Greene Regime emcee and producer, Done Wright, releases his new self produced-single, "Picasso Pt. 3 (The Rising Sun) Produced By Done Wright off his upcoming EP "Supply Work, Demand Respect" 17 (Wizard Of Bars II)," coming soon!!
NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime CNN host Don Lemon is out at the cable news network a little over 2 months after apologizing to viewers for on-air comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
CNN did not provide a public explanation for Lemon’s departure. But on the “CNN This Morning” co-host’s own Twitter account, Lemon contended the news came as a surprise to him & characterized it as a firing.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN. I am stunned,” he wrote in a statement posted shortly after 12 p.m. Eastern. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly. At no time was I ever given any indication that I would not be able to continue to do the work I have loved at the network.”
CNN issued a rebuttal on its PR account: “Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.”
In mid-February, Lemon caused an uproar when, during a discussion on “CNN This Morning” with co-hosts Poppy Harlow & Kaitlan Collins about the ages of politicians, he said that the 51-year-old Haley was not “in her prime.” A woman, he said, was considered in her prime “in her 20s, 30s & maybe her 40s.”
Harlow challenged Lemon, trying to clarify what he was referencing: “I think we need to qualify. Are you talking about prime for childbearing or are you talking about prime for being president?”
“Don’t shoot the messenger, I’m just saying what the facts are,” Lemon responded.
Lemon issued a statement the same day saying he regretted his “inartful & irrelevant” comments.
Mexican authorities on Monday raised the death toll from an attack on a state prison in Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas to 17, a brazen operation that appeared designed to free the leader of a local gang.
25 inmates escaped in the attack.
10 of the dead were prison guards who were attacked by gunmen who arrived early Sunday in armored vehicles & fired on the entrance & inside dormitories.
Among those who escaped is the leader of Los Mexicles, Ernesto Piñón de la Cruz, also known as El Neto.
El Neto, 33, has been in prison for 14 years serving a sentence for kidnapping and murder. An attempt by his gang to free him during a prison transfer in 2010 failed and he was injured.
The others inmates who escaped were members of the Mexicles gang, which is associated with the Caborca Cartel. The Mexicles have been one of Juarez's main gangs for decades and for many years were known to work with the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Caborca Cartel had been led by drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero who was recaptured in July. He was allegedly behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said the soldiers & state police who retook control of the prison found 10 "VIP" cells outfitted with televisions & other comforts. One even had a safe filled with cash.
Authorities also found cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl 2 marijuana inside the prison.
Mexican authorities on Monday raised the death toll from an attack on a state prison in Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas to 17, a brazen operation that appeared designed to free the leader of a local gang.
25 inmates escaped in the attack.
10 of the dead were prison guards who were attacked by gunmen who arrived early Sunday in armored vehicles & fired on the entrance & inside dormitories.
Among those who escaped is the leader of Los Mexicles, Ernesto Piñón de la Cruz, also known as El Neto.
El Neto, 33, has been in prison for 14 years serving a sentence for kidnapping and murder. An attempt by his gang to free him during a prison transfer in 2010 failed and he was injured.
The others inmates who escaped were members of the Mexicles gang, which is associated with the Caborca Cartel. The Mexicles have been one of Juarez's main gangs for decades and for many years were known to work with the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Caborca Cartel had been led by drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero who was recaptured in July. He was allegedly behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985.
Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said the soldiers & state police who retook control of the prison found 10 "VIP" cells outfitted with televisions & other comforts. One even had a safe filled with cash.
Authorities also found cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl 2 marijuana inside the prison.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A boat carrying Haitian migrants apparently capsized off the Bahamas early Sunday & Bahamian security forces recovered the bodies of 17 people & rescued 25 others.
It wasn’t clear if there were any people missing after the boat sank about 7 miles from New Providence.
Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said in a statement that the dead included 15 women, one man & an infant.
Davis said investigators had determined that a twin-engine speed boat left the Bahamas about 1 a.m. carrying as many as 60 people, apparently bound for Miami.
Davis said a criminal investigation had begun into the suspected human smuggling operation.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he sympathized with the parents of the victims.
“This new drama saddens the whole nation,” he said. “I launch, once again, an appeal for national reconciliation in order to solve the problems that are driving away, far from our soil, our brothers, our sisters, our children.”
A year after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse last July, gang violence has grown worse & Haiti has gone into a freefall that has seen the economy tumble. Attempts to form a coalition government have faltered & efforts to hold general elections have stalled. The turmoil has led a growing number of people to flee the country of more than 11 million in search of a better & safer life.
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Three teens were found dead Tuesday, Jan. 18 in a home northeast of Houston, and it appears one of the teens killed themself after killing the other two, authorities said.
The bodies of two 17-year-old girls and a 15-year-old boy were discovered by a relative Tuesday at a home in Crosby outside Houston, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told reporters.
“It appears that this case may be a case of a double homicide and a suicide,” Gonzalez said at a press conference outside the rural residence. “Those are the preliminary observations that I have.”
The home is in a rural area near the community of Crosby, which is about 25 miles northeast of Houston.
