National Roundup

Oklahoma
Man gets life in prison for 1982 Oklahoma City slaying
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma City jury has decided on a life prison term for a 67-year-old man convicted of fatally shooting one of his drug runners more than 35 years ago.

Raul Sierra was convicted of first-degree murder for the November 1982 slaying of 23-year-old Wilfredo Roberto Matos Osorio. The case remained unresolved until 2015 when new testing of blood evidence linked Osorio to the house where the shooting occurred.

Investigators say witnesses told them Osorio was killed for skimming money from drug sales and for raping or trying to rape two women.

Sierra denied any involvement. He did not testify at his trial that ended Friday.

The Oklahoman newspaper reports witnesses testified the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” was played to hide the sounds of the shotgun as Osorio was killed.

Maryland
Federal judge rules in Muslim townhouse case
BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge has ruled officials in a Maryland county must issue permits allowing the sale of private townhouses to a group of Muslim buyers, after finding the denial of them was “motivated at least in part by discriminatory intent.”

U.S. District Judge George Russell made the ruling Friday in the Harford County case.

The judge found that “but for the religion of the prospective Muslim purchasers, the county would have granted the sewer, water hookup permits and use and occupancy permits for the 14 homes constructed.”

The judge’s ruling will clear the way for 14 homes to be delivered to the Muslim homebuyers in the Old Trails subdivision in Joppatowne. Old Trails is a community for residents 55 and over.

West Virginia
Indicted for fraud, a Supreme Court justice pleads not guilty
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia Supreme Court justice has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of fraud and lying to federal agents.

Media outlets report Allen Loughry entered the plea on Friday two hours before West Virginia lawmakers announced they were considering impeachment.

Loughry faces a maximum prison sentence of 395 years and up to $5.5 million in fines if convicted on all charges. An indictment accuses Loughry of using a state car and credit card for personal items. It accuses him of moving a leather couch and historic desk from the Supreme Court offices to his home. And it says he lied to federal agents about his actions.

Loughry has been already suspended. West Virginia’s state legislative leaders have asked the Joint Judiciary Committee to begin reviewing the process for impeachment.

Oregon
State Supreme Court won’t hear Sweet Cakes by Melissa appeal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court has declined to consider the case of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, the now-defunct bakery that refused to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple in 2013 based on the bakers’ religious objections.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Friday the Supreme Court turned down the case with no explanation.

Melissa and Aaron Klein had been ordered to pay $135,000 to couple Rachel and Laurel Bowman-Cryer in emotional damages in 2015 after the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries found that the Kleins violated state anti-discrimination law.

The Oregon Court of Appeals has upheld the order.

Bureau of Labor and Industries officials see the Oregon Supreme Court decision as an affirmation of the bureau’s original order.

Lawyers for the Kleins said Friday they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Florida
Buzz Aldrin sues his children, alleging misuse of his finances
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin is suing two of his children and a business manager, accusing them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account and slandering him by saying he has dementia.

In the lawsuit filed earlier this month in a Florida state court, Aldrin asks a judge to remove his son, Andrew, from control of his financial affairs, social media accounts and several nonprofit enterprises.
Aldrin says his daughter, Janice, did not act in his financial interests, and he accuses his manager of fraud.

Aldrin was a member of the Apollo 11 crew which landed the first two humans on the moon. Aldrin joined Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface in 1969.

In a statement, the Aldrin children say they’re saddened by the “unjustifiable” lawsuit.

Kansas
Injured girl’s family: Video should’ve been released sooner
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Relatives of a 9-year-old girl who was injured when a former Wichita police officer fired at her family’s dog are criticizing the city for waiting six months before releasing the officer’s body-camera video.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the video shows Officer Dexter Betts firing two shots in December at close range at the girl’s 35- to 40-pound dog. She screams after a bullet fragment ricochets off the floor and hit her. The family’s attorney, Charley O’Hara, says the fragment left a scar above her eye. He says the family is considering suing.

The department fired Betts afterward, and he’s awaiting trial on an aggravated battery charge.

Police Captain Doug Nolte says it wasn’t appropriate to release the video sooner because it was an investigative record in a felony case.


Nebraska
Ex-coach ­acquitted of sex assault, convicted of child abuse
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A jury has convicted a former Lincoln High School girls basketball coach of child abuse but acquitted him of sexually assaulting a student in a classroom.

Lancaster County District Court records say the verdicts were rendered Friday for 34-year-old Marcus Perry. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2.

Police say a 17-year-old student told school officials and officers that Perry touched her genitals in an in-school suspension room on Dec. 7. She testified that she didn’t consent to the contact but also testified that she didn’t get up and leave or tell him to stop.