List of All Articles with Tag 'crime'

A Black deckhand caught in the middle of the Alabama riverfront brawl revealed he was berated with threats by white boaters after he asked them to move their vessel so a dinner cruise could dock. Damien Pickett detailed the frightening moments in a written deposition to Montgomery police that was obtained by NBC News. The Harriott II’s senior deckhand said he had tried to reason with the pontoon boat occupants when he asked them to move, but was instead met with an attack that was captured on video. Mr Pickett recalled being pummeled by the boaters who yelled, “I’m gonna kill you, motherf*****, beat your ass, motherf*****.” “I can’t tell you how long it lasted,” he wrote in the deposition. “I grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life.” The Harriott II, which was carrying 227 passengers, had been trying to dock on Saturday evening in Montgomery but a pontoon boat was blocking their spot. After many calls over the PA system asking for the boat owners “five or six times” to move, Mr Pickett wrote, the men on the pontoon responded by “giving us the finger” for about three minutes. Mr Pickett said he and another dockhand then untied the pontoon boat and moved it “three steps to the right” and tied it back to a post so the Harriott II could dock. “By that time, two people ran up behind me,” Mr Pickett wrote. He added that one of the men, in a red hat, yelled to him, “Don’t touch that boat motherf***** or we will beat your ass.” “I told them, ‘No, you won’t,’” he continued, adding that the men kept threatening him, so he told them: “Do what you’ve got to do, I’m just doing my job.” Mr Pickett said the men appeared to be drunk and the boat’s owner, who was wearing a grey shirt and red shorts with a sun visor, “started getting loud … He got into my face. ‘This belongs to the f****** public.’ I told him this was a city dock.” The brawl broke out seconds later and Mr Pickett said that by that time, “a tall, older white guy came over and hit me in the face. I took my hat off and threw it in the air. Somebody hit me from behind. I started choking the older guy in front of me so he couldn’t anymore, pushing him back at the same time. “Then the guy in the red shorts came up and tackled me … I went to the ground. I think I hit one of them.” Finally, help had arrived, Mr Pickett said as he recounted a tall Black man and a security guard coming to his aid. “Two people were pulling them off me,” he said. But then before he knew it, “one of my co-workers had jumped into the water and was pushing people and fighting.” As the Harriott II finally docked, Mr Pickett’s said his nephew “ran off the boat and went after them. I was screaming for him to come back.” “The security guard was trying to get the lady in red to leave; she wouldn’t listen. People from off the boat and spectators were coming down the back end of the dock. The guy who started it all was choking my sister. I hit him, grabbed her and moved her … I turned around and MPD had a Taser in my face. I told him I was the one being attacked and could I finish doing my job.” Mr Pickett did just that as he helped passengers off the cruise boat and apologised to them “for the inconvenience. They all said I did nothing wrong,” he wrote. “Some of them were giving me cards with their names and numbers on it. Some said they had it all on film, so I pointed them out to MPD.” He was eventually transported to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. Five people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the brawl. Reggie Gray, 42, turned himself in to Montgomery Police on Friday, three days after the police chief asked him to get in contact with authorities for further questioning. He was charged with disorderly conduct, police said. Mary Todd, 21, was charged with assault in the third degree. She is currently behind bars in the Municipal Jail, the police added. She joins three other men who were arrested following the wild riverfront fight. It’s unclear whether she and Allen Todd, a 23-year-old man who turned himself in on Wednesday, are related. Zachary Shipman, 25, also turned himself in on Wednesday night after police asked him and Mr Todd to turn themselves in no later than Tuesday. Richard Roberts, 48, was also held in custody in Selma as of Tuesday. Police have previously said that the three men who were arrested were members of the pontoon boat, which was blocking the Harriott II riverboat from docking in its designated space. It’s unclear if Ms Todd was also aboard the craft. The captain of the Harriott II said he believes this interaction was “racially motivated,” but the massive brawl that transpired afterwards was not. Capt Jim Kitrell also noted earlier this week that he has had “trouble” with the pontoon boat owners in the past, and had considered pressing charges against them years ago, yet was talked out of it. Read More Fourth suspect charged with assault in Alabama riverfront brawl as she turns herself in to police Alabama dockside brawl was racially motivated, riverboat captain says Alabama riverboat captain reveals past ‘trouble’ with pontoon boat owners after brawl

