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Tag: sentencing

  • Woman Sentenced in Smuggling Case Resulting in Deaths of 16 Cubans Who Were Trying to Reach Florida

    Woman Sentenced in Smuggling Case Resulting in Deaths of 16 Cubans Who Were Trying to Reach Florida

    A federal district judge in Miami sentenced a 25-year-old woman to seven and a half years in prison on Friday for her involvement in a journey that resulted in the deaths of over a dozen individuals attempting to illegally enter the United States, according to WFLA. 

    Yaquelin Dominguez-Nieves, a Cuban national who entered the country unlawfully in October 2022, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle aliens and related charges earlier this year, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Just a month after arriving in the U.S., officials reported that Dominguez-Nieves and her boyfriend started planning to illegally transport 18 Cubans by boat from the island. They intended to navigate through the Florida Straits to reach the coast of Florida.

    They charged fees for the journey, collecting approximately $11,500 from the families of the migrants in South Florida, assuring them that they would safely deliver their loved ones across the water. On November 16, 2024, all 18 individuals boarded a fishing boat that set off from Playa Jaimanitas. It was reported that the boat had only traveled about 30 miles when it began to sink, leading to just two survivors. 

    Among those who lost their lives were children, with officials noting that three of their bodies were found washed ashore in Monroe County. Their cause of death was attributed to “drowning.” The two survivors indicated that the boat was too small for 18 people, didn’t have lifejackets, and the captain appeared to be inexperienced, according to their accounts.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Woman Sentenced for Stabbing, Burning, and Forcing Boy to Consume Feces in Distributing Abuse Case, ‘Do it All Again in a Heartbeat’

    Woman Sentenced for Stabbing, Burning, and Forcing Boy to Consume Feces in Distributing Abuse Case, ‘Do it All Again in a Heartbeat’

    A New Zealand woman faces prison time for allegedly torturing a young boy. Selica Romana Wright, 34, is accused of stabbing the teenager with a chef’s knife and a screwdriver, making him eat feces, pouring boiling water on him, and urging him to take his own life, as reported by the New Zealand Herald. 

    Wright appeared in front of Judge Kirsten Lummis at the Auckland District Court, presenting a letter of apology. However, prosecutors used her own words from intercepted prison letters to reveal that she showed no remorse for her actions. “Haha. Do it all again in a heartbeat,” she wrote. “No regrets for me, only that I didn’t do it properly. LOL.”

    The judge sentenced her to 10 and a half years in prison, with the requirement that she serve at least half of that time before becoming eligible for parole. The Glen Eden resident was arrested in October 2023. The teenager was able to escape to a neighbor’s house to seek help. Court documents indicate that the abuse occurred over a 10-month period. 

    Horrifying Details of Victims Abuse

    Wright would abuse the victim whenever she faced “problems with her private life”, or became angry. In one instance, she reportedly struck him with a metal vacuum cleaner pipe, hitting him with such force that the pipe got damaged. Additionally, she used a hammer on him at least five times. “[He] was struck about the head, body, legs, knees, feet, back, arms and his hands,” court documents state. 

    On two separate occasions, Wright attacked him with a sword and a spade. In the month leading up to her arrest, she told the boy he should hang himself, and when he refused, she threatened to hang him herself. On October 22, 2023, he managed to escape to a neighbor’s home to ask for help after Wright had left to run errands. Wright pleaded guilty last year to several charges. Medical professionals discovered seven fractures in various areas of the teen’s body, along with severe bruising, cuts, burns, and puncture wounds.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Mother Sentenced for Accidentally Hitting Daughter with Vehicle While Pretending to Abandon Children

    Mother Sentenced for Accidentally Hitting Daughter with Vehicle While Pretending to Abandon Children

    A mother from South Bend, Indiana is currently incarcerated following an incident involving her eight-year-old daughter during a game that took a tragic turn, as reported by Too Fab. Initially pleading not guilty, Jasmine White, 27, eventually accepted a plea deal in January 2025, according to CBS affiliate WYMT.

