Assata Shakur Receives $15,000 Check From North Carolina Court
Assata Shakur has received $15,000 from a North Carolina county court as a part of a land deal.
READ: Cuba Says Returning Assata Shakur To US Is "Off The Table"
The payment was made as part of long-sought land deal between a private company and the remaining descendants of the Freeman family that owned land near Freeman Park in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, according to the Port City Daily.
Shakur, whose real name is Joanne Chesimard, is one of the last Freeman heirs to sell. As the Daily notes, none of the other Freeman heirs have come forward for the deal, so the private company only owns over 90 percent of the land.
The deal, which originated with court filings nearly 10 years ago, was delayed up until recently because Shakur lives in Cuba. Both the attorneys for the company and the Superior Court of New Hanover County tried to contact Shakur, her daughter Kakuya Shakur, and her aunt, and former defense attorney, Evelyn Williams (who passed away in 2009).
The Daily goes on to report that court records stated Shakur appeared in person in New York County (Manhattan) in 2015 to work on the deal. However, subsequent court documents note that the former Black Panther Party member is "in Cuba."
In early 2018, a hearing was held to address the following:
"Whether Assata Shakur, heir to Freeman Beach, LLC, should be allowed to receive either directly or through her appointed power of attorney, funds currently being held by the Clerk of Superior Court as part of an heir distribution in this partition proceeding, due to her inability to return to the United States from Cuba, due to an outstanding warrant for her arrest in the States for pending murder charges."
The motion was heard on April 2, 2018, with Judge Joshua Willey saying "the Court is aware of no legal reason for the Clerk of Superior Court for New Hanover County, North Carolina not to pay the $15,351.39 to Ms. Shakur, directly or through her appointed power of attorney."
The FBI is looking into the deal and consulting with the Office of the U.S. Attorney to determine if any laws were broken.
Source: Port City Daily