Seeking Justice for Mount Dora Couple

 

On November 30, 2020, a robber confronted and shot Kheim "Ken" Ba Trinh and Minh "Tina" Nguyen as they were closing their store, T & N Market in Mount Dora, FL. Just over a year later, the case is still being worked daily by the Mount Dora Police Department.

The suspect was wearing all black with a hoodie up over his head. He approached Ken back into the store at gunpoint, where he robbed them. Tina begged the gunman not to hurt them, telling him "I promise you, I won't do anything." Sadly, moments later, he shoots both Tina and Ken as seen in the security footage. 

Tina died on the scene, and Ken passed a few days later in the hospital. The couple left behind two children, one who was 18-years-old, and another who was 12-years-old at the time. 

The community came out in force after the the horrible crime. A candlelight vigil was held outside the market, where many came out with flowers, balloons and stuffed animals. Locals described the pair as friendly and always willing to help. 

Police are asking everyone to please look at the video surveillance images and pay attention to the mannerisms of the suspect, specifically how he’s holding the gun, how he runs, how he reacts, and his voice. There is a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to an arrest. Call 800-423-TIPS with any information you may have.

 

Missing Child: Michael Vaughan

Five-year-old Michael Vaughan has now been missing from his home in Fruitland, Idaho for more than four months. Fruitland Police Chief J.D. Huff believes in the probability that the youngster was abducted because the agency has made no headway in ground searches. The police department, FBI, and other investigating agencies have searched thousands of acres and have come up empty over the last few months. They have utilized K-9s, helicopters, drones, boats, divers and foot searches and are following up on every lead.  

On the evening of July 27th, Michael was playing Nintendo in the family's living room, when his father, Tyler Vaughan went to check on his sister, Arya. He went to her bedroom, and ordered a pizza, which took him about 15-20 minutes. When he returned to the living room, his son, Michael was gone.

Tyler Vaughan called his wife, Brandi Neal at work frantic that he could not find their son. She immediately left work and sped home, where she was greeted with a driveway full of police vehicles and neighbors all outside their homes. Brandi Neal searched up and down the neighborhood streets, asking everyone if they had seen her son, while Tyler stayed at home talking to police.

During the initial search on the night of his disappearance, K-9 dogs were able to track Michael's scent from the home to the end of their  street, away from the farm field that is located to the right of the house, but suddenly stopped there. Neighbors witnessed Micheal knocking on doors moments before he disappeared. Neal believes that her son must have gone out of the garage side door which leads to the front yard, then wandered off.

"It's not about anybody else, it's about Michael," Neal has said. She rarely leaves her home anymore, and her oldest daughter, Kira didn't even want a birthday this year with him missing. The youngest, Arya has just begun playing with toys again, some of her favorites being Michael's monster trucks.

Michael Vaughan is described as  a young, energetic, blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy who loves camping, cars, monster trucks and playing in the dirt. On the day of his disappearance, the 5-year-old didn't want his mom to go to work. Neal has said that now sticks with her. 

 

Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Fruitland Police Department at 208-642-6006, extension 0 or contact the department through its tip line at findmichael@fruitland.org. A tip leading to Vaughan’s safe return will be rewarded with $50,100. The reward is available through March 2022.

UPDATE: Lateche Norris found!

 

 Lateche Norris has been found safe, according to her mother, Cheryl Walker. She updated the GoFundMe account page on December 4th, stating:

 She's safe!!! We're no longer asking for donations! The campaign will remain open for now those who wanted to donate to her of free will for anything she may need.  

This is good news! With all of the not so good, and bad stuff, it's nice to hear something good. 

Further,  Lateche's stepfather, spoke publically for two hours on Sunday on a Twitter Spaces account hosted by @Nerdy_Addict. He stated, Norris "never knew she was missing,"
and "she is choosing to stay homeless." 

On Friday, December 3rd around 8:30pm, Cheryl Walker received a text from her daughter. They then drove to the downtown library and reunited. Apparently, Lateche's boyfriend had smashed her phone after the couple got into an argument. The two have a toxic relationship according to the stepfather. The young couple plans to stay in San Diego for now. Lateche does not want to leave Joey, so she is going to stick with him and remain homeless. 

