West
3 men get life in prison for killing Washington family over drugs, money
Three men found guilty of killing a family in Washington state in 2017 over alleged drugs and money were sentenced to life in prison without without the possibility of parole.
Superior Court Judge Kevin Hull on Tuesday sentenced Danie Kelly Jr., 45, Robert Watson III, 52, and Watson’s brother Johnny Watson, 50, after the victims’ family members spoke in court, the Kitsap Sun reported.
Each man was sentenced to four life sentences, one for each count of first-degree murder. They were each sentenced to additional time for attempted murder convictions and firearm enhancements. A jury in April found them guilty.
WASHINGTON MOTHER ACCUSED OF KILLING, STABBING 4-YEAR-OLD SON 41 TIMES: REPORT
Christale Careaga, 37, Hunter Schaap and Johnathon Higgins, both 16, were found dead in their burned home west of Seattle on the Kitsap Peninsula on Jan. 27, 2017. The remains of John Careaga, 43, were found inside a scorched truck at a tree farm.
The Careagas owned a successful Mexican restaurant in Bremerton. In court documents, detectives said John Careaga also brought cocaine from California every couple months to sell locally.
Three Washington state men have been sentenced in the 2017 killings of a family.
A close friend of his began selling the cocaine to Robert Watson, whom detectives identified as a leader in a local chapter of the Bandidos motorcycle club, authorities said. Investigators have said the killings weren’t related to the club.
Careaga’s friend eventually stopped selling, and the next time Careaga went to California to get the drugs, Robert Watson traveled there “on John’s heels,” and dialogue between the two intensified until the day of the homicides, according to investigators.
John Careaga’s attorney told authorities that Careaga had hidden hundreds of thousands of dollars underneath his home, but that money was never found.
According to the court records, detectives said more than $300,000 had been deposited into Robert Watson’s accounts in 2017 and that there were “numerous cash deposits that the source could not be identified.”
Kelly was associated with the Bandidos as a “hang-around,” and had been a good friend of Careaga before a falling out, detectives said.
A neighbor of the Careagas heard gunshots at the house the day of the murders and reported seeing John Careaga’s truck speeding away, with Kelly at the wheel and another car following close behind.
Defense attorneys during the trial worked to cast doubt on the timeline and cellphone towers used to track the trio’s movements and argued that no evidence existed of anything being taken from the Careaga home.
Relatives of the victims in court described the pain that has been inflicted on the blended family since their deaths.
John Careaga was described as a loving father and uncle who would entertain the nine children who relied on him. Crystal Careaga was described as a personable and contagious “bright light;” Johnathon Higgins was a “big teddy bear;” and Hunter Schaap, was noted for his courage, particularly the night of the murders when he called 911 to report intruders at the family home.
Kelly and the Watson brothers declined the opportunity to speak in court.
Read the full article from Here
Seattle, WA
Joey Daccord makes 35 saves as Seattle Kraken earn 2-1 win over Hurricanes
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MARCH 02: Andrei Svechnikov #37 of the Carolina Hurricanes shoots the puck during the second period of a game against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on March 02, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Joey Daccord made 35 saves and the Seattle Kraken survived a 6-on-4 penalty kill for the final 90 seconds for a 2-1 victory over the East’s top team in the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night.
Kaapo Kakko and Ben Meyers each scored in the second period for the Kraken as they managed to beat a Hurricanes team that has the second-best record in the NHL, trailing only the Colorado Avalanche. The Kraken are now in a playoff spot by five points as they hold the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division with 22 games to play.
Nikolaj Ehlers scored the only goal of the night for the Hurricanes late in the second period, but Seattle was able to withstand Carolina’s offensive push in the final period to secure a second straight victory.
The Hurricanes are always a high-volume shooting team and Daccord faced plenty of chances. Carolina had 83 shot attempts to just 31 for the Kraken. Shots on goal were 36-15 in favor of the Hurricanes as well, but scoring chances were just 20-13 in Carolina’s favor as Seattle did a good job limiting the danger of the shots sent at Daccord.
It was an eventful but scoreless first period between the two teams, with Carolina owning a 13-7 edge in shots. All three goals would come in the second.
Adam Larsson – who assisted on both goals for Seattle – deflected an Alexander Nikishin into the neutral zone to start a two-on-one rush chance for Kakko with Berkly Catton in support as Kakko ripped a shot through the armpit of Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen for a 1-0 lead.
Kakko said he wanted to make the pass to Catton, but the lane was covered by Shane Ghostisbehere, so he elected to shoot.
