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(WASHINGTON) — The informant accused of fabricating a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden taking $5 million each in bribes allegedly had high-level Russian intelligence contacts, according to newly filed court documents.

In the filing, Special Counsel David Weiss reveals that after his arrest last week, Alexander Smirnov told the FBI “that officials with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story” about Hunter Biden.

Prosecutors argued in their filing Smirnov should be held pending trial, with Weiss saying that Smirnov’s claims he has active contacts with “multiple foreign intelligence agencies” and had planned to leave the U.S. just two days after his arrival in the U.S. last week “for a months-long, multi-country foreign trip.”

However, a judge late Tuesday ordered Smirnov released from custody, under the condition that he surrender his passport, wear an ankle monitor, and be restricted to traveling only to Nevada and to California for court purposes.

In Weiss’ filing, he wrote that “foreign intelligence agencies could resettle Smirnov outside the United States if he were released.”

Furthermore, “Smirnov’s efforts to spread misinformation about a candidate of one of the two major parties in the United States continues,” the filing states. “What this shows is that the misinformation he is spreading is not confined to 2020. He is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November. In light of that fact there is a serious risk he will flee in order to avoid accountability for his actions.”

Smirnov’s assigned defense counsel disputed Weiss’ claims that Smirnov misled the court’s pretrial services officer about his personal wealth.

Attorney David Chesnoff said that when Smirnov met with the officer he was “only asked about his personal assets and not the business account.”

His attorney did not directly address the other claims raised by Weiss regarding Smirnov’s claimed extensive ties to Russian intelligence or other issues they say present a risk he will flee prosecution.

The developments come as Hunter Biden’s team suggested that the informant’s alleged fabrications helped tank a plea deal.

Attorneys for Hunter Biden claimed in court filings on Tuesday that a bribery allegation made by the newly indicted ex-FBI informant may have contributed to the demise of their client’s plea deal with prosecutors last year.

According to the filings, the lawyers largely base their assertion on the fact that Hunter Biden’s deal unraveled around the same time that the Justice Department began scrutinizing the informant’s claims of Biden family corruption. In court papers filed Tuesday, Abbe Lowell, an attorney for the president’s son, slammed Weiss for allegedly following the informant, Smirnov, “down his rabbit hole of lies.”

But it’s not clear from court records that the downfall of Hunter Biden’s deal was connected in any meaningful way to Smirnov’s allegations. And it’s not clear that Weiss ever found Smirnov’s allegations credible.

Weiss opened his investigation years after senior Justice Department officials determined that Smirnov’s allegations were not worth pursuing further. And the investigation came around the same time that Republican lawmakers publicly released an FBI document detailing the informant’s allegations, which the Justice Department now says were completely “fabricated.”

Specifically, Weiss filed felony false statement and obstruction charges against Smirnov last week for telling his FBI handler in 2020, as Joe Biden was running for the White House, that Biden and his son had accepted $10 million in bribes from a Ukrainian oligarch.

In Weiss’ indictment of Smirnov, he noted that in July 2023, investigators pursuing Hunter Biden launched “an investigation of allegations related to” the informant’s prior claims — shortly before a July 26, 2023, court hearing where their negotiated plea agreement with Hunter Biden fell apart.

In court papers filed Tuesday, Lowell tried to tie it all to his client’s doomed plea deal.

“Having taken Mr. Smirnov’s bait of grand, sensational charges, the [plea deal] … that was on the verge of being finalized suddenly became inconvenient for the prosecution, and it reversed course and repudiated those agreements,” Lowell wrote. “It now seems clear that the Smirnov allegations infected this case.”

Lowell’s allegation appeared in filings intended to convince a judge to order the Justice Department to hand over even more government documents related to his client’s case.

Investigators spent five years probing Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals before reaching a deal last summer that would allow him to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax crimes in exchange for probation. Hunter Biden also would have agreed to a pretrial diversion on a separate gun charge, with the charge being dropped if he adhered to certain terms.

But that deal fell apart under questioning from a federal judge, whose line of questioning about the deal exposed fissures between the two parties, prompting prosecutors to threaten Hunter Biden with additional charges under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

It was the specter of potential FARA violations that led Lowell to accuse Weiss’ team of inappropriately reviewing Smirnov’s claim years after the FBI determined them to be incorrect.

