Court Report

Employee Kills Co-Worker, Then Self

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Records showed that an Ohio State University janitor who fatally shot a supervisor and injured another was told last week he was being fired. Documents released by the university from Nathaniel Brown's personnel file show that supervisors complained he was tardy, slept on the job and had problems following instructions. Brown had been hired in October and was still on probation. The university sent him a letter March 2 informing him that his employment was to end Saturday. Read more...

Gag Order Issued in Chelsea King Case

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A convicted sex offender charged with murdering one teen and suspected in the disappearance of another appeared in court as a judge issued a gag order and delayed a key hearing in the case. Defendant John Albert Gardner III spoke only to acknowledge that he waived his right to speedy proceedings. Superior Court Judge David J. Danielsen rescheduled the preliminary hearing from March 18 to Aug. 4. The hearing is meant to show if there is enough evidence to send Gardner trial. Read more...

Police Criticise Facebook Safety Record

Senior police officers clashed with the UK's most-used social networking site today, accusing Facebook of ignoring worrying trends that it is providing a safe haven for predatory paedophiles by refusing to sign up to a "panic button" for children and young people. Jim Gamble, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Unit (Ceop), was joined by the country's lead officer on homicide to tackle the site about its repeated refusal to sign up to a key safety practice adopted by many other similar websites. Read more...

Second Officer Charged in Katrina Shooting

NEW ORLEANS — A second ex-New Orleans officer charged in an alleged conspiracy to cover up a deadly police shooting of unarmed residents after Hurricane Katrina is expected to plead guilty, a person familiar with the case said. A federal court filing Tuesday charges former detective Jeffrey Lehrmann with misprision of a felony, which meant he had knowledge of a crime and didn't report it. It said he "knew of a conspiracy among police officers to obstruct justice," helped conceal the conspiracy, helped create false reports and provided false information to federal investigators. Read more...

Yankees Executive Charged With DUI

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A top New York Yankees executive was charged with driving under the influence in Tampa. Hillsborough County Jail reports show that Mark Newman, the Yankees' senior vice president of baseball operations, was arrested Monday night. He reportedly refused to take a blood-alcohol test. He was released several hours later on $500 bail. The Yankees released a statement Tuesday night saying the team is taking the situation seriously and is looking into the matter. Read more...

DMX Back in Jail for Alleged Probation Violation

PHOENIX (AP) - Authorities in Arizona say rapper DMX has been arrested for allegedly violating his probation by using drugs. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, had served about half of his 18-month supervised probation when he was booked Tuesday night into the downtown Phoenix jail. The rapper was released from jail in May after serving a 90-day sentence for felony convictions including cruelty to animals, theft and two drug counts. Read more...

Remains of Amber Dubois Found

Less than a week after a registered sex offender was arrested for the death of 18-year-old Chelsea King, the skeletal remains of a 14-year-old girl have been found in a remote section of an Indian reservation north of San Diego. Authorities have identified the remains as those of Amber Leeanne Dubois, but would not say what lead them to the location. Amber disappeared Feb. 13, 2009 while walking to school in Escondido, California. Read more...

Ohio Inmate ODs on Pills Hours Before Execution

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Gov. Ted Strickland postponed the execution of a convicted killer who managed to take an overdose of pills in his death row cell and was found unconscious just hours before he was to be driven to his execution. Lawrence Reynolds Jr., 43, who was sentenced to die for killing his neighbor in 1994, was found unconscious around 11:30 p.m. Sunday at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, prisons spokeswoman Julie Walburn said. Read more...

Airman With Shotgun Disarmed at Air Force Base

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A shotgun-toting airman in training at Sheppard Air Force Base is in custody after being confronted outside a dormitory. Spokesman George Woodward says no shots were fired, nobody was hurt and the base "wouldn't issue a weapon to an airman in training." Woodward says the base at Wichita Falls had to be shut down during the incident but reopened Monday. Read more...

