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(FLORENCE, Ala.) — The corrections officer and escaped murder suspect who have been missing for days had “a special relationship,” the local sheriff confirmed.

Inmate Casey White and Lauderdale County Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White — who are not related — went missing from Florence, Alabama, on Friday.

“Investigators received information from inmates at the Lauderdale County Detention Center over the weekend that there was a special relationship between Director White and inmate Casey White,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said in a statement Tuesday. “That relationship has now been confirmed through our investigation by independent sources and means.”

Vicki White “participated” in the escape with Casey White, Singleton said Monday, adding, “Whether she did that willingly or she was coerced, threatened … not really sure.”

Casey White was charged with two counts of capital murder in September 2020 for the stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, authorities said. He could face the death penalty if convicted, the sheriff said.

On Friday morning, Vicki White allegedly told her colleagues that she was taking Casey White to the Lauderdale County Courthouse for a “mental health evaluation,” though he didn’t have a court appearance scheduled, Singleton said. Vicki White violated policy by escorting Casey White alone, the sheriff said.

Vicki White also allegedly told her colleagues that she was going to seek medical attention after dropping the inmate off at court because she wasn’t feeling well, but Singleton said his office confirmed that no appointment was made.

Vicki White had been talking about retiring for the last few months and turned in her paperwork on Thursday, Singleton told ABC News. Friday — the day the two went missing — was set to be her last day at work, he said.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 reward for information leading to Casey White’s capture and a $5,000 reward for information leading to Vicky White.

Marty Keely, U.S. marshal for the Northern District of Alabama, noted that Casey White may stand out due to his height — he’s 6 feet, 9 inches tall. Anyone who sees them is urged to call 911, Keely said.

Singleton called Vicki White, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, “an exemplary employee.”

“The employees are just devastated,” the sheriff said. “Nobody saw this coming.”

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(MILFORD, Conn.) — Dozens of police officers from multiple states held a rally outside a Connecticut courthouse Tuesday as a white state trooper they contend was charged with manslaughter for doing his job was arraigned in the 2020 killing of a Black 19-year-old alleged carjacker.

Connecticut State Trooper Brian North, 31, appeared at a brief hearing in Superior Court in Milford, but did not enter a plea to a felony manslaughter charge stemming from the fatal shooting of Mubarak Soulemane.

North, who is free on $50,000 bail, did not speak at the hearing and a judge scheduled his next court date for June 2.

Soulemane’s mother, Omo Klusum Mohammed, attended the hearing and later said she and her family would not be intimidated from pursuing justice.

“I feel in my heart they were here to try to intimidate us,” Mohammed said at a post-hearing news conference outside the courthouse. “But there is no officer or any trooper who will intimidate us. We are here to stand for justice, and I’m here to stand for justice for my son, Mubarak Soulemane. And I hope and pray justice will be served and Brian North will go to jail.”

Mohammed vowed to attend every court hearing to ensure North is held accountable for her son’s death.

“We are here today for justice, justice for my son Mubarak Soulemane, who has been massacred by state Trooper Brian North,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed’s attorney, Stanford Rubenstein, added, “Ultimately, this case will be decided on the evidence. And I believe once pictures of the truth, video of what happened, is shown to a jury, they will come to the same conclusion I have: that this was an execution.”

North was arrested last month and charged in Soulemane’s death after the state inspector general released a lengthy report alleging North’s use of deadly force was not justified in the January 2020 shooting of Soulemane.

State Inspector General Robert Devlin Jr.’s investigation found that although Soulemane was allegedly armed with a steak knife, had stolen a Lyft rideshare vehicle and was apparently off his medication for schizophrenia, he was not a threat to North and other officers when he was shot multiple times.

Soulemane was killed when North allegedly fired seven times at him through the closed driver’s side window of a stolen Lyft vehicle after troopers stopped him and pinned him in on Interstate 95 in West Haven following a chase that reached speeds of 100 mph, according to the report.

Devlin’s investigation found that Soulemane was sitting behind the wheel of the car surrounded by troopers and officers from other agencies. He was trapped inside because North’s cruiser was blocking the driver’s side door.

An officer from the West Haven Police Department was bashing in the passenger-side window with a baton and another trooper was poised to deploy a stun gun on Soulemane when North opened fire as Soulemane reached into his pocket and pulled a knife, according to the report.

“Stated briefly, the investigation establishes that, at the time Trooper North fired his weapon, neither he nor any other person was in imminent danger of serious injury or death from a knife attack at the hands of Soulemane,” the inspector general concluded in his report. “Further, any belief that persons were in such danger was not reasonable. I therefore find that North’s use of deadly force was not justified under Connecticut law.”

