On the night of September 19, 2018, 22-year-old Amarah Riley was driving along Rainier Avenue South in Skyway, Washington when another vehicle pulled alongside her car. Within moments, gunfire shattered the quiet night, leaving Amarah’s life tragically cut short. Investigators would later suggest something chilling — Amarah may not have been the intended target.

In this episode of Cigar & A Crime, Dr. Dee takes listeners inside the life of Amarah Riley — a creative young entrepreneur, makeup artist, and photography enthusiast who was building her future one dream at a time. Through a careful examination of the timeline, the investigation, and the controversy surrounding a search warrant connected to a possible suspect, we explore how this case took unexpected turns and why it remains unresolved years later.

More importantly, we center the voice of Amarah’s family, who continue to advocate for answers and keep her name alive in the community. As Dr. Dee reflects on the broader questions surrounding visibility, justice, and the families left waiting, this episode reminds us that every story deserves to be heard.

Because sometimes the difference between silence and truth… is awareness.

Join us in the Lounge of Truth as we remember Amarah Riley and examine the unanswered questions that still linger.

Share this episode to help keep her story alive.

The smoke never lies.

Listen and follow Cigar & A Crime on all podcast platforms.

In the final hours of 2025, a father’s life ended in a courtyard in Northridge, California — and the narrative surrounding his death unfolded faster than the facts.

On New Year’s Eve, 43-year-old Keith Porter Jr. was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent outside his apartment complex. Federal officials described it as an “active shooter” situation, while family members and community witnesses say Keith was firing gunshots into the air to celebrate the holiday — not threatening anyone. What really happened that night? Was deadly force justified? And why are key pieces of evidence — 911 audio, ballistic mapping, surveillance footage and dispatch logs — still not publicly available?

In this deeply reported episode, Dr. Dee goes beyond the headline to:

• Meet Keith — a devoted father, nicknamed “Pooter,” described by friends and coworkers as funny, uplifting and hardworking.
• Reconstruct the New Year’s Eve encounter — using DHS statements, family accounts, and LAPD investigative updates.
• Explore the broader context of ICE-related deaths in 2026, naming others such as Renée Nicole Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti — part of a troubling federal pattern.
• Examine racial dynamics and use-of-force disparities backed by research on policing and threat perception.
• Demand transparency — with a core theme that without public records, authority alone shapes the story.

Featuring a powerful reflection grounded in history and moral truth, and closing with the African proverb:
“Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”

This episode isn’t just investigative — it’s a summons for accountability.

📌 Subscribe to Cigar & A Crime for evidence-based storytelling that refuses to accept narrative as verdict.

What if you buried your newborn child…
and then got a call saying she was alive?

In this haunting episode of Cigar & A Crime, we step into one of the most disturbing and unresolved stories to surface in recent years, the case of LaChunda Hunter and her premature daughter, Legacy Darmika-Grace Gray.

In February 2022, LaChunda was told her newborn had died in the NICU. Days later, a doctor called with “good news,” describing Legacy’s improving condition in precise medical detail, before abruptly hanging up. What followed was a cascade of contradictions: a body viewed in a dark room, medical records updated after a reported death, disputed DNA tests, and a hospital that refused to answer questions.

This episode is not about shock.
It’s about humanity, trust, grief, and unanswered questions.

We walk through the timeline carefully, separating what is known from what remains disputed, while centering LaChunda’s lived experience as a mother navigating unimaginable uncertainty. We also examine the broader implications: how systems of power respond when questioned, how Black mothers are treated when they advocate for themselves, and what happens when closure is denied.

From the Lounge of Truth, with smoke in the air and truth on the table, Dr. Dee reflects on ambiguous loss, maternal intuition, and why this story refuses to rest.

This is Legacy’s story.
And her legacy demands to be heard.

🎧 Full episode available now
📺 Video version on YouTube
🎙️ Streaming on Apple Podcasts & Spotify

The Smoke Never Lies.

When 33-year-old Tory Medley was found hanging from a tree in one of Wisconsin’s wealthiest suburbs, police were quick to call it a suicide. But his family-and a growing number of supporters-aren’t convinced.

In this episode of Cigar & A Crime, Dr. Dee unpacks the final 48 hours of Tory’s life: a mysterious bus ride, surveillance footage, a missing red backpack, and a community left reeling. We take you from a Milwaukee press conference to a cold golf course in Brookfield, where grief collided with suspicion.

Was Tory struggling with his mental health-or is there more to the story? Why did authorities rush to label his death while critical questions remained unanswered? And what does justice look like when history, race, and trust are all on the line?

This isn’t just a case-it’s a call for transparency, truth, and the power of not looking away.

🔎 Listen now for:

• A full timeline of Tory’s final days
• Interviews and press statements from family and civil rights leaders
• The impact of racial trauma in modern investigations
• A community demanding answers—and refusing to be silent

🎧 Subscribe & follow us on all platforms. Full video drops Thursdays on YouTube.

