CNN Reports
A former California police officer accused of sexually assaulting a motorist during a traffic stop pleaded guilty in federal court, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Feliciano Sanchez, 34, admitted in court Thursday that while on duty on May 16, 2007, he pulled over a female driver in a traffic stop and forced her to perform oral sex on him, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien, who heads the office for the Central District.
Sanchez, then of Los Angeles County's Bell Police Department, stopped the woman for speeding or weaving down the road, said central California U.S. attorney spokesman Thom Mrozek, citing court documents.
After learning the woman, identified as R.H. in court documents, did not have a driver's license with her, Sanchez told her he suspected her of drinking and her car would be towed, Mrozek said.
Sanchez offered to drive R.H. to her job, but instead drove her to the parking lot of an auto repair outlet in Bell, Mrozek said.
Sanchez placed his hand on his gun and forced her to perform sex on him in his patrol car, Mrozek said. Afterward, Sanchez drove R.H. to her work place, Mrozek said.
"Officer Sanchez brutalized a person he had sworn to serve," O'Brien said in the release. "As a result of his criminal conduct, Mr. Sanchez now faces a substantial amount of time in federal prison. His conduct eroded public confidence in law enforcement and cast a pall over his former colleagues who obey the law, proudly working to preserve public safety."
Federal prosecutors charged Sanchez with a civil rights violation, according to the release.
The crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison upon sentencing. Sanchez has been held without bond since his arrest in May 2007, Mrozek said. Sanchez's sentencing is scheduled for November 18.
Sanchez resigned as an officer after his indictment, Bell Police Department Capt. Anthony Miranda said. Miranda said Sanchez's case was a first for the department.
"We were in shock, and actually, disbelief," he said.
Read more…
Rap-Up.Com Reports
Ne-Yo has some words for his fans and the critics who won’t give him a break.
In an entry titled “THIS IS MY LIFE…” posted on Global Grind, Ne-Yo responded to an incident during his concert in Manchester, England on Thursday where he started to cry, prompting him to end the show early. He says the emotional outburst was caused by his non-stop schedule, which left him with a sinus infection. Watch The Video Here.
I’m currently on tour in the UK. This tour began right after a 4 month stint in Prague shooting a world war 2 movie. We’re in a different city in a different part of the UK every night, moving non stop. Since my first album, roughly 5 years ago, I’ve taken 1 vacation, and even that was about 2 years ago.
Basically, I have an issue with not knowing when to say enough is enough, so last night in Manchester, my body said it for me.
I got on stage energized and ready to go, even tho for the last 5 days I’ve been dealing with a sinus infection. I paid it no real mind, and kept on going, like I always do. My voice couldn’t take it. From the first song I knew something was wrong. I shoulda stopped there, but I come from a school where no matter what, the show must go on. It wasn’t until about 4 songs in that I came to the painful realization that my voice was done, literally nothing left, and that I would have to stop the show.
Now let me explain something to you:
When I say this music, that stage, my fans, THIS is my life, I’m not saying it cause it sounds good in a sound bite. THIS IS MY LIFE!! Not much else matters to me, honestly.
My music, my family and the people that appreciate my music…..the fans. THAT’S ABOUT IT!!
I’ve never had to stop a show, never dreamed I’d ever have to. So when I had to walk out on that stage and tell 12,000 of the people responsible for making me who I am that I could not perform for them, it literally broke my heart.
I cried harder than I have in a very long time with no shame whatsoever.
To anyone out there that would like to question my manhood because of this I’ll say this to you:
If the one thing you cared about more than anything else in the world was threatened or even taken from you, if you knew that the people you cared for the most you had to disappoint and it was your fault… and this didn’t spark some kind of emotional outbreak within you…then with no shame I’ll say you are truly a stronger man than I.
To the people of Manchester, know that I love you and I thank you for being so understanding and supportive. And I promise you that you will receive the show deserved.
Thanks to the fans for the love and concern.
And to the bloggers….go to hell.
Sincerely, Ne*Yo!!
Read more…
AllHipHop And NashvillePost.Com Report
Relatives of a local Nashville rapper have denied a rap song about a man prepared to commit murder had anything to do with the death of NFL Quarterback Steve McNair.
A song by Keith Norfleet, the ex-boyfriend of Sahel Kazemi was posted on Soundclick, a popular website used by upcoming musicians to share their music.
Norfleet, who goes by the stage name 'Kane Antiochs Finest' wrote the song “Closed Casket,” was questioned by police over the lyrics in the song, but was eventually allowed to leave with no charges filed.
