Category: CNN Regional

By Meryl Hubbard

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    WAUKESHA, Wisconsin (WTMJ) — Almost every week, Bill Rheingans signs his buddy Bob Jacobs out of his senior center in Waukesha. Every time, they find a restaurant to sit down at and share their stories from their service.

Jacobs is 101 years old—a beloved hero admired for both his humor and his remarkable memory.

“There’s not a lot of us World War II veterans left anymore,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs grew up in Beaver Dam and was drafted into the Army in 1943, shortly after he graduated from high school.

“The fellows that I knew of, including myself, was anxious to get in the service and get this thing over with,” said Jacobs.

His first year was spent at Ft. Bliss, Texas, for training camp, where he learned how to be an anti-aircraft weapons soldier. From there, he was stationed in Hawaii for another year before sailing on an LST to Iwo Jima. He says that on his way there, his ship had to drop off its position in the convoy for repairs, only to find out that it may have saved his life.

“If we went back to where we were supposed to be, who knows what happened, because the Kamikaze plane hit the ship in the position where we were supposed to be. So we were just lucky,” said Jacobs.

Once they got there, Jacobs said that Iwo Jima was a land full of ash, where no one lived, and no vegetation grew. It made it hard for Marines to protect themselves.

“You were just in the wide, wide open spaces. The government said that was the bloodiest battle that the United States had ever been in. I lost a lot of friends over there,” said Jacobs.

Jacobs was present when the flag was raised on Iwo Jima and the iconic photo was taken.

Iwo Jima was secured by the U.S. in March of 1945, and the war ended months later in September.

After his service, Jacobs moved back to Wisconsin. He attended business school at Marquette and worked at Mrs. Karl’s Bakery for 37 years. He and his wife were married for more than 70 years.

Nowadays, Rheingans and Jacobs spend their time sitting for hours, sharing their stories—sitting until they are asked to stand.

At Mission BBQ, patrons are invited to sing the national anthem every day at 12 p.m.— a moment for veterans like Jacobs to remember what their service was for.

Rheingans says his mission is simple:

“I just want to make sure that those stories get out to the public and to anybody who’s willing to listen to them, before those stories disappear.”

A couple of months ago, Rheingans stopped by TMJ4’s Let’s Talk West Allis and spoke about the many ways the community can honor United States veterans. Highlighting Jacobs was at the top of the list.

“Bob’s a hero. Every time, like I say, we get together, there’s always some stories, and he’s had a lot of hardships, and I just want to make sure that he’s being recognized and definitely deserving of that recognition,” Rheingans said.

Together, the two of them hope to see more curious minds and more appreciation for the country they fought for.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Erika Stanish

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    FAYETTE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — Those with loved ones at a cemetery in Fayette County are outraged after they said maintenance crews drove heavy machinery right over headstones and graves this week.

At Lafayette Cemetery in Grindstone on Wednesday, KDKA-TV saw several tire tracks in the snow that went right over several headstones, along with damaged American flags and decorations.

“This place, they’ve been out of control. They’re damaging the cemetery like crazy,” said David Bella, who has loved ones buried at the cemetery.

People recount stories of damage at cemetery Bella said this week, maintenance crews were working in the Garden of New Veterans section of the cemetery near the mausoleum where his mother, father and wife are buried. He said crews were digging a new grave in the area where most of the damage is.

“It breaks my heart. I mean, these are veterans. They’re flags. They just plow them over,” Bella said.

He said this is not the first time an incident like this has happened, and he wants to see more respect for those buried at the cemetery and more oversight by management.

“Their equipment’s too heavy. They know it, and they just run over graves,” he said. “They’re breaking headstones. There’s vases that people can’t even get out of their headstones because they’ve smashed them into the headstones. When they buried my wife, they’d run over the vase, and it was smashed into the ground. I literally brought my own tools out, and I managed to fight it, and I got it back up out of there for the people, because they had stuck flowers there. Well, they ran them over with a lawn mower [this summer].”

Another woman said her father’s headstone was cracked two years ago after maintenance crews ran it over with a machine. She said that after repeated phone calls to the office, just last month, the cemetery office called her to let her know crews would repair it.

