(NEW YORK) — Two squatters are wanted for murder after they allegedly killed a woman who walked in on them living in her mother’s New York City apartment, police sources told ABC News.
The victim, Nadia Vitel, a 52-year-old woman from Spain, came to the U.S. to prepare her mother’s Manhattan apartment for a family friend, sources said. The Kips Bay apartment had been vacant for the last few months after Vitel’s mother died, sources said.
When Vitel went inside, she found a man and a woman living there, the sources said.
A struggle erupted, and it appears Vitel was thrown into a sheetrock wall, sources said.
The two suspects then allegedly stole Vitel’s Lexus and drove to New Jersey and then Pennsylvania, where they crashed near Harrisburg, sources said.
On March 14, Vitel’s worried son, who hadn’t heard from his mother in two days, accessed the Kips Bay apartment with the superintendent and other relatives, and found his mom’s body, sources said. Vitel’s body was in a duffel bag in a closet, with her foot sticking out of the bag, sources said.
Vitel died from blunt force trauma to the head and her death was ruled a homicide, officials said.
(BOISE, Idaho) — An inmate who escaped from an Idaho hospital with an accomplice who opened fire on the correction officers transporting him in a “brazen” attack have been captured, Boise police said.
The Idaho Department of Correction inmate, Skylar Meade, and shooting suspect Nicholas Umphenour were located in the Twin Falls area around 2 p.m. MT Thursday, according to Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar.
They were taken into custody following a short vehicle pursuit, Winegar said.
State police are investigating two homicides that may be tied to this incident, according to Lt. Colonel Sheldon Kelley from the Idaho State Police. The homicides occurred at separate locations and involved two men, he said. Their cause of death has not been released.
The manhunt began early Wednesday, following what authorities described as a planned ambush. Meade had been transported to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise Tuesday night for treatment after engaging in “self-injurious behavior,” according to Idaho Department of Correction director Josh Tewalt.
As correction officers were preparing to transport him back to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution around 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, an individual “attacked and fired” at the officers, striking two, Boise police said.
A third corrections officer was shot by a Boise officer who responded to reports of an active shooter inside the hospital’s emergency department, Boise police said. The officer fired his weapon at an armed individual near the entrance who was determined to be an Idaho Department of Correction officer, police said.
Investigators ultimately determined that Meade and his accomplice fled in a gray Honda Civic, just prior to Boise officers arriving, police said.
Umphenour is an “associate” of Meade, police said. The two, at one point, were in the same housing unit while at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution and were linked by “both having membership with the Aryan Knights,” according to Tewalt. Umphenour was released from custody in January, Tewalt said.
Amid the manhunt, officers on Wednesday obtained a warrant for Umphenour’s arrest on two charges of aggravated battery against law enforcement and one charge of aiding and abetting an escape, police said. The warrant has a $2 million bond.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Six former Mississippi law enforcement officers were sentenced to decades in prison during hearings in federal court in Jackson this week for their roles in the torture of two Black men, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Four of the former officers were sentenced earlier this week, while the last two were sentenced on Thursday.
Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Brett McAlpin was sentenced on Thursday to about 27 years in prison, while former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield was sentenced to 10 years.
McAlpin and Hartfield are part of a group of former law enforcement officers who had dubbed themselves the “Goon Squad” for their willingness to use excessive force, according to the DOJ.
All six pleaded guilty to a total of 16 felonies related to the racially motivated torture and sexual assault of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, as well as a subsequent plan to cover up their crimes.
Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon was sentenced to 40 years in prison during a hearing in federal court in Jackson on Wednesday for his role in the torture of Jenkins and Parker, as well as the assault of another man during an incident in December 2022 during a traffic stop.
According to federal prosecutors, Dedmon was the organizer of both attacks has received the harshest sentence so far.
“I want to tell them I’m sorry for what they went through, what they are going through,” Dedmon said during the sentencing hearing, per WAPT. “If I [could] take every bit of it back, I promise I would.”
