Alton Oliver has been charged with the murder of Deputy James Thomas in Atlanta Georgia. According to police reports officers would respond to the scene of a crash where they would find Deputy James Thomas dead inside of the vehicle.. Soon after police would learn that Deputy James Thomas had been fatally shot. A search took place that eventually would lead to the suspect days later Police in Fulton County would arrest Alton Oliver who has been charged with felony murder.
At a press conference Tuesday, officials with the Atlanta Police Department and Mayor Andre Dickens said 26-year-old Alton Oliver was identified, arrested, and charged Monday for the shooting death of 24-year-old Deputy James Thomas.
According to authorities, officers were originally called to the scene on Bolton Road and Payton Road at around 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 29 after reports of a shooting. They found a car that had been in a crash with the victim still inside.
Investigators later identified the victim as Thomas.
Atlanta police investigators spoke to the driver of a van who heard gunshots and called 911.
“The van observed the victim’s vehicle kind of driving erratically in the middle of the road on Bolton Road,” Atlanta police investigator Peter Malecki said. “When they went to pass that vehicle is when they believe they heard gunfire.”
At the time, investigators think that Thomas was killed after the crash. They do not believe Oliver and Thomas knew each other and that the shooting stemmed from a dispute that turned deadly.
Alton Oliver remains in custody in the Cobb County Jail charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and more.
Investigators say Alton Oliver did not have a criminal history outside a few traffic infractions.
“He was an outstanding young man. We personally recruited him from another agency down south specifically because of his energy and the love for what he brought to our agency,” Labat said.
Labat said the deputy worked on Wednesday night before he was found dead.
Thomas grew up in Mississippi, and locals say he knew what he wanted to be from a young age.
“Every time we would come through the neighborhood, he was just excited to see the officers he would flag us down,” said Chief Terence Crump, with the Edwards, Miss. police department. “He was really a blessing, because most kids his age, law enforcement wasn’t on the radar for them.”
Chief Crump said he took Thomas under his wing and helped him get his start in law enforcement.
The last time they spoke was less than 24 hours before he was last seen alive.
“I asked him [last] Tuesday if he had any plans of returning one day, and he said only if I could come back as a chief of police somewhere.”
Crump was confident that was in his future.
“I had no doubt in my mind that he was still with us, and maybe a couple years down the road I think he would’ve,” he told FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and Crime Stoppers had offered a $30,000 reward for anyone who has information that could lead to the arrest of Thomas’ killer
Atlanta police have made an arrest in the deadly shooting of a Fulton County deputy.
James Thomas, 24, was found shot to death in his crashed car near Bolton Road early Thursday morning.
Jail records show that police arrested Alton Oliver, 26, on Monday on felony murder and aggravated assault charges. Channel 2 Action News attended a news conference Tuesday where police confirmed the arrest is connected to Thomas’ death.
Channel 2 Action News This Morning was first on the scene when authorities blocked the intersection of Bolton Road and Peyton Road.
Police told Channel 2 that someone crashed into the deputy’s car at some point during the incident and then drove away. Just after 4:30 a.m., officers responded to a shooting at the intersection.
Officers found Thomas’ body in the driver’s seat of his car.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said Thomas had been with the sheriff’s office for less than a year and was part of the Grady Detention Unit. Labat described the 24-year-old deputy from Mississippi as “the life of the party.”
“He was an outstanding young man. We personally recruited him from another police department down south specifically because of the energy and his love for what he brought to our agency,” Labat said.
Alton Oliver is scheduled to make his first appearance on Tuesday morning, according to Fulton County court records
Bethel Bekele is a man from Ohio who has been charged with the murder of a Dollar Store employee. According to police reports Bethel Bekele entered a Dollar Tree in Upper Sandusky Ohio and would stab the employee 22-year-old Keris L. Riebel to death. When police arrived at the scene they would find Bethel Bekele gone however he would later drive himself to the police station and turn himself in. Bethel Bekele has been charged with murder. Right now there does not appear to be a prior connection between Bethel Bekele and Keris Riebel.
Bethel Bekele More News
A Dollar Tree employee in Northwest Ohio is dead after being murdered with a machete while working on Sunday.
The incident happened in Upper Sandusky just before 4:30 p.m. on New Year’s Day.
Upper Sandusky police said they were called to the store after a man was spotted waving a machete around inside the store.
Officers arrived and found a cashier, identified as 22-year-old Keris L. Riebel, dead.
Police charged 27-year-old Bethel M. Bekele, who currently resided in Upper Sandusky, in connection with the attack.
Police Chief Jared Lucas said, “Bekele entered the store with the machete, approached Riebel, and struck her numerous times with the machete.” Other people were in the store at the time.
