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Thread: Kori Ali Muhammad Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 CA Multiple Hate Crime Murders

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    Kori Ali Muhammad Sentenced to LWOP in 2017 CA Multiple Hate Crime Murders







    Suspect in Fresno shooting spree that killed 3 shouts 'Allahu Akbar' when arrested


    By Troy Pope
    Your Valley Central

    Three people are dead in a shooting spree in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, and the suspect was wanted in connection to the Motel 6 killing last week, the Fresno Police Department said.

    Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, shouted "Allahu Akbar" as police tackled him to the ground after the shootings which were spread over four locations, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

    The victims appeared to be random, Dyer said.

    Shot Spotter detected the first gunshots around 10:45 a.m. Muhammad shot into a Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) vehicle killing the passenger. The driver sped away and drove to Fresno Police headquarters.

    Muhammad continued walking and opened fire at a local resident but missed. Shortly after, he encountered another resident and shot and killed that person.

    He then continued to the area of Catholic Charities where he shot and killed a person in the parking lot.

    PG&E sent out the following statement:

    Our hearts are very heavy today, as we have lost a member of our PG&E family. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of our employee, and all those impacted by this tragic event.

    Public and employee safety is always our top priority. While we focus on safety every day, no training or protective equipment can prepare one for events outside of one’s control.

    We are cooperating with law enforcement authorities as they investigate the incident.

    This loss is particularly difficult for our employees who live and work in the Fresno area. We are sending additional resources to support our employees in the Central Valley


    http://www.yourcentralvalley.com/new...sted/693838151
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Kori Ali Muhammad: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

    By Jessica McBride
    heavy.com

    A gunman with an affinity for the Dallas police shooter moved randomly from person-to-person, murdering three people, in downtown Fresno, California, while shouting Allahu Akbar, police said in a news conference.


    The shooter – who had posted about Black Lives Matter – was captured and has been named by police as Kori Muhammad (Kori Ali Muhammad), already a wanted suspect in the earlier slaying of a Motel 6 security guard.

    Altogether, the gunman wounded four people, killing three of them; all of the victims were white men, reported the Fresno Bee, which added that police said Muhammad had expressed “dislike of whites” on Facebook.


    Muhammad has a criminal history in federal court with indications of previously mental health issues, and he filled his Facebook page with ramblings about “Asiatic black national demand” and “the lost found Asiatic black nation.”


    Last July, he posted about the Dallas police shootings, writing, “They shot Our Brother from a 100 yards through a structure. Guess you didn’t have a robot. #ENJOYPARADISEGOD.” He also posted a photo of a man smiling with the caption, “My face when grafted white devils die.” (The post also includes a racial slur to some blacks.)


    He also shared a post that labeled that killer – of five Dallas police officers – a “hero,” writing, “HE LOVED US ENOUGH TO KILL AND DIE FOR US. WE HONOR HIM #LETBLACKPEOPLEGO.” The Dallas police shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson was motivated by Black Lives Matter and police shootings.


    Here’s what you need to know:


    1. The Gunman Randomly ‘Sprayed Rounds’ at People as He Moved Through Downtown & Was Previously Convicted of a Federal Drug Charge

    The shooting spree with multiple victims occurred in Fresno, California, with the gunman randomly “spraying rounds” at people downtown and shouted “Allahu Akbar.”

    The Fresno police chief said all three people shot have died in the random attack. The Fresno Bee reported that it’s unclear whether the shootings are tied to terrorism but reported what the gunman said as “Ali Akbar” as he fired.


    The gunman has a criminal history. According to federal court records, Kori Muhammad, previously known as Kori Taylor, was arrested in 2005 on federal drug charges and pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm with a prior felony conviction. He received 110 months in prison, along with 92 months of supervised release, which ended early in September 2016.


    One of the court documents included a motion for a psychiatric hearing because his attorney said he was suffering from hallucinations, paranoia and psychosis.

    2. Those Targeted Included a Utility Worker & Muhammad’s Rambling Facebook Posts Include a reference to Donald Trump as a “White Devil”


    Rambling Facebook Posts Include a reference to Donald Trump as a “White Devil”

    Muhammad’s prolific social media posts are disjointed and rambling. In one, he called President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence “grafted white devils.”

    He also posted about killing “white devils.”

    Muhammad made references to Black Lives Matter on Facebook.

