Crime
Body camera footage shows chaotic scene of fatal shooting of Sonya Massey who called 911
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy seconds before he shot a Black woman thrice in her home, including once fatally in the top, in accordance with body camera footage released Monday.
An Illinois grand jury last week indicted former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who is white. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and abuse of authority.
The recording confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of a tense moment when Grayson shouted from behind the counter for Massey to placed on a pot of hot water. He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly stood up, and Grayson fired a gun at her.
Authorities said Massey, 36, had called 911 earlier to report a suspicious vagrant. The video shows two deputies arriving just before 1 a.m. July 6 at her home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 km) southwest of Chicago. They first walked across the house and located a black SUV with smashed windows within the driveway.
It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the officers knocked, and she or he immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.”
She seemed confused as they talked on the door, and repeated that she needed help, invoking God and saying she didn’t know who the automobile belonged to.
At the home, officers seemed irritated as she sat on the couch and searched her purse, asking for identification in order that they could fill out a report before leaving. Grayson then pointed to a pot on the stove.
“We don’t need to light a fire while we’re here,” he said.
Massey immediately stood up and went to the stove, moving the pot near the sink. She and Grayson appeared to laugh over the pot of “steaming hot water” before she suddenly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
“You better not (expletive) do that or I swear to God I’m gonna (expletive) shoot you in the (expletive) face.” He then pulled out a 9mm handgun and demanded she put the weed down.
Massey said, “OK, I’m sorry.” Grayson’s body camera footage shows him pointing the gun at her. She ducked and put her hands up.
Grayson was still within the front room, facing Massey and separated by the counter that divided the front room from the kitchen. Prosecutors said the separation allowed Grayson each “distance and relative shelter” from Massey and the pot of hot water.
After Grayson shot her, he dissuaded his partner from reaching for the primary aid kit to save lots of her.
“You can go for it, but it’s a headshot,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do, man.”
He added: “What else can we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water on my (expletive) face.”
Noticing that Massey was still respiratory, he relented and said he would grab his kit, too. The second deputy said, “We can at least try to stop the bleeding.”
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Grayson told responding police, “She had boiling water and came to me with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came to me with boiling water.”
During a Monday afternoon news conference, the family’s attorney, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called Grayson’s “revisionist” justification “disingenuous.”
“She needed a helping hand. She didn’t need a bullet in the face,” Crump said of Massey.
Asked why Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Crump said she had been receiving treatment for mental health issues. He noted that she had been calling on God’s name from the start of the encounter and asked for a Bible when officers entered.
During Massey’s funeral on Friday, Crump said the footage he and his family had already watched would “shock the conscience of America.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded that the district court conduct the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators completely openly and transparently with the general public.
“The only time I’ll see my baby is when I leave this world,” Wilburn said. “And I don’t want anyone else in the United States to join that league.”
Grayson, who was released last week, stays within the Sangamon County Jail without bail. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison for murder, 6 to 30 years for assault and a pair of to five years for the misdemeanor.
His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.
President Joe Biden said in an announcement that he and first lady Jill Biden are praying for Massey’s family “as they face this unimaginable and senseless loss.”
“When we call for help, all of us as Americans — no matter who we are or where we live — should be able to do so without fear for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that too often, black Americans fear for their safety in ways that many of us do not.”
Massey’s death is the most recent case of black people being killed by police in their very own homes lately.
In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson when the Air Force private answered the door of his Fort Walton Beach home with a gun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.
In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, police officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through the back window of her home after responding to a non-emergency call that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, a former police officer, was convicted of murder and sentenced to just about 12 years in prison.
In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed after mistaking his apartment for his own. Amber Guyger, a former police officer, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Crump has represented families in each case as part of his efforts to force accountability for police killings of black people. Crump also represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after being strapped facedown to a gurney in December 2022. Two paramedics in that case face murder charges.
Crime
Founder of an AI Tech startup accused of fraud and combining numbers with investors
Joanna Smith-Griffin, 33, CEO of startup AllHere Education, Inc. dealing with AI education accused of defrauding investors.
The Southern District of New York prosecuted Smith-Griffin securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The grand jury indictment alleged that Smith-Griffin lied concerning the education platform’s funds and posed as a financial consultant to supply false information to investors. While acting as a financial consultant for AllHere Education, Smith-Griffin is accused of falsifying the corporate’s financial records mislead potential investors and inflate the worth of her company and its revenues.
AllHere Education is an AI-powered learning platform utilized in primary and secondary schools. Smith-Griffin has had little success integrating the K-12 platform into individual school districts in California and Georgia. However, the principal didn’t secure long-term contracts with school districts. She used these short-term partnerships to misrepresent to investors the reach and financial success of AllHere Education.
Smith-Griffin told potential AllHere investors that AllHere generated about $3.7 million in revenue in 2020, about $2.5 million in money and has major school district customers similar to New York City Department of Education (“NYC DOE”) and Atlanta Public Schools. In fact, AllHere generated roughly $11,000 in revenue in 2020, had roughly $494,000 in money, and had no contracts with many of the clients it represented, including the NYC DOE and Atlanta Public Schools.
