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Callaroga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm read Carter Friday, August
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twenty ninth, twenty twenty five. Today on Celebrity Trials, Cardi
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B took the stand and actually said with a straight
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face that she was defending herself when she spit on
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her security guard and attacked her with design her fingernails,
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because nothing says self defense like saliva. Katie Perry wants
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you to know she's seeking justice in her fight to
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take a fifteen million dollar mansion from the family of
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a veteran who was literally dying when he supposedly signed
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the contract. California Girls Indeed, and the woman accused of
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orchestrating rapper Julio Fulio's assassination at his birthday party wants
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out on bond because apparently arranging a rapper's execution is
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a bondable offense in Florida. Plus sentencing updates on the
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yaker who faked his death and the trooper who killed
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a teenager while speeding to a non emergency. All that
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and more on today's Celebrity Trials. Let's start with the
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Cardi B trial, where yesterday the rapper herself took the
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stand and delivered a master class in how not to
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testify in your own defense. Carti real name Belcalis Almanzar,
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is being sued by former security guard Immani Ellis for assault, battery,
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and infliction of emotional distress stemming from a February twenty
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twenty incident at Carti's Beverly Hills home. Ellis testified earlier
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this week that Cardi attacked her unprovoked, spit on her,
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used racial slurs, and struck her with those weaponized acrylic nails.
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Multiple witnesses corroborated Ellis's version, but yesterday Carti told a
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very different story. According to Carti's testimony, Ellis was the aggressor.
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The security guard allegedly came at her aggressively and got
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in her face. Carti claims she was simply defending herself,
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defending herself by spitting on someone. Make it make sense.
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Here's Carti's version. Ellis was being disrespectful and challenging her authority.
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When Carti tried to address the situation, Ellis allegedly stepped
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toward her in a threatening manner. So naturally, Carti's response
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was to spit on her, because that's what you do
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in self defense. Situations you expectorate on your attacker. Defense
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attorney Alan Jackson tried to paint this as a brief altercation,
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that Ellis is blowing out of proportion for money. He
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had Carti testify about her difficult childhood, her rise from
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stripper to superstar, how hard she works. Classic celebrity defense.
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I had a hard life, so I should be allowed
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to assault employees. But prosecutor James Martinez wasn't having it.
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On cross examination, he got Carti to admit she did
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spit on Ellis, she did strike Ellis with her nails.
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She did I'd use profanity during the incident. She never
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called police if she truly felt threatened. She never filed
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a complaint about Ellis's supposed aggression. She continued employing Ellis
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for days after this supposedly threatening incident. That last one's
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the killer. If your security guard attacks you, do you
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keep them on payroll or do you immediately fire them
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and hire someone who won't aggressively come at you. The
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jury also heard from two more witnesses yesterday. Marcus Johnson,
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another security guard, stuck to his story that Carti was
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the aggressor, but under pressure from the defense, he admitted
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he didn't see who made first physical contact. Then came
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Maria Santos, Carti's former assistant, who'd previously testified she saw
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Ellis crying with scratches yesterday. The defense got her to
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admit she didn't actually see the altercation itself, just the aftermath.
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But here's what nobody can explain away the spit. Multiple
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witnesses saw Carti's spit on Ellis. Carti herself admits she
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spited ou Ellis. There is no self defense justification for
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spitting on someone. It's not protecting yourself, it's not preventing harm.
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It's pure humiliation and assault. The defense is trying to
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argue that even if Cardi did assault Ellis, the damages
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should be minimal. No medical bills, no therapy receipts, no
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lost wages. But that's not the point. The point is
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that Cardi, b worth eighty million dollars, thought she could
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spit on and attack her employee because she was disrespectful.
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That's not how employment works, that's not how human dignity works.
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You don't get to assault people because they challenge your authority.
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This isn't the Bronx streets. This is Beverly Hills, and
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even there, you can't spit on your bodyguard. Closing arguments
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are set for Monday. The jury will then decide whether
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being a successful rapper gives you the right to treat
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employees like punching bags. My prediction, Cardi loses. The spit
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seals it. You can maybe explain away push or even
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striking as heat of the moment, but spitting that's deliberate degradation.
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That's showing someone there beneath you, literally marking them with
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your bodily fluids. The jury will see through the self
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defense nonsense and hold Cardi accountable. The only question is
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how much it'll cost her. Now, let's talk about Katy
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Perry's real estate nightmare that's turned into a moral nightmare.
