Hello, CivMixers. Another week, another Tuesday. The weather today was insane. Driving up route 50, I hit sun, rain, and snow…so yeah.
Let’s move onto our five things.
1) Yesterday, Matthew Piercey, 44, was arrested by FBI agents in Northern California. Piercey has been indicted on 31 counts of felony mail and wire fraud, money laundering, and witness tampering.
As agents tried to arrest him in Redding, north of Sacramento, he fled in a car, eventually getting onto Interstate 4 and heading north. At Lake Shasta, agents say that Piercey exited his truck, pulled an object out of it and then dove into the cold lake.
US Prosecutor Christopher Hales wrote the aforementioned details in a letter requesting that Piercey be denied bail. He says that there were bubbles seen as Piercey remained under the water for approximately 25 minutes. About an hour after their initial contact, Piercey was taken into custody.
The underwater escape attempt was made possible by an underwater scooter – to be specific, the Yamaha 350LI Seascooter, which sells for around $1,200. According to paramedics, Piercey was wet but unharmed. His wife brought dry clothes to the scene, and he was allowed to change before being taken into custody.
Today he was scheduled to appear in federal court in Sacramento, CA. As of now, the state of his legal representation is unclear.
2) This year’s presidential election saw record-breaking turnout, despite the ongoing pandemic. Many election officials are now speaking out as President Donald Trump continues to insist – without offering any evidence – that the results were fraudulent.
According to Jennifer Edwards, supervisor of elections in Collier County, Florida, not only are many election officials confused, but they are also offended because they worked incredibly hard to ensure all residents had access to “free and fair elections” and to follow the laws that govern their respective localities.
Similarly, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said Trump’s accusations are an insult to those running the election polling places and all election officials. Election officials on both sides of the political aisle have confirmed a clean, fair and legal election.
So far, these claims have been confirmed in 46 states and Washington, DC. The four countries that have not spoken out are located in Indiana, Montana, New York, and Texas.
3) The Binghamton Police Department was called to a party Friday night, where officers found a private party raging, with approximately 100 people in attendance.
Binghamton has issued a social host ordinance to help comply with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on gatherings – both public and private – of more than 10 people. The host of the party became the first person in the Southern Tier to be arrested under this new statute. On top of that, alcohol and marijuana were observed, and some attendees present were under 21 years of age.
According to Mayor Rich David, this law is intended to help re-enforce Cuomo’s effort to crack down on clusters and spikes of the COVID-19 virus.
4) According to Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino, back on November 9 at around 9:30 p.m., a person was picked up in need of medical attention near Albany Street and Veeder Avenue. He was treated for a collapsed lung, fractured clavicle, and rib fractures.
The victim stated he had received these injuries while in the custody of the Schenectady County Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Daostino confirms that after an investigation, Eugene J.N. Selliie, 28, was terminated for using excessive force on a detainee.
Timothy Bruce was also terminated for violating department policies regarding detainees.
5) Sixty new positive COVID cases were reported by Albany County between today and Monday. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy stated that there are now 661 active cases across the county.
According to contact tracers, one of these new cases came from UAlbany, and there is no exact source for 37 of them. Forty people are hospitalized right now, and ten of those are in ICU.
Please take heed, realize COVID is still here and spreading. Wash your hands, wear a mask, social distance, and use hand sanitizer if you can’t readily access soap and water.
Stay steady, stay healthy, stay safe.
Stay woke.
