Tag: Crime news

Celebrity Deaths, Gun Violence

RIP: Rapper Nipsey Hussle Shot Dead outside of his L.A. store

The ReadyWriter

The rapper known as Nipsey Hussle was shot dead at 3:20 p.m. local time in Los Angeles on Sunday, the LAPD confirmed. The 33-year-old hip-hop entrepreneur was one of three men shot in what police are saying, was a gang-related incident outside his clothing store in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles.

Nipsey was pronounced dead on arrival at a Los Angeles hospital just before 4 p.m. He was 33. The other two victims are in stable condition, police said.

Witnesses say a lone gunman pumped six bullets into the rapper as he stood with two bodyguards outside his Marathon clothing store in a strip mall on Slauson Avenue.

There are reports that Nipsey tried to run from his killer who shot him in the back of the head at close range.

The gunman fled in a waiting getaway vehicle. He is described as a Black male in his 20s. There was no description of the getaway driver, although witnesses say the driver was a female.

Nipsey’s fans say he was more than just a gang banger with a record deal. Nipsey tried to make a difference in a neighborhood that saw more than its fair share of bloodshed and gang violence.

He owned the Marathon Clothing Company “smart store”, where shoppers could use an app to peruse the store stock. He also owned The Marathon Agency, SC Commercial Ventures and Proud 2 Pay.

In 2010, he founded All Money In No Money Out Records, which debuted his mixtape “The Marathon”.

In 2013, he released his fifth mixtape “Crenshaw”, which sold more than 1,000 cassettes at $100 apiece. The unheard of price per cassette made headlines in the mainstream press.

His last – and most critically acclaimed – album Victory Lap was nominated for a Grammy at the 2019 Grammy Awards. He lost to culture vulture rapper Cardi B, whose career was canceled after she admitted drugging and robbing Black men.

As news spread of Nipsey’s execution, it didn’t take long for the conspiracy theories to kick into high gear.

Many accused pharmaceutical companies of hiring a hit man to kill the rapper to stop his documentary about Alfredo Bowman, aka Dr. Sebi.

The controversial “holistic healer” was arrested and accused of practicing medicine without a license in the 1980s. Dr. Sebi claimed his miracle potions and tonics could cure cancer and AIDS, but his claims were debunked by the medical community.

Hate, Hate crime, Hoax

Jussie Smollett Arrested & In Police Custody, Fox Considering Suspension

The ReadyWriter

Jussie Smollett has been arrested after just a few hours on the run. Chicago Police tweeted early Thursday that the Empire actor was taken into custody without incident.

Earlier Wednesday, Chicago police officially classified Smollett, 36, as a suspect in a criminal investigation for paying two men to help him stage a racial, homophobic attack in Chicago on Jan. 29.

The men, brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo told investigators Smollett was upset because a threatening letter he sent to himself didn’t get the reaction he expected.

Variety reports exclusively that Empire producers are considering suspending actor Jussie Smollett after he was charged on Wednesday in Chicago with a Class 4 felony for filing a false police report.

Producers are considering whether to suspend the troubled actor whose scenes were drastically cut from the remaining 9 episodes of the 2nd half of season 5.

A Cook County grand jury heard testimony from Abel Osundairo, 27, and his brother Ola Osundairo, 25, on Wednesday. Their lawyer Gloria Schmidt said the brothers testified before the grand jury for 2.5 hours. She said they were not offered immunity in exchange for their testimonies.

The brothers were arrested last Wednesday and released 2 days later without charges. They told police Smollett paid them $3,500 to stage the attack as Trump supporters, then leave the country. They were promised an additional $500 when they returned from Nigeria.

Osundairo brothers

In the still video above, the men are seen at a checkout counter purchasing supplies including a red hat, gloves and black ski masks a day before the alleged attack. Smollett, 36, told police two white men wearing red hats attacked him outside his high-rise apartment building in Chicago on Jan. 29.

Arrest Warrant, Crime, Police brutality, Police Shooting

Dallas Cop Charged with Manslaughter in Death of Accountant

The ReadyWriter

A Dallas police officer has been charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of a 26-year-old accountant. An independent investigation by the Texas Rangers determined there was enough evidence to charge Officer Amber Guyger, who shot Botham Shem Jean at his own apartment door on Friday, Sept. 7.

Jail records show Guyger was arrested on Sunday, Sept. 9., and released on $300,000 bond.

Guyger, 30, who is also known by an alias Amy Gyger, was a member of the Dallas police force for four years. She was the only female member of an “elite critical response team of about 10 officers who make high-risk arrests in the division’s crime hot spots.”

