Jason Meade mug shot

Former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy Jason Meade indicted with murder of Casey Goodson Jr.

By Edward Era Barbacena

COLUMBUS, Ohio  — After nearly a year of investigative work, former white American Franklin County Sheriff's deputy Jason Meade  has been indicted with the murder of a black man Casey Goodson Jr.

Meade was indicted Thursday on two charges of murder and one count of reckless homicide. The charges were filed in Franklin County Court.

Casey Goodson

Goodson Jr., 23, was shot and killed by Meade on December 4, 2020. The incident happened in Northeast Columbus, just off Ferris Road.

Meade was working with the US Marshal’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Task Force when he shot Goodson Jr. The U.S. Marshal said Goodson Jr. was not the person the task force was searching for.

There is not any body camera footage of the actual shooting, as Franklin County Sheriff's task force officers are not issued body cameras.

Franklin County Coroner Dr. Anahi Ortiz said in March 2021 that Goodson was shot a total of six times. Five of the bullets entered Goodson's back and one entered his buttock, according to Ortiz.

She determined the cause of death was "gunshot wounds of the torso." She said "torso" is a term to define the midsection of the body, which includes front and back. The manner of death was "homicide." The full coroner's report can be read here.

After 17-years with the Sheriff's Office, Meade retired in July 2021. Prior to retirement, he had been on leave since the deadly shooting.

Hours after the indictment, Meade's attorney provided a statement on behalf of the former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy. The statement alleges that Goodson Jr. pointed a gun at the deputy moments before the deadly shooting.

"Mr. Meade acted within his lawful duties as an officer of the law when he pursued Mr. Goodson to investigate the felony weapons offense he witnessed," the statement read in part.

Following Meade's indictment, Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin released the following statement:

"After the grand jury indictment today, I've reminded my staff that while everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, the standards for being a Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy must be even higher than that of our criminal justice system. As law enforcement officers we must meet this higher standard because of the immense trust we ask the community to place in us. It's vital to maintain that trust, which is why I've tasked members of my staff to review the facts from the independent investigation when we're able to fully access them and determine how this agency can best learn from this tragedy. This office has a professional obligation to do everything in its power to ensure the community and our deputies are kept safe. As I've said from the very beginning, I pray for everyone involved in this tragedy."

Baldwin had previously said the autopsy did not "provide all of the facts needed,” and that he will wait until the criminal investigation is complete before pursuing any disciplinary action against Meade.

In June, Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack appointed two outside prosecutors, Gary S. Shroyer and H. Tim Merkle, to investigate since the county prosecutor’s office serves as legal counsel to the sheriff’s office and anticipates having to defend the county and the law enforcement agency in this case.

"The indictment came as a result of a comprehensive investigation conducted by the Columbus Police Department's Critical Incident Review Team, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cincinnati-Columbus Public Corruption/Civil Rights Squad, and the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General," Special Prosecutors Shroyer and Merkle said in a statement.

 

French Arch Bishop Michel Aupetit (

Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit who was involved in an 'intimate relationship' with woman resigns

When the worldliness overcomes holyness - an hypocrisy at its finest

By Edward Era Barbacena

Paris - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Michel Aupetit from the position of Archbishop of Paris following reports that Aupetit had a consensual "intimate relationship" with a woman.

The move was announced in a statement from the Vatican Thursday after French magazine Le Point broke the news of the relationship on November 22.

Aupetit also released a statement after the Vatican announced its decision.

"I was, of course, greatly disturbed by the attacks I was subjected to," reads the statement.

"I ask forgiveness of those whom I might have hurt and I assure you all of my deep friendship and my prayer, which will always be yours."

The alleged relationship came to light due to a love email Aupetit sent to his secretary by mistake in 2012, when he was the Vicar-General of Paris, according to Le Point.

Despite admitting in the Le Point article that his behavior "towards her may have been ambiguous, implying the existence between us of an intimate relationship and sexual intercourse," Aupetit has firmly denied that anything actually happened between him and the woman in question.

"Those who knew me then, and who shared my daily life, could certainly testify that I was not maintaining a double life as the article suggests," he said in an interview with Radio Notre Dame on November 27.

"I recognize, as I have already said, that I mismanaged a situation with a person who came to me on numerous occasions. I confided this error to my spiritual guide and the ecclesiastical authority was informed."

