Talking Trash and Tacos

08/24/2026

Imagine sending your kid away to college…and another student’s FATHER moves into the dorm.

Sounds bizarre enough already.

But that’s how the Lawrence Ray story began.

In 2010, Ray moved into his daughter’s dorm room at Sarah Lawrence College after getting out of prison. He met her roommates and friends there.

What followed became a years-long nightmare involving psychological manipulation, threats, violence, extortion, forced labor and s*x trafficking.

He was eventually convicted in federal court and sentenced to **60 years in prison.**

This is one of the cases we talk about in Tuesday’s episode, because it completely changed the way I think about trafficking.

We spend so much time warning kids about strangers.

But what happens when the dangerous person isn’t a stranger?

What if he’s your friend’s dad?
A boyfriend?
A boss?
Someone offering you somewhere to stay?

That’s really the point of this episode.

**The packaging changes. The control doesn’t.**

🎙️ **HOW MANY EPSTEINS ARE THERE?**
Tuesday @ 6:30 AM
**Talking Trash & Tacos**

The actual federal case is attached below. 👇

08/24/2026

Do you know these two?

08/23/2026

Missing Person Lucas County. Toledo Area.

Missing Person !

08/23/2026

21-YEAR-OLD KILLED IN TOLEDO — WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER

Another young life lost in Toledo, and right now there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

Toledo Police say 21-year-old Tyler Mcie died following a stabbing Saturday afternoon, August 22.

Officers were called to the 400 block of Machen Street, off Collingwood Boulevard and across from Scott High School, at approximately 2 p.m. for a report of a person stabbed.

Mcie was taken to an area hospital, where he later died. (13abc⁠)

Police arrested 46-year-old Sophia Harris, who is now charged with murder in connection with his death. (WTOL⁠)

What we don’t know yet may be the biggest part of this story.

Police have not publicly said what allegedly happened before the stabbing, what may have led to the confrontation, or what relationship, if any, Harris and Mcie had with one another. (13abc⁠)

So for now, I’m not going to fill those blanks with rumors. Hopefully court documents and Harris’ first court appearance will provide more information about what police believe happened.

Tyler Mcie was only 21 years old. Whatever led up to this, a young man is dead and another Toledo family is now dealing with an unimaginable loss.

We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.

What happened on Machen Street Saturday afternoon?

08/23/2026

FENTANYL DEATH LEADS TO MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE IN LORAIN COUNTY

A Lorain woman is facing several felony charges after prosecutors say she supplied fentanyl to an Elyria man who later died from an overdose.

Brandee McAreavey, 33, was indicted by a Lorain County grand jury on charges including involuntary manslaughter, corrupting another with drugs, tampering with evidence, trafficking and possession.

Authorities say that on February 12, 2026, McAreavey allegedly gave or sold drugs containing fentanyl to 46-year-old Henry “Hank” Howes of Elyria.

Howes reportedly used the drugs, overdosed and died.

According to prosecutors, McAreavey later allegedly made “many admissions” regarding her involvement in his death.

And that was not the end of the investigation.

On May 29, prosecutors say McAreavey was being treated at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center when she was moved from one hospital bed to another and a baggie containing approximately 4.6 grams of suspected methamphetamine allegedly fell from her hospital gown.

That separate incident resulted in additional drug trafficking and possession charges.

McAreavey is currently being held in the Lorain County Jail on a $30,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned before Judge Giovanna Bremke.

The tampering-with-evidence charge is especially interesting because officials have not yet publicly explained exactly what evidence they believe was altered, hidden or destroyed.

All charges remain allegations unless and until proven in court.

Another reminder of just how deadly fentanyl can be. One alleged transaction can end one life and potentially change another forever.

What do you think? Should people accused of knowingly supplying fentanyl that causes a fatal overdose face manslaughter charges?

08/23/2026

🚨 “FOR YEARS, WE ALL ASSUMED SHE PASSED AWAY.”

That sentence alone is chilling.

