Tag: murder

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Derek Chauvin Found Guilty On All Charges

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer has been convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin was captured on video last May kneeling on the neck of Floyd during the course of an arrest until he lost consciousness and died. From the New York Times:

After deliberating for about 10 hours over two days following an emotional trial that lasted three weeks, the jury found Mr. Chauvin, who is white, guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter for the killing of Mr. Floyd, a Black man, on a street corner last year on Memorial Day.

Mr. Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in the coming weeks but is likely to receive far less time. The presumptive sentence for second-degree murder is 12.5 years, according to Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines, although the state has asked for a higher sentence.

Read the full article here. Derrick Johnson, CEO and president of the NAACP, issued this statement:

“While justice landed Derek Chauvin behind bars for killing George Floyd, no amount of justice will bring Gianna’s father back. The same way a reasonable police officer would never suffocate an unarmed man to death, a reasonable justice system would recognize its roots in white supremacy and end qualified immunity. Police are here to protect, not lynch. We will not rest until all in our community have the right to breathe.”

#Justice

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Verdict Reached In Derek Chauvin Trial

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (screen capture)
The jury in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with manslaughter and murder charges for the death of George Floyd, has reached a verdict in less than a day. The verdict will be read at 4:30 pm ET. From NBC News:

The panel of seven women and five men began deliberating Monday after three weeks of witness testimony.

Chauvin is charged with second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The third-degree murder charge had initially been dismissed, but it was reinstated after an appeals court ruling in an unrelated case established new grounds for it days before jury selection started.

Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. Third-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 25 years. Second-degree manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years.

Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as Floyd, who was Black, was handcuffed and lying on the ground.

During the trial, prosecutors called 38 witnesses. The defense called seven witnesses, two of whom were experts.

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Podcast: Country Star TJ Osborne Comes Out, Pete Buttigieg & More

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' In this episode of The Randy Report podcast: • Country music star TJ Osborne comes out as gay • Pete Buttigieg becomes first openly gay White House Cabinet member approved by the Senate • President Biden issues memorandum promoting/protecting LGBTQ rights abroad • Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says passing The Equality Act is a “priority” • A white Florida man shoots and kills his Black lover but only gets one year in prison • Out singer/songwriter John Duff drops his latest pop bop, “Do It” All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report You can subscribe/listen to The Randy Report on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud and wherever you find your favorite podcasts. If you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, please consider sharing with your friends or on social media 🙂

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White Man Claims Self-Defense In Shooting Death Of Black Lover, Gets 1 Year In Prison

Gardner Kent Fraser
Gardner Kent Fraser
Gardner Kent Fraser (mug shot)

Folks are outraged over the one-year prison sentence given to a white Florida man who shot and killed his Black male lover.

Gardner Kent Fraser, 32, was charged with – and pleaded guilty to – tampering with evidence in the investigation of the 2018 shooting (and killing) of 31-year-old Dominic Jerome “DJ” Broadus Jr.

But Fraser was never charged for the actual killing of Broadus. Fraser told investigators he shot Broadus in self-defense, and under Florida’s ‘stand your ground law,’ prosecutors are tasked with proving the accused wasn’t acting in self-defense.

A spokesman for the 4th Judicial Circuit issued a statement regarding the charges filed which read, in part, “The investigation has not generated evidence to disprove Fraser’s claim of self-defense.”

“The evidence in this case, Fraser’s unwavering claims of self-defense, and Florida law do not provide support for homicide charges,” added the spokesman. “We are ethically prohibited from instituting criminal charges that we cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”

Dominic Broadus Sr, the father of the victim, said Fraser “fatally shot my son in the back of the head twice” to “hide his feminine, bisexual nature.”

He added Fraser attempted to “destroy any evidence of their relationship by deleting all text from his phone and destroying/hiding my son’s phone, then calling three people before reporting the shooting to the proper authorities.”

After shooting Broadus, Fraser was asked if he knew the victim. “Ahh, I believe I do” was his reply.

Police say Fraser got rid of Broadus’s phone in an effort to hide communications between the two men. Even without Broadus’s phone, police were able to determine via forensic analysis of Fraser’s phone that the two men had been involved in an intimate relationship.

Although Fraser had deleted text messages from his own phone, investigators were able to recover 115 phone calls and 35 text messages between the men from Fraser’s phone. According to reports, many of the messages and images were “sexual in nature.”

