Crime
Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder shot Sonya Massey in the face after ordering her to move a pot of water

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy accused of murdering a Black woman shot her in the face during a tense standoff over a pot of water in her home, then discouraged his partner from trying to save her, authorities said Thursday.
The details were in a court document filed to support keeping fired Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson in custody without bail. County District Judge Ryan M. Cadagin agreed, denying Grayson pretrial release at a hearing Thursday in Springfield.
In the courtroom, which was guarded by a dozen sheriff’s deputies and with three more patrolling the courtroom, Cadagin described the actions of which the former deputy is accused as “such a huge departure from the expectations of civil society.”
Sonya Massey, 36, was killed in her home in the Illinois capital, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago, after officers responded to her 911 call about a possible burglar in the early morning hours of July 6.
Prosecutors said that after Grayson allowed Massey to move a pot of water heated on the stove and set it on the counter, Grayson “aggressively yelled” at Massey over the pot and pulled out a 9 mm handgun. Massey put her hands up, said “excuse me” and ducked before she was shot in the face. Grayson also discouraged the other deputy from taking his medical kit, prosecutors said.
“The second deputy continued to provide aid and stayed with Ms. Massey until medical assistance arrived,” wrote Mary Rodgers, an assistant state’s attorney. Grayson “did not attempt to provide aid to Ms. Massey at any time.”
Grayson, 30, who’s white, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and abuse of authority. He pleaded not guilty during his initial court appearance Thursday.
More than 30 members of Massey’s family and their supporters sat in the courtroom Thursday, several of whom declined to comment.
No one has challenged the state’s contention that the body-worn camera footage supports the first condition of Grayson’s detention — that there may be a strong presumption that the conduct alleged in the indictment occurred. Authorities have said they plan to publicly release the body-worn camera footage on Monday.
“At no point did the defendant demonstrate anything but callousness towards human life,” Rodgers said.
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Defense attorney Dan Fultz argued for Grayson’s release, saying the state’s case was inadequate when weighed against other arguments. Fultz said Grayson posed no threat to the community because he was compliant and turned himself in to police inside a half-hour of the warrant being issued.
He said the Army veteran owns a home in Riverton, a community east of Springfield, with his fiancée, whom he plans to marry in the fall. His retention could be a burden on the county, he said, because of Stage 3 colon cancer diagnosed last fall that requires special treatment.
Fultz requested Grayson’s release on the conditions that weapons be faraway from his home, that he undergo a mental health evaluation and that he be placed on 24-hour electronic monitoring.
Cadagin concluded that Massey, who weighed about 110 kilos (50 kilograms), posed no threat to Grayson, who was 6-foot-3, 240 kilos (190 centimeters) tall and 240 kilos (103 kilograms), who was armed and accompanied by one other deputy, and who refused to render aid after being shot.
Sheriff Jack Campbell said Wednesday that Grayson was fired since it is obvious the deputy “did not conduct himself in accordance with our standards or in accordance with our training. … We assume a tremendous amount of responsibility with our badge, and if that responsibility is abused, there should be consequences.”
Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Massey family, said the charges were “a step towards justice for Sonia’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since learning of this tragedy.”
About 200 people gathered at the NAACP headquarters in Springfield on Wednesday to show support for Massey and her family.
“I am outraged that another innocent black woman has lost her life at the hands of a police officer,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said after the arraignment.
Grayson is due back in court on Aug. 26. Fultz said he has been with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department for about 18 months, after serving as an officer for about seven years with several other police agencies in central Illinois.
Crime
Sean “Diddy” Combs rejects the final contract due to the trial on sexual trade

Sean “Diddy” Combs rejected his last probability to avoid a sexual trade process.
During the hearing on Thursday, a 55-year-old disgraced music mogel confirmed that he didn’t accept transactions of federal prosecutors, NBC News Reported.
Asked by the district judge Arun Subramanian, who led in New York, if he rejected the government’s offer, Diddy said: “Yes, your honor.”
After consulting his legal team, led by lawyer Marc Agnifilo, he didn’t plead five charges covering tribute, two cases of sexual trade and two cases of transport so as to become involved in prostitution. He denied all the allegations that were brought to him in quite a few lawsuits, wherein he accused or forced people to take part in sexual files and drug -powered sexuals.
If Diddy is found guilty, he faces an extended time behind bars. If he’s convicted of racketeers, he stands in the face of life in prison. If he’s found guilty of two allegations of sexual trade, he’s in the face of a further at the least 15 years. Meanwhile, transport for the purposes of prostitution fees has a maximum judgment of 10 years.

