Southwest
Texas doctor found guilty of poisoning patients by putting dangerous drugs in IV bags
A Texas doctor who was dubbed a “medical terrorist,” was found guilty of injecting heart-stopping poison into IVs at his former medical clinic in North Dallas.
FOX 4 in Dallas reported that a 12-person jury found Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz guilty on all 10 counts after nearly seven hours of deliberation.
When the verdict was read, Ortiz was reportedly wearing a mask and showed no emotion.
As a result of Ortiz’s action, several patients suffered cardiac emergencies and Dr. Melanie Kaspar died after using one of the IV bags, prosecutors said.
TEXAS DOCTOR ACCUSED OF POISONING PATIENTS BEGS FOR BAIL, GIVES NEW DETAILS ABOUT DOG SHOOTING
Dr. Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz was found guilty of contaminating IV bags. Dr. Melanie Kaspar died after using one of the tainted IV bags. (Dallas Police Depart/ Obituary)
Federal prosecutors said the anesthesiologist committed the shocking crimes at Baylor Scott and White Surgicare North Dallas in retaliation for a medical misconduct probe.
A criminal complaint accused Ortiz of injecting nerve blocking and bronchodilation drugs into patient IV bags.
Surveillance video showed the doctor placing an IV bag in a stainless steel warmer outside an operating room on Aug. 19, 2022. Minutes later, another staffer took the bag, and a patient soon after reportedly suffered a heart attack.
DALLAS DOCTOR DUBBED ‘MEDICAL TERRORIST’ AFTER CAUGHT TAMPERING WITH IV BAGS
Dr. Raynaldo Ortiz, left, and a screenshot from surveillance footage where he’s seen tampering with IV bags that poisoned patients. (WebMD/U.S. State Attorney’s Office)
Ortiz’s colleague, beloved anesthesiologist Melanie Kaspar, took a contaminated IV bag home on June 21 to rehydrate due to an illness. Almost immediately after inserting the IV into her vein, she suffered a serious cardiac event and died. An autopsy showed she was fatally poisoned by bupivacaine — a numbing agent that the Justice Department said “is rarely abused” but used to alleviate pain during surgery.
“There’s no closure. My best friend is gone,” John Kaspar, Dr. Melanie Kaspar’s widower reportedly said shortly after the verdict. “I don’t think he ever looked me in the eye… It’s almost like you have so many emotions you can’t sift them out. You get flooded.”
The station reported that the witnesses called to the stand during the trial included the anesthesiologist who discovered the bags were tainted, John Kaspar, and a teen who suffered cardiac arrest during nose surgery.
US MARINE ARRESTED IN TEXAS AFTER STEALING OVER $500,000 IN JEWELRY, AUTHORITIES SAY
The hospital where Dr. Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. tampered with IV bags that led to the death of another physician and sickened at least one patient. (Google maps)
The incidents first began two days after Oritz was notified of a disciplinary inquiry against him over his handling of a medical emergency. Other doctors noted he complained the center was trying to “crucify” him.
FOX 4 reported that there were 13 patients between May and August 2022 who experienced similar cardiac emergencies, though prosecutors only charged the doctor with causing bodily injury to four of the patients in August.
A judge had ordered Ortiz be held before trial after prosecutors argued that he was a danger to the community by citing, in part, a 2015 incident in which he shot his neighbor’s dog in retaliation for the woman helping his then-girlfriend obtain a restraining order against him after a domestic violence incident.
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Ortiz was convicted of four counts of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of tampering with a consumer product and five counts of intentional adulteration of a drug, prosecutors said.
Ortiz is expected to be sentenced in two to three months. He faces up to life in prison.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
Los Angeles, Ca
Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars
A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]
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