Category: CNN Regional

By JoBeth Davis, Andy Alcock

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    KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — Avia Ramsey came outside Wednesday night to go pick up her daughter from school and saw the wreckage.

“By the time I came outside, there were police cars, fire trucks and ambulances everywhere. The streets were blocked off,” she said.

That wreck, at 30th and Benton, involved a USPS van and a gray Chevy Equinox SUV. Police said the USPS van was driving down Benton when the Equinox entered the intersection, hitting it. That van overturned, partially throwing the driver from the vehicle and killing him.

Ramsey was concerned at the time. She works for the postal service as a mail handler. She thought their usual mailman had been hurt. She later found out it was much worse.

“I had no idea that it was my little brother out here. I didn’t find out that it was him until later on that evening,” Ramsey said.

Her brother, a mail carrier, was filling in along her street.

The driver that struck him ditched the SUV and ran from the scene on foot.

“Like a coward,” Ramsey said. “You couldn’t even face what you did, face your consequences.”

Ramsey picked her daughter up, came home, and said a prayer for the driver of the van who died.

“We sat here all night praying for him, praying for him regardless of who it was. But it hurts me even more to know that it was my little brother.”

Family members have identified the victim as 34-year-old Gerald Nevels.

Nevels’s family was proud of him, a long time USPS employee and a public servant.

“He didn’t do nothing to nobody,” she said. “He do his work. He don’t bother nobody. He don’t mess with nobody. He is a hardworking young man that did not deserve to go out like that…he was loved. Y’all took somebody that was loved out here.”

Now a makeshift memorial sits at the intersection where he was killed, a fence still showing damage from the crash.

“I hate that this is so close to my house without me knowing,” she said. She’s hoping someone will come forward.

“This happened right across the street from a church. They have camera footage. There is footage of the vehicle. People know who this is…we are in the middle of the inner city. Somebody knows something. They know exactly who did it. They know whose car it is. So we just need the person to man up. Let’s let you come and be a man about the situation before somebody finds you.”

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

By Carson Zorn

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    NAPLES, Florida (WBBH) — U.S. Marshals caught a Pennsylvania fugitive living in the woods in Naples on Wednesday.

According to a press release, Joseph Christopher Mazzoni, 46, had been wanted since March 9 by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office for dissemination of child sex acts and sexual abuse material.

The release said that Mazzoni is a twice-convicted sex offender who was previously convicted of possession of child pornography in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Mazzoni was required to register as a Tier 3 Sex Offender under Megan’s Law.

Marshals believed Mazzoni was living in Florida and receiving assistance to avoid detection from law enforcement.

A search warrant was executed on Wednesday morning in the 2300 block of Crawford Avenue in Naples, as Marshals believed Mazzoni was residing on the property.

After a thorough search, Marshals found Mazzoni living in the woods behind the home, the release said. He was taken to the Collier County Jail, where he awaits extradition back to Pennsylvania.

“The U.S. Marshals Service has zero tolerance for sexual predators preying on children; as Mr. Mazzoni learned, going entirely off of the grid in a different state offers no respite from the relentless pursuit of justice,” Eric Gartner, United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said.

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

By Allen Cone

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    BOYNTON BEACH, Florida (WPBF) — Two women are accused of a pickpocketing scheme targeting older adults for seven months, the Boynton Beach Police Department said Thursday.

The suspects, identified as 59-year-old Mavis Johnson of West Palm Beach and 57-year-old Tammy Evans of Boynton Beach, worked together to steal victims’ wallets at Ross Dress for Less and Dollar Tree in a shopping plaza at 2234 N. Congress Ave., police said. They then attempted to steal credit cards at various Target and Publix locations in Palm Beach and Broward counties, according to the arrest report.

Mavis Johnson used disguises in a pickpocketing scheme targeting elderly shoppers at Ross and Dollar Tree stores in Boynton Beach, police say. They are facing charges of unlawful possession of a stolen credit/debit card, theft of a credit card, fraudulent use of personal identification information and an organized scheme to defraud a person older than 65.

Johnson was arrested March 11 for some charges and April 8 for other ones, with her next court appearance scheduled for July 1. She is being held on bond totaling $26,250.

Evans was arrested Wednesday with bond totalling $25,000 Thursday, and her next court appearance is scheduled for June 12.