Bella said he believes there is a protocol that maintenance crews are set to follow when pulling heavy machinery in and out of the gravesites.

“As far as I know, they’re supposed to put plywood down. They carry sheets of plywood, stacks of it. They never use it,” Bella said.

Trying to get answers from management As KDKA-TV was at the cemetery, maintenance crews were seen watching as we filmed before coming over and asking us to move so they could “do their jobs.”

Once KDKA-TV’s team moved out of the way, we saw crews move heavy machinery back into the area that was damaged. Two workers then began pouring what looked like jugs of water on top of some headstones and using a brush to clean them off. One worker also worked to fix a damaged flag.

When KDKA-TV went to speak to management at the office building on the property, workers inside refused to let us in. One worker said she’s “not allowed” and that corporate had to provide a response. When we asked who the corporate office is, she refused to answer.

On a piece of paper posted outside the office door, it states, “Lafayette Memorial Park and its staff are NOT responsible for theft, damage or lost items that have been placed on any grave.”

KDKA-TV reached out to the general manager and was told he was on a leave of absence. Another manager reached for comment hasn’t responded as of Wednesday night.

The vice president of people operations and quality of Everstory Partners, the corporate office, sent this statement:

“Our Park Services teams regularly operate heavy equipment on our grounds, both for interments and for landscaping. While we try to avoid impacts to the grounds, sometimes – particularly during periods of rain and snow – visitors may see tire tracks. We do place seed and straw over any tire tracks as weather permits. And, while our teams attempt to avoid damage from our equipment to any memorials, if we do damage a memorial, we will replace or repair it. Finally, please note that our Cemetery Rules and Regulations prohibit the placement of breakable items on memorials, and we conduct park cleanups twice a year to remove such items. To our knowledge, no memorials have been damaged by park equipment, but if any viewer is aware of a damaged memorial, they should speak to our staff on site.”

KDKA-TV asked Everstory Partners if it was typical that heavy machinery is driven directly on top of headstones and if there was any protocol that maintenance crews follow to prevent damage to headstones. We also asked for an estimated repair timeline if damage was done.

The vice president said, “In this instance, I understand that the heavy equipment had to ‘straddle’ the row of memorials to prevent any damage. Typically, we would use plywood, but here, because of the weather, plywood would have caused slippage, and that is a safety concern. I can’t speak to a repair timeline without having a specific example.”

Pennsylvania Department of State investigations KDKA-TV was informed that several active investigations involving Lafayette Cemetery are underway through the Pennsylvania Department of State. However, a spokesperson for the department said that it cannot confirm or deny whether a complaint has been filed.

“Speaking generally, the Department reviews every potential license violation of which it becomes aware, whether that is through a complaint filed directly to the Department, a notification from local law enforcement, or through media reports,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson went on to say, in part, that anyone who suspects violations of professional standards and governing laws should file a complaint on the department’s website.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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.

KDKA

By Erika Stanish

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    FAYETTE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — Those with loved ones at a cemetery in Fayette County are outraged after they said maintenance crews drove heavy machinery right over headstones and graves this week.

At Lafayette Cemetery in Grindstone on Wednesday, KDKA-TV saw several tire tracks in the snow that went right over several headstones, along with damaged American flags and decorations.

“This place, they’ve been out of control. They’re damaging the cemetery like crazy,” said David Bella, who has loved ones buried at the cemetery.

People recount stories of damage at cemetery Bella said this week, maintenance crews were working in the Garden of New Veterans section of the cemetery near the mausoleum where his mother, father and wife are buried. He said crews were digging a new grave in the area where most of the damage is.

“It breaks my heart. I mean, these are veterans. They’re flags. They just plow them over,” Bella said.

He said this is not the first time an incident like this has happened, and he wants to see more respect for those buried at the cemetery and more oversight by management.

“Their equipment’s too heavy. They know it, and they just run over graves,” he said. “They’re breaking headstones. There’s vases that people can’t even get out of their headstones because they’ve smashed them into the headstones. When they buried my wife, they’d run over the vase, and it was smashed into the ground. I literally brought my own tools out, and I managed to fight it, and I got it back up out of there for the people, because they had stuck flowers there. Well, they ran them over with a lawn mower [this summer].”

