COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after being convicted of killing a mail carrier who instead of delivering a large package of marijuana to his home left a note in the mailbox requiring him to come to a South Carolina post office to pick it up.
Trevor Raekwon Seward, 25, was found guilty of murder of a federal employee in the course of her duties & other crimes in the September 2019 shooting of 64-year-old Irene Pressley as she delivered mail in rural Williamsburg County.
After finding the note in his mailbox instead of the 2-pound package of marijuana from California he was expecting, Seward confronted Pressley a few minutes later demanding his package. The U.S. Postal Service mail carrier refused.
Seward then got a semi-automatic rifle & waited for Pressley to come down a street in Andrews, firing about 20 times into the back of her mail truck.
Several bullets hit Pressley. Seward then drove the mail truck into a ditch on an access road at a hunting club, searched through it to try to find his marijuana & anything else valuable & then left the Pressley’s body in her truck.
The marijuana package was later found on the street where Pressley was killed.
The co-defendant who helped Seward look for the mail carrier was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jerome Terrell Davis, 31, pleaded guilty to robbery & conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute & to distribute marijuana.
Even when marijuana was illegal nationwide, the value of the package would not have exceeded $2,600.
A submersible carrying 5 people to the Titanic imploded near the site of the shipwreck & killed everyone on board, authorities said Thursday, bringing a tragic end to a saga that included an urgent around-the-clock search & a worldwide vigil for the missing vessel.
The sliver of hope that remained for finding the 5 men alive was wiped away early Thursday, when the submersible’s 96-hour supply of oxygen was expected to run out & the Coast Guard announced that debris had been found roughly 1,600 feet from the Titanic in North Atlantic waters.
OceanGate Expeditions, the company that owned & operated the submersible, said that all 5 people in the vessel, including CEO & pilot Stockton Rush, “have sadly been lost.”
The others on board were: 2 members of a prominent Pakistani family, Shahzada Dawood & his son Suleman Dawood; British adventurer Hamish Harding & Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
OceanGate has been chronicling the Titanic’s decay & the underwater ecosystem around it via yearly voyages since 2021.
The Titan launched at 6 a.m. Sunday & was reported overdue Sunday afternoon about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, as it was on its way to where the Titanic sank more than a century ago. By Thursday, when the oxygen supply was expected to run out, there was little hope of finding the crew alive.
An Idaho man was arrested after allegedly murdering the man who was the main suspect in his mom's murder.
Raul Alexander Cuevas, 31, was taken into custody last Wednesday, a day after his 52-year-old mother, Michelle E. Luna, was found mortally wounded with multiple stab wounds in Nampa.
Authorities later identified Jesus R. Urrutia, 39, as a suspect in Luna’s killing & he was charged with first-degree murder.
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office later reported that at approximately 7:03 a.m. the next day, there was a call of another stabbing victim, believed to be Urrutia, found at a gas station.
When Nampa police responded to the call they reportedly found Urrutia “slumped over in the car, which was running but in park.”
Police found Cuevas 20 miles away from the gas station & he was subsequently arrested for allegedly murdering Urrutia in what police believe was an act of revenge for Luna’s killing.
The Ada County Coroner’s Office ruled that Urrutia’s death was a homicide after he suffered from a “sharp force injury wound to the chest."
Cuevas was charged with first-degree murder, though authorities have not officially determined a motive behind Urrutia’s death & said they are “still figuring out why Cuevas fatally stabbed Urrutia.”
Gorilla Nems and producer Scram Jones are back with another banger. Their new single "NY Is Killing Me" sees them link up with Dave East and Uncle Murda.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — A Purdue University student was arrested Wednesday in the killing of his roommate in their campus dorm room.
JiMin Sha, a 22-year-old cybersecurity major from Seoul, South Korea, was arrested on a preliminary murder charge in the killing of 20-year-old Varun Manish Chheda, a 20-year-old data science major from Indianapolis, Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete said.
Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello said an autopsy determined that Chheda died of “multiple sharp-force traumatic injuries.”
