Month: September 2021

R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury on Monday of racketeering in his sex trafficking trial. Kelly was found guilty of charges including sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, racketeering and sex trafficking involving five victims. He faces a possible sentence of 10 years to life in prison.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York successfully proved to a jury of seven men and five women that Kelly was a predator and the head of a criminal enterprise, whose purpose was to lure girls, boys and women to the R&B singer for his sexual gratification. Prosecutors portrayed Kelly as a predator who over a quarter-century subjected his victims to violent physical and sexual abuse, some of which he recorded.

In addition to awaiting sentencing on the case in NY, Kelly will face a second federal trial on charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice in Illinois. Some of those accusations are related to a 2008 child pornography trial in Chicago, in which he was acquitted of all charges. Kelly also faces outstanding criminal charges in both Cook County, Ill., where he was indicted by the state attorney in Feb. 2019 for aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims (three of them minors), and in Minnesota, where Mr. Kelly was charged in Aug. 2019 with engaging in prostitution with a minor.

Sentencing in New York is scheduled for May 4.

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A mother and her 2-year-old son fell to their deaths at Petco Park before the San Diego Padres’ home game against the Atlanta Braves. The San Diego police department said that shortly before 4 p.m. PT Saturday, police said they were notified that two people had fallen from the third-level concourse level, equivalent of six stories high, to the sidewalk. Two officers found the bodies of the woman, 40, and her son. The woman and boy were declared dead at the scene at 4:11 p.m. They were not identified but lived in San Diego.

Police Lt. Adam T. Sharki said that the mother and son had been at a dining/concession area on the concourse level while the child’s father was at the ballpark. A man told the San Diego Union-Tribune that his wife witnessed the fall, saying it appeared a toddler fell from an area with picnic tables, and the woman also fell trying to grab him.

The team said in a written statement Sunday:  “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life at Petco Park last evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of those involved. We will continue to refrain from comment on the nature of the incident as it is an ongoing investigation by the San Diego Police Department.”

Police said the deaths “appeared to be suspicious” and that the San Diego Police Homicide Unit were called to the scene “out of an abundance of caution.”  Investigators are looking for evidence and possible witnesses, and they are hoping to speak with people who were present when the fall happened, according to the statement.

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Family and friends gathered to mourn at the funeral of Gabby Petito in New York on Sunday, as a manhunt for her fiancé Brian Laundrie continues. In North Port, Fla., where Petito lived with Laundrie and his parents, mourners set up a memorial across from City Hall, leaving balloons, teddy bears and signs in her memory.

At the service held at Moloney’s Holbrook Funeral Home in Long Island, N.Y., Petito’s father remembered her passion for travel: “I want you to take a look at these pictures, and I want you to be inspired by Gabby,” her father, Joseph Petito said. “If there’s a trip you guys want to take, take it now. Do it now while you have the time. If there is a relationship that you’re in that might not be the best thing for you, leave it now.”  Joseph Petito on Saturday also announced the formation of ‘The Gabby Petito Foundation,’ which will aim to provide resources and guidance to families of missing children.

Prior to the ceremony, Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt posted to Facebook sharing a series of family photos as she thanked people who have shared support for the family online. “As I scroll through all the posts, my heart is full of love,” she wrote. “I wish I could reach out and hug each and every one of you!!! Your support has been so overwhelming and we are so filled with gratitude.”

Petito’s body was found in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park after her family reported her missing while she and Laundrie were on a cross-country road trip. Her death has been ruled a homicide. Laundrie, 23, has been named a person of interest by North Port Police after he returned home on Sept. 1 without her and the U.S. District Court of Wyoming issued an arrest warrant against him Wednesday after a federal grand jury indicted Laundrie on a single count of unauthorized access to a debit card and two bank accounts.

Authorities confirmed that at least two people were killed and 13 others were injured in a shooting at a Kroger grocery store in Collierville, Tennessee, about 30 miles east of Memphis.

According to Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane, the suspected shooter is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and that there were “very serious” injuries among those taken to the hospital. Twelve people were transported for injuries, while at least one person walked into the hospital. Law enforcement searched the shooter’s car, and Lane did not say what type of weapon the shooter used. Lane said he did not know how many people were in the store at the time of the shooting but said one Kroger employee was rescued from the roof of the building.

During a press conference, Police Chief Lane said customers hid in freezers and locked offices when the gunfire broke out at about 1:30 p.m. local time, police said. One employee fled to the roof and was escorted to safety by police.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent advisory panel has unanimously voted to recommend booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine for people aged 65 and older, along with long-term care facility residents, at least six months after their second dose. The panel also voted to recommend booster doses for people between the ages of 50 and 64 years old who have underlying medical conditions, at least six months out from their second dose.

The CDC’s recommendation follows authorization Wednesday night from the Food and Drug Administration, who approved the third shot for anyone 65 or older, as well as for people as young as 18, if they have a medical condition that puts them at risk of severe COVID-19 or if they work a frontline job that makes it more likely that they would get infected.

The CDC advisory panel’s vote follows weeks of debate amongst top health experts over who should get a booster dose and when.Advisory panelists voted to recommend the booster shot due to data showing the gradually waning immunity from the vaccine impacting the elderly and high risk groups.

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