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     Cagedbird Veteran Poster Username: Cagedbird Post Number: 190 Registered: 02-2004 Rating: N/A |
Local Author Attacked by Hammer: By BLP Every 37.8 seconds, somewhere in America a man is battered. It is more likely that a man will have a knife used on them, or hit with an object. Who would have thought in this day and age that men would succumb to the victimization of domestic abuse? This type of abuse is no longer kept as skeletons in a closet or joked away. This specific gender abuse was brought home when Soul Pitt’s Donna Baxter received an anonymous telephone tip on Wednesday, August 12, 2009, directing her to the Hip Hop Republican (HHR) website, regarding one of our featured authors, Mr. Valdez Thompson. What we found was the article Hip Hop Republican at Heart of Hammer Attack, written by Sonnie Johnson describing in vivid detail the brutal hammer attack against Mr. Thompson on August 3rd at the hands of his former lover, Richelle McAllister. The HHR had a personal interest in this story as Richelle McAllister is the ex-wife of HHR’s Lenny McAllister, author, community activist for poor children and featured keynote speaker for youth conferences and a guest on CNN and other national media venues. We read in disbelief details of the attack of our featured author and friend. I called and spoke to Valdez and he confirmed the story, stating that HHR had not contacted him, but they had pretty much the facts regarding the incident. He informed me that the hearing was set for Thursday, August 13, 2009, at the Magistrate Office in Bellevue regarding the attack and agreed afterwards talk to the Soul Pitt. After the court hearing Valdez shared the background of events leading up to the hammer attack. He confirmed information reported in the HHR article that he indeed met Richelle at a party and was drawn to her beauty and assertive manner. At that time he was engaged to be married to another woman, but he started the affair with Richelle, even though all he knew of her was her name and that she was a seemingly beautiful woman. Soon after Valdez started to worry about her sudden change in character when she started following him home, calling him constantly leaving messages, and threatening to expose their affair to his fiancé. This is when details started to emerge about how Richelle had stalked him before they even met at the party. She knew everything about him and she had even been unknowingly present at several of his book signings. She put in order a plan to meet him. Little did Valdez know that she had more than a quick affair in mind at their supposedly chance meeting. He soon realized that things weren’t what they seemed to be and her beauty and assertiveness which attracted him to her turned into controlling obsession and threats of violence. The face of a woman who abuses can be a million faces. She comes from all walks of life. She may seem to be a good person, the same way Valdez first saw Richelle. In fact many women believe the abuse is justified, as Richelle feeling that Valdez’s breaking off their affair was justification for her attacks against him. During her outbursts of threats she often told him if he didn’t comply with her wishes that she would do to him what she did to her ex-husband Lenny McAllister. After Richelle’s marriage to Lenny McAllister broke up she sent men to North Carolina who held the father of her two children at gun point, where he was tied up and robbed. She presently has pending arrest warrants out for her regarding this incident and others committed against her ex-husband. Meanwhile she is in a custody battle with her ex-husband and it seems that the PA Family Court System doing all they can do to make sure she keeps custody of their children. Valdez quickly grew tired of her threats called Lenny McAllister who confirmed to him that she set-up the attack on him and she is capable of doing whatever she said she’ll do. During this time Valdez tried his best to distance himself from her, only to find out that she had moved a few blocks away from his home. This experience was taking a stressful toil on his everyday life and turning everything he had worked for in a big state of turmoil and driving him into a state of depression. Feeling that this had to stop and she needed to get some professional help, Valdez took the next step to the law enforcements and filed with the Courts a Protection From Abuse (PFA) petition against her. This enraged her more. When he was getting out his car on August 3rd in front of his home he was attacked by the hammer welding Richelle. The police pick her up and put her behind bars where she as held until the Magistrate’s hearing Thursday, August 13th. During the hearing at the Bellevue Magistrate Office the local D.A. lower the charges against Richelle from a felony assault to a summary offense of simple assault stating that the attack on Mr. Thompson did not cause him great bodily harm nor was it life threatening. She is being held on $35,000 bond for this case and an addition $20,000 for the PFA case. The legal system is not accustomed to helping battered men. Carrying on the stereotypical reaction to this type of abuse are those in the legal system who have the attitude that battered men asked for or deserved what they got. But through many men coming forward and reporting such abuse, people have become more sympathetic to the problems of battered men in the last few years. Valdez feels that in some ways he is still dealing with those old attitudes, but he is not going to let that stop him from demanding and receiving the protection he deserves. Valdez stated that if and when she is released he’ll be living in constant fear for his life, and even though they are separated at this time, he fears for the life of his fiancé. He expresses remorse in his irresponsible choice in engaging in an illicit affair with Richelle. He also says that he regrets the hurt he inflicted on his fiancé and the danger he has put her in by his poor judgment and expresses his constant love for her. This case will be continuing at a future date. But in the meantime Valdez is wondering how it all got to out of control. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwlCO99BMM8 |