Police went to a home on Oakbourne Drive in Perry Township, Ohio, on August 19 to execute a search warrant connected to an alleged financial exploitation investigation.

What officers reportedly found inside turned the case into something much bigger.

An elderly woman, believed to be in her late 70s or early 80s, was found dead inside the home.

And according to neighbors, she hadn’t been seen outside in at least TWO YEARS.

A neighbor, Noel Poulton, told ABC6 that the woman used to come outside to get her mail. Then she simply stopped appearing.

Neighbors became concerned. Poulton says attempts were made to get a wellness check conducted, but one apparently never happened. Eventually, people on the street began assuming the woman had either suffered a serious medical event or had already died.

Then police finally entered the house, but not because of a welfare check.

They were there for the financial exploitation warrant.

Police say three adults were inside the home when officers arrived: two sisters and the boyfriend of one of them. All three were questioned, but as of the latest reporting, NO ONE has been charged.

Authorities have also NOT said whether any of those three people knew the woman’s body was inside, how long she had been dead, or whether her death is connected in any way to the financial investigation.

Officers secured the home and contacted the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the county coroner. Investigators are now working to determine the woman’s identity, cause of death and how long she had been deceased.

And this is the part I can’t get past:

Neighbors noticed. They were concerned. They reportedly tried to get someone to check on her.

An elderly woman seemingly disappeared from everyday life for YEARS, and it was ultimately a financial investigation that got authorities through the door.

There may be completely legitimate explanations for pieces of this story that we don’t know yet, and nobody should be declared guilty before investigators finish their work.

But somebody needs to answer a much bigger question:

When an elderly or vulnerable person suddenly disappears from public view and multiple people raise concerns, what SHOULD happen next?

Because “everyone assumed she died” should never be where a welfare system ends.

This investigation is ongoing. I’ll update this story as authorities release more information.

08/23/2026

🔥 TWO 14-YEAR-OLDS ACCUSED IN TOLEDO ARSON INVESTIGATION

This story has a lot more to it than two teenagers allegedly setting an abandoned house on fire.

Two 14-year-old boys have been arrested after Toledo police say a vacant home in the 1100 block of Monterey Court was set on fire twice in the same week.

Thankfully, nobody was injured.

According to 13 Action News, witnesses reported seeing two suspects running from the area after one of the fires.

Investigators then used video and other intelligence that reportedly led them to another possible fire scene at a home in the 2200 block of Broadway.

Police are investigating whether that fire is connected.

Officers located two teenage suspects nearby. Police say the boys took off running and were caught after a brief foot pursuit.

Both appeared in Lucas County Juvenile Court on Friday, August 21. They are facing aggravated-arson allegations, with each boy facing two counts of arson.

Their names have not been released because they are juveniles.

But here’s another part of this story that caught my attention.

A neighbor told 13 Action News there has allegedly been a group of kids in the neighborhood vandalizing property, breaking windows, breaking into cars and threatening people. She also alleged animals had been harmed.

To be clear: Those are allegations made by a neighbor. Police have NOT announced that these two boys have been charged in connection with those other incidents.

Still…

14 years old.

At what point do we stop shrugging off escalating behavior as “kids being kids”?

Setting fires isn’t harmless teenage stupidity. It can put neighbors, firefighters and entire blocks in danger.

And if there really was a pattern of increasingly serious behavior happening before these fires, that’s a conversation.

These kids are still young enough for adults and the system around them to change the direction they’re headed.

But pretending serious behavior isn’t serious isn’t helping anybody.

What do YOU think should happen when kids this young are repeatedly getting into serious trouble?

08/23/2026

🚨 HOME INVASION IN MONROE COUNTY ENDS WITH SUSPECT HIDING IN CORNFIELD 🌽🚔

Two men are behind bars after an alleged home invasion Saturday evening in Raisinville Township, Michigan, including one suspect who authorities say tried to escape by hiding in a cornfield.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, a dispatcher received the call around 5:17 p.m. Saturday, August 22, reporting a home invasion at a residence in the 600 block of Ida Maybee Road.

