Connecticut man gets 33 years in prison for stray-bullet killing of Olympian's mother
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man was sentenced to 33 years in prison on Tuesday for the stray-bullet killing of a Puerto Rican Olympic athlete's mother.
Jasper Greene, 23, of New Haven, was one of three men charged in the death of Mabel Martinez Antongiorgi on April 9, 2022. The 56-year-old woman was sewing in her home in Waterbury, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Hartford, when a bullet flew through a wall and hit her in the head.
Martinez Antongiorgi's daughter, Yarimar Mercado Martinez, competed for the family's native Puerto Rico in rifle shooting at the Olympics in 2016, 2021 and 2024. She was in Brazil for another competition when her mother was killed.
Greene pleaded guilty to murder in February. His lawyer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment after Tuesday's sentencing in Waterbury Superior Court.
According to court testimony, the fatal shooting stemmed from a dispute that one of the suspects, Franklin Robinson, had with a man who said hello to his girlfriend. Robinson, Greene and another man shot up a car parked on Martinez Antongiorgi's street, thinking the man was inside it. A bullet went into Martinez Antongiorgi's home. Another bystander was wounded but survived.
A jury convicted Robinson of murder and other charges in 2023 and he was later sentenced to 90 years in prison.
The third suspect, Levi Brock, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in the case, including murder, and awaits trial.
At the time of her mother's death, Mercado Martinez lamented in social media posts that she 'couldn't even say goodbye.'
'Why you? Why this way?' she wrote. 'You were just sitting in your little house sewing, as you always did.'
Martinez Antongiorgi and her husband of over 30 years, John Luis Mercado, moved to Waterbury from Puerto Rico a few years after the U.S. territory endured 2017's devastating Hurricane Maria. At the time of her death, they had set a date to renew their wedding vows, their daughter wrote at the time.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
23 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu has died at 68
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, who served as the leader of the southern African nation from 2015-2021, died Thursday, his daughter said. He was 68. Lungu's daughter, Tasila Lungu-Mwansa, announced his death in a video posted on the official Facebook page of his political party, the Patriotic Front. She said he died in a hospital in South Africa after having been under 'medical supervision' in recent weeks. Lungu-Mwansa, who is a lawmaker, did not give a cause of death. Lungu became president in 2015 to complete the term of Michael Sata after he died in office. Lungu was elected to a full presidential term in 2016, beating current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. Lungu later lost to Hichilema in the 2021 election. Lungu had sought to challenge Hichilema in next year's presidential election, but a court last year barred him from standing. The court ruled his time as president from 2015-2016 counted as a full term and said he had, therefore, served the maximum length of two terms. Lungu alleged there was political interference in the court ruling. His wife and other family members have faced corruption allegations. Lungu claimed last year that his movements were being monitored by police and he had effectively been placed under house arrest to restrict his return to politics. Police said it was standard to monitor former presidents for their safety. ___ AP Africa news:
San Francisco Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Supreme Court makes it easier to claim 'reverse discrimination' in employment, in a case from Ohio
WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court made it easier Thursday to bring lawsuits over so-called reverse discrimination, siding with an Ohio woman who claims she didn't get a job and then was demoted because she is straight. The justices' decision affects lawsuits in 20 states and the District of Columbia where, until now, courts had set a higher bar when members of a majority group, including those who are white and heterosexual, sue for discrimination under federal law. The court ruled in an appeal from Marlean Ames, who has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years. Ames contends she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual. Both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to LGBTQ people. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars sex discrimination in the workplace. A trial court and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ames. The 6th circuit is among the courts that had required an additional requirement for people like Ames, showing 'background circumstances' that might include that LGBTQ people made the decisions affecting Ames or statistical evidence of a pattern of discrimination against members of the majority group.
Boston Globe
28 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
What to know about Trump's new travel ban
A full travel ban will affect citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan Chad Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Myanmar Somalia Sudan Yemen Partial restrictions will apply to citizens of other countries, meaning they cannot come to the country permanently or apply for certain visas. They are: Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela What is the administration saying? Trump, who announced the ban in a proclamation, said it was intended to protect 'the national security and national interest of the United States and its people.' It is his latest effort to further restrict immigration since returning to office in January, coming after his administration blocked asylum-seekers at the southern border, barred international students from Harvard University and ordered immigration raids across the country. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Cabinet officials in April had identified a list of countries where vetting and screening information surrounding visa applicants was 'deficient' enough to warrant a full or partial suspension, the action said. Advertisement The order accused many countries of the list of exploiting the US visa system and failing to cooperate with the United States on deportations. The action said citizens of some countries had a higher risk of overstaying their visas, which added to burdens on law enforcement agencies. The announcement came days after an Egyptian man who overstayed his visa was arrested in Colorado and charged with attacking a group honoring hostages being held in the Gaza Strip. But Egypt is not subject to the ban. Advertisement What are the exceptions? The new travel ban does not apply to people with visas who are already in the United States, and it includes a few other exemptions. For example, Afghans eligible for the Special Immigrant Visa program, which is for those who helped the US government during the war in Afghanistan, are excepted from the ban. Other exceptions include green card holders, dual citizens and athletes or coaches traveling for a major sporting event held in the United States, like the World Cup or the Olympics. What are the reactions from the banned countries? The announcement provoked swift reaction from some of the affected countries. Venezuela's interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, called the US government 'fascist,' saying that 'being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans.' The African Union released a statement Thursday expressing concern and noting 'the potential negative impact' the move could have on interpersonal relationships, commerce, education and 'diplomatic relations that have been carefully nurtured over decades.' Somalia's ambassador to the United States -- whose country Trump's order labeled a 'terrorist safe haven' -- took a more conciliatory approach. The ambassador, Dahir Hassan Abdi, said in a statement that his government was 'ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised.' The State Department issued about 170,000 visas last year to people from the 12 countries on the list, most of which were nonimmigrant visitor visas for tourism, business or study. That is a small fraction of the millions of visas it issues every year. How does this compare with the last Trump travel ban? In 2017, shortly after taking office, Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven mostly Muslim-majority countries. (Five of those countries are on the list again.) The move, announced in an executive order, took effect immediately and caused chaos, with hundreds of travelers being detained at airports. After a legal battle, the Supreme Court eventually permitted a rewritten ban, and the list of countries later evolved. President Joe Biden ended the ban after taking office. Advertisement The new ban includes countries in more parts of the world and could affect more people than the bans Trump introduced during his first term. This time around, Trump's effort is more likely to withstand legal scrutiny, experts said, partly because of a longer lead-up to the announcement and the range of countries affected.
