Civil Rights Activists Threaten ‘Shutdown’ Of Deep Ellum Over Assault Case DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A woman who was badly beaten in a Deep Ellum parking lot by a local bartender is recovering Friday morning. The victim – who CBS 11 News is not identifying – said she went to the hospital Thursday evening to be treated for her injuries. According to her attorney, Lee Merritt, she is recovering from post-concussion syndrome and cranial swelling. She said as she pulled into the parking lot at the corner of Elm and Crowdus Streets, she had blocked in another driver. The driver, Austin Shuffield, then got out and confronted her, holding a gun by his side. The confrontation was recorded on a cellphone by a bystander across the street. When the woman pulled out her phone to call 911, the man in the video can be seen slapping it out of her hand. She pushes him, and then he begins repeatedly punching her in the face – at least five times. According to the victim’s attorney, the woman said Shuffield called her “racial slurs” and made other “racist remarks.” Dallas police identified that man as Shuffield, charging him with aggravated assault, public intoxication and interfering with a 911 call. He was booked into the Dallas County Jail but posted bail overnight. Merritt said he is pursuing felony assault and hate crime charges against Shuffield. Shuffield was fired from his job as a bartender at the High and Tight Barbershop and Speakeasy. Braxton Martin, the shop’s owner, said what he saw in that video is horrific. “He was a very good employee. Somebody that never has anger or reached out in any way to hurt or be violent towards anyone,” Martin said. Other Deep Ellum business owners said Shuffield’s behavior is the last thing the neighborhood needs.<doc-sep>Bloomberg (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds often measure their investments in minutes, not decades; but for Anchorage Capital Group, its long-held stake in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is proving that patience can also be profitable.The New York-based money manager stands to make roughly $2 billion on its investment in the film and TV producer, one that began almost 11 years ago with MGM in bankruptcy court. Amazon.com Inc. agreed to buy the company for $8.45 billion Wednesday, a price that includes just under $2 billion in debt.The deal is in many ways a vindication for Kevin Ulrich, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader who co-founded Anchorage in 2003 and was part of a group of distressed debt investors that took control of MGM as it went through the restructuring process. In recent years the stake looked to be an albatross for the fund, one that came with significant drama in its own right.Ulrich brought in and later fired a high-profile chief executive officer, resisted efforts by activist investor Carl Icahn to take control, and held out for a bigger payday after years of considering various exit strategies. By selling now, as demand for media content from entertainment and technology companies alike is booming, he’s proving his long-held faith in the investment was justified.“There was a lot of maneuvering, a lot of financial engineering,” said Steven Azarbad, chief investment officer at New York’s Maglan Capital, an MGM investor who sold his shares four years ago. “But they’ve done great.”A representative for Anchorage declined to comment.When Ulrich first invested in MGM, he was new to Hollywood. He helped pick Gary Barber, a South African-born producer of films such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” as chief executive officer of the storied but debt-laden studio. Barber brought to the table a shrewd business sense, and connections into a world Ulrich long admired from afar.Barber shepherded MGM’s development of “The Hobbit” franchise, a co-production with Warner Bros., that became a global smash hit. He helmed the release of the James Bond film, “Skyfall,” which generated over $1 billion at the box office, and he revived the studio’s work in television. Barber also brokered a deal to bring on TV super producer Mark Burnett, which gave MGM access to reality show hits like “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” but would ultimately become personally troublesome.In 2012 the company bought back Icahn’s stock for $590 million. It also filed paperwork for a possible public offering of shares, and considered other options, such as a sale.As Barber boosted MGM’s film and TV pipeline, Ulrich was increasingly entranced by the allure of Hollywood. He became a regular at movie premieres in Los Angeles and New York, and frequented industry parties in the Hamptons and elsewhere. He became active in creative decisions after becoming chair of MGM’s board -- somewhat unusual for a non-executive lacking Hollywood experience -- even getting involved with business granularities like casting.Growing RiftBut over the following years