BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Polls across Louisiana are officially closed.
Residents of East Baton Rouge Parish are electing a new 19th Judicial District Court Judge while residents of some surrounding parishes are deciding the fate of some property and sales and use taxes.
Complete but not certified results of the April 30th election will be added as they become available from the Louisiana Secretary of State.
Jordan Faircloth (right) and Brad Myers (left)(WAFB)
Residents of East Baton Rouge Parish are voting between Jordan Faircloth (R) and Brad Myers (R) in a run-off election for 19th Judicial District Court Judge.
The winner will replace retired Judge William Morvant.
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West Baton Rouge Parish
Residents of West Baton Rouge Parish are voting on whether or not two separate parish-wide property taxes will continue to be collected by West Baton Rouge Parish Council.
One of the propositions asks voters to renew a 10-year 2.5 mills property tax for Council on Aging while the other preposition asks voters to renew a 10-year 2 mills property tax for the parish’s museum.
According to the Council on Aging proposition, an estimated $1,452,500 is expected to be collected annually for 10 years from the property tax. Funds are used solely to maintain and operate the West Baton Rouge Parish Council on Aging, as well as support necessary capital expenditures.
According to the museum proposition, an estimated $1,162,000 is expected to be collected annually for 10 years from the property tax. Funds are used solely to maintain and operate the West Baton Rouge Parish Museum, as well as support necessary capital expenditures.
Livingston Parish
Residents of Livingston Parish are voting on a half-cent (1/2%) sales and use tax to be collected by Livingston Parish School Board.
According to the proposition, an estimated $300,000 is expected to be collected annually from this tax. Funds would be dedicated to constructing and improving public school buildings and facilities, including acquiring land, equipment, and furnishing.
Residents of Livingston Parish are also voting on the collection of a 20-year 15 mills property tax for Fire Protection District No. 4.
According to the proposition, an estimated $4,100,000 is expected to be collected annually for 20 years from this tax. Funds would be used for acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining, and/or operating fire protection and emergency medical service facilities, vehicles, and equipment, including both movable and immovable property, and to pay the costs of obtaining water for fire hydrant purposes, including charges for fire hydrant rentals and services.
Assumption Parish
Residents of Assumption Parish are voting on whether or not to allow Lower Texas Gravity Drainage District #15 to collect a $50 parcel fee annually for 10 years on each lot, sub-divided portion of ground and/ or individual tract located within the district.
According to the proposition, an estimated $4,000 is expected to be collected annually from the tax. In accordance with state law, funds would be used for paying the cost of constructing and maintaining levees, levee drainage, flood protection, hurricane flood protection, and all purposes incidental thereto, including paying compensation for the exercise of permanent or temporary servitudes.
FLINT, MI -- One of the largest privately-held real estate investment companies in the United States has contracted to purchase all of what remains of the old Buick City site -- more than 350 acres of land in the heart of the city.
An official for the trust established to remediate environmental issues and sell properties abandoned by General Motors during its 2009 bankruptcy confirmed that the Buick property is under contract for sale to Ashley Capital, which has a 40-year history of financing and developing industrial properties.
The contract allows Ashley to “prove out its planned investment there, including securing the necessary approvals, accessing the state of Michigan’s tools for attracting new employers, and removing any impediments, for intensive development of the property,” Bill Callen, a spokesman for Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust, said in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal.
The Journal could not immediately reach a representative of Ashley or Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley for comment on the Buick City property on Friday, April 29.
Callen did not immediately indicate the purchase price for the property and declined to say when a closing on the purchase might occur.
In a letter posted on the RACER website, Neeley has called Buick City “the greatest opportunity for industrial redevelopment” in Flint.
Tyler Rossmaessler, executive director of the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, said Friday that economic development officials who have been involved in marketing the Buick City property are “incredibly excited Ashley Capital is interested in the site.”
“I am confident that whatever they do will be transformational,” Rossmaessler said. “They have a record of working with brownfields and working with RACER Trust.”
RACER said Ashley has been involved in the development and management of industrial and office properties, including a former GM property in Livonia that is now home to distribution centers for Amazon and Republic National Distributing Co. and that employs more than 1,500 people.
“We are very encouraged by their interest in Buick City and the potential that represents,” the RACER statement says. “We will do everything we can to support Ashley Capital as it works with the state of Michigan to capture this significant opportunity for the people of Flint, Genesee County, and Michigan.”
Although RACER has found and worked to remediate PFAS and other contamination at Buick City, the trust said environmental conditions at the property “are not an impediment to its redevelopment and safe reuse.”
“We are accustomed to working in close coordination with buyers, end-users, community leaders and environmental regulators to ensure the safe reuse of our former GM properties, including Buick City,” the RACER statement says.
Buick City was created in the early 1980s when the United Auto Workers and Buick managers devised a plan to save assembly operations by grouping supplier plants around the central Buick assembly plant, which was located on the southern-most end of the site and was demolished in 2002.
Before that, the property was simply known as “The Buick.”
According to the book, “A Place Called Buick,” a history of the site written by Don Bent, employment at the property peaked at 29,400 employees in 1956.
Twitter released its first-quarter earnings this morning, reporting $1.2 billion in revenue, up 16% compared to last year and just shy of its estimated $1.23 billion.
But at 8 am EST, when the earnings call was meant to begin, the company revealed in apress releasethat the call, shareholder letter, and financial guidance that usually accompany the announcement had all been canceled.
“In light of the proposed transaction with [Tesla CEO Elon Musk], as is customary during the pendency of an acquisition, Twitter will not be hosting a conference call,” the company wrote in the release, going on to say that further details on the past quarter will be available in its 10-Q filing with the SEC.
The quarterly report had not yet been filed with the regulator as of this writing.
Twitter said it expects the deal with Musk, who has agreed to acquire the company for $44 billion, to close before the end of the year.
