Mission
Project New Era is a site started as a movement towards
helping to inform those that will listen about the wrong doings against the
black community all over the world, thus filling an obvious ‘gap’ left by
mainstream media. The primary focus of this site is to find, report and
follow-up with stories related to the black community that includes (but is not
limited to) topics such as missing and/or murdered (black) women and children,
social injustices related to our community, as well as issues related to the
plight of black men.
This site will be one that seeks not to separate but rather
serve as an informative, positive ‘pick up’ when the more popular media outlets
seek to leave us out. If you would like to contribute to the site by providing
links, emails, photos etc., to stories that are relevant to the purpose of this
site, please feel free to email me at
info@projectnewera.com -or- projectnewera@gmail.com.
Affiliates
Peas In Their Pods
Black & Missing
What About Our Daughters
Saving Our Children
Black Genocide
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Ronquillo.
Archive for 2008
Project New Era: Update
Posted in Project New Era on December 30, 2008 by projectnewera
I would just like to point out the following link.
You can get to the post regarding forum rules by clicking HERE.
Again, please note that ANY posts containing curse words, racial slurs, or those that provide personal/hurtful information regarding a victim, their family members, etc., will NOT be approved. Initially, the comments were set to ‘approve only’ because of the insane amount of spam that gets posted on random blogs. After running this site for a few months, I find it necessary to leave the settings as they are because some people have a tendency to say some God-awful things about the deceased.
While I do understand that no one is perfect and that even victims are not without flaw, the bottom line is that we NEED a site like this to cover stories that the media refuses to detail. Although I do encourage open dialogue here and even friendly debates, I will not allow this site to become one in which Blacks are bashed. If this is the fill that you’re seeking, I advise you to do a Google search for the numerous Black celebrity (gossip) sites and can guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for there.
Project New Era seeks to inform because we deserve it. Let’s keep it peaceful, please.
Thank you!
You can get to the post regarding forum rules by clicking HERE.
Again, please note that ANY posts containing curse words, racial slurs, or those that provide personal/hurtful information regarding a victim, their family members, etc., will NOT be approved. Initially, the comments were set to ‘approve only’ because of the insane amount of spam that gets posted on random blogs. After running this site for a few months, I find it necessary to leave the settings as they are because some people have a tendency to say some God-awful things about the deceased.
While I do understand that no one is perfect and that even victims are not without flaw, the bottom line is that we NEED a site like this to cover stories that the media refuses to detail. Although I do encourage open dialogue here and even friendly debates, I will not allow this site to become one in which Blacks are bashed. If this is the fill that you’re seeking, I advise you to do a Google search for the numerous Black celebrity (gossip) sites and can guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for there.
Project New Era seeks to inform because we deserve it. Let’s keep it peaceful, please.
Thank you!
Update: Kyler & Olivia Glenn
Posted in Follow Up, Project New Era on December 28, 2008 by projectneweraAbducted: Josef Micah Washington
Posted in abduction, Missing, Project New Era on December 28, 2008 by projectnewera
EDGEFIELD – Edgefield Police are seeking the public’s help in locating a missing 7-year-old child that was abducted from Edgefield on Tuesday. Josef Micah Washington was abducted by his father, 30-year-old Timothy Washington, from Atlanta, Georgia. Josef is described as being a black male, 4’ 4” tall, weighing approximately 60 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police were able to make contact with the father who stated he would not return the child and police are in the process of obtaining a warrant for his arrest on charges of kidnapping.
The child was abducted from the home of his grandparents on the 400 block of Rosa Hill Street in Edgefield around 1 pm Tuesday. He was last seen wearing a florescent green and blue windbreaker, blue t-shirt, and jeans. Young Josef is also missing two of his top two teeth.
The suspect, Timothy Washington, is believed to be driving a 1995 to 1997 black Ford Mustang with an unknown tag number and may be in the area of Union Station in Atlanta. Timothy Washington is described as being a black male, 30 years of age, standing 6 foot and weighing around 160 pounds.
Police said an Amber Alert would be issued in the case.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office at 803-637-5337 or 803-278-1625. You do not need to provide your name to give information.
