Cyclist struck in front of Howard University Hospital; neighbor charged after missing man found dead

And welcome in tonight here at 10 on Fox Local. We start with the new development in the fight over the East Potomac Golf Links tonight. The Interior Department acknowledged it is working towards shutting it down in November. And this comes as golfers warn the president's plan could put public access at risk. Fox 5's Regina Ureta is live at the course with their reaction. Regina? Yeah, well, Jim and Angie, for the first time, the Interior Department is acknowledging in writing that the Trump administration is moving toward closing the East Potomac Golf course on November 15 to convert it into a championship level makeover. But critics say the plan is another attempt by the president to leave his mark on the nation's capital and they're fighting back in court. It is just frankly disgusting that they are trying to do this. It's also disgusting that they're not following the law to actually do this. That's what this whole court case has actually been about. We haven't even gotten to the merits of the case yet. All we've been arguing is about whether there are any merits to this case. now a federal judge has already issued a preliminary injunction requiring a 10-day notice before any closure the judge also barred the removal or damage of trees to the park but according to a court filing the Interior Department is developing a plan to carry out the president's project and says it will notify the court it comes one day after President Trump posted on Truth Social about a potential November 15th date and after months of legal battles between golfers and the administration just weeks ago the chief executive cut down more than 400 trees without notice, worrying locals that it was the beginning of renovations. Now a hearing on the park's future is expected to be scheduled by a judge in the coming days. For golfers and park users, they fear a championship level course could turn a public recreation space into a destination for the wealthy, putting affordable access at risk. Give something to people that they can afford. Anyone can come here. You've got cyclists out there. If you have many golfers, you know, you got runners, you have people that just want to come out here and whack golf balls after work leave it alone i don't really want to like pay a whole bunch of money to go to a country club when i have like such a beautiful park right here um i just don't really like there aren't really any other like free golf courses that are accessible to me and just to give additional background about the park Congress created it in 1897 calling it a space for recreation and pleasure for the people now critics also say the impacts aren't just limited to the golf course the space is located on Haynes Point they warn a closure could also disrupt major community events including the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10 Mile and 5K that runs through this area we also reached out to the Interior Department for additional comment on this new court filing and the potential closure of November on November 15th but we did not hear back Jim and Regina Guevar ready for us tonight there at Haynes Point let's turn to weather right now a live look at National Harbor for you on your Wednesday evening yeah uh fair to say as we get into the 50s uh might need a little light sweater out there a little sweater weather right Mike yes weather weather here this evening but as we get into the day tomorrow we're back to shorts and t-shirt in fact the next two days really nice afternoons coming our way here in Washington the one thing we do have to watch out for tomorrow morning is a little bit of patchy fog across the DC region but we should get rid of it rather quickly so your headline more warm days more 70s ahead after we had a day of 60s uh yeah significantly cooler today and i'm being a little sarcastic there your high this afternoon was 69 degrees just one degree below 70 And we'll get into the 70s on your Thursday and Friday As we look across the region tonight quiet night again in D.C. We had some clouds out there. They are clearing hour by hour here from west to east And we're likely going to continue to see that happen D.C., you see, still hanging on to some cloud cover at 59 degrees But Dulles already reporting mostly clear conditions Their temperature's at 54. BWI Thurgood Marshall sitting at 55 degrees right now Satellite and radar, you can really see right there where the clouds are and have been and how they're sliding themselves off to the east-eastern shore of southern Maryland, northern neck. Still dealing with them for now, but a couple more hours they'll be out of here. Now, despite skies clearing right along and just to the west of the I-95 corridor, we are anticipating that conditions will be favorable, especially as winds lighten to calm as we head into those early morning hours tomorrow that will likely pick up a little bit of fog out there. We did this morning. We probably will tomorrow morning as well. As we look outside, big picture showing you The ridge of high pressure still in control. These clouds today and this afternoon, actually the sign of warmer air that will be coming in over the next couple of days. So there's the planner overnight. Get mostly clear for the next few hours. And as we head a little closer to sunrise, that's when the fog settles in. Could be some, well, fog turns into a little bit of a low cloud deck there about 7, 8 in the morning. Then we burn it off. We get sunshine back. Afternoon temperatures head up to about 72 degrees where it's sunnier faster out to the west. Middle 70s certainly possible. Warm one on Friday, but cooler for the weekend. We'll have all those details in just a few. Angie? Thank you, Mike. In the district, a cyclist is in the hospital with serious injuries tonight after being struck by a driver. It all happening along Georgia Avenue Northwest around 6.30 this evening, right in front of Howard University Hospital. Police say that the man struck was in and out of consciousness when they arrived. The driver did stay on the scene. New tonight, the search is on for three suspects who broke into and stole from a D.C. church. Yeah, that's right. And with more on that story tonight, we go to Shamari Stone, who joins us live from the scene. Well, tonight, these suspected chapel crooks are