    The shooting unfolded on April 18.


    According to the Fresno Bee
    , the Fresno gunman opened fire in the parking lot of “Catholic Charities at Divisadero and Fulton in downtown Fresno.” That wasn’t the only crime scene.


    The newspaper reported that the gunman – originally described as a black male about age 25 – appeared to be randomly targeting people, shooting a man in a front yard, and then another person at a bus stop, and then a man in the Catholic Charities parking lot.


    The shootings occurred over “multiple locations,” according to YourCentralValley.com.


    According to the Associated Press,
    it doesn’t appear the shooter was associated with Catholic Charities, though.


    3. The Gunman Was Already Wanted in the Slaying of a Security Guard at a Motel 6 & Was Homeless

    Muhammad was already a wanted man; Fresno authorities were seeking him in the earlier slaying of a security guard.

    According to the Sacramento Bee
    , police had named Muhammad, 39, the day before “as the suspect in the Thursday slaying of security guard Carl Williams at the Motel 6 on Blackstone Avenue near Ashlan Avenue.”


    The 25-year-old unarmed Williams “was shot multiple times after an altercation with a man who pulled a gun, police reported,” adding that Muhammad was “armed and dangerous.”


    The Bee reported that, according to police, “Muhammad is homeless and frequents areas from West Shaw and North Marks avenues to North Bullard Avenue and West Figarden Drive, along with the area near Fresno City College.”


    4. The Shooter Reloaded & Cursed as he Fired, Reports Say


    Witnesses described a cold and calculating killer who expressed anger as he targeted people.

    The shooter paused to reload and was cursing as he opened fire on people in the parking lot, reported the Bee.


    The gunman – who used a large handgun – is no longer at large, reported ABC7.


    NBC Bay Area reported
    that the weapon was a “revolver-style gun.”


    There was confusion in the media at first over how many had died; first reports said one, then two, and now police say all three victims have passed away.


    At least some of those shot were utility workers with PG&E, reported George Takata, a local radio host.


    ABC 30 reported
    that one victim was the utility worker with PG&E. “Another victim was found dead at Nevada and Fulton — where the shooting happened. A third victim went to Catholic Charities, just down the street from where the shooting happened, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital.”


    Police said in a news conference that they responded to shotspotter reports and found Muhammad running down to the street. “Muhammad dove to the ground and yelled ‘Ali Akbar’ before he was taken into custody,” reported Fresno Bee.


    5. One of the Victims Was Driven to a Nearby Police Station

    There was a dramatic effort to save one of the three victims’ lives, as he was driven in his utility truck to the police station. But it was too late.

    According to a KSEE24 reporter, “Pg&e workers victim of shooting, driver drove to police station. Police chief on scene car windows busted.”


    ABC7 reported that the victim was driven to the police station, where he died. “One of the victims was driven in a PG&E truck to the Fresno Police Department’s headquarters in downtown Fresno where he died,” the television station reported.


    Takata reported that criminal justice buildings were locked down.


    “Source: Fresno Sheriff’s Department, Fresno County Courthouse and all 3 jails on lockdown in Downtown Fresno,” he wrote on Twitter.


    Streets in downtown Fresno were closed as a manhunt unfolded and police dealt with multiple crime scenes.


    This story will be updated as more details are known.

    http://heavy.com/news/2017/04/kori-a...ct-california/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Fresno shooting spree suspect "callous," laughed recounting killings, chief says

    FRESNO, Calif. -- One man had just started a new job with the gas company and was riding in a utility truck. Another was carrying a bag of groceries after stopping at a Catholic Charities center. The third man was in the charity’s parking lot.

    All three were shot and killed at random by a black gunman who police say wanted to kill as many white people as possible. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer told reporters Wednesday that Kori Ali Muhammad spoke about the killings in a callous way as he went with officers to the Motel 6 where he is accused of killing a security guard, and back to the scene of Tuesday’s three killings.

    “When he spoke about the shootings, he did so in a very callous manner,” Dyer said. “In fact, multiple times he laughed as he described what transpired.”

    Zackary Randalls was the first to die when Muhammad walked up to a Pacific Gas & Electric truck and fired into the passenger seat. The driver sped to the police department for help, but Randalls could not be saved.

    Friend Eddie Valencia said Randalls was excited to start work as a customer-service representative and was doing a ride-along Tuesday. He described the 34-year-old as an open-minded person with a sharp wit and a big heart.