Malik Shabazz, the lead attorney representing victims Jenkins and Parker, told ABC News in a statement following Dedmon’s sentencing that “history was made today in Mississippi.”
“The 40-year prison sentence given to ‘Goon Squad’ member Christian Dedman by Judge Thomas Lee for the sick and serious crimes committed against our clients Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker made history today,” Shabazz said. “All of these ‘Goon Squad’ sentences are sending a serious message to all rogue police and other ‘Goon Squads’ all over America, that justice is coming to you.”
Earlier on Wednesday, former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for his role in the incident.
Opdyke cried during the sentencing, according to WAPT, and said that his time in prison so far has helped him reflect on “how I transformed into the monster I became that night.”
“The weight of my actions and the harm I’ve caused will haunt me every day,” Opdyke told the victims. “I wish I could take away your suffering.”
Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward was sentenced on Tuesday to 241 months, or about 20 years, while Jeffrey Middleton received a 17 1/2-year sentence for his role in the incident, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.,”These defendants will spend 20 years and 17.5 years in prison for their heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Tuesday following the first round of sentencing.
“The Justice Department will hold accountable officers who violate constitutional rights, and in so doing, betray the public trust,” his statement concluded.
In their guilty pleas, the six former law enforcement officers admitted to breaking into a home where Jenkins and Parker were residing without a warrant after a white neighbor reported that the men were staying with a white woman and alleged “suspicious” activity. They then proceeded to arrest the two men “without probable cause” that they committed any crimes, according to the DOJ.
Some of the defendants were part of a group of shift officers who called themselves “The Goon Squad” because of their “willingness to use excessive force and not report it,” according to charging documents. The group was summoned by Dedmon to the home where Jenkins and Parker were residing, according to the DOJ, after McAlpin asked him to investigate.
During the incident, the officers beat Jenkins and Parker, mocked them with racial slurs, sexually assaulted them with a sex toy, forced them to strip naked and shower together and shocked them with Tasers for roughly 90 minutes while handcuffed, according to court documents obtained by ABC News. Jenkins was also shot in the mouth by Elward, per the DOJ.
Following the incident, the two victims faced false charges for months, according to the DOJ, stemming from the officers’ plan to cover up their actions by tampering with and planting evidence, including drugs and a gun.
ABC News has reached out to the officers but requests for comment were not returned.
Jenkins and Parker, along with their attorney Shabazz, told reporters on Monday that they have been struggling with the enduring trauma of the brutal attack. Following Elward’s sentencing on Tuesday, the two men told Jackson ABC affiliate WAPT that justice had been done.
Elward, who pleaded guilty to the most serious charge in the indictment — discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence — stood up in the courtroom and apologized to the victims, according to WAPT, saying, “I hate myself for it. I accept my responsibility.”
Parker stood up and told Elward that he forgives him, and later that afternoon told WAPT that while he forgives “what is done,” Elward “still did what he did and he has to be punished.”
Asked if he also forgives Elward, Jenkins told WAPT, “I don’t know. No, no, because if he wouldn’t have got caught, he’d still be doing the same thing.”
The charges the officers pleaded guilty to include civil rights conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. They also pleaded guilty to similar state charges and are awaiting sentencing in the state case. State sentences will be served concurrently.
Dedmon, Elward and Opdyke also pleaded guilty to three additional federal felony offenses related to a separate incident that took place on Dec. 4, 2022, per the DOJ.
The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the incident in Feb. 2023, along with the FBI, amid outrage from the community and as attorneys for Jenkins and Parker filed a notice of claim for a $400 million federal lawsuit.
“It’s in court, and we’re fighting,” Shabazz told ABC News on Monday when asked about the status of the lawsuit.
