Tag: Atlanta
Cop fired after $500 goes missing from homicide victim’s wallet
An Atlanta police officer has been axed for allegedly mishandling $500 in cash from a homicide victim’s wallet, authorities said.
Officer Keisha Richburg’s body cam footage released by the Atlanta Police Department shows the alleged incident unfolding on June 19th at the scene of a shooting in Marietta Road near the Inman Rail Yard.
The footage shows EMT Kevin Geter tucking the money inside of the wallet of the 29-year-old victim, Jamel Harris, then handing it off to Richburg.
When she handles the wallet in her squad car, the cash cannot be seen in the slot that Geter had allegedly placed the money inside, the video shows.
When “Officer Richburg transfers the victim’s wallet from her right hand to her left hand; it is readily apparent the money is no longer tucked inside the wallet,” a police report on the incident reads.
Geter confirmed to internal affairs investigators that he gave Richburg the wallet with cash inside, according to 11Alive.
“I’m about 90% sure it was money…cause it was – it was kinda like a – you know, like money would be folded in half. Um, and I can’t imagine it being anything else,” he said.
Later, the video shows Richburg handing off the empty wallet to a homicide-unit sergeant at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Harris, who suffered from a gunshot wound to the head later died from his injuries at the hospital. An-Nur Green, 43, was arrested for fatally shooting Harris over of an argument, police said.
“Officer integrity goes to the heart of what we do here every single day,” Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said in a statement. “It’s extremely disappointing to see the victim of a fatal shooting be victimized twice by the actions of one of our officers.”
An Atlanta Police department spokesperson told The Post that Richburg did not properly account for the money according to the department’s policies and procedures. An administrative investigation was not able to determine what happened to the cash.
Shields fired Richburg on Monday.
A regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers told NBC Newsthat the department hasn’t “proven that she had the money or took the money.”
Richburg is disputing the department’s claim and attempting to appeal her termination.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/11/cop-fired-after-500-goes-missing-from-homicide-victims-wallet/
Photo Credit: Atlanta Police Department
Creepy character from Donald Glover’s ‘Atlanta’ was at the Emmys
Teddy Perkins appeared Monday night at the Microsoft Theater in the same attire as worn on the comedy-drama on the show, sporting a red velvet dinner jacket, heavy white makeup, prosthetics and a bob cut wig. The character was played by the show’s star, Donald Glover, but it’s unclear whether the actor-singer dressed up as Perkins, who became a main attraction in the crowd and social media taking selfies during commercial breaks.
Perkins congratulated Bill Hader, who won an Emmy for best actor in a television comedy over Glover — last year’s winner.
Even Hader had no idea who was dressed up as Perkins.
“I don’t know who it was, but I know it was that guy from ‘Atlanta,'” Hader said backstage.
When Glover was shown in the crowd, Perkins was not around.
Perkins became one of the most intriguing figures during “Atlanta’s” second season because of his eerie appearance. The character tricked Darius, played by LaKeith Stanfield, into visiting his home.
Article via: Creepy character from Donald Glover’s ‘Atlanta’ was at the Emmys
‘Worst nightmare’: Parents sue hotel after 5-year-old boy’s skull gets crushed in rotating restaurant
The family of a 5-year-old boy whose skull was crushed in the rotating wall of a hotel restaurant has sued the Atlanta hotel, accusing it of negligence in his death.
Attorney Joseph Fried filed suit Wednesday for Rebecca and Michael Holt of Charlotte, North Carolina, whose son Charlie died April 14.
“What started out as the best family trip, turned into the worst nightmare,” Rebecca Holt said in a statement emailed by Fried.
They had chosen the Sun Dial restaurant “because it was recommended as a fun place for families with kids to see the Atlanta skyline and enjoy a meal,” Charlie’s father, Michael Holt, said in the statement.
Marriott International, the hotel’s owner, didn’t immediately respond to an email and phone call requesting comment.
Police had said the boy wandered away from his family’s window table at the restaurant atop the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel and got his head stuck between tables. They also said the rotating floor shut off automatically when he was struck.
The lawsuit disagrees with police statements.
It said the family left along a path that various members had used without problems to go to and from the bathroom. But this time, it said, a booth rotating near a stationary wall blocked their path.
Charlie, a few steps ahead of his parents, “was too short to see past the booth and did not appreciate the danger until it was too late,” and was trapped in the “pinch point” between booth and wall, according to the lawsuit.
“To Michael’s and Rebecca’s horror, the rotation did not automatically stop when Charlie got trapped,” the lawsuit states, and there was no emergency button to stop it.
Rebecca Holt tried to pull her son free and Michael Holt “threw his body against the booth,” but both actions were futile, it said.
It said Michael Holt heard his son’s skull crack before someone finally stopped the rotation.