    White received a nine-year prison sentence with the option for work release, and five of those years were suspended, according to the St. Joseph Prosecutor’s Office. After her release, she will be on probation for two years. In September 2024, she was charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious injury, and one count of neglect of a dependent placing the dependent in a dangerous situation, after police claimed she accidentally ran over her daughter, as detailed by NBC affiliate WNDU.

    Tragic Incident

    According to court documents obtained by WSBT, police arrived at the location around 5:48 p.m. on August 29, 2024. Upon their arrival, they discovered the eight-year-old girl “bleeding severely near the entrance to the parking lot.” She was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where doctors diagnosed her with “skull and orbital fractures, the loss of five teeth, various abrasions, and a large facial laceration that had exposed a portion of the front of her skull,” per the filing.

    Witnesses informed the police that the girl and her four siblings were running alongside White’s vehicle at an apartment complex, where she would pretend to abandon them. According to the six-year-old, as reported by the police, White was driving faster than normal during this instance. When her older sister’s foot became trapped under a tire, the child stated that her sister was gripping the door handle when she fell, striking her head hard. Doctors managed to stabilize the girl, and after several days of intubation and IV sedation, she was finally released.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Man Sentenced To 75 Years In Prison For Murdering Teenage Girl After She Ended Their Relationship

    Man Sentenced To 75 Years In Prison For Murdering Teenage Girl After She Ended Their Relationship

    A Texas man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison for the murder of a 16-year-old girl who ended their relationship just minutes before the tragic event, according to prosecutors as reported by Law & Crime. 

    Irbin Vargas, now 29, received the sentence for killing 16-year-old Lourdes Sandoval, affectionately known to her friends as

    “Betty.”

    On September 12, 2018, Vargas, who was 22 at the time, fatally shot Betty after she tried to end their abusive relationship, as stated by prosecutors from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

    Vargas had been in a year-long relationship with the teenager. However, Betty chose to end things after Vargas allegedly pointed a gun at her head. On the night in question, around 10 p.m., Vargas and Betty had a conversation on Facebook, according to a criminal complaint. A few minutes later, Vargas reportedly sent her a picture of himself holding a gun to his head, with the caption,

    “Life ain’t worth living without you.”

    Betty shared the messages and picture with a friend and expressed she was scared. She then stepped outside to meet another friend. According to prosecutors, Vargas came out of the shadows, grabbed her by the shoulder, and shot her in the face. Vargas tried to escape but was arrested later by Houston police officers. He will not be eligible for parole until he has served 30 years.

    “He was a 22-year-old predator who worked to get close to a teenage girl,”

    Assistant District Attorney Philip White, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement.

    “Five minutes after she told him that it was over for good, he killed her.”

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Man Sentenced For The Murder Of A Father Of 8 Who He Shot For Petting His Dog, Reports Say

    Man Sentenced For The Murder Of A Father Of 8 Who He Shot For Petting His Dog, Reports Say

    A husband and father of eight who was murdered in front of his wife for petting a neighbor’s dog in San Antonio, has finally received justice. His killer was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison on Wednesday, reports Law & Crime. 

    On December 30, 2021, 28-year-old Valentin Gonzales IV and his wife, Brittney Clark-Gonzales, saw a dog without a leash roaming outside their apartment complex and decided to pet it. Shortly after, 21-year-old Jordan Eaton came out, angry and armed with a gun. He yelled at the couple, tried to shoot Brittney, and ended up fatally shooting Valentin as he tried to protect her.

    Brittney Clark-Gonzales tearfully recalled the aftermath of the shooting stating that Eaton told them

    “You can’t touch my dog! I don’t f— with you, I don’t f— with any of you,”

    local ABC affiliate KSAT reported. 

    Eaton fled the scene after the shooting and later said he acted in self-defense. However, witness videos showed him shooting at Clark-Gonzales while Valentin threw a punch at him in reaction. During the trial, Eaton said he had

    “previous issues”

    with the couple and tried to ignore them, but petting the dog made him lose control.

    “I just wanted them to leave me alone,”

    he reportedly said.

    “I didn’t want to shoot nobody.”

