Crime
Cosby’s Publicist Blames National Enquirer for Drone
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt told NNPA Newswire that Cosby was walking across the yard for his daily exercise and prison officials were also escorting the blind comedian to his new quarters, in a veteran’s wing of the new prison, when the drone was spotted.
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
It wasn’t exactly an unidentified object that flew over the prison that houses Bill Cosby this week.
Not, according to Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt, who noted the timing of the drone that was discovered above the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institute Phoenix in Collegeville, Penn.
Wyatt told NNPA Newswire that Cosby was walking across the yard for his daily exercise and prison officials were also escorting the blind comedian to his new quarters, in a veteran’s wing of the new prison, when the drone was spotted.
“Someone had to have been tipped off that Mr. Cosby would be out there and was being moved,” Wyatt said, noting that he plans to visit Cosby later this week because the prison was shut down after the incident and Camille Cosby wasn’t able to hear from her husband during that time.
Wyatt said he believes American Media Inc.’s premiere publication, The National Enquirer, was behind the drone.
“It’s my opinion that it was The National Enquirer,” Wyatt said. “I believe they’ve done it before when he was at home and I had to complain because it’s illegal to fly drones in Pennsylvania near power lines,” he said.
“They were trying to get film of Mr. Cosby,” Wyatt continued.
Cosby is serving a three- to ten-year prison sentence after being convicted last year of aggravated indecent assault in a controversial trial that seemingly lacked any evidence and a judge who made what many legal experts said were questionable-at-best rulings against him.
Cosby has maintained his innocence and is currently appealing both his conviction and sentencing.
Dylan Howard, American Media Inc.’s Chief Content Officer, didn’t return messages left for him Tuesday.
Department of Corrections officials told USA Today the department does not discuss security matters but acknowledged the agency has installed drone detection systems as part of its enhanced security measures.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.
Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
California Black Media
Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support
Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.
By California Black Media
Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.
Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.
Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.
“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.
Ramos said the need to act is urgent.
“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.
Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.
According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.
In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.
“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.
“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.
AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.
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