“The family has filed this law suit to set the record straight about what happened and to make sure, to the best of their abilities, that no other family ever has to suffer the same fate,” Fried’s statement said.
Defendants include Marriott, as well as the chain that previously owned the Peachtree before Marriott bought the chain. Also named are other former owners and operators, and the architects, interior designer and contractor in charge of renovations to the restaurant in 2012 and 2013.
The hotel reopened the restaurant in June.
“After Charlie’s death, Marriott has said that it won’t allow the restaurant to revolve again until it has addressed the dangerous pinch points,” Fried’s statement said. “Marriott should not have waited for this tragedy before acting to correct this hazard, especially while it held itself out as a safe place for kids.”
NeNe Leakes Cries As Husband Gregg Is Hospitalized For Heart Problems: ‘I Can’t Do This’
NeNe Leakes ended Sunday’s Real Housewives of Atlanta in tears — and it had nothing to do with any drama among the women.
The 49-year-old reality star found herself in a rare vulnerable moment when her husband, Gregg Leakes, landed in the hospital for a “dangerously low” heart rate, his doctors taking him for a minor surgery test to see if he had a blockage.
“I heard his voice on the phone and I knew that he was afraid,” NeNe said as she raced to be by Gregg’s side. “Like, ‘If this is the last time that I’m going to see anybody, I need to see my wife.’ … Everything was just kind of going really left.”
“Oh my God, what if Gregg doesn’t come home?” she wondered, tearing up. “What will they find? Is this something that Gregg’s not telling me? I can’t even imaging Gregg not walking on this earth. I can’t do this. Gregg has to get better.”
Earlier in the episode, Gregg had complained about his health, saying he was experiencing chest pains, numbness and felt like he was “going to pass out.”
The feeling didn’t go away, and eventually, Gregg asked to be admitted to the hospital for monitoring. “For the last couple days he’s been like, ‘I just don’t feel good. I just don’t feel good.’ But this time he was crying in tears,” NeNe told fellow Housewife Cynthia Bailey. “I was like, ‘Okay, you want to go to the doctor or do you want to go to the hospital?’ And he was like, ‘I want to go to the hospital.’ ”
“His dad had heart issues, and Gregg’s always had it in his head that he’s going to have heart issues,” she added.
Though NeNe told Bailey, “I think he’ll be fine,” the former supermodel was convinced NeNe was failing to see the problem in front of her.
“I’ve known NeNe for like eight years now. I know she is very concerned, but I also can see that she’s in denial,” Bailey confessed. “I don’t think she’s fully grasped how serious any type of heart situation could potentially be. I think NeNe is dealing with the situation with Gregg the best way she knows how to. She’s not the girl that handles any kind of sickness situation well.”
NeNe did let her guard down when the two talked again later, a day after Gregg had entered the hospital.
“[He’s] elevating his feet and all this stuff, trying to keep his heart rate where it needs to be,” she said, explaining that Gregg was still suffering from dizziness from time to time. “Last night I didn’t sleep good because normally it’s me who’s gone. Normally Greg is here, so I didn’t sleep good knowing he is gone.”
It’s no wonder she feels that way. NeNe and Gregg have been married for 18 years and together even longer — though, as RHOA fans remember, they briefly divorced in 2011 and remarried 2 years later (as seen on NeNe’s spin-off series, I Dream of NeNe: The Wedding). The couple have one son together, Brentt, 18.
“I’ve been with Gregg since I was in my 20s,” NeNe said on the episode. “The only secret I can tell you a relationship is finding a way to still love each other and be attracted to one another. Without Gregg, what would I do. Who is going to cut the grass? Who is the poll person? Who do we pay our lights and gas to?”
While the episode ended in a cliffhanger, all appears to be well with Gregg now. He recently stood by his wife’s side on Halloween, dressing up as a cockroach to her pest control operator.
Video shows nurses laughing as dying 89-year-old WWII veteran calls for help, gasps for air
Hidden camera footage recently made public revealed a decorated World War II veteran died after fighting for air while a pair of nurses laughed in front of him.
James Dempsey on Feb. 27, 2014, repeatedly called out to staff members at Northeast Atlanta Health and Rehabilitation before he fell unconscious, gasping for air all the while.
Nursing home staff found him unresponsive just before 5:30 a.m. and it took them nearly an hour to call 911, according to state records obtained by WXIA.
Dempsey’s family, who sued the facility in 2014, declined to comment, citing a settlement with the nursing home.
Former nursing supervisor Wanda Nuckles testified during the trial that she rushed to the 89-year-old veteran’s room when she learned he’d stopped breathing and performed chest compressions until help arrived.
Nuckles did not know she’d been filmed at the time and the clip directly contradicts her account, which she said was just “an honest mistake.”
Instead, the footage shows nursing staff repeatedly start and stop Dempsey’s chest compressions. When the responding nurses struggled to get Dempsey’s oxygen machine to start, Nuckles can be heard laughing with them in the background.
