Artists help prisoners express themselves through creativity

By Cameron Polom

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    TEMPE, Arizona (KNXV) — In a place defined by bars and boundaries, one Tempe writer is helping inmates break free through art.

Jeff Kronenfeld, a former inmate turned published author and screenwriter, is returning behind prison walls, this time with purpose.

He’s leading comic-making workshops inside California’s Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, helping incarcerated artists turn their own stories into illustrated journeys of redemption.

Partnering with Project Paint, Jeff hopes the power of storytelling can inspire transformation and prove that sometimes the boldest lines drawn are the ones that define a new path forward.

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‘I wasn’t showing off’: Man says Tempe PD arrested him because of his loud Ferrari

By Nicole Grigg

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    TEMPE, Arizona (KNXV) — An Arizona man was on his way to get food at a Tempe restaurant last year when police pulled him over in his expensive Ferrari.

According to police, Eli Landry, was “trying to test the physical endurance of the vehicle” — a silver 812 — that he said often attracts attention to people on the roads.

The 24-year-old was driving near Rural Road and Apache Boulevard. He had a friend driving behind him in a Dodge Charger.

“Obviously, our cars are loud,” said Landry. “Can’t control that.”

Body camera footage shows officers handcuffing Landry for exhibition of speed and reckless driving after he was parked in a parking garage.

“What was I doing?” Landry asked the arresting officer in body camera video. “I wasn’t showing off.”

The Tempe Police Department has been cracking down on street racing, as ABC15 has covered in the past. The department has received more than half a million dollars in grant funding to target street racing and other unsafe driving behaviors since 2023.

In a statement, a Tempe spokesperson said that reckless and dangerous driving is one of the community’s top concerns.

The ABC15 Investigators reviewed nearly 400 exhibition of speed citations from Tempe police. Our review found that citations increased by more than 700% from 2020 to 2024.

In 2024, 228 people were cited, the most issued in a single year since 2020.

“Most of my clients for this are by themselves on the roadway,” said attorney Zachary Ansell, who represents Landry.

Landry was arrested by police on charges of reckless driving and exhibition of speed. He was later acquitted. He decided to share his story, knowing that not everyone can take a case to trial.

He wants to warn other drivers to be cautious in Tempe.

“Be careful. Be very careful,” Landry said.

According to the police report, Tempe Officer Gavin Young wrote that Landry’s car appeared to be “testing the physical endurance of the vehicle.” The officer estimated Landry was driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone, though he admitted this was only a visual guess without radar confirmation.

“There’s no video of what they say happened,” Landry added. “They don’t have dash cameras. No radar, no dash cameras. Nothing other than the cop’s word versus my word.”

The body camera video shows that Landry’s loud car was part of why he was stopped.

“Dude, the obnoxious noise and just the grinding of the tires,” Young said on the video.

Landry responded that the grinding of the tires is from the tires rubbing from a body kit that is on there.

“That is the tire doing that, I can’t control that,” he told the officer.

Young responded that “it’s reckless.”

Landry said he thinks the loud Ferrari played a role in his stop and arrest.

A spokesperson for the Tempe Police Department said in an email that with increased resources and targeted operations in recent years, they have been able to identify and stop more dangerous drivers. They added, “that enforcement is not based on the type of car or driver.”

The officer wrote in the report that when Landry turned eastbound on Apache Boulevard, the rear tires fishtailed slightly, “the Ferrari then stopped and did a burnout with its rear tires.”

Landry said in an interview with ABC15 that there was no evidence to show any of Officer Young’s account, as there was no smoke and there were no tire remains.

“He didn’t have smoke. And obviously there’s no tire remains,” Landry considered it “lies in the police report.”

Tempe police responded by email that Officer Young testified under oath related to his observations and actions in this case, “Allegations that an officer falsified information are taken seriously and would be thoroughly investigated if supported by credible evidence; however, no such evidence existed in the case.”

Landry hired an attorney and took his case to a jury trial in August inside a Tempe municipal courtroom.

