National Roundup

Louisiana
Man accused of forcing his kids help make drugs
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana man accused of making his young children help him manufacture drugs was arrested after his 10-year-old son suffered gunshot wounds during an alleged drug deal, authorities said.

Baton Rouge police charged Kevin Evans Jr., 36, and his girlfriend, Meagan Toney, 29, with second-degree cruelty to juveniles and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles Tuesday, news outlets reported, citing a Baton Rouge police arrest warrant.

The agency began investigating after learning Evans’ son had been shot July 6, police said. He brought the child to the hospital for treatment but told hospital staff the boy had wounded himself, investigators alleged in the documents.

Evans’ children, ranging in age from 8 to 10 years old, told detectives in interviews that, after the boy was shot, their father told them not to call the police because he needed to hide the drugs first, according to the arrest warrant.

The children also told detectives they had to help their dad manufacture drugs and other tasks relating to his alleged drug business.

The boy’s mother learned about the shooting and reported it to police July 8, WBRZ-TV reported. Police did not say whether any arrests had been made in the shooting.

It was unclear whether the two had attorneys who could comment for them.

Massachusetts
Man sues police over arrest after video contradicts report of incident
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A former Worcester man has sued the city police department after video of his arrest at a beer garden last year contradicted the police account of the incident.

Christopher Ayala-Melendez’s federal lawsuit filed this month alleges excessive force by police, malicious prosecution and violation of his civil rights during his arrest last Oct. 26, The Telegram & Gazette reported Tuesday.

Ayala-Melendez, 24, was charged with assaulting a police officer but prosecutors dismissed charges after reviewing the video.

“If the video hadn’t existed, it would have been their word against mine,” he said. “It would have changed my life.”

Ayala-Melendez was arrested the night of a large fight at the beer garden. He lived near the bar, and had been out for a walk with his girlfriend. He said he approached an officer to ask if he could get home. The police report said Ayala-Melendez became aggressive. He was taken to the ground by an officer and bitten by a police dog.

Ayala-Melendez said the video confirms that he was not acting aggressively or yelling when he pointed in the direction of his apartment.

The district attorney’s office and the police department declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

California
Other potential victims sought after body found in pickup truck
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Police are are investigating whether there are any other victims connected to a man who was found with a dead woman in the back of his pickup truck at the scene of a Southern California car crash.

“There’s nothing at this point to make us believe there are additional victims, but we believe there could be,” Anaheim police Sgt. Shane Caringer told the Orange County Register  on Tuesday. “We’re not willing to write it off.”

The body of Jessie Villesca was discovered in the pickup after the truck crashed into another vehicle last Friday at an intersection in San Diego County.

Investigators suspect the 56-year-old died earlier in the day in Anaheim and was the victim of a homicide, police said.

Police arrested the pickup’s owner, Abdulaziz Munther Alubidy, on suspicion of her murder. It wasn’t known if the 30-year-old has an attorney.

Both the victim and the suspect are residents of Anaheim, police said. Police didn’t disclose how they knew each other, but Carringer told the newspaper that Alubidy had previously been in contact with the woman.

Because they’re looking for other potential victims, police aren’t saying how or exactly where they believe Villesca was killed.

New Mexico
Document sheds light on killing of basketball recruit
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — College basketball recruit Fedonta White pleaded with friends to help him survive after being shot in an altercation at a house party on the outskirts of Santa Fe.

He also named the person who shot him before departing for a hospital where he would die, according to a summary of interviews with witnesses released Tuesday by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department.

The document sheds light on the events surrounding the death of a standout athlete that has led to an outpouring of grief and public appeals for parents and youths to take a more active role in preventing gun violence.

The “probable cause” statement cites multiple direct and indirect witnesses to the shooting that has led to murder and criminal weapons charges against a detained 16-year-old Santa Fe resident. Names are blacked out of witnesses who were interviewed by investigators from the sheriff’s department.

An attorney for the defendant could not immediately be reached by phone or email. The Associated Press generally does not identify juveniles who are accused of crimes.

A hearing is scheduled in state district court next week as prosecutors have vowed to pursue adult sanctions.

Summarized accounts of events before the shooting describe a “small get-together of friends” that grew in numbers amid scuffles between revelers — and eventually gunshots at 3:30 a.m. Saturday that scattered the crowd.

The parents of the hosts were not present. New Mexico is under a stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus pandemic that bans public gatherings of more than four people.

Multiple witnesses saw White get into a brief physical altercation with someone who pulled a handgun from his waistband and fired while moving at a run.

At age 18, White was scheduled to play basketball for the University of New Mexico on a scholarship later this year.

The 6-foot-8-inch forward for the Santa Fe High School Demons was a real life “Hoop Dreams” figure who lived with his grandmother and averaged 20 points a game during the 2019-2020 season, amid a cross-town rivalry with Capital High School that drew overflow crowds.