Gardenista
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GUILTY NC - Cannon Hinnant, 5, fatally shot by adult neighbor at point blank, Wilson, 9 Aug 2020 *Arrests*
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A couple of recent articles in the Raleigh News & Observer:
Cannon Hinnant was ‘innocent, loving.’ How Wilson is healing after 5-year-old’s death
Two weeks ago, a 5-year-old boy, only weeks from starting kindergarten, was riding his bicycle through his father’s front yard when a man shot him in the head at point-blank range.
Shocked, people in this city of 50,000 felt a wave of grief for Cannon Hinnant’s family, lighting candles on the courthouse steps, sending donations that topped $200,000. But as Wilson made international headlines as the scene of a brutal crime, it also braced for ugly backlash.
Police charged Cannon’s next-door neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Sessoms, with first-degree murder. Social media exploded with racist rhetoric and demands for public outrage. Sessoms is Black, Cannon was white.
As the days passed, a truer account of Cannon’s death emerged.
More at link: https://www.newsobserver.com/article245176365.html
After Cannon Hinnant’s death, fake GoFundMe pages appeared. What happened to the money?
In the days after 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was killed in Wilson, N.C., dozens of GoFundMe campaigns were launched to raise money for the child’s family.
Almost all of them were fake.
As the tragedy received national attention, a wave of people began trying to raise funds, preying on the family’s loss. It’s a sad but consistent trend on the crowdfunding platform, as opportunists try to manipulate national attention into schemes to take money from unsuspecting donors.
Now, weeks after the child’s death on Aug. 9, most of the pages have been removed. The page started by Cannon’s grandmother is still there.
Gwen Hinnant told The Wilson Times she could only vouch for the account she had created and didn’t know where the money from the other pages would end up.
More at link: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article245110885.html
Cannon Hinnant was ‘innocent, loving.’ How Wilson is healing after 5-year-old’s death
Two weeks ago, a 5-year-old boy, only weeks from starting kindergarten, was riding his bicycle through his father’s front yard when a man shot him in the head at point-blank range.
Shocked, people in this city of 50,000 felt a wave of grief for Cannon Hinnant’s family, lighting candles on the courthouse steps, sending donations that topped $200,000. But as Wilson made international headlines as the scene of a brutal crime, it also braced for ugly backlash.
Police charged Cannon’s next-door neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Sessoms, with first-degree murder. Social media exploded with racist rhetoric and demands for public outrage. Sessoms is Black, Cannon was white.
As the days passed, a truer account of Cannon’s death emerged.
More at link: https://www.newsobserver.com/article245176365.html
After Cannon Hinnant’s death, fake GoFundMe pages appeared. What happened to the money?
In the days after 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was killed in Wilson, N.C., dozens of GoFundMe campaigns were launched to raise money for the child’s family.
Almost all of them were fake.
As the tragedy received national attention, a wave of people began trying to raise funds, preying on the family’s loss. It’s a sad but consistent trend on the crowdfunding platform, as opportunists try to manipulate national attention into schemes to take money from unsuspecting donors.
Now, weeks after the child’s death on Aug. 9, most of the pages have been removed. The page started by Cannon’s grandmother is still there.
Gwen Hinnant told The Wilson Times she could only vouch for the account she had created and didn’t know where the money from the other pages would end up.
More at link: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article245110885.html
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This is sad.
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Had to be drugs. Makes no sense otherwise.
Don’t see any updates to this story. All he got was a suspension. Should be fired imo. Dude works at a juvenile detention center. With the full scope of his comments, Rome Smith shouldn’t be working with youth of any color. Jmo
'Should've ducked': Detention officer suspended over post on boy who was shot to death
Back to justice for Cannon...
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I believe you are correct. I'll add more from the News & Observer stories in a separate post.
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I didn't find any other quotes from Gwen Hinnant (Cannon's grandmother) in the article I linked. However, here is some more from the article:
A GoFundMe official confirmed that it had removed several pages related to Cannon Hinnant’s death, but he wouldn’t say how many. The company declined further interview requests.
“GoFundMe is continuing to monitor the platform for all new fundraisers created to support the Hinnant family and our Trust and Safety Team is working to ensure funds are transferred directly to the family,” GoFundMe spokesman Patrick Mahoney said in an email to The News & Observer.
(SNIP)
The Hinnant family’s GoFundMe went viral, in part, because a narrative formed around the death that the media wasn’t covering it because it involved a Black man and a white child. That was despite the Hinnant family themselves telling The Wilson Times, “This is no racial issue.”
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More from the first N&O article I linked above (https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article245176365.html). Sorry about it not being accessible.
Sessoms’ mother, Carolyn, said her son shot Cannon in a drug-fueled haze that her family was powerless to stop. She said she had gone to church earlier that day and found him in the home they shared, unrecognizable.
