Crime and Punishment
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Roda Osman, a Texas woman largely referred to as “Brick Lady” on social media, has been charged with making a false assault claim where she said she was hit in the face with a brick. Osman went viral after sharing a video of injuries that were linked to the assault, raising over $40,000 on GoFundMe in the process.
Local outlet KPRC 2 reports that Roda Osman, 33, was charged with felony theft by deception after investigators discovered that Osman’s story didn’t add up. According to the report, Houston police responded to the scene of the alleged assault on Sept. 3 of last year, meeting with Osman and another woman. According to the officers, Osman was reportedly under the influence and hostile.
Osman told police that she was walking in the city when a man threw a brick at her for not giving up her phone number, according to findings from the court documents. Adding to this, Osman claimed that the driver of an Uber car service she ordered was the man who assaulted her and said that the man was part of a human trafficking scheme.
Almost two weeks later on Sept. 15, detectives attempted to contact Osman by phone but the number belonged to the woman that was on the scene of the alleged assault. The woman said she was not a native of Houston and went out drinking with Osman that night and added that Osman called male friends to provide transportation.
The woman said that when the pair entered the vehicle, Osman yelled out “why you hit me” but said she didn’t hear any sort of argument or discussion beforehand. Off the record, the woman said she didn’t think Osman was hit by a brick. The woman then said that the man suspected of hitting Osman exited the car and entered another vehicle before driving off. It was then that Osman decided to go live on Instagram with the woman suggesting she contact the authorities.
Days later on Sept. 20, Houston detectives obtained surveillance video footage and located Olan Douglas, the man Osman claimed hit her. Charging documents say that Douglas and Osman were arguing with Douglas reportedly swinging his right hand and striking Osman in the face with what appeared to be a plastic water bottle. This information has some supporters of Osman saying she was indeed assaulted but there was also an alleged account that Osman struck Douglas first.
As it stands, the issue is that the story Osman gave police neglected to reveal that she knew the man who allegedly struck her instead of it being a random person who was harassing her during her night out. This prompted Daphne Sutton, a popular TikTok user, to call Houston police and suggest that Osman made everything up because of an incident that allegedly place in Minnesota in 2020.
Sutton gave Houston police the GoFundMe link from 2020 that shared a similar bent to the Houston attack story and also obtained statements from Osman’s former roommate and friends. Minneapolis police said to Houston officials that Osman never reported the alleged assault despite launching the GoFundMe page. The roommate that Sutton spoke with also reached out to Houston police and said that Osman was scamming people out of money.
Roda Osman, who had prior criminal charges in the Virgin Islands, Minnesota, and across Texas, is currently out on bail for felony assault and domestic violence connected to an incident in Minnesota.
On X, formerly Twitter, many are reacting to the news. We’ve captured comments from all sides below.
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A$AP Rocky appeared in court in Los Angeles to plead not guilty to the shooting of A$AP Relli ahead of an upcoming trial date.
On Monday (January 8), A$AP Rocky appeared before Judge Karla Kerlin in a Los Angeles courtroom to enter a plea of not guilty in the shooting of his former friend and collaborator, A$AP Relli which took place in Hollywood in November 2021. The rapper, also known as Rakim Myers, was accompanied by his legal team of Joe Tacopina and Sarah Cohen. After entering the plea, A$AP Rocky left the court and had no comment for reporters waiting outside. “We have a lot of evidence that we have a strong suspicion the prosecutors don’t know about,” Tacopina said to the press outside of the courthouse.
A$AP Rocky had been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport in April 2022 in connection to the criminal incident. A$AP Relli, also known as Terrell Ephron, alleges that A$AP Rocky fired a gun in his direction twice, injuring him when the bullet hit him in his left hand. Surveillance video of the incident which included timestamps of the gun being fired off camera, along with testimony admitted to the court last November compelled another judge to rule that there was sufficient evidence for a trial to proceed. A pre-trial hearing has been ordered to take place on March 6.
