Texas
Man gets 4 years in fatal Texas City shooting
TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) — A man has been sentenced to four years in prison after firing a shot that ricocheted off the ground and struck and killed a bystander during an altercation outside a Texas City convenience store.
The Galveston County Daily News reports 25-year-old Charmon Leon Smith was sentenced Monday. He had been charged with murder in the April 2012 death of 50-year-old Marion Glenn Hines but was convicted by a jury of the lesser offense of manslaughter.
Police say Smith argued with a 17-year-old outside the convenience store and tried to hit the teenager with a pistol.
But the teen blocked the blow and Smith’s gun fell to the pavement. The weapon fired and a bullet struck Hines, who was not involved. Hines died from complications of a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Oklahoma
Ex-pharmacist pleads guilty to new charge
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A former Oklahoma pharmacist convicted of murder for shooting a would-be robber has pleaded guilty to possessing contraband in prison.
The Oklahoman reports Jerome Ersland was sentenced Monday to an additional two years in prison.
Ersland is already serving a life sentence for the May 2009 shooting death of 16-year-old Antwun Parker at Ersland’s pharmacy in Oklahoma City.
Ersland has said he was acting in self-defense when he shot Parker during a botched robbery attempt. But a jury disagreed and convicted Ersland of first-degree murder.
In the contraband case, Ersland is accused of possessing two Fentanyl painkiller patches at the Joseph Harp Correctional Center in Lexington.
Ersland’s son, Jeffrey Ersland, has pleaded no contest to a charge of bringing drugs into prison.
Ersland is currently appealing his murder conviction.
North Carolina
SBI investigates fatal shooting of man by officer
HAMPSTEAD, N.C. (AP) — The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the fatal shooting of a Pender County man by a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper.
Authorities say it happened Sunday night in Hampstead northeast of Wilmington as officers responded to a report of a vehicle hitting a house and then driving to a home nearby.
Patrol First Sgt. Jeff Gordon says the trooper, a Pender County deputy and a Surf City police officer approached the house and saw three men inside.
The officers announced their presence and told the men to comply with their orders.
Gordon said one of the men in the house pointed a gun at the trooper who then fired at the man, killing him.
The victim was identified as 67-year-old Maynard Thomas of Hampstead.
Connecticut
Man accused of sending photos of ex-girlfriend
NORWALK, Conn. (AP) — Authorities say a 27-year-old Westport man sent photos of himself having sex with his ex-girlfriend to her new husband.
The Hour of Norwalk reports that Steven Krasilovsky was arraigned on a charge of second-degree harassment in Norwalk Superior Court on Monday afternoon.
Krasilovsky’s lawyer, John P. Thygerson, said the unidentified woman filed a civil restraining order against Krasilovsky who could not fight the order because he was actually in Israel at the time.
When he returned to the United States, Krasilovsky had the restraining order voided and his ex-girlfriend filed a police report.
Thygerson said the alleged victim is seeking relief in criminal court when she failed in her civil lawsuit.
He says Krasilovsky denies any criminal conduct.
Police say the explicit photos were provided as evidence.
California
Passenger ousts SuperShuttle riders, steals van
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Passengers aboard a SuperShuttle van bound for the San Francisco airport were left standing by the side of a road after one of their fellow riders ousted them and stole the vehicle.
The San Francisco Chronicle says the shuttle had picked up three travelers at hotels in downtown San Francisco on Sunday when a fourth rider boarded the van.
When the shuttle stopped to pick up a fifth person and the driver got out to help load luggage, the suspect took the wheel and drove off.
After a few blocks, the man stopped the van and let the passengers out with their suitcases. The four stranded riders then called a taxi and split the fare to the airport.
Police say the van was found later Sunday in Alameda County, but the driver remains at large.
South Dakota
Hutterite Colony loses 600 of its hogs in barn fire
SALEM, S.D. (AP) — A Hutterite colony in southeastern South Dakota is dealing with the loss of about 600 hogs in a weekend fire.
McCook County Emergency Manager Brad Stiefvater tells The Daily Republic newspaper that the animals died of smoke inhalation when a fire started in a hog barn at the Golden View Hutterite Colony on Saturday afternoon.
He says embers from a nearby burn pit likely were sucked into a vent and started the fire in the ceiling of the 5,600-square-foot barn.
Stiefvater says some of the surviving hogs might die later if they develop complications from smoke inhalation.
California
Transit officer accused of theft from his church
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors say the chief financial officer for the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District has been arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than a half-million dollars from his East Oakland church.
KPIX-TV reports 57-year-old Lewis Green Clinton Jr. is charged with four counts of grand theft.
He is accused of diverting the funds from Allen Temple Baptist Church between 2007 and 2013. Clinton is a parishioner at the 5,000-member church and served on three volunteer boards.
According to court documents, he used the money to pay for a luxury car, private schools for his children, mortgage payments and a golf club membership.
On Monday, Clinton was put on paid administrative leave from AC Transit.
He faces up to five years in prison if convicted. It wasn’t immediately known if he has retained a lawyer.
