Author: Edward Campbell

A Louisville woman is facing multiple charges after police said she crashed into a tree while driving with three children in the vehicle, leaving the children injured and raising additional concerns about alcohol use and child safety. Jamel Pugh, 39, was arrested after the single-vehicle crash on Wilart Drive in Louisville on Sept. 19. According to police and court records, officers found the damaged vehicle after it struck a tree. No other vehicles were involved. The three children inside the vehicle were reportedly distressed when officers arrived. One child had blood coming from her nose and mouth, while two others…

Kamari Gates, 20, received the sentence after pleading guilty in July to first-degree manslaughter and attempted murder in connection with the September 2024 shooting that left 38-year-old LaToya Hill dead. The shooting happened on Sept. 17, 2024, at a home in Portland. Hill and her fiancé, Danielle McGruder, 41, had just returned after dropping their daughters off at school. Hill was outside near the home when Gates approached and shot her in the head, according to the case details. McGruder, who was inside at the time, heard the gunshot and went outside to find out what had happened. Gates then…

A Washington couple has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Salem Health after alleging they were left to arrange transportation for their deceased infant son themselves and were told to drive his body nearly four hours back to Seattle. Aleksandr and Nataliya Yeremeyev filed the lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court on September 18, 2026. The case involves the death of their son, Michael, who was eight months old when he died at Salem Hospital in Oregon in September 2024. According to the complaint, Michael was born with Down syndrome and other significant health conditions. He spent the first six…

An 80-year-old worker at Deltona Lakes Elementary School has been arrested after investigators accused her of striking a 9-year-old student in the back of the head during a cafeteria incident. Maria Luz Graham, who worked with the school’s extended-care program, was arrested Sept. 21 and charged with felony child abuse without great bodily harm, according to investigators and court records. The incident happened Sept. 17 while students were getting food in the school cafeteria. The child later told her mother that Graham had accused her of behaving disrespectfully and hitting other students. The girl denied hitting anyone. According to the…

A retired Pembroke Pines police sergeant and his wife were found dead inside their Florida home this week, as investigators examine what authorities describe as an apparent murder-suicide. John Baker, 62, and his wife, Joanne Baker, 59, were discovered Monday morning at their home in the 8300 block of Pine Drive in Pembroke Pines. Deputies had received a report of two people found unresponsive at the residence shortly after 7 a.m. Investigators said the preliminary findings indicate that Joanne shot John before turning the gun on herself. Authorities said there was no ongoing threat to the surrounding community. The official…

An 18-year-old man has been arrested and charged after a shooting in DeKalb County left two young brothers dead and two women injured Sunday night. Julian Ellis was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with the shooting on North Hairston Road. Police say he is facing two counts of felony murder and six counts of aggravated assault. The victims were identified as 11-year-old Jamarion Rolle and his 12-year-old brother, Jakhi Clark. Both boys were shot during the incident. Jamarion was pronounced dead at the scene, while Jakhi was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died. Two women,…

An 87-year-old Maryland man has been charged with murder after police say he fatally shot his 63-year-old roommate during an early-morning dispute at their Frederick home. Irwin Joseph Dickstein was taken into custody on Sunday in connection with the death of Michael Roy Bushnell, according to authorities. He faces first- and second-degree murder charges and is being held at the Frederick County Jail without bond. The investigation began after police received information that Dickstein had reportedly told another person he had shot his roommate and provided the location where the shooting allegedly took place. Officers went to a home in…

A 22-year-old woman is facing a child neglect charge after police said her 1-year-old daughter was found alone inside a vehicle outside a Miami Gardens shopping plaza while the mother was at a nearby beauty salon. Miami Gardens police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the parking lot at 20401 NW 2nd Ave. at about 7:55 p.m. Friday after the child was discovered without an adult nearby. Fire-rescue personnel opened the vehicle and checked the toddler, who was found to be in good health. Officers began looking for the child’s parent around the shopping plaza. They later located the mother,…

A 31-year-old Clarksburg woman is facing a child-neglect charge after deputies say she crashed a Chevrolet Malibu on Murphy Run Road and then fled into nearby woods, leaving a child inside the damaged vehicle. Sydni Healy was charged with child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury or death, according to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office. She was being held at the North Central Regional Jail on a $50,000 bond. The incident happened Sunday, Sept. 20, in Clarksburg. Deputies were called to a single-vehicle crash on Murphy Run Road after receiving information that the driver had left the scene on…

A Kansas City mother has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty in the 2024 death of her 1-month-old daughter, a case that began with a disturbing report to police and later led to a first-degree murder charge. Mariah Thomas, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Sept. 22, to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. A Jackson County judge sentenced her to 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, with credit for time she has already served. She was not granted probation. The case stems from Feb. 9, 2024, when Kansas City police were…