Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 06.09.23

Episode Date: June 9, 2023

Fired employee kills manager's daughter. Elderly man with his lap dog in tow sets a car on fire.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Jalen Thomas is fired from a Virginia dollar store for theft, then heads to another location to try and return the stolen items for a refund. Jasmine Bennett, the daughter of Thomas' previous manager, is working at that second store and refuses to make the returns. Thomas leaves, but goes to buy a handgun. Days later, Jalen Thomas comes back, confronts Bennett,

and shoots her dead. Nancy, Bennett paged her manager to warn that Thomas was in the store on the day of the shooting, but neither believed Thomas posed a threat of violence. When Thomas confronted Bennett, he asked, do you have a problem with me? Before opening fire. Bennett was rushed to the hospital, but died there from her injuries. Her brother said she was not scheduled to work that day,

but had picked up a coworker shift. Thomas, 21, charged with murder. Surveillance video at a Florida apartment complex captures a bizarre arson. 84-year-old Charles Lefevre drives a scooter with a white lap dog in the basket up to an unlocked car, gets in the back seat of the car, and starts a fire. A witness follows the man as he gets back on the scooter and heads home. Lefevre charged with arson and has not mentioned a motive. Doggone it.

More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Lemley. We begin in Florida, where the prosecution and defense have made dramatically different opening remarks, setting the stage for the first trial of its kind in American history for a sheriff's deputy accused of failing to stop some of the deaths at

the Parkland School Massacre. According to prosecutor Stephen Klinger, six of the 17 people who died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School five years ago might still be alive had former Broward County Deputy Scott Peterson approached shooter Nicholas Cruz. Klinger said that instead of going into the three-story structure during the shooting, Peterson took cover. Klinger also stated that Peterson ignored procedures taught in police training which instruct officers to move toward the sound of gunfire in the event of an active shooting, since every shot can result in another fatality. Now to Virginia, where police say a gunman who opened fire following a high school graduation in Richmond was targeting an 18-year-old graduate with whom he had a long-standing argument.

For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Following the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony on Tuesday, gunfire outside the Altria Theater in the Virginia capital drove hundreds running in fear. Killed were 18-year-old Sean Jackson and his father, 36-year-old Lorenzo Smith. According to police, at least 12 more people were treated for injuries or anxiety as a result of the chaos, with five further people being shot. 19-year-old Amari Pollard, the shooting suspect, knew Jackson, according to interim police chief Rick Edwards of Richmond, and the two had been involved in a quarrel for more than a year.

Chief Edwards says the nature of the dispute is still under investigation. Colette McEachin, Richmond's chief prosecutor, announced that Pollard was arraigned on two counts of second-degree murder Wednesday morning. A Florida woman has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing a mother last week in front of her children, putting an abrupt end to a long-standing dispute between neighbors. According to Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, a G.K. Owens, a black mother of four, was killed and 58-year-old Susan Louise Lawrence, a white woman, has been charged with manslaughter with a firearm, culpable negligence, battery, and two counts of assault.

In a case that has brought Florida's disputed Stand Your Ground statute back into the spotlight, authorities were under pressure to detain and punish Lawrence, who shot and killed Owens. In a Facebook video, the sheriff claimed that this is, quote, simply a killing rather than a stand-your-ground situation. As a result of a defect making particular vehicle models highly prone to theft, New York City has joined a number of other cities suing Hyundai and Kia. As Crime Online's Sidney Sumner tells us, New York and these other U.S. cities have been plagued by a social media-fueled surge of auto thefts. Popular how-to videos on TikTok and other websites demonstrate how to start the cars with just a screwdriver and a USB cord. The reason stems from some Hyundai and Kia vehicles marketed

in the U.S. not having engine immobilizers, a technology present on most cars since the 1990s. The standard prevents the engine from starting without the key. According to the lawsuit submitted to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Hyundai Motor America and Kia America Inc. fell behind other automakers by not implementing immobilizer technology. New York City asserts that the vehicle thefts are negatively affecting both public safety and emergency services, as well as taxing the police department's resources. Aaron Fortner, 25, lives alone about two blocks from his family's North Carolina home.

Fortner begins acting strangely, calling his grandparents, saying he's unsure of where he is and someone's looking for him. Fortner's sister goes to check on him and finds his home in disarray. His wallet, keys, and phone, other belongings are there, several lights, and an electric blanket left on. The hat Fortner wears every day, found lying in the driveway. Fortner now missing over a year. If you have information on Aaron Fortner, contact North Carolina Bureau of Investigation, Western District 828-330-4678. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.