National Roundup

South Dakota
Judge rules plant workers are due severance pay
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A judge has ruled that 100 former Merillat particle board plant workers should receive severance pay the company promised but did not distribute when it closed its Rapid City plant in 2009.
The Rapid City Journal reports U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey Viken awarded the 100 former employees a total of more than $2 million.
Attorney John Dorsey says the pool of money could grow by $860,000 if the judge later rules that interest accrued during the past three years should also be awarded.
About 50 former employees already settled claims for payments in mediation sessions.

California
SF moves to ban all hollow-point gun ammunition
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Hollow-point bullets and other ammunition designed to cause extreme damage could soon be banned in San Francisco.
Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Malia Cohen and police Chief Greg Suhr said on Thursday that high-powered, military-style weapons and ammunition have no place in the city.
The San Francisco Chronicle says Cohen will introduce legislation next month that would ban hollow-point bullets and other ammunition meant to cause extreme damage. The law will also require that sellers notify police when more than 500 rounds of ammunition are being purchased.
An earlier San Francisco plan to ban automatic weapons was thwarted by the court. The mayor says the latest proposal will likely face legal challenges.

California
Man pleads not guilty to stabbing woman, daughter
VISTA, Calif. (AP) — A Vista man has pleaded not guilty to killing a woman and stabbing her 8-year-old daughter 26 times.
Daniel Hernandez entered pleas last week to murder and premeditated attempted murder. A judge set his bail at $5 million, calling him an extreme danger to the public. He remains jailed.
Prosecutors say Hernandez stabbed an acquaintance, Antonia Duran, 22 times in her San Marcos apartment on Tuesday. Her daughter was sleeping but woke during the attack and screamed “Leave my mom alone!”
Authorities say Hernandez then decided to eliminate her as a witness.
Her liver, kidney and pancreas were punctured. Authorities say she’s in a medically-induced coma but is expected to live.
Hernandez has previous convictions in Washington state for assault and domestic violence.

Wisconsin
Wausau woman accused in theft from her sister
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) — The attorney for a Wausau woman accused of stealing from her disabled sister says a plea deal has been reached with prosecutors.
Nancy Rodemeier is charged with embezzling $38,000 from her sister over a 10-year period to fund her gambling, drinking and smoking habits.
Defense attorney Jim Connell says the case should never have been criminally charged, because it was a dispute among family members.
The Wausau Daily Herald says Rodemeier was a legal guardian for her developmentally disabled sister, a 53-year-old woman who now lives in Amherst. A state-sponsored agency which provided protection for the disabled woman said it found discrepancies in her bank account.

Pennsylvania
Stun-gunned teen suit can proceed, judge announces
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge says a lawsuit can move forward alleging a police officer used excessive force when he shot a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl in the groin with a stun gun.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Stengel last week dismissed wrongful arrest claims brought against Allentown police Officer Jason Ammary but said the girl’s mother can argue he used unreasonable force.
The Morning Call of Allentown reports Ammary used the stun gun in arresting the girl outside Dieruff High School in September 2011. Security video shows Ammary struggle with the girl before she apparently raises her arms when he draws the stun gun.

Maine
Man sentenced  for manslaughter in fatal car crash
ALFRED, Maine (AP) — A 24-year-old Sanford man has learned his sentence for causing a 2010 traffic accident that killed one person and injured five others.
Zachary Bubar will serve two years in prison, with the remainder of a nine-year sentence suspended. He’ll also be on probation for four years.
The Portland Press Herald reports Bubar was sentenced by a York County Superior Court judge last week following his conviction last month on manslaughter and other charges.
Authorities say Bubar was driving a car that crashed into a van. Police say a speeding Bubar pulled into the northbound lane around a car that was signaling to make a right turn and slammed into a van headed north.
Shawn Beaulieu, who was riding in the front seat of Bubar’s vehicle, was killed.

Washington
Spokane clerk punches out man armed with knife
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — When a Spokane drugstore clerk confronted a suspected shoplifter early Friday he pulled out a knife and threatened her.
Police say the Walgreens clerk punched the man in the face and knocked him down. He dropped the knife. She picked it up, and he ran off.
Police found a suspect in the area wearing a black stocking cap with tassels that had been shoplifted.
The 25-year-old was identified by the clerk and jailed for investigation of robbery.

Pennsylvania
Justice wants jurors asked about publicity
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Attorneys for suspended state Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin want prospective jurors to be asked about any media reports they’ve seen before she goes on trial for campaign corruption charges in January.
Such motions are commonplace in higher-profile cases.
The 56-year-old Pittsburgh-area jurist is scheduled for trial Jan. 23 on charges that she illegally used her state-paid staff to run her election campaigns for the state’s highest court when she was a judge on the Superior Court, a lower appellate court.
Melvin’s attorneys also want possible jurors to be asked if they’ve ever worked in a government officer or on political campaigns, among other questions.