    He said his friend, who left behind two preschoolers and a wife in Clovis, would not want people to feel anger toward the shooter.

    “He wouldn’t want people to be divided by this,” Valencia said. “There were no boundaries with race, religions, beliefs, with anything. If you were a good person and basically could have a good conversation, he would call you a friend. He was a stand-up guy.”

    The three men killed Tuesday happened to be on the same block at the same time, but had no known connection to each other or to the shooter, who told police about his goal of killing white people after he was arrested. He is expected to be arraigned Friday.

    Mark Gassett, 37, of Fresno, had just picked up groceries at a Catholic Charities building when he was gunned down. His body was draped in a blanket on the sidewalk leading to Stephen Hughes’ home.

    “It looks like a guy carrying his groceries home from the store,” said Hughes, 66, who rushed home after receiving a frantic call about the shootings from a neighbor.

    David Jackson, 58, of Fresno, was gunned down in the parking lot of the charity’s building.

    “These were unprovoked attacks,” Dyer said.

    Two Latina women and a child also crossed paths with Muhammad, who pointed the gun at them as they sat in their car trying to flee, but he did not shoot.

    Muhammad, 39, was arrested shortly after the rampage. He is expected to be charged with four counts of murder - one each for Tuesday’s three victims plus the slaying of a white Motel 6 security guard who was killed last week.

    Police had been looking for Muhammad in the death of the guard, 25-year-old Carl Williams. Dyer said Muhammad had gotten in a verbal alteraction with Williams and shot him because he felt “disrespected.”

    The suspect then fled and hid on a gas station roof. Dyer says he watched detectives investigate, then left and hid by a dumpster. Muhammad said seeing his name and picture in a news release Tuesday morning spurred the attacks in which he fired 16 rounds in less than two minutes at four places within a block.

    “Once he saw he was wanted for murder, he said he was not going to go down for shoting a security guard…he was going to kill as many white males as possible,” Dyer said. “He said he didn’t like white men and white men were responsible for keeping black men down.”

    Muhammad allegedly told investigators that he hid out in a ravine and practiced voodoo rituals after the Motel 6 slaying. He also told investigators he is Muslim, but he prays to seven different gods and hasn’t been to a mosque in 25 years. When he was arrested, Dyer said Muhammad had pendants he called amulets that he said “were for the purpose of protecting against evil.”

    Muhammad admitted the killings to officers as they arrested him, according to the chief.

    During the arrest, Muhammad shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” but Dyer said the shootings had “nothing to do with terrorism in spite of the statement he made” and were based solely on race.

    Muhammad allegedly told investigators he was not a terrorist, Dyer said, because he is “not a coward” and a terrorist kills people but dies for that cause.

    “Kori Muhammad is not a terrorist, but he is a racist, and he’s filled with hate,” Dyer said.

    Dyer said investigators allowed Muhammad to speak on the phone to his mother, who was crying.

    “He told her not to cry, he is still alive, and his magic was powerful, and he started laughing,” Dyer said.

    Muhammad told his family there was a war going on between blacks and whites in America. He posted on social media about black separatism, reparations, the “Black Lives Matter” movement and white devils.

    Muhammad’s father, Vincent Taylor, told the Los Angeles Times that his son believed he was part of an ongoing war between whites and blacks and that “a battle was about to take place.”

    Police were searching for the revolver Muhammad said he tossed into a pile of clothing. The gun was then picked up by a man who was seen on security camera, according to Dyer, who urged the man to turn himself in to authorities.

    According to police, Muhammad referred to the .357 Magnum Revolver he used as a Black Python.

    On what appeared to be Muhammad’s Facebook page, he repeatedly posted “#LetBlackPeopleGo” and encouraged “black warriors” to “mount up.” A flurry of posts emerged in the past day.

    Muhammad has a criminal history that includes arrests on weapons, drugs and false imprisonment charges and making terrorist threats. He had been associated with gangs, but he was not a confirmed member, police said.

    Muhammad was charged in 2005 with possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, court records show. Federal prosecutors said at the time that he was also in possession of a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and two rifles after being convicted of a felony.

    He claimed insanity, and his attorney requested a psychiatric examination for his client, saying Muhammad “appeared eccentric with some bizarre beliefs.”

