Southeast
WATCH: Missing Florida child recovered after violent traffic stop and high-speed chase
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A convicted sex offender was arrested and a missing child recovered after a routine traffic stop erupted into violence, a foot chase and a high-speed pursuit in Florida.
The incident unfolded the morning of Dec. 31 in Flagler County, where sheriff’s deputies stopped a white Ford F-150 on U.S. Highway 1 after a tip from a concerned citizen who reported suspicious behavior.
The driver, identified as 60-year-old Darnell Hairston, was traveling with two juveniles, according to a release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies soon discovered that one of the juveniles had been reported missing in neighboring St. Johns County and quickly secured the child, 11, in a patrol vehicle.
Moments later, bodycam video shows Hairston suddenly bolting from deputies, stumbling into the road and engaging in a struggle with deputies. Authorities say Hairston attempted to grab a deputy’s firearm before being subdued and arrested.
Convicted sex offender and teen face serious charges after Florida incident involving missing child rescue, weapon grab and dramatic high-speed chase. (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office)
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Hairston was charged with resisting an officer with violence, attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer, kidnapping and child abuse, officials said. In a second update, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced additional charges – including kidnapping and child abuse – against Hairston.
As deputies focused on Hairston, the second juvenile, 15-year-old Junior Bishop, allegedly jumped into the truck and sped away.
Dash camera video captured the teen speeding away from the traffic stop and narrowly missing a deputy standing in the road. Video showed deputies pursuing the vehicle south on U.S. Highway 1.
A high-speed chase began, with Bishop allegedly driving into oncoming traffic and weaving in between lanes before ramming into a deputy’s patrol vehicle.
Both cars were seen crashing into a wooded area and causing the suspect’s vehicle to roll over.
Flagler County deputies arrested Junior Bishop for aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving without a license, and resisting an officer without violence. (Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility mug shot)
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Bishop was taken into custody and charged with aggravated fleeing and eluding, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, reckless driving, driving without a license and resisting an officer without violence. Bishop is expected to be turned over to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
During the pursuit, a second deputy crashed into an automotive repair building in Bunnell. Two deputies suffered minor injuries and were treated and released from a local hospital, police said. Bishop was evaluated and not seriously injured, authorities said.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Darnell Hairston is a registered sexual offender and was released in 2009 from the Florida Department of Corrections, where he had been serving a 12-year sentence for three counts of false imprisonment. (Florida Department of Corrections)
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Hairston was booked into the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility without bond pending a first court appearance. According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Hairston is a registered sexual offender and was released from the Florida Department of Corrections in 2009, where he had been serving a 12-year sentence for three counts of false imprisonment.
He has a lengthy arrest history, including previous arrests for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary with assault or battery, cruelty toward wife, disorderly intoxication, lewd or lascivious offenses committed upon a child, property damage and sexual battery.
Authorities say that following Hairston’s arrest, deputies confirmed that the 11-year-old had been reported missing three days earlier, and he was transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office made two arrests and recovered a missing juvenile following a traffic stop that turned into a vehicle apprehension in Bunnell, Florida. (Flagler County Sheriff’s Department)
During an interview with authorities, the child said he had been lured to a wooded campsite in Flagler Estates, where Hairston choked him until he lost consciousness. After regaining consciousness, the 11-year-old told detectives, he was threatened with a knife and a gun, tied up with shoelaces and an extension cord, and had duct tape placed over his mouth. He also told detectives that Hairston held him at the campsite for multiple days and made him travel on the floorboard of his truck covered by a blanket.
Deputies said that after the interview with the child, they returned to the campsite and recovered multiple items, including duct tape, video surveillance equipment, and weapons consistent with the child’s statements.
During an interview with Hairston, detectives determined that he knew the boy was missing and endangered, but he could not explain any reason for keeping the child from his parents when he knew that law enforcement was actively searching for him.
On Jan. 2, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Hairston for kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated child abuse, battery by strangulation, and robbery with a deadly weapon. Detectives served the warrant at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where Hairston was already being held on a $125,000 bond for the prior arrest. He is now being held without bond.
Bishop may be facing additional charges once the investigation is concluded, officials said.
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Sheriff Rick Staly said the case remains under investigation, including how the sex offender, the teen suspect and the missing child were connected.
“This was a very suspicious incident that is still under investigation by our detectives, but I am thankful that nobody was seriously hurt and that we were able to recover a missing child from this pervert’s grasp,” he said. “I also do not understand why a pervert who was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2004 was released after only five years in 2009. Clearly, he has not learned anything!”
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Southeast
Illegal immigrant arrested after showing up to Florida Border Patrol office for contract IT work
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FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant who reported to a U.S. Border Patrol site in Florida to perform some Information technology contractual work was arrested when authorities were made aware of his citizenship status, officials said.
Angel Camacho, a Venezuelan citizen, reported to a USBP center in Dania Beach, Florida, Jan. 6 to do some IT work when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials began vetting him, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital.
During its investigation, it was revealed Camacho was in violation of U.S. immigration laws, authorities said.
