On the eve of the decision not to prosecute of Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown, state prosecutors are considering charges against Michael Brown’s family. While potentially explosive in light of the rejection of civil rights charges, the case is based on what is reported as criminal acts of assault and theft by Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden and other family members.
The incident stems from who is entitled to cash in on the name of Michael Brown. A “Justice for Mike Brown” stand was set up outside of a restaurant to sell teeshirts and other items. One of the vendors was Pearlie Gordon, 54, the mother-in-law of Michael Brown Sr. (who is divorced from McSpadden).
The police say that a group of about 20-30 suspects “jumped out of vehicles and rushed” Gordon, Tony Petty, and Matthew Cosey. McSpadden, 34, is quoted as saying “You can’t sell this shit.” What reportedly ensued was an intense debate of who had trademark options on the name of the dead teenager. Gordon reportedly states that “unless McSpadden could produce documentation stating that she had a patent on her son’s name she (Gordon) was going to continue to sell her merchandise.” Police say that Desureia Harris, McSpadden’s mother, then began to rip down t-shirts while other family members began “tearing her booth apart.” Gordon allegedly was knocked to the ground and repeatedly struck in the head. Gordon accused McSpadden of running up and punching her while one of McSpadden’s group encouraged her to “get her ass.”
Also accused is McSpadden’s husband, Louis Head, who was previously the subject of calls for prosecution in his encouraging protesters to “Burn this bitch down” after no charges were brought against Wilson.
Petty was also transported to a local hospital for treatment of “injuries sustained during the assault.” Police also found that more than $1500 in merchandise and $400 in cash “was stolen by unknown subjects” during the assault and that they fled before the arrival of the police.
To make matters worse for the Brown family, there is a witness as well as a videotape showing the assault on the vendors, according to police.
That record would seem highly compelling for criminal charges. They have sworn statements from the alleged victim, third-party witnesses and a possible videotape showing a vendor being pinned on the ground. That does not rule out defenses based on claims that the vendors started the fight. However, self-defense would not excuse the alleged taking of merchandize and cash.
In a normal situation, there would have already been arrests and charges in such a case. However, this case seems anything but conventional and prosecutors may be more timid after prior events triggered arson and looting. The delay may be a reflection of that caution, but (absent new evidence) there may be no avoiding arrests in the case since at least two people were sent to the hospital and violence was involved in the alleged crimes.
Here is the police report: Brown Family police report
Victim-hood has become its own cottage industry in this country. It is fully supported by government at all levels, but particularly by the Federal Government… and by most liberals.
Did Michael Brown deserve to die? I don’t know, I wasn’t there. What I do know is this… He was a victim. He was a victim of his own actions and the poor decisions that led to those actions. He may also have been a victim of previously made poor decisions and actions by his parents, family, and friends.
I only say “may” because I didn’t know Michael Brown or his family, but by the family’s actions I saw on the news during this incident, he didn’t exactly have good role models in his life.
Among many things my parents taught me were, “Work hard in school”, “Don’t do drugs”, “Always do your best”, “Don’t lie or steal”, and to “Respect others and the law.”
Quite honestly, it’s time to bring some accountability back into our American culture. Our schools and policies have become so politically correct that there is NO discipline. Michael Brown did not become the person that robbed a store and attacked a police officer overnight… it was years in the making.
Inga,
Yes, the body laying there sucked. These things happen in smaller towns that are dependent upon personnel from centralized areas. There was no malice intended by the lapse, only bureaucratic failure and an unfortunately conflict of resources.
As to your earlier comment about Blacks a 100 years ago. Overall, you’re wrong as odd as it to day that in this one particular case.
By almost every single social or economic metric that can be objectively measured Blacks were better off – and not coincidentally a better people – a 100 years ago, despite or in spite of Jim Crow laws, segregation, and what little real activity the KKK managed to do.
Frankly, in the wake of the “Civil Rights Era” the “Black Community” imploded and most facets of Black culture turned destructive and deliberately exilic, the latter probably in direct response to forced integration.
“Booger”,
There were fires going on while Brown’s body was laying in the street for four hours, so firefighters’s left their hoses? A paramedic in an ambulance actually stopped at the place of the body and the paramedic said Brown was dead. After that, the Medical Examiner had legal custody of the body. Doesn’t it occur to you that the situation was made much worse by the body laying there for that long? Even the Ferguson Police said it was wrong and a mistake. Now as far as you living near Ferguson, and that giving you some sort of credibility, well on the internet anyone can claim they live anywhere.
“…a pernicious ability to cherry pick…”
Liberals have left history bowls full of cherries.
For four hours? Please. How ridiculous.
Yes, Inga. For the first time I actually agree with you. It was absolutely ridiculous that a dead body had to remain, face down, in the sweltering St. Louis heat, for four hours. It is also absolutely ridiculous that you do not read or care to learn of the details surrounding the occurrence. I happen to live minutes from Ferguson, so this is a local story for me. Coverage was 24/7. Perhaps, just perhaps, you could choose to learn something that doesn’t fit your agenda. I know that you would rather bash the police and find fault, but in this one particular instance, the police were coming under live fire. It was reported at the time, way before this became a national incident. They had to secure the area before they would even bring in emergency vehicles because of the fear that those would be shot at as well.
