Pennsylvania
The heist of 100,000 eggs becomes a whodunit that police have yet to crack
ANTRIM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — The heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania has become a whodunit that police have yet to crack.
Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said Wednesday.
“We’re relying on leads from people from the community. So we’re hoping that somebody knows something, and they’ll call us and give us some tips,” she said.
Police are also following up with any possible witnesses and looking into surveillance footage that could help them identify the perpetrator as they race to solve the mystery.
“In my career, I’ve never heard of a hundred thousand eggs being stolen. This is definitely unique,” said Frazer, who has a dozen years on the job.
Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching.
The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year.
The 100,000 eggs were snatched from the back of Pete & Gerry’s Organics’ distribution trailer on Saturday about 8:40 p.m. in Antrim Township, according to police.
They are worth about $40,000, which means this crime is a felony, Frazer said.
Pete & Gerry’s Organics LLC said in a statement that the company is working with law enforcement to investigate the theft.
“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
Oklahoma
Board denies clemency for man on death row, clears path for March execution
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma board rejected clemency on Wednesday for a man sentenced to die for fatally shooting a woman during a 2005 home-invasion robbery, clearing the way for him to become the first person executed in the state this year.
The Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to deny recommending clemency for Wendell Grissom, 57, who turned down an opportunity to speak to the board via a video link from the State Penitentiary in McAlester. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection on March 20.
Grissom and a co-defendant, Jessie Floyd Johns, were convicted of killing of Amber Matthews, 23, and wounding her friend, Dreu Kopf, at Kopf’s Blaine County residence. Johns was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Grissom’s attorneys, federal public defenders Kristi Christopher and Thomas Hird, did not dispute Grissom’s guilt, but argued that he suffered from brain damage that was never presented to a jury. They also told the board Grissom has always accepted responsibility and expressed remorse for Matthews’ killing, even writing an apology to the woman’s family during his first interview with police.
“He cannot change the past, but he is now and always has been deeply ashamed and remorseful,” Christopher said.
Grissom’s attorneys also said they have spoken to several jurors in the case, including the jury foreman, who said they likely would not have voted for the death penalty if they knew about Grissom’s brain damage.
Prosecutors disputed Grissom’s attorneys’ claims that the killing was due to a lack of impulse control as a result of brain damage. Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Crabb said the men loaded up with firearms and ammunition, bought gloves and made sure there were no men at the house before Grissom started shooting.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond called Matthew’s killing a “textbook” death penalty case.
“The crimes committed by Grissom, random, brutal attacks on innocent strangers in the sanctity of their own home, are the very kind that keep people awake at night,” Drummond said.
The board also heard emotional testimony from Kopf, who said she still carries deep mental and physical scars from the attack, including bullet fragments that remain in her body. She said for years, she called 911 when the doorbell rang or there was a stranger in her neighborhood.
“I lived in a heightened state of fear at all times,” she said tearfully.
Without a clemency recommendation from the board, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt cannot commute Grissom’s death sentence. Stitt has granted clemency only once in his six years in office, in 2021, to death row inmate Julius Jones, commuting his sentence to life without parole just hours before Jones was scheduled to receive a lethal injection. Stitt has denied clemency recommendations from the board in four other cases.
Oregon
Jury finds truck driver guilty of manslaughter in interstate crash that killed 7 farmworkers
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon jury on Wednesday found a truck driver guilty of manslaughter in a collision on Interstate 5 that killed seven farmworkers in 2023 in one of the state’s deadliest highway crashes.
Lincoln Smith was convicted of seven counts of second-degree manslaughter as well as reckless driving, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
But the Marion County jurors acquitted the 54-year-old Californian of driving under the influence of intoxicants. Smith testified that the effects of drugs taken the night before the crash had worn off, and that he had nodded off at the wheel, the news outlet reported.
Traces of methamphetamine, fentanyl and morphine were found in Smith’s blood later at a hospital, and state troopers found a “bullet of speed” in the pocket of his pants, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
The defense attorney listed for Smith in court records did not immediately return a text message and voicemail seeking comment on behalf of her client.
The victims were identified as Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo, 37; Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla, 58; Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio, 39; Eduardo Lopez-Lopez, 31; Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes, 30; Alejandro Jimenez-Hernandez, 36; and Josue Garcia-Garcia, 30.
The crash occurred in May 2023, when Smith’s semitruck ran into a van carrying farmworkers that was parked on the side of Interstate 5 near Albany, an agricultural area of the Willamette Valley.
Albany lies between the state capital Salem and Eugene, and is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Portland. I-5 is the main north-south interstate highway on the West Coast.
The heist of 100,000 eggs becomes a whodunit that police have yet to crack
ANTRIM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — The heist of 100,000 eggs from the back of a trailer in Pennsylvania has become a whodunit that police have yet to crack.
