Murder on Elm Street. Plus, Affirmative Action & Britney Spears

In this episode we delve into the chilling real-life Byron Smith murder case with author and retired law enforcement officer, Jeremy L. Luberts discussing his book Murder on Elm Street. We also tackle the controversy around Logan Paul's energy drink, the Supreme Court's decision on Affirmative Action, and the 'Britney Spears slap'. Tune in for these hot topics and more on our podcast. Connect with Jeremy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/authorjeremyluberts. Visit www.PODZNetwork.com for more episodes.

Transcript

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Announcer: [00:00:00] 

Nio Nyx: Hey, welcome to truth, lies, shenanigans, podcast, social commentary, hot topics, amazing guests with a ton of fun and shenanigans along the way. Today, we've got Jeremy L. Luberts, law enforcement veteran author, and he's diving deep into the chilling Byron Smith murder case. It's changed his life forever should be interesting.

Then we've got some [00:01:00] hot topics. Logan Paul's energy drink prime is under fire from Congress. Then the Supreme Court kills affirmative action. It's about diversity or race based favoritism and Britney Spears is slapped in the face Hey toon, cuz about to get eat it It was your first time tuning in to our new time Wednesday 8 p.

m. Eastern You can watch us live on YouTube Facebook twitch TV and truth line shenanigans comm But we'll be checking your comments on YouTube and Facebook. Just search at TLS live show Also, look for our official audio podcast on Fridays on Apple Podcasts, PODZ, P O D Z Network dot com or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Let me introduce you to my fun co host. First up today, we have our nature lover, gamer, rock star coming to you from Ontario, Canada, [00:02:00] Robby Rock. 

Announcer: What's up, my friends? 

RobB: Hey, happy Huck Day. What a great week off. I was actually on holidays last week with Joe. And it was just gorgeous. We had a nice little heat wave.

So the present that the sun was present most of the week. And so we got to enjoy the pool and getting on the lake. Joe and I also celebrated our 7 year anniversary. Congratulations! 

Nio Nyx: 7 years! 

Announcer: It's amazing. 

RobB: And we opted not to share any of it on our socials because it's our day. 

Announcer: Not for the 

Nio Nyx: internet. Yeah, because I had no idea.

I mean, normallyI keep up with your socials, so I 

Announcer: had no idea. But congratulations. Thank you. It's been absolutely 

RobB: wonderful. Yeah, it was my daughter's birthday last week. Also. We had our nieces over for a sleepover. I worked in the yard. The garden life is good. 

Nio Nyx: You guys are a fantastic couple.

So that's really, really 

Announcer: awesome. Yeah, that is exciting. [00:03:00] All right. Very nice. All 

Nio Nyx: right. Next up, our college student model business owner streaming from Atlanta, Georgia, Gianni 

Announcer: Storm. Hey everybody. I missed you so much, but I did also have a good little break. I didn't really do much for my birthday as you guys know, it was on the 7th.

I just kind of went to brunch. I went to the movies. I was just soaking in the fact that I'm alive and just kind of being grateful. Well, we're glad you're alive. Yeah. Yes. We're grateful for that. Yeah. Me too. So I was just, just reflecting kind of just like, you know how when you get in your twenties and you're hitting 30 soon, and then it's like a whole life shift about to happen and you want to accomplish certain goals.

So I'm there, I'm in that like midlife crisis. Thanks. So, oh, I'm trying to get prices at 

Nio Nyx: 27, 28, 20, 28, right? 

Announcer: 28. Yes. [00:04:00] Okay. It happens. You're reaching a 

RobB: crossroads. I will. You're reading. I'll give you 

Announcer: that a midlife crisis happens in your 40s. 

Nio Nyx: I mean, when are you planning to die?

Please don't go 

Announcer: that early. No, no. It's just. It's a lot, but, um, I've had a really good birthday and I had a really good break. So, 

Nio Nyx: Oh, yeah, we'll say happy birthday 

Announcer: again,

since we're back after your birthday, 

Nio Nyx: we said happy birthday before you're back now is after you all right, 

RobB: like bookends. 

Nio Nyx: And I am, of course, your host, Neo 

Announcer: mix. All right. I know we 

Nio Nyx: talk about AI all the time, but. My niece, Simone, she stayed over with us this weekend and she's yeah, she's about to go and be a senior in high school.

And I was asking her how [00:05:00] her school is dealing with a I, like, she said, of course, all her friends are using but then she said, Um, at one point, one of her teachers told their class that they had a faculty meeting about chat and he thought they were going to be like, coming up with ways to combat it, like, to stop it and instead, just like we had talked about.

They told the teachers to start creating assignments that use chat. So, he ended up asking the students to come up with an interesting use. Exactly. He asked them to come up with interesting use for chat and then to analyze the results. And then Simone, she's got this. Crazy infatuation with Harriet Tubman for some reason.

She ended up asking Chat GPT to create a rap song as if Harriet 

Announcer: Tubman wrote it. Oh my goodness That's so 

Nio Nyx: wonderful. Yeah, she got like that. She said she got an A, her teacher was impressed and everything. So it was [00:06:00] But you know, they're changing, if you think about it like our generation it was Google, right?

You know, when Google hit and they were talking about, Oh, people are going to use Google to cheat because now you don't need encyclopedias anymore. And you don't need to go to the library to look stuff up. 

Announcer: yeah, we just got, 

Nio Nyx: we just got to adjust. Yeah. Old people want to stick to the old stuff.

Announcer: And GBT is so useful. I'm old . It's Chad. GBT is classic though, 

Nio Nyx: is basically the 

RobB: future. It's a It's a new tool. Yeah. It's a new tool that we need to learn how to use responsibly, 

Announcer: even a engine. 

Nio Nyx: That's fair. You say responsibly 

RobB: because even a search engine, if use improperly can lead people down the wrong garden path.

True. 

Announcer: Fair enough. Yeah, that's true. Fair enough. 

Nio Nyx: All right. I was getting to the show. We've got a fantastic guest for you today. So let's go ahead and bring him 

Announcer: in.[00:07:00] 

All right. 

Nio Nyx: Today we are thrilled to welcome Jeremy Lubberts, a second generation law enforcement officer who spent nearly three decades with the Morrison County Sheriff's office. He's here to share his experiences and insights. From his new book about the Byron Smith murder case. Welcome. Welcome, Jeremy.

Thank you guys. Thank you for having me on the show. Thank you. Thanks for coming. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right. First question I have to ask. Can you tell us something the world cannot find out if they were looking on Google right this minute, that they can't find out about you.

I 

Jeremy Luberts: have an identical twin brother. His name is Jamie. And 

Announcer: yeah, 

Jeremy Luberts: Throughout the years we were, we were involved in a twin study with university of Minnesota. 

Announcer: Sweet. 

Nio Nyx: Wow. So a twin study. So what did that entail? [00:08:00] 

Jeremy Luberts: Well, some of the tests were, uh, weird. I mean, at least I thought they were that.

So when I did, my brother and I, we were called down to the university. They wanted to do a test and they had these, they look like shower caps with electrical probes all 

Announcer: over the top of it. No, they squirt. like in the movie 

Jeremy Luberts: clear jelly in there and then they take it and then they put it on your head.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. and then they sit you down in this dark room in front of this TV monitor my, and then they show you pictures. My, yeah. And so they're flashing pictures of things. You see a nice scene, you know, I suppose they're looking for brain activity, you know, to see your brain's thinking or taking in.

I see a nice scene. Yeah. See a uh, I see a dog, I see a cat, you know, or I see a wilderness, something like that. Then all of a sudden I see a bad accident scene where somebody's killed or something like that. That never bothered me. Being a deputy, I see that stuff all the time, you know? Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Then all of a sudden, yeah.

