The Trump administration sued the state of New York on Thursday over a law that blocks immigration officials from arresting people at New York courthouses, saying it purposely shields dangerous criminals. New York’s 2020 Protect Our Courts Act bans federal immigration officials from arresting people who are coming and going from courthouses or in court for proceedings unless they have a warrant signed by a judge. Democratic state Senator Brad Hoylman, the bill’s sponsor, said at the time the legislation was a rebuke to the first Trump administration’s practice of turning New York courts into “hunting grounds” for federal agents.
The Justice Department’s lawsuit said arrests in or near courthouses are safer for officers and the public because individuals are screened for weapons and contraband before entering the buildings. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of legal actions targeting state or local policies the administration says interfere with immigration enforcement.
New Orleans manhunt enters its fourth week. Authorities in Louisiana have made another arrest in connection to the May 16 jailbreak that was previously reported here and here. Darriana Burton, a former Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office employee, was taken into custody on Monday and is one of at least 16 people who have been arrested and accused of aiding the escape of the inmates. She is believed to be the girlfriend of escaped inmate Derrick Groves who still remains at large.
Two days before the escape, Groves made a FaceTime video call to Burton using a jail-issued iPad. During that call, she helped him speak with an unidentified man. The exchange showed Burton’s direct role in helping with Groves’ escape. Burton also allegedly “picked up” and transported another fugitive to a relative’s home during his escape. Burton is facing a felony charge of conspiracy to commit simple escape.
Seattle man charged for high-profile burglaries. A Seattle man was charged last Friday in connection with a series of robberies and burglaries of four current and former professional athletes. Earl Henderson Riley was charged with robbery in the first degree and several counts of burglary. According to court documents, he allegedly stole upward of $300,000 worth of designer purses, high-end jewelry, and luxury watches from the athletes’ homes. Riley is being held on a one million dollar bail.
Scammers are using AI to steal college financial aid. AP News reports that the rise of artificial intelligence and the popularity of online classes have led to an explosion of financial aid fraud. Fake college enrollments have been surging as crime rings deploy “ghost students”—usually AI chatbots—to join online classes and stay just long enough to collect a financial aid check. An analysis of fraud reports shows California colleges in 2024 reported 1.2 million fraudulent applications, which resulted in 223,000 suspected fake enrollments. This resulted in the theft of at least $11.1 million in federal, state, and local financial aid from California community colleges last year that could not be recovered.
In the past year, investigators indicted a man accused of leading a Texas fraud ring that used stolen identities to pursue $1.5 million in student aid. Another person in Texas pleaded guilty to using the names of prison inmates to apply for over $650,000 in student aid at colleges across the South and Southwest. A person in New York recently pleaded guilty to a $450,000 student aid scam that lasted a decade.
Medically assisted suicide on the table in New York. The New York legislature passed a bill Monday that will allow terminally ill patients to end their own lives with pharmaceutical drugs. The proposal requires that a terminally ill person who is expected to die within six months make a written request for the drugs. Two witnesses would have to sign the request to ensure that the patient is not being coerced. The request would then have to be approved by the person’s attending physician as well as a consulting physician. Supporters say the legislation would let terminally ill people die on their own terms, while opponents have argued the state should instead improve end-of-life medical care or have objected on religious grounds.
Alabama sheriff arrested for hiring uncertified officers. The sheriff of an Alabama county was arrested on Monday for hiring officers without state training or certification. Sheriff Nick Smith was indicted on six misdemeanors in state court, accused of hiring one deputy, four school resource officers, and one jailer who allegedly didn’t have state certification or training. Both the deputy and some school resource officers were issued department patrol cars, badges, and firearms.
The deputy was hired in late June as a provisional officer, which meant he wasn’t allowed to execute arrests or patrol alone until he completed his state training under state law. But the deputy made three arrests and investigated three deaths. At least one of the resource officers mentioned in Smith’s indictment previously had his certification suspended in Arizona after he admitted to putting a gun to a woman’s head during a traffic stop.
Revenge gone wrong. A Kentucky man known as “Cowboy Cody” let loose a raccoon in a bar out of revenge for being turned away from the establishment Friday night. Police arrested Jonathan Mason on several charges, including assault, after the incident. One bartender who has worked at the establishment for five years said Mason was already drinking when she encountered him Friday night. The bar had previously banned him over a drunken mule incident (yes, read more below), and she thought she could convince him to leave without causing a scene. Mason initially complied without complaint but returned moments later with the raccoon. One employee was bitten while trying to capture the animal and had to get rabies shots.
This was not the first time Mason was involved in an animal-related crime. Last winter, Mason was arrested twice for leading cops on a wild, drunken chase through city streets on a mule. The police were called on Mason when he allegedly beat the animal with a whip in the parking lot of the same establishment.