National Roundup

Wyoming
2 men convicted of illegally collecting antlers
PINEDALE, Wyo. (AP) — Two Wyoming men have lost their hunting privileges for two years after being convicted of illegally collecting elk antlers.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says Matthew Nelson of Cheyenne and Jason Reidel of Pinedale also were each fined $1,550.

The agency says wardens caught the pair with about 70 pounds (31.7 kilograms) of elk antlers last April north of Pinedale. The two had been out on snowmobiles and snowshoes picking up antlers in an area where bull elk had been wintering.

The area is closed to shed antler gathering from Jan. 1 to April 30 to minimize harassment or disturbance of big game animals on their winter and spring ranges.

The antlers were confiscated and returned to the field upon closure of the case.

Missouri
Poacher ordered to repeatedly watch 'Bambi'
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri poacher has been ordered to repeatedly watch the movie "Bambi" as part of his sentence for illegally killing hundreds of deer.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that David Berry Jr. is to watch the Walt Disney movie the first time before Sunday and at least once each month during his one-year jail sentence in southwest Missouri's Lawrence County. He was convicted there of taking wildlife illegally. He also was sentenced last week to 120 days in jail in nearby Barton County for a firearms probation violation.

Lawrence County Prosecuting Attorney Don Trotter says the deer were killed for their heads, with their bodies left to rot. Three relatives and another man also were caught in what conservation agents are calling one of Missouri's largest deer poaching cases.

Pennsylvania
Town warily awaits release of police chief after sex plea
LEECHBURG, Pa. (AP) — A western Pennsylvania town is preparing for the release from prison of its suspended police chief, who pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

Some residents in Leechburg are uneasy about suspended Chief Michael Diebold's release next month.

Diebold was arrested in January in a law enforcement sting. He pleaded guilty and was served nine months, the time he spent in jail awaiting trial.

Residents tell the Tribune-Review they feel the sentence was too lenient. They feel betrayed because the town raised more than $17,000 for Diebold and his family after he lost part of an arm in a fireworks accident.

Councilman Chuck Pascal tells the newspaper the town will try to handle Diebold's return as it would any other person on parole.

Virginia
Man sentenced in gay rights advocate's fatal stabbing
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of a man described as a pioneering gay rights advocate in Virginia.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports 56-year-old James M. Wheeler told the judge Friday that he didn't intend to kill 67-year-old Bruce M. Garnett in March 2017. Wheeler pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Prosecutor Melissa Hoy said Wheeler and Garnett had known each other for 20 years, and had a relationship. She said Wheeler told investigators he was defending himself from Garnett during a dispute that turned physical.

Defense attorney Wayne Morgan said his client was remorseful, and commended Chesterfield police for their investigation.

Garnett helped form Richmond's Gay Rights Association and was credited as the first openly gay man to lobby the General Assembly.

Ohio
Lawyer wants  massacre case moved elsewhere
WAVERLY, Ohio (AP) — Attorneys for a woman charged in the slayings of eight Ohio family members have asked a judge to move the case to a different court because of extensive publicity.

The lawyers for defendant Angela Wagner also want the possibility of a death sentence dropped from the trial, calling capital punishment unconstitutional.

They also asked Pike County Judge Randy Deering to allow Wagner to wear civilian clothes and to appear without restraints during court hearings.

The Dayton Daily News reports that Wagner attorney Robert Krapenc says he would likely ask the judge not to rule until attempts begin to find a jury in Pike County.

Wagner, her husband and their two adult sons face multiple charges in the April 2016 slayings of eight members of the Rhoden family.

New Jersey
Court orders new trial, citing questions in unrelated case
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of fatally shooting a teen in a park, saying Pennsylvania detectives had violated his rights while questioning him about an unrelated homicide in that state.

The high court ruled last week that an alleged comment by 30-year-old Laurie Wint — "In June 2011, I committed a murder in Camden" — was improperly allowed at his trial in the slaying of 19-year-old Kevin Miller.

Wint was convicted in 2014 of the lesser offense of passion/provocation manslaughter and related charges. Prosecutors said Miller found out that Wink had spent the day with a woman he was dating, and he was shot after a confrontation in a Camden park. He argued he fired in self-defense.

While in custody awaiting indictment in Miller's death, Wint was also facing charges for the stabbing death of 33-year-old Tyrone Newman in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Detectives sought to question him at the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Two New Jersey detectives first asked him about Miller's death, and Wint declined to answer questions before speaking to a lawyer. The detectives left the room.

Two Pennsylvania detectives then came in to ask questions about the Warminster stabbing, at which point Wint made the statement about the 2011 Camden slaying. The New Jersey Supreme Court said detectives' continued questioning violated Wint's rights. The order of a retrial in the passion/provocation charge doesn't affect weapons and resisting arrest convictions in the same trial.

Wint was sentenced to 22 years, including 14 years for the New Jersey homicide.