Alex Brizee
strong headed since '97 • covering the criminal justice system for the idaho statesman• go vandals • stop using mugshots • 208 703 8818
- “They took a dad:” Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement took a parent into custody Friday morning after he dropped off his child, according to the school’s owner and another child’s parent. 🔓
- might be the best news of the year
- Reposted by Alex BrizeeNewspaper conglomerate McClatchy—the hedge fund-owned publisher that owns local outlets across the country—wants to *aggressively* implement A.I. into its newsrooms, w/proposals that have stunned the union. @nataliekorach.bsky.social has the scoop in @status.news: www.status.news/p/mcclatchy-...
- Reposted by Alex BrizeeReporters can do what AI can’t. But McClatchy Media refuses to agree to ethical guidelines on its AI usage. With your support, we can ensure your local news is done by local reporters like these. @idwanewsguilds.bsky.social @idahonewsguild.bsky.social
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex BrizeeSix months into negotiations, McClatchy Media is continuing to push back against common sense limits on AI in news. If we don't ensure AI ethics are put in place now, it will soon be too late. If reporters don't fight for transparency for our readers, no one will.
- A 5th person has been charged after nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies descended on a local horse track Sunday. Officers arrested 4 people as part of an investigation into illegal betting, but hundreds of others — including children — were detained & questioned about their immigration status.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- A former sheriff’s deputy was convicted of two misdemeanors after he kissed and groped a woman incarcerated at the Payette County Jail earlier this year. Now, he could be sued.
- Jordan Law, accused of killing his ex-girlfriend who disappeared in 2019, pleaded guilty to manslaughter this month through a plea deal. Without Rae Berwanger’s body, it would have been difficult for the prosecution to prove murder, and the deal guarantees the 48-year-old will face prison time.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Bendawald was found NOT GUILTY on all five of the felony counts against him. Story here:
- Breaking: Jurors in ex-Caldwell Police Sgt. Ryan Bendawald's criminal case have reached a verdict roughly two hours after beginning deliberations. We'll be able to get into the courtroom shortly.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex BrizeeLet’s get clickbait out of local news. Learn about how our regional reporters are fighting against story quotas at McClatchy Media. 🧵 Check out our video below to see local stories that took time and effort — the way our readers deserve. 👇
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Authorities identified the 38-year-old Idaho prisoner who was killed Wednesday in a private prison in Arizona.
- Shortly after Mountain Home police arrested him, the 51-year-old father accused of killing his teenage daughter admitted to the crime. The 18-year-old's mother said she couldn’t understand why this happened and wondered how long he'd planned it. “She was just a kid,” her mother said.
- An Idaho prisoner died after an assault at a private prison hundreds of miles away, where several other states' correctional systems house people because of overcrowding. He was being housed at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona, which has been plagued by complaints for years.
- An Idaho father has been accused of killing his teenage daughter, who the Coroner's Office identified as Hope Cornish. But to her family & friends, she was known as Onyx: a strong-headed young woman who loved music — particularly heavy metal — & was outspoken about her distaste for the president.
- On Nov. 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students — Xana, Ethan, Kaylee and Maddie — were murdered in what law enforcement called a “true whodunit.” But a left-behind leather knife sheath would become the key to solving the case. Kevin Fixler and I break down the weeks-long investigation.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- just because we can request things as reporters, doesn't mean we should. good ethics is knowing the difference.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Kip Crofts, the former head football coach at Caldwell High, was arrested again for a no contact order violation — 2 months after he was charged with sexual abuse of a minor. His attorney argued he was “unlawfully charged.” Myself & Rachel Roberts report:
- NEW: An ex-@boisestate.bsky.social football wide receiver was kicked off the team after he was arrested earlier this year. Now, he’s facing another criminal charge.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Despite handling other high-profile murder cases, the monthslong trial of Bryan Kohberger would have been a "substantial lift" for Ada County Courthouse. “This one had its own issues that would have been much harder for everyone involved." Here's what to expect Wednesday:
- NEW: President Donald Trump on Monday, days before Bryan Kohberger is scheduled to be sentenced, weighed in on the plea deal that allowed the 30-year-old to avoid the death penalty for killing four University of Idaho students in Moscow..
- NEW: It's been over a year since nearly 90 men incarcerated at the state's highest-security prison participated in a six-day-long hunger strike. Today, they're refusing their meals again.
- NEW: Boise’s police union is going back to the negotiating table — at least according to them. The union announced Thursday that the city had agreed to continue negotiations. But Friday morning, the city said that’s not the case. What we know:
- NEW: Authorities have identified the four people killed in a quadruple homicide east of Twin Falls — including a couple who were remembered by their only daughter as “exceptional parents” and “devoted grandparents.”
