Crime
Nevada man charged with hate crime admits in police interview that he mentioned ‘hanging tree’
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada man charged with a hate crime admitted he mentioned a “hanging tree” during a verbal argument with a Black man collecting signatures for a proposed recall measure southeast of Reno, in keeping with an indictment unsealed Thursday.
Gary Miller, 74, his wife and their adult daughter were arrested Wednesday on misdemeanor charges. They posted bail hours later and were released from the Storey County Jail, court documents show.
The encounter, which the black man, Ricky Johnson, began recording after making a comment a few “hanging tree,” turned heated, with either side shouting obscenities at a classic automobile show in Virginia City, a Wild West tourist spot. Early in the video, Johnson demands that Miller repeat what he said off camera.
Miller didn’t say this, but later told a sheriff’s investigator that he had told Miller earlier that “there’s a hanging tree at the end of the road that you can hang yourself from,” in keeping with an affidavit included with the criminal grievance. At one point in the recording, Johnson asks Miller where the tree is positioned, and Miller replies, “in your backyard.”
The Aug. 2 comments were met with immediate criticism from local and state officials.
The arrests of Miller, his wife and daughter on Wednesday were met with swift praise from Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who’s black.
“The public outcry was heard loud and clear, and steps were taken to hold these individuals accountable for their racist and unlawful actions,” Ford said.
Miller faces charges of disturbing the peace and noise violations, the latter of which incorporates a sentencing enhancement because authorities say Miller’s actions were motivated by race, in keeping with a grievance filed by Storey County District Attorney Anne M. Langer.
Miller’s wife, Janis Miller, who’s seen in the video leading Johnson out onto the road, is charged with one count of battery. Miller’s adult daughter, Tiffany Miller, is charged with obstructing or delaying a police officer.
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It is unclear whether any of the Millers have a lawyer who could speak on their behalf. Each declined a public defender’s request Wednesday. Neither Langer’s office nor the sheriff’s office knew if the Millers had legal representation.
Most of the fees against them carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison if convicted. Messages to a phone number and email address listed in public records for Gary Miller weren’t immediately returned Thursday.
Johnson, who lives outside Houston, was hired by a Texas-based company to collect signatures. He told The Associated Press earlier this week that an Aug. 2 meeting with Gary Miller turned heated when Miller called him a racial slur shortly before the taping began.
Johnson didn’t reply to multiple requests for extra comment from the AP via email, text message and voicemail.
Miller told the investigating deputy that Johnson began yelling at him and “going crazy” when he told him he was going to vote for Trump, in keeping with the documents. Miller said he then told Johnson “there was a hanging tree at the end of the road and to go there.”
Deputy Jacob Smiley asked Miller to make clear his words, and Miller said he “grew up in a different time,” the documents say.
Miller didn’t address the racial slur in the police interview or say so in the video.
In a handwritten statement to the sheriff’s office, Miller accused Johnson of attempting to “draw a crowd and escalate the situation” and later threatening him and his wife with phone calls “at all hours of the night.”
Undersheriff Eric Kern said the sheriff’s office is investigating a minimum of one act of vandalism at a neighborhood business and several other threats against businesses and business owners in the community consequently of the video. The office didn’t immediately reply to a request late Thursday evening asking whether any of those threats were directed on the Millers.
Crime
Luigi Mangione, 26, in police custody in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO
New York authorities have identified 26-year-old Luigi Mangione as an individual of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
According to police, a McDonald’s worker recognized Mangione in a photograph taken by NYPD Crime Stoppers and called authorities to report that he was eating at the restaurant, which led to his arrest.
Police say Mangione was carrying an anti-corporate manifesto, false identification and a ghost gun.
“It fits the description we were looking for,” Mayor Eric Adams said. An early NYPD report drew criticism online for calling the suspect a “light-skinned male” fairly than simply saying he was white.
The New York Post reports that Mangione previously attended the University of Pennsylvania, was valedictorian of the highschool in 2016 and had ties to Towson, Maryland. His social media posts indicate motivation related to dissatisfaction with the health care industry.
The shooting gained national attention because of the lukewarm response to Thompson’s death from many voters, who criticized the high insurance denial rate and greed that contributed to the American loss of life.
