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Illinois woman sentenced for mail and wire fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) - A former Maui Jim employee was sentenced to a year in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud and wire fraud.After pleading guilty in March, Erica L. Hornof, of Bradford was ordered by a federal judge sitting in Peoria to pay $125,472.48 in restitution to Maui Jim.While employed at Maui Jim, Hornof was a lead repair technician. As a long-term employee, she was responsible for fixing sunglasses and had access to the parts to fix them.According to a news release by the U.S. Department of Justice, Hornof stole parts from the repair area to make sunglasses and packaged them up and used her personal FedEx account to make shipping labels, and proceeded to ship them through the Maui Jim mailroom. Bloomington mother arrested for alleged DUI after July 2 fatal crash that killed daughter Hornof had sold the sunglasses to two people who then proceeded to sell them on the internet. The investigation gathered that Hornof had received $104,860 from the two buyer...

Sniper firing at Denver high-rise terrifies residents; police investigating possible connection to Broomfield shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

Police on Tuesday confirmed they’re investigating two cases where someone fired rifle shots at condos in Denver’s swank, high-rise Beauvallon residential building — and appealed to the public for help.Denver police are working with Broomfield police, who have arrested a man accused of firing a shot Saturday at the Jus’ Burritos restaurant northwest of Denver on U.S. 287 in Broomfield.In the sniper-style incidents in Denver, someone fired at least five shots on June 14 and on July 4. The shootings have shaken residents of Beauvallon, in Denver’s Golden Triangle area at 925 N. Lincoln St.No injuries have been reported.A video circulating on social media shows a man standing with a rifle by a light-colored Toyota Prius in a parking lot below the building, where residents often gather on exposed balconies with long views and a rooftop pool. The video shows the man firing multiple shots from the rifle aimed at an upward angle. Beauvallon officials have repor...

Leslie Van Houten, Charles Manson follower, released from California prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.Van Houten “was released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.She left the California Institution for Women in Corona, east of Los Angeles, in the early morning hours and was driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this real,” Tetreault told The Associated Press.Days earlier Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He shas said it was unlikely the state Supreme Court would consider an appeal.She is expected to spend about a year in transitional housing, learning basic skills such as how to go to the grocery store and get a debit card, according to her attorney.Van Houten, now in her 70s, r...

Riverside County fire spreading at 'rapid rate,' officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

A blaze in Riverside County is spreading quickly Tuesday afternoon, fire officials say. The Rider Fire was reported just before 12:45 p.m. near the 19900 block of Seaton Avenue in Mead Valley, the Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter.In less than half an hour, it had grown to 5 acres and was "burning in heavy vegetation at a rapid rate of spread," officials added. By 1:40 p.m., it had grown to 10 acres and was 0% contained.Check back for updates to this developing story.

How are police trying to keep L.A. Metro passengers safe?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

In response to KTLA's investigation into the current conditions on the L.A. Metro, KTLA received exclusive access into their operations and what they are doing to make it safer for passengers and employees. Also, for the first time, we are hearing from law enforcement whose job it is to patrol and police Metro's trains and buses. "There's not enough of us," said L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Kari Mercer, who patrols Metro's trains overnight. We asked her directly why she thinks passengers don’t feel safe. Her answer was succinct."Well, they're not safe. Because you never know how someone under the influence is going to respond. Sometimes they're violent." Ambassadors confront homeless individuals at an LA Metro station. June 2023. (KTLA)Mercer says she constantly responds to calls where people are acting violent and erratic."They're speaking to themselves. They're swinging their arms around. We get there and that person has already struck somebody," she ...