A$AP Rocky is facing two counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm and one count of personal use of a firearm. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Tacopina defended his client and said of A$AP Relli: “He’s a failed associate — ex-associate — of Rocky’s, and he’s jealous. He was trying to get money from Rocky. He wanted Rocky to support him. He made it clear. There were repeated attempts where he tried to ask for money in lieu of not causing problems for Rocky. That’s what he said. We have all this memorialized in text messages and otherwise, so it’s an extortion.”
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A judge in Las Vegas, Nev. was attacked in court after denying a man probation, and the entire moment was caught on camera. Judge Mary Kay Holthus handed down a sentence for Deobra Redden on a charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm and denied his probation, which prompted Redden to shout curses and leap over the judge’s desk while landing on top of her.
Local outlet KSNV reports that Judge Mary Kay Holthus was overseeing the sentencing hearing for Deobra Redden on Wednesday (January 3) and told his legal team that she believes jail time was best for their client. After Redden’s attorney suggested probation and Redden himself said he was in a better place, Judge Holthus thought otherwise.
“I think it’s time that he gets a taste of something else,” Holthus responded. “Because I just can’t with that history,” this after prosecutors shared Redden’s criminal history with the judge.
It was then that Redden began cursing at the judge and then leaped over the desk on top of her before the court marshal and another person was able to split the pair apart.
Court Information Officer Mary Ann Price offered the following in a statement to the outlet:
Deobra Redden was present for a sentencing hearing this morning, with regard to the charge of attempt battery with substantial bodily harm. During the hearing, Mr. Redden attacked Judge Mary Kay Holthus. Judge Holthus experienced some injuries and her condition is being monitored.
The marshal sustained injuries and has been transported to the hospital. Our understanding is that he is in stable condition. We commend the heroic acts of her staff, law enforcement, and all others who subdued the defendant. The court remains committed to a safe and secure courthouse and courtrooms. We are reviewing all our protocols and will do whatever is necessary to protect the judiciary, the public and our employees.
Redden was hit with 13 new charges after the attack, which includes six felonies and is due in court today (January 4).
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Photo: Screenshot/Clark County District Court
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Chance Comanche, a former player for the NBA G League‘s Stockton Kings, was recently arrested by the FBI as a person of interest involving the murder of a woman in Las Vegas. Now, it has come out that Chance Comanche allegedly confessed to the strangling death of the woman along with the help of a former girlfriend according to documents.
The Associated Press reports that Chance Comanche, 27, allegedly confessed to strangling a woman in Las Vegas after the remains of a woman were found in the nearby town of Henderson, Nev. Earlier this week, Comanche was taken into custody in Sacramento, Calif., and shared details of the alleged murder of Marayna Rodgers, 23, this coming from a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department affidavit.
“I cannot comment on the substance of any statements made to law enforcement,” Comanche attorney Michael Goldstein said Wednesday. “We made our initial appearance yesterday, and the allegations will be addressed in court.”
Comanche is currently being held without bond and appeared in court on Tuesday (December 19) and agreed with the transfer of his custody to Nevada to face murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges.
Along with Comanche, the player’s former girlfriend, Sakari Harnden, 19, is also facing charges and is being held in a Las Vegas jail without bond.
Reports say that Rodgers, who worked as a medical assistant in Washington state, was first reported missing on December 7 after visiting Las Vegas with friends. According to police, Rodgers moonlit as a sex worker and argued over a watch with Harnden, also reportedly a sex worker. Police reports say that Comanche and Harnden choked Rodgers to death on December 6 and disposed of her body in Henderson.
While it isn’t clear who was the mastermind of the scheme, the affidavit adds that Comanche was posing as a potential customer of Rodgers and would tie her hands behind her back. Then, using a cord to keep Rodgers in place, Harnden choked Rodgers with her bare hands. The pair then dumped the body in a roadside ditch.
Chance Comanche, a 6-foot-10 power forward and center, played at the University of Arizona from 2015 to 2017 before forgoing his final two years of eligibility for the NBA draft. He went undrafted and signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Stockton Kings, an affiliate NBA G League team of the Sacramento Kings, took on Comanche after the Kings signed and waived him in October.
