Latest news with #JCPD
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Yahoo
Vehicle owner & JCPD comment on car thefts, total number continues to rise
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Johnson City Police Department is investigating a string of car thefts throughout the area. The department said the only common aspect among all 17 burglaries is that the vehicles were all unlocked. Christina Maiden's suburban home in the Lake Ridge community was one of those targeted by the alleged criminals. RELATED: JCPD investigating multiple thefts from vehicles 'My husband, we got up in the morning, and he came out, and everything in his car was pulled out, and they took everything that was in his car, his medicine, sunglasses, headphones, everything,' Maiden said. JCPD Investigator Cody Powell said the alleged criminals were after anything easily accessible. The car thefts reportedly happened in the following locations: The Haven at Knob Creek Rosemont Apartments Lake Ridge Community The Villas at Boone Ridge 'The suspects did enter through unlocked vehicles. They were targeting, you know, guns, money, anything that was, they could easily access,' said Johnson City Police Investigator Cody Powell. The Johnson City Police already have clues in the case, which are leading to possible suspects. 'Some information that we have has led us to Transylvania, North Carolina,' Powell said. 'With the assistance of the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office. We have identified five people who are involved in these vehicle burglaries. So, we have, we're in the process of, placing charges.' Officers are asking anyone in one of the affected areas, even if they are not a victim, to have their surveillance cameras checked for footage and report if anything suspicious is found. 'We encourage anyone to let us review it, and get multiple opinions, from anyone to compare the information to some other video that we may have received,' Powell said. Maiden said she is grateful for the immediate response from the police department. 'I'm very thankful that they did get on it and that they're trying to figure out who it is so we can take care of it,' Maiden said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
Johnson City man convicted in 2021 overdose death
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Johnson City man has been convicted of murder in connection to another man's overdose death. A jury convicted Austin Forkpa of second-degree murder, sale of methamphetamine, and sale of fentanyl, according to a release by the district attorney's office. Forkpa was charged following the death of 20-year-old Bueford Patton III, who was found unresponsive by friends on Sept. 18, 2021. JCPD: Man facing attempted rape, indecent exposure charges According to the release, an investigation by Johnson City police revealed that Patton and two friends were attending a bachelor party when they obtained narcotics from Forkpa, who told them the drugs were Percocet and MDMA, or ecstasy. 'Unknown to the young men, Mr. Forkpa actually sold them fentanyl and methamphetamine,' the district attorney's office said. On June 4, the third day of the trial, the jury convicted Forkpa on all counts. The second-degree murder conviction carries a 15-25 year prison sentence at 100%, according to the release. Forkpa also faces 12-20 years at 35% for the sale of methamphetamine and 6-10 years for the sale of fentanyl. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Judge sets phone hearing on settlement in JCPD sex assault investigations case
Note: This article includes attached video showing News Channel 11's Jeff Keeling and Anslee Daniel's discussion of the Johnson City lawsuit settlement. An audio version is at the end of this story. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A federal judge won't rule on a proposed $4.2 million settlement between Johnson City and women who reported sexual assaults to its police department from 2018-2022 until after a telephone hearing June 24. U.S. District Judge Travis McDonough made the ruling Thursday, 10 days after plaintiffs' attorneys filed their motion for approval of the class action settlement. Johnson City and the plaintiffs' attorneys have already agreed to an overall settlement amount of $28 million. The bulk of that money will go to the original plaintiffs, nine women who said they were victimized by now-convicted sex offender Sean Williams and that the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) didn't adequately investigate the downtown resident. That settlement doesn't require the judge's approval, but the $4.2 million one does. It relates to an added element to the original lawsuit that came following release of the 'Daigle Report' — an audit of JCPD's sexual assault investigations the city commissioned in 2022 after a completely separate lawsuit related to Sean Williams was filed. That report found that while a number of JCPD's investigations between 2018 and 2022 were adequate, the department had a number of 'certain investigative practices' that 'could negatively affect the quality and efficiency of their