Latest news with #VeteransofForeignWars
.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Miami Herald
He was the suspect in brutal Florida Keys murder. Now he's in Alligator Alcatraz
It was one of the more brutal crime scenes in recent Key Largo history when firefighters knocked down flames at a small house behind the local Veterans of Foreign Wars bar to find the body of a 70-year-old woman — whom investigators said was stabbed in the neck. The Keys community was still recovering from Hurricane Irma when the firefighters made the grisly discovery around 9:40 p.m. Oct. 21, 2017. And many of the people looking for work cleaning people's yards from the damage caused by the Category 4 storm lived on boats in a mooring field behind the Murray Nelson Government Center on the bayside of U.S. 1, right across the street from the VFW where the victim, Mary Bonneville, went to drink and play video poker just about every night. READ MORE: Detectives arrest suspect in post-Irma Florida Keys murder That's also where the man — who prosecutors charged with Bonneville's murder two years later — lived. Investigators said 59-year-old Eddy Lopez-Jemot stabbed Bonneville that night and then set her house at the 700 block of Ponce de Leon Boulevard ablaze. But he's not in prison; instead, he landed in Alligator Alcatraz, the tent city the state of Florida built this summer on an airstrip in the middle of the Everglades to temporarily hold migrants before they're to be deported. Lopez-Jemot pleaded no contest to first-degree arson June 30 and was sentenced to nearly four years in prison, but given time served for that entire time since he's been in Monroe County jail ever since the week Bonneville was found dead. In exchange for his plea, the state dropped the murder charge. Star witness became uncooperative Chief Assistant State Attorney Joseph Mansfield told the Herald this week that the second-degree murder case was getting increasingly difficult because one of prosecutors' star witnesses became uncooperative and the other disappeared. Monroe sheriff's homicide detectives tied Lopez-Jemot to the murder through DNA they found on a beer can and on a towel found outside of Bonneville's house. Since he had done work at the house in the past, it was reasonable that his DNA could be on the towel without him having committed the murder, Mansfield explained. 'Proving homicide was becoming more and more problematic,' he said. Monroe Circuit Judge James Morgan III also sentenced Lopez-Jemot to two years of probation, and as part of the plea deal, he had to promise to stay out of Monroe County, according to court records. Mansfield said that after his June 30 conviction, Monroe authorities notified federal immigration officials that Lopez-Jemot was in the U.S. illegally from Cuba. READ MORE: Is your family member or client at Alligator Alcatraz? We obtained a list It's not clear when he arrived at Alligator Alcatraz, but his name turns up in the list the Miami Herald obtained of the more than 700 people being held at the detention facility, which opened July 1. His court-appointed attorney, Philip Massa, declined to comment on the case. Person of interest from the start? Keys detectives focused on Lopez-Jemot from nearly the beginning. That's because about 20 minutes before firefighters arrived at Bonneville's burning house, Lopez-Jemot threatened to cut off his then-girlfriend's head and burn her house down. The confrontation occurred in the VFW's parking lot, located just 660 feet west of Bonneville's home, investigators said. And as he tried to force his way inside the woman's van, armed with a knife, he bragged that he had killed people in a similar manor several times in the past — stabbing them and burning their homes down — according to the sheriff's office. Detectives arrested Lopez-Jemot two days later on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon and burglary. He ended up pleading no contest in January 2018 to aggravated assault. A judge sentenced him to a year in county jail, with credit for time served, plus three years probation. It would be nearly three years after Bonneville's death before Monroe detectives arrested Lopez-Jemot in connection with the murder. But a raid on his boat behind the Murray Nelson government center a month after she died gave early indication investigators had their eyes on him from the start. The victim in the aggravated assault case, Magdalena Soutelo Rodriguez, 57, was one of the two witnesses prosecutors were relying on for a murder conviction against Lopez-Jemot, Mansfield said. However, she has since become uncooperative after being arrested on felony cocaine possession in May 2024 and another felony arrest on two counts of possession of prescription drugs this May, according to Mansfield. Soutelo Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty in both cases, which are pending in county court. 'She's being uncooperative, and she has recanted statements,' Mansfield said.
Indianapolis Star
03-07-2025
- General
- Indianapolis Star
Nino's Pizza operates inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars
Nino's Pizza operates inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars Watch: Nino's Pizza inside the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Noblesville, Ind.