More nice scenes and then a flash picture of a naked girl. [00:09:00] Whoa. 

Announcer: No, I have to admit that kind of caught that caught 

RobB: my attention. 

Nio Nyx: Question is going to catch a brother's attention too. So 

Jeremy Luberts: it might've been a spike in brain activity at 

Announcer: that part. Maybe

that's 

That's a rare thing. 

Jeremy Luberts: That's so 

Announcer: unique. Yeah, that is rare. 

Jeremy Luberts: The intriguing thing about my brother and I is, tight, so close, we're like connected at the hip. I kid you not. We always have in our whole life. uh, after graduating high school, we both went to college together, to the same school for law enforcement. we both worked at the same department together. The only identical twins that ever worked for my 

Announcer: department. Wow. 

RobB: Yeah, because the twins I've known tend to, if their personalities take them along different career paths, that they're yearning to work with their twin. So the fact that you guys are in the same thing is so cool.

Jeremy Luberts: We both bought houses next to each other. We've lived next to each other. Oh, [00:10:00] yeah, our wives hated it. I don't know why, you know, I mean, we loved it. Jamie and I loved it, but our wives hated it. They didn't want to live next to each other. It's like, oh, my God. 

Announcer: Oh, man. Aw. That's a dream though. like if I've ever had a twin I would want to like dress exactly like them.

Oh good Parents and family 

Jeremy Luberts: members made us do that our whole lives going up dress alike. They thought oh, it's so cute You know in that It's cute 

RobB: for everyone else. It's cute when a family dresses their children in sailor outfits. But when they all come in together, and they look like a little navy team, and you're like, no.

It's the Untracked Family. Come 

Jeremy Luberts: on, what happened? Using the hell out of people is what we did. 

Announcer: Yeah, that's my favorite 

Jeremy Luberts: part of all the time. 

RobB: Yeah, exactly. 

I went to high school with a set of identical twins and we, went to Catholic high school with a dress code, so they would wear the [00:11:00] same shirt, the same tie on exam days and they each had their specialty. Oh, yeah, they would write exams for one another. 

Jeremy Luberts: Oh, nice.

Announcer: Okay. That's clever. That's clever. We were on to it. It 

Jeremy Luberts: a lot of things you can do when you got a clone walking around. That's 

RobB: my God. way you can mess with people. 

Announcer: Yeah, and then the whole twin telepathy thing. Okay. there 

Jeremy Luberts: is truth to that, by the way. I can see that are my brother and I have experienced it are close bond. We can almost pick up on each other's thoughts.

Oh my goodness. We pick up on each other's feelings. I felt his pain. he spelled mine and there is, yes, there is truth to it. 

Announcer: Very interesting. 

Nio Nyx: So you were born and raised in Little Falls, small town in central Minnesota. How did growing up in a small town shape your perspective on, like, law enforcement? How did it influence your decision to follow in your father's footsteps? Because you said you were second 

Announcer: generation.

Sweet. I am. 

Jeremy Luberts: And actually, I'm following in my, uncle's footsteps. My, uh, uncle, was the sheriff [00:12:00] of Morrison County, where I work and live. Oh, wow. Wow. For years. Yep. For years. When I was a kid, so, and I followed in his footsteps, older, my uncles, he was an investigator also, and I became the lead investigator of my department, Morris County Sheriff's Office, and was the lead investigator for 12 years.

Oh, wow. Wow. Wow. 

Nio Nyx: So what's it like being in a small town like that? you know, I live in Washington, D. C. area. I mean, I've gone through small towns, but what, what is it like? That's 

Jeremy Luberts: awesome. Really? I mean, they say in a small town, everybody knows everybody, you know? So, um, I 

Announcer: mean, It was better for like, yeah, it is 

Jeremy Luberts: true.

It is. you know, a lot of people because there isn't hundreds of thousands of people in one area. We have 35, 000 people that roughly live in my county in Morrison County. And then our biggest city is little falls and you got 8, 300 people living in the fall.

So yeah, it's a pretty, it's a pretty [00:13:00] rural area. but a big area to cover and it's, you know, a lot of woods, a lot of farmland. 

 and, uh, I tell you, I every time I have to go to a big cities and it's 

Announcer: stressful. You don't like it, right? No, 

Jeremy Luberts: I don't because I was born and raised in a rural area.

Announcer: So I like the, that's your comfort. Yes, it is. It's my 

Jeremy Luberts: comfort zone. 

Announcer: Absolutely. 

RobB: So, are you anywhere near any water where you are? Oh, it's Minnesota. 

Jeremy Luberts: I mean, we're the land of 10, 000 lakes. Of course. I'm okay. There's water everywhere. 

RobB: Nice. Do you enjoy any waters? 

Jeremy Luberts: Oh, yes. Gosh. I grew up water skiing and, uh.

Fishing, boating, you name it. Oh, yeah. Okay. It's in fact Years ago when I first started, I worked with the water patrol division. Oh, I love that. That was a, that was a blast. 

Announcer: Oh, sweet. No doubt. Very cool. Well, in my job is [00:14:00] I would visit Minnesota. We do 

Jeremy Luberts: every Oh yeah. Yeah, you should. It's beautiful area. Um, 

Announcer: yeah.

Beautiful. And I would go camping. 

Jeremy Luberts: Oh gosh. The camping up here is amazing, especially the headwaters of the Mississippi. The Mississippi starts here in Minnesota. You know that. Right. And they call it, yeah, it does. The Mississippi river starts here in Minnesota and, uh, they call it the headwaters and it's really neat.

 and they have awesome camping in that area. 

Announcer: So, how 

RobB: far are you from the, like, the next big city?

Oh, yeah, you said you're about an hour out of Minnesota. 

Jeremy Luberts: 30 minutes, actually 30 minutes because, uh, St. Cloud is the next biggest city, excuse me, and that's, we're directly between St. Cloud and Brainerd.

Brainerd's to the north about 30 miles and, uh, St. Cloud's to the south about 30 miles. We're right in between. 

we have a pretty big county. We have a lot of area to cover

and being a deputy, we, we work every single aspect of law [00:15:00] enforcement career job. And that included, I did everything I did water patrol, snowmobile patrol. And I became the lead investigator and then we were, also deputy corners, so we handled every death that happened to the company.

I was going to ask 

RobB: if you did forensics. Oh, my goodness. 

Jeremy Luberts: Oh, absolutely. I did tons of forensic work. 

RobB: Yeah. Okay. my former father in law, was an officer, did forensics work, in, Nor a region mostly. Okay. Yeah, Carmen McCann, a wonderful guy and, he'd been on one of the crime shows because early on in his career, he did a lot of camera work and they would give him these new cameras all the time.

And they really want to use, and they were working a crime scene where. the only evidence that was left was. The suspect had fled the home after entering and. Had stepped on a tomato. So left a shoe in a tomato. So he pictures of it. Very good pictures of it. I set it up. And then he's like, how am I going to preserve this [00:16:00] preserve this?

And he put it 

Jeremy Luberts: in shoe prints than I did. Any other piece of evidence? I kid you not really. Wow. 

Announcer: The fact that they got a 

RobB: partial tomato and he just got that. 

Jeremy Luberts: That was before the game of DNA testing too. when I started working as a deputy, cell phones weren't even out yet. There were no cell and computers weren't the thing in the office either.

Yeah, so I was around quite a while. That was back in, uh, 95, 1995 when it started. it was a great thing when cell phones finally came around. we didn't have to drive to the office or hit a pay phone. Yeah, yeah, exactly. 

