Chicago gives convicted murderer probation instead of jail
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chicago-area-teen-guilty-murdering-185451803.html
Chicago area teen guilty of murdering 15-year-old boy during drug deal gets probation
By Emma Colton
December 15, 2021
A teenager in a Chicago suburb who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a 15-year-old was sentenced to three years of probation and to complete community service hours.
“When the defendant stabbed my son, he stabbed the heart of my family,” the victim’s mother, Marcela Fierros, said in a statement that was read in court Monday.
The unidentified defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after 15-year-old Elias Valdez was fatally stabbed in August of 2020 in Glenview, which is about about 20 miles from Chicago. The defendant was charged as a juvenile in the case.
In addition to probation and completing 100 community service hours, a Cook County judge ordered the 17-year-old high school senior and his parents to participate in counseling.
The stabbing unfolded when Valdez tried to buy marijuana from the defendant but tried to take the drugs without paying for them, according to police. The defendant chased Valdez, ending with the two fighting and the defendant stabbing him with a utility tool. He died later that day in the hospital.
“I’m mad,” Valdez’s sister, Elizabeth Valdez, told the Chicago Tribune after his death. “It’s not fair how he passed away. It’s not fair to know that he’s gone and I’m not receiving answers.”
The 15-year-old’s family wanted the defendant to be charged with first-degree murder, and protests were held last year when he was instead charged with second-degree murder and held on home monitoring.
“I feel sad for the loss of my son,” Fierros said in Spanish in September 2020. “I also feel angry because justice has not been given.”
The death comes as Chicago struggles with teen flash mobs in the city. Twenty young people were arrested in the city one weekend this month for disorderly conduct, battery and reckless conduct. A city bus driver was also attacked on the street the night of Dec. 4 and required hospitalization.
“If you come downtown or anywhere else, let me repeat, or anywhere else to engage in disorderly conduct or crimes, you will be arrested,” Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said last week.
Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot said “swift action” would be taken against the perpetrators and called on parents to take responsibility for their kids.
“These kids have to take responsibility, but I’m going to say the parents have to take responsibility,” she said. “Do you know where your kid is? Are you making sure that you’re talking to your children about how they should act in a large crowd?”
Seattle gives zero punishment to 35 people who were arrested for organized retail shoplifting
Nearly 3 dozen people arrested in Downtown Seattle organized retail theft
December 17, 2021
SEATTLE – Seattle police officers arrested 35 people in a downtown organized retail theft operation.
Throughout Wednesday, police saw people stealing and walking out of a store on 2nd Avenue with tens of thousands of dollars worth of cutlery, kitchen sets, detergent and several bottles of liquor.
Police said officers stopped the suspected thieves and recovered the items.
They were given trespassing notices and banned them from returning to the store for a year.
Police released the suspects, but one man was booked into the King County jail on a Department of Corrections warrant.
The police department said it will continue to work with businesses in the downtown core area about organized theft and to make sure customers are safe during the holiday shopping season.
What an idiot: “I have $131K in student loans and can’t afford my life, despite making $110K a year…. I didn’t care what the cost was – I didn’t even look at what I was signing”
‘It doesn’t seem fair’: I have $131K in student loans and can’t afford my life, despite making $110K a year. How to get out of student-loan debt faster
By Brienne Walsh
December 29, 2021
Question: I’m now 39, and in a better place in my life than I was roughly 10 years ago, when I decided to take out over $100,000 in student loans to attend a food policy and nutrition master’s program. The program was the only master’s program I got into, and I didn’t care what the cost was — I didn’t even look at what I was signing.
Now, in total, between my undergrad and grad loans, I owe $131,000. Some of the loans are federal and some of them private; one of those companies charges an interest rate of 6%. Though most of my loans are on pause now (thanks to the federal government), I’m worried about what will happen when that stops. The loan payments are too expensive, even though I’m now a nutrition and public health consultant who works on a contractual basis, and I make a good salary — $110,000 a year.