But several dozen state police officers from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania who rallied in support of North outside the courthouse on Tuesday said they strongly disagree with Devlin’s findings.

Andrew Matthews, executive director of the Connecticut State Police Union, said he and other union members believe North should not have been charged.

“When our troopers are, what we believe, prosecuted for doing their job, we will defend them,” Matthews said at a news conference outside the courthouse prior to North’s hearing. “We will defend their actions when we believe that they are justified in doing and performing their duties to protect the public.”

Matthews said he and other members of the union felt “obligated” to rally around North, adding, “our troopers put their lives on the line every day to protect the public.”

“And when people make split-second decisions that others can review over and over again and form their own judgment of what they did or what they would have done, we have to stand up for our troopers,” Matthews said.

North’s attorney, Jeffrey Ment, declined to comment on the case, but said, “Trooper North appreciated the support of his brother and sister officers from not only Connecticut, but also from surrounding states.”

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(MIAMI) — A 23-year-old man featured in a video that went viral after he groped two flight attendants, punched a third, screamed his parents had $2 million and was duct taped to a seat of a Frontier Airlines flight was sentenced Tuesday to 60 days in jail followed by one year of supervised release.

Max Berry pleaded guilty to three counts of assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction and faced 1.5 years and a $15,000 fine. Berry had been drinking on a Frontier Airlines flight in August from Philadelphia to Miami when he spilled his drink on himself and a flight attendant. Berry went to the bathroom and came out without his shirt.

As flight attendants tried to help him, he groped them.

A fight ensued and Berry was eventually restrained with duct tape. The incident racked up more than 13 million views online.

In court documents, Berry’s attorney said, “Max Berry is a good man who committed a bad act, that was not planned, it was committed in an unsophisticated manner, and it is an aberration.”

According to WPLG, in court Tuesday, Berry apologized, took full responsibility for his actions and explained how he has been remorseful from the very start.

Two of the flight attendants gave victim impact statements about how this experience has affected them. After the hearing, both victims said the 60-day sentence was not enough, but better than nothing.

Before issuing the sentence, the judge said to Maxwell there’s “no delete button” and people can’t think they’re able to go on a plane and do this, adding that flight attendants shouldn’t feel unsafe at their job, WPLG reporter Annaliese Garcia told ABC News.

Court documents show several character witnesses’ statements detailing Berry’s hard work, good grades, leadership and volunteer service in the community.

Documents show he has received substance abuse treatment and therapy for depression and anxiety since the incident.

Berry, who recently graduated from college has struggled to find work.

“Due to the tremendous media attention that this case garnered, Max’s efforts to find a job utilizing his recently obtained college degree in finance economics were futile, as he was constantly being denied positions that he was applying for in the finance world and elsewhere without an explanation,” Berry’s attorney wrote in court documents.

Berry has until Aug. 2 to turn himself in.

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(NEW YORK) — Even though the U.S. successfully negotiated the release of Trevor Reed from a Russian prison, after nearly three years of captivity, the brother of another detained American isn’t sure that his family member will follow suit.

David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, who’s been held by Russian officials since 2019, gave an update on his sibling’s condition to ABC News on Monday.

Paul Whelan spoke with his parents after Reed’s release and said the news was hard for him, according to David Whelan.

“He asked, ‘Why was I left behind?’ And we still don’t really have a good answer for that,” David Whelan told ABC News.

Paul Whelan was discharged from the Marines for bad conduct in 2008 after being convicted of larceny. He later worked as a global security executive for the auto parts supplier BorgWarner.

He was arrested in December 2018 while visiting Moscow for a friend’s wedding and charged with espionage by Russian intelligence officials.

Paul Whelan and American officials have denied the charges.

Paul Whelan, an avid traveler who has Irish, British and Canadian citizenship, visited Russia numerous times in the 2010s, and previously told ABC News he was intrigued by the country’s the language and culture.

In June 2020, Paul Whelan was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison camp. His family has repeatedly called for his release.

Reed was also arrested in Moscow in 2019 after Russian authorities said he struck an officer. Reed and American officials refuted the charges.

Reed’s parents pushed President Joe Biden to bring him back home with a prisoner transfer. Last week, that request was fulfilled.

Reed was exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, a convicted drug trafficker.

Joey and Paula Reed, Trevor Reed’s parents, also advocated for Whelan during their discussions with the president and other officials.

David Whelan said now that Yaroshenko has been released to the Russians, he is concerned there are fewer concessions the U.S. can make.

“I think those sorts of negotiations, they take time, and they’re also very sensitive. It’s not just a matter of who’s involved,” David Whelan said. “It’s not really clear what their next steps are going to be.”

