.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Haiti gang leader denies ties to 400 Mawozo group, or role in kidnapping U.S. missionaries
Germine Joly, the Haitian gang leader who ran a gunrunning conspiracy and kidnapping racket from the inside of a Haitian jail, denied any gang affiliation or role in the kidnapping of 16 U.S. missionaries as he took the stand in his own defense on Wednesday inside a Washington federal courtroom.
Joly, wearing a black suit, tie and eye glasses, said he was neither a member of the 400 Mawozo gang nor created the criminal armed group, which in 2021 took responsibility for the abduction of 16 U.S. citizens and a Canadian national with Ohio-based Christian Aid Missionaries. The missionaries were grabbed at gunpoint on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince after returning from visiting an orphanage.
While some of the hostages were released after a few days in captivity, the majority of them were held for two months and freed after an undisclosed ransom was paid. Their release was made to look like an escape by the gang, which is being accused of abducting the missionaries, including five children, as a bargaining chip to help secure Joly's release from a Haitian prison.
Known as 'Yonyon,' Joly pleaded guilty last year to a 48-count indictment related to weapons smuggling and money laundering where the proceeds from kidnapping ransoms were used to purchase automatic rifles. The guns were bought in Florida from several of the gang's associates and were later smuggled to Haiti, where they were used by 400 Mawozo in various criminal enterprises including extortion, killings and kidnappings.
As a result of his guilty plea, Joly was sentenced to 35 years in a U.S. prison by the same U.S. District Judge John D. Bates who is now presiding over his current federal trial where he's charged with 16 counts of kidnapping.
During his testimony Wednesday, he insisted he had no business with 400 Mawozo other than gun sales and that he neither was a member nor creator of the criminal group, now part of a powerful gang coalition in Haiti. Joly said cousins of his, including Lanmò Sanjou, were members.
The current head of the gang, Lanmò Sanjou, aka Joseph Wilson, is among several gang leaders wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his role in the kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Haiti.
Joly's repeated denial of his gang affiliation, and text messages the federal government presented as evidence to show his ties to illicit weapons smuggling from Florida and his relations with 400 Mawozo, led prosecutors to delay closing arguments and present a rebuttal witness on Thursday. Closing arguments in the trial are now expected Thursday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iran executes man over 2022 anti-government protests
A man has been executed in Iran, three years after he was arrested during the nationwide anti-government protests in 2022, the judiciary says. Mojahed Kourkouri, also known as Abbas Kourkouri, was sentenced to death after being convicted of armed attacks and membership of a "rebellion group", according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency. He was accused of killing seven people, including nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak, during protests in the city of Izeh. Kian's family said he was killed by security forces, but authorities maintained that a "rioter" shot him. Amnesty International said Kourkouri was subjected to torture and that his trial was "grossly unfair". Kourkouri is the 11th person known to have been executed in relation to the protests, which were sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained by morality police in Tehran in September 2022 for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly". Hundreds of people were killed and thousands detained in a violent crackdown by security forces, which portrayed the protests as "riots". Kourkouri was accused of opening fire on a car carrying Kian Pirfalak and his family in Izeh, in the south-western province of Khuzestan, at the height of the unrest that November. State authorities blamed "terrorist agents" for Kian's killing, and later arrested Kourkouri during an armed raid the following month, during which Kourkouri was shot and injured in the knee, human rights groups said. Kian's family has repeatedly said it does not think Kourkouri was involved in the boy's killing. At Kian's funeral, the boy's mother was overheard in a video telling mourners: "Hear it from me myself on how the shooting happened, so they can't say it was by terrorists, because they're lying." "Plainclothes forces shot my child. That is it," Zeynab Molaei said. Later that the day, she appeared to recant the remarks in a state TV interview, warning that they should "not be misused". She looked visibly distressed, prompting many on social media to warn that she might have been coerced. The judiciary's announcement that Kourkouri had been executed sparked condemnation among human rights groups. Amnesty International said Kourkouri's trial was unfair because he had been denied access to an independently chosen lawyer and his confessions, which were broadcast on Iranian state media, had been forced. It added that following his arrest, Kourkouri was held in solitary confinement and repeatedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including severe beatings. Kourkouri was initially sentenced in April 2023, but a judicial review of his case was filed to the Supreme Court