Inflated user figures
In its earnings report, Twitter also revealed that an error with a feature released in 2019, allowing users to link multiple accounts, led it to report monetizable daily active user (mDAU) numbers inflated by as much as 1.9 million.
Case in point: Twitter previously reported 216.6 daily active users in Q4'21 but has revised that number to 214.7.
“An error was made at that time, such that actions taken via the primary account resulted in all linked accounts being counted as mDAU,” Twitter said in the release. “This resulted in an overstatement of mDAU from Q1’19 through Q4’21.”
Although the issue traces back to the first quarter of 2019, Twitter only provided revised figures for Q4 2020, citing its data retention policy.
“Our estimates suggest the prior period adjustments are not likely to be greater than those in Q4’20,” Twitter wrote.
Musk’s plans for Twitter
Although it involves the CEO of an electric vehicle company buying a social media company, the deal has generated a lot of buzz and speculation in the crypto community.
Musk has repeatedly said that he believes Twitter should be more transparent.
“The code should be on GitHub so it can be examined,”he said during an interview at TED2022 in Vancouver, Canada. “I just think it’s important to the function of democracy in the United States and other countries. The civilizational risk is decreased if we can increase the trust in Twitter as a public platform.”
Musk has also said that he thinks the process of deciding who does and doesn’t get censored on Twitter should be decentralized, an ethos that has resonated with the crypto community.
Since the deal was announced, it’s been applauded byTylerandCameronWinklevoss, brothers and co-founders of the crypto exchange Gemini Trust Company.
Twitter released its first-quarter earnings this morning, reporting $1.2 billion in revenue, up 16% compared to last year and just shy of its estimated $1.23 billion.
But at 8 am EST, when the earnings call was meant to begin, the company revealed in apress releasethat the call, shareholder letter, and financial guidance that usually accompany the announcement had all been canceled.
“In light of the proposed transaction with [Tesla CEO Elon Musk], as is customary during the pendency of an acquisition, Twitter will not be hosting a conference call,” the company wrote in the release, going on to say that further details on the past quarter will be available in its 10-Q filing with the SEC.
The quarterly report had not yet been filed with the regulator as of this writing.
Twitter said it expects the deal with Musk, who has agreed to acquire the company for $44 billion, to close before the end of the year.
Inflated user figures
In its earnings report, Twitter also revealed that an error with a feature released in 2019, allowing users to link multiple accounts, led it to report monetizable daily active user (mDAU) numbers inflated by as much as 1.9 million.
Case in point: Twitter previously reported 216.6 daily active users in Q4'21 but has revised that number to 214.7.
“An error was made at that time, such that actions taken via the primary account resulted in all linked accounts being counted as mDAU,” Twitter said in the release. “This resulted in an overstatement of mDAU from Q1’19 through Q4’21.”
Although the issue traces back to the first quarter of 2019, Twitter only provided revised figures for Q4 2020, citing its data retention policy.
“Our estimates suggest the prior period adjustments are not likely to be greater than those in Q4’20,” Twitter wrote.
Musk’s plans for Twitter
Although it involves the CEO of an electric vehicle company buying a social media company, the deal has generated a lot of buzz and speculation in the crypto community.
Musk has repeatedly said that he believes Twitter should be more transparent.
“The code should be on GitHub so it can be examined,”he said during an interview at TED2022 in Vancouver, Canada. “I just think it’s important to the function of democracy in the United States and other countries. The civilizational risk is decreased if we can increase the trust in Twitter as a public platform.”
Musk has also said that he thinks the process of deciding who does and doesn’t get censored on Twitter should be decentralized, an ethos that has resonated with the crypto community.
Since the deal was announced, it’s been applauded byTylerandCameronWinklevoss, brothers and co-founders of the crypto exchange Gemini Trust Company.
Pending home sales dipped for the fifth straight month in March, with the Pending Home Sales Index dropping 1.2 percent from February to 103.7, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which shines a light on future home sales through contract signings, dropped 1.2 percent from the previous month to 103.7 in March while falling 8.2 percent on an annual basis. An index of 100 represents how much contract activity was present in 2001.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun took the latest numbers as a sign of a normalizing market.
Lawrence Yun | Photo credit: NAR
“The falling contract signings are implying that multiple offers will soon dissipate and be replaced by much calmer and normalized market conditions,” Yun said in a statement.
“As it stands, the sudden large gains in mortgage rates have reduced the pool of eligible homebuyers, and that has consequently lowered buying activity. The aspiration to purchase a home remains, but the financial capacity has become a major limiting factor.”
By the fourth quarter, Yun anticipates mortgage rates to hit 5.3 percent, averaging 4.9 percent over the course of 2022, and to hit 5.4 percent by 2023.
He expects inflation will average 8.2 percent over the course of 2022 and moderate to 5.5 percent by the second half of the year.
As of March 2022, mortgage payments had increased 31 percent year over year, Yun said, due to higher mortgage rates and a continued pattern of home price appreciation. Rising prices have also contributed to a decline in existing-home sales.
“Overall existing-home sales this year look to be down 9 percent from the heated pace of last year,” Yun said. “Home prices are in no danger of decline on a nationwide basis, but the price gains will steadily decelerate such that the median home price in 2022 will likely be up 8 percent from last year.”
Rising rents across the nation, however, may spur some renters to consider the for-sale market, Yun predicted.
“Fast-rising rents will encourage renters to consider buying a home, though higher mortgage rates will present challenges,” he said. “Strong rent growth nonetheless will lead to a boom in multifamily housing starts, with more than 20 percent growth this year.”
Yun also anticipates the unemployment rate will average 3.7 percent over 2022 and that gross domestic product will increase to 2.8 percent.
Due to those rising mortgage rates and waning buyer demand, Yun noted that single-family homebuilders will likely tread lightly in terms of production. “I expect that to result in a boost to construction of less than 5 percent,” Yun said.
