TYB
nice roll
Stacey Abrams’ brother-in-law arrested in Tampa for human trafficking, attacking teen: police
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The brother-in-law of former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who was once exonerated of sexually assaulting two women, is back behind bars over allegations of human trafficking, according to Tampa authorities.
Tampa police said they arrested Jimmie Gardner, 57, Friday for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a 16-year-old girl.
A release from the Tampa Police Department stated Gardner met the minor at 1:43 a.m. and invited her to his room at the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza.
The girl accepted his invitation, and when she got there, he allegedly offered her money for sex, police said.
“The victim initially agreed but later told Gardner that she no longer wanted to engage and he became angry,” the release said. “Gardner advised the victim that she needed to leave his hotel room. The two got involved in a verbal altercation that escalated to a physical dispute
after Gardner placed his hands around the victim’s neck, impeding her breathing. After the dispute, Gardner left the hotel room, and the victim called 911.”
When officers arrived, Gardner had already left the hotel, but they found the victim at the scene, according to police.
Meanwhile, police said Gardner reported to the Tampa Police District 1 Office. He was arrested on charges of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity (victim less than 18), lewd or lascivious touching of minor 16 or 17 years of age by person 24 years of age or older, and a misdemeanor count of battery.
According to the Office of the State Attorney of the 13th Judicial Circuit, Gardner was previously convicted in 1987 for the sexual assault of two women in West Virginia, but he was exonerated in 2016, 27 years later. Two years after his release, he married federal judge Leslie Abrams Gardner.
“Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Our attorneys will prosecute this case as we would any other offender who is alleged to have committed these crimes. We take these charges very seriously,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez said.
Officials said Gardner, who was once drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1984, now “works as a motivational speaker and emotional intelligence trainer for students and people who were formerly incarcerated” in Georgia.
https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/stacey-abrams-brother-in-law-arrested-in-tampa-for-human-trafficking-attacking-teen-police/
Better cap
>Jimmie Gardner
Stacey Abrams’ Sister Is Engaged to a Man Incarcerated 26 Years for a Rape and Robbery He Didn’t Commit
The story of Leslie’s fiance, Jimmie Gardner, is as extraordinary.
One hundred and ten years.
That’s how long some people thought it would take before a black woman even came close to the governorship in notoriously conservative Georgia. That’s also how long a judge sentenced an innocent man to serve in prison. One hundred ten years. A century and a decade.
How those two things are related is a fascinating tale of criminal injustice involving a professional athlete whose career was stolen after he spent more than a quarter of a century in prison for crimes he didn’t commit.
https://www.theroot.com/stacy-abrams-sister-is-engaged-to-man-incarcerated-26-y-1826330287
EXCLUSIVE: Sister of Stacey Abrams -America's first black female gubernatorial nominee - is marrying a man who spent 27 years in prison for rape and robberies he didn't commit - and she is a JUDGE!
Once an aspiring baseball player Jimmie Gardner was released from a prison in West Virginia in 2016, after being wrongly convicted of sex assault and robbery
The 51-year-old has found love with Georgia District Judge Leslie Abrams - the sister of the woman who became the country's first black female gubernatorial nominee earlier this week
In May 1987, a mother and daughter were robbed, beaten, and the latter raped at their home in Charleston
Police interviewed all of the black players on the Charleston Wheelers, including Gardner, as part of their investigation.
'I give fingerprints, pubic hairs, saliva, blood samples, I mean, what have I got to hide? I'm then immediately arrested and charged with nine counts from two separate offenses,' Gardner told DailyMail.com
Fred Zain, a forensic expert at the West Virginia State criminal lab, claimed Garner's samples matched blood from the crime scenes years after the incidents
Three years later, Gardner learned that all of Zain's cases involving DNA were being reviewed after it was discovered that he had falsified evidence
It took decades to have his case heard and be released from a West Virginia prison - after which he became a motivational speaker to help others
On the night of Stacey Abram's victory against Stacey Evans, Gardner and the candidate's younger sister Leslie were right by her side in Atlanta
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5767403/Stacey-Abrams-sister-marrying-wrongly-convicted-man-incarcerated-27-years.html
>>19933134 Stacey Abrams' brother-in-law arrested in Tampa for human trafficking, attacking teen
>>19933180, >>19933202, >>19933229 Dig on Jimmie Gardner, Stacey Abram's brother-in-law