Announcer: When did cell phones, when did cell phones start being a thing?

I was born in 95. He's making it seem like it was so long ago. So they started being a 

Nio Nyx: thing. 

RobB: You were born, 

Jeremy Luberts: you were born with phones, 

progress, you know how things progressed, you know, my first squad car had these rotating squad car lights on the [00:17:00] top that were so loud.

You know, they weren't even halogen lights, they were just regular lights. They were, they were dim, dull, stupid, you know, and uh, and then they finally progressed to the halogen lights, which were brighter. And then to the L e D lights, which were flashing, you know? So it was, uh, yeah. And then computers, eventually computers in the squad card.

Well, before that everything was handwritten. Wow. All tickets handwritten, you know, 

Announcer: paperwork was love that handwritten, 

Jeremy Luberts: you know. Oh, I 

Announcer: hated that. The old snatch. 

Jeremy Luberts: Yeah, you youngins, you grew up in the age of cell phones and computers, so you knew everything. We, I had to learn it all. We had to learn it all. 

Nio Nyx: I assume small towns like that don't often get. Major murder cases, and that's what your book is about.

Byron Smith case, like, it involves a retired homeowner who sets a trap for burglars resulting in the death of two teenagers, right? And it started up like this national debate over this. [00:18:00] Castle doctrine law, but can you share how it impacted you personally? You know, tell us a little bit about the story and what it was like.

Getting a case like this in such a small town. 

Jeremy Luberts: Uh, yeah, I mean, I've investigated multiple different, murder cases, but nothing like this. so it's something that just doesn't happen in our area. happened in, November of 2012. I got called to it in the lead investigator. It was in the county, just out of the city limits.

and it was a case that, two teenagers, he had 17 year old Nicholas Brady and his cousin, 18 year old Haley Kiefer, that broke into Byron Smith's home. Byron was retired and, what happened was Byron had been broken in before, back in October. My identical twin brother, Deputy Jamie Lubbers, worked for the same department as I do, actually took that call and investigated that burglary case.

Well, maybe in one of the lead investigators at the department, Jamie told me about the case and we were trying to [00:19:00] develop a suspect in the case. We haven't developed one yet. Well, Byron, in the meantime, was really upset. he was kind of a recluse, lived alone in his home that he grew up in, had lived there for a little while with his mom.

His mom passed away and then he, of course, was living there by himself, never married. And, what I found out with Byron is he had a hard time with anybody ever, he felt that if anybody ever ganged up on him or picked on him or something like that, he was, he was revengeful. He wanted to get his revenge.

And that's what happened in this case. So, he had set a trap to catch on Thanksgiving Day, November 2012. He set a trap, tried to catch who was ever breaking into his house. How did he set this trap? And I had to discover this. He parked his vehicle away, a quarter mile away from, or excuse me, a block away from his house on a dead end cul de sac.

And then he walked back to his house. He had,he had a chair set up downstairs in his basement at the bottom of the steps. There were bookshelves. And in between he had this chair, so nobody could see him. And he sat there with a [00:20:00] bottle of water, energy bars and a book. He was sitting there waiting to see if anybody broke in.

He removed the light bulbs from, the light from the light fixture so that nobody could see him sitting in this chair. The only way somebody would see him is if they walked down the steps. So what happened then when,Nick came along and actually did break into his house. He was walking down the stairs.

Byron shot him. Nick tumbled to the bottom of the steps. He's hurt, he's wounded. Nick did not have any weapons on him. He was looking to, you know, burglarize Byron's house. take what he could, steal what he could. And, but Byron, because this happened before, he was mad, he wanted his revenge on this.

He shot the guy wounded at the bottom of the steps, didn't have a weapon. at that point, Byron could have called law enforcement and reported this for help. Right? He doesn't. What he does is he goes up and he executes him. He shoots Nick 

RobB: again in the head killing him. Well, he had a tarp nearby. 

Jeremy Luberts: This is a story that Byron's [00:21:00] told me after I made contact with, so Byron told you this?

Yeah. Yeah. I got a full confession from him. and that is hard to do. Wow. And in any case, because of the way I treated him from the very beginning, anytime I deal with somebody, I kill him with kindness. And I treat everybody I do with kindness, understanding, and respect. We have always treated anybody in my career.

Yes. And it pays off in the end. I like to kill people with kindness because that's the way I would want to be treated if I was in their shoes. So I always give people that respect and it's always came back to pay me back in full. How? How? Because even when people I've arrested would get outta jail or prison or anything like that, they'd see me.

what about grocery shopping? They'd come up. They'd make it a point to come up and talk to me. And tell me how they're turning their life around. I tell you, I loved hearing that. It was a great, thing to hear because that was, that's my passion in life was to help people. That's what I love to do.

That's why I became a cop to begin with. So, uh, getting back to the case. [00:22:00] So, then Byron,after he shoots and kills, Nick, he wraps him in a body in a tarp, drags him off to this back office, room that he has in the basement. 11 minutes later, his cousin comes walking, comes into the house.

She's looking for Nick. She was with him and she's, she walks to the top there. she's calling for Nick and, but, there's no answer. She walks down the stairs and Byron shoots her. He falls. She's laying there wounded. Byron goes to finish her off and the gun jams. There's a click and the gun jam. Wow.

And he goes, I want her dead. So he takes, he had a revolver at his side. He pulls the gun out and shoots her multiple times in the chest and in the face. He actually shot her in the eye. Oh my goodness. He takes her body, drags her back and puts her body next to Nicks in his back office room of the car.

The reason he did that, cuz he told me, is he didn't want any [00:23:00] blood. He didn't want all this blood soaked into his carpet at the bottom of his desk. That's why he did that. That's why he wrapped the body with part of that movement. Yeah. And then, but Haley's still breathing. She's still alive, he tells me.

RobB: So, he tells me I can't 

Jeremy Luberts: stand to see any animals or humans suffer. So, he puts the gun underneath her chin and he goes, I gave her a good clean finishing shot and kills her. Issues are off. I got that information from him in his state. 

Announcer: Well, and 

RobB: yeah, and one 

Jeremy Luberts: of the biggest pieces of evidence we found in this case.

This is something he did not disclose. So, Byron worked for the Department of Homeland Security,really putting security systems in embassies. He did this a lot overseas, 

Announcer: Wow. Yeah, so 

Jeremy Luberts: He had surveillance cameras set up at his house, four cameras, but they were all outside.

He had nothing inside, but we got good evidence from them. It was very revealing. You could see what Byron did moving, parking his truck away from his house, and you can see the kids. [00:24:00] Walking up to the house and incidentally, it only took an hour when he was setting his trap He parked his truck way and walked back.

It only took an hour 

Announcer: until 

Nio Nyx: It was no these kids 

Jeremy Luberts: before right he knew Nick he didn't know Haley but he knew Nick Okay, Nick had done lawn work for him. Okay. He had actually done some lawn cleaning and stuff like this house Well, see that's how Nick knew about how to 

Announcer: Break into Byron's place and gave him 

Jeremy Luberts: ideas for what 

RobB: he 

Jeremy Luberts: had in the house.

Oh, yeah. Sneaky. So I ended up arresting Byron in this case. He was charged for two counts of first degree murder. Ultimately there was a trial and during this trial, of course the Castle Doctrine blockade came into play. The news media hyped up the Castle Doctrine like you wouldn't believe. And what that did is it caused people I got, I had half my community grateful for the job I did and the other half mad at me because they thought Byron was innocent, [00:25:00] that he had the right.

To shoot and kill these people because they broke 

Nio Nyx: into his house. Can you quickly explain the Castle Doctrine and what that is? 

