Latest news with #Flores
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
New Mexico man convicted of raping woman in 2014 in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico man is now convicted of raping a woman more than 10 years ago. The Bernalillo County District Attorney said that on May 6, 2014, Omar Navarro-Flores abducted a woman from a bus stop on Central Ave. and threw her in his car. NM man facing drug, murder charges after extradition The DA said he threatened that she would never see her children again unless she performed sexual acts. Flores then dropped her off at the Expo New Mexico fairgrounds, where security called police. Detectives said the victim wrote the license plate number on her wrist and gave that information to police. Days later, DNA linked Flores to this crime. Eleven years later, a jury convicted him of false imprisonment and criminal sexual contact. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Former MN State Patrol trooper pleads not guilty in deadly Rochester crash
The Brief A former Minnesota State Patrol trooper pleaded not guilty to criminal vehicular homicide and manslaughter stemming from a deadly crash in May 2024. Shane Roper, 33, was terminated from the patrol after department leaders said his "reckless" actions caused the death of 18-year-old Oliva Flores. A jury trial is tentatively set for early March 2026, with pre-trial motions set to begin in late February. ROCHESTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - A former State Trooper charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide pleaded not guilty, setting the case up for trial next year. Shane Roper, 33, is accused of causing a crash that resulted in the death of 18-yaer-old Olivia Flores in Rochester when he was allegedly speeding in a Minnesota State Patrol cruiser without its emergency lights activated. Court records show a jury trial is tentatively set to start on March 2, 2026. READ MORE: 'Reckless' actions of former MN trooper decried by agency leaders for fatal crash Big picture view The fatal three-vehicle crash happened near Apache Mall in Rochester, Minnesota, on May 18. Investigators say a Ford Focus was westbound on 12th Street Southwest when it turned south into the mall. The Focus was then struck by a Minnesota State Patrol cruiser that was driven by Roper, which was eastbound on the same street. Flores, of Owatonna, was a passenger in the Ford Focus and was killed in the crash. A Toyota RAV4 then ended up in the ditch after the Ford Focus was pushed into it. A total of six people, including Roper, were injured in the crash. Roper's employment with the Minnesota State Patrol was terminated in September 2024, with agency leaders calling his actions "reckless." READ MORE: MN State Trooper charged in Rochester crash that killed teen no longer employed Dig deeper The personnel file Roper reveals he had faced disciplinary action for four previous crashes before the fatal wreck. The file shows Roper was involved in four crashes between February 2019 and April 2023 before the crash outside Apache Mall in May that killed Flores. Reviewing his behavior before the crash, investigators found several instances where Roper drove at high speeds in just the three hours before he crashed into the vehicle carrying Flores. Roper was suspended for a day in two of the crashes and reprimanded for the other MORE: File shows MN trooper involved in 4 crashes before deadly Rochester wreck Just before the deadly crash in Rochester, investigators said he was driving at an excessive speed on a city street – apparently trying to catch up with a driver who had committed a minor traffic offense. The Source This story uses information from public court records and past FOX 9 reporting.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
No resolution reached yet in criminal case against ex-state trooper Shane Roper
May 29—ROCHESTER — A resolution has not been met in the criminal case against Shane Roper, the ex-Minnesota State Patrol trooper involved in a fatal crash in May 2024. Roper appeared virtually in court on Thursday, May 29, for another hearing. He is facing nine criminal charges in Olmsted County District Court, including felony counts of second-degree manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation, for his involvement in a fatal crash that killed 18-year-old Olivia Flores. The crash happened around 5:45 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at the intersection of Memorial Parkway and 12th Street Southwest, near Apache Mall. Flores sat in the back seat of her friend's Ford Focus when the car was struck by a Minnesota State Patrol squad car, driven by Roper. During Thursday's hearing, District Judge Lisa Hayne said she would like to hear arguments on the change of venue motion "sooner rather than later." The next hearing, a settlement conference, was scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Aug. 20. If the case is not resolved by then, Hayne said, both parties will present their arguments. In previous court documents, the defense submitted a change of venue motion due to the case's publicity. If granted, the jury trial would move to a different county whose residents would be impaneled as jurors. The court is looking at dates in early 2026 for a possible jury trial. Recap of the criminal complaint According to the criminal complaint, Roper quickly approached the intersection of Apache Drive Southwest, an area where the primary entry points to the Apache Mall are located. This area tends to have "very active traffic ... on a typical Saturday." When Roper's car was 400 feet from the intersection, the squad camera showed a green traffic signal for eastbound traffic. A larger SUV also traveling east entered the left turn lane to go onto Memorial Parkway Southwest, obstructing the view for vehicles turning onto Apache Drive Southwest, the complaint said. A Ford Focus with three passengers was in that turn lane and attempted to drive through the intersection. "Due to Roper's excessive speed (traveling 83 miles per hour and at full throttle up until 1.4 seconds before impact), when the Ford Focus started through the intersection, Roper was unable to sufficiently brake or maneuver his squad car to avoid the collision," the complaint says. Roper's squad car hit the passenger side of the Ford Focus, the vehicle Flores was in, while traveling at least 55 mph. The impact sent both cars east through the intersection to collide with a Toyota Rav4. There were two people in the Toyota. Witnesses told police that the oncoming vehicle was "flying." Witnesses did not see or hear emergency lights or a siren. According to the complaint, the Ford Focus driver sustained a liver laceration, a bruised kidney and numerous additional minor injuries. The front passenger sustained a broken pelvis, lacerated kidney and other minor injuries. The passengers of the Toyota Rav4 sustained physical pain from the collision. In the squad car, Roper had a ride-along passenger who sustained rib bruising and multiple fractures from the crash. Roper was also injured. Weeks after the incident, Roper confirmed to law enforcement that he was attempting to "close the gap" between his squad car and a vehicle suspected of being in violation of a traffic code, the Post Bulletin previously reported. Roper said it was not an active pursuit and that he was not paying attention to his speed, according to the criminal complaint. He told police he did believe his lights were activated.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas House Democrats block bill to punish cities that don't clear homeless encampments
