logo
North Texas fireworks stand burglary suspect caught on camera offered forgiveness, reward, and a job, owner says

North Texas fireworks stand burglary suspect caught on camera offered forgiveness, reward, and a job, owner says

CBS News5 days ago
A suspect was caught on camera stealing thousands of dollars of inventory from a Crowley fireworks stand, the owner said. Now, the owner is offering forgiveness, a $200 reward and a job to that suspect.
Surveillance video shows a Dodge pickup backing into the lot at Johnny Fireworks at 5 a.m. last Friday. The driver loads up and drives off with thousands of dollars worth of fireworks and leaves behind thousands of dollars in damage, according to the stand's co-owner, Jonathan Cook.
"To the person who broke into our fireworks stand and drove off with thousands of dollars worth of inventory in the back of your Dodge truck—thank you," Cook posted on social media. "Not because we enjoyed waking up to damaged buildings and missing product. Not because theft is ever justified. But because your actions reminded me of something bigger: people are hurting."
Cook is offering the suspect a $200 reward and even a job if he turns himself in and can give back any of the stolen merchandise.
"For you to break in this brazen of a crime, risk everything, commit felonies, you must be in a really desperate place, and my heart breaks for you because of where you are," said Cook. "I want to show you grace. I'm praying for you."
The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said it was called to the fireworks stand; however, it has not yet received a list of everything that was stolen and is "waiting for the business owner to provide further information related to the theft so the investigation can move forward."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

2 shootings reported minutes apart on Chicago's West Side
2 shootings reported minutes apart on Chicago's West Side

CBS News

time27 minutes ago

  • CBS News

2 shootings reported minutes apart on Chicago's West Side

Two shootings were reported on Sunday night just minutes apart in Chicago's South Austin neighborhood. Chicago police said around 10:28 p.m., Chicago police said two men were found with gunshot wounds in an alley in the 5200 block of W. Ferdinand Street. Police said a 27-year-old man was shot in the face and taken to Mt. Sinai in critical condition. The second victim, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the right thigh. He was taken to the same hospital in fair condition. At 10:30 p.m., Chicago police responded to the first block of North Lorel Avenue after shots were fired. Police said a 25-year-old went outside and an unknown man fired shots in his direction. The 25-year-old man was shot in the thigh and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition. No arrests have been made in either shooting. Police are investigating.

A Vermont dairy farm was raided. The mixed messages from Washington since then have increased fears
A Vermont dairy farm was raided. The mixed messages from Washington since then have increased fears

Yahoo

time29 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

A Vermont dairy farm was raided. The mixed messages from Washington since then have increased fears

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — After six 12-hour shifts milking cows, José Molina-Aguilar's lone day off was hardly relaxing. On April 21, he and seven co-workers were arrested on a Vermont dairy farm in what advocates say was one of the state's largest-ever immigration raids. 'I saw through the window of the house that immigration were already there, inside the farm, and that's when they detained us,' he said in a recent interview. 'I was in the process of asylum, and even with that, they didn't respect the document that I was still holding in my hands.' Four of the workers were swiftly deported to Mexico. Molina-Aguilar, released after a month in a Texas detention center with his asylum case still pending, is now working at a different farm and speaking out. 'We must fight as a community so that we can all have, and keep fighting for, the rights that we have in this country,' he said. The owner of the targeted farm declined to comment. But Brett Stokes, a lawyer representing the detained workers, said the raid sent shock waves through the entire Northeast agriculture industry. 'These strong-arm tactics that we're seeing and these increases in enforcement, whether legal or not, all play a role in stoking fear in the community,' said Stokes, director of the Center for Justice Reform Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School. That fear remains given the mixed messages coming from the White House. President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the U.S. illegally, last month paused arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels. But less than a week later, the assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security said worksite enforcement would continue. Such uncertainty is causing problems in big states like California, where farms produce more than three-quarters of the country's fruit and more than a third of its vegetables. But it's also affecting small states like Vermont, where dairy is as much a part of the state's identity as its famous maple syrup. Nearly two-thirds of all milk production in New England comes from Vermont, where more than half the state's farmland is dedicated to dairy and dairy crops. There are roughly 113,000 cows and 7,500 goats spread across 480 farms, according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, which pegs the industry's annual economic impact at $5.4 billion. That impact has more than doubled in the last decade, with widespread help from immigrant labor. More than 90% of the farms surveyed for the agency's recent report employed migrant workers. Among them is Wuendy Bernardo, who has lived on a Vermont dairy farm for more than a decade and has an active application to stop her deportation on humanitarian grounds: Bernardo is the primary caregiver for her five children and her two orphaned younger sisters, according to a 2023 letter signed by dozens of state lawmakers. Hundreds of Bernardo's supporters showed up for her most recent check-in with immigration officials. 'It's really difficult because every time I come here, I don't know if I'll be going back to my family or not,' she said after being told to return in a month. Like Molina-Aguilar, Rossy Alfaro also worked 12-hour days with one day off per week on a Vermont farm. Now an advocate with Migrant Justice, she said the dairy industry would collapse without immigrant workers. 'It would all go down,' she said. 'There are many people working long hours, without complaining, without being able to say, 'I don't want to work.' They just do the job.' ___ Ramer reported from Concord, N.H.

