North Dakota: Underwear thief going back to prison for 2 years
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck man convicted four years ago of breaking into a female neighbor’s apartment to steal her underwear has had his probation revoked for a third time.
The Bismarck Tribune reports that 23-year-old David Haberstroh will spend two more years in prison for his 2006 felony burglary conviction.
His probation on that conviction prohibited him from having women’s underwear. He violated that provision and had his probation revoked in 2007 and twice this year.
Authorities say in one case he was caught with 119 pairs of women’s underwear.
Defense attorney Robert Quick agreed in court that additional probation in the case was pointless. Haberstroh said he agreed with his attorney and hopes to get treatment in the penitentiary.
Nevada: Federal prison guard charged with bribery
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A former Nevada man who worked as a federal prison guard in northern California has been charged with accepting bribes to smuggle contraband to inmates.
U.S. Attorney for Nevada Daniel Bogden says 25-year-old Najeeb Z. Peavy was indicted on one count of a public official accepting a bribe.
Peavy pleaded not guilty to the charge in federal court in Reno on Tuesday and faces a trial Feb. 8, 2011. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The newly unsealed indictment says the former Reno man who now lives in Sacramento solicited the bribes from inmates at the federal prison in Herlong for about seven months beginning in March. It doesn’t say who paid the bribes or identify the kind of contraband.
New York: Affymetrix says judge dismisses Illumina lawsuits
NEW YORK (AP) — Genetic testing instrument maker Affymetrix Inc. said Wednesday a federal judge dismissed patent infringement lawsuits brought by rival Illumina Inc.
Affymetrix said the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin found in its favor, and the lawsuits will be dismissed. Illumina had alleged Affymetrix infringed on two of its patents.
Illumina did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning.
This was not the first time the companies had gone to court. In January 2008, Illumina agreed to pay Affymetrix $90 million to resolve a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Affymetrix. Affymetrix is based in Santa Clara, Calif., while Illumina is headquartered in San Diego.
Illinois: Widow of suicidal sword-wielding man sues police
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — The widow of a central Illinois man shot by police while brandishing a sword and a knife has filed a federal lawsuit.
The (Peoria) Journal Star reports that the wrongful death lawsuit filed Monday seeks unspecified damages from East Peoria and two police officers.
The lawsuit contends 48-year-old Samuel Craft was despondent and suicidal when he encountered the officers outside his apartment and was shot three times in December 2009. Micke Craft contends the officers failed to try nonlethal methods to stop her husband.
East Peoria Police Chief Ed Papis has commended his officers for showing restraint in dealing with Samuel Craft. Papis noted that Craft had closed to within 10 feet of the officers and had been ordered several times to put down his weapons.
New York: Shutterfly sued by Kodak for patent infringement
NEW YORK (AP) — Eastman Kodak Co. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against online photo sharing service Shutterfly Inc., which has fired back with a suit of its own, Shutterfly said in a regulatory filing.
Kodak runs an online service called Kodak Gallery that directly competes with Shutterfly.com. Both services invite people to upload photos, order prints, create bound photo books and emblazon their pictures on a host of products such as calendars and coffee mugs.
In a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Shutterfly said it received Kodak’s lawsuit on Friday. It said Kodak, which is based in Rochester, N.Y., is seeking an injunction, along with damages and costs, including legal fees, but the filing does not indicate what patents are in dispute.
“(Shutterfly) believes that it has meritorious defenses to this action and intends to defend this matter vigorously,” Shutterfly said in the filing.
On Monday, Redwood City, Calif.-based Shutterfly said it filed a lawsuit of its own, accusing Kodak of patent infringement. Shutterfly is also seeking an injunction, damages and costs. It did not elaborate on the patents it is attempting to protect.
Massachusetts: Millbury couple gets $2M in malpractice suit
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A jury has ruled in favor of a Millbury couple and awarded them nearly $2 million in a medical malpractice suit they brought against St. Vincent Hospital.
Laura Ginisi claimed in the suit that misdiagnosis of several strokes her husband Joseph Ginisi suffered in 2004, as well as delay in treatment for cancer at the Worcester hospital, led to him becoming legally blind and unable to walk.
Laura Ginisi told The Telegram & Gazette that while pleased with the jury’s decision, no amount of money will cure her husband, who is unable to live at home.
The jury did not find any doctors or staff members responsible, just the hospital.
Hospital officials refused comment on the case, but noted Joseph Ginisi’s treatment occurred under previous ownership.
Connecticut: Man accused in slaying found incompetent
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Hartford man accused of killing his girlfriend, then driving around with her body in the front passenger seat of his car, has been ruled not competent to stand trial.
Maurice Francis was charged with murder in connection with the November 2008 stabbing death of 29-year-old Tashima Reddick.
His lawyer twice sought evaluations. Francis was found competent last spring and able to understand the charges against him and able to assist in his defense.
But a more recent evaluation found that Francis is not competent and was ordered by a judge to undergo 60 days of treatment.
Witnesses told police they saw a man dragging a body across a street and placing it in a car, which was later left at an auto body shop with a body inside.
