National Roundup

Florida
School teacher accused of trying to hire hit man
PLANT CITY, Fla. (AP) — Police say a feud between two teachers in a Tampa Bay area high school social studies department led one to try to hire a hit man to kill the other.
The Tampa Bay Times reports the relationship between one-time friends James Pepe and Robert Meredith deteriorated as they worked together at Strawberry Crest High School. They say 55-year-old Pepe eventually transferred to Bloomingdale High School near Tampa where he was arrested last week.
Plant City police spokesman Tray Towles says Pepe suspected Meredith was spreading rumors about him.
Police started investigating in August after a man called to tell them Pepe tried to hire him to kill Meredith. The caller said he was Pepe’s friend.
Pepe remains in Hillsborough County Jail, where he’s being held without bond.

Georgia
2 of 3 fugitive siblings plead guilty to charges
VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — Two of three siblings accused of robbing a south Georgia bank during a crime spree that started in Florida and ended with a shootout in Colorado pleaded guilty in a Georgia court.
Ryan Dougherty and Lee Grace Dougherty on Monday entered new pleas in federal court in Valdosta. They will return for sentencing on Dec. 17. Their brother, Dylan Stanley-Dougherty, is not scheduled to enter a new plea.
All three pleaded not guilty in May to Georgia bank robbery and gun charges.
The siblings pleaded guilty to Colorado charges last August. Ryan Dougherty got 18 years, Lee Dougherty received 24 years and Dylan Stanley-Dougherty got 32 years for those charges.
They still face charges in Florida, where authorities say they shot at an officer during a high-speed chase.

Washington
Man accused in guard shooting in court Oct. 26
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new hearing date has been set for a Virginia man accused of opening fire inside the headquarters of a conservative Christian lobbying group.
Online court records had shown a status conference for Floyd Lee Corkins II in Washington’s federal court on Monday. But instead, Corkins will appear Oct. 26 for a new hearing.
Corkins is charged with shooting and wounding a security guard last month in the lobby of the Family Research Council.
Authorities say Corkins told the guard that he didn’t like the group’s policies before shooting him. The guard survived and was able to help restrain Corkins, whom authorities say was also carrying sandwiches from Chick-fil-A. The fast-food chain made headlines over the summer when its president affirmed his opposition to same-sex marriage.

Kentucky
Commercials off air after lawyer is suspended
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The ever present commercials for the law firm of Winters & Yonker are off the air in Louisville and Florida after the Tampa attorneys who head the law firm were suspended.
The Courier-Journal reported that the firm, known in Louisville as Winters, Yonker and Kannady, spent $651,000 on 12,212 spots in the Louisville market in the first eight months of this year.
William Winters and Marc Yonker were suspended for 91 days and 60 days respectively earlier this month by the Florida Supreme Court, which found they stole clients from their former boss 11 years ago to start their own firm.
Florida State Bar staff counsel Kenneth Lawrence Marvin says the pair is barred from seeking new business or advertising in Florida during their suspensions.

New Mexico
Former warden cleared in case of improper release
DEMING, N.M. (AP) — Charges against a former Luna County Detention Center warden accused of improperly releasing inmates have been dismissed.
The Deming Headlight reports that 14 misdemeanor charges against John Krehbiel were dropped last week after a judge ruled that he did not violate state law.
The 51-year-old was charged with deliberately releasing prisoners without orders of release through the LCDC’s “Recidivism Reduction Program,” a multi-step program aimed at reducing future offenses. A portion of the program allows for inmates to be released on furloughs. The alleged releases took place between July 2010 and April 2011.
But Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Daniel Viramontes says Krehbiel did release the inmates correctly under the program.
The decision comes after a 25-point motion for dismissal was filed in May by Krehbiel’s attorney, Jim Foy.

Mississippi
Man to argue insanity defense in weapons case
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Court records say a man will use an insanity defense against two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of guns.
Davis Lamar Brooks is charged in U.S. District Court in Jackson with possessing guns in Rankin County in November 2009 and January 2011. He has a history of criminal charges, including aggravated and domestic battery.
Brooks’ attorney, Omodare Jupiter, filed a notice Friday that says his client will rely on an insanity defense. Jupiter had no comment Monday when contacted by The Associated Press.
The court requested a mental evaluation in September 2011. Brooks was found competent for trial after being diagnosed with schizophrenia and put on medication. A report says Brooks believed the Aryan Brotherhood gang implanted a microphone in his head and tried to poison him.

Kansas
Death row inmate appeals sentence
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Cowley County prosecutor says a response is planned to an appeal from a death row inmate convicted in the 2007 murder of a Cowley County student.
Justin Thurber of Arkansas City filed the appeal with the Kansas Supreme Court in July, contending that several errors were made during his trial. Thurber was convicted in February 2009 in the death of 19-year-old Jodi Sanderholm, whose battered body was found in January 2007 in the Kaw Wildlife Area.
The appeal contends several errors were significant enough to reverse the verdict.
The Arkansas City Traveler reports Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith said Friday that the Kansas Attorney General’s Office has until April to file a response. He says a hearing on Thurber’s appeal before the Supreme Court has not been scheduled.?