In an October 2023 response to the complaint obtained by ABC News, the officers denied the allegations alleged in the lawsuit.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
(HOOVER, Ala.) — An Alabama woman who lied about her kidnapping was ordered to pay nearly $18,000 in restitution and sentenced to probation during a court appearance on Thursday, ABC News has confirmed.
Carlee Russell was charged with two misdemeanors for making false statements to police in July. She told authorities she had been kidnapped after going missing for two days, then subsequently admitted to police through her attorney that there was no kidnapping and she made it up, the Hoover Police Department said. Her disappearance had sparked a nationwide search involving local and federal law enforcement, police said.
Russell pleaded not guilty in October to false reporting to law enforcement authorities and falsely reporting an incident. A municipal judge at that time found her guilty of the charges and recommended that she spend a year in jail and pay nearly $18,000 in restitution.
Russell’s legal team found the restitution fair but appealed the conviction in an effort to avoid jail time. A state trial was set to begin this week but was removed from the docket and Thursday’s plea hearing was scheduled instead.
During the hearing Thursday, Russell pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 12 months supervised probation, community service and evidence of continued mental health counseling, and she must pay $17,974.88 restitution to the city of Hoover.
Russell called 911 on July 12 to report a toddler on Interstate 459 in Alabama, a day before her disappearance, police said. After she returned home on July 15, she told police that she was taken by a man and a woman when she stopped to check on the toddler that she reported on the highway, police said. Investigators did not find any evidence of a child walking on the side of the road, police said.
While investigating her kidnapping claim, police determined that the then-25-year-old searched on her phone for Amber Alerts, bus tickets and the movie “Taken” — the 2008 movie starring Liam Neeson about a father’s quest to save his daughter from kidnappers — hours before she went missing, according to Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzis.
In a statement provided to police by Anthony in July, Russell acknowledged that “there was no kidnapping.”
“My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident. This was a single act done by herself,” the statement said.
“We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward. Understanding that she made a mistake in this matter, Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers,” the statement continued.
When announcing the charges in July, Derzis said Russell’s actions caused “panic and disruption” and “opened wounds for families whose loved ones really were victims of kidnappings.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall also said at the time that it wasn’t a “victimless crime.”
“There are significant hours spent, resources expended as a result of this investigation and not only that, but the many men and women who are civilians who wore those yellow vests on a hot afternoon and evening looking for someone they thought was abducted, trying to be of assistance,” Marshall said.
Derzis expressed “frustration” that Russell could only be charged with misdemeanors and called on state legislators to add an enhancement to the law when someone falsely reports a kidnapping or another violent crime.
Alabama state legislators have since proposed a bill that would make false reports to law enforcement that claim imminent danger a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Those convicted of the crime would also be ordered to pay restitution and serve any prison sentence day-for-day. The state House and Senate have yet to vote on the bill.
Following Russell’s sentencing on Thursday, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office said Thursday they are “disappointed, but not surprised” that she didn’t get the requested jail time.
“Current law provides a weak penalty for false reporting and fails to account for situations, like Ms. Russell’s, that result in a significant law enforcement response,” Katherine Robertson, chief counsel for the Alabama attorney general, said in a statement. “Fortunately, the Governor will soon receive our legislation to increase penalties for false reporting when an imminent threat is alleged and will expand the amount of restitution that can be sought. The next time law enforcement resources are needlessly wasted in this manner, the offender will be forever labeled a felon.”
ABC News’ Deena Zaru and Dhanika Pineda contributed to this report.
(CHICAGO) — Chicago officials and community members are grieving the loss of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins who police say was fatally stabbed while trying “to protect his mother” in a domestic violence incident.
Crosetti Brand, who Perkins’ mother has an order of protection against, allegedly broke into their home and stabbed both Perkins and his mother on March 13, police said. The boy’s mother, identified at a fundraiser for the family as Laterria Smith, was critically injured in the attack. Her 5-year-old son was also in the home at the time.