And this wasn’t a situation where deputies arrived after everyone had disappeared.

The first deputy reportedly arrived while the incident was still in progress and was able to take one man into custody at the scene.

The second man allegedly took off on foot as additional law enforcement arrived.

That escape didn’t last long. 🌽👀

A Michigan State Police trooper and K-9 searched the area and reportedly found the second suspect hiding in a cornfield near the home.

Authorities have identified the suspects so far only as:

🔹 A 34-year-old man from Belleville, Michigan
🔹 A 40-year-old man from Toledo, Ohio

Both were lodged in the Monroe County Jail.

As of Saturday night, authorities have not publicly released their names or provided details about exactly what happened inside the home, whether anyone was injured, what was allegedly taken, or whether the men knew the people who lived there.

And THAT is the part I’m waiting to hear more about.

A man from Belleville and another from Toledo allegedly ending up at the same house in Raisinville Township certainly raises the question: Was this random, or was this particular home targeted?

Hopefully the court filings will fill in those blanks once formal charges and identities are released.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 734-240-7738.

🌽 Running from police and choosing a cornfield as your hiding place when there’s a K-9 involved is certainly… a strategy.

I’ll update this one when we learn who these men are and what allegedly led them to that house.

08/23/2026

Pornhub wasn't where this story started — but it's where it got much bigger.

When victims are asking for videos to be removed, when money is being made, and when a trafficking operation is involved… at what point does a website become responsible?

This was one part of our conversation that really made us stop and think.

🎙️ **HOW MANY EPSTEINS ARE THERE?**
Full episode Tuesday @ 6:30 AM
**Talking Trash & Tacos**

08/22/2026

🚨 OHIO PROSECUTOR WANTS DEATH PENALTY CONSIDERED FOR CHILD RAPISTS

This is going to be a controversial one, but it’s a conversation Ohio may soon be having.

Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins is calling on Ohio lawmakers, Republicans AND Democrats, to pass legislation that would allow juries to consider the death penalty in cases involving the r**e of babies and young children.

Currently in Ohio, an adult convicted of ra**ng a child under 13 can face life in prison without parole.

Watkins wants lawmakers to go further.

Several states, including Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Mississippi, have passed laws allowing or seeking capital punishment for certain child-r**e convictions.

There is a HUGE legal obstacle, though.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana in 2008 that the death penalty cannot be imposed for the r**e of a child when the crime did not result in the victim’s death. That means any Ohio law like this would almost certainly end up being challenged in court.

And here’s where Ohio politics gets especially interesting.

Governor Mike DeWine is moving in the exact opposite direction.

For years, DeWine stopped ex*****ons because of problems surrounding Ohio’s lethal-injection protocol and obtaining the necessary drugs. But in June 2026, he made his position much clearer: he called on lawmakers to abolish ex*****ons in Ohio altogether.

So this is no longer simply DeWine saying, “We need a different ex*****on method.”

He now opposes the death penalty itself.

Meanwhile, Watkins is essentially saying not only should Ohio KEEP capital punishment, lawmakers should consider expanding who can receive it.

And I’m going to say something that I know people will disagree with:

I believe the death penalty should at least be on the table for the most horrific s*xual crimes committed against very young children.

A prison sentence punishes the offender, but it does not erase what happened to that child.

That child may spend decades dealing with trauma from something done to them before they were even old enough to fully understand it. Their childhood can be fundamentally altered by someone else’s deliberate actions.

I understand there are serious arguments against capital punishment, including wrongful convictions, unequal application, enormous costs and the possibility of executing an innocent person.

Those concerns absolutely deserve discussion.

But I also understand why people look at particularly horrific crimes against children and ask:

If THIS doesn’t qualify as the worst of the worst, what does?

Ohio is now facing two completely different visions of justice.

➡️ DeWine: End the death penalty.

➡️ Watkins: Keep it and potentially expand it to certain child-r**e cases.

Where do you stand? Should Ohio abolish the death penalty, keep it only for murder, or should juries be allowed to consider it in the most extreme cases involving the s*xual assault of young children?