Latest news with #LakewoodPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
7 people shot at park in Washington state: 'Careless act of violence'
Seven people were shot at a park in Washington state on Wednesday, May 28, police said. The Lakewood Police Department said in a Facebook post that seven people, ranging from ages 16 to 38, were shot at shortly before 8 p.m. local time at Harry Todd Park in the city. Police also said on May 29 that two out of the seven victims remain in serious condition, while one is in critical condition and the four others are in stable condition. Five of the victims were found at the park, while two others walked to local hospitals, police told KOMO News. "Most of these people were unintentionally struck during this careless act of violence," police wrote in its Facebook post. "Detectives will continue to sort through the information gathered to hold those involved accountable for their actions." According to the social media post, police believe the shooting was not random and stemmed from a conflict. "Currently detectives believe that this incident began as a dispute between two groups that escalated to gunshots," police wrote. "There is no threat to the public and this was not a targeted attack on park goers." As of May 29, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. Police told KOMO that the scene at the park was 'chaotic' once they arrived, as many families and children were present when the shots rang out. 'We've had these couple days here where the sun finally came out and it's been a gorgeous time for people to get out and enjoy the park, the lake and then you have something like this that happens,' Lakewood Police Sgt. Charles Porche told the Seattle, Washington-based TV station. In the police's initial Facebook post on May 28, the department said the "scene was hectic because many of these people were trying to leave the park after hearing the gunshots." Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 7 people shot at a park in Washington state, no arrests made
USA Today
3 days ago
- USA Today
7 people shot at park in Washington state: 'Careless act of violence'
7 people shot at park in Washington state: 'Careless act of violence' Lakewood police believe the shooting was not random, and it stemmed from a conflict between to groups that escalated. Show Caption Hide Caption At least 1 killed in mass shooting at Fairmount Park Reports say multiple people were injured and at least one person was killed in a shooting near Lemon Hill Drive on Memorial Day. Fox - Fox 29 Seven people were shot at a park in Washington state on Wednesday, May 28, police said. The Lakewood Police Department said in a Facebook post that seven people, ranging from ages 16 to 38, were shot at shortly before 8 p.m. local time at Harry Todd Park in the city. Police also said on May 29 that two out of the seven victims remain in serious condition, while one is in critical condition and the four others are in stable condition. Five of the victims were found at the park, while two others walked to local hospitals, police told KOMO News. "Most of these people were unintentionally struck during this careless act of violence," police wrote in its Facebook post. "Detectives will continue to sort through the information gathered to hold those involved accountable for their actions." Why do police believe the shooting happened? According to the social media post, police believe the shooting was not random and stemmed from a conflict. "Currently detectives believe that this incident began as a dispute between two groups that escalated to gunshots," police wrote. "There is no threat to the public and this was not a targeted attack on park goers." As of May 29, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting. Police describe scene at American Lake Park during shooting as 'chaotic' Police told KOMO that the scene at the park was 'chaotic' once they arrived, as many families and children were present when the shots rang out. 'We've had these couple days here where the sun finally came out and it's been a gorgeous time for people to get out and enjoy the park, the lake and then you have something like this that happens,' Lakewood Police Sgt. Charles Porche told the Seattle, Washington-based TV station. In the police's initial Facebook post on May 28, the department said the "scene was hectic because many of these people were trying to leave the park after hearing the gunshots." Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man arrested in connection to garage fire at condemned Lakewood house
DENVER (KDVR) — Weeks of concerns surrounding a home in Lakewood that has been condemned have culminated in police arresting a 52-year-old man for charges of arson and drug possession. The Lakewood Police Department said it arrested Pete David Caranza, of Lakewood, on suspicion of fourth-degree arson and possession of a controlled substance, in connection with a May 10 fire that was reported at approximately 10:22 p.m. The department said the garage on the property was 'engulfed in flames,' and that 'several' people were evacuated from the building, but no serious injuries were reported. Pedestrian dies after crash involving coroner en route to Colfax homicide: Police The house where the fire occurred is located in the 8000 block of West 10th Avenue. The home had two fires reported there within three days, and neighbors and students have raised complaints about the property. One neighbor said there were two explosions at the house, including one large enough that it shook her house. 'We're not born yesterday, we know what's going on there — and they are certainly not at Bible study,' she told FOX31's Hanna Powers earlier this month. Police said Thursday that there is no evidence of a drug lab at the property. Students at JeffCo Open School, which is directly across the street from the property, also said they've seen open drug use and unsafe activities at the property. Photos obtained by FOX31 show drug paraphernalia, smoke damage, and ongoing activity around the structure. On Friday, May 16, residents of the condemned property were evicted. The home has reportedly been under investigation since October 2024. Lakewood police said Thursday that anyone trespassing on the property will be arrested because the building has been posted as dangerous and uninhabitable. The agency also said it would issue a final notice to the property owner to take responsibility for securing and cleaning up the property, or the owner will face additional consequences. According to Jefferson County property records, Caranza is not the owner of the property. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- CBS News
High school psychologist arrested in Colorado, accused of sexual assault
A psychologist at Green Mountain High School has been arrested in Colorado and accused of sexual assault. Lakewood police arrested James Michael Chevrier on Tuesday night. According to investigators, Lakewood police were made aware of a Safe2Tell report that accused a psychologist at Green Mountain High School of sexually assaulting a female student. Police said they opened an investigation and began speaking to potential victims and witnesses. James Michael Chevrier Lakewood Police Chevrier, 38, was serving as a psychologist at Green Mountain High School and Bear Creek High School at the time of his arrest. He remained in custody at the Jefferson County Jail on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust- victim less than 15 as part of a pattern of abuse, soliciting for child prostitution, possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Detectives with the Lakewood Police Department believe there may be individuals with more information. According to investigators, Chevrier served as a staff member at Evergreen High School from 2022-2023 and the Cherry Creek School District 2021-2022. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Lakewood Police Tip Line at 303.763.6800.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Yahoo
Can AG's office solve the case of Lakewood girl found dead nearly 20 years ago?