Aupetit's resignation comes at a time when the public image of the French Catholic Church has been damaged by the release of a damning report in October which says that members of the Catholic clergy in France sexually abused an estimated 216,000 minors over the past seven decades.

The number of abused minors rises to an estimated 330,000 when including victims of people who were not clergy but had other links to the Church, such as Catholic schools and youth programs.

The French Catholic Church has suggested that it will sell church properties to finance compensation to sexual abuse victims.

Aupetit is not accused of sexually abusing children.

In the same statement announcing Aupetit's resignation, the Vatican appointed Mons. Georges Pontier as his successor.

 

Florida church musical director killed wife, two kids at family’s home: sheriff

William Conway Broyles has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder.

By Edward Era Barbacena

A Florida man gunned down his wife of 30 years and two adult children at their home — shooting each victim multiple times so “they didn’t suffer,” authorities said.

William Conway Broyles, a white man who serves as musical director at a Jacksonville church, shot his 57-year-old wife, Candace, in the living room of their Callahan home early Wednesday, WJXT reported.

Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said Broyles then went to his 27-year-old daughter’s room and shot her as she woke up before setting his sights on his 28-year-old son, who was also gunned down.

“This case is just tragic,” Leeper said at a press conference. “It’s just, it’s crazy. It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Broyles called 911 after allegedly executing his family but said he took their final moments into consideration.

“Later on, he told us that he shot each victim multiple times, just to make sure they didn’t suffer,” Leeper said. “When he asked why he didn’t just shoot himself, he said he was too scared to do that.”

An arrest report identified the victims as Candace, Cara and Aaron Broyles, according to WJXT. Leeper said there was no prior history of domestic issues at the family’s home.

“It doesn’t make any sense when you look at the whole circumstances of why we believe it happened,” the sheriff told WJXX, adding a motive remains under investigation.

Leeper said Broyles’ daughter may have had autism, but was high functioning, WJXX reported.

Broyles has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and remains in held without bond at the Nassau County Jail, records show. It’s unclear if he’s hired an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

An online bio for Broyles at Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church says he’s worked as the director of music ministries for the past 23 years.

“Bill has been happily married for 30 years to Candace and they have three children, sons Evan and Aaron and daughter Cara, along with three crazy Corgi pups,” the site reads. “In his free time, Bill enjoys all types of outdoor activities, reworking older cars, and home and garden projects.”

Messages seeking comment from church officials were not returned Wednesday, WJXT reported Wednesday.

 

Queens woman Kathleen Cassillo who drove through Manhattan BLM protest turns down plea deal

By Edward Era Barbacena

A white woman from Queens accused of driving through a Manhattan Black Lives Matter protest a year ago has refused a plea deal — choosing to stand trial because she insists she had been under attack.

Kathleen Casillo, 52, was caught in shocking video footage as she drove her black BMW sedan through the protest against ICE detentions in Midtown on Dec. 11 last year.

It shows her stopped at 39th Street and Third Avenue with protesters in front of her car — seconds before she floors it, with people screaming and rushing to help those left crumpled on the ground.

Casillo insisted at the time that she was felt under attack from protesters who were screaming abuse and banging on her car. She was released within hours with a desk ticket, The Post noted at the time.

On Wednesday, she appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court where she was offered a plea deal of just six days community service and a suspended license for a year, DailyMail.com said.

But she turned down the offer — preferring to take her case to a jury, the outlet noted.

Protesters gathered outside the court, even bringing a TV to play footage of the incident, photos by amNewYork show.

Some chanted “Black Lives Matter!” while others carried signs saying that “Kathleen Casillo is Kyle Rittenhouse,” the teen gunman recently acquitted of all charges over the deadly shooting at BLM protests last year in Kenosha Wisconsin.

“Kathleen Casillo drove her car at top speed through a crowd of human beings. I was one of those human beings—I never saw her coming,” Roque Rodriguez told the outlet outside court.

“She hit me flush from behind and set my body flying and flipping through the air and she kept driving.

“It’s white supremacy that allowed Kathleen to believe she had the right to end the lives of anyone that got in her way, especially BLM protesters,” Rodriguez insisted.

She also blasted Assistant District Attorney Andrew Mercer for the lenient handling of the case, as well as not following up with seven of the nine people allegedly hit.

“He did no due diligence, and instead assumed that Kathleen did not have bad intentions and that no one else was seriously harmed,” Rodriguez claimed.

Tabitha Howell said that she was left with “five bulging discs in my back and a traumatic brain injury.”

