Page 41 - Florida Sentinel 4-16-21

Crime
Man’s Death Ruled As A Murder
Boyfriend
Last Saturday, at approxi- mately 4:16 p.m., Lakeland Police officers responded to a missing person’s report. The case has since been ruled a murder.
The officers were dis- patched to the 500 block of West Crawford Street. When the officers arrived, they learned the missing person was last seen at around 7 a.m., that morning.
The person who filed the report also told police the vic- tim had not responded to texts or calls throughout the day. When she arrived home, she was unable to locate him and there was blood under a vehicle the victim had been working on in the driveway.
Police conducted a search of the area and discovered the body of a 42-year-old man in- side another vehicle. His body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s office, where an exam was con-
Of 2-Year-Old
500 block of West Crawford Street
Police have arrested a 30- year-old man and charged him in connection with the death of a 2-year-old. The child died last Friday. He died at Lakeland Regional Health a short time after arriving.
Detectives with the Lake- land Police Department, said the child was in the care of his mother’s boyfriend when he was injured. The boyfriend, identified as Alegray Jones, has been charged with aggra- vated manslaughter of a child.
According to police, dur- ing an interview after the child’s death, Jones said he became aggravated after the child urinated on the couch. Jones allegedly struck the child several times. When he realized the child was unre- sponsive, he sent a text mes- sage to the child’s mother, who was at work.
After receiving the text, the mother left work and went home, where she con-
National
ALEGRAY JONES
tacted 9-1-1.
Police said Jones never
made any attempts to get help for the child. He is currently being held at the Polk County Jail.
The investigation is con- tinuing. Anyone with infor- mation about the case is asked to contact Det. Tammy Hathcock (863) 834-6975; or Crime Stoppers at Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226- TIPS, or online at www.heart- landcrimestoppers.com.
ducted to determine the cause of death.
Police have not released any additional information on the victim.
The Medical Examiner ruled the death as a murder. Detectives are continuing their investigation, and are asking anyone with any infor- mation about the case to con-
tact Detective Troy Smith at (863) 834.8958.
Anyone wishing to pro- vide information about the case, but who wants to re- main anonymous can contact Heartland Crime Stoppers Florida at 1-800-226 TIPS (8477), or visit the website www.heartland- crimestoppers.com.
Charged In Death
3 Men Given 14 Years For Armed Robbery
Hundreds Of Companies Unite To Oppose Voting Restrictions
EDDRICK WRIGHT
Earlier this week, a fed- eral judge sentenced 3 men to more than a decade in prison.
All three had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of brandishing a firearm during a robbery.
According to a press re- lease, U. S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Hon- eywell sentenced Eddrick Wright, 22, -23, and Amere Benjamin, 22, all of Auburndale, to 14 years in prison.
KAYLOB DAVIS
According to court docu- ments, during the early morning of December 14, 2019, Wright, Davis, and Benjamin robbed two con- venience stores, about an hour apart. In each case, they entered the store, pointed firearms at the clerks, ordered them to open the registers, and took cash.
They also took products from the stores and personal property from the store em- ployees. During the rob- beries, the defendants wore
AMERE BENJAMIN
masks, including a Darth Vader mask.
Approximately two hours after the second robbery, Florida Highway Patrol pulled over a vehicle that Wright was driving and in which Davis and Ben- jamin were passengers.
During a search of the ve- hicle, the FHP trooper found firearms, a Darth Vader mask, credit cards, and a driver license belonging to the convenience store em- ployees.
Hundreds of prominent executives from high-profile companies, including Ama- zon, Google, BlackRock and Starbucks, signed a state- ment that opposes discrimi- natory legislation that makes voting harder.
The statement, printed Wednesday in an advertise- ment in the New York Times, was organized by Ken Chenault and Ken Fra- zier, two of America's most prominent Black corporate leaders. The statement called democracy a "beautifully American ideal" and for it to work, "we must ensure the right to vote for all of us."
"We all should feel a re- sponsibility to defend the right to vote and to oppose any discriminatory legisla- tion on measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to cast a ballot," it continued.
The statement, which is described as "nonpartisan," doesn't directly address any specific legislation, notably in Georgia, Texas, and other key states where Republican lawmakers are trying to clamp down on ballot access.
Wednesday's statement was a sign of solidarity after weeks of warring between Republicans and a smaller group of Georgia-based com- panies that spoke out after public pressure.
Three of those compa- nies, including Coca-Cola (KO), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Home Depot (HD), de- clined to add their names, ac- cording to the New York Times. All three are based in Georgia and were "wary be- cause of the blowback they had received after their ear- lier statements on voting rights but also did not feel the need to speak again," it reported.
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