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Brooklyn Park Murder Victim Identified WorldViralMedia 17 Views • 5 years ago

Authorities have now identified the victim of a Brooklyn Park homicide case. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner says 42-year-old Verneice Abrams of Watertown, Minn., died after she was shot in the stomach.

The incident happened Wednesday, Aug. 21, at about 4:20 p.m. in the parking lot of Gold Key Mall near Zane Avenue and Brookdale Drive. Police called the case “particularly concerning” given that it happened in broad daylight.

James Hill, 31 of Minneapolis, was charged with second-degree murder. Police say he stole a purse after shooting the woman and escaped with the help of two other suspects.

According to the criminal complaint, Hill approached Abrams and the two hugged as they entered a hair salon. Hill then asked the woman to come outside so he could “show her something,” the complaint said. Witnesses inside the salon then heard a pop or bang moments later.

Surveillance video shows the suspect and the woman appearing to get into a struggle next to a gray SUV parked near the salon. Hill is seen grabbing the woman’s purse and getting into the passenger side of the vehicle as it drives away, the complaint said.

Police later traced the vehicle to an address in Minneapolis. At that address, police conducting surveillance stopped a vehicle pulling out of the residence. They noticed the man inside was wearing the same clothing seen on surveillance video. The gray SUV was also parked behind the residence, the complaint said. Police executed a search warrant of the SUV and recovered the victim’s credit card and an inhaler the victim had. A search of the address also led to the recovery of the victim’s purse. Officers also recovered a cartridge casing in the parking lot that matched the weapon found in the vehicle that police stopped.

The criminal complaint says the victim was shot in the abdomen. She later died at North Memorial Health Hospital. Authorities had not yet released her name as of Friday afternoon.

Hill is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. A woman, identified as the driver of the SUV, is also charged. Deshawn Slaughter, 31, of Minneapolis is charged with aiding an offender. A third suspect, Thomas Spencer, 34, of Minneapolis, is also accused of aiding Hill during the crime.

Corey Bork, reporting
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CCX Media is on Comcast Xfinity in the Northwest Suburbs of Minneapolis and includes the cities Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, Maple Grove, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth and Robbinsdale.

Watch Cops Seize Combat Vet's Life Savings [RARE FOOTAGE] WorldViralMedia 21 Views • 5 years ago

Stephen Lara did everything right. But, as subscribers of our YouTube channel know well, even innocent people aren’t safe from civil forfeiture.

Stephen is a 39-year-old retired Marine from Lubbock, Texas. He is a devoted father of two teenage daughters and, once a month, he drives from Texas to see them in California, where they live with their mother. Eager to be closer after spending the pandemic in Texas caring for his elderly parents, he has been shopping for a home near the California-Nevada border.

https://ij.org/case/nevada-civil-forfeiture/

In February 2021, Stephen was making his usual trip west through Reno when he was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol for supposedly following a tractor-trailer too closely.

The officer complimented Stephen’s driving, thanked him for observing the speed limit, and explained that NHP was “conducting a public information campaign” to help drivers avoid danger. Confident that the officer was only there to help, Stephen cooperated with his escalating investigation, even volunteering that he was carrying a large amount of cash.

Ninety minutes later, Stephen had been robbed of his life savings—$86,900—which he carried with him after a spate of robberies in his parents’ neighborhood. The officer who pulled Stephen over wanted to let him go; he was overruled by NHP Sergeant Glenn Rigdon, who ordered the money seized specifically so that it could be “adopted” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

“Adoption” is a process by which federal law enforcement agencies can take over a seizure by state and local law enforcement. If the federal government is successful in forfeiting the property, its “equitable sharing” program guarantees the state or local agency that seized the property up to 80% of the proceeds for use in the agency’s budget.

In Stephen’s case, the DEA sat on his life savings for months, ignoring the legal deadlines requiring it to charge Stephen with a crime, begin a civil forfeiture case against his property, or return the money within six months of seizure. The DEA did none of those things. So, on August 30, IJ sued it in federal court on Stephen’s behalf.

Early the morning of September 1, the agency announced it would return all of Stephen’s money. In less than 24 hours, it had learned of our lawsuit, answered hard questions from The Washington Post, and committed to reviewing its policies for federal adoptions.

When we learned he would be getting his money back (filled with joy), he told us, “This isn’t over.”

And it isn’t. At the same time we filed in federal court, we also filed a major constitutional challenge in state court. Our state case aims to make federal adoptions impossible in Nevada as violations of the state constitution’s guarantees of reasonable seizures supported by probable cause and due process of law—not based on mere suspicion or for the financial benefit of the seizing agency. If we are successful, it will be the first time a state court has struck down federal adoptions. And a victory will take the profit motive out of roadside seizures.

Filmed with a Canon C70 with a 50mm 1.2 lens. Aputure 300d, 120d, and amaran.