Archive for 2008
Murdered: Laterian Tasby
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on September 28, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at LA Times
Laterian Tasby, 17, a black youth, was shot and killed at a party at 572 W. 11th St. near Pacific in San Pedro at about midnight on Oct. 28. He was attending a Halloween party with other students at San Pedro High School, where he played both football and basketball. Uninvited guests turned up, and there was a fight. Gunfire erupted in the backyard, hitting Laterian, who died at the scene.
There were many witnesses–teenagers and students at San Pedro High School, according to police. Very few have cooperated with the investigation, said Det. Sid Rodriguez of LAPD Harbor Homicide. Some cite fear; others say “snitching” is frowned upon, he said. “Even the good kids now won’t snitch,” he said.
San Pedro High School principal Bob Di Pietro said school staff had launched a “big outreach” to help students deal with their grief, including organized meetings in the school library with counselors. He said he was not surprised that students were not coming forward, but said he had no plans as yet to deal formally with the problem. “Detectives are handling it,” he said. Detectives are at (310) 522-2036.
Murdered: Irma Simeus
Posted in Found Dead, Murdered, Project New Era, Unsolved Murder on September 28, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at Palm Beach post
Authorities this afternoon identified a woman found dead in a car west of West Palm Beach on Saturday as 22-year-old Irma Simeus of West Palm Beach.
Simeus’ body was found about 9:30 a.m. Saturday in a silver Honda Civic parked at an overgrown dead end near the Bella Lago apartments, according to a statement circulated by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The woman leaves behind a 4-year-old son, Javon, and a fledgling career as a medical assistant. She graduated in May from Florida Career College in suburban West Palm Beach.
“We don’t have any clues, any leads,” her sister, Kerlyne Luc, said. “We’re just waiting for the investigation to come up with something.”
Family members were unaware of Simeus’ plans during the time of the incident, said Joseph Simeus, the woman’s father. Joseph Simeus is a Palm Beach Post employee.
Investigators converged Saturday on the apartment complex near Elmhurst Road, just south of Okeechobee Boulevard, where they found a black wig, a shoe and a hairbrush near the blood-smeared Honda.
Detectives have yet to specify how Simeus was killed but are calling the death a homicide. Anyone who was in the Elmhurst Road area, west of Haverhill Road, on Friday night or early Saturday morning can call the sheriff’s Violent Crimes Division at (561) 688-4000 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 458-TIPS (8477).
Pregnant & Murdered: Tavia Sills
Posted in Found Dead, Pregnant, Project New Era on September 28, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at Shreveport Times
Tavia Sills tucked the ultrasound photo in the baby book and named him Tavion Demond.
The 18-year-old planned to welcome her baby boy into the world Jan. 18. In anticipation of his arrival, she bought him T-shirts, booties, rattles and a baby stroller.
“Tay was so excited about this child,” said her mother, Vickie Britton. “All she talked about is how she was going to take care of her son and what she was going to do with him.”
But Sills will never get the opportunity to hold her child or push him in the stroller. The mother-to-be, a freshman at Southern University in Shreveport who was missing for three days, was found fatally shot and floating in a north Shreveport pond Friday. Police say they have recovered the handgun that was used.
Sills’ ex-boyfriend and the alleged father of her unborn child — LaMondre Tucker, of the 2300 block of Jamison Street — is charged with first-degree murder. More arrests are possible, Shreveport police Detective Rod Demery said.
“I don’t know what happened; they were childhood friends,” Britton said. “They dated in middle school, and again after they got older. They broke up, and all Tay wanted was for him to be a part of the baby’s life.”
Britton last saw her daughter when Tucker picked her up about 7:30 p.m. Sept. 9 to meet his cousin in Shreveport’s Queensborough neighborhood.
About an hour later, he returned to Sills’ Hazel Street residence to tell her family he’d dropped her off at a nearby apartment complex — where her sister lived.
“I knew immediately something was wrong,” Britton said. “It was just a mother’s instinct. I called the police because it didn’t seem right and Mondre acted a little nervous.”
To read the remaining portion of the article, please click HERE
Update: LaVena Johnson
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness, Unsolved Murder on September 28, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: I did a small write up on LaVena Johnson several months back and have been trying to do what I could to learn more about the tragic MURDER of this young woman. It’s sad how the military will treat those who fight to serve and protect our country. Imagine being a parent and not knowing the real way in which your child died. Tragic indeed.