a rift began to open up between Barber and Ulrich. When it was time to renew Barber’s contract in 2017, Ulrich conducted an extensive search for a new CEO. When it ended, he ultimately chose to sign Barber to a new five-year deal. Yet around the same time, the pair split on whether to sell the company, with Ulrich wanting to hang on to the studio and Barber saying it was time to find a buyer.The company would hold buyout talks with Apple Inc. as well as Chinese investors that would ultimately prove fruitless.Only months after renewing Barber’s deal, Ulrich fired him. The shock departure meant the company had to pay Barber for five years of salary and buy out his equity, a package totaling $260 million. In the three years since Barber left, Ulrich hasn’t replaced him, instead operating an “office of the chief executive officer,” comprised of various people that each have their personal vision for MGM.Barber declined to comment via his spokesperson.Bounce BackAfter the initial period of success following the restructuring, the gains became harder to come by, as they did in Anchorage’s overall credit-focused business. Two senior managers left the firm in January 2020, and another in November. Anchorage’s flagship strategy, with about $8.5 billion under management, returned just 0.6% in 2018, 1.5% in 2019 and 4.4% in 2020, according to people familiar with the matter.In December, MGM hired investment bankers for a potential sale.MGM only released one film in theaters in 2020. Its biggest potential hit, the latest Bond film, “No Time to Die,” was pushed from last year to this October as a result of the pandemic.Yet the value of MGM’s library rose as everyone from media companies to technology giants have sought to build video streaming platforms that can compete with industry leader Netflix Inc. Earnings jumped 48% last year, to about $307 million, even as sales declined.Anchorage holds a roughly 30% stake in MGM, worth about $2.5 billion in the sale, said people with knowledge of the matter. Anchorage invested around $500 million in the company more than a decade ago. Including the MGM stake, Anchorage’s flagship fund is up 18% this year, the people added. The fund has gained about 8% in 2021 not counting the studio.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.<doc-sep>Update (April 3, 2019): A Texas woman who was seen on video being brutally attacked by a white male was been charged with a felony by the state, but the district attorney isn't trying to hear it. On Tuesday, civil rights attorney S. Lee Merritt announced L’Daijonique Lee was charged with a felony criminal mischief charge for allegedly damaging her attacker’s vehicle. Promptly afterward, Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot declined to take the case, and charges were dropped. WFAA reports Dallas police gave the 24-year-old a charge most often filed when assailants cause upward of $2,500 to $30,000 in damages, which could have required time in jail. Austin Shuffield, Lee’s attacker who was caught on tape brandishing a gun and punching the woman unconscious, claims in his arrest affidavit that Lee broke the back windshield of his pickup truck with a jump box. It is unclear when the act occurred. Shuffield also claims that Lee hit him first, and he only assaulted the woman in self-defense. The man was initially charged with a misdemeanor for the crime. Following protests and push-back from local activists, officials have since upgraded his charges to a second-degree felony aggravated assault (with a deadly weapon) and for unlawfully carrying a weapon. An eye-witness recorded the encounter, which shows Shuffield pulling out his gun and knocking Lee’s cellphone to the ground; she was reportedly attempting to call police at the time. He was then seen on camera hitting the woman multiple times with a series of punches to her face and head that left her unresponsive. "The DA did what was right, what they were supposed to do in this situation," Merritt said of the decision. "But it's an embarrassment that these charges were brought forward." Original: A Texas man is now unemployed and facing charges after he assaulted a woman over a parking spot. Austin Shuffield was charged with assault causing bodily injury, interference with an emergency call and public intoxication, The Dallas Morning News reports. Shuffield reportedly attacked L'Daijohnique Lee on Wednesday morning during a traffic dispute in a Dallas, Texas, parking lot. Lee admitted she was driving the wrong way down a one-way street and said she was trying to correct her error when she encountered Shuffield. He allegedly got out of his pickup truck and demanded Lee move her vehicle because she was blocking a parking lot exit. When he walked to her car and tried to take pictures of her license plate, an argument ensued. Blavitize your inbox! Join our daily newsletter for fresh stories and breaking news. Lee told Shuffield "to get back or else she would Mace