    Eaton shot Valentin Gonzales, and a jury in Bexar County found him guilty of murder. He was also found guilty of aggravated assault for shooting at Clark-Gonzales. Eaton’s family asked for a lighter sentence so he could have a second chance and be part of his son’s life. In the end, Eaton was sentenced to 20 years in prison for Gonzales’s murder and 10 years probation for the attack on Clark-Gonzales.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Ex-Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of New Jersey’ Star Sentenced To Seven Years For Hiring Mobster To Attack Her Boyfriend

    Ex-Husband Of ‘Real Housewives Of New Jersey’ Star Sentenced To Seven Years For Hiring Mobster To Attack Her Boyfriend

    The ex-husband of Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member Dina Manzo was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday, reports AP News. 

    Her ex-husband, 59-year-old Thomas Manzo, paid a well-known mobster to attack her boyfriend. In return, the mobster was promised a lavish wedding reception at Thomas’s restaurant.

    Once he finishes his prison sentence, Thomas will have to spend three years under supervised release. A federal jury found him guilty in June of conspiracy, falsifying and concealing documents, and committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity. 

    Federal prosecutors say that Thomas Manzo hired John Perna, who is known to be part of the Lucchese crime family, to carry out an attack in July 2015. During this attack, Dina’s boyfriend was beaten with a weapon. The following month, Perna’s wedding reception took place at a restaurant in Paterson that Thomas partly owned.

    Perna pleaded guilty in December 2020 to a violent crime related to illegal activities and was sentenced to 2½ years in prison. He was released in August 2023. Dina Manzo’s boyfriend is now her husband.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Texas Man Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison After Confessing To Brutally Murdering Wife With Nail Gun

    Texas Man Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison After Confessing To Brutally Murdering Wife With Nail Gun

    Lam Ngoc Tran, a 65-year-old man from Texas, has confessed to the horrific murder of his wife, My Thai Dang. The tragic incident involved Tran brutally attacking his wife with a nail gun in their home, Law&Crime reported. 

    In a desperate attempt to end his own life, Tran then turned the tool on himself, shooting himself in the face and wrist. However, his suicide attempt was unsuccessful. On Thursday, Judge Veronica M. Nelson of the Harris County District Court sentenced Tran to 40 years in prison for the crime. This decision was based on court records obtained by Law&Crime.

    “This is a horrible murder, and it reinforces that the most dangerous time for a battered spouse is when they are trying to leave the relationship,”

    Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement following the sentencing hearing.

    “This woman was trying to get away from an abusive husband, and the only reason she is dead is because he could not stand to lose control of her.”

    In May, Tran confessed to murdering his wife, who had recently filed for divorce. Police were called to their residence on Jan 10, 2022, where they discovered Dang’s lifeless body covered in blood, with severe injuries to her face and head. A bloody nail with human hair was also found nearby.

    Tran was found near his wife in the living room with significant facial and bodily injuries. Law enforcement discovered a nail gun and air compressor nearby. An autopsy revealed that Dang’s injuries matched the pattern of the nail gun, indicating she had been struck multiple times.

    Tran’s son and Dang’s niece confirmed that Dang filed for divorce in August 2021 and served Tran with papers on Dec. 18, 2021. Dang’s niece shared that on the day of serving, Dang called her while hiding in her closet due to Tran’s anger. Dang also confided in her niece that Tran intended to delay the divorce process, in hopes she wouldn’t follow through.

    Additionally, Tran’s daughter informed the police that on Jan. 9, 2022, Tran sent a text to her and her siblings, stating that he was leaving and they should contact their uncle if needed, before saying goodbye. This incident occurred ahead of a court hearing for a restraining order Dang had requested against her husband.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Twitter Reacts to Man Receiving 70-Year Prison Sentence For Spitting at Officers

    Twitter Reacts to Man Receiving 70-Year Prison Sentence For Spitting at Officers

    People are speaking out against Texas’s justice system after a man was given a 70-year prison sentence for spitting at police.

    Larry Pearson, 36, was charged with 2 counts of harassment of a public servant and handed a 70-year life sentence, Wednesday. According to TMZ, Pearson is accused of spitting at 2 Lubbock police officers who arrested him in May 2022 on domestic violence charges following an incident with a woman who said Pearson hit her in the face.