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The pop star and her actor husband Orlando Bloom are
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in court fighting for a fifteen million dollar Montecito mansion
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they claim they rightfully purchased. The seller's family says the
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contract should be voided because the man who signed it
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was dying of Huntington's disease and wasn't mentally competent. This week,
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Perry herself testified that she's a seeking justice in this case,
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justice for a millionaire pop star trying to take a
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house from a dying veteran's family. Here's the backstory. Carl Westcott,
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an eighty four year old veteran and six cessful businessman,
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owned this gorgeous estate in Montecito. That's the ultra wealthy
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enclave where Oprah and Prince Harry live. In July twenty twenty,
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in the middle of the pandemic, Westcott allegedly agreed to
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sell the property to Perry and Bloom for fifteen million dollars.
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The contract was signed, supposedly, and the deal was set
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to close. But here's where it gets dark. Westcott was
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suffering from Huntington's disease, a degenerative brain disorder that affects
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cognitive function, decision making, and judgment. His family says he
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wasn't competent to sell anything. Days after supposedly signing the contract,
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Westcott tried to back out. His family says when his
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medication was adjusted and he had moments of clarity, he
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realized what had happened and wanted to cancel the sale.
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Perry and Bloom said, no, a deal's a deal. They
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sued to force the sale. This week in court, Perry
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testified that she and Orlando had been searching for the
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perfect family home. They fell in love with this property
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made plans for their future there. She painted herself as
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the victim of a seller trying to renege on a
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legitimate contract. But Westcott's son, Chart testified that his father
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was severely impaired. By July twenty twenty. He was confused,
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having delusions, unable to manage basic affairs. The family had
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been in the process of getting conservatorship when this sale happened.
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The defense presented medical records showing Westcott's cognitive decline, brain
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scans showing the damage from Huntington's testimony from doctors about
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how the disease affects decision making capacity. Perry's team argues
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none of that matters. The contract was signed, Westcott was
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represented by a real estate agent. The deal should stand.
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Think about that argument. It doesn't matter if someone's brain
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is deteriorating, doesn't matter if they have a fatal neurological disease.
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If you can get them to sign on the dotted line,
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the house is yours. The real estate agent, Christine Navoros,
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testified she believed Westcott was competent during negotiations, but she
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also admitted she's not a doctor, has no training in
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cognitive assessment, and stood to make a massive commission from
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this sale. Here's what really happened. Perry and Bloom wanted
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this house. They found out an elderly owner might sell.
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They pushed through a deal during the pandemic when normal
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safeguards were relaxed, and when the dying man tried to
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back out, they sued to force it through. Carl Westcott
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is dead now died in twenty twenty two from Huntington's
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never got to see how this played out. His family
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is fighting to honor his wishes and void a sale
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he tried to cancel when his dying brain had moments
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of clarity. But Katy Perry needs justice. The woman worth
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four hundred million dollars needs justice in taking a home
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from a dead veteran's family. The judge will decide in
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the coming weeks whether the contract stands, whether a signature
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from someone with generative brain disease is binding, whether pop
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stars get to profit from the confused decisions of dying men.
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This is your California justice system, folks, where celebrities can
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literally take advantage of people with brain diseases and call
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it a real estate transaction. Perry's testimony about seeking justice.
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The only injustice here is that she's trying to enforce
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a contract signed by a man whose brain was being
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destroyed by disease. But hey, she needs a new mansion
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for her family, and apparently Carl Westcott's families need to
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honor their dying father's wishes. Matters less than Katie Perry's
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house hunt. We'll be right back with updates on rapper
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Julio Fulio's assassination and two sentencings that prove sometimes the
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system actually works. Now to Jacksonville, where the woman accused
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of orchestrating rapper Juliofulio's murder wants out on bond because
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apparently setting up a rapper's assassination is the kind of
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thing you should be allowed to do from home while
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awaiting trial. Julio Folio real name Charles Jones, was gunned
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down at a Tampa holiday inn on June twenty third
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while celebrating his twenty sixth birthday. Surveillance footage shows three
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shooters ambushing him in the parking lot, firing multiple rounds.
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He died trying to celebrate another year of life he'd
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never complete. Alicia Andrews is charged with being the mastermind.
