Raymond Sherman Jr

Jan 22 2013

Four other co-defendants have also pleaded not guilty

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A man accused of sexually assaulting an employee during a robbery at a Nordstrom Rack in Westchester, in which 14 employees were taken hostage, pleaded not guilty today to 19 felony charges.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered Raymond Sherman Jr., 34, to remain jailed on $4.78 million bail pending his next court appearance Jan. 28, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require him to stand trial.

Jan 15 2013

One suspect to be extradited from Arizona

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Five people were charged today in connection with a violent armed robbery at a Nordstrom Rack store in Westchester, where 14 employees were held hostage and one was sexually assaulted.

Troy Marsay Hammock, 29, and Everett Oneal Allen, 24, were charged with 14 counts each of second-degree robbery and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon.

Across Black America

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

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.