Ansell, his attorney, said, “It’s rare to take any case to a jury trial. It’s a roll of the dice,” he said.

Ansell said this is a unique case because of Landry’s car with custom upgrades and believes the officer didn’t understand this Ferrari.

Arizona’s street racing law prohibits drivers from participating in races, speed competitions, drag races, testing physical endurance or “exhibition of speed.”

Ansell considers the law vague.

“The statute basically just says exhibition of speed,” Ansell said. “But at the end of the day, it’s showing off your vehicle’s quality to be fast. And what does that mean? That could be anything.”

The city prosecutor alleged in the trial that Landry showed off the “power and capabilities of this powerful sports car.”

However, Landry denies that.

Landry told ABC15 that his car could go 0 to 60 in around 3 seconds.

”If I really wanted to, yeah, I could show off the car pretty easily and just put my foot down and pedal to the metal,” he said, “But again, I wasn’t.”

Officer Young was called to the stand during cross-examination and compared Landry’s driving to a “performance.”

“Extremely loud as they were traveling in tandem. Kind of like Cirque Du Soleil style. Like they were performing an act somewhat,” said Young.

Ansell asked Young in cross-examination if he ever saw the two vehicles racing.

Young replied, “I did not,” but referenced how Landry and his friend were riding extremely close in tandem.

At trial, Ansell played body camera footage that showed two officers had muted their cameras, unaware a third officer was still recording nearby.

An officer can be heard asking Young, “Do we have anything criminal here?” and the video shows Young shaking his head no.

Ansell asked Officer Young about this exchange in the trial.

“What I just heard there is, ‘Do we have anything criminal and you shaking your head and stating no,’” Ansell said.

Young responded that the officer who asked him was talking about Landry’s friend in the Dodge Charger, not Landry.

“If those questions are being asked, we probably shouldn’t have been in a jury trial in the first place,” Ansell told ABC15.

After deliberation, the jury found Landry not guilty on all charges.

“Oh, it was so relieving,” Landry said. “My parents cried. I think they were more relieved than anyone, knowing that these cops didn’t get away with lies.”

Landry, an entrepreneur, has a love for supercars. He said he has found success in his businesses as well as investing.

TEMPE’S FULL STATEMENT:

“The Tempe Police Department is committed to public safety and responding to one of our community’s top concerns —reckless and dangerous driving. Exhibition of speed and other laws exist to deter those behaviors and help keep everyone on the road safe.

“Officers gather facts and enforce laws when those facts meet the elements of crimes; enforcement is not based on the type of car or driver. Safety is our top priority, and all drivers are held to the same standards under the law.

“With increased resources and targeted operations in recent years, we’ve been able to identify and stop more dangerous drivers. In 2024 alone, three operations focused on speed and street racing, which led to fewer collisions. During one operation, there were zero fatalities and a 50% drop in crashes. These results show that enforcement plays a significant role in traffic safety, and our officers are doing their jobs to protect the community.

“We respect the independent role the courts play within the justice system. Officer Gavin Young testified under oath related to his observations and actions in this case, providing clarification related to this incident and his investigation. Allegations that an officer falsified information are taken seriously and would be thoroughly investigated if supported by credible evidence; however, no such evidence existed in the case.

“Our officers will continue to enforce valid Arizona laws with professionalism and integrity, trusting the process to deliver fair and impartial decisions. Our focus remains on preventing crashes, protecting the public, and deterring reckless driving in Tempe.”

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Couple’s haunted Titanic display makes waves

By Riley Shoemaker

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    BOISE (KIVI) — In Boise’s North End – just off Harrison Boulevard, where Halloween is a neighborhood spectacle – one front yard has become a full-blown shipwreck.

A life-sized Titanic has risen from the lawn, complete with skeleton passengers, a band that “plays on,” and nods to many of the film’s most famous scenes.

Tyler Bush and Michael Mann spent weeks transforming their home into the haunted ocean liner – turning foam, paint, and 3D design plans into a Halloween display that’s stopping trick-or-treaters in their tracks.

