Court Digest

Iowa
Killing over fight about mayo ends in life sentence
LOGAN, Iowa (AP) — A fatal hit-and-run that stemmed from a fight between friends over mayonnaise has ended with a western Iowa man being sentenced to life in prison.
Kristofer Erlbacher, 29, of Woodbine, was sentenced Monday to a mandatory life sentence after being convicted in December of first-degree murder in the 2020 killing of 30-year-old Caleb Solberg, of Moorhead, the  Des Moines Register reported.

Investigators have said the men were eating and drinking at a Moorhead bar the night of Dec. 17, 2020, when Erlbacher put mayonnaise on Solberg’s food. A fist fight between the two men ensued, and Erlbacher left in his truck, making threats to hurt Solberg and others. The threats included calls to Solberg’s half-brother, Craig Pryor, whom he later confronted and whose vehicle he rammed with his truck.

Prosecutors say later that night, Erlbacher spotted Solberg outside a café in nearby Pisgah and ran him down with his truck. He doubled back and ran over Solberg twice more to make sure Solberg was dead, officials said, and called Pryor to say he had just killed his brother.

Erlbacher unsuccessfully sought to reduce the charge to second-degree murder, arguing he acted recklessly because he was drunk and didn’t intend to kill Solberg.

Missouri
Man charged with animal abuse, threatening police
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A rural Joplin man has been charged with animal abuse and threatening police after more than 50 animals were taken from his property, Newton County authorities said.

The man was on a 96-hour hold for a mental health evaluation when he threatened to “blow up the police department” if any animals were taken Tuesday from his property south of Joplin, The Joplin Globe reported.

Newton County deputies and the Humane Society of Missouri workers took 57 dogs and a few cats while serving a search warrant Tuesday.

Many of the animals were malnourished, had inadequate shelter and little or no access to water or food, authorities said. Several dead animals. some freshly killed, also were found from the property, according to probable cause affidavits.

Newton County Prosecutor Will Lynch charged the 24-year-old man with a misdemeanor count of animal abuse and a felony count of making a terrorist threat Wednesday while he remained committed for the 96-hour hospital hold.

Massachusetts
Family of man killed by police sues to release information
FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — The family of Anthony Harden, who was shot and killed by Fall River police in November, is suing the district attorney over the refusal to release information about the investigation that cleared the officers involved.

A statement from the family’s attorney, Eric Mack, said, “The D.A.’s denials of our requests are disingenuous and in direct violation of the law.”

Gregg Miliote, spokesperson for the Bristol County prosecutor’s office, said that District Attorney Thomas Quinn has communicated with the Harden family throughout the investigation and also gave the family a copy of the report before its public release.

Anthony Harden, 30, was shot and killed in his bedroom after police received a domestic complaint two days prior from his girlfriend, The Herald News reported Wednesday.

Two officers attempted to arrest Harden when he allegedly attacked one of them with a knife. He was shot twice by an officer, the newspaper reported.

Harden’s family has called for transparency from authorities after the investigation’s initial report was released and signaled the shooting was justified.

Mack said that the family’s independent autopsy also contradicted the district attorney’s description of where Harden was shot.

Quinn’s office has denied the Harden family’s repeated requests for the investigation’s documents to be released publicly, citing issues of privacy and an ongoing police investigation.