A fifth suspect was charged following the violent Mongtomery riverfront brawl. Reggie Gray, 42, turned himself in to Montgomery Police on Friday, three days after the police chief asked him to get in contact with authorities for further questioning. He was charged with disorderly conduct, police said. Mr Gray is currently being housed in the Municipal Jail. The police chief previously described him as the man seen “wielding that folding chair” in footage of the incident. Mr Gray seemed to pick up a folding chair and whack people on the dock over the head with it, videos show. His arrest comes one day after 21-year-old Mary Todd turned herself in, and was charged with assault in the third degree. Before that, Richard Roberts, 48, Zachery Shipman, 25, and Allen Todd, were also charged for their alleged involvement in the fight on the dock. The fight broke out after the Harriott II riverboat was trying to park in its designated space, but a pontoon boat was blocking. After numerous attempts to get in contact with the pontoon boat owners over a PA system, senior deckhand Dameion Pickett approached them in person. Chaos ensued. One of the members of the pontoon boat began attacking Mr Pickett. Soon afterward, a massive fight broke out along the dock. Police said on Friday that the investigation is ongoing. Read More Alabama riverboat captain reveals past ‘trouble’ with pontoon boat owners after brawl Fourth suspect charged with assault in Alabama riverfront brawl as she turns herself in to police Alabama riverfront brawl suspects finally turn themselves in

Prosecutors allege the murder of professional dancer O'Shae Sibley was an anti-gay hate crime.

The 17-year-old boy charged with stabbing O’Shae Sibley to death at a gas station in Brooklyn has pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. Dmitriy Popov was previously indicted by a grand jury on murder in the second degree as a hate crime, among other charges. Mr Popov’s next court date is set for October, ABC 7 reported, adding that the teen faces a minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of 25 years to life. The outlet reported that Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez underscored the importance of prosecuting this incident as a hate crime. “Many powerful people across this country have talked about this case and have been concerned that justice prevails,” said Mr Gonzalez. “I’m assuring the community that we are taking this case very seriously, that we’re going to make sure that justice prevails.” The 17-year-old is accused of killing Sibley, a gay 28-year-old professional dancer, who, reportedly just after 11pm on 29 July, was dancing to a Beyonce song with a friend at a Mobil gas station in Brooklyn. That’s when a separate group of young men allegedly began hurling homophobic insults saying that they didn’t like “gay dancing” in their neighbourhood, according to eyewitnesses. Sibley suffered “a stab wound to the torso. EMS responded and removed the victim to Maimonides Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased,” a spokesperson for NYPD said. Mr Popov’s lawyer Mark Pollard previously told The Independent that his client was a “good Christian boy” who regularly attended church. “I have no idea where that came from. I just know he’s not Muslim. It’s very strange,” Mr Pollard told The Independent. The teenage suspect turned himself in to authorities after a week of trying to bring him in, although he was easily identified through video footage. “This is a city where you are free to express yourself, and that expression should never end with any form of violence,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference last week. Read More 17-year-old suspect in the New York stabbing of a dancer is indicted on a hate-crime murder charge O’Shae Sibley was stabbed to death for the crime of being ‘Black, gay and dancing’ Teen accused of stabbing O’Shae Sibley in homophobic attack is a ‘good Christian boy’, lawyer says

Authorities in Maryland are hoping to speak to a group of individuals who were on the trail the same time as Rachel Morin on the night the 37-year-old was killed. The group of people who had dogs with them on the trail Saturday evening may have seen something, Harford County officials said as they urged them to come forward. Morin was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail around 6pm on 5 August. Her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing that night after she failed to return home. The mother-of-five’s body was found the next day, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. Detectives said they received information that between 6pm and 7.30pm, the group of potential witnesses were walking on the Ma & Pa Trail from the Rt. 24 tunnel toward the split in the trail that leads to the Williams Street trailhead. The individuals were described as either being three men, two women and two dogs or two men, three women and two dogs. It’s the most recent update in the disappearance and killing of the mother-of-five that has gripped the Bel Air community. Hundreds of tips have come in, but authorities do not yet have a “solid suspect” in the case. “We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. Mr Gahler urged the public to keep sending in tips, no matter how insignificant it may be. “Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends,” he said in a briefing on Wednesday. Anyone who believes they may be the individuals that the detectives are looking for or if anyone has information that could be helpful, contact Sgt. Maddox at maddoxc@harfordsheriff.org. Read More Rachel Morin – update: Police seek mystery group of potential witnesses on Bel Air trail near time of killing Rachel Morin’s mother breaks silence on daughter’s killing Man who described grisly state of Rachel Morin’s body never actually saw it, sheriff says