Gonzalez said the firearm that appears to have been involved was found at the scene. He said the homeowner is believed to have been away.
He said they were still trying to determine a motive and the connections between the three teens.
(CNN) Rapper Cardi B plans to pay the funeral costs for those who lost their lives in a deadly fire in that New York City borough.
In total 17 people died after a fire ripped through their Bronx apartment building.
The state of New York announced this week that it would be granting $2 million to a fund for the victims.
Cardi B, who is a Bronx native, said in a statement to CNN that "I'm extremely proud to be from the Bronx and I have lots of family and friends who live and work there still."
"So, when I heard about the fire and all of the victims, I knew I needed to do something to help," she said. "I cannot begin to imagine the pain and anguish that the families of the victims are experiencing, but I hope that not having to worry about the costs associated with burying their loved ones will help as they move forward and heal. I send my prayers and condolences to everyone affected by this horrific tragedy."
According to her rep, the artist partnered up with The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City to make sure that the families of all the victims would be included in her donation and "that the final wishes for their loved ones were met."
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A man accused of kidnapping 7-year-old girl in Hardin County in November has been indicted on more than a dozen charges.
According to court documents, a grand jury in Hardin County indicted Charles Castle, 57, on 17 charges:
*Seven counts of kidnapping *Three counts of tampering with evidence *One count of rape *One count of felonious assault *One count of endangering children *One count of burglary *One count of attempted aggravated murder *One count of breaking and entering *One count of possessing criminal tools
Officials said the girl was taken from her Hardin County home in the middle of the night and was found alive days later in an abandoned home.
Hardin County Sheriff Keith Everhart said the sheriff's office got a tip about her possible whereabouts and deputies followed up on the top and found her in an abandoned home near County Road 180.
The tip from a school resource officer and surveillance video from neighbors helped deputies identify Castle as the suspect. He was arrested and initially charged with kidnapping.
Officials said there is no familial connection between Castle and the girl, but said he was "familiar" to the family.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The gunman who killed 14 students and three staff members at a Parkland, Florida, high school will plead guilty to their murders, his attorneys said Friday, bringing some closure to a South Florida community more than three years after an attack that sparked a nationwide movement for gun control.
The guilty plea would set up a penalty phase where Nikolas Cruz, 23, would be fighting against the death penalty and hoping for life without parole.
Attorneys for Cruz told Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer that he will plead guilty Wednesday to 17 counts of first-degree murder in the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. The pleas will come with no conditions and prosecutors still plan to seek the death penalty. That will be decided by a jury, but that trial has not been scheduled.
Cruz will also plead guilty to 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder and to attacking a jail guard nine months after the shooting. He was not present during the hearing.
The trial has been delayed by the pandemic and arguments between the prosecution and defense over what evidence and testimony could be presented to the jury. Some victims’ families had expressed frustration over the delays, but the president of the group they formed expressed relief that the case now seems closer to resolution.
“We just hope the system gives him justice,” said Tony Montalto of Stand With Parkland. His 14-year-old daughter, Gina, died in the shooting.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Parkland student activists formed March for Our Lives, a group that rallied hundreds of thousands around the country for tighter gun laws, including a nationally televised march in Washington, D.C. Parents also made impassioned pleas for accountability and policies aimed at halting gun violence.
The decision by Cruz and his attorneys to plead guilty came unexpectedly. Preparations were being made to begin jury selection within the next few months. He had been set to go on trial next week for the attack on the Broward County jail guard.
Cruz and his lawyers had long offered to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, but prosecutors had repeatedly rejected that deal, saying the case deserved a death sentence.
Cruz’s rampage crushed the veneer of safety in Parkland, an upper-middle-class community outside Fort Lauderdale with little crime. Its educational crown jewel is Stoneman Douglas, a campus of 3,200 students that is one of the top-ranked public schools in the state.
TOKYO (AP) — A man dressed in Batman’s Joker costume and brandishing a knife on a Tokyo commuter train on Sunday stabbed several passengers before starting a fire, which sent people scrambling to escape & jumping from windows, police & witnesses said.
The Tokyo Fire Department said 17 passengers were injured, including 3 seriously. Not all of them were stabbed and most of the other injuries were not serious.
The attacker, identified as a 24-year-old man, was arrested on the spot & was being investigated on suspicion of attempted murder, NHK said. His motive was not immediately known.
Nippon Television reported that the suspect told police that he wanted to kill & get a death penalty & that he used an earlier train stabbing case as an example.
Witnesses told police that the attacker was wearing a bright outfit — a green shirt, a blue suit & a purple coat — like the Joker in Batman comics or someone going to a Halloween event, according to media reports.
Tokyo police officials said the attack happened inside the Keio train near the Kokuryo station.
Television footage showed a number of firefighters, police officials & paramedics rescuing the passengers, many of whom escaped through train windows. In 1 video, passengers were running from another car, where flames were gushing.
NHK said the suspect, after stabbing passengers, poured a liquid resembling oil from a plastic bottle and set fire, which partially burned seats.
Oct 20 (Reuters) - Accused shooter Nikolas Cruz pleaded guilty on Wednesday to 17 counts of murder & 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the deadliest ever at a U.S. high school.