Man Holding Fake Gun Fatally Shot Near School

NEW YORK (AP) - A police officer in Brooklyn has fatally shot a man who the NYPD says was brandishing a fake pistol near a school. Police said they received a 911 call from a parent reporting a man with a handgun near an elementary school. They say that when officers arrived, the 22-year-old man pointed the phony gun at them during in a confrontation on the street outside the school. A uniformed officer responded by firing three shots. Read more...

Lil Wayne Begins 1-Year Jail Term

NEW YORK (AP) - After saying goodbye on concert stages and online video streams, Lil Wayne had nothing to add as he was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for having a loaded gun on his tour bus. The Grammy Award-winning rapper delivered only a brief bow to fans and supporters as he was led out of a courtroom in handcuffs to start serving his sentence. With that, Lil Wayne headed off to face his punishment in a case that had shadowed him as he became one of music's most prolific and profitable figures in recent years. Read more...

Georgia QB Arrested On Alcohol Charges

REMERTON, Ga. -- Police arrested a quarterback for the Georgia football team on a series of alcohol-related charges early Sunday morning. Officers arrested Zach Mettenberger, 18, at Flip Flops bar in Lowndes County at 1:36 a.m., according to an arrest report. The report shows that police charged Mettenberger with underage consumption, possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, obstruction and two counts of having fake identification. Read more...

8 Teens Shot While Leaving Indiana Concert

GARY, Ind. - Authorities say eight teenage boys were shot while leaving a Gary, Ind., skating rink where they were attending a concert. Police Cpl. Gabrielle King says "chaos broke loose" when a fight erupted Friday night event at World of Skates. Police say the shooting started in the parking lot. The victims were taken to three area hospitals. Police say they ranged in age from 14 to 18, with wounds in the legs, wrist, stomach or back. King said injuries weren't believed to be life-threatening. Read more...

68 Fatal ODs Linked to Kansas Clinic

WICHITA, Kan. - A new federal indictment implicates a Kansas doctor and his wife in nine additional patient deaths, bringing to 68 the number of fatal overdoses the government contends are linked to illegal prescription writing and a moneymaking conspiracy at their clinic. Dr. Stephen Schneider, his wife Linda, who is a nurse, and unnamed others are accused of scheming to illegally dispense prescription drugs and defraud health insurance programs and patients through their Haysville clinic. They also are accused of money laundering. The couple are directly charged with contributing to 21 deaths. Read more...

Casey Anthony Defense Wants State to Pay Legal Fees

Lawyers for an Orlando woman accused in her young daughter's death says the state should pay the cost of defending her. The team representing 23-year-old Casey Anthony says the financial assistance is the only way to ensure they'll have the resources to fight a conviction and possible death sentence in the first-degree murder case. The defense wants the state to pay the cost of travel, serving supoenas, hiring experts, deposing witnesses and investigating the case. Read more...

Doctor Guilty of Wife's Cyanide Death

CLEVELAND – An Ohio doctor accused of lacing his wife's calcium supplement with cyanide so he could be with his mistress was convicted of aggravated murder. The jury heard weeks of testimony before returning the verdict against Dr. Yazeed Essa, 41. His wife, Rosemarie Essa, collapsed while driving Feb. 24, 2005, and crashed her car into another vehicle about five miles from the couple's home. Essa was an emergency room doctor in Akron but fled to Lebanon after his wife's death. Read more...

Malvo Sends Letter of Apology to Louisiana Victim

NEW ORLEANS – A Louisiana man shot by Lee Boyd Malvo before the criminal spree that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area in 2002 has received a letter of apology from the convicted sniper. John C. Gaeta, 58, of Albany, said Thursday that he's glad Malvo wrote him but remains skeptical about Malvo's intentions. Gaeta was shot in the neck Aug. 1, 2002, outside a mall near Baton Rouge, La. He has said that two men approached him as he tried to change a tire. Read more...

Officer Kills Gunman Outside Walmart in Texas

COMMERCE, Texas (AP) - Authorities say a gunman has been killed and an off-duty officer injured in a shootout outside a Walmart store in the east Texas city of Commerce. Commerce spokeswoman Marty Cunningham says police received a call about shots being fired from a car in nearby Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas. Cunningham says the suspect exchanged gunfire with Commerce police just outside the city limits before driving to the Walmart. Read more...

