A man wrongfully convicted of murder sues a rental car company for not providing a receipt that supported his alibi
(CNN)A Michigan man was recently exonerated of murder, a charge for which he spent nearly five years in prison. Now, he’s suing a rental car company for not providing records that, his lawyers say, would’ve exonerated him earlier.
Herbert Alford was wrongfully convicted of second-degree murder in 2016 and freed in 2020 after the Hertz Corporation provided a receipt that showed Alford was renting a car from the Lansing airport minutes before the murder took place. Hertz shared the documents with the court in 2018, more than two years after they were initially contacted by Alford’s lawyers.
“Had the defendants not ignored and disobeyed numerous court orders requiring them to produce the documentation that eventually freed Mr. Alford, he would not have spent over 1,700 days incarcerated,” Alford’s attorneys wrote in a complaint obtained by CNN.
in 2011, Alford was mistakenly identified as the gunman who killed 23-year-old Michael Adams in a Lansing strip mall, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
He was arrested in 2015, after a suspect of a separate, drug-related crime “cut a deal with police” and provided information about Alford, according to the registry. He was convicted of second-degree murder in 2016.
Alford’s attorneys said they had requested records from Hertz that would corroborate Alford’s alibi. Hertz didn’t respond, they said, until 2018 — more than a year after a jury convicted Alford of murder, among other charges.
The records Hertz provided in 2018 showed that Alford had rented a car minutes before Adams’ killing, which occurred around 20 minutes away, Alford’s lawyer Jamie White told CNN.
Alford spent nearly five years imprisoned before all charges against him were dismissed in February 2020. He was on bond from February to December 2020, according to the complaint.
But the years he spent incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit could’ve been avoided, his lawyers said, had Hertz provided the receipt when it was first requested.
A spokesperson for Hertz, which recently filed a plan of reorganization in bankruptcy court, told CNN the company is “deeply saddened to learn of Mr. Alford’s experience.”
“While we were unable to find the historic rental record from 2011 when it was requested in 2015, we continued our good faith efforts to locate it,” the spokesperson said in a statement to CNN. “With advances in data search in the years following, we were able to locate the rental record in 2018 and promptly provided it.
“Since his release in December, Alford is struggling to adjust to life after incarceration, White said.”He is going through some things right now,” he told CNN. “He’s trying to figure out his next move … and we’re hopeful that, you know, he’s going to get back on track shortly.”Alford is seeking compensation in excess of $25,000, according to the complaint. But there’s “no dollar figure that’s going to make this right,” White said.
via: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/us/exonerated-man-sues-hertz-wrongful-murder-trnd/index.html
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A Kroger clinic in Virginia accidentally gave customers empty shots instead of Covid-19 vaccines
(CNN)Workers at a Kroger clinic in Central Virginia accidentally injected some customers with empty syringes instead of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the grocery chain.
A Kroger spokeswoman said in a statement that “a small number of patients” received the empty shots at their The Little Clinic location in Midlothian, which is near Richmond.”
All impacted customers were contacted and have received their COVID-19 vaccine,” said Allison McGee, corporate affairs manager for Kroger mid-Atlantic in a statement. “We thank these customers for their understanding and have apologized for their inconvenience.”
The Virginia Department of Public Health told CNN that Kroger informed them that nine patients got the empty shots on Monday because the provider did not realize that the syringes were not prefilled.
“Kroger is taking steps to ensure that similar incidents don’t occur in the future,” a spokeswoman for the agency said in a statement.
Carrie Hawes told CNN affiliate WWBT that she went in on Monday to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and got a call the next day to inform her of the mistake.”
My initial reaction was shock and surprise, and a little anxiety,” she told WWBT.Hawes was able to get the real vaccine at the clinic about two hours after getting the call.
“They were very clear with me when we went in,” she told WWBT. “They showed us the vial to make sure it was Johnson & Johnson, pulled out the vaccine, she showed me again.”
Kroger said that the mistake was “immediately addressed with the TLC team” and all vaccinators have been retrained and reminded of the current vaccination policies.
The grocery chain said that it has administered almost one million vaccines at its pharmacies and clinics around the United States.On Thursday, the company said it was expanding its efforts to deliver a million doses each week.