Broadus Jr.
Dominic Jerome ‘DJ’ Broadus Jr. (image via family)

Because Fraser is the son of a retired Baker County police deputy, the case was turned over to the 4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson in an effort to avoid the appearance of conflict of interest.

But many locals say they believe prejudice and racial bias still came into play in the case.

Anita “Baker” McGoogin, who co-organized protests in support of the Broadus family, told News4Jax, “It’s brought light on to what everyone already knows: The prejudice is here. The racism, that’s here. The favoritism, that’s here.”

Additionally, The Root has reported that Fraser’s family has “deep ties to the Ku Klux Klan.”

At his sentencing, Fraser was adjudicated as guilty, and sentenced to one year in county jail to be followed by 4 years supervised probation with community service.

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News Round-Up: September 28, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • Outsports: Major League Baseball ended its regular season on Sunday after a COVID-shortened 60 games and for the first time since the 2016 season, there were no players involved in any recorded, on-field anti-gay controversies. Granted, we still have the playoffs to go, but the only notable incident involved Cincinnati Reds announcer Thom Brennaman. • NY Daily News: A Bronx man is accused of hacking to death with a machete a man he met on Grindr — and his roommate walked in on the bloody aftermath. Juan Alonso, 50, was charged Monday with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. Cops are still trying to identify his victim. • Insider: Two New Jersey police officers pleaded guilty last week to smashing windows and slashing tires on cars owned by a man who had complained about them. As a part of the plea agreement, neither men will be able to work public service in the state. • Politico: A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found that just 20 percent of voters said that they believed the winner of the presidential election will be called on election night, while 66 percent said they expect it to happen sometime later, 19 percent believe it will be the next day, and 26 percent believe it will be between two and seven days after the polls close. •  The Hill: A new New York Times/Siena College poll shows Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in the vital battleground state of Pennsylvania by 9 points (49-40). The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Biden with a 5.3 percentage point lead in the Keystone State. • Netflix: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, an organization near and dear to my heart, invites you to “Grab a drink (or two) with the spectacular cast of Netflix’s The Boys in the Band during #SipInWithTheBoys!” The livestream at 8 pm Eastern on October 2 benefits Broadway Cares and The Actors Fund.

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News Round-Up: September 15, 2020

L-R Blake Lee, Ben Lewis (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • TVLine: Blake Lee (Parks and Recreation, Mixology) and Ben Lewis (Arrow, Shadowhunters) – a married couple in real life (above) – have been announced to star in Lifetime’s first-ever holiday movie with an LGBTQ storyline, The Christmas Setup. Fran Drescher, of The Nanny fame, will play Lewis’s mother in the TV flick. • Boy Culture: Madonna’s biopic has been fast-tracked by Universal, and today we learn not only is the Queen of Pop co-writing the script with Diablo Cody, but Madge will direct the film of her life as well. • LGBTQ Nation: A city councilwoman in Minot, North Dakota, came out & delivered an epic smackdown to man complaining about a Pride flag. “So Mr. Walker, if you’re not aware, and I think a lot of people in this room are not aware and have come here just because this is a gay issue, I am proudly the first openly elected lesbian in North Dakota. So that is why I am not paying any heed to your crap.” • Pew Research: A new 13-nation Pew Research Center survey indicates America’s reputation has declined among many key allies and partners since Donald Trump took office. In several countries, the share of the public with a favorable view of the U.S. is as low as it has been at any point since the Center began polling on this topic nearly two decades ago. • Edge Media: An Italian man has been accused of killing his 18-year-old sister in a rage because she was dating a transgender man. The suspect told authorities that he “wanted to teach her a lesson.” • CNBC: More on the death of civility – CNBC host Jim Cramer called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “Crazy Nancy” to her face during an interview on Tuesday morning — a derogatory term usually used by Donald Trump. The Mad Money host was asking Pelosi about stalled negotiations on a 4th coronavirus stimulus package when the nickname popped out. “What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy — I’m sorry, that was the president,” Cramer said, realizing the moment didn’t play as well as he’d planned in his head. “I have such reverence for the office, I would never use that term.” Pelosi (D-Calif.) stayed calm telling Cramer: “But you just did. But you just did.”

