Unlike many murder trials where there are family members sitting in court and hearing the evidence, that didn't happen in this case because the victim's identities were still unknown. Not only had the defendant taken their lives, he had also wiped away their names, leaving family members longing and waiting for decades for answers about their loved ones.
Rodriguez was inducted by a grand jury last year, charging her with murder with a special circumstance of killing Officer Bowen in a DUI-related crash while he was engaged in the lawful performance of his duties. Bowen, 32, was a motorcycle officer with the Vacaville Police Department who had stopped along Leisure Town Road and Orange Drive to issue a ticket when he was struck and killed.
Serena CJ Rodriguez, 25, will return to Judge Gutierrez's Dept. 9 courtroom, at 8:30 a.m. May 4 and again on Sept. 28 for trial confirmation and at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 19 for a trial management conference. Judge Gutierrez set her trial for Oct. 28 at 10 a.m., with the trial expected to last 8 to 10 weeks.
After an unsanctioned Juneteenth gathering by Oakland's Lake Merritt devolved into chaos and dozens of shots fired in 2024, there were many headlines calling this a mass shooting. 14 people sustained injuries, and many in the community were angry and saddened given that there had been another shooting on Juneeteenth three years earlier, which left one person dead.
The badly battered body of von Wiese-Mack, a 62-year-old wealthy Chicago socialite, was found in the boot of a taxi parked at the upmarket St Regis Bali resort in August 2014. Mack, who was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant at the time of the killing, and Schaefer, 21 at the time, were arrested on the island a day after the body was found.
Trainee lawyer Simone and childhood friend Bethany Clarke had met up in Laos and spent a night at the hostel, where about 100 guests were given free shots. It is thought those drinks were tainted with methanol, a toxic substance normally found in paint thinner but that is sometimes mixed with alcohol illegally to cut costs. The friends felt unwell the next day and were eventually taken to hospital, where Simone, from Orpington in south-east London, was put on life support before she died.
SF's 30-year-old Drug Court was intended for non-violent drug offenders to avoid jail for low-level drug crimes. But now people with pretty violent charges are sneaking in, and Supervisor Matt Dorsey ain't happy about it. San Francisco's Drug Court was established in 1995, and is meant as a diversion program so that low-level drug offenders can avoid normal court and jail, and instead get "services in the community designed to get them out of their drug and crime situations.
An extortionist who demanded €20,000 from two innocent victims - threatening one that their children's throats would be slit and warning another he would be killed - has argued that his five-year sentence was twice as severe as that handed to his co-accused.
Prosecutors are blasting the PFF over their decision to step in on the case, noting Adan's long history of escalating violence against Abraham. Adan was born in Somalia and first came to the United States as a refugee. He was also convicted of felony strangulation, domestic violence, and more. The escalating series of attacks by Adan began in 2022, according to prosecutors.
Life in the United States can look very different depending on where you live, and for Black Americans, those differences are often influenced by longstanding factors. These include social, economic, and political conditions. Access to quality education, affordable housing, healthcare, and employment opportunities varies widely from state to state, affecting everything from annual income to overall well-being. While racial progress has been made nationally over the decades, disparities tied to race continue to affect daily life in meaningful ways.
He has served as acting public defender since December 2024. "Damon has served the county Office of the Public Defender for nearly three decades, and his longstanding commitment to public service clearly demonstrates that he is exceptionally well-suited for this role," said Board President Otto Lee. "We are proud to see a leader with such deep institutional knowledge and community partnership rise to lead the Public Defender's Office."
We do not fear advances in technology - but we do have legitimate concerns about some of the products on the market now... AI continues to develop and we are hopeful that we will reach a point in the near future where these reports can be relied on. For now, our office has made the decision not to accept any police narratives that were produced with the assistance of AI.
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 23, the 357th day of 2025. There are eight days left in the year. Today in history: On Dec. 23, 1972, in an NFL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, Steelers running back Franco Harris scored a game-winning touchdown on a deflected pass with less than 10 seconds left. The Immaculate Reception, as the catch came to be known, is often cited as the greatest NFL play of all time.
President Donald Trump may be stretching executive power to its outermost bounds, but in one very significant area he is simply not getting his way: criminal prosecutions. In many cases-such as those of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, charges against whom were thrown out by a federal judge in Virginia today-the basic, ground-level machinery of the criminal-justice system has thwarted the administration.
A man has pleaded guilty to the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Warwickshire, in a case that prompted anti-asylum protests in Nuneaton. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, of no fixed abode, changed his plea at Warwick crown court on Friday, admitting to the single charge of rape of a child under 13 on 22 July. Mulakhil, an Afghan national, had previously denied abducting a child, three counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 at a hearing on 28 August.
Convicted drug dealer Jonathan Braun, who had his sentence commuted by President Donald Trump during his first term, is being sent back to prison after he violated terms of his supervised release with a series of heinous acts, including allegedly assaulting a three-year-old and sexually abusing a nanny. Braun was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Monday in New York City.
