Ohio
Convicted judge seeks bail, sentence postponement
CINCINNATI (AP) - A suspended juvenile court judge sentenced to six months in jail on a felony wants an Ohio appeals court to grant her release on bail and postpone her sentence while she appeals the conviction.
Tracie Hunter's attorney filed the motion Monday with the First District Ohio Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. A Hamilton County judge has denied Hunter's motion to postpone the sentence set to begin Dec. 29. Hunter was sentenced this month on her conviction of unlawful interest in a public contract.
Monday's motion argues that Hunter has a strong likelihood of success in appealing her conviction. It also says she has serious health issues and also would need to be segregated from other inmates because of her high-profile position.
Prosecutors didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
Delaware
Teen told police he shot dad after skipping school
HARRINGTON, Del. (AP) - Court records show that a Delaware teenager told police he killed his father with a crossbow because he had skipped school and feared his dad would be angry.
The News Journal reports that the arrest warrant for 17-year-old Seth H. Ramsey makes clear that the teen told police he shot his father because he was afraid he would be mad.
Delaware State Police previously said they had no motive in the case.
Seth Ramsey of Harrington was arrested Thursday. Police say they went to the family's home to check on his father, 41-year-old Todd Ramsey, who had failed to show up for work. Troopers found Todd Ramsey dead in a bedroom.
Seth Ramsey is charged as an adult with first-degree murder.
Topeka
New court, dental programs to help mentally ill
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - People with mental illness will be offered two new programs in Topeka beginning in January.
An alternative sentencing court run through the Topeka Municipal Court will allow mentally ill people who committed relatively minor crimes to be released from a jail earlier if they comply with a treatment plan. The program also will offer employment, housing and substance abuse help.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the second program will provide dental services to the mentally ill who don't have dental insurance.
It's being offered through a partnership between Valeo and Community Health Ministry. Valeo CEO Glea Ashley says many people with mental health disorders have not had routine health care for some time and have more advanced problems.
Indiana
Inmate pleads guilty in 1980 Terre Haute slayings
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - A California prison inmate is pleading guilty in connection with the shooting deaths of two Terre Haute women more than 34 years ago.
The Tribune-Star and WTHI-TV report 61-year-old Harry Rowley pleaded guilty to murder charges during a Vigo County court hearing on Monday.
Rowley was charged in the July 1980 slayings of 29-year-old Lucinda Farmer and 28-year-old Mary Quillen. The roommates were found dead in an alley behind an apartment complex where Rowley also lived.
Investigators reopened the case four years ago and traveled last year to California, where Rowley is serving a life sentence for a separate slaying.
Court documents say Rowley told investigators he shot the women after he saw them leaning on his parked car.
Mississippi
Man returns to US following molestation conviction
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A 41-year-old man removed from the United States after a child molestation conviction in Texas has pleaded guilty to returning to the country without permission.
The Sun Herald reports federal court records show Jose Humberto Guajardo pleaded guilty to the federal felony charge of illegal re-entry into the United States on Dec. 4 before Chief District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. He's scheduled for sentencing on March 3 and is facing a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
According to federal court records, Guajardo was found in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Sept. 24.
The indictment said Guajardo had served time in Texas following a July 2010 conviction for child molestation in August. He was deported in May 2012.
He'd also been convicted of a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving stemming from an 2008 arrest in Hillsboro, Texas. Border Patrol agents had taken him to the Mexican border two months after that arrest for a voluntary return.
After his latest arrest, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Gulfport found his fingerprints in a database of previously deported persons. According to court records, Guajardo had five alias names.
Guajardo has remained jailed since his arrest.
Kansas
Man sentenced to life in prison in Wichita death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The owner of a Wichita auto shop will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of killing a man by injecting him with a lethal dose of methamphetamine.
Thirty-three-year-old Dang Sean was sentenced Friday for the January 2013 death of 34-year-old Shawn Lindsey.
A life sentence for first-degree murder will run consecutively with a 77-month term for aggravated kidnapping.
Prosecutors say Lindsey was bound and tortured before Sean injected him with a quarter-ounce of meth at the Automotive Bullies car repair shop because Lindsey owed a debt to Sean.
The Wichita Eagle reports one other suspect is serving life in prison, while cases against four other men charged in Lindsey's slaying are in various stages in the Sedgwick County court system.
North Dakota
Judge says brothers should not contact government witnesses
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A judge has issued an order prohibiting two brothers convicted in a federal crop insurance case from contacting witnesses called by the government.
A jury last week found Aaron and Derek Johnson guilty of conspiring to receive illegal payments and giving false statements. Authorities say the Cooperstown-area farmers illegally collected about $2 million after intentionally destroying potatoes and claiming the damage occurred naturally.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson says the brothers cannot contact government witnesses unless lawyers from both sides are present.
The jury deliberated for about five hours before returning their verdict early Friday evening. A sentencing date has not been set.
Published: Tue, Dec 16, 2014
