Latest news with #JusticeCenter
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Justice Center connects community to legal help
(SPONSORED) — The Justice Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free, low-cost legal aid across Colorado. They offer legal advice, representation, and clinics with the help of volunteer attorneys and legal professionals. This week's Give! Pikes Peak features Laura McKernan of The Justice Center, sharing how they provide affordable legal help and connect the community to vital services on Loving Living Local. You can find them at weekly phone clinics every Wednesday night from 7-8:30 p.m. and monthly in-person clinics focused on family law and name changes. Their next big event, Legal Resource Day, is Oct. 25 in Colorado Springs and Pueblo. Legal In Person ClinicsDownload For legal help, volunteer opportunities, or more information, visit Learn about Give! Pikes Peak at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Sun
17-05-2025
- The Sun
Dramatic moment ten ‘armed and dangerous' inmates break out of jail through hole in a cell in Shawshank
THIS is the shocking moment ten inmates - some even convicted killers - broke out of a New Orleans jail while a staff member was on her food break. Only three fugitives have been recaptured, three jail staff have been suspended - and seven men are still at large. 8 8 8 Police discovered the prisoners were missing from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans during an 8.30 am head count on Friday morning. The men escaped through a hole in their cell behind the toilet, according to The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, who released images of the scene. They reportedly crawled into a pipe chase, made their way to a loading dock and and then scaled the prison wall. In shocking surveillance footage, two men are seen kicking and pulling at a door before yanking it open. Separate footage shows the moment all ten inmates bolt from their cell block. Another video then reveals the men exiting the prison premises, using blankets to scale a barbed wire fence. Finally, the inmates can be seen sprinting across a dimly lit motorway. Police have revealed that only one staff member was assigned to their jail cell. The civilian technician was eating at the time of their escape - and it was only after several hours that the prison break discovered. Three prison staff have been suspended, according to The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. It is unclear whether the woman on her food break was among them. Hours after the escape, inmate Kendell Myles was found hiding underneath a car in a hotel parking garage in the French Quarter. Later on in the day, Robert Moody and Dkenan Dennis were the second and third escaped inmates to have been captured by cops. The remaining seven are still at large. It's unclear how the fugitives were able to break loose, but officials said they were investigating whether any correctional officers had helped them out. They fear the inmates could have been given tools to assist with their escape, as it was "impossible without help", Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said on Friday. Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said her department was working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to search for the inmates. She added: "We are launching a full investigation to determine how this escape occurred, including reviewing facility protocols, staff performance and physical security measures." Orleans Parish district attorney Jason Williams said: 'These inexcusable failures have put lives in danger. 'This represents a complete failure of the most basic responsibilities entrusted to a sheriff or jail administrator." 8 8 8 8 THE CHARGES FACED BY THE FUGITIVES The inmates behind the prison break were identified as Antoine Massey, Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, Kendell Myles, Derrick Groves, Jermain Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Decannon Dennis, and Keith Lewis. Myles, 20, faces charges for concealing a weapon, bringing contraband into prison, and possession of contraband. He has a history of escape. In July 2022, he escaped Bridge City Center, then was accused of carjacking and shooting a man in Uptown New Orleans. He was indicted in that case. Groves, 27, is an accused killer who was arrested on a second-degree murder charge and an attempted second-degree murder charge. Donald, 42, has also been arrested on a second-degree murder charge and has been accused of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm. Boyd, 20, is another at-large criminal who is accused of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. Massey, 33, was jailed on domestic abuse charges involving strangulation and car theft. Vanburen, 27, was arrested for illegally carrying weapons, obstruction of justice, and introducing contraband into prison. Tate, 31, was arrested for burglary, possession of a firearm, and illegally carrying a weapon with a controlled substance. Moody, 21, was arrested on weapons and drug charges. Price, 21, was arrested for simple assault, criminal damage, domestic abuse, battery, and assault with a weapon. Dennis, 24, was arrested for multiple illegal weapons charges, extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, and theft. 8
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Free legal advice offered at Family Law Day in Colorado Springs
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Family Law Day returns Friday, May 16 to Colorado Springs. The event offers people the opportunity to get free legal advice about family law matters including divorce, child custody and more. Attorneys Ariel Baty and Calleigh Durr joined FOX21 Morning News on Tuesday, May 13 and shared what participants can expect. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the El Paso County Courthouse. Classes include sessions on Post Decree Modifications, Best Interests of the Child, Enforcement of Order, How to Present your Case and more. Durr said several non-profit organizations and government agencies will also be on site to provide information about additional resources in the community. Pre-registration is not required. More information can be found at the Justice Center's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
St. Louis County Prosecutor to address first 100 days in office
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith will hold a news conference on Tuesday, May 6, to discuss her first 100 days in office and highlight key reforms. Price Smith is expected to focus on reforms aimed at enhancing public safety, increasing efficiency, and improving accountability within her office. The news conference will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Louis County Justice Center. 'We reinstated our violent crime unit the afternoon that I was sworn in,' Price Smith said. 'That is currently up and running. It reviews violent crime in real time.' One of Price Smith's first actions was reinstating the county's violent crime unit, which reviews violent crime cases in real time to prevent delays in processing repeat offenders. Price Smith's office achieved its first jury conviction for murder, with Rodney Collins sentenced to life in prison for the August 2023 killing of William Gholson. Price Smith's office claims it also reduced a significant backlog of cases by 43 percent and has brought on three veteran federal prosecutors to lead the homicide team. Measles warning: Infected person visits St. Louis Aquarium, eatery In addition to prosecutorial reforms, Price Smith's office has saved taxpayers $18,000 by identifying unused office technology, such as iPads and iPhones, that were still active but hadn't been tracked or turned in. Price Smith emphasized the importance of re-imagining resource usage, stating, 'We definitely don't have increased funding.' Looking ahead, Price Smith aims to continue community outreach, streamline courtroom processes, and focus on removing repeat violent offenders from the streets. Price Smith's efforts in her first 100 days have focused on improving efficiency and accountability in the prosecutor's office, with significant strides in reducing case backlogs and enhancing public safety measures. All facts from this article were gathered by KTVI journalists. This article was converted into this format with assistance from artificial intelligence. It has been edited and approved by KTVI staff. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Alaska property crimes decline over long term, but violent crime rates remains ‘exceptionally' high
