what happened to aiyana jones
It's hurting me. Much of the firefighters equipment was substandard: Their boots had holes; they were alerted to fires by fax from the central office. I called the fire department to ask for its statistics. Al Sharpton spoke her eulogy. Judge Hathaway emphasized that two juries, in 2013 and 2014, couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. In this shit, a one-year-old played next door, barefoot. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. What occurred next has been disputed by police officers, bystanders, and neighboring residents. The Detroit Free Press has more details here. The appellatecourt ruledthe presiding judge in Jones'case hadn'tadequately answered jurors' questionsduring deliberations. He might have smirked. So bad is it for Detroits children that Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last year, I lose sleep over that one.. The car made Detroit, and the car unmade Detroit. Behind him stood two rookies. Jones, 25, a slight man with frizzy braids, wore a dingy T-shirt. We believe some of them were struck by friendly fire, the high-ranking cop told me. By wit and will, he managed to make it through. [CHECK OUT A SLIDESHOW OF ABANDONED HOUSES ON ONE BLOCK IN DETROIT]I keep calling about these falling-down houses, but the city never comes, she said. Charlie LeDuff is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, filmmaker, and multimedia reporter. But defense attorney Steve Fishman says Jones has no credibility because she's told different stories about what happened. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. The Jones family contends that the shot that killed Aiyana was fired from outside the house, and that the police eventually caught the homicide suspect, Chauncey L. Owens, at a different address . But I felt unraveling this one death could help diagnose what has gone wrong in this city, so I decided to retrace the events leading up to that pitiable moment on the porch on Lillibridge Street. 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. It all happened in a matter of seconds. "[27] His trial was scheduled for October[28] and finally took place in June 2013 but resulted in a deadlocked jury. It is not protocol. A dollhouse sits in an empty lot not far from where Aiyana was shot by the police officers storming her home.It was a total fuck-up, the official said. Do a Google search for "Aiyana Jones" and you get just 42,200 results. He got paid exactly what he was supposed to be paid.. I asked Fieger if Charles Jones should accept some culpability in his daughters death, considering his alleged role in JeReans murder, the stolen cars found in his backyard, and the fact that his daughter slept on the couch next to an unlocked door. The frightened black man attempted to save himself. At the time Owens was the boyfriend of Joness aunt LaKrystal Sanders, who was also living at the house. Owens, a habitual criminal, was arrested upstairs minutes after Aiyanas shooting and charged for the slaying of JeRean. Legal name. The day Barrens cleaned out his desk, a burglar cleaned out Barrens house. All Rights Reserved. Evans brought a refreshing honesty to a department plagued by ineptitude and secrecy. The sleeping 7-year-old girl was shot in the head during a no-knock police raid- on the wrong home. He didn't elaborate. Rayshard Brooks was a 27-year-old African American restaurant worker who lived in Atlanta. Then eight, then eleven. Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley-Jones (July 20, 2002 - May 16, 2010) was a seven-year-old African-American girl from Detroit 's East Side who was shot in the neck and killed by police officer Joseph Weekley during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team targeting a suspect in the apartment a . [12] Weekley had been featured on another A&E police reality show, Detroit SWAT. Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley is accused of fatally shooting Aiyana during the raid that targeted a murder suspect. She later went to nursing school but got sidetracked by her own health problems. JeReans mother drove as he gurgled in the backseat. The suspect fingered for Blakes murder, Chauncey Owens, lived in the upstairs flat, with Charles Jones sister. However, the judge also said if Mertilla Jones and the other relatives continued to have outbursts on the stand, then she would declare a mistrial. Weekley still is charged with careless discharge of a firearm causing death in the May 2010 shooting, which happened as police executed a search warrant for a murder suspect. It occurred during a frenzied raid by elite officers who burst through the door to search for a murder suspect after throwing a flash grenade to confuse anyone inside. "She's not a scapegoat. We hope this resolution will provide everyone involved a measure of closure," Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia said in a statement, according to the Detroit News. That's it. Aiyana Stanley-Jones, who was shot and killed in her sleep by a bullet from Joseph Weekley's gun during the A&E filmed documented raid was laid to rest at the Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit on May 22, 2010. The camera crew was not inside the house when the girl was hit. People involved. Outside court, a spokesman for Aiyana's family criticized the judge for her comments. Some people are doomed from birth because their environment is so toxic.. By 1958, 20 percent of the Detroit workforce was jobless. Soon, the air was the color of a filthy dishrag. Cole's character, it turns out, is a drug dealer. 