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Newark schoolyard slayings defendant sentenced to 155 years in prison

Jose Carranza was sentenced to 155 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of the Newark schoolyard slayings that killed three friends.

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newark schoolyard slayings, NJ schoolyard killings defendant sentenced to 155 years in prison

New Jersey superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin has sentenced Jose Carranza to 155 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of the Newark schoolyard slayings that killed three friends.

Carranza, 32, an undocumented person from Peru, was the fifth to plead guilty to the brutal slayings of Iofemi Hightower, 20, Terrence Ariel, 18, and Dashon Harvey, 20 in August 2007. A sixth defendant is still waiting to be tried.

Authorities say it was the eyewitness account from the survivor, and fingerprints on a beer bottle that helped convict Carranza. He is the only one charged out of the six who never spoke to police.

When the verdict was announced, family members of the victims exalted :

“Today is his judgment day,” Harvey said of Carranza. “That night he executed our kids in the playground. They wanted to be judge and jury that night of our kids, of our good kids. Today, it’s payback and this is where we turned the tables around on him. All the pain, anxiety and fear that our kids felt that night, he felt in the courtroom this afternoon.”

— NJ.COM

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Carranza was sentenced to 45 years for each three counts of murder plus 20 years for four counts of robbery. The judge weighed in Carranza’s lack of remorse and high risk of re-offending for the harsh sentence.

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Prosecutors say all of those convicted and charged with the crimes were associated with the gang, MS-13.

newark schoolyard slayings

Iofemi Hightower, Terrence Ariel, Natasha Ariel, and Dashon Harvey were hanging out at the Mount Vernon School in Newark, NJ when they were approached by the men. There would only be one lone survivor, Natasha Ariel, who played a crucial role in bringing the men to justice. All four victims were either attending or planning to attend Delaware State University. Natasha Aeriel, now 23, graduated from the university in May 2010.

The Newark schoolyard slayings was one of the most horrific crimes in the city’s history.

Jose Carranza will not be eligible for parole for at least 107 years.


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Unheard Voices Magazine is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Unheard Voices is an award-winning news magazine that started in 2004 as a local Black newsletter in the Asbury Park, Neptune, and Long Branch, NJ areas to now broaden into a recognized Black online media outlet. They are the recipient of the NAACP Unsung Hero Award and CV Magazine's Innovator Award for Best Social Justice Communications Company.

Crime & Justice

Investigation Discovery in production on docuseries about Sean “Diddy” Combs amid allegations

Leading true crime network Investigation Discovery has announced it is in production on a docuseries exploring the rise and influence of Sean “Diddy” Combs.

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Diddy docuseries
Photo Credit: Cannes Lions Learnings, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons | Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfeuoy4HkwM]

Investigation Discovery has announced that it has partnered with Maxine Production on a docuseries exploring the rise and influence of Sean “Diddy” Combs and the allegations of violent behavior and illegal activity that have trailed the music mogul.

Combs, 54, was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on the night of Monday, Sept. 16. He’s charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Sean “Diddy” Combs Docuseries

As accounts of sexual assault, abusive behaviors, and other disturbing claims surface, the docuseries traces the story of this self-proclaimed Bad Boy, unraveling allegations of a pattern of depravity. The multipart docuseries is set to premiere in 2025 on ID and Max.

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Furthering ID’s commitment to elevating survivors’ stories, the docuseries will feature the voices of many who have alleged acts of violence and brutality.

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Through access to archival footage and in-depth reporting from Rolling Stone, along with harrowing testimony from survivors as well as friends and colleagues who knew and worked with Combs before his stardom, the multi-part docuseries will offer insight into unfolding allegations against the once untouchable superstar.

It will also highlight the toxic power dynamic that played out within the industry and kept many survivors silenced – until now.

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The project is being produced for ID by Maxine Productions and IPC in association with Rolling Stone Films.

Combs has pled not guilty to the charges and is ordered to remain behind bars until trial. He faces up to life imprisonment if convicted on the top charge.


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Crime & Justice

Woman who fatally shot neighbor Ajike Owens found guilty of manslaughter

An all-white jury in an Ocala, Fla., found Susan Lorincz, 60, guilty of manslaughter after two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

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Susan Lorincz Ajike Owens
Ajike "AJ" Owens | Susan Lorincz : Marion County Sheriff's Office

Susan Lorincz, the Florida woman who fatally shot her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens through a closed door in June 2023 in an ongoing feud about the victim’s children playing outside their homes, was found guilty Friday, Aug. 16.