The mother of Rachel Morin has broken her silence with a plea for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the “sudden and tragic” loss of the 37-year-old whose body was found after she vanished while going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air. “We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community,” the post read. “We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.” Morin was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm Saturday. Her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing that night after she failed to return home. Morin’s body was found the following day, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. The heartfelt letter, which was shared on Thursday in a post on the Facebook page of Rachel Morin’s sister Rebekah, thanked the community for its support and announced that a Celebration of Life service and a 5K run would be held in Morin’s honour thanks to the money raised. “Because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited (more details to come),” the family wrote. “And because Rachel was an avid runner, we are in the early stages of planning a 5K walk/run in her honor with the hope of having a trail of flowers.” The GoFundMe goal amount was raised to $65,000 to help pay for the arrangements and it has raised $41,612 as of Thursday. “If you have experienced the loss of a dear loved one, then you know how hard it can be to express the pain that you feel in your heart. When it’s sudden and tragic, your mind looks for ways to cope,” the letter continued. “As a mom, I appreciate the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter. Thank you for caring. Truly.” Morin’s family shared the letter with the update just a day after the Hartford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler vowed to bring the “heinous coward” who killed Morin to justice. He also confirmed police had yet to identify a “solid suspect” but said detectives have been working around the clock and that some of the “more than 100 tips” that have been submitted by the public “have been promising”. Read More Man who described grisly state of Rachel Morin’s body never actually saw it, sheriff says Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail Maryland sheriff calls out ‘heinous coward’ who killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin

Maryland detectives investigating the homicide of missing mother-of-five Rachel Morin have said they do not have a solid suspect yet in the case and warned members of the community to be vigilant. "Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, ‘yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event’," Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler told WBALTV. Morin, 37, was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air at around 6pm on Saturday evening, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. After she failed to return home that night, her boyfriend reported her missing. Then on Sunday afternoon, a Maryland father discovered a woman’s body in a tunnel off the trail which was later confirmed to be Morin. Mr Gahler announced that Morin’s case is now a homicide investigation at a press conference that evening. Rebekah Morin, the deceased’s sister, started a GoFundMe to pay for funeral expenses. As of Thursday morning, it has raised almost $41,000. Read More Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular Maryland hiking trail. Her sister says she ‘did not go willingly’ Rachel Morin’s boyfriend says he ‘would never do anything to her’ as homicide probe launched Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail

Disgraced ex-NFL star Henry Rugs has been sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison for a fiery DUI crash that killed a woman and her dog in Las Vegas. The former Raiders wide receiver was speeding down a road in the city at up to 156mph when he smashed his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray into the back of 23-year-old Tina Tintor’s SUV in November 2021. Tintor’s vehicle was consumed by flames and she was trapped inside with her pet and died from injuries caused by the fire and the crash.

The Maryland man who found the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin said “he had a feeling” about the tunnels where she was found dead off the Ma and Pa Trail. Michael Gabriszeski, 49, told local news outlet WMAR-2 News that he joined the search for Morin after hearing about her disappearance from his daughter who was friends with Morin. Morin, a mother of five, went missing on Saturday after going for a jog on the trail. The following day, her body was located off the trail by Mr Gabriszeski. Mr Gabriszeski said he told police to search tunnels that exist around the Ma and Pa Trail because he had a bad feeling about them. “I kept telling them to search the tunnels because I had a feeling about those tunnels,” Mr Gabriszeski said. “I walked forward to search the one tunnel, and they searched the one, and that’s where they found her.” Mr Gabriszeski reported Morin’s body to the police around 1.30pm on Sunday. The Bel Air mother was found in a tunnel off of a trail. Morin initially left her home around 6pm on Saturday to go for a jog. When she failed to return five hours later, her boyfriend called the police to report her missing. An extensive search was conducted with authorities searching the trail and surrounding areas. The Harford County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet disclosed Morin’s manner of death but authorities in the Sheriff’s Office say foul play is suspected. A homicide investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information pertaining to Morin or with photos and videos taken the day of her disappearance should contact the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. Mr Gabriszeski said he hopes locating Morin’s body can result in a “a final resting place” so “that door can be finally closed” for the Morin family. “[I hope] they can get the investigation on and, hopefully, catch the person who did this trifling act,” Mr Gabriszeski said. He added that whoever is responsible for Morin’s death should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Bel Air is a community of roughly 10,000 people and has a low crime rate. Harford County sheriff Jeffery Gahler said the death of Morin has shocked the county. “We are a county that enjoys very low crime,” Mr Gahler told Fox News Digital. ”Our community is rightly very concerned,” Mr Gahler said. Authorities have no suspects at the moment and said it could be anyone who committed a random act of violence to a more planned attack or somebody that Morin knew. Read More Rachel Morin - update: Man who found body speaks out as sheriff confirms Bel Air homicide Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular Maryland hiking trail. Her sister says she ‘did not go willingly’ Rachel Morin’s boyfriend says he ‘would never do anything to her’ as homicide probe launched Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail

