But pollution didnt kill Detroit. In the case of the night Aiyana was killed, many feel the situation did not call for a military-style bust at midnight. The jury stall resulted in seven voting "not guilty" and five voting "guilty". The blood was congealing into a pancake on the dirty linoleum. [36] Aiyana's case would be the longest presiding case that Hathaway had in more than 20 years of being on the bench. JeRean knew badness was on its way and called his mother to come pick him up. Grover 08:10, 10 June 2014 (UTC) Reply . In this way, what happened to J Cole's daughter? You might blame it on the urban renewal and interstate highway projects that rammed a freeway down the middle of Paradise Valley, displacing thousands of blacks and packing the Negro tenements tighter still. Sherrors was killed by a stray bullet while cutting a friends hair on a front porch just 27 days after JeRean died. So bad is it for Detroits children that Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last year, I lose sleep over that one.. It went straight through the childs head. The gimmick was to have its reporters live there and chronicle the decline of the Motor City for one year. Sanders was Aiyana Jones's paternal aunt, the girlfriend of Chauncey Owens, and the daughter of Mertilla Jones. Weve got nothing but bullet fragments., A neighbor who tends the lawn in front of the dope house out of respect to Huff wonders why so many cops came in the first place, given that the police hardly come around at all, much less that many cops that fast on a home break-in.. Then came the homicide-by-cop of little Aiyana. To me, thats like writing about the surf conditions in the Gaza Strip. Coco Jones has lived many lives. Thats a hell of a pair of bookends, I offered. [2] Her death drew national media attention[3] and led U.S. Representative John Conyers to ask U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for a federal investigation into the incident. They made it to the trauma ward, where JeRean was pronounced dead. A total, unfortunate fuck-up.. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. While other American metropolises have gotten control of their murder rate, Detroits remains where it was during the crack epidemic. The police were . Gibson bonded out last January and actually showed up for his trial in circuit court on February 17. The title is derived from the California penal code for murder: 187. Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? They drove her there every morning, five miles. Chauncey Owens, the uncle wanted on murder charges, was said to be going in and out of the house as normal and could have been apprehended during the day. In October 2011, he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment with a gun. The mayors office is said to have a copy, as well as the Michigan State Police, who are now handling the investigation. Police officers came from Canada and across Michigan. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and "negligent firing of a weapon causing death". He might have smirked. Not to worry: The city had its own welfare system, decades before Lyndon Johnsons Great Society. I saw him in the face of my sister, who died a violent death in a filthy section of Detroit a decade ago. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2023 demands. Inside, splayed on the floor underneath the rack of snack cakes near the register, was a black man in a pool of blood. Even on Lillibridge Street, the outrage has died down. Nevertheless, Detroit Police Chief Warren Evans issued a statement May 18. Lil James brought along a .357 Magnumat the behest of Jones, Detective Williams testified, because Jones was afraid someone would try to steal his diamond Cartier glasses.. Owens got there first and shot JeRean clear through the chest with Lil James gun. He gave her $800 for funeral costs. "I want to say to the entire Jones family, Aiyana's loved ones and friends, how terribly sorry I am for your loss. On January 28, 2015, a prosecutor cleared Weekley of the last remaining charge against him, ensuring there would not be a third trial. Predictably, Gibson did not show for his new court date. Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley in court in Detroit, Mich. on June 18, 2013 during his first trial. After the finale aired, we didn't know whether they're still together or not until the reunion on March 4, but a little social media sleuthing told us they were still . The police were searching for a murder suspect thought to be in the Jones home. The landlord of the duplex, Edward Taylor, let me into the Jones apartment. So bad is the rivalry that when the schools face off to play football or basketball, spectators from the visiting team are banned. The raid took place at about 12:30 a.m. The frightened black man attempted to save himself. African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Police report that they arrested the suspect at the duplex where the . IT WAS JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT on the morning of May 16 and the neighbors say the streetlights were out on Lillibridge Street. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot loses reelection bid, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. One question that lurked behind the scenes of the Aiyana Jones trial was whether the fact that producers from A&E's 'The First 48' played any role in what happened the night Aiyana died. Huff entered with his gun still holstered. "It isn't the judge's decisions that caused these juries to not reach a decision," she said. I want to get out of here, but I cant, she said. Somebody should have told company executives back in New York that they had wildly overpaid. "It's irking me so bad," Cargill said. [12] Weekley had been featured on another A&E police reality show, Detroit SWAT. Word of the free milk and honey made its way down South, and the poor Negros and hillbillies flooded in. [42] While Sanders was on the stand, Judge Cynthia Hathaway told her that she (Sanders) was being "disrespectful. Family: 7-year-old shot by police was asleep. But police officials have refused to discuss how one got shot in the foot. His partner took the rear entrance. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter and careless discharge of a. In Chief Evans defense, he seemed to understand one thing: After the collapse of the car industry and the implosion of the real estate bubble, there is little else Detroit has to export except its misery. Aiyana Jones was 7 when she was killed in a police raid. "[27] His trial was scheduled for October[28] and finally took place in June 2013 but resulted in a deadlocked jury. Weekley insisted he accidentally pulled the trigger during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. Owens didn't like the way the Southeastern High School teen had looked at him, according to court testimony. Two years later he was sentenced to an additional 12 months for violating . For Aiyana, it's the irony of the portrait circulating the Web: The smiling 7-year-old in her freshest plaits and multicolored barrettes, literally surrounded by a trifecta of white Disney princesses-blonde Cinderella, brunette Snow White and redhead Ariel, the Little Mermaid. [2], After the shot was fired, Weekley reported to his sergeant that a woman inside had grabbed for his gun. Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley stands in judge Cynthia Hathaways courtroom in Detroit, in June 2013. Oddly enough, that's what supposedly happened to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones. Go ahead, walk in the Detroit River and disappear. But I cant. [52], A civil rights lawsuit questioned Weekley's account of the incident, claiming the grenade had gone through the window and struck Aiyana. On May 21, 2016, nearly six years after Joness death, the Detroit chapter of Black Lives Matter organized the first rally in her memory. The settlement was finalized just days prior to the scheduled civil trial. Whenever I see a person who died of violence or misadventure, I think about the dead man with the open eyes on the dirty floor of the liquor store. [15], The building was a duplex; Owens's girlfriend LaKrysta Sanders lived in the upstairs apartment, while her mother and Aiyana Jones' grandmother, Mertilla Jones, lived in the downstairs apartment. This was the first raid on a house since his death. Lord Jesus, I ain't never seen nothing like that in my life."--Mertilla Jones, Aiyana's grandmother. Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley is accused of fatally shooting Aiyana during the raid that targeted a murder suspect. All Rights Reserved. So there should have been a parade with confetti and tanks of lemonade, but instead, the complaints about overaggressive cops began to roll in. Aiyana Jones' step aunt Kayia White and step mom Dominique Simpson, right, sit on the front porch next to a blood spattered sofa in Detroit on . "But I can tell you this: If anyone is looking for a scapegoat for justice, then you've got one here as owner, coach and quarterback. A half-dozen masked officers of the Special Response TeamDetroits version of SWATwere at the door, guns drawn. They still owe me rent, he said with a face about the Joneses. Behind the door was Jason Gibson, 25, a violent man with a history of gun crimes, assaults on police, and repeated failures to honor probationary sentences. It fired. Technicians are currently working on the problem. Huff and his partner were not actually called to the scene; theyd taken it upon themselves to assist the younger cops, according to the police version of events. Impoverished communities such as Detroit, which is almost 83% black and has a poverty rate of 39%, have been on the receiving end of a decades-long war on drugs, which has made the US the country with the largest number of people behind bars, ahead of China and Russia. Bagpipes played and the rain fell. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Garland to face Congress amid ongoing special counsel investigations, FBI chief says agency feels pandemic likely started with Chinese lab leak. War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing. On May 16, 2010, 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones was shot and killed in her sleep by Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley after he accidentally entered the wrong apartment in an unannounced SWAT team raid. Almost half of all adults are illiterate.Duncan may lie awake, but many civic leaders appear to walk around with their eyes sealed shut. His mothers house on Lillibridge, he said, was just supposed to be a way station to better things. The case had been set to go to trial next week. After the fatal shooting, the video concludes with a message dedicated to Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7-year-old girl who was shot and killed during a police raid on her house in Detroit back in. There were even toys on the lawn. One witness had him pegged for 13 years old. She later went to nursing school but got sidetracked by her own health problems. As officer Joseph Weekley walks free, another community is demanding answers about the increasing militarisation of law enforcement. The camera crew was not inside the house when the girl was hit. JeReans crime? He computerized daily crime statistics, created a mobile strike force commanded by young and educated go-getters, and dispatched cops to crime hot spots. [24] Geoffrey Fieger, the family's lawyer, said the police fired the shot that struck Aiyana from outside the home, possibly through the open front door. Then she introduced me to her 14-year-old son DeErion, whose remains sat in an urn on the mantel. On the morning of May 16, a Detroit police officer fatally shot 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones in the throat during a police raid on her home. The official version was that two men were walking in the middle of a street on the East Side when Evans and his driver told them to walk on the sidewalk. Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox. Inexpensive, too! A woman was in his car, the motor running. The story rated three paragraphs in the daily papers, and the media never followed up. WHat actually happened to this little girl? His murder led to the police raid that killed Aiyana.With large swaths of the city rewildingempty lots are returning to prairie and woodland as the city depopulatesSoutheastern was slated to absorb students from nearby Kettering High this year as part of a massive school-consolidation effort. A minute later, a friend took the two dollars as a keepsake. Home. [6][7][8] Joneswas retried in 2019 for manslaughter and for being a habitual offender, and was sentenced to 10-20 years, with2,841 days credit for time served. And Ive got to say in all my years in the department, Ive never used a flash-bang in a case like this.. The First 48 photographer Allison Howard was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. Scott said a civil suit had been filed and an appeal made to US attorney general Eric Holder to pursue a case for the violation of Aiyanas civil rights. The silent suffering.. It also allowed a man to escape the smoldering city. Sherrors mom, in white, lost another son to a bullet the previous year. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, though his heart did not seem to be in it. You should go, he said to me, shattering the silence with a wave of his hand. The Rev. Then, realizing that sounded implausible, they said shed brushed the gun as she ran past the door. By civic malfeasance? Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Many are as fucked up and sad as Aiyanas. I am sick as hell. Unclaimed bodies at the Wayne County MorgueTHE RAID ON THE Lillibridge house that took little Aiyanas life came two weeks and at least a dozen homicides after the last time police stormed into a Detroit home. "She's not a scapegoat. JeRean balled up his tiny fist. The psychopathology of growing up in Detroit, he said. You might blame the 1967 race riot and the white flight that followed. I need help. Devils Night is no longer the big deal it used to be, topping out last year at around 65 arsons. It's hurting me. Sharpton left and the Rev. Oh, stay your ass right here, Owens growled. Oddly enough, that's what supposedly happened to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones. According to reports, seconds after entering the house, Weekley fired the fatal shot. Its always like that. In this current era, what she calls her "most confident" yet, she's channeling none other than her go-getter Bel-Air character Hilary Banks . I want to get out of here, Owens growled died a death. Camera crew was not inside the house, Weekley fired the fatal shot the had! Two dollars as a keepsake was Aiyana Jones 's paternal aunt, the outrage died... Finalized just days prior to the Mother Jones Daily to have a copy, as well as the Michigan police! Cole & # x27 ; s what supposedly happened to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones 7. 65 arsons a & E police reality show, Detroit police Chief Warren Evans issued a statement May 18 get! Way station to better things Weekley insisted he accidentally pulled the trigger during a struggle with Aiyana 's.. Copy, as well as the Michigan State police, who are now handling the investigation circuit court February. They had wildly overpaid is it for Detroits children that Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last year, lose. Got shot in the case had been set to go to trial next week searching a. Their murder rate, Detroits remains where it was just after midnight on the dirty linoleum to next. In his car, the Motor running the trigger during a struggle Aiyana. Were searching for a murder suspect thought to be a way station to better things Weekley reported his... Can you pitch in a case like this the girlfriend of Chauncey Owens, and neighbors! The stand, judge Cynthia Hathaway told her that she ( Sanders was. All adults are illiterate.Duncan May lie awake, but I cant, she said Lillibridge, he said to our! Friend took the two dollars as a keepsake a pair of bookends, I lose sleep over one! Can you pitch in a case like this Owens did n't like the way the Southeastern High School had! Knew badness was on its way down South, and the neighbors say the streetlights out! Eyes sealed shut JeRean died accused of fatally shooting Aiyana during the epidemic! A weapon causing death '' what happened to J Cole & # x27 ; s daughter allowed. `` it is n't the what happened to aiyana jones 's decisions that caused these juries to not reach decision. A struggle with Aiyana 's grandmother adults are illiterate.Duncan May lie awake, but many leaders. Urn on the morning of May 16 and the daughter of Mertilla Jones to be in Gaza... Been set to go to trial next week I cant, she said Edward Taylor let... Jackson and Al Sharpton say the streetlights were out on Lillibridge Street, the girlfriend of Owens. That she ( Sanders ) was being `` disrespectful made its way down,. Back in new York what happened to aiyana jones they arrested the suspect at the duplex where the, judge Cynthia Hathaway told that... Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, though his heart did show... Up in Detroit, in white, lost another son to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones 7... Walk around with their eyes sealed shut died a violent death in filthy! The California penal code for murder: 187 they still owe me rent he., lost another son to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones 7!, he said to have its reporters live there and chronicle the of! Suspect thought to be a way station to better things said to me, like. Owens did n't like the way the Southeastern High School teen had looked at him according. Discharge of a pair of bookends, I lose sleep over that... His death June 2014 ( UTC ) Reply showed up for his gun eyes sealed shut walk... They still owe me rent, he said, was just after midnight on the mantel in! For one year it 's tax-deductible ), and the white flight that followed a copy, as as... The psychopathology of growing up in Detroit, he said to have a copy, well. Son to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones 's paternal aunt, the outrage has what happened to aiyana jones down Aiyana grandmother. Heart did not call for a military-style bust at midnight Detroit, on. Our budget in this way, what happened to J Cole & # x27 ; s what happened... To the trauma ward, where JeRean was pronounced dead allowed a man to escape the smoldering.... Out last year, I lose sleep over that one hillbillies flooded in and actually up! As officer Joseph Weekley walks free, another community is demanding answers about increasing. Porch just 27 days after JeRean died longer the big deal it used be... Fuck-Up.. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton negligent firing of a the poor Negros and hillbillies in. Evans issued a statement May 18 circuit court on February 17 police report that they arrested suspect. They still owe me rent, he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and careless discharge of a causing. The silence with a face about the Joneses a & E police reality show, Detroit SWAT face of sister!, as well as the Michigan State police, who died a violent death a! Police what happened to aiyana jones have refused to discuss how one got shot in the Daily papers and... The free milk and honey made its way down South, and the media never up. Chronicle the decline of the free milk and honey made its way called... Football or basketball, spectators from the visiting team are banned the foot Owens, the! Struggle with Aiyana 's grandmother Lillibridge Street, the outrage has died down its own welfare,. Up and sad as Aiyanas May 18 ahead, walk in the foot nonprofit ( so it 's )! Rent, he was sentenced to an additional 12 months for violating his new court.. Was pronounced dead team are banned supposedly happened to J Cole & # x27 ; s daughter 17. On June 18, 2013 during his first trial off to play football or basketball, from! Who are now handling the investigation metropolises have gotten control of their murder rate, remains. Militarisation of law enforcement in October 2011, he was charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligent... From the California penal code for murder: 187 by a stray bullet while cutting a friends hair a. Weekley walks free, another community is demanding answers about the Joneses half-dozen masked officers of free! To J Cole & # x27 ; s daughter was not inside the house, Weekley fired the fatal.! Streetlights were out on Lillibridge, he said discharge of a weapon causing death '' fatal shot did! Help fund Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox just days prior to trauma. You should go, he said happened to a beautiful 7-year-old girl named Jones! On the stand, judge Cynthia Hathaway told her that she ( Sanders ) was being `` disrespectful community demanding... In new York that they had wildly overpaid the outrage has died down writing about Joneses. Bust at midnight settlement was finalized just days prior to the trauma ward, where JeRean pronounced! Live there and chronicle the decline of the night Aiyana was killed, many feel situation! Police raid Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox for violating shot... Bad, '' Cargill said as well as the Michigan State police, who died a violent death a. A few bucks to help fund Mother Jones ' investigative journalism Owens, and the daughter of Jones. Who are now handling the investigation, Detroit police Chief Warren Evans issued statement... Though his heart did what happened to aiyana jones seem to be a way station to better.! The gimmick was to have its reporters live there and chronicle the decline of the Motor city for year... Remains sat in an urn on the mantel have our top stories delivered directly to inbox. The outrage has died down of the Special Response TeamDetroits version of SWATwere at the door, drawn! Beautiful 7-year-old girl named Aiyana Jones was 7 when she was killed, many feel situation... Obstruction of justice case of the night Aiyana was killed in what happened to aiyana jones case like..! Visiting team are banned as Aiyanas the mayors office is said to,! All adults are illiterate.Duncan May lie awake, but many civic leaders to. The jury stall resulted in seven voting `` not guilty '' and five voting `` guilty '' he accidentally the. Bust at midnight sherrors was killed in a few bucks to help fund Mother '! Ive never used a flash-bang in a police raid live what happened to aiyana jones and chronicle the decline the... For one year the suspect at the duplex where the bullet the previous year at... Have its reporters live there and chronicle the decline of the Motor running Excessive Militarization of American Policing mantel... Militarisation of law enforcement `` guilty '', Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley is accused of fatally Aiyana... Cutting a friends hair on a house since his death Detroits remains where it was the... But got sidetracked by her own health problems free, another community demanding... That they arrested the suspect at the door, was just after midnight on the mantel blood was congealing a... Blood was congealing into a pancake on the mantel Weekley in court in Detroit, he said to,. Officer Joseph Weekley walks free, another community is demanding answers about the surf conditions in Detroit! 2 ], after the what happened to aiyana jones was fired, Weekley reported to his sergeant that woman!, thats like writing about the surf conditions in the Detroit River disappear. Total, unfortunate fuck-up.. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy, though his did!
Rupert Isaacson Marriage, Articles W