Missing: Erica Marie Martin
Posted in Missing, Project New Era on December 28, 2008 by projectnewera
Age Now: 15
DOB: 12/Oct/1993
Sex: Female
Hair: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5’2″
Weight: 100lbs
Race: Biracial
Case Type: Missing From Home
Missing Date: Thursday 23rd October 2008
Missing From: Seattle Washington
Missing Country: USA
Distinctive Marks: Erica has a birth mark near her chin
Known Circumstances: She is Black and White and of Filipino descent.
ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT Seattle Police Department (Washington) 1-206-625-5011
12 Year Old Suspected of Being a Prostitute, Beaten
Posted in Abuse, Crime, Hate Crime, Injustice, Police Brutality, Project New Eraon December 28, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Now if this doesn’t beat all. To add insult to injury, they had to nerve to charge the young girl’s father with obstruction of justice! Just read it. No words.
Original Article Found at Galveston Daily News
GALVESTON — A Houston attorney representing three Galveston policemen accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl mistaken for a prostitute said Monday he’s working to have a lawsuit filed in federal court dismissed before it reaches trial late next year.
Bill Helfand declined to discuss specifics of the lawsuit filed Aug. 22, in which a Galveston woman alleges plain-clothed policemen targeted her daughter exactly two years earlier.
The lawsuit, filed by Galveston attorney Anthony Griffin, accuses the officers of failing to identify themselves when they approached Dymond Larae Milburn at 7:45 p.m. outside her house in the 2000 block of 24th Street.
Emily Milburn was preparing her children for school the next day when the electricity failed, and Milburn dispatched her daughter outside to flip the breaker back on, the lawsuit says.
Police were sent to the area to look for three white prostitutes soliciting a white man and a black man selling drugs, when Sgt. Gilbert Gomez saw a black female and ordered her detained, the lawsuit says.
Four officers got out of a blue van and ran toward Dymond, who is black.
The officers suspected she was a prostitute, because she wore tight shorts, the lawsuit says, arguing her detention was unfounded, unreasonable and violated her constitutional rights. It also says she wasn’t wearing tight shorts.
Crying For ‘Daddy’
“Dymond grabbed a tree and started yelling, ‘Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,’” Griffin wrote in the lawsuit, which accuses officer David Roark of covering Dymond’s mouth.
Officer Sean Stewart held one of Dymond’s arms, Roark handcuffed the other, while Gomez also grabbed her, the lawsuit claims.
Wilfred Louis Milburn, 47, heard his daughter’s cries for help, the lawsuit says. When Milburn and his wife went outside, “Dymond was hysterical and holding onto the tree with one arm (and) two officers were striking Dymond in the head, face and throat,” the lawsuit says.
The parents tried unsuccessfully to have police release Dymond to them, so they might comfort her, the lawsuit claims.
It is unclear how much time elapsed that night before Dymond’s parents took her to the University of Texas Medical Branch for treatment of injuries, which the lawsuit says included head injuries, multiple contusions, loss of vision and hearing and a bloody nose.
The head injury resulted from a blow from an officer’s flashlight, the lawsuit claims.
Original Article Found at Galveston Daily News
GALVESTON — A Houston attorney representing three Galveston policemen accused of assaulting a 12-year-old girl mistaken for a prostitute said Monday he’s working to have a lawsuit filed in federal court dismissed before it reaches trial late next year.
Bill Helfand declined to discuss specifics of the lawsuit filed Aug. 22, in which a Galveston woman alleges plain-clothed policemen targeted her daughter exactly two years earlier.
The lawsuit, filed by Galveston attorney Anthony Griffin, accuses the officers of failing to identify themselves when they approached Dymond Larae Milburn at 7:45 p.m. outside her house in the 2000 block of 24th Street.
Emily Milburn was preparing her children for school the next day when the electricity failed, and Milburn dispatched her daughter outside to flip the breaker back on, the lawsuit says.
Police were sent to the area to look for three white prostitutes soliciting a white man and a black man selling drugs, when Sgt. Gilbert Gomez saw a black female and ordered her detained, the lawsuit says.
Four officers got out of a blue van and ran toward Dymond, who is black.
The officers suspected she was a prostitute, because she wore tight shorts, the lawsuit says, arguing her detention was unfounded, unreasonable and violated her constitutional rights. It also says she wasn’t wearing tight shorts.
