[Ohio-talk] Read Article

Wed Oct 18 16:30:06 UTC 2017

Suzanne,
What a horrible thing this lady had to endure. I will keep her in my
prayers. I thank you for being more than an obedient person. I thank you for
reminding me that it is more than being obedient. It is being a doer and
taking action! I hope Ayauna will be inspired and enjoy the "Dream
convention." 
Delcenia 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ohio-Talk [mailto:ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Suzanne
Turner via Ohio-Talk
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Cc: Suzanne Turner <smturner.234 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Ohio-talk] Read Article

All,

I am so excited to be a part of the NFB and let me tell you why.

Last week, I read an article about a young woman who was shot by her
boyfriend and left for dead.  As a result of this heinous act, she lost her
vision.  Ayauna Bush  is her name and she found an unexpected  new world
that she knew little about.  Well, I immediately reached out to find her.  I
wrote to the news and television reporters to extended an invitation to meet
Ayauna.  

Today, the U.S Attorney Office contacted me and explained that Miss Bush and
her grandmother, Lisa Edwards are enthusiastic about meeting.  I provided
her lawyer the websites for Ohio and the Jernigan Institute to read about
the NFB.  I spoke to Ayauna today and she is excited about the prospect of
coming to the "Dream Convention".  How profound is that!  

It will be an honor to meet her and they will be my guest.

I have inserted the article below!

Suzanne

<http://media.cleveland.com/court-justice/photo/dezayelyjpg-6ad250a43d371c07
jpg> Dezay Ely

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- At 19 years old, Ayauna Bush is forced to learn how to
live her life in a world that she can no longer see.

The Akron woman was blinded when in 2016, the man she called her boyfriend
shot her in the head -- twice in the face and once in the neck -- and left
her in a secluded area in Cuyahoga Valley National Park to die.

"I don't know how to handle when my son hands me a book and asks me to read
it to him," Bush said.

Bush's shooter, Dezay Ely,
<http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2017/10/akron_man_sentence
d_to_life_fo.html> was sentenced Thursday to life in federal prison. During
his sentencing, she was able to face her aggressor with her statement to the
judge in an attempt to relieve a burden.

The 19-year-old wore sunglasses and used a walking cane as loved ones led
her into the courtroom in Youngstown. Her family and pastor surrounded her
in the front row of the viewing gallery.

Bush views the shooting as part of her redemption, a violent incident at the
hands of her lover that saved her from a life "on the streets" where she met
him. It is not without its struggles. Her blindness required her to give up
custody of her 3-year-old son to her grandmother as she learns to live
without her sight. 

"I am not going to let what happened to me hurt me for the rest of my life,"
Bush said.

U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson told Ely, 28, that his history of
violence led her to reason that removing him from society for the rest of
his natural life was the only way to protect the public. She rejected an
argument from Ely's federal public defender that a 21-year sentence was
sufficient.

Pearson called him a "public enemy" and said that "most people don't look
into the face of their victim and then shoot the face of the victim."

Bush told the FBI that she and Ely, also of Akron, stayed at Ely's brother's
house the night prior to the shooting. They woke up early on July 3, 2016
and Ely told her he wanted to test fire a gun he recently bought.

The couple, along with a third man, drove to a small field off
Akron-Peninsula Road in the national park. Ely asked Bush whether she would
tell anyone about a robbery that he planned to commit, according to
prosecutors.

When they got to the field, Ely and Bush got out of the car. Ely said the
pistol jammed, then he shot Bush twice in the face and once in the neck. He
and the driver then left.

"I prayed to the Lord until somebody came and helped me," Bush said.

Joggers found
<http://www.cleveland.com/brecksville/index.ssf/2016/07/investigators_seek_p
ublics_hel.html> Bush, who carried no identification. Agents identified her
using phone records after one of her family members called park rangers the
day after the shooting and said Bush had been missing for several days.

Bush was placed in a medically-induced coma,
<http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2016/08/three_bullets_two_
suspects_how.html> and the FBI was able to piece together a case as she
recovered.

When she awoke, she told agents the name of her shooter.

"I trusted Mr. Ely as you would trust anyone you would call a mate or a
friend," Bush said.

<http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2017/05/akron_man_pleads_g
uilty_to_cuy.html> Ely pleaded guilty in May to attempted murder,
discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and being a felon in
possession of ammunition.

