(NEW YORK) — The South is bracing for a potentially major winter storm this weekend, impacting Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
The storm is still several days away, so exact timing and locations are not yet clear. But as of now, more than 30 million people are under a winter storm watch, from Dallas to Little Rock, Arkansas, to Huntsville, Alabama, to Nashville, Tennessee.
Snow is expected to develop over the Plains on Friday and a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain is forecast to the south. The storm will become more widespread Saturday morning.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said on Tuesday he was activating state emergency response resources ahead of the storm, saying the freezing rain, sleet and snow “could create hazardous travel conditions into the weekend and cause impacts to infrastructure.”
The system will reach the East Coast by Sunday and impacts could linger there into Monday. But the specific timing and what to expect is still unclear.
FBI and Border Patrol officers speak with Sean Charles Dunn, after he allegedly assaulted law enforcement with a sandwich, along the U Street corridor during a federal law enforcement deployment to the nation’s capital on Aug. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The man accused of throwing a sandwich at a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent in Washington, D.C., waived his right to testify in court Wednesday, ahead of closing arguments in his ongoing misdemeanor assault case.
Sean Charles Dunn, a former Department of Justice staffer, was charged with a misdemeanor after a grand jury failed to indict him on a more serious felony assault charge.
Both sides are expected to deliver closing arguments later today in the case that first went viral during the federal surge of law enforcement in D.C.
Dunn was caught on camera throwing a Subway sandwich at a Border Patrol agent in August.
According to the earlier felony criminal complaint, Dunn allegedly approached the officer while shouting “f— you! You f—— fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!”
After several minutes of confrontation, Dunn allegedly threw the sandwich, striking the officer in the chest, the complaint says.
His sudden launch into the public spotlight inspired a groundswell of attention to his case in the early days of the surge.
The court will resume this afternoon for closing arguments.
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — When Alyssa Burkett arrived at her Texas workplace one fall morning in 2020, the 24-year-old mother of one didn’t know a deadly plan against her was already unfolding.
On the morning of Oct. 2 that year, Burkett pulled into the parking lot of the Greentree Apartments in Carrollton, where she worked as an assistant office manager, right before tragedy struck.
A new “20/20” episode, “Ride or Die,” airing Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu, examines the case.
You can also get more behind-the-scenes of each week’s episode by listening to “20/20: The After Show” weekly series right on your 20/20 podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by “20/20” co-anchor Deborah Roberts.
According to authorities, a black Ford Expedition pulled up next to her, and the darkly dressed driver shot her through her car window. Miraculously, Burkett managed to get out of, but as she tried to escape into her office, the assailant stabbed and slashed her 44 times.
Carrollton Police Detective Jeremy Chevallier, who responded to the crime, told “20/20” that the scene was extremely disturbing.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 33 years,” he said. “When I arrived, it was the most brutal scene I think I’d ever been to.”
Given the violent nature of the crime, investigators believed it could have been a crime of passion.
Burkett had been engaged in a custody battle with Andrew Beard over their 1-year-old daughter Willow. Beard, who was 10 years older than Burkett and worked as a power tools salesman, had initially met her online, according to investigators.
The day after the killing, while canvassing a neighborhood near Beard’s home, police noticed a vehicle consistent with the one driven by Burkett’s assailant. Upon searching the car, they found a hole drilled into the side of the car that could have been a gun port alongside dark colored makeup and a fake beard, officials said.
Beard soon surrendered himself to the Carrollton Police Department, and he eventually faced federal charges and pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, using a dangerous weapon resulting in death and discharging a firearm in Burkett’s death. He was sentenced to 43 years in prison in May 2023.
However, Beard claimed to authorities that his fiancée Holly Elkins, whom he started dating in 2020, was actually the one who masterminded Burkett’s killing.
Beard pointed authorities to texts between him and Elkins where she said “I need to know you’re my ride or die” and “I’m not coming home unless I know you did this.”