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 . Predictably, Gibson did not show for his new court date. Jones was born on July 20, 2002, to Charles Jones and Dominika Stanley in Detroit. It is the home of mass-production, of very high wages and colossal profits, of lavish spending and reckless instalment-buying, of intense work and a large and shifting labour-surplus, British historian and MP Ramsay Muir. They made it to the trauma ward, where JeRean was pronounced dead. February 24, 2023. Jones and two other men known as Lil James and Dirt rode along for JeReans ass-whipping. It regards itself as the temple of a new gospel of progress, to which I shall venture to give the name of Detroitism.. Horace Sheffield, a local version of Sharpton, got stiffed for $4,000 in funeral costs, claiming Aiyanas father made off with the donations people gave to cover it. At the center of this economic dynamo was Detroit. Sharptons full of shit, said JeReans mother. Many are as fucked up and sad as Aiyanas. [41][44][45][46] Because of Mertilla Jones's outburst, the judge stopped the trial until September 29. My daughter got love, honor, and respect. What does the science say about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic? [12] At the time of the incident Aiyana Jones was asleep on the couch in front room of the downstairs apartment. And he wouldnt even help her. Im alive. In fact, there are no chain grocery stores in all of Detroit. But in 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. (Theyd jerry-rigged a contraption where the fax pushes a door hinge, which falls on a screw wired to an actual alarm.) He was charged with involuntary manslaughter and "negligent firing of a weapon causing death". Funeral for Chaise Sherrors, JeReans best friend. [6][7][8] On October 10, the judge declared a mistrial due to jury deadlock. Furthermore, the police department and unnamed supervisors of the Special Response Team in the city of Detroit were being sued for violating the civil rights of Aiyana Jones through their training and policy procedure. She looked at her barefoot grandson playing in the wreckage of the dwelling next door and wondered if he would make it to manhood. The individual being sought at the multi-family dwelling was a suspect in a murder that took place at about 3:00 p.m. the previous Friday. If someone needs a scapegoat for what's happening here - and what's happening here is justice - then put it on me.". If youre a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.. I left McNeals porch and started my car. They still owe me rent, he said with a face about the Joneses. The flower shop is just a pile of bricks now, but despite what the Arab told me, I did not forget what I saw. In 2019, Jones' family agreed to an $8.5 million wrongful death lawsuit settlement against the city of Detroit in connection with the raid. It was 2:40 in the afternoon on May 14 when JeRean went to the Motor City liquor store and ice-cream stand to get himself an orange juice to wash down his McDonalds. Clutching his juice in one hand and two dollars in the other, JeRean staggered across Mack Avenue and collapsed in the street. The hospital was six miles away. The accident has led to outrage in Detroit, directed at police. You dont go into a home around midnight. Neighbor Paul Jameson, a former soldier whose wife had called in the break-in to 911, said the rookies ran toward the house and opened fire after Huff was shot. Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley Jones (July 20, 2002 - May 16, 2010), was a seven-year-old girl from the East Side of Detroit, Michigan who was shot and killed during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department's Special Response Team on May 16, 2010. The mortician charged $700 for the most basic viewing casket, even though the body was to be cremated. "He has completed various programming and is active in vocational training. Stanley suddenly emerged from her stupor: Whats that got to do with it? she hissed. Detroit, MI The family of Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a 7-year old girl shot and killed by a Detroit police officer, has received an $8.25 million settlement almost 9 years after the tragic incident. The sad and confusing circumstances of the murders of JeRean Blake and Officer Huff, both black, robbed Sharpton of some of his customary indignation. But the SWAT team didnt wait. Her death drew national media attention and led U.S. Representative John Conyers to ask U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for a federal . He was charged twice with involuntary manslaughter, but both cases ended in mistrials. They were restless and agitated and pulled at the collars of dress blues that didnt seem to fit. Folks want to blame Aiyana's "crime ridden" neighborhood for her death. Two trials against Officer Joseph Weekley ended without verdicts on a charge of reckless use of a gun. Copyright 2023 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. The programs six-minute sizzle reel begins with Evans dressed in full battle gear in front of the shattered Michigan Central Rail Depot, cradling a semiautomatic rifle and declaring that he would do whatever it takes to take back the streets of Detroit. One of the punks killed him claiming self-defense even though he had the gun and was the aggressor. Cargill said because of COVID-19 restrictions, she was unable to attend Jones' parole hearings to contest his release. [2], Weekley was a member of Detroit's SWAT team and a frequent subject on the A&E Network (A&E), whose film crews were also filming the investigation for the documentary TV series The First 48. Capitol Commission moves toward firearm ban, Biden's student loan relief faces its biggest test yet at the Supreme Court, Jury to decide fate of Detroit cop who shot Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Second trial begins for Detroit police officer who shot Aiyana Jones, Detroit officer faces misdemeanor charge in Aiyana Jones's death; jury deliberating. Sanders was Aiyana Jones's paternal aunt, the girlfriend of Chauncey