National Roundup

Maine
Town rejects mandatory gun ownership plan
BYRON, Maine (AP) — Residents of a small western Maine town have rejected a proposal that would have required a gun in every home.
About 50 registered voters in Byron on Monday voted against an article that read: “Shall the town of Byron vote to require all households to have firearms and ammunitions to protect the citizens?”
Even Anne Simmons-Edmunds, head of the select board, who initially supported the measure, says she voted it down.
The measure was proposed by her father, Bruce Simmons. He voted it down too, saying the wording was wrong. He says it should have read “recommend’ rather than “require.”
Some of the town’s roughly 140 residents say the proposal made the town a laughingstock.
Randy Richards says he’s a gun owner, but resented the proposal because it was government overreach.

Delaware
Arrest warrant rescinded for Del. pageant queen
OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — A former Miss Delaware Teen USA who resigned her title after an online sex video surfaced is due in a Maryland court next month to respond to a theft charge.
A judge rescinded an arrest warrant in Ocean City for 18-year-old Melissa King and scheduled an April 22 court date.
The News Journal of Wilmington reports the judge agreed to recall the warrant at the request of King’s lawyer.
Police in Ocean City, Md., charged King last summer with taking money from the cash box of a municipal bus. She’s also accused of underage possession of alcohol.
King gave up her crown last month amid allegations that she appeared in an online sex video. King said she was aware of the video but denied appearing in it.

Texas
El Paso man held for alleged threat to Barack Obama
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A federal grand jury in West Texas has indicted a 20-year-old man who allegedly threatened to shoot President Barack Obama during his inauguration.
The El Paso Times reported Tuesday that William Mose Tucker of El Paso remains in custody without bond. His next court date is March 28.
An attorney for Tucker seeks bond — saying his client doesn’t own any weapons or ammunition and there’s no evidence he planned to carry out the alleged threat.
Documents show Tucker last September told someone he planned to shoot Obama. Tucker was indicted Jan. 16 on a charge of making a threat against the president. He was arrested four days later in in Lawton, Okla., while selling magazines. Obama’s inauguration was the next day.
Details weren’t released on who reported Tucker.

New York
Facebook suit seeks halt to criminal case
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A New York man whose lawsuit claiming part ownership of Facebook got him arrested wants his criminal case halted.
Paul Ceglia (sehg-LEE’-uh) of Wellsville filed a complaint in Buffalo federal court Monday seeking to stop the U.S. government’s prosecution of him on fraud charges.
Ceglia was arrested last October in what the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan called a multibillion-dollar scheme to defraud Facebook and its chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. Prosecutors accused Ceglia of doctoring a contract he signed with Zuckerberg in 2003 to make it appear Ceglia would eventually receive half-ownership in the Menlo Park, Calif., company.
That contract is the basis of a pending lawsuit Ceglia filed against Facebook and Zuckerberg in 2010.
Ceglia’s new complaint says prosecuting him criminally for filing a lawsuit violates his constitutional rights.

Massachusetts
Organized crime  loan boss gets 4-year sentence
SALEM, Mass. (AP) — A 64-year-old North Andover man described by prosecutors as the “overall boss” of a loan sharking and illegal gambling enterprise has been sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Joseph Giallanella was also sentenced Monday to two years of probation upon release.
Giallanella had pleaded guilty in January to charges including managing a gaming enterprise, using a telephone for gaming, criminal usury, two counts of conspiracy and two counts of accessory after the fact of larceny.
Prosecutors say he strong-armed debtors using threats and violence. Giallanella and an enforcer had extortion victims all over the state who they “stalked, threatened, coerced, harassed and in one instance beat for money,” according to court documents.
The investigation into Giallanella resulted in indictments against 30 others.
His lawyer refused comment.

Washington, D.C.
Documents say teacher admitted to explicit texts
WASHINGTON (AP) — Court documents say a District of Columbia high school teacher told authorities that he’s sent sexually explicit text messages to about 10 students in his career.
John Solano, a 29-year-old science teacher at McKinley Technical High School, was arrested last week on a child pornography charge.
Two students at the school told the authorities that Solano had sent them sexually explicit and inappropriate text messages. Court documents say that under questioning, Solano reported having similar explicit conversations with no more than 10 students during his career.
Solano has been placed on administrative leave from the school. Online court records show that Solano is being held without bond.
Solano’s attorney, Bernie Grimm, declined to comment Tuesday.

Connecticut
Man in random killing gets 15 years in prison
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — One of six young men convicted in the random killing of a pizza cook in New London has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter, while four others face sentencing hearings this week.
Nineteen-year-old Rahshad Perry learned his fate Monday in New London Superior Court after prosecutors showed photos of victim Matthew Chew that were arranged into a slide show by his parents, Marilyn and Rick Chew of Arcadia, Calif. Perry apologized to the family.
Perry and five other teens beat and fatally stabbed 25-year-old Matthew Chew as he walked home from work in October 2010. Testimony showed the teens were “bored” and decided to attack someone at random.
One defendant is already serving a 35-year prison sentence. The four remaining sentencings are set for Tuesday through Friday.u