By region
The Northeast was the only region that did not experience a decline in pending home sales in March, with the PHSI rising 4.0 percent from the previous month to 89.3. However, that was still down 9.2 percent year over year.
The PHSI declined 6.1 percent month over month in the Midwest to 94.7, which was down 4.8 percent from the previous year.
In the South, pending home sales decreased 0.9 percent to a PHSI of 125.8, which was down 9.5 percent from March 2021.
The West saw a 0.2 percent dip in the PHSI in March to 89.8, down 8.4 percent year over year.
Coming off a win in the Play-In Tournament to claim the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets had a lot of momentum heading into their first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics and Bruce Brown did not hold back his feelings at the time.
“Now they don’t have Robert Williams, so they have less of a presence in the paint,” Brown said in regards to facing the Celtics. “We can attack [Daniel] Theis and [Al] Horford in the paint. Them not having Robert Williams is huge.”
Four games later, the Nets’ season ended abruptly in disappointing fashion after getting swept by the Celtics.
This offseason is going to be extremely important for Brooklyn as a franchise and while his comments ahead of their playoff series against Boston may have added unnecessary fuel to the fire in favor of the Celtics, Bruce Brown still proved to be one of the most important players on the Nets’ roster this season.
Appearing in 72 games, Brown averaged 9.0 points (career-high), 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and shot 50.6% from the floor, 40.4% from three-point range.
Brown ranked fifth on the team in Player Efficiency Rating (min. 1,000 minutes), second in Win Shares (4.8) and tied for first with Kevin Durant in Defensive Win Shares (2.0).
He may only be 6’4”, but Bruce Brown is one of the most versatile players in the league given his ability to defend almost every position and fill almost any hole his team has.
Brown can rebound, he can defend, he can facilitate, he can set screens and most importantly, he gives his team a jolt of energy whether he is in or out of the starting rotation.
Set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, the Nets’ swingman is likely to see a pretty substantial raise from his current expiring contract.
After signing a one-year qualifying offer of $4.7 million this past season, Brown’s value has increased and in order to keep him around, Brooklyn may have to dive deeper into being a tax-paying organization.
The max Bruce Brown can make this offseason is $176.9 million over the course of five years, but it is unlikely that any team, including the Nets, is going to want to make him a max contract player.
Brooklyn is able to exceed the cap to offer him up to this max contract amount, which is why they probably have the best shot at retaining him once free agency begins.
This offseason, the Nets ownership and front-office are going to have to open up their checkbooks if they are to continue being a championship contender and what they decide to do must start with Bruce Brown.
A three-to-four year deal worth around $14 million to $18 million per year is definitely in-play this offseason for Brown, especially when you compare his numbers and value to other players around the league in this annual average value bracket.
Duncan Robinson (Miami Heat), Derrick White (Boston Celtics), Kevin Huerter (Atlanta Hawks) and Will Barton (Denver Nuggets) are four players and four contracts that could come into play when evaluating Bruce Brown’s value entering free agency.
Starting with Will Barton, he signed a two-year, $30 million deal with an AAV (annual average value) of $15 million with Denver ahead of the 2021-22 season. Barton has proven to be a key two-way weapon on the wing for the Nuggets and has filled the role of being the No. 3 and/or No. 4 option at times, similar to Bruce Brown’s role with Brooklyn.
As for Duncan Robinson and Kevin Huerter, they both recently signed new contract extensions with their teams as well. Robinson earned a five-year, $90 million deal with an AAV of $18 million with the Heat for being a key three-point weapon on the wing and Huerter signed a four-year, $65 million extension, an AAV of $16.25 million, ahead of this season with the Hawks for being a key perimeter scorer and offensive weapon on the wing.
As for Derrick White, he is not much of a three-point shooter, but his skills being a facilitator in the backcourt and his playmaking abilities earned him a four-year, $70 million contract with an AAV of $17.5 million ahead of the start of this season.
These are a lot of numbers to process, but Bruce Brown is going to be looking to get this kind of value in free agency, especially since his worth to the Nets this season is highly comparable to that of Will Barton in Denver and Derrick White, who is now in Boston.
The Nets do own Brown’s full “bird rights,” meaning that Brooklyn can bring him back despite being over the salary cap and deep into "luxury tax land."
However, signing him to a $10 million contract for example could cost the franchise close to three-times this amount in total luxury taxes.
Recently, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski spoke about the Nets’ upcoming offseason moves and noted that Bruce Brown is a very important piece to the puzzle.
“Obviously, Bruce Brown has had a tremendous season,” Wojnarowski said recently. “He’s looking like a 12, 13, 14 million dollar player in this marketplace. They have to sign him.”
After losing to the Boston Celtics in the first-round of the playoffs, Brown also talked about his upcoming free agency and what the future held with him in regards to the Nets this offseason.
“Yeah, hopefully,” Brown said in response to being asked about staying with Brooklyn. “The season just ended; I’m not thinking about it. If there’s a chance to stay, we’ll talk about it. But we’ll see.”
Every move the Brooklyn Nets could potentially make as a franchise this offseason depends on how much their ownership is willing to pay. This team is going to be one of the highest tax-paying teams in the league next season, which is why bringing back any player is going to be tough for them.
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LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Bart Reagor filed a motion Friday asking to allow him to remain on release pending the decision of his sentence appeal. Court documents state Reagor suffers from progressive Parkinson’s disease.
The motion requests his release for the extra time to “allow him not to interrupt his current, complicated treatment regimen until it is certain that he will have to serve this sentence”. According to the motion, Reagor “takes 15 different medications each day”.
Court documents filed on March 14 show Reagor gave notice through his attorney that he is appealing the October conviction of making a false statement to the International Bank of Commerce about his intentions of using $1.7 million of a $10 million loan from IBC to Reagor-Dykes Auto Group. Reagor is also appealing the 14-year sentence for that conviction handed down on March 10.
