Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 09.09.24 | Machete Wielding Home Intruder Thwarted by Gun

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

A machete-wielding home intruder backs off when the homeowner confronts him with a gun. Brave cop poses with a python found in offender's car.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace, breaking crime news now. The Stevens family enjoys a quiet morning at their Texas home when Daryl Stevens spots a man with a machete on their ring camera casing out the house. He has his wife hide their two young children, calls 911 while he runs around locking doors and loading a handgun. Jesse Escamilla climbs onto the back porch with the machete in hand, but quickly retraces his steps when Stephen greets him with a gun. Nancy, while Escamilla retreats, cops are arriving, meeting him with handcuffs in the front yard. The Stephens moved out to Liberty Hill, Texas, a small rural town, to feel safer than they did in their Austin home. Now that sense of security has been ripped

away. Daryl Stevens saying they will be upping security to turn their home into Fort Knox. Jerry Escamilla, 43, now charged with criminal trespass. A California Highway Patrol helicopter tries to break up a huge car sideshow when the occupants of a Cadillac CT6 start shining lasers into the pilot's eyes. Vallejo police on the ground try to stop the caddy, but the driver takes off, leading a chase for 10 miles before four people bail out of the car. While police chase down the suspect, several others stay behind to search the car. They find a 10-foot python inside. A very brave officer poses for photos with the snake, which is then returned to its owner after he's released on bail with a felony evading charge. I bet when they were

reunited, they had a nice long hug. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Lemley. We begin in Las Vegas as four teenagers have pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the fatal beating of their high school classmate, Jonathan Lewis Jr. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. The plea is part of a negotiated deal with prosecutors that will prevent the teens from being tried as adults. The case originally saw the four charged as adults with second-degree murder and conspiracy, stemming from the violent incident in November of last year. The attack, which was captured on cell phone video and widely circulated on social media, sparked outrage and calls for justice. Under the terms of the plea agreement, the teens will be sentenced to time in a juvenile detention

center, though the exact duration of their incarceration remains undecided. According to our friends with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the juvenile justice system in Clark County, which encompasses Las Vegas, focuses on rehabilitation rather than traditional imprisonment. Minors prosecuted in this system are typically released after completing specific rehabilitation programs, as explained by Bridget Duffy, director of the juvenile division of the Clark County District Attorney's Office. The names of the defendants are not being released by Crime Online due to their ages at the time of the crime. Defense attorney Robert Droskiewicz, representing one of the teenagers, described the

plea deal as a, quote, very fair resolution. However, not everyone agrees with the outcome. Lewis's mother, Melissa Reddy, expressed her dissatisfaction with the plea agreement. The district attorney's office, in a statement to the Associated Press last month, defended the decision, highlighting the complexities of the case and the potential legal challenges that could have arisen if it had gone to trial. The office also emphasized that the juvenile court system is better suited to provide the necessary resources for the defendant's rehabilitation. In Nevada, teenagers 13 and older who are charged with murder can be prosecuted as adults. A significant breakthrough in a decades-old cold case has led to the arrest of a Missouri man in connection with the 1993 rape and murder of a young Indianapolis woman. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner.

Authorities have charged 52-year-old Dana Shepard, a resident of Columbia, Missouri, with murder, felony murder, and rape after DNA evidence linked him to the brutal killing of 19-year-old Carmen Van Huss. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Shepard was apprehended in Missouri and is currently being held without bond at the Boone County Jail. An extradition hearing is expected to take place in the coming days. The case dates back to March 1993, when Van Huss was found dead in her Indianapolis apartment by her father after she failed to report to work. Court documents reveal the horrifying details of the crime. Van Huss had been raped and stabbed 61 times. Despite the presence of DNA evidence on her body

and bloodstains on a paper bag found on her apartment, the investigation eventually stalled, leaving the case unsolved for years. In a renewed effort to crack the case, the Indianapolis police submitted the DNA sample to a specialized genetic analysis company in 2018. Last year, advancements in genetic genealogy allowed detectives to identify Shepard as a potential suspect. Further investigation led to the collection of Shepard's DNA in February, which matched the DNA found on Van Huss' body and the paper bag. Investigators have determined that both Van Huss and Shepard were residents of the same apartment complex at the time of the crime. Thanks, John.

Bethany Brown, 39, goes home with her children and boyfriend, Tony Sweeney, after her daughter's sixth birthday party hosted at Grandma Brenda Barnes' home, Taylorsville, North Carolina. Hours later, Bethany calls Mom Brenda distraught over an argument with Sweeney. The next morning, Sweeney finds Bethany gone. She doesn't answer calls from Sweeney or mom Brenda. Bethany's car and purse still at home. Phone missing. Attempts to ping it unsuccessful. Tony Sweeney cooperates with the investigation and passed a poly. Alexander County Sheriff searched multiple places suggested by family members. No sign of Bethany. Bethany Brown now missing two years. Bethany, 5'5", 130 pounds, brown hair, blue eyes. She's got a butterfly tattoo on her left hip.

If you have info on Bethany Brown, call Alexander County, North Carolina Sheriff's, 828-632-1111. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.