Latest news with #DevilintheOzarks'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Recent prison escapes and jailbreaks ‘nothing new': Ex-sheriff
(NewsNation) — The recent prison escapes and jailbreaks in Arkansas and New Orleans over the last month have now put a spotlight on the system and its failures. Rick Singleton, former Lauderdale County sheriff in Mississippi, says both incidents shouldn't surprise anyone. 'It's nothing new. It's always happened and always will,' he said. 'County jails are just not as secure as state prisons. There are just a lot of factors that go into an escape like this.' Grant Hardin believed to still be in same area as prison escape The Arkansas and New Orleans incidents are prompting people to take a closer look at the outdated facilities and staffing issues facing the American prison system as a whole. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, employee retention has sharply decreased, with 30% of workers leaving each year. Singleton feels county officials need to start taking the prisons more seriously and not treating corrections like the 'stepchild of law enforcement and politics.' 'Everyone wants everyone locked up, but they don't want to have to pay for it,' added Singleton. 'The funding has always been an issue. The pay is not good at all for corrections deputies. When I went into office, I had deputies selling blood to pay their bills. The pay was so bad.' Singleton, who headed the manhunt of one of the biggest jailbreaks back in 2022, when corrections officer Vicky White helped violent felon Casey White escape from an Alabama jail, acknowledged the Hardin escape case is tremendously challenging for authorities in Arkansas as the days pass. Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt 'He knows what's going on on the other end,' Singleton said. 'He knows what the investigators are doing, having that knowledge. He's in a better position to avoid some of those pitfalls that these guys fall into typically.' Singleton is confident that Hardin will eventually be apprehended. Eight out of the 10 inmates who escaped in New Orleans have been captured. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charges to be dismissed in St. Paul sexual assault case
A sexual assault case against a 50-year-old accused of raping a man in St. Paul he met on a dating app is being dismissed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. The charges against John Henry McCaster allege he sexually assaulted a man at a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on New Year's Eve 2023 after the two met on the Grindr app. He told police McCaster had insisted that he drink a 'blue drink' and after doing so 'began to feel drunk,' then passed out and awoke naked, the charges say. Police had already arrested McCaster about two hours before the man called police on Dec. 31, 2023. He was picked up in Vadnais Heights on suspicion of drug possession (methamphetamine) and possessing a gun (he was prohibited after having been convicted of a crime of violence) and later charged with both offenses. McCaster was found with the man's driver's license and debit card and other items at that time. McCaster later told investigators they had consensual sex. Police carried out a search warrant at the East Side home and found blue liquid in a pitcher, which was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing. On Wednesday, McCaster pleaded guilty to the gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, the sexual assault case will be dismissed at his sentencing 'given a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, including the remaining liquid that the (man) drank testing negative for any controlled substances,' Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman, said in a Friday statement. The man who reported the assault agreed with the settlement, Gerhardstein said. McCaster's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday. McCaster faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence on the gun charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Charges to be dismissed in St. Paul sexual assault case
A sexual assault case against a 50-year-old accused of raping a man in St. Paul he met on a dating app is being dismissed due to a lack of evidence, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. The charges against John Henry McCaster allege he sexually assaulted a man at a home in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on New Year's Eve 2023 after the two met on the Grindr app. He told police McCaster had insisted that he drink a 'blue drink' and after doing so 'began to feel drunk,' then passed out and awoke naked, the charges say. Police had already arrested McCaster about two hours before the man called police on Dec. 31, 2023. He was picked up in Vadnais Heights on suspicion of drug possession (methamphetamine) and possessing a gun (he was prohibited after having been convicted of a crime of violence) and later charged with both offenses. McCaster was found with the man's driver's license and debit card and other items at that time. McCaster later told investigators they had consensual sex. Police carried out a search warrant at the East Side home and found blue liquid in a pitcher, which was sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for testing. On Wednesday, McCaster pleaded guilty to the gun charge. As part of a plea agreement, the sexual assault case will be dismissed at his sentencing 'given a lack of evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, including the remaining liquid that the (man) drank testing negative for any controlled substances,' Dennis Gerhardstein, Ramsey County Attorney's Office spokesman, said in a Friday statement. The man who reported the assault agreed with the settlement, Gerhardstein said. McCaster's attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday. McCaster faces a mandatory five-year prison sentence on the gun charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15. Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
