Pennsylvania
Cops: Psychedelic mushrooms grown in housing unit
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania man has been jailed after state troopers responding to a disturbance call say they found psychedelic mushrooms growing in the man's public housing apartment.
Forty-one-year-old David Kalb faces a preliminary hearing Dec. 15 on a felony charge that he possessed with the intent to manufacture 70 mushroom plants and 10 mason jars with related ingredients Monday evening.
Police say Kalb was involved in the disturbance and invited troopers who responded into his apartment, where they saw the mushrooms - and a small amount of marijuana - in plain view.
Kalb lives in Hempfield Towers, a high-rise owned by the Westmoreland County Housing Authority for low-income elderly and disabled residents.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Kalb, who remained in the county jail Tuesday.
New York
Appeals court orders new trial for former trader
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial for a former securities trader in Connecticut who was sentenced to two years in prison for allegedly defrauding the government bailout program.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Tuesday. It reversed Jesse Litvak's conviction on charges he defrauded the United States by making false statements. It vacated his conviction on securities fraud charges and ordered a new trial on those counts.
The appeals court had allowed Litvak to remain free pending appeal because he raised substantial questions of law.
Prosecutors say they are reviewing the decision.
During a 2014 trial, Litvak's lawyers argued that he engaged in typical sales techniques.
Arizona
Man acquitted of 1981 murder sees new charges
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A man acquitted of the 1981 death of a California engineer in northern Arizona is now facing new murder charges for a 2007 death in New Mexico.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports that 75-year-old Robert Resendez was extradited to Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday. He is accused of killing 32-year-old Albert Meat in 2007.
Meat, a homeless man, was found stabbed to death in Dec. 2007. Albuquerque cold case investigators turned their attention to Resendez after reviewing evidence from the crime scene, including DNA evidence, and tracking down witnesses who implicated him in the killing.
Resendez was found not guilty in November of shooting 51-year-old Jerry Heath, dumping his body near Flagstaff and taking his vehicle.
That case went cold for 32 years before fingerprints were linked to Resendez.
Michigan
Man gets prison for freezing death of girlfriend
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. (AP) - A southwestern Michigan man whose drunken girlfriend froze to death after he chastised her on video for being intoxicated and left her on an unheated enclosed porch has been sentenced to prison.
Charles Campbell Jr., 49, earlier pleaded guilty in an agreement with prosecutors to involuntary manslaughter in the Feb. 22, 2014, death of 32-year-old Tamika Hurd. On Monday, he was sentenced in a Berrien County courtroom to 19 months to 15 years in prison.
"I'm sorry it happened, but I tried to help her," Campbell told the court. "It hurts me."
Judge Angela Pasula disagreed, saying Hurd's death was "avoidable, unnecessary and tragic," The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph reported.
"You did not try to help her, on this occasion. ... There's a fine line between tough love and compassion. The victim was highly intoxicated and your failure to assist her may have risen to cruelty," the judge told Campbell before sentencing him.
Hurd was dropped off drunk at a Benton Township home where she lived with Campbell.
Authorities said Hurd showered and was wet when she went outside in temperatures between 24 and 27 degrees without a coat, hat, boots or gloves. According to prosecutors, video recorded by Campbell shows Hurd was too intoxicated to help herself.
Campbell later went shopping.
Defense lawyer Jim Jesse said Campbell brought Hurd from outside the home onto the enclosed porch, and that her intoxication was entirely voluntary.
"On the tape, he is chastising her for it," Jesse said.
Assistant Prosecutor Cortney O'Malley said that on the recording "he can be heard berating her and belittling her. Then he leaves her on the porch and goes to sleep. She has no phone, and she cannot summon help."
O'Malley said text messages sent to Hurd's mother earlier showed that Campbell was angry at his girlfriend and her brother for going out.
Kansas
Judge considers overturning man's murder conviction
OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas court is considering whether to overturn a Kansas man's conviction in his sister-in-law's 1999 killing after new DNA testing was conducted.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 39-year-old Floyd Bledsoe appears in court Tuesday afternoon. He was convicted of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated indecent liberties in the death of 14-year-old Camille Arfmann. He's been imprisoned for more than 16 years.
A new report finds that sperm from Arfmann's body likely belonged to Bledsoe's brother, Tom Bledsoe, who initially confessed before blaming Floyd Bledsoe. Tom Bledsoe was found dead of an apparent suicide soon after the DNA results were made public.
Arfmann disappeared from the mobile home she shared with Floyd Bledsoe, her sister and their two children after coming home from school.
Virginia
Man who scammed military aid groups sentenced
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A Chesapeake man will spend 10 months in prison for scamming charitable organizations that aid military members.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that 29-year-old Sterling Orlando Scott was sentenced on Monday in federal court in Norfolk on a felony charge of stealing more than $11,000 from military aid groups.
According to court documents, Scott received an "other than honorable" discharge from the Army in November 2014 amid allegations that he tried to scam Army Emergency Relief. He used his old military ID to scam other aid groups after he was discharged.
Scott told the court that he plans to seek psychological and medical help from the Department of Veterans Affairs after he serves his sentence. He also plans to petition the Army to grant him an honorable discharge.
Published: Wed, Dec 09, 2015
