Crime and Justice
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The state police of Illinois have filed charges against a now-former sheriff’s deputy who killed a Black woman in her own home after she called law enforcement about suspicious activity near her home.
On Wednesday (July 17), a grand jury in Sangamon County, Illinois, returned a five-count indictment against a former Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy who reportedly shot and killed a Black woman, Sonya Massey (pictured above), who called police to her home about an intruder.
State’s Attorney John Milhiser announced the charges against former Deputy John Grayson, which include first-degree murder, official misconduct, and aggravated assault with a firearm. Milhiser said that the investigation by the Illinois State Police “did not support a finding that (Grayson) was justified in his use of deadly force.”
This investigation also included the body camera footage from the night of July 6, when Massey called police to her home on the 2800 block in Springfield at 1 a.m. Gunfire was reported at the address at 1:21 a.m..
The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office had not offered any comment before the charges were announced, deferring to the Illinois State Police. Massey’s family and community activists held protests last week demanding that the body camera footage be released.
“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement, further writing: “In times like these, it is crucial for leadership across all sides and spectrums to come together to heal our community.” Grayson was terminated shortly after the incident. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon (July 18). Prosecutors are seeking to detain him per the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Attorney Ben Crump, notable for representing the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, is representing the Massey family in the case. “This news is a step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy,” Crump said in a statement. “We remain committed to uncovering the truth of what happened and identifying the failures that allowed this tragic death to occur.”
The attorney also said in the statement released on Wednesday that Grayson allegedly shot the 36-year-old woman in the face. Massey’s family viewed the body camera footage from that night in private that evening. The funeral for Massey will be held on Friday (July 19).
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Photo: Facebook/Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office
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It seems like whenever Lil Reese begins to trend on social media it’s almost never for anything positive and unfortunately that once again happens to be the case.
According to TMZ, the Chicago rapper was just arrested and booked in Los Angeles for allegedly raping a woman he went on a date with.
Reese and the woman in question went out on a dinner date this past Saturday night (July 13) before he took her to a hotel in Downtown Los Angeles where the sexual assault allegedly occurred. Once in the hotel room, the woman rejected Reese’s sexual advances before she said he forced himself on top of her and sexually assaulted her.
TMZ reports:
We’re told the woman then went straight down to the hotel lobby, and called the police around 3:30 AM Sunday.
We’re told officers promptly arrived on the scene and arrested Reese on suspicion of sexual assault and rape.
Boosie Badazz was an apparent witness to the arrest and put out an APB on Reese’s friends to bail him out.
Lil Boosie being there at the same time and seeing Reese hauled off to jail was hella random.
Lil Reese was eventually released on a $100K bond.
What do y’all think of the situation that Lil Reese finds himself in? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Photo: Johnny Nunez / Getty
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Irv Gotti, the Murder Inc. Records co-founder and longtime music executive, faces a lawsuit from a woman who claims she was raped by the New York native. The lawsuit was filed in Miami-Dade County and accuses Irv Gotti of sexually assaulting the woman over two years across several locales.
The Miami New Times reports that the lawsuit against Irv Gotti, 54, was filed on July 11 in Florida’s Miami-Dade County courts. The alleged victim, using the name Jane Doe, claims that Gotti, real name Irving Lorenzo, sexually assaulted her between 2020 and 2022 across Atlanta, Miami, and the island of Saint Martin.
More from Miami New Times:
“As a result of this sexually abusive relationship, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional and psychological harm for which she had to be committed to a psychiatric ward,” the lawsuit (attached at the bottom of this story) reads. “These injuries continue and affect Plaintiff to this day.”
The woman alleges that she and Gotti met through a mutual friend at a poker tournament in the summer of 2020, and Gotti invited her on a vacation to Saint Martin afterward. But upon arriving on the Caribbean island, Gotti allegedly coerced her into having sex with him, threatening to send her home if she didn’t.
The lawsuit states that Gotti and Jane Doe entered into a romantic relationship but claims that she was forced to perform sex acts against her will and verbally abused her. According to the filing, Jane Doe claims that Gotti would demand she perform sexual favors under the pressures of coercion.
Irv Gotti has yet to respond to the lawsuit and explosive allegations within.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg requested last week that a gag order against Donald Trump remain in place, alluding to the fact several threats have been made against those working on the case. The gag order, which has been in place since April, prevents Trump from issuing threats and attacking witnesses, jurors, court employees, and the relatives of New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
As seen in Mediaite, Alvin Bragg requested the extension on Friday, June 21, pointing to an alarming number of threats — 56 to be exact according to a New York Times report — and this comes as Trump is attempting to have the gag order lifted as he continues his presidential campaign.
Bragg and other prosecutors added that while Justice Merchan would not need to enforce the order for witnesses, the other barriers should remain until Trump’s sentencing on July 11. Trump was convicted by a New York jury back in May on 34 felony counts in the hush money trial.
The muzzling of Trump is typically a difficult task as the former president is known for his unfiltered views and bold tone. Trump has had choice words for Bragg, Justice Merchan, and the justice system, citing that his current legal ordeal is politically motivated as he attempts a return to the White House.