Biden has repeatedly called for Paul Whelan to be released and reiterated his commitment to bringing him back last week after Reed was released.

David Whelan said he hasn’t spoken with Biden recently but did talk with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken over the weekend.

“Hearing President Biden last summer in Geneva say that he wouldn’t walk away from Paul’s case, [and] hearing him this week on Wednesday say that he was still going to be working to bring Paul home to his loved ones, that’s really important for us,” David Whelan said. “That sort of outreach, both in private and in public is huge for us.”

The U.S. has also called on Russia to release WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February, right before the invasion of Ukraine, on drug charges.

David Whelan said he hopes the U.S. can bring back American citizens who are in similar situations.

“Paul is one of dozens and dozens who are arbitrarily detained by sovereign nations around the world. And they’re all very tricky, each one.” he said.

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(NEW YORK) — A special grand jury has been seated in Fulton County, Georgia, as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

For over a year, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating whether Trump and other Republican allies broke the law when they pressured state officials to try to switch the results in his favor.

On Monday, 26 jurors were selected in an Atlanta courthouse out of a pool of approximately 200 candidates — a major step forward in the only publicly known criminal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The selection process took less than two hours.

The special grand jury does not have the ability to return an indictment, and can only make recommendations concerning criminal prosecution — a process that’s expected to take months.

Another grand jury would be needed in order to bring charges.

The move to seat the special grand jury was approved by a group of judges in January, after Willis said it was required because “a significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony.”

Last week, Willis said in an interview with the Atlanta Journal Constitution that “if there’s enough evidence that someone committed a crime … I’m going to bring an indictment. I don’t care who it is.”

Willis officially launched her probe in February 2021, sparked in part by a phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he pleaded with him to “find 11,780 votes,” the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.

Trump has repeatedly defended his phone call to Raffensperger. In a January statement responding to the news that a grand jury would be seated as part of the investigation, he said the call was “perfect.”

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(NEW YORK) — Families of victims of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School have agreed to remove InfoWars as a defendant in their defamation lawsuit, hoping to end what they’ve called the “charade” of InfoWars’ bankruptcy filing.

The families accused InfoWars of “intolerable abuse” through bankruptcy, which the website sought after it and founder Alex Jones were found liable for damages after claiming the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting that killed 20 children and six staff members was a hoax.

When an entity files for bankruptcy protection, it automatically suspends all litigation pending against that entity.

“These cases were removed to this Court to serve one purpose and one purpose only: delay,” the families said in new court documents filed in Connecticut on Monday.

“Every day that these cases are frozen on the Connecticut Superior Court docket is a day that Alex Jones avoids accountability and delays trial,” the document states. “Every day they are removed harms these families’ fight for justice.”

Last month, Jones was fined $25,000 for declining to sit for a deposition for the lawsuit. The Connecticut court ultimately ordered the return of $75,000 in fines after Jones attended a rescheduled deposition later in the month.

Jones is facing a new lawsuit in Texas over accusations that the Infowars host hid millions of dollars in assets after the litigation in the Sandy Hook case began.

Jones himself did not file for bankruptcy, and it’s believed he retains the bulk of the assets that could be used to pay the families’ damage awards. The families called InfoWars and its offshoots “shell companies” that offered nothing.

“To ensure that this intolerable abuse of the removal process ends immediately, all of the plaintiffs in these case … voluntarily dismissed all of their claims against Infowars,” the filing said.

Neither Jones nor his attorneys immediately responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

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(NEW YORK) — Police in New York City are investigating the shooting death of a Chinese food delivery worker, who was shot in the chest on Saturday while riding his scooter in the neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens.

Zhiwen Yan, 45, worked at a Chinese restaurant in Queens called The Great Wall for more than a decade and had three jobs to support his family, ABC’s New York station WABC reported.

Yan’s wife, Kunying Zhao, spoke out in an emotional interview with WABC over the weekend and urged police to find her husband’s killer.

America has a gun violence problem. What do we do about it?
“Somebody, somebody killed my husband, catch him, catch him,” she said as she broke down in tears. The couple have a young daughter.

Upon arriving on the scene, police found Yan unconscious and unresponsive, and he was transported by an Emergency Medical Services vehicle to the NYC Health + Hospitals in Elmhurst, where he was pronounced dead.

The motive for the shooting is unclear, and no arrests have been made, police told ABC News.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said his office is in touch with the NYPD to ensure that Yan’s family gets justice.

“No family deserves to experience the grief that Zhiwen Yan’s family is feeling this morning. Our thoughts are with them and everyone in [Forest Hills] who loved him,” he tweeted Monday.

