National Roundup

Connecticut
Man convicted in death of bride on her wedding day
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A second man has been convicted in the shooting death of a Kansas bride as she headed to her reception in her wedding gown.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that jurors found 39-year-old Thomas Earl Brown Jr. guilty Monday of premeditated first-degree murder in the death of 42-year-old Tiffany Davenport-Ray of Topeka.

Prosecutors say shots were fired in May 2014 at Davenport-Ray and her husband, Melvin Ray, from a sport utility vehicle in which Brown and two others were riding. Prosecutors say Melvin Ray returned fire, but wasn’t wounded.

Defense attorney Kevin Shep­herd said Brown wasn’t present.

Sentencing is set for Sept. 30. Co-defendant Awnterio Dwan Lowery was sentenced previously to life in prison, while the third SUV occupant was shot to death about three weeks after Davenport-Ray’s killing.

Florida
Security tighter at courthouse after suspect escapes
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Security has been tightened for maximum-security jail inmates at a Florida courthouse following last week’s escape by a murder suspect.

Sheriff Scott Israel said Monday that effective immediately, inmates such as 21-year-old Dayonte Resiles will remain guarded by an armed deputy while in any courtroom. Previously the armed deputies departed after handing off such inmates to unarmed bailiffs.

Resiles escaped from the Broward County Courthouse on Friday after slipping out of his handcuffs while awaiting a hearing on whether he will face the death penalty in the 2014 stabbing death of Jill Halliburton Su during an attempted robbery at her home in Davie, Florida. Su’s family founded the Halliburton oil services company.

Four people, including two juveniles, are charged with helping Resiles escape.


Pennsylvania
Judge delays friars’ trial over  evidence volume
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Three Franciscan friars won’t stand trial until at least next year on charges linked to their role in supervising a suspected sexual predator accused of molesting more than 100 children, most at a Pennsylvania high school.

The Altoona Mirror reports Tuesday that Blair County Judge Jolene Kopriva has set an Aug. 31 status conference in the case. But she also ruled the trial won’t occur until next year after defense attorneys said they needed “significant” time to review “voluminous” evidence.

Giles Schinelli, Robert D’Aversa and Anthony Criscitelli assigned or supervised Brother Stephen Baker when he served at Bishop McCort Catholic High School in Johnstown in the 1990s. Baker killed himself in 2013.
The friars have denied wrongdoing.

They were ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing in April.

Maryland
Rock climber gets 10 years in prison for killing mentor
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A Virginia man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for the voluntary manslaughter of his rock climbing mentor.

News outlets report that 31-year-old David DiPaolo of Bristow pleaded guilty in February to killing 69-year-old Geoffery Farrar at the Carderock Recreation Area in Bethesda, Maryland. He was sentenced Monday.

Investigators say that in 2013, DiPaolo and Farrar began arguing in Carderock’s parking lot. The argument escalated and DiPaolo hit Farrar multiple times in the head with a claw hammer.
Farrar was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries.

DiPaolo’s attorney, Michael Citara Manis, argued mental illness was a significant factor in the deadly confrontation. DiPaolo asked for the forgiveness of Farrar’s family.

Judge Deborah Chasanow sentenced DiPaolo to 10 years in prison and ordered him to pay Farrar’s funeral expenses and medical bills.

Louisiana
Indicted sheriff tells judge he must carry a gun
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — An indicted south Louisiana sheriff says the recent killings of police in Baton Rouge show that he needs to carry a gun.

Prosecutors have asked a federal district judge to forbid Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal from possessing any weapons while he awaits trial on charges accusing him of telling guards to assault jail inmates.

Ackal already is prohibited from possessing a gun under the terms of his pre-trial release.

Judge Donald Walter has yet to rule on the motion, which also requests approval of unannounced inspections of Ackal’s home, vehicle and office. It’s based on recordings that prosecutors say caught Ackal making anti-Semitic threats against a federal prosecutor.

Court papers filed Monday say Ackal needs a gun because police are under attack.
His lawyers say it’s “disingenuous” for prosecutors to release private statements “which may contain inflammatory language, and at the same time, seek to deny him the right to carry a firearm for protection.”

Georgia
Top judge plans to leave the state’s highest court
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s top judge plans to leave the state’s highest court in early January.

Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Hugh Thompson, who is 73, announced his decision in a news release Tuesday. Gov. Nathan Deal will be responsible for appointing his replacement.

Thompson’s four-year term as chief justice ends in August 2017.

But the court is expanding from seven to nine justices in January, and he said it makes sense for his replacement to start at the same time as the other two new justices.

Thompson, who has been a judge for 45 years, was appointed to the high court in 1994 by Gov. Zell Miller.

Washington
Court: Prosecutor training manual can stay secret
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court says the Justice Department does not have to turn over a prosecution training manual to defense attorneys.

The ruling Tuesday covers the so-called Blue Book that instructs prosecutors about their duty to turn over certain documents to defense lawyers. It was created following the government’s botched prosecution of the late Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.

Stevens was found guilty in a 2008 federal corruption case, but the verdict was overturned amid charges of prosecutorial misconduct.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sought a copy of the guide under the Freedom of Information Act. A federal judge ruled in 2014 that it was exempt from disclosure.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed, saying it contains internal strategies to help prosecutors.