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Jay-Z to Sell His Interest in NYC NBA Team

By Alicia Cruz Associated Content Rapper Jay-Z announced last week that he would sell his stake in NBA team the Brooklyn Nets. After launching Roc Nation Sports, a sports management agency, Jay-Z (nee Shawn Carter) had to sell due to NBA rules against "double-dipping." According to the NBA rules, agents cannot have title to a team and represent an athlete. So in order for Carter to venture on with his sports management endeavor, he had to sell his stake in the Nets. Carter, who relocated the Brooklyn Nets to his hometown borough from neighboring New Jersey this season, is married to mega entertainer Beyonce Knowles-Carter. The dynamic duo have a beautiful daughter, Blue Ivy. See full article here

Juror Caught Texting; Spends Two Days in Jail

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By Alicia Cruz Associated Content I know many of us have been called for jury duty and it can sometimes be a serious inconvenience, but once you're selected to sit on a trial, you're expected to take that duty seriously. A man in Oregon learned that lesson the hard way. A WCTI TV12 news article reported that the juror was jailed after the sitting judge noticed a "glow" reflecting the man's chest as the jurors were supposed to be watching a video, reported TV station KGW in Portland. The judge cleared the courtroom and excused all jurors except the cell phone user juror. His contemptuous conduct earned him two days in jail and while he admitted there was no excuse for his behavior, he said he felt his jail sentence was, "harsh." When a person's life or freedom lies in your hands and requires your undivided attention, you don't text or do anything else that diminishes your ability to fairly and accurately judge evidence. I say the punishment fit t...

Officials: Missing Charlotte Teen Found Dead Near Boston May Have Been a Stowaway

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  By Alicia Cruz The Black Urban Times WCNC North Carolina has reported that the 16-year-old Air Force Jr. ROTC student missing from Charlotte and found dead November 15 in Milton, Massachusetts may have been a stow-away inside an aircraft wheel well when he fell to his death as the plane descended towards the airport.  Phil Orlandella, director of communications at Logan International Airport confirmed for NewsChannel 36 that local police are investigating the possibility that Delvonte Tisdale may have fell from an aircraft, which would explain the horrific injuries to his body and the fact that he was found with no shirt or shoes. "We have been requested to look into that possibility," Orlandella said Tuesday. "It's something that theoretically can happen. It's a remote possibility." However, prosecutors have declined to co-sign the stowaway theory. Orlandella added that officials are cross-checking records of arriving flights heading to Runway...

Notorious B.I.G's Daughter Celebrates Sweet 16 Birthday

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By Alicia Cruz Senior writer Theblackurbantimes Feliz Cumpleanos! My, how time flies when it comes to children. Look who has graduated to "young lady" status. Yes, that's the daughter of late rapper, Notorious B.I.G. (aka Biggie Smalls). T’Yanna Wallace is Biggie's oldest child. She just celebrated her 16th birthday in pure style...just like her father would have wanted, I'm sure. T'Yanna was a mere toddler when her father was murdered as he sat in a vehicle in Los Angeles, California on March 9. 1997. Biggie, born Christopher Wallace , was gunned down while leaving a Vibe magazine party after the Soul Train Music Awards. His rise to success began during his short tenure as a crack dealer on the streets of New York. Thanks to producer, Sean "Puffy" Combs , Biggie left the lifestyle to hone his skills as a gifted rapper. On the night of the mysterious shooting, as hundreds left the party, Biggie's entourage rolled out of the parking g...

Murder in Memphis: The Monique Johnson Story

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By Alicia Cruz nj.newsroom.cruz@gmail.com The New Jersey Newsroom A NEW LOVE In April of 2005, 36-year-old Monique Johnson , a matron at the Shelby County jail in Memphis, Tennessee, met Tony Hayes, a handsome young Memphis police officer while he was moonlighting as a security guard in her old apartment complex in East Memphis. The euphoria in their relationship began to fade as quickly as it started when Monique says that Tony began acting very jealous and possessive. She became suspicious of his behavior and began checking him out. She learned that Tony had not lied about how many times he had been divorced, but he was lying to her about his current marital status. Tony Hayes had married his third wife only three months prior to meeting Monique and was separated from that wife at the time he met Monique. Once learning from Tony’s current wife that they were, in fact, separated, Monique decided to continue seeing Tony, despite the reservations she had. For a few months, ...

Camp Pendleton Murder Mystery Thickens; Marine Murder Suspect into Sadomasochism

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By Alicia Cruz The Black Urban Times Camp Pendleton Murder suspect has profiles on sadomasochism websites; described sexual preferences and interests in asphyxiaphilia, electro-torture, rape SSgt Louis Perez S an Diego County officials still have not divulged a motive or much other information in the murder of Brittany Killgore, but during an arraignment hearing for Staff Sergeant Louis Ray Perez, a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, new details emerged. According to Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza, Killgore sent a text to a friend on April 13,  the night she disappeared, that read, "Help." After that, Killgore was never heard from or seen again until April 17 when police found her body in Riverside County, California near Lake Skinner. How Killgore died and how she met Perez, who is married, remains a mystery. Killgore was married to Marine Lance Cpl. Cory Killgore, who was deployed to Afghanistan at the time of her murder. Reports say the 22-year-ol...

Details Emerge About Murder of Marine and Young Bride

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Beautiful, young military couple brutally murdered by husband's fellow Marines in October  By Mirna Alfonso and Peter Surowski Graphic details in the murder of Sgt. Janek Pawel Pietrzak, 24, and his 26-year-old wife, Quiana Faye Jenkins-Pietrzak are coming to light. On April 3 the first day of a two day preliminary hearing took place to determine if four Camp Pendleton Marines will be ordered to stand trial for the robbery-murders of the USMC sergeant and his wife, who was also sexually assaulted. The suspects, Pvt. Kevin Darnell Cox, 21, Lance Cpl. Emrys Justin John, 19, Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 21, and Lance Cpl. Kesaun Sykes, 21 , sat surrounded by their attorneys watching the proceedings with faces like statues, without reaction or emotions. The four were stationed with Pietrzak at Camp Pendleton. Those who knew and loved the Pietrzak’s had a different reaction. During the hearing, Daniel DeLimon, a prosecutor with the district attorney, used a projector to show the ...