Jeremy Luberts: Well, the Castle Doctrine is, very similar to like a stand your ground type law. Minnesota does not have the Castle Doctrine law, but they have, adopted the same principle.

So, What the castle doctor law basically is, is that people are the king of their castle, right? You have the right to defend yourself in your home. And you have the right to use deadly force. Which makes sense. Yes. With Minnesota law, they say,

 the amount of force used has to be reasonable. Yes. Thank you. And that makes sense to me. Yes. And this is where the trouble came in with what Byron did, the amount of force he used was not 

Announcer: reasonable because of the fact that 

Jeremy Luberts: I was able to prove he set up.

Premeditated. It was all premeditated. It was the holy grail piece of evidence. Was a digital [00:26:00] recorder he had sitting in a bookshelf above his reading chair that he didn't tell us about. But I found it during the search warrant and it covered, it copied everything You can hear the whole incident, the shooting.

Uh, oh my goodness. You didn't hear the break-in. You can hear. And I was monologuing before the break-in. 

Nio Nyx: He was talking about. Yeah, 

RobB: he was talking about calling his brother 

Jeremy Luberts: and saying, Hey, something happened here. I need you to come here, park away from the residence, walk to the house this way. Then he was talking about practicing 

RobB: calling an attorney.

Jeremy Luberts: Yeah, I need, I'm looking for an attorney. I need help with something. Well, then you hear the break in and that happened. And then of course the shooting and everything. He told me in his statement that I took from him. This was really interesting. He said that when Haley was laying wounded at the bottom of the stairs and I went to shoot her and my gun jammed, she laughed at me.

Well, that was a red button for me. He goes, And he goes, I just took my gun and shot her and shot her. When you listen to the actual audio, [00:27:00] she didn't laugh. There's no 

Nio Nyx: laughing. she's in pain 

Jeremy Luberts: and she's pleading with him. She's saying, oh my God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That's what she's saying. And he tells me she's laughing at him.

And it's, yeah,This case, also because of the Castle Doctrine law, made people, especially, gun rights owners, permit to carry holders, with firearms, made them very upset because everybody thought that law enforcement or the government was trying to take away people's rights to carry firearms or to possess them.

And that is not the case in this matter at all. People wanted to make it about that. What this case was about was one bad decision by one person, one individual person, Byron Smith. It was the evil choice that he made. It's not about taking people's guns away from them or owning and possessing or carrying nothing to do with that.

I personally believe that people should have the right to own guns and carry guns as long as it's all done legal. 

Nio Nyx: [00:28:00] So there's some comments online real quick that I want to kind of get in here. We've got from Jacqueline Robinson wait, I just saw this

on dateline. 

Jeremy Luberts: I was on dateline and I was also on crime watch daily regarding this show. 

Nio Nyx: Oh, wow. That's awesome. And this is another question similar to Next question. I was going to ask, you mentioned in your bio that, you know, the Smith case forever altered your life.

Can you share more about that? And Olivia asked, how do you decompress, get this out of your mind and spirit, 

Jeremy Luberts: Was it Olivia? You said? Yes. Yeah. Very good question. The answer is you never can get this out of your mind. I will live with this for the rest of my life.

seeing those mutilated teens, riddled with holes, shot up in Byron's basement, I will never forget. It'll be with you for the rest of your life. How I deal with this stuff is my fate. I have a strong faith. I believe in God and Jesus Christ. It's my faith that gets me by. And I also have a [00:29:00] very positive outlook in life.

 I always strive to be a good person and that's what gets me by and always has and always will. 

Nio Nyx: Yeah. I've got another comment from Tracy Gor. She says, I'm Canadian, strongly against people owning guns for this exact reason. 

RobB: man.

Everyone's just touching base on the questions that I've prepared. you're so eloquent, Jeremy. Thank you so much for. Being so open and transparent of your story and your journey now, I'm very curious what you would like for people to learn from your book, not so much in the context of learning about the case, but more along the vein of how we should function.

Nio Nyx: As a society, and on top of that, I'd like to know what makes your book different than say, for example, just reading about the new stories online. What would make what makes your book different? Right. 

Jeremy Luberts: Um, the biggest thing about mine is I go into complete detail of the investigation into this case, [00:30:00] and it outlines everything.

I even have the three individual statements I took from Byron Smith are outlined in my book, the reader will be able to actually read through and put their self in my shoes. To see what Byron was actually telling me in person. Yes. And then I also have, actual, stuff in there from the grand jury.

I have, questions that were asked to me from the grand jury members and you'd be able to see all that. And then also, I go into details too of what law enforcement officers do during these investigations and why we do it. I explained the process and It'll be very interesting to the reader to learn, during their interviews, I interviewed juveniles during this case. Well, some people think that we can't walk 

Nio Nyx: like friends. 

Jeremy Luberts: Yes, that's exactly right. Okay. So some people think that we can't interview juveniles without the parents present or the parents consent, right?

You hear that a lot. I hear a lot. Well, that's absolutely not true. We can interview juveniles, at least in Minnesota [00:31:00] weekend. Uh, without parents consent. Why is that? Because sometimes The parents are the suspects in the matter. So why am I going to go to the suspect to try to get consent to speak, you know, with the juvenile when they're the victim or vice versa, or the suspect?

Exactly. Yeah. Um, but I always, we always use the Miranda warning when we talk with anybody. Miranda warning became a big issue in this case if I had to fail to ever give somebody their legal rights, the case could have been thrown out.

But I was very adamant and very good about, making sure Byron knew his rights the whole time he talked to me. In fact, I took three separate statements from him. And the third statement I took from him, he had talked to his attorney while in jail. And I still, because of the way I treated him, like I told you before, I treat everybody with kindness and respect.

Because of that, I was able to build up a, a great rapport with him to get beyond the Miranda warning so I could talk to him and get it what I needed. 

Nio Nyx: Oh, okay. Nice. There's 

Jeremy Luberts: a, there's a, there's an art form to, interviewing people. Yeah. It's a learned art form that [00:32:00] investigators get. Oh yeah. Yeah.

real quick, how this case affected my life? because half the community thought that Byron was innocent and thought that he was guilty. They started a coalition of Byron Smith coalition, to raise funds for his defense.

 Well, that group, a lot of times when they get done with their meeting. There would be a parade of cars past my residence, my brother's residence. Now, my wife was, I was married at the time. My wife was getting harassed because of, I was the arresting officer in the case.

After the case was done, two years later in 2000, April of 2014, Byron was convicted for two counts of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The harassment continued even on after that, even after he was convicted because they were, The coalition was still trying to raise money for his defense, for his appeal.

My wife, can you imagine what a wife would have to go through with all this harassment going on? She was getting harassed constantly too. It was creepy. We had people driving [00:33:00] by our house all the time. She couldn't take it anymore. Being the an investigator. she had no idea what it was gonna be like three months after the trial was done, I ended up getting divorced.

Oh, no. No. Cause she just couldn't handle the stress anymore. And I couldn't, I don't blame her. I couldn't blame her. I mean, I felt so sorry for my wife and I signed on for that. 

Nio Nyx: You know, that's the career. Yeah. As a police officer, that's what I 

Jeremy Luberts: chose to do, is my career. But she didn't, she didn't sign on for that and she just, I, she couldn't take it anymore.

at the end, Nick and Haley lost their life. They were shot and killed, they lost their lives. Byron lost his freedom, and I lost my family. That's how this case affected me.

Nio Nyx: Sorry, Jeremy. Oh, Jeremy. 

Gianni Storm: Thank you for being so honest. Yeah.

Now that,now that you're retired, what kind of prompted you to want to share your knowledge Besides the fact that impacted your entire life. what prompted you to want to [00:34:00] share the knowledge and experience? 

