Latest news with #selfDefense
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
In police interview, Gary man claimed self-defense; victim later found decapitated
As two Gary homicide detectives tried to pry information out of Ralph Stokes, Jr., he told them he shot Jimmijion Bailey before the other man could kill him. 'I made a mistake, but it was out of self-defense,' he said on a videotaped recording. Police and the victim's family disagreed. The shooting was over 'pure jealousy,' his sister Jakyla Bailey told the Post-Tribune in October. He started dating Stokes' child's mother about three weeks earlier, she said. Stokes, 24, was charged Oct. 13 with murder in Bailey's shooting death on Oct. 5. His body was found decapitated Oct. 11 on the 2300 block of Clay Street with his arms and knees bound with black tape. He is the only person charged in the case and has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors played part of his Oct. 12 police interview during Stokes' third bail hearing Tuesday. Stokes claimed as Bailey turned, he saw an 'extended clip' under the other man's shirt and fired one shot. When police asked where he shot Bailey, he claimed he didn't know. 'He could have taken me out,' Stokes said earlier in the interview. 'It was either me or him.' Gary Police investigations Cmdr. Ed Gonzalez and Det. Jason Szemes told Stokes evidence including the city's license plate readers showed he had help disposing Bailey's body. Was the body transported in your relative's car, Gonzales asked him. I am just taking responsibility for what I did, Stokes responded. A fourth bail hearing is on Aug. 1. The hearings will determine the strength of the evidence against him and if Stokes would be released before trial. Bailey's mother called police after he stopped responding to her calls and texts around 6:43 p.m. Oct. 5, documents show. His family tracked his cell phone location first to Woodlake Village Apartments on the 500 block of Vermillion Place. His mother headed there to talk to the woman he just started dating. The woman said she was looking for him, too. Then, Bailey's mother tracked his car to 9th Avenue and Roosevelt Street. She found it there — off the road, still running with her maroon Chrysler 200 in drive, she told police. Investigators were tipped off on Oct. 10 that Bailey was shot inside the girlfriend's apartment. His body was moved to the bathroom for several hours. His car was taken to 9th and Roosevelt to 'throw off the investigation.' The girlfriend changed her number after Bailey was killed, the affidavit states. 'Why would you do that with our child present,' the ex-girlfriend screamed. 'That's who I am,' Stokes responded. Two detectives went to the Stokes' house in the 700 block of Louisiana Street, where they found the Ford Flex, silver Infiniti and black Audi, his family's vehicles. License plate readers showed Bailey showed up to the apartment on Oct. 5. Later, the Chrysler 200 was driven off, followed by the black Audi toward 9th and Roosevelt, to ditch Bailey's car, before the black car headed back to the apartment. Then, the black Audi and Ford Flex head to the 2300 block of Clay Street, where Bailey's body was later found. Anyone with more information can call Det. Szemes at 219-755-3855. mcolias@
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Iran says committed to diplomacy but acts in ‘self-defense' against Israel
TEHRAN: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday his country has remained committed to 'diplomacy' but will continue to act in 'self-defense' following Israel's surprise attack nearly a week ago. 'Iran solely acts in self-defense. Even in the face of the most outrageous aggression against our people, Iran has so far only retaliated against the Israeli regime and not those who are aiding and abetting it,' said Araghchi in a post on X. 'With the exception of the illegitimate, genocidal and occupying Israeli regime, we remain committed to diplomacy,' he added.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Appeal for 'Stand Your Ground' judgment denied, Sarasota hotel murder case moves toward trial
Six months after a Sarasota Circuit Court judge denied his 'Stand Your Ground' immunity claim, the Second Court of District Appeals has also denied Brennan Wakey's appeal of the decision. His case will now proceed to trial. Wakey, 29, was charged with second degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection to the death of Colton Wright after police were called to the hotel off University Parkway when a housekeeper discovered Wright's body. Wakey was accused of killing his boyfriend at the Hyatt Place hotel in December 2021 after investigators found surveillance video of Wakey leaving the hotel with a gun tucked into the waist of his pants shortly after the shooting. Wright and Wakey had been in a romantic relationship since June 2021, according to the victim's mother. Previous reporting: Judge denies Stand Your Ground claim for Sarasota man accused of shooting boyfriend in 2021 Gallery: Brennan Wakey claims shooting of Colton Wright was self-defense but the gun is missing. Wakey filed the motion to dismiss his case in January 2024 under Florida's Stand Your Ground law, claiming he had no choice but to act in self-defense. In what became a three-part Stand