(NEW YORK) — Police released footage of three suspects wanted in connection with the armed robbery of a Brooklyn, New York bishop during a livestream of his service.
Bishop Lamor Whitehead said he and his wife were robbed of “hundreds of thousands” in jewelry, including his wedding band, during a targeted incident on Sunday at his church, Leaders of Tomorrow International Ministry.
The New York Police Department released surveillance footage late Tuesday that shows the suspects, dressed in all black and wearing masks, crossing the street and entering the location shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday. Police said Wednesday there were no updates in the case.
Footage of the livestream, which is also part of the police investigation, shows the bishop saying “alright, alright” and lowering himself to the ground as one of the masked men enters the frame.
“When I see them come into the sanctuary with their guns, I told everybody, ‘Get down,'” Whitehead said in a video posted on Instagram. “I didn’t know if they wanted to shoot my church up or if they were coming for a robbery.”
Police said the men displayed firearms and stole a “large sum of jewelry” before fleeing in a white Mercedes.
Whitehead said that he chased after the suspects, whom he said had changed clothes and took their masks off, but ended up driving past them.
The bishop said the ministry was “traumatized” by the incident, and that a gun was pointed in the face of his 8-month-old baby. He has since offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the “healthy” arrest of the three men.
“I don’t want nothing happening to these young men,” he said in a video posted on Instagram announcing the reward. “I want the law to deal with these people.”
He decried the robbery, saying that he would have helped the men if they needed it.
“I would have been able to show love,” he said.
Following news of the robbery, Whitehead has also defended himself against criticism over his “flashy” lifestyle.
“It’s not about me being flashy,” he said. “It’s about me purchasing what I want to purchase.”
“It’s my prerogative to purchase what I want to purchase,” he added.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he will provide a $1.25 million grant to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District for counseling students and faculty impacted by the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.
“As the community of Uvalde continues to heal, Texas continues working to help improve security and aid in the recovery among students and educators,” Abbott said in a news release.
The money will be used for community outreach, crisis intervention and trauma-informed counseling through the Governor’s Public Safety Office, the statement said.
“This new source of funding will provide critical support to students, staff, and faculty in Uvalde as they continue to process the trauma from that day and grieve for the innocent lives lost,” Abbott said.
The funding comes over two months after 19 students and two teachers were shot and killed by a gunman in Uvalde, Texas, at Robb Elementary. Immediately following the incident, Abbott blamed the massacre on mental health issues in response to critics who criticized the state’s gun policies.
Texas is currently ranked as the worst state in the country for access to mental care, according to Mental Health America’s 2022 report.
A month before the school shooting, Abbott said that $500 million from various government agencies in the state would fund Operation Lone Star, a Texas-Mexico border security initiative by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department.
Approximately $210.7 million was from Texas Health & Human Services, which oversees public mental health programs.
The governor’s press secretary, Renae Eze, rejected the claim, telling ABC News in May that Abbott didn’t cut any funding from mental health services.
Abbott’s office touts a $5 million investment in establishing a long-term family resiliency center in Uvalde County, which provides access to mental health services to those impacted by the shooting, as part of its commitment to supporting the community.
ABC News’ Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed by a Baltimore family against Sesame Place, alleging racial discrimination from the theme park.
The family said it decided to come forward after videos of a Sesame Place character seemingly waving off two young Black girls at the same park went viral this summer.
Quinton Burns said he took his daughter to the amusement park on Father’s Day and during a parade of characters, he claims she, too, was ignored.
“[We] watched in utter disgust as the viral videos of these beloved Sesame Street characters were discriminating against these innocent Black children and the videos began to flood the internet,” Burns’ attorney Malcolm Ruff said at the press conference Wednesday. “She was ignored amongst a sea of other young white children, who were able to interact, give hugs, high-fives, and love from these characters that are supposed to be a source of safety, a source of equity, a source of kindness.”
“We will review the lawsuit filed on behalf of Mr. Burns,” Sesame Place told ABC News in a statement Wednesday. “We look forward to addressing that claim through the established legal process. We are committed to deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all our guests.”
The suit claims that Sesame Place violated Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which protects people against racial discrimination in the creation and enforcement of contracts. When the family bought tickets, they entered a contract with the amusement park and by allegedly being discriminated by costume character actors, this contract was “breached, solely because of the race of the children,” Ruff said.
Video of the encounter is set to be released in the coming days by the family’s attorneys, according to Ruff.
In the incident involving girls from another family that prompted the Burns family to come forward, a “Sesame Street” character named Rosita is seen giving high-fives to parkgoers as she walks down the line, before appearing to shake her head at and wave off the two girls as she walks away from them.
