Page 28 - Florida Sentinel 10-21-16 Online Edition

National
Kalief Browder’s Mom Dies After Suffering A Heart Attack
Man Given 20 Years For Road Rage Incident Against George Zimmerman
SANFORD, FL --- The man convicted of attempted sec- ond-degree murder for shoot- ing at George Zimmerman during a 2015 road rage inci- dent has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, WFTV re- ports.
According to the report, Matthew Apperson’s wife, Lisa, and his mother both ar- gued that the trial was unfair, with Lisa Apperson com- plaining about how her hus- band was painted by the media. She also accused wit- nesses of lying at her hus- band’s trial, calling “the amount of perjury” disturbing.
Back in September, a jury found Matthew Apperson guilty of attempted second-de- gree murder for shooting into an occupied vehicle, as well as of aggravated assault with a firearm.
Zimmerman, who was ac- quitted for the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, claimed that Apperson shot at him
Matthew Apperson in court on Monday to hear his sentence after being convicted of attempted 2nd degree murder of George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was found not guilty for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
unprovoked. Apperson in- sisted that he shot in self-de- fense.
As WFTV notes, it was Zim- merman’s notoriety from Trayvon’s case that report- edly made Apperson con-
cerned for his safety during the encounter with Zimmer- man months before the shooting. Zimmerman, Ap- person said, pulled up next to him as he was driving and threatened to shoot.
Vernida Browder died after suffering a heart attack. Her son, Kalief was held in Rikers Island for 3 years without a trial and committed suicide once being released.
NEW YORK --- The mother of Kalief Browder, who killed himself after spending three traumatic years in New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex, has died of a “broken heart,” her lawyer told the New York Daily News Sunday. Venida Browder, 63, died Friday at St. Barnabas Hospital in New York’s Bronx borough from complications of a heart attack, her lawyer, Paul Pres- tia, confirmed.
Browder’s son, Kalief, hanged himself with an air- conditioning cord at his Bronx home in June 2015 at the age of
22.
Kalief was just 16 when he
was jailed after being accused of stealing a backpack. He spent three traumatic years at Rikers Island without a convic- tion or even a trial for a crime he maintained he never com- mitted.
While at Rikers, Kalief was subject to solitary confinement and was reportedly abused by guards and inmates alike.
Jay Z recently announced that he would be producing a six-part documentary about Kalief’s life.
Michigan Woman Who Lied That She Was Kidnapped And Raped By 4 Black Men Gets 1 Year In Jail
FRUITLAND TOWNSHIP, MI --- A Michigan woman who said four black men kidnapped, raped and beat her for two days will spend a year behind bars for making the incident up, ac- cording to MLive.com.
Leiha Ann-Sue Artman, 25, pleaded guilty to making a false report of a felony, a crime punishable by up to four years. Even though Artman has a considerable rap sheet, the judge did not send her to prison, so she will do her year in the county jail.
Artman told investigators that she had been kidnapped on March 27, when four black men snatched her from her driveway and threw her in the trunk of their car. She claimed the foursome drove her to an unknown location, where they repeatedly raped and beat her.
The Fruitland Township, Mich., woman kept the farce going by sending her boyfriend text messages including selfies of herself bound, gagged and
Leiha Ann-Sue Artman
bleeding from the head. She begged the boyfriend to pay the “ransom” the kidnappers were asking for.
Artman eventually called the boyfriend to say that her abductors had dropped her near her home. He drove her to a hospital, where she told po- lice of the fabricated kidnap- ping.
She later admitted that she made the entire story up.
In addition to jail, Artman will be placed on probation for two years and pay a fine of $1,158.
Trio Charged In Shooting Of Teen Daughter Of Olympic Sprinter
LEXINGTON, KY --- Sun- day, three men were charged in connection with the shoot- ing death of Olympian sprinter Tyson Gay’s 15- year-old daughter, Trinity, the Washington Post reports.
Trinity was shot in the neck early Sunday morning outside the Cook Out restau- rant in Lexington, Ky.
Chazerae M. Taylor, 38; his 19-year-old son, D’markeo C. Taylor; and Dvonta Middlebrooks were all charged with wanton endangerment. Middle- brooks was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the Post, sev- eral shots were fired in the parking lot of the restaurant around 4 a.m. Trinity was pronounced dead at 4:41 a.m.
D’markeo C. Taylor, 19, Dvonta Middlebrooks and Chazerae M. Taylor, 38 have been charged in the shooting of Trinity Gay, the daughter of Olympic sprinter, Tyson Gay.
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