GROVER TINNER JR. WOULD BE ALIVE TODAY IF FOOTBALL WILLIAMS WAS STILL IN PRISON (L.A. Riot story)

NCTIMES ^ | 4-28-02 | staff (and DFU commentary)

[doug from upland]

(Commentary) As we "celebrate" the 10th anniversary of the worst riots in this nation's history, there are many horrific memories to recall.

Maxine Waters lit a fuse by screaming "No justice, no peace." On the night the riots began, she was at a housing project dancing with gang members.

Trucker Reginald Denny was beaten and had a brick thrown into the side of his head at point blank range by Damien "Football" Williams. I recall vividly his mother proclaiming her dear son's innocence. I never believed her for a moment. She knew. She just didn't want her son to have to pay for what he'd done.

And so that brings us to the story below. Had Williams been in prison for 20 years as he should have been, George Tinney, Jr. would likely still be alive. Wouldn't it be interesting justice if the family of Tinney sued the defense attorney who represented Williams and got him off on lesser charges? (who was that attorney -- he must be proud of his good work)

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Figure in riot beating pleads innocent to murder

LOS ANGELES (AP) ­­ A man convicted of beating trucker Reginald Denny during the 1992 riots pleaded innocent to a murder that took place last year.

Damien "Football" Williams entered the plea Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Trial is scheduled for June 1.

Williams is charged with one count of murder and two counts of robbery in the July 18 shooting death of Grover Tinner Jr. of Los Angeles.

Authorities say Tinner was shot in the back as he ran through an alley in southwest Los Angeles.

The murder charges against Williams, 28, and the alleged gunman, Tyrone Killingsworth, 35, include special circumstance allegations that would make them eligible for the death penalty if convicted.

California law says that anyone involved in a crime resulting in a killing can be charged with murder. Prosecutors on Monday filed new special circumstance allegations that the killing was committed during a burglary and that Williams and Killingsworth lay in wait for the victim. That is in addition to a previous allegation that the crime occurred during a robbery.

Williams, 28, spent four years in prison after he was convicted of mayhem for beating Denny with a brick at a South-Central Los Angeles intersection during the 1992 riots. The attack was captured live by television news helicopters.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/2001/20010404/wwww.html

[stboz]

You're right. I was being no better than what I called him. I apologize.

[bandlength]

yes and (surprise) he moved out of L.A. to a basically all caucasian neighborhood

can you blame him??!!

[bandlength]

except to "peppy" couric on her morning rag today.

[doug from upland]

Thanks for the response. :)

[kstewskis]

I have a friend who is a reservist with the County Sheriff. He told me once the hardest busts he ever had to do was with people on PCP. They don't feel pain; they don't comply; they don't respond to tasers (except to occasionally seize and die on the spot). The good news is that PCP is no longer the drug of choice.

Mr. King was known to do PCP and appeared to be on it, or a similar drug, the evening of his arrest.

Yes, that is very good news. Especially on a count of the arresting officer(s) safety. King is a big fellow, and he could've seriously hurt either himself, or the officers had they just "sit back" and not restrain him with force. I believe the jurors in Simi Valley understood this, and voted accordingly.

[kstewskis]

yes and (surprise) he moved out of L.A. to a basically all caucasian neighborhood

can you blame him??!!

He was living in the Santa Clarita/Newhall area around '94 or so, sometime after he was getting along "on his own". My friend was a waitress at the time, and he came into the local resteraunt she worked in often.

Can't say I do blame him.

[sneakypete]

It Doesn't Seem Like 10 Years .. WoW!!! Where does Time Go :-?

I remember having a LOT of fun with all this back then. I would go on the aol political discussion boards,and see the posts there of radical blacks and leftist whites who kept whining about how "da system and da man" done kept them down. I kept telling them they were stupid to burn their own neighborhoods down,and that they should head for the neighborhoods where all the rich white and Jewish leftists lived,like Malibu,Brentwood,Beverly Hills,etc and burn down THEIR neighborhoods instead. Boy,the left went ballistic over that! All the gun-controll yahoos I had argued self-defense and gun control with started screaming about how they were going to have me arrested for inciting riots,etc,etc,etc. Somehow,they suddenly weren't as understanding about the justification for riots as they had been. Go figure.

[sneakypete]

Mr. King was known to do PCP and appeared to be on it, or a similar drug, the evening of his arrest.

Not only that,but he is a BIG,strong man,and too stupid to really feel much pain on his best days. I seriously doubt two average cops would have even been able to beat him down all by themselves,given the fact that he was on PCP AND adreneline.