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Trump meets with Jocelyn Nungaray family as illegal migrant murder suspect complains he won't get fair shake

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Trump meets with Jocelyn Nungaray family as illegal migrant murder suspect complains he won't get fair shake

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The attorney of one of the illegal migrant suspects charged in the murder of Texas 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray has filed for a protective order to ensure that the negative media attention the case has received will not prevent him from his right to fair trial.

Two Venezuelan nationals – 21-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26-year-old Franklin Jose Peña Ramos – have been charged with capital murder in the death of Nungaray after the 12-year-old was found strangled to death in a Houston creek on June 17.

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The two men reportedly crossed illegally into the U.S. earlier this year.

Peña’s attorneys filed a protective order “preventing the parties to this cause, law enforcement officials, the Houston Forensic Science Center, or court personnel from making extrajudicial statements or otherwise disseminating information concerning this cause by any means of public communications.”

JOCELYN NUNGARAY WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BEFORE ALLEGED MURDER BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, FAMILY SAYS

Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, left, and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel have been charged in the killing of Jocelyn Nungaray in Houston on June 16, 2024. (Harris County Jail)

In the protective order filing, reviewed by Fox News Digital, the attorneys argued that media attention was “likely to produce a result of undue prejudice” during Peña’s trial.

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“The additional extra-judicial statements to the news media are likely to produce a result of undue prejudice in the community to deprive the Defendant of a fair trial guaranteed by Article I of the Texas Constitution and the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” the motion said.

The filing argued that Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg made “made numerous statements about the case that went beyond the statements of the prosecutor during the probable cause hearing.”

The documents cited Ogg saying: “[M]make no mistake, this is a horrific crime” and “the immigration system is broken.” Peña’s attorney argued that these statements would produce prejudice in his trial.

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

In the filing, Peña’s attorneys concluded their request by asking for all parties involved in the case to “refrain from making any further extrajudicial statements relating to this cause and to refrain from further dissemination of information, regardless of whether the information was previously disclosed to the public, concerning this cause by way of public communication, and for all other relief just and proper in the case.”

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JOCELYN NUNGARAY MURDER: TEXAS COUNTY DUBBED ‘SANCTUARY FOR CRIMINALS’ AS DEM DA TRIES TO SHIFT BLAME

Jocelyn Nungaray was killed in North Houston on June 16, 2024. (Getty Images)

Jocelyn Nungaray family speaks out

Nungaray’s murder has prompted calls for stronger border enforcement and accountability. 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING JOCELYN NUNGARAY WORE ICE ANKLE MONITOR

During Trump’s visit to the southern border on Aug. 22, Alexis Nungaray, the mother of the 12-year-old, spoke out about her daughter’s murder.

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“It’s still very, very early. It’s still very, very raw. It’s still very, very surreal,” she said.

Former President Trump comforts Alexis Nungaray, mother of Jocelyn Nunagaray who was killed by illegal migrants in June, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border fence south of Sierra Vista, Arizona, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Alexis said Peña and Martinez “shouldn’t have been released” after they were first detained.

“There was over 300 detention beds that they should have been at (sic) because they were detained, and they were released when they shouldn’t have been released,” Alexis said. “One had an ankle monitor, but that didn’t stop anything.”

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“So now I have to go through the rest of my life with my son always asking for his sister,” she said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and Peña’s attorney for comment.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Long Beach man arrested for murder in deadly hit-and-run crash

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Long Beach man arrested for murder in deadly hit-and-run crash

A 23-year-old man from Long Beach is in custody following a deadly hit-and-run crash in Riverside County Saturday.

The crash happened around 8:09 a.m. near the intersection of Dinah Shore Drive and George Montgomery Way in the city of Rancho Mirage, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Deputies responded and found one of the involved drivers, 57-year-old Teresa Bowlin of Cathedral City, dead at the scene. The other driver, Tyler Conant of Long Beach, ran from the scene of the crash, according to the sheriff’s department.

23-year-old Tyler Conant of Long Beach was arrested for murder following a deadly hit-and-run in Riverside County on May 16, 2025. (Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)

“During the investigation, it was determined that Conant was under the influence of alcohol [at the time of the crash],” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.

Conant was arrested and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center for murder and felony hit-and-run.

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The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Deputy Bret Meservey at (760) 836-1600.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Long Beach to hold new pride festival after previous one canceled

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Long Beach to hold new pride festival after previous one canceled

Long Beach will hold a pride festival this weekend after the one they originally had scheduled was canceled.