After working a 15-hour shift (including overtime) on Friday, Guyger arrived home around 7:30 p.m. (CST) at the upscale South Side Flats apartments located several blocks from police headquarters.

She reportedly parked her car on the wrong floor of the parking deck, and walked to Mr. Jean’s apartment, which was one floor up from hers and the only apartment in the hallway with a red doormat.

When her key didn’t work in the lock, Mr. Jean opened the door, startling her.

According to the Dallas Police, Guyger, who was described as “tired,” was “confronted” by Mr. Jean when he opened his door.

No words were exchanged before Guyger unholstered her service weapon and shot Jean, who was pronounced dead at a local hospital on Friday.

Guyger’s key was still in Jean’s door lock when police and paramedics arrived.

Building management said the doors can be unlocked by a key, an electronic keypad and a key fob which is uniquely programmed for each door.

When Guyger tried to turn her key, the electronic keypad flashed red — indicating she was at the wrong door. But she continued turning the key until Jean opened the door.

A neighbor several doors down from Jean’s apartment claims she heard a cop yelling “Open up! Open up!” prior to the gunshot.

Jean was an accountant who worked as a risk assessment associate for the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Dallas.

He hailed from a prominent St. Lucian family of politicians and government ministers. He graduated from Harding University and he also studied accounting and mathematics at St. Mary’s College. Jean was a Young Leaders president, a member of the debate team and he sang in the choir.

He also mentored youth at the College Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas.

Hundreds of mourners turned out on Saturday for a “celebratory prayer vigil” at Dallas West Church of Christ on Sunday. Mourners included his mother, Allison Jean, who arrived on Saturday from her native St. Lucia.

“Botham loved God. Botham loved you. Botham loved mankind,” Allison Jean said. “Botham is singing with the angels, and I want to be in that choir. I want to see my son again.”

Crime, Shooting death

Waffle House Suspect Arrested… A Hero Acknowledged with 4 Dead, 4 Wounded

The ReadyWriter

After a massive manhunt, the FBI announced the arrest of Travis Reinking, 29, the suspected gunman who went on a shooting rampage inside a Waffle House restaurant wearing only a coat and no bottoms. He was captured yesterday hiding out in a wooded area near his home.

The manhunt involving 160 FBI, federal marshals and law enforcement officers, concluded after Reinking was taken into custody alive with no resistance according to police.

In the wee hours on Sunday, Reinking walked into the Waffle House restaurant with an AR-15 assault rifle and opened fire, killing four and wounding 4. Waffle House hero James Shaw, Jr. (pictured top center) charged Reinking and disarmed him before any more patrons were killed.

Shaw Jr. attended a press conference in Nashville on Sunday with FBI Special Agent In Charge, Matthew Espenshade (L) and Metro Nashville Mayor David Briley (right). Shaw, Jr., 29, took action disarming the gunman and ultimately forcing him out of the Waffle House restaurant.

Shaw, Jr. broke down and cried during the emotional press conference on Sunday. He embraced Waffle House President and CEO, Walt Ehmer who called him a hero. “I’m not a hero. I’m just a regular person,” Shaw said.

On Sunday, Shaw visited with the wounded people in a hospital.

“Have you met James? James saved a lot of lives,” one of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s surgeons told the father of one of the victims.

The two men embraced, crying. “Thank you,” the older man whispered to Mr. Shaw.

Crime, President Obama, Violence

President Obama Denies High Murder Rate During His Presidency

The ReadyWriter

obama-days-550x377“There is no growing crime wave” is what he said.

But the president appears to be in denial over the unprecedented spike in violent crimes during his two terms as president. In an op-ed published in the Harvard Law Review, Obama refused to take credit for a 10.8 percent increase in murders from 2014 to 2015 — the largest increase in a single year since 1971.

In his Harvard Law Review op-ed, Obama claimed crime “remains near historic lows,” and he was adamant that there “is no growing crime wave”.

The president, who has 11 days left in office, took pride in using his “clemency power” to pardon hundreds of hardened criminals back onto the streets — more than any president in history.

Obama bragged that he will be “the first President in decades to leave office with a federal prison population lower than when I took office.”

In an interview with a Chicago CBS News affiliate, the president blamed social media for providing a platform to broadcast high profile crimes, such as the one involving a white man who was tortured for hours by 4 young black people.

Obama called the senseless hate crime in Chicago “terrible” and “despicable”.

A Gofundme page set up for the victim, who is autistic, has collected over $129,000.