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Police work to crackdown on retail thefts at the Oak Brook Mall

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

OAK BROOK, Ill. — Thanks to funding from the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, the Oak Brook Police Department is starting to crackdown on shoplifters at the Oak Brook Mall.Officers gave WGN News an inside look at a first-of-its-kind crime center in DuPage County, where intricate technology systems are being employed to track down shoplifters."This is the shopping center," said Oak Brook Police Chief Brian Strockis, referring to a video feed of the Oak Brook Mall. "We have license plate readers and overview cameras on basically the entire exterior of the mall. We’re working on all the interior cameras to be populated [but] we’re weeks away from that."Oak Brook PD is a part of a statewide retail crime task force, thanks to $5 million in grants made to 24 communities that include Gurnee, Naperville and Orland Park."Once you realize the organized nature of this and how much its costing businesses and consumers and what the proceeds are used for," said Illinois Attorney General K...

REPORT: QB Maalik Murphy to transfer from Texas

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy is set to transfer from Texas football, according to a report from ESPN's Pete Thamel.Murphy served as the Longhorn's backup quarterback in 2023 behind Quinn Ewers. When Ewers went down late against Houston, Murphy came in to finish the game. He also started the next two games against BYU and Kansas State, both wins for Texas.A lot was made about Murphy not transferring from Texas after Quinn Ewers committed two years ago and then Arch Manning a year after. Murphy got his shot to play and clearly cherished the moment.There is expected to plenty of interest in the former four-star recruit. ESPN also reports that Murphy will not be available for the Sugar Bowl against Washington.

School race imbalance must hurt performance to be unconstitutional, MN Supreme Court rules

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

Whether racial segregation in schools violates the state constitution depends on whether it has a significant negative effect on educational outcomes for students, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.It’s the latest ruling in the 2015 lawsuit brought by St. Paul parent Alejandro Cruz-Guzman, attorney Dan Shulman and other parents over school segregation which could lead to policy changes forcing policies integrating highly segregated Twin Cities schools.In their lawsuit, they argue the state is feeding segregation by allowing single-race charter schools and allowing families to enroll outside of assigned school districts. A group of charter schools opposed to the changes have intervened in the lawsuit.A majority of justices on the state Supreme Court on Wednesday said racial imbalances in St. Paul and Minneapolis public schools when compared to other states are not sufficient on their own to establish a violation of the state constitution’s Education Clause. Instead, they ne...

Michigan man sentenced to prison for driving to Lakeville, sexually assaulting 13-year-old girl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

A Michigan man has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison after pleading guilty to driving to Lakeville to sexually assault a 13-year-old girl he met on Omegle, a video chat website that was shut down last month after accusations that it introduced minors to sexual predators.In January, Maxwell Winston Beardsley, 22, of Highland, Mich., was charged in Dakota County District Court with third-degree criminal sexual conduct of a child under the age of 14.Maxwell Winston Beardsley (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)The case was moved to U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, where in July Beardsley pleaded guilty to one count of interstate travel with the intent to engage in a sexual act with a minor. A charge of persuading a minor to engage in sexual activity, which carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence, was dismissed as part of a plea deal, federal court records show. He was sentenced Monday.According to state and federal court documents, Beardsley me...

Missing RIT student Matthew Grant found safe

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Matthew Grant, an RIT student who went missing in November, has been found safe, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Security footage from the evening he went missing showed him in the area between Exits 39 and 41 near Syracuse and Waterloo. Police at the time said he was alone and did not appear to be in danger."We're happy to have him back," a relative told News 8. "Can't wait to see him."This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Man convicted of child rape in St. Louis Circuit Court

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - It took members of a jury less than an hour to convict a St. Louis man for the 2021 rape of a 12-year-old girl.The crime happened at a children's sleepover at a Home2Home Suites Hotel in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood on Jan. 30, 2021.The defendant, Devin Laselle Hughes, 36, was found guilty of first-degree statutory rape.Hughes will be sentenced on Feb. 2, 2024. He faces between five and 30 years, or life imprisonment.

Man who sparked standoff in Shrewsbury sentenced

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis man appeared in federal court on Wednesday to be sentenced after being repeatedly caught with a firearm. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Stephen Joseph Diani, 49, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.Diani admitted being caught with a gun on three different occasions.On Sept. 8, 2021, St. Louis County police officers questioned Diani about the car he was driving because the license plate was not registered to the vehicle. Police found a 9mm handgun between the driver's side door and seat. They also discovered plastic bags containing cocaine base and heroin.More than two weeks later, on Sept. 23, county police answered calls about a suspected prowler checking car doors. Officers arrived and located Diani inside someone else's SUV. Diani was arrested, and police found a .223-caliber rifle and tools that had been reported stolen that evening.Finally, in December 20...

Former Platteville officer accused of parking patrol car hit by train on railroad tracks pleads guilty

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

DENVER — A former Platteville police officer pleaded guilty Dec. 5 to one count of reckless endangerment for parking his patrol car on railroad tracks before a handcuffed woman was put inside and seriously injured when it was hit by a freight train.Pablo Vazquez had been charged with five misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment in connection with the crash that injured Yareni Rios last year but reached a plea deal with prosecutors.A judge sentenced Vazquez to 12 months of unsupervised probation. If he stays out of trouble during that time, the misdemeanor charge will be dismissed and the case will be sealed, KUSA-TV reported.Another former officer who put the woman in the patrol car after a traffic stop, Jordan Steinke, was found guilty of reckless endangerment and assault for the crash near Platteville. A judge acquitted her of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter after a bench trial in July.Related ArticlesCourts | Part 1: Failures in Colorado’s courts, men...

Family of girl, 12, raped by home intruder in Culver City speak out

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

While police search for the dangerous predator, the family of a 12-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted in her own bedroom by a home intruder earlier this month is speaking out and asking for the public’s help to identify the man.  The incident, according to a news release from the Culver City Police Department, occurred on Dec. 2.  The adult male suspect allegedly entered the residence at around 2-3 a.m., assaulted the victim and left the residence approximately four to five hours later, at around 7 a.m., on foot.   The young girl’s parents, who only wanted to be identified by their first names, were alerted to the assault after their daughter woke them up.  “She came to wake me up and just straight out said, ‘Mom, I need to call the police,’” Alexis, the victim’s mother, told KTLA’s Kimberly Cheng.  Alexis added that the family is devastated and in disbelief that this happened to their daughter, especially in the safety of their own...

All Metrolink service will be down for 4 days. Here's why:

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:00 GMT

In November, Metrolink announced that it would be shutting down service systemwide near the end of the year to allow for essential cleaning, repairs and upgrades along its nearly 550 miles of tracks.Among those upgrades is a modernization project at Los Angeles Union Station that will replace Depression-era technology with new, state-of-the-art equipment.Currently, Metrolink uses relay technology from the 1930s that limits the number of trains it can run on multiple tracks as they enter and depart the facility. A new microprocessor-driven signal system will allow for increased capacity during arrivals and departures, which will in turn reduce the number of delays and improve safety throughout the heavily trafficked train corridor, the transit agency says.The new signal system is part of the final stages of a three-year modernization project at Union Station, according to Justin Fornelli, Metrolink’s Chief of Program Delivery. Union Station is the agency's central hub and connects si...