response to sexual assault cases.' JC's new 'transparency' webpage covers police lawsuits related to Sean Williams Daigle noted a common theme running through many of these weaknesses: 'JCPD's response to sexual assault was challenged based on gender-based stereotypes and bias.' The report, and the addition of a plaintiff whose reported assault did not involve Sean Williams, led to the filing of a class action that's now the subject of the settlement proposal. Johnson City has consistently denied all allegations in the lawsuits related to Williams and JCPD sexual assault investigations. The city also says JCPD has implemented the recommendations in Daigle's report and is following a new sexual assault protocol devised by First District Attorney General Steve Finney's office — an assertion Finney has confirmed. The class settlement would include both monetary relief — attorneys estimate about $7,000 to more than 350 people — and something called 'equitable relief.' Equitable relief would come in the form of plaintiffs' attorneys being provided audits of sexual assault investigations by JCPD every quarter for two years so they could review how well JCPD is complying with a new sexual crimes protocol it adopted in late 2023. The motion for settlement approval is complex, and McDonough wrote Thursday, 'a telephonic hearing will aid in the resolution of Plaintiffs' pending motion for preliminary approval.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Johnson City police investigating fatal Thursday crash
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) is investigating after one person was killed in a crash at an intersection on Thursday. According to the JCPD, officers were called to the intersection of North Roan Street and Spurgeon Island Road shortly after 5 p.m. Ribbon cut on rebuilt Kinser Bridge in Greene County The JCPD reports a red GMC Sierra pickup truck had run off the road and hit a utility pole at the intersection. The driver, who was the only person in the truck, was identified as Michael L. Myers, 59, of Johnson City. Myers died at the scene, according to police. As of Friday morning, the JCPD Crash Reconstruction Team is still investigating the crash. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
JCPD lawsuit settlement includes outside oversight of new sexual assault investigations
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — More than 300 women and girls who reported sexual assaults to Johnson City police from 2018-2022 will get about $7,000 each from a class action settlement that's part of a broader federal civil suit against the city. OUR FULL SEAN WILLIAMS COVERAGE The proposed $4.2 million settlement also includes 'equitable relief' that lets plaintiffs' attorneys audit at least 15 Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) sexual assault investigations every quarter for two years. Law enforcement analyst Eric Stanton said the additional element could be an important early step in the JCPD's efforts to regain community trust after a period marked by allegations of a serial rapist committing crimes in Johnson City with impunity. 'This is not home cookin,'' Stanton said of the equitable relief proposal. 'This is not bringing in your own people to do your own investigation, stuff of that nature. That's when people start having a lot of questions. So having an outside entity that obviously supports the victims … they're gonna make sure that everything is on the up and up.' The class settlement, if approved, leaves just under $24 million for the nine original plaintiffs (and possibly others) in a case initially centered around suspected serial rapist and downtown Johnson City resident Sean Williams. The City of Johnson City reached separate settlement individual agreements with those plaintiffs. Those aren't subject to judicial approval in that portion of the case, which included claims that Williams got away with multiple rapes due to police bias against women, corruption or both. A city spokesperson confirmed that the total amount the city's paying out is $28 million, only $1 million of which is covered by municipal liability insurance. The entire class settlement agreement requires approval from U.S. District Judge Travis McDonough. The $4.2 million includes a requested $1.4 million for attorney fees and $135,000 in other costs aside from payment to class members. The city denies any wrongdoing in the settled case, which is being dismissed with prejudice as part of the settlement, meaning it can't be brought back to court. The class settlement leans heavily on the so-called 'Daigle Report,' a police expert's audit of five years' worth of JCPD sexual assault investigations. Johnson City commissioners solicited that report in August 2022, two months after a separate, and still pending, lawsuit related to JCPD and Williams was filed by a former federal prosecutor. Stanton called the settlement proposal 'a good thing' for the city, the JCPD and victims. He pointed back to Daigle's audit and its finding of 'shortcomings' that resulted in eight recommendations for changes. 