Crying For ‘Daddy’
“Dymond grabbed a tree and started yelling, ‘Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,’” Griffin wrote in the lawsuit, which accuses officer David Roark of covering Dymond’s mouth.
Officer Sean Stewart held one of Dymond’s arms, Roark handcuffed the other, while Gomez also grabbed her, the lawsuit claims.
Wilfred Louis Milburn, 47, heard his daughter’s cries for help, the lawsuit says. When Milburn and his wife went outside, “Dymond was hysterical and holding onto the tree with one arm (and) two officers were striking Dymond in the head, face and throat,” the lawsuit says.
The parents tried unsuccessfully to have police release Dymond to them, so they might comfort her, the lawsuit claims.
It is unclear how much time elapsed that night before Dymond’s parents took her to the University of Texas Medical Branch for treatment of injuries, which the lawsuit says included head injuries, multiple contusions, loss of vision and hearing and a bloody nose.
The head injury resulted from a blow from an officer’s flashlight, the lawsuit claims.
Murdered: Tracey Green
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on December 28, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Another case of a woman being senselessly murdered by a jealous/angry boyfriend. May Ms. Green rest in peace! Tracey Green’s mother speaks out about the tragedy HERE!
Original Article Found at WHTM
Police in York County arrested the boyfriend of a woman found shot to death in her York Township home early Tuesday morning.
The victim was 38-year-old Tracey Green. Police said she was shot to death in the garage of her home on Highlands Path.
Tracey Green’s boyfriend, Brian Green, is charged with her murder. The two were not married but shared the same last name. Brian Green was arraigned Tuesday.
“Why? Why did he do it?” said Tracey Green’s mother, Margaret Justice. “I just don’t understand.” Justice said the two had no history of fighting.
According to court documents, Tracey’s 16-year-old daughter heard the couple fighting early Tuesday morning. She then heard three or four loud bangs. When she went downstairs to see what happened, she said Brian Green shut the door on her and told her to get back inside.
Police said Brian Green fled the scene in his car. The daughter called 911 and her grandmother. Police said Tracey’s 9-year-old son was also home at the time.
“The real hard part of it is seeing two young children having to suffer through this type of event,” said York Area Regional Police Chief Tom Gross.
Missing: Savion Germann-Phinn
Posted in Missing, Project New Era on December 20, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Unfortunately, this information was passed on to me without providing a last name. *UPDATE* Last name provided by Staff @ Nancy Grace and Peas in Their Pod!
Missing: Nov 20, 2008
Eyes: Brown
Race: Black
Age Now: 1
Sex: Male
Missing From: HOMESTEAD, Fl
Savion was last seen on November 20, 2008. He may be in the company of his mother. They are believed to be in Canada.
Miami-Dade Police Department (Florida) 1-305-418-7200
Missing: Kyler & Olivia Glenn
Posted in Missing, Project New Era on December 20, 2008 by projectnewera
Birmingham – The Birmingham Police Department would like your help in locating 4 year old Olivia Gabrielle Glenn, and 31 month old Kyler Matthew Immanuel Glenn, both of 909 19th Court NW. Olivia and Kyler are brother and sister.
Both Olivia and Kyler were last seen on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, at approximately 7:30 a.m., at 2321 Carson Road (Walking on Water Christian Church Day Care). The children’s mother came to the Day Care, picked the children up and left with them.
There is a Protection Order against the mother prohibiting her from having any contact with the children and/or the father of the children. The father has legal custody of the children.
If there is anyone who has information pertaining to the whereabouts of Olivia Gabrielle Glenn, Kyler Matthew Immanuel Glenn and/or Cynthia Glenn (mother, pictured below), they are encouraged to contact the B.P.D. @ 254-1764 or Crime Stoppers @ 254-7777.
Murdered: Averill LeMon
Posted in Project New Era, Unsolved, Unsolved Murder on December 20, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at LSJ.com
Eric W. Jackson and some of Averill LeMon’s friends are looking for any recordings on which the local rapper, who was found dead Thursday, may have appeared.
Jackson estimated that LeMon, who performed as “AveReal,” has enough unreleased songs to fill five or six albums. The songs, which include recordings on which he appeared, could exist on audiotape or videotape, he said.
