Southwest
Death row inmate served Little Caesars pizza as last meal before execution for killing former stepdaughter
Richard Rojem Jr., the Oklahoma man convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of his former stepdaughter, was served pizza and ice cream before he was put to death Thursday morning.
For his final meal, he requested two small double-cheese, double-pepperoni pizzas from Little Caesars and two cups of vanilla ice cream. He also asked for a bottle of Vernors ginger ale, according to The Oklahoman.
Rojem, 66, was put to death by three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was declared dead at 10:16 a.m., prison officials said. He did not seek any last-minute stay.
OKLAHOMA DEATH ROW INMATE EXECUTED FOR DOUBLE KILLING AFTER 3 LAST WORDS
Richard Rojem was executed on Thursday for the rape and murder of his 7-year-old former stepdaughter in 1984. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)
When asked if he had any last words, Rojem, who was strapped to a gurney and had an IV in his tattooed left arm, said: “I don’t. I’ve said my goodbyes.”
It was Oklahoma’s second execution of 2024 and the 13th execution since the state resumed capital punishment in October 2021 after a hiatus of more than six years, according to The Oklahoman.
Rojem had been in prison since 1985 and was the longest-serving inmate on Oklahoma’s death row.
He had denied responsibility for killing his former stepdaughter, Layla Cummings. The child’s mutilated and partially clothed body was discovered in a field in rural Washita County near the town of Burns Flat on July 7, 1984. She had been kidnapped, raped and stabbed to death.
“Justice for Layla Cummings was finally served this morning with the execution of the monster responsible for her rape and murder,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement after Rojem’s death.
ALABAMA INMATE SET FOR SECOND-EVER NITROGEN GAS EXECUTION SUES: ‘PAIN AND DISGRACE’
Layla Cummings was raped and murdered in 1984 by Richard Rojem. (Oklahoma Office of the Attorney General)
“Layla’s family has endured unimaginable suffering for almost 40 years. My prayer is that today’s action brings a sense of comfort to those who loved her.”
Earlier this month, Drummond asked that the state pardon and parole board reject clemency for Rojem.
Drummond noted that prior to the 1984 murder, Rojem had served four years in a Michigan prison for the rape of two teenage girls.
Prosecutors argued that Rojem was angry at Cummings because she reported that he sexually abused her, leading to his divorce from the girl’s mother and his return to prison for violating his parole. They had been divorced for about two months at the time of the murder.
Rojem’s attorneys argued at a clemency hearing this month that DNA evidence taken from the girl’s fingernails did not link him to the crime.
“If my client’s DNA is not present, he should not be convicted,” attorney Jack Fisher said.
Prosecutors said evidence of his crimes included a fingerprint discovered outside the girl’s apartment on a cup from a bar Rojem left just before the girl was kidnapped. A condom wrapper found near the girl’s body also was linked to a used condom found in Rojem’s bedroom, prosecutors said.
For his final meal, Rojem requested two small double-cheese, double-pepperoni pizzas from Little Caesars and two cups of vanilla ice cream. He also asked for a bottle of Vernors ginger ale, according to The Oklahoman. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
He was convicted by a Washita County jury in 1985 after just 45 minutes of deliberations. His previous death sentences were twice overturned by appellate courts because of trial errors. A Custer County jury ultimately handed him his third death sentence in 2007.
Rojem, then 26, married the victim’s mother, Mindy Cummings, while he was in prison for raping the two girls, The Oklahoman reports, citing court records. She was the sister of his cellmate and Rojem moved to Oklahoma after being paroled in 1982.
In a statement read by Drummond after the execution, Layla’s mother, Mindy Lynn Cummings, said: “We remember, honor and hold her forever in our hearts as the sweet and precious 7-year-old she was.
“Today marks the final chapter of justice determined by three separate juries for Richard Rojem’s heinous acts nearly 40 years ago when he stole her away like the monster he was.”
Layla Cummings’ body was discovered in a field in rural Washita County near the town of Burns Flat on July 7, 1984.
Rojem became a Zen Buddhist in prison and was known by other followers as Daiji, according to The Oklahoman, citing a packet of information submitted to the parole board by his attorneys.
“I wasn’t a good human being for the first part of my life, and I don’t deny that,” Rojem said at a parole board hearing earlier this month.
“But I went to prison. I learned my lesson and I left all that behind.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Fire breaks out under roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain
A brush fire ignited underneath the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia Thursday.
Los Angeles County fire crews responded to the 26100 block of Magic Mountain Parkway around 12:21 p.m.
Footage from the scene showed a palm tree was engulfed in flames underneath the coaster on the west side of the park.
The fire eventually spread to other trees and nearby brush, burning about half an acre and blanketing the area in smoke, according to video news service Key News Network.
Fire crews worked quickly to stop the blaze from threatening nearby attractions or structures.
Reports indicated that no evacuations were issued at the park and no injuries were sustained by any guests or firefighting personnel.
Authorities remained at the scene to monitor for additional hotspots. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Southern California police officer accidentally shoots colleague in ‘horseplay’ incident
The Pasadena Police Department released video on Thursday of an officer who accidentally shot a colleague while engaged in “unsafe and out-of-policy horseplay” with loaded firearms.
It happened around 6:18 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2025, in the department’s parking structure, located at 240 Ramona Street, according to Chief Gene Harris.
In the cruiser dashcam video, a police car can be seen pulling into the parking garage in front of two uniformed officers, who were standing at the rear of a police SUV that had its trunk open.
As the cruiser approached, an officer could be seen drawing his gun and pointing it directly at the approaching cruiser, which the police chief called “inappropriate.”
A few moments later, the officer reholstered the weapon as he and his colleague smiled.
The video didn’t capture what happened next inside the vehicle, put Chief Harris said the officer seated in the patrol car driver’s seat drew his handgun and “pointed it towards the other officer. During this interaction, the driving officer’s firearm discharged.”
The round smashed through the cruiser’s windshield and hit one of the officers in his left shoulder, the chief said.
In the video, all you see is the dashcam suddenly shaking, with a cloud of dust coming from the car and one of the officers grabbing his shoulder, clearly injured.
The officer inside the car then rushed out of the vehicle to help him to the ground and treat his injury.
Harris said the officer who injured in the shooting has since recovered.
Harris said the department withheld release of the video for nearly 10 months by invoking an exception to state law requiring police shootings be released.
He said the release was delayed because it was “necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation and allow investigators to complete essential investigative steps,” he said.
The incident remains under criminal investigation and force review. Disciplinary measures were taken after an administrative investigation, Harris said.
Harris called the incident “regretful” and not up to the department’s expectations.
Los Angeles, Ca
Police chase suspected DUI driver in Los Angeles County
Officers chased a speeding driver wanted on suspicion of DUI in Los Angeles County Wednesday night.
The chase began out of Lynwood as the suspect drove a Mazda SUV and several Los Angeles Police Department officers trailed closely behind.
At times, the suspect narrowly missed other vehicles while running red lights and speeding on surface streets. The driver entered the northbound 710 Freeway and later transitioned to the 105 and the 110.
On the freeway, the driver weaved dangerously through traffic while hitting speeds of nearly 100 mph. At times, the driver was seen making hand gestures out the window.
The suspect exited in South L.A. and continued speeding on surface streets, at one point, driving the wrong way.
Due to public danger, police cancelled the pursuit near S. Broadway and W. 59th Street in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood.
It’s unclear whether there were additional passengers inside the SUV.
Footage of the chase can be seen in the video player above.
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