    He also “suffered auditory hallucinations and had at least two prior mental health hospitalizations,” according to court documents. His attorney said that Muhammad had “paranoia” and thought the justice system and his defense attorney were conspiring against him, court papers said.

    Dyer said he doesn’t believe Muhammad feels remorse for the killings.

    The attorney who represented Muhammad in that case did not return a call for comment Tuesday.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fresno-s...gs-chief-says/
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

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    Bee exclusive: Affidavit tells how acquaintance of rampage shooter helped him escape motel killing

    By Pablo Lopez
    The Fresno Bee

    After a security guard was killed at Motel 6, an acquaintance of Kori Ali Muhammad tried to take evidence from the scene, but was stopped by hotel security and a witness, according to a Fresno police detective’s affidavit made public Thursday in Fresno County Superior Court.

    Lisa Renee Martin, 53, was taken into custody on a felony charge of being an accessory after the April 13 killing of security guard Carl Allen Williams III for “failing to comply with officers’ orders and refusing to identify the shooter by name or destination,” the affidavit says.

    As of Thursday, Martin, who was not in jail, had not been charged.

    Homicide Detective Bartlett Ledbetter’s April 14 affidavit gives a detailed description of the events leading up to the killing of Williams – a crime captured by the motel’s security cameras – and accuses Martin of trying to leave the Blackstone Avenue motel with evidence.

    After the killing, the affidavit says, Martin barricaded herself in a motel room. Police then had to kick in the door to get inside.

    Inside the room, the affidavit says, police found a backpack, which contained documents with the name “Kori Ali Muhammad” and “four revolver speed loaders with live .357 caliber bullets.”

    “After comparing Muhammad’s DMV and social media photographs with the motel’s security camera footage, there is no doubt Muhammad is the murderer,” the affidavit says.

    The affidavit
    gives this account of Williams’ murder:

    Police were dispatched to Motel 6 at 11:11 p.m. after receiving numerous 911 calls. Officers found Williams unconscious in front of the motel office. “He had been shot three or more times (front, back and side),” the affidavit says.

    Williams was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he was declared dead at 12:55 a.m.

    According to motel staff, Martin and her friend, identified in the affidavit as Muhammad, were being evicted because they refused to pay an extra visitor fee.

    Williams, who was unarmed, “responded to the motel to help another security guard” with the eviction, the affidavit says.

    While Williams was talking to Martin, “the African American male suspect pulled out a revolver from his waistline and without provocation shot decedent three or more times,” the affidavit says.

    “The shooting (murder) was in cold blood,” the affidavit says.

    The motel’s security camera captured the shooter’s face, clothing and revolver. It also captured “Martin witnessing the shooting and trying to leave the motel with the suspected evidence,” the affidavit says.

    Martin tried to flee, but hotel security and a witness stopped her. Initially, Martin said she did not know the gunman, but she later said the suspect was her daughter’s friend.

    Martin then returned to her room. When police went to the room, she refused to let them in and cursed them, the affidavit says. Police then busted the door to gain entry.

    Ledbetter writes: “With Martin’s help, the shooter escaped the police dragnet.”

    Police later learned Muhammad ran to a nearby 7-Eleven, climbed onto the roof and watched as investigators searched the Motel 6 and interviewed witnesses. He waited on the rooftop all night and climbed down in the morning once he realized police had left, then hid in a trash container at a nearby school, police Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday.

    The detective’s affidavit was written in support of a warrant to download information from three cell phones that belonged to Martin and Muhammad. It is not yet known what evidence police recovered from the download.

    Muhammad, 39, also is accused of killing Zackary David Randalls, 34, of Clovis; Mark James Gassett, 37, of Fresno; and David Martin Jackson, 58, of Fresno, in a shooting rampage on Tuesday near downtown Fresno.

    Muhammed is black. All of his victims were white. Police Chief Jerry Dyer has said the killings were fueled by Muhammad’s hatred of white people.

    Court records say Martin has voiced concerns about white police officers. In May 2013, Fresno police pulled her over for having no registration tabs on her vehicle. When on officer asked for her driver’s license, she said she didn’t have one and gave a fake name, the court documents say.

    When Martin rolled up her window and refused to cooperate, the officer called for backup. When backup arrived, Martin complained that there were “too many white officers.” She asked for a black officer to respond. But when the black officer responded, she still didn’t cooperate, so police ended up breaking a window of her car in order to arrest her on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing police.