The police chief said Bekele drove to the Wyandot County Sheriff’s Office afterward. That’s when deputies approached his car and he surrendered to them.
Family members said online that Riebel had recently been married, in October, and had recently graduated from college. She’s from Nevada, which is about 15 minutes from Upper Sandusky. Relatives who answered the door at her family home did not want to talk.
Little is known right now about Bekele. He’s got no apparent criminal record and police are still investigating the relationship between Bekele and Riebel. Bekele had an address in Upper Sandusky at an apartment complex. Neighbors recognized his face, but knew nothing about him, including his name.
Bekele is being held at the Wood County jail in Bowling Green. The police chief in Upper Sandusky said the Wyandot County jail did not have the available bed space for him. He is charged with one count of murder. His court date has not been set.
It is unclear what, if any, relationship existed between the victim and the suspect or what the motive was.
Amber McLaughlin is scheduled to be executed by the State of Missouri on January 3 2023. According to court documents Amber McLaughlin (Scott McLaughlin) for the sexual assault and murder of her ex girlfriend. The victim, Beverly Guenther, had a restraining order against Amber McLaughlin at the time of her murder. Beverly Guenther would be reported missing and police would discover a knife beside her car and a trail of blood. The next day Amber McLaughlin would bring police to Beverly Guenther remains. Amber McLaughlin would be tried and convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
Amber McLaughlin would be executed by lethal injection on January 3 2023
DOC ID
501249
Offender Name
Scott A McLaughlin
Race
White
Sex
Male
Date of Birth
01/13/1973
Height/Weight
5’10” / 221
Hair/Eyes
Brown / Brown
Assigned Location
Potosi Correctional Center
Address
11593 State Highway O, Mineral Point, MO 63660
Sentence Summary
Death {(death, Life, Life CS), 7 CC} Registration Required
Scott A McLaughin; Scott A McLaughlin; Scott McLaughlin
Amber McLaughlin More News
Unless Missouri Gov. Mike Parson grants clemency, Amber McLaughlin, 49, will become the first openly transgender woman executed in the U.S. She is scheduled to die by injection Tuesday for killing a former girlfriend in 2003.
McLaughlin’s attorney, Larry Komp, said there are no court appeals pending.
The clemency request focuses on several issues, including McLaughlin’s traumatic childhood and mental health issues, which the jury never heard in her trial. A foster parent rubbed feces in her face when she was a toddler and her adoptive father used a stun gun on her, according to the clemency petition. It says she suffers from depression and attempted suicide multiple times.
There is no known case of an openly transgender inmate being executed in the U.S. before, according to the anti-execution Death Penalty Information Center. A friend in prison says she saw McLaughlin’s personality blossom during her gender transition.
Before transitioning, McLaughlin was in a relationship with girlfriend Beverly Guenther. McLaughlin would show up at the suburban St. Louis office where the 45-year-old Guenther worked, sometimes hiding inside the building, according to court records. Guenther obtained a restraining order, and police officers occasionally escorted her to her car after work.
Guenther’s neighbors called police the night of Nov. 20, 2003, when she failed to return home. Officers went to the office building, where they found a broken knife handle near her car and a trail of blood. A day later, McLaughlin led police to a location near the Mississippi River in St. Louis, where the body had been dumped.
McLaughlin was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006. A judge sentenced McLaughlin to death after a jury deadlocked on the sentence. A court in 2016 ordered a new sentencing hearing, but a federal appeals court panel reinstated the death penalty in 2021.
One person who knew Amber before she transitioned is Jessica Hicklin, 43, who spent 26 years in prison for a drug-related killing in western Missouri in 1995. She was 16. Because of her age when the crime occurred, she was granted release in January 2022.
Hicklin, 43, began transitioning while in prison and in 2016 sued the Missouri Department of Corrections, challenging a policy that prohibited hormone therapy for inmates who weren’t receiving it before being incarcerated. She won the lawsuit in 2018 and became a mentor to other transgender inmates, including Amber McLaughlin.
Though imprisoned together for around a decade, Hicklin said McLaughlin was so shy they rarely interacted. But as McLaughlin began transitioning about three years ago, she turned to Hicklin for guidance on issues such as mental health counseling and getting help to ensure her safety inside a male-dominated maximum-security prison.
“There’s always paperwork and bureaucracy, so I spent time helping her learn to file the right things and talk to the right people,” Hicklin said.
In the process, a friendship developed.
“We would sit down once a week and have what I referred to as girl talk,” Hicklin said. “She always had a smile and a dad joke. If you ever talked to her, it was always with the dad jokes.”
They also discussed the challenges a transgender inmate faces in a male prison — things like how to obtain feminine items, dealing with rude comments, and staying safe.
McLaughlin still had insecurities, especially about her well-being, Hicklin said.
“Definitely a vulnerable person,” Hicklin said. “Definitely afraid of being assaulted or victimized, which is more common for trans folks in Department of Corrections.”
The only woman ever executed in Missouri was Bonnie B. Heady, put to death on Dec. 18, 1953, for kidnapping and killing a 6-year-old boy. Heady was executed in the gas chamber, side by side with the other kidnapper and killer, Carl Austin Hall.
Nationally, 18 people were executed in 2022, including two in Missouri. Kevin Johnson, 37, was put to death Nov. 29 for the ambush killing of a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. Carmen Deck was executed in May for killing James and Zelma Long during a robbery at their home in De Soto, Missouri.
Another Missouri inmate, Leonard Taylor, is scheduled to die Feb. 7 for killing his girlfriend and her three young children.
Amber McLaughlin, 49, was convicted of stalking and killing a former girlfriend, then dumping the body near the Mississippi River in St. Louis. McLaughlin’s fate was sealed earlier Tuesday when Republican Gov. Mike Parson declined a clemency request.
Amber McLaughlin spoke quietly with a spiritual adviser at her side as the fatal dose of pentobarbital was injected. McLaughlin breathed heavily a couple of times, then shut her eyes. She was pronounced dead a few minutes later.
“I am sorry for what I did,” McLaughlin said in a final, written, statement. “I am a loving and caring person.”
A database on the website for the anti-execution Death Penalty Information Center shows that 1,558 people have been executed since the death penalty was reinstated in the mid-1970s. All but 17 of those put to death were men. The center said there are no known previous cases of an openly transgender inmate being executed. McLaughlin began transitioning about three years ago at the state prison in Potosi.
The clemency petition cited McLaughlin’s traumatic childhood and mental health issues, which the jury never heard during her trial. A foster parent rubbed feces in her face when she was a toddler and her adoptive father used a stun gun on her, according to the petition. It cited severe depression that resulted in multiple suicide attempts, both as a child and as an adult.
The petition also included reports citing a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a condition that causes anguish and other symptoms as a result of a disparity between a person’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth. But McLaughlin’s sexual identity was “not the main focus” of the clemency request, her attorney, Larry Komp, said.
In 2003, long before transitioning, McLaughlin was in a relationship with Beverly Guenther. After they stopped dating, Amber McLaughlin would show up at the suburban St. Louis office where the 45-year-old Guenther worked, sometimes hiding inside the building, according to court records. Guenther obtained a restraining order, and police officers occasionally escorted her to her car after work.
Guenther’s neighbors called police the night of Nov. 20, 2003, when she failed to return home. Officers went to the office building, where they found a broken knife handle near her car and a trail of blood. A day later, Amber McLaughlin led police to a location near the Mississippi River in St. Louis, where the body had been dumped. Authorities said she had been raped and stabbed repeatedly with a steak knife.
Amber McLaughlin was convicted of first-degree murder in 2006. A judge sentenced McLaughlin to death after a jury deadlocked on the sentence. Komp said Missouri and Indiana are the only states that allow a judge to sentence someone to death.
A court in 2016 ordered a new sentencing hearing, but a federal appeals court panel reinstated the death penalty in 2021.
“McLaughlin terrorized Ms. Guenther in the final years of her life, but we hope her family and loved ones may finally have some peace,” Parson said in a written statement after the execution.
Amber McLaughlin began transitioning about three years ago, according to Jessica Hicklin, who spent 26 years in prison for a drug-related killing before being released a year ago. Hicklin, now 43, sued the Missouri Department of Corrections, challenging a policy that prohibited hormone therapy for inmates who weren’t receiving it before being incarcerated. She won the lawsuit in 2018 and became a mentor to other transgender inmates, including McLaughlin. Amber McLaughlin did not receive hormone treatments, however, Komp said
Hicklin described Amber McLaughlin as a painfully shy person who came out of her shell after she decided to transition.
“She always had a smile and a dad joke,” Hicklin said. “If you ever talked to her, it was always with the dad jokes.”
The Bureau of Justice Statistics has estimated there are 3,200 transgender inmates in the nation’s prisons and jails. Perhaps the best-known case of a transgender prisoner seeking treatment was that of Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who served seven years in federal prison for leaking government documents to Wikileaks until President Barack Obama commuted the sentence in 2017. The Army agreed to pay for hormone treatments for Manning in 2015
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice wrote in a court filing that state prison officials must treat an inmate’s gender identity condition just as they would treat other medical or mental health conditions, regardless of when the diagnosis occurred.