At a hearing, Cruz, 23, stood hunched over & entered one guilty plea at a time as the judge read off the charges. His lawyer, David Wheeler, Broward County's chief assistant public defender, said last week Cruz intended to plead guilty in the Valentine's Day attack.
Cruz was a 19-year-old expelled student with a history of mental health & behavioral issues at the time of the "cold, calculated & premeditated" killings, Broward County's State's Attorney Office said.
After the pleas were entered, Cruz removed his COVID-19 mask & apologized to his victims.
'May I take off my mask?" he asked before saying: 'I am very sorry for what I did and I have to live with it everyday. If I were to get a second chance I would do everything in my power to help others.'
'I do not care if you don't believe me,' he said to the court, adding that he now gets 'nightmares sometimes & can't even watch TV anymore.' 'I hate drugs & I believe this country would do better if everyone would stop smoking marijuana... I'm trying my best to maintain my composure & I just want you to know that I'm really sorry.'
Because prosecutors have vowed to seek the death penalty, his change of plea from not guilty opens the penalty phase. A jury would decide whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) The gang that kidnapped a group of 17 American & Canadian missionaries in Haiti has asked for $1 million each for their release.
The 16 American citizens & 1 Canadian were kidnapped by the powerful "400 Mawozo" gang on Saturday after visiting an orphanage in Croix-des-Bouquets, a northeast suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince, over the weekend.
Their abduction is part of a wave of indiscriminate kidnappings that has become more brazen as the country suffers from political instability, civil unrest, lack of quality healthcare & severe poverty.
Haitian Justice Minister Liszt Quitel told CNN the kidnappers have demanded a total of $17 million for the group's release & that they were being held in a location outside the suburb.
The missionaries are affiliated with the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries, which says the abducted group is made up of 5 men, 7 women & 5 children.
Quitel said the five children abducted include an 8-month-old baby & children ages 3, 6, 14 & 15 years old.
The kidnappers first called Christian Aid Ministries' staff in Haiti at 4:53 p.m. on Saturday, stating their ransom demands at the time of the call, Quitel added. Several calls between the kidnappers & the missionary group have taken place since then.
Quitel said that both Haitian police negotiators & the FBI are advising the missionary group on how to proceed & that negotiations are ongoing. FBI agents are on the ground in Haiti assisting with the investigation but are not leading the negotiations, nor have they spoken directly with the kidnappers.
"The FBI is part of a coordinated US government effort to get the Americans involved to safety. Due to operational considerations, no further information is available at this time," an FBI spokesperson told CNN.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (Fox13) - Over a dozen arrests were made after suspects thought they were on their way to meet young teenagers to have sex, but it turned out they were communicating with undercover detectives across several agencies in central Florida. Among those arrested were three Walt Disney World employees, a registered nurse, and a married man visiting from California, officials say.
The six-day operation targeted those who use the internet to prey on children, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. In total, 17 suspects face 49 felonies and two misdemeanors.
"These are nasty, nasty people," described Sheriff Grady Judd. "We can’t even use the words that they used. We obviously can’t show the pictures and video clips that they sent to what they thought were 13-year-old little girls and little boys."
All but one lived in central Florida. A man, identified as 33-year-old Jarrod Justice, was visiting from Los Angeles, detectives said.
"He showed up on vacation but he only needed to buy a one-way ticket because he’s not flying back to Los Angeles anytime soon," Sheriff Judd said. "He’s married. Mrs. Justice did you hear that? His last name is Justice. That’s what we’re going to get. Justice for Justice."
Three suspects worked for Disney: two custodians at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park and a lifeguard at the Animal Kingdom Lodge hotel. The lifeguard was identified as 26-year-old Kenneth Javier Aquino of Orlando.
"He left his girlfriend who was 7 months pregnant with his child in order to have sex with a 13-year-old," Judd said during Tuesday's press conference.
The two custodians were identified as 34-year-old Jonathan McGrew of Kissimmee and 29-year-old Savannah Lawrence of Kissimmee, who are in a relationship together, the sheriff said, adding that they thought they could have a threesome with a 13-year-old girl.
"[Jonathan] said to the child, ‘We want to enjoy this opportunity, we don’t want to rush. Even at the conclusion maybe we can cuddle a little bit,'" Judd explained. "Are you kidding me? That’s how you talk to 13-year-old children? ‘Our fantasy is to play stepdad, stepdaughter, stepmom; teacher, student; maybe even shoplifter where we do a strip search.’ He gave all of these details before the two of them show up."
The agency worked with the police departments in Auburndale, Orlando, and Winter Haven, along with the Orange County Sheriff's Office during the investigation.
The following information on each suspect was provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office:
1. 26-year-old Kenneth Javier Aquino of Orlando
On July 27, 2021, Aquino engaged in an online conversation on a social networking site with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. He asked the "girl" to send photos, and sent her an explicit video of himself. They also communicated via text messaging on cell phones. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then arrived as soon as he got off work, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he is a lifeguard at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Walt Disney World. When he arrived at the undercover location he was still wearing his Disney polo shirt, swimming trunks, and Crocs. He told detectives he is a Navy veteran and has a pregnant girlfriend. His criminal history includes previous arrests for possession of marijuana, possession of a concealed weapon, and failure to appear.
