National Roundup

New Hampshire
Circus operator to plead not guilty in tent collapse
LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) — A lawyer for a Florida-based circus operator facing charges in a tent collapse that killed a man and his 6-year-old daughter in New Hampshire says the company will plead not guilty.

About 100 people were inside the tent Aug. 3, 2015, at the Lancaster Fairgrounds when a storm blew through, toppling it.

Robert Young and his daughter Annabelle, of Concord, Vermont, were killed. Fifty others were injured.

Sarasota-based Walker International Events faces a felony charge of operating without a license and other violations. The Caledonian-Record reports its lawyer said Wednesday that the company won’t be setting up more shows in New Hampshire as the case proceeds and that it will plead not guilty.

Corporations can face fines and sanctions on criminal convictions. Walker also faces lawsuits and fines.

Florida
Child abuse line called before fatal beating of baby
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Days before authorities say a 6-year-old Florida boy fatally beat his newborn sister, a caller raised concerns about the family using the state’s child abuse hotline.

Pinellas County Sheriff’s records show the caller told child protection investigators on Aug. 2 that the boy was abusive to his younger brother and animals and that he had likely started a fire that displaced his family in July.
The Tampa Bay Times reports an investigator determined there was “no evidence” to substantiate the concerns.

On Aug. 8, authorities say the boy violently shook his 11-day-old sister in their minivan while their 62-year-old mother Kathleen Steele was inside a cellphone repair store.

Steele faces aggravated manslaughter charges and was released on bond. Attorney Robert Love said he wouldn’t contest the state’s order for Steele to have no contact with the children.

Pennsylvania
Man charged with murder taunts  victim’s family
EASTON, Pa. (AP) — A man expected to plead guilty to murder in Pennsylvania shocked the court by declaring his innocence, sticking out his tongue at the victim’s family and saying “ha ha ha ha” several times.

Jeffrey Knoble Jr. told a judge Thursday that he was “an innocent man” and was forced to take a guilty plea. He then turned to the victim’s family and began taunting them.

The 26-year-old would have faced life in prison without parole had he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.

Knoble is accused of shooting 32-year-old Andrew White in the back of the head in March 2015 in Easton and then recording video of White’s corpse on a cellphone. Authorities say White had rented a room at the motel for Knoble because Knoble had no place to stay.

Tennessee
ACLU settles suit over ‘Some People Are Gay’ T-shirt
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee has settled a federal lawsuit sparked by a student’s T-shirt in support of gay rights.

The Tennessean reports the lawsuit was filed in November on behalf of a Richland High School senior whom the school system censored after she wore a shirt to the school supporting equality for lesbian and gay people.
The shirt read: “Some People Are Gay, Get Over It.”

The lawsuit said the school’s principal prohibited the student from wearing that shirt or any other shirt referencing lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender rights because it might provoke other students.

However, a U.S. District judge wrote a preliminary injunction defending students’ rights to wear pro-LGBT apparel to school as long as it does not disrupt the school environment.

North Carolina
Mother dies after stabbed, doused in boiling water
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say a Greenville woman who they think was stabbed and doused in boiling water by her own daughter has died.

Pitt County deputies tell local media outlets they were called to an apartment just after 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.

They say they believe 20-year-old Milina Tapo Harris threw boiling water on her mother while she was sleeping and then stabbed her numerous times.

Forty-seven-year-old Tamara Joyner was taken to a hospital, where she later died.

Harris appeared in court Thursday on a charge of first-degree murder. Her bond was set at $2 million, and she requested a court-appointed attorney.

Pennsylvania
Ex-Jerry Sandusky lawyer gets prison for stealing funds
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — An attorney who represented former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky at his child sex abuse trial has been sentenced to 5½ to 18 years in prison for stealing about $767,000 from clients.

Karl Rominger told a Cumberland County judge he was “ashamed” at Wednesday’s sentencing. Rominger pleaded guilty in May to theft by deception and misappropriation of funds. Prosecutors say he spent the money on casino gambling and other interests.

The 43-year-old pleaded guilty last month to federal charges that he tried to evade income taxes from 2006 to 2010. He’s awaiting sentencing in that case.

Rominger has surrendered his law license and been disbarred.

Sandusky was convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing 10 boys, but he’s appealing. He is serving a 30- to 60-year prison term.

New York
Man gets prison for killing friend who ate sandwich
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A New York man who fatally shot a friend for eating his leftover sandwich has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The Erie County district attorney’s office says 34-year-old Marcus Gottsche was sentenced Wednesday in the death of 28-year-old Jasmine Armour, of Buffalo.

Prosecutors say Gottsche and Armour spent a night drinking in February 2011 before returning to his Buffalo home. That’s where a fight started after she started eating his sandwich.

Gottsche grabbed his rifle and shot Armour in the back as she tried to flee from the home.

He was convicted of murder in December 2011, but the verdict was vacated last year when a court ruled he was denied effective legal representation.

Gottsche pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in June.