Weiss ultimately brought three felony gun-related charges against Hunter Biden in Delaware and additional tax-related charges in California. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty to them all.

Sawdust or cocaine?

Meanwhile, in the same filing Tuesday, Lowell pointed out what appears to be an embarrassing gaffe by prosecutors: mistaking sawdust for cocaine. Weiss’ office included in a previous filing an image of what he said were lines of cocaine on Hunter Biden’s phone around the time that he purchased a firearm.

But according to Lowell, the photo was sent by Hunter Biden’s then-psychiatrist and showed not cocaine, but sawdust, which Lowell said, “sounds more like a storyline from one of the 1980s Police Academy comedies than what should be expected in a high-profile prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice.”

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S.-Mexico border region faces a public health crisis as billions of gallons of contaminated sewage flow from Mexico into San Diego, California, according to a newly released report.

“South San Diego County is in a total state of emergency related to transboundary pollution, and this is a public health ticking time bomb,” Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre told ABC News. “We are living in conditions that nobody in this great nation should be living in.”

The Tijuana River — which has been classified as an impaired water body, according to the U.S. Clean Water Act — flows north for 120 miles from Mexico to California before reaching the Pacific Ocean on the U.S. side of the border in the Imperial Beach, San Ysidro and Coronado coastal areas.

Over the last five years, 100 billion gallons of untreated sewage, industrial waste and urban runoff have been dumped into the Tijuana River, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission.

Tuesday marked the 805th day Imperial Beach has been closed due to the ongoing sewage issue, according to Aguirre, but the health risks are affecting residents far from the shore.

San Diego State University’s (SDSU) School of Public Health deemed the cross-border contamination a “public health crisis” and warned that “current regulation and monitoring measures are inadequate,” according to the new report, released on Feb. 13.

Untreated sewage pollutants originating in Mexico and not properly treated at the International Wastewater Treatment Plant include human and livestock diseases, pathogens carrying antibiotic-resistant genes, and industrial chemicals not permitted to be discharged in California, according to the report.

Studying soil samples from South San Diego, researchers found levels of the poisonous elements arsenic and cadmium that exceeded Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thresholds for safety.

Water samples taken from the Tijuana River and Estuary, located on the U.S.-Mexico border, showed a range of dangerous viruses and bacteria, including HIV, hepatitis B and C, Salmonella, Vibrio, Streptococcus, Listeria, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to the report.

The report also cites levels of antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli and Legionella bacteria found in the contaminated water, “which are of considerable public health concern.”

Exposure to the contaminants, viruses and bacteria can impact the health of people who live and work nearby, which include children, seniors, lifeguards, military personnel, border patrol officers and at-risk populations, according to the study.

“Urgent interventions are needed to help reduce and address both the immediate and long-term potential health repercussions to those living near this hazardous environment,” Paula Stigler Granados, associate professor in SDSU’s School of Public Health and the paper’s lead author, told ABC News in a statement.

“The longer we take to stop the contamination, the greater the risk of exposures,” Granados noted. “Investment in our infrastructure to stop the pollution is critical.”

Toxic chemicals and bacteria — which were once believed to be isolated in the sewage alone — can be dispersed in water and air, especially during weather events, the report reveals.

For example, the California-Mexico border region has been hit recently with heavy rain and flooding caused by back-to-back atmospheric river storms. The resulting greater than usual influx of water can overwhelm California’s and Tijuana’s sewage treatment plants, researchers say.

Doctors Kimberly and Matt Dickson, a married couple who run South Bay Urgent Care in Imperial Beach, told ABC News that amid the February storms they have seen a 200 to 300 percent increase in patients with gastrointestinal illness, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea.

“These were people that were in the streets, going to school, but not swimming in the ocean. So, where was the transfer of bacteria and viruses going?” Matt Dickson asked. “How was it getting to these people if they weren’t swimming in the ocean?”

The couple says they began to realize that the heavy rains were causing the sewage to spill into the city’s streets, spreading illnesses across the community.