(Photo by) Alaska crime trends show a mixed picture: While property crime rates have steadily declined, violent crime rates remain significantly high, according to national crime data. The mixed data fits into a decades-long pattern, according to Brad Myrstol, a professor with the Justice Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and director of the Alaska Justice Information Center. He gave a presentation on crime rates to the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 14. 'The good news…the property crime rate has fallen by more than half. So a decline of 64% between 1985 and 2023. And then there's not so good news,' Myrstol said. 'The violent crime rate has held steady since about 1993.' The crime information is part of the longest-running national crime database, the Uniform Crime Reporting program, managed by the FBI. It includes data from city, university, county, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies that is submitted voluntarily each year, and acts as a standardized data set. The purpose is to gauge volume, Myrstol said, and to monitor changes and trends. In Alaska, property crime rates, which includes larceny theft, burglary and motor vehicle theft, but not arson, consistently declined since 1985. There is some variability over the years, Myrstol said, which is typical, but he called the steady downward trend 'good news.' Myrstol noted larceny theft is the most common type of property crime for the state. It includes theft of possessions like cars, bikes or any item not taken by force, including shoplifting, according to the FBI. Overall, since 1985, larceny theft rates have declined in Alaska by more than 58%, motor vehicle theft by over 52% and burglary by over 77%. 'It's a very different picture when it comes to violent crime in Alaska,' Myrstol said, where rates remain significantly and 'stubbornly' high since 2000. 'Alaska is exceptional. And I don't mean in a good way.' Violent crime includes four categories: aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and criminal homicide. Alaska's violent crime rate has remained steady, or a 'flat trend.' 'It is overwhelmingly dominated by volume by aggravated assault,' Myrstol said, which is defined as an attack for the purpose of aggravated bodily injury, and usually with the use of a weapon. Since 1985, aggravated assault rates have increased by over 66%, while robbery has declined somewhat by an estimated 12%, rape by 4% and criminal homicides by 24%. In 2023, Alaska's violent crime rate was 5.4 times the national rate, at 1,975.2 per 100,000 residents. Compared to the national crime rate, reported Alaska aggravated assaults were 6.7 times higher than the national average, at 1,770.4 per 100,000 residents. Robbery was 1.6 times higher than the national rate, at 77.4 per 100,000 residents. Criminal homicide was 1.3 times higher, at 7.6 per 100,000 residents. Reported rape was 3.1 times higher than the national rate, at 119.8 per 100,000 residents. In 2013, the definition of rape expanded to include all sexes and any acts of penetration without consent. Myrstol said that the broader definition resulted in an increase seen in the data. 'So it was much more inclusive. Consequently, we fully expected a significant increase in the overall rate from 2012 to 2013 and certainly we do see this on the graph,' he said. 'It's not just one category of crime that's higher,' Myrstol emphasized. 'It's all of them, although some are exceptionally, alarmingly high. But it's violence in general. 'And I've told my colleagues here, (for) the unwritten book … the working title could be 'Alaska: Violent Land.' I think there's so much work to be done examining the dimensions of Alaska's violent crime challenges,' he said. Myrstol acknowledged many incidents of crime, especially sexual violence, go unreported nationwide as well as in Alaska, and so the data only reflects what incidents are reported to law enforcement. Myrstol said victimization surveys provide more information and better estimates of the number of people harmed. The National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that only about 50% of violent crimes are reported to police nationally. An estimated 46% of sexual assaults are reported to authorities. Property crimes are even lower, with an estimated 30% reported to police. 'What this tells us is, at best, we're getting less than half of the crime that actually occurs in our communities if we rely on the Uniform Crime Reporting data to estimate prevalence, which is the amount of crime that's actually happening,' he said. 'That's important.' Myrstol noted that when a suspect is arrested for multiple crimes, only the most serious is reported to the UCR program, called 'the dark figure of crime,' so the data doesn't capture prevalence. The most recent Alaska Victimization Survey, conducted in 2020 by the UAA Justice Center, surveyed 13,000 women across the state about their experiences in the past year. It showed an estimated 18,381 Alaska women, or 6.9%, experienced intimate partner violence; over 8,791 women, or 3.4%, experienced sexual assault; and 21,217 women, or 8.1%, experienced one or both. 'This is the sort of knowledge and information we can glean from victimization surveys,' he said. 'We can translate prevalence estimates into the number of Alaskans harmed, and of course, then begin to make much more solid inferences about the impact on communities, as well as to survivors and their families.' Myrstol said the next Alaska Victimization Survey is currently being organized. The survey will take roughly six months, and results will likely be out in late 2026, he said. Lawmakers asked whether crime spikes could be tracked and linked to changes in policy or economic downturns, but Myrstol cautioned against any simple explanations. 'Crime, like all human behavior, is multifaceted, and it's a multivariate, very complex phenomenon,' he said. 'So I would just caution the committee about identifying any one particular thing, because it's usually almost always a combination of things.' He added that analyzing Alaska's crime rates would point to strategies to address violent crime. 'I do think the data presented so far, even with limitations of the data inherent within the UCR program, suggests that Alaska's crime problem is really a violent crime problem,' he said. 'If you want to understand crime in Alaska, you might want to look at violent crime first.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
