Pennsylvania
Man tries to shoot a pastor during church service but gun doesn’t fire
A man who tried to shoot a pastor during a service at a Pennsylvania church because “God told him to do it” was thwarted when his gun didn’t fire and he was tackled by a congregant, authorities said.
The chaos at the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock took place Sunday while the service was being livestreamed, state police said in a news release.
Bernard J. Polite, 26, of Braddock entered the church just after 1 p.m. and walked toward the front while the Rev. Glenn Germany was giving a sermon, police said. The pastor told WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh that Polite smiled at him and they made eye contact just before Polite pointed the gun at him. Germany then ducked out of the way as a male congregant tackled Polite.
Germany and the congregant then worked together to wrest the gun away from Polite, who was soon subdued and held until state troopers arrived.
Polite said “God told me to do it” and that he planned to shoot Germany and “wait to be arrested” so he could go to jail and clear his mind, according to court documents. He faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide, and was being held Monday without bail at the Allegheny County Jail. State police said they didn’t know if Polite has an attorney, and county court records did not list one.
The body of a shooting victim was found in a home near the church where Polite had been shortly before going to the church, county police said. The county Medical Examiner’s office identified the body Monday as Derek Polite, 56, of North Braddock, but did not say if he was related to Bernard Polite.
Polite was not known at the church, officials said. He wandered over to the church after hearing music coming from there, according to court documents.
“I am feeling grateful that I woke up this morning and that I am here. It could have gone an opposite direction,” Germany told The Associated Press on Monday. “But God has intervened and I am grateful for him.”
Mississippi
City council member pleads guilty to federal drug charges
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi city council member pleaded guilty to federal charges after running a multimillion-dollar illegal drug business, prosecutors said Thursday.
Biloxi City Council member Robert Leon Deming, III, 47, reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi on conspiracy charges. Deming sold over $2 million worth of CBD and vape products that contained controlled substances, prosecutors said. The Drug Enforcement Administration received complaints that some of the products he sold made customers ill.
“A public official’s side job should not be running a business that distributes millions of dollars in illegal controlled substances and endangers the health and safety of its customers,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee.
As part of his plea agreement, Deming agreed to forfeit a yellow Monster Truck with oversized tires and a lift kit and over $1.9 million. He will be sentenced in August.
Deming sold drugs through his business, the Candy Shop, LLC, which operated stores selling CBD and vape products in Mississippi and North Carolina. In 2020, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the Candy Shop.
The stores misbranded vape additives as containing CBD when they really contained synthetic cannabinoids, investigators found. Authorities seized over $1.8 million in cash from Deming’s residence and additional cash and controlled substances from his stores, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement officers also uncovered group chats in which Deming’s employees said the additives were too strong and could harm their customers. Nevertheless, Deming still misbranded the additives as containing CBD. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 19, 2023. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Deming was first elected to the Biloxi City Council in 2013. In 2017, he attracted attention after proposing a city ordinance to require Mississippi’s old state flag with Confederate symbols to fly at all municipal buildings. In 2020, he ran for a U.S. House seat in south Mississippi and lost in the Republican primary.
Colorado
School bus aide shown hitting autistic boy faces more charges
DENVER (AP) — A school bus aide shown on surveillance video hitting a nonverbal autistic boy has been charged with 10 more counts of abuse involving two children, prosecutors said Friday.
Kiarra Jones, 29, was arrested last month and initially charged with one felony count of third-degree assault on an at risk person. Eight additional charges of third-degree assault on an at-risk person and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse have been filed against her, Eric Ross, a spokesperson for 18th
Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said. The new charges involve alleged abuse of the child originally named as a victim and a second child, he said.
Jones is represented by lawyers from the public defender’s office, which does not comment to the media on its cases.
The names of the victims were redacted in court documents but Qusair Mohamedbhai, a lawyer who represents the families of students who took the bus Jones worked on in suburban Denver, said they are both nonverbal autistic boys including a 10-year-old shown being hit in a video released by his mother last month.
At the time, Jessica Vestal said her son came home from school with unexplained bruises all over his body in January. Later, he got a black eye, which Vestal said Jones blamed on him hitting himself with a toy, and later he suffered a bruised foot. Unable to explain the source of the injuries, Vestal asked the school district to review the bus surveillance video.
Each of the new assault charges, which are felonies, represents a day in which there are multiple separate incidents of abuse against the children, Mohamedbhai said.
