Latest news with #JasonWilliams
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
New Orleans DA pulls out of jailbreak investigation amid conflict of interest allegation
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Facing allegations of a conflict of interest, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams removed himself this week from a Louisiana Attorney General-led investigation into the massive jailbreak that saw 10 men escape a New Orleans jail earlier this month. Gov. Jeff Landry ordered an investigation into the jailbreak several days after the inmates escaped on May 16. Williams had initially described the inquiry as a 'joint effort' with the Attorney General Liz Murrill and toured the jail with her as part of the probe. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson accused Williams' role in the investigation as being 'fueled by personal animus and political campaigning' according to a court filing earlier this week reviewed by The Associated Press. Williams denied these allegations. Earlier this year, Williams endorsed his employee Michelle Woodfork to replace Hutson as sheriff in 2026. Woodfork declined to comment. In a statement, Williams said the recusal motion had not been granted because there were 'no legal grounds to support it.' Judge Nandi Campbell, who received the motion for recusal, declined to comment. Williams and Hutson dispute the timeline and reasons for his withdrawal from the investigation. Williams said he removed himself due to its 'multi-jurisdictional nature' — citing a separate jailbreak that occurred earlier this month in another Louisiana parish — and has deferred to Murrill. Williams said his office engaged in the investigation 'to ensure that no evidence was lost or compromised' after the breakout. He criticized Hutson for not 'immediately' requesting an 'independent forensic processing' of the facility, where inmates had yanked open a cell door and crawled through a hole cut from behind a toilet. Authorities have arrested a maintenance worker for allegedly aiding in the escape. 'It's hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out,' Williams said of the sheriff's office. At a press conference the day of the escape on May 16, Hutson said that she believed the timing of the jailbreak may have been politically motivated. Hutson's motion for recusal says that Williams' investigation had given an 'unfair advantage to his preferred candidate' and would be a 'strain' on the resources of the sheriff's office. Hutson's allegations against Williams come after local and state officials heaped criticism on Hutson's management of the jail and her office's hourslong delay in notifying authorities of the escape. While Hutson has sought to blame the escape on a lack of funding to help make urgent improvements to faulty locks and ailing jail infrastructure, city and state leaders have generally disputed this characterization. Murrill said in a Thursday statement that she is heading the investigation to provide 'accountability' and 'recommendations' to the state and the city 'to ensure that an escape like this never happens again.' Hutson said that she 'welcomes the oversight of the Attorney General's Office and remains fully committed to cooperating with all relevant authorities.' The Orleans Parish jail system, long plagued by dysfunction, has been under federal oversight since 2013. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Orleans Parish DA says sheriff's office 'compromised' amid lawsuit, jailbreak investigation
The district attorney in New Orleans fired back at the local sheriff who sought his recusal from the investigation into a massive 10-man escape from the county's jail, escalating a two-week war of words between the two. After Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson, whose department runs the jail, filed a lawsuit seeking to bar Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams from investigating the jailbreak, Williams made clear his thoughts on the sheriff. "After this jailbreak, jail leadership should have immediately requested an independent forensic processing of that scene," he said Thursday evening in a media release. "It's hard not to see this agency as anything but compromised until any bad actors have been identified and rooted out." "The Sheriff's Office's time and resources were clearly misspent this week, and once again, this office finds itself two steps behind the moment," the release continued. "We, along with our other law enforcement partners, will remain focused on the crisis at hand: recapturing every individual involved in this escape, understanding the systemic failures or individual actions that made it possible, and implementing meaningful corrective measures." Hutson filed a motion in a New Orleans court after what she called "ongoing attacks" on the sheriff's office in "an unprecedented display of political self-serving bias," according to ABC News. The sheriff noted that Williams is also backing her opponent in an upcoming reelection bid to remain the parish's top cop. Last week, Hutson suspended campaign operations to focus on the breakout. The matter was settled out of court on Thursday in a meeting with Orleans Parish Criminal Judge Nandi Campbell. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office will continue to lead the investigation into how the men, including a four-time killer and a serial escapee, broke out of their cell and hopped the jail's barbed-wire fence to freedom on May 16. "I will continue to conduct an independent investigation into how the ten violent inmates escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on Friday, May 16," Murrill said in an X post on Thursday night, adding that she will provide recommendations to relevant government entities to ensure such an escape never occurs again. Friday marks two weeks since 10 inmates escaped from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans. Two inmates, including a four-time convicted killer, are still on the loose after the jailbreak. Derrick Groves was convicted in October of a double-homicide stemming from a shooting during Mardi Gras in 2018. After his conviction, he pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in unrelated cases and was scheduled to be sentenced in July. He was being held in the jail until his sentencing. Antoine Massey, a four-time escapee known locally for consistently evading law enforcement, also remains free. On Thursday, Crime Stoppers and the FBI both increased their rewards for information leading to the arrests of the pair. Each man now has a $50,000 bounty on his head. The eight other escapees have been caught as local, state and federal law enforcement continue to pour resources into ending the manhunt for good. Fourteen people have been arrested for assisting the escapees either before or after they broke out. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Hutson, Williams, Murrill and the New Orleans Criminal District Court for comment.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kidoz Inc. Revenue Growth and Profit Increase Continues in Q1 2025 with Revenue of USD $2,738,303 (CAD $3,931,327)
VANCOUVER, BC / / May 28, 2025 / Kidoz Inc. (TSXV:KDOZ) (the "Company"), mobile AdTech developer and owner of the market-leading Kidoz Contextual Ad Network ( the Kidoz Publisher SDK and the Kidoz Privacy Shield, announced today its unaudited condensed interim financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. All amounts are presented in United States dollars and are in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Financial highlights Q1 2025 include: Total Revenue of $2,738,303 an increase of 54% compared to Q1 2024 Total Revenue of $1,793,071. Operating expenses of $1,541,689, a decrease of 7% from $1,651,881 in Q1 2024. Net income after tax of $60,142, an improvement compared to a net loss after tax ($719,583), in Q1 2024. Positive Adjusted EBITDA of $78,437 compared to negative Adjusted EBITDA of ($543,289) in Q1 2024. Cash of $3,266,294 and working capital of $4,363,231 as at March 31, 2024, compared to cash of $2,780,517 and working capital of $4,219,588 as at December 31, 2024. Positive Free Cash Flow in Q1 2024 of $491,495 compared to negative Free Cash Flow of ($599,096) in the prior year. For full details of the Company's operations and financial results, please refer to the Securities and Exchange Commission website at or the Kidoz Inc. corporate website at or the website. "The Kidoz privacy-first digital advertising platform experienced unprecedented demand from our brand partners in the first quarter of 2025, sending revenue to record first quarter highs. This incredible performance enabled our second consecutive quarterly profit and positions the Company perfectly to secure a record full year of operations," said Jason Williams, Kidoz CEO. "Kidoz is stronger than ever and we are thrilled with our results as we continue to deliver on our mission of safe digital advertising at scale across the globe." "Digital advertising is undergoing a seismic shift as AI transforms the way that users navigate and engage with digital content. User consent to data tracking and profiling is at an all-time low which strengthens the Kidoz position as a fully private and contextual means to reaching target customers. Furthermore, as Kidoz operates its technology in app-based gaming environments, not on the open web, the Company has been unaffected by the decrease in web clicks as a result of AI based online activity. In fact, in-app gaming is an entertainment and media category that is at an all-time high in terms of usage and attention from media strategists and planners." "Kidoz, a market leader for private in-app gaming media, believes that our full 2025 results will be a record for the Company. However, we are presently seeing some short-term weakness in the advertising sector as brands look for clarity to the US tariffs situation." CAUTION REGARDING NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES This press release refers to "Adjusted EBITDA" which is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is not presented in accordance with, or as an alternative to, GAAP financial measures and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"). We encourage investors to review the GAAP financial measures included in the last Quarterly Form 6-K, including our unaudited consolidated financial statements, to aid in their analysis and understanding of our performance and in making comparisons. We use Adjusted EBITDA internally to evaluate our performance and make financial and operational decisions that are presented in a manner that adjusts from their equivalent GAAP measures or that supplement the information provided by our GAAP measures. Adjusted EBITDA is defined by us as EBITDA (net income (loss) plus depreciation expense, amortization expense, interest, stock-based compensation and impairment of goodwill), further adjusted to exclude certain non-cash expenses and other adjustments. We use Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it more clearly highlights business trends that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP financial measures, since Adjusted EBITDA eliminates from our results specific financial items that have less bearing on our core operating performance. Our Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled as follows: Three Months ended March 31, 2025 Three Months ended March 31, 2024 Income (Loss) after tax $ 60,142 $ (719,583 ) Less : Depreciation and amortization 45,360 108,052 Stock-based compensation 43,868 68,248 Interest and other income (474 ) (6 ) Income tax (recovery) expense (70,459 ) - Adjusted EBITDA $ 78,437 $ (543,289 ) For full details of the Company's operations and financial results, please refer to the Securities and Exchange Commission website at or the Kidoz Inc. corporate website at or on the website. About Kidoz Inc. Kidoz Inc. (TSXV:KDOZ) ( (previously TSXV:KIDZ) is a global AdTech software company and the developer of the Kidoz Safe Ad Network, delivering privacy-first, high-performance mobile advertising for children, teens, and families, whose mission is to keep children safe in the complex digital advertising ecosystem. Through its proprietary Kidoz SDK, Privacy Shield, and advanced contextual targeting tools, Kidoz enables safe, compliant ad experiences that adhere to COPPA, GDPR-K, and global standards, without using location or personally identifiable information data tracking commonly used in digital advertising. The Kidoz platform helps app developers monetize their apps with safe and relevant ads, while uniting brands and families in a compliant mobile ecosystem. Google-certified and Apple-approved, the Kidoz network reaches hundreds of millions of users monthly, and is trusted by leading brands including Mattel, LEGO, Disney, and Kraft. Kidoz offers both managed and programmatic media solutions, including SSP, DSP, and Ad Exchange capabilities and provides a platform for mobile app publishers to monetize their active users through display, rich media, and video ads. Trusted by top brands and developers, Kidoz runs campaigns in over 60 countries and generates the majority of its revenue from AdTech advertising. The Company also operates Prado, its wholly owned over-13 division. For brands, Prado enables scaled access with high quality inventory and audience engagement across teens, families, and general audiences. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements. Certain information included in this press release (as well as information included in oral statements or other written statements made or to be made by the company) contains statements that are forward-looking, such as statements relating to anticipated future success of the company. Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect anticipated results in the future and, accordingly, such results may differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of the company. For a description of additional risks and uncertainties, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, readers should read the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the SEC and the Annual Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis filed on SEDAR on April 24, 2025, and the prospectus filed under Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act on March 9, 2005 and the SB2 filed July 17, 2007, and the TSX Venture Exchange Listing Application for Common Shares filed on June 29, 2015 on SEDAR, for a more thorough discussion of the Company's financial position and results of operations, together with a detailed discussion of the risk factors involved in an investment in Kidoz Inc. For more information contact: Henry BromleyCFOir@ 374-2163 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Kidoz Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Sign in to access your portfolio
Fox News
5 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Botched crime scene handling could derail prosecution of Orleans Parish jail escapees, former FBI agent says
The failure by law enforcement officials to immediately process the jail cell from which 10 inmates escaped on May 16 as a crime scene could jeopardize potential prosecutions of the inmates, an expert said. "One of the first things any prosecutor looks for is basic crime scene documentation: photos, evidence logs, and signs that law enforcement treated the scene seriously," Jason Pack, a former FBI supervisory special agent, told Fox News Digital. "Even if the facts seem clear-cut, skipping those steps opens the door for defense attorneys to argue the investigation was incomplete or sloppy." On Thursday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams made what he called a "very unusual" move. Noting that Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson had not ordered a crime scene investigation inside the jail cell, he assembled a team of New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) crime scene technicians and personally accompanied them to the jail to collect evidence. "Time is also of the essence when trying to get good DNA samples or collect fingerprints to make sure those areas are not molested or destroyed in any way," he told the media at the time. "So I am deeply concerned that there was not an immediate request by the sheriff to our local crime lab to get in there and examine, document, preserve and collect all of the forensic evidence that was available there so that we could already have it tested." Pack said that the delayed collection of evidence could help defense attorneys muddy the waters, and that Williams is likely tying up loose ends to make his potential cases as bulletproof as possible. "Now that someone from inside the jail has been charged with helping the escape, the district attorney was likely thinking like a prosecutor from the start," he said. "He would have been focused on how the case will look in court and what a judge or jury will expect to see." Sterling Williams, 33, an employee of the sheriff's