Brand was out on parole while still serving a 16-year sentence for a home invasion and currently has three orders of protection violations against him, according to police.
Brand has been charged with murder, attempted murder, home invasion with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery, domestic battery, and more in connection with the incident.
ABC News could not immediately reach an attorney for Brand.
“An 11-year-old boy lost his life brutally. A woman, stabbed brutally in a domestic attack. Where is the outrage for this family?” said Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling at a press conference. “Let’s focus on the victims.”
“An innocent child’s life was taken to try to protect his mother, far too soon, and a mother was attacked in what should have been the safest place for her, which was her home,” said the Cook County state attorney Kimberly M. Foxx.
Perkins was called “an exceptional young man, respected by his peers and admired by his teachers,” according to a fundraiser hosted by the Peirce Elementary School community and his dance school, Gus Giordano Dance School.
The boy was known for his love of dance and performance, playing lead roles in several school plays, according to the post.
In a separate post, Gus Giordano Dance School shared videos of Perkins dancing, and said he “gave joy, happiness & light to everyone.
Perkins loved “spending time with friends, playing sports, and performing. His infectious laughter and kind heart touched the lives of everyone he met,” the fundraiser post read. Vigils were held at the family’s apartment complex in his honor.
Smith is said to have worked at Perkin’s school, and had “made a lasting impact on the lives of students, supporting them in their daily activities and fostering a sense of belonging.”
The incident has highlighted how to improve the handling of domestic violence cases in the city. Officials say Brand had a history of domestic violence.
“We have to protect these victims,” said Snilling. “We cannot wait until the tragedy happens to decide we’re going to do something about it.”
Alderperson Andre Vasquez said he and other officials need to look into “what more can be done to support victims, survivors of domestic violence,” at a Friday press conference.
“This is something that we know if we don’t get ahead of domestic violence issues everywhere, there may be other cases,” he continued.
Foxx said the crime “shocked our city to its core.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump walk together as they prepare to vote at a polling station setup in the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center, Mar. 19, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken an initial step toward laying the groundwork for a possible seizure of former President Donald Trump’s assets in New York’s Westchester County as part of the $464 million judgment in Trump’s civil fraud trial.
State officials have entered the judgment from Trump’s civil fraud trial in Manhattan with the county clerk’s office in Westchester, which would allow James to move to take possession of Trump National Golf Course in Briarcliff Manor and Seven Springs, a private estate in Bedford, if Trump fails to secure a bond.
His lawyers this week said Trump is facing “insurmountable difficulties” obtaining a bond to cover the $464 million judgment imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron. They have asked an appeals court for permission to post a smaller bond or none at all.
If Trump does not secure a financial guarantee by Monday’s deadline, James could begin the legal process of seizing Trump’s bank accounts and physical assets in Manhattan and Westchester through liens and foreclosures.
A representative from the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
On Thursday, lawyers for Trump doubled down on their claim that securing the bond is impossible, according to a letter sent to New York’s Appellate Division Thursday.
Trump attorney Clifford Robert described James’ suggestion Wednesday that Trump secure multiple smaller bonds or hand over property to the court as “illogical,” “unconstitutional,” “impractical,” and “unjust.”
“Perhaps worst of all, the Attorney General argues that Defendants should be forced to dispose of iconic, multi-billion-dollar real-estate holdings in a ‘fire sale,'” Robert wrote in the letter.
Pushing back on the suggestion that Trump could hand over properties to the court, Robert said that the proposal was impractical and “functionally equivalent” to the Trump Organization’s court-appointed monitor.
He argued that James’ suggestion that Trump procure a series of smaller bonds would fail to resolve Trump’s current predicament because lenders are still unwilling to offer a bond using both cash and property as collateral.
“As explained in Defendants’ Affirmations, those separate bonds would still require a total collateralization of cash or cash equivalents in excess of $557 million, regardless of how many sureties were involved,” the letter said.
