Page 16 - aua traveller july 17

INDICTMENT LINKS
2 RAPPERS TO SHOTS INTO
LIL WAYNE’S BUSES

AN indictment says a man charged with shooting into Lil Wayne’s tour buses on a Georgia

highway called cellphones linked to two rival rappers before and after the gunfire.
Jimmy Carlton Winfrey is charged with aggravated assault, racketeering and other crimes. The
indictment says the gunshots following Lil Wayne’s Atlanta performance April 26 stemmed
from feuding between him and rappers Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Williams,
and Birdman, whose name is Bryan Williams. Neither has been charged in the case.
The June 25 indictment says Winfrey called cellphones connected to Young Thug before
the shootings and called a cellphone owned by Birdman afterward.
Lil Wayne and 11 others were on the two buses. No one was hurt.
An attorney for Winfrey declined to comment Thursday.

DOG DRAMA:
JOHNNY DEPP’S WIFE CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING POOCHES

JOHNNY Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, has been those things into account.” Australia has strict quaran- treatment here. You come into our nation, you have to
tine regulations to prevent diseases such as rabies from abide biosecurity protocols.”
charged with illegally bringing the couple’s dogs to spreading to its shores. Bringing pets into the country The prosecutor’s office would not answer questions
Australia - an incident that captured global attention involves applying for a permit and quarantine on ar- about why Depp wasn’t charged, citing the ongoing na-
after the nation’s agriculture minister angrily ordered rival of at least 10 days. The doggie debacle began in ture of the case. The Department of Agriculture, which
the pooches to get out of the country or face death. May, after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce accused conducted the investigation, also declined to comment,
Heard was charged this week with two counts of il- Depp, 52, of smuggling the couple’s Yorkshire terriers saying the decision on charges was up to prosecutors.
legally importing Pistol and Boo into Australia and aboard his private jet when he returned to Australia to In an interview last month, Heard said she and Depp
one count of producing a false document, the Com- resume filming of the fifth movie in the “Pirates of the planned to avoid Australia as much as possible in the
monwealth Department of Public Prosecutions said Caribbean” series. “If we start letting movie stars - even future “thanks to certain politicians there.”
Thursday. The importation charges carry a maximum though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice - to “I guess everyone tries to go for their 15 minutes, in-
penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Aus- come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we cluding some government officials,” the 29-year-old
tralian dollars ($75,000). The false document charge, just break the laws for everybody?” Joyce said at the actress told Australia’s Channel 7.
which relates to information on an incoming passenger time. “It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back A representative for Depp did not immediately respond
card, carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and to the United States.” to a request for comment on Thursday.
a fine of AU$10,200. Heard was issued a summons to Officials gave Depp and Heard 72 hours to send Pistol Heard’s Los Angeles-based representative also did not
appear in a Queensland court on Sept. 7. Her lawyers and Boo back to the U.S., warning that the dogs would immediately respond to an email sent after business
could petition the court to appear on her behalf, but be euthanized if they weren’t. A Department of Agri- hours.
given the seriousness of the charge, it’s likely she’ll need culture officer later escorted the tiny terriers from the
to appear in person, particularly if she is in Australia at couple’s mansion on Queensland’s Gold Coast to the Friday, July 17 2015 - ARUBA TRAVELLER
that time, said Bill Potts, a criminal defense attorney airport, where they boarded a flight to the U.S. just
based in the Queensland capital, Brisbane. hours before the deadline.
Even if she is convicted, Heard is unlikely to face a Joyce’s comments were parodied worldwide, prompted
lengthy jail term since the dogs were flown back to the a petition to save Pistol and Boo and sparked the social
U.S. before a 72-hour deadline, Potts said. media hashtag (hash)WarOnTerrier.
“The seriousness of the offense is not whether two little Joyce dismissed suggestions on Thursday that charging
puppies - who look like they could give you a nasty nip Heard made Australia look mean.
on the ankle - are dreadful animals, it’s about the risk to “The law is the same for everybody,” he told reporters
biosecurity,” Potts said. “Was there a risk? Potentially, in the western city of Perth. “There is no preferential
but not actually. And I’m sure the court will take all of

16 INTERNATIONAL