JT‘s addressing the public exchange she and fellow City GirlYung Miami had two months ago, chalking the conflict up to “ego.”
“When you get to the point of ego … it gets there. You forget to express yourself in a private setting, or you forget to talk like adults,” she says on the Baby This Is Keke Palmer podcast. “It’s both of us getting an attitude like ‘who the f*** you think you are?’ And it’s just like – it happened. It was stupid and it’s done. It’s over with and now it’s funny to both of us, now it’s hilarious.”
“If we ever speak on it, she should be able to tell her side and how she feels because we both were deada** wrong,” JT continues. She adds that she was “hurt” by the situation but insists the two are still friends.
As fans may remember, Yung Miami posted a slew of tweets back in April, in which she accused JT of sneak-dissing her on her solo songs, prompting a back and forth that eventually ended with a phone call.
While the two are now cool, Miami and JT decided to focus on solo music, as their attempts to make music as the City Girls “just wasn’t connecting,” Miami previously told Complex.
JT is now getting ready to release the remix to her single “Okay,” which features Jeezy.
(DECATUR, Ga.) — Thirty-four years after a brother and sister were murdered, a man has been indicted in the slayings when he was linked to the cold case via DNA, Georgia prosecutors said.
John Sumpter was stabbed and his sister, Pamela Sumpter, was raped and stabbed at their Stone Mountain apartment on July 15, 1990, according to the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office.
John Sumpter, 46, died at the scene, prosecutors said.
Pamela Sumpter, 43, survived and underwent a rape kit at the hospital, prosecutors said.
Pamela Sumter told police that her brother had brought a male acquaintance over, and she provided a description of him and said he was from Detroit, prosecutors said.
Weeks later, on Aug. 5, 1990, Pamela Sumpter died from her injuries, prosecutors said.
The case went unsolved for decades.
Then, in 2022, state investigators sent the rape kit for testing “as part of its continuing initiative to test pre-1999 rape kit evidence,” the district attorney’s office said.
In February 2023, the DNA from the rape kit was uploaded to a statewide DNA database, but there was no match, prosecutors said.
The district attorney’s office said it then applied for and received a federal grant for prosecuting cases using DNA.
This February, the DNA was uploaded to a national database, and within days, it matched to a 1992 sexual assault case in Detroit, prosecutors said.
In the Detroit case — which was never prosecuted — the victim identified her assaulter as her ex-boyfriend, Kenneth Perry, the district attorney’s office said.
Police also sent the rape kit evidence to a private lab to use forensic genetic genealogy, in which the unknown DNA is identified by comparing it to family members who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a database, DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said.
The genetic genealogy analysis also led investigators to Perry, Boston said.
Perry, now 55 and living in Loganville, Georgia, was arrested on June 6, the district attorney’s office announced Wednesday. The DNA sample collected from Perry when he was arrested was also a match to Pamela Sumpter’s rape kit, prosecutors said.
Perry was indicted Tuesday on charges including malice murder, felony murder and rape, prosecutors said. He is being held in the DeKalb County Jail without bond.
“We are here today because of incredible advancements in science and in investigative technology that have made what once seemed to be an unsolvable case, a solid case,” Boston said at a Wednesday. news conference.
“It’s been over 30 years since this terrible, evil tragedy happened to my brother and sister. We now have closure,” the victims’ brother, James Sumpter, said at the news conference. “I pray that the justice system prevails.”
(WASHINGTON) — Five people have been charged in connection with an alleged plot to bribe a juror with $120,000 cash during a federal trial over pandemic relief fraud.
Federal prosecutors called the incident an “elaborate” and “chilling,” but ultimately foiled, scheme to infiltrate the jury.
The alleged bribery attempt was reported as the six-week trial in Minneapolis was wrapping up against seven people charged in connection with an alleged $250 million fraud scheme through the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future.
One of the anonymous jurors — identified as Juror 52 — told police an unknown woman left $120,000 cash at her home the night of June 2 in an attempted bribe to acquit the defendants, according to U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. The woman handed a gift bag to a relative of the juror, who was not home at the time, and promised more money if the juror returned a verdict of not guilty, according to court documents. The juror reported the incident to local authorities, who turned over the cash to the FBI, Luger said.
