National Roundup

Texas Man pleads guilty to second 1978 killing GEORGETOWN, Texas (AP) -- A Dallas man sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 1978 slaying of a Central Texas woman has received the same penalty for killing her date. A judge in Georgetown on Tuesday sentenced 53-year-old Benny Tijerina (tee-hur-REE'-nah). Tijerina pleaded guilty to murder in the death of 19-year-old Kevin Key. Tijerina last week was in court in Waco and pleaded guilty to murder in the death of 18-year-old Rita Salazar. Both teens were shot. Investigators say Salazar was also sexually assaulted. The couple disappeared after seeing a movie in Austin and running out of gas. Their bodies were found in different counties. Tijerina was arrested in 2007 for drunken driving and provided a DNA sample, which eventually was matched to the Salazar attack. Tijerina's 40-year prison terms will run concurrently. Connecticut Man goes on trial in 1999 Waterbury killing WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) -- A man arrested in a 1999 Waterbury homicide case a decade after the crime has gone on trial for alleged murder. Forty-nine-year-old Barry Smith's trial began Tuesday in Waterbury Superior Court. He and two other men were arrested in 2009 in connection with the killing of 32-year-old Michelle McMasters, whose bruised body was found in a Burton Street basement. The Republican-American of Waterbury reports that police documents show Smith and the two other defendants, Lawrence Andrews and Orenthain Daniel, had told McMasters to hold crack cocaine for them and later tried to recover the drugs at the murder scene. The killing went unsolved until police say DNA evidence linked Daniel to the killing. Daniel awaits trial, while Andrews was convicted and is appealing a 35-year prison sentence. Arizona Opponents of immigration law oppose merging suits PHOENIX (AP) -- A coalition of opponents of Arizona's 2010 immigration enforcement law have asked a judge to deny Gov. Jan Brewer's request to consolidate two of the three remaining lawsuits seeking to overturn the law. Lawyers representing Friendly House and other groups say there are substantial differences between its lawsuit and another challenge by the League of United Latin American Citizens. The governor's lawyers told U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton that combining the lawsuit by the two lawsuits would help avoid unnecessary legal costs and prevent a duplication of evidence. Bolton had blocked enforcement of the law's most controversial elements in July 2010. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Brewer's appeal of Bolton's ruling on April 25. Tennessee Appeals court to hear arguments over Bible study CINCINNATI (AP) -- A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments over whether a Knoxville student should have been allowed to read and discuss Bible passages during recess. A three-judge panel from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati will consider a case brought by Samuel and Tina Whitson, who sued Knox County Schools in 2008. The couple claims that Karns Elementary School Principal Cathy Summa infringed on the rights of their son, Luke, by telling him he could no longer hold Bible study with his friends on the playground. School officials argued that school policy banned adult-led Bible classes during school hours but allowed students to study the Bible on their own. A federal jury in Knoxville ruled in favor of the school district in 2009. Georgia DA frustrated with new trial for convicted killer ATLANTA (AP) -- Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard says he's frustrated with a decision by the Georgia Supreme Court to grant a new trial to a convicted killer because a verdict form was improperly worded. Howard says the court's unanimous ruling on Monday that gives Soniel Cheddersingh a new trial is "not a well-reasoned decision." He says it assumes the jury lacked "any modicum of reasonable intelligence" Cheddersingh was sentenced to life in prison for the March 2007 slaying of Michael Walker Jr. His attorneys appealed after discovering a preprinted verdict form erroneously instructed the jury that it had to find Cheddersingh not guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt" to exonerate him. The opinion said it should be the state's burden to prove the defendant's guilt, not his burden to prove his innocence. Pennsylvania Victim's kin sues nursing home in brother's homicide JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- The brother of a man killed by a fellow dementia patient last year has sued the western Pennsylvania nursing home where the fatal attack occurred. The Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown reports Wednesday that Jack Shaw sued Grane Healthcare last year in Allegheny County, but the suit was recently transferred to Cambria County where the Cambria Care Center is located. That's where authorities say 70-year-old Theodore Shaw was fatally beaten last February by 79-year-old Raymond Dunmyer Jr. Dunmire has since died. Shaw's lawsuit contends Grane staff didn't do enough to watch his brother or prevent the attack. Grane's attorneys have argued that proper legal procedures haven't been followed and are trying to have the lawsuit dismissed. Grane officials say in a statement they recognize "the unfortunate events surrounding this complaint and have the utmost sympathy" for Shaw's family. Colorado Fugitive attorney says he got Social Security BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) -- A Breckenridge attorney who went missing for nearly five years says he collected Social Security benefits during the time he was being sought by law enforcement. According to KCNC-TV, Royal "Scoop" Daniel disappeared from Breckenridge in 2007. He turned 65 in 2010 and became eligible to collect Social Security while he was missing. Daniel pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two charges of felony theft after he was accused of embezzling at least $500,000 from his clients through real estate transactions. His sentencing is scheduled for April 19. Published: Thu, Mar 1, 2012