Aquino was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery One count Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor
2. 41-year-old Irving Oliver of Lakeland
On July 27, 2021, Oliver engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. They then texted back and forth via cell phones. He repeatedly asked the "girl" if she wanted to have sex with him, and asked for the address to the undercover location. He arrived at the location and was arrested without incident. His criminal history includes prior arrests for battery domestic violence, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, violation of an injunction for protection, no valid DL, and failure to appear.
Oliver was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery 3. 33-year-old Jarrod Justice of Los Angeles, California
On July 27, 2021, Justice, while on vacation from California, engaged in an online conversation via a messaging app with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. They then texted back and forth via cell phones. He discussed what he wanted to do with her sexually when he arrived, and promised to bring condoms. When he arrived at the undercover location with the condoms, she asked him to bring him some candy, so he drove to a store and bought her some Sour Patch Kids. He returned to the location, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he’s married and he works at Best Buy.
Justice was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery 4. 31-year-old Lior Enbar of Orlando
On July 27, 2021, Enbar engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. He then began calling her cell phone, using *67 to block his number. He asked the "girl" for photos and videos, and discussed what he wanted to do with the girl sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove there, with condoms, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that lives with his parents and he’s a Domino’s Pizza delivery driver.
"He wanted to have a safe word," Judd explained. "We have a safe word: Jail."
Enbar was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery Giving False info to LEO
5. 30-year-old Joshua Ortega of Davenport
On July 29, 2021, Ortega engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" what he wanted to do with her sexually and promised her that he had condoms and wouldn’t get her pregnant. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then walked there, with condoms, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he’s unemployed and lives with his mother, and that he walked to the location to have sex with the girl because he hasn’t had sex in a while. His criminal history includes previous arrests for possession of cocaine and marijuana, burglary, grand theft, no valid DL, and violation of probation. He was released from state prison in January 2020. Detectives found PCP and drug paraphernalia concealed in his wallet.
Ortega was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery One count Introduction of Contraband into a Detention Facility One count Possession of PCP One count Possession of Paraphernalia
6. 45-year-old Julio Enrique Cedeno, Jr. of Zephyrhills
On July 29, 2021, Cedeno engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" what he wanted to do with her sexually and asked her for photos, videos, or to video chat. He sent her explicit photos of himself. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove there, with condoms, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he’s married, and he’s a self-employed general contractor. His criminal history includes previous arrests for aggravated battery, battery, theft, and violation of probation.
Cedeno was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
Two counts Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor One count Unlawful Use of Two-Way Communication Device
7. 47-year-old Juan Guadalupe-Arroyo of Davenport
On July 30, 2021, Guadalupe-Arroyo engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old boy. He told the "boy" that he was 40 years old and told him what he wanted to do with the boy sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove there, with condoms, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he’s a registered nurse at Adventhealth Care Center in Celebration.
Guadalupe-Arroyo was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Misrepresenting Age Online/Use of Computer to Seduce a Child One count Attempted Lewd Battery
8. 36-year-old Carlos Flores of Orlando
On July 30, 2021, Flores engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" that he was 17 years old, and that he wanted to have sex with her in his car. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove to the area, with condoms, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he’s the manager of the Starbucks at the Orlando International Airport.
Flores was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Misrepresenting Age Online/Use of Computer to Seduce a Child One count Attempted Lewd Battery
9. 47-year-old Enrique Medina of Orlando
On July 30, 2021, Medina engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" the things that he wanted to do with her sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove to the area, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he is employed by Celmark International in the sanitation department.
Medina was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery
10. 30-year-old Adam Smith of Kissimmee
On July 30, 2021, Smith engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" the things that he wanted to do with her sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove to there, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he is employed as a maintenance technician at a hotel in the Old Town area of Kissimmee. His criminal history includes previous arrests for battery domestic violence, tampering with evidence, and violation of probation.
Smith was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery
11. 27-year-old Jeremiah Davis of Clewiston
On July 31, 2021, Davis engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" the things that he wanted to do with her sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove to the area, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he is an Army veteran and currently employed by the city of Clewiston as a garbage truck driver.
Davis was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery
12. 44-year-old Thomas Snyder of Lakeland
On July 31, 2021, Snyder engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old boy, then asked for his phone number and communicated with him that way. He sent an explicit photo to the "boy" and told the "boy" the things that he wanted to do with him sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and took an Uber to the area, where he was arrested. He told deputies that he is a custodian at the Valencia Hills nursing home in Lakeland.
Snyder was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery One count Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor
13. 34-year-old David Ring of Lakeland
On July 31, 2021, Ring engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. He sent the girl several explicit images and videos of himself and told the "girl" the things that he wanted to do with her sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove to there, where he was arrested without incident. He told deputies that he is unemployed. His criminal history includes previous arrests for knowingly driving while his license was suspended.