CNN’s Jacqueline Howard and Melissa Alonso contributed to this story.
via: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/11/us/kroger-coronavirus-vaccine-mistake-trnd/index.html
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MO man charged with trying to lure young boys into truck
FENTON, Mo. (KMOV.com) — A man is facing charges after police say he parked at a park and tried to lure young boys into his truck on multiple occasions.
Robert Payne, 75, is charged with solicitation of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor.
According to St. Louis County police, Payne repeatedly tried to talk to young boys in his 2001 red Ford Ranger at Fenton City Park. On Sunday, detectives had an undercover officer approach Payne at the park and the officer told Payne he was 16 years old. Payne believed the officer was 16 and tried to solicit sex with him during their conservation and in emails, police said.
Surveillance video captured Payne parked at Fenton City Park every day from March 1 and March 4. On March 2 and 3, he was parked there from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. each day.
According to video surveillance, Payne repositioned his truck at the park about 18 times, including backing into a space to allow him to watch Lindbergh High School boys lacrosse team practice.
On March 3, Payne tried to engaged with 10 to 12 young boys around the basketball courts at the park.
Investigators believe there may be additional victims of Payne in the area. Anyone with any information on Payne’s past offenses is asked to contact St. Louis County Detectives at 314-615-4692.
Velda City Police Department, Sunset Hills Police Department, and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office have also investigated incidents relating to Payne in their jurisdictions.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/police-fenton-man-charged-with-trying-to-lure-young-boys-into-truck/article_e7a779c4-82a9-11eb-9fc1-9b0a2103ffb1.html?block_id=676556
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George Floyd memorial site reportedly now an anti-cop autonomous zone
Left-wing militants have reportedly turned a memorial site for George Floyd in Minneapolis into a “volatile” autonomous zone — where police and even other protesters aren’t welcome.
The memorial, called George Floyd Square, popped up in the days after the 46-year-old’s police-involved death on May 25 — the catalyst for a global movement against police brutality and racial inequality.
But since then, a militant-style group has taken over the blocks-long site, creating a hostile situation for authorities and protesters alike, NewsNation Now reported.
“The situation at the memorial, from what I understand, is its kind of volatile,” Kim Griffin, a Minneapolis resident, told the outlet. “People that want to go and support doesn’t feel a sense of inclusion. There is more of a like militant-type atmosphere over there and a sense of fear.”
Griffin said her nephew, Imez Wright, was gunned down within the zone over the weekend — and that activists blocked cops from responding.
“Police were not allowed to get into that area; he was carried out outside of the zone of George Floyd Square,” she said. “It was made clear law enforcement was not welcome to penetrate that zone, which is an atrocity because his life was taken, and I mean who knows whether or not he would have survived had things been different.”
NewsNation now reporter Brian Entin was recently reporting from the autonomous zone — which surrounds East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, where Floyd was killed — when he was confronted by two activists dressed in all black.
“We’re media,” Entin said, according to a video he posted on Twitter.
“I don’t give a f–k who you are,” one of the protesters replied. “You need to get in your car and go.”
Those guarding the zone have refused to reopen the area unless the city meets a list of 24 demands — including recalling the county prosecutor and dedicating hundreds of thousands of dollars into fighting racism, supporting affordable housing and creating jobs, the network reported.
The activists want the area to remain closed until trials are held for the three other officers charged in Floyd’s death. Those are scheduled for August.
“The thing about it is that a lot of the different demands are asks from different people, and black folks aren’t monolithic,” said Jeanelle Austin, a leader of the autonomous zone. “So it’s really incumbent upon our city leadership to really look at the needs behind the asks, and really fulfilling those needs.”
But the city has vowed to reopen the zone after the trial for Derek Chauvin — the former Minneapolis police officer charged in Floyd’s murder — wraps up.
City councilwoman Andrea Jenkins said some residents have complained about gunshots and helicopters flying overhead.
She said cops have faced “protests, resistance, opposition” from occupants in the zone, prompting them to avoid policing the area.
Last year, there were 19 nonfatal shootings in the area — 14 of which occurring between May 1 through August 31, NewsNation Now said. There were just three shootings in 2019.