American Military News
24-06-2025
- American Military News
1 killed, 9 wounded in major shooting in South Carolina
One person was killed and nine others were injured on Saturday as a result of a 'chaotic' shooting at a Juneteenth event near a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in South Carolina. An 18-year-old suspect has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting. According to Fox Carolina, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office confirmed that the shooting occurred at roughly 10 p.m. on Saturday near the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Anderson County. The sheriff's officers noted that the shooting occurred after a fight. 'Anderson County deputies are responding after multiple people are shot on Saturday evening,' the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said in a post on Instagram. 'At least 10 people were gunned down in a neighborhood along Scarborough Road after a fight ensued on the street and shots rang out.' Law enforcement officials confirmed that one individual was killed, one individual was flown to Greenville Memorial Hospital, and at least eight other individuals were transported to local hospitals as a result of Saturday's shooting incident. 'The chaotic scene brought in more than 100 law enforcement personnel, EMS, firefighters, troopers and SCDNR after hundreds of people scattered, leaving behind shoes and debris in the roadway,' the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said. 'We know the crowd gathered for a Juneteenth celebration for the sixth year in a row.' READ MORE: 3 killed, 2 wounded in shooting near Salt Lake City According to WSPA, the Anderson County Coroner identified the deceased victim in Saturday's shooting as 35-year-old Laporshia Janae Gray Cobb. The Anderson County Coroner determined that the 35-year-old victim was killed as a result of a gunshot wound she sustained in her abdomen. WSPA noted that Cobb's death has been ruled a homicide. Fox Carolina reported that 18-year-old Tiyelle Rakelle Demon Hollings was arrested and charged for murder and for the possession of a weapon during a violent crime. In a statement obtained by WSPA, Shale Remien, an Anderson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, said that 'chaos is an understatement' when describing Saturday's crime scene. 'What we do know is that multiple shots rang out with multiple people hurt all at the same time,' Remien said. 'We had people who were being taken physically from the scene, and that is why you see the debris. You see pieces of clothing; you see everything just scattered on the ground at this point in time, because we even have people who took off within their own cars in order to get to the hospital.'
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
18-year-old arrested in fatal Upstate Juneteenth shooting
ANDERSON COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – Deputies have identified an 18-year-old as one of many suspects in a fatal shooting that occurred at a Juneteenth event in Anderson County. The Anderson County Sheriff's Office has charged Tiyelle Rakelle Demon Hollings with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime after a large scene Saturday that brought in more than 100 first responders to Scarborough Road. Authorities responded to a reported fight that led to a shooting near the Veterans of Foreign Wars amidst the Juneteenth celebration. Hundreds of people were in attendance at the event when Hollings and others reportedly fired several shots at innocent bystanders, fatally hitting 35-year-old Laporshia Cobbs, who was a mother of three. The Anderson County Coroner's Office reported that she was pronounced dead at the scene. Nine other shooting victims were taken for emergency care in Anderson and Greenville counties. Deputies announced Monday morning during a press conference that three victims remain hospitalized. One of those three is a woman who is in very critical condition, according to authorities. After receiving numerous tips from the public, law enforcement was able to identify Hollings as one of several persons of interest. He was apprehended late Sunday night and booked into the Anderson County Detention Center. Deputies said more arrests and charges are expected as the shooting investigation continues. Anyone with information should contact CrimeStoppers or call 1 (866) 917-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
23-06-2025
- USA Today
2 dead, 16 injured after shootings at Juneteenth celebrations in South Carolina, Oklahoma
Two people were killed and at least 16 others were injured after gun violence erupted in South Carolina and Oklahoma during Juneteenth celebrations, authorities said. Police in Anderson County, South Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are investigating two separate shootings that occurred on the night of June 21 as hundreds of people gathered for Juneteenth events. Juneteenth is a federal holiday celebrated annually on June 19, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. One woman was killed and nine others were wounded during a shooting near a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Anderson County, the county sheriff's office said in a statement on social media. A large crowd had gathered in the area for the county's sixth annual Juneteenth celebration. Gunfire also broke out at the 2025 Tulsa Juneteenth Festival, according to the Tulsa Police Department. A 22-year-old man was killed in the shooting, and seven others were injured. No arrests have been reported in either of the shootings as of June 22, authorities said. Both incidents remain under active investigation. Minnesota lawmakers attacked: Minnesota shooting victims John, Yvette Hoffman detail 'horrific night' Police: Argument escalated into the shooting in South Carolina In an update on June 22, the Anderson County Sheriff's Office said detectives were continuing an extensive investigation into the shooting and have "pinpointed persons of interest." The sheriff's office said a large crowd gathered along Scarborough Road in Anderson County, located near the Georgia border, about 36 miles southwest of Greenville, South Carolina. The crowd was in the area throughout the day on June 21, where "it remained a peaceful event to celebrate Juneteenth," according to the sheriff's office. "However, as more people arrived, an argument ensued in the parking lot and multiple shots were fired with people scrambling throughout the area," the sheriff's office said in a statement on social media. Law enforcement responded to a report of multiple people shot on Scarborough Road at around 10 p.m. local time, according to Greenville News, part of the USA TODAY Network. More than 100 emergency personnel arrived to find a chaotic scene as hundreds of people fled from the scene, leaving behind shoes and debris in the roadway, the sheriff's office said. Several people transported themselves to nearby hospitals, according to the sheriff's office, while one person was found dead at the scene "with debris and clothing scattered across the area." The victim was identified as Laporshia Janae Gray Cobb, 35, from Anderson, Greenville News reported. She died as a result of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and the case has been ruled a homicide, according to Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore. Detectives were at the scene on June 22 to canvass and interview witnesses, the sheriff's office said. The agency has asked the public to contact the Anderson Area Crime Stoppers to provide any information related to the incident. The sheriff's office noted that while the shooting occurred "outside within feet" of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, the post does not have any affiliation with the Juneteenth event. Tulsa police believe at least 2 suspects were involved in the shooting Officers were working at the Tulsa Juneteenth Festival when they heard gunshots at around 11 p.m. local time on June 21, according to the Tulsa Police Department. Police described the event as busy, adding that "chaos erupted as people began running in multiple directions." The festival took place in the city's Greenwood District, a historic freedom colony once known as "Black Wall Street" before it was destroyed in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The neighborhood is now part of the Oklahoma State University–Tulsa campus and is located just north of downtown Tulsa. As officers attempted to regain control of the area, police said a 22-year-old man was struck and killed under an overpass. Seven other people, including a 17-year-old and an elderly woman, were also hit by gunfire, police added. The seven victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment. As of June 22, at least one person — identified as a 24-year-old man — was in critical condition, according to police. Police said officers cleared the Greenwood area as many people fled into other parts of downtown Tulsa and caused disturbances in the city's historic Blue Dome District. Numerous bars in the area exceeded capacity and requested assistance from police to manage overflow. Responding officers and the Tulsa Fire Department "were able to stabilize the downtown area," police said. Police noted that the crime scene extended over several blocks, and the entire Greenwood neighborhood was closed from the I-244 overpass to John Hope Franklin Boulevard. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation was also called in to assist local police with the investigation. "Several individuals we interviewed were unwilling to provide much information about the shooters, and others were unsure where the shots had originated," police said in a statement on social media. "At this time, we believe there were at least two different shooters, and it remains unclear who the intended targets were." 'This pattern of violence must be stopped' The shooting at the Tulsa Juneteenth Festival occurred amid a "weekend of shootings at three other locations with numerous victims," police said. In response to the recent spate of violence, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said he directed the city's police chief and public safety team to "intensify their efforts downtown and across the city." Nichols added that local officials are investing in long-term strategies, such as youth outreach and community-based violence intervention, to "address the root causes of violence." "These events are showing a pattern of brazen lawlessness by individuals who don't respect the lives of others or the authority of those tasked to keep people safe," Nichols said in a statement on June 22. "This pattern of violence must be stopped as this city belongs to all of us, and we are strongest when we protect one another. We cannot and will not normalize this kind of harm in our community." The organizers of the festival acknowledged the incident in a statement, saying they are "actively cooperating" with the Tulsa Police Department and other law enforcement agencies as the investigation continues. "We have been made aware of a shooting that occurred this evening during the Tulsa Juneteenth Festival. Our on-site security and medical teams responded immediately, and we remain in close communication with the first responders," the organizers said. "Out of respect for those impacted, all programming is currently canceled. Please keep our community in your prayers." Report: Guns remain leading cause of death for children and teens in the US Contributing: Jose Franco, Greenville News
