Latest news with #FortBliss
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former Fort Bliss soldier convicted of murder in 2020 fatal shooting of wife
A former Fort Bliss soldier was found guilty of murder in the 2020 fatal shooting of his estranged wife, authorities said. An El Paso jury convicted Linwood James Smith, 27, on one count of murder Wednesday, July 23, in connection with the death of 21-year-old Kerica Robinson, El Paso District Attorney's Office spokesperson Stephanie Valle said in a news release. A jury of eight women and four men reached the verdict after deliberating for several hours. The trial, which began Tuesday, July 15, was held in the 34th District Court at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in Downtown El Paso. Judge William Moody is presiding over the trial. The sentencing phase of the trial began at 10 a.m., Thursday, July 24. The same jury will decide Smith's punishment. Smith is facing up to 99 years or life in prison on the murder conviction. Former roommates, police testify against Smith Testimony in the trial included two people who Smith and Robinson moved in with shortly before the fatal shooting. The roommates, Randy May and Madison Johnson, testified that they heard Smith and Robinson engage in loud arguments "pretty often" in their room at the apartment. Smith and Robinson lived at the house for about three months. Smith gave him "weird vibes" and was "sketchy," May testified. May and Johnson said the arguments would lead to Robinson sleeping on the floor of the apartment's living room. May and Johnson once picked up Robinson from her job and Smith was following them, May said. More: Affidavit: Fort Bliss soldier repeatedly lied, then confessed to killing estranged wife May and Johnson kept in touch after Smith and Robinson moved out of the house. Robinson stopped answering phone calls and text messages on May 27, which worried May and Johnson, they testified. Smith had reported Robinson missing to the police. May went to Robinson's apartment on June 3 and found police officers already there. More: Man arrested in slaying of estranged wife, body found in storage shed, El Paso Police say When questioned by Smith's attorney Thomas Daniel Carter IV, May and Johnson testified they never actually saw the couple get into a fight. May added he never saw physical injuries on Robinson. El Paso Police Department officers also testified at the trial, claiming they found May had searched online for 'what happens if police can't find a missing person,' and 'can police trace a bullet to a gun.' Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@ or on X/Twitter @AMartinezEPT. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Former Fort Bliss soldier convicted of murder in wife's 2020 killing
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
The Company Building Trump's Largest Immigration Detention Camp
The Trump administration has awarded a $1.26 billion contract to build and operate what would become the country's largest immigrant detention center at Fort Bliss, an Army base in El Paso, Texas. The work would turn the base, with more than 1 million acres of space and an airport, into a sprawling tent camp with 5,000 beds. The contract was awarded to a Virginia-based company that does not appear to have experience with detention. Immigration advocates warn the facility will likely not meet federal standards. Already, accusations of inhumane conditions have emerged in Alligator Alcatraz, a new tent facility in the Florida Everglade that Trump has suggested could be a model for other states. Read more from Sophie Alexander, Fola Akinnibi, and Rachel Adams-Heard today on CityLab: Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump administration wants $1.2 billion tent city at Texas Army base, country's largest immigration detention center
Trump administration officials have awarded a $1.26 billion contract to build a sprawling tent camp to detain immigrants at an Army base in Texas. The 5,000-bed facility at Fort Bliss, once complete, will be the largest immigration detention facility in the country. The deal, awarded to Virginia-based contractor Acquisition Logistics Company, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News. The contractor, which has previously done supply chain work for the military, does not appear to have past detention experience, according to a review of records by Bloomberg. The Army is paying $232 million worth of the contract, per the outlet. The deal comes after a previous $3.8 billion contract to build a tent camp at Fort Bliss was awarded, then retracted earlier this year. The contracted detention center adds to capacity in the area, where there is an existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement tent facility in use in northeast El Paso. Critics argue that tent-based detention camps suffer from poor conditions. Detainees say that at a Florida detention center dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, hastily constructed out of tents and trailers on a defunct air strip, they were given no water, maggot-infested food, and exposed to mosquitoes. Civil rights groups have sued over conditions at the facility, alleging detainees were denied due process and legal counsel. Since taking office, the Trump administration has embarked on a mass expansion of immigration-related spending. The White House's signature One Big, Beautiful Bill spending package includes an unprecedented $45 billion worth of detention-related funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has already used Fort Bliss as a hub for deportation flights. As of last week, more than 56,000 people were in immigration detention across the country, and the administration has said its further investments could increase bed capacity to 100,000. The military reportedly has plans to use bases in Indiana and New Jersey to further expand detention capabilities. With this spike in detention comes worsening conditions in immigrant detention centers, according to critics. Video from inside a New York City detention facility shows about two dozen people on a cement floor with nothing but emergency blankets near a partially exposed toilet 'Look how they have us like dogs in here,' the person filming the videos can be heard saying in Spanish. At least 14 people have died this fiscal year in immigration detention, outpacing past administrations. Outside of detaining immigrants, the Trump administration has made marked use of the military in other areas of immigration policy, including conducting deportation flights, sending Marines into the streets of Los Angeles to respond to anti-immigration raid protests, and creating new military border zones where troops can arrest border-crossers.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump administration wants $1.2 billion tent city at Texas Army base, country's largest immigration detention center
Trump administration officials have awarded a $1.26 billion contract to build a sprawling tent camp to detain immigrants at an Army base in Texas. The 5,000-bed facility at Fort Bliss, once complete, will be the largest immigration detention facility in the country. The deal, awarded to Virginia- based contractor Acquisition Logistics Company, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and . The contractor, which has previously done supply chain work for the military, does not appear to have past detention experience, according to a review of records by Bloomberg. The Army is paying $232 million worth of the contract, per the outlet. The deal comes after a previous $3.8 billion contract to build a tent camp at Fort Bliss was awarded, then retracted earlier this year. The contracted detention center adds to capacity in the area, where there is an existing Immigration and Customs Enforcement tent facility in use in northeast El Paso. Critics argue that tent-based detention camps suffer from poor conditions. Detainees say that at a Florida detention center dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, hastily constructed out of tents and trailers on a defunct air strip, they were given no water, maggot-infested food, and exposed to mosquitoes. Civil rights groups have sued over conditions at the facility, alleging detainees were denied due process and legal counsel. Since taking office, the Trump administration has embarked on a mass expansion of immigration-related spending. The White House's signature One Big, Beautiful Bill spending package includes an unprecedented $45 billion worth of detention-related funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has already used Fort Bliss as a hub for deportation flights. As of last week, more than 56,000 people were in immigration detention across the country, and the administration has said its further investments could increase bed capacity to 100,000. The military reportedly has plans to use bases in Indiana and New Jersey to further expand detention capabilities. With this spike in detention comes worsening conditions in immigrant detention centers, according to critics. Video from inside a New York City detention facility shows about two dozen people on a cement floor with nothing but emergency blankets near a partially exposed toilet 'Look how they have us like dogs in here,' the person filming the videos can be heard saying in Spanish. marked use of the military in other areas of immigration policy, including conducting deportation flights, sending Marines into the streets of Los Angeles to respond to anti-immigration raid protests, and creating new military border zones where troops can arrest border-crossers.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Awards $1.3 Billion Contract for Sprawling Immigrant Detention Center at Fort Bliss
The federal government has awarded a contract to build and operate a sprawling tent camp at Fort Bliss, an Army base in Texas, to serve as an immigrant detention center. In the Trump administration's latest move to vastly expand space for such detention, the work would turn the base in El Paso, with more than 1 million acres and an airport, into a deportation hub with 5,000 beds, according to a US Department of Defense contract notice. That would make it the largest immigration detention facility in the country.