“We’re looking for all the miscellaneous songs that are out in the streets,” the 30-year-old Lansing man said. “We’re in collection mode.”
LeMon, 29, of Lansing, was found dead Thursday inside a townhouse at 3610 W. Miller Road.
The death was ruled a homicide. Police said Monday they have not made any arrests, and they still are trying to determine why Le-Mon was killed.
He did not live at the home, but police said it was not unusual for him to be there.
“He was a stand-up individual,” said Jackson, who performed with LeMon in the local hip-hop and R&B group, 51/7.
The group appears in Lansing regularly, but they also have played shows in Benton Harbor, Detroit, and South Bend, Ind., Jackson said.
“He was the best one out of all of us,” said Jackson who performs as “Detail.” “He was probably one of the top two or three rappers in the city.”
LeMon was planning to release his first solo CD, “Always Kept It Real,” friends said. They expect it still could be released in the summer.
LeMon, a Sexton High School graduate, attended Northwood University on scholarship for two years, where he played fullback on the football team, said friend Deocco Long.
Long said LeMon is survived by three children – his 9-year-old daughter, 5-year-old son and 5-month-old daughter.
LeMon was dating the mother of the youngest two children, Long said.
“He was a good father. He always talked about his kids,” Long said, adding: “He was focusing on (music) promotion and production.”
Jackson said people identified with LeMon’s rapping style.
“He would integrate normal, everyday things, talk about things around the neighborhood, things in his life,” Jackson said. “Everybody liked Averill.”
Epic Fail: Roschelle Woyee
Posted in Crime, Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on December 20, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Now this most definitely hits close to home. My parents made sure to save this article for me b/c they are aware of my efforts here at Project New Era and wanted to make sure that I had the story. What bothers me about the legal system as it pertains to domestic disputes is that they are generally not taken seriously. A woman has to literally DIE before the cops will say “Oops, there seems to be a problem here,” and even then, if you’re a black woman, thorough investigations can (and do) become an epic fail. I know many girls who have had “situations” with their former boyfriends and felt forced to file a restraining order simply to put something on record and protect themselves. On the same token, I’ve known girls who have taken the attitude of “Why bother,” since the legal system seems to be extremely nonchalant about domestic disputes. It’s absolutely sad that this woman had to die and leave behind a child for her parents to take care of. It should also be noted that her killer is a white man.
Why is it that we’re seeing more instances of the police and social service groups failing our black women and children? Anybody have the answer? Rest in Peace, Roschelle!
Original Article Found at the Charlotte Observer
Hours after Roschelle Woyee was shot to death, Mecklenburg probation officials were scrambling to piece together whether they’d done a decent job in supervising the man now charged with killing her.Probation workers knew Daniel Jaworski, 20, because he’d admitted scratching and pushing Woyee on May 23, 2007. He was placed under probation’s watch in a program called deferred prosecution, which gives first-time offenders a chance to clear their record.
Jaworski, Woyee’s boyfriend and father of their child, didn’t embrace his second chance. He broke the rules and was again charged with assaulting her.
But the probation office didn’t report his violations in court to hold him accountable and better protect Woyee, 19, from what court records suggest was a pattern of violence.
An Observer review of the case found probation officials failed to act on red flags that experts and court officials say should have triggered a crackdown.
“He could do anything he wanted to do,” said Roschelle’s father, Robert Woyee. “This is somebody arrested by the police several times. I am so frustrated.”
The case was troubled from the start: It took the probation office 10 months to get Jaworski signed up for his supervision-and-treatment program – a step court officials say should take no more than 60 days.
Once he finally got into the program this past May, probation officers didn’t react despite repeated violations and troubling signs, including another charge of assaulting Woyee, and his expulsion from a domestic violence treatment program.
In each case, probation officials’ failure to report Jaworski allowed him to stay on the lowest-level supervision program as if nothing had happened.
“If somebody is out on deferred prosecution and he is charged again with assault, somebody has to do something. And quickly,” said Mecklenburg Chief District Judge Fritz Mercer, who has spent nearly 18 years on the bench.
Had violations been filed in court, Mercer said, a judge might have revoked Jaworski’s deferred prosecution – making him answer for his charges in court.
Mercer called the 10-month delay “unacceptable” and said Jaworski’s violations should have prompted action from probation officials.