He was required to self-surrender on May 9 as part of his sentence. Below is an expert from the motion:
“While he has filed this appeal in hope that the judgment and sentence can be reversed, that is his only motive—not to delay for delay’s sake. Delay of surrender is its own prison in a very real sense. When a large sentence hangs over a convicted defendant, he or she cannot think of the future except with dread, or even enjoy the present when so much of the rest of their life is on hold pending their physical removal from all they have come to know in their life, not least their family and other loved ones. Each day pending surrender to prison is spent under constant contemplation of the unpleasant life that awaits.”
Court documents claim if the request is denied it could be very serious for his health. A ruling has not yet been handed down.
INDIANAPOLIS— A WRTV Investigation reveals alleged victims of crimes in Indiana waiting years for their cases to be resolved, including a Marion County rape case that’s still pending six years later.
What’s more—WRTV Investigates uncovered no one appears to be tracking the length of criminal cases in our state.
We could not find any state, city or local agency that is keeping track of how long alleged victims and defendants have to wait for justice.
Delayed justice is an issue impacting public safety, plus we the taxpayers pay for the state’s judicial system. The state, cities, counties, town and township spend approximately $511 million a year on the judicial system.
A warning: the following content may be disturbing or triggering to some of our readers.
“I’m never going to see justice”: Robyn Matthews story
Robyn Matthews has been waiting for six years.
“Each time a case date approaches, I stress out for the entire month before,” said Robyn. “I get panic attacks I don't tell my fiancé about."
Robyn reached out to WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney and said her alleged rapist’s criminal case had been pending in Marion County for six years.
When WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney looked up the case, she found the case summary alone is 34 pages long.
“I’m frustrated, and I’ve had six years to be frustrated,” said Robyn. “I just feel like nobody cares anymore."
Robyn in 32 years old now.
In February 2016, she was 26 years old—out in Broad Ripple, drinking with a friend when the two got separated.
Prosecutors allege a man named Thomas Stone approached Robyn and told her he played for the Colts.
Robyn got into his white Cadillac Escalade, thinking Stone was taking her to her friends— not knowing the Colts have no records of Stone ever playing for the team.
Court documents allege Stone took Robyn to his house on Vistamere Way where he forced her to perform oral sex, and then raped her—an allegation Stone denies.
Stone drove to a gas station, which is when Robyn was able to get out and call police, court records allege.
Robyn later got a sexual assault exam, and the DNA was a match for Stone, prosecutors said in court documents.
On March 10, 2016, Marion County prosecutors charged Thomas Stone in connection with Robyn’s incident with rape, kidnapping and criminal confinement.
But the case is still pending six years later and Robyn is concerned the charges will be dismissed.
“I’m never going to see justice,” said Robyn. “I feel like the case is falling apart.”
Courtroom audio obtained by WRTV Investigates show Judge Grant Hawkins made the following comment to a prosecutor during an online hearing in July.
“This case is so old, we’re using your old name, Miss Bibbs,” remarked Judge Hawkins.
Robyn says the comment enraged her.
“It makes me so mad,” said Robyn. “I thought ‘wow I'm glad this is funny to you because this sucks on my end.’ I could only watch it happen."
Robyn, who now lives in a different county, is not alone in feeling this way.
“I thought I was going to die”: Mikayla Devore’s story
Mikayla Devore is a second alleged victim in the same criminal case against Thomas Stone.
Prosecutors say in January 2016, Stone approached Mikayla while she was sitting outside of a downtown bar and claimed to be an Uber driver and a Colts player.
“I was about to get an Uber, and I was on the phone,” said Mikayla.
Stone then took Mikayla to his house on Vistamere Way, court records allege.
“I could feel him behind me and I turned around,” said Mikayla. “At that point, I thought for sure I was going to die."
Prosecutors allege Stone forced Mikayla to perform oral sex—an allegation Stone denies.
“I was crying the whole time and that was making him upset or mad,” said Mikayla.
Mikayla says Thomas Stone agreed to drive her home.
According to prosecutors, when Stone stopped his car along an interstate off-ramp, Mikayla got out and called the police.
“"I thought for sure he would kill me, and this was like my one opportunity to get away or it would be over,” said Mikayla.
Mikayla had a sexual assault exam and samples matched Stone, court records allege.
In total, Thomas Stone is charged with 16 felony counts including intimidation, rape, attempted rape, kidnapping, and criminal confinement.
The charges including allegations involving a third woman who we are not naming because she did not agree to speak with WRTV.
At the time of the incident, Mikayla was 20 years old. She’s now 27 and a mother.
“At this point, it's not being taken seriously,” said Mikayla. “Six years. In that time, a lot of detail can be lost."
Mikayla was drinking the night of the alleged assault and is concerned that may impact her ability to remember details.
“If I can’t remember the answer or can’t recall, here we are with unanswered questions the jury can’t get answers to,” said Mikayla.
Not Tracked: No state or local agency tracking length of criminal cases
Six years sounds like a long time for justice.
But WRTV Investigates wanted to find out for sure.
We checked with the Indiana Office of Court Services, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, the Marion County Clerk’s Office, the Marion County Court Administrator, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, as well as statewide associations representing both prosecutors and public defenders.
No one appears to be tracking how long criminal cases take in Indiana.
The state does track a slew of other data including the number of cases filed, the outcomes of the cases, court expenses and revenues, as well as a breakdown of the data by county.
However, we could not find a single state or local agency in Indiana that examines how long criminal cases take to work their way through our judicial system.
We asked clinical professor of law, Novella Nedeff, at the IU McKinney School of Law whether she’s ever heard of a criminal case lasting six years.
“That’s a long time,” said Nedeff. “That is shocking. I bet that is a real outlier in Marion County and probably most places.”