Another woman said her father’s headstone was cracked two years ago after maintenance crews ran it over with a machine. She said that after repeated phone calls to the office, just last month, the cemetery office called her to let her know crews would repair it.

Bella said he believes there is a protocol that maintenance crews are set to follow when pulling heavy machinery in and out of the gravesites.

“As far as I know, they’re supposed to put plywood down. They carry sheets of plywood, stacks of it. They never use it,” Bella said.

Trying to get answers from management As KDKA-TV was at the cemetery, maintenance crews were seen watching as we filmed before coming over and asking us to move so they could “do their jobs.”

Once KDKA-TV’s team moved out of the way, we saw crews move heavy machinery back into the area that was damaged. Two workers then began pouring what looked like jugs of water on top of some headstones and using a brush to clean them off. One worker also worked to fix a damaged flag.

When KDKA-TV went to speak to management at the office building on the property, workers inside refused to let us in. One worker said she’s “not allowed” and that corporate had to provide a response. When we asked who the corporate office is, she refused to answer.

On a piece of paper posted outside the office door, it states, “Lafayette Memorial Park and its staff are NOT responsible for theft, damage or lost items that have been placed on any grave.”

KDKA-TV reached out to the general manager and was told he was on a leave of absence. Another manager reached for comment hasn’t responded as of Wednesday night.

The vice president of people operations and quality of Everstory Partners, the corporate office, sent this statement:

“Our Park Services teams regularly operate heavy equipment on our grounds, both for interments and for landscaping. While we try to avoid impacts to the grounds, sometimes – particularly during periods of rain and snow – visitors may see tire tracks. We do place seed and straw over any tire tracks as weather permits. And, while our teams attempt to avoid damage from our equipment to any memorials, if we do damage a memorial, we will replace or repair it. Finally, please note that our Cemetery Rules and Regulations prohibit the placement of breakable items on memorials, and we conduct park cleanups twice a year to remove such items. To our knowledge, no memorials have been damaged by park equipment, but if any viewer is aware of a damaged memorial, they should speak to our staff on site.”

KDKA-TV asked Everstory Partners if it was typical that heavy machinery is driven directly on top of headstones and if there was any protocol that maintenance crews follow to prevent damage to headstones. We also asked for an estimated repair timeline if damage was done.

The vice president said, “In this instance, I understand that the heavy equipment had to ‘straddle’ the row of memorials to prevent any damage. Typically, we would use plywood, but here, because of the weather, plywood would have caused slippage, and that is a safety concern. I can’t speak to a repair timeline without having a specific example.”

Pennsylvania Department of State investigations KDKA-TV was informed that several active investigations involving Lafayette Cemetery are underway through the Pennsylvania Department of State. However, a spokesperson for the department said that it cannot confirm or deny whether a complaint has been filed.

“Speaking generally, the Department reviews every potential license violation of which it becomes aware, whether that is through a complaint filed directly to the Department, a notification from local law enforcement, or through media reports,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson went on to say, in part, that anyone who suspects violations of professional standards and governing laws should file a complaint on the department’s website.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Alvieann Chandler, Chase Houle, WXIA Staff

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    NEWTON COUNTY, Georgia (WXIA) — The escaped Rockdale County inmate who fled from Grady Hospital earlier this week and stole two vehicles was taken into custody in Newton County on Wednesday morning, according to deputies.

The three-day manhunt spanned multiple metro Atlanta areas, including Henry County, Newton County, Rockdale County, and Fulton County.

In a press conference on Wednesday, the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office said the inmate, Timothy Shane, was taken to Grady Hospital on Sunday evening after an attempted suicide. The following day, Shane fled from the hospital and stole two vehicles in the process, deputies said.

Deputies said he crashed the first vehicle, an SUV he stole near the hospital, into another vehicle at Peachtree Street and Ralph McGill Boulevard in Atlanta. Officials said no one was hurt in that incident. However, the owner of the stolen vehicle informed law enforcement that a handgun was missing from the stolen vehicle, leading deputies to consider Shane to be armed and dangerous, according to Rockdale County officials.