Jeremy Luberts: Thank you for asking.

That is an excellent question. the reason I want people to know about this, the reason I wrote the book and I started this book at back in 2014, I just completed it. this year, because I took my time on it. Yeah. Yes. And it's the reason why I finally finished it. It's therapeutic. It's I want to get the message out to people.

It is. It's, it's therapeutic that I can talk about it to help. It's helping me heal by getting the word out. And I want people to know the truth. Because there were a lot of false things people were saying too about this case. And there's a lot of people that still think Byron was innocent. And, you know, people can have their opinions.

I, I'm good with that. But at least listen, hear the whole story. And my book will tell you the whole story and all the facts. And then make your opinion. And whatever it is, so be it. But you'll see why I did what I did. People blame me in this case because I'm the one that was the lead [00:35:00] investigator.

It's not fair. And that's what I want people to know. Don't blame me. How can you blame me? I'm not. I wasn't on the jury, right? I 

Nio Nyx: wasn't on the 12th in panel three. I 

RobB: was not 

Jeremy Luberts: one of the jury members sitting on that case. to convict him. That wasn't me. I was not a judge who sentenced him to life in prison for the rest of his life.

I wasn't that judge. I wasn't the prosecuting attorney who charged Byron. I was the fact gatherer in the case. That was my job. So why are people blaming me? 

Nio Nyx: Jacqueline Robinson says, I remember how shocked Byron supporters were. I'm curious. Do you think that, he was justified in protecting his home?

Obviously not with the level of violence that he chose, but do you think he was justified in protecting his home from these intruders? 

Jeremy Luberts: Yes, I absolutely think he was justified in protecting his home. in my opinion, Byron had every right to [00:36:00] shoot these teenagers that broke into his house. He had the right to do that.

By law, he had the right to do that. Where he took it too far is you do not have the right to execute people. he shot Nick. he's wounded at the bottom of the stairs clearly is no longer a threat by a Minnesota law. This is what I believe He should have rendered aid and called law enforcement immediately.

 He never called us. He sat on the bodies for 24 hours. How we found out about this the next day after it happened was that he called his neighbor, his friend, William Anderson, asking for him to help him find an attorney. Byron never called law enforcement.

William Anderson, his neighbor, called him. So 

Nio Nyx: who was the first person on the scene? Was that you? 

Jeremy Luberts: I was the first person on the scene. I'm the one that made contact with Byron, investigated the whole matter, found the bodies in the basement, and did the statements for the whole investigation. 

Wow. One thing I wanna point out, I dedicated my book to Washington County [00:37:00] attorney Pete Orpi, a wonderful man, Pete Orpi came and prosecuted this case for Morrison County because the Attorney General's office refused to help us on the case. And why? Because we feel that it was, because it was too political, because of the castle doctor in law.

It didn't wanna get involved at the time. That's what we felt. And so Washington County Attorney Pete Orpitz stepped up and came in to assist us and he was a wonderful attorney and just a great guy. He passed away now, but he set his life aside to come and help the residents of Morrison County. And I am forever grateful.

Nio Nyx: Just a wonderful man. I gotta say, The book sounds extremely interesting, especially from your perspective, because your perspective is a unique 1 being the 1st on the scene in the 1 who did all the investigations. I mean, I'm really looking forward to reading that book and taking your.

your route to that perspective. 

RobB: Yeah, 

Jeremy Luberts: I hope everybody enjoys it. my intent was to put people in my [00:38:00] shoes. see what I had to go through and see what I've been through and, get a feel for what it's like to be a law enforcement officer sometimes out there.

It's. it's hard. You know, the movies, TV loves to portray investigators in particular as being this cool job, you know, and everything and it's all fun and games and not everybody understands the impact such a case can have an officer's life.

And they're going to learn reading my book, what it was actually. The impact it can have on law 

RobB: enforcement. Yeah, I just, I have to commend you on maintaining such a positive. Compassion loving attitude. It's a. It's truly remarkable. It's a testament to your character. Thank you. Thank you 

Jeremy Luberts: guys. I really appreciate that comment.

It's my faith in God that that does it for me. It really is guys. 

Nio Nyx: All right. So that's all the time we have. I appreciate your candor with us, and sharing your story. Please let people know where they can find you and find your book and give us any final words or thoughts that you might have.

[00:39:00] Sure. So 

Jeremy Luberts: my book will be coming out on Amazon in September of two of this year, 2023 September. And I, you can also find me on my Facebook page. all you have to do is type in a murder on Elm street. A true life story and otherwise you can email me at murder on elm street at gmail. com 

Nio Nyx: for any questions.

And you'll find that link in our description. So go ahead and check out Jeremy. Well, thank you again, Jeremy, for joining us. We really do appreciate you. It's a fantastic story. And your story is fantastic. I mean, it's so interesting. and I do feel for you and all you've been through with this case.

Oh, thank 

Jeremy Luberts: you guys. I really appreciate you. 

Nio Nyx: Thank you so much. Bye. Bye.

Wow. What a story, man. There are remarkable people. We've 

Gianni Storm: never had this type of a guest on the show before. That's, that's insane. Yeah. He's an investigator and he was it was something 

Nio Nyx: else. [00:40:00] Yeah, yeah, very deep story. I mean, I can't imagine him and what he went through. I mean, showing up on the scene, seeing those 2 young people.

 I don't know. I just can't even imagine it. So it was great to hear that story. Great to hear his story. Absolutely. All right, let's get into some of these hot topics. Gianni, you're up first. Your girl, Brittany, she claims she got slapped by security. What happened? 

Gianni Storm: This is crazy. No, but to lighten things up a bit.

So recently this weird incident took place, a basketball player. from the Spurs. Victor, Wembenyama, he went to a Vegas restaurant when Britney Spears using a British accent. tried to go up and get a picture and she came up and actually grabbed him from behind. That's when his security guard backhands Brittany in the face hard enough that her glasses actually fall off.

So some say Brittany shouldn't have swarmed Victor [00:41:00] since she's a celebrity. She knows that security is trained to protect. Brittany disagrees. And a part of her statement afterward was I think it's important to share this story and to urge people in the public eye to set an example and treat basically everybody with respect.

But despite this embarrassing situation, Brittany did file a police report, but no charges. My question to you guys, if you were Brittany, would you press 

Nio Nyx: charges? Would I press charges? Let me, let me start off our beat. So, so what Britney Spears got slapped right now looking at the video. First of all, looking at the video.

She definitely tapped Victor on the shoulder. Right? And it wasn't a grab like Victor had claimed. He claimed that she grabbed him, but. Now, the video was at a really bad angle. It's not clear if the security guard just kind of, you know, tried to wave her away or actually hit her in the face. I don't know.

It was, it looked like he, [00:42:00] it almost sort of looked like he kind of hit her in the arm. Stop using an open hand. Like a paw. 

RobB: It was closed. The hand was closed, my friend. Oh, heck yes. It comes down across the shoulder. 

Nio Nyx: But to block him, it almost looked like Britney hit herself in the face, though. That's 

Gianni Storm: what people were saying.

Nio Nyx: Maybe, maybe protect herself. No, but I mean, yeah, because I think, I think he was just trying to, to kind of wave her away and then hit, it looked like she, she made, he made her hit herself in the face. Anyway, now that's why the video is important, but it was a little hard to see though. A little hard to see that.

Yeah. Now, if he did straight up slapper, I don't think that's okay. Cause you know, I don't think you should just be slapping people, Brittany or anyone else for that matter. A bit overkill, but, you know, if you think about a security's job to protect their client, any unexpected contact, could be seen as a threat.

