Crime and Courts

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin spoke Thursday about new laws that make the punishment for first time home invasions much stiffer.

Samuel Woodward, who is now 27, is scheduled to be sentenced in a Southern California courtroom for the murder of Blaze Bernstein nearly seven years ago. There is no question about the sentence Woodward will receive because the jury’s verdict carries a life sentence without parole, said Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

A New Hampshire woman will spend more than two years in prison, partly because she wanted to see Tom Brady and the Buccaneers play the Patriots.

A man is being held for trail after a September rape case where he is accused of attacking a Villanova student in her dorm room. The only witness who took the stand is the alleged victim and a judge ruled there is enough evidence to send the case to a higher court. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the details.

A South Florida businessman accused in the February disappearance of his estranged wife in Spain is now facing a murder charge in the case.

California officials say four people were arrested after a person dressed in a bear costume faked attacks on cars for insurance payouts.

Families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims say the satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction.

Federal prosecutors say some evidence that a judge had excluded from the bribery trial of former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was inadvertently put on a computer given to jurors, but they say it should not affect the Democrat’s conviction. Prosecutors told a federal trial judge in a letter Wednesday that they recently discovered the error. They say the laptop...

A California teen accused of making hundreds of swatting calls and offering swatting-for-a-fee services pleaded guilty to making hoax threats to schools, religious institutions and government officials about mass shootings and bombings across the country.

A Miami man has pleaded guilty in a $16 million bribery and money laundering scheme involving his father, a former government official in Ecuador, prosecutors said.

The Oklahoma city police department has released video showing an officer slamming an elderly Asian man to the ground during a recent traffic stop. KFOR’s Adria Goins reports.

Conspiracy theory purveyor Infowars and most of its assets are set to go on the auction block on Wednesday.

The operation uncovered a network of forgers in Spain, France and Belgium who produced the works, said Eurojust, the European Union agency for judicial cooperation.

Apologetic rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in prison by a federal judge who said repeated violations of his probation after his cooperation against a violent gang won him leniency in a criminal case show that he doesn’t have sufficient respect for judicial system rules.

A loyal dog that refused to leave his dead owner’s side helped solve the case of her murder by allowing detectives to identify her body, prosecutors said.

Sean Higgins appeared in Salem County court on Tuesday, Nov. 12, for a brief hearing where the judge, his attorneys and the prosecutor agreed to an extension on the next steps in the case. This is video of the entire hearing.

The man accused of being drunk when his car struck and killed NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and brother Matthew as they biked near their South Jersey hometown the night before their sister’s wedding appeared in person in court Tuesday morning for a hearing.

A SEPTA transit officer has been arrested by the FBI and charged with sharing child pornography. SEPTA officials said the man has been placed on leave pending an investigation.

A man accused of murder after a 911 call about a fake bear attack in the mountains of Tennessee led authorities to a dead man in October has been found and arrested, police said Sunday, NBC News reported.

The jury, which has been requested for 26 days, deliberated for 19.5 hours, WTHR said. Allen is expected to be sentenced Dec. 20.