Jaworski is now charged with murder, accused of shooting Woyee in the head at about 10 p.m. on Dec. 4 as she returned from driving a girlfriend home.
Injustice: Mickey Wright
Posted in Crime, Injustice, Murdered, Project New Era on December 9, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Myspace: I was sent information on this case by a relative of Mickey Wright. This is one of the MANY reasons Project New Era was started! Although this happened years ago, I still find it relevant to the cause that Project New Era stands for. How is it that someone can kill a man, burn and dismember his body but only receive 15 years because he copped a plea? Seriously? So the black life is ONLY worth about 15 years? Black life is now negotiable? I have a feeling that if Mickey Wright had been white…especially a white female…this whole “only 15 years” deal would be nonexistent.
I am absolutely disgusted with the legal system and will continue expressing my disgust via this blog. It annoys me to no end that this was allowed to happen! To the Wright family…my heart goes out to you. I know that Mr. Mickey Wright has not been justified in ANY way and I truly hope that, as a family, you are able to find some level assuagement in this tragedy as you continue to FIGHT! This story truly burns my soul to the CORE! RIP, Mr. Mickey Wright!
The video posted below is the best in terms of giving the story as it happened. The few links found online regarding this case didn’t detail the murder. However, you can click HERE to read information regarding the family’s civil suit against murderer, Dale Mardis.
RIP: Anthony Olbert
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on December 9, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at Times Herald
A Newnan man armed with two semiautomatic handguns killed a 14-year old and shot another man before taking his own life Sunday afternoon at an East Coweta subdivision, according to Major James Yarbrough of the Coweta County Sheriff’s office.
Deputies responding to the scene found 44 year-old Reginald Hines dead in the driveway of 97 Pilgrim Way in the Plymouth Plantation subdivision off Hwy. 154. Hines’ address was given as 70 Torrey Pines Court in Newnan.
Anthony Olbert, 14, was found fatally shot in the street in front of the residence. Olbert was identified as the son of Hines’ former wife, Michella Hines. A third gunshot victim, Raymond Eldridge, was also found alive in the yard beside the residence. Eldridge was taken from the scene by ambulance, Yarbrough said.
The details of the incident were still incomplete early Sunday afternoon, but Yarbrough said it appeared that Ms. Hines and her 14-year old son, Olbert, had gone to the subdivision to help move furniture or offer other assistance to Eldridge, believed to be Ms. Hines’ uncle.
At 1:28 p.m. Coweta 911 received a call about a problem at 97 Pilgrim Way and deputies and emergency units responded. By the time officers arrived, the incident was over and the shooter and one of his victims were dead.
Investigators received information that Ms. Hines was targeted but managed to flee the scene and run down the street. Hines was unable to catch her and returned to the home, where he shot the others and then killed himself.
“When he couldn’t catch her, he returned to the house and shot the two others then turned the gun on himself. At least that’s the way it appears at this time,” Yarbrough said Sunday afternoon.
The condition of the surviving gunshot victim was not available Sunday afternoon. The investigation is still in its early stages and will continue until all available information has been gathered, Yarbrough said.
Update: Laneeka Varnado
Posted in Follow Up, Project New Era on December 7, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Sad ending to the story posted HERE.
Original Article Found at AJC
Authorities believe they have located the dead body of a Paulding County woman missing for 12 days.
Cobb County Police Department spokesman Dana Pierce said “we are all but certain” they’ve identified the body of Laneeka Varnado, who was last seen by her father the Monday before Thanksgiving. An Austell property owner discovered her silver Mercedes, with the 22-year-old inside, Saturday afternoon off the C.H. James Parkway on State Route 6.
Varnado’s father, Melvin Mackey, was at the scene and confirmed the car belonged to his missing daughter, Pierce said.
Although they’re awaiting an exact cause of death from the Cobb County Medical Examiner, investigators say foul play was not involved.
“At this point, there’s nothing of a vicious nature to be found in this death,” Pierce said, “except for the injuries sustained in the crash.”
It’s uncertain when the wreck occurred — “it could be anytime from November 24th to 3:30 this afternoon,” he said Saturday.
The car was found some 200 feet off the highway, easily hidden from passersby, Pierce said. Investigators say the car rammed a tree at the bottom of a ravine.