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Prosecutors say she tracked Fulio's movements through social media, coordinated
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with the shooters, and set up the kill first degree
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murder charges. This week, Andrews's attorney filed for bond, arguing
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she's not a flight risk and poses no danger to
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the community. No danger to the community. She allegedly orchestrated
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a public assassination at a hotel, but sure, no danger.
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The defense tried a novel approach. They wanted to argue
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Andrews was a victim of domestic violence, that she was
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controlled by others in the conspiracy. Judge Tatiana Salvador shut
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that down immediately. You don't get to play victim when
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you're accused of planning murder. Here's what's really twisted. Two
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of Andrews's alleged co conspirators are out on bond. Isaiah
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Chance and Tavon Stevens, both charged in the murder plot,
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were released on two hundred fifty thousand dollars bonds. So
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the actual shooters are walking free while the alleged mastermind
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sits in jail. Make that make sense? The state argues
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Andrews is the most dangerous because she was the planner.
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She used Instagram to track Fulio's location when he posted
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that he was at the Holiday Inn after being kicked
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out of an Airbnb for exceeding occupancy, Andrews allegedly texted
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the shooters the address he's at the Holiday Inn on
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Fowler Avenue. Those texts are the state's smoking gun, along
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with surveillance footage showing Andrews's car near the scene, cell
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phone towers placing her in communication with the shooters before, during,
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and after the murder. But Andrews wants to go home.
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Her attorney argues, she's a mother, has ties to the community.
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Won't flee. You know who else had ties to the community,
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Julio folio until Andrews allegedly had him executed in a
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hotel parking lot. The bond hearing is set for next week.
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The judge will decide if someone accused of social media
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stalking and murder coordination gets to await trial at home. Meanwhile,
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Fulio's mother, Sandria Mobli, has to bury her son. His
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kids have to grow up without a father, his fans
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lost an artist, all because of what prosecutors say was
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a Jacksonville gang war that Andrews turned into a birthday massacre.
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The judge hasn't ruled yet on bond, but here's my prediction.
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She stays in jail. The coordination, the planning, the use
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of social media to hunt someone down. That's not impulse.
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That's calculation, and calculated killers don't get bond. Quick updates
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on two cases we've been following. First, Ryan Borgwart, the
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Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own drowning to run off
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with a woman in Eastern Europe. Remember this sociopath left
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his wife and three kids thinking he was dead while
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he was shacking up in Uzbekistan. Today he was sentenced.
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The judge gave him six months in jail and three
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years probation six months for traumatizing his children, wasting thirty
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five thousand dollars in search resources, and perpetrating a fraud
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that lasted fifty four days. He also has to pay
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full restitution for the search costs. But six months. His
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kids thought he was dead for two months and he
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gets six months. Judge Daniel Dorriff said he considered the
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psychological damage to the children, but also Borgwart's lack of
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prior record and his eventual cooperation. Cooperation. He only came
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back because they caught him. That's not cooperation, that's surrender.
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Borgwart cried during sentencing, said he was deeply sorry. Sorry
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he got caught is more like it. You don't fake
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your death and flee to Eastern Europe if you have
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the capacity for genuine remorse. His wife wasn't in court.
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The divorce is proceeding. Those kids will need therapy forever,
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and daddy will be out in six months, probably less,
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with good behavior. Second sentencing AJ Scott, the Georgia state
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trooper who killed seventeen year old Sabriel Powell while speeding
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ninety miles per hour to a non emergency call. The
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jury found him guilty of vehicular homicide and violating his
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oath of office. Today, Judge James Newsom sentenced him to
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fifteen years, with five to serve in prison, the rest
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on probation five years for killing a teenager because he
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couldn't be bothered to use lights and sirens while going
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ninety in a sixth The judge said he considered Scott's
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service as a law enforcement officer, but had to balance
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that with the tragic and preventable death of Sabriel Powell.
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Sabriel's mother, Tiffany Powell, gave a victim impact statement. He
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took my baby, he took her future, He took her
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from us because he thought his badge meant the rules
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didn't apply to him. Scott will appeal, of course. His
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attorney says the sentence is too harsh for what was
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essentially an accident, an accident. Choosing to drive ninety without
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emergency signals isn't an accident. It's a choice, a choice
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that killed a seventeen year old girl. At least Scott
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got prison time. That's more than most cops get for
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killing civilians. But five years for a life. Sabriel Powell