So. He was really just doing his job. And, and like you mentioned, he's a celebrity. [00:43:00] She knows what it's like for people to run up on somebody, you know, security's going to have to do something about that. Somebody, you know, I think she was in, but no, I think she was in her Brittany bitch mode.

I think she was in she figured she could walk up. She's got that privilege. She could walk up and she could just tap him on the shoulder and then everybody realized, Oh, it's Britney. Huh? But think about it. Not have that privilege. What, what, what if the roles were reversed? Big ass seven foot black man Britney Spears.

What would security been doing? Hmm. I'm just saying 

Gianni Storm: he looks, we would know who he is. Ritney was using a fake accent, though. What the heck was that about? I 

Nio Nyx: don't think it makes sense either. She needs to stop whining. I'm saying she needs to stop whining. So, yeah, I don't know. 

Gianni Storm: Yeah. But would you press charges?

Oh, that's right. I 

Nio Nyx: forgot that was a question. Yes, would I press charges? Uh, I wouldn't press charges if I got slapped like that. No, because I think, and that's [00:44:00] the thing. I mean, she needs to start looking at it objectively and just realize that, She made a mistake running up on him like that.

I think press charges. Absolutely not too much. Okay. 

RobB: I couldn't agree more with Nio and it's it is Britney. She knows better than to sneak up on a celebrity and make physical contact. The security guard just saw a hand reach up her shoulder and his. Closed hand, not open, closed hand came down and the angle of the video, now that you mentioned it, maybe knocked her hand, but to me it looked like she got cold cocked, like right in the glasses and I giggled.

It was a firm. You 

Nio Nyx: giggled. I did because 

RobB: I love watching people do stupid things You laughing at

Nio Nyx: Britney Spears get hit in the face. Like I 

Gianni Storm: live for it. 

Nio Nyx: I'm laughing 

RobB: at anybody. I'm laughing at 

Nio Nyx: anybody. No. That's mean. Oh my god. So mean. That's so 

Gianni Storm: [00:45:00] mean. So mean. Rob, you probably laugh at when people like, fall or like. Yeah, he 

Nio Nyx: does. Oh, my God. Videos are 1 of my favorite.

Oh, no, doubt he does it. Absolutely, 

RobB: but. Let's be honest, Britney Spears, security detail. Has absolutely roughed up more than one thing. There's no question. It may not have been publicized. It may not have been blown up. But I promise you that a 40 year old creeper getting up on teenage Brittany may have gotten an elbow, may have gotten a shot in the gut.

Maybe a little nut cap to remind them, hey, you're a little close. You know, that kind of stuff. And as far as pressing charges, no. No. No. I mean, some kind of aggravated assault, that's the best that she could get to stick. But no, that was her own stupidity. She put herself in that line because she wanted to engage him, walk up and say, [00:46:00] excuse me.

Hi. Verbally. Hey, it's Britney. What? Oh my God. It's Britney Spears. Yeah. Hey, let's do this. 

Gianni Storm: Yeah. That's different. That's 

RobB: different. Don't touch him. It's very different. Yeah. She absolutely invaded that personal space and the security detail did exactly what they are paid to do. 

Nio Nyx: I real quick, great. Oh, great.

I got some comments online before we get your point. Yeah. Olivia says she said she was sworn by fans and her security did not lay a hand on anyone. I believe her, but she, she or her team tried to press charges. They didn't take the case. So I don't think it's up to us about charges. Also, Jacqueline Robinson says, poor Brittany, she meant well, but it all went south.

 I mean, I, 

Gianni Storm: I, like, oh, I do feel Brittany. I feel like. She meant well and she kind of Cuz I'm torn I feel like honestly Britney if you didn't use a British accent It wouldn't have been it wouldn't have [00:47:00] been weird because like Rob said if you would have went up there saying hey, it's Britney Spears It's Britney, bitch like anything Yeah, exactly but 

Nio Nyx: no, I mean

Gianni Storm: I think that, um, I was on Brittany's side, but then once we got into it, 

Nio Nyx: yeah,

Gianni Storm: I can't be on Brittany's side. She kind of makes no sense in that case, but initially I feel bad. 

Nio Nyx: So before we change your mind, what were you thinking? I mean, she 

Gianni Storm: did say treat everybody with respect, no matter if you're a fan. You know, no matter if you're a celebrity or fan. So it's true. Even if the security guard was made to guard, you shouldn't have had that much force because 

Nio Nyx: she's a civilian.

Now, if I will agree with you, if, if. [00:48:00] He took his hand and slapped the shit out of her like she claims Then I get it. I get it. Yeah, but I don't know it didn't look like that to me It didn't look like he was just trying to just cold cock her. So, I don't know. I'm not feeling it Her glasses 

Gianni Storm: fell off, so I don't know.

I would have been crying if that was me. 

Nio Nyx: Clearly it hurt. Because she reacted to it, so something happened. But 

Gianni Storm: yeah, it ended all of that. It ended all 

Nio Nyx: of it.

Anyway. Well, 

Gianni Storm: I don't think I would have pressed charges either. 

Nio Nyx: Okay. Okay. So you wouldn't press charges. No charges. Okay. 

Gianni Storm: Probably not in a British accent. 

Nio Nyx: Is this true? Lies? shenanigans. Come 

Gianni Storm: on. This is, of course, some shenanigans. It's Britney, 

Nio Nyx: man. It's Britney, bitch. Of course, it's shenanigans.

Of course, it's shenanigans. Of course, it's shenanigans. Nonsense. Nonsense, Britney. [00:49:00] I feel 

Gianni Storm: so bad because I could tell Britney's like, probably like, super flowery, hippie. Well, in that situation. But just in general, I feel like Britney's always in the media. She's always getting like, the blonde, bimbo, like, weirdo.

Like what's happening to her. She's being kidnapped. I don't know. It's so much going on. She's just, she's 

RobB: just another example of the Disney machine destroying people. She's just another example. Oh seriously, how many child, how many child stars has Disney ruined? 

Nio Nyx: She's also helped a lot of child stars too, so I don't know.

Yeah. Lindsay 

Jeremy Luberts: Lohan 

RobB: is doing great. 

Nio Nyx: I mean, you pick it like, you got like six, there's six that they messed up, but there's like hundreds that they've helped along. Just the main ones. You know what? 

RobB: Let's go back to like that can prove there's more than six. There's more than six. Yeah. 

Nio Nyx: Let's chat GPT. Yeah, we get it.[00:50:00] 

Let's get to this next topic. Truth. Lies. Shenanigans. Shenanigans. Alright, so the Supreme Court recently ruled against the use of race as a factor in college admissions, in essence, eliminating affirmative action. They cited the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, basically indicating that affirmative action is itself racist.

And some are saying this ruling will lead to what they're calling True equality we're apparently students are evaluated based upon their individual experiences and achievements and not their race. Others are saying the ruling is an assault. On diversity and groups of people that have been marginalized in this country.

And the ruling is already having impact on financial aid considerations based on race. Is this ruling right? Is it time to move towards a society where race doesn't play a role in opportunities and access? Or are we not there yet? Instead this [00:51:00] ruling will lead to more racial disparity. Johnny, let's start with you.

Gianni Storm: I mean your last question hit the nail on the head But i'm slightly torn because to be technical If you take away affirmative action in a sense what they're saying is everyone has an equal like an even playing field that's what it should be, but however, there's still groups like there's still racial groups in this country that are affected, by systemic racism.