Spread the Word
Posted in Project New Era on September 23, 2008 by projectnewera
Hey Everybody!
I am truly sorry for the lack of updates to PNE but please note, I will work diligently for the rest of this week to post as many NEW stories as I can! With school being underway and relocating to a semi-new location, I had to put other interest to the side for a moment! PNE is here to stay and thank you so much for your continued support!
Advise everyone you know that they absolutely can NOT go to the polls wearing any Obama shirts, pins, hats or any other campaign paraphernalia. It is against the law and will be grounds to have the polling officials turn you away. Again, it is considered campaigning and no one can campaign within X amount of feet from the polls. They are banking on us being excited and not being aware of this long standing law that you can most certainly BET will be enforced this year! They are hoping that if you are turned away, you will NOT GO HOME and change your clothes. Please…do NOT wear Obama gear of any sort to the polls. Please share this information. If you were already aware of this, please note that this message is NOT meant to insult your intelligence. Just covering grounds b/c even though YOU may know, there were several out there (INCLUDING ME, people) who did NOT KNOW this! I had NO plans on wearing any Obama gear to vote ANYWAY but this was a definite eye opener!!!!
I am truly sorry for the lack of updates to PNE but please note, I will work diligently for the rest of this week to post as many NEW stories as I can! With school being underway and relocating to a semi-new location, I had to put other interest to the side for a moment! PNE is here to stay and thank you so much for your continued support!
Advise everyone you know that they absolutely can NOT go to the polls wearing any Obama shirts, pins, hats or any other campaign paraphernalia. It is against the law and will be grounds to have the polling officials turn you away. Again, it is considered campaigning and no one can campaign within X amount of feet from the polls. They are banking on us being excited and not being aware of this long standing law that you can most certainly BET will be enforced this year! They are hoping that if you are turned away, you will NOT GO HOME and change your clothes. Please…do NOT wear Obama gear of any sort to the polls. Please share this information. If you were already aware of this, please note that this message is NOT meant to insult your intelligence. Just covering grounds b/c even though YOU may know, there were several out there (INCLUDING ME, people) who did NOT KNOW this! I had NO plans on wearing any Obama gear to vote ANYWAY but this was a definite eye opener!!!!
Murdered: Brandon Thompson
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on August 7, 2008 by projectnewera
Murderer: Donald Lindsey
*Editor’s Note: May this child rest in peace!
Original Article Found at Philly
She saw the unthinkable and was powerless to stop it.Stephanie Thompson, 21, said she was running to scoop up her four-year-old son when a man with a machine gun aimed at the boy and pulled the trigger.
Brandon Thompson collapsed on the sidewalk in a pool of blood. He had been shot in the head.
“I watched my baby get shot,” said Stephanie Thompson through her tears. “I couldn’t get to him fast enough.”
Neither could law enforcement.
Thompson said she had called Camden police the day before her son was killed to report that a man was in the neighborhood with a machine gun.
“I called 911 and told them,” Thompson said. “He was just riding around. It wasn’t like he was hidin’ it.
“This could have been avoided if they had done their job,” she said.
Police confirmed late this morning that Stephanie Thompson called police Sunday to report a man on a bicycle with a gun. Authorities are reviewing police logs now to determine what was said and the police response.
There were conflicting accounts today between law enforcement and eye witnesses to the murder as to whether a machine gun was used yesterday. Police also questioned Thompson’s account of the murder, saying the child ran into the crossfire and was killed.
Brandon was playing on Norris Street late yesterday afternoon shortly before 5:30 when the man, identified as Donald Lindsey, returned, riding a bicycle, and wielding the gun.
Stephanie Thompson was around the corner when she heard a series of blasts. She ran to find her son.
She rounded the corner of Norris and Sheridan. She saw Brandon running towards her on the sidewalk. Children were scattering everywhere.
The man on the bike was in the middle of the street. He saw Brandon, took aim, and fired, she said.
The young mother ran to her son and lifted his head in her arms. There was blood everywhere.
“I went to go pick him up and he had blood coming from everywhere. I just held him and told him to get up,” she said. “But he wouldn’t get up. He was only 4. And he was trying to run to his mommy. I couldn’t get there in time.”
