Father, teen arrested after chemical explosives were found at their New York home
Chemicals are removed from a home in Syosset, New York. (WABC)
(SYOSSET, N.Y.) — A New York father and son were arrested and charged after investigators discovered chemicals at their residence that had been combined to create explosive materials, according to police.
Investigators discovered the chemicals while they were looking into a “bias incident” in which a swastika was drawn in a male bathroom at Syosset High School on Wednesday, according to the Nassau County Police Department.
Investigators alleged the 15-year-old boy drew the swastika, police said.
Francisco Sanles, 48, has been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of criminal facilitation, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment.
The unnamed teen has been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, criminal mischief, aggravated harassment and making graffiti, police said.
When the chemicals were found, officers evacuated the home and began evacuating the residents of neighboring homes.
“The Nassau County Fire Marshal, Arson Bomb Squad, Nassau County Police Emergency Service Unit (ESU) were all notified and responded to the scene. The Nassau County Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) Response Team also responded and carefully removed the hazardous material from the home,” police said in a statement Thursday.
Further investigation revealed Sanles paid for the various chemicals on several occasions. He was then arrested, according to police.
Students and staff at Syosset High School were notified of the bias graffiti and ongoing investigation in an email from the school district on Wednesday night, according to a copy obtained by WABC.
“I am writing to inform you that the District found swastikas and racial epithets above urinals at Syosset High School. The District immediately commenced an investigation and notified the Nassau County Police Department. Our investigation identified the person responsible and this is now a criminal matter with an active police investigation,” the school district wrote.
“We are cooperating fully with our partners in law enforcement and remain in constant contact with them as their investigation continues. This student will also face serious consequences pursuant to the District’s Code of Conduct,” the district said.
Sanles will be arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Hempstead, police said. The unnamed teen will be arraigned in Nassau County Family Court, police said.
No attorney information for Sanles and his son is listed in court records.
Demonstrators against the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deployment march during a protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (Jaida Grey Eagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(MINNEAPOLIS) — A federal judge heard arguments Monday on the state of Minnesota’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operation in the state.
The hearing came two days after the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in what was the second shooting of a U.S. citizen this month by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
An attorney representing the state said in Monday’s hearing that the enforcement action, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” is the nation’s single largest escalation of immigration enforcement, despite Minnesota not having the largest number of non-citizens with criminal convictions.
“Yet the federal government has sent an unprecedented force of thousands of masked agents armed with assault rifles to spread through our region in roving patrols that are racially profiling and inflicting violence on people,” argued state attorney Lindsey Middlecamp.
Brian Carter, another state attorney, argued that there’s a lack of precedent because “the conduct [from the federal government] is so outrageously unlawful we’ve never seen it before.”
“In the 250 years of this nation’s history, we have never seen a federal government attack states based on personal animosity,” Carter argued.
“Well, we’ve seen the federal government take very robust responses to states that aren’t yielding to federal authority,” U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez interrupted.
“Absolutely, but that’s based on the rule of law,” Carter responded.
When Judge Menendez asked what exactly the state wants her to do, Carter said, “End Operation Metro Surge.”
“The whole Operation Metro Surge is an illegal means to an illegal end, so just ending the whole thing is the appropriate remedy there,” Carter said.
“You understand the federal government has a lot of power in this area, so I’m trying to figure out what principle you’re asking me to apply that will sort out legal federal law enforcement from this 10th Amendment argument,” Judge Menendez said.
An attorney representing the federal government called the state’s request to end Operation Metro Surge “staggering.”
“The effect of their requested relief would be essentially removing the officers whom the president has concluded should be there to enforce federal immigration law,” said attorney Brantley Mayers. “It’s pretty staggering.”
Mayers argued that the requested relief should be subject to “a heightened standard.”
“They’re challenging one law enforcement initiative,” replied Judge Menendez. “They’re not challenging the enforcement of immigration law writ large.”
Mayers said that if the judge issues an order to end Operation Metro Surge, it “would be very difficult to implement.”
“If it’s difficult to implement, does that mean I can do nothing?” Judge Menendez asked.
Mayers responded by saying such an order would create a “very difficult separation of powers problem.”
The judge also said she is “grappling” with the alleged illegalities identified by the state, pointing to other lawsuits filed in Minnesota.
“Isn’t the answer to the flood of illegality to fight each illegal act?” Judge Menendez asked, noting that the conduct of federal agents is already the subject of separate litigation.
Menendez also questioned how she should draw the line between legitimate federal pressure and illegal coercion.
“How do I decide when a law enforcement response crosses the line from a legitimate response to one that violates the 10th Amendment?” she asked.