“We actually built it in a 3D environment… all the portholes equally and cutting them, but all the portholes are actually to scale in the location. So you’ll notice that the way they’re spread out, that’s how they actually are on the ship,” Bush said.

Each detail is deliberate – from the couple floating on the door to a skeleton artist recreating the “draw me like one of your French girls” scene.

“You can hear people walk up and they start laughing. And then we always know that they’re looking at Jack drawing the girl – the French, ‘draw me like one of your French girls.’ Yeah. And it’s just a stick figure that we did. And so people think that that’s really funny,” Bush said.

This year, their creativity didn’t stop at their own front yard. Bush and Mann run a prop-building company called PropyProps, and they’re also behind the Beetlejuice display just down the street.

“We made a sign that says ‘Titanic boarding now’… so people see that and then they look down the street and then they’re intrigued by it,” Bush said.

That Beetlejuice house belongs to Val, who says the whole neighborhood joins in on the Halloween fun.

“It’s so much fun on Harrison. It’s like the community – come on down, party with us! It’s really fun,” Val said.

What started as one couple’s Halloween hobby has become a North End landmark – a labor of love that’s keeping Boise’s spooky spirit afloat.

Bush and Mann say when the Titanic goes down, they’ll set sail into Christmas, turning their home into a Nightmare Before Christmas scene that’s just as grand.

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Free costumes for kids in need

By Vanessa Gongora

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    TUCSON, Arizona (KGUN) — A Tucson woman is making sure every child can experience the magic of Halloween, regardless of their family’s financial situation.

What started as an idea has now come to fruition.

Abby Splittstoesser started her grassroots mutual aid organization Para Todos meaning “for all,” after seeing social media posts from parents struggling to afford Halloween costumes for their children last year.

She took action and started to collect and thrift costumes throughout the year, building an inventory of about 40 different options ranging from size 3T to youth XXL. Now, she’s giving away those costumes for free to families in need.

“The idea behind it is to connect families really anywhere in Southern Arizona, but I’m focusing, honing in on South of Tucson because we’re lacking in a lot of services and family programs down here,” Splittstoesser said.

Her collection includes everything from fairy wings, princesses, to Top Gun pilot uniforms, Ninja Turtle outfits, Sonic the Hedgehog, and so much more.

“Parents can focus on their bills that they gotta pay and then hopefully we can fill in the gaps as a community,” Splittstoesser said. “You know, not just me as like starting an organization, but just being able to connect people and we provide for each other that way.”

According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending hit a record $13.1 billion this year, with $1.4 billion spent specifically on children’s costumes.

Splittstoesser says she can deliver costumes directly to families living on Tucson’s Southside. One mother, Rea Rollins, was even willing to ride the bus to pick up a gorilla costume for her 9-year-old daughter, but Splittstoesser brought it to her instead.

“Just shows the sacrifice that parents are willing to go,” Splittstoesser said.

Rollins said via text, “It really blessed my heart because being a single mom I often have to juggle between rent and food, or smaller bills and presents/clothes. I’m thankful for local organizations that help our community.”

Seven families have already selected costumes from her collection, and some have even donated their kid’s outgrown costumes back to the organization.

Para Todos is not a 501(c)(3) organization. She says her plan is to make it an LLC.

“A few things that I’m looking at doing in the near future are going to be monthly birthday parties,” Splittstoesser said. “And again this is another need that I’ve seen on social media — parents not being able to get kids to come to their kids birthday parties.”

She said any kid who has a birthday in that month is invited to be celebrated.

“And then having a wide circle of people so that there’s always other kids there and they don’t have to feel like, oh nobody showed out for me today.” Splittstoesser continued. “They always say it takes a village but a lot of people don’t have a village nowadays. So I’m trying to encourage people, get to know your neighbors.”

With a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old at home, Splittstoesser hopes to pass along the value of generosity from an early age.

“That if we have more than we need, we give it to other people,” Splittstoesser said.