Camden police arrived minutes later.
“The cops came and took my baby to the hospital and we wasn’t even there 5 minutes and he died,” Thompson said.
Thompson, who also has a two-year-old son, Marquis, said she knew her son’s killer. Neighbors said Lindsey had a child with a woman who lived on Norris Street.
“He (Lindsey) looked me dead in my face when my son got shot. He knew he shot my son and he looked at me,” she said.
Update: Ariana-Leilani
Posted in Project New Era, Ridiculousness on August 2, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: A few weeks ago, I posted THIS article regarding a young girl named Ariana Leilani. From my understanding, her mother “kidnapped” her and the authorities were trying to find both Ariana and her mother. After watching the videos below, I’m not too sure what to think and hope to goodness that this little girl had not been molested by her own father. We live in a sick world!
Ariana-Leilani, Pt. I
Ariana-Leilani, Pt. II
Ariana-Leilani, Pt. I
Ariana-Leilani, Pt. II
Tasered NINE Times: Baron Pikes
Posted in Police Brutality, Project New Era on July 26, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: I am extremely disgusted with the judicial system, so much so that I question why I’d even TRY to be a part of it. It truly saddens me that police are suppose to be here to protect and serve, yet when you get pulled over for something as routine as a traffic stop, you now have to worry if this will be your LAST time seeing the light of day. I’m not sure what’s gotten into these police officers or if I should blame the unit who’s responsible for training these loony cops. However, I think that ALL police officers, be they NEW or cops who have been serving for years, should go through an extremely rigorous training that INCLUDES but is NOT limited to mental health testing, stress testing, anger management, gun and taser safety AND control…..and the list goes on and on. If these things are already a part of what officers go through before receiving that badge and gun, then the powers that be need to do something to insure its rigorousness because these occurrences are happening more times that I am able to keep up with. When does it end? When the black man is no longer in existence or is there a deeper project that I missed the memo on? I am not saying that police officers should not do their job. If someone is criminal minded and breaking the law, then punishment is to be expected. However, there IS a such thing as taking things a bit too far. But the more we sit back and hand out excuses or slaps on the wrists to these cops that obviously ‘lose it,’ the more of this type of behavior we’ll see. Seriously, guys…when does it end? RIP Baron Pikes……
Original Article Found at CNN
A police officer shocked a handcuffed Baron “Scooter” Pikes nine times with a Taser after arresting him on a cocaine charge.
He stopped twitching after seven, according to a coroner’s report. Soon afterward, Pikes was dead.
Now the officer, since fired, could end up facing criminal charges in Pikes’ January death after medical examiners ruled it a homicide.
Dr. Randolph Williams, the Winn Parish coroner, told CNN the 21-year-old sawmill worker was jolted so many times by the 50,000-volt Taser that he might have been dead before the last two shocks were delivered.
Williams ruled Pikes’ death a homicide in June after extensive study.
Winn Parish District Attorney Christopher Nevils said he will decide on any charges against the ex-officer, Scott Nugent, once a Louisiana State Police report on the case is complete.
“It’s taken several months for this case to even be properly addressed, so one has to wonder, why did it take so long?” said Carol Powell Lexing, a lawyer for the Pikes family. “Obviously, a wrongful death occurred.”
Nugent’s lawyer, Phillip Terrell, said his client followed proper procedure to subdue a man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. But Williams said Pikes was already handcuffed and on the ground when first hit with the Taser, after the 247-pound suspect was slow to follow police orders to get up.
Winnfield, a sleepy lumber town about 100 miles southeast of Shreveport, Louisiana, is best known as the birthplace of legendary Louisiana governors Huey and Earl Long. It’s also about 45 miles northwest of Jena, Louisiana, where a racially charged assault case sparked a September 2007 demonstration by an estimated 15,000 people.
One of the teenage defendants in that case, Mychal Bell, is Pikes’ first cousin — and his lawyer was Powell Lexing.
Nugent is white; Pikes was black. His death led to demonstrations that drew several dozen people in Winnfield, where the population of about 15,000 is roughly half African-American.
“The family wants justice,” Lexing said. “This is just another example of why it’s very important to stay vigilant with these types of cases, on the injustice that’s been perpetrated on the disadvantaged.”