So I want to agree that if we step away from affirmative action you know, affirmative action for like jobs and school and school tuition and things like that. I want to. Step into that, but I just don't think we're ready out of 

Nio Nyx: curiosity. Do you get any race based?

help When you were in college, like financial aid 

Gianni Storm: or anything like that? No, not that I can, no, no. Um, not scholarships, right, scholarships like you're talking about 

Nio Nyx: like Right. Scholarships or financial aid or minorities or anything like that. [00:52:00] Okay. Shoot, I wish, 

Gianni Storm: like , but no, I didn't. I did not. I did not, but I could see how, I will say I did.

Oh, see, it's so helpful. Like, I would want it, I don't care. I would want that. And I think that multi, I think many people, Like I said, racism still happening. It's still in our system. We're not gonna completely end it before things like this happen, but we can at least I don't know, target, maybe there's, maybe we can target specific things and use affirmative action on specific things, not just race.

Like maybe we can use it on people that are poor or people 

Nio Nyx: that are like, well, they're saying it's a formative actions illegal now. So yeah. Rob, what do you think? We can rearrange it though. Oh, rearrange it. I don't see that you're getting to what when I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah. 

RobB: So I can't really put myself in those shoes because Ethnically, okay, I am Francophone.

So. [00:53:00] In Canada, that has afforded me some. Assistance, as far as my post secondary education is concerned, but, um, yeah, so I know that affirmative action has its share of supporters and critics. And when I read both camps, and there are valid points in both camps, but. As far as the school is concerned, like any organization that is working towards equity needs to constantly review its programs and policies to ensure that they're meeting the needs of the community that they intend to service.

Right? So, it's possible to fully appreciate every applicant's experience and perspectives while turning a blind eye to race and ethnicity. Each individual has to be evaluated because we want to create opportunities for everyone. and let's not forget that whether. And wherever these types of scholarships are available, there will always be someone who's trying to access those funds unscrupulously.

So there needs to be a really fair playing field. There needs to be clear cut rules and [00:54:00] guidelines. Yeah, that's a good point. The university wants to comply with the SCOTUS ruling, which suggests that race should not be a determining factor in awarding scholarships. But the change is definitely a significant step toward promoting equality and fairness in the allocation of financial aid.

But this is the lens of a Canadian white guy, so I can't speak to your experience or fully appreciate it. So I, 

Nio Nyx: this is good. 

Gianni Storm: Your objective view is good. 

Nio Nyx: So, so, as I said, I got assistance to go to school. it wasn't financial assistance. I got considered for the school I went to because they were looking for diversity.

So, it had something to do with affirmative action. So, it wasn't financial assistance based on being a minority, but I was considered I got your preference. Exactly. Now, it helped me, I mean, it helped a lot because I may or may not have gotten accepted [00:55:00] otherwise, you know, if it wasn't for affirmative action.

So it was helpful considering I had good grades and everything. So that helped as well. So on the surface, this is my thought on the surface, dream course ruling makes sense, right? If we're aiming for true equality. And we've got to stop making race based considerations.

This reality will never get past race as a social construct until we stop labeling people. And then trying to fit them into boxes solely based upon the way we look. Right, it's just not going to happen, but here's the thing. And this is why, you know, affirmative action was helpful for me. And this is the reason it was put in place to level the playing field for communities that historically have not had access to resources and education.

Because of their race, this country has been a racist country for many, many years. Slavery to civil rights era, to Jim Crow, [00:56:00] and our community, the black community specifically, was held back. Right? And we've not had the resources and education because of race. Like we had a lot of walls linear of the little rock nine on our show just a couple of seasons ago Talking about her horrific experience trying to integrate trying to get equal access to education.

That was just one Generation ago. Yeah, not to mention it didn't completely work because what ended up happening is they finagle school boundaries To be based on neighborhoods you lived in, which were themselves segregated. So, although you technically were integrated, you ended up with mostly black schools and mostly white schools.

Gianni Storm: Anyway, exactly. 

Nio Nyx: Exactly. Gentrification has changed some things right now. So things are a little bit better. you know, they were saying that these could lead to more merit based systems where students rewarded for their hard work and [00:57:00] determination. But to Johnny's point, when you have a country with disparities in childhood education, you know, all school has to do is you their admission requirements.

So they better fit specific. Racial groups and ethnic groups, you know, and then the anti discrimination law is simply not strong enough to counter the effects of those racist 

people, but finagling the system. Right yeah, which is why affirmative action was so valuable. systemic problems haven't been resolved.

You know, and Without which is interesting without a week. We can't hold them accountable. Good job. 

Gianni Storm: Why are they even and I didn't do my research and looking up why this is even a case, but why is affirmative action even Up for consideration to be eliminated. Like, that's so disgusting.

RobB: 1 of the basis is that they're saying affirmative. They're saying that affirmative action is racist in and of itself because you 

Nio Nyx: did say, yeah, I mean, there have been [00:58:00] lawsuits since affirmative action was instituted, where. White people or people who felt that. They were, not considered or did not have an opportunity or they felt that, they were qualified, fully qualified and someone who may not have had the same educational requirements or meet the admission requirements, were given preferential treatment because they were black or Hispanic or whatever.

Gianni Storm: I feel like more people. In this country benefit more from being white than they do from affirmative action.

So I just don't understand why it's and 

Nio Nyx: that's what it was about. It was about leveling the playing field and it helped. It helped because there's a lot of people that otherwise would not have gone to college and finish school. Black people, Hispanic people that otherwise would not have had the money.

It means the resources, or even the ability. To be accepted some of these Harvard and. And all these other schools without it. [00:59:00] Just because we didn't have the educational resource, the same educational resources. In our neighborhoods that other schools did. and so we were able to get a better education going to these colleges, and then we were able to then do well now in society.

so people my age, my era, who benefited from affirmative action, now you're seeing some equality or something closer to equality. unfortunately, this is a reality now. So, we just have to find other ways to hold.

Schools accountable, that's what we're gonna have to do. All right. A lot of comments online. Let me try to get to some of these comments. I know we're over on time. Um, so college doesn't review every application. I thought they did financial aid. I understand about being accepted. 

Jacqueline Robinson's Justice Jackson's dissent hit the nail on the head in application. We know that we are a long way from race [01:00:00] not being used to determine who gets in schools where people live and whether they are hired. This ruling was a cynical ploy over 40 years in the making. And as quiet as this kept white women were the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action.

She also says the same folks are quite silent about legacy admissions of less qualified applicants, right? Because their parents donated millions of dollars to institutions. Exhibit a Jared Kushner and of course, Donald Trump and the bushes. Everybody's got a few. All right. Is this truth, lies, shenanigans?

Um, this 

Gianni Storm: is an unfortunate truth. First, the abortion thing. Let 

Nio Nyx: me stop the abortion thing. Yeah, they got 

Gianni Storm: rid of abortion feathers, which not saying we're not going to talk about it, but I just feel like this country is changing dramatically. Like, things are just majorly [01:01:00] shifting within our laws. So it's interesting to see.

We're going to 

Nio Nyx: see how we'll say it's hard to argue their choices of overturning some of these things because. we shouldn't be deciding things based upon race legally. I mean, the whole purpose of,the civil rights laws and anti discrimination laws was so that things weren't decided based on race.

Fortunately, we were trying to play catch up also. So you had to kind of balance the two. So legally speaking, they're right. I'd say, we still got to play that catch up. That's the problem. All right. Robby, let's get to your topic. you've got some things to talk about with this drink. Oh, you do this 

RobB: quick.

Nio Nyx: We're gonna have to make it very quick. 

RobB: Absolutely. So if you haven't heard of Prime Energy Drinks, it was introduced January of 2022 by YouTube stars, Logan Paul and KSI that has become a craze among their legions of young [01:02:00] followers. So, I've seen videos of kids climbing over one another at checkouts to get their hands on these drinks when they were released.