<http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/2017/07/suspected_driver_a
cquitted_in.html> A jury acquitted the driver, Raymond Terry Moore, of being
an accomplice in July 2017, after he argued he did not know Ely planned to
shoot Bush when they got to the park.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Galvin repeatedly used the word "miracle" on
Thursday to explain why Bush was still alive. She said the joggers who found
Bush were "angels ... wearing running shorts and tennis shoes."

Ely, on the other hand, acted with cowardice, Galvin said.

"This case is as cold and calculated and premeditated as it can possibly
get," Galvin said.

Ely has previous convictions in Summit County for involuntary manslaughter,
aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon. He was on probation
after his release from prison when he shot Bush and was held in jail as the
FBI built its case.

He told Bush during the sentencing that "I feel bad for what I did and
that's how I know it was wrong."

Pearson said she had been prepared to give Ely 30 years -- a decade for each
bullet he fired -- but that his actions in court and in jail after his
arrest helped her decide that a harsher punishment is warranted. The judge
said Ely punched another inmate at a federal holding facility in Youngstown
and that he fashioned a shiv and hid it in a book.

He also told a jail guard earlier this month that he was going to "grab you
be the collar and choke you when you make your rounds" after the guard told
him he could not go to the jail's law library, Pearson said.

The judge made it clear near the end of the hearing that she thought she
made the right decision. As she read him the terms of his probation -- just
in case he was ever released -- Ely told the judge she didn't need to
continue talking since he already gave her a life sentence.

An incredulous Pearson instructed the deputy marshals to control Ely, and
they positioned themselves on either side of the podium where he stood in an
orange jumpsuit with his arms and legs shackled.

"Don't tell me when I can or can't stop talking just because you will be
incarcerated for life, as deserved," Pearson snapped at Ely.

But it was evident that Bush's statement made an impact on the judge before
the sentencing.

Bush said she learned to to walk and talk again as she recovered from the
injuries that Ely gave her. She said she is optimistic that one day she'll
become a psychiatrist and start an organization to help children.

"At the end of the day, I just want justice and peace," Bush said.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit
<http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/10/comment_here_on_clevelandc
om_c_541.html> Thursday's crime and courts comments section.

View Comments

1.	 <http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/> Court & Justice

Texas man accused of possessing 9 pounds of heroin in Medina County traffic
stop

Updated on October 16, 2017 at 6:55 PMPosted on October 16, 2017 at 6:45 PM

A Texas man is charged in Cleveland federal court with possessing nearly
nine pounds of heroin during a Medina County traffic stop. (File photo)

14 shares

By  <http://connect.cleveland.com/staff/emacdonald/posts.html> Evan
MacDonald, cleveland.com

 <mailto:emacdonald at cleveland.com> emacdonald at cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Texas man is facing charges in federal court that accuse
him of possessing nearly nine pounds of heroin during a Medina County
traffic stop.

Adan Gilberto Munoz, 33, of El Paso, was indicted in the U.S. District Court
for the Northern District of Ohio on one count of possession with intent to
distribute and one count of using a telephone to facilitate commission of a
felony, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

"Law enforcement did a tremendous job of keeping thousands of doses of
heroin off the streets," U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said in the news
release.

State Highway Patrol troopers found roughly 8.8 pounds of heroin in Munoz's
car when they stopped it Aug. 8, federal prosecutors said.

A Highway Patrol trooper stopped Munoz's Hyundai Veloster about 12:20 p.m.
while it was traveling north on Interstate 71. Court records do not say why
the trooper stopped the car.

Munoz was shaking and trembling when he told a trooper he did not have his
driver's license with him. A K-9 detected four bricks of heroin -- each
weighing more than two pounds -- in the car, prosecutors said. 

"With unified efforts between federal, state and local law enforcement
agencies, we will continue to combat drug trafficking and remove criminals
from our communities making it safer for the citizens of Ohio," Highway
Patrol superintendent Col. Paul A. Pride said in the news release.

Munoz later told a Drug Enforcement Administration agent that someone in El
Paso gave him a bag containing the heroin and asked him to take it to
Cleveland. Munoz told the investigator that he thought the bag contained
cocaine, court records say.

"The seizure of four kilograms of heroin is significant," DEA Special Agent
in Charge Timothy Plancon said in the news release. "In this era of daily
heroin related overdoses, nothing is more important than bringing the people
that are distributing this poison within our communities to justice."

