Montgomery County passes immigrant protection bills; police body camera video shows gun arrest

First to ten, guilty on all counts, a Prince William County jury convicting Naresh Bhatt of the murder of his wife, Mamta Koffel. That verdict comes more than two years after she first went missing, and we've covered the case from the start, and we brought you the verdict live tonight. Our Kenneth Moten starts our coverage tonight. He's live in the newsroom with more on that jury's decision. Jim, Angie, a weak defense from Naresh Bhatt. The verdict, not a surprise, was still dramatic in that courtroom late today. It took the jury just four hours to deliver his fate. After six weeks listening to some gruesome details about the murder of Mamta Koffel, Naresh Bhatt was found guilty of these three charges. First-degree murder, concealing a dead body, and defiling a dead body. Bhatt himself even took the stand and admitted to cutting his wife's body with a saw and dumping her in the trash. He claimed she died by suicide, and he panicked and got rid of the body out of fear he would be blamed. Ultimately, The jury did not buy it. Mamta Koffel was a 28-year-old mother and nurse. Her disappearance captured the attention of Northern Virginia and beyond. Tonight, her family, friends, and supporters cheered as that verdict came down. We were not surprised. For those who were close to the family and for those who had so many proofs already, we were not surprised that he dismembered Mamta and we were certain and sure that he killed Mamta. And today, nobody can undo that, how cruelly he stole Mamta from all of us, from this world, but at least now we are happy that the justice has been served. Maybe I could sleep better tonight. We can all sleep better tonight. Yes, what a peace in my heart. The Commonwealth's attorney there in Prince William County calling this case a powerful reminder that the absence of a victim's body doesn't mean the absence of justice. Bhatt is facing life in prison. He will be sentenced on March 12th. Jim. Kenneth, thank you. And just in tonight, a shooting in Prince George's County leads to a police chase and crash in the district. This went down around 6.30 tonight when a man was found shot along Audrey Lane in Oxon Hill. Prince George's County police say their officers tried to stop a car believed to be connected to the shooting, but the driver took off. During the chase, the car struck a Metro bus along 30th Street Southeast. Two people were taken into custody. The man's shot is in stable condition. No injuries reported from that crash. Now for some of the other top stories that we are following right now. A Secret Service officer undergoing emergency surgery today after being struck while riding his motorcycle in the district. Chase Latrick was struck by a driver of an SUV just after 6 in the morning near the National Zoo. A source tells Fox 5 that he suffered severe head injuries, multiple broken bones, and may be permanently blind. The driver of the SUV did stay on the scene. We have new video tonight to the suspect in the deadly shooting of a teenager in Southeast. 17-year-old Joshua Carter was shot along Minnesota Avenue last month. He later died at the hospital. There's now a $25,000 reward leading for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Bystanders stepping in to stop a knife attack in Crystal City last night. Arlington police say that 48-year-old David Lamont Bates tried to stab one man and slash two others before witnesses tackled and held him down until officers arrived. Bates faces multiple charges of malicious wounding. Both victims did go to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. ICE plans to deport a University of Maryland freshman and her mother. They were detained after showing up for a scheduled immigration check-in in Baltimore. Fox 5's Regina Ureta is live in College Park with the very latest on this case. Regina? Yeah, guys, Maria Jose Flores Garcia is a freshman at the University of Maryland. Last week, her and her mother were detained by ICE. Now, her boyfriend tells Fox 5 that they were heading into an immigration check-in in Baltimore last week, thinking that they were following the process. Instead, they were taken into custody by ICE. Obviously, people come into this country with hopes and opportunities that they might not have in their countries. And I'm just trying to say that, like, obviously, she had fulfilled the best to her power, the opportunity that she was given. And it'd be very sad for her, for all of her hard work and her time to just be put to waste. Garcia is an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador. Her boyfriend says she is a young woman with a bright future. She has a college scholarship and is studying public health. We also talked to her former high school teacher on the phone. He shared how just a few months ago she was valedictorian, sharing with her graduating class how difficult it was to migrate to the U.S. from El Salvador at the age of nine. He also says it's been frustrating to see comments with little compassion to their situation. The Department of Homeland Security entered the U.S. illegally. In 2016, she was arrested in Texas and released by the Obama administration. In a written statement, the department says in 2021, she received due process and was issued a final order or removal by an immigration judge. She will remain in ICE custody pending her removal from the United States. And tonight, Democratic U.S. Senator Senator of Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, writing. Detaining Maria Flores Garcia, a former high school valedictorian and current student at the University of Maryland, puts a clear lie to ICE's claim that they're going after the worst of the worst. They're not. They're going after whoever they please, and it's clear they're not making our communities any safer. And meanwhile, the University of Maryland says they are aware of the situation. They say that they've been trying to contact their loved ones to connect them with local officials. We also reached out to Garcia's immigration attorney, but at this time they have no further details to discuss on their case. Jim and Angie. Virginia, you're ready for us tonight. Fox 5 in Montgomery County. County Council passing two bills unanimously aimed at strengthening protection for immigrant residents. The first bars the county from hiring recent ICE and Border Patrol employees into public-facing roles. The second updates local fair housing laws outlawing discrimination based on citizenship status and allowing renters to terminate leases early if a household member is detained or deported. Both bills now head to outgoing County Executive Mark Elrich's desk for his signature. OK, it's another nice day out and it looks like we've cooled down quite a bit already in the 50s, but hopefully we'll have another mild day ahead of us. I like the stretch. Here's Mike Thomas. Yeah, Veterans Day holiday tomorrow and it probably is going to be a lot like today for much of it. I think tomorrow evening we do start pulling in more cloud cover, but clear night out there and temperatures tomorrow morning should be a lot like they were this morning. Maybe a few degrees warmer, but dullest. 