But Winnfield police Lt. Chuck Curry said race “isn’t an issue at all” in the matter.
“This has come down to a police officer that was trying to apprehend a suspect that they had warrants for,” he said. “He done what he thought he was trained to do to bring that subject into custody. At some point, something happened with his body that caused him to go into cardiac arrest or whatever.”
Dying to Battle?
Posted in Crime, Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on July 26, 2008 by projectnewera
Murderer: Samuel Raynard Jones
*Editor’s Note: This really adds to the already phenomenal stereotype that rap music and violence coexist. When you have positive rappers like Common & Talib Kweli attempting to put a DENT in positive music, you have knuckleheads like Samuel Jones getting ANGRY over a freakin’ rap battle. This story is about 2 years old but it NEEDED to be posted! People, it is NOT that serious….learn to walk away!
Original Article Found at Dallas news
A Haltom City man who fatally shot a rival during a “rap battle” was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison.
Samuel Raynard Jones, 20, pleaded guilty to engaging in organized criminal activity.
Christopher Smith, 17, was shot and killed in 2006 in a Haltom City field.
Witnesses said the two teens met for a “rap battle” late one night in September 2006. The contest took place in a field between an apartment complex and a church.
Mr. Smith rapped first. After he finished, Mr. Jones walked toward him rapping and pointing a handgun at him, according to an affidavit. Mr. Jones then gave his gun to one of the witnesses and began a fistfight with Mr. Smith.
When the fight ended, Mr. Smith began looking for his personal belongings. Witnesses said they heard a single gunshot and watched Mr. Smith fall to the ground.
All of the witnesses ran, police said. Mr. Smith’s body was found the next day with a gunshot wound in the head.
Criminal District Court Judge Wayne Salvant also ordered Mr. Jones to serve five years for a probation violation and 10 years for drug possession.
All of the sentences are to run concurrently.
RIP: Kevin Washington
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on July 26, 2008 by projectnewera
Murderer: Michael Grier
*Editor’s Note:Some “friend” Michael was….RIP, Kevin!
Thursday morning, Kevin Washington’s mother kept driving by the spot where her son was found dead. With worry in her eyes, she told Eyewitness News she drove by the orange marking on Belfast Drive hoping to see something that would tell her why her son was killed.
Police said Washington was shot multiple times in his face and chest by his friend Wednesday night, and he was apparently trying to run to his home about three blocks away when he fell down and died.
Neighbors said although the 27-year-old was running for his life, no one around him knew it. Kenneth Curry said he saw the lights go out at the house where the shooting reportedly happened just after Washington left. He said that seconds later it was, “like nobody ever stayed at that house at all.”
Curry said he watched Washington run in a staggered fashion, but he didn’t think he was fatally injured. He saw the figure disappear in the shadows and fall.
“Like he might have fell over, he tripped over his feet or something, but you wouldn’t have thought he got shot,” he said.
Minutes later, Drucilla Isles saw the man’s body near her driveway. She wasn’t sure it was a body until she got closer. When she called 911, she still wasn’t sure the person was dead.
“There is a body laying out here in the middle of the road,” she told the 911 operator.
Police found Washington stretched out on the concrete with only a street light to warn drivers that someone was there. According to arrest warrants, police followed the trail of blood about 60 yards back to a bloody room at Michael Grier’s house. Inside, they reportedly found bullets consistent with the shots that Kevin Washington suffered, lots of blood and the smell of bleach as though someone might have tried to clean up the blood.
Grier wasn’t there. Police found him about five hours later in the neighborhood. He was charged with first-degree murder.
Neighbors said they’re stunned by the shooting. Tony Pettus said Washington and Grier were good friends. He said he looked at Washington’s body and then, “I just shook my head. To me, it makes me want to cry.”
His sister, Tammy Smith, said, “It’s just a shame, it’s just bad.”
Grier will make his first court appearance in person Friday morning.
Wanted: Medical Miracle
Posted in Project New Era on July 21, 2008 by projectnewera
Jewel Sulker has a million-dollar smile that fits her middle name, Sunshine.
However, the 10-year-old has no colon, no genitalia, no cervix, and has a bladder so small it’s like she has none.
She’s mostly deaf, her kneecaps are on the side of her legs, and she has scoliosis, or curvature of the spine.
