African American News

Sep 27 2012

Shooter believed to be gang member

Detectives are searching for the shooter who brutally gunned down a 19-year-old special needs teenager sitting on a park bench in South Los Angeles.

The gunman, who ran up, opened fire with a handgun and then fled in a compact car, is believed to be a gang member, a police detective said.

The shooting was reported at 3:15 p.m. at 1535 W. 62nd St., said Los Angeles police Officer Rosario Herrera of the Media Relations section.

Sep 25 2012

Sedrick Bagby

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A South Los Angeles man was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for his role in an international identity theft and credit card fraud scheme targeting elderly cardholders, prosecutors said today.

Sedrick Bagby, 36, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, who also ordered Bagby to pay about $288,000 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Bagby pleaded guilty in June to a single count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, officials said.

Sep 25 2012

Alpha Lorenzo Walker and Tamara Eileen Diaz

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A cousin of Stevie Wonder and a female co-defendant were sentenced Monday to 292 days in county jail after pleading no contest to charges that they tried to extort millions of dollars from the singer.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William C. Ryan also ordered Alpha Lorenzo Walker, 38, to attend mental health sessions at least twice a week during his three-year probation.

Sep 25 2012

Multiple gunshot wounds

PALMDALE, Calif.—A shooting in Palmdale that took the life of a 17-year-old boy stemmed from a feud between neighbors, a sheriff's deputy said today.

The shooting was reported around 9 p.m. Monday in the 38100 block of Boxthorn Street, said Deputy Irys Alvarez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Deputies responding to a call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon found the victim, whose name was not released, with multiple gunshot wounds, Alvarez said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, she said.

Sep 25 2012

Conviction overturned and he was released last night

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck today ordered an internal investigation into the conviction of a man who was exonerated after spending 19 years behind bars for a 1993 gang-related killing, with the key witness saying he lied under pressure from police.

John Edward Smith, now 38, was convicted of murder and attempted murder for the drive-by shooting and, in 1994, was sentenced to life in prison. His conviction was overturned Monday and he was released last night.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”