30s this morning, 37. Baltimore, you too, at 38. 42, Reagan National Airport. High temperatures this afternoon, pleasant, 67 D.C. Dulles did hit 70. Baltimore, 68. Average high, 60 this time of year. So 7 degrees above normal in D.C. this afternoon, as Angie mentioned. We are cooling things down, 55 right now at Reagan National Airport. Dulles at 51. BWI, Thurgood Marshall, 51 degrees as well. Not much happening on satellite radar. Hasn't been much all day. Closest showers up in New York and interior portions of New England. Happy Veterans Day. And, of course, we're saluting all our veterans here at Fox 5 like we always do. But enjoy the afternoon. Tomorrow should be plenty of sunshine. Chilly starts. Temps upper 60s tomorrow afternoon. We'll talk about a big end-of-the-week cool-down coming up in just a few minutes. Guys? Do you have a concealed carry with you? I'm not going to answer any questions. Okay. Run the firearm. You understand you're required to present your concealed carry. It's not a legal firearm. I'm not asking about the firearm. I'm asking about a concealed carry. Okay, cool. Our first look at new body camera video of Fairfax County Police making arrest after an investigation into a local shootout. Several people were arrested. Seven guns were taken off the streets. Fairfax County investigators say that license plate readers are the big reason why Fox 5's Josh Rosenthal live in Fairfax tonight with more on this case and also the controversial technology we've reported so much about. Josh? Yeah, guys, all over the country, you've got communities choosing to get rid of these license plate readers. Here, police say they are essential for keeping their community safe. The license plate readers in this case got us to the exact vehicles that were involved in the crime and they got us there quickly. We would have been able to solve the crime without the license plate readers, but it would have taken a lot longer to solve the crime. And with that, we possibly I possibly could have lost evidence. Here's the deal. Police say they recovered seven guns and charged five people after an incident in the 7900 block of Jana Lee Avenue in High Bluff Valley a little before 5 p.m. on November 4th. They tell us there were shots fired between people who had just hopped out of two vehicles before speeding away. Thankfully, there were no injuries, but officers say they did find 24 cartridge casings as well as bullet holes in a vehicle. and street signs. Investigators say they then used automated license plate readers to ultimately track down the suspect's cars, one about 90 minutes after the shooting, the other two days later. Now, the license plate reader technology is controversial. In recent months, local jurisdictions, including Alexandria and Arlington, have opted to remove their cameras in part due to privacy concerns. In other parts of the country, there have also been allegations of misuse of the cameras, including among police officers. Meanwhile, among residents here, We've heard mixed reviews. I want you to take a listen to Carla Cloray, who lives near this recent incident. After that, you'll also hear some of the other side of the debate. You heard this shooting? Yes. I speak with a couple people in my community, and most people say yes. These cameras are very important because my community, we don't have too many options. You know, this camera is one. One opportunity to live more safe. I don't like them. You can't drive anywhere, you think, you know, they see where you're going. To me, it's an invasion of privacy. There's been significant civil rights and privacy concerns across multiple jurisdictions, across multiple political parties. There's bipartisan concern about what these cameras are collecting. Altogether, Fairfax County has 84 fixed license plate cameras, and then they've got another 700 or so inside of police cars. Gas. And staying in the Commonwealth, Virginia lawmakers pushing for legislative action at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, where leadership's been accused of misconduct and a patient with violent history recently fled the country. Under state law, individuals committed after being found not guilty by reason of insanity can be granted 48-hour unescorted community passes without a judge's approval. Back in July, a patient committed for killing his landlord used one of those passes to escape the country. It comes as a state inspector general report finds institutional doctor... Azour Baran engaged in misconduct, including manipulating patient records, state lawmakers say there are too many red flags and are now weighing legislation to close the release loophole. It makes no sense. I don't know why you would let somebody go get a passport. He's supposed to be incarcerated. And I have a lot of questions. And I think a check and a balance would be, we go a long way towards making people feel like the system could work better. Governor Abigail Spanberger said her office was looking into the community passes back in August. We have followed up several times since then, but still no response. Well, in the meantime, Governor Spanberger and state lawmakers are previewing their next major legislative push. Today in Richmond, Democratic leaders unveiled their Moving Forward Virginia, or Moving Virginia Forward, excuse me, agenda, focusing heavily on affordability and tech oversight. Key proposals include a new medical debt forgiveness program, measures to expand housing, also a ban on using artificial intelligence to set worker wages.