Latest news with #arraignment
CNN
7 hours ago
- CNN
Key questions in Arkansas couple's killing remain unanswered as suspect pleads not guilty
Even as Andrew James McGann sits in jail accused of the ghastly double murder of parents on a hike at a state park in the Ozark Mountains, key questions linger about the motive. McGann, 28, pleaded not guilty Thursday to two charges of capital murder, Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter told reporters following an arraignment. McGann's attorneys have declined to comment on the case. He is next due in court November 14, Carter said. The former teacher was arrested after a days-long manhunt as he got his hair cut at a salon in Springdale, Arkansas, about 30 miles north of Devil's Den State Park. He is being held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center in Fayetteville, according to police and jail records. Here are some of the key questions about the July 26 fatal stabbing that remain unanswered: While McGann admitted to killing Cristen Brink, 41, and her husband Clinton Brink, 43, during an interview with investigators, why he allegedly did it remains a mystery. Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar previously said the killings appeared to be 'a completely random event' because there's 'absolutely no indication, no reason whatsoever to believe there was any connection at all' between the Brinks and McGann. McGann had recently been hired as a 'teacher candidate' by Springdale Public Schools, according to a district spokesperson, but had not yet started working there. State records show he is currently licensed to teach elementary and middle school grades in at least three states: Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Most recently, he was a fifth-grade teacher in the Sand Springs Public Schools in Oklahoma, just west of Tulsa, according to the district. The couple and two of their daughters were hiking at the 2,500-acre Devil's Den State Park in northwest Arkansas when McGann approached them, police said. The park has thick vegetation and little to no cell phone service. Clinton Brink was first ambushed by McGann, police said, and after witnessing the attack, Cristen Brink ran away with her daughters, ages 7 and 9. The mother returned to help her husband, Arkansas State Police Maj. Stacie Rhoads said during a news conference, but she lost her life, too. 'They (the Brinks) absolutely protected those girls to their fullest extent, to the point that it cost them their lives,' Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said. 'We're in awe of this mom and dad. We're also in awe of these girls.' At some point, a hiker on the trail saw the Brink children and found the bodies of their parents, according to a probable cause document filed by prosecutors. It's unclear how much time passed before the hiker was able to call 911 and report the deaths due to the lack of cell phone service in that area of the park. The couple's bodies were found on the Devil's Den Trail, audio from first responders indicated. While searching the trail, first responders heard shouts, scanner audio indicates, though it's not clear from whom. Authorities obtained a photo of a suspect and later, items seen in that photo were found during a search of McGann's home, along with knives, Rhoads said. However, it is unclear if the weapon used in the crime was among the collected items, Rhoads added. Officials have also not said what weapon they believe McGann used in the stabbing. Authorities launched an intense manhunt for McGann that ended four days after the murders when he was quietly apprehended at a hair salon. But it's unclear what may have led authorities to the hair salon. The information needed to track down the suspect 'all started with those two little girls,' said Hagar, the police chief. At first, the only description of the suspect police had was provided by the children who bore witness to the gruesome attack. But McGann was injured in the ordeal, resulting in blood loss, which allowed investigators to establish a DNA profile, officials said. The Brinks' daughters were not harmed and are safe with relatives, police have said. The Brinks also have a third daughter who was not on the trail with them that day, authorities said. The family had recently moved from another state to Prairie Grove, a small town in northwest Arkansas near the Oklahoma state line, according to police. Their relatives asked for privacy in a statement before McGann was arrested. 'Clinton and Cristen died heroes, protecting their little girls and they deserve justice. They will forever live on in all of our hearts,' their relatives said. Next month the Prairie Grove community is slated to host a community fundraiser to support the Brink family, Prairie Grove Mayor David Faulk told CNN affiliate KTHV. The money raised from the event will go directly to the Brink children in an effort to give them 'a breath of fresh air' and can be 'one less thing they have to worry about,' he said. 'No matter what, there's going to be a stigma in the back of their mind that they will remember this is the place that they've lost their parents,' Faulk said, adding he hopes the Brink girls also remember Prairie Grove was a place where the community came together and supported them. CNN's Dianne Gallagher, Andy Rose, Dalia Faheid, Rebekah Riess and Hanna Park contributed to this report.
CBS News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Hamtramck City Council holds meeting after two members face election fraud charges
Two Hamtramck city council members who are facing election fraud charges were arraigned on Tuesday, the same day as the city council meeting. Nothing was stopping Councilmen Muhtasin Sadman and Mohamad Hassan from attending the meeting, and it was business as usual with a few pointed comments and one noticeable absence. Five city council members, including Sadman, and Mayor Amer Ghalib were in attendance; however, the empty chair belonged to Hassan. Earlier in the day, both men declined to comment after they appeared in court. They entered not guilty pleas. They are due back in court next week. The city council meeting started with presentations from student interns and other agenda items. During public comment, there were calls for unity. An email read aloud from a resident directly addressed the controversy and asked for the removal of Sadman and Hassan. The meeting then went on like normal. Highlights included an effort to save a beloved mural in the city, which was tabled for the next meeting. The night ended with the Hamtramck City Council steering clear of any major conflict. The council can still take action to remove them in the future.