The only woman ever executed in Missouri was Bonnie B. Heady, put to death on Dec. 18, 1953, for kidnapping and killing a 6-year-old boy. Heady was executed in the gas chamber, side by side with the other kidnapper and killer, Carl Austin Hall.
Nationally, 18 people were executed in 2022, including two in Missouri. Kevin Johnson was put to death in November for the ambush killing of a Kirkwood, Missouri, police officer. Carman Deck was executed in May for killing James and Zelma Long during a robbery at their home in De Soto, Missouri.
Another Missouri inmate, Leonard Taylor, is scheduled to die Feb. 7 for killing his girlfriend and her three young children.
Officer David Cauthron has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide after a high speed chase ended in a crash that killed two Brusly cheerleaders. According to police reports Addis police officer David Cauthron was pursuing a suspect when he sped through a red light crashing into a car in which 17-year-old Maggie Dunn and 16-year-old Caroline Gill were killed. Maggie Dunn brother Liam Dunn was also in the vehicle and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Officer David Cauthron would be arrested and has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide. The suspect being chased, Tyquel Zanders, would be arrested and manslaughter charges are pending.
Officials told WBRZ that officer David Cauthron was arrested and booked Sunday night on two counts of negligent homicide.
“That cop has a lot of questions to answer pertaining to his speed and sheer negligence,” Clayton said earlier that same day. “The public can rest assured, we will follow the facts.”
Clayton told The Advocate his office is to review dash cam footage and communications from the officer.
“For these kids to not to have been able to start the New Year is inexcusable, but we’ll follow the facts first,” Clayton told the news outlet. “I just can’t put my arms around why (the officer) was driving at that rate of speed in pursuit of this vehicle. This officer is facing some serious issues.”
Clayton has also inquired with the Baton Rouge Police Department about why the pursuit was deemed necessary in Baton Rouge over a home invasion and stolen vehicle, according to a report from The Advocate.
“If it involves putting human life in danger, stop the damn pursuit,” Clayton said. “It’s just not worth the risk.”
Witnesses told WBRZ that while pursuing suspect Tyquel Zanders, the police officer ran a red light on LA 1 in Brusly and struck the victims’ vehicle, pushing them into the median.
The crash claimed the lives of 17-year-old Maggie Dunn and 16-year-old Caroline Gill. Maggie’s brother, Liam Dunn, was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and he was last reported to be in critical condition.
Prosecutors said Zanders will also face additional charges for the deadly crash.
“He put the chain of events into play,” Clayton told The Advocate. “He’s responsible for all the reactions to his actions. He’s facing two counts, and if that poor kid doesn’t survive, he’ll face another.”
The chase started in a Baton Rouge neighborhood when Zanders stole a family member’s vehicle. He led authorities through East and West Baton Rouge, and police ultimately stopped Zanders on I-10 back in the capital city. He was taken into custody without incident.
Clayton said the laws surrounding police chases may need to be changed in light of Saturday’s crash and his office would pursue all information before deciding if the Addis officer should be charged, according to the news outlet.
“I want the public to have confidence in its DA’s office that we will follow the facts, and we should let the facts lead us to whatever the outcome should be,” Clayton said.
Brianna Lace Workman is a 32 year old woman from Portland Oregon who would push a three year old girl onto the subway tracks in Portland Oregon. According to police reports Brianna Lace Workman was sitting on a bench when she quickly got up and ran over to the three year old girl who was standing with her mother and pushed the child headfirst onto the MTA tracks. Thankfully a quick bystander was able to grab the little girl off the tracks and hand her up to safety. Brianna Lace Workman who Oregon police have said has an extensive criminal record has been charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
Brianna Lace Workman More News
A 32-year-old woman is being held without bail after allegedly shoving a 3-year-old girl off a Northeast Portland MAX station platform and onto the train tracks Wednesday, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office said.
A male bystander quickly rescued the child, who reported a severe headache and had a small red mark on her forehead, the district attorney’s office said.
Brianna Lace Workman, 32, was arraigned Thursday in Multnomah County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree attempted assault, a felony, and third-degree assault, interfering with public transportation, second-degree disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment and harassment, misdemeanors, court records show.
Workman is listed as homeless and living in Portland, according to court records.
Workman is accused of shoving the child, who was waiting with her mother at the Gateway Transit Center on Wednesday. The girl, who was not publicly identified, landed face-first on the metal rail and rocks before being rescued from the train tracks, the district attorney’s office said.
A video of the incident shared by the district attorney’s office appears to show the mother and child standing on a MAX platform near the tracks. Both are wearing winter coats and facing away from the camera. A person wearing a winter coat seated near them abruptly stands up and shoves the girl, whose body strikes the edge of the platform before tumbling head-first onto the train tracks below
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