Nedeff said she was surprised no one appears to be tracking how long criminal cases take in our state.
“That does surprise me,” said Nedeff. “I know it’s not readily available because I’ve tried to look for those statistics.”
According to the National Center for State Courts, the average time from charges to disposition is 256 days for a felony case. Indiana did not participate in the analysis.
“The older a case gets, the better”: A public defender weighs in
Jefferson County Chief Public Defender Devon Sharpe is not involved in the Stone case, but WRTV Investigates asked him to provide some insight on why a case can drag on.
“Six years seems like an awfully old criminal case,” said Sharpe. “That seems awfully excessive."
In the Thomas Stone case, WRTV Investigates counted at least 8 different continuances granted by the Marion County judge for various reasons.
Sharpe said it is a common strategy for a defense attorney to request continuances.
“As a defense attorney, the older a case gets, the better, frankly,” said Sharpe. “Typically, over time you lose track of witnesses, people move, and people’s memories become faded which makes it easier to challenge at a trial sometimes. Some of the evidence is hard to track down.”
Sharpe said prosecutors often feel more pressure to wrap things up the longer it goes on.
“Typically as the case gets older, it gets easier and easier to resolve because the state begins to feel the pressure of getting the case resolved,” said Sharpe.
Delayed justice can be difficult on defendants as well, who are innocent until proven guilty.
"I've had several clients who say ‘look I've got to get something done here— either it's a conviction or not,’” said Sharpe. “They’ll say ‘I just need to know. It will impact the jobs I'm applying for.’ Getting those cases behind them can be important, but at what cost."
The reasons why justice can be delayed
WRTV Investigates uncovered justice can be delayed for many reasons:
Complexity: Thomas Stone’s case involves a lot of discovery and evidence, multiple witnesses, as well as three separate accusers. Stone’s attorney wants the accuser’s allegations tried separately, but prosecutors have pushed to keep them together, saying it was all “part of a single scheme.”
Caseloads: Caseloads are a factor for prosecutors and defense attorneys who are juggling many cases, as well as for the courts themselves. Marion County handles 10 times the number of criminal cases than surrounding counties.
COVID-19: COVID-19 caused courts to delay jury trials, as employees contracted the virus resulting in hundreds of quarantines. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says they have 37,000 pending criminal cases, which is 5,000 to 10,000 more than usual. While Thomas Stone’s case was pending for four years until COVID-19 hit, the virus has had an impact the past two years. “Trials are so backed up because of COVID, and the courts are hard pressed to get through cases for people in custody,” said professor Novella Nedeff. “Of course, there was a substantial back up in this case before COVID even became a thing."
In-Custody: The rules say prosecutors have to try in-custody cases first, where a defendant is locked up before trial. That means cases where the defendant is out of jail are given a lower priority. While Thomas Stone spent 10 months in jail in 2016 and 2017 after a probation violation, Stone was released on bond and has been out of jail for most of the six years. The right to a speedy trial under Criminal Rule 4 only applies to in-custody defendants, not to victims of crimes. Once requested, the defendant is supposed to be tried within 70 days, and if that is violated, the charges can be dismissed.
“Each encounter was consensual”: Response from Thomas Stone’s attorney
Thomas Stone did not have anything to say to our cameras at a pre-trial conference on April 14.
WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney waited for Stone after the hearing, but Stone did not use either of the public exits outside the courtroom.
A court staffer told us Stone was escorted out a back exit.
WRTV Investigates dug through the case files and found a 2017 motion from Stone’s attorney that says Stone “denies that he forced any of these women to do anything and asserts that each encounter was consensual."
Stone’s attorney, Vincent Scott, told us via e-mail “this is a very unique case” and that Stone has been “subjected to pretrial release conditions throughout this process."
FULL STATEMENT FROM STONE’S ATTORNEY:
"There are several reasons for the delay in bringing these cases to trial. There have been preliminary motions with argument and reconsideration which is a natural part of this type of legal process, and also the delays due to the pandemic and its inability to allow the Court to field a jury. Further the matter was forced to be continued last year because on the eve of trial my mother passed away and this caused me to be away from the practice for a period of time. This is a very unique case, in that there are multiple alleged victims and several additional witnesses which will cause this trial to proceed for several days- during the pandemic it was not possible to attempt such a trial as we could not have that number of people in the Courtroom at any given time. We are now beginning to get some resemblance of normalcy within the trial process. I am mindful of the frustrations that people surrounding this case may have, including my client who has been subjected to pretrial release conditions throughout this process; however, we have experienced several challenges not due to anyone's fault or neglect which have produced these delays. In the face of that adversity, our presiding Judge has steadfastly attempted to ensure that both sides are properly prepared and capable of receiving a fair trial; he should be commended for that resolve as he has dealt with this and many more very arduous cases. I would disagree with the notion that the system is not mindful of the alleged victims' concerns in this matter. Remember, we want to ensure that the trial when it occurs, is a fair trial. It is my hope that your news story does focus on a full picture of circumstances which actually extend beyond the alleged victims frustration with the needed delay to bring these matters to trial.”
The judge has granted Stone’s request to try the cases separately, but it’s not yet clear how that will be handled by the court.
Under the Code of Judicial Code of Conduct, judges may not speak about pending cases
One of the trials is scheduled for July 18-20, 2022.
“It blows my mind”: Push to track the length of criminal cases
“It just feels like a slap in the face,” said Robyn.
Robyn Matthews says prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges need to be held accountable for delaying justice—whatever that might be.
“Even if the outcome is disappointing, I will know that I did everything I could,” said Robyn.
She’s calling on state and local agencies to start tracking how long criminal cases take, so they can pinpoint which ones are languishing.
“There should be data out there, and it blows my mind there isn’t,” said Robyn. “You could see where there are gaps. It needs to happen. We need to be tracking this "
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office declined an on-camera interview about the Thomas Stone case.
