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Gunshot kidnap victim played dead, identified suspect: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 16:51:30 +0000

Background: U.S. Highway 281 (KENS). Inset: Eiber Gabriel Sira-Vargas (San Antonio Police Dept./KENS).

A suspected killer is behind bars in Texas after an alleged would-be murder target told police he pretended to be dead in order to save his own life.

Eiber Gabriel Sira-Vargas, 29, was arrested in connection with the July killing of 19-year-old Alexis Jose Vegas, who was found by a stretch of road with multiple gunshot wounds. According to San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT, a passerby spotted Vegas’ body near a drainage ditch off a stretch of southbound U.S. Highway 281 at around 3:30 p.m. on July 1. Police found shell casings and zip ties near the victim’s body — but no clues as to who the killer was.

Investigators got a break in the case, however, when they learned about an armed robbery that left a man shot, injured, and hospitalized just hours before Vegas’ body was found. Local CBS affiliate KENS reported that the man, who has not been publicly identified, was initially “not forthcoming” with police, according to the arrest affidavit.

But he later revealed that he was with Vegas when he was killed. He and the victim had been kidnapped by three armed suspects and forced into a vehicle, KENS reported.

“While in the suspect’s vehicle, Witness 1 indicated that the suspect in the front passenger seat aimed a firearm at him throughout the ordeal,” the affidavit says, according to the report. “He was able to describe the location where the suspect vehicle stopped, which matched the scene of the crime.”

The kidnappers eventually stopped the car and told Vegas and the man to get out of the car. At that point, the man told police, the suspects opened fire, striking both of them with bullets.

The man said that he pretended to be dead until the suspects left, KENS reported.

He was later able to identify Sira-Vargas from a photo lineup.

According to court records, Sira-Vargas is charged with aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon and capital murder by terroristic threat or other felony. He has a pre-indictment hearing scheduled for Jan. 29, 2025.

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Suspect identified in murder at Montana campsite: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:43:22 +0000

Dustin Kjersem (Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office).

Authorities in Montana have a person in custody they believe murdered a man found dead with “chop wounds” inside a tent in a killing initially reported as a bear attack.

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday in a Facebook post that a suspect in the slaying of 35-year-old Dustin Kjersem is in jail on unrelated charges. Deputies did not name the suspect and said charges related to the murder are forthcoming.

Kjersem was last seen alive the afternoon of Oct. 10. He was camping in the Moose Creek canyon area and slated to meet up with friends on Oct. 11, said Sheriff Dan Springer. When he didn’t show up, his friends went looking for him. They found his tent shortly after 10 a.m. on Oct. 12 about 2.5 miles up Moose Creek Road. They looked inside, and found his mutilated body, Springer said. The caller indicated that Kjersem may have been the victim of a bear attack.

But when a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks agent investigated, he saw no bear activity around the scene. Detectives determined Kjersem died of “chop wounds” and was the victim of a homicide, Springer told reporters. Kjersem was well prepared for camping with a tent and other necessary equipment, according to Springer. While the area is remote, it is popular with hikers and campers, authorities say.

As investigators searched for a suspect, deputies released photos of the victim’s truck, along with a Yeti cooler and an ax. They did not say whether the axe was the murder weapon. After the arrest, the suspect led cops to the evidence “identified in prior press releases.”

The homicide put the community on edge.

“The investigation into this homicide continues. It is believed the suspect acted alone and there is no longer a threat to the community. Further details and charges are forthcoming, but it is important for this community to know they are safe to resume their outdoor activities,” deputies wrote Wednesday.

Kjersem’s sister Jillian Price said at the press conference that her brother was a hardworking and skilled tradesman who built and remodeled houses.

“We lost our brother, our son, our uncle, our best friend in the most unimaginable way,” she said. “He was a loving, helpful and adorning father who in no way deserved this.”

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Donald Trump Jr. and Charlie Kirk threat suspect identified

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:47:10 +0000

Left: Donald Trump, Jr. is seen at CPAC in National Harbor, Md., in March 2023 (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images). Right: Then President Donald Trump appears on stage with Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, before addressing the Turning Point USA Teen Student Action Summit in 2019 (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images).

A 24-year-old high school social studies teacher in Arizona admittedly threatened Donald Trump Jr. and Charlie Kirk online and was arrested on multiple misdemeanor charges, police allege.

The Tempe Police Department said Tuesday that the suspect was identified as Daniel Ashpes and that he was arrested last week for threatening Trump Jr. and Kirk as they were in Tempe for a Turning Point USA rally.

According to cops, Ashpes’ “threatening messages” were sent Thursday “in response to an automated mass-messaging system asking for an RSVP to the Turning Point rally at a Tempe hotel”; he was arrested at home the same day.

More Law&Crime coverage: Shocking new details of Florida man’s alleged threats to kill Trump and his running mate

In addition, cops claim that Ashpes “admitted to sending the messages.” As a result, he’s accused of using a phone to threaten or intimidate and is also charged with three counts of threatening to cause physical injury to another person.

More Law&Crime coverage: Man who threatened to kill the Bidens, Obama, Hillary Clinton is sentenced to federal prison

After news of the arrest emerged, AZFamily reported that Ashpes worked as a social studies teacher at at Desert Vista High School in the Phoenix area. The report said that Tempe Union High School District acknowledged Ashpes was an employee and that he was “placed on administrative leave” pending the law enforcement investigation.

“TUHSD does not tolerate or condone any form of threats or harassment made by employees or students,” the district reportedly said.

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