Latest news with #Zell
NDTV
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Rapper Chocolate MC Arrested After He Kidnaps Fan, Demands Cash From Him At Gunpoint
Cuban rapper Chocolate MC, whose real name is Yosvanis Sierra-Hernandez, was arrested early Wednesday morning in connection with an alleged armed kidnapping in Florida. According to Local 10 News, the rapper was arrested after he allegedly kidnapped a fan at gunpoint. The incident occurred outside a grocery store in Opa-locka, Florida, when the fan asked for a photo. Chocolate MC took the fan to the parking lot, pressed a firearm to his chest, and forced him to hand over his vehicle. Authorities said the rapper "pointed the firearm at him again and ordered the victim into the driver's seat. Yosvanis demanded cash from the victim' and "forced the victim to drive him to several locations over the course of approximately two hours before eventually releasing him unharmed." He not only kidnapped the fan at gunpoint but also attempted to rob him, forcing him to surrender his vehicle. "Yosvanis Sierra demanded cash from the victim, the victim showed him his wallet, which was empty and had no cash. Yosvanis Sierra demanded that the victim send him money via Zell (sic) and give his phone number to the victim to do so. The victim stated he did not have Zell (sic) and was unable to do the transaction," the arrest report claimed. The victim was then allegedly forced to drive to multiple locations over two hours before being released unharmed in the vicinity of 270 SW 11th Avenue. Surveillance footage from the store supported the victim's account, corroborating the details of the alleged incident. A flyer was then circulated in Miami-Dade County to aid in Sierra-Hernandez's capture. Deputies eventually located him, and he was taken into custody after being found with a grey and black gun. He faces charges including kidnapping with a firearm, armed robbery, and written threats to kill or injure. Notably, Chocolate MC has faced previous legal issues. In May 2024, he was accused of kidnapping and raping his ex-girlfriend, taking her from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach County. He was also accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot, offering money on social media to harm an inmate linked to the murder of singer El Taiger.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Rapper Chocolate MC accused of kidnapping fan who asked for photo in Florida
Cuban rapper Chocolate MC was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a fan at gunpoint after requesting to take a photo with the musician on Tuesday. The fan approached the 'A Veces' singer, whose real name is Yosvanis Sierra Hernandez, outside of a Chavez Distributors grocery store in Opa-locka, Fla. and quickly realized that his request for a quick snap was about to take a terrifying turn. The self-proclaimed 'The King of Reparteros' took the fan into the parking lot of the shopping plaza, 'placed a firearm on the victim's chest and forced him to surrender his vehicle,' according to the arrest report obtained by Local 10 News. 3 Chocolate MC was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping with a weapon. Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office The 34-year-old urban music singer also reportedly tried to rob him. 'Yosvanis Sierra demanded cash from the victim, the victim showed him his wallet, which was empty and had no cash,' the arrest report claimed. 'Yosvanis Sierra demanded the victim send him money via Zell (sic) and give his phone number to the victim to do so. The victim stated he did not have Zell (sic) and was unable to do the transaction.' When the suspect's attempt to get cash didn't go as planned, the 'Talentazo' performer allegedly forced the fan to 'drive him to several locations over the course of approximately two hours' in the Miami area, the outlet reported, citing police. The hours-long ordeal happened in the Miami area, where most of Sierra Hernandez's Spotify listeners are based, according to data from the streaming platform. Sierra Hernandez was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping with a weapon. 3 The rapper is accused of kidnapping a fan who asked him for a photo near Miami. Local 10 3 Most of the Cuban singer's Spotify listeners are based in Miami. Instagram/chocolatemc_oficial The Latin music artist, who has over 43,000 followers on Instagram, has had a few run-ins with the law over the past year. Sierra Hernandez was accused of kidnapping ex-girlfriend outside of an apartment building in May 2024 and driving her to Palm Beach County, where he allegedly raped her, according to Local 10 News. The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office separately accused the Cuban rapper of being tied to a murder-for-hire plot. The singer allegedly went on social media and offered thousands of dollars to anyone who would kill an inmate who was behind bars, facing charges for the brutal 2024 murder of singer El Taiger, according to 6 South Florida News. Sierra Hernandez seemingly merged his past with his music persona and called himself 'is one of the most recognized, yet controversial, exponents of Cuban reggaeton and reparteros music,' according to a translation of his Spotify bio.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Some SC school districts won't give grades below 50. Legislation would ban such policies.