    While awaiting trial, Martin was arrested again, but this time for resisting arrest, court records say. In August 2014, police were going to impound her car because it had expired tags. Police said Martin then gave officers false information about her car registration. “She became irate and confrontational,” court records said. She also cursed police and came within two inches of one officer, yelling and screaming at him, and challenging him to fight.

    “You are a coward with a badge,” she told the officer, according to court records. “Why don’t you take your badge off and see what happens.” She was then arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and giving police false information about her car registration.

    But in a trial in May last year, a jury found her not guilty of resisting arrest. A week after the verdict, Martin pleaded no contest of giving false information to police about her car registration, a charge that was reduced to an infraction. She was fined $350. After he plea, her May 2013 misdemeanor case for obstructing police was dismissed in the interest of justice, court records say.

    http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/...145750649.html

    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Fresno killings suspect has 2-decade history of violence

    By Scott Smith
    The Mercury News

    FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The suspect in this week’s racially motivated shooting rampage in Fresno shouted Friday that natural disasters will increasingly hit the United States as he was ushered into a cramped courtroom for his first appearance before a judge.

    Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, was supposed to be officially informed about the first-degree murder charge he is accused of in the shooting death of an unarmed security guard, Carl Allen Williams III.

    Authorities have said he then killed three more people in the rampage, targeting white victims, before he was caught.

    Court records reviewed by The Associated Press on Friday showed Muhammad has been accused of a series of violent incidents dating back two decades, to when he was charged with beating the mother of his child and threatening to burn down her home if she went to police.

    The reading of the charge in the security guard’s slaying never happened Friday because Muhammad had another outburst, yelling “Let black people go” and a phrase similar to “in reparations” that was not clearly enunciated.

    His court appointed lawyer, Eric Christensen, then told the judge: “I believe this gentleman may not be mentally competent to proceed.”

    Muhammad yelled again. The judge canceled the proceedings, setting bail at $2.6 million and ordering a mental evaluation for Muhammad.

    Police have said Muhammad told them that learning he was wanted for the Williams killing prompted him to try to kill as many white people as possible before he was caught.

    He shot three other white men at random Tuesday, police said, including a Pacific Gas & Electric utility worker sitting in a truck and two men who had come out of a Catholic Charities building.

    Muhammad fired 17 rounds in less than two minutes, police said. Officers with help from acoustic sensors posted in the area arrested him less than five minutes after the rampage began.

    Muhammad said Williams showed him disrespect while Muhammad was visiting a woman at the motel, according to police.

    Prosecutors said they are waiting for investigators to finish compiling their case before filing charges related the other three victims.

    Christensen after the court hearing declined comment about his client or the authorities’ case.

    Years ago, Muhammad was accused in four cases of beating two women, according to Sacramento County court records retrieved from the archives at the AP’s request.

    “He threw her to floor, threw her on bed, and grabbed her hair,” read the investigating officer’s account of the assault on his child’s mother in 1997. A witness said she saw Muhammad slap the woman several times and later stomp on her head with his bare foot at least twice.

    Before leaving, Muhammad threatened that “if they called the police, he would burn down their apartment,” according to the sheriff’s detective’s written account.

    Despite the witness’ statement and what an officer observed to be bumps and abrasions on the victim, the charge was dismissed. But he later pleaded no contest to threatening the same woman with death or serious injury three weeks later, and was sentenced to seven days in jail.

    In August 2000, he was charged with punching a different woman in the face, then forcing her into a vehicle. The victim, his live-in girlfriend at the time, went to stay with a girlfriend, according to the investigating officer’s account. But the next morning he pulled the victim to the floor, hitting and kicking her with his hands and feet. He later threatened to kill her, according to the detective’s request for an arrest warrant.

    Charges from that alleged attack were dismissed, but the next year he was sentenced to eight days in jail after pleading no contest to a second assault on the same woman.

    In 2004 he pleaded no contest to carrying a loaded gun in public and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

    They were among the nine Sacramento County criminal cases Muhammad faced between 1997 and 2004 under several aliases. Other charges included check fraud and driving under the influence.

    Muhammad frequently pleaded no contest within days of being charged.

