Ryan Wedding, a former Canadian Olympic snowboarder, pled not guilty on Monday to running a lucrative drug trafficking ring. PBS has the story. Wedding competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list last March. Wedding was arrested in Mexico last week and flown to California. He is alleged to have moved as much as 60 tons of cocaine between Columbia, Mexico, Canada, and California and orchestrated several killings under the protection of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel. Read on for more criminal law news.
Later On, We’ll Conspire. Michael Frosnight, 49, was arrested Saturday after Frankfort, Indiana, police followed his footprints in the snow from the scene of a reported burglary, according to a local media outlet. Officers responding to a break-in at a home in the community of Jefferson followed shoe prints in the snow to another house, where the stolen items were recovered and Fosnight apprehended. Police said that Fosnight, who was out on bond based on prior drug arrests, was transported to jail and charged with burglary, possession of a firearm by a felon, and theft, among other things. Discouraging B&Es in all types of weather, police nevertheless recommended such offenses occur during a major snowstorm, as it “makes it so much easier for us.”
Federalizing Dogberry. On Sunday, the British government announced plans for a new national police force, as reported by the AP. According to the Home Secretary, the National Police Service will alleviate the workload of 43 local police forces in England and Wales by taking over complex investigations into counterterrorism, fraud, and organized criminal gangs. The proposal, which was welcomed by local law enforcement, including London’s Metropolitan Police, would also include changes to police recruitment and management.
JoCo Toko. Ahmed Ali Almontaser, 42, the proprietor of a Johnston County vape shop, is charged with drug trafficking after alleging selling THC gummies that sickened several minors, the N&O reports. According to court documents, an undercover officer purchased THC gummies and THC flower from Almontaser’s Garner store in December, and lab testing indicated that both products contained THC levels above the legal limit. Products purchased from Almontaser’s Clayton store likewise tested higher than permissible, according to search warrants. Almontaser and his business partner, Mohammed Saleh Ahmed, 45, were arrested in January and face numerous drug charges.
If I Did It . . . Idaho is considering legislation to ensure that any profit that convicted criminals receive from telling their stories is used to compensate victims, per this story from a local media outlet. Under current Idaho law, such profits received by criminals, as from book deals, podcasts, or documentaries, are paid to the state and the money is placed in an escrow account for victims. The proposed bill would expand the list of profit sources and extend the current 5-year deadline for victims to access the money. Senator Tammy Nichols, the bill’s sponsor, says the proposed bill would also clarify language that protects prisoners’ First Amendment rights.
Abundant Blessings. Alexander Soofer, 42, CEO of a Los Angeles homeless services charity, was arrested last Friday and charged with using public money to finance his luxurious lifestyle, per this story from the AP. The county contracted with Soofer’s nonprofit, Abundant Blessings, to provide food and shelter to more than 600 homeless residents. According to prosecutors, Soofer instead used the $23 million that he received for personal expenses, including a $125,000 Range Rover, a $2,450 Hermes jacket, a vacation home in Greece, and a vacation in Hawaii. Soofer faces state and federal charges of fraud based on allegations he falsified records to conceal his misappropriations.
Porch Pirate Bags Bear. Michigan police are looking for a person who stole a 6-foot taxidermy bear off the front porch of a home in Ganges Township on January 19, as reported by CBS. Home security camera footage captured a suspect in black clothing dragging the bear from the porch of a home on Lakeshore Drive. The stuffed black bear was wearing a necklace, ring, sheriff’s badge, and a holster with a toy gun. Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact local authorities.
Crimmigration Deportation. Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores, 42, a suspect in possibly the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history, has been deported to Ecuador, according to this story from the WP. In July 2022, after an international jewelry show in San Mateo, California, a Brinks armored car was transporting the goods through central California. Flores was allegedly among a group of men that trailed the vehicle for more than 300 miles before it stopped at a rest stop, where they broke into the truck and made off with 24 bags filled with about $100 million worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches. Flores’s deportation in late December has frustrated his victim’s hopes for a timely resolution. Defense counsel’s motion to dismiss the charges with prejudice is being contested by federal prosecutors; a judge is scheduled to rule on the motion in February.
Up A Creek. Gary Cawley, 47, led Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police on a slow-speed foot chase Wednesday, walking several miles up the frozen Allegheny River, as reported by a local media outlet. Responding to a report of trespassing at a former VA hospital site in Highland Park, police allegedly found Cawley fiddling with an electrical panel. Cawley fled on foot, and officers tracked him to Allegheny River Boulevard, where Cawley walked out onto the frozen river. An officer eventually stepped onto the ice and Cawley was arrested – more than five miles from where the chase began. Cawley faces charges of burglary, trespassing, evading arrest, and disorderly conduct.
Posted: No Fishing. Two Florida men have been arrested after entering Florida Keys Aquarium just before 3 a.m. on May 25 of last year and unlawfully fishing in a private lagoon, as reported by the Independent. Security camera footage captured the two men catching a large tarpon and holding it out of the water for five minutes to pose for photographs. They returned the fish to the lagoon, but aquarium staff found it dead the next morning. Both men have been charged with burglary and illegally removing a tarpon greater than 40 inches from the water.
