Black America Web is reporting that Shaquille O’Neal is caught in the middle of a criminal case in which seven gang members allegedly kidnapped, assaulted and robbed a man who claimed to have a tape showing O'Neal having sex with other women while he was married to Shaunie O’Neal.
Law-enforcement sources tell the website that Ladell Rowles, a member of the Main Street Mafia Crip Gang in Los Angeles, who is friends with O'Neal, joined six other gang members on a search-and-destroy mission in L.A. on Feb. 11, 2008. They believed that a man named Robert Ross had the sex tape, and they tried getting it back by force.
According to the police report, the seven gang members met up with Ross at the Sunset Strip convenience store Pink Dot. The men allegedly surrounded Ross' Rolls Royce Phantom with guns drawn, jumped into Ross' car and ordered him to drive to Rowles' house in South Central L.A.
Once there, Rowles allegedly pistol-whipped Ross and demanded that he turn over the sex tape. Ross said he would get the tape and bring it back to them. The seven men then allegedly took Ross' Rolex, diamond chain and earrings, along with $15,000 in cash — then let Ross go.
The seven men have been arrested and charged with robbery, kidnapping and other crimes. They are currently in the middle of a preliminary hearing and being held in jail.
According to TMZ, LAPD detectives interviewed O'Neal to determine what, if any, involvement he had in the alleged crimes. When the case file went to the district attorney, O'Neal was not listed as a suspect. TMZ is also reporting that Ross has a history with O’Neal.
Seriously? All of this drama over a sex tape and Ray J? Unless you've been under a rock, Shaq's extramarital exploits have been discussed exhaustively in the media, including on the hit television reality show Basketball Wives. Not to mention that sex tapes are a dime a dozen nowadays. Shaq may not want people to see his Shaq Fu, but he should have thought about that before putting himself in that position, pun intended.
Shouldn't Ross be arrested for extortion? Blackmailing someone over the release of a sex tape is definitely not cool and sounds illegal. Is it not illegal because Ross didn't ask for money? Shouldn't the monetary value of an artist count as the same thing? Clearly we've got more questions than answers, such as why is someone like Shaq running around with gang bangers? He's the father of how many kids? Isn't he a sheriff? Can you say "ridiculous"?
Read more at Black America Web.
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