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Texas leaders draft 'Jocelyn's Law' after 12-year-old's murder, would deny bail for capital murder suspects

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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 

Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, left, and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel have been charged in the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston, Texas, on Monday, June 17. (Harris County Jail)

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“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. 

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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.

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“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 Nungaray, 12, was found strangled to death in a Houston creek this week. (Fox Houston courtesy of the Nungaray family)

“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.

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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

Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff

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Republican senators hit border, touting tougher security and tax cuts, in 2026 kickoff

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Aiming to not only hold but expand their 53-47 majority in November’s midterm elections, top Senate Republicans are showcasing the plummeting rates of border crossings during a stop Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

And the group, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, is also highlighting how President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers are “putting more money in Americans’ pockets.”

The stop at the border, hosted by One Nation, a nonprofit outside group closely aligned with Thune, is seen as an unofficial kickoff by Senate Republicans ahead of the midterms to tout the sweeping “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” Trump’s signature domestic achievement last year that was passed nearly entirely along party lines in the GOP controlled Congress.

At the event at the border, which was a regular stop for Republicans amid the surge in border crossings during then-President Joe Biden’s administration, the GOP senators are teaming up with members of the National Border Patrol Council. And they are highlighting how the passage of the domestic policy measure “secured transformational border security funding,” according to One Nation.

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THUNE PREVIEWS SENATE REPUBLICANS’ MIDTERM MESSAGE 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and fellow Senate Republicans speak to reporters at an event at the nation’s southern border with Mexico, on Jan. 9, 2026. (One Nation)

“This is a remarkable, remarkable difference in just a year,” Thune said at the event. “It’s been an incredible year of progress when it comes to the southern border and the American people are experiencing the benefit of that in the form of having safer streets and safer communities and safer neighborhoods.”

But with Democrats enjoying decisive victories and overperformances in the 2025 elections and in a slew of special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year, which were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, the Republican senators are also using Friday’s trip to spotlight the tax cut and energy policy provisions in the bill, which they rebranded as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”

“The Working Families Tax Cut will make buying groceries more affordable for working Americans this year,” the Senate Republicans touted on social media on the eve of the border stop. “Every Democrat voted against it.”

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DOUBLING DOWN: TOP HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS FOCUS ON HIGH PRICES ‘ABSOLUTELY GOING TO CONTINUE’

And they also highlighted that “Senate Republicans have worked closely with President Trump to lower energy prices and make life more affordable — and the results speak for themselves.”

Thune, at the border, pointed to the tax cut provisions in the GOP measure, including no tax on tips and overtime and reduced rates for seniors on Social Security, along with “the jobs that are going to be created by the pro-growth policies that we put in place….are going to lead us to a place where the American people are seeing their incomes go up.”

But Democrats see the cost of living as their winning issue heading into the midterms.

“If the Republican agenda actually made life more affordable for working Americans, then they wouldn’t be desperately flailing as families struggle to afford groceries, health care, and housing,” Lauren French, communications director at Senate Majority PAC, the top Senate Democrat-aligned outside group, told Fox News Digital. “Instead of focusing on working people, Trump and Senate Republicans are focused on bringing chaos and instability into our communities.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., holds a political and policy event Friday at the nation’s southern border with Mexico. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Joining Thune, the longtime senator from South Dakota, at the border is Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, number two in Senate Republican leadership.

There are also Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, who faces a bruising GOP primary showdown in March against challengers Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt; and Republican Sens. Jon Husted of Ohio and Ashley Moody of Florida, who were appointed last year and will face voters this November.

HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS

GOP Sens. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who are up for re-election this year, are also on the trip, as are former Rep. Mike Rogers and former Republican National Committee chair Mike Whatley, the GOP Senate candidates in battlegrounds Michigan and North Carolina who are backed by Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

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“We’re seeing signs already that the economy is starting to tick up and is starting to take hold as the President’s policies are getting in place,” Whatley argued last month in a Fox News Digital interview. “We need to make sure that we have the trade policies, the tax policies, the regulatory policies from this administration that are going to help our small businesses, our manufacturers and our farmers across North Carolina.”

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But Democrats are energized as the midterm year begins, as they continue to keep their focus on the issue of affordability.

