Southwest
Marine hopeful found dead on roadside after holiday party may have been 'beat to death,' lawsuit claims
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A Marine hopeful from Oklahoma who was found dead and naked on the side of a road in 2023 may have been beaten to death, a new wrongful death lawsuit states.
Noah Presgrove, 19, had attended a multi-day Labor Day party with friends that weekend before his body was found off U.S. Highway 81 in Terral on Sept. 4, 2023. Officials found teeth, a necklace and basketball shorts next to Presgrove’s lifeless body.
While authorities initially speculated that Presgrove may have been struck by a car after the party, the lawsuit filed on June 23 seeking at least $75,000 in damages alleges that the 19-year-old’s death “was not caused by being hit with a motor vehicle.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the plaintiff’s attorney for comment.
FAMILY OF OKLAHOMA TEEN NOAH PRESGROVE SPEAKS OUT 2 YEARS AFTER MYSTERIOUS DEATH
Noah Presgrove’s body was found along a Oklahoma highway on Labor Day of 2023, and the manner of his death is still unknown. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)
Presgrove had attended the Labor Day party that weekend, which allegedly involved underage drinking, hosted by defendants Avery Howard, Carter Combs, and Logan Jernigan, according to the lawsuit.
The party took place on a property owned by defendant Johnnie Trout Wilcoxson Jr. in a trailer owned by defendant Stevie Howard, the complaint states.
Some of the defendants did not have legal representation listed at the time of publication, and none of the defendants had responded to the lawsuit at the time of publication. Andrew Benedict, an Oklahoma-based attorney representing Wilcoxson and Howard, has not responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
OKLAHOMA AUTHORITIES ‘HESITANT’ TO RULE TEEN’S DEATH A HOMICIDE, FAMED PATHOLOGIST SUGGESTS
What led to the death of 19-year-old Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove is still not known nearly a year later. (Madison Rawlings/Kristen Smith)
The complaint alleges that defendant Jack Newton, despite being under 21, purchased the alcohol from Napoli’s convenience store, operated by Val Petrol, LLC. Fox News Digital reached out to Val Petrol, LLC for comment.
OKLAHOMA TEEN MILITARY HOPEFUL’S FAMILY ‘CAN’T IMAGINE’ HE WAS MURDERED, OFFERS THEORY ABOUT HIS LAST HOURS
Presgove’s blood alcohol level was about twice the legal limit at the time of his death.
“Either intentionally or accidentally, the defendants killed the decedent.”
Presgrove had apparently been drinking at a house party where he was involved in a rollover incident while riding an ATV that Newton apparently permitted Presgrove to ride even though he was intoxicated at the time, according to the medical examiner’s full report, upon further investigation.
“The highway was poorly lit at night. There were no vehicle parts or debris observed on the scene. Further investigation revealed that the decedent was at a house party and drinking on September 3, 2023,” the full report reads, in part. “Then he rode an ATV ranger vehicle with several men that had a roll over incident. … The decedent left the house party and was not found until the morning of September 4, 2023, on the side of the highway.”
Noah Presgrove had recently graduated from high school and had plans to join the U.S. Marines when he was found dead on the side of a road in September 2023. (Justice for Noah Presgrove)
An investigation also revealed that Presgrove had returned to the party after the ATV incident. He was last seen in a “verbal argument” with Howard and Newton around 3:41 a.m. on Sept. 4, the lawsuit states.
The medical examiner ruled Presgrove’s cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities.
CAUSE OF DEATH DETERMINED FOR OKLAHOMA TEEN MILITARY HOPEFUL FOUND ON SIDE OF ROAD
Two years after the death of Oklahoma teen Noah Presgrove, the family is still searching for answers in this death. (Robyn Smith)
“Decedent was beat to death by one or more of the defendants,” the complaint says, though it does not include factual allegations demonstrating that Presgrove was beaten to death, adding that “two or more defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy to beat [Presgrove].”
THIRD TEEN DEATH IN NATIONAL FOREST RAISES ALARM AS TWO HIGH SCHOOLERS FOUND SHOT DURING CAMPING TRIP
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of duty of care violations, civil conspiracy, negligence and recklessness in connection with Presgrove’s death.
Presgrove had graduated from high school three months early with plans to enlist in the military alongside his cousin.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Los Angeles High School locked down as police search for armed juvenile
Los Angeles High School was placed on lockdown Wednesday morning as police searched for three juveniles, including one believed to be armed with a handgun.
Officers responded to the area of Olympic and West boulevards around 8:15 a.m. following a report of an assault with a deadly weapon involving four minors.
One of the minors involved in the assault was believed to be armed with a handgun, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Miller confirmed to KTLA.
Los Angeles High School was placed on lockdown as police responded to the incident.
One suspect was taken into custody, but Miller said police are still searching for the three remaining juveniles and the handgun.
