New Hampshire
Stepdad posts bail in custody flight case
LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) - The stepfather of a girl who was taken out of the United States a decade ago amid a custody dispute has posted $250,000 cash bail less than week after his arraignment in New Hampshire.
Scott Kelley fled with his wife, Genevieve Kelley, and her then-8-year-old daughter in 2004.
The Kelleys were arraigned May 7 in Coos County on custodial interference and witness tampering charges. They pleaded not guilty.
Fifty-year-old Scott Kelley was arrested last month in Atlanta after he and the daughter, 19-year-old Mary Nunes, arrived on a flight from Costa Rica. The Caledonian Record reports he posted bail Wednesday.
Genevieve Kelley surrendered to authorities in November. She posted bail in January.
Both cases could be consolidated into one trial that could start in September.
Maryland
Man pleads not guilty over fake Pharrell show
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A lawyer for a man charged with scamming a South Korean steel company out of $375,000 by claiming he could help them book a Pharrell concert says his client will plead not guilty.
Sigismond Segbefia, of Silver Spring, Maryland, faces fraud and identity theft charges. Prosecutors say he also used a Pennsylvania postal worker's identity to bilk more than $445,000 from women he met online.
Segbefia is a 28-year-old native of Ghana who is in the U.S. legally. He was arrested last month by federal customs officials at Kennedy Airport.
The FBI says Segbefia used a shell company he incorporated in Maryland called Eastern Stars LLC to make his various claims seem legitimate.
Michigan
Judge: Boy, 13, competent for trial in stabbing
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - A 13-year-old boy is competent for trial in the fatal stabbing of a 9-year-old boy at a western Michigan playground and can learn details of the legal process like any other defendant, a judge has ruled.
The decision by Kent County Family Court Judge Paul Denenfeld is in line with a state expert's finding. It conflicts with the opinion from an expert hired by the boy's lawyer that the child couldn't sufficiently understand the charges and aid in his defense.
"While the defendant may not understand all the details of the process, that makes him no different from most Americans who gain their understanding of the criminal justice system from television and movies," Denenfeld wrote in his opinion released this week.
"There is simply no persuasive argument that, based on the undisputed facts presented here, the defendant fails to 'understand the nature and object of the proceedings,'" Denenfeld wrote.
Defense lawyer Charles Boekeloo told The Grand Rapids Press he was disappointed with the judge's decision. He said he plans an insanity defense and that the boy, who was 12 at the time of the killing, was not able to know the consequences of his actions.
The boy is charged with murder in the death of Michael Verkerke, who was killed in August at a playground in Kentwood, near Grand Rapids.
The Associated Press isn't naming the boy because of his age. His mother and stepfather are facing child abuse charges, and his siblings have been removed from their home.
A jury trial is scheduled for July 15.
Indiana
Woman admits leaving baby to die on cruise ship
HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) - A northwest Indiana woman has pleaded guilty to giving birth on a Caribbean cruise ship and leaving the baby girl to die under a bed.
Alicia Keir, 24, of DeMotte entered the plea to an involuntary manslaughter charge on Wednesday in federal court.
Court records show Keir gave birth in her stateroom in October 2011, wrapped the baby in a towel and hid her under the bed, The (Munster) Times reported.
"She did not move. She did not make a sound," Keir told U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano, saying she knew the baby was born alive.
"I should have gotten help," she said.
A cleaning crew found the baby dead the next day when the ship arrived at port in St. Maarten. Keir flew home from St. Maarten after the infant was discovered.
A doctor found that the baby died from exposure and lack of care, U.S. Attorney Randall Stewart said. Court records show the baby was born without any diseases or defects. Keir said she knew she was pregnant but didn't tell her travel companions.
Federal prosecutors said even though the baby died at sea they have jurisdiction in the case because of Keir's Indiana residency.
Keir faces up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced Aug. 20. Her plea agreement states that prosecutors and the defense can argue for what they believe is an appropriate sentence.
Arkansas
State high court returns juvenile case to circuit
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Supreme Court has sent back to circuit court two cases involving inmates serving mandatory life in prison without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles.
The high court in its majority opinion said the circuit court failed in its ruling to address probable cause before ordering new sentences for Aaron Hodge and James Grubbs. It considered whether they should receive new sentences in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2012 that barred mandatory life sentences for juveniles.
If the court later rules on retroactivity, it could impact the sentences of another 54 inmates serving such terms in the state.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Louisiana case arguing in favor of retroactivity later this year.
Illinois
Man's lawyers request new trial in 1977 murders
PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Lawyers from the Center on Wrongful Convictions who represent a Peoria man have filed a motion in Peoria County court requesting advanced DNA testing that they say they hope will prove he didn't kill two people in 1977.
Johnnie Lee Savory was convicted when he was 14 years old and spent nearly 30 years in prison for the deaths. He was pardoned after then-Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn commuted his sentence in 2011.
The (Peoria) Journal Star reports Savory's attorneys and prosecutors argued Wednesday over the merits of the new findings. The judge took the matter under advisement, but a decision isn't expected soon.
Published: Fri, May 15, 2015