    He spent several years on probation with periodic jail terms for probation violations before he was sent to federal prison in 2005 for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

    http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/2...-murder-count/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Kori Ali Muhammad charged with 3 murder counts for Fresno shooting spree

    By Pablo Lopez
    Fresno Bee

    Confessed killer Kori Ali Muhammad was charged Wednesday with three counts of murder in connection with a downtown Fresno shooting rampage that left three people dead on April 18 – a crime that makes him eligible for the death penalty.

    Muhammad, 39, already is charged with murder in Fresno County Superior Court with the April 13 shooting death of security guard Carl Allen Williams III at Motel 6 on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno. He also is accused of the attempted murder that night of security guard Oscar Menjivar.

    A new criminal complaint filed Wednesday charged him with the murders of Mark Gassett, David Jackson and Zackary Randalls, and the attempted murders of Stephen Walter, Michael Flores and Mark Greer. He also was charged with special circumstances that could make him eligible for the death penalty – committing multiple murders, and selecting his victims based on race.

    The Fresno County District Attorney’s office said it had not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty, a decision it said would come later.

    Muhammad’s arraignment is pending the outcome of a psychiatric evaluation that was ordered by a judge last week after Muhammad entered the courtroom in shackles and yelled: “Let black people go!”

    Judge W. Kent Hamlin suspended criminal proceedings and appointed a doctor to examine Muhammad. Hamlin then rescheduled Muhammad’s arraignment for May 12.

    Until then, Muhammad will remain in jail in lieu of $2.6 million bail, Hamlin said.

    Police say Muhammad was the gunman in a shooting rampage April 18 in central Fresno that killed Randalls, 34, of Clovis; Gassett, 37, of Fresno; and Jackson, 58, of Fresno.

    If convicted of the Motel 6 murder charge, Muhammad, 39, faces life in prison. But he could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted of the multiple murders.

    Police Chief Jerry Dyer has said the four killings were fueled by Muhammad’s hatred of white people. Muhammad is black. All of the murder victims were white.

    Court records say Muhammad has several aliases, including Kori McWallace, Kori Taylor, Cory Allen Taylor and Cory Allen Muhammad. He grew up in Fresno, but later moved to Sacramento, where he racked up nine criminal cases in Sacramento Superior

    Court between 1997 and 2004, including a gun conviction, online records indicate. His criminal record also includes making criminal threats, forgery, false imprisonment and driving under the influence, online records state.

    In October 2006, he was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Fresno to possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. He was released from prison in September 2011 and placed on supervised release.

    He completed supervised release in September last year, court records say.

    This story will be updated.

    http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/...146990284.html

    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    In call from jail, Fresno rampage suspect talks black justice and ‘no pity party’ for the dead

    By Pablo Lopez
    Fresno Bee

    In a telephone interview from jail, Fresno shooting spree suspect Kori Ali Muhammad said Wednesday that he went on his deadly rampage near downtown to draw attention to the plight of black women and children who have been kidnapped, raped, and killed by white people.

    “This is bigger than me,” he told The Bee. “This is just a warning. If America does not treat black people right, it will be destroyed by God.”

    In a rambling, hourlong interview in which he talked about voodoo, mental illness, world destruction and the election of President Donald Trump, Muhammad showed no remorse for the victims and no fear of a possible death penalty. “They tell black people all the time to get over it. So I say get over it. There will be no pity party.”

    The interview came on the same day the District Attorney’s Office charged him with three counts of murder in connection with the April 18 shooting spree that left three people dead: Zackary David Randalls, 34, of Clovis; Mark James Gassett, 37, of Fresno; and David Martin Jackson, 58, of Fresno.

    He also was charged with the attempted murders of Stephen Walter, Michael Flores and Mark Greer, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

    Muhammad, 39, was charged last week with murder in Fresno County Superior Court in the April 13 shooting death of security guard Carl Allen Williams III at Motel 6 on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno. He also is accused of the attempted murder that night of security guard Oscar Menjivar. If convicted of the multiple murders, Muhammad could face the death penalty. Prosecutors have not yet made that decision.

    Police Chief Jerry Dyer has said
    the four killings were fueled by Muhammad’s hatred of white people. Muhammad is black. All of the murder victims were white. His arraignment is pending the outcome of a psychiatric evaluation that was ordered by Superior Court Judge W. Kent Hamlin last Friday after Muhammad entered the courtroom in shackles and yelled: “Let black people go!”