You call it ridiculous, but firefighters abandoned their hoses, while the hoses were still shooting water, and they deserted various arson sites. They were being shot at while trying to contain the fires. Call it what you want, but maybe learning the facts would be useful, even when those facts don’t suit your perspective.
After reading the new story in more detail, it’s essentially just criminalizing being black. Blacks have had a few decades to live in the US with some measures of freedom, but that’s about it.
So the support for the “rule-of-law” is consistent with the institutional racism. But it’s a rule-of-law that is clear, but now unspoken in the “post-racial” United States. Very barbaric and inhumane ideal to stand up for…
To blame elsewhere is asinine. Unless you’re both slow and Congolese, one knows there will be serious consequences for serious actions. Charge them all.
By the way, Inga, Brown’s dead body, unfortunately, was in the street, face down, for hours. There was, however, a reason. The police were not trying to be disrespectful with regard to the corpse; they were, instead, coming under fire from various directions and could not risk their lives to attend to the body. Do a little homework, like I hear you chastise others. The purpose of allowing him to remain face down on the hot asphalt was to secure the area and not be in the line of fire. The same thing happened to the firefighters who were attempting to put out the multitude of fires during the riots. They were told to abandon their hoses when they were being attacked by gunfire. Buildings burnt to the ground because the area was not secure from random potshots at the workers.
Pogo
Ya see what ya wants to see and ya hears what ya wants to hear. Your statements reflect a pernicious ability to cherry pick. What does that say about the cherry picker?
. . .damage in lost property and businesses.
Did isaac say that Brown SWATTED the clerk? Really? Try strong arm robbery and assault. Typical liberal downplay of a very serious crime, which rises to the level of a felony. Hope isaac tries to SWAT a clerk in the next convenience store that he enters. Let’s just see what happens. After all, it’s just an innocent swat. Oh yeah, don’t forget to steal a box of cigars. You’re entitled. It belongs to you. You can cry that you’re a victim of society, had high stress levels and just needed to release some steam against whitey.
Hope the remaining thugs left in this dysfunctional and criminal family have any and all applicable charges filed against them, including charges of inciting violence, which was the direct cause of millions of dollars of damage in Dallas stroyed
@Paul
I could easily see charging the step-father but, as much as it would be ethically deserved, there’s no real ability to charge Soros under the law and, if it were done and it stuck, it’d set a precedent that would be potentially horrible.
jonolan – George Soros spent 33 million supporting protesters in Ferguson. I think that should be enough to start an investigation.
Where is the discussion on General Petraeus?!
Several articles on a slain victims family and their shady dealings, but the actual law has been broken and…nothing.
Cowardice. Hold your own accountable.
So, if they do charge them, we can expect Ferguson to burn again. Hopefully this time they’ll either send in the guard to put the rebellion down HARD or just pull back, cordon it off, and let it burn.
I favor the latter option for Ferguson or any other Black locale that riots. Just end “White Rule” by pulling out all police, fire, and paramedic services that aren’t wholly Black owned or controlled and wholly Black operated. Let them have their “autonomous zones” and see what they can do without White intervention and money.
I was hoping they were going to charge the step-father for inciting a riot and George Soros for promoting an insurrection.
“Brown was a victim of his own bad decisions. To blame others is just silly.”
Mr. Schulte,
Anti-academic statement. You must hate in-depth discussions about the impacts of social environments.
Also, you realize Mr. Brown is dead, he has in you and JT and Darren and Happypappies ideology been held accountable/responsible (insert whatever to dehumanize) for his “actions”.
And Mr. Schulte, the hallmark of a civilized person is to be able to relate to those things that he/she cannot see in person. It’s typical for one to speak to their own experiences, but last time I checked there were something like 7 billion people on earth, your personal experiences just aren’t good enough evidence to be trustworthy.
TJustice – A grand jury and the DoJ agree with me, not you.
The statistics show that a lot of white people are on public aid. In Ferguson they call poor slobby white trash “Hoosiers” and it is not a direct reference to Indiana. As to the Brown family. If they sue then they should be sued. A Remulak envoy many years ago influenced one of your Supreme Court Justices named Oliver Wendell Holmes. I notice he has a grandson who comments on this blog. In the case of Buck v. Bell the Supreme Court approved forced sterilization of imbeciles. “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” Or did he use the word “idiots”? I will have to go look that up.
Better than slavery, I guess. Better than what?
Too many names and much confusion. I need a flow chart to see who is connected to who. Who is married to who. Who is related by marriage, by blood. It should be an interesting flow chart.
Things were better for blacks in the past 100 years. So Jim Crow laws and lynchings and the KKK were what you consider better?
“… if one states the obvious ”
Not obvious at all.
Things were so much better for blacks in the past 100 years.
Activists did better for themselves if the races remained divided, however.
leftist activists were creators, not of the obvious, but of a pernicious and destructive lie.
And I do not agree that the US by the late 1990s was so horribly racist, or that socialism was the hammer to fix it.