NYPD officers will now travel to Pennsylvania to query Mangione. Watch the entire press conference below:
Crime
OJ Simpson’s audio testimony claims have been proven false
Iroc Avelli, OJ Simpson’s former bodyguard, claimed to have a recording of the late NFL player admitting to killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to .evaluation of the audio recording showed the claim to be false.
In June 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) contacted the Bloomington, Minnesota police department to realize access to thumb drives confiscated during Avelli’s 2022 arrest.
Bloomington Police Department arrested Avelli for alleged assault in 2022; upon arrest, the police seized Avelli’s backpack and obtained an order to gather relevant evidence on the scene. The backpack contained multiple flash drives that the previous security guard said contained Simpson’s confessions.
According to Peasant! News“search warrant filed in Hennepin County requested by Officer George Harms seek for image pendrives in order that “a full forensic examination could possibly be carried out on all of the pendrives to acquire the recording.”
The Bloomington Police Department didn’t return the drives, opting as an alternative to conduct an internal forensic examination. After a digital forensics specialist examined the drives, Bloomington police didn’t disclose any information of “probative value” to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The further investigation into the Simpson and Goldman murders is strange because on October 3, 1995, OJ Simpson was acquitted of all charges. The former San Francisco 49er maintained his innocence until his death from cancer on April 11, 2024.
After his acquittal, OJ Simpson continued to benefit from his fame. In 1996, the Buffalo Bills player published a book titled If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer. Many found the book’s title and content distasteful and criticized it Naked weapon the actor’s constant presence in celebrity culture.
However, many individuals imagine that Simpson’s acquittal ought to be enough to just accept his presence in all spaces. BLACK ENTERPRISES reports on rapper Cam’Ron’s response to criticism after Simpson was invited on his sports show before his death.
The It is what it’s the host and businessman believes that the accusations – proven in court – shouldn’t result in ostracization. Cam’Ron believes that Simpson’s race may have played a job in continuously questioning his innocence throughout his life.
“Look, if he was guilty, we wouldn’t have him on the show,” he said. “You wish to proceed convicting an innocent man. He is innocent. If it was another person, whiter, you’d all say, “Oh, he’s innocent.” TO BE reported.
It appears that the hearings and investigation into Orenthol James Simpson’s role, or lack thereof, in his ex-wife’s murder will proceed even after his death.
Crime
Suspect charged with fatally shooting 3-year-old on Thanksgiving Day
Tatisha Refuge, a 47-year-old New Orleans resident, turned herself in to authorities after the death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. Refuge is charged with “manslaughter by negligence.”
Rudy’s mother, Leshawn Ratliff, lives in Texas but visited Refuge, her foster mother, in the previous few days of Thanksgiving. Nov 8 News.
“I came here on Saturday to pick up my older son. He was here over Thanksgiving break, and I came down on Saturday to pick him up so we could go home on Sunday and they could go back to school on Monday.” Ratliff he said.
While playing UNO, Refuge’s unsecured gun fell from her belt and fired, striking Rudy. Ratliff she recounted how the scene unfolded when she discovered Rudy had been shot.
“I began seeing blood coming out of his chest. That’s once I knew he had been shot. So I called 911.
The mother didn’t wish to wait for 911. Instead, she decided to take Rudy to University Medical Center for treatment. She said that after they arrived at the ability, Rudy seemed to be alive. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later she was informed of his death.
Tatisha Refuge has been charged with negligent homicide within the shooting death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. #Khou11 @AmandaHTV
https://t.co/BFIeGhAHYG— KHOU 11 Houston News (@KHOU) December 4, 2024
Ratliff she nurtured her relationship with Refuge and is torn now that the accusations involve her foster mother.
“It was a random shooting. His grandfather’s gun fell. It wasn’t within the secure. It wasn’t within the gun position. I believe it went into the pocket and fell out and shot my son,” Ratliff said. “I understand it was a mistake. I imagine in my heart that it was a mistake. I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.
The grieving mother began a GoFundMe and is asking the general public for help with Rudy’s burial. To support the Ratliff family of their time of need, click here.
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