Ohio
Man whose death sentence was overturned gets 26 years to life
MARION, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio man whose 1994 death sentence for the rape and slaying of a woman was overturned has been resentenced to 26 years to life in prison.
The Marion Star reports that a federal appeals court overturned Maurice Mason's death sentence in 2008 and ordered the new sentencing that occurred Monday in Marion County. The appeals court ruled Mason had ineffective legal help during the penalty phase of his trial in 19-year-old Robin Dennis' slaying. Her body was found in an abandoned building in 1993.
Marion County prosecutors said they didn't seek the death penalty in Monday's sentencing partly in an agreement with the defense and in an effort to give Dennis' family "closure."
Judge William Finnegan accepted the prosecutors' and defense attorneys' recommendation in sentencing 55-year-old Mason on Monday.
New Jersey
Priest pleads guilty after victim calls sex abuse hotline
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey priest has pleaded guilty to a child sexual assault dating back almost three decades.
The charge against the Rev. Thomas Ganley was the first sexual assault case brought by the state's clergy abuse task force, which was established last September. Ganley was charged in January, just two days after the victim had called the state's clergy abuse hotline.
Ganley entered his plea Monday. The state attorney general's office has recommended that he get a four-year prison term when he's sentenced July 2.
The 63-year-old Ganley most recently was a parochial vicar at St. Philip and St. James Catholic Church in Phillipsburg.
Prosecutors say Ganley was a priest at Saint Cecelia Church in Woodbridge when the alleged assaults took place between 1990 and 1994. They say the victim was between the ages of 14 and 17.
Tennessee
Couple sues over misguided 'Operation Candy Crush'
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - A same-sex couple arrested during a misguided crackdown on lawful CBD oil products in Tennessee is suing, saying county prosecutors and deputies abused their authority.
The Daily News Journal reports that the federal lawsuit filed by Stacey and Mary Ruth Hamilton on Friday says Rutherford County deputies blasted Christian music during their arrest in February 2018. The suit says authorities also seized their proceeds, padlocked their store and publicly defamed them as being drug dealers during what they promoted as "Operation Candy Crush."
All charges were later dropped, because the products had no illegal substances in them.
A dozen other shop owners also are suing, saying they were targeted for their Egyptian heritage.
Louisiana
Judge to consider new trials for 2 in pizza delivery killing
LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) - A state judge will consider new trials for two men convicted of killing a Louisiana high school student.
The Advocate reports Judge Brenda Bedsole Ricks on Monday set a timetable for arguments on the cases of James Skinner and Darrell Hampton.
Skinner and Hampton have long claimed they didn't kill Eric Walber. The 16-year-old, who delivered pizza, was found robbed, beaten and run over on a Tangipahoa Parish road in 1998.
In March 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Michael Wearry, the accused ringleader in the killing. The court found prosecutors violated Wearry's rights when they withheld evidence undercutting two witnesses.
Lawyers for Skinner and Hampton argue their clients' second-degree murder convictions rely on the same witnesses called by the same prosecutors who withheld the same information.
Nevada
Man guilty of threatening to kill U.S. judge in Reno
LAS VEGAS (AP) - A 48-year-old Nevada man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to threatening a federal judge in Reno.
Prosecutors said Monday David Paule of Indian Springs admitted that while he was in state prison in Lovelock in 2017 he threatened the judge who was handling a civil lawsuit he had filed.
Court records show he sent three letters to Judge Miranda Du threatening to kill her and members of her family if she refused to comply with his demands to reinstate the lawsuit following an out-of-court settlement.
The criminal case was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office in California because of the potential for a conflict of interest in Nevada.
Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson is scheduled to sentence Paule on June 24, when he'll face up to a $250,000 fine in addition to prison time.
Massachusetts
MS-13 member pleads out to charges related to teen's killing
BOSTON (AP) - A member of the violent MS-13 gang has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the death of a 16-year-old boy killed by gang members because he was suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.
Federal prosecutors say 24-year-old Nelson Cruz Rodriguez Cartagena pleaded guilty Monday to racketeering conspiracy charges for helping set up the killing of Jose Aguilar Villanueva in a Lawrence park in July 2015.
Prosecutors say Cartagena incorrectly identified the victim as an informant responsible for the arrest of a gang leader, and then helped plan the killing.
Cartagena, native of El Salvador, was arrested in Everett in June 2018 after law enforcement determined he had illegally re-entered the U.S.
He faces up to 20 years in prison followed by deportation at sentencing scheduled for July 9.
Oklahoma
Rape charge dismissed against retired Tulsa hockey player
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Prosecutors in Oklahoma have dismissed a rape charge against a retired Tulsa Oilers hockey player from Canada.
The Tulsa World reports that defense attorney Kent Hudson says he believes prosecutors don't have enough evidence to prosecute 50-year-old Doug Lawrence on charges of first-degree rape and sexual battery.
District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler says prosecutors determined the case was "untenable," and dismissed the charges without prejudice, meaning his office could refile them later.
Court records show prosecutors allege Lawrence touched a woman's breast without her consent and raped her in 2017. Lawrence pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to go on trial Monday, the same day the charges were dismissed.
Published: Wed, Apr 10, 2019
