Category: CNN Regional

By Daniel V. Ramirez

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    IDAHO FALLS (eastidahonews.com) — Weeks after a BYU-Idaho student was accused of kidnapping a baby from Costco, the Bonneville County Prosecutor announced Thursday afternoon that charges will be dismissed.

During a news conference, Prosecutor Randy Neal showed three videos from inside Costco during the alleged incident on Nov. 24, which led to Michael Raine, 24, being charged with felony second-degree kidnapping.

According to court documents, Raine was looking at books inside the store and a cart with a baby was nearby.

The document states that Raine “looked around” and then grabbed the cart and walked away.

The issue for officials was what occurred once Raine rounded the corner with the cart and the baby.

Neal said the new video shows Raine walking away with the cart, and the baby’s mother finding him almost immediately. The prosecutor explained that when pursuing cases, a prosecutor reviews the evidence and determines whether, beyond a reasonable doubt, the action was a crime.

“For a prosecutor, the analysis is whether there is a rational basis for someone to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they are to a moral certainty, that this is a crime? I don’t think that we can say that,” Neal said.

Neal said the surveillance videos from Costco show that Raine had no intention of running away with that cart.

The other aspect is that Raine didn’t leave the store after the incident, which, according to the documents, indicates the student had purchased items and eaten at the food court.

Looking at the reasons for Raine’s arrest, Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson said at the time, there was only one single video, and based on what was seen, Raine’s actions were found to be suspicious.

Another factor that influenced Raine’s arrest was his trip to the United States Marine Corps Recruiting station in Boise on Nov. 25.

“The detectives were consulting with the prosecutors and made the proper decision at that time in the interest of public safety, based on probable cause, to make that arrest,” Johnson said. “That just doesn’t end the case. There’s a requirement to keep on going.”

Johnson and Neal discussed how detectives met with the mother of the baby and went over the events in a cognitive interview. Neal said this type of interview is a narrative recount of the events by the victim, without any questions being asked.

“Often, the mind will just start filling in pieces in order to make it make sense to them,” Neal said.

Detectives worked on recreating the incident at Costco with the mother, but Neal said some of the mother’s version of events were inaccurate in terms of the cart placement and other minor details.

Neal said Natalie Millett was told charges have been dropped.

In a statement to the media, Millett said the event has caused the emotional pain that words can’t describe and will impact her for life.

“I believe it was miraculous that I ran in the right direction and recovered my baby swiftly, but the outcome could have been so different had I not listened to my intuition and impressions that day,” Millett said.

After being informed that the charges against Raine would be dismissed, Millett stated that she does feel at peace because she has done everything in her power.

One of the major talking points of the conference and in Millett’s statement is the reaction and comments from social media that have attacked her and made egregious remarks about people involved.

“To sit in your basement and write poison is just really disgusting. It’s just inappropriate,” Neal said.

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By Mitchell Kaminski

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    MOBERLY, Mo. (KMIZ) — On the morning of Nov. 18, Marlena Wisdom got a call from an unknown caller that nearly cost her a thousand dollars.

The caller ID said it was an unknown caller, prompting Wisdom to believe the call was coming from the police department.

“When I see that, I think of the police department, because usually when they call, that’s what it is. It comes up as an unknown caller,” Wisdom said. “So I answered it.”

When Wisdom answered the phone, a man on the line identified himself as an officer with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department and told her she had failed to appear for federal jury duty. He said it was a high-profile case and claimed an officer had already gone to her home to serve a subpoena and that she had signed for it.

Wisdom denied ever signing for anything.

“I told him I had not signed for it. And he said, Well, you live at’, and he gave an address that I hadn’t lived at in 10 years,” Wisdom said. “I told him, ‘No, I don’t live there. I haven’t lived there for 10 years.’ And he goes, ‘Well, ma’am, we have a piece of paper here that you signed, and the officer served a summons to you, and you’ve signed it. So now we’re going to have to figure out what to do here, because he said you have two charges against you right now.’”