That night, Rockdale County officials said he was later seen on video footage stealing a silver Pontiac Grand Prix near the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which was later seen in Henry County, at the Publix on Highway 155.

Later, officials said they learned Shane was picked up by an Uber driver in the Publix parking lot and dropped off at a house he had connections with in Rockdale County.

Officials said they obtained a search warrant for the house and went to execute it, but Shane was not located.

According to officials, he then contacted a rideshare that picked him up on Old Monticello Way in Newton County. This is when Rockdale County contacted the Convington Police Department for assistance.

It was later reported that multiple residents began calling 911, reporting a suspicious man in the area in Newton County. K-9 Units were deployed to track in that area, and they were able to later confirm that the suspicious man was Shane, according to Rockdale County officials.

Deputies said Shane was captured in the 9000 block of Morris Drive in Newton County on Wednesday morning after receiving notification that he was seen knocking on doors.

The Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office said it is initiating an internal investigation into how Shane was able to get away from law enforcement.

According to Rockdale County officials, the deputy who was with Shane at the hospital when he escaped has been placed on administrative leave.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Cody Alcorn

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    EAST POINT, Georgia (WXIA) — A welfare check on Thanksgiving at a gas station in East Point led police to uncover an alleged multi-county human trafficking operation involving several metro Atlanta hotels.

Marlandow Jeffries, 45, and Lashandra Walker, 47, are both charged with trafficking a person for sexual servitude.

According to their arrest warrant, East Point Police officers were called to the Chevron gas station on Virginia Avenue on Nov. 27, where a woman was found hiding in a locked bathroom, yelling that she needed help.

Police said she told officers she had been trafficked for weeks across the metro area and asked to retrieve her belongings from a nearby hotel room.

Officers traced her back to the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson on Hardin Avenue, where staff confirmed the room she had stayed in had been repeatedly rebooked under the name of a woman investigators later identified as Lashandra Walker.

The hotel also confirmed another person listed on the room, Marlandow Kentrel “Orlando” Jeffries had left before officers arrived.

According to the warrant, officers documented CashApp and Chime transactions tied to the operation and collected photos, ads, text messages and hotel records as evidence.

Investigators said the victim described being moved between hotel rooms at the Country Inn & Suites in East Point; a Quality Inn on Jonesboro Road in Morrow; a Holiday Inn on Highway 138 in Stockbridge; and a Comfort Inn on Powers Ferry Circle in Marietta. She also gave detectives descriptions of Jeffries, Walker, their vehicles, their home address in Conley, and others she said were involved.

According to the warrant, the woman who was rescued told investigators that another woman known only by nicknames had also been trafficked and beaten at the same East Point hotel.

Neither of the suspects have been granted bond as of Tuesday night.

If anyone has additional information on either of these suspects, you’re urged to call East Point Police.

Contact the Human Trafficking Hotline

To report suspected human trafficking in Georgia, call the Statewide 24-Hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (866) 363-4842. If you have reason to believe that a victim is in imminent danger, call 911 or your local law enforcement agency to file a report. For more information on how to get help for both national and foreign-born victims of human trafficking, visit endhtga.org.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Sadie Buggle

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    PARKER, Colorado (KRDO) — South Metro Fire Rescue crews are sharing dramatic footage of an electric vehicle (EV) fire inside a home’s garage in Douglas County on Monday, which shut down a roadway and sent one person to the hospital. Watch the video from the fire department above.

Just before 3 p.m. on Dec. 1, SMFR and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office responded to what was initially reported as a single-family residential structure fire on the 14000 block of Vienna Circle.

Parker Road was closed at Chambers Road as crews responded to the scene, where they found a fire in the home’s garage and began checking whether it had spread into the house.

In an update at 3:30 p.m., SMFR shared that the fire was under control, and crews had gotten the upper hand before it spread to the main structure of the residence.

The fire department first shared that the home’s two occupants had been safely evacuated, but later shared that one person was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. At this time, it is unclear if that person was one of the home’s residents.