“It would be completely illogical — and the definition of an unconstitutional Excessive Fine and a Taking — to require Defendants to sell properties at all, and especially in a ‘fire sale,’ in order to be able to appeal the lawless Supreme Court judgment, as that would cause harm that cannot be repaired once the Defendants do win, as is overwhelmingly likely, on appeal,” Robert wrote on Thursday.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron in February ordered Trump to pay $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest after he found the former president and his adult sons liable for using “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate his net worth in order to get more favorable loan terms. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has appealed the decision in the case.
Earlier this week, Trump’s lawyers argued that the former president is unable to secure a bond for the judgment, having been rejected by over 30 insurance companies due to its size and his need to post properties as collateral.
Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
(NEW YORK) — Stormy Daniels is “absolutely ready” to testify at former President Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial, the adult film actress — whose hush money payment sits at the center of Trump’s criminal case — told ABC’s “The View” on Thursday.
“I’m absolutely ready. I’ve been ready. I’m hoping with all of my heart that they call me because … I don’t need someone to speak for me,” Daniels said. “I relish the day that I get to face him and speak my truth.”
Daniels made the appearance on “The View” to promote a new documentary about her life before and after her now-infamous interaction with Trump.
Defense lawyers have attempted to prevent Daniels from serving as a witness at trial by arguing her testimony would be salacious and prejudicial to the jury. The judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, denied Trump’s efforts this week in a ruling that cleared the way for testimony from Daniels, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen, and two others who received hush-money payments ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a $130,000 hush money payment Cohen made to Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.
Jury selection for the trial is currently scheduled to get underway in mid-April in New York City. The former president has denied all wrongdoing.
“Locating and purchasing the information from Daniels not only completes the narrative of events that precipitated the falsification of business records but is also probative of the Defendant’s intent,” Judge Merchan wrote.
Trump and his lawyers have criticized Cohen’s reliability as a witness and have argued that Daniels might try to “monetize her status as a witness” by creating publicity to promote her recent documentary.
In her appearance Thursday, Daniels defended her recollection of her encounter with Trump.
“What do you call it when you come out of a bathroom as a lady, and you’re not expecting someone to be there, and in front of you is a man in his underwear between you and the door. And you go to go around, and he stands there. What is that called?” Daniels said, partially recounting her 2006 sexual encounter with Trump.
While Daniels said she now remembers more information about the discussion she had with Trump that day, she said the main details of the story are unchanged.
“Why is it the same story? Because I’m telling the truth, and I haven’t changed my story,” Daniels said. “Those details are burned into my soul forever.”
After her interaction with Trump became public, Daniels said her life fundamentally changed. She received more opportunities to perform across the county and author a book, but she also began receiving threats and feared for the safety of her daughter and loved ones.
While those threats began to slow in the years following Trump’s presidency, she told “The View” that Trump’s New York indictment reignited those issues.
“Suddenly the indictment happens … it was like 2018 all over again, except now they’re more vicious because they’ve been encouraged,” Daniels said. “They’re more like suicide bombers this time around, where they honestly truly believe that they are being patriotic and that I am like the devil,” she said.
Though she says she is eager to testify at trial, Daniels said that she looks forward to the day when the attention fades and she can return to a life that doesn’t impact her loved ones.
“I want to not be a danger to everybody that I care about and everybody that I love,” Daniels said. “I want to be able to live a life where my friends aren’t collateral damage, and I don’t know if that is ever going to happen.”
(NEW YORK) — Effective Thursday, former President Donald Trump’s namesake family real estate company has a babysitter.
New York Judge Arthur Engoron, who oversaw Trump’s civil fraud trial, imposed a monitor over the Trump Organization as part of a judgment that also required Trump to pay a nearly-half billion dollar penalty.
Barbara Jones, a retired federal judge, has been overseeing the Trump Organization’s finances since November 2022 as part of a preliminary injunction. She is now installed for the next three years.