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Yahoo
North Andover officer shot by fellow cop arraigned on criminal charges Thursday
A North Andover police officer shot by a fellow officer during what officials have described as an 'armed confrontation' in late June was arraigned Thursday, according to the Essex District Attorney's office. Kelsey Fitzsimmons, 28, is charged with armed assault with intent to murder and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. Fitzsimmons, who is still hospitalized, appeared via teleconference for the arraignment, a spokesperson for District Attorney Paul Tucker's office wrote in an email. Fitzsimmons pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing. Judge Carol-Ann Fraser said she would revisit the order to hold Fitzsimmons if a 'suitable release plan is presented that would ensure the safety of the community,' the spokesperson wrote. Read more: Officer shot by colleague in North Andover releases statement: 'I was failed by so many' Fraser's order allows Fitzsimmons to remain at a hospital for treatment. Fitzsimmons will return to court for a probable cause hearing on Aug. 28. Last month, Fitzsimmons released a statement through her attorney, Tim Bradl, saying she tried to take her own life when officers served her a restraining order obtained by her fiancée. Fitzsimmons and Bradl have said she was suffering from postpartum depression at the time of the incident after giving birth to her first child in February. In the statement, Fitzsimmons says she was undergoing treatment at the time of the shooting. In the statement, she denied ever pointing her gun at a fellow officer. Bradl did not immediately respond to MassLive for comment on Thursday. More about the case Officer shot by colleague in North Andover releases statement: 'I was failed by so many' North Andover officer shot by fellow cop has police certification suspended Mass. police officer shot in 'armed confrontation' faces armed assault to murder, other charges North Andover officer won her gun license back before 'armed confrontation' at her home Authorities ID off-duty cop shot by fellow officer in North Andover Read the original article on MassLive.
BreakingNews.ie
18-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Case linked to Evan Fitzgerald adjourned until October
The arraignment of a man charged with firearm offences alongside Evan Fitzgerald has been adjourned until October. Shane Kinsella, 22, of Tynock, Kiltegan, Co Wicklow appeared before Naas Circuit Court on Friday. Advertisement He is charged with two counts of possessing firearms and two counts of possessing ammunition on March 2nd, 2024 near Ponsonby Bridge, Straffan Road in Co Kildare. The firearms in question are a Remington Rand semi-automatic pistol and a Heckler & Koch assault rifle. His legal team asked Judge Elva Duffy to put the case back until October to allow certain matters to be dealt with. Prosecuting barrister Daniel Boland BL was asked if they objected and he replied that they did not. Advertisement The arraignment was put back until Tuesday, October 7th and Mr Kinsella was further remanded on bail. Another man who had been charged alongside Fitzgerald and Mr Kinsella – Daniel Quinn Burke, 22, of Allendale Lawns, Baltinglass, Co Wicklow – had previously pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm. He is scheduled for sentencing on the same date, October 7th, at noon. Evan Fitzgerald, 22, from Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, died by suicide with a gun after discharging it at a shopping centre in Co Carlow in June. Advertisement He had been awaiting trial on weapons charges from the previous year.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Defendant talks his way into extra time
CATLETTSBURG An Ashland man with a lengthy rap sheet probably won't be making any more snide remarks to a sitting judge after receiving quick consequences on Thursday. After clearing up some confusion between two defendants with the same name, 41-year-old Jeffrey A. Hurn approached a podium at the Boyd County Detention Center livestreaming a feed in front of Boyd Circuit Judge John Vincent. Hurn was set to appear for arraignment in front of the judge on six total cases charging him with several different felonies including, property theft, fentanyl trafficking, wanton endangerment of a police officer and possessing a handgun as a convicted felon. The first order of business for Judge Vincent was to determine if Hurn had an attorney, to which Hurn said he thought he had previously retained a local attorney — but with that attorney absent from the courtroom and after a phone call to his office — Hurn learned that wasn't the case. Prior to Vincent appointing Hurn attorney John Thompson with the Department of Public Advocacy, Hurn said he had recently been released from a local ICU due to needing medical care, but the judge said Hurn was held on bond and the jail was capable of caring for his medical needs and could transport him to the hospital if needed. Hurn, apparently unhappy with the judge's response, asked Vincent, 'What is your name, by the way?' Ignoring his question, Vincent began to rattle off each case and the charges associated with them, but Hurn interrupted, telling the judge, 'Half of these cases aren't even mine,' but Vincent rolled on, having already determined Hurn's middle name and birth date to distinguish him from the similarly named defendant earlier. 'Those ain't my cases no way. I done told you that 10 minutes ago,' Hurn interrupted. In the middle of Vincent reading off roughly 25 of Hurn's alleged charges and Thompson pleading not guilty to each of them, Hurn committed yet another courtroom faux pas by turning from the podium and walking toward the exit of the jail's holding room. Vincent ordered a deputy jailer to escort Hurn back to the podium, prompting Hurn to ask the judge, 'What do you want?' In response, Vincent ruled Hurn was in contempt of court — a common punishment for defendants who disrupt court proceedings or show disrespect to the court's authority — resulting in 30 additional days to any other sentence Hurn may receive in the future and ordered the jail to revoke any privileges Hurn has while behind bars for an unclear amount of time. Hurn is set to appear before Judge Vincent again for a pre-trial conference (on all six cases) on Aug. 14.
