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Muriel Schwenck

Beloved Curmudgeon
19 April 2019
[…]
Rossi Lorathio Adams II, age 26, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also known as “Polo,” was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats, and violence. The verdict was returned after about an hour of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Adams founded the social media company “State Snaps” while a student at Iowa State University in 2015. State Snaps operates on a variety of social media platforms, including Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. At one time, Adams had over a million followers on his social media sites, which mostly contained images and videos of young adults engaged in crude behavior, drunkenness, and nudity.
[…]
Adams’ followers often used the slogan, “Do It For State!” Adams tried to purchase the Internet domain “doitforstate.com” from a Cedar Rapids resident who had registered the domain with GoDaddy.com. Between 2015 and 2017, Adams repeatedly tried to obtain “doitforstate.com”, but the owner of the domain would not sell it.
[…]
In June 2017, Adams enlisted his cousin, Sherman Hopkins, Jr., to break into the domain owner’s home and force him at gunpoint to transfer doitforstate.com to Adams. Hopkins was a convicted felon who lived in a homeless shelter at the time.


On June 21, 2017, Adams drove Hopkins to the domain owner’s house and provided Hopkins with a demand note, which contained instructions for transferring the domain to Adams’ GoDaddy account. When Hopkins entered the victim’s home in Cedar Rapids, he was carrying a cellular telephone, a stolen gun, a taser, and he was wearing a hat, pantyhose on his head, and dark sunglasses on his face.
[…]
Hopkins ordered the victim to turn on his computer and connect to the Internet. Hopkins pulled out Adams’ demand note, which contained a series of directions on how to change an Internet domain name from the domain owner’s GoDaddy account to one of Adams’ GoDaddy accounts.

Hopkins put the firearm against the victim’s head and ordered him to follow the directions on the demand note. Hopkins then pistol whipped the victim several times in the head. Fearing for his life, the victim quickly turned to move the gun away from his head. The victim then managed to gain control of the gun, but during the struggle, he was shot in the leg. The victim shot Hopkins multiple times in the chest.
[…]
Adams was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the verdict was returned and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Adams faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
[…]

13 June 2018
A federal felon who entered a Cedar Rapids home armed with a stolen firearm and pistol-whipped and Tased its owner was sentenced today to twenty years in prison in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Sherman Hopkins, Jr., age 43, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 2017 guilty plea to one count of interference and attempted interference with commerce by threats and violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951. The case is the first Hobbs Act Extortion prosecution in the district involving the attempt to steal an Internet domain name.


At the plea hearing and in a plea agreement, Hopkins admitted that on June 21, 2017, he entered the victim’s home and assaulted the victim in an attempt to obtain the victim’s property, specifically, the Internet domain “doitforstate.com.” Hopkins carried and brandished a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol, which was stolen from Michigan in 2014.
[…]
 
Jesus Christ....

I think I'm going to register an address on GoDaddy... "HowToBeAGangster101.com"

This is not how you do extortion....

And props to the victim for getting the gun and shooting "Hopkins multiple times in the chest"... That's F'n hardcore.
 
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(CNN)A social media influencer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for plotting to hijack a website at gunpoint during a home invasion.

Rossi Lorathio Adams II, 27, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the sentence Monday after he was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats and violence [....]

Adams, also known as "Polo," founded a social media company called "State Snaps" in 2015 while he was enrolled as a student at Iowa State University. His social media accounts on platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter had over a million followers at one point, the statement said. The site's content included video and photos of "young adults engaged in crude behavior, drunkenness, and nudity," according to the statement. Followers of State Snaps used the slogan "Do It For State," and Adams wanted to purchase the internet domain doitforstate.com to expand his company, the statement said.

Adams tried to convince a Cedar Rapids resident who had registered the domain with GoDaddy.com to sell it to him multiple times between 2015 and 2017, the statement said.

In June 2017, Adams drove his cousin, Sherman Hopkins Jr., to the home of the domain owner. Hopkins, a convicted felon, broke into the man's home with a cell phone, stolen gun and taser while wearing pantyhose on his head and dark sunglasses, the statement said. He also had a note from Adams to the domain owner with directions on how to transfer the domain.

Hopkins held the gun to the domain owner's head and pistol whipped him several times before the man was able to gain control of the gun. During the struggle, the man was shot in the leg before he shot Hopkins multiple times in the chest and then called police, according to the statement. Hopkins survived the shooting and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Adams was convicted in April and was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison Monday by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. He has been ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution, nearly $4,000 or prosecution costs and $22,000 in attorney fees as part of his sentence. He was using a court-appointed attorney during the trail but it was later discovered that Adams was still earning "significant amounts of money" while his case was pending, the statement said.

 
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