Barnes gets 300th Career Coaching Victory
Mary J. Blige is now a Double Oscar Nominee
News Observer Bakersfield
Volume 44 Number 21
Serving Kern County for over 40 years Celebrating Our 40th Anniversary 1977- 2017
Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California
I Love My City
FREE!
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
2 Arrested After Body Found During Traffic Stop BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ Authorities say two men pulled over in a routine traffic stop were arrested on suspicion of murder after a dead body was found in the stolen SUV they were driving. A California Highway Patrol officer stopped the vehicle for speeding near Bakersfield Tuesday. The officer discovered the SUV had been reported stolen out of Los Angeles County and then found a dead man inside. KBAK-TV reports a 24-year-old man and a 39-yearold man could face charges including murder, conspiracy and possession of a stolen vehicle. The dead man was not immediately identified.
DEA Agents Shot Suspect Who Drove at Them
By Yolanda Prichett Local college kids gives back to their community. Who are they? They are the Young & Fearless youth group. I had an honor to talk to the leaders of the group to see what was on their plate for the new year. One of the future leaders, Domonique Crenshaw, first admission to me was that they love their city, and they’re goal is “to create a healthy outlet for young followers of Christ while spreading the love to our City.” I then asked what ages are allowed in the group. Another group leader by the name of Carrington Prichett responded, “12-26 are the ages we are targeting.” Carrington also said, “The purpose for this youth group is to passionately bring this young generation to Christ.” This past Saturday the group was able to go to the Bakersfield Homeless Shelter and hand out bags of homemade sandwiches, chips, cookies/ candy, and cold beverages along with inspirational messages on the front of the bags. The fearless group met their goal by feeding 100 disadvantaged kids and young adults. Domonique stated that this group is set to hold well balanced events on Saturday nights. To get more updates on this fearless group, follow
them on their social media sites: Facebook: Young & Fearless Instagram: @youngandfearless_
Twitter: @youngandfearless__ Email: youngandfearless5@gmail.com
Kentucky Assistant Police Chief Fired for Racist Messages
Defense Claims McKnight Killing Self-Defense BUT DA Says Not So
By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press GRETNA, La. (AP) _ The man who killed former NFL player Joe McKnight was terrified and fired in self-defense as the athlete spewed obscenities and threats following a traffic confrontation in December 2016, a defense attorney told a jury Friday. Lawyer Matthew Goetz added that the arrest of Ronald Gasser, 56, came days after the shooting amid political pressures. Goetz alluded to racial unrest that year in American cities, including the St. Louis area and Baton Rouge. Gasser is white; McKnight was black. Goetz delivered his opening statement to the jury in Gasser’s second-degree murder trial after Seth Shute, an assistant District Attorney in Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish, acknowledged that Gasser was initially freed after the shooting. But Shute said Gasser was arrested after investigators talked to numerous witnesses and assembled physical evidence contradicting Gasser’s claim that McKnight, 28, had tried to lunge into his car through a passenger window after both vehicles stopped at a busy intersection. Jury selection began Tuesday, and opening statements were delayed because unusually frigid winter weather in south Louisiana prompted a two-day closure of the parish courthouse in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna. Shute said jurors will hear from dozens of witnesses. Some will testify about what Shute called a “mobile shouting match’’ that began on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in New Orleans and continued into neighboring Jefferson Parish, Shute said. Others will talk about hearing the pop-pop-pop of three gunshots, seeing McKnight fall and watching as Gasser exited his car with his handgun still smoking. Jurors also will hear a police officer recount Gasser’s first words at the shooting scene: “He cut me off and got out on me.’’ McKnight drove his gray SUV aggressively that afternoon, Shute acknowledged. There was a small amount of marijuana in his system and a “therapeutic dose level’’ of Oxycodone in his system, he added, having noted that McKnight was training in hopes of returning to the NFL after an injury cut his pro career short. But he said there was no gunpowder residue on McKnight, indicating he was not shot at the close range Gasser had indicated. And an examination of the wounds indicat-
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) _ Court documents show a Drug Enforcement Administration agent shot a suspect who drove at the agent during a sting in California. KBAK-TV reports the shooting happened Jan. 11 in a store parking lot in south Bakersfield.\ A criminal complaint document reveals a DEA task force used a confidential source to arrange a drug-buy sting with the suspect, Miguel Angel Corrales. The confidential source arranged to meet Corrales in the parking lot to buy crystal methamphetamine. When the confidential source confirmed Corrales brought the suspected drugs to the parking lot, he signaled agents to move in for the arrest. Corrales allegedly ignored agents’ commands and drove his SUV toward one of the agents. That’s when the agent fired at Corrales, striking him in the chest, according to the complaint.