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Jonathan Majors was found guilty in New York on Monday (December 18) after weeks of testimony and evidence introduced to the jury. The actor was found guilty of reckless assault and harassment, but two other charges were dropped.
As seen on Deadline, Jonathan Majors, 34, was found guilty by a New York City jury of three women and three men after a couple of days of deliberation. The actor faced a total of four misdemeanor charges and was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree, and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree.
Majors will learn his sentence on February 6 of next year. As told by the judge overseeing the matter, Majors is still under a protective order and has to avoid contact with his accuser, Grace Jabbari. Majors entered a not-guilty plea and has maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal that first spilled out into the public view in March of this year.
A statement from Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg can be viewed below:
At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we are committed to centering survivors in all of our work. The evidence presented throughout this trial illustrated a cycle of psychological and emotional abuse, and escalating patterns of coercion far too common across the many intimate partner violence cases we see each and every day. Today, a jury determined that pattern of abuse and coercion culminated with Mr. Majors assaulting and harassing his girlfriend. We thank the jury for its service and the survivor for bravely telling her story despite having to relive her trauma on the stand.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, news of the guilty verdict in the domestic violence trial for Jonathan Majors is spreading wide with several varied reactions. We’ve got some of them listed below.
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Tiffany Haddish has officially been charged with DUI after she was arrested in Beverly Hills last month following calls to the police about a running car stopped in the middle of Beverly Drive with the driver, who turned out to be Haddish, slumped over behind the steering wheel.
According to TMZ, the Girls Trip actress’ case was under review by the L.A. District Attorney’s Office and it was determined that she was driving with a .08% BAC.
Because this is actually the second time within the last couple of years that she has caught a DUI charge after falling asleep behind the wheel (pretty much the same thing happened to her in Georgia in January 2022), a lot of people were beginning to worry about the She Ready comedian’s wellbeing. So, it came as somewhat of a comfort when she opened up about the arrest during an interview with Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier saying she was in good spirits but also acknowledging that she needed to get herself together.
“I’m going to get some help so I can learn balance and boundaries,” she said.
Still, Haddish’s DUI arrests could yield serious consequences for the 43-year-old. Prosecutors in the Peach State are even pushing for stricter bond conditions.
From TMZ:
In fact, in light of her Cali arrest, Georgia prosecutors are pushing for stricter restrictions on her — wanting to modify the bondconditions from her open DUI case there to restrict her from using booze and drugs completely.
BTW … if Tiffany is convicted of both offenses, both California and Georgia have laws that require jail time for a second offense — in CA, the minimum is 4 days, in GA it’s 3 days.
A few days in jail obviously wouldn’t be the end of Haddish’s world, but the situation is still very unfortunate. What is fortunate is that Haddish hadn’t caused any accidents or injuries to others while driving under the influence.
Driving drunk is dangerous, y’all. We hope Tiffany Haddish receives the help she needs.
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This past summer the internet applauded the Black unity that the good people of Alabama demonstrated during what is now referred to as “The Battle of Montgomery” a.k.a. the Montgomery Riverfront Brawl.
While many fades were dished and white chairs became the weapon of choice for the now famous brouhaha by the boats, no one was seriously injured in the melee but many who participated were taken into custody and are now being held accountable for their actions. According to TMZ, a chair-wielding participant has just entered a guilty plea in the case but will avoid jail time for the fight.
This past Monday (December 11), Reggie Bernard Ray copped a conditional guilty plea in his case and in exchange for his transgression will have to serve 50 hours of community service along with a 90-Day suspended sentence.
In other words if the man doesn’t get pinched for any other issues he won’t see a day in jail.
Per TMZ:
You’ll recall, Ray was seen in the viral clip earlier this year, coming to the defense of another Black man — the co-captain of a nearby riverboat — during a dispute with white men whose boat was blocking the riverboat from docking.
It quickly grew into a huge brawl, with Ray making a memorable appearance by swinging the chair at one of the white men … the incident has since spawned multiple memes and even some merch.
As we reported, Ray jumped on the bandwagon and began selling some merch of his own … apparently trying to cash in on the famous incident.
That really was a classic moment in American history. Just sayin.’