Interviewed nine days ago, Mackey said he was fearing the worst.
“In my head, I know she’s gone. My baby’s gone, ” he said, breaking down. “I don’t feel it in my soul, that she’s gone. But honestly, right now I don’t feel anything. I’m just a shell of a man without her.”
Original Article Found at AJC
Authorities believe they have located the dead body of a Paulding County woman missing for 12 days.
Cobb County Police Department spokesman Dana Pierce said “we are all but certain” they’ve identified the body of Laneeka Varnado, who was last seen by her father the Monday before Thanksgiving. An Austell property owner discovered her silver Mercedes, with the 22-year-old inside, Saturday afternoon off the C.H. James Parkway on State Route 6.
Varnado’s father, Melvin Mackey, was at the scene and confirmed the car belonged to his missing daughter, Pierce said.
Although they’re awaiting an exact cause of death from the Cobb County Medical Examiner, investigators say foul play was not involved.
“At this point, there’s nothing of a vicious nature to be found in this death,” Pierce said, “except for the injuries sustained in the crash.”
It’s uncertain when the wreck occurred — “it could be anytime from November 24th to 3:30 this afternoon,” he said Saturday.
The car was found some 200 feet off the highway, easily hidden from passersby, Pierce said. Investigators say the car rammed a tree at the bottom of a ravine.
Interviewed nine days ago, Mackey said he was fearing the worst.
“In my head, I know she’s gone. My baby’s gone, ” he said, breaking down. “I don’t feel it in my soul, that she’s gone. But honestly, right now I don’t feel anything. I’m just a shell of a man without her.”
Quick Note
Posted in Project New Era on December 5, 2008 by projectnewera
There are tons more stories to come!
I want to take the time to thank everyone who has offered input to the sites, be it via links to news stories or through commentary. It is very much appreciated and definitely needed to keep this blog relevant.
I am going to be posting quite a few more stories over the holidays, so I hope that you guys will continuing subscribing and telling your friends about the blog. This is definitely a blog worth sharing with your peers.
Here lately, I have been receiving an influx of emails that question why certain comments have not posted. I try to keep things positive over here, given the sometimes sullen nature of the blog. That being said, if your comment contains curse words, racial slurs, or anything derogatory towards the victims or families of the victims, the comment will not be approved and subsequently will be deleted. Any type of personal vendetta that one has against the victim or the family of the victim should be taken elsewhere. I refuse to allow Project New Era to become the spot that allows families to grieve more as they read hurtful comments than when they actually lost said family member. Please try to be respectful and keep hateful/spiteful comments to yourself. Again, if your comment is found to have several swear words, it’s automatically deleted.
Here’s wishing you and yours a happy holiday from PNE!
I want to take the time to thank everyone who has offered input to the sites, be it via links to news stories or through commentary. It is very much appreciated and definitely needed to keep this blog relevant.
I am going to be posting quite a few more stories over the holidays, so I hope that you guys will continuing subscribing and telling your friends about the blog. This is definitely a blog worth sharing with your peers.
Here lately, I have been receiving an influx of emails that question why certain comments have not posted. I try to keep things positive over here, given the sometimes sullen nature of the blog. That being said, if your comment contains curse words, racial slurs, or anything derogatory towards the victims or families of the victims, the comment will not be approved and subsequently will be deleted. Any type of personal vendetta that one has against the victim or the family of the victim should be taken elsewhere. I refuse to allow Project New Era to become the spot that allows families to grieve more as they read hurtful comments than when they actually lost said family member. Please try to be respectful and keep hateful/spiteful comments to yourself. Again, if your comment is found to have several swear words, it’s automatically deleted.
Here’s wishing you and yours a happy holiday from PNE!
Missing: Laneeka Varnado
Posted in Missing, Project New Era on December 2, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at AJC
Melvin Mackey always taught his children to be prepared for the unexpected.
But there was nothing that could have prepared him for his youngest daughter’s disappearance.
Laneeka Varnado, who had been living with her father in Paulding County, left home Monday night for an evening of celebration and relaxation, Mackey said.
“She worked so hard and she had two jobs,” he said. “I encouraged her to relax a bit and take some time for herself. I’m sorry I did that now.”
