Month: August 2023

Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison for a car crash that resulted in the death of a woman and her dog. Ruggs pleaded guilty back in May to one count of DUI resulting in death, and one count misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter in the 2021 crash. The sentencing Judge stated that this one of the most tragic cases she has seen.

Before sentencing Ruggs apologized to the family of the deceased. Henry Ruggs was driving 156 MPH right before crashing into the deceased Toyota SUV. Ruggs blood alcohol level was 0.161%, twice the legal limit in Nevada. Apart of the plea deal a few charges were dropped against Ruggs, including felony reckless driving.

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Deadly wildfires having been sweeping across Hawaii killing at least 36 people in Maui County. Most of the western Maui community has been destroyed causing hundreds of families there to be displaced. Over 270 structures have been impacted in Lahaina leaving homes and businesses wiped out. 3 helicopters from the US Coast Guard and US Navy were sent to search and rescue efforts along the west Maui coastline.

This disaster could takes days or weeks to even be able to repair networks and power. More than 11,000 customers on Maui are without power. More than 2,100 people are in 4 emergency shelters in Maui on Tuesday night. The governor told CNN that they only have enough shelter for a few days but there isn’t enough for long term stay.

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President of the United States, Joe Biden says that he plans to travel to Vietnam shortly as part of an effort to improve relationship with Hanoi and become partners. The US and Vietnam have increased close trade links, while both share concerns over China’s growing strength in the region. Friction has been increasing for years between Beijing and Southeast Asian nations, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, over China’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea.

The United States and Hanoi pledged back in April to upgrade diplomatic ties. The South China Sea is seen as a powder keg, and many fear a miscalculation or accident could ignite a military issue. Analysts say Hanoi may be more reluctant to elevate relations with the US, wary of upsetting Beijing. The United States has also sought to improve relations with China in recent months, with Blinken visiting in June after a previous trip was canceled when an alleged Chinese spy balloon was shot down by a US warplane after traversing the country earlier this year.

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Rapper Tory Lanez was sentenced to ten years in prison on Tuesday after being convicted of assault for shooting Megan Thee Stallion back in 2020. Lanez was convicted last December for shooting rapper Megan Thee Stallion in the foot. Tory was originally supposed to be sentenced in January but the sentencing was delayed a few times due to Tory obtaining new lawyers and filing a motion for a new trial. The request for a new trial was denied in May.

Tory’s attorney Jose Baez told reporters that the sentencing was extreme and they plan to file an appeal. Jose said that Tory is feeling “down” and “sad” thinking about the time he will miss with his son while he serving his prison sentence. Tory’s defense team called several witnesses, including members of his family, to testify on Tory’s behalf during the hearing, which began on Monday and was extended through Tuesday. Tory’s father, Sonstar Peterson, issued an emotional appeal to the judge on his son’s behalf, describing the trauma Lanez experienced after his mother died at a young age and how music became his outlet.

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Fire officials confirmed that a firefighting helicopter crashed after it collided with a second helicopter while battling a blaze in Southern California, killing all three crew members. The victims have been identified as Division Chief Josh Bischof, Capt. Tim Rodriguez and pilot Tony Sousa, Cal Fire said. Sousa was a contracted pilot and not a Cal Fire employee.

Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher said that the crash occurred after Riverside County firefighters were called to the scene of a structure fire in Cabazon at about 6 p.m. on Sunday, and Cal Fire helicopters and planes were called in to help extinguish the blaze.  Fulcher said at a news conference: “While engaged in the firefight, two helicopters collided. The first helicopter was able to land safely nearby. Unfortunately, the second helicopter crashed and, tragically, all three members perished.”

Both helicopters were contracted by Cal Fire and arrived at the scene with different objectives. The helicopter which was able to safely land was a Sikorsky Skycrane, a type that carries retardant or water that’s dropped on a blaze, Fulcher said. The one that crashed was a Bell helicopter, used for observation while fighting fires. The crash caused an additional four-acre fire, which was then extinguished, Fulcher said.

Fulcher said that the cause of the collision was still under investigation, with the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the crash.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a post on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, that his office was in “close coordination” with CalFire after the helicopter crash.

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The last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd was sentenced Monday to a 57-month sentence — the equivalent of 4 years and 9 months. Floyd’s killing touched off protests worldwide and forced a national reckoning of police brutality and racism.

Tou Thao had testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the Black man pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.”

Thao had rejected a plea bargain on the state charge, saying “it would be lying” to plead guilty when he didn’t think he was in the wrong. He instead agreed to let a judge decide the case based on evidence from Chauvin’s 2021 murder trial and the federal civil rights trial in 2022 of Thao and former Officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.

In his 177-page ruling, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Cahill said Thao’s actions separated Chauvin and two other former officers from the crowd, including an emergency medical technician, allowing his colleagues to continue restraining Floyd and preventing bystanders from providing medical aid. He wrote: “There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances … Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid.”

The sentence Judge Cahill handed down Monday will run concurrently with Thao’s 3 1/2-year sentence on his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge. His state sentence was more than the 4 years recommended under Minnesota state guidelines.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/minneapolis-officer-faces-sentencing-state-charge-role-george-102063365

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