Marcia Howard, a retired Marine who quit her job as a teacher to become one of the zone’s organizers, claimed that cops haven’t been impeded.
“Injustice closed these streets, and only justice can open them back up,” Howard told NewsNation Now.
A similar protest area — dubbed the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ — formed in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood last year. Activists there frequently clashed with police until the lawless zone was dismantled after a month of occupation.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/11/george-floyd-memorial-site-anti-cop-autonomous-zone-report/
Photo Credit: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP
Georgetown Law professor caught complaining about black students on Zoom
A white Georgetown Law professor was fired Thursday after getting caught on video belittling black students during a Zoom call with a colleague, saying they “usually” perform “just plain at the bottom” of her classes.
Georgetown Law Dean Bill Treanor said he was “appalled” by the conversation between now-terminated adjunct professor Sandra Sellers and another faculty member, David Batson, who was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
“I informed Professor Sellers that I was terminating her relationship with Georgetown Law effective immediately,” Treanor wrote in a statement released Thursday afternoon. “During our conversation, she told me that she had intended to resign. As a result of my decision, Professor Sellers is no longer affiliated with Georgetown Law.”
A brief clip posted to Twitter Wednesday showed Sellers and Batson having what they believed was a private discussion about a class they jointly taught.
“I end up having this angst every semester that a lot of my lower ones are blacks,” Sellers said. “Happens almost every semester. And it’s like, oh come on. It’s some really good ones, but there are usually some that are just plain at the bottom. It drives me crazy.”
Sellers made the comments after saying “they were a bit jumbled,” prompting Batson to apparently nod in agreement, the footage shows.
“That’s the best way I can put it,” Sellers said with a laugh on the call. “It’s like OK, let me reason through that, what you just said.”
Sellers, according to the Georgetown Black Law Students Association, was referencing the only black student in her class. The organization quickly called for her immediate resignation, and a petition demanding her ouster garnered hundreds of signatures from students, alumni and several Georgetown faculty members.
“We demand nothing short of the immediate termination of Sandra Sellers as adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center,” the group said in a statement. “Not suspension. Not an investigation. The university must take swift and definitive action in the face of blatant and shameless racism.”
The revealing clip shows the “conscious and unconscious bias” in grading at Georgetown Law and in other law school classrooms across the country, the group claims.
“The difference is that Sellers was caught and her racism was broadcast for the world to see,” the statement continued.
The recorded call was leaked after it was available to students for several days, the Daily Beast reported.
Treanor promised a “thorough investigation” into the matter in a statement released Wednesday.
“We are responding with the utmost seriousness to this situation,” Treanor said. “I have watched a video of this conversation and find the content to be abhorrent. It includes conduct that has no place in our educational community. We must ensure that all students are treated fairly and evaluated on their merits.”
Attempts to reach Sellers early Thursday were unsuccessful. She did not immediately return a message left on a phone listed in her name.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/11/georgetown-law-professor-caught-complaining-about-black-students-on-zoom/
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Search for Brooklyn murder suspect mistakenly released from Rikers
Police launched a search this week for a Brooklyn murder suspect who was mistakenly released from Rikers Island, an NYPD spokesperson said Wednesday.
Christopher Buggs, 26, was prematurely released from the Otis Bantum Correctional Center at Rikers on Monday, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Correction said.
Peter Thorne, deputy commissioner of public information, said the DOC was investigating how Buggs was mistakenly released.
“We are aware of this incident and a full investigation into how this happened is underway. Right now we are working with our law enforcement partners to return this individual to custody,” Thorne said.
“This is being fully investigated,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told PIX11’s James Ford at his daily briefing Wednesday. “We’re going to put additional safeguards in place to make sure this never happens again,” he assured.
The Daily News reported that Buggs’ release was the result of a clerical error.
De Blasio said the release was based on a court order, “but it was, apparently, one case this inmate had connected to him, but there were other charges obviously, as well, that should’ve meant he remained incarcerated.”
The mayor said there will be a full review of the incident.
“We have a high level of confidence that he will be reapprehended shortly,” de Blasio said.
