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Florissant man admits killing neighbor in 2015, gets 20 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A Florissant man accused of killing his neighbor in September 2015 reached a plea deal on the case Tuesday, in exchange for a 20-year sentence.Peter Chafin, 48, admitted to shooting Dominic Smith with a shotgun in the 4200 block of Delor Street, located in the Bevo neighborhood. Smith was 36.Chafin went on trial in April 2022 for first-degree murder and armed criminal action, but the jury was deadlocked and could not return a unanimous verdict. During the trial, Chafin said he felt Smith was a threat to him and his family. The prosecutor at the time called the murder an act of vigilantism.Detectives said Chafin put Smith's body in an instrument bag for a double bass and dumped it into the Mississippi River. Chafin then encased the murder weapon in a concrete block and left that near the intersection of South Broadway and Nagel Avenue. 6 deaths in Illinois dust storm, police need help identifying 2 victims Smith's body was discovered that same month after becoming snagg...

Police investigate 2 murder-suicides over 48 hours 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - The St. Louis County Police Department says a woman was shot and killed in the second apparent murder-suicide in St. Louis County this week.Investigators said the murder-suicides are not connected; however, police believe the crimes are domestic. Police encourage residents to seek help immediately if they are in a domestic violence situation.St. Louis County police are investigating two separate apparent murder-suicides in north St. Louis County. The most recent happened Monday just before 4 a.m. in the 2700 block of Rottingdean Drive. Police responded to a welfare call, and when officers arrived, they found a man and a woman dead from gunshot wounds inside the home. Investigators believe the man shot the woman and then turned the gun on himself. 6 deaths in Illinois dust storm, police need help identifying 2 victims Police identified the man as 61-year-old Dana Haney, of Ferguson, and the woman as 60-year-old Cheryl Washington, who lived in the apartment.S...

Creve Coeur McDonald's honors two elderly women's decades-long friendship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

CREVE COEUR, Mo. – It's a heartwarming story about friendship. Eighty-eight-year-old Anita Lander and her best friend, 85-year-old Edna Sorenski, have been friends since they were toddlers.Every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday, the two have been coming to a McDonald's in Creve Coeur for 10 years. On Tuesday, McDonald’s dedicated a table in their honor.Lander and Sorenski drive themselves to the McDonald’s three times a week to share a meal and hang out."We've always been close since we were four and five, and it’s just comfortable here," Sorenski said."It's light, it's airy, and over the years, we have met other people that come here,” Lander said. “So, we have bonded with other people.” 6 deaths in Illinois dust storm, police need help identifying 2 victims The two have become good friends with manager Ken Kerwin, who always remembers Anita's usual order, and gave Edna the nickname "Trouble.""Edna's nickname is ‘Trouble.’ I gave her that nickname, ‘Trouble,’ because she comes in and ...

Former Commerce City teacher charged with child sexual assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

A former Commerce City school teacher faces felony charges for alleged sexual assault of a student.John McMillan, 40, allegedly committed sexual contact with a child between Aug. 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022, while he was employed as a teacher at Landmark Academy at Reunion, according to a Commerce City Police Department news release.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Two armed robbery suspects arrested after standoff at Lakewood residence Crime and Public Safety | Girl escapes attempted abduction near Federal Heights Elementary School, police say Crime and Public Safety | Barry Morphew seeks $15 million in lawsuit over his arrest, prosecution for missing wife’s murder Crime and Public Safety | Man dies after being shot multiple times in Aurora’s Hoffman Heights area Crime and Public Safety | Colorado sheriff’s deputy with criminal history sued for firing Taser at unarmed man’s face Landm...

Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic loses MVP to 76ers’ Joel Embiid despite historic season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets and Joel Embiid (21) of the Philadelphia 76ers stand side by side during the NBA All-Star game draft at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)As history hung in the balance, Nikola Jokic did his best to deflect, ignore or dismiss every MVP inquiry that was lobbed in his direction throughout an arduous regular season.Having already secured back-to-back MVPs, Jokic had a chance to join hallowed legends Larry Bird, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to win three consecutive awards.That achievement didn’t come to fruition with Tuesday’s announcement that Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid secured his first MVP award. Jokic finished second in the voting, while Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo finished third. Embiid tallied 915 points (and 73 first-place votes) to Jokic’s 674 (and 15 first-place votes). Antetkounmpo finished with 606 (and 12).Wh...