Ring was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery Four counts Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor
14. 27-year-old Philip Nelson of Polk City
On July 31, 2021, Nelson engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" the things that he wanted to do with her sexually. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then drove to the area, where he was arrested after a traffic stop while trying to leave the area. He told deputies that he is an apprentice line technician for Powertown Line Construction, and that he left his two children at home with his mother when he traveled to have sex with the minor. His criminal history includes a previous arrest for battery.
Nelson was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery
15. 34-year-old Jonathan McGrew of Kissimmee
On August 1, 2021, McGrew engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. He told the "girl" that he wanted her to come to his apartment and have sex with him and his girlfriend, Savannah Lawrence (arrest details below). He sent videos of him and his girlfriend performing sex acts on each other. He asked for the address to the undercover location and then he and Lawrence took an Uber to the location, where they were arrested without incident. McGrew communicated with another undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl during the same time frame, also telling her that he wanted to have sex with her. Upon their arrests, McGrew and Lawrence told deputies that they are custodians at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios. His criminal history includes a previous arrest for leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death (in Illinois).
McGrew was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex Two counts Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor One count Attempted Lewd Battery
16. 29-year-old Savannah Lawrence of Kissimmee
On August 1, 2021, Lawrence’s boyfriend, Jonathan McGrew, engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 13-year-old girl. McGrew told the "girl" that he wanted her to come to his apartment and have sex with him and his girlfriend, Lawrence. McGrew sent videos of the pair performing sex acts on each other. Lawrence rode with McGrew in an Uber to the location, where they were arrested without incident. They told deputies that they are custodians at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios.
Lawrence was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with:
One count Traveling to Meet a Minor For Sex One count Attempted Lewd Battery
17. 37-year-old Edward McGaffigan of Orlando
On August 1, 2021, McGaffigan engaged in an online conversation with an undercover detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl, then asked for her phone number and communicated with her that way. He told the "girl" that he wanted to have sex with her, then he sent her several explicit photos of himself. Detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest, and he was taken into custody at his Orlando home. He told deputies that he is a professional poker player. His criminal history includes a previous arrest for DUI (in Virginia).
McGaffigan was arrested in Orlando on the Polk warrant and booked into the Orange County Jail for:
One count Unlawful Use of a Two-Way Communication Device Three counts Transmission of Material Harmful to Minor
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Investigators digging under the house of a suspected serial killer on the outskirts of Mexico City said Saturday they have found 3,787 bone fragments so far, apparently belonging to 17 different victims.
Prosecutors in the State of Mexico, which borders Mexico City, suggested the grisly finds may not end there. In excavations carried out since May 17, authorities have dug up the floors of the house where the suspect lived. They now plan to extend the search to the soil beneath several other rooms he rented out on the same property.
ID cards & other possessions from people who disappeared years ago were found at the junk-filled home, suggesting the trail of killings may go back years.
The number of bone fragments found underneath concrete floors at the suspect’s home would imply the corpses may have been hacked into tiny pieces. That could make sense: the suspect, identified by prosecutors only as “Andrés,” was formerly a butcher & in fact sectioned & filleted his last victim.
“The bones fragments are being subjected to ‘lateralization’ studies, which include carefully cleaning each one, identifying what part of the body they are and then placing them in their anatomical position, providing a method for determining the approximate number of victims,” the office said. “This analysis indicates that, up to now, the bone fragments found may possibly be those of 17 people."
Authorities have not released the full name of the 72-year-old suspect under Mexican laws protecting a suspect’s identity.
He has been ordered to stand trial in the killing of his last victim, a 34-year-old woman whose body he allegedly dismembered with a butcher’s hacksaw and knives on May 14.
He was caught, not as a result of keen investigative work, but because his most recent alleged victim was the wife of a police commander whom he knew personally. He was to have accompanied the victim on a shopping trip the day she disappeared, so her husband suspected him when she failed to return.
When RnB/Soul (and a dash of true hip hop essence if you ask me) song writer "17," music came our way we were impressed. It was different. An entire different vibe from what everyone else is doing. He was original in his sound. The music let off a positive energy. And we knew immediately we were going to feature his latest single, "Seventeen" in an up coming article. So we began our research...and here's the part that let us know we were seeing the rising in someone who well deserved it.
"17" is so much more than a recording artist. This Baltimore, Maryland native is also a recognized director and actor. Working hard to reach this point with his music, 17 gives credit to rubbing shoulders with the likes of Raheem Devaughn, Timberland, Common, Missy Elliot, Miguel, among others, along the way and picking up what knowledge and understanding he could in those instances. But he accredits alot of it to RnB artist Lil Mo. It was Lil Mo who put 17 on the tour bus and the road with her as her videographer.
And this young man is using those opportunities of learning to push forward with his own passion. And his numbers are growing. Especially with his latest single release "Seventeen." soulful melodies capture you in the instrumental and 17 does his magic lyrically. Making it an instant classic for any music lover. As you will quickly learn...most of 17's music has that quality. Check out the video to "Seventeen" below. This is an artist worth following!