“#BabyPaige & her cute lil friends went to @SesamePlace this weekend to celebrate Paige’s 4th birthday & this is how #SesamePlace treated these beautiful Black children,” the tweet, posted by the apparent aunt, Jodi Brown, of the girl celebrating her birthday, read.
In the park’s initial statement, it said the performer portraying Rosita intended the “no” hand gesture in response to requests to hold children for a photo and did not intentionally ignore the girls.
The park said it has apologized to the family directly and has invited them for a meet-and-greet with the characters, as well as an in-person apology.
“We sincerely and wholeheartedly apologize to the Brown family for what they experienced,” park officials said in a previous statement to ABC News. “To be very clear, what the two young girls experienced, what the family experienced, is unacceptable. It happened in our park, with our team, and we own that. It is our responsibility to make this better for the children and the family and to be better for all families.”
The park said it will implement mandatory bias training so “our employees so that we can better recognize, understand, and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience for all our guests. We have already engaged with nationally recognized experts in this area,” the statement read.
The legal team representing the family of the two girls in the video has called for the costumed performer to be fired.
Footage of other incidents with Sesame Place characters and Black children were posted by others alleging they were treated similarly.
Sesame Place is a licensed park partner of Sesame Workshop and is owned by Sea World.
ABC News’ Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
(LEE COUNTY, Fla.) — Transgender students in Lee County School District in Florida who want to be identified by teachers and principals with pronouns that correspond with their gender identity will now have to fill out a Gender Support Plan.
“If a student does complete a gender support plan, which will by law require their parents’ involvement, it is a confidential document and available only to the school counselor and student,” said Rob Spicker, the assistant director of media relations and public information at Lee County Schools.
Without a completed gender support plan, with a parent’s signature, school staff will use the student’s name and gender as it is identified in the school’s system. Students who are 18 or older will not be required to have a parent’s signature.
Local parent Crystal Czyscon told ABC affiliate WZVN that she believed the document was discriminatory and “frightening,” fearing that students may be singled out.
The plan, a copy of which was acquired by WZVN, is to be filled out between a student and their counselor. It asks questions like whether the parents know about the student’s trans or nonbinary status, whether the student has support at home, how public is the student’s gender status, which school employees will be designated support systems and what will be the plan if a child is outed.
In defense of the district, Spicker said the plan is tended to protect LGBTQ students and denied that the plan is some form of registry of trans students. It is not required for trans students to fill out the form, he said. However, if they do not fill it out, they may only be identified by school faculty with their gender assigned at birth.
The move comes amid the implementation of the Parental Rights in Education law , dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics. The measure was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March.
It bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade and states that any instruction on those topics cannot occur “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards,” according to the legislation, HB 1557.
Under this law, parents can also decline any mental, emotional and physical health services available to their children at school, and schools will be required to notify parents of their child’s use of school health services unless there is reason to believe “that disclosure would subject the student to abuse, abandonment or neglect.”
The law also requires parents to be involved if a transgender student seeks to have the school use a preferred name or pronoun, Spicker noted.
The Gender Support Plan is part of the school’s Equity Guide, which was created in response to the Parents Bill of Rights law. It was intended to outline how LGBTQ students will be protected by the district in a way that follows the guidelines of the new law, Spicker said.
“The School District of Lee County’s Civil Rights and Equity Guide was developed to protect the rights of all students,” he said. “The guide helps our school staff manage that request to protect the student and follow the law.”
(CHICAGO) — The young man accused of carrying out a mass shooting at a suburban Chicago Fourth of July parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others, has been indicted on 117 counts, prosecutors in Lake County, Illinois, said Wednesday.
Robert “Bobby” Crimo III is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder (three counts for each victim) as well as 48 counts of attempted murder and 48 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm (for each person hit by a bullet, bullet fragment, or shrapnel), prosecutors said.
“Our investigation continues, and our victim specialists are working around the clock to support all those affected by this crime,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement.
Crimo, 21, allegedly took his legally purchased high-powered rifle and opened fire from a roof, shooting people who were enjoying the Highland Park parade.
Crimo has not entered a plea. His arraignment is set for Aug. 3.
Authorities said they believe the mass shooting had been planned for weeks.
Crimo told police he wore women’s clothing during the shooting and used makeup to hide his facial tattoos and blend in with the crowd during the chaos, prosecutors said. Crimo was apprehended hours later and prosecutors said the 21-year-old confessed to the shooting.