Wiete said Sha, who goes by the nickname “Jimmy,” called police at around 12:45 a.m. “alerting us to the death of his roommate” in their first-floor dorm room on the campus in West Lafayette, which is about 65 miles northwest of Indianapolis.
He has not been formally charged. Wiete said investigators don’t know why Chheda was killed, but they think he was awake at the time.
“I believe this was unprovoked and senseless.” Wiete told reporters outside the residence hall.
Students living near the crime scene were moved to other rooms & the university provided counselors for those who need it.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a statement that “this is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus & our hearts & thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event.”
Official visuals for "Sig Sauer" from Boldy James and Real Bad Man.
Boldy James connects with producer Real Bad Man for a new album titled "Killing Nothing." It features Stove God Cooks, Rome Streetz, Crimeapple, Knowledge the Pirate
01 - Water Under The Bridge 02 - All The Way Out 03 - Game Time 04 - Hundred Ninety Bands 05 - Medellin' feat. Crimeapple 06 - Cash Transactions feat. Knowledge the Pirate 07 - Open Door feat. Rome Streetz, Stovegod Cooks 08 - Ain't No Bon Jovi 09 - Bo Jack (Miller Light) 10 - Sig Sauer 11 - 5 Missisippi 12 - Seeing Visions 13 - Killing Nothing
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — A suburban Minneapolis city has agreed to pay $3.2 million to the family of Daunte Wright, a Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer who said she confused her gun for her Taser.
The tentative settlement also includes changes in police policies & training involving traffic stops like the one that resulted in Wright’s death.
Wright was shot once in the chest by Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, who is white, after the 20-year-old was stopped for expired registration tags in April 2021. The former officer was subsequently convicted of first- & second-degree manslaughter & was sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Potter is heard on video yelling “Taser” several times just before she fires her pistol.
The shooting happened at a time of high tension in the area, with former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, standing trial just miles away for the killing of George Floyd, who was Black. Floyd’s May 2020 death prompted a reckoning over police brutality & discrimination involving people of color.
The fallout from Wright’s death led the Brooklyn Center City Council to pass a series of reforms, including the use of social workers & other trained professionals to respond to medical, mental health & social-needs calls that don’t require police.
The changes also prohibit police from making arrests for low-level offenses & require the city to use unarmed civilians to handle minor traffic violations.
The settlement is one of the largest involving police conduct Minnesota. Last year, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to Floyd’s family.
Boldy James and Real Bad Man recruit Rome Streetz and Stove God Cooks for "Open Door," the 2nd single off of their forthcoming "Killing Nothing" EP. Dropping May 20, 2022 everywhere music is streamed and sold!
Boldy James connects with producer Real Bad Man for a new album titled "Killing Nothing." It features Stove God Cooks, Rome Streetz, Crimeapple, Knowledge the Pirate
01 - Water Under The Bridge 02 - All The Way Out 03 - Game Time 04 - Hundred Ninety Bands 05 - Medellin' feat. Crimeapple 06 - Cash Transactions feat. Knowledge the Pirate 07 - Open Door feat. Rome Streetz, Stovegod Cooks 08 - Ain't No Bon Jovi 09 - Bo Jack (Miller Light) 10 - 6 Sawyer 11 - 5 Missisippi 12 - Seeing Visions 13 - Killing Nothing
Boldy James connects with producer Real Bad Man for a new album titled "Killing Nothing."
The lead single "All the Way Out" is certified fire.
Available now on all streaming platforms:
Tracklist:
01 - Water Under The Bridge 02 - All The Way Out 03 - Game Time 04 - Hundred Ninety Bands 05 - Medellin' feat. Crimeapple 06 - Cash Transactions feat. Knowledge the Pirate 07 - Open Door feat. Rome Streetz, Stovegod Cooks 08 - Ain't No Bon Jovi 09 - Bo Jack (Miller Light) 10 - 6 Sawyer 11 - 5 Missisippi 12 - Seeing Visions 13 - Killing Nothing
Boldy James connects with producer Real Bad Man for an upcoming EP titled "Killing Nothing." Dropping May 20, 2022 everywhere music is streamed and sold!
The lead single "All the Way Out" is certified fire.