100K+ kitchen faucets sold on Amazon recalled over lead concerns
(NEXSTAR) — Three different kitchen faucets, which were sold on Amazon, are currently being recalled for the same issue: They were tested and found to contain lead that can seep into water, posing harm to babies and children. The recalls comprise about 29,000 Vfauosit brand faucets, about 50,000 Kicimpro brand faucets, and about 24,000 Basdehen brand faucets — all of which were sold on by other sellers. Testing on all the Vfauosit and Basdehen brands also determined that those faucets could also leach other contaminants in addition to lead, per the recalls posted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Can you decline to have your photo taken at a TSA checkpoint? The recalled faucets are: Brand Model no. Sell dates/price Sold by Vfauosit 06BNV Jan. 2024-May 2025, $40 Whisper08 Kicimpro KM800-01-06BN Jan. 2024-May 2025, $35 Kicimpro Basdehen CFDTTH-000-YGH May 2024-May 2025, $30 Chenfeng Store Customers are advised to stop using the faucets and contact the company/seller to discuss disposal and refunding. According to all three recalls, consumers will need to provide photographs of the faucet disposal, in addition to their order numbers, to receive refunds. Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt The companies say that until the faucets can be replaced, you should only consume water from them after running the water for 15 seconds. As explained by Cleveland Clinic, while lead exposure and/or lead poisoning can affect everyone, it's especially dangerous to children. Lead can affect children's brains, nerves, blood and digestive organs — in addition to other long-term effects to their learning and behavior. Whisper08, Kicimpro and Chenfeng Store are contacting all known purchasers directly, according to the recalls. To contact Whisper08, email customerservice@ To contact Kicimpro, email support@ To contact Chenfeng Store, email ChenfengStoreF@ Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Maplewood shooting: St. Paul man fired on car while kids cowered nearby, charges say
A man with a history of gun convictions was charged Friday with attempted murder, accused of opening fire in Maplewood while two juveniles cowered in fear nearby. Officers responded to an apartment building parking lot at Larpenteur Avenue and McMenemy Street about 5:55 p.m. on April 16. A child had just exited a bus and was waiting to be buzzed into an apartment building when the shooting happened. Surveillance video showed a Chevrolet Malibu entered the lot and drove past a gold vehicle. The shooter got out of the Chevrolet, pulled out a handgun and fired three volleys at the other vehicle. Police found 18 spent casings in the parking lot. 'The volleys were in rapid succession and the video's audio suggests that there was a trigger activator on the handgun making it fully automatic,' the complaint said. Video also showed the child from the bus and another juvenile were in fear as they tried to get into the building. A passenger from the gold sedan got into the driver's seat, drove to Regions Hospital and dropped off a 22-year-old man. The man was treated for gunshot wounds to his left shoulder and left leg. He did not want to talk to police, the complaint said. After law enforcement identified the license plate on the Chevrolet, police pulled over the vehicle on April 22 in Minneapolis. They found Muhnee Jaleel Bailey, 24, of St. Paul, was driving. Bailey was on release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to a halfway house in Minneapolis, according to the complaint. He pleaded guilty in March 2023 to a federal charge of possession of a firearm as felon. On the day of the shooting, Bailey returned to the house wearing clothes that matched the shooter's, the complaint said of surveillance footage. He was wearing a sweatshirt that said, 'In Glock We Trust.' Police learned that Bailey and a woman resided in St. Paul, and they carried out a search warrant at the residence on Aurora Avenue near Central Village Park. Sean 'Diddy' Combs' lawyers say ex-assistant's social media posts undercut her rape allegation Bloodhounds hunting 'Devil in the Ozarks' fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt Wedding photographer sentenced for surreptitiously recording bride changing clothes Derrick Thompson's trial begins in deaths of 5 women Police looking for hit-and-run driver who injured 2 pedestrians in Falcon Heights Officers found a Glock with an extended magazine, another Glock in a backpack, a pistol without a serial number and ammunition in the basement room where Bailey and the woman stayed. The woman told police that she has a permit to carry and owns a handgun; she said she wasn't aware of other firearms in the bedroom. Police arrested Bailey on Wednesday. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged him with second-degree intentional attempted murder (not premediated), drive-by shooting and four counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited due to a conviction for a crime of violence. In addition to the federal case, Bailey has been convicted of possession of a pistol without a permit, possession of a trigger activator, drive-by shooting and fleeing police in a vehicle, the complaint said.