in January 2024, Amnesty said. His conviction was later upheld and his sentence was sent for implementation later that year, it added. The director of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iran's other leaders "must be held accountable for the extrajudicial killing" of Kourkouri, "as well as for the murders of Kian Pirfalak and thousands of other innocent people". "The international community must break its silence in the face of this tsunami of executions carried out by the Islamic Republic," he added. Kurdish human rights group Hengaw said at least 582 prisoners, including 19 political, religious, and security inmates, had been executed in Iranian prisons so far this year. The last person to be executed in connection with the 2022 protests was Reza Rasaei in August last year. The 34-year-old was sentenced to death in 2023 after what Amnesty called a "grossly unfair" trial that relied on forced confessions, which they said were "obtained under torture and other ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks, suffocation and sexual violence". Iranian authorities accused him of having a part in the death of a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guards during the protests - a charge Rasaei denied. He was executed in secret and his family was not given prior warning, Amnesty said. Iran executes protester with mental health condition 15 minutes to defend yourself against the death penalty Two boys shot dead by Iran security forces - sources
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Embattled Oakland County judge asked to recuse herself in prosecutor's cases
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office began to pull its cases from under the thumb of embattled District Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig on the morning of June 10 amid fallout from a formal complaint issued by the state's judicial oversight body earlier this month. During Hartig's June 10 docket at the 52-4 District Court in Troy, the prosecutor's office — which is named in some accusations in the complaint — motioned for Hartig to recuse herself from its first two cases of the day. Hartig declined to do so but was later overruled by her chief judge. So began a dance of repeating the motion on other cases tied to the prosecutor's office and Hartig adjourning them to give the chief judge time to rule, as defendants went back to jail cells or workdays. There was no immediate indication that morning that Chief Judge Travis Reeds would rule differently on the adjourned cases, though Hartig noted from the bench that he had not reviewed a transcript of the hearing with her reasoning for not recusing herself. Bill Mullan, public information officer for Oakland County, confirmed the chief judge's decisions, which attorneys had relayed to Hartig during her docket. Mullan said that the cases would be reassigned at random to other district court judges. More: Complaint: Oakland County Judge Kirsten Nielsen Hartig created 'climate of fear' Reeds previously said Hartig should be temporarily removed from her docket amid the oversight case, and the county reported he made a request to do so. Hartig has been under fire in recent years, both by Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and a former court administrator who got a $100,000 settlement in a whistleblower and unlawful termination lawsuit tied to Hartig. Then on June 4, the oversight body, the Judicial Tenure Commission, issued a rare public complaint against the judge. The complaint effectively launches a court-like process that, at its most severe, could result in the Michigan Supreme Court suspending or removing the judge. Key in the complaint: The commission attempted to redact, but left visible in some formats, that a psychological evaluation of the judge in 2024 deemed her at the time to be ''unsafe to practice' due to disruptive behavior and personality dysfunction.' What was deemed at risk was not immediately clear. The commission openly accused Hartig of misdeeds, including creating 'a climate of fear' among workers at the courthouse, improperly dismissing multiple cases without prejudice due to a grudge with the prosecutors tied to scheduling, and mistreating that former court administrator. More: Authority got psych report saying Oakland Judge Hartig was 'unsafe to practice' months ago A spokesperson for the judge, Daniel Cherrin of Royal Oak-based public affairs and communications firm North Coast Strategies, declined to comment on the mental health aspect but issued a statement at the time calling the commission process 'flawed." He said Hartig has patiently waited for the chance to address the allegations against her. In court on June 10, Hartig spoke out against the recusal motions to start. Her docket was underway shortly after 9 a.m., with the judge making mostly default judgments in landlord-tenant issues until a case involving the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office came up. Assistant Prosecutor Bob Zivian came to the podium and when given the chance said for the first time a statement he'd be repeating for numerous cases: that as 'everyone' in the courtroom knew, the Judicial Tenure Commission issued a complaint, that her former and current chief judges were among complainants who could testify against her, and that it was clear the office could not get a fair hearing in the courtroom. 