The special allegations charge claims that Ashlee Buzzard personally and intentionally discharged a firearm causing death and committed the murder by means of lying in wait.
Ashlee Buzzard was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly killing Melodee, who was shot in the head and found dead in a rural area of Utah in early December, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Bill Brown said “cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness … went into planning” the crime and “ruthlessness … went into actually committing the crime.”
Ashlee Buzzard’s arrest came more than two months after Melodee was reported missing. Authorities said they believe Melodee was killed shortly after she was last seen alive on Oct. 9, near the Colorado-Utah border, during a road trip with her mom.
The examination of a spent shell casing found in Ashlee Buzzard’s home matched what was found at the scene in Utah, and live similar rounds were found in Ashlee Buzzard’s car, officials said.
A motive hasn’t been determined, authorities said.
Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavily armed Federal agents as they make their way into an armored car en route to a Federal courthouse in Manhattan on January 5, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
(NEW YORK) — After three months in jail, ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appeared thinner and grayer, but still in command, as he appeared in federal court in Manhattan for a status conference on Thursday.
Maduro — was shackled at the ankles and wearing a beige smock over an orange shirt — nodded to the gallery and said “good morning,” in English.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein said he would not dismiss the narcoterrorism and other charges Maduro faces, but appeared to wrestle with how to assure Maduro had access to sufficient counsel.
The defense argued the case must be tossed because the Treasury Department had not given the government of Venezuela a special license to fund Maduro’s defense with funds subject to U.S. sanctions.
“I’m not going to dismiss the case,” Hellerstein said. However, the judge questioned the national security need for sanctions now that Maduro is no longer in charge and he and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in American custody.
“I see no abiding interest in national security in the right to defend yourself,” Hellerstein said. “The right to defend is paramount.”
A federal prosecutor said Maduro should not be allowed to use Venezuelan funds after he was accused of plundering the country’s wealth.
“A defendant has no right to spend a third party’s money,” prosecutor Kyle Wirshba said.
Defense attorney Barry Pollack said the quality of Maduro’s defense would suffer with court-appointed counsel, whose taxpayer-funded resources are often limited.
Pollack said the allegations “against these defendants occurred in Venezuela.”
Hellerstein agreed that defending Maduro would come at “great expense” and deplete the resources of most public defenders.
“Truthfully, we have no case like this,” Hellerstein said.
President Donald Trump said at a Cabinet meeting Thursday that he was hopeful that additional charges will be brought against Maduro and said Maduro should be charged for facilitating the transport of people and drugs into the U.S.
“I hope that charge will be brought at some point,” Trump said.
“He emptied his prisons into our country and was a major purveyor of drugs coming into our country. … I would imagine there are other trials coming,” Trump said.
Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty to federal charges including narco-terrorism during their first appearance in court in January, and their attorneys have since pushed to have the case dismissed over concerns that the Trump administration is blocking the Venezuelan government from paying their legal fees.
For more than a decade, Maduro enjoyed an opulent life as Venezuela’s president, living in the neoclassical palace in Caracas and accruing a net worth reportedly in the millions. He allegedly owned multiple mansions, two private jets, millions in jewelry and cash, a horse farm, and a fleet of luxury vehicles.
But he’s pushing to have his case dismissed by arguing he doesn’t have enough money to pay for his own legal defense — and his lawyers argue his due process rights will be violated if Venezuela is unable to pay for his lawyers because of U.S. sanctions on the country.
“I understand that the government of Venezuela is prepared to fund my legal defense and it is my expectation that it will,” Maduro said in a sworn declaration. “I have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense.”
As the Trump administration gradually warms relations with Venezuela, Thursday’s hearing marks the second time that the ousted Venezuelan leader has appeared in a U.S. courtroom since special operations forces captured him in Caracas in January.
The Department of Justice initially brought an indictment against Maduro and 14 other Venezuelan officials in March of 2020, arguing they committed narco-terrorism by conspiring with drug cartels to allow the flow of cocaine into the United States.
Nearly six years later, prosecutors filed a new indictment charging Maduro, Flores, Maduro’s son, and three others with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons offenses.
Maduro “sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” the indictment said.
Prosecutors alleged that Maduro allowed “cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit,” including by providing diplomatic cover to drug traffickers and money launderers. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and denies being involved in drug trafficking.
“[Maduro] is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States,” the indictment said.