When 41-year-old Valerie Smiley left her Chattanooga restaurant on a warm June day in 2024, no one imagined it would be the last time she’d be seen. A devoted mother of four, a business owner, and the heartbeat of her community, Valerie vanished without a trace—her maroon SUV slipping into the Georgia highway system like a ghost on the road.

In this haunting episode, Dr. Dee takes listeners deep into the baffling disappearance that has gripped Tennessee and beyond. From surveillance clues and puzzling phone pings to the relentless grassroots search led by family and friends, this story unfolds with heartbreak and resilience. We explore the role of race and media bias in missing persons coverage, the emotional toll on loved ones, and the broader question: whose stories get told?

With a smoky draw of reflection and reverence, this episode is a tribute to Valerie Smiley—and to every family still waiting for answers.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of missing persons and may be emotionally distressing to some listeners.

What does brotherhood mean when it becomes violent?

In this deeply personal and unflinching episode of Cigar & A Crime, Dr. Dee examines the tragic death of Caleb Wilson, a Southern University student whose life was cut short following an alleged hazing ritual. What begins as a case investigation becomes something much bigger, a reckoning with fraternity culture, silence, tradition, and accountability.

We walk through who Caleb was beyond the headlines, the events leading up to his death, the criminal charges, and the lawsuits that followed. But this episode doesn’t stop at the facts.

Dr. Dee shares his own story, pledging in Spring 1998, experiencing isolation and abuse, and ultimately choosing peace over brutality. As a member of a historically Black fraternity and an HBCU graduate, he confronts a painful contradiction: how can we protest violence against Black bodies in public, while excusing it behind closed doors in the name of tradition?

This episode also places Caleb’s death within a broader national pattern of hazing, across Black Greek-letter organizations and predominantly white fraternities alike, highlighting why hazing is not a rite of passage, but a cultural failure.

This is not an attack on brotherhood or sisterhood.
It’s a call to protect it.

Because real brotherhood does not demand blood.
And love should never look like abuse.

🕯️ In memory of Caleb Wilson.
🎧 Listener discretion advised.

In the early hours of July 8, 2022, University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee walked out of his apartment after receiving a message from someone he once trusted.

He never came home.

In this episode of Cigar & A Crime, Dr. Dee brings you inside the Lounge of Truth to honor Jay Lee, a 20-year-old social work major, performer, activist, and unapologetically proud young man whose light shined brightly in a place that still struggles with acceptance.

We trace Jay’s life before the headlines, his love for community, his faith-rooted family, his role as a safe space for other LGBTQ students, and then walk step by step through the investigation that followed his disappearance. From digital evidence and surveillance footage to a rare no-body prosecution, this case exposes how secrecy, fear, and silence can turn deadly.

This episode also confronts a larger truth: how members of the LGBTQ community often suffer in silence, how justice is delayed when voices are ignored, and why no story deserves to be buried-no- matter who the victim loved or how they lived.

Jay Lee’s name matters. His life mattered. And at Cigar & A Crime, no one gets left out.

Because in the Lounge of Truth…
The smoke never lies.

🔎 Listener Discretion Advised: This episode discusses violence and themes that may be distressing.

📢 Join the Conversation:
Subscribe, share this episode, and help us keep Jay Lee’s name alive.

A young woman did everything we tell people to do when they feel unsafe.
She documented the warning signs.
She reported the danger.
She asked for help.

But when 23-year-old nursing student Elizabeth Tamilore “Tami” Odunsi reached out for protection, the systems around her responded with delays, cancellations, and silence- until it was too late.

In this episode, Dr. Dee takes you inside the final days of a promising Texas Woman’s University student whose life was defined by hope, ambition, and a commitment to caring for others. Known online as “Tami Dollars,” she built a community of nursing students and young professionals who saw themselves in her journey. But behind her smile and study tips, she was living with fear that went unaddressed.

When police arrived at her Houston apartment for a welfare check, they walked into a scene no family should ever face. What happened inside that home- and what happened in the weeks leading up to it- reveals a devastating truth about ignored reports, lax screening procedures, and a housing system that placed her in harm’s way.

This episode explores:

• Tami’s journey from London to Houston
• The escalating warning signs she reported
• The roommate she never should have been matched with
• The failures that left her unprotected
• The legal aftermath and her family’s fight for accountability
• The deeper question: Why wasn’t her fear treated as enough?

Tami’s story isn’t just a case- it’s a call to reexamine how institutions respond when young women say, “I don’t feel safe.”

Light your cigar or take a quiet seat in the Lounge of Truth, and join us as we honor her life, confront the failures that allowed this tragedy, and remind the world why…

The Smoke Never Lies.