But our mortgage costs $1,100 a month; daycare is about the same, and car payments are $400. Otherwise, I feel we live very frugally: We even bathe our son in a Tupperware tub because our bathroom needs to be renovated, but we don’t have the money for it! We can’t even afford, as it is, to contribute to retirement or pay for some much-needed dental work. I honestly don’t know what we are going to do when my loans become unfrozen. How can I get out of debt faster? — Erin
Answer: First up, you’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed by student loan debt, and you’re doing some things right, like “limiting the mortgage and the car loan,” which are both “well within your range for your income level,” says Mitchell C. Hockenbury, a certified financial planner at 1440 Financial Partners in Kansas City. But, Hockenbury says, with your low mortgage and other seemingly reasonable expenses, you should see if there is more money to put towards debt payments. Even if there’s not, once the daycare stops, you will have that money to more aggressively pay down debts.
The next question is whether to refinance loans to save money. But first, consider that right now your federal loan payments are on pause through May 2022, and that you should be careful about refinancing a federal loan into a private loan as you will lose some of the federal loan protections, such as income-based repayment and forgiveness options. (You can get details on how much a refinance could save you here). But Ethan Miller, the founder of Washington, D.C.-based financial planning firm Planning for Progress, says Erin should likely refinance some of her private loans, as rates are pretty low right now (see the lowest fixed student loan refinance rates you can qualify for here). “If you feel confident in your income, and you know you’ll have a job for many years, this is the best option,” says Miller.
There are other options as well, says Hockenbury: “Is there a possibility to take a cash-out refi? Interest rates are low, housing prices have soared. Perhaps she could use the cash to pay down some debt,” he says. Though, of course, she needs to be sure she can repay that or she risks losing her house.
Though for some borrowers, student loan forgiveness may be an option, it does not sound like Erin would qualify for a loan forgiveness program like the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program, as she’s a contractor at a government agency, not a full-time employee, explains Miller. (See details on loan forgiveness, cancellation and discharge here to see if you might qualify.) But if she looks at her budget, she may find extra money to pay down her debt faster; refinancing at least some of her loans at today’s low rates could make the payments more manageable, and a cash-out refi on her home may be another option. Best of luck, Erin!
New York keeps releasing this guy every time he stabs someone. I guess they want him to keep stabbing people.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-freed-two-recent-stabbing-173800340.html
Man freed after two recent stabbing arrests knifes man in Times Square subway station after they fall onto tracks
By Noah Goldberg
December 23, 2021
Freed after two recent stabbing arrests, a man knifed a straphanger in the Times Square subway station after falling onto the tracks with him during a struggle, police said Thursday.
Bernardo Carbajal got into an argument with the 52-year-old victim, believed to be a stranger, on the N train subway platform about 11:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to cops.
Carabajal, 27, charged the victim with a knife and the two men wrestled, plunging onto the tracks, authorities said.
After their fall, Carabajal allegedly stabbed Carter eight times, wounding him in the back, arm and neck and leaving him on the tracks. Cops found the victim motionless there in a pool of blood. Neither man was not struck by a train.
Responding cops used a tourniquet on the victim’s arm before medics rushed him to Bellevue Hospital, where he underwent surgery on his arm.
His sister, Shanika Carter, said the knife struck an artery, causing him to lose a lot of blood but that doctors believe he will recover.
“I’m in shock, still,” she said. “I just want to make sure he’s ok.”
Her brother was sedated and receiving blood transfusions Thursday.
Carbajal was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault. He lives in Woodside, Queens, according to cops.
At the time of Wednesday’s attack he was already facing two pending assault cases charging him with recent stabbings, which his latest victim’s sister was stunned to learn.
“He stabbed two people prior and they let him out,” Shanika Carter said. “And now my brother, he could have died behind this. My brother could have died behind their negligence.”
“I don’t think it’s fair that you want to wait for the third person…in order to say, ‘Let’s lock him up and keep him in now,’” she added.
On July 31 Carbajal allegedly stabbed a stranger inside a Dunkin Donuts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, during an argument over using an outlet to charge a smartphone. Bail was set at $5,000 but even though records indicate it was not posted Carabal was released at some point.
Then, on Nov. 9, he allegedly stabbed in the head a kitchen worker in a lower Manhattan restaurant and ran off, with police catching him on the roof. He was charged with felony assault, and a prosecutor asked for $50,000 bail. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Lumarie Maldonado-Cruz, however, let him go on supervised release.
When he was arraigned Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court, Judge Michael Gaffey set cash bail at $100,000 and bond at $300,000. Carbajal was not immediately able to make bail.
