Crime and Punishment
Jussie Smollett Takes Stand For 6 Hours In Criminal Trial
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Getty The criminal trial of Jussie Smollett continued with high drama in Chicago. The actor was called to testify to refute allegations that he staged the hate crime he claimed to be a victim of, with salacious details about one of the attackers being mentioned by Smollett himself. The former Empire actor took the stand on Monday (Dec. 6), facing charges that he lied to police about being attacked by two men in his downtown Chicago neighborhood in January 2019 after returning home from a trip. The two brothers, accused of committing the attack on Smollett, delivered impactful testimony the week before, claiming that the openly gay and Black actor crafted the entire attack to gain publicity. The 39-year old sat and testified for si...
Juicy Smolliét aka Jussie Smollett Heads To Trial This Week In Alleged Attack Hoax Case
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Juicy Smolliét aka Jussie Smollett was initially cleared of any wrongdoing after charges of staging an attack were thrown out of court after his February 2019 arrest. On Monday (Nov. 29), jury selection has begun in the former Empire actor’s disorderly conduct case where he faces six felony counts. ABC 7 Chicago reports that Smollett’s trial takes place almost three years to the day he told the authorities that he was the victim of a violent attack near his Chicago home and hit with racist and homophobic verbal attacks. Prosecutors believe that the 39-year-old actor staged the attack based on accounts that two men were paid thousands to help Smollett arrange the attack. Cook County Prosecutor Kim Foxx’s office threw out the charges,...
Man Held Up A Little Caesars With An AK-47 After Being Told He Had To Wait 10 Minutes
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Little Caesars / Little Caesars A man in Knoxville, Tennessee is in custody after holding up a Little Ceaser’s pizzeria after being told that he’d have to wait a few minutes to have his order fulfilled. No, seriously. WVLT is reporting that Charles Doty Jr., 53, became irate when he went into a Little Caesars and placed an order for a pepperoni pizza pie only to be told it would take 10 minutes to make. Furious that the pizzeria wasn’t living up to it’s “Hot and Ready” slogan that it’s become known for, Doty Jr. demanded that he get a free bread stick order before walking outside of the establishment. When he returned to the business he had a AK-47 in hand and pointed it at employees demanding his pizza be ready ASAP. It got to the point where a woman who...
No Death Penalty For The Suspects In Jam Master Jay Murder Case
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Al Pereira / Getty The murder of one of Hip-Hop’s most beloved figures in Jam Master Jay is still a sore spot for the culture. And a recent development in the prosecution of those alleged to have murdered him, where lawyers will not be seeking the death penalty in the case, might be adding more salt to the wound. According to a report by ABC News, documents filed in a Brooklyn, New York federal court this past Saturday (November 6th) show lawyers for the prosecution expressing that they have been directed not to seek the death penalty by the Department of Justice if the two accused killers, Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were to be convicted. “Please be advised that United States Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has authorized and directed the U...
Blueface Wanted For Alleged Bouncer Attack, Warrant Issued For The Fade
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz Once again Blueface is in the news for something besides his music. A warrant has been issued for the off-beat flowing rapper’s arrest over his involvement in allegedly beating the breaks off a bouncer at a nightclub. We say allegedly, but there is footage of a guy who looks a lot like Blueface putting hands and feet on the outmanned bouncer, just saying. Related Stories According to TMZ, felony arrest warrants have been issued for Blueface and alleged accomplices—two other men who helped assault the bouncer. The incident occurred back in September in Los Angeles at a spot called the Skinny Lounge in San Fernando Valley. No good can come when such details are presented. Reportedly what drew the ire of Blueface was when he w...
Basketball Court To Federal Court: 18 Ex-NBA Players Indicted In $4 Million Health Insurance Fraud Scam
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Star Tribune via Getty Images / Getty More than a dozen former NBA players—a dozen and a half to be exact—are no longer on the basketball court but will be appearing in a criminal court of law after being indicted Thursday (Oct. 7) on federal charges related to a multi-million-dollar health insurance fraud scheme allegedly spearheaded by none other than former New Jersey Nets and Houston Rockets player Terrence Williams. According to NBC New York, from at least 2017 up to some time last year, Williams orchestrated a scheme to defraud the NBA Players’ Health and Welfare Benefit Plan by submitting fake invoices for reimbursement for medical treatment he and other participants never received. For example, one infraction described in the indictment is a $19,0...