Closed Casket -
"I don’t wanna be like this
I don’t really wanna hurt no feelings
But I’m only being real when I say
Nobody wanna see an old man collapse
And old men have heart attacks
I don’t wanna be responsible for that
So let the s**t go and walk away
You can still have a little bit of dignity”
[snip]
Try to stunt and front and fronting in front of somebody else
Til you’re surrounded by 20 people With nobody’s help
IF you try to go incredible hulk it won’t work
Put so many holes in you your nerves won’t even jerk
Lurking in the shadows thinking and scheming of work
Got a little cocky so you decided to flirt
Now you’re flirting with death”
[snip]
“If you ever do it again b***h I’m not rapping
I’m getting a clip and clapping and I’m not laughing
They’re wrapping you up for your little trip to the morgue
While I’m preparing for my trip to the shore,
Don’t ignore me, I’m not lying, I couldn’t be more honest
If you ever do it again, you’ll die, I promise.”
Norfleet uploaded the track to SoundClick in February, just one month after McNair and Kazemi started dating.
Norfleet’s sister Crystal told The Tennessean that the track was not about McNair, or Kazemi.
It was about her husband, who had cheated on her with a younger woman.
"He puts his emotions on pen and paper, and that's where they stay. he never wrote that with Steve and Jenny (Sahel Kazemi) in mind," Crystal told the paper.
State medical examiners have ruled McNair’s death a murder-suicide, although conspiracy theories about another person executing the killings have already started to surface due to the positions of the bodies and allegedly, the blood stains found in the room.
Sahel Kazemi's family has also maintained that she was not suicidal at the time of the shootings.
Listen To Song HereRead more…
ESPN Reports
NBA scoring champion Dwyane Wade is changing shoes, making the switch from Converse to Nike's Jordan Brand.
Nike announced Friday that the star Miami Heat guard will now represent the Jumpman label, joining Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Derek Jeter and others.
Wade had three years left on his deal with Converse, which made him the centerpiece of its attempt to reinvigorate a once-thriving basketball business. That relationship seemed rocky when the 2006 NBA Finals MVP wore his most recently released signature shoe, the "Wade 4," only once last season and favoring an older model instead.
But Wade said the partnership ends on good terms.
"When I came into the NBA, I didn't have a lot of exposure and Converse gave me an opportunity to head a brand and be the face of a brand," Wade told The Associated Press. "I'm really thankful for six long, good years. I've gotten five shoes out of the deal and my dream came true at the Converse brand, because they put my name on a pair of sneakers."
Still, the lure of the Jordan brand -- a 12-year-old division of Nike, which also owns Converse -- was too much for Wade to ignore.
Wade told The AP he inquired about switching allegiances from Converse to Jordan's brand before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, doing so in part about concern over Converse's long-term viability in the basketball marketplace.
The 2008 request was declined, but earlier this month, Wade said he was "almost positive" a switch would happen sometime before the season. Less than two weeks later, the deal was done.
"It did come sort of fast. It wasn't anything we planned," Wade said. "But it's a good thing. Now we can plan for the season."
Coming off a year where the Heat went from 15 to 43 wins and Wade won his first scoring title, Nike apparently agreed that the switch now made sense.
"I'm thrilled to have Dwyane Wade join the Team Jordan family," Michael Jordan said in a statement.
The deal was finalized Thursday. Terms were not released, although it's believed the new deal, at minimum, matches the remaining three years on the Converse contract.
It's a significant add to Wade's endorsement resume, which already includes deals with T-Mobile and Gatorade.
"I want to go global," said Wade, who is planning a business trip to China later this summer. "It's something I feel like I have to do. I want to continue to build my brand."
Wade made a cryptic reference to the move on his Twitter feed late Thursday night, saying he had "good news coming.....stay tuned." Dozens of people quickly starting pleading for more information, even Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick, who inquired via Twitter if that was Wade's way of saying he had agreed to a contract extension with the Heat.
"Not only did Andy Roddick hit me on Tweet, he hit me on my phone immediately, right after that," Wade said. "That's when I knew I sparked a little interest."
Wade offered another Tweet on Friday: "I'm finally home with brand Jordan," he wrote.
The move wasn't totally unexpected: As recently as last week, Wade was at a charity event with children in Miami wearing apparel featuring the Jumpman logo, prompting one of the kids he was meeting with to ask if he still was aligned with Converse.
Wade donned a blue pair of Converse sneakers at the Zo's Summer Groove game he co-hosted Sunday with Alonzo Mourning.
That'll likely be his last appearance in that brand. A "Wade 5" shoe was to be released by Converse in the coming weeks, although it now seems likely that orders from retailers for that model will be canceled.