A perimeter has been set up around the school as officers search for the remaining suspects.
“Today, the school initiated a lockdown as we received reports of a possible weapon on campus,” a Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson said. “We took immediate action, including notifying the Los Angeles School Police Department and Region West Operations for further investigation. The Los Angeles School Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department are conducting a search of the campus for weapons. We will provide additional information once it is available.”
No information was provided about the assault victim or any injuries sustained in the incident.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Los Angeles, Ca
O.C. Uber customer says driver asleep in Tesla on 405 Freeway
An Orange County rideshare customer captured cellphone footage of his Uber driver seemingly asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla traveling along the 405 Freeway earlier this year.
The incident, according to the customer who reached out to KTLA, occurred March 24 while he was on a ride to Costa Mesa just before 7:30 p.m.
In the footage, the driver, wearing a coat and tie, is seen with his head resting against the headrest while remaining completely still, even as the customer moves closer with the camera.
Toward the end of the video, one of the driver’s hands appears to rest near his waist rather than on the steering wheel.
The customer told KTLA he filed a complaint with Uber but was informed he would not be able to find out whether any action was taken regarding the incident. He also said he contacted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which reportedly declined to accept the video evidence and told him deputies would have needed to witness the driver asleep themselves.
Videos of Tesla drivers appearing to be asleep have become increasingly common.
More recently, footage of an apparently napping Tesla driver on the 5 Freeway was captured by witnesses in southbound lanes near Camp Pendleton.
As far back as February 2023, video obtained by KTLA showed two separate drivers appearing to be asleep behind the wheel in the span of a week, one in Los Angeles and the other in Temecula.
KTLA’s San Francisco sister station, KRON, also obtained footage of an East Bay driver apparently asleep behind the wheel of a Tesla Model 3 on Highway 4 in March.
According to Tesla’s guidelines, drivers using the vehicle’s Full Self-Driving mode are required to remain attentive and ready to take control of the car at any moment.
In past incidents, the California Highway Patrol has told KTLA that drivers must be awake, conscious and sober to legally operate a moving vehicle.
The electric vehicle maker has been at the center of numerous controversies but remains the top-selling brand in California for the fourth year in a row. Tesla’s Model Y far outsold any other new vehicle in the state in 2025.
KTLA has reached out to Uber about the March 24 incident and is awaiting a response.
Los Angeles, Ca
L.A. mayor, California governor races shift focus to November election; Republicans scrutinize process
The frontrunners in the California governor’s race and Los Angeles mayor’s race are looking ahead to the November general election, as some Republicans scrutinize the state’s ballot-counting process.
Votes continue to be counted, but with the majority of results in, news outlets are already calling clear winners in both races.
So are the candidates, with several making appearances Tuesday to officially kick off their general election campaigns.
Mayor Karen Bass led the mayoral primary race with 34% of the vote, and the Associated Press called Progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman in second place Monday with 29%, overtaking Spencer Pratt.
Bass joined supporters in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday morning, saying she won Tuesday and will win again in November, despite challenges including the Palisades Fire and the city’s ongoing homelessness crisis during her first term.
“It’s hard for me to express how much it means to me to have all of you here, to feel your embrace, to feel your power, and to feel your encouragement because we’re going to have four more years,” she said.
Meanwhile, there is no word on when Raman will make an appearance, but she took to social media to declare victory, saying she was incredibly proud and encouraging voters to join her movement.
“We got here because people across Los Angeles believe in something better: a city where Angelenos can afford to live, work, and build a future,” she said.
Raman had made a last-minute entry into the race, after she had endorsed Bass for reelection.
The mayoral race has historical markers, with Bass being the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman on the job.
The election will test whether voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and sidewalks and climbing rent and home prices.
Meanwhie, in the California gubernatorial primary, NewsNation’s Decision Desk called Steve Hilton a winner with 25% of the vote, behind Xavier Becerra’s almost 28% of the vote.
Hilton held a press conference Tuesday morning at the Registrar’s Office, kicking off his general election campaign ahead of the November runoff.
While Hilton said he is not officially declaring victory until the Associated Press calls the race, he used the opportunity to discuss voter reform.
“You can send in your mail-in ballot for a week after the election,” he said. “And here’s the theory. We have to really understand, this simple example shows you just how broken this system is.”
Hilton called for California to limit mail ballots to those who request them, rather than sending them to all registered voters.
The President Donald Trump-backed candidate will face Democrat Xavier Becerra, who is also expected to kick off his campaign Tuesday.
Becerra leaned on his more than 35 years in public office, including as state attorney general and U.S. health secretary, and argued that he was the most qualified candidate in a crowded field.
Trump has condemned California’s elections, citing voter fraud. So far, the Registrar’s Office has defended the process, saying the allegations were made prior to the election.
In California, vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received within seven days after the election, as well as any provisional ballots cast, will be counted.
KTLA’s Angeli Kakade and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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