The dynamic duo of deadly emcee Ransom and super producer Nicholas Craven are back once again with a new EP titled "Crime Scenes," their fifth project of 2020. Features include Che Noir, Rigz, Flee Lord, Eto, Stove God Cooks and Rome Streetz.
Available now everywhere music is streamed and sold:
1. Uncut Gems 2. GoodTime Ft. Che Noir and Stove God Cooks 3. Killing Them Softly 4. 25th Hour 5. The Rite Ft. Stove God Cooks 6. A Most Violent Year 7. Hell or Hight Water Ft. Flee Lord, Eto, Rigz and Rome Streetz
Shadow Mobb leader and longtime D-Block affiliate, Whispers, drops off an official music video for the BLACKSHEEPFILMZ-directed banger titled "The Killing Fields."
This serves as a warm up for the Bronx, New York native's "Wizardly 2" project, which drops on April 20th.
For bookings and collabs email mgmt@whispersmusik.com
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (WSB-TV) -- Former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert "Chip" Olsen was sentenced on Friday to 20 years, with 12 to serve in prison for shooting and killing a naked, unarmed, mentally ill military veteran.
Last month, a jury convicted Robert Olsen in the death of Anthony Hill but found him not guilty of murder. On Friday, Olsen learned his sentence.
Judge LaTisha Dear Jackson imposed the sentence after an emotion-packed hearing that lasted more than three hours. Her decision brings to a close a case that has lingered for more than four years and has been watched closely as a test of police accountability.
Olsen's defense lawyers had asked that the ex-cop serve five years behind bars; prosecutors had sought 30 years, with 25 to serve and five on probation.
Olsen, 57, was acquitted last month on two charges of felony murder for shooting and killing Hill on March 9, 2015. But the ex-cop was convicted on four lesser charges: aggravated assault, making a false statement to a police officer, and two counts of violating his oath of office.
At Friday's hearing, Hill's mother spoke of how Olsen's decision to shoot had shattered her family.
"I know Mr. Olsen didn't wake up that day and say I'm going to shoot Anthony Hill. But his decision to use lethal force is why I do not have my son. My only son," Carolyn Guimmo told the judge.
DeKalb prosecutor Pete Johnson said Olsen must be face the consequences for shooting an unarmed, naked man in broad daylight and then lying about it.
"That's appalling," Johnson told the judge.
But defense lawyer Don Samuel argued that Olsen represents no ongoing threat to the community and urged the judge to resist efforts to use the case to a make broader statement about police conduct.
"Think about mercy, compassion, forgiveness," Samuel said.
Hill, 26, had stopped taking his meds and had stripped off his clothes when he encountered Olsen in the parking lot of the Heights Chamblee apartment complex.
When Hill ran toward Olsen, ignoring his commands to stop, Olsen fired twice.
Olsen has maintained that he acted in self-defense.
CHICAGO (WGN9) — A jury on Friday convicted a man who prosecutors said plotted then tried to cover up the 2015 slaying of a 9-year-old boy who was lured into a Chicago alley with the promise of a juice box.
Corey Morgan was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder of Tyshawn Lee. The verdict came after a separate jury convicted Morgan's co-defendant, Dwright Boone-Doty, on Thursday and after a third man, Kevin Edwards, pleaded guilty last month in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors argued that the "execution" of Tyshawn was carried out as revenge, that the suspects believed the fourth grader's father was responsible for a shooting weeks earlier that left Morgan's brother dead and his mother wounded.
"They went after his family, he's going after their family," Assistant State's Attorney Craig Engebretson told jurors.
The three men found Tyshawn shooting baskets on the city's South Side, prosecutors said. Morgan and Edwards watched as Boone-Doty walked over to Tyshawn and struck up a conversation, the said.
What prosecutors said happened next turned one of hundreds of killings in Chicago that year into a national news story: Boone-Doty persuaded Tyshawn to come into an alley — out of sight of anyone else in the park — by promising him a juice box. Once in the alley, Boone-Doty pulled out a gun and fired several times at close range, according to prosecutors.
People in the park who came running over found the boy's body, his basketball a few feet away.
