Latest news with #CriminalInvestigationsDivision
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man indicted in connection with girl's death at Stillhouse Hollow Lake
BELL COUNTY, Texas (FOX 44) – A Killeen man has been indicted in connection with a girl's death at Stillhouse Hollow Lake. The Bell County Sheriff's Office's Criminal Investigations Division presented information to a Grand Jury on Wednesday. This was in reference to an investigation into the death of eleven-year-old Zoey Rene Walls, who died on Stillhouse Hollow Lake on July 2, 2023. Upon reviewing the information provided, an indictment was given against 44-year-old Joshua Glenn Walls for the charge of Criminally Negligent Homicide. Investigators and members of the Bell County Sheriff's Office's Violent Crimes Apprehension Team found Walls on Thursday, took him into custody, and placed him in the Bell County Jail. Justice of the Peace Cliff Coleman has set his bond at $50,000. This comes after the Bell County Sheriff's Department originally responded to a report of a boat crash on Stillhouse Hollow Lake at approximately 7:58 p.m. on Sunday, July 2. The Central Bell County Fire Department, AMR Ambulance, U.S. Corps of Engineers Parks Rangers, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens also responded. It was reported that an eleven-year-old girl identified as Zoey was struck by a boat. The investigation revealed the victim had been at the lake with her family, riding on a tube drawn by the family boat, when she fell from the towed device. When the father, who was operating the boat, returned to pick her up, she was struck by the boat and suffered fatal injuries. The Sheriff's Office says a bystander witnessed the family's cries for help and assisted, taking the victim to the Stillhouse Hollow Marina located at 4596 Simmons Road. First responders then arrived. Justice of the Peace Nicola J. James pronounced Zoey dead and ordered an autopsy to be performed at the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Airman accused of trafficking abducted Colorado teen
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Authorities arrested an airman from Sheppard Air Force Base on accusations of child trafficking after a multi-agency investigation into a teenage girl reportedly abducted from Colorado. Travis Robert Larson, of Flower Mound, was booked into the Wichita County Jail on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, and charged with trafficking of a child to engage in sexual conduct. As of the publication of this story, he remains jailed on a $500,000 bond. According to the affidavit, a special agent with the Criminal Investigations Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety was requested on June 2, 2025, to assist the FBI and the Office of Special Investigations at Sheppard Air Force Base with an investigation. The affidavit said the investigation was connected to a 14-year-old girl from Colorado who was abducted. The DPS investigator said law enforcement officials from Colorado learned the teenager had been transported by Larson to Sheppard AFB. Authorities said the child was located near Larson's dormitory room at Sheppard AFB by U.S. Air Force personnel, and Larson was detained. During an interview, Larson denied traveling to Colorado or communicating with the child, according to the affidavit. The affidavit said OSI agents interviewed the alleged child victim, who said she admitted to communicating with Larson through Snapchat. Authorities said the victim told them that she and Larson agreed to meet and made plans for Larson to bring her alcoholic beverages in Colorado Springs. According to authorities, the victim told OSI agents that on May 6, 2025, she and Larson met at a park and consumed alcoholic beverages. She said that Larson wanted to relocate due to the venue's access to other people, and she assumed he meant to another park. The affidavit said the victim told OSI agents that Larson instead began traveling south on the interstate. She said that she moved to the backseat and continued consuming alcoholic beverages. According to the affidavit, the victim told OSI agents that she and Larson arrived at Sheppard AFB and had sex. A forensic interview was later conducted on May 12. Authorities said during the forensic interview, the victim said she and Larson began communicating on Snapchat when she was 11 years old. She said she initially met Larson on May 5, and she believed she'd be returning to her residence. According to the affidavit, the victim told the forensic interviewer that when she objected to leaving with Larson in his vehicle, he became violent and put his hands around her throat to the point that she lost 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
American Military News
11-06-2025
- American Military News
Pic: DOJ worker allegedly spiked pregnant girlfriend's drink with abortion pill
An employee of the U.S. Department of Justice was recently charged with capital murder after allegedly spiking his pregnant girlfriend's drink with an abortion pill. In a press release on Facebook, the Parker County Sheriff's Office announced that the office's Criminal Investigations Division arrested 38-year-old Justin Anthony Banta, an employee of the Department of Justice's information technology department, on Friday as part of a 'capital murder investigation involving a pregnant woman.' 'The victim reported that her boyfriend intentionally added 'Plan C,' (commonly known as the abortion drug) to her drink in order to force her to have an abortion without her knowledge or consent,' the press release stated. According to the Parker County Sheriff's Office, the female victim reported in September of 2024 that she was in a 'romantic relationship' with Banta when she found out she was pregnant. After the victim told Banta that she was pregnant, the 38-year-old suspect offered to cover the cost of an abortion and proposed ordering the abortion drug online; however, the victim told Banta that she wanted to keep the baby. The press release explained that the victim had a sonogram on October 17 when she was roughly six weeks pregnant and was told by a doctor that her baby was healthy. READ MORE: Democrats block bill protecting babies born alive during failed abortions 'Later that same day, the victim reported she met Banta at a coffee shop in Tarrant County, where she expressed her suspicion that Banta had secretly added abortion-inducing pills to her drink without her knowledge or permission, while