Details of the allegation agreement haven’t been disclosed; However, at the least one lawyer noticed NBC that it was related to a smaller sentence.
Thursday’s interrogation was the last before selecting a jury in the process, which is to start on May 5. Opening declarations to the trial are to start on May 12. The initial technique of jury began on Monday, April 28, and tons of of New Yorkers were received by questionnaires to determine their impartiality.
While Diddy, who was waiting for the trial in Brooklyn since his arrest in September, appeared in court during a trial in prison, in accordance with BBC NewsThe music director was allowed to wear “non -disconneous clothing” during the trial.
The judicial order specifies that COBS will “allow five button shirts, up to five pairs of pants, up to five sweaters, up to five pairs of socks and up to two pairs of shoes without lace in court”, according to BBC.
According to sales, this movement just isn’t unusual. The accused can often wear their very own clothes during trials, because prison clothes may cause some sworn to see crime by nature.

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Crime
Shooting at Elizabeth City State University leaves 1 dead, 6 wounded

A 24-year-old man was killed at the Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) campus throughout the shooting on Sunday, April 27. Shooting at the Historically Black University campus at Elizabeth City in North Carolina, also hurt six others.
HBCU published statement Explaining that the shooting took place after the Yard Fest, an event that was a part of the larger Viking Fest festival, a weekly celebration of the college spirit within the campus.
“Six people were injured during the incident. Four durable gunshot wounds, including three ECSU students,” confirmed the university. “In addition, two other ECSU students were injured during the next confusion. Fortunately, none of the injuries is considered life -threatening, and all injured were transported to the local hospital for treatment.”

A 24-year-old man who was not an ECSU student was recognized as deceased. His identity is suspended in anticipation of notification of his closest relative ” – read the statement.
(*1*)
The man who died was identified as Isaiah Caldwell, According to State Bureau of Investigation.
“ECSU expands its deepest sympathies for everyone affected by this tragic event and remains involved in ensuring the security and well -being of the Viking community,” he summed up the ECSU statement.
Caldwell was a member of the University of Albany 2021 of the Social Organization of Scholarship Organization, Groove Phi Groove; organization He confirmed his departure through social media on Monday.
“With deep sadness and the deepest sympathy, we inform you concerning the premature passage of our beloved brother, Isaiah Caldwell (autumn 21 – great chapter data). Isaiah was tragically taken from the senseless and non -discriminatory violence from the pistol in Elżbiebeth City State University at Vikingfest at the University of State University University University.
Following shooting, the University moved to distant education for the remaining weeks of the spring semester, in keeping with Virginian-Pilot.

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Crime
Pro footballer is hiding when the loved ones kidnapped in connection with the growing crime in Ecuador, the family returned safely


