Latest news with #OfficeoftheState'sAttorney
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Fruitland man charged with murder, more in Wicomico death investigation
Maryland State Police have charged a Fruitland, Maryland resident with first-degree murder and more in a Wicomico County death investigation. Here's what we know now. The accused is identified as Brandt John Roberts, 40, of Fruitland. Following consultation with the Office of the State's Attorney for Wicomico County, Roberts is charged with first- and second-degree murder and other related charges. He is currently being held at the Wicomico County Detention Center awaiting an appearance before a district court commissioner. The victim is identified as Albert Joseph Vacovsky III, 27, of Fruitland, Maryland. He was pronounced dead on the scene by emergency medical personnel. At approximately 6:30 p.m. on April 25, officers from the Fruitland Police Department responded to a residence in the 200 block of Camden Avenue in Fruitland for a death investigation. Responding officers found Vacovsky dead inside the residence. The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit is leading the investigation, which remains active and ongoing. Additional assistance is being provided by members of the Fruitland Police Department, Salisbury Police Department and crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division. SPECIAL EVENT ZONE FOR CRUISIN': Special Event Zone, increased traffic fines for 2025 Cruisin' Ocean City, Md.: All to know SUSPECT SOUGHT IN FATAL SHOOTING: UPDATE: Maryland State Police release name of suspect sought in Crisfield fatal shooting This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Fruitland man charged with murder, more in MSP death investigation
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
‘I just want to hug a dog': Wrongly convicted Maryland man welcomed home by rescue dog
MARYLAND () — A man who spent nearly 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit was welcomed home last week by his family – and a rescue dog. James Langhorne was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit back in 1996. He spent nearly three decades in prison before the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City vacated his wrongful conviction this year. At around 2:45 a.m. on Nov. 20, 1993, Lawrence Jones was walking home when he was approached by someone who pulled out a gun and shot him. The shooter fled and Jones succumbed to his injuries at the hospital later that night, . Fairfax County launches Conviction Integrity Unit for wrongful convictions The investigation went cold until July 1996, when information from a jailhouse informant and two now-recanted identifications led to Langhorne's arrest on Nov. 15 of that year. He was convicted of Jones's murder and sentenced to life in prison, plus 20 years. In February 2019, Langhorne requested the and the Office of the State's Attorney review his case. After an extensive, five-year investigation, officials concluded he was convicted of a crime he did not commit, according to the Feb. 13 about the vacatur. 'My sister, father, children, and grandchildren were there. MAIP was there. They made me feel welcome, told me to take my time, and process it. To cry to do what I needed. If I needed help they would be there. They even brought a dog out to see me,' Langhorne said at a press conference. Langhorne had grown up with dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs, instilling a love for animals from a young age. Several weeks before his exoneration, he told the (MAIP) that one of his first goals was to have his own dog. 'I grew up with animals, dogs – specifically German Shepherds,' he reportedly said. 'I just love all animals but I really want to have my own dog once I am out. I just want to hug a dog.' Tidal Basin seawall project closes new paths for cherry blossom visitors He was released from a Hagerstown prison on Feb. 17, 2025, and was welcomed back home by a rescue dog from the Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA). 'Jimmy's desire to hug a dog after his release underscores the transformative power of the human-animal bond,' said Lisa LaFontaine, President and Chief Executive Officer of HRA. Langhorne was introduced to Hope, a young Belgian Malinois who came to the shelter in November 2024. She approached him right away and he was able to experience 'the joy he had longed for, a feeling of love and connection that only animals can provide,' HRA and MAIP said. 'This is a new beginning for Jimmy, and we're so happy to witness these moments of joy,' said Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of MAIP. 'Our legal efforts helped secure his release, but the emotional journey of healing ahead is just as important. The encounter with Hope is a reminder that sometimes, the simplest gestures of love and compassion can help rebuild a life.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Yahoo
Police arrest 3 alleged members of cultlike group linked to killings
Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Three people were arrested in connection with a series of homicides in California and Pennsylvania as well as the shooting death earlier this year in Vermont of a U.S. border patrol agent. On Sunday, Maryland State Police arrested Jack "Ziz" LaSota, 34, Michelle Zajko, 32, and Daniel Blank, 26. The three were detained in Frostburg, M.D., midway between Washington and Pittsburgh, Penn. The trio were due in court Tuesday, court records indicated. "The Maryland State Police is working in coordination with our federal law enforcement partners and the Office of the State's Attorney in Allegany County as this investigation continues," a spokesperson for the Maryland State Police wrote in a statement. Authorities said Zajko allegedly supplied the guns utilized in the January shooting and death of Border Patrol agent David Maland on Jan. 20 near the U.S.