Officials say Aniah Blanchard was killed by a gunshot ... and now, they're seeking the death penalty for her alleged killer.
Blanchard's body was recovered in a wooded area in Macon County, Alabama on Nov. 25 after she had gone missing for weeks.
The medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined Blanchard -- the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris -- was killed by a gunshot ... but didn't specify to which part of her body.
Now, prosecutors say the man accused of pulling the trigger -- Ibraheem Yazeed -- is being charged with capital murder, and they're seeking the death penalty.
"This case has shaken our community to its core," Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes said Monday ... "It is my intention that the response to this horrific crime serve as a warning to anyone who believes they want to come to Lee County and engage in violent criminal behavior."
Hughes added, "You will be dealt with and the consequences will be severe."
So far, three men have been arrested in connection with Blanchard's abduction ... but Hughes said Monday Yazeed is now believed to be the "lone person responsible" for Blanchard's death.
Hughes says Yazeed abducted Blanchard from an Auburn gas station on Oct. 23 ... and his first-degree kidnapping charge has now been upgraded to capital murder.
Yazeed is still being held in jail without bond.
As for Blanchard's family, her mother, Angela Harris, emotionally spoke about the tragedy last week ... while Walt Harris penned a thank-you note to Aniah on social media, writing, "This pain is unbearable."
The man charged with kidnapping Aniah Blanchard is now charged in her death, Lee County District Attorney Brandon Hughes announced on Monday.
Blanchard, 19, was abducted in October outside an Auburn convenience store and was found dead last week in rural Macon County woods. The cause of Blanchard’s death was a gunshot wound, Hughes said.
Three people have been charged in connection with the abduction.
Ibraheem Yazeed, 29, was initially charged with first-degree kidnapping and has been held without bond in the Lee County Jail since his Nov. 8 arrest. Video evidence from the College Street convenience store placed both Blanchard and Yazeed at the store during the same time. Yazeed has a history of arrests for violent crimes.
Yazeed is now charged with capital murder. Hughes said his office will seek the death penalty.
During the course of the investigation into Blanchard’s disappearance, it was determined Yazeed abducted her from the Chevron gas station on College Street in Auburn, Hughes said. "After the arrest of Mr. Yazeed, the focus of the investigation turned exclusively to finding Aniah,'' he said.
On Nov. 25, investigative efforts led authorities to County Road 2 in Macon County where human remains were found and later determined by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences to be those of Blanchard.
The charge against Yazeed is capital murder because Blanchard was killed during the course of another felony crime, which in this case was kidnapping. Hughes declined to say when Blanchard was actually shot to death, nor would he discuss whether Blanchard was a crime of opportunity and what the suspect’s ultimate motive may have been.
"In the interests of public safety, I can say that the investigation has determined Ibraheem Yazeed to be the lone person responsible for Aniah’s abduction and her murder and he remains in the Lee County jail without bond,'' Hughes said. “Mr. Yazeed remains innocent of any charges against him until his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
"This case has shaken our community to its core, and I cannot say enough about how the Auburn Police Division—and every other agency involved in this case—responded to the report of Aniah’s disappearance,'' the district attorney said. “From its first moments, law enforcement moved swiftly and methodically to find Aniah’s abductor, her murderer, and her. The process of seeing justice done on behalf of Aniah and her family will not be swift, but it will be thorough.”
"It is my intention that the response to this horrific crime serve as a warning to anyone who believes they want to come to Lee County and engage in violent criminal behavior. You will be dealt with and the consequences will be severe,” Hughes said.
The two others charged in connection to the case are Antwain “Squirmy” Fisher, 35, and David Lee Johnson Sr., 63.
Fisher is also charged with first-degree kidnapping and remains held on $50,000 bond. Authorities said Fisher “provided material assistance to Yazeed by providing transportation to Yazeed, and disposing of evidence,’’ according to court records.
Johnson is charged with hindering prosecution. Authorities say he knew his son allegedly drove Yazeed to Florida, but instead told investigators Yazeed left his home with an unidentified woman. Johnson has been released on bond.
Hughes did not say whether charges against Fisher or Johnson could later be upgraded as well.
The announcement came one week after Blanchard’s remains were discovered and police officially declared her death a homicide investigation.
Legendary rapper E-40 has a pretty impressive jewelry collection, but that doesn't mean he's above buying his ice at Costco. Seriously, don't pass that Costco collection over. Join E-40 as he breaks down some of the jewels of his jewel collection, from his 'Forty' and 'Water' chains to his $100K+ Audemars Piguet watch.