Prosecutors said Morgan gave Boone-Duty the gun just before he approached the boy. The murder weapon, they told jurors, was a gun that another brother of Morgan's had bought in New Mexico and mailed to him.
While Boone-Duty's DNA was found on Tyshawn's basketball, no scientific evidence linked Morgan to the crime. Instead, prosecutors relied on a witness who testified to seeing Morgan at the park and to seeing what he believed was a large gun in Morgan's pocket. They also presented GPS and cellphone evidence they said put him at the park that day, as well as evidence that shortly after the shooting he started looking at the Facebook pages of Tyshawn's father and mother.
"He wants to see them hurt the way he hurt," Engebretson said.
Morgan's lawyers said police focused on him because he was a gang member, and they argued that the person who identified Morgan as being in the park did so only after asking about a reward. Police wanted to quickly solve the case, and that Morgan "made sense" because of the shooting of his brother and mother, attorney Todd Pugh told jurors Thursday.
"He, in the eyes of police, is one of those throwaway people," Pugh said. He later went on to add: "He was a gang banger who police thought was never going to amount to anything.
SANTA FE, Texas (Reuters) - Texas officials charged a 17-year-old student with murder in the shooting of 10 people, including fellow pupils, at his high school on Friday in an attack similar to the massacre at a Florida high school earlier this year.
Students said a gunman, identified by law enforcement as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, opened fire in a classroom at Santa Fe High School shortly before 8 a.m. CT (1300 GMT) on Friday, and that they fled in panic after seeing classmates wounded and a fire alarm triggered a full evacuation. Ten people were hurt in the attack, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said.
It was the latest in a long series of deadly shootings at U.S. schools. Seventeen teens and educators were shot dead at a Parkland, Florida, high school in February, a massacre that stirred the nation’s long-running debate over gun ownership.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office identified Pagourtzis and said he had been charged with capital murder in a post on its Facebook page. More charges could follow.
Speaking to reporters before the teen was identified, Abbott told reporters that the suspect had used a shotgun and a .38 revolver taken from his father in the fourth-deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. public school.
“Not only did he want to commit the shooting, but he wanted to commit suicide after the shooting,” Abbott said, citing a police review of the suspect’s journals. “He didn’t have the courage to commit suicide.”
Two other people are in custody, Abbott said.
Investigators are talking to the suspect, Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said.
Abbott said that investigators had seen a T-shirt on the suspect’s Facebook page that read “Born to Kill.”
Explosive devices had also been found at the school, located about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Houston, and off campus, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted.
Police were searching two homes and a vehicle linked to the suspect, where they have found multiple homemade explosive devices, Abbott said.
‘THE GUY BEHIND ME WAS DEAD’
Courtney Marshall, a 15-year-old freshman at the school, said the gunman came into her art class shooting.
“I wanted to take care of my friends, but I knew I had to get out of there,” Marshall said, saying that she saw at least one person hit. “I knew the guy behind me was dead.”
Orlando Gonzalez said that his 16-year-old son Keaton, fled the attack, but one of his friends was shot and wounded.
“I was really worried, I didn’t know what was going on ... I almost couldn’t drive,” Gonzalez said. “I just imagine what he’s going through ... He’s still scared.”
The school has some 1,462 students, according to federal education data.
U.S. President Donald Trump called the latest school massacre “absolutely horrific.”
“My administration is determined to do everything in our power to protect our students, secure our schools and to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves and to others,” Trump said at the White House.
Days after the Parkland shooting, Trump said that elected officials should be ready to “fight” the powerful National Rifle Association lobby group. Early this month he embraced that group, telling its annual meeting in Dallas “your Second Amendment rights are under siege.”
The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms.
No major federal gun controls have been imposed since Parkland, though the administration is pursuing a proposed regulatory ban on “bump stocks,” which enable a semi-automatic rifle to fire a steady stream of bullets. The devices were used in an October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people but have not played a role in other major U.S. mass shootings.
Additional reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Liz Hampton in Houston, Gina Cherelus and Peter Szekely in New York and Mark Hosenball and Ian Simpson in Washington; Writing by Daniel Wallis and Scott Malone; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Susan Thomas
}