    Hamlin suspended criminal proceedings and appointed a doctor to examine Muhammad. Hamlin then rescheduled Muhammad’s arraignment for May 12. Until then, Muhammad will remain in jail in lieu of $2.6 million bail, Hamlin said.

    RELATED: Listen to Muhammad’s jail call to The Bee.


    In Wednesday’s interview, Muhammad acknowledged he targeted white people, saying he let some Hispanic people go. But he said he is not a racist: “You won’t find anyone who will say I was disrespectful toward another human being or have oppressed them.”

    On the other hand, Muhammad said, America’s history books are filled with chapters of white people buying slaves, mistreating them and lynching them. He contends white people still kidnap, rape and murder black people, “but no one cares.” Because of this mistreatment, he said, black people deserve their own land and government, and the U.S. should pay them reparations.

    Muhammad also said too much fuss is given to his victims because they are white. “It would be a different story if black people had been killed,” he said.

    He also said he can’t understand why people are so upset with him. “No one complained when George Washington slaughtered the British,” he said.

    He blamed former President Barack Obama for America’s current troubles, saying Obama set it up for President Donald Trump to win. “Trump will take us on a rocket ship to hell,” he said. He said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would have been a better president.

    He confessed to killing the four people in Fresno to let Americans know that something bigger – plagues, earthquakes, hurricanes, and freak accidents – are about to happen unless they treat black people better.

    But he also apologized to the Fresno community for doing the killings. In his opinion, race relations here are good compared to other places America. “Black people are not being gunned down by police or hung in trees,” he said. “It’s fairly civilized here.”

    Court records say Muhammad has several aliases, including Kori McWallace, Kori Taylor, Cory Allen Taylor and Cory Allen Muhammad. Muhammad said he grew up in Fresno as Cory X. Taylor and attended Washington Union and Edison high schools before moving to Sacramento.

    He said he became a Muslim and a disciple of Wallace Fard Muhammad, co-founder of the Nation of Islam. As a teenager, he said, he participated in the Nation of Islam’s Million Man March in Washington, D.C., in 1995.

    In October 2006, he was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Fresno to possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, according to court records. But during court proceedings, his federal public defender, Eric Kersten described Muhammad as paranoid and “eccentric with some bizarre beliefs.” Kersten also told the judge that Muhammad suffered from “auditory hallucinations” and had at least two prior mental health hospitalizations, and believes his counsel conspired against him, court records say.

    He was released from prison in September 2011 and placed on supervised release. He completed supervised release in September last year, court records say.

    In Wednesday’s interview, Muhammad said he suffers from schizophrenia. He then gave details about his crime spree, starting with his fight with Williams at Motel 6.

    Muhammad said he went to the motel with a woman on April 13 to help her heal. He said he planned to perform black magic and voodoo on her. But Williams and another security officer told them he had to pay an extra $6 fee to stay in the room.

    According to Muhammad, Williams cursed him and disrespected him. “So I shot him,” he said. “It had nothing to do with his race. I’m not even sure if Williams is white. He looked Hispanic to me.”

    He said he hid in Fresno until April 18, when he learned that police were looking for him. At first he said he thought about turning himself in. “Then my mental illness kicked in,” he said.

    As he walked toward downtown through neighborhoods near Belmont Avenue and Fulton Street, he began thinking about how his father had mistreated him as a child. He said his thoughts turned to how white people had enslaved black people and lynched them. Then he began thinking about black women and children turning up dead in lakes and rivers, sometimes with missing body parts. “I just snapped,” he said.

    The murder weapon has not been found. Muhammad said the Ogun, the god of hunters, warriors and blacksmiths, gave the weapon to him. After the killings, Muhammad said he gave it back to Ogun, who was in the body of a Hispanic man. Fresno police have offered a $2,000 reward for the gun.

    Muhammad said he doesn’t know if he will plead guilty to the charges.

    “People don’t appreciate the black man,” he said. “We built pyramids and trade routes and made great nations. We are the first to walk the Earth and we will be the last to walk it.”

    http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/...147019984.html


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  8. #8
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    Edited:

    Kori Muhammad, suspect is deadly shooting spree, is mentally ill, his attorney says

    By Pablo Lopez
    Fresno Bee

    Kori Ali Muhammad, charged in the killing of four men, including three in a central Fresno shooting spree April 18, faced an arraignment Thursday morning in Fresno County Superior Court. His attorney said the accused murderer is mentally ill.