The incident itself spawned a bevy of hilarious and “inspirational” memes in the following days and truth be told, we loved them all.
We’re just glad that camera phones, the internet and social media was around the capture and promote that historic day at Montgomery, Alabama.
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The Riverfront Brawl in Montgomery, Ala. was one of the most explosive moments to unfold this year, spawning several memes as the news of the so-called “Fade In The Water” event rippled through social media. Two men involved in the Riverfront Brawl were recently sentenced and one man saw his charges dismissed as another individual will appear in court on Monday (December 11).
Local outlet WSFA reports that Zachary Shipman and Alan Todd appeared in Montgomery Municipal Court last Friday (December 8) and pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of harassment after initially being charged with third-degree assault. Shipman and Todd were given suspended sentences of 60 days and 12 months of probation. Shipmen will serve out his sentence in Dallas County while Todd will do so in Baldwin County according to WSFA’s reporting.
Dameion Pickett, a co-captain of the Riverboat, also appeared in court but his third-degree assault charge was dismissed and he supported the plea agreements made by Shipman and Todd. One other suspect, Reggie Ray, will appear in court Monday to learn what his sentence will be.
The Riverfront Brawl was sparked after the Riverboat was attempting to dock in its usual spot this past August when a private boat was in the way. A dock worker removed a rope that kept the private boat stationary, sparking its passengers to assault the dock worker. An employee of the Riverboat hopped into the water, swam over, and helped to defend the worker along with other observers.
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On Wednesday (December 6), Kodak Black was arrested for cocaine possession in Plantation, Florida after cops found him asleep at the wheel of his luxury SUV. The jokes write themselves.
The rapper, born Bill Kapri, 26, was pinched for possession of cocaine, tampering with evidence and improperly stopping or parking his vehicle. He appeared before the judge on Thursday (December 7).
WSVN reports that officers approached Kodak Black’s vehicle after noticing his black Bentley SUV was holding up traffic around 2am on the 600 block of NW 47th Terrace. The officers then found the “Visions” rapper asleep behind the wheel. Of course, the cops also noted the odor of marijuana coming from the SUV as well as “cannabis wrapping paper and residue” per the police report.
But this is when the struggle gets extra real. Reportedly, Black copped to the weed, but then the authorities said they noticed him trying to discard of a white powdery substance. After being searched, the cops found a white substance in a baggie in his pocket that was confirmed to be cocaine.
Kodak Black was famously pardoned Donald Trump in 2020 of his federal sentence for falsifying documents to purchase firearms, and has been continuously singing the former President’s praises ever since. There’ll be no get out jail free cards now, though.
All jokes aside, it seems like Kodak Black, who had to complete court-ordered rehab before, needs help.
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Joseph Vincent, a former informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a plot to assassinate President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti. Vincent, who claims both Haitian and American citizenship, was the first citizen of the United States to plead guilty in the matter.
The Miami Herald reports that Joseph Vincent, a native of South Florida, was the fourth of 11 defendants charged in the federal case that is unfolding in Miami, with Vincent, 58, admitting to a role in the plot to assassinate Moïse. Moïse was killed after his residence was ambushed by over two dozen mercenaries, some of whom were reported to be from Colombia. According to court findings, 26 of 28 gunmen were reportedly Colombian with two suspects hailing from the United States.
Vincent told the court that he met with a group of individuals in Haiti on the night before President Moïse’s assassination, which occurred on July 7, 2021, in the wee hours of the morning. Vincent, who is entering a plea deal, shared that he wore a U.S. State Department pin on his outfit to appear as an important figure to his Haitian co-conspirators according to Vincent’s statements.
Adding to this, Vincent said he was part of a plan to ignite protests across Haiti against Moïse and use the disturbance as a cover ploy to kidnap the president. Vincent was not part of the gunmen group but did admit to riding with other co-conspirators to Moïse’s residence during the ambush by the mercenaries.
Joseph Vincent is pleading guilty to conspiring to provide material support in the assassination, providing that support, and conspiring to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States. His sentencing hearing takes place on February 9, 2024, and he faces up to life in prison.
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