National Roundup

South Carolina
Man accused of trying to kidnap WWE star
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A South Carolina man who stalked a 26-year-old WWE star for years and spent eight months planning to kidnap her was arrested Sunday after breaking into her home near Tampa, sheriff’s officials said.

Phillip A. Thomas II, 24, of Cordesville, South Carolina, was arrested early Sunday for attempting to carry out the plot, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The sheriffs office did not identify the victim, but home where Thomas was arrested is owned by Daria Berenato, whose stage name is Sonya Deville. She performs for WWE and stars in the E! cable channel reality TV series Total Divas. She later tweeted a thank you message to the sheriff’s office.

Thomas faces charges of aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief, and is expected to make a first appearance in court on Monday.

According to investigators, Thomas parked his car at a nearby church, walked to the home and cut a hole in a screen to enter the home’s patio, where he stayed for three to four hours watching and listening through the windows.

Thomas went inside the home through a sliding glass door at 2:43 a.m., after the homeowner had gone to bed, the release said. The alarm activated.

Sheriff’s officials said the homeowner looked out a window and saw Thomas before she left with a guest in a car. She also called 911. Thomas was still at the home when deputies arrived.
He had a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and other items, and told deputies he was planning to take the homeowner hostage, the sheriff’s office said.

On jail records, Thomas is listed as an Applebee’s crew member. He was being held without bail and records don’t list a lawyer for him.

“Our deputies are unveiling the suspect’s disturbing obsession with this homeowner who he had never met, but stalked on social media for years,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “It’s frightening to think of all the ways this incident could have played out had the home alarm not gone off and alerted the homeowner of an intruder.”

Mississippi
3 police officers indicted in death of Black man
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Three Mississippi police officers have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man last year, according to a recently unsealed indictment.
A Hinds County grand jury indicted the officers in the January 2019 death of George Robinson, 62, according to the Aug. 5 indictment.

It accuses the officers — Desmond Barney, Lincoln Lampley and Anthony Fox — with “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously” causing Robinson’s death, The Clarion Ledger reported. All three worked for the Jackson Police Department at the time.

The indictment alleges that the three officers removed Robinson from his vehicle, body-slammed him on the pavement and repeatedly struck him in the head and chest.

Robinson died from bleeding on the brain caused by blunt force trauma to the head, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said shortly after his death.

Neighbor Connie Bolton told Mississippi Today that officers hit Robinson and slammed him down while seeking suspects in the fatal shooting of a pastor who had been shot in a robbery in front of his church.

Francis Springer, one of the attorneys representing the officers, said that “evidence will show that the officers are not guilty.”

“These officers did exactly what they are trained to do and used an appropriate level of force,” Springer told The Clarion Ledger on Friday.

The three officers were placed on administrative leave as the department’s Internal Affairs Division and the FBI investigated the case, The Clarion Ledger said. The officers were later reinstated, though Fox and Barney currently work for the Clinton Police Department.

After the officers posted bond at a court hearing and were released Thursday, several police officers met them outside and prayed with them on the courthouse lawn, WLBT-TV reported.

Robinson’s relatives said they were grateful that charges were brought against the officers.

“For us, the charges prove that George’s life mattered and no one deserves to die the way he did,” the family said in a statement obtained by news outlets. “We are grateful that the District Attorney has taken this action. We have cooperated with the investigation in every way and will continue to do so until we finally get justice for our beloved George.”

California
Judge orders virus testing at immigration detention center
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge in California ordered immediate testing of all detainees and staff at an immigration detention center where COVID-19 was spreading for weeks while officials refused to test for the virus.

Federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to conduct quick-result testing of everyone in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield, The Los Angeles Times reports.

At least 54 of the 104 detained people remaining at the facility are positive for the virus. Initial results from quick tests Saturday found 11 more positive cases, MacLean said.

Chhabria’s order also directed about 140 staff members at Mesa Verde to be tested during their next shift, and weekly thereafter.

The order followed results Friday showing nearly half of the detainees tested earlier in the week were positive for COVID-19.

Deputy Public Defender Emi MacLean of the San Francisco public defender’s office said the judge cited the “deliberate indifference” of ICE and GEO Group, the private company managing the facility.

The public defender’s office represents detainees at the facility in San Francisco Immigration Court.

The order followed a series of hearings in a class-action lawsuit filed in April that sought to ensure the facility was taking adequate measures to ensure the detainees’ safety. As the litigation proceeded, ICE tested only those who showed symptoms of possible infection and reported there were none, MacLean said.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.