Crews say they then worked to remove the electric vehicle from the garage to prevent further spread. Video shared by SMFR shows the EV after it was successfully removed from the garage, still very actively on fire. Crews said it was subsequently covered with a fire blanket and towed from the scene.

SMFR says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Mackenzie Stafford

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    PUEBLO, Colorado (KRDO) — In court on Dec. 2, Romello Hernandez entered a guilty plea to attempted murder.

Hernandez was accused of shooting a 13-year-old girl in the head near the Pueblo Riverwalk, leaving her with life-threatening injuries.

In the courtroom, the judge explained to Hernandez that with this guilty plea, he could face 1-6 years in the Youthful Offender System (YOS) or 10-30 years in a state prison. The defense representing Hernandez is now working to see if he would be accepted into the YOS. The family of the young girl, Diamond Sanchez, who was shot, is pleading that Hernandez not be accepted.

“It’s a blow to the heart knowing that he gets to walk away after six years, if he gets this youthful offender program and my daughter has to suffer the rest of her life, the rest of her life, she has to suffer just to try to live every day, to feel normal,” explained the girl’s father, Dominic Sanchez.

He says he thanks God every day that his daughter Diamond is alive and with them. But, he also says he would never wish for anyone to get the call at 6 a.m. to find their child in a coma in the hospital.

“I don’t wish it on any parent to feel what I’ve had or feel the heartbreak that she has to see me go through, the endless nights I’ve made my mom stay up crying, pouring our hearts out, waking up out of a dead sleep, thinking it was just a nightmare. I don’t wish that on anybody. And at the same time, I want to apologize to all those parents who have lost their children at the hands of careless violence and careless acts of violence that shouldn’t be happening in our community,” explained Sanchez.

Sanchez says it’s still hard to fathom everything their family has been through in addition to the road ahead. On top of that, he says it’s unimaginable that Hernandez could be walking free from the YOS within a handful of years.

“My daughter was 13 years old, fighting for her life at Children’s Hospital. She had to celebrate her 14th birthday while in a hospital bed, undergoing multiple surgeries. And these nights that I would wake up screaming from the bottom of my soul for my daughter at the fact that she had been shot in her head,” Sanchez continued, “I just don’t see how the court system would allow for this 18-year-old adult to leave and get screened for youth offender services. When he did it, he intentionally did it. He had no remorse. No remorse for my 13-year-old daughter when he shot her.”

Now it’s up to the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) to decide if Hernandez is eligible for the YOS. If CDOC says he is, the court can still rule that Hernandez is sentenced as an adult, where he’d face 10-30 years in prison. Hernandez is set to be sentenced on January 22.

The Pueblo Police Department previously stated that the incident occurred near the riverwalk, approximately 102 S. Victoria Ave. According to the department, they were sent out just before 3 a.m. on July 14 because a teen was at the hospital after being shot.

KRDO13 obtained an arrest affidavit pertaining to Hernandez’s arrest that details a gathering at the parking lot near the riverwalk.

Diamond’s mother was not available for an interview, but asked us to share her written statement to the court. You can read the statement below.

Your Honor,

As you know, I am Diamond’s mother, and today I am begging with all of me for justice for my child. I never imagined my life would come to this moment. My heart is shattered, yet I thank God every single day that my daughter is still alive. She survived what should have been fatal, and now she must survive the lifelong consequences of an adult’s deliberate choice to harm her.

On the day she was shot, my 13-year-old baby underwent five life-threatening surgeries before I could even understand what was happening. Three of her teeth had been violently lodged into her throat from the force of the bullet. And despite everything the surgeons worked so hard to repair, a bullet remains permanently embedded in her head — a piece of metal she will carry for the rest of her life, a constant reminder of the moment her childhood was taken from her.

I am providing the court with a photograph taken after she was flown to Colorado Springs for emergency care. If the court does not allow the photo itself, I ask that you consider the reality it represents.

Imagine, if you will, being at work and receiving the worst call a mother can receive — the call that your child has been shot. Imagine scrambling to understand anything through the panic, racing to the hospital, praying you will arrive before it is too late. And then imagine walking into a room and seeing your baby — your child — lying unconscious, her small, frail body surrounded by tubes, wires, machines, monitors, and medical staff fighting to keep her alive.

