Woman and husband charged in plot to murder man she was having an affair with

(NEW YORK) — A man has been taken into custody after allegedly killing two people and injuring a third in an apparent stabbing spree in Manhattan, authorities said.

The first victim, a 30-year-old construction worker, was fatally attacked on West 19th Street at 8:22 a.m. Monday, the NYPD said.

About two hours later, another man was fatally stabbed on East 30th Street, police said.

The third victim, a woman, is in critical condition after being attacked around 10:55 a.m. on East 46th Street, police said.

The 51-year-old suspect — who lives at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter on East 30th Street — allegedly provoked disputes with the victims, according to police. He appeared to pick the victims at random, police said.

Two knives have been recovered, police said.

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(MALIBU, CA) — A fast-moving brush fire exploded over 14,000 acres on Wednesday, prompting evacuations amid a red flag warning from the National Weather Service.

Ventura County remains under an “extremely critical” wildfire warning while firefighters struggle to gain an edge on the Mountain Fire, which is currently 0% contained.

At least two individuals have been transferred to hospitals for smoke inhalation, Ventura County Fire Chief Justin Gardner said during a press briefing Wednesday evening.

An accurate number regarding damage is expected on Thursday, as the area remains too dangerous to fully assess the damage, according to Gardner.

At least 14,000 people were told to evacuate, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff.

The Mountain Fire is one of two wind-driven fires that broke out in Southern California, leading the NWS to issue a rare red flag warning for Los Angeles and Ventura Counties alerting of an “extreme fire risk” from Malibu into the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles, where winds could gust near 100 mph.

“A very strong, widespread, and long-duration Santa Ana wind event will bring widespread extremely critical fire weather conditions to many areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties Wednesday into Thursday,” according to the NWS warning.

As of Wednesday, at least two wind-driven fires have already broken out in Southern California.

Mountain Fire

According to local fire officials, the rapidly burning Mountain Fire in Ventura County has spread over 14,000 acres, prompting evacuation orders, threatening structures, and leaving several people injured.

“We do know we’ve lost homes, we do know we’ve had homes damaged, and we know of injuries but I do not have any counts,” Public Information Officer Scott Dettorre told ABC News.

“The injuries we do know of are civilian, we do not have any firefighter injuries at this time,” Dettorre said.

Due to extreme wind conditions, fixed-wing aircraft are unable to assist in firefighting efforts, according to the Ventura Fire Department, which said ground crews, helicopters and mutual aid resources are “actively working to protect lives and property.”

Evacuation orders are in effect for Walnut Ave to Balcom Canyon Road and North Highway 118 to the ridgeline and west to Saticoy County Club in Ventura County, according to CAL Fire.

Broad Fire

A second wildfire erupted in Los Angeles County’s Malibu area Wednesday — named the Broad Fire — and has burned at least 50 acres southwest of South Malibu Canyon Road and the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, according to CAL Fire.

Local fire officials have warned residents to prepare for potential evacuations and the PCH has been closed in both directions between Webb Way and Corral Canyon.

Santa Ana wind conditions

Named after Southern California’s Santa Ana Canyon, the region’s Santa Ana winds bring blustery, dry and warm wind that blows out of the desert, drying out vegetation and increasing wildfire danger.

The long-duration Santa Ana wind event will reach its peak on Wednesday, becoming moderate on Thursday, then tailing off to light offshore winds on Friday.

Northeast winds moving 20 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected across the canyons and passes of Southern California through Wednesday, with higher winds in the more wind-prone areas.

Another surge of wind is expected to peak late Wednesday night through Thursday morning with widespread northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph before weakening considerably by Thursday afternoon.

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(SELMA, Texas) — A man initially interviewed as a witness at the scene of a murder has now been arrested over a year later in the apparent road rage slaying, authorities in Texas announced.

Jacob Daniel Serna, 29, was arrested on Thursday for the murder of Joseph Banales, according to police in Selma, located about 20 miles outside of San Antonio.

The case began on April 15, 2023, when Selma police said they responded to a single-car crash and found Banales shot in the head and slumped over his steering wheel.

Banales, a nursing student and Army ROTC member at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, was declared dead at the scene, police said.

Witnesses said Banales tried to merge into another lane and almost hit a dark blue or black sports car with a loud exhaust system, according to the probable cause affidavit. The sports car slowed down, then spend up along the driver’s side of Banales’ car, witnesses said. Then Banales’ car swerved into another lane and crashed into the center median, and the sports car fled, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Banales was on the phone with his girlfriend at the time; she told police she heard what sounded like a loud exhaust system driving by quickly, then a crash, the document said.

Serna and his wife were at the scene when officers arrived, police said. Officer dashboard camera captured Serna standing over Banales’ body, the probable cause affidavit said.

Serna — who drove a blue Ford Mustang sports car — and his wife were interviewed several times, and their stories changed over time, according to police.

Initially, Serna’s wife told police she saw a blue sports car — similar to the color of their car — in the lane next to Banales, the probable cause affidavit said. Serna told police he didn’t see anything and his wife saw the crash, according to the probable cause affidavit.

This July, police interviewed Serna’s wife again. The Sernas are now separated, according to the probable cause affidavit, and she said her husband had sped up to get a better look at the potential suspect’s car, but the suspect’s car was driving too fast, and that’s when the crash happened, the document said.

On Thursday, police interviewed Serna’s wife again. She admitted her husband shot the victim after her husband “became angry that Banales had nearly changed lanes into his blue Mustang,” police said in a statement on Friday.

She said her husband pulled his pistol out of the glove box, loaded the weapon and fired, according to the probable cause affidavit.

She said she made her husband turn around and drive back to the scene, according to the probable cause affidavit.

During the investigation, police zeroed-in on cellphone records to help determine “who could have been driving a blue sports car at the crime scene,” police said in a statement.

The probe, which included searching license plate reader databases, “revealed only one vehicle matching the description of a blue sports car with loud exhaust” — Serna’s car, police said.

“Google Geo-Fence records show Serna’s Google activity pinging in the area at the same time investigators believe the shooting happened,” police added.

Serna has been booked into the Bexar County Jail, police said.

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