Latest news with #Yonker
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘I've been shot': Hammond man's trial opens for hog-tying, shooting man
When Lansing police Officer Todd Yonker first showed up at an apartment for a 911 gunshot victim call in November 2022, he quickly clocked it wasn't a typical crime. The victim was lying in a bed in a pair of black shorts. He was shaking and somewhat incoherent. His hands were partially tied with an electrical cord and tow straps. All the cars surrounding the apartment — including the victim's own vehicle — were cold to the touch, a possible sign they weren't driven recently. The man was clearly beaten in the face and he had a bullet wound in his leg where blood had already dried. 'I'm thinking he was shot somewhere and dumped here,' he speculated in bodycam footage. Later, Lansing Detective Mike Lindemulder took pictures at Advocate Christ Medical Center where the man had a golf club-shaped bruise on his back. The victim said there he was hogtied, trapped, beaten and shot after his co-worker Aric Fulton's 50th birthday party in Hammond, Indiana. Fulton, 52, is on trial this week in Lake Superior Court in Crown Point, Indiana. He is charged with attempted murder, robbery, criminal confinement, aggravated battery, strangulation and three counts of battery. He has pleaded not guilty. Court documents state he told the victim he was the 'black Jeffery Dahmer.' The victim — who asked the media not to use his name — went through a 'living nightmare,' Deputy Prosecutor Michael Stewart told jurors in opening statements. He had unknowingly walked 'into a trap,' the lawyer said. The violence happened after Fulton kicked the couple of people there out, leaving the victim alone, Stewart said. Fulton's behavior turned 'very' strange and 'paranoid.' Defense lawyer Jose Vega argued the story was turned around. The victim was the aggressor, he argued. He brought a Hennessey bottle to the party and 'grew darker' and 'relentless' as the night progressed. His client was forced to shoot him in the leg in self-defense, he said. Hammond Police didn't interview the other two people at the party, the lawyer argued. Jurors saw about 30 minutes of Yonker's bodycam footage Monday as he and other police tried to figure out what happened. A relative told officers the victim showed up at the apartment. 'Bro, I've been shot,' the man recalled he said. Yonker, a now 28-year veteran, later conveyed the man's injuries to a co-worker outside. 'I looked at his face, I was like, 'Holy (smokes),'' he said on the footage. Court documents state the victim told police Fulton invited him to his apartment Nov. 22, 2022, to celebrate Fulton's 50th birthday. He appeared drunk when the victim showed up. He and Fulton played pool inside the apartment. Fulton told a couple visiting him briefly it was 'time to leave,' then locked the deadbolt on his apartment door, charges state. Fulton told the victim he took the key to his deadbolt. They argued before Fulton took out a revolver and shot the victim in the left thigh as he ran behind the pool table, documents state. The victim said his foot went numb. Fulton forced him to take off his clothes looking for the key, then let him put his underwear back on, he told police. Fulton recorded him and later threatened to kill his family if he went to the police, the affidavit alleges. Fulton allegedly hog-tied him with an extension cord and tow strap, according to court documents. The victim said Fulton beat him with a golf club in the head, legs, thigh and arm, the affidavit alleges. He also hit him with a baseball bat. Once Fulton dropped the revolver, the victim tried to grab it, but his hands were still tied. Fulton choked him until he lost consciousness at least twice and dragged him around the apartment with the extension cord around his neck. The victim said he woke up in a garbage bag that 'smelled like bleach' in an enclosed porch. The victim also said he got kicked down a flight of stairs to a basement that had a light and chair. The man said he begged Fulton to let him go, saying he had kids, promising he wouldn't call the police. Fulton allegedly put the bag over his head and walked him to his car. Fulton drove a 'short distance' before he stopped the car, cut the restraints and let him go. The victim drove home where the relative called the cops, the affidavit states. mcolias@
Chicago Tribune
20-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
‘I've been shot': Hammond man's trial opens for hog-tying, shooting man