The alleged bribe was announced the following day in court and the seven defendants on trial — all of whom would have had access to Juror 52’s identifying information — were ordered to turn over their cellphones, according to court documents.
“The news shocked all in the case and all who work in our criminal justice system,” Luger said during a press briefing on Wednesday announcing the bribery charges. “Corruption of a jury through intimidation or bribery is a serious federal crime that carries a significant prison sentence.”
Juror 52 was dismissed on June 3, and as deliberations got underway, a second juror was dismissed on June 4 after reportedly learning about the alleged attempted bribe from a family member, according to Twin Cities ABC affiliate KSTP.
Federal agents began probing the alleged bribe attempt to determine the identities of the co-conspirators and how the identity and address of Juror 52 were revealed.
Abdiaziz Farah, a defendant in the trial who was ultimately convicted, allegedly organized the conspiracy, Luger said. He deleted all of the contents of his phone in court on June 3 before turning it over to authorities, Luger said. A list of the names of the jurors — who were only known to the court — was found at his home hidden in a water bottle during the execution of a search warrant on June 5, Luger said. A bag containing the fingerprints of Ladan Ali, of Seattle, was also found in his home, according to Luger.
Ali was ultimately identified as the woman who showed up at Juror 52’s home, according to Luger. She arrived in Minneapolis on May 30 and allegedly followed Juror 52 home from the courthouse on May 31 in a rental car, according to Luger. She allegedly agreed to deliver the bribe money in exchange for $150,000, according to the indictment.
Ali was allegedly recruited for the juror bribery scheme by Abdimajid Nur, a defendant in the trial who was also ultimately convicted, according to Luger. A so-called blueprint instructing Juror 52 on how to win an acquittal was allegedly found on his phone, Luger said.
The $120,000 cash was allegedly provided by Said Farah, another defendant in the trial who was ultimately acquitted. He allegedly deleted from his phone a video of Ali delivering the bribe to Juror 52’s home, Luger said.
Abdulkarim Farah, the brother of Abdiaziz Farah and Said Farah, allegedly assisted Ali the night the bribe funds were delivered and took the video of her at the juror’s home, according to Luger. The indictment alleges he also removed the license plates from Ali’s rental car prior to the bribe attempt.
All five defendants have been charged with conspiracy to bribe a juror, bribery of a juror and corruptly influencing a juror. Abdiaziz Farah was also charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly deleting the contents of his phone through a factory reset, Luger said.
ABC News has reached out to the attorneys who represented Abdiaziz Farah, Said Farah and Nur during the trial. It is unclear if Ali and Abdulkarim Farah have an attorney who can speak on their behalf.
“These defendants engaged in the chilling attack on our justice system,” Luger said. “They sought to buy a juror and use her to infiltrate the jury with their own false arguments — arguments that had nothing to do with the evidence or law.”
The indictment alleges the conspirators researched Juror 52’s personal information online and on social media and surveilled her to confirm her home address and obtain information about her daily habits. They allegedly targeted Juror 52 because she is young and was believed to be the only juror of color.
The blueprint for the juror allegedly advised Juror 52 to argue to other jurors that the government targeted the defendants because they are immigrants and was “prejudice[d] against people of color,” according to the indictment. It also allegedly included directions for her to vote “NOT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS FOR ALL DEFENDANTS,” according to the indictment.
“Fortunately for all of us, Juror 52 could not be bought and she terminated their scheme,” Luger said.
The defendants will begin making their initial appearances Wednesday afternoon, the DOJ said.
Luger said he believes the case marks the first time some of the juror bribery charges have been filed in Minnesota.
The federal trial during which the bribe was reported marked the first in the sweeping Feeding Our Future fraud case. Dozens of defendants are accused of exploiting funds from a federal child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic to purchase big-ticket items like luxury cars and houses.
The jury reached their verdict against the seven defendants on June 7 — convicting five and acquitting two.