As part of the arrangement, the Trump Organization must open its books to Jones, who has also been given the ability to suggest court-ordered changes in how the Trump Organization operates.
She must be notified about any large cash transfers, the creation or dissolution of assets, the restructuring of debt and “any efforts to secure surety bonds,” according to Engoron’s order issued Thursday.
Engoron in February ordered Trump to pay $464 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest after he found the former president and his adult sons liable for using “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” to inflate his net worth in order to get more favorable loan terms. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and has appealed the decision in the case.
Trump is facing a Monday deadline to secure a bond to guarantee payment of the $464 million judgment should he lose his appeal. His lawyers have said it is “a practical impossibility,” but New York Attorney General Letitia James suggested Trump had not explored all of his options.
The imposition of a monitor could limit Trump’s ability to maneuver his money and his physical assets, as he attempts to secure the bond and pay his debts.
“Defendants shall not evade the terms of this Monitorship Order by transferring assets, reincorporating existing business entities in other forms or jurisdictions, modifying entity ownership, or any other form of restructuring or change in corporate form,” Engoron said in his order.
(NEW YORK) — Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Brett McAlpin was sentenced to about 27 years in prison during a hearing in federal court in Jackson, Mississippi, on Thursday for his role in the torture of two Black men, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
McAlpin is the fifth of six former law enforcement officers to be sentenced this week after pleading guilty to a total of 16 felonies related to the racially motivated torture and sexual assault of Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, as well as a subsequent plan to cover up their crimes. The sixth officer, former Richland police officer Joshua Hartfield, is set to be sentenced during a hearing on Thursday afternoon.
Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon was sentenced to 40 years in prison during a hearing in federal court in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday for his role in the torture of Jenkins and Parker, as well as the assault of another man during an incident in December 2022 during a traffic stop.
According to federal prosecutors, Dedmon was the organizer of both attacks has received the harshest sentence so far.
“I want to tell them I’m sorry for what they went through, what they are going through,” Dedmon said during the sentencing hearing, per WAPT. “If I [could] take every bit of it back, I promise I would.”
Malik Shabazz, the lead attorney representing victims Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, told ABC News in a statement following Dedmon’s sentencing that “history was made today in Mississippi.”
“The 40-year prison sentence given to ‘Goon Squad’ member Christian Dedman by Judge Thomas Lee for the sick and serious crimes committed against our clients Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker made history today,” Shabazz said, referencing the label that the group of officers gave themselves for their willingness to use excessive force. “All of these ‘Goon Squad’ sentences are sending a serious message to all rogue police and other ‘Goon Squads’ all over America, that justice is coming to you.”
Earlier on Wednesday, former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy Daniel Opdyke was sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison for his role in the incident.
Opdyke cried during the sentencing, according to WAPT, and said that his time in prison so far has helped him reflect on “how I transformed into the monster I became that night.”
“The weight of my actions and the harm I’ve caused will haunt me every day,” Opdyke told the victims. “I wish I could take away your suffering.”
Former Rankin County, Mississippi, sheriff’s deputy Christian Dedmon is also set to be sentenced on Wednesday, are the third and fourth defendants to be sentenced in the case.
Former Rankin County sheriff’s deputies Hunter Elward was sentenced on Tuesday to 241 months, or about 20 years, while Jeffrey Middleton received a 17 1/2-year sentence for his role in the incident, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.,”These defendants will spend 20 years and 17.5 years in prison for their heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement on Tuesday following the first round of sentencing.
“The Justice Department will hold accountable officers who violate constitutional rights, and in so doing, betray the public trust,” his statement concluded.
In their guilty pleas, the six former law enforcement officers admitted to breaking into a home where Jenkins and Parker were residing without a warrant after a white neighbor reported that the men were staying with a white woman and alleged “suspicious” activity. They then proceeded to arrest the two men “without probable cause” that they committed any crimes, according to the DOJ.