Wisdom said she had served on a county jury before, and something about the call felt off. But because she had never served on a federal jury and didn’t know how the process could differ, she became concerned.

“He told me that each one of them had a $2,500 fine, but I wouldn’t have to come up with $2,500 if he could get the judge on the line and the judge agreed to it, they would do a surety bond, which means I would pay $500 each on each account,” Wisdom said.

The man on the phone told her that he would need to come in for a signature analysis, but before he did, he needed to get her on the line with a federal judge so he could issue a surety bond. Wisdom was assured that with the surety bond in place, she would not be detained after she submitted a signature analysis.

“He was very professional, extremely professional. He spoke like an officer would, and he even at one point put a judge on the line,” Wisdom said. “I looked it up real quick while I had him on the phone, and he was literally a district judge, and so I thought I had a real, real district judge on the line.”

The judge had introduced himself as “Gary Fenner.” The real Gary Fenner currently serves in the Western District of Missouri. Wisdom explained the situation to the person on the phone and was told that a bond would be issued.

The man who identified himself as Fenner then put the officer back on the line. The officer told Wisdom that she needed to stay on the line and that if she was pulled over by police, to hand her phone over to the officer, and he would explain the situation. Wisdom told the man she wanted to let her coworkers at Moberly Area Community College know where she was going, but the man told her that, because there was a gag order, she could not talk about the trial case.

“He was like, ‘Now you need to go to your financial institution and get the money for this surety bond. Because if you show up and you haven’t paid the surety bond after the judge has said he’ll do it, then we can detain you and we may not release you until everything comes back from your signature analysis,’” Wisdom said. “The whole time he told me that I could not hang up because ‘I’ve had people hang up and then they just disappear on them.’ And he said, ‘If we’re wanting to clear this up today, I needed to stay on the phone’ so that he knew exactly where I was at.”

After grabbing her purse and keys from her office, the man told her that she would be reimbursed for her mileage drive, but he needed to go to a financial institution to withdraw funds for the bond. The man had also sent her emails with instructions on how to pay a FDIC-issued bond that looked official. The instructions said that she could pick between three FDIC money centers, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS, but she had to instruct the agent she was speaking with which “financial department” she would be using.

“I was panicking. I was literally panicking. I’m running around with $1,000 in my pocket and I’m panicking because I don’t know what was real,” Wisdom said. “What threw me off was the whole federal jury duty. You know, if it had been just regular court duty, I know that they wouldn’t do it that way.”

When Wisdom told the man she would be using Walgreens, she was given a barcode that she was told had a warrant number and was instructed to scan the barcode inside.

However, when Wisdom went into the Walgreens and said she needed to have two barcodes scanned to pay court fees, the lady at the counter looked confused.

“She looked at me very strangely, and I said, ‘You’ve never done this before?’ And she goes, ‘No.’ And he immediately, on the phone, said, ‘Ma’am, you need to head to your vehicle and go to the sheriff’s department. You have violated the gag order,’” Wisdom said.

While the man remained on speakerphone, the woman at the counter asked him for his badge number. Wisdom said he quickly rattled off a number, but the woman’s questioning made her realize the call was likely a scam.

“She said, ‘That’s not correct. That’s not how that works. Those are not real badge numbers.’ And I didn’t know what to believe. So I went ahead and left and went out to my truck and I told him, I said, ‘I’m just going to go to the Moberly Police Department.’ He goes, ‘OK, you go there.’ And so I headed that way,” Wisdom said.

On her way to the Moberly Police Department, Wisdom was told that she would be detained once she arrived and that the only way to fix it is if she went to CVS. When Wisdom told him that there wasn’t a CVS in Mobelry, he told her to go to Walmart. Wisdom told him that she would drive to Walmart but instead continued to the police station.

“I was in the lobby of the police department and I was waving through the glass that one of the officers to come to me and the officer comes around and he stepped out into the lobby and he goes, ‘Can I help you, ma’am?’ And the guy on the phone goes, ‘Where are you?’ And he gave it a few seconds, and then he clicked and hung up,” Wisdom said. “I got taken. I’m embarrassed to say that I almost lost $1,000.”

