National Roundup

Indiana
Prosecutors want boy, 15, tried as adult in double-killing
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors want to try a 15-year-old Indianapolis boy as an adult in last week’s fatal shootings of two teenage siblings.

The boy appeared in juvenile court Tuesday after Marion County prosecutors filed a delinquency petition charging him with two counts of murder and firearm charges.

Prosecutors asked during Tuesday’s hearing that the juvenile court waive its jurisdiction to allow the boy to be tried as an adult in the Aug. 23 killings of 16-year-old Nicholas Nelson and his 15-year-old sister, Ashlynn Nelson.

A hearing to determine whether the teen will be waived into adult court is scheduled for Sept. 24.

The teen will remain in a juvenile detention center until that hearing. He was arrested Monday in connection with the killings.

Connecticut
Man pleads guilty to homicide during pot deal
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A 20-year-old Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm in connection with a fatal shooting earlier this year in Hartford.

The Hartford Courant reports that Ian Wilson Jr., of Windsor, was initially charged with murder and carrying a pistol without a permit. He pleaded guilty to the reduced charge on Monday.

Authorities say he shot 46-year-old Richard Kinoshita, of Bristol, during a marijuana transaction on Feb. 19.

As police were getting the report of gunfire, Kinoshita was dropped off at Hartford Hospital, where he was treated but died.

Prosecutors say under the plea agreement, Wilson will serve 25 years in prison then be on special parole for 10 years.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29.

Washington
White cyclist gets prison for beating black driver with lock
WASHINGTON (AP) — A white bicyclist in Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to three years in prison for severely beating a black driver.

News outlets report 25-year-old Maxim Smith was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted of offenses including assault with a dangerous weapon. Authorities said Smith was slowly biking ahead of 35-year-old Ketchazo Paho last year; Paho tried to pass him and Smith smacked the car. Paho said he stopped, called 911 and grabbed Smith’s bike to detain him.

Prosecutors said Smith then used his metal U-lock to beat Paho, who later required more than 20 stitches. Prosecutors called the attack a hate crime as Smith called Pahoa a racist slur, but the jury didn’t reach a unanimous verdict on that. Smith’s attorney said Smith was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.

Kentucky
Police: Principal arrested on 30 counts of child pornography
WINCHESTER, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky State Police say a vocational school principal was arrested on 30 counts of related child pornography charges.

News outlets report 54-year-old Phillip Todd Wilson was arrested Tuesday and charged with 15 counts of distributing child porn and 15 counts of possessing child porn.
A news release from Kentucky State Police says they received a complaint from someone at the high school.

Wilson is the principal at Clark County Area Technology Center, which offers high school vocational courses. The center is a part of George Rogers Clark High School campus in Winchester near Lexington.

Ohio
Lawsuit charges e-cigarette maker markets products to teens
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman’s lawsuit against an e-cigarette maker charges that the manufacturer markets its nicotine vapor products to teens like her daughters and fails to warn consumers about the products’ high nicotine levels.

The lawsuit filed this month in Columbus against California-based Juul Labs Inc. says the woman’s 16-year-old twin daughters first tried a Juul device when they were about 14. The Cincinnati Enquirer reports the complaint alleges the girls became addicted to nicotine within one week and began experiencing severe mood swings, migraines, and behavioral issues.

Juul spokesman Ted Kwong told the newspaper in an email that the lawsuit is without merit. He also said Juul has “never marketed to youth.”

The lawsuit, similar to previous ones filed in other states against Juul, seeks damages of at least $25,000.

Texas
Woman who claimed attack was hoax deemed set for trial
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A woman who confronted the pastor of a Texas church where more than two dozen worshippers were gunned down and claimed the attack was staged has been deemed competent to stand trial.

The San Antonio Express-News reports that mental health experts determined 57-year-old Jodie Marie Mann, of San Marcos, is ready to stand trial on federal gun charges.

During a hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia denied her request to be released on bond.

Mann, who has referred to herself as “Conspiracy Granny,” last year accosted pastor Frank Pomeroy and demanded proof that the 2017 shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs actually occurred.

Mann was deemed incompetent in the months after she was arrested at the church along with her boyfriend at the time.

Prosecutors say she helped the boyfriend obtain firearms that he wasn’t allowed to have because of a prior conviction.

Nebraska
2 men sentenced to prison for sexual assaults
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal prosecutors for Nebraska say two members of the Omaha Nation have been sentenced to federal prison for sexual assault.

Prosecutors say 36-year-old Michael Aldrich was sentenced Monday in Omaha’s federal courthouse to eight years behind bars. He had earlier pleaded guilty to sexual assault by force or threat.

Investigators say in June 2018, Aldrich spotted an intoxicated woman walking, took her to a secluded area and sexually assaulted her.

In the other case, 18-year-old Russell Morrison was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a minor on the reservation. Investigators say Morrison gave the minor alcohol, then sexually assaulted her once she was intoxicated. Both men will have to register as sex offenders upon their release from prison.