Among those threats mentioned above, an employee of Bragg’s office was doxxed with their home address getting leaked online, and two other individuals connected to the case faced bomb threats. Beyond those instances, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office has seen a deluge of emails and phone calls levying all manner of threats.
Trump is stating that the gag order violates his right to free speech and is hoping to have the order lifted as he continues to appeal to his base ahead of the November election. It hasn’t been reported if Justice Merchan will honor the extension request from DA Alvin Bragg or from Donald Trump to lift the order.
We’ve got some reactions from X below.
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Source: Jared Siskin / Getty / Lamor Whitehead
The Niggler, aka Bishop Lamor Whitehead, is going to prison for a long time.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ mentee, allegedly Bishop Lamor Whitehead, will head to prison for nine years.
Whitehead’s prison sentence is a verdict of him hoodwinking and bamboozling a parishioner’s mother out of her life savings, plus other scams.
The decision comes after Judge Lorna Schofield listened to testimony from the victims of Whitehead’s scamming and from the “Bling Bishop” himself, who took a page out of rapper The Game’s book, namedropping everyone he allegedly dealt with.
Per The Daily News:
Manhattan federal court Judge Lorna Schofield handed the term after hearing from financially destroyed victims and Whitehead himself, who namedropped a laundry list of city and state officials he’s dealt with, including the mayor, state Attorney General Letitia James, Brooklyn District Attorney General Eric Gonzalez, his predecessor, the late Ken Thompson, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey and others, none of whom were in attendance.
“I don’t see any remorse for your conduct,” Judge Schofield said, describing the evidence as “frankly overwhelming.”
Lamor Whitehead’s Reckoning Comes After A Jury Hit With A Guilty Verdict In March
A jury hit Whitehead, the pastor of the Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministries in Canarsie, Brooklyn, with a guilty verdict for five counts, including wire fraud, attempted extortion, lying to the FBI, and other charges from three different schemes in March.
Prosecutors successfully argued during the trial that Whitehead abused the trust of his loyal followers, defrauding them out of tens of thousands of dollars by dangling his ties to Mayor Adams.
Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement:
“Lamore Whitehead is a con man who stole millions of dollars in a string of financial. frauds and even stole from one of his parishioners. He lied to federal agents and again to the court during his trial. Today’s sentence puts an end to Whitehead’s various schemes and reflects this office’s commitment to bring accountability to those who abuse their positions of trust.”
Social Media Also Wants Eric Adams In Prison
The reactions to the news of Whitehead going to prison for nine years are pouring in.
Of course, many are clowing the Bling Bishop, but many of the reactions want NYC Mayor Eric Adams to end up behind bars.
“DO @NYCMAYOR NEXT PLEASE AND THANK YOU @FBI,” one user on X wrote.
Mayor Adams was not accused of any wrongdoing during Whitehead’s trial, but Mayor Mixxy does have his own issues he needs to worry about and could face some serious jail time, according to some legal experts, if the FBI investigation he is currently under turns up damning evidence.
The gallery below shows more reactions to Lamor Whitehead heading to prison for nine years.
1. Damn, y’all don’t like Mayor Mixxy at all
2. Where is the lie?
4. The walls are closing in on Eric Admas
7. They sure don’t.
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Bun B and his wife, Queenie, were the victims of a 2019 home invasion that ended with the armed robber being shot and eventually arrested. Facing the robber in court this week, Bun B was rendered emotional after sharing that his wife is still suffering from the event.
Local outlet KTRK aired a report about Bun B testifying in court against the defendant, Demonte Jackson, an event that took five years to occur as Jackson reportedly struggled with mental health issues. After the Houston rapper and entrepreneur took the stand, he opened by stating to the defense how the 2019 incident was so horrifying that his wife never returned to the home.
From KTRK:
“This was an entirely new traumatizing incident,” Bun B said. “This is something we still deal with to this day.”
“There are times when she gets closed off. She can’t communicate, and I just get so angry all over again because she didn’t deserve this. She didn’t ask for this,” he continued, getting visibly emotional.
Bun B, real name Bernard Freeman, then began to detail how he eventually came to his wife’s aid after she warned him not to approach the robber from an upper-level room because she was fearful that Jackson would kill her. Jackson then made his way to the couple’s garage with Bun B opening fire and striking Jackson who then fled on foot but was later captured by the rapper.
The outlet added in its report that Queenie, real name Angela Walls, was also set to take the stand.
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The-Dream is the latest entertainer to be slammed with a lawsuit alleging several serious crimes from a former understudy who claims she was subjected to sexual abuse, battery, and more. Chanaaz Mangroe claims in her lawsuit that The-Dream promised to guide her singing career but instead used his position and power to abuse and torture her.
TMZ was able to obtain the court documents filed by Chanaaz Mangroe, which detail some of the heinous acts she was allegedly subjected to. Mangroe, who hails from the Netherlands, says in her lawsuit that The-Dream, real name Terius Nash, took it upon himself to extend her work visa in 2014 in order to help grow her career in the States.
What transpired instead, according to Mangroe, was a yearlong abusive relationship with Nash using his age and influence to control her actions.
