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
Randyjet, I was never taught to do the things you say capitalism teaches us.
Inga, they don’t cover bodies until the coroner is there, those are the rules. And with that crowd would you walk out and start examining the body?
I think Al Sharpton should be held responsible for much of the rioting and looting after his “church” speech.
The step-father was certainly on something, but inciting people to start fires should require some punishment.
Was there anyone in that community that didn’t try to take advantage of Brown’s death? A big party every night, walking down the streets laughing and joking. I saw a woman holding the hand of a small child, in fron of a store while a man was looting! Lots of children walking with signs they probably didn’t understand. Long after they should have been in bed.
Therein lies the problem. Lousy parenting. Every parent should have been home with their children. A good parent would put their safety ahead of a partying crowd. Can you imagine how scared children were when looting and fires started?
And everyone they can verify looted should have whatever government assistance they get cancelled! Obama would probably double it.
And his explanation today of due process and reasonable doubt was totally wrong. The man was never charged! This is a Constitutional lawyer? He doesn’t know when due process and reasonable doubt apply? Or just lying again?
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Are you telling me that a quote from the DOJ report on Wilson is unsuitable for this forum?
Bob Stone,
It was a suggestion on how to prevent comments from being automatically snagged by the prohibited words filter.
TJustice, per usual, is supplying the comic relief.
The store owner who was robbed and later had his store looted and burned, should sue the Brown family for imposing their thug upon the world.
Arson and looting ARE NOT civil disobedience!! They are felonies and craven.
The Brown family lost their son and they have their American right to sue. We will let the jury hear the case and make the decision. However, win or lose, the Brown family should be the one’s to pay the entire bill.
Even though a grand jury failed to indict Wilson and the Department of Justice found no grounds to prosecute him, the purported legal scholars contributing here seem to deem the system corrupt. Had the two decisions gone the other way, finding Wilson guilty, they would be claiming that the system worked the way that it was supposed to work. How pompous must these critics be to decide this case without the specifics presented to the grand jury and the DOJ. The ignorance is overwhelming. Decide a case, sans any real or substantial evidence or testimony, according to your own narrative. Hope that these wingnuts never get called for jury duty.
Dust Bunny Queen,
Of course his civil liberties were taken away, he was killed by a uniformed police officer. The penalty (rule-of-law) for robbery is not generally not the death penalty in the streets. In the U.S. that’s been close to the practical rule of law for young black males for some time though, but the issue is skirted here constantly.
Mr. Wilson’s civil liberties were upheld and then some in this case. He killed an unarmed citizen and was not even indicted. I’m glad he had excellent representation and his civil liberties were vigilantly pursued in the legal system. Every person deserves that. How could Mr. Brown’s have been pursued? He was killed… Bob McCullough?? Just check his record with equal application of the law. Check the Ferguson City gov..??? Probably not either. Not a bright history with discrimination.
The point about you not caring about civil liberties was in jest, hence the I guess. Even in this case, you say Mr. Brown loses some rights by his actions. As to the struggle that took place between him and Mr. Wilson: It is not exactly clear what occurred, there is much conflicting evidence. Nevertheless, a teenager ended up dead without a trial, much less even an arrest. Civil liberties were not upheld for Michael Brown, he had his rights stolen. Even if you believe he is a criminal, then he should have been subject to a civil administration of the law, not shot several times.
Is civil disobedience then grounds for deep punishment? And is civil disobedience not a hallmark of protecting civil liberties?
TJustice – you have either forgotten or are ignoring the whole struggle in the car over the gun and the gun going off thing. At this point, Michael Brown becomes a dangerous felon. Not just for Officer Wilson, but all officers.
Now the insurance companies may decide to settle for nuisance value, but if this actually goes to trial with a neutral jury (not in St. Louis area) I think the Brown family gets stuck with the legal bills.
Nick,
Some of us seem to recall what ‘never again’ means…
Never Again shall mankind hate mankind based on religion.
It should be applied to all people…
I could ask, why support the idea of eliminationism?
Triggernometry
Wow, just wow… good example of corruption in city government/police. The witnesses that falsely signed testimony about an assault should also be indicted and the charges elevated to conspiracy. How else does a clerk and office worker see and hear a slap that took place outside the building they were working in?
The same lot of characters consistently defends the perpetrators of various crimes, while simultaneously blaming and/or ignoring the victims. By focusing on what they claim to be an excessive amount of time DEAD in the street, these individuals refuse to utter a word about Brown’s own illegal actions. Inga supposes to know the same amount about the case as I do, although we have never met, which allows her to add clairvoyant to her list of self proclaimed titles. She roundly condemns the process, of which she is completely ignorant, despite having others explain that there were reasons for the delay which were well justified. If TJustice and Max 1 find those contributing here to be ignorant, I suggest that they go elsewhere and find like-minded commentators.
The commenter @ 5:18p jumped the shark and applied the new Godwin’s Law[ISIS not Hitler] in the same comment. If he could have squeezed some BDS into the comment he would have gotten the hat trick. And, I see he has a one person cheering section.
Bob Stone, Guilt by association. One must appreciate irony to understand this currently toxic culture.
TJustice
Spot on!
An example of the level of corruption in the criminal justice system in Ferguson Mo.
Ferguson judge behind aggressive fines policy owes $170,000 in unpaid taxes
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/mar/06/ferguson-judge-owes-unpaid-taxes-ronald-brockmeyer
What’s the big deal? This is the family business. Nothing to see here. Move along now.
“I guess you don’t care about civil liberties then”
Bad faith argument. Meant to slander and demean.
I guess you don’t care about civil liberties then
Of course I do. However, THIS case where people are carping about Brown’s body being left in the street longer than some people think is proper, has nothing to do with civil liberties. Brown was killed by the officer in self defense. Not just my opinion but that of the coroner, the forensic evidence hold this to be so and has been found by the legal system to have been a perpetrator of the action.
Brown’s civil liberties were vacated by himself when he decided to rob and strong arm an innocent shop keeper. His civil liberties were abrogated by his very own actions. Civil liberties do not mean that you are allowed to commit crimes, harm other people and in general be a public menace and others have to put up with your behaviour.
His liberties were not taken away. The liberties of OTHER people to not be robbed, beaten up, and perhaps even killed (as officer Wilson would have been should Brown have been able to take his gun from him) ……those other people’s liberties were protected by the removal of Brown from the streets. It would have been better to have him removed and incarcerated in hopes that he would change his behaviour. However, those choices were made BY Brown.
He did not choose wisely.
Speaking of appeals to imaginary correlations, can someone explain to me how emails and traffic tickets, not written by Darren Wilson, are being deemed a form of justification for ruining said innocent man’s life?
Max-1,
The type of inhuman and ignorant statements I’ve seen on here are no different, in principle, to the ignorant and barbaric statements made by political and academic leaders and ISIS militants.