National Roundup

Missouri
Woman convicted of killing husband in 2012
WARSAW, Mo. (AP) — A western Missouri woman who spent nearly seven years behind bars awaiting trial for the 2012 shooting death of her husband has been found guilty.

A Clay County jury on Monday convicted Viola Bowman, 60, of first-degree murder in the killing of 53-year-old Albert “Rusty” Bowman in their Kansas City home on Nov. 7, 2012, the  Kansas City Star reported.

Viola Bowman has steadfastly maintained her innocence and says she found her husband shot when she returned from the store that day. She was not arrested for the killing until 2015, but has remained in jail since then while her case was delayed dozens of times as public defenders dealt with overwhelming caseloads.

Trial finally began last October, but ended in a mistrial when because of COVID-19 exposures involving a juror and court staff member.

Last year, Viola Bowman rejected a plea deal that would have given her credit for time served and allowed her to go free, but would have required her to admit guilt. She told a judge, “”I did not do this.”

Prosecutors said Bowman shot her husband to collected on a life insurance policy and claimed statements she made to police were inconsistent. Officials also labeled her reaction to her husband’s death with first responders as “odd.”

Bowman’s attorney told jurors she loved her husband of 35 years, had cooperated fully with police and had no criminal history.

Georgia
Charges against DA from video to be dismissed after mistrial
COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — One set of criminal charges against a Georgia district attorney is being dismissed, although he still faces more serious charges.

A mistrial was declared last week in Mark Jones’ trial on charges of first-degree criminal damage to government property and interfering with government property after the judge found witnesses were improperly watching video of the trial before testifying.

Jones is district attorney for Muscogee, Harris, Chattahoochee, Marion, Talbot, and Taylor counties.

Prosecutor Brian Patterson told visiting Judge Jeffery Monroe on Monday he decided to dismiss the charges after hearing some jurors from the mistrial felt the case was politically motivated.

“I no longer believe it is in the interest of justice to move forward with this matter,” Patterson said, according to WRBL-TV.

One juror told the Ledger-Enquirer after the mistrial that it was a “waste of time” to pursue charges involving damage to a parking lot that was allegedly caused during the filming of a 2020 campaign video for Jones.

Jones was indicted again earlier this month on charges that he tried to get a police officer to lie to a grand jury to upgrade an involuntary manslaughter charge to murder, tried to bribe prosecutors in his office and tried to influence and prevent the testimony of a crime victim. Jones is also charged with DUI, reckless driving and causing injury following a November 2019 crash in which police said Jones was driving drunk.

The charges set to be dismissed relate to a May 2020 video for his election campaign that included stunt driving moves such as cars driving in doughnuts with smoking tires in the parking lot of the Columbus Civic Center. The indictment alleged Jones was responsible for damage to the parking lot.

Damage was initially valued at $300,000, the cost of repaving the entire parking lot. During the abortive trial, city officials placed the damages at closer to $2,500, the cost to re-stripe the area where the video was filmed.
Patterson said he still believes that “direct and circumstantial evidence” indicates Jones and codefendant Erik Whittington are guilty, but that juror sentiments weigh against further prosecution.

“They were concerned about how politics have come to bear on this case, that this is a felony prosecution, that it appears that some other individuals similarly situated have not been prosecuted in a similar manner for this kind of conduct, and that Muscogee County has other pressing criminal justice matters and concerns,” Patterson told the court during the online hearing.

Mark Shelnutt, a lawyer representing Whittington, said a new trial would have still had the same issues because witness testimony was corrupted.

Three other defendants — Christopher Black, Chris Garner and Jonathan Justo-Botello — pleaded guilty earlier to misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and laying drag, a Georgia crime that covers a range of driving offenses.

William Kendrick, a lawyer representing Whittington, said the convictions against the other three men should be overturned.

California
Militia member pleads guilty to conspiracy charge
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — An alleged member of a California right-wing militia group pleaded guilty Monday to charges stemming from the fatal shooting of a federal guard in Oakland more than a year ago.

Kenny Miksch, 21, became the fourth member of the so-called Grizzly Scouts to plead guilty to conspiring to obstruct justice, KTVU-TV reported. He faces 20 years in prison when sentenced.

The men are accused of conspiring to destroy communications and other records about the May 29, 2020, killing of federal security officer David Patrick Underwood and attempted murder of his partner as they guarded the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building in Oakland.

The officers were shot while a large demonstration over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis was underway nearby. Prosecutors said Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, 32, fatally shot Underwood and wounded his partner. They said Carrillo used the protest as cover for the crime and for his escape. Carrillo has pleaded not guilty.

The Grizzly Scouts identified with the decentralized “boogaloo” movement, which calls for armed conflict against the government, federal prosecutors said.

Miksch was responsible for the group’s training and firearms instruction, prosecutors said.