ALABAMA/GEORGIA
Former NFL player Buster Barnett’s wife, Sandra, was killed last week by his mistress, who then committed suicide. It all happened after a police chase that began in Georgia and ended tragically in Alabama. Lisa Brown allegedly kidnapped Sandra Barnett, 49, at her Ellenwood home and drove off in a Dodge Durango owned by Buster Barnett. Police spotted the SUV on Interstate 20 and pursued it through Georgia and into Alabama. At one point in Alabama, Brown stopped and fatally shot Barnett, a special needs teacher. She then turned the gun on herself. Reportedly, Brown was upset because the former Buffalo Bill would not leave his wife.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
President Barack Obama met last week with Emma Didlake, a 110-year-old Black woman who is the oldest living veteran in the United States. The president called her “110 years young.” Didlake joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942 when she was 38 and had five children. She served as a driver and earned the Corps’ Service Medal, American Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. She also became a member of the NAACP in Detroit and marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
FLORIDA
Leonard Hamilton, the legendary college basketball coach from the University of Miami and Florida State, has partnered with Kyle Bynoe, a music producer, to launch 5ive Ocean Music Group. Both Hamilton and Bynoe were looking for a way to produce gospel music through their own record label, so the duo teamed up to launch 5ive Ocean with the motto, “reaching the world and touching the heart.” Six artists have already been signed in the areas of praise and worship, gospel and Christian rap.
GEORGIA
Atlanta’s WSB-TV released a report last week indicating that Young Thug and Birdman of Cash Money Records schemed to kill Lil Wayne. The 30-count indictment also mentions Jimmy Winfrey, who allegedly pulled up to Wayne’s tour bus as it left an
Atlanta nightclub in April and fired multiple gunshots. The indictment states that Winfrey and “fellow Blood gang members entered Interstate 285 from Atlanta Road in Cobb County in pursuit of the buses occupied by [Lil Wayne’s] group … The white sports car pulled along side of the buses, shots were then fired into the buses from the sports car …”
MICHIGAN
The Detroit mom who murdered two of her children and then hid their bodies in a freezer for years has been given a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Mitchell Blair was charged in March when crews evicting her found the two bodies. The victims were 13 and 9 years old. Blair said she killed the children for sexually abusing their siblings — she has two other children — although she said she hadn’t witnessed such abuse. She told the court, “I don’t regret none of this … I don’t feel no remorse for the death of them demons.” Her two surviving children, ages 8 and 17, have been placed with an aunt.
MISSISSIPPI
Tensions continue to rise in Stonewall following Jonathan Sanders’ burial. Sanders, an African American, died after an encounter with a White police officer. Several witnesses say that Kevin Herrington, an officer with the area police, pulled Sanders off of his horse-drawn buggy for no reason. While the two struggled on the grass, Herrington reportedly choked Sanders to death. Herrington has been put on unpaid leave while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the FBI investigate. The Sanders’ family attorney said that the coroner considers their loved one’s death a homicide by strangulation and not an accidental death.
NEVADA
Medical examiners in Las Vegas have declared that legendary blues musician B.B. King was not poisoned, as some of his family members said when he died in May. The coroner’s office said that King died of natural causes, and there was no evidence of foul play. Two of King’s children also unsuccessfully contested his will, which indicated he left much of his estate to his longtime manager, LaVerne Tone. King was 89 when he passed.
NEW YORK
Rapper Pitbull spoke out against Donald Trump during an Univision awards ceremony last week. After winning an honor at the event, the rapper remarked, “I’m not a politician, I’m a musician, but most of all I’m Latino. For all the culture out there: Marco Rubio, put the batteries on; Jeb Bush, put the batteries on; Hillary Clinton, put on your batteries, because Donald Trump cannot be president. And Trump: beware of El Chapo, papo!” Trump, a Republican presidential candidate who’s made inflammatory remarks about Mexican immigrants, reportedly received a threat from drug kingpin El Capo, who recently escaped from a Mexican prison.
NORTH CAROLINA
Jury selection began this week in the manslaughter trial of Randall Kerrick, a White, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man in 2013. On Sept. 14, 2013, Jonathan Ferrell, had a car accident and sought help in an area near Charlotte. A resident called police after Ferrell, a former Florida A & M football player, knocked on her door. Three officers arrived, including Kerrick, who fatally shot Ferrell after the ex-athlete walked towards them. A grand jury indicted Kerrick in January 2014. The city also awarded Ferrell’s family a settlement of $2.25 million.
PENNSYLVANIA
An attorney for about 80 minority employees of American Airlines has contacted U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, claiming they have faced discrimination. The letter represents maintenance, catering and baggage workers at Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., facilities of the airline. The letter calls for an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and accuses managers at AA of using the N-word and other offensive words in the presence of minorities. The employees also complained that the terminal where they worked had racially segregated break rooms, control rooms, teams and job assignments. American Airlines has denied the allegations.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Black Panthers and the Ku Klux Klan recently clashed in the state’s capitol over the Confederate flag, taken down earlier this month by order of the state Legislature. According to NBC News, about 50 of the Loyal White Knights of the KKK went to the capitol steps waving rebel banners, a Nazi symbol, and yelling racial slurs. They arrived just as another group — which NBC labeled as a “Black Panther group” — wrapped up an event called “Countering the Attack on Black Unity Rally.” Police encouraged the Panthers to move behind barricades to prevent the two groups from physically clashing.
TEXAS
The death of a young black woman named Sandra Bland is making headlines. Authorities at the Walker County Jail in Hempstead claim that Bland hung herself while in custody after her arrest for allegedly kicking an officer during a traffic stop. But family and friends say the 28-year-old was about to start a new job and had no reason to kill herself. The Texas Rangers and the FBI are now investigating. The Associated Press reports that Bland possibly suffered from PTSD. The case will likely end up in the hands of a grand jury.
The ex-fiancée of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick has been ordered to stay at least a football field (100 yards) away from him. In this case, the lady — Draya Michele — is the one accused of domestic violence. Reports from TMZ allege
that Michele allegedly caused Scandrick “bodily harm” by throwing candles, books and a jewelry box at him. He also says that she threatened to throw bleach in his eyes and once ruined his clothing by tossing them into the pool of the home they formerly shared.
VIRGINIA
A Richmond woman received the best birthday gift ever — a lottery ticket from her son that turned out to be a winner to the tune of $5 million. Cynthia Cooper said she was in shock. “I got nervous,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it was really happening.” Her son bought the ticket at an area Walmart on July 4, but she didn’t scratch it until her birthday five days later. Cooper said she will take a vacation to celebrate.
Compiled by Carol Ozemhoya.