Read more…
ESPN Reports
Former NBA All-Star Antoine Walker has been arrested on criminal charges stemming from $822,500 in gambling debts in Las Vegas.
Douglas County sheriff's Sgt. Jim Halsey says Walker was arrested Thursday at a Harrah's Tahoe cabaret bar on Lake Tahoe's south shore.
Deputies were notified of his presence by an employee who had seen a television report about an arrest warrant issued for Walker two days before.
Walker is accused of three felony counts of writing bad checks. Clark County prosecutors say he failed to make good on 10 checks totaling $1 million to Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and the Red Rock Resort.
Walker has repaid $178,000 of the debts that were incurred from last July to January.
Walker was released from jail after posting $135,000 cash bail.
Read more…
ESPN Reports
Federal agents have arrested a convicted felon for allegedly providing the gun later used to kill ex-NFL quarterback Steve McNair, The Associated Press learned Friday.
Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said the suspect was arrested by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents.
Federal prosecutors in Nashville planned to announce the charges at a press conference Friday afternoon.
McNair was shot to death on July 4 at his condo by his 20-year-old mistress Sahel Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself. Police have said Kazemi bought the gun in a private sale from a person they haven't identified.
Police announced in a news conference last week that Kazemi purchased "a fully loaded nine millimeter pistol from a private individual" who met her in the parking lot of the mall where she worked at a Dave & Busters restaurant.
Kazemi met the person when she was trying to sell her car. She mentioned to him that she was looking to buy a gun and he told her he had one for sale, police said. The sale took place two days before McNair's shooting.
Authorities believe McNair was asleep when Kazemi put the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. She put two more slugs into his chest and a fourth bullet into the other side of his head before shooting herself.
McNair, a married father of four, walked away from the NFL last year. "Air McNair" was known as a gutsy quarterback who played through serious injuries and led his Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl.
Though the gun sale in question did not involve a licensed gun dealer, the ATF recently warned all gun dealers in Tennessee that they must still comply with federal gun laws despite a new state law aimed at easing such requirements for weapons manufactured and sold in-state.
Read more…
ESPN Reports
Never-before-released court documents and amateur video help provide the clearest picture yet of what happened inside a Las Vegas strip club on Feb. 19, 2007, when Adam "Pacman" Jones showered scantily clad dancers with money. Just minutes after "making it rain," Jones was involved in a fight inside the club. A short time later, three people were shot outside the club.
Jones initially was charged with felony coercion for his role in the melee. The charge later was reduced, but the incident ultimately helped push his NFL career to the brink.
The video and documents, including witness statements, search warrants and internal police memos, were obtained by "Outside the Lines" and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The documents include differing statements Jones provided to Las Vegas police -- one made the day of the shooting and one from seven months later.
The amateur video, held as evidence in the shooting case, could be played when Arvin Edwards stands trial in February. Edwards is charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting.
Jones was in Las Vegas for NBA All-Star Weekend. After losing $50,000 or $60,000 gambling at Caesars Palace, according to statements, Jones went on a hot streak, winning $120,000 at the Palms hotel and casino.
Shortly after 2 a.m. on Feb. 19, Jones and an entourage of about seven people -- a group that included his stylist; his business manager, Chris Horvath; and Robert Reid, Jones' massive bodyguard for the evening -- arrived at the Minxx Gentlemen's Club & Lounge. Celebrity sightings at the club increased as the evening progressed. Rapper Nelly and rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri, both Grammy-winning artists, arrived at the club not long after Jones. Professional boxer Zab Judah and Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson were also in the crowd.
Jones told police he arrived at the club with "close to $100,000." He took $40,000 out of his Louis Vuitton bag and exchanged it for several stacks of $1 bills, which he put in a black trash bag, according to his statement. So much money was thrown onto the main stage that dancers, after their sets, started filling buckets with the loose bills covering the stage.
At one point, Jones told police, Dupri called him to the stage. Jones climbed the short steps while cradling "probably about $12,000 to $14,000," according to one of his statements.
Jones, with his bodyguard present in the background, can be seen on the video repeatedly throwing money to a dancer off stage at his feet and then over his shoulder to several dancers on stage. When several dancers bent over to collect the cash, Dupri took over the DJ's microphone and said: "We gonna show y'all how to make it rain."
"Don't start getting the money until I tell y'all to get off the stage," Dupri said. "… Just keep f---ing dancing! Don't bend down and try to get your money."
Moments after Dupri made those comments, the video recording ended. It was after 4:30 a.m. when trouble inside Minxx began.
According to court documents, Jones became angry when a dancer and a club promoter continued sweeping up the money he had thrown on the stage.