"Regardless of a case's level of complexity or other unique circumstances, such as the pandemic, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office remains dedicated to pursuing justice on behalf of all victims,” said Michael Leffler, a spokesperson for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office in an email to WRTV.
The cost of justice
Justice isn’t cheap.
The state spent $173,515,263 during Fiscal Year 2020 on the operation of the judicial system.
Counties spent $319,543,829 in Calendar Year 2020; cities, towns, and townships spent $18,695,310 on their respective courts, for a total annual expenditure of $511,754,402.
Expenses include salaries and benefits for prosecutors, judges, clerks, and other court personnel as well as office supplies, utilities and travel.
Indiana’s judicial system is funded by a combination of state appropriations, county tax revenues, and user fees.
“At least I could move on”: A 4th accuser’s case is resolved
Thomas Stone requested a speedy trial in a separate rape case involving a fourth woman named Sara Arnold.
Sara says her experience with the criminal justice system was completely different.
Sara’s encounter with Thomas Stone happened on July 1, 2016, while Stone was out on bond on Mikayla Devore and Robyn Matthew’s criminal case.
Sara says she went out to dinner with Thomas Stone.
“He seemed like a decent enough guy,” said Sara. “I was single, didn’t think anything of it. I wasn’t attracted to him by any means.”
Prosecutors allege Stone took Sara to his house on Vistamere Way and raped her.
Sara had a sexual assault exam and the samples match stone, court documents allege.
Following the charge against Stone in Sara’s case, the judge found Stone violated probation on the other case and sent Stone to jail to await trial.
After spending half a year locked up in the Marion County Jail, Stone requested a speedy trial in Sara’s case.
Stone told police “he never forced her to do anything.”
In April 2017, a jury acquitted Stone of rape in Sara’s case.
Sara says the jury did not hear anything about the three other accusers.
“It was ultimately my word against his," said Sara.
But Sara says her experience with the criminal justice system was much different than the other women.
“Even though he was found not guilty, at least I was able to feel like I could move on,” said Sara. “It was at least something I could put behind me."
After 10 months in jail and his acquittal in Sara’s case, the court released Thomas Stone on bond again.
Stone is still awaiting trial in the case involving Robyn Matthews, Mikayla Devore, and the 3rd accuser.
Sara hopes Stone’s other accusers will also be able to move on.
“My heart goes out to these girls,” said Sara. “I can't imagine trying to anticipate when you're going to have to face this guy again. That was the hardest part. Staring him in the face."
TIMELINE IN THOMAS STONE CRIMINAL CASES
January 29, 2016- Alleged assault against Mikayla Devore
February 25, 2016- Alleged assault against Robyn Matthews
March 5, 2016- Alleged assault against a 3rd woman who we are not naming because she did not agree to speak with us.
March 5, 2016- Stone is arrested, and released on bond the next day, jail records show.
March 10, 2016- Marion County prosecutors file 11 rape, criminal confinement and kidnapping charges against Thomas Stone
April 25, 2016- Marion County prosecutors file additional charges against Stone for the 3rd woman, bringing the total to 16 felony charges including rape, attempted rape, intimidation, criminal confinement and kidnapping.
July 1, 2016- Alleged assault against Sara Arnold.
July 1, 2016- Police arrest Thomas Stone in connection with Sara’s incident and he is booked into the Marion County jail. The court orders he be held without bond.
July 5, 2016- Prosecutors charge Thomas Stone with rape in Sara’s case, which is a different case number than the three other women.
February 10, 2017- While still incarcerated in the Marion County jail, Stone requests a speedy trial on Sara’s case
April 19, 2017- A jury finds Stone not guilty of rape in Sara’s case
May 9, 2017- Stone is released from the Marion County jail but remains on home detention.
December 14, 2017- The court grants a motion for continuance in the case involving Robyn Matthews, Mikayla Devore and a 3rd woman. Court says Stone must stay away from establishments that serve alcohol.
July 3, 2018- The court grants another continuance.
October 31, 2018- The court grants another continuance.
December 28, 2018- Stone is released from home detention, but remains on GPS monitoring and must stay away from establishments that serve alcohol.
March 22, 2019- The court grants another continuance.
March 2, 2020- The court grants another continuance.
June 1, 2021- The court grants another continuance.
July 26, 2021- At the urging of Stone’s attorney, the judge agrees to separate the women into different cases, but it’s not yet clear when or how their cases will be tried.
July 26, 2021- Judge says Stone is not allowed on dating sites or in any establishment that serves alcohol.
October 26, 2021- The court grants another continuance
February 17, 2022- The court grants another continuance.
April 14, 2022- A pre-trial conference takes place, and a judge sets a trial for July 18-20, 2022.
Coming forward is an “empowering process” regardless of outcome, advocates say
The women WRTV spoke with say they do not regret coming forward, even though they’re disappointed in the criminal justice system.
The Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking says it’s important for people to report sexual assault for two reasons — for their own healing, and to hold perpetrators accountable.
“Coming forward as a survivor is a very empowering process, and even though the criminal justice system may not be as responsive or prompt as it should be- it's the beginning of healing for the survivor and is the first step in taking some of that power back,” said Beth White, executive director at ICESAHT.
Beth White, a former prosecutor in Marion County, said sexual assault is about power and control.
"We have got to hold perpetrators accountable,” said White. “The other thing we know about sexual assault is that most perpetrators are serial perpetrators. Someone who wants to assert power and control over people is not someone that does that one time.”
If you or someone you know is the victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, below are some resources and organizations you can reach out to for help.
NCAA Basketball NBA Draft St. Bonaventure Bonnies forward Osun Osunniyi David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Due to the new rules from the past couple of years, we have a little more clarity for when NCAA Basketball players can both enter and then return from the NBA Draft process, where they can receive information about their respective games and what they need to do to improve their stocks.
