Massachusetts
Man convicted of killing 83-year-old father
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man has been found guilty of killing his 83-year-old father, who was found beaten on the floor of his home with a trash bag secured by a belt over his head.
The Telegram & Gazette reports that 50-year-old Glenn Armstrong was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder in the January 2017 death of Walter Armstrong in his Blackstone home. He was also convicted of larceny for stealing his father's pickup truck and driving it to New Jersey.
He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole at sentencing scheduled for Monday.
An autopsy determined the older man died from blunt trauma and asphyxia by ligature strangulation.
The younger Armstrong had served prison time for threatening to kill President Bill Clinton in 1994.
New York
NY man wounded in 2003 can't sue Ohio gun dealer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York's highest court has ruled that an upstate man wounded in a shooting 16 years ago can't sue the out-of-state seller of the weapon used in the crime.
The Court of Appeals ruled 4-3 Thursday that Charles Brown of Ohio can't be sued in New York by Daniel Williams because the handgun was sold in Ohio and Brown had no control over where the weapon eventually ended up.
According to court documents, Brown, a licensed firearms dealer, sold 182 handguns to another Ohio man in 2000. That man then took some of the weapons to Buffalo, where he sold one to a gang member.
The gang member used the gun to shoot Williams in the stomach as he played basketball in front of a Buffalo home in 2003.
Arkansas
Rapper whose show ended in shootout sentenced to prison
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A Tennessee rapper whose Arkansas performance ended in a shootout has been sentenced to five years in prison for carrying a gun during the show nearly two years ago.
More than two dozen people were injured during Ricky Hampton's July 2017 performance at the Power Ultra Lounge in Little Rock. Hampton, who uses the stage name "Finese2Tymes," pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced Thursday.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Hampton's state sentence will begin after he finishes serving a five-year federal prison sentence for carrying a gun at a different Arkansas club.
His bodyguard, Kentrell Gwynn, pleaded guilty in March to a single count of aggravated assault for the Little Rock shooting and was sentenced to five years in prison.
New Hampshire
Judge calls off trial over slain millionaire's residency
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire judge has called off the upcoming probate court trial of a man accused by relatives of killing his millionaire grandfather for inheritance money, saying the grandfather was not a resident of the state.
Judge David King said Friday that John Chakalos lived in Connecticut, even though he had a New Hampshire driver's license and registered to vote there.
A June trial had been scheduled for 24-year-old Nathan Carman, of Vernon, Vermont, who's denied any role in his grandfather's shooting death in Connecticut in 2013.
Carman also denies any role in the disappearance of his mother during a 2016 fishing trip. Carman's three aunts believe Carman killed her and are trying to prevent him from inheriting the mother's share of her father's estate.
Carman said he is pleased with the ruling.
Ohio
Court sets execution date for man who killed bar owner
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Supreme Court has set an execution date nearly five years in the future for a man who killed a bar owner in 1997.
Authorities say death row inmate Scott Group was a regular delivery man to the Downtown Bar in Youngstown when the shooting happened.
Records say Group forced owners Robert and Sandra Lozier into the bar restroom Jan. 18, 1997 and shot both in the head, then stole more than $1,200 in cash.
Sandra Lozier survived and testified against Group at trial. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court set a July 10, 2024 execution date for the 54-year-old Group.
His lawyers opposed setting an execution date, arguing he still has claims that can be argued about poor legal help at trial and early in the appeals process.
Pennsylvania
Man convicted in model's death says 'justice was served'
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A man has been convicted of murder in the strangulation of a model in one of Philadelphia's affluent suburbs.
Jonathan Harris told reporters that he believed "justice was served" as he was led out of the courtroom late Thursday. The verdict carries a mandatory life sentence.
The 31-year-old Johnstown man was also found guilty of kidnapping, possession of an instrument of a crime and strangulation. The jury deliberated for nearly six hours before reaching its verdict.
Officials have said Christina Carlin-Kraft took a ride-hailing service to Philadelphia, met 31-year-old Harris and the two later returned to her Ardmore apartment. Carlin-Kraft's body was found in her bloodstained bedroom that evening.
Carlin-Kraft's modeling profile lists photo shoots for Vanity Fair, Victoria's Secret, Playboy and Maxim.
Delaware
Doc accused of trading drugs for sex loses license
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Delaware has permanently revoked the license of a doctor accused of prescribing opioids in exchange for sexual favors from a female patient undergoing treatment for long-term drug addiction.
The News Journal of Wilmington reports the state Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline this week revoked the license of Nihar B. Gala, who oversaw the pain management and addiction treatment center Alpha Care Medical.
State prosecutors say Gala took the woman off Suboxone and prescribed her large amounts of Oxycodone and Fentanyl.
Gala denies the allegations, which his lawyer has said are part of a conspiracy to hurt Gala's career.
The state is asking for any of Gala's patients who sought treatment for substance abuse to contact the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health's crisis helpline at 800-345-6785.
Published: Mon, May 13, 2019
