Latest news with #M.B.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man who tried to kill ex-girlfriend & killed her dog to be sentenced Thursday
The Brief Timothy Crawford is scheduled to be sentenced in a Tampa courtroom on Thursday. He entered an open plea last month after trying to kill his ex-girlfriend in December 2023. He also shot and killed the victim's dog. His sentencing hearing is set for 1 p.m. TAMPA, Fla. - The man who traveled from Atlanta to Florida, then tried to kill his ex-girlfriend and shot her dog after the attack, is expected to learn his sentence in a Tampa courtroom on Thursday. The backstory According to federal prosecutors, Timothy Crawford left Atlanta in the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 2023, and began driving toward the home of his ex-girlfriend (referred to as "M.B.") in Odessa. Court documents show that Crawford broke into M.B.'s house around 8 p.m. that evening armed with a pistol and stun-gun and waited for her to return home. PREVIOUS: Georgia man traveled to Florida to kill ex-girlfriend and her dog: Officials When his ex-girlfriend came home, Crawford punched, kicked and electrically stunned her numerous times, while telling her that he was going to kill her and her children. M.B. defended herself with a dumbbell and ultimately escaped the home. Before leaving, authorities say, Crawford shot and killed M.B.'s dog, an 8-pound Maltese. Deputies arrested Crawford a neighbor called 911, according to investigators. M.B. was severely injured during the attack. Officials say she had extensive bruising to her body, neck and face, stun-gun burns, a fractured left orbital bone, nose, ring finger/hand and a laceration to her head requiring stiches. Crawford admitted to breaking into the victim's house, using a taser on her, punching her in the face and killing her dog. In April, Crawford entered an open plea in court and asked for a 20-year sentence, according to court documents. He faces up to life in prison. What's next Thursday's sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source This story was written using information from court documents and previous FOX 13 News reports. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Missoula judge finds DMV discriminated by not issuing driver's license
(Photo illustration by Getty Images.) A Missoula judge has found that the Montana Department of Justice and the Motor Vehicle Division has violated the state Constitution and discriminated against a minor who was refused a driver's license because they were nonbinary. Missoula County District Court Judge Shane Vannatta said the state had broken the law by not allowing an 'NB' listing on the license, which stands for nonbinary, and had refused to issue the license because the minor would not choose between 'male' and 'female' on the driver's license application. The decision also amends a finding by the Montana Human Rights Commission examiner who had originally found that discrimination likely occurred when it treated the youth, listed in court documents as 'M.B.,' differently than others. The individual hearing officer who originally found evidence of discrimination was later overruled by the Human Rights Commission because state law only allows for a binary option of 'male' and 'female,' it said. Furthermore, the HRC's final ruling said that while discrimination based on sex is protected, gender is not a protected class. Vannatta's decision upheld the original examiner's work. The parents of M.B. had also changed their child's birth certificate so that it also declared 'nonbinary,' part of the evidence presented to the court. Court documents reveal that the Motor Vehicle Division, Driver Services Bureau, does have the option of nonbinary and can issue licenses as such, but 'no action to effect such change was taken.' Instead, the Montana Department of Justice argued that 'the law is settled in Montana — sex is male or female.' 'The (plaintiffs) can only establish that M.B. has a subjective gender identity that is not a part of any protected class, and as such their claims fail under any set of facts,' according to the court documents. However, Vannatta said that the Montana Constitution Article II, Section 4 means that the 'equal protection clause requires that 'all persons be treated alike under like circumstances.'' 'M.B.'s accurately completed MVD application (based on M.B.'s Montana birth certificate) was not accepted and entered into the computer system by the MVD, and as a result they were denied a driver's license when the MVD otherwise affords services to cisgender individuals whose birth certificates reflect the same,' Vannatta said. The judge said that M.B.'s rights have been prejudiced because the MVD's conclusions were 'characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.'
