Southeast
Ex-US soldier accused of Florida double murder, ‘international crime spree’: feds
An ex-U.S. soldier went on an “international crime spree” – including an alleged double murder in Florida – to stockpile weapons and wage wars as a mercenary in foreign countries, federal prosecutors allege.
On Monday, Craig Austin Lang, 34, appeared in U.S. federal court in Florida after he was extradited from Ukraine, where he volunteered to fight against Russian separatists, to face federal indictments in Florida, North Carolina and his home state of Arizona.
Lang, along with another former U.S. solider, Alex Zwiefelhofer, listed guns for sale in Florida in 2018, but allegedly killed the would-be buyers and stole $3,000 as part of a plot to fight against the Venezuelan government, federal court documents say.
“Lang’s alleged conduct is shocking in its scope and its callous disregard for human life,” Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Department of Justice’s criminal division, said in a statement Monday.
RUSSIA NOT ‘BLUFFING’ WITH NUCLEAR THREATS AS BIDEN GREENLIGHTS LIMITED MILITARY STRIKES
Craig Austin Lang, an ex-U.S. soldier, was extradited from Ukraine to the U.S. to face federal indictments, including murder, going back to 2019. (East2West)
A warrant for his arrest was issued in August 2019 after the alleged double homicide of a married Florida couple, Serafin Lorenzo Jr. and Deana K. Lorenzo, the News-Press reported. He fought extradition for years, according to the Department of Justice.
Lang traded guns, a grenade and cash for a bogus ID in other states to flee the country under an assumed name, Argentieri said in a DOJ press release.
SOUTH CAROLINA AGENCY DESIGNED TO PROTECT VULNERABLE KIDS GAVE CHILD TO ‘MONSTER’: LAWSUIT
While fighting Russian separatists in Ukraine, Lang and Zwiefelhofer allegedly planned to use the stolen cash to fund their mercenary trip to Venezuela.
They also prepared to fight the Islamist militant group al-Shabab in East Africa, according to the Washington Post, before their arrest.
“Craig Austin Lang went on an international crime spree that included a double murder in Florida, attempts to travel internationally to engage in other acts of violence outside the United States, and a plot to evade law enforcement detection,” Argentieri said.
Craig Austin Lang faces federal indictments in three states going back to 2019 after fighting extradition from Ukraine for years, the Department of Justice said. (East2West)
The ex-soldier was reportedly dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2014 before joining the far-right Ukrainian nationalist military group called Right Sector two years later, according to the Washington Post.
Neither the U.S. Army nor the Department of State could immediately be reached for comment.
‘MOST RUTHLESS’ MEXICAN CARTELS OPERATE IN ALL 50 STATES, BRING TURF WARS TO US: DEA
Lang’s co-defendant, Zwiefelhofer, was convicted by a federal jury in March of conspiracy to commit robbery affecting commerce and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, robbery interfering with commerce, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which resulted in death, conspiring to kill persons in a foreign country and a violation of the Neutrality Act.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 6.
Deana Lorenzo was killed in Florida in 2018. (Special to The News-Press)
Lang was charged with conspiracy to commit passport fraud and aggravated identity theft, passport fraud, aggravated identity theft, fraud, and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, and aiding and abetting these offenses, as well as false representation of a Social Security account number.
WARRANT AND CHARGES AGAINST CRAIG AUSTIN LANG
Warrant and charges against ex-U.S. solider Craig Austin Lang. (US Department of Justice)
He pleaded not guilty to all charges during Monday’s court appearance. His court-appointed lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Lang could face life in prison for the alleged Florida murders, and up to 25 years in federal prison for the fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents charges.
“His (Lang’s) wrongdoing, however, was no match for the efforts of dedicated law enforcement personnel and prosecutors in the United States and abroad to investigate, locate, arrest and extradite Lang so he would face justice before courts in the United States,” Argentieri said in a statement.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Suspect in second Charlotte light rail stabbing ID’d as twice deported illegal immigrant with criminal history
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Court records obtained by Fox News Digital revealed a man charged in a violent stabbing on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail on Friday is a criminal illegal immigrant previously deported multiple times.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, of Honduras, was arrested in the stabbing and is charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior, according to multiple Departement of Homeland Security (DHS) sources and arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital.
Bond was not set due to Solarzano’s immigration status, according to a release order filed in Mecklenburg County.
BODYCAM SHOWS CHARLOTTE TRAIN MURDER SUSPECT’S INTERACTION WITH POLICE MONTHS BEFORE IRYNA ZARUTSKA STABBING
He was booted from the country by the Trump administration in March 2018 on a deportation order and reentered illegally during the Biden administration at the Texas border in March 2021, DHS sources said.