Buggs was arrested in February 2018 for fatally shooting a 55-year-old man in the chest at a Brooklyn deli in January of that year, according to police. He was picked up on charges including murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said at the time.
Police said they were seeking the public’s help in locating Buggs Tuesday night and released a photo.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
via: https://pix11.com/news/local-news/search-for-brooklyn-murder-suspect-mistakenly-released-from-rikers-police/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
NYC school encourages kids to stop using words like ‘mom,’ ‘dad’ in ‘inclusive language’ guide
A Manhattan private school aiming to use more “inclusive language” is encouraging its students to stop using the terms “mom,” “dad” and “parents” because the words make “assumptions” about kids’ home lives.
The Grace Church School in NoHo — which offers academic courses for junior kindergarten through 12th grade — issued a 12-page guide to students and staff explaining the school’s mission of inclusivity.
The detailed guide recommends using the terms “grown-ups,” “folks,” “family,” or “guardians” as alternatives to “mom” “dad” and “parents.” It also suggests using “caregiver” instead of “nanny/babysitter.”
“Families are formed and structured in many ways. At Grace Church School, we use inclusive language that reflects this diversity. It’s important to refrain from making assumptions about who kids live with, who cares for them, whether they sleep in the same place every night, whether they see their parents, etc.,” the guide reads.
The document also states how to use appropriate terms relating to gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity.
Instead of asking a person, “What are you? Where are you from?” the correct response should be, “What is your cultural/ethnic background? Where are your ancestors/is your family from?” according to Grace’s guide.
The school defended the guide, telling City Journal its goal is “promote a sense of belonging for all of our students.”
“Grace is an Episcopal school. As part of our Episcopal identity, we recognize the dignity and worth common to humanity,” Rev. Robert Pennoyer, the assistant head of school, said in a statement to the outlet.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/10/nyc-school-encourages-kids-to-stop-using-words-mom-dad/
Photo Credit: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group
Dozens of dead cows seen floating in Missouri River in North Dakota
BISMARCK, North Dakota (Bismarck Tribune) — Anywhere from 30 to 100 dead cattle were believed to be floating in the Missouri River on Monday, according to state Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Jennifer Skjod.
It was not immediately clear who owned the cattle that apparently wandered onto the ice and broke through north of Bismarck-Mandan.
The Oliver County Sheriff’s Department didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The North Dakota Stockmen’s Association didn’t immediately have any details.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/dozens-of-dead-cows-seen-floating-in-missouri-river-in-north-dakota/article_520f36c1-79e7-5894-bf42-0d7ed147f56e.html?block_id=991246
Photo Credit: Tom Stromme/Bismarck Tribune via CNN Wire
Man allegedly propped up dead wife’s body while kids opened Christmas gifts – “Mommy ruined Christmas” he allegedly told the children
A California man killed his wife — then propped up her body on a sofa for their children as they opened presents on Christmas morning, prosecutors alleged this week.
William Wallace, 39, allegedly told the kids that his 26-year-old wife, Za’Zell Preston, was drunk as they unwrapped presents at their Anaheim home in front of her body, the Orange County Register reported.
The disturbing scene from December 2011 was described as Wallace’s murder trial got underway Monday.
“This Christmas story does not have a happy ending, and unfortunately this is not just a story, it is real life,” Heather Brown, senior deputy district attorney, told jurors.
Prosecutors allege that the couple — who shared a newborn son, as well as Preston’s two daughters, then ages 3 and 8 — had gone to a neighbor’s Christmas Eve party before her sudden death almost a decade ago.
One neighbor said they heard the couple arguing later that night after they returned, the outlet reported.
Wallace allegedly told one of Preston’s relatives that “we were drinking and during the argument I tossed her around a bit.”
The next morning, Wallace dragged his wife’s body from the bedroom to the living room, where he placed her on the couch with sunglasses on, Brown said.
“Mommy ruined Christmas, she got drunk and ruined Christmas,” he allegedly told the children.
It’s unclear who called 911 but when paramedics arrived, she was slumped over on the couch, prosecutors said.
Police discovered blood throughout the apartment, in addition to holes punched in walls and a door that was off its hinges.