Found guilty

An all-white jury in an Ocala, Fla., found Lorincz, 60, guilty of manslaughter after two-and-a-half hours of deliberations.

After the verdict, Lorincz appeared to shrug her shoulders before she left the courtroom with correctional officers, reports ABC News.

“Oh, God! Thank you, Jesus!” Pamela Dias, Owens’ mother, yelled after Lorincz left the room.

“Today, our family can sleep a little better knowing that Susan Lorincz will no longer be a threat to our community, especially to my grandchildren,” Dias told ABC News. “While this verdict does not bring my daughter AJ back to us, it does bring a sense of peace that we have long sought,” she said.

“The defendant’s choices have left four young children without their mother, a loss that will be felt for the rest of their lives,” State Attorney William Gladson said in a statement. “While today’s verdict can’t bring AJ back, we hope it brings some measure of justice and peace to her family and friends.”

Trial for shooting Ajike “AJ” Owens

During the trial, prosecution presented the jury with evidence that Lorincz fired her .380-caliber handgun once through her door, striking Owens because she was “angry” over Owens’ four kids playing in a grassy space by their houses.

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Lorincz had complained the children had been harassing her for nearly the entire three years she’d lived there, prosecutors claimed.

But Lorincz’s defense attorneys argued that she fired her weapon in self-defense, saying the 35-year-old Owens came banging on her door. Her lawyers maintained her actions were legal under Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which allows people to use deadly force in cases of self-defense.

Owens confronted Lorincz that day after her kids told her that the older neighbor threw roller skates and an umbrella at them for their “unruly” playing outside. Owens and Lorincz had had prior disagreements for the same reason.

Susan Lorincz was “not in fear”

Prosecutors told the jury that this and other evidence proved that Lorincz “was not in fear, she was angry” when she fatally shot Owens.

“It’s not a crime to bang on somebody’s door. It’s not a crime to yell,” Buxman said during closing arguments. “There was no imminent danger whatsoever when she fired that gun.”

While Lorincz didn’t testify, the jury did hear a recording of her taped interview with the police saying she never meant to hurt Owens.

Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison when sentenced.


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Crime & Justice

Former University of Kentucky student pleads guilty after racist attack of Black student

On Monday, Aug. 12, Rosing, 23, pleaded guilty to four counts of fourth-degree assault as well as one count of disorderly conduct and public intoxication in Fayette County Circuit Court, according to the WLEX-TV.

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sophia rosing

Sophia Rosing, the former University of Kentucky student who physically assaulted and shouted racial slurs at a Black student, has pleaded guilty to several charges, according to news reports.

On Monday, Aug. 12, Rosing, 23, pleaded guilty to four counts of fourth-degree assault as well as one count of disorderly conduct and public intoxication in Fayette County Circuit Court, according to the WLEX-TV.

Sophia Rosing accused of racism

On Nov. 6, 2022, Rosing, who is White, was accused by police of physically assaulting and repeatedly shouting racial slurs at Kylah Spring, who is Black, at the campus residence hall where Spring worked, USA Today reported. The incident was caught on video and went viral on social media.

University of Kentucky police responded to the scene and said in a police report cited by the Herald-Leader that Rosings appeared “very intoxicated” and resisted arrest, adding that she kicked an officer and bit the officer’s hand. She was later permanently banned from campus.

“As a community working to prevent racist violence, we also must be committed to holding people accountable for their actions,” University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouoto said in a statement at the time, according to USA Today.

Mediation

The guilty plea arose out of a mediation in which Rosing’s attorney, Fred Peters, said, “A lot of things got said, apologies were made and we worked it out,” the Herald-Leader reported.

Rosing, he claimed, “has had a lot of time to think about what she has done, and she wrote a nice letter of apology.”

Moving forward for Kylah Spring

Spring addressed the guilty plea on Monday, telling WLEX-TV that she forgives Rosing but states that the process hasn’t been easy.

“I forgive her more so for myself,” Spring told the outlet. “I was raised not to hold grudges, I was raised that we give people forgiveness because God forgave us. It’s a hard thing for me to come to terms with, but in the end, I want to live a life where people can say I was a kind and forgiving person.”

Spring has founded The Spirit & Grace Project to provide support to other Black women attending colleges and universities where White people are the majority, reports WLEX-TV.

Rosing faces up to a year in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced October 17th.


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