Check out the official teaser trailer for Marvel's "Black Widow" starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh and Robert Downey Jr. In theaters May 1, 2020.
Holy Smoke Records Recording Artist, Skvd Rock releases the visual to his latest single, "Can't Ride With Me"
If you must define Skvd Rock's sound-one may say that it is hardcore gritty rap/hip-hop from the dirty South.Skvd Rock is a new hip-hop artist from Jacksonville, Fl. Skvd is quickly becoming one of the top "underground rap" artists in the scene.Skvd (pronounced skid) is signed to Holy Smoke Records and has an album out on the label. Before signing with HSR, he has worked with many artists and a music library filled with single releases. You can find his work on all available on iTunes, Spotify, Youtube, and all other streaming platforms. Be sure to connect with Skvd on social media platforms and digital music outlets.
No Funding No Label, Everything Was Earned Nothing Was Given
Thanks to never giving up believing in himself following his dreams with clever harmony and wordplay the Virginia - based BernardoDavinci launched single-handedly funded his own label. It took 10 years of underground releases before the musician made any type of clout for his official debut.
An American rapper, singer, producer, and songwriter based out of Charlottesville VA, who gained nationwide attention on SoundCloud for his mixtape "Chef Davinci" instantly took the musician's career to an overnight star currently has him with over 15Million+ plays and counting. Bernard Talburtt better know by his stage name BernardoDavinci was born in 1991 developed an interest in music at the young age of growing up in a middle-class family it wasn't until his late teens, however, he decided to pursue music as a full - time career.
Graduating from Charlottesville High School in 2009 young Bernardo accepted the transformation from boy to man adopting the name "BernardoDavinci" because he noticed that music was deeper than just rhyming on a beat it was a form of art being communicated to others through storytelling and an emotional connection from artist to listener. Shortly after graduation, he had many accomplishments such as the most songs recorded in his local town studio 250 to be exact as well as being featured on his local news station and paper for his music spreading through his town like wildfire.
Fast forward to 2017 he started gaining a fanbase on the social media platforms Youtube, and Instagram. He began becoming more open and expressive to the platforms gaining awareness to bring attention to his music developing over thousands of followers quickly. It was during that time that Bernardo recorded his first viral video "Reboot"
"I Spent $50 Making "Reboot" in the studio" he recalls
Today the official video for "Reboot" has over 60,000+ Views Along with other Follow Up Single "Check The Status" the Total Views BernardoDavinc has on Youtube is Over 300,000+ all thanks to Instagram, Twitter, Soundcloud, Youtube, and other social media platforms
"I credit the success of my music to Social Media" he adds
In July of 2017 BernardoDavinci has released multiple singles to the following platforms Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Pandora, Deezer, Rhapsody, Napster, Google Play, Amazon, Xbox Music, As well as a multiple numbers of mixtapes on Datpiff TSOE, ChefDavinc, Young and Succesful,
BernardoDavinci has traveled all around the east coast performing in states including New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Flordia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, even had a distribution deal with Sony Music Entertainment Inc in 2015 with a memorable recording "TYTS" better know as Too Young To Stop.
Today he has over 10,000 followers on Instagram, More than 5,000 subscribers on Youtube and Twitter, and is contributing to opening up for major artists in the game while independently selling out shows across the United States. He continues to perform, record and represent his label "SupremeGang" to the maximum. His latest projects feature Birthday(Lifestyle) "Lowkey" "Young and Succesful" "Poverty" "Squeeze" "Party Pass Out" and "Aero Blue"
Bridgeport, Connecticut emcee Mortician teams up with Kash for a banger titled "Soup Kitchen." This is the first single off of his forthcoming "BurnSuttin' Vol. 2" mixtape, dropping on April 20, 2020.
If you think that free-agent receiver Antonio Brown is simply spending his leisure time on social media, think again.
Brown took to Instagram on Monday to announce that he’s going to drop a debut album with Jamaican born music star Sean Kingston some time in 2020. He also noted that an early release of a single will come out before then if the comments on his IG post reach 2,000.
That’s rather interesting timing. It was just Sunday night that Brown trolled his former New England Patriot team while offering up his services to Tom Brady and Co.
Brown was released by New England after just one game earlier this season as multiple allegations of sexual assault became public record. He’s obviously looking at life outside of football with the NFL having yet to make a decision on any type of discipline regarding the allegations.
