Woman arrested for impersonating nurses at several LA hospitals
Burbank Police Department
(BURBANK, Calif.) — A woman is facing felony charges after she allegedly was hired as a nurse at several California hospitals using “a variety of false identities” despite not having a nursing license, according to the Burbank Police Department.
Amanda Leeann Porter, 44, allegedly impersonated a registered nurse at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. She allegedly applied for and obtained a nursing job at the medical center and was overseeing about 60 patients from April 8 to May 8, according to police.
Hospital staff then soon discovered she was impersonating a real registered nurse who lived out of state, according to police.
By the time she was terminated from the hospital, she had received two paychecks, police said.
She does not hold a nursing license and is on federal probation for a fraud violation committed in Virginia, police said.
During their investigation, police discovered she had previously obtained employment with various local hospitals using a variety of false identities, police said.
Porter was arrested on Nov. 7 after she bonded out of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s custody for a similar act committed at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita, police said.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Porter with felony identity theft, felony false impersonation and felony grand theft.
She was arraigned on Wednesday and is currently being held without bail at the Los Angeles County Central Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, police said.
Police believe she may have committed similar offenses in the Southern California area over the past year and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
(WASHINGTON) — Special counsel Jack Smith’s lengthy court brief seeking to justify his latest superseding indictment against former President Donald Trump on charges that he sought to subvert the 2020 election has been filed under seal with U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, a spokesperson for Smith’s office confirmed to ABC News Thursday.
“We have complied with the court’s order,” spokesperson Peter Carr said.
The brief presents Smith’s argument on how the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity applies to the former president’s criminal case.
Whether any portions of the filing will be made public now rest in Judge Chutkan’s hands.
Smith has also filed a proposed redacted version of the filing that his office determined would be appropriate for public release.
Trump’s defense attorneys will have a chance to make their own counterarguments objecting to the release of information in the brief.
Chutkan on Tuesday granted Smith’s request to file an oversized 180-page brief, exceeding the standard 45-page limit.
In July, the Supreme Court ruled in blockbuster decision that Trump is entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts undertaken while in office — effectively sending the case back to Chutkan to sort out which charges against Trump can stand.
Smith then charged Trump, in a superseding indictment, with the same election interference offenses in the original indictment, but pared down and adjusted to the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
Chutkan subsequently ruled that Smith could file a comprehensive brief supporting his presidential immunity arguments.
(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) — A South Carolina man has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his former roommate who was missing for over two years before her body was found buried under a firepit earlier this summer, police said.
Penni Whiteside’s remains were discovered buried in the yard outside her home on June 12 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to a statement from the Myrtle Beach Police Department. She had been missing since the spring of 2022 when she was 51-years-old.
Neighbors told police that they had reason to believe Whiteside was buried under the firepit in the backyard of her home, where 54-year-old Sheridan Dirk Fogle was also living at the time, police said.
“As stated in the original report, the identified victim had been living with the offender. Further investigation revealed that due to statements made by her neighbors, there was reason to believe that she may have been buried near the residence, in the backyard under a firepit,” said the Myrtle Beach Police Department. “On June 12, 2024, investigators obtained a search warrant for the property in question. During the search, the victim’s remains were recovered and identified.”
Whiteside’s death was being investigated by authorities as a homicide when, on Thursday morning at approximately 7:30 a.m., an arrest warrant was served to Fogle in Orangeburg, South Carolina, in connection with a “missing person and murder case.”
Fogle was arrested in connection with the death of Whiteside on Thursday and has since been charged with murder, authorities said.
“This is a tragic loss of life and a senseless crime of violence. Please continue to pray for the family and friends of the victim,” authorities said. “The Myrtle Beach Police Department is committed to seeking justice and holding those accountable for those who do harm. Thank you to the U.S. Marshals Service- Carolina’s Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety for assisting with the arrest in this case.”
Fogle appeared in court on Friday and a judge did not set bond for the suspect, according to ABC News’ Florence, South Carolina, affiliate WPDE. The Myrtle Beach judge did confirm, however, that the case against Fogle would be referred to the general sessions court and that two future court dates on Oct. 25 and Dec. 13 have been scheduled.
