Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 10.26.23

Episode Date: October 26, 2023

Man kills woman defending her grandchildren, injures two more. Tourist's "crafting supplies" confiscated by customs.  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. Children playing in the front yard of a Denver home, pelted with water by angry neighbor Jason Arroyo. When Patricia Cruz, 55, confronts him, he leaves, but he comes back with a gun. Six shots fired, two people hit, one of them, Cruz. Cruz dies of her injuries two weeks later. Nancy, Cruz was defending her grandchildren who were playing near Arroyo's fence.

Cruz's son was shot and her granddaughter was also injured by shrapnel. Arroyo took off after the shooting, weaving in and out of neighboring yards to avoid cops. Arroyo was eventually cornered in a detached garage and was taken into custody without a struggle. Arroyo, 33, now convicted of murder one, facing mandatory life behind bars, no parole. An Iowa woman flying home from Kenya declares a small box containing giraffe feces. It's in her luggage. She plans to make jewelry from the giraffe feces. Federal Customs agents poo-poo the plans and destroys the rather large pellets over disease concerns.

No charges pending since it was declared, but oh, what a waste. More Crime and Justice news after this. Now with the latest Crime and Justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. In testimony presented during the trial of three Tacoma, Washington police officers accused of Manuel Ellis's death, a forensic pathology expert has stated that Ellis probably would have survived if the cops had not restrained him. For more, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Our friends with the Seattle Times have reported that Dr. Roger Mitchell, the former chief medical examiner for Washington, D.C., issued the remark and upheld the conclusion of former Pierce County medical examiner Dr. Thomas Clark that Ellis died as a result of

physical restraint-induced oxygen deprivation, a homicide. Charges of murder and manslaughter have been brought against white officers Matthew Collins and Christopher Burbank for the March 3, 2020 death of Ellis, a 33-year-old black man. Asian American officer Timothy Rankin is accused of manslaughter. According to Collins and Burbank, the first cops to confront Ellis, their reason for approaching the victim was because he was harassing vehicle passengers as he walked through an intersection. All three defendants have entered not guilty pleas and are still on paid leave from the Tacoma Police Department. Patty Eakes, the special prosecutor, questioned Mitchell regarding the medical evidence that supported his conclusions. One of the most important ones he claimed was the

existence of acidosis, a disorder suggestive of low oxygen levels. According to Mitchell, people who are experiencing low oxygen naturally. According to Mitchell, people who are experiencing low oxygen naturally want to breathe, and the body naturally heals acidosis by forcing them to breathe heavily. According to Mitchell's testimony, Ellis was forced to lie on his stomach by the police and was unable to find a posture that would allow him to breathe. Ellis's final words, according to the prosecution, were, quote, I can't breathe. The trial that began October 3rd is anticipated to continue four days a week through December. The search of Google users' keyword history to identify suspects as a digital dragnet that threatens to violate people's privacy and their constitutional rights against arbitrary searches and seizures.

The Colorado Supreme Court stressed that it was making a decision based solely on the facts of this particular case and cautioned that it was not issuing a, quote, broad proclamation regarding the legitimacy of such warrants. The matter brought before the court was a search warrant issued by Denver police, which demanded that Google give the IP addresses of all those who had looked up the address of the house that caught fire and killed five immigrants from the West African country of Senegal in 2020. Now to California, as federal prosecutors say that three family members have entered guilty pleas to conspiracy for their part in a scheme that transported $600 million worth of stolen

catalytic converters from California to New Jersey. Once again, Crime Online's Sydney Sumner. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, brothers Tao Suvong and Andrew Vong, along with their mother Monica Moua, were part of a, quote, national network of thieves, dealers, and processors that supplied the stolen auto anti-smog devices to a metal refinery for more than $600 million. Prosecutors revealed that 21 individuals from New Jersey and California had been accused in this investigation. The three family members from Sacramento entered a guilty plea to planning to transfer the devices in exchange for almost $38 million. Prosecutors reported that Tao Suvong entered a guilty plea to 39 counts pertaining to money laundering. Platinum and other valuable metals are found in catalytic

converters which are easily stolen. Jason Joukowsky gets a restaurant job in Omaha, Nebraska, where he's home from college for the summer. He gets a call from work asking him to come in early. The 19-year-old agrees, plans to walk over four miles there, but managers say they'll arrange a ride with another Fazoli's co-worker. Joukowsky plans to meet the co-worker at his old school, Benson High, a much more familiar walk just a half mile from his home. A neighbor sees Jawalski pulling trash cans up the driveway, then walking toward the school.

The co-worker waits for Jawalski till he's going to be late, but Jawalski never shows up. Security footage from the school confirmed Jason never made it. Police initially treat the disappearance as a runaway, not investigating until 10 days later. Jason Jaworski, then 19, now missing 22 years. If you have info on Jason Jaworski's disappearance, please call Omaha PD 402-444-5818. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeonline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.