    Prosecutors alleged that Pearson became irate after finding out the woman was not being taken in too, and that is when the spitting began, reports note. Pearson reportedly kicked at the doors inside the cop car and spit at the cops when they opened the car door. According to prosecutors, Pearson continued spitting at officers upon arrival at the Lubbock County Detention Center.

    Pearson reportedly had prior convictions for

    “family violence and aggravated robbery”

    and, consequently, the

    “minimum sentence the jury could impose was 25 years,”

    reports reveal. During the trial’s closing arguments, prosecutor Jessica Gorman asked the jury to

    “send a message”

    to not only Pearson but to

    “society.”

    Pearson was handed a 70-year sentence that has been stirring up outrage amongst the Twitter community. 

    Rapper Meek Mill has since spoken out about the harsh sentencing,

    “Nah this action level!!!!! Ain’t no way they can give us that much time for a misdemeanor like spitting… ion care what they gone try to say his record is! No regard for black life in that courtroom,”

    he tweeted. 

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?

  • Idaho Killer Who Microwaved And Ate Victim’s Body Parts, Thinking It Would ‘Cure His Brain’, Gets Life Sentence

    Idaho Killer Who Microwaved And Ate Victim’s Body Parts, Thinking It Would ‘Cure His Brain’, Gets Life Sentence


    On September 10th, 2021 officers of the Sandpoint Police Department found the body of David M. Flaget wrapped in plastic and placed upside down in the passenger seat of James D. Russell’s vehicle. An autopsy revealed that Flaget died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck, as well as postmortem mutilation to multiple areas of Flaget’s body and that flesh had been removed. The attack occurred while victim was working as a caretaker of the Russell family’s property. After a brief stand off, police were able to make the arrest.

    Investigators say that Russel had eaten some of Flaget’s remains because he believed that it would “cute his brain.” After being examined by a psychologist, Russel was diagnosed with multiple significant mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, and violent delusions beyond his control, Law and Crime reported.

    Months later, Russel pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for the state dropping a first-degree murder charge and a cannibalism charge as part of a plea deal.

    Brittney Cornwell, Flaget’s granddaughter, shared her frustrations with the court.

    “This crime was preventable. James Russell’s family and the justice system failed not only James but more importantly, my grandpa,” she said. “There is a trail of red flags that led to this time, a crime so egregious that I have spent the last year and a half of my life trying to come to terms with it.”

    In November and December of 2020, there were police reports stating that Russel had assaulted Flaget. In May, 2021, a welfare check on Russel led to the injuries of six people, including two officers.

    After much deliberation, First District Judge Barbara Buchanan ordered Russel to serve life in prison on Monday, January 30th. “The court has no certainty that society can be safe unless Mr. Russell is confined,” she explained.

  • ‘Real Housewives’ Star Jen Shah Sentenced To 6.5 Years In Prison In Wire Fraud Case

    ‘Real Housewives’ Star Jen Shah Sentenced To 6.5 Years In Prison In Wire Fraud Case

    Bravo’s

    “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City”

    star, Jen Shah was sentenced Friday to six-and-a-half-years in prison in the wire fraud case, NY Post reported.  

    The disgraced reality star made a tearful apology in court, telling US District Judge Sidney Stein,

    “my actions have hurt innocent people. I want to apologize to all of the victims and their families,”

    per the NY Post. Shah pleaded guilty in July,

    “to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud,”

    reports note. Shah reportedly directed a yearslong telemarketing scam where she supplied 

    “leads”

    to telemarketers about whom to target, which included elderly victims. Shah had confessed to knowing the services being offered had

    “little to no value.” 

    “From 2012 to March 2021 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere I agreed with others to commit wire fraud… I did this by knowingly providing customer names to people who were marketing business services that had little or no value,”

    Shah told Stein. 

    Shah must surrender on February 17. Judge Sidney Stein says she will be serving her prison time somewhere in the Texas area.

    #Clique, what are your thoughts?