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DOJ: Austin man sentenced on possession of child pornography charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for April 27, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) — A federal court in Austin sentenced a man Tuesday to five years in prison on possession of child pornography charges, according to the United States Department of Justice.The DOJ said 31-year-old Tucker Smith searched for, accessed, viewed, downloaded, possessed, stored, and distributed child sexual abuse material since approximately 2018. “Smith stated that he maintained between 15 and 20 gigabytes of CSAM depicting minors ranging from two to three years old to 15-16 years old,” the DOJ said.According to a report, investigators seized and submitted approximately 904 images and 3,402 videos of suspected child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.“This sentencing sends the message that we will continue to pursue and prosecute the predators who engage in the heinous and indefensible act of possessing child sexual abuse material,” said ...

Man pulled from Lady Bird Lake was father of 12 year old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Loved ones of Christopher Hays-Clark, who police pulled from Lady Bird Lake near Longhorn Dam on April 15, said he was a great father who left behind a 12-year-old boy. "A bright light in my life and my son's life and in my family's life and I just want... I just want to know what happened and I just want the world to know he didn't deserve this," Reegan Aparicio, the mother of Clark's child, said. MAP: Tracking deaths near Lady Bird Lake in Austin Police responded to this area of the lake after multiple people called 911 about an apparent body in the water.“As of right now, nothing criminal has been seen,” APD public information officer Michael Bullock said that Saturday during a press conference.The medical examiner's office is still working to determine the cause of death.Aparicio and other loved ones of Hays-Clark want to see investigatory results more quickly."Chris - I miss you I love you, I love you, you'll always be my brother," his friend Carl Bellinger ...

Maplewood man gets 40-year prison term for killing girlfriend’s 17-month-old daughter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro had direct words for Terrance Leslie on Thursday before sentencing him to 40 years in prison for the October murder of Jamari Hne, a 17-month-old girl who was repeatedly assaulted and burned by hot water.Castro told Leslie that he committed “evil, devilish deeds” and the “most cowardly act imaginable to mankind: brutally taking the life of a precious and innocent child.”Terrance Valdez Leslie (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)The Maplewood toddler, who was the daughter of Leslie’s then-girlfriend, suffered burns to her face, bleeding in the brain, arm fractures and injuries consistent with sexual assault. She died of cardiac arrest.“May you seek forgiveness from higher powers, because I don’t believe you will find that today,” Castro told him. “May God have mercy on your soul.”Castro then handed down the 40-year term, which was the maximum Leslie could be given on a second-degree unintentional murder conviction. Las...

Former Minneapolis cop pleads guilty in 2021 squad car crash that killed St. Paul man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal vehicular homicide in a 2021 traffic crash that killed a 40-year-old St. Paul man.Brian Cummings was pursuing a suspect in his MPD squad car on July 6, 2021, when he ran a red light and struck another vehicle at high speed, killing Leneal Lamont Frazier, according to the criminal complaint against Cummings.In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped a charge of second-degree manslaughter, court documents say. Under the plea agreement, Cummings will be placed on probation and serve up to one year in the Hennepin County jail, according to the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty.A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 22.“My thoughts are with Leneal Frazier’s family as they process this admission of guilt and this step toward accountability,” Moriarty said in her office’s news release. “The reckless driving conduct admitted today is not representative of the many men and w...

On Crime Victims’ Rights Week, St. Paul man tells of his childhood sexual abuse to combat stigma

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Photographs of Billy Dinkel show him as a second grader and a fifth grader — before the abuse started and when he was going through it.He went from a little boy with a big smile to “just trying to survive,” he said Thursday.During national Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Dinkel told his story of the childhood sexual abuse he suffered because he said he wants to help others share what happened to them or realize they’re not alone.“There’s a little boy inside of me that appreciates when people listen,” said Dinkel, of St. Paul. “Every victim has that wounded child that wants to be heard and believed. Empathy and compassion is how we should treat our victims and sometimes we don’t.”40th anniverary of passage of victims bill of rightsThis year marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Minnesota Crime Victim Bill of Rights.“These are rights that most people likely never think about and now are often taken for gran...

Downtown Mississippi River likely crested Wednesday, but flood precautions continue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Well, that was anticlimactic.The Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul had been predicted to crest on Thursday, but the National Weather Service now says this likely happened shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday.The weather service reported a crest at 18.24 feet, or little more than a foot above major flood stage, at 12:50 p.m. Wednesday, with river levels dropping to 18 feet as of Thursday afternoon. The Mississippi at Harriet Island was still lapping recreational fields and seating areas well inland of the Harriet Island pavilion, a watery intruder into parking lots and pedestrian walkways.From the Watergate Marina to Pig’s Eye Lake, segments of eight streets and 17 parklands throughout the city remain closed.The river is expected to continue to gradually recede over the next week, though river levels are still forecast to exceed 15 feet, or moderate flood stage, into the morning of May 4. The river reached 14 feet, or minor flood stage in mid-April, and rose to moderate flood s...

Hochul to make announcement on NYS budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul is making an announcement regarding the 2024 New York State budget. The budget was due on April 1, but negotiations have been ongoing between the governor and the legislature. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The governor has signed five budget extenders to ensure state employees are paid and state operations to continue.You can watch the governor's announcement in the video player above.

Small business incubator breaks ground in Albany

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- After years of delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new ACES Center in Albany broke ground on Thursday. The lot on Clinton Avenue will house the new small business incubator expansion. It's a $5 million project that will help train and assist local entrepreneurs. The building will have space for offices, training, daycare drop off, and small business mentoring. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to accomplish their hopes, their dreams to bring their entrepreneurial hopes to the market to succeed in their businesses because that is really what builds wealth and what builds sustainable wealth in a community," Albany Mayor Kathy Hochul said.The center has already fostered more than 50 businesses at their Orange Street location.

St. Peters to vote on resolution to update railway regulations on the transportation of hazardous materials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

ST. PETERS, Mo. - The St. Peters Board of Aldermen is expected to vote Thursday night on a resolution that calls on the federal and state governments to update these regulations in light of the recent Ohio train derailment. This resolution calls on Congress, the U.S., and the Missouri Department of Transportation to upgrade regulations on the transportation of hazardous materials. They want regulations to require disclosure to the State of Missouri of hazardous materials being transported that could potentially cause environmental damage or pose a threat to wildlife or human life.  ‘Rudderless ship of chaos,’ judge says after Gardner’s court absence Sponsors of this resolution discussed these concerns at a previous meeting, discussing a previous resolution in 2015 about railroad speed limits, hazardous waste, oil, and other dangerous freight and materials transported through St. Peters. FOX 2 spoke with Mayor Len Pagano, one of the sponsors of the resolution, ahead of th...

Beep! Beep! St. Louis Loop Trolley is back in operation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The Loop Trolley began service Thursday and will operate for the summer season until October.Bi-State Development's Loop Trolley seeks to transport passengers back into their city between the University City Public Library and the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park.“First day of operation this year, and of course we’re going to be operating Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and Sunday a limited run,” said Taulby Roach, CEO of the Bi-State Development. “We’re trying to bring vibrancy back to the Loop, and so far, so good.” Trending -- Fair St. Louis shrinks to only one day in 2023 Bi-State said it is hoping riding in a vintage trolley and seeing businesses and locations along the 2.2-mile route to spend more time at will help everyone along the route.“The really neat thing about trolley operations right now, it’s free of charge,” Roach said. “Get on and get off. Go to all those great events down in the Loop or the History Museum. We want to be part of the lifeblood of ...