Sen. Jeff Zell, R-Sumter, shakes hands with Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, during the Senate's organizational session on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, when all freshmen senators were sworn in to office. (File photo by Mary Ann Chastain/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA — Legislation seeks to stop South Carolina school districts from requiring teachers to give students grades they didn't earn. Proposals filed earlier this month stem from a freshman senator's quarrel with the school board he sat on before his election to the Statehouse. What started out as Sen. Jeff Zell's attempt to block Sumter County from resurrecting a practice he fought to end could undo policies that have spread statewide over the last decade. Measures filed April 3 in the House and Senate ban policies — whether district-wide or at individual schools — that set a minimum grade for teachers to give students, regardless of what they earned. Such policies would put school districts at risk of losing 10% of their state aid. As a school board member, Zell helped undo a directive that barred teachers from giving students a grade of less than 50 on report cards for the first three quarters. That's 10 points below a passing grade in South Carolina, where a D starts at 60. Even Zell's not sure exactly how long Sumter County's grading floor existed. It had been in the district's grading manual for teachers for at least a decade but was not a board decision — until the vote last August to revoke it. Zell fought it as allowing students to do little-to-no school work for the first three quarters but still get passed on to the next grade if they applied themselves and did well in the final quarter. 'It's just fundamentally not right,' the Sumter Republican told the SC Daily Gazette, adding, 'I've yet to hear a single shred of evidence that it's helpful.' When the newly elected school board, without Zell, considered bringing back the grading floor as an approved board policy, he filed the legislation. Rep. Fawn Pedalino of Turbeville, whose district includes part of Sumter County, filed a companion bill in the House. Zell noted the legislation specifies that students can still do extra work to replace or otherwise recover from a bad grade. 'Second chances matter to me,' but they should be provided in a way that doesn't 'incentivize lackadaisical effort,' he said. On April 7, four days after the bills were introduced, the Sumter County school board rejected the proposal with a 4-4 tie vote. But Zell and Pedalino aren't dropping the matter. Pedalino, who lives in Clarendon County, said the idea shouldn't be acceptable anywhere in the state. 'We need to make sure we set these kids up for success,' she said. Republican leaders joining them as co-sponsors include House Speaker Murrell Smith of Sumter and Senate Education Chairman Greg Hembree of Little River, though the school district he represents, Horry County, does not have any such policy. 'Teachers can and do issue a grade lower than a 50,' Lisa Bourcier, a spokeswoman for the state's third-largest district, told the Gazette. It's unclear how many school districts in South Carolina have similar grading floors. That's not something tracked by the state Department of Education. Those are local decisions, an agency spokesman said. But the topic has been increasingly debated around the state over the last decade, said Patrick Kelly, a high school teacher who works for the Palmetto State Teachers Association. And, while teachers understand the theory behind a grading floor, the 'negatives outweigh the positives,' he said. Shawn Ragin, chairman of the Sumter County school board, countered that setting a minimum grade such as 50 is a 'strategic academic intervention, not a loophole or grade inflation tactic. 'Their purpose is to ensure students are not academically doomed by a single failure, encouraging re-engagement rather than academic withdrawal,' he wrote in a statement to the Gazette explaining his opposition to the legislation. A 50 is still a failing grade, he noted. But assigning a grade of no less than 50 — he said 'it's not about 'giving' points' — ensures a student can still recover. It's mathematically impossible to pass 'after one or two zeroes,' he wrote. Ragin, who's also headmaster of a local private preschool, pointed to five other districts in South Carolina with similar grading floors, saying they 'adopted the policy after seeing that giving a zero for missing work disproportionately harmed students in poverty, with disabilities, or experiencing trauma.' The Gazette reached out to all five districts he cited. In Kershaw County, which adjoins Sumter, it's not an actual policy. However, teachers don't give a grade of less than 50 on any report card for high schoolers. Younger students can't get less than a 50 for the first three quarters. Parents are informed by a written note that their child's actual grade is lower, said district spokesperson Becky Bean. She did not say how teachers know not to give a lower grade if it's not policy. In Richland One, the district for schools in the state's capital city, students of all grade levels can't get less than a 50 for all four report cards. The goal is to ensure 'temporary setbacks do not irreparably hinder a student's academic progress,' said district spokesperson Ilyssa Weiner. She said it's realistic that a student facing personal challenges could earn a 25 for the first quarter. But earning a 70 — a C in South Carolina — in the next three quarters would still average 59 for the year, which is just barely failing. Greenville County, the state's largest district, also has a different policy for middle schoolers and high schoolers. In high school, students can't get less than a 50 on any report card. In middle school, they can't get less than a 50 on any assignment. That's because it's more difficult to keep middle schoolers engaged, said Tim Waller, the district's longtime spokesman. Ending that policy could result in a 'decrease in student morale and a wider achievement gap between students who have support systems and those who do not,' Waller said. The Gazette did not get a response from messages left with spokespeople in Charleston County or Richland Two in suburban Columbia, where it's spring break. Teachers in those districts oppose the policies. They 'lessen the integrity of a diploma,' said Sherry East, a teacher in Rock Hill and president of the South Carolina Education Association. She happened to be meeting last week with a group of teachers from Sumter County when the grading floor came up in the conversation. All of them told her they're adamantly against the policy, she said. Teachers want to help students but don't want to be forced to give students a grade they haven't earned, she said. She agreed with Zell's second-chance argument: 'Let me let the kid do some extra work or some extra credit if I think the situation merits it,' she said. Sumter County school district's own survey found that more than 8 of every 10 teachers opposed the 50% grading floor, The Sumter Item reported last May, before the school board voted to revoke the practice. Teachers against being required to give at least a 50 said students were 'gaming the system' and not being prepared for the real world, while the relatively few teachers who supported the floor said it encouraged students in dire circumstances to still apply themselves, the newspaper reported. Even with the backing of GOP heavyweights in both chambers, the legislation is highly unlikely to pass this year. By state law, only 10 days remain in the regular session. For the House, which is on furlough this week, only nine days remain. And neither bill has gotten a hearing yet. The only shot at the ban becoming law this year is if it gets inserted into the state budget. And floor debate on the Senate's spending plan is next week. Even if it doesn't, the bill will stay alive for next year, as this is the first of a two-year session.
