Florida
Beachfront wedding day fight lands groom in jail
OCEAN RIDGE, Fla. (AP) - Police say a Florida man spent what was supposed to be his wedding night in jail after breaking the nose of a man who refused to move out of the way of the beachfront wedding pictures.
Ocean Ridge police arrested 27-year-old Jeffery E. Alvord on Sunday following the fight with a 24-year-old man who refused offers of $50 to move out of the way of the wedding pictures.
Alvord told police the man became "very belligerent," making him feel threatened. So he punched the man. The victim told police a groomsman held him so Alvord could hit him.
Alvord's attorney Steven Cohen told the Palm Beach Post the incident "did not play out" as the victim stated.
Alvord was released on bond Monday and married his fiance.
Kansas
Lawrence man who bit off part of roommate's ear sentenced
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - A 39-year-old Lawrence man accused of biting off part of his roommate's ear during a drug-infused attack has been sentenced to just over three years in prison.
Wynn Anderson was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in prison followed by two years of supervision.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports Anderson was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder after the November 2016 attack at his home. He pleaded no contest to attempted aggravated battery.
The victim, 52-year-old James Conlon, testified at a preliminary hearing that people were smoking methamphetamine at the home when Anderson called him out to the front porch and stabbed him. Conlon said Anderson also bit off part of his ear, growled and spit it out.
Conlon spent about two months in the hospital and underwent several surgeries.
Connecticut
Man pleads guilty to accidentally shooting pal
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to killing his best friend accidentally during a drive-by shooting.
The Connecticut Post reports that 23-year-old Terrell Evans will be sentenced to 15 years in prison in exchange for his plea Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter and other charges.
Evans was to go on trial in the May 2017 death of Kyree Kennedy, and his plea deal did not sit well with the victim's family.
Prosecutors say Evans shot the 22-year-old Kennedy in the head while the two were targeting another vehicle.
Police say Evans fired from the front passenger seat across Kennedy and out of the driver's side window and when Kennedy turned his head, he was struck.
Kennedy's father told the judge he thought Evans should get a life sentence. Sentencing is May 3.
Pennsylvania
Court upholds sentence imposed on man who slashed his baby
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - A state appellate court has upheld the lengthy prison term imposed on a Pennsylvania man convicted of kidnapping his newborn daughter, slashing her neck and cramming her into a trash bag inside a backpack.
David Sleets was found guilty last year of attempted murder and sentenced to 26 to 52 years in prison.
The 38-year-old Lancaster man claimed a jury should not have seen "inflammatory" photos of his month-old daughter lying in a hospital bed with a slashed neck. But the appellate panel found they were legitimately entered as evidence to show the extent of the girl's wounds.
Prosecutors say Sleets snatched the baby from the mother's house and took off, tossing the backpack underneath a car.
The mother followed him and rescued her baby, taking her to the hospital.
Lawyers say Sleets has schizophrenia and had stopped taking medication.
Mississippi
4 police officers fired after man's death last month
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Four police officers in Mississippi have been fired after a man died last month following a confrontation.
The city of Jackson announced the firings of three officers and a supervisor Tuesday following an internal affairs investigation of the arrest and death of 31-year-old Mario Clark.
The city said in a news release the investigation revealed violations of the officers' general orders, though it did not explain them. Their names have not been released.
Clark's mother, Shelia Ragland, said she called officers Feb. 14 because Clark was having a psychotic episode. He died Feb. 20.
The coroner ruled Clark's death a homicide. The state medical examiner said his injuries were consistent with strangulation and suffocation.
Ragland said she's glad the officers have been fired but said they should also be arrested.
Colorado
Former Broncos QB pleads not guilty in trespassing case
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) - Former Denver Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly has pleaded not guilty to first-degree criminal trespassing after being accused of entering a couple's suburban home uninvited.
KDVR-TV reports that Kelly entered the plea on Monday in Arapahoe County District Court.
His next court appearance was set for April 23.
The Broncos waived the second-year pro after his Oct. 23 arrest.
According to court records, a couple reported that a stranger entered their Englewood home after 1 a.m. that morning, sat on their couch and was "mumbling incoherently." Police say they found the 24-year-old Kelly afterward parked nearby. The man identified Kelly as the intruder and provided surveillance video to police.
Kelly had attended an annual Halloween costume party hosted by Broncos star Von Miller before the incident.
He's free on $2,500 bond.
Connecticut
Appeals court upholds convictions in car accident scam
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld fraud convictions against two men for their roles in a Connecticut auto insurance scam that involved as many as 50 staged car crashes.
A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Wednesday rejected the appeals of Mackenzy Noze and Jonas Joseph.
Prosecutors say the men were among more than 15 people who staged crashes in and around New London County between 2011 and 2014.
Authorities say the scam collected $6,500 to $30,000 in insurance payouts per crash, bilking insurance companies out of an estimated $600,000.
Prosecutors say Noze, a Haiti native and legal permanent U.S. resident who lived in Norwich, was the ringleader.
Noze and Joseph argued there wasn't enough evidence to support their convictions.
Published: Thu, Mar 07, 2019
