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Man admits setting ex-girlfriend’s St. Louis County home on fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A man appeared in federal court on Wednesday and admitted setting fire to his ex-girlfriend's home in St. Louis County while she and members of her family were asleep.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Christopher Willis, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of maliciously damaging or destroying by means of fire.Willis told the court he entered his ex's home on Nero Drive on the morning of April 29, nearly six days after they broke up, went into the basement, and set fire to her clothes.The ex-girlfriend said the fire alarm woke her up and that she was able to safely evacuate the residence with her daughter and aunt.As part of a plea agreement, both prosecutors and Willis' lawyer agreed to recommend a five-year sentence to the judge. Willis will be sentenced on Jan. 30, 2024. He had faced up to 20 years in prison.

St. Louis County's update on winter road crew preparedness

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Despite staffing shortages, St. Louis County will have crews working around the clock this winter.“We’re struggling with staff like every business sector in the country, but we have people in place to make sure our roads get clear,” County Executive Sam Page said. “We will have people working overtime in 12-hour shifts, and we will pull recruits from other parts of the county government to operate the smaller vehicles to make sure that our streets get plowed.”The county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works says their goal is to make roadways passable after snow and ice events in a safe and effective manner. St. Louis police investigate 6 sudden deaths St. Louis County covers 3,166 miles of roads and streets, with a fleet of 115 snowplows across the county. They deploy from an operations division that’s divided into five districts, in which all districts house their own salt, equipment, staff, and mechanics.Ryan Pierce, the county’s operations man...

Family of mother, 10-year-old daughter killed in Lakewood apartment fire sue for wrongful death

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

The family of a mother and daughter killed in a Lakewood apartment fire in 2022 is suing the apartment owner, property management company and two teenagers charged with starting the fire for wrongful death.Kathleen Payton, 31, and her 10-year-old daughter Jazmine Payton-Aguayo died in the Oct. 31 fire at Tiffany Square Apartments, which was started by two teenagers.Payton’s adoptive mother, Mary Jo Portales, and Jazmine’s father, Rogelio Aguayo, filed the lawsuit in Denver district court on Monday.The lawsuit provides new details about the fire at 935 Sheridan Blvd. that killed Payton and Jazmine and injured 10 others in the early hours of Oct. 31.A 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy were arrested for starting the fire and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, arson and criminal mischief. The older boy, now 15, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to seven years in the Colorado Department of Human Services Division of Youth Services.According to the...

Man pleads guilty to lesser murder charge in 2021 Aurora shooting, carjacking spree

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

A man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and two armed robbery charges in a 2021 carjacking spree and deadly shooting.Andrew Jacobs, 34, pleaded guilty in Arapahoe County on Friday to three charges and three violent crime sentence enhancements in the Nov. 10, 2021, death of Carlos Julio Albarracin, who was 34 at the time, according to online court documents.As part of the plea agreement, 60 other charges Jacobs faced were dismissed. Those charges included a charge of first-degree murder with extreme indifference and a charge of first-degree murder after deliberation, each of which would have resulted in a sentence to life in prison if he was convicted; and several charges of robbery, burglary, auto theft, felony menacing, assault and trespassing.Police responded to a possible carjacking at 14082 East Iowa Drive in the Florida Station Apartments complex at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 10, 2021, where they found a man, Albarracin, shot. He died after being taken to a hospital.Investigators ...

“We don’t control the experience”: Olive & Finch owner on delivery app frustrations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Restaurateur Mary Nguyen knows third-party delivery apps are here to stay, but thinks how they do business with independent restaurants needs to change.“We’re letting these huge companies come in and profit off the blood, sweat and tears of our small businesses that run our economy,” said Nguyen, the owner of Olive & Finch in Denver.When the pandemic hit, companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats saw a wave of new use. With dine-in business reduced or eliminated, many restaurants felt obligated to use them, and cities including Denver passed temporary laws regulating what the companies could charge eateries.Three years later, however, the local legislation has long expired. Plenty of people still use the apps, and many restaurant owners find them frustrating — but still keep using them.Olive & Finch has two locations in Uptown and Cherry Creek, as well as a sister concept, Little Finch, along the 16th Street Mall. Another is in the works at the Denver Performing Arts Compl...