More from TMZ:
She alleges she was locked in a dark room where The-Dream “violently” had sex with her, leaving her naked and alone “for hours on end” before returning for another encounter.
The aspiring singer goes on to claim she was “frequently strangled” by Dream during their sexual encounters … almost losing consciousness on a number of occasions.
Further, Mangroe says that Nash would record their sexual encounters and allegedly used that as leverage to keep her silent as it was assumed he could leak the footage publicly.
So far, the legal team for The-Dream has yet to respond to the allegations.
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Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, is the latest entertainer to be slapped with a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. A former assistant who worked with Ye claimed in the suit that the Chicago superstar sent her explicit texts and videos, later splitting their arrangement and failing to pay a severance package.
As reported by TMZ, Lauren Pisciotta, a former OnlyFans model, was reportedly hired to work on the Yeezy fashion line in July 2021 according to the details found within the lawsuit. Pisciotta also claims she worked on three songs on Ye’s DONDA album. A year later, Pisciotta said the mercurial producer asked her to take down her OnlyFans account and vowed to replace her $1 million annual haul via salary to work for Yeezy.
However, it appears that Ye got too comfortable and began texting explicit messages to Pisciotta and also sharing videos of him having sex.
More from TMZ:
There’s one interesting alleged text Pisciotta claims he sent her that went something like this … “Is my d*** racist? It is. This f***ing racist d*** of mine. I going to beat this f***ing racist d*** for being f***ing racist. I’m going to stare at pictures of white woman with black asses and beat the s*** out of my racist d*** … Beating the s*** out of his big black c***.”
Pisciotta allegedly endured phone calls from her boss while he inquired about the penis size of her boyfriends and masturbated while on the phone among other heinous allegations.
News of the lawsuit went wide on social media with many noting Pisciotta looks somewhat similar to women Ye has dated in the past. According to Pisciotta, the pair never maintained a romantic connection while adding in her suit that after being fired in October 2022, she was allegedly offered a $3 million severance that remains unpaid.
Lauren Pisciotta is suing for breach of contract, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and hostile work environment.
Keep scrolling to see reactions from X, formerly Twitter.
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Photo: Getty
1. Owes him a lawsuit?
2. We can’t confirm if this is an actual link to the court documents so proceed knowing this.
3. It should be obvious.
6. No, we don’t know what homie is trying to say here either.
10. Or chronically horny?
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Sean Kingston and his mother, Janice Louis, are currently facing charges of committing over $1 million in fraud after the Jamaican-American artist’s home was raided. Sean Kingston has since agreed not to fight extradition to Florida after he was arrested last week at a California Army base.
Authorities in Florida recently raided the rented Fort Lauderdale home of Sean Kingston, 34, and arrested Kingston’s mother, Janice Louis, 61, without incident as reported by outlets TMZ and The Associated Press.
According to the AP, Kingston waived the right to fight extradition on Tuesday (May 28) while in court in California and will subsequently be handed over to Florida law enforcement officials. Both Kingston and Louis were charged in the alleged fraud scheme. The report adds that while Kingston did not appear in a San Bernardino court, he was still jailed as of Tuesday afternoon, and it was confirmed that officials from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office will handle his transfer to Florida to face charges.
Last week, Kingston was performing at Fort Irwin, an Army training base in the Mojave Desert. During his arrest, Louis was taken away in handcuffs in Florida after a SWAT team raided Kingston’s Florida mansion.
The charges faced by Kingston and Louis are conducting an organized scheme to defraud, grand theft, identity theft, and related crimes. Among the items that were said to be stolen included a Cadillac Escalade, furniture, jewelry, and money.
Sean Kingston recently took to Instagram to state that he and his mother are in good spirits and that his attorneys are handling the matter.
It isn’t known when the extradition will occur but we will update this story as it happens.
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Diddy, real name Sean Combs, is already scrambling from a personal image standpoint based on the leak of the video showing Combs violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura. Amid the chatter surrounding those images, another accuser has filed a lawsuit alleging that Diddy sexually assaulted her in 2003.
As reported by CNN, Crystal McKinney, a winner of MTV’s Model Mission series, was 22 at the time she met Diddy during a Men’s Fashion Week dinner in 2003. McKinney wrote in her complaint that Combs invited her to his nearby recording studio where she claims he allegedly drugged her with marijuana laced with a stronger narcotic.
The details of McKinney’s accounts of the events might be disturbing to some so we urge caution from this point forward. McKinney added that she was already under the influence of alcohol when she was handed the marijuana joint and says she was then led to a bathroom by Combs and forced to perform oral sex on him.
McKinney says she lost consciousness while at the studio and woke up in a cab heading to the home of a designer she was working with at the time and realized that she was sexually assaulted.
Bad Boy Records, Sean John Clothing LLC, and Universal Music Group Inc. are all named as defendants in McKinney’s lawsuit and according to CNN, none of them made any public inference to the filing. The lawsuit was filed over violations noted in the New York Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law. It is the sixth such lawsuit, all of which make mention of sexual assault
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Photo: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis / Getty