Washington State Lawmaker Who Is A Convicted Felon Drafts “Racial Equity” Bill To Lower Sentencing For Drive-By Shooters
Washington State Lawmaker Who Is A Convicted Felon Drafts “Racial Equity” Bill To Lower Sentencing For Drive-By Shooters
Because only a certain race commits drive by shootings?
By Gregory Hoyt
December 24, 2021
OLYMPIA, WA – A convicted felon turned lawyer who later turned into a state legislator in Washington state recently drafted a bill that would lower sentencing for murderers who committed their crime via doing a drive-by shooting. And per the language of the bill, this is meant to promote “racial equity.”
According to the Washington State Legislature online portal, House Bill 1692 was pre-filed on December 23rd, poising it to be considered during the 2022 legislative session. Said bill is sponsored by Democrat Representatives David Hackney and, most notably, 44-year-old Tarra Simmons, who’d previously been sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2011 for drug and theft convictions.
After Simmons served her time in prison, she attended law school, worked at an NPO for a couple of years, and then ran and got elected to the state legislature back in 2020. Rep. Simmons is unsurprisingly an advocate for criminal justice reform, specifically the soft-on-crime version of said activism.
And that soft-on-crime approach really shows itself with her sponsored bill, HB 1692.
https://twitter.com/BrandiKruse/status/1474472288716165120
According to the opening of the bill text, the proposed legislation aims to reduce the sentencing for murderers who killed their victim(s) during a drive-by shooting, claiming that doing so would help promote “racial equity.”
“AN ACT Relating to promoting racial equity in the criminal legal system by eliminating drive-by shooting as a basis for elevating murder in the first degree to aggravated murder in the first degree,” the bill states, “amending RCW 10.95.020 and 10.95.020; creating a new section; providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.”
It’s frankly unclear how Rep. Simmons arrived at the notion that lowering the sentence of murderers committed via drive-by shootings would somehow promote “racial equity,” that is, unless she’s tacitly implying that certain racial demographics are more prone to committing drive-by shootings.
But the rationale for treating drive-by shootings that result in death as an aggravated murder makes perfect sense, as there are no shortage of reports where drive-by shootings frequently result in innocent/unaffiliated parties being killed.
The difference between the sentencing guidelines for first-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder are significant, as a first-degree murder conviction carries a “maximum of life without the possibility of parole,” meaning the murderer can obtain a more lenient sentence. Whereas with aggravated first-degree murder, it is a mandatory life sentence without parole.
State Sen. Kimberly Lightford recounts harrowing carjacking details: ‘I begged them not to shoot us’ [Democrat says she’s glad her husband had a legal gun with him at the time]
https://abc7chicago.com/il-state-senator-kimberly-lightford-carjacked-broadview-carjacking/11376398/
State Sen. Kimberly Lightford recounts harrowing carjacking details: ‘I begged them not to shoot us’
By Craig Wall
December 23, 2021
BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — Illinois State Senator Kimberly Lightford is recounting the harrowing details of being carjacked in west suburban Broadview this week with her husband, Erin McKennie.
The incident happened Tuesday night around 9:45 p.m. in the 2000-block of South 20th Avenue.
Police said three men driving a Durango took a black Mercedez Benz SUV that belonged to Lightford. The state senate majority leader said she was dropping off a friend at the time.
Lightford, who said she feared for her life, described it like a scene out of a movie.
“Three guys just hopped out with guns and they demanded that we get out of the car and they put my husband on the ground,” said Lightford. “They had me over on the other side. I begged them not to shoot us and I begged them not to shoot my husband and not to shoot me.”
Lightford had a gun pointed at her and feared she was going to die.
“After we got the guns off of us my husband told me to run,” Lightford recounted.
As she ran, gunfire erupted, her husband exchanging shots with the carjackers.
“I thought for sure they were gonna shoot me down,” Lightford said. “It was a lot of shots being fired. I think they were shooting at my husband and me and luckily enough my husband is concealed and carry and he was able to protect us.”
No was injured in the shooting, according to police.
The suspects took off in both the senator’s car and in the Durango, police said.
The incident has not deterred her from taking part in a Christmas giveaway in Hillside. She attended Christmas in Proviso Thursday morning. It’s a massive community giving effort that is blessing hundreds of kids with holiday presents.