Inmate Tried to Have 2 Kids Killed

Cook County Jail inmate is charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill two children he's accused of molesting and their parents. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart says 32-year-old Edward Floyd faces six counts of solicitation to commit murder. He's been ordered held without bond on the new charges. He's been in custody since a September 2008 arrest for two counts of criminal sexual assault of a child. Read more...

Steelers QB Accused of Sex Assault

NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a rural Georgia nightspo, police said. Police talked to Roethlisberger, 28, and the 20-year-old woman at the scene immediately after the incident was reported at about 2:30 a.m. Friday morning at Capital City in Milledgeville, Georgia, said Deputy Police Chief Richard Malone. However, Malone said investigators still need to do a follow-up interview with Roethlisberger and witnesses. He added that nobody has been charged in the alleged incident and stopped short of calling the football player a suspect. Read more...

Maryland Considers 3 Bills On Ignition Interlocks

Maryland's House of Delegates is contemplating three different bills that would require vehicle ignition interlock devices for first-offender drunk drivers. Two of the bills would require the devices for all first offenders without exception. The other bill would allow the judge in the case to consider other factors in deciding if the interlock should be mandatory. Read more...

NFL Suspends Ferguson For First 8 Games Of 2010

MIAMI -- Free agent Jason Ferguson, a veteran nose tackle most recently with the Miami Dolphins, has been suspended for the first eight games of next season for violating NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed on Sunday that the discipline was handed down late this week but could offer no further details. Ferguson was also suspended for violating NFL drug policy in 1999, sitting out four games after an anabolic steroid showed up during a urine test. Read more...

2 Pentagon Officers Shot Near Metro Station

A gunman coolly drew a weapon from his pocket and opened fire at the teeming subway entrance to the Pentagon complex, wounding two police officers before being shot and critically wounded, officials said. Authorities said all three were taken to a hospital. Richard Keevill, chief of Pentagon police, said the two officers suffered grazing wounds that were not life-threatening. Read more...

Sex Offender in Teen's Killing Eluded Suspicion

SAN DIEGO (AP) - When 17-year-old Chelsea King disappeared in a park last week, authorities checked photographs of sex offenders registered in the San Diego area. John Albert Gardner III was not among them. When a 16-year-old girl was attacked last year in Riverside County, authorities did a similar check of the sex offender registry. Again, Gardner was not among them. In both investigations, Gardner eluded detection because he was registered as a sex offender in different counties. Read more...

Woman Gets Life for Setting Dancer on Fire

LOS ANGELES — A woman has been sentenced to life in prison for dousing a bikini dancer with gasoline and setting her on fire in Los Angeles. Twenty-eight-year-old Rianne Theriault-Odom was sentenced for the February 2009 assault of Roberta Busby at a club during a dispute. The victim tearfully asked the judge to issue the maximum sentence. The Simi Valley woman received burns over 40 percent of her body and has had more than two dozen skin grafts. Read more...

Mom Dumped Newborn in Trash, Went to Party

LOS ANGELES — Jessie Canfield was attending a surprise birthday party with family and friends when she began feeling discomfort and cramping then ducked into a bedroom for several hours. Partygoers told police she said nothing about giving birth to a 6-pound baby girl. Canfield, 24, was arrested, hours after trash collectors found a newborn dead in an overstuffed bin outside the Redondo Beach home where the party was held, police Lt. Joe Hoffman said. Read more...

Parolee Indicted for Assault of 4-Year-Old Boy

WASHINGTON (Morris County) -- A paroled pedophile from Morris County was indicted today on charges of sexually assaulting a child after officials found him home alone with a 4-year-old boy in Washington Township. A second man who had custody of the boy also was indicted for leaving the youth with a known sex offender. An indictment handed up today by a grand jury in Morristown accuses Louis Masino, 60, of Washington Township, with six counts of second-degree sex assault, third-degree child endangerment and fourth-degree violation of Megan's Law community supervision for life requirement. Read more...

