National Roundup

Georgia
GOP’s Carr seeks another term as attorney general
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr announced Tuesday that he wants another four years as the state’s top lawyer, spurning a chance to run for higher office.

The 49-year-old Republican pledged to work with police to reduce crime and to fight against initiatives by President Joe Biden’s administration that he sees as infringements on personal freedoms and Georgia’s rights.

“I am proud of our results in going after criminals who prey on our most vulnerable with human trafficking, gang activity, scams, and elder abuse,” Carr said in a statement.

Carr was the state’s economic development commissioner before Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him in 2016 to replace Sam Olens as attorney general. He was elected to a full four-year term in 2018, winning 51.3% of the vote.

Carr had been rumored to be considering a bid for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022.

But Carr lost a national platform when he resigned last month as chairman of the national Republican Attorneys General Association, saying he had a “fundamental difference of opinion” with other members of the group after it sent a robocall encouraging the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Carr said he couldn’t continue after the group chose as executive director Peter Bisbee, who was responsible for the much-criticized call.

Two Democrats who have already declared their campaigns to unseat Carr — 2018 Democratic nominee Charlie Bailey and state Sen. Jen Jordan of Sandy Springs — denounced his resignation as an attempt to distract from the group’s support of efforts to overturn the presidential election results.

Carr touts the creation of a human trafficking prosecution unit in his office, saying it has resulted in 17 arrests. He said he’s worked to fight gangs and reduce opioid abuse. He’s also joined lawsuits to overturn the Biden administration’s moratorium on oil and gas drilling permits on federal lands and to attack efforts to attach a higher value to carbon pollution.


Alabama
Officer convicted of murder still receives salary
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama police officer convicted of murder for shooting a suicidal man who was holding a gun to his own head has been taken off duty but will continue to be paid, the city of Huntsville said.

Officer William Darby, who was initially placed on desk duty following the killing of Jeffrey Parker in 2018, can’t continue working as an officer because of the conviction and went on leave Monday, city spokeswoman Lucy DeButy told news outlets.

“This is the normal process until formal proceedings under the City of Huntsville’s personnel policies and procedures are complete,” she said in a statement. Darby was freed on $100,000 bond soon after the verdict on Friday.

While Mayor Tommy Battle, a Republican, and Police Chief Mark McMurray have disagreed publicly with the jurors’ decision, Alabama Democratic Party executive director Wade Perry criticized the city’s move to keep paying Darby.

“He’s a convicted murderer. He shouldn’t get another day’s pay. Fire him. And the police chief,” Perry said in a statement.

Darby shot Parker, 49, moments after joining two other officers who had responded to a 911 call from the man, who said he was armed and planned to kill himself.

One of the officers, who has since left the force, testified that Parker was upset but talking with her and posed no immediate threat despite the gun he held to his head. Jurors rejected defense claims that the shooting was justified.

A defense attorney said Darby will appeal. He could receive a sentence ranging from 20 years to life at hearing expected to be held in about six weeks, a prosecutor said.

While a city review board cleared Darby of wrongdoing, a county grand jury indicted him in the shooting. The city had said it would pay as much as $125,000 toward his defense.

Oklahoma
Alleged serial killer faces death penalty trial
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jury selection continued Tuesday in the death penalty trial of an alleged serial killer accused of kidnapping and killing an Oklahoma woman more than 20 years ago.

William Lewis Reece, 61, faces charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the 1997 killing of 19-year-old Tiffany Johnston, who was abducted from a car wash in Bethany, Oklahoma. Her body was found the next day in Canadian County.

The Oklahoman newspaper reported that District Judge Susan Stallings had potential jurors questioned one at a time, and away from others, about their opinions on the death penalty. Jury selection began Monday.

A Texas Ranger testified during a preliminary hearing in 2017 that Reece acknowledged killing “the Oklahoma girl” during an interview in March 2016. He’s also suspected of killing a woman and two girls in Texas in 1997.

Johnston, 20-year-old Kelli Cox, 17-year-old Jessica Cain and 12-year-old Laura Smither all disappeared over a four-month period in 1997, after Reece had been released from an Oklahoma prison for previous rape and kidnapping convictions.

California
Man charged with using COVID loans to buy car
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man has pleaded not guilty to charges he obtained $5 million in federal coronavirus-relief loans for phony businesses and then used the money for lavish vacations and to buy a Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini, prosecutors said Monday.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, was arrested last week on suspicion of scheming to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, which was implemented last year to help small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qadiri, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty Friday to multiple charges including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Qadiri’s attorney, Bilal A. Essayli, declined further comment Monday.

Prosecutors said Qadiri submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications to three banks on behalf of four companies that didn’t actually exist. The applications included altered bank records, fake tax returns and false information about employees, according to the indictment.

Qadiri also used someone else’s name, Social Security number and signature to fraudulently apply for one of the loans, prosecutors said.

He received $5 million in loans that investigators said he used to pay for trips, sports cars and personal expenses.

Federal agents have seized the Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars that Qadiri purchased, along with about $2 million from his bank accounts, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a jury trial for June 29. Qadiri was released on $100,000 bond.