Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Crime Alert 07.12.24

Episode Date: July 12, 2024

Cop shocked during traffic stop by driver wearing "Jason" mask. Paranoid homeowner shoots down delivery drone! For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. Just before 10 p.m., a Santa Rosa, California cop flips on the blue lights for a gold Toyota Camry driving with no lights. When the driver rolls down the window, the cops caught off guard. Adene Ephraim is wearing a Jason mask. You know, the scary hockey mask. Ephraim acts nervous. He's sweating profusely. Cops search the car and they find, surprise, surprise, an unregistered AR-15 hidden under a blanket. Nancy, that firearm was unloaded, but there's no telling what Ephraim was planning in that infamous mask. The Santa Rosa Police Department has noticed a rise in

illegal gun possession and has started a dedicated task force to address the resulting increase in gun violence. Ephraim is booked in the Sonoma County Detention Facility until bail is set. Ephraim 27, now charged with illegal possession of an assault rifle. A two-man Walmart crew campaigns in a Florida neighborhood advertising new delivery drones. While the drone descends to complete its mock delivery to the Walmart crew, a gunshot rings out and the drone jerks. The crew notices Dennis Wynn, 72, standing outside his home, pointing a rifle toward the sky. When the drone lands, the crew finds it's been shot and sustained significant damage to the payload system. Cops are called when Edmonds is shooting the drone as it flew over his home because he was convinced someone was, quote, watching him.

Wynn now charged with shooting at an aircraft, criminal mischief, and discharging a firearm on residential property. But you've got to admit, that's a pretty good shot for a 72-year-old. More crime and justice news after this. Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. We begin in California, where a woman who admitted to killing entertainment consultant and social justice advocate Michael Latt has been sentenced to 35 years to life in prison.

For details, we turn to Sydney Sumner with Crime Online. Jamila Elena Michael pleaded guilty last month to first-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the November attack. According to prosecutors and police, Michael had been stalking and threatening film director A.V. Rockwell and targeted Latt because he was a friend of Rockwell. Prosecutors detailed that on November 27, 2023, Michael knocked on the door of Latt's Los Angeles home, forced her way inside, and fatally shot him with a semi-automatic handgun. Latt was declared dead at a hospital. Michael Latt was a respected consultant whose company focused on social impact in film and entertainment. Latt collaborated with prominent directors like Ava DuVernay of Selma and Ryan Coogler of Black Panther. A Missouri woman who has served 43 years in prison for a murder she maintains she did not commit has been ordered

released by an appellate court. But as Crime Online's Sydney Sumner tells us, the state's attorney general is fighting to keep the woman behind bars. Now 64-year-old Sandra Hem was convicted twice for the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeske, a library employee from St. Joseph. However, a judge recently ruled that Hem's attorneys provided clear and convincing evidence of her actual innocence. Judge Ryan Horsman ordered her release within 30 days unless prosecutors chose to retry her. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey subsequently requested the Appalach Court review Horsman's decision. While the court agreed to the review, it also instructed Horsman to set bail terms and release Hem. Bailey's office then asked for reconsideration, citing

insufficient time to argue against her release. They also pointed to a 12-year sentence Hem received decades ago for prison violence, arguing she should serve that sentence now. Hem's legal team, including the Innocence Project, argues that keeping her incarcerated would be a draconian outcome. They highlight that she is the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S. Judge Horsman's extensive review revealed numerous flaws in Hem's case. Hem was heavily sedated and in a malleable mental state when interrogated at a psychiatric hospital. Evidence pointing to another suspect, a discredited officer who died in 2015, was ignored, and the prosecution was not informed of FBI test results that could have cleared her.

Hem was arrested weeks after Jeske's body was discovered on November 13, 1980. Jeske was found by her mother, her hands tied in a telephone cord and pantyhose around her throat. Hem had left town hours before Jeske was last seen alive, hitchhiking over 100 miles to her parents' home. Hem initially confessed to the crime while under heavy sedation, leading to a guilty plea to avoid the death penalty. After her plea was overturned, she was convicted again in a one-day trial in 1985. The prosecutor later admitted that exculpatory evidence, including FBI tests, was never shared with the defense. This case remains under review as the state attorney general continues efforts to keep him in prison despite the court's findings.

Thanks, John. Jason Hoyman, 27, calls mom Marilyn Stevenson making plans to meet for lunch at a Salt Lake City Chipotle. 30 minutes after the meeting time, Justin still hasn't showed up. Marilyn drives to his construction site to find her son never showed up that morning. His phone shut off, no activity on his bank account or credit cards. Justin Hoyman, 6'1", 180 pounds, brown shoulder-length hair, brown eyes, tattoos on shoulders and right arm, including the initials D. Debbie H. Happy. Justin has a mustache and goatee. There's a $5,000 reward for Justin Hoyman, now missing six years. If you have info, call Salt Lake City, Utah PD, 801-799-3454. For the latest crime and justice

news, go to CrimeOnline.com. With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.