If you would like to see what costumes are still available, you can visit Para Todos Facebook page and contact Splittstoesser.

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Restaurant workers accused of beating man, disabled son who asked for help

By Luke Jones

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    HOUSTON (KTRK) — Three men have been arrested after attacking a man and his disabled son outside of a northwest Houston seafood restaurant, police say.

Early Sunday morning, police say one of the victims was having car trouble and started banging on the door of Mariscos Yucatan to get help.

Instead of helping him, police say three men came out and were seen in surveillance video kicking and punching him in the face.

At least two of the men are employees of the restaurant, according to court records.

When the man’s adult son, who has cerebral palsy, intervened, police say one of the men punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground.

Gustavo Rojas and Jaime Dominguez were charged with injury to a disabled person.

Isidro Velasquez is facing a more serious aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge because police say he retrieved a gun from his car before continuing to beat the victims.

“According to the affidavit, my client was holding a firearm. However, there’s no direct statement that he pointed it at the complaining witness,” Velasquez’s public defender told a hearing officer in a bid to have his client’s bond set at $250.

The hearing officer ultimately set it at $40,000, although records show ICE has placed a hold on Velasquez.

Both victims sustained lacerations and bruises to their faces and arms, according to a charging document.

When asked whether the suspects were still employed on Monday, a restaurant manager told Eyewitness News, “No comment.”

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Navy Sailor jumps into action, helps rescue man from burning car in mall parking garage

By ABC7 Chicago Digital Team

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    SCHAUMBURG, Illinois (WLS) — ABC7 spoke to a Navy Sailor who was one of the people who jumped into action when a car caught fire at Woodfield mall over the weekend.

Schaumburg police told ABC News they responded to a report of a car fire around 2:20 p.m. on the upper level of the parking garage on Saturday

A driver had suffered a medical emergency before their car caught on fire.

Video obtained by ABC7 shows how a bystander helped pull the driver from their car. The driver was later taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

Now, we are learning that one of the Good Samaritans who helped was Navy Sailor William Thompson.

Thompson told ABC7 he recently finished bootcamp.

“Instantly, its like my body moving on itself,” he said. “Its like everything the navy taught me, just instantly erupted inside of me.”

Thompson said he had some injuries from breaking the car window.

He also attributed to the other people who helped pulled the driver from the vehicle.

Schaumburg police say that driver suffered a medical emergency and went to the hospital.

Four other vehicles were damaged due to the car fire, Schaumburg police said.

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Teen helps several people stranded in flash flood

By Zitlali Solache

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    BOCA RATON, Florida (WPTV) — A teen is being credited for helping rescue stranded drivers after a flash flood hit the Boca Raton area Sunday night.

Thomas Ruzzano, 18, was at the movie theater at Mizner Park with his girlfriend when they heard thunderstorms.

“During the movie, we just heard lightning, pouring the whole movie and then on the way out, we’re in a flood,” said Ruzzano. “We were going down the road, and we just see cars backed up. The whole roundabout, the whole entire garage, everything, even the bathrooms in the movie theaters flooded.”

The flash flood brought strong winds and lightning, leaving sections of the city submerged under water. According to Doppler Radar, Boca Raton experienced an estimated 8 inches of rain Sunday.

Ruzzano recalls the moment he jumped into the water to help drivers near Mizner Park.

“I went from car to car. Probably six or seven people just going car to car, making sure everyone was okay,” said Ruzzano.

Even the people Ruzzano rescued stepped up, joining in to help an elderly man who was trapped in his car.

“He was actually stuck in the car and we had to help him out. I think he was a little lost of the whole situation, so we helped him,” said Ruzzano. “He was trying to push the car after we got him out and we were like ‘No sir. We just have to get you to safety, make sure you’re okay.’ We brought him to a restaurant nearby and just made sure he’s okay.”

Ruzzano said he relied on his instincts, a trait he credits to his family.

“I learned it from my dad, he always taught me and raised me right,” said Ruzzano.