When Lansing Police Officer Todd Yonker first showed up at an apartment for a 911 gunshot victim call in November 2022, he quickly clocked it wasn't a typical crime. The victim was lying in a bed in a pair of black shorts. He was shaking and somewhat incoherent. His hands were partially tied with an electrical cord and tow straps. All the cars surrounding the apartment – including the victim's own vehicle — were cold to the touch, a possible sign they weren't driven recently. The man was clearly beaten in the face and he had a bullet wound in his leg where blood had already dried. 'I'm thinking he was shot somewhere and dumped here,' he speculated in bodycam footage. Later, Lansing Detective Mike Lindemulder took pictures at Advocate Christ Medical Center where the man had a golf club-shaped bruise on his back. The victim said there he was hogtied, trapped, beaten and shot after his co-worker Aric Fulton's 50th birthday party in Hammond, Indiana. Fulton, 52, is on trial this week in Lake Superior Court in Crown Point, Indiana. He is charged with attempted murder, robbery, criminal confinement, aggravated battery, strangulation and three counts of battery. He has pleaded not guilty. Court documents state he told the victim he was the 'black Jeffery Dahmer.' The victim – who asked the media not to use his name – went through a 'living nightmare,' Deputy Prosecutor Michael Stewart told jurors in opening statements. He had unknowingly walked 'into a trap,' the lawyer said. The violence happened after Fulton kicked the couple of people there out, leaving the victim alone, Stewart said. Fulton's behavior turned 'very' strange and 'paranoid.' Defense lawyer Jose Vega argued the story was turned around. The victim was the aggressor, he argued. He brought a Hennessey bottle to the party and 'grew darker' and 'relentless' as the night progressed. His client was forced to shoot him in the leg in self-defense, he said. Hammond Police didn't interview the other two people at the party, the lawyer argued. Jurors saw about 30 minutes of Yonker's bodycam footage Monday as he and other police tried to figure out what happened. A relative told officers the victim showed up at the apartment. 'Bro, I've been shot,' the man recalled he said. Yonker, a now 28-year veteran, later conveyed the man's injuries to a co-worker outside. 'I looked at his face, I was like, 'Holy (smokes),'' he said on the footage. Court documents state the victim told police Fulton invited him to his apartment Nov. 22, 2022, to celebrate Fulton's 50th birthday. He appeared drunk when the victim showed up. He and Fulton played pool inside the apartment. Fulton told a couple visiting him briefly it was 'time to leave,' then locked the deadbolt on his apartment door, charges state. Fulton told the victim he took the key to his deadbolt. They argued before Fulton took out a revolver and shot the victim in the left thigh as he ran behind the pool table, documents state. The victim said his foot went numb. Fulton forced him to take off his clothes looking for the key, then let him put his underwear back on, he told police. Fulton recorded him and later threatened to kill his family if he went to the police, the affidavit alleges. Fulton allegedly hog-tied him with an extension cord and tow strap, according to court documents. The victim said Fulton beat him with a golf club in the head, legs, thigh and arm, the affidavit alleges. He also hit him with a baseball bat. Once Fulton dropped the revolver, the victim tried to grab it, but his hands were still tied. Fulton choked him until he lost consciousness at least twice and dragged him around the apartment with the extension cord around his neck. The victim said he woke up in a garbage bag that 'smelled like bleach' in an enclosed porch. The victim also said he got kicked down a flight of stairs to a basement that had a light and chair. The man said he begged Fulton to let him go, saying he had kids, promising he wouldn't call the police. Fulton allegedly put the bag over his head and walked him to his car. Fulton drove a 'short distance' before he stopped the car, cut the restraints and let him go. The victim drove home where the relative called the cops, the affidavit states.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The number of homeless students rising fast in Thurston County's urban districts
The number of homeless students attending North Thurston Public Schools, the largest school district in Thurston County, has risen to more than 1,000, nearly twice as many as the district reported in 2021. The increase can be partly attributed to the district doing a better job of identifying students who qualify for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, but there's also a too-familiar culprit: the cost of housing and the lack of affordable housing in the area. Amanda Yonker, who works with homeless students as a River Ridge High School student navigator, delivered those sobering comments at a recent joint meeting of the NTPS school board and Lacey City Council. 'There's a lack of affordable housing, and there is a continuous rise in rental prices,' Yonker told those gathered at River Ridge High School last Tuesday. 