A teenager was arrested Tuesday on assault charges after allegedly verbally harassing an Asian family on the subway and then assaulting another passenger. Because the arrested girl is 16 years old, her name was not released. She turned herself into the NYPD on Tuesday morning at about 9.45am, according to the New York Post. A video of the incident shows the teenager attacking both 51-year-old Susan Young, a Nevada mom sitting with her 11-year-old twins, as well as Joanna Lin, who filmed the encounter. The teen was charged with two counts of assault Tuesday, and although police were reportedly considering hate crime charges, she wasn’t charged with any; both Ms Young and Ms Lin told the Post that they do not think the girl harassed them because of their race. “One of the girls stood up and went to Joanna and just punched her. I mean, punch, punch, punch, like repeatedly. I saw at least three, maybe two or three,” Ms Young told The Post, prompting her to stand up from her seat. That’s when another girl approached the Nevada mom, and because she was screaming at her, Ms Young pushed the girl away to try to get to Ms Lin. Then, the 16-year-old turned her attention to the mom, Ms Young explained to the outlet. “Well, as soon as I made contact and pushed her shoulders away, they all came after me. I backed up, but the girl in the white t-shirt came slugging at me… She grabbed my hair, I grabbed her hair, and I basically just grabbed onto her hair to shield my face because she was swinging,” Ms Young recalled. The bystander gave her thoughts on the teen’s arrest to The Post. “I am relieved that she made the decision to turn herself in. In a perfect world, I would love if she can issue an apology to myself and Sue Young, and promise to never ever do this again,” Ms Lin told the publication. “I also hope she gets therapy, counseling, and mentorship needed to move up from here.” According to the police department, the assault took place at around 8pm on August 3 on an F train at West Fourth Street-Washington Square station. It is not clear from the video how the confrontation began. From there, however, things allegedly escalated. The video shows one of the women who had allegedly been hurling abuse at the Asian family run towards the camera, at which point it cuts out. In one of the captions for the video, Ms Lin wrote that “This ferocious one runs over to hit me. I put down my phone to cover my head and took the blow (ow).” According to an NYPD tweet, which identified the victim in the case only as a 51-year-old woman, the assailant “made an anti-ethnic remark, pulled her by the hair & punched her.” The victim has since identified herself as Sue Young — a 51-year-old from Reno, Nevada who was visting New York on vacation with her family. The altercation continued as the subway sped towards its next stop, where the passengers got off the train and Ms Lin reportedly helped the family file a police report. Video of the attack, which quickly went viral, sparked outrage in New York. The attack comes more than three years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in the city and around the country that left some AAPI community members fearful for their safety in public. The NYPD formed an Asian Hate Crime Task Force in 2020, though it’s unclear whether that task force is involved directly in any way in the investigation into the attack. Ms Young, for her part, told NBC that she does not believe the people who verbally harrassed her and her family members were motivated by racial hatred and warned about the limited effectiveness of a carceral response. “These are very young girls,” Ms Young told NBC News. “Somebody or something or some circumstance has made a big impression on them — whether it’s historical pressure, societal pressure, social pressure. Using law enforcement to curtail this, I’m not sure if that’s going to fix the problem. It just seems like it’s a more underlying issue that we, as a society and as a community, need to hold everybody accountable, not just law enforcement.” Read More Senior Japanese diplomat attacked by US woman in anti-Asian hate crime, court records say Uproar as California students sent racist cards during Black History Month

Authorities in Maryland have confirmed that the body found along a hiking trail in Bel Air is that of missing mother-of-five Rachel Morin. Morin, 37, was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm on Saturday evening, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office. After she failed to return home that night, her boyfriend, Richard Tobin, reported her missing. On Sunday morning, Morin’s vehicle was found in the parking lot at the entrance to the popular walking route. Hours later, a member of the public discovered a woman’s body close to the trail. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler announced that Morin’s case is now a homicide investigation, in a press conference on Sunday night. Rebekah Morin, the sister of Morin, started a GoFundMe to pay for funeral expenses. As of Tuesday, it has raised over $35K. The sheriff said that police currently have no suspects on their radar and, as a result, are unable to tell the public that there is no ongoing danger. Read More Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular Maryland hiking trail. Her sister says she ‘did not go willingly’ Rachel Morin’s boyfriend says he ‘would never do anything to her’ as homicide probe launched Rachel Morin’s chilling Facebook post before mother-of-five found dead on Maryland hiking trail

The top court has allowed the rules - meant to rein in ghost guns - to remain during an appeal process.