Man tries to shoot a pastor during church service but gun doesn’t fire
A man who tried to shoot a pastor during a service at a Pennsylvania church because “God told him to do it” was thwarted when his gun didn’t fire and he was tackled by a congregant, authorities said.
The chaos at the Jesus’ Dwelling Place Church in North Braddock took place Sunday while the service was being livestreamed, state police said in a news release.
Bernard J. Polite, 26, of Braddock entered the church just after 1 p.m. and walked toward the front while the Rev. Glenn Germany was giving a sermon, police said. The pastor told WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh that Polite smiled at him and they made eye contact just before Polite pointed the gun at him. Germany then ducked out of the way as a male congregant tackled Polite.
Germany and the congregant then worked together to wrest the gun away from Polite, who was soon subdued and held until state troopers arrived.
Polite said “God told me to do it” and that he planned to shoot Germany and “wait to be arrested” so he could go to jail and clear his mind, according to court documents. He faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault and attempted homicide, and was being held Monday without bail at the Allegheny County Jail. State police said they didn’t know if Polite has an attorney, and county court records did not list one.
The body of a shooting victim was found in a home near the church where Polite had been shortly before going to the church, county police said. The county Medical Examiner’s office identified the body Monday as Derek Polite, 56, of North Braddock, but did not say if he was related to Bernard Polite.
Polite was not known at the church, officials said. He wandered over to the church after hearing music coming from there, according to court documents.
“I am feeling grateful that I woke up this morning and that I am here. It could have gone an opposite direction,” Germany told The Associated Press on Monday. “But God has intervened and I am grateful for him.”
Mississippi
City council member pleads guilty to federal drug charges
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi city council member pleaded guilty to federal charges after running a multimillion-dollar illegal drug business, prosecutors said Thursday.
Biloxi City Council member Robert Leon Deming, III, 47, reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi on conspiracy charges. Deming sold over $2 million worth of CBD and vape products that contained controlled substances, prosecutors said. The Drug Enforcement Administration received complaints that some of the products he sold made customers ill.
“A public official’s side job should not be running a business that distributes millions of dollars in illegal controlled substances and endangers the health and safety of its customers,” said U.S. Attorney Todd Gee.
As part of his plea agreement, Deming agreed to forfeit a yellow Monster Truck with oversized tires and a lift kit and over $1.9 million. He will be sentenced in August.
Deming sold drugs through his business, the Candy Shop, LLC, which operated stores selling CBD and vape products in Mississippi and North Carolina. In 2020, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating the Candy Shop.
The stores misbranded vape additives as containing CBD when they really contained synthetic cannabinoids, investigators found. Authorities seized over $1.8 million in cash from Deming’s residence and additional cash and controlled substances from his stores, prosecutors said.
Law enforcement officers also uncovered group chats in which Deming’s employees said the additives were too strong and could harm their customers. Nevertheless, Deming still misbranded the additives as containing CBD. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 19, 2023. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Deming was first elected to the Biloxi City Council in 2013. In 2017, he attracted attention after proposing a city ordinance to require Mississippi’s old state flag with Confederate symbols to fly at all municipal buildings. In 2020, he ran for a U.S. House seat in south Mississippi and lost in the Republican primary.
Colorado
School bus aide shown hitting autistic boy faces more charges
DENVER (AP) — A school bus aide shown on surveillance video hitting a nonverbal autistic boy has been charged with 10 more counts of abuse involving two children, prosecutors said Friday.
Kiarra Jones, 29, was arrested last month and initially charged with one felony count of third-degree assault on an at risk person. Eight additional charges of third-degree assault on an at-risk person and two misdemeanor counts of child abuse have been filed against her, Eric Ross, a spokesperson for 18th
Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said. The new charges involve alleged abuse of the child originally named as a victim and a second child, he said.
Jones is represented by lawyers from the public defender’s office, which does not comment to the media on its cases.
The names of the victims were redacted in court documents but Qusair Mohamedbhai, a lawyer who represents the families of students who took the bus Jones worked on in suburban Denver, said they are both nonverbal autistic boys including a 10-year-old shown being hit in a video released by his mother last month.
At the time, Jessica Vestal said her son came home from school with unexplained bruises all over his body in January. Later, he got a black eye, which Vestal said Jones blamed on him hitting himself with a toy, and later he suffered a bruised foot. Unable to explain the source of the injuries, Vestal asked the school district to review the bus surveillance video.
Each of the new assault charges, which are felonies, represents a day in which there are multiple separate incidents of abuse against the children, Mohamedbhai said.