Wallace was arrested and has remained in custody on $1 million bail for nine years as he awaited trial, the newspaper reported.
His lawyer argued that Wallace wasn’t responsible for Preston’s sudden death — insisting that she died from injuries after she drunkenly tripped and fell into a glass table.
“Mr. Wallace is being accused of something that is not his fault,” Heather Moorhead told jurors. “You will hear about a relationship that was full of arguing and yelling, but also a lot of love.”
If convicted of first-degree murder, Wallace could face up to 25 years to life in prison.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/10/william-wallace-allegedly-propped-up-dead-wifes-body-while-kids-opened-presents/
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Fitness-obsessed dad made daughter sign ‘contract’ to never get fat – also beat his children with spoons and even choked one of his sons, a report says
A fitness-obsessed British man made his daughter sign a lifelong “contract” promising to never get fat — and weighed her almost daily as he ruled his family with an iron first, according to a report.
Rachid Khadla, 56, faces charges of child cruelty and assault over his alleged treatment of his now-adult daughter, Amira, and sons, Hicham and Karim, Hyde News & Pictures reported.
“I, Amira Khadla, will never let myself get fat. I will do lots of exercise to make sure I will never get fat, even until I die,” Khadla’s daughter wrote in her 2012 agreement, a court heard.
Amira’s domineering dad also allegedly assaulted her — regularly hitting her with a spoon, punching her in the chest and even once throwing a chair at her — and decided what she could wear, whom she could see and what she could watch on TV, according to the news agency.
The fitness fanatic, from Windsor just outside London, was always consumed with his kids’ girth and would weigh them to make sure they didn’t pack on the pounds, it said.
He also choked his now-18-year-old son and beat the children with spoons if he believed they had misbehaved, the court heard Tuesday.
Khadla’s wife of 27 years, Sarah, did not intervene in the abuse, but supported his prosecution, saying he had a “quick temper,” according to the report.
The father was reportedly “aggravated” by his younger son, Hicham, who had learning difficulties. In October 2019, he allegedly attacked the boy for being too slow when he was cleaning his sister’s room.
“He punched Hicham to the chest a number of times and then pushed him onto his sister’s bed,” prosecutor Alex Krikler said.
“He then placed both hands around his neck and strangled him for quite some time — five to 10 seconds — before pulling him up, punching him to the chest and walking away,” he said. “Hicham had tried to say ‘stop’ but had been unable to speak.
“He could not breathe and although the marks left by the strangulation were relatively minor, the incident was extremely frightening,” Krikler added.
Hicham told his mother the next day that his father had “crossed a line,” then shared his ordeal with schoolmates while the family celebrated his sister’s university graduation.
The boys told their teachers what Hicham had told them and the staff informed police, who arrested Khadla that evening.
“For the most minor of transgressions at home, he said that he would regularly get ‘the spoon,’” Krikler told the jury.
“His father would make him put his hands out and would smack the palms of his hands with a wooden spoon. He also described how his father would push and punch him and on occasion throw things at him,” he said.
“The abuse was not just physical. The defendant would also threaten extreme violence, that he would ‘splatter his brains across the ceiling and kill him.’ His father would tell him that he was weak,” Krikler added.
The elder son, Karim, now 26, recounted “the control, the temper and the violence” — and being struck in the head so forcefully when he was 15 that it knocked him over.
Karim left home and cut all ties with the family before the allegations emerged.
Krikler said the mother “describes the control he exerted over the family and how he had a quick temper and would get angry for no reason. That anger she describes as being directed towards the children.”
Khadla claimed he attacked Hicham in “self-defense,” saying he was afraid of his enraged son so he tried to restrain him.
“When asked how he would discipline his children, he said when they were younger, he would smack them on the bottom, but otherwise he said that he had never beaten or physically chastised them,” Kirkler said.
“He denied threatening his children or physically hurting them, saying that he sometimes shouted, but that was it. He denied controlling his children.”
Khadla faces three counts of child cruelty and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/03/10/fitness-fanatic-made-daughter-sign-contract-to-never-get-fat/
Photo Credit: Vagner Vidal/Hyde News & Pictures