Assata Shakur was the first woman to be added to the FBI’s Most Wanted list for the role in the death of a NJ State Trooper and other crimes. (Image courtesy of BlackPast.org)
Former Black Panther Party activist Assata Shakur was cut a check for $15,000 earlier this month by a North Carolina county court as compensation for a land deal, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
Shakur, also known by her legal name Joanne Chesimard, is one of the last Freeman family descendants sought by a private company that purchased land near Freeman Park located in Carolina Beach, the Port City Daily reported. The Superior Court of Hanover ironed out a selling price for each of the descendants and held the company’s payments to be disbursed to the heirs.
On April 3, a superior court judge wrote a check to Shakur for $15,351.39, saying the court found no legal reason why the payment should be withheld. The newspaper reported the decade-old sale was delayed until April because Shakur’s whereabouts were not known at the time.
The FBI and the Office of the U.S. Attorney are now investigating whether any laws were violated as part of the deal, according to the Port City Daily.
Shakur, who is also the godmother of late rapper Tupac Shakur, earned a spot on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for her alleged role in the fatal shooting of a New Jersey State Trooper in the 1970’s. She was convicted for the crime in 1973, but escaped prison and fled to Cuba where she remains under political asylum.
