Gang Member

Jan 10 2013

Could face up to life in prison

A reputed gang member suspected of fatally shooting a Compton youth minister in Venice last June has been charged with his murder, along with a third accomplice, the district attorney’s office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Teresa Magno with the Hardcore Gang Division said Hopeton Parsley, 23, was charged last week with being the shooter in the murder of Oscar Duncan on June 4, 2012. He was formally charged Friday, Jan. 4, and pled not guilty.

Jan 4 2013

Two others charged as well

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A reputed gang member accused of gunning down a Compton youth minister in Venice was scheduled to be arraigned today.

Hopeton Parsley, 23, was charged Wednesday with the June 4 killing of Oscar Duncan, 23, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Parsley was arrested Thursday, according to prosecutors.

Nov 8 2012

Judge denied defense plea for new trial

A gang member who gunned down a Los Angeles High School football standout near his Arlington Heights home because he was carrying a red Spider-Man backpack was sentenced to death last week.

Jurors recommended in May that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald H. Rose impose the death sentence on Pedro Espinoza, 23, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the March 2, 2008, shooting death of Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17.

Nov 5 2012

Donald Ray Dokins will be prosecuted as an adult

COMPTON, Calif.—A 15-year-old boy being prosecuted as an adult in connection with a June 4 gang shooting that killed a 14-month-old boy and wounded the toddler’s father in Watts pleaded not guilty today to murder and attempted murder charges.

Donald Ray Dokins was arraigned in Compton Superior Court on charges stemming from the death of Angel Cortez and the wounding of the boy’s father, Mauro, who was shot in the shoulder.

He was held to answer to the charges on July 16 and is due back in court Nov. 28 for a pretrial hearing.

Nov 2 2012

Murder was carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A gang member who gunned down a Los Angeles High School football standout because he was carrying a red Spider-Man backpack was sentenced to death today.

Jurors recommended in May that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald H. Rose impose the death sentence on Pedro Espinoza, 23, who was convicted of first-degree murder for the March 2, 2008, shooting death of Jamiel Shaw Jr., 17, near his home in the Arlington Heights area of Los Angeles.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.