Minnesota: Hospital sued after fall from surgical table
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The family of a man who died after falling from an operating table is suing a St. Paul hospital.
The lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court says Max DeVries was sedated and waiting for routine surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital when Velco straps holding the 300-pound patient failed. It says DeVries rolled off the table and hit his head last March. He died in April after suffering a massive stroke.
His son, Shawn DeVries, says it’s a tragedy that could have been avoided. The Star Tribune says the family contends the hospital lacked appropriate facilities and equipment, including wide enough tables and adequate restraints.
The hospital says it’s conducting an investigation.
South Dakota: Man sentenced in archaeological artifacts case
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A Wessington Springs man will be on probation for two years and forfeit 5,166 fossil items and pieces of archaeological resources dug up along the Missouri River.
Elliot D. Hook was sentenced in federal court for his guilty plea to trafficking in archaeological resources.
Prosecutors said the forfeited items include pottery, stone tools, knives, pendants and beads, as well as relics from military forts, trading posts or settlements.
Hook was among five men charged in 2008 with illegal taking and trading of artifacts found on Indian land or public land.
Mississippi: Attorney: Retire murder charges against Autry
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — The attorney for an Oxford man charged with murder in the death of his brother last year says his client should be in a mental hospital.
Oxford attorney Ken Coghlan has asked a judge this week to retire the charges against Bilethon Autry and transfer him to state mental hospital for treatment. A judge has not ruled on the motion.
Autry is accused of shooting and killing his brother, Charles Ray Hodges Tupelo, in September 2009 during a three-hour standoff with police at his parents’ Oxford home. His father and a housekeeper also were in the home but were unharmed.
Autry had been released from the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo just two days before the deadly shooting, court records showed.
Coghlan tells the Oxford Eagle that a psychiatrist at the hospital found Autry’s ability to tell the difference between right and wrong was impaired due to his mental illness.
Despite the diagnosis, Autry was released about after 19 days in the medical center.
California: Oakland to seek federal help after rash of crimes
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts will be asking for federal help in trying to cut down on violent crime in the city.
During a summit planned for next month, officials from federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF and ICE are expected to meet with Oakland community leaders to determine what help is needed the most.
The summit comes after police layoffs and a rash of major crimes in Oakland, including a weekend shootout on an Oakland freeway.
The suspect arrested in Sunday’s shootout, Byron Williams, remains behind bars after being charged with four counts of attempted murder on peace officers, as well as enhancements for firearms and body armor.
The 45-year-old Willams is scheduled to return to court Aug. 11. He has not entered a plea.
Montana: Man charged with double shooting fires attorneys
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A 31-year-old Helena man who pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted deliberate homicide after his wife and the couple’s nanny were shot has dismissed his public defenders and is now representing himself.
Jeremy S. MacGregor said during a hearing in District Court last week his attorney’s displayed “hostile emotions” toward him and he did not have proper access to witnesses and police reports.
Judge Jeffrey Sherlock warned MacGregor of the danger of representing himself because “you have no idea how to proceed.” The judge then gave the man a book on criminal law statutes.
MacGregor is charged with shooting his 25-year-old wife, Jennifer, in the chest and shooting 63-year-old Betsy Mart several times on April 15. Both women suffered life-threatening injuries but have since been released from the hospital.
Court records say Mart called 911 about 30 minutes before the shooting to report a loud argument between the MacGregors.
Jennifer MacGregor then called 911 just before 11 p.m., saying her husband shot her in the chest. Mart was found in the basement with multiple gunshot wounds.
Jeremy MacGregor’s trial is scheduled for Aug. 16.
Illinois: Woman gets 22 years for soliciting husband’s murder
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) — A Kane County judge has sentenced an Algonquin woman to 22 years in prison for soliciting the murder of her estranged husband.
Circuit Court Judge Thomas Mueller imposed the sentence on 47-year-old Sherrieann Remsik-Miller, who was convicted of solicitation of murder for hire and solicitation of murder after a bench trial in June.
Prosecutors say Remsik-Miller tried to hire a homeless man in the spring of 2008 to kill her husband by strapping an explosive to the bottom of his truck or shooting him twice in the head. They say that once she was charged, she turned her attention to having the homeless man killed to keep him from testifying.
In a statement to the court, Remsik-Miller continued to deny that she meant harm to her husband, Gerald, who has since divorced her.
Missouri: St. Louis woman loses ‘Girls Gone Wild’ video lawsuit
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A jury has rejected a woman’s lawsuit against producers of a “Girls Gone Wild” video that showed her tank top being pulled down by another person at a St. Louis bar.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a St. Louis Circuit Court jury deliberated about an hour and a half before ruling against the 26-year-old woman identified only as Jane Doe.
At issue was consent. Lawyers for the producers claimed she silently approved by taking part in the party; the woman claimed she refused to give consent.
The lawsuit claimed the woman’s reputation has been damaged.