Lightford is providing specific Christmas gifts for 59 kids in the community who are being raised by their grandparents.
In the loaner Mercedes SUV were some of the gifts Lightford had bought for the event. She went out shopping again Wednesday night to replace them.
Despite the trauma of two nights ago, Lightford called the event it therapeutic.
“For me as a little girl, Christmas has always just brought so much joy and happiness,” said Lightford. ” And I love giving back to other children so my entire time shopping was identifying specific requests from kids instead of just giving them anything, I wanted to give them what they actually asked for on their wish list.”
82-year-old Merdise Lee attended the giveaway with her five-year-old great grandson RJ. She said she had no idea about the carjacking.
“It says something about her as a person that no matter what happens, she’s still willing to carry out, you know what she needs to do? And oh my gosh,” Lee said.
Lightford made Christmas for little RJ even more special with a bike that wasn’t even on his wish list. As for herself, she celebrates the gift of being alive.
“I’m happy that my husband and I made it out of that safely and I’m going to enjoy, just enjoy life,” Lightford said.
Police said they have recovered the loaner vehicle, which was abandoned on Chicago’s West Side.
Lightford said she does not believe she was targeted but instead believes it was a random carjacking.
Joe Biden says, “Let’s go Brandon. I agree.” Skip to 2:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vihi39gzpTc
Ontario Schools Will No Longer Require [math] Teachers to Pass Math Proficiency Test Due to ‘Racial Disparities’ [People who don’t know math will be allowed to become math teachers, because requiring math teachers to know math is “racist”]
Ontario Schools Will No Longer Require Teachers to Pass Math Proficiency Test Due to ‘Racial Disparities’
By Cassandra Fairbanks
December 22, 2021
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has deemed math proficiency tests for teachers “unconstitutional” due to “racial disparities.”
The court ruled that because non-white teachers are less likely to pass the math test, it should no longer be required.
As one social media commentator aptly pointed out, Ontario teachers no longer need to pass basic math in order to teach basic math.
https://twitter.com/EsotericCD/status/1472031435393585157
The Daily Caller reports that “schools in Ontario had previously offered candidates the opportunity to retake the test multiple times, but the court ruled that ‘racialized teacher candidates who have been disproportionately unsuccessful on the MPT should not have to keep retaking the test.’”
Obviously, as was pointed out in court, students learn more from teachers who understand the subject that they are teaching. However, the court ruled that it was more important to have diversity in the classroom.
“Racialized students benefit from being taught by racialized teachers,” the court decision stated. “The deleterious effects of the MPT on racialized teacher candidates who have been unsuccessful in the test outweighs its benefits.”
According to the Ottawa Citizen, “the test has 50 mathematics content questions and 21 questions about math pedagogy. The applicant has to score 70 per cent on both parts to pass.”
“Racialized teacher candidates have gone through an education system in which they have suffered discrimination and disadvantage,” the decision said. “The candidates are then required to take ‘high stakes’ standardized tests which the available data shows they are more likely to fail.”
At a Philadelphia pizza shop, a 14-year-old boy saved his mother’s life by shooting a robber who was strangling her
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd0BMT0yEkc
https://6abc.com/philadelphia-shooting-spring-garden-broad-street-robbery-pizza-shop/11318485/
14-year-old son of pizza shop employee shoots would-be robber in Spring Garden
Police say the 33-year-old suspect was found after officers followed a trail of blood to a nearby SEPTA station.
By 6abc Digital Staff and Corey Davis
December 10, 2021
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The 14-year-old son of a Philadelphia pizza shop employee shot an armed robbery suspect who started choking one of his parents, police say.
Police say the series of incidents unfolded around 9:30 p.m. Thursday when three men robbed the CVS pharmacy at North Broad and Spring Garden in the Spring Garden section of the city.
Moments later, police say at least one of those men went a block away to rob the Bold Pizza Shop at 15th and Spring Garden.
Employees say the man forcibly reached over the counter and tried to take cash from the register.
A struggle ensued between an employee and the robbery suspect when the offender started to strangle the victim.
The victim’s 14-year-old son grabbed a handgun from under the counter and shot the offender one time in the face, police said.
“There was money on the floor and there was also some broken glass inside the store, and there was also a large amount of blood,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The pizza shop was closed on Friday.
