On Wednesday this week, Austin Thompson entered guilty pleas to five counts of murder and other charges stemming from a 2022 mass shooting in a Raleigh neighborhood. The defendant, who was 15 years old at the time, killed five people, including his brother and an off-duty Raleigh police officer. He also wounded another officer and another civilian before he apparently shot himself in the head and was apprehended. According to defense counsel, the defendant’s resulting brain injury has made him unable to explain his motive for the violence. Sentencing will occur at a later date, but the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 25 years. WRAL has the story here.
School Officials Charged. A Durham County public school principal and two school administrators were indicted this week. Police claim that the school officials feloniously obstructed an investigation into suspected abuse of an autistic child at Eno Valley Elementary. One of the administrators and the principal have also been charged with perjury. According to the report, the three have been suspended with pay while the school system conducts its own investigation into the matter. The News and Observer has the scoop, here.
Uvalde Officer Acquitted. Fox News reports that former Uvalde officer Adrian Gonzalez was acquitted of all 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment stemming from his alleged inaction during the 2022 mass school shooting at Rob Elementary school. The incident resulted in the deaths of 19 children and two adults. The jury reached the verdicts after seven hours of deliberation. The former chief of Uvalde police faces similar charges and has entered a plea of not guilty. A trial date for that case has yet to be announced.
DEA Agent Sentenced to Five Years. Joseph Bongiovanni served as agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration for more than 20 years, during which time he accumulated numerous awards and commendations for his service. For the past decade, though, prosecutors allege that he used his law enforcement connections to enrich himself and protect organized crime figures that he knew from his Buffalo, New York, childhood. This was the agent’s second trial, following a hung jury for most of his charges in the first prosecution. Bongiovanni was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, making false statements to law enforcement, and four counts of obstructing justice. He was acquitted on other fraud, bribery, obstruction, and conspiracy charges. Law enforcement discovered his corrupt activities while investigating a sex-trafficking ring near Buffalo. The owner of the strip club at the center of that investigation had close ties to Bongiovanni and was convicted of bribing Bongiovanni along with sex trafficking conspiracy in a different prosecution. The report from the AP notes that at least 17 DEA agents have faced similar corruption charges in the last ten years.
DOJ Scrutinizes Minnesota Officials. The Department of Justice issued grand jury subpoenas to several state officials in Minnesota this week as part of an investigation to determine whether the officials have obstructed federal immigration efforts. The governor, state attorney general, and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul have all received demands for records “showing a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials,” among others. The state officials claim the investigation is politically motivated and violates their right to free speech. The Associated Press has that story, here.
ICE News. In other immigration enforcement news, NBC reports on an internal ICE memorandum purporting to authorize warrantless, forcible entries of private residences under certain circumstances. According to the memo, an administrative (i.e., nonjudicial) warrant is sufficient to enter a person’s home if the person is subject to a final order of removal. The memo’s existence came to light after two whistleblowers shared a copy of it with a U.S. senator. Immigration officials apparently relied on this authorization to forcibly enter the home of a U.S. citizen and detain him at gunpoint before eventually releasing him this week, according to multiple outlets. Separately, the local medical examiner in El Paso, Texas, recently found that the death of a 55-year-old immigrant in ICE custody was homicide. According to this local report, the cause of death was “asphyxia due to neck and torso compression.”
Most Wanted Fugitive Captured. After nearly a decade on the lam, a man wanted in connection with a 2016 Charlotte murder investigation is in custody. According to authorities, the man worked alongside the victim before killing her and fleeing the state in her car. FBI agents located Border Patrol surveillance footage showing the man crossing the border from Arizona to Nogales, Mexico, within a few days of the murder. Two other suspects have also been charged with accessory after the fact in connection with the killing. Those charges are apparently pending. The story notes that the capture was the fifth arrest of a Most Wanted Fugitive in the past year. Charlotte FBI officials worked with other U.S. and Mexican officials to locate and apprehend the man.
Deputy Ensnares Escaped Emu. A deputy in St. Johns, Florida, made the news this week after capturing an errant emu on the loose. According to the report (which contains a video of the encounter), the deputy was able to get a hold of the animal but it kicked him and resisted arrest, leading to a foot chase. The deputy eventually leashed the bird with a “makeshift lasso” and handcuffed its legs together. The emu was not harmed in the incident and is now safely back in custody of its owner.
Wedding Arrest Prank. The New York Post has this delightful piece about a bride pranking the guests during her wedding reception with a feigned arrest of her father. Guests were startled when gentlemen dressed as police officers appeared during the event and began taking her father into custody. The bride shouted, “Not on my wedding day!” while officers escorted her father out of the room. Within a few moments, one of the “officers” returned holding a mic. He asked if the guests were “ready to party,” before launching into a rendition of “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles.
I hope everyone has a safe and warm weekend! I can be reached as always at dixon@sog.unc.edu.