accused of breaking into this church right here. It is a historic church, and it was formerly known as the Lincoln Congregational Temple United Church of Christ. People who live in the Shaw neighborhood are disgusted. Let's show you those suspects. Take a look at this guy. Long hair, eyeglasses, unshaped beard. walking upstairs inside the church Wednesday night on September 30th. This was once the historic Lincoln Congregational Temple United Church of Christ that opened in the 1920s, closed in 2018, and is now used by La Iglesia Ebenezer on the 1700 block of 11th Street Northwest. The long-haired suspect goes to the front entrance holding a bag joined by his alleged partner in church crime, a woman with long hair apart down the middle, holding a bag and then a third suspect shows up the suspects according to the police report stealing three bass and acoustic guitars valued at three grand 10 cordless microphones costing two thousand dollars and a five hundred dollar sony camera and then police tell me on october first one of the suspects returns to the church with two other people stealing more stuff getting away. Tonight, people hope police catch the suspected sanctuary sneaks. It is just so terrible. I don't know why you would steal from a church and God is going to get you. He's going to get you. You're going to have to pay it back. I hope the police catch them. I hope they get all the time that they deserve because you don't steal from the church. You don't steal from God. It's the God of the holy church. Everybody go pray and they just trying to grab this stuff out of their church. It's so sad. I hope they catch them. That's right. A lot of people I talk to in this neighborhood are walking around like, what on earth is happening? Who steals from a church? Well, police urge anyone with information. If you recognize those two people shown on the video, the trio right there, call police. Also, there's a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest and a conviction in this case. I'm Shamari Stone. Back to you. The search for a missing person in Alexandria ends with that man's neighbor in custody charged with murder. Police say Joshua Cochran was found dead inside of an apartment Tuesday with severe head trauma. Cochran was reported missing over the weekend after failing to answer calls from his family. Security footage led detectives to John Strappleton III, whom police say today confessed to the killing at his front door. When they opened that door, the suspect gave an immediate confession. They brought him back here to our police station to find out additional details. What I can tell you is I don't fully know their relationship, but they were drinking at an Alexandria restaurant. They went to several other locations and purchased some alcohol and ended back up in that apartment. Still many questions tonight about what led up to the killing and the object used in the attack. And seeing in Alexandria, the city is shutting down All 61 Flock license plate cameras by tomorrow night after months of public backlash. The city plans to remove those cameras completely by December and require city council approval for any future surveillance technology. Came after police voiced privacy concerns, this happening in Alexandria and all across the country. Police touted the cameras, claiming they helped to lead to some 72 felony and 65 misdemeanor charges over the last year. Damning new digital evidence introduced in the Nourish Bhat murder trial in Prince William County. Bhat is accused of murdering his wife, Mamta, and then disposing of her body in 2024. Today, a digital forensic investigator said that Bhat searched things online like what happens if a spouse disappears months before Mamta was reported missing. One was meat cutter. There was one knife sharpener at Dollar Tree. Can I divorce if wife lost? Can I change my mind after selling my car at CarMax? Were there any searches talking about donations? Can I donate my baby to my friend? There were searches also related to applying for a baby's passport. A video enhancement expert also walked jurors through images of Bhat in his home and at several trash compactors wearing gloves while dumping small bags. The trial continues tomorrow for day 14. And a Sterling mother charged after her 8-month-old infant drowned in a bathtub. 30-year-old Rosalina Pisani is accused of leaving her child alone with the water running. It happened back in September. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office says two other kids were at home and not hurt. Pisani facing a homicide charge along with two counts of child abuse and three counts of child endangerment. Fifteen people charged accused of taking part in a transnational drug trafficking operation that imported massive amounts of drugs right here into D.C. Sydney Persing is live in our newsroom tonight with new details. Sydney? Well, Jim, Angie, those 15 defendants, they are charged under a 12-count superseding indictment in connection with what prosecutors call a sprawling transnational drug trafficking organization. They say it brought massive amounts of meth and GBL, a popular date rape drug, right here to D.C., along with other East Coast cities. Take a look here at some of those drugs pictured. You might remember five months ago, federal authorities announced 11 arrests of people accused of helping orchestrate this trafficking operation, bringing drugs here from as far as South Korea. Today, prosecutors announced a spinoff to that investigation. They say they've charged four additional people now. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Janine Pirro said authorities arrested those four new suspects in a takedown yesterday that involved five residential search warrants, three warrants for storage units, and two vehicle warrants. She said, interestingly, three of those defendants did not have extensive drug trafficking history, despite the complex nature of the alleged operation. These were, relatively speaking, well-educated individuals trafficking massive amounts of dangerous narcotics in our nation's capital and bringing them directly to the streets to do business. Now, what's interesting is methamphetamines in the nation's capital are rising. That is a fact that we take extremely seriously right now. We see the trend and it is real. Pirro said the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. Jim, Angie.