    Muhammad entered the courtroom in shackles and wearing a prison jumpsuit. As he did in a court appearance Friday, he began to chant “let black people go” and “reparations.”

    At one point, Judge Kent Hamlin told Muhammad to be quiet. “Sir, this is a court proceeding,” the judge said.

    As Hamlin had done at Friday’s brief court appearance, Hamlin ordered a psychiatric evaluation of Muhammad. Outside the courtroom, Muhammad’s defense attorney, Eric Christensen, said Muhammad is mentally ill.

    Randalls’ family issued a statement late Wednesday, hours after charges were filed, thanking the Fresno County District Attorney and the Fresno Police Department “for their dedication to justice. They speak for us and all the other victims of this terrible crime. We appreciate them, and the entire community for their support.”

    http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/...147107144.html

    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  9. #9
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    Psychologist needs more time to evaluate Fresno shooting suspect’s mental state, judge says

    By Rory Appleton
    Fresno Bee

    The mental health assessment of Fresno shooting rampage suspect Kori Ali Muhammad will take more time to complete, a judge was told in a brief court hearing Friday.

    A new court-appointed lawyer for Muhammad, Richard Beshwate, told Judge Brian Alvarez that the psychologist evaluating his client needs another two weeks to prepare a report. A hearing in Fresno County Superior Court was set for June 1.

    As he had done in two previous court appearances, Muhammad shouted, “Let black people go and reparations.” He also yelled “pray for the missing black women and children in America” and “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.” He again promised an increase in natural disasters if those demands were not met.

    In the months leading up to the shootings, Muhammad’s social media accounts made many of the same statements.

    Beshwate was appointed to defend Muhammad after both the Fresno County Public Defender’s office and Richard A. Ciummo and Associates, the county’s alternate in public defense cases, recused themselves. Both cited a conflict of interest, but the precise reason each could not defend Muhammad was not shared in court.

    The public defender’s office said it never divulges its reasons for citing conflicts of interest. A spokesman for Ciummo also declined to say exactly why his firm dropped out.

    In an interview after the hearing, Beshwate said he had had a brief conversation with Muhammad. He declined to tell reporters what was said.

    Beshwate elaborated on what’s next for the court proceedings. If the court-appointed psychologist decides Muhammad is unfit for trial, a second psychologist would be appointed for another evaluation. If the two agree that he is not competent, a jury trial could be held to settle the issue. And that would all occur before he is arraigned on the criminal charges.

    On April 20, the Fresno County District Attorney’s office filed a complaint charging Muhammad with murder in the April 13 shooting death of security guard Carl Allen Williams III at Motel 6 on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno.

    A few days later, Muhammad was charged with three counts of murder in connection with the April 18 shooting rampage that killed Zackary David Randalls, 34, of Clovis; Mark James Gassett, 37, of Fresno; and David Martin Jackson, 58, of Fresno. The complaint also accuses Muhammad of attempted murder of three other men, and special circumstances that could result in the death penalty.

    Muhammad has been in the Fresno County Jail since April 18. In a phone call to The Bee, Muhammad admitted to the killings.

    At a court appearance last month, Muhammad shouted “let black people go, and reparations” before Judge W. Kent Hamlin silenced him. Muhammad’s lawyer, Eric Christensen, told the court his client was mentally ill, and Hamlin ordered an evaluation by psychologist Dr. Richard Kendall.

    http://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/...150158612.html


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Doctor: Accused Fresno Gunman Isn’t Mentally Fit For Trial

    CBS Sacramento

    FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – A doctor says a man charged in a deadly shooting rampage on the streets of Fresno isn’t mentally fit to stand trial.

    The diagnosis announced Thursday in a Fresno County Superior Court says that 39-year-old Kori Ali Muhammad’s mental issues make him unable to assist in his own defense.

    He’s charged with four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of three people randomly targeted April 18 in downtown Fresno and a fourth victim, a motel security guard gunned down days earlier.

    Muhammad is black and the victims were white.

    Fresno County prosecutor Brian Hutchins disputes the doctor’s finding; he will seek a second doctor’s opinion.

    Muhammad’s defense attorney Richard Beshwate says his client has a long history of schizophrenia. He faces life in prison or a death sentence.

    http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2017/...hooting-trial/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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