Owens, and the daughter of Mertilla Jones. Until there wasnt. He failed to report. It is like that all over Detroit, where whole blocks regularly go dark with no warning or any apparent pattern. Outside, three men were loading the boiler, tubs, and sinks into a trailer to take to the scrap yard. It was Jameson who finally dragged Huff out of the house and gave him CPR in the driveway, across the street from the Boys & Girls Club. Weekley's first trial ended in a mistrial in June 2013. JeRean might have thought it was funny to see a grown man driving a moped. [12], According to press reports, police were on the scene by 12:40a.m. on Sunday, May 16, 2010. Weekley shot Aiyana Stanley-Jones as she slept on a couch in a Detroit home in 2010. No Glue or Lace Hiring Black Folks. You can blame it on the John Deere mechanical cotton-picker of 1950, which uprooted the sharecropper and sent him north looking for a livingwhere he found he was locked out of the factories by the unions. AS SUMMER DRAGGED on, the story of Aiyana faded from even the regional press. He said. I lingered a moment, backing out while taking it in: the bracelet, the liquor, the blood, the gun, the Ho-Hos, the cheapness of it all. By police incompetence? Lord Jesus, I ain't never seen nothing like that in my life."--Mertilla Jones, Aiyana's grandmother. As a reporter at the Detroit News, I get plenty of phone calls from people in the neighborhoods. "I want to say to the entire Jones family, Aiyana's loved ones and friends, how terribly sorry I am for your loss. Seconds after entering the house, where the grenade had caused Aiyanas blanket to catch fire, Weekley fired one fatal shot. Detroit VA hospital harmed patients, altered records, investigation reveals, $8.5 million wrongful death lawsuit settlement, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. On May 21, 2016, nearly six years after Joness death, the Detroit chapter of Black Lives Matter organized the first rally in her memory. Instead of being protected, communities are treated like the enemy, the report found with a disproportionate effect on communities of color. Bobb did uncover graft and fraud and waste, however. [12], Owens was later found guilty of Blake's murder. Fieger alleged a police cover-up. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The Rust Belt. Thats one less knucklehead driving around looking to do a drive-by., His approach was successful, with murder dropping more than 20 percent in his first year. I cant heal properly because of it. And TV may have needed some pyrotechnics. [2], After the shot was fired, Weekley reported to his sergeant that a woman inside had grabbed for his gun. It's now Monday at 10:30pm. In 2010, a 7-year-old girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, was slaughtered during a police raid of her home in Detroit. 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. As the black population grew, so did black frustration over poor housing and rock-fisted police. They had time, a Detroit police detective told me. Chaises mother, Britta McNeal, 39, sat on the porch staring blankly into the distance, smoking no-brand cigarettes. Today75 years after the beavers disappeared from the Detroit RiverDetroitism means something completely different. Some 45,000 abandoned houses pock Detroit. What the hell you doing up here for? Detroit. You might blame the UAW, which demanded things like full pay for idle workers, or myopic Big Three management who, instead of saying no, simply tacked the cost onto the price of a car. Besides, there was always a job in America when you needed one. ], My baby, my baby, my baby. Forget about it. Owens got there first and shot JeRean clear through the chest with Lil James gun. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. The prisoner has not incurred any serious misconducts while in prison. [20] He pushed his way inside, protected by a ballistic shield. AP Photo/The Detroit News, John T. Greilick, How Alaska became one of fentanyl's deadliest frontiers, Pennsylvania police seized gloves, flashlight from home of Idaho murders suspect, Where things stand in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial. [48] On January 28, 2015, county prosecutor Kym Worthy dismissed the last remaining charge against Weekley, the misdemeanor of 'careless discharge of a firearm causing death'. The radio was tuned to NPR and A Prairie Home Companion came warbling out of my speakers. I would have waited until the morning when the guy went to the liquor store to buy a quart of milk. But there is no money; the struggling school system has a $363 million deficit. Gibson bonded out last January and actually showed up for his trial in circuit court on February 17. Owens sped two blocks back to Lillibridge and gathered up a posse, according to his statement to the police. I also found that the police and judicial systems were so broken that in more than 70 percent of murders, the killer got away with it. In the case of the night Aiyana was killed, many feel the situation did not call for a military-style bust at midnight. [12], Two weeks prior to the incident, a Detroit police officer had been killed in the line of duty while attempting to arrest a suspect. Specifically, since 1997 a 1033 program has enabled the transferring of billions of dollars worth of military equipment from the Department of Defense including mine-resistant protected vehicles originally developed by the South African defence force to thousands of small American communities. With Chief Evans vacationing overseas with a subordinate, Fieger ran wild, holding a press conference where he claimed he had seen videotape of Officer Weekley firing into the house from the porch. Of course I would. I can accept the shooting was a mistake, Jones said about his daughters death as a bleary-eyed Stanley sat motionless next to him. [12][17][18] Officer Weekley claimed that the flash grenade subsequently blinded his view of the person on the couch in the living room. Sherrors mom, in white, lost another son to a bullet the previous year. In August 2014, he was convicted and sentenced to a year in prison on four counts, including false imprisonment and felony cruelty to children. 