They were on probation for committing various crimes that include fraud and grand theft.

During each theft, Johnson would disguise herself by wearing different outfits, wigs and medical masks, while Evans would act as the getaway driver, police said. They drove a silver Infiniti SUV.

On March 11, detectives located the getaway vehicle near Ross and the Dollar Tree on Congress Avenue.

BBPD detectives, recognizing the suspects’ pattern of theft, set up surveillance. Utilizing drones from the Real Time Crime Center, detectives confirmed that Evans was the driver of the vehicle. Shortly after, a heavily disguised Johnson was seen exiting the Dollar Tree and entering Ross.

Johnson was then observed leaving Ross and returning to the Dollar Tree. Simultaneously, BBPD communications received a call from a victim at Ross who advised that a wallet was taken from a purse.

Detectives maintained continuous surveillance of the pair as they left the area and headed toward the Target off Boynton Beach Boulevard.

The South Florida Criminal Apprehension Team joined BBPD detectives in conducting surveillance.

Johnson, wearing a new disguise, was then observed walking into Target and using multiple credit cards to purchase $100 gift cards.

Johnson was found to be in possession of the original victim’s credit card in the March 11 incident. And it was discovered that the gift cards were purchased with credit cards from another victim who was at the Dollar Tree.

Evans told investigators she was only driving Johnson to various locations and was unaware of her activities.

Johnson admitted to investigators that she committed the theft and fraudulent use of credit cards and said Evans was not involved.

The arrest report lists thefts starting Oct. 24 at Ross. Other reported thefts were on Sept. 4 at Dollar Tree, Sept. 24 at Dollar Tree, Oct. 15 at Dollar Tree, Oct. 23 at Ross, Jan. 9 at Dollar Tree and Feb. 14 at Dollar Tree.

“The Boynton Beach Police Department encourages shoppers to remain aware of their surroundings and to keep a close eye on personal belongings while in public places,” the agency said. “Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this pickpocketing scheme is urged to contact the BBPD by calling 561-742-6100.”

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

By Marcie Cipriani

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Susan Larkin, 80, is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a 75-year-old man she was supposed to be caring for, according to the Allegheny County district attorney, who also alleges she kept his family away to carry out the crimes.

When Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 visited Larkin at her Central North Side home Wednesday, she answered the door but refused to comment on the charges.

“She is being wrongfully accused,” said Larkin’s attorney, Phil DiLucente.

Court documents state Larkin met the man online, and he moved from Alaska to Pittsburgh in 2023 to be closer to his children. Detectives say he eventually moved in with Larkin, and that’s when investigators say the crimes began. Police claim Larkin secretly took over as the man’s power of attorney and prevented his children from attending his doctor’s appointments. The district attorney said this was Larkin’s way of hiding the man’s deteriorating mental state so she could access his money.

“The numbers that I saw initially were close to a million dollars. The gentleman is 75 years old. He was on the early stages of dementia. A woman gets his confidence, transfers a POA from his son to her own account,” District Attorney Stephen Zappala said.

Zappala said Larkin then gained access to the man’s bank accounts and used his money for personal expenses. Court documents allege she withdrew $220,000 from his account when she realized his children were trying to take the power of attorney back.

“Criminals work at this all the time. Powers of attorney are about trust. Guardianships are about trust. And when you’re older, and you trust somebody, that’s what we see. That’s senior abuse by definition,” Zappala said.

The man’s children have since regained power of attorney and moved their father out of Larkin’s home, but detectives are still tracking the money, Zappala said.

DiLucente, however, said the accusations against his client are false.

“My client loves this man greatly, has been with him for numerous years, and to now be attacked like this, I’m very disappointed. I really am,” DiLucente said.

Larkin faces several charges, including theft and access device fraud. She is free on a nonmonetary bond and is scheduled to appear in court in July.

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

By Karen Morfitt

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    PROSPECT VALLEY, Colorado (KCNC) — A Girl Scout troop in Colorado is tackling conflict resolution with a project designed to help classmates settle arguments on their own.

The girls of Troop 65460 at Prospect Valley Elementary School created a “peace path” as part of their effort to earn the Bronze Award, the highest award for Girl Scouts at their age level.

Long after the final bell rings, the students are still working on the project they hope leaves a lasting impact on their school community.