- NEW: Jacob Miller will spend at least the next 22 years in prison after he drove drunk through a crosswalk in downtown Boise and severely injured two pedestrians. “They will forever live with the scars left from his criminal conduct."
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- NEW: Bryan Kohberger admitted in court that he killed 4 U of I students in 2022, finally bringing some closure to the 2 ½-year case that brought national attention to the grieving college town. “Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” Judge Hippler asked Kohberger. “Yes,” he replied.
- Not sure what a plea hearing entails? I break down what we can *likely* expect at Bryan Kohberger’s Wednesday hearing.
- Judge Hippler wrote that Kohberger's Wednesday hearing is regarding a "change of plea," according to an order allowing an @apnews.com photographer into the courtroom. This is the 1st public confirmation by the court system & corroborates information sent to the victims' families on Monday.
- Maddie Mogen's father and his family issued a statement supporting the plea deal in Bryan Kohberger's case and thanked the prosecution for their dedication. Her family also asked the public to do an act of kindness this week so "a glimmer of Maddie's light may live on."
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- as idaho is once again in the national news sharing a standard i try to live by as a crime reporter
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- NEW: Bryan Kohberger has accepted a plea deal, according to a letter sent to one of the victims' families. “This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family," read the letter, signed by Prosecutor Bill Thompson.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Today, Caldwell Deputy Chief Brad Trosky Johnson was honored at the Idaho Fallen Firefighter Memorial Park in Boise after he died in 2022. "We lost 2 brothers," his son said, regarding the shooting in CDA. "We know we'll be adding their names to this list behind me, as well as my father's."
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- pretty much sums up this week
- When the Boise City Council approved a labor contract for the police department, one council member described it as an “olive branch" to the union. But the city's police union isn't in agreement. Here's what we know:
- Weeks after Akrian Evans was killed, investigators zeroed in on a person of interest — dubbed the “Pallet Guy” — & released a sketch of a man police believed was seen at the 26-year-old's home before his death. Despite leads, no one was arrested for more than a decade. Then Mark Neal was arrested.
- Despite a violent & well-documented disciplinary history dating back years, IDOC housed James Johnson with Milo Warnock — a non-violent offender serving time for drunk driving — in September 2023. Three months later, a guard found Warnock severely beaten in his cell. An hour later, he was dead.
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Update: After a five-minute hearing Wednesday, 4th District Magistrate Judge Adam Kimball ruled there was “clear and convincing evidence” that Scott Stevens’ mental condition presents a “substantial risk of physical harm to other persons,” and that he needs treatment in a maximum security setting.
- It all came down to choices. For Isaac Bernal’s family, the choices that Olivia Hernandez Olivo made — like bringing her armed husband to a party — left them with a “lifetime of heartbreak.” “It was a choice — it was Olivia’s choice. She didn’t pull the trigger, but she helped make it happen.”
- Health & Welfare has tried for months to find a Boise man competent to stand trial for his 1st-degree murder charge. Instead, the 35-year-old could now go to prison without a conviction. And, it's all because of a law that houses people with severe mental illness at the maximum-security prison.
- On New Year’s Day, the Payette Police Department arrested a man over allegations that he brought a pipe bomb onto a train car, prompting the involvement of the FBI. Months later, the criminal case against the Payette man ended without any charges related to the explosive. Here's what happened:
- t/w graphic: Newly unsealed court records detailing the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation into an Idaho pastor accused of sex crimes allege that he used his role to victimize members of his congregation. The 43-page document was unsealed Monday. Here's what authorities found:
- Days after a Challis man went missing in a remote part of Idaho, the search for him was called off. That’s because it became a homicide investigation. Deputies arrested Alan Bruce after he admitted to law enforcement that he shot & killed Patrick Shelton. He then dismembered & burned his body.
- ✨ APPLY ✨ APPLY ✨ APPLY ✨
- ICYMI: For months, only basic details of the interactions that led deputies to shoot a 25-year-old have been publicized. Now using interviews, reports & footage, the Idaho Statesman provided a clearer image of the events that led 4 bullets to ricochet into a busy water park. Rose Evans & I report:
- Reposted by Alex Brizee[Not loaded yet]
- Two years ago, then-Meridian Police Officer Donald Heida punched Colt Seward half a dozen times in the face and head during a DUI arrest, fracturing his eye socket. Now he's suing, alleging the force was “unnecessary, unreasonable, and excessive.”
- The mother of a Boise man who was shot & killed by deputies has filed a lawsuit against several agencies, including the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, alleging that there was a “repeated, systematic failure” to confine her son on a mental health hold.