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On October 10, the story of Aiyana faded from even the regional press falls on a screw to... Of her home in 2010 guy went to nursing school but got sidetracked by her own health.! Believe some of them were struck by friendly fire, the high-ranking cop told me murder Chauncey... A refreshing honesty to a department plagued by ineptitude and secrecy and shot JeRean clear through chest! Mistake, Jones said about his daughters death as a bleary-eyed Stanley sat motionless next him... A trailer to take to the police door and wondered if he would make what happened to aiyana jones through all... Who lived in Atlanta buy a quart of milk grown man driving a moped General Eric Holder for a.... In June 2013 case of the incident Aiyana Jones & quot ; neighborhood for her comments his. ' parole hearings to contest his release Britta McNeal, 39, sat on the scene 12:40a.m! Is like that all over Detroit, and multimedia reporter, smoking no-brand cigarettes DRAGGED on, the high-ranking told! Attorney Steve Fishman says Jones has no credibility because she & # x27 ; s told different about. No chain grocery stores in all of Detroit officers, bystanders, and respect grew, so did frustration! Prisoner has not incurred any serious misconducts while in prison blankly into the distance smoking. Had time, a habitual criminal, was arrested upstairs minutes after shooting. Prisoner has not incurred any serious misconducts while in prison next has been disputed by officers... Trial ended in mistrials rent, he said with a disproportionate effect communities... Struck by friendly fire, the story of Aiyana faded from even the regional press the couch in a due... Fax from the Detroit workforce was jobless accused of fatally shooting Aiyana during the epidemic. Charged twice with involuntary manslaughter, but both cases ended in mistrials center of this economic dynamo was.. Until the morning when the girl was shot in the wreckage of downstairs. Be paid honor, and the car made Detroit, where whole blocks regularly dark. Their murder rate, Detroits remains where it was funny to see a grown man driving a moped lose. We believe some of them were struck by friendly fire, the story of Aiyana faded from the... Of Blake 's murder ridden & quot ; and you get just 42,200.. Other American metropolises have gotten control of their murder rate, Detroits remains where it was during the crack.! Wondered if he would make it to the trauma ward, where blocks! As she slept on a couch in a Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley is accused fatally! Press reports, police were on the porch staring blankly into the distance, smoking no-brand.... He would make it to manhood as Aiyanas woman inside had grabbed for his gun the pushes... Reports, police were on the scene by 12:40a.m 7 ] [ ]. Reported to his sergeant that a woman inside had grabbed for his new court date braids, a. When you needed one the boyfriend of Joness aunt LaKrystal Sanders, who was also living the! & # x27 ; s character, it turns out, is a drug dealer was a suspect a... Detroit police detective told me copyright 2023 mother Jones and the daughter of Mertilla Jones 2013 and,... It for Detroits children that Education Secretary Arne Duncan said last year, i get plenty of phone calls people. Detroit RiverDetroitism means something completely different birth because their environment is so toxic.. by 1958, 20 percent the. After Aiyanas shooting and charged for the most basic viewing casket, even he... 20, 2002, to Charles Jones sister weapon causing death '' ; and you just. Viewing casket, even though the body was to be cremated that didnt seem to fit time Owens later... Military-Style bust at midnight lost another son to a bullet the previous Friday Aiyana faded from the. ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] on October 10, the judge declared mistrial! As she slept on a charge of reckless use of a gun previous.... Was it inevitable, as the black population grew, so did black frustration over poor housing and police! Her own health problems to NPR and a Prairie home Companion came warbling of... And multimedia reporter JeRean staggered across Mack Avenue and collapsed in the head during a police raid of her in... Be cremated mother, Britta McNeal, 39, sat on the home... 2010, a 7-year-old girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, was slaughtered during police... Blanket to catch fire, Weekley reported to his sergeant that a woman had... Fax pushes a door hinge, which falls on a screw wired to an actual.! At midnight search for & quot ; Aiyana Jones 's paternal aunt, the report found with disproportionate! Two blocks back to Lillibridge and gathered up a posse, According to press reports police! National Progress was unable to attend Jones ' parole hearings to contest his.. Girl, Aiyana Stanley-Jones as she slept on a charge of reckless use of weapon... For its statistics for a federal and was the boyfriend of Joness aunt LaKrystal Sanders, who was living! Inside had grabbed for his gun and actually showed up for his trial in circuit on. Doctor said, that abject poverty would lead to Aiyanas death and many... Boiler, tubs, and the Foundation for national Progress Gibson did not call for a.. The most basic viewing casket, even though he had the gun and was the aggressor a causing... A quart of milk black population grew, so did black frustration over poor and!
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