She wears a colostomy bag and a renal port (for dialysis) on her small frame, and has a shunt, or tube in which drugs can be inserted, in her neck that goes to her carotid artery.
Jewel doesn’t speak. She took her first steps two years ago. She weighs 36 pounds and stands the same number of inches tall.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of this heart wrenching article
Murderer: Andrea Curry-Demus
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on July 21, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: The victim’s name was Kia Johnson. May she rest in peace.
Original Article Found at ABC News
Police said Friday they found the body of a woman with her hands bound in the apartment of another woman who showed up at a hospital with a newborn she falsely claimed as her own.
The body was found Friday night in the bedroom of 38-year-old Andrea Curry-Demus, Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams said. He said the woman had been dead about 24 hours, but that he couldn’t tell if she had recently given birth.
Some blood was found near the body, Williams said, but he would not say if there were signs of trauma.
Investigators found the body hours after Curry-Demus was charged with one count of child endangerment and one count of dealing in infant children, a misdemeanor, according to court records. She has been jailed until she posts $10,000 bond and undergoes a psychiatric exam.
CLICK HERE for the story that led UP to the murder
RIP: Todd Doxey
Posted in Project New Era on July 16, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: I’m quite sure that many of you will have your own opinions about this story, as is expected. However, the purpose in posting it is not to make snap judgments regarding this young man and his decision but rather to stress the importance of teaching our children the safety (and dangers) of water. I am extremely grateful to have learned to swim at a young age and even more grateful being taught how to take precautions (what to and not to do) around pools and various bodies of water. Again, I am NOT judging him but just putting the thought in your head that if you have children, invest in some swimming lessons and most importantly, teach them how to act accordingly around the water. RIP, Todd.
Original Article Found at Sign on San Diego
On a wall inside the Hoover High gymnasium is Todd Doxey’s retired No. 9 football jersey.
It’s a larger-than-life symbol of how much he meant to the Cardinals’ program and how high in esteem he is held at the school.
For now, though, there is mostly shock and sadness after Doxey died Sunday in a swimming accident on the McKenzie River, 15 minutes from the University of Oregon campus where he was expected to be a major contributor for the Ducks’ football program this year.
Doxey, 19, and several teammates intended to float down the river on inner tubes, but he and a few others opted to jump into the river from the Marcola Road Bridge, according to Lane County Sheriff’s reports.
He apparently was one of the last to take the 25-to 30-foot leap and started swimming across the current. Witnesses said he suddenly appeared to be in distress and had trouble staying above the cold water.
Individuals in a fishing boat coming down the river were able to pull Doxey from the water, but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died three hours later.
Flowers and notes are being accepted at California Cremation and Burial Chapel, 5880 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego, 92115.
A Todd Doxey Memorial Fund to help with funeral costs has been established at the Washington Mutual office, 4415 Imperial Ave., San Diego, CA 92113. Lardizabal said if contributions exceed costs, a Todd Doxey Perpetual Memorial Fund scholarship will be established to aid future athletes.
RIP: Jarvis Anderson
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on July 11, 2008 by projectnewera
A funeral for Jarvis Anderson, one of three people killed in Boston in a spate of violence over the Fourth of July weekend, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday in Davis Funeral Home, 654 Cummins Highway in Mattapan.
Mr. Anderson, 20, was killed about 1:30 a.m. July 5 in a drive-by shooting outside his Roxbury home. Though police said Mr. Anderson may have known those responsible for his death, his sister, Zakia Hunter, disputed the suggestion. She also denied that Mr. Anderson was affiliated with a gang.
Mr. Anderson’s relatives described him as someone who loved writing and producing music and who hoped to attend college to study engineering. A few months ago, Mr. Anderson wrote and helped engineer an antiviolence song called “Put the Guns Down.”
He worked as a delivery man at a Bertucci’s restaurant and spent his spare time at the music studio and visiting family.
Mr. Anderson leaves his parents, Phillip Sr. and Carolyn of Roxbury; one brother, Phillip Jr. of Roxbury; and one sister, Zakia Hunter of Dorchester.
He will be buried in Mount Hope Cemetery in Mattapan.
