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February is Black History Month!

WVAS Crime Update- July 9

Guilty Plea

An Alabama man pleaded guilty Tuesday to leaving threatening phone messages for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the county sheriff last summer because he was angry over the election-interference investigation into former President Donald Trump. WVAS News Director Melanie Hogan files this report.
Arthur Ray Hanson II made the phone calls just over a week before Trump and 18 others were indicted in Fulton County on Aug. 14.

Hanson of Huntsville, Alabama, told a federal judge at his plea hearing Tuesday that he never meant harm to Willis, whose office is prosecuting Trump and the others, or to Sheriff Patrick Labat, whose staff booked the former president at the Fulton County jail and took his mug shot.
He will be sentenced at a later date, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret Hobson told the judge prosecutors will seek leniency for Hanson because he took responsibility for his actions.

At the plea hearing, Hanson admitted to calling a Fulton County government customer service line on Aug. 6 and leaving voicemails for the prosecutor and the sheriff.

The indictment obtained by Willis’ office alleged a wide-ranging scheme by Trump and others to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
It was the fourth criminal case brought against the former president in months and had been widely anticipated.

A federal grand jury indicted Hanson in October on charges of making interstate threats via phone.

NFL Player Killed

Minnesota Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson and two of his former high school teammates were killed in an early morning car crash Saturday in Maryland, police and the team said. 24-year-old Jackson and Isaiah Hazel died at the scene, while Anthony Lytton, Jr., was pronounced dead at a hospital after the three-car crash in Prince George’s County, according to Maryland State Police. Lytton was 24 and Hazel was 23.

The three were in the same vehicle just after 3 a.m. when it was struck by another vehicle that was speeding and changing lanes, according to police.

The Vikings released a statement saying the team spoke to Jackson’s family, and is “devastated by the news.” “I am heartbroken by the loss of Khyree,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah adding His story was one of resilience. He was taking steps to become the best version of himself not just for him, but for those who cared about and looked up to him.”

Jackson was a fourth-round draft pick by the Vikings in April. He played two years at Alabama before finishing his college career with one season at Oregon.

Burned Body Found

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office is identifying the burnt body that was found in the trunk of a car.

The victim is 29-year-old Byron Da'Juan Lumpkin.
His body was found in the trunk of a charred vehicle after a house fire in Birmingham on June 8th.

Lumpkin's death is considered a homicide.
An investigation is ongoing.

Melanie began her career as a work study student, working in the areas of news reporting, anchoring and news-gathering. After graduating from Alabama State University, she worked as a production assistant at the local NBC affiliate, WSFA-TV. As a News Director at WVAS-FM, Melanie leads her team to produce award- winning newscasts and talk shows. Her professional achievements includes News Reporter of the Year for a number of years and awards for talk show producer, by the Alabama Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press. She is an active member of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. Her goals are to expand the reach of WVAS FM into more homes locally, regionally and nationally.