-ABC News’ Emily Chang, Michelle Stoddart and Fritz Farrow
A memorial dedicated to the 19 children and two adults murdered on May 24,2022 during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School is seen on January 05, 2026 in Uvalde, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(UVALDE, Texas) — Javier Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter Jackie was killed in the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting, said he feels failed again after a jury on Wednesday night acquitted former school district police officer Adrian Gonzales on all 29 counts of child endangerment.
“We had a little hope, but it wasn’t enough,” Cazares said outside court. “Again, we are failed. I don’t even know what to say.”
Prosecutors had alleged Gonzales did not follow his training and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 students who survived the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary School mass shooting. Gonzales’ lawyers argued he was unfairly blamed for a broader law-enforcement failure that day.
Cazares said he was hopeful that the jury might have reached a different conclusion, but “prepared for the worst.”
“I need to keep composed for my daughter. It has been an emotional rollercoaster since day one. I am pissed,” he said.
Jackie’s uncle, Jesse Rizo, told reporters he was concerned about the message the verdict might send to police officers who respond to future mass shootings.
“I respect the jury’s decision, but what message does it send?” he said. “If you’re an officer, you can simply stand by, stand down, stand idle, and not do anything and wait for everybody to be executed, killed, slaughtered, massacred.”
Jackie’s aunt, Julissa Rizo, pushed back on the defense narrative that Gonzales responded as best he could, telling ABC News, “That’s not true.”
“There were two monsters on May 24. One was the shooter, and the other one was the one that never went in, that could have avoided this,” she said.
Defense attorney Jason Goss told reporters that he believes the acquittal clears Gonzales’ name.
“The evidence showed that not only did he not fail, but he put himself in great danger,” Goss said.
Gonzales told ABC News he plans on “picking up the pieces and moving forward.”
Defense attorney Nico LaHood said he will continue to pray for the victims’ families.
“We understand that their separation from their loved one is going to be felt as long as they walk on this earth, and we don’t ignore that. We acknowledge that,” he said. “We’re just going to continue to pray for them.”
Cazares said he will attend the trial of the other officer charged, former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo.
Arredondo, who was the on-site commander on the day of the Robb Elementary shooting, is also charged with endangerment or abandonment of a child and has pleaded not guilty. His case has been delayed indefinitely by an ongoing federal lawsuit filed after the U.S. Border Patrol refused repeated efforts by Uvalde prosecutors to interview Border Patrol agents who responded to the shooting, including two who were in the tactical unit responsible for killing the gunman at the school.
ABC News’ John Quiñones and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico released this photo of Ryan Wedding on Dec. 8, 2025. U.S. Embassy in Mexico
(NEW YORK) — A former Olympic snowboarder is one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, with authorities comparing the Canadian citizen to notorious drug lords like Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and Pablo Escobar.
The alleged drug kingpin — 44-year-old Ryan Wedding — is accused of heading a criminal enterprise that traffics tons of cocaine, engages in murder to further their aims and retaliate, and uses cryptocurrency to conceal their illicit profits.
Wedding faces multiple federal charges in the United States, where authorities have said he is responsible for trafficking “multi-ton quantities of cocaine” from Colombia. He is also wanted by authorities in Canada on separate charges, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The FBI dubbed its operation into the alleged criminal organization “Giant Slalom” — a nod to Wedding’s Olympic event — and has warned the fugitive should be considered dangerous.
Wedding — whose alleged aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant” and “Public Enemy” — is believed to be in Mexico, being protected by the Sinaloa cartel, according to the FBI.
Here’s a look at Wedding’s path from premier athlete to alleged drug kingpin.
Feb. 27, 1999
Wedding wins the bronze medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom event at the 1999 Junior World Championship.
March 8, 2001
Wedding wins the silver medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom event at the 2001 Junior World Championships.
Feb. 14, 2002
Wedding competes for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he places 24th in the men’s giant parallel slalom.
June 13, 2008
Wedding is arrested in San Diego and subsequently charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to court records. According to the federal complaint, he conspired with two others to buy 24 kilograms of cocaine, unwittingly from an FBI source, as part of a Vancouver-based drug trafficking organization.
Nov. 30, 2009
A jury finds Wedding guilty of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
May 28, 2010
A federal judge sentences Wedding to 48 months in prison.
Dec. 7, 2011
Wedding is released from U.S. federal prison. Federal prosecutors allege he would go on to found his criminal enterprise.