So far, there have been some big confirmed decisions going both ways. All-American center Kofi Cockburn elected to leave Illinois for the NBA Draft while reigning National Player of the Year Kofi Cockburn will be back for the Kentucky Wildcats next season. But with over a dozen of All-American caliber players still with moves to make of their own, we’ll all have to wait a bit longer to see which stars will be back and who will be moving on.
Here are 15 guys to keep an eye on regarding the NBA Draft.
15. C Osun Osunniyi – St. Bonaventure Bonnies
2021-22 stats: 11.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 2.9 bpg
While guys like Walker Kessler and Johni Broome are known as the best shot-blockers in the country, Osunniyi has a four-year resume of being an elite interior defender at the A-10 program. The 6’10 big man has started all four seasons and has a program-record 304 total blocks.
Osunniyi is one of five senior starters for the Bonnies that have one more year potentially of eligibility, as a couple of players have already indicated their intentions to move on. But the status of the big man and starting point guard Kyle Lofton remains unclear. If Osunniyi leaves, that creates a literal giant hole in the frontcourt and hurts St. Bonaventure’s defense. Him coming back automatically makes them a contender in the A-10 once again.
Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez presents his national statement as a part of the World Leaders' Summit at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain November 1, 2021. Andy Buchanan/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler
Samantha Stegner’s love for mobile home park living in Fort Collins, where she now lives with her husband, Mike, and their three kids, shines through in the “blessing box” she built as a free food pantry to help neighbors. And in the Little Free Library to which she recently added some Spanish-language offerings. And in the pet pantry she operates with the help of a local shelter.
It’s also the only house she and Mike, a warehouse worker, could afford anywhere in Fort Collins. They’re among an estimated 130,000 people statewide who live in manufactured housing, as mobile homes are sometimes called — a population that, collectively, would rank as Colorado’s seventh-largest city.
“Here, you have your own space,” Stegner says. “The affordability factor is there for a lot of people. But not if rent continues to go higher. We can’t do that.”
Her concern joins a rising chorus that continues to catch the ear of Colorado legislators. Just three years after landmark changes to state law sought to bring equity to a relationship long weighted in favor of park owners, two bills currently in the legislative pipeline go even further by pushing back on corporate acquisition in the mobile home park market.
The most sweeping legislation, House Bill 1287, includes a proposal to cap annual rent increases at either inflation or 3%, whichever is higher. Proponents call the measure “rent stabilization,” made necessary by park owners like private equity firms, real estate investment trusts and others attracted to a profitable and loosely regulated industry. Opponents call it “rent control,” which is prohibited at the county and municipal level, and claim that it could remove incentives for investment in parks, thus threatening the affordable housing source the law would hope to preserve.
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Another bill, Senate Bill 160, was spun off from the first and would establish a loan and grant program aimed at assisting mobile home owners who collectively wish to purchase their parks, should they come up for sale. The legislation, based on recommendations by the state’s Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force, passed in the Senate on Wednesday and now moves to the house.
A previous update to the Mobile Home Park Act included an “opportunity to purchase” provision that creates a chance for mobile home owners to submit purchase offers for their park (more than 40 potential sales are currently listed on a state website). A few resident groups have purchased their parks, but many have found it difficult to quickly procure adequate funding. This bill, which faces no organized opposition, would provide both $35 million for low-interest loans and other assistance to resident buyers to ensure long-term affordability.
A flurry of park sales to corporate interests has coincided with complaints from all over Colorado about rising lot rents that cut to the heart of the mobile home conundrum. Residents may own the mobile homes, but a park owner charges rent for the ground beneath them. Unlike apartment dwellers, mobile home owners rarely have the option of picking up and moving if the economics become untenable. Most of the mobile homes are either permanently affixed to the lot or the cost of uprooting them can be prohibitive.
The Eagle River Village mobile home park is shown in Edwards on Aug. 28, 2019. The park is less than 10 miles from world-class skiing at Beaver Creek Resort and represents one of the last bastions of affordable housing in the area. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Home owners see costs mounting
At Harmony Village in Fort Collins, where Stegner and her husband have lived since 2010, she worries that they’ll never be able to keep pace with annual increases that have ranged from $23 to $42 a month. New arrivals pay even more, she adds, and she’s concerned that the park’s corporate ownership might also move to bring older leases like hers into line with the current rate — which, she notes, doesn’t include additional costs for water, sewer, trash and electricity.
“And then remember, we’re homeowners, too,” she says. “So when something goes wrong on our home, we pay for that repair.”
As costs mounted, Stegner, 35, began surveying other parks in the area — and later, around the state — and discovered rising rates for lot rents and other fees that seemed to coincide with the corporate purchases of many of Colorado’s mobile home parks.
She and others in Fort Collins, including mobile home owners on fixed incomes, took their concerns to Democratic state Rep. Andrew Boesenecker, whose district includes a large slice of the city. About a year ago, he heard from residents of a local age 55-plus community that saw increases approaching 40% over an 18-month period.
Last June, after fielding an influx of resident emails, he and fellow Democratic Rep. Cathy Kipp and Sen. Joann Ginal co-authored an op-ed sounding the alarm. “It really opened up the floodgates to hearing statewide what’s been known for a long time,” Boesenecker says, “that residents can be in a very precarious place due to lot rent increases.”
He also enlisted a team to compile statistics on corporate ownership using a variety of publicly available databases. It concluded that almost two-thirds of Colorado’s mobile home lots now operate under out-of-state/multi-state corporate ownership, with nearly 70% of residents finding their lot rents, fees and living conditions controlled by corporate owners with properties in multiple states.
Among the increases that followed purchases by corporate buyers were lot-rent bumps that ranged from 20% to more than 80% and in some cases separated water and sewer service from lot-rent charges, adding cost to the home owners.