'It allows now, as we go forward, hopefully prevents a tragic event like Sean Williams from ever happening again,' he said. Eric Daigle and the Daigle Law Group found that JCPD engaged in an unconstitutional pattern and practice in its sexual assault investigations from 2018-2022, and JCPD is implementing changed policies and procedures as a result. The audit came in the wake of former federal prosecutor Kat Dahl's June 2022 federal lawsuit claiming her job assisting JCPD was terminated in retaliation after she pressed JCPD leaders to investigate Williams over sexual assault allegations. The report, released publicly in July 2023, noted, among other findings, that JCPD had a number of 'certain investigative practices' that 'could negatively affect the quality and efficiency of their response to sexual assault cases.' Daigle noted a common theme running through many of these weaknesses: 'JCPD's response to sexual assault was challenged based on gender-based stereotypes and bias.' Daigle recommended a slate of changes, including the immediate adoption of a sexual assault response protocol developed by First Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney shortly after he took office in the fall of 2022. 'It's cost the taxpayers a lot of money in the City of Johnson City, upwards of $350 per person in the city,' Stanton said. 'That's a lot of money, and so at the end of the day, obviously we want to make sure as government officials that we're doing business correctly, transparently and that we're protecting and serving everybody equally.' The class settlement would accomplish something the City of Johnson City so far hasn't, despite a suggestion from Daigle that they do: an external check, spanning two years, on how they're doing implementing the changes Daigle recommended. In addition to monetary relief, it spells out 'equitable relief in the form of improved procedures and a mechanism for oversight,' according to plaintiffs' attorney Julie Erickson's declaration in support of the motion to approve the settlement. The proposed agreement notes that JCPD 'will continue to implement' its Sexual Oriented Crimes general order, 'or other amended or new General Order(s) that are consistent with the requirements of the United States Constitution.' 'The audits will serve as the basis for Class Counsel's monitoring of Defendant's compliance with the constitutional policing standards set forth in the SOCGO,' it adds. That compliance will come under the scrutiny of the very people who sued, and the proposal calls for that equitable relief to have some teeth to it. If the attorneys see any evidence that JCPD isn't complying, they will first inform Johnson City's attorneys in the case and 'make all reasonable attempts to resolve the issue prior to Class Counsel seeking relief from the Court.' Stanton said the still-unfinished Williams saga — he was arrested in North Carolina in 2023 and found with incriminating evidence related to sexual assaults in Johnson City and is partway through various criminal trials — has had a major impact on the city that money alone can't rectify. 'These victims have already been victimized, and unfortunately, you and I cannot take that back, but this could hopefully keep future individuals from being victimized,' Stanton said. He added that he believes the current JCPD leadership is committed to Constitutional policing — something the city denies it failed to do in the settlement language. Stanton said $28 million is a high price to pay for being able to make those kinds of claims. Plaintiffs also admit that winning their cases could have proven difficult and definitely would have been time-consuming, traumatic for plaintiffs and expensive regardless of the outcome. 'The piece of the pie that you and I will never get is what was in that discovery,' he said, referring to trial documents and deposition testimony. 'What was in there that caused the city and its attorneys to say, 'hey, we better settle this thing before we go to court because it's going to cost us a lot more than $28 million. But we also know there was no criminality (on the part of police) found so far in investigations.' Stanton said it could take 'decades' for trust to come back fully, and that transparency and 'every day going in and doing the right thing' are the keys to that. 'The damage is done. Lives have been affected. People will never be the same again. But at the end of the day, where do we go from here? And we've got to fix these things, and this is a good first step. But that's just one step of many that's going to have to take place for the people of Johnson City and the citizens to have 100 percent trust in the police department and in the city.' The two-year period would begin following McDonough's final approval of the settlement, which should happen before the end of the year. Class members, estimated to number around 375, will be informed of the settlement, and those who don't opt out will receive checks. A website will also be set up. If a significant amount of awards go unclaimed, class members who did cash their checks could get another round of funds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