'Ferris Bueller,' 'Succession' actor crashes into Hollywood pizza shop: TMZ

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

“Ferris Bueller” and “Succession” actor Alan Ruck was behind the wheel of a truck that slammed into other cars and eventually a pizza shop in Hollywood on Halloween night, TMZ reports.The collision happened around 9 p.m. at the busy intersection of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, at the west end of the Walk of Fame.Surveillance video obtained by TMZ shows Ruck’s Rivian first rear-end a car that was stopped at a traffic signal, and then careen into another car before slamming through a wall at Raffallo’s Pizza shop.Actor Alan Ruck is seen at the crash scene. Oct. 31, 2023. (KTLA)A 32-year-old man was hospitalized, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, and the building sustained structural damage. Two other damaged cars ended up in the middle of the intersection.Footage from the scene shows Ruck, who portrayed Cameron Frye in the 1986 John Hughes classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” talking to authorities at the scene, apparently uninjured.The cause of the crash remains...

New details revealed in Matthew Perry's death

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Authorities released new details about the death of "Friends" actor Matthew Perry, but his cause of death has not yet been determined. Authorities confirmed Perry was already dead when first responders reached his home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Emergency responders got to his home at 4:07 p.m. Saturday. The person who made the 911 call told responders they got back to the house and saw Perry completely underwater in the hot tub, the LA Fire Department said. ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry dead at 54 That person pulled Perry's head above water and over to the side of the hot tub. A quick assessment by first responders revealed he was already deceased. “Firefighters pulled the victim out of the jacuzzi and did a quick medical assessment to find he was deceased,” the LAFD said in a statement.The identity of the 911 caller has not yet been released by official sources, but multiple reports say it was Perry's assistant. Perry had played pickleball ...

Delivery Driver Injured in DUI Crash on Cesar Chavez Avenue [Los Angeles, CA]

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

Car Crash near Mott Street Left One Person Seriously InjuredLOS ANGELES, CA (November 1, 2023) – Early Saturday morning, a DUI crash on Cesar Chavez Avenue left a delivery truck driver with serious injuries.Police received reports of the crash around 5:00 a.m. in the area of Cesar Chavez Avenue, near Mott Street in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.According to the report, a male driver collided with the victim loading their double-parked vehicle.Medical responders transported the victim to a hospital where they remained in stable condition after surgery.Meanwhile, police arrested the other driver for suspected DUI. At this time, the identities of the parties involved in the crash remain undisclosed to the public.No further details regarding the Cesar Chavez Avenue accident have been released. Los Angeles Officials will provide more information once available.Thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination are essential in operating a vehicle safely. However, these are impaired when ...

One dead following Halloween gunfire in Bay Point

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

BAY POINT — A person died Tuesday night after gunfire rang out in a neighborhood, according to authorities.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland police ID city’s 99th homicide victim of 2023 Crime and Public Safety | DA Pamela Price seeks removal of ‘overly zealous’ lawyer from San Leandro officer’s manslaughter case Crime and Public Safety | After split trial verdict, Oakland man gets 11 years, 8 months in 2019 fatal shooting Crime and Public Safety | East Bay man seeks release in murder of trick-or-treater on Halloween 2007 Crime and Public Safety | Body stuffed in suitcase discovered in Lake Merritt by volunteer cleanup crew Few details were available Wednesday afternoon, but the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office confirmed that the sheriff’s office was investigating the fatal shooting. Multiple messages left with the sheriff’s office were ...

Oakland police ID city’s 99th homicide victim of 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:45 GMT

OAKLAND — Police here have identified a 28-year-old man who was shot and killed on Oct. 11 in the city’s 99th homicide of 2023.Hector Martinez, of Oakland, was shot and killed around 4:45 p.m. on Oct. 11, near where Kerwin Avenue meets Knight Street in Brookfield Village, police said. His body was found near a parked trailer that had also been struck by gunfire.Police uncovered evidence that more than one person fired a weapon during the incident, authorities said. Thus far, no arrests have been announced, and police haven’t said if they’ve uncovered the motive.A GoFundMe for Martinez’s family — that to date has raised $875 of a $20,000 goal — says the family was shocked by “such a sudden loss and death that we were not prepared for.”Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $10,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3821 or the tip...