A Republican-led bid to increase enforcement of Texas' 2021 camping ban died in the state House on Monday night after Democratic members challenged the bill on a technicality. Senate Bill 241 by Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, would have required cities to establish channels for residents to report illegal homeless encampments. If a complaint were not addressed within 90 days, the state could send the Department of Public Safety to clear encampments, then charge the city for that enforcement by withholding sales tax revenues. Flores said the bill strengthens the 2021 ban by "empowering residents to hold their cities accountable." "Every Texan deserves safe, clean communities, and this bill is an important step toward ensuring that," the senator, whose district includes San Antonio, said in a social media statement May 14. Texas' attorney general, currently Republican Ken Paxton, would have been responsible for notifying the DPS and the state comptroller about unresolved complaints. The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, argued cities aren't sufficiently enforcing the law. "The state has been the one footing the bill for the cities that have failed to address homeless camping in their jurisdiction," said Capriglione, R-Southlake. "Whether it's in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas or here in Austin, everybody knows that these homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced." Austin city officials, however, disagree. The city cleared 1,500 encampments in 2024, according to David Gray, the city's Homeless Strategy Officer. "Every day, we have staff out in the community that are engaging with people on the street, offering them access to shelter and housing services, and posting 72-hour notices to clear encampments," Gray told the American-Statesman in a phone interview Tuesday. "From our perspective, the bill wasn't necessary. We're already doing the work." During floor debate of the bill, Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, argued that the state is contributing to Austin's homelessness problem by sending formerly incarcerated people into the city when their sentences end. She pointed to a state-licensed halfway house in East Austin, the Austin Transitional Center, where she said the majority of the population has no connection to Travis County. "We are blamed for our homelessness problem in Austin when it is the state of Texas who is in large part creating the problem," Hinojosa said. State Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic Caucus chair, dealt the death blow to SB 241 late Monday night. He argued its caption, "relating to prohibitions on camping in a public place," violated a House rule that requires captions to "give reasonable notice of the subject of the proposed measure." Wu said he killed the bill because it would have done nothing to alleviate the homelessness crisis, but instead punish people experiencing homelessness and municipalities such as Austin, Dallas and Houston that are trying to find compassionate solutions to the ongoing crisis. "It is a genuinely evil bill," Wu told the Statesman. Capriglione postponed the bill to June 3, an acknowledgement that there is not enough time to fix the caption issue before the 2025 legislative session adjourns on June 2. The bill had passed in a bipartisan 22-8 vote in the state Senate, with Democratic Sens. Royce West of Dallas, Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa of McAllen and Carol Alvarado of Houston joining Republicans to support the measure. Austin, the seat of state government, has struggled with how to address homeless encampments. Austin voters in 2021 reinstated the city's camping ban, which the City Council had repealed in 2019. In 2021, the political action committee behind the city's homeless camping ban sued Austin, accusing the city of failing to fully enforce the ordinance. The Third Court of Appeals affirmed in February 2025 that the group, Save Austin Now, lacked standing to bring the lawsuit. Gray said that eliminating unsheltered homelessness will take more than clearing encampments. In Austin, there is one shelter bed for every five people living on the streets, he said. "Rather than the Legislature taking up bills that make it more challenging for us to enforce, we invite them to be part of the solution," he said. "And the way that you do that is by getting people into shelter and getting people into housing programs wrapped around with case management, substance treatment and job training that they need to stabilize their lives and then thrive on their own." Statesman staff writer John C. Moritz contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Democrats kill bill penalizing cities over homeless encampments
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
San Francisco Carnaval parade highlights rich culture of historic Mission District
SAN FRANCISCO - It's Carnaval weekend, and those who celebrate took to the streets in the historic Mission District Sunday morning for the annual San Francisco Carnaval Parade. Aztec dancers blessed the start of San Francisco's 46th annual Carnaval Parade, where attendees had their cultures on display, loud and proud. "Vestimenta, this is from Bolivia. And this is celebrating highlight spinners, spinning thread in the altiplano," said Carnaval dancer, Holly Flores. Flores is half Bolivian, and she says staying connected to her community is a huge part of Carnaval. "It's very healing, it's very special, we're a strong community. I learned that around the 50s and 60s, there were 400 Bolivian families that immigrated to Northern California, and this group is the descendants of those families. We're still connected," Flores told KTVU. Carnaval is meant to honor the diverse Latin American, Caribbean, and African diasporic roots of the Mission District. San Francisco's Carnaval celebrations started back in 1979. Since then, hundreds of thousands of attendees have poured into the city streets at the festival each year. Some folks see it as a prime opportunity to shine a light on their countries and cultures. Gaynor Ann Siatchea has been attending the Carnaval celebrations in San Francisco since its inception in 1979. "It's culture and continuing to feel that. This is ours, and we belong. And as a native San Franciscan, it's important," Siatchea said. Among the dozens of floats in the parade was a sea of classic lowriders from several car clubs across California."It means a lot because we grew up here in this district," Francisco Jesus Antolin, president of Justlowriders Bay Area Car Club, told KTVU. Antolin grew up in the Mission District, and he says his lowrider is more than just a truck; it's a connection to his culture and his community. It also carries the memory of someone near and dear to his heart. A portrait of his late mother is painted over the engine of his truck. "It's been five years since she's been gone…" Antolin said. "I feel grateful…Because wherever I go, she's with me."