Black Californians could receive up to $1.2 million in reparations payments, task force says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

The State of California is one step closer to paying reparations to Black residents whose ancestry goes back to the American slave trade. The California Reparations Task Force released estimates, as well as breakdowns of the methodology used to determine the amounts, on Monday ahead of a critical vote that will take place later this week.The possible payments reflect the work of economists who advised the task force and who were asked to estimate the total financial losses suffered by Black Californians impacted by slavery and institutional racism. As outlined by the San Francisco Chronicle, an eligible resident who lived in California their whole life and was 71 or older could, in theory, receive as much as $1.2 million.If approved, the task force would urge that the money begin to be disbursed in the form of "down payments," according to CalMatters. A new state agency would need to be established to distribute funds and determine eligibility, CalMatters writes. That agency would a...

Substitute teacher arrested for lewd acts with student in Riverside County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

A 22-year-old substitute teacher in Riverside County has been arrested on felony charges of committing lewd acts with a student under the age of 18, authorities announced Tuesday.  Detectives with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit responded to Orange Vista High School in Perris on April 28 to investigate the allegations, according to a RCSO news release.  Authorities said they found evidence that Rebekah Blackwell-Taylor of Moreno Valley, a substitute teacher at the high school, “committed a lewd act with a male student.”  Blackwell-Taylor was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on May 2 on charges of “annoying and molesting a child under the age of 18 and additional felony charges,” authorities said.  The investigation into the incident is ongoing and authorities encourage anyone with information to call Investigator J. Oseguera at 706-550-8716. 

Video shows police shoot man accused in L.A. Metro station assault, stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

Police officers shot a man accused of assaulting a woman at a Metro train station in East Hollywood and then stabbing another person outside the station Tuesday morning, officials said.The incident unfolded around 10 a.m. at the Vermont/Beverly Metro station where the suspect was involved in a “physical altercation” with a woman on a train platform, according to Los Angeles Police. The suspect then fled to the street level where he confronted another man with a knife and then stabbed a different man before police arrived.“He attempted to flee northbound on Vermont (Boulevard) and that’s where officers made contact with the suspect … and an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Sgt. Leticia Ruiz said at a news briefing.A witness, who did not want to share his name, provided KTLA with video of the shooting that was recorded from his apartment window. It shows the suspect trying to elude officers by hiding behind a car, even dropping the knife at one point and then picking it up again. ...

Did a woman really have a 'full body orgasm' during an L.A. Philharmonic performance? Accounts differ

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

A different kind of crescendo highlighted a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony at the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Friday.Those attending the symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall reported hearing a woman in the audience moaning as if she were having an orgasm, the L.A. Times first reported.Magnus Fiennes, a composer and music producer, was among the witnesses.“A woman in the audience had loud and full body orgasm during the 5th's second movement,” Fiennes tweeted. “(The) band politely carried on.”Twitter user @LoneWolfTronCat posted a recording of the moaning.Sharon Su, a classical pianist, tweeted that she checked with someone who works at the L.A. Phil and they "confirmed” the incident occurred.But what exactly happened is open to debate.One audience member who was seated near the moaning woman offered this account:“Pretty quickly, she sort of fell onto her partner’s shoulders, and then onto his lap. And then her body went limp,” the concertgoer, who requested anonymi...

$75,000 reward offered in unsolved murder of 4-year-old Monrovia boy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:50 GMT

A $75,000 reward is being offered for information on the murder of a Monrovia boy killed in 2016.The child, 4-year-old Salvador Esparza III, was shot and killed while standing on a house porch on the 300 block of Figueroa Drive in Altadena on July 5, 2016, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.Esparza was standing at the home’s front door when the unidentified shooter opened fire, striking him in the head, authorities said. He was found lying on the front porch with another gunshot victim, a 27-year-old man.The boy was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. The 27-year-old man survived.Salvador "Chiquito" Esparza III, 4, of Monrovia, was killed in a shooting in Altadena on July 5, 2016. (Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)Coral Salvador speaks at a news conference Aug. 25, 2016, on the killing of her son. (Credit: KTLA)Salvador Esparza is shown in a photo posted to a GoFundMe page. He was killed in a July 5, 2016, shooting in...