The 22-year-old never returned home from her night out. Earlier this week her father filed a missing persons report with police.
The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office had no new information on the case Thursday, said department spokesman Cpl. Brandon Gurley.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Varnado left her father’s Paulding County house to attend a function at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta. She called her father throughout the night to let him know of her whereabouts, which was normal, Mackey said. The last time they spoke was about 11:13 p.m. During that call, Varnado told her father that she might stop at a club on her way home, but that she would call him to let him know if she did. Varnado, who is 5 feet 5 and about 105 pounds, did not call back and she hasn’t been heard from since.
Mackey, who has worked in law enforcement in Georgia and Louisiana, planned to spend Thanksgiving Day putting up homemade posters of his daughter, and her silver 1999 Mercedes SLK230, in some of her last known locations about Atlanta.
He had a hard time putting many of his feelings into words, often choking back tears.
“In my head, I know she’s gone. My baby’s gone,” he said, breaking down. “With my background in law enforcement, I know how this goes, but that doesn’t make it better.”
He said as a father he hopes for the best.
“I don’t feel it in my soul, that she’s gone,” he said. “But honestly, right now I don’t feel anything. I’m just a shell of a man without her.”
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Laneeka Varnado is asked to call the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office at 770-443-3010.
Murdered: Nadairee Walters
Posted in Crime, Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on December 2, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: I had a friend who died this exact same way. They were turned away from a party and came back, guns ablaze! What ever happened to simply LEAVING if you’re not welcomed? May Nadairee rest in peace!
Original Article Found at NY Daily News
A Bronx man with a long rap sheet was arrested Monday for killing a promising prep school student who tried to break up a fight during a weekend party, cops said.
Brandin Santiago, 18, was charged with killing Validus Preparatory Academy senior Nadairee Walters, police said, for shooting the girl outside an early Sunday morning apartment party in Morris Heights.
He was also charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Santiago shot two teenage boys in the leg, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, said cops.
“I would love to sit down and speak with him,” said Wanda Grant, Walters’ aunt. “What was on his mind?”
During the past year, officers nabbed Santiago six times on a slew of charges, ranging from selling pot to attempted murder, said a police source. It was unclear last night why he was still out on the streets.
The hoodlum and the book-loving student crossed paths at around 2 a.m Sunday. She was hanging out inside the apartment bash and he was trying to get past a makeshift security checkpoint where teens were patting each other down for weapons, said cops.
Santiago and his crew were turned away but returned minutes later, armed. When Walters went outside to make peace, Santiago shot her in the chest, cops said.
“We are trying to comprehend what is going on,” said Walter’s mother, also named Nadairee.
The grieving mom said she was looking forward to seeing her daughter attend nursing school.
“They took my baby,” said the elder Walter. “She was a good girl.”
Murdered: Raphia Arnold
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Suicide on December 2, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Too many cases of these murder/suicides popping up lately. I was unable to find a lot of articles regarding this but still felt it was worthy of posting, with all considered. RIP, Raphia.
Original Article Found at Alabama Blog
An Atmore-area man shot his girlfriend in the head today at an Atmore discount store where she worked and turned the gun on himself as her co-workers and customers watched.
Police said Justin Tyshawn Clark shot and killed Raphia Shardae Arnold with a .40-caliber pistol inside Dirt Cheap Department Store a day after she told him their relationship was over.
The couple’s two children were living with Arnold’s mother in Georgia at the time of the shooting, police said
Murdered: Arsema Dawit
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on December 2, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at UK Telegraph
In her first public statement since the 15-year-old was killed in a lift near her flat Tsehainesh Medhani, an Eritrean refugee, claimed she had been let down by the officers she turned to for protection.
She stood weeping, just feet away from the spot where the body was found on Monday, as her solicitor read a statement in English paying tribute to her “precious, beautiful and much loved daughter” adding: “A light has gone out of my life.”
Arsema’s aunt Almaz Medhani collapsed on the ground wailing uncontrollably in front of a growing pile of floral tributes.
Mrs Medhani’s comments came as 21-year-old student Thomas Nugusse was remanded in custody charged with the schoolgirl’s murder at a brief appearance before magistrates.