Some people who live nearby said they understand the teen was just trying to protect his parent.
“I think most people would do that in that situation to protect someone they love and they’re being threatened so violently,” said Nina Adams.
“I am very proud and its kind of sad that a 14-year-old had to shoot the suspect, but it was quick thinking and I’m glad they were able to catch the person so fast,” said Raina Harris.
Investigators say they followed a trail of blood down the stairs of a SEPTA subway station at Broad and Spring Garden.
Police say that’s where they found the 33-year-old male suspect.
“From following the trail of blood, we also found some cash in the subway where the suspect was found,” Small said.
The suspect was rushed to an area hospital where he was placed in critical condition.
According to police, surveillance video from the pharmacy matched the description of the injured suspect. Police are still looking for two suspects in connection with that crime.
The man who was shot has not been identified. No other injuries were reported.
Chicago area teen guilty of murdering 15-year-old boy during drug deal gets probation
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chicago-area-teen-guilty-murdering-185451803.html
Chicago area teen guilty of murdering 15-year-old boy during drug deal gets probation
By Emma Colton
December 15, 2021
A teenager in a Chicago suburb who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a 15-year-old was sentenced to three years of probation and to complete community service hours.
“When the defendant stabbed my son, he stabbed the heart of my family,” the victim’s mother, Marcela Fierros, said in a statement that was read in court Monday.
The unidentified defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder after 15-year-old Elias Valdez was fatally stabbed in August of 2020 in Glenview, which is about about 20 miles from Chicago. The defendant was charged as a juvenile in the case.
In addition to probation and completing 100 community service hours, a Cook County judge ordered the 17-year-old high school senior and his parents to participate in counseling.
The stabbing unfolded when Valdez tried to buy marijuana from the defendant but tried to take the drugs without paying for them, according to police. The defendant chased Valdez, ending with the two fighting and the defendant stabbing him with a utility tool. He died later that day in the hospital.
“I’m mad,” Valdez’s sister, Elizabeth Valdez, told the Chicago Tribune after his death. “It’s not fair how he passed away. It’s not fair to know that he’s gone and I’m not receiving answers.”
The 15-year-old’s family wanted the defendant to be charged with first-degree murder, and protests were held last year when he was instead charged with second-degree murder and held on home monitoring.
“I feel sad for the loss of my son,” Fierros said in Spanish in September 2020. “I also feel angry because justice has not been given.”
The death comes as Chicago struggles with teen flash mobs in the city. Twenty young people were arrested in the city one weekend this month for disorderly conduct, battery and reckless conduct. A city bus driver was also attacked on the street the night of Dec. 4 and required hospitalization.
“If you come downtown or anywhere else, let me repeat, or anywhere else to engage in disorderly conduct or crimes, you will be arrested,” Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said last week.
Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot said “swift action” would be taken against the perpetrators and called on parents to take responsibility for their kids.
“These kids have to take responsibility, but I’m going to say the parents have to take responsibility,” she said. “Do you know where your kid is? Are you making sure that you’re talking to your children about how they should act in a large crowd?”
6 arrested, charged with hate crimes for thefts targeting people of Asian descent
6 Arrested, Charged With Hate Crimes for Thefts Targeting People of Asian Descent
The suspects have been charged for more than 70 cases that occurred between October 2020 and this September
By Bay City News and Robert Handa
December 15, 2021
San Jose police on Wednesday announced the arrest of six men who allegedly committed dozens of robberies, burglaries and thefts since last year, including many that targeted people of Asian descent.
The suspects have been charged for more than 70 cases that occurred between October 2020 and this September, and hate crime enhancements have been added because the men allegedly frequently targeted Asian females who ended up injured in robberies, police said.
Surveillance video from cameras in Little Saigon in San Jose captured one of the 70 robberies allegedly by a group of six men targeting Asian women.
The six have been identified as Anthony Robinson, 24, of Stockton; Cameron Moody, 27, of East Palo Alto; Derje Blanks, 23, of San Jose; Hassani Ramsey, 24, of Oakland; Clarence Jackson, 21, of East Palo Alto; and Malik Short, 21, of Tracy, according to police.
Many firearms, including a ghost gun, were also recovered as part of the investigation.
The daughter of one of the victims who asked not to be identified told NBC Bay Area her mother was robbed in a similar way as seen in the surveillance video.
