Latest news with #Skeens
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Charges dropped against former Albuquerque police officer accused of false imprisonment
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It appears the former Albuquerque Police Department officer who dragged a disabled man out of a Target will not face a third trial. Earlier this month, a hung jury led to a second mistrial in the case against Kenneth Skeens. Now, the state has dropped all charges. Story continues below Community: NM Dancewear closes its doors for good, leaving hole in dance community Food: Los Ranchos restaurant named best spot for brunch in the state by Yelp Crime: ABQ woman frustrated, two vehicles stolen from hospital parking lot days apart Film: Do you recognize these 'El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie' filming locations? According to a document filed on April 18, the New Mexico Attorney General's Office said that after two juries couldn't agree on a verdict, they believe it is in the interests of justice to dismiss the case. In August 2022, former Albuquerque police officer Kenneth Skeens went up to Matthew McManus, who was trying to buy a bike at a self-checkout at the Target on Coors Blvd. and Irving Blvd. Skeens and two other officers, who were there for an unrelated call, confronted McManus. Video of the incident shows McManus being dragged outside, where police told him he was under arrest for refusing to identify himself. Skeens lost his job, and later, the attorney general filed charges including false imprisonment. Skeens first went to trial a year ago, but the jury couldn't reach a verdict. Skeens was back in court earlier this month for a retrial, with the prosecution arguing McManus had the money to buy the bike and Skeens' arrest was illegal. While the defense argued that Target employees were watching McManus and told Skeens to arrest him, once again, the trial ended with a jury that couldn't agree on whether Skeens committed a crime. Now, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has dropped the case without prejudice. While that means charges can be re-filed, prosecutors cite the two juries' inability to reach a consensus as the reason for dropping the charges. Skeens was facing charges of false imprisonment, perjury, and making a false report. If he had been convicted, Skeens was facing up to four years behind bars. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
KRQE Newsfeed: CYFD plan, Officer mistrial, Warming temperatures, City mourning, Moon tree
Sam Bregman announces campaign for governor of New Mexico ABQ café opens dinner service for first time since COVID-19 Man accused of murdering his family in Tijeras found incompetent to stand trial Poll: Which local artists do New Mexicans read most? ABQ BioPark works to restore Mexican gray wolf population with new facility Albuquerque woman pleads guilty to child abuse charges The U.S. and China are locked in a faceoff over tariffs. No one wants to blink first [1] CYFD Secretary acknowledges department's shortcomings – The woman who took over CYFD is explaining how she plans to address the problems the agency is facing. Lawmakers unleashed on CYFD Secretary Teresa Casados this session over the deaths of children. Casados said she believes the solutions start with prevention, which is why she bolstered support for families struggling with situations that could lead to abuse or neglect. CYFD has added four family resource centers around the state. Lawmakers passed a bill which would create another office to oversee CYFD. [2] Mistrial declared against former Albuquerque police officer – For the second time in a year, a judge has declared a mistrial for former APD officer Kenneth Skeens. The officer is charged with false imprisonment after dragging a disabled man, Matthew McManus, out of the Coors Target. Skeens testified in his own defense during the trial and claimed Target employees told him to trespass McManus. Jurors failed to agree on a verdict Wednesday afternoon, telling the judge that more time would not help. The New Mexico Department of Justice has two weeks to evaluate whether to prosecute Skeens for a third time. [3] Warm temperatures in western New Mexico and slightly cooler to the east – A cold front briefly cools off eastern New Mexico Thursday. The front will bring in slightly cooler temperatures to eastern New Mexico Thursday, while the western half of the state will continue to see warmer temperatures. Temperatures will start warming again Friday and even hotter weather moves in Saturday with widespread record breaking highs. Temperatures will climb up to near 90° in the Albuquerque Metro with highs in the mid and upper 90s in southern parts of the state [4] Community mourns death of Cleveland High School student – At the end of March, Owen Pagano passed away after a drowning accident on a fishing trip to Cochiti Lake. Pagano attended Cleveland High School and was on the JV baseball team last year. At a gathering Wednesday night, his family and friends said he was a light who was constantly smiling and cracking jokes. [5] Moon Tree at New Mexico museum soon to be unveiled to public – A Las Cruces museum is set to unveil a new scientific resource to the public. New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum says its 'Moon Tree' started as one of the hundreds of seeds that went on NASA's Artemis I mission in 2022, where they orbited the moon. It was a nod to the first moon tree project aboard Apollo 14. The museum was just one of the places across the country to receive one of these moon trees last year. The Moon Tree will be unveiled to the public on April 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Telegraph
14-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Former Chanel employee ordered to take ‘whistleblowing' video down in court battle
A former Chanel employee has been ordered to take down a TikTok video in which she makes damaging allegations against senior executives at the company. Charlotte Skeens, who worked at the fashion brand's office in Mayfair, central London, told the High Court she believed it was in the public interest for her claims to be heard and that they amounted to whistleblowing. Lawyers for Chanel argued the 31-year-old posted the video for financial reasons and that she did not really believe the claims she was making were true. The court heard she was compared to Lauren Weisberger, who wrote the bestselling novel The Devil Wears Prada, partly based on her experiences at Vogue magazine. The judge, Mr Justice Sweeting, ruled that whether or not the allegations she made in the video were in the public interest would have to be tested at a trial in April. Until then, he ordered that the footage, which he said could harm the company's reputation, must be removed from TikTok as it contained 'derogatory' information about the company. The court heard that Ms Skeens, who worked at the company from 2019 to 2022, posted a clip on the social media site last week. The video, which makes several allegations against senior executives at Chanel, has now been seen at least 146,000 times. The specific claims that Ms Skeens made against the senior executives were only referred to in court as X and Y. The court heard that Ms Skeens had previously made a settlement with her former employees in 2022 which prevented her from publishing confidential information. In summer 2024, she made posts online about issues at the company, of which Chanel subsequently became aware. The case was due to go to trial in March but on the eve of the hearing Ms Skeens made another agreement with the company in which she said she would not post confidential information or make derogatory statements. 'Must be for personal gain' Niran de Silva KC for Mishcon de Reya, representing Chanel, claimed that Ms Skeens had been seeking to gain financially by posting the clips online. He said that in July 2024 she spoke to a 'promoter' and discussed allegations that she was planning to disclose via social media, a podcast and also talked about even a book or a film. He said: 'She has done the same again now and we say it must be for personal gain in some way. 'She obviously denies that, but it is apparent.' Mr de Silva said Ms Skeens claimed the allegations were part of a wider 'cultural' issue across the company. Ms Skeens claimed she viewed the comments she made in the video as being 'whistleblowing' and she wanted to speak 'openly and freely' about them. She said the legal action against her was essentially a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (Slapp). Slapps are defined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority as 'a misuse of the legal system through bringing or threatening claims that are unmeritorious or characterised by abusive tactics, in order to stifle lawful scrutiny and publication'. In February, Sir Keir Starmer refused to ban lawyers from using the tactic despite pledging to clamp down on 'intolerable' intimidation. The Government said it did not intend to introduce new legislation to target 'Slapps', despite being urged to do so by peers in the House of Lords. Ms Skeens said the video had been shared by others widely and since she had published at least 30 people had contacted her about their own experiences. She argued that if she was forced to take down the video, people would assume it was the result of legal action. She said: 'The message that sends about the company might discourage other witnesses from coming forward because they feel it will happen to them and even if you do speak up it will be detrimental to their behaviour.' Mr Justice Sweeting said the interim injunction would remain in place until the next hearing on April 30.