Abdiaziz Farah was found guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, federal programs bribery and other counts. He was an owner and operator of Empire Cuisine and Market, a for-profit restaurant that was one of several entities that participated in the scheme by receiving more than $28 million in fraudulent Federal Child Nutrition Program funds, the DOJ said.
Nur was found guilty of receiving and laundering Federal Child Nutrition Program funds from Empire Cuisine and Market and other entities involved in the scheme, the DOJ said.
Said Farah, who was accused of fraudulently receiving approximately $4.5 million in federal nutrition program funds, was acquitted of all charges.
Seventy total defendants have been charged in the Feeding Our Future case, 18 of whom have entered guilty pleas, according to the DOJ.
When the BET Awards 2024 start on Sunday, fans will be gifted to an opening performance by Megan Thee Stallion. BET announced the news Wednesday via its Instagram.
“Our favorite HOTTIE is back! MEGAN THEE STALLION WILL BE OPENING UP CULTURES BIGGEST NIGHT!” the caption read.
Her performance will come two days after the release of her album MEGAN, which features GloRilla, UGK and Victoria Monét.
“I don’t want to say I’m tapping into other genres. I’m just tapping into other sounds, but it’s still very much Megan Thee Stallion,” Meg previously told L’Officiel of what to expect. “It won’t feel like I went so left. It’ll feel true to me. You’ll almost be like, I wouldn’t have thought she would’ve rapped over that, but this sounds great.”
The BET Awards take place Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. Meg is nominated for four awards, including the BET Her Award for “Hiss” and Best Female Hip Hop Artist.
(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — The mother of an 11-year-old girl missing since 2022 has been named as a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance for the first time.
Madalina Cojocari was last seen getting off her school bus in Cornelius, North Carolina, on Nov. 21, 2022, according to authorities. The sixth grader’s parents told investigators she had been missing since Nov. 23, but did not report her missing until Dec. 15, according to a police report at the time.
The Cornelius Police Department said for the first time in a Facebook post earlier this week that Diana Cojocari “is considered a suspect” in the girl’s disappearance.
Police did not say what led to the mother being named as a suspect, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
The girl’s mother, Diana Cojocari, was released from jail last month, according to Raleigh ABC station WTVD, after serving nearly a year and a half behind bars for failing to report her missing.
Her husband, Christopher Palmiter, was also convicted for failing to report his stepdaughter missing and was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation, WTVD reported.
“We want to #FindMadalina,” police said in the post naming Diana Cojocari a suspect. “This has been our priority since we learned she was missing.”
Police asked the public to continue sharing Madalina’s photo on social media and to get in touch with any information that might assist with the investigation.
Shortly after the 11-year-old was first reported missing, police said her mother and stepfather “clearly” knew more than they were telling investigators.
“This is a serious case of a child whose parents are clearly not telling us everything they know,” Capt. Jennifer Thompson said in a video at the time.
Police previously said the girl’s school reached out to Diana Cojocari “several” times between Nov. 23 and Dec. 15, when she first reported the girl missing.
The mother told police she’d last seen her daughter going to bed in her room the night of Nov. 23, and said she and her husband argued that night, according to the arrest sheet, which was dated Dec. 17. The next day, Palmiter drove to his family’s home in Michigan.
She told police she went to check on her daughter at about 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 24, but found the girl was not in her room, according to the arrest sheet. Cojocari told police she waited until Palmiter returned home, at about 7 p.m. on Nov. 26, to ask if he knew where the girl was.
When Palmiter returned from the trip, he told police he asked Cojocari where Madalina was, according to the arrest report.
Police “asked Diana why she did not report Madalina missing until” mid-December, to which she “stated she was worried it might start a ‘conflict’ between her and Christopher,” officials wrote in the arrest sheet.
“Chris stated he spoke with Diana several time[s] about Madalina’s whereabout[s] over the next three weeks,” the arrest sheet said, “and both stated they did not know where she was but they did not contact the police to report Madalina missing.”
Before Madalina went missing, her mother asked a relative if he could help smuggle them away from their home, saying she was in a bad relationship with her husband and wanted a divorce, according to a search warrant obtained by ABC News in March 2023.
