National Roundup

California
Silicon Valley company founder pleads guilty to insider trading
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The founder of a Silicon Valley fiber optics equipment maker has pleaded guilty to insider trading.

Federal prosecutors say Peter C. Chang acknowledged Wednesday that he used brokerage accounts in the names of his brother and wife to buy and sell stock in Alliance Fiber Optic Products of Sunnyvale.

Under a plea deal, Chang acknowledged that in 2015 and 2016 he sold stock prior to two public announcements of company earnings in order to avoid losses when the stock price dropped.

He also acknowledged that in 2016 he bought stock before a potential acquisition of the company was announced.

Chang, who was the firm’s former president and CEO, entered pleas to insider trading and securities fraud.

He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.

Louisiana
Veterinarian accused of fatally shooting neighbor’s dog
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans-area veterinarian is accused of shooting her neighbor’s dog in the head, killing it.

Jefferson County prosecutors on Wednesday filed charges including aggravated cruelty to an animal and illegal discharging of a firearm against 35-year-old Kelly Folse.

NOLA.com ‘ The Times-Picayune reports that Folse was arrested Dec. 19 in connection with the shooting death of Bruizer, 15-month-old American bulldog that belonged to Folse’s next-door neighbor, Stacey Fitzner.

Interim Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said Folse shot Bruizer after months of sending aggressive and hostile text messages and videos to the dog’s owner about its loud barking.

Folse’s attorney, Robert Garrity Jr., has said his client did not shoot the dog. He accused Lopinto of using the case as political grandstanding.

Indiana
Supreme Court: Lake Michigan shoreline open
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in a landmark decision that Lake Michigan’s shoreline is open to all, and adjacent property owners can’t exercise exclusive control of the beach between their homes and the water.

The 4-0 ruling Wednesday sets the ordinary high water mark as the boundary between the state-owned land under Lake Michigan and the interests of private property owners, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported . The high water mark is defined as the line on the shore created by the fluctuations of water.

The ruling settled a longstanding dispute with Don and Bobbie Gunderson, who alleged the deed to their lake-adjacent property showed it extending to the water’s edge, regardless of where the water’s edge is at any given time. Their attorney argued that landowners have the right to limit who uses the beaches abutting their properties.

Justice Mark Massa said the land extending from that line and continuing into and under the water of Lake Michigan was granted to Indiana at statehood, and has continuously been held in trust for residents since 1816. Individuals are entitled to access the water for navigation, commerce or fishing.

The high court also ruled that at a minimum, walking on the beach is a protected public use. But the justices also said it’s up to the General Assembly to decide whether to enact “any enlargement of public rights on the beaches of Lake Michigan.”

The ruling could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Arizona
Lawyer: Woman believes revenge porn led to reports of texts
PHOENIX (AP) — An attorney for a woman says she has left her Arizona Senate job and believes she was a victim of revenge porn in the wake of reports that she exchanged suggestive text messages with current congressional candidate and ex-legislator Sen. Steve Montenegro.

Attorney Tom Ryan told the Arizona Capitol Times that the woman’s ex-boyfriend stole material from his client’s home computer and widely distributed the material.

Ryan wouldn’t discuss the identities of the woman or her ex-boyfriend but says she voluntarily left her job Wednesday in the wake of news reports of the texts, which included a topless photo of the woman.

Montenegro has denounced the reports as “tabloid trash.”

He is running in a Republican special primary election for the 8th Congressional District seat.

Colorado
Man accused of sex assault volunteered with youth sports
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Arrest documents indicate a Fort Collins man accused of sexually assaulting multiple children volunteered with youth hockey programs to gain the trust of his victims.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reports 27-year-old Andrew Todd Vanderwal was arrested by Fort Collins police in 2016 after a family told authorities he had sexually assaulted a boy.

Authorities say three other families reported assaults to police following Vandalwal’s arrest. He fled after posting bail.

Vanderwal had volunteered with NoCo Ice Center’s U8 hockey program. According to the FBI arrest documents, he had moved in with each family after gaining their trust.

Vanderwal was arrested after his vehicle was found abandoned near the Mexican border. He was listed as being in transit Thursday to the jail in El Paso, Texas.

Maine
Judge convicts man in killing that baffled authorities
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge says a 57-year-old Maine man is guilty of murder in a nearly 40-year-old case that baffled authorities in Maine.

Philip Scott Fournier was charged in 2016 with killing 16-year-old Joyce McLain in East Millinocket in 1980. Superior Court Justice Ann Murray issued her verdict on Thursday morning in a packed Bangor courtroom.

McLain disappeared while she was out jogging, and her body was found two days later.

A defense lawyer said during final arguments earlier this month that “doubts will linger” over the case regardless whether Fournier was convicted. The defense also argued that Fournier’s memories, which were central to the prosecution’s case, were unreliable.

There also wasn’t physical evidence tying Fournier to the crime scene. But prosecutors said he confessed numerous times over the years.