'So time and time again, we're seeing families, two-income families, that cannot afford the rent because it continues to go up.' Some of those families are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, a time when some families lost their housing, which forced them to double up with others, she said. As a result, their credit took a hit and now some people won't rent to them. Thurston County is an expensive place to live. The median price of a single-family home was $540,000 in April, according to Northwest Multiple Listing Service data, and average rents in the county last year were $1,592, Thurston Regional Planning Council data show. Yonker told those at the meeting that the district has 1,024 homeless students, up from 556 in 2021. Of that larger total, more than 800 students have doubled up to live with someone else, while close to 200 are considered unaccompanied. Although the numbers have increased since 2021, the year-over-year period has been stable, she said. However, the number of homeless high school students has climbed from 136 in 2023 to 351 this year. 'We define homelessness as those who are without fixed, adequate or regular nighttime residency,' Yonker said. That is the definition under the federal McKinney-Vento Act. 'This can look like students who are living in tents, or in their cars, or on the street,' she said. 'It can also look like being in an RV, or couch surfing, or living with your family, but perhaps your family is living with another family, and their name is not on the lease. You can also be living with your grandparents or another family member who's raising you, but they are not your legal guardian.' Olympia and Tumwater school districts also have seen dramatic increases in their student homeless population since 2021, according to data shared with The Olympian. Since the 2021-22 school year, the Olympia School District has seen an increase of 85 students experiencing homelessness, with 285 identified for the 2024-25 school year, spokesman Conor Schober said. 'Stigma around being unhoused continues to make self-identification a challenge for many families,' he said. Housing — the cost or availability of it — is among the contributing factors to higher homelessness in Olympia schools, he said. 'There has been a noticeable rise in families relying on motels or hotels when financially possible, as well as a sharp increase in evictions due to unaffordable rent, unpaid balances or occupancy violations,' Schober said. Tumwater, too, has seen a rise in its homeless student population, increasing from 159 in the 2021-22 school year to 225 this school year. 'We have found that lack of affordable housing is a significant factor,' spokeswoman Laurie Wiedenmeyer said. 'We have families with HUD vouchers to help with rent, yet some have had them for two years and are still waiting for housing.' Yonker's comments at Tuesday's meeting prompted Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder to seek an update about a low-income, city-initiated housing project that has been proposed across from Komachin Middle School at College Street and Mullen Road. 'We reached a purchase and sale agreement with the LOTT Clean Water Alliance (the owners of the property), and we're almost complete with the due diligence period,' said Lacey City Manager Rick Walk. Walk said the authorization for the purchase and sale agreement is expected to come before the council in June. 'We've been talking with the Thurston County Housing Authority about doing a multi-generational, low-income type of project there that would serve both low-income seniors as well as low-income families, targeting school-age families,' he said. Once authorized by the council, the next step would be to formulate a memorandum of understanding with whatever partner wants to step up and move that project forward, Walk said. The proposal has called for cottage-style housing that would be developed over two phases, totaling 60-80 units, he said. Despite the challenges of being homeless, a range of services are available to those students, Yonker said. For example, North Thurston has the Family Youth Resource Center, which is near North Thurston High School. It's a place where students can get clothes and hygiene products, touch base with community partners about benefits and health insurance, or take advantage of coordinated entry services to find housing, Yonker said. Tumwater, too, has a similar arrangement. 'We are grateful for our Community Schools Managers that are housed in our schools,' Wiedenmeyer said. 'Each of the CS Managers has a dedicated work area in their assigned school that is stocked with food, hygiene supplies, and more, and students know they are able to stop by any time if they are hungry or need assistance with essential resources.' Yonker said these students do move on and succeed. 'These kids are going to school,' she said. 'They're going to college. They're doing amazing things, which is fantastic because we know that the chance of homelessness rises 4.5% if kids leave high school without a high school diploma or a GED.' Site near Komachin Middle School could get affordable housing. Here's how it would work
