Adva Lavie is wanted for a string of burglaries in which she allegedly targeted older men, posing as a romantic companion on virtual dating platforms and social media, according to officials.
The suspect is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighing 104 lbs. with brunette hair and hazel eyes. Lavie is believed to drive a black Porsche SUV or white Mercedes-Benz.
She is also known to use the aliases Mia Ventura, Shoshana or Shana, according to officials.
When contacted by ABC News, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said they had no additional information to provide about the suspect or her alleged crimes.
Officials are asking anyone with information about Lavie or incidents in which she may have been involved to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or Los Angeles Police Department.
U.S. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a campaign rally, Oct. 16, 2022 in East Lansing, Mich. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — A Michigan judge has dismissed the case against 15 individuals accused of being “fake electors” for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Judge Kristen Simmons on Tuesday said she found insufficient evidence to prove the defendants acted with criminal intent.
“This is a fraud case, and we have to prove intent, and I don’t believe that there’s sufficient evidence to prove intent,” she said during a hearing Tuesday.
“I believe that they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress, and that’s based on the statements of all of the people’s witnesses,” said the judge. “For those reasons, these cases will not be bound over to the circuit court. Each case will be dismissed.”
The case was announced in 2023 by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who charged 16 Republicans — one of whom later cooperated with the prosecution and had his charges dropped — with forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery.
The charges stemmed from a meeting on Dec. 14, 2020, where the group allegedly met “covertly” and signed certificates falsely claiming they were the state’s duly elected electors in an effort to reelect Trump president.
During the hearing, Judge Simmons said the prosecution failed to establish that the electors intended to defraud anyone.
“This is not an election interference case,” she said.
“The prosecution would like the court to believe that these named defendants were savvy or sophisticated enough to fully understand the electoral process — which the court does disagree because the document that was presented doesn’t even align with the level of sophistication that they want me to believe,” Judge Simmons said.
“There’s many things that could cause a pause in the electoral process, and it doesn’t mean that it’s criminal,” said the judge.
(LOUSIVILLE, Ky.) — Authorities are responding to a reported plane crash near the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky, police said Tuesday.
There are reported injuries, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department, which did not specify how many.
A shelter-in-place has been issued within five miles of the airport, police said.
“This is an active scene with fire and debris. Stay away,” the Louisville Metro Police Department said on social media.
A large plume of smoke could be seen near the airport, which is closed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The airport confirmed there was an “aircraft incident” and that the airfield is closed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Members of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Protective Service police provide security as Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, is brought before a judge at the federal courthouse for an initial appearance on September 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.) — Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to kill Donald Trump on his West Palm Beach golf course last year, is defending himself before a Florida jury.
Routh, who is representing himself despite lacking any legal education or experience, plans to call three witnesses on Monday — a gun expert and two character witnesses — as he tries to make a case why a jury should spare him from the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.
His defense case is expected to take about half the day, with closing arguments currently scheduled for Tuesday.
Routh has broadly described his defense strategy as emphasizing his “gentleness, peacefulness, and nonviolent caring for humanity,” according to court filings.
Among the exhibits Routh plans to use are a design for a DIY skatepark, videos and photos showing him recruiting and fundraising for the Ukrainian military, a photo of a flash mob he organized, and a church bulletin from 1980 when he was awarded an Eagle Scout award.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who has repeatedly clashed with Routh over his unusual courtroom tactics — has curtailed much of Routh’s defense. She blocked many of his proposed witnesses, including an ex-girlfriend and several Palestinian scholars, and prohibited him from arguing that his actions were justified or that he would not have followed through with the assassination attempt.
Routh’s unorthodox defense case follows seven days of testimony from 38 witnesses called by federal prosecutors seeking to prove Routh came within a few hundred yards of killing then-candidate Trump on Sept. 15. Jurors heard from the Secret Service agent who said he spotted Routh hiding in the bushes of Trump’s golf course with an assault rifle, the man who illegally sold the gun to Routh, and a series of law enforcement witnesses who tied Routh’s fingerprints and DNA to the gun abandoned at the crime scene.
FBI agents also testified that Trump would have been less than 130 feet from Routh had Routh not been spotted by a Secret Service agent. Routh’s rifle, they argued, can hit a target ten times that, and the shot could have been made without a scope.
Two brothers who worked with Routh also testified about receiving a box from him in April 2024 — five months before the alleged assassination attempt — that contained wires, pipes, and bullets. After Routh’s arrest, the brothers said they opened the box to find a 12-page letter that prosecutors argue amounts to a confession from Routh.
“This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job,” the handwritten letter said.
Routh has argued that the letter does not describe the alleged assassination attempt.
At the conclusion of the government’s case on Friday, Routh argued that prosecutors had failed to prove their case and that Judge Cannon, who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases, should toss the case. Routh claimed that the area in the bushes where he was allegedly found was a public area where anyone could carry a gun.
“They maybe proved that someone was outside the fence with a gun, but the gun was never fired,” Routh argued.
Judge Cannon denied Routh’s motion, concluding that prosecutors have provided enough evidence to let the jury decide the case.