Solarzano was deported a second time by the Biden administration and reentered illegally as a got-away at an unknown time and location.
Oscar Solarzano, 33, was arrested in a stabbing on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
At about 4:49 p.m. Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded to a call regarding assault with a deadly weapon.
When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, with a stab wound, according to warrants.
CMPD noted Dobie was in critical but stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.
A suspect has been arrested in a stabbing in Charlotte, N.C. (WJZY)
Prior to the attack, warrants allege, Solarzano broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
While intoxicated, he challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others using “unintelligible and slurred words,” according to court documents.
Solarzano has a prior conviction for robbery in the U.S. and prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and false ID, DHS sources said.
Court records indicate he had known aliases, including Solarzano-Garcia, Oscar Herardo and Kevin Garcia.
Solarzano has a scheduled court appearance Dec. 8 and will later be released into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to a release order.
He is being provided with a Spanish interpreter, according to arrest records.
SHOOTING AT NORTH CAROLINA CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING LEAVES 4 PEOPLE WOUNDED
Iryna Zarutska curls up in fear as a man looms over her during a disturbing attack Aug. 22, on a Charlotte, N.C., light rail train. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The stabbing attack comes months after Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a LYNX Blue Line light rail while on her way home from work. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who is accused of killing Zarutska, was charged with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital offense under federal law.
President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Truth Social Saturday, saying, “Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina. What’s going on in Charlotte? Democrats are destroying it, like everything else, piece by piece!!!”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also chimed in, calling out Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles in an X post.
“Apparently, the death of Iryna Zarutska wasn’t enough. What is it going to take for @CLTMayor to remove violent criminals off the streets and protect her constituents?” Duffy wrote. “The time to act is NOW.”
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and CMPD did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Louisiana manhunt continues as dangerous inmate charged with attempted murder remains on the run
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Louisiana authorities are continuing to search for the last of three inmates who broke through a deteriorating wall on Wednesday and escaped a jail about 130 miles northwest of New Orleans.
The three inmates, identified as Keith Eli, 24, of Opelousas; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, 24, of Opelousas; and Joseph Allen Harrington, 26, of Melville, allegedly used sheets and other items to scale an outer wall, drop onto the roof of the first floor and lower themselves to the ground, according to a statement from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Harrington killed himself with a hunting rifle Thursday after a standoff with police at a home in Port Barre, The Associated Press reported.
Prior to his escape, St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office records show, he was charged with nine felonies, including home invasion and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Keith Eli, left; Johnathan Jevon Joseph, center; and Joseph Allen Harrington, inmates who escaped from a Louisiana prison. (St. Landry Parish Sheriff via Facebook)
‘ARMED AND DANGEROUS’ INMATE ESCAPES ATLANTA HOSPITAL, STEALS GUN AND SUV: POLICE
Police nabbed the second escapee, Joseph, the next day after a foot chase.
Sheriff’s officials said a tip led deputies to a home where he was hiding out, according to the report. He surrendered after fleeing to a nearby storage shed.
Joseph, also a convicted felon, was previously charged with principal first-degree rape, along with drug and gun offenses.
The inmates escaped St. Landry Parish Jail Wednesday in Louisiana. (Google Maps)
MURDER SUSPECT IN MAJOR US CITY MISTAKENLY FREED FROM JAIL RECAPTURED AFTER MULTI-DAY MANHUNT
The third missing inmate, Eli, remains missing and was charged with attempted second-degree murder.
“We would prefer that he surrender himself peaceably, but we will not rest until he is captured,” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby J. Guidroz wrote in a statement obtained by the AP.
In May, 10 prisoners escaped a minimum-custody New Orleans jail after removing a toilet from a wall inside a cell and crawling through it.
Video cameras in the prison captured the brazen escape, with footage showing the group scaling a fence, using blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire and running across an interstate to a nearby neighborhood where they changed clothes.
CALIFORNIA JAIL CUTS SEATTLE MURDER SUSPECT LOOSE BY MISTAKE, TRIGGERING MANHUNT AS VICTIM’S MOM FUMES
Inmates wrote messages, including, “To Easy LOL” and “WE INNOCENT,” among others, near the hole they used to flee the jail.
The last remaining fugitive, a four-time convicted killer, was arrested five months after the escape after a standoff with authorities in Atlanta.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Three jail employees have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Fox News Digital previously reported.