Her chest rising only because a machine helped it rise. Her heartbeat sustained and monitored because her body was too weak to do it on its own. Her face swollen, pale, and motionless. Her tiny body dependent on life-support equipment because without it, she may not have survived.

No mother should ever walk into a room and find their child like that. That moment will haunt me for the rest of my life. That image — whether seen in the photo or felt through these words — is the truth of what was done to her.

And the nightmare is far from over. Diamond still needs another major surgery in January to reconstruct the bone in her mouth. She now lives with a disability. She carries trauma, panic, anxiety, and fear every day. She moves differently. She thinks differently. She no longer feels safe anywhere. She wasonly 13 years old, yet she carries a weight that no adult should bear.

What makes this even more terrifying is what happened after the shooting. Romelo himself bragged about what he did as if it was a funny joke to his co-workers and his peers threatened to “finish her off.” Those were terrifying threat words directed at my child — even after nearly killing her.

Following that, Diamond’s cousins/my nieces received additional threats from his friends or family members. These threats made one thing painfully clear: There was no remorse. No regret. No accountability. Only more intimidation, more violence, and more intent to harm a child who had barely survived.

And throughout this entire court process — from the day he shot my daughter up to this very moment — Romelo has never shown even the smallest ounce of remorse. Not one apology. Not one apology letter. Not one word acknowledging the devastation he caused. Not a single sign that he feels even halfway bad for what he did to a 13-year-old child. His silence has been absolute, and that silence has been its own kind of cruelty. It has only deepened our fear and confirmed that he does not care about the pain, suffering, and permanent harm he inflicted.

This is why we cannot support a 6-year YOS sentence.

Romelo is not a suitable candidate for the Youthful Offender System. YOS is meant for young offenders who show genuine potential for rehabilitation, remorse, and change. But at 18 years old — a legal adult — he made an adult decision when he deliberately aimed a gun at a 13-year-old child and pulled the trigger. And instead of showing any form of remorse afterward, he celebrated and bragged about what he had done to his peers And the violent threats to “finish her off,” his friends and family to continue threatening my daughter and her cousins, and has gone through this entire court process without ever acknowledging the devastation he caused. These are not the actions of someone seeking rehabilitation. These are the actions of someone who remains a danger to society. Because of his choices, his lack of remorse, and the fear he continues to cause, he should face adult consequences, not be given the privileges of a program he has not earned.

A six-year YOS sentence does not come close to reflecting the lifelong damage done to my daughter. It does not acknowledge the surgeries, the disability, the trauma, the fear, the threats, or the ongoing suffering. Six years would be a short chapter in his life — but it is a life sentence for her.

YOS is built on rehabilitation. But my daughter cannot rehabilitate the bullet embedded in her skull. She cannot rehabilitate the bone that must be surgically rebuilt. She cannot rehabilitate the fear she wakes up with. She cannot rehabilitate the memory of lying unconscious in a hospital bed, or the memory of him threatening to kill her again.

For him, six years would mean a second chance. For my daughter, nothing will ever be the same again. There is no program, no treatment, and no amount of time that can give her back the childhood he stole.

This was not a youthful mistake. This was a deliberate act by an 18-year-old man who shot a 13-year-old child and then continued to threaten her life. The ongoing intimidation from those around him, along with his complete lack of remorse throughout every stage of this process, only reinforces the danger he poses.

For these reasons, we are begging for the maximum sentence of 30 years in the Department of Corrections. Not out of anger — out of protection. Protection for Diamond, for her siblings,for her cousins, for her family, and for a community that is living in fear. The lifelong consequences he caused demand lifelong accountability.

Your Honor, I ask you to see my daughter not as a case number, but as the fragile child in that Colorado Springs hospital bed — kept alive only by machines — and as the 14-year-old girl she is today, living every day with trauma, disability, and fear she never deserved.

Please give my daughter the justice she deserves.

Respectfully, Diamond’s Mother Desiree

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: 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.