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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Albuquerque firefighters acquitted in high-profile 2023 rape case
Jul. 8—Jurors acquitted two former Albuquerque firefighters Tuesday in a trial that hinged on the testimony of a woman who accused the men of raping her in 2023. Aden Heyman, 48, and Anthony Martin, 46, wept and hugged supporters and family members after a judge read verdicts finding both men not guilty on all counts. The 2nd Judicial District Court jury of four men and eight women deliberated only two hours following a trial that began June 23. The verdicts end a high-profile case that rocked the city in July 2023 when a woman told police she was raped by three former Albuquerque Fire and Rescue personnel following a charity golf tournament. The third former firefighter, Angel Portillo, 33, remains charged with three counts of criminal sexual penetration for his role in the incident. No trial has been scheduled in Portillo's case. Both defense and prosecution attorneys told jurors Tuesday that they needed to base their verdicts on the credibility of the alleged victim. "Testimony is evidence," Assistant District Attorney Crystal Cabrido told jurors. "There is no objective test for rape. At the end of the day, it all comes down to testimony." The alleged victim testified during the first two days of trial, describing how she drank alcohol until she blacked out, then found herself in Martin's dark bedroom where two of the men raped her. The woman told jurors she ran to a downstairs bathroom and fled the apartment through a bathroom window. Prosecutors argued that the woman had no incentive to lie about the encounter. Cabrido said the woman trusted the men "because they were firefighters and colleagues of her sister" who was a ranking member of Albuquerque Fire and Rescue. "Do you really believe that she's lying to you all?" Cabrito said of the woman's testimony. Defense attorneys told jurors on Tuesday that lying is indeed what the woman had done. "Consenting adults made a decision to have sex together, and then they did," Heyman's attorney, Jason Bowles, said in closing arguments. "She made a voluntary choice to have an encounter with those men." Bowles argued that she immediately regretted her decision to have sex with the men. "She didn't want this to get out to her boyfriend or around the fire department," he said. Bowles told jurors that the woman lied about her interaction with a nurse that performed the rape examination three days after the incident. "She walked into this courtroom and she looked you all in the eye and she lied to you," Bowles said in closing arguments. "When a witness who is a main complaining witness comes in and lies to you, that's really the end of the case. You cannot convict (Heyman) or Mr. Martin if you do not believe her." DNA evidence is irrelevant because Heyman admitted in his testimony that he and Portillo each had consensual sex with the woman, Bowles said. Jurors acquitted Heyman on two counts of criminal sexual penetration. Judge Britt Baca made the jury's job somewhat easier this week when she tossed the most serious charges against Martin of three counts of criminal sexual penetration. Jurors acquitted him of the last remaining charge of attempted criminal sexual penetration. Prosecutors alleged that the woman drank alcohol and eventually "blacked out" during a pool party at Martin's apartment complex following a charity golf tournament on July 15, 2023. "At some point at the pool she blacks out and at this point forward she only has flashes of memory," Cabrido said. She regained consciousness in Martin's bedroom and found the men raping her, she said. "She wakes up upstairs, no idea how she got there," Cabrido said. All three men were naked in the bedroom and Heyman was giving instructions to Portillo, she told jurors. The woman testified on June 23 that when she regained consciousness, she found Portillo having sexual intercourse with her and holding her hands above her shoulders. "Aden's voice was giving instructions," Cabrido told jurors. "For example, he was saying 'she likes it like that'," she said. Then Heyman took over and had "aggressive sexual intercourse" with her, Cabrido said. Cabrido said the three men knew the woman was blacked out. "These three men were working together," Cabrido said. Heyman is an Emergency Medical Technician and was trained to evaluate a person's state of mind, she said. "He should have known that she was intoxicated and unable to consent that night," Cabrido told jurors. Defense attorneys argued that the woman refused to take a blood test following the incident and delayed submitting to a rape examination until three days later. Bowles also argued that the woman lied about her interaction with the nurse who performed the rape examination. The woman testified that the nurse advised her not to provide a rape-kit examination, Bowles said. That testimony contradicted the nurse's testimony that the woman was concerned about cannabis showing up in the test results.
Fox News
16 minutes ago
- Fox News
Seven Chinese nationals charged in multimillion-dollar marijuana trafficking operation
Seven Chinese nationals living in Massachusetts have been charged in connection with a multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking organization that allegedly grew and distributed marijuana across the U.S. Northeast. "Today, we arrested members of an alleged Chinese-run drug trafficking organization who are accused of running a massive marijuana cultivation and distribution scheme that has raked in millions and contributed widely to the illegal drug trade here in the Northeast," Ted E. Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston Division, said in a statement. The scheme allegedly involved interconnected grow houses that cultivated and distributed marijuana. Chinese nationals were also allegedly smuggled into the U.S. for the purpose of working in these houses until they paid off their debts related to being smuggled into the country, according to an announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors say the accused individuals made millions of dollars from the marijuana sales, which they in turn used to buy cars, luxury homes, jewelry and other items, according to the DOJ. Each of the Chinese nationals were charged with one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Some were also indicted on additional charges, including bringing aliens into the country, money laundering and more. The defendants include Jianxiong Chen, 39; Yuxiong Wu, 36; Dinghui Li, 38; Dechao Ma, 35; Peng Lian Zhu, 35; Hongbin Wu, 35; and Yanrong Zhu, 47. Six defendants, excluding fugitive Yanrong Zhu, were arrested on Tuesday, according to the DOJ. A home in Braintree, Massachusetts, was reportedly the base of the drug-trafficking organization's operations. During a search of the home in October of last year, law enforcement discovered more than $270,000 in cash on the property as well as several Chinese passports. Searches of additional houses resulted in law enforcement finding nearly $200,000 in cash, more than 240 pounds of marijuana and a Rolex watch, according to the DOJ. Hongbin Wu and Yanrong Zhu were also reportedly stopped by law enforcement in June 2023 after leaving a Massachusetts grow house, at which point nearly $37,000 in cash was seized from them. "It is further alleged that the enterprise conducted bulk cash transactions with operators located in the Eastern District of New York," as noted in the announcement. The case is part of the nationwide initiative Operation Take Back America, established by the U.S. DOJ to address illegal immigration and combat transnational criminal organizations. The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Celtics' Al Horford somehow made the NBA 2K26 cover — twice
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA 2K26 headliner, the cover guy, the MVP highlighted as the face of the sport. But there's a player on the cover of the game twice, and it's not SGA. Social media sleuths quickly deduced that Celtics center Al Horford appears to have been used for two of the background images around Gilgeous-Alexander. That's pretty wild. Advertisement Horford has a pretty distinctive arm look on the court. It almost certainly is him at both those angles. How does that happen? MORE: Lakers buying out LeBron James makes no sense as a concept This cover probably didn't even need players around SGA, but in this case, why double down on Horford? Especially when another silhouette appears to be another Celtics center from this past season, Luke Kornet. It feels like weird decision-making all around. But at least Horford can say he was on the game's cover during his career. MORE NBA NEWS:
