HELLO EVERYONE AND THANKS FOR JOINING US....I'M LEAH JOHNSON..
THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT SIX...
MORE THAN A MONTH AFTER TRAYVON MARTIN'S DEATH... THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CONTINUE TO RALLY IN SUPPORT OF THE FLORIDA TEEN.
THAT INCLUDES SOME GROUPS IN CENTRAL GEORGIA.
AUSTIN LEWIS WENT TO FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY... WHERE MORE THAN 150 STUDENTS GATHERED TODAY.
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nats cause it could have been you
MORE THAN 150 FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS MADE THEIR WAY INTO THE STADIUM
nats of feet going up stadium
WEARING HOODIES....OR CARRYING THEM....ON THIS WARM THURSDAY MORNING.
Candice Harvey, Fort Valley: I never thought a day would come that you would wear a hoodie and be counted as suspicious.
FILING INTO THE STADIUM TO SUPPORT FLORIDA TEEN TRAYVON MARTIN.
Dominique Nichols, Fort Valley: what happened to Trayvon Martin was absolutely unfair and absolutely wrong.
nats 123
THAT'S THE CUE TO PUT THEIR HOODIES UP...
Candice Harvey, Fort Valley: It's going to be worth more than 1,000 words because you just can't describe that moment, that moment just overwhelmed me, it was very emotional but it was need ed and it was necessary.
nats we stand behind trayvon martin
MANY REASONS BROUGHT THESE STUDENTS HERE...SOME...SEE TRAYVON MARTIN IN THEIR FAMILIES.
Chelsea Murray, Fort Valley: I live actually 30 minutes away from Sanford, so it could have easily been my brother
Candice Harvey, Fort Valley: my brother loves Skittles and iced tea and he wears a hoodie kiinda often and so in this day and age, I fear for his life
OTHER STUDENTS TELL US THEY'RE WEARING THEIR HOODIES FOR A MORE JUST WORLD.
AUSTIN LEWIS 13WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS.
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MANY PEOPLE SAY SOCIAL MEDIA HELP DRIVE TRAYVON'S SHOOTING FROM A LOCAL CASE...INTO A NATIONAL CONTROVERSY.
TIM REGAN-PORTER IS THE DIRECTOR OF MERCER UNIVERSITY'S CENTER FOR COLLABORATIVE JOURNALISM TO TALK ABOUT THE ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.
-When did this case first start gaining national attention?
-What did social media have to do with that spread?
-What role does social media play in this case today?
SOME OF YOU ARE TALKING TO US ON FACEBOOK ABOUT TWO OTHER VIOLENT CASES... AND SOME ARE ASKING WHY THEY AREN'T GETTING THE SAME AMOUNT OF MEDIA ATTENTION.
JENNIFER MOULLIET LOOKED AT THOSE TWO CASES.
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ONE CASE INVOLVED A KANSAS CITY... MISSOURI TEEN...AND IT HAPPENED ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
ACCORDING TO A POLICE INCIDENT REPORT.... WHEN OFFICERS ARRIVED ON SCENE FEBRUARY 28TH... THEY FOUND A GAS CAN ON THE GROUND...AND A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD BOY WITH FIRST DEGREE BURNS TO HIS FACE.
FIRST-DEGREE BURNS...ARE THE LEAST SERIOUS KIND.
THE BOY TOLD POLICE THAT TWO BLACK MEN FOLLOWED HIM FROM SCHOOL.
THE TEEN SAYS HE TRIED TO UNLOCK HIS DOOR BUT ONE MAN BEAR HUGGED HIM.... WHILE THE OTHER GRABBED THE GAS CAN AND TRIED TO LIGHT IT.
BUT HE DROPPED IT ON THE GROUND ... CREATING A FIREBALL THAT BURNED THE VICTIM'S FACE AND HAIR.
THE VICTIM COULD ONLY DESCRIBE WHAT THE SUSPECTS WERE WEARING... AND SAID BOTH HAD FACIAL HAIR.
SERGEANT STACEY GRAVES SAYS THEY ARE STILL INVESTIGATING ... BUT THAT SO FAR....THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF A HATE CRIME.
THE SECOND CASE WAS THE MURDERS OF A COLLEGE COUPLE... CHANNON CHRISTIAN AND CHRIS NEWSOM....THAT GAINED NATIONAL ATTENTION IN 2007.
IN JANUARY OF THAT YEAR... CHRISTIAN AND NEWSOM WERE KIDNAPPED... CARJACKED... RAPED... AND MURDERED.
DARRELL DEBUSK OF THE KNOXVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT SAYS THE KILLINGS WERE RULED RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE....NOT RACIALLY MOTIVATED.
POLICE ARRESTED THREE BLACK MEN... AND ONE BLACK WOMAN IN THE CASE. THEY WERE TRIED AND FOUND GUILTY.
BUT AFTER THAT TRIAL... THE CONVICTIONS WERE THROWN OUT BECAUSE THE JUDGE WHO HEARD THE CASE ADMITTED HE WAS ADDICTED TO PAIN PILLS AND WAS UNDER THE INFLUENCE DURING THE TRIAL.
A DIFFERENT JUDGE HAS SET NEW TRIAL DATES FOR EACH SUSPECT....BUT THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE HAS FILED A MOTION TO PREVENT THOSE TRIALS.
FOR MORE DETAILS ON EACH OF THESE CASES...LOOK FOR THIS STORY ON 13WMAZ-DOT-COM.
NICK MALLOY IS RECOVERING IN INTENSIVE CARE AFTER SURGERY YESTERDAY.
MACON'S YOUNG COUNTRY SINGER SUFFERED MAJOR INJURIES AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT EARLY WEDNESDAY.
TODAY... HIS FATHER... 13WMAZ'S FRANK MALLOY VISITED THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT.
NICK REPORTEDLY SPENT SEVERAL HOURS BY THE SIDE OF INTERSTATE 75 AFTER DRIVING OFF THE ROAD.
FRANK MALLOY SPENT THE NIGHT AT THE MEDICAL CENTER OF CENTRAL GEORGIA AND SAYS NICK'S CONDITION IS IMPROVING.
"Fortunately, he had a good night last night. The doctors are pleased with the way the recovery is going. It's going to be a long recovery process. We all know that, but cannot thank enough the people in Central Georgia for their thoughts and prayers. They mean the world to us. And, I think we're going to be ok, and I just thank everybody for that. We're going to be fine. It's going to turn out ok."
THE BIBB COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SAYS THEY'RE STILL INVESTIGATING... AND THEY DON'T KNOW WHY NICK DROVE OFF THE ROAD.
TODAY IS DAY 40 OF THE STATE LEGISLATIVE SESSION... AND LAWMAKERS HOPE TO COVER AS MUCH GROUND AS POSSIBLE BEFORE THE SESSION ENDS.
RANDALL SAVAGE AND BRITTINY BARBER AR AT THE CAPITOL FOR THE FINAL DAY...
RANDALL JOINS US WITH AN UPDATE.
WE'LL HAVE A FULL REPORT TONIGHT ON EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 11... 13WMAZ DOT COM AND M-A-Z MOBILE.
GEORGIA LAWMAKERS OUTLAWED SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA THIS WEEK.... NOW IT'S UP TO LOCAL AGENCIES TO ENFORCE THE LAW.
CANDACE ADORKA JOINS US LIVE FROM THE NEWSROOM WITH MORE ON HOW THIS NEW LAW IS SHAPING UP IN CENTRAL GEORGIA.
SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA COMBINES DANGEROUS CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS WITH DRIED VEGETATION... AND THEY'RE SOLD IN FOIL PACKS AT CONVENIENCE STORES.
THIS IS A LIST FROM THE G-B-I OF ALL THE VARIOUS FORMS OF THE DRUG... THERE ARE 407... AND EVERY LAST ONE IS NOW A SCHEDULE ONE SUBSTANCE... JUST LIKE COCAINE... HEROIN... OR METH.
MACON POLICE SAY THERE MAY BE OVER A HUNDRED PLACES IN THE CITY THAT SELL THE DRUG.
LIEUTENANT KELLY MONROE SAYS HE'S PUTTING TOGETHER A LIST OF THEM....AND THE OWNERS WILL BE PUT ON NOTICE.
"And then after that, after giving them some time to react, go back and check the businesses again and then go from there and it may be from confiscating the items up to prosecution"
SOME AGENCIES HAVE ALREADY STARTED CONFISCATING THE DRUG.
TUESDAY... MONROE COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPUTIES DEPUTIES COLLECTED NEARLY 10-THOUSAND DOLLARS WORTH ... WHILE G-B-I AGENTS HAVE GONE TO SOME STORES IN EASTMAN AND MILLEGEVILLE.
JOSEPH RICKETSON... THE G-B-I'S TOP AGENT IN CENTRAL GEORGIA SAYS... THIS LAW IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL.
"We get reports sometimes, hospital staff will call us and say hey we just had three people comE in over the weekend that were suffering delusional fixations on whatever and theyre telling us they were smoking this compound that they got form the local 7-11."
RICKETSON SAYS IF YOU VIOLATE THE LAW...YOU'LL BE CHARGED WITH A FELONY... AND FACE UP TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON.
LORRA? LEAH?
KELLY MONROE OF MACON POLICE SAYS THEY HAVEN'T HEARD OF ANY MEDICAL EMERGENCIES CAUSED BY THE SYNTHETIC DRUG.
IF YOU'RE FEELING LUCKY TOMORROW NIGHT... IT JUST MIGHT NET YOU THE LARGEST JACKPOT IN U-S LOTTERY HISTORY.
THE GEORGIA LOTTERY MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT REACHED 540 MILLION DOLLARS TODAY.
IT'S ROLLED OVER 18 TIMES SINCE THE LAST WINNER SCORED 72 MILLION IN LATE JANUARY.
IF YOU WIN TOMORROW NIGHT'S DRAWING.. YOU COULD GET NEARLY 21 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR FOR 26 YEARS... OR A SINGLE PAYOUT OF AROUND 389 MILLION.
TO PUT IT INTO PERSPECTIVE... YOUR ODDS OF BEING STRUCK BY LIGHTNING ARE ONE IN 280 THOUSAND.
ODDS OF WINNING THE LOTTERY... 175 MILLION... 711 THOUSAND... FIVE HUNDRED 36 TO ONE.
THAT MAKES THE LIGHTNING STRIKE... ABOUT 500 TIMES MORE LIKELY.
YOU CAN WATCH THE DRAWING TOMORROW NIGHT AT 11.. RIGHT HERE ON 13WMAZ.
TODAY'S 13WMAZ DOT COM WEB POLL QUESTION... WILL YOU BUY A TICKET IN THE MEGA MILLIONS JACKPOT?
SO FAR 73 PERCENT OF YOU SAY YES.
AND 27 PERCENT SAY NO.
VOTE NOW... LOOK FOR THE QUESTION ON THE 13WMAZ DOT COM HOMEPAGE.