“If you’re driving down the street that’s flooded with sewage water, then you’re tracking bacteria back to your home or to the store. Or if kids are walking to school through a flooded street that’s got sewage water in it, then they go to class and they touch their shoes, and then they eat their lunch. People are getting sick,” Matt Dickson said.

“You don’t have to have a medical degree and to understand if there’s sewage on the street, people are going to get sick,” he noted.

The repeating cycle of rainstorms and illnesses in the community is “flabbergasting” to Kimberly Dickson, who says the cycle can be broken with better infrastructure to help reduce or eliminate the sewage overflow.

When it comes to the long-term health effects of the sewage problem, Kimberly worries, “It’s just the tip of the iceberg. We’re missing a lot of it. We don’t know the long-term consequences.”

In 2020, Congress approved a $300 million fund to expand the International Wastewater Treatment Plant San Ysidro. However, after the devastating infrastructure effects of Hurricane Hilary in August 2023, and the ongoing storms in the area, half of those funds were allocated to deferred maintenance before any type of expansion could happen, according memos obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Mayor Aguirre and other state politicians, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have asked Congress for an additional $310 million in federal funds to address the issue, but it has yet to be approved.

“It’s challenging to maintain the attention and focus that this emergency needs when we’re located 3,000 miles away,” Aguirre said of requesting federal intervention from Washington, D.C.

“We also need additional intervention from our state administration. Our governor has advocated for that supplemental funding request, but he has fallen short of declaring a state of emergency,” Aguirre added.

In Dec. 2023, the International Boundary and Water Commission announced the Rehabilitation and Expansion Progressive Design-Build project for the International Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project includes essential rehabilitation of existing infrastructure and expansion of the plant, according to the press release.

“We have participated in many public meetings in the affected areas and want to assure residents our priority is improving the health and welfare of communities on both sides of the border,” Frank Fisher, public affairs chief for the International Boundary and Water Commission, told ABC News in a statement.

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(NEW YORK) — The man suspected in the beating and strangulation death of a Queens woman inside a SoHo hotel earlier this month is under arrest in Arizona, where he is charged in two stabbings, according to police.

Raad Almansoori, 26, is accused in the death of Denisse Oleas-Arancibia, 38, who was found earlier this month at SoHo 54 Hotel sometime on either Feb. 7 or 8. A broken iron was recovered at the scene and bits of plastic were embedded in the victim’s skull, detectives said.

Almansoori made statements while in custody in Arizona linking himself to a string of assaults on women, including the stabbings in Surprise and Phoenix, an attack in Florida and the deadly attack in the New York City hotel, according to the NYPD.

Several of those crimes involve women who work as escorts, police said.

“He tells the cops they should Google SoHo 54 Hotel,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenney said.

Almansoori also made statements about hurting as many as three woman in Florida, Kenney said.

Surprise, Arizona, police responded to a McDonald’s on Sunday morning and found a woman who had been stabbed multiple times. The suspect, later identified as Almansoori, then stole a car nearby and was later arrested with the car by the Scottsdale Police Department, police said. It was at this time Almansoori admitted to the stabbing a few days earlier in Phoenix, Surprise police said.

Almansoori is facing charges of attempted homicide, theft of means and aggravated assault in Surprise and robbery, assault, theft and criminal damage in Phoenix, police said.

He is being held without bond.

Detectives are now looking at unsolved crimes in Florida and Texas, where Almansoori has lived and has prior arrests, including the kidnapping and sexual assault of a female, according to police.

“The majority of arrests involve domestic violence and assault,” Kenney said.

Kenney said the NYPD is working with the FBI and asking the public and members of law enforcement to come forward with information. The NYPD shared photos last week of Almansoori allegedly leaving the SoHo 54 Hotel wearing the leggings of Oleas-Arancibia.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has sent prosecutors to Maricopa County, Arizona, to seek Almansoori’s extradition.

Almansoori is believed to have arrived in New York City in late January, when credit card information shows he visited an escort in upper Manhattan. Later credit card use shows the purchase of a plane ticket to Arizona where he allegedly committed two crimes.