New York City Council Member Julie Won also shared a message about Yan’s death and expressed support for his family.

“Delivery workers should not be seen as faceless or expendable, but deserving of life – long, full, happy life,” Won wrote in a series of tweets on Monday. “Delivery workers sit at the center of failed immigration, labor, transportation, and public safety systems that force a father like Yan Zhiwen to work 7 days a week, put his body and life on the line, and still live paycheck to paycheck.”

Mourning the loss of Yan Zhiwen who was shot last night. Delivery workers should not be seen as faceless or expendable, but deserving of life – long, full, happy life. (1/2)

— Council Member Julie Won (@CMJulieWon) May 1, 2022

Yan’s death comes amid a spate of attacks targeting Asian Americans in New York City and across the nation.

Asked if Yan’s killing was targeted, a spokesperson told ABC News on Monday that the investigation is ongoing.

The shooting also comes as New York City Mayor Eric Adams grapples with a surge in violent crime — an issue that the new mayor highlighted in his first state of the city address on April 26.

Adams also met with top NYPD brass on Saturday to discuss strategies to crackdown on the rise in major crime.

Major crime in NYC is up 41.60% this year through the week of May 1, compared to the same time last year, and so far, shootings this year through the week of May are up 4% from the same time last year and up 85% from 2020, according to NYPD statistics.

Adams rolled out the “Blueprint to End Gun Violence” — a plan that lays out policy proposals to address the crisis — in January.

Asked about the rise in major crime, Adams told ABC News Live’s “GMA3” on April 25 that addressing the problem is “my responsibility.”

“I believe, as I stated, public safety and justice, they are the prerequisite to prosperity. And I’m the mayor of the City of New York. I must have a safe city in order to turn around our economy and to make people feel safe about their city,” Adams told ABC News anchor T.J. Holmes. “But we do need help. I say this over and over again. There are many rivers that feed the sea of violence.”

Adams told WABC in February that part of his plan to tackle gun violence is cracking down on “illegal gun dealers that are flowing into our cities.” He also announced a new anti-gun unit through officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

President Joe Biden visited New York City in February, where he met with Adams and pledged federal support to target gun traffickers and crack down on ghost guns.

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(WASHINGTON) — A jury on Monday found former New York City police officer Thomas Webster guilty on six charges, including assaulting a police officer, in the first federal assault case stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Webster’s trial marks the fourth time a jury has heard a Jan. 6 defendant’s case, with all four cases resulting in convictions on all charges.

Webster was found guilty of assaulting D.C. Metro Police Officer Noah Rathbun, who testified at the trial — as did Webster himself, who often spoke directly to the jury and called Rathbun as a “rogue cop.”

According to testimony and video of the riot, Webster pushed through a crowd toward bike racks that were acting as a police perimeter. Clad in a bulletproof vest and waving a Marine Corps flag, he arrived at the front of the crowd, yelling “commie mother——-” at the officers, before zeroing in on Rathbun and yelling. “take your s— off!”

“That’s what people say when they want to fight,” Rathbun said during his three-hour testimony. “It’s very common.”

Webster swung a metal flagpole in a downward motion twice before breaking apart the bike racks. As Rathbun backed away, Webster ran toward him and tackled him, then pulled at his gas mask. Rathbun began to choke on his chin strap as Webster pulled at the mask, Rathbun testified.

Video shows that Rathbun hit Webster’s face while trying to push him away, which became a cornerstone of Webster’s defense. Webster, who claimed that Rathbun had provoked the fight, said that he pulled at Rathbun’s mask as a form of self-defense.

“I felt like I was the cop and he was the protester,” Webster said on the stand.

U.S. attorneys said that Webster clearly should have known he was not allowed on Capitol grounds, pointing to the snow fencing, the bike racks that formed a police barrier, and the Metro Police’s riot gear, flash bangs and tear gas. He also should have known, they said, through his 20 years as a New York City police officer.

“Thomas Webster and Officer Rathbun both swore oaths to protect the country. But only one of them actually fulfilled that oath on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol,” a U.S. attorney said. “And that was Officer Rathbun.”

The defense said they wanted the jury to see the “whole truth.”

“When are acts of police misconduct acceptable?” defense attorney James Monroe said. Referring to the flagpole, Monroe said, “Sometimes, a flagpole is all it is. It’s all it was.”

Webster was convicted of assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer using a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; engaging in physical violence in restricted grounds with a dangerous weapon; and engaging in an act of physical violence on Capitol grounds.

Sentencing is set for September 2. Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Webster does not have to be held in custody prior to sentencing.