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Sen. Ron Johnson Refuses To Condemn 17-Year-Old Vigilante

CNN’s Dana Bash and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
During an interview on CNN’s. ‘State of the Union,’ Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) refused to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Donald Trump cultist who has been charged with the murders of two Black Lives Matter protestors early this week. Host Dana Bash repeatedly asked if he condemned the shooting and Johnson would only refer to the incident as a vague “tragedy.” BASH: “The 17-year-old accused of committing two murders was a Trump supporter. Do you condemn that?” JOHNSON: “It is a tragedy.” BASH: “Do you condemn it? JOHNSON: It’s a tragedy.” BASH: “It is a tragedy, but do you condemn it?” JOHNSON: “The entire situation is a tragedy.”

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Gay Couple Murdered In Possible Bungled Burglary

L-R Christian Pandolfino, Ivor Maciejowski (image via Instagram)
A gay couple living in Malta were the victims of a grisly murder with no clear motive. Ivor Maciejowski and Christian Pandolfino were found dead from gunshot wounds in their home in Sliema around 10:30 pm on August 18. The Times of Malta reports that Pandolfino had gone to dinner with visiting family members while Maciejowski had remained at home. Pandolfino returned early on his own, and by the time his family arrived back at the residence, the two men were already dead. Surveillance footage reportedly shows three people leaving the crime scene, climbing into a car where a fourth person was waiting to drive them away. The website LovinMalta reports two people have been charged with the double murder, Daniel Muka and Victor Dragomanski. Police believe a third suspect might have fled the country. Pandolfino had worked as a doctor in the UK before transitioning into investment banking. He subsequently returned to Malta where he owned an extensive collection of art. Maciejowski, 30, was a contemporary art dealer who had run an online art gallery until last year. According to reports, the couple had been together for four years. An LGBTQ community Facebook page for Malta shared the news of the murders and initially, there were suspicions that the incident might have been a hate crime. But since then, there has been speculation that the murders might have been the result of a bungled burglary as the couple often showed off their art collection on social media.

The comments on the Facebook page reveal the couple, both avid bodybuilders, had been popular in the community and were often seen at MedAsia Playa beach club. One commenter wrote, “They were so kind to me,” and another responded saying, “Dear Chris and Ivor we shall miss you tremendously.” One friend described the couple as “beautiful, kind souls” and “amazing people that loved each other very much.” (Source: Times of Malta)

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17-Year-Old Charged With Murder Of Wisconsin Protesters

Kyle Rittenhouse (image via Twitter)
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17,  has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after opening fire on a group during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last night, killing two people and injuring a third. From CBS News:

The post did not name the 17-year-old, who they said is an Antioch resident. But the Lake County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s office said Kyle Rittenhouse was in bond court this morning regarding being a fugitive from justice in Wisconsin, and is being held on no bond. He was due back in court for an extradition hearing on Friday.

Cellphone video that circulated on social media showed what appeared to be a White man with a semi-automatic rifle opening fire on a group of people during demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The man with the gun is then seen walking toward responding police vehicles, at times with his hands in the air, as some police vehicles drive past him.

Sheriff David Beth said one victim was shot in the head and another in the chest, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The third victim’s wounds were not believed to life-threatening.

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News Round-Up: August 6, 2020

InstaHunks Gymbear79 ‘social-fitnessing’ (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Yes, Wes Dupree (“Gymbear79”) is practicing his “social-fitnessing.”  Good on him… • The Wrap: Ratings for The Ellen DeGeneres Show sunk to a new series low last month following a bombshell Buzzfeed News report about the toxic work environment behind the scenes. Ratings for the talk show were down 9% from the prior week and a glaring -29% from the same week last summer. • Gay Star News: The Democratic Party has unveiled its platform for November’s elections and it is the most LGBT+ inclusive ever including major pledges to reverse Donald Trump’s anti-LGBTQ policies, ban ‘conversion therapy’, AND pass the Equality Act. • Winnipeg Sun: Former WWE pro wrestler Marty Jannetty posted (then deleted) on social media that at the age of 13 he murdered a gay man he was buying weed from after an alleged sexual assault. • NBC News: Facebook removed hundreds of fake accounts linked to conservative media outlet The Epoch Times that pushed pro-Trump conspiracy theories about coronavirus and protests in the U.S. Facebook took down the accounts as part of its enforcement against the use of fake accounts to inflate the reach of content or products on social media. The Epoch Times is owned by the virulently anti-LGBTQ Falun Gong cult, which also produces the touring acrobatics show, Shen Yun. • Cognitive Decline: Just days after Donald Trump was mocked for mispronouncing Yosemite National Park as “Yo-semites,” the Trumpster – who accuses former Vice President Joe Biden of not being mentally on point – referred to Thailand as “ThighLand.”