they were at a coffee shop,' the Parker County Sheriff's Office said. According to law enforcement officials, the victim started experiencing 'heavy bleeding' and 'extreme fatigue' just one day after meeting Banta at the coffee shop, forcing her to go to an emergency room. The victim told law enforcement officials that she lost her baby on October 17 and claimed that the loss of her baby was caused by abortion drugs Banta allegedly placed in her drink. The Parker County Sheriff's Office believes that Banta remotely accessed his cell phone, which was seized by law enforcement officials as evidence, and 'reset' the phone to delete 'crucial evidence related to the case.' According to the press release, law enforcement officials obtained a felony arrest warrant for the 38-year-old suspect and booked him into the Parker County Jail on Friday. Banta has been charged by the Texas Rangers for capital murder and by the Parker County Sheriff's Office for tampering with physical evidence. A picture of Banta has been shared on X, formerly Twitter. 🔎 Federal IT Employee Accused of Capital Murder After Allegedly Drugging Pregnant Girlfriend's Drink 💔 Parker County, TX – A months-long investigation has led to the arrest of 38-year-old Justin Anthony Banta, who is now facing capital murder charges after allegedly slipping… — Texan Report (@TexanReport) June 9, 2025
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Virginia AG discusses law enforcement partnerships and initiatives among SWVA agencies
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares made a stop at the Bristol, Virginia Police Department on Monday to talk about the law enforcement partnerships on combating crime against the most vulnerable populations. Miyares was joined by Bristol, Virginia Police Chief Byron Ashbrook, Sheriff Tyrone Foster and Del. Israel O'Quinn. There was a heavy focus on the TRIAD program, a partnership between law enforcement, seniors, and senior organizations aimed at combating crime specifically targeting that group. Those at the press conference say scammers are becoming more advanced, so they want to make seniors aware of what could happen. And they say that loneliness is another epidemic among them. 'TRIAD is the definition of a partnership. It's about bringing law enforcement, senior citizens, and volunteers working together to help our aging population,' Miyares said. 'They're both getting information of what's happening in their community, tips from law enforcement as well as how to protect themselves but they're also doing something invaluable from a mental health standpoint, which is connecting seniors with other seniors and building friendships as a result.' Miyares says one in five Virginians are over the age of 65. In Southwest Virginia, they make up 22% of the population. He also called the partnership here a model for the rest of the Commonwealth. 'Seniors are often very engaged in their communities. They have something that a lot of us don't necessarily have that's very valuable and that's time,' Del. O'Quinn said. 'So they can pitch in and make this program better and bigger and more valuable for their friends and neighbors.' Starting July 1, the Bristol, Virginia Police Department will have a detective dedicated to crimes against children and the elderly. 'We are pulling one of the units from patrol. We are fully staffed now so one of those units will be going to the [Criminal Investigations Division] to help streamline this process in both elder abuse cases and child victims of crime cases,' Chief Ashbrook said. 'It's really important to have that continuity of care so child victims aren't seeing multiple different detectives because they go through a process if they've been a victim of crime or even a witness of crime through our children's advocacy center and through the court system and having one officer, one detective to be able to handle all that is important.' Another vulnerable population they want to focus on is those suffering mental health crises. BVPD has a co-response with the Community Support Program through the Department of Social Services. 'I'm not a mental health clinician, I'm not a doctor, but if I can keep the clinician safe and I can get the clinician to the scene, and they can do their work then it's the right response for the right type of call and it can help de-escalate situations,' Ashbrook said. 'We've seen it work in the past.' The Bristol, Virginia Sheriff's Office already has several initiatives in place to help keep children and seniors safe, including the D.A.R.E. drug awareness program, providing child identification kits, Project Lifesaver (a rapid response program for those who wander away from their caregivers), the One Pill Can Kill program, and Drug Take Back days. Sheriff Tyrone Foster says his office has provided Highlands Community Services with a deputy for the Crisis Intervention Team Assessment Center along with a location for the Mount Rogers Health District's Mobile Integrative Health Service Unit, which focuses on behavioral and mental health services. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Deputies: One killed in shooting near Kalamazoo
OSHTEMO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — One person was killed in a Kalamazoo-area shooting Tuesday afternoon, deputies say. It happened around 2:30 p.m. at the Canterbury House Apartments, located off of Drake Road in Oshtemo Township. Deputies were sent to the scene in response to a call about a gunshot, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office said in a release. A male victim was found unresponsive in one of the apartment buildings, the sheriff's office said. First responders on scene attempted life-saving measures. He was then brought to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries, the sheriff's office said. His identity is not being released, pending notification of his family. A witness on scene gave deputies a description of a potential suspect, who was seen fleeing from the area, the sheriff's office said. Law enforcement quickly found an individual matching the description and took them into custody for questioning. Deputies were still on scene around 4:45 p.m. as they interviewed witnesses and investigate, the sheriff's office said. Anyone with information should call the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Division at 269.383.8749 or send an anonymous tip through Silent Observer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