him," and when he pulled out a handgun, the 24-year-old woman attempted to call 911. Shuffield reportedly slapped the phone from her hand, and Lee slapped him. What she said happened next is horrifying. "He charged at me, and he just kept hitting me, and I was like, 'Okay, okay, okay,'" Lee told WFAA. In a video taken by witness Ricky Tan, Shuffield can be seen punching Lee several times in her head and upper body. Tan said he didn’t intervene because Shuffield was armed. Police officers eventually arrived and arrested Shuffield. Officers said they smelled alcohol when they spoke to the 30-year-old. A handgun and knife were recovered from his vehicle. Shuffield, who worked as a bartender at High and Tight Barbershop, also lost his job. "We have finally [spoken] with police representatives and have terminated this employee," the business said on Facebook. "We do not stand behind the actions that took place and hope that the full weight of the law comes down on this incident." The video went viral, and Lee said she'd been left traumatized by the beating. "Watching that video literally makes me cry. All I could do was try and protect myself," she said. "He literally sat there and beat me like a man." Despite the horror, Lee is glad the assault was caught on tape. "In reality, that recording really helped me because when the police showed up, it would have been my word against his," she said. Lee has retained civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt, who is calling for hate crime charges. Lee reportedly suffered several injuries including a post-concussion syndrome and cranial swelling. Now, check these out: Detroit Pastor Accused Of Killing Trans Woman Kelly Stough Was Allegedly 'Intimidating' Towards Sex Workers He Hired Florida White Supremacist Allegedly Kidnapped, Drugged And Repeatedly Raped A Black Woman ACLU Sues FBI For Records On Black Activists The Bureau Says Are A Domestic Terror Threat<doc-sep>T.I. wants to know if these rappers are real ones like they say they are. Last week, a video went viral of a white man named Austin Shuffield brutally attacking a black woman because he didn't like the way she parked her car. Shuffield, a bartender, confronted the woman about her parking job and when she didn't comply with his demands, he brandished a gun and repeatedly punched her in the face. Once T.I. saw the video of the attack, he took to Instagram Live to ask why there weren't more Dallas rappers and G's stepping up to the plate. "If you in Dallas, if you is in Dallas...Yella Beezy...Trapboy Freddy...all you cats out there who holdin' down the turf," Tip said. "Whether you're Dallas, Fort Worth, wherever you at. It's on your watch! This s**t on your watch. I don't wanna hear none of that tough s**t man from none of y'all. It's time n***a." "We've been training and practicing all this gangsta sh**t for all these years...get your ass in the game mothaf**ka! What the f**k is you doin'?" In a recent interview with Ashlee on the Radio for Houston's 93.7 The Beat radio station, Yella Beezy made it clear that he wasn't even in town when all of that happened. "I wasn't even in America," Beezy said. "I was in Cabo, so I'm not even knowing what's going on...I don't want to say the wrong thing....he could have called me," Beezy said. "I get where he was coming from, it's just his delivery was wrong. But I'm gonna call him." The victim suffered a swollen jaw, a black eye, and a concussion. Shuffield faces multiple charges, including hate crimes.<doc-sep>
A Texas man caught on video violently punching a woman in a Dallas parking lot as she called 911 on him was arrested on an assault charge, authorities said. Dallas police said it was called to the Deep Ellum neighborhood before 4:30 a.m. on Thursday for a "major disturbance" between a woman and Austin Shuffield. The attack was caught on a witness' cell phone and appears to show Shuffield slap the woman's phone out of her hand then punch her at least five times in the face. The woman, 24, who police did not name, told officers that she was driving the wrong way when Shuffield stopped her, got out of his truck and told her to move her car because it was blocking the exit to the parking lot, a police spokesperson said. The woman said after she moved her car into the parking lot, Shuffield walked up to her and they got into an argument. When the woman pulled out of her phone to call 911, she said Shuffield smacked her phone out of her hand, according to police. Austin Shuffield. Dallas County Sheriff's Dept. Shuffield, 30, was charged with one count of assault and interference with an emergency call and is being held at a Dallas County jail on a $2,000 bond. He was also fired from his job at High & Tight Barbershop, a 1920s-themed barbershop and speakeasy, where he worked as a bartender. "We do not stand behind the actions that took place and hope that the full weight of the law comes down on this incident," the shop posted on Facebook.