Arsema, a member of the choir at her local Eritrean orthodox church, bled to death after being stabbed repeatedly in the neck in a lift at Matheson Lang House, the block of flats near Waterloo Station in London where she lived with her mother, 11-year-old sister Feruz and 13-year-old brother Robel.
She was found covered in blood, wearing her school uniform, by a neighbour who called the lift as she brought her own nine-year-old daughter home from school.
Arsema’s mother had contacted police a month beforehand to report that she had allegedly been attacked and threatened in a McDonalds restaurant.
It was to be another 12 days before the teenager was interviewed at her school and the matter was still under investigation when she was killed.
Scotland Yard is conducting two internal reviews into the handling of the case and the force has also voluntarily referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
“I am absolutely devastated and cannot believe what has happened to my daughter,” Mrs Medhani’s message said.
“I came to this country from Eritrea to live in safety.
“When my daughter was threatened I went to the police seeking protection. Sadly this did not happen.
“I have lost a precious, beautiful and much loved daughter who was kind, generous and loving.
“I hope no other family has to go through the anguish that we are going through.”
“I feel as though a light has gone out of my life.”
Hate Crime: Taneka Talley
Posted in Hate Crime, Injustice, Murdered, Project New Era on December 2, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: If we stand for nothing, we’ll most certainly fall for anything…Think about it.
Original Article Found at The Reporter
The 11-year-old son of a Fairfield woman who was stabbed to death at her retail clerk’s job is being denied his mother’s workers’ compensation death benefits by the store’s insurance company.
The reason? The firm says the woman was killed because of her race, not her job.
Taneka Talley was stabbed while at work in a Dollar Tree Store in Fairfield on the morning of March 29, 2006. The suspect in the case, Tommy Joe Thompson, is due to stand trial next month on a charge of murder in the case. Police say Thompson entered the store shortly after 9 a.m. and stabbed the 26-year-old Talley once in the chest. She died a short time later.
Talley left behind a son, Larry, who was 8 years old at the time.
State workers’ compensation law entitles the son to death benefits, according to Moira Stagliano, an attorney with Boxer & Gerson, the Oakland law firm that is representing Carol Frazier, Larry Talley’s grandmother and legal guardian.
However, the Dollar Tree Stores’ insurance carrier, Specialty Risk Services, is denying the Talley family’s death benefit claim, said Stagliano.
In a press release issued Thursday about the dispute, Stagliano said the attorney representing the insurance company, Charles Kempton Letts, informed Stagliano that, “Mr. Thompson’s motivation in stabbing Taneka Talley was purely race motivated. As such, it is our belief that our denial in this matter is proper.”
Stagliano is outraged.
Calling the insurance company’s decision “really reprehensible,” she accused the firm of attempting to profit from a hate crime.
“It’s shocking that Dollar Tree and its insurance carrier are using the alleged racist motivation of a killer as an excuse to get out of paying benefits to the orphaned son of an employee who was murdered at work,” she said. “They would pay the benefits if she was killed for a non-racist reason. They’re basically trying to benefit from a hate crime.”
Letts refused to comment on the matter saying it is “still pending.”
According to Stagliano, during a hearing last March to determine Thompson’s mental competency to stand trial, a psychiatrist stated his opinion that Thompson said “he went into a store and he stabbed a lady for no other reason than she was black.”
The psychiatrist, Dr. Herb McGrew, was asked by Deputy District Attorney Dane Neilson, “You know that he (Thompson) got up that morning, and he said, ‘I’m going to kill a black person.’ She was unfortunately, the first person he saw, correct?”
“Correct,” McGrew said, according to a transcript of the hearing.
A jury in the matter deliberated less than half an hour before ruling that Thompson could understand the proceedings against him and was competent to stand trial.
Talley was performing a service to her employer at the time the injury occurred, which is at the heart of workers’ compensation law, said Stagliano. “Taneka Talley was at work, doing her job, when she was killed. If she had not been in that store, she would not have been available to him (Thompson) and she would still be alive to care for her son.”
She added that Talley’s son “should not be denied his right to his mother’s death benefits because a total stranger committed a senseless act of violence. To claim that because this crime was racially motivated it then nullifies her death benefits is a travesty and has no basis in the letter and spirit of the law.”
The matter will next be discussed between the two sides in a future settlement date. If no solution is reached, it could end up in court.