Nov. 20, 2023
Two parents are murdered in front of their daughter, who was also injured, in a case of mistaken identity in Ontario, according to federal prosecutors. Wedding and his alleged second-in-command — Andrew Clark, a fellow Canadian — had allegedly ordered the retaliatory murder of a Canadian drug trafficker, believing the driver had stolen 300 kilograms of cocaine from them, according to a federal indictment.
The assassin crew broke into a house that the family was renting, fatally shooting the two victims and seriously injuring a third, mistakenly believing they were family members of the co-conspirator, according to the indictment. The couple’s daughter was shot multiple times but survived, prosecutors said.
April 1, 2024
An individual was killed in Ontario, allegedly at the order of Clark and another man involved in the criminal enterprise, according to federal prosecutors.
May 18, 2024
Another individual is killed over a drug debt, allegedly at the order of Wedding and Clark, according to federal prosecutors.
June 18, 2024
A sealed, six-count indictment is filed against Wedding and Clark in Los Angeles federal court, charging them with running a criminal enterprise, committing murder in support of the enterprise and conspiring to distribute and export cocaine.
Sept. 17, 2024
A superseding indictment is filed in Los Angeles federal court against Wedding, Clark and 14 others. The 16-count indictment includes, among others, an attempted murder charge against Wedding and Clark.
The indictment alleges that the enterprise conspired to ship hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Southern California to Canada. The cocaine was allegedly transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, where it was stored in stash houses before being transported to Canada via long-haul semi-trucks, according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleges the organization committed multiple murders to achieve its aims, including the killings and attempted murder of the family members in November 2023 in Ontario and the murders of the individuals in April 2024 and May 2024.
Wedding and others allegedly made billions of dollars through the enterprise, which was moved around in the form of cryptocurrency, prosecutors say.
Law enforcement has seized more than one ton of cocaine, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, $255,400 in U.S. currency and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency as part of its investigation into the so-called Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization, the DOJ says.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any information leading to Wedding’s arrest.
Oct. 8, 2024
Clark is arrested by Mexican authorities, according to the Department of Justice. He is subsequently extradited to the U.S.
Oct. 17, 2024
On the same day federal prosecutors announce the superseding indictment, Wedding’s attorney allegedly advises him and Clark that if a federal witness were killed, the federal charges against them “would necessarily be dismissed,” according to a subsequent federal indictment.
Wedding then allegedly places a bounty of up to $5 million on the witness in exchange for “any person locating and killing” the individual, according to the indictment.
Jan. 31, 2025
The federal witness is killed while eating at a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia, by an unknown shooter, according to a federal indictment. The witness, who was not identified in the indictment, was shot in the head five times, prosecutors said.
Following confirmation of the witness’ death, Wedding allegedly facilitates an approximately $500,000 payment to members of the conspiracy in Colombia via an encrypted platform, according to the indictment.
March 6, 2025
Wedding is added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
The U.S. Department of State is now offering a reward of up to $10 million for his capture. The reward is “jointly being offered with assistance from the Canadian and Mexican governments as part of a unified effort to bring Wedding to justice,” the FBI says.
March 24, 2025
Clark pleads not guilty to his federal charges. His trial is set to begin in February 2026.
Oct. 28, 2025
A new federal indictment is filed against Wedding in Los Angeles federal court, accusing him of orchestrating the murder of the witness in Colombia. Eighteen others, including his Ontario-based lawyer, are also charged in the indictment in connection with his alleged criminal enterprise. The lawyer — who has not yet entered a plea — is accused of advising Wedding that if he killed the witness, then criminal charges against him in his 2024 federal narcotics case would be dropped, prosecutors said.
The indictment alleges that the criminal enterprise worked with members and associates of prominent Mexican drug cartels to move hundreds of kilograms of cocaine via boats and planes from Colombia to Mexico at a time, then used semi-trucks to smuggle the drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Nov. 19, 2025
The U.S. Department of State increases its reward for information regarding Wedding to $15 million.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also sanctions Wedding, as well as multiple individuals and entities closely associated with him.
Dec. 8, 2025
U.S. officials release new photos of Wedding. In one, a newly obtained photo released by the Los Angeles FBI office, Wedding is seen lying in a bed shirtless, with a prominent tattoo of a lion on his chest, in a photo authorities said is believed to have been taken in Mexico during the summer of 2025. In the other, shared by the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, Wedding is seen with a different haircut and facial hair in an undated photo.
