Southwest
Texas leaders draft 'Jocelyn's Law' after 12-year-old's murder, would deny bail for capital murder suspects
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he told the mother of a 12-year-old Houston girl who was allegedly killed by two illegal immigrants that he wants state lawmakers to pass a bill named after the victim that would deny bail to certain murder suspects.
Patrick, a Republican, said he spoke with Alexis Nungaray, mother of Jocelyn Nungaray, after the girl was laid to rest Thursday. The alleged killers — Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26 — are each being held on $10 million bonds.
“Jocelyn’s family was shocked any bail was given in this case,” Patrick wrote on X. “I told Jocelyn’s mom that the Texas Senate will pass bail reform once again and will not accept the House killing this legislation. It will be named after her daughter as ‘Jocelyn’s Law,’ so her daughter’s name will never be forgotten and will ensure capital murderers are not eligible for bail ever again.”
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING JOCELYN NUNGARAY WORE ICE ANKLE MONITOR
“Jocelyn’s Law” would allow Texans to vote for a constitutional amendment to automatically deny bail for those charged with capital murder.
“Jocelyn’s murder is re-igniting this move to pass this constitutional amendment and we certainly hope it passes,” Rania Mankarious, the CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston, told Fox News Digital.
The state Legislature is expected to convene on Jan. 14, 2025.
“On the first day we are able to file bills for the next legislative session, I will file Jocelyn’s Law,” state Sen. Joan Huffman, also a Republican, wrote online.
Patrick accused state Democrats and Texas state House Speaker Dade Phelan, a fellow Republican, of killing past bipartisan-supported bail reform bills proposed by Huffman. He cited S.J.R. No. 44, a resolution proposed by Huffman that would have made Martinez Rangel and Peña Ramos ineligible for bail.
HOUSTON’S ‘MATTRESS MACK’ TO PAY FOR FUNERAL FOR JOCELYN NUNGARAY
Nungaray was buried last week, days after she was found strangled to death in a Houston creek. Martinez Rangel and Peña Ramos, both Venezuelan nationals, lured her under a bridge on June 16 and sexually assaulted her before she was killed, Harris County prosecutors said.
Both men entered the United States illegally through El Paso, Texas weeks earlier. A Harris County judge ordered the pair held on separate $10 million bonds.
“We don’t know the background of these individuals. Normally, in a criminal proceeding… you have some type of background data for the judge to do a proper risk assessment to determine what level of bail or what to do with this individual,” Mankarious said.
While the state Senate looks at the bail issue through the lens of public safety, state House lawmakers also care about public safety but also seem to view it through a “hyper-sensitive approach” in an effort to avoid placing an undue burden on a criminal defendant, said Mankarious.
“The notion is that judges would abuse this added tool of denying bail, and we just don’t feel that way,” she said. “There are many, many, many egregious cases, we are seeing it, not just in Harris County but across every major city in this country, where the criminal element is sort of unlike anything we’ve ever seen in years past and we’ve got to address it.”
JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER SUSPECT HAS BAIL SET AT $10 MILLION
“Jocelyn’s Law” would also enhance “Lauren’s Law,” named after 13-year-old Lauren Landavazo of Wichita Falls, to make the killing of a child under 15 a death penalty-eligible offense, Patrick said.
Landavazo was shot and killed in 2016 as she was walking home from school. The killer, Kody Lott, is serving a life sentence and is eligible for parole after serving 30 years.
Currently, only the murder of a child under 10 is a death penalty-eligible offense.
Crime victims’ advocates in Texas have been trying to get tougher bail legislation on the books for years, especially in certain cases involving egregious crimes. In years past, many criminal offenders in Harris County were released on low bond or no bond at all, with some going on to reoffend, sometimes violently, Mankarious said.
“The courts at the time were really leaning in to this notion that everybody deserves bail and it can’t be punitive,” she said. “The last few years have been difficult for all of us working in this system.”
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Southwest
UFO-looking vehicle pulled over again, this time in Oklahoma
A spaceship-like vehicle reportedly heading to a festival in New Mexico was pulled over for at least a second time.
Highway patrol officials in Oklahoma shared Facebook photos of the rare car, writing, “It’s not every day you pull over a UFO.”
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Ryan Vanvleck pulled over the “UFO” on Monday for having an “obstructed tag,” the post said.
MISSOURI DEPUTIES PULL OVER VEHICLE RESEMBLING A UFO: ‘OUT OF THIS WORLD’
Vanvleck grabbed a selfie with the unique-looking car.
The “UFO Festival,” where the driver of the space vehicle was apparently heading, is held from July 5th through the 7th to celebrate “fascination with extraterrestrial phenomena and embrace the wonders that await beyond the stars,” the event’s website states.
Attendees can participate in the “AlienFest” film screenings and experiences at the International UFO Museum and Research Center located in Roswell, New Mexico.
WASHINGTON SHERIFF RECEIVES BIZARRE SASQUATCH CALL FROM CURIOUS HUNTER
Missouri deputies appeared to have pulled over the same person who was operating the same vehicle during a traffic stop on the interstate last Friday.