'Respectfully,' he asked her to recuse herself. Hartig, who had nodded at times during the soliloquy, responded using 'respectfully' herself. She said that the prosecutor's office was aware of the oversight investigation before the formal complaint was issued, and argued there had been no problems or concerns raised. She said, in the back-and-forth across two cases, that those in the prosecutor's office issued grievances against her and that she had made attorney grievances against them — specifically McDonald and Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Hall — within the last several years. She was unaware of where her attorney grievances landed but said the only thing that changed was the public nature of the complaint against her. Zivian, however, said there were aspects of the complaint that his office was not aware of before. Taylor judge called chief judge names, flipped off security cameras, complaint says 'No teeth': Cases of 2 embattled Michigan judges highlight concerns with accountability Zivian stepped into a private room several times, including with one individual's defense attorney and Chief Public Defender Paulette Loftin. He ultimately relayed to Hartig that he had appealed to Chief Judge Reeds by Zoom and the chief judge ruled in his favor. Between the back-and-forth of the attorneys and the judge, and the judge checking her computer for responses from Reeds, it was said that the chief judge believed Zivian would need to make his motion on every single case. And so, he did. Hartig continued to deny the request, sometimes elaborating for defendants who hadn't been in the courtroom. Defense attorneys were given the chance to weigh in, and then Hartig adjourned their cases so Zivian didn't have to repeatedly jump on a Zoom call after each one to get a ruling from the chief judge. He could do that during the one or two-week adjournment, she said. Zivian was still repeating his refrain for various cases as the clock ticked toward noon. Following one such hearing, Sterling Heights-based attorney Janet Szpond bemoaned that her client's case might have been dismissed if it weren't for the recusal matter. She didn't know the ins and outs discussed in court regarding Hartig's complaint but said her client was accused of failing to return a rental car and was due in court for his preliminary examination. She believed a witness hadn't shown up, so she thought the matter may have been dismissed on June 10. Instead, her client confirmed with her that he could go back to work and jogged off. 'It's just extremely inconvenient,' Szpond said. Oakland County Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams said in a call along with his office's public information officer, Jeff Wattrick, that while matters were still evolving, it was not believed there would be great delays in the court system due to the maneuver. He also said Hartig's complaint involved more than just the dismissals involving his office, and his office was unaware of that previously. But the complaint also affirmed the office's stance regarding the judge's bias against them. Wattrick, in a statement, said that people are entitled to cases decided 'based on the law rather than personal animosity.' 'Our only goal in this matter is to ensure justice — that victims' stories are heard and that The People always receive a fair hearing before the court,' he said. Cherrin, Hartig's spokesperson, said that the prosecutor's office had appeared in front of the judge hundreds of times before and that she continues to sit on the bench. He pointed to her comments on the motion made in court. Hartig was given 14 days to issue a formal response to the June 4 complaint. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Embattled Oakland County judge asked to recuse self in multiple cases
The Hill
40 minutes ago
- The Hill
Atlantic City mayor wins primary under shadow of assault charges
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., who is under criminal indictment, has fended off a primary challenge to win the Democratic nomination for a second term, Decision Desk HQ projects. Small defeated Bob McDevitt, a former longtime head of a casino workers union. He will face Republican Nadeem Ahmed Khan, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, in the general election. Small first became mayor in 2019 after his predecessor, Frank Gillam (D), resigned from office after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud. He won a full term in 2021 but is facing his own criminal charges as he faces the voters for reelection. Small and his wife, Atlantic City School District Superintendent La'Quetta Small, were charged last April on allegations that they physically and emotionally abused their teenage daughter. Prosecutors allege that on one occasion Small hit his daughter on the head with a broom multiple times and caused her to lose consciousness, among other incidents. He was also later charged on a count of witness tampering after prosecutors said he told his daughter to change her story to law enforcement about the alleged abuse. Small and his wife have denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. Ahead of the primary, Small had said he didn't believe the charges would be an issue for voters, telling the Philadelphia-based NBC10 that 'the voters know who I am.' Issues of public safety and the city's cleanliness took center stage in the race, with Small pointing to the city's reduction in crime. McDevitt argued that people still feel fear of being victims of crime. Atlantic City has mostly elected Democrats as mayors for decades. The one recent exception was Republican Don Guardian's victory in 2013.
