WJiansheng Chen, a 60-year-old grandfather, was shot dead by a security guard in Chesapeake, Virginia, in the night of January 26, 2017. Chen was playing the augmented reality mobile game, Pokémon Go, in a minivan at the community clubhouse's parking lot when the security guard, Johnathan Cromwell, shot 10 rounds, which 5 bullets hit the grandfather. He was a Chinese immigrant and spoke little English.
WThe impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the 45th and incumbent president of the United States, began in the U.S. Senate on January 16, 2020, and concluded with his acquittal on February 5. After an inquiry between September to November 2019, President Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 18, 2019; the articles of impeachment charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It was the third impeachment trial of a U.S. president, preceded by those of Andrew Johnson and of Bill Clinton.
WThe murder of Michelle Martinko occurred in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on December 19, 1979. It was a cold case until 2018, when familial DNA identified her killer 39 years after the crime.
WThe shooting of Markeis McGlockton, a 28-year-old man in a Clearwater, Florida, parking lot on July 19, 2018, was widely reported by news media as another instance of Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground Law, six years after the shooting death of Trayvon Martin generated international attention and debate. McGlockton was shot by Michael Drejka outside a local convenience store. Shortly before the shooting, Drejka approached McGlockton's car and began to verbally confront and point at McGlockton's girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, for parking in a disabled parking space without a placard. McGlockton came out of the store and shoved Drejka hard to the ground. At this point, Drejka drew his handgun and McGlockton began to back away. Two and a half seconds after Drejka hit the ground, he shot McGlockton. McGlockton later died from his injuries at a local hospital.
WUnited States v. Roof was a 2017 federal trial involving Dylann Roof and his role in the Charleston church shooting. Five days after the shooting, Roof was indicted on 33 federal charges, including 12 counts of committing a hate crime against black victims. On May 24, 2016, the Justice Department announced that Roof would face the death penalty. As he was already facing the death penalty in his state trial, Roof became the first person in U.S. history to face both a federal and state death penalty at the same time.
WUnited States of America v. Joaquín Guzmán Loera is a federal criminal court case against Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, a Mexican drug lord and former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Guzmán was extradited from Mexico to the United States in January 2017, where he pleaded not guilty to all counts against him in Brooklyn, New York. His charges included drug trafficking, money laundering, and murder. His defense asserted that he was not the organized crime leader that the prosecution claimed. The trial, often characterized as a trial of the century, began on November 5, 2018, and lasted until February 12, 2019, when the jury found him guilty of all counts. He was sentenced on July 17, 2019 to life imprisonment without parole.
WKarina Anne Vetrano was a 30-year-old American woman who was attacked, sexually assaulted, and murdered while running in Spring Creek Park in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The case attracted national media attention, partially due to how it went unsolved for nearly six months. A suspect, Chanel Lewis, was arrested and charged with her murder in February 2017 after being linked by DNA evidence. Lewis' trial began on November 5, 2018, and ended in a mistrial on November 21, 2018. A retrial took place in March 2019. On April 1, 2019, Lewis was found guilty on three counts of murder and one count of sexual abuse; he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.