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch police have dismantled what they describe as the biggest cocaine laboratory ever discovered in the Netherlands — hidden at a former horse riding school — and arrested a total of 17 people from Colombia, Turkey and the Netherlands.
Police said in a statement Tuesday that they discovered tens of thousands of liters of chemicals and 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of crack cocaine when they raided the riding school on Friday. They also found sleeping quarters for staff in the building in Nijeveen, 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of Amsterdam.
André van Rijn, chief inspector at the police organization that dismantles such production facilities, said the lab was equipped to produce 150-200 kilograms (330-440 pounds) of cocaine a day, with a street value of €4.5 million-€6 million ($5.3 million-$7.1 million).
Police video showed equipment and supplies including plastic barrels and vats of chemicals and a row of five red cement mixers that were used to extract cocaine from products like clothing that are impregnated with the drug before being exported to the Netherlands.
Police said that 13 of the suspects in custody are Colombians and one other suspect has dual Dutch and Colombian nationality. They are due to appear before an investigating magistrate on Wednesday and Thursday.
LAS VEGAS — Jeffery Thompkins stood at a community rally with thousands of protesters this month, listening as they chanted, "I can't breathe."
They were shouting the last words of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25 with an officer's knee on his neck. Floyd's final moments were captured on video by a bystander.
Thompkins, 32, said he closed his eyes, holding back tears. He had heard the words before, nearly nine months earlier. But the voice he heard back then belonged to Byron Lee Williams, his mother's fiancé.
On Sept. 5, two Las Vegas police officers arrested Williams, 50, who was Black, for riding a bicycle without a safety light. Body camera video released by police showed the officers chasing Williams, holding him on the ground, handcuffed, and kneeling on his back before lifting him upright and dragging him away. Williams repeatedly told officers, "I can't breathe."
He said it at least 17 times before he died, according to the police video.
But unlike Floyd's death — which triggered a wave of protests across the country, including in Las Vegas, and led to charges for the four Minneapolis officers involved — Williams' death drew little attention. Police released just part of the video from one of the body cameras; no bystander videos emerged. A single rally for Williams last fall drew about two dozen people. No charges have been filed against officers connected to the case.
Williams' family, community activists and civil rights advocates say it is hard to understand why Williams' death did not spark the same outrage or face the same public scrutiny as Floyd's. In part, they believe it is because Las Vegas police controlled the narrative by releasing only some of the bodycam video to the public. Police showed Williams' family additional bodycam video, in which officers ignored his cries for help, his relatives say. (NBC News has not seen the additional video, but two of Williams' relatives and two civil rights advocates who saw it all described it similarly.)
And at the September news conference where police showed the partial video for the first time, officials emphasized Williams' criminal record, including drug and theft convictions.
Officer Aden OcampoGomez, a Las Vegas police spokesman, said that the case was still under investigation and that the department could not comment further.
"The police told the public their version of the story, how they wanted to," Thompkins said. "No one saw what we saw."
A push for transparency
Las Vegas has a reputation for parties, not police brutality protests. But for nearly three weeks following Floyd's death, rallies, demonstrations and candlelight vigils have swept the city, often drawing thousands of people.
While the marches have been in response to Floyd's death, organizers called for local changes, including defunding Las Vegas' police department and ending racial inequities in policing. About 12.2 percent of the Las Vegas Valley's population is Black, but from 2015 to 2019, the share of people shot by Las Vegas police who were Black ranged from 24 percent to 40 percent, according to a statistical analysis published by the department.
Some of the recent protesters called for police accountability in Williams' death, as well as the death of Tashii Farmer, 40, who also went by Tashii Brown, a Black man who died in 2017 after Kenneth Lopera, then a Las Vegas police officer, shocked him with a stun gun seven times and placed him in a neck hold. Lopera faced charges, including involuntary manslaughter, but after a grand jury declined to indict him, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson dropped the charges.
Lopera, who left the department shortly after his arrest, had been the first Las Vegas police officer in 27 years to face a charge involving an in-custody death. (The reason for his departure from the department has not been disclosed.) No Las Vegas police officer has been charged in an in-custody death since then.
"Before there was George Floyd, there were people who died at the hands of the police department in Las Vegas just in the last few years, and their families have not seen justice," said the Rev. Vance "Stretch" Sanders, a community activist and youth pastor.
On June 5, amid the recent protests, Las Vegas police announced changes to their use of force policy. The changes, which took effect May 15, include barring officers from restraining suspects in a way that limits their ability to breathe. If suspects say they cannot breathe, they must be placed in a recovery position, such as sitting upright, and officers must call for medical assistance immediately.
That was a change that civil liberties groups say they demanded in several meetings following Williams' death, and it marks the third time the department has significantly updated its use-of-force policies since 2012, when a series of police shootings drew criticism from the U.S. Justice Department.
"We have worked very hard over the past eight years to build trust and have a department that reflects our community," Las Vegas police Deputy Chief John McGrath said in an announcement of the recent updates.
The 2012 reforms included the use of body cameras and the release of more information about in-custody death investigations. In 2017, about four months after Farmer's death, the department restricted the use of a type of chokehold.