After the shooting, the suspect’s father, Bobby Crimo Jr., told ABC News he was “shocked,” adding, “I had no — not an inkling, warning — that this was going to happen.”
“This isn’t Bobby,” he said. “I guess that’s why it’s so hard to wrap yourself around it. It doesn’t add up.”
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering last week pleaded with Congress to pass a federal assault weapons ban.
“Less than a minute is all it took for a person with an assault weapon to shoot 83 rounds into a crowd, forever changing so many lives,” Rotering told the Senate Judiciary Committee. “And the most disturbing part, this is the norm in our country.”
(WASHINGTON) — A West Virginia man charged in the Jan. 6 assault of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick pleaded guilty Wednesday to two misdemeanor charges.
George Tanios was arrested two months after the Jan. 6 attack, along with Julian Khater, who investigators identified in videos as having deployed bear spray against three officers outside of the Capitol, including Sicknick.
Sicknick died the day after the riot of natural causes after suffering at least two strokes, according to the Washington, D.C., medical examiner’s office.
Tanios pleaded guilty Wednesday to entering and remaining on restricted grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds.
Khater has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges stemming from the alleged assault, and is set to go on trial in October.
Prosecutors said in Wednesday’s hearing they have also extended a plea offer to Khater and they continue to negotiate with his counsel, but they warned that the offer will expire by Aug. 17.
Khater could face between 78 and 97 months behind bars as part of his sentence if he were to accept the plea deal of two counts of felony assaults on officers, prosecutors said.
That amount would be more than a year longer than the two harshest sentences given to any Capitol rioters thus far.
As part of his plea deal with prosecutors, Tanios faces a potential range of 0-6 months behind bars, though he has already served five months in pre-trial detention following his arrest, for which he would receive credit.
In their original affidavit against Khater and Tanios, investigators cited open source videos that they said showed Khater at one point telling Tanios “Give me that bear s—” before reaching into a backpack Tanios was wearing.
Tanios then responded, “Hold on, hold on, not yet, not yet … it’s still early.”
“This verbal exchange between Khater and Tanios, together with Khater’s retrieval of the spray can from Tanios, reveals that the two were working in concert and had a plan to use the toxic spray against law enforcement,” the charging documents said.
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — Two former police officers convicted on federal charges in the death of George Floyd were both sentenced Wednesday to prison terms.
Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson in back-to-back hearings.
Magnuson, who noted that Kueng was a rookie cop at the time of Floyd’s death, sentenced him to serve three years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, according to St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP.
In a separate hearing, Magnuson sentenced Thao, who had been a nine-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department at the time of Floyd’s death, to 3 1/2 years in prison, also followed by two years of supervised release, KSTP reported.
Kueng was sentenced first in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Prior to sentencing Kueng, Floyd’s cousin Sabrina Montgomery and his girlfriend, Courtney Ross, gave victim impact statements.
Ross addressed Kueng directly with compassion, telling him, “This sentence will not define you,” and urging him to “define your purpose,” KSTP reported.
“This does not mean you cannot find your footing to stand up for what’s right in the future,” Ross told Kueng.
Montgomery asked Magnuson to give both Kueng and Thao the maximum sentence.
“All of these men deserve to serve longer sentences,” Montgomery said, according to KSTP. “The system these officers operated in is flawed, but again, where is their humanity?”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda Sertich told Magnuson that Kueng, who was a rookie cop at the time of Floyd’s death, admitted during his trial testimony that he was aware that it was his duty to intervene, but he failed to act.
“All he had to do per MPD policy was attempt to intervene … but he didn’t say a word. Not one word,” Sertich said, according to KSTP.
Kueng declined to make a statement in court before he was sentenced. But his attorney, Thomas Plunkett, spoke on his behalf, telling Magnuson, “He’s a nice young man that attempted to help the community by taking on a difficult role … and now he’s being sentenced for that.”
Both Kueng, 28, and Thao, 35, were convicted by a federal jury in February along with their former police colleague Thomas Lane, 39, who received a sentence last week of 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 6 1/2 years for Lane, which according to federal sentencing guidelines, was the maximum.
All three men were convicted of using the “color of the law,” or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by willfully being indifferent to his serious medical needs.
During Thao’s sentencing hearing, Montgomery again asked for the maximum sentence. Ross also spoke at Thao’s sentencing, but did not offer him words of encouragement like she did when she addressed Kueng and called for a maximum sentence.
“Mr. Thao, as you watched my love being suffocated under the knee of your co-officer, I will never forget you saying to the onlookers, ‘This is why you don’t do drugs,'” said Ross, citing video played at the officers’ trial.