Long Beach city officials said the celebration was nixed after the nonprofit that organizes it, Long Beach Pride, failed to submit the required information for an event permit. 

It was supposed to start on Friday and last through Sunday.

“Despite continued collaboration and multiple deadline notices, the City did not receive the required documentation needed to complete safety reviews, inspect critical event infrastructure, such as the stage, electrical systems and tent, and emergency exiting plans to ensure compliance with public safety standards,” the city of Long Beach said in a statement. “With event programming scheduled to begin on May 15 at 5 p.m. with Teen Pride and essential information still outstanding, there is no longer sufficient time to safely permit the festival this year.” 

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Officials noted that they were working to see if a “shortened event” could be held this weekend, and indeed, an agreement was reached to stage a one-day gathering on Sunday. 

Billed as “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” and emceed by comedian and drag queen Jewels, it will still bring the city’s LGBTQ community together after Sunday morning’s Long Beach Pride Parade, which was not canceled.

“Long Beach Pride weekend is a culmination of celebrations put on by our community, including our many vibrant restaurants, bars and businesses, and that will never change,” Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said in a press release issued late Saturday night. “Along with the Pride Parade, we are proud to join the party with this new event that reaffirms what this City has always stood for: that every person belongs here.”

“The festival may have been canceled, but Long Beach drag artists don’t cancel joy,” added Jewels Long Beach.

The one-day “Canceled? Never Heard of Her!” festival will take place at Bixby Park from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday. A free event, it will include music by several performers and a drag show. 

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More information can be found here.  

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Los Angeles, Ca

L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say

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L.A. Jewish institution among targets of foiled terrorist attack, U.S. officials say

A Jewish institution in Los Angeles was among the locations targeted in a recently foiled terrorism plot, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton announced this week.

The thwarted terrorist attacks were the result of the recent arrest of Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, an Iraqi national and senior member of Kata’ib Hizballah, U.S. officials said.

“Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi, a commander for the terrorist organization, Kata’ib Hizballah, faces serious charges for his role in numerous attacks against U.S. interests across the globe, including his efforts to kill on U.S. soil,” Clayton said. “As alleged, for years, Al-Saadi committed himself to furthering the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the IRGC, two terrorist organizations dedicated to harming the United States and its allies.”

Al-Saadi recently attempted to carry out attacks in the U.S., officials said, including attacks at Jewish cultural places of interest in New York, Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Al-Saadi attempted to disrupt American society through intimidation and violence,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office reads. “… Those who engage in or support terrorism against Americans and on U.S. soil should take note:  the whole of the federal government is committed to dismantling terrorist organizations and bringing their members to justice.”

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In a three-month period, Al-Saadi allegedly directed 18 terrorist attacks throughout Europe, including bombings, arson, and assaults targeting American citizens and points of interest. Prior to his arrest, national security officials say he was planning similar attacks on U.S. soil. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said that  Al-Saadi “presented a serious threat to our national security.”

The European attacks included the bombing of the Bank of New York Mellon, an American bank, in Amsterdam on March 15. On April 29, two Jewish men, one of whom was a dual U.S.-British citizen, were stabbed and seriously injured in London.

In 2020, Al-Saadi took to social media, calling for others to attack and kill Americans in retribution for the deaths of Iranian military officer Qasem Soleimani and Iraqi military commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, U.S. officials said. In more recent months, Al-Saadi allegedly used social media to encourage the killing of Americans and Jews to further the terrorist goals of Kata’ib Hizballah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“In or about February 2026, for example, AL-SAADI posted on one of his social media accounts a message in Arabic, which read in part, ‘Do not abandon the blood of your Imam of the time, oh Shiites of Iraq. Kill everyone who supports America and Israel. Do not leave any of them remaining. Civil and military targets, as well as voices of discord, kill them everywhere.’” U.S. officials said.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch confirmed that one of the U.S. targets was a Manhattan synagogue. On April 3, Al-Saadi allegedly spoke to an undercover law enforcement officer whom Al-Saadi believed could carry out attacks in the U.S. That same day, Al-Saadi allegedly texted the undercover officers photographs and maps showing the exact location of a prominent Jewish synagogue in New York City. 

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Officials have not said what specific locations in L.A. and Arizona were targeted by the terrorist group.

Al-Saadi now faces numerous charges for these crimes in U.S. court. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

The case is under investigation by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which is comprised of investigators and analysts from the FBI, the NYPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division, and more than 50 other federal, state, and local agencies. Investigators also received help from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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