Wesley Juhl, the spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said the changes are a step in the right direction but will not have a significant impact unless officers are disciplined or charged when they violate the policies.
Juhl added that the department needs to be more transparent about investigations of deaths in police custody, as well as any disciplinary action taken against officers; that information is now left out of the department's published reviews following deaths. He also said that while Las Vegas police generally release body camera video, often only parts of it are shown.
"It's not transparency if you're using a selected video clip to make your point," Juhl said.
"The point of transparency is for Metro to allow the public to hold them accountable," he continued, referring to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, "but we've seen time and time again that there are still unresolved questions surrounding use of force and in-custody death cases."
'Over a damn bicycle light'
Thompkins said he and his family did not know what to expect when police asked to meet with them three days after Williams' death to view body camera video. Thompkins said all that police had told the family was that Williams had been arrested, had had difficulty breathing and was taken to a hospital, where he died.
As they walked through the double doors of police headquarters, near downtown Las Vegas, less than a mile from where Williams had been stopped, it was still hard for them to believe he was gone.
Known by his friends and family as "Punch," Williams grew up in Southern California, near San Bernardino. He and Thompkins' mother, Carmon Scott, 53, had known each other since high school and eventually began a relationship. They had a child, Thompkins' older sister, and later split up but remained close friends.
Williams was one of the only male figures in Thompkins' childhood. Even when Thompkins' family moved to Illinois and then Las Vegas, they kept in touch by phone, and he considered Williams a stepfather.
Four years ago, Williams and Thompkins' mother reconciled, and he moved to Las Vegas to be with her. Thompkins, who runs the JET Foundation, a Las Vegas nonprofit that helps underserved families gain access to everything from food to medical care, began spending more time with Williams.
Thompkins said that while Williams still had his ups and downs — a drug addiction that had contributed to prison stints in California for narcotics and theft convictions, as well as arrests in Las Vegas on drug possession charges — he was trying hard to change.
Williams, a barber, often gave out free haircuts to those who could not pay for them, even when he short on cash, his family said. He doted on his three grandchildren. He enjoyed fishing at Lake Mead and listening to old-school R&B. Williams did not have a car, but he used his bicycle to run errands for elderly neighbors in his central Las Vegas neighborhood, Thompkins said.
That morning at police headquarters, Thompkins said, he, Scott, his sister, Williams' sister and her daughter sat in a small room on the first floor, with two computer screens and a few police officials. He said police explained that two officers had chased Williams on foot and arrested him for riding his bicycle without a safety light shortly after 5:48 a.m. the day he died.
Then an officer began playing the body camera video.
It showed Williams riding his bike, being ordered to pull over and then taking off running. One of the officers caught up to him about a minute and a half later at an apartment complex, where he ordered Williams to get to the ground. Williams lay down on his stomach, and the two officers handcuffed him.
"I can't breathe," Williams said in the video. One officer is shown with his knee pressed into Williams' lower back, while the other presses a hand against Williams' back, holding him to the ground. Again, Williams groaned, "I can't breathe."
"Yeah, because you're f---ing tired of running," one of the officers responded in the video.
About a minute later, a third officer arrived; both he and one of the arresting officers knelt on Williams' lower back for about 30 seconds as Williams repeatedly said he could not breathe.
"You got pressure on your butt, that's all," one of the officers responded in the video.
More officers arrived, and they pulled Williams to his feet. Within seconds, his body appeared to go limp.
"Stand up," one of the officers shouted in the video. "If you don't stand up, we're going to drag you."
The officers then began to drag Williams away.
That scene, which lasts about five minutes, is the part that was later released to the public.
But Williams' family say they were shown more that day.
Thompkins and Scott said the additional video showed officers dragging Williams around a corner, his body still limp, before dropping him on the ground. At one point, Thompkins said, the video showed Williams asking for an ambulance and an officer telling Williams that nobody was coming to help him.
Williams then fell silent, lying on the ground as the officers laughed and discussed weekend plans, Thompkins said.
Scott, Williams' fiancée, echoed Thompkins' description, as did a former ACLU of Nevada staff member and NAACP Las Vegas' chapter president, who both later watched the videos at a meeting with police.
Williams' family sat stunned, watching those scenes repeat as police played video from seven body cameras. From different vantage points, each time, they heard Williams tell officers he could not breathe.
Thompkins said he could barely speak. He watched his sister weep. At one point, overwhelmed with emotion, Scott fell out of her chair, and Thompkins had to grab her, holding her while she cried. One of the four police officials in the room asked whether she needed a glass of water, Thompkins said. It is one of the only times he remembers officers speaking to them while they viewed the video.
The videos ended with paramedics administering CPR as Williams lay motionless next to a patrol car, Thompkins said.
"That's what they told us, that he died at the hospital," Thompkins said. "But when we watched those videos, it looks like he's just dead on the ground right there, that he had already died, and for what? Over a damn bicycle light?"
The police account
The day after the meeting with Williams' family, Las Vegas police held a media briefing about his death. Assistant Sheriff Charles Hank detailed the circumstances that led to Williams' arrest and then spent several minutes describing Williams' criminal record, including the convictions in California, his arrests on drug charges in Nevada and even his "numerous traffic violations."
