A 13-year-old kidnapping victim was rescued in Southern California after making a “Help Me!” sign to alert passersby, which then led to the arrest of a Texas man.

-


Steven Robert Sablan, 61, is now facing federal kidnapping charges for the incident in which he is alleged to have pulled a gun on the girl as she walked along a sidewalk in San Antonio, Texas, earlier this month. “If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you,” Sablan told the victim, according to court documents. Once inside the car, Sablan is alleged to have repeatedly sexually assaulted the girl as he drove her from Texas to California, as outlined in the affidavit. Sablan was indicted by a grand jury this week on one count of kidnapping and one count of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges later this month, the US Department of Justice announced on Thursday. CNN is seeking comment from Sablan’s legal representation. Police said that while Sablan went into a laundromat in Long Beach, California, on July 9 the girl flashed her “Help Me!” sign from inside the suspect’s parked vehicle, prompting a good Samaritan to call 911. Long Beach Police officers said the girl was “visibly emotional and distressed” upon their arrival. After running the vehicle’s license plate, officers learned that Sablan was wanted on a burglary charge in Fort Worth, Texas, and considered armed and dangerous, according to the affidavit, which also notes Sablan’s prior convictions for robbery and drug possession. A black handgun, later determined to be a BB gun, a switchblade, and handcuffs, were found in Sablan’s vehicle, according to the federal affidavit. If convicted on both charges, Sablan could face a sentence of up to life in prison.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TSX Futures Hold Steady as Index Faces Worst Week Since September 2023

-
Image
Market Stabilization Amid Weekly Volatility The S&P / Reuters  TSX Composite Index futures remained steady today, offering a glimmer of stability after a tumultuous week that has positioned the Canadian benchmark for its most significant weekly decline in nearly 18 months. By 10:48 a.m. ET, the index appeared to hover around 24,550.00, a slight rebound from an earlier futures dip of 1% reported at 6:25 a.m. ET, which had suggested an opening near 24,338.20. This leveling off follows Thursday’s close at 24,584.04, after a 286.78-point drop, representing a 1.2% decrease. If losses persist, the index is on track for a 3.2% weekly plunge, the steepest since September 2023, driven by a mix of trade uncertainties, economic data releases, and shifting commodity prices. Investors seeking insights into TSX index performance trends will find this week’s roller coaster particularly telling, as it reflects broader economic currents impacting Canada’s primary stock market. The week’s volati...
Read more »

Global Stocks Crash as China Retaliates in Escalating Trade War

-
Image
Urgent Market Turmoil Signals Recession Fears Global stock markets plummeted as China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% on US goods, intensifying the US-China trade war and sparking widespread investor panic. This dramatic escalation, coupled with Beijing's export controls on rare earths and the addition of 11 US entities to its "unreliable entity" list, has driven the biggest market losses since the pandemic, raising urgent concerns about a looming global recession. The Nasdaq Composite officially entered a bear market, dropping from its record high of 20,173.89 on December 16, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average confirmed a correction from its peak of 45,014.04 on December 4. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 9.08%, the Nasdaq declined 10.02%, the Dow dropped 7.86%, and the Russell 2000 Small Cap Index sank 9.70%. Investment bank J.P. Morgan now estimates a 60% chance of a global economic recession by year-end, up from 40%, as fears of a prolonged "tit f...
Read more »

Microsoft Outlook and 365 Services Face Brief Global Outage, Swiftly Restored

-
Image
Service Disruption Resolved in Just 30 Minutes Microsoft Outlook and its 365 subscription services encountered a sudden global outage, impacting millions of users worldwide, before being resolved in approximately 30 minutes. This unexpected disruption affected key tools like Outlook, an email management platform, and Microsoft 365, a comprehensive suite featuring office applications and cloud-based solutions. According to internet monitoring platform Downdetector, reports of Microsoft Outlook service disruptions spiked sharply, with over 35,000 cases logged in the United States alone during the peak of the issue. Shortly after, Microsoft 365 subscription service outages followed, amassing around 25,000 complaints from frustrated users struggling with login failures and connectivity issues. The ripple effect extended beyond these core services, briefly touching Microsoft Teams, a widely used collaboration tool, and the Microsoft Store, the company’s app marketplace, amplifying the incon...
Read more »