Crime
Sheriff’s deputy who killed Sonya Massey should have raised flags after being discharged from the Army for drunk driving, experts say
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy accused of fatally shooting Sonya Massey has been kicked out of the Army for the first of two drunken-driving convictions during which he had a gun in his automotive, authorities said. But that hasn’t stopped multiple law enforcement agencies from giving him a badge.
Before he began his police profession, working six jobs over 4 years (the first three of which were part-time), 30-year-old Sean Grayson was convicted twice in a yr of drink-driving, which cost him his military service.
Law enforcement experts say his convictions and employment history should have raised serious questions when the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department hired him in May 2023.
Grayson, who was fired, has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and abuse of authority in the death of Massey, a 36-year-old black woman who called 911 a couple of suspect who had broken into her home in Springfield, 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. Grayson, who is white, has pleaded not guilty.
“Six jobs in four years should raise suspicions. And you could ask why he wasn’t hired full-time at any of those (part-time) jobs,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington think tank. “That, coupled with his DUI history, would be enough to investigate further whether he would fit the bill.”
Grayson, who enlisted in the Army in 2014, was charged with driving under the influence in Macoupin County, south of Sangamon County, after traffic stops on Aug. 10, 2015, and again on July 26, 2016.
The first drunken driving conviction led to his discharge from the military in February 2016 for “serious misconduct,” in response to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to debate personnel information, adding that Grayson had an unregistered weapon in his vehicle.
Macoupin County State’s Attorney Jordan Garrison confirmed that police found a gun in the center console, but Grayson was not charged with possession of a weapon because he was a resident of Fort Riley, Kansas. Kansas has a law to hold firearms openly.
Grayson was discharged on honorable terms, relatively than honorably, because he was charged by a civilian law enforcement agency and his military service was otherwise good.
His attorney, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.
Sean Smoot, chairman of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, said a DUI charge doesn’t disqualify you from serving in law enforcement, but an employment agency can definitely take that into consideration.
“Some police departments wouldn’t hire someone with one DUI,” Smoot said. “I’m shocked that an agency would hire someone with two DUIs, but apparently a lot of agencies have.”
Massey’s father, James Wilburn, has called for the resignation of Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell. “He has no intention of stepping down,” Campbell spokesman Jeff Wilhite said.
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A press release from Campbell’s office said the county merit board and state law enforcement board really helpful Grayson be certified as an officer, despite the DUI charges. Grayson also passed a drug test, a criminal background check, a psychological evaluation and a 16-week academy course.
Before coming to Springfield, Grayson worked for a yr as a sheriff’s deputy in Logan County, simply to the northeast. According to a report obtained through a public records request, in November 2022, he was told he needed more training, including “high-stress decision-making classes,” after he did not comply with an order to stop a high-speed chase, reaching speeds of 110 miles per hour (177 kph) before colliding with a deer.
When he applied to Logan, an employment report from Auburn, south of Springfield, where he had worked before, showed that although Grayson all the time showed up for work early, was willing to be trained, was open to criticism and had no disciplinary motion, he had trouble writing reports, was “not very good with evidence—he would leave things lying around the office” and was “a braggart.”
Logan County records also include complaints of misconduct by two people arrested by Grayson, including one wherein a lady who admitted to having drugs in a body cavity claimed Grayson gave her a glove and ordered her to remove the contraband in front of him and one other officer. She was later taken to the hospital to have it removed, and she or he claimed Grayson had forced his way through the curtain during the procedure. He denied each complaints and resigned from Logan County before the investigation was accomplished.
Body camera footage from the night of the shooting shows Grayson and one other officer finding no sign of anyone breaking into the apartment. They wait several minutes for Massey to reply, during which Grayson says the woman is dead inside, then impatiently calls out to her.
Massey, who has a history of mental health issues, appears confused and says, “Don’t hurt me.” Grayson sometimes responds in a patronizing or impatient manner.
“His behavior before, during and after the incident indicates that this guy was erratic, and that’s a courtesy,” said Kalfani Ture, a former police officer who is now an assistant professor of criminology at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and an instructor at the New York Police Department’s academy.
At Massey’s home, the video shows Grayson ordering a pot of water off the stove. Massey appears to position it near the sink. The two joke that Grayson has moved away from the “hot, steaming water,” and Massey inexplicably says, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
This prompts Grayson to attract his gun. Massey apologizes and hides behind the counter, but when Grayson yells at her to drop the pot, she appears to select it up. Grayson shoots her thrice, hitting her in the face, and she or he makes no immediate attempts to offer medical attention because, “It’s a headshot.”
“That’s not a characteristic of an officer. That’s a characteristic of someone who has a corrupt indifference to human life,” Ture said. “And this incident is not an aberration. Someone like that is pretty consistent in presenting that type of profile.”
Ture said Massey likely picked up the pan again because she was disoriented by the shouted orders. He moved too quickly to make use of lethal force — he had other options, including using a stun gun, chemical spray or easily subduing the petite woman, Ture said.
According to Wexler, drawing the gun only escalated the incident.
“He should have slowed down, talked it out, had a plan B and known where the door was to get out of the house, rather than putting himself in a situation where he had no other choice but to use deadly force, standing there, drawing his weapon and shouting orders,” Wexler said.
Crime
Sean “Diddy” Combs faces five new sexual assault trials
Several more plaintiffs got here forward this week accusing rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexual abuse. On November 19, three men and two women filed separate complaints against the Bad Boy Records founder through Tony Buzbee, a lawyer who previously said he would represent greater than 100 clients accusing Combs of misconduct.
“For years, Combs and his companies have engaged in a persistent and pervasive pattern of violence against women, men and minors,” the entire complaints read: in keeping with People magazine. “This abuse was at times verbal, emotional, physical and sexual. As part of his pattern of molestation, Combs manipulated both men and women into participating in highly orchestrated performances of sexual activity, with both prostitutes and unsuspecting partygoers.”
The new plaintiffs include an unidentified man who claims the rapper sexually assaulted him when he was 39 years old. At a house party in New York in 2022, the plaintiff alleged that he was given a drink that left him feeling disoriented and uncontrolled. his body, which ultimately caused him to lose consciousness.
When he regained consciousness, he recalls being in a “dark bedroom with black walls, on a bed with black sheets”, where he realized that Combs was “sodomizing him”. The plaintiff claims he fought with the rapper before leaving the party.
Other male plaintiffs, including an unnamed former actor, remember feeling disoriented, passing out and waking up as Combs sexually assaulted them. With allegations dating back to 2001, all five complaints said Combs’ alleged abuse was “shockingly typical” since the star believed he was “above the law.”
“That said, Mr. Combs vehemently and categorically denies as false and defamatory any claim that he sexually abused anyone, including minors,” attorney Erica Wolff added in a press release. “He looks forward to proving his innocence and defending himself in court where the truth will be determined by evidence, not speculation.”
Combs is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on criminal charges including sex trafficking and racketeering. The star’s trial is scheduled to happen in May 2025.
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.
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