“These friendly humanoids, who have come in peace, are heading west to Roswell, NM for a festival.” officials with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.
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Officers called the encounter “out of this world.”
The driver was spotted committing a lane violation. The vehicle also had an expired license plate from Indiana, according to the sheriff’s office.
With the “wind/traffic of the interstate plus the size and aerodynamics of his vehicle, he understood that the potential for lane violations existed,” Crawford County Sheriff’s Office’s Public Information Officer and Undersheriff Major Adam Carnal said in a statement emailed to Fox News Digital.
The driver was provided with a written warning for the violations.
“Given the good nature of the driver and the interesting nature of the vehicle, we opted to provide a fun social media post for our community. It was a great interaction and we wished him safe travels to his destination,” said Carnal.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol for comment.
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Los Angeles, Ca
Southern Califonia father shot and killed in front of family, gunman at large
Police are searching for a suspect who gunned down a man as he was walking with his family in Covina.
The incident happened on June 22 near the 1100 block of East Wanamaker Drive at around 9:35 p.m., according to the Covina Police Department.
The victim, identified only as a 28-year-old man, was walking with his wife and their three children — an 11-year-old girl and 9-year-old twin boys.
Suddenly, a male suspect approached them and began walking in between the victim and his wife, prompting a verbal altercation.
That’s when the suspect pulled out a gun from his waistband and fired two shots at the victim, police said.
The victim was struck in the chest and the gunman immediately fled the area.
Officers responded to the scene and performed life-saving measures on the man before he was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
The circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting remain under investigation. A police sketch of the suspect was released in hopes someone may recognize him.
The gunman is described as a Hispanic male around 20-25 years old. He stands around 5 feet 5 inches tall and has a thin build.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Det. Preciado at 626-384-5622.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
Southwest
90-year-old travels to see Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' with granddaughter, says her heart 'still young'
A grandmother recently celebrated a milestone birthday by shaking it off at Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.”
Nancy Strong is a travel agency CEO from Dallas, Texas, who has been a major “Swiftie” for the past 10 years.
Strong told Fox News Digital this week that her love for the pop star began in 2009 when Kanye West famously interrupted Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMAs.
AT THIS ‘DIRTY DANCING’ NOSTALGIC FESTIVAL, FANS CAN HAVE ‘THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE’
“She handled that situation with such grace, and I have looked up to her ever since,” she said.
The 90-year-old business owner said she relates to Swift in many ways, despite their roughly 55-year age difference.
“She was brought up in Redding, Pennsylvania, where I raised five boys in the ’60s — [it] will always have a special place in my heart,” she said in an email to Fox News Digital.
For her milestone 90th birthday, Strong said she wanted to celebrate in a big way by seeing Taylor Swift perform on the “Eras Tour.”
HELEN KELLER’S BIRTHPLACE, IVY GREEN, IS KEY TRAVEL DESTINATION FOR FANS OF ‘THE MIRACLE WORKER’
She said, “I wanted to celebrate my 90th dancing to Taylor Swift!”
Swift made a stop in Paris, France, earlier this summer — so Strong took her granddaughter, Jennifer Strong, with her to Europe.
Jennifer Strong, 32, told Fox News Digital that experiencing the concert with her grandmother was “pure magic.”
“As with everyone who attends, Grammy was in complete awe of Taylor and couldn’t help but immediately start dancing and singing along,” she said.
CALIFORNIA SHOW OF TAYLOR SWIFT’S ‘ERAS TOUR’ CLASSIFIED AS ‘MICROEARTHQUAKE’: THESE 5 SONGS HIT LOUDEST
She added, “They are truly memories I will cherish forever.”
The pair then made it to one of Swift’s London, England, shows in late June — making Nancy Strong a Swiftie who has seen the singer more than once on the highly sought after tour.
Nancy Strong said her favorite Taylor Swift song is “The Man” from her 2019 “Lover” album due to the relatability she feels with the lyrics.
“I am a woman who started a business in the 1970s in a male-oriented world, ‘wondering if I could get there quicker if I was a man.’ These lyrics really hit home for me,” she told Fox News Digital.
The successful businessperson has also been married to her husband, Ace Strong, for 70 years — and said she likes the “Lover” album as it reminds her of their true love.
“Trust me, I know it’s a lot of years, but at the end of the day, [my] heart is still 20 years old.”
Jennifer Strong said that watching her grandmother listen to “The Man” at the “Eras Tour” was a “full-circle moment.”
“Grammy has always represented to me what it means to be a hardworking, positive, and total boss lady in her industry! (Just like Taylor!),” she said via email.
Nancy Strong said she hopes to attend one of Swift’s U.S. tour dates later this year with her granddaughter.
“I know when Jen [Strong] looks back at our time at ‘The Eras Tour’ concert, she will be grinning from ear to ear — and that fulfills my heart,” she added.
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The grandmother added that she hopes to continue dancing and supporting Swift throughout her career.
She said, “Trust me, I know it’s a lot of years, but at the end of the day, [my] heart is still 20 years old.”
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