Alaska
Victim sues man who received no jail time in assault
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska Native woman has filed a lawsuit against the man convicted of assaulting her but who walked free following sentencing.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in Anchorage Superior Court against 34-year-old Justin Schneider seeks unspecified damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and negligence, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The former air traffic controller had offered the woman a ride in his SUV, and he later parked on a dead-end street, she told an Anchorage detective in August 2017.
He then threatened to kill the woman, choked her until she blacked out and then performed a sexual act.
Schneider was originally charged with kidnapping, but he pleaded guilty to a single count of felony assault in a deal with prosecutors. He was sentenced in September to two years in prison with one year suspended.
Credited for the year he spent in home confinement, he left court with no more jail time. He also did not have to register as a sex offender.
Prosecutors made the plea agreement without "input or approval" from the victim, the lawsuit claims.
The victim, who is identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe, was outraged by the criminal case's outcome and is now seeking justice through the civil system, said James Davis, her attorney who is with the civil rights firm Northern Justice Project.
"She wanted to signal to other victims ... even if the criminal justice system lets you down, you have a right to other remedies you might pursue," Davis said. "And to the perpetrator, the civil system might still pursue even if you got off easy in the criminal system."
Schneider has not responded to the suit.
Alaska voters last week rejected Superior Court Judge Michael Corey, who signed off on the plea deal.
Washington
Man gets 40 years for kidnapping, assault over alleged debt
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) - A Maple Falls man convicted of kidnapping and beating another man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The Bellingham Herald says 63-year-old Donald Lee Calvin was sentenced Wednesday in Whatcom County Superior Court after a jury convicted him last month of assault, kidnapping and other charges.
Prosecutors say Calvin assaulted Jones on Nov. 30, 2016, handcuffed him to a ladder and beat him over several hours because he believed Jones had stolen money from him.
They say Calvin then drove Jones on a logging road up Sumas Mountain, apparently to leave the injured man there. Jones managed to run when the car stopped and hid in an embankment until Calvin left.
Calvin maintained his innocence at trial and called his sentencing an injustice.
West Virginia
Man gets up to 655 years for sexually assaulting children
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia judge has sentenced a man to between 165 years and 655 years in prison for sexually assaulting two young boys.
News outlets report 47-year-old Jeffrey Thomas Phipps was sentenced last month following his September conviction of sexual assault and abuse. Authorities say Phipps sexually abused two brothers, now age 6 and 10, in 2016 and 2017.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reported Tuesday that the Tennessee native denied the charges. The boys testified about sex acts during a four-day trial.
Authorities say Phipps abused the boys while their mother was living at a Charleston home owned by a woman in his care.
Oregon
Man who slashed bus driver's neck gets 7.5 years
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A passenger on methamphetamine who slashed the throat of a Greyhound bus on Interstate 84 last year has been sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Multnomah County Circuit Judge Gregory Silver on Wednesday called driver Clint Lawson a hero for safely steering the bus to the side of the freeway.
The judge then sentenced 33-year-old Robert Moran-Vasquez. Moran-Vasquez pleaded guilty to assault, recklessly endangering another person and other charges.
A probable cause affidavit says Lawson was driving Nov. 29 through Troutdale headed toward Idaho when Moran-Vasquez demanded that Lawson let him off.
Investigators say when Lawson refused, Moran-Vasquez grabbed the steering wheel, slashed Lawson's throat and tried to crash the bus.
Investigators say Moran-Vasquez also stabbed a passenger who was trying to stop him.
Defense attorney Jon Martz said Moran-Vasquez is shocked by his actions and is truly sorry.
Alabama
Convicted rapist denied parole in decades-old Alabama murder
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A convicted rapist and murderer has been denied parole in a decades-old kidnapping case.
WSFA-TV reports the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles denied parole to Jerry Lee Jones on Wednesday. Jones is one of three men convicted of robbing, raping and killing 21-year-old Quenette Shehane in 1976.
Authorities say the Birmingham-Southern College graduate went to buy salad dressing one night that December and was kidnapped, attacked and shot to death. Her nude and frozen body was found the next day. The salad dressing was in her car.
Eddie Bernard Neal was sentenced to life without parole for the crime and Wallace Norrell Thomas was executed in 1990. Jones was sentenced to death for the attack, but received life upon appeal. This is the fourth time he's been denied parole.
Arizona
Ex-teacher sentenced to 21 years in prison for molestations
PHOENIX (AP) - A Gilbert man has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for molesting two 6-year-old girls while he was a kindergarten teacher on the Gila River Indian Community.
A federal judge in Phoenix sentenced 30-year-old Tadashi Mitchell Harvey on Tuesday on his previous guilty pleas to two counts of abusive sexual contact of a minor.
The 21-year sentence was stipulated under a plea agreement between Harvey and prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says the offenses came to light earlier, prompting the Gila River Police Department.
Published: Fri, Nov 16, 2018
