The FBI and Myrtle Beach Police say there’s overwhelming evidence that Brittanee Drexel of Chili is dead.
At a news conference in Georgetown, South Carolina, FBI Special Agent in Charge Dave Thomas said they’ve known for some time…but held the information to protect the girl’s family. Thomas says they’ve interviewed hundreds of people and followed thousands of leads…and they know what happened after Brittanee was last seen on a surveillance camera leaving her hotel.
Thomas says she traveled about an hour’s drive south to a neighboring county and was there for several days. They don’t know if Drexel went to that area willingly or not…but they know she was held against her will for at least some of the days she spent there.
Thomas says they’ve upped the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible to $25,000. Thomas says they’ll also move to prosecute anyone who knows something important and fails to come forward.
Drexel’s parents, Dawn and Chad Drexel, made an emotional appeal for someone to let them know where their daughter’s remains can be found so she can be brought home and laid to rest.
Brittanee was 17 when she vanished during a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach in April of 2009. She didn’t tell her parents she was going out of town.
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The jury resumes deliberations at 9:00 tomorrow morning in the murder trial of Johnny Blackshell Jr….accused of first and second degree murder in the drive-by shootings outside the Boys and Girls Club last August.
Defense Attorney Joe Damelio tore into the credibility of key prosecution witnesses during the closing arguments…saying they linked Blackshell to the car and the AK47 rifle involved in the shootings on Genesee Street in return for reduced sentences. And Damelio says you can’t see his client in the surveillance video of the incident shown to the jurors.
Prosecutor Perry Duckles said the testimony from Blackshell’s girlfriend and the other witnesses is truthful and not coerced by a plea deal.
Tatiana Starling and Ramel Robinson both testified to seeing Blackshell with a rifle similar to the one used in the shooting.
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City Court Judge Leticia Astacio’s lawyer denies a report that she was arrested for driving without a license….and Rochester Police have issued a statement saying the allegation is unfounded.
A police spokeswoman says they have not brought any such charges against the judge.
Attorney Ed Fiandach says allegations were raised that Judge Astacio was spotted driving her car after her license was suspended for DWI. But Fiandach says Astacio wasn’t driving and hasn’t driven since her license was suspended. He says this is probably a case of mistaken identity since Astacio’s sister has driven her car while she’s not using it.
But 13 WHAM says it’s talked with sources who say there’s evidence the judge did drive on her suspended license.
Judge Astacio was arrested in February after her car was involved in an accident on the way to work and State Police found she was under the influence. Her license has been suspended while her DWI case is pending.
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A tree estimated at 250 to 300 years old fell over today, destroying an Irondequoit home just 10 minutes after one of the occupants had left.
The 136-year-old house is on Lynn Drive off Culver Road. Nobody was hurt when the 50-foot tall tree fell and came crashing through the roof and side of the house, causing the whole thing to cave in.
Rachel Gorton and her boyfriend rent that house. She works nights and would normally have been sleeping…but today she left the house 10 minutes before the tree fell for an appointment.
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Police in Geneva say they’ve made five arrests in connection with two large-scale fights earlier this week.
Police there and the Ontario County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Geneva General Hospital Monday for a fight involving a number of people…and six minutes later to another brawl involving up to 50 people that was blocking North Main Street .
They identified and arrested five teenagers …three boys and two girls….on charges of Riot in the First Degree. Police say additional arrests and more charges can be expected.
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The man accused of forcing a standoff with Ontario County deputies for nearly 24 hours pled not guilty to charges of menacing a police officer.
The Ontario County Sheriff’s Office says 35-year-old Adam Blair of Canandaigua barricaded himself inside his house on Hopkins Road Tuesday afternoon. He was reported to be suicidal and threatened to shoot police officers when they arrived.
Deputies closed the surrounding roads and evacuated the neighboring homes. The Monroe County SWAT team and State Police were also brought in. They made phone contact with Blair and began trying to talk him into surrendering.
It was after 1:00 this morning, 23 hours after the incident started, before Blair finally agreed to give himself up…but when he came out of the house he refused to obey commands and was subdued with a TASER.