Angel Camacho reported to a Florida U.S. Border Patrol center to perform contractual work when he was arrested, a Department of Homeland Security official said. (Getty Images )
“CBP vets all external visitors before allowing them to enter secure facilities to ensure safety and operational integrity,” DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
“During the vetting process, CBP uncovered this individual was a tourist visa overstay in the country for over five years.”
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This photo shows a U.S. Border Patrol patch on a border agent’s uniform in McAllen, Texas, Jan. 15, 2019. (Suzanne CordeiroAFP via Getty Images)
Camacho was arrested and transferred to ICE custody, Bis said.
His criminal history includes theft and resisting a Florida Highway Patrol officer, officials said. Federal authorities have nabbed several illegal immigrants in the process of trying to obtain employment in law enforcement and education.
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One Sierra Leone citizen was recently arrested as he was training to become a Pennsylvania corrections officer.
Another illegal immigrant, Ian Roberts, served as the former superintendent of Iowa’s largest district, Des Moines Public Schools, before he was arrested by ICE.
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Southeast
High school teacher arrested in alleged sex case involving student
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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between a teacher and a minor student surfaced at Lee County High School.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee, agent or foster parent, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI).
Lee County High School requested the Leesburg Police Department investigate the allegations on Feb. 3, and the GBI was called to assist the following day.
Danielle Weaver, 29, of Leesburg, Ga., is charged with child molestation and improper sexual contact by an employee. (Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators identified Weaver as the “subject,” and identified the victim as a student under 18 years old at Lee County High School, according to officials.
GBI agents continued the investigation along with the Leesburg Police Department, and arrest warrants were obtained for Weaver on Tuesday.
A Google Maps street view photo of Lee County High School in Leesburg, Ga. (Google Maps)
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Weaver turned herself in to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, and was later released on bond, according to a report from WALB News.
This investigation is active and ongoing, according to the GBI.
The incident allegedly happened at a high school in Georgia. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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Once complete, the case file will be given to the Southwestern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Leesburg is located in South Georgia, and is about an hour and a half north of Tallahassee, Florida.
Lee County High School’s communications team did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Federal court clears way for Ten Commandments to be displayed in Louisiana public school classrooms
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A federal appeals court cleared the way Friday for a Louisiana law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, lifting a lower court block and reigniting debate over religion in public education.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit voted 12-6 to lift a block first imposed in 2024, finding it was too early to determine the constitutionality of the law. Critics argue the requirement violates the separation of church and state, while supporters say the Ten Commandments are historical and foundational to U.S. law.
The court said in the majority opinion that it was unclear how schools would display the poster-sized materials, noting that the law allows additional content, like the Mayflower Compact or the Declaration of Independence, to appear alongside the Ten Commandments.
The majority wrote that there were not enough facts to “permit judicial judgment rather than speculation” when evaluating potential First Amendment concerns.
A federal appeals court on Friday lifted a lower court block on Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom law, bringing the measure closer to taking effect. (John Bazemore/AP)
In a concurring opinion, Circuit Judge James Ho, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote that the law was constitutional and “consistent with our founding traditions.”
“It is fully consistent with the Constitution, and what’s more, it reinforces our Founders’ firm belief that the children of America should be educated about the religious foundations and traditions of our country,” Ho said, adding that the law “affirms our Nation’s highest and most noble traditions.”
Circuit Judge James L. Dennis, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote in a dissenting opinion that displaying the Ten Commandments in classrooms would amount to “exposing children to government‑endorsed religion in a setting of compulsory attendance.”
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A federal appeals court ruling on Feb. 20 allows Louisiana’s Ten Commandments classroom mandate to proceed for now. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
“That is precisely the kind of establishment the Framers anticipated and sought to prevent,” he added.
The ACLU of Louisiana and other groups representing the plaintiffs said they would pursue additional legal challenges to block the law.
“Today’s ruling is extremely disappointing and would unnecessarily force Louisiana’s public school families into a game of constitutional whack-a-mole in every school district,” the groups wrote in a joint-statement. “Longstanding judicial precedent makes clear that our clients need not submit to the very harms they are seeking to prevent before taking legal action to protect their rights.”
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Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry praised the appeals court decision on Feb. 20 allowing the Ten Commandments classroom law to move forward. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, file)
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry on Friday praised the court’s decision, writing on Facebook, “Common sense is making a comeback!”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement following the ruling, saying schools “should follow the law.”
“Don’t kill or steal shouldn’t be controversial. My office has issued clear guidance to our public schools on how to comply with the law, and we have created multiple examples of posters demonstrating how it can be applied constitutionally,” she said.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said schools should follow the Ten Commandments display law after a federal appeals court lifted a lower court block on Feb. 20. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Joseph Davis, an attorney representing Louisiana in the case, celebrated the court’s decision.
“If the ACLU had its way, every trace of religion would be scrubbed from the fabric of our public life,” he said in a statement. “That position is at odds with our nation’s traditions and our Constitution. We’re glad the Fifth Circuit has allowed Louisiana to display the Ten Commandments in its public school classrooms.”
Friday’s ruling came after the full court agreed to reconsider the case, months after a three-judge panel ruled the Louisiana law unconstitutional.
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A similar law in Arkansas faces a federal court challenge, while Texas implemented its own Ten Commandments classroom requirement last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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