Latest news with #courtcase
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Harnett man charged with theft of vehicle
A southwest Harnett County man was charged with larceny of a motor vehicle stemming from June 20. Christopher David Yates, 52, of the 2200 block of Marks Road in southwest Harnett County, allegedly stole a while 2005 Chrysler 300 valued at $2,800 from Tyler McCandless, an arrest warrant states. Yates was held in the Harnett County Jail on $10,000 bond, but was not listed in the jail roster as of Friday morning, June 27. A misdemeanor second-degree trespassing charge against him stemming from March 3, 2024 was dismissed, according to eCourts. No reason was given. However, Yates made an Alford plea on April 7 to felony failure to report a death stemming from May 25, 2023. In that case, Sanford resident Silvanus Nicquan Verbal, 38, died, but he did not die of natural causes, according to a court document. In an Alford plea, one does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction. At that time, Yates listed an address in the 500 block of W. Main St. in Wallace in southeast North Carolina. He was arrested on May 27, 2023 and posted a $10,000 bond three days later. However, Yates failed to appear in court twice and was re-arrested on Sept. 8, 2023. He posted a $75,000 bond on Dec. 30, 2023. He was given credit for 118 days in jail and given a suspended sentence of four to 14 months and placed on unsupervised probation. He was ordered to pay fines and fees of $1,725. As of Friday, the amount due was $1,948, according to eCourts. Yates pleaded guilty on Oct. 11, 2022 to larceny by using a merchant's emergency exit door in Harnett County. He was given unsupervised probation for a year with credit for two days in jail. Felony charges of conspiracy and possession of stolen goods were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. According to a court document, Yates said he has a bachelor's degree in robotics.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
What Happened in the Closing Arguments of the Sean Combs Trial
The federal government and Sean Combs's defense team presented their closing arguments this week after extensive testimony in which the music mogul's ex-girlfriends said they were pressured to have sex with male escorts in drug-dazed marathon sessions. Mr. Combs is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, and has pleaded not guilty, saying the sexual encounters were consensual. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating on Monday, which will mark the eighth week of the trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Here are some key observations from the closing arguments: The Charges Sex Trafficking The federal prosecutor who delivered the government's closing argument on Thursday, Christy Slavik, emphasized to jurors that convicting Mr. Combs of sex trafficking required only one example of him coercing his girlfriends into sex with prostitutes. For examples of such coercion, Ms. Slavik pointed to Mr. Combs's 2016 assault on Casandra Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel that was captured on surveillance video, and a fight between 'Jane' and Mr. Combs in 2024 before he directed her to have sex with another man. Jane, who was identified by a pseudonym, testified that she repeatedly said 'I don't want to' before Mr. Combs asked, 'Is this coercion?' The next day, the defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo argued that Ms. Ventura, the singer known as Cassie, was a willing participant in the frequent sex sessions that Mr. Combs called 'freak-offs.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Maniac accused of decapitating his own parents shocks court as he debuts dramatic transformation
A man accused of decapitating his parents looked unrecognizable in court on Friday as he was pictured with a walker, a fuller frame and a full dark beard. Joseph Brandon Gerdvil, 41, is accused of brutally murdering his parents, Antoinette Gerdvil, 79, and Ronald Gerdvil, 77; deaths which horrified their community of San Juan Capistrano in Orange County, California. He appeared at the Superior Court of Orange County for a short pre-trial hearing in a bright green shirt, chains around his waist, and a walker to assist him after police shot him. Gerdvil's appearance is a stark contrast from the selfies he would share on social media before the gruesome attacks. The unimaginable murders occurred on the morning of July 9, when deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Office responded to a domestic assault call and found Gerdvil's parents and their dog mutilated and decapitated. Gerdvil was caught on police body camera footage only minutes later, covered in blood and chasing a maintenance worker nearby. Deputies responded and found the suspected killer driving a golf cart covered in blood. He was shot by police and transported to a local hospital before he was booked into jail for the double homicide. The gruesome footage revealed Gerdvil walking to the officer, covered in blood. Gerdvil was charged with double homicide in connection with his parents' gruesome murders last July The police officer screamed at the suspect to 'get on the ground' as he yelled incoherently. As he lay on the ground, the deputy directed him to get on his stomach and put his arms out. Officers then arrived on the scene, detained, and handcuffed Gerdvil, who was heard telling police, 'I'm sorry you're going to have to die.' While deputies inspected the suspect for his wounds, he told them, 'Just finish me off. Put one in my head. Put one in my head please. I beg of you.' Gerdvil then began to sing Tina Turner's hit song, What's Love Got to Do with It as officers performed first aid. The suspect was carrying a metal water meter when he charged at the officer. He was later reported to be stable but in serious condition at the hospital. Gerdvil was living with his parents in a mobile home community before their gruesome deaths. Authorities said they were tipped off to the deaths by a cousin, who allegedly received text messages depicting Gerdvil's mother covered in blood. The cousin told dispatchers that Gerdvil suffered from mental health issues and had a history of violence. One of the deputies who responded to the mobile home reported to a dispatcher that there was 'a head on the counter.' Gerdvil was arraigned for two murder charges two days after the shocking sequence of events. He entered a plea of not guilty in December and is due back in court for another pre-trial hearing on September 19.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Most shocking court cases in 2025 including puppy thief and paedo Bromley teacher
