The Alamo announced last week that it’s got Pee-wee’s stolen red bicycle, as foretold in the 1985 film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” But the bike is not in the basement. The AP reports that the iconic bicycle will serve as a centerpiece in the Mays Family Legacy Gallery, part of a new visitor center and museum scheduled to open in fall 2027. Read on for more criminal law news.
New Trial Ordered for 1979 Killing. Six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared on May 25, 1979, on the way to his NYC bus stop. Etan became one of the first missing children pictured on milk cartons. In 2012, police arrested Pedro Hernandez, a former bodega clerk, who confessed to abducting Etan but later recanted. After a mistrial in 2015, Hernandez was convicted of kidnapping and murder in 2017, and state appellate courts denied relief. On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the convictions and ordered a new trial, as reported by the AP and NYT. The court ordered Hernandez’s release unless the state affords a new trial within a reasonable time.
Firetruck Thief Evades Arrest. Firefighters in Everette, Washington, returning from a medical emergency call last Friday night, discovered that their 35,000-pound fire engine, a 2018 Pierce Enforcer Pumper Truck, had been stolen, as reported by ABC, NBC, and local news sources. The thief proceeded to crash the firetruck into more than a dozen parked cars before abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on foot. The fire engine sustained significant damage and had to be taken out of service. Police have requested help from the community in identifying the suspect.
Fito Pleads Not Guilty. On Monday, José Adolfo Macías Villamar, nicknamed “Fito,” pleaded not guilty to drug and gun charges in New York, per this story from the AP. Macías appeared in federal court in Brooklyn a day after Ecuador extradited him to the United States. Prosecutors claim that Macías is the head of the Los Choneros gang (from the city of Chone in the Manabí province of Ecuador), which is accused of shipping cocaine from Columbian suppliers to the U.S. and shipping firearms from the U.S. to South America. Macías had been serving a 34-year sentence in Ecuador for drug trafficking, organized crime, and murder when he escaped from prison in January 2024; he was caught last month. A federal grand jury in NYC indicted Macías in April for international cocaine distribution, conspiracy, and smuggling firearms from the United States, among other charges.
Ex-Officer Sentenced to 3 Years. On Monday, Brett Hankinson, one of the officers involved in the botched raid on Breonna Taylor’s home in 2020, was sentenced by a federal judge in Kentucky to nearly three years in prison for violating Taylor’s civil rights, according to stories from the NYT and AP. Officers were seeking evidence of drug dealing by Taylor’s former boyfriend when they raided her Louisville apartment in March 2020. Her then-boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a gun at the intruders, and the officers returned fire, killing Taylor. Hankerson fired another 10 shots into the home through a window and a sliding glass door covered by blinds, hitting a neighboring apartment. The killing of Breonna Taylor sparked weeks of street protests over police brutality. Last week, the federal prosecutor asked the judge to sentence Hankerson to a single day.
Former Charlotte Hornets Player Investigated. Terry Rozier was playing for the Charlotte Hornets in a March 23, 2023, basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans when he exited the game with a foot injury during the first ten minutes and did not return. Rozier’s performance proved a windfall for a professional bettor in Biloxi, Mississippi, who that morning had placed 30 wagers in 46 minutes, totaling $13,759, on the unders on Rozier’s statistics. All 30 bets won, and federal investigators are now investigating the circumstances, per stories from ESPN and the Charlotte Observer. League rules prohibit players from betting on the NBA or sharing information with anyone associated with gambling. The NBA investigated the unusual activity in 2023 but found no violation of league rules. Rozier has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. The Hornets traded Rozier to the Miami Heat in 2024 for Kyle Lowry.
Idaho Killer Gets Life in Prison. Bryan Kohberger, 30, who pled guilty to killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison. The AP and NYT have the story. Kohberger was a graduate student in criminology at the nearby Washington State University, when on Nov. 13, 2022, he snuck into a rental home in Moscow, Idaho, and stabbed to death four students: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen. Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania six weeks later. Investigators matched Kohberger’s DNA to a knife sheath found at the crime scene. Kohberger declined to speak in court and his motive remains unknown.
East Carolina Football Players Investigated. Three football players with East Carolina University have been suspended after allegedly shooting a gun in the air in Greenville, as reported by local news outlet WITN and WRAL. Shortly before 6 a.m. on Sunday, officers responded to a report of shots fired at 218 Locust Drive. Arriving at the address, officers spoke with defensive linemen Jackson Lampley and Preston Carr, both of whom allegedly admitted to shooting a gun. Police say wide receiver Brock Spalding stayed inside the home and initially rebuffed officers’ attempts to make contact. All three players have been charged with discharging a firearm within city limits.
Tidbits From the Antipodes. A cat in Auckland, New Zealand, has been stealing laundry – underwear, socks, an expensive cashmere sweater – from clotheslines and bedrooms near his home in the beachside neighborhood of Mairangi Bay, per this story from the AP. The cat, who now goes by Leonardo da Pinchy, remains at large. Meanwhile, an Australian man is facing charges in New South Wales after police spotted his Mercedez-Benz outfitted to look like an official Chinese police vehicle, complete with “Chinese Poilce” [sic] insignia, as reported by Yahoo. The man is charged with providing false information, impersonating police, and driving a car with unlawful insignia.