Instagram influencer arrested for deadly drunk driving crash: Sheriff
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(LOS ANGELES) — An Instagram influencer accused of a drunk driving crash that killed a man in Southern California last summer has now been arrested, officials said.
Summer Wheaton, 33, surrendered Monday at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station when a warrant was issued for her arrest following a monthslong investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
She faces several charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence, the sheriff’s department said.
Wheaton was released after posting bond, according to records viewed by ABC News.
On the night of July 4, 2024, Wheaton allegedly crossed the median on the Pacific Coast Highway and crashed head-on into another vehicle, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.
The other car’s driver — 44-year-old rideshare driver Martin Okeke — was killed in the crash.
Beforehand, Wheaton had been at a large party at the restaurant Nobu in Malibu, KABC reported.
Wheaton has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and describes herself online as a “wellness advocate” focused on “empowering individuals to become their highest selves.”
On Tuesday morning, a day after her arrest, Wheaton posted Bible verses to her Instagram story.
Wheaton went on a monthslong Instagram hiatus after the deadly crash, but returned in December with a promoted post for a “faith-based planner” she had created.
In the promotional video — which featured shots of Wheaton exercising, journaling and gazing out at the ocean — Wheaton spoke vaguely of a “hard” few months.
“You know that feeling when life feels like it’s all falling apart, but somehow it’s the start of something really beautiful? Well, that was me,” she said in the voiceover. “The last few months have been hard. I went through moments where I truly didn’t know I pulled through.”
“But in the chaos, something shifted. I was reminded of a deeper truth: that beautiful things can bloom out of despair,” she said. “Sometimes it’s in those broken places where faith takes root and grows stronger.”
Wheaton did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
(TEXAS) — As Texas prepares for severe winter weather, Gov. Greg Abbott expressed confidence Wednesday in the state’s power grid.
Frigid temperatures — along with snow, sleet and freezing rain — are expected to make their way into Texas starting Wednesday, especially in the northern part of the state. The storm is expected to start in the west before moving eastward through the state, Abbott said in a press conference Wednesday.
Winter storm advisories are in effect across much of the South, including in Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; and Atlanta, which could see up to 6 inches of snow before the weekend.
In preparation for the snowfall in Texas, emergency response resources have been deployed across the state, including more than 350 warming centers.
“Obviously, the lives of our fellow Texans are by far the most important thing, and we’re directing resources and responses and strategies to make sure that we put protecting life first and foremost,” Abbott said.
The power grid is not expected to be an issue during the storm, though officials are preparing for downed power lines as a result of freezing rain and falling trees, he said.
Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Pablo Vegas reiterated Abbott’s confidence in the power grid, saying there is more than an adequate power supply for the expected weather event. ERCOT inspected 150 power stations in December, all of which he said went well, and more inspections are planned for January and February.
Roadways could be impacted by precipitation and icy conditions, and officials are urging Texans to stay off the roads and remain at home as much as possible. Texas Department of Transportation crews have been preparing for days, with over 2,000 crews out treating the roadways, Abbott said.
“I cannot emphasize enough to my fellow Texans, we’re not used to driving on ice and snow. We’re not used to driving in conditions like this,” Abbott said. “Be careful. Be cautious. Make sure that you’re protecting your own life.”
As of Wednesday morning, 16 roads in northwest Texas have already been impacted, Abbott said. The Texas National Guard has activated hundreds of resources, the Texas A&M Forest Service will be ready with chainsaws to clean up after the storm passes and the Texas Highway Patrol will be out to assist motorists.
Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd urged residents to be prepared at home, ensuring they have food, water and blankets in case they lose power. Kidd also warned of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning when using a generator.
(NEW YORK) — The judge in Donald Trump’s New York criminal hush money case indicated Friday that he intends to sentence the president-elect to an “unconditional discharge” out of respect for the presidential immunity doctrine.
Judge Juan Merchan ordered Trump to appear, either in person or virtually, for sentencing on Jan. 10, which is 10 days before Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Merchan, in his ruling Friday, called an unconditional discharge the “most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.”
Trump faces the possibility of up to four years in prison for his conviction, though most legal experts believe he is more likely to receive a lighter sentence.
Trump’s legal team is expected to try to stop the Jan. 10 sentencing, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. His lawyers intend to ask an intermediate New York appellate court to intervene and stop the sentencing hearing from going forward, the sources said.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung, in a statement, called Merchan’s ruling “a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence.”