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(FLORENCE, Ala.) — A manhunt is intensifying in Florence, Alabama, for an escaped murder suspect and a corrections officer who have been missing for days.

A warrant has been issued for Lauderdale County assistant director of corrections Vicki White on charges of committing or facilitating an escape, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said at a news conference Monday.

Vicki White “participated” in the escape with inmate Casey White, the sheriff said, adding, “Whether she did that willingly or she was coerced, threatened … not really sure.”

The employee and inmate — who went missing on Friday — are not related.

The sheriff said law enforcement have no idea where they are, but promised, “They will be brought back to justice.”

On Friday morning, Vicki White allegedly told her colleagues that she was taking 38-year-old Casey White to the Lauderdale County Courthouse for a “mental health evaluation,” though no court appearance was scheduled for the inmate, Singleton said. Vicki White violated sheriff’s office policy by escorting Casey White alone, the sheriff said.

Vicki White also allegedly told her colleagues that she was going to seek medical attention after dropping the inmate off at court because she wasn’t feeling well, but Singleton said his office confirmed that no medical appointment was made.

Vicki White had been talking about retiring for the last few months and turned in her paperwork on Thursday, Singleton told ABC News. Friday — the day the two went missing — was set to be her last day at work, he said.

Authorities are reviewing video to see if she spent an extraordinary amount of time at his cell. She had several opportunities each day to be in contact with any inmate, the sheriff said.

Singleton called Vicki White, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, “an exemplary employee.”

“The employees are just devastated,” the sheriff said. “Nobody saw this coming.”

Casey White is charged with two counts of capital murder in September 2020 for the stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, authorities said. He could face the death penalty if convicted, the sheriff said.

Casey White previously planned an escape from the Lauderdale County Detention Center in the fall of 2020, but officials thwarted the plot before he could attempt it, Singleton said. When officials got word of the plot, they found a homemade knife in his possession and learned that he was planning to take a hostage, the sheriff said. Casey White was subsequently transferred to a state prison, where he remained until early this year, when he returned to the Lauderdale County facility for court appearances related to the murder charge, the sheriff said.

Marty Keely, U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Alabama, called this a “major case for the United States Marshal Service.”

Casey White is 6 feet 9 inches tall. Anyone who sees them is urged to call 911, Keely said.

The U.S. Marshals Service is offering up to $10,000 reward for information leading to their capture, Keely said.

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(PARKLAND, Fla.) — Jury selection in the death penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is set to resume on Monday after dissolving into disarray last week when the presiding judge admitted she erroneously dismissed prospective jurors and other would-be panelists were cut loose for threatening the defendant.

The 23-year-old Cruz has pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder stemming from the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The Broward County Circuit Court jury being picked for the case will eventually recommend if Cruz, 23, should be sentenced to death or be sent to prison for the rest of his life without the possibility of parole.

Presiding Judge Elizabeth Scherer admitted last week that she made an error on April 5, the second day of jury selection, when she asked would-be jurors if they could follow the law if picked to serve on the case and then dismissed 11 who said they could not.

Scherer acknowledged that she should have allowed attorneys for the defense and prosecution to question the prospective candidates about their answers before dismissing them. She initially ruled that she was starting jury selection over, but then reversed her decision after hearing an argument from the defense.

Scherer’s mistake prompted defense attorneys to file a motion accusing the court of committing double jeopardy and asking that the death penalty phase of the case be declared a mistrial and that Cruz be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In an attempt to remedy her error, Scherer is summoning back to court on Monday the 11 jurors she dismissed to be questioned and possibly be rehabilitated and added to a pool of more than 300 candidates.

For the initial phase of jury selection, questions should have been limited to whether the potential jurors had a hardship that prevented them from serving on the case, which is expected to last four to six months. More probing questions like the one the judge asked should have been reserved for the voir dire phase of jury selection, when prosecutors and defense attorneys are given the chance to grill jury candidates on their answers.

Twenty jurors, including eight alternates, will eventually be chosen to serve on the panel.

The jury selection process hit another snag last week when a potential juror disrupted the proceedings when he entered the courtroom and allegedly mouthed expletives and threats to Cruz, who was seated at the defense table. The outburst apparently inspired other would-be jurors in the courtroom to make similar threats to Cruz and prompted bailiffs to press Cruz against a wall to protect him.

Scherer described that particular group of jury candidates as “belligerent” and dismissed them all.

Cruz pleaded guilty in October to committing the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at the Parkland high school. During the hearing attended by loved ones of the 17 he killed, Cruz said he wished it was up to the survivors of the shooting to determine whether he lived or died.

“I’m very sorry for what I did,” Cruz said at his plea hearing. “I can’t live with myself sometimes.”

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