John Lewis Commemorates Selma 50th Anniversary With First-Hand Account On Twitter

A Florida jury convicted a white gunman of killing an unarmed black father during an argument over a parking space. Jurors deliberated for more than six hours before finding Michael Drejka guilty of manslaughter in the July 2018 shooting death of Markeis McGlockton.

McGlockton, 28, was gunned down in front of his 5-year-old son in the parking lot of a Circle K gas station. The father of three was coming to his girlfriend’s defense after she was confronted by Drejka for parking in a handicap space while McGlockton ran into the store. Drejka, who alleged self-defense, claimed that he opened fire after McGlockton took “one step” towards him and shoved him. Drejka attempted to use Florida’s Stand Your Ground law to justify the fatal shooting, and saw no fault in his actions.

“I followed the law the way I thought the law was supposed to be followed. I cleared every hurdle that the law had to put in front of me,” he told a local news station last year.

Prosecutors argued that Drejka provoked the confrontation and video surveillance confirmed that McGlockton was backing away from Drejka. The state’s self-defense argument doesn’t apply if the shooter caused the altercation.

Drejka, who faces up to 30 years in prison, had no reaction to the verdict, CBS News reports. He remains held without bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10.

A Baltimore teen hung his head and sobbed inside a courtroom Wednesday (Aug. 21) after a judge handed down a life sentence for the May 2018 death of an officer.

Dawnta Harris, 17, from West Baltimore, reportedly asked the judge for a second chance. Although he didn't speak in court, his defense attorney, Warren Brown, read the boy's six-page letter out loud.

“Show me mercy,” he begged

Harris, along with three other teens, reportedly were burglarizing homes in Perry Hall. Harris stole a Jeep Wrangler and was in the vehicle when officer Amy Caprio approached. Harris stepped on the gas and ran over the 29-year-old cop.

“I didn’t want to harm Officer Caprio at all; I just wanted to get away,” Harris wrote. “From the bottom of my heart, I thought she was going to move.”

Brown tried to convince Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander to sentence the teen to 30 years for murdering Caprio, and asked he take into account his rough upbringing. However, speaking to reporters afterward he said he wasn't surprised by the ruling. “It wasn’t unexpected. The judge was under a lot of pressure.”

Caprio had been sent to investigate a suspicious Jeep when she spotted the teen. She blocked his way out with her patrol car, jumped out and ordered him to stop. As the jeep sped toward her, The Baltimore Sun reports Caprio drew her gun and yelled "Stop! Stop!"

Bodycam footage showed Dawnta stopped the jeep and opened the driver door slightly as if to surrender, only to get back inside, slam on the breaks and run over Caprio. Dawnta got rid of the jeep nearby and was found walking when he was arrested.

During a 14-hour interview with investigators, Dawnta admitted he panicked. “Once I saw the gun, I put my head down and closed my eyes," he told them. "It was like five seconds before I pushed on the gas."

Caprio died from broken ribs, and crushing injuries to her internal organs. She was found bleeding with tire marks on her legs.

Brown said he will appeal the ruling.

Cops who stopped to help a New Jersey man after he'd been in a car accident and was airlifted to a nearby hospital, was later arrested him after finding an arsenal of weapons and racist materials inside his vehicle and home.

According to reports, police located guns in Joseph Rubino's car after the cops stopped to offer assistance. Law enforcement then received a search warrant and found a grenade launcher, rifles with scopes, shotguns, and silencers, brass knuckles and a ballistic vest inside the 57-year-old's home.

Along with the host of weapons, cops also found a plethora of white supremacist material including an "N****r Owner's Manual" which authorities said gave instructions on owning a slave.

Meth, marijuana and 200 cannabis vape cartridges were also found at Rubino's residence.  Rubino reportedly faces federal weapons and drugs charges, including possession of firearms by a convicted felon.