“They blocked her car from behind and they jumped out, snatched her bag…That’s what my mom was able to relate to me,” the woman said. “It’s something that is still very traumatizing to her. She still doesn’t go to the market alone.”
San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen and Councilmember Maya Esparza met with Little Saigon business owners informing the group of the arrests, and assuring the felony robbery charges will include hate crime enhancements.
“It also affects people in the Asian American community who were not targeted because it makes them fear they might be next,” DA Rosen said.
San Jose Police Capt. Brian Shan said that “there is no doubt that these suspects believed that they could prey on these victims because of their ethnicity, because of their gender.”
That’s why the family of the victim is grateful for the arrest, but remains wary.
“You think your mom will want to go shopping yet?,” NBC Bay Area’s Robert Handa asked. “I think she always wants to go shopping, but I don’t think she’ll be going alone,” the woman responded.
Three of the suspects have posted bail and are out of jail. Police say officer foot patrols will remain in Little Saigon indefinitely.
California’s no-bail policy sees man arrested for auto theft 13 times in 12 weeks
https://www.foxnews.com/us/californias-no-bail-man-arrested-auto-theft-13-times
California’s no-bail policy sees man arrested for auto theft 13 times in 12 weeks
Alleged serial car thief evades jail due to emergency COVID-19 measures
By Caitlin McFall
July 21, 2020
The Los Angeles District Attorney announced Tuesday that a man is facing four separate felony cases for stealing over a dozen cars within a three month period.
Jose Enrique Esquivel faces 14 felony counts for auto thefts between the March 30 and June 15.
Esquivel, 24, was reportedly arrested on March 30 for stealing a truck and then immediately released following coronavirus emergency bail schedule – which sought to reduce jail populations during the pandemic.
“The defendant was again arrested for either driving or attempting to steal a truck but released on April 28, May 8, twice on May 14, May 20, May 23, May 27, June 6, June 8, June 13 and June 15,” Ricardo Santiago, a public information officier, said in a release Tuesday.
Esquivel has been charged with 12 counts of “driving or taking a vehicle without consent” and for second-degree burglary in another case.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Trina Schrader called Esquivel “a prolific car thief who victimized vehicle owners with modest incomes,” a local news outlet reported.
Schrader asked anyone to come forward if they think they were a victim of Esquivel’s theft.
“Suspect Esquivel showed little regard for the owners of these vehicles, who many times depended on these stolen vehicles as their sole means of transportation,” Schrader said Tuesday.
“The suspect is also accused of exploiting the modification to the Los Angeles County Bail Schedule during his crime spree, while the County endured the statewide COVID-19 emergency where most crimes were designated to have zero bail.”
Esquivel was eventually held by authorities on his final theft attempt on June 23 because the emergency bail schedule had ended.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and his bail has been set to $550,000.
Esquivel is scheduled to appear in court on July 27 and again on August 10 for four separate cases.
The defendant was previously convicted of “convicted of driving or taking a vehicle without consent” twice in 2017 and twice again in 2018 and 2019.
“Deputy District Attorney Alexander Karkanen of the Task Force for Regional Auto Theft said Esquivel faces a possible maximum sentence of 17 years in state prison if convicted as charged,” the press release said Tuesday.
Santiago could not be immediately reached for comment.
Man busted for assault set free, allegedly beats two random NYC women – then cut loose again
https://nypost.com/2021/12/06/man-busted-on-assault-freed-then-allegedly-beats-2-women/
Man busted for assault set free, allegedly beats two random NYC women – then cut loose again
By Joe Marino and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
December 6, 2021
A homeless man charged with beating a guy last year was dumped back on the street thanks to so-called bail reform, only to allegedly pummel two women in Upper West Side attacks Thursday — and be freed again.
Darrell Johnson, 23, left one of his random female victims so brutally beaten that she suffered a “disfiguring laceration” to her face, law-enforcement sources told The Post on Monday.
Last year, Johnson — who has more than a dozen arrests on his rap sheet dating to 2014, according to sources — was hit with assault and harassment charges in the man’s beatdown.
He allegedly punched his victim “about the face with a closed fist multiple times” in a Harlem building, according to a court complaint.
Johnson then allegedly “used his feet to kick and stomp” the man in the Aug. 3, 2020, attack.