ed that McKnight’s hands were resting on the window of Gasser’s car, with no sign that he had aggressively moved to get inside. “His version of events does not match the physical evidence,’’ Shute said. “They’re going to say, `His hands were here, his hands were there,’’’ Goetz countered. “Ronnie believed he (McKnight) was coming after him.’’ McKnight was considered the No. 1 running back recruit in the country when he came out of John Curtis Christian School in Louisiana in 2006. He signed with the University of Southern California, where he ran for 2,213 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 66 passes for 542 yards and two scores in three seasons. In the NFL, he played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent a season in the Canadian Football League, playing two games for the Edmonton Eskimos and three for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He was shot Dec. 1, 2016. Gasser never left the shoot-
ing scene and was initially freed after more than eight hours of questioning _ which Shute said jurors will see. Gasser’s release sparked protests at the time, and some said race played a role in his release. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand, who has since retired, angrily denied that race played any role in the case. He recounted a painstaking investigation that included more than 160 interviews. Arrested on a charge of manslaughter four days after the shooting, Gasser was indicted by a grand jury on the second-degree murder charge in February. If convicted as charged he would be sentenced to life in prison. The trial is expected to last well into next week with state District Judge Ellen Kovach presiding. The case echoes another New Orleans-area road-rage shooting from 2016. Former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith was gunned down in that April incident. The shooter was later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Court documents have revealed what ended the 25-year law enforcement career of an assistant police chief in the Louisville suburb of Prospect, Kentucky. Media outlets report that acting Chief Todd Shaw sent what a prosecutor calls “highly disturbing racist and threatening Facebook messages’’ to a Louisville police recruit who had sought his advice. Among other things, Shaw advised the recruit to shoot black kids caught smoking marijuana, and then sexually assault their parents. Shaw’s lawyer, Michael Burns, says he was just “playing’’ with these and other messages, and that that he “treated all people fairly’’ as a law enforcement officer. Shaw resigned in November after his boss presented him with the messages. A judge ordered the evidence released last week.
National Inventors Hall of Fame
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Jan. 17, 2018 -- Since the founding of the National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF), more than 500 visionary men and women, who conceived, patented, and advanced the greatest technological achievements of our nation, have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Historical innovators like Thomas Jennings and Garrett Morgan paved the way beyond science and technology by becoming advocates for African-Americans. Today, pioneers like Victor B. Lawrence continue to advance technologies and racial and economic inequalities. Thomas Jennings, Dry Scouring (First African-American U.S. Patent) Thomas Jennings invented a process he called “dry scouring,” becoming the first African-American to be granted a U.S. patent in 1821. His dry-scouring process was a predecessor to today’s dry-cleaning methods. His success as a businessman and patent holder helped him become a leader for civil rights in New York City. When Jennings died, Frederick Douglass wrote about his death. He noted the importance of the patent Jennings received and that the patent recognized him as a “citizen of the United States,” a designation at the time that shocked many. Garrett Morgan, Gas Mask & Three-way Traffic Signal Garrett Morgan was a self-educated black man who produced a series of successful inventions in the beginning of the 20th century. His first well-known invention was the safety hood – a forerunner of the gas mask. In 1923, he patented one of his best-known inventions, the three-way traffic signal. Morgan went on to sell his patent to General Electric, which developed the electric version of the product. Morgan became an advocate for racial equality, establishing the first black fraternities in the country at Cleveland’s Western Reserve University. Victor B. Lawrence, Signal Processing in Telecommunications Victor Lawrence improved transmission for the modern Internet with his invention of signal processing in telecommunications. His invention has stimulated the growth of the global Internet and advanced data encoding, modem technology, silicon ship design, ATM switching and protocols, DSL and digital video. As a key player in Internet technology, Lawrence advocates bringing Internet access to the world’s poorest countries. He spearheaded efforts to lay high-capacity fiber-optic cable along the west coast of Africa. For more information on African-American Inductees in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, visit invent.org/ honor/inductees/find-an-inductee/.