PENNSYLVANIA
Prowling ninja says that he was just helping cops
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A 19-year-old western Pennsylvania man who dressed up as a ninja and lurked near homes says he meant no harm and was just trying to help police catch bad guys.
But neighbors who saw him sneaking around called police.
The man, Todd Kapcsos, of Johnstown, was in court Wednesday. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of loitering, prowling at night and disorderly conduct.
Police in Johnstown say they don’t condone such behavior and that Kapcsos frightened some elderly residents who saw him sneaking around.
One neighbor, Chris Trevino, tells WJAC-TV, “It looked more like he was trying to break into homes, not like he was gonna be a ninja and save the world.”
MASSACHUSETTS
Juror: Corruption in Whitey Bulger case stunned me
EASTHAM, Mass. (AP) — A juror in Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger’s trial says testimony showed that the man once listed as the FBI’s most wanted fugitive was a “bad, bad man,” but she was still stunned by revelations of government corruption that enabled him to operate for years.
Janet Uhlar-Tinney also says failure by prosecutors to provide sufficient evidence to back allegations by former mobsters who testified against Bulger made it impossible to determine without reasonable doubt that he killed eight of 19 victims.
Uhlar-Tinney says many jurors were shaking when the verdict was handed down Monday. Bulger was convicted of 11 murders as well as other charges, from extortion to money laundering.
Uhlar-Tinney says the two-month trial was consuming and some jurors lost weight or had trouble sleeping.
IDAHO
Prosecutors say that ‘Duffel Bag Bandit’ arrested
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho federal prosecutors announced the indictment of a man the FBI nicknamed “the Duffel Bag Bandit,” saying he held up a Boise US Bank branch in March carrying a large red sack.
The FBI arrested Gerald E. Massey, a former Boise resident living in Shreveport, La., Monday.
Massey was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Idaho with one count of bank robbery. He’s already appeared in U.S. District Court in Louisiana.
Earlier this year, the FBI offered up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the Duffel Bag Bandit, saying a man meeting that description had robbed six banks in Idaho and Utah.
The Boise robbery netted $64,500.
Massey, who is 55, faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
VIRGINIA
Prosecutor is warned for case involving donor
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — A disciplinary panel has imposed a public admonishment on Williamsburg Commonwealth Attorney Nate Green for his handling of a traffic case involving a political donor.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the Virginia State Bar alleged Green violated professional conduct rules concerning conflict of interest and disregarding a court ruling. The allegations arose from his handling of the case of Stephen D. Harris, a well-known Williamsburg-area lawyer.
Harris was arrested in 2010 and charged with driving under the influence and other charges. He had contributed $100 to Green’s campaign.
Green and local judges were disqualified from the case, and prosecutors and judges from outside the area were appointed. But Green then handled Harris’ appeal to the circuit court after he was convicted on the lesser charges of refusing the breath test and carrying an open container of alcohol.
Charles City County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert H. Tyler, who was appointed as the special prosecutor, did not learn of the appeal or the circuit court proceedings until afterward.
In a March 12 response to the bar charges, Green denied violating rules of professional conduct. Among other things, he told the bar that he did not believe he had a conflict of interest because he and Harris had no personal or professional relationship.
Green wrote that it was his position that because the circuit court trial was a new matter, the previous order appointing Tyler to the general district court case did not carry over and he did not knowingly disregard a standing court ruling. He wrote that after Tyler alleged misconduct following the circuit court trial, he reported his conduct and asked the state bar if his conduct was unethical.
The panel ruled Tuesday that he should be sanctioned for disobeying a court order.
A public admonition is a more serious punishment than a private one, but less than a license suspension or revocation.
Green says he won’t appeal.
“I’m sure I’ll put some more thought into it but I don’t anticipate appealing,” Green said.
INDIANA
No death penalty bid in restaurant shooting trial
PRINCETON, Ind. (AP) — Prosecutors have decided against seeking the death penalty against a man charged with fatally shooting his estranged girlfriend as she walked with their 13-year-old son outside a southwestern Indiana restaurant.
The Gibson County prosecutor has filed a court motion seeking life in prison without parole against Jason Perry. He is charged with shooting 34-year-old Jessica Tice twice at close range May 22 outside a restaurant in Princeton.
Prosecutor Rob Krieg tells the Princeton Daily Clarion that a review found the circumstances of the shooting don’t qualify it for a death sentence.
Perry’s defense attorney declined to comment on the decision, but this week also filed a motion asking that the trial be moved to another county because of extensive publicity about the case.
TENNESSEE
Teen must face prosecution as adult, judge rules
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The case against a Memphis teenager charged with killing his mother in a house fire must remain in adult court.
According to The Commercial Appeal, a judge told lawyers for 14-year-old Jonathan Ray he was not inclined to send the first-degree murder case back to Juvenile Court, nor was he allowed to under state law.
Ray — who has been identified by name in open court — was arrested April 5 after his family’s home burned, trapping his mother, Gwendolyn Wallace, upstairs. The 45-year-old woman was killed in the blaze.
Ray’s lawyers argued their client did not receive a meaningful hearing in Juvenile Court.
The youth is held without bond.o