Hank, who recently retired, said that about a week before Williams' death, he had "absconded" by failing to check in with officers with the county's electronic monitoring program. Earlier in the year, Williams had been required to wear an ankle monitor as he awaited adjudication on June drug charges, according to court records. In response to a reporter's question, Hank said the department had been "in the process" of getting an arrest warrant for Williams before they stopped him for the bicycle light.
Court records did not show Williams as an absconder until Sept. 6, the day after his death. A bench warrant was not issued until the morning of the news conference, according to court records.
Hank added that Williams was carrying drugs on the day he died. When officers stood Williams up after having handcuffed him, two plastic bags of a white substance and an orange bottle filled with white pills dropped to the ground, and Williams appeared to kick them away, Hank said, displaying a picture of the substances. Police later determined that they contained methamphetamine and prescription painkillers.
Hank then rolled the five-minute segment of the body camera video.
Hank spoke over the video at times, pointing out that when officers lifted Williams up, he appeared to be trying to "cover something up."
Hank said officers turned off their the body cameras shortly after moving Williams near the patrol car and did not turn them back on again until paramedics arrived. He said officials were still reviewing the video and whether the cameras were turned off prematurely. He said that Williams appeared to "pass out" as he was taken to the patrol car, but he was "breathing, making noises and moving" as paramedics were called. He identified the two officers who arrested Williams — Benjamin Vasquez, 27, and Patrick Campbell, 28 — but not the several others who arrived later.
When asked by a reporter about the department's policy when suspects tell officers they cannot breathe, Hank said suspects often become winded during chases. He added that the video showed that Williams was trying to conceal drugs.
"Oftentimes, suspects will say things to somewhat distract officers, but it's important — as they did that in this case — is to address that, evaluate that," Hank said.
Paramedics took Williams to Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:44 a.m., a little less than an hour after officers tried to pull him over.
A small protest
About a week after the police media briefing, Thompkins and his family held a protest in front of police headquarters organized with the help of Sanders, the community activist.
They asked people who joined the protest to bring bicycles to remember Williams. Angered by the way officials had presented the information about Williams' death, they demanded that the department release video from the seven body cameras they had watched.
Roxann McCoy, president of the NAACP's Las Vegas chapter, said she believes police shape the public's perception of in-custody deaths by the information they emphasize and release — which, in Williams' case, contrasted with what she had seen on the video that was not made public.
"The difference between what I saw on the news and what I viewed later is horrific," McCoy said.
"It's not fair for the police to give the entire rap sheet of someone who died in their custody but then not release the disciplinary history of the officers involved and hide behind union contracts and state codes," she added. "It's painting a picture that there is justification in their actions."
The protest drew 20 to 25 people, including Williams' family.
"It hurt that not that many people came. It really did," Thompkins said. "We just wanted people to hear us and know there was more information out there that police weren't giving them."
The next month, the Clark County coroner ruled Williams' death a homicide. The coroner said Williams died of methamphetamine intoxication, medical conditions, including heart and lung disease, and "prone restraint."
On March 3, Wolfson, the Clark County DA, made a preliminary determination not to prosecute the officers involved in Williams' death and recommended the case for a public review. The review, which can include the release of body camera video, but may not show all of it, is intended to give families and the public a chance to ask prosecutors questions about the case. Police said the review in Williams' case has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report from the police department's force investigation team, which determines whether officers acted criminally during in-custody deaths, is also pending, as is a report by the department's Office of Internal Oversight. Police said the two officers who arrested Williams, who were initially placed on paid administrative leave, per department protocol, are back on active duty.
Posted by ChasinDatPaper on February 19, 2020 at 10:00am
NEW YORK — Star Brim, a friend of rapper Cardi B and the alleged godmother of the 59 Brims Gang, was one of 18 people indicted Tuesday on charges ranging from murder to racketeering.
Brim, who's real name is Yonette Respass, is allegedly the highest-ranking female member of the gang, officials said. She's charged with participating in the racketeering conspiracy and with ordering a slashing.
Cardi B posted about Respass on Instagram in 2018, writing that her friend was out on bail at the time and had been working as a bartender.
"Soo proud of her," she wrote. "Seen her growth and I see how responsible and determined she is."
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman has his own take on the alleged gang members indicted.
“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants were responsible for brutal acts of violence – murders, attempted murders, a maiming, and robberies – in service of the 59 Brims gang," he said.
Respass and four others are accused of maiming and assaulting someone on Aug. 8, 2019 to "maintain and increase their positions in the 59 Brims," officials said.
She is currently pregnant and her due date is near the end of February, according to a post on her Instagram. She has not been arrested because she's expected to give birth soon, sources said. Prosecutors are in discussions with her attorney about a self surrender.
Respass is not the only one indicted with a connection to Cardi B. Jeffrey Bush was already facing felony assault charges in Queens for his alleged role as "muscle" for the rapper in a fight at a strip club. He's an alleged high-ranking member of the gang. Bush was indicted on charged of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute various controlled substances and unlawful use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.
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