The 2019 revamp of the state’s Mobile Home Park Act — its first major revision since the 1980s — seized on mobile homes as a long-overlooked linchpin of affordable housing in Colorado. A series of reforms, spearheaded by Rep. Edie Hooton, a Boulder Democrat, moved toward leveling the playing field through a variety of measures, including creation of a dispute resolution process that wouldn’t require mobile home owners to hire a lawyer.
Also, significantly, they created an opening for residents to bid on their parks, should they be put up for sale. But even at the time, advocates regarded those measures as only a first step toward preserving the state’s largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing.
Key to the current effort, says Hooton, who’s a co-sponsor on this year’s House bill, is expanding the time residents have to organize and find financing for a park purchase so that it’s more consistent with other states that have opportunity-to-purchase laws in place.
“What my endgame is, and it has been since I began this mobile home odyssey, is to see communities self-owned and governed,” Hooton says. “And they don’t have to live with that constant fear of not knowing when lot rents are going to be raised and to what extent and living month to month, not knowing whether or not they’re going to be able to afford to keep their home or continue to live in their community.”
Samantha Stegner, who lives in Harmony Village, a mobile home community in Fort Collins, worries that rising lot rents under corporate owners will price some residents out of their communities. (Valerie Mosley, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Park owners push back
Tawny Peyton, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Home Association, a trade group for manufactured housing, told lawmakers last month in a House committee hearing on House Bill 1287 that park owners are still trying to become familiar with the changes in the Mobile Home Park Act since 2019.
“That was a lot of regulation to pass on an industry in just three years,” she said. “To this, add a pandemic and all of the restrictions and regulations of the pandemic, and ask yourself, ‘What of those regulations work? Which ones don’t?’ We don’t even know. … I’m asking for more time for our industry to learn these changes to educate the residents, the owners, the operators.”
Drew Hamrick, general counsel for the Colorado Apartment Association, noted that while his industry is a competitor to mobile home parks — “When we see a mobile home park, frankly, we see it as a desirable site to build an apartment complex” — he sees the bill triggering the unintended consequences of discouraging construction of new parks or improving existing properties.
That’s the way rent control works. It motivates an owner to change the use of the property, not to make it nicer. I don’t want to change the use and I do want to make it nicer. But rent control disturbs the incentives.”
Robert Rosenfeld, Summit County mobile home park owner
“It’s the rent control piece that concerns my industry so much because artificial price controls affect the willingness of out-of-state investors to raise money and affect the willingness of developers to build new units,” he said. “I will not tell you it is catastrophic, but it is impactful.”
Summit County park owner Robert Rosenfeld, an investor from St. Louis, pushed back on the narrative of large rent increases when he testified remotely at the committee hearing, saying that for the first 13 years under his ownership, his park had only four rent increases, the largest being 5%. He said he made several improvements when he first acquired the park and is considering more — but won’t move forward with them if there’s “rent control.”
TODAY’S UNDERWRITER
“That’s the way rent control works,” he said. “It motivates an owner to change the use of the property, not to make it nicer. I don’t want to change the use and I do want to make it nicer. But rent control disturbs the incentives.”
Boesenecker contends that most of the so-called “mom and pop” operators he’s spoken with about the bill are already doing what the bill prescribes, even if they’re not thrilled with the idea of rent stabilization. But in the bigger picture, he says, most mobile home park owners are not relatively small-time operators anymore.
Still, the concerns voiced by remaining mom-and-pop owners should be taken seriously, he adds. “But what we’re really up against are folks who have interest in Colorado only due to that lot-rent piece, and the equity that they’re able to drive through their investments,” he says. “That’s a very different calculation, I think, for those folks.”
Michael Peirce, left, and Doretta Hultquist stretch out a banner declaring their Sans Souci mobile home community in Boulder County to be resident owned on June 22, 2021. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Protecting residents, returns
Boesenecker also disputes the idea that lot rent stabilization would discourage potential park owners from continuing to invest in mobile homes. Even at 3% increases per year, he figures the return on investment remains attractive. He says the bill’s proponents have reached out to the mobile home park industry “very heavily,” but that some park owners have been reluctant to even engage on the issue of rent stabilization.
“What we hear from park owners who do engage, outside of trade organizations, is that they try to do 3-5% (rent increases) in any given year,” he says. “And that seems very reasonable to us. So I think there’s always room for conversation, always room for negotiation. We want to make sure that we provide resident protections while ensuring that fair return for our owners.”
Another key feature of the House bill that could aid residents interested in acquiring their parks is the right of first refusal for a public entity. Although residents alone have no such right to match a seller’s competing offers, the bill would permit a residents group to assign their purchase rights to a public entity — like local, tribal or state government or even a nonprofit organization.
The public entity could then negotiate on behalf of the mobile home owners and retain the right to match any offer. In the event of a sale, the homeowners and the public entity would craft an agreement regarding ownership and management of the park and allow those organizations to preserve affordable housing within their communities.
“I think what that’s going to do is really build on the momentum that we’ve seen,” Boesenecker says.
The bill, which next comes up for consideration in the full House and appears to have the votes to pass, could face some modifications when it moves to the Senate, says Sen. Faith Winter, a Westminster Democrat. “I think the heart and soul of the bill is passable,” she says, “and it will stay intact, including the rent stabilization piece.”
Hooton, who sees lot-rent stabilization as a “bridge” to resident ownership, says she anticipates that scarce inventory and rising housing prices in general eventually will trigger demand for broader, local control over rent, but acknowledges that such a hot-button change isn’t going to happen this year. She sees no problem with curbing high rates of return that attract corporate investors to mobile home parks.
“If that makes investing in mobile home communities as a commodity less attractive to them, I’m sorry about that,” she says. “But there are many ways to invest without taking advantage of people who can’t afford annual lot rent increases, just to provide profit to a large corporation.”
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