At the halfway point of 2025 we're looking back at six of the most shocking court cases the News Shopper has covered this year. They include a paedophile Bromley teacher, a prison guard who had a relationship with an evil murderer and a puppy thief. Prison workshop officer Hayley Jones (right) admitted having an inappropriate relationship with killer Jordan McSweeney (left) (Image: Met Police/PA) A HMP Belmarsh prison officer accused of having sex with evil murderer Jordan McSweeney for 10 months was jailed. Hayley Jones, 34, was a prison workshop officer at the high security prison in Thamesmead when CCTV footage caught her kissing, touching and playing with McSweeney – who was serving a life sentence for the brutal sexual assault and murder of 35-year-old Zara Aleena in Ilford. Footage also showed the pair leaving rooms which had no CCTV whilst adjusting their clothes. In a letter which was intercepted by guards, McSweeney told another prisoner that he had been 'f***ing the fat thing from the workshop' for 10 months. He also claimed she had been providing him with contraband such as a phone, 'man was living good' McSweeney wrote. Jones admitted kissing and touching took place between her and McSweeney but denies having sex with him or providing him with contraband. She was jailed for nine months. Read the full story here. Paedophile drama teacher Shaun Baker (Image: Met Police) A Bromley drama teacher who raped and sexually abused a pupil from the age of 12 was jailed. Shaun Baker was head of drama at Ravens Wood School in Keston when he groomed a student, made him engage in sexual activity, and raped him multiple times. Baker, now 50, committed the offences in the 2000s but he continued to teach until his arrest in 2021. A jury found Baker guilty of 14 offences including three rapes following a two-week trial at Croydon Crown Court. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Read the full story here. British bulldog puppy Spot was stolen from his owner by Francis Zeta (Image: Met Police/Newsquest) A man who stole a puppy in Orpington while threatening the owner 'stop me and I'll do you' finally admitted the crime five years on. On March 3, 2020, a man in his 30s was walking his weeks-old British bulldog puppy Spot when he noticed two men watching him from a white Mercedes. The dog walker ran away when the men got out of the car, one of them wielding something shiny which looked like a knife, but the men caught up and threatened him before driving off with Spot. Spot was later found wandering a street in Harlow, Essex, on his own and was returned to his owner relatively unharmed, albeit traumatised. Francis Zeta, 38, of Muir Road in Hackney, was arrested two later after being identified as the owner of the Mercedes, but he told police a man who looked just like him had taken his car and committed this dognapping. But in April, Zeta finally pleaded guilty to the robbery - the second man has never been identified. Zeta avoided prison due to his ill health. Read the full story. Shammah Nicholas (pictured) armed himself with two kitchen knives before carrying out a frenzied attack on shopkeepers at Burnt Ash Food and Wine Two Bromley shopkeepers were stabbed in a frenzied attack by a man angered that he was being watched to make sure he didn't steal. Shammah Nicholas' behaviour was described as 'depraved' by his own barrister. The court heard that 22-year-old Nicholas entered Burnt Ash Food and Wine with his sister at around 3.30pm on September 11, 2023. He took exception to that fact that two shopkeepers – men aged 49 and 55 – were observing them to ensure they didn't steal. After a violent confrontation instigated by Nicholas, he left the shop then returned minutes later armed with two large knives. CCTV played in court showed a shirtless Nicholas re-entering the shop just minutes after he left. He chased the shopkeepers around the off-licence in a frenzy, stabbing each of them multiple times before leaving. One shopkeeper was stabbed in the shoulder and still had the knife lodged in him when police arrived. The other was stabbed once in the arm and multiple times in the abdomen area - he said he thought he was going to die as blood was pouring out of him. 'I've lived in England for nearly 40 years and never experienced anything like this,' he said. Read the full story here. Carol Cue, 75, stole £21,000 of jewellery from one of her closest friends, including a ring which had belonged to her friend's dead brother (Image: Met Police) An Eltham pensioner stole £21,000 worth of precious jewellery from one of her closest friends and pawned it to fund a holiday. Elaine Peat, from Welling, had been friends with Carol Cue for over 50 years and said she treated her 'like a sister'. Elaine said she felt 'numb' when she discovered that Cue had been stealing priceless keepsakes from her jewellery box including a ring which had belonged to her dead brother. Cue then revealed she had pawned many of the items and had spent the money whilst staying at Elaine's holiday home in France. Cue, 75, pleaded guilty to theft and narrowly avoided being sent to prison by a judge who described her actions as 'mean and despicable'. Read the full story here. Fatih Hassan (Image: Met Police) A thug was jailed for repeatedly stabbing a dad in front of his eight-month-old baby at the Chislehurst War Memorial. Mekseb Eyobraya had arranged to meet his ex-partner at the memorial at 3pm on June 8 last year to pick up the baby. But her new man, Fatih Hassan, also turned up carrying a knife which he used to stab Mekseb in the thigh and back. There was no animosity between any of the parties prior to this meeting and lawyers were at a loss to explain what provoked Hassan to carry out the near-fatal attack. Hassan, 31, of Avalon Road in Orpington, was jailed for 14 years.
CTV News
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Just for Laughs founder goes to police after altercation at sex assault civil trial
Gilbert Rozon, founder of the Just for Laughs comedy festival, speaks to reporters at the Montreal courthouse on June 2, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi) The founder of the Just for Laughs comedy festival says he has filed a police complaint following an altercation at his civil trial. Ex-comedy mogul Gilbert Rozon is being sued for nearly $14 million by nine women alleging sexual assault. Actress Danie Frenette, one of the plaintiffs, hurled insults at Rozon during a break in the trial on Thursday. Rozon told reporters he filed a complaint with police against Frenette's husband over a physical altercation that allegedly occurred outside the courtroom. The civil lawsuit is the latest in a winding legal battle that began as a class action but was converted into individual suits after a 2020 Quebec Court of Appeal ruling. Also in 2020, a Quebec court judge found Rozon not guilty of rape and indecent assault connected to events alleged to have taken place in 1980 involving Annick Charette. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