Carter argued that there are “4,000 masked, armed federal agents engaged in systemic, pervasive, and illegal violent behavior” that is “so far out on the other side of the line.”
“We’ve got retaliation, we’ve got racial profiling, we’ve got warrantless entries into homes,” Carter said.
Middlecamp said that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s letter to Gov. Tim Walz Saturday in which she sought information about the state’s voter rolls and records on Medicaid and Food and Nutrition Service programs as a condition for ICE agents pulling back on enforcement, “can only be described as a ransom note.”
“President Trump himself took to social media last night to reaffirm those very purposes. Their message is clear,” Middlecamp said. “Minnesota can either change its laws and policies or suffer an invasion of masked armed forces. This is precisely the type of coercion and commandeering that violates the 10th Amendment.”
Middlecamp argued there has been “excessive force and unsupported detentions and arrests of legal observers” and said that DHS agents have been collecting photos and license plates of observers so they can confront them.
“Even though they are not charged with a crime or reasonably suspected of a crime, there has been indiscriminate use of chemical irritants,” she said.
The attorney argued that Operation Metro Surge is having “clear impacts on the sovereign interest to create and protect public safety, public health, and public education.”
Sara Lathrop, an attorney for the city of Minneapolis, said the weekend’s shooting “demonstrated in a terrifying way that the current situation is absolutely untenable.”
“The relief we need needs to be ordered now to take down the temperature,” Lathrop said.
In response, Judge Menendez said that “not all crises have a fix from a district court injunction.”
Carter, the state attorney, wrapped up arguments by saying the state came to the court to “protect its sovereignty.”
“The state of Minnesota comes here today to protect its sovereignty, to stop the harm to its sovereign rights under the Constitution that sets states up as independent sovereigns,” Carter said. “If we can’t come to the court and vindicate those rights, where else does a state go?”
Judge Menendez did not issue an order immediately following the hearing.
“I do not intend in any way for the depth of my analysis or whatever time I take to write to be seen as a belief that this is unimportant,” she said. “It’s because it’s extremely important that I’m doing everything I can to get it right,” the judge said.
Ruben Ray Martinez is seen in this undated photo provided by his family. (Courtesy family of Ruben Ray Martinez)
(NEW YORK) — Videos released by the Texas Department of Public Safety appear to cast doubt on the Department of Homeland Security’s account of a fatal agent-involved shooting of U.S. citizen that occurred in South Padre Island, Texas, in March 2025.
Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was fatally shot by a Homeland Security Investigations agent on March 15, 2025. The incident was initially reported by local news outlets as an officer-involved shooting. DHS did not reveal the involvement of its agent until February when media outlets reported that the agents were involved.
In a statement given to San Antonio ABC affiliate, DHS said HSI agents were helping South Padre Island Police officers control traffic after an unrelated accident at the popular spring break destination when a driver “intentionally ran over” an agent “resulting in him being on the hood of the vehicle.”
The statement went on to say: “Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”
DHS said an agent was taken to the hospital with a knee injury after the incident.
In a statement provided to ABC News, attorneys for Martinez’s mother said the video footage calls the DHS account of the shooting into question.
“These new videos confirm that Ruben’s car was barely moving when he was shot,” the statement from attorneys Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm said. “That he was braking, not accelerating. That nobody was on the hood of his car. That nobody was in front of his car when he was shot. That he was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger.”
The statement went on to say: “This batch of evidence shows no justification for Ruben’s killing.
In a statement, Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: “We stand by the grand jury’s unanimous decision that found no criminality. This incident was investigated from every possible angle by an independent body, and it cleared our officer.”
Body camera video Footage from the body-worn camera of a South Padre police officer appears to show Martinez’s blue Ford slowly approaching the intersection and moving forward when someone is heard saying, “Keep going.”
Martinez’s vehicle slows to a crawl or a possible stop as a group of pedestrians are seen crossing the street. Martinez moves forward after the pedestrians pass and officers appear to become concerned and yell, “Stop him” and “Get him out.” Three shots can be heard as the officer with the camera runs toward the vehicle.
Martinez’s brake lights appeared to be on when he is shot. Since the DPS footage does not include the perspective of the agent who shot Martinez, it does not show any possible impact between agents and the vehicle.
“Stop the f—— vehicle someone,” can be heard saying as the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
Agents are then seen pulling Martinez and his passenger, Joshua Orta, out of the car. Paramedics on scene begin to render aid roughly over a minute after he was pulled from the vehicle.
A toxicology report released shows Martinez has a blood alcohol level of 0.12% above the legal limit of 0.08%.
In his statement to ABC News, Lyons, the acting head of ICE, pointed to an investigative report done by the Texas Rangers which included analysis of multiple body cameras, and which showed Martinez holding a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey and “rolling toward an officers location,” Lyons said in the statement.
