15-year-old charged with killing Lyft driver: Police
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(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — A 15-year-old has been arrested and charged for fatally shooting a Lyft driver in North Carolina, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
The teen was arrested on Friday in connection to the death of Carlos Leiva, 25, a Lyft driver who was fatally shot last year in Charlotte, police said in a statement on Monday.
On Oct. 23, officers responding to the scene found a man — later identified as Leiva — with an “apparent gunshot wound,” police said.
The Charlotte Fire Department and emergency medical services responded to the area, but Leiva was pronounced dead on the scene.
The teen was charged with murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and conveyance, police said. The circumstances surrounding the shooting have not been released.
After their arrest, the teen was interviewed by detectives and then transferred to the custody of the Stonewall Jackson Juvenile Development Center, police said.
The name of the teenager was not released by police due to their age.
Leiva’s brother, Daniel Davila, told Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC the suspect’s arrest gives the family “a little bit more peace now.”
Officials said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
(MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz.) — Officials are investigating a possible homicide after two teenagers were found dead in an isolated area of Arizona, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
On Tuesday morning, deputies responded to a call for service in the area of Mount Ord, a remote hiking and camping area between the cities of Mesa and Payson.
Once on the scene, officials located “two deceased individuals,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Officials said they are thoroughly looking at the circumstances surrounding this incident as part of a homicide investigation.
“At this time, our focus is conducting a comprehensive and meticulous investigation to ensure justice for the victims and their loved ones. We are coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners and ask for patience and respect for the investigative process as we work through the facts,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and an unnamed 17-year-old, the sheriff’s office said. At a memorial for the two teenagers, friends and family identified the 17-year-old as Evan Clark, according to ABC Phoenix affiliate KNXV.
In a statement, a representative for Kjolsrud told KNXV the family is “heartbroken to confirm the tragic loss of our beloved Pandora, whose life was taken from us far too soon.”
Kjolsrud’s mother said her daughter was a “bright light in this world who loved every single person she met and had an unusual ability to make every person she met feel special and loved.”
“She was a friend to many and a beloved daughter. She lived life in a big way and was always up for an adventure,” her mother told KNXV on Thursday.
The two teens were students at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, according to a letter the principal wrote to parents on Thursday. The school said it is providing a team of psychologists and counselors on campus to offer support and resources for students.
Authorities said anyone with any additional information regarding this incident should contact the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office at 602-876-TIPS.
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Boston Thursday will consider pumping the brakes on a controversial Trump administration policy of removing migrants to countries where they have no prior connection without allowing them to raise concerns about their safety.
A group of noncitizens with final removal orders filed a federal lawsuit challenging the policy last month, arguing that being removed to countries like El Salvador, Honduras or Panama — despite having no connection to those countries — risks their safety and violates their rights.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, a Biden appointee who temporarily blocked the policy last month, will consider extending his order and certifying a class of noncitizens who would be protected from removal to a so-called third country.
“The need for preliminary injunctive relief in this case is vital,” lawyers representing the men argued in a recent court filing. “Indeed, it may be the difference between safety and torture, life and death, for many noncitizens, including ones who have been living and working in this country for decades.”
The hearing also comes as the Trump administration faces new allegations that they violated Judge Murphy’s order by removing more than a dozen migrants to El Salvador last month despite the judge’s order barring such transfers.
The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit argue that the Department of Homeland Security’s policy results in the removal of migrants to third countries without providing them a chance to raise concerns about potentially being persecuted, tortured, or killed. In one instance, they allege that the Trump administration removed a Guatemalan man to Mexico without giving him the chance to raise concerns that he was previously raped there and now fears prosecution in that country.
“Defendants have resorted to violating noncitizens’ clear statutory rights to apply for protection from removal to countries where they face persecution or torture,” the lawyers wrote.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice have argued that Judge Murphy lacks the jurisdiction to intervene in DHS’ policies after a final order of removal has been issued by an immigration judge.
They have also argued that a preliminary injunction is no longer necessary because DHS implemented a new policy of getting “diplomatic assurances that aliens removed from the United States will not be persecuted or tortured,” or screening noncitizens for their eligibility for protections under the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture.
“As this Court indicated during the hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion, Defendants are entitled to issue guidance to satisfy any potential due process concerns. Defendants have now done so,” they argued.
But lawyers for the men who brought the lawsuit have argued that those measures are “woefully inadequate” and pointed to two recent examples where they allege that DHS potentially violated the court’s temporary order.
Two days after Judge Murphy blocked the deportations, the Trump administration announced that it had removed 17 alleged members of Tren de Aragua and MS-13 to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT mega-prison. According to the plaintiffs, at least two of the men on those flights had final orders of removal to Venezuela and were never given the right to challenge their removal to El Salvador.
According to the plaintiff’s lawyers, one of those men is Maiker Espinoza Escalona, who entered the United States last year with his partner Yorely Bernal Inciarte and their one-year-old baby.
After the three turned themselves in to immigration authorities, they were separated, their family told ABC News. Inciarte has been detained at a detention center in El Paso, Texas, their baby has been in government custody, and Escalona is detained at CECOT in El Salvador, according to Inciarte’s mother.
The Trump administration alleged that Escalona is a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, an accusation his family denies.
“They are liars,” said Inciarte’s mother Raida of the Trump administration. “I cannot believe that half of Venezuela is Tren de Aragua. That can’t be.”
“For them to be sent [to El Salvador] you have to investigate and prove they are what they are being accused of,” Raida said. “We’re distraught, I don’t wish this on anyone.”
(BAXTER STATE PARK, Maine) — A man and his daughter were found dead following an extensive, dayslong search after they went missing while attempting to hike to the summit of Mount Katahdin in Maine, officials said.
Tim Keiderling and Esther Keiderling, both of Ulster Park, New York, set out to hike the summit on Sunday, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.
They were last seen Sunday morning on the Katahdin Tablelands heading toward the summit, which is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail and located in Baxter State Park.
Baxter State Park rangers began searching for them Monday morning after their vehicle was still found parked at the trailhead in the day-use parking lot, park officials said.
The search on Katahdin expanded Tuesday to include the help of dozens of Maine game wardens, including the Maine Warden Service Search and Rescue team, and the Maine Warden Service K9 team. The Maine Forest Service and the Maine Army National Guard also responded as part of an aerial search.
The body of Tim Keiderling, 58, was found Tuesday afternoon, officials said. A Maine Warden Service K9 search team located him at approximately 2:24 p.m. on the Tablelands near the summit of Katahdin, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said.
The body of his 28-year-old daughter was found at approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday in a wooded area of Katahdin’s Tableland between two known trails, officials said.
Additional details will be released later Wednesday after search crews return to the base area, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife said.
“We understand that many of our social media followers share in our profound sadness for the family and friends of Tim and Esther Keiderling,” Baxter State Park said in a statement on Facebook. “We appreciate your support for their loved ones and the members of the search teams during this incredibly difficult time.”
Baxter State Park notes on its website that hiking Katahdin “is a very strenuous climb, no matter which trailhead you choose.” The average round-trip time for a Katahdin hike is eight to 12 hours, it said.
All Katahdin trailhead trails are currently closed until further notice, the park said.