Teaming up with Kingston is also rather interesting in that the musician was alleged to have committed sexual assault back in 2010 before the case was settled out of court.
Remy Ma's off the hook in her assault case -- a judge just dropped all charges against her.
The rapper was in an NYC courthouse Monday with her legal team, and prosecutors made it clear ... they couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt Remy had committed the alleged assault on "Love & Hip Hop: New York" star Brittney Taylor back in April.
They said there was no surveillance video capturing the alleged punch, and no witnesses had seen an altercation between them either. Thus, a judge dismissed the case entirely.
You'll recall ... Remy was initially slapped with 4 charges over this -- 2 counts of assault, 1 count of aggravated harassment and another count off harassment in the 2nd degree.
Remy always maintained her innocence, saying she had visual evidence she wasn't even at the concert where it allegedly went down.
Her attorney, Dawn Florio, tells TMZ, "Remy has always maintained her complete innocence as she never laid a hand on her celebrity-obsessed, clout chasing, credibility challenged accuser. Unfortunately, these manufactured allegations caused my client to suffer the indignities of having to wear an ankle monitor while having her freedom limited by travel restrictions and an 8:00 PM curfew."
She adds, "These restrictions have hurt my client's ability to perform, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost income. District Attorney Vance’s office should be commended for its exercise of sound judgment in agreeing to dismiss these unwarranted charges."
Unclear if Remy's planning to sue Brittney, but it sure sounds like it.
Azealia Banks has announced her retirement from music via her Instagram page.
In true Banks fashion she managed to throw a couple of shots on her way out of the door.
"I really can't allow y'all to keep throwing me in the bucket with Iggys/tinashes/random drag queens just because I'm a female," she wrote.
The 28-year old New York City native burst onto the scene in 2011 with the release of the song "212," which garnered a lot of buzz. However, things started to go south as Banks began to gain a reputation of being difficult to work with.
She bounced around various labels, including XL Recordings, Interscope, Polydor Records and eOne. During that time she only manged to release one album ... 2014's "Broke with Expensive Taste."
Banks will likely be remembered more for her feuds than music.
Over the years she has beefed with Jim Jones, Iggy Azalea, Lana Del Rey, RZA, Russell Crowe, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Perez Hilton, T.I., Tiny, Action Bronson, Lil Kim, Zayn Malik, Skai Jackson, Angel Haze, Kreayshawn, A$AP Rocky and a host of others.
It's a shame because Banks is extremely talented. She had a spark, but chose to let it flicker out.
A group of United Parcel Service (UPS) employees are accused of smuggling shipments of drugs and counterfeit vaping oils from Mexico and distributing the illicit products around the U.S. for at least a decade.
Authorities arrested 11 people, including four UPS drivers and supervisors, in Tucson, Ariz., for their roles in the alleged smuggling ring, the Department of Homeland Security said. Investigators say the suspects moved thousands of pounds of marijuana and other drugs into the U.S. from Mexico each week using the company's standard cardboard boxes, bypassing security measures.
Mario Barcelo, a 20-year UPS employee and dispatch supervisor -- was named as the alleged ringleader of the operation. In a news release, the federal authorities said officials learned of the operation in 2017. Barcelo was arrested on Nov. 13.
Prosecutors said Barcelo, 49, used his position in the Tucson UPS distribution facility to ensure the drug shipments were loaded to the correct trucks and delivered to the intended destinations. Authorities in Tucson had been investigating Barcelo since 2009, The Washington Post reported.
However, they became frustrated when UPS would not cooperate with them to intercept and prevent potential crimes. They cited a 2017 incident in which they were prevented from entering the Tucson facility after learning of an illicit shipment.
In a statement to Fox News, UPS said it is cooperating with law enforcement but is “not at liberty to discuss the details of the arrests as this is an ongoing investigation.”
Aside from Barcelo, UPS supervisor Gary Love and drivers Michael Castro and Thomas Mendoza are charged with money laundering, drug possession and drug distribution. Seven others are facing charges on shipping drugs and operating stash houses.
Raul Garcia Cordova, 47, faces more than a dozen charges. A police raid at his home turned up 50,000 counterfeit vaping pens, a Chevrolet Corvette and a Range Rover.
Undercover officers posing as drug traffickers contacted Barcelo to ship a fake shipment of cocaine in 2018 and 2019. Trackers were placed inside boxes containing the products to documents its movement and the phones of UPS employees were tapped.
Police also obtained video footage of the group coordinating the operations.
