Southeast
Former Tennessee deputy gets 70 months for role in Jan. 6 riot
- Former Williamson County Sheriff’s Deputy Ronald McAbee has been sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
- McAbee pleaded guilty to two counts, one of which was a felony assault charge, for dragging one police officer during the riot and punching another.
- “I wish they were here so I can tell them I’m sorry,” McAbee said of the officers he assaulted, before being sentenced.
A man who was employed as a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy when he assaulted police officers protecting the U.S. Capitol from a mob of Donald Trump supporters was sentenced on Thursday to nearly six years in prison.
Ronald Colton McAbee wore a bulletproof vest with two patches — one that said “SHERIFF” and another bearing an insignia for the Three Percenters militia movement — when he stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. 2021.
During a melee on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, McAbee dragged an officer away from a police line and punched another officer who tried to stop him.
MONTANA MAN CONVICTED OF 2 FELONIES, 4 MISDEMEANORS IN JAN. 6 CAPITOL BREACH
McAbee said he never intended to “strike fear or be part of the chaos” on Jan. 6. Neither officer assaulted by McAbee attended his sentencing.
“I wish they were here so I can tell them I’m sorry,” McAbee said before U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced him to five years and 10 months behind bars.
“I take attacks on law enforcement very, very seriously, as I suspect you did before that day,” the judge told McAbee.
McAbee will get credit for the two years and seven months that he already has served in jail since his arrest.
Prosecutors recommended sentencing McAbee to 12 years and seven months in prison. Only six Jan. 6 riot defendants have received a longer prison sentence than that.
McAbee expressed condolences to the families of rioters and police officers who died on Jan. 6 and the days that followed. Minutes before assaulting an officer, he performed CPR on Rosanne Boyland, a Georgia woman in the mob who died during the riot.
“I’m sorry for all the families that lost someone,” McAbee said.
But the judge noted that McAbee appeared to be proud of his violent “exploits” on Jan. 6. A day after the riot, McAbee smiled and held a newspaper with the headline “INSURRECTION” as he posed for a photograph with a friend, prosecutors said.
“Notably, he did not mention anything about Ms. Boyland or attempting to help her,” Contreras said.
Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
McAbee pleaded guilty to two counts, including a felony assault charge, before a federal jury convicted him of five other counts after a trial last year.
McAbee was on medical leave from the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee when he and a friend drove to Washington, D.C., and attended then-President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6.
McAbee wore brass knuckle gloves and a shirt bearing a Three Percenters emblem and slogans. Three Percenters refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War against the British.
After watching rioters clash with police outside the Capitol, McAbee joined the fray near a tunnel leading to an entrance on the Lower West Terrace. Metropolitan Police Department officer Andrew Wayte was on his back on the ground when McAbee grabbed one of his legs and dragged him away from his fellow officers.
“When other officers attempted to assist their fallen colleagues, McAbee interfered with their efforts, cursing at them and striking one of them,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
McAbee then lifted the officer up by his torso, causing him to cry out in pain before they slid together down a set of steps. He pinned the officer down for more than 25 seconds as other rioters attacked him and fired pepper spray at his face.
Defense attorney Benjamin Schiffelbein said McAbee was trying to alert police when he “briefly moved” Officer Wayte and pointed at Boyland’s body.
“Mr. McAbee placed himself in an impossible situation: stand and watch as a woman lay dying in front of officers who did not notice her, or to try to help her,” Schiffelbein wrote in a court filing.
A medical examiner’s office later determined that Boyland died from acute amphetamine intoxication.
After his attacks on police, McAbee “sought camaraderie and favor” from other officers still fighting off the mob.
“Can I get in?” he asked, tapping the “sheriff” patch on his vest. “I can’t go back that way, man.”
Two men charged with McAbee were also convicted of assaulting Officer Wayte, whose injuries prevented him from returning to work for months. Justin Jersey, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison. The other, Clayton Ray Mullins, was sentenced to two years and six months of imprisonment.
McAbee previously served as a deputy for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia before leaving in November 2020 to join the sheriff’s office in Tennessee. McAbee worked for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office until March 23, 2021, according to prosecutors.
More than 1,300 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 800 of them have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.
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This year several crime victims took it upon themselves to fight back against their attackers, and videos captured the incidents. Here is a recap of some of 2024’s most notable examples.
ROAD RAGE RESPONSE
Back in March, a truck driver was attacked by a colleague on the road. Deputies were called to a Love’s Travel Stop for a report of shots fired during a road rage incident along Interstate 75 near Ocala, Florida, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said.
The victim said he was driving a semi-truck southbound on Interstate 75 when Dylan Belleastin, 43, threw a water bottle at his truck.
FIERY CHAOS AT FLORIDA INTERSECTION HAS SHERIFF’S OFFICE SEARCHING FOR DOZENS OF SUSPECTS
“The footage clearly depicted him shooting at the victim at two separate times,” MCSO said. (Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
“The victim pulled over to confront Belleastin but decided against it and drove away,” MCSO said on Facebook. “Belleastin then continued to follow the victim and eventually pulled alongside him again, at which time he fired several shots toward the victim.”
Deputies say the victim decelerated in an attempt to avoid being struck before returning fire toward Belleastin “out of fear for his own life.”
Dash camera footage from Belleastin’s semi-truck cab “clearly depicted him shooting at the victim at two separate times,” MCSO said. The suspect was arrested days later, and charged with aggravated assault, criminal mischief, and displaying a firearm during the commission of a felony.
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BIKINI BARISTA STRIKES BACK
In June, the owner of a Seattle bikini espresso shop defended her decision to smash a customer’s windshield with a hammer after he threw coffee at her.