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(NEW YORK) — The West Virginia legislature is considering a bill that would remove protections for librarians in case minors come across books that contain what the state considers “obscene” material at their facilities.

The bill passed the House of Delegates on Feb. 16 and has now been introduced in the Senate.

The bill would remove any exemptions from criminal liability for public libraries or museums that display or distribute “obscene matter to a minor.”

A librarian or museum who violates these restrictions could be charged with a felony, fined up to $25,000, and sentenced to up to five years in a correctional facility if found guilty.

Critics say the bill would lead to an increase in book challenges and potentially lead to criminal charges against librarians for books that are not pornographic, but books that include sexual content — including classical literature.

Obscene matter, as defined in three parts in the state code, applies to matter that: “an average person, applying contemporary adult community standards, would find, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, is intended to appeal to the prurient interest, or is pandered to a prurient interest.”

The definition goes on, adding that: “an average person, applying community standards, would find [that the material] depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexually explicit conduct; and a reasonable person would find, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”

The American Library Association (ALA) has found that obscenity allegations have largely been used to challenge books that touch on the LGBTQ+ community, sex education, race and politics.

The bill has prompted debate over concerns about censorship and what students can or cannot have access to.

“It is going to cost our counties and our librarians when these matters go to the court system,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle in a Friday hearing on the bill, according to local news outlet The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. “This is a very dangerous bill.”

Supporters of the bill say that it does not ban books or censor speech because the books can still be bought privately. They say it protects children.

“What this bill does do is stop obscene and pornographic material, sexually explicit materials from being available to children in public taxpayer-funded spaces,” said Republican Del. Elliott Pritt in the Friday hearing, according to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel.

Schools and libraries nationwide have seen a massive increase in book-banning efforts and complaints relating to topics like racism, race, sexual orientation, gender and more, according to the ALA.

Preliminary ALA data found that in the first eight months of 2023, attempts to censor library materials increased 20% from the same reporting period in 2022, which saw the highest number of book challenges since the organization began compiling the data over 20 years ago.

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(NEW YORK) — A student at the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs has been arrested for allegedly killing his roommate and a young woman in a double homicide in a dorm room, according to officials.

Nicholas Jordan, 25, is facing two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his roommate, Samuel Knopp, and Celie Rain Montgomery, who were found shot dead on Friday, according to the Colorado Springs police.

Jordan, who is from Detroit, was found in a vehicle early Monday and taken into custody in Colorado Springs on Monday without incident, police said.

Montgomery, 26, of Pueblo, Colorado, and Knopp, 44, of Parker, Colorado, were found fatally shot Friday morning.

Knopp was a registered student at the school while Montgomery was not currently registered, police said.

The shootings appear to be “an isolated incident between individuals who were known to one another and not a random attack against the school or other students,” police said in a statement.

Knopp was an “uplifting” person and “probably the best musician on campus,” student Gibson Marable told ABC News.

“We are in shock as we process this tragic loss of two lives,” university Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet said at a news conference last week. “My heart is broken for the victims.”

ABC News’ Mola Lenghi and Jeffrey Cook contributed to this report.

 

 

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(NEW YORK) — Investigators said Tuesday that they have found the body of an 11-year-old Texas girl who went missing last week when she missed her bus to school.

Audrii Cunningham was last seen on the morning of Feb. 15 near her father’s home in Livingston, Texas, at about 7 a.m., according to authorities. She did not take her bus to school that morning.

Her body was discovered near the Trinity River, according to Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons

“My heart aches with this news,” he told reporters.

Lyons said that the medical examiner is working to determine the girl’s cause of death.

A statewide Amber Alert was issued on Feb. 15.

Don Steven McDougal, a friend of Audrii’s father, was named by investigators as a person of interest. McDougal, who lives in a camper located behind Audrii’s house, allegedly promised to take Audrii to her bus stop and was the last person to see her, according to Lyons.

Lyons said there had been reports that McDougal had dropped the girl off at the bus stop in the past.

McDougal was arrested on an unrelated aggravated assault charge Friday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. He has an extensive criminal history, including enticing a minor in 2008.