Nineteen years after 10-year-old Adre'anna Jackson disappeared and later was found dead, the Washington state Attorney General Office's cold-case unit is reviewing her case. Police consider the girl's death the oldest unsolved homicide in Lakewood. After exhausting their capabilities and resources to investigate the case, Lakewood Police Department's Sgt Charles Porche said, detectives have turned it over to the attorney general's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Cold Case Unit. Lakewood police forwarded the case to the unit in mid-2024, he said. 'We do not have a cold case unit and it was a case that the AGs office was willing to take after a consult with them,' Porche said in an email to The News Tribune. Adre'anna was walking to Tillicum Elementary School on Dec. 2, 2005, not knowing classes had been canceled from an overnight snowfall. She never made it to the school, according to previous News Tribune reports. Her mother, Yvette Gervais, reported her daughter missing that afternoon when she did not come home. A search began that day. Lakewood police combed through Tillicum and the rest of the city, a News Tribune story reported. Divers searched American Lake, hoping to find answers. Adre'anna's disappearance turned into a homicide investigation after two boys found her skeletal remains in April 2006 in a thicket of blackberry brambles two miles from her family's apartment on Wadsworth Street Southwest. Her cause of death has been undetermined, with the Medical Examiner's Office ruling it also could not determine the manner in which she died. Investigators have treated the girl's death as a homicide, according to the FBI's archives. State and federal forensics experts analyzed hundreds of items that were taken from her home and the lot where she was found, The News Tribune reported. The FBI also assisted before her remains were found. 'The FBI immediately investigates the mysterious disappearance of any missing child and the case of Adre'anna Jackson was no different,' a FBI spokesperson said March 19 in a statement to The News Tribune. 'We offer FBI resources to assist our partners, the Lakewood Police Department in this instance, with their investigation. In this case, we conducted an extensive investigation which included, interviews of witnesses, technical resources, polygraph examinations, behavioral analysis, analytical assistance, the offering of a reward, and evidence recovery support.' The unit was created and funded by the Washington Legislature in 2023 in response to recommendations from the MMIWP Task Force, according to the Office of the Attorney General's website. The FBI's archives show that Adre'anna was Native American. 'The purpose of the team is to assist federal, municipal, county, and tribal law enforcement agencies in solving missing person and cold homicide cases involving persons of Indigenous ancestry who go missing and are murdered at a higher rate than other demographics. It is the first unit of its kind in the nation,' the website says. Mike Faulk, the deputy communications director for the AG's Office, told The News Tribune via email that an investigation by the MMIWP Cold Case Unit begins when a local police agency or jurisdiction requests it. The process for the unit varies depending on the circumstances of each case. Generally, the second step is that the team goes over the provided case file and reviews it independently. Faulk said cold-case investigators are doing that now in Adre'anna's case. The third step is the team then meets with the local agency to discuss possible next steps for the investigation, Faulk said. Those steps include identifying additional people to interview, canvassing physical locations and 'potentially using DNA and other investigative tools in addition to the work done by the local jurisdiction,' he said. 'Depending on what comes out of the investigation, local prosecutors could take legal action. If they ask us, we could agree to review the case for potential criminal charges,' Faulk said. The MMIWP Cold Case Unit is working on 25 active cases, five are from Pierce County. The unit's budget for the 2025 fiscal year is $824,000, Faulk said. Their staff consists of one AGO supervisor investigator, four AGO senior investigators and one victim advocate/case navigator. Faulk said he could not say much else about Adre'anna's case since the cold-case unit is actively looking into it.
