Feds sending gun trafficking strike forces to major cities
The Justice Department is deploying anti-gun trafficking strike forces to New York and four other major American cities this summer to crack down on a disturbing surge in shootings, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Tuesday.
The five strike forces will focus on upending “trafficking corridors” that funnel illegal firearms from Southern states to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C., where gun violence has been steadily on the rise over the past 18 months, according to Garland.
“Working with our local partners to tackle violent crime is one of the Justice Department’s most important responsibilities,” the AG said. “Our firearms trafficking strike forces will investigate and disrupt the networks that channel crime guns into our communities with tragic consequences. This effort reflects our shared commitment to keep communities safe.”
The strike forces will be led by U.S. attorneys in each of the five cities and are expected to get to work within 30 days, according to the Justice Department. They will be staffed with officers from local law enforcement agencies like the NYPD as well as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The federal intervention allows the strike forces to operate in a cross-jurisdictional fashion, exchanging intelligence and collaborating across state lines to “focus enforcement against entire trafficking networks, from the places where guns are unlawfully obtained to the areas where they are used to commit violent crimes,” according to the Justice Department.
—New York Daily News
Maryland man pleads guilty to threatening to kidnap Biden, Harris
BALTIMORE — A Frederick man who threatened President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and their supporters before last year’s election pleaded guilty in federal court this week.
James Dale Reed, 42, faces up to five years in prison after federal prosecutors said that in early October he left a letter threatening physical harm, including beating “Grandpa Biden,” raping Harris and targeting Democrats’ supporters, according to court documents and the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office.
“Making threats against candidates and fellow citizens for their political beliefs undermines our democracy and will not be tolerated,” Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner said in a statement Tuesday. “This case reflects our commitment to holding accountable anyone who seeks to intimidate, harass or dissuade Americans from exercising their right to vote and to peacefully support the candidate of their choice.”
Reed left a letter on the doorstep of a Frederick home where several signs in the yard expressed support for Biden, according to the plea agreement. A door camera captured Reed leaving the letter at the home in the early morning of Oct. 4.
The letter also threatened that “if you are a Biden/Harris supporter you will be targeted. We have a list of homes and addresses by your election signs. We are the ones with those scary guns. We are the ones your children have nightmares about.”
On Oct. 15, authorities requested and received Reed’s palm prints and a handwriting sample, court records show. He was also interviewed by investigators, where he admitted that he wrote the letter and delivered it to the first house he saw that had multiple Democratic political signs.
—Baltimore Sun
Brush fires erupt in California, forcing evacuations
LOS ANGELES — A firefighter was injured and scores of residents are facing evacuations as multiple wildfires burn across California.
As of Tuesday morning, more than 3,200 acres were ablaze in Monterey and Inyo counties.
The largest of the blazes, the Willow fire in Los Padres National Forest, ignited around 8 p.m. Thursday and had grown to 2,848 acres by Tuesday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service, with an estimated containment date of July 11.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office on Monday issued evacuation orders for residents on Tassajara Road from China Camp campground to the Tassajara Zen Center, as well as multiple evacuation warnings. The orders and warnings remained in effect Tuesday morning.
More than 500 personnel were attacking the blaze from the ground and air, incident spokesman Thanh Nguyen said, but the fire remains at 0% containment. The terrain is very steep with large vegetation, creating difficult conditions for crews.
“Wind, fuel and terrain play a huge bearing on what decisions are made,” Nguyen said, “so that’s a big concern for us.”
A second fire — a blaze in Inyo Creek that has burned 410 acres — was also burning Tuesday. Officials said a firefighter in Solano County was injured battling a 10-acre brush fire in Vallejo on Monday night.
The Inyo Creek fire ignited Friday and was sparked by lightning, according to incident spokeswoman Kirstie Butler.
—Los Angeles Times
Chris Brown accused of striking woman at California home, police say
Singer Chris Brown is accused of hitting a woman during an argument in Southern California last week, police told the Daily News.
The alleged incident occurred Friday at a home in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, with authorities responding to the scene at around 7:30 a.m. local time, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
“The victim advised that she and the suspect argued, and the suspect struck her,” a police statement says.
Police haven’t made any arrests. A battery report was taken by cops at the home.
“The suspect was not at the location when the police arrived,” the police statement continued.
Police said the crime report will be given over to the city attorney for “filing considerations.”
A legal representative for Brown, 32, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brown has not publicly spoken about the allegation.
Police did not release specific details about the claim against Brown, but TMZ reported that the alleged victim accused the Grammy winner of slapping her hard enough for part of her hair weave to come out.
—New York Daily News
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