Four days after the theft that law enforcement say could be tied to the sky-high cost of eggs, no leads have come in, Trooper First Class Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said Wednesday.
“We’re relying on leads from people from the community. So we’re hoping that somebody knows something, and they’ll call us and give us some tips,” she said.
Police are also following up with any possible witnesses and looking into surveillance footage that could help them identify the perpetrator as they race to solve the mystery.
“In my career, I’ve never heard of a hundred thousand eggs being stolen. This is definitely unique,” said Frazer, who has a dozen years on the job.
Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching.
The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year.
The 100,000 eggs were snatched from the back of Pete & Gerry’s Organics’ distribution trailer on Saturday about 8:40 p.m. in Antrim Township, according to police.
They are worth about $40,000, which means this crime is a felony, Frazer said.
Pete & Gerry’s Organics LLC said in a statement that the company is working with law enforcement to investigate the theft.
“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
Oklahoma
Board denies clemency for man on death row, clears path for March execution
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma board rejected clemency on Wednesday for a man sentenced to die for fatally shooting a woman during a 2005 home-invasion robbery, clearing the way for him to become the first person executed in the state this year.
The Pardon and Parole Board voted 4-1 to deny recommending clemency for Wendell Grissom, 57, who turned down an opportunity to speak to the board via a video link from the State Penitentiary in McAlester. He is scheduled to die by lethal injection on March 20.
Grissom and a co-defendant, Jessie Floyd Johns, were convicted of killing of Amber Matthews, 23, and wounding her friend, Dreu Kopf, at Kopf’s Blaine County residence. Johns was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Grissom’s attorneys, federal public defenders Kristi Christopher and Thomas Hird, did not dispute Grissom’s guilt, but argued that he suffered from brain damage that was never presented to a jury. They also told the board Grissom has always accepted responsibility and expressed remorse for Matthews’ killing, even writing an apology to the woman’s family during his first interview with police.
“He cannot change the past, but he is now and always has been deeply ashamed and remorseful,” Christopher said.
Grissom’s attorneys also said they have spoken to several jurors in the case, including the jury foreman, who said they likely would not have voted for the death penalty if they knew about Grissom’s brain damage.
Prosecutors disputed Grissom’s attorneys’ claims that the killing was due to a lack of impulse control as a result of brain damage. Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Crabb said the men loaded up with firearms and ammunition, bought gloves and made sure there were no men at the house before Grissom started shooting.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond called Matthew’s killing a “textbook” death penalty case.
“The crimes committed by Grissom, random, brutal attacks on innocent strangers in the sanctity of their own home, are the very kind that keep people awake at night,” Drummond said.
The board also heard emotional testimony from Kopf, who said she still carries deep mental and physical scars from the attack, including bullet fragments that remain in her body. She said for years, she called 911 when the doorbell rang or there was a stranger in her neighborhood.
“I lived in a heightened state of fear at all times,” she said tearfully.
Without a clemency recommendation from the board, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt cannot commute Grissom’s death sentence. Stitt has granted clemency only once in his six years in office, in 2021, to death row inmate Julius Jones, commuting his sentence to life without parole just hours before Jones was scheduled to receive a lethal injection. Stitt has denied clemency recommendations from the board in four other cases.
Oregon
Jury finds truck driver guilty of manslaughter in interstate crash that killed 7 farmworkers
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon jury on Wednesday found a truck driver guilty of manslaughter in a collision on Interstate 5 that killed seven farmworkers in 2023 in one of the state’s deadliest highway crashes.
Lincoln Smith was convicted of seven counts of second-degree manslaughter as well as reckless driving, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
But the Marion County jurors acquitted the 54-year-old Californian of driving under the influence of intoxicants. Smith testified that the effects of drugs taken the night before the crash had worn off, and that he had nodded off at the wheel, the news outlet reported.
Traces of methamphetamine, fentanyl and morphine were found in Smith’s blood later at a hospital, and state troopers found a “bullet of speed” in the pocket of his pants, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
The defense attorney listed for Smith in court records did not immediately return a text message and voicemail seeking comment on behalf of her client.
The victims were identified as Juan Carlos Leyva-Carrillo, 37; Gabriel Juarez-Tovilla, 58; Alejandra Espinoza-Carpio, 39; Eduardo Lopez-Lopez, 31; Luis Enrique Gomez-Reyes, 30; Alejandro Jimenez-Hernandez, 36; and Josue Garcia-Garcia, 30.
The crash occurred in May 2023, when Smith’s semitruck ran into a van carrying farmworkers that was parked on the side of Interstate 5 near Albany, an agricultural area of the Willamette Valley.
Albany lies between the state capital Salem and Eugene, and is about 70 miles (113 kilometers) south of Portland. I-5 is the main north-south interstate highway on the West Coast.