In July 2023, investigators believed that they had collected enough evidence to charge Elkins. She was coming back from a trip in the Dominican Republic when police arrested her at the airport in Miami.
At her trial, Elkins pleaded not guilty and argued that it wasn’t her who committed the crime or installed trackers on Burkett’s vehicle as authorities alleged. Her attorneys also rejected the notion that she was the “mastermind” behind the killing.
She was convicted of conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence and given two consecutive life sentences.
In December 2025, Elkins had her conviction on the firearm charge overturned on appeal, reducing her sentence to life without parole.
In an exclusive new interview with “20/20,” Beard said that his biggest regret was letting down his daughter.
“My message to my daughter is simply this: Willow, my sweet baby girl. You instantly became our world. I’m sorry for letting you down the way I did, honey,” he said. “Maybe one day you can forgive me for that … I love you with every inch of my heart. I truly do.”
Beard has not seen or had any contact with his daughter since he was arrested. Teresa Collard, Burkett’s mother, adopted Willow, whom she told “20/20” reminds her of her late daughter.
“They are a spitting image of each other. I mean, even the way Willow walks … Willow turns around and walks off and I see Alyssa walking off,” Collard said.
(WASHINGTON) — A jury found Sean Charles Dunn, the man accused of throwing a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent in Washington, D.C., not guilty of misdemeanor assault after three days of testimony and dozens of exhibits.
After the verdict, Dunn hugged his attorneys and said, “I’m relieved and look forward to moving on with my life.”
“I’m so happy!” his lawyer Sabrina Shroff shouted as she left the courtroom.
Dunn, a former Department of Justice staffer, had been hit with the misdemeanor count after a grand jury failed to indict him on a felony assault charge for throwing a Subway sandwich at the agent during the federal law enforcement surge in August. Video of the encounter went viral after Dunn’s arrest.
According to the earlier felony criminal complaint, Dunn allegedly approached the officer and shouted, “Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!”
After several minutes of confrontation, Dunn threw the sandwich, striking the officer in the chest, the complaint said.
Defense attorney Sabrina Shroff signaled her strategy immediately in her closing arguments on Wednesday, saying, “This case, ladies and gentlemen, is about a sandwich,” she said. “A sandwich that landed intact, still in its Subway wrapping.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiLorenzo opened the government’s closing argument by urging jurors to find Dunn, better known online as “Sandwich Guy,” guilty of misdemeanor assault.
“This case is not about strong opinions,” DiLorenzo said. “It’s not about immigration.” Instead, he argued, Dunn crossed a line the night he threw the sandwich at a CBP agent.
The government said Dunn caused a “seven-minute disturbance” designed to pull attention away from CBP and the Metropolitan Police Department during a “high-visibility” operation. “Distract the officers, move them from their post,” DiLorenzo told jurors.
Prosecutors then played a video of Dunn admitting to officers, “I did it. I threw a sandwich. I did it to draw them away from where they were. I succeeded.”
The government argued that intent, not the menu item, is what matters. “Even with a sandwich, you don’t have the right to touch another person,” DiLorenzo said.
At several points, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols reminded jurors that their verdict must rest on the evidence presented.
When Shroff continued her argument, she turned the government’s framing on its head, not by disputing the sandwich, but by arguing its legal meaning.
She showed photos of the sandwich on the ground after it hit the CBP agent and then pointed to something the government had not, the agent’s own mementos from the incident. The agent, she said, later received a fake Subway sandwich and a “felony footlong” badge from co-workers, both of which he displayed at work.
“If someone assaulted you, if someone offended you, would you keep a memento of that assault?” Shroff asked. “Would you stick it on your lunchbox and carry it every day? Of course not.”
Shroff argued the sandwich caused no injury, was not a foreseeable weapon, and that Dunn was engaged in protected political speech. She compared the incident to “a kid throwing a stuffed toy in the middle of a bedtime temper tantrum.”
Dunn waived his right to testify in court Wednesday ahead of closing arguments.
-ABC News’ Alex Mallin contributed to this report.