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts
comments section.
<http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/10/comment_here_on_clevelandc
om_c_545.html#incart_river_index>  

View Comments

1.	 <http://www.cleveland.com/court-justice/index.ssf/> Court & Justice

Judge lifts gag order in KNR lawsuit, restores access to court records

Updated on October 16, 2017 at 9:08 PMPosted on October 16, 2017 at 5:06 PM

The attorney for a University of Akron student accused of killing his former
roommate's cat is arguing for the diversion program for his client. (File
photo)

22 shares

By  <http://connect.cleveland.com/staff/emacdonald/posts.html> Evan
MacDonald, cleveland.com

 <mailto:emacdonald at cleveland.com> emacdonald at cleveland.com

AKRON, Ohio - A Summit County judge on Monday issued a ruling that lifted a
gag order and granted access to court records in a lawsuit that accuses the
personal-injury firm Kisling, Nestico and Redick of defrauding clients.

KNR lawyers asked for the gag order earlier this year when Subodh Chandra
and Peter Pattakos, attorneys for three former KNR clients who are suing the
law firm, attached copies of emails from a former KNR employee to court
filings.

The lawsuit claims the emails reveal how KNR engaged in an illegal kickback
scheme involving chiropractic firms. Lawyers for KNR -- who have said those
allegations are false -- argued that the emails improperly disclosed client
information.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Alison Breaux granted the gag order March
29. Breaux directed the clerk of courts to remove records in the case from
an online docket, and prohibited attorneys from speaking publicly about the
case.

Lawyers representing cleveland.com filed a petition
<http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/05/lawyers_for_clevelandcom_a
sk_a_1.html>  May 21 that asked an appellate court to lift the gag order.
The complaint argued that the gag order violated the First Amendment and
impaired the ability of Advance Ohio, cleveland.com's parent company, to
report the news.

Pattakos said Monday that he was pleased with the judge's decision.

"We're glad the judge saw through the defendants' efforts to restrain our
speech and our ability to investigate our clients' claims," he said.

Breaux wrote in her decision to lift the gag order that the court issued a
protective order Sept. 12 that made the gag order unnecessary. That
protective order is a standard order that protects confidential information
during the discovery process, Pattakos said.

Rob A. Nestico, a managing partner at KNR, said he also supports the judge's
decision to lift the gag order because he believes the protective order will
keep client information secure as the discovery process moves forward.

KNR has filed a counterclaim
<http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/05/knr_suing_former_employee_
over.html#incart_m-rpt-1>  that says a former employee stole the emails,
which contain proprietary information, and provided them to the plaintiffs'
attorneys.

"We're obligated, as lawyers, to fight that way," Nestico said. "As long as
client information isn't disclosed, that's our main concern."

Pattakos, though, questioned why KNR lawyers opposed the plaintiffs' efforts
to have the gag order removed, and why KNR did not withdraw its opposition
once the judge granted the protective order.

The Ohio Supreme Court recognizes strict First Amendment standards that
prohibit courts from sealing records or imposing gag orders unless the
person requesting them shows "by clear and convincing evidence" that their
interest in shielding the information outweighs the public's rights to
access records. Advance Ohio's petition said Breaux granted the order
without holding KNR to that burden.

Advance Ohio's petition was filed by Patrick Kabat and Andrew Geronimo,
lawyers with the First Amendment and the Arts Project, a new clinical
initiative of the Spangenberg Center for Law, Technology and the Arts at the
Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

The lawsuit against KNR says the law firm intentionally deceived and
defrauded clients with kickback schemes
<http://www.cleveland.com/akron/index.ssf/2017/03/class-action_suit_claims_p
erso.html>  involving chiropractors and the now-defunct loan company Liberty
Capital Funding. The law firm charged an "investigation fee" for work that
was never performed, and for basic clerical services that are not legally
chargeable to clients, the suit says.

Nestico said Monday that KNR feels the lawsuit is baseless, and that the law
firm's lawyers will soon file documents in the case that will dispel "false
allegations" made in the lawsuit.

"I'm relieved that the judge lifted the gag order, because the public needs
to know the truth," he said.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts
comments section.
<http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2017/10/comment_here_on_clevelandc
om_c_545.html#incart_river_index> 