“Ma’am was there something funny at the time?” Mike Prieto, the attorney for Dempsey’s family, questioned.
She responded: “I can’t even remember all that, as you can see.”
Retired nursing professor Elaine Harris identified several violations, including failure to respond, failure to assess and failure to act.
“In 43 years of nursing, I have never seen such disregard for human life in a health care setting,” she told the news station.
Attorneys representing the Atlanta nursing home attempted to block WXIA from releasing the footage, but in the end dropped its appeal with the Georgia State Supreme Court.
Both Nuckles and another nurse were fired, but not until nearly a year after the incident. And they only just turned in their licenses in September — nearly three years after Dempsey’s death.
A spokesperson for the Georgia Board of Nursing could not confirm when the state became aware of the video, but the board’s action did come on the heels of receiving a link to the video.
A spokesperson for the nursing home, owned by Sava Senior Care, in a statement wrote they were “saddened by the events which occurred three years ago” before going on to note it has “new leadership and the leadership team and the staff have worked very diligently to improve quality care and the quality of life for our residents.”
Man headed to jail for murder over Hot Pockets
Hot Pockets can get people heated.
An Atlanta man was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for a fatal shooting following a fight over the snack, according to news station WAGA.
Prosecutors said Nathaniel Mathis had asked his sister and her boyfriend, Rodney Benton, 34, to get pepperoni Hot Pockets last July using his card.
When the couple got to the store, the Hot Pockets were sold out so his sister called Mathis to let him know.
They tried to buy other food, but Mathis’ card was rejected. She called him back and an argument reportedly ensued.
The couple ended up going home empty-handed, where they were met by a furious Mathis.
“The defendant was home and still upset when he approached the SUV,” the Fulton County District Attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors said that Mathis went up to the passenger side and yelled “you know what’s going on” and shot Benton eight times.
He then fled for a nearby park where he approached a woman with a message for his sister, news station WXIA reported.
The woman told police he said, “I just snapped. I love her and didn’t mean for it to happen this way.”
Authorities were able to track down Mathis in the woods, where he was shirtless and pointing a gun to his head. After two hours of negotiations, police shot him with a beanbag gun and took him into custody.
Mathis was found guilty of murder, possession of a firearm by a first offender probationer and criminal damage to property. He was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison plus ten years.
via: http://nypost.com/2017/05/17/man-headed-to-jail-for-murder-over-hot-pockets-i-just-snapped/
Mom storms house to rescue daughter allegedly tortured by husband in front of infant *graphic photos*
ATLANTA, GA. – Prosper Ortega’s family says just six months ago, she was a happy 23-year-old bride. Photos show her beaming and posing with her growing belly. Their child, Ari, would be born June 16th.
Now, Prosper in the hospital in serious condition after that same husband, Aaron is charged with aggravated battery, false imprisonment, and cruelty to children. Ortega’s family says he tortured her for days, drugging her beverages to keep her weak.
Prosper’s family says it all happened in front of their weeks-old infant baby boy.
The pictures of injuries are difficult to see, but Ortega’s family says she insisted they post them because she wanted people to see what had happened to her.
Ortega, and her mother, Fawn, have worked with domestic violence victims and helped to combat sex trafficking. They believe Uchitel threatened to leave with the baby, so Prosper initially endured the abuse believing it would make him stay.
She wanted to make sure “people are aware this can happen, and that it happened to her and she couldn’t believe it because she loved him so much,” said Fawn Ortega.
The couple had a fight last November and Uchitel had been ordered to take an anger management class. Ortega says Uchitel talked positively about the program, making it even harder to reconcile what happened to her daughter.
“Her ribs are broken. He beat her ribs and breast saying her milk was useless and she was worthless,” said Ortega. “He tried to blind her so she couldn’t see her baby, he tried to make her deaf so she couldn’t hear him crying for her.”
According to Ortega, when her daughter broke a window and tried to run away, the husband tied her to the bed and cut off her hair. He also tried to rip out her teeth and bite off her top lip.
Ortega says her daughter was stabbed in the chest and the back of her leg. She was within hours of dying when the mother forced her way inside the house to save her daughter.
“I fought him. I fought him. I just went in there and I fought him,” she said.
The horrific story, and the photos to go with it, have gone viral. Prosper faces multiple medical procedures, and the online community has rallied around that need, donating more than $47,000 in three days.
Ortega says what she needs most is for her daughter to heal, emotionally and physically. “I just want her to be okay and I just want to make sure he doesn’t get out because she’s terrified he’s going to get out.”
Aaron Uchitel remains in jail. Because of the holiday, police could not comment on the case, nor could we get information from the jail on Uchitel’s next court appearance.
via: http://www.ksdk.com/news/crime/husband-tortured-wife-in-front-of-infant-for-days/263380214