Latest news with #Yescas
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Second man sentenced for Pierce County fatal shooting of teen in set-up robbery
A 20-year-old man who admitted to recklessly causing the death of a teenager in a fatal shooting in South Hill in a set-up robbery during a marijuana transaction was sentenced Friday to nearly 13 years in state custody. Antonio Adan Yescas pleaded guilty in November to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm-sentencing enhancement and first-degree attempted robbery for the Jan. 28, 2023 killing of 19-year-old Wesley Jose Molinero Dominguez. Yescas is the second person to be sentenced for the homicide. Joseph M. Lizarraga-Ortiz was sentenced in January to 20 years in state custody after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Yescas was armed with a gun during the robbery, but it was Lizarraga-Ortiz who fired the fatal shot. Both defendants were 17 at the time. Prosecutors originally charged Yescas with first-degree murder as well as attempted robbery. In a court filing asking the court to accept the amended charges, deputy prosecuting attorney Thomas Howe wrote that the change was highly negotiated. Howe said it was an effort to balance four aspects of the case, including Yescas' age and mitigating information provided by his defense attorney, which was detailed in a 700-page packet not filed in the court record. The resolution balanced the fact that although Yescas did not fire the fatal shot, by engaging in a robbery where both he and his codefendant were armed, Yescas bears responsibility for the victim's death, according to the court filing. Howe also said Yescas indicated very early in the case he wanted to resolve the matter short of trial and take responsibility for his actions. According to charging documents, Wesley Molinero Dominguez and Yescas messaged each other on Instagram prior to the shooting, arranging for Yescas to buy $90 worth of marijuana from Molinero Dominguez. Molinero Dominguez and his girlfriend arrived at the location, and two men in black clothing and ski masks — later identified as Lizarraga-Ortiz and Yescas — approached their vehicle and demanded everything they had, the girlfriend later told Sheriff's Office investigators. When Lizarraga-Ortiz and Yescas approached, Molinero Dominguez reportedly said, 'Joseph, you're not going to shoot me. You're my friend,' according to court records. Lizarraga-Ortiz responded by shooting him. The shooting occurred less than a half-mile from Rogers High School, which Molinero Dominguez attended. The sentence Pierce County Superior Court Judge Philip Sorensen imposed was at the low end of the standard sentencing range, 155 to 185 months including enhancements, which was in line with prosecutors' recommendation. Because Yescas was under 18 at the time, he will serve his sentence in juvenile rehabilitation in the custody of the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Felony animal cruelty case against horse-drawn carriage business owner dismissed A felony charge of animal cruelty was dismissed last month against the owner of a Pierce County business that provides horse-drawn carriages for weddings and other events Tammy Lynn Sell, who owns Country Wagon Carriages, was charged with first-degree animal cruelty in Superior Court for the death of a rabbit, which allegedly had signs of starvation on her property near Eatonville. Prosecutors also accused her of second-degree animal cruelty, a gross misdemeanor, for allegedly neglecting a horse. A veterinarian couldn't determine the rabbit's cause of death, according to Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesperson Adam Faber. Because of that, Faber said, prosecutors had to drop the felony charge. Prosecutors proceeded with the second-degree animal cruelty case, and on April 15, Sell entered a pretrial diversion agreement in District Court where she agreed to no criminal law violations. The horse at issue, named Bell, was observed by an animal control officer in 2022 to have a pressure sore on her right hip and had more sores on her left leg. The officer later concluded that Sell was knowingly and intentionally failing to provide the horse with recommended veterinarian care. Sell will have to complete a course on animal cruelty and will pay $4,466.88 in restitution, according to court records.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mexico launches app for Mexicans facing deportation. Here's how it works
Leer en español The Mexican government has launched a mobile application that provides support to Mexican nationals living in the United States, offering an array of services, among them the ability to document any encounters they may have with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The function and content of the application 'is not something that does not exist, but rather it facilitates the scope of what already exists in terms of our consular services,' Jorge Mendoza Yescas, Consul General of Mexico in Phoenix, said to The Arizona Republic. 'Very focused on the issues of protection and consular assistance due to the political immigration climate that we are experiencing.' One week into Donald Trump's second presidency, fear among the immigrant community has grown exponentially due to the president's hard stance on immigration. Yescas said he has not seen an uptick in ICE arrests since Trump took office. He said ICE's Phoenix office routinely arrests between one and five people daily, most of them people with final deportation orders and criminal backgrounds, typically involving DUIs, domestic violence and narcotics. Still, and considering that the Trump administration plans massive immigration enforcement, Mexico launched ConsulApp Contigo — which translates to "consulate app with you" — an application available for Android and IOS to counteract the uncertainty that falls on many Mexican citizens and as an act of solidarity with them. The vast majority of Latinos residing in Arizona are of Mexican origin. Around 2 million Latinos in Arizona — both US-born and migrants — are of Mexican origin, representing more than 25% of the state's total population. About 10.9 million Mexican immigrants reside in the U.S., according to 2023 data from the Migration Policy Institute. The application, which is only meant for Mexicans living in the U.S., offers everything from an emergency contact button with an extension to the Information and Assistance Center for Mexicans (CIAM) in Tucson, Arizona, to a map of consular offices near the user and a section on the rights of its citizens. It also has the function of notifying the user's family or friends in case of emergency. Yescas mentioned that the application was originally created with the purpose of satisfying the needs and security of Mexicans in the U.S. who are in a vulnerable immigration situation. But at the same time, the project took a slight turn by incorporating other types of functions such as direct access to the WhatsApp appointment service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Contact button: When having an encounter with ICE, users can hold this button down for five seconds, which will generate a folio number with the profile holder's information and three different notifications about the case will be sent — one to CIAM, another to the user's nearest consulate and a third to the family member or emergency contact. Know your rights: The application has a section that clearly and simply explains to its users what their rights are and what actions to take in the event of having an encounter with ICE. Map of consular offices: Mexico has 53 consular offices in the U.S. A virtual map shows the locations of the consular offices closest to the user so that they can receive in-person assistance if they need it. Scheduling services: The application offers the function of scheduling appointments at the nearest consulate for passports, consular registrations, powers of attorney and others through the WhatsApp appointment service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yescas said that although this is a resource that officially and recently began to operate, the ConsulApp Contigo is constantly evolving and promises to incorporate other types of functions that will satisfy user needs. 'This is something that is in continuous improvement, it is not a finished product,' said Yescas. Republic reporter Daniel Gonzalez contributed to this article. Have story tips on Latino communities in the Valley? Reach La Voz reporter Paula Soria at psoriaaguilar@ This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mexico launches app that documents ICE encounters. How it works