Polk County, Texas District Attorney Shelly Bush-Sitton told reporters that an arrest warrant is being prepared against McDougal and he will be charged with capital murder.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — Four days after a judge ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $354 million in his civil fraud case, New York Attorney General Letitia James told ABC News that she is prepared to seize the former president’s assets if he is unable to find the cash to cover the fine.

“If he does not have funds to pay off the judgment, then we will seek judgment enforcement mechanisms in court, and we will ask the judge to seize his assets,” James said in an interview with ABC News’ Aaron Katersky.

Trump was fined $354.8 million plus approximately $100 million in pre-judgment interest on Friday after Judge Arthur Engoron determined that he inflated his net worth in order get more favorable loan terms.

The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has said he will appeal.

Saying that she was “very confident” with the strength of her case on appeal, James reiterated that her office would not hesitate to seize one of Trump’s buildings — listing Trump’s 40 Wall Street skyscraper by name — if Trump is unable to find the case to cover the court-ordered disgorgement.

“We are prepared to make sure that the judgment is paid to New Yorkers, and yes, I will get 40 Wall Street each and every day,” James said.

James directly countered Trump’s allegation that the case lacked any victims, instead describing her case as vital to ensuring financial markets treat New Yorkers fairly.

“Financial frauds are not victimless crimes. He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. It wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations are wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering,” James said. “If average New Yorkers went into a bank and submitted false documents, the government would throw the book at them, and the same should be true for former presidents.”

James also rebuffed Trump’s allegation that the case will prompt a mass exodus of business activity from New York.

“Last I checked tourism is up. Wall Street is doing just fine,” James said.

With Trump losing two civil cases against columnist E. Jean Carroll, facing Georgia election interference charges from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and now losing his case against James, the New York AG concluded the interview with an observation about Trump’s legal cases.

“Someone once told me if you want something done, give it to a woman,” James said.

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(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — Two adults have been arrested in connection with the mass shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade last week, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Dominic Miller and Lyndell Mays each face charges of second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, noting that paradegoer Lisa Lopez-Galvan was fatally shot by a bullet from Miller’s gun.

It appears Mays was in a “verbal argument” at the parade with someone he had no prior history with, Baker said at a news conference. “That argument very quickly escalated to Mays” pulling out his handgun, and “almost immediately, others pulled their firearms,” including Miller, Baker said.

Both men are in the hospital for injuries sustained in the shooting, Baker said. Both are being held on a $1 million bond, according to Baker.

Lopez-Galvan, a radio DJ, was killed and 22 were hurt in Wednesday’s mass shooting.

Two juvenile suspects were taken into custody last week on gun-related charges and resisting arrest, officials said.

“We seek to hold every shooter accountable for their actions,” Baker said Tuesday.

“The effort and dedicated hours spent to expeditiously investigate this senseless act of violence is extremely commendable,” Lopez-Galvan’s relatives said in a statement that was read at the press conference on their behalf. “It is reassuring for our family and the entire community to know that this joint team effort has resulted in the identification of the suspects involved.”

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on Saturday in remembrance of Lopez-Galvan.

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(MERRIMAC, Va.) — A 20-year-old Virginia Tech student has been reported missing after he vanished days ago, according to the university.

Johnny Roop, a senior at the school’s business college, was last seen on Friday at his apartment complex in Merrimac in Montgomery County, just south of the Virginia Tech campus, the university said.

At 4:26 p.m. Friday, the university said Roop’s phone pinged near the New River Valley Mall, which is a few miles south of the apartment complex.

Roop was traveling to drive to his parent’s house, which is 100 miles away in Abingdon, Virginia, to take an online exam by 5 p.m., but he never arrived, according to the university.

Authorities believe Roop left Montgomery County on his own Friday afternoon, and most likely traveled southwest toward Abingdon, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said. He was seen on surveillance video in Montgomery County at about 3:30 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

“Based on interviews with friends and family (in addition to video surveillance) it was noted that Mr. Roop’s behavior on Friday was not consistent with his normal patterns of behavior; however, information received seems to indicate that he was alone,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Tuesday. “We have received no information leading us to believe that he is in immediate danger; however, due to the fact that Mr. Roop appears to be acting outside of his normal behavior we would like to make contact with him to confirm that he is indeed ok.”