“Donald Trump has lost the economy, is losing his mind, and is going to lose the midterms,” Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin claimed in a recent statement.

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Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears

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Body found during search for missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos as another teen girl disappears

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A body was found Tuesday evening as authorities in Bexar County, Texas, grapple with a series of disappearances involving teen girls who all went missing within a week.

The body was found during the search for 19-year-old Camila Olmos, though police said it is too early to determine whether the remains belong to her.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said during a news conference that investigators had “just recently found a body in a field” around 4:40 to 4:45 p.m., adding that the medical examiner will determine both the identity of the body and the cause and manner of death.

The body was found by a joint team of sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents in an area of tall grass near a landscaping business, a few hundred yards from Olmos’ home, according to Salazar.

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MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE

Camila Olmos was reported missing on Christmas Eve. (Bexar County Sheriff)

A firearm was recovered near the body, which authorities said had been an item of interest during the search.

Salazar said investigators do not currently suspect murder and noted there were indicators consistent with possible self-harm, though he stressed it is too early to draw conclusions while the scene is still being processed.

Olmos was last seen leaving her home in far northwest Bexar County around 7 a.m. on Dec. 24, authorities said. Her case came as two other girls were reported missing in the area. Fourteen-year-old Sofia Gabriela Peters-Cobos has since been found safe, while 17-year-old Angelique Johnson remains missing, according to police.

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Law enforcement has said there is no confirmed connection between the cases.

MISSING CAMILA MENDOZ OLMOS: DASHCAM CAPTURES LAST SIGHTING OF TEXAS TEEN WHO VANISHED CHRISTMAS EVE

Angelique Johnson, from San Antonio, Texas, was reported missing. (Bexar County Sheriff’s Office)

Texas Department of Public Safety said the Clear Alert for Olmos has been discontinued, though authorities urged anyone with information related to the cases or the whereabouts of Angelique Johnson to contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

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The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office and the San Antonio Police Department did not respond immediately to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.

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Former GOP Sen Jon Kyl announces dementia diagnosis, steps away from public life

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Former GOP Sen Jon Kyl announces dementia diagnosis, steps away from public life

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Former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl announced on Tuesday he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia.

Kyl, 83, became one of Arizona’s most prominent Republicans during a career that spanned nearly three decades across both chambers of Congress, including a stint as Senate minority whip.

“I was blessed to represent the people of Arizona in Congress and to have numerous other opportunities to contribute to the political and civic life of our nation and state,” Kyl said in a statement. “However, the time has come for me to withdraw from public life. I have been diagnosed with a neurological disease manifesting as dementia.”

Kyl represented Arizona’s 4th Congressional District in the House from 1987 to 1995 before serving in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2013.

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DAVID MARCUS: BEN SASSE IS DYING, BUT HIS LETTER TO AMERICA WILL LIVE FOREVER

Former Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl announced on Tuesday he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

After leaving the Senate, Kyl joined the lobbying firm Covington and Burling, before being appointed in 2018 by then-Gov. Doug Ducey to fill the vacancy caused by the death of former Sen. John McCain.

Kyl held the seat for several months in the Senate before rejoining the firm in 2019, where he helped guide the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The longtime Arizona lawmaker described himself as “a very fortunate man” despite the diagnosis.

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FORMER COLORADO SEN. BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL DEAD AT 92

Former Arizona Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, left, and Bruce Babbitt, right, former Arizona Republican governor and secretary of the Interior, wave to the crowd as they are recognized during Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s state of the state address Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

“My family and I now head down a path filled with moments of joy and increasing difficulties,” he stated. “I am grateful beyond expression for their love and support, in these coming days as in all the days of my life.”

Kyl moved to Arizona as an 18-year-old freshman to attend the University of Arizona, where he met his wife.

The university said Kyl devoted more than two decades to public service, leaving a lasting impact on water policy, national defense and intelligence.

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“His leadership, integrity, and commitment to service reflect the highest ideals of public life,” the university said in a statement.

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Former Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., announced he is withdrawing from public life after being diagnosed with dementia. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said Kyl gave “decades of his life” serving Arizona, adding that he’s grateful for the former GOP senator’s “commitment to our state and country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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