Smith-Griffin continued to boost capital to support the startup, raising one other $10 million in funding. When the corporate collapsed financially, Smith-Griffin allegedly used the money injection to pay for an extravagant three-day wedding in Florida and a residence in North Carolina.
FBI Deputy Director James E. Dennehy commented on Smith-Griffin’s decision to prioritize her personal aspirations over the needs of an educational platform.
“Her alleged actions impacted the potential to improve the learning environment in core school districts by selfishly prioritizing personal expenses,” he said.
Smith-Griffin faces a compulsory two years in prison for the identity theft charge and a maximum of 20 years for every fraud charge. AllHere Education is currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Crime
Prosecutors say Sean “Diddy” Combs is trying to obstruct justice by heading to prison
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was trying to reach potential witnesses and influence public opinion while in prison in a bid to influence potential jurors in an upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors said in a court filing during which they urged a judge to deny his latest bail request.
The government charges were filed Friday evening in federal court in Manhattan, which opposed the music mogul’s latest offer of $50 million bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors wrote that a review of recorded phone calls Combs made while in prison shows that he asked relations to contact potential victims and witnesses and urged them to create a “narrative” to influence the jury pool. They say he also encouraged the use of promoting strategies to influence public opinion.
“The defendant has demonstrated time and time again – even while in custody – that he’ll flagrantly and repeatedly disregard the foundations so as to improperly influence the consequence of his case. In other words, the defendant has demonstrated that he can’t be trusted to abide by the terms and conditions,” prosecutors wrote in a press release containing redactions.
Prosecutors wrote that from his behavior it might be inferred that Combs wanted to blackmail victims and witnesses into remaining silent or providing testimony helpful to his defense.
Combs’ lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors said Combs, 55, began breaking the foundations almost immediately after being taken into custody Metropolitan Prison Center in Brooklyn after his September arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to the costs brought against him he abused and molested women for years with the assistance of a network of collaborators and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Two judges found he was a danger to the community and a flight risk.
His lawyers recently filed a 3rd bail application after rejecting two previous attempts, including a $50 million bail offer.
In their motion, they cited modified circumstances, including latest evidence, that they believed justified Combs’ release so he could higher prepare for his May 5 trial.
However, prosecutors said defense lawyers created the most recent bail proposal based on evidence provided to them by prosecutors, and the brand new material was already known to defense lawyers after they submitted previous bail applications.
In their presentation to the judge, prosecutors said Combs’ behavior in prison shows he must remain locked up.
For example, they said, Combs asked relations to plan and execute a social media campaign around his birthday “with the intent of influencing a potential jury in this criminal proceeding.”
He encouraged his children to post a video on their social media accounts of them gathering to have a good time his birthday, he added.
He then monitored statistics on the jail, including audience engagement, and “explicitly discussed with the family how to ensure the film would have the desired impact on potential jury members in this case,” they said.
The government also alleged that Combs made clear in other conversations that he intended to anonymously publish information that he believed would help him defend against the costs.
“Defendant’s efforts to impede the fairness of these proceedings also include his persistent efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of violence, who could provide strong testimony against him,” prosecutors wrote.
Crime
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering from a shooting attack
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering after being shot during an alleged robbery.
The shooting occurred on the evening of Tuesday, November 5 in Hyattsville, Maryland, when multiple suspects attempted to rob a man and woman who had just returned from dinner, based on statement from the Hyattsville Police Department.
Police said the victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Although authorities didn’t initially discover the victims, local council member Wanika Fisher revealed that Dorzon was amongst those attacked.
“I am disheartened and saddened by the news that Prince George’s County restaurant owner Tobias Dorzon was one of two people shot during an attempted robbery Tuesday evening in my neighborhood,” Fisher began in a news release.
She added that Dorzon, a Riverdale native, owns two “amazing” restaurants in Hyattsville and is considered a “dear” friend of hers.
“Such a terrible act could not have happened to a better person,” Fisher continued within the statement. “I offer my sincere condolences to him and the other victim, as well as their families and friends, and wish them both a speedy recovery. This type of senseless violence has no place in our county and county.”
According to Fisher, Dorzon is an “extremely talented” chef who has represented Prince George’s County on the national stage and appeared on several Food Network shows. Most recently, the 39-year-old chef participated within the Food Network’s “Last Bite Hotel,” where he made it to the ultimate 4. He also hosts “Time Out with Tobias” on ESPN.
Off-screen, Dorzon currently owns and manages a company Huncho’s house and exclusive 1123 By Chef Tobias. This spring, he was named Maryland Chef of the Year, the primary honor for somebody from Prince George’s County. In 2021 helped James Harden open his restaurant Thirteen in Houston.
Before becoming a master chef, the Maryland native played within the NFL for each the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans. He also had a stint playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Every week after the shooting, Dorzon updated followers Instagram on his progress.
“I’m still here, thank you all for your prayers. See you soon…. Huncho,” he wrote within the caption of a post that included a screenshot of a tweet during which he admitted that, all things considered, he should be “God’s favorite.”
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