Joe Harrison, the chief deputy at the Moberly Police Department, said law enforcement frequently get reports about similar types of scams.

“One of the biggest things to show that it’s not legit is that we do not call people on the phone to inform them that they owe us money, that they have a warrant that they missed court or anything like that,” Harrison said. “That’s not the way that the business is handled. So, that’s the first sign of fraud.”

Harrison added for actual warrants or court-related issues, an officer will make contact with you in person or at your home.

“You would receive paperwork from the courts through the mail system or a deputy would serve in person those people, the paperwork, the official documentation from the court,” Harrison said. “We do not handle business over the phone at all for anything. So, if you receive a phone call from anyone claiming to be law enforcement, police department, sheriff’s department, any agency, what you should do is just kindly tell them that you’re going to contact the agency directly, hang up the phone.”

Worldwide, an estimated 608 million people each year fall victim to a scam. In 2024 alone, seniors lost $4.8 billion to scammers. Unfortunately, tracking down these types of scammers is a tall task.

“With today’s technology, people can use routers through computers and everything just like we see with the swatting type deals where someone will call in a false alert of something that’s significant, like a death or a bomb threat or something. And there’s no way to trace the call because it comes from a computer that bounces it all over the world,” Harrison said. “It’s unfortunate in today’s world that we have to deal with things like this with the technology and stuff that people have to try to scam people. It’s generally targeted at elderly people who don’t who aren’t aware. So like I said, the best thing for people to do is to just call your agency directly before you do any kind of access or any kind of business over the phone.”

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By Tre Ward, WLS Staff

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    HOMER GLEN, Ill. (WLS) — A 73-year-old woman was tied up and held at gunpoint in her own home as she was unloading her groceries in the south suburbs.

Three suspects were later taken into custody following a police pursuit and crash, officials said.

The crime happened on Wednesday at about 2:48 p.m. in the 16800 block of S. Deer Path Drive in Homer Glen, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said.

A woman, 73, said she was pulling into her garage after a trip to the grocery store when she was ambushed by a man wearing a hoodie, authorities said.

The suspect pointed a gun at her and demanded cash. Officials said a second suspect then forced her into her home.

The woman was then forced to sit in a chair as the suspects allegedly bound her wrists and ankles using items from inside the home, officials said.

Officials said the suspects then took a credit card from her purse and demanded her PIN number.

The suspects then left and went to a bank in Orland Park where they withdrew $2,000 from the victim’s account.

“They left her tied up, and they said, ‘You can go ahead and call the police, but by the time you are able to do that, we’ll be long gone.’ They did take her cell phone, so by the time she got out of the restraints, she made her way over to the neighbor’s house and called 911,” Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said.

Authorities said she was followed home in a dark-colored Acura that was stolen out of Chicago. The victim was able to free herself about 20 minutes later and asked for help from a neighbor.

The mayor says the victim is shaken but is doing okay.

Investigators believed this was a random attack, but she was targeted due to her age.

Three suspects were taken into custody by Joliet police after the dark-colored Acura was spotted, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in an update late Thursday evening.

“Patrol officers from the Joliet Police Department located the suspect vehicle traveling on McDonough Street,” the update read in part. “When officers attempted a traffic stop, the driver fled, prompting a coordinated multi-agency pursuit. The vehicle ultimately crashed near Route 52 and Rowell Avenue in Unincorporated Will County. Three suspects fled on foot, and officers from several agencies set up a perimeter and began a search of the area. All three suspects were later located and taken into custody.”

One of the suspects was taken to a hospital. All three suspects have “extensive criminal histories, including prior weapons-related offenses and are from the City of Chicago,” and one of the offenders is a juvenile, police said.

The mayor of Homer Glen also told ABC7 a similar robbery happened earlier Thursday in nearby Lemont. ABC7 was told the suspects in the Lemont case were taken into custody. The Will County Sheriff’s Office has not confirmed that information.