But a Manhattan judge had to release him without bail because none of the charges were eligible for the restriction under revamped state laws. Before the laws were changed, judges could use their discretion on setting bail.
Then with that case still pending, Johnson was back on the street — where he allegedly approached a 50-year-old woman at Broadway and West 79th Street in Manhattan around 9:20 a.m. Thursday and assaulted her in a “violent, unprovoked” attack, sources said.
The victim was so brutally beaten that sources said she suffered a “disfiguring laceration” to her face in the attack.
Just three minutes later, Johnson allegedly assaulted another woman a block away.
In that incident, court records allege that Johnson walked up to the 32-year-old victim on West 80th Street and began punching her in the face, causing “redness and swelling,” according to the complaint.
Both women were taken to St. Luke’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
In court Friday, Manhattan prosecutors recommended that Johnson be released under supervised monitoring for the attacks on the women, a request the judge granted.
A rep for the DA’s office said none of the charges were harsh enough to allow the judge to order Johnson held on bail.
New York Defender Services, which represents Johnson, declined to comment Monday.
Amazon’s “smart” homes locked people out of their homes, and prevented their refrigerators from working
How Amazon Outage Left Smart Homes Not So Smart After All
By Isabella Steger
December 7, 2021
The outage at Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud-computing arm left thousands of people in the U.S. without working fridges, roombas and doorbells, highlighting just how reliant people have become on the company as the Internet of Things proliferates across homes.
The disruption, which began at about 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday, upended package deliveries, took down major streaming services, and prevented people from getting into Walt Disney Co.’s parks.
Affected Amazon services included the voice assistant Alexa and Ring smart-doorbell unit. Irate device users tweeted their frustrations to Ring’s official account, with many complaining that they spent time rebooting or reinstalling their apps and devices before finding out on Twitter that there was a general Amazon Web Services outage. Multiple Ring users even said they weren’t able to get into their homes without access to the phone app, which was down.
Others said they weren’t able to turn on their Christmas lights.
Smart lightbulbs stopped responding to voice commands, many people reported.
Basic household chores also become impossible for some.
The outage prompted people to reflect on the pitfalls of having a “smart” home that’s overly dependent on not only the internet, but one company in particular — while those with “dumb” homes gloated that their fridges and light switches were working just fine.
Several of the affected AWS operations were on the East Coast. AWS said about nine hours later that it had resolved the network device issues that led to the outage.
LA District Attorney George Gascon fundraises to lower sentence of Jacqueline Avant’s killer
LA District Attorney George Gascon fundraises to lower sentence of Jacqueline Avant’s killer
By Tori Richards
December 7, 2021
Hours after philanthropist Jacqueline Avant was shot to death during a Beverly Hills home invasion robbery, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon distributed a fundraising letter seeking to overturn a law that would keep her killer in prison.
Avant, 81, was the mother-in-law of Netflix’s CEO, and her Dec. 1 murder shocked the entertainment world and beyond. Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson, and President Bill Clinton tweeted about their devastation over her death.
Gascon surfaced on that day as well, but rather than decry this violence or the smash-and-grab robberies that have blighted California in recent weeks, he sent a fundraising email asking for money to push through a bill removing extra prison time for using a gun during a crime.
“After a year of record homicides, smash-and-grab robberies and the day of the callous murder of an 81-year-old woman in her own home, George Gascon sent a letter to his supporters asking for money to further his efforts to eliminate our ability to prosecute crime and protect the public,” said prosecutor Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys . “Reckless, feckless, crass are some of the more charitable words that come to mind.”
For decades, California voters have overwhelmingly approved the use of “enhancements,” which tack on additional time to prison sentences for violent offenses. Gascon has repeatedly said he wants to do away with enhancements for using a gun, belonging to a gang, and causing great bodily injury.
“We’ve got to reform outdated sentence enhancement policies,” the subject line of Gascon’s email said.
“More than 80 percent of people serving time in California state prisons have had sentence enhancements applied to their time served … sentence enhancements have never been shown to reduce the rate of crime, and excessive sentence enhancements can actually drive up reoffense. And these enhancements have disproportionately impacted sentencing for people of color.”
Gascon then asked for funds to reach a $75,000 goal to get a bill across the finish line.
Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog 