New Hampshire
Man accused of fatally shooting his sister-in-law and nephews pleads guilty
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man accused of killing his sister-in-law and two young nephews when he was 16 pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder charges.
Eric Sweeney, now 19, had been living with his older brother’s family in Northfield for several years when prosecutors say he fatally shot Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her sons, 4-year-old Benjamin and 1-year-old Mason, in August 2022.
He was scheduled to go on trial on first-degree murder charges next month but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in Merrimack County Superior Court, speaking only to briefly confirm his understanding of the proceedings. Sweeney, whose lawyers had considered raising an insanity defense, faces up to life in prison when sentenced at a later date.
According to prosecutors, Sweeney’s older brother, Sean, and his wife were serving as the teen’s guardians when Sweeney’s “increasing behavioral issues” began causing tensions in the home. In court documents, they say Sweeney was lying to the couple and violating house rules, prompting them to call the police to talk to him.
About two months before the fatal shootings, he left the couple a note that read in part, “I do not belong in this family All I do is steal and lie and be irresponsible,” and closed with “I love you big bro and sis bye.”
When he was taken into custody, Sweeney told police he had been in his room in the basement when he heard something break upstairs, a man with a deep voice yelling and multiple “pops,” according to court documents. He said he went upstairs and found his sister-in-law and nephews on the floor bleeding and then took Kassandra’s cellphone and keys and drove away. He then called his brother, who called police.
Prosecutors had planned to show jurors video clips Kassandra Sweeney recorded on her phone showing her sons “engaging in playful behavior” the morning of the shooting, including one created just 10 minutes before Eric Sweeney left the house.
“In all three videos, the victims are exhibiting no distress or other visible or audible signs that would suggest that an unknown or unwelcome third-party was present in the house with them,” prosecutors said in a court filing last month.
Washington
Woman pleads guilty to assault for spitting on top DC prosecutor during interview
WASHINGTON (AP) — A woman who spit on the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital during a videotaped interview pleaded guilty on Thursday to assault charges.
Emily Gabriella Sommer, 32, of Washington, D.C., is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 for assaulting then-acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr. and two law-enforcement officers who arrested her several days after she spit on Martin. Sommer pleaded guilty to three counts of assaulting public officials, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office.
A trial for Sommer had been scheduled to start Monday. Instead, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb accepted Sommer’s guilty plea and will sentence her.
On May 8, a Newsmax reporter was interviewing Martin on a sidewalk outside his office when Sommer approached him.
“Are you Ed Martin? You are Ed Martin,” Sommer said before lunging at him and spitting on his left shoulder, according to prosecutors.
As she walked away, Sommer swore at Martin and called him “a disgusting man.”
“My name is Emily Gabriella Sommer, and you are served,” she said.
Sommer later took credit for the spitting incident in a message replying to a social media post by Martin.
The encounter occurred on the same day that President Donald Trump pulled Martin’s nomination to remain U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin faced bipartisan opposition in the Senate after a turbulent stint in the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. A key Republican senator said he could not support Martin for the job due to his support for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Martin roiled the office with a series of unorthodox moves, such as firing and demoting subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases. Trump replaced Martin with former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 2.
When U.S. Marshals Service deputies went to arrest Sommer at her apartment on May 22, she spit in a deputy’s face and kicked him, prosecutors said.
“How is that spit? Taste good? I was just getting over a cold sore. I hope I gave you herpes,” Sommer told the deputy, according to prosecutors.
Sommer also kicked a second deputy during her arrest and told another deputy, “I would put a bullet in you if I had it. I would put a bullet in every one of you right now,” prosecutors said.
During her initial court appearance in May, Sommer repeatedly disrupted the hearing with outbursts. Deputies picked her up and carried her out of the courtroom after one of her interruptions prompted a magistrate to suspend the hearing. Sommer later apologized to the magistrate for her courtroom conduct.
Florida
Prosecutors decline to pursue battery and domestic violence case against Browns rookie
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors in Broward County have declined to pursue a case against Cleveland Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, who was arrested last month on charges of misdemeanor battery and domestic violence.
Judkins was arrested on July 14 by Fort Lauderdale police after they received a report of battery that he allegedly committed a week earlier near the city’s airport.
The assistant state attorney assigned to review the case wrote in a memorandum that there were several reasons not to prosecute, including the delayed report, a lack of video evidence and a lack of independent witnesses.
“Although the victim had photos showing injuries sustained, there were also videos in that same time frame where no injuries were observed to the victim. Additionally, the victim’s injuries depicted in the photos could be explained by either account of the incident,” the memo said.
Judkins, the only NFL draft pick who remains unsigned, could be subject to discipline under the league’s personal conduct policy.
The 21-year-old Judkins was the 36th pick in the NFL draft after rushing for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns at Ohio State last season.
The Browns drafted Judkins in the hopes that he could become the team’s lead running back after Nick Chubb signed with the Houston Texans. Cleveland also drafted Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.