There is no word if the two cases are connected.

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By Carrie Hodgin

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    WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WXII) — The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and the Forsyth District Attorney released new details Thursday after the deadly fight that occurred Tuesday at North Forsyth High School involving two students.

Forsyth District Attorney Jim O’Neill said there’s “No probable cause” to charge the student who survived the fight. “No probable cause whatsoever to charge the student with assault, homicide, or manslaughter,” O’Neill said. “At the end of the day, this is a terrible accident.”

Lt. JD Sloan with the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said an SRO responded to the stabbing on Dec. 9 at the high school. He said first responders attempted lifesaving measures, but 16-year-old Cameron Graham died at the school. The other student was sent to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Sloan said detectives interviewed dozens of witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage and cell phone videos. He said the fight started in a bathroom in the school over a vape pen. He said Graham took out a knife, resulting in the other student sustaining injuries to his hands. He said Graham suffered a fatal stab wound to his chest.

O’Neill said both students knew each other very well.

“They rode the school bus together and had a conversation that morning; they were friends,” he said. “Which makes this even more of a tragedy.”

O’Neill said the “video only represents a snippet.” He also spoke more about the moments after Graham was stabbed as the other student tried to help his friend. “The 18-year-old, seeing that his friend was lying on the ground stabbed, tried to render aid and pack the wound, and put pressure on it.”

He also said the student who survived was interviewed during his recovery.

“I can tell you that he cried and cried after he learned his friend was dead,” O’Neill said.

“Our 18-year-old also under law had the right to use self-defense,” O’Neill said. “When the knife was produced, he tried to wrestle it away.”

O’Neill said the surviving student is now being “subjected to threats, which, based on this investigation and the truth, it is totally inappropriate what happened at North Forsyth this week was an accident, unintentional,” he said. “I promise you now we will not tolerate any acts of retaliation or revenge.” He said that comes with the backing of the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office and the Winston-Salem Police Department.

“You take that step and threaten this man or his family, there will be consequences. We will protect the school, students, and in this case, the 18-year-old after the loss of his friend. No revenge. No retaliation. There’s no probable cause in this case,” O’Neill said.

“If the thought process is to retaliate, pick another,” Winston-Salem Police Department Chief William Penn Jr. said.

“There are some things that need to be fixed,” Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. said as the school’s metal detectors weren’t used that day. “We want administrators to be administrators, not security experts.”

“Regardless of how we got there, all of those things are contributing factors,” Kimbrough said. “At some point, as adults, we share the blame in this. We do. But as a community, it starts with safe community.”

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools’ new superintendent, Dr. Don Phipps, said he wants to look at the protocol and procedure of what needs to be done. “Do we have the resources we need to have?”

While reflecting on the tragedy, he said, “We feel the pain. This is an educator’s nightmare. Things that keep me up at night – it’s about safety,” Phipps said. “The metal detectors are important, but it’s one layer of protection.”

He referenced the need for more community involvement to help stop more violence.

“There needs to be outreach. Church and city groups to break the cycle of violence. Weapons came from somewhere,” he said.

Phipps said North Forsyth High students and staff will return to class on Friday, and there will be resources for those who need them.

“Let’s not let this be lost. All of us need to wrap our arms around North Forsyth, every teacher, student and staff,” Penn said. “We need to be better than this. We need to take back control. Take back our community.”

CAMERON GRAHAM’S FAMILY RELEASES STATEMENT Cameron Graham’s family has released the following statement in response the decision not to charge the other student.

“We have been made aware of Sheriff Kimbrough and the police department’s decision. We the family of Cameron Graham, will be seeking legal counsel to assist with this investigation. We have lost two family members tragically, one shot ten times in the back, and now a fatal stabbing, and have received no justice. We are asking that any legal entities that are willing to help look further into these investigations will come forward to help the family at this time,” Graham’s aunt, Charlita Summers said.

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By Jon Schoenheider

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    New Hampshire (WMUR) — A man found guilty of murdering the mother of his children and setting off an Amber Alert when he drove off with the children was sentenced Thursday to 45 years to life in prison.