“It’s one thing to face physical recovery. It’s another to try to process what happened mentally and emotionally,” Howell said.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office insisted to the paper that it “has attempted to speak with every victim in this case.”

Casillo is due back in court on Jan. 28.

 

Suspect extradited to Colorado from Ecuador to face a total of 126 sexual assault charges.

By Edward Era Barbacena

A white American suspect who fled to Ecuador after he was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman in Colorado in 2016 was extradited back to the U.S. by the FBI last week, according to a report. 

Peter Dettmer, 69, has been charged with 126 counts of sexual assault stemming from an alleged incident in Golden, Colorado, that was witnessed by a responding police officer through an open apartment window, FOX 31 in Denver reported. 

Dettmer posted his $2,000 bail after his arrest and reportedly fled the country. 

He was found to be living in Ecuador after years of searching for his whereabouts and arrested by Ecuadorian authorities last April at his apartment. 

"Outside the United States, the FBI has no authority to conduct those investigations, no authority to carry weapons normally, and no authority to make arrests," Former FBI Special Agent Bob Pence told FOX 31. "So it’s a liaison-type responsibility, and we work with the host countries, and do it very successfully around the world."

The FBI has a field office in neighboring Colombia. 

Dettmer is scheduled to be in a Colorado court on Wednesday. 

 

Marcus Lamb ( still 

American anti-vax televangelist Marcus Lamb dies of COVID: ‘A divine consequence'

Marcus Lamb, a Texas Televangelist who frequently railed against COVID-19 vaccine mandates on his show, has died several weeks after contracting the virus.

By Edward Era Barbacena

Marcus Lamb, a white American televangelist and a co-founder and the CEO of the conservative Christian Daystar Television Network who vocally opposed Covid-19 vaccines, has died at 64, weeks after he contracted Covid-19, the network said.

“It's with a heavy heart we announce that Marcus Lamb, president and founder of Daystar Television Network, went home to be with the Lord this morning," the network said a tweet Tuesday. "The family asks that their privacy be respected as they grieve this difficult loss. Please continue to lift them up in prayer."

Lamb's son, Jonathan Lamb, filled in for his father on a Nov. 23 Daystar broadcast and beseeched listeners to pray for his father's recovery from Covid-19.

Speaking to viewers from Lamb's hospital bedside via telephone, Lamb's wife, Joni Lamb, said, "With this thing, it's kind of like riding a roller coaster.

"It's like, you'll just be up and everything's great, and then you have a little lull, and then you come down low and then you come back up, but from everybody that I talk to — I think that's the pattern," she said.

"We can really feel the prayers of the people," she said, thanking viewers for their prayers.

"Pray specifically for his lungs to clear the Covid pneumonia and pray for his oxygen level to continue to be strong and to go up so that we can wean him off of oxygen and bring him home," she said.

Jonathan Lamb described his father's Covid infection as "a spiritual attack from the enemy" to "take down" Marcus Lamb.

The network has dedicated hours of broadcasts to anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination activists and groups.

In July 2020, the Lamb family devoted an hour of their broadcast to "censorship" around the Covid pandemic, featuring the misinformation group America's Frontline Doctors.

In May, Daystar broadcast an hourlong program with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose famous family denounced his anti-vaccination views in May 2019. Kennedy was recently banned by Instagram for posting Covid vaccination misinformation.

Vaccines remain the safest and most effective way to prevent the worst outcomes of Covid-19. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found in September that they were still largely able to stop hospitalization in people infected with the highly contagious delta variant, and a British study found that the vaccinated are less likely to spread the coronavirus if they do become infected.

In light of the emergence of omicron, a new variant of concern that is spreading rapidly in southern Africa, the CDC strengthened its advice about Covid-19 booster shots Tuesday, saying all eligible adults should get them. Adults ages 18 and older become eligible six months after their initial Pfizer or Moderna series or two months after they get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In recent months, a number of prominent anti-vaccination Christian broadcasters have died from Covid-19. Conservative radio hosts Dick Farrell, Phil Valentine and Marc Bernier, who were unvaccinated, all died after they contracted Covid.

Tucson police officer shot a man in a wheelchair 9 times killing him.

 

The body cam has been released. *GRAPHIC*

Tucson police officer shot a man in a wheelchair 9 times killing him. 

61yr old Richard Lee Richards.

Officer Ryan Remington has been fired and the case has been sent to the district attorney for review.

Tucson, Arizona