National Roundup

New Hampshire
Man sentenced to life as a teen faces re-sentencing hearing
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A man sentenced to life in prison without parole as a teenager is facing a re-sentencing hearing this week in New Hampshire.

Eduardo Lopez Jr. was convicted of fatally shooting a man while trying to steal his car in Nashua in 1993. He was 17.

Under a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the 43-year-old Lopez is getting a chance at eventual release. His two-day hearing in Nashua started Wednesday.

There have been no changes to New Hampshire law regarding juvenile offenders following the Supreme Court rulings. Juveniles can still be certified to stand trial as adults, but they will no longer automatically be sentenced to life without parole for crimes that carry that sentence.

New Hampshire Public Radio reports defense lawyers are asking that Lopez be released within the year. The state wants him to serve another 25 years.

Massachusetts
Brother-in-law of former ­governor charged with sex assault
QUINCY, Mass. (AP) — The brother-in-law of former Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is facing sexual assault charges.

Bernard Sigh was arraigned Monday on charges of assault to rape and assault and battery on a household member. The 65-year-old Milton resident is being held without bail pending a hearing to determine whether he is a danger to society. The hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

According to court documents in the case, the woman told investigators she found Sigh hiding in a closet in her apartment on Saturday wearing only his underwear.

Sigh pleaded guilty to spousal rape in 1993 while living in California and served jail time.

Mississippi
Ex-police officer pleads not guilty in ­daughter’s death
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) — A former Mississippi police officer charged in the death of her daughter in a hot patrol car has pleaded not guilty.

The Sun Herald reports Cassie Barker, 28, was arraigned Monday on a charge of second-degree murder in the 3-year-old girl’s death.

The former Long Beach officer is accused of leaving Chey­enne Hyer unattended in a patrol car for more than four hours while she was in another officer’s home. The car’s air conditioner was on but wasn’t blowing cold air. Hyer was found unresponsive in the car and died Sept. 30, 2016.

Barker was fired days later and initially charged with manslaughter.

Circuit Judge Larry Bourgeois set a trial date for April 2, 2018. Barker remains free on a $50,000 bond.

Barker had previously left the girl in an unattended car in 2015, in Gulfport, which was reported by a passer-by. Officials with the state Department of Human Services took temporary custody of the child and Barker was suspended from the Long Beach force for a week without pay. Her daughter’s father, Ryan Hyer, has said he plans to sue the Long Beach Police Department and Mississippi Child Protection Services, as he says he was never notified of that first incident.

Colorado
Ex-lawman arrested in harassment, exploitation case
LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP) — A former Colorado undersheriff has been arrested following a grand jury indictment on charges stemming from the alleged harassment of several 911 dispatchers and the alleged exploitation of a minor.

Former Lake County undersheriff Fernando Mendoza was arrested Tuesday and is being held without bond.

District Attorney Bruce Brown told Denver’s KMGH-TV that Mendoza asked the minor to send him nude photos and used a camera taken from the sheriff’s office to watch her undressing.

Brown said Mendoza is also charged with two counts of second-degree official misconduct in connection with the sexual harassment allegations.

Mendoza was fired from the department several weeks ago.

Ohio
Ex-state trooper convicted of ­stealing gun from search
DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — A former state Highway Patrol lieutenant has been convicted of theft for stealing a gun seized during a search in another investigation.

WCMH-TV reports a judge in central Ohio’s Delaware County dismissed charges of tampering with records and a second theft count against 48-year-old William Elschlager, of Marietta, during a bench trial Tuesday.

He was indicted after two guns from the search were found in his home.

Elschlager faces a federal trial next month for cyberstalking and deprivation of rights under color of law charges.

The former Marietta post commander in southern Ohio’s Washington County is accused of stalking a subordinate’s wife by putting a GPS device on her car so he could follow her after she ended their affair.

Illinois
Man gets 32 years in mother’s choking death
JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A northern Illinois man has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for fatally choking his mother and dumping her body in the Des Plaines River.

Will County prosecutors say a judge sentenced 37-year-old Shane Smith of Joliet on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty in June to first-degree murder for the Oct. 13, 2013 death of Joan Smith.

Prosecutors say the son lived with his mother but she wouldn’t allow his wife to live in her house because of frequent arguments between the couple.

Prosecutors say Shane Smith and his mother had an argument and during the dispute he choked her, put her body in a garbage bag and dropped her body in the river near the Brandon Road Lock and Dam. Her body was discovered downstream several days later.

New York
Prosecutor makes closing ­arguments at ­soccer trial
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York prosecutor says three former South American soccer officials charged in a corruption scandal failed to protect the interests of the sport’s governing bodies.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Mace said in closing arguments at their trial Wednesday that the three took millions in bribes in exchange for help winning lucrative commercial rights to the FIFAWorld Cup and other tournaments.

The ex-presidents of national soccer federations in Paraguay, Peru and Brazil deny the accusations.

The trial has seen a juror dismissed for sleeping, a defendant accused of threatening a witness by running his fingers across his throat in a slicing motion and surprise testimony by one of the Jonas Brothers.

Mace says marketing firms knew that “to get a contract signed, they had to pay.”