Louisiana
Man accused of stealing candy could get 20 years to life
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A man is facing a possible 20 years to life in prison after being accused of stealing $31 worth of candy bars from a New Orleans store.
The New Orleans Advocate reports 34-year-old Jacobia Grimes pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday.
Orleans Parish prosecutors chose to charge Grimes under a statute that boosts the alleged candy theft to a felony. The law applies to those who've been convicted of "theft of goods" at least twice before. Grimes has five prior theft convictions, making him a "quad" offender under the state's habitual-offender law, and facing 20 years to life.
Grimes' attorneys, Miles Swanson and Michael Kennedy, said his prior guilty pleas were for similar shoplifting attempts.
Grimes, who was released on bond, is due in court Wednesday.
California
Atty: More want to Join suit against territorial surfers
PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. (AP) - Lawyers say there's a growing list of people who want to join a proposed class-action lawsuit that claims local surfers have used violence and intimidation to protect their Southern California surf spot from intrusion by outsiders.
The lawsuit filed last week asks a federal judge to prevent the group of surfers known as the Lunada Bay Boys from congregating at beaches in wealthy Palos Verdes Estates south of Los Angeles.
Authorities have been accused of looking the other way as the gang threatened outsiders, tossed rocks at them and vandalized their cars.
Attorney Kurt Franklin tells the Daily News that his firm has received dozens of calls and emails from people who say they've experienced harassment at the surf spot.
The suit targets the city, its police chief and eight alleged Bay Boys.
Massachusetts
Judge OKs Bulger sale; proceeds to go to victims
BOSTON (AP) - A federal judge has approved the sale of dozens of items belonging to Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger.
The move by Judge Denise Casper Monday allows the U.S. Marshals Service to auction off Bulger's belongings so the proceeds can be divided among the families of his murder and extortion victims.
The items include a gold and diamond Claddagh ring, a replica of a 1986 Stanley Cup championship ring, electronics and other items found in Bulger's apartment when he was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. Bulger spent 16 years on the run.
Authorities also found $822,000 in cash. That money will also go to victims' families.
The auction is expected to be held in late June.
Bulger was convicted in 2013 of a litany of crimes, including playing a role in 11 murders.
Massachusetts
Man accused of putting pipe bomb-like devices on power lines
BOSTON (AP) - Federal authorities say a Massachusetts man accused of putting pipe bomb-like devices on high-voltage power lines left a note threatening to attack other utilities and to publish instructions on how to make similar devices on the Internet.
Danny Kelly, of Chelmsford, was arrested Saturday, days after firefighters responded to a brush fire near National Grid electric power lines in Tyngsborough. Kelly is due in court Monday.
An FBI affidavit says Kelly was charged more than a decade ago with cutting approximately 18 telephone and cable lines and threatening to cut more unless he received payment. He pleaded guilty to extortion.
The affidavit says Kelly left a note in Tyngsborough saying he is going to war and threatening attacks on critical infrastructure.
Florida
Lawyers: Man accused of killing has brain injury
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Lawyers say a Florida man accused of killing his wife and five children in 2009 suffers from a traumatic brain injury.
Mesac Damas of North Naples is charged with first-degree murder and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The trial has been delayed by competency issues, though a judge in October deemed Damas competent after he completed mental health treatment.
In Collier County court documents obtained by the Naples Daily News (http://bit.ly/1U DasvF ), Damas' attorneys wrote that the 39-year-old had not only the traumatic brain injury but also a long history of mental illness that began during his childhood in Haiti. They also said they had evidence of "serious family dysfunction," abuse and mental illness among Damas' relatives.
New York
Ex-NYC cop faces trial for 2014 slaying of man
NORWICH, N.Y. (AP) - A retired New York City police officer is going on trial in an upstate courtroom for a 2014 shooting that killed a 26-year-old man and wounded the victim's father.
Authorities say 57-year-old John Guzy killed Derek Prindle and wounded his then-60-year-old father in the parking lot outside a gym in the Chenango County town of Bainbridge.
Police say Guzy and the Prindles were involved in a traffic dispute while driving on Route 7 in October 2014. Officials say Guzy shot both men after they pulled over and got out of their vehicle.
Guzy was a Chenango County corrections officer at the time of the shooting. He worked for the NYPD for 20 years.
A county court judge is scheduled to begin hear opening statements Monday. Guzy has waived his right to a jury trial.
Minnesota
Family of woman killed in 1980 fighting parole
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Relatives of a woman strangled and dismembered by her husband more than three decades ago in Minnesota are once again fighting to keep her killer behind bars.
David Hoffman is eligible for parole next week. The 69-year-old Hoffman has served 35 years in prison and that's where the family of Carol Stebbins wants him to stay. KMSP-TV reports Hoffman will appear for a fifth time before the Minnesota Parole Board.
In the past, the state corrections commissioner has cited Hoffman's lack of remorse as among the reasons he has not yet been released.
Hoffman was convicted of first-degree murder in Hennepin County in 1981. Hoffman's mother, Helen Ulvinen, was accused of knowing about the plan to kill Stebbins and was also convicted. Her conviction was overturned by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Published: Tue, Apr 05, 2016