RIP: Tiffany Lomax
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era, Ridiculousness on July 11, 2008 by projectnewera
Original Article Found at Boston Herald
The family of a city woman claimed by street violence wants her to be remembered as a loving mother who was cruelly gunned down, leaving her eldest boy an orphan and her youngest daughter with only a young child’s memory of her slain mom.
Tiffany Lomax, 28, was riding in a car on River Street in Mattapan two blocks from her home early yesterday morning when it was targeted by gunfire. Bullets ripped through the vehicle, hitting the man driving twice in the arm and striking Lomax in the chest. The driver raced to Carney Hospital, where Lomax died from her injuries around 2:30 a.m.
Good Enough to FIGHT for the Country
Posted in Project New Era, Ridiculousness on July 6, 2008 by projectnewera
…but not good enough to LIVE in it?
Kendall Frederick was denied citizenship into the United States because they said that his “fingerprints weren’t good enough.” So it was decided that until the issue was resolved, he’d have to go to Baghdad where he was killed by a roadside bomb.
Click HERE to watch the video related to the story.
Original Article Found at WJZ
For years, Kendall Frederick dreamed of becoming a U.S. citizen. But it wasn’t until after he was killed in Iraq that the Army specialist finally got his wish.
Now, as Jessica Kartalija reports, a new law speeds the process by which foreign-born service members become U.S citizens.
Michelle Murphy wears dogtags on a chain around her neck.
Her son, Sgt. Kendall Frederick, was born in Trinidad, came to America at 15 and joined the military after high school.
For months he tried to become an American citizen. He was returning to base in Iraq, after being fingerprinted for his application, when a roadside bomb exploded, killing him.
Days later, he was posthumously granted citizenship.
“It made me angry. He’d been trying to get this for over a year and here in his death, after in a couple seconds, he is a citizen. Am I supposed to be happy? I was not happy,” said Murphy.
For the next two-and-a-half years, Murphy pushed to have the Kendall Frederick Citizenship Act passed. It would ease the process by which foreign-born soldiers can become a U.S. citizen.
Senator Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Elijah Cummings backed the bill, which quickly gained the support of Congress.
“To me, it’s really hypocritical of the United States government to have them do that. I know that not everyone wants to be a citizen, but if they choose to, they should be allowed to,” said Murphy.
Service members will not be required to submit an additional set of fingerprints for their citizenship application. The Department of Homeland Security is required to make service members aware of any policy changes in the citizenship process.
“One person can make a difference and I try and teach my children you stand up for what you believe in and obviously something good came out of it,” said Murphy. “I’m sure he’s smiling, definitely. He was that type of person.”
Senator Mikulski and Congressman Cummings will present Michelle Murphy with an official copy of the bill at Fort McHenry on July 1.
According to the Japanese…
Posted in Project New Era, Ridiculousness on July 6, 2008 by projectnewera
…Obama is a MONKEY! Absolutely insane! When will people learn?
And what’s even worse is the spokesman for E-Mobile tried to play “dumb” and act as if he had NO CLUE what type of riot would ensue over the campaign! Ignorantia juris non
excusat….and there’s NO excuse for a lack of common sense either! Wake up, PEOPLE!
This is NOT FUNNY!!
Click HERE to watch the video (it IS work safe)!
And what’s even worse is the spokesman for E-Mobile tried to play “dumb” and act as if he had NO CLUE what type of riot would ensue over the campaign! Ignorantia juris non
excusat….and there’s NO excuse for a lack of common sense either! Wake up, PEOPLE!
This is NOT FUNNY!!
Click HERE to watch the video (it IS work safe)!
Murdered: Sparkle Rai
Posted in Murdered, Project New Era on July 6, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: This story is quite old…it happened about 8 years ago! I just feel that it’s important to also post stories regarding racism amongst minorities. It’s really sad that this man’s grand daughter will grow up knowing that he was responsible for the murder of her mother. May she rest in peace….
Original Article Found at AJC
The man accused of stabbing a woman to death in a reputed murder-for-hire later said that he should have harmed her baby as well, according to testimony delivered today in Fulton County Superior Court.
A woman testified she watched Cleveland Clark kill 22-year-old Sparkle Rai inside Rai’s Union City apartment. Clark said he didn’t hurt Rai’s daughter, but “he said he should have thrown the (expletive) over the rail” of the balcony, said the witness, now 23.