The San Diego Police put out a statement on Saturday evening after speaking with Lateche Norris and her mother:

"Missing person Lateche Norris has been located. San Diego Police Department investigators met with Norris in-person today and confirmed she is safe. Detectives also verified Norris was not and is not the victim of any crime. Ms. Norris thanked the public for their concern and asked for privacy. The San Diego Police Department thanks its public safety and community partners for their effort in locating Ms. Norris."

 

 

Disappearance of Lateche Norris

"It's okay to cry," a crytic post stated from now missing and considered endangered, Lateche Norris. The 20-year-old has mysteriously disappeared after leaving home on November 5th to meet up with her boyfriend, Joseph "Joey" Smith. Smith had just left a rehab facility and was reportedly living on the streets in San Diego. 

Lateche Norris made a phone call to her mom, Cheryl Walker from a stranger's phone, telling her mom that she had been in a fight with Joey and needed his cell phone number to contact him. Her mom is unsure why Lateche was not using her phone, or what the fight was about. She promised
her mom that she would call her back the next day. After not hearing back from her daughter a day later, Walker filed a missing persons report with the San Diego Police Department.

Cheryl Walker has told the media, that "she definitely would have called me back," explaining that her daughter wouldn't let more than a couple of days go by without talking with her. "Something is wrong," Walker told NBC Dateline, "now the days are just flying by with no word from her. And, we're terrified."

The 20-year-old's social media activity has all but ceased since November 5th. The last post was an odd, crytpic Facebook message, "It's okay to still cry over things u thought you moved past."

The couple have had a rocky relationship, Walker stated that there is a history of domestic violence incidents. Law Enforcement informs that the case is open and active, but they do not believe Lateche is considered "at-risk." 

The boyfriend, Joseph Smith has been unreachable, not responding to any of Walker's calls or messages. He has a criminal record including arson and vandalism, but this may not have anything to do with his or Norris' disappearance.

 

Lateche was last seen on November 4th at a 7-Eleven located at 222 Park Blvd, the evening before she called her mom.
 

Cheryl Walker and her husband, Amir have flown out to San Diego from their home in Indiana to search for Lateche. There have been no signs of her thus far.

Disappearance of Summer Wells

On June 15th, 5-year-old Summer Wells went missing from her family's home in Rogersville, TN. She was last seen at approximately 6:30pm after gardening with her grandmother. Wells went inside and told her three older brothers that she was going to play in the basement with her toys. When her mother, Candus Wells came inside the home a short time later, Summer was nowhere to be found. The 5-year-old was last seen wearing grey pants and a pink shirt.

 About 16 hours later, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) issued an Amber Alert. This sparked a weeks-long manhunt in the rugged, mountainous terrain of Hawkins County. Out of the hundreds of tips that have been called into the TBI, nothing has panned out and have lead to dead ends.

On June 26th, the TBI asked that the driver of a Toyota pickup truck to come forward after a witness reported seeing the vehicle in the Beech Creek area in the late hours of June 14 or 15th. Authorities believe that the person may have seen something related to the little girl's disappearance. The truck was described as a "1998-2000 maroon or red Toyota Tacoma with a full bed ladder rack along with white buckets in the truck bed." To this date, the driver or the truck have not been located.

By July 12th, authorities confirmed that they had received over 900 tips and that "everything is still on the table." Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson told the public that "we're still trying to find out what happened to Summer, so everybody is still a person of interest." 

Summer's father, Donald Wells as well as his wife and his mother-in-law have all passed lie detector tests during the early days of the investigation. Almost five months later, Summer is still missing, and the TBI continues to follow up on all leads. 

Anyone who has tips on the case can call the TBI at 800-TBI-FIND, or contact John Walsh at 1-833-3-PURSUE. Information can also be submitted online at InPursuitTips.com. Both the phone number and internet tips through John Walsh can be made anonymously.
 

 

The family has set up a website at https://www.findsummerwells.com/

 

Have you been following this missing child case?

The Shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was pursued while running near Brunswick, GA. The 25-year-old was fatally shot by Travis McMichel, who was chasing him in a pickup truck with his father, Gregory McMichael. Another vehicle, followed the McMichels, with William Bryan inside. (the graphic video can be seen here)

The Glynn County Police Department responded to the shooting, and was advised by the Brunswick District Attorney not to make any arrests. The District Attorney's office would later deny that they told the police that recommendation. The case ended up being transferred through four different prosecutors offices, with all not pursuing charges in the shooting. 

On May 5, 2020, a video of the shooting went viral online. It wasn't long after that District Attorney, Tom Durden informed that a grand jury would ultimately decide whether charges would be brought on the case. It was then that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) at the bequest of Governor Brian Kemp began investigating.

Two days later, on May 7th, the GBI arrested the McMichaels and later, William "Robbie" Bryan on May 21st. The trio was charged with felony murder and other crimes. Additional evidence was presented by the prosecutor on June 4th to support the murder charges on the men. Included in the evidence was a statement to the GBI by Bryan that Travis McMichel said, "f--king n-----r" as Ahmaud Arbery laid on the ground dying. The grand jury indicted all three of the men on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggrevated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

On April 28, 2021, the three men were all indicted on federal charges of one count each of the interference with rights, which is a hate crime as well attempted kidnapping. Both Travis and Gregory McMichaels were also charged with separate counts of using firearms during the crime of violence.

Jury selection began on October 18th, 2021 for the case. 600 people were summoned to jury duty on that date, yet only 283 people actually showed up according to the Clerk of Superior Court for Glynn County, Ron Adams. The next day, October 19th, another 400 potential  jurors were summoned, and only half that number showed up. The attorneys and judge for the case are working to narrow down the number of possible jurors to 64, before narrowing that number down to the final 12 jurors with 4 alternates.

The jury selection process is proving to be difficult, as many potential jurors have reservations about serving and have already formed strong opinions on the case. It's definitely not going to be easy to seat a jury with how polarizing this case has been in the community. 

The actual trial is set to begin November 5th. 

 

What are your thoughts on the Ahamud Arbery shooting? 

Will you be following the trial next year?

Guns and Hollywood

 The fatal shooting last Thursday on the set of actor, Alec Baldwin's movie, Rust has brought up questions about guns and Hollywood. Specifically, is there a need for actual, real guns on set? 

On October 21st, production was underway on location in Santa Fe, New Mexico on the western film, and actor Alec Baldwin was handed what he thought was a "cold gun." A "cold gun" is a term used in Hollywood when a firearm being worked with on set is not loaded with live ammunition. Sadly, this was not the case and the weapon was in fact loaded. When Baldwin pulled the trigger, it went off resulting in the death of Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and injuring director, Joel Souza. An investigation is now underway by both law enforcement as well as the production company to find out what went wrong.

Accidents like this raise the question of if live guns should still be permitted on set. With advancements in technology regarding effects and CGI, there is much that can be accomplished in post-production. While it may add to a project's budget and time, it removes risks of injury and death during filming. 

This isn't of course the only gun-related accident on a set. Back in March 1993, actor Brandon Lee was killed when he was shot in the abdomen while filming a scene for the movie, The Crow. A makeshift bullet was erroneously left in a gun used from a previous scene, which then struck Lee. He later died after six hours of surgery. And, in 1984, actor Jon-Erik Hexum fatally shot himself in the head with a gun loaded with blanks on the set of the TV series, Cover Up.

That's not to mention a number of other accidents on movie and TV sets through the years, including one of the worst in history during the filming of The Twilight Zone movie. A helicopter crash killed actor Vic Morrow and two child actors in 1982 after explosions staged during the scene damaged the copters rotor. The aircraft fell into the water, decapitating Morrow and the two children instantly. Director John Landis and four others were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter and federal agencies enacted new rules for filming with helicopters.

With all the accidents, especially deaths occurring on sets of movies and television shows, there needs to be more safety measures in effect. Just like the new rules after the fatal Twilight Zone helicopter disaster, the use of firearms needs to be changed. No one should lose their life on while filming something that is meant for entertainment.

What do you think?

Are new safety measures needed for the use of firearms on set? Should live weapons be banned from being used during filming?