An internal investigation has been initiated, and the jail supervisory staff will be providing a comprehensive report, according to Guidroz.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Disgraced teacher accused of using Google Docs to groom underage student before alleged sex crimes
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A Palm Beach County, Florida, science teacher is behind bars after investigators say he used a shared Google Doc to secretly communicate with a student before engaging in sexual acts with her at school and inside his apartment, according to an arrest affidavit.
Elias Gordon Farley, 26, a former teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, was arrested after the student reported the alleged abuse on Nov. 18.
The teen told detectives the interactions began as casual conversations during the previous school year, but over the summer, Farley allegedly created a shared Google Doc in which the two wrote messages back and forth.
Investigators said the file later contained explicit entries describing sexual activity and planning when they would meet privately.
FORMER MISSOURI SUBSTITUTE TEACHER GETS 10 YEARS FOR TRADING STUDENTS MONEY, DRUGS FOR SEX
Elias Gordon Farley, a former teacher at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton, is facing felony charges after police say he engaged in a months-long sexual relationship with a student. (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)
According to the affidavit, the student said the relationship became physical in mid-September inside Farley’s office, where he touched her beneath her clothing. She told detectives the encounters continued for weeks in both his office and a classroom.
By late September and into October, she said the pair were engaging in sexual acts, including oral sex and, at one point, intercourse inside a classroom on campus.
The student also described visiting Farley’s apartment twice in early November after recognizing details he had mentioned about its location and layout. She told deputies that several sexual encounters occurred during those visits.
NEBRASKA TEACHER ALLEGEDLY OFFERED TO ‘SHARE’ BOYFRIEND WITH STUDENT IN SEX TRAFFICKING CASE
A teacher was accused of using Google Docs to talk to an underage student before sexual encounters. (Google Maps)
Detectives later executed a search warrant and said they found bedding, condom wrappers and furniture matching her description. Farley’s roommate confirmed he had not been home on the dates the teen said she visited.
School surveillance video reviewed by deputies also appeared to support her account, showing Farley and the student entering his office together on Nov. 7 and later entering a classroom for about an hour.
The situation came to light after the student confided in an art teacher on Nov. 14 and showed her bruises and bite marks she said came from Farley. Administrators were informed the next day, suspended Farley immediately and reported the matter to child welfare authorities.
AI HELPS ‘PREDATOR POACHERS’ EXPOSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MUSIC TEACHER ACCUSED OF ‘SEXTING’ TEEN
A former science teacher at Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Palm Beach County was arrested after allegations of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. (iStock)
Farley refused to speak with detectives after being read his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit.
Farley was booked into the Palm Beach County Main Detention Center Dec. 4 and is being held on $500,000 bond, jail records show. He faces charges of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and offense against a student by an authority figure.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Donna Klein Jewish Academy said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and called the situation “a difficult time for all of us at Donna Klein.”
TEACHER PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUALLY ABUSING 15-YEAR-OLD STUDENT WEEKS AFTER GIVING BIRTH: REPORT
“We are approaching this serious situation with the utmost care, keeping the well-being of our students, faculty and families at the forefront,” a spokesperson said.
The school said it is working closely with families, teachers and staff to ensure they have the support they need, adding that its priority is maintaining “a safe, compassionate and educational environment for all.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The spokesperson said no additional details would be released “out of respect for the privacy of our community” but that Farley is no longer employed at the school.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office at 561-688-3000.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
Read the full article from Here
Detroit Tigers drop young hitter to make room for bullpen signing
San Francisco power outage left 130,000 in the dark as self-driving cars stalled in middle of streets
Dallas Housing Authority failed Roseland on safety
Another vile step in Trump game plan: accusing Boston of racial bias – The Boston Globe
David Adelman gets first career ejection as NBA head coach, Rockets beat Nuggets in revenge win
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Video: First Batch of Epstein Files Provides Few Revelations
FBI Director Kash Patel says bureau ramping up AI to counter domestic, global threats
Podcast: Brussels is broke and has no government
Apple, Google tell workers on visas to avoid leaving the U.S. amid Trump immigration crackdown
Sen Murphy warns ‘people are going to die’ as Congress punts on expiring Obamacare subsidies
-
Iowa6 days agoAddy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
-
Iowa1 week agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Maine5 days agoElementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
-
Maryland6 days agoFrigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
-
Technology1 week agoThe Game Awards are losing their luster
-
South Dakota7 days agoNature: Snow in South Dakota
-
New Mexico4 days agoFamily clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
-
World1 week agoCoalition of the Willing calls for transatlantic unity for Ukraine