State Senator Had .14 Blood Alcohol Level

SACRAMENTO— The Sacramento County district attorney says Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn's blood-alcohol level was .14 percent when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving near the Capitol. The California Highway Patrol says the Bakersfield lawmaker was arrested after he was spotted driving erratically. Ashburn was taken to the Sacramento County Jail, booked and then released. A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, Shelly Orio, said today that a breath test showed Ashburn's blood alcohol level was .06 percent above the legal limit. Read more...

3 RI Cops Charged in Cocaine-Dealing Operation

SCITUATE, R.I. (AP) - Three Providence police officers, including a narcotics detective and a school resource officer, were arrested on charges that they helped with a cocaine-dealing operation. Detective Joseph Colanduono, Patrolman Robert Hamlin and Sergeant Steven Gonsalves were arrested at police headquarters and have been suspended without pay, said Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman, who called it a "hard day" for his department. The officers either used the cocaine or helped arrange the drug deals, police said. Read more...

Sex Offender Charged in Chelsea King Case

SAN DIEGO (AP) - A convicted sex offender charged with murdering 17-year-old Chelsea King while raping or attempting to rape her was linked to the crime by DNA from semen found in her clothing, a state Justice Department spokeswoman said. The break led to the weekend arrest of 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III as thousands of people still held out hope that an extensive search would find the teen alive even though she had not been seen since last Thursday. Read more...

Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Girlfriend, 2 Kids

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — A central Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to killing his estranged girlfriend and two of their children. Shane Kettner cried as he entered the pleas in Portage County Circuit Court to three counts of first-degree intentional homicide and endangering safety. Investigators found the bodies of 30-year-old Christine Gollon, 3-year-old Ashley Kettner and 2-year-old Griffin Kettner on April 30 after breaking into the family's barricaded home in Nelsonville. Gollon's mother had called police worried about her daughter's welfare. Read more...

Man Who Dismembered Woman Gets 15 Years

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio man who bludgeoned his girlfriend to death with a hammer before dismembering her and scattering her body parts around the apartment complex where they lived has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Robert Knight was sentenced Wednesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The 51-year-old Columbus resident pleaded guilty to murder last month and will be eligible for parole after 15 years. Read more...

Deputy Accused of Sex With Girl, 13

LINCOLN, Calif. — A laid-off Sacramento County sheriff's deputy is under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and sexually molesting a 13-year-old girl. Lincoln police arrested 39-year-old Eric Cephus of San Jose at his home. Police Lt. Paul Shelgren said the department began investigating Cephus on Feb. 27 after talking to the girl. Read more...

Teacher Had 90,000 Child Porn Images, Cops Say

HAMMOND, Ind. — Federal authorities say a northwestern Indiana man charged with distributing images of the sexual torture of young children had worked as a substitute teacher in at least three area school districts. Prosecutors say investigators found 25-year-old Michael T. Wilson of Valparaiso had a child pornography collection of at least 90,000 images and videos. Court documents say FBI agents found that he used a file-sharing Web site to trade the material. Read more...

Parents Accused of Selling Sex With Teen Daughter

EASTMAN, Georgia — Authorities in central Georgia say a mother and father offered sex with their 14-year-old daughter in lieu of making payments on their minivan. Dodge County sheriff's Capt. Tony Winborn says the parents were arrested Monday and are in jail awaiting a bond hearing. They face child molestation and pandering charges. Winborn says 66-year-old Robert Wayne Bearden, who managed a used car dealership, was arrested on charges of child molestation and possession of a firearm by a felon. Read more...

Dad Arrested for DUI After Crash Kills 3 Kids

FIREBAUGH, Calif. — A Central Valley man who crashed his van, killing his three children aboard, is under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol and a controlled substance. Sheriff's officials say Aref Kareem Mohammed of Firebaugh crashed his van head-on into another vehicle in southwest Madera County, killing his twin 6-year-old boys and their 3-year-old sister. Mohammed was not seriously hurt. Read more...