Latest news with #Deberry
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Richland man sentenced for killing wife while speeding to pass a truck
A Richland man is headed to prison nearly four years after killing his wife in a dramatic south Richland wreck. Investigators believe Melvin D. Williams Jr., 65, was speeding up a hill on Leslie Road trying to get ahead of a merging truck when he lost control of the Saturn he was driving in June 2021. The car spun into the oncoming lane and crashed, killing his wife Victoria Deberry, 61. He was charged with vehicular homicide seven weeks after the crash and a lengthy hospital stay. On Tuesday, Williams entered an Alford plea to the charge. The plea means he doesn't admit to the crime, but believed the prosecutors could prove the charge if it went to trial. Williams faced between a year and three months and a year and eight months in prison.. Both sides agreed to a maximum sentence, and Judge Norma Rodriguez followed the recommendation. Deberry's family also asked for the judge to impose the maximum sentence, according to statements read into the record. William's attorney Deric Orr said his client took responsibility for his role, but the other driver remained free. 'Ultimately, while we firmly believe that (the other driver's) actions did contribute to Ms. Deberry's death, the prosecutor maintains the sole ability to charge someone with a crime. We are happy that Mr. Williams was able to put this behind him,' Orr told the Tri-City Herald. Williams told investigators that he was heading south on Leslie Road from Columbia Park Trail when he first tried to pass a Ford pickup. The two-lane section of Leslie Road goes uphill before narrowing from two lanes to one. Vehicles in the right lane have the right of way, while drivers in the left were instructed to 'merge right' with painted arrows on the road and signs. The pickup moved into the left lane in front of his Saturn and Williams moved into the right, he told investigators. The data recorder in the car showed he was going 76 mph with the gas pedal pushed nearly to the floor when the Saturn struck the right curb, court documents said. The posted speed limit was 40 mph. When he lost control, the car slid sideways in front of the truck. It kept skidding across the road and into oncoming traffic. It slammed into an SUV heading north. Deberry was killed in the crash and Williams was left in the hospital for weeks
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Petition started to keep support services for Black students at high school in Marin County
MILL VALLEY, Calif. (KRON) — There's a petition on regarding the students at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley. It's urging the school board there to keep support services for Black students. After protests and calls for the district to make changes, Tamalpais High School added several resources for Black students during the 2024-2025 school year. One parent tells me those services could be going away In 2023, students at Tamalpais High School organized this walkout to protest racism. The hope was that it would lead to change, and Cristine Deberry says it worked. Her sons, ages 15 and 16, both attend the school. Healdsburg racist incident involving movers goes viral on TikTok 'The district, to their credit, identified supports and put those on campus, including a hub where African American students or any students could go during the school day,' Deberry said. Deberry says the school board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on getting rid of the support services. She reached out to the five board members to voice her concerns. When only two agreed to meet, the parent started an online petition on — gaining more than 400 signatures. 'We know that that kind of support can help. I know that in my own home those systems have helped my kids and what is really distressing right now is we know the district wants to end those services,' Deberry said. Popular Santa Cruz brewery opens first San Francisco location After President Trump took office, he called for the slashing of programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion (D.E.I.), including within the U.S. Department of Education. KRON4 asked Deberry if she thinks there's any correlation between the national narrative and her local school board vote. 'I hope that isn't it because what we're dealing with here is active acts of racism. We aren't even having a conversation about wanting to increase the population of African American or Jewish students on campus,' Deberry said. 'We're saying that we would like them to feel safe from racist incidents that are happening at the campus.' KRON4 reached out to the school's superintendent for comment but have not heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘She's not a bad person': Mom says after daughter drives through Laurel festival
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. () — A Prince George's County judge ordered a woman to be held without bond Monday afternoon, after prosecutors said she hit a police officer and over the weekend. Kai Deberry-Bostick, 28, of Laurel, is facing multiple charges, including second-degree assault, resisting arrest and reckless endangerment, among other related offenses. 18-year-old charged in friend's fatal shooting in Beltsville after 'playing with gun', police say Body camera footage released by the Laurel Police Department (LPD) shows Deberry-Bostick moving barriers out of the way, striking an officer and heading toward dozens of people on Main Street despite being commanded not to as a local festival got underway Saturday morning. LPD said the officer sustained minor injuries, and no pedestrians were hurt. The judge said she found Deberry-Bostick's actions to be reckless and dangerous, and there were no conditions under which she should be released from custody. Prosecutors in court characterized it as an 'extremely dangerous situation,' while her defense attorney called it 'an unfortunate reaction to the officer's instructions.' Her defense said she had been told by officers the night before to move her car from the street to a nearby parking lot. Police: Facebook Marketplace deal turns into armed robbery in DC Deberry-Bostick's father spoke on her behalf in court as she appeared virtually Monday afternoon. He said she understood her actions were reckless and understood if the court wanted to suspend her license. All parties acknowledged she did not have a criminal record. Her mother, asking to be identified as Ms. Deberry, said she was shocked seeing the video of her daughter. She spoke with DC News Now along Main Street before Monday's hearing in Upper Marlboro. 'I wish the situation was different. I wish I was there,' Ms. Deberry said. 'I would not have expected her to do something totally different from what the cops had asked her to do.' District Heights teen pleads guilty to pawn shop burglary involving over 30 stolen guns Her mother said she was trying to get to work. Her defense attorney said that she's a Bowie State University accounting graduate who works for a government contracting office. Ms. Deberry said she wants people to know her daughter isn't a bad person. 'I found out recently that she's going through some stuff, and as her mother, I'm going to address that with her,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