So, the company is currently under scrutiny from lawmakers and health experts over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine. So, on Sunday, Senator Charles Schumer called on the FDA to investigate the crime because each 12 ounce can contains 200 milligrams of caffeine. Which exceeds Canada's health limit by 20 milligrams, but it's readily available in the U.

S., U. K., Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, South Africa. Oh, of course. so the problem is young children ingesting that much caffeine can cause heart problems, anxiety, and digestive issues, among other things. So, my question is, should products with harmful side effects be regulated, banned, or do consumers reserve the right to choose for themselves?

Free market versus government oversight, 

Gianni Storm: I wish it was so like simple, like black and white, but it's not because you want the freedom of [01:03:00] choice in anything you do. Right. We were born into this world. We, have human rights. You want a freedom of choice to choose what you want to eat, but your ignorance being bliss, you don't know that it's poison and then you're dying and and you're feeding it to the kids 

So I feel like. Honestly, I do prefer the banning and regulating of foods, because there's, like I said, there's pros to both, but if we think about it, humans, really Americans, let me just talk about Americans real quick. We're so consumed into our everyday life and we're not taking the time to read, you know, ingredients.

We're not going to take the time to read the ingredients and look them up on Google and see if they're actually harmful or beneficial to us. People are going to say, I do. No, I'm 

Nio Nyx: kidding, but that's because I'm on a paleo diet right now, so I got to look and make sure, 

Gianni Storm: but we should, I mean, it's, it's, we should have the time to be able to do that.

And a lot of people think, [01:04:00] well, you guys are, Americans are just lazy. And I think that we not to excuse lazy behavior, but I think Americans were born into this like world. Where we don't look at labels, we don't read anything, we just buy it. It's a consumer's, it's a consumer's country. So yeah, I think we should regulate.

I'm here for it. Just long story short. 

Nio Nyx: All right, now Prime is saying that their drink is no different than other drinks on the market like Red Bull and they got a point, you know, and they say the drink comes with a warning label clear as day not recommended for children under 18. So, that shouldn't pass me the ones controlling with their kids are drinking.

You know, we've seen the failure of prohibition in the past. Outright bands, they just don't work. So regulation 

RobB: works, the regulation and common sense works because alcohol is a product that causes damage to you over time if it's [01:05:00] abused and it's not available on the counter, it's available in the beer cooler.

You have to be of a certain age to affect that product out of the store. It should be with the cigarettes behind the counter, if it can cause. Armed you medically, it should be behind the counter and. A child, I think that's the crux of it here. Is that Logan Paul and KSI are youth. Driven influencers.

Oh, they're 

Gianni Storm: marketing. 

Nio Nyx: I mean, that's something to be concerned about is the marketing directly towards. You so, if you don't have to control that, I'm fine with 

RobB: that all the energy drinks if you're we're going to do it to prime, do it to all the energy. 

Nio Nyx: Right? That's what I'm saying. Right? Monster. Right?

Yeah. And I don't think a full on band makes any sense here either. So.I real quick, there were some comments online. Olivia says it's so bad though, there are some things and they don't declare labels. Uh, Jack says, I agree that these products should be regulated. I [01:06:00] can't even buy an OTC cold medicine without being asked to show my ID. That's a good point.

Good point. That's true. But anyway, is this truth, lies, shenanigans, why would 

Gianni Storm: anybody want that drink? Ignorant 

RobB: people drink that much caffeine. It's like, yeah, yeah, that's the shenanigans. It's this is just, this is corporate greed. This is capitalism gone awry, man.

No, what's wrong with capitalism. 

Gianni Storm: Says it's true. 

Nio Nyx: I say it's true because I think they should be allowed to sell what they want. I mean, and parents need to control what their children drinking. 

Gianni Storm: Neo. Oh my goodness. I feel like in Neo society, everybody would be like independent, have their own island. And have to like, 

Nio Nyx: I mean, I think we overregulate things anyway, 

Gianni Storm: we kind of irregulate, all right, we kind of do let's get 

Nio Nyx: into our game show.[01:07:00] 

 with our guest today. I figured it'd be fun to do some crime True crime trivia. This quiz is brought to you by magic quiz calm We'll go around the horn a person with the most correct answers. It's the final thought for the show All right, we're going to start off with Gianni today.

No, I know, because I figured you knew this answer. All right, Johnny, which serial killer was known as the killer clown? Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy or Dennis Raider? This is the clown killer. 

Gianni Storm: It's between the two in the middle. It's not Dahmer, because we are all so that story. I think it's the Gacy guy.

I think it's John Wayne Gacy. 

Nio Nyx: John Wayne Gacy? That is correct. Go 

RobB: with your gut. Wow. Because he would.[01:08:00] 

Nio Nyx: He didn't show the That is correct, though. I don't know why it didn't show the answer. I hope it shows the next answer. All right, Robby, what famous author wrote In Cold Blood, which detailed the gruesome murders of the Clutter family in 1959? No clue. 

RobB: Lizzie would be screaming at me right now. I bet your guest knows.

Okay, so Truman Capote, J. D. Sollinger, Allen Ginsberg, or Harper Lee? 

Gianni Storm: None of them 

Nio Nyx: ring a bell. I'm going to go with J. D. Sollinger. 80 Salinger. Okay. Yeah. Salinger. You're not giving me the answer? 

 No, it's not giving me the answer for some reason. 

RobB: I'm 

Nio Nyx: so confused. 

 You know what? We're going to skip the game today. We're going to skip. We're out of time. Anyway, you got the only right. 

RobB: You got the only right answer. The win is yours. 

Nio Nyx: Johnny [01:09:00] Johnny wins the game.

The only one we know was right. He got to win a default. We're out of time anyway. So it kind of works out. All right, let's get some shout outs in.

All right, Gianni, the winner. Give us some shout outs. 

Gianni Storm: Um, shout out to Facebook for reminding people when it's people's birthdays. We love that. And shout out to my family and friends that remembered it was my birthday.

Nio Nyx: Happy birthday.

All right. Robbie Rock. Shout 

RobB: outs. Oh, like I mentioned at the top of the hour, I want to give a shout out to my wife for seven amazing years of happiness, personal growth, and development. [01:10:00] Thank you so much, Joe, for everything. 

Nio Nyx: I'm a, I'm gonna have to get a happy anniversary. Splash. Happy anniversary to both of you.

All right. My shout outs to my niece, Simone. We had a great time this weekend and I want to apologize for whooping your butt.

Gianni Storm: That's lit. 

Nio Nyx: All right. That is officially all the time we have for today's show. I'd like to thank you guys for joining us. We hope you learned something, gained a new perspective, or simply had some laughs with us. Look for us live again next Wednesday, 8 p. m. Eastern time. We'll And look for our official audio episode this Friday and every Friday, almost every Friday on Apple podcast pods network.

That's pods with a Z or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And Gianni Storm, our final thought for the show. Close us out. 

Gianni Storm: I finally win. Um, actually shout out to our guest Jeremy. [01:11:00] I thought it was very heartwarming for you to share your story and book, of course. But also what he said was interesting that, police officers do get a lot of slack.

I understand why. But just as a human to human, I understand that we all go through things that are life altering. So Jeremy, thank you so much for coming on the show. And I hope that your story touches people and help somebody in some way. 

Nio Nyx: Love that Gianni. That's really sweet. That's right. Well, thank you, Robbie, rock Gianni and our guest author, Jeremy Luberts.

But most importantly, every week, we need to thank you for listening to our shenanigans each and every week. Have a great week, everyone. See you next week.[01:12:00]