Lyons’ statement continued: “Officers yell ‘where are you going’ and ‘stop him.’ At this point, an officer directing traffic ‘was directly in front of the Fusion’ and ‘only one-half a car length away.'”
Lyons said, “Martinez ‘rolled forward and made an immediate left turn.’ The agent then ‘appears to move as if he were on the vehicles hood.'”
The agent’s perspective The agent who shot Martinez, identified in documents as Jack Stevens, said he approached the vehicle after an officer yelled to “get him out.” Stevens said that when he approached, he noticed the smell of marijuana coming from the driver’s side window, according to the documents.
“The driver’s eyes were open widely, fist clenched to the steering wheel, and he was looking past the officers on scene as he failed to comply with the loud and repeated verbal commands of multiple law enforcement officers. This is a behavior I have observed in my training and experience as a pre attack indicator and sign of noncompliance as the suspect is looking in the path of their intended movement and is not indicative of compliance,” he said.
“This path of movement, if left unmitigated, would, using the vehicle as a weapon, have resulted in numerous casualties,” he wrote.
Stevens said he was struck and knocked backwards by the driver’s-side front pillar and side mirror, according to the documents. He said he attempted to backpedal to avoid being run over and was “still in contact with the vehicle as the vehicle struck” another agent.
Stevens said recent incidents where vehicles had been used as a weapon, like the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans earlier in the year were “fresh on my mind,” according to the documents.
“Upon observing the vehicle strike SA [Hector] Sosa causing him to fall onto the hood of the vehicle and driving through the scene, with SA Sosa clinging to the vehicle’s hood, I discharged my service issued handgun firing through the open driver’s side window striking the driver multiple times. This action stopped the threat and gained compliance from the driver who stopped the vehicle and placed it into park,” he wrote.
A grand jury decided not to issue an indictment in the case, south Texas ABC affiliate KRGV reported.
Passenger speaks with investigators In a recording of an interview that was also released, the passenger, Joshua Orta, told investigators that when they approached the scene of the accident, an officer spotted a container of alcohol in the vehicle but told him to keep going forward and turn to the left, but Martinez continued straight toward the other officers, Orta said.
“That’s when he, you know, panicked and turned the wheel, and he didn’t floor the gas but he kind of went a little bit and I guess they thought he was like trying to run the cop over or something,” Orta said in the interview.
“I saw the officer, kind of get on the hood. Like he didn’t hit him, but like he … caught his feet,” he said.
Orta said Martinez did not intend to run over the agents.
“He didn’t know what to do … he definitely didn’t want to go to jail. But as far as, like, running over an officer … he wouldn’t do that,” he said.
Orta died in a car crash in February, KRGV reported.
(CLEVELAND) — A 28-year-old mother has been charged with murder days after the bodies of two girls were found in suitcases in a field in Cleveland, police said.
Aliyah Henderson was charged with two counts of aggravated murder in connection with the deaths of her daughters, according to prosecutors.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said the girls were determined to be half-siblings and identified them as Amor Wilson, 10, and Mila Chatman, 8, both of Cleveland.
Prosecutors alleged that Henderson caused the death of her daughters, and their “badly decomposed” bodies were discovered in shallow graves in suitcases.
Cuyahoga County Judge Jeffrey Johnson set her bond at $2 million during her arraignment on Friday, citing the nature of the allegations and “my concern for the safety of the public.” She did not enter a plea.
Detectives began investigating the deaths on Monday, following the “horrific” discovery, according to Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd.
An individual spotted one of the bodies inside a suitcase while walking a dog in a residential neighborhood on Monday evening and reported it to police, according to Todd.
Responding officers located a second body in another suitcase nearby, Todd said. Both suitcases were in a shallow grave in a field near a school, she said.
The manner and cause of death are still pending, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday.
It was unclear how long the girls had been at the location, just that “it was some time,” and that there were no clear indicators of the cause of death, Todd told reporters Tuesday.
“This is a traumatic event for our officers, for the community,” Todd said.
Police said Thursday that the cause of death had not yet been determined.
The investigation led detectives to execute a search warrant at a residence located within a block of the field on Wednesday, where they “recovered substantial evidence related to the case,” the Cleveland Division of Police said.
A person of interest was detained on Wednesday, with Cleveland Police Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz telling reporters it was a “significant break” in the case.
Todd said in a statement Thursday that “careful and methodical work” in the case “allowed our detectives to develop the evidence needed to make quick identification of a person of interest, ultimately resulting in an arrest.”
A child located inside the searched home has been taken into custody by the county’s Department of Children and Family Services, police said. The child appeared to be in good health, police said.