Though drenched on the ride home, Ruzzano said it’s a night he’ll never forget and one that left many grateful he was there.

“They were just very thankful and they kept telling me how lucky they were to have me there,” said Ruzzano.

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He thinks Hitler may have been right, now he wants a Whites-only community in Tennessee

By Phil Williams

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — He thinks Adolf Hitler may have been right. He talks about preparing for civil war.

And, now, he hopes to establish a Whites-only community in Tennessee.

Eric Orwoll, who is scheduled to be among the speakers at an annual white-nationalist conference at Montgomery Bell State Park in mid-November, has already made headlines with his controversial efforts to create a community in northeastern Arkansas that would bar people of color, as well as Jews and people who identify as LGBTQ.

Now, in an exclusive interview with NewsChannel 5, Orwoll admits encouraging people to join a white-nationalist group that trains young men to fight. Reluctantly, he also acknowledges having expressed anti-Jewish opinions and support for the Nazi leader.

“We’re concerned about the ability of White Americans to have their own communities in the future, and I think this is a discussion that needs to happen,” Orwold told NewsChannel 5 Investigates.

The Arkansas man wants to test federal fair housing laws that prohibit discrimination in the sale or rental of residential property. To achieve that goal, he created a group, called Return to the Land, that would operate a “private membership association”—essentially, a private club—that White members would join in hopes of circumventing those laws.

And Orwoll said he has plans to expand.

Where might next communities be?

“So, right now, there are a few hotspots that we’re homing in on in Idaho, Tennessee, the Ozarks,” he explained.

NewsChannel 5 responded, “You say, Tennessee?”

“Yeah, that’s one of those hotspots.”

“And where in Tennessee are you looking at?”

“A few different locations—eastern Tennessee, central Tennessee. So, I’m not gonna give away specific zip codes or anything.”

Return to the Land’s website shows a map that includes the eastern part of Middle Tennessee and all of East Tennessee that make up Appalachia.

That includes Jackson County where Christian nationalists are also hoping to establish a community, giving some of the same reasons Orwoll gives.

“Appalachia in general has a lot of founding stock Americans who are very rooted to the land here,” Orwoll said. “You know, people who came over more recently might not have that very deep sense of White American identity.”

It is a pitch that Orwoll plans to take to the annual American Renaissance Conference when it returns to Montgomery Bell State Park, just west of Nashville, Nov. 14-16.

Presenting himself as a thoughtful person, Eric Orwoll chooses his words carefully when describing his personal beliefs.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, “How do you describe yourself? Are you a white supremacist? White nationalist? Neo-Nazi? Any of the above?”

“No, none of the above,” he insisted. “I’m a white identitarian. I think that ethnic identity, racial and ethnic identity is a big part of who you are.”

What about ties to Patriot Front?

While portraying himself as someone just interested in preserving White heritage, Orwoll has developed a close relationship with the white-nationalist Patriot Front, which wants to turn the U.S. into an ethnostate for Whites only.

NewsChannel 5 asked, “What is your relationship with the Patriot Front?”

“I believe that they are good-faith actors,” Orwoll responded, seemingly trying to keep some distance between himself and the controversial group.

“I think their ambitions for seeing political change are noble, even if I don’t completely agree with their strategy or, perhaps, ultimate objective.”

But photos posted by Patriot Front show Orwoll was one of the speakers recently at the group’s first national conference, alongside neo-Nazi Robert Rundo.

Rundo pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Riot Act “by plotting riots and engaging in violence” against protesters at Trump rallies.

A group photo from the conference shows Rundo posing with a clinched fist, while Orwoll is seen giving the fist-over-heart salute associated with members of Patriot Front.

Return to the Land recently posted a photo of Patriot Front founder Thomas Rousseau speaking at its own event. American Renaissance founder Jared Taylor was pictured at both gatherings.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates was curious about a social media post from Sept. 15 in which Orwoll stated: “Folks are willing to call for violence but unwilling to join one of the few groups on our side that know how to organize and deploy men.”

