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A video that appears to show a federal law enforcement officer grabbing a woman’s cellphone and then slamming it to the ground in South Gate over the weekend was under investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service confirmed Tuesday. In the video, which was posted to YouTube on Sunday, a woman appeared to be using her cellphone to record a group of men wearing “Police” vests as they were talking in front of a home. The woman, Beatriz Paez, said she felt “compelled” to record the incident because “it definitely looked unsafe.” She told KTLA she also urged those around her to… Read More

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/35068834/naples-man-faced-wrongful-deportation A Naples man claims he was nearly wrongfully deported and sent back to a country he hasn’t lived in for almost 50 years. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and ended up in a detention center. “I come from Matamoros, Mexico. We came when I was like six years old,” said Jose Antonio de la Garza. De la Garza moved to America as a permanent resident with his parents, grandparents, and siblings. His dad was a United States citizen. He doesn’t have any family left in Mexico but has a wife, three daughters and two granddaughters who… Read More

California’s top judge criticized federal immigration agents for using courthouses as “bait” — a place for “stalking” immigrants who “pose no risk to public safety.” Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye wrote a letter Thursday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly amid reports of federal agents going to courthouses and scouting for immigrants who are not in the country legally. Such incidents have been reported in California, Texas, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona. In the letter, Cantil-Sakauye requested that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stop arresting immigrants at courthouses. “I am deeply concerned about reports… Read More

Though our nation feels more divided than ever, there is a common concern that cuts across party lines and entrenched ideological silos: a pervasive sense that we have failed to give all Americans an equal opportunity to attain the American dream.Despite our best efforts, government policies too often create obstacles that prevent Americans from climbing the ladder of opportunity. Nowhere is this disparity more evident than in the criminal justice system. It is universally understood that the justice system should be fair — and that those who violate the law should be held accountable, pay their dues, and move on.… Read More

A Collier County jury on Thursday found a former East Naples bartender not guilty of felony sexual battery of a British tourist in 2013. The tourist sat in the stands during closing statements Thursday morning, holding hands with her fiancé and, at moments, rubbing away tears. But she did not attend the verdict, which came just 52 minutes after jurors broke for deliberation and lunch. “I wasn’t surprised by the verdict,” defense lawyer Josh Faett said after court, noting his appreciation that jurors were patient enough to pay attention to all of the case’s minutia. “This was a brave verdict… Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether states can make it a crime for motorists suspected of drunken driving to refuse breath, blood or urine tests. Thirteen states have such laws. The court took up the question in three cases: one from Minnesota and two from North Dakota, which were consolidated for a single argument. In 2013, in Missouri v. McNeely, the Supreme Court ruled that the police investigating a drunken-driving incident must generally obtain warrants before drawing blood without consent. The state laws get around that ruling by making refusal to consent to testing a… Read More

TUCSON — The federal checkpoints on highways near the Mexican border, with trained dogs and expensive scanning equipment, are supposed to stop drugs and immigrants without legal status from heading north. But newly released complaints against United States Customs and Border Protection paint a disquieting portrait of the interactions between agents and many of those they stopped and searched. Drivers repeatedly accused checkpoint border agents of improper gunplay, racial profiling, excessive roughness and verbal abuse. Border Patrol agents stopped immigrants who tried to cross the border near Mission, Tex., last year. A new effort seeks to reduce repeat offenses.Detainees Sentenced… Read More

BY CHRISTINA LUSBY • OCTOBER 29, 2015 WINK NEWS NORTH NAPLES, Fla.- A Naples man is facing a felony charge for possession of a pot brownie. Collier County deputies pulled Miles Johnson, 21, over for a broken tail light and that’s when reports show they discovered the pot brownie in his center console. “I don’t think anyone has any idea it could be that serious,” said Criminal Defense Attorney Joshua Faett. Johnson was arrested for possessing 163 grams of marijuana not because that’s how much the brownie contained, but because under the law, if mixed with other substances, the entire… Read More

When riots erupted last fall on the streets of Ferguson, Mo., police in riot gear fanned out armed with assault rifles and armored vehicles made for the battlefield. Analysts said at the time it was just another symptom of the continued militarization of local police forces. This week, the White House announced a series of steps intended to address the kind of policing issues brought to light by the violence in Ferguson and later in Baltimore. One of those steps bans police from obtaining some military-style equipment — including tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft and high-caliber weapons — from the… Read More

The Indian grandfather badly injured after Alabama police threw him to the ground is “improving faster than expected,” but he still has limited movement, his attorney said Friday. Sureshbhai Patel, 57, remains in the hospital following the Feb. 6 confrontation on a quiet, residential street in Madison — an incident that was caught on police cruiser dash-cams. “I talked to his son, Chirag, only less than an hour ago and the reports from the doctors are very good — that he is improving faster than expected,” the family’s attorney, Hank Sherrod, said on MSNBC. Patel is still unable to walk… Read More