Wife and young son of Afro-Elecadorian skilled football Jackson Rodríguez They were secure The authorities saved by the police on April 24 confirmed, after shocking kidnapping from their house, Guayaquil. The incident in which the 26-year-old Rodríguez hid under his bed, when armed men abducted his family, he emphasizes the escalating Ecuador of uncertain uncertainty.
Police commander Pablo Dávila informed on Friday that the 24-year-old wife of Rodríguez and a five-year-old son received medical care after their dismissal and weren’t semi-bad. Insolent kidnapping He occurred early On April 24, when 4 “with a hood and heavily armed people” entered the family’s residence in the Mucho Lete district in this unstable coastal city.
According to Dávila, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of USD 500,000 for a secure return of mother and child, which the family refused to fulfill. Rodríguez, a left defender for the Emelec first division club, fully collaborated with investigators.
After intensive police operations, the abducted couple was in the “El Fortín” sector, densely populated and notoriously dangerous area in the north -western Guayaquil. . has gained an area The gloomy publicity in March, when the brutal massacre consumed the lives of twenty-two people, which is a transparent illustration of violence harassing the city. Guayaquil, positioned about 270 kilometers (170 miles) southwest of the capital of Ecuador, Quito, became the focus of the spiral wave of crime of the nation. According to law enforcement officers, its strategic port is the major channel for illegal drug shipments intended for Europe, Central America and the United States.
The kidnapping appeared against the background of the emergency declared only ten days earlier by the Ecuador government during nine provinces, including Guayas, where Guayaquil is positioned. This emergency measure authorizes the distribution of security forces to combat the growing operations of organized crime groups, which the authorities attribute to a rise in violence.
Uncertainty and crime have forged an extended shadow over the Ecuador over the past 4 years, with a transparent escalation in the early months of 2025. Government statistics reveal the stunning 2345 violent deaths reported throughout January to March, with a disproportionate 742 of those appearing in Guayaquil itself. The port city is now gloomy as one in all the most dangerous urban centers in the country.
Tragically Rodríguez and his family are usually not the first athletes who were the goal of this wave of violence. In December 2024, Pedro Perza, footballer for the de quito league, He was kidnapped Esmeraldas, city 182 kilometers northwest of Quito. He was saved alive a number of days later, emphasizing the susceptibility with which even outstanding characters face.
In his police testimonies, the head of Édison Rodriguez (with no relationship with the victim) stated that 26-year-old Fullback told him, hiding under the bed after hearing a brutal compulsory entrance to his house around 3 am the perpetrator, after determining the absence of Rodríguez, he abducted his wife and child. The player was reportedly witnessing the kidnappers escaping in a gray double cabin pickup.
The last list data from 2022 from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) has revealed an inclination for the Afro-Elecadorian community. While the census indicated a rise in the population of Mestizo, Native and Montubio, the variety of self-identification people as Afro-Elecadorian has fallen significantly in comparison with the 2010 census. The universal list in 2022 recorded 814 495 Africanadorian, which is 4.8% of the total population, which is a transparent contrast of 1,041,559 people, i.e. 7.2%, who identified themselves as Afro-Elecadorian in the 2010 list.
Africaader organizations challenged these official data, estimating that the black population is closer to 10 percent. They cite problems with performing a universal list, especially in areas affected by violence, in which the survey work proved to be difficult, which results in infirmity. And vice versa, the Ecuadorian government assigns a reported reduction in the issue of self -identification and lack of organizations in black communities.
Historically Afro-Elecadorians who First of all, he lives In the northern Coastal Province of Esmeraldas, in addition to in Guayas and other south-center coastal regions, they encountered systemic marginalization despite their significant cultural contribution. While slave ships got here to Ecuador for the first time in 1526, and the enslaved Africans worked on gold plantations and mines, the abolition of slavery in 1851 didn’t erase the lasting consequences of this brutal socio-economic system.
Africaadorian awareness gained momentum at the end of the twentieth century, which led to the recognition of Afro-Elecadorian as a separate ethnic group in the 1998 structure. However, critics indicate periods of instability and misunderstandings regarding the management of the individual.
Despite some political reforms and declarations of October 2 as Afro-Elecadorian, socio-economic indicators reveal that Afro-Elecadorians Still behind Their white/mestizo counterparts, in the face of everlasting unevenness and racial discrimination, especially in urban areas. Africaader women, in particular, experience disproportionately high level of violence.
The Working Group of the United Nations for African Zdechów also expressed fears, stating in 2019 that the Afro-Dessers constitute a surprising 40 percent of the population living in poverty in Ecuador, despite the much lower overall percentage. The UN body also criticized the denial of their rights to the clean environment, access to justice, education and decent work, emphasizing environmental racism affecting the Afro-Descendant community.
The recent kidnapping of the Rodriguez family is a transparent reminder of the ubiquitous ecuador of uncertain uncertainty and special gaps in security, in which marginalized communities struggle, including Africanadorians as a part of this crisis. While the secure rescue of his wife and son offers a ray of hope, he emphasizes the urgent need for effective government actions to unravel the original causes of escalation and ensuring the safety and well -being of all its residents.
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