Crocs releases 'Barbie'-themed shoes ahead of movie release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

Crocs is the latest brand to enter Barbie’s world ahead of the highly anticipated summer movie.The shoe company unveiled its Barbie-themed shoe collection on Tuesday after giving fans a sneak peek of the new Crocs on Friday. The collection includes: Barbie the Movie Mega Crush ClogBarbie Crush ClogBarbie "Cozzzy" SandalBarbie Classic ClogKids’ Barbie Cutie ClogThe shoes will be available on the Crocs website, Foot Locker, Journeys and Champs Sports, among other retailers. (Crocs) Crocs fans can also decorate their Crocs with Barbie Jibbitz Charm Pack, which retails for $19.99.The shoes will be available on the Crocs website, Foot Locker, Journeys and Champs Sports, among other retailers, and cost between $59.99 and $84.99.The shoe company is no stranger to collaborations since it has partnered with restaurants, celebrities and brands over the last few years. Taco Bell and Crocs to release limited-edition shoes Ahead of its world premiere, the "Barbie” movie has partnered with comp...

Barry Bonds still hoping for Hall of Fame induction: ‘I believe at some point it will happen’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

Barry Bonds hasn’t lost hope that one day he’ll be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.Despite falling short of the three-quarters threshold by earning just 66% of the BBWAA vote in his 10th and final year on the ballot in 2022, and then again falling short when a 16-member veterans committee gave him fewer than four votes last December, Bonds still thinks he might be inducted one day.Speaking on the Hollywood Swingin’ podcast, Bonds said he’s hoping the votes change in 2025, when the veterans committee votes again.“There’s a possibility,” Bonds said. “I belong with my teammates in that Hall of Fame, 100%. I’m not going to jade it out. The dream is still there as long as there’s a ballot for it. It can happen when I’m 60 or 70 or whenever. Hopefully I don’t have to wait that long or hopefully I’m not dead.”The veterans committee is comprised of Hall of Famers, baseball executives and writers. It votes every three years. Bonds is off the BBWAA ballot for ...

Oakland Athletics start process of applying to MLB for move to Las Vegas; Manfred maligns ‘political process’ in Oakland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

By RONALD BLUM (AP Baseball Writer)SEATTLE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have started the process of applying to Major League Baseball to move to Las Vegas.MLB last month established a relocation committee to evaluate the move, a group headed by Milwaukee Brewers chairman Mark Attanasio. Philadelphia Phillies CEO John Middleton and Kansas City Royals CEO John Sherman also are on the committee.“They have begun to submit information related to their relocation application,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “It’s not complete at this point.”Nevada’s Legislature approved providing $380 million in public financing for a proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof on the Tropicana hotel site of the Las Vegas Strip. The new venue would be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the newly crowned Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights started pl...

Jury decides will found in Aretha Franklin’s couch is valid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

By Ed White | Associated PressPONTIAC, Mich. — A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other.It’s a victory for Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin whose lawyers had argued that papers dated 2014 should override a 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at the Queen of Soul’s home in suburban Detroit.The jury deliberated less than an hour after a brief trial that started Monday. After the verdict was read, Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren stepped forward from the first row to hug Kecalf and Edward.“I’m very, very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be adhered to,” Kecalf Franklin said. “We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children.”Aretha Franklin did not leave behind a formal, ty...

Bay Area property manager with ‘regular access’ to children’s homes recorded disturbing video of himself in child porn collection, feds say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:18:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A Bay Area man whose job allowed him access to numerous apartments where children live has been charged with possession of child pornography, and prosecutors say one of the videos shows him committing a lewd act involving a child, court records show.Cristian Mattus-Piccardo, 50, was indicted June 20 on charges of possessing child pornography. In a subsequent motion to keep him detained, prosecutors wrote that one of the videos depicts Mattus-Piccardo “sucking the tongue of at least one young girl for upwards of thirty seconds at a time,” then telling her to keep it a secret. The incident appeared to happen while he was babysitting the child, authorities wrote in court papers.“He works as a janitor at a building downtown, and is a property manager at a multi-family residence in Potrero Hill. He has regular access to the other units where children live. He babysits on occasion,” Assistant U.S. Attorney George Hageman wrote in a court motio...