“I hope that this sort of leads to a legacy in our school, and it will help a lot of kids out,” said fifth grader and troop member Annette Carache-Pineda. “The best part? Probably this project.”

To earn the award, troops must identify a community issue and create a sustainable project to address it.

“We thought for our Bronze Award, a peace path would be great to help with our school community,” troop member Camilla Gomez said. “If there is any issues, we can use the peace path to help resolve this.”

The peace path uses cue cards with prompts students can follow during disagreements.

“It’s basically saying, ‘oh, I feel this when …’ and then they state how they feel,” Camilla said. “And the yellow card goes next, and they say, ‘oh, I feel this when …'”

The troop also consulted experts in conflict resolution while developing the project.

“I think that we have less and less social contact with each other, whether that’s because of social media and screens or COVID,” said Jessica Riley, the social-emotional learning specialist at Prospect Valley Elementary School. “Our students just have a lot less time to practice those skills, and they really rely on adults to help them resolve conflicts.”

“Giving them the tools to be able to do this is going to have a really far-reaching impact,” she continued.

As part of the project, the troop created enough cards for every classroom, presented the idea to teachers, and produced a video explaining how to use them.

“It’s all worth it,” Annette said.

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

By Tim Fang

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    SANTA CLARA, California (KPIX) — Police in Santa Clara released additional details in connection with a deadly shooting and house fire last week, saying the suspect shot his estranged brother before setting the fire.

“This incident resulted in a terrible loss of life and has deeply effected a family, a neighborhood and our broader community,” Police Chief Cory Morgan said at a briefing Thursday afternoon, nearly a week after the May 8 incident.

Morgan said officers were called to Enright Avenue at 12:24 p.m., following reports of numerous gunshots and an armed man near homes. Officers arrived about three minutes later, finding a man with multiple gunshot wounds outside his home.

The officers performed life-saving measures on the man as gunfire continued. Around the same time, officers noticed heavy smoke and fire in a neighboring home.

Officers began evacuating homes, while firefighters were working in what Morgan described as “extremely dangerous and uncertain conditions.” Armored rescue vehicles, along with drones, tactical personnel and mutual aid personnel were brought to the scene to evacuate residents and protect firefighters.

Despite life-saving measures, the victim, identified as 52-year-old Mark Heflin, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers soon learned the victim’s brother, identified as 49-year-old Matthew Heflin of Bloomington, Indiana, had rented the neighboring home, which was listed as a short-term rental. Police said the brothers had been estranged for about three years.

An investigation determined that Matthew Heflin traveled more than 2,000 miles in a rental vehicle carrying firearms and ammunition. Morgan arrived in the San Jose area around April 14 and did not tell others about his whereabouts.

Matthew Heflin began staying at the rental home, directly adjacent to his brother’s, about three days before the incident.

“Family members were not aware the suspect was staying next door at any point,” Morgan said.

The victim had been taking items from his car when he was approached by his brother, who was concealing a gun in a paper bag. After a brief verbal exchange, police said the suspect opened fire.

Officers recovered 12 spent casings from the scene.

After the shooting, the suspect retreated into the rental home and fired additional shots. Once inside the home, the suspect set a fire in the rear of the home.

On Friday evening, as the home was still burning, the department’s Special Response Team located a body in the home. After the building was determined safe, the body was recovered and the scene was processed.

Morgan said the suspect’s passport, along with four pistols, ammunition, manufactured fire logs and $95,000 in cash was found by investigators. Police have not determined if the money was related to the motive or circumstances of the shooting.

Through dental records, authorities confirmed the identity of the body as Matthew Heflin.

“This was a targeted homicide, followed by suicide, involving two adult brothers,” Morgan said.

According to the chief, police in Indiana searched Matthew Heflin’s home and did not find a note or manifesto explaining a motive.

Mayor Lisa Gilmor also spoke at the briefing and had a message to the victim’s family.

“To his wife, his children and every loved one grieving right now, Santa Clara mourns with you. A husband is gone, a father is gone, and no words from any of us can fill that absence,” Gilmor said.

The mayor also attempted to reassure residents that the community remains safe.

“This was a targeted family related incident. The evidence is clear: There is no ongoing threat to our community,” she went on to say.

Morgan said the incident remains under investigation.

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