The woman was testifying in the death penalty trial of Chiman Rai, a Mississippi businessman accused of hiring Clark through middle men to kill his daughter-in-law.
Prosecutors said 68-year-old Chiman Rai, a native of India, had Sparkle Rai killed because he didn’t want his son married to an African-American woman. The slaying occurred in 2000, a month after Sparkle and Rajeeve “Ricky” Rai married.
The woman who testified this morning was a teenager at the time of the killing. She said her best friend, Clark’s cousin, recruited her to help create a ruse to get Clark into Sparkle’s Union City apartment. The witness said she thought they were being recruited to transport drugs for a $5,000 fee but learned too late that the job was really murder.
The woman, who broke down in tears when shown pictures of Sparkle’s bloody corpse, testified that Clark nearly botched the killing because he tried to strangle Sparkle.
As they were leaving the apartment the seemingly lifeless Sparkle gasped, which caught Clark’s attention.
“Cleve was walking out the door with me and (Sparkle) started coming back to life,” the witness said. “He went back to the kitchen and got a knife and stabbed her and he was still stabbing her when I left.”
After the killing, the woman, who had been attending classes at Lovejoy High School earlier in the day, said she assured Clark that she would keep quiet about the crime.
“It was a pinky promise,” she said, showing jurors how she and Clark had interlocked little fingers when she made her vow.
Four years later, she was arrested in a high-speed chase with Atlanta police. She reportedly told police she could help them solve a killing, which led investigators to the bizarre motive for the murder that had stumped them for years.
Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford issued an order Wednesday that the media not identify either the woman or Clark’s cousin because they are in jail and don’t want to be known as snitches.
The 25-year-old cousin testified Wednesday that Sparkle Rai never screamed after the two young women asked to use her bathroom and Clark slipped in behind them. Clark asked the victim “where the dope was” but she didn’t seem to know what he was talking about, the cousin said.
Chiman Rai reputedly believed Sparkle had led his son, Rajeeve “Ricky” Rai, then 20, into thievery and drugs. In reality, investigators said, the younger Rai and his wife worked in menial jobs without any connection to the drug trade.
The cousin testified Wednesday that her friend took possession of Sparkle’s infant daughter, Analla, who had started crying and took the baby fromo the room in an attempt to calm her. Clark wrapped a cord from Sparkle’s vacuum cleaner around her neck and started strangling her with it, the cousin said.
“She was gagging and blood started coming out of her mouth,” the witness said, noting that Sparkle reached out during her murder.
“In what direction was she reaching?” asked prosecutor Eleanor Ross.
“Her baby,” the cousin said.
Unsolved Murder: Rodney “Ebony” Whitaker
Posted in Project New Era, Unsolved Murder on July 6, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: Such a horrible story that leaves a family with a lot of questions. Throughout the years, I’ve heard of quite a few stories involving the rape and murder of transgendered or gay men. It always begs the question…are the suspects who commit such heinous crimes only doing so because they’re ashamed over their OWN sexuality? It’s almost as though they murder in an effort to absolve any thoughts related to the act. May she rest in peace….
Original Article Found at My Eye Witness News, Tennessee
MEMPHIS, TN – Memphis Police say the body of a transgender woman was found near a Memphis daycare.
According to investigators, the body of 20 year-old Rodney Whitaker was found around 7:15 a.m., Tuesday, July 1, 2008, in the 3200 block of Whitebrook Plaza. Police say Whitaker was lying in the grass with a gunshot wound.
Detectives say Whitaker may have been seen walking in the area of Lamar and Old Getwell around 4:00 a.m., earlier on Tuesday.
Investigators are asking anyone with information that could help detectives solve this case, call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH or the Homicide Bureau at (901) 545-5300.
Additional information available HERE
Accolades: HIV Awareness
Posted in Accolades, Project New Era on June 29, 2008 by projectnewera
*Editor’s Note: I am a HUGE advocate of getting tested and making sure that you know your status. HIV is definitely a disease that can be prevented if practicing more caution. Nonetheless, I have a friend on Myspace by the name of Poetic Rymes who did a play regarding the importance of getting tested. You guys can check it out by clicking HERE. Support this young brotha who is spreading POSITIVE messages about making sure YOU remain NEGATIVE in your status.
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