“President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts. There should be no sentencing,” the statement said.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which secured the conviction against Trump, did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Trump was found guilty this past May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
Merchan, in his ruling, described Trump’s conduct as a “premediated and continuous deception by the leader of the free world.”
“To vacate this verdict on the grounds that the charges are insufficiently serious given the position Defendant once held, and is about to assume again, would constitute a disproportionate result and cause immeasurable damage to the citizenry’s confidence in the Rule of Law,” the ruling said.
While Merchan said that he cannot determine Trump’s sentence without hearing from Trump himself and others in the case, he signaled his plan to sentence him to an unconditional discharge, under which Trump would avoid serious punishment but the record of his conviction would remain on his record.
Trump’s lawyers had long fought to push back the sentencing, successfully delaying it three times following the Supreme Court’s sweeping ruling on presidential immunity and a heated presidential campaign.
Merchan initially scheduled the sentencing for July 11 before pushing it to Sept. 18 in order to weigh if Trump’s conviction was impacted by the Supreme Court’s July ruling prohibiting the prosecution of a president for official acts undertaken while in office. Merchan subsequently ruled that Trump’s conviction related “entirely to unofficial conduct” and “poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”
Merchan wrote that a unconditional discharge would respect the sanctity of the jury’s verdict — which he called “a bedrock principle in our nation’s jurisprudence” — and the principle of presidential immunity.
“While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendant an opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” the ruling said.
“As such; in balancing the aforementioned considerations in conjunction with the underlying concerns of the Presidential immunity doctrine, a sentence of an unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options,” Merchan wrote.
Merchan’s ruling criticized Trump and his lawyers — several of whom are set to take top positions at the Department of Justice — for using rhetoric that “has no place in legal pleadings.”
“Dangerous rhetoric is not a welcome form of argument and will have no impact on how the Court renders this or any other Decision,” Merchan wrote.
The judge also criticized Trump for his “disdain” for the judiciary.
“Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole,” the ruling said.
The jury’s verdict, handed down last summer, made Trump the first U.S. president, current or former, to be criminally convicted.
(Colts Neck, N.J.) — There have been “multiple” instances of drones entering the airspace at a Navy weapons station in New Jersey, officials there said Friday, as the concern continues to grow over widespread drone sightings in the region.
Naval Weapons Station Earle, which is located in Colts Neck, New Jersey, said it was “aware” of the sightings in the region and “continues to closely coordinate with federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations.”
“While no direct threats to the installation have been identified, we can confirm multiple instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace above Naval Weapons Station Earle,” Bill Addison, public affairs officer for the naval station, said in a statement to ABC News. “The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities.”
The base did not say when the incidents happened.
Residents in northern New Jersey — especially in Morris and Somerset counties — have shared many videos and stories about drones larger than those used by hobbyists flying overheard at night since mid-November. Colts Neck is located in Monmouth County, in the eastern part of the state.
Sen. Andy Kim, who was sworn into office just this week, spent Thursday night in Hunterdon County, which neighbors Somerset, where he said he saw dozens of drones in a two-hour period.
“People deserve answers,” Kim told reporters after his visit to the county. “We don’t need conspiracy theories or conjecture, we need assurances that the people charged with keeping us safe are on top of this issue, and a line of communication so that people feel like their government is taking this seriously.”
He again reiterated his calls for a federal investigation by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Kim was one of the four senators in New York and New Jersey — along with fellow Democrats Sens. Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker — who wrote a letter to federal officials Wednesday calling for action.
“We write with urgent concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the letter said.
While the letter did not specifically mention Naval Weapons Station Earle, it included a note that the drones have been observed near “critical infrastructure and sensitive locations, including reservoirs and military installations.”
The White House downplayed some of the concerns of residents in a press briefing Thursday with national security communications adviser John Kirby saying “many” of the reported drone sightings appear to be lawfully operated manned aircraft.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby added. “The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating these sightings, and they’re working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin.”
Kim, after seeing the drones with his own eyes late Thursday, said the comments were not necessarily reassuring for residents.
“It’s hard for people to feel secure when there are unexplained drones flying overhead and they’re not getting answers they need from the federal investigation,” Kim said. “This has been going on for weeks and I’m just as frustrated as everyone else in not getting more information and details. That’s why I came out to see for myself, and I’m grateful for local police for taking me around.”