Thao’s lawyer, Robert Paule, described Thao as “a decent person who was just trying to do his job.”
Thao gave a statement in court, telling Magnuson he found God after being arrested in Floyd’s death and saying that he had learned to lean on his faith.
Prosecutors said Kueng, Thao and Lane, who was also a rookie cop, all failed to intervene as the handcuffed, unarmed 46-year-old Black man was pinned under the knee of their senior officer, Derek Chauvin, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, outside a Minneapolis convenience store where Floyd was accused of using a phony $20 bill to buy cigarettes.
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of violating Floyd’s right to be free of an unreasonable seizure by willfully failing to intervene to prevent Chauvin from applying bodily injury to Floyd.
Prosecutors had requested a “substantially higher” federal sentence than Lane’s, but far less than what Chauvin received.
Chauvin was sentenced on Thursday by Magnuson to serve 21 years in prison after pleading guilty in December to violating Floyd’s civil rights and admitting he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to depriving a then-14-year-old boy of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by an officer, which resulted in bodily injury to the teen, according to the Justice Department.
Magnuson also sentenced Lane.
The length of the sentences for Kueng and Thao are lower than the recommended federal sentencing guidelines, which called for 4 1/4 years to 5 1/4 years.
“The facts of this case do not amount to second-degree murder under federal law,” Magnuson wrote in a ruling last week. “Defendants Kueng and Thao each made a tragic misdiagnosis in their assessment of Mr. Floyd.”
Magnuson noted that Kueng and Thao believed Floyd was suffering from a drug overdose and “excited delirium” — a syndrome in which a subject displays wild agitation and violent behavior that can sometimes lead to death.
Lane was the only police officer involved in Floyd’s fatal arrest to express concern for the man’s well-being. Police body-camera video played at the three former officers’ federal trial captured Lane asking twice if they should roll Floyd onto his side from a prone position to help ease his breathing.
Chauvin, 46, was also convicted in state court in April 2021 on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced in June 2021 by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to 22 1/2 years in state prison.
Chauvin will serve his sentence in federal prison concurrently with his state sentence.
Lane also pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder. Lane is awaiting his sentence in state court.
Kueng and Thao are scheduled to be put on trial in state court on Oct. 24 on charges of aiding and abetting in murder and aiding and abetting in manslaughter. They have both pleaded not guilty.
Benjamin Greene and Nazly Ortiz are seen in a video retweeted by the Harris County Sheriff’s Dept. The two people charged in a wild road rage shooting that was caught on camera. – Harris County Sheriff’s Dept./Twitter
(HOUSTON) — Two people have been arrested in Texas following an alleged road rage incident involving a 2-year-old on Tuesday just north of Houston on I-45.
Video of the encounter shows one man slamming his hands onto a silver Toyota Camry as a woman fired a gun into the car’s window while a man and child were inside.
As the car sped away, the woman was seen firing a second shot at the vehicle.
The suspects then rush to get back into their black pickup truck, the video showed.
Benjamin Greene and Nataly Ortiz were arrested and booked in Harris County Jail on Tuesday night, according to officials.
Greene has been charged with aggravated assault and Ortiz was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon later that day, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
The judge did not set bail for either suspect in probable cause court. He left the decision to the judge in the 182nd court, where both suspects are now assigned.
The victim told ABC News Houston station KTRK that a bullet grazed his head.
Gonzalez said the victim was taken to the hospital for the graze wound.
The victim told KTRK the 2-year-old inside the vehicle was his nephew, who was hit by shattered glass, but is OK.
Gonzalez said a nearby car dealership was also hit by one of Ortiz’s shots, but no one was injured.
It is not known when Greene and Ortiz will appear again in court.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to ABC News’ request for comment.
On Monday, an 8-year-old boy was injured in a road rage incident in a Dallas suburb. A suspect has not yet been identified by police.
(NEW YORK) — Deaf Broadway returns to Lincoln Center, following the 2021 production of Into the Woods, featuring an entirely deaf cast. This year they perform Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, the chilling story following “the demon barber of Fleet Street.”
Just as last year, they’ll perform the show completely in American Sign Language in front of a screen broadcasting a filmed version.
The cast takes the stage July 31, the final day of disability pride month, celebrating the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in July 1990. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.
Miranda Hoffner works in the accessibility department of Lincoln Center.
“We’re excited to center that in the month of July and really focus on deaf and disabled artists and then how to make sure that anyone can go to anything they’re interested in at Lincoln Center at any time and have their needs met, but accessibility has been part of Lincoln Center story since its founding,” she said of her work at Lincoln Center.