The Kraken earned a power play chance three minutes later on a tripping call against Eric Robinson. Carolina completely neutered the man-advantage for the first 90 seconds before the Kraken appeared to extend the lead.
With 15 seconds left on the power play, the Kraken rushed into the Hurricanes’ zone with Kakko finding a streaking Jaden Schwartz open on the back door for an easy finish behind Andersen. However, Carolina successfully challenged the goal for a missed offsides on Shane Wright that wiped out the goal.
But the Kraken still managed to extend the lead soon after.
Jacob Melanson continues to be a spark plug for Seattle and helped restore the momentum immediately after the disallowed goal. On the shift coming out of the power play, Melanson delivered a big hit and connected with Adam Larsson on a breakout pass that sparked a rush. Ben Meyers crashed toward the net and was able to finish off his own rebound on a pass from Freddy Gaudreau to officially make it a 2-0 lead.
Melanson didn’t even get an assist out of the sequence, but was a big part of creating a goal for Seattle.
After being extremely sharp defensively all night, Carolina finally pounced on an opportunity the Kraken were unable to turn away. Vince Dunn was just unable to control a loose puck in front of Seattle’s net as it landed on the stick of Nikolaj Ehlers instead, who snapped a shot past Daccord to make it a 2-1 game with 90 seconds left in the second period.
The Hurricanes took 32 shots in the third period as they attempted to find a tying goal, but only nine made it to Daccord, and he stopped them all.
Eeli Tolvanen was called for Seattle’s first and only penalty of the night – a holding call after breaking his stick – with 90 seconds left to play. With Andersen on the bench for a six-on-four chance for Carolina, Daccord stopped all three shots he faced to close out the win for Seattle.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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San Diego, CA
Southern California’s Jewish community reacts to war in the Middle East
The Jewish community in Southern California is sharing their fears and hopes following the weekend’s strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks on Israel, U.S. military bases and other targets in the Middle East.
The exchange of missiles in the Middle East is having a devasting effect on Iran’s defense capability, but retaliatory strikes in the region are taking a toll.
“Weapons of enormous capacity that are targeting civilian areas,” said Elan Carr, CEO of Los Angeles-based Israeli American Council.
Carr says toppling the Iranian regime, taking out its nuclear capabilities and freeing the Iranian people from this oppressive rule should have been done decades ago.
“This is about seeing the most evil regime, the world chief state sponsored terrorism to no longer have the ability to do what it’s been doing,” Carr said.
Sara Brown, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, said the U.S. and Israel are concentrating strikes on Iran’s missile sites and military industrial complex. Iran’s retaliatory strikes are focused on many civilian targets.
“We are hearing from our partners from around the region, who are terrified,” Brown said. “Across the Middle East right now, I think there is a tremendous amount of fear, but also hope and also resolve.”
AJC is the advocacy arm for Jewish people globally. Many members and partner groups are in harm’s way. Brown says the risk is great, but the potential reward is world changing.
“That Iranian people will get to choose leadership for themselves, that we will finally see a pathway forward for peace across the Middle East,” Brown said.
If wars of the past hadn’t produced lasting peace, then why now? Carr says Iran’s nuclear capabilities are destroyed and Iran’s military and proxies are weakened after Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas ambush.
“No more terrorist network throughout the Middle East. Think of what that could mean. Think of the normalization we could see,” Carr said.
President Donald Trump expects fighting to last several weeks. Some critics are concerned about a drawn-out conflict that could spread.
Carr is not convinced.
“Who is going to enter a war against the U.S. and Israel? Russia is plenty busy. China has no interest in jeopardizing itself this way,” Carr said.
Besides the six Americans killed as of Monday night, government officials say 11 people were killed in retaliatory strikes in Israel.
Alaska
Alaska’s voter roll transfer: Republicans bash hearing questioning if lieutenant governor broke the law
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – A legislative hearing into the legality of Alaska’s voter roll transfer to the federal government ended in partisan accusations Monday, with one Republican calling it a “set-up” and others saying it was unnecessary, while Democrats defended it as needed oversight.
“Andrew (Gray) and the committee has a bias. I mean, that much is obvious from watching it,” Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, told Alaska’s News Source walking out of the hearing before it gaveled out. “Most of the testimony was slanted against the state and against the federal government.”
The House State Affairs and Judiciary committees met jointly Monday to hear testimony about whether Dahlstrom violated the law when she transferred the entirety of Alaska’s voter rolls to the federal government.