Duren was convicted in October in the shooting death of 31-year-old Caitlyn Naffziger. It took the jury about three hours to find him guilty of second-degree murder, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, and child endangerment.

Prosecutors said in February of 2024, Duren killed Naffziger at his apartment in Berlin when she refused to leave. They said Duren shot the victim in the head while she was sitting on his couch. Duren then took off with their two children, prompting the Amber Alert. The kids, who were ages 1 and 4 at the time, were later found safe in Keene.

During his trial, Duren claimed Naffziger was demanding money that he did not have and threatened to report him for kidnapping if he did not pay. The defense said Duren believed he was protecting his children from their mother when he pulled the trigger.

Prosecutors argued that the case was about anger and control.

The sentencing hearing lasted hours as the judge heard impact statements from several witnesses on both sides of the case.

“Because of one person’s choice, her daughters must grow up without their mother,” said Shannon Spurgeon, Naffziger’s aunt.

Duren also addressed the courtroom, apologizing to Naffziger’s family and his own, including his children.

“There is no greater pain in this world than that of losing a child,” Duren said. “I grieve for you. I grieve with you. I’m sorry.”

Close to a dozen members of Nafziger’s family and friends shared how much her loss has changed their lives. Her mother, Lori Smith, described the days and weeks after the shooting, as well as her daughter’s funeral.

“I stood near here, looked at her face, crying and shaking, and I told her, ‘Goodbye my girl,'” Smith said. “My heart was breaking again, and I could barely breathe. Then, I left her behind.”

In sentencing Duren to 45 years to life in prison, the judge said he was agreeing with the prosecution’s sentencing request. Duren was also ordered to pay more than $12,000 in restitution.

Naffziger’s sister-in-law said she is raising the two girls, something that friends and relatives said Naffziger had requested.

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By Jonah Gilmore

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    KENNER, La. (WDSU) — A viral video showing two young males being detained by federal agents in Kenner is sending shockwaves through Jefferson Parish and intensifying fears already gripping immigrant families as school attendance plummets across the district.

The witness who recorded the encounter, Mimi Spiehler, said the individuals looked like teenagers and appeared to be wearing Bonnabel High School uniforms.

While WDSU has not confirmed whether they were students, the timing has deepened concerns. Absences among Hispanic students in some Jefferson Parish schools have surged to as high as 40% in recent weeks.

Community members say this video explains exactly why.

“I cannot imagine how these people feel and how scared they are, ” Spiehler said.

She described the moment federal agents detained the pair as terrifying, not just for those taken into custody, but for anyone watching.

“I was shaking. I couldn’t stop shaking for hours. You hear about it, but when you actually see it,” Spiehler said.

Immigration attorney Paula Ferreira said that federal agents can detain minors, a fact many families are only now learning.

“Technically, a minor child can be detained. There are safeguards, but it does happen,” Ferreira said.

Those safeguards, however, may do little to reassure undocumented parents who face a painful dilemma: come forward for a detained child and risk being detained themselves.

“If the parents are undocumented and appear for their child, they could likely be detained and possibly removed,” Ferreira said.

Advocates say the current climate is pushing families into hiding and keeping students out of classrooms, a ripple effect that, they warn, will have long-term consequences for the parish.

“It’s a travesty,” Spiehler said.

Kenner police confirmed they assisted federal agents with transport during the incident, but said they could not verify whether the individuals detained were students.

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By Kelby Wingert

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — A Des Moines man accused of hiding cameras in porta-potties now faces federal charges after a grand jury returned a 19-count indictment against him, according to court documents.

Tyler Pavlick, 32, was already facing 88 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and invasion of privacy in state court.

Now, he faces charges of sexual exploitation of a child and child pornography in federal court.

Law enforcement said Pavlick placed cameras in porta-potties at a public event in Des Moines and a high school track meet in State Center.

Police said there could be dozens of victims in the case.

Pavlick still faces multiple charges in state court.

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