Your Ground hearing spanning several months, Wakey testified that Wright had seemed different and more violent the night of the shooting. Judge Thomas Krug denied Wakey's motion in December 2024, ruling that the prosecution proved through clear and convincing evidence that Wakey did not reasonably fear imminent death or great bodily harm when he fired his gun at Wright. Wakey's defense filed his appeal shortly after the ruling. The defense also filed a motion to stay the circuit court proceedings until a decision was reached by the appellate court. Now that the appeal has been denied, Wakey's case will proceed to trial, however, court records have yet to indicate when a potential trial date could be scheduled. Where is Wayne Wakey? Family looks for missing Port Charlotte man. Police zero on his son. More: Sarasota judge denies increasing bond for man accused in fatal 2021 hotel shooting During the Stand Your Ground hearings, Krug heard from both Wakey and the only other witness to the shooting: Wright's friend, Nick Trail. He noted in his order that while Trail confirmed part of Wakey's testimony — with Wright at one point grabbing a glass bottle of margarita mix and swinging it at Wakey in "half swings" — he otherwise denied that Wright threw a laptop at Wakey or tried to get a gun away from him. Krug also found Wakey's testimony to be "robotic" for the most part, with Wakey appearing to become "suddenly and severely emotional" when he was describing the moments leading up to the shooting. Krug also noted in his order that Wakey's testimony was inconsistent and that Wakey's actions after the shooting 'provide substantial evidence of his consciousness of guilt, casting more doubt on his claim of self-defense.' Testimony and court records indicate that during the investigation into Wright's death, police found surveillance video which showed Wakey leaving the hotel via a side entrance around 3 a.m. the night of Dec. 9, 2021, pulling a black duffle bag on wheels behind him. In the video, a gun tucked into the back waistband of Wakey's pants is visible, according to the probable cause affidavit and evidence shown in court. Wakey was later found by investigators at his father's home in Port Charlotte, where detectives also found Wright's laptop and cellphone, as well as a red shirt and blue jeans in a washer. Those two items, the only ones in the washer, matched the clothes Wakey was seen wearing while exiting the hotel. Gabriela Szymanowska covers the criminal justice, courts and legal system for the Herald-Tribune. Reach out with a news tip to gszymanowska@ This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota hotel murder case heads toward trial after Appeals Court's decision
Reuters
4 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Iran tells UN strikes on Israel are self-defense
UNITED NATIONS, June 16 (Reuters) - Iran's strikes on Israel are self-defense and are "proportionate defensive operations directed exclusively at military objectives and associated infrastructure," Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani told the U.N. Nations Security Council on Monday. He wrote in a letter that any cooperation by third countries with Israel's strikes on Iran "makes them complicit in the legal responsibility and consequences of this crisis." Under Article 51 of the founding United Nations Charter, the 15-member Security Council must immediately be informed of any action that states take in self-defense against armed attack.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Russia Urges Israeli Restraint, Says Iran Has Right to Defend Itself
Russia is appealing to Israel to show restraint in the crisis with Iran, and believes Tehran is exercising its right to self-defense, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Monday. Israel launched a wave of strikes last Friday against Iran's nuclear sites and military leadership, and Iran has responded by firing missiles at Israeli cities. "The potential dangerous consequences of strikes on nuclear infrastructure facilities are obvious to everyone. This is a cause for concern for the entire international community, but, in addition to this, we are, of course, watching how world markets react to what is happening," state news agency TASS quoted Ryabkov as telling reporters. It was up to Israel, first and foremost, to show "restraint and common sense", he said. Russia seeks to play an influential role in the Middle East, though it lost a major ally there last year with the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, to whom it had provided military support for almost a decade in the country's civil war. Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran in January. It also has longstanding ties with Israel, though these have been strained by the Ukraine and Gaza wars. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a phone conversation on Monday that the Israel-Iran confrontation was fraught with risks for the entire region, and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The Kremlin said Russia was still ready to mediate between Iran and Israel, and its offer remained on the table to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran and convert it into civilian reactor fuel as a possible way to defuse the crisis over Tehran's nuclear program.