Unbelievable: Former Sex Crimes Prosecutor Actually Signed On To Defend R. Kelly
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Chicago Tribune / Getty R. Kelly might very well be the most desirable client for even the most talented of defense attorneys, but it appears that the beleaguered signer and songwriter has at least one legal ally willing to risk it all. A former sex crimes prosecutor who once viewed Kelly in an unfavorable light has since switched her position and is now defending him. Insider profiled Nicole Blank Becker, who reportedly worked for over 20 years in support of sexual assault and related sex crimes victims in order to bring their alleged assailant to justice. In the piece, Becker, who watched the shocking Lifetime documentary series Surviving R. Kelly, was initially disgusted by the details shared within. Now, she’s decided to switch her stance and lend her...
Sweet Nothings: Man Stabbed McDonald’s Customer After Argument Sparked Over Too Much Sugar In Coffee
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Bloomberg / Getty A New York man is recovering from a minor injury to his chest after a man stabbed him in a New York McDonald’s after an argument. The suspect stabbed the man after he tried to intervene between a security guard and the assailant over the amount of sugar inside his coffee. According to a New York Daily News report, the incident took place on Tuesday (September 22) at the McDonald’s located on Eighth Avenue, not far from W. 35th Street in Manhattan. The 57-year-old man victim was dining inside the restaurant around 8:20 AM local time when the suspect approached a security guard about the sweetness of his coffee, prompting the victim to step in to help the guard. Police say the two men began fighting and it ended up going out to the street ...
Philly Rapper Dark Lo Sentenced To 7 Years For Witness Intimidation
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: @darklo / Instagram Dark Lo is the latest rapper that the justice system has made an example of as he’s just been given a seven-year sentence to prison for witness intimidation. Complex is reporting that the “Missing Summers” rapper will be missing more than the next few summers after pleading guilty to one count of witness intimidation in a federal drug case a few months back. “The 39-year-old artist admitted to writing a letter to Dontez “Taz” Stewart, a government informant who testified against Abdul “AR-Ab” West. AR-Ab, who co-founded Original Block Hustlaz with Dark Lo, received a 45-year prison sentence back in April for allegedly running a drug trafficking ring that was linked to multiple murders.” Apparently Lo sent said ...
Gunman Shot & Killed Georgia Grocery Store Cashier Over Face Mask Policy
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Dekalb County Sheriff’s Department / Fox 5 Atlanta While much of the nation has eased COVID-19 restrictions and mask guidelines, many states and counties within are still mandating the wearing of face coverings inside their establishment. A cashier lost her life after she asked a man to don a mask while inside a Dekalb County grocery store, who left and then returned to gun the woman down. As detailed in a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Victor Lee Tucker Jr., a 30-year-old resident of Palmetto, Ga. in Fulton County, entered the Big Bear Supermarket this past Monday when he was met with a warning to wear a face mask by the cashier. Tucker left the establishment and opened fire, striking the cashier and an off-duty sheriff’s deputy working as...
YFN Lucci Turns Himself In, Facing Murder Rap
Source: Fulton County Sheriff’s office / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office YFN Lucci has turned himself in to the authorities. Earlier this week, Atlanta PD revealed the rapper was wanted for his alleged involvement in a homicide. According to the Atlanta Journal-Consitution, Lucci turned himself in and was booked at the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday evening (Jan. 13). But not before releasing a new music video, though. Earlier in the day he dropped the visual for a song called “Rolled On” via social media. Lucci is facing charges that include felony murder, aggravated assault, participation in criminal gang activity, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. We’ve also received details about the incident, and they’re grisly. According to TMZ, witnesses say they saw the...
Hot 97 Executive Paddy Duke Fired Over Connection To Yusuf Hawkins’ Murder
Source: New York Daily News Archive / Getty Yusuf Hawkins was just 16 years of age when an angry mob of Italian-American youth shot and killed him in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn in 1989. On the anniversary of his death this past Sunday (August 23), Hot 97 fired executive Paddy Duke after it was revealed he was among the mob that carried out the crime against Hawkins. Hot 97, via its Twitter account, announced the firing of Paddy Duke, real name Pasquale Raucci, after it was revealed that he was a member of the 10 to 30 reported white youth that attacked Hawkins. The connection was made via the HBO documentary Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn and apparently, Hot 97 did not know Raucci was a member of the mob and promptly let him go. “After watching HBO’s Storm over Brooklyn, HOT97...