Woman says IMPD officer pulled her braids out. Body cam footage doesn't match police report
Woman says IMPD officer pulled her braids out. Body cam footage doesn't match police report

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Woman says IMPD officer pulled her braids out. Body cam footage doesn't match police report

Matea Glover says she just wanted her money back for a hotel room she says was unfit for her children. Instead, she landed in jail after an interaction with an Indianapolis police officer escalated to several of her braids being ripped from her scalp. Who's to blame for escalating the situation more than a year ago was a topic of debate during a recent Citizens' Police Complaint Board meeting. Glover, 24, had just broken her lease and was getting a hotel for herself and her two kids on March 8, 2024. The mother went to the Days Inn hotel on the northwest side and said she spent her last $150 to book a room. But she knew they wouldn't be sleeping there when she entered it. "There was poop everywhere," Glover said. "All over the bathroom and the walls. So, I came downstairs and asked the front desk if they could give me another room. He was like, 'no,' and I said, 'well, can I get my money back?' He said 'no, I'm not giving you anything, and I'm calling the police.'" She waited for police, thinking law enforcement would listen to her plight. Glover said she didn't expect Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Kenneth Pierce to dismiss her claims before she could explain. She also didn't think the encounter would result in having her hair pulled out and being arrested. She'd never gone to jail before, she said. Charged with resisting law enforcement and criminal trespassing, Glover bailed out and filed a complaint against Pierce, who had originally booked her on more charges. Her case is going through the judicial system, and she told IndyStar that because of the charges, she's had an even harder time securing housing for her family. Now, over a year later, the Citizens' Police Complaint Board is reviewing the complaint she filed. Despite an internal affairs investigation recommending Pierce be exonerated for reasonable force, the board disagreed. They also found Pierce's body cam footage differed from the police report he wrote. At 10:01 p.m., on March 8, 2024, Pierce was dispatched to the 3900 block of Payne Branch Road at the Days Inn hotel on the report of trouble with a person. According to a probable cause for Glover's arrest written by Pierce, he heard loud arguing from inside the hotel and saw Glover yelling at the front desk staff regarding a refund. Due to Glover being in an "irate state," Pierce had her step outside so he could talk to her. Pierce explained that her wanting a refund was a civil matter, and there was nothing police could do, but Glover stated she was not leaving without her money. Pierce explained that once she was trespassed, and if she refused to leave, she would go to jail. Glover said she didn't care and continued to yell Bhavesh Patel, who was hotel staff, said Glover was no longer welcome at the business, and Glover stated, "Bet, I'll be back." Pierce began walking back to his patrol car, but noticed Glover walking back toward the business. Pierce once again told Glover that she needed to leave, or she would go to jail. Glover refused, and Pierce told her to turn around as she was being arrested. Glover refused to turn around. Pierce physically attempted to turn her around, but Glover was pulling away. Pierce did a physical takedown to get her on the ground. He delivered two knee strikes to Glover's back, attempting to gain control of her hands before delivering an elbow strike to her. Bystanders began yelling and attempting to surround Pierce, and Glover pulled herself from her sweatshirt, which caused Pierce to lose control of her hands. Eventually, the officer grabbed her and pushed her against his police vehicle. While detained, she requested medical attention for head pain. Citizens' Police Complaint Board: How to report Indianapolis police misconduct allegations On June 9, 2025, Glover told her side of what happened to the board. She said she tried to talk to Pierce, but he said, "I don't care," and he was telling hotel staff, 'Come here and trespass her so I can take her to jail.' The full interaction is less than 4 minutes on body-cam footage that the board watched. It showed that as soon as Pierce entered the hotel, he was seen waving for Glover to step outside. Although visibly upset and angry, Glover complied. It also showed Pierce dismissing Glover, who was trying to explain the situation to him. "If you're telling me this is a civil matter, and I have to go to court, I need receipts to show that I actually paid, and the front desk didn't want to give me receipts," Glover said. "I thought (Pierce) was going to give me paperwork, but he was like, 'Leave, leave!' and then he just attacked me." Footage showed Glover stating she would be back for receipts since police couldn't do anything that night. As Pierce was leaving, the video shows him turning around when Glover started walking and talking outside angrily in front of the hotel. Pierce tells her a final time to leave, but after Glover repeatedly states, "I need paperwork." That's when Pierce grabs her, and a struggle ensues. "I did not see an officer trying to resolve the situation," said Brett B. Thomas, a civilian member of the board. "I saw an officer escalating the situation. He didn't give her much of a warning. He just kept saying it's a civil matter with no explanation of what that means or whether she could get her money back. He escalated the situation and then used force." Indianapolis police Sgt. Wayne Shelton, who is also on the board, explained that in his initial statement, Pierce said he thought he grabbed her hoodie and not her hair. Another board member, Officer William Payne, criticized Glover's actions, stating she was angry and combative, and from a law enforcement point of view, both the officer and the civilian played a part in the resulting situation. "It's not her job to de-escalate," countered Gabriel Vaughn, a civilian board member appointed in May by the mayor's office. The initial charge by the board was against Pierce's use of force, but they discussed introducing another charge of conduct unbecoming of an officer, accusing him of mocking and demeaning Glover. But the process for how that could happen wasn't clear since people only have 60 days from the date of an interaction to file a complaint with the board. Glover's case, filed more than a year earlier, shows the cracks caused by the board's backlog. "We're so far behind," Board President Kenneth Riggins said. "We're finally catching up with these cases." The majority of the board voted contrary to the police department's findings and determined Pierce should not be exonerated. Riggins agreed to meet with Indianapolis Police Chief Chris Bailey to discuss the board's findings. The chief does not have to accept the board's recommendation. Officer Pierce has been with IMPD for 5 years and was awarded Northwest District Officer of the Year in 2024. Jade Jackson is a Public Safety Reporter for the Indianapolis Star. You can email her at and follow her on X, formerly Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Woman says IMPD officer pulled her braids out. Body cam footage shows all

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store