Hoffner says the accessibility department prioritizes making their productions enjoyable for all people, regardless of disability. This season they employed “haptic feedback,” which allows audiences to feel the music through their skin.
“Audience members are able to wear a backpack that sort of goes along their spine, very lightweight, and then wristbands and ankle bands and they pulse all five octaves,” she said. “It’s like really, really amazing to be able to feel music and take in music in another way.”
Hoffner also shares that the halls of Lincoln Center are wheelchair accessible and that they offer captioning on personal devices and even visual descriptions for those who are blind.
This Sunday, they expect members of the deaf community, disability community and theatre and Sondheim fans alike to attend the production.
(ST. PAUL, Minn.) — The first of two former police officers convicted on federal charges in the death of George Floyd was sentenced to prison Wednesday.
Former Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson to serve three years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, according to ABC affiliate station KSTP in St. Paul.
Kueng’s former police colleague, Tou Thao, is scheduled to learn his fate from Magnuson at a second hearing on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Prior to sentencing Kueng, Floyd’s cousin Sabrina Montgomery and his girlfriend, Courtney Ross, gave victim impact statements.
Ross addressed Kueng directly with compassion, telling him, “this sentence will not define you” and urging him to “define your purpose,” KSTP reported.
“This does not mean you cannot find your footing to stand up for what’s right in the future,” Ross told Kueng.
Montgomery asked Magnuson to give both Kueng and Thao the maximum sentence.
“All of these men deserve to serve longer sentences,” Montgomery said, according to KSTP. “The system these officers operated in is flawed, but again, where is their humanity?”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda Sertich told Magnuson that Kueng admitted during his trial testimony that he was aware that it was his duty to intervene, but he failed to act.
“All he had to do per MPD policy was attempt to intervene,” Sertich said, according to KSTP.
Kueng declined to make a statement in court before he was sentenced. But his attorney, Thomas Plunkett, spoke on his behalf, telling Magnuson, “He’s a nice young man that attempted to help the community by taking on a difficult role … and now he’s being sentenced for that.”
Both Kueng, 28, and Thao, 35, were convicted by a federal jury in February along with their former police colleague Thomas Lane, 39, who received a sentence last week of 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 6 1/2 years for Lane, which according to federal sentencing guidelines, was the maximum.
All three men were convicted of using the “color of the law,” or their positions as police officers, to deprive Floyd of his civil rights by willfully being indifferent to his serious medical needs.
Prosecutors said the three officers failed to intervene as the handcuffed, unarmed 46-year-old Black man was pinned under the knee of their senior officer, Derek Chauvin, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, outside a Minneapolis convenience store where Floyd was accused of using a phony $20 bill to buy cigarettes.
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of violating Floyd’s right to be free of an unreasonable seizure by willfully failing to intervene to prevent Chauvin from applying bodily injury to Floyd.
Prosecutors had requested a “substantially higher” federal sentence than Lane’s, but far less than what Chauvin received.
Chauvin was sentenced on Thursday by Magnuson to serve 21 years in prison after pleading guilty in December to violating Floyd’s civil rights and admitting he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after he became unresponsive. Chauvin also pleaded guilty to depriving a then-14-year-old boy of his constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by an officer, which resulted in bodily injury to the teen, according to the Justice Department.
Magnuson also sentenced Lane.
The length of Kueng’s sentence is lower than the recommended federal sentencing guidelines, which called for 4 1/4 years to 5 1/4 years.
“The facts of this case do not amount to second-degree murder under federal law,” Magnuson wrote in a ruling last week. “Defendants Kueng and Thao each made a tragic misdiagnosis in their assessment of Mr. Floyd.”
Magnuson noted that Kueng and Thao believed Floyd was suffering from a drug overdose and “excited delirium” — a syndrome in which a subject displays wild agitation and violent behavior that can sometimes lead to death.
Lane was the only police officer involved in Floyd’s fatal arrest to express concern for the man’s well-being. Police body-camera video played at the three former officers’ federal trial captured Lane asking twice if they should roll Floyd onto his side from a prone position to help ease his breathing.
Chauvin, 46, was also convicted in state court in April 2021 on charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced in June 2021 by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to 22 1/2 years in state prison.
Chauvin will serve his sentence in federal prison concurrently with his state sentence.
Lane also pleaded guilty to state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the top charge against him of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder. Lane is awaiting his sentence in state court.
Kueng and Thao are scheduled to be put on trial in state court on Oct. 24 on charges of aiding and abetting in murder and aiding and abetting in manslaughter. They have both pleaded not guilty.