Some of the defendants were part of a group of shift officers who called themselves “The Goon Squad” because of their “willingness to use excessive force and not report it,” according to charging documents. The group was summoned by Dedmon to the home where Jenkins and Parker were residing, according to the DOJ, after McAlpin asked him to investigate.
During the incident, the officers beat Jenkins and Parker, mocked them with racial slurs, sexually assaulted them with a sex toy, forced them to strip naked and shower together and shocked them with Tasers for roughly 90 minutes while handcuffed, according to court documents obtained by ABC News. Jenkins was also shot in the mouth by Elward, per the DOJ.
Following the incident, the two victims faced false charges for months, according to the DOJ, stemming from the officers’ plan to cover up their actions by tampering with and planting evidence, including drugs and a gun.
ABC News has reached out to the officers but requests for comment were not returned.
Jenkins and Parker, along with their attorney Malik Shabazz, told reporters on Monday that they have been struggling with the enduring trauma of the brutal attack. Following Elward’s sentencing on Tuesday, the two men told Jackson ABC affiliate WAPT that justice has been done.
Elward, who pleaded guilty to the most serious charge in the indictment — discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence — stood up in the courtroom and apologized to the victims, according to WAPT, saying, “I hate myself for it. I accept my responsibility.”
Parker stood up and told Elward that he forgives him, and later that afternoon told WAPT that while he forgives “what is done,” Elward “still did what he did and he has to be punished.”
Asked if he also forgives Elward, Jenkins told WAPT, “I don’t know. No, no, because if he wouldn’t have got caught, he’d still be doing the same thing.”
The charges the officers pleaded guilty to include civil rights conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. They also pleaded guilty to similar state charges and are awaiting sentencing in the state case. State sentences will be served concurrently.
Dedmon, Elward and Opdyke also pleaded guilty to three additional federal felony offenses related to a separate incident that took place on Dec. 4, 2022, per the DOJ.
The U.S. The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the incident in Feb. 2023, along with the FBI, amid outrage from the community and as attorneys for Jenkins and Parker filed a notice of claim for a $400 million federal lawsuit.
“It’s in court, and we’re fighting,” Shabazz told ABC News on Monday when asked about the status of the lawsuit.
In an October 2023 response to the complaint obtained by ABC News, the officers denied the allegations alleged in the lawsuit.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump’s request for a lengthy adjournment of his criminal hush money trial in New York based on recently disclosed potential evidence is “a red herring” and part of a “strategic delay,” prosecutors said Thursday in a court filing.
Tens of thousands of pages recently turned over by federal prosecutors contain a “limited amount of new information” and do not warrant the months-long delay Trump is seeking, the filing said.
Trump last April pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment charging him with falsifying business records in connection with a hush money payment his then-attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 presidential election.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York recently produced several batches of materials related to its prosecution of Cohen.
Trump’s attorneys accused the Manhattan district attorney’s office of withholding evidence and demanded the delay, the dismissal of the indictment and limits on testimony Cohen and others can give. The district attorney’s office said the defense was pushing “wild and untrue allegations of misconduct and malfeasance” and urged the judge to reject Trump’s requests.
“Defendant’s accusations are wholly unfounded, and the circumstances here do not come close to warranting the extreme sanctions he has sought,” assistant district attorney Matthew Colangelo wrote.
New York Judge Juan Merchan last week delayed the start of the trial until at least mid-April, and prosecutors said that adjournment “is a more than reasonable amount of time for defendant to review the information.”
Prosecutors said most of what the U.S. attorney’s office turned over was “entirely immaterial, duplicative or substantially duplicative of previously disclosed materials.”
“[T]he People now have good reason to believe that this production contains only limited materials relevant to the subject matter of this case and that have not previously been disclosed to defendant: fewer than an estimated 270 documents, most of which are inculpatory and corroborative of existing evidence,” Colangelo wrote.