-Canadian border. State police officials confirmed the arrests Monday but declined to give further comment. The connection with Blank, of Sacramento, Calif, was not immediately clear. Zajko, of Media, Penn., is a suspected in the 2023 shooting deaths of her parents. Both Zajko and Lakota had been interviewed in relation to her parents' murders but were never taken into custody or charged. Meanwhile, officials believe LaSota, of Berkeley, Calif., was the leader of a small group that included 21-year-old Michelle Youngblut, who had previously been charged in connection to Maland's January killing. Lasota faces additional firearm and obstructing and hindering charges, the statement added. "There's significant evidence that Jack LaSota is the person who is the idea engine for these people," said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow and policy adviser at the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism, told USA Today. "There are certainly suspicions that need to be investigated," he added. The three were all arrested in rural Maryland near the Pennsylvania border, approximately 230 miles west of where Zajko's late parents lived. According to Maryland court documents, LaSota faces charges of trespassing, obstruction and possession of a handgun in a vehicle. Additionally, Zajko faces a number of charges including trespassing, resisting or interfering with an arrest, obstruction and carrying a handgun. Pennsylvania State Police officials said Blank was reported missing near the residence of Zajko's parents on Dec. 15, 2022. He faces charges of trespassing, obstruction and hindering. Reports said the group members operated as a small religious group and lived in North Carolina and California at times in box trucks. LaSota, who appeared to identify as transgender according to online posts, was reported dead in a boating incident, an obituary posted in her hometown Alaska newspaper said. LaSota was previously a computer programmer linked to a Berkeley-based organization that aims to utilize math and principles to make the world better. German national Ophelia Buckholt, an alleged follower of LaSota's, was shot and killed last month in a Vermont gunfire exchange with U.S. Border Patrol agents during a traffic stop. Teresa Youngblut, the 21-year-old suspect who was riding with Bauckholt, pleaded not guilty to firearms charges. There were fears the group became a "death cult" or a "murder gang" over the supposed strict adherence to a belief system surrounding mainstream behaviors and veganism. "You're talking about being willing to kill people who they think are bad," Jessica Taylor, who briefly dated Backholt, told USA Today.
The Independent
18-02-2025
- The Independent
Leader of cultlike Zizians linked to 6 killings is due in a Maryland court
The leader of a cultlike group known as the Zizians that is linked to six killings in three states is due in a Maryland courtroom Tuesday along with two others. Jack Lasota, 34, of Berkeley, California, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 32, of Media, Pennsylvania, and Daniel Blank, 26, of Sacramento, California. They face charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun in a vehicle. A bail hearing for the the two is scheduled for Tuesday at Allegany District Court in Cumberland, Maryland. The Zizians have been tied to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. Lasota, Zajko and Blank were arrested in Frostburg, Maryland, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) west of Baltimore on Sunday afternoon. They were transported to a county detention center where they are being held, Maryland State Police said in a statement. 'The Maryland State Police is working in coordination with our federal law enforcement partners and the Office of the State's Attorney in Allegany County as this investigation continues,' the state police statement said. Maland, 44, was killed in a Jan. 20 shootout following a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border. Officials have offered few details of the cross-country investigation. Associated Press interviews and a review of court records and online postings tell the story of how a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of them in their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and became increasingly violent. Their goals aren't clear, but online writings included topics such as radical veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence. At the middle of it all is 'Ziz,' the leader of the strange group whose members are sometimes called 'Zizians' in online forums. LaSota published a dark and sometimes violent blog under the name Ziz and, in one section, described her theory that the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders and 'often desire to kill each other.' LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings says she is a transgender woman, railed against perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some are concerned with the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. LaSota has not responded to emails from the AP in recent weeks, and her attorney Daniel McGarrigle declined to comment on whether she is connected to any of the deaths. She's wanted for arrest in two states for missing court appearances. McGarrigle would only confirm Monday that he has represented LaSota and wouldn't confirm her arrest or any details of the latest case. Attempts to reach attorneys for Zajko and Blank were not successful. Pennsylvania state police records describe Daniel Blank as Michelle Zajko's housemate in Vermont. In January 2023, police investigating the shooting deaths of Zajko's parents detained both LaSota and Blank at a hotel where Zajko was staying. Blank was not charged. LaSota was charged with obstructing law enforcement and disorderly conduct. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this story.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Yahoo
Jury finds New Haven man guilty of criminal possession of firearm
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — A jury in New Haven Superior Court Friday found a 22-year-old guilty of criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Office of the State's Attorney New Haven district. Emanuel Lowery of New Haven is prohibited from possessing firearms as a convicted felon with a prior conviction for the same offense. Gov. Ned Lamont nominates new associate Connecticut Supreme Court justice, 13 other judges Evidence presented at his trial showed that while in custody of the Department of Correction, Lowery made calls to a family member, asking them to remove an item from the backseat of a relative's vehicle. Members of New Haven Police Department Criminal Intelligence Unit executed a search warrant on the vehicle and found a loaded .38-caliber Special revolver, according to the Office of the State's Attorney. Lowery is set to be sentenced in New Haven Superior Court on March 28. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