Damian Lillard goes Sneaker Shopping with Complex's Joe La Puma at Index in Portland, Oregon, and talks about his signature Adidas sneakers, wanting to collaborate with Kanye West on footwear, and his rap career.
On this episode of People's Party, Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with legendary actor, director, producer, writer, and Avenger Don Cheadle. The conversation covers a wide swath of his career -- as the trio discusses the backstories of what led Cheadle to take the iconic roles he became known for over the years. "Colors," "Boogie Nights," "Devil In A Blue Dress," "Iron Man," "Out Of Sight," and "Hotel Rwanda" all come up in this wide-ranging discussion.
Cheadle also speaks on his contact with Kendrick Lamar, asking him to star in his self-produced and directed biopic 'Miles Ahead', and we get to hear about some of the hilarious reactions he received from Brits about the Cockney accent he used while playing Basher in the Ocean's movies.
1:30 -- Don tells the story of what it was like to play a gang member in the movie "Colors" and act alongside real-life gang members from Los Angeles. He and Kweli also dive into the importance of the movie and how it introduced LA gang culture to mainstream audiences.
8:35 -- Talib asks Don how he landed the role of Ice Tray on "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air"
10:28 -- Jasmin asks Don about another one of his first gigs as a backup dancer for Angela Winbush in her video "It's The Real Thing."
12:35 -- Don talks about contacting Kendrick Lamar and asking him to star in his Miles Davis biopic "Miles Ahead" at the same time Kendrick was working on his album "To Pimp A Butterfly."
16:35 -- Talib mentions that he often uses Miles Davis' freethinking, genre-bending approach to jazz as a way to defend hip hop music when people frequently put it in a box claiming it only perpetuates negativity.
21:10 -- The trio discuss the common complaint people have about not being able to find good music to listen to, and how it really comes down to "your just not looking hard enough."
24:49 -- Talib mentions one of his favorite characters of Don's, being Maurice from the movie "Out Of Sight." Don goes on to tell about how he landed that role.
27:01 -- Don talks about how touchy Brits are about how their accents are portrayed in movies, and mentions getting cussed out on a few occasions by some that didn't appreciate his role of Basher in the Oceans films.
29:36 -- Don speaks on working with John Singleton on the movie "Rosewood" filmed in Sanford, Florida and mentions members of the KKK showing up during their one of their shoots.
34:02 -- Don reflects on his hesitancy in taking the role of Buck from "Boogie Nights" after glancing at the dense 130-page script and contemplating what his parents will think about him playing a porn star.
37:25 -- Talib asks Don what he thinks about Martin Scorsese's recent comments about Marvel movies not qualifying as cinema, and him saying that they are essentially the amusement parks of the film industry.
39:33 -- Talib asks Don how much research is involved on his part when developing a character from the Marvel Universe like War Machine, being cognizant that there is so much history tied into these roles.
43:20 -- Jasmin asks Don and Talib if there is a movie or song that they wish they could erase from their catalog. They go on to discuss the pitfalls of creating art out of desperation.
49:20 -- Don and Talib talk about how they became friends tag-teaming Twitter trolls, and Talib asks Don about his twitter profile bio noting "single-issue dem voter in 2020." They go on to discuss the progressive agenda and strategy for beating Trump.
1:00:03 -- Don speaks on some of the activist movements he's been a part of including the current state of Rwanda, still recovering from after-effects of government-sponsored genocide in the mid-90s. as well as his work in climate change awareness.
1:02:37 -- Talib asks Don how much fun he had playing the role of Mouse in the movie "Devil In A Blue Dress".
1:05:31 -- Don and Talib discuss the controversy of choosing Cynthia Erivo a Nigerian born actor to play the role of Harriet Tubman, and Don explains the most notable differences between biopics and documentaries that people should keep in mind.
1:10:07 -- Don tells about the crossroads he came to when receiving scholarships in both acting and music and how he made his final decision of pursuing an acting career even though his first love was actually music.
Nick Wright and Bart Scott recap the New England Patriots vs. Houston Texans Week 13 matchup and discuss if the Pats loss proves that the team is worse than people thought or if the Texans are better than people thought. The duo also grades the performance of Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. Texans beat the Patriots 28-22 on Sunday night.
Check out Lil O-Dawg's music video for "Ghetto Mars." This Honest Visions-directed visual was initially released in 2018, but as O-Dawg prepares to drop new music in 2020, he decided to re-release it to warm fans up for what's to come.