Roop drives a black 2018 Toyota Camry with a sticker of the Virginia Tech flag on the back window, the university said. The car has Virginia license plate number TXW6643.

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(NEW YORK) — The gunman suspected in the fatal shootings of two Minnesota police officers and a paramedic during a domestic violence standoff in a Minneapolis suburb was serving a lifetime ban from possessing firearms at the time of the deadly encounter, according to court documents.

The suspect, 38-year-old Shannon Cortez Gooden, was issued the lifetime firearms ban following a 2008 conviction for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon in Dakota County, Minnesota, according to court records reviewed by ABC News. Gooden petitioned in 2020 to have his gun rights restored, claiming, “I would like to be able to protect not only myself but my family as well,” according to the documents.

A judge, however, denied Gooden’s petition on Oct. 9, 2020, after prosecutors cited other encounters Gooden had with police since his conviction and two orders of protection filed against him alleging domestic assault and abuse. In one of the incidents cited, a woman who Gooden used as a character witness in his attempt to get his gun rights restored, had filed an order of protection against him in 2017, alleging he “head-butted” her and threw her down a flight of stairs, according to the court documents.

Despite his petition being rejected, investigators said Gooden was armed with multiple firearms when he barricaded himself inside a Burnsville, Minnesota, home with family members, including seven children ranging from 2 to 15 years old.

Goodwin allegedly opened fire on officers who responded to the domestic violence incident, killing Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, and Burnsville firefighter and paramedic Adam Finseth, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said the 27-year-old Elmstrand was shot multiple times; Ruge, also 27, was shot in the chest and Finseth, 40, suffered bullet wounds to the right arm and torso.

A third Burnsville police officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott, 38, was hospitalized with injuries from the shooting, officials said. Medlicott was released from the hospital on Monday.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner announced Tuesday that Gooden died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators have yet to say how Gooden obtained the firearms and ammunition used in the attack.

“Criminals don’t follow the law, and we have to be better prepared on the whole criminal justice system to react,” state Sen. Warren Limmer, a Republican, said on Monday following a moment of silence for the slain first responders at the state capital.

State Sen. Ron Latz, a Democrat, added: “We do background checks, we’ve got the red flag laws, all these are pieces of the puzzle and data shows that they will have an effect and reducing violence in our communities, but you’re not going to catch every situation. It’s just not possible.”

The fatal incident unfolded about 2 a.m. Sunday when Burnsville police were called to a home on a report of a domestic situation in progress involving an armed man barricaded with family members, according to a statement from Burnsville city officials.

Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth were killed during a gunfight between Gooden and the police officers that erupted soon after the first responders arrived at the scene, officials said.

Gooden is believed to have died from suicide around 8 a.m. Sunday and family members barricaded with him emerged from the home uninjured, according to officials.

In his denied petition to get his gun rights restored, Gooden argued that he had rehabilitated himself since his 2007 arrest, in which he was accused of threatening a family with a knife outside a shopping mall.

“I completed an anger management course as well as a parenting course,” Gooden wrote in his petition, adding he had a steady job at the time and had earned an associate’s degree at a technical college. “I am in a loving and committed relationship with my girlfriend. I have five children, ages 8, 10, 11, 2, and 11 months that I love and care for dearly. I do all I can to provide for them. I also provide for my girlfriend’s two kids who are 8 and 10 years old.”

While Gooden listed in the petition a series of misdemeanor traffic offenses against him, the judge that denied his request cited other more serious crimes he was accused of, including the two orders of protection filed against him that he did not list.

The most recent order of protection was filed against him in July 2020 by a woman who was barricaded in the house with Gooden during Sunday’s incident, according to court records. The woman, who has children with Gooden, claimed in her request for an order of protection that Gooden had told his then-girlfriend to beat her up while they were arranging for a child exchange.

The woman also claimed that in 2014, Gooden “grabbed a knife and cut her clothes and sideswiped her foot,” causing her to fall down a set of stairs. She alleged in the petition that Gooden was “going to kill her.”

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