We asked, “Who is that group that you were referring to?”

“I was indirectly referring to Patriot Front,” he admitted.

As our NewsChannel 5 investigation has previously revealed, Patriot Front has built a compound in East Tennessee where it trains men to fight—although it claims that martial arts training is just a way for the men to develop themselves personally.

“Patriot Front does a lot of training for hand-to-hand combat,” NewsChannel 5 Investigates noted. “Do you think they’re in a position to—want to even—prepare for battle, for civil war?”

“Well, I’m not against preparing for civil war,” Orwoll answered, “because it may happen, not of our choosing. I think being in a position of strength, regardless of what happens, is a wise thing to do.”

Orwoll’s views on race, Jews

Orwoll has also argued that an iconic 1960 photo of U.S. marshals escorting 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, as she integrated a Louisiana elementary school, represents what he calls the “immorality” of forced integration.

“What they did was they chose one social model and said, ‘You’re all gonna live this way.’ And it just wasn’t really a democratic process.”

“Meaning the White people didn’t get their way?”

“The majority, the democratic majority, if they don’t get their way, that’s undemocratic.”

While he insists he is not antisemitic, NewsChannel 5 discovered that, after the UK’s Daily Mail revealed that Orwoll and his ex-wife had once starred in a series of livestreamed porn videos, he seemed to think one of the reporters’ ethnic backgrounds had something to do with it.

NewsChannel 5 Investigates noted, “You kept referring to it as the Jewish reporter, the Jewish journalist and I wasn’t sure why.”

“Well, they were Jewish,” Orwoll answered.

What did that have to do with the story about his controversial history?

“Well, the fact is that gentile journalists weren’t coming after me for having a White neighborhood—Jewish journalists were,” he continued.

Then, there was a post where another person on X wrote, “I do not blame all the Jews for everything. Don’t hate Jews for being Jews.”

Orwoll responded, “Have you considered that you might not know enough about Jews yet?”

The Return to the Land founder initially denied he had ever said such a thing. “I don’t think that’s a direct quote. And it could be a fake account.”

We showed him the post from his own X account.

“Yeah, I didn’t mean to insinuate that you should hate Jews for being Jews, uh, blaming Jews for everything,” he finally answered. “I may have been a bit tongue in cheek there.”

Then there was the post where he appeared to defend Adolf Hitler.

“Interesting that you don’t even acknowledge the alleged Jewish wrongdoing or what punishment that would merit if true,” he wrote.

NewsChannel 5 wanted to know, “Do you believe that the Jews had it coming from Hitler?”

“Had it coming? I mean, it’s not my place to judge,” Orwoll said blankly. “I think it is strange that when we look at World War II, people don’t actually take the claims of the people who felt aggrieved by the Jewish community in Europe.”

NewsChannel 5 Investigates observed, “It seems to me that saying there is no reason at all to murder six million Jews is an easy answer.”

“Yeah, well,” Orwoll responded, “I don’t know that six million Jews were murdered. I don’t know that.”

What’s next?

As for his hopes to establish Whites-only communities, Orwoll said he thinks Donald Trump’s administration provides the best opportunity to establish a new legal precedent.

“I don’t know if he personally would condone what we’re doing. But I think he’s enough of a true conservative that he would believe that we have the right to do it.”

As a result of his recent wave of publicity, Orwoll said he has received enough financial support to quit his job and focus fulltime on his Whites-only projects.

Asked if any of that money is coming from the millionaires or billionaires who are trying to re-engineer American society, he claimed he did not know for sure—although he added that it was indeed likely since some of the support has come in the form of large donations.

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Mother who reported sexual harassment by ICE contractor deported to Mexico

By Lindsay Weber

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    KERN COUNTY, California (KCRA) — A California mother of eight who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 40 years was deported to Mexico despite having received an emergency reprieve by a court, according to her attorneys.

KCRA 3 reported last week about Silvia Reyna Mendoza, after her family filed a lawsuit alleging she was being retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment by an ICE contractor.

