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Palo Alto: Former cop pleads guilty in excessive force case that prompted department LGBTQ training

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

PALO ALTO — Less than a week from the start of trial, a former Palo Alto police officer pleaded guilty to excessive force charges in the 2018 arrest of a gay man whose subsequent lawsuit, and the release of incriminating video, prompted a half-million dollar settlement and mandatory LGBTQ sensitivity training for the police agency.Wayne Benitez, 66, entered the plea Tuesday afternoon at the Palo Alto courthouse, in accordance with a court offer from Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Brian Buckelew. The admitted charges are misdemeanor counts of assault under color of authority and lying on a police report.Benitez, who retired from the police department amid the fallout from the violent arrest, was ordered to serve 750 hours of community service and complete court-ordered anger management and LGBTQ sensitivity training.“When someone with a badge breaks the law, it cracks the confidence that people have in law enforcement,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in ...

Years after an investigation found this Santa Clara teacher had sexually assaulted his colleagues, he’s been arrested for inappropriately touching a student

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

A South Bay elementary school teacher previously accused of sexually assaulting a former colleague was arrested Monday after a young student said the teacher had sexually assaulted them in class several years ago — opening up the third active legal case against the teacher in Santa Clara County.Bryan Rios, 42, of Santa Clara, worked this year at Aptitud Community Academy in San Jose’s Alum Rock Union School District. He previously taught first grade at Mountain View Whisman School District’s Theuerkauf Elementary, which is where he allegedly sexually penetrated the student, police said. Detectives launched an investigation in October after the student came forward, the Mountain View Police Department said in a news release.The student’s complaint is not the first allegation of sexual assault against Rios. In 2017, Rios was arrested on suspicion of forced sodomy and oral copulation against a fellow teacher, with whom he was in a relationship at the time. Those...

A masked man leapt from a bush to kill a Hayward man. Photos, phone records and a Selena Gomez song led to arrest of wife, lover

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

HAYWARD — It all started at 10:20 p.m. on Oct. 8, when 35-year-old Razma Mohammed-Ibrahim ran to her neighbors’ door, frantically stating that she found her 51-year-old husband dead from stab wounds and needed them to call 911.But now, the Hayward police investigation has ended with the arrest of Mohammed-Ibrahim on charges of arranging the murder of her husband, Parwiz Assar, along with her 21-year-old lover, Samim Azizi. In the six weeks between the homicide and both suspects’ arrests, police uncovered evidence of serious marital problems, an ongoing affair and a victim who sensed that his life was in danger yet continued to go to the home he and his wife shared, according to court records.The evidence against Azizi and Mohammed-Ibrahim is a collage of internet searches, text messages, phone records, surveillance footage and even a haunting post on Mohammed-Ibrahim’s Instagram account, made the day Assar was killed. The post included the Selena Gomez song &...

Santa Cruz business owner charged after shooting at suspects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KRON) -- A Santa Cruz cannabis business owner is facing seven felony gun charges after he allegedly opened fire on a group of eight would-be burglars.Derek Hubbard, who owns Decibel Gardens on Encinal Street, pleaded not guilty in court last week. Police said surveillance cameras recorded the chaotic failed burglary attempt and shooting at Decibel Gardens. All eight of the attempted burglary suspects remain at-large. Hubbard, meanwhile, is being prosecuted for crimes including assault with a semiautomatic rifle. According to Santa Cruz police, eight people broke into the business on November 13 and set off a security alarm. Hubbard rushed to his business and arrived before police officers. Hubbard fired several shots at the intruders, rammed his car into the group's getaway vehicles, and continued firing his gun at the fleeing suspects, police said.One of the getaway cars had been previously stolen in the San Francisco Bay Area. Investigators later found the stol...

