Suspect accused of killing Sikh family in US pleads not guilty
San Francisco (PTI): The main suspect who kidnapped and killed four members of an Indian-origin Sikh family, including a baby girl, in California has entered a not guilty plea in court, authorities said.
The Sikh family of four, 8-month-old Aroohi Dheri, her 27-year-old mother Jasleen Kaur, her 36-year-old father Jasdeep Singh, and her 39-year-old uncle Amandeep Singh were kidnapped at gunpoint and killed allegedly by Jesus Salgado, a former disgruntled employee of their trucking company.
Salgado entered a not guilty plea in court on Thursday, Merced County Chief Deputy District Attorney Matthew Serratto was quoted as saying by CNN.
Salgado, who was arrested on October 6, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances for the death of the Indian-origin family. He is also charged with arson and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Salgado was in court four days prior on Monday, but his arraignment was continued after he told the judge he needed more time to find an attorney.
On Thursday, he told the judge he still did not find an attorney, so he was appointed a public defender.
Prosecutors also added a special allegation of kidnapping to the charges, alleging that Salgado forcefully took the family from their trucking business.
Authorities have said Salgado, who is a former employee of the family's business, kidnapped the four from their central California business last Monday and killed them that day. The family was kidnapped at gunpoint an abduction which was recorded on surveillance video.
Police took Salgado into custody last week after his family told authorities he admitted to being involved in the kidnapping, Merced County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Alexandra Britton said.
Salgado, 48, is being held on USD 450,000 bail, according to county inmate records. His attorney could not be reached for comment. A status hearing in the case is set for December 15.
He appeared in Merced County Superior court on Thursday morning wearing shackles and a safety garment.
It's the first time their family members have seen Salgado in person since their bodies were found in an orchard near last Wednesday.
Just hours after Jesus Salgado's hearing, his brother, Alberto, 41, also appeared in court for the first time, KFSN TV reported.
He is now charged with criminal conspiracy, accessory and arson. The report added that he was smiling when he first appeared on video and made comments the victims' family felt were disrespectful.
Meanwhile, a large group of the victims' loved ones gathered at the courthouse for the second time this week in a show of solidarity. They are now planning a funeral during the weekend while grieving an unimaginable loss, the report added.
The family, originally from Harsi Pind in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, was kidnapped at a business in Merced County, California.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