After the story aired Thursday night, Reyna Mendoza was deported on Friday morning.

Her law office told KCRA 3 that Reyna Mendoza’s immigration attorneys were able to get an emergency temporary stay on Friday night, but she was still illegally deported. They said she is in contact with her attorneys and they are addressing the deportation.

“It’s obviously very suspicious because all along the defendants that we are suing have been working very hard to cover up the sexual harassment,” said Reyna Mendoza’s lawyer, Israel Ramirez. “We’re still investigating this. We want all the facts to come out and we want the individuals who have harmed her to be brought to justice.”

Reyna Mendoza arrived in the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager. Her family said she was fleeing domestic violence.

Her children are all U.S. citizens, but she herself is not. Reyna Mendoza has spent years navigating the immigration process in Sacramento. Her status required monitoring by ICE through its contractor, BI Incorporated.

Reyna Mendoza’s children told KCRA 3 that she began receiving sexually explicit text messages and videos, and requests for sexual favors from her specialist.

But when they reported the claims, the family said there was no follow-up, and the contractor tried to delete evidence.

“It’s really hard when you’re trying to speak up to the authorities of what’s going on and they dismiss it. Who do you ask for help at that point?” her son, Francisco Govea, told KCRA last week.

Ramirez vows the lawsuit will continue even if Reyna Mendoza needs to be part of the proceedings virtually.

KCRA 3 has reached out to federal immigration officials but has not heard back.

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Indigenous podcast amplifies voices of missing and murdered women

By Nicholas Gallo

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    NEW MEXICO (KOAT) — Sheyashe Little Dave and Ahli-Sha “Osh” Stephens are hosts of the “We Are Resilient” podcast.

It focuses on personal stories to raise awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous people. Little Dave and Stephens are both citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and created the podcast to bring attention to overlooked cases.

Four years ago, Little Dave and Stephens noticed that May 5 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. They observed that awareness around this date waned afterward, prompting them to take action.

Their interest in true crime podcasts and the realization that many MMIW cases go unsolved led to the creation of their podcast.

“Fact is that the public outcry just isn’t the same,” said Little Dave.

“We thought out a couple of names, and I think like native people we’re just resilient people we overcome so much in our history we’ve always been here we’re always thriving and I think just representation matters,” Stephens said.

The podcast focuses on the people affected by these cases, not just the information on paper.

“Anybody that we cover there, not the circumstances that happened to them, and we really want people to get an idea of who it is that was lost, somebody that matters, somebody that have family somebody that contributed to their community,” Little Dave said.

Many cases they cover become personal, such as the death of 29-year-old Ashley Aldrich in Omaha, Nebraska.

“It’s heartbreaking, can you imagine you know, let alone you know, having to deal with losing a family member, but being the one to find that family member in such a state,” said Little Dave.

Aldrich’s body was found in a field on the Omaha Reservation, covered in mud, with her death certificate attributing her death to hypothermia.

“It’s just one of those cases where, up until that point, there had been, like, repeated calls and instances of domestic violence that she endured from her boyfriend at the time,” Little Dave said. “As a domestic violence survivor, I really, really, hold cases like that really, really close to heart, because, you know, that could happen to anybody.”

For Stephens, the recent death of 14-year-old Emily Pike is particularly poignant

“She went missing on Jan. 27 and a week after she went missing her mother received word from the case manager that Emily was missing a whole week later. A week later,” said Stephens.

Pike’s body was found dismembered in a trash bag off a highway in Arizona.

“That’s a hard one, that’s because she was just 14 she didn’t deserve that,” said Stephens.

The podcast serves as an outlet for making an impact and being a voice to a silent epidemic.

“I think over time we seen it grow, we’ve gotten a lot of feedback from people in our community from people,” said Little Dave.

“We know we need to get these stories out there because if we don’t, then who is?” said Stephens.

In addition to their podcast, Little Dave and Stephens also give presentations to schools, universities, and organizations, including the Atlanta Braves.

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