office and a maintenance worker at the jail, has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office for allegedly aiding the inmates in their jailbreak. He is accused of turning off the water in the cell from which the inmates escaped, allowing them to remove a toilet that blocked a hole they had cut into the cell's wall. Once the toilet was removed, they climbed through the hole, ran through an unguarded corridor, and then made a beeline for the jail's fence, hopping over it and onto the streets of New Orleans. Williams told investigators the inmates threatened to "shank" him if he did not help them. "For legal purposes, especially when a criminal charge has already been filed, the pod where the escape happened still needs to be treated like a crime scene," Pack said. However, he noted that the crime scene is a hectic area. The jail has 1,400 inmates, and countless inmates and staff could have contaminated the crime scene by now. "It's also important to remember that a jail pod isn't a clean crime scene. It's a busy place: guards, inmates, maintenance workers," Pack said. "A lot of people have access." According to Pack, the fingerprint and DNA evidence might not yield a clear-cut answer as to who might have committed a crime. Instead, he said, the value in collecting that evidence is to show in court that "every reasonable step was taken" in the investigation. WATCH: Stunning video shows New Orleans inmates escaping Williams said after collecting evidence from the scene that he had asked all OPSO employees and other relevant parties to voluntarily submit to fingerprinting in order to rule them out as suspects. He also demanded that surveillance footage from 90 cameras in the jail from April 1 through May 21 be handed over to his office. "Even when video shows how the escape happened, crime scene photos and records help prove that the case was handled professionally and by the book," Pack said. The May 16 early morning escape included a convicted four-time killer, along with nine others facing violent criminal charges stemming from second-degree murder to domestic abuse and felon in possession of a firearm. They taunted the authorities on the way out, writing "To easy LOL," along with other messages on the wall of the cell. Authorities were unaware that the men were missing for about eight hours after the escape. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office did not respond to a request for comment. Two hundred local, state and federal law enforcement officers have been involved in a manhunt for the suspects. As of Tuesday, eight of the suspects have been recaptured, and 14 people have been arrested for aiding them. Along with Williams, an inmate who did not escape with the group of 10 became the second person from inside the jail to be charged with helping them escape. Trevon Williams, 23, has been rebooked on 10 counts of principal to simple escape for allegedly giving the escapees a blanket and shirt to help them hop the razor-wire fence during their escape. Arrests over the weekend included 28-year-old Lenika Vanburen, 18-year-old Patricia Vanburen, 27-year-old Tyshanea "Minnie" Randolph, 47-year-old Lenton Vanburen Sr. and 40-year-old Angel McKey – all accused of aiding the escapees. Lenton Vanburen Sr. is the father of escapee Lenton Vanburen, who has since been caught, a source confirmed to Fox News. State police said that Diamond White, 21, was also arrested on charges that include principal to aggravated escape and obstruction of justice, USA Today reported. Emmitt Weber, 28, was also arrested for allegedly helping two of the inmates after the escape. So was Casey Smith, 30, who reportedly admitted to driving some of the inmates around New Orleans after they escaped. On Thursday night, the Louisiana State Police announced that it had arrested Connie Weeden, 59, who allegedly sent cash to then-fugitive Jermaine Donald via a cellphone app. Before that, Cortnie Harris, 32, and Corvanntay Baptiste, 38, were arrested for allegedly assisting the fugitives. Harris is accused of transporting some of the escapees to locations throughout New Orleans after the escape, and Baptiste is accused of being in contact with escapee Corey Boyd and bringing him food after the escape. Sources close to the investigation told Fox News that Baptiste is the girlfriend of now-recaptured Boyd, who is accused of second-degree murder, and Harris is the girlfriend of Leo Tate, who is still on the run. On Monday, three more inmates were recaptured. Vanburen was caught in Baton Rouge, and Tate and Donald were captured by the Texas Department of Public Safety in Walker, Texas, according to the Louisiana State Police. Groves remains on the run with Antoine Massey, a four-time jail escapee who faces charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle and a parole violation.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Louisiana inmates used hair trimmers in efforts to escape from New Orleans jail, source says
