carmel, Indiana. Dashcam footage from the chase captured Love throwing the stolen cash and the handgun out of the car window.

Four days after the chase, officers recovered the loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun. The weapon was found protruding from snow and frozen in ice near a bike path on 106th Street.

Love was legally prohibited from carrying a firearm at the time of the robbery due to his criminal history. He has previous felony convictions in Illinois for both aggravated robbery and armed robbery.

Love’s co-defendant, Scott, pleaded guilty to acting as an accessory after the fact. In October 2025, Scott was sentenced to four years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for his role in the getaway.

U.S. District Court Judge James P. Hanlon presided over the case. Hanlon will determine Love’s sentence at a hearing to be scheduled at a later date.

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.

Woman stabbed, escapes moving vehicle; CHP arrests Salinas man

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Ricardo Tovar

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    MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KSBW) — The California Highway Patrol said a man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a woman who escaped from a moving vehicle.

CHP said it received a 911 call just after midnight Sunday from a woman who reported she had been stabbed while riding in a vehicle traveling north on Highway 101 near the Boronda Road off-ramp. She told dispatchers she escaped the moving vehicle while being attacked.

CHP officers and Salinas police found the injured woman and requested emergency medical assistance. Paramedics took her to Natividad Medical Center for treatment of multiple stab wounds.

The suspect vehicle was later identified as a black 2017 Kia Sorento registered to Evelio Ramirez Ruiz, 19, of Salinas.

Ruiz had been arrested earlier that morning by Salinas police in an unrelated matter and was booked into Monterey County Jail, CHP said.

CHP said Ruiz was linked to the stabbing and was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, attempted kidnapping and aggravated mayhem.

His bail was set at $2,240,000, per the Monterey County Jail portal.

“This was a violent and disturbing attack, and the victim’s actions likely saved her life,” said CHP Capt. Eric Zivic. “Our detectives worked quickly and collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to identify and arrest the suspect. We remain committed to holding offenders accountable and protecting the safety of our communities.”

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.

Body recovered after vehicle plunges off Highway 1 near Hurricane Point

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Ricardo Tovar

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    MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KSBW) — A vehicle went over a cliff and into the ocean along southbound Highway 1 near Hurricane Point on Tuesday afternoon, and Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto confirmed one person died.

The California Highway Patrol received reports shortly after 4:20 p.m. that a vehicle had driven off the roadway about a mile south of Bixby Bridge. Authorities initially said at least one person was believed to be inside.

“We received a call about 4:30. Units responded, the fire department, public safety. When we got here we have evidence a car did go over the edge. We’re in the middle of what we call search and rescue operations to send a team down over the cliff,” Nieto said.

Responding personnel later located the vehicle more than 500 feet below on the rocks. Rescuers found one occupant, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Recovery efforts continued until about 8:45 p.m. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office is handling identification and next-of-kin notification.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The weather in the area was rough, with rain and wind.

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.

Man set up in DWI bribery scandal on his birthday, attorney says

CNN Newsource on February 11, 2026

By Jason McNabb, T.J. Wilham

Click here for updates on this story

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KOAT) — Target 7 reported a couple of weeks back that former Albuquerque Police officer Justin Hunt, who resigned as a lieutenant in February 2024, admitted in a federal plea deal to collaborating with attorney Thomas Clear’s private investigator and paralegal, Ricardo Mendez, to target certain individuals for DWI arrests as part of the DWI enterprise scandal. Hunt’s plea revealed that Mendez would get Clear’s clients drunk, have them drive with him in the car, and then tip off officers like Hunt about their location and vehicle.

A case outlined in the plea states that in 2014, Mendez took a man, previously represented by Clear in another DWI case, to a strip club, got him drunk, and then had him drive. Mendez then tipped off Hunt, who arrested the man shortly after. The man rehired Clear for his defense, and Hunt said Clear gave him tires and parts for his Jeep in exchange for not appearing in court, leading to the case’s dismissal.

Target 7 obtained officer-worn lapel camera video of that arrest.

In the video, Officer Hunt is seen conducting the traffic stop, pulling over the man for riding between lanes. Hunt said, “You can do me a favor, step out real quick.” The man struggled with sobriety tests, and Hunt said, “Okay, sir, I’d like to give you some tests if you’re safe to keep driving you and your passengers tonight, all right? “Yes, sir,” responded the man.

Shortly after, he was handcuffed for DWI, with Hunt stating, “The best thing I can tell you is you got yourself into this situation, not me.”

Target 7 also tracked down the man who was arrested and sat down with his new attorney, Frances Carpenter.

Carpenter reiterated that the traffic stop was a setup, saying, “[Officer Hunt] knew exactly where he was going to be.”

She told Target 7 how Mendez called her client on his birthday, saying, “Hey, do you want to hang out? Let’s go out. My client was not good friends with him. He didn’t socialize with him, but he was like, sure. You know, I’ll go out with you and a bunch of guys.”

Carpenter says Mendez kept ordering her client rounds of drinks, and promised him he would drive. However, Mendez told the man later in the night that he was too drunk, and that he would have to be the one to drive instead. Minutes after leaving the strip club, they were pulled over.

Carpenter stated, “There’s no doubt about it. It was completely set up.” Hunt admitted in court documents that Mendez coordinated with him for the traffic stop. “Rick was communicating with the officer about where they were going to, what time they were gonna be there, and when they were leaving,” she said.

Carpenter also told Target 7 the arrest was just the beginning of her client’s troubles. “He was in there for a couple days, and during the time that he was in jail, his home was broken into,” she said. Around $300,000 worth of watches, gold bars, and guns were stolen, with police reports filed. Carpenter suspects whoever was responsible for the burglary knew the man was in jail, saying, “These individuals knew that he was affluent and likely knew what he had in his safe, and he was targeted.”

Carpenter is leading the class-action lawsuit against the city for victims of the scandal and is urging anyone who may have been targeted to come forward.

Thirteen people have pled guilty so far in the DWI enterprise scandal, including nine officers from the APD, one deputy from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and three legal professionals.

At this time, no one has been sentenced for their roles.

Mendez was among those who pled guilty and was granted permission last year by a federal judge to travel outside of the country before a sentencing date was set. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

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.