Washington
Prosecutors seek death penalty against Zizians member charged with murdering border agent
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Thursday it will seek the death penalty against a member of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont in the latest Trump administration push for more federal executions.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Seattle, is among a group of radical computer scientists focused on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence who have been linked to six killings in three states. She’s accused of fatally shooting agent David Maland on Jan. 20, the same day President Donald Trump was inaugurated and signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions.
Youngblut initially was charged with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. But the Trump administration signaled early on that more serious charges were coming, and a new indictment released Thursday charged her with murder of a federal law enforcement agent, assaulting other agents with a deadly weapon and related firearms offenses.
“We will not stand for such attacks on the men and women who protect our communities and borders,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti said in a press release.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned Maland as an example when saying she expects federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of law enforcement officers. And Youngblut’s attorneys recently said they had been given a July 28 deadline to offer preliminary evidence about why she should be spared such a punishment. Her attorneys, who declined to comment Thursday, asked a judge last month to delay that deadline until January, but the judge declined.
At the time of the shooting, authorities had been watching Youngblut and her companion, Felix Bauckholt, for several days after a Vermont hotel employee reported seeing them carrying guns and wearing black tactical gear. She’s accused of opening fire on border agents who pulled the car over on Interstate 91. An agent fired back, killing Bauckholt and wounding Youngblut.
The pair were among the followers of Jack LaSota, a transgender woman also known as Ziz whose online writing attracted young, highly intelligent computer scientists who shared anarchist beliefs. Members of the group have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in 2022, the landlord’s subsequent killing earlier this year, and the deaths of one of the members’ parents in Pennsylvania.
LaSota and two others face weapons and drug charges in Maryland, where they were arrested in February, while LaSota faces additional federal charges of being an armed fugitive. Another member of the group who is charged with killing the landlord in California had applied for a marriage license with Youngblut. Michelle Zajko, whose parents were killed in Pennsylvania, was arrested with LaSota in Maryland, and has been charged with providing weapons to Youngblut in Vermont.
Vermont abolished its state death penalty in 1972. The last person sentenced to death in the state on federal charges was Donald Fell, who was convicted in 2005 of abducting and killing a supermarket worker five years earlier. But the conviction and sentence were later thrown out because of juror misconduct, and in 2018, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
Craig Tremaroli, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Albany, New York, called Thursday’s indictments “the culmination of over six months of meticulous investigative collaboration” aimed at pursuing justice for Maland’s family and friends.
“Today, our hearts remain with all those who continue to mourn the tragic loss of this veteran, son, brother, fiance, friend and colleague,” he said in a statement.
Man accused of fatally shooting his sister-in-law and nephews pleads guilty
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man accused of killing his sister-in-law and two young nephews when he was 16 pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder charges.
Eric Sweeney, now 19, had been living with his older brother’s family in Northfield for several years when prosecutors say he fatally shot Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her sons, 4-year-old Benjamin and 1-year-old Mason, in August 2022.
He was scheduled to go on trial on first-degree murder charges next month but instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charges in Merrimack County Superior Court, speaking only to briefly confirm his understanding of the proceedings. Sweeney, whose lawyers had considered raising an insanity defense, faces up to life in prison when sentenced at a later date.
According to prosecutors, Sweeney’s older brother, Sean, and his wife were serving as the teen’s guardians when Sweeney’s “increasing behavioral issues” began causing tensions in the home. In court documents, they say Sweeney was lying to the couple and violating house rules, prompting them to call the police to talk to him.
About two months before the fatal shootings, he left the couple a note that read in part, “I do not belong in this family All I do is steal and lie and be irresponsible,” and closed with “I love you big bro and sis bye.”
When he was taken into custody, Sweeney told police he had been in his room in the basement when he heard something break upstairs, a man with a deep voice yelling and multiple “pops,” according to court documents. He said he went upstairs and found his sister-in-law and nephews on the floor bleeding and then took Kassandra’s cellphone and keys and drove away. He then called his brother, who called police.
Prosecutors had planned to show jurors video clips Kassandra Sweeney recorded on her phone showing her sons “engaging in playful behavior” the morning of the shooting, including one created just 10 minutes before Eric Sweeney left the house.
“In all three videos, the victims are exhibiting no distress or other visible or audible signs that would suggest that an unknown or unwelcome third-party was present in the house with them,” prosecutors said in a court filing last month.
Washington
Woman pleads guilty to assault for spitting on top DC prosecutor during interview
WASHINGTON (AP) — A woman who spit on the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital during a videotaped interview pleaded guilty on Thursday to assault charges.
Emily Gabriella Sommer, 32, of Washington, D.C., is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10 for assaulting then-acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr. and two law-enforcement officers who arrested her several days after she spit on Martin. Sommer pleaded guilty to three counts of assaulting public officials, according to U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office.
A trial for Sommer had been scheduled to start Monday. Instead, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb accepted Sommer’s guilty plea and will sentence her.
On May 8, a Newsmax reporter was interviewing Martin on a sidewalk outside his office when Sommer approached him.
“Are you Ed Martin? You are Ed Martin,” Sommer said before lunging at him and spitting on his left shoulder, according to prosecutors.