The 10 inmates who broke out of a New Orleans jail in a stunning overnight escape last week used electric hair trimmers with multiple clipper blades to help cut their way through the cell walls, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation told CNN. Investigators continue to comb through previous jail phone recordings and believe that other incarcerated inmates or employees at the jail could face additional charges for their role assisting in the May 16 escape and initial cover-up in the hours following the jailbreak, according to the source. Those inmates are believed to have placed the toilet back on the wall after the jailbreak to conceal the hole behind the toilet that escapees used to break free. In addition, the inmates also provided towels to the escapees which were used to help them scale the barbed wire fence surrounding the Orleans Parish Jail, the source told CNN. The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, which oversees the Orleans Justice Center jail facility, has not responded to CNN's questions about the details surrounding the escape, including whether inmates are allowed to have access to electric hair trimmers and barber equipment. Authorities continued to search for five of the escapees as of Friday afternoon. Five others have been recaptured and are being held without bond at the maximum-security Louisiana State Penitentiary. Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill visited the Orleans Justice Center earlier this week as part of the ongoing investigation into the escape. The district attorney said Thursday the director of the New Orleans Police Department Crime Lab visited the jail to begin a formal forensic processing of the scene, which he said was not requested by the sheriff's office. Williams formally asked the sheriff's office to voluntarily cooperate with the forensic analysis, including by sharing any records of staff fingerprints or DNA 'for the purpose of inclusion or elimination of their profiles,' according to a letter Williams sent to the sheriff's office on Thursday that was obtained by CNN. A separate letter from Thursday formally requested the sheriff's office preserve all records related to the jailbreak, including surveillance video and electronic communications between staff. 'It is critically important to get all fugitives back into custody. But it is equally important that we identify and hold accountable anyone who facilitated or assisted with this historic jailbreak,' the district attorney wrote. 'If you were manning the security system, you would have known a door was opening,' former Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, who ran the jail from 2004 to 2022, told CNN. 'Especially in the middle of the night,' Gusman said. He oversaw construction at the Orleans Justice Center, which re-opened in 2015 as part of a Federal Emergency Management Agency project to replace older jail structures that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina. Gusman told CNN he has no idea how the inmates got into the pipe chase behind the toilet and sink, but emphasized they had to navigate through walls made with a 'substantial' network of concrete molding about '5 inches thick' and mixed with rebar, which is re-enforced steel. 'And the pipe chase is secure; if you open the door in the pipe chase, an alarm should go off,' the former sheriff told CNN. 'If you get into the pipe chase, it's not like you are out. You still have to get to another door.' Gusman added, 'So however they got into the pipe chase, I don't know, but once they got into the pipe chase, there was a door that they had to leave out of the pipe chase onto the loading dock.' A maintenance worker with the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, Sterling Williams, was arrested Tuesday. Williams, 33, is accused of 'willfully and maliciously' assisting with the jailbreak, according to an affidavit. He faces one count of malfeasance in office and 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape. Williams' attorney, Michael Kennedy, said the worker was turning off water to an overflowing toilet after being told to do so and is 'fully convinced' of his client's innocence. Six other suspected accomplices have also been arrested for allegedly helping some of the 10 escapees. On Friday, New Orleans police announced the arrest of Casey Smith, who is accused of helping two fugitives. The 30-year-old was taken into custody Thursday in the city's Third District. 'Smith admitted to her role in aiding the escapees' transport along with Cortnie Harris,' who was arrested Wednesday for her alleged role in the incident, New Orleans police said. Authorities arrested Trevon Williams on Friday in connection with the inmates' escape. Trevon Williams, who was already in jail on unrelated charges, was rebooked on an additional charge of principal to simple escape, according to an X post from Murrill. New Orleans police announced the arrest of Emmitt Weber, 28, on Friday. Weber faces a charge of accessory after the fact of simple escape, authorities said. Meanwhile, another suspect, Corvanntay Baptiste, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly communicating with escapee Corey Boyd via phone and social media and helping him get food, Louisiana State Police said. Another arrestee, Connie Weeden, is accused of sending cash via a cell phone app to escapee Jermaine Donald. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is deploying at least 10 seasoned auditors to the Orleans Justice Center this week to investigate the escape. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry tasked the department with auditing the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, to ensure they were in compliance with 'conditions necessary to ensure the safe, efficient, effective and legal operation of a jail facility,' the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections told CNN. The last audit of the facility was in 2014, over a decade ago, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, before the jail located in New Orleans' Mid-City neighborhood was opened. A team of over 200 local, state and federal law enforcement officers and agents is working around the clock to capture the remaining missing inmates, according to state police. CNN's Matt Rehbein, Rebekah Riess, Hanna Park, Cindy Von Quednow, Zoe Sottile and Holly Yan contributed to this report.