The incident at Taste of Heaven Espresso was caught on camera at 3 p.m. June 11 and shared in a now-viral social media video. Emma Lee, 23, told FOX 13 Seattle it was not the first time the customer had been disrespectful, and she wants him held accountable for his actions.
What transpired on video was the culmination of a 15-minute exchange over the price of a 32-ounce coffee and 24-ounce water, Lee said. The price tag was $22.
“You don’t get to name your own price,” Lee told FOX 13, adding the man screamed, spit and tried to pry open the business’ window. “It was a threat. I felt in danger. It’s OK for him to be outraged about the price of his drinks, enough to assault me, but it’s not appropriate for me to respond?”
Police can be seen at the espresso stand taking a report of the alleged assault. (FOX 13 Seattle)
CARJACKING THWARTED
In October, a D.C. bartender was attacked on video while at a gas station by three teenagers who tried to take off with his Jeep.
The suspect, Randy White, told FOX 5 DC the teens demanded his belongings. He instead fought back until the trio eventually gave up and left the gas station.
“Where I grew up, it’s just… I work too hard for what I have,” White told the local Fox station. “I can’t give up my property like that. It’s not in me. I wasn’t raised that way. I was just hoping that they would see that I am resisting them and they would’ve just given up or went off, but that wasn’t the case. I was able to keep them occupied and fight them off long enough that they ended up cutting their losses and hitting bricks.”
QUICK-THINKING CALLER
Not all who fought back did so physically.
Also in October, a Florida woman who was being held captive prior to an alleged attempted rape called 911 to order a “pizza.”
“I would like to order a pizza,” a 911 call shared by Volusia Sheriff’s Office on social media starts out. “I’m so stuck in here.”
The suspect is caught by deputies on top of the victim in a field in Volusia County, Florida, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Volusia Sheriff’s Office)
“OK. Are you aware you’re calling 911?” the dispatcher asks the female caller, who responds, “Yes, I’m sure I’m calling to that number.”
Dispatchers were able to “triangulate her phone,” Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, explaining that the victim did not know her location. The victim was able to tell the dispatcher she was being held by an unarmed man. Once her location was determined, deputies were sent out.
The victim can be heard screaming for help in shared body camera footage.
“He’s trying to rape me. Can you help me?” she asked.
“Thank you, Lord!” she repeatedly said while crying, after being rescued. “Thank you, Jesus.”
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Two Hurricane Helene victims, a family of four and a Vietnam veteran, gifted campers on Christmas Day
Two families in North Carolina who were impacted by Hurricane Helene received the gifts of a lifetime on Christmas Day – a new place to call home.
The first recipient was the Penley family, of Boone, North Carolina, who lost everything during the storm.
The family of four was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday following the birth of their second child and was planning on moving into a homeless shelter until EmergencyRV stepped in.
“We weren’t gonna have that at EmergencyRV. We got this trailer here for them and it’s going to be a great place for them to stay now,” the company said in a video posted on X.
PUPPIES RESCUED FROM HURRICANE HELENE TO BE REHOMED WITH MILITARY VETERANS, FIRST RESPONDERS
The Penley family (pictured with EmergencyRV founder Woody Faircloth and his daughter on the far right), of North Carolina, was gifted a camper from EmergencyRV on Christmas Day after losing their home to Hurricane Helene. (EmergencyRV/X)
The RV gifted to the Penleys will comfortably fit their family, which consists of two adults, a toddler and a newborn. It has a bedroom on one side of the camper and two sleeping areas on the other side, along with a nice-sized bathroom and a large kitchen area with seating at a table and a couch.
The second recipient was Timothy McCord, a 70-year-old Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam. Helene tore the roof off of his camper, where he continued to live despite experiencing leaks and other damage.
EmergencyRV traveled to Canton, North Carolina, to gift him a brand-new camper after McCord’s daughter contacted the company explaining that he needed help.
“You helped me turn my life around and I appreciate it,” McCord said when his new home was delivered.
Timothy McCord, 70, was gifted a brand-new camper by EmergencyRV after Hurricane Helene ripped the roof off the camper he was living in. (EmergencyRV/X)
HURRICANE HELENE VICTIM GIFTED A TINY HOME JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS AFTER HELPING STORM-RAVAGED COMMUNITY
EmergencyRV is a non-profit organization that provides housing to displaced survivors of natural disasters and has gifted 77 campers to people impacted by Helene since the storm wreaked havoc in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee at the end of September. The RVs are gifted completely free with a clean title in the recipient’s name.
The organization said it has 700 families on its waiting list who have been fully vetted and are truly in need of help following a natural disaster.
The brand-new camper that was donated and delivered to Timothy McCord through EmergencyRV. (EmergencyRV/X)
“We take this seriously as we have limited resources,” the organization said on X. “We also ensure that the family has a legal and safe place to park an RV before we will gift it and deliver to them.”
Though they prioritize veterans and first responders, EmergencyRV said they have helped families and singles who lost their home or suffered serious damage in Helene.
EmergencyRV was established by Woody Faircloth and his then 6-year-old daughter in 2018 in response to the deadly Camp Fire in Paradise, California.
Their goal was to raise enough money to bless one family impacted by the fire with a RV. They were able to do that and have since donated hundreds of RVs to victims of wildfires and other natural disasters.
Read the full article from Here
A Florida man was arrested for his 35th time right before Christmas, after stealing a car and attempting to escape authorities.
Kevin Campana, 31, was taken into custody on Monday after allegedly breaking into a local auto repair shop in Edgewater, Florida and stealing a customer’s car while wearing no shoes, according to the Edgewater Police Department.
Read the full article from Here
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