Two Minxx bouncers interviewed by "Outside the Lines" said Jones approached the dancer who was collecting the money, grabbed her by the hair and hit her in the face with a closed fist. Jones has denied attacking the entertainer. No charges have been filed.
According to witness statements in court documents, when Minxx bouncer Aaron Cudworth grabbed Jones in an effort to forcibly remove him from the club, Jones said, "I'm gonna kill ya. Matter of fact, all youse are gonna get it." During the struggle, according to witnesses, Jones bit Cudworth near his left ankle.
In his second statement to police, when asked by a detective whether he had made any threats, Jones said: "No sir. Not one threat." Jones told police that while he was "making it rain," several dancers started fighting over the money.
While trying to break up a fight between two of the dancers, Jones said, he noticed a club promoter snatch the black trash bag, which contained the remainder of the $40,000 Jones had received in $1 bills upon entering the club. Jones told police that when he and Reid, his bodyguard, confronted the man who took the bag of cash, they were both attacked by Minxx security.
According to Jones, the bouncers put Reid in a choke hold, pulled out expandable batons like the kind carried by riot police, and hurled racial epithets at Jones and Reid.
"I'll crack your f---ing knees, n-----," threatened one bouncer, according to a statement Jones provided.
Jones and his entourage were thrown out of the club. Moments later, prosecutors say, a lone gunman -- a man they say was Edwards -- stepped from behind a palm tree at the front of the club and opened fire.
Three people were shot. Cudworth, the bouncer who fought with Jones, was shot in the chest and left forearm. Shift manager Tom Urbanski was shot in the chest. A bullet remains lodged in Urbanski's spine, and he is paralyzed from the waist down. A patron, Natalie Jones, was grazed by a bullet on the left side of her head. The three shooting victims have filed separate civil lawsuits against Jones.
When Las Vegas Police arrived at Jones' suite in Caesars Palace several hours later to take his statement, he provided sketchy details about the alleged shooter.
"I didn't actually see him, uh, shoot the gun, but I seen a guy in a black shirt run off when I heard shots," Jones told police that night. He described the man as a slightly built, lighter-skinned black male. "It had to be him," Jones told police. But Jones acknowledged that the unidentified man might have simply been running from the gunfire.
The documents, recently obtained by "Outside the Lines," reveal the degree to which Las Vegas Police initially treated Jones as a suspect in the weeks and months after the shooting.
Detectives filed applications for search warrants to obtain Jones' cell phone records. They also traveled to Atlanta to interview his associates and sought cellular-site information that would help them place Jones and his associates in specific locations the night of the shooting based on their proximity to the nearest cell phone towers.
"I think they knew Adam Jones was not the perpetrator but they felt like he could help them in their investigation," said Worrick Robinson, Jones' Nashville-based player agent and attorney.
In March 2007, Las Vegas Police interviewed Minxx valet David Devine, who, according to witness statements, was the only person to clearly see the gunman open fire outside the strip club. Devine spent roughly 2½ hours reviewing surveillance video and still photos, according to a log of the investigation compiled by Las Vegas Det. Kirk Jordan.
"Devine cannot determine … if suspect was inside club prior to shooting," Det. Jordan wrote in his notes. "Without this information, Detectives cannot prove if shooter had/has any intimate knowledge of Jones or his entourage."
Robinson said Jones has fully cooperated with Las Vegas Police. In April 2007, detectives obtained a search warrant to take a sample of Jones' DNA; he provided an oral swab that same month in Atlanta. Robinson said police obtained the DNA sample because of the allegation that Jones bit a bouncer the night of the strip club fight. Prosecutors have declined to comment about the case before trial.
That same month, while waiting to hear whether there would be formal charges from the Minxx incident, Jones was suspended for the 2007 season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Two months later, Jones and Reid were charged with felony coercion for their alleged roles in the strip club melee.
Jones' later statement
Jones' life as a suspect was short-lived, and the felony charge against him was later reduced, in large part because of the second statement Jones provided to Las Vegas Police -- in September 2007, nearly seven months after the shooting.
After the fight inside the strip club, Jones told police, he was approached in the parking lot by a light-skinned black male who asked simply, "What's wrong?"
When Jones explained that he'd had his money taken away from him inside the club, the man replied: "Don't worry about it. … I'm going to take care of it." Moments later, Jones said, that same man opened fire on the front of the strip club.
At one point in Jones' second statement, one of the detectives asked Jones why he waited nearly seven months to reveal his contact with the shooting suspect. An excerpt reads as follows:
Detective: "When you gave us an interview [in February 2007], why didn't you give us this information about the guy comin' up to you at that time?"
Jones: "Cause I was so nervous. And at, at the point I was thinkin' everybody was tryin' to put everything on me. I was just nervous."