The investigation is currently ongoing and authorities have said that no other information will be released at this time.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — A former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty to charges connected to the beating death of Tyre Nichols faced cross-examination from defense attorneys Wednesday.
Emmitt Martin III testified at the trial of the three former officers — Justin Smith, Tadarrius Bean and Demetrius Haley — who were charged on Sept. 12, 2023, with violating Nichols’ civil rights through excessive use of force, unlawful assault, failing to intervene in the assault and failing to render medical aid. These charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The officers have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Stephen Leffler, Haley’s attorney, mentioned that the boots of the ex-officers involved in the encounter were taken into evidence after the incident, according to WATN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Memphis covering the case in the courtroom. Martin said that blood was found on his and Haley’s shoes.
Martin Zummach, Young’s lawyer, claimed that the no-snitch rule the former officer’s unit followed didn’t apply to Smith or Bean because they had only worked 11 shifts with Martin. The ex-officer disagreed and said the rule was understood by Smith and Bean as well.
Martin and Desmond Mills Jr., the two officers who were also charged in this case, have pleaded guilty to some of the federal charges.
Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the court records. Mills pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment — excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force, according to the DOJ. The government said it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills’ plea agreement.
Martin said on Monday that on Jan. 7, 2023, the night Nichols was pulled over, he saw the Memphis resident speeding and changing lanes without a signal, WATN reported. The former officer said he ran Nichols’ license plate and it came back clean. Martin claimed that he switched to car-to-car radio channels and reached out to Haley, who said he would take the lead on apprehending Nichols.
Leffler asked Martin why he said, “Let go of my gun,” during the encounter with Nichols. Martin said that he felt pressure on his duty belt, according to WATN. But Martin also pointed out that he had previously told prosecutors that Nichols was not trying to take the weapon out of his holster and had not seen him do it.
The defense said Tuesday that Martin changed his story of what happened the night of their encounter with Nichols after accepting a plea deal from the prosecution, adding that if the ex-officer’s testimony leads to the conviction of even one defendant, Martin could receive a lesser sentence, according to WATN.
Defense attorneys questioned if Martin was lying on the stand to fulfill the terms of his plea deal, according to WATN. But the ex-officer responded by claiming that he was lying in earlier statements to justify his use of force on Nichols.
In police reports filed the night of Nichols’ arrest, narratives read that the Memphis resident swung at officers and tried to grab Martin’s gun. Martin said on Tuesday that he never saw that occur, according to WATN.
Under cross-examination on Tuesday, Martin was asked by John Keith Perry, Bean’s attorney, whether he had ever told Bean that he had “homicidal thoughts.” Martin said he never told that to Bean and had told that to Justin Smith before coming back to work in January 2023 after being hit by a car in November 2022, according to WATN. Martin said Wednesday he never told his former supervisor, about those thoughts.
Martin said Tuesday that he experienced four life-threatening injuries after being struck by the vehicle and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, suffering from loss of sleep, paranoia, irritability and chronic headaches, according to WATN.
Martin told prosecutors Monday that he was scared, angry and eager to show he could still do the job and wanted revenge for being hit by a car, according to WATN.
Body-camera footage shows that Nichols fled after police pulled him over for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser and pepper-sprayed him. Officers allegedly then beat Nichols minutes later after tracking him down. Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, 2023 — three days later. Footage shows the officers walking around, talking to each other as Nichols was injured and sitting on the ground. The incident triggered protests and calls for police reform.
Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said she has been unable to substantiate that Nichols was driving recklessly.
The prosecution told ABC News last week that they will not have any statements until after the trial. The defense attorneys did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
After the police encounter, Nichols was transferred to the hospital in critical condition. The medical examiner’s official autopsy report for Nichols showed he “died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma,” the district attorney’s office told Nichols’ family in May 2023.
The five former officers charged in this case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit — a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols’ death. All of the officers were fired for violating MPD policies.