As she walked away, Sommer swore at Martin and called him “a disgusting man.”
“My name is Emily Gabriella Sommer, and you are served,” she said.
Sommer later took credit for the spitting incident in a message replying to a social media post by Martin.
The encounter occurred on the same day that President Donald Trump pulled Martin’s nomination to remain U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Martin faced bipartisan opposition in the Senate after a turbulent stint in the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. A key Republican senator said he could not support Martin for the job due to his support for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Martin roiled the office with a series of unorthodox moves, such as firing and demoting subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases. Trump replaced Martin with former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who was confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 2.
When U.S. Marshals Service deputies went to arrest Sommer at her apartment on May 22, she spit in a deputy’s face and kicked him, prosecutors said.
“How is that spit? Taste good? I was just getting over a cold sore. I hope I gave you herpes,” Sommer told the deputy, according to prosecutors.
Sommer also kicked a second deputy during her arrest and told another deputy, “I would put a bullet in you if I had it. I would put a bullet in every one of you right now,” prosecutors said.
During her initial court appearance in May, Sommer repeatedly disrupted the hearing with outbursts. Deputies picked her up and carried her out of the courtroom after one of her interruptions prompted a magistrate to suspend the hearing. Sommer later apologized to the magistrate for her courtroom conduct.
Florida
Prosecutors decline to pursue battery and domestic violence case against Browns rookie
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors in Broward County have declined to pursue a case against Cleveland Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, who was arrested last month on charges of misdemeanor battery and domestic violence.
Judkins was arrested on July 14 by Fort Lauderdale police after they received a report of battery that he allegedly committed a week earlier near the city’s airport.
The assistant state attorney assigned to review the case wrote in a memorandum that there were several reasons not to prosecute, including the delayed report, a lack of video evidence and a lack of independent witnesses.
“Although the victim had photos showing injuries sustained, there were also videos in that same time frame where no injuries were observed to the victim. Additionally, the victim’s injuries depicted in the photos could be explained by either account of the incident,” the memo said.
Judkins, the only NFL draft pick who remains unsigned, could be subject to discipline under the league’s personal conduct policy.
The 21-year-old Judkins was the 36th pick in the NFL draft after rushing for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns at Ohio State last season.
The Browns drafted Judkins in the hopes that he could become the team’s lead running back after Nick Chubb signed with the Houston Texans. Cleveland also drafted Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.
Washington
Prosecutors seek death penalty against Zizians member charged with murdering border agent
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Thursday it will seek the death penalty against a member of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Vermont in the latest Trump administration push for more federal executions.
Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Seattle, is among a group of radical computer scientists focused on veganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence who have been linked to six killings in three states. She’s accused of fatally shooting agent David Maland on Jan. 20, the same day President Donald Trump was inaugurated and signed a sweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions.
Youngblut initially was charged with using a deadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging a firearm during an assault with a deadly weapon. But the Trump administration signaled early on that more serious charges were coming, and a new indictment released Thursday charged her with murder of a federal law enforcement agent, assaulting other agents with a deadly weapon and related firearms offenses.
“We will not stand for such attacks on the men and women who protect our communities and borders,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti said in a press release.
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi mentioned Maland as an example when saying she expects federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in cases involving the murder of law enforcement officers. And Youngblut’s attorneys recently said they had been given a July 28 deadline to offer preliminary evidence about why she should be spared such a punishment. Her attorneys, who declined to comment Thursday, asked a judge last month to delay that deadline until January, but the judge declined.
At the time of the shooting, authorities had been watching Youngblut and her companion, Felix Bauckholt, for several days after a Vermont hotel employee reported seeing them carrying guns and wearing black tactical gear. She’s accused of opening fire on border agents who pulled the car over on Interstate 91. An agent fired back, killing Bauckholt and wounding Youngblut.
The pair were among the followers of Jack LaSota, a transgender woman also known as Ziz whose online writing attracted young, highly intelligent computer scientists who shared anarchist beliefs. Members of the group have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in 2022, the landlord’s subsequent killing earlier this year, and the deaths of one of the members’ parents in Pennsylvania.
LaSota and two others face weapons and drug charges in Maryland, where they were arrested in February, while LaSota faces additional federal charges of being an armed fugitive. Another member of the group who is charged with killing the landlord in California had applied for a marriage license with Youngblut. Michelle Zajko, whose parents were killed in Pennsylvania, was arrested with LaSota in Maryland, and has been charged with providing weapons to Youngblut in Vermont.
Vermont abolished its state death penalty in 1972. The last person sentenced to death in the state on federal charges was Donald Fell, who was convicted in 2005 of abducting and killing a supermarket worker five years earlier. But the conviction and sentence were later thrown out because of juror misconduct, and in 2018, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
Craig Tremaroli, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Albany, New York, called Thursday’s indictments “the culmination of over six months of meticulous investigative collaboration” aimed at pursuing justice for Maland’s family and friends.
“Today, our hearts remain with all those who continue to mourn the tragic loss of this veteran, son, brother, fiance, friend and colleague,” he said in a statement.