Detective: "Cause that's gonna be a question. Why, if you weren't involved in the shooting or any relationship with anybody, why didn't you just tell us that up front?"
Jones: "I was just nervous."
In December 2007, Jones pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct for his role in the fight inside the strip club and agreed to assist police in their investigation.
In April 2008, 14 months after the Minxx shooting and with a trade to the Dallas Cowboys in the works, Jones picked Edwards out of a police lineup in Yakima County, Wash., identifying him as the man who had approached him briefly outside the club that night. Edwards had been arrested in Washington on an unrelated offense. In a jailhouse interview with "Outside the Lines," Edwards denied involvement in the Minxx shooting. Edwards' attorney, Dan Silverstein, said Jones changed his story to get a deal.
"In February, Pacman says he didn't see the shooting and he can't identify the shooter," Silverstein said. "In September, after getting a sweetheart deal from the prosecutor, Pacman becomes the key eyewitness identifying somebody else. Pacman learned a lot playing defense in the NFL."
Robinson maintains that Jones has been truthful throughout the course of the police investigation.
Edwards was scheduled to stand trial this week, but his trial date has been moved to February.
Jones, who is expected to testify against Edwards as a key prosecution witness, has kept a low profile in recent months and remains hopeful he can make another comeback in the NFL.
"He [Jones] has been trying to stay out of the news," Robinson said. "He's got a child. He's got other family he supports. He's trying to get back into the only career he knows: playing football."
Read more…
Telegraph.Co.UK Reports
Eleven of the 1009 people surveyed thought Buzz Lightyear was the first person on the Moon.
The Toy Story film character was named alongside Louis Armstrong. Eight of those taking part thought the late jazz musician made the first moon walk.
Not quite three quarters correctly answered that Neil Armstrong took the first step onto the Moon.
Eleven per cent of people polled thought the Apollo programme was a recent as the 1980s, with just 68 per cent knowing that the first moon landing took place in 1969.
A total of 44 per cent considered the missions to be a waste of money.
The survey was conducted for E&T magazine, published by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Editor in chief Dickon Ross said: "The Apollo moon landing is mankind's most outstanding engineering event so it's deeply worrying that such a large number of people should think the first moon walk never happened and that the public's belief in the legitimacy of science and technology seems to be declining over time."
Conspiracy theorists have pointed to a number of flaws in the pictures and footage from the Apollo missions as proof that the moon landings were staged.
For instance, the US flag planted by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin was said to be waving in a breeze, which should not have been possible on the airless moon.
Nasa's response was that the flag waved a little when deployed due to residual momentum from contact with the astronauts, not because of windy weather.
Alleged light and shadow anomalies were the result of the highly reflective surface of the Moon and the wide-angle cameras used by the astronauts, said the space agency.
Another question mark over the lack of dust kicked up by the lunar module was explained by the fact that the craft's rocket exhaust fired out sideways rather than straight down.
Leading space scientist Professor John Zarnecki, from the Open University, said: "I think it would have been a far greater achievement to have mocked the whole thing up AND to have kept it quiet for four decades.
"If one in four Britons today don't believe the moon landings ever happened, then I'm afraid that says a lot about one in four Britons. And what it says isn't very complimentary."
He pointed out that moon rocks brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts were very similar to those returned by a series of unmanned Soviet probes.
Veteran astronomer Sir Patrick Moore said about those who believe the moon landings were a hoax: "If ignorance is bliss they must be very happy.
Read more…
Telegraph.Co.UK Reports
Police officers were called to the 23-year-old actress’s Los Angeles home on Wednesday to deal with a “medical issue”.
Her spokesman, Craig Schneider, said: “Mischa has been hospitalised per the recommendation of her doctor and is resting in the hospital.”
Officer April Harding of the Los Angeles Police Department told People that Barton called police at 3pm on Wednesday with a health problem. “We assisted her with a medical issue and removed her from her home,” Harding said, adding that Barton was not arrested.
According to television show Access Hollywood, Barton was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold - also known as a section 5150 - and transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre. Under Californian law, authorities can hold a person under section 5150 if they present a danger to themselves or others, are gravely disabled or suffer from a mental disorder.
Barton can be held for up to 72 hours. Britney Spears was hospitalised under the same code last year.
The British-born actress’s weight has fluctuated alarmingly in recent months, sparking fears for her health. Since leaving her role as Marissa Coopeer in The OC in 2006, she has had a troubled personal life.
In December 2007, she was arrested for driving under the influence, marijuana possession and driving without a licence. She pleaded no contest and was sentenced to three years’ probation
Read more…
}