Rep. Steve St. Clair, R-Wasilla, agreed with his Big Lake counterpart that the hearing was unnecessary.
“I think we’re speculating on what the intent of the DOJ is and I believe we need to wait and see,” he said.
Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, pushed back when told of his Republican colleagues’ reaction.
“I think that I went above and beyond to try to include everybody,” Gray said as he left the meeting. “If people are saying that if the Obama administration had asked for the unredacted voter rolls from Alaska, that all these Republicans around here would have just been like, ‘oh, take it all. Take all of our information.’
“That is not true. That is absolutely not true,” Gray added.
Rep. Ted Eischeid, D-Anchorage, backed his House majority colleague, questioning whether Republicans would have preferred if the topic not be addressed at all.
“The minority folks on the committee had a chance to ask questions,” he said. “I think this is a meeting we needed to have. Alaskans have asked for it. I think there’s still a lot of unanswered questions. So shedding light on the state’s actions, that’s bias?”
Dahlstrom did not attend the hearing. Gray said she was invited multiple times but cited scheduling conflicts. The lieutenant governor oversees the Alaska Division of Elections under state law.
In her most recent public statement — published Feb. 25 on her gubernatorial campaign website, not through her official office — Dahlstrom defended the voter roll transfer, saying the agreement with the DOJ was “lawful, limited” and that Alaska retains full authority over its voter rolls.
“The DOJ cannot remove a single voter from our rolls,” she wrote. “Its role is limited to identifying potential issues, such as duplicate registrations or individuals who may have moved or passed away.”
Representatives from the state’s Department of Law and Division of Elections both testified in defense of Dahlstrom’s decision. Rachel Witty, the Department of Law’s director of legal services, told the committee the state viewed the DOJ’s purview.
“The DOJ’s enforcement authority is quite broad,” Witty said. “And so, we interpreted their request as being used to evaluate and enforce HAVA compliance.”
HAVA — the Help America Vote Act — is a federal law that sets election administration standards for states.
Lawmakers also heard from an assortment of outside witnesses who largely questioned the legality of Dahlstrom’s actions, including former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman, who served under Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski, and former Attorney General Bruce Botelho, who served under Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles.
The Documents: A Months-Long Timeline
As part of the hearing, the committee released months’ worth of documents between the Department of Justice — led by Attorney General Pam Bondi — and Dahlstrom’s office, detailing the effort to transfer Alaska’s voter rolls over to Washington.
The DOJ first asked Dahlstrom to release the voter rolls in July of last year, citing the 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to allow federal inspection of “official lists of eligible voters.”
Dahlstrom agreed to release the records in August, providing a list of voters designated as “inactive” and “non-citizens,” along with their voting records and the statewide voter registration list — but it did not include what the DOJ wanted.
“As the Attorney General requested, the electronic copy of the statewide [voter registration list] must contain all fields,” reads an email sent 10 days after Dahlstrom agreed to release the data, “including the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number.”
Dahlstrom agreed to provide the full details months later, in December, citing a state statute that permits sharing confidential information with a federal agency if it uses “the information only for governmental purposes authorized under law.” Those purposes, she wrote in the email, are to “test, analyze and assess the State’s compliance with federal laws.”
“I attach some significance to the fact that it took the State … nearly four months to respond to the Department of Justice’s demand,” former AG Botelho told the committee.
That same day, Dahlstrom, Alaska Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher and DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon signed a memorandum of understanding governing how the data could be accessed, used, and protected.
Dahlstrom’s office publicly announced the transfer nine days after the MOU was signed — nearly six months after the DOJ first made its request.
“Alaska is committed to the integrity of our elections and to complying with applicable law,” Dahlstrom said in the December statement. “Upon receiving the DOJ’s request, the Division of Elections, in consultation with the Department of Law, provided the voter registration list in accordance with federal requirements and state authority, while ensuring appropriate safeguards for sensitive information.”
A 10-page legal analysis from legislative counsel Andrew Dunmire, requested by House Majority Whip Rep. Zack Fields, D-Anchorage, concluded that the DOJ’s demand defied legal bounds.
“The DOJ’s request for state voter data is unprecedented,” Dunmire’s analysis states, adding that the legal justification the DOJ used to demand access to the data has never been applied this way before.
“Multiple states refused DOJ’s request, which has resulted in litigation that is now working its way through federal courts across the country,” he adds.
The Senate holds an identical hearing Wednesday, when its State Affairs and Judiciary committees take up the same questions.
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