In tears on her front porch, Carolyn Sessoms shook with grief as she talked to a News & Observer reporter last week and explained, “We think he had gotten hold of something. He was hallucinating. We tried to get the gun out of his hand, but he was so strong. He was so strong.”
(Snip)
A MEMORIAL MURAL FOR CANNON HINNANT
A week after the shooting, Shane Tierce drove 600 miles from Cleveland with his car full of spray paint. A graffiti artist, he has created murals on walls around the country, many of them memorializing children who died from gun violence.
Over four hours Monday, he painted a mural of Cannon on his bicycle, his silhouette framed inside the word “Innocent.” The mural is hidden from the street, painted on a brick wall in a courtyard behind a tattoo parlor.
[There is a photo of the mural here: Artist hopes Cannon Hinnant memorial mural will unite community | News Break]
(Snip)
Carolyn Sessoms, the accused shooter’s mother, cannot speak of that day without breaking down.
Her son had a long string of charges, including maintaining a drug house while he was living with his mother. He served two short stints in prison in 2017 for drug and firearms charges, but she thought he was improving. He is being held without bond in the Wilson County jail, where he is jailed on first-degree murder charges.
His mother said that on the day of the shooting, she didn’t recognize her son. He had become somebody else, convinced he was being pursued by the devil.
Sessoms’ mother, Carolyn, said her son shot Cannon in a drug-fueled haze that her family was powerless to stop. She said she had gone to church earlier that day and found him in the home they shared, unrecognizable.
In tears on her front porch, Carolyn Sessoms shook with grief as she talked to a News & Observer reporter last week and explained, “We think he had gotten hold of something. He was hallucinating. We tried to get the gun out of his hand, but he was so strong. He was so strong.”
(Snip)
A MEMORIAL MURAL FOR CANNON HINNANT
A week after the shooting, Shane Tierce drove 600 miles from Cleveland with his car full of spray paint. A graffiti artist, he has created murals on walls around the country, many of them memorializing children who died from gun violence.
Over four hours Monday, he painted a mural of Cannon on his bicycle, his silhouette framed inside the word “Innocent.” The mural is hidden from the street, painted on a brick wall in a courtyard behind a tattoo parlor.
[There is a photo of the mural here: Artist hopes Cannon Hinnant memorial mural will unite community | News Break]
(Snip)
Carolyn Sessoms, the accused shooter’s mother, cannot speak of that day without breaking down.
Her son had a long string of charges, including maintaining a drug house while he was living with his mother. He served two short stints in prison in 2017 for drug and firearms charges, but she thought he was improving. He is being held without bond in the Wilson County jail, where he is jailed on first-degree murder charges.
His mother said that on the day of the shooting, she didn’t recognize her son. He had become somebody else, convinced he was being pursued by the devil.
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I just saw this -- Another arrest --
Girlfriend of suspect in August death of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant charged with helping shooter escape
Posted September 22, 2020 10:08 p.m. EDT
Updated September 23, 2020 12:38 p.m. EDT
Wilson, N.C. — A second person has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of a Wilson 5-year-old back in August.
Wilson Police on Tuesday night said Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, of Wilson, was charged with felony accessory after the fact. Pettit received a $250,000 secured bond.
[...]
They say she knew her boyfriend Darrius Sessoms, 25, had shot the child and that she helped him leave town, including providing him transportation.
Girlfriend of suspect in August death of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant charged with helping shooter escape :: WRAL.com
------------------------------------
Local NewsGirlfriend of suspect in August death of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant charged with helping shooter escape
Posted September 22, 2020 10:08 p.m. EDT
Updated September 23, 2020 12:38 p.m. EDT
Wilson, N.C. — A second person has been arrested and charged in the shooting death of a Wilson 5-year-old back in August.
Wilson Police on Tuesday night said Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, of Wilson, was charged with felony accessory after the fact. Pettit received a $250,000 secured bond.
[...]
They say she knew her boyfriend Darrius Sessoms, 25, had shot the child and that she helped him leave town, including providing him transportation.
-------------------------------------
More here: Girlfriend of suspect in August death of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant charged with helping shooter escape :: WRAL.com
Last edited:
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Just wanted to comment on how touched I was at Shane Tierce's mural -- mentioned above -- It is beautiful. What a wonderful memorial to that innocent little boy.
Thank you to Shane Tierce, and thanks for the article, @anneg.
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Girlfriend of Man Who Allegedly Shot, Killed 5-Year-Old N.C. Boy on Bike Is Also Charged
"Authorities in North Carolina have filed criminal charges against a second individual for her alleged involvement in the August murder of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant.
Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, was arrested on Tuesday, reports the Wilson Times, WLOS, and WTVD."
"Authorities in North Carolina have filed criminal charges against a second individual for her alleged involvement in the August murder of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant.
Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, was arrested on Tuesday, reports the Wilson Times, WLOS, and WTVD."
I’m interested to see what the GF did after she helped him flee town. I can see providing transportation to get a dangerous person out of her home, but then what? Did she further assist him or provide false info to LE? Haven’t seen that reported yet.
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Trying to delete the above post, didn't realize it had been posted already.
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Interesting -- "accessory after the fact" could be so many things. Helped hide whatever evidence there was, perhaps? Helped him get out of town? Gave him spending money? Hid the leftover ammunition? Bought him bus/train/plane ticket? So now she's in the slammer, too, I'm guessing...
Article above said she provided him with transportation.
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Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit appeared before a Wilson County judge Wednesday morning where she elected to have a court-appointed attorney.
Pettit knew Sessoms had committed a felony and helped him flee Wilson on Aug. 9 and 10, court documents say.
She remains in jail under a $250,000 bond.
Woman charged in connection with killing of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant | CBS 17
Pettit knew Sessoms had committed a felony and helped him flee Wilson on Aug. 9 and 10, court documents say.
She remains in jail under a $250,000 bond.
Woman charged in connection with killing of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant | CBS 17
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Just saw this...
-----------------------------------------
Local News
Sisters of slain Wilson 5-year-old ask for Valentine's Day cards in his honor
Posted February 3, 2021 6:20 p.m. EST
Updated February 3, 2021 8:16 p.m. EST
By Indira Eskieva, WRAL Eastern North Carolina reporter
Wilson, N.C. — After 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was shot to death outside of his home last summer, people from all over the country expressed their shock and sadness. Now, his two sisters are asking those people to remember him on Valentine's Day.
Cannon was riding a bike outside his father's home on Aug. 9 when a neighbor walked up to him and shot him in the head, witnesses told police. The boy's two sisters saw the shooting.
"They’re definitely scarred. They’re traumatized," a weeping Bonny Parker, the children's mother, said Wednesday. "They get by, by keeping Cannon's name alive, doing things in memory of him every day."
[...]
Darius Sessoms, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in Cannon’s death. His girlfriend, Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, of Wilson, is charged with felony accessory after the fact of murder.
[...]
"Having other people send Valentine’s Day cards to Carly and Ava, I feel, would warm their heart," she said, "They’ve never been separated. They’ve been with each other every day of their life together, and he was taken right in front of them."
Source:
Sisters of slain Wilson 5-year-old ask for Valentine's Day cards in his honor :: WRAL.com
-----------------------------------------
Local News
Sisters of slain Wilson 5-year-old ask for Valentine's Day cards in his honor
Posted February 3, 2021 6:20 p.m. EST
Updated February 3, 2021 8:16 p.m. EST
By Indira Eskieva, WRAL Eastern North Carolina reporter
Wilson, N.C. — After 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was shot to death outside of his home last summer, people from all over the country expressed their shock and sadness. Now, his two sisters are asking those people to remember him on Valentine's Day.
Cannon was riding a bike outside his father's home on Aug. 9 when a neighbor walked up to him and shot him in the head, witnesses told police. The boy's two sisters saw the shooting.
"They’re definitely scarred. They’re traumatized," a weeping Bonny Parker, the children's mother, said Wednesday. "They get by, by keeping Cannon's name alive, doing things in memory of him every day."
[...]
Darius Sessoms, 25, is charged with first-degree murder in Cannon’s death. His girlfriend, Aolani Takemi Marie Pettit, 21, of Wilson, is charged with felony accessory after the fact of murder.
[...]
"Having other people send Valentine’s Day cards to Carly and Ava, I feel, would warm their heart," she said, "They’ve never been separated. They’ve been with each other every day of their life together, and he was taken right in front of them."
Source:
Sisters of slain Wilson 5-year-old ask for Valentine's Day cards in his honor :: WRAL.com
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I did find this on the Wilson County Court docket. Please note that both items are in District Court, so it should not be a trial.
Court.........Defendant.........................DOB.......Date
District.SESSOMS,DARIUS,NATHANIEL..11/17..07/04/2021
Court Room....Session.............Case Number
0GJR.....................AM..................20CR050488
-------------------------------------------------------------
Court.........Defendant.........................DOB......Date
District.SESSOMS,DARIUS,NATHANIEL..11/17..07/04/2021
Court Room....Session.............Case Number
0GJR......................AM..................20CR052566
Court.........Defendant.........................DOB.......Date
District.SESSOMS,DARIUS,NATHANIEL..11/17..07/04/2021
Court Room....Session.............Case Number
0GJR.....................AM..................20CR050488
-------------------------------------------------------------
Court.........Defendant.........................DOB......Date
District.SESSOMS,DARIUS,NATHANIEL..11/17..07/04/2021
Court Room....Session.............Case Number
0GJR......................AM..................20CR052566
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