Crime
Authorities arrest former sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot black airman in his home
A former Florida sheriff’s deputy accused of killing a black U.S. Air Force soldier who opened the door to his apartment while holding a gun pointed at the bottom was arrested Monday, officials said.
Former Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Duran, 38, has been charged with murder with a firearm in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State’s Attorney Greg Marcille said Friday. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by as much as 30 years in prison.
Duran was arrested Monday on the county jail, records show. Marcille confirmed his arrest to The Associated Press.
“He did turn himself in,” Marcille said in a telephone interview, adding that Duran’s first court appearance might be via video link Tuesday morning. “He will be held in custody pending his first appearance.”
A lawyer representing Duran didn’t immediately reply to an email in search of comment.
Authorities say Duran was dispatched to Fortson’s Fort Walton Beach apartment in response to a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false.
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After knocking repeatedly, Fortson opened the door with the gun at his side, pointed down. Authorities say Duran shot him multiple times before telling Fortson to place the gun down.
On Friday, the day he was charged, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform were placed on the door of the apartment where he was murdered.
According to an internal affairs report into the shooting, Duran told investigators that when Fortson opened the door, he saw aggression in the airman’s eyes. He said he fired because “I’m standing there thinking I’m about to get shot, I’m about to die.”
Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation found his life was not in danger when he opened fire. Outside law enforcement experts also said an officer cannot shoot simply because a possible suspect is holding a gun if there is no such thing as a threat.
Duran is a law enforcement veteran who began as a military police officer in the Army. He joined the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in July 2019 but resigned two years later, saying his wife, a nurse, had been transferred to a naval hospital outside the realm. He returned to the sheriff’s office in June 2023.
Okaloosa personnel records show he was reprimanded in 2021 for failing to finish a task of confirming the addresses of three registered sex offenders by visiting their homes and telling a classmate he didn’t care. Then assigned to a highschool as an on-campus substitute, he was also reprimanded for leaving school before the ultimate bell rang and students were released. Florida law requires an armed guard to be on campus during classes.
911 call records show officers had never been called to Fortson’s apartment before, but they’d been called to a close-by residence 10 times in the past eight months, including once for a domestic disturbance.
Crime
Luigi Mangione, 26, in police custody in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO
New York authorities have identified 26-year-old Luigi Mangione as an individual of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
According to police, a McDonald’s worker recognized Mangione in a photograph taken by NYPD Crime Stoppers and called authorities to report that he was eating at the restaurant, which led to his arrest.
Police say Mangione was carrying an anti-corporate manifesto, false identification and a ghost gun.
“It fits the description we were looking for,” Mayor Eric Adams said. An early NYPD report drew criticism online for calling the suspect a “light-skinned male” fairly than simply saying he was white.
The New York Post reports that Mangione previously attended the University of Pennsylvania, was valedictorian of the highschool in 2016 and had ties to Towson, Maryland. His social media posts indicate motivation related to dissatisfaction with the health care industry.
The shooting gained national attention because of the lukewarm response to Thompson’s death from many voters, who criticized the high insurance denial rate and greed that contributed to the American loss of life.
NYPD officers will now travel to Pennsylvania to query Mangione. Watch the entire press conference below:
Crime
OJ Simpson’s audio testimony claims have been proven false
Iroc Avelli, OJ Simpson’s former bodyguard, claimed to have a recording of the late NFL player admitting to killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to .evaluation of the audio recording showed the claim to be false.
In June 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) contacted the Bloomington, Minnesota police department to realize access to thumb drives confiscated during Avelli’s 2022 arrest.
Bloomington Police Department arrested Avelli for alleged assault in 2022; upon arrest, the police seized Avelli’s backpack and obtained an order to gather relevant evidence on the scene. The backpack contained multiple flash drives that the previous security guard said contained Simpson’s confessions.
According to Peasant! News“search warrant filed in Hennepin County requested by Officer George Harms seek for image pendrives in order that “a full forensic examination could possibly be carried out on all of the pendrives to acquire the recording.”
The Bloomington Police Department didn’t return the drives, opting as an alternative to conduct an internal forensic examination. After a digital forensics specialist examined the drives, Bloomington police didn’t disclose any information of “probative value” to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The further investigation into the Simpson and Goldman murders is strange because on October 3, 1995, OJ Simpson was acquitted of all charges. The former San Francisco 49er maintained his innocence until his death from cancer on April 11, 2024.
After his acquittal, OJ Simpson continued to benefit from his fame. In 1996, the Buffalo Bills player published a book titled If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer. Many found the book’s title and content distasteful and criticized it Naked weapon the actor’s constant presence in celebrity culture.
However, many individuals imagine that Simpson’s acquittal ought to be enough to just accept his presence in all spaces. BLACK ENTERPRISES reports on rapper Cam’Ron’s response to criticism after Simpson was invited on his sports show before his death.
The It is what it’s the host and businessman believes that the accusations – proven in court – shouldn’t result in ostracization. Cam’Ron believes that Simpson’s race may have played a job in continuously questioning his innocence throughout his life.
“Look, if he was guilty, we wouldn’t have him on the show,” he said. “You wish to proceed convicting an innocent man. He is innocent. If it was another person, whiter, you’d all say, “Oh, he’s innocent.” TO BE reported.
It appears that the hearings and investigation into Orenthol James Simpson’s role, or lack thereof, in his ex-wife’s murder will proceed even after his death.
Crime
Suspect charged with fatally shooting 3-year-old on Thanksgiving Day
Tatisha Refuge, a 47-year-old New Orleans resident, turned herself in to authorities after the death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. Refuge is charged with “manslaughter by negligence.”
Rudy’s mother, Leshawn Ratliff, lives in Texas but visited Refuge, her foster mother, in the previous few days of Thanksgiving. Nov 8 News.
“I came here on Saturday to pick up my older son. He was here over Thanksgiving break, and I came down on Saturday to pick him up so we could go home on Sunday and they could go back to school on Monday.” Ratliff he said.
While playing UNO, Refuge’s unsecured gun fell from her belt and fired, striking Rudy. Ratliff she recounted how the scene unfolded when she discovered Rudy had been shot.
“I began seeing blood coming out of his chest. That’s once I knew he had been shot. So I called 911.
The mother didn’t wish to wait for 911. Instead, she decided to take Rudy to University Medical Center for treatment. She said that after they arrived at the ability, Rudy seemed to be alive. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later she was informed of his death.
Tatisha Refuge has been charged with negligent homicide within the shooting death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. #Khou11 @AmandaHTV
https://t.co/BFIeGhAHYG— KHOU 11 Houston News (@KHOU) December 4, 2024
Ratliff she nurtured her relationship with Refuge and is torn now that the accusations involve her foster mother.
“It was a random shooting. His grandfather’s gun fell. It wasn’t within the secure. It wasn’t within the gun position. I believe it went into the pocket and fell out and shot my son,” Ratliff said. “I understand it was a mistake. I imagine in my heart that it was a mistake. I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.
The grieving mother began a GoFundMe and is asking the general public for help with Rudy’s burial. To support the Ratliff family of their time of need, click here.
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