Santa Rosa man sentenced to 36 years for sexually assaulting 12-year-old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

(KRON) -- A Santa Rosa man was sentenced to 36 years in prison for sexually assaulting a child, the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. Ambrosio Leiva-Moreno, 32, was sentenced on Nov. 15 after being convicted in relation to sexually assaulting a child.The charges against Leiva-Moreno are related to two separate sexual assaults committed against a 12-year-old child, according to the DA. Leiva-Moreno was a "trusted adult figure in the child's life," the DA said. This provided him with access to and opportunity to commit his crimes. Wife and lover who allegedly conspired to kill her husband arrested for murder in Hayward Leiva-Moreno pled guilty in September to several forcible sexual assault offenses prior to being sentenced. The sentencing was handed out by the Honorable Laura Passaglia.Prior to handing out his sentence, the judge listened to the victim's impact statement which was read in court by a victim's advocate on the victim's behalf. Judge Passaglia...

J.J. McCarthy’s meditation routine helps him clear mind to lead No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 2 Ohio State

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan star quarterback J.J. McCarthy sits on the field, cross-legged with his back against a padded goalpost, hands clasped in his lap and eyes closed. Two hours before kickoff, it is time to meditate.This week in particular — amid a sign-stealing saga that has dogged the third-ranked Wolverines and a matchup with archrival and second-ranked Ohio State coming up on Saturday — McCarthy said his routine helps tremendously.“Keeping things focused on the present moment and what I can control,” McCarthy explained. “Taking it day by day, and making sure that I keep up with the discipline of my meditation. It’s a great centering piece for me. A lot of guys around the program do it, too, and it does a lot for them as well.”McCarthy will lead the Wolverines (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) into the home game against the Buckeyes (11-0, 8-0) with the victors earning a spot in the conference championship game and all but locking up a bid to the College Football Playof...

Start of Argentina-Brazil World Cup qualifying match delayed due to fight between fans in stands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The start of the South American World Cup qualifying match between Argentina and Brazil on Tuesday night was delayed because of a fight among the fans in the stands.Policemen on the scene were using batons to break up the brawl between supporters of both teams at Rio’s Maracana Stadium.Argentina players asked those in the stand for calm before heading to the dressing room. Argentina told their Brazil rivals they would only return to the pitch after the situation was calm. All 69,000 tickets for the match in Rio de Janeiro were sold.Brazil players remained on the pitch waiting for their rivals 20 minutes after the scheduled kick off time. Policemen gathered around Argentina fans in a section that can host about 3,000 fans.Argentina leads South American World Cup qualifying with 12 points in five matches. Brazil is in fifth position. Both teams lost their previous games in the round-robin competition of 10 teams.___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soc...

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says war against Hamas will not stop after a cease-fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in the hospital in Khan Younis, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)(AP/Fatima Shbair) Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in the hospital in Khan Younis, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)(AP/Fatima Shbair) JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas on Wednesday appeared close to a deal that would temporarily halt their devastating six-week war and release dozens of hostages being held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his Cabinet for a vote late Tuesday. The meeting stretched ...

The start of the Argentina-Brazil World Cup qualifying match has been delayed due to a fight among fans in the stands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The start of the Argentina-Brazil World Cup qualifying match has been delayed due to a fight among fans in the stands.Source

Girl dead, woman rescued, 5 missing after landslide hits small Alaska community, official says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:37 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A landslide that ripped down a heavily forested mountainside in southeast Alaska killed a girl, injured a woman and left five other people missing as it smashed into three homes in a remote fishing community, authorities said Tuesday. Crews resorted to a cadaver-sniffing dog and heat-sensing drones to search for those still unaccounted for hours after the disaster. The slide — estimated to be about 450 feet (137 meters) wide — occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rainstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 residents some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Juneau.Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said at a news briefing that three adults and two children are missing and that a girl was found dead during a quick search Monday night. Authorities said they did not immediately know the girl’s age.Crews on Tuesday morning rescued a woman who had been on the upper floor of a home that was struck, McDaniel said. She was...